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Hi Folks,
We do a ton of insightful, thoughtful and serious features here at Footballguys with smart people thinking deeply for you. This is not one of those features.
This is Random Shots and it's a few pages of me downloading my goofy and dysfunctional mental hard drive that gets stuffed with way too many random items from too many hours watching, reading about and listening to football every weekend and throughout the week. It's the only way I manage. Here's hoping it has some value for you.
We'll see. Now let's get to it.
J
Random Shots is not meant to be heavy. But I'd be lying if I didn't tell you Las Vegas broke my heart Monday. Your's too likely.
It's easy to become exasperated in times like this. But hang in there. I'm down with this quote.
"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."
Some credit this to the Talmud. Others disagree. I don't care too much where it came from as it rings true for me in times like these.
Do what you can with what you have. And Rock On.
That last line's from the Book of Joe. That one I know.
Let's do this.
You can't stop Tony Romo. You can only hope to contain him.
And
He apparently even found time to grab a beer with fans in the stands...
Short yardage specialist LeGarrette Blount rushed for 136 yards on 16 carries including a 68-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Of course, he did.
And Bill Belichick's Defense is terrible.
And the Rams are good.
Thank goodness we have Jay Cutler to give us some sense of normalcy.
To be fair though, Cutler did try to retire...
From halftime of the New Orleans - Miami game in London.
If you google "Football Coach Voice", John Fox comes up.
Interestingly, you get the same result googling "3 pack a day Marlboro guy voice"...
College Football Note:
I love Dak Prescott but these cleats are the worst.
On the other end of the cleats spectrum, Julio Jones was rocking the Ric Flairs.
Although Julio Jones left with an injury.
Shocked Fantasy GMs responded...
This was no time to get cute with the Music Note of the week. Thank you, Tom Petty.
You will be missed, Sir.
If the original Patriot defense had been this bad, we'd all still be British.
You know Rex Ryan wishes he'd said that...
Hat Tip NFL_Memes
Here's a redemption story. The last time Dennis Allen coached football in London, he was Oakland's head coach. He was fired after losing 38-14 to the Dolphins in London. Sunday in London, as the Saints defensive coordinator, Allen's team shut out the Dolphins.
That has to feel pretty good.
Hat Tip to Rich Eisen for that one.
You'll remember last week the Jaguars up 37-0 successfully converted a fake punt against Baltimore.
This week, the Jets ran and converted a fake punt against Jacksonville.
A live look in on John Harbaugh...
Worst uniform of the season so far was easily the Rams mismatched effort Sunday.
The team is trotting out some lame excuse about wanting to incrementally move toward a new look in 2019 yada yada. Whatever.
The Jets are 2-2. Looks like the market hasn't caught up yet though...
Thanks to Footballguy David Dodds for that one.
For you Dragon Ball Z guys, JuJu Smith-Schuster may be your new WR. He hit them with a Kamehameha after scoring Sunday.
The Chargers are tarping off seats in a 27,000 seat Major League Soccer stadium. This move from San Diego is working perfectly.
No disrespect to the Texans' offense, but definitely the clown.
Here's a thought. Maybe it's not the best idea using pocket passer QBs as wideouts for the Wildcat.
Aaron Rodgers so far this season:
Week 1 - 1 Pass TD
Week 2 - 2 Pass TDs
Week 3 - 3 Pass TDs
Week 4 - 4 Pass TDs
C'mon Week 5.
Thanks to Footballguy Klaus Krauthan for that one.
I mostly avoid the "hot take" shouting shows. But Shannon Sharp on the "Milds n Henn Dog and now y'all got problems with ME. LET ME CELEBRATE!" is fun here. Skip looks lost. "Where did you buy those, Rite-Aid?"
Stat of the Week from SI.com's Peter King. Saints RB Adrian Peterson is on pace for a 324-yard rushing season. IF he stays healthy.
Odell Beckham, Jr. posted this picture on his Instagram and said "I give this game everything I got. Aint no way around it."
Torrey Holt says "Hi".
This week's Tennessee - Houston game looked like a Flashback:
Hat Tip NFL_Memes
Travis Kelce is a PPR MONSTER.
Thanks to Footballguy Steve Fisher for that one.
The Rams are 3-1 and one of the hottest stories in Sports. Ask Jeff Fisher how 3-1 can go...
Wrapping with this one from the Rams postgame locker room Sunday.
I love everything about this.
First, it's fun to see Sean McVay thrive. Yes, winning makes everything work but his youthful energy and passion seem to be working with this team. he does a few smart things here.
First, he's short and to the point. He tells the guys he's proud of them and loves how they are competing. Then he tells them he loves them and he loves where they're going. Don't be afraid to tell people you love them. Guys especially are generally terrible with this.
Next, he honored coach Wade Phillips who's forty years his senior. The Cowboys scored 30 points on this defense. But he knew returning to Dallas was a big deal to Phillips.
Then, he called out kicker Greg Zuerlein. Zuerlein made seven field goals and scored 23 of the Rams 35 points so he clearly earned it. But McVay knows kicking is about confidence and he used a game ball to recognize his guy.
I've no idea if it was intentional, but he did not give a game ball to QB Jared Goff. Goff played well completing 21 of 36 for 255 yards, 2 TDs, and no interceptions. Maybe that's to keep his ego in check. Maybe it's nothing.
The funniest part, of course, was Wade Phillips totally muffing the team breakdown. He looked giddy when McVay asked him to break them down and said, "Rams on 3, RAMS!". The players howled as that's of course not how you do it. They let him try again and he said, "Family on 3. 1, 2, 3 FAMILY!". Which made the whole thing perfect.
And maybe the most important thing McVay did here was unnoticed by many. He said his words, gave the game balls, asked Phillips to break them down and immediately stepped away. This was Phillips' moment and McVay completely gave it to him. That's something you don't see a lot of today. And a reason why I'm pulling for McVay and the Rams.
Same thing applies to us. Know when to yield the spotlight. And for the people you love, tell them.
That'll do it for this week, Folks. Thanks to Footballguys Clayton Gray, David Dodds, Rich Tarantino, Steve Fisher, Klaus Krauthan and Steve Fisher for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, shoot me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Thanks for playing along. I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.
Peace and Grace to you.
J