Troy Aikman is the latest nfl pundit to rip into the patriots
The Patriots could embark on a late-season winning streak and wind up back in the playoffs. But the indelible images from this lost campaign have already occurred on primetime in front of more than 20 million people.
For two straight weeks, Mac Jones, the struggling sophomore quarterback, has cussed out offensive play-caller Matt Patricia. Jones has yelled at Patricia to “throw the [expletive] ball!” and screamed the same epithet in his direction Monday night when the Patriots couldn’t get in their play on time.
Jones can play damage control and talk about his affection for “Matty P” all he wants. This is a case in which on-field blowups speak louder than post-game spin-jobs.
We may live in the era of RedZone and streaming, but there’s still something symbolic about primetime games. The big announce crews are in town, the bright lights are on.
Robert Kraft receives his obligatory tongue bath.
And this season, the Patriots have been embarrassed on those occasions. They appear to be so dysfunctional, they were flexed out of “Sunday Night Football” this week.
Now Bill Belichick vs. Josh McDaniels will be seen by regional audiences only.
All owners care about their team’s perception; but as head of the broadcast committee, Kraft is even more invested than most. There is a literal “CBS Scene” at Patriots place. They also used to attract the network’s A-team.
These days, the Patriots are often stuck with the C- or D-team. They traded in Tony Romo for Trent Green and Adam Archuleta.
But Kraft may prefer Green’s white noise to Troy Aikman’s searing criticism. The ex-Cowboys great and NFL Hall of Famer laid into the Patriots’ lackluster offensive operation Monday.
“You talked about the frustration we’re seeing from Mac Jones, and I understand it. I certainly get it,” he said. “You’ve gotta believe the plays aren’t coming in — they’ve had a delay of game — as quickly as you would like. Being an offensive coordinator is a tough job. In fact, I’ve always felt it’s the hardest job on any staff. It’s more than just calling plays. Part of it is getting a group of players to buy in, and you can tell the confidence is waning, especially with this young quarterback.”
Joe Buck was more than happy to set Aikman up, commenting that Jones’ frustration was understandable. “It’s hard to blame him, to be honest,” said Buck.
The week before, Al Michaels sneered at the Patriots when they fumbled their timeouts at the end of the first half against Buffalo. “That timeout strategy was not New England-like,” he said. “We’re so used to seeing such judicious use of timeouts by New England. That was very odd.”
After three seasons post-Brady, national broadcasters are finally catching up to the new reality: the Patriots are the “Patriots” in name only. They’ve accepted more penalties than any other team in the NFL, and mess up plays like simple hand-off exchanges.
“Odd play, odd play call,” said Buck when Jones and rookie running back Kevin Harris fumbled a hand-off exchange with 10 seconds left in the first half.
Aikman summed up the Patriots’ woes succinctly.
“They’ve had a penalties on the offensive side of the ball. They’ve gotten into these 3rd-and-long situations,” he said.
Bingo. And the quarterback is acting accordingly — for all to see.
It may not be a coincidence that some rumblings trickled out last week regarding Belichick’s future with the team. While the reports were vague and unsubstantial, there are apparently people around or within the Patriots unhappy with their showing this season.
While the Patriots won Monday night, the visuals weren't any better.
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the sickening conspiracies around grant Wahl's death
Grant Wahl’s lesson: Beloved soccer journalist Grant Wahl died of an aneurysm in his heart last week while covering the World Cup, his wife announced Wednesday.
When Wahl’s death was first reported, his brother, Eric, who’s gay, speculated that Grant was killed. At the start of the World Cup, Wahl was detained for wearing an LGBTQ rainbow shirt into the stadium to protest Qatar’s inhumane treatment of gay people.
It was brutal watching a sibling grieve in real time, and detestable to see the other conspiracy theories surrounding Wahl’s death. But in a weird way, the truth may be harder to accept than a conspiracy.
The truth is, Wahl died of a sudden aneurysm at 48 years old. He exhibited no long-term symptoms, and was working right up until his death. In other words, nothing seemed to be wrong.
The idea of a healthy 48 year old dying suddenly is hard to comprehend. We demand there to be an explanation, but sometimes there isn’t.
How to lose all your jobs in five words: Longtime Buffalo sports columnist Jerry Sullivan was fired this week from all of his jobs — one TV gig, two newspaper jobs — for saying on a podcast that “the worst fans really are the women. They don’t get critical journalism. They’re all wannabe cheerleaders.”
Interestingly enough, Sullivan’s Twitter bio says he’s a “liberal Democrat and women’s sports advocate.”
It just goes to show that beliefs don’t always match up with someone’s actual words.
The SimmonsCast?: Bill Simmons was a guest Monday on ESPN’s “ManningCast,” marking his first appearance on ESPN since leaving the company on acrimonious terms. Clearly, tensions have thawed.
If ESPN and Simmons want to collaborate, launching an alternative NBA telecast could be a good move. Simmons could host with Ryen Russillo and chat with other NBA personalities and celebrities. It would generate some buzz.
Watch this space …