Playoff winners
OK, the scores are easy to read, but the playoff winners from the Wildcard round are not always as clear. Neither are the losers.
Winner: Matt Stafford. You had to believe the former UGA star and Detroit Lions outcast who held the dubious record of most NFL wins without a playoff victory before last night got neck deep into a few cold CoColas after the Rams torched the Cardinals, right? Good for that dude.
Winner: Josh Allen. Yes, he led this space Monday. And he leads it again because friends, he's another win or two from moving right there with Patty Mahomes as the face of this league.
Heck, we'll start straight out of the gate: Which QB would your rather have for the next decade-plus, Allen or Mahomes? Go, and show your work.
Loser: Kliff Kingsbury. Hey pal, this is not a mid-September road game in Norman, Oklahoma. You saving that timeout for next September are you? In a weekend filled with mismatches - only two one-score games out of six - the biggest mismatch of them all may have been Kingsbury vs. Sean McVay, who had his team ready and rolling from the kick Monday night. And while we're here, uh, Kyler Murray, what was that?
Winner: Tom Brady. The jury is back, and the verdict is clear now, right? Belichick is great at his job; Brady is the GOAT, and the Pats' record-setting success was primarily because of the latter.
Loser: The NFL viewer. Wow, can we get a good game? The closest thing we had was Dallas-San Fran, and that was still going to need a desperation heave into the end zone. Such is the price of a watered-down field and a seventh playoff team. Look at the bracket and wonder what may have been with the traditional six playoff teams from each conference. K.C. and Tampa would have received byes - some would say they kind of did anyway - rather than dropping world-class tail-whippings on two teams that were clearly not playoff-worthy. Don't get me wrong, I watched them all, so the league got what it wanted - and Monday night playoff football was awesome in its awesomeness - but the thought of expansion is almost better than the expansion itself. (Hint, hint, college football.)
Winner: Manning Cast. Yeah, Peyton dropped a curse word and momma Olivia is likely going to have a word with her middle son. But the exchange is great, especially when the game is as blahtastic as last night's was.
Loser: Referees. No, this is not even about one of the faces of the league verbally high-fiving his fan base for throwing stuff at the zebras on Sunday. This is about a sneaky large problem that hopefully the NFL is working feverishly on behind the scenes. The pace and force of the game is not for old men to try and decide in an instant when the stakes get this high. Period. Plus, now that the NFL is growing even bigger with the gambling addition, the blowback of bad calls and missed replays and poor spots will only continue to be magnified. The NFL has quietly worked and subtly shifted into decisions and away from issues for years. Think concussions, think Kaepernick, think labor peace, think the off-the-field issues from Kraft, Watson, et al., that have vanished like Keyser Söze on a street corner. This one needs to be high on Goodell's docket.
1883
If you are an "1883" watcher and have not seen last weekend's epic presentation, go ahead and move along. Skip forward like Sam Elliott crossing a river. Deal? Deal.
Wow. Just wow, the most recent episode - which will have to carry us over for two weeks until a new one - was simply great TV.
And moreover, it was great writing. More on that in a second.
So, the "1883" crew is starting what is clearly going to be an arduous journey. And we've just crossed one river, and it looked more creek-ish than full flower to me.
So this week we got our first glimpse of bandits, and it did not disappoint. (Side question: You have to wonder in this culturally sensitive time how the show's writers and production team will deal with confrontations with American Indians, you know? It will have to be sensitive to the modern viewpoints even if the perspectives of neither side 140-plus years ago was anything but sensitive to either side, you know?)
Anywell, where were we.
OK, so post-river bandits come calling. And Else Dutton has fallen in love and taken the big step in that fall.
Her cowboy beau is a funny and likable guy who takes his beating from Tim McGraw nobly.
So all is well, right? Hardly. Bandits kill Elsa's fiancé late in the episode and set off a series of real and perceived revelations.
Real: Elsa kills the last-standing bandit in cold blood with three shots to the chest. It was more of an end of her innocence than her consummating her relationship and it was clear where Beth Dutton falls in the lineage.
Perceived: Elsa is 100% pregnant, right? Especially after all that chatter about how he will be there to help her raise a child, right?
Real: With this episode, "1883" officially entered the rarified position that "Game of Thrones" occupied in that it simply does not care which of the side characters you start to like, almost anyone is fair game at any point.
Which brings us back to the writing point. "Yellowstone" felt half-hearted in this season, like it knew it had us committed and was going to slow-walk the process. Plus, the writers knew where they wanted to end, but felt like the "Yellowstone" journey could meander in whichever direction it wanted - or needed to in terms of Jimmy and the 6s - and we were happy to follow.
This arc for "1883" is clearly more focused and committed to giving its audience a wild ride every bit as much fun as the final destination.
And I'm in for it.
College football movements
We may not know all of the moving and shaking that happened Monday, which was the deadline for college players to declare for the NFL draft. The full list of players who have entered the draft process will be known later this week.
Quick winner was Georgia, which lost several stars as you would expect, but did get athletic linebacker Nolan Smith's pledge to return to Athens.
Here's a list of the known names that are planning on entering the draft - players have 72 hours to reconsider - and three takeaways from this list that jumped off the page: https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-underclassmen-intend-enter-054423481.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
- There are a slew of Georgia and Alabama players there, which surprises no one. Alabama has six on the list; Georgia has seven.
- Ole Miss loses its QB and its two best RBs. Lane Kiffin did a whale of a job last year, but he did it with some surefire Sunday-level skill players. This may be an interesting transition for Kiffin.
- And maybe this is shocking to me because of where I went to school, but there is not a single Auburn player on that list. That's a testament to the emptiness of the tank the Gus Bus left on the Loveliest Village.
It also leaves me with this question about declaring for the draft that I'm curious on the views of others.
Stetson Bennett should 100% declare for the draft this year, right?
For Stetson the player, his stock will never be higher. Ever.
For Stetson the person, coming back - unless you go 14-0 and walk it back - there's nothing left by a step backward.
For Georgia in general, moving along saves the very real potential or replacing the guy that became a lovable legend in silver britches.
Thoughts?
This and that
- So UT's Josh Heupel gets the Steve Spurrier Award which is given to the best first year coaches. Here's more from Pashcall, because it's college football and that's where we should turn. Side note: If they have an award for the best second-year coach is that the Chizik? Should be.
- Here's today's A2 column with some thoughts as we enter the busy political process around our area in 2022.
- Speaking of college football movement, it appears Auburn traded Bo Nix for a couple of Oregon transfers, including this backup QB. Well, OK.
Today's questions
True or false, it's Tuesday. Morning Ern, hope you're staying warm.
True or false, Josh Allen will win more Super Bowls than Patrick Mamohes.
True or false, "1883" season one is better than "Yellowstone" season one.
True or false, Stetson should retire - or go to the NFL.
True or false, you are surprised there are only 13 Alabama and Georgia players entering the draft.
True or false, you watch "1883" and you were just as impressed with last weekend's episode as I was.
As for today, well, there's no chance we will match Monday's birthday cavalcade, but let's review.
On this day in 1974, "The $6 Million Man" premiered. On this day in 1980, Pink Floyd hit No. 1 with "The Wall."
Welp, it's Kevin Costner's birthday. He's 67. I think we've done a Costner Rushmore, but I'd have to check.
But how about this: Rushmore of biggest movie stars who became TV stars, which is kind of a reversal of sorts.