carson wentz

All posts tagged carson wentz

Posted by fmquarterback on September 28, 2018
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FMQB:

Week 3 was the weekend of surprises. I’m not sure if it was a bigger surprise that the Bills won, or that the Vikings lost. The Patriots laid an egg against the 0-2 Lions, and now they’re 1-2. The Jaguars, who had just slain the mighty beast the week before only put up 2 FG’s. Drew Brees, at 39 years old, also had 2 rushing TD’s including a 7 yard run where he juked 2 defenders!

 

 

Quick Hits:

  • Is Marcus Mariota not the starter anymore? I missed something, and he came in after Gabbert got injured
  • Carson Wentz to Dallas Goedert for the TD, means it was North Dakota to South Dakota. Cool!
  • I went from skeptic to genuinely excited for the Monday night game just to see Patrick Mahomes play
  • Adrian Peterson looked like the 2012 version of himself on Sunday
  • Jimmy Garropolo going out for the 49ers is heartbreaking, even from a fan who sees the 49ers as the biggest threat in the division
  • Week of the rookie QB’s! Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen shined, while Darnold and Rosen did not
  • I’m shocked Matt Patricia got the best of his old boss

 

Bar Observations:

I went to a bar in the #BoldNorth to watch the Vikings vs. Rams game. While living in Minneapolis helps me hear about the Vikings more than any other team, I had a few interesting observations:

  • Vikings fans were cheering just as loud for the successful extra point as they were TD’s
  • Kirk Cousins is apparently the greatest thing that’s happened in this town since Kevin Garnett
  • Minnesota Nice Quote of the night “HOLDING, HOW IS THAT HOLDING???” <tv shows replay> “Eh, that was actually a pretty good call.” Vikings fan

 

Stolen Stat

The Raiders have not trailed in any part of the first 3 quarters of any game, but are 0-3.

 

Stolen Stat of the Week #2:

In 2016 only 1 QB threw for 5 TD passes, in 2017 2 QB’s did it. So far through 3.0625 weeks, 3 QB’s have done it in 2018.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Jared Goff is the 3rd QB in NFL history to have a perfect passer rating while throwing for over 30 attempts

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Proof the game is changing: Goff and Cousins both had at least 400 yds, 3 TD’s, and 0 INTs. Prior to 2018 this had only happened once in the same game, but this is the 2nd time this has happened this season.

 

Stolen Stat of the Week #5:

Ryan Tannehill is 9-1 in his last 10 starts

 

Stat of the Week #6:

Patrick Mahomes 13 TD passes through 3 games is an NFL record. Keep in mind he has 4 career starts in the NFL too

 

For the Record:

  • The Vikings didn’t miss a FG on Sunday
  • The Bills upsetting the Vikings was the biggest upset since 1995
  • Stiff arm in the Steelers Bucs game was just brutal, in a good way
  • Fitz-magic turned into Fitz-tragic in the 2nd quarter. 3 picks, ouch!
  • Pulling Sam Bradford from the game with 4 minutes left was a bit of a head scratcher to me. I realize he fumbled but that’s not the time to make the switch.

 

Mo Money Mo Problems:

Pricetag of Thursday night’s Vikings vs. Rams roster? $448,269,294 in guaranteed money (over several years). To put this into perspective, the Golden State Warriors alone have $313M in guaranteed money.

 

Coulda Woulda Shoulda:

Adrian Peterson will go down as one of the best RB’s in history, despite being 5843 yards shy of Emmit Smith’s rushing record. This is one of those records we’ll never see beat, and he very well could have surpassed that mark. In 2014 he had the child abuse suspension, 2016 he was on injured reserve early in the season, and 2017 was a bit of a joke with him bouncing around between teams. His last full season he ran for 1485 at age 30 mind you. I realize that’s a killer season, but if you figure he can pull that off in his 3 off-years, that puts him at 16,428 coming into this year! Or only 1927 shy of Smith’s record. At his current pace, you’d think he could have knocked that out in two seasons.

 

Rant of the Year: Penalty on the NFL for Roughing the Fans:

Ok, here is my one rant for the year…I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never been more upset with a rule than what the new roughing the passer has become (and it hasn’t even affected my team yet). After what happened last week, the refs were at it again. Before people debate me, I realize this is how the rule is written, so my problem is more with the rule and the league rather than the refs. I also realize that this was my argument supporting the catch rule for the 7ish years that was in place. SO in reality, my argument is that the rule needs to change, and not that these were bad calls. But here’s my problem:

 

  1. Clay Matthews is 100% right, the game has become WAY too soft.
  2. There’s zero consistency in the calls. In the Redskins game, one play had Aaron Rodgers get completely swung around and body slammed WWE style. There was intent there, but no flag. Next series Clay Matthews does what’s considered a form tackle, with Smith holding the ball still, and he gets a flag
  3. This problem is 100% self inflicted, just like the catch rule was and just like the Anthem controversy is (I did it, I said the “A” word). Just makes you more and more wary of how the NFL as an organization as a whole is run.
  4. Big Ben also realized a nuance to the rule; you can now flop and get a flag. That’s all we need in football now!
  5. Dolphins William Hayes tore his ACL trying to avoid putting his body weight on the Derek Carr. Carr even later came out and said “I wish he would have just landed on me.”

