The playoff picture is getting clearer in the NFL. However, the MVP race is now over. Week 12 in the NFL was another one all over the map. Here's some of my observations:
The Good
-Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson should be given the MVP award now. Against the Rams on Monday Night Football, he went 15/20 for 169 yards and five touchdown passes. He also added 95 rushing yards on eight carries. One of those runs should've been a touchdown had he not tripped. He's part of the reason my column this week is about putting to bed sports stereotypes.
-We all love when we see the big guys from defense on offense. Usually it's a run play and he's going to be a human plow either running the ball or clearing a path for a runner. Tampa lined up Vita Vea, it's 3457lb defensive tackle, at fullback. After a play action by Jameis Winston, he threw a one yard touchdown pass to the big fella who was wide open (pun intended). Name something more fun in football, outside the celebrations, than seeing a big fat guy catch a touchdown pass. You can't!
-I can't say enough about Frank Gore. The guy overcame a learning disability, two ACL injuries in college within an 18-month span, and often questioning whether or not he should keep playing, by himself and others. The Buffalo Bills running back is now the third all-time leading rusher in NFL history with 15,289 after passing Barry Sanders, and is fourth on the yards from scrimmage list with 19,154 after passing Marshall Faulk. The 15 year vet is a testament to hard work, never giving up, and believing in yourself. We're all privileged to have seen his story play out.
The Bad
-Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz threw one of the worst passes I've seen this year. On 3rd&9 from the Seahawk 10 yard line, running back Miles Sanders was wide open but Wentz threw the ball about five yards in front of him and way over his head. Wentz was closer to throwing a pick six to the Seahawk defensive back on that side of the field. They settled for a field goal on the next play and went on to lose at home 17-9.
-The Packers were thoroughly beaten in their 37-8 loss to the 49ers. Much has been made of the relationship between Aaron Rodgers and head coach Matt LeFleur. They managed to put a lot of it to bed with a 8-2 start. They're now 8-3 after this loss in which they averaged a putrid 2.8 yards per play. The only thing worse than that is the fact that they now have -11 punt return yards...ON THE ENTIRE SEASON!
-The Raiders' nice run was abruptly halted with a 34-3 drubbing at the hands of the hapless Jets. Thing got so bad, Jon Gruden pulled Derek Carr and inserted Mike Glennon. Glennon returned the favor by fumbling twice in his first three snaps! Backups are put in these situations to help save the starters from getting hurt in a game that's out of control. They aren't expected to lead a comeback, but they aren't expected to make things worse either.
The Ugly
-On a key 3rd&1 while down 13-9 to the Patriots, the Cowboys' offensive lineman Travis Frederick was called for a tripping penalty. They went from converting a crucial 3rd down, to a 3rd&11 that eventually turned into a turnover on downs when they couldn't convert. The call itself was absurd and was only outshadowed by the league coming out and saying the call shouldn't have been called. This literally could've cost a team a shot at the playoffs all things considered.
-Speaking of officiating, am I the only one who thinks CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore slurps the refs a bit too much instead of calling things the way he sees them? I almost hate watching games on CBS because he will defend the most egregious calls and/or explain why it's the "right" call. He has to realize he isn't a ref anymore so defending their stupidity isn't necessary. Call it straight jackass!
-Eagles right guard Brandon Brooks left the game due to an illness related to anxiety. People often like to make fun of others suffering from things they know nothing about. As someone who suffers from anxiety, it's no joke. While mine isn't nearly as bad as others, it still can cause issues. Kudos to him for being so forthcoming about his illness and why he left the game. Talking about it and being honest is the only way to get the word out and start to kill the stigmas associated with it.
Half of the 14 games played were decided by one score. In the AFC, the Patriots and Ravens are ahead of the pack, while only one gae seperates teams in the final wildcard spot from 10th place. In the NFC, there are five teams with three or less losses. The Cowboys (the current NFC East division leader) are the only team in the playoffs with more than three losses and Jerry Jones has already put the word out that he's disappointed in his coaching staff. The Buffalo Bills are 8-3 and firmly in control of their destiny as the lead wildcard team in the AFC. Who would've thought that would be possible outside Bills fans? The Steelers are in the final wildcard spot in the AFC after losing Ben Roethlisberger and trading their first round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick. These last few weeks will have some meaning because nobody is running away with homefield advantage in either conference and teams are fighting to either make the playoffs, or save their asses.
