Nonsense and Non Sequiturs

Wait!
We're getting the 0-3 Saints at the 1-2 Packers instead of a division game we care about, why now?!?

Oak is.... settling for a FG.

THE FANTASY of "MOMENTUM" (Charger / Chief / Wilcots 9/30/12 Edition)

Okay...a few days ago I mocked the fantasy of "momentum" in football games
(and reaped plenty o' dissent) as a concept that SEEMS meaningful, but is in
fact usually a fiction, like Santa or the Tooth Fairy. Or a balanced federal budget.

My argument was that it's simply a handy way for an announcer to try to explain one team having done (past tense) better than the other for a stretch. My complaint was that this magical,
mysterious concept (no relation to actual momentum as discussed by Aristotle, Newton, Wallis, etc.)
has the surprising defect/limitation of only working backwards...that is, whereas, if "momentum"
truly existed in the NFL, the team that "has" it should surely be expected to continue to dominate.
I mean, otherwise, what significance does the term have, other than to describe the past,
which all viewers have already seen (and likely TiVo'd)?

Well, there it was again today: Midway through the 3rd quarter, with the Chargers up 27-13,
CBS's Solomon Wilcots delivered a serious-sounding soliloquy about what a huge factor
"momentum" is in football games.
Surprise: It came after the Chiefs outperformed the Chargers for a stretch, despite getting their backsides
kicked hard for virtually the entire first half. Wilcots used the first half of the 3rd quarter
to pronounce the Chiefs to be the team that now had "momentum."
(Oh, and after the Chiefs' lousy showing today, one commentator suggested that many folks had expected
the Chiefs to have "momentum" from last Sunday in New Orleans...and yet they began today just awful. Amazing)

Well, of course the Chiefs did have big-time mystery-momentum, and used it to go 3-and-out
their next few series...and lose by a larger margin than they were losing when they were fortunate
enough to have gotten the momentum. Now of course, momentum isn't alway this terrible a predictor...
but then, if it failed this badly, consistently, we could always bet against it...like we do EmDiggy
But no, that would make it a better predictor than it really is! The fact is, about half the time
(yep, a coin flip) the team declared to "have momentum" will be the better team from that point on,
reinforcing the fiction for those who believe in it. So...no...no actual predictive usefulness.

Do I really expect fans to give up the comforting illusion of "momentum" any time soon,
after assuming it to be meaningful for decades? No.
Is it still worthwhile to try to get people to re-think it? I think so.

Somebody switched Lance's beans again....... I explicitly said, decaf only.

Someb

Blue, you know envy (of my awesome PhotoShop skills) is never pretty...

You got the never pretty part right, at least.

Annie Heilbrunn ‏@annieheilbrunn
Chiefs media guys were chatting after Rivers presser. Said "Most QBs come in dressed flashy; this guy has on jeans & Ironman watch. Cool."

I guess Philip saw the Avengers theme.

Hey! Melvin uses MY depiction of him to shave!!

All square thus far Pumpy with 11/13 a piece, big improvement this week.

Seeing as we both have the Giants in this one, it'll all come down to the MNF to see who claims the WIN this week.......

Nice going.

Nice job mate!


Sent from my iPhone

That's what she DIDN'T say !!!!!!!!

Nope, don't feel a damn thing actually .......

That's a catch!


Sent from my iPhone

That's what Deev said.

A lot the last 3 weeks!


Sent from my iPhone 4

The longest(short) 3 weeks of her life.

...for 3 long weeks !!!!!!!

Hahahahahaha another perfect example of "should have kept reading" ...........you're getting the hang of it finally Ol' man, good work.

So, we are both at 11 from 14...........not to shabby, big showdown tomorrow between the Choker Romo and Cutler the Headcase for all the marbles .........should be a matchup made in heaven.

Still cannot believe that Pats scoreline, that's an incredible rate of scoring .........did Merriman get resigned to their defence or something, at the half ???????

Aaaaaaaaaand - you're still fulla ****.

Finally, a cogent, articulate, well-reasoned defense for "momentum, Bucky."

I would have had you, .................... but again a Kicker fails me!

Goddamn - he's even more clueless than Rex.

BTW, Woody - your team isn't gonna have a winning record regardless of the election outcome.

0-2

With a braintrust like that, it's amazing that the Jets have stumbled out of the blocks this year.

Decent win last night guys,........

Are you questioning the intelligence of an NFL owner???

Maybe Romney will buy a team.