Standings & Stuff: 9/29/21

Seattle QB Russell Wilson. Can he play defense? (Photo Courtesy of Duane Barker/Mid Valley Sports)

By Joe Torosian

Stuff:

Rams: Because the Cardinals are 3-0, the Rams won’t have a let down. Biggest question is Terrell Lewis replacing Justin Hollins on the Edge. Also factoring in for the first time—in maybe ever—the Rams actually have home field advantage.

Cardinals: Have lost eight straight to the Rams. Kyler Murray is 0-4 against them, completing 58.7% (75.8 QB rating), 5Tds, 4Ints, 11-sacks, only 46-yds rushing, and 3-fumbles lost. If Murray does anything on Sunday it will be the first time he’s done anything on a Sunday against the Rams.

49ers: Jimmy G. is a grinder the team is solid, but the defense…? They got away with it in Philadelphia playing Jalen Hurts, but have given up 30-burgers to Green Bay and Detroit. Offensively they’re not good enough to get into shootouts. Think they miss Robert Saleh?

Seahawks: They might win a shootout with the 49ers, but the Legion of Boom is in the long gone bye (zero interceptions). Right now, the Hawks look like the worst team in the division. No playoffs. And then the discussions begin about Pete Carroll

Stuff:

Packers: It took the Pack two weeks to wake up, but they were physical against Frisco. Offensively, as long as Davante Adams is healthy all is well. But Zen Rodgers is only throwing to Adams. The all-pro receiver has 34 targets (25-catches). The next highest is Marquez Valdes-Scantlin with 16 (6-catches) and running back Aaron Jones with 10 (10-catches). On November 28, Adams will come to SoFi and be introduced to the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey.

Bears: Justin Fields had zero protection against Cleveland, but the media has his blindside covered. “He had to share snaps in camp,” “The offensive line was horrible,” “He had to go against the Browns pass rush,”…it was everything except— “Deer in the headlights, not ready to start in the NFL.” Remember Fields struggled against Northwestern last year. I’m not saying he’s not going to be good. He’s just not ready and HC Matt Nagy knows what he’s doing.

Vikings: Putting points on the board but can’t stop anybody. Opponents are averaging nearly 5-yards a carry against them, and this week they have to stop Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Maybe if they were still playing outdoors and there was a possibility of snow. This could spin bad if they lose. They’ll be 1-3 and get the Lions, Panthers, Cowboys, Ravens, Chargers, Packers, and 49ers. Overs-Unders on HC Mike Zimmer being fired before Christmas?

Lions: This might be the best three quarter team in the division. They just don’t have enough to finish, and they’ll be going against a desperate Bears’ team at Soldier Field. They’re getting better and may—may—have started to figure the organizational stuff out. Note: Jared Goff has seven different receivers with double-digit targets. That’s a good sign.

Stuff:

Cowboys: I didn’t think the Eagles would roll over and die the way they did. Dallas looked good—against Jalen Hurts. They needed Jared Cook to sabotage the Chargers, and they lost to a Tampa team with a terrible secondary and questionable pass rush. It’s hard to pick the Cowboys at any time. Panthers game will be interesting, but they’ll be at home. So…Go Panthers!

Washington: To have a chance for the division they must beat Atlanta on Sunday. No shame losing in Buffalo, no shame losing to the Chargers but the Falcons are the low hanging fruit they must grab. Where’s the defense? One interception, only 6-sacks, 1 forced fumble, no fumble recoveries. And this defense was the reason people were believing.

Eagles: If they’re going to beat the Chiefs, they’ve got to run the ball. Even if you’re not rushing for more than 3-yards a crack, you still have to run the ball. Philly ran 12 times against Dallas, and nine of them were by Jalen Hurts. Miles Sanders only carried the ball twice. KC can’t stop the run, so what is Philly going to do?

Giants: The G-Men are 0-3, and over the next seven weeks they get the Saints, Cowboys, Rams, Panthers, Chiefs, Raiders, and Buccaneers. They could be 0-10 and—possibly—under a new management when they host Philly on November 28.

Stuff:

Buccaneers: Because of Tom Brady they’ll win the games they should win, and win a couple they shouldn’t. But until the defense wakes up they’re going to be hard pressed to repeat last season’s outcome. The South might come down to their games with Carolina in Week 16 & 18. 

Panthers: I get the feeling people are rooting for Sudden Sam Darnold. Panthers look good, their offensive line looks terrible and that’s why I don’t like their chances in Dallas this weekend. The deal for Jaguars CB, C.J. Henderson (9th overall, 2020 Draft) shows the organization’s commitment. Next year, they may contend. This year, they’re making some noise. 

Saints: How did they do that? You want to start the coach of the year conversation? Lot of easy names to throw out there. When you talk be sure to include Sean Payton. He’s managing through hurricanes, hotel rooms, COVID protocols, and bringing balance to Jameis Winston’s game. I think they’re a third place team but if the Panthers or Bucs fool around with them—they’ll pay.

Falcons: They get the Jets this week and will go to 2-2 before falling to 2-7 with consecutive losses to Miami, Carolina, New Orleans, Dallas, and New England in coming weeks. How much trouble is Atlanta in? Cordarrelle Patterson is listed on the depth chart at running back—and getting touches.

Stuff:

Raiders: The running game is the concern. They can’t keep leaning on Derek Carr to produce a miracle. The defense is okay…but for it to get better the rushing game is going to need to pick it up. Peyton Barber, recently unemployed, is the leading rusher with 143-yards on 36 carries. Not bad, but they’ll need more. I hear the Colts have put Marlon Mack on the trading block…?

