By Brandon Simmons
Bart Scott and Shannon Sharpe vs. Hollywood Brown and D.K. Metcalf
This past week, former NFL players Bart Scott and Shannon Sharpe made headlines because of their Twitter exchanges with current players, Marquise Hollywood Brown and D.K. Metcalf. Scott and Brown got into it after the former said the Baltimore Ravens wide receiver would not be a starter outside of the team he plays for. Brown shot back with a critique on Scott’s first name, Bartholemew, but nothing more was said. Sharpe and Metcalf hilariously got into it when Sharpe criticized the Seattle Seahawks receiver for fumbling the ball on a crucial, late game play. Metcalf responded by seemingly trying to dismiss Sharpe’s NFL credentials, to which he also appeared to correct himself on with his own tweets.
As much as the young guys might not want to hear this, they have to take this one on the chin. Scott and Sharpe are media personalities providing their own insight to the game. Scott’s comments was tough because he was just going through receiving corps of their teams, to further establish his point. Sharpe’s argument was a little bit easier because in his exchange, all he had to do was post his stats and the convo was over. However, that brings up another aspect about younger guys responding to former players; some of these players have played some great careers putting up big numbers. If it isn’t Scott and Sharpe, it’s Randy Moss, Michael Strahan, Willie McGinest, etc. True, there are plenty of former backup players who have become sports analysts over the years, but even then, younger players should pick their battles when going up against them and their knowledge of the game.
When Can OBJ be Traded?
The internet appears to be getting restless for the Cleveland Browns not trading wide receiver Odell Beckham. Jr. In the past few weeks, fans have been campaigning for the Browns to move the wide receiver for the sake of his career, mostly posting videos of Browns QB Baker Mayfield missing the wide out on several wide open passes. However, a few internet clips should not push for a move so suddenly.
If an OBJ trade has to happen, hopefully it comes at the end of the season. Beckham is coming off a season, which ended early because of an ACL injury. He even missed a few games at the top of the season. So before any moves can be made on either side, he has to be healthy first. Also, in regards to the videos being posted, they could be telling of some chemistry issues, but nothing that could play out until the end of the season. OBJ has played 4 games so far and probably needs to get back into his own rhythm. His first year in Cleveland, he had 1000 yards, so it would seem premature to trade him at the deadline. Now he isn’t the 1st-3rd round pick worthy talent that he once was, so a lot of teams would view it as a “safe risk” in adding him to their receiving corps to rejuvenate their offense.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to the Jacksonville Jaguars for getting their first win of the season. The Jaguars beat the Miami Dolphins 23-20 on a game winning field goal by kicker Matthew Wright. It also ended their 20-game losing streak.
Shut out to the Washington Football Team, who got shut out in the 2nd half of their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Going into halftime, WFT held a 10-3 lead, but in the 2nd half, Chiefs QB Pat Mahomes lead his team to 21 unanswered points. This weekend will contain a few marquee games but some of them won’t be because of any record. Arizona Cardinals DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt will face their former team, the Houston Texans, the first time since either one of them joined their current squad. The Texans infamously traded Hopkins in 2020 while they cut Watt, who signed with Arizona this past offseason. QB Jared Goff will make his Los Angeles return when the Detroit Lions visit the L.A. Rams. It will also be the first time that Rams QB Matt Stafford faces the Lions, the team who originally drafted him but traded him this past offseason as well. The Baltimore Ravens hosting the Cincinnati Bengals will be the only game where both opponents are above .500 but it might not be as close as people make it out to be. However, Cincy could give it their all to prove to everyone they are not a fluke. But until then…I’ll holla.