# NFL 2021: Week Fourteen Questions **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-nfl\ **Created:** [December 9, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785 "2021-12-09T15:57:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/21 "2021-12-10T22:15:29Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Is anyone really neutral on the Steelers! In general, I am. This week, I had to (quietly and mildly) root for them, as a Vikings loss meant the Packers could clinch the division against the Bears Sunday night. I was far more entertained by the entire game than by any particular result, however. > [@Railer13](#): > > With a big assist by a stupid play by Chase Claypool. And a [bigger assist by Eric Kendricks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vMqzzxhxAY) tossing the ball halfway to the sideline. Claypool’s an idiot, but to think his two second celebration was the biggest issue on that is to ignore everything else. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/22 "2021-12-10T22:54:32Z")
> [@Chisquirrel](#): > > And a [bigger assist by Eric Kendricks](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vMqzzxhxAY) tossing the ball halfway to the sideline. Quite true. Once Kendricks hit the ball, the clock should have stopped. But if Claypool jumps up with the ball and runs it to the center of the field, the Kendricks interaction probably doesn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/23 "2021-12-11T16:47:09Z")
Looks like there’s chaos around Urban Meyer as if no one could have predicted that. > **[Report: Urban Meyer had heated argument with Marvin Jones, called his...](https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/12/11/report-urban-meyer-had-heated-argument-with-marvin-jones-called-his-assistant-coaches-losers/)** > > Urban Meyer’s first season in the NFL is not going well.That’s true both on the field and off; Meyer’s Jaguars are 2-10 and Meyer was the subject of an embarrassing incident early this season when he was caught on video dancing intimately with a... I still think he’s heading back to the college game but he might stick around in the NFL for another season as most of the marquee college jobs have been filled. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/24 "2021-12-11T16:49:05Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I still think he’s heading back to the college game but he might stick around in the NFL for another season as most of the marquee college jobs have been filled. I would more strongly suspect that he bails out of Jacksonville at the end of the season (if Shahid Khan doesn’t fire him before then), and he then spends a year back on ESPN or Fox, biding his time for another college gig. ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/25 "2021-12-11T17:44:59Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I still think he’s heading back to the college game AKA, to ‘do a Carroll,’ or ‘pull a Pitino.’ ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/26 "2021-12-11T17:53:24Z")
Or a “Saban Sayonara.” ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/27 "2021-12-11T21:20:11Z")
Now he’s got the vote of confidence, what could go wrong? > **[Sources: Jags plan to keep Urban amid tension](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32845194/urban-meyer-jacksonville-jaguars-plans-building-tension-sources-say)** > > Jaguars coach Urban Meyer again has come under scrutiny, with sources confirming an NFL Network report on Saturday that he was recently involved in a heated exchange with receiver Marvin Jones over the coach's criticisms of the receiving corps. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/28 "2021-12-11T21:30:36Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Now he’s got the vote of confidence, what could go wrong? > > [Urban Meyer still in Jacksonville Jaguars' plans despite building tension, sources say - ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32845194/urban-meyer-jacksonville-jaguars-plans-building-tension-sources-say) The shelf life of a “vote of confidence” is, what, two games? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2021, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/29 "2021-12-11T21:30:46Z")
Isn’t this usually the kiss of death? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/30 "2021-12-12T01:04:19Z")
More on what appears to be happening in Jacksonville, as per [NFL.com](http://NFL.com): > [@](#): > > In the past two weeks alone, sources say: > > - Receiver [Marvin Jones](https://www.nfl.com/players/marvin-jones/) – one of the locker room’s most respected and mild-mannered veterans – became so angry with Meyer’s public and private criticism of the receiver group that he left the facility until other staff members convinced him to come back and had a heated argument with Meyer during practice. > - During a staff meeting, Meyer delivered a biting message that he’s a winner and his assistant coaches are losers, according to several people informed of the contents of the meeting, challenging each coach individually to explain when they’ve ever won and forcing them to defend their résumés. > - Contrary to his public statements that it was injury-related, Meyer ordered Robinson’s benching after an opening-drive fumble in last week’s [37-7](https://www.nfl.com/games/jaguars-at-rams-2021-reg-13) road loss to the Rams, then had running backs coach Bernie Parmalee stop Robinson from re-entering the game, insisting [Carlos Hyde](https://www.nfl.com/players/carlos-hyde/) (who played for Meyer at Ohio State) stay in. Only after Lawrence questioned Meyer on the sideline about Robinson’s absence was Robinson allowed to return late in the second quarter. ([Speaking to reporters this week](https://www.nfl.com/news/trevor-lawrence-twice-benched-rb-james-robinson-has-got-to-be-on-the-field), Lawrence said: “Bottom line is James is one of our best players and he’s got to be on the field and we addressed it, and I feel like we’re in a good spot and the whole team, we’re good.”) The third bullet refers to running back James Robinson, the team’s leading rusher. > **[Tension boiling over between coach Urban Meyer, Jaguars players, staff amid...](https://www.nfl.com/news/tension-boiling-over-between-coach-urban-meyer-jaguars-players-staff)** > > NFL Network's Tom Pelissero details the tumultuous first season of Jaguars coach Urban Meyer, who has generated more scathing headlines this season than positive results on the football field. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/31 "2021-12-12T01:07:51Z")
