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Week 14 brought us more exciting action, blown calls, and big performances. Here are my observations:
The Good
-Behind a rookie third string quarterback Devlin "Duck" Hodges, the Pittsburgh Steelers are now 8-5 after their 23-17 win over the Cardinals and are the sixth seed in the AFC playoff picture. But most of the credit to how the Steelers have maintained their level of success goes to head coach Mike Tomlin. Tomlin has been the Steelers head coach for 13 years now and has not had a losing record. This season is perhaps his best coaching job and he should be coach of the year.
-Props to Falcons' quarterback Matt Ryan for becoming the 10th passer in NFL history and second fastest to amass 50,000 passing yards. At 4-9, the Falcons are in full-blown draft preparation mode with their playoff chances long down the drain. However, when history is made, we should all appreciate it. Ryan has been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league for years now and may have cemented his Hall of Fame bid.
-The Titans have been on a roll lately. They've won four in a row and are on the verge of making the playoffs. While the switch to Ryan Tannehill from Marcus Mariota at quarterback will be credited with the bulk of the success of their turnaround, running back Derrick Henry should get some as well. In that win streak, Henry has 599 yards rushing and seven rushing touchdowns. His 103 yards in their 42-21 win over the Raiders was his lowest output of the streak.
The Bad
-Bucs quarterback Jameis WInston could be the first quarterback in NFL history to lead the league passing yards, touchdowns...and interceptions. He's currently second, tied for second, and first respectively in those three categories. He's having an awesomely terrible season.
-I mentioned earlier how the Steelers beat the Cardinals earlier, I didn't mention a key play that led them to that win. Early in the 4th quarter down by 10, Cardinals' rookie quarter back Kyler Murray had a 4th&2 on the Steelers' six yard line. He more than likely could've run for a 1st down, but instead opted for a pass that was picked off by Steelers' outside linebacker T.J. Watt. here's to hoping Murray will learn from his rookie mistakes.
-The refs have made tons of poor calls this season. Another contender for the most egregious was a personal foul on Ravens' safety Earl Thomas. He was flagged after a teammate pushed him causing him to fall over Bills' quarterback Josh Allen. Sometimes, there's judgement needed when making certain calls. The refs should've known and seen the circumstances here and swallowed the whistle. Good thing it didn't cost the Ravens the game.
The Ugly
-The 49ers beat the Saints in one of the year's best games so far. However, they lost three key starters: center Weston Richburg is done for the year with a torn patellar tendon, while outside linebacker Dee Ford and corner Richard Sherman are out multiple weeks with hamstring injuries. For a team currently in control of the top spot in the NFC, these injuries couldn't have come at a worse time.
-The Patriots have long been seen as cheaters who've mostly skated away from significant punishment. They even had Spygate 2.0 come up this week, but it lasted maybe an hour or so and was simply a mixup. However, they had three calls go against them in their 23-16 loss to the Chiefs: a fumble return for a touchdown that was blown dead, a potential touchdown taken off the board after being wrongly ruled out of bounds, and a blatant pass interference not called. The funniest part: seeing all the Northeastern media cry for them after they routinely tell others to shut up for the same thing.
-In a scene reminiscent of the band being on the field during an early 80s Cal-Stanford game, the Rams' cheerleaders and mascot had to be told to exit the field of play just before halftime of their game versus the Seahawks. Not sure who's at fault here, but this should never happen in an NFL game. There's a guy on the sideline with a spotter and their job is to enter the field of play when there's a commercial timeout and leave when it's over. They have gloves and a vest to signal everyone that needs to know when play should be stopped and started. Perhaps the Rams' cheerleaders should pay better attention.
If we were to judge the Super Bowl contenders like books in a spades game, I'd say the NFC has three (49ers, Saints, Seahawks) and a strong possible (Packers); while the AFC has one (Ravens) and three possibles (Chiefs, Patriots, Bills). While some may laugh at the Bills being a possible, I'd argue to look at their defense. Some may also think the Seahawks and/or Packers aren't true contenders, but they have players at the ultimate position that'll always keep them in the conversation. While the Saints may have lost a shootout at home to the 49ers, that game was so close, it's hard to say one should be considered a strong favorite over the other. The Ravens have arguably the league MVP, a playoff ready run game, and a salty defense that'll keep them as the favorite until proven otherwise. These last three weeks of the regular season will serve as a playoff audition. It may also serve as a peacock ceremony for those that are in but want to flex their muscle and jockey for positioning. Either way, we have meaningful football left in the regular season.
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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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