I could have happily lived my life never knowing of Nate Sudfeld's existence.
Demented and sad, but social, right?
As a Giants fan, most of me is really annoyed that the Eagles easily could have won this game but decided to get cutesy about it (not sure why they have greater loyalty to Washington over the Giants - who doesn't want to stick it to Snyder?). Part of me is happy as I think that we likely would get killed in the playoffs and by not being in the playoffs, our pick is about 7-8 spots higher, which is significant.
Philly still in this!
Al Michaels' line with a few seconds left and the Eagles needing about 75 yards to get a TD and Sudfeld at QB was classic - if the Eagles win, he would brush off a line he hadn't used in 41 years...
The subbing of Sudfeld in the 4th quarter is the worst display of bad sportsmanship in the history of the NFL. It's like they were trying to lose and give the division title to the Washington Football team. I want to hear what the league office has to say. Roger Goodell must be fuming -- I wonder if he has any way to penalize Philadelphia.
My question, channeling the NY Post is, "How much did Dan Snyder have to give Jeffrey Lurie so the Eagles would throw the game?"
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
I think it sucks too - but one obvious answer, by losing the Eagles get better draft picks - they tanked in the 4th quarter.
By losing the Eagles get the 6th pick. If they would have won, they would have gotten the 9th pick.
I believe Sudfield was the quaterback for Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl when Duke ended their 50 plus year streak without a bowl win .
...let's face it. None of these NFC East teams deserved to go to the playoffs; WFT is going because of a technicality.
It would be nice if Jones and the Giants went, and it would certainly be a permanent feature on his wikipedia page, but we all know this division is historically bad.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
yeah i wouldn't mind a winning record rule.
That said, comparing records across divisions is always a bit tenuous as the schedules are vastly different, so i have no problem (in general) with a WC team playing at a division winner with a worse record...but in this case, it does end up being a bit absurd. Winning record seems to be a good place to draw the line.
April 1
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
After watching many NFL games this season, it's apparent(to me anyway) that mobile QBs are necessary in todays game. The WFT thought they had one in Haskins but oh how wrong they were. The Bucs will probably win by at least 10-16 points when the two teams meet. I love Alex Smith but he's going to have to run for his life against a good Buc defense, That's going to be hard for Alex as he's no longer a mobile QB. That terrible injury took away the mobility he did have. As for WFT winning the bad NFC East, I'll take it. I told my wife on the way to church, I'm in win-win situation because I wouldn't mind seeing Daniel Jones in a playoff game even it it means Washington loses.
My Seahawks were a recentish example of a losing record division winner at 7-9. Hosted the heavily favored Saints.
Then this happened...
https://youtu.be/w2hOgbq2myA
Haskins could have/should have run for first downs on several occasions in the last game he played, but he chose to throw the ball (unsuccessfully) each and every time. I agree with you that Smith has virtually no mobility, and fares very poorly when flushed out of the pocket. If I were planning a defense against the WFT, it would start and end with flushing Smith. If Tampa Bay can do that successfully, the WFT will be in big trouble, because they have no offense if Smith is flushed.
On the flip side of the coin, though, Tom Brady is also not the most mobile quarterback in the NFL, and is exactly the kind of quarterback against which the WFT has been successful. If the Maroon 4 can get to him/put pressure on him all night long, I think the WFT has at least a puncher's chance of pulling off the upset. The WFT fares very poorly against teams with mobile/running quarterbacks (think Arizona, Seattle, NYGs, Philadelphia when Hurts was taking snaps) but does much better against teams with pocket quarterbacks (Pittsburgh, the Eagles with Wentz, the Lions [a game the WFT should've won], Dallas, etc).
Honestly, if I were Tampa Bay, the LAST team from the weak NFC East that I would want to see come out of the division is the WFT. I think the WFT has the best chance (out of any of the NFC East teams, admittedly a very weak division) to pull off the upset. Let's see how Tom Brady fares against Montez Sweat, Chase Young, et al.
(Afterthought: the WFT might have a better chance to win if they played Heinecke, who is much more mobile, then if they play Smith, although they will obviously play Smith. If TB is getting consistent pressure and flushing Smith all night long, Coach better think about substituting in Heinecke, who is quite mobile and can get some first downs on his feet when a play is broken.)
"We are not provided with wisdom, we must discover it for ourselves, after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can take for us, an effort which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world." --M. Proust