Your Thursday Night NFL Football Open Thread

Damn, the wind is whipping off the lake so intensely this evening I expect the Edmund Fitzgerald to float by. Over the course of a 36 hour period all hope of a third consecutive snowless Christmas fell by the wayside. Oh well…

Minutiae:

-It all comes down to this-Mr. Ayo-I like to call him Aoli Joe-are both in it to win it or something. The last playoff spot in Freezer Vodka is in the balance. The bastard gets home field advantage because of the name of the league. Well oiled, Aoli.

-Is He Just That Unlikeable?: Eric Bieniemy was fired as OC of the UCLA Bruins after just one go-around. Sure the offense was lousy but hell, it’s college-tons of guys get more than one season to implement their concepts.

-Lesson Learned, Just Like The Others: The Steelers and Panthers realized that Diontae Johnson is a piece of work. The Ravens just figured it out last week as he refused to enter a game when called upon. If I’m a GM I’d never touch a guy that was thrown out of Tomlin’s clubhouse.

To The Game!

Packers/Lions:

-The thought occurred to me while watching the Thanksgiving game that Detroit’s stadium has become a very tough place to play and I’m not talking about the quality of the team.

-Gibbs is ridiculously efficient-he’s got 973 yards so far on 163 carries which means he’s running at a 6 yards per rush clip. Imagine if he had the backfield to himself like Saquon does. The caveat is that Montgomery eats up the tough yards but I’d counter that Gibbs’ ability to rip off a 40 yarder is always there.

-The secondary winner of this tilt? The Vikes at 11-2 distance themselves from the Pack or pull even with the Lions. They’re not that weird team from 2022 that beat everyone by the skin of their teeth. Darnold has stumbled and recovered, they have great talent at the other skill positions and that Flores D is not to be underestimated. Minny has the Faltering Falcons this weekend.

-Green Bay has a balanced offense but they should try to ride Jacobs tonight-the Lions d-line has been crippled by injuries.

-Both squadoos are playing their third game in 12 days so expect more owies.

Have at it.