 

I also can’t stand how the NFL keeps supporting this. The NBA will flat out admit when they have mistakes and blown calls. And for some reason, the psychology behind it is to say “ah, oh well that happens to the best of us. We’re all human” rather than to continue blaming the refs. There was even a slim chance for hope when they announced Wednesday that they were going to review the rule and that they were “concerned with the amount of flags thrown,” but then they came out AGAIN and said this is the rule and this is the “point of emphasis.”

 

If they continue to call this a foul, you’re completely limiting the point of even pressuring the QB. If going for a clean sack has the inherent risk of a 15 yard penalty, why not put 11 cornerbacks out there and go for an INT everytime?

 

I can see the side of protecting the QB however. You don’t want star players getting hurt like Brady in 2008, or Wentz last year or Jimmy Garrapolo. It basically ruins that team’s season, so I understand that. But still, 34 Flags through the first 3 weeks, vs 16 flags at this same point last year shows this is an issue.

 

Quote of the Week:

Two or three years ago, it probably doesn’t get flagged” Terry McAulay, who has refed 6 Championship games and 3 Super Bowls

 

Throwback Quote of the Week#2:

After the Bears had a 4th quarter comeback against the Cardinals, you couldn’t help but replay “The Bears are who we thought they were, and we let ‘em off the hook!” in your mind.

 

My Meme of the Week:

Just look at the beak on Josh Rosen! Almost as big as the Cardinal on his helmet.

 

Meme of the Week #2:

 

Meme of the Week #3:

 

Scavenger Hunt:

Alright play with me guys. I’m going to end the week by sending you on a little scavenger hunt that should get you laughing. This will probably work better on a computer than a phone, but here’s how it’ll go: I want you to click on the first link. Get the video playing with the volume up, and then as that’s playing, open the 2nd link in a new tab and focus on that picture as you’re listening to the video. You’ll never look at this guy the same again! and you’re welcome!

 

https://www.facebook.com/KansasCityChiefs/videos/patrick-mahomes-postgame-press-conference/1666170423506449/

 

http://www.stickpng.com/es/img/al-cine/los-muppets/rana-gustavo-rene-timido

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FMQB: Eight is Great!

Posted by fmquarterback on September 6, 2018
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FMQB: Eight is Great!

I’m so excited for the season to start that I couldn’t wait until Friday! Here’s your tide-over for the next 3 hours until kickoff!!!

 

Wow, year 8 for FMQB! I still love doing this, and at times it feels taxing, but I’m determined to get to 10 so you’re stuck with me for at least a few more seasons! Same pledge as last year, I’m going to try to keep the paragraphs to a minimum, and once again try to bring back nicknames which fell a bit short last year.

 

I won’t do all 32 team records this year, but of COURSE playoff predictions are here:

 

AFC:

  1. Steelers
  2. Patriots
  3. Jaguars
  4. Chargers
  5. Texans
  6. Dolphins

 

NFC:

  1. Vikings
  2. Saints
  3. Rams
  4. Eagles
  5. Falcons
  6. Packers

 

AFC Championship:

Steelers vs. Jaguars

 

NFC Championship:

Saints vs. Vikings

 

Super Bowl LIII:

Saints vs. Steelers

 

Other Predictions:

  • MVP- Carson Wentz (even if he misses a few weeks)
  • The Browns will win 7 games this year
  • This will be the Patriots last year in the playoffs under Tom Brady
  • This will be Eli Manning’s swan song
  • Offensive Player of the Year: DeShaun Watson
  • Defensive Player of the Year: JJ Watt
  • Comeback Player of the Year: Andrew Luck
  • Jon Gruden struggles in his first year, going 6-10
  • Rookie of the Year: Saquon Barkley
  • Rookie QB Watch:
    • Baker Mayfield: Starting by Week 11, goes 0-5 to end the season
    • Sam Darnold: Starts Week 1, will make the Jets competitive again at 8-8, playoffs next year
    • Josh Allen: Starts Week 3, struggles mightily but has 18 TDs and 24 INTs
    • Josh Rosen: Loses temper in Ryan Leaf-esque news conference, but starts after Sam Bradford injury in Week 4
    • Lamar Jackson: Takes over for a struggling Joe Flacco at 5-5, finishes season 9-7
  • Most Improved from Last Year? Jets or Browns
  • Most Overrated? Eagles, Patriots and Chiefs who are somehow #10 on power rankings with a new QB and a rebuilt defense
  • New coach outlook:
    • Jon Gruden- Raiders. I think he struggles his first year, has some run-ins with the NFL by overpracticing his squad or injury reports (something to do with new rules in play since he was in the league). But they’re a playoff team next year
    • Mike Vrabel- Titans. I bet this is a perennial playoff team shortly with one of the best defenses in the league in 2 years and Mariotta “good enough” to get them to 10-6 each year. I think they fall short his first year though.
    • Matt Patricia- Lions. I’m most interested in seeing this one play out. Belichcik disciples have traditionally done terribly in Head Coaching roles (Charlie Weiss, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini to name a few). But he has pieces to work with in Detroit.
    • Frank Reich- Colts: I think it’s a building season, but having the OC from the Super Bowl champs helps. I think he could be a good long term coach.
    • Steve Wilks, Arizona: With QB questions and a soon to be retired Larry Fitzgerald, I think Wilks is the first in this class to get fired.
    • Matt Nagy, Bears: I have a feeling this is one of those situations where you have an amazing coach with a terrible team. If he’s around long enough to get a decent QB and to rebuild, this is my Super Bowl winning coach of the bunch.
    • Pat Shurmur, Giants: 2nd go around in coaching, but he’ll have to deal with QB replacement soon. However you have a couple of the best offensive players in the game with Barkley and Beckham, and an offensive minded coach. Could be poised for a playoff run his first year.

