Sans the second half of Divisional Round Weekend, the 2016-17 NFL Playoffs haven't been competitive. However, in case you're like me and have been disappointed with many of these weak showings, perhaps the beginning of this edition of "Views from the Nosebleeds" will cheer you up as one guy has been the playoffs' saving grace. For back-to-back weekends, saxophonist Mike Phillips performed his National "Saxthem" version of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Georgia Dome, which I'm convinced gave the Falcons even more motivation to beat both visiting teams handily. Not only were both renditions the best instrumental versions of the National Anthem performed at sporting events I've ever heard, but let me tell it, Phillips has turned two of the most memorable versions since the late, great Whitney Houston's stirring performance before Super Bowl XXV. Granted, nobody compares to The Voice--I got goosebumps listening to it as I was typing this--but he showed up and showed off like few have done since '91. Alas, since this isn't a music post, I guess we can talk about these beatdowns now...
As much as I love the NFL, there is nothing worse than investing so much time and energy into watching as many games as possible over 17 weeks only to have a letdown in the playoffs--and that's beyond the Raiders getting handled by the Texans last week. (Yup...still salty.) With the Wild Card Weekend games being decided by an average of 19 points, last week was highly disappointing and hopes were high for better showings in the Divisional Round. However, the first half of the weekend wasn't shaping up to be much better and it appeared the same thing might happen in the second half. Nevertheless, by 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, avid football fans had been treated to two competitive contests this weekend, including what could be the best game of the playoffs depending on who ends up in Houston...
Although the NFL is the only one out of the four major North American sports through which you don't have to suffer through at least 82 games a season, die-hard fanatics like myself still look forward to this time of year. While teams like the Browns, the Jaguars, the Rams, the 49ers and the Bears were long eliminated from the mix, the hard work of twelve teams has the potential to pay off as they duke it out for a month in the ultimate "let's separate the men from the boys" tournament. Unlike the NBA, the NHL or MLB, the beauty of the NFL Playoffs is you only get one shot to win or lose. However, one of the biggest downsides to NFL Wild Card Weekend is the chance for at least one or two blowouts because unless we're talking the 2005 Steelers or the 2010 Packers, the higher-seeded teams usually handle their business. Unfortunately, none of the games were competitive for longer than two-and-a-half quarters, but I'm still going to discuss them anyway...
Although I had to correct Big Dadi Scribbler on a few historical facts--he thought the Browns played in the NFC at some point since the AFL-NFL merger when they've always been in the AFC--I had an intriguing conversation with him about old school football. As a football, softball and track and field star for Coolidge High School in Northwest D.C., one of the things he noted was how rough defensive backs were against receivers--so much that one of the biggest reasons wideouts would get alligator arms was because of the ferocious hand checking before a lot of the illegal contact rules were imposed. In fact, he started off as a receiver before making the transition to defense, a welcomed change in which he inflicted the same abuse on opposing receivers he endured on offense. However, perhaps the most interesting facts I never knew about my dad when constantly hearing how legendary he was as an athlete was he was also a kicker and a punter, forcing several touchbacks on kickoffs and leading the league in net punting average one season. Considering Week 11's struggle kicking as eleven misfires led to the most amount of failed extra points in a week since 1966, I'm sure several teams would've loved to have a sure-footed boot like the Scribbler patriarch. Now that I've done at least two or three shameless plugs for dear old dad in one calendar year, let's discuss some new school football...
