Fansided

The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL Playoffs

By Lyle Graversen

Oct 7, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) shakes hands with Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) following the game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Broncos 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 7, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) shakes hands with Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) following the game at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Broncos 31-21. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Armchair Quarterback’s Odds And Ends Of The Week

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Screen Shot 2014-01-13 at 8.06.15 PM /

Beer Review Of The Week:

Shiner Prickly Pear by the Spoetzl Brewery

Last week I reviewed the Shiner Wild Hare by Spoetzl, and gave it a favorable (but not spectacular) review. This week I finished off the Shiner variety pack with a very unique Prickly Pear. Here’s the description from the bottle:

"The third in our Limited Edition Brewer’s Pride Craft Brew Series. A combination of Citra and US Golding hops gives this refreshing lager its citrus flavor and floral aroma. The brew’s signature tartness comes from the fruit of the prickly pear, a cactus native to our brewery’s landscape that’s hearty, rugged, and unmistakably unique – qualities we surely appreciate."

I found this beer to be very unique. I can say that I’m glad that I tried it, but I don’t know that I would have it again. The beer actually smells delicious (although very sweet), but the taste wasn’t what I was expecting. The fruit of the prickly pear cactus is almost a cross between actual pears and what I can only say was almost a cucumber taste. The result was a refreshing taste and would be decent on a very hot day, but not something that I look for in my beer. It was a little overly sweet for my taste. Most of all I walked away feeling like if it had a little more hop presence and malt balance it might come off much better. Ultimately, it’s worth a try because of its uniqueness, but not my cup of tea.

My Rating (1-10): 5

A Good Way To Pass The Time This Week:

Head over to the Fansided entertainment sight lightlybuzzed.com.

In case you haven’t noticed, Fansided doesn’t just cover all your sports information needs, you can find something on just about every interest you can possibly think of. One of my personal favorite sights is LightlyBuzzed. They cover both sports and entertainment from a humorous point of view. Not only are some of the articles incredibly funny, but the guy that runs the sight (AKA Banditref) also does all his own original artwork (he’s also a good follow on Twitter: @banditref). You may have seen his NFL/Game of Thrones work last week. The entire sight is a fun read. So if you’re looking for a way to pass some time this week until the games roll around on Sunday, head on over to lightlybuzzed.com. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

Rant of the Week:

What in the world has happened to the officiating in the NFL?

Let me start by saying that I am not one of those guys that typically complains about officials. I 100% understand that human error is going to happen, and although an occasional missed call that goes against your favorite team is frustrating, it’s not the end of the world. I also think that blaming the officials for your team losing is a cop out. If your team was good enough, they could have won the game regardless of how the officials were calling things. Period.

That all having been said, I feel like the officiating in the NFL this season was by far the worst its been in my lifetime. It just seemed like there were so many horrible calls and or no calls almost every game. Am I the only one that felt like the officiating this season was as bad or worse than the replacement officials were last season?

There has been talk that they should make NFL officials a full time/year round position. I think that probably needs to happen. There is just too much at stake every week to have second rate officiating like we’ve seen. They need to pay these guys well enough that it’s a big time incentive for them to make sure they know what they are doing and can keep up with the speed of the game. I really feel like that’s the biggest problem. The speed of the game is so fast these days that a lot of the officials simply can’t keep up. Make it a full time job, pay them well, give them bonuses if they consistently make the right calls, and fire the guys that aren’t up to the standard that is set. Until that happens I think the officiating is going to continue to be a major eyesore for the league and I’m just waiting for the day that one of these horrible calls costs a team the Super Bowl and suddenly everyone will be frothing at the mouth and calling for their heads.

The NFL needs to be proactive about this and fix it now before it comes to that.

I think that does it for this week’s Armchair Quarterback. Make sure you find a comfortable chair and enjoy a couple of great games on Sunday.

Thanks for reading.

Follow me on Twitter: @LyleGraversen

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