Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

While married to Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner had an affair with director John Farrow whose daughter Mia would later marry Frank Sinatra. Did you follow that?... Heh heh... Would be really curious to see a poll of who is more unpopular - Kamala Harris or Ghislaine Maxwell... My favorite campaign slogan of all-time was Ronald Reagan's "Elect me and let's forget the Carter Presidency ever existed"...  Heh Heh... There's a pretty good chance that the Falcons' Matt Ryan will finish his career with more passing yards than Dolphins legend Dan Marino. Ryan currently has 55,767 while Marino sits at 61,361. My how the game has changed... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

 Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

At almost any time while they were playing in the NFL if you offered almost any GM the choice of Eli Manning or Matt Ryan pretty much the consensus would have been Matt Ryan. Yet it is Eli Manning who has the better shot at the Hall of Fame... Maybe its just me but I consider the TV remote a much bigger innovation than sliced bread... If I were President - I would make Bill Belichick my Press Secretary. Those press briefings would be epic... Oral sex in the Bible... In my opinion it is criminal that Warren Zevon is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The irony is I doubt Zevon himself would give a damn about the honor. He'd just want you to appreciate your sandwich... If I were President I'd also make Bobby Orr my Ambassador to Canada. Not kidding. Who can you think of that would be better? And I don't care that Orr's not a US citizen... "Remember - with Great Pumpkin comes great responsibility." - Linus... 

Russell Wilson and the NFL's Top Paid Players

Now that Russell Wilson has signed a new contract with the Seahawks - Albert Breer tweeted out a list of the last 8 highest paid players in the NFL (including Wilson). All 8 players were QB's which was not surprising. Also not surprising  is the lack of winning their teams have done after the contract was signed.

Andrew Luck signed in June of 2016 for an average of $24.6 million per year. He then missed all of 2017 and last year "led" the Colts to a 10-6 record.

Derek Carr signed in June of 2017 for an average of $25 million per year. Since then he's "led" the Raiders to a 10-21 record.

Matthew Stafford signed in September of 2017 for $27.5 million per year. Since then he's "led" the Lions to a 15-17 record.

Jimmy Garoppolo signed in February of 2018 for $27.5 million per year. Since then he's "led" the 49ers to a 1-2 record before getting a season ending injury.

Kirk Cousins signed in March of 2018 for $28 million per year. Last year he "led" his team to a 8-7-1 record on a team some had pegged to go to the Super Bowl. Instead the Vikings missed the playoffs.

Matt Ryan signed in May of 2018 for $30 per year.  Last year he "led" his team to a 7-9 record and the Falcons too missed the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers signed in August of 2018 for $33.5 million per year. Last year he "led" his team to a 6-9-1 record and the Packers also missed the playoffs.

Now Russell Wilson has signed a contract that will pay him $35 million per year. The previous 7 QB's that held the title (however briefly) as the highest payed player in the NFL have gone a combined 57-71-2 a less than 45% winning percentage. Only Andrew Luck was able to even lead his team to the playoffs after signing the mega-deal. Vegas has Seattle's over/under at 8.5 wins next season which doesn't exactly scream playoffs.

Meanwhile Tom Brady never ends up on one of these highest paid lists yet the Patriots have been to three straight Super Bowls and Vegas has New England's over/under at 11.5 wins next season.

