The 2024 NFL Season - The Fix Is In Style

a.k.a. We're really doing this again?

Week 15

It's Christmas week, and the NFL is just the gift that keeps on giving, isn't it? Like this from the Saints v. Commanders game:

Oops. Our bad. We can't remember big, important rules, but when need be, we can recall obscure, rarely if ever called penalties to punish teams and/or save teams from an unexpected loss, like this:

But so it goes, week in and week out around here. But the biggest change I've recently seen is the sudden love of the Buffalo Bills. As I previously mentioned, they are getting a new stadium, and success typically brackets such a move. Now, we're supposed to believe they are "America's team?" Really?

Now, it had seemed like it was the Lions time to shine, but there's one thing the NFL cannot control: who gets hurt and who does not. And the Lions, wow, have they had players go down to injury this year:

The league can only fake so much, and if the Lions don't have any healthy bodies to make things look real, well, you have to pivot. So, why not turn to the Bills, another loveable-loser of a franchise. Seems to make sense to have a back-up plan in place, and Josh Allen and the Bills seem to fit in that scheme. We'll see what joy Christmas brings us, meanwhile, Jalen Hurts goes from being featured to fined by the NFL in a single tweet. If that doesn't sum up this league, I don't know what does.

Weeks 13 & 14

So, remember last time when I mentioned how one play can change a game? Here's the KC Chiefs edition of that:

It's also interesting to note that the Chiefs are one of five teams to have not scored 30 points or more in a game this season. The other four? The Patriots, Jets, Giants, and Raiders (none of which has won more than 3 games this season).  On the flip side, the Chiefs are one of three teams to have not allowed 30+ points in a game this season, but the other two are the Giants (again) and the Chargers (8-5). Kinda interesting, no?

The Chiefs have also won something like 13 straight one score games. This is also interesting, but I heard (prior to Week 14) that 92% of ALL NFL games were within one score. That's crazy. Not in an entertianment-based league meant to keep you watching (sell you food? a la Uber Eats?), but in a real sports league, this seems preposterous. Yet here were are. (Another crazy stat - and I didn't check this for truthfulness but it feels correct - is that Tyreek Hill has had more children born this year than TDs scored - 5 to 4 - prior to Week 14).

The biggest thing I missed this season - and I can't believe I missed it - is that the Bills are getting a new stadium. This usually only means one thing for a franchise: SUCCESS. Had I known this prior to predicting the Ravens were Super Bowl bound, I would've certainly changed my pick to the Bills...and will do so now. Bills v Lions Super Bowl, anyone? No matter which team wins, it'd be their first SB title. Seems like must see TV.

Here's a whole bunch of nonsense from the refs over the past two weeks:

Then there's these two incidents from the past two weeks: a head coach who can't function in the cold (and it wasn't that cold), and player who just decided to quit mid-game. Now, again, sports fans, tell me how much winning and losing matters to these people?

Also, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is too sensative to take a little pre-game taunting from a fan. This fan then had his season tickets revoked by the Lions for his behavior. Maybe if these "rough and tough" NFL players and coaches lived up to that reputation, things like cold weather and bad words wouldn't be so tramatic.

Week 12 & a dash of 13

So, imagine you are the Chicago Bears. You lose to the Commanders because of a botched Hail Mary. You lose to the Packers because of a blocked field goal. You lose to the Vikings in overtime. Then, your head coach can't figure out the clock, or doesn't realize you have a time out remaining, or both, and you lose to the first place Lions because of plain ol' idiocy. Due to these comes (and two other bad losses), you then fire your head coach because, well, it's all his fault.

The Bears could be 8-4 right now, or maybe at least 6-6. But one play in each of the Washington, Green Bay, and Lions game helped direct the Bears to their current state of being.

ONE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A GAME.

This is the thing that NFL fans understand, yet they seemingly don't. "Well, that penalty was big, but it didn't cost us the game." Yes, it did. At that point, at that moment in the game, it altered the outcome. Quit lying to yourself.

Another example: in the Thanksgiving night game between the Dolphins and Packers. The Packers got the ball to start the game, went three and out, and punted. The Dolphins return-man dropped the punt, and the Packers recovered inside the Dolphins 10-yard line. I knew the game was over right there. That one play, even though it was only the fourth (fifth if you count the opening kickoff) play of the game, altered the outcome and swung the game in the Packers' favor, never to return. I don't care that there were 50+ minutes left in the game. It was over.

And that's how easy it can be to fix one of these things. One penalty. One dropped pass. One fumble. The momentum changes, and boom, the game's decided.

Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Football games can be won or lost in one play. And that play doesn't have to be the last one in the game.

On another note, what was with all the John Madden love on Thanksgiving (again)? Do I really need to hear the word "Turduckin" 100+ times now every Thanksgiving Day? People seem to forget that football fans were sick and tired of Madden and his "boom!" schtick well before he was forced out of the booth. He was a joke, and a tired one at that in the broadcast booth. Now, somehow, he's become legend - mainly because it is being forced upon football fans. But he wasn't a brillant commentator and he didn't change how the game was looked at or called. He was a head coach that won one Super Bowl, then faded into obscurity until he entered the broadcast booth. Much like Tony Romo, after a season or two of some actual insight, he became just another ex- (or failed) football player or coach turned broadcaster who told you things most fans already knew. I have nothing personal against the guy, but I don't care to have him forced down my throat as a "legend" when I'm old enough to know the real story behind the person.

Also, on a football tanget of sorts, I didn't know Bills QB Josh Allen was dating actress Hailee Steinfeld until I stumbled across an announcement of their engagement on X. Now, here's a woman who's a well respected actress, can sing (a bit), and actually gives back to her community, but isn't featured on TV every Sunday dancing in the team booth like one Taylor Swift constantly is. Why is that? I know the "Kelce brothers & their mom" is now a thing, but do we really need more of Taylor Swift, queen of the NFL WAGs, when an actually talented performer like Ms. Steinfeld is available for that position? Amazing what the NFL is capable of, and who they choose to feature and ignore, when it comes to media and the hype machine.

That's all I have for you this week, friends. No need to rehash each game, the lack of effort shown by some players, and the "bad call" that tainted another week's worth of games. You get it. No need to bash you over the head...well, maybe until next week, that is.

Week 10 & 11

It's funny. I sat down to write this recap for the past two weeks, and I stopped and asked myself, "What did happen in the NFL two weeks ago?" Sadly (for the NFL), I had zero recollection of anything of importance occurring. I didn't even had any post bookmarked on X to help me remember, either. I looked at the scores, and all I saw was that, amazingly, the refs didn't step in and help the Chiefs, so they actually lost to the Bills to end their undefeated season. The Cowboys completely fell apart. And, uh, you can fill in the blanks for any other news of note because I didn't see anything.

But I did find - eight months later - this article in which 50% of people polled now believe sports are fixed. I'm pretty certain I, and my loyal readers/followers, had a lot to do with that number. DId you see the Mike Tyson v Jake Paul fight? I know, it was difficult to actually watch the "fight" as Netflix couldn't get its steam together, and most people saw more of a spinning red circle than any punches thrown, but did anyone think that fight was legit? The film of Tyson training did not match the Tyson in the ring. And he often seemed to stop himself from throwing a punch. But he got $20 million for 16 minutes of "boxing." Not sure I'd hit the guy giving me that payday, either.

Even if you realized that the "fight" was really just "sports entertainment," look at the Sunday night football game between the LA Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The Chargers dominated that game in the first half, then, as if by magic, they ceased to function in the second half...until they put together a final drive to win the game. It was like they were told, "Hey, no reason to run away with this. Keep it close." So, they did. And many NFL games flow in this fashion which doesn't make sense, especially when teams dominating in the run stop running (or, as on Sunday night, the Chargers stopped trying to pass despite killing the Bengals in the passing game).

I firmly believe this all began way back in 1969 with Super Bowl III. And one guy who certainly agreed with me was the late Bubba Smith. Here's for your enjoyment, is Bubba breaking down what happened in Super Bowl III, and explaining the fix and the reason for it. Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! I'll try to put more effort into this moving forward (but I'm pretty sure y'all don't need me to explain this to you anymore).

Weeks 8 & 9 (and the start of Week 10)

So, I updated the site here for Week 8, but just prior to publishing what I wrote, my computer crashed and dumped the whole thing. Then, I got sick and had zero motivation to re-write what I had previously done or to bother with Week 9. But I see two takeaways from the NFL at this point in time:

A) Holy moly, do the Chiefs get the calls! I think the Taylor Swift lift has passed as it doesn't seem to be as much of a thing as it was last season. Even so, the Kelce brothers (and their mom, for some reason) remain an odd focal point, and Patrick Mahomes is still rather talented, so the Chiefs aren't going away. But they remain undefeated thanks, in large part, to the referees. The flags ALWAYS slant their way, and I'm not writing this because I hate the Chiefs or have something against the team (that would be the Packers), but it's an observation that more and more fans are picking up on. Maybe the Chiefs are really that good of a team, and maybe they are Super Bowl bound again, but I don't believe in either. I believe they stand where they do thanks to a lot of league "help."

