THE NFL REPORT
The good, bad and ugly: Big wins for Eagles, Panthers and a lot of injuries and rough stuff
Dec 12, 2017, 7:15 am
Carson Wentz of the Eagles played well before a season-ending injury. Eagles Team Web site
The playoff picture is clearer now. Seed jockeying is taking place. Late season upsets could disrupt, or possibly end a team’s season prematurely at this point. Teams around this point of the season are what their record says they are. Some perform according to that record, others play spoiler because their season hasn’t gone according to plan.
The Good
-In the heavyweight fight between the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles, the Eagles came out victorious 43-35. This was a great game between the #1 (Jared Goff of the Rams) and #2 (Carson Wentz of the Eagles) overall quarterback picks of a year ago. The Eagles now are in the driver’s seat for the #1 seed in the NFC, but will have to go the rest of the way with backup Nick Foles since starter Wentz was diagnosed with a torn ACL.
-In what was sure to be a semi-emotionally charged game because of what happened last week, the New York Giants fell to the Dallas Cowboys 30-10. Giants quarterback Eli Manning made another start, but was overshadowed by Cowboys’ second year quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott went 20/30 for 332 yards and three touchdowns. Prescott proved he can, in fact, carry the Cowboys without star running back Ezekiel Elliott. Sure the Giants were 2-10 entering the game, but they’re still an NFL team going against a heated division rival.
-Rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky led the Chicago Bears to a 33-7 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Trubisky went 25/32 for 271 yards and a touchdown. Some will discount this as an OK performance over a bad team at the end of the season, but he’s shown flashes of being something special every so often. I expect good things from this kid, provided the Bears organization surrounds him with the proper pieces.
The Bad
-The Carolina Panthers beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-24. Vikings quarterback Case Keenum will undoubtedly be pointed to as the reason for the loss because he was responsible for all three of the Vikings turnovers (2 interceptions and a lost fumble). However, the Vikings stingy defense gave up 216 yards on 36 carries for a 6 yard per carry average. Really hope this isn’t the impetus to a quarterback change because Keenum is the one of the main reasons the Vikings are 10-3.
- The Cleveland Browns camethisclose to ending their winless streak. They fought hard and gave the Green Bay Packers all they could handle, but eventually gave up a 21-7 lead and lost in overtime 27-21. The Packers tied it up with 17 seconds left when Brett Hundley found Davante Adams in the endzone. That duo hooked up again in overtime as Adams took a wide receiver screen to the house. The “Factory of Sadness” continues in Cleveland.
-The New England Patriots were upset by the Miami Dolphins 27-20 in a bit of a shocker. The Patriots have been one of the best teams in the league this year, while the Jay Cutler-led Dolphins have been a disappointment. The biggest tell-tale stat of the game was the fact that the Patriots didn’t convert a third down all game!
The Ugly
-The Buffalo Bills/Indianapolis Colts game was extremely hard to watch. The teams squared off in blizzard-like conditions. Wearing their red color rush uniforms, the Bills were somewhat easy to keep track of. The Colts all-white was like camouflage against the reported 6-11 inches of snow. The game was tied at 7 at the end of regulation and mercifully ended in overtime with a LeSean McCoy touchdown run.
- The New Orleans Saints lost star rookie running back Alvin Kamara to a concussion on the opening possession of the game. They also lost guard Senio Kelemente (filling in for the injured Andrus Peat) and three defensive starters in the 20-17 Thursday night loss to the Atlanta Falcons. After the game, Saints quarterback Drew Brees spoke about the displeasure of Thursday night games. Now that one of the faces of the league is speaking out against it, let’s see what’ll happen. Don’t expect any changes until the next round of negotiations for television contracts is up.
-The Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-24 in what some might call a mild upset. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw three interceptions, but that wasn’t even the worst part of the game. Towards the end of the game, Seahawks defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson was ejected for throwing punches. On the very next play, Seahawks defensive end Quinton Jefferson was tossed after another kerfuffle. On his way to the locker, an uber-classy Jags fan threw a beer on him which Jefferson took exception, and attempted to go after said idiot. Security prevented another “Malice in the Palace” incident, but this kind of behavior from fans has to stop.
Some things are a part of life we simply can’t avoid. Some, however, are events we can do without. Hearing Carson Wentz tore his ACL was rough. It’s a similar feeling to playing Duck Hunt when the duck gets away because you’re a terrible shot (but you refuse to cheat by putting the gun too close) and the duck flies off, only to see that stupid dog laughing at you. The Eagles looked like the clear cut favorite to come out the NFC, and possibly take home the Lombardi Trophy, but that’s life. Injuries are as a part of football as the ball itself. Some are preventable, most are unavoidable. There’s always going to be injuries, idiot fans, unfavorable weather conditions, bad/good teammates. It’s what teams/players/coaches are able to do in spite of those circumstances that prove them worth their weight and then some. Just like normal life for us regular folk.
*Bonus: A play coaches should show their kids was Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks fighting off three Rams offensive lineman to run down Todd Gurley on a screen pass and stop him from scoring. Seeing him keep his balance, not give up on the play, and make the play is something kids these days could learn from. “It ain’t over, till it’s over!”- Yogi Berra
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. He has often looked befuddled in the batter's box. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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