Post by spiderfan on Feb 5, 2022 22:42:43 GMT -8
As I say every year, the Pro Bowl is lame. But every year around this time something better than lame (at least I hope so) arrives: The Best of Web of Football! I pick the best segments from each week's column and combine them into a sort of time capsule on the 2021 season. Without further ado, I'm Spiderfan the official NFL analyst of this great forum, let us begin!
The Tommy Bay Buccaneers are something special (from Week 1)
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.
A game so perfectly miniature it could only be work of Reducto (from Week 2)
For almost as long as I've been doing this column (it was originally more short and more of a glorified twitter thread than anything being completely honest but nonetheless) I have referred to the NFC team in the New York City area (East Rutherford, NJ is where the stadium is after all) as the New York Football Tinys and not as the Giants. There have been periods where I have been more respectful to them and called them by their proper name, but the reason I call them the Tinys was on complete and full display to the entire football world on Thursday night. They shrink and lose games in laughable, humiliating, mind boggling, and actually kind of thought provoking ways. In my opinion (and after all this is an opinion column) the Tinys are the joke of the National Football League for that very reason.
It was a back and forth game with the Tinys in control, but not full control and the Artists Formerly known as Redskins led by former St. Louis Battlehawks backup QB Taylor Heinicke were never out of the game. Cut to the 4th quarter the Tinys are driving up 23-20 and Eli 2.0 (better known to the world as Daniel Jones) throws a deep bomb down the field to Darius Slayton for a sure touchdown that would give the Tinys a 10 point 4th quarter lead over their divisional rival on the road.
And our old friend and mascot of the Tinys makes himself known as Darius Slayton drops the pass and costs his team points at a terrible occasion to due to so and the Tinys settle for a FG and thus the Artists Formerly known as Redskins can take the lead with a touchdown and extra point... which is exactly what they do after a completely and utterly fantabulous play by both Taylor Heinicke and WR Ricky Seals-Jones (one of the best plays of the season that I have personally seen thus far). This would be a hilarious and bad enough loss on it's own if nothing much else happened for the rest of the game, but we are just getting started. After a Tinys punt on the ensuing drive, once the Artists formerly known as Redskins got the ball back, an early Christmas present is delivered not by Santa Claus, but by Washington QB Taylor Heinicke as he throws an interception which gives the Tinys spectacular field position just outside the redzone.
With a touchdown, the Tinys can force the Artists formerly known as Redskins to drive all the way back down the field to take the lead with a touchdown. Heck with a touchdown and successful two point conversion, the Tinys not only would have a 7 point lead and force the Artists formerly known as Redskins to have to score a TD and get the extra point, but the Tinys even have shrink protection because in the case that the Artists formerly known as Redskins actually tie the game it would go into overtime. Enough of my paranoid delusions!
Of course the Tinys don't capitalize on their field position and instead kick a FG to take a measly two point lead. Now all Washington has to do is get into FG range and they can set themselves up to win the game outright... which is exactly what happens after a greatly managed drive by Washington (which was aided by the Tinys terrible clock management which gave the Artists formerly known as Redskins an extra timeout). Kicker Dustin Hopkins lines up for the field goal and... it... is... NO GOOD
WHAAAAA? The Tinys win a close game on the road against a division rival in primetime? Are the Tinys ready to become Giants once again? Is Joe Judge to New York what Kevin Stefanski has been to Cleveland? Was I wrong in picking them to finish fourth in the NFC East? Has the Curse of the Miami Boat Trip been finally broken?
I am being 100% percent truthful when I tell you the thought hit me that someone on the Tinys had to have been offsides. Seconds later it is announced that Tinys DT Dexter Lawrence was in fact offsides (something that people in New York and other places are now denying was the case, which in the event that it was a blown call makes the shrinking even more funny as even the refs couldn't believe that the Tinys would actually not shrink and thus the Tinys still shrunk albeit artificially because of the refs. Personally, I think he was offsides) and Washington gets to retry the kick. Dustin Hopkins was good from 43 yards. Final score 30-29 Washington Artists formerly known as Redskins over the New York Football Tinys.
NFL Network showed Tinys RB Saquon Barkley is a state of shock and disappointment after the late game shrinkage by his team. I said this out loud to the TV screen "Saquon I hope ya make a lot of money, cause you ain't get gonna get a lot of wins."
