The Frankish Reich

OK, Mahomes and Allen are heads and tails above everyone else in the NFL in terms of making unbelievable/ridiculous plays. They are destined to meet again. And again. And again. An epic era for NFL fans.

Well, 51.8% sounds significant over the course of all the NFL games played since 2018. I'm not seeing any compelling argument for why it would vary significantly from 50/50. (I do get that the number may be slightly influenced by one really good team always choosing to defer) The key number isn't "win the toss, choose to defer" win percentage. It's "win percentage for teams that receive the opening kickoff" regardless of how they got there (winning and electing to receive, or losing and having the opponent defer). Any idea of what that stat is?

Not looking terribly likely ...

We're not even out of the first quarter and I've had to stop myself from cheering on a good KC play 2 or 3 times. It's ingrained now. I can't root for Brady even when it makes sense to do so.

That's just his wiener exhibiting the fencing reaction. See, it's all about the concussions, not the general narcissistic stupidity.

I think it's Kenny Peterman's Pickett's job. Until the second half next Sunday, that is. Seriously: both Pitt QBs with excellent college stats and noodle arms, thought to be quick studies who would be ready to play early in their rookie seasons.

I agree. Correct me if I’m wrong here: as I understand it, the player is sent off to the independent neurologist by the team. The neurologist isn’t watching the game action/replays and then ordering the team to send the player off for a concussion evaluation. So if Tua says “it’s my back” and the team believes him or pretends to believe him, no concussion protocol. Obviously that needs to be tightened up. And bring back those preseason helmets. Not a fix, but If tests say the reduce impact by 20 percent, well, that’s worth it.

I’ll start with the old “candidate quality matters” thing. Republican candidates should be in great position to take the Governor’s seat in several key states. I said “should be.” The generic Republican is pretty well-liked. The preposterous candidates that were actually nominated by the GOP? Not so much: https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3667350-cook-report-shifts-three-governors-races-in-democrats-favor/ In PA the nutcase they nominated has decided to retreat into 40 days of prayer and fasting. Read: I ran out of money. And Trump ain’t kicking in any to help the dumbass he supported. https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3666730-mastriano-planning-40-days-of-fasting-and-prayer-ahead-of-midterms/amp/

Speaking of the Vikings - if you go waaay back to Bud Grant’s first stint there, the old Canadian wouldn’t let heaters on HIS home sideline even though they were allowed. I never really got the logic. Something about keeping the players moving so they wouldn’t stiffen up.

Exactly. And if the Dolphins are actually good (too soon to tell), we might see something like this next season.

People here would be surprised because they assume I’m a liberal and would never ever have listened to someone with a different viewpoint. As you said, Limbaugh and Stern were both entertaining in their primes, in oddly similar fashion. Am I being judgmental? Yes, I suppose I am. I’m actually old fashioned like that. I believe our leaders should be generally (here’s an old word) virtuous. That doesn’t mean no divorcees or people with kids born out of wedlock. But it does mean trying to live up to a higher moral standard, particularly once you are seeking or in public office, and not cavorting with hookers and way-too-young women (or way-too-young men for that matter if you recall NJ’s former governor)

Not surprising news that MTG’s husband just filed for divorce, given the reports that she’s been doing her fitness instructor. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3666094-marjorie-taylor-greens-husband-files-for-divorce/ It’s enough to make me miss the good old days when the religious right were all Mike Pence types and extramarital affairs were the kids of death for them. Remember when they’d be all “one man, one woman, one lifetime” is the Bible rule? Believe it or not, back in the day I used to listen to Rush Limbaugh. He was actually kind of funny (30 years ago …). He used to love quoting our great NY Sen Moynihan about society “defining deviancy down.” In the good old days divorce itself was scandalous. An extramarital affair would destroy a politician. Or an out of wedlock child. The old joke: “he’ll get re-elected unless he’s caught with a dead girl or a live boy.” Liberal icon Barney Frank was the latter case, and Rush had a field day with it. (Never mind that Rush himself had divorced and remarried and was childless and, umm, a cat lover.). Talk about defining deviancy down. Now the blasphemous (“second only to Jesus” as he just retweeted), porn actress/hooker client Trump is a hero to the so-called Christian Right. MGT, nut case middle aged woman obsessed with fitness and the anatomy of her fitness trainer, is a heroine. Matt Gaetz, overgrown frat boy who likes undergrown women, is one of theirs. It’s not just politicians. On almost every traditional “morality” factor the déclassé right wing wins over the comfortable bourgeois left: more teen pregnancies? Check. More divorce and out of wedlock kids? Check. Less commitment to educational success? Double check. More drug and alcohol abuse? Triple check. MGT: poster child for what the former party of the country club set has become.

