Season Ending Injury and Stunning Loss Reset the Playoff Picture in the NFC, AFC: Events that Sparked my Interest, Week 14

Week 14 had a lot of interesting moments that caught my eye. Between the blizzard in Buffalo to the AFC South race, there were a lot of things I could write about this week and it wasn’t an easy choice. But as Gameday went on, the injuries and results from must win games piled up, the Events that Sparked my Interest fell became obvious.

Eagles get an Important NFC win, but at a Huge Cost

Last week I wrote about how I thought the Philadelphia Eagles would make the playoffs, but that they were due for a loss at some point and that happened against the Seattle Seahawks. Quarterback Carson Wentz’s favorite target, tight end Zach Ertz left that game with a concussion and didn’t play on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams. The Eagles beat the Rams in a shootout, clinching the NFC East, but it wasn’t pretty.

With 4 minutes to go in the third quart, Wentz ran for a touchdown which would be called back, but while diving into the end zone, his legs/knees got folded and while he managed to complete the drive, he headed straight for the locker room.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Wentz tore his ACL and is out for the year, adding onto the list of star players who are out for the year. So, while the Eagles have the head to head advantage against the Rams, they don’t have their quarterback. Yes, Nick Foles has proved that he can play and win in the NFL, but he is no Carson Wentz.

Foles’ play is something I’m interested in seeing the next three weeks, as the Eagles try to lock up the number one seed in what has become a mess of an NFC.

Patriots Loss Sets Stage for huge game against the Steelers in Week 15

The New England Patriots were stunningly upset by the Miami Dolphins on Monday night – putting quarterback Tom Brady’s road record against the Dolphins at 7-9 – and that created some major issues for the team when it comes to the number one seed in the AFC.

While there is virtually no way the team does not make the playoffs, the fight for the top seed in the AFC, or even a first round bye has just gotten a lot harder. Prior to the Dolphins game, they had the number two seed by virtue of the Pittsburgh Steelers owning the tie breaker. The Steelers beat the Ravens on Sunday Night, winning their division. A win against the Dolphins would have locked up the AFC East and kept pace with the Steelers, setting the stage for when the Patriots and Steelers meet in Week 15, since the winner would own the head-to-head tiebreaker, and very likely the number one seed.

But the Pats loss to the Dolphins complicates things. If they win next week, they would have the number one seed, but there would still be two games left to play. Both teams should win in Weeks 16 and 17, with the Pats playing the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, and the Steelers taking on the Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns.

But, if the Steelers win next weekend, the Patriots would be in trouble. First off, they would be lock up the number one seed, because even if they lost out and the Patriots won out, the Steelers would still have the head to head tie breaker. But, it gets worse.

With the Jacksonville Jaguars beating the Seattle Seahawks, the Jags gained ground on the second seed. If they win out, they would be 12-4, and if the Patriots won their final two games after losing to the Steelers, the two teams would have the same record, but Jacksonville would get the seed via their better conference record.

Simply put – because the Patriots lost to the Dolphins in a stunning upset, their hopes for the number one seed in the AFC rely upon running the table, and if they lost, they would need help from the Texans, 49ers, or Titans (which brings up a host of other playoff scenarios) to have a first-round bye, something the beat-up team needs and has had annually since 2009.


Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

Eagles Come Back to Earth and my Thoughts on Case Keenum: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 13

For the past few weeks, I've been doubtful of the Vikings and Eagles future performances, but haven't found a good place to write about them. But, the Eagles loss and Vikings win proved to be the Events that Sparked My Interest in Week 13.

Eagles Come Back to Earth

It's been my personal belief that the Philadelphia Eagles (among other teams) were going to cool off at some point before the end of the season. Further, I didn't expect their game against the Seattle Seahawks to be much of a fight, and boy was I right.

Eagles QB Carson Wentz might have thrown for 348 yards, but he only tossed one touchdown, the only one for the team.

During Seattle's third offensive possession, the Eagles committed a pair of defensive penalties, moving the ball 24 yards downfield, from the Eagles 35 to the 16, then to the 11-yard line on successive plays. This put the Hawks in prime position to score, which they did.

This was the first time the Eagles allowed a touchdown in the first quarter this season, and put the Seahawks up 10-0.

All told, this wasn't a great game for the Eagles, and while I expect them to make it to the playoffs, I don't expect them to play as well as they did during their 10-game winning streak.

Vikings Win, but How Long can Case Keenunm Keep His Performance Up?

One of the biggest surprises this season has been the play of Minnesota Vikings QB Case Keenum. Keennum, whose thrown for 2,703 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games. More surprising then that, he's lead the team to a 10-2 record, which has them as the number one seed in the NFC.

In the past, Keennum hasn't had a good team, let alone a weapon or two around him, so maybe his performance isn’t a fluke. Then again, maybe it is because he has weapons around him.

Regardless of why he’s playing this way, I’m not sure how long he can keep his performance up, especially if the team makes it to the playoffs.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

The Good, the Sad, the Weird, and the Ugly: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 11

Week 11 was full of some, let’s say, interesting, plays and moments. While I can’t cover them all in this week’s edition of Events that Sparked My Interest, I can talk about the good, the bad, the weird, and the ugly's of them.

