Rams manage victory after week full of fires – ProFootballTalk

When the Rams' locker room door closed late Sunday afternoon, three people were not used to being on the edge of the crowd of players, coaches and staff members. soccer. In the center, as usual, was coach Sean McVay. That day, he spoke with emotion about the 36-31 win over Seattle. But he kept his most sincere and heartfelt words for people outside the headlines.

McVay said that he was giving four match balls.

"Sophie Luoto and Kristen Lee!" McVay threw a ball each.

"Bruce Warwick and Kate Kost!" McVay threw a ball at Warwick. Kost, Colorado, will prepare the Rams' trip this week, before his match in Mexico City next week, will have his own this week.

All four work in the football administration and operations for the Rams. When approximately 90 Rams players and staff were evacuated from their homes due to the California fires that hit their workplace in Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, Luoto and his team found accommodation ( sometimes two or three dwellings). as hotel after hotel in the area were also evacuated), families reunited, found an exercise center on Saturday and moved the train forward. In the end, nobody cares about your problems in the NFL. The referee was going to throw the play at 1:20 am on Sunday afternoon and the Seahawks would be ready, and you'd be better off too.

"In one way or another, we have prepared," said Sunday tackle Rams and leader Andrew Whitworth. "It's amazing to be able to win a football match in circumstances like this."

Circumstances like this.

Thursday morning, around 4:10. The cell phone on Whitworth's nightstand kept vibrating, he heard it and finally picked it up. Two former Bengal teammates, including NFL Players Association President Eric Winston, sent a series of text messages. As: Are you OK? You can not believe what happened? Whitworth had no idea what had happened, but he checked online and found out that there had been a shooting in a Thousand Oaks nightclub. The place was four miles from the Rams Training Center. There were dead and wounded, maybe a lot of each. Whitworth and his wife stood up, trying to understand what all this meant, especially for their four children and their school. And for what they could do to help anything that this last mass shot left behind.

Thursday, 10:35 McVay and Whitworth explained to the team that they were good members of the community in times of crisis. Whitworth was at LSU when Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and told his teammates Something.You will never regret trying to help a tragedy. "

Thursday, around 13 hours Before going out to train, Whitworth decided to put his money at the height of his emotions. He called his wife, Melissa, and told him that he wanted to donate his gambling check, about $ 60,000 after tax, to a fund created quickly to help shootout victims and their families. "I'm in," said Melissa Whitworth. "One hundred percent."

Thursday, around 15 hours At the training, two separate mega-fires appeared, visible to players and coaches. "These are pretty close," said Whitworth. They were about three miles from the practice center. In a few hours, firefighters would dig a trench in the other side of the Rams' facility, the kind of trench dug out when firefighters try to stop a forest fire from advancing. Before Whitworth left for the day, he learned that Highway 101, with which he was traveling from his home in nearby Sherwood, was partially closed. But he went home, like most of his teammates.

Friday, 2 hours Whitworth woke up in his room, the smell of pungent smoke everywhere. "We have to go," he says to his wife. But wait. His friend and teammate John Sullivan lived in the same neighborhood. "We can not leave them," said Whitworth, and he went to knock on the door of the Sullivans. Both families packed up quickly. The Whitworths piled up their children in one of their cars and headed south to Los Angeles. At 4:15 pm, they were in a Beverly Hills hotel without knowing if they would ever see their house again.

The Rams canceled Friday, one of the two biggest training days. Hard to work when no one can think of football. Players and coaches, packed or highly anticipated, must evacuate or rest in hotels, nervously watching the fires devour acres per minute.

"Friday," said Whitworth, "was a day of horror."

Another story. "My story, I'm sure, is part of a hundred stories," said Artis Twyman, senior director of communications at Rams. His community was evacuated and he called Luoto, the head of the football administration, to ask him to help find housing for him, his wife and their two children. She found a hotel in the nearby hills of Agoura that seemed safe. "At 3:30 in the morning, said Twyman, someone knocked on our door and told us to go out, the fire is near." So he called Luoto. She found them a hotel 45 minutes south, in Marina Del Rey. I have never succeeded. Motorway closed. Twyman called back. She said they should go north to Santa Barbara, about an hour away. She booked the Twymans in a hotel there. Finally, at 6 o'clock in the morning, they could sleep. "She was instrumental in that sort of thing, family after family," said Twyman.

"People have come into action, driving with their hearts," said Rams Vice President Kevin Demoff on Sunday. "Think of everything that has happened in such a short time. You go from 7 am Thursday to try to find a way to help rebuild our community after the shooting. At 3 pm, you wonder if you will even have a community. Two punches, one hour after the other.