 

 

Stat of the Week:

Tom Brady is the 3rd QB to enter a season as a starter at 41 or older. The other two (Brett Favre and Warren Moon) struggled mightily after age 41. Remember Peyton Manning’s 55 TD year, and the following season he limped his way into retirement? When is that going to happen for Brady? Even with his crazy diet, it’s going to catch up to him at somepoint, and the Patriots are going to go from a Super Bowl caliber team to a 6-10 team VERY quickly.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

The Vikings are the only team with a winning record in the Super Bowl era not to have won a title

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Julio Jones only had 3 TD’s last season (yet was griping about wanting a new contract). I’ll admit he’s a beast for yardage, and hands down a top receiver in the league, but he’s only had one double-digit TD season in his 7 year career.

 

Feel Good Player to Watch:

Keep an eye on Shaquem Griffin for the Seahawks. He had his left hand amputated as a kid so only has one hand. A high school coach wouldn’t let him join the team because “Football players have 2 hands.” He ended up playing college ball at UCF, but wasn’t even initially invited to the Combine! But he got in and did one handed bench press and ran a blistering 4.38 40 yard dash! He got drafted in the 5th round, which is basically less than 50-50 that you make the team. Not only did he make the team, he’s starting week 1 for the Seahawks! To put this into perspective, there is only one other Rookie starting for the team, and it’s the Punter.

 

Nostalgia:

Jon Gruden’s last playoff victory was the Super Bowl win (against the Raiders) where he became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl. To give perspective at how long ago this was, Tom Brady had 1 Super Bowl appearance and victory by this point.

 

 

To Boldly Go Where We’ll Never Go Back To Again!

So apparently the NFL got scared away by the 10 degree temperatures in the #BoldNorth last year. Next 6 Super Bowl locations are Atlanta, Miami, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New Orleans. Nothing north of the Mason Dixon line!

 

Quick Hits:

  • I have been anti-Patrick Mahomes for the past year (nothing against him, I just don’t get why they ran Alex Smith out of town), but WOW, that arm! He had a throw that went 70 yards in the air, which was longer than ANY pass the entire season last year.
  • Funny how Adrian Peterson was so picky on taking a contract last year, and now he just signed for the Veteran minimum in Washington
  • LeVeon Bell should take a hint from this, take your money now, the market for you next year when you’re a year older won’t be great
  • On the same note, I have a feeling that things between Bell and Pittsburgh is going to get ugly, very fast. It’s not unfeasible to see him sit out the entire season.
  • I don’t see the hatred with NBC’s new “Green Zone.” I actually think this is much better than the gaudy yellow line showing the first down marker. It’s more pleasing to the eye because it’s subtle, but it’s fast to realize where a player is in relation to the 1st down. It needs some tweaking because it looks video game-ish when players are running through it, but don’t let the Twitter trolls get rid of this feature!
  • Losing Khalil Mack just lost the Raiders the West
  • How Aaron Rodgers is making 2/3 of what other QB’s are getting paid is beyond me

 

Aaron Rodgers Contract:

That last statement was obviously written last week. He got a whopping $103M in guaranteed money, and with incentives could reach $179.5M. I made a big deal out of the inequality of pay. The fact that Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garrapolo and Kirk Cousins were the highest paid QB’s was ridiculous (that’s 1 playoff win COMBINED between the 4 of them). The contracts are more about timing than skill. Well the Packers made right with the future hall of famer in my opinion. Here’s the crazy thing, you look at those numbers and it isn’t even surprising anymore, you hardly bat an eye. Here’s why: Alex Rodriguez surpassed the $200M mark…18 years ago! Steph Curry also surpassed $200M last year. Rodgers can only hope he gets that high, as it’s after incentives. His guaranteed money is half that amount.