As a final note since the infamous Miami Boat Trip? The Tinys record is 18-49.
The Curse of Bobby Lane is real (from Week 3)
For those of you that aren't super knowledgeable about NFL history and/or aren't avid viewers of NFL Films content like myself let me give the story of how the Detroit Lions became cursed. Throughout the 1950s Texas Longhorn alum Bobby Layne was the quarterback of the Detroit Lions and was actually one of the best QBs of his era. In his time with the Lions, he went to 4 Pro Bowls, was named first team All-Pro twice, was named second team All-Pro twice, led the league in passing yards twice, led the league in passing TDs in 1951 (26 TDs in a 12 game season, which when extrapolate that to 17 games would be nearly 40 TDs), led the league in completion percentage in 1955, was named to the 1950s All Decade team, at the time of his retirement was the all time leader in quarterback stats (passing yards, TDs, etc.), has his number #22 retired by the Lions, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and led to the Detroit Lions to 2 NFL championships and was a part of a 3rd championship, which is where the curse started. See, late in the 1957 season Bobby Layne had a leg fracture, which resulted in him being replaced with Tobin Rote (who while not a Hall of Famer had a solid career in his own right) who would do what Jeff Hostetler and Nick Foles would later do in the Super Bowl era, come off the bench and lead the team to championship.
The next year in 1958, Bobby Layne would be traded to Pittsburgh Steelers and as legend has it said on his way out "The Detroit Lions won't win another championship for 50 years". There has been debate whether or not the late Bobby Layne actually said that or something to that effect, although the proof is in the pudding as they say. Whether it be the fact they've won 1 playoff game in the Super Bowl era or the infamous 0-16 (which ironically came during the year the curse was set to expire), they've been far from the top of the line franchise that they were in the 1950s. Because Matthew Stafford grew up on the same street as Bobby Layne and played at the same high school (Highland Park HS) there was a belief that if anyone was going to break the curse it would be Matthew Stafford... yeah he didn't.
Which leads us up to now where the Lions started a new era with Dan Campbell as HC and Jared Goff as QB. They hadn't won yet this season going into Sunday's game against the Ravens, but during the game against the Ravens the Lions showed some grit and actually came back from a multiple possession deficit to take the lead in the final minute. That's when the Ravens managed to miraculously get into "FG range" (albeit with some help from the refs). I say "FG range" because Ravens HC John Harbaugh decided to try a 66 yard field goal which if made would be the longest FG ever. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, the new NFL record holder for the longest field goal in NFL history, reflected on the kick the next day on the Dan Patrick Show:
To watch the NFL's video of Tucker's kick, click on the following link: Longest field goal in NFL History
The Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs eventually beat their curses, so it is possible. But whether it be Bobby Layne himself, karmic retribution, North Texas VooDoo, or some combination of all three that is haunting the Detroit Lions, I don't see that going away any time soon.
Brady's Return (from Week 4)
The whole week leading up to the game was basically the football equivalent of this:
and it ended up being more or less a bunch of
and the actual game was like this
See, for all the hooplah surrounding Tom Brady leading the Buccaneers against his former team, the New England Patriots, when you take the aforementioned hooplah out of the equation and look at Sunday's game as a game, it was a rain soaked, penalty riddled, sloppy, mostly boring, and anticlimactic affair.
Because of the rain (and the lack of Gronk) the Buccaneers usually dynamic passing game was not firing on all cylinders. Because of the Buccaneers excellent run defense, the Patriots were a one dimensional passing offense which while having some success as it not as dynamic of a passing game as compared to the Buccaneers, due to it's one dimensional nature the Patriots offense was not nearly as successful as the Buccaneers offense, which had the benefit of being more balanced as Bucs RB Leonard Fournette made some great plays on the ground. The penalties were numerous, which when you add on the numerous incomplete passes led to a slow mostly low scoring game which wasn't nearly as compelling as one would hope.
