Tag: Indianapolis

Gridiron Tales: Week 10 Thursday Night Football Edition

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Last week: 3-1

It felt like a possible 4-0 week was in the cards as soon as D.J. Chark caught a 70+ yd TD pass in the opening minute of last Sunday’s contest against Houston. But Sterling Shepard wasn’t able to get the yardage total we needed, despite logging six catches.

Let’s talk about tonight: Colts at Titans

Philip Rivers O23.5 pass completions (-134)

“But why, James?!”

Fact 1: Tennessee’s pass defense has not been good over the last 5 weeks:

Passing yards allowed 1,472 4th-most

Pass TDs allowed 12 T-2nd most

Completions allowed 151 Most

To quote the kids, “That’s it; that’s the (only) fact.”

With that said, Philip Rivers has completed O23.5 passes in two of his last three with those totals being 29, 23, and 25, respectively. The Titans boast the league’s 7th-highest scoring offense this season, which lends itself to believe the Colts will need to pass a lot in this one, especially given their RBBC approach.

Bonus, just for fun: Corey Davis anytime TD (+175)


I’ll be back Sunday morning to hit you with some gems for the afternoon slate.

More Thoughts on the Retirement of Andrew Luck

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When I saw this tweet Saturday night, I checked it five times to make sure it wasn’t from Adarn Schefter. I was just as shocked as everyone else when I saw the news. I knew Andrew Luck had battled injuries for most of his professional career, but he was coming off one of his best seasons as a pro. After missing all of 2017, Luck threw for 39 touchdowns and almost 4600 yards in 2018. But now that I’ve had a day to process the news, here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.

  • Anyone who questions why Luck is retiring instead of trying to battle through his injuries is a jackass. Here’s just the most blatant example of jackassery:

    That lazy millennial jab won’t go over too well with most of the people on this site either.

    Andrew Luck should not sacrifice one bit of his post-football quality of life for our entertainment. The people out there who think he owes it to the fans or his teammates to take a beating again this year should tell us how much fun they have at work the next time their job makes them     piss blood.

  • There seems to be a stark difference between the reaction to Luck’s retirement and the reaction to Rob Gronkowski’s retirement, and I’m not sure why. Both guys decided to hang ’em up at age 29 to avoid further wear and tear on their bodies. A lot of the scorn directed at Luck is likely due to the sheer surprise of his announcement. With three Super Bowl rings, fans probably believe Gronk had less left to prove. Still, Luck doesn’t doesn’t deserve any of the grief he is getting. No one should question either player’s decision to retire, but especially not people who didn’t question Gronk’s decision.
  • Again, Luck doesn’t deserve any of the grief he is getting but I can’t get too mad at fans booing. Luck said hearing the boos hurt and I believe him, but as Reggie Jackson once said, fans don’t boo nobodies. The fans that booed had to sit through a full preseason football game and likely hadn’t heard most of the details yet. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one. Unless fans are booing a player getting carted off with an ACL injury, I try not to get too worked up over the appropriateness of booing.
  • Hindsight is 20/20, but do you think anyone in the Colts organization today regrets moving on from Peyton Manning when they did? Should they? Luck was supposed to be the future, the guy who would run the show for the next 13 years. Instead, they only got seven years and six seasons out of him. Peyton played four seasons in Denver, three at a very high level (including the best season of his career in 2013 at age 37), took the Broncos to two Super Bowls, and won them a Super Bowl in his final season at age 39. Imagine if the Patriots had decided to move on from Tom Brady after the season he missed due to injury. That of course seems laughable. Will people look back on the Colts decision to move on from the second-greatest quarterback of all time and find it almost as laughable?

Whatever’s next for you, Andrew…

Doug Gottlieb Blames Millennials for Andrew Luck Retiring, Torrey Smith Dunks on Him

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So as you are probably aware, Andrew Luck has indeed retired at the age of 29. The guy has dealt with a ton of injuries over the years and Luck himself inferred that he just couldn’t live his life the way he wanted to with the constant injuries, pain, and subsequent rehab so he decided to call it a career. No shame in that at all. Unless you’re Doug Gouttlieb and oh what a glorious dickhead Gottlieb is here.

You don’t even want to know how many stolen credit card jokes people were able to shoehorn into Gottlieb’s mentions, but Torrey Smith one shot KO’d him here.

The Twitter equivalent of the Conor McGregor Jose Aldo fight; over in 10 seconds.

Then Troy Aikman came in to straight up eviscerate Dougie.

