On Monday I’m going to publish a top-50 prospects list.
Here’s today’s review, starting with Utah State vs LSU…
Jordan Love could be the #1 pick next year. Many have already assumed Tua Tagovailoa will be the first player taken in 2020. That’s very possible. There’s a lot to like about his game. Yet he’s also a left-handed, slightly robotic passer without ideal size (he’s about 5-11). It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that teams will look at the size, arm strength and mobility of Love and Oregon’s Justin Herbert and see a preferable option.
I’m not saying that will happen. It’s just something to consider.
Love had an opportunity today against LSU to make an impression and he had a tough day. He had some accurate throws but also three interceptions. It shouldn’t damage his stock too much because clearly there’s a major talent discrepancy between LSU and Utah State. Patrick Mahomes had a four-interception game in a big loss to Oklahoma in 2015. It’s important to analyse the player and not the environment. LSU were always going to handle Utah State. Two of the picks were fantastic plays by LSU DB’s. The other was a poor read/decision.
Love is creative and like Mahomes and Kyler Murray can throw passes from awkward angles on the run with accuracy and velocity. Being able to create when a play breaks down is more important than ever given the major difference between D-line and O-line talent in the NFL. There are far fewer static, pocket-passer quarterbacks being drafted highly. Most top prospects have some ability to improvise.
Tagovailoa should be the favourite to go #1. Love and Herbert are in the running though.
LSU won the game 42-6 in the end. Their quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 344 yards and had five touchdowns and a pick. He’s having a strong season and is working himself into the top-50 equation. He’s a lot more mobile than you realise, throws a catchable ball and mixes his velocity. He’s accurate and has the tools. LSU has two terrific defensive back prospects and both continue to excel. Grant Delpit could be a top-five pick at safety and Kristian Fulton looks likely to secure a high grade too. Delpit was up at the line playing the run superbly, his pick was an excellent play on the football. What a talent.
— Jalen Hurts had his first semi-difficult outing today against Kansas. Oklahoma won convincingly but Hurts finished with only 228 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He did add 56 yards and two more scores as a runner. Hurts is bolstering his stock and has a nice test next week against Texas. Receiver CeeDee Lamb had a quiet game with two catches for 25 yards and a touchdown. He dodged a defender David Moore-style to get the score. He also had a touchdown on a punt-return called back for a penalty. It was still an impressive run and showed off some special teams value for the next level.
— Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown is such an excellent combination of physical aggression, power and athleticism. He bullies O-lines, can play cross the line, win with initial quickness and today he showed great athleticism picking up and running with the football after gathering a fumble. In the fourth quarter he bull-rushed a lineman right into the QB, forced his own fumble and gathered it before sprinting for 10-yards. Incredible talent. Top-12 pick.
— Jonathan Taylor continues to dominate for Wisconsin. In an easy win over Kent State he ran for 186 yards on 19 carries, scoring four touchdowns. He added 29 yards as a receiver with a further touchdown. He cuts extremely well with quick feet to find a crease and accelerate. Keep an eye on tight end Jake Ferguson too. He’s not being used much in the passing game but he can block and he’s a terrific athlete. He scored a touchdown with his only reception in this game.
— TCU were handily beaten by Iowa State but receiver Jalen Reagor continues to boost his stock. He’s lightning quick and capable of impacting games as a downfield threat and as a receiver. However, today he had two excellent touchdowns high-pointing the football. His first was a redzone grab in tight coverage. He leapt way above the defender with extended hands to catch a fade. His second score was nearly identical — this time a 22-yard throw to the endzone and again he climbed the ladder and high-pointed the football. This is very impressive for a 5-11 receiver who’s already shown he’s plenty fast enough. These two touchdowns will stick in the mind.
— Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos is too inconsistent. He has dominating games and at other times he’s anonymous. Today he had a big game against Purdue with two sacks, two TFL’s and two QB hurries. His hand-technique is excellent and he plays with great effort. You’d like to see more of a speed-rush and greater consistency.
— Maryland’s Anthony McFarland could be a second or third round pick with value. He’s such a playmaker. He had 87 yards on seven carries today thanks to an 80-yard score. He added a second touchdown in an easy win against Rutgers.
