NFL thoughts while wondering what Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown will be doing this weekend.
Welcome to the NFL playoffs Patriots fans.
After last weekend’s expected thrashing of the Tennessee Titans, the playoffs really begin around here on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium when the Jacksonville Jaguars come to town for the AFC Championship Game.
While a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers [...]
NFL thoughts while wondering what Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown will be doing this weekend.
Welcome to the NFL playoffs Patriots fans.
After last weekend’s expected thrashing of the Tennessee Titans, the playoffs really begin around here on Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium when the Jacksonville Jaguars come to town for the AFC Championship Game.
While a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers and their glitzy offensive stars would have offered all sorts of intrigue, the loud-mouthed Steelers couldn’t back up their boastful predictions. Instead the Jaguars showed up at Heinz Field ready to play, jumped out to a 21-0 lead and hung on for a 45-42 road win.
Now the Jags are a game away from their first-ever Super Bowl. Don’t listen to predictions that the Patriots will easily roll to yet another AFC title. Jacksonville beat the Steelers twice in Pittsburgh, so they’re not chumps. They do have the underwhelming Blake Bortles at quarterback but these Jags are all about defense. They’re second in the NFL in points allowed (16.8 a game) and have legit stars in pass-rushers Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue and aggressive corners A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey. If the game plan to stop Tom Brady remains pressure in his face combined with defenders sticking to Danny Amendola and Chris Hogan, this is a group to worry about.
While Bortles didn’t make any mistakes in Pittsburgh, he is prone to an ill-timed interception or two. His better option is to hand the ball off to Leonard Fournette. The stud rookie from LSU had his 2017 Mercedes-Benz Maybach S 600 rear-ended on Tuesday but he’s fine. He autographed the broken rear bumper for a first responder and then returned to worrying about the Patriots.
It’s difficult to go all-in on these Jags. The defense contains some real players but these guys aren’t the Steel Curtain or the Purple People Eaters. They lost to the Titans. Twice. They also somehow lost to the New York Jets.
Are they ready to shock the Patriots in Gillette? Can't see it but the playoffs have finally arrived.
No comparison
Much is being made this week of the fact that the Patriots have the best quarterback remaining in the playoffs. This is no shock but the question is just how large is the gap between Brady and Bortles, Case Keenum and Nick Foles?
It could prove to be Grand Canyon big. Brady has won five Super Bowls, while the other three guys have started a combined five playoff games. Bortles is no chump, but Minnesota’s Keenum went undrafted in 2013 and the Eagles’ Foles is a career backup.
The football world would be hopping right now if guys named Brees, Ryan or Roethlisberger were still playing, but those established stars couldn’t get it done. A new wave of quarterbacks is always ready to take a star turn.
Time passes everyone by, of course. Everyone except Tom Brady.
Keep your friends close ...
We always knew Bill Belichick and his henchmen drilled the Omerta guidelines into anyone who steps foot in the Patriots locker room but just watch what happens this week. After the Steelers flapped their gums — and Twitter fingers — before taking the first quarter off against the Jaguars, the victors couldn’t stop talking about how they were "disrespected."
This week the Jaguars will again be disrespected but the flak will come from both New England and national media who are already ordaining the Patriots as Super Bowl champions. This will not happen at 1 Patriot Place, where praising the opponent is a way of life. Consider this response from veteran Matthew Slater when asked about the loquacious Ramsey telling his fans the Jags will beat the Pats and win the Super Bowl.
“That guy is really good, and he should be confident, because he is very, very good,” Slater said. “The good Lord made that guy, and he said, ‘Let there be corner.’ And there he is. I’d be confident if I were him as well.”
Ratings down
Dismiss any conspiracy theories that the NFL is getting tired of the Patriots and would like to see new blood come Super Bowl week. Judging from last weekend’s TV ratings, the league needs Brady & Co. more than ever.
Despite the presence of the Pats and two classic games on Sunday, TV ratings for the divisional-round games were a bust. With little national buzz surrounding Pats-Titans, that game earned the lowest rating (16.6) of the four and was the lowest for a divisional-round game in eight years.
The historic finish of the Vikings-Saints game in the best window (late Sunday afternoon) of the weekend drew a 21.8 rating. That’s the highest of the four games but was down 23 percent from last year’s marquee Packers-Cowboys game.
Price of success
Speaking of commerce and the Super Bowl, it won’t be pretty for hoteliers in the Twin Cities if their beloved Vikings get past the Eagles and become the first team to play the big game on home turf.
Hotels block rooms for Super Bowl week years in advance and know they can jack up rates for fanatics willing to pay almost anything to see their team. While the AFC participant, international media and corporate guests will flood Minneapolis/St. Paul, the lack of NFC fans will hurt.
What a Vikings Super Bowl won’t deflate is ticket prices. Fans who don’t have to pay for hotels, airfare or meals will devote all of their cash to tickets and drive up what already looks like a market that will require $3,500 and up to get in the door.