NFL All-Time Team

So back in December, I decided to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NFL by naming my all-time NFL team, selecting an actual 53 man roster.  This means that I had to decide things like selecting between a third QB, a 6th LB, a 10th DB, or a second return man, etc. As there are a ton of phenomenal NFL players, I selected my "second team" back then, which can be seen here.  Some surprising things to note from the second team are things like NFL career rushing leader is on the second team, and the offensive line and defensive ends are stacked.  The reasons for that will be shown here, when I will explain some of my picks for my first team.  Keep in mind that I am putting together an actual team, and not just listing who I think are the best players.

For the record, I understand that my selections may have a bit of recency bias.  I try to balance history against that bias, but I cannot unwatch all of the players that I have seen play.

As with similar posts - starters in all capital letters.  As a reminder, my second team QBs willbe listed under the 1st team.  

OFFENSE

Quarterbacks (3):  DAN MARINO, Joe Montana, Bobby Layne

                                 (2nd team - John Elway, Dan Fouts, Tom Brady)

I know, people think Brady is the GOAT, but Dan Marino could make every throw, to every part of the field, at any time.  His numbers were amazing, and just think what his numbers would be like if he played with today's rules, with a slot receiver and with a running back out in the pattern.  Ridiculous.  Can you imagine a team with Marino getting hurt and Joe Montana coming off the bench?  That is a steadiness that would put this offense over the top.  Bobby Layne might need an explanation.  That explanation is that he is simply my favorite non-Walter Payton player ever.  He is in the NFL and College Football Halls of Fame, and his number has been retired by the University of Texas and the Detroit Lions.  But, why he is my favorite player is this axiom:  "There are a million people who have claimed to have had a drink with Bobby Layne.  None of them are lying."  We need that guy on our team.

Running Backs (5):  WALTER PAYTON, JIM BROWN, Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk,                                                   LaDanian Tomlinson

                                   (2nd Team - Emmitt Smith, Gayle Sayers, O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell, Marcus                                        Allen)

So, my 5 running backs need no explanation, but the question that will inevitably rise is, "Why is Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher, on the second team?  Why, well let's look at the roster.  Nobody can argue with Payton, Brown and Sanders.  So, if I am going to round out my roster I only have Payton that can reliably catch a pass coming out of the backfield, so I need some multi-faceted backs, and who better fits that role than Faulk and Tomlinson?  Remember, I am making a team. Plus, if need be, Tomlinson could return kicks, and probably Sanders or Faulk as well, so we are safe if our team incurs an injury.  And no, Smith is not starting over Payton or Brown.

Wide Receivers (5):  JERRY RICE, RANDY MOSS, STEVE LARGEANT, Michael Irvin, Larry                                        Fitzgerald
                                    (2nd Team - Marvin Harrison, Art Monk, Lynn Swann, Chris Carter, Don                                                Hutson, Tim Brown)

Rice is the best NFL player of all time.  Seriously think about it.  If I ask who is the best QB ever, I will get 7 or 8 different answers.  If I ask the best running back ever, I will get 4.  Who is the best receiver and how big is the gulf between Rice and every one else?  As far ast starting Largeant, imagine him operating out of the slot with Rice and Moss on the outside.  Fitzgerald is not in the Hall of Fame yet, but he will be.  And, he has more career tackles than dropped passes.  That statistic is insane.

Tight Ends (3):  TONY GONZALEZ, Kellen Winslow, Antonio Gates

                            (2nd Team - Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten, Ozzie Newsome)

Tony Gonzalez is the best tight end I ever saw play.  And I am a University of Miami fan.  Kellen Winslow is Senior, not Junior, and he played in a day in which the tight end was rarely used as a receiver, especially when compared to today's game.  Antonio Gates completes the former under-sized college power forwards to convert to tight end and excel part of the roster (with Gonzales).

Offensive Linemen (8):  ANTHONY MUNOZ (T), JOHN HANNAH (G), DWIGHT                                                                  STEPHENSON (C), LARRY ALLEN(G), JONATHAN OGDEN (T),                                                  Bruce Matthews (T), Randell McDaniel (G), Jim Otto (C) 

                                        (2nd Team, Art Shell (T), Jackie Slater (T), Gene Upshaw (G), Mike Webster                                            (C), Russ Grimm (G), Jackie Slater (T), Orlando Pace (T), Mike Munchak (G),                                         Larry Little (C))

If Jerry Rice is the best player in the NFL, if we take away our skill position bias, Anthony Munoz is probably the second best.  Ogden was a straight up monster.  Stephenson gets the nod because there is a reason that Dan Marino could always step up into the pocket and unleash his rocket-quick arm for a pass and not be touched.  Plus, center-quarterback familiarity doesn't hurt.  Larry Allen would come to the line yelling "Choo Choo" whenever a run play was supposed to come over his position, and still the defensive couldn't stop them.  Bruce Matthews played 19 years at every position on the line, giving the team some added depth.  Nobody was scarier than McDaniel and black visor, and Jim Otto is a Hall of Famer, and from the "U".

DEFENSE

Defensive Tackles (5):  WARREN SAPP, JOE GREENE, Cortez Kennedy, John Randle, Art                                                    Donovan

                                        (2nd Team - Merlin Olson, Randy White, Alan Page, Jerome Brown)

Warren Sapp and Mean Joe Greene together.  Wow.  Cortez Kennedy on first downs as a run stuffer, or possibly as a nose tackle on obvious passing downs.  John Randle was intimidating and Art Donovan was not only a Hall of Famer, but one of the world's best storytellers, which I want on my team.  Aaron Donald will be here soon.

Defensive Ends (4):  REGGIE WHITE, DEACON JONES, Bruce Smith, Julius Peppers

                                   (2nd Team - Charles Haley, Kevin Greene, Jack Youngblood, Chris Doleman)

Reggie White is a no-brainer starter.  Deacon Jones was a sack specialist before the kept the sack as a statistic.  No offensive lineman wanted to block Bruce Smith and for a 5 year span, even when Julius Peppers was not getting to the quarterback, he led the NFL in false starts and holdings against.  Sacks and penalties all bring the offese backwards.

