Some people are actually saying that in the long run, the Giants are better off losing to the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday. I see that in the sense that it will be hard for the Giants to beat Atlanta this Sunday and again in the playoffs. However, the Giants are in a battle not only for the NFC East crown but also for playoff qualification so this game at Atlanta certainly has great importance.
The Falcons can certainly afford a loss and I feel that they would be better off avoiding the Giants in the playoffs especially if Atlanta wins on Sunday. At their best, the Giants are as good as any team. Intangibles are against them, so I feel somewhere they will lose and not repeat as Super Bowl champions. Yet, do not rule them out, and Gary Myers, is in my opinion, way off base saying they will be inferior to Robert Griffin and the Washington Redskins in the near future.
At this moment, the Giants are discernibly better than Washington and my pick is that the Dallas Cowboys will beat the Redskins in the season finale. Then again there is a reason they play the games.
I was surprised and a bit disappointed that Greg McElroy was not the quarterback for the now (6-7) Jets against the now (2-11) Jacksonville Jaguars last week. After all, he had just come in the previous game and helped the Jets beat the Arizona Cardinals, another down team which now has lost nine straight games after winning their first four.
The Jets have a schedule that gives them a chance to be a wild card team. However, even if the Jets win all three remaining games (at Tennessee which is a 2 point favorite, home vs Miami a game in which the Jets will not be a big favorite and at Buffalo which also will be considered a close game by odds makers), they still need the Pittsburgh Steelers to lose twice and the Steelers will be favored in all three remaining games.
I do not think the Jets will win all three and I do not think the Steelers will lose two, but again, there is a reason they play the games. Now it will be, and I go along with Sanchez as the starting quarterback.
The Jets and Sanchez are clearly capable of winning these games (I still say they will not) and “percentages” say Sanchez is their best option. “Percentages” do not mean that much and this is a close call. Given that Sanchez and not McElroy was selected last week, I would stay with Sanchez this week. The coach, Rex Ryan, will start Sanchez.
Perhaps a need for Mc Elroy will manifest during this not so enticing Monday Night tilt; Jets at Titans. This is not the old New York Titans, who became the Jets, but the Tennessee Titans, nee Houston Oilers. Bring back Don Manyard and Charlie “The Horse” Hennigan, not to mention Joe Namath and George Blanda.
Don Maynard
Charlie Hennigan
Despite being trounced by the (10-3) New England Patriots, who were six point favorites, the Houston Texans with an (11-2) record still lead in the race for the AFC one seed. Now the Texans will be big favorites at home vs the wild card leading (9-4) Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. If Houston wins they clinch the AFC South, but a loss likely would cause the division race to be decided when the two clubs meet again, this time in Indianapolis on the season’s final day, December 30th.
The Patriots now have a realistic shot at being the AFC one seed but perhaps more important is staying ahead of (10-3) Denver (Broncos) for the two seed. Right now, by virtue of the Pats’ early season home win vs Denver, New England has a half game lead over Denver. Each team faces a big test this week, New England hosting San Francisco while Denver travels to Baltimore. Each team will be big favorites in their final two games. New England goes to (2-11) Jacksonville and hosts (5-8) Miami. Meanwhile Denver hosts teams with those same records, first (5-8) Cleveland (Browns) and then (2-11) Kansas City (Chiefs.) History has shown anything can happen especially since playoff seeding and not playoff qualification is on the line as each team clinched divisional titles on December 2nd. However, the team ahead after this Sunday figures to stay there.
Though dissipating a late lead and losing in Washington vs the Redskins last Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens with a (9-4) record still lead both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals by two games in the AFC North. All three AFC North contenders lost on Sunday past. The Ravens, who have games left at home vs division leaders, the Broncos and New York Giants before going to Cincinnati in the regular season finale could blow the divisional title and certainly hurt their chances in the “seeding” race.