Just saying.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

"A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open." Frank Zappa... The word "lock" has seemed to have lost all meaning in the sports betting community... The use of human shields is always a cowardly and depraved act. It appears to me that Dianne Feinstein and the Democrats are basically using the equivalent of human shields as a last ditch effort to forestall the Kanavaugh Supreme Court nomination... Interesting discussion on the 25% import tariff the US places on any light truck not built in America. As much as I'm for free-trade I'd like to know the potential impact on the foreign manufacturers (like Nissan and Toyota) who have chosen to build their light trucks in the USA. Would those jobs remain here if the tariff was repealed?... Fact that may only interest me - Matt Ryan finished 7th in the 2007 Heisman voting. Of the top 10 vote getters only Chase Daniel (4th) and Chris Long (10th) are still active in the NFL. Matt Ryan has by far had the best NFL career of the top 10 finishers that year which was won by Tim Tebow... Conservatives who voted for Evan McMullin in 2016 have serious buyers remorse and many now wish they voted for Jonathan "the Impaler" Sharkey instead. I always viewed McMullin as an opportunistic fraud.. As a Boston sports fan let me say that last night's loss by the Patriots is very disappointing but before you feel any sympathy please remember these Patriots have won us 5 Super Bowls, the Red Sox currently have the best record in baseball and both the Bruins and Celtics are about to start their seasons and fans are very excited. Just the same - I'm going to stay 100% away from sports talk radio today. I have no need for the fellowship of the miserable...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Breaking - President Obama blames Mitt Romney wanting to kill Big Bird on YouTube video... These surprise military family reunions never fail to get me... Things you never notice and once pointed out can never forget - the nursery rhyme never actually say Humpty Dumpty is an egg... Las Vegas Review-Journal endorses Mitt Romney. Nevada is a key swing state. This is big... Rich Eisen of the NFL Network is promoting changing Matt Ryan's nickname from "Matty Ice" to "the Mattural". I am promoting changing Peyton Manning's nickname to "Horseface".... In 1900 a steak dinner cost $.25 - today a bag of potato chips costs at least double that... A little science humor - the Higgs Bison... Just a reminder but Jets coach Rex Ryan needs to go 7-9 this season just to equal Herm Edwards record in New York. I don't think he'll do it.

NFL Thoughts

Yesterday:

Arizona 30 - Atlanta 24: The line going into the game was Arizona minus 1. When the line was originally set - Atlanta was a 1 point favorite. Arizona was at home with a veteran QB who had won a Super Bowl. Atlanta was on the road with a rookie QB. I wanted to take the Cardinals but I held off on the game because I'm a fan of Matt Ryan and didn't want to be rooting against him. Instead I took the over (51.5). Happy day.

San Diego 23 - Indianapolis 17: You had the veteran QB Peyton Manning versus the combustible Phillip Rivers. You had the solid Tony Dungy coaching against Norv Turner. I thought this was a lock. How does Rivers and Turner beat Peyton and Dungy? Special teams. On punts Indy was consistently pinned back against their own goal line. On kicks San Diego consistently started off with great field position. Indy should have won and covered.

Baltimore vs. Miami: Keep in mind that Miami was a 1 win team last year but that win came against Baltimore. Keep in mind that Miami is at home. Keep in mind that you have a veteran QB matched up against a rookie QB. Now forget all of that because it doesn't matter. Take Baltimore and give the 3 points.

Philadelphia vs Minnesota: Both home teams won and covered yesterday. Both home teams will lose today. Take Philadelphia minus 3. I also like the over in this game (41 points)

NFL Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous NFL thoughts and observations.

You had to know that with all the love being thrown to Atlanta and Matt Ryan on all the pre-game shows that the Falcons would end up losing yesterday. It's like talking about a pitcher having a no-hitter. As soon as you mention the no-hitter - someone gets a hit. As soon as you mention the Falcons' success - they lose a game... There were only 3 punts total by both teams in the Indy / Texans game. The three punts averaged 50 yards each... Miami was lucky to win a single game last year and yet yesterday they were a 10-point favorite over the Raiders. Ted Baxter would argue that was too many points:

The Ted Baxter theory of football betting says to take the NFL teams getting 10 or more points under the idea that both teams are professionals and how much difference could there be between two groups of professionals?

The Ted Baxter theory would have been 2-0 yesterday (the Raiders covered getting 10 and the Lions covered getting 14)... Deja vu - when the Patriots played the Rams in the Super Bowl - the Rams were the overwhelming favorite and people were talking about St. Louis being a possible dynasty. Then the Patriots upset the Rams and suddenly New England was the dynasty team. Last year the Patriots were the overwhelming favorite and were upset by the Giants. Now the Giants are the team looking like a possible dynasty... The Chiefs are just 1-9 and yet you really don't hear anyone talking about firing Herm Edwards. I don't get that. What has Herm Edwards ever won to get him such a Teflon reputation? I contend that Herm Edwards is the worst coach in the NFL... Pride goeth before a fall. Remember to the hot start Donovan McNabb got off to this season and how he was chirping about finally being healthy? Do you think there will be any chirping after his 3 INT performance yesterday. Wrap your head around this one Eagles fans - yesterday your QB was out-performed by a guy from Harvard... The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have very quietly put up a 7-3 record. Their 3 losses were by a combined 11 points... The past two weeks I bet against the Titans under the theory that they aren't going to go undefeated this season. Yesterday I didn't touch them but next week I'm going back to betting against them...

