Army Wins Thriller, Colts Hit New Low, NBA Season Begins
The Army Team put a surprise 28-13 loss on the Temple Owls to open the 2016 season. Temple ended up going 10-4 overall and won the American Athletic Conference. I assumed a solid Owls team, sitting at 3-4, would exact revenge for that 2016 loss at Michie Stadium this past weekend.
With 91 seconds remaining and Temple up by a touchdown, the Owls pretty much hand their revenge in hand. Army was down 28-21 and possessed the ball on their own 21 yard line. They needed a touchdown and extra point to tie the game.
For a team to go 79 yards for a touchdown in a minute and a half, they have to be able to throw the ball. To put it kindly, Army does not have a high-powered passing attack. I began preparing myself mentally for a loss.
As described by New York Times best-selling author John Feinstein in Feinstein's Findings, Army coach Jeff Monken called on sophomore QB Kelvin Hopkins, Jr., who had one pass completion on the year. Hopkins successfully drove the Army Team down the field and hit WR Jermaine Adams -- who had one pass reception on the year prior to the drive -- for the touchdown that sent the game into overtime.
Army only managed a field goal on their possession in overtime, but the defense managed to hold Temple and force a potentially game tying field goal attempt. Temple K Aaron Boumerhi converted the 27-yard attempt, but Monken had called time out prior to the snap. Boumerhi missed the second attempt and Army began to celebrate.
The post-game celebration in the locker room is a must watch. Seriously, you absolutely must watch this.
Army is now 6-2 and will be bowling again this year at the Armed Force Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas against a yet to be determined opponent.
Next up, Air Force in two weeks. Go Army, Beat Air Force!
Colts aren't at the bottom, but they are still sinking
The Jacksonville Jaguars put it on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, 27-0. As reporter by Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, that is the first time the Colts have been shutout in 24 seasons. That's 375 games.
Nancy Armour argued in the USAToday Tuesday that the Colts are "a bigger debacle than the [Cleveland] Browns." Franchise QB Andrew Luck suffered a setback in his recovery from off season shoulder surgery last week, and the defense is giving up a league worst 31.7 points per game. And...Chuck Pagano is still the coach.
There will be nothing good to see here until Luck gets healthy, Pagano gets canned, and Colts general manager Chris Ballard brings in multiple solid draft classes. I do get some funny some stuff from my Indy contacts via text every Sunday. I have that going for me.
Redskins lose again, but still treading water at 0.500
The Washington Redskins lost 34-24 to the Philadelphia Eagles Monday night. The Redskins are now 3-3 and tied for second in the AFC East with the Dallas Cowboys, but three wins behind the division-leading Eagles. I said after the Week One loss to the Eagles that the Redskins "were still within range of another 0.500 season, but not anything more."
It might be hard for Washington to maintain this mediocre pace. The entire offensive line has been affected by injuries, and defensive stalwarts, CB Josh Norman and DT Jonathon Allen, are banged up with Allen possibly set to miss the rest of the season. Add to that the distinct philosophical differences between QB Kirk Cousins and coach Jay Gruden, as described in an ESPN.com article by Kevin Van Valkenburg, and we can all see some tough sledding ahead.
Washington now has the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and New Orleans Saints for their next four games. They will be lucky to still be 0.500 at the end of that stretch.
The NBA sneaks up on us all
So the NBA got off to an early start this year. The Association moved the start date forward by eight days to avoid teams having to play four games in five days during the season. This early start caught even interested fans a little by surprise.
I didn't even go pick up a season preview magazine until after the first few games. Unfortunately, the Lindy's Pro Basketball preview I picked up wet to bed before Kyrie Irving was traded to Boston, so it has some holes in it.
If you are behind on your NBA reading like me, don't worry. Take the two options below to add to your stack of winter reading material:
The Ringer 2017 NBA Preview -- The Ringer is run by NBA hoop head Bill Simmons and this preview is packed. It contains a Best/Worst Case Scenario capsule for every team and all sorts of different article from various vantage points on the upcoming season.
