About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 2018)
2B Saturday, October 27, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com SPORTS NFL WORLD SERIES QBs aren’t always to blame for bad starts Associated Press Sometimes it’s not the quarterback who has fallen apart, it’s the quarterback ing situation that has gone wrong. Fans and “experts” can scream all they want about Eli Man ning , Blake Bortles and Derek Carr . The truth is, Man ning likely isn’t washed up, Bortles should never be counted on as the go-to guy on offense, and Carr doesn’t seem to have the confidence of the old/new coach. While the Patriots, Saints and Packers can relax knowing they have Hall of Fame- quality QBs, and the Steelers, Char gers and Seahawks have men behind center who could be in that company, a bunch of teams have predicaments at the key offensive posi tion. And it’s not necessarily the players involved who should be the targets of all the criticism. Take Buffalo, for exam ple. Bills faithful were so thrilled to see their team break that ridiculously long playoff drought that they ignored or pushed aside the fact the Bills are not real talented. Well coached for sure, but not brimming with stars. Then management messed up the backup QB configuration by acquir ing, then getting rid of, AJ McCarron after having traded away Tyrod Taylor, who helped get them to the postseason for the first time since the turn of the century. Sure, going after Josh Allen in the first round of the draft made sense. Sticking him in behind a depleted and under-skilled line and with no true No. 1 receivers does not. What’s going on in Jack sonville is another example of much of the blame being misplaced. No, Bortles has not earned his keep this season, but he’s been inconsistent throughout his five- year pro career, and there was no rea son to believe he’d become an All-Pro. That’s not what the Jaguars were looking for, any way — though they would have taken it. They want to pound the ball with Leonard Fournette, but he’s been injured almost as often as he’s been healthy. And they wanted to rely on their defense, which has sprung leaks. Bortles’ strength is as a complementary piece. When he has to be a focal point, he tends to flop. Then there’s Manning, whose two Super Bowl rings should have earned him a lot more respect and leeway than the New York fans or tabloids are willing to dole out. Manning hasn’t lost his grit, his intelligence or his arm strength. What he’s lost is a semblance of protec tion from an offensive line weaker than any other than perhaps Buffalo’s. Manning also is in a new offensive system for the third time in four years. If that’s a problem for a veteran quarterback — and it is — imagine how chal lenging it is for the relative kids. Rich Gannon, the 2002 NFL MVP who spent much of his career mastering dif ference schemes and now dissects them as one of the most insightful NFL TV analysts, points directly to system change as a culprit for poor quarterback play in some cities. “Different systems are the most dysfunctional situ ation you can have,” Gan non says. “A guy like Alex Smith, look at what he went through with all the coor dinators in his first seven years in the league (in San Francisco). It’s crazy, and the player is never able to grow in a system. I think you see it with Mariota; Marcus is not able to grow with a system because of all those changes, and you are stunt ing their growth when you do it. “Suppose I say to you in the first year, we are going to learn German together. Then I come to you the next year, we are going to learn Spanish. The next year it’s French, then Polish.” Bortles Football/NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA New England 5 2 0 .714 214 179 Miami 4 4 0 .500 174 219 N.Y Jets 3 4 0 .429 182 176 Buffalo 2 5 0 South .286 81 175 W L T Pet PF PA Houston 5 3 0 .625 197 167 Tennessee 3 4 0 .429 106 127 Jacksonville 3 4 0 .429 116 146 Indianapolis 2 5 0 North .286 189 185 W L T Pet PF PA Pittsburgh 3 2 1 .583 171 154 Cincinnati 4 3 0 .571 184 203 Baltimore 4 3 0 .571 176 101 Cleveland 2 4 1 West .357 151 177 W L T Pet PF PA Kansas City 6 1 0 .857 260 182 