Boston College Loses to Florida State

Last night the Boston College Eagles came up short in their bid for an undefeated season by losing to Florida State 27-17. It was 20-17 with a little over a minute to go and everyone watching expected to see Matt Ryan lead the Eagles to a victory. Instead Ryan threw an interception which was returned for the final TD of the game.

Now that Matt Ryan and BC have been knocked off their pedestals - the doubters will be free to kick them when BC is down. Here's the mistake - BC isn't down. They are 8-1 (4-1 in the ACC) and are still in line to get a major bowl birth and in great shape to win the ACC.

The weather in Chestnut Hills last night was bad. The weather was so bad that many of my friends raced to place bets on the game going under the total of 38.5 points with the thinking that nobody would be able to score in those conditions. I bring this up to to emphasize how bad the weather was and to point out that I hang out with some degenerate gamblers. I'm sure Matt Ryan and BC would never use the weather as an excuse as to why they lost and I make no excuses for my friends.

I will admit to having a 180 degree change in my thinking about BC deserving their high ranking and now my thinking is damn right they deserve their high ranking. Last night they lost to a good Florida State team (though a team I grant is prone to Jeckle and Hyde performances). This is the same Florida State team that beat the Alabama team who almost beat LSU last night. Sure BC lost last night and had to pull out the Virginia Tech game in the last 2 minutes but the LSU team everyone want to jump over BC in the rankings is always playing from behind it seems.

The past 4 games for LSU have been Pepto-Bismal affairs. Easily LSU could have lost any of the 4 games (similar to the stumbles the pundit favorite Florida Gators have taken). I ask the simple question - on a neutral field who would win versus the Florida State Seminoles and the Kentucky Wildcats? I think that would be a pretty even game and yet just watch as the "experts" use BC's loss as proof they they don't belong with the big boys while at the same time dismissing LSU's loss to Kentucky as an aberration.

Let me also ask who would win on a neutral field between the 6-3 Florida State and the 6-3 California Golden Bears. Cal was the one team to beat Oregon - another team the "experts" will leap frog over BC in the polls. Really wouldn't a Florida State / Cal game be about even? Why then is the Oregon loss looked at as an aberration while BC's loss will be proof that they are over their head?

Just remember that these are the same "experts" who had the preseason polls so utterly wrong. Also remember not to count out BC and Matt Ryan. Look for BC to take Maryland to the woodshed next week and look for Ryan to have another 400-yard passing night to boot.

Matt Ryan

Some people continue to be blinded when it comes to Matt Ryan and his chances for the Heisman Award. I'm talking to you Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com.

Neither team would be in the championship hunt without them. Same for Ryan. But this week I can't vote him No. 1, or even No. 2 [in Heisman rankings]. It shouldn't matter, but it does. Thursday is going to stick with me as a Heisman voter. Ryan could end up being the ACC Player of the Year, even an All-American. But I'll remember those first 56 minutes more than the final four.

Dennis - I posit that if you knew what you were talking about that those final 4 minutes would count way more than the first 56. The only person I've seen or heard make this point is Sean McDonough during Friday's Boise State telecast. McDonough correctly noted that Ryan calls his own plays when the team goes into the 2-minute offense which they did during the final 4-minutes of the Virginia Tech game. Ryan was not only making the big plays - he was calling them as well.

Matt Ryan for Heisman

OK - last night put me fully on the Matt Ryan for Heisman bandwagon.

The Boston College Eagles are undefeated and currently #2 in the country. They might not even be ranked if it wasn't for Matt Ryan. Right now he is more valuable to his team than any other player in the country.

I also want to point out that last year Troy Smith won the Heisman Award mostly on the strength of leading Ohio State to an undefeated regular season. Smith finished the season with 2,507 yards passing. Matt Ryan needs just 74 more yards to pass Smith's output from last year and he has 4 games to do it in. If Ryan leads BC to an undefeated then he too deserves to win the award. However, unlike Troy Smith I'd be willing to bet that Matt Ryan would get more than 35 yards passing if the Eagles get to the BCS title game.