 

Buzz:

For some reason, people are buzzing about a few surprise teams. Rumors around the league say that Mitch Trubisky could be like the Jared Goff of last year and is maturing as a QB. The Giants are also supposedly looking stronger, helped by Saquon Barkley of course but if he’s the next Ezekial Elliot that could be huge. The Chargers are also getting a LOT of buzz. Not a ton has changed with them, but they went on a run and had some ugly losses that should have made this a playoff team.

 

The NFC is utterly stacked. You have the Eagles, Rams are right up there, Falcons, Saints, Vikings with Dalvin Cook back, the Packers are always competitive with Rodgers, as are the Panthers with Newton. The Cowboys, Redskins, Lions, and Seahawks will all be mediocre teams but you don’t want to overlook them.

 

Games of Week 1:

Atlanta at Philadelphia- The playoff game last year was Atlanta’s to win

49ers at Vikings- Will be interesting to essentially see 2 new QB’s on teams with high expectations duke it out

Texans at Patriots- a passing of the torch possibly? The GOAT playing against the young stud QB

Rams at Oakland- Battle of Old LA

Chiefs at Chargers- Battle for the AFC West starts Week 1. Will be a key game for playoff purposes

 

Quote of the Season:

“Stretching is way overrated. Did you know World War I and World War II, all those guys that fought in that war, right? They did pushups, jumping jacks, situps, climbed the rope and ran. But none of this fancy (expletive). Okay? And they won two world wars — two world wars! — by doing jumping jacks, pushups, and situps. You think they were worried when they’re running across Normandy about (expletive) stretching?” Bob Wylie- Offensive Line coach of the browns

 

Meme of the Week:

 

FMQB: Short, Sweet and Late

Posted by fmquarterback on December 15, 2017
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FMQB: Short, Sweet and Late

 

Carson Wentz:

Ugh, this years injuries are insane. Carson Wentz going down became the 16th team (half the league!) who have had season ending injuries or benchings. They were Super Bowl favorites until this week. He tore his ACL and stayed in the game for 4 plays, including throwing a TD. I vaguely remember Phillip Rivers doing the same thing several years back, but this is unheard of. That’s North Dakota tough.

 

Quick Hits:

  • Apparently diving at a player’s knees during the victory formation and then trying to climb into the stands to fight a fan doesn’t warrant a suspension anymore….
  • My second point about this, is that we’re hearing how egregious the fans’ actions were to throw drinks onto the field, yet nobody is talking about both Bennett and Jefferson literally trying to end a lineman’s season and inflict both physical and financial
  • The NFL will never get any credibility regarding the safety of its players if they don’t start enforcing concussion protocol rules. Tom Savage’s incident was, well, savage. But they need to be able to take out Russell Wilson caliber players if they suspect concussions.
  • The Pittsburgh Ravens game was one of the better ones of the year. 39-38 against bitter rivals.
  • How did the Patriots lose on Monday night? Looks like that Gronk suspension actually meant something.
  • Packers almost lost to the Browns, needed a 14 point comeback just to take it into OT! But Aaron Rodgers is back baby!!!

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Posted by fmquarterback on October 27, 2017
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FMQB:

 

Roller Coaster:

Even though they are division rivals, I feel just terrible for the Cardinals. I know every fan base minus maybe the Patriots has the “woe is me” approach, but the Cardinals can definitely be up there. They’ve had YEARS of mediocrity, never in the playoffs but too good for the #1 pick. All of a sudden they get Kurt Warner, and have a Super Bowl win locked down only to have heartbreak happen. They’ve been solid since, but have lost several playoff games. They finally get Adrian Peterson, who absolutely goes off in his resurgence. Enough so that Larry Fitz was talking about the “rings” they would have had if AP had been there the whole time. Flash forward 1 week, Palmer gets hurt and is out for the season, Bruce Arians (a coaching genius) is talking about not returning, and AP regresses to Saints-like numbers. They were a playoff caliber team as of last week, and it looks like they’ll lock up pick #8 again.

 

Stat of the Week:

Bears CB Eddie Jackson is the first defensive player to have 2 75+ yard defensive return TD’s in a game.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

There are 3 QB’s in the league who have thrown for more INT’s than TD’s this season (looking at at least 75 attempts). Two of them play for Cleveland…Fun fact, I decided to save a stat for next week but didn’t want to re-number all of these. I had to come up with one more stat, which is how I discovered this gem!

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FMQB: In Pagano’s eyes, the 49ers are 1-0!

Posted by fmquarterback on September 15, 2017
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Kind of a rough week, only 2 games were within 3 points (Steelers and Broncos), otherwise every other matchup was at least a TD difference. But Week 1 is always about getting the kinks out, and we’ve got some good divisional matchups coming up as well as an NFC Championship rematch.