Outside Linebackers (4):  LAWRENCE TAYLOR, KHALIL MACK, Jack Ham, Derrick Brooks

                                            (2nd Team - Ted Hendricks, Derrick Thomas, Andre Tippett, Rickey                                                          Jackson)

Lawrence Taylor, duh.  Most dominating linebacker of all time.  Mack is not far behind.  Mack was named to an All-Pro team as an outside linebacker AND a defensive end, DURING THE SAME YEAR!!!  Derrick Brooks was a standout leader of the Super Bowl winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Jack Ham was a mainstay on the multi-Super Bowl winning 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Inside Linebackers (5):  RAY LEWIS, MIKE SINGLETARY, Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus, Junior                                           Seau

                                          (2nd Team - Brian Urlacher, Bill George, Ray Nitshcke, Harry Carson)

Of course Ray Lewis.  Mike Singletary is also a no-brainer if a 3-4 is played.  Dick Butkus makes a total of 4 Chicago Bear Middle Linebackers on the first and second teams.  Jack Lambert might be the best player not starting on defense.  Junior Seau could play the run, rush the passers, and cover backs and tight ends out of the backfield.

Cornerbacks (6):  DEION SANDERS, ROD WOODSON, Charles Woodson, Darrell Green, Dick                                "Night Train" Lane, Lester Hayes

                                (2nd Team - Mel Blount, Aeneas Williams, Dick LeBeau, Herb Adderly, Willie                                        Brown)

Deion Sanders could take away an entire half of a field on his own.  And, if he intercepted a pass, he was always a threat to score.  Rod Woodson was a big corner that could cover.  Darrell Green was for years the fastest player in the NFL and has legitimate track speed, including a then NCAA record in the 100 and 200 meters.  Charles Woodson could also return kicks.  Night Train is one of the best nicknames ever, and he is fourth on the NFL's career interceptsion list with 68 (3 behind Rod Woodson), and Lester Hayes had some of the best hair, and stickum in NFL history.  Oh yeah, and he could cover too.

Safeties (4): RONNIE LOTT, ED REED, Paul Krause, Willie Wood

                     (2nd Team - Steve Atwater, John Lynch, Kenny Easley, Ken Houston)

Nobody should even try to argue about Lott and Reed.  Best safeties ever.  PERIOD.  They could hit, HARD, and they had 63 and 64 interceptions respectively, good for 7th and tied for 8th in NFL history.  Paul Krause is the career intereception record holder with 81.  Willie Wood was an 8-time pro bowler and 5 time ALL-Pro.  And, he must be good if I am willing to place a Packer on this team.  

Just a note - Sean Taylor should be on this team, if he wasn't shot by some punks trying to rob his house.  Crazily enough, they were robbing his house on a Sunday, thinking he would not be at home, but he was in Miami re-habbing an injury and didn't travel with the team that weekend.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker (1):  MORTON ANDERSON

                     (2nd Team - Adam Vinatieri)

Only the second pure kicker to be inducted into the Hall of Fame (George Blanda played quarterback and kicker and Lou Groza was a tackle and a kicker), he is second on the all-time points list to Vinatieri, and played for 25 season.

Punter (1):  RAY GUY

                     (2nd Team - Reggie Roby)

The only punter in the Hall of Fame.  That makes him our punter.

Returner (1):  DEVIN HESTER

                         (2nd Team - Brian Mitchell)

Devin Hester is easily the best returner in the history of the NFL.  Yes, others were just as fast, and others were a threat to score while also being a threat at other positions, but Hester excelled in the return game.  He knew how to set up blocks, and could see the entire field open up and not just the hole right in front of him.  His NFL records include:

Most combined special teams TD returns - 20 (14 punt returns, 5 kickoff returns, 1 missed FG return)

Most non-offensive TDs in a career - 20

Most kickoff and punt return TDs in a career - 19

Most punt return TDs in a career - 14

Most punt retun TDs in a season - 4

Most kickoff return TDs in a game - 2

Most combined return TDs in a season - 6

Most comined return TDs for a rookie - 5

Most comnined return TDs in a game - 2 (he did it twice)

Most non-offensive TDs in a season - 6 (he did it twice)

In 2013, Hester outran a cheetah in a race sponsored and developed by National Geographic.

Even more importantly, he is from Riviera Beach, Florida (the town where I live), played collegiately at the University of Miami (my favorite team), and played for the Chicago Bears (my favorite team) for most of his NFL career.

And, he is responsible for people remembering that a missed field goal can be returned if it stays within the field of play - leading to Auburn's famous Kick Six - and for the Dennis Green rant, "They are who we thought they were.  We let 'em off the hook!"

ROSTER ADJUSTMENTS

So, if anybody actually counted, that gives us a roster of 55 players.  I need to be down to 53 players.  

Here is what happened.

When I first constructed this list way back in December (at the time I posted my second team), I listed one of my first team inside linebackers as an outside linebacker accidentally.  He was most definitely an inside linebacker, not an outside linebacker, so I cannot even pretend that he is a hybrid.  When posting this team, I just pushed him over to inside linebacker, but without taking one of the inside linebackers off the team, because they all deserve to be on the team.  This gave me one extra roster player.  Now, go look at my inside linebackers.  Which one do I cut?  Seau is staying, and do YOU want to tell Jack Lambert or Dick Butkus that they are cut?  I didn't think so.  Plus, the linebackers would make excellent kick coverage, and kick return players, and even some punt coverage.  (Just so you know, that linebacker was Jack Lambert - see, definite inside linebacker).

Then, I intentionally kept 6 cornerbacks, thinking I could find another roster spot to free up somewhere.  And, obviously I didn't.  Plus, several of the corners would make excellent kick and punt coverage personnel as well.

So, I need to free up two spots.  Most teams don't keep 5 running backs anymore, but I am not dropping any of these five.  Payton, besides being the best running back ever, could kick or punt should Anderson or Guy be hurt during a game.  Brown and Sanders are, well, Brown and Sanders.  Same with Faulk and Tomlinson, so no go there.

