2017 Week 10 Fine Blotter

First, a catch-up from last week:

• Carolina Panthers: Kurt Coleman: $24,309 for a helmet-to-helmet vs. Atlanta.

And now to this week's fun and merriment...

• Vontaze Burfict was NOT fined for contact with an official. (At that point, suspend the official involved!)
• Seattle Seahawks: Sheldon Richardson: $18,231 for roughing the passer – he's appealing what he calls “extortion”.
• Minnesota Vikings: Stefon Diggs: $12,154 for using the goalpost as a prop – illegal celebration. This makes Diggs a TWO-TIME LOSER in two consecutive weeks. Fined last week for throwing a football into the stands.
• Minnesota Vikings: Linval Joseph: $18,231 for roughing the passer. That makes Joseph a TWO-TIME LOSER.
• It also makes the Minnesota Vikings over $200,000 in team fines, meaning they have well passed the second threshold, fined $50,000, an additional $19,414 for the first part of the dollar-for-dollar phase, and all fines until the end of the season are now doubled as team fines as well, dollar for dollar.
• New York Jets: Another TWO-TIME LOSER, and this fine is doubled: Buster Skrine $48,620 for hitting a defenseless receiver. Skrine is the most-penalized defensive player in the league and is second overall.
• Carolina Panthers: Daryl Worley: $9,115 for unnecessary roughness.
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Marquise Lee: $9,115 for taunting.
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Ben Koyack: $9,115 for a crackback block.
• New York Giants: Darian Thompson: $9,115 for a late hit – on the very first play of the game.
• Arizona Cardinals: Karlos Dansby: $18,231 for roughing the passer – a hit which has led to a discussion as to whether Seattle followed league protocols on evaluating Russell Wilson.
• Cleveland Browns: Duke Johnson: $12,154 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

North Dallas Thugboys: Battle is over, and so is their season. Goodell has won.

Can formally put this in the Blotter now:

• Dallas Cowboys:  Ezekiel Elliot:  Drops all remaining appeals, suspended and will serve six games.  Has already served one.

They already lost the first game at Atlanta.

Three-game homestand:  Philly, the Chargers for Thanksgiving, and Washington.  One probable, one maybe, one no.

Then at the Giants and Oakland.  8-6 and pray?

And, perusing the White Right Fan Club of Twitter...

I can see we're going to find something else for the snowflakes to bitch about:

The 2017 GQ Citizen of the Year?

Colin Kaepernick.

2017 Week Ten Score Report

• 46.857 points per game this week -- a lot of it in the latter portions.  45.14 Week 10 last year, 41.64 two years ago.
• For the 146 games in 2017, the average is now 44.253.   Last year:  45.65.  Two years ago:  46.45
• Home teams were 8-6 last week.  Last year, 7-7.  Two years ago:  3-11!
• For the season, home teams:  74-68 this year (.521)  Last year:  .584  Two years ago:  .621
• The over was 8-6 this year.  7-7 last year.
• For the year, the over:  73-69-4. Last year:  80-66.
• Favorites were 8-5-1 against the spread and 12-2 straight up this week.  Last year:  4-9 and 5-8.
• For the year:  69-73-4 against the number, 97-49 straight up.  Last year:  63-68-7 against the number, 81-56-1 straight up.
• Team with more penalties last week was 4-7-3.  7-4-3 last year.
• For the year, team with more penalties:  56-75 with 15 tied.
• 3 Cliffhangers for the week, 26 total for the year (5 for 32 total last year)
• 4 Last Chance Misses for 27 total for this year.  (3 last year)
• 7 games finished within one score for 71 for the year (48,63%)  (Last year:  56.46%)
• 4 were within a score at some point in the fourth quarter for 24.  There were 27 of those last year.
• Only 3 non-competitive games last week, for 51 total.  Last year, through ten weeks, only 37 (with 3 in Week 10)

Ratings (with a reminder drops probably will be more pronounced the rest of the year if the boycott is actual, since the NFL's ratings took a significant increase after the election last year):

• National Window FOX:  Down 18%, and this had the Cowboys.  Lowest Week 10 FOX National window in 15 years.  Lowest Cowboys-featured FOX window in 10 years.
• Sunday Night:  Down 20%.
• CBS single:  Down only 2%.
• FOX Regional:  Down 23%.
• First NBC Thursday Night game:  Down 2% from the first Thursday Night of regular schedule.
• Last Monday night was not good:  Yeah, it was effectively flat, but at very low numbers.