Now, it is worth mentioning that near the end of the 3rd quarter things started to pick up and it became a back and forth compelling contest, although that was semi-spoiled by a couple factors. The officiating late in the game was horrendous and anytime there is horrendous officiating late in a game, there ends up being a bad taste in the collective mouths of football fans everywhere. The other factor was the rain. As I just mentioned the rain took most of the teeth out of the Buccaneers passing offense which was most notably on display when late in the 4th quarter Bucs WR Antonio Brown dropped a slippery football in the end zone and forced the Buccaneers to kick a FG, instead of scoring a TD. The rain also officially put the mystique that surrounds both playing on the road in Foxborough and Bill Belichick to an end.
It is 4th and 3 with 59 seconds left and the Patriots on the Bucs 39 yard line down by 2 with one timeout remaining. The rain rain rain was coming down down down and there was 2 options. Either go for it and thus make a potential FG opportunity shorter or potentially get a TD with WAY less time remaining thus increasing the likelihood of victory, or kick a 56 yard FG in the rain rain rain that was coming down down down with a kicker who (as SNF color commentator Cris Collinsworth repeatedly pointed out) had an injured plant leg. Bill Belichick decided to take option B and it ended with a missed FG and a Bucs win. Even if the FG had been miraculously made, there still would have been almost a minute left on the clock with the Bucs having 2 timeouts and only needing a FG to win. Not going for it was a stupid decision and one that no doubt will result in dozens of angry calls on Boston sports talk radio.
It was arguable whether the mystique that hovered over Belichick was gone prior to this game, but afterwards? It went the way of the mystique that (I can't think of a good example, use your imagination and feel free to use your own example here) once had. The mystique around Tom Brady however? Elevated to a whole other level, not only because his Buccaneers defeated his former Patriots on the road, but because Tom Brady is now the all time NFL career passing yardage record holder. Add that with all of his championships and if there was any doubt (admittedly I've had some doubt over the years), there is no longer any doubt, at least in my mind that Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. He might not be the most physically gifted, but his accomplishments are unmatched and likely won't be matched.
Congratulations to Tom Brady and all of the New England Patriots and Tommy Bay Buccaneers players and fans who got to be apart of football history!
And the Bills sopped up the Chiefs (from Week 5)
Yes, I'm using the same clip again, but it fits! Not only was it rainy, but the part where Pooh Bear is falls into a honey pot and onto the flooded waters of the Hundred Acre Wood and is floating aimlessly, is an accurate metaphor for the Kansas City Chiefs and their game against the Buffalo Bills.
As someone who has watched nearly every game of the Patrick Mahomes era, I can confidently say that the Chiefs loss against the Bills was the worse of said Patrick Mahomes era. Now, points wise the Super Bowl 55 loss was still the worst, but at least the Chiefs had the legitimate excuse of starting multiple backup offensive lineman against the best defensive line in the NFL. Sunday night against the Bills? That excuse was not in play.
The offense was a turnover riddled mess that looked completely unprepared to play (whether that is on Andy Reid, Eric Bieniemy, the various other offensive position coaches or all the above I'm not sure) and the defense was mind-bogglingly bad. While the Chiefs played an absolutely terrible game, the Bills do deserve credit, because unlike other times where the Chiefs have played poorly and either come from behind and won or made the game close, the Bills did not let the Chiefs do that. The Bills played aggressively on offense and defense and made one of the best teams in the NFL over the last few years into a floating aimless bear.
The Bills have a pretty easy schedule from here so barring any significant injuries they are going to be highly seeded in the AFC playoffs. Will the road to the Super Bowl go through Buffalo? At this point I wouldn't bet against it.
Close Games! (from Week 6)
-It would be remiss of me not to mention the very first game on Sunday was a last second win by the Jacksonville Jaguars over the Miami Dolphins in London. Tua's trainer on social media (I wish I could find the actual screenshots, but had no luck) mentioned recently that Brian Flores is actively losing the Dolphins locker room, which is ironic considering the reports that Urban Meyer was losing the Jaguars locker room. Congrats to Urban Meyer for his first win as a NFL HC! Congrats to Travor Lawrence for his first win as a NFL QB! Congrats to the Jaguars team and fan base for finally winning and ending their 20 game losing streak!
