By Brandon Simmons
Chiefs In Early Trouble
The Kansas City are off to a rough start for the year. They are 1-2 after losing back-to-back games to the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers. Since Mahomes has been under center for the Chiefs, the team has never been under .500, even if it was a miniscule 1-2. Speaking of Mahomes, he already has 3 interceptions this season – 1 from last week and 2 from Sunday’s game – which is half of what he had all last year. But it’s not all on the former MVP; the offense has given away turnovers. As usual, the defense has not been stellar, ranking 30th in points allowed and 31st against the run.
It’s far from panic time for the Chiefs but they should be alert in tightening things up soon. It seems like teams are smelling blood in the water and focusing more on Kansas City’s weaknesses. One of those things they appear to have addressed is finding a playmaker outside of tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The team signed wide receiver Josh Gordon, who was recently reinstated from another indefinite suspension, but placed him on the practice squad until he catches up on the playbook. This move could either be reminiscent of the Buccaneers getting Antonio Brown last year or it could be reminiscent of the Patriots getting Antonio Brown; but the latter is another story for another day. If anything, the turnovers need to be cleaned up for them to get back on the winning track going forward. They have not been blown out of any of these matchups, it’s just that they lost the turnover battle with crucial giveaways that has cost them the games.
Matthew Stafford Living his Best Season
When the Los Angeles Rams traded for quarterback Matthew Stafford this past offseason it was looked at as a bold move but paid off for both sides. Stafford already requested a trade with the Detroit Lions, the team who drafted him number one overall back in 2009, so it seemed like a fitting opportunity that L.A. would send their former number one overall pick, QB Jared Goff, in exchange for the 12 year veteran. Right now, Stafford is reaping the benefits of that risk.
Stafford is certainly enjoying his best life right now and it shows in his play. So far this season he’s thrown for 9 touchdowns, 1 interception, with a career high 70 percent completion percentage. In his latest effort – Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Stafford went off for 343 yards and 4 touchdowns. Stafford has always had the arm talent, but Detroit has rarely had a good team around him. Sure, there was Calvin Johnson, but it still wasn’t enough to get them over the hump. Stafford has found himself in a good position with lots of playmakers and a good defense to bail him out if need be.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Michael Harriot of The Root for a thread dispelling some mistruths said about Colin Kaepernick. Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant went on the I AM ATHLETE podcast and made some comments about Kap. Well, Harriot dispelled just about everything said with the thread below:
Shut out to Cowboys offensive guard La’el Collins for trying to bribe a drug-test collector. While this seems like a dumb thing initially, the story gets worse. According to Adam Schefter, players can not be suspended for positive marijuana tests but Collins was facing a 5 game suspension for missing multiple tests. The NFLPA actually negotiated it to be reduced to 2 games, but this news came out and it went back to 5 games. Weed is getting legal almost everywhere now but there are still certain rules in place for it, so the best thing to do is just be responsible about it.
Shout out to Lebron James for his story about almost joining the NFL. Lebron stopped by Peyton and Eli Manning’s Monday Night Football broadcast and revealed that he was offered a contract by the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks during the NBA lockout. It just so happens that a deal was done soon after, James returned to the NBA. James played football at St. Vincent – St. Mary’s High School in addition to doing his basketball thing. Football has been something that Bron has brought up here and there, but he may have made the right choice on this one.
Week 4 and a lot of teams are really starting to see their seasons shaping up. The Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams are going heads up in a NFC West showdown between 2 unbeaten teams. As mentioned earlier, Rams QB Matthew Stafford has been balling all year so far, including his performance against the Super Bowl champs last Sunday. The Cardinals are coming in with a stacked roster lead by B Kyler Murray. However, that game will not compare to the hype of Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady returning to New England to face the Patriots. These are 2 teams with different goals at the current time. The Bucs are trying to repeat as Super Bowl winners while the Pats are trying to establish a winning culture with their rookie QB Mac Jones. However, it’s a game of non-football storylines: the past vs. the future and Brady’s return to the place where he spent his first 20 seasons. But until then…I’ll holla.