By Brandon Simmons
Predicting the QB Market for the Offseason
The offseason has pulled up – and still will in some postseason cases – on a lot of teams earlier than expected, and it might mean whoever is under center will be under fire. As the season nears the end, teams might take a look at their quarterbacks, in addition to other areas, but the QB position is a vital area that really dictates how a team moves forward.
While the season is not even finished yet, there are already some participants to look forward to, whether they’re buying or selling. The Houston Texans top this list, as they are still trying to move quarterback Deshaun Watson, who requested a trade nearly a year ago, citing his dissatisfaction with the organization. However, things have been murky with this potential transaction since Watson was accused of sexually harassing massage therapists last year. Another team that has popped up in the QB market convo, as a buyer, is the Cleveland Browns. Browns QB Baker Mayfield had taken a step back this season, a year after taking the Browns to a playoff berth. Even though he has missed a couple of games because of injury, COVID, his interceptions have risen up, which does not combine well with the fact that his TD’s have gone down. Another team that will be participating – likely as a seller – will be the San Francisco 49ers, who could have their own questions about QB Jimmy Garoppolo. They drafted rookie QB Trey Lance in the first round, which fueled speculation that Jimmy G would probably be gone as early as OTA’s. The Seattle Seahawks might still drag out speculation about trading QB Russell Wilson
This offseason will be filled with headlines surrounding the QB market. The Watson situation will be the biggest story considering the magnitude of talent involved, which will come with a huge price tag. The Dolphins tried to make a move at the trade deadline, but it fell through. Now there will be more participants after teams have completed their seasons and evaluated their own QB situations. It’s possible that you could see the Browns join the Watson sweepstakes, in addition to the Dolphins, and possibly the New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos or Pittsburgh Steelers. Jimmy G would probably go to the loser of such sweepstakes. Garoppolo has led a team to a Super Bowl a few years ago and even orchestrated the comeback to put San Fran in the playoffs. He can be a serviceable QB for a team looking to fill a void, particularly the teams that were just mentioned. The potential QB carousel is going to be a major storyline this offseason.
Coaches Catching the Boot
It’s that time of year where head coaches are getting canned. Of course, the Jacksonville Jaguars kicked things off with firing Urban Meyer a while back while the Denver Broncos have fired head coach Vic Fangio after the season finale. The Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears let go of their coaches Mike Zimmer and Matt Nagy, respectfully, on Monday. But in a surprise move, the Miami Dolphins fired head coach Brian Flores.
Probably the most unfortunate firing here belongs to Flores. He spent 3 seasons with the team and won 19 games in his final 2 seasons. This year definitely presented a challenge, as he had to deal with the trade rumors with Miami trying to make a move for Deshaun Watson. But once they got past that, the team went on a 8-1 run to finish the year. Yet it still was not enough for a coach who demonstrated that he can turn a team around after experiencing one of the biggest distracting headlines this season.
Reaction to the Chargers/Raiders Game
Since the season has been extended to 18 games, it was inevitable that there would be a game as crazy as the Sunday Night Football matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders. Even the circumstances surrounding the game were outrageous. Whichever team won, would make the playoffs, bringing the Pittsburgh Steelers with them, but if the game ended in a tie then the Steelers would be eliminated. With the Raiders holding a 29-14 lead in the 4th quarter, it looked like a victory would be recorded, until Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert led the team on a comeback to tie the game and send it into overtime. After both teams tied the game with a field goal in OT, Vegas QB Derek Carr led the team into field goal, with time dwindling down. With 38 seconds left, Chargers head coach Brandon Staley took a timeout. Raiders ran 2 more plays then kicked the game winning field goal.
It was the perfect weird finish for an abnormal game. Most season finale games are going to have some sort of playoff implications, and these were along the lines of the more unique levels. After the two teams were tied, you would think that Vegas would save their players for the playoff game and run the clock out – which was reportedly going to happen – but apparently that planned got scratched when Staley called the timeout. That decision really bit the Chargers coach in the butt and the entire internet let him know about it. It’s unfortunate they lost because Herbert played remarkable in that comeback, including throwing a TD pass on 4th and 21 to wide receiver Josh Palmer. Even though it ended harshly, kudos to the Chargers for fighting hard and keeping it close until the end.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Tennessee Titans QB Ryan Tannehill for saving the game for his team. In Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans, Titans were facing a 3rd and 5 in the 4th quarter, after the Texans cut a 21-0 lead to 21-18. Tannehill was about to be sacked by Texans defensive end Jacob Martin, but Martin lost grasp of the QB and Tannehill completed a pass to Titans receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a gain of 36 yards. Tennessee finished the drive in the end zone and held on to win the game and claim the 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Shut out to the New York Giants for running a QB sneak on 3rd and 9. In Sunday’s loss to the Washington Football Team, the Giants received a punt deep in their territory. Their first play on that drive was an incomplete pass, then head coach Joe Judge decided to draw up 2 straight QB sneaks in order to “prepare for the punt”. It’s understood that this time of year brings about a lackluster when you’re not playing for anything, but this is kind of wild to instruct your team to pull off. It’s probably also the reason why people were eager for him to get fired on Monday.
It is now playoff time and the NFL’s Super Wild Card Weekend will not disappoint. This playoff weekend will mark the first time that a postseason game will be played on a Monday. The Los Angeles Rams are going to host the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. Both teams already beat the other in their opponent’s home stadium, so this game could go either way. The same can be said when the Buffalo Bills host the New England Patriots. Buffalo got demolished by the run in their first matchup but got their revenge in the 2nd game. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might have a rookie QB but the legendary coach will find ways to wreak havoc on his opponent’s signal caller to even things out. But until then…I’ll holla.
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