The Good – Larry Fitzgerald moves to Fifth on the All-Time Receiving Yards List

The Arizona Cardinals lost to the Houston Texans 31 to 21 on Sunday, but despite that there was a bright spot. Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald continued to move up the all-time ladder when it comes to receiving yards, passing Tony Gonzalez for fifth all time. Fitzgerald now had 15,157 yards and is only 51 yards away from taking fourth from Isaac Bruce. Then, he would need only 84 more yards to pass Randy Moss for third all time.

Speaking of five, Fitzgerald also has the fifth most receiving yards this season, and is five years older than anyone else in the top 15.

Good for him.

The Sad – Dre Kirkpatrick Fumbles an INT Return at the 15 Yard Line

When Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick intercepted Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler in the end zone on Sunday, he had a clear, wide open path to the end zone. He took it back, “All… the… w-what?!”

About 15 yards from the end zone, the ball randomly popped out of his grasp and was bobbled. He managed to recover, but not before he was tackled at the one yard line.

QB Andy Dalton managed to throw a quick one yard touchdown after that, but still, his fumble was sad.

The Weird – Seahawks Confusing Fake Field Goal Attempt Backfires

With 7 second left in the first half, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll lined his team up for a 35-yard field goal attempt. But, once the ball was snapped to holder John Ryan, he immediately flipped the ball to tight end Luke Wilson, who was pummeled before getting back to the line of scrimmage.

The call didn’t (and it still doesn’t) make any sense. The Hawks were down 7 points, and for the fake field goal to have been beneficial, Wilson would have had to run into the end zone, because there was so little time on the clock.

Why not take the points? This was one weird call.

The Ugly – Nathan Peterman throws 5 first half Interceptions

Last week, Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott announced that 5th round rookie backup quarterback Nathan Peterman would start against the Los Angles Chargers over incumbent starter Tyrod Taylor. How did Peterman respond?

Not well.

He managed to throw a mind boggling five interceptions in 30 minutes of football, in one of the worst performances by a quarterback in recent memory. 

It was so bad, that Richard Sherman tweeted – five minutes into the game – that “the guy they bring in has already thrown 2picks with 10mins left in the 1^st. Great decision”.

Later he added, “do you cut the new guy after this half.”

His tweets alone are enough of an indicator of how ugly Peterman’s performance was.


Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

The Case for Abolishing Thursday Night Football: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 10

Like what happened in Week 3 after President Trump’s remarks on player protests, only one thing really sparked my interest in week 10: the injuries that occurred during the Thursday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals. Unlike the game between them last season, this one didn’t end in a 6-6 tie after 75 minutes on the field. Instead, 10 (and possibly 11) got injured in some capacity and had to leave the field. With that in mind, here is the case for abolishing Thursday Night Football.

Injuries

Last December, Richard Sherman wrote an article for The Players Tribune about why Thursday Night Football doesn’t work for the players. He explained what the week looks like for players when they do and don't play on Thursday, and how their bodies aren’t physically ready for games after only four days.

Other players have expressed their dislike for the game for the same reason, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive lineman Richie Incognito.

With players not able to be fully healed, the chances of injury go up, and so do injuries in actuality. This has a wide range of consequences, including poor play, minimal fan interest, and the next reason for abolishing Thursday Night Football.

Decreased Play the rest of the Season

Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr, Andrew Luck, David Johnson, Joe Thomas, JJ Watt, and Cliff Avril are among the players on the growing list of top players whose injuries have impacted their team’s season. This means that with every one of these injuries, the season gets less and less interesting. Rodgers’ injury took the Green Bay Packers from a Super Bowl contender to a team with no playoff hopes, Watt’s injury coupled with injuries to fellow Houston Texans Deshaun Watson (QB) and Whitney Mercilus (LB) killed the team’s aspirations for winning the AFC South.

When given the choice, fans won’t tune into an uninteresting game, nor will they watch a team who can no longer compete come November, let alone December. To a fan who will tune into ESPN next Monday that isn’t a diehard Atlanta Falcons or Seattle Seahawks fan, the game is suddenly a whole lot less interesting. Richard Sherman is out. Kam Chancellor may not play. Three defensive linemen will be playing hurt. The list goes on.

It doesn’t matter how you slice it, injuries are hurting the NFL season (as they always do) but the injuries from the Hawks/Cardinals game proves how much Thursday Night Football is killing the season.

Matchups are Awful

Forget the injuries, let’s go to the matchups. All teams must play on Thursday Night Football and generally games are divisional matchups. This means that, in theory, they should be good games. But, you know what? That’s wrong.

Thursday Night Football games have been some of the absolute worst games the past few seasons, providing us with matchups like Miami at Baltimore and the Bills against the Jets. The only people who tune into these games are the people who live in those markets and are fans. Even then, there are problems for those fans: the games start at 8:30pm EST.

Having Thursday Night, Sunday Night, and Monday Night football games start at 8:30 means that they aren’t over until almost midnight on days where people go to work the next day. No sane person will watch a game at home until midnight.

