J.J. Watt

The Train Daddy is back, the holiday season is upon us, and football is pounding its way into a playoff format. Hooray for beer! That’s right, my good people of Middle Tennessee, it is the sexiest time of the year, and there is nothing else to do except eat food, be thankful for life, get your sexy on and enjoy football. Sounds good to me.

I hope you enjoyed your Turkey Day as much as I did; the 5 Fs were in full effect: Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends. But here in the midst of December, Christmas is fast approaching. I hope you get whatever your heart desires, be it an 80-inch flat screen, a PS4, new surround sound, a dirt bike, new Model 12 shotgun or a nice new pair of insulated socks. Well, that’s what my heart desires, but whatever you desire I hope you receive. Santa Claus is good to some and to others he brings coal. For some it’s not about receiving as much as giving, but for me personally I like an equal amount of receiving and giving.

There isn’t a better time for football than the month of December; teams in the NFL make that final fight for those division and wild-card spots and all those top teams in college ball wait for a committee to decide their fate as they wrap up the season. College football will give us our first playoff system with the top four making the cut. Let’s just make it eight as soon as possible, we can all agree on that.

To all you Fantasy Football players out there, the playoffs are also here and hopefully you made it. The Train Daddy finished 8-5 with the No. 3 seed in a 12-team league. A solid season, but now it’s time to win three straight for a championship. So the holidays are upon us, football playoffs begin at the pros, college and fantasy level, and, like Marvin Gaye said, let’s get it on!

In my last issue we bashed the Titans. Yeah, that’s right! There was nothing about the article that I enjoyed, but the truth hurts sometimes. Yeah, I bashed the coach and the team’s lack of quarterback security. Well what happens against the Texans? Clipboard Jesus has a clipboard, Zach Mettenberger gets injured, and Jake “the Snake” Locker enters a game that is already a lost cause. Oh yeah, former Titan Ryan Fitzpatrick throws six touchdowns for the Texans. We should have kept him around, Tennessee, as I said the day you released him. Go to boropulse.com and read my Titans rant if you missed it. So, for this issue, no more Titans talk—I promise.

If I were to nominate an MVP for the league, my vote would go to J.J. Watt. The man is a beast, and his play is nothing short of amazing. There haven’t been stats for a defensive player like Watt’s since the 1940s. That’s what is so amazing; the league is so much different now than in the ’40s. These days, all the rules favor the offense. In the ’40s it was the other way around, and Watt’s numbers replicate some of those great defensive players from that era. Look at these numbers he put up in a victory over the Titans: Watt compiled 3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 6 QB hits, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 reception for a touchdown. Say Watt? As of now, Aaron Rodgers is probably in the lead for the MVP award with a Packers team leading the NFC. I imagine if the Texans were on a streak for the playoffs, Watt’s candidacy for MVP would get a big boost.

What else is going on in the world? Well, the shooting of Mike Brown and the protesters of Ferguson, Mo., have been all the news. The St. Louis Rams at least understand how to protest peacefully. Five players for the Rams showed their support prior to their game vs. the Raiders. They entered the field with the “Hands up, don’t shoot” gesture and stood for all to see before the rest of the team took the field. The St. Louis Police Officers Association issued a strong statement calling for the players to be disciplined and the league to offer an apology; they will do neither. I hadn’t planned on voicing my thoughts here, but the riots made it to the football field. This entire process has been sickening to me, the protest, the “boycott Black Friday” campaign, blocking streets and stores, and the hate expressed towards police officers. I am not a huge fan of police officers, but I respect them. I understand it’s a tough job, and am fully aware there are many good officers of the law patrolling the streets. It’s easy for me: Not all police officers are killers, not all blacks are racist and not all whites are racist. The actions of a few don’t define us all. It’s like I always say, sports can bring us all together, but there is no room for this protest crap on the football field. In this country, no matter your race or your gender, there are opportunities for all. Hard work and honesty are all you need. It may take longer for some, but this country offers opportunity for all. And I believe the people violently protesting have a hard time understanding this.

So what else do we have? Well Ray Rice has also been in the news in terms of controversy. Arbitrator and former federal judge Barbara Jones overturned Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension. Roger Goodell looks an idiot, and Rice will receive a so-called second chance. Just like Michael Vick received a second chance for the disgusting acts he committed on his fighting dogs. Just like Plaxico Burress got a second chance after shooting himself in a nightclub. Some people don’t get second chances, like Aaron Hernandez, after killing almost an entire entourage of thugs. No, he’s locked up for good. But people like Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, they will get a second chance. Peterson won’t get a look until 2015, but we will see him again. Ray Rice, though, has been given the nod, and is waiting for a team to sign with. So why does Roger Goodell look like an idiot? He states that Rice wasn’t honest with him about what happened. The judge and others state that the NFL and Goodell did know what happened, and that Ray Rice was honest with the details. After the TMZ video came out, Goodell bowed down to social media cries and changed his lenient two-game suspension to a lifetime ban. It is obvious the commissioner was covering his own butt here and that’s the reason people were calling for his resignation months ago. What Rice did was sickening, as was the way the commissioner handled the situation. But hey, America, we are a country of second chances. The arbitrator called Goodell out and has fixed what he made wrong.

So that’s it, my friends; the holidays are just around the corner. The 5 Fs are Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends. Live by them, and life will reward you. Remember, Christmas is about more than gifts; help someone who could use a hand, visit the elderly and think about others’ needs rather than yourself. Enjoy football, and be thankful we live in a country where anyone can be successful and happy.