Hi Folks,
We do a ton of insightful, thoughtful and serious features here at Footballguys with smart people thinking deeply for you.
This is not one of those features.
This is Random Shots and it's a few pages of me downloading my goofy and dysfunctional mental hard drive that gets stuffed with way too many random items from too many hours watching, reading about and listening to football every weekend and throughout the week. It's the only way I manage. Here's hoping it has some value for you.
We'll see. Now let's get to it.
J
It's On.
With the NFL season kicking off Thursday night, I was feeling like this throwback picture of Jimmy Johnson. It's the same way every year.
Big change for me in my local league. I'm retiring the team name "He Don't Make The Law. He Justin Forsett".
Complete with this sweet graphic from Footballguy Adam Harstad.
Switching to something short and sweet. The Bandits. Honoring one of the best there ever was.
And the sweet logo.
And these are some of my Guys. And the Trophies. In that order.
On the Soapbox:
I love the DFS games and I love the big season-long contests. But for me, this picture IS Fantasy Football. A bunch of friends gathering in my barn with pizza and drinks and smack talk. (Plus a few on the phone and Facetime). It's the heart and soul of this industry and it'll always be at the forefront of how I think of Fantasy Football. All the other ways to play are great. But they're all in addition to this. Friends enjoying each other and enjoying football always has been what I love about Fantasy Sports. And always will be. And yeah, this is what I said last year. My guess is I'll say it next year too.
Off the Soapbox.
And one more thing.
I know nothing about NASCAR other than I'm pulling for J.J. Yeley.
You know Cam Newton loved breaking out these cleats for the Cowboys.
Thanks to @solecollector for that one.
Raise your hand if your QB Rating this weekend was as good as Nathan Peterman's.
Hint - All of you should have your hand raised.
The Internet was buzzing Sunday with talk about Charger fans representing poorly at their home opener. I saw this picture and thought, "That was probably just the designated area where all the Kansas City fans were."
Turns out the whole stadium was the designated area for Kansas City fans...
James Conner is one of my favorite players this year. Pittsburgh's back up running back, thrust into the starting role.
His haircut though, not so much.
I'm not sure anyone can pull off the "Business In The Front / Unsure In The Middle / Party In The Back". Hat Tip: CBS
With that said, You Do You, Buddy. I'm not going to be the old guy yelling about "These kids these days and their hair..."
Marshawn Lynch's high school picture is the perfect Instagram vs LinkedIn shot:
Which caused a million guys to say in unison, "This guy's a Gangster? His real name's Clarence..."
Jets quarterback Sam Darnold's first NFL pass was intercepted and returned for a pick six.
So was Brett Favre's...
Just saying.
Thanks to Footballguy John Lee and ESPN for that one.
And yes, I know Jameis Winston did it too but I'm trying to work here.
Matt Stafford with the latest example of "These guys make a lot of money. These guys earn a lot of money."
One more example of why the answer is almost always: "Barbecue".
According to the Miami Sun-Sentinel, Dolphins coach Adam Gase was surprised to walk into the locker room where his team was waiting on a weather delay to find them eating the Barbecued Chicken Dinners that were planned for the post game.
Defensive end Cameron Wake explained: “We ran out of snacks."
Oh Chicago...
College Football Note
Kentucky headed into the Swamp at Gainesville Saturday having lost 31 straight games to Florida.
Just going to leave this one here...
It was enough that one Florida player transferred after the game.
Music Note For This Week
Tyler Childers is getting a lot of buzz these days. He's not for everyone, but if you like raw and honest and soulful music, he's probably for you.
Thanks to Footballguy Keith Overton for the help on this one.
Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger was asked if he had a problem with the team drafting quarterback Mason Rudolph in the third round this year. Roethlisberger said, "I've got no problem. I mean Rudolph is my favorite reindeer."
Speaking of Rudolph, Ryan Fitzpatrick as Yukon Cornelius never gets old.
And speaking of Fitzpatrick, Time Is A Flat Circle...
Except for when it's not.
Regular readers know I like to use the Ferris Bueller line, "Life moves pretty fast around here".
But Cleveland's 2018 roster compared to their final 2017 roster is kind of ridiculous.
Which I guess just means everything for me eventually leads to Ferris Bueller and Ryan Fitzpatrick...
Thanks to Footballguy Clayton Gray and Jeff Darlington for that one.
