Hi Folks,
We do a lot of really insightful, thoughtful and serious features here at Footballguys with some very smart people thinking deeply for you. This is not one of those features.
This is Random Shots and it's a few pages of me downloading my goofy and dysfunctional mental hard drive that gets stuffed with way too many random items from too many hours watching, reading about and listening to football every weekend and throughout the week. It's the only way I keep relatively sane. Here's hoping it has some value for you.
We'll see. Now let's get to it.
J
Ravens defensive back Eric Weddle celebrates a win by eating a gallon of ice cream.
From Profootballtalk.com: “I would think that I consume a full gallon,” Weddle said. “I usually take the first batch of some ice cream, eat it and then about an hour later, at halftime of the Sunday night game, I go after a second serving. So I pretty much get a whole gallon of ice cream Sunday night. It’s pretty bad.”
Whatever works.
Picking this up from last week. I like Matt Stafford and I'd be glad to have him as my team's QB. But are we to the point where any MVP talk that doesn't include Stafford has to be dismissed?
Or did I just swallow that bait?
Again, he's an excellent player. And clearly a tough guy and gamer. But do many defensive coordinators lose extra sleep worrying about Matt Stafford? And Lions fans, save the email. I am pulling for the Lions to win it all this year and I love to see new faces at the top. Just trying to get a handle on this MVP love.
Packer fans ready for the snow Sunday.
Not everyone can look great in green and gold striped overalls. No offense, Packer fans. You know I love you. But that's a tough draw.
Thanks to Footballguy Clayton Gray for that one.
More Carson Wentz and Eagles talk. How much do your wide receivers stink when losing Dorial Green-Beckham is a major blow?
If I'm a Louisville Fan, this would make me a little nervous...
Although the internet had fun with this picture.
Sunday morning gave us a nice lesson on journalism and how news works and how we should view what we read.
D. Orlando Ledbetter is a long time and trusted Falcons beat writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
On the Journal-Constitution website Sunday morning, Ledbetter reported what he knew to be facts.
JULIO JONES UPDATE, 10:40 a.m: The Falcons are set to arrive at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at 12:30 p.m. The Jones’ turf toe decision is legitimately up in the air, according to the team. Based on how he feels after running, the group — Jones, head coach Dan Quinn and the trainers/doctor — will discuss and make a decision.
JULIO JONES UPDATE, 1:20 p.m. — Coach Dan Quinn told the AJC wide receiver Julio Jones will work out in about 40 minutes. He said Jones is trying to play, but he’s ready to make the tough call. He said he won’t play him at 50 percent.
JULIO JONES UPDATE, 2:10 p.m. — Team announces that Julio Jones will not play vs. Rams today after a light warmup.
However, Ledbetter's personal opinion on Twitter was much stronger. He said Jones would at best be a decoy if he played.
Which one is right? Both are. For the AJC, I'm assuming Ledbetter's job is to report the facts. For Twitter, he'll have a conversation and open up more about his opinions. That's what happened here. Both are right. They're how different mediums operate. So when you're reading "news", understand the context. Just because a newspaper article doesn't go out on a limb with an opinion, that doesn't mean the writer doesn't have one. He's likely saving it for another platform. Very often Twitter. On that note, here's the Footballguys Guide To Why You Should Be Using Twitter.
On a side note, replies to Ledbetter's opinion like this tweet are why lots of insiders would rather not share what they think.
I'm going to assume the guy was just making a joke. But those jokes aren't funny. Please be careful. And cool. When it becomes unfun for writers to share insights online, they stop sharing. And we all lose.
On the lighter side, I think my favorite advice story was this one from a couple of years ago:
Tuesday morning after the Week 16 games is the day Fantasy League Champions are basking in their glory and losers of the Fantasy Super Bowl are licking their wounds. Side note - if your league is one of the half dozen dinosaurs left in the country playing the Championship Game in Week 17, do everything in your power to right this egregious wrong for next year. I believe Week 17 Championships are the worst rule in fantasy sports. And it's not even close. I wouldn't remotely consider playing in a league that chose to play the most important game of the season in the mockery that is often Week 17. Sorry. Triggered there.
Back to the story. Tuesday after Week 16 is the day Fantasy League Champions are basking in their glory and losers of the Fantasy Super Bowl are licking their wounds. I get a lot of email every day but this day the mail box was overflowing. I clicked on an email that read something like this: "Hi Joe, just wanted to say thanks for a GREAT season! I've never finished in the playoffs before but this year I won the Fantasy Super Bowl and Footballguys was a big help. Thanks!!!"
Who wouldn't like to see something like that? I was feeling pretty good about myself and Footballguys and clicked on the very next email. Received just a few seconds after Mr. Fantasy Champion.
This email began, "Thanks a lot Bryant. You STUPID SON OF A ..." You can guess the rest.
My first thought was I'm glad the guy at least got to the Super Bowl. But more accurately, I've been on the losing side of Super Bowls and know the feeling. I understand both guys. It's part of the business.
