Monday morning 2020 NFL recap - week 8

Steelers: I knew today would be the tough one for us. I'm not going to lie. I didn't think we'd win. The Ravens are tough, have a young quarterback who can throw and run, and they have a mental toughness and a will to win. That's kudos to their coach, John Harbaugh. He can fire these guys up. We played better than I expected, especially our offense, and our defense stepped up HUGE.

• Great beginning, giving Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson his first pick-six of his NFL career, but the unnecessary roughness call (assigned to the wrong Steelers player) knocking Jackson down out of bounds a few plays later gave the Ravens their first down and an easy score from there. Penalties make me nuts!
• While both teams are a rivalry, it's usually a respectful one with minimal incident, but Heyward pushing their quarterback apparently heated up the Ravens. We had multiple pushing and shoving after that and then a little smacking and kicking near the sidelines, which resulted in the Ravens losing linebacker Matt Judon, who inadvertently hit a referee when trying to escape from a Ravens staff member. It's ridiculous to watch these grown men acting like children. Jeez. I guess I forget that the Ravens coach has his own issues with anger and irritation. If I were part of the Steelers coaching staff, I'd make anger management a requirement--learn how to turn the other cheek when players talk shit at you and remember to keep your hands at your side. That's a win-win every time. 
• Watching Roethlisberger's elbow receiving a massage on the sidelines was rough. While Ben wasn't sharp in the first half, I cannot handle another season without him. Not with Rudolph as our backup. 
• I know I bitch about the announcers every week, but honestly, there is always something to discuss. This week's hilarity came on Pittsburgh's point after TD when the Ravens were flagged for too many men on the field. Tony Romo pointed out the referee was asking Pittsburgh which choice they wanted to make, and then he listed the first of these choices, turning the second over to his partner Jim Nantz, who hadn't a clue. Romo then tried to prompt him. Nantz countered with some nonsense about concentrating on Roethlisberger on the sidelines, so he didn't look like an idiot, and then, when the head referee announced it a dead foul and therefore, the kick wasn't made legally, Nantz gleefully poked Romo on that. Then Romo had to wiggle to keep from looking like an idiot, and all I could think was these two aren't any better than the babies on the field fighting. Muting them is a relief at times.
• What a throw by Ben and a catch by JuJu Smith-Schuster on the play before the Steelers touchdown. Ben threw it perfectly between two defenders, and JuJu curved exactly right to catch it, squirming and falling and rushing to be stopped short of the goal. When I watch Ben do stuff like that, I remind myself that's why we've got to have faith in the old guy.
• I was concerned we weren't going to get a sack on Jackson. The guy is agile and quick, and he can run. I shouldn't have been worried. My boys on defense came through in the third quarter.
• And just when we're on a roll, the Ravens come back to show us they aren't going to lie down and take a defeat. 
• A lot of penalties as the game went into the fourth. It became a physical, tough, and rough match as the two teams fought for control. A grabbing of the face mask resulted in fifteen yards for the Steelers. A pass interference call allowed the Steelers great yardage, and from there, Ben did what he does best and got the ball into his guys' hands and finally into the end zone to take the next lead.
• The defense came in clutch, stopping the Ravens on fourth down to give the Steelers the ball back with less than a minute to play, but the offense couldn't keep the ball in play, and here I just want to shout BENNY SNELL JR! 
• So, it came down to the wire. And my poor heart. I'm not sure how many more games like this I can take.
• I hate we had more injuries in this game, but none more major than Cam Heywood. I thought we'd lost him in the second to last defensive series, but he walked off the field and went back in on the next series--only to suffer another injury. This time he limped off the field, and it doesn't look good for the future. He's the nicest guy ever and one of my favs, and a HUGE component of our defense, and it will be yet another loss for this banged-up defense.
• Robert Spillane, our backup to Devin Bush, played another great game with that first interception and recovery of a fumble. I was set to call him the hero of the game until Isaiah Buggs stopped Lamar Jackson on fourth down and later Minka Fitzpatrick, who batted down the ball in the end zone to end the game. Defense coming up BIG!