 

 

Quick Hits:

  • Carson Wentz’ evasion of the sack and TD toss to Nelson Agholor was insane.
  • Watching Matt Ryan slip, nearly get sacked, and toss an 88 yd TD to slow as molasses Austin Hooper was also insane.
  • Get ready to see more Tarik Cohen in Chicago, wow was he impressive!
  • The Bears really hung in there against a Super Bowl caliber team. In fact they should have won
  • Felt like I noticed the Cardinals were handling the Lions, and then the next time I looked the Lions had scored 28 points
  • Feel bad for Houston, so much energy to start the game, but they fell completely flat
  • Cole Beasley’s catch behind back. Not catch of the year material, but still have never seen anything like it before

 

For the Record:

  • Had the Bears completed their comeback against the Falcons, the media would have had a field day!
  • The look in Adrian Peterson’s eyes behind Sean Payton. Scary
  • For all the talk the Patriots had about their Super Bowl comeback, they sure emptied the stadium quick with the game not out of hand.
  • On the same wavelength, there sure was a lot of 19-0 talks about the Patriots this offseason, that was quieted in less than 3 hours.
  • 3 points for offensive genius Kyle Shanahan’s debut.

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FMQB: Poopfest

Posted by fmquarterback on December 16, 2016
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week-14

FMQB: Poopfest

 

 

Eerily Similar:

Both of the Giants’ recent Super Bowl runs have been with the same formula. Good defense, Eli Manning, and not winning their division but sneaking into the playoffs as the hot WildCard team. Things seem to be adding up again for this team, so you’ll hear it here first: Giants in the Super Bowl! They just took down Dallas, AGAIN. They are 2-0 against the Cowboys, and the rest of the league is 0-11. Granted they’re in the same division so they have some inside knowledge, but nevertheless I think that proves they can hang with the big guys. Giants over Patriots again???

 

For Whom the Bell Tolls:

Wow, what a day for LeVeon Bell in snowy Buffalo! He carried the ball a whopping 42 times, but had 236 yds rushing and 298 total yards. It looked like the other 21 players on the field were afraid to make cuts or slipping, while Bell was playing normal football. The patience he showed on his runs was incredible, half the time it looked like everybody else was moving while he was just sitting there waiting for his hole to open up. You’d have to think of what could have been if he hadn’t been suspended the first 3 games. Even with a 3 game deficit, he’s 4th in rushing, 8th in carries, and 2nd in yards per game.

 

He Gone!

Coming from a Rams fan’s perspective, I think the Jeff Fisher firing was past-due. I wasn’t surprised nor disappointed to hear the news. I would say I was pretty pumped 5 years ago with that hire, but he never had a winning season and had a plethora of 1st round draft picks that he couldn’t form a mediocre team around. The only weird part was the timing, just a week after it was leaked that he had been signed to a 2 year extension. I saw a rumor before the firing, which I’m starting to semi-believe. I’m not sure how charitable the NFL actually is, but the rumor was that they signed Fisher to an extension so they’d have to buy out his contract WHEN he got fired. Essentially creating a bonus for him doing the huge job of moving the entire franchise. Fisher is the only coach who had zero offseason, he’s essentially been working for 18 straight months. Feasible? I think so.

 

Quick Hits:

  • What a monsoon for the Dolphins game! I’d rather play in cold
  • Lions had another 4th qtr comeback win, their 9th of the season
  • 5 INT’s by Russell Wilson, rough day
  • Both the Lions and Buccaneers have the longest winning streaks in the league, with 5 in a row

 

Stat of the Week:

The Falcons scored more TD’s in LA (6) than the Rams have all season (5)

 

Stat of the Week:

The Seattle Punter’s longest run of the season is 10 yards more than Todd Gurley’s longest

 

Stat of the Week:

Carson Wentz’ sophomore slump came early. After starting 4-2, he has gone 1-6 and thrown 10 INT’s in that span

 

Stat of the Week:

The Buccaneers are 8-5, but have given up more points than they have scored. The Chargers, Eagles and Saints are all 5-8 but have scored more than they have allowed.

 

Stat of the Week:

Before Sunday, Russell Wilson had never lost a game by more than 10 points. I was absolutely blown away by this stat!

 

Stolen Stat of the Week:

Cam Newton, last year’s MVP, is in dead last for completion percentage this year

 

Playoff update:

Oakland, Baltimore and Denver had key losses which changed playoff seeding, while Pittsburgh, Detroit and Tampa Bay all had key wins. Meanwhile Washington, Minnesota and Green Bay kept their hopes alive with big wins to stay in the hunt. With 3 weeks left, all eyes are on the AFC West, AFC South, NFC North, and NFC South.

 

Playoff Craziness!

There’s actually a scenario in play for the Chiefs, where entering Week 17 they would have to win the game and get a 1st round bye, or lose and be completely out of the playoffs. Yes, that’s a 1 game difference between the #2 seed or the #7 seed.

 

For the Record:

  • The Lions are lucky to be 2 games up in the division, because their final slate (@Giants, @ Cowboys, vs. Packers) is brutal
  • Why is there a Saturday game this week?
  • The Titans taking down the Broncos, Packers and Lions this year. Maybe proving they can hang in the playoffs
  • Wow, Cowboys fans calling for Tony Romo after 1 bad game. League is brutal!
  • Does anybody else have a little bit of an issue with the jersey swaps at the end of the game? It’s a bit hard for me to see Elliot and Beckham Jr, 2 fierce division rivals, swapping jerseys at the end of the game and posing for a picture. I guess a part of me feels the players should show the same disdain to division foes as the fans do. Have sportsmanship, but don’t be best buds.

