FMQB: The return of Manziel, Emmitt Smith, and Deflategate
Sorry for the nearly all Packers edition of FMQB, that wasn’t intentional. Hoping to bring up a few names or issues you hadn’t heard about in awhile though.
Emmitt Smith Re-incarnated:
As a rookie, Ezekiel Elliot is leading the league in rushing. In fact he has a 116 yard lead on the 2nd place guy! He is on pace for a whopping 1875 yards this season. On Sunday, he went the 4th straight game with 130+ yards rushing. Elliot is the only rookie to do that. Not only that, he’s the only Cowboy to do that! Not even Emmitt Smith or Tony Dorsett had a similar 4 game run. What’s even more impressive is he just did it against the top rush defense in the league. He’s the most exciting back to enter the league since Adrian Peterson, and by the looks of it, we may be seeing some flashy moves for years to come. Here’s to hoping he can stay out of the dispensaries long enough to break some records.
For the Record:
- The last Browns QB to win a game was Johnny Manziel
- The Titans have already equaled their Wins from last year
- Before getting injured, Brian Hoyer threw his 200th pass without an INT
- Richard Sherman got away with Pass Interference, hands down
Stat of the Week #1:
Week 6 featured first kickoff return for TD of the season. The rule is working, whether you like it or not.
Stat of the Week #2:
Both Drew Brees and Matt Ryan are on pace to break Manning’s record of most yards in a season
Stat of the Week #3:
Now Cam Newton has the worst completion percentage in the league. 2nd straight week an NFL MVP has been worst in the league
Stolen Stat of the Week #4:
Panthers’ last 56 games (inc playoffs): 13-2 … then 1-8-1 … then 22-2 … then 1-6.
Stat of the Week #5:
Aaron Rodgers just got out of a slump of 13 straight games without passing for 300 yards.
Is it too early to compare?:
In their first 6 starts, Dak Prescott has more yards, a better passer rating, and more wins than Tom Brady did. And we’re talking about Brady’s magical Super Bowl winning season in 2001. This comes up as Dak Prescott broke Tom Brady’s record of most completions before an INT to start a career.
Interesting Formation of the Week:
One play stood out in last night’s game. Granted Lacy and Starks are both hurt, but Wide Receiver Ty Montgomery lined up as the full back, and Wide Receiver Randall Cobb ran back to take the Running back position.
Stats from last night:
The Packers ran the ball 23 times, 14 of the rushes were by Wide Receivers, 3 from a Fullback, 2 from a QB, and only 4 from traditional running backs. In fact, Ty Montgomery (WR) got the ball 9 times and averaged 6.7 yards per carry!
Deflategate won’t go away!:
There’s a conspiracy theory going around that deflategate isn’t only hurting Tom Brady. Look at the struggles Aaron Rodgers has had over the past season and a half. It has been leaked that apparently Rodgers liked to toe the line when it came to ball pressure, and be on the minimum side of things (within the rules however). Now that the NFL are watching pressures like hawks, he hasn’t been able to tweak the balls at all. The result? Starting 6-0 last year (meaning wins in warm weather), and then limping into the playoffs at 4-6. He also has had rough stats all of this year. Could this be more widespread than we though?
Taking the High Road:
It’s refreshing today to see Wide Receivers who aren’t massive divas, crying for the ball or making a spectacle of themselves. Julio Jones is a stud receiver, but down to earth guy, not a diva. He didn’t challenge the refs on missed pass interference call. “That’s not my job,” Jones said. “If they make the call, they make the call. If they don’t, they don’t. That’s not me to coach them up on officiating the game. The only thing I can do is go out there and do my job. Meanwhile other coaches and other leagues (see the Minnesota Lynx coach rant) continue to completely throw the refs under the bus.
If the Playoffs Started Today:
- Houston would be the #2 seed
- Carolina would have a top 4 pick
- 5 of the 8 division winners would be different from last year
R-E-L-A-X:
Ok, not that the Packers looked fantastic, especially in the first half. But keep in mind that they are 4-2, and the teams that beat them are a combined 10-1.
Scheduling Woes:
There has been a lot said about the lack of ratings for NFL games. You can blame political stances, the election, oversaturation. But in my mind a huge part of it has been the scheduling itself. There is an odd trend of teams playing back to back primetime games this year, which I don’t understand. If people don’t like the Bears (or they’re bad), you’re all of a sudden guaranteeing that somebody doesn’t watch 2 consecutive weeks. Why not give them a Week 4 game and a Week 14 game to split it up? What happens if there’s a QB injured? Now all of a sudden you have multiple games with a backup in, which automatically drops viewership. This is another form of oversaturation, because people are stuck seeing the same team twice.
- The Cardinals had 3 straight primetime games: Thursday, Monday, Sunday nights
- The Bears have 2 stretches of back to back games: Weeks 2 and 3, and Weeks 7 and 8
- Giants had a Monday night game in Week 4, and Sunday night in Week 5
- Broncos had a Thursday night game in Week 6, and Monday night in Week 7
- Texans also played Sunday night in Week 6, and Monday night in Week 7
FIVE EXAMPLES, and we’re not even halfway through the season yet!!!
Quote of the Week:
“Crosby just Walsh-ed it” Facebook friend, commenting on Crosby’s missed extra point
Games of the Week:
Vikings at Eagles: Think there’s any bad blood and Bradford wants to show his old team the mistake they made? Chance to see if the gamble with Wentz was worth it.
Texans at Broncos: Same exact situation. Broncos will want to show Osweiler that he made a huge mistake
The Browns are 0-3 since Terrell Pryor said the team could win out
Photo credit: NFL.com
FMQB 