Blake Bortels, Nick Foles, Case Keenum, and Brian Hoyer. Thats not exactly a murderer's row of star quarterbacks. Thanks to the mysterious hand injury to Tom Brady (aren't all Patriots injuries mysterious by the way?), this may be the QB lineup nobody expected but everybody get to watch on Championship Sunday. The question confronting Washington DC and our country's current political climate is now applicable for the NFL's final 4 as well- how did we even get here? We all know that QBs get a little too much credit and defenses and o-lines get way less credit than they deserve. But still, you rarely see 3 out of 4 teams in the championship round led by such no-name QBs.
Granted, the Eagles are Carson Wentz's team and they probably don't make it this deep in the playoffs without him. Too bad we are deprived of enjoying his game this weekend. Though Wentz is not a Rodgers or a Brees yet, by all accounts, he is going to be one of the big QB stars of the future and he would have been an exciting name in these playoffs and fun to watch. If Brady also sits out because of this injury, the league office will literally start crying. NFL is still the king on television, but their ratings have been slumping all season. Even the nail-biting, miraculous endings last weekend didn't translate into a ratings bonanza for the league. So, they need their star QBs more than ever and they are going to get them less than ever this weekend. Bad timing indeed.
This is unusual coming from a Pats non-fan like me, but we need Brady and need him to do real well this Sunday. We want the Super Bowl to be semi-watchable. Plus, the talking heads and blogs need something to talk about for 2 weeks! We need the GOAT and the Pats to win this AFC championship game and give us a reason to watch the Super bowl. At that point, I will be more than happy to go back to rooting against him and the Pats as always. A Blake Bortels-V-Case Keenum Super Bowl is only slightly more inspiring than a Blake Bortels-V-Nick Foles matchup and neither is good news for the NFL or us the fans. I should have prefaced these pronunciations with a token "no disrespect to these QBs" rider, but then again, I am indeed disrespecting them whether I intend to or not.
The main reason for these match-ups are Mike Tomlin's head-scratching coaching and Marcus Williams suddenly deciding that tackling is for losers last weekend. If those 2 had not over-thought their jobs and just kept it basic, we would have had Big Ben and Drew Brees joining Brady this weekend. That would have rivaled the Brady-Ben-Rodgers-Ryan lineup last year. In any case, let's hope for good games this Sunday. Actually, I do think the games will be close and tight. Star appeal may be the only thing missing. As for the games themselves, I expect the Vikings and the Patriots to make it to the next round. At some point, the home team is going to make it to the Super Bowl and we might as well root for and enjoy that oddity this year. Go get 'em Case Keenum.
Granted, the Eagles are Carson Wentz's team and they probably don't make it this deep in the playoffs without him. Too bad we are deprived of enjoying his game this weekend. Though Wentz is not a Rodgers or a Brees yet, by all accounts, he is going to be one of the big QB stars of the future and he would have been an exciting name in these playoffs and fun to watch. If Brady also sits out because of this injury, the league office will literally start crying. NFL is still the king on television, but their ratings have been slumping all season. Even the nail-biting, miraculous endings last weekend didn't translate into a ratings bonanza for the league. So, they need their star QBs more than ever and they are going to get them less than ever this weekend. Bad timing indeed.
This is unusual coming from a Pats non-fan like me, but we need Brady and need him to do real well this Sunday. We want the Super Bowl to be semi-watchable. Plus, the talking heads and blogs need something to talk about for 2 weeks! We need the GOAT and the Pats to win this AFC championship game and give us a reason to watch the Super bowl. At that point, I will be more than happy to go back to rooting against him and the Pats as always. A Blake Bortels-V-Case Keenum Super Bowl is only slightly more inspiring than a Blake Bortels-V-Nick Foles matchup and neither is good news for the NFL or us the fans. I should have prefaced these pronunciations with a token "no disrespect to these QBs" rider, but then again, I am indeed disrespecting them whether I intend to or not.
The main reason for these match-ups are Mike Tomlin's head-scratching coaching and Marcus Williams suddenly deciding that tackling is for losers last weekend. If those 2 had not over-thought their jobs and just kept it basic, we would have had Big Ben and Drew Brees joining Brady this weekend. That would have rivaled the Brady-Ben-Rodgers-Ryan lineup last year. In any case, let's hope for good games this Sunday. Actually, I do think the games will be close and tight. Star appeal may be the only thing missing. As for the games themselves, I expect the Vikings and the Patriots to make it to the next round. At some point, the home team is going to make it to the Super Bowl and we might as well root for and enjoy that oddity this year. Go get 'em Case Keenum.
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