On Sunday Night, Cam Newton tried to squeeze a pass into a streaking Greg Olsen and Earl Thomas almost intercepted the ball but came crashing to the turf. At the time I thought nothing was too serious. I mean he hit the ground in a usual manner, no biggie. Right!?
Here’s a quick rundown of what happened after Thomas’s fall just in case you forgot (with a couple of my thoughts tied in). He tries to stand up but then rolls to the ground holding both his legs (not too bad), rolls around and hops on one foot while avoiding putting any pressure on his other leg (not good), lays on his back with trainers and teammates lingering around (uh oh), he’s carried off the field (damn), he’s carted back to the locker room (*!#-), finally Michelle Tafoya reports he suffered a broken tibia (WAIT! HOW LONG IS HE OUT FOR!?? THE REST OF THE YEAR!?).
His injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the League’s chaotic season either – Rob Gronkowski is out for the season too. And as of Thursday night, so is Derrick Johnson.
Quickly, here’s where we stand with the top teams:
AFC:
- New England Patriots 2. Kansas City Chiefs 3. Pittsburgh Steelers 4. Houston Texans 5. Oakland Raiders 6. Denver Broncos
NFC:
- Dallas Cowboys 2. Detroit Lions 3. Seattle Seahawks 4. Atlanta Falcons 5. New York Giants 6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
No one truly stands out though. Seattle’s offensive line can’t protect Wilson and keep him from running around like a chicken. New England’s defense is atrocious, same for Oakland, Atlanta, Pittsburgh. The reverse is somewhat true for Baltimore, Denver, and New York – offenses that stink. Who knows what to expect from Tampa’s roller coaster offense. Washington has its head barely above water (6-5-1 record). And Dallas’ defense is C+ at best. That leaves Andy Reid’s Chiefs as this year’s best all-around team. No, that wasn’t a typo. Andy “Bad Clock Management” Reid’s Chiefs are the best all-around team.
Side Note: Remember when Ron Rivera morphed into Riverboat Ron, started taking chances – going for it on fourth and short, playing to the flow of the game with less conservative play calling. Suddenly the Panthers with their risk taking coach found themselves in the Super Bowl.
Well, the same thing has happened with the Chiefs. For some reason, Andy Reid hasn’t been Andy Reid – more like Coach of the Year Andy Reid. Know the difference? Regular Andy Reid struggles with basic clock management. He wastes clock at the end of halves when his team has completed a long pass and he finally calls a timeout, losing 12 to 15 seconds every time. That’s two to three extra plays. Not good.
Coach of the Year Andy Reid on the other hand, understands game situations and time. At one point during that Thursday night game, he was near his 45 yard line with fourth and short and tried to draw the defense offsides with fake hikes and multiple offensive motions. Did it work? No. But he knew he could take the delay of game penalty because the extra five punt yards wouldn’t matter. Smart.
Quickly jotting down the short list of potential Coach of the Year candidates:
Bill Belichick
Andy Reid
Adam Gase
Del Rio gets eliminated for losing to Reid, twice. Garrett, for losing to the Giants twice both in close games. Gase is out of the running because what sounds better:
Option A – Loss, Loss, Win, Loss, Loss, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Loss, Win
or
Option B – Win, Loss, Win, Loss, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Loss, Win, Win, Win
Option A is Miami. Option B is Kansas City.
Option B, right!?
Belichick gets eliminated too because doesn’t Reid’s jump from playoff sixth seed last year to second this year, with a possible first if Denver upsets New England this Sunday, sound like a better achievement than Belichick’s first seed last year to this year’s first/second seed?
