NFL Power Poll
Before we get started, the Survivor Pool will be updated in the comments later today and reposted Wednesday. Los Rams de Los Angeles made a lot of folks happy over the weekend. (Here's betting that those who have the option of going against the Cards and the Bills will ride that train for a while.)
Los Angeles Rams. Imagine if this bunch pulled off the trade for Khalil Mack before the Bears upped the ante at the 11th hour? Seriously, a dynamic roster (made possible because of the team-friendly quarterback deal) has speed to burn and a defense that will rank among the best in the league with Aaron Donald in the middle and those two experienced upgrades at cornerback.
Jacksonville. The Jags have flipped the narrative of the winning window that calls for a young quarterback. They are over-paying Blake Bortles; yes he was aces Sunday against the Pats, but gauging on the exception rather than the norm is folly. For example, if you have a car that does not start consistently parked in your driveway and one day you climb behind the wheel and the things fires up and purrs like a Maserati and zooms you all over town. Tomorrow morning are you going to have great faith in the same jalopy. Exactly. Still the Jags are built to win now because - and whipped New England without Leonard Fournette - because they have drafted young difference makers across the field. Jalen Ramsey is the best corner in football, and then you look at defensive starters and dynamic talents like Ramsey (3.1 percent of the cap), Telvin Smith (2.8 percent of the cap), Barry Church (2.4 percent of the cap), and Myles Jack (0.84 percent of the cap) taking up a little more than 9 percent of your salary pie, you can augment with stud additions like Calais Campbell, A.J. Buoy and Marcel Dareus. And that gives you a championship around which to contend.
Kansas City. Stop me if you've heard this before: Yyoung, cheap quarterback; slew of talented skill positions; string of good drafts. Rinse. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Know who else took that model to a Super Bowl? The Eagles last year. The Seahawks a few years ago. The Ravens, too, before Joe Flacco got really paid. (And remember Tom Brady has always taken below market value, too.) Something different to note about the Chiefs in particular as well as the Bucs and the Rams is their passing style. Follow along. Football in general is a copycat sport by nature. When someone has success with something it becomes the next big thing. The West Coast. The Wishbone. The Zone Read. The Spider Y 2 Banana, or whatever that catch phrase that Gruden used to fool the Raiders into destroying their team and giving him $10 million. And once that trend happens, other owners and GMs look at the coach and say, "Do what they're doing and we'll win." So, for the last half a decade the NFL became about check-downs and short crossing routes and turning the passing game into the running game because the defense players had gotten so big and fast that running was futile. (How pass happy is this generation? Well, Andy Dalton and Ryan Fitzpatrick have better passing stats than Troy Aikman. Chew on that.) So as everyone was throwing swing passes and bubble screens and check downs, defenses had to adjust with corners who can tackle in space and linebackers who can run. The first offensive transformation to thwart this was The Gronk. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound filing cabinet that runs down the middle of the field, catches passes, ignores pain and eats raw fish from the outstretched hand of a zookeeper on the sideline. We made that last one up. The next morph on the horizon is strong-armed quarterbacks taking deep shots against those physical corners down the field. Proof? There are only three teams in the NFL averaging 9.0 or more yards per pass through two weeks. Those teams are 6-0. They are the Bucs (13.4 per attempt), the Chiefs (10.6) and the Rams (9.0).
(Tied) Minnesota and Green Bay. With all apologies to the 2-0 Bucs and the 2-0 Bengals and asking forgiveness for ignore the Parcellian wisdom and the simple truth that you are what your record says you are, the Vikes and Packers are really good. We believe Minnesota has the best roster, 1-through-53 that was crafted through the draft to a place they could make a major upgrade at quarterback during the offseason. The Packers have the best roster in the NFL 1-through-1 because Aaron Rodgers is simply the one dude in this league you can not over pay. And amazingly, because the cap rules all in the NFL, with Rodgers (who is every bit the LeBron of his sport in that he may never win enough to be listed on the GOAT lists for those who have rings as the defining characteristic but he's the best I've ever seen at his craft) Green Bay is 1-0-1 and could very easily be 2-0 or 0-2. Chew on that.