Rams 36, Seattle 31. The Rams who could go home did so, but at least half of the organization's members went to hotels scattered around Los Angeles to see what would happen next. The team is expected to leave for Colorado today at 4 pm and a week of training there before the mega Monday night against the Chiefs. Enough big deal, the teams tied for the best football record at 9-1, playing in Mexico City. The Rams travel to Colorado Springs because it is 6,035 feet above sea level; Mexico is 7,382. The Rams want to get used to playing in the air.

What to expect? Well, the trip was still scheduled at 11pm. And Sunday. But what form will it take and what is it going on, as well as many details … to be determined.

"I do not know what I'm going to do," said Whitworth. "I have four children and a woman who need me now. Will they be at school? Will they have school? Will our house do it? Should I take them all with me to Colorado? I do not know. It's a little stressful.

A little? In advance of the game of the year, the Rams could have survived the adversity of the year.

We will come back to the 10th week in a moment, but let's start where I was Sunday: Kansas City, where the situation was very mixed.

If the situation is as bad as possible for the leaders, who earn by 12 points on a day when the offensive line was a sieve, start a parade. Phenom quarterback Patrick Mahomes was sacked five times and was besieged all day. The Cards lost five more tackles. It will be a long week for left tackler Eric Fisher, who was manhandled by Chandler Jones of Arizona, and this may have started during the match. According to Travis Kelce, the coaching staff took part in the offensive during the 26-14 win. "After what the coaches said, the way I played was just not acceptable. We say that because we were able to play just about everyone we played with. "

As a team, leaders should be happy that the Cardinals played by sending extra players and returning home fairly regularly. Instead of playing maximum coverage, Arizona put pressure on Mahomes … and it worked, and Mahomes burned the Cards. After the game, I sat in the office of coach Andy Reid, who preferred to watch the glass half full. "Today, Patrick has learned a lot about the different looks he's got," Reid said. "The interesting thing about him is that you could cheat him once, but normally you do not cheat him twice."

My return from watching this team over the last two months has been reinforced during the first training of the day. 75 yards, three games, 56 seconds … Chiefs 7, Cards 0. It looked like it would be 52-10. A football field has a width of 53.5 meters and the leaders use about 53. At this first touchdown, it was an excellent illustration of the extension of the defense of a border to l & # 39; other. Then, for Mahomes, he chooses the defensive poison.

On this piece, Kareem Hunt motioned out of the wide rear field at the right limit. Wideout Chris Conley was inside Hunt about six yards from the training, and Tyreek Hill was well adjusted to training in the right slot. Demetrious Harris was flanked on the left, and Demarcus Robinson was split in two on the left, near the limit. Five receivers, probably 48 meters from each other. Cards have a two-deep-safety look, but think about the difficulty. The security on the offensive right, Tre Boston, had to figure among three routes: a deep Hunt corner, a Conley midfielder, or a deep Hill post, one of the fastest men in football, to be covered . Once Hill overtook his opponent at the corner of Brandon Williams, Mahomes placed the ball in the center of the field, and Williams, the balloon in the air, was already signaling for safety: Where are you! And security had to be countered, You try to count three guys at once – two of them are under 4.4! The 37-yard touchdown seemed too easy. Mahomes has had a lot this year.

"This offense will be remembered in a few years," said Conley. "The weapons we have, the quarterback with this incredible vision. I am quite grateful to be part of it. "

One last thing: looking at Mahomes, it's interesting to see how many different ways he finds throwing. You rarely see the same throwing twice in a row. He throws three quarters, the frenzy, the handgun or the shovel. I saw his father, Pat Mahomes, the long-time thrower of the major leagues, after the game and asked him where it was coming from.

"I think baseball," said senior Mahomes, wearing the MAHOMES Chiefs jersey. "It's the kind of throw, all different, he would play in short-stop. This is one of the reasons why children should practice more than one sport. This can help you be more versatile.

The chefs did not have a great day. But the Titans have been kayaked by the Titans, and Kansas City enters the last six games with a two-game lead and the advantage of a pass for the 12th week, the last of the year. The Chiefs know that the Patriots may be their enemy in January and they would love if Tom Brady had to play Decibelville, in a red sea, against a young smuggler unable to throw Alex Smith.

So much else happened on Sunday:

• Do not judge injured Patriots during this week. It is not strange for a Belichick disciple to beat the master to his own games, as I will show you. But the defeat of Tennessee is worrying for New England because without Rob Gronkowski and without a strong match against a powerful Tennessee front, the day was dark. If Gronk remains injured for a few more weeks, New England is likely to suffer a rather despicable event, which consists of losing the first leg of the first round she has enjoyed for eight consecutive records in the NFL.

