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FMQB: Year 9, Knock on Wood if you’re With Me!!!

Posted by fmquarterback on August 30, 2019
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

FMQB: Year 9, Knock on Wood if you’re With Me

Friday Morning Quarterback is back! Year 9!!!! It seems like forever since I’ve put out a post, and I have to say this is been one of the crazier offseasons for stories. Knock on wood if you’re with me!!!!!

 

It’s the NFL’s 100th season. Antonio Brown is getting weirder by the day, and is apparently being sued by a chef because he found his fish head in the freezer and thought it was a mob threat. Not to mention his helmet issues. The Packers played a preseason game on an 80 yard field and no kickoffs (do we think that was on accident)? The Giants were the laughing stock of the league when they drafted Daniel Jones, only to have him look like a veteran QB WAY ahead of Manning in the preseason. And are we really living in a world where the Cleveland Browns are the most hyped team going into the season? Don’t even get me going on the shockwave through the NFL of Andrew Luck retiring, likely leaving $100+ million and a hall of fame bust on the table.

 

This is my annual Prediction post. And I’ll have an abbreviated Week 1 recap next week. Finish the Dad joke and you’ll find out where I am currently honeymooning: “Did you know the first French fries weren’t made in France? No, they were fried in….”

 

2019 Predictions:

  • Rookie of the Year- NOT Kyler Murray
  • MVP- Patrick Mahomes again
  • Comeback player of the year- Cooper Kupp
  • The Daniel Jones Eli Manning narrative will dominate headlines. Manning will make it through the first 4 weeks going 1-3, and by Week 5 Daniel Jones is under center.
  • LeVeon Bell will underperform, starting all 16 games but not hitting 1000 yards, which will hurt the RB market for everyone else moving forward
  • Speaking of RB market, Zeke has a deal done by Week 3, but is outside the top 5 rushers. Gordon will hold out, into October. Gurley will play, but be affected by his knee, coming in outside the Top 10 but will be top 5 in TD’s.
  • Rosen is the starting QB for the Dolphins by Week 7, but will still struggle
  • Nick Foles won’t have the same success as in Philly, but will be a dramatic increase from Blake Bortles.
  • Odell Beckham will be mostly off the radar in terms of drama, but will light it up on the field. Antonio Brown however will continue adding to his weird saga, and will get extremely frustrated as him and Carr are on different wavelengths.

 

FMQB Ranting already:

I do want to step in and give my opinion of the new pass interference rule, and the fact it’s reviewable. My prediction is this is a one and done rule, and will be a disaster once games are won and lost due to it. (I get it Saints fans, you have a right to complain). But we’re going to have a scenario where a call is overturned in the end zone that is ticky tacky and decides the game. I guarantee this happens, and likely more than once. It’s almost a weekly occurrence that a 4th and Goal ends with a fade in the endzone, and now coaches are going to challenge every play. It’s going to be a situation where you look at the play and accept the call on the field, but under review there’s some minor hold that technically defines PI, and it’s going to change the outcome of the game. Just watch, that’s my prediction.

 

Take on Andrew Luck:

I was absolutely shocked to hear Luck was retiring. In fact, one way I know I’m old, is that I remember doing this blog the year leading up to Luck being drafted and now he’s retiring! Here’s my thing, yes the timing was absolutely terrible and essentially ruins the Colts’ season, but he had every right to do this. He’s a grown man and can make whatever decision is right for him. The fact Colts fans booed him off the field was also despicable. The organization was classy by letting him keep close to $25M, that’s a ton of money! But after seeing Calvin Johnson, Rob Gronkowski, and now Luck retire essentially in their prime, I think this is going to become a thing in the NFL. People are more cognizant of the toll it takes on their bodies, and enjoying life. I just wouldn’t be surprised to see some QB’s play well into their 40s, while other stars leaving at 29 is considered “normal.”

 

AFC North: I have the Browns and Ravens battling it out for the division. Should be fun to see the progression of both 2nd year QB’s. The Steelers will regress, and we’re nearing the end of this “regime.”

AFC East: Patriots have this in the bag as always, although I think the Jets are going to make a run at it and sneak in a wild card spot. Sam Darnold is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming years. Watch for the Dolphins to have a Top 3 pick.

AFC South: Such a weird division! You could almost argue for any team, but no team to be more than 10 or 11 wins. I had the Colts taking it until Saturday, now I think they’ll be in last place. The Texans will be solid, the Jags should improve with Foles, and the Titans would be playoff caliber if Mariotta stays healthy.

AFC West: The Chiefs should take this division handily as well. On the fence with Denver, if Flacco has some magic left they could be a team on the rise. Oakland also looks good on Hard Knocks, but that could be fancy camera work. Chargers should regress with Melvin Gordon and Keenan Allen missing time.

 

 

 

NFC North: Another weird division. I do think the Bears are the best team in the division, but their kicking woes could easily lose them 3 games. Packers should be better if Rodgers is healthy and a hungry coach. I think the Vikings have a 9-7 season and miss the playoffs again, and the Lions will pull a Lions and be obsolete by Week 5.

NFC East: Without Foles to fall back on, Wentz will have to stay healthy, but the Eagles have a chance to make a deep playoff run. The Cowboys will do what they always do under Jason Garrett, and go 8-8 after a playoff year. The Giants will be newsworthy, but not in the playoff hunt. And the Redskins will have QB woes that still aren’t addressed by January.

NFC South: The Saints are still a powerhouse, but their window is rapidly closing. They’ll take the #1 seed one last time though. The Bucs will have to move on from Winston after this year. Panthers will struggle with Newton staying healthy, and the Falcons will be in line for a Wild Card spot.

NFC West: The Rams are easily the best team in the division. The Seahawks will make a push, but they’ve lost too many players to make the playoffs. Jimmy G will lead the league in INT’s, so the 49ers aren’t in the picture. And Arizona will be a fun team to watch but Murray will have ups and downs.

 

Playoff Predictions

 

AFC:

Patriots

Texans

Chiefs

Browns

Ravens

Jets

 

 

NFC:

Eagles

Bears

Rams

Saints

Falcons

Packers

 

AFC Championship:

Chiefs vs. Texans

 

 

NFC Championship:

Saints vs. Eagles

 

Super Bowl:

Chiefs vs. Saints- Chiefs win it all

 

Quote of the Offseason:

“He drinks a gallon of milk every day. … I think it’s the milk that’s not pasteurized, either. I think it’s right out of the teat.”

Jay Gruden on Colt McCoy’s milk habits.

 

Best Quote of the Offseason:

“Knock on wood if you’re with me” Jon Gruden

 

Meme’s of the Offseason:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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FMQB: C’mon Finland!

Posted by fmquarterback on December 21, 2018
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FMQB: C’mon Finland!

 

2 more weeks left! The playoff picture is starting to form, with the Packers, Giants (yes I said it), Dolphins, and Broncos basically losing their chance to extend at this point. Another fairly surprising week, with the Seahawks, Patriots, and Rams getting upset.

 

Highlights:

  • Browns take out Broncos on the road, eliminating them from playoff hopes
  • Is Nick Foles like the biggest known secret in the NFL? He is 4-1 in his last 5 starts, including taking down the 2017 Falcons, winning the NFC Championship, Winning the Super Bowl, winning opening weekend, and now taking down the high powered Rams.
  • Bears clinch first division title since 2010, went from worst to first
  • Colts blank Cowboys, their first shutout since 2003 (which is surprising, they’ve basically been mediocre this whole time).
  • 49ers shock the Seahawks
  • Steelers give Patriots their 2nd straight loss

 

Stat of the Week #1:

Despite not starting Weeks 1 and 2, Baker Mayfield has more passing yards than Russell Wilson, Mitch Trubisky, and Marcus Mariota. Mayfield also has more TD’s than Matthew Stafford, Derek Carf, Eli Manning, Dak Prescott, Case Keenum, and Mariota. Fewer INT’s than Andrew Luck, Roethlisberger, Goff, Newton, and Trubisky. And a better rating than Manning, Mariota, Stafford, Dalton, and Alex Smith.

 

Stat of the Week #2:

The stat line for Derek Henry’s last 2 games, 408 yards rushing and 6 TD’s. Before Week 14, Henry was 28th on the rushing list, but has jumped to 11th.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

The difference a defense makes: The 49ers have a measly 2 INT’s this season, while the Bears have 26!

 

Stat of the Week #4:

Stat to Watch: The Saints are 68% kicking Field Goals, and a league worse 86% on extra points. Something to potentially watch come playoff time…

 

Stat of the Week #5:

The Jags had 43 offensive plays and a total of 20 yards passing.

 

Stat of the Week #6:

The Browns are 4-2 since Gregg Williams took over. That means it took 6 games for Gregg Williams to surpass the number of wins that Hugh Jackson had the previous 40.

 

Stat of the Week #7:

Stat to watch: Adrian Peterson is 78 yards shy of a 1000 yard season, and will pass Eric Dickerson to become 8th all time in rushing yards.

 

Headline of the Week:

“Raiders Power Rankings shoot up after Nathan Peterman signing” The Onion

 

For the Record:

  • The Patriots scored a TD on the 3rd offensive snap, and didn’t get in the endzone the rest of the day.
  • Remember the Titans came out 19 years ago. How in the world is this the first time the Titans team has done that celebration?!?!
  • Something seriously wrong with New England. Both Brady and Gronk don’t look like their normal selves
  • Something is also seriously wrong with Jared Goff. After being in the MVP race (and still making the Pro Bowl), in his last 3 games he’s 72-131 for 1 TD and 7 INT’s.
  • Despite the last minute FG, the Redskins Jags matchup had to have been the worst of the season. A team with a 4th string QB beat Cody Kessler who only threw it 17 times.
  • Seriously, the Raiders actually signed Nathan Peterman?!?! Although the thinking behind if makes sense, that makes Derek Carr look like a GOD compared to his backup. It’s about the same discrepancy between Drew Brees and myself, and that’s not exaggerating because Peterman has only 3 more TD’s but 12 more INT’s than I have.

 

Quote of the Week:

“Christmas comes at an inconvenient time, right in the middle of the football season” Bill Belichick

 

Quote and Stat of the Week:

“There were nine mistakes ahead of me” Josh Rosen. Um, looks like there may have been one. Only Josh Allen has a worse passer rating on the season.

 

Thank You:

So I get to see stats on where the blog reaches and how many clicks I get. Honestly, I enjoy doing it enough for the 12 avid readers to continue doing it, but diving in and looking at the reach that one guy who’s a bit more than a casual football fan can have, is truly remarkable. Not that they’re earth shattering numbers, but look at this map. People from every country that isn’t grey have clicked or read my article. Thank you for everybody who have given me 8 years! I plan on continuing, just humbled to see this. Although what the hell Finland?!?!

Memes of the Week:

 

 

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

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- Drop Your Buffs

Posted by fmquarterback on January 5, 2018
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FMQB: Drop Your Buffs

 

Sorry for the Survivor reference, but now that all the riff-raff are out, it’s time to get down to business.

 

I missed a week, despite some time off. Here’s a snapshot of what Week 16-17 was going to look like.

 

  • The Eagles suddenly aren’t looking invincible anymore
  • Hope you didn’t bet on the Eagles game, their spread was 9.5. Scored a flukey TD at the end of the game to go up 9, and then kneeled during the extra point to be sportsmen. That’s a bad beat!
  • 2 TD’s got called back against the Bills using the stupid catch rule. Go figure it was the Patriots who benefited
  • Interesting situation in the NFC, where you almost want the 4th seed so if you win the first game you play the Wentz-less Eagles. Both the Panthers and Saints will be fighting for the NFC South, so one of them wants to win to get a home game. So if you’re the Rams, I think resting your starters and letting Garrapolo go 5-0 as a 49er makes perfect sense.

 

Back to Week 17, and the culmination of 20 team’s seasons.

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FMQB: Ramblin Along

Posted by fmquarterback on December 22, 2017
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FMQB: Ramblin Along

 

I’m not going to make any more player predictions the rest of this year. In back to back weeks, I’ve made bold predictions about Adrian Peterson (who was put on IR the next week) and Antonio Brown (who will miss the next 2 games).

 

There are obviously two games to talk about as the back to back endings were two of the best this year. Both included rules that fans absolutely hate and the NFL should look at this offseason. Both included teams that went for it all when they were guaranteed a FG to take it into overtime.

The Race for 1st:

The Steelers were up and not dominating but steadily beating the Patriots in every aspect of the game. The Patriots score to seemingly tie it at 17, but the extra point is no good! Pittsburgh scores to go up 8, and it stays 24-16 deep into the 4th. The Patriots are forced to kick a FG with 3:56 left in the game to bring it to within 5. Steelers go 3 and out, and then New England marches 77 yards in 1:10 in an amazing drive which basically only featured Gronkowski. They make a 2pt conversion to go up 3. Taking a step back, I along with Steeler nation was utterly surprised that all of a sudden the Patriots were ahead. Watching the 2nd half, it truly felt like Pittsburgh was in control and going to win until the final 4 minutes, so we were all pretty much shocked. They scored 11 points in exactly 3 minutes. Continue Reading

FMQB: Keep ‘er Movin’

Posted by fmquarterback on October 20, 2017
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FMQB: Keep ‘er Movin’

 

I’m back! And I feel like I missed a lot! I’m not going to dive back into Week 5 much, but the Browns and 49ers are still losing, the Raiders are apparently faltering, and Big Ben had a 5 INT game?!?! I guess Bradford came back and tried to play too? Ahhhhhh!

 

Le’veon Me Alone!

