Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The NFL is Poop - Week 16

A Nation of Wussies
The biggest story in the NFL this week was the postponement of Sunday night’s Eagles-Vikings game to Tuesday night because of bad weather. I believe the postponement was prudent because of the amount of snow falling in that area Sunday night. You don’t want people leaving a football game (when half of them drive drunk anyway) with an excuse not to go to work the next day, and driving drunk in the snow. You also don’t want to play the game in front of a half-empty stadium. I don’t even have a problem with the NFL’s decision to move it to Tuesday instead of Monday. ESPN didn’t want their Monday Night game getting trumped for the second week in a row. NBC didn’t want to lose its primetime game, which often wins in the ratings, especially when most shows are in reruns. I understand both those points and I understand their obligation to their business partners.
Soon-to-be former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell doesn’t agree:

We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything," Rendell said. "If this was in China, do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium; they would have walked, and they would have been doing calculus on the way down.

So the Eagles got back and Rendell by clearing out the entire stadium, and piling the snow in his seat – along with a sign that read “this seat reserved for non-wussies.”




Too Bad Brett Favre Didn’t Get Hurt Earlier
We know Tarvaris Jackson isn’t the answer for the Vikings at quarterback but Joe Webb might be. Webb is far from a polished passer but he threw for 195 yards and ran in a touchdown to lead the Vikings to a 24-14 win over the Eagles. But the real reason the Vikings won is that Michael Vick looked human. He threw an interception and fumbled twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Playoff Scenarios
The AFC is pretty simple, the Patriots are number 1, the Steelers clinch the bye with a win, Ravens get it with a win and a Steelers loss. Chiefs are in, they are third if they don’t tie with the Colts, 4th if they do. The North loser finishes 5th, and the Jets are the 6th seed. The Colts get in with a win but the Jaguars are still alive if they win and Colts lose.
Most likely: Patriots, Steelers, Chiefs, Colts, Ravens, Jets
The NFC is a little more complicated. The Falcons are number 1, but they have to win, or have the Saints lose. The Bears are 2 and the Eagles are 3 no matter how they do this week. The Saints are 5 or 1 depending on results. The winner of Rams-Seahawks is in and will host the Saints or Falcons in the first round. It will be the first time a home team is a double digit underdog in a playoff game.
And then there is the 6 seed. The Packers, Giants and Tampa Bay are all tied. The Packers win a 3 way tie. The Giants get in with a win and a Packers loss. The ExpensiveCornPrices need to win and have the other two teams lose.

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