Some musings on a glorious return to action
I’m so excited the NFL is back. My Constant spent the entire pandemic looking increasingly under threat, but as I watched Chiefs/Texans, I finally embraced the wonderful reality of a new NFL season. With week 2 at the front door, I finally am ready for some thoughts on week 1. Yes these are late, but it takes me all week to grind tape (or just watch highlights).
What are we making of Gardner Minshew? I really enjoyed him in college at Washington State, but Mike Leach QBs tend to falter when moving up (see Luke Falk). He performed admirably last year and even beat out Super Bowl enigma Nick Foles (who’s career stats and accolades will make Kurt Warner’s bizarre career look ordinary) for the starting role, but many believe that with a somewhat lame duck coach, a GM who drafted a fucking punter in the third round and an off-boarding of talent like a sinking yacht, the tanking for Mr. Lawrence would be the goal of the season. Even with that losing strategy still in place, I’m not so sure Minshew Mania won’t stand the test of time. He’s obviously put up reasonably productive stats, but his confidence is what’s appealing and comparable to other underestimated late round QBs. When Russell Wilson came into the league, as a transfer from Wisconsin after a good career at NC State, he understandably got drafted in the third round, but as Seattle realized, their rookie third rounder took command of the team, even beating their prized free agent signing that year, Matt Flynn. Sound familiar? Minshew carries himself like a cross between a haggard aging porn star and an uber confident brassy salesman whose confidence can barely be shaken. I just feel like what I see from him (seriously watch his pocket presence on this play from last year) is something that will keep him around for a long time in this league. Maybe Minshew will only take the belt from Fitzmagic as this generation’s new overconfident weirdo QB or maybe, just maybe we have a star on our hands.
Brady is going to be fine. Everyone is worried because his errant throws probably cost the Bucs that game, but that defense will keep them hanging around even if Brady does ultimately falter. He still looks better than the ghost of Peyton Manning in the year that Broncos defense dragged him to a Super Bowl win. The brick wall the Bucs defensive line put up on the Saints potent run game was incredible. Alvin Kamara, not the best between the tackles running back, but still incredibly dynamic, had 7 yards on 7 carries at one point in the game. The entire team finished with 82 yards at a 2.4 avg per carry average and I had Latavius Murray on my fantasy team last year, dude’s a baller, but got nothing on the ground either. Not only that, they held the Saints to 189 passing yards. That Saints offense looked good and can be the best in the league so stats like that from a defense show me that even if Brady is half of what he was last year (which was meh), the Bucs can still win. Also have to say, his rapport with his receivers clearly was off and I’m going to chock it up to COVID; seriously Mike Evans quit on that route. I think it’s reasonable to believe that Brady thought Evans could beat that safety. The Saints secondary isn’t anything to sneeze at either so I expect other QBs to look less than ideal against them this year. It’s one game, but as much as Tom Brady hater as I am, the jury is still out on whether his career is over after one bad game.
Line play, obviously the sexiest part of analysis of any NFL game, couldn’t have been a more prominent story line during the Cowboys Rams game, where the viewer couldn’t help but fixate on Aaron Donald. The Cowboys offensive line of this past decade can reasonably be compared the great lines of all time but thanks to Jason Garrett, they lack the hardware that a line like the Hogs do. Until Travis Frederick retired, he, Tyron Smith and Zach Martin were cruising for a three way ticket to the Hall of Fame. With that said, Aaron Donald just demolished that vaunted line and even with Dak Prescott’s capability as a runner, the Rams won that game by controlling the lines. Despite multiple double teams that even included Martin, Donald ate well, hitting Dak repeatedly and spoiling their overall offensive plan, one that I think we saw inklings of, but that never materialized amidst the squeeze of Donald. On the other side of the ball, it was obviously great to see Aldon Smith out there again, but the Rams took every analyst’s advice to heart to improve their offensive line and despite consistent pressure from the Cowboys, Jared Goff overcame his slumpy shoulders and got the ball out quicker. I still think both these teams have potential to sneak into a conference championship this year based on talent on both sides of the ball, but you have to wonder if the Rams suffocate teams on defense like they did Sunday and Jared Goff keeps his shit together, this team might be scary.