Antonio Brown showing the Shorts Suit isn't just for LeBron James...
Live from Foxborough...
On a better note, JJ Watt playing pre-game catch with young Patriot fans is one reason people love this guy.
There's a lot of football left to be played. But if Sam Darnold continues to be the player the Jets hope he'll be, don't underesitimate on the value of Josh McCown to this team.
Back in the preseason, you saw McCown leading and teaching like this.
And it's one of the many reasons he's stayed employed around the league.
Monday night, we saw the same kind of thing with McCown encouraging Darnold and offensive coordinator / quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates to stay aggressive after the rough start. Bates is just three years older than McCown and clearly listens to the veteran. This is what teamwork is all about.
I'm with our friend Gordon McGuinness. Michael Dickson punting in Denver is like using a cheat code.
Two good ones right there.
I'll save you the time in watching the whole game. Here's the twelve second summary of Kansas City at Los Angeles.
For all the jokes, don't sleep on the Browns. This team can be good.
I'm not sure how much "celebrating" normal sized people can handle with Donovan Smith...
Cam Newton with another example you can wear whatever you want when you win. Even a robe.
Thanks to Kelsey Riggs for that one.
At one point Sunday night, Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky motioned for the crowd to be quiet. In Green Bay. Son, that's not how it works at Lambeau.
And when you see this during a play, it can't result in a 5-yard loss. Ever.
That big wide receiver for the Giants is not a wide receiver. Evan Engram is ridiculous.
A live look at Brett Favre as Aaron Rodgers was carted off...
That's pretty funny.
The Jets and Buccaneers led the league in scoring this week.
Yeah, we saw that coming...
Matt Stafford and Derek Carr pass each other on the street...
The Internet was full of hot takes over Khalil Mack.
Kevin Clark with the zinger of the week: "Giving [Andy] Reid a smart, athletic, big-armed quarterback like [Patrick] Mahomes is like giving Jon Gruden a franchise player to trade away: The possibilities are endless."
But I lean more toward Andrew Perloff's take:
Gruden hasn't won in a while. When he makes a move like this, he's the dumbest guy in the league. He's an easy target.
When your jewelry drawer looks like Belichick's, you can do the same thing and nobody says much. Is it fair? No. But it's life.
Jerseys are expensive. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Easy there, Charlie. Pace yourself.
It's a rough game.
One more on Jon Gruden and Khalil Mack and the fundamental difference between coaches and regular people.
The Internet went wild when Gruden said after the game, he'd have to see why his team didn't pressure Goff and Gurley.
For the fan, Khalil Mack is the reason the team didn't pressure Goff and Gurley.
But that's not how coaches think.
Mack is gone. Full stop.
Gruden has a short week to prepare for the Broncos. He'll spend exactly zero seconds wondering what could have been with Mack. Nor should he. Nor would any coach in the league. It's just not how they think. And it's the right way. You don't climb your way to one of the top coaching positions in all of sports lamenting what could have been. That's for fans. Not for coaches.
God Bless Georgia.
You can read the article if you like. I don't even want to know the details here as I fear it might ruin the perfect story I'm imagining.
Wrapping with this.
Linebacker Shaquem Griffin is easily the story of the year for me.
As you likely know, Griffin plays with his twin brother Shaquill for Seattle.
Shaquem has one hand.
I can only imagine what he and his parents were thinking Sunday. Here's the pregame hug from their mother.
But here's something you may not have seen as much of.
There were kids and people in Denver and across the world watching on television, who for the first time, looked at a player on an NFL field and saw someone a little bit like them.
Don't miss that.
But here's the point for you and me. Most of us don't have a story as amazing as Griffin's. And that's fortunate for us. But I see "regular" people like you and me all the time who think they don't have anything to offer because they don't have some remarkable story or situation.
Here's the truth. You don't have to be remarkable to make a difference in someone's life. You only have to care. To be blunt, you only have to give a damn.
I love the line that goes something like, "Be the person you needed when you were younger.". Yeah, it's cheesy. And it's true. We all remember our younger selves. And the things we needed from someone. Be that person for someone else. It's not rocket science. Now get out there.
Off the Soapbox.
It's nice to be back with you. For the next four months or so, my life is basically a series of questions asking "I wonder if the folks would like this in Random Shots?" And I'm good with that.
Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, John Lee, and Clayton Gray for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, shoot me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Thanks for playing along. I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.
Peace and Grace to you.
J