football
Talking about college and professional football daily. Chances are we hate your team.
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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year 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. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
CFL Week 1 Recap: We Missed You
November 24, 2019. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats by a score of 33-12 to win their 11th Grey Cup in franchise history, and their first since 1990. It was a dream season for the Bombers, and that team was set on defending their championship in 2020. Unfortunately, that year saw the COVID-19 pandemic impact the entire world greatly, and that included sports. While MLB, the NBA, and the NHL simply paused/postponed their seasons and playoffs, the CFL ended up cancelling their entire 2020 season, as Canada was (and still is) very strict regarding their protocols.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
The NFC West is Hard to Predict
In the last few seasons, the NFC West has been one of the strongest divisions in the league, resulting in its rivalries being some of the most entertaining in recent years. It's a far cry from the NFC West I remember from my childhood, where for years, it was the San Francisco 49ers basically crushing the other teams in the division. Now, the NFC West is wide open, and it's basically anyone's division to win, especially since the 49ers will have all hands on deck after an injury plagued 2020 season.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
The Vast Decline of the NFC East
I am a Green Bay Packers fan, so why am I talking about the NFC East? The reason is simple: my dad is a longtime Dallas Cowboys fan, and when I was a kid, one of the many things my dad told me was how good the NFC East was. It was true back then. The National Football Conference's Eastern Division was once the best division in the entire league. Back then, it was three divisions per conference, which was the format that had existed since the AFL-NFL merger back in 1970. Being an NFC guy, I took notice on how the divisions operated, and it was the same for several years: the West wasn't good (49ers ran away with it every year), the Central was moderate (the Packers were the class of the division for years, though the rivals had their moments), and the East was just beastly.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
Why I Absolutely Enjoy the Canadian Football League. Top Story - June 2021.
I had known about the Canadian Football League for about 10-15 years at least; the first time I learned about that particular league was during Doug Flutie's time with the Buffalo Bills, as his past with the CFL had been told many times. I remember peeping in at a CFL game back in 2012, and afterwards, I promised myself that beginning with the following year, I would start watching those games, because the way Canada plays football is just amazing.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a year ago in Unbalanced