The one downside to being such a huge football fan is that I’m rarely in awe anymore. But watching the Steelers game had my mouth agape. It literally seemed like everytime Bell was handed the ball, he got a minimum of 7 yards, if not closer to 15. That’s insane as it is, let alone in a league where the run game is dying. They even ran the ball on 3rd and 9, and got the first down! The most telling was the first play after halftime. Tony Romo said something to the effect of “the Chiefs would have gone into halftime and come up with a gameplan to stop the run. Look at how many people they have in the box right now.” Indeed it was stacked, and Bell got through it for a gain of 15.

 

Stat of the Week #1:

In the Rams Jaguars game, it was the 1st time in NFL history with 2 TD’s within the first 25 seconds of a game. The Rams ran back the opening kickoff, kicked a touchback, and then Fournette ran 75 yards on the first play.

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FMQB: Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme, C’Mon Friday, It’s Football Time!

Posted by fmquarterback on October 6, 2017
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FMQB: Feel the Rhythm, Feel the Rhyme, C’Mon Friday, It’s Football Time!

 

Last season was the season of comebacks. I’m already sensing a theme this year which is the season of surprise wins. Last week had 10 underdogs take it in one of Vegas’ most lucrative weekends. This week we had Rams beat Cowboys in Dallas, Bills beat Falcons, Panthers over Patriots in New England, and Texans with 57 points over Titans. I really don’t remember back to back weeks where I looked at the scoreboard to 5+ “wows.”

 

Surprise Records too!

The Bills and Rams are alone in 1st place in their division. Keep in mind these are divisions who have the Patriots (in 3 of the last 6 Super Bowls) and Seahawks (in 2 of the last 4 Super Bowls).

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FMQB: Special Pre-Kickoff Thursday Night Edition!!!!

Posted by fmquarterback on September 7, 2017
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I’m back, wow, Season 7 of Friday Morning Quarterback! Expect a few changes this year, fewer dissertations and more quick hitting fun facts. We all watch the games, I don’t need to turn into Joe Buck 2.0 and explain what happened. I know I promised to go back to the goofy team names last year, and like Digiorno I didn’t deliver. So I’ll try again folks!

 

 

Quick Recap from Last year’s Predictions

 

The Good:

  • Predicted Packers Patriots Super Bowl. Got one right, the second lost in the NFC Championship
  • “Last year as starting QB for Jay Cutler (I’ve held onto him too long)”…I was close until he was yanked out of retirement
  • Picked 6 of 32 records dead on
  • Picked both Offensive and Defensive rookies of the year, that’s a first!
  • Predicted the QB controversy in Dallas, said Dak would keep the starting job
  • Said Jared Goff would get and keep the starting job in Week 9, happened in Week 10!

 

The Bad

 

  • “Blake Bortles is a top 5 QB in either yards or TD’s.” Nope, #15 in both
  • “RGIII sees a resurgence this year before getting injured at the end of the season. Comeback player of the year.” Call it a push, his resurgence (if you want to call it that) essentially came in preseason but he got hurt way too early.
  • “Kelvin Benjamin is back with a vengeance. Top 5 receiver in the league” He showed promise, but was 31st in yards, 16th in TDs

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FMQB: Elite 8, Week of Rematches

Posted by fmquarterback on January 13, 2017
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GREEN BAY, WI - JANUARY 08: Randall Cobb #18 of the Green Bay Packers catches a touchdown pass in the second quarter during the NFC Wild Card game against the New York Giants at Lambeau Field on January 8, 2017 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

FMQB: Elite 8, Week of Rematches

 

Well we got rid of all the riff-raff (well mostly, sorry Texans). Sort of a rough week of games, really none were super competitive minus the 1st half of the Giants and Packers game. All 4 home teams won, and yours truly went 3-1 in picks, with the only miss-step on thinking the Lions would actually put up a fight. The weekend can be summed up in one run-on sentence. Bill O’Brien has been to the playoffs with 3 different QB’s has still won 2 playoff games, the Lions can’t win a playoff game on the road, Matt Moore got smoked worse than the Dolphins did, and Aaron Rodgers is the deadliest weapon in the game. We should have a better slate this week at least! Every game is a rematch from earlier in the year.

 

Seattle at Atlanta– Rematch of earlier this season, when Seattle won 26-24 on a questionable pass interference call. This could be an interesting game, you could really see it as a Seattle rout, an Atlanta rout, or a very close game. Reminds you of the 2012 game where Russell Wilson came onto the scene, and nearly had a huge comeback win in Atlanta. Once again, depends on which Seattle team shows up. I see the score flipping, and Falcons win 26-24 (on a missed Steven Haushka game winning kick).

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