football
Talking about college and professional football daily. Chances are we hate your team.
NFL Week 1 Recap: Welcome Back
Football is back! And what a return it was! The 2021 NFL season began with so many thrilling games, so much excitement, and most importantly, so many fans. Though the NFL wasn't badly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, protocols still had to be followed, with some states being more stricter than others. The result saw some teams with minimal fans, some others with no fans until later in the season, and a few with none throughout the whole season. But thanks to the proper procedures, stadiums are packed again, and millions of fans saw some very thrilling games to kick off the 2021 season.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 6 Recap: Boatmen Sail Back to 1st Place, Bombers Continue to Roll
The annual Labour Day Weekend games have come and gone, but Week 6 featured a rematch for three of the four games played during that previous week. For the Toronto Argonauts, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and the Calgary Stampeders, it was a chance a payback for their Labour Day woes. First off, some scheduling news. The Elks/Argonauts game that was postponed from the Week 4 schedule due to several Elks players and staff testing positive for COVID-19, has been officially moved to November 16, and will kick off the 16th and final week of the regular season. The Argonauts were originally set to end their regular season on November 12 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the scheduling will mean that Edmonton will play twice on Week 16, which could be vital if they are still in playoff contention by then.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 5 Recap: Labour Day Weekend
The Canadian Football League's first holiday celebration is Labour Day; on that day, the league's closest rivalries take center stage. When I started watching, the CFL had eight teams, and the matchups were always Roughriders/Blue Bombers, Argonauts/Tiger-Cats, the Battle of Alberta, and Lions/Alouettes. The addition of a ninth team, the Ottawa Redblacks, now often see one team taking Labour Day Weekend off, though that team often alternates between the Lions, Redblacks, and Alouettes. Whenever the Atlantic Schooners join the league, I would think their rivalry would be with the Alouettes, as Quebec and Nova Scotia are both on the Atlantic coast. In a normal season, Labour Day Weekend is often the 11th week of the season, usually at the midpoint. This year, it kicks off the 2nd quarter of a 16-week season.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
Death, Taxes, and Aaron Rodgers Ruling the NFC North
It was a wonderful feeling in the cities of Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit. The sun was shining brighter, the grass was greener, food tasted better, and a shift was appearing to take place in the NFC North. Fans in those three cities were planning celebrations, as each one believed that this would be the year that they would win the NFC North. The Bears were coming off a playoff appearance. The Vikings were primed and prepared. The Lions made some good moves and were looking ahead. All was well in those cities.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 4 Recap: The Stampeders Are In Trouble
We have now passed the one-quarter mark in the 2021 CFL season, which is 16 weeks long. Week 4 has come and gone, but it got off to a bad start before the week even kicked off. Days prior to their scheduled game against the Toronto Argonauts, the Edmonton Elks became the first team this season to be hit with multiple positive tests for COVID-19, with the number reaching 13. On Sunday, August 22, the game between the Elks and Argonauts was postponed, with no make-up date announced. On a good note, the last three days have seen no additional positive tests within the Elks organization, meaning that the team could return to play in the annual Labo(u)r Day outing against the Calgary Stampeders.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
No One Circles the AFC East Like the Buffalo Bills
For nearly two decades, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the New England Patriots basically held the AFC East (as well as the entire American Football Conference as a whole) hostage. Even during the final years when the luster was starting to fade just a bit, the Brady/Belichick Patriots winning the AFC East was as certain as death and taxes. But with Brady now in the NFC, the conference is open. The other 15 teams in the entire conference have life now, and that includes some teams in the conference's Eastern Division. However, one team has to take the helm as the division's top dog, and that team is the Buffalo Bills.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
Is Kansas City's AFC West Stranglehold in Jeopardy?
The American Football Conference's Western Division has been moderate since the Seattle Seahawks were sent to the National Football Conference in the 2002 season. Not a very deep division, but not that bad either. In the last five seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs have dominated the AFC West, and they became a juggernaut once Patrick Mahomes II became their starting QB. Mahomes is a future legend; in three seasons, the Chiefs have become the #1 superpower in the entire AFC, with the last two seasons seeing them reached the Super Bowl.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 3 Recap: Alberta Wins & Riders Remain Unbeaten
Usually, the third week of a football season officially separates the men from the boys, the contenders from the pretenders, the wolves from the sheep. That is often true in an NFL season (which is now 17 games), and in a normal CFL season (which has 18 games). However, this is not a normal CFL season. This is a 14-game season this year, making the third week immensely vital to both of Alberta's franchises: the Calgary Stampeders and the Edmonton Elks. Both teams entered Week 3 at 0-2 and needed wins badly, or it would be a long season for the clubs.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
The Intrigue of the NFC South
I've always been intrigued and entertained by the National Football Conference's Southern Division. The NFC South was created as part of the 2002 NFL division realignment, and regarding this division, the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and New Orleans Saints were taken from the geographically incorrect NFC West, and placed with the NFC Central's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This division has been interesting from the very beginning, and there's one reason for that: it's very wide open.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 2 Recap: Alouettes Kick Off Season, Stamps & TiCats Stumble
The 2021 CFL season is an abbreviated one; 14 games in 16 weeks. As if wins aren't important enough in any football season, they are extra important with only 14 games played. Week 1 saw big victories for the Toronto Argonauts and the Ottawa Redblacks, as well as the defending champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers make a statement. So what would Week 2 bring?
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
The AFC South is Tennessee's to Lose
During the middle of the 2019 season, the Tennessee Titans benched Marcus Mariota and decided to start former Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill. To say it worked like a charm would be an understatement. The team finished 9-7 and snagged the last playoff spot in the American Football Conference, but their playoff run saw them eliminate the New England Patriots in what would be Tom Brady's final game as a Patriot, and they also took down the 14-2 top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Playoff. They were defeated soundly by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship, but even so, the Titans exceeded expectations.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
The AFC North: Three Playoff Contenders and Cincinnati
The AFC North has become a very interesting division. The Cleveland Browns being good again will do that. The 2021 NFL season will be the 20th in this current eight-division format, and for most of the AFC North's existence, it has been the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens usually battling for division supremacy, while the two Ohio-based teams compete for draft picks--though the Cincinnati Bengals did have their moments. Now, with the Browns' amazing 2020 season, that has changed.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 years ago in Unbalanced
