Too Roger Stoned Trash Talk

As you may have heard, Roger Stone was convicted on all counts yesterday. Marcy’s post is here. A jury still deliberating on a Thursday is one thing, but they like to get the fuck out of Dodge by a Friday afternoon, and this one did. Predictable.

Not necessarily shocked they rendered verdicts of guilty on all counts, but do think Judge Amy Berman Jackson may give serious consideration to a post trial motion, at least as to the witness tampering verdict. It takes a lot for an honest trial judge, and ABJ is certainly that, to overturn a jury verdict, and I really doubt she does here. But think she will look hard at, at a minimum, the witness tampering evidence. We shall see.

Okay, what counts in the college ranks this weekend? Indiana has been on a serious roll of late, and this week plays Penn State. If the Hoosiers can beat PSU, they are for real, but not gonna bet on that. I still don’t think the Michigan Harbaugs are real, but they will likely beat an uncharacteristically off Sparty. Texas may run into a Brock Purdy buzz saw at Iowa State. Purdy is from right here in the Cactus Patch, and he is really good. The Dawgs of UGA at Auburn may be the best game of the day, with a soft nod to Oklahoma at Baylor.

In the Pros, there was a bit of a kerfuffle Thursday night, while beating the Steelerts, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett stripped the Steeler’s QB Mason Rudolph’s helmet and beat him on the head with it. Garrett has been suspended for the rest of the year, at least, maybe longer under the “indefinitely” designation. That is proper. But, too, TV twatwaffles like CNN’s Michael Smerconish are putting out public polls as to whether Garrett should also be criminally prosecuted. What the “public” thinks does not mean squat, this is a decision for professional prosecutors, not television audiences.

I am really looking forward to the matchup of Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson as the Texans visit Baltimore. These are transcendent talents, and it is hard to root against either one, but I’ll tai the Ravens at home. Dallas at Detroit probably depends on if Matt Stafford plays over his clear back injury, but even is so the ‘Boys are likely the safer pick. Jags at Colts is a pick em, but Jacoby Brissett looks to be back which favors Indianapolis. Who would have guessed we would see the Wagon Circling Bills at 7-3 after ten games, but they are likely to be so after a visit to Miami. Jets at Skins for the lulz. The best game is, obviously, New England at Philly in a replay of Super Bowl LII. Both teams come off a bye. Never bet against Bill Bel, but, damn, this could be epic. And it ought be on prime time instead of the crack ass placing of the Bears at Rams for SNF and Chiefs at Bolts for MNF.

This, for all the promise going into it, has been a boring and tepid Formula One season. Let it end, please. But Sunday is the Brazilian Grand Prix, a historically significant race, even if this year does not shape up for one. Only AbuDhabi remains after that on the schedule, thankfully.

Music this week is from Robin Trower and one of the truly great overall rock albums of all time, Bridge of Sighs. This is the studio cut, although I can attest it was even better live. Rock on.

ADDENDUM: Yearrgh, I screwed up and did not address Earl’s (and undoubtedly Ed Walker’s) game of Notre Dame and Navy. Early on, I thought the Irish were actually back with a great team. They proved that false with a loss to the Georgia Dawgs (a seriously good team by the way) and then to a sketchy Michigan team and barely eking out wins over what should have been far outmanned teams like USC and West Virginia at home in South Bend. Today the Wolverweenies play the Midshipmen of Navy. Also, again, in their South Bend home. Do the Irish ever have the balls to play a difficult opponent outside of their own stadium, unless forced to do so? Go Navy!

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114 replies
      • Cathy says:

        Nope, sorry. Now that you’ve put the image of a judge bringing one of those outsized cartoon gavels down on the helmet-offender ~BONK~ I just can’t shake it. There are even tiny Vogels flying around in the aftermath. Only they’re singing sock puppets instead of birds. And off to the side is George Conway rubbing Kellyanne’s feet, sighing “You think *you* had a weird day.”

  1. General Sternwood says:

    May I say how tired I am of certain spots networks breathlessly covering Harbaugh all the time, even while so many better teams are relatively ignored? But we must fetishize the great white sports coach — the enduring myth of American fandom.

