First Down
The Jets are 2-7 and Sam Darnold had something interesting to say.
The #Jets are 2-7, a week ago they lost to the 0-7 #Dolphins, but Sam Darnold has faith after beating the #Giants
"We still have a chance at the playoffs."pic.twitter.com/aqRr91BTAK
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 10, 2019
I need the number to his optimism plug.
Truth is…he’s not wrong. The Jets have not been eliminated from playoff contention just yet.
Here’s what needs to happen if the Jets want to taste the postseason for the first time since 2010.
As everything stands right now the Jets are ranked 15th out of 16 teams in the AFC playoff race. They are three games behind the Steelers for the final wild card spot.
The Jets needs to win out and go 9-7. This would include wins over the Raiders, Ravens, Steelers, and Bills. That would make their division record 2-4 and their conference record 6-6. It would honestly be one of the greatest turnarounds in NFL history.
- Every other team needs to fall off a cliff and boom, the Jets are in.
This isn’t a post meant to rag on the Jets; they aren’t actually as bad as we think.
I get it; there are those who are old school and believe that you’re only as good as your record and that’s true. The hope for Jets fans is that they, for once, have the building blocks for a better future.
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Let’s start with Sam Darnold. He ranks 26th out of 32 quarterbacks in QBR. Not great but his completion % is up from his rookie year. There are also plays like this that have Jets fans foaming at the mouth.
If Patrick Mahomes made this throw everyone would be blowing this up and it would be another top 10 play
Since it’s Sam Darnold, it is not getting recognized like it should
Sam some how keeps his balance and throws a dart to Robby while he is getting brought to the ground👀 pic.twitter.com/cTLJUmOgQK
— 𝙅𝙀𝙏𝙎 𝙈𝙀𝘿𝙄𝘼🛫 (@NYJets_Media) November 11, 2019
And this one.
SAM DARNOLD IS BACK.
92-yard throw to Robby Anderson for SIX.
(via @NFLonCBS)pic.twitter.com/EisIL1NfTP
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) October 13, 2019
I’m not anointing Darnold the next great QB because Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, and Pat Mahomes are taking that spot but he does have the tools needed to be an average/above average QB in the NFL. You can win with that if he is surrounded by the right pieces.
That leads to his offensive weapons…or lack thereof.
Robby Anderson, Le’Veon Bell, and Jamison Crowder aren’t bad pieces but it’s quite possible that both Bell and Anderson will be somewhere else next year. If new GM Joe Douglas is as smart and he’s touted to be it’d be smart toe pay Anderson and see if you can flip Bell for a 3rd round pick. The goal should be to surround Darnold with as many offensive weapons as possible.
That includes building through the trenches. PFF ranks the Jets offensive line 30th out of 32 NFL teams. Das not good.
Time for a bright spot: the defense.
A 3-4 unit that’s headlined by Jamal Adams, Quinnen Williams, and CJ Mosley this unit can wreak havoc when healthy.
Jamal Adams jumped over the line of scrimmage to make the 4th down stop. Channeling his inner Polamalu.
Adams finished Sunday’s game with 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and a TD. Beast.
(video via @NYJEraWRLD)
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 11, 2019
Hopefully Adams can get on the same page with the front office and this train can keep moving.
The Jets are closer to playoff contention then they realize…so they’re probably going to screw this up.
Sorry, no hope here.
Second Down
The Seahawks/49ers game was, easily, the best game of the year so far.
Missed it? Here are the highlights.
Trust tree moment: yours truly went to bed early and missed this thriller so it’s safe to question my opinion on all things football, right?
With that being known let’s get to some takes.
- The 49ers are good but is Jimmy G good enough to take them over the top? Can he throw anything other than slant routes?
- No lead is safe when Russell Wilson is on this earth.
- Josh Gordon was the missing piece, wasn’t he?
- Any offense where the fullback is the key isn’t really an offense.
- San Francisco’s d-line is some kind of nasty.
- Will ESPN ever get the MNF broadcast team right?
As of now the Hawks are 8-2 and it’s not that hard to envision them in the Super Bowl. Lamar Jackson is the MVP but Wilson is hot on his heels (who came up with that?) and closing the gap every week.
We can only hope Seattle makes a run because America needs more Pete Carrol befuddled face,
https://twitter.com/OSf49ers/status/1194088397385687041
Third Down
This is interesting.
