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NFL power poll
Man, the NFL arrives like fireball in a vacuum that consumes everything around it.
The Monday night doubleheader only adds to that consumption, and not always in the best of ways.
Like countless others, Mrs. Bicycle Bob — the better half to one of our regulars around these parts — is less than thrilled that the expanded Monday night slate means more games on ABC.
Which means NFL pregame preempting "Jeopardy!" — which is part of the nightly routine for Mrs. BB and game show fans everywhere.
Hey, Channel 9, what can we do about some schedule adjustment to make sure our "Jeopardy!" fans don't think the correct question is "What the (bleep) happened to my favorite show?"
Let's make like an over zealous Stacey Abrams supporter and rush to the poll.
Powerful (and yes, everyone on top side of the list is 2-0)
1. Dallas. OK, Jerry Jones is an easy target. No other owner has a weekly sit-down with local sports radio folks in his town. He canned Tom Landry and Tex Schramm when he bought the team. He parted ways with Jimmy Johnson after multiple Super Bowl titles because Jones felt he was being shorted the credit. But let's give some credit to a team that has built a top-flight roster with shrewd draft picks and wise roster management. They went Pats and Belichick by cutting Zeke Elliott and Amari Cooper a year too early rather than a year too late. And their last five first-rounders — Mazi Smith, Tyler Smith, Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb and Leighton Vander Esch — have been great. In fact, when it comes to first-rounders, you want multiple-season starters and Pro Bowl-caliber players. From 2002 through 2021, 14 of Dallas' 19 first-round selections made at least one Pro Bowl. (I love the draft. You know this.)
2. San Francisco. The 49ers' window is now considering the draft-deal blunders they made to move up to get Trey Lance, who is now a Dallas Cowboy, ironically enough. Still despite that potentially devastating trade — San Fran sent three first-round picks to Miami to move up to 3 to draft Lance in 2021 — the 49ers have as deep a roster as anyone in the league. And they have two of the biggest game-changers on each side of the ball with RB Chistian McCaffery and DE Nick Bosa.
3. Philadelphia. So much for the AFC being the tougher division huh? Had a conversation with a buddy at work late last week after the Eagles' dazzling Thursday night performance and was curious the answer to this question: Does any team have a better QB1-RB1-WR1-WR2-TE1 skill set collection than these Eagles? Because Jalen Hurts, D'Andre Swift, AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert are dudes. Also, the Eagles purposefully drafting as many SEC players — and as many Georgia players recently — makes all the sense in the world.
4. Miami. Do I have more trust in Tua and crew than I do, say K.C. or Buffalo? Not long-term, but after two weeks, the verticality of this offense is pretty impressive. Miami is 2-0 — both wins on the road mind you — and is averaging 7.3 yards per play, which is a full 1 yard better than the second-best team in the league. There are sticks of dynamite looking at each other and saying, "Man, those Dolphins are really explosive."
5. Atlanta. Shut up. Yes, it's a homer pick. But 2-0 is 2-0 and that 2-0 comes with the forever optimistic few that Desmond Ridder's best days are in front of him.
Powerless
28. New England. Shocking, right? So yeah, we can put that "Was it Belichick or Brady?" debate that keyed the Pats' success to bed, right? Because here's a better question: Which head coach could potentially damage his "genius" legacy more this year, Coach Hoodie or ... ?
29. Denver. Sean Payton, who has the Broncos competing but still losing with a nine-figure QB? Discuss.
30. Chicago. I was wrong in the other way about Josh Allen, the Bills QB. I thought he would be a bust. I was just as wrong in the opposite direction on Justin Fields, who I thought was going to be an absolute dude. Hey, at least the Bears didn't trade three first-rounders to move up to take him, right?
31. Arizona. I think the Cardinals need to petition the league that all postseason (or draft position) tie-breakers are decided by QB "Jeopardy!" That way we can make it up to Mrs. BB, and if we're talking about QB "Jeopardy!" Josh Dobbs would be the all-time No. 1 overall pick. Ever.
32. Houston. The Texans — like the Cardinals — likely are destined to spend most every Tuesday of the season in this group, so we will just offer lyrics from sad songs, because truly, who wants analysis of a team that got boat-raced by Indy. "Hello darkness my old friend. I've come to talk with you again."
More NFL
So Patrick Mahomes gets huge money. He deserves it.
Nick Chubb shreds his knee — when both teams kneel around an injured player, it's a scary site — against the Steelers. He assuredly did not deserve that.