One position that looks a bit bloated is the defensive tackle spot.  Five are kept on a lot of teams, but with a lot of 3-4 looks, especially on passing downs (I mean, we do want Lawrence Taylor, Khalil Mack and Reggie White all rushing at the same time, right?), we can get by with cutting one, so sadly, Art Donovan has to go.    Given the quality of the second teamers (Merlin Olson, Randy White, Alan Page and Jerome Brown) and given that Donovan played in an earlier day before the players all got bigger and stronger, I don't even have to make an adjustment to the second team.  So, Donovan is gone, and I need to cut one more player.

So, the next one should be easy, as I have 6 cornerbacks.  But, I don't want to cut any of them.  That would be hard to do, and virtually unjustifiable.  So I look to what else those players could do, if we needed them to adjust due to injuries in a game (I can always adjust rosters between games).  Could Charles Woodson play some safety if he had to?  He did play some late in his career, so Yes.  What about Rod Woodson?  With his size, and ball-hawking ability, he could play some zone free safety, but also cover some of today's tight ends running down the seam.  So, also yes.  This means Willie Wood goes.  Why?  Simply because he played for Green Bay.  I will place him on the second team, replacing Ken Houston.

Easy, now we have 53 players on the roster.

One additional note.  Steve Hutchinson should be on this list.  But, as a guard, I completely overlooked him.  I did not place him on my first team or my second team.  I did not list him as an honorable mention.  Why not?  Because he is a guard, and sometimes as good as offensive lineman are, they get overlooked.  Could he start on this team over Larry Allen and John Hannah?  Probably not.  Is he as good or better than Randall McDaniel?  Yes.  Which one of those two do I cut?  I am not doing those mental gymnastics, because then I would have to place Hutchinson or McDaniel as the starter on the second team, moving Gene Upshaw to backup (and no longer alongside Art Shell in the starting lineup) and then cutting Mike Munchak, and I don't want to have to do that.  Perhaps if this was an actual team and I was an actual GM I would do that.  Or, more likely, I would keep a 10th lineman and cut a RB or a LB.

Picks of the Week

Welcome to the total crapshoot that is Week 17 of the NFL.  We really don't know who will be playing, how much they will be playing, or how hard they will be playing.  Basically, all we know is that in most cases, what we saw all season has no relevance to today.  Horrible for gambling, and I don't even want to make picks today, but I will, for my faithful readers.  I will be making my picks, but likely just commenting on the games in which both teams have something to play for, as those are the teams that are most likely to play they way they have all season, without resting starters, trying to see what they have in rookies, and we could generally and rationally try to handicap.  So, here we go.

For those that are new to this site, I will select every game against the spread.  I will be selecting one big bet at $250 per, whereas everything else will be $100.  Winners count as winners, whereas losses will be calculated including a 10% vig to make the math that much simpler.  On to the picks.

Chicago Bears -3 at Minnesota Vikings
Most of Minnesota's ailing players will not playing having clinched a wild card, and virtually locked into the 6 seed.  Given their spate of injuries of late, they should be resting everybody.

New York Jets +1 at Buffalo Bills

New Orleans Saints -14 at Carolina Panthers
I hate doing this, but New Orleans really has something to play for.

Cleveland Browns -3 at Cincinnati Bengals
Nick Chubb clinches rushing title.

Green Bay Packers -12 1/2 at Detroit Lions
See Saints, New Orleans.

Kansas City Chiefs -10 v. Los Angeles Chargers
Well, I already picked two other double digit favorites. At least this one is at home.

Miami Dolphins +16 at New England Patriots
I have said it before, and I will say it again, this team is playing hard for Brian Flores.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers pick 'em v. Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta relaxes after learning their coach will return next season.

Baltimore Ravens +1 v. Pittsburgh Steelers
We, as viewers, do not need Pittsburgh in the playorrs.

Dallas Cowboys -12 v. Washington Racists
The most Dallas Cowboys thing ever would be fore them to back into the playoffs, win a game or two and have Jerry Jones bring back Jason Garrett.  I feel like we should all want this.  (Cowboys fans excluded).

Tennessee Titans -7 at Houston Texans
Tennessee NEEDS this game whereas Houston doesn't.  No way the Texans use this game to knock the Titans out of the playoffs thus setting up the possibility of an inferior team making the playoffs and thus having less competition in the playoffs, right?

Indianapolis Colts -6 at Jacksonville Jaguars
Do we know if Marrone is staying or going?  Of course we do - he is GONE.

New York Giants +3 1/2 v. Philadelphia Eagles
Part of the plan to get the Cowboys to not fire Jason Garrett.

Denver Brocnos -3 1/2 v. Oakland Raiders
They lost to Jacksonville last week, and lost Josh Jacobs this week.

Arizona Cardinals +6 1/2 at Lost Angeles Rams
Why not?

San Francisco 49ers -3 at Seattle Seahawks
Toughest game on the board to pick.

Big Bet I
Chicago Bears -3 at Minnesota Vikings
Most of Minnesota's ailing players will not playing having clinched a wild card, and virtually locked into the 6 seed.  Given their spate of injuries of late, they should be resting everybody.

Bears beat Minnesota when Minnesota was healthy.

Big Bet II

Miami Dolphins +16 at New England Patriots
I have said it before, and I will say it again, this team is playing hard for Brian Flores.
And, hopefully New England's offense is still floundering.

Last Week's Record:  9-6-1
Last Week's Big Bet:  2-0
Year-to-Date Record:  116-122-3
Year-to-Date Big Bet:  12-6
Last Week's Winnings (Losses):  $660
Year-to-Date Winnings (Losses):  ($1,230)

Professional Football Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 13 of the NFL season.

