Perspective
Damar Hamlin was a reserve defensive back for Buffalo to start this NFL season.
Monday night, as he laid on the field at Cincinnati, he became a focal point of the nation’s attention and prayers and a central symbol for so many things.
Hamlin collapsed after tackling receiver Tee Higgins and had to have his heart restarted on the field.
The images were shocking — especially those of grown, tough men, players who were reduced to tears and fear by the scene — and horrifying.
In some ways, it made me think of the Daryl Stingley-Jack Tatum hit in the 1970s. We’ve all seen sports injuries. Heck, I can remember watching the Boom Boom Mancini-Duk Koo Kim fight in the early 1980s that cost Kim his life hours after it ended.
In others, it was more dramatic. And more real, for a lack of a better word.
Hamlin was rushed to the hospital and remains in critical condition this morning.
It was chilling. And more than that it was unforgettable, in several ways.
ESPN handled the entire incident with grace and class. We all have made fun of Joe Buck’s syrupy ways at one time or another, but his touch last night was impeccable. And for a scared viewing audience unsure if we had just watched a world-class athlete die right before our eyes, it was needed.
Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark were equally adept back in Bristol with SVP handling the journalistic details and Clark — a former NFL safety — sharing insight, knowledge and emotion.
It was tremendous broadcasting in the most serious and unfathomable of situations.
The players and the coaches were equally in tune with the moment and the magnitude of what happened. It truly becomes a game when life and death really are added to the mix.
Sure, we love sports, and those guys love their profession even more, but the reality before all of us warranted the game to be postponed. Even a game with that much at stake and on prime time with an audience in the tens of millions.
To that end, it was the Bills and the Bengals and the coaching staffs of each that put perspective into play. The NFL reportedly informed the teams they had five minutes to warm up and get back on the field before proper decisions were delivered. NFL executive Troy Vincent, a former defensive back in the league, denied that report early Tuesday morning.
It becomes easy to forget the stakes for the players involved in the game we love to watch.
Yes, they are rewarded greatly and are living their dream. But the risk for those rewards and to live that dream is truly their life, and this was a reminder of that.
It also was a reminder of how inherently good most people are when true tragedy is there.
The outpouring of prayers and support — Bills fans and Bengals fans outside of the hospital was quite the image — across social media and around the country was quick and honest and heart-felt.
Heck, a GoFundMe page Hamlin had started for a charitable effort to provide toys for kids in families that were hit hard by the pandemic had a goal of $2,500. After the injury and the page was circulated on social media, the GoFundMe account had more than $3 million in pledges.
The money, the game, the coverage, the emotion, all of it, is a huge part of American culture and our national fabric in so many ways.
But while he laid on the turf fighting for his, Damar Hamlin reminded all of us that we only have one life, and it is truly precious.
God be with you, Damar, and may you have a full recovery.
NFL power poll
Like so many things, the events of last night put proper focus on our weekly power poll.
But the on-field action and the lack of a conclusion Monday does leave a considerable question mark for the league.
The result of the Bengals-Bills game was going to shape a great many things, including the front-runner for the one seed — and the bye and home-field advantage — in the AFC.
That has to wait, and rightly so.
As for replaying or restarting the game, well, that becomes a tricky proposition considering that a) this week is the final week of the regular season, and b) days are dwindling and the window is not overly large.
If the game is not made up, the uneven number of games would mean several things.
Without a result from Monday and only 16 games for the Bills and Bengals, it would look the North division race for the Bengals, who are 11-4, which is 1.5 games ahead of Baltimore with one week left.
If the game is not rescheduled, it also would put Kansas City — which lost to both Buffalo and Cincinnati this season — in the driver’s seat for the one seed in the AFC. Buffalo is 12-3, K.C. is 13-3 and if each wins their regular-season finale, 14-3 is better than 13-3 unless the rules are adjusted and measured only on the loss column.
Again, the decision was clear to end the game when they did last night, but the aftermath must be addressed at some point, and that point needs to be addressed rather quickly.
To the poll.
Powerful
1 Buffalo (12-3). The AFC going through Buffalo or K.C. is a huge deal considering the stakes and the real connection between home field and getting to the Super Bowl. Since the league expanded in 2002, 20 of the 40 teams to play in the Super Bowl were the 1 seed in their conference.
2 Kansas City (13-3). The other very real concern of the AFC positioning other than home field is that whichever team finishes second plays in the first round of the playoffs and likely will get a tough fight from the three seed in the conference semifinals.
3 Cincinnati (11-4). And the Bengals also are in the mix for the top seed as well as falling as far as the three, which would mean just one home game in the postseason. Man, this is a sticky wicket, no?
