[ad_1]
We thought the Washington football team would have a bad defense this year. It was not the case.
We thought the Atlanta Falcons would have a juicy offense in 2021. Maybe it will happen after all.
What we know for sure – Atlanta and Washington met in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, and it was pinball at its best.
The football team had the last laugh, 34-30, in a game which was a fantastic windfall. The teams combined for 50 first downs, 786 yards of attack and buckets of big plays from fantasy primary sources.
Let’s start on the winning side, where Taylor Heinicke (290 passing yards, three touchdowns, 43 rushing yards) does a very believable Ryan Fitzpatrick impersonation. Heinicke is both a gunslinger and a daredevil, making more than a few “no no no YES” throws each week. And he’s directing the ball where we want it to go – Terry McLaurin (6-123-2) was a monster on Sunday, and JD McKissic caught five passes, including the magnificent 30-yard touchdown that made the difference in the game. .
Antonio Gibson (two catches) was not involved much in the passing game which showcases his potential. But a 14-63-1 line on the ground keeps him playable. Logan Thomas left in the first half with a hamstring injury; his prominent status is unknown.
Washington against Atlanta’s lousy defense comes as no surprise – the Falcons were 30th in incoming defensive DVOA this week. But the WFT’s defense was just a higher lunge, which is why Atlanta’s offensive ultimately showed some fragility.
Falcons show signs of life
Matt Ryan, given for dead in some fantastic circles, finally had a day to savor (283 yards, four touchdowns). To be fair, he still got a modest 6.7 YPA average, so it’s not aerial circus. But it’s a step up from the Falcons’ passing game.
Cordarrelle Patterson continues to be the shocking star of the Falcons’ offense. He scored three times on just six targets (5-82-3), and even though one of the touchdowns was a gift from the Washington defense – Patterson was 10 yards from defenders on an ordinary course – we have to recognize that Ryan, head coach Arthur Smith and Patterson are on the same page. Patterson is 30 years old and is on his fifth NFL team. He’s reached four Pro Bowls as special teams ace, but maybe the Falcons have finally figured out how to best use his first-round pedigree.
There is of course other first-round talent in Atlanta. We are still waiting for them to take it. Calvin Ridley’s 7-80-0 line on 13 targets is a step forward, although he still doesn’t come down as often as we would like. Kyle Pitts was 4-50-0 on nine targets; it still flashes once or twice per game, but it’s not the player we expected when Atlanta ostensibly selected a hybrid wide receiver with the fourth pick overall.
Mike Davis’ managers can’t be thrilled – he ran nowhere (13 carries, 14 yards) while Patterson and Wayne Gallman (6-29-0) were also used. Sadly, Davis bailed out his fantastic day with deodorant – a determined 7-yard touchdown in the fourth period. The fantastic angle for Davis this summer was that he could defeat ordinary talent with high volume, but Patterson’s emergence will limit his potential.
Washington looks like the fun team going forward, lining up with the Saints, Chiefs and Packers over the next three weeks. Atlanta flies to London to play against the Jets, then takes the standard post-Europe leave.
Chiefs another “outclassed” traveling circus
We expected the Chiefs to be a coming-of-year carnival team, and they lived up to that expectation. Patrick Mahomes knows he has to win every game with a big offensive day; his defense can’t stop much. Most of the fantastic angles featured in the Kansas City game at Philadelphia came through, with the Chiefs taking the win (and a much anticipated cover), 42-30.
There’s not much to say about Mahomes these days – five touchdown passes, 9.3 YPA, he can do it in his sleep. But it was encouraging to see Tyreek Hill going mad after two calm games – Hill passed the Eagles high school all day, en route to a crushing 11-186-3 line. It was Travis Kelce’s turn to be underused, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire (114 yards total, touchdown) had one of his best performances.
Jalen Hurts has become one of the safest fantastic options, scoring with his arm (387 yards, two touchdowns) and legs (47 yards rushing). Qualifiers Kenneth Gainwell (89 total yards, touchdown) and DeVonta Smith (7-122-0) came out of the box smoking. Dallas Goedert (5-56-1) had a touchdown and Zach Ertz lost one on a pick; Hurts knows how to find his big targets in the middle of the field.