Game of the Week

San Francisco 49ers 48 - New Orleans Saints 46.  I finally have seen a game that compares to the 1982 divisional playoff game in which the Miami Dolphins defeated the San Diego Chargers 41-38. That game featured two separate 400 yard passers (Dan Fouts 406 and Don Strock 403), and the offenses were virtually unstoppable.  This game had both quarterbacks (Drew Brees and Jimmy Garappolo) throw for 349 and both team's leading rushers (Raheem Mostert and Latavius Murray rush for 69 yards.  Both teams also had a receiver go well over 100 yards; for San Francisco it was Emmanuel Sanders with 157 and 1 touchdown and for New Orleans it was Michael Thomas with 134 and 1 TD - on 11 receptions.  Of course the game ended on a last minute drive with Drew Brees throwing a game-winning TD pass to Tre'Quan Smith with :53 left on the clock (but the 2 point conversion failed.}  Except it didn't.  San Francisco took the ensuing possession down the field, aided by a 39 yard George Kittle reception in which he plowed through the Saints defense and was only tackled by his facemask - resulting in 15 more yards.  The ever-reliable Robbie Gould kicks the winning 30 yard field goal as time expired.

Best Team Performance

Tennessee Titans.  Not only playing themselves into a potential wildcard spot, the Titans are now challenging for the AFC South title, a division in which they play the Houston Texans twice in the next (last) 3 games.  Tennessee handily defeated fellow (former) playoff contender Oakland 42-21, led by the dual threat of Ryan Tannehill's 391 yards passing and Derrick Henry's 103 yards rushing.  

Least Impressive Team Performance

Jacksonville Jaguars.  I have rarely seen a team just blatantly give up as bad as this team.  They lost 45-10 at home to the Los Angeles Chargers and made Philip Rivers look like he only had 3 kids.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Jameis Winston, QB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Winston was 33-45 for 456 yards and 4 TDs (but 3 Interceptions) as the Buccaneers defeated the Indianapolis Colts 38-35.  In most cases this would have been the game of the week.  Also in most weeks Austin Ekeler of the Los Angeles Chargers would have won this award, except he played the Jaguars.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans.  Huh?  How does this make sense?  Well, he had one of the most important defensive plays of the season.  Yes, Joey Bosa's tackle in the backfield on Alvin Kamara was singularly impressive, but Ryan Tannehill's square tackle and drive to the ground hit on Maurice Hurst after throwing an interception that Hurst returned 55 yards, with a convoy, is the type of play that fires up a defense around a quarterback that previously had questions marks.  This Titans team is now - if they weren't before - solidly behind Tannehill both as a QB and as a football player.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Jason Sanders, K - Miami Dolphins.  Sanders was 7-8 on field goals (Yes, 8 attempts), including a 53 yarder, as the Dolphins fell to the Jets 22-21.  Honorable Mention to Deonte Harris of the New Orleans Saints who had 194 return yards on 5 kickoff returns and 2 punt returns, constantly switching the field with his dynamic runs.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Everton.  With a new manager at the helm, Everton looked very impressive, and played extremely hard, and well, putting pressure on Chelsea at every turn as Everton won 3-2 to escape the bottom of the table and move up to 14.  Relegation is no longer an issue as long as Everton continues to play with this type of fire and passion.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Diogo Jota, F - Wolverhampton.  Jota's first-half brace, including the equalizer in the 44th minute, allowed Wolverhampton to steal a point on the road and remain near the top of the table in 6th place, losing out of 5th place by only 3 goals to Manchester United, who also had a big weekend defeating Manchester City at the Etihad.

Goat of the Week

The entire Jacksonville Jaguars.  They have quit.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Kepa Arrizabalaga, GK - Chelsea.  Let in a soft goal which started the scoring for Everton, and then a horrible pass out of the goal to Kurt Zouma was intercepted which led to an easy goal, Everton's third.  Second really bad goal scored by a Chelsea opponent late in the game because of a bad pass out of the back by Kepa.

Hit of the Week

Ryan Tannehill on Maurice Hurst.  It was almost as if he had been playing linebacker his entire life.

Breakthrough Performance

Tyler Higbee, TE - Los Angeles Rams.  We have seen flashes from Higbee this season, but as the backup we have not seen how valuable he can be.  Earning the start this week against Seattle, Higbee caught 7 balls for 116 yards, and definitely opens up the field for the Rams' other weapons as Los Angeles won 28-12.

Finally

Ryan Tannehill, QB - Tennessee Titans.  This is the type of performance the Miami Dolphins wanted out of Tannehill in the past few years.  Tannehill was 21-27 for 391 yards and 3 TDs, to go 6-1 as a starter for Tennessee.

Impact Injury

Roquon Smith, LB - Chicago Bears.  There were a lot of injuries this week, but none worse that Smith's, who tore his pectoral muscle while trying to make a tackle on Ezekial Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys.  Smith, the Bears' leading tackler, will be missed as Chicago ends the season with Green Bay, Kansas City and Minnesota.

Team Rising

Tennessee Titans.  Now at 8-5, the Titans have pulled into a tie atop the AFC South with the Houston Texans, two games ahead of the Indianapolis Colts (with three to play).  As stated earlier, Tennessee and Houston play twice in the last three games, including in Nashville this weekend.

Team Falling

Carolina Panthers.  In a free-fall.

Best Teams

(All teams will be ranked by record, even if teams with more losses may be better than a team with fewer losses, since Bill Parcells always said that you are what your record says.  The inverse is true for the Worst Teams rankings.) (Yes, I know that you could have a worse record and be better, see e.g., Baltimore Ravens, but we are working off record.)

1. Baltimore Ravens

2. San Francisco 49ers

3. New Orleans Saints 

4. Green Bay Packers
5. Seattle Seahawks

Worst Teams

32. Cincinnati Bengals

31. New York Giants

30. Washington Racists

29. Miami Dolphins

27b. Detroit Lions
27a.  Arizona Cardinals 

Note - The Lions and Cardinals have identical 3-9-1 records, and actually tied each other when they played, so they might as well be tied on this list.

Middle Teams

15. Philadelphia Eagles
16. Indianapolis Colts
17. Cleveland Browns
18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Note - all of these "middle teams" have sub-par records of 6-7, along with Dallas and Oakland, which I rank lower right now.