L.A. Chargers 5 2 0 .714 195 163 Denver 3 4 0 .429 165 164 Oakland 1 5 0 .167 110 176 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pet PF PA Washington 4 2 0 .667 126 121 Philadelphia 3 4 0 .429 154 138 Dallas 3 4 0 .429 140 123 N.Y. Giants 1 6 0 South .143 137 185 W L T Pet PF PA New Orleans 5 1 0 .833 204 163 Carolina 4 2 0 .667 142 131 Tampa Bay 3 3 0 .500 167 196 Atlanta 3 4 0 North .429 190 212 W L T Pet PF PA Minnesota 4 2 1 .643 177 165 Green Bay 3 2 1 .583 148 144 Detroit 3 3 0 .500 157 158 Chicago 3 3 0 West .500 170 134 W L T Pet PF PA L.A. Rams 7 0 0 1.000 235 128 Seattle 3 3 0 .500 143 117 Arizona 1 6 0 .143 92 184 San Francisco 1 6 0 .143 158 218 Thursday’s Games Houston 42, Miami 23 Sunday’s Games Philadelphia vs Jacksonville at London, UK, 9:30 a.m. Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m. Seattle at Detroit, 1 p.m. Baltimore at Carolina, 1 p.m. Denver at Kansas City, 1 p.m. Tampa Bay at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. N.Y. Jets at Chicago, 1 p.m. Indianapolis at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Green Bay at L.A. Rams, 4:25 p.m. San Francisco at Arizona, 4:25 p.m. New Orleans at Minnesota, 8:20 p.m. Open: Dallas, Tennessee, L.A. Chargers, Atlanta Football/college Today’s games EAST Wagner (2-5) at CCSU (4-4), Noon Georgetown (4-4) at Colgate (6-0), Noon William & Mary (3-4) at Rhode Island (4-3), Noon St. Francis (Pa.) (2-5) at Robert Morris (1-5), Noon UMass (2-6) at UConn (1-6), Noon Penn (4-2) at Brown (1-5), 1 p.m. Yale (4-2) at Columbia (3-3), 1 p.m. Lafayette (2-5) at Fordham (1-6), 1 p.m. Lehigh (1-6) at Holy Cross (1-6), 1 p.m. Albany (NY) (2-5) at Maine (4-3), 1 p.m. Cornell (3-3) at Princeton (6-0), 1 p.m. Bryant (5-2) at Sacred Heart (4-3), 1 p.m. Harvard (3-3) at Dartmouth (6-0), 1:30 p.m. New Hampshire (1-6) at Villanova (3-4), 2 p.m. Towson (6-1) at Delaware (5-2), 3:30 p.m. Iowa (6-1) at Penn St. (5-2), 3:30 p.m. Duke (5-2) at Pittsburgh (3-4), 3:30 p.m. NC State (5-1) at Syracuse (5-2), 7 p.m. SOUTH Clemson (7-0) at Florida St. (4-3), Noon Wake Forest (3-4) at Louisville (2-5), Noon North Carolina (1-5) at Virginia (5-2), 12:20 p.m. Stetson (5-1) at Davidson (5-3), 1 p.m. E. Illinois (2-6) at E. Kentucky (3-4), 1 p.m. SC State (2-5) at Howard (3-3), 1 p.m. Marist (3-4) at Morehead St. (3-4), 1 p.m. Mercer (4-3) at Wofford (5-2), 1:30 p.m. Southern Miss. (3-3) at Charlotte (3-4), 2 p.m. NC Central (3-3) at Delaware St. (0-7), 2 p.m. Coastal Carolina (4-3) at Georgia St. (2-5), 2 p.m. Va. Lynchburg (2-5) at Hampton (3-3), 2 p.m. Furman (2-4) at The Citadel (2-4), 2 p.m. Monmouth (NJ) (5-2) at Presbyterian (2-4), 2:30 p.m. VMI (0-7) at Chattanooga (5-2), 3 p.m. Ark.-Pine Bluff (1-6) at Grambling St. (3-4), 3 p.m. Norfolk St. (3-3) at Savannah St. (1-5), 3 p.m. SE Missouri (5-2) at UT Martin (1-6), 3 p.m. Alabama A&M (3-4) vs. Alabama St. (2-4) at Birmingham, Ala., 3:30 p.m. W. Carolina (3-4) at ETSU (6-2), 3:30 p.m. Florida (6-1) vs. Georgia (6-1) at Jacksonville., Fla., 3:30 p.m. Stony Brook (6-2) at James Madison (5-2), 3:30 p.m. Illinois (3-4) at Maryland (4-3), 3:30 p.m. Middle Tennessee (4-3) at Old Dominion (2-6), 3:30 p.m. Gardner-Webb (1-6) at Campbell (5-2), 4 p.m. Morgan St. (2-5) at Florida A&M (5-2), 4 p.m. Jacksonville St. (5-2) at Murray St. (4-3), 4 p.m. Incarnate Word (4-3) at Nicholls (4-3), 4 p.m. Tennessee Tech (0-7) at Austin Peay (3-4), 5 p.m. Kennesaw St. (6-1) at Charleston Southern (3-3), 6 p.m. Arkansas St. (4-3) at Louisiana-Lafayette (3-5), 7 p.m. Cent. Arkansas (5-2) at McNeese St. (5-2), 7 p.m. Texas A&M (5-2) at Mississippi St. (4-3), 7 p.m. Houston Baptist (1 -6) at Northwestern St. (2-5), 7 p.m. Tennessee (3-4) at South Carolina (3-3), 7:30 p.m. FIU (5-2) at W. Kentucky (1-6), 7:30 p.m. MIDWEST Cent. Michigan (1-7) at Akron (3-3), Noon Dayton (3-5) at Butler (3-4), Noon Army (5-2) at E. Michigan (4-4), Noon Texas Tech (5-2) at Iowa St. (3-3), Noon Purdue (4-3) at Michigan St. (4-3), Noon Bethune-Cookman (4-4) at Nebraska (1 -6), Noon Wisconsin (5-2) at Northwestern (4-3), Noon S. Dakota St. (3-3) at Illinois St. (5-2), 1 p.m. Drake (4-2) at Valparaiso (1-6), 2 p.m. N. Iowa (4-3) at