  2. drouse says:

    I saw Trower doing Bridge of Sighs at a Day on the Green at the Oakland Coliseum. That must have been in 72 or 73. I haven’t been hooked on Formula1 long enough to opine on a given season but I have noticed that the first practice round can be quite exciting.

    • bmaz says:

      I saw him/them (band was excellent) twice back then, but probably closer to 75. Think front and back ends of the same tour, but not positive about that or the dates. Both in tandem with Alvin Lee and Ten Years After. Both acts insanely great.

    • laura says:

      August of 1975 – fantastic lineup of British bands. Just a scant few months before Bill Graham died. IIRC, tickets were $15.00 or there abouts. Great value for your entertainment dollar. Trower played a small club here in Sacramento a year or so ago and still as good as ever.

      • bmaz says:

        Speaking of a bridge to sighs, our own Roving Reporter Rosalind worked side by side with the late, and great, Bill Graham. He has been sorely missed.

      • VoltOwner says:

        Missed Trower and Alvin Lee back then. Big fan of their recorded output, but live I was more into Fripp.
        We still refer to those giant balls they put on power lines these days to make them visible to air traffic as Bill Graham Balls.

    • TooLoose LeTruck says:

      Robin Trower… well dang, that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time…

      Never saw him live but certainly was a fan and listened to his first couple of albums quite a bit back then…

      I was also a big fan of Procol Harum too…

      “My Prussian blue electric clock…”

  3. Molly Pitcher says:

    In a big surprise, Garber, Cal’s quarterback is off the injured list for the first time in weeks, and expected to start against USC tonight. Hope he can shake the rust off quickly.

    bmaz, no mention of your Cards playing the Niners tomorrow? As I said a couple weeks ago, 9ers will have to play much better to beat them decisively.

    drouse, Day on the Green !! What a blast from the past !!

    The helmet assault by Garrett lifts the curtain a bit on the underlying steroid issue in the NFL. Several current and former players have hinted at this in tweets following the game. The NFL has to face the reality there is a serious problem they are covering up.

    Go Bears !! Beat the University of Spoiled Children !!

    • General Sternwood says:

      Since the Admissions Scandal, it can also be referred to as the “University of Successful Cheaters.”

  4. Peterr says:

    I’m curious to see what, if anything, comes of Kaep’s NFL-arranged workout today. Scheduling it for a Saturday rather than a Tuesday makes the event smell of a CYA activity on the NFL’s part (“See, we set this up to give teams a look at him, and nobody bit.”), but we shall see.

      • Tracy Lynn says:

        I was discussing this with my SO a couple of days ago. The only reason we could come up with was more brand enhancement and merch sales for Nike. I’m not totally satisfied with this explanation, tho. Perhaps it was more about calling the NFL on its bluff? We also wondered if this was part of the settlement with the NFL and that there was a deadline for a Kaep tryout the NFL was supposed to meet.

    • Molly Pitcher says:

      Totally agree. Next to the steroid issue, the treatment of Kaep is the most shameful chapter in the NFL in a long time.

      • BobCon says:

        Concussions and brain injuries are the worst — lately the league has been screwing ex players out of settlements based on flimsy objections. They are forcing brain injured players with limited time left to go through the wringer to prove claims. It’s reprehensible.

              • BobCon says:

                Painkillers too. NFL teams hand them out like candy, The way the Jets treated Osmele because he opted for surgery over playing with heavy doses of pain killers is a pretty scary example of how much they push them.

                A lot of players are not in a stable place due to pain, sleep deprivation, medication, and brain trauma. Partners and kids end up paying too.

                • 200Toros says:

                  I remember seeing an interview in which the reporter showed up at Jerome Bettis’s house first thing in the morning, in 2007. The year before he had played on the Super Bowl XL winning Steelers team. First thing in the morning, dude could barely walk, moved like he was 105 years old. Took a large handful of meds for breakfast. It was hard to believe this was The Bus!

