By Brandon Simmons
Reaction to A.J. Brown’s Comments and Recent Performance
A.J. Brown had something to say about the Philadelphia Eagles offense…again. The Eagles wide receiver made headlines this week when he was seen on a Twitch stream saying how this season has been a shit show and encouraging anyone who owns him in fantasy football should get rid of him. The next day, after practice, he addressed his comments with the media. He told reporters that he wasn’t going to apologize for his statement s but also his comments weren’t related to anything stat-related as would be assumed by many. Brown wrapped up his week Sunday night with a Eagles win over the Detroit Lions, with 7 catches for 49 yards.
A.J. Brown, like a lot of wide receivers in history, is not happy with how he’s being used in this offense and it’s tough to pick a side with him. He is a dynamic wide receiver that can put up big numbers with a QB who can deliver him the football properly. When he first got to Philly, he had back to back 1400 yard receiving seasons. However, as mentioned earlier bedore, this Eagles offense operates a little different on a weekly basis. Their primary focus is running the ball where Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is the focus followed by the Tush Push. This has hampered Brown’s numbers, capping him at just over 1,000 yards last year and just 457 at this point.
Brown has a valid case for being underused but it might fall on deaf ears. Philly’s offense is down as a whole this year, ranking 20th overall compared to 7th last season. Even Barkley has taken a dip in his numbers. The problem with this – as it’s been hinted to earlier on this platform – the Eagles are winning. Brown has a couple of 100-yard games and so does his teammate, Eagles wide receiver DeVanta Smith. However, he is the only one speaking out this and it’s making him a scapegoat where he doesn’t have to be. Speaking up about the offense’s struggles is one thing, but constantly bringing it up to point out how you’re being under-utilized is just going to turn into a full on distraction at some point. The Eagles aren’t worried about who’s catching passes as long as they’re catching wins.
The Real Problem With Shadeur’s Storyline
Cleveland Browns rookie QB Shadeur Sanders made his debut this past Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens and it shook the internet up. Sanders entered the game in the 2nd half after Browns rookie QB Dillon Gabriel exited the game with a concussion. What followed was the Browns blowing a 16-10 lead, losing 23-16 and a whole bunch of furor from the NFl world. Sanders finished the game throwing 4 of 16 for 47 yards, 1 pick and sacked twice. It divided fans with saying that maybe the rookie is not ready or good as presumed while others feel his performance was the result of his unfair treatment in his development he’s presumably faced all year. Former NFL QB Luke McCown laid out more of an insight into what happens with a backup QB. With that being said, here’s what’s the really the issue.
When it comes to this Shadeur storyline there seems to be a begrudging a lot of people are holding on to from the draft. There are those who feel Shadeur shouldn’t have dropped as far as he did, and an argument can be made for that. However, he did, and unfortunately for those rooting for him, he’s going to be treated like a 5th round pick who is a backup, which doesn’t sound the most glamorous as you would imagine. So no, his preparation during the week might not involve reps with the first team consistently, it’s something he might have to mentally prepare himself for or carve out time to do on his own. That’s based off McCown’s account and every team handles these situations differently. The thing is, there is a fight between what could be and what really is. Shadeur cpuld be a higher drafted QB given a better opportunity in development, but the reality is he is a Day 3 rookie playing in an organizational with a turbulent history of QB’s. His hill is going to be higher for where he wants to go. It’s not about how much people love him or what he’s done up until this point, because it’s only going to matter what how he approaches ths obstacles to come ahead.
Shoutouts/Shutouts
Shout out to game winning field goals. Sunday, there were 4 different game winning field goals that happened. In the NFL Madrid game, Miami Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson kixked a game winning 29-yard field goal in overtime. Chicago Bears kicker Cairos Santos kicked a game winner to complete the team’s comeback win. Houston Texans kicker Matthew Writght – who was replacing the injured Kaimi Fairbairn – kicked a game winning field goal against the Tennessee Titans. Carolina Panthers rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald kicked a field goal in overtime, the 2nd OT game winner on the day. Denver Broncos kicker Will Lutz kicked a game winning field goa against the Kansas City Chiefs, roughly a year after the same game where he had a failed attempt.
Shutout to Ja’Marr Chase for getting caught in 4k. Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver got into a small scrap with Pittaburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey. Ramsey punched Chase and was ejected. However, it was later discovered through video review that Chase actually spit on Ramsey, and now Chase has been suspended for 1 game, which he plans to appeal.
Week 12 arrives in time as you organize your holiday travel plans. The Kansas City Chiefs will be fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive when they host the Indianapolis Colts. This would also be considered a trap game for the Colts who are battling for homefield advantage in the playoffs. The Los Angeles Rams will host the Tampa Bay Bucaneers, in which should be an explosive shootout Sunday Night. Coming into Week 11, Rams QB Matthew Stafford had 3 straight games of 4 TD passes while the Bucs are coming off a 32 point in a loss. Tampa should be angry coming off that loss while Los Angeles should be eager to light the scoreboard up. But until then…I’ll holla.
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