W. Illinois (3-4), 2 p.m. Indiana St. (4-3) at Youngstown St. (3-4), 2 p.m. TCU (3-4) at Kansas (2-5), 3 p.m. S. Illinois (1-6) at Missouri St. (3-3), 3 p.m. Weber St. (5-2) at North Dakota (4-3), 3 p.m. N. Dakota St. (7-0) at South Dakota (3-4), 3 p.m. Kentucky (6-1) at Missouri (4-3), 4 p.m. SOUTHWEST Vanderbilt (3-5) at Arkansas (2-6), Noon SE Louisiana (3-5) at Sam Houston St. (4-3), 2 p.m. Alcorn St. (6-2) at Prairie View (3-4), 3 p.m. MVSU (1-5) at Texas Southern (1-6), 3 p.m. South Florida (7-0) at Houston (6-1), 3:30 p.m. Kansas St. (3-4) at Oklahoma (6-1), 3:30 p.m. Cincinnati (6-1) at SMU (3-4), 3:30 p.m. Rice (1-7) at North Texas (6-2), 4 p.m. Lamar (3-4) at Stephen F. Austin (2-5), 4 p.m. New Mexico St. (2-6) at Texas St. (1-6), 7 p.m. Tulane (2-5) at Tulsa (1-6), 7 p.m. UAB (6-1) at UTEP (0-7), 7:30 p.m. Texas (6-1) at Oklahoma St. (4-3), 8 p.m. FAR WEST Oregon St. (1-6) at Colorado (5-2), 3 p.m. Idaho (3-4) at E. Washington (5-2), 3 p.m. N. Illinois (4-3) at BYU (4-3), 3:30 p.m. Arizona St. (3-4) at Southern Cal (4-3), 3:30 p.m. UC Davis (6-1) at Montana (4-3), 4 p.m. Jacksonville (1 -5) at San Diego (5-2), 4 p.m. New Mexico (3-4) at Utah St. (6-1), 4 p.m. Montana St. (4-3) at Idaho St. (4-3), 5:30 p.m. Washington (6-2) at California (4-3), 6:30 p.m. Top 25 schedule Today’s games No. 2 Clemson at Florida State, Noon No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Navy at San Diego, 8 p.m. No. 6 Texas at Oklahoma State, 8 p.m. No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 9 Florida at Jacksonville, Fla., 3:30 p.m. No. 8 Oklahoma vs. Kansas State, 3:30 p.m. No. 12 Kentucky at Missouri, 4 p.m. No. 14 Washington State at No. 24 Stanford, 7 p.m. No. 15 Washington at California, 6:30 p.m. No. 16 Texas A&M at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. No. 17 Penn State vs. No. 18 Iowa, 3:30 p.m. No. 19 Oregon at Arizona, 10:30 p.m. No. 20 Wisconsin at Northwestern, Noon No. 21 South Florida at Houston, 3:30 p.m. No. 22 NC State at Syracuse, 7 p.m. TODAY ON TV FOOTBALL RACING ■ Texas Tech vs. Iowa State, noon, ESPN 2 ■ Wisconsin vs. Northwestern, noon, Fox ■ Purdue vs. Michigan State, noon, ESPN ■ Clemson vs. Florida State, noon, ABC ■ Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas, noon, SEC Network ■ Florida vs. Georgia, 12:30 p.m., CBS ■ TCU vs. Kansas, 3 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Iowa vs. Penn State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN ■ Arizona State vs. Southern California, 3:30 p.m., ESPN 2 ■ Kansas State vs. Oklahoma, 3:30 p.m., Fox ■ Northern Illinois vs. BYU, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU ■ Kentucky vs. Missouri, 4 p.m., SEC Network ■ Washington vs. California, 6:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State, 7 p.m., ESPN ■ North Carolina State vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPN 2 ■ Tulane vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m., ESPNU ■ Tennessee vs. South Carolina 7:30 p.m., SEC Network ■ Navy vs. Notre Dame, 8 p.m., CBS ■ Texas vs. Oklahoma State, 8 p.m., ABC ■ Oregon vs. Arizona, 10:30 p.m., ESPN ■ San Diego State vs. Nevada, 10:30 p.m., ESPNU ■ NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Martinsville Qualifying, 10 a.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Texas Roadhouse 200,1 p.m., Fox Sports 1 ■ Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Martinsville Qualifying, 4 p.m., NBC Sports GOLF ■ PGA Tour Golf: Sanderson Farms Championship, 2:30 p.m., Golf Channel ■ PGA Tour Champions Golf: Invesco QQQ Championship, 5:30 p.m., Golf Channel ■ PGA Tour Golf: WGC-HSBC Champions, 11 p.m., Golf Channel BASEBALL ■ World Series Game 4: Red Sox vs. Dodgers, 8 p.m., Fox Recognized for good deeds DAVID J. PHILLIP I The Associated Press Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes watches as Boston Red Sox’s Mookie Betts scores during Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday in Boston. Bostons Betts fed homeless after Game 2 win Associated Press Mookie Betts figures he should always use his base ball success to give back to the world. Even in the middle of the World Series. The