By Brandon Simmons
Get Your Patriot Wins in Now
A couple of weeks ago, when the Houston Texans beat the New England Patriots, Texans QB Deshaun Watson said an interesting statement that to get a win in before the GOAT leaves.
Watson was obviously referring to Patriots QB Tom Brady and it should be the attitude of a lot of up-and-coming teams right now. For nearly 20 years, Brady and the Patriots have set a standard of greatness that few teams have come close to. No matter how hard franchises have tried, New England has usually rose above any setbacks to maintain their perceived invincibility. But things are seemingly taking a turn for the decline. After starting the season 8-0, they lost 2 of their last 3 games, including a 2 game losing streak. While the defense has proven to be pretty good, it’s the offense that has taken a huge hit. One of the main issues it that the unit is not able to run the ball, ranking 23rd overall. Their receiving corps has been decimated by injury and inexperience, so it’s been a struggle for Brady to get the ball in the air, which is putting a strain on this team.
It’s a reason why Brady is considered the GOAT, possibly beyond football. He has been the winning difference maker for nearly 20 years. The Patriots defense has had some good moments throughout the years but the offense, led by Brady, has been a strong standard of excellence and consistency. In most of his playing years, he’s never had the Randy Moss, Terrell Owens or any other explosive and dominant wide receiver. The times that he did have Moss, or Antonio Brown for that matter, their stay ended in some sort of mini controversy. Same can be said for when he had Rob Gronkowski at tight end, except he retired at a young age in his career. But while he has had those caliber of players catching passes from him, he has garnered a reputation from making plays with lesser-quality receivers such Danny Amendola or Julian Edelman, who has sparked a debate of whether he should be in the Hall-of-Fame.
However, those days are long gone. At age 42, Brady doesn’t have a lot of time left to warm things up with rookie receivers N’Keal Harry and Jacoby Meyers or get Mohammed Sanu in tune with the offense. His offensive line is struggling, as he’s been sacked 8 times in the last 3 games. The Patriots that everyone was so shook over is not the same this season. Everything has changed for them. They’re not even getting calls to go their way at home anymore. They can still beat up on the smaller, losing teams but when it comes to the more established contenders, they are a mess. If any team sees them in the upcoming playoffs, they better take their shot now and claim a victory over New England because it might be their final shot to do so.
OBJ Already Gone?
It is being reported that Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. has been wanting out of Cleveland for a while, so much to the point, that he has been asking players if they could make room for him. This was reported by Fox Sports Jay Glazer on the NFL on Fox pregame show, but to coincide with this rumor, a clip went viral on social media from after the Browns/49ers game, which appears to show Beckham conversing with Niners QB Jimmy Garropolo. Of course, this led to a ton of speculation, because the internet, that’s why.
It’s sad that this happening but not a big surprise. Beckham was traded to the Browns in the wake of his fallout with the New York Giants, but he had no huge reason to not stick it out. He was going to a team with a younger QB, his best friend from college was already there and the roster was getting stacked to the point that many pointed at this team to make a lot of noise. But a 2-2 start turned into a 4 game losing streak and things soured out. The bright side is that Cleveland has gone on a 3-1 run these last 4 games and Beckham is only 156 yards short of reaching 1,000 yards for the 2nd straight year. That last stat is probably why many people could be hoping this rumor is true. OBJ really is too talented to be caught up in Cleveland’s foolishness. The Browns finished last season as one of the team’s to watch this year now people can’t even stand look at them play as bad they are. Whether he goes or stays, hopefully Beckham gets to a place he can truly flourish.
Patriots Dug their Own Hole
If the New England Patriots are wondering why nobody cares the refs cheated them out of some calls Sunday, they should look at themselves. Not even 24 hours after social media came to their defense of some bad officiating, the Patriots got in trouble when it was discovered their film crew videotaped hand signals on the Cincinnati Bengals, while the Bengals played the Cleveland Browns this past Sunday. Patriots were supposed to be taping for their Do Your Job series on the subject of a scouting. This is why it’s hard to root for them, even at a time when fans collectively agree that officiating is bad this year. They’ve had Spygate, the Tuck Rule and Deflategate, but here they are once again being caught breaking another rule or trying to get away with it. Almost makes you wonder what exactly the job is that they are supposed to be doing.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Los Angeles Chargers QB Phillip Rivers for his celebratory trash talk. Sunday against the Jcksonville Jaguars, Rivers tossed a pass to Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, who took it for a 90 yard TD. As he threw the ball, Jaguar Yannick Ngakoue knocked him but helped him up. Rivers proceeded to chirp in his ear:
Shut out to New York Jets running back LeVeon Bell who struggled with faking sick. The Jets held Bell out of Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, because he was allegedly sick with the flu. However, he was spotted Saturday night at a nearby bowling alley until 1 in the morning. Jets still proceeded to win the game without him:
Whether you are in the fantasy football playoffs or not, there will be quite a few games to keep you tuned in. The Tennessee Titans are hosting the Houston Texans in the first of their 2 matchups within the last 3 weeks of the season. Both teams are tied for first in the AFC South, but the winner will have control of their destiny to win out and take the division. The Los Angeles Rams are visiting the Dallas Cowboys with major playoff implications. The Rams are 8-5 but in the Wild Card race, waiting for the Minnesota Vikings to fall. The Cowboys are 6-7 but tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC East lead. If the Cowboys lose, and Eagles win, they would be sitting on the outside while Philly goes to the top of the division. It’s possible this could happen, because the Rams have been playing good football these past couple of weeks and they know every game is crucial if they want a spot in the postseason. But until then…I’ll holla.