Others:

• No Corona rescheduling this week. Woot! Woot!
• Today's NFL drinking game was high winds. The words were mentioned by Scott Hanson of the NFL Redzone Channel four times in his intro, alerting us to five games that could have crazy wind gusts.
• A huge hit on Rams' Jarod Goff by Emmanuel Ogbah on second and goal resulted in a fumble and a touchdown for the Dolphins. I was worried Goff was out, but he walked off the field on his own accord. What a sack!
• Sleet, snow, rain, and wind in the Cleveland game came out of nowhere and made things a bit tricky. 
• I give the announcers of the Chiefs/Jets game points for their excitement in calling the game. Not that the Chiefs weren't making some great plays, but I mean, it's the Jets...
• Appreciate the Bengals taking out the Titans! Too bad New England and Cam Newton couldn't have taken out Buffalo. Cam Newton only needed to get a few yards, and instead, he coughed up the ball and turned it over to give the Bills another win. 
• Will Lutz, the kicker for the New Orleans Saints, broke his streak of twenty-nine straight kicks by hitting the upright for a missed field goal against the Chicago Bears early in the game, but when it came down to winning the game, Lutz was money. 
• Two games came down to the wire in the later games. The Denver Broncos came from behind 20-3 to beat the Chargers 31-30 with no time left on the clock, and the Bears tied the Saints at 23-23 to take their game into overtime. 
• Denver tied the game with a touchdown and needed only the extra point to win, which kicker Brandon McManus gave them, despite a flag on the play that went against the Chargers. A small brawl broke out after the kick, and frankly, had the game not been over, a few Chargers players should've been ejected for their behavior toward Denver's holder Sam Martin, who was taken to the ground (he's already halfway there in his position) with a twisting head slam. 
• The Broncos quarterback Drew Lock can not dance. 
• In overtime, both defenses for the Saints and the Bears were like crazy, out of control insects racing around smacking, tackling, sacking, and trying whatever they could to not let either offense score. It wasn't pretty football, and it was very chaotic like they'd all chewed caffeine tablets before overtime began. 
• I wondered, at this point, would it benefit bringing in the back-up quarterback? You know, like in baseball with pitching? Then again, it didn't work for the Tampa Bay Rays, so maybe I've answered my own question, but I do like me some Mitch Trubisky, and I think he might've put this game away.

NFL 2020 picks week 8

 Last Week - 9-5

Overall - 69-35

Atlanta over Carolina

Buffalo over New England

Tennessee over Cincinnati

Cleveland over Vegas

Indianapolis over Detroit

Green Bay over Minnesota

Kansas City over Jets

Rams over Miami

Pittsburgh over Baltimore

Chargers over Denver

New Orleans over Chicago

Seattle over San Francisco

Philadelphia over Dallas

Tampa Bay over Giants

Quarantine day 237

Last week I ate in a restaurant for the first time since COVID hit in March. I did it without thinking. I received a text from a friend whose daughter had surprised them by flying in for the weekend. The daughter is a SnapChat fav of mine, and despite already having eaten breakfast, I jumped on seeing them. A minute later, I remembered.

I went anyway, although my stomach hurt on the drive there. We wore masks and ate outside by the Gulf. There was hand sanitizer, fresh air, and lots of birds hoping for a scrap of food. We caught up, ate, put our masks back on, and caught up some more. 

I got into a lot of trouble when Madison and Tom found out what I'd done.

Madison: "It's not just the eating in a restaurant part, but the fact you were near someone who'd flown in on an airplane."

Tom: "If you knew the things, I knew. All the people at work who've been sick and who say you don't want this virus..."

Truthfully, the worry overshadowed the joy. 

We didn't do Halloween this year either, turning off the porch light and keeping our front door shut, but it didn't matter. No one wandered down our street, and we saw zero trick or treaters walking the cross street. Madison's school kids came up with alternatives to the usual Halloween neighborhood stroll as well, so I'm guessing most people nixed trick or treating this year.

That didn't mean we didn't get candy. 

Madison had lamented our lack of sugar the night before and set off for candy before picking up our usual Saturday take-out dinner. Apparently, that isn't as naughty as eating outside in a restaurant. 

Meanwhile, we are putting ourselves to work with projects on our improvement list. While my fitness goals took a back seat this week due to a reoccurring knee injury and an almost broken toe, I did manage to complete project #1, and Tom got to work on project #2, which will be in an entry later this week.

Onward into November...

Ten month resolution check

Every two months, I check in to see how I'm doing on my New Year's resolutions. I give myself a score between 1-10 with the hopes that I'm perfect by the end of the year. 

Not sure this year should count, but I've gone this far.

