Week 9 in the NFL, but mostly Alvin Kamara

I still take credit for drafting Alvin Kamara in his rookie year in fantasy where he turned from a late round flyer into possibly the most dominant player on my team.  In the three years since, Kamara has become one of the best players in the league, capable of mind boggling plays.  I’ve watched a lot of football in my life and I remember how terrifying many of the offensive non-QB players were that I’ve watched.  Whether it was Randy Moss, Le’Veon Bell, Marshall Faulk, Marvin Harrison and so many others, I can’t remember a player making this much of a difference for his team than Kamara.  Drew Brees, a future Hall of Fame quarterback and one of my favorite players ever, treats Kamara like a huggy boo blanket on virtually every play.  It almost seems tragic when Brees throws to another Saints player because watching his eyes, his first read is Kamara no matter what the read on any given passing play.  Lots of pass catching running backs have been this for quarterbacks.  I often refer to a fellow flag football player on my team as Kevin Faulk because of his role for Tom Brady, one that James White happily occupied through three Super Bowl runs.  Kamara is different.  He isn’t just a security blanket for a quarterback, left to a broken play to pick up scraps.  He’s the focal point of one of the more historically potent offenses in NFL history that somehow only has one Super Bowl win.  

The traditional threshold of at least a competent running back is 1,000 yards rushing in a season.  No matter what happens, any lead back should at least be capable of that statistical feat.  With offenses changing dramatically through the latter half of this decade, running back by committee became the norm as analytics intervened and devalued the position.  Listen, Mike Shanahan tried telling us this throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s when Quentin Griffin and Mike Anderson became star backs at will because of Shanahan’s zone blocking scheme.  It was a running joke then that anyone could rush for 1,000 yards behind a Broncos offensive line.  What we didn’t see ahead of time was that many, including Shanahan’s own son, would start to implement offenses that brought focus away from a stout Ahman Green style running game, passed the ball and generally got by with whatever dude could carry the rock for 3-4 yards each play.  Alvin Kamara is the natural evolution of this game, because while to many he seems like a natural successor to Marshall Faulk or even Roger Craig, his receiving skills make him so multidimensional that they nearly exceed his running skills.  Faulk and Craig, the two legends with famed seasons each of 1,000 yards running and receiving were receivers out of checkdown, bubble screen land where the virtual handoffs they received only further highlighted their running ability.  They weren’t running routes so much as the QB could rely on them to dump off in any given situation, knowing their skills as runners would provide so many yards after the catch.  The Chargers flirted with using LaDainian Tomlinson as a modern running back, but opted to run him into the ground instead.  Today, backs like Kamara run routes better than half the receivers in the league and provide their offenses with a dimension unimaginable just eight to ten years ago.  Back then, if a running back couldn’t get a team 1,000 yards, he’d be nothing more than filler to a stronger workhorse who’d go north of 300 carries a year.  Kamara hasn’t hit that mark rushing or receiving yet and he might not this year in his fourth season.  Kamara doesn’t have to do that to be effective, because just like Christian McCaffrey, who did hit that double 1,000 club, his role in the offense provides so much more flexibility than a typical running back.  Maybe Ezekiel Elliot could do the same things as Kamara and McCaffrey but the Cowboys haven’t tried it yet so just looking at running backs on the roster and their play, I’m not sure anyone sees a marked difference between Elliot and his backup Tony Pollard.  How does this all apply to Kamara’s greatness?  Let me share some stats.

To start, Kamara is tied for third in the NFL for receptions and on pace for 120 for the season, which would surpass McCarffrey’s running back record of 116.  You know DeAndre Hopkins? The guy everyone is fawning over that the Texans traded.  Calling Bill O’Brien a fucking idiot for trading? The leader in receiving yards (by a lot) through nine weeks?  Kamara has as many receptions as him.  Kamara has 544 yards after the catch, 185 more than Travis Kelce, the next closest.  He also leads the NFL in broken tackles, a stat completely personified by this incredible play. In my jaded age, I thought I’d never gaze on a play like a child again.  I rewinded my DVR at least eight times to watch that run.  Just awe.  Few athletes ever perform to the degree of personifying their stats with their play.  It’s prevalent in basketball where Ja Morant passes personify the concept of the assist and where LeBron defined the word “block” as an NBA stat in the 2016 NBA Finals with one play that sealed a championship.  Kamara’s run was the perfect form of “broken tackle” by a running back.  Funny story, he caught a pass on that play, as Brees third or fourth option.  It wasn’t even the incredible downfield or intermediate route he runs more consistently than anyone else other than maybe Christian McCaffrey.  Brees has relied on Kamara these past few seasons to bail him out of any murky situation while also hitting him on deep out routes that Kamara runs tightly better than any receiver on the team other than Michael Thomas.

Kamara didn’t have a spectacular game on Sunday night as the Saints surprisingly thrashed the surging Bucs 38-3.  Brees just ran his offense, threw the ball downfield and the Bucs sloppy coaching reared its comely head.  Despite the crap Brees had gotten for not pushing the ball downfield, I’m not really sure we’d ever hear of Traquan Smith, Josh Hill or Marquez Callaway if they were on any other team (have to stand for my guy Brees).  Kamara only ran 9 times for 40 yards, a reasonable average of 4.44 yards per carry, still quite efficient and added 5 receptions for 9 yards.  It was his worst game of the season, though he did get a touchdown.  It didn’t matter.  Kamara drew so much attention from the Bucs that Brees could execute to a degree of effectiveness that he hasn’t yet this year.  The Saints didn’t bat an eye at the hottest defense and maybe team in the league and despite Kamara’s pedestrian day, his influence loomed large over the game.  Maybe he’s not an MVP type player because a focused defense kept him largely under wraps, forcing the Saints to utilize their other weapons.  He still had a solid game though and the threat of his playmaking ability opened the door for scrub receivers to demolish this vaunted secondary.  It’s all to say, don’t look at the stats with Kamara, I mean unless it’s all purpose yards, his impact goes beyond that as we saw on Sunday.  He’s in a great situation, but watching him reminds me of old Gale Sayers highlights.  The freedom and abandon he plays with astounds those of us scouring for moments in our lives where we were as magnificent.          

I don’t have a lot more to say about this week so here are some half baked thoughts watching a variety of games.

The Raven’s offense, after weeks of nervy play, looked at least competent in the second half against a good Colts team.  Lamar completed all 10 of his passes he attempted in the second half and closed out a tough game he had to come back in, something he’s struggled with in his young career.  It’s encouraging as a football fan to see his poise both challenged and strengthened this season.

Miami vs. Arizona played out as advertised with young, snappy quarterbacks delighting us with unabashed and naive risk taking that made this game so much fun to watch.  Fortunately, both Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray kept the turnovers in check and traded on their athleticism and penchant for glittering pizzaz.  In 2013, if you told me that Cards Miami game was on and a young Tannehill would be struggling against John Skelton (who would also be struggling), I would have preferred EWTN (the Catholic network) over watching that game (I’m not Catholic).  Instead, just like the rest of the NFL, the bevy of young quarterbacks gave us our youthful gem of a game for this week.  I’m so excited to add Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Trey Lance to this.  Seriously, if you can’t find a good QB, you’re not looking in the right place.

Buffalo continues to confound viewers.  This year’s Jets are objectively one of the worst teams of the decade; ironic considering their fortunes as the decade started.  The Bills almost lost to them two weeks ago, managing six field goals only, like no touchdowns, just field goals to beat the Jets who scored ten points.  Sunday, they eviscerated what’s quickly becoming one of the worst defenses of all time, the Seahawks, scoring so many points that even Russell Wilson couldn’t mount a comeback.  They also got frisky on defense, something they’ve been relatively fair to middling with this year, forcing Russ into three turnovers.  It was uncharacteristic for this still stellar Seahawks team to play like they did offensively, but the Bills beat a quality, top of the NFC team.  Maybe it’s that shitty Seattle defense or maybe Josh Allen gained a valuable experience asserting himself.  Either way, as a Raven’s fan, I’m now more scared of the Bills in the playoffs, something I’d never thought I’d live long enough to say (I’m only 31).  I’ve said it before, watching Josh Allen scramble is like catching sight of an overweight gentleman, in an unfamiliar place, clearly with the sudden dilemma of having to shit.  He doesn’t know where the bathroom is, the panic sets in, his face turns desperate, but like Josh Allen so many times this season (in a reverse analogy on taking a shit) that guy stumbles upon the promised land of a toilet.  There you go Josh Allen.  Your style of play reminds me of a man (often myself) rushing to take a shit, full of twists and squirms, only to be fulfilled by the release of a delightfully positive plays for your team.

Chelsea vs. Sheffield United: They didn’t collapse

It finally happened, Chelsea finally gave up a goal.  After going 5 of 6 matches without conceding a goal, Sheffield United finally nipped one in on the stonewall Edouard Mendy.  No matter, Chelsea still came away with a strong win.  Earlier last week, Chelsea faced Mendy’s former club Rennes in Champions League, blanking them 3-0 behind a couple of meh penalty calls that Timo Werner completed, but I want to focus more on Sheffield because it was the kind of game Chelsea played last year and even recently this year, where an early goal by the opposing team threatened to derail the entire operation.  Towards, the end of last season, this same Sheffield United that’s currently flailing in the Premier League, hung a dominating 3-0 performance on Chelsea as the back line (and Kepa) crumbled against a stout defense and a clever attack.  Only a few months later, Chelsea, with a new backline and goalkeeper ,trounced the same team through a completely remade team fully hitting its stride.