Last Week's Trivia Question/Answer

Last Entry's Trivia Question was:

Earlier this year, Frank Gore passed Curtis Martin for fourth place in the all-time career rushing yards.  He is now closer to third place than he is to fifth place Martin.  Who is in third place, and how many yards behind third place is Gore?

Answer:  Barry Sanders - at the time I wrote the question.  Gore has since passed Sanders and leads Sanders by 37 yards.  He is 1,420 yards behind Walter Payton.

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

6. Denver Broncos v. Kansas City Chiefs.  By record, this isn't a special game to watch, except for the fact that Denver has been better, and more exciting, in the two games that Drew Lock has started.  So, that makes this game a potential offensive explosion.  

5. Buffalo Bills v. Pittsburgh Steelers.  This game may be traditionally boring, but it is incredibly important for the playoff race, as right now, these two teams hold the two AFC wildcard spots.  This game is incredibly important.

4. Minnesota Vikings v. Los Angeles Chargers.  Minnesota is only 1 game behind the Green Bay Packers for the division lead, but 2 ahead of the Chicago Bears with 3 to play.  Green Bay and Chicago play this week, and Minnesota and Green Bay play next week, with the Bears and Vikings closing out the season.  This game is incredibly important for Minnesota.  The Chargers looked great last week, albeit against the Jaguars.  Can they keep it up?

3. Arsenal v. Manchester City.  Manchester City is in a bit of a rut and Arsenal look much improved as of late.  This game is vital for Manchester City to try to gain ground in the table on Liverpool, and important for Arsenal if they think they can make Europa League next year.

2. Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers.  The greatest rivalry in football is important as Green Bay shoots for a bye and possibly home field advantage while the Bears are barely hanging on for a possible playoff spot.

1. Houston Texans v. Tennessee Titans. The resurgent Titans have tied the Texans for the division lead.  This is the first of two times these teams will play in the final three games of the season, and would obviously give the winner a leg up for the division crown.

Trivia

Phillip Rivers has 63 career losses of 3 points or less in his career.  He is tied with this other current starting NFL quarterback.  Who is it?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

My usual crew was somewhat busy, so instead of a sports bar, I headed out to a cigar bar of mine that has televisions - Sunset Cigar Lounge in Jupiter, Florida.  Not sportscentric at all, but on Sundays they did show 3 games, with the sound on the New Orleans - San Francisco game, which turned out to be the best one.  Not super crowded, mostly regulars, but all really nice - albeit interesting people.  The bar/cigar tenders Dawana and Tiffani are always fabulous, and given that it wasn't busy - super attentive (which they usually are anyway). I had never been there on a Sunday before so I do not know if this is usual, but they had several pizzas and pastas, which was free for whomever wanted it - that was a nice perk, although I did not partake because I had already eaten.  Also because I wanted a lowkey day, I only drank Bud Light, but the whiskey selection is great for as small a bar as it is, and it has Clase Azul tequila, one of the bellweathers of the tequila world as far as I am concerned.  I had a couple of light, easy Padron cigars with my day, and it was great.

Now, the bar did have to call the cops on an unruly customer, as she was getting incredibly out of control yelling and cursing at other customers, that were all regulars, and the cops escorted her out at about 2:00 p.m. (she came from somewhere else already drunk), but other than that, it was a good place to watch the games.  Being a smaller location, everybody was talking and arguing the games with everyone else, which was fun.

The only real knock is that they don't have all the games - which isn't really a knock on the place as much as my choice of venue -but it does get downgraded as a sports bar

Sunset Cigar Lounge
251 South U.S. Highway 1
Jupiter, FL 33477
561/203-2096

Final Rating: Philip Rivers - a little old and flawed, but still very consistently good with occasional greatness.

Professional Football Weekly Round-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 9 of the NFL season, which coincidentally also marks the half-way point of the season!

Game of the Week

San Francisco 49ers 28 at Arizona Cardinals 25,  This game earned bonus points for being on a Thursday night, which are traditionally HORRIBLE.  San Francisco holding off a game Arizona Cardinals team lead by rookie Kyler Murray (241 yards passing, 2 TDs, 34 yards rushing) and newly arrived Kenyan Drake (110 yards rushing, 1 TD, 54 yards receiving) to stay undefeated, and, as the weekend unfolded remain the only undefeated team in the NFL.  Jimmy Garappolo threw for 317 yards and 4 TD, buoyed by the newly arrived Emmanuel Sanders (7 receptions, 112 yards, 1 TD). 

Best Team Performance

Baltimore Ravens.  The Ravens hosted the New England Patriots (and their supposedly vaunted defense) on Sunday night, and sent the Patriots home with a 37-20 defeat. Lamar Jackson threw for 163 and a score, and rushed for 61 more with 2 TDs, and handed the ball off to Mark Ingram II for another 115 yards - thus announcing a Baltimore challenge to New England supremacy in the AFC.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Jacksonville Jaguars.  The darlings of London traveled to their second home only to get easily handled by the Houston Texans 26-3.  Gardner Minshew II's 3 turnovers and otherwise lackluster performance (albeit aided by a number of drops by the Jaguars wide receivers) will make his way to the bench as the recovered Nick Foles resumes the starting role after next week's bye week.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Russell Wilson, QB - Seattle Seahawks.  In what many expected to be an easy game, the Seahawks needed every bit of Wilson's 29-43 for 378 yards and 5 TDs as Seattle defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 40-34.  Wilson has cemented himself as one of the 4 MVP candidates of the half-season (the others being Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Aaron Rodgers).