    • BobCon says:

      Supposedly Jay Z asked the NFL to show some movement on Kaep because he was getting constant grief about becoming a shill for the league with nothing to show for it. It looks like this is the crumb Goodell is willing to throw the way of Jay Z.

    • bmaz says:

      Added in to the main post:

      “ADDENDUM: Yearrgh, I screwed up and did not address Earl’s (and undoubtedly Ed Walker’s) game of Notre Dame and Navy. Early on, I thought the Irish were actually back with a great team. They proved that false with a loss to the Georgia Dawgs (a seriously good team by the way) and then to a sketchy Michigan team and barely eking out wins over what should have been far outmanned teams like USC and Virginia Tech at home. Today the Irish play the Midshipmen of Navy. Also, again, in their South Bend home. Do the Irish ever have the balls to play a difficult opponent outside of their own stadium, unless forced to do so? Go Navy!”

  5. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Gym Jordan might refuse to wear a sport coat because he’s not sportsmanlike. It would also make him look as small as he is. He’d rather look lean and hungry – like Cassius. But, it makes him look ruffled – like Tommy Kirk’s Shaggy Dog.

  6. scribe says:

    For once, King Roger the Clown got it right. And I’m not saying that b/c the helmet struck a Stiller in the head. Indefinite suspension for that kind of stunt should be the rule, for anyone.
    To his credit, Rudolph has made clear he’s not taking Garrett to court over this.
    That said, there was a LOT of headhunting by Cleveland in that game and that should not be overlooked in the glare of Garrett’s thuggery. More than a couple places yesterday I saw it said that it looked like Cleveland was playing for bounties. That, and how it seems the bad character award (at least for the AFC North) his migrated up I-71 from Cincinnati to Cleveland. I’d agree.
    We’ll see how this plays out in the ‘Burgh in 2 weeks.
    I’m still looking for the Myles Garrett Bounty Fund to donate to, though I think King Roger’s decision will put a cramp on that.

    • bmaz says:

      Never say never, I guess, but I think the Smerconish and so many others’ desire to either say, or ask the public, about actual criminal prosecution is just wrong. There is never any moment that criminal prosecution decisions ought be up to, or even polled on, the public. As bad or good as they may be, these are decisions for professionals. Also, Smerconish is a pain in the ass generally.

      • earlofhuntingdon says:

        I read this blog for EW’s inspiring work and for your delicious understatement. Your last line was a pleasure to read. Many thanks.

        • bmaz says:

          Thanks, I think. Meant to include, but failed, that there are tons of precedent on what would otherwise be criminal assaults in sports, but were not pursued that way. Ndamukong Suh is one of the more recent ones. One can also go back to Kermit Washington’s face destroying punch on Rudy Tomjanovich. I am sure there are far more, those are just two that come to mind.

          • Peterr says:

            For me, two hockey incidents stand out that *did* result in criminal charges and verdicts against the instigators.

            In 2004, Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks sucker-punched Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche from behind in retaliation for a hard hit Moore put on Markus Naslund, the Canuck’s captain, in an earlier game. Naslund suffered a concussion and was out for three games, and Bertuzzi came looking for revenge. Moore suffered three broken vertebrae and never played hockey again. Bertouzi pleaded guilty to criminal assault and got a year of probation plus community service.

            The other one is from 2000, when Marty McSorley lost a fight to Donald Brashear early in a game, and Brashear rubbed it in at the end by “dusting off his hands” over McSorley after the referees broke up the fight. McSorley tried to instigate another fight later in the game to regain his honor, but Brashear was having none of it. Frustrated, McSorley took his stick to Brashear’s head, knocking him unconscious. McSorley was found guilty of assault with a weapon and received 18 months probation.

      • BobCon says:

        Refs lost control of the game, and I think this is going to happen more often. The league is losing experienced zebras, replay is interfering with their authority, and rules are getting more complex.

        I think the league’s reaction to the blown PI call and the screaming by Louisiana politicians is a prime example of how Goodell screws up. Instead of figuring out how to get people to work better, he throws technology and procedures at the problem.

        Reffing this season seems to have gotten worse, not better.