A Timely Preview of the 2017-18 NBA Season on Deadspin -- Albert Burneko penned this preview, which contains more humor than statistical analysis. His preview of my Indiana Pacers was a GIF of some sort of bubbling cauldron of waste. Sometimes you don't need data to be accurate.
With 91 seconds remaining and Temple up by a touchdown, the Owls pretty much hand their revenge in hand. Army was down 28-21 and possessed the ball on their own 21 yard line. They needed a touchdown and extra point to tie the game.
For a team to go 79 yards for a touchdown in a minute and a half, they have to be able to throw the ball. To put it kindly, Army does not have a high-powered passing attack. I began preparing myself mentally for a loss.
As described by New York Times best-selling author John Feinstein in Feinstein's Findings, Army coach Jeff Monken called on sophomore QB Kelvin Hopkins, Jr., who had one pass completion on the year. Hopkins successfully drove the Army Team down the field and hit WR Jermaine Adams -- who had one pass reception on the year prior to the drive -- for the touchdown that sent the game into overtime.
Army only managed a field goal on their possession in overtime, but the defense managed to hold Temple and force a potentially game tying field goal attempt. Temple K Aaron Boumerhi converted the 27-yard attempt, but Monken had called time out prior to the snap. Boumerhi missed the second attempt and Army began to celebrate.
The post-game celebration in the locker room is a must watch. Seriously, you absolutely must watch this.
Army is now 6-2 and will be bowling again this year at the Armed Force Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas against a yet to be determined opponent.
Next up, Air Force in two weeks. Go Army, Beat Air Force!
Colts aren't at the bottom, but they are still sinking
The Jacksonville Jaguars put it on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, 27-0. As reporter by Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star, that is the first time the Colts have been shutout in 24 seasons. That's 375 games.
Nancy Armour argued in the USAToday Tuesday that the Colts are "a bigger debacle than the [Cleveland] Browns." Franchise QB Andrew Luck suffered a setback in his recovery from off season shoulder surgery last week, and the defense is giving up a league worst 31.7 points per game. And...Chuck Pagano is still the coach.
There will be nothing good to see here until Luck gets healthy, Pagano gets canned, and Colts general manager Chris Ballard brings in multiple solid draft classes. I do get some funny some stuff from my Indy contacts via text every Sunday. I have that going for me.
Redskins lose again, but still treading water at 0.500
The Washington Redskins lost 34-24 to the Philadelphia Eagles Monday night. The Redskins are now 3-3 and tied for second in the AFC East with the Dallas Cowboys, but three wins behind the division-leading Eagles. I said after the Week One loss to the Eagles that the Redskins "were still within range of another 0.500 season, but not anything more."
It might be hard for Washington to maintain this mediocre pace. The entire offensive line has been affected by injuries, and defensive stalwarts, CB Josh Norman and DT Jonathon Allen, are banged up with Allen possibly set to miss the rest of the season. Add to that the distinct philosophical differences between QB Kirk Cousins and coach Jay Gruden, as described in an ESPN.com article by Kevin Van Valkenburg, and we can all see some tough sledding ahead.
Washington now has the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and New Orleans Saints for their next four games. They will be lucky to still be 0.500 at the end of that stretch.
The NBA sneaks up on us all
So the NBA got off to an early start this year. The Association moved the start date forward by eight days to avoid teams having to play four games in five days during the season. This early start caught even interested fans a little by surprise.
I didn't even go pick up a season preview magazine until after the first few games. Unfortunately, the Lindy's Pro Basketball preview I picked up wet to bed before Kyrie Irving was traded to Boston, so it has some holes in it.
If you are behind on your NBA reading like me, don't worry. Take the two options below to add to your stack of winter reading material:
The Ringer 2017 NBA Preview -- The Ringer is run by NBA hoop head Bill Simmons and this preview is packed. It contains a Best/Worst Case Scenario capsule for every team and all sorts of different article from various vantage points on the upcoming season.
A Timely Preview of the 2017-18 NBA Season on Deadspin -- Albert Burneko penned this preview, which contains more humor than statistical analysis. His preview of my Indiana Pacers was a GIF of some sort of bubbling cauldron of waste. Sometimes you don't need data to be accurate.
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