Sheffield got off to an advantageous start with consistent pressure on the Chelsea backline with strong midfield play coupled with clear chemistry at the front.  Despite their record, Sheffield boast a strong attack that’s physical and Ben Chilwell especially struggled throughout this game with the physicality necessary to hold that side of the field.  Off a couple of defensive lapses, Chelsea finally gave up their first goal in six matches that couldn’t really be stopped as the ball pinned its way around the box into the back of the net.  I won’t say it was a lucky goal because it was planned, but as they say with every sport, it’s a game of inches.  Fortunately, where Chelsea lacked the overwhelming firepower last year, it’s an abundance of riches now and while shaken as I was at the unfamiliar prospect of seeing goals scored on this team, I know the opportunities would come despite Christian Pulisic out with another injury and Kai Havertz recovering from COVID.  

With injuries to star players like Pulisic and Havertz, it’s important to have a plan as a coach to at least attempt to foil an opponent’s plan even if the requisite staff aren’t available.  Fortunately, this team has depth this year, something lacking pretty much the past two years.  With Havertz out, Mason Mount, somewhat cringingly at times, stepped into a false 10 role, making his presence all over the field.  He was joined by N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic in the midfield with Hakim Ziyech on the right wing, Tammy Abraham in the center and Werner on the left side.  After the goal, Chelsea’s oddly formed trio went to work creating as many chances as they possibly could.  From about the 20th minute on, Reece James, Chilwell and Ziyech found their way into getting every ball they wanted into the Sheffield box, forcing a lot of activity from Sheffield goalie, Aaron Ramsdale.  Chelsea finally broke through in the 23rd minute to tie the game from a rare drive into the box from Kovacic and a mishit by Tammy that somehow found the net.  What proceeded to happen after the goal was what this team envisioned for this season by investing so much in the backline.  They held themselves together.  Despite conceding early, they kept composure at the back end through Thiago Silva, Kurt Zouma and Mendy while James and Chilwell continued their calm approach to playing both sides of the ball.  Kante continued being the best Chelsea player this season, controlling the entire field when necessary and with Mount and Kovacic, both definitely superior defenders to Jorginho and probably close to Havertz.  It was easy to see how the calm sea of tranquility settled after Tammy’s goal.  

With Havertz out, Ziyech really got to cook and he delivered deliciousness all over the field.  His breathtaking cross in the 34th minute gave Chelsea the lead as Ben Chilwell put away the cross.  As one of the first soccer players I really loved watching on Ajax, the sight of Ziyech doing this for my team just gave me the excitement I usually reserve for a Pulisic breakaway.  Despite his age (27), Ziyech is still very much in the prime moment of his career and on Saturday, his showcase of skill proved exactly the reason he was signed.  His constant pressure and aerial game with his crosses, gave Chilwell, Werner and Tammy every chance to pressure and breakdown this Sheffield side.  I’ve said watching Lampard’s team that he’s over cautious, but I also believe this game finally proved that caution was a matter of circumstance rather than true strategy.  With a young team last year, the possession game was key to ensuring any sort of success because pressing without the skill to properly cover led to the goal differential issues in the first place.  It’s so clear now that Lampard trusts the skill of his players, especially Ziyech who’s been given every go ahead to press constantly and push the ball forward into the box.  I fancied greatly the run of play through the midfield which gave Chelsea fast breaks, such an important momentum shifter and instant offense for any team.  With a confident backline, capable of covering, Lampard has unleashed his legion of talent and let his players properly push the ball upfield.  While James and Chilwell shot lasers in the box, Ziyech was Simo Hayha out there, constantly sniping into his teammates.

After halftime, Chelsea controlled this game with consistent pressure and interweaving midfield play that showcased the quality in midfield, reaffirming Lampard’s decision to let Mount play a deeper midfield role where he belongs.  Mount pushed up a little too bit for my liking at times, but his motor and defensive tenacity made up for his still provincial focus in this offense.  He still needs experience really running through the progressions of an offense.  Jorginho came on for Kovavic and immediately made his lack of defensive presence known despite some good passes over to James to push the offense.  Ziyech continued to impose himself, finally connecting on a corner with Silva to give Silva his first Chelsea goal, a romp of a header.  It was Zoumaesque in its ferocity and I learned that despite his stature on the field, Silva is 6’, only three inches shorter than Zouma.  Watching them, I figured it was more of a Chris Paul, James Harden thing, Silva just has a lower center of gravity and Zouma has legs for days.  A mistake by Sheffield in the 80th minute gave Werner another goal as he smashed his way into the Golden Boot conversation.  His run of form recently has been transcendent, just not as noteworthy given his pedigree.  Maybe that’s not fair, or maybe it’s that the first time I saw him was as the lone striker on the defending World Cup Champion Germany team back in 2018.  I figured a guy that young was an established world class striker, so I and other Chelsea fans expected his brilliance that did take time to come on.  It’s full on Timo Time now and if Pulisic never gets healthy this season, he and Tammy seem to be developing a strong rapport only reinforced by Ziyech and the wing backs that will take the team somewhere nice.  Giroud made an appearance late for Werner; the bizarre twin towers formation with Tammy and Giroud both strong pillars on the offensive end.  While Giroud hasn’t seen much time this season, he’s clearly teaching Tammy his tricks for airplay and spacing as Tammy looks so much stronger with the ball at his legs this year.  A mostly forgotten man with all the signings, Tammy stepped up and played so consistently well that Lampard is forced to play Werner out of position.  Not a real problem since it’s working.

When this game ended, Chelsea moved into an international break along with everyone else.  Pulisic has been called to play for the US men’s team in some friendlies, though he doesn’t appear fit enough to participate and why would he anyway.  The first break afforded him more time to get healthy and while he performed well in subsequent matches, he still couldn’t stay healthy.  I continue to stop myself from figuring out how to mail him good yoga workout DVDs since his injuries aren’t real chronic injuries.  As the year closes with some fairly decent matchups, my great hope is that he feels my yoga energy, does it himself and properly learns to stretch so that he stops pulling his hamstring.  Overall, this break will be nice for the young English Chelsea players to hopefully get some additional confidence with the national team along with others like Zouma, a relative national newcomer, and the Germans, Werner and Havertz.  My hope is that these consistent breaks give Lampard the time to sit back and really understand his team more effectively to employ players in positions that highlight what they do best rather than forcing them into potentially uncomfortable situations.  Bill Belichick always seeks to answer the question of “what does this player do well?”, a more positive focus that maximizes efficiency.  Lampard’s working on that too with Ziyech getting the keys to creativity, Mount working in the midfield, Pulisic probably a super-sub for this season and Emerson never seeing the light of day in an important game, he appears to be understanding this principle.  Take the time Frank, you’ve got a wonderful thing here, but like any young garden, it needs tending.   

Week 8 in the NFL

Let’s start with the hapless though occasionally competitive San Francisco 49ers and especially their quite expensive quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.  A few years ago, Jimmy got some starts with the Patriots and kind of dazzled for a few games before getting injured.  These few games raised his value to the point of San Francisco trading a second round pick for him during the 2017 NFL season.  With a few games of competent play, Jimmy earned the starting gig, a new contract and promptly tore his ACL early the next season.  Obviously not his fault.  Finally, despite somewhat inconsistent, though ultimately positive performances, Jimmy and the 49ers made it to the Super Bowl last year before losing to what could be a dynasty in the Chiefs.

After last Sunday’s game against the Seahawks Jimmy went to the short term injured reserve after re-aggravating a high ankle sprain he sustained in Week 2.  Despite a relatively good start to the season, a pile of injuries has seemingly derailed the season including Jimmy who tried to make a comeback after missing two games to little avail.  With his second 49ers season in four, pretty much ending in injury, it’s worth thinking about whether the 49ers can return to the promised land with him at the helm. 
Kyle Shanahan appears to be one of the brightest culture builders in the NFL, something much more valuable than just his offensive play calling prowess.  This team, when healthy, boasts an incredible defense, probably the most athletic offensive corp of wide receivers, tight end and running backs in the league, but also probably Jared Goff lite at quarterback.  I’ve long been skeptical of Jimmy, living in New England through his time there, remembering that Belichick can probably make anyone look good (except Cam Newton, which I’ll get to) at playing quarterback.  Last year, when the 49ers played the Saints, I was treated to my comeuppance as Jimmy outdueled one of the greatest QBs ever, who had it that day, and cemented, at least for me, that he could stand up and win games himself for this team.  Jimmy had other impressive games last year, but in the Superdome against a raging Saints team, he stepped up and gave us maybe the most memorable regular season game of last season.  The questions about Jimmy arose after the Super Bowl when he failed to win the game for his team by throwing his second pick with a minute left.  He wasn’t great in the playoffs leading up the game either.  Going into this season, we all asked ourselves whether Jimmy actually had it to lead this very talented team back to the playoffs.  As mentioned, the injuries piled up, but from a visual standpoint, Jimmy doesn’t look the part.  There are stats to back that up, however we all can see it when we’re watching him.  Jimmy had a 60.8 QBR last year, right there with Kirk Cousins, who just ughf.  This yeah, through the six games he’ll likely play, he’s right about in the same place….along with Daniel Jones.  Looking through just about all of the common advanced stats, he’s usually right there next to Dwayne Haskins.  It’s great to have stats backing up what everyone sees, but where I think Carson Wentz is in a funk (maybe), Jimmy is too old for this shit.  Just like Jared Goff, Jimmy is a dependent variable, strongly affected by his surroundings.  He needs the perfect play caller, perfect passing situation and minimal pass rush to properly succeed.  When Aaron Rodgers makes serviceable receivers out of rando guys with long or over complicated to pronounce names, guys named Jimmy, Jared, Kirk can’t function unless everything around them falls into place.  I held off on this feeling for a while (i’m still holding out on Wentz, but it’s fading) and obviously the 49ers will probably give this another go next year, but after watching Jimmy this season, I think those good looks will outlast his tenure as a starting NFL quarterback.