Its bad enough to rag on a clearly broken down and conflicted Andrew Luck for retiring from the only thing he’s ever done because of things beyond his control. But then to lay it at the feet of millennials because its another thing we ruined? What a moron. Thats what Gottlieb does though, stirs the pot and just drops outlandish takes to generate some buzz. Rob Parker, Gottlieb, Max Kellerman, and Chris Simms must all get together once a month to drink wine coolers and drunk dial Skip Bayless asking for guidance.

The tweet is in bad taste, but its also just ill informed as more players retire younger and younger rather than continue to give themselves brain damage. Luck was been sacked 174 times in his career and has suffered injuries ranging from a concussion to lacerated kidney, partially torn abdominal muscle, torn rib cartilage, not to mention all the shoulder injuries that had him unable to THROW. Andrew Luck isn’t a dummy, the guy graduated from Stanford. So he knows how many NFL athletes play until their body gives out on them and deal with the consequences for the rest of their lives. Just like I said when Gronk retired, if you want to retire early with your health in tact then good for you.

Take a seat, Gottlieb.

Andrew Luck is Retiring

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TheScore – Quarterback Andrew Luck has informed tbd Indiapolis Colts he intends to retire.

Uhhhh what?

According to headlines Andrew Luck has told the Colts he’s done. And you know what? I don’t blame him.

He’s one of the most talented players of our time. But he’s always hurt. I guess he just didn’t want to do it anymore.

So farewell Andrew. You fucked our drafts.

 

-Joey B.

Tom Brady Just Dunked on Peyton Manning Without Even Trying

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Tom Brady is a nice guy by all accounts, psychotically competitive, but a really nice guy. Its almost hard to believe because you just expect these all-time great athletes to just be dickheads whether its Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. So without even meaning to do so Tom Brady just dunked on Peyton Manning here.

Despite the bitter rivalries that the Patriots have had over the years with the Colts and the Broncos, despite all the heartache each guy has delivered to the other’s team, despite all that they’re still friends! Tom Brady probably genuinely meant this as a kind gesture too. Except when I see that picture all I can think of is how Tom Brady just came off his 6th Super Bowl championship and is about to begin the hunt for No. 7 while Peyton Manning is making mildly amusing car insurance commercials for a living.

For a guy that was once crowned the greatest of all time in Peyton Manning this has got to sting. To watch your greatest rival not only pass you, but to stomp on your throat, rip that title right out of your hands, and then continue to tack on MVPs and Super Bowl victories well into his 40s.

Tom Brady: even when he’s trying to be nice he’s smoking people.

D’Qwell Jackson Hilariously Asks Tom Brady to Help Him Get His F-ing Football Back

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“Here’s the fucked up part. I never got my ball back. The NFL said it was deflated. Then Bill Belichick and Bill Nye the Science Guy had a pissing contest over PSI levels…Roger Goodell probably has my fucking football on his damn mantle.”

Update: D’Qwell Jackson has responded and is now a friend of The 300s.

Bravo, D’Qwell, bravo. Heres a guy that became an unwilling footnote in the whole Deflategate saga. The NFL initially tried to make him the fall guy, but D’Qwell immediately denied having any part in snitching about allegedly deflated footballs. This video only confirms that in my mind as he comes off as a sneaky funny guy who just wants his fucking football back. As he has done to so many others, Roger Goodell swooped down and took something that wasn’t his. D’Qwell just wants a keepsake from a huge play he made in a huge game that his team otherwise got their doors blown off in. Let the man have that, Roger.

The Indianapolis Colts Have a 1-0 Banner Hanging and I Can’t Stop Laughing

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This is the saddest banner I’ve ever seen since the last time the Colts hung a depressing loser flag in the form of AFC Finalist banners.

And just a reminder that yes these are real and the Colts have in fact been hanging these for a long time.

But hey when it’s the first time you’ve made the playoffs since the 2014 season when you got SMOKED by the Patriots, then you have to take what you can get. And right now a 1-0 in the playoffs banner is the best it gets in Indianapolis.

It will never get old dumping on the Colts because of all the fun we had dismantling them in the playoffs (except for the 2006 meltdown), the pumped in crowd noise, the owner’s fondness for driving around with drugs and cash, and of course being the rats behind Deflategate. Oh and don’t forget, Colt and Griff!

I try not to be too much of an arrogant Patriots fan, but this is just sad. Have some self respect guys. I know Lucas Oil Stadium is no Gillette, which literally had to be redesigned after the Patriots Super Bowl win over the Falcons because they had TOO many banners.

Before:

After:

It’s good to be a Patriots fan, but I would think a normal fan would at least settle for not hanging participation trophies to start.

