Ten NFL Takes - Week Eight

 

Take number one: If you are a Washington football team fan (nb. I *hate* the “Commanders” name, awful), for 59 minutes and 48 seconds of Sunday’s game against the Bears it felt like déjà vu. Washington outplayed the Bears for most of the game but settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, allowing the Bears, with one long run and one good drive, to take the lead with less than 30 seconds to play. After shutting down Caleb Williams for three quarters and turning him back into Week 1 Caleb, the guy who was spraying throws around the field and chalked up less than 100 yards passing, the Washingtonians let Caleb spin some magic in the fourth quarter and it looked like the team had played just well enough to lose. We’ve seen this movie too many times to count in the last 25 years. Then, Jayden Daniels hurled a Hail Mary with the clock at zero that was tipped in the air directly into the waiting hands of Noah Brown for the game-winning touchdown and all “hail” broke loose. I am here for the Zapruder-film level of analysis that will take place of the winning play – Daniels eluding a tepid Bears rush for more than 10 seconds, Zach Ertz recognizing he could not make the catch but going up to keep the ball alive, the Chicago defender inexplicably doing the same, the ball dropping perfectly into Brown’s arms, all of it, and yes, Tyrique Stevenson posting up late to the play because he was too busy taunting the fans. That too. There is no telling how Williams’s and Daniels’s careers will turn out and Williams is having a good rookie season, but if any doubt remained about who the better quarterback is right now, Daniels’s last second magic put an end to that discussion.

Take number two: It is not just that the Jets are done, they were done last week, it is that the team, led by a no-doubt, first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback, looks worse than it did with the guy the fans ran out of town and is currently sitting third on the depth chart in Denver. I watched (suffered through?) most of the Jets loss to New England and was just amazed at the low level of preparation and execution. The offense had to take multiple time outs because they could not run plays run in time. Sauce Gardner, a very talented defensive back, got burned on a deep pass by a guy who at best rates out as a wide receiver three on an average football team. The defensive line got pushed around all game long and the field goal kicker stinks. Losing by three when your kicker leaves four on the board is a very Jets way of losing, but the rot is much deeper. They went all in on Rodgers and it is now time to go all out. Start the fire sale now, not in the off season. You’re going to be picking in the top 10 (again) and selecting your third franchise quarterback in less than 10 years. Might as well harvest some of the talent you do have on your team for additional picks because you are now in full-on demolition and renovation mode.

Take number three: The Jameis Winston experience can be summarized in two plays that occurred back-to-back during the Browns’ game winning drive yesterday. On the first play, Winston badly overthrew his wide receiver and right into the hands of Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton, who inexplicably dropped what would have been a game ending interception. On the very next play, Jameis avoided a blitz and launched a perfect bomb to Cedric Tillman in the end zone to win the game. He is either throwing a soul crushing pick or a game winning TD. There is no middle ground. On a side note, the Ravens are their own experience. They can pound teams into veal scaloppini week after week and then throw up a clunker that makes you question whether they can win a title.

Take number four: I probably hate the Eagles more than any team in the league, and it pains me to say this, but it looks like they (kind of) figured out that when you pay premium money for a running back, it makes sense to feature that player prominently in your offensive scheme. Even if Hurts has hit a ceiling (or even regressed) from his 2022 campaign, with the weapons this team has on offense and a defense that looks … decent (?), they are going to contend for the division title this year. Maybe not a Super Bowl quality team, but definitely playoff bound.

Take number five: Last week I mentioned the Chiefs were taking a page out of the 2018 Patriots playbook of stifling defense and a “mid” offense. This week let me suggest the Chiefs are also taking a page out of the 2003-04 Patriots playbook that resulted in 21 straight wins over two seasons. The Chiefs are now at 13 after escaping Vegas with a seven point win, but I think we are at that point where when the Chiefs take the field they know they are going to win, the other team knows they are going to win, and the Chiefs know that the other team knows they are going to win. The take havers in the media still look at this team as some variation on the Rams’s old Greatest Show On Turf offense, but it has not been that for going on two full seasons. Defenses have schemed to slow down Mahomes while the Chiefs defense just suffocates opponents like a boa constrictor. The Chiefs are not blowing out many teams any more, but they rarely lose either. Top to bottom, the Chiefs probably don’t have a top 5 roster, but they do have the best team and have to be the odds on favorite to complete the three-peat.

Take number six: Trevor Lawrence is a rich man’s Daniel Jones. No, really, he is. Here are their career stats:

Daniel Jones: 24-41-1 record. 64.1% completion percentage. 13,954 yards with 68 TDs and 44 INTs.

Trevor Lawrence: 22-36 record. 63.6% completion percentage. 13,605 yards with 69 TDs and 43 INTs.

One guy is going to be carrying a clipboard next year while the other guy continues getting fluffed in the media because of one season he had like seven years ago as a college freshman.  

Take number seven: Life comes at you fast in the NFL. The Saints started the season 2-0 and were the talk of the league. Six straight losses later, their coach is probably another loss away from being fired mid-season. Crazy.

Take number eight: Are the Broncos good? I am asking that question legitimately because I do not know. Their rookie QB is having the standard up and down performances, but the defense is legitimate and you can only beat the teams on your schedule. Yes, the Broncos are loading up on cupcakes like the Panthers and Saints, but the Jets, with a better roster, are losing winnable games against equally inferior talent.

Take number nine: Is there a team having more fun than the Detroit Lions? Go on the interwebz and watch Dan Campbell’s post-game speech in the locker room. Great energy, great vibes, and a team that plays for each other to the point that on a day when Jared Goff threw for 85 yards, the team put up 52 points without breaking much of a sweat and cruised to another W.

Take number ten: I grew up in a time when Brent Musberger and the NFL Today crew told you everything you needed to know about Sunday’s games in a neat and tidy 30 minutes. Now, the Sunday pre-game show on the NFL Network is four freaking hours. ESPN’s show is three hours. It’s exhausting and unnecessary. Please, for the love of God, ninety minutes, tops.