-Ya know the 2 hour period where I thought Geno Smith was actually going to lead the Seahawks to an upset (at least in terms of point spread and perception, not record) over the Steelers was fun. But for the second week in a row I was reminded, "Oh yeah... that's Geno Smith". I do want to give credit where it due though, and TJ Watt showed why he is the top payed defensive player in all of football as of this column, he is a total beast.
-Because I refuse to heap praise on the Cowboys due to how sloppy they played (they have over 100 yards in penalties which cost them points at various opportunities), I will instead mention this fact: Since Tom Brady left the Patriots, the Patriots have a record of 9-13 and look to be getting worse. I may regret saying this later, but I don't think the Patriots are going to make the postseason which is a 180 degree change from my postseason prediction before the season.
-Things I don't regret are 2 of my most reliable NFL truisms. Kirk Cousins plays great in regionally televised games against mediocre teams and Sam Darnold is laughably overrated and is a XFL level QB.
-Sometimes kicking a FG is a good idea. Especially when you are inside the 5 yard line and it is 4th down and you are down 3 and if you don't convert the 4th down you lose. Bills HC Sean McDermott decided otherwise and the Bills lost because of it.
The lowlier Chiefs? (from Week 7)
Remember how just 2 weeks ago I said that the Chiefs loss to the Bills was IMO the worst loss of the Patrick Mahomes era for the Chiefs? Well, the Chiefs have now suffered an even worse loss than that. 27-3 against the Titans and it felt far worse. Why? Because the Titans offense is the unstoppable force and the Chiefs defense is one of those revolving doors. But you don't lose a game like 27-3 with just bad defense, no you must also not produce offensively, and the Chiefs was completely shut down.. oh and they turned over the ball yet again.
I'm not exactly sure where the Chiefs go from here. I would like to say there is no way to go but up, but this is a Chiefs team that is shoddily built and (as also discussed earlier in the year) one dimensional and is 3-4 while having not suffered any significant long term injuries. If they end up with any major injuries any hope at the postseason would be gone, if it isn't already. I will say that the Chiefs aren't COMPLETELY dead yet as there is a whole second half of the season to play and the Raiders have been known to suffer collapses in the second halves of seasons in recent years and the Chargers are the football embodiment of the choking Squidward meme. So things could get interesting.
Holy Cardinal! (from Week 8)
Almost every week this season during a game or games I form what I think are going to be segments in this very column in my mind, only for something crazy to happen and completely throw the segment I was going to write out of the window. I have mentioned this phenomenon before, but there is no better example of it, than Thursday's night game between the Packers and Cardinals.
After what had started out as a low scoring physical slugfest of a game and then had turned into a back and forth contest, the Packers had 1st and Goal at the 1 yard line with a little less than 5 minutes to go up 24-21. Packers RB Aaron Jones was stuffed on both 1st and 2nd down which led to a 3rd and Goal with a little over 3 and half minutes go. Due to not having any timeouts, the Packers could not stop the delay of game penalty coming their way and instead of 3rd and Goal at the 1 yard line, it was 3rd and Goal at the 6 yard line. On said 3rd down play Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was indecisive whether to run or pass, ultimately decided to run, but because of his aforementioned indecisiveness he did not score a TD. Thus it was now 4th and Goal at the 1 yard line. The Packers went for it and the pass failed. Turnover on downs and still down only 3 points the Cardinals got the ball at the 1 yard line with just over 3 minutes left in the game with 2 timeouts. The Cardinals drove right down the field, excitement was in the crowd and my thought was this:
"The Arizona Cardinals have faced and overcome adversity all season long, and now in a primetime game against a quality Packers team they have done the absolutely unthinkable in getting a goal line stand and then winning the game on a 99 yard touchdown. This is a defining moment of what IMO will now be a Super Bowl season for the Cardinals. The '72 Dolphins might have a bead of sweat or two now."
And then on 2nd and Goal at the 5 yard line with 15 seconds left and no timeouts remaining Cardinals WR AJ Green had absolute zero levels of awareness of where the football was being thrown and Packers CB Rasul Douglas caught the game winning interception. Packers win 24-21. The '72 Dolphins pop the champagne bottles as we approach the 50th anniversary of their undefeated season.