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram III, Nick Bosa, DEs, Los Angeles Chargers.  Bosa and Ingram totaled 1 1/2 sacks each against Aaron Rodgers, but were even more impressive as they harassed the Packers' offensive line all day, not giving Aaron Rodgers enough time to set up and pick apart the defense, as he finished only 23-35 for 161 yards.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Dustin Hopkins, K - Washington Racists.  Not really important, but he hit all 3 of his kicks and scored the teams only 9 points during a 24-9 shellacking at the hands of the Buffalo Bills.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

Sheffield United.  Sheffield United had the most dominating performance this weekend, dropping Burnley 3-0 at home.  behind a brace from midfielder John Lundstram.  The 3 points pulled Sheffield United up into 6th place in the table, only a point behind Europa League qualifying.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

Sadio Mane, F - Liverpool.  Trailing 1-0 to Aston Villa, all Mane did was assist on the game-tying goal in the 87th minute and score the game-winner in the 90+4 minute.  Honorable mention to the Chelsea youngsters Tammy Abraham, who scored his 9th league goal good for second in the Premiership, and Christian Pulisic, who coming off a hat trick scored again for his 4th goal in the last 2 games.

Goat of the Week

Gardner Minshew II, QB - Jacksonville Jaguars.  Perhaps it was the pressure of playing for his job in the face of Nick Foles returning from injury, perhaps it was just the NFL getting some tape on him, or perhaps it was just Minshew regressing to the mean, but his 3 turnovers (despite over 300 yards passing), and overall lackluster performance in a 26-3 thrashing had Londoners ('ites?) wishing for Blake Bortles.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

Heung-Min Son, F - Tottenham Hotspur.  Son, who I believe is the most underrated soccer play in the world and whose offensive abilities are often overshadowed by club teammate Harry Kane (think Evgeni Malkin), instead earned a red card for a literal ankle breaking tackle on Everton midfielder Andre Gomes  The send-off occurred with Tottenham leading 1-0 in the 79th minute.  Of course, 18 minutes later Everton scored the game-tying goal through second-half substitute Cenk Tosun.

Hit of the Week

Heung-Min Son, F - Tottenham Hotspur.  Son, who I believe is the most underrated soccer play in the world and whose offensive abilities are often overshadowed by club teammate Harry Kane (think Evgeni Malkin), instead earned a red card for a literal ankle breaking tackle on Everton midfielder Andre Gomes  The send-off occurred with Tottenham leading 1-0 in the 79th minute.  Of course, 18 minutes later Everton scored the game-tying goal through second-half substitute Cenk Tosun.

This is not a cut-and-paste error, this is also the hit of the week.

Breakthrough Performance

Devin Singletary, RB - Buffalo Bills.  Partly because the team is interning him behdind Frank Gore, and partly because of an early season injury, Singletary is slowly being worked into the primary back role for the Bills.  Sunday, against the Washington Racists, Singletary was the primary back, carrying the ball 20 times for 95 yards and 1 score, while also garnering 3 receptions for 45 yards.  Now, a lot of Singletary's carries came after the game was well-in-hand so there was no use to subject Frank Gore to injury, but the youngerster is showing why the Bills have him in their present and future plans.

Finally

Dwayne Haskins, QB - Washington Racists.  This finally really goes to the team, who finally decides to start their first round draft pick Haskins despite the fact that they have been horrible all year, even if Case Keenum and Colt McCoy are better.  At some point you have to let the kid loose to see what you have.  The Racists finally did that.  Even if they don't like what they find in Haskins, they need to know if he is their quarterback of the future, or if they need to select one in what everyone says is a quarterback heavy draft in 2020.

Impact Injury

Adam Thielen, WR - Minnesota Vikins.  The All-Pro played only 9 snaps and saw only 1 target before being removed in this week's 26-23 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs because of a hamstring injury.  Coach Mike Zimmer would only say that Thielen will play whenever the doctors say he is ready.  Losing a receiver of this caliber hurts the team in general, but especially Stefon Diggs, as defenses can roll safeties and double coverages toward the mercurial Diggs. 

Team Rising

Los Angeles Chargers.  The Chargers rise to 4-5 after a 26-11 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.  A 4-5 record may not seem like the team is "rising", but with this performance and the gradual return to health of all of their players, combined with Melvin Gordon being almost fully phased into the lineup after an early season holdout, and the team is poised to make a possible run toward the playoffs.

Team Falling

Chicago Bears. Ugh!  Matt Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky are on a short list.

Best Teams

(All teams will be ranked by record, even if teams with more losses may be better than a team with fewer losses, since Bill Parcells always said that you are what your record says.  The inverse is true for the Worst Teams rankings.)

1. San Francisco 49ers

2. New England Patriot

3. New Orleans Saints 

4. Green Bay Packers

5. Seattle Seahawks

Worst Teams

(All winless teams will be ranked here until all teams have at least 1 win, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think are the worst, regardless of record.)

32. Cincinnati Bengals

31. Washington Racists

30. New York Jets

29. Atlanta Falcons

28. Miami Dolphins

Middle Teams

15. Philadelphia Eagles
16. Pittsburgh Stelers

17. Oakland Raiders

18. Detroit Lions

Last Week's Trivia Question/Answer

Last Entry's Trivia Questions were:

1.  With Josh Rosen now starting for the Miami Dolphins, there are now 3 quarterbacks to make starts for 2 different teams in their first two seasons in the NFL.  Who are the other two?

Answer:  Spurgeon Wynn (Cleveland Browns, Minnesota Vikings); and Jacoby Brissett (New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts).

2.  With New England's most recent victory over Buffalo in Buffalo, Tom Brady now has the most wins of any quarterback in the NFL in Buffalo this century (since 2001).  Who has the next most?

Answer:  Drew Bledsoe and Tyrod Taylor (14 wins)

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

6. Los Angeles Rams v. Pittsburgh Steelers.  Pittsburgh at 4-4 has a legitimate shot at the playoffs, and they host the surging Rams, who themselves are chasing both the 49ers and Seahawks in the NFC West.  

5. Los Angeles Chargers v. Oakland Raiders.  As noted earlier, the Chargers are now healthy and surging.  Oakland is playing much better than expected.  Can Oakland run against the stout Charger defensive line?  The answer to that question likely holds the winner of this game.

4. Liverpool v. Manchester City - This is the LSU v. Alabama of the Premiership.  The top two teams clash against each other, in a divisional battle (for those that don't know - the Premier League is just one big division).

3. Carolina Panthers v. Green Bay Packers.  Green Bay is coming off an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Chargers, and Carolina is playing better with Kyle Allen behind center.