        • Eureka says:

          Trivia (I hope): Bill Vinovich’s crew (of said blown PI call — and aftermaths as you note) if reffing Pats @ Eagles.

  7. fikshun says:

    If Myles Garrett is suspended for the rest of the season, that will be enough. The Steelers are an extenuating circumstance that I haven’t heard anyone talking about. They perpetuate a culture of bullying and dirty play that cause incidents like this to boil over. What Garrett did was disgusting and has no place in the game, but this is often how things play out when proud, entitled bullies are involved.

    • Theodora30 says:

      I used to live in the Cleveland area so I know you are right about the Steeler’s bullying culture. I think the Steeler who started this should have been disciplined, too. At least a fine.

  8. Ed Walker says:

    I continue my boycott of the Irish, and won’t watch today’s game against a seriously good Navy team. Navy plays really well against the Irish, as do all Irish opponents, especially when the Irish have decent teams. And every team has trouble with that Navy offense, because it’s really different from other offenses. Nevertheless, and with a nod to Earl,

    Erin Go Bragh.

    Next year the Irish play Navy in Dublin. Does that count as a home game?

  9. ThomasPaine says:

    Kudos for calling out Robin Trowers “Bridge of Sighs” – one of the greatest “Axe Overtures” of all time, along with Jeff Beck’s “Wired” and Ronnie Montrose “Montrose”. Great artists and great times !

  10. Peterr says:

    If a rolling stone gathers no moss, how much moss does an incarcerated Stone gather?

    (When Trump leaves office, however that happens, I am reasonably sure that Trump will issue a raft of last-minute pardons, a la Scooter Libby, for his pals who were — in Trump’s judgment — wrongfully persecuted by the Deep State and the Democrats: Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, George Papadopolous, and Michael Flynn, and perhaps Rick Gates and Michael Cohen if he’s feeling generous. As long as he’s got his pen out, he’ll probably sign Nixon-style pardons for any crimes that might be been committed by Rudy, Don Jr, Eric, Jared, and Ivanka, along with anyone who ever served in his cabinet.).

    • BobCon says:

      I wonder — if he thinks he is facing serious criminal charges or risks damage to his businesses, does he withhold pardons out of spite?

      I can imagine he decides if he is going down, the rest of his crew goes with him. There are potential legal strategy reasons to pardon or commute sentences, but I’m not sure he listens to legal advice over his instincts. He may be pissed that Stone got caught, or Barr didn’t do a better job.

      Ivanka gets one, if anyone, of course. Not sure about Eric and Don Jr.

  11. PhoneInducedPinkEye says:

    What are your thoughts on where the line for a potential criminal investigation for assault/whatever should be drawn in sports? I personally don’t think wacking someone with a helmet is anywhere near that line, but I think I remember some atrocious hockey incidents where a player was seriously injured when someone got pissed and hit them with their stick.

    Ex: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bertuzzi%E2%80%93Steve_Moore_incident

    My puzzlement is some sports are inherently violent and even have unofficial rules governing violence (fights on hockey, beaning the batter in bball, etc) so how does this come into play when/if they imevstigate?

    • scribe says:

      That time in 1965 when Juan Marichal (SF Giants #27, HOF) went after John Roseboro (LA Dodgers C) with his bat for returning the ball to Sandy Koufax (LA Dodgers #32, HOF) a bit too close to Marichal. This, after the umpire had issued a warning because of an epidemic of chin music in a late-season, close-pennant-race game.
      Earlier, Koufax had thrown a fastball over Willie Mays’ (SF Giants #24, HOF) head, responding to some chin music from Marichal.
      https://sports.yahoo.com/myles-garrett-mason-rudloph-meet-125429038.html
      There were no charges filed. Yes, these were three of the greatest to ever play the game going at it, but Marichal did hit Roseboro with his bat. He drew blood from Roseboro’s head. With stills and video – it was a rivalry game – https://www.mlb.com/video/marichal-roseboro-brawl-examined-c409390583

      • P J Evans says:

        That was one I was thinking about. Marichal became very unpopular, in both the clubhouse and the ballpark, for that one. A lot of Giants fans were angry with him, because that’s a real no-go.

