ATLANTA It should be obvious now, as the Los Angeles Rams feel the slings and arrows from around the league for gorging on the present at the expense of the future, what the identity of this franchise is. They completed three trades in an afternoon last week, for goodness sake, two involving Pro Bowl players. Its not about the PSLs or filling the new stadium next year or knee-jerking a response to a three-game losing streak.
Its about the personality of the people who lead the team. And in a larger sense its about a sea change in how the new wave of GMs and team architects are approaching the NFL. Last Tuesday, when GM Les Snead had completed two deals from his California officeacquiring offensive lineman Austin Corbett from Cleveland and trading cornerback Marcus Peters to Baltimorehe was working on a third. Snead and GM Dave Caldwell of Jacksonville were close to doing a mega-trade for dissatisfied Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
In a Ritz Carlton ballroom in Fort Lauderdale, during the NFLs fall meeting, Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Rams Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff awaited word on the deals. Around 4:30 p.m. ET, Snead and football VP Tony Pastoors both pinged Demoff with details of the first two trades. Demoff showed Kroenke the news. Not a bad afternoons work for Snead and his staff.
Not enough.
Kroenke didnt pump a fist; its not his way. Instead, he asked Demoff about the unhappy Jaguar. He wondered, Is the Ramsey deal still in play? It was, and within an hour, that was done tooRamsey for the Rams first-round pick in 2020 and first and fourth-round picks in 2021, even though L.A. is buying Ramsey for only the remaining 1.5 seasons of his rookie contract. The Rams are optimistic about signing him long-term, but have no guarantee of employing Ramsey beyond the expiration of his contract in 14 months.
Three trades in five hours. Now it was Saturday, in the bar of the teams Buckhead hotel, the day before Rams-Falcons, and Demoff and Snead dissected what the team had done, and what it meant. This is who we are, Demoff said. This is what we do. This is our belief as an organization. Stan isnt fearful, Les isnt fearful, and [coach] Sean [McVay] isnt fearful. This league is so fast-moving. It hasnt been this way forever for us, but now, were going to value the great player over the potential of a draft choice.
For a guy whod been on the team for four days, Ramsey didnt seem like much of a newcomer in the 37-10 rout of the pathetic Falcons. He didnt give the full Jalen, but it was close. He didnt start. He came in early in dime packages only, where he could match up against Julio Jones, mostly in bump coverage in the left slot or wide left or right. He did play in the regular scheme later, and it appeared he played six or seven snaps in the Rams zone coverage. In all, after two practices, he played 36 of the Rams 53 defensive snaps.
Ramsey was not a shutdown corner Sunday. In coverage snaps against Jones, he allowed four catches for 69 yards. He used a jarring hit on Devonta Freeman to force a fumble that the Rams should have recovered but lost in a scrum. Ramsey also demonstrated why hes a cornerback so many receivers love to hate. On six different occasions, he yapped full-throated at Jones; its a wonder with the blizzard of flags in the league now why Ramsey didnt get one for taunting/berating. Ramseys the classic case of a guy you hate when your team plays him, but you like his results when hes on your team.
I talk sh every game, said Ramsey, matter-of-factly and unapologetically, in a short madhouse locker-room scrum after the game.
In the upset of the week, his back seemed just fine.
When this was still a game in the second quarter, in an eight-play sequence, Jones beat Ramsey twice for significant plays. First, a quick slant from right to left for 17 yards, when Jones got inside Ramsey and sprinted toward the middle with a full stride on him. Then, a simple go route down the right sideline. Gain of 39. Jones simply out-raced Ramsey. So Jones didnt torch Ramsey; overall, he got the better of him, but it was a good contest.
If I was really in my groove, like on my sh, it would really be scary out there, he said.
Good for Ramsey in not bragging about his game, because it was a decent performance. Thats it. But maybe thats to be expected after three weeks off with an injury no one in Jacksonville believed was an injury.
I feel like I played okay, he said. Ive got to get in my groove a little bit more. Theres maybe one, maybe two plays I wanted to have back or play a little bit different.
For a game at least, all was right with the Rams. After losing three straight, this was a good week for a star-jolt, and for a soft underbelly of the schedule. The Rams stay in Atlanta to practice this week before over-nighting to London on Thursday evening, then playing the Bengals at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. Combined Falcons/Bengals record: 1-13.
