2019 NFL Week Four Score Report

Well, that was crazy...

• 22 points in the Sunday nighter, 30 on Monday night.
• That took a week that was in the 46's and put it down to 43.6 points per game for the week, and the season average for the first 63 games of the year is 44.43 PPG.  (Last year:  Week 4:  That was the big 53.4 PPG week with 801 points.  Season to that date:  48.095 PPG)
• The big story was the home teams -- and they needed both the Sunday and Monday nighters for the home side to get to FOUR AND ELEVEN for the week.  And now that makes the home teams, for the season, a paltry 27-35-1.  (.4436)  (Last year:  Week:  9-6 after a 7-0 start.  Season:  39-22-2 (.6349))
• Over was 6-9 for 28-35 for the year.  (Last year:  9-6 for 34-29.)
• The other big story was the favorites.  Vegas won HUGE yesterday.  Favorites were only 5-10 against the number and 7-8 straight up for 25-36-1 ATS and 37-24-1 SU.  (Last year:  ATS:  8-6-1 for 27-34-2 for the year.  Straight Up:  12-3 for 39-22.)
• .500 week for the team with more penalties -- 6-6 with 3 even.  Season:  26-30-1.  (Last year:  7-7 for 22-29-2.)
• 224 penalties for the week (14.933 a game).  For the season:  944 (14.984 per game)  (Last year:  Week:  190 (12 2/3)  Season:  883 (14.016))  So about a penalty more a game this season so far.
• Two Cliffhangers:  Refball for Kansas City and Jacksonville beating Denver at the end.  8 total for the year.  (Last year actually had 7 in the week alone, making 13 through 4 weeks.)
• Only 7 of the 15 games finished within one score -- making 33 for the year (52.4%).  (Last year:  9 for 37 total)
• 6 non-competitive games for 23 total.  (Last year:  4 for 18 total)
• And 6 Last Chance Misses for 18 total.  (Last year only had one for 15 total.)

Couple of statistics as to how bad things are getting in Miami...

• Justin Kubatko of Statmuse found this out on Sunday:  The Dolphins are the first team since the 1954 Washington Redskins to lose their first four games by 20 or more points each.  (Week 5, 1954 WAS lost by 17, they won in Week 6, and then got 62-3d Week 7 (PFR))
• Pro Football Reference with the rest of this:
• Miami is the first team since 2011 (St. Louis, Weeks 4-6) to be 14 or more point underdogs in three straight games.
• The record, at least by PFR, is five, by the 2000 Cleveland Browns, Weeks 12-16.
• However, the Dolphins have another NFL record for futility:  They are the first team known to PFR's keeping of the Vegas lines to be two touchdown or more underdogs three consecutive weeks and the favorites cover in all three cases.
• We will not know until Week Six whether they make it four in a row:  This is Miami's bye week.

Ratings from Sports Media Watch:

• Sunday Night Football pulled a huge 15.5 for Saints-Cowboys.  Up 23% from last year.
• Best of any window for Week 4 in 4 years.  Best Week 4 Sunday Night in 7.
• Sunday National:  13.0 up 6% -- best Week 4 in several years
• Sunday Regional:  9.3, basically up a little.
• Not even the ref-ball in Detroit could save FOX on the Sunday single, though:  10.8, down 8%.
• Thursday night:  10.5, up 18%   Best first network Thursday game in five years.

FINALLY!!!

• Oakland Raiders:  Vontaze Burfict has become the first player in the history of the National Football League to be materially banned from the league for on-field conduct.  He has been technically suspended for the rest of the year, but it basically is tantamount to a full-scale life banishment from the National Football League.  He has been given 72 hours to appeal the suspension.

The Oakland Raiders have also been penalized doubly.

• Per the second half of the Club Remittance Policy, $50,000 is charged against the fine number for the season of the Raiders.  This alone places the Raiders within about $15,000 of the accumulated fines penalty.
• Because this is the third suspension of the year for the team, the Raiders are directly fined $174,379 (for a total of $250,000) for this action under the first half of the Club Remittance Policy.

Let's make no secret.  The hit probably gets $56K for repeat offender on it's own merit.

This is the FOURTEENTH NFL penalty for Burfict.  And the league made indirect reference to that in the letter.

Frankly, the league should be referring Vontaze Burfict for the Dino Cicerelli (sp?) treatment -- CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

Is the NFL in position to care anymore?

Week 3 so far:

• Home teams are 2-11.  Yep, you heard me right.  TWO AND ELEVEN.  Someone researched it already on Pro Football Reference:  It would be a record for the 32-team NFL.  The lowest record for an NFL post-merger week is a 2-12 week the opening week of 1983.  
• When the league had far fewer teams, there were two weeks in which no home team won:  Week 2 of 1949 and Week 1 of 1950.
• Seven favorites have lost straight up -- 4-9 against the number.

Rams lose, and a bad one, to the Bucs, giving up 55 at home.  Just when it looked like the league was starting to push the Rams, they probably just let go of them.  Probably means...  what?  Chicago, Seattle, or Dallas in the NFC?  Eugh...

Wow... HARDCORE Refball in Detroit....

First this...

The @Chiefs with the 99-yard scoop 'n score to take the lead in Detroit! #KCvsDET pic.twitter.com/HcmUTXytC6

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 29, 2019

Then this...