Despite a loss to the Carolina Panthers, the (11-2) Atlanta Falcons still have a one and any fraction you choose, game lead in their bid to be the NFC one seed for the second time in three seasons. They almost certainly will host a divisional/”slots” game. Comment: Some time during the Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins Sunday night finale, Bob Costas will tell us the divisional round schedule and if the NFL keeps its usual policy of alternating which conference gets the first and last games of the “div” round, that the Falcons will host the early Sunday game. If that happens, it will mark the first time that the Falcons host the early Sunday game in the divisional round and just their second Sunday divisional round game.
The Green Bay Packers fought back from an early (14-0) deficit and beat the Detroit Lions at home for the 22nd straight time, (that includes a wild card round game in the 1994 season), easily the most consecutive wins for one team vs another at home in NFL history. The win coupled with the (7-6) Vikings’ win vs (8-5) Chicago (Bears) gives the Pack the lead in the NFC North. Green Bay can clinch a second straight divisional title with a win at Chicago next week. Failing that, the Pack still have the tiebreaker advantage for the time being anyway, and would still win the division, for example, by winning their last two games.
The San Francisco 49ers still lead the Seattle Seahawks by a game and a half with three games left after both teams won yesterday. SF has a half game lead over the Packers in the race for the “two seed” which means a bye in the wild card round and a home game during the divisional round. The Niners have their work cut out for them having games in New England and Seattle in the next two weeks. The Seahawks lead in the wild card race and have a shot at the division title if they beat SF on December 23rd.
The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants have now routed the two teams to win the title before them. Rookie David Wilson amassed 327 total yards, including a kickoff return touchdown, as the 2011 champion Giants won (52-27) vs the 2009 champion, New Orleans Saints. Two weeks earlier, the Giants ripped the 2010 champion Green Bay Packers. Three weeks before that, the 2008 champion, Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Giants. All three were Giants’ home games. Both the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys kept pace with victories so the Giants, who likely will not have the tiebreaker vs either team, have essentially a half game lead over both teams.
David Wilson
My admiration for Dave Bing goes back a long way. I felt that I knew about him. After reading Drew Sharp’s fine book, “Dave Bing: A Life of Challenge,” and having learned more about this incredibly, determined man, both my admiration and knowledge regarding Dave increased greatly.
Of course Dave was a great basketball player both in college where he played in the backcourt with long time Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and in the NBA where his best years were with the Detroit Pistons. The fact Washington D.C. born Bing was traded from Detroit to the Washington Bullets and ultimately David would head Bing Steel and become Detroit’s current mayor is truly remarkable.
Sharp does a good job in revealing Bing’s background, citing his father Hasker’s credo about “doing” and his mother Juanita’s “old fashioned” devotion to family, both of which have always stayed with Bing.
Dave was denied a loan to help purchase a home early in his basketball career. So what did Bing do? He worked in the bank, learning all he could about the loan process. This is just one instance when this man’s incredible determination and logic helped him. There are many other instances and Sharp takes us to them. He also adds historical background and gets better insight into past events with current interviews. One such instance, was Bing’s contract problem with the Pistons before the 1974-1975 season. Then Pistons’ coach Ray Scott gives his changed perspective, all these years later.
In addition to all Dave Bing has accomplished and all he will do in the future, let me add this story. It was the day of the 1976 NCAA Final Four and I called Dave Bing, by then with the Bullets, in his hotel room. One could do that in those days before “assumed names” for athletes in their hotel stays. Dave talked to me for nearly twenty minutes, asking about me as well as answering some of my questions regarding his career and the state of the NBA. I know we both made predictions about that day’s Final Four (yes the games were at least started during the day back then). I do not recall whether Dave’s picks were right. However, not only does it not matter, but not many did a better job of looking ahead. Planning, setting goals and working hard Dave Bing looked ahead at far more important things than basketball games. Sure one never knows, a little luck is needed but for the most part, and Dave Bing made his own luck.