Pat McAfee Will Be Making His NFL Broadcasting Debut This Weekend

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12up –  The NFL broadcast booth will have a very entertaining presence in the final week of the regular season. ​Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee will call this Sunday’s Detroit Lions-Green Bay Packers game, the first NFL game in his broadcasting career.

I’ll be totally honest, I was not familiar with Pat McAfee aside from the infamous arrest and drunken mug shot (which he tells the story of brilliantly) before he got to Barstool Sports. The former Colts punter was not someone I expected to be looking forward to his broadcasting debut, but here we are. McAfee is a hilarious guy with a serious talent for storytelling, which obviously lends itself to not only stand up comedy, but television work like broadcasting.

After a meteoric rise at Barstool where he became a nationally known name for something beyond his bionic leg, McAfee had a sudden and bizarre breakup with the Stool. I don’t know the inner workings of what exactly happened, but nevertheless McAfee became a free agent once again and it looks like he’ll be trying his talents in the booth for now.

I’m sure it goes beyond just kicking, but McAfee is known for breaking down the finer details of the punting game on Twitter from time to time so the guys clearly knows his stuff.

I will definitely be tuning in to hear McAfee during the Packers Lions game this weekend and for all you poors that don’t have Sunday Ticket, the game will be on FOX so check it out.

Julian Edelman Officially Added to the Patriots Active 53 Man Roster

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Heeeeee’s baAAAck ladies and gentleman. The Option QB From Kent State. The 2nd Most Handsome Patriot. The #11 that goes next to #12. One Nibble Everyone Knows The Law. Julian Edelman himself has officially been activated to the Patriots 53-man roster. This is obviously huge for the team and specifically important for I would say for four different reasons.

1.) First and foremost we have to address what this means for Tom Brady. Arguably his most trusted target is back in the lineup which will make Brady feel that much more comfortable. And a comfortable Brady is it dangerous Brady.

2.) The Patriots offense finally broke out last week in a big way. Now imagine that + Edelman in the mix. Imagine Brady’s new buddy Dorsett last week but with less eyes on him? Remember what Chris Hogan could do downfield and in the seam when someone was distracting defenders over the middle? It is a fun thing to ponder indeed.

3.) I didn’t buy too much into this but if what Gronk’s brother said was true and Gronk was unhappy with the lack of weapons in the Patriots offense then he’ll be a lot happier now. In general Gronk’s body language hasn’t been great the last few weeks so having another weapon in the offense, and a fun-loving one at that, should be a huge boost for the best tight end in the league.

4.) Finally we get to Edelman himself. Because really unless we completely blow the rest of the season the NFL kind of did him and us a favor. Edelman has always been a bit injury-prone and, at 32, isn’t getting any younger for a wide receiver of his size. So basically, the NFL gave him an extra 4 weeks to relax, recover from his ACL injury and any other bumps and bruises, and return to the Pat’s 110% ready to kick ass. Not a bad deal for #11 or for a 2-2 team on the rise.

What just dawned me is this really is where the season begins. Starting tonight against the Colts, Edelman’s first game back, we get to see what is the fully loaded and staffed Patriots of the 18′-19′ season. Like most of the last 20 years, I like our chances.

 

-Joey B

 

 

I Love That Jonathan Kraft is Roasting DeflateGate Creator and Recently Fired Colts GM Ryan Grigson

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jkraft

ESPN – “The New England Patriots obviously haven’t forgotten who started Deflategate, as team president Jonathan Kraft expressed little sympathy for former Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, who was relieved of his duties on Saturday. On Kraft’s weekly pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Sunday, Kraft initially deflected a question about the Colts’ firing of Grigson, before referring to the AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis that started Deflategate. Said Kraft: “That game might have been Ryan’s pinnacle, I don’t know.” The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 in the conference title game on Jan. 18, 2015.”

Jonathan Kraft is throwing shade and I love it. Robert won’t do it, at least not outright. Brady won’t do it. You know Belichick won’t do it. So it’s up to Jonathan to throw out these subtle little digs.

Oh you wanna create a gigantic fugazi scandal about something the NFL had never cared about to actually check or measure in the history of the league? It’s entrapment really. Just like that Sean Connery movie, but not as good. Grigson – you want to cause us to lose draft picks, get fined and have the greatest player in Patriot history suspended for 4 games? Cause an absolute shitstorm in the media that lead to investigations, league sanctioned and biased reports on how Tom Brady maybe, possibly knew about something? TB12 getting dragged into court over air pressure in footballs?

Well guess what, when you get fired because you can’t draft for shit, Jonathan Kraft will roast you. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

grigson

PS – Has there even been a more appropriate quote to describe Tom Brady and the entire DeflateGate saga than the one from the end of The Dark Knight?

“Because he’s the hero Foxborough deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”