Hi Folks,
We do a lot of really insightful, thoughtful and serious features here at Footballguys with some very smart people thinking deeply for you. This is not one of those features.
This is a few pages of me downloading my goofy and dysfunctional mental hard drive that gets stuffed with way too many random items from too many hours watching, reading about and listening to football every weekend and throughout the week. It's the only way I keep relatively sane. Here's hoping it has a tiny bit of value for you. Let's go.
First things first. Happy Thanksgiving.
Seriously. Happy Freaking Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us at Footballguys. Not sure how Holidays get much better than combining food and football.
I'm thankful for a zillion things - not the least of which is the fact you'll take a couple of minutes to hang with us and share the experience of a goofy week of NFL / NHL / Music / Movies and my twelve year old mentality.
I've long said Footballguys has the best family of readers in the world and I'll put them up against anyone doing anything. Bring it.
Thanksgiving (and any holiday) can bring with it some weirdness as family gets together. This time of year, we see the stuff like 11 Tips For Surviving The Holidays which is kind of fun. Less fun is the real tension that can arise when you sit around a table with people that sometimes think differently than you do on things.
For that I'd suggest this video from talk show host Chris Hardwick.
Hardwick lost his father suddenly this week. He did the entire show and then in the last sixty seconds, gave some great advice.
Happy Thanksgiving Folks.
Much love.
Joe and the Footballguys Staff
I love NFL Network's Mike Mayock.
He seemed pleased after raiding Deon Sanders' closet before the broadcast Thursday.
Michael Irvin seemed happy too.
For different reasons.
Somewhere Alvin Harper's saying, "I've seen that face"...
Jimmy Fallon handed out superlatives previewing the Denver - New England game.
The whole video is worth watching but a couple of fun ones...
and
Thanks to Footballguy Matt Cox for that one.
Two thoughts on this one.
#1. Rock on, Packer Girls.
#2. Dude in the down jacket takes the early lead for most hated guy in America.
Last week I gave a shout out to Dolphins fans saying they had their groove back.
Footballguy Seth Lubin sent me this note: "Did you notice the jerseys? One had a retired player (albeit future hall of famer); one had a player that WE LET GO and is tearing it up in Detroit; and one had a player that WE LET GO and is tearing it up in Chicago. Those jerseys define our team - "What was, and what could have been."
Hang in there Miami fans.
Sometimes you see something that's really funny even though you have no idea what's going on.
This is that for me.
Last week I said Art Modell ripping the heart out of Cleveland was enough to keep him out of the Hall of Fame in my opinion.
The email feedback was pretty predictable. "You're a douche. Art belongs in the hall. Get over it. At least they got a team back in short order and their stupid name."
Rock on, RavenDude.
We talked last week about Ahmad Brooks tackling Drew Brees high.
Brooks wound up being fined by the league.
Tom Brady was fired up Sunday.
Makes up for the sweet tackle attempt...
Another example of why I discount the notion owners shouldn't be on the sidelines. When Arthur Blank isn't awkwardly high fiving players, he's snagging footballs. Love this.
Thanks to Footballguy Andrew Garda for that one.
NBA Note of the Week.
Shaquile O'Neal went down pretty hard on the TNT set. The funniest thing for me though was Chris Webber's response. You should know by now if you're looking for sophisticated sports writing, this probably isn't your column. We laugh at big people falling down here...
Jimmy Graham went all Chocolate Thunder on the goal post Thursday night. Thanks to my friend Chris Wesseling for the reference and bringing me back to my childhood.
For you youngsters, Daryl Dawkins was my favorite NBA player as a kid. He played on the teams with Dr. J and Jelly Bean Joe Bryant (Kobe's Dad).
Dawkins was a character and one of the many things he called himself was "Chocolate Thunder". He backed it up on the court wrecking backboards making kids like me smile.
What's Aaron Rodgers been doing with his time off? Just playing banjo with the Avett Brothers...
Even though the band is from Charlotte, Seth Avett knows how to get a Wisconsin crowd going.
I wonder what Cam Newton thought of that?
Thanks to Footballguy Al Giesler for this one.
More deep hitting journalism. Golfer Chi-Chi Rodriguez took a shot at the "Break The Glass" challenge for the Golf Channel. Hilarity ensured.
Music Note Of The Week. No band this week. Instead, I'm giving you a peek behind the curtain revealing the key to success for writing a Hipster Indie Rock Anthem.
Don't forget me when you make the front page of Pitchfork.
God Bless Cardinals Fans.
I took my Daughter and Wife to see The Hunger Games - Catching Fire Friday night. Not really my thing but it was fine. I made points with my girls so that was cool.
What was not cool is that apparently I was the one person in the theater who didn't know Catching Fire ends right in the middle of the movie...
Note for you fans of teams that are competitive year in and year out: Take a step back. Relax. Be thankful for what you have.
This is what Jaguar fans have to be excited about. From the official @Jaguars Twitter feed Sunday morning: "WHAT 2 WATCH 4: Jaguars QB Chad Henne is 15 completions away from 1,000 for his career. "
And you Browns fans too.
