Post by spiderfan on Dec 1, 2020 12:07:35 GMT -8
Happy (late) Thanksgiving everyone! It is I, Spiderfan the official NFL Analyst of SCtoC and it is time for Web of Football. Let us begin!
Turkey Day Futbol thoughts
-The Texans blew out the Lions and thus Lions GM Bob Quinn and Lions HC Matt Patricia were fired. Patricia's record? 13-29-1. Dumpster fire. Which is exactly what I predicted after his first game as Lions HC (insert column)
-The Cowboys suck and that win against the Vikings is going to cost them a higher draft pick. The Artists formerly known as Redskins are going to win the NFC Least. I called that last year and was wrong, but I think I'll be right this year because the coaching for them is too good for them to lose the division.
-I'm pretty sure it is in poor taste to make COVID jokes, so I won't make one about the Ravens-Steelers.
Super Bowl Preview?
Chiefs-Buccaneers, the game that was circled on the schedule all the way back in April as a potential preview of Super Bowl 55. Patrick Mahomes-Tom Brady, the QB match up that will go down as potentially the best ever when all is said and done. There is a whole bunch to unpack with this game, so I'm going to start with this: Never single cover Tyreek Hill, seriously EVER. Apparently, Bucs DC Todd Bowles didn't know this and the Buccaneers ultimately lost because of it. Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill had over 200 receiving yards in the 1st quarter. Those aren't even video game numbers because I'm not actually sure that is possible in Madden. Those numbers are Greek Mythology numbers and the Bucs HC Bruce Arians is Hades.
The Chiefs had a 17-0 lead which would have been 21-0 had Chiefs TE Travis Kelce not botched the Chiefs' attempt at the Philly Special and would have been 24-0 had Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes not fumbled the ball in the redzone. In fact that fumble is what kept the game from being an outright blowout because that gave the Bucs enough positive spirit to not quit because although the outcome of the game was never really in doubt, the Buccaneers put up a fight. After the Chiefs started with a 17-0 lead, the Buccaneers outscored them 24-10 and that was with multiple Brady INTs that came off miscommunications with Bucs WRs because Brady still does not have chemistry with any receiving weapon on the Bucs expect Gronk.
Considering their relationship from New England with Tom Brady, Gronk and even Antonio Brown should be more involved in the offense than either have been because they actually have chemistry with Brady and other weapons don't. That would be better than Bruce Arians' philosophy of "Y'know how have ya thrown check downs in the flat for 20 years? Forget that throw it for 11 yards a play." The Buccaneers have been accused of having a 1 dimensional offense and I think that accusation is accurate because they go 3 and out WAY too easy and that puts them in holes that they aren't coming back from or will kill critical drives. The reason the Bucs outscored the Chiefs in the other 3 quarters is because the Chiefs really put on cruise control after that.
You wanna know why I think that is? At one point with a quarter and a half left, Tyreek Hill was 75 yards away from the all time single game receiving record. He didn't get the ball until the Chiefs last offensive play. Had the Chiefs actually tried, I think Hill would have at least gotten close to the record, heck Mahomes would have gotten more yards than he did, but Chiefs HC Andy Reid played conservative and unaggressive thus making the latter stages of the game uninteresting. Watching Brady and the Bucs score garbage time points so the local and national media doesn't have too many negative headlines about them isn't exactly great TV.
That is why I'm not sure if I'm more or less confident in the Bucs making a serious run at the Super Bowl. On one hand, you can say "the Bucs played bad and the Chiefs only won by 3" or on the other hand you can say "the Chiefs were playing with their inferior prey". Either way, the Chiefs won and are making a serious push at repeating as Super Bowl champs and good luck to the rest of the league trying to stop them.
You Don't Mess with the Metcalf
Long time readers will remember that in my playoff coverage last year, I said after the Seahawks played the Eagles that Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf would become the best receiver in the NFL. Earlier this season, I said that DK Metcalf IS the best receiver in the NFL. Well, it is only fitting that on Monday Night Football against the Eagles that DK Metcalf would have a heck of a game. 10 receptions for 177 yards and while he did not catch a TD his efforts, set up both Seahawks TDs. There are two reasons he had his best game of the season thus far.
1.) Seahawks QB Russell Wilson actually threw him the ball. He has only caught 5 balls in the last 2 games and with that a lack of targets. However, against the Eagles he was frequently targeted and caught a bunch of passes for a lot of yards.
2.) Eagles CB Darius Slay is 6 foot tall and 190 pounds. DK Metcalf is 6'4 and 230. Match up nightmare. And like the Bucs did against the Chiefs, Eagles DC Jim Schwartz failed to realize that single covering Metcalf is a really bad idea. The Seahawks took advantage and thus they won the game easily.
Other thoughts:
-Bills WR Cole Beasley threw a TD pass? That is awesome.
-The Believeland Browns are 8-3 and have the most wins they've had since 2007. 2020 folks.
-The Tinys are 1st place in the NFC Least right now, but they'll shrink and lose it.
-The Cardinals kicking game might cost them a spot in the playoffs and if nothing else will cost them good seeding in the NFC playoffs.
-And so the collapse of the Raiders begins. They had a similar record at this point last year and ended with a losing record. I think they'll have a winning record, but I don't think the Raiders are gonna make the playoffs.
-Mitch Trubisky isn't very good and Bears HC Matt Nagy and Bears GM Ryan Pace are going to end up getting fired because of it. Maybe you shouldn't buy into pre-draft hype about someone who wasn't even all that great in college. Just saying.
ROAD TO 0-16
1 team is currently 0-11. I will keep doing this segment until that team has a win or a tie. The team that is currently without a win or tie is:
New York Jets
With Tua hurt with a thumb injury, Ryan Fitzpatrick was the starter of the Miami Dolphins once again and officially swept (one of his) former team(s) the New York Jets. The Jets defense was actually decent and Jets QB Sam Darnold didn't completely suck initially, but when Fitzpatrick is Fitzmagic and Jets HC Adam Gase is the worst HC currently in the NFL and Sam Darnold one of, if not the worst starting QB in the NFL, eventually the game turns into a blowout which it did. 20-3. At this point I'm not sure if this will be the last game Fitzmagic starts or not. If it is I'm glad he went out with a bang. 257 yards 2 TDs no INTs.
ROAD TO 16-0
1 team is currently undefeated. I will keep doing this segment until that team has a win or a tie. The team that is currently without a win or tie is:
Pittsburgh Steelers
The road to 16-0 hit a speed bump this week due to the multiple delays of the Steelers-Ravens game. I will add an addendum after that game is finally played.
And that is all for this week's Web of Football. I hope ya had a fun and safe Thanksgiving and I hope to see ya again next week. This is spiderfan out.