War About To Be Declared: The NFL vs. Jerry Jones (and some free advice if the Nuclear Option is invoked)

One of the intriguing and lingering backstories while this season is going on is the continuing discussions regarding the extension of the contract of Commissioner Roger Goodell.

It is clear to most anyone that, for one reason or another, Jerry Jones has been opposing Roger Goodell and his present disciplinary powers.

Well, today, two developments which indicate the league might be about to have had enough of the Dallas Cowboys under the ownership of Mr. Jerry Jones:

First, this statement from the NFL's Compensation Committee, from Deadspin's report on the subject:

"The committee is continuing its work towards finalizing a contract extension with the commissioner. The negotiations are progressing and we will keep ownership apprised of the negotiations as they move forward. We do not intend to publicly comment on our discussions."

The NFL had a unanimous agreement that this six-owner committee (owners of KC, NE, ATL, PIT, HOU, and the Giants) would make the decision as to how much Goodell would make on his new contract, etc.  The committee sent a letter indicating fines, draft picks, and suspending Jones could happen.

(*chortle*  Fines.  Asshole's paid a half-million dollar fine each of the last two seasons and another fine the season before those (it is not clear as to whether the three suspensions to trigger the team fine have to all be concurrent!), see below!)

These owners want Goodell's pay to be more commensurate with performance (Roger's not happy with this), and Jerry may want Roger out entirely!

The owners are trying to get Jerry to shut up -- and the second development is that CBS Sports is reporting the owners are actually discussing "conduct detrimental to the league" charges against Jerry Jones.

The discussions, by no means, have gotten to any "likely" scenario yet.  That said, they should.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk has even proposed an option that they could force Jones to sell the Cowboys by throwing Jones out of the league.

To that end, I make the following charge of why Jerry Jones has been guilty of "conduct detrimental to the National Football League" more so, at least in this way, than any other owner currently in the league:

Since the beginning of the 2014-15 season:

• August 29, 2014:  Jakar Hamilton, 4 games for the drug policy.
• September 2, 2014:  Josh Brent, 10 games for a manslaughter conviction.
• April 22, 2015:  Greg Hardy, 4 games (appealed from 10), domestic violence.
• July 2, 2015:  Orlando McClain, 4 games, drug policy.
• August 28, 2015:  RJ McDill, 4 games, drug policy -- triggering a team fine.
• February 19, 2016:  Randy Gregory, 4 games, drug policy.
• June 30, 2016:  DeMarcus Lawrence, 4 games, drug policy
• June 30, 2016:  Rolando McClain Strike 2, 10 games -- triggering a second team fine, this one of $500,000!
• September 29, 2016:  Randy Gregory Strike 2, 10 games
• November 20, 2016:  Rolando McClain Strike 3, one year.
• December 2, 2016:  Rolando McClain thrown out of the league for a FOURTH drug offense.
• January 5, 2017:  Randy Gregory Strike 3, one year.
• April 21, 2017:  Shaquelle Evans, 4 games, drugs
• June 28, 2017:  David Irving, 4 games, drugs
• July 28, 2017:  Damontre Moore, 2 games, drugs
• August 11, 2017 (first game finally served Week 10):  Ezekiel Elliot, 6 games, domestic violence. -- another $500,000 fine.

By the rules of the Club Remittance Policy, that is the record Jerry Jones has had the last three full seasons and this one -- SIXTEEN SUSPENSIONS, eleven players, 102 games and a life ban.

If the NFL owners need any evidence of Jerry Jones committing conduct detrimental to the league far more than any other owner in the league, here you go.

