When Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Carson Wentz tore his ACL, it looked like Philly was done for. Now, they are anything but. When Wentz was healthy, they were a force to be reckoned with. They had both the defense and the offense. When they were to play the Minnesota Vikings, most people, (including me) thought there was just no way. Critics of Nick Foles—the Eagles’ backup QB—said that there was no way an inexperienced playoff QB could beat a team as good as the Vikings. The final score was 38-7. Eagles. The Philly police put Crisco on the street poles to prevent the fans from climbing them, but that didn’t stop them. The fans climbed on the poles and celebrated for hours. The Patriots also had a tough path to get to Super Bowl LII. First, they played the Tennessee Titans. It did not go well for the Titans. The Titans lost, 35-14. Then, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Many people were surprised that the Steelers lost to the Jags. The Jags then trolled the Steelers for looking ahead to the Patriots. The Jaguars’ main offensive weapon is rookie running back Leonard Fournette. Their defense is amazing. Their secondary, dubbed the “Jackson 5” has Barry Church, Tashaun Gipson, Aaron Colvin, A.J. Bouye, AND Jalen Ramsey. Their D-line has Malik Jackson, Calais Campbell, and Yannick Ngakoue. They also have Paul Posluszny, Myles Jack, and Telvin Smith as linebackers. In all, that defense is fast, young, and lethal. The Jaguars were a tough opponent t0 beat. The Pats were down 14-10 at the half and faced a double digit deficit. A touchdown catch by Danny Amendola, a key swat by Stephon Gilmore, and a game-sealing run by Dion Lewis gave the Patriots the W. Next, I will break down the offense, defense and special teams into categories and give one team an advantage for each category. The Offense: Rushing: Both teams have decent rushing attacks, though neither has a workhorse running back (like Todd Gurley II). I would give just a teeny edge to the Eagles with Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount on that one. Passing: The Patriots have Tom Brady. The Eagles have an injured Carson Wentz. And a healthy Nick Foles. With Carson Wentz, (the healthy kind) I would say Brady by a little. Now, Brady wins by a lot. The Defense: D-line: Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are hard to beat, and Tre Flowers, Alan Branch, and Deatrich Wise just don’t do it for me. I’d give this one to Philly. Linebackers: With the addition of ex-Steeler James Harrison, and Dont’a Hightower, New England gets this one. The Eagles do have a strong linebacker team with Jordan Hicks and Danell Ellerbe, though. Secondary: Though the Patriots have Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler, I’m going to give Jalen Mills, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod the nod for this one. Special Teams: Kickers and Punters: Jake Elliot (Eagles) and Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots) are basically tied, but adding in Donnie Jones (Eagles) and Ryan Allen (Patriots) give the Eagles the advantage here. Returners: Amendola and Dion Lewis (Patriots) are both better-than-average returners. The Eagles just don’t have anyone like that. Advantage: Patriots. While the Eagles look like they have more advantages, for me there is only one factor: The Eagles containing Tom Brady. The Eagles have more individual categories, but Tom Brady on a great night will erase all of that. If they contain Brady, they have a better-than-average chance.
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Jesse James’s Catch That Wasn’t a Catch
Photos courtesy of Brian Kunst, @brianleestudios On Sunday, December 17th, the Pittsburgh Steelers played the New England Patriots in a crucial AFC showdown to help determine the top seed for the playoffs. Late in the fourth quarter, the Steelers took over possession. On the first play of the drive, Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass to wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster that looked to be a short gain, but he evaded most of the Pats’ secondary and came out with a 69-yard catch. On the very next play, Big Ben threw a pass to the tight end, Jesse James, that was caught, for a Pittsburgh touchdown! Everyone was sure that it was a touchdown, even most of the Patriots. Normally, the other team will signal the sign for an incomplete pass when the play is even close. No Patriots player did that. Even the Pats’ coach, Bill Belichick, looked like he wasn’t in the mood to dispute the call. Tony Romo, the analyst, said confidently, “This is going to stand. What a touchdown!” When the ref announced the ruling that it was overturned, Romo said, ” Ooooooooh, oh my god!!” The reason that the touchdown was overturned is that a player who completes the catch must “survive the ground.” Jesse James appeared to catch the ball, pull it back in, then reach it to the end zone. He had control of the ball in the end zone, but then the ball hit the ground and became loose, even though it was still in his hands. Even with the botched call, the Steelers were only down by three, and they were definitely in field goal range, so they could just run down the clock and make the field goal, right? Wrong. Nobody really considered that it would be an incomplete pass, so Ben Roethlisberger didn’t even talk with Todd Haley, the offensive coordinator. The Steelers picked up a yard on the next play, so it was third down with the clock running. The normal thing to do would be to spike the ball and bring up a chip shot field goal to send the game into overtime. Instead, the Steelers tried a fake spike. When a fake spike works, it is because the defense is on their heels and thinks that the QB will throw the ball into the ground and then they can focus again. The Pats were less confused than the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass that was tipped up into the air and caught… by the Patriots. If the play to Jesse James had stood, the Patriots would have had 28 seconds to score a touchdown. With quarterback Tom Brady on your team, it could have happened. But everyone can agree that the call changed the whole game.
Why is No Team Picking Up Colin Kaepernick?
Colin Kaepernick playing for San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on September 9, 2012. Photo by Mike Morbeck (courtesy of wiki commons). If you do not follow either football or politics, then you might not know who Colin Kaepernick is. He is a former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers who now cannot get a job in football. The reason? He knelt for the national anthem to draw attention to the unfair treatment of African-American people across the country. Boom. He lost his job. NFL teams say that he is not good enough, but he is clearly better than other quarterbacks standing in for their injured leaders. Who would you rather have on your team: Tom Savage (Houston Texans) or Colin Kaepernick? When DeShaun Watson tore his ACL, who started the next game for the Texans? Tom Savage! Let’s give some credit to Tom Savage, though. He has a pretty cool name. When Packers’ QB Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone, who did the Packers send in to replace him? Brett Hundley. And on Brett Hundley’s first throw, he threw it and it landed softly in Xavier Rhodes’ hands! Unfortunately for him, though, Xavier Rhodes is on the Vikings. Better luck next time, Brett. No team–not the Packers, not the Texans–has tried to sign Colin Kaepernick. No NFL player, coach, owner, or executive can honestly say that Tom Savage or Brett Hundley is more talented than Colin Kaepernick. Colin Kaepernick is 30, while Tom Savage is 27 and Brett Hundley is 24. Tom Savage and Colin Kaepernick don’t have a very significant age difference. You could try to make the case that Hundley is a promising prospect, but in my opinion nothing is very promising about him. When a reporter asked the Packers’ coach Mike McCarthy about replacing Brett Hundley with Colin Kaepernick, Mike McCarthy was not very happy. “Did you just listen to that question I just answered? I got three years invested in Brett Hundley. Two years invested in Joe Callahan. The quarterback room is exactly where it needs to be. OK? We’re fortunate to have a great quarterback in Aaron Rodgers. We’re committed to the path that we’re on. We need to play better as a football team.” Source: ESPN. Today, so many players have kneeled or protested. A few weeks ago, some teams did not even come out of the tunnel during the national anthem. Michael Bennett, the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive end even sat for the national anthem. The entire Green Bay Packers team locked arms for the national anthem. Why has nobody dropped those players? Colin Kaepernick has recently filed a lawsuit against the NFL based on what happened to him. Isn’t is wrong to lose your job just because you peacefully protested your rights?
