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
Let's lead with my best.
This is funny but let's be real for a second. Newton looks great. I haven't seen his mechanics this clean in years. They give "Coach Of The Year" awards at the end of the season and not after Week 2 for a reason. But losing all those players to opt-outs plus losing Tom Brady plus still throwing to these receivers, what the Patriots are doing is nothing short of incredible. I was wrong here. I didn't buy in after Miami. I'm completely sold after Seattle.
He's got a point.
Dear Patrick Mahomes II, Dan Marino says "Hi".
I apologize in advance as you won't be able to unsee this.
Music note this week is from a guy I love. John Craigie's vibe fits perfectly with where I am as we enter fall and this song, in particular, gets me. I've always had a soft spot for harmonica like this but he just kills it here.
Bill Belichick's Patriots faced Pete Carroll's Seahawks Sunday night. That's 137 combined years of goodness right there.
You've probably seen the picture of the Georgia Tech fans from a game in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic.
Fast forward to 2020.
I don't know how to say this without sounding like the Grumpy Old Guy, but we dressed a lot better back then.
HT: Rich Eisen.
Real Talk.
Dak Prescott shared some personal struggles this summer. That's tough and it takes strength.
Hayden Hurst with a nice word after the game Sunday.
Prescott did the big thing opening up and being honest. But don't overlook Hurst here. When you see something good, call it out. Encourage that other person. They can't read your mind. Most all the time, you have to use your words. Use them for good.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. If you or someone you know struggles with the idea of suicide, talk to someone. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is open 24 hours a day at 800-273-8255. Don't keep it to yourself. Talk to them, talk to someone. Email me at bryant@footballguys.com if you don't have anyone. Just don't keep it to yourself.
Gardner Minshew can play. People love him or hate him because of the mustache and shtick. That's fun but that's not what we're here for. Guy's a legit NFL Starting Quarterback.
One of my favorite things in sports is when fans ignore physics.
We go nuts when Jarrad Davis crushes Aaron Jones here.
Or when Ezekiel Elliott rolls Damontae Kazee.
The reality is all four of these guys are elite athletes.
In both cases, the guy who outweighed the other by forty pounds won the collision.
Science, people.
I'm with Steve Braband. The Steelers linebackers have been good since the early 1700s.
I know it's just two games. But Roethlisberger back feels like Juju Smith-Schuster is back.
Raheem Mostert, you're kind of ridiculous.
From Doug Farrar:
"On the 49ers’ opening drive against the Jets in Week 2, it took exactly one play for San Francisco running back Raheem Mostert to set a new land speed record on an 80-yard touchdown run. Per Next Gen Stats, Mostert cruised through outstanding blocking and an indifferent Jets defense at a top speed of 23.09 miles per hour. Per Scott Hanson of NFL Red Zone, that’s the fastest any player has run in the last two years, since Next Gen has been tracking player speed with tracking devices placed in player uniforms.
"This was no fluke, as Mostert caught a 76-yard touchdown pass against the Cardinals in Week 1 in which he did most of the work, and hit a top speed of 22.73 MPH, giving him the two highest rates of speed in the 2020 season."
Now please get well soon.
Kerryon Johnson didn't need fans for a Lambeau Leap.
Remember back when West Coast teams weren't supposed to play well traveling East for the 1 pm kickoffs?
It does help when they get to visit the Jets and the Eagles...
I've always thought Rich Gannon was a little robotic calling games but this was scary.
Wide recievers at this level gain attention for lots of things. Blazing speed. Circus catches. Leaping ability. That's cool.
What matters though is this: "Can they get separation?"
Which means, "Can they get open?"
Davante Adams can get open.
Pittsburgh Mood:
I feel like we still don't know much about Tampa Bay.
They've played the bookends of quality teams in the first two weeks.
If George Kittle were a quarterback, I bet he'd run like Josh Allen.
I get it that they're trying to make the fake crowd noise seem real. But the boos in Philadelphia seemed a little too on the nose.
Week 2 in one image:
God Bless you Jets Fans.
Who says there's nothing good about 2020?
To be fair, he's had some breaks...
Almost two hours into Sunday's game, Kirk Cousins was rocking a QB rating of 0 point 0.
John Belushi fans across the nation smiled.
Mike Gesecki can catch.
Armchair QB: "OMG. Mike McCarthy's trying too hard to be cool and aggressive. He can't be going for it on those fake punts! He's like the old guy trying to wear skinny jeans!"
Reality: John Fassel is the new Special Teams Coordinator for Dallas. He's widely credited with developing Rams punter Johnny Hekker into one of the best fake punters in the game.
So give it a rest. It's who they are.
Besides, both the failed fake punts were forgotten after the incredible onside kick recovery to help them win the game. I know the whole world including Charles Barkley is pinning this on the Falcons. This was a great play and come back by Dallas.
Charles Barkley was feeling the pain after the Falcons loss.