Watching Josh Allen this year has been a treat.  With a deadly arm, freakish, Sasquatch athleticism and a penchant for the bizarre, Allen has been a sight to behold, confusing draft analysts and just about anyone who’s ever watched college football.  Conversely, in the same division, we’ve watched a former MVP get the shit kicked out of him, not by COVID, but by an offense seemingly designed to get him injured.  Cam Newton hasn’t played well this year.  He’s one of the worst performing quarterbacks who’s started most of his team’s games this year by any stat other than maybe rushing touchdowns.  The injuries, other than a COVID test, which robbed us of a delicious bout with the Chiefs, haven’t sapped him of his explosiveness.  Josh McDaniels is busy taking care of that by turning Bill Belichick’s forward dream of a mobile quarterback into one of the ugliest things I can see on a Sunday.  Cam has 2 passing touchdowns compared to 7 interceptions on the year, despite a completion percentage of 66% that would come close to his career best, along with a decent yards per attempt at 7.3.  Watching this offense, it’s like the Pats want to put as many obstacles in the way of Cam to see if he can dance his way out of it.  Maybe it’s McDaniels’ unfamiliarity with a mobile QB.  Their last QB’s mobility could favorably be compared to me stumbling out of my bedroom, hungover on a Saturday morning, towards the bathroom.  McDaniels drafted Tim Tebow in the first round back in 2010, damning Tebow to the high expectations he never could fill since he should have been playing running back.  What they’re doing now with Cam looks like all of McDaniels pent up frustration from getting fired in Denver, taken out on a QB who just got over a slew of injuries and has almost no NFL receivers to throw to.  Is Phillip Dorsett still on this team? I really don’t know because despite all the years of Brady being downgraded because of good defense, we see that he literally won the SUPER BOWL with a washed up Gronk and not much else.  Cam is being asked to throw short and intermediate throws to inferior talent, with risks taken on receivers that are overmatched by just about any secondary they could come against.  When he isn’t throwing to some former attackmen from Bellarmine, he’s running some limp dick run pass option, except that no Pats running back provides any sort of threat to defenses.  Opposing defenses know Cam will be running the ball.  Despite his injuries, he genuinely looks as terrifying to tackle as Derrick Henry.  Last Sunday, the grand plan finally crapped all over itself as Cam fumbled on a promising late possession with the Pats falling to 2-5 after putting up a decent fight to the likely division winner.  Where Brady owned the Bills and would have put that game away with an appropriate offensive strategy, McDaniels and Belichick gimmicked Cam into a lose lose situation where he was forced to literally be the only offensive weapon defenses have to respect.  It’s no wonder he’s being intercepted so much, despite having one of the lower amounts of bad throws of any starter.  The problem is that his bad throws are 21% of his attempts, pretty much tied for the third worst in the league.  Rather than this being entirely Cam (it’s definitely partially his fault), I really believe the Pats aren’t as smart as we’ve been fooled to believe.  Despite a COVID offseason, and a new situation the Pats aren’t letting Cam throw it enough to properly get understanding with his receivers, who also suck.  I know it’s a generous gift to Cam, but after watching Brady pull wins out of his ass the past couple of years, and the sheer delight in his eyes throwing to the talent in Tampa, I just have to give Cam a break.  The team and the coaching around him, just isn’t giving him a fair shake at the moment.

I think I hate the Rams.  Not sure why, could be Jared Goff’s face or Sean McVay’s dude bro douche energy, even though he seems like a nice guy on Hard Knocks.  It’s cause they’re frauds.  They fooled us a few years ago, winning one of the most magnificent displays of pure offensive football ever (when the real magician lost the game).  That game was Plato’s perfect form of offensive football in the NFL and when the Rams fizzled out in the worst Super Bowl this past decade, it became clear to everyone in the league that McVay might not be all he seemed.  Look at this way, everyone he’d ever butt dialed got attention for a coaching position after that Super Bowl, but on February 4th, 2019, the day after that game, did Cardinals and Packers fans feel better or worse about the McVay bros they hired?  The Bengals obviously did, hiring his quarterbacks coach the day after the Super Bowl.  Things have looked more or less better since then with the McVay disciples looking halfway decent maybe.  Last Sunday, just like he did in that Super Bowl, Miami coach Brian Flores, completely flummoxed Jared Goff and the Rams. Flores was an unnamed, amorphous coordinator with the Patriots when they completely shut McVay down and seemingly may have broken the will of this team that’s in year three of “win now” mode.  The Rams have almost no draft capital and with an aging defense, no real stars on offense, I think games like the one on Sunday against the Dolphins may be more common. 

This game was interesting to me because it was Tua’s first start and he proceeded to not factor whatsoever in the game.  After tying the game at the end of the first quarter, the Dolphins fumbled a punt in their red zone, giving the Rams a delightful gift to go up by 7. Instead, Jared Goff took a shit on the field, getting sacked with a Dolphins player whose name sounds like a Dutch soccer player’s, returning it for a touchdown.  That Flying Dutchman, Andrew Van Ginkel was all over Goff along with a slew of other no names (Kyle Van Noy, I guess) that Flores schemed up again to foil the Rams.  After that,  Goff went three and out with Miami returning a punt for a touchdown to go up 21-7.  Then threw an interception on the next drive.  Then lost the ball again on a sack giving Miami the ball on the Rams 1 yard-line on the drive after that.  Miami scored with that field position towards the end of the first half.  I knew Goff was done at that point.  It’s so easy to mentally punish him and any sort of discomfort leads him to retreat into his shell of mediocrity.  Look, he earned that extension with his stats, but even when you saw him throwing 400 yards and 3 TDs most game, something didn’t seem right; the Rams paid him anyway.  The Rams haven’t looked horrendous this year or anything and they’re only 5-3, but you have to beat this Miami team even as they’ve looked competent this season under Flores.  It’s going to be wildly interesting to see what happens in that NFC West division and I don’t think the Rams will be there at the end in the division race.  With a defense that’s full of starpower, but lacks cohesion, minimal offensive talent, I think it’s time for McVay to prove to us how good he really is as a culture builder.  The Rams petered off last year and somehow ended up 9-7, despite looking like a 5-11 team most of the year.  With the Seahawks and Cardinals playing the game of the year and both looking fucking lethal, this division won’t be getting easier this year or the next couple.  After seeing this man Goff defy all of his first year jittery body movement to give us a moment of pure football bliss, to the moments when he looks like George Plimpton out there, I can’t trust him.  I don’t know that I ever really did.        

Two Matches, Six Points. This week in Chelsea FC

Thank god we finally got some goals.  After two straight games with Chelsea not scoring a single goal (nor giving one up to be fair) despite having everyone mostly healthy, they exploded in the second half of their Champions League bout with FC Krasnodar last Wednesday.  Chelsea also scored three at Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday; not conceding at all and giving Edouard Mendy his fifth clean sheet in six matches.  After three straight draws, two of them without scoring, Chelsea have finally seemed to find a rhythm of sorts with their new signings at the front as well as figured out some personnel in the midfield that let the offense properly flow.  

Unfortunately, after a super-sub performance from Christian Pulisic against Krasnodar, he appears to have hurt his hamstring again.  During warm-ups before Burnley, Pulisic felt a slight sensation in his hamstring and was kept out by Lampard.  Despite the load management mid-week by only playing him 20 or so minutes, the grind of this season with so many matches close together in all competitions, seems to be getting to Pulisic.  When he’s playing, he’s clearly the most dangerous player on the field.  His first action this season against Crystal Palace showcased his rocketing speed as he immediately made an impact, almost scoring after coming on around the 82nd minute.  Since then, with an international break and consistent play, the team overall struggled to score goals.  Chelsea seem to finally have found their offensive rhythm, but it seems like Pulisic could be left out of that loop.  Against Burnley, in both these games, Lampard seems to have figured out his optimal lineup across the field and with Pulisic probably never being consistently healthy, it’s not like the team can’t survive without him.  Maybe I’m just being alarmist and he’s young enough that he can change something in his fitness routine to get his damn legs more limber, but I just think after two more years of this, Chelsea probably loans hims out somewhere like West Ham United where can get consistent playing time, be the man and probably fade away into his late twenties as his body fails him.  Athletes can overcome early career injury bad luck.  Matthew Stafford famously couldn’t stay healthy his first two years in the NFL then subsequently put together almost eight straight of consistent play.  The problem with Pulisic, is that it’s the same type of injuries still plaguing him, just like they did at Dortmund.  He really needs to figure out yoga to properly stretch his hamstrings or this might be an indicator of a situation much more dire.

Fortunately, Hakim Ziyech is now healthy and spent these two games against Krasnodar and Burnley, lighting up the field, a much needed spark weaving his way into the offense.  Timo Werner and Ziyech have a particularly strong connection with each player coming from squads where they had plenty of compliments to each other’s game.  During the Krasnodar outing, after Pullisic came in, Ziyech, he and Werner along with Kai Havertz hummed together so well resulting in Pulisic earning a penalty which Werner stuck home and a passing sequence that gave Ziyech his first Chelsea goal off an assist from Werner and a hockey assist from Pulisic.  Again it’s frustrating that Pulisic can’t stay healthy; I think he has like three hockey assists this season and while Havertz plays the true 10 position, it’s Pulisic who makes the offense reach its final form.  Throughout the Krasnodar game, Havertz, Werner and Ziyech dissected the defense with Ziyech really getting comfortable with his sumptuous left footed crosses into the box from the middle and the right side.  Against Burnley, after the half, Chelsea blitzkrieged with Reece James right side crosses, Ben Chilwell left side crosses and Ziyech passes from the middle and right side.  It’s firepower scary to see now that the wings and middle contain such creative players.  At Burnley, Ziyech cutely converted a goal against the stout Nick Pope, fooling the goalkeeper with his wizardry of movement, leaving Pope out of position.  With the full start, his second, Ziyech was all over the field, almost as a supportive second 10 for Kai.  He’s better at pressing the ball than he probably gets credit for as an attacking midfielder, but where Krasnodar showcased a bit of what he offers, Burnley was full display of his array of skills.  His assist on Werner’s wonderful finish was a natural progression within the flow of that game.  You could see through both games that Frank Lampard’s confidence in the skill of his players allows them to take more risks and push the ball further and faster up the pitch.  

It’s like Lampard heard my shouting at the television because Mason Mount played what I believe his best position, in both the Krasnodar and Burnley games.  At Krasnodar, Mount came in for Jorginho and while he naturally drifted up the pitch towards the opponents half, his defensive skills and control of the midfield shined as he and N’Golo Kante, who he came on with, gelled that midfield and provided stability for the offense to score three subsequent goals.  His energy seems to infect everyone and he’s able to match the effervescent sparkplug energy of Kante by providing balls up the center and generally doing well holding down the midfield.  He played the position again on Saturday in the Burnley game and provided such good play between the boxes that Burnley barely got any sort of rhythm going offensively.  Mount is a much better defender than Jorginho and against Burnley he really started to see the bigger picture of the field as Jorginho does, providing real cheeky, firm ground passes up the field, notably to James.  It’s the kind of service Jorginho gives in the air, but that Mount appears to be specifically working on to secure his place in the midfield.  Even after the game, Mount proclaimed his preference for playing where he did in the midfeild.  He seems to understand how this offense is supposed to work with the array of strong skills the forwards have.   Finding the big picture flow of the offense and executing that vision has been challenging for him, so it’s really great to see his energizer self used where he really belongs and it’s helping him see things much more globally.  

Along with Mount, I can’t say enough about Kante and how stalwart he is.  He’s clearly the best player on the team of the highest world class and I know he can’t stay healthy since he’s like 5’5” but he really is the heart of the team.  While Kante didn’t play much against Krasnodar, he anchored as he always does against Burnley, running all over the field with his disruptive mindset, even earning himself a decent shot on goal.  This season, now that he has Havertz, he can rest himself a bit in the Chelsea half and run that end, while not extending himself too far into the offensive end.  With Kai, Kante acts like a VHS tape roller on one side with Kai on the other in the offensive end.  Together the tape of the game feeds through both and they control each end back and forth, fully using their skill sets as designed.  Watching the Burnley game, I just felt like I was watching a video tape with the reels moving back and forth through the fulcrums of Kante and Kai.  Kai again provides so much stability, creativity and frankly size that lacked last year.  He’s far more interconnected than Willian was willing to be at times and honestly plays so much more intelligently that Ross Barkley.  He’s still getting on the same page with everyone offensively to score goals, something he did often at Bayer Leverkusen however he’s also surrounded with superior talent and his facilitation of the offense and control of his side of the field is all Chelsea really need him to do right now.  I’m just so happy to see someone on the offensive side take these reigns to compliment Kante.  Pulisic tried at times last year, but he’s a flare of a player, not like Kai who will scrap constantly, play everywhere and defend better.  With Ziyech getting more comfortable in the offense, Kai can really start to understand his teammates better, the spacing they like and the passing that puts them in the best positions to use their skill sets.

Look, I know these games were against bad competition.  Krasnodar threatened in the first half before wilting under the renewed pressure of Chelsea bench in the second half.  Burnley never trifled with attempting to score.  Besides that, Chelsea last year (and earlier this year against West Brom) have had the tendency that young talented teams have to play down to their competition.  It’s bound to happen and not entirely without valuable experience, especially when Lampard knows exactly it’s happening as indicated by what he usually says after tough matches.  Major college football teams, as the season commences, often play very inferior teams.  I remember a few years ago when The Citadel, a small military style school in South Carolina, played Alabama during the season and were of course demolished by a team that went on to lose in the national title game.  Chelsea should be treating these games as such from a psychological perspective to build confidence and work out the kinks of a still evolving team.  The backline looks incredibly set and solid and after we actually got to see how good Mendy is against Manchester United.  The team now knows the goalkeeper can be counted on.  These are real teams they’re beating though, Champions League and Premier League teams, not Ipswich Town in the FA Cup.  It doesn’t matter that it’s not Liverpool or Manchester City because it’s clear when those games come that they’ll at least be able to hold their own.  There’s a strong base here and I know Premier League aspirations are shortly down the road.  I think those are founded and while this year might not be it, next year this team will have gelled, solidified itself, put a fucking minutes restriction on Pulisic and be ready compete for the Premier League and beyond.

Week 7 in the NFL

I’m a rarity in some ways that I’m a Ravens fan who doesn’t hate the Steelers.  Obviously, I don’t want them to win when they play my team, but otherwise, because of family connections to the team, I’m relatively fond of them.  Last year, as the quarterback situation devolved to the point of high comedy with a guy named Duck and a former Oklahoma State QB starting for them.  An excellent Mike Tomlin coaching effort along with a great defense guided them to a highly respectable 8-8 record, just missing out on the playoffs.  Oddly enough, with yet another laterish round receiver pick (Chase Claypool) and Ben Roethlisberger fully back, apparently a fair bit of commentators pegged them as less than stellar candidates this year.  On Sunday, the Steelers pulled out a tough game against the Titans, which they almost gave away, but nonetheless moved to 6-0, their best start since 1978 when they won the Super Bowl.  They’ve looked dominant at times this season, matching hard nosed defense with higher flying offense that look strangely familiar to the Super Bowl contender of the early 2010s that they were.  Their factory of receivers continues its dominance with Claypool, the rookie, looking like the next Calvin Johnson at times, Diontae Johnson, James Washington and the now aging Juju Smith-Schuster, who as the old man in the receiving corp is only 23.  James Conner, while fighting injuries constantly, is running the ball effectively, averaging 4.7 yards a carry.  With all that we knew was missing last year, why did so many doubt this team?  As a fan of a team in the same division, I’m always scared of the Steelers, mostly for their organizational competence.  One of the most disheartening things in sports and maybe the great lament of any fan of incompetent teams, is watching your rivals run everything right from an organizational perspective, doing less with more and handing you your ass every year.  Think how Bengals and Browns fans feel about having two teams, the Ravens and Steelers, whose personnel could teach college classes on how to run an organization, in the same division, beating their asses every year.  That’s why I’m not surprised by this start at all.  Ben still can pull enough out to win with this team.   Whether he can do it with his aged self when the weather gets cold will be another story, but I think the defense can carry things if necessary.  I’m just frankly shocked this team got shit on at all to start the season and as a Ravens fan with an offense looking shaky as hell, I’m not looking forward to this matchup going forward.  I also have to say when it comes to preseason analysis, competent organizations always overcome the odds and no one should lose sight of how important that is to success on the field.

As a child of the 1990s, I was properly introduced to football in the 1996-1997 season, the year Brett Favre was the MVP and won the Super Bowl.  It’s the first one I watched, you know when I was rooting for those plucky, hard luck Patriots; in retrospect, I’m so happy they lost.  As one growing up in the 1990s, I was always told that the Cowboys were America’s team, so important to the overall health of the league that their value lay more off the field than on it.  As I said, the first Super Bowl I saw was the year after they won the last meaningful playoff game.  Since then, it’s been nothing but blowhardy coverage of a team that’s barely had enough to conquer an often hapless division.  The Eagles dominated the 2000s with a few good Giant teams sprinkled in.  All the while and to this day, no one will shut the fuck up about the Cowboys.  Listen, I’m a former high school athlete who’s frustrated about how his high school sports career went.  Get me drunk at a party with the right mood and I’ll start bitching about my coaches, how they used me, how good I would have been at football had my school had a team, etc.  I can’t say that hasn’t happened, but most of the time, I’m fine with everything.  Jerry Jones’ fixation on the early 1990s rivals the opening theme to Portlandia because the 90s were awesome, now everything sucks, especially the Cowboys.  He can’t stop riding the glory days.  On Sunday, the Boys scored 3 points while giving up 25 points to an even more moribund franchise that doesn’t even have a fucking name.  Despite having one of the best running backs in the NFL, the Cowboys had 83 yards on the ground and 114 yards in the air, with Zeke Elliot getting 45 yards on 12 carries.  The DCers have been competent on defense this season, but the Cowboys have a murderers row of offensive talent, enough that Andy Dalton, before he got injured, should have been able to do something with.  We all know what it is, we know the problem and it’s been there since I first started watching football, the year after Barry Switzer as the mistress, went all the way with Jimmy Johnson’s team.  It’s Jerry.  Don’t get me wrong, I respect Jerry as a man who could sell a literal shit sandwich buffet to a 20 year reunion gathering of a high school tennis team.  He markets a steaming pile every year and has ever since I remember learning what football was.  Now I’m almost 32 and with my experience in the business world, the only culprit to this team’s incompetence is Jerry.  His management style with ominous controlling behavior, always peeking over the shoulder of coaches and whoever makes personnel decisions, spreads havok and dread of the hierarchy of the team.  Mike McCarthy was supposed to be an independent minded coach with a pedigree, who in a truly admirable act of self realization took a year off to learn analytics.  His competence, mostly on display of the coach of the Packers would give these Cowboys the strong, knowledgable leader they lacked for 10 years (10 FUCKING YEARS) with Jerry’s bitch, Jason Garrett.  It’s not happening.  Of course today, they floated trades for players while also saying they’d cut those same players if they can’t be traded; way to sell high. Somehow they’re still relevant in the dogshit NFC East, the division every boob on the east coast and in Texas is obsessed with because I guess there’s a population glut in those areas.  The NFC East is the CBS sitcom of NFL divisions; bloated, unoriginal, bland and generally uninteresting to remotely intelligent third graders.  That makes the Cowboys like Two Broke Girls or The Big Bang Theory, or whatever shit Chuck Lorre makes that could have reasonably appeared as entertainment in the movie Idiocracy.  If all that’s true (and it is), Jerry is the Chuck Lorre of at all, because despite having no discernible entertaining value, the master marketer gets everything to eat his shit sandwiches, throw up, then show up the next week like dim-witted amnesiacs.  Enough already.           

