Hello all and sorry (natch!) for the delay. After being personally responsible for the Senators beating the Flames last night (I was in the crowd) I got a bit full of myself. So here we are, back in Germany-the birthplace of philosophers such as Heidegger, Nietzsche, Adorno and Spengler, among others. So really, The Land of Problematic Thinkers.

History Time!: Did you know that Frankfurt was named after the Franks and was called the Free City of Frankfurt for many a century? Yes, if your name was Frank or a derivative thereof everything in the city was free. So it’s no surprise that the Sinatras, Drebbins, Zappas, Vallis, Langellas and Mahovlichs of the world gravitated there. That town was your oyster!

To The Game!

Colts/Pats:

-Most folks are talking about the Bears and Carolina winning the Caleb Williams Central Showcase but the Pats have cobbled together some quality losses. An inept offense coupled with a defense that can no longer take “X” player out of the game will do that for you.

-New England has only gone overseas twice but has won both times.

-Minshew Mania is done. Long gone are the days of the Fu Manchu and the scrambles out of the pocket for large gains. Now it’s more like staring at his first read and heaving the ball perhaps 12 yards downfield with that uncannon appendage of his.

-Recycling is all well and good but Old Bill’s efforts with J.C. Jackson have come to nought. You’ll recall Mr. Jackson cashed in with the Chargers and as some players are wont to do, his play fell of a precipice shortly afterwards. So he was traded back to the Pats and nothing has changed.

-Gawd! There’s quite a bit of articles out there saying that if Old Bill loses this one he’s out the door. I can’t see it happening midseason to a guy of his stature. If he is cast out it will be after “several conversations”, after “looking at all our options”, after “consultations were made”, after “needing to do what’s best for the franchise”. Yes, after all these buzzphrases have been properly collected in a handwritten file (Kraft is 82 after all) only then will Old Bill be sent walking.

Enjoy the game, I’ll be driving for 10 hours.