Stats enough! Meaningless numbers take over TV

TV’S preposterous application of stats has become satire-proof.

Saturday night in Green Bay, zero-degrees and with a bunch of new-signees and practice-squad players in the game, NBC posted teams’ “average” season stats before plays, as if we could then intelligently apply them. Just another average, 16-0 game.

Sunday, a CBS graphic, parroted by Ian Eagle as if it were significant, read, “Jets: 21 straight Red Zone scoring drives, longest active streak in the NFL.” So how come they were 5-9, soon to be 5-10? “Jets, 2017 NFL Red Zone Champs!”

That game-changing replay rule decision in Pats-Steelers, the one in which Pittsburgh TE Jesse James was ruled to have “not survived the ground”? Reader John McCarthy notes, “In the final analysis, none of us do.”

On Saturday in Green Bay, Jordy Nelson, before he left with a second-half injury, caught a 15-yard pass. There was a penalty called on the Vikes near the line of scrimmage, but it was declined.

But then there was a replay review to see if Nelson “survived the ground.” After a delay in zero degrees, it was determined that he had not.

And so the declined penalty also was reversed to an accepted penalty, thus the second new line of scrimmage had to be determined. The Wall Street Journal reports that Bud Selig dis- missed concerns about recidivist on-the-job misconduct of recently resigned Bob Bowman, a top MLB executive, because Bowman’s division was making money. Gee, that doesn’t sound at all like Selig, does it?

By the way, think this might be a good time for Gary Bettman to encourage the Nashville Predators to change their nickname? Given that the Winnipeg Jets don’t much come ’round here, MSG-Plus’s Jets-Islanders pregame, Saturday, focused on what the Jets try to do and who they try to do it with. Smart with simple often makes good TV.

Reader Ken Meltsner suggests the Mets returning Omar Minaya at Christmas is a case of flagrant “re-gifting.”

Mets’ 2018 ticket marketing campaign borrows from Ernie Banks, with Yoenis Cespedes shouting, “It’s a beautiful day, let’s play 36!”

Given that it takes a lot — a lot more than a lot — for TV analysts to bash a coach, Todd Bowles is downright inspirational!

Two weeks ago, it was CBS’s Trent Green who was left flabbergasted that Bowles didn’t use his timeouts just before the half, with the Jets down, 13-0.

On Sunday, it was CBS’s Dan Fouts, left flabbergasted that the Jets didn’t use their timeouts, down, 14-7, just before the game ended.