By Brandon Simmons
Trade SZN
The NFL trade deadline is November 3rd and there should be some names thrown around within the next week. The Minnesota Vikings have already made a trade sending Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens, after trading for him in the offseason from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over the weekend, it was confirmed that the Atlanta Falcons were not going to trade either quarterback Matt Ryan or wide receiver Julio Jones. This news comes in the wake of the Falcons firing Dan Quinn as their head coach a couple of weeks back and suffering 2-5 season. Sticking with the theme of teams firing coaches, Houston Texans interim head coach Romeo Crennel told reporters he was presented with some possible trade scenarios but nothing was confirmed yet. This comes about over a week after Texans QB Deshaun Watson dispelled trade rumors surrounding the team saying nobody was going anywhere.
With so many players going down with injuries, the theme for this trade deadline could be focusing on reloading. Aside from injuries, this upcoming postseason will also be the first postseason with an extra Wild Card, so a few of the teams who might look like their season as lost, could be one transaction away from getting into the playoffs. In the NFC, the Saints, 49ers or the Eagles could see themselves making such a move. It has been reported that Philly has been trying to move wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey. In the AFC, the Raiders, Colts, Dolphins, Browns and Patriots are either looking to improve their position or sustain where they are in the early portion of the playoff race. Seattle is the one top tier team that should certainly be in play at the deadline to improve their defense. That is what lost them the game on Sunday. Sure, the Seahawks offense made crucial mistakes – like quarterback Russell Wilson throwing 3 picks or a holding penalty that negated a touchdown by wide receiver D.K. Metcalf – but they held a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter and blew that. Seattle needs to make an adjustment preferably in the defensive line, so the pass rush can be strong and help the secondary, or the front seven can be strengthened against the opponent’s rushing attack.
AB with the Bucs
The huge news over the weekend was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signing wide receiver Antonio Brown. Brown joins a wide receiving group which includes Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and tight end Rob Gronkowski; but it also reunites him with quarterback Tom Brady, who was obviously his teammate during his stint with the Patriots last season. However, it was a stint that did not last long due to some unfortunate events off the field.
It’s no secret that the talent for AB is there but people are well aware of his shenanigans. After 3 games, Brown was let go as he was being investigated for sexual assault. As the case dragged on, so did Brown’s antics. This past January he was filmed cursing out his baby mother in front of his home. Later that month, he was arrested for striking a moving truck driver over a payment dispute. The latter prompting a 8 game suspension for the free agent.
Despite all that, the talent appears to be worth it all. This is a guy with 6 straight seasons of 1200 receiving yards and 4 straight 1st team All Pro selections. In his only game as a Patriot, he had 4 catches for 56 yards and a touchdown, so him and Brady have some unfinished business. The main problem he will have being added into the lineup will be how he is worked into the rotation. Brady just started getting his rhythm back Gronkowski, a player whom he has shared the field with in New England for 8 seasons and also joined the Bucs in the offseason. Brown also has to find his catches between Evans, Godwin and Scotty Miller. The good thing about this is that if Brown catches his groove later in the season, towards playoff time, it could very well make the Buccaneers a dangerous team in the postseason.
NFC West the Best?
Th NFC West has been enjoying themselves over the past week. Last Monday, the Arizona Cardinals demolished the Dallas Cowboys on national television and then followed it up with a come from behind over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday Night Football. The Seahawks might have lost the game but wide receiver D.K. Metcalf had the highlight of the week, when he saved a pick 6 after running down Cardinals safety Budda Baker, who picked off Seattle QB Russell Wilson at the Seahawks goal line. The San Francisco 49ers enjoyed a 33-6 blowout win over the New England Patriots. The Los Angeles Rams smacked the Chicago Bears around on Monday Night to wrap the week. This week was a just another week to highlight a top tier division in the league.
It is fair to ask if this is the best division in all of football. Each team is above .500 and three of these squads rank in the top 10 of offense and scoring. The 49ers are the worst team in this division, record-wise, but their troubles derived from key injuries on both sides of the ball. Despite the injury to running back Raheem Mostert, the team is almost getting back to healthy and could be a real problem. The one thing that will separate these teams is their upcoming schedules. While the opponents outside of the division remaining on each team’s schedule is pretty soft, they will each have to play each other again at least once, which should make for an interesting race for the division crown at the end of the year. This could also have either one of these teams in a playoff mindset which would make them tough matchups for any opponent they face in the postseason.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Seahawks wide receiver D.K. Metcalf for chasing down Cardinals safety Budda Baker. As mentioned earlier, Baker picked off Russell Wilson at the Arizona goal line, and could have had a pick 6, had it not been for Metcalf running him down. The better thing about that play was that the Cardinals walked away with no points on that drive; however they still walked away with the W.
Shut out to the 2020 injury bug, this time affecting Odell Beckham, Jr. Sunday, the Cleveland Browns wide receiver tore his ACL and is now out for the season. Unfortunate events, considering that the Browns are kind of on a roll and could really use him. Hopefully he has a successful recovery.
Shout out to wide receiver Dez Bryant for making his way back in the league via the Baltimore Ravens. Bryant signed with the Baltimore practice squad Tuesday and was completely overjoyed with the opportunity. Released in 2017, Bryant hopped on with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 but suffered an achilles injury, which cut his season short. Hopefully, he can bounce back in his career and find a spot in their receiving rotation.
Shut out to Jeff Garcia and his comments about Cam Newton’s dress code. The former NFL quarterback, now a sports for a Bay area NBC affiliate, tied Newton’s wardrobe to his lackluster play on the field:
Everybody with a social media platform has taken a shot at Newton for his wardrobe, but to have a serious attempt to correlate his fashion choices with his play is a bad reach. Cam has been dressing up in high end threads his whole career. You can blame his poor play on him still getting familiar with the offense or him getting over COVID; but his choice of scarfs and hats have been a constant thing for a while now. He does have to play better but save the clothes jokes for your Twitter.
This weekend’s slate of games will once again feature the Pittsburgh Steelers in a huge matchup; this time with the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers are coming off their win over the Tennessee Titans, in which they held off a late comeback. The Ravens are coming off a bye week, but previously held off their own comeback to preserve a win against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Steelers/Ravens rivalry has always been highlight of the season and this one should not disappoint at all. But until then…I’ll holla.
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