In #KCvsDET, the ruling on the field was a touchdown. After review in New York, it was determined DET #19 did not maintain control of the ball throughout the process of the catch: pic.twitter.com/unE4BiNhmO

— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) September 29, 2019

It's 23-20 Detroit now, and really should be 30-13.

But THE GREAT WHITE HOPE!!!

EDIT TO ADD: Blatant make-up call alert!

After review: THIS 👏 IS 👏 A 👏 TD! @kgxix #KCvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/qUHhNJUat6

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) September 29, 2019

And whaddya know?  The first 1 PM Eastern Cliffhanger of the year, and Kansas City wins 34-30!  Thank you for watching that scripted NFL production!

That took four weeks!

Vontaze Burfict, the walking advertisement for the abolishment of football...

EJECTED today in the second quarter of Oakland's game for a helmet shot to Indianapolis tight-end Jack Doyle.

It will be his fourteenth trip to the NFL discipline blotter.

The NFL has not suspended a single player this season so far, although it has had multiple reasons to in just the first three weeks.

KICK VONTAZE BURFICT OUT FOREVER!!! pic.twitter.com/91IQghasuf

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 29, 2019

A clear line-up job. This should be the fourth consecutive season he's been suspended at some point, if I have this right. It may even be more.

EDIT TO ADD:  A one-game suspension for Burfict would not only cost the Raiders an $80,000 suspension fine under the Club Remittance Policy for their third suspension, it would also bring them most of the way to a $50,000 accumulated fine situation -- because not only would they be penalized under the suspension rule, but the lost salary (since it's on the field) also would count (up to $50,000) against their fine number as well.

2019 Week Three NFL Fine Blotter

• New Orleans Saints:  DeMario Davis, $7,017 for a uniform violation.

Yep, the NFL finally correctly bent.  Appealed off.  That fans were bitching about it on Twitter for weeks couldn't be understated.

• One of the most ridiculous penalties I've ever heard of -- Indianapolis' Keanu Neal was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing his helmet.  He had suffered a season-ending injury on the play -- and they still fucking flagged him.  Thankfully, he was not fined.
• New England Patriots:  Josh Gordon:  $10,527 for a face mask.
• Speaking of face masks, remember that one that got a no-call on Sunday?
• Detroit Lions:  Miles Killebrew:  $10,527 for nearly taking somebody's head home clean with him.
• Jacksonville Jaguars:  Kamalei Correa:  $21,056 for roughing the passer
• Carolina Panthers:  Ross Cockrell:  $28,075 for lowering the helmet to initiate contact.
• Oakland Raiders:  Arden Key:  $21,056 for roughing the passer.  
• Has apparently been successfully appealed -- Key was fined for Roughing the Passer in Week 9, had this fine stood, Key's Week 9 fine would've been doubled.
• Jacksonville Jaguars:  Leonard Fournette:  $28,075 for a blindside block.
• Los Angeles Rams:  Aaron Donald:  $21,056 for roughing the passer
• Cleveland Browns:  Jermaine Whitehead:  $10,527 for a late hit on a sliding Jared Goff.
• Miami Dolphins:  Xavien Howard:  $10,527 for unnecessary roughness and an ejection
• New Orleans Saints:  Alvin Kamara:  $10,527 for a chop block.
• Detroit Lions: Jarrad Davis:  $28,075 for unnecessary roughness.
• Cincinnati Bengals:  Bobby Hart:  Got the biggest fine on the schedule:  $35,096 for getting tossed for contact with an official.
• New York Jets:  Ryan Kalil:  $10.527 for a face mask.
• Baltimore Ravens: Matt Juden:  $21,056 for a horse-collar tackle.
• Atlanta Falcons:  Ricardo Allen:  $28,075 for defenseless player abuse.  TWO-TIME LOSER.
• Seattle Seahawks:  Tedric Thompson:  $14,037 for a celebration foul.

I think that's about it for Week 3 -- bit of a lighter week this week.

Down, now, to eight clean sheets.

I really hate to break this one to Packer Nation...

Your boys took a dive last night for the league narrative.

Started getting suspicious when I started to pick up a lot of vibes on game day that the Eagles must win this game, all and such and the other...

But then...

• No one is going to confuse Denver with a good team, but you can't say the same for Minnesota and Chicago.  So why did that vaunted defense completely disappear against the Eagles to the tune of 34 points?
• Why did THIS be the week that Aaron Rodgers throw for 450 and 2 scores?
• You can talk the "refball", including a very probable pass interference no-call on the losing pick all you want, but there's a bigger problem...
• If you don't want me to believe that this game was as scripted as a professional wrestling match, howinhell does your offensive coordinator get away with the play-calling equivalent of the "rookie mistake" Irish Whip/Duck Head motif from all the jobber matches of the 1980s?  Four plays from the 1, four incomplete passes, and that third down monstrosity was the worst of the lot...  THEN, after a running play to get to the 2 with 2 time outs, then you throw the pass for the losing pick?

Too small-town, not corporate enough, not big-money enough, and they're getting you out of the way.

Your boys took a dive for the script.  And two men had to damn near get killed for that shit too.

They ARE going to shove LA, at least in the NFC, aren't they?  That's two they've rigged for them already and this one they're rigged to get another team which could out of the way...