5-at-10: Weekend winners and losers, Golf's game-changer, Falcons should fire Dan Quinn before ordering lunch

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill (72) rushes as Atlanta Falcons offensive guard Christian Lindstrom (63) defends allowing quarterback Matt Ryan (2) to throw a pass in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)
Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill (72) rushes as Atlanta Falcons offensive guard Christian Lindstrom (63) defends allowing quarterback Matt Ryan (2) to throw a pass in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Ron Jenkins)

Winners and losers

OK, we normally have a section for winners and a section for losers. But we got a few things to get off our keyboard this morning. So let's adjust with a little ping-pong winners and losers, a little back-n-forth with the bad and the formidable.

Winners: You guys in our Intimidator Pool. After Week 1 carnage, the survivors crushed Week 2. By my count, 75 percent (21 of the 28) advanced this weekend. Well-done.

Loser: My picks. College went 3-3 - we replaced Georgia Southern's cancellation with Troy over MTSU - and my NFL picks went a dismal 2-4. That makes the college picks 8-8 three Saturdays in, and the NFL picks are 5-6. That's not entertaining.

Winners: SEC fans. Everybody "Game Week clap-clap-clap Game Week clap-clap-clap." And to combine the two, get on Alabama and Georgia now, because those lines against Missouri and Arkansas respectively are only going to go up.

Loser: The Steelers helmet debacle. If you are unaware the Steelers put the name of Antwon Rose Jr. on the back of their helmet as a 'tribute' to the Pittsburgh-area teenager who was shot and killed by a white police officer. The officer was found not guilty after the trial, in large part because Rose was believed to be involved in a drive-by shooting. Several Steelers switched names after they found out the back story, but in truth, now that players are going off script, who knows how far this will extend. We all kind of knew that making the uniforms anything but uniform is asking for trouble.

Winner: Russell Wilson. Dude has 11 incompletions and nine TD passes through two games. That'll do, Russ, that'll do.

Loser: Adam Gase. Which is the bigger indictment: That Ryan Tannehill looks legit after escaping the Gase shadow or that Sam Darnold is regressing? Either way, neither is going to have to worry about Gase much longer. Which way Wednesday on a Monday: Which coach will get the pink slip first, Gase or Dan Quinn? More on the latter in a moment.

Winner: Manny Diaz. The embattled Miami coach truly needed a win, and the Hurricanes delivered against Louisville. This just in: Transfer D'Eriq King can play. Not sure if the Canes have enough for Clemson or not, but they look to be right there with Notre Dame as the only ACC challengers to the top-ranked Tigers.

Loser: NFL injuries. Wow, they were everywhere Sunday, and they were names you know. Saquon. Jimmy G. McCaffrey. It also brings the realization that maybe the NFL preseason is not completely useless.

Winner: Kyle Wright. We know the Braves are starving for even serviceable starting pitching. With that lineup - they are hitting .269 as a team, which is second in the bigs behind the Mets' .275, with 93 homers (second behind the Dodgers' 100), an OBP of .348 (second, behind the Mets' .353) with 310 runs scored (second to the Dodgers' 312) with a MLB-best 5.85 runs per - serviceable pitching gets it done. And Wright was far better than serviceable Sunday, delivering his second consecutive strong start - 6.1 innings, one hit allowed - as the Braves toppled the Mets 7-0. Hey, it's the last week of the regular season. What month is it again?

Winner: Anthony Davis. Big time shot last night to get the Lakers a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Winner: Josh M. Congrats Josh, great entry in the US Open contest. DeChambeau (1), Schauffele (5), DJ (6) and Justin Thomas (8) is LEE-git sir. That's a 20. Thanks to everyone for playing.

Golf's new game

It was one major. But it may be the first major for the rest of the game.
Bryson DeChambeau overpowered venerable Winged Foot, finishing at 6 under to win the U.S. Open. It was his first major title. I doubt it will be his last.

It was one of the best final rounds in major championships history. DeChambeau rallied by Matthew Wolff by being the only player Sunday under par. He shot 3 under Sunday, and Wolff shot 75. Wolff finished at even par, which would have won four of the previous five U.S. Opens at Winged Foot, the trying course that Tiger called one of the hardest they ever play.

And DeChambeau brought the famed New York track to its knees with a powerful approach that could very well change the game, be it in terms of future players or even possibly equipment change.

DeChambeau's much ballyhooed physical overhaul - he added 40 pounds of muscle - has allowed him exponential power off the tee. The doubters said his bomb-basic approach would be a bridge to bogeys at Winged Foot amid U.S. Open conditions and rough so thick that Harris English missed the first fairway Sunday by 10 feet and lost his ball. Seriously.

Well, DeChambeau's critics became crickets Sunday evening.

Of Bryson's approach, NBC analyst Paul Azinger said the win was "validation on steroids." (Side note: Whether that was a Fruedian slip or just poor word choice is anyone's guess considering dude added 40 pounds of muscle in less than a year.)
DeChambeau hit the fewest fairways of any Open champion ever with 23. He made eagle on the 555-yard par-5 ninth with driver-wedge-one putt.

That renders any type of length on any type of golf course almost useless. Where he takes it from here will be interesting.

And possibly sport changing.

Bye Dan

TFP ace sports columnist Mark Weidmer wrote about this today after the Falcons' gut-punch loss to Dallas on Sunday.

His words are always well crafted, but I don't believe his words were strong enough.

No maybes, no possibles, no way around it. Dan Quinn has to go as the Falcons head coach. Not at the end of the season, not next week.

Before lunch is ordered. If not sooner.

Another Sunday, another wasted effort from a high-profile offense by a staff that apparently was absent the day they taught detail at coaching school.

Yes, the monster stat in the room is that before Sunday's 40-39 loss, teams in the NFL were like 12 billion-and-0 when scoring at least 39 points and committing no turnovers.

Well, how much is Dan Quinn's incompetence wasting the primes of two Hall of Fame careers? Know this: Sunday was Matt Ryan's 11th games with at least four TD throws; every other Falcons QB ever combined has 11 games with four-or-more TD passes.

Here's the need and necessity for Arthur Blank to pink slip Quinn before the salad arrives for his five-star lunch.

You can't allow Quinn and his cronies to find a way to win 7 games this fall and somehow convince you they are about to turn this around.

They simply can't do it. So Blank simply must do it.

Now.

This and that

- Deion Sanders is the next coach at Jackson State. So there's that. You think that may change the mind of Shedeur Sanders, a top-300 recruit who committed to Florida Atlantic over the weekend?

- You know the rules. Here's Paschall on SEC players wearing 0 and Georgia looking at a new style depending on the quarterback decision.

- Speaking of golf, I believe first-time major winners are aided by the lack of crowds at these events. Thoughts?

- The story about James White and his parents in the car wreck before Sunday night's game was heartbreaking.

Today's question

Weekend winners and losers. Go.

Also, on multiple choice Monday, let's go pick this:

How many majors will Bryson DeChambeau win?

> This one.

> Between 2 and 5.

> Between 5 and 10.

> More than 10.

As for today, happy 70th birthday to Bill Murray. Wow what a career.

Stephen King is 73 today.
Rushmore of King's novels. Go.

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