Boston Red Sox slug ger was surprised to find himself in the spotlight this week for a late-night good deed. A few hours after the Red Sox won Game 2 on Wednesday night, Betts and his cousin were spotted providing hot meals to the homeless outside the Boston Public Library, braving tem peratures in the 30s to feed dozens of people. Former Red Sox infielder Lou Merloni, now a radio host on WEEI, was tipped off about Betts’ distribution of several trays of hot food. Merloni publicized the good deed on social media, lead ing to widespread acclaim for the probable AL MVP. “It’s pretty cool,” Betts said in the Dodger Stadium visitors’ dugout before Game 3 on Friday. “I’ve been blessed with every thing I have, and I might as well share it.” Betts, who batted .346 with 32 homers and 80 RBIs dur ing the regular season, never intended for anyone to find out about his good work in the community. He and his cousin went out in hoodies with no fanfare, provid ing steak tips and chicken to anyone trying to make it through Massachusetts’ bru tal cold. Betts simply feels an obli gation to do what he can, whenever he can, for the less fortunate. “It’s not the first time I’ve done it,” Betts said. “It wasn’t supposed to get (the attention) it got.” Betts is taking care of his work on the field as well after a slow start to the postseason at the plate. The 26-year-old outfielder went 4 for 8 in the first two games of his first World Series, boost ing his postseason average to .255. Betts also fed untold thousands in a decidedly different way Tuesday: By stealing a base in the World Series opener , Betts trig gered Taco Bell’s famed “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion, providing every body in the country with one free taco available Nov. 1. Betts’ charitable nature even caught the attention of Hank Aaron. The Hall of Famer was in Los Angeles to present the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the player selected as the best hitter in each league — to Boston’s J.D. Martinez and Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich. “No question about it, yes, he’s a role model,” Aaron said of Betts. “When you think about who he is, where he is, he certainly is a role model.” Whether it’s good food or good fortune, Betts said he has one rule. “Don’t waste it,” Betts said. “That’s what my dad told me: don’t waste it.” YELICH HOPES NLCS LOSS SERVES AT MOTI VATION: Christian Yelich made it to the World Series, just not in the manner he had hoped. The Milwaukee Brewers slugger accepted the Hank Aaron Award prior to Game Friday’s game late ■ Game 3 of the World Series ran past deadline for print in The Times. 3 between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodg ers. Boston’s J.D. Martinez was the American League recipient of the award. Yelich and the Brewers were one game shy of getting to their first World Series since 1982 as they lost to the Dodgers in seven games in the National League Cham pionship Series. Yelich said that he isn’t over the disap pointment yet, but that he has tried to move on. “To be that close is defi nitely disappointing, but like I said earlier, use that as motivation throughout the offseason and into next season,” Yelich said. “It was a great learning experience for us as a team and I think it’s going to help us going forward.” Yelich and Martinez won the award despite being in their first seasons with their respective clubs. Yelich, who was acquired in a trade from the Miami Marlins, led the NL with a .326 batting average, was second in RBIs with 110 and third in home runs with 36. Martinez, who signed with the Red Sox as a free agent, led the AL in RBIs (130) and finished second in home runs (43) and batting aver age (.330). “My goal going in was to be the player that they traded for, nothing more, nothing less, and just con tribute to what they already had going there,” Yelich said. “It was an unbelievable year, it was a lot of fun.” GOLF Finau overcomes bad break to lead HSBC Champions Tony Finau has enjoyed such a good year that he wasn’t about to let one bad break get him down Friday in the HSBC Champions. Finau had just built a three-shot lead