NFL clubs were informed today that a private workout will be held for Colin Kaepernick on Saturday in Atlanta. Session will include on-field work and an interview. All clubs are invited to attend, and video of both the workout and interview will be made available to clubs.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 12, 2019
This, too, is interesting.
As Colin Kaepernick tweeted, the NFL didn't inform his reps of Saturday's workout in Atlanta until this morning. Kaepernick's reps asked for workout to be on a Tuesday, the day of most workouts, but NFL said it had to be this Saturday. He asked for a later Saturday; NFL said no.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2019
Now some of you cornballs are going to say he still can’t play while simultaneously tune in to watch the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Mitchell Trubisky, Ryan Finley, Brandon Allen, Brian Hoyer, Jameis Winston, and Ryan Tannehill play for your favorite team.
Here’s your next cornball excuse: He hAsN’T PlaYeD IN THrEE YEarS as if the Washington racial slurs didn’t pull Josh Johnson from the scrapheap last season to play in real NFL games.
Every week I put a friendly reminder that Kap is being blackballed by the NFL for exercising his God given right to protest peacefully. A protest, mind you, that is centered around police brutality and social injustice. Not your dorky “he hates the police” or “respecting the flag” foolishness you pulled outta thin air.
Second trust tree moment: as promising as this sounds it probably won’t lead to Kap getting a job. If there’s one thing billionaires are good at it’s putting their heels in the ground and refusing to budge, not matter how stupid their stance is.
Also, it’s a scam.
What NFL workout in this history of workouts happen on Saturday in the middle of the season? Do you know where scouts and high level execs will be that day? A college football stadium scouting for the draft or with the team prepping for the game that’s less than 24 hours away.
How will this workout actually work? Most of these are scripted by the quarterback and his trainer ahead of time. Who will be in charge? Will Kap get to throw to the receivers he’s been working with the last 3 years or will the NFL bring wideouts with them?
This reeks of a final PR push to keep him out of the league.
You know what, there’s time. Let’s list every quarterback that Kap is better than. The following people have jobs over Kap. No need to link their names, you wouldn’t know them even if you saw their face.
- Brett Hundley
- Matt Barkley
- Chase Daniel
- AJ McCarron
- Matt Moore
- Trevor Siemian
- Blake Bortles
- Mike Glennon
- Nate Sudfeld
- Blaine Gabbert
- Geno Smith
- Josh McCown
- Matt Shaub
- Drew Stanton
- The seven quarterbacks mentioned at the beginning.
The NFL is, and will probably continue, to blackball Kap.
Shoutout to Megan Rapinoe for this one.
Megan Rapinoe minced no words about Colin Kaepernick at Glamour's women of the year awards Monday: https://t.co/9SgoSPFqV8 pic.twitter.com/tJmIHdmXJt
— Rachel Bachman (@Bachscore) November 12, 2019
Fourth Down
Let’s do these picks.
Last week was rough ending in 5-8 and a yearly total of 59-37.
Time to do better, winners are in red.
Thursday Night
Pittsburgh @ Cleveland
Sunday Afternoon
New York Jets @ Washington
Jacksonville @ Indianpolis
Buffalo @ Miami
Dallas @ Detroit
Houston @ Baltimore
Atlanta @ Carolina
New Orleans @ Tampa Bay
Denver @ Minnesota
Arizona @ San Francisco
New England @ Philadelphia
Cincinnati @ Oakland
Sunday Night
Chicago @ Los Angeles Rams
Monday Night
Kansas City @ Los Angeles Chargers
Extra Points
All it takes is one person to believe in you.
"You changed the game, man."
Coach Harbaugh's sideline convo with @Lj_era8 at Cincinnati: pic.twitter.com/RR5buBCK3X
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 11, 2019
All the Dak jokes, please.
https://twitter.com/NFLMemez/status/1193739395653746691
Wrong, but funny.
Murray/Winston jersey swap 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/yXJXRVb59b
— BLACK ADAM SCHEFTER (@B1ackSchefter) November 11, 2019
I’m shocked this doesn’t happen more often.
Kenny Golladay spots the ball himself almost two yards ahead of where went down.
Ref: OK cool, thanks Kenny that looks okay.pic.twitter.com/J3nWLTwqKF
— Bad Sports Refs (@BadSportsRefs) November 10, 2019
One more time for Lamar.
King shit pic.twitter.com/C45Stf6qPw
— Mallory Rubin (@MalloryRubin) November 10, 2019
As always, thanks for reading.
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