Powerless
Seattle. Gang, here's the downside of the scenario to pay the quarterback and let the talent around him walk. And the Seahawks made the right choice because we think Russell Wilson is a top-10 guy. (Speaking of that, and considering the slow start the Eagles are off to, those who were against dealing Nick Foles in the offseason, well, he's going to walk away now and Philly will get nothing now that Carson Wentz is returning.) Anyhoo, look at the Bucs and Titans and the Cowboys as three teams with that decision looming before them about signing Winston, Mariota and Dak respectively or pushing the resent button. And watching what Wilson is having to do with a tattered roster in Seattle makes me think each of those teams will let each of those promising young quarterbacks walk. Look at the teams who are 0-2 to start the season, and several are below: Oakland overpaid for Derek Carr as it turns out and could not keep the best defensive player in the league; Buffalo and Arizona, rookie QB so time is of the essence; Seattle and Detroit have flawed rosters because they had to pay huge dollars for a quarterback good enough to impress and productive enough to make fantasy owners smile, but not carry the whole franchise; New York Giants, old quarterback who is showing his age; Houston, stepping into the windows now.
Oakland. If you are a Raiders fan, watching the Bears get off to a fast start with a ferocious defense has to be painful. After dealing Khalil Mack, the Raiders have two sacks in two games. Mack has two by himself - as well as a defensive touchdown - with his new team. Plus, with all the attention Mack is getting, the Bears lead the NFL with 12 sacks as a team. Oy vey. Now Chucky Gruden and his nine-figure contract looks to be forcing Reggie McKenzie to the door.
Arizona. Quick, without looking it up, can you name the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals? We'll wait. Coaches crave and preach balance. Well, not exactly this kind of balance: In the 32-team NFL, the Cards are 32nd in offense with and average ion 175 yards per game and 30th in defense by allowing 430.5 a game. New Cards coach Steve Wilks (seriously, some dude named Steve Wilks) certain does not want that kind of balance.
Buffalo. The Bills are so bad Vontae Davis quit at halftime. What is this? Recess? Who's even heard of something like that? Here's betting the Josh Allen experience behind a Buffalo O-line that has allowed 11 sacks in two games will be one filled with bruises. And boos. After Alabama wins it all, maybe the Tide and the Bills can square off. Winner goes into the AFC East, loser to the SEC West. (The rest of the SEC West needs a break from those Bama beat downs, and hey, the Bills mafia tailgates like SEC folks anyway.)
Over/unders
Wow, that escalated in a hurry. Sorry, we got kind of wordy there. Let's pick up the pace.
Alabama will score 50 on everyone this season. Overstatement, but just slightly. LSU has the defensive pieces and firm belief at home to slow the game down. Mississippi State too. And if Auburn can oh who are we kidding. We think there will be a game or maybe two that Alabama does not crack half a hound, but they will average that for the year. And with a defense like theirs, that's down right scary.
Alabama will truck everyone heading into the Playoff. Overstatement. We are buying Georgia stock gang. Georgia has a plethora of weapons all over the field. That is going to be a great one. And Mecole is a Hardman to tackle folks. We also think Justin Fields is a generational-type of talent. Deshaun Watson-esque, and we all know you have to have some magic and some dynamic quarterback play to be the Dark Lord of Tuscaloosa.
There's going to be a growing rumble for college football expansion. Statement. The Big Ten is playing itself into irrelevance every that is not Columbus, Ohio. The Pac-12's best lost to Auburn, which may not finish in the top half of the SEC West. The ACC's second best team could very well be the Duke Blue Cutcliffes. (Side question on Coach Cut below.) The Big 12 trio of Oklahoma, TCU and West Virginia could go round and round and the winner of that league could have two losses. The SEC will have two teams in the playoff again, and watch out for a Notre Dame, which could run the table. If the playoff field looks to be Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and only one other conference champ, the whispers will grow in frequency and volume.