I found it interesting that Tennessee did not just beat the Pats. They dominated them. Similar stories of Belichick's followers who left the nest (after playing or coaching for him) and their first games played against him:

• October 11, 2009: Denver (and Josh McDaniels) 20, New England 17.
• September 23, 2018: Detroit (and Matt Patricia) 26, New England 10.
• November 11, 2018: Tennessee (and Mike Vrabel), age 34, New England 10.

• There is no better team than New Orleans at the moment. It's easily the best Saints team since the 2009 Super Bowl champion. That year, the Saints won their first 13 games and scored 35 points or more on seven of them. This year, the Saints won eight of their first nine games and outscored five 35 points. Surprisingly, Drew Brees looks a lot better. Think how great Brees was during the Super Bowl Saints race. This year, he is 7% more precise, the smuggler scores 14 points more and, with seven games to play, could be the place of the driver for his first reward to the most useful player. I think he has a better back, Alvin Kamara, than in 2009, and a better and more explosive receiver than the Mike Thomas Saints in 2009. In addition, the marriage between Brees and Sean Payton is so strong. Payton knows what to call. Brees knows what to ask during the week. While Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels can finish their sentences, Brees can also anticipate the game calls and Payton's atmosphere.

The real difference, however, is that the saints are finally strong in defense. They are almost one point better against the race than in 2009 (3.71 yards per port in 2018, 4.5 yards in 2009), and if you have an opposition in second and eighth places, well More than the second and fourth innings, this sets the stage for the kind of defensive aggression coordinator Dennis Allen likes to use.

With 4 to 5 from Philadelphia to New Orleans this week and preparing for his final, Hail Mary, for the 2018 playoffs, Payton will not have to worry about the fact that his team is sleeping on the Eagles. The saints must then hope that Kansas City will be able to beat the Rams and give New Orleans some respite for the NFC home game.

• The moment of Matt. Matt Barkley has always been a serious player, not good enough to stay in the list of NFL players. And he's never had another day like Sunday – the Jets 41-10 rout that let him smile in his ears 45 minutes after the match – they can never take away the fact that he started in a match of the biggest leagues. and won a decisive decision in ridiculous circumstances.

These circumstances: Barkley had only been a bill for 11 days before Sunday and had not played in the league for nearly two calendar years. "I knew I could play in this league," said Barkley. "I feel like I was made to play football and it was only one example of what I had to do."

Buffalo is off this week. There is no reason to return Josh Allen from his elbow injury during this lost season (3-7). I'd like to see if Barkley still has a jewel in him when the Bills go home in 13 days to play Jacksonville. Buffalo fans would go wild on Barkley if he started.

• So you want to know Philip Rivers? Listen to him. He is a guest of my current episode "The Peter King Podcast". A few times over the years, when I was asked what Rivers looked like, I replied: This is the type you meet every five years on a long flight, and when you get off, you have the impression to know him for 10 years.The guy can talk – and I find his energy contagious. Not to mention that now, one month away from his 37th birthday, he's playing the best football of his life in the NFL. The Chargers beat the Triple-A Raiders 20-6 on Sunday, and Rivers continued to look for his first real chance of being a major factor in the playoffs since the Chargers lost to the 17-0 Patriots in the playoff game. title of the AFC 12 years ago. Nuggets of our conversation:

• On leadership: "When people ask me, how do you want to be remembered? What is most important to you? 'I was a teammate. I love this part. Being one of the guys is the best. "

• After being trained at high school in Decatur, Alabama, by her father: "I think of my father, it was the little things. If you want to do something, do it completely. If you are going to mow the grass, do it properly. You do not cut the corners. We will empty the bag after every third or fourth band. I will not blow the grass everywhere. From the point of view of football, there is one element of this hardness. And this desire to win is that he trained his players and it was him as a man. He washed the laundry as a head coach. Make sure the sweaters were in the washing machine and everyone had a return home before we got home. Little things like that. He cared for all the guys. I think the guys who did not even play would tell you that they had a great experience playing for him. "

• On his 160-mile round trip from his home in San Diego to the Charge Practice Center in Orange County, in a van equipped with a video system, he would have lost no time commuting: "I did some research on that. I drove it a few times. I really wanted to exhaust it, not just make a hasty decision. This has exceeded expectations, how well everything is going well. [The van] is an extended quarterback room. Because from 5 pm to 6:30 pm, no matter who I am, I would be sitting in this QB room. Now it's the same thing, I can be on I-5 South. Go home at about the same time. I've been able to keep the same work routine. I had usually come in at 6am. Now I'm leaving at 6am because I'm going into the quarterback room of my driveway. If I had been in seven or eight years, would we have done it that way? Probably not. But when you've spent 14 years in a community and your family and kids are a bit older, that makes sense. I am grateful that everything is going as planned. "

