This is a public invitation, no, make that a plea.
Yes, this is plea to Brian “Buffalo Brian” Daboll to grab bite or gulp a cup of coffee with me – anytime, anywhere, The Loser will be there. Because this Daboll guy has Giants-size stones and, when he goes all in, man does he go.
Daboll isn’t the type of guy to proclaim himself a genius, or a risk taker but when it comes to play-calling, he’s as aggressive as a young Mike Tyson. There were his Giants, an extra-point away from tying the opener at Tennessee and Daboll leaves the offense on field.
Consider the blowback had the Giants not converted the two-point conversion with 66 seconds left and tied the game at 20-20. Most coaches, never mind rookie coaches, would have gone for two.
I mean, does Bill Belichick, who couldn’t get fired if 290 deflated balls were found under his bed (one for each victory), goes for two?
It’s too early to say that Daboll has transformed the Giants losing culture of the last five losing seasons (That culture word gets tossed around so much these days it should be canceled) with one play. He went for it. Daniel Jones, a la Patrick Mahomes, pitched the ball forward to Saquon Barkley who crashed into the endzone.
Giants, 21-20.
The Loser is 6-8-1 going into Monday night’s Broncos at Seahawks game. Denver is giving 6.5, a big number for a road team breaking in a new QB, even if that QB is Russell Wilson.
We can list a dozen factors as to why we’re taking the unusual position of a road dog giving more than a touchdown in a marquee game but we’ll leave it at this.
Geno Smith is the Seahawks starting quarterback.
If The Loser can just get those few minutes with Buffalo Brian, things will change. The Loser, better sit, might become a winner.
LOSERS JOIN THE LOSER: Cowboys fans were deluding themselves into believing Dallas would win the NFC East. That was before quarterback Dak Prescott was lost for about half the season after fracturing his thumb in Sunday night’s 19-3 loss to the Buccaneers.
The big contracts the Cowboys gave Prescott, Zeke Elliott and Amari Cooper came with a price. They couldn’t keep their once-dominant O-Line intact. Dallas was +160 to win the NFC East.
The Cowboys, who now sits alone at the bottom of the division, will not make the playoffs. That was the case even before Prescott got hurt.
DON’T DRINK THE FOOL – AID: Carson Wretch entered the season at +1000 at DraftKings to win MVP or Offensive Player of the Year. He tossed four touchdown passes and led the Commanders on a 13-play, 90-yard drive to atone for two interceptions.
We beg you: Do not drink any Carson Kool-Aid. Do not.
DRINK THE KOOL-AID: We wrote in our Chiefs preseason preview that TE Travis Kelce would easily exceed his over/under line on receiving yards. Kelce has posted six straight 1000-yard seasons. Kelce opened with an eight-catch, 121-yard performance. Cha-Chiefs.
KLIFF KINGSBURY CLINGING: Matt Ruhle opened as the most-likely NFL coach to be fired at +450. The Panthers lost, to the Deshaun Watson-less Browns, 26-24, in the Baker Bowl on a 57-yard field goal. But Carolina played hard . Hold off on Ruhle.
Dump the mortgage on Arizona’s Kliff Kingsbury being the first coach fired. You can still get +1000 on that. The Cardinals looked completely outmatched in a 44-21 home loss to K.C.