Post by spiderfan on Oct 10, 2022 20:26:30 GMT -8
Greetings and salutations Sports Coast to Coast! It is I, Spiderfan the official NFL analyst of this great forum, back with yet another edition of Red Hot Gridiron. We have a whole lot to cover, so without further ado let us begin!
The Wash
I said the following in my predictions column:
4.) Denver Broncos
You can call sour grapes all you want for me picking the Broncos this low. I don't care. Russell Wilson looked washed up last year and it doesn't matter that the Broncos have a relatively quality roster. They are in a tough division and with mediocre to slightly above average QB play (which is what Wilson will end up bringing, not MVP level football), I think the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs yet again.
You can call sour grapes all you want for me picking the Broncos this low. I don't care. Russell Wilson looked washed up last year and it doesn't matter that the Broncos have a relatively quality roster. They are in a tough division and with mediocre to slightly above average QB play (which is what Wilson will end up bringing, not MVP level football), I think the Broncos are going to miss the playoffs yet again.
Wilson's horrendous play on Thursday Night Football (and his bad play overall this season) might be the best schadenfreude the NFL has seen in a LONG time, if you are a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and/or don't like how left the Seahawks. Overthrows, missed reads, throwing interceptions that to paraphrase Tony Gonzalez on the TNF post game show, would get a young quarterback benched, and having the ball taken out of your hands at a couple different points late in the game because of lack of confidence by coaches, only to have the ball be put back in your hands and utterly fail to redeem yourself. What it made all worse was that the Colts were just as bad and Matt Ryan is washed up too! Which led to what might be the most embarrassing moment in the history of the Denver Broncos
At the time I started this column years ago, I referred to the Broncos as the Lolcows, due to their laughable status as a franchise as that point in time. Right now? To quote the Joker himself, it'd be funny if it weren't so pathetic. To see a player who at one point in time was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL become a shell of his former self, a washed up has been who is holding the team back, makes me kind of sad actually. Y'know who is also sad? Broncos GM George Paton, who's decision to not only trade for Russell Wilson, but then give him a long term nearly 250 million dollar contract, will end up (in all likelihood) with him and the rest of the Broncos front office being unemployed at the end of the season.
Being that the NFL is a league full of copycats and superstitious people, I really think veteran quarterbacks will have a harder time forcing trades. Matthew Stafford showed that type of trade can result in franchise altering glory. Russell Wilson showed it can result in franchise altering disaster. There will be teams who will take the latter view of a potential veteran quarterback trade.
Sure, the Broncos could go on some crazy win streak and avert disaster, so it might be totally unfair to say that. But is there any reason to think that will happen other than the argument of "there is still 12 games left?" It's only going to go downhill from here in my opinion. If I'm wrong, I'll talk about this segment later in the year as an example of just how wrong I can be. At this point? I think I'm justified in thinking I'm right on the money.
Dallas Rush
As long time readers are well aware, I'm no fan of current Dallas Cowboys OC (and future HC) Kellen Moore as, contrary to the hollow numbers that the Cowboys have put up in his tenure, his offensive play calling does not utilize the players well, and the Cowboys have not been nearly as good as they could be. Enter Cooper Rush, the longtime backup for the Cowboys who has actually made the Cowboys as good as they should be.
You see, after Dak Prescott's injury, Kellen Moore was forced to change his offense from a gimmicky Air Raid style offense designed to have Dak (who was a mobile QB in the mold of Tim Tebow in college) put up hollow numbers so the Jones' can feel good about themselves, to a run first offense. This means that the Cowboys are FINALLY playing to their strengths. Running the ball with Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard, using the offensive line to create the running lanes, and creating a passing game that isn't hollow. This cuts down on turnovers, which doesn't put the defense in bad situations.
Is Cooper Rush the most physically talented QB out there? Not at all. But he is someone who is getting the job done and making the whole team better, so in my opinion that more than makes up for his lack of physical talent. Rush should stay in. He won't in all likelihood and that's a shame because the Cowboys have finally figured how to (even in a short stretch) win a lot of a games.