I really envy the West Coast when they don’t have to sit up until almost 1am to watch a thrilling Sunday night football game.  I’m bleary eyed and pinching my inner thigh to stay awake even as the Cardinals and the Seahawks put on an absolute circus of a game.  Both teams put up a combined 732 net pass yards and over 1,000 total yards of offense albeit with an entire overtime period.  With Russell Wilson as the MVP favorite and Kyler Murray lurking as the sneaky second year QB to follow the recent slate of sophomore QBs in the MVP race, I knew ahead of time this game would be special.  There’s at least one game each year that renews all of your hope for football as this nation’s most popular sport.  Amidst all of the NFL’s inherent problems, bad publicity and general disinterest in the health and safety of their players, a game each year glistens over the season’s ills and reminds us why we’re obsessed with this game.  From Rams-Chiefs two years ago, to last year’s evidence that Jimmy G is competent with his tango against the Saints, to this year’s first nominee, each of these games provides thrilling offense, very little defense and typically two quarterbacks peaking during the season.  This game had everything, from Kyler Murray’s scrambling runs, which I finally got to see on full display for a full game, Russell Wilson’s runs, both of their incredible abilities as downfield passers and one exceptional play from a man known only as “DK” .  

The game started with Seattle dominating possession, forcing Kyler into weird decisions, short runs and generally flaccid drives.  The Cards scored towards the end of the 1st quarter on a deep ball to DeAndre Hopkins, but by the same time in the 2nd quarter, Seattle had taken a 20-7 lead.  During that time, Wilson threw a bad interception to Budda Baker, who after running almost to the endzone was hunted down by DK Metcalf, arguably the play of the season and one of the best NFL memes of all time already.  Few things in a sporting contest have me shouting at the TV anymore, but in this moment I couldn’t help myself, letting out a yelp of excitement as I realized this might be that magical game, once a year, like Christmas that brings me football nirvana.  

By the end of the half, Seattle took a 27-17 lead on an absolutely perfectly placed bomb of a pass from Wilson to Tyler Lockett, who while inconsistent at times, looks like a better Will Fuller.  Seattle seemed relatively in control.  While each team traded blows throughout the third quarter failing to score, Russell and Kyler knew they were building towards a fourth quarter glitterbomb of activity.  Kyler finally got the score within reach towards the end of the quarter with a cute TD run.  He seriously looks like a cartoon out there with his size, like when cartoon children chug coffee; it’s encouraging for short men to see a man move like that against the physical gods of humanity.  Both teams struggled throughout to design run the ball, with each QB leading their teams in rushing through scrambles.  There’s few QBs right now who can combine scrambling with straight speed like these two; Mahomes can scramble, Lamar has speed, but I’m not sure either can combine the two as eloquently as Russell and Kyler; it was the best of times watching them run.  

After Russell and Kyler traded interceptions at the 4th quarters outset, the bizarre stat line read that Wilson had a 2-2 TD to Interceptions.  To give you an idea of how ridiculous the mere idea of Wilson throwing interceptions is, consider that while the Interception% God Aaron Rodgers sits at number one all time, with Brady close behind, no other QB in the top ten has close to the TD amount and attempts that Wilson has.  Maybe Alex Smith, but given that he’s in the top 10 all time, along with Derek Carr, Sam Bradford and Carson Wentz, you can see why over time this stat indicates that you’re either a wuss who can’t push it downfield (Bradford, Smith, Carr) or QB jesus (Brady, Rodgers, eventually Wilson).  Anyway,  after the Seahawks held the ball for almost six minutes in the 4th quarter after Kyler’s pick, Wilson seemingly put the game away with a third TD to Tyler Lockett.  With 6 minutes left, it was on Kyler to come back into this game.  To his credit, the Cards possessed the ball and with 3 minute left attempted a field goal to make it a one score game.  Hilariously, the Seahawks committed an offside penalty and Kyler threw a touchdown to Chrisitan Kirk a few plays later, leaving the score 34-31 in favor of the Seahawks with about 2 minutes left.  He obviously left too much time for Russell who just thrives in these weird Seahawks games that to be fair, we could just call Seahawks games.  With Chris Carson out, the Seahawks turned to the NFL vagabond Carlos Hyde to ride into the sunset, only to hit a wall, giving the Cards the ball back with a minute left.  Kyler then went to work, firing three straight intermediate passes in between spiking the ball, culminating in a 44 yard field goal to bring this berserk game into overtime.  I can’t say much about overtime, each team looked gassed and fizzled out drives.  The Cards tried to end the game on a bizarre 2nd and 15, 44 yard field goal attempt which made no sense given how bad Seattle’s defense was and that it was 2nd down with 2:50 left in the game.  So questionable a decision, really just peculiar and seems like an analytically driven call that lacked situational awareness.  With that miss, Russell again had more than two minutes to engineer a miracle and it almost got there.  Crossing over into Card’s territory, Russ threw his THIRD interception, unfathomable.  The script from there followed the end of the 4th, with just ball out play by Kyler who put the kicker back into range for an even longer field than the weird one on 2nd down, which the kickver made as time basically expired.  I couldn’t sleep for a bit after this game despite it being like 12:38 EST and I knew then that if I couldn’t feel that same way again this year, it would be ok.  We got that game and should be grateful in a year full of shit that sucks.

Last thing, I continue to be shocked how good Justin Herbert is.  I genuinely have a quarterback controversy on my fantasy team because of how good he’s playing, given that my other QB just threw three picks against the Cardinals.  Again, Herbert looked timid in college, like he didn’t have that edge, but Sunday, admittedly against the Jags, he earned his well deserved first win after going all out against Brady, Brees and Mahomes, almost defeating all three and looking comfortable.  Hell, his first game against the still dangerous Chiefs defense went into overtime.  He looks strong in the pocket, fire bombing secondaries with his downfield threats, distributing the ball to all of his receivers and looking like a mini-Josh Allen on his scrambles.  Where he looked hesitant in college, he looks like a killer in the pros.  I feel bad about Tyrod Taylor and while Hard Knocks gave us little to go on for Herbert, it seems like Tyrod was just there because of his leadership qualities and not much else.  It fucking sucks for him that this is how it went, but now Tyrod has fallen so that Herbert, Josh Allen and ughf, I guess Baker Mayfield can live.  I’m genuinely excited to watch the Chargers for the first time in a while, so I’ve joined the ten other Chargers fans with that spirit.  It’s a fun team with a bright QB who’s casually almost slaying giants. 

Chelsea-Manchester United

It’s somewhat disappointing for Chelsea to go two straight games without goals despite their glut of offensive talent being available, however given last season’s defensive struggles, it’s clear that the new signings at the back have made such a defensive impact that it’s worth the draws.  This team is still looking for it’s offensive cohesion as the players learn positioning on their passes and feel out the spacing.  Chelsea started this game in an odd formation, going with a 3-4-3, almost an attempt to shoehorn Reece James and Cesar Azpilicueta onto the field at the same time.  James recently played some midfield to ill effect, so I understand the decision to get him back on right side and Azpi has never been the problem on the back line.  This also gave Christian Pulisic the chance on his favored left side with Kai Havertz still allowed to basically roam all over the field.  Mason Mount wasn’t in the lineup, though he eventually came on along with Tammy Abraham for Havertz and Time Werner.  Werner failed to really get anything going this game and Pulisic created most of the attacking chances.  It was an overall fair and deserved result given all the defensive struggles for this team.

Chelsea spent the first ten minutes or so of this game defending a consistent press from Manchester United as Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes continued their partnership up front, though they missed Anthony Martial on the left side, where Daniel James was thoroughly manhandled by his brother Reece James.  With consistent pressing efforts, crosses and runs, ManU tested this Chelsea backline, but they prevailed and took control of possession for most of the rest of the first half.  A couple corners gave Chelsea opportunities, but other than Kai and Zouma, Chelsea’s lack of height on the offensive side compared to ManU’s defensive size showed in this game.  I’m still not sure why we haven’t seen Giroud at all this season.  Last year he struggled to get on the field until later in the season where he performed beautifully especially with Pulisic.  For ten minutes between the 20 and 30 minute mark, consistent offensive pressure created chances, mostly for and by Pulisic who made multiple runs with shots himself and passes to teammates inside.  In a more offensively minded role, Ben Chilwell presented more incredible passing and the link up between him and Pulisic seems to be coming along quite nicely.  Pulisic also has improved dramatically in his pressing efforts where he looked like a child at times last year, he had a really nice takeaway to create probably the best Chelsea chance of the game in midfield, pick-pocketing Fred and driving in himself for a shot.  

On defense, after a nervy pass from Edouard Mendy that almost went into the goal, Chelsea sustained a more consistent attack towards the end of the first half.  Mendy made a wonderful save off Marcus Rashford who dealt with rainy turf, but the shot still required a massive effort from Mendy.  At 6’6”, Mendy becomes giant in one on one situations so it was great to see that payoff.  Sometimes with keepers, you just have to admit that height can’t be taught and despite Kepa Arrizabalaga’s abilities, at 6’1”, you’re never going to be able to make certain saves.  After Thibault Courtois, another 6’6” keeper, moved on from Chelsea, and Kepa came in, I think it’s clear how important height in a goalkeeper is for this team.  Mendy made a couple more saves late in the first half that would have been really shaky if Kepa had attempted them.  It’s amazing how Mendy and Thiago Silva have calmed Kurt Zouma and elevated his game.  Zouma got consistent playing time last year because of the transfer ban after spending the previous two years on loan and was inconsistent despite his immense talent and special ability with long balls forward.  In the Southampton game, it was he who made the errant pass back to Kepa who botched the save and let in a goal.  On Saturday, Zouma looked calm and collected again as he had mid-week against Sevilla.  Honestly, I’m not sure 100% on Kepa’s communication, it always seemed to be an issue, whether it literally language related, I don’t know, but having Mendy, Silva and Azpi who all speak French may be making a difference in communication.  Reportedly, Azpi made a comment on this after this line’s dominant performance in the Crystal Palace game.  Whatever it is, with Silva’s calming influence and clear leadership, the confidence of Mendy and Azpi’s strong captain leadership, Zouma’s elevated his game.  With the pressure at the end of the half, Chelsea did manage a few more offensive opportunities that led to a really questionable no call with Harry Maguire dragging Azpi down in the penalty box on a corner that’s led to widespread dissent with Lampard clearly believing in a post game interview that it was indeed a penalty.  Oh well.