B) I think the Super Bowl is going to come down to the Lions vs. the Ravens. Everyone seems to love the Lions now. And who else is there in the NFC? The Commanders and their rookie QB? Saquon and the Eagles? The Cardinals? I mean, seriously, not one of these teams seem actually good. They all just win more often than not because someone has to lose. And outside of the Chiefs, there's two teams the pundits seem to love regardless of what happens: the Bills and the Ravens. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson get constant rave reviews despite screwing up as often as they succeed. So, this may be one of their years, and I tend to lean the Ravens' way, especailly after seeing the refs look the other way at the end of their Thursday night game against the Bengals. Of course, it wasn't as bad as this completely missed call a couple Thursdays ago:

I mean, seriously. How can any fan look at that play, see where the refs are looking during the play, and walk away thinking this league is legitmate? If that is not a face-masking penalty, what on God's green Earth is? But no flag, and no hope for the Vikings there. It's ridiculous.

What's also ridiculous is this play by the Bears WR DJ Moore:

I know the Colts QB Anthony Richardson took himself out of the game for one play because he was tired, but I don't know if I've ever seen a player walk off the field and sit on the bench in the middle of a play like this. Paid "professionals" playing a game, and this is the effort given? There was also this, that goes down as a "amazing" play, but really,  what happened here:

How did Barkley jump that early, and how'd he know that defender would go low(ish)? Why didn't that defender just blow him up? I don't think the play was staged, but at the same time, it seems, as they say, "hinky."

But so does the whole league.

Week 7

My real world job - the one that allows me to pay the bills, unlike with this writing stuff - changed my days off, so now I work on Sundays which is kind of a blessing because I don't get bombarded with NFL nonsense. But at the same time, it's not the best situation for keeping up with this webpage because, well, I don't see much of the NFL nonsense. So, I am routinely missing gems like this:

I mean, damn. That's some high level play from a highly paid professional athlete right there. And I won't get to see it live as-it-happens week in, week out.

Another thing I didn't get to see -- but let's be honest, I wouldn't have watched it if it was taking place in my driveway -- was the WNBA Final between the NY Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. The deciding Game 5 came down to the final few minutes (like every basketball game...and several football ones as well), and guess what? The WNBA refs decided to 100% favor the New York team! Shocking, I know! But what was great was that it did not go unnotice by the 17 people who watched the game. And the Lynx head coach minced no words after the game, stating flat-out that the game was "stolen" from her team.

Does no one learn? Does no one understand how these leagues operate until it literally slaps them in the face with a major reality check? This is why I see no reason continuing with this website: IT KEEPS HAPPENING AND PEOPLE GET MAD FOR 3 SECONDS THEN ASK, "WHAT GAME'S ON NEXT?"

How about an "old school" NY Yankees vs LA Dodgers World Series? Nothing like some small market teams making it to the championship. What would the MLB and its broadcast partners have done with a Milwaukee vs Kansas City World Series? Jump out the window? And does anyone think this will be a 4 game sweep, or reach at least 6 games to keep both coasts watching? Hmmm....

Oh yeah, the NFL. There were a buncha games played, but none were exactly noteworth with the exception of the Sunday night game between the Steelers and the Jets. Aaron Rodgers got his buddy Davante Adams traded to NY (and the head coach fired), but NY's newest power couple were KO'd by the return of Russell Wilson and the Steelers. The game was a snoozer, but these are two storylines that we have not heard the last of yet.

Until next week...which has already begun with some controversy on Thursday night, but we'll get to that later.

Week 5 & 6

How did we wind up with the Kelce Brothers as the new ambassadors of football? Is the Manning Cast gettings stale? Are NFL players really that devoid of any sort of personality? Is it all Taylor Swift's fault? I'm not sure what the answer really is, but I want to hire whoever is their agent because these two dopes are everywhere. And I, for one, am done with it. These are my kind of former NFL players:

We're now six games into the season, and these are the real "highlights" of the league filled with grown men playing a game professionally, and getting paid to do it:

And let's not forget the contributions from the refs, the world's best officials:

But, hey, there's been some exciting football! Right? Why else would 22 of 32 teams have a record of 4-2, 3-3, or 2-4 (with a couple 2-3 or 3-2 teams thrown in)? That's a lot of average...which is exactly what the NFL's parity was designed to do as it makes more games more interesting (supposedly).

