Storyline: NFL Week 1 taught us a lot, but some things were really worth watching. Here are my picks. And the best part of the NFL is that Week 2 is but a few days away. Written by Craig Helman, Washington DC
5. Don’t count on Packers Wide Receivers…or Patriots Running Backs
Raise your hand if you were all over Davante Adams or Ty Montgomery in your Fantasy Drafts last week. Yeah, I see an awful lot of you with hands raised. Now, raise your hand if you knew that James Jones was even still in the League after leaving the Raiders last year. Far fewer hands, right?
There’s no sense in trying to pick a Packers WR to be “the guy” with Jordy Nelson hurt. Aaron Rodgers and that offense are simply too good. They spread the ball around too much, and the loss of Nelson probably encourages them to do that even more so. I’d do my best to “sell high” on Randall Cobb, if possible – and continue to expect “the guy” in Green Bay to vary from week to week. Every single one of the receivers–from Randall Cobb all the way down to Richard Rodgers– is capable of leading the team each week. Aaron Rodgers is the perfect combination of sexy AND cute lucky AND good.
We are seeing a similar situation develop in New England, where unheralded scat-back Dion Lewis emerged as the obvious Shane Vereen replacement. Much like wideouts in Packerland, RBs in New England are hard to figure out, and they tend to rotate from week to week. Unlike in Green Bay, though, it seems that some defined roles might actually be emerging. Brandon Bolden looked awful as the power back last week. It will be easy to see Legarette Blount taking over that role now that his weed suspension has ended. Lewis then falls comfortably into the change of pace and third-down receiving roles that Shane Vereen filled so well last year.
While you can never count on crazy hobo-coach Bill Belichick to stick with something, I think it’s relatively safe to say that we are going to see those two guys as the main RBs in New England for the rest of the season.
4. Jim Tomsula has had many, many jobs.
Did Jim Tomsula REALLY work as a BATTERY SEPARATOR?! DId anyone else catch that on the MNF broadcast? Is that even a real job? It doesn’t seem like a real job. This guy’s career arc looks like someone who found THE BIG BOOK OF PROFESSIONS then closed his eyes, flipped to a page, and landed on “football coach.” Despite looking like he’d be better suited as the small town sheriff, he stuck with his blindly-chosen dream and now is in charge of a team that everyone thought was going to stink in 2015. How many guys can pre-emptively retire due to concussion concerns in the SAME OFFSEASON?
Here’s Tomsula performing his newest part-time job, helmet tester
Poor Jim, right?
Wrong: he wasn’t letting any of that get him down.
Look at this guy! That’s the story, right?! The Niners DIDN’T stink in Week 1! They looked good against a much-hyped “sleeper” playoff team! Carlos Hyde looked like Frank Gore of a hundred years ago, showing patience to the hole and then accelerating like a madman once he found it. The defense was INSPIRED and held Adrian Peterson to a measly 3 yards per carry. And Jim Tomsula was the ringleader of it all, ranting and raving on the sideline like he just lost to a 12- year-old in Madden on his Xbox. It’s clear that the 49ers love playing for him…and it came out on the field.
Honestly, it also helps that he gives hope to average joe’s out there that might … just might … become a head football coach one day.
3. Tom Coughlin – It’s time to retire.
London’s “Big Ben”
From one coach, to another. Oh Tommy Boy, you hate your cars GPS, and smart phones, and were probably angry that they started using tablets instead of polaroid photos for in-game strategy. But…the clock? What do you hate the clock so much? Is it because it’s digital?
Should we get them to install one of the old-style clocks in Giants Stadium?
If you’ve read my bio, you know that I am a big Giants fan, so I’m coming from a slightly biased perspective. But, Holy Shit, did the coaches screw up the end of that game!
I’m not sure how I feel about what happened – it has been over three days now. I’m still seeing the Giants on the 4-yard line; still picturing them going up 10 with less than a minute to play; and I’m still trying desperately not to think about what really happened–lest my head explode.