— Colorado’s Laviska Shenault is extremely talented. However, he has too many minor injuries and it’s impacting him during a crucial season. He didn’t play today against Arizona due to a core muscle strain — even though he looked fairly nimble in footage of warm-ups. He’s tough to judge right now. His talent is top-15 worthy but there are clearly other things to consider. Are you going to get 16 games from him?
— Tony Pauline is reporting today that Georgia right tackle Isaiah Wilson is leaning towards turning pro. This is good news for the Seahawks if Germain Ifedi and/or George Fant move on. Wilson looks like their type of tackle — enormous, long, physical and excels in the running game. I mocked him to Seattle in my first 2020 projection. Georgia beat Tennessee 43-14. D’Andre Swift had 144 total yards and a touchdown. Jake Fromm had another methodical game throwing for 288 yards (24/29) with two touchdowns. Fromm is yet to throw an interception in 2019 (six touchdowns).
— Ohio State are loaded with arguably the #2 roster in college football. The Buckeye’s have an incredible secondary featuring three possible high picks — Jeff Okudah, Shaun Wade (had a sack, TFL and a pass deflection) and Damon Arnette (who began the game against Michigan State with a fantastic forced fumble). J.K. Dobbins has first-round potential at running back and he flashed his acceleration on a 67-yard touchdown. He ended with 172 yards on 24 carries. Binjimen Victor had an ugly drop but also flashed exceptional agility for a taller receiver and scored an excellent 60-yard touchdown working in the open-field. K.J. Hill won’t be a high pick but he makes plays every week. Chase Young recorded half a sack and a TFL. The Buckeye’s won 34-10.
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I think Isaiah Wilson makes a ton of sense of the Hawks should they not extend Ifedi or Fant. Seems like a late Round #1 guy because he is considered a RT. Really want to keep an eye on him the balance of the year.
Rob given his injury issues is Shenault a guy who could fall a little aand be there in Rd #2 similar to Metcalf did this year? If so I would love that pick. Adding a talent like that with Locket, Metacalf and Dissly as a young receiving core going forward would be amazing.
It’s been a majorly disappointing season for Shenault. Unproductive, banged up. Hard to imagine where his stock is right now. He’s a swiss army knife playmaker at his best but is he going to be reliable?
I’m watching Isaiah Wilson tonight. You know I want to add on the OL and the secondary. But I want some potential star power there. If it was me as GM (yeah right), I would work the draft in such a way that we get the chance for stud OLman and stud secondary player.
Thanks for these write ups. Coming from someone who spends too much time thinking about such things. š
Safety Davis of CAL hid his first int. of the year against Herbert of Oregon. Know he’s someone you mentioned a week or so ago as a possibility for a mid round 2020 pick.
Tony Pauline mentioned OT Wilson of GA in his latest podcast as turning around the ND-GA game when he came in. Before that, the ND DL had their way with GA, but after Wilson entered the game, he solidified and bolstered GA’s OL play so much that they came back to win the game.
Pauline also highly praised Utah LB Francis Bernard, saying he was stuck behind our rookie Barton and others last year but had some flashes and outstanding plays still, and int. BYU for a pick 6 this year. Also mentioned he’s excellent in coverage, can cover way downfield on RBs, etc. and is a 3-down backer. He also said LB Weaver isn’t as fast, but is an excellent run-stopping LB who may be available on day 3. He was a major reason CAL beat UW 3 weeks ago.
https://youtu.be/Q2bWMahtauM
Heres a way better breakdown of Jamarco Jones than I can give lol
You were awesome on that last break down.
Biggest game of the college football weekend approaches. Huskies vs. Stanford. The Huskies, again, with multiple players who will probably be drafted when they choose or are eligible…Jacob Eason, Trey Adams, Nick Harris, Hunter Bryant, Trent Mcduffie, Kyler Gordon, Keith Taylor, Elijah Molden, Levi Onwuzurike, Salvon Ahmed, Cameron Williams, Julius Irvin, Tuli Letuligasenoa, etc… The Huskies pus players in the show.