4 Philadelphia (13-3). If Jalen Hurts is out for the postseason, count me among the folks fading the Gardner Minshew-led Eagles.
5 San Francisco (12-4). Do any of us think Brock Purdy, Super Bowl champ, extolling, “I’m going to Disney World” sometime early next month is a real possibility? With that supporting cast, it surely could be. But here’s betting neither Brady nor Rodgers is intimidated at Purdy’s purdy good run. Also, with Trey Lance and Jimmy G on the roster — both were lost to injuries before the Purdy Experience started — the 49ers have three QBs who are better than the QB1 roster on roughly half the league.
Powerless
28 Arizona (4-12). Kudos to JJ Watt, who got a sack Sunday against the Falcons. That gives him 10.5 for the season, which he has announced will be his final year in his Hall of Fame career. Watt had double-digit sack totals in six of his 12 seasons.
29 Chicago (3-13). Yes, the Bears got trucked by Detroit, but that’s what bad teams are supposed to do this time of the year. The Bears securing the No. 2 spot has to be goal No. 1 at this point. Sit Justin Fields and improve. Heck, the No. 1 overall pick is potentially in play with a would give the Bears a whole lot of maneuvering options.
30 Indianapolis (4-11-1). If Jim Irsay has a lick of sense to go with those billions of dollars, he has already offered the Colts coaching gig to Jim Harbaugh, who reportedly is antsy to leave Ann Arbor and head back to the league. Heck, I’d even promise that as truly classic as the Colts uniforms are, Indy will wear khaki football pants once a year if that’s what Harbaugh wants.
31 Denver (4-12). If I’m in the Broncos front office, I am promising whatever the Colts will offer and more to get in the Harbaugh sweepstakes.
32 Houston (2-13-1). Hey pitchers and catchers report soon. Plus, the Texans’ terribleness means we won’t have to listen to Mattress Mack’s hoopla this NFL postseason. Plus, with a date with the Colts this weekend — man, two teams that truly need to lose — it’s truly the bizarro Bills-Bengals match-up.
Bowl me over
Yes, we are late on the Bowl contest results. So it goes. Later today. Or tomorrow. Deal? Let’s hope so.
That said, the action was nuts on Monday as a thrilling bowl season continued with some truly eye-popping results.
There was the incredible back-door cover for Mississippi State, which turned the desperate, end-of-the-game-lateral play into a walk-off defensive TD to cover the 3.5-point spread in a 19-10 win over Illinois. (The game closed at 4 in some places.)
There was USC’s impossibly bad clock management and special teams gaffe that allowed Tulane to stage an epic comeback for a 46-45 Cotton Bowl win. (Side note: Caleb Williams has some serious skills, folks.)
There was Penn State’s two huge, 85-plus-yard TDs to topple Utah (and my best bet for Monday) in the Rose Bowl.
And there was LSU’s emphatic 63-7 whipping of Purdue in the Citrus Bowl that was so one-sided I think Vader got to throw a couple of passes.
All in all, I thought it was a very fun bowl season, even if I think we finished something like 18-17 with one more game left.
Thoughts?
This and that
— Saw this story about Chuck Hughes, who collapsed and died on the field of an NFL game in 1971. Hughes was a Detroit receiver and died in a game against Chicago.
— Donovan Mitchell dropped 71 in an NBA game last night. You may have missed, it’s the NBA after all, and the Damar Hamlin stuff has occupied a fair bit of the news cycle over the last 15 to 20 or so hours.
— So if you qualify for TOPGUN you can’t quote “Top Gun.” At least according to this, which is a pretty fun story.
— I suppose it should not be surprising, but I did do a double take when reading the headline of this story that projects Florida State to finish with the No. 1 recruiting class from the transfer portal. That just feels awkward, no?
— You know the rules. Here’s Paschall on former Dalton High star, Georgia Tech standout and Alabama Crimson Tide speedster Jahmyr Gibbs, who has a very unique first name and some NFL-caliber speed.
Today’s questions
True or false, it’s Tuesday. Happy New Year, Ernie.
True or false, the NFL will make up Bills-Bengals.
True or false, you were watching live when Hamlin collapsed. (If so, what was your first thought?)
True or false, Brady or Rodgers will make the Super Bowl this year.
True or false, this bowl season was entertaining.
True or false, you knew Donovan Mitchell was playing for Cleveland.
You know the drill, answers some T or Fs, leave some T or Fs.
Mel Gibson is 67 today. Not the best fellow in the world, but his Rushmore is pretty stout, no?
On this day in 1977, two Steves incorporated Apple. Yeah, that may work out in the end.
Rushmore of “apple,” and be creative.