Theres enough in what the Rams are doing for a book about how modern football is changing. I dont have time for a book, so lets do Cliffs Notes. The Rams are not alone in bulking up on trades. Cleveland, Baltimore, Oakland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh (!) are dipping their toes in the pool more than they used to, or more than their predecessors. This could be an outlier season regarding trades, but I doubt it. With eight days to go before the trading deadline, see how times have changed in 10 years:
2009: 39 trades in the calendar year, involving 50 players. Seven traded players were Pro Bowlers at least once.
2019: 54 trades (with eight days left in the period), involving 69 players. Thirteen have been to at least one Pro Bowl.
Thats a snapshot, not a long-term study. But it just feels like trading has picked up, and though the Rams may be at the head of the pack, theyre not alone. One GM told me over the weekend when I relayed those trading stats: I bet that numbers ends up at 65.
Ive been thinking about it, said Hall of Fame GM Bill Polian, and I want to withhold final judgment, but there are a few factors. Miamis getting rid of players. The Rams are aggressive. And I think for players with leverage, they see this as being the NBA. Ill go where I want to go. Ramsey, Antonio Browntrade me, and the hell with the consequences. But theres also a little bit of the old [Dodgers GM] Branch Rickey in some of the newer GMs. Rickey said, The only title you can win is the title you can win this year.
Polian then made a fascinating point: He said he didnt want to be a curbstone psychologist. But he said, I think this generation of GMs might be a little more transactional. It used to be not many GMs thought about taking risks. They were from a generation where their parents might have grown up in the Depression, or remembered the Depression. Life was hard enough without taking risks. Today, the idea that you can make these decisions and change your team quickly is inculcated in this generation. Im not sure of that, but it seems to be true.
I love that theory. I think it is dead-on. Why wait to fix a problem when you might get fired after two years? When I told Demoff and Snead, they were fascinated. Bill makes a great point about our league now, and your trade data backs up the fact its not just us. Bill Belichick is great at it too. When they have a hole, he doesnt wait. He attacks. He trades. He takes chances too.
Demoff pounced next: The NBA is coming to the NFL. This [the Ramsey trade] is a similar case to those NBA deals.
Prior team-building formulas, where you basically had guys for their careers, is pretty much over, he said. Think of the guys whove moved in the past year. Khalil Mack. Marcus Peters. Jalen Ramsey. Jarvis Landry. Laremy Tunsil
Odell! Snead interjected.
Beckham tooforgot him, Demoff said. But I think theres one other important factor here. Today, its easier to find ways to measure performance. Theres a rise of analytics, theres better technology, better and more accurate data. What weve found is you can find undervalued players easier than before. So I think football people are getting better at synthesizing data to find players.
I had one more question: All indications are that Ramsey pulled a power play to force his way out of Jacksonville. They werent going to trade him until he basically just stopped playing. Do you have any fear thatll happen here?
No, Snead said. I can honestly say I do not fear that. Hes coming to L.A., which is where players love to play. Hes got Sean, who is great at creating a culture players thrive in.
The Rams are a destination place now. But in trading two first-rounders for Ramsey, theyve basically gone all-in on paying him for the long term. And already they are paying four players top-of-market deals: quarterback Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley, wideout Brandin Cooks and defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Peters was jettisoned to Baltimore in part because L.A. knew it didnt want to pay him in the $15-million-a-year range long-term after this season; Baltimore may not either, but they needed a playmaking cornerback for this season. And though Ramsey could make more than Peters, thats coming in 2021, not 2020. Getting Ramsey now gives the Rams two seasonsand, as importantly, two postseasonsto maximize their window.
One thing worries me, even with the cap rising $10/12 million a year. When players get quite good, will the Rams, as the Ravens have done regularly, be willing to let them go to get the compensatory third/fourth-round pick? I present the case of wide receiver Cooper Kupp. He has become Jared Goffs favorite target.(Targets in 2019: Kupp 78, Robert Woods 58, Brandin Cooks 44.)At $1.05 million and $1.2 million through the end of 2020, Kupp is incredible value. You cant pay em all, and Kupp could be a casualty of Ramseys arrivalif the Rams pay to keep him. Thats an issue for 2021, but the Rams must have angst about it now.
