In an NFL postseason dominated by close games, the Super Bowl delivered another exciting finish as the Los Angeles Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals with a touchdown drive to take the lead at the end of the game. The Bengals had a chance to tie the game with a little over a minute left, but Aaron Donald got to Joe Burrow on fourth down at midfield to end any chance for the Bengals.
While the ending was exciting, both offenses struggled for long stretches in the game. The Bengals couldn’t protect Joe Borrow, and the Rams struggled behind a head-scratching game plan by Sean McVay. Many of us knew the Bengals would have trouble blocking the Rams front, but we didn’t expect McVay to continue calling running plays on first down when it was clear the Bengals were stopping the run. It’s one thing to have a game plan based on Cincinnati struggles against the run, but it’s quite another to continue running the ball on first down when the Bengals were obviously keying on the run.
Matthew Stafford was excellent on the final drive, and that’s exactly what you expect from a top-tier quarterback. His no-look pass to Cupp was nothing short of sensational. Cupp was amazing during the game, including a critical fourth down conversion on a WR sweep that kept the last drive alive. He certainly deserved the Super Bowl MVP trophy, though Donald would have been a worthy choice as well.
The Baltimore Ravens started the season against the Miami Dolphins, easily one of the worst teams in NFL history. Then they played the woeful Arizona Cardinals. After easy wins, naturally many in the press jumped to the conclusion that the Ravens were one of the best teams in the NFL. Oh, and suddenly Lamar Jackson was a cut below Patrick Mahomes.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Browns had plenty of hype coming into the season, and many in the pressed relished watching them struggle in their opener and then suffer some horrible play calls from Freddie Kitchens last week against the Rams. Many loved mocking Baker Mayfield for his slow start.
This poll from last week summed up the silliness we’ve been hearing. Lamar Jackson is a very talented player with a unique skill set, but there’s no way you take him over Baker Mayfield.
How bad can things get in New York? Dave Gettleman comes across as a caricature of a meathead sports executive who can’t seem to wrap his head around analytics and rational player evaluation. He goes by his considerable gut, and may end up making the New York Giants the laughing stock of the NFL.
Last year, Sam Darnold fell int his lap, but he passed and took a running back. This year, Josh Rosen was available for pennies on the dollar, and Gettleman passed again. Dwayne Haskins was available and yet Gettleman wasn’t interested. Oh, and he managed to get rid of Odell Beckham Jr. along the way as well.
Instead, Gettleman fell in love with Daniel Jones and drafted his with the 6th pick, even when he easily could have waited until pick 17. Jones seems like a great kid and a nice player, but there’s no way he’s worthy of the 6th pick in the draft based on his tape. The kid isn’t accurate and he doesn’t handle pressure well.
This pick is a disaster for the Giants, and this once-proud franchise is tuning into a joke.
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When Odell Beckham Jr. says he made 2015 NFL All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman “relevant” thanks to their battle during week 15 of the 2015 season, he sounds like a jilted ex-lover.
To watch the footage now, coupled with Beckham’s endless quotes since then (a sign in itself that he was bested that day, like an ex-girlfriend who can’t move on with her life), it becomes obvious what happened: Beckham, for possibly the first time in his life as an athlete, ran into a player that was better than him, and he didn’t know how to handle it.
As Troy Aikman said during the broadcast, “Norman has owned [Beckham] in this game.”
“People have been underestimating me since high school. And I don’t mean that in the cliched way. I had to walk-on to even play in college,” Norman told me in an interview for DiscoverBoating.com.”That by itself was so much work. And I have just continued to work from then on.”