The Cardinals had 3 turnovers and the Packers had 0. Obviously, that is one of those eye popping stats that just says "oh, the Cardinals lost didn't they?" and that would be an accurate statement. My lasting takeaway from this game is that the Rasul Douglas feels like a play that is the beginning of a seasonal collapse. We saw a collapse with the Cardinals going from 6-3 to 8-8 and missing the playoffs and we saw a collapse with the Steelers who were last year's last remaining undefeated team and while they did win the division they had a humiliating postseason performance that they still haven't fully recovered from. It is also possible that this loss motivates the Cardinals and they go full steam ahead, but I'm going to go with the earlier collapse view.
As for the Packers having now stolen victory from the jaws of defeat they are now on their 7th consecutive win and are likely to coast to the postseason where they will probably have a rematch against the Tommy Bay Bucs in the NFC Championship Game. Already looking forward to it.
Special Teams DOES actually matter (and other thoughts about Packers-Chiefs) (from Week 9)
I know for fans who lead toward the hardcore/passionate as opposed to the casual fan that statement is kind of obvious, but even amongst people like myself and on this forum, special teams can be forgotten easily. Special Teams is actually a VERY important phase in the game, because not only can special teams give you points (kicking and kick/punt returns), it can also give the other team points. The punchline to all of this rambling is that horrendous special teams play cost the Packers their game against the Chiefs every way you slice it. The final score was 13-7 and the Packers had a missed FG and a blocked FG as well as a muffed punt that gave the ball to the Chiefs in the red zone.
If both of those FGs are made it is 13-13 and the game goes into overtime where as we know a coin flip can decide the outcome because NFL overtime is the worst in professional American sports. If the muffed punt doesn't happen the score is 10-7, meaning if the Packers had made only one of their FGs it would have been 10-10 and gone into overtime OR if the Packers had made both FGs they would have won the game outright 13-10. Of course none of those scenarios account for possible in changes in playcalling late in the game by both teams, so while the final score may not have been those exactly, with the way the Chiefs were playing and have been playing up to this point, I doubt the Chiefs would have won.
With that last statement said however, I do want to say that the last actual play of the game (not counting kneel downs) by the Chiefs (which would end up being the game winning play) was pure Mahomes greatness and showed why he has been the GORN (Greatest of Right Now) and my thought immediately after the play was "this will be a defining play of this Chiefs season". I don't know whether the Chiefs go on a run and make the playoffs, go on a playoff run, heck pull a Super Bowl out when no one expects it. But, I do think the Mahomes game winning pass to Tyreek Hill will be remembered later this season.
Oh, and last thought: The Packers need Aaron Rodgers because if he either doesn't play or doesn't play well, their team is not anywhere near as good. The fact that Jordan Love didn't chop up the immensely bad Chiefs defense should be concerning to a Packers front office that wants to move on from Rodgers after this season.
BAH GAWD THAT'S CAM NEWTON'S MUSIC (from Week 10)
As I have told you all season Sam Darnold is a scrub who can't play. He was playing some of the worst football a QB can play and while injuries are always unfortunate, Darnold's shoulder injury opened the door for a new QB to come in and hopefully be better. The backup was former Houston Roughnecks XFL Legend PJ Walker who had shown some signs over the last couple seasons that he could be good as the QB of the Panthers. But, the Panthers made the decision they didn't want Walker to likely play the rest of the season. They needed someone better. They needed a familiar face. They needed someone who has led successful late season runs before. They needed someone who would give the fans hope.
After being a shell of his former self with the New England Patriots and not making the final roster cuts, Cam Newton was a free agent. There had been rumors, talk, and speculation of where he might or might not go. He ended up right back where he started, the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers tried to replace him, but neither of his replacements (Teddy Bridgewater or Sam Darnold) worked out, nor could they complete a trade for Deshaun Watson, so the Panthers ended up right back where they started.
Frankly, I'm super (no pun intended) hyped by this move. Yes, Cam was a shell of his former self last year, but two things to keep in mind. 1.) Even empty shell Cam Newton is better than Sam Darnold IMO and 2.) It is just great to see Cam back in those Panthers colors. He belongs with the Panthers. He is the greatest player in Panthers franchise history and he deserves a shot to end his time in the NFL with a bang and not a whimper. The NFL is more fun with Cam Newton playing quality football on the Carolina Panthers plain and simple. And with the Panthers being the #7 seed in the NFC playoff as of today, in my opinion the rest of their season will be one of the top storylines in the entire league.