Matt Rhule Fired
In a move that should have happened at the end of last season (https://sportscoasttocoast.proboards.com/thread/3463/spiderfans-2021-web-football-week) Panthers HC Matt Rhule was finally fired. Let us take a moment to look back on what my thoughts were of Matt Rhule as a NFL head coaching prospect, including my incorrect prediction that he would become the head coach of the New York Tinys (a prediction that didn't become true, because Panthers owner David Tepper went to Waco and made Rhule an offer he couldn't refuse. I bet Tepper regrets that now.).
Speaking of Matt Rhule (notice how every candidate seems to tie in with each other? Yeah, the coaching carousel is weird in that way) word is that he is the top candidate for the New York Football Tinys HC job, which opened up after they fired Pat Shurmur. As someone who keeps up with Baylor football (I'm by no means an expert, although I know more about Baylor football than pretty much any other national writer you'll read) I can tell you that Rhule is a good college football coach. He turned around Temple and he has turned around Baylor. Which makes him an excellent candidate for... the USC Trojans. Yeah, the thing about Rhule is that IMO he doesn't seem to make sense for a NFL job. How does making Temple and Baylor good teams through recruiting and talent development make you a good NFL HC? There is no recruiting in the NFL and it isn't like Rhule is some offensive or even defensive mastermind that has produced countless pro players. So why would the Tinys (reportedly) seriously interested? I can tell you why. Because before becoming the HC of Temple, Rhule was the assistant OL coach of the Tinys. He was part of the family and the Tinys are an organization that care about such things. Which is why I think that after the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, Matt Rhule will leave Waco to go to NY.
With Former failed Arizona Cardinals HC Steve Wilks now taking over as the interim HC and Baker Mayfield's health unclear (not to mention the possibility of Sam Darnold eventually becoming starter), right now the Panthers have to be the front runner for the #1 pick in next year's draft. While I'm not a Panthers fan, I do think it is sad to see a perennially good franchise like the Panthers become one of the NFL's worst for what has now been a lengthy period of time.
Other thoughts:
-Yes, the Tinys came up with a big win in London against the Packers. They are still in third place in the NFC East and it is going to take more than a lucky win to convince me the can be real playoff contenders.
-So much for the Lions being a good offensive team...
-The Jacoby Brissett hype train is done. It was kind of fun, but as JuJu Smith-Schuster once said (infamously), "the Browns is the Browns", so it was not going to last forever.
-I'm SO glad I didn't hope on the "the Jags are actually good this year" hype train. Funny too, because usually every year I'm on that train at some point. Guess this year was a good time to get off.
-The Buccaneers beating the Falcons are the Vikings beating the Bears are the definitions of not surprising wins.
-I want to say that the Steelers will turn out to be one of the worst teams in the league by the end of the year, but they'll be one of those teams that starts terrible and wins a bunch of meaningless late season games to reduce their draft stock and make people talk about how good Mike Tomlin is.
-I don't want to write off the Dolphins just yet, but it sure feels like their hype train is cooling off FAST.
-I have no problem saying that the Commanders will turn out to be one of the worst teams in the league by the end of the year.
-If not for DK Metcalf dropping a TD and fumbling the ball to start the second half, the Seahawks probably beat the Saints.
-John Harbaugh decided to ignore analytics and the Ravens won anyway. I'm not sure that is sustainable.
-Congratulations for having the most receiving touchdowns in the history of Monday Night Football!
Will The Philadelphia Eagles Go 17-0?
It sure looked like the Eagles might lose their first game of the season after the Cardinals made yet another comeback attempt. Nonetheless, the Eagles held on and showed they can survive such an attempt. Impressive considering we have seen numerous choke jobs throughout the NFL this season. I don't usually pick games, but I'll make an exception sort of. If the Cowboys decide to go back to Dak Prescott, I think the Eagles win. If the Cowboys want a chance to beat the undefeated Eagles on the road? They need to stick with Cooper Rush IMO.
And with all of that said, the fifth week of the National Football League season is in the books. As always I hope ya enjoyed and hope to see ya again next week! Remember, football is the greatest game in the world. This is spiderfan out.
