By Brandon Simmons
Reaction to Davante Adams and Amari Cooper Trades/Debut
Trade season went crazy at the end of last week as 2 number one wideouts found new homes. We talked about the Las Vegas Raiders sending Davante Adams to the New York Jets; this was followed up with the Cleveland Browns trading Amari Cooper to the Buffalo Bills. Cooper was sitting on a Browns with only one win on the season and a lot of questions around QB Deshaun Watson. This move could be signaling something more to come regarding their roster.
So how did each of these guys do in their debut? Cooper seemed to have made an immediate impact with his stat line of catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. His numbers contributed to Bills QB Josh Allen getting his first 300 yard passing game of the year. Adams did not have as much fortune on his side of things. In his debut, Adams had 3 catches for 30 yards as the New York Jets lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 37-15, in front of a national audience.
So who will benefit more from the trade they have made? To get this out the way, it won’t be the New York Jets. They have a stacked wide receiver room, that includes a 6 time all pro and a first round pick, and they still got their ass kicked with the leading receiver being a running back. That’s not a good sign at all. As for Buffalo, this trade might take them to another level. They traded away wide receiver Stefon Diggs in the offseason, but were still winning games without having a primary receiver.
However, rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman was drafted in the 2nd round to be that and has shown flashes within the past few weeks to do so. Sunday, Coleman had 4 catches for 125 yards in Cooper’s debut. Cooper can definitely serve as a mentor to Coleman, while these 2 become a dangerous tandem for this Bills passing attack.
Gotta Let the Deshaun Takes Go
Deshaun Watson has been under the ire of a lot of football fans for many reasons for a few years now and it has not been more evident than this week. Waton suffered an achilles injury and was cheered on by fans as he went down. After the game, his teammates – defensive end Myles Garrett and QB Jameis Winston – defended Watson and expressed empathy for the hurt signal caller. Winston gave a speech to reporters that praised Watson for his commitment to being better while praying for his recovery. However, it led to some disagreeing with the two Browns players, claiming that Watson should be absorbed of any empathy since he has 20 lawsuits of sexual assaults.
The criticism heaved at Garrett and Winston are ridiculous and it brings up the deeper issue of fake outrage. Nobody is dismissing the past mistakes of Watson, but to bring that up at a moment that had nothing to do with that is stupid and comes off as inauthentic. These analysts questioned where was the empathy for the victims, but that should have been asked when Watson was traded to the Browns and offered this huge contract. People shouldnhave beat down the Browns’ front office with this inquiry. At this point, it’s disrespectful to even bring them up and use them as a talking point for an unrelated matter. If one of those victims spoke out and said something to the effect of what the analysts’ said then they certainly have that right. That is an event that they went through that will affect their lives. That is way different than an analyst getting up on Monday morning to fill up his talking points on a footvall segment.
Deshaun Watson has been far from this “martyr” figure as he’s being alleged to be made into but as a player he still deserves the same respect. His numbers with the Cleveland Browns have trended downward and most of his tenure has been plagued by injury and suspension (for obvious reasons). Still, there has to be some type of class exhibited by those speaking on this situation. Football players are competitors but they hold a high level of respect and dignity for everyone who touches that field. There are fans who understand that and other fans that don’t, so the latter might have cheered because they were getting a new QB; that still doesn’t make what they did excusable. Speaking up for a teammate who went down due to injury doesn’t make it excusable to bring up some actions that have nothing to do with what’s happening on the field. People make mistakes and commit crimes and most of the time pay for those actions. Some of those actions are more egregious than others but if you feel consequences aren’t justifiably handled, it’s better to speak up sooner than later.
How Long is Russ the Starter?
This past week, Russell Wilson was named the starting QB for the Pittsburgh Steelers for the time being. Wilson signed with the Steelers in the offseason which was followed by the team trading for former Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields. After a calf injury during training camp, Wilson was sideline and Fields became the starter, leading the team to a 4-2 start. So it was quite the surprise when Russ got the nod to start Sunday against the New York Jets, a game he did not disappoint. Wilson threw 16 of 29 for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. His stat line was a big contributor to the Steelers getting a 37-15 victory.
As of right now, Russ is showing that this may have been his all along, at least for this season. Fields has taken strides with his play, seemingly having his best abilities used which has turned into his best start of his career. Wilson seems to bring a style that leans more towards throwing the ball, which could open things up for this entire offense. With this calf injury being on the hush side of things, and Fields playing great, many people felt it was Fields’ job to lose. Russ is on a 1 year deal himself, and his future is up in the air, depending on how he plays the rest of his starting tenure. After one game, and a solid performance, Wilson has left a lot to be desired, so he could be leading the offense until it’s time for him not to.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to Justin Jefferson recreating famous photo. In 2000, Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss and Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett created a photo in which they swapped jerseys. Fast forward to 2024 and Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards recreated the photo for an ESPN cover story.
Shut out to Davante Adams catching up on a loss. Adams was traded to the New York Jets this past week from the Las Vegas Raiders, who actually got blew out by the Steelers before the transaction, but it was a game he did not play in Well, a meme circulated about how the team took a Steelers loss while he was there, then got traded to another team and took another loss to Pittsburgh.
Bye weeks have been going on for a few weeks now but that hasn’t taken away the quality of some of these matchups. The San Francisco 49ers host the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football and it could be a crazy game. Both of these teams have had some struggles out the gate, in addition to dealing with injuries. Both teams’ seasons could be on the line in this game so expect a crucial fight between these two. An unorthodox game of the week will be between the Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears. The storyline in this game will be between the top 2 rookie QB’s this year: Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams and Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels. For what it’s worth, these two teams do have winning records, and a win may very well affect early playoff implications. But until then…I’ll holla.
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