Inside The Hashes Football Q & A with Kris Thomas
Inside The Hashes Football Q & A with Kris Thomas
Did the committee get the CFB playoffs right?
For the first time in their show history, I have no complaints of the 4 teams that are in. LSU, Ohio State, Clemson were all undefeated and won their conference. Although the Sooners had a loss to Kansas State, Oklahoma bounced back to win the Big 12 and beat a tough Baylor team twice. No one else on the outside looking in had the resume to jump Oklahoma. Utah had their chance but was blown out against Oregon and Georgia was steamrolled by LSU. The only thing you could argue was between LSU and Ohio on who deserved to be the #1 seed. Although LSU had a tougher schedule, Ohio State had more top 25 wins and a bigger margin of victory. However, it’s a semantics game. In the end, the four best teams are in without any doubt. LSU takes on an offense as good as theirs. Jalen Hurts gets to make history to win 2 national championships with two different teams. Ohio State gets a chance to get that Clemson Tiger off their back and Clemson has been under the radar and underestimated all season. I’m excited about Bowl season.
49ers or Ravens? The Best team in Football?
Baltimore. I love everything the 49ers are doing. A forceful defensive line a suffocating pass defense and an offense that Jimmy Garoppolo is finally his stride and a proper supporting cast. However, there have been too many times this defense has been gashed this season. Kyler Murray twice, Russell Wilson and now Drew Brees. Outside of the back to back Chiefs and Browns games, the defense hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in 8 of the last 9 which included the Patriots, Texans, Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers themselves. The Ravens still have a top tier even with all the losses to their defenses in the offseason. The Ravens offensive line dominates in the trenches every week and Lamar Jackson shows you can slow him but he still can’t be stopped. I said this a few weeks ago when you two teams evenly matched the QB is the tiebreaker. Although Garoppolo has shown major progression, Lamar Jackson is already over 1,000 yards rushing as a QB with 3 games left to go and is on pace to have over 4000 all-purpose yards and 40 all purposes TDs. Ravens fans rejoice, you have that title until further notice.
Titans or Texans for the AFC South?
This was tough because for one I’m a Deshaun Watson fan and for two I have always had a soft spot for the Titans because growing up Steve McNair was my favorite QB growing up. However, although it did look like the Texans were getting legitimate separation from the division but going 2-2 in the last four, here come the Ryan Tannehill led Titans who won four straight. I’m happy for Tannehill for finally finding his place in the league. He was never a bad QB just unlucky with injuries. With two of the last 3 games are between the two teams, I’m leaning towards the Titans. More consistent defense, Tannehill is giving life to a wide receiver core that wasn’t able to shine with Mariota QB and Derrick Henry has become a top 10 running back. The brilliance of Deshaun Watson has been made clear on several occasions however in this instance, there have been several cases that it just hasn’t been enough to overcome. Titans are coming in hot at the right time and that isn’t good news for Bill O’Brien and company.
Who wins the Heisman on Saturday?
It will be Joe Burrow. The Narrative is there. An undefeated season, navigated through a tough SEC conference, and most TDs throws, passing yards and completion percentage than any other QB in SEC history. Although Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields were both responsible for 50 TDs in their own right and to Justin Fields credit has only turned the ball over twice all season long, Burrow has been more consistent and has been the best player on the field for LSU all season. With dominating performances against Alabama and Georgia this past weekend it has been award to lose for weeks and has yet to let anyone else get in the conversation. Chase Young has been the most dominating defensive player and a two-game suspension ruin his campaign but come Saturday night, Chase, Justin, and Jalen are just there for show. Joe Burrow is walking on that stage to claim his award.
Where do you see Ron Rivera ending up?
After considering all options for fit and need, he’ll either replace Pat Shurmur in New York or go to Cleveland. Both teams make sense. For New York, he brings establish identity and credibility. New York defense is going through a massive rebuild so why not bring a coach whose claim to fame is defense? Rivera is a players coach and with the firing, Cam Newton went to IG to showcase his love for Rivera and when you are a young rebuilding team bring in a hard-hitting players coach is what this team needs to be successful going forward instead of losing 9 in a row with Shurmur. Cleveland makes sense because you have a young talented team but no proper leadership to reel it all in. Freddie Kitchens has gotten the Browns playing good football in the later stages of the season but the damage has been done after the 2-6 start. Baker Mayfield continues to call out everyone in the media and Odell reportedly wants out, Rivera could come in and kill all the infighting and have the young players buy-in. Baker doesn’t need the head coach to be his buddy, Baker needs a wake-up call and someone to challenge him. Riverboat Ron is a two-time coach of the year, has a winning record and has taken the Panthers to the Superbowl. His message will get home harder than a coach wearing a shirt saying “Pittsburgh started it” and losing the rematch to staying in the playoff hunt.
-By: Kris Thomas
Writer/Interviewer