After four consecutive nights of very poor sleep, when the Los Angeles Chargers extended their lead to 24-0 over the Jacksonville Jaguars midway through the second quarter of yesterday’s playoff game, I decided to try to sleep even though it was only about 7:20 PM local time. (How’s that for a run-on sentence!)
Well, I succeeded–I slept for eight hours without interruption, which is like 12 hours for most people–but I missed the Jaguars comeback from trailing 27-0 at one point to winning the game 31-30. That was the third largest playoff comeback in NFL history.
Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, threw four interceptions in the first half (I saw the first three), but threw four touchdown passes in the game’s last 31 minutes. Despite being minus-five in turnovers for the game, the Jaguars won.
I watched the first playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers starting with 10 minutes playing time remaining in the first quarter until the 49ers took a 31-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. (San Francisco won the game 41-23.) I am not really a 49ers fan, but even with Brock Purdy as their quarterback–Purdy was the 262nd and last player selected in the 2022 NFL draft–I think they have the best team in the league. They have an excellent defense, a well-designed offense and the mid-season trade for outstanding running back Christian McCaffrey has given them more playmakers than most defenses can handle.
“My” Ravens have virtually no chance to win tonight’s playoff game against divisional rival Cincinnati. Although I am not a fan of the offense the Ravens use, without quarterback Lamar Jackson (who suffered a knee injury in early December, has not played since and has already been ruled out of tonight’s game) they are basically doomed. Speaking of Jackson, he will be a free agent after this season unless the Ravens use a franchise tag on him. My opinion is that they should use the non-exclusive tag, which gives him a chance to offer his services around the league.
The Ravens can say, “Lamar, now you have a chance to see if a team will offer you $250 million, all guaranteed.” I have heard from people who know that Jackson wants to sign a contract of greater value than the one the Cleveland Browns foolishly gave and fully guaranteed to “massage maniac” Deshaun Watson, which was $230 million.
If a team offers Jackson a contract that satisfies him, he can sign with them and the Ravens would receive two first-round draft picks. They could then jettison their offense with its high school passing concepts and, hopefully, find a quarterback whose arm is more dangerous to opponents than his legs. I am not a fan of Tom Brady the person, but he has seven rings and is not a read-option quarterback. The two quarterbacks in last year’s Super Bowl were Joe Burrow and Matthew Stafford, neither of whom are running QBs, although Burrow has decent mobility.
That’s probably more football than many of you want to read about. This blog will have more sports content and less automotive content going forward. For the nth time, I couldn’t care less about electric vehicles, SUVs or pickup trucks.
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That being said…sadly, Jaguar has (have, the British conjugation) announced that the gorgeous F-Type will cease to be produced after the 2024 model year. Once again, the photo of the dirty F-Type that announces its beauty even more.
How much would it cost to buy a used F-Type convertible? Looking at Autotrader, the least expensive used F-Type ragtops with the six-cylinder engine, an automatic transmission, fewer than 45,000 miles, no reported accidents and no more than 500 miles from my home zip code (shipping a car long distances is very expensive these days) are listed at about $35,000.
Do I have enough cash to buy one? Yes I do, but is it prudent to spend that kind of money on a second car? That’s about $3,000-$8,000 more than a Cadillac XLR and almost twice the price of a Pontiac Solstice GXP or Saturn Sky Red Line. Of course, none of those cars was a member of my most recent Ultimate Garage.
First, I have to live in a dwelling with sufficient space to allow me to realistically have space for another car. Not there yet…
#WellIMissedIt
#EndOfTheF-Type
#somanyCARSjustonelife
#disaffectedmusings
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Disaffected Musings 