The loser of this mix is Miles Sanders, who has been sidelined again (7-13 on the ground, 3-34 on reception). Hurts and Gainwell cut into his job, and the Philadelphia pass defense forces the Eagles to avoid conventional running play. The Eagles’ offensive line is also a problem. The timing doesn’t help either, with Carolina and Tampa Bay next to the track.
Speed lap
• I admit Daniel Jones confused me when he couldn’t beat that bad Atlanta team in Week 3. Sunday’s victory in New Orleans was a big step forward. Jones has only one choice all year round – a Hail Mary at halftime. The saints did not send him away. Kenny Golladay is getting comfortable and Saquon Barkley is looking a little better every week. The Giants can at least be a dashing offense, and maybe still fun. And Jones brings a rushed fairness every week, a fantastic panel from the gods.
• Sometimes we make the mistake of assuming a defense stinks just because it’s related to a poor overall football team. The Jets defense definitely doesn’t stink; it is a credible unit. And it can take a punch.
• Zach Wilson and Justin Fields may not be Fantastic Factors for a while, but they can support viable Fantastic Enlargements. Corey Davis has been in play all season, and obviously Darnell Mooney and Fields have something to work on together.
• You can’t complain about the use in the Dallas backfield – Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard are both ripping off big chunks. OC Kellen Moore will be a post-season training candidate.
• Jameis Winston improved as the game progressed, and you can’t really blame him for the loss to the Giants. But the staff of the Saints isn’t what Winston does well, and how comfortable can Winston be knowing that Taysom Hill is going to play a song every game? The Saints should just accept the inevitable – they have to be a brass knuckles attack, and Hill is the appropriate quarterback for that style.
• I thought the Rams would continue to frustrate Kyler Murray, but the Cardinals dived on the Rams from the first snap. And I’m very impressed when Murray plays the way he’s been playing lately, running less and looking further. Tight end Maxx Williams is a fun post-hype sleeper, a former tight end of pedigree who can sneak up on opponents Arizona who are worried about Murray’s legs and this team’s dynamic receiving group.
• Next week I have to take on a strong Rams squad after being embarrassed. Figure LA finds a way to win in Seattle. And I guess the Seahawks don’t like Chris Carson as much as I thought they would. (Seattle also plays to the beat of a turtle, not the story we were sold all summer long.)
• Just when I thought D’Andre Swift was too fat to fail, he throws a clunker in Chicago. But he’s still the primary receiver on a team that will be lagging most often, and Detroit should have scored well over 14 points on Sunday – his gross offensive production overall was equal to Chicago’s.
• The Browns continue to have a passing game in the phone book – nine players have been targeted and no one has seen more than seven looks. Odell Beckham was wide open on a walk-in touchdown and Baker Mayfield missed it, but OBJ managers must accept that their man will never be dotted with targets on the bus. This offense will always spread the ball around. And Cleveland’s more defense will ensure that Browns games are rarely shootouts.
• Although one of Deebo Samuel’s touchdowns came on a fluke, he’s still emerging as the alpha dog in the Niners passing game. He led the team in targets for four straight weeks, and his monster game on Sunday came with Brandon Aiyuk doing nothing on the other side.
While Hollywood Brown isn’t a bad player, the 2019 NFL Draft is remarkable for all the receiving stars who have gone after the first round. Look elsewhere if you’re a Patriots, Chiefs, or Cardinals fan – Samuel, AJ Brown, DK Metcalf, Diontae Johnson and Terry McLaurin all arrived after the first round.
• James Conner is a deodorant in volume but especially for touchdown. Chase Edmonds is an explosive player with almost no touchdown equity. The scout in you still wants Edmonds. The fantasy realist sees the reason for signing Conner. No matter what we think, we have to tailor things to the way real teams think.
[ad_2]
Source link