Philadelphia is down three to seventeen against Seattle as I am writing this. I’ve been hard on Seattle all year. Losing to the Redskins. Barely beating the 49ers by a field goal when their defense was healthy. Russell Wilson’s had that 5’11”, ‘they never believed in me magic’ keeping the Seahawks in games all season.
Todd Bowles would get my vote for coach of the year if I had one. But they don’t give coach of the year awards for coaches that have losing teams (5-7). The New York Jets, a team that looks like they were designed to go 0-16, beat the Kansas City Chiefs today, 38-31. Five of the seven Jets’ losses this season have been by one possession. That includes close losses to both participants of last years’ Superbowl, Matt Ryan’s’ Falcons and Tom Brady’s Patriots. When you are a person at your job, and your coworkers like you; the Robby Andersons and Bilal Powells of your office will put their proverbial butts on the line for you, because they like you. So whatever charisma Todd Bowles has to propel a roster of burned out veterans and backups to the level of play he has, has extracted five more wins out of the Jets than otherwise should be naturally possible.
I genuinely can’t make sense of what the Vikings are supposed to do with Case Keenum and Teddy Bridgewater on their roster right now. Letting Teddy Bridgewater go seems like a mistake. He’s younger and may have more upside than Keenum (Bridgewater was offensive rookie of the year). But letting Keenum go, who has won very real games against teams that used to humiliate Minnesota also feels like a bad move. They COULD franchise Keenum and attempt to trade him to, say, the Giants or Broncos. Or if they see Bridgewater as an injury concern they could attempt to trade him to a team like Cleveland.
I watched clips of the Bills/Patriots game from today and it reminded me what I like so much about football. No matter what is going on with these two teams, they will play each other aggressively hard. There was so much violence, and anger, and hitting on the TV screen. I watched Rob Gronkowski get repeatedly pushed by Bills corner Tre’Davious White past the five yard limit and then after White intercepts Brady’s pass, Gronkowski body slams White’s horizontal and stationary body. This drew a lot of ire from spectators as well as a penalty flag from the referees. The Patriots fan in me loved it. If you persistently mess with a guy twice your size, he will eventually mess with you back.
There is one more week thirteen event that demands attention. I shouldn’t write this because the post will be too long and no one will read this far. But it’s important. Former Baylor wide receiver and recovering alcoholic Josh Gordon participated in an NFL game for the first time since December of 2014. He caught four passes for eighty-five yards. Gordon might instantly be the Browns’ best skill position player. And more importantly he’s doing something positive in his life.
Now go in peace, and don’t let your children play football.
Gridiron Seasonal 