Monday, February 04, 2019

Lightning Round -- 020419

Freezing rain this morning. Yes, it's about 55 degrees warmer than it was a few days ago, but Mother Nature is still trying to kill us. So shake down the thunder:

  • The Super Bowl was dull. Just about everyone (with a few exceptions) is tired of the New England Patriots, but it must be said -- they cracked the code on the Rams. Considering half the league is either already planning to, or will begin shortly, emulating the Rams, Bill Belichick's master class will make things interesting for next season. I hope Matt LaFleur was watching closely in Green Bay.
  • Ralph Northam now says that yearbook photo of his isn't him, although he did pick out all the other images on his page. It's bad enough to be a racist and a ghoul, but being an unskilled liar takes things up a notch. My next prediction -- Northam will reveal he is actually Bill Clinton's half-brother.
  • Super Bowl ads were mostly meh, but the jarring one was the "wait, what?" appearance of Andy Warhol, dead 32 years now, as a pitchman for Burger King. I'm eagerly waiting for the Picasso endorsement of Culver's and the inevitable pairing of Jackson Pollock and Jack in the Box. This one has Top Ten List potential, although having Frida Kahlo saying "Yo quiero Taco Bell" might be beyond the pale.
  • By the way, pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks.

11 comments:

Gino said...

the Bears cracked the code on how to beat the Rams, not the patriots.

3john2 said...

The SB commercials - for at least the third year in a row - were pretty poor overall. And you didn't have to be Tony Romo to predict the virtue signaling. Speaking of virtue-signaling, it surely didn't take the officials long to do a "make-good" call on Robey-Coleman in the first quarter. After the officiating jobs done this season, the NFL is planning to send it's officials to the WWE Referee Training Program in the hopes they can raise their game.

The defenses were catching up to the Rams and Chiefs as the year went on, as they inevitably do. Kudos should go to Wade Phillips, too. Other than not having an answer for Edelman (and Gronk to some extent), the Rams D did a heckuva job, too.

Brad Carlson said...

the Bears cracked the code on how to beat the Rams, not the patriots.

What the Pats did to the Rams was more impressive due to the fact it was in a controlled environment. The Bears' D is good but they also had the advantage of getting a fast Rams offense into inclement weather.

Bike Bubba said...

I liked the game--skipped the first half for a workout, but watched most of the second half--and it was striking how the teams were putting a clinic on in terms of strategy and such. I was watching the game with high school and college kids, and it most of them were not following what was going on. The field goal attempt at 8 seconds to go was genius, I remember watching Goff throw the ball recklessly on one drive (getting intercepted as a result) towards the end.

Of course, my idea Super Bowl score would be 4-2. The prevention of scoring is as fun for me to watch as the scoring.

3john2 said...

Bubba, the game was compelling for the strategy, and Romo did a good job of bringing that out. The Goff pick under the blitz was a mistake - but something the Rams have been getting away with all year. If there's a goat of the game (as opposed to a GOAT), I'd put it on Brandin Cooks who had two touchdowns in his hands get batted away (albeit on great defensive plays), and his stumble just short of the first down after the catch on 2nd and 20 cost them the first down and the chance to keep the drive alive.

Gino said...

What the Pats did to the Rams was more impressive due to the fact it was in a controlled environment. The Bears' D is good but they also had the advantage of getting a fast Rams offense into inclement weather.

my point remains. The Bears cracked the code. They showed how it was done. Not the patriots.

Mr. D said...

I looked back at the box score of that game in Chicago and I’m willing to grant Gino’s premise, although if I remember correctly, the Bears won that game more with pure pass rush than the Patriots did. I might be wrong about that, though – I didn’t watch the whole thing because it was late and I needed to go to bed. The one thing that was definitely true – both the Bears and the Patriots got Goff off his game. I believe we’ll get a rematch of Bears/Rams next season in L.A. and I’ll be interested to see if the Bears can duplicate it. If they can, they might be the favorites in the NFC.

Unknown said...

The Bear's need to get their offense moving first. 14 points a game isn't gonna be the answer.

3john2 said...

Cracking the code is good. Violating the code is a problem. I think the reason the Super Bowl commercials are so poor lately is that everyone is afraid to be funny. About the only two commercials this year that stuck in my head afterwards were the Bud Light "Corn Oil" commercial and the Hyundai elevator "going down" to all the worst things in the world, including a vegan dinner party. Predictably, by the morning after the Corn Growers and vegans were complaining that they were offended.

Bike Bubba said...

If only the Rams had paid attention when the Lions cracked the Patriots' code, no? :^) BTW, the Kitties might be in the Super Bowl next year, because after all, Hell (MI) did freeze over.

Mr. D said...

About the only two commercials this year that stuck in my head afterwards were the Bud Light "Corn Oil" commercial and the Hyundai elevator "going down" to all the worst things in the world, including a vegan dinner party. Predictably, by the morning after the Corn Growers and vegans were complaining that they were offended.

Reminds me of the old joke, which I'm sure is officially Not Funny now:

Q. How do you know if someone is vegan?
A. They'll #@$% tell you.