Post by spiderfan on Dec 26, 2022 23:01:35 GMT -8
Merry Days after Christmas Sports Coast to Coast, Spiderfan here, with the Red Hot Gridiron column for Week 16 of the National Football League season. We have a bunch to talk about, so without further ado, let us begin!
Jalen Hurts Has Even More Reason to Be MVP Now
Last week during the game against the Chicago Bears, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts suffered a shoulder injury. With the Eagles next game being against their hated rival Dallas Cowboys, I thought the Eagles exaggerated the injury as a way to try to mess with the Cowboys heads in an attempt at rivalry trickery. With Hurts' status being up the air for a few days there was much discussion about Hurts, the Eagles, and his status an a MVP candidate. "If the Eagles win with Gardner Minshew doesn't that prove that Jalen Hurts isn't nearly as valuable as previously thought?" the logic went. Another talking point was "Well, if he's out that gives another person a chance to play all the games, therefore Hurts won't get the MVP." As I only do this column once a week, I did not delve into the aforementioned talk show fodder. I much prefer to take pot shots at said fodder after the fact, while taking pot shots at my own bad predictions, while also praising myself for my accurate predictions!
Digressing aside, there should be no doubt about Jalen Hurts' importance to the Eagles are Saturday's loss to the Cowboys. The Cowboys won 40-34 with the Eagles in the red zone in the final seconds. The fact the Eagles were that close to despite a three headed hydra of INTs by Gardner Minshew, multiple read option fumbles that sure looked like a result of lack of chemistry, and Minshew's near lack of mobility as opposed to Hurts' immense amount of mobility leads me to the opinion that if Hurts was the QB, the Eagles would have won. When a single player playing or not playing affects the ultimate outcome of a game, that is the definition of a valuable player. To me Hurts' season now looks even more impressive now that we have seen what the Eagles look like without him, not a #1 seed Super Bowl frontrunner type team. With Hurts in the lineup? The Eagles are a #1 seed Super Bowl frontrunner. If Hurts' doesn't get the MVP because he missed 1 game that will be absurd, in my opinion. Injuries should never be held against players. Especially when we are talking about what will end up being a minor injury in the big scheme of things.
Bucked Off
With the above nugget in mind, the 51-14 outcome in favor of the Rams shouldn't be surprising. What was surprising (at least to me) was that Broncos HC Nathaniel Hackett was fired. What was even more surprising was that Broncos GM George Paton, the guy who gave Russell Wilson what is now officially the most disastrous contract in the history of the NFL, has not been fired... yet. My guess is he'll be fired in a few weeks (similar to when the Browns fired John Dorsey a couple weeks after they fired Freddie Kitchens) or he'll be demoted to some other role (similar to what happened to John Elway when Paton got to Denver). As for the man bucked off the Bronco, his hiring seemed like a slam dunk when it looked like Aaron Rodgers was on his way to the mountains. As we all know Rodgers didn't come and Hackett is now unemployed, although Hackett will probably back in Green Bay soon enough.
As for who Hackett's successor will be? I think it will be someone like Chiefs OC Eric Bienemy who is desperate to be a head coach, not guys like 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans or Bills OC Ken Dorsey who will have options. The Broncos new ownership has gobs and gobs of money so they could overpay Sean Payton, but considering he bailed on a Saints team that is better than the Broncos are, I don't see him going to the mountains.
What is Ron Rivera Thinking?
As of the writing of this column Commanders HC Ron Rivera hasn't benched Taylor Heinicke yet. Having made that disclaimer, the idea that Heinicke's benching is even being considered is one of the most moronic things in the football world I've seen in a while. The biggest reason the Commanders are even sniffing the playoffs is because of Heinicke. Not to mention that the reason that Wentz is even on the Commanders in the first place is because he completely choked in Week 18 last year as the Colts QB, causing the Colts to trade him to the Commanders. If Wentz starts one or both of the Commanders final 2 games, they'll come to regret it. All the other teams in the NFC wild card hunt will be happy about it though.
That's Why They Play The Games
Around midseason when the good teams start to separate themselves from the pack and when the bad teams start to be really bad, when looking at the schedule a lot of games look mediocre on the schedule. Outside of pride and draft status games between two bad or below average teams late in the year are not exactly must see TV. But that my friends is why they play the games.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were 3-7 staring down another losing season. There was no way they would make the playoffs especially with the Titans having a 7-3 record. Now the Jaguars are 7-8 and the Titans are 7-8, with the the Jaguars making the playoffs if the season ended today. They'll play each other in Week 18 in what will likely decide the AFC South title and be a winner is in the playoffs, loser is out game.
The Detroit Lions started out the season 1-6. The Packers were 4-8 not too long ago. With the Vikings winning the NFC North by a mile, it looked for the first time in a long the NFC North would not produce a wild card team. Sure, the Lions are a cursed franchise so it made some level of sense for them to not make the playoffs, but the Packers with the 2 time reigning MVP? Unthinkable right? Now they are both 7-8 firmly in the playoff hunt. They'll play each other in Week 18 in a game in a potentially winner is in the playoffs, loser is out game.
The craziest situation of all though is what is going in the NFC South. The Panthers and Saints are both 6-9 and shouldn't be anywhere near the playoffs, except the Buccaneers have had a below average 7-8 season, meaning that next week's contest between the Buccaneers and Panthers has MAJOR playoff implications and the Week 18 game between the Panthers and Saints has the potential to have MAJOR playoff implications.
Other thoughts:
-This now the third year in a row where Tua has fallen apart in a big game with the Dolphins being in the playoff hunt. That is not a promising trend and one that would give me pause if I were Dolphins management before giving Tua a contract extension.
-Oh good (sarcasm), the 49ers won again, now their hype train gets to keep going.
-Zach Wilson had his shot to come off the bench and prove that he wasn't a bust. He didn't do that more or less proving that at least as the QB of the Jets he was a bust. It'll be interesting to see if he plays better when he isn't on the Jets anymore.
-The Tinys need to come up big in the one of the next 2 games to clinch their playoff spot. I'll have things to things to say in the coming weeks for sure.
-RIP Franco Harris.
-Every Colts loss is another million that Jim Irsay will end up adding to the contract offer he gives Jim Harbaugh.
With all of that said, that is all for this week's edition of Red Hot Gridiron. As always I hope ya enjoyed and hope to see ya again next week. With the playoff race in full swing and the stakes as high they'll get in the regular season, this is the time of year that really shows that football is the greatest game in the world. This is spiderfan out.