as Patrick Reed began to stumble when Finau hit an approach from the rough on the 11th hole toward the green at Sheshan Interna tional. The ball landed on a sprinkler , shot high in the air and rolled over the back and into the hazard. It led to a double bogey and cut his lead to one shot. Finau didn’t flinch, however. He had a pair of birdies on the par 5s, laid up on the reachable par-4 16th and made birdie, and wound up with a 5-under 67. That put him at 11-under 133, three shots clear of Reed (72), Tommy Fleetwood (68) and defending champion Justin Rose (67). “That was about as bad a break as I’ve ever had, to kick all the way over the green into the hazard,” Finau said. “One thing I’ve learned in this game, you take the good with the bad and keep moving forward. I knew I was playing well still and still at the top of the leaderboard. Just keep plugging along and try to get that back and I was able to do that.” Reed opened with a pair of quick birdies in a swirl ing wind that came out of the opposite direction of the first round. He made his first bogey of the tournament on the fifth hole of the second round by missing a 4-foot putt after a smart chip shot from deep rough. Then, he hit into the water on No. 6 and had to scram ble to make bogey. He also hit into the water on the par-5 eighth, but his short game allowed him to save par. The Masters champion looked certain to drop another shot on the par-5 18th when his tee shot bounded off the side of a hill and into the water. Reed took his penalty drop, and then tried to hit a slice over two portions of the water. He blasted his hybrid on to about 12 feet for a two-putt birdie and a 72. “I figured I just hit the shot I needed — a big, huge slice,” Reed said. “Why not start in toward the grand stands to the left?” Rose won last year by rallying from eight shots behind on the final day, so a three-shot deficit shouldn’t look all that daunting. He plodded his way around the course and kept bogeys off his card. He missed a 15-foot eagle attempt on the last hole. Finau hasn’t won since the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, an opposite-field event that was held the same week as the Match Play. But it’s been a big year for him. He has 10 finishes the top 10, and his consistency led to him mak ing his first Ryder Cup. Finau got a good break at Le Golf National. In his opening fourballs match with Brooks Koepka, the U.S. team looked to be in big trouble until Finau’s tee shot on the 16th hole hit off the railroad ties framing Par scores Friday’s games At Sheshan International Golf Club Shanghai Purse: $10 million Yardage: 7,261; Par: 72 Second Round Tony Finau 66-67—133 -11 Patrick Reed 64-72—136 -8 Justin Rose 69-67—136 -8 Tommy Fleetwood 68-68—136 -8 Xander Schauffele 66-71—137 -7 Patrick Cantlay 70-68—138 -6 Kyle Stanley 70-69—139 -5 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 68-71—139 -5 Keegan Bradley 69-70—139 -5 Emiliano Grillo 70-69—139 -5 Thomas Pieters 75-64—139 -5 Pat Perez 70-69—139 -5 Ryan Fox 70-70—140 -4 Billy Horschel 68-72—140 -4 Ian Poulter 69-71—140 -4 Rafa Cabrera Bello 68-73—141 -3 Andrew Putnam 70-71—141 -3 Paul Casey 73-68—141 -3 Alexander Levy 71-70—141 -3 Jason Day 71-70—141 -3 Tyrrell Hatton 72-70—142 -2 Adam Scott 69-73—142 -2 Hideki Matsuyama 72-70—142 -2 Adam Hadwin 74-68—142 -2 Andy Sullivan 72-71—143 -1 Chez Reavie 70-73—143 -1 Branden Grace 72-71—143 -1 Andrea Pavan 72-71—143 -1 George Coetzee 69-74—143 -1 Alex Noren 74-69—143 -1 Associated Press the green and settled 3 feet away, crucial to winning the match. Byrum grabs lead on Champions Tour Tom Byrum birdied five of the last seven holes for a 6-under 66 and the first- round lead Friday in the PGA Tour Champions’ Invesco QQQ Championship. “Just got on a nice roll, made some nice putts and made some good shots and just capitalized on it,” Byrum said. “It was just what you write up out there, ‘Picture that shot, hit it and go knock it in.’ It works out when you can do that. The top 54 in the season standings qualified for the second of three playoff events, with 50 players mak ing the trip to Sherwood Country Club. Associated Press Finau