 

Quote of the Week:

“Thursday Night Football is a Poopfest” Richard Sherman, proving that Stanford education expands your vocabulary….Yes, yes it was a poopfest

 

Quote of the Week #2:

“15 yard penalty for twerking” Al Michaels

 

Games of the Week:

Lions at Giants

Patriots at Broncos

Buccaneers at Cowboys

 

 

The Browns are 0-11 since Terrell Pryor said the team could win out. That’s garbage

 

Photo credit: NFL.com

FMQB: The Bumbling Browns

Posted by fmquarterback on November 11, 2016
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week-9

FMQB: The Bumbling Browns

Week 9 indicates the halfway point in the NFL, with most teams playing 8 games (minus the small handful who haven’t had their Bye’s yet). There is still plenty of season left, but some teams have pulled away from the pack while others are already faltering. Either way, a picture has begun to be painted. It’s very refreshing to see a bit of parody in the NFL, with a few teams we haven’t seen in the playoffs in awhile/constistently (Cowboys, Raiders, Falcons, Giants, Vikings, etc.). Before we get too excited though, my halfway Super Bowl prediction is Patriots Seahawks.

 

Oakland is Legit:

I think the reason I keep saying this is because I’m just so shocked to say it. They’ve had 15 years of terrible football, so it’s fun to see them back. Either way, they just dismantled the supposedly staunch Denver D. They rushed for 218 yds, with 3 rushing TD’s. This team has good QB play, a strong run attack, and good defense. That’s the recipe for playoff success, and it could be interesting to see what they’re like in January.

 

Richard Sherman rant:

Richard Sherman is probably the most polarizing figure in the NFL. This typically means that a person either loves him or hate him, but somehow he has become a person that you can flip flop your own emotions on him several times. Watching him speak, press conferences, or even reading his blog; he’s one of the most well spoken and intelligent people out there. You have to respect him for that, he’s a very intelligent guy and a true spokesperson for the NFL. But then somehow he gets onto the field, and turns into a dirty cocky player that everybody can hate. He completely crushed the Bills kicker at the end of the 1st half, zero chance he was going for the ball.

 

Seahawks Skirting the Rules:

While we’re on the subject, doesn’t it seem like there have been a lot of very goofy endings of games mainly resulting in referee judgement calls? Every single one of them goes in favor of the Seahawks. You had the Fail Mary, granted that was a few years back now. Then you had the Monday night game where the ball was batted out of the back of the endzone for a safety. Then the Pass Interference call against the Falcons, and there were several in the Jets game too. Now you had this game with the refs literally blowing 4 calls in a short sequence. How does this keep happening to this one team?!?! The thing that makes it worse is that Pete Carroll, Russell Wilson, and Richard Sherman have a nonchalant attitude about each one…. “I didn’t see a flag there” or “oops, I guess I was offsides.”

 

The fact that these refs aren’t being disciplined, or that somebody in New York didn’t stop it is beyond me (they had 1 game to watch). The refs blew the roughing the kicker call, then said that Carpenter had to leave for a play since the trainers came out (way to punish a team for player safety concerns), then they screwed up whether the kicking ball should be in or not, and finally they hovered over the ball with the playclock running only to leave with 2 second left on the playclock. Of course there’s a delay of game at that juncture, it should have been called on the refs!

 

Stolen Stat of the Week:

In each of Detroit’s 5 wins, they have trailed in the final 90 seconds of regulation

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Dallas and Oakland are a combined 9-0 on the road, neither team made the playoffs last year

 

Stolen Stat of the Week #3:

Eli Manning is quietly sneaking up into the conversation of All-Timers. His 2nd Super Bowl essentially made him a lock for the Hall of Fame, but his other numbers are removing any question mark about it. Manning has had 202 straight starts (that’s 3rd most all time). He’s 9th on the list for most passing yards, and 7th for most TD’s!

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Proof the game is changing? 7 of the top 16 QB’s in regards to most passing TD’s in NFL history, are still actively playing the game. Jay Cutler of all people has more TD passes than 14 Hall of Fame QB’s!!!

 

Stat of the Week #5:

At 6-3, the Broncos are in 3rd place in their division, there’s only 2 other divisions in football where they wouldn’t be in 1st place.

 

Stat of the Week #6:

The Saints started 0-3, and are suddenly in 2nd place in their division after winning 4 of 5.

 

Stat of the Week #7:

Blair Walsh, leads the league with 3 missed extra points, and is 75% for field goals (26th in the league)

 

Stat of the Week #8:

The Cowboys 7 game winning streak is the longest in team history since 2007

 

Stat of the Week #9:

The 49ers are the 1st team in NFL history to allow 7 straight 100 yard rushers. I find this unbelievable, especially since the age of running backs is over. But surprised the old record was 6, when literally some crappy defense legitimately had a chance to see Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, and Emmitt Smith within a timeframe like that. The other thing I find unbelievable is that it wasn’t 4 years ago when the 49ers nearly went an entire season without giving up a rushing TD! Very quick fall for that team.