Between injuries, how they impact the regular season, matchups, and bad start times, it’s easy to understand why the NFL needs to abolish Thursday Night Football.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

The Eagles are Going to the Playoffs, Jared Goff and the Rams are for Real: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 9

Week 9 was headlined by games that were either close or blowouts. What caught my eye this week was the continued dominance of Jared Goff (Los Angeles Rams) and Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles) and how their play will impact the playoffs.

Carson Wentz’s Improvement all but Yields a Divisional Title for the Eagles

9 weeks into the season, Carson Wentz in the NFL MVP. He’s thrown for 2,262 yards, 23 touchdowns, and lead the Eagles to an 8-1 record. He only threw for an average of one touchdown per game in the 16 he played in last year. His improvement, along with his teammates have all but guaranteed the Eagles the NFC East. If they manage to win 4 of their remaining 7 games, they are the 6^th seed.  Their remaining schedule features games against Chicago and New York, both of which are wins. They also have games Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, Oakland, and two against Dallas. They should be able to win a majority of those games at minimum, giving them their 4 wins. They could also make the playoffs as a division winner, and fifth win is necessary for that.

The Eagles control their own destiny to the playoffs and not making it as a division winner (at worst) would be a huge surprise. The capabilities of Wentz’s weapons – Zach Ertz in the Red Zone, Jay Ajayi’s ability to take some pressure off Wentz, Alshon Jeffery as a deep threat – and his improvement have made the Eagles a playoff lock.

Jared Goff and the Rams are for Real

Did anyone expect the Rams to be 6-2 at this point? I didn’t. Did anyone expect them to be winning the division now? I certainly never expected them to be leading the division at any point in the season. But you know what? They are! They are for real. Baring a major injury (which we’ve seen a ton of this season, including Deshaun Watson, Odell Beckham Jr. and others) the Rams will be contending for the 5^th seed in the playoffs as I don’t think they beat the Seahawks for the division title.

Half of their wins have come against teams who have a combined record of 4-22 (the Colts, 49ers, and Giants), so some statistics may be juiced, but in the NFL a win is a win, and you’ve only got 16 chances at one.

In addition to their high scoring wins, they’ve also won some close games, including ones against the Cowboys and (sadly) the 49ers in which their defense has held onto the win. Since Aaron Donald has ended his holdout, the Rams defense has only gotten better, and I expect that to continue, possibly putting the team in the playoffs.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

Deshaun Watson Will Recover From Injury, Seahawks make Big Trade to Bolster Offensive Line: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 8

Week 8 was the week leading up to the NFL Trade Deadline, and outside of the trades made, only one thing really sparked my interest: Deshaun Watson. With that in mind, Events that Sparked My Interest is back.

Deshaun Watson is here to stay, once he Recovers from ACL Injury

This season, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has had a stellar rookie season, but his performance against the Seahawks – in Seattle – shows that he is here to say. Coming into the game, he had put up three or more touchdowns in each of the past three games. In Week 8, he scorched the Legion of Boom with 402 yards and four touchdowns in addition to 67 yards on the ground. The final of his three interceptions is forgiven because the throw was a last-ditch effort to stay in the game, and the first two were bound to happen as he is a rookie in Seattle. His ability to escape the pocket and find the open receiver was eerily reminiscent of Russell Wilson and leads me to believe that Watson is here to stay. He has a great defense (that will only get better when healthy), a plethora of unique receivers, and a running game to support him.

Sadly, earlier today, he tore his ACL (as I was writing this) and is out for the season. But, I expect him to do great things once he gets back next season because of these various reasons.

Duane Brown Trade Upgrades Seahawks Offensive Line an Incomprehensive Amount

The trade deadline this season was October 31st at 4pm EST and there were an unheard-of flurry of moves resembling the MLB trade deadline. Among the most significant of the moves was the Seahawks trading for an offensive lineman. Since the Seahawks traded Max Unger for Jimmy Graham, their offensive line has been atrocious. For years, fans have been dying for the team to upgrade their offensive line, and they finally did it. They acquired Left Tackle Duane Brown from the Houston Texans, who they went up against two days prior.

What did they have to give up? Well, it started like this:

Seahawks Trade	Texans Trade
CB Jeremy Lane          2018 5th Round Pick         2019 2nd Round Pick	LT Duane Brown

But then Lane (with his big contract) failed his physical so the deal was off until Seahawks General Manager John Schneider amended the deal with Texans GM Rick Smith, so that the new trade looked like this:

Seahawks Trade	Texans Trade
2018 3rd Round Pick ·         2019 2nd Round Pick	·         LT Duane Brown ·        2018 5th Round Pick

In order to create the cap room for Brown (because Lane wasn't traded), the Seahawks converted the approximately $6.26 million of Wilson's salary that has yet to be paid into a signing bonus paid immediately, with the $6 million plus cap hit being spread out over the next three seasons.

This deal is huge because they are not only bolstering their offensive-line but they traded away two top picks. They now don't have a second-round pick till 2020 and have only 7 picks as compared to the 9.5 Schneider averages each year. Nor do they have a second rounder this year. Even though they are known for finding gems late in the draft, they’ve also drafted a lot of key pieces in the second round including Bobby Wagner (2012), Paul Richardson (2014), Frank Clark (2015), and Jarran Reed (2016).