Let's check-in (10 months):

• Travel (Explore and open myself to new experiences)- Yep, due to circumstances beyond my control (PANDEMIC), this one is no longer applicable. Score: N/A

• Get into an excellent mental and/or physical place where I don't mind having my picture taken. -  My daughter said she saw a picture of me (taken in a swimming pool) where she thought I looked happy and not afraid to have my photo taken, so based on that, I've given myself half. Score: 5

• Devise a working routine schedule Monday-Friday so that I do it and stick to it - I can honestly say that the last two months I did really well in doing this. Score: 7

• Finish editing book #1, so Maya can edit and critique it. - I'm putting this one aside so I can work on book #2. The stress of editing a book that needs more plot help than I can figure out during this pandemic has forced my hand. Score: 0

• To drink less coffee and, therefore, less creamer - I've taken to not finishing my coffee many mornings, so I'm counting that! Score: 2

• To tackle some old resolutions that haunt me - This one I have continued to work well on. Score: 10

Total Score: 24 out of 50 (number one is N/A and out of commission) - Blah! Almost halfway. I shall really force my way through the next two months to at least complete another resolution.

Monday morning NFL 2020 recap - week 7

Steelers: The first half was great to watch, but I wasn't fooled. Tennessee is the comeback team. Ben wasn't steady, and in an important game like this one--and next week--he had/has to be. Add that to the injuries we suffered this week, and it was a trying game. But what a finish!

• The best video of the game was Big Ben watching the kick to tie the game and saying, "Did he miss that?", and then his mouth dropped wide open in total shock. That was me. OMG! OMG! It took me several shocking moments to even wave my terrible towel.
• Our last three drives in the fourth quarter went punt, interception, punt, interception. We've got to stop trying to win these games in one half only. 
• According to Scott Hanson of the NFL Redzone channel, due to weather in Tennessee, CBS lost a transmission feed, and the game went black. Here we were trying to secure a win and blip off the grid we went.
• Apparently, CBS announcer Ian Eagle aspires to be a comedian, or maybe he already considers himself one, but his attempt at humor didn't work for me, especially his sack-a-mole gig. Stick to your day job, Eagle.
• Ben did some crazy tosses but none worse than the pitch to James Connor in the second drive while Ben was under pressure, losing the Steelers ten yards. He was lucky Conner managed to catch and hold that ball. Sheesh, just because it worked once doesn't mean your luck will hold. 
• Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt was a beast, not only going for the sack but working to smack the ball out of Titans' quarterback Tannenhill's hands. 
• Welcome back, Jordan Berry. Berry, the Steelers punter for the past five years, was replaced by veteran punter Dustin Colquitt before the start of the season, but Colquitt was cut on Friday, and Berry was brought back in time to travel to Tennessee. I like Berry. He's just a really nice Australian guy, and I was disappointed when he was cut, so having him back made my heart happy.
• Nice to see sportsmanship in the NFL...not. After a three-man tackle on JuJu Smith Schuster, JuJu put out his hand to the Titans players for help up off the turf, and all three ignored him, one guy even stepping over JuJu and brushing past the outstretched hand. The rivalry is tough.
• Far too many interceptions for Ben in this game and I hope he pulls a Larry Bird and spends time this week throwing to the right jersey. 

Other:

• Alright, I'm addressing Antonio Brown's return to the NFL. Ugh. I'm disappointed in Bruce Arians, who stated he'd not take Brown months after Tom Brady brought up the idea. He's "too much miscommunication, too much … diva." Arians should know. He was the Steelers offensive coordinator when Brown played for the Steelers. But, now that his wide receivers are injured, well, who cares what kind of guy comes into your locker room? Who cares about his off-field antics? As for Tom Brady, his need to win at all costs mentality has soured me. The Bucs owners have pissed me off before (shoving Tony Dungy out the door), but this hits below the belt. I root for the Bucs when they aren't playing my Steelers, but this acquisition leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm all for forgiveness and redemption, but Brown's antics in manipulating for his releases and trades to land where he wanted last year was calculated and planned, and that's not something I can ignore, even if the NFL can. 
• Fitting then that the Bucs played the Raiders this week. 
• And I might as well discuss former Jets running back Le' Veon Bell, who left Pittsburgh by sitting out an entire season until free agency. He didn't do well in New York and was traded this week to the Chiefs. Do unto others...
• Nice catch by Saints Jarod Cook to put New Orleans on the board. Drew Brees throw in the end zone's corner was a tip and dive for Cook for the six points.
• In the Cincinnati game, both quarterbacks threw interceptions on their first time out, but the Browns interception, a Baker Mayfield intended pass to Odell Beckham Jr., was the worst as Beckham Jr. was hurt when he tried to get in on the tackle, leaping over the pile and injuring his leg. 
• I disagreed with the call against Falcons Terrell Jr. for roughing the passer against Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford ran, and while he didn't pass the line of scrimmage, he was moving...forward, left, right, forward...and Terrell hit him straight on and stopped himself with both arms before he crushed Stafford on the turf. I get the protecting the quarterback, but that call wasn't one of those times. 
• The Panthers tried to tie the game against the Saints with fourteen seconds left in the game. Kicker Joey Slye attempted a 65-yard field goal, and had he made it through the uprights, would've set an NFL record, beating Lions kicker Matt Prater's 64-yard longest field goal record. It was high and straight, and it looked good, going, going, and poop. It dropped short. Bummer, it was a nice kick.
• Poor Atlanta. First, Matt Ryan fumbled and lost the ball on a sack, and then Todd Gurley, despite knowing full well what he needed to do, couldn't stop himself from scoring. With seconds on the clock, Gurley tried to stop at the one-yard line for the first down, which would have allowed the Falcons to just kneel to the end. Instead, Gurley broke the plane for the touchdown and gave the Lions time. Can't leave Matthew Stafford time when he's behind. I've said before, Stafford is like the neighborhood kid in his backyard, and kids live for that kind of opportunity. He had no trouble, keeping his head, scrambling out of the sack, and throwing a perfect pass for the touchdown. Then it was all Matt Prater for the win, and no one questioned that because, uh, see above. Classic Stafford, classic Prater, and classic Falcons who blew yet another lead to lose their game. 
• If the Steelers and the Lions game wasn't exciting enough, we had the Browns coming from behind to beat the Bengals. With eleven seconds left, Mayfield threw a perfect pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones in the corner of the end zone, and Peoples-Jones made an unbelievable catch, keeping both feet in bounds for the win. The Bengals had some time on the clock to do something, but the Hail Mary fell flat.
• Snow in Denver this week for the Chiefs/Broncos game, while we in Florida still are in the upper 80's. 

NFL 2020 picks week 7

 Last Week - 11-3

Overall - 60-30

Philadelphia over Giants

Atlanta over Detroit

Cincinnati over Cleveland

Pittsburgh over Tennessee

New Orleans over Carolina

Buffalo over Jets

Washington over Dallas

Green Bay over Houston

Tampa over Vegas

Kansas City over Denver

New England over San Francisco

Chargers over Jacksonville

Seattle over Arizona

Chicago over Rams

I'm on the case

For college graduation, my brother gave me a stuffed dog I named Rusty Dog. He sits on my bed during the day and functions as a pillow and a light blocker during the night. Before we had children and a real dog, Rusty Dog provided us with quality entertainment. If one of us was in the bathroom, Rusty Dog would scratch at the door and bark, or he'd nibble someone's feet under the bed covers. Ah, the days of silliness and young love.

Over the years, Rusty Dog has suffered a couple of injuries, requiring surgeries, but he has aged remarkably well for the most part. Every morning, I make the bed, kiss his nose, and put him right where he belongs at the head of our bed.

A month ago, I noticed he'd obviously been in a fight of sorts because his left ear had been mauled. Narrowing down the suspects, I discussed it with Elliot, who claimed the fifth. Giving him a scolding and a reminder that Rusty Dog was here first, I made a virtual appointment for a surgery consultation.

Today, I discovered it was no longer needed.

No one is talking but we will be looking for the evidence in someone's daily poop.

Monday morning NFL 2020 recap - week 6

Steelers: This was not the game I expected, but in no way was I disappointed. I don't even know what to say about the Browns, although according to the announcers, Browns' quarterback Baker Mayfield's ribs were the cause for all their woes. I could've used those ribs as a drinking game as they were discussed so often.

