NFL Tales Of The Week – Week 17 Edition (1-4-22)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: NY Post
AB to See His Way Out
One of the most bizarre occurrences happened this past week in football. Yes, I am talking about Antonio Brown. By now, you all have seen the video. We’ve watched the tape several times. Each time you watch it, I’m sure you all are still shaking your heads at it. We all have wondered and screamed out “Why? Why, Why, Why would you do this? Like this?” Now, let’s put everything all in perspective here. At our regular 9-5 jobs, I’m almost certain we all have seen individuals walk out on the job. It could have been a deliberate leave such as AB did. He took off his work uniform and left the job. Or perhaps someone went to lunch and never came back. I have seen that happen numerous times. Now we have to ask ourselves why did those employees that we may have known do such a thing in that way? Oftentimes, they were simply fed up with the job and company itself. Perhaps they finally said enough is enough and decided to take matters into their own hands. There were numerous reports as to why AB did what he did. One report says he was asked to play despite being hurt and not feeling his best. Another report says he wanted to make a play that would add some sort of bonus to his contract financially. As always, there are always conflicting reports and two sides to the story. Well here’s the real deal that we all must acknowledge. Mental Health is real. Those that you may have seen leave the job and quit in the middle of the workday could have very well been struggling with some sort of mental health issue. While it hasn’t been confirmed, it “Feels” like Antonio Brown may be suffering from a bit of CTE. We’ve seen this amongst hundreds of former NFL Players. Tom Brady said it best. “I think everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things.”
JB Smoove in Cincy
The Cincinnati Bengals have done something they haven’t done since 2015, win the AFC North. What’s most impressive is They managed to do so before the season even ended. Of course, having an extra week of Football works. Another thing that’s worth noting is they defeated Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to do so. This wasn’t an easy win for them either. This was a game they were trailing and came back to win in a walk-off fashion. What’s helpful is since they did win their division, they will be resting their most precious possession in QB Joe Burrow. Of course, Burrow missed a lot of games last season with the leg injury so keeping him upright is a high priority. He has been the main ingredient to their success. Honestly, he should have some MVP considerations because he has been playing some incredible football this season. The name may already be taken by Jerry Angelo Brooks, but we may have to consider passing that nickname along to Joe Burrow because he is making it look easy this season. He is in the Top 5 in Passing Yards, Top 6 in TD’s thrown this season, and has the 2nd best completion percentage amongst all QB’s this season only losing to Aaron Rodgers, who I wouldn’t be surprised to win MVP again this season. Burrow has been playing out of his mind and he has the Bengals looking like a team no one will want to play in the playoffs. As I was watching this Chiefs-Bengals game, I felt like I was watching the beginning of Manning-Brady all over again. Burrow will get his first taste of the NFL Playoffs this season. But it feels like he will be counting the times he plays in the playoffs and that he may even end up with more Super Bowls than the great Patrick Mahomes.