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When you hit rock bottom the only direction to go is up. Actually that's not true, you can continue to be a bottom feeder. Things are not nearly so dire for the Astros, despite them enduring one of the more pathetic weeks in franchise history. The Astros nearly had a perfect game pitched against them by a guy who had zero big league wins and a 6.70 earned run average. After managing to eke out a win the following game, they were shutout three games in a row. In the game after that Framber Valdez gave up six runs in the first inning, essentially ending the game right then and there. But hey, the Astros scored two runs in Wednesday's 7-2 loss, snapping an embarrassing run of 31 consecutive scoreless times at bat. Yet somehow over that stretch of gross, the Astros increased their American League West lead! The somehow being the Seattle Mariners saying "hold my beer" and losing five days in a row.
Reminder to those wanting to have the fat lady start warming in the bullpen thinking the Astros are done: the 162-game regular season lends itself to sometimes extreme peaks and valleys. The Astros limped out of Detroit with a record of 14-23 in their last 37 games. Over that time span only the Tampa Bay Rays and San Francisco Giants have worse records. Immediately before this lengthy garbage stretch of performance, the Astros went a blistering 29-10. Bi-polarity is part of the baseball season. The Tigers flat destroyed the Astros three days in a row to run the Motowners' recent spurt to 16 wins in 23 games. Immediately before going 16-7, the Tigers lost 12 out of 13! The longest winning streak in the American League this season is the 13-gamer put up by the Minnesota Twins. The rest of their season was so bad the Twins dealt away nearly half their roster before the trade deadline. The Red Sox had a 10-game losing streak earlier this season. The Yankees endured a miserable stretch of 6-16. Of most direct import to the Astros, the Mariners big dumped seven out of eight games directly after their eight-game winning streak had wiped out what remained of the Astros' one-time seven game American League West division lead. It's the full 162 games that tell the tale. The Astros absolutely could collapse out of the playoffs entirely. But that such is inevitable is ridiculous. In part because….
Yordan Alvarez should actually play in a game that counts this coming Tuesday. Why wait that long? He had two hits and a walk (and a stolen base...why Yordan, why!) in his first game in the minors Tuesday. If the long-injured and recovering hand is okay, having him play in the minors through the weekend is a waste of time. If Alvarez's timing isn't up to speed, so what? The mere threat Yordan represents is better than the dreck populating much of Joe Espada's batting order these days. The back-to-back games he's playing in the minors Thursday and Friday should have been in Baltimore in an Astros' uniform.
Any game Alvarez is the designated hitter removes deployment in the DH role of José Altuve. That's okay, Altuve is needed in left field because the ludicrously lousy offense from the other Astros' outfielders might not be good enough to win this week's Little League World Series. Hyperbole, but you get the point. Cam Smith has been brutally inept at the plate for almost a month and a half, arriving in Baltimore with a .137 batting average over his last 102 at bats and not a single homer in his last 149 ABs. While Smith's future can still be very bright, his present is pitch dark. Jacob Melton has been almost completely overmatched at the plate, batting .170 with an absurd 23 strikeouts in his first 54 at bats. Jesus Sanchez has stunk since coming in trade from the Marlins. Chas McCormick is a better comic reliever than he has been a hitter for more than a year and a half. Taylor Trammell's career big league batting average is .177. No one confuses Mauricio Dubon or Ramon Urias with Craig Biggio, but either guy in the lineup at second base with Altuve in left is better than Altuve at second and any of those outfielders playing.
While the Astros strive to garner at least a split of their four-game set with the Orioles this weekend, the Mariners are home for three vs. the Athletics. Since the All-Star break, the A's have the best record among the five AL West clubs. The Astros have the worst. As this column has covered, wild swings of results can happen at any time, but the Tigers crushing the Astros basically ends plausible Astros' hopes of winding up with the best record in the AL. The Tigers shoved the Astros six games behind them, and clinched the season series tiebreaker. The Astros still could run down Toronto for the second-best AL mark and bye past the best-of-three Wild Card round that comes with it. Along with playing vastly better ball period, the Astros quite likely would have to win their series over the Blue Jays in Canada next month.
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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