• I didn't know Mayfield's ribs were sore since I barely followed their game last week, but I learned very quickly that he was a man walking gingerly. They wrapped him in everything but bubble wrap, and maybe that was underneath his jersey too, but something tells me he's going to be hurting tonight.
• The other story that wasn't a story but not for the journalists was how Browns' defensive end Myles Garrett would react against the Steelers and vice versa. Remember that debacle from last year? Yeah, exactly. It's old news. We've never really had issues with the Browns like we do with the Ravens and Cincinnati, and thankfully, everyone acted like adults and played football without the drama.
• Defense! Defense! When those guys come out to play from the beginning, watch out! A big downside was the loss of Devin Bush, who tore his ACL and will miss the rest of the season. A huge loss to the Steelers defense. Sigh.
• Another big day for running back James Conner, who ran for 101 yards 
• Locally, the Steelers were on CBS, which was fine until the powers-that-be decided our game was too boring. They switched from our game to the Patriots/Denver game with eight minutes remaining, and since I had paused my game to be involved in an upcoming home improvement project, I was too late to switch over to my Sunday NFL ticket app. So, I can't comment on what happened in the end.
• Have I mentioned how much I hate the stiff arm? James Conner is the king of that, and I wish he'd just stop.
• I also thought I'd have to bring up the use of Bennie Snell Jr. again this week, but after grousing aloud about how disappointed I was that the Steelers coaches obviously don't read my blog, Snell Jr. was used in the second half to punch in the inches when we needed them, including a touchdown! Maybe Alexa was passing on the information.
• Most of the time, I find the announcers annoying, and while Jim Nantz and Tony Romo were tolerable, they did provide a few laughs. My favorite was showing us the exchange between Ben Roethlisberger and the ref while waiting for the replay call on Claypool's touchdown. The ref told Ben Romo thought Claypool was in, and Ben agreed, giving Romo a thumbs up and calling him Antonio. Okay, stuff like that (especially when we have a big lead) is entertaining. 

Other:

• The Bucs put a beating on the Packers with their defense, but Ndamukong Suh made sure he was the one who kept quarterback Aaron Rodgers on the ground. Suh and Rodgers have a history, and Rodger's mouth and his pointer finger let Suh know he wasn't playing his dirty football games.
• Washington's coach Ron Riveria chose to go for the win instead of the tie with 36 seconds left on the clock against the New York Giants. While I get that mentality, I didn't get why quarterback Kyle Allen, who scrambled to his left, didn't continue and scramble into the end zone when he clearly had an open path. Instead, he was taken down, and the Giants finally won a game.
• Kudos to former Bucs coach Raheem Morris for leading Atlanta out of the dark hole and into the locker room with a win. Morris replaced the Falcons fired coach Dan Quinn this week.
• The Bengals blew a 21-0 lead against the Indianapolis Colts, and then when it looked like they'd take the lead with a field goal, their kicker Randy Bullock missed the 48-yard field goal with eight minutes left to play and then sealed the loss after Burrows threw an interception.
• COVID is still circling the NFL, but all the games were a go this week. No word on the investigation into the Titans' handling of the virus, but it certainly hasn't slowed the team done any. They roared back to beat the Texans and earn a place next to the Steelers with zippo losses thus far.

NFL 2020 picks week 6

Last Week - 7-7

Overall - 49-27

Tennessee over Houston

Indianapolis over Cincinnati 

Minnesota over Atlanta

New England over Denver

Washington over Giants

Baltimore over Philadelphia

Pittsburgh over Cleveland

Chicago over Carolina

Detroit over Jacksonville

Miami over Jets

Tampa over Green Bay

San Francisco over Rams

Kansas City over Buffalo

Arizona over Dallas

Quarantine day 220

Since Darcy and Oleg returned to school, I've made a few changes in my life. I mainly keep to a wake-up schedule, avoid sitting on the couch before noon and eat breakfast with my coffee instead of after my first cup. Monday through Friday, I rise before eight, around the time Madison and Tom are leaving for the day, so I'm not disrupting their routine, and Tom doesn't annoy me with his cheerful morning disposition. 

For the past month and a half, I've thrown on exercise clothes and worked out with my newest obsession Fabulous 50s, but recently, I talked my girlfriend into taking walks on the mornings after her nightshift job, and so, I drive to her house first thing, and we walk her neighborhood. Then I return home and eat breakfast with my coffee. It's been not only liberating for me to see the outside world more than once or twice a week, but it keeps me on task--

--except when one of us cancels on the other. 

Today, it was me. I had a knee injury from something I did over the weekend, so I canceled and promptly went back to sleep. There went my schedule.

Because when I got up and ready for the day, it was 9:30, and I threw everything out the window and resorted to bad habits. I sat outside on the front porch and sipped my coffee while I edited a few chapters of book #2 until my grumbling stomach reminded me I hadn't eaten breakfast, and I wandered inside. What to eat, what to eat?

Luckily for me, I chose shredded wheat instead of my standard hard-boiled egg because...

...right there on the front of the box was a disclaimer that a bowl of those mini wheats would keep me full and content until lunchtime. 

A quick glance at the clock...

...told me it was a strong possibility that was true.

Yep, day 220 of COVID quarantine, and I'm searching for not only humor but for anything that will make a blog post!