But now is when the storylines should begin to be built, and the next 2-3 weeks should reveal how the rest of the season is going to play out.

But if nothing else, the past two weeks brought me perhaps the best highlight of 2024:

Week 4

Raise your hand if you had predicted the Steelers, Commanders, Vikings, Seahawks, and Buccaneers would all be in first place in their respective divisions at the end of the first month of the NFL season. Are those five teams really good? Or is there just a lot of bad football being played right now?

The one guy not playing bad football is the Commanders QB Jayden Daniels. Remember what I wrote about the Bears and their new QB Caleb Williams? I still think he has a chance to make the Bears legitimate contenders in an illegitimate league, but Daniels might just upstage him. He looks like he actually has talent, and given the recent woes of the Washington franchise under the Snyder regime, the NFL might not mind propping up the Commanders if Daniels becomes a true commodity in the league.

Would Daniels (or Williams) get Patrick Mahomes level of officiating help? Doubtful, because who else can get as much referee help as the Chiefs currently enjoy? Seriously, the Chiefs could easily be 0-4 as opposed to 4-0 had some 50/50 calls not all gone their way. And if T.Swift isn't going to make an appearance at each and every Chiefs game - and she was M.I.A. on Sunday with the game in LA (due to supposed "security concerns") - the Chiefs chances at a third straight Super Bowl appearance will quickly vanish.

Otherwise, it was a very boring week. Even the primetime games were very "meh"...unless you bet on the Cowboys at -5.5 and then saw this:

Was that kick a little sus? You make the call.

Speaking of calls, the refs were their usual selves again this week, but what's surprising about that?

And that call in the Steelers game upset a former Steelers player enough to tweet:

Week 3

So, I don't watch sports anymore. If anything, I "watch" them as in, I have a game on in the background while I do something more interesting or fulfilling, and lift my head up to see what happened if I hear a rise in the announcer's voice. I sat down to do just that for Sunday Night Football because over the past few years, SNF has become a breeding ground for BS NFL outcomes. While I waited for the game to kickoff, I happned to stumble upon the movie Robocop (the original) and preceeded to watch that until its conclusion because (a) I hadn't watched it in probably 20 years, and (b) it was much more entertaining than anything the NFL could dish out. Plus, I knew that recently the NFL has become like the NBA, and nothing of note occurs until the final two minutes of the game.

Goodness, is Robocop a classic. Ultra-violent, raw, crude, funny, somewhat thought-provoking, and less than two hours long. My wife had never seen it before (which I found hard to believe), and even she wondered out loud, "Why don't they make movies like this anymore?" Good question. Why don't they? Why is today's pop culture so devoid of meaningfulness? I know I'll sound like an old person (becuase I am becoming an old person with each passing day), but nothing pop culture-wise seems memorable. What's a movie or album or anything from the past 10+ years that will be influential on the next 10+ years? Can you name one? I mean, Taylor Swift is probably this generation's biggest star, and she is so average across the board - singing, songwriting, performing - that if kids emulate her, it's just because she's all there is. But I've never heard someone reference her as a real "influence," and no one seems to point to her and say, "I want to sing like Taylor," or "Wow, what an original song from Taylor." It's just more of the same oatmeal. Elvis and the Beatles were influential. Taylor Swift is not. And the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the only thing that seems to get people into theaters today, and their films are two-and-a-half hour cartoons with little substance and nothing of note to say. Is it a wonder, then, why people turn to sports for entertainment?

But then again, if you are a "real" NFL fan, what part of this do you really find entertaining? A real football fan should find this all extremely insulting to one's intelligence:

Tack on to all of that, this little gem:

I guess this is entertaining for sports fans because "the outcome is always in doubt" and the "good guys" don't always win in the NFL, yet it seems that more often than not, the team the NFL wants always does win in the end. Like the Chiefs beating the Falcons on SNF...which wasn't decided until less than two minutes were remaining in the game. Well after Robocop had ended.

One last thing. Magnets?

Week 2

Let's start with this gem:

I wouldn't expect anything else from ESPN's "betting analyst," but did he see the Chiefs v Bengals game? Because the refs seemed to be taking sides in that contest:

Was it P.I.? Was it not P.I.? On 4th and 17 with the game on the line, I've seen a lot worse go uncalled. But what's the excuse on the chokehold block? Or the holding during the P.I. play which went uncalled?