  12. e.a.f. says:

    from the Roger Stone trial, to American football, to pulling a Bertuzzi, as we started to call fighting in hockey, for awhile. Bertuzzi’s sentence was average for B.C. courts and still is. We don’t like to clog up the jails. It expensive.

    Now we have to wait for the Stone story to finish. Perhaps they’ll all wind up in jail except trump……….

    • Theodora30 says:

      The state of NY can still get Trump but then they should have nailed him years ago. Ditto for New Jersey and Manhattan.I have a feeling the Manhattan DA, Democrat Cyrus Vance, has a strong motivation to get Trump now that it has been made public that he refused to prosecute Ivanka and Don Jr for real estate fraud despite having proof positive that both were guilty of lying to potential buyers by inflating the prices they had gotten for units in the struggling Trump SoHo property as well as the number of units sold. Prosecutors had their emails explicitly discussing their deception and wanted Vance to go after them. Just like he did with the clear evidence that Harvey Weinstein had raped a woman, Vance refused to prosecute. Both Weinstein and the Trump’s were big donors to his campaigns. This story has been mostly ignored by the media so most voters have no idea that there is clear evidence that Don Jr and oh-so- pure Ivanka are crooks. Imagine the furor if there were any evidence that Chelsea Clinton had committed a crime. Even if she had an unpaid library fine there would be an uproar driven by the right but played along with by the mainstream media desperate to prove they are balanced.
      https://www.newyorker.com/news/
      news-desk/how-ivanka-trump-and-donald-trump-jr-avoided-a-criminal-indictment

  13. Eureka says:

    EUREKAVILLE — Earlier this evening, the household reached a Beer Settlement Agreement. My basic Guinness has been replaced, I retain rights to the sole remaining Purple Monkey Dishwasher, and any leftover Ballantyne Burton Ale (aka, The Big Guns). In return, I will lay off the Mad Elf and any leftovers including snivelly over-wrought IPAs, and any crap with oatmeal (B is for Barley and Beer, folks! And — Take my weizens, please!), and stop complaining about stolen beer until the agreement is next violated. Ahem, I am not the one with boundary issues.

    Fly, Eagles, Fly!

  14. Bay State Librul says:

    To quote Nancy Pelosi, “All roads lead to cheating”
    Yes I misquoted her, but the Globe’s Dan Shaugnessey brings up this tasty treat: What does it profit sports fans if they gain an additional win, and lose their immortal soul?
    The daggers are out in Houston.
    A whistleblower has turned state’s evidence
    Baseball is back on trial with the Astro’s clanging chicanery to steal pitches.
    “The investigation into the 2017 world champion Astros — triggered by charges from a former Houston pitcher — touches fans everywhere, certainly those who root for New England teams.
    “Nobody around here liked it much when the Super Bowl-winning Patriots were caught and punished in the Spygate and Deflategate scandals.” He says. “We lived through years of pushback, denials, and controversy as fans in other regions tried to assign the Patriots’ stunning success to petty crimes and misdemeanors.”
    Hmmm and we have a Boston connection.
    Say it’s not so, Alex.

  15. joel fisher says:

    When is Garrett going to be charged with robbery? I get that football is a violent sport, but this was way over the line into felony territory: robbery is taking money or property of another by force or violence. When he grabbed Rudolph’s helmet the crime was complete and he should be charged. Nothing pisses off the public (Trump’s base notwithstanding) more than a perception (maybe I should say, a reminder) of the double standard; one for the rich and one for everyone else. Also, kudos to EW for getting way down in the weeds in the Roger Stone prosecution. The only place I saw where you could see thoughtful explanations of the pluses and minuses of prosecution strategy in mostly real time.

  16. quebecois says:

    Ferrari is now in the perfect position to sack Vettell and ask Alonso to come finish his career with them. Two years, debug the newest generation of cars in 2021. Maybe another championship.

    Alonso is in Buenos Aires, here’s what he said:

    “There’s a reason why the drivers in the series are up there. It is not by chance, it is because they are the best.