Superman: Heinicke Attacks! (from Week 11)
In one of the most storyline filled games of the whole season, the Carolina Panthers led by former and now current quarterback Cam Newton versus the Washington Artists Formerly Known As Redskins led by former Panthers HC Ron Rivera and former Panthers backup QB Taylor Heinicke. For every single one of them it was their return to place that each of them called home, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
With the storylines set, how did the actual game go? Well, the Panthers defense despite being a Top 5 defensive unit gave up 27 points and gave up more total yards (369 to 297) and first downs (24 to 18 than Washington's defense did. The Panthers defense also allowed both 4th down conversion attempts by Washington, one of which was horribly botched pass rush play that because it was late in the 4th quarter, gave Washington momentum which they would use to win the game. See, up to that point it had been a back and forth game and was 21-21 with less than 8 minutes left. If the Panthers defensive line sacks Heinicke like they should have, the Panthers would have gotten the ball near midfield, likely would have scored and the outcome probably would have been different. Because what ended up happening was Washington kicked a FG, to a 24-21 lead and the Panthers ended up going for on 4th down in their own territory in desperation mode once they got the ball back.
To be fair, the Panthers defense didn't give up a TD and it was 27-21 and the Panthers still had a chance. But because the Panthers defense allowed Washington to chew clock and put the offense in a desperate situation, the likelihood of actually winning was decreased. Nonetheless, Washington showed up and played well on both sides of the ball and considering they beat the Tommy Bay Buccaneers last week, the Arists Formerly Known As Redskins are making it clear to the NFL that they are not tanking.
While I have been knocking the Panthers defense, the Panthers offense showed signs of life and as I said, even Cam at this point in his career is still better than Sam Darnold. Sunday validated that opinion and even with the loss the Panthers are still in the thick of the NFC playoff hunt. Washington has now entered it too.
The End of an Era (from Week 12)
After the Seahawks loss to the Artists Formerly known as Redskins on Monday Night Football and after their upcoming contest against the 49ers being flexed out of Sunday Night Football days earlier, the stastistic about the Seahawks that left me most defeated as a Seahawks fan was that the rebuilding Jets actually are lower in the upcoming draft order than the Seahawks are. What makes that stat hurt even more is that because of the Jamal Adams trade that #4 overall pick is belongs to the aforementioned New York Jets and not the Seahawks meaning the Seahawks have no incentive to tank.
I unapologetically ignored that national sports media talking points in February about Russell Wilson wanting to be traded and the rumors of a feud between Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll. "Russel loves the Seahawks!" I told myself. "Pete and Russell are most positive guys in the whole NFL, they can't REALLY dislike each other." I told myself. "Dan Patrick and others just want to cause drama where this none." I told myself. As I saw the Seahawks season spiraling I went from optimistic to more or less pessimistic back to optimistic. 2-5 was a low point, but because the NFC is pretty even going into the game against Washington at 3-7 didn't feel as bad as it should have. I felt optimism that the Seahawks could make a run and get a wild card spot and continue the era of success that they have had for nearly a decade. That era of success will not last a decade.
I finally came to the realization Monday night that my most pessimistic of view points about the Seahawks are likely to become reality. The Seahawks won't go to the playoffs, although like I predicted earlier in the year I can see them winning a bunch of random games down the stretch and making their record not terrible. Pete Carroll will retire and end his career as a football coach on a sour note. Russell Wilson will pull a Matt Stafford and get traded in January for a bunch of draft picks. DK Metcalf will get a record setting contract that he deserves as the best WR in the NFL and will become the next Larry Fitzgerald (A HoF WR who for a number of years was the best player on a bad NFC West team and sold a lot of jerseys).
Whether current GM John Schnieder sticks around to oversee a rebuild or is fired I don't know. I also don't know if future HoFer Bobby Wagner will be traded or stick around and be the other really good player on a rebuilding Seahawks team. Wagner still gas left in the tank, and if the Seahawks decide to tank (I know lame segway) I can imagine getting good draft picks for him.
I know the instant first thought of some will be "I wonder how different things would be if they just would have handed the ball to Beast Mode." Frankly, I don't like wondering about that and never will.