But, ok, if the refs aren't involved then what are the players doing? You've played football your entire life. You are a PROFESSIONAL football player. And you do this:

Or you could be the Colts coaching staff and decide not to bother to stop the run against the Packers who were starting a castoff QB who'd been with the team for less than three weeks. These are supposedly the smartest people in football at work, fans. And you believe this level of incompetence is just par for the course? It's purely accident as oppsed to intentionally done?

We had two more primetime games come down to the final possession: the Falcons win with less than a minute remaining on MNF, and the Bears had a hope in their final drive despite not hiring anyone who could actually block for their "franchise" QB (see above). Thursday night was a dud, but Miami's QB got his 300th concussion and left before any dramatics could be performed. And outside of the primetimers, 10 of 13 games were decided by fewer than 7 points (and one of the three that weren't close involved the Panthers, so it really shouldn't count).

Meanwhile, everything is topsy-turvy in the standings. The Ravens, Bengals and Jaguars are 0-2. The Saints, Buccaneers, Seahawks, Vikings and Steelers are all 2-0. Big whoop. It's Week 2. The 0-2 teams will get better. The 2-0 teams will falter. They'll all be in the mix as the NFL wants it. That's parity in action, folks. More meaningful games later in the season. Get fans watching, Drive up those ratings. Make more money. That's the NFL in 2024.

Week 1

I have been quite absent from my own website, and to my fans and followers, I apologize for that. I've had a lot going on, including a possible project which would've been huge, but has since kind of blow up and twisted into something else which isn't what was originally intended but may still become something special. It's taken a lot of my time and energy,. It's just not amounted to all that much yet. But that's about all I can say about it.

And at the same time, haven't football fans figured this out yet? I mean, last year was all about Taylor Swift - and even to my own surprise - the NFL really ran that storyline all the way through to a Chiefs back-to-back Super Bowl title. Given what's recently happened in the NFL -- Peyton Manning retiring after winning a Super Bowl, the Patriots winning - in their first ever overtime Super Bowl - after being down 27-3, then Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers while breaking the home team "Super Bowl curse" (and playing a home Super Bowl game in the year of covid when we were all forced to stay home) among other shenanigans -- I shouldn't have to do these weekly recaps because people get it. It's fixed. It's a TV creation masquerading as a sport. It's fantasy football, only made real without a fairy godmother.

But, no. Here we are. Again. For about the 18th year (I launched this website in 2006, believe it or not)

So, I'll take another run at another NFL season. Once again, a warning: there may be a week, or weeks, I don't update this page, because some weeks, nothing of note happens (or I'm just busy living life, not caring what happens in the NFL).

Which teams are likely to be the stories this year? Because, let's face it, some teams just don't matter. They are filler. Needed to make this look like a true competition, but in reality, have no reason to really play the games the league forces them to play. Here's my guess:

In the AFC, yes the Chiefs will be a story because they are already talking about "no team has three-peated since....", but it's not happening. The Jets, with the comeback kid, er, old man Aaron Rodgers, will be a story (even though they just were whooped on MNF). Houston, Miami, Bills, and Jaguars all have stars that the NFL can hang its hat on, but I think the Ravens - even though they, too, lost in Week 1 - is who the NFL is greasing the wheels for. They have a thing for Lamar Jackson - why, I don't know - but one of these days, barring injury, he's going to be Super Bowl bound.

In the NFC, maybe the 2.0 version of Tom Brady, SF's Brock Purdy, will be a thing again. Maybe not. Same with the Eagles, they have the tools, but the mojo? Does the nation really care about these teams? The Lions haven't had their Super Bowl berth yet, and it's been how long since the Cowboys have won a playoff game? I think both might just happen in 2024. But look out for the Bears. I know Caleb Williams did nothing in Game 1, but if this kid has real talent, he'll get the "help" because the fans appear more rabid about him than they were with Fields, Trubisky, Grossman, and the rest of the QBs the Bears have trotted out since Jim McMahon. I can see Chicago in the Super Bowl. Maybe not in 2024, but within three years. Caleb may be have an "it" factor not seen in a while.

What we'll track this year is one score games, especially the prime-time affairs. So far, the season opener and the first-ever game in Brazil (why did this happen? Does anyone know?), both literally came down to the final play. The Sunday nighter was a one score game as well which, oh yeah, was decided in overtime. But Monday Night Football - the return of Aaron Rodgers - was surprisingly, to me at least, a lopsided affair which the 49ers just dominated. All told, there were nine games decided by 7 points or less,  three of which, as stated above, were in prime time.

So, until next week (or so), here's some food for thought: