1. Week 16 Takeaways
Me: The five best teams in the NFL right now imo are the Ravens, 49ers, Chiefs, Saints and Patriots. Yet, there is a very good chance that three of those teams will have to be playing on Wild Card Weekend as opposed to watching it in the comfort of their living rooms. This tells me there is also a stronger-than-usual chance that we will see multiple road teams prevail in the Divisional Round, and perhaps the Conference Championships too.
Hal: Bills are a team NOBODY wants to face in the playoffs
2. Truth/Exaggeration
-Of all the teams who’ve finished in last place in their respective divisions this season, the Arizona Cardinals are the one in best position to take a sizeable leap forward in 2020
-Unless he gets seriously injured in the College Football Playoff, the Cincinnati Bengals should put Joe Burrow’s name in sharpie on their draft card with the first overall pick
-It would be a scandal of monumental proportions if Chandler Jones does not make the NFL all-decade team of the 2010’s
-The Texans and Bills should follow the lead of the Vikings and Ravens and rest their key players on Sunday
-Michael Thomas’s historic season and the potential HOF career he’s starting to put together should be the ultimate lesson to NFL teams to not make the 40-yard dash the end all/be all of WR evaluations (Thomas ran a 4.57 in the 40)
3. Coaching Carousel/Black Monday
-Redskins: Eric Bieniemy, Ron Rivera (who is the better hire? Would you take the job if you were Rivera?)
-Giants: Should they fire Pat Shurmur or does Daniel Jones’ development this season warrant continuity?
-Falcons: Was it the right decision or wrong decision for them to retain Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff for 2020?
-Jaguars: Currently, all signs point to both Doug Marrone AND GM Dave Caldwell surviving. Is that a mistake?
-Panthers: Albert Breer reported the Panthers could be interested in Patriots OC Josh McDaniels. What do you think that organization has in place that could lure him away from the Patriots for good?
4. Game of the week: 49ers at Seahawks
-Will Russell Wilson likely have to play one of the five best games of his career to date for the Seahawks to pull this one off?
-The 49ers are SORELY missing C Weston Richburg, who they lost for the season in their win over the Saints. While Jarran Reed and Poona Ford aren’t Aaron Donald, they are no slouches. Are those two capable of exposing Richburg’s absence almost as much as Donald did last Saturday?
-While the Seahawks lured Robert Turbin and Marshawn Lynch out of retirement, Pete Carroll said the Seahawks will lean on undrafted rookie Travis Homer for this game. How likely is it that Homer gets the lion’s share of backfield touches?
-Key matchups: Richard Sherman against whoever lines up across from him, George Fant vs. Nick Bosa,
-Game picks
5. Picks for remainder of Week 17 games
-Chargers at Chiefs
-Dolphins at Patriots
-Jets at Bills
-Browns at Bengals
-Packers at Lions
-Bears at Vikings
-Falcons at Buccaneers
-Saints at Panthers
-Redskins at Cowboys
-Eagles at Giants
-Cardinals at Rams
-Colts at Jaguars
-Raiders at Broncos
-Steelers at Ravens
-Titans at Texans
6. BOLD PREDICTIONS
ME: Chandler Jones sets the single-season sack record by sacking Jared Goff SIX TIMES!!!!
HAL: Daniel Jones 30 completions. 400 yards, 5 TD’s
7. Challenge Flags
ME: 49ers/Seahawks game…LIVE UP TO THE HYPE!!!!!
HAL: Jon Gruden and Raiders…TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AND LET THE CHIPS FALL WHERE THEY MAY!
