Month: December 2017

All it took was one game to get the Jimmy Garoppolo hype machine ignited.

San Francisco general manager John Lynch even said in a radio interview on KNBR that was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle that if he had Garoppolo as his quarterback in Tampa Bay, Lynch would have five Super Bowl rings instead of one.

The Chronicle reported that Lynch then laughed, and it was obvious hyperbole, but Lynch probably would have won more than one Super Bowl in Tampa Bay with a good quarterback.

In the 1999 NFC title game against St. Louis, the Tampa Bay defense held the Greatest Show on Turf to 11 points but lost 11-6 because they didn’t have a good quarterback or offense.

Still, even Lynch said that the game winning drive Garoppolo led against Chicago was just one game and they have to “pump the breaks’’ on the hype for the young QB.

Continue reading “Garoppolo trade already looking like a risky decision by Belichick”

A look back on Week 13 in the NFL:

1. The Steelers rallied from an early 17-0 deficit to beat Cincinnati 23-20 on a late field goal of 38 yards by Chris Boswell to remain tied with the New England Patriots at 9-2 for the best record in the AFC. The two teams meet a week from Sunday. But the victory was overshadowed by a spine injury suffered by Steeler linebacker Ryan Shazier in the first quarter. Shazier underwent surgery after returning to Pittsburgh and his season is apparently over and there are fears his career could end. The game also featured several illegal hits including one by JuJu Smith-Schuster on Vontaze Burfict that knocked him out of the game. Smith-Schuster was suspended for a game. The Bengals’ George Iloka also was originally suspended for a game but the suspension was overturned on appeal. The two teams have a history – Burfict knocked Antonio Brown of a playoff game last week and he was sidelined the following week when the Steelers were eliminated by the Patriots. Clearly, the rivalry needs to be toned down.

Continue reading “Taking a look back: NFL Week 13”

A look ahead to Week 13 in the NFL:

1. The focus is on the NFC this weekend with Philadelphia at Seattle in the prime time game Sunday night and Fox has a good doubleheader with Minnesota at Atlanta in the early game and Carolina at New Orleans in the late game. The Monday night game is the Steelers-Bengals, which doesn’t seem to be a good matchup but the Steelers have been playing down to the level of their competition all year so it could be closer than expected. And Steelers usually get good ratings. If the NFL ratings are going to rebound, the NFL needs a good showing this weekend. It’s December and the chilly weather up north tends to keep fans indoors. But maybe the lower ratings are the new normal for the NFL. And CBS has a tough Sunday with only one game featuring two teams with winning records: Pats-Bills. And does anybody think the Bills have a chance in this game?

Continue reading “Taking a look ahead: NFL Week 13”

It is unusual for a phrase to be remembered for almost a thousand years.

Yet King Henry VIII’s famous phrase in 1170, “Will no one get rid of this meddlesome priest?’’ hasn’t faded into the history books.

It was used by fired FBI director James Comey in hearings before Congress earlier this year.

Henry II was referring to Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, because they were having a dispute.

So four knights killed Becket even though Henry II later said he didn’t mean for him to be killed.

Continue reading “Giants’ Mara comes off as clueless in messy benching of Eli”

A look back on Week 12 in the NFL:

1. The Kansas City Chiefs continued their slide with their fifth loss in the last six games, a 16-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Chiefs still lead the AFC West with a 6-5 mark and have what looks like an easy schedule except for the game against the Chargers. But the way their offense is struggling, there may be no easy games and the Chiefs are in danger of missing the playoffs. The Chiefs got one first down in the first half against a Bills team that was giving up an average of 45 points a game the last three games. Coach Andy Reid is sticking with veteran Alex Smith and the offensive woes aren’t all on him. But if Smith doesn’t get on track, the Chiefs are likely to move to Patrick Mahomes next year and Smith will be looking for a job.

Continue reading “Taking a look back: NFL Week 12”