2. Minnesota Vikings v. Dallas Cowboys.  A game with huge playoff implications.  This will be a fun one to watch.  Even though Dalvin Cook and Ezekial Elliott will not actually be facing each other, this will be a de facto "best running back in the NFL" fight (with apologies to Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey).  

1. Seattle Seahawks v. San Francisco 49ers.  NFC West supremacy at stake.  Yes, if the Seahawks win they are still in second place, but a win would make it clear that Seattle is the best team in the division. If San Francisco wins, the 1972 Dolphins will have to wait at least another week to pop champagne.

Trivia

In Week 7, Aaron Rodgers passed for 400 yards and 5 TDs, while also rushing for a TD.  What other quarterbacks (2) have done that in the history of the NFL?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

I was traveling home from the Artist Formerly Known as the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, so no sports bar to review this week.

Professional Football Weekly Wrap-Up

Here are my thoughts from Week 3 of the NFL season, based purely on what I was able to see.  For the first time this season (thanks Irma) I watched a lot of football, so I have a pretty good sample size.

Game of the Week

New Orleans Saints 30 v. Houston Texans 28 - A two play 75 yard drive by the Texans to take the lead, only to be outdone by a picture-perfect final last second drive by Drew Brees (who was 3-5 on the drive; the 2 incompletions being spikes to stop the clock), culminating in a career-best 58-yard field goal by Will Lutz.  Two amazing quarterbacks showing their wares the entire game along with big plays by many on both sides.  GREAT game.

Best Team Performance

Baltimore Ravens - They dominated the Miami Dolphins so thoroughly that this game was over with 6:50 remaining in the first half, and that was before the Ravens scored again to take a 42-10 lead into halftime.  Just a dominating performance, scoring a franchise-record 59 points.  The defense performed too, only giving up 10 points, while sacking the Dolphins' quarterbacks 3 times, and intercepting them twice.

Least Impressive Team Performance

Cleveland Browns - Obviously Miami was the worst performance, but it is too easy to pick them here (as I am sure I will have multiple opportunities to do so in the future).  Cleveland came into this season with all the hype of their offseason acquisitions (more than just Odell Beckham, Jr.), and they absolutely laid an egg in their 43-13 throbbing by the Tennessee Titans, and team that was supposed to be in decline this year.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Offense)

Lamar Jackson, QB - Baltimore Ravens.  The run-first quarterback ended up the game with the sixth-highest rushing yards on his own team, even being out-gained on the ground by Robert Griffith, III 9-6.  What Jackson did do was throw the ball; 17-20 for 324 and 5 TDs (with no interceptions).  It was just the Dolphins, but he looked like he has evolved from just a run-only quarterback.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Defense)

Roy Robertson-Harris DT/DE, Chicago Bears - His stats don't jump completely off the page (1 sack, 2 tackles for loss, 3 total tackles), but as a interior defensive lineman, he controlled this game as the Bears held the Packers to a total of 47 yards rushing. And, it wasn't that Aaron Rodgers dominated, throwing for only 203 yards.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Special Teams)

Will Lutz, K - New Orleans Saints.  After narrowly missing a 56-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, Lutz stepped up and calmly hit a career long 58-yarder to win the game as time expired in the second half.  Teammates said they knew it was good after hearing the thunderous explosion of Lutz's foot hitting the ball, as it just sounded like a solid kick with distance.

Most Impressive Team Performance (Premier League)

The Premier League was off this weekend for national team duty.

Most Impressive Individual Performance (Premier League)

The Premier League was off this weekend for national team duty.

Goat of the Week

Antonio Brown, WR - Oakland Raiders/New England Patriots/Who Knows?  I am not going to recount all of his shenanigans that led to his release by the Oakland Raiders and the signing by the New England Patriots, but in a week in which he lost $20 something million, and could not play, the Patriots trouncing of the Steelers 33-3 showed that the Patriots don't NEED Brown, and the Raiders 24-16 defeat of the Denver Broncos shows that they don't need him either.  And this was all before the federal lawsuit filed against him alleging sexual battery, rape, invasion of privacy and false imprisonment.

Goat of the Week (Premier League)

The Premier League was off this weekend for national team duty.

Hit of the Week

Myles Jack, LB - Jacksonville Jaguars.  His punch at Sammy Watkins led to him being thrown out of the game.  

Breakthrough Performance

Josh Jacobs, RB - Oakland Raiders - Perhaps the Raiders don't need Antonio Brown because they have a running game. Jacobs, the rookie first round pick out of Alabama, gained 85 yards rushing with 2 TDs, and added 28 yards receiving.  He is the first running back with 100 total yards from scrimmage and 2 TDs in his first game since LaDanian Tomlinson.  Honorable Mention to Marquise Brown and T.J. Hockenson.

Finally

Mark Ingram, II, RB - Baltimore Ravens - Now Ingram has had much success in the NFl, but he has finally settled into a starting, power-back role that suits his skills.  Even with Lamar Jackson throwing the ball all over the field, Ingram made the most of his 14 carries, gaining 107 yards and scoring 2 TDs.

Impact Injury

Tyreek HIll, WR, Kansas City Chiefs.  Hill, the speedster that opens up everything else for the Chiefs offense, is out for 4 to 6 weeks with a shoulder injury sustained against the Jacksonville Jaguars.  At least the Chiefs have Travis Kelce as a primary receiving target and Sammy Watkins to play out wide.  In that same game, Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles broke his clavicle and is out indefinitely, but at least 8 weeks.  Gardner Minshew III, a rookie out of Washington State, replaced Foles and went 22-25 for 275 yards and 2 TDs, with 1 interception, in the Jaguars 40-26 loss to the Chiefs. 

Team Rising

Tennessee Titans - Obliterated the Browns, who were supposed to be this year's darlings.  They are not among the best teams, but they are rising.

Team Falling

Chicago Bears - Yes, a 10-3 loss to the Packers is not terrible, as the Packers are a really good team.  The problem is how they looked on offense, which was borderline horrid.  And, they travel to Denver for week 2.  This could get ugly, fast.

