Last night I stumbled onto this Facebook page called Shares From Your Aunt. Why do I always have to find these things right as I’m getting ready for bed? I stayed up for another hour or so going through all the posts and that page is GOLD.
I have a serious question, but there’s no way it won’t steer itself right in the gutter: did half the football players in this country suddenly decide they weren’t going to wear jocks or cups anymore? I’ve noticed it once or twice in the past, but this season it seems to be all over the place. Some of them seem to be not even wearing underwear. Some of these guys I can clearly see their religion, and some of them make me wonder how they’re able to walk without it getting tangled up in their legs. And no, I’m actually not going out of my way to look for it (well, I WASN’T... now I am). It’s hard not to see it when a clueless cameraman centers his shot on some lineman’s crotch for five minutes. I don’t get it. If I played football I’d have a steel cup with a flak jacket wrapped around it. I’ve had more than my share of incidental knees/kicks/elbows to the junk and I’m totally ok with it never happening again. Given the shit that goes down in a pile when there’s a turnover or something, I don’t know why you’d want to put it in danger like that.
This week our early games are Bills at Chiefs (go Bills!) and... Rams at Bengals? What? WHY? When we could have had NY at Washington? Or Tampa Bay at Indy? Hell, even San Diego at Jacksonville would at least be somewhat relevant to us. I get that the Bengals are one of the top teams in the AFC right now, but this doesn’t make sense. We only get one afternoon game and it’s good: Pittsburgh at Seattle. And then there’s Baltimore at Cleveland on Monday night... think I’ll pass on that one.
And then there’s Sunday night. New England at Denver. My gut tells me the Broncos are going to win for a number of reasons. First, who do the Pats have left at receiver? I’m genuinely asking. Second, they’re playing in Denver, and the Broncos have been strong against them at home (not counting Year Tebow). Third, the best defense in the league (even without Demarcus Ware) against the tattered offensive line of the Pats? Tom Brady is great, but if you keep hitting him he will make mistakes. He’s not one of those guys that gets shell-shocked and self-sacks if he gets hit, instead he’s the guy who takes it all on himself and tries to win the game on his own. That’s going to be really hard for him to do against the Broncos’ secondary, especially with the receivers that Brady has left. Fourth, what pressure is really on the Broncos? I know that KC is surging, but the Broncos have a sizeable lead in the division and it wouldn’t be the end of the world for them to lose this game, unless they lose it BIG. Fifth, I know what the record is about backup quarterbacks against the Pats, but I think that doesn’t matter in this case. Brock faced the coaching staff that knew him the best last week, and beat them while not committing a turnover. I know how smart the Pats coaches are, but with so little tape on Brock you’re asking a LOT of them.
I’m not saying the Pats can’t win this game, or even that they shouldn’t be favored (they should). I just feel like it’s the perfect time and situation for the Broncos that they’re coming here now.
What are you watching today?