My favorite players the week were…

Offense

Josh Allen Bills quarterback

A week after Allen had an amazing game in a win against the 49’ers, he had another great game but came up on those losing end versus the Rams 44-42.  He completed 22 of 37 passes with no interceptions for 342 yards & 3 touchdowns.  He also rushed 10 times for 82 yards & 3 more touchdowns.  His 6 touchdown game set another NFL record.  It was the first time a player has thrown for 3 or more touchdowns & run for 3 or more touchdowns in the same game.

Sam Darnold

It was almost a shock to me when I had to make Darnold one of my players of the week back in week 2.  His 268 yards & 2 touchdowns in that game now pale in comparison to his week 14 showing against the Falcons.  Darnold completed 22 of 28 passes (78.6%) for 347 yards & 5 touchdowns!  He had no interceptions & his passer rating was almost perfect at 157.9.  This was what people hoped for when he was drafted 3^rd overall by the Jets in 2018. 

Ja’Marr Chase Bengals wide receiver

If the Bengals had an average defense instead of the 26^th ranked defense in the league, they would be in playoff contention.  Chase had another great game in week 14, with 177 yards & 2 touchdowns on 14 catches.

Zach Charbonnet Seahawks running back

Kenneth Walker III was injured leaving Charbonnet as the primary back.  Charbonnet had 22 carries for 134 yards & 2 touchdowns with one of them from 51 yards out.  He also caught 2 passes for 59 yards.  It was the best game in his 2 year career.

Defense

Zach Sieler Dolphins defensive end

Sieler was impressive when it counted against the Jets.  He had 2 sacks in the 4th quarter to help the Dolphins keep their playoff hopes alive & eliminate the division rival Jets from playoff contention (14 straight years without a playoff appearance!).

Yetur Gross-Matos 49’ers defensive end

Without Nick Bosa, the 49’ers needed someone to get pressure on Caleb Williams.  Gross-Matos came through with 3 sacks in a blowout win that bolstered the 49’ers faint playoff hopes.

DeMarvion Overshown Cowboys linebacker

Overshown had 6 tackles & a pass defensed & was a dominant force in the game until his injury in the 4^th quarter.  He has been spectacular recently after missing his rookie season with an ACL tear.  Hopefully his knee injury isn’t season ending.  In a crummy season for the Cowboys, he has been a fun to watch.

Special teams

Bryan Bresee Saints defensive tackle

With 11 seconds left in the game, Giants kicker Graham Gano was lined up to send the game into overtime.  Bresee leaped over the Giants offensive line & blocked the kick to preserve the win for the Saints.

He was also outstanding on defense.  He had 2 pass breakups, a sack, & 2 quarterback hits.

Tory Taylor Bears punter

As the Bears’ punter, Taylor gets a lot of work.  He punted 6 times for a total of 316 yards against the Cowboys, averaging 52.7 yards per punt with 2 dropped inside the 20.  His longest punt was a 60 yarder.  He hit some booming punts with enough hang time that the Bears special teams were able to get down & cover.  The longest punt return against them was 8 yards.  The Bears got crushed, but I was impressed by Taylor.

Cade York Bengals kicker

With Evan McPherson out with a groin injury, the Bengals elevated York from their practice squad for the game in Dallas. This went much better than his 1 game for the Commanders this year where he missed 2 field goals. York hit both of his field goal attempts & all 3 of his extra point attempts.  After the game he got a kiss from his girlfriend, Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Zoe Dale.  Dale got a ton of on camera time thanks to the story.  It seemed like York was winning in more ways than one on Monday night.

My favorite wine of the week is…

Geoffroy Volupte Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2016 Vallée de la Marne, Champagne, France $90

100% Chardonnay 12.5% ABV 2 g/l dosage

We are firmly in the season for Champagne, although Jets fans might not be feeling festive at the moment.  While I think Champagne is perfect almost any day of the year, I understand that the time between Thanksgiving in the United States & New Year’s Eve is the peak season for Champagne consumption.  Here’s a quality vintage Champagne at a price that won’t break the bank.

The Vallée de la Marne is primarily known for Pinot Meunier due to its clay soils.  However, this wine comes from chalk soils perfect for Chardonnay.  It is a blend of Chardonnay grapes from 3 Premier Cru sites Cumières 1er Cru, lieux-dits “Tourne Midi” and “Les Chênes.”  For those not familiar with the Champagne system, vineyards in Champagne are classified through the Échelle des Crus system (AKA ladder of growth).  This was originally designed to help set the prices paid for grapes.  It is based on the village nearest to the vineyard.  Everything is rated the same in a certain area rather than chopped into a million little pieces like Burgundy. It isn’t a perfect system & hard-core Champagne fans look for specific vineyards or designated areas called lieux-dits.  The top 2 rungs of “the ladder of growth” are Premier Cru as the second highest (despite being called premier) with Grand Cru at the top.  Theoretically 1er Cru & Grand Cru Champagne will be much better than other Champagne & their vintage dated wines will be at the top of the quality scale for Champagne.  That isn’t always the case, but it’s generally true.

The grapes were harvested by hand, then very gently pressed.  Only the first juice of the pressing (called the cuvée) is used for this wine with the rest used for non-vintage Champagne.

The juice is split in two parts with half fermented & aged in old oak barrels & 50% aged in stainless steel.  The wine doesn’t go through malolactic fermentation because they want to preserve the high acidity that is a hallmark of Champagne.

After initial bottling, the wine spends 90 months on lees, that’s 7 ½ years!  This time on lees (the dead yeast cells) changes the wine, creating baked bread & brioche notes.  After disgorging the lees (basically freezing the top & expelling a sludge of lees from the bottle), the bottle is topped off with more of the same wine & a little sugar.  In this case, the wine only receives 2 grams per liter, making it a very dry style called an Extra Brut.  For comparison, a Champagne labeled as “Extra Dry” will have 12-17 g/l added.

All that time & effort pays off on the palate.  The wine is extremely creamy with brioche, a yeasty bread note & a slight biscuit note. That’s not to say that there isn’t any fruit.  It shows lychee, pineapple, lemon, & a bit of grapefruit.  There is also a delicate minerality that along with the acidity & the cream contributes to the structure of the wine.  This is a wine that would be perfect with a wide range of foods from popcorn to lobster.  It also is wonderful on its own.  If you open gifts on Christmas Eve, this would be the perfect accompaniment. It’s a wine that will go with special occasions or make any occasion special.