Monday, October 07, 2019

Monday morning NFL recap week 5

Yowser. These teams came to play. Scoring, scoring, scoring in the first few minutes of play. The NFL RedZone Channel was skipping so fast my head was spinning.

Steelers: Nothing worse than seeing the eyes roll up on a player as he's heading to the ground. The Steelers players have got to be rethinking this job. One too many times, they've seen an unconscious teammate lying on the ground. Damn.

  • Okay, last week we did some tricks. They worked. Against a team whose record was 0-3. Why would we try it again this week? Jalen Samuels in as quarterback? Do we not have a quarterback? Pick one and stick with him, please. Samuels drifted a throw right into the Ravens defense, and from there, with the number of penalties the Steelers racked up, they breezed into the end zone. 
  • Gotta love the defense. Three sacks by halftime. Two interceptions. If only our offense could've converted seven for those picks.
  • I had jotted down the vicious hit on the Bucs Davis III, and fifteen minutes later, our quarterback, Mason Rudolph, was unconscious on the field. I'm not sure what the hell the ref was doing, but he wasn't one of the two Steelers players trying to wake Rudolph. Their scared voices calling for help are going to haunt me. Then, oh, my gosh, JuJu Smith-Schuster running up, practically fainting at the sight, and then crawling on his knees to Rudolph? His tears? This game and the consequences of playing it are nuts. You can see why the players ask for the $$.
  • Then, by the time Rudolph came around, the damn stretcher cart didn't work? To carry the kid off the field? So unacceptable. The NFL wants to change things, yet the right equipment isn't provided to help those injured? Rudolph had to limp--and god, help me, but that was horrifying to watch--to the locker room. Stumbled is the adjective Scott Hanson from the Redzone Channel used, and that's precisely true. It was just terrible. I would have rathered his teammates carried him off. Good, lord. 
  • I'm also going to say I didn't like the way the kid looked as he walked off. Prayers for him and his family. And no, this wasn't what I'd call a vicious hit. Earl Thomas III's helmet got him in the chin. A fluke. Most of these players do not want to hurt another guy. I do believe that. It's the damn game.
  • Then we lost Washington with a shoulder injury and Barron with some hamstring injury. Ah, boy.
  • So, here came Devlin Hodges. (Notice it wasn't Jalen Samuel?). First off, another damn wildcat trick? I so wish I had emojis to use because the eye-rolling emoji would be here several times.
  • Nice punt in the fourth by Boz. Nice catch by Artie Burns on the one-yard line.
  • I liked Hodges relaxed, let's have fun, attitude. He should be fun to watch next week. Although what's with the Duck nickname?
  • The Steelers won the toss and opted to kick? Tomlin didn't like the way the kick return game had gone so far. Whatever. The defense held. 
  • Then JuJu fumbled. So, hard to watch. Kudos to Marlon Humphrey for the punch. JuJu will beat himself up. That's why the stiff arm is ridiculous. Protect the ball. It isn't worth the extra half a yard or two. That's twice now JuJu has fumbled in a critical situation. He'll work on that.
  • But hey, we held our own despite the craziness. That's not too shabby. I'm proud of the guys. That's a tough one to lose. Especially with a fumble.

Other:

  • How good was the Giants defense in the second quarter? Vikings Dalvin Cook had the run heading into the end zone. Jabrill Peppers snuck up behind him for the tackle, chopping the ball as he did so to force the interception on the one-yard line. A play later? Yeah, not so great for the Giants when the Vikings stopped them for a safety. 
  • Ejection for a vicious hit for the Bucs Carlton Davis III, who led with the helmet to take down Jared Cook. Is this really too hard for these guys to learn? I get that they don't want to hit a guy standing tall. Then lower your head and aim for the stomach. Is that not possible? 
  • The worst fumble of the day goes to Oakland's Derek Carr and Josh Jacobs. At the snap, Carr twisted to his right for a toss pitch to Jacobs, who clearly didn't get the memo. Instead, it looked like Carr wasn't paying any attention flicking the ball to--well, nobody. The Bears Khalil Mack recovered the fumble, which gave the announcers great pleasure in reminding us of Mack's trade from the Raiders to the Bears. The Bears then scored.
  • No, wait. Maybe it should go to Oakland's Davis, who fumbled in the fourth one the one-yard line while running in for a touchdown. 
  • Or, no, maybe it should go to the Falcons Mohammad Sanu, who fumbled on the one-yard line with a stretch for the end zone. A game of hot potato was played before the ball went out of bounds.
  • Nah, let's give it to the Falcons Matt Ryan, who decided to quarterback sneak into the end zone and...FUMBLED it.
  • Four missed field goals for Tennessee's Cairo Santos? Yikes. That's having a lousy day, alright. At some point, as a coach, I'd say stop sending the guy out.
  • Another terrible helmet to helmet in the Denver/Chargers game with two Broncos players De'Vante Bausby and Alexander Johnson hitting one another. Bausby was carted off the field on a stretcher (their cart worked) and headed to the hospital. That hit was a fluke as the man in the middle went to the ground, thus losing their cushioning.
  • Another big game in the throwing department--the Texans 53 points behind Deshaun Watson's five touchdowns. Would have to be the week I play against the guy who has him in fantasy.

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