Some Continuing Thoughts As We Wrap Up Week Ten

• The Elliot suspension officially started on Sunday, and the Cowboys were routed by the Falcons.
• Vontaze Burfict will either be fined or suspended again -- tossed (for the first time in his career!), contact with a ref.
• Apparent attempt to get people not to show up at the games appears to have failed -- attendance mostly up, according to Yahoo!, who was tracking a proposed Veteran's Day walkout by NFL fans.
• Current storyline watch, with Carolina and Miami to play Monday night:

AFC:

• 1. Pittsburgh
• 2. New England (conference record both at 7-2 (5-1 vs. 4-1 for PIT to win the current tiebreak), the two teams play Dec. 17 in Pittsburgh)
• 3. Kansas City
• 4. Tennessee
• 5. Jacksonville (all 6-3, break the TEN-JAC tie first, Titans won in Week 2, will rematch in Tennessee Dec. 31/Week 17.  KC wins the tiebreak with Tennessee on conference record (4-2 vs. 5-3)  (KC plays neither AFC South team, they played Houston instead.)
• 6. Buffalo at 5-4 -- even if Miami wins tonight, the breaker, at the moment, would still be conference record (3-2 vs. 3-3, both teams 1-1 in the division).  The two teams play twice in the final three weeks, however.

NFC:

• 1. Philadelphia at 8-1.
• 2. Minnesota at 7-2.
• 3. New Orleans at 7-2.
• 4. Los Angeles at 7-2.

This one's complicated.

First, address the NFC South.  Carolina has not had their bye yet, so they would be 7-3 with a win and behind anyway.  Regardless, even if they were tied, New Orleans beat Carolina in Week 3 for the current tiebreaker.  They play again Dec. 3.

LA gets the 4 on the basis of both their losses being in conference, while both the other teams only have 1 NFC loss.  Conference record:  MIN and NO:  5-1, LA:  4-2

Minnesota beat New Orleans in Week 1.  They play the Rams next week.  The Rams then play New Orleans in two weeks.  This means that a similar three-way tie can be broken through a head-to-head sweep.

• The two current wildcards are Seattle and Carolina.  Their order, at least as of the end of the week, depends on the result tonight.  If Carolina wins, they go in front at 7-3, but their bye is next week.  Seattle is 6-3.  If Miami wins, Seattle goes in front.  But they are, regardless, the current wildcards.  The two teams do not play.

And something else I haven't mentioned:  My NFL totals bets on my final day of my Vegas trip in August.  Current status:

• Patriots over 12.5 -- not the most secure of bets.  They have two losses, can only take one more, play at Pittsburgh (see above).  But it does begin to look as if New England is at least being explored.  But, sans a similar NFC opponent with the suspension taking hold...  Mexico City with Oakland next week, Home to Miami, then a three-game road trip BUF, MIA, and PIT, then  home with Buffalo and the Jets.  Get to the Pittsburgh game 11-2, and I think that one's a cash.
• Seahawks under 10.5 -- not looking good now.  NFC running out of options, Seahawks 6-3.  Home to Atlanta next Monday night (and after the Falcons routed the Cowboys this week, could this be an ordering game?), then a bye week at San Francisco, home to Philly, at Jacksonville, home to the Rams, at Dallas, home to Arizona.  Chances are, I probably need the three losses in the next four meaningful games (ATL, PHI, JAC, LAR).
• Packers under 10.5 -- that one's a basic cash with Rodgers out.
• Lions over 7.5 -- 5-4, so I need three more.  At Chicago, home to Minnesota, at Baltimore and Tampa, home to Chicago, at Cincy, home to the Packers.  That SHOULD cash.
• And my Super Bowl ticket is the Patriots at 3-1.  We'll know a lot more about that in Pittsburgh, and not much, barring a key injury, before then.

Patrice Evra BANNED for the rest of the season for fan attack

UEFA has banned Patrice Evra from all European competition until June 30, 2018, for Evra kicking a supporter of his team before a November 2 match in Portugal.

The team (Marseille) has already been fined 25000 Euros and been ordered to pay all damages to the Portugese ground.

The story appears quite ugly, from this statement ESPNFC has obtained when Evra was thrown off Marseille after the ban:

"This incident also highlighted the unacceptable attitude of a small number of people who uttered insults and verbal threats of a rare violence towards the player and his family, and then invaded the pitch in contempt."

How UEFA simply didn't throw Marseille out of the tournament for both the fans' behavior and Evra's shows the complete limp-wristed "The Show Much Go On" (AT ALL COST!) attitude big-money sports have.

And as for Evra, that should be at least a worldwide ban until similar date.  That means no club competition (the French, themselves, will determine whether another team can sign Evra anywhere before that date), and no World Cup.

And where are the goddamn police to deal with this kind of shit, on both sides?