The Rams way is just not sustainable, one veteran front-office man (not a GM) told me Friday. You cannot pay all those guys in a cap era. Maybe. But Id have two rejoinders, neither of which is, Its going to be a lot of fun to watch. One: The Rams have found some pretty good low-cost players in the process. Two: It probably depends on the development of Jared Goff more than anything else, because no one wins everything without very good play out of the quarterback.
The Ramsey deal went over big in the locker room, as youd figure it would. Dont discount the importance of that. Players loved it, Goff said. Going out and seeing him at practice the other daywow. Thats something players really like.
When your team is built for the now, safety Eric Weddle told me in the locker room Sunday, and you have a chance in the future to have two of the best players in this league to build around, Jalen and Aaron Donald, you can get role players to build around them. In all honesty, a draft pick around 25 or 30 youre probably going to trade anyway. When you have a chance to get one of the best players in the league for two ones, I mean, why not do it?
The only reason is Ramsey might not be around forever. But the Rams are comfortable with what I call The Newbie Risk/Reward Factor. Which means: When in doubt, go get the stud, and worry about everything else later.
Three little details in the trade discussions last week, down in the weeds, that I liked:
The Rams, whod been talking on and off to the Jags about Ramsey for a month, were worried that the Eagles might increase their offer if the defense continued to struggle. (Adam Schefter reported Sunday that Philadelphia had offered first- and a second-round picks.) Philly might have been wise to offer the two ones. In the last week, two offenses led by Kirk Cousins and Dak Prescott have put up 38 and 37 points on the Eagles.
The teams in trade discussions with Jacksonville were convinced the problem for Ramsey was with Tom Coughlin and no one else.
The Rams would have done the Peters deal even if they couldnt get Ramsey. The rush on Peters came because Baltimore wanted a corner to play in Seattle on Sunday, and if they hadnt gotten Peters on Tuesday, theyd have pivoted to one of two other prospective deals. Thus the Rams haste in dealing Peters.
Weak seven? Average margin of victory in the first 13 games of week seven: 13.7 points. One gameTitans 23, Chargers 20came down to the final seconds, and that was fairly unsatisfactory because no one still knows what happened in that goal-line street fight in Nashville on the fumble/non-fumble by Melvin Gordon. Picking through the rubble of the weekend:
The Chicago offense is a four-alarm fire. Somehow the Bears scored 25 points in the 11-point loss to New Orleans at home. What really is more telling about their performance is this, on both sides of the ball: New Orleans was playing without Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara, and the once-mighty Bears defense gave up 424 yards and 36 points; on offense, the Bears totaled 90 net yards in their first 10 drives. The offense is so abysmal that coach Matt Nagy has to strongly consider doing something he absolutely, positively doesnt want to do: bench Mitchell Trubisky for Chase Daniel. Thats how bad Trubisky looks in year three. Id consider benching him for a quarterback who inspired little confidence in his game-plus of action relieving the injured Trubisky. The alternative is playing Trubisky next Sunday at Soldier Field, knowing that the moment he jogs out of the tunnel, all the positive energy Nagy will pump into Trubisky in practice all week will disappear in an avalanche of boos. This isnt about making any long-term judgment in Trubisky; there will be time for that. This is about putting the best quarterback on the field to win one game. Right now, thats not Trubisky.
The MVP after seven weeks is No idea. A vote today would be the most wide-open vote since 2003. Fifty media members vote for one player each, and in 2003 Peyton Manning and Steve McNair tied for the win with 16 votes, and four other players split the final 18 votes. Now, with the specter of Patrick Mahomes possibly playing only 12 full games, Id put three players at the head of the class right now: Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson. The Jackson candidacy could get quite intriguing. Hes on pace to rush for 1,317 yards, which is absolutely insane, with a passer rating of 94.1. Imagine rushing for more yards than Alvin Kamara, with a better passer rating than Carson Wentz. Jacksons on track to do both of those things. Plenty of season left, thankfully for the voters.