The reporting and articles about it that have come out since are even more damning. The coaching staff was just willfully ignorant about the proper way to handle the last two minutes of play. This is stuff I expect from Andy Reid! Coughlin is supposed to be about discipline and time management, right? This is a guy who famously says that if you’re on-time, you’re late. And he handled the clock–and the entire end of the game–like a toddler discovering her shadow for the first time. Not expecting it to be there. Confused. Curious. Then terrified. And, finally, trying to run away.
Tom, as a lifelong Giant fan, we thank you for your service, but I think it’s time to hit the retirement home buffet line … and hard.
2. Vontae Island
Like a volcano under the sea, I don’t think the Miami Dolphins knew what was just beneath the surface when they traded Vontae Davis away in 2012 for a 2nd Round pick. What the Dolphins–and (rightfully) fired GM Jeff Ireland–didn’t know at the time was that Vontae Davis, the undersea volcano, was soon going to erupt into a full-blown island.
Vontae Island.
Davis Island?
Either one works for me, because this guy has become a menace. He completely shut down 1st-round pick, Sammy Watkins on Sunday, preventing the budding star receiver from even having a catch. More importantly, Davis was so locked in that Watkins, the presumed #1 receiver for the Bills, only had 3 targets in the game. Granted, the Bills threw the ball officially only 19 times, but with a few of QB Tyrod Taylor’s nine rushing attempts coming on presumed pass plays, let’s say the Bills threw the ball 21 or 22 times. 3 targets in 22 total attempts is a scary low number for your #1 one wideout–all because Watkins was on Vontae Island.
Davis made his first Pro Bowl last year. A breakout season from him isn’t totally surprising. But after watching the games on Sunday I think Davis belongs officially as a Top 5 CB with Revis, Sherman, Hayden, Peterson, and Davis. I’d take any of them to shut down any WR on Sunday.
1. Adam Gase is making Jay Cutler into Peyton Manning.
In what is becoming a creepy love affair for me this season, I spent most of my time Sunday watching the Packers/Bears game. There were a lot of storylines: Who would replace Jordy? Would the Bears defense be as bad as last year? The most compelling to me, though (as it has been through all of this) is Jay Cutler. He’s a mystery, a guy who plays the most important position on the field, but doesn’t seem to command teammates’ respect.
Jay Cutler, Leader?
Most interestingly, he doesn’t even seem to care!
After the Bears signed Cutler to that monster contract, there has been a lot of expectations for him to become the “Franchise QB,” a title that Cutler never seemed to want. The good news, though, is that no matter what you think about Cutler, his attitude–and his chances to be a leader–is that winning (or at least, playing well) cures a lot of wounds. And Cutler played pretty darn well on Sunday.
You could see so much Peyton Manning influence in the way the Bears were running the offense. They consistently lined up on the ball with 20+ seconds remaining on the play clock and with Cutler in the shotgun. That approach gave him a clear view of the field and let him spend the final 15 or so seconds of the play clock doing exactly what we’ve come to know from Peyton over his career–diagnosing the defense.
Maybe a lot of it was just theater, and maybe it wasn’t, but Cutler was pointing out defenders, changing plays, and generally commanding the offense on every play. Honestly, it was very interesting to watch. This isn’t something that I thought Cutler had in him. He was always a talented player with the physical tools, but to be able to dominate the line of scrimmage in this way was, well, incredible.
Granted, the Bears lost the game and a lot of that had to do with Cutler’s frustrating ability to turn the ball over at the worst times. (Call that the Eli Manning complex) He still locks in on his receiver and tries to throw the ball into tight coverage when he feels pressure. But there’s a ton of hope, at least in my mind, for what the Bears offense and Jay Cutler can become in the upcoming weeks.
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Week 1 taught us a lot but these 5 things certainly bear watching in the future. Will Vontae continue to rise to the highest of the cornerback heights? Can Cutler finally put it together with his new Peyton-influenced offense? Is it possible that Tom Coughlin can’t coach in night games because it’s past his bed time?
The best part of the NFL is that your answers are only a few days away!
