JUST ANOTHER CRAZY NFL SUNDAY
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ broken collarbone Sunday against Minnesota probably erases any Super Bowl 52 hopes for the Packers and is a tough blow for the entire NFL. Many people believe he’s the league’s most-talented player and biggest star.
The season-ending injury to Rodgers opens the league MVP door wider for New England QB Tom Brady.
--Did Brady and his fellow New England Patriots really need an awful call by the zebras Sunday to beat the New York Jets 24-17. I’ve heard all sorts of explanations for erasing that TD catch by the Jets. None of them make any sense.
The talking heads on the assorted NFL TV shows love to argue but they all thought the Jets got robbed on that call. At least no one could accuse the Patriots of cheating. They simply took advantage of a gift by the officials.
--Rodgers wasn’t the only star QB knocked out of a game Sunday. Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston suffered a right shoulder injury in the second quarter of a 38-33 loss in Arizona. He was replaced by old friend Ryan Fitzpatrick, who rallied the Buccaneers from a 30-0 deficit but also threw two interceptions. He has the NFL’s highest INT rate since 2013.
Winston, who said he has never missed a football game – at any level – due to injury, is questionable for Sunday at Buffalo. I believe it is safe to say that the Bills would prefer to face Fitz than Winston.
--The Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) no longer are the NFL’s only undefeated team after a 19-13 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants (1-5) no longer are winless after a shocking 23-10 victory in Denver.
--At least one team stayed true to form: Cleveland is 0-6 after a 33-17 loss at Houston.
--There couldn’t have been a more satisfied player in the NFL Sunday than future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson in his debut for Arizona. He had 26 carries for 134 yards (5.4-yard average) and 2 TDs in a 38-33 home win over Tampa Bay. In seven total games with Minnesota and New Orleans in 2016-2017, he had 64 carries for 153 yards (2.4-yard average) and 0 TDs.
--What home-field advantage? Road teams are 8-5 for Week 6 entering Monday night’s Indianapolis at Tennessee game (another lousy matchup for ESPN) and are 46-44 this season. Needless to say, that is highly unusual at this stage of an NFL season.
THOUGHTS ON THE BILLS
The Bills are 3-2 and if they can somehow manage to go 4-1 in their next five games to improve to 7-3, the playoff talk would be deafening in western New York. Can Buffalo do it?
The next five games don’t look nearly as tough as when the schedule came out. Three of those games are at home – Tampa Bay, Oakland and New Orleans. The two road games are at the Jets and Los Angeles Chargers.
The final six games appear much tougher: a trip to Kansas City followed by home games against New England, Indianapolis and Miami, before the final two games on the road versus New England and Miami. Splitting those six games would be good for a 10-6 record and a probable trip to the playoffs.
--Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant reportedly has requested a trade. I hope the Bills are interested. He was suspended for the entire 2016 for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Sort of irresponsible for a guy with three young children. But he’s only 25 and remember his explosive 2014 rookie season with the Steelers?: 26 catches/549 yards/21.1 yards per catch/8 TDs.
--Coach Sean McDermott says Vladimir Ducasse versus John Miller at offensive right tackle is an “ongoing competition.” It has to be among the least-inspiring position battles in modern team history.
--McDermott says former star defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was excused from Monday’s practice for “personal reasons.” I don’t mean to be cruel, but has any member of the Bills ever had so many “personal reasons” to miss practices and games?
THOUGHTS ON THE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
Am I going overboard by asking if Houston’s Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa might be the best all-around young 2B/SS duo EVER!
One texter suggested Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees. I prefer my second baseman to run hard to first base on infield ground balls. Jeter was terrific for a very long time but I believe Correa has more overall talent and a very bright future.
--Cleveland’s Corey Kluber and Washington’s Max Scherzer might win their respective 2017 Cy Young Awards but they both failed miserably in their biggest games of the season when their teams needed them the most.
--Hats off to the Los Angeles Dodgers if they can beat the defending champion Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series minus the team’s most valuable player – Corey Seager. Logan Forsythe and Charlie Culberson is a fairly weak DP combination for a post-season team.
--Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw wasn’t sharp in Game 1 of the NLCS but at least he didn’t lose. His post-season struggles continue to be a mystery. He clearly is baseball’s best pitcher over the last decade in the regular season. The post-season has been a different story:
Regular-season record – 144 wins, 64 losses (.692 winning percentage); 2.36 earned-run average.
Post-season record – 5 wins, 7 losses (.717); 4.63 ERA.
Only one pitcher in the Hall of Fame has a better winning percentage than Kershaw’s .692 – Albert Spalding had a .795 winning percentage (252-65 record) from 1871 through 1876. He pitched for excellent teams, usually was a one-man pitching staff and was burned out as a pitcher at age 26. He was a founder of Spalding Sporting Goods Company.
Only a handful of Hall of Fame pitchers had lower ERAs than Kershaw’s 2.36. They include Mordecai Brown (2.06), Christy Mathewson (2.13) and Walter Johnson (2.17). Pretty good company.
--I don’t know if a new manager would help the Washington Nationals do better in the post-season. I blame the players more than Baker. I’d sort of miss Dusty’s toothpicks and wristbands.
