By: J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
While most members of the media continue to hyperventilate about NFL Overtime Rules, here’s a different take…the system is just fine as it is. Kansas City won the toss two weeks ago and scored a touchdown and beat Buffalo, but last week they won the toss and lost to Cincinnati. Of course, the naysayers will point out how 10 of 12 sudden death overtime games in the NFL post-season were won by the team that won the toss, but here are some other things to consider.
In four of those 10 playoff wins where the winning team won the toss, it was the New England Patriots doing so. Hmmmm… let’s see, the best team with the best coach and the greatest QB of all time ended up accounting for 33% of those playoff overtime wins? Shocking. Secondly, I would not be surprised to see the team that carried the momentum in the second half also won the majority of those playoff games. The coin toss is a 50-50 proposition, so what is fairer? Secondly, college football overtime is a hokey way to decide a game, taking special teams out of the equation. If you want to tweak it, go to a 10-minute overtime and then continue with sudden death if necessary, but if they keep the system the same, it doesn’t bother me in the least…
Speaking of the post-season, is there a better story this year than Joe Burrow and Cincinnati? Picked to finish fourth in their division by practically every expert, the Bengals lost this year to the Jets, Bears, and Browns. This is a team whose quarterback was sacked nine times in the divisional round and who has modest numbers of four touchdowns and two picks in three post-season games. Added to the fact they fell behind 21-3 on the road to Kansas City on Sunday, it begs the question – how the heck is this team in the Super Bowl? Frankly, I give most of the credit to Burrow. The swag and confidence this kid is playing with is off the charts and while everything in the world tells me the Rams are going to win the Super Bowl, I am just waiting for Joe to make the same outlandish guarantee another Joe did more than 50 years ago and predict a Super Bowl win. And if he does, I am not counting the Bengals out…
That said we may not be even talking about Cincinnati if Andy Reid had settled for a field goal with five seconds left in the first half. With that much time left you have enough time for two plays if you go quick, but to throw a screen pass made no sense. A three-touchdown lead may have been enough to hold off Cincinnati…
Cooper Kupp’s receiving stats this year are absolutely off the charts. Counting post-season, he now has 165 receptions for 2273 yards and 19 touchdowns. This is sort of the equivalent of a 250-hit season in baseball…
Hard to believe we went through 54 Super Bowls without a true home-field advantage until we had the Tampa Bay Bucs hosted Kansas City in Super Bowl LV last year and now we have a “home” team hosting for a second consecutive year, with the Rams playing in their home stadium against Cincinnati. But even with this year being a second straight “home field advantage” situation, it could be argued that it still truly has not been a home game for any Super Bowl participant. Because of Covid last year, Raymond James Stadium was less than half-filled creating an absolutely strange atmosphere for a championship game. The Rams have had trouble all season with more fans showing up to root for the visitors than for the home team. Remember, Rams quarterback Mathew Stafford had to go to a silent count numerous times yesterday to counteract the noise from 49ers fans last night….
Although the Super Bowl is still almost two weeks away, it’s always fun to consider what is going to happen with trades, coaching changes, and free agency in the off-season. First, there’s no question that Aaron Rodgers should stay in Green Bay. Does he really want to go to an AFC team like Pittsburgh, where he would have to get by Burrows and Lamar Jackson in his division and then have to worry about possible playoff matchups with guys like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Derrick Carr, and Justin Herbert in the playoffs or would it make more sense to stay in Green Bay where Kirk Cousins is the biggest obstacle to the division title and the aging Matt Stafford and Dak Prescott are about the only challenges left in the NFC now that Brady is retiring? Where you play does make a difference, keep in mind that Tom Brady’s path to greatness was paved in the AFC East, where the Patriots went unchallenged for more than a decade. What does make sense for both teams is if the Steelers should make an effort to obtain Jimmy Garappolo in a trade. The 49ers have all but committed to moving Trey Lance into the starters role and the Steelers are looking for Ben Roethlisberger’s replacement. Due to Jimmy G’s injury history, the asking price would not be too high and with the Steelers returning talent it would be a good fit for all concerned…
Y’all have a great week.
By: J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
J. Daniel Pearson, a long-time resident of Osceola County, has joined Positively Osceola as a freelance contributor. His JD’s Monday Morning Musings column is a regular feature and he will be covering events for us throughout the year. Dan is a former Public Relations Specialist for Florida State University, Boardwalk and Baseball, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Orlando Predators, and other professional sports teams and has been a freelance reporter to many newspapers in the state.
