Monday Night Football on ESPN, began with promise and significance in respect to playoff supremacy; however, we all witnessed something entirely different.
Although massively significant, what occurred midway through the first quarter, was prohibitively unexpected! Thankfully, number (3): Damar Hamlin, has recovered to consciousness and functionality as of Friday; after sustaining a cardiac event, we witnessed the Pitt Panther Safety collapse after a ‘relatively routine’ tackle. What ensued was traumatic for every single person involved; players, teammates, coaches, fans, and family alike, experienced nothing short of shock. Importantly, The NFL prepared for the worst-case scenario and had over thirty medically trained personnel to rescue Damar Hamlin on the field in Cincinnati. The crisis has been averted to an extent, but we still hope and pray for the Hamlin Family; Damar remains in ICU.
For our Week 18 Picks: Tom and I felt strongly that there were two fair bets; where both road teams have the greatest probability to cover, respectively. I would suggest; The Minnesota Vikings at The Chicago Bears (MIN, -5.5), and The Houston Texans at The Indianapolis Colts (IND, -2.5). Outside placing a decent bet, there were many matchups with playoff significance. Four drew the most attention: BAL at CIN (-9), DET at GB (-5), LAR at SEA (-6), & NYG at PHI (-14). The Baltimore Ravens, with a win in Cincy, are a coin-toss from winning the AFC North. If The Seattle Seahawks lose against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday evening will be enormous! Our opinion throughout the segment suggested yearning for The Lions, but a pessimistic tone building a case for Aaron Rodgers to reach another postseason. Regardless, if Kenneth Walker III (Dialogues With Chris Miller’s pick for Offensive Rookie of the Year) can continue his successful rookie campaign, then Geno Smith and company should handle an unpredictable Rams squad. Finally for our picks, Philly could actually lose its grasp of the NFC East and the overall one seed with a third consecutive loss.
The Georgia Bulldogs are four quarters away from consecutive National Championships and a (29-1) record over the last two seasons. Can Kirby Smart (The Second Best Coach in NCAAF per Dialogues With Chris Miller) repeat what his mentor (Nick Saban) achieved in 2012? We will find out Monday night against a very nice story, but not entirely a worthy opponent; The TCU Horned Frogs are good enough to go undefeated in an admittedly weakened BIG 12, and Max Duggan just barely scraped away from a vicious Wolverine second half.
In our final segment, Victor Wembanyama and the current ‘invasion’ from abroad, took form. Over the last four years in the NBA; all four MVP’s belong to either Giannis Antetokoumpo or Nikola Jokic, and Luka Doncic has certainly arrived as contender. Could you make the case that by 2024, at least four of the top ten players in The Association are from European Leagues. If Victor Wembanyama possess the talent we see and the generational combination of size, athleticism, and finesse manifest during his rookie season; then, He’s a (20 point-10 rebound per night) kind of fella, which represents his ‘floor’ as a prospect, but has the potential to be much more: the 7’2’’ French-teenager possess an outlandishly vaulted ceiling and could be wildly and immediately productive!
Remember: Tom Brady’s (35-12) through the Playoffs; however, during those 12 losses he was sacked a total of 26 times. Whereas in his 35 victories, only 53: So if an opposing defense takes him to the ground three or more times they should win the playoff game. How capable are The Tampa Bay Buccaneers in protecting TB12?!