--The way Yankees rookie slugger Aaron Judge is struggling (2-for-27 with 19 strikeouts in the ALDS/ALCS), should manager Joe Girardi consider dropping him down in the lineup in favor of Greg Bird? And the Yankees sure could use in-their-primes Johnny Mize, Johnny Blanchard, Cecil Fielder, etc., at designated hitter. Chase Headley, Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Holliday are a combined 0-for-23, with 11 strikeouts, in the ALDC/ALCS).
WIN OVER CLEMSON SHOULD MAKE SU A HOT BOWL COMMODITY
When the Syracuse Orange football team lost second game of the season 23-20 at home to Middle Tennessee, not too many SU fans were thinking of a bowl game to cap the season.
Where would the six wins come from to be automatic bowl eligible?
The loss to Middle Tennessee was a surprise. Last Friday night’s 27-24 home win over second-ranked and defending national champion Clemson was a shock. The Tigers were 23 ½-point favorites and had won 12 straight road games.
SU led Clemson in total yards (440 to 317), first downs (28 to 16), plays (83 to 57) and time of possession (34:52 to 25:08). This was not a fluke, even the Tigers had to use their third-string QB for the second half. No excuses.
SU is 4-3, including 2-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The rest of SU’s schedule:
Saturday at Miami. Obviously, a letdown against the Hurricanes would somewhat dampen the euphoria of the victory over Clemson. The 8th-ranked Hurricanes are favored by 14 ½ points.
November 4 at Florida State. It has been a down year for the Seminoles and they won’t take SU lightly.
November 11 home against Wake Forest.
November 18 at Louisville.
November 25 home against Boston College.
Assuming SU wins at least six games, the victory over Clemson would make the Orange an attractive team for many so-called minor bowl games.
Of course, there now are so many college bowl games that teams with non-winning seasons have been getting in. One would hope that an SU team capable of knocking off Clemson could finish the regular season at least 6-6.
RHINOS AND AMERKS PLAYING WELL...BUT WHERE ARE THE FANS?
The Rochester Rhinos played impressive soccer last Tuesday and Saturday in victories over Bethlehem Steel FC and New York Red Bulls II, 2-0 and 2-1, respectively.
The victories boosted Rochester’s final regular-season record to 14 wins, only 7 losses and 11 draws. The Rhinos scored 36 goals (22nd in the 32-team United Soccer League) and allowed only 28 goals (second-fewest in the league. They had 14 shutouts, one short of USL-leader San Antonio’s 15.
Home attendance has been disappointing to say the least. Despite the team’s winning form in significant matches and attractive promotions, the Rhinos drew only 983 and 1,402 fans for the two games last week at Capelli Sport Stadium.
Coach Bob Lilley’s Rhinos host the Charlotte Independence Saturday, 6:05 p.m., in the first round of the playoffs.
The Rochester Americans are off to a 2-0 start at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. They drew 5,009 on opening night for a win over Syracuse and 3,374 last Friday night for a win over Utica. Friday nights usually are the best draws.
What’s wrong? Let me know your thoughts.
REMEMERING RED ARMSTRONG
Tuesday would’ve been the 79th birthday of Rochester Americans Hall of Famer Norm “Red” Armstrong, who died in 1974 at the age of 35 in a fall while working construction in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
He was an extremely popular player and his No. 6 was retired by the Amerks. He always hustled and his face on the ice was as red as the hair on his head. He had a decent scoring touch (32 goals for Rochester’s first Calder Cup-winning team in the 1964-65 season) and supplied some muscle on the great Amerks teams of the mid-1960s.
He didn’t skate well enough to play for long in the NHL (1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs). I believe he was the only pro athlete ever to play for a Rochester pro team in portions of 10 seasons. Any other nominees?
SHORT SHOTS
Recommended reading: Leo Roth’s in-depth moving tribute in the Democrat and Chronicle print or on-line for Aquinas/West Point football hero Don Holleder, who died for his country in Vietnam 50 years ago Tuesday.
Rochester sports historian/researcher Doug Brei says this season’s Major League Baseball is “the first time the ‘final four’ teams in any professional sports league represented each of the four largest cities in America (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston).”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Monday, October 16
Bryce Harper (25)...Jonathan Schoop (26)...Ron Brooks (29)...Sue Bird (37)...Paul Kariya (43)...Kordell Stewart (45)...Chris Doleman (56)...Kevin McReynolds (58)...Wilf Paiement (62)...Rich Caster (69)...Tim McCarver (76).
Tuesday, October 17
Carlos Gonzalez (32)...Holly Holm (36)...John Rocker (43)...Danny Perry (51)...Jay Humphies (55)...Steve McMichael (60)...Ken Morrow (61)...Bob Seagren (71)...Red Wings Hall of Famer Jim Hutto (70). Eminem (45) and Alan Jackson (59) are invited to the birthday party.
Wednesday, October 18
Brittney Grimes (27)...Brad Miller (28)...Yoenis Cespedes (32)...Lindsey Vonn (33)...Alex Cora (42)...Bob Whitfield (46)...Doug Lidster (57)...Thomas Hearns (59)...Kjell Samuelsson (59)...Martina Navratilova (63)...George Hendrick (68)...Willie Horton (75)...Mike Ditka (78).