Week 3 Overreactions

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to take down the AFC North:

The media simply could not say a good thing about Justin Fields prior to the 2024 season. After a 3-0 start, in which Fields has turned the ball over only one time the team seems to have a confidence that no other team in their division has. Last year their defense had a gaping hole in the middle of the field with no real middle linebacker to hold it down in that area leaving them susceptible to big plays over the middle of the field. With the addition of Patrick Queen that problem has been solved overnight. In years past for the Steelers their QB play has been downright pathetic with Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky, and Ben Roethlisberger having no ability to keep the offense on the field and their defense on the sideline. Now that the Steelers can give their defense rest the unit has been otherworldly through the first three weeks. The Chargers had 168 total yards this Sunday and on the season this defense has given up more than ten points in any contest. T.J Watt and Alex Highsmith completely wreck the game on the edge, Patrick Queen inserts as a shutdown middle linebacker that studied under Roquan Smith in Baltimore, and their secondary has no weakness with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Joey Porter Jr., and Donte Jackson playing lights out so far with the help of their elite pass rushing unit. Right now the Steelers are entering every Sunday playing their game. When teams line up across from them they have to play the Steelers game with bruising hits, physicality, and a level of fear that only comes when you have to play the best edge rusher in the game, T.J Watt. Offenses look discombobulated whenever they play Mike Tomlin’s game and that was most definitely the case for the Chargers offense who came into this matchup red hot with the help of their new head coach Jim Harbaugh, but were no match for the unit that lined up across from them. As Fields grows and gets comfortable in this offense I truly think he could be the guy that takes this team over the top. I mean he’s playing the best ball he possibly can playing behind the Steelers sketchy offensive line and with his ability to run alongside Warren and Najee the team might be unstoppable when teams have to play their game of ground and pound, short passes, and simply possessing the football. Their division rivals this year also look weaker than ever and have me confident that the Steelers can split at the very least with Baltimore and Cincinnati and probably sweep the Browns who don’t even have a real quarterback. Cincinnati is reeling after getting nuked by a weak Commanders offense and seemingly have no answers on the defensive side of the ball when it comes to their secondary and run defense. I think Cincy still poses the biggest threat to them with the Ravens just melting down whenever they have the lead and not looking too dynamic through week three. We will see how it pans out, but this overreaction might come into fruition.

Jared Goff has played terrible football through 3 weeks:

Yes I am a die hard Lions fan and I know our roster is full of stars, but Goff has looked awful in these first few weeks. The pick he threw against the Cardinals to Dennis Gardeck was unacceptable to say the least. He threw it directly to him and he was sitting in a zone anticipating Goff’s throw for a good two to three seconds before he released it. This game should’ve been a massacre with how bad the Cardinals played on the offensive side of the ball and how exceptional Detroit’s defense played, but Goff’s struggles continue to plague the Lions. Goff against the Buccaneers probably played the least inspired ball I’ve seen with two picks that were costly and checkdowns to Jahmyr Gibbs in the last forty seconds that made the Lions lose the game. The Buccaneers were rotating coverages, confusing Goff, and sending heat to make him meltdown, which isn’t a good sign when you realize we signed him to a massive contract in the offseason. He’s a statue versus pressure, and when defenses disguise their looks he struggles mightily. I need to see Goff pick up his game and Ben Johnson to truly start dialing up something special because we have all the pieces to be the elite offense that people projected us to be. I think some of the plays called on short yardage downs versus Arizona were mind boggling. The amount of times the Lions ran into the teeth of their defense that was sending the house was unreal. They were run committing up the middle like a game of Madden yet we don’t mix up the play or do anything to indicate that we weren't running it right at them. Tipping plays is something my Lions seem to have a problem with both on offense and defense this year. I’m done seeing corners nine yards off the ball, blitzes from the nickel that are obviously shown, and more. Stafford against the Lions in week one would see that blitz coming, check the play call to a speed out, and throw the ball right into the area that the Lions blitz vacated. Aaron Glenn had a nice game this week, but Goff and Ben Johnson simply have to be better for the Lions to be elite contenders once again this year. 

