NFL Summary

Here are my thoughts on the No Fun League 2022!

For many years, I was a true fan of the NFL and I watched a lot of games. These days, not so much. I don’t watch the regular season at all. Honestly, I can’t stand all the political messaging. The whole league is still too woke for me, but I do love the game, so I find myself watching the highlights quite often. Of course, if my Texans would stop playing Pop Warner and get back to being a professional team, that would definitely help! At least, we have a real coach now. Good luck, Lovie Smith! (Although, in all honesty, David Culley did a really good job considering the roster they gave him.)

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I know everybody was amazed by all the great playoff games and the awesome comebacks, but as for me – not so much. Truthfully, I had the opposite reaction. I kept asking myself why nobody can play defense anymore. Seriously.

The Chiefs drive down and score, and then their defense can’t make a stop to win the game? The Bills drive down and score, and then their defense can’t even hold a lead for 13 seconds?

Tom Brady takes his team down the field to tie the score with under two minutes to play and force overtime, but no, the defense can’t seem to cover the other team’s star receiver (the one that everyone in the stadium knows is going to be the QB’s target) and they give up two big receptions, a field goal, and lose.

The Packers lead the whole game until their special teams give up a score, then their defense can’t stop the 49ers from marching down the field for the go ahead field goal. And speaking of the 49ers – they lead the Cowboys the whole game until they try to give it away in the final minutes. Of course, Dallas completely botches the ending, but that’s a whole nother story. Happy ending though, for us Cowboy Haters!

And then, there’s the Super Bowl. The Bengals lead the whole second half while the Rams offense does nothing, then the Cincinnati defense, when it matters the most, can’t get a stop, and the Rams drive down the field and score. (Aided of course, by the officials who decided to start calling penalties and giving the Rams multiple chances to score.) I fully expected the Bengals to march right back down the field in the final minute to score and win the game, but amazingly enough, the Rams defense held, and for that reason alone, I suppose, they deserved to win the Championship! Finally, a defense that could hold the lead for a minute or two.

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Hearing the whole “NFL is like a Plantation” nonsense again. Bad analogy. I get the “all white owners and majority African-American players” thing, and I agree there really should be more minority coaches, executives, and even owners, but a plantation? Where do I sign up to be a slave who makes millions of dollars to play a game I love? Just saying. Maybe CK has the answer. Isn’t he the first “slave” to escape and then sue the owners to try and get back on the plantation?

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And finally, the sports talk guys are having big arguments over whether or not Matthew Stafford should now be considered a Hall of Famer. No.

Consider the following, and I didn’t even have to research these guys (only to check dates). These are the ones that sprang immediately to mind just from being a fan for many years.

1989 - Troy Aikman, drafted number one, going obviously to the team with the worst record in the league, suffers a winless first season and gets killed for years. Eventually he leads his team to three Super Bowl victories. Hall of Famer? Yes.

1998 - Peyton Manning, drafted number one by the league’s worst team. Gets mauled early on, very few wins, eventually leads his team to numerous playoff wins and a Super Bowl. Hall of Famer? Yes.

2012 - Andrew Luck, drafted number one, takes over a team that finished 2-14 the previous season, and leads them to 11 wins and the first of several playoff appearances.

2016 - Jared Goff, drafted number one, takes his team to the Super Bowl by year three.

2020 - Joe Burrow, drafted number one, gets hurt and misses most of his rookie season, and then leads his team to the Super Bowl in only his second season.

By comparison, Matthew Stafford, drafted number one back in 2009, spends 13 seasons in Detroit, leads his team to 3 playoff losses and no wins, jumps to a team that played in a Super Bowl just a few seasons before (led by the aforementioned Goff) and wins a Super Bowl. Hall of Famer? Again, no.

How many QBs are there in the NFL that could have led that particular team to the Super Bowl? Quite a few, in my opinion. Maybe if Stafford wins a few more Super Bowls, I’ll think differently, but at this point, I don’t think so.

Anyway, those are my thoughts about the latest NFL season. Let me know what you think and have a great week!