Rob, thoughts on UWās Trey Adams? A couple of years ago there was talk he could be a top 10 pick. Then he had two injury filled years. I was curious if his stock has fallen that much that he could be a hidden gem for the Hawks given his injury history, and if those injuries impacted his play. There was an article in the Seattle Times recently talking about him and how he is finally fully recovered.
I’m a big Husky fan. He’s the best offensive lineman since Lincoln Kennedy. But his durability would concern me going forward. As a hawk fan, if he fell into the 2nd round to us….I might. He’s got heart, got skills, got football intelligence. I’m just not convinced that his massive height and weight will hold up under the rigors of NFL life. And boy do I want this guy to succeed.
That’s about where I am too.
I am no medical expert but it feels like the team that drafts him better have him thoroughly checked out (thanks Captain Obvious) but also have a plan for his transition to pro football. The first year might have to be done redshirt style while he gets into game condition with great care and attention given to his long term well being. Otherwise he’ll be just a one contract NFL player.
Might be one of those situations where he really slips in the draft but falls to the right team and his draft position doesn’t come with expectations to play immediately. And this might benefit him greatly.
He might get drafted higher than him, but I’d have a hard time being convinced that Trey Adam’s is better than Olin Kreutz. That dude was a legit bad a** and one of the better C’s of the ‘aughts (2000’s).
Iāve watched every game that Tre has played in his UW career. Heās not good enough to be a top ten pick. Heās lost some flexibility and his technique is inconsistent. Last night was another example of how heās going to struggle with edge pressure when the DE went wide 9 and he couldnāt just kick slide and block his man. That wasnāt an NFL first rounder he was lining up against. He has become a waist-bender at times.
He has the talent to be a top-15 pick. Everything will come down to the medical checks at the combine.
Never trust the meds. Two words… Maurice Hurst.
Oregon’s Jacob Breeland is an NFL TE.
I don’t see it with Colorado QB Steven Montez. Has enough tools to be a day 3 pick, but mentally he looks like a borderline UDFA.
It’s a good TE class.
In addition to Breeland, I like WISC TE Jake Ferguson a lot.
Also Pinkey, Parkinson, Okwuegbunam. Fresno State has an interesting TE, Jared Rice.
Good year to draft another TE.
For sure. Purdue’s Brycen Hopkins is my favorite. ND’s Cole Kmet is coming on strong too.
Right forgot about Hopkins. Also the BYU TE is pretty good. Bushman i think.
Good news! Seattle needs some more TE options on the roster. 3 high round draft picks, one probably will end up being a TE. Look for blocking TEs and then if they have a bit of wiggle in the passing attack, even better.
I hope not. Weāll have better uses for those higher round picks.
I think TE is one of the more pressing needs for SEA going into 2020.
It’s hard to know what their priorities will be at this point. Too many variables. For example, maybe one (or more) of Blair, Hill or TT start playing well and suddenly safety isn’t as big a need. Likewise, if they resign Ifedi (which I hope they do for a reasonable amount), then RT isn’t as big a need. Also, depending on Clowney and/or Ansah, they may be looking for more DE/DT help. If those things resolve before the next draft, then TE is about as big a need as anything.
At this point, I’d say their priorities for the 2020 offseason are:
1. Safety/Nickel CB
2. OL/RT/RG
3. TE
4. DL/DE/DT
4. WR
No matter how things shake out, they should be looking for a quality TE which means a Day 2 pick.
lmaoooo. Brock Huard was fired up about Brock Lesnar last night.
Kyle Hamilton, true Freshman for Notre Dame was getting talked up huge during the game. Athleticism was mentioned about 15 times while I watched. He is 6’4″ and about 220 lbs. Plays safety right now, but they said he could be a prototype guy in the NFL at CB. I thought of Brandon Browner watching him, except he had more top end speed in my estimation. I guess I would have to see him against some top tier talent to make a better guess. But when it comes to the 2022 draft, he might be on the radar of a certain hometown team (Seahawks).
He struggled the first time I saw him this year, but ND DE Julian Okwara is a good looking speed rusher.