Rachaad White is toast:

Before I get flamed for Bucky Irving glazing let me leave you with this. Bucky Irving has averaged 6.2 yards per carry this season, while Rachaad White has averaged 2.1 yards per carry. White has six more carries than Bucky Irving and 88 less yards. If you want to argue about Bucky Irving feasting in garbage time, open up YouTube on your phone and type in, “Bucky Irving every run versus Broncos.” Then scroll down and you will see a reel saying to prioritize him on waivers with a clip of Bucky juking Alex Singleton out of his cleats. White has always struggled on the ground and if the Buccaneers want to bounce back from arguably the worst loss of the week then the running game HAS to get going to help Baker out. Baker’s greatest success in the NFL came behind a ground game in Cleveland that was top notch and it opened up the play action passing game, which he feasted upon. Bucky looks explosive and adds an element with his quick cuts and elite bursts of speed that Tampa just hasn’t had in years. Every time Bucky has gotten work he seems to break out a thirty plus yard run as if it is easy to him and watching him play the game is a sight to behold if you love elite running back play. I totally see Bowles abandoning White because of how one dimensional he is and without Dave Canales to highlight White’s pass catching in the game plan he might be faded out of the rotation in the backfield in the near future. Irving came in as a receiving back as well so the argument for White being an exceptional pass catcher no longer holds as much weight as it used to. I’m intrigued by this situation and am curious about how it will pan out. Not looking good if you’re a Rachaad White fan. Do fans of his exist?

Minshew Mania may have already died in Las vegas:

This truly pains me as a huge fan of the journeyman, but what did I just witness on Sunday. He’ll be a gunslinger one minute making throws you never would expect him to make and then he’ll follow it up by looking panicked in the pocket and throwing ducks all over the field. This game was projected to be a blowout and although he doesn’t deserve all the blame their offense was a complete non factor against potentially the worst defense in the entire NFL. Jack Jones on the defensive side of the ball might just need to be cut from the Raiders. The guy’s effort was pathetic taking every snap off from the game start to finish. Anywho, Minshew just needed to have a better performance against the Panthers this week and after what he put up it’s trending towards Aidan O’Connell assuming the starting role more and more. I can’t justify starting him when he hasn’t truly flourished with the many weapons the Raiders have in the passing game. Bowers, Addams, and Jakobi Meyers would be a dream situation for most quarterbacks so if Minshew truly can’t elevate this unit to a top ten offense then it’s time for him to be the backup. AOC improved significantly throughout last season and competed in matchups where the Raiders were outmanned and did so with no complaints. He made mistakes, but for a guy that had zero expectations he did a lot better than most rookie quarterbacks usually do. I need something to change about this Raiders team because the unit as a whole is underperforming in every single area. Outside of a horrendous Ravens collapse or a magical comeback depending on what lens you use, their team has looked uninspired. Head coach Antonio Pierce needs this season after his wife plunged him, unknowingly, into millions of dollars in debt, so he might just want to take a gamble on the guy that won football games for Las Vegas last year, Aidan O’Connell.

Josh Allen is the best QB in the NFL currently:

This guy truly never fades. He is prime Lighting McQueen with how dominant he is within his division. Every year Allen wills the Buffalo Bills to the division title and so far he has played incredible football throughout the first three weeks of the season. Can’t stop him on the ground, can’t stop him through the air, and his biggest knock with turnovers hasn’t been a knock this year. So far he has nine total touchdowns and zero turnovers. He wasn’t even needed in Buffalo’s Miami massacre in South Beach and in each game the Bills have put up 30+ points. He has a cannon of an arm and even with the media’s fixation on the lack of success he’s had versus Mahomes and the Chiefs he doesn’t care one bit. His defense sold him in their electric 78 point game in 2022 with Gabe Davis going nuclear and in 2023 Stefon Diggs had one of the worst drops I have ever witnessed in my life. Never letting Diggs live this drop down after the amount of torment he gave Josh Allen last year. Anyways Allen seems to have found a comfort with Joe Brady calling plays in Buffalo because Ken Dorsey was just not the guy for Josh Allen. He was too one dimensional with his play calling and wanted to prioritize the run game too much to the point where the rhythm of their passing game got disrupted. It’s hard to not root for the competitor that is Josh Allen and this year he is taking his game to another level. He had 200 yards in the first half of their contest with Jacksonville last night and made their defense look like a JV squad out there. I’m taking Allen over Lamar in a heartbeat since he’s a far more polished passer and Mahomes is truly his only competition. It’s just that I don’t treat Mahomes the same because the Chiefs offense is largely based on short, quick passes using Rashee Rice like Deebo Samuel. Allen is going to have a great shot at bringing in the MVP trophy this year and I’m excited to see how far he can take this Bills squad with Rodgers and the Jets right there with him. These two teams playing each other should make for some incredibly enticing divisional matchups for football fans everywhere. I’m ready for it.

