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Random Shots From Week 3

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 3
By Joe Bryant, September 27, 2023

Random Shots From Week 3
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 brain 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 Dolphins aren't just great. They're fun, too.

Time for confession. There's some part of me that posted the Tyreek Hill clip just so I'd have an excuse to share this all-time clip from Robby Anderson.

If a fantasy football season were 9 seconds like this video, we're about one and a half seconds in.

But so far, this feels pretty accurate.

Make sure to have the sound on.

As part of the NFL Screenwriters Guild, I'm contractually obligated to comment on the Travis Kelce - Taylor Swift thing.

You'll get loads of that content everywhere else, but this was fun. If for nothing else, the "Who knew Cupid was that big?" line.

I often say we're in a golden age for camera work.

It wasn't that long ago when the broadcasts had to tell us the angle was reversed, lest we be confused.

Now we get video like this from a college game at Marshall.

What a time to be a sports fan.

I see you Puka Nacua...

Leaders lead. And put things on their shoulders.

Rock on, Geno Smith.

I like Jared Goff more every week.

Captain Andrew Luck is an all-time Twitter force. He's back for Madden, and it's beautiful.

Then, this pushed it over the top. So good.

Live look in on Boulder/Tuscaloosa.

Not a great weekend for football in Colorado.

Obviously, Deion Sanders and the Colorado at Oregon game was a hot topic.

I've seen lots of talk that, to me, tries to make this more than it is.

This isn't especially complicated.

When a team with as much hype as Colorado goes into a game like this, lots of people are going to notice when they get boat raced on a huge stage. Not everything has to be about "jealousy" or being a "hater".

A little more context from the Oregon side.

I get it, though. This was a new experience for many.

Zay Flowers. WR1

Music note this week.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska is one of my favorite albums of all time. The album had a transformational effect on me as a young person in 1982 in how I viewed and heard music. I fell in love with it the first time I heard that haunting harmonica on the opening track. And still love it just as much today.

I wrote in Week 2 about the Band covering Atlantic City from Nebraska.

Some folks asked more about Nebraska. And that made me think about my favorite song from the album, and maybe my favorite Springsteen song, "Open All Night."

This stanza slays. And I assume the inspiration for the album cover.

Early North Jersey industrial skyline
I'm an all-set cobra jet creeping through the night time
Gotta find a gas station, gotta find a payphone
This turnpike sure is spooky at night when you're all alone
Gotta hit the gas, baby, I'm running late
This New Jersey in the morning like a lunar landscape.

So good.

Whatever it takes...

This one's just mean.

Thanks to Footballguy Jason Wood for that one.

You know Caleb Williams will be ready.

This was an actual headline from a real website Tuesday morning:

Monday Night Football fans had 1 huge complaint about ESPN's 2-game coverage

I don't mean to make light of real problems, and we have plenty. But I'm encouraged by the fact things are going so well in people's lives that ESPN showing an occasional split screen on the Monday Night game qualifies as a "huge" problem.

As a Barkley/Breida guy, this one hit a little close to home.

We've all been there.

Ryan Clark did not hold back.

Dang, Ricky Pearsall.

Kirk Cousins crushing the Dad Style. Love this guy.

Throwback to one of the best/worst/confusing plays ever.

Myles Garrett is a problem.

Falcons fans representing.

What is happening here?

Matt Gay had himself a day on Sunday.

Fun moment in Arizona. Jonathan Gannon is the opposite of Mike McDaniel when it comes to being a media darling. He's a little awkward and not flashy and wears full-length pants. I have no idea if he can be a good coach in this league but it was fun to see him get the first win.

Nice.

Jordan Love may have been behind Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. But it's pretty clear he was paying attention.

But still, things to learn.

Not exactly textbook technique from George Pickens here.

When fullbacks dream.

ArtButSports was made for Random Shots. They take classic paintings and match them to sports photos.

This one is spectacular.

Thanks to Footballguy Sigmund Bloom for this one.

You could see it coming for Christian McCaffrey way back.

Thanks to Footballguy Jake Bryant for that one.

On the upside, there's nowhere to go but up.

Wrapping with this one.

New Arizona quarterback Josh Dobbs gave us a great example of handling a sleight or something that might be seen as offensive.

Dobbs couldn't get a jersey from the Cardinals Team Store and posted a light-hearted video about it. He wasn't whiny or offended about being overlooked.

The Cardinals quickly fixed the problem, and all was well.

Running an NFL Team operation is a big task. And making sure retail jersey availability is updated to match the roster immediately is something that could conceivably fall through the cracks. The lesson for us is don't take offense to every perceived sleight. Sure, the Jets store probably had Aaron Rodgers jerseys the second he signed. Dobbs isn't Rodgers. If Dobbs held the mindset of looking to be offended, he could have taken this as an insult that the Cardinals didn't give him the same treatment.

Instead, it appears he chose to assume the best of the Cardinals. He made a fun video, and Arizona quickly fixed the problem. That type of hoping for the best and not automatically assuming the worst of others is a true life hack and it works just as well for me and you. I've found it makes my life less stressful and also leads to better outcomes with less drama. Just like it did here.

Rock on, Josh Dobbs.

Thank you for being part of this goofy journey with us.

And thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Jake Bryant, Sigmund Bloom, Jason Wood, and Clayton Gray for the help. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, email me 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 Fun Timeless Matt Breida Kirk Cousins Zay Flowers Myles Garrett Matt Gay Jared Goff Tyreek Hill Travis Kelce Jordan Love Christian McCaffrey Puka Nacua George Pickens Aaron Rodgers Geno Smith

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