Only time will tell if the Hawks made a good decision.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

Where is Events that Sparked My Interest?

As you may have noticed, I didn't post an Events that Sparked My Interest for weeks 6 and 7 and that is due to some things going on in real life. It will return for Week 8 on Tuesday, October 31, also known as Halloween.

The Injury Bug Strikes Again and the Cowboys leave Aaron Rodgers Too Much Time: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 5

The fifth week of the season is the first week a team can have a bye (save the Buccaneers and Dolphins who had theirs week 1 – this is a whole other issue, see my post on a safer NFL season – due to Hurricane Irma) and one big team had theirs this week – Atlanta. Being a Super Bowl contender, I think that Falcons would much rather have had their bye later in the year in order to get healthy (which again is another issue, see my player safety post). Among the other notable things during Week 5, the Jets have a winning record and are tied for the AFC East lead and Alex Smith the notorious, “game manager,” threw for over 300 yards for the second time this year (third time with 293+ yds). This is the first time in his career he’s eclipsed that amount multiple times in a season.

But, there were two things that really got my attention this week: one quarterback giving another too much time and the injury bug striking again.

Cowboys Give Aaron Rodgers and the Packers Too Much Time

Its common knowledge that if your team is down at the end of the game, your team needs to march down field, score, and take the lead. It’s also common knowledge that if the team that is beating you is the Green Bay Packers, then you need to take as much time off the clock when you go downfield as possible because if given more than about 40 seconds (needing a touchdown to win) or 25 seconds (needing a field goal) Aaron Rodgers will march downfield and win the game for the Packers.

Last week Tom Brady left Cam Newton too much time the end of the game and this week it was Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys who left Rodgers too such. The Cowboys scored a touchdown after a 9 minute drive late in the fourth quarter to lead 31 to 28 and they didn’t leave Rodgers 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or even a minute to score the overtime forcing three points. Instead, they left him SEVENTY THREE SECONDS. I repeat – 73 seconds! You do not give Aaron Rodgers one minute and 13 seconds to score 3 points at the end of game, let alone with one timeout to stop the clock for the field goal. You just don’t do it. Period. Jerry Jones was right when he said the team left Rodgers too much time because he is right.

The Cowboys could easily have won this game but they threw it away and it could end up costing them when it comes to playoff seeding in December.

Giants and Texans Seasons Take Hits with Key Injuries

Lets start with the Giants, who coming into Week 5 were already 0-4 and playing another 0-4 team - the Chargers - in a game that would have serious implications to who receives the number one pick in the draft. The Giants lost, but worse things happened. On the same drive, Wide Receivers Brandon Marshall (#2 on Depth Chart) and Sterling Shepard (#3) exited the game with ankle injuries. Then Dwayne Harris fractured his foot (#4 on chart). In the fourth quarter, Wide Receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (#1 on chart) was carted off the field with a gruesome ankle injury. The giants top 4, count'em 4 wide receivers were injured in one game, three of whom left due to an ankle injury. Shepard is the only one who isn't out for the year. 

For some reason the loss of 4 of the 5 receiver on the Giants roster hasn't deterred quarterback Eli Manning who is still optimistic about the season.

Sadly, the Giants weren't the only team to get hit by the injury bug in Week 5. J.J. Watt, who is more than a star athlete to the people of Houston, Texas suffered a devastating injury in the Sunday Night Football game against the Chiefs and is out for the season.

On Monday he tweeted, "I can't sugarcoat is, I am devastated. All I want to do is be out there on that field for my teammates and this city. I'm sorry." 

Out of everyone in the world, Watt has the least to be sorry and his tweet demonstrates how much he means to the people of Houston. He was already a folk hero in Houston but after raising some $37 million for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, his meaning to the city rose even more.

The NFL needs to change the way it's season is scheduled because, among other things, this is the second season in a row where his season has ended prematurely. Cliff Avril's career is in doubt after an injury he suffered two weeks ago, one of the NFL's best receivers is out for the year. The  NFL has multiple options for what they can do, but you can check out my thoughts here.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

Tom Brady Leaves To Much Time, Newton Runs for TD 50: Events that Sparked my Interest, Week 4

Week 4 of the NFL season had some surprising finishes. Both the Falcons and Patriots got upset and that alone caught my eye and will have big implications on the playoffs later on. Another thing that will impact that playoffs is how Le’veon Bell performs for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and after missing Week 1 due to a holdout and having poor weeks 2 and 3, he performed how the best back in football is supposed to in Week 4.

While I’m not going to write much about it, something that really sparked my interest due to a YouTube video I recently watched was that Week 4 of the NFL Season had 2 scores that the league previously hadn’t seen before: 14 to 57 (Texans beat the Titans) and 18 to 46 (Seahawks beat the Colts).

With that out of the way, its time for Events that Sparked My Interest in Week 4.

Tom Brady Leaves Too Much Time for the Panthers, Cam Newton rushes to TD number 50

After brining the Patriots back from two scores down, Tom Brady left Cam Newton and the Panthers slightly over three minutes to engineer a game winning drive with the game tied at 30. Usually the Patriots opponent leaves too much time, but on Sunday it was Brady who left Newton too much time.

