The Other McCain

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NFL Season Finale Drama

Posted on | January 8, 2022 | Comments Off on NFL Season Finale Drama

Let me be the first to admit that, since the New England Patriots suffered back-to-back losses to Indianapolis and Buffalo in December, this season has become somewhat disappointing for me in my role as newly minted Patriots fan. During New England’s seven-game winning streak, it appeared entirely possible that the Patriots might win all their remaining games to finish with a 13-4 record in Mac Jones’s rookie season. As it is, after New England clinched a playoff spot by stomping all over the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday, we’re looking at a likely wild-card team with a record of either 11-6 (if the Patriots win Sunday at Miami) or 10-7 (if they lose to the Dolphins). Making the playoffs is good, but it’s not a division title or a No. 1 seed, both of which were within reach for New England after their Dec. 6 Monday Night Football win over Buffalo. So I’m disappointed, as all other Patriots fans must be, but our disappointment is somewhat relieved by comparison to the disaster zone that is the Jacksonville Jaguars:

Jaguars fans seem to be losing their patience when it comes to the team’s dysfunctional season.
After Jacksonville’s 50-10 blowout loss to the Patriots on Sunday, fans are reportedly planning a “clown party” to troll owner Shad Khan.
According to the Associated Press, fans attending the Jags’ season finale against the Colts on Sunday at TIAA Bank Field plan to wear clown costumes, red rubber noses, face paint and colorful wigs.
The motive behind the prank is to reportedly push Khan to fire general manager Trent Baalke, who’s been scrutinized for a number of decisions.
Just last week, NFL Network reported that Baalke would be retained in 2022 and would assist Khan in the team’s coaching search.
In response, hundreds of fans took to social media to change their profile avatars to a photo of a clown face sporting Khan’s signature mustache.
Fans have also been trolling the comments sections of the Jaguars’ social media accounts. The stadium takeover appears to be the next phase of the plan.
It’s been a miserable season for the 2-14 Jaguars, who’ve been at the center of numerous headlines detailing dysfunction within the organization.
Things reached a boiling point in Jacksonville when Khan announced the dismissal of former head coach Urban Meyer on Dec. 16 — following a string of negative reports, including allegations that he kicked veteran kicker Josh Lambo at practice and belittled assistant coaches.

Keep in mind, the Jags had the first-round draft pick and chose Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, while the Patriots got Mac Jones at No. 15 in the draft. So the team that passed up a chance to draft Mac got beat by 40 points when they played him, and now the disaster in Jacksonville is so embarrassing that the team’s sponsor is suing to break their contract:

A Georgia roofing company is suing the Jacksonville Jaguars, claiming a breach of contract because the team wouldn’t allow it to pull its sponsorship deal after head coach Urban Meyer was fired.
The company, RoofClaim[dot]com, also claims that it doesn’t want its brand associated with being the primary sponsor for Sunday’s home game against the Indianapolis Colts because of the movement on social media of disgruntled fans planning to wear clown attire to the game to show their frustration with Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
The lawsuit, filed in circuit court on Thursday in Duval County, seeks in excess of $30,000 in damages. The company had signed a four-year sponsorship contract with the Jaguars in which it agreed to pay $2.51 million. It has already paid $300,000.
The Florida Times-Union newspaper first reported the lawsuit, which claims breach of contract because the defendant did not provide the full scope of marketing outlined in the agreement throughout the regular season. Even if it did provide these marketing opportunities, the defendant has created such a toxic environment around its brand that the promised “co-mingling of marks” has become a detriment to RoofClaim[dot]com, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit claims that RoofClaim[dot]com’s primary interest in a sponsorship deal was Meyer and specified that any deal would need to be tied to Meyer’s tenure with the team. The lawsuit claims that RoofClaim[dot]com met with the Jaguars on Dec. 16, the day Meyer was fired, and said it wanted to end the sponsorship deal “due to the harm that any further affiliation would have on RoofClaim[dot]com’s brand.”

Sucks to be you, Jacksonville.

In other NFL drama, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield is alleged to be hated by his black teammates who blame him for receiver Odell Beckham Jr. leaving the team. Meanwhile in Tampa, the Bucaneers are reeling from the midgame meltdown of star wide receiver Antonio Brown, who stripped off his uniform in the third quarter Sunday before leaving the game against the New York Jets. Turns out Brown had spent the night before the game having sex with a rather notorious Instagram/Onlyfans “model.” Because of course he did.

So as we look around the league and think how bad things are for the Jags and Browns — and even for Tom Brady’s Bucs, despite their division-winning record — Patriots fans can be glad that there has been very little drama in Foxboro this season. Now just beat the Dolphins on Sunday, and hope the Jets can somehow upset the Bills.




 

Category: Football

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