Mega-Blog!!: Thoughts from Last Week plus Bowl Week 3 and NFL Week 17 Preview: 12/28 - 1/1

 

Mega-Blog!!: Thoughts from Last Week plus Bowl Week 3 and NFL Week 17 Preview: 12/28 - 1/1

Hope everyone is enjoying the weirdest week of the year when time has no meaning and you eat pie with every meal (just me?). Take a break from wiggling your mouse and bleeding out the clock if you're working and read a fun blog!

1. Best of the Week

Best Game: Patriots vs Broncos

The NFL doesn't miss, does it? What felt like a snoozefest on Christmas Eve turned into a thriller, with the Pats pulling off the comeback that was the final nail in the coffin for Russell Wilson's Bronco career. 

Best Player: Darius Taylor (RB) - Minnesota

The Gopher's freshman running back balled out in his home town of Detroit in the Quick Lane Bowl with 35 carries, 208 yards, and a touchdown. There have been a ton of running backs going off in bowl games, but for a freshman to tote the rock 35 times the day after Christmas in his home town is a big one.

Best Uniform: Miami Dolphins


All I wanted for Christmas was for these to be the permanent jerseys for the 'Phins. It is uniform perfection. 

2. Play of the Week

Double post is a popular play to put pressure on deep safeties and forcing them to make the right read. Georgia Tech was slowly marching down the field to end the half against UCF when they called it off play action. Let's see how they got a deep shot to come back in a half they were down and set them up for a big second half.


  • Georgia Tech ran the ball really well on this drive, which forced UCF into a cover 3 look with the two corners (dots 1 and 3) and the free safety (dot 2) each having ownership of defending 1/3 of the deepest part of the field.
  • Despite having only a minute on the clock GT stuck with their run looks and brought their tight end (dot 4) in motion to act like he is the back cut block on outside zone.
  • Tech runs play action for outside zone which forces the linebackers (circle) to not get depth and be out of the play. It also sets them up with 6 blockers so they can hold their blocks for a deep pass while the running back (dot 4) slides out into the flat for a checkdown route.
  • The left outside receiver (dot 1) ran a deep cross route under the double posts (dots 2 and 3). This catches the corner's eye and causes him to step down. This is the read for the QB. As soon as he sees the corner step down, he knows it is a foot race between the inside post (dot 2) and the deep safety.
  • The QB leads the ball away from the deep safety (dot 2) because he knows the corner (dot 1) can't recover in time. A lot of quarterbacks throw the ball up the field and give the safety time to recover; this is a great throw.
  • They used all 53 yards of width and got a touchdown to tie things up. What a great call.

Week Preview

College Football Bowl Week 3

What to Watch For

CFP Game #1: Michigan vs Alabama

When the schedule got tough, Michigan turned to bully ball. Can you do that against Alabama? Time will tell. Milroe answered the bell this year, but he was benched for his play earlier in the season and had a nightmarish game at Texas A&M last season. Will Michigan's vaunted defense be able to slow him down? The Granddaddy of Them All will be amazing.

CFP Game #2: Washington vs Texas

Watch Texas' interior defensive line versus Washington's interior offensive line. If Penix can step up, he will have open receivers. Quinn Ewers was the talk of college football early; can he bounce back and maybe climb up draft boards with a big playoff?

Game of the Week: Ole Miss vs Penn State

Penn State had another good season, but they are not explosive on offense. When the visor of Lane Kiffin is on the other sideline, you know the opponent is going to be. How will Penn State stay in this one? Ole Miss is more physical than in year's past, so they can't just play bully ball.

Most Entertaining Game: Iowa vs Tennessee

If Penn State isn't explosive, then Iowa's offense is Patrick:


However, they can play defense with the best of them. The Vols are not consistent, and Iowa will prey on that. Expect a rock fight to start your New Years.

A Game for the Football Crazies: Toledo vs Wyoming

The Barstool Bowl is a fun one to watch on your Saturday afternoon. Toledo had an awesome regular season and will hope to close things out versus the Cowboys. This will be a sneaky great uniform game, I love Wyoming's colors.

Picks of the Week

First Pick: NC State ML (+110) vs Kansas State

Kansas State had a great season but are losing their quarterback and the Wolfpack can match them physically.

Second Pick: Washington ML (+150) vs Texas

I like Odunze versus those freshmen corners of Texas, give me the plus money.

Third Pick: u48.5 (-112) Ole Miss vs Penn State

Both coaches come up short in big moments; it's hard to side with either of them. So I will say they both struggle a bit.

NFL Week 17

What to Watch For

Game of the Weekend: Dolphins at Ravens

The battle for the first round bye in the AFC comes down to this game. Baltimore could not have looked more impressive last week and the Dolphins will be without Waddle and needed a last second drive to beat the Cowboys. Can they go into Baltimore and make the playoffs run through Miami?

Most Entertaining Game: Lions at Cowboys

Monday night is Saturday night this weekend. These two teams are still in play for a lot in the NFC playoff picture, but both need this one badly to feel good about themselves. The Lions have a ton of speed on offense, let's see if they can get the ball outside and use it.

A Game for the Football Crazies: Saints at Buccaneers

The NFC South is always a cluster, isn't it? The Bucs have been awesome the past two weekends, but they need to keep winning to stay in the playoffs. The line says it would be even on a neutral field, so expect a great battle. This will be my candidate for the NFL uniform matchup of the week; that southern grass looks beautiful on the tv after sitting in the Midwest grey right now.

Picks of the Week

First Pick: u53.5 (-115) Lions vs Cowboys

Let's keep getting burned with unders. This is a high one and I think there will be some turnovers on drives that keep it under.

Second Pick: Cardinals +11 (-110) vs Eagles

The Cardinals cover these big spreads and the Eagles just seem to be squeaking by. We have had success with this and clearly I am grasping for straws in my NFL picks.

Third Pick: u34 (-110) Jets vs Browns

A rock fight for Thursday night. Let's have some fun with Flacco versus his old team.

Season Totals

College Football Picks: 47-42-3 (+7.80 units)
NFL Picks: 30-35-5 (-7.55 units)
Overall: 77-77-8 (+0.25 units)

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