Reid Kerr

Usually the week between the championship games and the Super Bowl run-up is a quiet one. Except for the two teams still playing and the two just knocked out, most teams are running silent and getting ready for the offseason.

This year, however, it’s been a really interesting week with big news breaking all over the place. And of course, every big event inspires lots of discussion and overreaction.

The Event: Houston hires DeMeco Ryans as head coach.

The Reaction: I have literally never been this excited about anything else the Texans have ever done, front office-wise. Ryans has not only been a outstanding defensive coordinator, he’s a throwback to the glory days of the Texans. And by that I mean the days when every single move they made wasn’t embarrassing. It’s a great move for a franchise that has potential and desperately needed leadership.

The Event: Dallas doesn’t bring back Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore.

The Reaction: I hate to agree with Jerry Jones, but I’m a huge fan of this one too. Moore ran an offense that looked great at times, and sometimes was just flat vanilla with no sprinkles. And all it takes is one of those games to end your season. Moore was picked up quickly by the Chargers, the Cowboys have moved on, and I think that’s best for everybody. Sometimes you just need to shake things up. Life is like riding the bus, it requires change.

The Event: Jerry Jones wants Ezekiel Elliott to return next year.

The Reaction: I totally believe this one, Zeke is one of Jerry’s guys. But in reality, his contract would have to be torn up to bring him back. Tony Pollard looks like a starting running back, but he’s also coming off of a broken leg, which is going to keep him from getting the kind of money he probably deserves. So right now, the Cowboys basically have no decent running backs under manageable contracts for 2023.

The Event: Tom Brady retires.

The Reaction: Him making the announcement the same week he has a movie coming out makes me feel like I’m not going to believe this is his final decision until somewhere around week eight of next season. This does make me pretty certain we’ll see at least one more year from Aaron Rodgers, though.

The Event: New Pro Bowl competitions.

The Reaction: Still don’t care.

The Event: Sean Payton goes to Denver.

The Reaction: Seems like a great hire for Denver, but that looks like a huge uphill climb for Payton. He may or may not have his quarterback for the next few years in place, but he’s definitely looking up at two playoff teams that do. It’s great news for Saints fans, though.

The Event: The hashtag #NFLRigged trended on social media.

The Reaction: Bengals fans have finally reached a point where their team is good enough they can join the rest of us in thinking the NFL refs have shafted us again.

If you’re saying that NFL officials miss calls, I’ll agree with you whole-heartedly. It happens, and I don’t think there’s any way around it. But if you’re telling me the whole thing is fixed, because the NFL wanted the Chiefs in the Super Bowl instead of the Bengals, I beg to differ.

By the way, “beg to differ” is my polite way of saying you’re not paying attention, and you should stop drinking whiskey with breakfast.

There’s no reason the NFL would prefer one of those teams over the other in the Super Bowl. Either way, you had a team with a young star quarterback who has created a nationwide fan base. If anything, it would have been better for Cincinnati to win and keep building the legend of Joe Burrow. Or Joe B, or Joe Cool, or Joe Shiesty, or whatever nickname that human pop culture phenomenon is going by this week.

To misquote an old rule of thumb, don’t automatically assume conspiracy to something that can easily be explained by incompetence. That theory is posted prominently in my FBI file.

On to the picks. Last week I was admittedly awful in picking the championship games. Let’s just say I’m glad I missed one of them, and the other was mostly played without a functioning quarterback and completely unwatchable. The less said about last week the better. For the playoffs, I’m 7-7 straight up, and 5-9 against Vegas.

Next week, I’ll take a look at the always-random wagers you can make on the Super Bowl, and give you my sure-to-be-wrong pick on the game. Stay warm, my friends.

Reid Kerr has discovered The Rockford Files is streaming, so if you need him for the next three months, you know where he’ll be. You can always tweet questions, comments and angry messages to him at @reidaboutit.