Game Day Thoughts

Football's back!

I'm still not a big fan of the Thursday Night opener. I do like that the defending Super Bowl champ is celebrated a bit. I just don't like that it's done three days before the season really starts.

I'm not a fan of any Thursday games unless it's played on Thanksgiving. I'm just a traditionalist when it comes to the days that football should be played. I've always enjoyed the setup that finds high school games on Friday, college games on Saturday, and NFL games on Sunday. It's a beautiful progression. I'm used to Monday Night Football simply because I grew up with it. It was a new thing when I started following football so it's all that I've ever known. Maybe I'll get used to these Thursday games but I doubt it. It's not good for the players. The NFL says that they've made Thursday night games a regular season staple for the fans. They really did it for the money that an extra prime time game brings.

Speaking of Monday Night Football, I'll be at Levi's Stadium when the Minnesota Vikings step on that shaky turf. The damn stuff that they're trying to grow there had better hold firm. It had better hold firm for the Vikings and the next seven teams that have to play on it. A Super Bowl is going to be played there. I'll be there on Monday night for the Minnesota Vikings-San Francisco 49ers game. The best game of the week.

This is an outstanding NFL season if you're Vikings fan that just happens to live in the middle of California. The team from Minnesota is visiting both the 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. Just beautiful. The 49ers on Monday. The Raiders on November 15th. My tickets are printed for both games. Just beautiful.

The Vikings have been scheduled to face the AFC West and the NFC West since the current schedule rotation has been in place. The when and the where were the only questions. There was a chance that this beautiful scenario would become a reality. It was probably the most anxious I've ever been for the NFL schedule release. Sure enough, Vikings at 49ers to open the season. Vikings at Raiders later in the season. Just beautiful. I couldn't recall a season in which the Vikings traveled to face the 49ers and Raiders in the same season. I discovered that it had happened twice. In 1984 and 1993. Then I realized that those games took place while the Al Davis Raiders were on their Los Angeles walkabout. The Vikings have never before played both the 49ers and Raiders in northern California. Just beautiful.

The hope here is that this the first of two Vikings visits to Levi's Stadium this year.

The Vikings Monday Night date with the 49ers opens up my football viewing today. It's wide open.

Green Bay at Chicago

My morning probably starts there. It's always a treat to watch Aaron Rodgers throw the football. Everyone seems to think that this terrific rivalry is the NFL's oldest. It's not. The Packers joined the new professional football league in it's second year of existence. 1921. The Bears have been playing the Cardinals since 1920. Packers-Bears is the NFL's most contested rivalry. It's just not the oldest.

My mind could wander to these games:

Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills
or
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams

These are probably the best games of the morning schedule. The Colts and Seahawks are serious Super Bowl contenders. The Bills and Rams have fantastic defenses. Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is just ridiculous.

One morning game that is strangely appealing:

Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars have added some very intriguing offensive players through the last couple of drafts. Injuries have been a dreadful blow to the Panthers offense but their defense is strong.

These games round out the morning slate:

Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans
Cleveland Browns at New York Jets
Miami Dolphins at Washington Redskins

There's so much mystery to the opening week of each NFL season. We really know nothing about how any of these teams will perform over 16 games. All we know is what took place last year. Teams change. New teams emerge. Few pegged the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals for the Super Bowl before the kickoff of the 1981 NFL season. They were considered bottom-feeders until they played some real games. For all we know now Browns-Jets could be playing in Super Bowl 50. But I doubt it.

Based on our preconceived notions the afternoon games are highlighted by this game:

Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos

It wouldn't be a surprise to find these two teams matched in the AFC title game.

Good games:

New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions at San Diego Chargers

This game has intrigue as the top two picks of the 2015 NFL Draft lead their respective teams:

Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Marcus Mariota vs Jameis Winston.

Then we have:

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders

A talented Bengals team has to get past the first round of the playoffs before they get any real respect or attention. The Raiders are finally getting better on paper. Now they have to get better on the field.

The day starts with a classic rivalry. It closes with another one:

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys

Just beautiful but not as beautiful as the Vikings visiting the 49ers tomorrow night.

NFL football is back!

Some high school football:
On Friday night, the Meadville Bulldogs defeated the DuBois Beavers 107-90 in Pennsylvania high school action. With a score like that there had to be some big time offensive performances. Meadville running back Journey Brown (nice name) ran for 720 yards! and 10 touchdowns! DuBois quarterback Matt Miller threw for 782 yards and 10 touchdowns. Everybody gets all giddy about these silly numbers. All I see is that not a lick of defense was played by either team.

And college football:
Cal pulled away from San Diego State in the second half and won 35-7. This game turned when Cal scored a touchdown late in the first half and opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown. It was a 14-point swing in about 45 seconds of game time. This game felt a lot closer than the 28-point win. San Diego State couldn't get out of their own way with penalties. They were gaining yards in chunks in the first half but could only put seven points on the board. Cal is now 2-0 with a trip to Texas and a dance with the Longhorns next week. Cal

Junior quarterback Jared Goff and his fleet of receivers have been terrific so far.

The last time that I saw San Diego State visit Berkeley was over twenty years ago. I damn near ran into Marshall Faulk on that day. He had just stepped off the Aztecs bus. I turned around and there he was. A little fella but he sure could tote the bean. A great football player. Cal held him to just over 60 yards in a win.

I bellyached yesterday about the top schools scheduling "cupcakes" to ease their way into the football season. #6 Auburn thought that they had done just that when they scheduled Jacksonville State. The mighty Tigers had to score a touchdown in the final minute to force overtime. A touchdown in overtime avoided a disastrous upset by the Gamecocks. 27-20 Auburn. I don't think that this win did the Tigers any favors in the polls.

There was a terrific game in East Lansing where #5 Michigan State hosted #7 Oregon. The Spartans held off the Ducks in a 31-28 win. Oregon's defense has improved in recent years as their offense gobbled up yards and put up  a bunch of points as they moved at warp speed. Through the small sample size of two games it seems that their defense has regressed. Eastern Washington last week and Michigan State last night moved the ball with ease. Both of these teams should have something to say in the title chase this year.

Football's back!