Besides his game winning drive, Newton also rushed for his 50^th career touchdown, becoming the first QB in history to achieve that. In September 2016, he passed Vince Young (44 TD’s) to have the most rushing TD’s by a QB in the Super Bowl era and not long after that passed Otto Graham’s all time QB rushing TD record, with 45.

In terms of active quarterbacks, it doesn’t seem likely that Newton’s record will be passed any time soon, baring a devastating injury to him. This is since the next QB’s on the active list are: Aaron Rodgers (25), Andy Dalton (18), Tom Brady (17), Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger (16 each), and Joe Flacco (15). Following them, Andrew Luck, Alex Smith, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson all have 14, while Ryan Fitzpatrick (yes, that’s not a typo) and Mark Sanchez (I’m not kidding, this isn’t a typo) have 13 each.

To put Newton’s 50 TD’s in 6 and ¼ years in perspective, he is tied with LeGarrette Blount (a running back who has been in the league a year longer) for 7^th on the active list. 5^th and 6^th place belong to Chris Johnson and Matt Forte with 55 and 52 TD’s and they have both been in the league since 2008.

To put our other QB’s totals in perspective, David Johnson, who has been in the league since 2015 has only one fewer TD than Rodgers. Had Johnson not gotten hurt earlier in the year, he surely would have passed Rodgers, moving from 18^th to 17^th on the active list. Ezekiel Elliott, whose played in 19 career games, has as many rushing TD’s as Brady. Mind you, not including the 2008 season when Brady played in only one game due to injury, he’s played in 17 seasons and rushed for 17 touchdowns.

Deshaun Watson’s Texans Stomp on the Titans in Huge Game for the Rookie

Not only did the Titans vs. Texans game result in a never before seen score, it gave way to a highlight reel game for former National Champion Deshaun Watson. His 5 total TD’s (4 in the air, 1 on the ground) tied a rookie record for QB’s. While his yardage wasn’t absurd, he only needed 3 of those touchdowns to secure the win for the Texans.

While the game was already over with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Texan defense came up with turnovers on three straight possessions, and the team scored 20 points in those final minutes.

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. Please leave your feedback in the comment section, I reply to everyone and take any and all feedback, ideas, comments, etc. under consideration.

How the NFL's Response to President Trump's Remarks Sparked My Interest in Week 3

It is highly likely that Week 3 of the NFL season will end up offering more events that spark my interest than any other week in this year. Why? For starters, the Thursday Night Football Game ended up being a shootout, something absolutely no one saw coming. The early slate of games was crazy, with a game winning 61-yard field goal for the Eagles and some crazy calls that changed the outcome of some games.

I also considered doing this week's post entirely about the Seahawks vs. Titans game, which featured lots of penalties, Richard Sherman exploding at the referee (and drawing 3 fouls on one play), a late hit by Sherman on Titians QB Marcus Mariota that somehow didn't get him ejected, a really bad first half for both teams followed by a second half offensive explosion, and more.

However, it was President Trump’s remarks at a rally in Alabama saying the NFL owners should fire players who took a knee in protest that stole the show this past weekend.

Immediately after hearing them I expected more players to show unity and assumed the notoriously united Seattle Seahawks to do something as a team. I don’t know if I expected them (and the Tennessee Titans or any other team) to stay in the locker room.

The NFL is right not to fine the Hawks and Titans for their absence during the national anthem, or else it would have had the same effect as owners firing players – punishing those who, in the President’s mind are disrespecting the Star-Spangled Banner – and dominated headlines and taken away from the rest of the NFL’s response. Both teams made huge statements by staying inside and I hope more teams will follow suite.

A team that could have made a bigger statement was the Oakland Raiders, who according to coach Jack De Rio, wanted to stay in the locker room during the national anthem, but because the coin toss during Sunday Night Football games is before the anthem, they would have forfeited their choice (heads or tails) and whether they wanted the ball/which direction to go. In addition, they could have possibly drawn a 15-yard un-sportsmanlike conduct penalty. However, I think they should have screwed that and stayed in, as it would have sent a very powerful message to President Trump that they were willing to sacrifice football in order to exercise their First Amendment Rights as American Citizens and stand up to bullying.

Before all of that was what I believe to be the biggest statement of the day, when the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Baltimore Ravens played in London, in a game that started at 9:30am EST. This was the first game to be played since the President’s comments, because he spoke after the Thursday Night Game, and boy, did it set a precedent for the day.

The Jaguars owner, Shahid Khan, locked arms with a pair of African-American players during the national anthem in one of the best responses to the President all weekend. Khan, is a Pakistani-born, Muslim billionaire who didn’t become a US citizen until 1991 and is the first non-white owner in NFL history. It was his uniqueness that is so anti-President Trump that made his actions so powerful. Author Blank (Falcons), Daniel Snyder (Redskins), and Jerry Jones (Cowboys) were among the owners who took a stand with players, locked arms, and took a knee with them in more defiant protests to President Trump.