The second half started with more consistent pressure from Chelsea with Pulisic getting in behind, where Maguire stepped again and consistent efforts by Chilwell to get down the left side.  Aaron Wan-Bissaka became much more of a problem, linking with Fernandes on the attack and consistently disrupting Chilwell and Pulisic’s efforts to get balls through.  Toward the 60th minute, ManU made inroads as Edinson Cavani and Paul Pogba came on providing attacking firepower, causing Jorginho and Kai to drop back more consistently to cover.  Kai again, while making strides on the offensive end to connect with Werner and Pulisic continues to show his versatility through his ability to get back and defend.  Having someone with his size to help the sometimes height hampered Kante and Jorginho in midfield has definitely contributed to the defensive improvement.  At the 60th minute, Reece James finally snuck in an absolute sniper of a cross that Pulisic almost finished. It was vintage James that gave me such hope between him and Chilwell on that side with their dangerous crosses in this formation.  I’m not sure this formation will be favored going forward, but it certainly worked today on both ends of the field.  Having James and Chilwell essentially play as wingers seemed to free up more space for them to be creative and link up with the forward players.

Not much occurred from an attacking standpoint as the second half waned.  ManU possessed the ball much more and Scott Fucking McTominay did his best Bernard Karmel Pollard impression by injuring Pulisic and then himself while attempting a challenge on Tammy.  This fucking guy, I don’t know why he hasn’t been loaned out yet because he doesn’t really provide consistency for ManU, but I mean what are they going to do, play Jesse Lingard.  Nemanja Matic has to be injured right?  Ooof, I don’t care for McTominay.  Ziyech came in for Pulisic in the 80th minute; thought it was kind of weird with him, Mount and Tammy on the attack, however I think Frank’s just trying to get him minutes to get used to playing with the team.  It’s going to be tough to fit him in because of his style and he seems to need that chemistry with his teammates more than anyone else.  Mount, Tammy and James showed their chemistry getting forward a time or two.  Chelsea made a final defensive stand at the end and Mendy made another incredible save against Rashford in the 90th minute, showing incredible anticipation.  Kepa doesn’t make that save because Mendy got his fingers on it and those extra five inches made all the differences.  ManU’s attack fizzled out and the game ended with a draw.  The biggest thing with this game was how tested Mendy got and he shined brightly as my man of the match.  The offensive players are still figuring each other out and that’s ok because they’re not losing which is paramount to stay high up in the table and Champions League.  Defensive competence and frankly robustness will probably be the most prominent feature early this season with the offensive firepower getting acclimated.  I think by the end of November this entire thing will come together, but it’s really nice to see that Chelsea can manage points without scoring goals. 

The Haunting of Bly Manor…the first five episodes

Heads up. This contains spoilers to The Haunting of Bly Manor

It’s always interesting remembering dramatic television in my childhood in the early 2000s, with mostly underwhelming content compared to now.  Back then, the shows I did watch were appointment television or at least next day after I recorded them on VHS tapes.  I would have barely comprehended the concept of streaming an entire season on my television as basically all of us would have.  It’s all to say that with so much content now, it’s hard at times to literally remember what shows one is watching.  I’m not sure if many shows I’ve watched are cancelled, limited series or if I’m unknowingly waiting on another season.  When I look back at this Platinum Age of television of the past decade, few shows made the mark on me like The Haunting of Hill House, the first season of Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting anthology series.  The plot acutely threw melting salt on some of my own personal experiences coming from a large family, so I likely give it more credit than it deserves, but nonetheless, when the second season was announced, I largely forgot about it.  I forgot because amidst the pandemic, I have no idea if half the shows I watch will come back so I’ve gotten used to putting new, terrific television behind me quickly, knowing that whatever I enjoyed over the past few months may never see the screen again.  Fortunately, I was delighted to see that the second season of The Haunting, The Haunting of Bly Manor, come up on Netflix, a welcome, familiar sight in an increasingly depressing television slate.   

Full disclosure, I’m only five episodes out of nine into the The Haunting of Bly Manor, which is based on the classic novella, The Turn of the Screw, which fortunately I’m not familiar with.  Creator Mike Flanagan, renowned for his low budget, high quality horror films, somehow manages in both seasons of this show to make the viewer believe some twist is on the horizon, despite the journey being the main focus.  I wasn’t familiar with the source material of the first season either, but given how Flanagan adapted two different works in such similar ways, I’m struck by how succinctly Bly Manor captures the same unease, not outright terror, that Hill House does.  Another show I’ve watched extensively, American Horror Story, albeit an entirely different drama, almost always seems to miss the mark in finding the subtlety of the horrific events in the story.  Nothing is a slow burn on that show, it’s all forced into your mouth and maybe it’s just not my style, I just always have trouble being truly compelled by that show in the same way The Haunting leaves me wanting more episodes.  Bly takes the realistic horror and tragedy we can all grasp and injects succinct tinges of supernatural elements to weave the complex threads of each character’s given situation.  

The story’s main character, Danielle “Dani” Clayton, played by the hauntingly talented Victoria Pedretti, takes a job in England to be an au pair for two young children whose parents died recently.  She’s an American and in her interview with Henry Thomas’ character, the kid’s uncle, both parties inquire right off the bat as to the baggage each situation carries.  Thomas is cagey about the situation, obviously having at least inklings about the ghostly nature of Bly Manor, the children’s home.  Dani similarly keeps her tragic past to herself.  Dani sees a vision of man in every mirror that terrifies her each time, clearly the ghost of some grim incident in her life and always a welcome scare to viewers, even through the first episode when we know it’s coming.  It serves as a visual constant for me at least, of the consistently, gnawing thoughts that plague most people no matter how hard they attempt to ignore them.  In many ways,  the subtle horror of Flanagan’s style, seeks to visually represent hyperbolic versions of grievous circumstances of characters to draw parallels to the obviously less visual, but in some ways worse, psychological dread we experience in the real world.  No, we don’t live in a haunted house like Bly Manor, however we also struggle to escape the events and people we regret.  

As Dani learns, the former au pair, Rebecca Jessel, killed herself only a year earlier and upon arriving at the manor, the children, Miles and Flora, appear odd, but otherwise pleasant and clearly have a fondness for their former nanny.  Flora, the daughter, obsesses over her small dolls clearly pulling some strings with the apparent entities in the house.  As with season one of this show, I’m constantly looking in the background for ghostly images, which are delightfully frightful when noticed.  As Dani gets to know the children, they seem more and more off, something she compartmentalizes in an effort to keep her sanity with the ghosts she sees from the house, along with her own self-inflicted apparitions.  T’Nia Miller plays Hannah, the housekeeper who along with Rahul Kohli, the cook, Owen, and Amelia Eve, the gardener, Jamie, create one happy little family of sorts, that make every effort to have playful, coy interactions with the children.  Hannah obviously has a larger story, one we come to understand later and as I noticed, lives on the property where Owen and Jamie do not.  Despite the ensuing events, with a ghostly evil man appearing, who turns out to be a former associate of the uncle, Hannah seems constantly at peace with the increasingly erratic events and particularly, the increasingly concerning behavior of Miles.  I’m not sure who’s teaching kids acting these days because whoever is, they keep finding incredible kids, particularly Miles who at times seems outwardly menacing towards Dani, Hannah and Flora, then perfectly unsure of himself and innocent like any thoughtful ten year old boy.  This kid so acutely captures the abject confusion of being a boy that age, especially one without a man guiding him.  

With the story unfolding, we’re learning of an affair between Peter Quint, the uncle’s business partner and the former au pair, Rebecca.  As Quint’s potentially ghostly appearances at the manor seem menacing, we learn his true nature as a conniving twit, angry at his paltry status in life and determined to make himself richer at the expense of the family.  Every episode so far, peeled back layers of each character to show us what’s happening inside of them at the moment or how they got to their current run of form in the present 1980s, when the story takes place.  Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who returns from the first season, comes off most recently as the invisible man in the same titled movie from earlier this year.  He’s absolutely terrifying as the psychotically controlling husband to Elizabeth Moss in that movie and so brazenly encompasses evil as that character.  In Bly, Jackson-Cohen is given a chance to charm as the devil would, seducing Rebecca and developing a playful rapport with the children.  We first see him as what we think is a ghost, though he’s really only missing, assumed to have defrauded the uncle and fled after Rebecca died.  He’s clearly nefarious and his profile as the characters see him around the house is pure menace.  His actual character as we see him in flashbacks, projects a dapper Scot, handsome, unassuming, but confident and poised.  This gives him ample opportunities to thread himself into the household, worming his way to Rebecca, even with Hannah suspicious the entire time and truly reveal the evil behind his rakish veneer.  Jackson-Cohen as an actor gets to really cook in this role.  Where I saw the inklings in The Invisible Man of the dynamic attributes of his to play that beautiful devil Quint.  He had limited chances in Season 1, playing a tortured drug addict, so it’s nice to see this progression from him.  Ultimately, I know his role will be delved into as his larger role in the characters’ stories has been revealed.