The Packers drubbed Seattle 38-10 Sunday in Green Bay. Are the Packers back? Or was Sunday's game more of this?
If you don't know what Salguero's talking about, good for you. Because it's hard to unsee this.
Just one more example of "When you have more money than you can spend, you can do whatever you want..."
On the other end of the wealth spectrum, most anyone can afford Browns tickets these days.
Those CBS Stats Guys are on top of it.
Thanks to Footballguy Jeremy Johnson for that one.
I'm thinking DeAndre Hopkins might be with Kanye West here if you ask him about putting Palmer and Osweiler in the same group...
Thanks to @FantasySB for that one.
From the "Things Move Fast" Department.
Ferris would be proud.
Oh Buffalo.
It's a beautiful game. From the Steelers website:
On the practical side, this happened...
As my Buddy and Steelers Fan Keith Overton says, "Can't have too many Bell TD graphics".
I like Jeff Darlington. I know he's a Florida guy, but Dude. Green Bay in December usually means bringing a hat.
Ryan Tannehill just set the Forward Pass back about 30 years...
Jersey Diner Menu or Ben McAdoo's Play Card? You decide.
Tyron Smith weighs 320. Eli Apple weighs 199. This is what happens when those two meet.
I'm not saying Strength and Will and Technique aren't important. But all things being relatively equal, Physics wins.
This was the writing on the wall.
You keep being you, Cam Newton.
With that said,
"Dominant" might not be a strong enough word here.
Sunday, Russell Wilson threw as many interceptions as Aaron Rodgers had incomplete passes. Yeah, I saw that coming...
Plus I think Ryan from the Office looks a little like Rodgers...
Going Old School for the Music Note of the Week. The Dropkick Murphys go way back to 1996. And they're still kicking. Hard. Amazing Grace is one of my all time favorite songs. This isn't exactly the mainstream version. But it's my favorite version.
I'm so hoping that's how they play it in Heaven.
The Browns Season in 4 seconds.
0 and 13 takes a toll. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
Darren Sproles. Wow.
Following the Cowboys - Giants game, Eli Manning shook hands with long time opponent Tony Romo before he found Dak Prescott. The Internet reacted predictably with those looking to be offended and those who revel in the offense breathlessly asking, "Did Eli Manning Intentionally Snub Dak Prescott At The End Of The Giants Game?"
First thing, anytime you have to ask the question in a headline like that, the answer is usually "No". I love Dak Prescott and he clearly deserves to be the Cowboys starter. But for you folks looking like Spock here walking around with a Dak chip on your shoulder looking for someone to knock it off, lighten up.
College Football Note. So much for my Lane Kiffin back to Tennessee idea...
Another "Guy losing the bet means wearing the rival's gear" shot. Devon Still and J.J. Watt went at it over Wisconsin and Penn State.
Watt was not happy.
Special Teams never gets the credit they deserve. Here's Ryan Smith with a sweet play from Sunday.
Green Bay's just a different place to play. From the size of the town to the fan base to the passion, players often comment it's more like a college atmosphere. In a nutshell, it's just more fun.
Sunday gave us a perfect example as the local meteorologists declared the weekend's storm to be "Winter Storm Aaron".
Can you imagine this happening in New York? Never. But I love Green Bay for it.
With Jeff Fisher out in Los Angeles, the obligatory Jim Harbaugh to ______ talk began. The normal protocol is Harbaugh, then Jon Gruden then Nick Saban. Then they start talking about realistic candidates. The Harbaugh buzz gained some steam though as apparently the Matrix was trying to tell us something with Harbaugh's headset...
Even more obvious...
Don't say I didn't warn you...
Jacksonville was flagged Sunday for a delay of game penalty. On a kickoff. Which according to Pro-Football-Reference's Play Index, has not happened since 1998.
Jaguars gonna Jaguar.
Joe Namath's spent most of this season ragging on Jets quarterbacks. Apparently feeling left out, Fran Tarkenton jumped into the Grumpy Old Quarterback Club.
The internet responded in one of two ways.
Young Guys:
Old Guys:
The NFC East has been fun this year. Especially Dallas and New York. Cowboy fans (rightly) point to the standings. Giants fans though are having fun pointing to the scoreboard.
Best Post Game Handshake award easily goes to Andy Reid with the "Nice job, Sonny" pat on the back with Del Rio.
If only he'd followed the pat by looking right back at Del Rio and dabbing...
What could have been.
Wrapping with this one. The Holidays are fun but they can also be tough for people. I get it. If you need a simple smile, this should do it. This guy said he drove over 10,000 miles to create this with a ton of different people. Enjoy.
That'll do it for this week, Folks. Thanks to Footballguys Doug Drinen, Clayton Gray, Jeremy Johnson and Keith Overton for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, shoot me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Thanks for playing along. I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.
Peace and Grace to you.
J