Post by spiderfan on Oct 13, 2020 20:16:43 GMT -8
Aloha everyone it is me Spiderfan the official NFL Analyst for SCtoC and we have a lot to get to this week, so let us begin!
Raiders upset the Chiefs!
The last time the Raiders won a game against the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium was 2012 when Carson Palmer was the QB of the Raiders, Romeo Crennel was HC of the Chiefs, Derek Carr was playing at Fresno State, and Patrick Mahomes was playing high school football in Whitehouse, TX. A lot has changed in the football world since then. What hasn't changed? The team that makes the most plays wins the game. On Sunday in Arrowhead? The Raiders made more plays than the Chiefs did.
Ya see, the Chiefs have been on a 13 game winning streak from the latter stages of last season into this season and one of, if not the biggest factor in that winning streak was the Chiefs defense not being complete garbage. In fact, they have been solid since their loss to the Titans in Nashville during Week 10 of last year. However, like during that game against the Titans (and the games prior to that) the defense was garbage. On multiple occasions, the Chiefs had double digits in the first half and with some help from the defense could have put away the Raiders early. Instead? There were multiple 50+ yard TD receptions for the Raiders which kept them in a game that they shouldn't have been in. After that, because the Raiders had managed to keep up with the Chiefs (the score was 24-24 at half) they managed ride the momentum and put together multiple long drives that not only chewed clock but scored and their defense kept the GORN Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense in check and the Raiders ultimately won the game 40-32.
The Chiefs are now just one game ahead in the AFC West and with the Bills being their next opponent they will need to play better defense if they want to win that football game. As for the Raiders, they are just one game behind in the AFC West and they have positive momentum going into their bye week and we'll see if the Raiders can turn this upset win into the sustained success that has been greatly desired in the Gruden era.
Reducto lives!
Are ya ready for an abstract cartoon reference that you may or may not get? No? Well, I'm gonna do it anyway because the clip above accurately describes the Tinys performance on Sunday. You may think there is ice cream involved as in you may think that they will actually win a football game, a game in which they were 9.5 point underdogs (as someone who keeps up with betting odds seeing a NFL spread like that is insane) and were winning. But in reality? The pentagon has been shrunk, as in they lost in humiliating fashion. You may not think they lost in humiliating fashion, but I'll explain why it was a humiliating loss.
The Tinys were up 17-3 in the second quarter. The offense was having its way with the Cowboys horrendously bad defense, despite the fact that the Tinys offense is equally horrendous in terms of league rankings, proving that the Cowboys defense is completely worthless. The Tinys defense is giving the Cowboys fits, but then the Cowboys score a TD because wouldn't ya know it running the ball with Zeke is a good idea. The score is 17-10 and then the collapse happens. Daniel Jones immediately fumbles and it that becomes a scoop and score TD. 17-17 and then on the next series after driving, the Tinys run a brilliantly executed fake field goal for a TD... except there was illegal shift penalty calling back said fake field goal TD. The Tinys kicked a FG went up 20-17, but the Cowboys went right down the field and took a 24-20 halftime lead after the Cowboys decided to run the Philly Special. In a game where the Tinys should have been tied or leading at halftime they were were trailing and they would go on to lose the game on a last second FG so those 1st half plays made a huge difference in the outcome.
The Tinys are what they are. Tiny and miniature and worthy of Reducto being their mascot. I don't know what kind of negative energy was caused by OBJ and his wideout buddies hanging out on that boat before the Packers playoff game in 2017 but since that point the franchise has only won 12 games and with the Browns finally starting to win games? The Tinys are now the worst franchise in the NFL and unlike their AFC cousin Jets (who are also winless and terrible) they seem to be snakebit. I guess there really are snakes in New York and they bite bad.
Dalton vs Dak?
Speaking of bad, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott's ankle injury was REALLY REALLY bad. Something that if ya wanna see, be warned if ya look it up because it is graphic. Dak is now out for 6 months. With that being said, former Bengals QB Andy Dalton is now the QB for the rest of the season and with the weapons that the Cowboys have I expect Dalton to play well. To me the question is with Dak not being under contract after this season, if Dalton performs does he take or at least push Dak's job? When I asked that question on a Cowboys forum, the response was universally "No, Dak is the future! Dalton will go somewhere else if he plays well". I'm not sure about that.
The franchise tag next year is 38 million dollars and the contract talks stalled between the Cowboys and Dak because he was determined now if not later to test free agency at some point or put the Cowboys over a barrel at some point. Thus he was playing on the 31 million franchise tag this year. Andy Dalton's contract this year is 2 million that can become 7 million if he matches all of his incentives and he would be a free agent if he were not re-signed by the Cowboys or franchise tagged himself. The way I see it, if Dalton leads the Cowboys to the playoffs and does well, there will be an interesting discussion to be had about the future of the QB position for the Cowboys, because regardless of how well he does, Dalton is going to be cheaper than Dak. Why pay 40 million bucks a year for someone when you can get someone who is at least as good, if not better for less money?
BTW, the pass that set up the last second FG for the Cowboys? Dak couldn't have made that throw. Just saying.
Other thoughts:
-Nick Foles is still better than Carson Wentz and apparently is Tom Brady's kryptonite.
-Congrats to Romeo Crennel for being the oldest ever HC to win a game in the NFL!
-The Bengals have a long way to go before they are in the same conversation as the Ravens.
-Congrats to Alex Smith for making his NFL return!
-I know the 49ers are banged up, but seriously NEVER BELIEVE HE CAN'T THROW
-The Believeland Browns are 4-1. Let me repeat that. The Believeland Browns are 4-1.
-I know it sounds weird, but even though Justin Herbert hasn't won a game as a starter yet, I still think the future is bright for his career and for the Chargers going forward.
ROAD TO 0-16
3 teams are currently 0-5. I will keep doing this segment until every team has a win or a tie. Teams currently without a win or tie are:
New York Jets
New York Tinys
Atlanta Falcons
After the loss to the Panthers on Sunday, Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff and HC Dan Quinn were fired. I expected to them be fired, just not this early in the season. Falcons DC (and former Bucs HC) Raheem Morris is now the interim HC. After hearing about the firings my first thought was 28-3. It goes to show you that former Oilers and Falcons (kinda ironic) HC Jerry Glanville was right when he said the NFL stands for "Not For Long" and to never celebrate too early because that celebration won't last long.
Team most likely to 0-16 IMO are the Tinys.
ROAD TO 16-0
4 teams are currently undefeated. I will keep doing this segment until every team has a loss or a tie. Teams currently without a loss or tie are:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Tennessee Titans
Seattle Seahawks
Green Bay Packers
Can we just stop for a moment and appreciate how great Russell Wilson is? I know he is the frontrunner for MVP and I've talked about his high level of play before, but I shall do it again because of the epic comeback that he led against the Vikings. I know that the lead for the Vikings wasn't ever that big (the biggest lead was 13 at halftime), but considering that the Seahawks offense was cold throughout the game and the best plays came from the defense, the fact that Wilson was able to get hot when he needed to and ultimately lead a win was impressive. What has now become apparent also is that I was correct in my prediction late last season that DK Metcalf would become the best WR in the NFL. The Seahawks are the front runners for to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl and that is why they are IMO the team most likely to 16-0.
I hope this longer edition of Web of Football makes up for last week's shorter one. Regardless, I hope ya enjoyed and hope to see ya again next week. This is spiderfan out.
