Lions: Played 2 total games and have played two total halves of football. Everyone is buying-in on the Lions new coach with these cute clips of him saying how hard they are going to work, what kind of culture they are going to build, etc. Most of you felt the same week 2 about Patricia too. You can say catch phrases and idioms until you land a Hard Knocks documentary, but you know what a good coach is? One that makes his roster better than the sum of its parts, and we haven’t seen that yet. Not saying we won’t, but being tough is not an attribute of a good coach. Andy Reid and Bill Belichick are not tough. I DON’T CARE IF MY COACH IS BLUE COLLAR, GIVE ME CUT OFF SLEEVES.
Ravens vs. Chiefs: It is just so amazing to watch Lamar Jackson play Patrick Mahomes that I am filled with crippling jealousy that other people get to watch their team play every Sunday and experience this sort of joy. Ravens have 27 injuries but have such institutional excellence that they just beat one of the best teams in the League. Did you see the clip of Harbaugh asking Lamar if he wanted to go for it? Harbaugh knew the answer, that didn’t matter. That sort of thing empowers the players, that is good coaching, that is knowing the heartbeat of the team, that is situational awareness. That is also something I haven’t been able to say about a different Harbaugh before… (I’m depressed).
Rookie QBs in the NFL: Everyone is ready to write off Zach Wilson after his week 2 performance… and so am I. It’s not so much that Zach Wilson is bad, but it is that he is bad AND on the Jets. I firmly believe that OK QB’s through the generations are wrecked by bad organizations. Joey Harrington, David Carr, Sam Darnold (he has a chance to be saved), the list goes on. Zach has no chance to make it in the NFL if he gets murdered by his own organization for the next three years. Just like Carson dude, in the blink of an eye his career came and Wentz.
NFL QBs: I would be remiss not to mention that Kyler Murray is really good and also equally fun to watch as the aforementioned Jackson and Mahomes. Derrick Carr has been somewhere between solid to great his whole career too, but everyone is too busy rooting against Gruden and Kingsbury to ever give credit to the Raiders or Cardinals. Also Brady LOL someone someone give that man a DNA test. Imagine your dad just dominating the NFL right now. The same one that makes noise every time he sits down.
College Landscape: I think we are on the eve of the greatest college football season we have had in a long time. A two loss team is going to make the final 4. There is going to be a 7 way debate on who should be in, the championship isn’t going to feature OSU, Clemson, Alabama exclusively. (Although I would bet one of them make it.) There is more parity this year than ever. No team looks untouchable through 3 weeks and more importantly teams that were only supposed to be OK look pretty solid!
Notre Dame: Kyle Hamilton is one of the most exciting defensive players I have ever seen. Please watch this dude just casually dominate at safety it is SO fun.
Schools from Michigan: They have had a mess on their o-line and defense and now and suddenly, they don’t? You know what helps those things, a run game. Or more importantly, really, really good running backs. Walker and Chorum both appear to be special. And they both have a chance to run themselves into legendary status with lots of football ahead of them. Inevitably, one or both will end up hurt because life is pain and we are doomed to suffer.
Iowa: Pretty impressed so far but could they do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke?
Oklahoma: Narrowly beats Nebraska which either means Nebraska is actually decent or Oklahoma is actually bad. And if you know my stance on Nebraska I think you know which way I am leaning.
Florida vs Bama: Florida has their best chance in a decade to beat BAMA and then they go and Florida’d it. Both teams are excellent though, hopefully Florida gets a second crack at it.
Ohio State: Two A-Tier receivers away from being basically just Michigan but in red. Getting into a duel with TULSA is not on brand for them. Neither is losing in the regular season. None of it matters if they win the Big 10 though so I will reserve my excitement for now.
Gamenotes 