At the end of the week, the NFL showed that they will stand up to bulling, no matter who it’s from, and that they will unite when it comes to an important common cause. Team owners made a big statement by joining in on the response in a defiant rejection to the President, whose comments were taken up by NASCAR, since some teams have said that they will fire drivers who don’t stand, something I blatantly disagree with, on both moral and Constitutional grounds.

I expect players responses to continue and grow until the President makes some sort of an apology. But, I hope that even after that happens, we continue to see people with large platforms try to make a positive, lasting difference in our world.

Events that Sparked My Interest is a series that I’m starting with the new NFL Season. It will contain 2-3 thoughts, notes, or other events that sparked interest during the week and will be posted on Tuesday’s. 

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. 

It's the Week of the Running Passers: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 2

Week Two of the NFL Season had some interesting and weird moments, including the Thursday Night Football game pitting the Cincinnati Bengals against the Houston Texans and an hour long weather delay in the Mile High City. I’m not going to be talking about the TNF game here because I’ve already written about it and what my thoughts about Andy Dalton and Marvin Lewis are,which you can view here. With that out of the way, here are the Events that Sparked my Interest in Week 2.

Josh McCown is part of the Week of the Running Passers

In Week Two, the idea of a traditional quarterback was debunked. Russell Wilson (Seahawks), Carson Wentz (Eagles), Tyrod Taylor (Bills), Deshaun Watson (Texans), and Josh McCown (Jets) – of all people – each rushed for over 30 yards. Watson lead the way with 67 yards, 6 more than Lamar Miller, a running back and fellow Texan. Taylor and Wentz had 55 yards each, more than Matt Forte and Mark Ingram. Wilson and McCown had 34 and 31 yards respectively. Shane Vereen, Adrian Peterson, and DeMarco Murry all had less than 30 years, just to name a few running backs who performed worse. But, in true Josh McCown fashion, he fumbled the ball.  Regardless, running quarterbacks caught my interest this week because it means that Russell Wilson is back and Watson’s day suggests a possible second coming of Wilson.

Big Tight Ends Make Big Impacts in their Own Ways

This week was the week of the tight ends, with three high profile ones each making big, unique impacts.

But, before I can talk about the season or game changing performances I need to get to the history making tight end. Antonio Gates – yes, he is still playing – passed Tony Gonzalez for the most touchdown catches by a tight end in history, on a 7 yarder from Philip Rivers in the third quarter against the Miami Dolphins, giving him 112 in his career. Of those 112, 85 have come from Rivers’ arm, which is the most between a quarterback and tight end in history as well. To further make history in the first half Gates recorded his 900^th career reception, making him the third tight end to reach that mark. Only Gonzalez and the Cowboys Jason Witten – yes, he is also still playing– have more. 

The award for this week’s game changing tight end goes to Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. Kelce brought in 8 throws for 103 yards; including a 44 yard grab and a separate 15 yard touchdown. He was easily the Chiefs best receiver of the day as Alex Smith threw for 148 yards to non-Kelce receivers and no additional touchdowns. The Chiefs 27-20 win against the Eagles put them at 2-0 for the season.

Now to the season changing tight end moments from Week 2. Greg Olsen, the Carolina Panthers top tight end broke his foot and is out indefinitely. This is a huge blow to the Panthers that cannot be stressed enough. They already play in what is arguably the toughest division in football (the NFC South) and they just lost Cam Newton’s uncontested top target for who knows how long. For me, their season has now gone down the drain because they do not have any other big targets and the NFC wild card race is much tougher then the AFC’s one.

Events that Sparked My Interest is a series that I’m starting with the new NFL Season. It will contain 2-3 thoughts, notes, or other events that sparked interest during the week and will be posted on Tuesday’s. 

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com. 

The Bengals Conundrum

The Cincinnati Bengals are in a conundrum. They went to the playoffs every year between 2011 and 2014, but never won a game. Their QB has been horrific in two games this year having 5 times as many turnovers as touchdowns (the team has no TD’s) and the team would barely have to swallow a financial pill if they were to get rid of him. Their coach has taken the team to those playoff games but has yet to win one. His contract expires on the first day of the new year. What should they do? I’d like to share my opinions about that with you.

Even though a lot of people have written about the way the Bengals played and why people such as Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton should be looking for new jobs, I want to give my opinion. Why? Because I don’t think they should be looking. Let’s start with Dalton and then move onto Lewis.

Once again supply and demand laws dictate what the Bengals should do with Dalton because there are fewer serviceable quarterbacks in the NFL than there are teams. Therefore, whenever a serviceable QB has two or fewer years left on his contract, their current team rushes to get them to sign an extension. When a QB does hit the market, teams with loads of cap space overpay to sign said QB, once again due to supply and demand; which is why Mike Glennon got a 3 year, $45 million contract in March from the Bears.

While it may not seem this way at this point in the season, Andy Dalton is better than serviceable. His $13.1 million-dollar salary is moving toward the bottom of the NFL’s starting QB pay scale, as demonstrated by the Glennon deal, even though Dalton is much better. Further, he has made it to the playoffs four times in his career, something not many quarterbacks can say they have done.