Eagles are set up to be dominant, the Devonta Smith hit was heinous:

Saquon looks like a back from a different era this season. He has been by far the best runner of the football by a landslide and if the Eagles secondary starts to gel more throughout the course of this year, they might be poised for a Super Bowl run. Hurts has looked terrible and the team has dearly missed A.J Brown, yet they are 2-1 losing to the Falcons due to a Saquon Barkley drop and a defensive meltdown during Kirk’s two minute drill. Devonta Smith looks incredible this year as well through three games. I truly underrated his play due to his small frame that had me thinking he was more prone for injuries, but he protects himself well considering all opposing teams put a bounty on his head every game. The hit the New Orleans Saints defensive end put on him this Sunday was truly foul to say the least. How is there no flag on a play where a wide receiver’s forward progress is stopped and then he is carried back five yards into a defensive end that leads with his helmet and his shoulder into a defenseless player? I mean c’mon man he popped his helmet off on a play that was blown dead and the guy got knocked out. The play was disgusting to watch if you are a fan of good football because that cheapshot was bush league to put it kindly. If I’m an Eagles fan I would be extremely irate with how that play went down. There’s no place for bullshit like that in this league. The most promising thing that came out of the poorly executed Saints game yesterday was that Goedert got back up to full speed in this offense. This offense at full force if Jalen can hone in his powers and play like he did in the Super Bowl against the Chiefs will be the best in all of football with relative ease. Nobody in their division is too scary right now as well, which makes for an easy path to a divisional title. AJ Brown when he did play against the Green Bay Packers looked like a different ball player in terms of straight line speed. He absolutely toasted Jaire Alexander on a bomb in Week 1 and in the offseason Brown losing weight might have been colossal for this balanced Eagles offense moving forward considering Brown and Smith are two of the games most talented wideouts. The two can kill you with route running, physicality at the catch point, and elite speed, which makes for an offense that just doesn’t have a defensive answer to shut them down. Fly Eagles fly.

Dallas Cowboys MUST trade Micah Parsons before it’s too late:

The way this roster is constructed the team simply can’t afford to give Micah Parsons the contract he desires and considering he has elite pass rush talent any team would likely give up a boatload of picks to acquire the man. If Jerry Jones was smart he would do it right now because Parsons has done next to nothing against the run and hasn’t dominated games with his pass rush either yet, so the window for opportunity is closing as each week passes. The draft pick haul from Micah could seriously revive the Cowboys future that is far more grim than most people might think. Dak is notorious for fading through two quarters and then turning on the burners when his team is against the wall, which just isn’t a recipe for success. I’ve seen the same song and dance with Detroit and Matthew Stafford. Stafford would have games with three and outs, Detroit would go down big, and then sometimes the hill would be too steep to climb for the comeback king.  It’s just not a nice recipe for a contender to have and if the Cowboys want to build a solidified perennial contender squadron then they need the draft capital that Parsons would generate. Jerry Jones has been awful for this franchise and his failure to address the offensive line, running back room, and run defense in 2024 should be studied in history books one day. Do something Jerry because the only way this team could currently be considered America’s team is if clips from their games ended up on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Ryan Poles is LAUGHABLY BAD as a GM:

Everyone didn’t think this would be the case before the season after his heroic DJ Moore Panthers trade, but since that he has just squandered the Bears opportunity to contend. I thought he was bad though! Good thing the Bears loaded up on skill position talent in the offseason with an offensive line that would struggle against good college defensive lines! Keenan is ancient and likely won’t do anything to take this Bears offense to the next level and Rome Odunze is getting cheated along with DJ Moore because Caleb Williams can’t operate the offense effectively. It’s all in part due to horrid offensive play calling from Shane Waldron who doesn’t seem to understand how truly terrible his offensive line is. I mean this team has a nice defense, yet they should be 0-3 after the Titans handed them two free touchdowns in a game they had wrapped up. Signing Swift was an astronomically terrible signing considering Swift has only played behind the top two offensive lines in the NFL and has a glaring problem with his vision. He has nice skills as a runner of the football, but how can he get going when the offensive line gets knocked over like bowling pins. The play against the Colts on 4th and goal when they ran a speed option I laughed pretty hard when I saw Swift lose 13 yards and four Colts players were there to hit him. On that play four offensive lineman for the Bears were on the turf. How is that even possible? It’s so embarrassing to see how bad the Bears are considering how goofy analysts were about them in the preseason. Nick Wright along with many other prominent “Analysts” had this team as a top 5 roster in the NFL and had them in the playoffs. What a joke. Poles completely failed when it came to giving his rookie Mahomey QB a shot to compete and it has been quite obvious through three games that the Bears are a LONG way from contending. THey are the worst team in the NFC North.