Random Shots From Week 11

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 11 Joe Bryant Published 11/25/2020

Thanks To Our Sponsor, CollegiateAbbey.com

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

Happy Thanksgiving! Family Gatherings can be tough sometimes as everyone has different opinions and beliefs. Just remember, we can all agree on Adele.

On a serious note, Thank You.

I'm thankful for a lot of things this Thanksgiving. One big thing is people like you who give us the honor of your time. That's a big deal. Especially in a world where there are literally zillions of options. So thank you. And Happy Thanksgiving.

Perfect.

Hat Tip to Matthew Berry.

I knew it...

The NFL is all about making offenses uncomfortable. Miami does a nice job on that front.

My feed blew up last week with pictures of Justin Herbert with a buzz cut.

What's funny to me is I didn't pay much attention and just assumed someone had found pictures of Herbert from Junior High. I didn't realize they were current. Which makes it that much better.

To nobody's surprise, Chargers Strength And Conditioning Coach John Lott was responsible.

Another note. Justin Herbert in November is a good reason to watch Hard Knocks in August. This was there for everyone to see. Looking back, I underestimated Herbert.

(And sorry, when you click on the image below, you have to click through to YouTube to see the clip.)

Hat Tip to Shannon Martin.

One more example that kids are kids. Even when their dad's an NFL player. Seattle tackle Damon "Snacks" Harrison talked about his daughter's reaction when he got home.

Taysom Hill the TE created quite a stir last week.

Hat Tip to Justin Bonnema.

I guarantee you #5 here is the guy who gets his buddies into a fight at the bar on Saturday night while he sits back and watches.

I bet this coach is fun.

Hat Tip to PFTCommenter

Punters punt. Running Backs run. Exhibit A.

Non-Football note. These Motorcycle Racers are wild.

Former XFL star P.J. Walker dropping dimes in the NFL. This guy is fun to watch.

This was rad.

And I loved Jerome Boger honoring Johnny Grier like this. Most every one of us has someone who came before us and helped pave the way.

We've got a special sponsor for Random Shots this week. My friends Britton Sharp and Steve Moldrup run a ministry serving the University of Tennessee called Collegiate Abbey. I'm a big fan. They're doing a sweet devotional for Advent I wanted to let you know about if you're into this kind of thing. Rock on.

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Music Note of the week is Alex G. He's got a vibe that feels perfectly right for right now. If you're into Lo-Fi Indie rock, I bet you'll dig this. Southern Sky is from his last album. Plus the video is dope.

Dez caught it.

That's pretty awesome.

Fun start to the Titans - Ravens game where Twitter squealed Ravens coach John Harbaugh WENT NOSE TO NOSE taking on the Titans team.

When the reality was he dared to walk towards 190 pound Malcolm Butler...

Alternate view:

They figured it out but Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara had a rough start Sunday.

The Taysom Hill situation was a good lesson. I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt when they have:

1) Inside information and experience with a situation that we don't have.

2) An elite track record.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis and head coach Sean Payton have both. I was ok trusting them on Taysom Hill. At least for a week. Turned out fine.

Everyone knows Payton but Loomis doesn't get enough credit.

Oh that Baker Mayfield...

If you've read this column, you know I love Cam Newton. I'm a fan of you doing you. And Cam does.

But when he does the Mountain Climber Guy from Price Is Right, I'm not going to let that slide.

Hat Tip to John Lee.

I don't know how far they'll go and the AFC has some tough teams, but this Steelers club is fun. And tight.

Chase Claypool caught the TD and then celebrated Juju Smith-Schuster's birthday Sunday.

This seems accurate for Carson Wentz.

Throwback.

Officiating is hard.

And sometimes it's painful.

In a game where Joe Burrow was lost for the season with an awful knee injury, Alex Smith got his first win in two years. I still have a hard time watching.

Sean Payton does not care.

Adam Thielen, you're kind of ridiculous.

Audible call of the week was Derek Carr's "James Harden" and then running an iso play.

Dogs, Man.

The guys fist-bumping at the end of this play when finally their job paid off is all I need.

Please tell me there is video of this...

Time is a flat circle...

God Bless Football.

Wrapping with this one. I did this last year and it seemed to resonate so I'll say it again.

It's about the value of food. And Family. And I know this year is not normal for Thanksgiving and gatherings for some. And that maybe makes this all the more important.

My Mom died a couple of years ago. She always made a Sweet Potato Casserole for holidays. It wasn't particularly special or unique. Like a million other Better Homes and Gardens type recipes. Sweet Potatoes, Half and Half, Sugar and Vanilla with a Marshmallow topping. Someone in your family likely makes something similar.

The last few holidays, as my Mom's health declined, bringing that Sweet Potato Casserole was about all she could contribute. And that was of course great. It wasn't about the food.

I'll miss her at dinner this year.

This year my daughter is going to try and make her Sweet Potato Casserole.

It's a big deal.

I love how food is so much more than just fuel for our bodies. It's a zillion times bigger. So in some ways, it sort of is about the food. Because sometimes food and memories are all we have left.

And I don't want that to sound sad. I'm thankful.

Rock on, Mom.

My hope and prayer for you today is you have reason to be thankful too.

Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Clayton Gray, David Dodds, Shannon Martin, Matthew Berry, Justin Bonnema, PFTCommenter and John Lee 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

Photos provided by Imagn Images
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