God Bless you guys.
Tedy Bruschi interviewed former Patriot Wes Welker before the Denver - New England game and asked about Welker's relationship with coach Bill Belichick. Welker said it was fine. Bruschi asked "When you see Bill after the game and there's a possible interaction, do you give the head nod, the hand shake, the hug or nothing?"
Welker just laughed and said, "I think whatever is the most awkward situation that could possibly happen, that's probably what it'll be."
On that note, my favorite sign from the weekend.
Jamie Stuart @N12jamiestuart with a fun pre game tweet Sunday morning: "Reports are winds will be a big factor in today's #Jets #Ravens game. One would expect a healthy Rex dose of run, run, sack, punt."
Wait. You mean Greg Schiano isn't the worst coach in the league and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't the worst team ever? Hmmm.
The little things in a game always intrigue me. Stuff like Chicago offensive tackle Jordan Mills with a flat tire cleat and Josh McCown and Earl Bennett trying to help the big guy.
Why do I notice this stuff?
Here's where the Vikings are. Third down and nine to go in overtime. And they gave it to Adrian Peterson off tackle. Which was exactly the right call.
Denver quarterback Brock Osweiler is tall. I get it. And in theory it makes sense a tall guy could be useful trying to block the kick. But note to Osweiler: If you're going to stay four yards behind the line of scrimmage and just jump straight up, you need to have a vertical leap of about twelve feet…
Who knew NFL Photography was such a tough gig?
SBNation.com nailed this one: "The NFL has officially gone too far with the pampering of QBs. One butt pat is OK. Two can be just friendly. Three pats is all but acknowledging that you're in his pocket."
Oh Mark Sanchez…
Before you get too excited, he lost a bet...
I posted a hockey note a few weeks back and received lots of good feedback. Thought I'd try another.
Bruins goalie Tuuka Rask (there's a Black Eyed Joe All Name Teamer) has a weird relationship with his stick. (this hockey business has potential).
As Buzzfeed notes, this isn't the first time this has happened.
Or even the second time.
Or the third…
I think I could get into this sport.
I love the recognition for Veterans. But I'm not sure the camo thing is really working for the coaches…
Leading up to the Cowboys - Giants game, New York defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul said the Giants would “put it on” the Cowboys and “there’s going to be a lot of blood spilled out there.”
Dallas defensive tackle Jason Hatcher had some fun with fake blood in the locker room afterwards…
Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick said,"You’re not going to be able to talk your way to a victory in this league. You’re not going to scare anybody. I’ve never heard a team that was 4-6 talk like that. We’re 5-5, 6-5 now, and we have no room to talk.”
One Giant who did back up the talk was punter Steve Weatherford who crushed five punts for a cumulative 273 yards, or 54.6 yards per punt.
He was greeted Monday morning with drug testing notice.
Although to be fair, that may be because the guy is ripped.
Lions WR Nate Burleson is back after breaking his arm saving a pizza and had the perfect touchdown Pizza Delivery celebration Sunday.
Move of the season this far for me was Bill Belichick essentially telling Peyton Manning that his fluttering passes would struggle in the wind so much that he was willing to give Denver the ball first in overtime. Most thought he was crazy. Including some of the Patriot captains.
"We were just making sure -- you never want to be that bonehead out there that, your coach tells you you want the ball and we want to kick it," Logan Mankins said. "So we were just making sure we were doing exactly what he wanted. That doesn't come up very often where in overtime you say you don't want the ball, so we were just making sure we had it exactly right."
As usual, Belichick said little. "It was a strong wind," Belichick said. "We just had to keep it out of the end zone, obviously. I just felt like the wind would be an advantage if we could keep them out of the end zone on that first drive. We were able to do that. The wind was significant in the game, it was definitely significant."
Manning tried to downplay it as well. "That's what they do sometimes," he said.
That's what they do when they feel confident they can stop your offense going into the wind.
Of course with the way it turned out, Belichick is a genius. If Manning had driven down the field and scored, not so much.
I loved Andrew Siciliano's call of this play: "And Scott Tolzien hit the circle button!"
Cam Newton spitting up blood. He just seems different this year. Not that spitting up blood makes him different. Tons of athletes will do that this weekend. Most not making a penny on the field. He just seems like he's rolling with the punches better this year.
Speaking of Newton, Carolina players were looking sharp before the game Sunday.
Other teams, like Kansas City apparently, have a more relaxed pre game dress code.
But Jamaal Charles is pushing it…
This year, the Circle Of Parity was completed in Week 12. I think that's a good thing.
Going for it on 4th and goal in short yardage is always the right call. Until it's not.
If you do a Google search for "dumpster fire", this image comes up.
Wide receiver Andre Johnson didn't pull any punches. "We suck," he said, then continued after a pause. "As an offense. That's pretty much it."
I told you a couple months ago, bad karma for cheering after Matt Schaub's injury is tough…
Philip Rivers at the post game presser. Just another example that you can wear anything you want when you win.