God Stanford corner Paulson Adebo is booty cheeks. Most overrated prospect for me.
100% agree. I think I mentioned it here a couple of weeks ago.
I don’t see it at all with Adebo. He was hyped from 2018 and then fared well in the opener against an incompetent Northwestern offense. Todd McShay is normally one of my favorites. He was gushing that Adebo would certainly turn pro and go within the first half of the first round.
Meanwhile, booty cheeks is the perfect description. Adebo plays with rounded shoulders and shows his cheeks to the quarterback throughout. No conception that he can actually turn around. Consequently a clever quarterback and receiver combo can do basically whatever they want with him, as UCF did.
Shaping to be a nice top end QB class. Could mean some good players falling in the 1st round. Hawks have capital to move up this year. Would be nice to get a legit 1st rounder for a change.
“The Chiefs had a great September, but the Frank Clark trade is not working out thus far. He has eight total QB disruptions (sacks, hits and hurries), which is six fewer than teammate Emmanuel Ogbah in 105 more snaps. This Chiefs defense needs Clark to turn it around to get to the next level.” ~ Greg Rosenthal
Very interesting.
It is very interesting. Seahawks played a blinder with that trade. Now they need Collier to get up to 100% and start contributing.
He is last in pass rush win % among pass rushers with more than 100 pass rush snaps. Last in whole league. Unreal.
Itās not that unexpected ā after all he missed virtually all of camp and has been inactive most weeks. Rasheem Greenās year two improvement offers some optimism for the future with Collier.
I am speaking about Frank Clark. šHe is last one among all pass rushers with 100+ pr snaps. I am not worried about LJ. His time will come.
Ah, sorry!
Geez Parkinson just had a sweet one handed catch. Liking this TE class a lot.
Eason and the Huskies are so bipolar. Just looking flat and uninspired tonight whereas they look so in sync on other days. Just painful to watch.
Crappy game for sure.
Massively off topic, but did anyone check out “Joker” over the weekend? I loved it! Incredibly dark film that is open to a lot of interpretation. Phoenix’s performance was legendary. Although Scorcesse wasn’t involved in production, his finger prints are all over this film from King of Comedy to Taxi Driver; the parallels are obvious and have been pointed out repeatedly. The film is a bit slow but it is piling a grain of sand at a time in order to make a heap and then a landslide. Brilliant film IMO
I’m going to see it this week. I’m not a Super Hero fan but I am a big Batman fan so looking forward to this.
‘BAMF’man.
Pretty inexcusable loss. Petersen has been good to the program and has also done a good job getting them back to the level they should be at, but these losses are on him.
I dont disagree about some of these losses on him. That said, I think the expectations were far too high for this season. That defense has had massive turnover and frankly the talent infusion is redshirting and then again next year. I think they should markedly improve next year, especially since I personally think Eason will stay but still dont think its a team that will make a playoff run. Maybe 2 loss team next year…4 loss this year not counting the bowl game cause I need to see the matchup.
Fell asleep to U of O losing. Woke up to a dub for us and a L for the dub
Good
What a slate of CFB next week.
Red River rivalry
Sparty @ Wisconsin
Florida St. @ Clemson
Penn St. @ Iowa
USC @ ND
Florida @ LSU
Every day we stray further from God and closer to the seventh circle of Seahawks twitter he’ll
This is the salty incel version of Rob’s BAMF take
He’s definitely a ‘Stacey’ huh?
Some of the Intel posts on Reddit are f***ing frightening.
They call me an Omega and then quote Rick and Morty
lol. They all wanna be this guy.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1178727936641425408
He’s making a critical error in thinking ‘alpha’ has to equate to ‘strong personality’.
Kam was not an outspoken, strong personality. He was a BAMF.
You don’t need to be a big mouth.
Clemons, another.
š š š
Jared is a nut job – he thinks JS has a burner twitter account to follow him.
His version of alpha is actually just players who are āassholes.ā The front office is clearly cognizant of personalities that canāt handle the QB getting more attention than them. This is a very smart move by the FO and it makes this team more fun to watch, when they arenāt fighting each other.