Writer, director, actor, truly talented and focused are just some of what defines Ed Burns. He has delivered another tremendous film wearing his usual three hats of writing, directing and acting with “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas.” The film opens in selected markets tomorrow. Mr. Burns also was highly entertaining, informative and truly pleasant during and after a “Q and A” with the fine film critic, Marshall Fine at a screening of “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas,” recently held at Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck, New York.
The movie about a family with seven children, whose history is dominated by their father’s departure from home, resonates with laughter, interesting characters, and deep, realistic emotions.
The entire cast was excellent. Burns plays Gerry, who helped raise his younger siblings when his father departed. In the question/answer session Burns talked of the different “takes” on parenting from the older and younger siblings as fertile ground for his writing. Again the entire cast excelled and among the children, I will cite Michael McGlone, a veteran of previous Burns films, “The Brothers Mc Mullen” and “She’s the One,” by name, for his role as the middle brother. There are four girls and three boys in the Fitzgerald clan.
Finally, it was great seeing some familiar faces from days past as Anita Gillette, of game show fame, played Rose Fitzgerald and Ed Lauter was the estranged father. Add Joyce Van Patten as a friend in a key scene with Gillette, as all three gave inspired performances.
I highly recommend that people go see “The Fitzgerald Family Christmas.”
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/thefitzgeraldfamilychristmas/
While the Atlanta Falcons not only clinched the NFC South and moved closer to the NFC top seed, the other three NFC divisional races tightened.
Without playing on Sunday, having dispatched the Saints on Thursday night, Atlanta clinched the NFC South when the Denver Broncos beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Atlanta gained ground in their bid to be the NFC one seed for the second time in three seasons, when the other three NFC division leaders lost.
In the East: the Dallas Cowboys beat the Philadelphia Eagles, who have lost eight straight games and fell to (3-9). On Monday night the Washington Redskins edged the division leading New York Giants. The Giants, with a (7-5) record, lead the Cowboys and Redskins, both of whom are (6-6). Comment: watch out for Dallas at Washington to be the Sunday night game in the final week.
While the Green Bay Packers went to (8-4) beating the Minnesota Vikings by nine points as a touchdown favorite, the Seattle Seahawks helped tighten two NFC division races by winning in overtime vs the Chicago Bears. Both the Packers and Bears are (8-4) and clash a week from Sunday in Chicago.
As stated, the Seahawks won at Chicago and that coupled with the St. Louis Rams’ win vs the San Francisco 49ers leaves Seattle just a game and a half behind the Niners in the NFC West.
New feature: A Super Bowl match up prediction that might change each week. Right now the prediction is a redux of the 1998 season Supe as I will predict the Atlanta Falcons vs the Denver Broncos. There is a is long way to go, but Atlanta a very likely one seed. Denver has some intangibles, and obvious talent.
As Hebrew National does with its hotdogs, I expect “not only higher” but truly exemplary “standards” from Bob Costas. Even in these times that are devoid of real sports passion, he so often meets and exceeds those “standards.” Bob, in my opinion, did it again in his halftime commentary this past Sunday. He did so before “halftime” of his commentary.
His comments about perspective and daring to say them during one of our sporting exhibitions was akin to Jimmy Foxx’ upper deck home run hit long ago, at Yankee Stadium. Bob really hit it “out of the park” with his commentary. Both Bob and for that matter, Jason Whitlock, are preaching to the choir about gun control as far as I am concerned. The constitutional amendment about the so called “right” to bear arms is as outdated as a zoot suit and unlike the former, has no place in our society. Yet to me the perspective about tragedies, the fact these stories dominate our local news and far deeper, our culture’s lust for such stories is a truly big issue.