Buffalo isnt the most impressive 5-1 team weve ever seen, but consider its near future. The Bills next five foes are a combined 8-25. Still hard to imagine them overtaking New England, particularly with the tiebreaker edge in the Pats favor, but consider this intoxicating thought: The Bills, as current fifth seed, would travel to the Colts if the season ended today; tell me they couldnt win that game. The Bills are a hard team to figure. The Dolphins led them Sunday, in Orchard Park, for almost 28 minutes, and ran up 381 yards of offense. The Bills got booed lustily as they left the field at halftime, down 14-9. And were it not for third-year corner TreDavious White, they very well could have lost this game. Miami started the second half with a 10-minute drive, and Ryan Fitzpatrick tried to end the drive with a short TD pass to Isaiah Ford. White picked it off at the Buffalo 2. Two drives later, White forced a fumble at the Miami 28, recovered by the Bills. Talk about big turnovers: Both led to Buffalo touchdowns, and a 14-9 deficit was turned into a 24-14 lead. Ballgame.
To say Cincinnati is a dumpster fire would be insulting to dumpster fires. The bell tolls for thee, Andy Dalton. (Even though its hardly your fault.) The Cincinnati schedule over the next eight weeks: Rams in London, bye (byes a 3.5-point pick), Baltimore, at Oakland, Pittsburgh, New York Jets, at Cleveland, New England. Then the golden game, Dec. 22, in south Florida: Cincinnati (0-14) at Miami (0-14). Home on Christmas break in various parts of the United States, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa and Joe Burrow wonder: Who am I rooting for here? Men, Ive got bad news for you: One of you is going to end up with a striped helmet next fall.
The Mahomes story. The Chiefs got good news on the dislocated kneecap suffered by Mahomes on Thursday night in Denver. Though the injury makes Mahomes more susceptible to recurrences in the future, Adam Schefter reported he could miss three weeks or less. The next two foes, Green Bay (next Sunday night) and Minnesota, are dangerous, and a trip to Nashville without Mahomes would be a hard game to win in three weeks. The Chiefs have a 1.5-game lead on second-place Oakland, plus the tiebreaker edge, in the weak AFC West, so K.C. still has a significant inside track on the division title. But as for a top-two seed and a bye week, thats going to be a challenge with division leaders Baltimore and Indianapolis hot teams right now. Still, the Chiefs got a good 50 minutes from Matt Moore the other night, so who knows? Mahomes left a mark on his team, by the way, the way he left the field Thursday night. When Pat walked off, Andy Reid said, he wouldnt take the cart. I think that probably set a tempo. Lets go. Its time to go. Everybody toughen up and lets roll. I saw Tyreek [Hill] grab the offensive guys and the skill guys and tell them that were rolling here, were not letting up an inch. They didnt. But can they do that against Aaron Rodgers? Ill tell you what would be very weird: A loss to Green Bay would give the Chiefs three straight losses at Arrowhead Stadium. Now, theres no way I ever thought that would happen in the Reid/Mahomes era.
A tribute to Teddy Bridgewater. Drew Brees got hurt five weeks ago, and Bridgewater is 5-0 as his replacement, and you have to wonder if, in the wee hours one night this week, when Sean Paytons beautiful offensive mind starts thinking of gameplans for Arizona this weekend, hell also wonder if he could win the biggest games with Bridgewater. Thats the biggest tribute Bridgewater could engender. In his first two wins, he managed the teamheld the fort. In the last three, hes put up 26.7 points per game with a 108.3 passer rating. Hes calm, accurate and not prone to mistakes. All the reasons Minnesota favored him over Johnny Manziel in the 2014 pre-draft process are apparent now, and Bridgewater is earning himself a future. Ill tell you two interesting spots for Bridgewater if he leaves New Orleans after this season: in Denver, where John Elway might view him as the long-term starter, and if he falters, as the mentor for Drew Lock; or as Tennessees pick to succeed Marcus Mariota. Hell be one of the leagues most interesting spring 2020 stories.
Aaron Rodgers, quarterback, Green Bay. Rodgers entered Sunday having accounted for eight touchdownsall passingin the Packers 5-1 start. He had the fourth six-TD game of his illustrious career, throwing five touchdown passes and running for a sixth score in the 42-24 win over Oakland.
Jacoby Brissett, quarterback, Indianapolis. Playing for sole possession of the AFC South eight weeks after the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck, Brissett outplayed one of the hottest quarterbacks in football, Houstons Deshaun Watson, who could be a Brissett rival for years, in Indianapolis 30-23 win. Brissett (26 of 39 for 326 yards, four touchdowns, no picks) earned his most important victory in the NFL, vaulting the 4-2 Colts past the 4-3 Texans for sole possession of first place in the division. All four touchdown passes came in the first 44 minutes, when Indy built a 28-16 lead.
Chase Edmonds, running back, Arizona. Playing three hours from his hometown (Harrisburg) and 45 minutes from his college campus (Fordham University in the Bronx), Edmonds rushed 27 times for 126 yards, including touchdown runs of 20, 20 and 22, as the Cardinals beat the Giants in New Jersey. Big day for Edmonds, and not just because of the games locale. With David Johnson hobbled by a sprained ankle and limited to one carry, Edmonds was going to get almost all of the work Sundayand he was more important, too, because the game was played in a driving rain with wind. Not a day for Kyler Murray to be in control of the ball.
Marcus Peters, cornerback, Baltimore. Great play by Peters in his first game as a Raven, and in the town (Seattle) where he went to college. With five minutes left in the first half and the Ravens trailing 10-6, Peters baited Wilson into a mistake. Playing on the offenses right side at the wide corner, Peters took off and began sprinting downfielduntil he saw Wilson throwing to the receiver, Jaron Brown, in the space he vacated. So Peters pivoted, turned around, and picked the ball off right in front of Brown. He sprinted 67 yards for the touchdown, and the lead. Nice trade, Eric DeCosta.
Chandler Jones, linebacker, Arizona.The second-best trade GM Steve Keim has made (aside from paying pennies on the dollar for Carson Palmer when Bruce Arians took over as coach) was acquiring Jones from New England in 2016, and it continued to pay dividends Sunday in New Jersey. In the 27-21 win over the Giants, Jones had a career-best four sacks of Giants QB Daniel Jones and five tackles. Interesting: Sunday was his 55th game as a Cardinal, after playing 55 for the Patriots pre-trade. In the equivalent number of games, Jones had 36 sacks for New England. He now has 49.5 for Arizona.
Nick Bosa, defensive end, San Francisco. The more we see of Bosa, the more it looks like he could be the best of all the recent top-of-the-draft-pick pass-rushers and QB-disruptors. Playing in the howling wind and steady rain Sunday in a mudpile in Washington, Bosa keyed a 9-0 victory with a sack of Case Keenum, seven tackles, and one head-first dive into what looked like a Slip-N-Slide in standing water. There are days you need to play rock-ribbed D and simply play to not turn it over and to win with field position. Thats what Sunday was for Washington.
Anthony Hitchens, linebacker, Kansas City. First 20 games for the Chiefs: zero sacks. Twenty-first game for the Chiefs: two sacks, including a strip-sack returned for a touchdown by teammate Reggie Ragland, and a 10-yard sack of Joe Flacco four plays later. The Chiefs had nine sacks, and the most dispiriting was the strip-and-score that made it 20-6.
Cordarrelle Patterson, kick-returner, Chicago. When your offense is performing as poorly as Chicagos, the special teams become paramount. Trailing New Orleans 9-0 late in the first quarter, the Bears had to feel desperate. Thats when Patterson interceded. Taking a kickoff two yards deep in the end zone, Patterson bisected the Saints kick-coverage team, first through the middle and then jutting to the right, never being threatened on his way to the 102-yard return that put the Bears back into the game.
Johnny Hekker, punter, L.A. Rams. (First: How, how, how, how when youre playing the Rams and special-teams coordinator John Fassel are you totally unprepared for a fake punt in plus-territorythe Atlanta 46-yard line? Thats on Dan Quinn and his staff. They may say they were prepared, but it sure looked like they were not.) Late second quarter, fourth-and-three, Hekker took the snap and transitioned to a quarterback immediately. He threw to the right flat to safety Nick Scott, and Scott ran up the right sideline for 23 yards. That led to a late first-half field goal and a 13-3 halftime lead for the Rams. Id love to know how many fakes Fassel has called over the years. Id bet hes been successful on 70 percent.
