Post by spiderfan on Oct 31, 2018 15:10:18 GMT -8
Happy Halloween everyone! It is me SpiderFan here, and today I'm bringing you my Random Thoughts & Stuff on Week 8 of the National Football League season. Let us begin!
Trade Deadline Madness
The reason this column was not posted earlier was due to my waiting to see what happened during the NFL trade deadline. I had multiple tabs open and was keeping track of NFL Network during the last couple hours before the deadline hit, waiting to see if stuff happened and stuff did in fact happen.
First off, the Houston Texans traded for Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas and the Broncos got a 4th round pick along with a swap of 7th rounders in exchange. My thoughts on the trade? Being that Will Fuller unfortunately tore his ACL during Thursday Night Football against the Dolphins, the Texans needed a WR. If I was the Texans GM, I would have signed Dez Bryant instead, but they decided to go the trade route and Thomas is a good WR, so the Texans turned a bad situation into a better one. I do wonder if the Texans will end up being hurt by the lack of a take the top off WR, as without Fuller they don't really have that kind of receiver. We shall see.
Secondly, the Philadelphia Eagles traded for Lions WR Golden Tate and the Lions got a 3rd round pick in exchange. My thoughts on the trade? The Lions are amazingly stupid. Seriously, how can you trade someone as good as Golden Tate when you are in the thick of a division race you still have a good chance at winning? Here is what The Rocket Scientist had to say via PFT via mlive.com
“And we obviously have faith and confidence in the people that are on this team right now. So we put all that into play and try to make sure we’re making the best decision we can in that moment, and it’s hard — it’s very difficult — when you’re in that one-game-at-a-time mind set. And that’s where we are from the standpoint, it’s week to week for us and that’s good, but there’s also a big picture here that we keep an eye on as we move forward, and that’s something we have to consider when we make all these decisions — whether it’s during the season, during the offseason, free agency, draft, whatever it is. Those are difficult decisions whenever they come.”
That folks is a bunch of gibberish, coming from a first year HC with a Yes-Man GM who both have no idea what they are doing. The Lions managed to prove me right, they are a dumpster fire. Matt Stafford, you have left Detroit when you had the chance.
One more thing to note about this trade: Golden Tate is a better WR than Amari Cooper. The Ostriches traded a 1st for someone who isn't as good as someone who they could have gotten for a 3rd round pick. If that isn't an awful personnel decision, I don't know what is.
Thirdly, the Baltimore Ravens traded for Packers RB Ty Montgomery and the Packers got a 7th round pick in exchange. My thoughts on the trade? Being that Ty cost the Packers the game against the Rams and defied coaches, he is lucky he didn't flat out cut after the game. Now he is a Raven and being that they are on a losing streak they need any potential help they can get.
Fourthly, the LA Rams traded for Jaguars DE Dante Fowler Jr and the Jags got a 3rd round pick and a 2020 5th round pick in exchange. My thoughts on the trade? The Rams add depth to an already great defense and the Jaguars get rid of a guy who was from the previous regime.
Fifth and finally, the Washington Redskins traded for Packers S Ha-Ha Clinton Dix and the Packers got a 4th round pick in exchange. My thoughts on the trade? The Redskins clearly believe they have a shot to make noise come January because now they have 2 of the best safeties in the NFL. I'm not sure why the Packers made the trade being that like the Lions they are in a division race they still have a chance at winning.
Fitzmagic Lives!
After the Bucs lost to the Bears, I thought the Bucs with Jameis Winston would get close to losing out the rest of the season after the 2-0 start. I thought I wouldn't talk about the Buccaneers very much after the benching of Ryan Fitzpatrick and I thought Fitzmagic had run its course. That is until Sunday when after throwing 4 interceptions, Bucs HC Dirk Koetter decided to pull Winston and put Fitzpatrick in the game against the Bengals.
I was watching the Chiefs game at that point, but when I looked down on the ticker I saw the Bucs cut the deficit from 21 to 8 and that they had the ball. I turned on the Bucs game and had a huge grin on my face when this happened. (click Watch on YouTube)
How can you not have a big grin on your face after watching that? I can only imagine what the atmosphere would have been like had that been a Bucs home game. Sadly, the comeback ended up like the John Tyler-Plano East game with the Bengals winning on a last second FG.
Regardless, there a couple takeaways from this game. 1.) The NFL is a more fun league when Fitzmagic is ongoing. Whether it was with the Bills or Jets or Buccaneers, when Fitzpatrick is playing well it adds an extra fun factor to things. 2.) Jameis Winston is a flat out complete and total bust. The Bucs should rip off the band aid, cut him and look for a QB in the draft next year, as Fitzpatrick is older and will need someone younger to ultimately replace him. 3.) The Bucs defense is atrocious and has cost the team multiple games.
Believeland has reason to believe
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Believeland Browns 33-18 on Sunday. The Browns left Pittsburgh with a 2-5-1 record and made HC Hue Jackson's record a whopping 3-36-1 the worst of the SB era. After the game Jackson and OC Todd Haley were fired clearing the air and giving the Browns a much needed reboot. Who will replace them? On an interim basis it will be Browns DC Gregg Williams as the HC, and RB coach Freddie Kitchens will call plays.
The reason that in my opinion Believeland has reason to believe is they have a roster full of young talent, highlighted by QB Baker Mayfield. This is important to note because it means the Browns have potential to hire a whole bunch of different coaches. The one that is the hottest name right now is University of Oklahoma HC Lincoln Riley. Personally, I think he would be a good NFL coach as his offense is explosive and dynamic. As I mentioned last week, the Air Raid offense isn't new, so I think any number of coaches who run that style offense should be considered. Dana Holgorsen and Mike Leach in my mind should get some attention along with Lincoln Riley.
Either way, now that Hue Jackson is gone things should look up for the Browns. For the fans sake, I hope things do.
They are free, freefalling
About a month ago, I had a segment mentioning surprise teams around the NFL. The Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, and Cincinnati Bengals all had 3 wins as of Week 4. Where are they now? The Titans are 3-4, the Ravens are 4-4, and the Bengals are just barely 5-3. This has opened the door for both the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers to go from winless to having the lead in their respective decisions which is insane considering where things are just a few weeks ago. The NFL is crazy folks.
Other thoughts:
-Thursday Night Football between the 49ers and Raiders is going to be a battle for draft position. We'll see which team tanks harder.
-Jacksonville signing Landry Jones is hilarious.
-The NFC East is going to come down to a battle between the Eagles and Redskins, the Redskins being a favorite.
-Kirk Cousins is not a franchise QB folks. Sunday Night Football against the Saints validated that.
-Nathan Peterman is going start for the Bills again. Poor Bills.
-Patrick Mahomes keeps proving that he is truth every week.
-Case Keenum isn't that bad folks.
-Both the Rams and Chargers are among the best teams in the league and very few people in the city of LA care. LA is not among the best sports cities in America.
-My midseason awards will come next week
ROAD TO 16-0
The Los Angeles Rams currently do not have a loss or tie and I will keep doing this segment until they have a loss or tie.
The Rams played their C game on Sunday and still managed to beat a dangerous Packers team. Now that they are 8-0, playoffs are all but certain barring a historic collapse. The question now becomes, can they put the division away and ultimately gain the number 1 seed? They absolutely can. Now it is time to see if they will.
With all that said, I hope you all enjoyed and have a fun and safe Halloween. This is spiderfan out.
