Post by spiderfan on Sept 13, 2021 20:16:08 GMT -8
The National Football League's first regular season week is over. You know what means? Web of Football with yours truly the official NFL analyst of Sports Coast to Coast Spiderfan giving you my thoughts and analysis of it all. Let us begin!
The Tommy Bay Buccaneers are something special
That may seem like a Captain Obvious-style statement, but it is worth stating anyway. During the opening game of the National Football League season between the Tommy Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys, the Buccaneers pulled out an epic 31-29 win. Now before I thoroughly debunk the DAK PRESCOTT IS A TOP 5 QUARTERBACK MVP CANDIDATE LEGEND narrative, I want to say that the biggest X factor in the game was the connection between Bucs QB Tom Brady and TE Rob Gronkowski. On numerous occasions the throughout the ball game their connection got the key first down and more importantly got key touchdowns. Despite Tom Brady's age and Gronk's injury history their connection is still one of, if not the best in the NFL today. Speaking of Brady's age (44) he is as good as ever and is showing less than zero signs of slowing down which means that the Buccaneers are in all likelihood going to be a force in the NFC for at least beyond this year. Bucs WR Antonio Brown also deserves a mention as he is showing signs of becoming the player he was in Pittsburgh, which considering the Steelers have never been the same since his absence, means that the Bucs are likely going to have a better regular season winning percentage than they did a year ago.
As for the DAK PRESCOTT IS A TOP 5 QUARTERBACK MVP CANDIDATE LEGEND narrative, keep in mind that the only reason the game was even close to begin with was 2 key Chris Godwin errors that cost the Buccaneers touchdowns and because one was out of FG range and one was a fumble and that meant the Buccaneers got no points. Also, keep in mind that this was a classic Dak Prescott quarterbacked-Kellen Moore called game. Throw the ball 60 times, be completely one dimensional, remove Zeke (the best player on the team) from the game, throw for a lot of yards, throw some TDs, and a throw a stupid interception (luckily for the Cowboys it wasn't more than one this game). Unlike Matthew Stafford who throws for a lot of yards and has epic comeback wins that make him a fan favorite or Drew Brees who threw for a lot of yards and racked up a lot of wins, Dak is just a generic Air Raid quarterback. If he was playing at Mississippi State now under Mike Leach no one outside of SEC/hardcore college football fans would even know his name. Sure, the Cowboys will win some games against bad teams and they'll win enough that the Cowboys will be featured in primetime and during afternoon nationally televised FOX games which will make the Jones' ego feel good, but DO NOT consider them contenders. A one dimensional offense and a bad defense won't win a division let alone make a playoff run.
Unlike the Buccaneers, who as I stated in my predictions column are my NFC pick to go to the Super Bowl. I feel more confident in that prediction after this game.
Just One Play
I had a lot of different thoughts and opinions during the Browns-Chiefs game, but my lasting takeaway from the game? One non-game winning play can change the whole complexion and makeup of a game. Now that you might say to that "Captain Obvious is making a return" and my response to that sentiment is yeah, it is an obvious statement, but it was totally true today. The Browns were up 29-20 in the 4th quarter having dominated the entire game. The Chiefs were doing some good things offensively, but the Browns defense had kept them in check. The Browns offense was completely dominating the Chiefs defense and were in control of 75% of the game not just with yardage and points, but also time of possession which aided the Browns defense in keeping the Chiefs offense in check. That all changed when Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes threw a fantablous 75 yard off pattern sidearm throw down the field to WR Tyreek Hill for a touchdown.
At that point after being out of it for the most of the game, the Arrowhead crowd came alive and the momentum swing was as real as a fishing rod. The Chiefs finally showed up, the Chiefs special teams set the Chiefs offense up in the redzone and the Chiefs took a 33-29 lead and never gave it up. The Browns were so close. They could smell the victory. They could feel the victory. They could not have the victory because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are as close to unbeatable as a NFL team can be. Like the Buccaneers, I feel more confident in my prediction that they will represent the AFC in Super Bowl LVI
Chicagoland vs Hollywoodland
I had expected this segment to be entirely different that it actually will be. I expected to write about how I was right about how Bears HC Matt Nagy being stubborn about playing Andy Dalton over rookie Justin Fields would cost the Bears and put him on a hotter seat. Then when the Bears actually looked competitive with a mix of Dalton and Fields I expected to write about a Bears upset and how I was wrong about Matt Nagy and the Dalton-Fields situation. Now that the game is over? The Rams are for real. The Rams offense led by new QB Matt Stafford looks fantastic and the Rams defense is still as good as it has been the last number of years. As someone who was at least slightly skeptical that the Rams could be as good as have been advertised, those skeptical feelings are gone now. It will be fascinating to see just how far this team can go.