Michael Thomas, safety, New York Giants. Thanks to a boneheaded 15-yard sack taken by Kyler Murray, the Cards had to punt from their 4-yard line with 10 minutes left in the first half. Thomas beat the protection and blocked the Andy Lee punt, and it was recovered for a touchdown in the end zone by running back Elijhaa Penny.
Steve Spagnuolo, defensive coordinator, Kansas City. No medals for holding the woebegone Broncos to 205 yards and one-for-13 on third downs, but understand where the Chiefs were heading into the Thursday-nighter at Denver, which had won two in a row (somehow). But the KC defense had allowed 27 points and 190 rushing yards per game over the previous four games, and Spagnuolo tightened up the run defense, holding the Broncos to 71 yards on the ground and suffocating Joe Flacco in a 30-6 win.
Derek Carr, quarterback, Oakland. When you play a Green Bay offense thats humming, youd better not give the Packers extra chances. Carr fumbled one rush through the end zone, throwing away seven points. And he threw an interception from the Packers 15-yard line in the third quarter. Both turnovers led to Green Bay touchdowns, and in an 18-point loss, thats pretty significant.
Melvin Gordon, running back, L.A. Chargers. Why exactly did the Chargers bring back Gordon? He continued his disappointing return to play in Nashville on Sunday. He had a wholly unimpactful 16 carries for 32 yards. And with the Chargers down 23-20 with 19 seconds left and the ball at the Tennessee two-foot line, Gordon slammed into the right side of the line and didnt score. Not only didnt he score, but a review of the play found he fumbled, and the Titans recovered, ending the game. I watched the replay and never saw a clear fumble, but that was the rulingGordon fumbling to cost the slumping Chargers the game.
I
We have no rhythm, no balance.
Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, after the Saints routed the Bears on Sunday.
We?
II
I gotta get back to my originals because, aint no way, I cant get caught by no linebackers.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, on changing his cleats multiple times while figuring out the footing on a soggy Seattle field Sunday. Jackson rushed for 116 yards, on 14 carries, in leading Baltimore to a 30-16 win. Jackson is on pace to break Michael Vicks single-season rushing yards record (1,039) for a quarterback.
III
On the field, we won it twice.
Chargers tight end Hunter Henry, expressing disbelieflike all of usover how the loss to the Titans ended. Twice in the final 37 seconds, the Chargers found the end zone, only for replay reviews to overturn the touchdowns. The game ended when Melvin Gordon fumbled at thegoal-line and Tennessee recovered.
IV
This is where Joe Flacco, hes got to be the leader. Heck, hes been aroundSuper Bowl winner, hes in his 12th year. You know, I dont want to be too hard on Joe, but lets get a little life out here Still, very lackadaisical. The whole operation.
FOXs Troy Aikman, via Deadspin, early in the fourth quarter of the Denver loss to a (mostly) Mahomes-less Chiefs 30-6 Thursday night, on the putrid Broncos offense.
This is about as bad an offense as Ive seen.
Aikman, a series later.
V
He worked until his last breath, because he believed our democracy was the highest and best expression of our collective humanity and that our nations diversity was our promise, not our problem.
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, the widow of Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the 13-term Congressman who died at 68 on Thursday in Baltimore.
Sam Ponder Host, ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown Photographed in New York City
Ponder on Thursday was honored as 2019 Literacy Champion for New Jersey-based Write on Sports, which uses sports as a vehicle to improve writing and reading skills for middle-school students. She was asked what message she wanted to leave the students in attendance.
I was so naive in terms of what it would take to do this job. Im actually realizing now that that naivete was a gift. What Ive discovered, now in my 15th year in this industry, is that even the people who I thought were so impressive and so high up and so successful were all insecure and scared just like me. Even at the highest level, these super-impactful and wealthy and important people that our society puts on a pedestal, those people were scared too. They were insecure. I remember when I started, I was so nervous to talk to the Nick Sabans, the Jim Harbaughs. People that were, to me, so successful and impressive. And if I could go back and talk to my younger self now, I would tell myself to press into that fear. Ive learned the reason sometimes people at that level seem standoffish or not very personable is because theyre insecure. They dont want to say something stupid or sound dumb. People are people. We are all broken and messy and all a little bit insecure and all trying to figure it out as we go.