He seriously thinks that?!
Oh my.
šš are you dead a** serious?
https://twitter.com/JimNagy_SB/status/1180657085266182145?s=19
He said Duggar is SS/RS. What is RS? š¬
Return Specialist? Mentioned 2 punt returns for TDs. According to this draft network page, Bruce Feldman has Duggar on his 2019 Freaks list – “The 6-2, 217-pounder is a late bloomer from Atlanta with big-time athleticism. Dugger has run a verified 4.41 40 for scouts. Even more impressively, heās vertical jumped 40 inches and broad jumped 11 feet. He also did 20 reps on the bench of 225 this offseason and timed 6.7 in the 3-cone drill, which would have been the second quickest time among safeties at the NFL Combine in 2019.”
https://thedraftnetwork.com/articles/kyle-dugger-a-d-ii-diamond-for-the-nfl-draft
Man, its tough to watch Nebraska for me. I am UW husky alumn but I used to spend summers in Nebraska cause I had family there. Thats the best fanbase in college football bar none, they deserve more than what they are getting. Really hope Scott Frost turns it around.. Wandale Robinson and Maurice Washington look good. I think Adrian Martinez has good NFL potential despite his bad game against Ohio State.
Same my man. Tommy Frazier is my all-time favorite CFB player and I fell in love with those Nebraska teams.
I’m having such a hard time with this QB class. Tua is great but it’s so easy for him and we’ve seen him struggle against worthy opposition, Herbert is the prototype but I don’t know if he’s got it between the ears, and I want to like Love more than I do but his play is extremely erratic, I think he’d need to go to a really smart coach and sit for a year a la Mahomes and that’s very hard to come by these days. Jake Fromm is probably the safest bet but is he ever going to be better than a below average starter at the next level? Eason is a big fat no from me and I need to see more from Burrow to get excited about but he is having a really good year statistically.
I also think Jalen Hurts would make a great backup for Wilson, he’s got an A+ mentality and has improved a lot as a passer.
Cowboys should consider tagging Dak next year and drafting Hurts to maybe replace him.
Iām a Utah State alum and have followed their nfl draftees quite a bit. Jalen Love might do ok but the fact that LSU completely shut him down after the first quarter does not bode well for his nfl future. If I were a gm Iād think about a second rounder on him, and definitely a third round flyer, but not a #1.
*Jordan Love, sorry. Coffee hasnāt kicked in yet.
Eason needs another year and I think he will take it. If he left this year I think he will fall into the 2nd round unless someone trades up for that extra year of control. He has plenty to work on. At the same time, his receivers suck…not just average, they suck. They cant catch the football.
Joe Burrow is showing a lot so far this year. I think he belongs in the conversation.
Ian Book is my favorite QB of this class. Has it between his ears, takes leadership. Would take him over Herbert, Love and Fromm in a heartbeat. After a bit of thinking possibly also over Tua, bit I don’t want to dispute Tua’s greatness. He is GREAT!
Love… I can see, what people are hoping for. But, IMO, Mahomes to a goood part is a product of his environment, that allows high risk high reward play. If you cannot reproduce this, you basically get a scrambling QB being a constant protection headache, not cool under fire in the pocket.
Burrow has a greatnseason and I thought, he was greatmovwr the first half of 2018, too. Then he was totally crushed by halfway capable secondaries. We have to wait, how he fares with real adversity.
Tua hasn’t struggled often. The Georgia game last year was very poor, with the two damaged ankles.
My questions about Tua are physical and mental toughness. There are some reports out of Alabama that he is naturally fat and may have trouble controlling his weight in the pros. He also reportedly has had some minor tantrums when practice or coaching decisions haven’t gone his way. This is from a forum where several guys with long term connections to the Alabama program post. None of them seem to object to the fat label. I guess it is well known within the program. But there is dispute regarding the severity of the internal complaints and whether or not it is a maturity issue.
I have seen comparisons of Tua to Steve Young. Makes sense from a throwing standpoint but Steve Young was considerably more wiry and streetwise. Every interview at BYU revealed how strong willed he was. I don’t sense that with Tua. Young would also take off and bounce off defenders. Tua needs to develop a Russell Wilson tendency of getting as much as possible and then making himself as small as possible.
