Whipped Cream Difficulties

After the jump, this week’s TMQ…

The last time New England did not make the Super Bowl, the Hapsburgs were still on thrones. Gosh is it exciting when the same team wins over and over and over!

The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century. The senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. The remaining Austrian branch became extinct in the male line in 1740 with the death of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, and completely in 1780 with the death of his eldest daughter Maria Theresa of Austria.

We knew Brady was old, but had no idea he was that old. And the last time New England did not make the Super Bowl was 2016. (Yes, we are aware of rhetorical devices such as “hyperbole”. But there’s a difference between “hyperbole” and “throwing a random reference to the Hapsburgs into your column to make you look smart”.)

Maybe the ultimate cause of declining NFL ratings is that audiences are sick of the Patriots, especially since New England is perceived as cheating and as being favored by the officials.

You know, there might be something to that. We’re New England fans because we have friends who live up that way and pull for the Patriots. But increasingly, it feels like being a New England fan is the NFL equivalent of rooting for the New York Yankees.

Brady is fabulous but Belichick is the difference.

Even though he’s kind of a jerk, to summarize the remainder of TMQ’s point.

In other football news, once again no NFL team will appear in the Super Bowl on its home field.

Betting tip: if the team from the city that’s hosting the Super Bowl is in the playoffs, bet against them.

With Case Keenum sent home, there’s no chance of the first undrafted quarterback since Kurt Warner in 2000 to win the Super Bowl. But Nick Foles can attain an similar first-since distinction: first quarterback since Warner to win the Super Bowl after being signed as a “street” free agent, someone unwanted by all other teams.

Ding!

Stats. Sweet: New England and Philadelphia’s defenses. (Bonus: chicken-(salad) kicking by Jacksonville.) Sour: Minnesota. Mixed: New England-Jacksonville.

The Vikings lost in part because Pat Shurmur is a weasel.

This is Tuesday, January 23, and presumably the world has not ended…

Women and minorities not hardest hit.

Also: the shutdown was a joke, the media thrives on negativity, and TMQ has a new book coming out.

“Minnesota at Philadelphia”: the Vikings were flat, the Eagles were not.

The football gods did a lot of stuff that only matters to TMQ.

“Jacksonville at New England”: the Jaguars got fooled again. Also:

For Belichick, the game was a microcosm of years of getting great performances from players other NFL teams didn’t want.

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding!

Mike Mularkey and Todd Haley were scapegoats.

Tuesday Morning Quarterback has been pounding the drum about going on fourth-and-short being smart football since 2006.

Eleven years, ladies and gentlemen. Eleven years.

“Single Worst Play of the Season—So Far”: Doug Marrone is a maroon.

Next week: the most boring week in sports. Plus: the TMQ “Non-Quarterback Non-Running-Back NFL MVP”.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 24th, 2018 at 7:49 pm and is filed under NFL, Sports, TMQ watch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.