Learning that now, as a 33-year-old, has taken such a weight off of some of those impossible dreams that you all might have. I no longer think of myself as a lesser human being, the way I might have thought when I started out. I think theres obviously so much value in humility, but I think theres a way to be confidently humble. Its not about arrogance. Its not about stepping up to Nick Saban or whoever and you know, being a little arrogant in your interaction with thembut being confident in that you know you have a purpose too, and you have dreams just like that person does. I wish I wouldve grasped that at an early age.
Denver is 14-25 over the past 2.5 seasons. Thats the worst three-year stretch for the franchise in nearly a half-century, since going 14-26-2 (in a 14-game schedule) from 1970-72. The Broncos can equal it (probably will, in fact) with a loss at Indianapolis in Week 8.
The bell may begin to toll for John Elway soon. The Broncos are 2-5, and their remaining road schedule alone would seem to make it highly likely they will finish under .500 for the third straight year.
Elway was hired by the late owner, Pat Bowlen, to restore the greatness of the Broncos last seen under Mike Shanahan. His first major move, convincing Peyton Manning to sign with the team in 2012, worked well: Denver won the AFC West in Mannings four seasons and won the Super Bowl in his last season. But his other significant quarterback moves? Not so good.
2012: Brock Osweiler (second round, 57th overall). Retired last week. At least Elway didnt give him a second contract.
2015: Trevor Siemian (seventh round, 250th overall). Best value of the bunch: 13-11 in two post-Manning years.
2016: Paxton Lynch (first round, 26th overall). Total bust.
2018: Case Keenum (UFA). Paid $25 million for a year, and Keenum was the NFLs 29th-rated QB.
2019: Joe Flacco (acquired for a fourth-round pick, 113th overall). Looks old, unmotivated and through.
2019: Drew Lock (second round, 42nd overall). Incomplete. On IR. Had a shaky training camp.
Man, other than signing Manning, that is one ugly quarterback rsum. Credit where its due: Wrangling Manning to Denver was one of the best free-agent wins of the decade. But the QB misses and the recent draft record is at best spotty; first-rounders Garett Bolles (2017) and Noah Fant (2019) both look terrible.
If Im Elway, Im putting Emmanuel Sanders and Chris Harris Jr., on the block, hoping to get two picks in the first five rounds for them. Then I decide whether the best plan is to go all-in on Lock as the quarterback of the future. If so, you use the 2020 draft to build around him, particularly on the offensive line. If not, you use the top-10 pick Denver will have and supplement with the extra picks (Denver has Pittsburghs three from the Devin Bush trade-down last April) and move up to get in prime passer position. Another quarterback after acquiring Keenum, Flacco and Lock in the last 20 months seems almost malpractice. But if Elway and his staff dont have the confidence in Lock, theyve got to be aggressive to get one of the good guys in the 20 draft.
Its a tangled web. Elway might not have many more drafts to run to get the quarterback right.
Philip Rivers jumped from eighth to sixth on the all-time passing yards list Sunday afternoon, and he did it in less than the running time of The Godfather: Part II. Detailing Rivers rise Sunday in Nashville, where the Chargers lost to the Titans:
And yes, he did pass both Manning and Roethlisberger on the same completion: a 21-yard shot up the right side to Mike Williams, boosting his yardage to total to 56,556.
Time in the air Saturday from LaGuardia to Atlanta, with the latter being hit by a major rainstorm: 2 hours, 22 minutes. On time. Impressed. With packed airports on either end and bad weather for the approach and on the landing, I was surprised to be on time.
Time to deplane, walk through C terminal in Atlanta, board the airport train, find the skytrain to the rental car center, rent a car from Hertz, drive the 16 miles through the rain and through very heavy (Saturday afternoon?) traffic in Atlanta and check into my hotel in Buckhead: 2 hours, 2 minutes.
Except the room wasnt ready. The room actually wasnt ready till 5:20 p.m.
So it took 25 minutes longer to get from the Atlanta airport to check into my room than to it took to fly 852 miles.
Excerpt from:
FMIA Week 7: 'NBA Is Coming To The NFL,' And Rams Are On A Fast Break - NBCSports.com
