The Bad Ash Blog

When you go three months without losing a single football game, it is much easier to look over mistakes or issues that may be going on. Your team is 11-0, what could possibly be the problem? If you ask a Pittsburgh Steeler fan you may hear a 20-minute ramble. If you ask Mike Tomlin you will get honesty, respectfully.  The Steelers started out 11-0 and are now suffering from back-to-back losses. They now have just a 5% chance for a first round playoff bye (according to FiveThirtyEight ). Pittsburgh is no team that feels as though they need a bye in order to play in Miami on February 7, 2021. They won the Super Bowl in 2006 with a Wild Card entry.  Let's dig a little deeper because this team is not the same team that has swept the Baltimore Ravens, beat the Houston Texans 28-21, beat the Tennessee Titans 27-24, and beat all other seven opponents.  During their first loss of the season to the Washington Football Team in Week 13, eight passes were dropped. That is the most a ...

  In a Quarterback-driven league, the MVP race is a Quarterback-driven award. It sounds like I am referencing the Heisman, but I promise you that it is much different.  One week it is Russell, then Hail Murray, and now all votes point in the direction of reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Two of those three extremely talented professionals are under the age of 25. Patrick Mahomes knows what it feels like to be one of the youngest to win league MVP, but Kyler Murray would be joining an elite group. Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Dan Marino were all under the age of 24. Russell Wilson seemed like a sure thing, then the Hail Murray to DeAndre Hopkins happened and we all began to understand and appreciate how impressive Kyler Murray has been, then the Week 11 KC Comeback occurred.  Let's recap (because it is worth recapping, no cap) ...  Buffalo is leading Arizona 30-26 with just 34 seconds left. With a touchback and two timeouts remaining, Arizona needed to co...

It was not until games actually kicked off on Sunday afternoon that it felt like the NFL was back. We had Thursday night to get us warmed up, but it hits different when you have a full slate of games for the entire day. It has arrived, my friends. Football is here.  On the blog last week was an ice breaker, something to help us feel a little more prepared for the upcoming season. What's an ice breaker without a solid conversation to follow?  Let's dive in to the teams who did not live up to expectations, who exceeded expectations, and who did exactly what we expected them to do ... If the shoe fits then wear it, Cleveland.  Before I get into the quality of quarterbacks that we saw, or did not see, let's talk about what wins championships (is that still a saying or have dual-threat quarterbacks and running backs squashed that?). The Washington Football Team's defense brought them back from a 17-0 deficit against the Philadelphia Eagles. Not only did Chase Young have a so...

You may or may not be a part of the ever-glorious Twitter world. Regardless, you have probably seen the "#WeWantToPlay" tweeted out by many NFL players. If you follow me on Twitter then you have certainly glanced at this hashtag because I have retweeted many tweets from these athletes advocating for ... themselves.  At no surprise, the NFL and the NFL Players Association are not in agreement. The players want to be looked out for and the league wants the moolah. So, who has to sacrifice? What are the negotiations at-hand? What's gotta give for there to simply be ... football.  On March 31st Jeff Pash, the NFL Executive Vice President and General Counsel, made a bold plan for the upcoming 2020 season. Almost four months ago we had expectations that the season would start on time, fans would be in the stands, games would be played at the regular stadiums, 17 weeks would be played, and a full set of playoffs would ice the cake. Fast forward to today and it may not b...

Mood ALL 2020 I get it … we’re all nervous, right? What does the current state of this country mean for football season? I am certainly more of an NFL lady, but even the uncertainty of the college football season keeps me up at night. I advocate and believe in the ‘football brings people together’ campaign. It is that thing we are certain of every year. For me it is my escape from everything else happening in the world. Multiple conversations throughout the work week consist of making plans for the “big game.” Whether you wake up on Saturdays and have a cup of coffee or crack open a beer at 10 AM, it is socially acceptable … during football season. From tailgates to touchdowns, College Gameday to NFL Sunday Countdown, beers to burgers (or my personal favorite, nachos), debates to friendly debacles, comparisons to controversies … there is nothing like football season. Remember making fun of all the ‘silly’ or ‘pointless’ Bowl games? I take it all back. I would watc...