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Random Shots From Week 15

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 15
By Joe Bryant, December 23, 2020

Random Shots From Week 15
Photo: USA Today Sports

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

The Holidays are upon us. Let's open like we always do with the best rendition I've heard in a while of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" courtesy of that noted Holiday Crooner - Bill Belichick

Just like last year, I'm starting right off the bat with the music as we cover all the Holiday bases. First, a Run DMC - Charlie Brown mashup of Christmas in Hollis from the Best Christmas Movie Ever - Die Hard.

Next up is Adam Sandler with the classic Chanukah Song.

Elvis sings my favorite Christmas song.

And for a picture of cool personified, he butchers the words but still kills it live.

Long live the King.

Lastly, one of my favorite Sports Illustrated covers from a few years back featuring Belichick Santa.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Footballguys.

This is nuts.

We all love to rank players. Especially quarterbacks. Especially all time. Colin Cowherd talked last week about how he sees the great quarterbacks and I think it makes a lot of sense. He puts them in three distinct categories.

1. The Super Talented. These guys are just different. They worked hard but God gave them something special.

  • Favre
  • Marino
  • Rodgers
  • Elway

2. Super Winners. These guys are all talented of course but they have something else. Leadership, or their coach. They played in big games and won a lot.

  • Bradshaw
  • Aikman
  • Brady
  • Montana

3. Super Unique. These guys all had a superpower that pushed them over the edge into greatness.

  • Brees - Most accurate ever.
  • Wilson - Greatest playmaker.
  • Manning - Coach on the field.
  • Young - Precursor to Wilson.

Then the big point: Patrick Mahomes II has the chance, to be in all three categories.

The emphasis here is on "chance". As Cowherd said, "He's been at the party for an hour and a half." There's a LOT of football to be played by him before he's in this conversation. But with his talent and Andy Reid and this team, he's got the chance to be a crossover guy in a pretty rare group. We'll see.

If nothing else, it's fun to argue about stuff like this on a cold December day. Hit me up with what you think of this list and how you'd change it.

Respect The Process.

For all you out there continuing to grind and doing the right thing as you move (although probably too slow for your liking) toward your goals, I offer to you, the Buffalo Bills.

Domonique Foxworth had some interesting comments on ESPN's podcast with Bomani Jones last week.

“I am fully aware that I have biases. And my biases are not based on Josh Allen. It’s based on the people that are defending Josh Allen. I would be 100 percent lying if I said that when Josh does something dumb, a little part of me doesn’t get happy. And it’s not because I don’t want Josh to succeed,” Foxworth said.

“It’s because the people who are telling me that Josh is the second coming and Josh is better than everybody are people with American flags and dogs and skulls and crossbones. … If you go just take a dip into their tweet history, it’s some really concerning retweets and likes. … It’s not about Josh,” he said.

“Generally, I’m pro-player and I’m looking for ways to understand a player’s position and defend a player. But in Josh’s case, it’s not about him. He is the ground on which we are fighting.”

Live look in on Foxworth after Saturday night's game where Buffalo clinched their first division title in 25 years.

Aaron Rodgers. Good at Football.

Mack Hollins made his entrance Sunday. Everyone else is playing for 2nd place.

For reference.

Mike Tomlin had a classic line talking to Washington's Chase Young. He told the #2 overall pick in the 2020 draft: "I don't ever want to lose enough games to get a guy like you".

They're kind of mean to Jay Glazer...

Jonathan Taylor's elusiveness and power all in one run.

I'm not sure why I'm seeing so much more Chad Johnson these days. But I'm here for it.

Richard Sherman with this week's version of "Things Move Pretty Fast".

The Unexpected Amazing Cinematography Award goes to the FOX crew on the Seattle-Washington game.

Here's how they did it.

Dez Caught It.

So good.

I like Russell Gage but this is spot on.

Truth.

Colts Mood:

I'm such a sucker for stories like this.

This one got me.

Hat Tip: Matt Scott

I'm shocked the punter throwing to the center in triple coverage didn't work.

Congratulations, Jets. That was a big win. I know I'm in the minority but that was great.

I think you can try to force the future too much. I think you're way better off just doing the next right thing and giving your best. You never know how it'll work out and you can drive yourself wild with all the time travel what-ifs. Peter King with some interesting thoughts in his column this week:

"With two weeks left in the 1988 season, Dallas and Green Bay were 2-12, in contention for the first overall pick. Both wanted Aikman. But the Packers beat the Vikings (who finished 11-5) and Cardinals (7-9) in the last two weeks, while the Cowboys went 1-1 to win the number one pick in the ’89 draft. Dallas picked Aikman. Green Bay picked Tony Mandarich, one of the worst busts in draft history. But Aikman in Green Bay would have meant the Pack never would have traded for Brett Favre in 1992. So the last two weeks of the 1988 season, for two bad teams, had many long-lasting tentacles—as I’m sure the Jets’ upset of the Rams will have for years in New York, Jacksonville and who knows where else."

I know Sean McVay is a genius and all that. But with 4:00 minutes left in the game, trailing by 3, 4th-and-4 on the 37 and a deep route to Gerald Everett is the play?

Drew Brees returned after 11 fractured ribs. And a lycra shirt is going to protect him?

I was thinking more this...

He is very bendy though.

Miami with a flex on the two-point conversion.

Master and the Student moment for Belichick.

Fandom can be tough to handle sometimes.

Aqib Talib proving once again, if your shoulders are wider than your waist, you can pretty much wear whatever you want and everyone will love it.

Even if it looks like your grandma's couch...

“One thing I can say: I never went 0-16.”

Ageless Wonder Frank Gore of the no-longer 0-13 Jets, after beating the Rams.

Just one more reason to love Patrick Mahomes II.

Note To Russell Wilson, Neo called and wants his suit back.

Teddy Bridgewater is the Benjamin Button of quarterbacks.

Lebron James response to Clemson coach Dabo Swinney ranking Ohio State #11...

Say what you will about the NFC East. But it's a close race.

Throwback Weekend.

I love Juju Smith-Schuster. But truth is truth.

Empathy and Kindness (And Santa) For the Win.

Wrapping with this fun picture of Fenway Park this week.

This was notable because they put up the fireplace on the jumbotron. But what caught my eye is the snow.

I don't normally think of Fenway Park covered in snow. But you know what? That's not unusual. In fact, December snow in Boston isn't remarkable at all. It just doesn't match that picture in my mind of "how it should be". That's been worth thinking about for me this week.

It goes without saying 2020 has been the toughest year most any of us have faced in a long time.

Shauna Niequist is a writer I enjoy. She wrote this a few years ago but I think it applies to this year more than ever.

“My prayer is that what you’ve lost, and what I’ve lost this year, will fade a little bit in the beauty of the Christmas season, that for a few moments at least, what is right and good and worth believing will outshine all the darkness, within us and around us.”

That's my hope for you. That the pain of what you've lost this year may fade a bit as we seek out and focus on what's right and good and worth believing. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours from all of us at Footballguys. Rock on.

Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Clayton Gray, David Dodds, and Matt Scott 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 USA TODAY Sports
Tags Timeless Salvon Ahmed Brandon Aiyuk Josh Allen Teddy Bridgewater Gerald Everett Russell Gage Mack Hollins Patrick Mahomes II Aaron Rodgers Richard Sherman Jonathan Taylor Russell Wilson Chase Young

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