Like everyone else, I love the "mic'd up" features. Chip Kelly and Nick Foles featured here was fascinating.
Kelly is as frantic as you'd think. And Foles is super interesting too. I loved his embrace with Michael Vick on the sideline after a Foles rushing TD and Foles said, "Just trying' to be like you, Mike".
Meanwhile, Foles continues his ridiculous numbers.
Thanks to Footballguy Chris Taskey for that one.
I like this team.
Bill Simmons with true words.
Thanks to Footballguy Matt Cox (again!) for the help on that one.
Pittsburgh was facing 4th and 18 from the Cleveland 29 and went for it. Except Ben Roethlisberger took the shot gun snap and pooch punted.
Emmanuel Sanders then downed it at the one. That's pretty much how you draw it up.
Note to Kansas City. I'm no defensive coordinator. But sometimes, every once in a while, when the team is at the goal line, they run this crazy play where the running back goes straight over the line and dives into the end zone. Watch for that.
I loved seeing the heartfelt reunion for Bruce Arians and Chuck Pagano. Great stuff here.
The Colts may not have been able to get it done. But Ricky Jean-Francois clearly won the Best Sack Celebration Award for the weekend.
Jets running back Chris Ivory suffered an ankle injury Sunday. When asked if his ankle injury was of the low or high-sprain variety, he answered, "Both".
Michael Silver dropped the news this week that Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III asked his coaches to stop showing negative plays during team film sessions.
Silver said, "at Baylor they didn't put RG3's bad plays up on the board in the meeting rooms. Sources familiar with the situation say they've asked the Redskins to do the same but they've refused to this point."
For the record, Washington coach Mike Shanahan has said the report is completely false.
I know nothing about nothing. But my gut-feel-meter leans more toward Silver on this one.
Griffin didn't directly call out his coaches after the game. But it was close.
"Obviously, we were able to run the ball effectively, but in the passing game; they kind of had us. They kind of knew what was coming before it was coming and like I said, that is disheartening. But we still have to find ways and that's what I told the guys—no matter what's going on out there, we're the players, we have to make the plays work. We just weren't able to do that during that first half."
So much drama.
God Bless Pats Fans.
Some people say a lot without ever saying a word.
Boomer Esiason is one of those people…
I mentioned the NFL - Pro Wrestling connection a couple of weeks ago.
Footballguy Derek Pai sent me this in reply imagining a couple of owners as wrestlers.
Nice.
I blame Stevan Ridley's fumbling mostly on his haircut.
Just saying.
Hard Luck Awards for Week 12
And the nullified TDs:
- ARZ RB Rashard Mendenhall right end for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN NULLIFIED by Penalty.
- CHI RB Matt Forte left tackle for 7 yards, TOUCHDOWN NULLIFIED by Penalty.
- CHI PR Devin Hester punt return for 62 yards, TOUCHDOWN NULLIFIED by Penalty.
- CHI QB Josh McCown pass short middle to TE Martellus Bennett for 3 yards, TOUCHDOWN NULLIFIED by Penalty.
And for anyone out there who lost to teams playing Eli Manning this week, you can thank the Dallas Cowboys for forgetting to tackle.
Sometimes it's better to just not know...
That'll do it for this week, Folks. Thanks to Footballguy Doug Drinen, Matt, Cox, Chris Taskey, Derek Pai, Al Giesler, Chris Wesseling, Andrew Garda and Seth Lubin for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, shoot me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Note for you folks inclined to pray or those that care enough to read all the way down this far. This season of Random Shots is dedicated to my close friend Mike Wenger who apparently has decided to upstage Chuck Pagano this year. Mike's been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy. Much Love, Buddy. Mad Respect. Go Chiefs.
I want to take a moment and say thanks to the many of you who have asked about Mike and reached out with nice notes and prayer. And give you a quick update.
Mike went through two brutal rounds of chemotherapy. He lost about 60 pounds but he fought hard through it. He got the word this week that they've got the cancer in remission and now they can move on to the next very big step of a bone marrow transplant. They've found a perfect match donor and that process will start very soon and last for several months. It's a hard battle but he's fighting the fight.
As you may have gathered, Mike's a fanatical Chiefs fan. One of the fun things we were able to do a little while back was get Kansas City punter Dustin Colquitt to visit when the Chiefs were in town to play the Titans. We didn't tell Mike that Dustin was coming as I wanted him to be totally surprised. Dustin walked in and with zero suggestion, Mike was wearing Chiefs shorts and a Chiefs t-shirt. Dustin is a pretty normal looking guy and not instantly recognizable by many. Mike took one look at him and said, "Wow, Dustin Colquitt".
Dustin was beyond cool bringing Mike a signed helmet and hanging out with us for a long time. He promised Mike a place on the sidelines for a game next year at Arrowhead when he was better. How cool is that? God Bless you Dustin Colquitt. Rock on Mike Wenger. I love you Buddy.
Thanks for playing along. I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.