Back to Bob and this is what he said about perspective. Concerning the events in Kansas City where a “linear” tragedy occurred: an innocent pregnant woman killed by a “troubled” man, who happened to play football. Bob Costas said “In the aftermath of the nearly unfathomable events in Kansas City, that most mindless of sports cliches was heard yet again. Something like this really puts it all in perspective. Well, if so, that sort of perspective has a very short shelf life since we will inevitably hear about the perspective we have supposedly again regained the next time ugly reality intrudes upon our games. Please, those who need tragedies to continually recalibrate their sense of proportion about sports would seem to have little hope of ever truly achieving perspective.”
He then went on to quote and paraphrase Whitlock’s column. Whitlock felt and I agree that with no gun involved the ultimate tragic circumstances that manifested last Saturday in Kansas City would have been prevented. There are many situations in which clearly a gun meant death and no gun would have prevented tragedy. I despise guns, the gun culture, killing innocent defenseless animals for “sport”—did I make my point?!!
Please read/listen/watch Costas’ comments about perspective. Most people will not commit violent acts. Far too many people do not have perspective regarding sports. Almost all of society says or does little to help improve it. Oh but the rage involving these type tragedies until the coach uses the “wrong” quarterback. Being blunt you think the guy or gal who lost his bet on Dallas hours after Costas’ eloquence, gives a damn about two dead people visa vi his bet. The answer is no.
Sadly, for the most part I avoid sound when watching sports and the main reason is I can not tolerate the pain of knowing how truly insulting almost all of the verbiage spewed by so called “announcers” really is. It is admittedly compounded exponentially by the fact “announcing” is what I wanted to do, had a great aptitude for and failed to do. That failure is exacerbated, also in exponential terms by knowing that the greats I could only aspire to be: Ray Scott, Harry Kalas and Marty Glickman to name three, have gone the way of the dinosaur.
There are a few good, younger ones and Marv Albert still excels but only Costas could inspire a younger me. He showed again in #3 of a div series (St.Louis/Washington) that he excels at play by play but it is in these type of messages, Costas displays the greatness that places him with the all time greats.
At a “NY Times Talk” last year, questioned by Bob Lipsyte, Costas talked of the violence in the NFL, the networks that promote it (one he pointed out had a feature “he got jacked up” celebrating the most violent “hits”) and most of all the inevitable gathering of players from both teams around an injured player. As with the tragedy in Kansas City, there is little done about it, little real perspective and a ridiculous process that will be repeated.
A third great Costas work is lighter but far from fluff. It never fails to inspire me and as Bob once joked about having a Mickey Mantle card, his eulogy at #7’s funeral should be watched as “a qualification for citizenship.” Great work, Bob and whether it is your dad, Mantle, or the “higher standards people” involved in making certain hot dogs, people from above are looking down and applauding you. I do so from my perch here on earth.
The Houston Texans still have a one and a half game lead in a bid to be the AFC top seed for the first time in franchise history. A touchdown favorite, the Texans won by two touchdowns vs the franchise, the Tennessee Titans, that played in Houston as the Oilers from (1960-1996).
In the movie, “Cast Away,” Tom Hanks’ character, who had been shipwrecked, is informed that not only does Tennessee have a pro football team but that they came within a yard and subsequent extra point of forcing overtime in a Super Bowl. Mike Lupica, once erroneously said on one of his many radio shows, that the Titans came within a yard of winning the Super Bowl.
Next week, Houston visits New England, one of two AFC teams to clinch a divisional title yesterday, in a game that figures to be important in conference seeding.
Both the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos clinched division titles yesterday. Each team features a quarterback who has had remarkable success in winning the current “one eighth” NFL divisional titles in the past ten seasons. The Patriots won their fourth straight divisional title and ninth in the past ten seasons. In all nine seasons in which New England quarterback Tom Brady played as much as a full game (Brady was injured in the season opener in 2008, the one year New England did not win the division and they did battle until the season’s final day before Miami grabbed the division title) the Pats have won the AFC East title. This is Denver quarterback Peyton Manning’s first year with the team and the Broncos’ second straight “div” title. Manning has now won eight division titles in the nine years he played over the same ten year span (2003-2012). Manning won seven “div” titles with the Colts and has been in the playoffs the last ten seasons he played. He was injured last year and did not play for the Colts, who failed to qualify for the playoffs.