Sounds like a tyrannical narcissist coach who can’t accept that what worked for him in the minnow pond of NCAAF won’t work against the big sharks of the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/32 "2021-12-12T02:25:35Z")
I’m not sure that I’d call the programs at the top tier of the Football Bowl Subdivision (such as Ohio State or Florida) “minnow ponds” – they’re large and prestigious programs, and Meyer was making over $7 million a year as a coach at OSU. That said, there are some really major structural differences between coaching at the FBS level, and coaching in the NFL: - A successful FBS coach effectively is the head coach/general manager/director of player personnel, and while he answers to his university’s athletic director (and, indirectly, to the university’s regents), a coach like Meyer was at Florida or Ohio State is effectively the absolute ruler of his program. OTOH, except for the top tier of NFL coaches (mostly guys named Belichick), the head coach’s level of control over his roster, and even his coaching staff, has to be shared with a GM, a director of player personnel, and in some cases, a team owner who wants his own input over things. - In college, you’re coaching kids (17 to 23 year olds), who aren’t really making any money at playing football, and who often look up to you as a father figure. Meanwhile, in the NFL, many of your players are, themselves, millionaires; they are older, more experienced, and have more leverage to make their own opinions known. Meyer appears to be the latest in a string of successful college coaches who quickly discovered that coaching in the NFL is really different, and they were no longer truly in control of their teams; most of them decided that they were happier being the master of their domain back in college. (Also, it does appear likely that Meyer is a major-league jerk and a prima donna.) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/33 "2021-12-12T13:09:09Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > That said, there are some really major structural differences between coaching at the FBS level, and coaching in the NFL: - It’s much harder to cheat your way to success in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/34 "2021-12-12T15:44:37Z")
- You can’t schedule 3-4 powderpuff non-conference games each year to pad the wins count. - Also, because you only have those kids for 3-5 years at most, you don’t have to worry that one of your opponents has an all-star QB or WR or offensive line that you’ll have to face for the next 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/35 "2021-12-12T19:29:09Z")
The NFL scheduling the Browns at Baltimore, then a bye for the Browns, then Baltimore at Cleveland was really unfair. I mean, fuck the rats, but I would be butthurt if the situation were reversed and I’m always a little surprised when the NFL does anything to Cleveland’s benefit. Certainly unintentional, they probably just didn’t think it was worth moving around the schedule to fix that quirk. It would’ve been such a huge deal if the Browns could’ve used this to sweep them. It was such a waste of an epic defensive performance to lose that first game. Baker was just too hurt to play - Case Keenum would’ve won that game and it was a coaching error to leave a half-dead Baker Mayfield in there. He’s still dealing with the torn shoulder, but I guess the bye at least let some of his other 15 injuries heal up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/36 "2021-12-12T20:53:49Z")
First half Kevin Stefanski is quite good. Second half Kevin Stefanski is pretty awful. The Browns have created big leads in the first half all season only to be completely helpless in the second half, in part because of bad playcalling and bad game management decisions. ---
**Author:** ![3AxisCtrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/ecd19e/32.png) [@3AxisCtrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3AxisCtrl)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/37 "2021-12-12T23:22:55Z")
Chiefs stomped the Raiders 48 to 9 - which apparently is a Scorigami. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/38 "2021-12-12T23:26:35Z")
Partway through the third quarter against the Bucs, and the only time that a Bills running back had carried the ball was Matt Breida’s unsuccessful run on a fake punt. (And, as I was writing this, Devin Singletary just got a handoff, and ran for 29 years. 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/39 "2021-12-12T23:27:48Z")
> [@3AxisCtrl](#): > > Chiefs stomped the Raiders 48 to 9 Last season after the Raiders beat the Chiefs in Arrowhead, Gruden had the bus driver drive the bus around the stadium twice. Today, as the Raiders were leaving the field, the music being played in the stadium was “The Wheels on the Bus”. ---
**Author:** ![LoneRhino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lonerhino/32/1311_2.png) [@LoneRhino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LoneRhino)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785/40 "2021-12-12T23:38:39Z")
This has been a really bad bunch of games today. Among the early games the only 2 games that were close were both games were one team jumped out to a big lead. So the games probably weren’t as close as they appeared to be. To the late games, as a Giants fan I get to watch them play a team that is better than them in every facet. No other game looks close. I’d be surprised if the Sunday night game is interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-2021-week-fourteen-questions/955785.md?page=3)