Never Go For The Win (from Week 13)
I know that this will be probably be an unpopular opinion and that is fine. I personally think that you should never go for the win. To be specific, I am irritated when coaches at the NFL and college level decide after scoring a late touchdown to go for a two point conversion instead of kicking the extra point to send the game into overtime. I understand that when the decision is made there are usually outstanding circumstances such as a team sucks and is facing a much better team or a kicker sucks and there is arguably a better chance of a two point conversion than an extra point. In the case of the Ravens-Steelers, the Ravens had defensive injuries that made HC John Harbaugh unconformable with the idea of playing overtime and thus he decided to go for the win.
Setting aside the fact that Ravens TE Mark Andrews dropped what would have been the game winning pass (It wasn't a great throw by Lamar Jackson, but Andrews made a horribly low effort play on the ball), I will give a rebuttal to the decision that always pops into my mind when situations like these arise and ESPECIALLY when the Ravens went for it.
It was a low scoring defensive slugfest, so even with injuries, I would personally be skeptical that the Steelers would score again if they won the coin toss in OT. On the same token, if I won the coin toss I would much rather have an offensive series than one short yardage play that could easily go wrong. If you didn't score after winning the toss or keep the Steelers from scoring a TD after they won the toss, the game would enter sudden death and you would only need a FG to win.
Obviously John Harbaugh didn't agree with me and the Ravens lost the game. The Ravens losing did cost them the lead in the AFC playoff picture, and they are now tied at 8-4 with the Bills, Chiefs, and Titans.
Turning Points Can Come Early (from Week 14)
Earlier in the season, the Arizona Cardinals absolutely wiped the floor with the Los Angeles Rams. I expected similar results (especially since Jalen Ramsey was out) and those similar results did not come. The turning point of the game to prevent a similar result came early. The Cardinals were up 3-0 got into the red zone and were looking like they were going to take a 10-0 lead. Instead, there was a miscommunication and Kyler Murray threw an interception. The air came out of the balloon, the Rams took advantage of that interception and took a 7-3 lead and the Cardinals were playing catch up from there and even though it was tied at halftime, the Cardinals never would take retake the lead.
The Cardinals missed yet another opportunity in primetime to showcase their elite potential and I'm skeptical at this point about any postseason success.
Who ever is the owner of white sedan, you left your lights on (from Week 15)
Above is a G rated version of why Urban Meyer was fired as the HC of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Sure, his offensive coaching staff was leaking to anyone and everyone who would listen about how Urban told them they sucked (which when you remember that multiple failed unpopular Seahawks OCs are on the Jaguars offensive coaching staff, Urban's point is accurate) and yes Trevor Lawrence got mad that Urban benched starting RB James Robinson because Robinson fumbled, but those didn't get Urban fired. In fact, Jaguars owner Shad Khan had more or less stated that Urban would not be fired, at least not during the season. Considering the winnable games that the Jaguars had coming up, it seemed to me that Urban would survive and hire a new offensive coaching staff.
And then former Jaguars K Josh Lambo came out in an interview (which for the record can I ask who wants to give an interview to a random free agent kicker) and said that (allegedly) during the preseason Urban kicked him and then said some mean things that I can't repeat on this family friendly forum thus the G rated Spongebob analogy above.
As someone who was very high on the Jaguars hire of Urban Meyer and thought that he would succeed as a NFL coach, I will eat my platter of crow. But, after eating said platter of crow, I want to give my take on why Urban failed as a NFL HC.
You'll often hear that the job of a NFL HC is to manage personalities. This requires getting along with both players and assistant coaches. You'll often hear that NFL is all about "next man up", which is not the case unless you are a VERY VERY well run and well built team. THAT is the difference between the NFL and college football. College football is more transient than the NFL from a team building standpoint. You don't like how the coach is treating you? You transfer. If you are an assistant coach who feels like he is being yelled at too much? You leave for another assistant coaching job because unlike the NFL you can move from school to school as an assistant coach. Your starting running back fumbled? Forget him, there is another 5 star RB waiting to take his place.