Aaron Rodgers is tanking
The Green Bay Packers were determined to keep Aaron Rodgers as their quarterback despite his well known desire to no longer be their quarterback and play for the Denver Broncos (or Las Vegas Raiders although their were no real rumors that I have ever saw about that other than "If it isn't the Broncos HE wants the Raiders" and at least with the Broncos the feelings seemed reciprocal from various reports). Well, not only was it reported by NFL Network's Ian Rappaport during NFL GameDay Morning that the Broncos still very much want Aaron Rodgers to be their quarterback but Aaron Rodgers had what Daniel Powter would describe as a bad day and I think the two are linked.
Rodgers not only played poorly, but it sure seemed to me like played disinterested. Why would he play disinterested? It isn't like he demanded a trade and threatened retirement. Oh, wait! He demanded a trade and threatened retirement and at least one team is waiting for him. And this is not the first time he has played disinterested and ultimately gotten his way. Remember, when Rodgers got so sick of Mike McCarthy he just stopped caring and then immediately played better after McCarthy got fired? I think we are seeing a repeat of that. That isn't to say that the Packers as a team didn't play bad as a whole against the Saints, but Rodgers sets the tone for that team and if he is disinterested and is playing poorly, the Packers aren't going to win many football games and this Saints loss won't be an outlier.
Other thoughts:
-Is it gonna be a long climb for Urban Meyer, Trevor Lawrence, and the Jaguars. They'll come of it great though.
-Get better Ryan Fitzpatrick! We miss Fitzmagic here at SCtoC and are eager to see ya return!
-After watching the Eagles are happy with replacing Carson Wentz with Jalen Hurts after today.
-Russell Wilson is awesome.
-Sam Darnold and Robbie Anderson got their revenge against the Jets and won the battle. I think the Jets will win the war as Zach Wilson is promising and if the Jets can build a good team, they'll be good for a long time.
-I guess playing both Jimmy G and Trey Lance wasn't as stupid as I thought it would be.
-The Tinys lost and Daniel Jones is bad. #notsurpisedatall
-Kyler Murray is awesome too.
-Bill Belichick is right when he says special teams is important. No better reminder of that than the Steelers putting the game away against the Bills with a blocked punt TD.
-The Dolphins won? #surprisedatall
-Congrats to Joe Burreaux and Ja'Marr Chase for their first pro TD together and the OT win! Geaux Tigers!
-The Ravens desperately need to get someone to properly fill the hole that Marcus Peters injury left in their secondary because otherwise the Ravens are going to have some problems this year.
ROAD TO 0-17
16 teams are currently 0-1. 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
Buffalo Bills
New England Patriots
Las Vegas Raiders
Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Washington Artists formerly known as Redskins
New York Football Tinys
Dallas Cowboys
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Atlanta Falcons
Almost all of these teams showed at least some level of promise and/or bounce back ability and clearly lack of 0-17 probability other than 2. The Tinys because well they are the Tinys and the Atlanta Falcons who I was surprised to see just get utterly blown out by the Eagles. So that is why as of Week 1 they are my most likely to go 0-17 teams.
ROAD TO 17-0
16 teams are currently 1-0. I will keep doing this segment until every team has a loss or a tie. Teams currently without a loss or tie are:
Miami Dolphins
Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos
Los Angeles Chargers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens
Houston Texans
Philadelphia Eagles
San Francisco 49ers
Los Angeles Rams
Seattle Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals
New Orleans Saints
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carolina Panthers
If anyone is going to make a serious run at 17-0 it is either gonna be the Buccaneers or Chiefs in my opinion and that won't change until either of em lose.
And that is the end of the Week 1 Edition of Web of Football. I hope y'all enjoyed and I look forward to seeing y'all in Week 2! This is spiderfan out.