FLUSHING, NY – It’s Tuesday and Football is on my mind but I have to give the Mets a quick proper. I’ve been critical of Collins but for holding that battered ship together he deserves credit. I think? The feisty band of replacements and career minor leaguers found a way. On tap is a marquee matchup of Thor vs Bum on Wednesday and it should be exciting. Bumgarner is tough but anything can happen. I’ve written this team off off about 5 times, so you know the Mets did something special, because I’m rarely wrong. Ask my wife.
With that out of the way, let’s get to football. I play hockey on Monday nights so I can’t write about the Giants game. But by the time you read this, I’m confident the Giants will have dismantled the Vikings and I will have hoisted The Cup (the Stamford Beginner League’s Cup is almost as good as Lord Stanley’s). But outside of that, here are my Top 3, Emerging 3, Falling 3, and Bottom 3 Teams. Each group is prefaced with a famous coaching tirade for fun.
The Top 3 –“They Are Who We Thought They Were”
Patriots: The Pats didn’t even know who would be starting at QB until late in the week. The backup QB ended up being WR Julian Edelman, so I think they took a conservative approach to protect their QB and his bad thumb. With Brady a week away and Gronk easing back into shape, I don’t read too much into this poor showing. Only the Broncos are ahead of them in my mind.
Broncos: Speaking of the champs, they had no trouble with the Bucs even though their starting QB went down early. With Denver’s D, I think they could bring Tebow back and they’d still be a Super Bowl favorite. Ok, maybe not Tebow.
Seahawks:– they’ve looked vulnerable at times, but they find a way to get it done. It seems like they get just enough offense to win. Beating the Jets isn’t a reason to have a parade, but this team is still a threat.
The Emerging 3 – “You Play to Win the Game”
Pittsburgh:– Man, that was a bloodbath on Sunday night. The Steelers’ OC said getting smacked around by Philly was the best thing that could’ve happened to them, because now they’re listening to the coaches. For you kids out there, listen to your coaches.
Falcons: Raise your hand if you thought Matt Ryan would be the top QB after 4 weeks. I think we all slept on these guys and they’re piling up points and have beaten some decent competition. The defense still doesn’t look great, but it might not need to be if Julio Jones keeps racking up 300 yard games.
Raiders: Their competition hasn’t been stellar and the defense has looked shaky at times, but Derek Carr is starting to look like a quality QB. Didn’t the Browns take Manziel over him? More on that later.
The Fading 3 – “Next”
Panthers: Cam looked like he easily could’ve dove harmlessly into the end zone for the two point conversion instead of standing up and getting smacked and concussed on the goal line. They gave up 48 points on Sunday, does Josh Norman make that much of a difference? Some say Denver provided the blueprint for beating them – punish Cam. Isn’t that obvious though?
Jets: Could Geno be any worse than Fitzmagic? The whole Fitz holdout thing is starting to look really dumb, as another poor performance has the Jets on the verge of a lost season. The Jets are a “Win Now” team with a backup QB. It didn’t help that Eric Big D* Decker was out. Feel free to start calling me Big D* Ben if you want. It has a nice ring to it.
Chargers: they handed one to the Saints with two late game fumbles and an ugly last 4 and out “drive” that consisted of a sack, a bad snap, a drop, and a pick. If games were 3 and half quarters, the Chargers would be 4-0. These guys remind me of the 2015 Giants.
The Bottom 3 – “Playoffs?”
Dolphins: How about Miami’s bright orange uniforms on Thursday? My color blind dog was shielding his eyes. But I know one guy who must have loved them:
In addition to the unis, the Fish stunk. Adam Gase is supposed to be a QB Whisperer who would get the best out of Tannehill. They seem to have plenty of weapons, but it hasn’t happened.
49ers: Although they showed signs of life, this team is going nowhere. This game seemed to turn on a questionable roughing the passer call when a guy named Jaquiski Tartt (I’m not kidding) blew on Prescott a little too hard from behind. Apparently it’s legal to run over Cam Newton with your car, backup over him again, and put a cigarette out on him, but giving Dak Prescott a little tickle behind the ear is not allowed. Can the Niners just put Kaepernick in already?
Browns: Rodgers, Brees, Roethlisberger, Derek Carr, Wentz, Brady – the Cleveland Browns passed on all of these quarterbacks. I know everyone passed on Brady, but it makes the list more impressive. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked out for Brady without a cheating coach? It’s the old Brady or the Belichick, chicken or the egg scenario. Regardless, the Browns might consider a dart throwing monkey at GM.
That’s it for me. Come back tomorrow for Angry Ward, a man who wouldn’t be caught dead without his bright orange leggings. Please follow us on Twitter at @benwhit8 & @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts.
