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 3^rd 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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 4^th 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 2^nd 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