(Side question: Nick Chubb and Sony Michel were bona fide dudes in the same backfield at Georgia, that's a given and not a question. Here's the question: Better college RB tandem, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown or Chubb and Michel? Discuss. Cue Bearddawg in 3, 2, 1.)
Chubb's scary and unfortunate injury is a springboard into a Hall of Fame injury discussion in the caverns of my mind.
Chubb was on a Hall of Fame trajectory. He entered the league in 2018 and had 6,511 yards, averaged 5.3 yards per carry and had 48 rushing TDs. He was a multiple-time Pro Bowl and made two All-Pro teams in those five seasons (and two games).
Is that a Hall of Fame resume if he never returns? Sadly, probably not but certainly on the propr arc.
It also made me thing, two games into this 2023 season, and on a True or Fale Tuesday, let's play the "Headed to Canton" game if the following players suffered career-ending injuries sometime between now and Halloween.
True or false, Patty Mahomes is a Hall of Famer right now.
True or false, Aaron Donald is a Hall of Famer right now.
True or false, Aaron Rodgers is a Hall of Famer right now. (This one is clear, of course.)
True or false, Derrick Henry is a Hall of Famer right now.
True or false, Travis Kelce is a Hall of Famer right now.
True or false, Christian McCaffrey is a Hall of Famer right now.
Others — you know the rules, answers ome T or Fs, ask some T or Fs.
College football confidence
You know the rules. Here's Paschall on Alabama turning back to Jalen Milroe, and here's Paschall on UT's frustrations after its disastrous trip to The Swamp.
Paschall is aces. You know this.
But the frustrations of the Bama legions and the Vols bemoaners got me thinking.
Yes, that's a dangerous thing, Spy.
But three weeks into the season, which football fan bases are the most energized and which are the most depressed.
Colorado is 1 on the energized, right? Has to be, right?
No. 2 for me is Washington, and the Huskies have a legit shot this season. If they split against Oregon (at home) and at USC, that's a one-loss team with a Heisman-level QB.
Texas folks are jacked, too. Winning at Tuscaloosa gets the entire program energized like few other things.
Dejected fans start with Alabama, but that's as much about the extreme expectations and standards that Saban has crafted in my opinion.
I feel for some of my buddies who are A&M grads. Man, since that 8-1 run in the COVID-19 year, which was followed by the best recruiting class money could buy — and Jimbo throwing a ton of smoke at Saban — it's been one disappointment aftr another for Aggies everywhere. (And now Texas actually looks legit before it comes to the SEC.)
Michigan State. Not saying they had lofty hopes, per se, but they had a coach that has close to a nine-figure extension and he's about to get run for cause according to reports. And that's after Washington walked the Spartans to the shed in East Lansing.
Thoughts? Who am I missing?
This and that
— Tragic news that Kevin West died Monday. He was always a first-class dude in all my dealings with him. My prayers to his family and his countless friends throughout the county, especially the folks at Cumulus and WGOW who worked with him for so many years. Dude was just 61. Rest easy, Kevin.
— Yeah, Jonathan Frost has not had a good week.
— Braves played. Braves lost. It happened. Who could have imagined it. Well, Jay's Plays did actually.
— Interesting read here from the New York Times on companies sprinting in the opposite direction of "woke" in the aftermath of the Bud Light downfall of 2023.
— OK, country music is swinging into a dreadful, Luke Bryan, cycle of Hick-Hop, bro-country BS. And I now know why. The best country has now transitioned across all genres, so country stations are playing "new country." Want proof? Check the Billboard top 100 across all genres. Three of the top six are Zach Bryan, Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen. And while Olivia Rodrigo has songs 1 and 7 — and she's dominating the top-20 — Bryan may be the second-hottest act across music — Taylor Swift included. Bryan has 14 songs in top 100. Seriously.
Today's questions
True or false, it's Tuesday. Morning, Ernie. (And don't forget the NFL T or Fs above.)
True or false, you are pleased with your college football team through three games.
True or false, you know who Zach Bryan is.
True or false, you base your buying decisions on the politics of companies.
You know the drill, answer some T or Fs and ask some T or Fs.
As for today, Sept. 19, let's review.
Duke Snider was born on this day in 1926.
I think we have done the Rushmore Duke.
Joe Morgan was born on this day in 1943. There are several we could do on Joe — great players who became terrible announcers or even a Rushmore of second basemen — but we will go this way:
Rushmore of great MLB players with iconic batting stances (and if you did not imitate them playing wiffle ball growing up, then you did it wrong).
Go.