I like Tua but I tend to believe he would struggle early in the NFL. I still can’t believe DeShaun Watson was so undervalued. I can’t see Tua reaching Watson’s current level.
I agree with your other assessments. Herbert seems too much deer in headlights. Love is an athlete but doesn’t have ideal touch. He’s got the 6 iron trajectory when he needs lob wedge. Fromm might reach Andy Dalton level but I think that’s a stretch.
What we watchin today?
Started w Pulisic finally getting on the EPL scoresheet
Saw Wolves take down Man City in EPL
Seattle native and Newcastle FB Deandre Yedlin first start since injury in a big win against Man U
Kid from St. Louis started on the wing for Werder Bremen
And finally a good raiders team on English soil
Brian Burns continuing to do his thing.
I have a feeling you’re going to remind us, all year. LOL.
Love it.
When he showed up at the combine heavier than expected and performed incredibly well he was the top pass rusher on the board after Bosa as we discussed quite a bit Vol. He was all FSU had as a pass rusher and played almost every snap. That got overlooked a lot in his evaluations I thought.
Reminds me of when Carolina got Kuechly. Good stats and tape on a team where he was the focus of offences then went and exploded at the combine erasing any doubts.
Like any of these young guys health and continued development is the key but he certainly looks like a stud at a postion where rookies often struggle.
It is early and I gotta get my jokes off, but so far he looks like the difference maker we thought he’d be. Incredible speed off the edge. Didn’t think he’d be a terror on STs though. 2 blocked punts in 4 games.
Him, Bosa, Josh Allen, and Darnell Savage are the front runners for DROY.
Haha, ok.
But if you’re going to do it with Burns, I’m definitely going to do it with Chris Godwin. š
Does anyone see a Brian Burns comp in this years draft?
Not mine and not even really a comp, but just to give you something, Jim Nagy just posted this earlier:
Say that s*** with your chest!
USWNT playing final game under current coach rn
MLS decision day at 1pm. 12 games at once including Sounders hosting the 2 seed in the West with a chance to overtake them w a win. HFA for the playoffs on the line. #BornIn74
I went from pretending to be a Chelsea fan to watch Pulisic, to yelling at Lampard to play the damn kid. I hope he USMNT starts playing better, it has been a rough couple of years.
Almost 2 years since we were eliminated from world cup qualifying to the day.
Good Lord Earl it’s concussion awareness week. Hope Rudolph is ok
Well, I won’t question his stated intention of not trying to hurt anybody, but him leaving his feet to make the hit a bit higher sure seemed strange.
Look at these lines. š„š„
28-33, 426 yds, 5 TDs, 0 INTS, 4 rushes/47 yds for Deshaun Watson
14 rec (on 16 targets), 217 yds, 3 TDs for Will Fuller
Watson doing his best Mahomes impersonation. lol
And breaking down the opponent’s defensive scheme in the post-game presser… š
Baylor DE/DT James Lynch is having a great season so far. Plays up and down the line, sneaky athleticism, nice first step, gets off blocks pretty well, has steadily improved year to year.
The 2019 Bengals, where even the Cardinals can feel like winners…
š nice shot of the dude proposing… to each his own, I guess? š¤¦š¤·āāļø
Stadium looked amazing.
Hope you enjoyed the game, even if it was Chase Daniel…
Looks like Carr and that offense are really leaning on Jacobs and the rushing attack.
BTW, does Tarik Cohen look even quicker in person? He got chased down on that punt return, but the 0-100 speed was crazy.
Got press pass to Bucs vs. Panthers next week too?
Man you have to give the chiefs props. I just realized how good they are at finding nobodys to contribute. A lot like Seattle. They know how they want to build the team and where they want to spend.
Clark will work out fine. Hes a streaky player, we knew this. That’s why we essentially chose Clowney over Clark, but hes still going to finish around 10 sacks. That’s who he is. KC didnt lose the trade, they got the same Clark we had. They need more help is what that comes down to. Jones and Clark on the whole D isn’t enough. If they invest in the defense or DL especially Clark will get better.
