Where do I even begin this week’s blog?
Well, I’ll start with one of the craziest opening day performances I have ever seen to open an NFL season down in the Bayou…and it did not stem from a New Orleans Saints player.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, the 35-year-old backup quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers not only played like a high-end QB1, but he led all players at his position in scoring on Sunday. He was named the starter earlier this summer after Tampa’s former first-overall draft pick Jameis Winston was suspended for the first five games in 2018, but it was the Harvard alum who looked like the franchise star.
Fitzmagic finished 21-28 (75% completion), 417 yards passing, four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Not only was he having his way against one of the leagues top ranked defenses on the road in a hostile environment, but he sealed the victory by picking up a third and long with his feet. New Orleans had no response to the journeyman quarterback from Gilbert, Arizona and the biggest underdog in Week 1 came away with a key divisional win.
Now, for the Saints defense it was an afternoon to forget. Who Dat Nation’s offense looked like one of the leagues best as Michael Thomas had 16 receptions for 180 yards and a TD, Drew Brees threw for 439 yards and three scores, while the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year, Alvin Kamara, had three total touchdowns and 112 receiving yards. If the Saints are going to have any chance of winning in 2018 the defense needs to figure it out. However, they did start slow last fall and turned it around come December.
Sunday Night Football
If you’re a lifelong Oakland Raiders fan then I hope you decided to not watch SNF last night. Days after the Silver and Black traded Khalil Mack (2016 DPOY) to the Chicago Bears he was dressed and active for Week 1 at Lambeau Field. To make matters worse for Oakland (and, of course Green Bay), Mack had two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, an interception and a defensive touchdown…ALL IN THE FIRST HALF! The last player to do that was, oh yeah, Mack in 2016.
The Bears front seven looked like one of the NFC’s best and knocked Aaron Rodgers out of the game in the second quarter. It was all Chicago in the first half, until A-Rodg resurrected like Paul Pierce in the 2008 NBA Finals to make his way back onto the field and lead the largest second-half comeback in Lambeau history.
Down 20-0, the six-time pro-bowler hobbled back onto the field and gave Green Bay new life. Rodgers led the Packers on four consecutive drives that ended with a FG, TD, TD and a game winning 75 yard pass to Randall Cobb to take the lead 24-23. A game winning strip sack sealed the deal in the final seconds and the Bears left Green Bay absolutely stunned.
My biggest takeaways from the epic Sunday night thriller are: one- why did the Bears take their foot off the gas once Rodgers entered the game? They started to drop Mack back into coverage instead of bringing extra pass rushers that gave the two-time MVP trouble in the first half. I mean, how do you pay the leagues best edge rusher in all of football millions to drop into coverage against the best QB to ever do it? Even worse, he was dropped into coverage on the strike to Cobb on third down…why not let him do what he does best and make an injured Rodgers move around and feel uncomterable?
Second, how does new head coach Matt Nagy not have the rocks to go for it on fourth and 1 inside the 25 yard line? The Bears haven’t beaten the Pack in Lambeau in God knows how long, and if you settle for three (which Chicago did) you are giving the ball back to the best player in the league with over two minutes to play. Blows my mind. Also, on third and a yard Nagy opted to let second year QB Mitch Trubisky drop back and throw it into coverage, which not only went incomplete and stopped the clock, but you essentially have 12 inches to get a first and ice the game. Two plays, one yard and a running back in Jordan Howard who was averaging 5.5 yards per carry last night. Or you have a QB who is 6-3, 225lbs…let him take one up the gut. Either or and it’s game over.
I still cannot wrap my head around what transpired last night, but I can speak for all of America when I say that once Rodgers came back there was just a feeling that he was going to pull off something remarkable.
NCAAF Week 2
Alabama is still the team to beat in both the SEC and the entire nation. Tua and Co. picked up another dominating win over Arkansas State 57-7, while the Hawaiian lefty finished with 228 yards passing and four touchdowns.
Through the first two games of the season the Crimson Tide are outscoring opponents 108-21 and Nick Saban is still dealing with the medias QB controversy questions. Now, obviously the media needs a story and something to write about, but if you watch football and know anything about how the game is played then you can dictate the so-called “controversy” yourself. There isn’t one. Period. Tua is the main guy and will lead the Tide to consecutive national titles, while rumors of Jalen Hurts red shirting are still in play.
Tua is by far the better QB in the pocket, and can also beat you with his legs. In my opinion he is the best dual threat quarterback in the nation and will be a top-5 pick next April. Hurts on the other hand is the 2017 SEC Player of the Year and why he didn’t transfer this offseason makes many scratch their heads. If he plays in less than four games this season he is eligible to return next fall (which seems likely at this point) and be the quarterback in 2019.
Whatever Hurts decides to do, he must realize that Alabama is Alabama. Saban gets the best recruits year in and year out. The logical thing to do in my mind would be to red shirt now and transfer in 2019.
In Other News
Clemson picked up a key win in College Station, defeating the Aggies 28-26 in dramatic fashion. A failed two-point conversion by A&M gave the Tigers the win and sent Jimbo Fisher’s college home debating their play call on the attempt.
I have never been a fan of having your QB roll out on fourth down or 2-point conversions as it cuts off half the field, but some coaches love it. Saturday afternoon that’s exactly what the Aggies did and it was picked off as QB Kellen Mond had no options. Although the sophomore quarterback played a hell of a game and picked apart Clemson’s defense in the second half, Fisher or the OC, whoever made the final call, should have at least given him the entire field against the nation’s top ranked defensive line.
Even in a loss, the 12th Man proved to be a tough atmosphere to play in and Texas A&M nearly came away with what would have been a huge win heading into SEC play. Fisher has changed the culture in College Station and has the Aggies on the rebound in 2018.
Khalil Tate and Arizona through two weeks have looked like the PAC12 bottom feeder after losing to both BYU and Houston. Tate was voted as one of the best college quarterbacks in the nation heading into this season and he has looked like anything but that.
Former Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin has attempted to alter Tate’s game and make him more of a pocket passing quarterback, but instead he has hurt his overall game and placed the Wildcats in a deep hole in the first month.
Houston, however, looks like a powerhouse down in the American Conference. Potential 2019 first-overall pick Ed Oliver has continued to dominate the line of scrimmage as the Cougars open up 2018 2-0. HU will have their first real test of the season next Saturday at Texas Tech, but if they can come away with a W they have a favorable schedule to do what UCF did a season ago and run the table, while potentially having a shot at the CFP come December.
Herm Edwards has completely turned around Arizona State and guided the Sun Devils to an upset over Michigan State Saturday night in Tempe. A team picked to finish in the middle of the PAC12 has a solid chance of winning the weak South Division and has a defense that can keep them in games.
Michigan and Shae Patterson are back on track after routing Western Michigan, Georgia is still thumping its opponents down south, Kentucky upset Florida in the Swap for the first time since 1986 and Virginia Tech’s defense continues to turn the ball over.
Week 3 has a huge SEC matchup between LSU and Auburn that has playoff implications on the line in September and Ohio State travels down to TCU to finish off the three game suspension of Urban Meyer in a game between two top-15 ranked programs.
Football is back and it is only just beginning!