    “In F1 it is difficult to choose the best because it changes a lot from year to year and from car to car. There are drivers who are fast over one lap and others at the starts. There are others who are consistent and others who are very aggressive.

    “I would say that right now it [the best] is Max Verstappen. He is a driver that I like to follow. This year I’ve watched the races on television and I like to see him because he is always in attack mode.

    “If you see that he is third and catches the guy in second, you know he won’t stay there. You know he will try at some point [to get past] and that to the fans is something exciting.” I agree with Alonso.

      • bmaz says:

        It was insane. Vettel is a jerk that is eroding fast in his decision making. You simply cannot take your whole team in one unnecessary move. He is straight up a liability to the team at this point, and Leclerc the superior driver. It is hard to see how Vettel is back next year, but that might cost them a lot of money.

      • Tommy D Cosmology says:

        Well, that was not a boring race! Red Bull pulling back-to-back 1.9 second pits for Max, only to have an f-ing Williams released early in pit row and nearly taking him out! Reminded me of last year when Max coulda shoulda woulda won. The Scuderia handed 3rd place in the championship to Max. And did you catch the penalty handed to Hamilton that bumped Sainz up?!

  17. Eureka says:

    Uh, guess we are having a flyover of force before Pats @ Eagles: third round of LOUD jets overhead, finally went out to see a pair tailing each other.

    oh, 4th round now– holy shit they are screaming, I hope this is just for the game

  18. Eureka says:

    Also (boys @ Lions) Driskel is proving to be quite a hot-shot (I mean that in a good way); always liked Amendola (yes, even on Pats).

  19. BobCon says:

    Lamar Jackson. Holy cow.

    I appreciate that Harbaugh is OK with subbing him out for RG3 — there is no point in leaving him in to pad stats and risk an injury.

    • Bay State Librul says:

      The Pats are now 9-1.
      Good game.
      Hats off to the Eagles but they could not overtake the Patsies.
      I await your analysis.
      Brady is the GOAT and no one here will acknowledge that.
      Why?

  20. Valley girl says:

    Advice needed. Supposing I wanted to place a bet that Trump will not be the R candidate for 2020, how would go about it?

      • Valley girl says:

        Guess I’ll have to do some research. I was hoping someone might have had first-hand experience. I was assuming that it would have to be via the UK or Vegas. I’ve only ever betted at racetracks, and that was a long time ago.

    • Geoguy says:

      I think political betting is illegal in the US. You would have to bet online through an offshore sports book; P J said it!

      • Valley girl says:

        I could probably get friends in England to place a bet for me, but I’ve learned that my bet is too vague. At Ladbrooks you have to name the D/R matchup. Oh well, but thanks for answering.

  21. P J Evans says:

    And the Niners pulled it out in the second half and beat the Cards, 36-26. Jimmy G threw 4 for touchdowns, after two interceptions that didn’t help at all.

  22. Bay State Librul says:

    I wanted Jimmy G to replace Brady.
    It never happened.
    Good luck to the Niners.
    Love to see a Patriots vs SF in the Super Bowl, but the Ravens looked great today.
    Not sure my Patsies will make it through to the finals, but Brady has a horseshoe up his arse…..

  23. Eureka says:

    The Eagles were in decisive control of that game until RT Lane Johnson went out with a head injury towards the end of the first half: straw/camel. [After that is when the sacks stacked up; of course Wentz could learn to throw away the ball but that might come with time. Y’all realize he checks down to infinity because no receivers etc., besides his youth and desire to make something out of the play.]

    Injury report pre-game (as was widely noted, only the Eagles could come out of the bye with more injuries): we lost our now-top (2nd) WR Jeffery and RB Howard, main play-makers, AND, hugely, also Darren Sproles– whose career might be over (and whose absence on punt return was visible again by young Boston Scott’s ~ errors of inexperience). We played Jordan Matthews off the street; don’t recall if Ajayi off the streets with no practice ever saw a snap– he shouldn’t have.

    And we still had it.