In the NFL that 53 man roster is more or less static. Unless another team decides to hire one of your coordinators to be a HC or unless you let one of your lower level assistant coaches become a coordinator, your coaching staff is static. If you want to succeed as a NFL HC you HAVE to get along with people. And it isn't just limited to college coaches who tried the NFL like Urban Meyer. Arguably, the greatest OC of all time Josh McDaniels did not even last 2 seasons as a NFL HC because of his lack of personality management.
Let the Urban Meyer era in Jacksonville be a reminder to everyone. Kick footballs. Not people.
In Defense of Baker Mayfield (from Week 16)
Yes, the Browns lost and yes, Browns QB Baker Mayfield threw 4 interceptions. HOWEVER, the Browns loss to the Packers is not his fault, at least in my opinion. I say that because 3 of the interceptions were not his fault. One was because WR Jarvis Landry fell down, and 2 of them were because of missed defensive penalties and therefore shouldn't have counted. He did have one ugly interception in the red zone, to be fair.
After the season, the Browns will probably trade Mayfield and I actually don't blame them. Not because Mayfield himself is a scrub, but because the Browns offense does not fit his skill set. Mayfield is a pocket passer who reads defenses and throws the ball 40 times a game. That is the kind of scheme he ran when he played in college and even his rookie year when he was at his best in the NFL. As currently constructed, the Browns offensively are like the Ravens except instead of Lamar Jackson type running their run based offense, their QB is a Drew Brees type. It is square peg in a round hole. That is why Baker Mayfield has been put in a position to fail. That is why a game like the Christmas Day game against the Packers should not be used as anti-Mayfield confirmation bias.
Stupid Spagnulo (from Week 17)
I have got one question: Why would you cover Ja'Marr Chase, who is already one of the better WRs in the NFL, with single coverage? Because the decision by Chiefs DC Steve Spagnulo to do just that, single highhandedly cost the Chiefs the game and probably the #1 seed. It was reminiscent of the Buccaneers-Chiefs regular season game last year where Bucs DC Todd Bowles refused to put more than one guy on Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill and just like that game it was an absolutely confounding sight to see a NFL defensive coordinator refuse to make the adjustment that would help their team win the game. Nonetheless, the Bengals were happy to take advantage of the situation and for the first time since 2015 are AFC North Champions.
Victory Lap (from Week 18)
I took a loss with the failure of Urban Meyer as the head coach of the Jaguars as I really thought that he would be a good NFL HC. I admitted that defeat earlier this season, as I think it is important for analyst/pundits like myself to take admit errors in analysis. Now, that I've been humble it is time for me to do this
From the Other Thoughts segment in Week 10:
-I will admit if I'm wrong later, so here goes: The Indianapolis Colts will not make the playoffs. Carson Wentz has gotten away with some stuff the last couple games due to the opponents being inferior to the Georgia Bulldogs, but once the Colts go up against good teams they are going to fold like Borders.
In an ironic twist of fate they actually fared well against good teams (primarily the playoff bound Bills, Patriots, and Cardinals) and lost to the team that now has the #1 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars. The vaunted offensive line that supposedly makes Colts GM Chris Ballard a good GM was taken apart by the Jaguars defensive line. The vaunted Colts defense that supposedly makes Colts DC Matt Eberflus qualified to be a HC was chopped up by arguably the worst offense in the entire NFL. Colts QB Carson Wentz played bad like he usually does, bad play which was made worse by the reality that the Colts traded a 1st round pick to the Eagles to get him, which was EVEN worse by the reality that despite taking a $30 million dead cap hit to get rid of Wentz AND hiring an underqualified HC to try to please Wentz who they took the aforementioned cap hit to get rid of, made the playoffs with Wentz's fan favorite replacement Jalen Hurts. All of this happening while a bunch of Jaguars fans were wearing clown outfits to protest Jags Owner Shad Khan's inexplicable decision to keep GM Trent Baalke.
Instead of eating crow, I'm eating fantablous fried shrimp courtesy of those clowns in Jacksonville, Florida. 2022 has started off great!
As you can tell some of my predictions aged well and most others aged poorly. There were some great segments left on the cutting room floor, but I wanted to only pick one per week, so that was bound to happen. In spite of it all, I hope y'all still got some enjoyment out of all of it and I hope to see ya next week for the Super Bowl. This is spiderfan out.
