The good, bad and ugly
NFL Week 13 report: Garappolo era begins in San Francisco; Saints keep marching
Dec 5, 2017, 6:17 am
Jimmy Garappolo is off to a good start. San Francisco 49ers
Another exciting week of football in the books! Week thirteen saw some of some endings, beginnings, and continuations of eras. The action was as expected with late season NFL football.
The Good
-The Jimmy Garoppolo era is under way in San Francisco as they beat the Chicago Bears 15-14 Sunday. The 49ers ended the swirling questions about when and where the former New England Patriots backup quarterback would end up by trading for him Oct. 30. Speculation out of 49ers camp was that Garoppolo wasn’t going to start this year. That changed Sunday when he not only made his first start as a 49er, but also collected his first win.
-The New Orleans Saints picked up their ninth win on the season beating the Carolina Panthers 31-21 Sunday. Once again, their rookie running back Alvin Kamara was a driving force totaling 60 yards and two touchdowns rushing, as well as 66 yards receiving. He once transferred from the University of Alabama because of a crowded backfield. Now he’s an emerging star on an NFC playoff bound team.
-Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson made the league MVP debate a bit more crowded Sunday night as he outdueled Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in a 24-10 victory. Wilson is now directly responsible for 29 of the Seahawks’ 30 touchdowns on the season. That stat alone puts him squarely in the driver’s seat in my opinion.
The Bad
-The Buffalo Bills were beaten by the New England Patriots 23-3 Sunday. Despite their rollercoaster of a season, they came into Sunday’s game still within striking distance of a playoff spot. The loss puts them on the outside looking in of a murky AFC playoff picture. But perhaps most damaging to their chances was the injury to starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Taylor has a bruised patellar tendon and is listed as day to day. For an athletic quarterback like Taylor, a knee injury like this can limit his mobility, as well as take some heat of his passes because he won’t be able to plant and throw comfortably. The last thing Bills fans want is another Nathan Peterman performance.
-The Kansas City Chiefs fell to the New York Jets 38-31 Sunday. The once promising Chiefs season is now in jeopardy as they’re hanging on like that loose tooth your kid refuses to have plucked from his/her mouth despite being able to twist it around. While they are still leading the awful AFC West by an eyelash, they’re closer to imploding. Fans are calling for the Patrick Mahomes era to start and the team is showing signs of frustration on the field as their play declines. Losing six of your last seven after seeming like the team to beat will do that.
-The Factory of Sadness continued in Cleveland as the perpetually woeful Browns lost…again. After going down 19-10 to the Los Angeles Chargers, the Browns are now 0-12 on the season. They have pieces in place to build a la the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, but will ownership give the front office a chance to do so? They’re headed for another No. 1 overall pick and own the 4-8 Houston Texans’ first and second rounders. Couple that with what they’ve drafted recently and things could be finally looking up for the Dawg Pound.
The Ugly
-New York Giants now former head coach Ben McAdoo decided this was the week to bench quarterback Eli Manning in favor of Geno Smith under the guise that the team needed to see what it has. He also said this was about the future and what’s best for the team. Manning’s consecutive starts streak ended at 210 Sunday while the team lost 24-17 to the Oakland Raiders. McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese were both fired Monday. I imagine handling this situation poorly, and bumbling the building of a proud franchise led to their exits.
- Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Ryan Shazier was carted off the field Monday night after suffering a spinal contusion. The injury came as he hit Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver Josh Malone. Shazier moved his arms after the hit, but didn’t appear to have moved his legs. He was taken to the hospital for observations where he will stay.
-The Washington Redskins turned the ball over four times in a 38-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw two interceptions and fumbled twice (one was recovered by running back Samaje Perine). For a guy who’s been banging the table for a long-term contract, he played more like the fourth round draft pick he was coming out of Michigan State as opposed to the guy who was worth a second franchise tag.
Around the league: Perhaps one of the most exciting plays of the weekend came when Bears rookie Tarik Cohen returned a punt 347 yards for a touchdown. So maybe it’ll go down as 61 yards officially, but with all the running around he did, it seemed closer to 347…Jets head coach Todd Bowles deserves some coach of the year consideration. Why you ask? The front office stripped the team down and the team was expected to compete for the first overall draft pick. Instead, they’re the 5-7 team no one wants to see down the stretch..Sure the Garoppolo era is underway in San Francisco, but it took five field goals to beat the Bears...Sure the Seahawks won, but Wentz still torched their defense for 348 yards.. Sure Cousins had a bad game against the Cowboys, but he’s still completing 66% of his passes for 3,289 yards with 21 touchdowns and 8 interceptions on the season. I say all that to say this: no matter how bad (or good) a situation looks in the NFL, there’s always the other side of the pillow.
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.