NFL Football in December: Nobody Knows Anything
After Tommy “Cutlets” DeVito led the Giants to an upset win over the Packers, causing Packer fans to scream louder than ever they want defensive coordinator Joe Barry fired, it’s only fitting that the essence of this column comes from an episode of title “Nobody Knows Anything.”
In the episode, Tony Soprano’s best friend, Big Pussy Bonpenisiero, has severe back problems, gets arrested by the Feds, and is accused of being a turncoat for the government. When Tony has his people investigate Big Pussy’s back problems and sudden disappearance, the word gets back to him that “nobody knows anything.” It's exactly how I feel after watching two teams with so much at stake, Miami and Green Bay, play well below the level of my expectations.
How can Miami give up 28 points, 15 of them in the final four minutes of the game? How can Miami allow 403 yards to the Tennessee offense? How can the Fins not score more than 27 points, especially after having two drives begin inside the Tennessee 13-yard line? How can Green Bay not slow down the Giants' run game, allowing DeVito to run for 71 yards? How can Green Bay not sack DeVito all game? The “how comes” could go on forever, and the only answer is: This is NFL football in December; nobody knows anything.
In fairness, many of the professional bettors were on the Packers, believing they were overvalued after their impressive win against the Chiefs. The line moved from a steady 6.5 to 5 during the day, then back to 6 before kickoff. I wasn’t buying the overvalued angle. Once the news broke that Tyrod Taylor wasn’t going to be the starter, my handicapping centered on the Packers. It was a must-win for them, and they were feeling confident, playing their best football of the season.