 

Poor Timeout Management:

The Bumbling Browns started the game with 12 players on the field, and had to use a timeout the first play of scrimmage (first team in 5 years to do so). Stupid mistakes are a reason teams like this go winless.

 

The 2nd mistake also cost the Vikings a win. Down 4, they led an impressive TD drive in the waning seconds of the game. But they egregiously called a timeout WAY too early in the final drive. Getting to the 1 yard line on 3rd down, you literally only have 2 plays left in the game. For arguments sake, let’s say you’re mindful of a 10 second runoff, or a defensive penalty that runs time off the clock. But with 2 plays that’s rare, and either way let it tick down to 15 or 16 seconds. Instead they called one at 27 seconds left, literally ensuring that the Lions would get the ball for a couple plays. Sure enough, the Vikings scored the next play, and gave Detroit 23 seconds. Sure, it’s improbable to get into Field Goal range and spike the ball. But it’s also plenty of time to do it, why not make it impossible for them to win? That one’s on the coaches.

 

Quick Hits:

  • I don’t see a Win in the Browns future…anywhere
  • I can’t believe Roethlisberger played this week, 3 weeks after a torn meniscus (same injury that cost Adrian Peterson the season)
  • The Cowboys are 7-1, and only play 1 team above .500 down the stretch. That team is the quickly deflating Vikings
  • The Dolphins have quietly won 3 in a row, the Steelers and Vikings have both lost 3 in a row
  • Carson Wentz has turned into an INT machine since his nearly record breaking start. Well not really, but he’s had an INT in 3 straight games; and both of his 2 INT games came on back to back drives.
  • Dang, Jimmy Graham finally showed up in Seattle! Of course I played against him in Fantasy, being up 20 felt pretty good until halftime

 

Halfway- Teams to Watch:

  • Don’t be surprised if the Giants start making a run, similar to their Wild Card Super Bowl runs
  • Same with the Chiefs, they’re the quietist 6-2 team in history it seems
  • I see the Lions winning the NFC North, and the Saints sneaking into the mix as well

 

Quote of the Week:

“If I didn’t want to get hit, I’d be playing Tennis” Russell Wilson, reacting to Cam Newton’s remarks about not feeling safe. Bravo!

 

Quote of the Week #2:

“Isn’t this the endzone where Blair Walsh missed a 27 yard field goal?” UND fan giving Gopher fans crap while walking past TCF Bank Stadium

 

Non Football Stat of the Week:

The Cubs victory parade was the 7th largest gathering in human history! 5 million people showed up. Other events in the top 10 include pilgrimages, high end funerals, and a Rod Stewart concert. What?!?!

 

Game of the Week:

Sunday Night Football hit another jackpot with Seattle at New England. Should be an awesome rematch of the Super Bowl 2 years ago.

 

 

The Browns are 0-6 since Pryor suggested they could win out.

 

FMQB: A Tale of 2 Quarters

Posted by fmquarterback on October 28, 2016
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week-7

FMQB: A Tale of 2 Quarters

 

Even with 15 games this week, you could have watched a mere 2 quarters and been satisfied with enough football excitement for the week.

 

The first happened in the first quarter of the Vikings vs. Eagles game. What people may not know is that I’m the nerd that sits there watching games and will take notes on my phone for FMQB (the things I do for you people!). I can honestly say in 6 years, I haven’t updated the same note more than watching the turnover-fest that occurred between the 2 teams. By the 2nd turnover, I was thinking “holy crap, these are the 2 teams with the least giveaways in the league and I’ve just seen 2 interceptions thrown in just a few plays!” All you heard about through Week 4 was the fact that Bradford and Wentz (and Prescott) hadn’t turned the ball over at all. Then 3 plays later there was a Fumble and I start freaking out. The VERY NEXT PLAY is another fumble! Then 3 plays later Wentz throws another interception. What the heck is going on here!!! In 4:59, we just watched 5 turnovers happen. It was such a bizarre sequence!

 

The other quarter was the 5th in a sleeper of a Sunday night game. I started watching in the 4th quarter and realized I turned on a 3-0 snoozer. The 4th wasn’t any better, despite the fact that the Seahawks tied it up. And then something amazing happened. Going into OT at 3-3, it was obvious there was zero offense, but all of a sudden the flood gates opened up! The Cardinals got the ball first, and marched down the field with 18 and 20 yard passes, and kicked a field goal. Then the Seahawks did the same, getting 4 first downs on big plays to tie it up again. Then the Cardinals had 27 and 40 yard plays, only to have David Johnson barely get pushed out of bounds at the goal line. Somehow they clanged the FG off the uprights on a 24 yard kick. There was life in Seattle, and after their 31 and 27 yard plays (where was this all game?!?!), Haushka looked like he kicked his 28 yarder after playing dizzy bat! Hands down the most exciting Tie ever.

