Week 8 Football Thoughts

With the Minnesota Vikings on a mini-bye due to playing last Thursday, my mind drifted to other football things on a stress-free football Sunday. Of course, the Vikings were never far from those thoughts.

1. The Minnesota Vikings are 6-2 at the midpoint of the 2019 season. That's pretty great seeing as many media honks were preparing last rites about a month ago. 

2. Sundays feel so light when the Vikings aren't playing.

3. Minnesota Vikings Midseaon Honors:
    Offensive MVP: Dalvin Cook, RB
    Defensive MVP: Eric Kendricks, LB
    Special Teams MVP: Britton Colquitt, P
    Rookie of the Year: Garrett Bradbury, C
    Surprise of the Year: Alexander Mattison, RB

Colquitt gets the nod over kicker Dan Bailey simply because his addition as the holder the week before the season seemed to settle the entire kicking process. He's been fine as the team's punter but it's his holding that's had the greatest impact.

4. Perhaps it's because I'm so aware/sensitive to media perception of the Vikings but there always seems to be a "but" in the narrative describing the team's play. "The Vikings' offense is heating up BUT it's come against suspect defenses." "Cousins has been playing well BUT he struggles against teams with winning records, in prime time, one the road, etc, etc." There's a big BUT when the media crafts their narrative of the Vikings' strong play in October. The New England Patriots' defense is putting together an all-time great season but rare is the mention that the dominance has come against the weakest set of teams that has ever dotted an NFL team's schedule. There's no BUT when crafting the narrative of the Patriots' terrific start to the season. There's no talk of the Patriots' surprisingly pedestrian offense. As for the Cousins can't beat winning teams narrative, if wins against teams with losing records are taken out of every quarterback's win-loss record, very few would be sporting a winning mark. The best quarterbacks feast on poor teams and hover around .500 against the good teams. If a team or player is playing well at the NFL level there shouldn't be a BUT to explain it away. 

5. Latavius Murray is a really good running back. He could be the top back for many teams. He's big, runs with power, and has the speed to run for a while if he pops through the line. He's very good in pass protection and is effective as a pass catcher. He's a complete back. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings to be their top running back in 2017 but ended up being the other back when they drafted Dalvin Cook. Murray took over the lead role when Cook tore his ACL and he often shined. Murray was a very good player and teammate in Minnesota. It looks like he's doing the same in New Orleans. He's been terrific in place of Alvin Kamara the last two weeks.

6. I'm still not sold on Kyler Murray as a top-notch NFL quarterback but he sure does have the arm to be one. My goodness, he throws a perty pass.

7. Murray threw a pass to Christian Kirk that was tightly contested by Saints DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. It was the sort of contested pass that routinely draws a penalty flag for interference. There was no flag on this play. There shouldn't have been. Two players were fighting for the ball and neither player interfered with the other's ability to do so. Just when I was on the verge of losing all faith in the official's seemingly random pass interference judgement I see this play. I sure wish this sort of officiating would become the norm.

8. The San Francisco 49ers dismantled the Carolina Panthers 51-13. The New England Patriots throttled the Cleveland Browns 27-13. The 49ers (7-0) and Patriots (8-0) continued their unbeaten ways. I'm still not sure what to think of either team. The Patriots' unbelievable success over the past two decades answers many questions about their play but neither team has really been challenged this season. Are they as great as they appear to be or has each just had a really easy schedule? No matter the reason, they are gaining momentum with each easy win and both look great. No BUTS about it.

9. Plays of the day.
a. With less than two minutes to play, Jacoby Brissett broke through a Von Miller sack attempt and unleashed a 35-yard rocket to TY Hilton. That play extended the drive that led to Adam Vinatieri's game-winning 51-yard field goal.
b. DeSahaun Watson broke through a sack attempt and a foot to the eye to toss a 9-yard touchdown pass to Darren Fells. That touchdown ended up being the deciding scoring in the Texans' 27-24 win over the Raiders.
c. Aaron Rodgers' sack-avoiding, touchdown toss that somehow found Jamaal Williams in the corner of the end zone.
d. Nick Bosa's lineman-evading, leaping interception of Kyle Allen.

10. It was fun watching Teddy Bridgewater lead the Saints on a five-game winning run but it's great to have Drew Brees back on the field.

11. I just can't believe that J.J. Watt's season is done.

12. The Indianapolis Colts are another team that's something of a puzzle. Every one of their seven games has been decided by a single score. They could easily be anywhere between 0-7 and 7-0. It must be nerve-wracking to be a fan of the team. It says something about their resiliency that they have been able to pull out five wins. Especially after the sudden preseason retirement of their franchise quarterback.

13. 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa has probably wrapped up the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. His stat line against the Carolina Panthers:
3 sacks
3 QB hits
3 tackles for loss
4 tackles
1 pass defense
And 1 ridiculous interception that he returned 46 yards
Nick Bosa is really good at football.

14. San Diego Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa also did the family proud. His day against the Chicago Bears.
2 sacks
3 QB hits
4 tackles for loss
7 tackles
Joey Bosa is really good at football.

15. The Bears missed a game-winning field goal attempt.

16. The Green Bay Packers had a tough time with the Kansas City Chiefs JV team.

17. I'm looking forward to an NFL Sunday with the Minnesota Vikings.