If he rebounds during the rest of the season, his low salary (even though it will be around $17.5 million in the final year of his contract if he were to stay) makes him worth keeping since they don’t have a replacement and it will take a while to get back to the playoffs without him.

If the Bengals were to cut him between today and June 1, 2018 it would only occur $2.4 million in dead cap next year, a small number. If they cut him any time after June 1, 2018 there would be no dead money.

In terms of Lewis, I believe they should extend him for no more than two years because he has gotten to the playoffs multiple times with the Bengals and while they haven’t won a game, they are close and missing a piece. Is that piece Joe Mixon (who they should be using a lot more) or someone else, I don’t know. But, what I do know is that if they bring in a new coach and don’t promote from within, they could be stuck with having a new coach every year or two while having Dalton (if they don’t cut him) in his prime to go along with A.J. Green in his prime. While it is totally fair to believe that they should have fired him a few years ago (something I agree with), they should keep him for two years max because it will allow the organization to see how Dalton plays and if the team decides to draft a new QB, they can assess how Lewis uses the new rookie.

Regardless, both decisions need to revolve around Green. If they can’t throw him the ball when he is in his prime, they should get rid of him. If they don’t have a coach who is capable of getting him the ball, they should get a new coach because Green is one of the top 4 wide receivers. If they don’t have anyone to throw him the ball nor a game plan to get him the ball, well, then he will most likely want out, and we’ve seen how that’s gone in Ohio before, (hint: the NBA).

With a New Seasons Comes New Topics: Events that Sparked My Interest, Week 1

The first week of the 2017 NFL season wasn’t a pretty one. Only a pair of teams won with a margin of 7 points or less. The defending Super Bowl Champions got embarrassed to open the season. Adrian Peterson had a homecoming before he had even played away from home. Injures and calls by the refs impacted games. Yet, two things stand out to me and I’d like to go over them.

Lions D Exposes Carson Palmer’s Age with three Interceptions 

In what was a surprise to me, the Detroit Lions defense came out of the gates strong and pumped the Arizona Cardinals offense. Forget the fact that David Johnson got injured in the third quarter, the Cardinals running game was atrocious to begin with. They only amassed 42 yards on the ground. Not to mention the fact that Johnson managed to fumble on almost 20% of his carries, losing one of his two fumbles on only 11 carries Combine this with the fact that they self-imploded in the fourth quarter after leading 17-15, they needed to throw the ball. So, when 38 year old quarterback Carson Palmer did that, it only figures that Father Time was able to catch up with him and once again remain undefeated. He threw three interceptions, and the third was a pick-six that sealed the loss.

Beyond Palmer and Johnson’s turnover woes, the former was hit 11 times and sacked once by the Lions defense.

While it can’t be ignored that the Lions missed on several special teams opportunities (punts and missed field goals), two point conversions, and that the game was ugly in its entirety, the way Carson Palmer and the Lions defense played put them both on my radar.

Steelers Edge out Browns in a Game that Differs from their History

In what was a surprise to many, the Pittsburgh Steelers were fighting while visiting the Dawg Pound in Cleveland. The fact that the Steel Curtain only won by three with a score of 21 to 18 wasn’t the only surprise of the game.

Historically, both these teams have had great runners: Jim Brown, Franco Harris, and Jerome Bettis just to name a few. But, over the weekend neither team could run the ball. Period. Le’Veon Bell and Isaiah Crowell combined to only rush for 65 yards. Bell is the best back in the league and Cowell is a rising runner who is the Browns workhorse. For some perspective: in the Seahawks vs. Packers game, Russell Wilson rushed for 40 yards (more their either back) and Aaron Rodgers scampered for 21, bringing their total to 61 yards. So, a pair of top 5 quarterbacks rushed for almost the same amount as a pair of top running backs.

Events that Sparked My Interest is a series that I’m starting with the new NFL Season. It will contain 2-3 thoughts, notes, or other events that sparked interest during the week and will be posted on Tuesday’s. 

Subscribe to my blog via email to get an update any time something is posted. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter at @KidReporter363 for other updates about my writing and check out all my content at haydengoldberg.contently.com.

Making the NFL Season Safer

The NFL is a very dangerous and physically demanding sport. Injuries like torn hamstrings and knee ligaments are commonplace. Thursday Night Football isn’t popular among players because of rest issues. Richard Sherman outlined that last year in an article for The Players Tribune. So, by adding more time for players to recover would be something that the players would surely rejoice in having. It would provide a wide array of benefits, and not just for the players; the league and its fans would reap from it.

How could this be accomplished? Well, the league could start by adding in another bye week for teams, making the season 18 weeks. Of course, this is in a perfect would where collective bargaining doesn’t exist. In this new schedule, the regular season lasts 18 weeks with every team getting two bye weeks and the Pro Bowl is scrapped because players aren’t a fan if it in order to make sure the Super Bowl is the first Sunday of February.

This means that there is no longer a gap between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. To make sure it stays, the NFL can play the Hall of Fame Game the Saturday the rest of the NFL plays their first pre-season game, which would occur the next day. Alternatively, all teams play the weekend of the Hall of Fame game, and the regular season starts a week earlier, meaning the Post Season schedule remains as is today. Or, finally, they could simply scrap the final week of the Pre-Season.