I guess my point is that it’s not all Mahomes. That whole organization is doing well. It hasnt been close to the narrative but the chiefs are still building
In the situation of 3rd & long and needing to get off the field, I still would take Clark over Clowney.
The Colts have impressive lines on both sides of the ball.
The Colts with over 40 rushes. If Pete Carroll is watching he must be so jacked up right now!
I was thinking the same thing. The Anti Run crowd stays pretty quiet after games like that when you you see the clear blue print on how to give your team a chance to beat an incredible offense / qb like Mahomes. Solid defence, control the time of possession and impose your will physically in the run game. The Colts did all that last night.
Nelson is the most physically impressive guard I have seen in quite a while. He was driving guy 4-5 yds downfield on some of those runs. He was hyped coming out and has certainly lived up to it.
The anti-run crowd spend too much time trying to label everyone else. They call people ‘anti-truth’, ‘anti-Wilson’, ‘anti-EPA’, ‘anti-analytics’. The majority of people, myself included, fully appreciate there is a benefit to analytics, scenario-based estimates and that it can be a fascinating discussion. I (and others) simply don’t think it’s right to ridicule a significant element of the game (running the ball) and don’t take kindly to the aggressive nature of the anti-run crowd badgering anyone who isn’t a paid-up member of their viewpoint. Football will never be an exact science because it’s the perfect combination of tactics, skill and physical ability. We’ll never have all the answers. There are so many elements that make this game great — and that includes the use of analytics. Yet clearly there are game-plans and tactics that can be utilized effectively, such as Indianapolis’ vs Kansas City, to help a team achieve a victory. And some even include an effective running game.
The discussion, as I’ve banged about for ages now, is taking a lot of the fun out of following the Seahawks. Partly because it’s so repetitive. Mainly because it’s led to a very peculiar movement against Pete Carroll. And yet we sit here as the most consistently successful team in the NFL over the last decade that isn’t the Brady/Belichick Patriots. You’d think that would be cause for celebration not condemnation.
Speaking of being grateful and enjoying our consistent success, just two more examples from this week for perspective:
– At the end of the Raiders vs. Bears, the commentators said: “and that’s the first back-to-back victories for the Raiders since 2017.” I mean, just think about that for a second…
– The Redskins. No need to explain. And everybody knows it’s just going to repeat itself again as long as Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen are still there.
(BTW, have a look at “Dan Snyder” on Wikipedia right now… šš¤£ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Snyder)
Is Russ this year’s MVP? It is not in the realm of impossibility. He’s simply playing better than his peer.
I think we can agree, the Saints and Packers are currently the class of the NFL/NFC in 2019.
There were some big injuries for both teams, so this might change the end total wins for both teams, but right now, both are very impressive. Both have, wait for it, strong rushing attacks… Aaron Jones was (as the kids say) “lit” today vs the Cowboys. Kamara is without saying, equally dangerous.
This bodes well for Seahawks, they have a congealing rushing attack and have not even come close to playing their best defensive football. Browns and Ravens will be big tests, but I like their chances.
The Dallas vs Green Bay game was so dreadful, I actually watched part of the Worlds Series of Rugby. NZ vs ā¦. some small as country. Any of you guys follow rugby, USA or world league?
Big rugby fan. You were watching the Rugby World Cup ā- NZ vs Namibia.
I noticed Glowinski was starting for a Colts team that pretty much ran it down the Chiefs throats. Anybody who can do a bit of backfill on his career arc since departing Seattle? Was it a failure of patience, a teaching deficit, or did they simply have the luxury of being able to wait it out that we couldn’t afford? None of the above?
Schotty featured in MMQB. An interesting part:
https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/10/07/aaron-rodgers-matt-lafleur-packers-christian-mccaffrey-panthers-michael-thomas-saints-nfl-week-5
He’s doing a great job.
Shame so many people don’t want to give him any credit.
Wondering if Geno Smith is on the trading block… Steelers?
No. They’re not going to trade their only backup.