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
Yeah. I'm twelve.
On a serious note, my heart goes out to California. Between the shooting massacre in Thousand Oaks and the forest fires, you folks deserve some good news.
Aaron Rodgers representing with the Santa Monica Fire Department hat Sunday.
Cowboys and Giants Mood:
Me Tuesday afternoon...
Back in Week 4, the Jaguars beat the Jets upping their record to 3-1. You may remember this was the game where coach Doug Marrone went for the two-point conversion with 25 seconds left in the 4th quarter with a 19 point lead.
Marrone said, "The chart said go for two".
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles on his coach's decision: "I just work here"
After the game, Marrone was asked if he was trying to "send a message" to the Jets. Marrone downplayed it saying, "We're not good enough to send a message".
Turns out he was right.
Zay Jones. Still a wizard.
Thanks to Footballguy David Dodds for that one.
Music note of the week is Thunder and Rain with a sweet cover of "Sweet Child O' Mine"
And I'll save you the googling as if you're like me, this is going to make you want to listen to the Guns N' Roses version. I've no problem whatsoever saying I thought these guys were the coolest thing going back in the day.
From the "Not So Fast, My Friend..." Department:
I'm no defensive coordinator but as a general rule, I'm going to say it's best to never put a guy with a jersey number in the 50s on Josh Gordon...
I certainly would not call these "hilarious", but clearly, it looks like the NFL didn't think this one all the way through...
Plus this.
I'm going to make this a Valentine's card.
For all the whispers about Dez Bryant being trouble in the locker room, he sure seemed to win over the Saints in just a couple of days.
Interesting.
Matt Barkley slinging touchdowns to Dion Dawkins. Yeah, I saw that coming...
If Ryan Fitzpatrick had as much talent as he does heart, he'd be the greatest quarterback to ever play.
Cody Parkey might not have a job next week. But let's be honest, hitting the goal post four times is pretty impressive.
Thanks to Footballguy Clayton Gray for that one.
This is the highlight of Sunday's game for Oakland.
And for a bonus, I now no longer believe anything Next Gen Stats tells me...
Twitter can be mean sometimes. 2013 Twitter can be cruel.
Bell after seeing that tweet:
Well done, Eagles.
Mike Leach is a National Treasure.
Of course, Leach turned it into a Burt Reynolds tribute.
Washington's Josh Norman with a lesson on how not to endear yourself to the fans. From USA Today:
“We come back to our home and it seems like guys don’t really care,” Norman said. “They just boo everything and aren’t really behind us. We don’t really feel that (support). And I’m tired of it, really. (Shoot), we can play all the games on the road if you ask me.
“At the end of the day, the people who are going to be for you, the fans that really (have) your back, they’ll be there. The other ones, man, it is what it is. Can’t really speak on them. They’re going to talk about what they talk about anyway. They’re all keyboard warriors anyway.”
New England's Julian Edelman with a different tact. From ProFootballTalk:
"Julian Edelman left early for the locker room after injuring his ankle, but he did return to the sideline before the end to witness the ugliness. Not as many of the thousands of Patriots fans who made the trip to Nashville stayed that long.
“I am sorry we disappointed some of the fans that were out here for us,” Edelman said to reporters, via WEEI. “We were heavily populated here. We have to go back to New England and get back to work.”
"The Patriots receiver caught nine passes for 104 yards.
"He said he would see how his ankle feels Monday, but the Patriots have their open date this week.
“Not in a good mood, guys. I am sorry,” Edelman said. “Sorry for being an A-hole, but we got outplayed. Thank you.”
Mesmerizing...
Another angle:
Tyler Lockett with the flop. Is it me or is this happening way more than it used to?
Either way, stop it.
From Sports Illustrated:
"Oakland Raiders: Things are getting historically bad in Oakland. The Raiders’ 1–8 record is the third-worst start in franchise history, behind only the 0–10 start of Carr’s rookie year in 2014 and an 0–13 record in 1962."
I don't want to put any more pressure on Derek Carr, but having a hand in two of the three worst starts in Raiders history is a heavy burden to bear.
I wish Tony Romo could call every game.
Robert Quinn with another example of how those signature moves can come back to bite you.
Cooper Kupp may not be the flashiest part of the Rams offense but he was an important part of the Rams offense.
Anything can happen. Especially with Buffalo.
Dion Lewis didn't hold back about his former team Sunday.
Good.
Bad.
Ugly.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel was asked about running the same trick play as the Patriots.
Thanks to Footballguy Adam Harstad for that one.
And last thing...
Rob Ryan will do things to you.
Called it. But let's not get too excited. Predicting a win for Kansas City is not exactly going out on a limb these days.
Nick Mullens with the mesmerizing video loop of the week.
Rolling to his right, he slips on the turf, keeps his eyes on the target, pops back up and fires a strike to the receiver. Who knows where he'll go in his career but I like what I see.
Quenton Nelson is one of the most promising young guards in decades. He was drafted sixth overall this year by the Colts and has been playing great this season.
He yells when he blocks and this video blew up the Internet Sunday.
People were "amazed" and "stunned" as Nelson "stole the soul" of Jaguars safety Barry Church.