Broncos: They’ll be tested this week. Make no mistake, they have not been tested thus far. Their three opponents to start the season are a combined 0-9. They should beat Baltimore, but if they don’t the house could tumble down.

Chargers: So Jared Cook played a part in costing them one game, and nearly an other. How long will it be until they stop using him in goal line situations? Sounds harsh, but KC’s poor play has opened the door to the West. The Broncos haven’t been tested and the Raiders are the football definition of bipolar. The opportunity’s there. Limit Cook, tighten up the offensive penalties, and get ready for the hurricane of Las Vegas, Cleveland, Baltimore, and New England.

Chiefs: We said it last week…The days of just showing up and saying we’re the Chiefs are over. If you believe your team is a contender then it’s joke to say your defense is anything other than terrible. It currently ranks 31st in stopping the run and has just four sacks. Wake up, smell the pizza, this team—at this moment—looks like a Wildcard entry.

Stuff:

Browns: Good team with an excellent pass rush that masks a suspect secondary. Lost to KC who has Patrick Mahomes. Beat Texans and Bears, who don’t have a quarterback. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. Browns are the class of the North.

Ravens: This team is as strong—or holding on by—Lamar Jackson’s two knees. They go to Denver this week, and the game should be close, but the Broncos defense is better than the stop-units in Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Detroit. Baltimore feels like a 10-7 team—if Lamar holds up.

Bengals: Cincy will be 3-1 after beating the Jaguars this Thursday. Amazing, I don’t think this team is going to the playoffs, but I think they could keep a few teams from getting to the post-season. O-line needs to open some holes for Joe Mixon…more importantly they need to keep Joe Burrow upright. Burrow has already been sacked 10 times, and is on pace be sacked more than 50-times this season. 

Steelers: Offensive line is a bigger problem than the aged (not aging) Ben Roethlisberger. OC Matt Canada needs to get creative in moving the ball on the ground, but with this offensive line he needs a creative quarterback. That’s not happening with a 39-year-old signal caller in his 18th season. Bench him and see if you can eek anything out of Dwayne Haskins or…or…sign Cam Newton.

Stuff:

Bills: That loss to Pittsburgh feels like it was a million years ago. Right now, today, they are the class of the AFC. Health and focus will be the determinate going forward. The defense is improved and Josh Allen is warming up. They’ll get tested at KC in two weeks but overall they have a very favorable schedule.

Dolphins: Dreams of a division title have morphed into surviving the season and getting a Wildcard berth. Jacoby Brissett needs to play well in his return to Indy. Dolphins don’t want to go to Tampa Bay 1-3. The defense is okay but they need to do a better job of getting to the quarterback. Only 5-sacks to start the season.

Patriots: Before you cancel MacMania see that two of his three picks were not his fault. On one play he got smashed on delivery, and the other his tight-end presented the ball to the defense like a holiday gift basket. They should be the dawgs agains the Bucs this week, but expect a bounce back—especially since Tampa can’t seem to buy sack.

Jets: What is there to say about the Jets? After Broadway Joe there’s been; Broadway Richard (Todd), Broadway Ken (O’Brien), Broadway Boomer (Esiason), Broadway Neil (O’Donnell), Broadway Vinny (Testaverde), Broadway Chad (Pennington), Broadway Brett (Favre), Broadway Mark (Sanchez), Broadway Geno (Smith), Broadway Sam (Darnold), and now Broadway Zach.

Instead of another Broadway, it’s time bring in Father Merrin and Father Karras to get the demons out of the building.

Stuff:

Titans: Is there any reason to believe the Titans shouldn’t win this division? Literally, all they have to do is keep pounding the rock to King Henry. Eventually the receiving corps will get healthy, and they’ll get to 10 or 11 wins. The defense is competent but only has one pick and one fumble recovery on the season. That puts a lot of pressure on a running team to be perfect. Which is tough because the offense doesn’t get to play Seattle every week.

Texans: Far from the joke everyone was making them out to be. Davis Mills has shown enough for HC David Culley to give him the keys to the car. That sucks for Tyrod Taylor, but this team wasn’t going to the playoffs. Find out what you have in Mills, the rest irrelevant.

Colts: Injuries on the offensive line and Carson Wentz are a lethal mix. The scheme has to be economized and Jonathan Taylor needs a whole lot more touches. Too good of a team to be this bad, but it’s like they’re caught in a vortex and going down.

Jaguars: This will turn around quicker than people think. They only allowed 23 points to the undefeated Denver Broncos. And they had a shot against the Arizona Cardinals. They’re going to get on the board, I don’t know when, but they’re going to get on the board. The trade for tight-end Dan Arnold was all about finding a security blanket for Trevor Lawrence.

Joe T.’s Record

Stuff: I can’t separate my hatred for the Cowboys from intellect. Too much emotion…I’ll try to be colder…Only five games above .500 is insulting for someone who “thinks” he knows something about football.

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Joe T. is the author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” … “Temple City & The Company of The Ages” … “The Dead Bug Tales” … “The Dark Norm” & “FaithViews for Storm Riders”…all five available through Amazon.com.

www.JoeTorosian.com
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
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Be sure to read:
College Hoops Breakdown—by Riley Saxon
The Urena Express—by Steven Urena (MLB)
From The RamCave—by Joe T. (Every Friday)