Detroit Lions, raisk, one pride! Said Minnesota Vikings vastu oma esimese võidu ja mitte lihtsalt, vaid sellise võidu, mis minu viimasest eurost 17 välja võlus. See oli üldse üks igavesti meeleolukas matš vaadata, kõik oli lahtine kuni kõige viimase hetkeni. Neli sekundit mänguaega ehk absoluutselt viimane üritus, 4th & 2, seis 27-23 Minnesota kasuks. Ja siis tuli Jared Goff, tantsis paar sammu taha- ja ettepoole ning küttis rookie Amon-Ra St. Brownile tüüne söödu touchdowniks. Super, täpselt see, miks mulle nii väga meeldib Ameerika jalgpalli vaadata, su tiim on 0-10-1, aga kui see üks võit siis viimaks ikkagi ära tuleb, on tunne, nagu võitnuks Super Bowli. Jah, ma nutsin, on veel küsimusi?
game-winners and @DanMillerFox2, name a more iconic duo... pic.twitter.com/GQmmOcjz5O
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 6, 2021
In his first win ever as a Lion, QB Jared Goff threw a walk-off touchdown in the final seconds of the game, it was also Head Coach Dan Campbell's first win ever for the Lions. Campbell played the tight end position for 10 years in the NFL and it is quite apparent that he is a "players' coach" - someone who forms true bonds with his guys. When players know that coach has their back, they will try to move mountains for their coach. Basics. As soon as Goff scores the TD, he immediately runs to embrace Campbell. I gotta tell you, watching this in real time was food for the soul. Both Lisette and I were both grinning huge at the television screen and "awwwing", like we were encountering a puppy.
NFL Fantasy app kirjutas minu ja oponendi mängu kokku võttes, et olla suisa eepiline lahing olnud. Noh, ma ei tea. Ühest küljest sai minu tight end George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers) ülikõvad 40 punkti, eks. Kicker Graham Gano (New York Giants) tegi korraliku mängu, Giants Miami vasty ühtegi touchdowni ei skoorinud, küll aga kõmmutas Gano mulle field goale 10 fantasy punkti eest, super. Linebacker Micah Parsons (Dallas Cowboys) võidust New Orleansi üle 8.60 punkti, teine kaitsestaar Minkah Fitzpatrick (Pittsburgh Steelers) 11 punkti Baltimore Ravensi vastu, üks interception sealhulgas, väga kõva. Tampa Bay Buccaneers võitis Atlantat 30-17, Brady söötis 28.62 punkti eest neli touchdowni, normaalne. Ja teate, mis siis juhtus? Aga loomulikult see, et minu running back vendadest oli Cleveland Brownsil ja Nick Chubbil bye week, Melvin Gordon vigastusega out ning ei jäänud üle muud kui saata platsile ainuke varumees Devin Singletary (Buffalo Bills). Mul oli vaja kümme fantasy punkti. Lihtsalt kümme punkti running backilt tiimi vastu, kelle run defense nii 18-19 kohal liigas. Palju sai meite Devin? Kolm. Fuck me lihtsalt. Mul oli vaja seda võitu. Team Tallinn kukkus jälle kolinal allapoole, 6 võitu, 7 kaotust, liigas 8. kohal. Arctic Cats võitis ning tõusis viiendaks, aga ilmselt Whitney ei kirjuta sellest mitte sõnagi, sest oponent oli vana sõber Marc, kes end usinasti hooaja eel üles andis, ent mitte kordagi mitte midagi oma rivistuses teinud pole. Puss mees, see Marc. Ei mingit võidurõõmu kui tema vastu mängid ja kui kaotama juhtud, tahaks midagi kellegi kurku lüüa, figuratively speaking.
Who made the best catch of Week 13? 👀 pic.twitter.com/rUFRhKA0xW
— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2021
Out of 32 NFL teams, a whopping 25 are still in contention for a playoff spot. Trust me when I say, this is absurd. Usually you'll have a clear upper echelon of teams - the cream of the crop, if you will - who have shown a consistent dominance throughout the season. Right now, the Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Bucs in NFC and the New England Patriots as of the last month (puke gag vomit) in AFC have been able to meet this criteria. Early on, I would have included the LA Rams and Buffalo Bills, but both teams have been struggling as of late. And from there, aside from the Dallas Cowboys and, appearing from out of nowhere, the Washington Football Team - I know, you're like "who?" - you have almost a dozen teams with either a 50/50 or losing record who still have a chance to advance to post season. What does this mean? It means mediocrity is running rampant this season. This can be for many reasons, but injuries are always the number one culprit. But let's not scapegoat injuries, because there are indeed other guilty parties. I'll gladly serve up the Carolina Panthers on a platter as a prime example. Piss poor decision-making regarding the offensive line has accounted for 60% of the team's struggles this season, no doubt. No matter who we've had in at QB, they have had no time to let receivers run routes and develop plays. Zero. None. And who was it that made these shit-for-brains decisions, like paying top dollar for below average linemen on Day 1 of free agency? Well that would be Head Coach Matt Rhule, folks. I still can't wrap my head around this. So in conclusion, Matt Rhule's failure to understand football basics, like you need a decent offensive line if you want to win, has resulted in Carolina having one of its worst offensive showings EVER despite having buckets of talent.
But again, I digress. So it is injuries, bad coaching, and yes, subpar play by guys making way too much money for "subpar" anything that are contributing to said mediocrity. But when you have all these teams only 1 game out from a wild card spot, who are "in the hunt", it really can get crazy because anybody can beat anybody. And that is why this game is so much fun. With 5 weeks left, there isn't one team who it totally secure in their position. So LFG! And it has to be said, the fact that the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina are both still in the hunt is - I'll use the same word again - absurd. Lord have mercy these can be 2 excruciating teams to watch because when they are bad they are BAD, and when they are good they can sometimes appear great. Lucky for us they both face each other on Sunday in Charlotte. Carolina is coming off their bye week. Let's see if they found some more ugly to share with us.
Huvitav, et Whitney ei maininud midagi sellest, kuidas Carolina lasi äsja lahti offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Mulle tundub, et tolle venna käsi oli ivake rohkem mängus erinevate ründeäparduste korraldamisel kui peatreener Matt Rhule, aga teisalt tõesti, strateegilised valikud teeb ikkagi peatreener. Anyway, Panthers mängib pühapäeval Atlanta Falconsi vastu. Absoluutselt must win mäng, sest tegu divisjonirivaaliga, kes pealegi koha võrra madalamal. Üheksa võidu ja kolme kaotusega Tampa Bay järel on kogu ülejäänud NFC South viie võidu ja seitsme kaotuse peal, kõigil on veel mingi lootus. Või noh, teoreetiline šanss. Olgu, õhkõrn usk, üks miljonist võimalus (aga see, teadagi, saab teoks ju üheksal juhul kümnest!). Ja Olybeti kontol on kahjuks 67 eurot samas vaimus lollakate panuste tegemiseks. Sel pühapäeval ilmselt mängus Browns vs Ravens, aga miks mitte ka Las Vegas Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs. Vabalt võib Vegas võita, absoluutselt.
Lis, Whit & The NFL on iganädalane artiklisari Ameerika jalgpallist, muuhulgas tuleb juttu fantasy football liigast, tutvustame NFLi meeskondi ja mängijaid ning teeme panuseid tulemustele - often stupid, sometimes lucky