Oh, John Elway.
Our friend Doug Farrar noted this was the second straight week in which a team with a 2% win probability actually won (Bears over Lions, Week 1)
My takeaway was to question the probability method.
Although, to be fair. This was crazy.
"There has never been a game like the one the Cowboys and the Falcons played Sunday. The Falcons didn't just have all of those big leads, they possessed the ball for 33:48 and won the turnover battle 3-0. According to the Elias Sports Bureau research, since 1933 -- when team turnovers were first tracked -- teams that scored 39 or more points and had no turnovers in a game were a combined 440-0. Until Sunday."
Hat Tip to Footballguy John Lee.
I asked the question on Twitter Sunday, "Is there a Lions lead big enough to be safe?"
It wasn't a real question...
Cowboys game recap
We're in the Golden Age for QBs. Never before have they been this good this quickly. Enjoy.
San Francisco lost their starting QB, RB, WR, TE, C, DE, DT, CB, and backup center Sunday. And still beat the Jets 31-13.
Hat Tip: NFL Memes.
Bill Belichick is all of us.
PGA players mic'd up are exactly what you thought PGA players mic'd up would be.
The Jets have problems. But Sam Darnold isn't one of them.
If Patrick Mahomes II had thrown this touchdown, we'd have talked about it nonstop for three days.
Greg Olsen wishes Russell Wilson liked him half as much as Cam Newton does...
Mike Evans, we feel you.
Hat Tip: Footballguy David Dodds.
I know all the talk is about Baker Mayfield and Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry. But this is a running team.
From Albert Breer:
"Rewind to the fourth quarter on Thursday. With 5:55 left, rookie Joe Burrow had taken the Bengals 83 yards in 14 plays to cut Cleveland’s lead to 28-23. The Browns got the ball back, after a touchback, on their own 25. As Mayfield broke the huddle, everyone knew what was coming. Cincinnati did. You and I did. And Cleveland didn’t deviate.
• Nick Chubb 4 yards off left tackle.• Chubb 26 yards off left guard.• Kareem Hunt 33 yards off right guard.• Hunt 1 yard up the middle.• Hunt 10 yards off right guard.• Hunt 1 yard off right guard for a touchdown."
Actual audio from Bill Belichick pregame...
Before kickoff, he switched things up and went with a different mask.
I'm with Will Brinson: "If you want to beat the Seahawk, you must think like the Seahawk."
If you want highlight reels, Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes II are your guys. If you want the best quarterback in football, it's Russell Wilson. And in my book, it's not close.
Tyreek Hill said: "I promise you I did not take my helmet off."
He has to think we're stupid.
I asked my long time buddy and Kansas City SuperFan, Mike Wenger what he thought. He said, "I'm just glad his hand was there to grab it before it flew so far and hit an innocent bystander..."
Ok, Then.
It doesn't seem fair a team as good as Kansas City also gets a kicker like this.
Flashback to 2019 FalconsGuy.
Kyler Murray is a problem.
He's knocking on the door of my Super-Elite level of QBs. Dude is special.
With the power knocked out for the game in Miami, the Bills social media team went back to basics.
That's so good.
We should make Pre-Game Warmup Interviews a thing for every sport.
This is fantastic.
Yup.
Hat Tip to Joe Pisapia
Everyone laughs at the Owner and his haircut.
The team didn't know the DeathStar blew up. Twice.
Their stadium looks like a Roomba.
The coach is a has-been punchline.
Apparently, the Raiders didn't get the memo they had no chance against the Saints on Monday night.
Laugh it up. This team is fun. And a perfect fit for this city.
If Russell Wilson is the kind of player I think he is, he'll put this compliment near the top of anything that's said about him all year.
Bill Belichick said of Wilson after the game: "I'm glad we only have to play him once every four years."
Hat Tip to Footballguy Mike Wenger.
According to NFL Research, Justin Herbert is the first player with a pass TD and a rush TD in the first half of his NFL debut since Bob Clatterbuck of the New York Giants in 1954.
Now there's a 1954 NFL QB name, Bob Clatterbuck.
Although it's second to Rex Ryan talking Sunday about how Bruce Arians needs to be more respectful of Tom Brady. Ryan said, "This isn't Johnny Lumpluck you're talking to."
Las Vegas with the 2020 Touchdown Celebration.
The best thing Falcons owner Arthur Blank could do for the team would to ban himself from showing up on the sidelines in the 4th quarter.
Joe Burrow, welcome to the Next Level.
Wrapping with this one.
I tip my hat to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg who died last week.
I wrote this in February of 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia died. It was as much about Justice Ginsburg though. And seems even more pointed today. Please give it a read if you're into this kind of thing.
Please Be Kind To Each Other. Please Be Empathetic. Please don't let different opinions divide us.
Rock on.
Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Clayton Gray, David Dodds, John Lee, and Mike Wenger for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, send me an email 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