UTC is playoff-bound. We'll go statement there because of our belief in the Fightin' Arths and the balance. One thing that struck me when Coach Arth was on Press Row on Monday was that dude has never wavered. Last year, when the breaks broke bad, Arth was steady. Now, the Mocs are trending toward contention and he's just as steady. There's great value in a calm hand at the helm.
Urban Liar is a scum bag. Statement. Actually, that's an understatement and if I was a fan of THE Ohio State, I would be embarrassed. Seriously. And the way Joey Galloway is covering Coach Liar's back on the ESPN platforms makes me need a shower.
Man, more NFL protests
OK, whether it started with Colin Kaepernick or even T.O. sitting out his own Hall of Fame induction, the unrest in the NFL is real and palatable.
Here's another log on the fire of controversy, and this log is large and star-studded.
A monster list of bona fide all-time greats has sent letters to the NFL and the NFLPA saying they will no long participate in Hall of Fame activities unless they get health care and a salary from the league's revenues.
Wow.
The board consists of Chairman Eric Dickerson, as well as members Marcus Allen, Mel Blount, Derrick Brooks, Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Richard Dent, Carl Ellard, Marshall Faulk, Mike Haynes, Rickey Jackson, Ronnie Lott, Curtis Martin, Joe Namath, John Randle, Jerry Rice, Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jackie Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Kurt Warner, and Reggie White's widow, Sarah White.
And it is not clear in the letter if they board is looking for these benefits for all former players or only Hall of Famers, although from the story is this paragraph: "The players note that Major League Baseball players who spend even one day on an MLB roster are entitled to health insurance for the rest of their lives, while players who spend 43 days on a roster get a lifelong pension. In contrast, NFL players receive no such benefits, and the players note that "the NFL is the only major American corporation that is set up this way."
First, we understand NFL guys with a lifetime of serious health issues because they sacrificed their bodies for their sport wanting health care.
But if they think the NFL is the "only major corporation that is set up this way" as in no lifetime pension or lifelong benefits, well, they are more concussed than we may have imagined.
Who among us has that kind of set up? Seriously?
We understand asking for it - and we're very curious about whether it's for all of just for the stars who wrote the letter - but how pricey would health care for every living former NFL player be? That's billions folks.
Man, you have to think Roger Goodell has a full bar in his office, right?
This and that
- Speaking of the NFL, did you notice that in the Panthers-Falcons game Sunday, one quarterback had two rushing scores and the other was Cam Newton. Yep, Matt Ryan/Tommy Frazier brings a whole new dimension for Steve Sarkisian's offense. (Sark, if you're reading this - and we know you are - that's sarcasm.)
- We are genuinely excited for the upcoming TV season because simply put, TV is at an all-time high level of goodness. (If you are not watching "Better Call Saul" well, it gets the full endorsement from the 5-at-10.) And you have to believe the season premiere of "The Conners" will be one of the most-watched comedy episodes of the season considering the hubbub and the firing of Roseanne. According to this story, Roseanne's one-time titular character (the word titular is right there with same succotash and cumquat as words that sounds dirty but really are not at all) will be killed off by an opioid overdose.
- And speaking of TV, the fact that the Fonz won his first Emmy last night and delivered what he said was the same speech from 43 years ago when he got his first Emmy nomination was really cool. Congrats Coach Klein. And Game of Thrones won for best drama series.
- Speaking of quarterback scenarios, here's DeSean Jackson voicing support for Ryan Fitzpatrick having the Bucs gig.
- The Patriots dealt for Josh Gordon. This goes one of two ways: Gordon will either take this chance and run with it or he will be cut inside of two weeks.
Today's questions
True or false, Jon Gruden would have been a disaster in Knoxville.
True or false, UT would be contending in the SEC if the Vols had hired David Cutcliffe instead of Derek Dooley.
True or false, the NFL should offer lifelong health insurance for all its former players.
As for today, Sept. 18, let's review:
The first issue of the New York Times was published in 1851. The Ed Sullivan Show began on CBS in 1955. The debut of I Dream of Jeannie was today in 1965.
It's also national cheeseburger day.
Rushmore of cheeses for a cheeseburger. Go.