Speaking of the Colts, they and their former city’s team had opposite results yesterday. The Baltimore Ravens (of course the now Indianapolis Colts played in Baltimore from (1953-1983) still lead the AFC North by two games (there is no clear leader in the potential tiebreakers so we will call the lead two games) despite a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This despite Pittsburgh, more than a touchdown underdog, playing without starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. Meanwhile the Colts led by rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who of course replaced Peyton Manning, (to this point it has worked out well for both men) pulled out a (35-33) win at (4-8) Detroit (Lions), in a game in which the now (8-4) Colts were a one touchdown underdog. “Indy” has a one game lead over both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the wild card race. There are two wild card berths to be determined.
Tom Hanks, Cast Away
Random thoughts: some serious, some light, and others take your pick. Of course the game between the Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs will be played as scheduled. Chiefs’ linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and then himself yesterday. I am not saying the game should be postponed just that I knew it would not be postponed. Alas, this is the league that played football two days after President John F. Kennedy was killed over 49 years ago. The league suspended Paul Hornung and Alex Karras for gambling that season but again played football two days after the President of the United States was killed. Some things and their inherent hypocrisy and lowering of standards causes a pain that does not easily subside.
It is sad that Rick Majerus, an excellent college basketball coach, who had a great view about life passed away. I met him once and told him how bad his “friend” Mike Francesa was at picking results of games and how arrogant he was in doing so. Majerus, very politely, said nothing. As callers consoled Francesa on his “friend’s” death I “ask” Francesa (from here so he can not hang up on me) to start considering what people will say or do say about him now.
The movie “Back to the Future” really holds up, certainly as an entertainment vehicle but also in offering life lessons. In the movie, the interesting “Doc” character goes ahead thirty years to 2015. This was after the lead character, “Marty,” goes back thirty years to 1955. If the world is still here and Hollywood is viable three years hence (this future status is very likely) perhaps a “Back, ahead and stay” regarding the future is in order. Where did 27 years go since 1985? In the 1985 movie, there was surprise that an actor had become president and a character scoffed at the idea of a black mayor. That was 1985 going back to 1955, there is fertile ground just regarding the presidency for 1985 to 2015. I wonder if “Doc” who “invented” many things was “ahead of the curve” when it came to mobile phones?
Just as we will go one team at a time in our review of likely division champions, the Atlanta Falcons, who twice before failed to win a playoff game despite being the NFC one seed, are not “counting their chickens” even if as is likely, they gain the NFC one seed.
Right now the Falcons are on the precipice of a second NFC South title in three seasons. Atlanta also will have at least a one and a half game lead at the NFL “three quarter pole” in the battle for the NFC one seed. They are not regarded as the conference favorite, have struggled in many of their wins and their stellar young quarterback, Matt Ryan has yet to win a playoff game.
It is ridiculous to make predictions and while it is unlikely Atlanta will fall below a two seed, the bye and home game did not matter for Ryan and the Falcons in their loss to the Green Bay Packers when they were the NFC “one seed” two years ago. It is noteworthy that in each of the last two seasons, the Falcons were ousted by the eventual Super Bowl champion; the Packers in 2010 and the NY Giants last year.
Speaking of the Giants, they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion in both 1984 and 1985 before winning their first Super Bowl in 1986. Maybe the same pattern will emerge regarding the Falcons. Time will tell, but for now you take any one NFC team other than Atlanta, while I will take Atlanta to make the Super Bowl. In other words, I am not saying they will win the NFC, but in my opinion their chances to do so are better than any other team. Hence the “gentlemen’s bet” suggested above.
Andy B Sports 