After watching that Cardinals game, I still go back to my original assessment of the DeAndre Hopkins trade: Bill O’Brien can’t kick his obsession with being cute, just like his mentor Bill Belichick. Belichick’s history of cutsy behavior when it comes to roster moves is well known, like benching Malcolm Butler in the Super Bowl, releasing Randy Moss mid-season for still vague reasons and so many more, but Bill O’Brien raises Belichick’s Hello Kitty backpack with this vehicular monstrosity. Trading DeAndre Hopkins this past off season for an old running back, along with second and fourth round picks, makes Belichick’s refusal to properly draft offensive talent in the first and second rounds of the draft look like reasonable management of the often burdensome strain a second contract for a wide receiver or running back puts on the cap because why do you need premium talent when half the white middies who played in the Colonial Athletic Association are available. Bill Belichick’s adorable tactics over the years rubbed off his padawan Bill O’Brien and as I watched DeAndre Hopkins torch the 49ers, 2019’s second ranked secondary according to Pro Football Focus, I had a sick feeling in my stomach for the Texans, knowing Bill O’Brien instead of keeping one of the game’s best receivers, stuffed Texan’s fans with all the Gobstoppers, Swedish Fish, Now & Laters and Nerd Ropes to induce Red Dye 40 vomit all over their season. Will Fuller will get injured, Brandin Cooks will get traded next year to the Jags for a first round pick and Taven Bryan. Thank god, I’m not a Texans fan, I hate cleaning up puke.
Despite having the worst off season in recent memory, at least from a public relations perspective, the DC football team’s defensive line looks absolutely terrifying. Carson Wentz didn’t do himself any favors, throwing two bad Trubiskyian picks along with a fumble, but with offensive line injuries to two starters Brandon Brooks and Andre Dillard, the destruction that led to the Eagles giving away a 17-0 lead seemed inevitable. The DCers have never been a team that drafted particularly poorly on either side of the ball and over the years and as often happens with bad teams, great units can emerge with drafting in focused areas. Defensive line has been this area of concentration for them in past few years, especially from the SEC, which in my opinion is the best way to build any defensive unit. With an aging, yet still reasonably effective Ryan Kerrigan, who’s sneakily approaching 100 career sacks and recent picks Matt Ioannidis, Daron Payne, Montez Sweat, Jonathan Allen and of course star Chase Young, we might be seeing the emergence of a dominant unit over the next decade. They seem to be following patterns of recent dominant defenses, such as the Seahawks, Rams and 49ers in the past decade, by doubling up the depth along the defensive line through high draft picks. That depth gives the defense a plethora of answers for any given situation that opposing offenses throw at them. An elite surplus of depth hampers any offense’s ability to exploit a given position on defense. It’s only one game and Carson Wentz is a little shaky and the Eagles have offensive line woes, but as a former Maryland resident, I’ve watched this team for 20 years and they go on runs of putting together good individual units that if anyone could implement a cohesive plan for the whole team, would flourish. Not going to lie, I had the same thought around 2011 with a similarly assembled group. Back then, Kerrigan was a rookie with 7.5 sacks in his first year and projected to be part of a terrifying tandem with Brian Orakpo and along with Jarvis Jenkins was a highly touted pick, Adam Carriker, a former first rounder reclamation project, ageless wonder London Fletcher and a few other high effort players looked like a solidly built unit. Other than a division win with RGIII, that team never materialized into anything, but with a great coach, a new name and just maybe a change in ownership, this team’s skill at drafting defensive talent may finally pay off. As a Knicks, I echo the cry of Washington Football. Sell the team!
Bo's Gamut 
