Don’t worry, they’ll soon be pushed out by the wave of political ads.
That sad look on Burrow’s face when he realized what it means to be a Bengal…
Chemistry is a thing, and the Browns, despite having some real legit talent, have terrible chemistry and no leadership. I’m an LSU alum and enjoyed watchin OBJ play in college and in his early years with the Giants, but his head got too big for the game and opposing defenses started figuring out how to get inside his head. He’s a shit show now, and any team he plays for is going to have to tolerate him. He was the worst guy to bring to a young team with a young QB trying to get a foothold in the NFL.
Time will tell whether Burrow is a great QB like Joe Montana or maybe just a good QB like Kirk Cousins, but Burrow’s character is solid. He’s not going to implode mentally. The Bungals do a lot of things wrong, but picking Burrow was a step in the right direction.
I’m definitely looking forward to the battle of Ohio this week, both teams are kinda off my radar but I’d like a good look at both of them.
Some random thoughts:
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Packers looked good. The defense was very solid for most of the game, but gave up a ton of yards and points in garbage time. I do not like LaFleur’s offense, especially in the red zone, but it was successful after a couple of missteps, and they did throw the ball down the field enough to make me happy.
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I feel bad for DeAndre Swift. I know nothing about his attitude overall, but it’s gotta suck to cost your team a loss as a rookie. And the Bears were the Bears (thrilled they’re starting Trubisky, it’s exciting!) except not defensively dominant.
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Bucs/Saints was a good defensive game, but you can’t ignore how pedestrian both QB’s were. End of an era.
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Wither Carson Wentz? I get he was under a ton of pressure, but those were some bad interceptions. Everyone tells me he’s supposed to be a stud. Still, just one game… And don’t get me started on Jimmy G, who, once again, looked perfectly average and needed yet another huge run after a 7 yard pass to up his yardage.
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Maybe there is something to be said for having your hardest game of the year on the first week, but the Browns showed me absolutely nothing to convince me they’re going to be competitive this year. The run game was nice, but Baker (and the defense) certainly wasn’t.
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441 to 224 yard advantage and you lose is a bad situation to be in. I liked the Colts to do well this year, but they can’t lose games like that.
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Everything I think I know about this year’s NFL football will likely be proven wrong in week 2, including most of these points.
It would appear the Bucs were not in fact one Tom Brady away from domination.
There’s only going to be three things that really matter this season: the Chiefs, the Ravens, and whether Brady is going to have Funfetti or Chocolate cake at his retirement party.
Re: Brees and Brady, I think Brees is still capable of leading his team to another Super Bowl, but I don’t think the same is true of Brady.
I’ve been a huge Brady fanboy for years and definitely think he’s among the best ever to play, but he also benefited from being in a great organization, with great coaching and players who are all on the same page. Beyond that, we’re talking about Brady still playing at an age by which even good QBs have been retired for several years.
Some of the analysts seemed like they were being a little easy on Brady and pointing out that there was no preseason, and that he’s surrounded by new players and in a new system, and all of that is certainly true. However, when you look at the video from yesterday, Brady’s release just looked slower and more predictable. I mean, he’s what, 43 now? So it’s not surprising. But I do wonder if people are overestimating the Bucs’ chances this year. By comparison, as ‘pedestrian’ as Brees’ numbers were, he was pump faking and he still looked fairly quick on his feet. He looked sharper than Brady did - by some.
That said, there’s no question Brady and Gronk bring championship pedigree and they probably do elevate everyone else’s game. The Bucs benefit from that for now, but they won’t benefit it for it much longer if Brady has more bad games.
The overlooked game of the week was the Raiders v Panthers. The Raiders have an excellent balanced offense. If the D can bend but not break they are a playoff team. Gruden had done an excellent job rebuilding this team and rebuilding Carrs confidence. There next game is against the Saints in LV. The Raiders won the last matchup. It should be an excellent Monday Night matchup.
We watched some MNF out of curiosity. I saw a coach using a clipboard to block his face to foil lip-readers. He was wearing a mask!
My thoughts on week one:
Because of the lack of a preseason, the established teams that are pretty much the same as last year have a jump start on the teams that are “new”. The Bucs - Saints game showed that graphically. You had Brees returning with Kamara, pretty much the same receivers, and the same offense vs. a new Bucs team led by Brady, and it was obvious that, in comparison, the Saints were in mid-season form compared to the Bucs.
The home field advantage is pretty much neutralized because of the reduced intensity of the canned crowd noise in comparison to stadiums stuffed to the brim with rabid, screaming fans. Visiting teams inside the ten yard line could use cadence and change plays, something that they can never do under normal circumstances.
The Bears have the same offensive problems with Trubisky that they had last year. They had 6 points going into the 4th quarter against one of the very few franchises that is more dismal than our own; the Detroit Lions. Yes, we had a miracle comeback, and Mitch looked like John Elway did against Cleveland way back when, but they are the Lions, and finding fantastic ways to lose is what they do.
Trubisky, who was considered a quarterback project with great promise for the first 3 years, has pretty much shown that he is what he is and will never be anything more. I predict, once the power teams start beating the crap out of us, he will be benched for Foles, and that this is Mitch’s last season with the Bears.
Agree overall with your points. As to this one …
A 2-man offense is highly predictable and therefore close to useless. It’s certainly better to have 2 superstars than 2 also-rans. But the Bucs must avoid the temptation to turn their offence into the Tom’n’Gronk Show. That’ll work for a game or two, then fail thereafter.
Brady also doesn’t get to play the weak-ass AFC East 6 times; he’ll have to deal with the Saints again, and neither the Falcons nor Panthers are pushovers, either.
I also think Arians needs to keep a lid on his comments. Ripping Brady for a bad first game is not going to help the team overall. In a way, the Bucs are an experiment: can a team with a lot of unproven young guys be turned into a championship caliber team with the addition of two players who were once great but clearly past their primes. It’s assumed that Brady’s the leader of the team. If Arians rips his alpha male, then the team has a leadership crisis, which you don’t want or need at this stage in the game.