Again, this is in a scenario where the idea of collective bargaining doesn’t exist, but it does meaning the league would have to get something out of it or the players would have to give something. Something big because it means less teams are playing each weekend, hence fewer games being played, meaning less money, all in addition to the fact that they no longer have the Pro Bowl.

By adding in another bye week, players are more rested coming into the end of the season. This means, among other things, players would have the ability to put more effort in and the risk of injury goes down. The latter has other benefits too, as the risk of injuries that cause players to miss the postseason or the start of the next season goes down, more people are inclined to tune into or come to a game. It also means fewer Derek Carr type injuries where a Super Bowl contender (who already qualified for the playoffs) falls flat on their faces in the Post Season due to a big injury. This leads more interesting matchups, higher TV ratings, and in general, a more interesting Post Season.

For me at least – but presumably lots of others – I didn’t watch much of the AFC Post Season in January because the path to the Super Bowl was wide open for the Patriots. When Carr got hurt, it immediately squashed the Raiders chances of upsetting the Patriots, already the clear favorite in the weak conference. In addition to Raiders, the Texans were without a quarterback. By having star players injured for the post season, fan interest goes down exponentially.

A final benefit to the league gets by adding in a second bye week: career ending injuries at the end of the season go down. No one wants to see a player have their career ended by force, let alone a really bad injury. As a fan, I would much rather see a player retire because of family, they are just done with the sport, or some other personal reason, and not because they are forced out. While all end of season injuries many not be career ending, but they can really hamper a player until they get forced out or their play drops of a cliff. Look what happened to Peyton Manning.

Even if harmful injuries don’t happen at the end of the season, by giving players more rest during the season, the NFL is not only helping themselves in terms of fan interest, they are aiding players morally and physically. Football is a very dangerous sport, and the NFL doesn’t want to be known as an employer who makes their employees jobs even more dangerous. 

How the Stanley Cup Playoffs Work

The quest for the Stanley Cup is a four round playoff, with Best of 7 Series going 2-2-1-1-1.

The team with the home-ice advantage always host games 1, 2, 5, and 7, should it get past game 4. The other team hosts games 3, 4, and 6. The home-ice advantage is given to the higher seeded team in the First and Second Rounds. In the Third Round and Finals, it goes to the team with the better record.

In case of a tie during the First and Second Rounds, the first tiebreaker is games won (not including shootouts), the second is points earned in games against each other during the regular season, and the third is the greater differential of goals for and against during the regular season.

Since the NHL's inception there have been numerous playoff formats. The one used today was adopted in 2014, after conference realignment.

This realignment created two conferences (Eastern and Western) with two divisions per. It made sure that when playing divisional games, teams generally stay within their time zone.

Credit for this graphic: https://www.nhl.com/news/guide-to-2013-14-nhl-realignment/c-685005

With this new conference alignment, the playoff structure was altered. As before, 16 teams make the playoffs, 8 from each conference.

The top 3 teams from each division make it into their conference's bracket. The remaining two teams are wild cards. The wild cards are the two remaining teams that scored the most points during the regular season. They can be from either division. So, its possible for one division to have 5 teams, while the other only 3.

The first round of the playoffs works as follows. The team within each conference that scores the most points plays the wild card with the fewest. The other division winner plays the other wild card. The second and third seeds within each division play each other, no mater how many points they scored. This works in both conferences.

Credit: Hayden Goldberg

Next, the winners of each series move to the second round. If you won in the Metropolitan, you play the other Metropolitan winner, and so forth for all divisions. This is essentially the conference semi-final.

Then, the division winners play each other in the conference championship. The winner plays in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Credit: Hayden Goldberg

In the Stanley Cup Finals, the winners of the Eastern and Western Conferences play to win the the NHL Playoffs (better known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs).

Credit: Hayden Goldberg

Reacting to the Browns/Texans Trade

When I first heard about the Texans/Browns trade that sent Brock Oswiler, a second and sixth round pick to Cleveland and a conditional forth rounder to Houston, I was like "this makes no sense."

But, by that night, I completely understood what the Browns did, and how they took advantage of the Texans.

The Texans were desperate to get rid of their QB, and Cleveland, who is stocking up on picks, were able to get a second rounder to go along with him, in exchange for a conditional fourth round pick.

That, and the fact that they threw in another pick, even if it was a sixth rounder, shows the Texans desperation.

Now, they have an absolutely insane amount of draft picks in the next two years, which are listed here.

Personally, I knew that when the Texans signed him to that 4-year deal last off-season they were crazy.

The only way the Texans will ever win this trade is if they draft a franchise QB in the fourth round with that pick and if the Cleveland Browns pull a Clevend Browns and completely screw up and botch their picks (hello Johnny Manziel, Brandon Weeden etc).

The more I think about this trade, the more I think about how desperate the Texans are, and how much the Browns took advantage of their desperation.

At the end of the day, the Texans gave up Oswiler for less than pennies on the dollar because they gave up so much more to get rid of him. The Browns got a serviceable (but expensive) quarterback for this season at least, a second-round pick (!) and sixth rounder.