 

Quote of the Week:

“I’ve been in this league 13 years. I’ve played in more than 200 games, regular season and playoffs. And this is the craziest game I’ve ever played in.” Larry Fitzgerald…Think about that, crazier than the Packers shootout, or last years 2 time hail mary playoff game, or even the Steelers Super Bowl. A TIE was the craziest game he’s played in

 

Headline of the Week:

“Mike Zimmer refutes reports about slaughtering stuffed animals” ESPN Headline. Yes, it’s as ridiculous as it sounds. The fact he had to address this in a press conference is even more ridiculous

 

Stat of the Week #1:

Just 2 games into the season, Tom Brady leads the league in passer rating at an astonishing 132.6, leads in completion percentage, yards per attempt, yards per game, and has thrown 8 TD’s and 0 INT’s since his return.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

Tom Brady has the same or more TD passes than Eli Manning, Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Carson Wentz, Carson Palmer, Alex Smith, Dak Prescott, and Joe Flacco. Brady has played 2 games.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Adam Vinatieri, correction, 43 year old Adam Vinatieri hit his NFL record 43rd consecutive Field Goal. He’s also leading the league in scoring, and is 3rd all time for most points in NFL history.

 

Stat of the Week #4:

The Lions have won 3 in a row, and all 3 were 4th quarter comebacks.

 

Stat of the Week #5:

All 7 Lions games have been one score possessions. They have won by 4, 1, 3, and 3 points; and lost by 1, 7, and 3 points.

 

Stat of the Week #6:

The Raiders are now 4-0 on the road. All 4 of which were games played in Eastern Standard Time

 

Stat of the Week #7:

There have only been 2 kickoff returns for TD’s this year, both are by the Eagles and they happened in back to back games

 

Stat of the Week #8:

Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi is just the 4th person with back to back 200 yard rushing games (OJ Simpson, Ricky Williams, and Earl Campbell)

 

Stat of the Week #9:

The Vikings went 318 offensive plays without having a turnover. Plays number 319 and 320 were an Interception and a Fumble

 

Stat of the Week #10:

There had never been a game with an 11-3 score at halftime, in NFL history

 

Stat of the Week #11:

To reiterate how crazy the Sunday night game was, at one point in OT the Cardinals had a 99.6% chance of winning. 3 minutes later, the Seahawks had a 97.3% chance of winning.

 

Stat of the Week #12:

The Seattle defense was on the field for 46:21. That’s over 3 full quarters of play.

 

Ultimate Stat Ever:

That’s out of 15835 games played in NFL History…yes I just did the math, it’s current including Week 8’s Thursday Night game. Whew!

 

Bad News Bears:

  • The running joke in Minnesota is that the Vikings have another bye week. Because they’re playing a Bears team, and not against 6 TD 0 INT Brian Hoyer, but against Jay Cutler
  • A Houston fan set up a Go-Fund me page to buy out Brock Osweiler’s $72M contract
  • The Rams looked just awful. If anybody watched NFL Primetime this week, they did a great job essentially saying that all 4 INT’s were the receiver’s fault and not Case Keenum’s. What Brian Quick was doing on the final play is beyond me.
  • Despite not liking Geno Smith, you gotta feel a little bad for the guy. Lost the starting job due to being sucker punched in the face. Sat for 24 games before finally getting his shot again. AANNDDD torn ACL in the 2nd
  • Homecomings were not kind to both Bradford and Osweiler this week.

 

If the Playoffs Started Today:

  • Please tell me we could have an Oakland at New England rematch!!!! They’re #1 and #2 right now in the AFC.
  • Brock Osweiler would have a chance at redemption, hosting the Broncos
  • San Francisco, Chicago, and Cleveland are battling for the top spot and a top QB. By the looks of it, they all need it.

 

Games of the Week:

Patriots at Bills: Brady is back but on the road against the team that has given them their only loss

Chargers at Broncos: Eliminate all 4 of the Chargers’ terrible losses and they’re undefeated.

Packers at Falcons: Could be a shootout

Eagles at Cowboys: Finally a Primetime game to get excited about!!!

 

 

The Browns are 0-4 since Pryor suggested they could win out. This week against the Jets are their best and perhaps last chance to snag a victory.

FMQB: The return of Manziel, Emmitt Smith, and Deflategate

Posted by fmquarterback on October 21, 2016
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week-6

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.

  Continue Reading

FMQB: Taylor Off-Center

Posted by fmquarterback on October 14, 2016
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week-5

FMQB: Taylor Off-Center

 

Bit of a shorter post this week, but Week 6 has a slew of awesome matchups and hopefully a lot to talk about next week!

 

And Then there was One:

The Broncos and Eagles lost last week, which leaves the Minnesota Vikings as the last undefeated team of the year! Last year we had 5 teams that made it deep into the season at undefeated, so it’s a bit bizarre to only have 1. On the flip side, only the Browns have yet to win a game this year.

Continue Reading