    My bet was on the Eagles until Johnson went out, and the attendant 2nd-half offensive collapse (for all intents and purposes). Why we didn’t run more in the second half, I’ll never know, unless the play-calls (& roles– RB Sanders is a great blocker (as is TE Goedert)) were altered in an attempt to accommodate our new O-line vulnerability. I also kind of feel like they thought they had the time to risk big plays with Wentz’s strong arm in the winds, after he was over-throwing the wind at the outset, and then they just ran out of time and had to try to pass for big plays.

    I still watched dry until our momentum-changing fumble recovery became a non-reviewable incomplete-no forward motion blah blah BS call which all saw. Then I cracked a beer.

    I must say that is was a pleasure to have Tony Romo commentating, with his love and knowledge of football. Early in the game, he cut a partner with soap-opera crap off at the pass and returned the topic to the game, the play, and– football.

    Everybody knows how great TB12 is but I don’t know that today’s win was at his hands, BSL. As I recall some record-poor stats came down for Brady today. Tale of the tape. It was more BillBel and your D-line’s opportunism. Maybe you see it differently.

    Our sports coverage and fans are brutally honest and so any and every lost opportunity or error on our part is already hung out to dry.

    So we didn’t answer NE’s early 2nd-half TD/2PT, ending 17-10, but most of that half was D-dueling punt-fest.


    Eliot Shorr-Parks: “#Eagles currently without: Both starting tackles, both starting receivers, 3 of their 4 top running backs”
    https://twitter.com/EliotShorrParks/status/1196223048514445315
    (sidenote: this ^^ is a WIP Wentz-hater, hence the comments)

    • P J Evans says:

      The story on the Niners’ game referred to their running game as “ineffective”. They didn’t do well until they stopped trying to use it so much.

      • Eureka says:

        I haven’t seen clips of that one yet, but from the few games I’ve seen to date, they are in more of a shoot-em-out conference (tho from what you are saying, maybe they are just not good runners?). Eagles’ success comes from establishing the run to later enable the pass (tho today all odds were on even _heavier_ run as key to success, independent of the winds).

        (and PS to my comment, some NE-PHL post-game is on and folks are now speculating what I had surmised: with Johnson out, they couldn’t trust his replacement Big V, so had runner Sanders blocking.

        Also, I never gave up on the Eagles– it was a one-score game– but lost confidence at that turning point and had to turn to some ineffectual woo, lol.)

    • scribe says:

      As much as it pains me to do so, I have to say Romo made a good point yesterday about Wentz. To wit, and using the telestrator very well, he noted that Wentz and the playcallers had overlooked, time and again, that the Pats were giving the Iggles the flat at about 8-10 yards, while Wentz was waiting for the receivers to get deeper and then throwing and either missing or having the ball batted away or getting sacked while twiddling his thumbs waiting on the receivers to get open. Romo went so far as to say that Wentz would be slapping himself tomorrow (Monday) when he looked at all that open space and the missed opportunities.

      A guy who could run the quick slants could have had a very productive day. And it would have opened up the deeper game once the Patsies adjusted.

      I think in 15 or 20 years we will all wind up agreeing that Romo will have been a far better commentator than he ever was as a quarterback.

      I think what it came down to was Cheatin’ Bill and the Cheaters adjusted better than did the Iggles. And the Iggles were less flexible to meet the flow of the game.

      But it was a game worth watching and I read that the goat bbq in the parking lot was pretty good, too.

      • Eureka says:

        Yep, nice precis — agree on all counts. Recalling how they announced in-game that Wentz said Romo is always right, I wished they’d have taken the free advice (certainly that’s all sunk-in like a rock post-game). Though I’m still curious to re-look at what they ran/ who was tied up (and how) in blocking the gaping hole left by Johnson’s departure. My guess is they didn’t run those slants/ leave the block quick enough out of sack- reactivity and paranoia (and an ultimately wrong-headed approach to drawing-out the field, obviously).

        Wentz gets constipated a lot. That’s part of why I have bothered on/off to mention the side-dramas, because they contribute some (circle of trust and all, and Wentz’s jamming himself up with a version of perfectionism). He’s got some time to mature.