Well, that sounds … promising. Given the alternatives, if there even are any.

Why am I watching this? Only because I've always hated the Cowboys, and I like Daboll.

Daniel Jones will occasionally look like a guy who could be someone's real starting QB. And then all of a sudden it's gone. I have a feeling he'll make a couple other stops and all of a sudden have a career season at age 32.

I agree. Just saying: prove that they aren’t keeping you around just because you’re Josh’s buddy …

Tanner Gentry, here’s your big opportunity to be more than Josh’s old Wyoming Cowboys buddy and favorite target.

https://apnews.com/article/edward-snowden-russian-citizenship-441ab3c037b91145d17f2de2237f834d?taid=6331d2d3ad85850001c8e9f1 Meanwhile, noted libertarian and opponent of the surveillance state Edward Snowden has found an open, transparent, civil rights abiding country more to his liking. Congratulations, Comrade Snowden! And you will also be exempt from Putin’s free and fair draft, although I’m sure he’d let you volunteer.

I haven’t seen the stats geeks opine on this yet, but here’s what MIami had to consider: - safety + free kick = Bills take over at about the 30, needing about 30 yards for a 50/50 chance at a FG, or about 40 yards for a 70/30 chance. - punt from their own end zone (without full snap distance) = reasonable chance at a block, which could mean a safety (if did) or a Bills TD if recovered in the end zone. Otherwise, Bills probably take ove at Miami’s 40 or so, needing 40 yards for a TD. This was a really close call. Now that I think about it, I have to guess that the unintentional safety led to a higher Miami win percentage than a punt. Since most safeties are boring plays (Announcer: “and there’s a flag on the field … if that’s intentional grounding and the QB was in his own end zone, it’s a safety!!), I’d prefer to incentivize the more exciting alternatives.

From the weirdly interesting Wiki page on safeties - how “strategic safeties” may be used (and to me, how they can sap the energy from a game): “In American football, intentionally conceded safeties are an uncommon strategy. Teams have utilized elective safeties to gain field position for a punt when pinned deep in their own territory[12][13] and, when ahead near the end of a game, to run down the clock so as to deny the other team a chance to force a turnover or return a punt.[14][15][16][17]Teams have also taken intentional safeties by kicking a loose ball out the back of their end zone, with the intent of preventing the defense from scoring a touchdown.[18][19]”

Why not? We change rules all the time when the existing rule promotes gamesmanship that allows one side (offense or defense) a better chance to win by avoiding actual competitive plays on the field. This is why the NFL is still the king of American sports. Nobody’s blaming the loss on the rules. In fact, Miami obviously (and correctly) rejected the strategy of “take the safety.” I’m just saying that there are some games in which that is sound strategy. And boring strategy for the fans who want a real competitive ending to a close game. You can equate this to a rule change that disincentivizes endless end of game fouling in the NBA - that too is sometimes an effective strategy that kills the chance for an exciting finish.

We need a rule change on safeties. Modern NFL punters will easily get 60 yards in the air on a free kick with lots of hang time, so little opportunity for return. Which pins the receiving time back inside their own 30 or deeper. There’s too many situations (not Sunday) in which “taking the safety” is the better strategy. Give the team awarded the safety the ball on their own 40 or 45 and the equation changes, making it a better/fairer game.

Iran is still a mystery to me. I’ve known many Iranian Americans - an educated, “westernized” group of people - who’ve told me it’s just a matter of time before the regime toppled there. And in Iran itself there’s a large educated class of younger people. It’s not like Saudi Arabia. Yet the regime hangs on, decade after decade, preposterous/backward governance after ridiculous government policy decision.

Incredibly underwhelming, yet the cliche is true again: Playmakers make plays when the game is on the line. Russell Wilson made 2 or 3 big plays on that last drive. Jimmy G. made zero.

You mean AFTER Tom Brady signs with them in March??