Best Teams

(All undefeated teams will be ranked ahead of all others until all teams have at least 1 loss, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think is best, regardless of record.)

1. Baltimore Ravens

2. New England Patriots

3. Kansas City Chiefs

4. New Orleans Saints

5. Los Angeles Chargers

Worst Teams

(All winless teams will be ranked here until all teams have at least 1 win, then I will rank them based upon which teams I think are the worst, regardless of record.)

32. Miami Dolphins

31. Cleveland Browns

30. Pittsburgh Steelers

29. Atlanta Falcons

28. New York Giants

Middle Teams

15. Buffalo Bills

16. Detroit Lions

17. Arizona Cardinals

18. Houston Texans*

*  Please note, I think the Texans are much better than this, but my criteria is, at least until several games in and the undefeateds and winless have sorted themselves out, to make my ranking based upon record first.  In this case, the Texans are the best team that lost this week.

Preview - Game(s) of the Week

5.  Kansas City Chiefs v. Oakland Raiders - Obviously Kansas City will be the overwhelming favorite.  But, if the Raiders can keep it close, squeak one out, or even look good at home this week, their entire season changes.

4. Chicago Bears v. Denver Broncos - Both playoff contenders were upset (although the Bears defeat at the hands of the Packers can hardly be called an "upset") in week one, meaning the loser starts off in a hole of 0-2.  Very important game for both teams.

3.  Tottenham v. Crystal Palace - The Spurs host surprising 4th place Crystal Palace in a battle that should see Tottenham vault closer into the Top 4.  A Crystal Palace win or draw in London could go a long way in showing us they might be for real.

2. Minnesota Vikings v. Green Bay Packers - The two 1-0 squads in the NFC North meet in week 2, with the Packers having the opportunity to not only start 2-0, but to start 2-0 in the division.  Dalvin Cook looks to be a more dangerous running game than the Bears showed last week against Green Bay, so we can see exactly how much the Packers focus actually improved their defense in the offseason.

1. New Orleans Saints v. Los Angeles Rams - Easily the best game of week 2, the NFC Championship rematch should be exciting as both teams come into the matchup off a win, New Orleans looked much better than the Rams, but have to travel to LA for this one.  If you are a football fan, this is the game to watch.

Trivia

Since we are beginning a new season, a multi-part trivia question.  Tom Brady begins his 20th season with the New England Patriots.  How many players have played at least 20 years with only one team throughout their careers, and out of those players, who has played the most years (and with which team)?

Sports Bar Review of the Week

(Hint:  Ratings based upon a week-to-week analysis of QB Play, not their career, so the scale varies from week-to-week.)

Duffys' Sports Grill
225 Clematis Street
West Palm Beach, FL
561/249-1682

Duffy's is a large, local chain, having actually started in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and have grown to 34 locations statewide, from Lake Mary in the north, to Kendall in the south, to Tampa and Sarasota in the west.  It is what you expect a sports bar to be when you arrive, and has a fairly typical sports bar menu, although that menu has expanded and changed over the years.

As far as game watching, their are a ton of televisions in this location (enough so that all games are running simultaneously), although you can really on focus on 2 or 3 depending upon where you are sitting.  The televisions are pre-labeled with min-pennants of the teams that will be showing on each tv, so that you can plan where to sit.  Duffy's is the official sports bar of the Miami Dolphins, so you can expect that the sound will be on the Dolphins game so long as they are playing.  This was to all of our detriment, but that is the fault of the Dolphins, not Duffy's.  This location did eliminated about 4 or 5 bar hi-top tables to put in kids carnival and video games (claw anyone?), but we were told by the new General Manager (who is very nice), that she was going to eliminate most of those (probably keeping Golden Tee).  This will allow for more tables, and thus more people and better football watching atmosphere.  Even without the extra tables, the place was full, but not crowded - unlike usual.  Several factors could play into this:  (1) the Dolphins were home (only 1 hour down the street); (2) the Patriots were the night game (they are usually a bid draw); and (3) lots and lots of construction on the streets surrounding Duffy's.  In any event, I have been in this Duffy's with a lot more action going on.  Nevertheless, good for football watching, for your team or your fantasy team.  Parking can be a problem, but I ubered
Atmosphere Rating:  Philip Rivers

Having eaten at Duffy's many, many times before, I did not have to sample much of the food to know what I was getting.  Neverheless, we did have buffalo wings - hot (traditional sports bar food), and the sesame-encrusted ahi tuna with soba noodles (non-tradiional sports bar food).  The wings are good, but the hot is not super-hot.  So, if you do look hot wings, order the Florida Heat Wave or Atomic Ghost Chili.  I generally prefer the Spicy Roasted Garlic (delicious), but others in my group wanted to traditional hot.  As far as the ahi - it is nowhere close to as great as you will get at a seafood restaurant or sushi joint, but it is AMAZING for a sports bar.  The sauce on the soba noodles is delicious, and the cucumber salad is fantastic as a small side.  Although not in this trip, I can recommend the burgers, among other items, as well.
Food Rating:  Carson Wentz

As far as drinks, Duffy's has a full bar.  As we were settled in for a long day of watching football, we were not out to get drunk, but with a small variety of beer choices (normal and craft), a full array of liquor choices, but a limited wine menu, Duffy's is exactly what you would expect from a sports bar.  The 2-4-1 specials make it well worth the trip.
Drink Rating:  Matthew Stafford

The server was new to me, and although it took him a bit to warm up to our boisterousness and humor, he was timely with his service and always available.  To me, this is GREAT.  He even put up with all of our separate tabs, which at least we warned him about ahead of time.
Service Rating:  Dak Prescott

As Duffy's is a general service restaurant/bar, and not a specialty bar, it's menus cater to the general public, and have a little bit of everything, and not a ton of variety in some things.  This pleases most people, but won't everybody.  That being said, we got exactly what we came for and expected.  A very good day of watching football at a very good place.  We will be back.
Overall Rating:  DeShaun Watson

Trivia Answer

None this week.  Tune in next week.