        I was pleased that finally JJ Arcega-Whiteside had a couple of nice receptions with Jeffery out (one cancelled by a Peters penalty). Maybe they’ll trust him a little more. Word was that Pederson and Groh were more involved with the receivers last week — Groh’s strong suit.

        I missed TNF Steelers-Browns because the cable was out *again*. It only came in for three minutes, on a replay sequence where Rudolph took a helmet hit, then same by multiples to Juju S-S; commercial, then replay of JJSS walk-off. I mention this because I thought I’d miss the next-day’s Yovanovich testimony but it was miraculously fixed. However I saw Marcy tweeted Friday that the same “local” cable company was out in her area that day.

        It turns out that the Phila. Inquirer recently dedicated a reporter to Comcast (problems) and per replies I saw back near the announcement, this is happening a lot all over with some lame corporate excuse.

        From early October, FYI:

        Christian Hetrick: “I’m now covering Comcast for the @PhillyInquirer. If you’re a Comcast exec, employee, or customer, I want to hear from you. I can be reached here…”
        https://twitter.com/_Hetrick/status/1181293741195370504

        • Eureka says:

          A digestif (or aperitif as the case may be):

          The long duree has yet to play out, but for when it does, astute football historians will mark my words:

          Wentz’s career will be defined by how he handled being *cuckolded to win the Lombardi.

          Age-old story, reduced and set here in plainer English: Couple on a break (tragically separated, if you will or want); the break-dalliance with another is glorious. Couple gets back together, break-flashbacks linger, sometimes the ‘making the beast with two backs’** ain’t great, and performance anxiety fulfills the prophecy in any case. Meanwhile, a hypercritical social milieu never lets anyone forget the past.

          In time, though — with the right work — things can be Better than Ever.

          *pseudo-, effectively- … qualifier of choice doesn’t tamp the biopsychosocial body burden.

          **this being a family website, I’ll leave the euphemizing to the Bard.

          Of course the Wentz and peri-era Eagles’ histories are more complicated, especially tossing in some season+-ending injuries PTSD, and would-be coloratura like the immediate-post-LII Pats sweetening their OC’s contract, such that he suddenly declaims the Colts Head Coach job he’d taken and off goes OC Reich from the Eagles to Indy… the Eagles medical staff is replaced in the dead of night, yet the injuries don’t abate…

          But the Eagles need another Super Bowl mainly to cure Wentz: absent a personality transplant, nothing short of time, maturity, and much success will cure him (you can see how the routes here might preclude each other. As I think about it — especially in light of Foles’s, contra Wentz’s, post-injury zenny Jesus peace — this is the perfect scenario for some Chinese medicine. Go get your acupuncture, balance that qi flow).

  24. Eureka says:

    Moderators: I can’t reply on Rayne’s post (after waiting, refreshing, cleaning nuts bolts, etc.) — clicking ‘post comment’ gets a “Nothing Found” (as below). I may not be the only person and that not the only page where this is happening per a comment I read yesterday.

    Nothing Found
    Sorry, the post you are looking for is not available. Maybe you want to perform a search?
    For best search results, mind the following suggestions:
    • Always double check your spelling.
    • Try similar keywords, for example: tablet instead of laptop.
    • Try using more than one keyword.

    https://www.emptywheel.net/wp-comments-post.php

    • Rayne says:

      Thanks for the heads up. May be related to a software update, we’ll look into it.

      (I didn’t have any problems with this or my last comment a couple minutes ago, could be a network issue, too.)

      • Eureka says:

        LOL Rayne, my perseverative apely brain stayed on this until I found a solution: the site thought I was a bot, I think, because of reference to look-rative 8usiness and other key words. So it was just booting my ass. I iteratively misspelled then stripped words out of my brief reply until it went through moins trouble. I wish you could see the innocuous -in- context- words.

        Yoose thought I was a basement-raised troll! (FWIW, though, someone else did note a comment-posting problem, apparently shields are up around here.)

Comments are closed.