In an effort not to completely spoil this, I’ll tread carefully when it comes to ghosts, because like many shows, especially the best seasons of American Horror Story, which are Murder House, Roanoke and 1984, the tortured lingering soul angle never gets old when done properly.  People die in the house at Bly, don’t leave and just like in the AHS seasons, they still affect the living who end up their presence.  I’m fascinated with this concept of truly evil people who remain that are trapped along with thoroughly decent people as well.  Bly, of course, relies on this technique, asking the viewer the age old horror question of who really is alive and why.  Dani, because of her past, escapes to England in an effort to find an excuse for living.  Her investment is the children, however her underlying sorrow begs us to ask what about her makes her alive.  It becomes the care she develops for the kids and her relationships as she bonds with the house staff after we learn of her trauma.  Since I’m just learning who’s alive and dead at the house, it’s completely engrossing to imagine the decisions and actions of souls stuck in the world of the living, trapped at a singular location.  Bly is trending towards exploring that more thoroughly and more subtly than say Murder House.  In that first season of AHS, the original family does their due diligence to theatrically frighten a new family away from the malevolent forces of the house.  The ghosts of Bly seem protective as well, albeit in a more spooky manner.  The added wrinkle of apparently alive children brings the innocence factor into more stark focus because the children know they live with ghosts.  Flora, in an absolutely fire scene, sings to herself as she’s hidden in a game of hide and seek, only to be joined in song by a ghostly figure behind her that she abruptly chastises to be quiet, to which the ghost obliges. It’s a genuinely hilarious moment, one that takes a common horror trope and turns it on its head.  While there’s added layers to who the kids really are that I won’t go into, they see their home in some ways as a haven for those souls and while Dani and Hannah are the adults, the kids show time and again that they really control what’s happening to the extent of their capability.  Where children often struggle to reveal their knowledge of sinister forces in many horror films, these kids, as they more or less illustrate in a play put on for the house staff, pull the strings of the forces in the house and seem to be managing things pretty well.  The Lady of the Lake ghost is a wild card for them, proving to be the most difficult of Flora’s dolls to manage, but that ghost also appears benevolent towards them and the other good souls of the house.  It’s all very interesting and I look forward to the last few episodes to tie everything together.  I genuinely have very little idea of what will happen because of these genre bending story lines of Flanagan.  His eye towards the macabre dominates his films and this adapted series, but it’s the subversiveness to the genre in his film-making style and character studies that while simple in appearance compel viewers to ask rooted questions about the horrors of their own lives.       

A Tale of Two Ties…or Draws, whatever

Ughf, it’s still hard as an American sports fan to understand the concept of ties, but in some ways while Chelsea’s weekend draw with Southampton was depressing given how most of the game went, where the draw against Sevilla in the Champions League seemed like a win.  These games both illustrated how the luxury of quality players can be maddening to a manager trying to find the best lineup, something those of us who play fantasy football can sympathize with.  With all the new signings, both of these games indicated how experimental the first part of this season will be as Frank Lampard tries to play the matchups and find the best ways to win.

Each game started with the almost Death Lineup for Chelsea, however inexplicably, Christian Pulisic can’t manage to make it over to the left side.  Many conspiratorial players believe Lampard’s favorite son Mason Mount caused this out of position play that ultimately seemed to dull the slashing sharpness that the front line of Time Werner, Kai Havertz and Pulisic can provide.  With that trio dropping into defense positions largely in the Sevilla game, it somewhat makes sense that Mount fit in there somehow given that he’s probably a better defender than all three of them.  Ideally, when Hakim Ziyech gets fully fit, he’ll start on that right side with Pulisic on the left, which could leave Mount out.

On Mount, his skills as a creator can’t be denied, however he doesn’t possess the passing awareness nearly the level of Pulisic, Havertz and Werner and it’s probably an experience thing more than anything else.  He could really fit in somewhere in the midfield, with Havertz providing a more attacking role and his versatility could finally give the impetus for Chelsea to show Jorginho the door.  In the Southampton game it was Jorginho that provided a gorgeous pass to Werner on the second goal and he continued that play as Chelsea pressed throughout the game.  In the Sevilla game against a much more tight, offensively competent opponent Jorginho’s lack of defensive skills showed and throughout the second half of the Southampton as the Chelsea midfield broke down, eventually allowing three goals (yes, Kepa and Kurt Zouma were intimately involved in the second) I wondered whether that was a Mateo Kovacic game.  After Jorginho received a yellow card against Sevilla, he was eventually subbed for Kovacic in the 65th minute.  Instantly, the midfield seemed more robust with a more athletic Kovacic in there, who while often making boneheaded mistakes (though fuck Granit Xhaka for that FA Final Cup bullshit) can provide the kind of passing Jorginho does and also keep pace with more athletic midfield units.  All to say, Mount should move into a more defensive midfield role; he obviously has a place on this team and Lampard seemed determined to shoehorn him in somewhere.  His defensive skills along with his creativity need to be used somewhere else that’s not Pulisic’s space on the left side.  Also, Timo Werner should only ever play in the center.  

Reece James, despite being stapled in as the right back of the future for Chelsea (cause they had depth to give away shining Tariq Lamptey), hasn’t been wildly consistent this season.  Lampard went with Cesar Azpilicueta against Southampton, but he couldn’t exactly keep pace as he has in the past with the offensive flow and interestingly, James came on late in the game for Pulisic in a midfield role.  Southampton scored soon after to tie the game.  With Azpilicueta’s clear disruption in the offense, James returned to his right back role in the Sevilla game, only to be targeted by the Sevilla attack and for the first time, I saw someone manhandle the NFL safety body of Reece James.  Lucas Ocampos and the Sevilla attack pelted James’ side of the field throughout the game, so much so that when Ben Chilwell finally got on the ball, I hadn’t realized there was a Chelsea left back in the game, something after watching the past few years of this team, I never thought would happen.  James mostly recovered though his first trademark cross didn’t come until the 40th minute.  I think most people looked at James, especially with his recent England outings and form last season with Chelsea as a worthy challenger or second fiddle to England’s number one Trent Alexander-Arnold.  Interestingly, where Alexander-Arnold lacks on the defensive end, James doesn’t and maybe one day James can be the sweetest right footed crosser for England.  For now, the Southampton game was a wake-up for him in terms of consistency given his form before that and the Sevilla game, a splash of water in the face just after he’d woken up.

From a defensive standpoint, if the Sevilla game, along with the Crystal Palace outing earlier in the season, didn’t provide Lampard with the key to his back line and more specifically his back two, I don’t know what will.  I cringe every time I see Andreas Christensen trot out there, because while he tries hard and occasionally it pays off, he’s so wildly inconsistent that while Kepa injects his own shakiness into his defenders, it’s not like Christensen or Antonio Rudiger aren’t returning the favor right back to Kepa.  Kepa started against Southampton because Edouard Mendy was injured.  Through the first half of the game, things seemed to be going well, but like an old dog with faulty bowels, you have to ask where the poo is with Kepa.  He showed us by taking a giant dump with the second goal in the 57th minute.  It probably was Zouma’s fault for giving him a shitty pass, however I’m not entirely convinced the Chelsea defenders believe an empty net would be better than Kepa.  I’ve seen couples on the verge of divorce who want each other more than any Chelsea defender wants to interact with Kepa on the pitch.  With Sevilla, Thiago Silva was back and despite Zouma’s meh performance against Southampton you get the feeling that Mendy and Silva provide so much psychological stability for the backs, midfield and attacking players.  Zouma’s done everything asked of him and despite my yelling at him last season for being awkward as fuck on the pitch sometimes, his skill set with headers on corners, long passing and general effort make him indispensable on the back line.   Couple that with a goalkeeper that inspires defender competence and you have Sevilla, that ate against Inter Milan two months ago, barely registering a shot.  Back to puppies; a trained one can still feel so nervous that it takes dumps on carpets like the Chelsea backline whenever Kepa is in.  Mendy provides such calming poise and defenders feel comfortable enough to focus on assignments rather than nervously waiting for an excuse to shit on the rug.  Silva along with Chilwell and Mendy are the new guys back there this year and with such intense chaos in those positions over the past couple of years (wild ride there David Luiz), it really made my stomach comfortable to watch a stoic backline hold Sevilla to nothing.

When I started following soccer a few years ago, certain players around the leagues caught my eye.  Whether it was Eden Hazard, the entire Dortmund team or Serge Gnabry, I glomed onto these constants as markers of my introduction to league soccer.  Hakim Ziyech was also one of these players as I watched him dazzle all over that place with Ajaz and their tragic run to the Champions League semi finals.  Fucking Spurs.  So imagine my joy when Chelsea revealed they’d signed him as the first new add after the transfer ban lifted.  Ziyech’s long summer training with the team, not being able to play, finally came to fruition with his sub during the Southampton game and we finally saw some magic in the Death lineup of Havertz, Werner, Pulisic and Ziyech.  Of course Lampard didn’t entirely know where to put him and with Havertz just roaming, Ziyech still wasn’t sure exactly where he fit in.  Against Sevilla, Ziyech came on in the 62nd minute and largely disappeared.  He provided a little burst in the middle and you could see the inklings of a killer attack with him in there, but as both these games indicated, Lampard is still throwing things against the wall to see where they stick.  Ziyech naturally holds up on the right side or on the right midfield of a 3-2-1-4 formation and with Kai Havertz roaming, Ziyech’s positional flexibility on the right side can provide the necessary partnership with Pulisic and service to Werner.  With both these games, Lampard seemed to abandon his possession, work through the back line offense that lacked necessary punch against superior opponents.  Sevilla dealt with a deeper defensive line, but Southampton took advantage of Chelsea’s upfield press and lack of defensive midfield depth.  Ziyech figures to solve problems in the midfield on right side with Havertz picking up some of the defense slack and in my perfect world a deeper Mason Mount bolsters the midfield along with N’Golo Kante.  Lampard, in his youth of managing, still needs to figure out how to properly matchup against the tactics of his opponents.  It shouldn’t be this obvious to a HUGE novice that I am where players need to be.  I know it’s early, I know there’s injuries and I know despite the two results that Chelsea feels like could have wins, that they ultimately got points, but Lampard needs to take a step back, stop trying to be cute with his formations, accept Mason Mount for who is and play to the positional strengths of his new and old players.  I just don’t think it has to be this hard. 

