Take This Week Off
Oh jeeze. Why doesn’t the NFL just let everyone not involved in the playoff hunt take a bye? It would be better for everyone that way. Maybe the NFL is trying to help out the bowls. This is almost worse than pre-season, at least those games don’t count for anything.
The Motions, Let Me Go Through Them
I could go on and on about what happened on Sunday at the ‘Stick. But by now you’ve probably read enough about it. And also formed your own opinion. Very quickly, at first I was confused by what was going on, then I figured it out, and I was generally okay with it.
Looking ahead though, the lads probably should try to finish with a win. Whatever the situation might be, it’s not really all that great to go into the playoffs on a 1-3 run through your last four. Especially if you have a playoff game the very next week. Way back in week four, the Bucs thoroughly dominated the Panthers. And if not for a late garbage score against the prevent defense it would have been a shut-out victory for the Bucs, in Charlotte. And the Panthers were better then as compared to now, and the game is in Tampa. My hope is to see the Bucs play with passion for 30 minutes. Given the situation, I can’t expect that they’ll go balls-out for the whole game. But as bad as the Panthers have been lately, we may be able to take a 14-17 point lead into the locker-room. And it should hold up, even with our eighth string guys in there.
TALB’s Resting Too
Which brings us to the most boring week in the NFL. Only five teams are
still alive for the playoffs. The Titans (@IND) and Redskins (DAL) control their own destiny. The Browns (SF) and Vikings (@DEN) need to win and have their conference mates above to lose. The hapless Saints (@CHI) need to win and have both Minnesota and Washington to lose.
And, in case you hadn’t heard, the NFL has announced that Saturday’s “historic” Patriots-Giants tilt will be available on the NFL Network, CBS, and NBC. Two teams with nothing (playoff-wise) to play for will be seen by the entire nation. Of course, that doesn’t count the intangible motivations for each team. The Patriots, of course, would make history by finishing the regular season 16-0. On the other side, the Giants (secure in the NFC’s 5th spot) would become the answer to a sports bar video trivia question five years from now with a win. TALB’s expectation is to see the Patriots attempt to build an insurmountable lead by half-time. A lead that the Giants will not try to chip away at too vigorously. They’ll be on a plane later that week on their way to Tampa, why go all out and risk injury? Right? Then again, if they’re able to keep the Pats in check through the first half they could win. The Patriots do have the luxury of a week off before they begin tournament play, so they can risk a few dings and bruises in order to secure victory.
I’d go with Patriots by a touchdown at the end.
Some Consolation
The first round of the BJFL Consolation Tournament found the ‘Bones dropping another game. This week, they try for 7th place. For draft position, losing this game would be more advantageous. As noted last week, it is better given our draft format to be closer to either end. And 8th place is the 5th pick in the first round. Which translates into the 5th, 20th, 29th, 44th, and 53rd picks through the first five rounds. In my opinion, that’s about the limit of players who will make positive contributions each week. Only 8 players will be taken between picks from the 2nd and 3rd, and 4th and 5th rounds. The middle sucks, but an 8th place finish would be just slightly better, I think.
I need to figure out where the wheels came off this season. I was in first place for several weeks. And then starting with week 7 I finished (including playoffs) 4-6. Even a win this week would only make me 5-6. Not exactly a strong finish to the season for a team that was leading the league early on. I think it comes down to bad decision making. But that’s another story entirely.
In championship game news, Ookie Guatemala will face Harold the Greek for all the marbles. The Greek, in as the 6th seed, has exceeded expectations two weeks in a row to earn a spot in the championship. Ookie, on the other hand, has rolled his way to glory. The Guatemalas haven’t tasted defeat since week 7, and have won by an average of 31 points over the final seven weeks of the season and two playoff games.
My pick is OG for the championship.
Capital One Bowl
Look for the “The Addledbrain.com* TALB Capital One Bowl Preview Special, Presented by Sticks of Fire*” on Friday.
*Not Really
Next Week: We’ll talk playoffs and how TALB sees the tournament shaking out.