Nelson weighs 330 pounds. Church weighs 218 pounds.
Amazing would be something different happening than what happened.
On the other end of the scales, 252 pound Khalil Mack blew up 311 pound Taylor Decker to sack Matthew Stafford Sunday.
But that one's not exactly as it might seem.
Looking a bit closer, you can see the guard step on Decker's right foot making it much easier for Mack to gain leverage and power through.
Just one more example there's often a bit more to the story.
Thanks to Footballguys David Dodds, Brian Sumner, and Scott Bischoff for the help on that one.
Drew Brees. No big deal.
Live look in on Brandon Marshall:
I did not know this. In his 13 year career, Brandon Marshall's never played in a postseason game.
We've all been here. Truth be told, I kind of live here...
The "Decline of Tom Brady" is the oldest storyline in the league by now. He's been done every year since forever it seems. But don't kid yourself, an end is coming at some point. The question is when.
Mike Tanier of Bleacher Report thinks it's now.
"Don't act shocked that we're saying it. Patriots fans may deny it on the comment threads, but they whisper it among themselves when us Muggles are not around. Other analysts might tiptoe around the topic, but that's just because we've all been writing End of Brady fanfic since 2009, and none of us want to read the "this didn't age well" tweets when Brady throws four touchdown passes against the Jets after the bye.
"Brady may well throw four touchdown passes against the Jets after the bye, because Matt Barkley just threw two touchdown passes against the Jets, and Barkley's arm is a slingshot made out of hair scrunchies. But Brady can barely muster any velocity right now, and unless he's harboring some secret injury that Alex Guerrero can heal with eye of newt or something, the 41-year-old's arm isn't going to suddenly spring back into 2007 form."
On the other hand, are we just seeing the normal Rob Gronkowski-less Brady?
Jason Lisk from The Big Lead wrote last year:
"Brady and the Patriots won the Super Bowl two years ago without Gronkowski playing (coming from 28-3 in case you haven’t heard). Even with those games included, here are the splits for Brady with and without Gronkowski since the latter entered the league in 2010:
"With Gronkowski: 113 games, 2771 of 4332 (65.5%), 33217 pass yards (7.85 YPA), 255 pass TDs, 55 INTs
"Without Gronkowski: 30 games, 711 of 1182 (60.2%), 8198 pass yards, 51 pass TDs, 22 INTs
"If we translate that to a per-16-game rate for each, we get the following:
"With Gronkowski: 392 of 599, 4703 pass yards, 36 TD, 8 INT
"Without Gronkowski: 379 of 630, 4372 pass yards, 27 TD, 12 INT
"Okay, but it may be hard to put those numbers in context. The “With Gronkowski” numbers are basically identical to Aaron Rodgers since the start of his career. The “Without Gronkowski” numbers are similar to Ryan Tannehill, if he completed fewer passes but threw for slightly more touchdowns."
We'll see.
Don't look now but Andrew Luck is back.
From SI.com's Albert Breer:
"The progress showed on Sunday in Luck’s six completions of 20-plus yards, which included a 53-yard touchdown strike to Eric Ebron, and twin 35-yard completions to TY Hilton."
A healthy Luck paired with Frank Reich, has the rest of the league feeling like Shooter McGavin when Happy Gilmore learned to putt...
Saints coach Sean Payton was asked about destroying the fire alarm in the Visitors Locker Room Sunday.
Payton said, "Destroyed would be a little bit sensationalist. Clearly we were having issues with a fire alarm. I just needed the noise to stop."
I don't know, Coach. I think I'm ok going with "destroyed".
Local commercials are gold.
Golf Note Of The Week - Serious Caddy - Golfer Discussion.
He went back to the Fairway.
Okay then,
Sunday Night Football Summary.
How it started.
How it ended.
If Tony Romo called games with Tony Romo.
Thank you, Internet.
Dak Prescott with the latest example of "These guys make a lot of money. These guys earn a lot of money."
Brocktober... is over.
Wrapping with this one.
Odell Beckham and Marquise Goodwin put on a dance-off Monday night for some fans.
"It started off with a friendly pregame chat between the 49ers and Giants wide receivers, who respect each other. Goodwin and Beckham met at midfield hours before kickoff and had a 3- to 4-minute conversation.
Later, after they were suited up for team warmups, Goodwin brought Beckham over to meet his family, who had gathered on the sideline. This included Goodwin's wife, his mother and his sister Déja, who is confined to a wheelchair.
Goodwin and Beckham proceeded to have a dance-off in front of the family, who laughed and enjoyed the show, as did the fans in attendance.
Monday marks a significant moment for Goodwin, as it's the one-year anniversary of his stillborn son's death and his emotional first touchdown as a 49er."
Some of you may remember me posting this clip from last year. Goodwin talked to this young man in a wheelchair about his sister.
Listen closely to not just what he says but how he says it.
That's as real as it gets from Goodwin there. You can see and feel the sincerity and the emotion from him. Rock on, Marquise Goodwin. And for all you folks out there caring for folks with needs, hats off to you. You're the heroes.
Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Clayton Gray, David Dodds, Adam Harstad, Brian Sumner, and Scott Bischoff for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, send me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Thanks for playing along and 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