Week 5 in the NFL

Well it just ended…on a Tuesday, but here are my thoughts on Week 5 in the NFL.

Lamar Jackson is hurt.  He has to be because that performance was abysmal despite the impressive 27-3 scoreline against the Bengals.   The Ravens put together a few decent drives in the first half to put themselves up 17-0 by halftime, but other than the two short throws Lamar made on the touchdowns, he looked entirely out of sync and downright uncomfortable with running in general.  Against the usually stout Ravens offensive line, the Bengals made headway with their veteran slew of pass rushers and consistently put pressure on Lamar to make spectacular on the run throws or take off running himself, neither of which he did very much at all.  After the second touchdown at the end of the 1st quarter, here were the yards and results of the Ravens next eight drives.

YardsResult
4Turnover on downs
14Punt
43Interception
34Missed field goal
8Punt
38Punt
44Field goal
8Punt

The Raven’s defense smothered the Bengals so they didn’t have to match scoring, but the lead right out of the beginning of the game is what won it.  Lamar almost threw about 3 interceptions during the game and the one he did manage to turn over in the 2nd quarter was the culmination of the previous few plays.  He seemed unable to get out of the pocket properly to make plays.  Lamar had a minor knee issue during the week, but it seemed to the team as soreness and he had minor limitations in practice all week.  The Ravens designed the entire offense around his skill set and when they looked vulnerable against the Chiefs two weeks ago and the Titans last season, Lamar can’t run the offense if they can’t control the running game.  For some reason even with a 17-0 lead going into halftime, Lamar threw the ball 37 times for the game, completing barely over 50% of his passes and plenty of those passes were in the second half.  They ran the offense like they were down to the Titans last year, despite actually having a sizable lead and Lamar looked really unsure of what to do when the script broke down.   He scrambled well as he always does, but his hesitation to take off and run seemed both consistent with a game plan for him to throw the ball and an injury.  No stat line better illustrates this than Lamar’s rushing line for the game: 2 carries, 3 yards with a long of 7.  So he actually had one attempt for 7 yards and one for minus 4.  Full disclosure as a Ravens fan, I believe the team wanted to see what Lamar could do with his arm and told him to play like he was losing in a playoff game and maybe they thought a stinker of a game like this was the perfect testing ground, maybe.  As a Ravens fan though, the results underwhelmed immensely and if the experiment faltered like this against the Bengals in October, I’m not optimistic about it in the playoffs.

Well after not believing in anything the Raiders were doing from an offensive standpoint, they shit all over my vaunted Kansas City defense to the tune of 40 points.  Interestingly enough, Derek Carr actually slung the ball around a bit, after largely taking a game manager Alex Smith type role, avoiding mistakes and pulling out just enough for their wins against the Saints and the Panthers.  Those two wins now seem a little better as both those NFC South teams look more than competent.  As many have said, Gruden isn’t married to Carr as his quarterback, however given how much money the Raiders paid Carr when he catfished us with that MVP caliber season, they’ve been reluctant to pull the plug the last couple of years.  Carr himself hasn’t really been bad the last couple of years, just underwhelming.  When Gruden took over a few years with a virtually lifetime contract, many expected his ten years away from the game would show.  His first two years, marked by shedding of stars like Kahlil Mack and Amari Cooper for draft stockpiles and some weird selections with those draft picks (Kolton Miller, who’s been meh, Josh Jacobs an RB in the first round and Clelin Ferrell, a second round graded defensive end with the 4th overall pick) indicated that Gruden was building a team to compete in 2005 with a potentially 300 carry running back, a QB charged with taking very few chances and a potentially overly physical defense (seriously  Jonathan Abrams is a walking targeting penalty).  In year three, much like the Jaguars a few years ago, it seems to be working.  The Raiders are now 3-2 with losses to the Bills and the Patriots, two good teams and wins over the Panthers, Saints and now Chiefs that definitely impress.  Much like Blake Bortles three years ago, Carr doesn’t necessarily lack physical talent, but what Bortles lacked in intellectual understanding of NFL defenses, Carr seems to have a much better grasp of.  On Sunday, the Raiders again ran Jacobs 23 times, however they also finally started to get speedster receiver Henry Ruggs, their first selection this year, going down the field.  Carr doesn’t lack arm talent, his coaches just haven’t trusted him enough over his tenure to go deep consistently.  I still think they don’t, but on Sunday they unleashed Carr as he gathered his highest average depth of target, intended air yards and completed air yards per completion of the season.  Ruggs still only had two receptions, but after no offseason, Gruden may finally be comfortable implementing measures to counter the stacked boxes that Jacobs would be facing down every week.  I don’t think we’re looking at Jaguarsesque run for the Raiders here, the Raiders don’t nearly have the defense the Jags did.  Taking down the Chiefs though isn’t a feat many have conquered recently.  

Last night, Drew Brees played one of the worst halves of football I’ve seen from a quarterback.  Maybe it’s the burden of expectations, because we all of course remember Nathan Peterman’s infamous 5 interception first half in 2017.  Brees didn’t look old like Phil Rivers and Tom Brady have this year, he looked like he forgot how to play football.  I won’t re-address all of the Brees downfield passing stats over the past couple of years, everyone knows that he hasn’t been the deep ball slinger recently.  He’s at least been able to complete short and intermediate passes and he has the talent around him to make effective use of those plays.  Throughout the first half, Twitter erupted with calls for Jameis Winston, the slinger with a cannon deep ball.  As the first half waned, Brees peered away from his slumber to lead the Saints on a drive capped off with a vintage Brees rushing TD where his short little self jumped over a pile of metahumans to score.  In the third quarter, when the Chargers looked downright scary, Brees took his game back a few years ago and showed the flaming rook Justin Herbert how to close out a game.  With a vintage throw to Kamara, along with an incredible catch, the Saints capitalized on a red zone trip to tie the game with less than a minute left.  Herbert was magnificent all night, save for that last drive in regulation where Anthony Lynn immediately lost confidence after the young giant almost threw a bad pick.  Herbert just about did enough with time running out to set up a 50 yard field goal which the Chargers missed because they’re the Chargers.  Brees then led the Saints to a field goal in overtime that the Chargers couldn’t match.  Despite Herbert’s brilliance all night, the old gunslinger pulled out a classic performance with that pass to Kamara and reminded us of his greatness in the comeback.  This Saints team has flaws, especially on defense, but Brees gave those of us who’ve been fond of this team for years hope that he may just have one run left to get that elusive second ring.  I can’t say he’s looked better than Peyton Manning in that noodle armed season, but Peyton also pulled out just enough along the way in that season, especially the AFC Championship.  Maybe Monday night was a spectre only to eventually be filled in by Jameis or maybe it’s a reminder that the truly great ones always go out with a bang.

When the Falcons released Devonta Freeman this offseason and signed Todd Gurley to a prove it deal, I like many thought they were just trading one worn down, injury prone running back for another.  Weirdly enough, Freeman only signed with a team when Saquon Barkley went down with injury and has looked spry since.  Gurley on the other hand, while stuck on a bad team after almost glory on the Rams looks pretty good for someone the Rams moved on from easily only a season after he was the focal point of a Super Bowl appearing offense.  His chronic knee issue became so untenable that his release appeared reasonable to anyone who watched him during his last season in LA.  This season, despite the Falcons lack of winning, Gurley looks better than he did last season and it partly lies with the fact that he’s going to wear down as the season goes, however it may also be that he’s playing with a better QB, better receivers and better offensive line than he maybe ever has.  His ability to shed tackles, combining strength and elusiveness that’s defined his career in the NFL appears to have resurged in these first five weeks of the season. Last year Gurley averaged only 57 yards a game and 3.84 yards per attempt, sealing his fate for release.   From a statistical standpoint this year, he just had his best game with 121 yards rushing on 14 carries, adding 4 catches for 29 yards, but he’s also well above last year averaging 75 yards a game and almost 4.8 yards per carry.  Obviously it’s young in the season so we have to take that into account, however some of the advanced stats show that Gurley isn’t just padding stats on a non-Jared Goff offense.  Last year, Gurley ranked behind the likes of Sony Michel, Ronald “Can’t passblock” Jones and Gus Edwards in yards after contact and sat at 41st out 47 qualified running backs in yards after contact per rush.  His broken tackle numbers were fair given how bad he was after contact last year, but those stats indicate that while his injury may not have been worse enough for him to miss time, it clearly ate into his effectiveness as a runner.  This year, through five games, Gurley looks much better in both of these categories ranking 7th in yards after contact and 12th in yards after contact per rush with 2.6.  He’s also third in broken tackles, interestingly trailing Mike Davis and Antonio Gibson.  Gurley’s never been a speed back; he ran a 4.52 40 time out of college and his NFL career bore that out with his talent for breaking tackles as the key to his success.  With a new coach in Atlanta in Raheem Morris who might be inclined to learn from the team’s  past and run the ball to support an aging Matt Ryan, Gurley might have a chance at his still young age of 26 to resurrect his career.  If the season pans out for him and he returns at 75-80% of his prime self,  maybe earning a contract extension, this offense with frightening receivers and a still effective Ryan could give Gurley a second life and who knows maybe one more run to the Super Bowl next year.