Boston College Football

Matt Ryan and the Boston College Eagles beat Notre Dame 27-14 yesterday to run their record to 7-0 on the season (and once again let me point out that I was probably the only person to predict a 7-0 start in writing). Ryan was good but not great completing 65% of his passes (32-49) for 291 yards, 2 TD's and 1 INT.

With #1 LSU and #2 California both losing - the #4 Eagles can expect to move up in the polls. My guess is that they move to #3 with Ohio State taking the #1 spot and Southern Florida jumping over BC on the strength of their drubbing of Central Florida yesterday.

Many people still aren't comfortable with the idea of BC ranked so high (like ESPN's Mark May). I understand that mindset because to many people BC is one of those teams that will look good on paper but then fold in the big game. Yesterday's performance against the Fighting Irish helps illustrate the problem. BC missed an extra point and an easily makable field goal. The score should have been at least 31-14. Then you add in the fact that half Notre Dame's points came off a BC turnover and some people will think "BC would never get away with that stuff against a top team." To an extent these people are right. I'm no fan of running up the score for the sake of scoring but when you completely dominate a game like yesterday (459 total yards for BC to just 222 for ND) then that should be reflected on the scoreboard. All too often - that's not the case with Boston College.

BC's next game against Virginia Tech on the road will be its biggest test. If BC can win that game - then they can run the table and go undefeated. Who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? The BC players have to realize that their next game just may be for the right to play in the championship game. If they can elevate their game to that next level then they should be able to quiet those who aren't sold on them yet. In short - they have to prove it to themselves first.

College Football Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous college football thoughts and observations.

I watched the final quarter of Stanford's upset win over USC and I must say that John David Booty at QB for USC makes USC beatable on any given Saturday. Forget the 4 interceptions he threw - USC got the ball back with 49 seconds left and the ball on about their own 45-yard line. All they needed was a couple of quick out completions to set up the game winning field goal. Instead they used up 4 downs and lost 7 yards. Matt Leinart or Carson Palmer would have set the team up for that final field-goal try. John David Booty just isn't a big time QB and if his back-up leads them to a couple of wins - then John David Booty could have played his last down for the Trojans.... With USC and #5 Wisconsin both losing - that means #7 Boston College will probably move up into the top 5. I've got to mention that I may have been the only person to predict a 7-0 start and a top 5 ranking for the Eagles. BC still has to beat Notre Dame to get to 7-0 but with the Irish beating UCLA yesterday - I think that actually makes it easier for BC to win the game. Notre Dame no longer has the urgency to win their first game of the year weighing down on their shoulders... Boston College will probably move up to #5 in the AP poll but I find it amusing that pre-season Michigan was ranked #5 in the AP poll and now they aren't even in the top 25. Pre-season BC wasn't even in the top 25 in the AP poll. Pre-season Louisville was ranked 10th while Missouri was not even ranked. Now Missouri may rise as high as 10th in the poll while Louisville is not even in the top 25. Pre-season it seemed like the voters had no clue about teams like South Florida, Cincinnati, and Illinois while they ranked others purely on reputation. I point this out just to emphasize how unscientific and random the current system is.... Matt Ryan helped himself in his Heisman hopes with a 300 yard performance (or 312 yards depending on whose stats you use) with 4 TD's and most importantly ZERO interceptions. Just as BC will now be in the top 5 - Ryan should also be in the top 5 for Heisman hopefuls... Speaking of awards - Holy Cross QB Dominic Randolph should at least move into the Payton Award watch list with his 6 TD, 404-yard performance against Brown yesterday...

Matt Ryan

I'm a Boston College fan but the talk of putting Matt Ryan into the Heisman shortlist may be premature. Ryan is 8th in the country in passing with 985 yards after 3 games. Every player who has more passing yards than Ryan also has a better QB rating. For examples - Brian Brohm of Louisville has 1,142 yards and a rating of 193 while Colt Brennan of Hawaii has 1,262 yards and a rating of 165. Matt Ryan has a QB rating of 136.

Matt Ryan will have to lead BC to either an undefeated season or one loss season to get real consideration for the award.