From the Bleachers: What to Make of the Top Headlines in the NFL and Were the Right Four Teams Selected for the College Football Playoffs?

Credit to Alyssa Barber

Dominic Hoscher, FHNGameday.com editor, points to the field on the bleachers of FHN.

In November, Broncos’ cornerback Aqib Talib and Buccaneers’ wide receiver Mike Evans received the same suspension for violating the league’s unnecessary roughness rules. These violations that led to brawls but no injuries, as opposed to what Gronk did on Sunday which led to a head injury of a defenseless player. If player safety is truly valued in the NFL, then shouldn’t Gronkowski have received a steeper punishment for injuring a player than just one game? A steeper punishment for Gronk would not only have been justified, but also would have made a much larger statement against these types of hits.

Someone who is set to miss a lot more than Gronkowski’s one game is Ben McAdoo, who, along with general manager Jerry Reese, was fired by the New York Giants Monday morning. McAdoo was in his second season with the Giants, after taking the team into the playoffs in his first year as their head coach. After having such a successful first season and with it now just being his second season in New York, was he let go of too soon?

The answer: absolutely not. McAdoo’s Giants have been a hot mess in 2017, having a 2-10 record through thirteen weeks, the worst start to a season in New York since 1976. The only team with a worse record than the Giants this season is the Cleveland Browns, who are 0-12. That’s when you know it’s bad. Scoring the second fewest points per game (15.8) and giving up the most yards per game (390.8), the Giants were having all sorts of problems on both sides of the ball. So how does McAdoo attempt to solve the team’s issues? By benching the face of the franchise Eli Manning for none other than Geno Smith. Merry early Christmas, Giants fans, because the firing of Ben McAdoo is as good as any gift you’ll receive this holiday season.

MLB

Three weeks ago, in the first issue of “From the Bleachers”, the main focus of the MLB section was Giancarlo Stanton and where he will end up. Two weeks ago, it was Shohei Otani and his predicted landing spot. Both were featured as it appeared that both deals would be completed right around the time both columns were posted. A few weeks later, and Stanton is still a Marlin and Otani is still looking for a team. However, it appears both could be on the move sooner rather than later. 

Starting with Stanton, Craig Mish of SiriusXM radio reported on Sunday that a trade involving Miami’s slugger is expected to be finalized in the next two to three days. It has also been reported that the general framework around a deal between the Marlins and both the Giants and the Cardinals has been agreed to, with both teams waiting on a decision from Stanton. As of now, it appears as if the Giants are the frontrunners to acquire Giancarlo due to their west coast location, but the Cardinals, who offered more in terms of prospects and cash to the Marlins, have Miami’s favor and still have a shot at the NL MVP. The dark horse team that seems to be Stanton’s preferred destination, the Los Angeles Dodgers, also have a chance to make a deal happen, but is looking less likely now than it did a few weeks ago. Either way, the Stanton deal looks to be complete in the coming days, making for an exciting week in the baseball world. 

Otani’s story is slightly more complex. On Sunday, the Japanese star free agent ruled out a laundry list of teams as possible final destinations. Some of these teams include the Red Sox and the Yankees, who were perceived as the heavy favorites for the two-way player just a week ago. The biggest reason why is something neither team could control: geography. Otani is believed to prefer a team that resides on the west coast, which resides closer to his home of Japan. A few of these teams include the Giants, Angels, and Mariners, with the exceptions being the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers. No team appears to be stepping up as the clear favorites for Otani, but watch out for the Seattle Mariners, who had one of the biggest Japanese stars in Ichiro Suzuki for eleven years, in the next couple of days to make a serious run at the “Japanese Babe Ruth”.

NCAA

The beginning of December means the beginning of the college football postseason, one of the most exciting times of the year in all of sports. The most exciting part of the most exciting time of the year is the four team playoff, which had it’s teams selected on Sunday: Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, and Alabama. So exciting. There isn’t much of a debate behind the first three teams getting in, as all are deserving of making the playoffs, but the questions start coming in with the fourth spot, held by the Alabama Crimson Tide. 

Many believe that Ohio State should have gotten the final playoff spot over the Tide for a number of reasons, the first being conference championships. The Buckeyes not only competed in the Big 10 Championship game but won it as well, defeating #4 Wisconsin 27-21 on Saturday. Alabama, on the other hand, was forced to watch the SEC Championship game from home as their week 13 loss to Auburn kept the Crimson Tide out of Atlanta. Ohio State won their conference and also has the strength of schedule(SOS) argument. The Buckeyes had both a more difficult schedule than the Crimson Tide and more notable of wins, including victories over Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan to go along with their win over Wisconsin. On the counter is Alabama, who only had one win over a team that finished in the top 25: Mississippi State.

They have the SOS argument and they won their conference, so why is Ohio State not going to the playoffs over Alabama? The answer can be found in a score: 55-24. Back on November 4, the Iowa Hawkeyes put up 55 points on the playoff-hopeful Buckeyes, giving them their second loss of the season. The Hawkeyes went on to finish the season with a 7-5 record, making Ohio State’s loss to the team all the more significant. Alabama’s one loss was to #6 Auburn who only beat the Crimson Tide by eight points. While there is a debate to be had for why Ohio State should be in the playoffs, their two blow-out losses are what ultimately keeps them out of college football’s biggest stage.

Soccer

From college football’s biggest stage to the biggest stage in sports, the draw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia took place last Friday and provided some interesting match-ups. Starting in Group B, there’s two of the favorites to win the entire tournament in Portugal and Spain. With storylines such as it possibly being the last World Cup that’ll feature Cristiano Ronaldo, to a Spain team that looks to bounce back after a disappointing 2014 group stage exit, Group B is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing groups in the Cup.

Then there’s Group D, which has nearly every possible storyline. First, there’s what could be the last chance for Lionel Messi to win a World Cup with Argentina. In 2014, he led his country to the Final in Brazil, but fell short of Germany in extra time. Some say that the last hurdle to Messi becoming the greatest player in the history of soccer is to win a World Cup. If he’s unable to do so in Russia next summer, it’s unlikely he’ll get another opportunity to do so. To the rest of the group, there’s the 18th ranked team in the world in Croatia, led by a star midfield duo of Luka Modric Ivan Rakitic. Nigeria, while being the lowest ranked team in the group at 50, qualified for the 2014 World Cup knockout stages just behind Argentina in Group F. Then there’s the cinderella team of the 2016 European Championships: Iceland. Ranked 21st in the FIFA World rankings, Iceland pose as a sneaky threat to both Argentina and Croatia and could look to make another miraculous run in Russia next summer.

Before we can get to the World Cup, we have to get through the club seasons first, and this weekend could feature one of the biggest matches in all of club soccer: the Manchester Derby. The top two teams in the Premier League are set to face off on Sunday, with second place Manchester United hosting table-leading Manchester City in a crucial match that could have dramatic effects on the Premier League title race. United, however, will be without one of their biggest names in Paul Pogba, who was given a red card in last Saturday’s contest with Arsenal. Pogba had four goals and six assists in his previous nine games for the Red Devils, making his suspension that much more important to United and their attack. Manager Jose Mourinho will have to put on a masterclass, but even so it will be difficult for the hosts to hold off a soaring Manchester City team led by Pep Guardiola.

Score Prediction: Manchester United 1-3 Manchester City