Here are some football thoughts following yesterday's Week 4 games.
2. There has been so much love for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff since Thursday's "perfect" game against the Minnesota Vikings. That's great. It's deserved praise. He's played very good to great in nearly all of his games since Sean McVay's been calling his shots. The perception of Goff now is a whole lot different than the one most had after his 2016 rookie season. He was in a terrible situation then with the "high school" offense of Jeff Fisher. He was a bust then. He's in a great situation now with McVay and an excess of offensive weapons. He's a star now. The problem that I have with this perception change is that everything that we see from Goff now could be seen in his play at Cal. The calm in the pocket, the arm, the timing, the accuracy. All of it was on display in college. I went through the same thing with Aaron Rodgers. Many football "experts" were surprised that Rodgers was as mobile as he's proven to be. That includes his current head coach. Mike McCarthy was the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers when the team chose Utah quarterback Alex Smith over Cal's Rodgers. One of the deciding reasons was the supposedly modest mobility of Rodgers. Did anyone from the 49ers even take the time to hop over the Bay and watch Aaron Rodgers play? Much of the greatness that we see from Rodgers now could be seen during his two seasons at Cal. Including that mobility. Do any of the NFL's decision-makers know the way to Berkeley.
3. I thought that the Tennessee Titans' hiring of Mike Vrabel was one of the most interesting head coach decisions of the offseason. It's still early but the Titans are one of the most interesting teams. Especially if quarterback Marcus Mariota can play more games like he did yesterday. And especially if he can stay healthy.
4. Last year's Super Bowl teams are a combined 4-4. It's still so damn early.
5. No worrisome roughing the passer calls yesterday. That's good.
6. The 49ers sideline was beginning to look like a MASH unit yesterday.
7. Each week is further proof that Derwin James should never have been available for the Los Angeles Chargers with the 17th pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. He shouldn’t have made out of the top 10.
8. The Kansas City Chiefs have been on fire to start the season. It's the offense and second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes that's igniting and fanning those flames. They've scored 38, 42, and 38 points in their first three games. On the other side of the ball, the defense has allowed 28, 37, and 27 in those games. If Mahomes and the offense have any stumbles there could be problems. The Chiefs face a strong Broncos defense tonight.
9. Yesterday against the Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch looked very similar to the bull that came out of Cal over a decade ago.
10. In Thursday's Vikings-Rams game, an official's quick whistle turned what should've been a long Vikings touchdown catch and run by Adam Thielen into a mere first down conversion. Whistles, especially quick whistles, are supposed to be used to prevent injuries. There was really no chance of injuries on Thielen's catch because the two Rams defenders in the area showed no real interest in making contact with the receiver. He wasn't touched so he got and ran toward the end zone. The officials should've let Thielen run. If he was touched, the scoring review would've shown it and everything would be right in the world. Or at least in the game. The officials took a Vikings touchdown off the board. In a game in which the Vikings defense did little to slow the Rams offense the Vikings offense had to score touchdowns. In a game that was ultimately decided by seven points the officials took seven points away from the Vikings.
11. More Vikings. The Vikings haven't hosted a Thursday night game since 2013. I realize that the schedule-making process isn't an easy one. I also realize that avoiding an unfair scheduling trend like five straight Thursday night away games is a schedule-making mandate. Two of the Vikings five straight Thursday night travels have been to Arizona (2015) and Los Angeles (2018). That's a long flight on a very short week. Not only did the Vikings have to travel to Los Angeles on two days rest they faced a Rams team that hadn't traveled since Week 1.
10. In Thursday's Vikings-Rams game, an official's quick whistle turned what should've been a long Vikings touchdown catch and run by Adam Thielen into a mere first down conversion. Whistles, especially quick whistles, are supposed to be used to prevent injuries. There was really no chance of injuries on Thielen's catch because the two Rams defenders in the area showed no real interest in making contact with the receiver. He wasn't touched so he got and ran toward the end zone. The officials should've let Thielen run. If he was touched, the scoring review would've shown it and everything would be right in the world. Or at least in the game. The officials took a Vikings touchdown off the board. In a game in which the Vikings defense did little to slow the Rams offense the Vikings offense had to score touchdowns. In a game that was ultimately decided by seven points the officials took seven points away from the Vikings.
11. More Vikings. The Vikings haven't hosted a Thursday night game since 2013. I realize that the schedule-making process isn't an easy one. I also realize that avoiding an unfair scheduling trend like five straight Thursday night away games is a schedule-making mandate. Two of the Vikings five straight Thursday night travels have been to Arizona (2015) and Los Angeles (2018). That's a long flight on a very short week. Not only did the Vikings have to travel to Los Angeles on two days rest they faced a Rams team that hadn't traveled since Week 1.
12. Through the first 62 games of the 2018 season we've seen 12 400-yard passing games. 12! There were 8 last year. Yep, it keeps getting easier for today's NFL quarterbacks.
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