• Playing in the AFC title game in Foxboro 12 years ago with a torn ACL the week before in Indianapolis: "I was just ripped. I was like, I can not believe we're about to have the chance to go to the Super Bowl. And I might not be able to go. I remember [coach] Norv Turner tells me, you know, that you receive news from the access checklist and that it's like you're not playing, and Norv just said, "Hey, do not worry you are going to be at some of these games. You will participate in several AFC championships. As you know, we did not return. I did not come back, it was 11 years ago. But … talking to my mother, she said you know San Sebastian; do not go too far here, but the feast of St. Sebastian in the Catholic Church is January 20. And he is the patron saint of the athletes. I have a great affection for Saint Sebastian. Immediately, I was like what? I have chills. I still have some chills to tell you about it right now. I thought well, shoot! I will be able to play! Just like that, I thought maybe I could play. I went through a range of emotions. It was up and down, up and down all week. Rehab. I have slept in the knee machine which straightens it and folds it, straightens it and folds it. It was crazy, the physical rehab that I suffered. It's beyond me and beyond the tenacity that allowed me to play this Sunday. I did not have the chance to suffer and I did not have any pain in this game. And that was six days after meniscus surgery and the elimination of ACL. There has been a lot of talk about this game over the last decade. I certainly did not do it for any credit. I wanted it, if I could be with them, I wanted to be with them and give them a chance to see if we could play the big game. We did not do it. It was a memory of heckuva for sure.

• By learning to accept the possibility that he does not win a Super Bowl in his career: "One coach told me: John Ramsdale, quarterback coach, he was with the Rams the years they won it. He said that if your only happiness was whether you won a Super Bowl or not, then you would have a chance to be a miserable person. And that's true! Thirty-one of us will not win every year. This does not mean that you do not fight like crazy to get there, but it can not be the only thing to do because you are lucky enough to be unhappy. "

• Five nuggets on the Chiefs-Rams clash in Mexico next Monday:

1. The playground of Azteca Stadium is a source of serious concern. This is a multi-use turf-synthetic combined surface, mainly used for football and concerts, suspended by the heavy rains of the rainy season this year. Recent photos of the field are awful. The NFL will be mobilizing today and tomorrow to see if surgery will be required on the field before the game.

2. Raul Allegre, the former NFL kicker who now works for ESPN Deportes, was born in Mexico. The match, he said, was not well received, as there were no very important fan bases for the Chiefs or the Rams, and it was not sold at the last minute. But he says that the atmosphere in the city the night of the match will be like for a World Cup match. "Everyone is excited," he said.

3. The Rams have to work in Colorado Springs at high altitude for a week starting Tuesday, as Mexico City is 2 km from sea level. Chiefs studied the issue and chose to stay in Kansas City for a week before to take the plane for 3.5 hours Sunday. Coach Andy Reid said, "The elevation is the elevation. I'm sure the Rams will work at altitude. Were not. I do not think that becomes a problem. We did our homework on this last season. It does not really matter. It does not matter whether it is on the CVS car park. "

4. The Chiefs will return home immediately after the match and arrive at approximately 5:00 am Central Standard Time to begin their week off. The Rams will stay in Mexico City and leave Tuesday morning to start their week off Tuesday at midday. Why? The curfew at Los Angeles International Airport's curfew is subject to a 12:30 pm curfew, and the Rams can not return home in time to clear customs late Monday night.

5. A huge advantage for each team to have a leave of week 12. Both teams will have passes on the weekend of November 25 and, if they get one of the first two seeded in playoffs, each could receive another five weeks later. Washington and Carolina have had their holidays in September and will probably not serve at all if they play in the playoffs. Ask these teams what is the difference between week 4 and week 12 leave.

Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell is scheduled to report to the team by Tuesday at 4 pm to make sure he gets a credited year of service, which would allow him to be a free agent in March at 27 years old. As Adam Schefter reported on Saturday night, Bell should not report, which means he would not play football at all in 2018 and head towards free will in March in the hope to recover the $ 14.5 million it had lost by not playing under the franchise label in 2018.

It seems like a bad decision for me. It's clear that if Bell gets a contract with at least $ 45 million worth of collateral (and I do not know which team will pay him how much, assuming it's free and that's not certain), that, because the Steelers The last offer included a $ 30 million guarantee. Bell would be justified in giving up this year's money. False. Most of the money guaranteed in Bell's contract would probably be in the first two years of his next contract. Since a team has very little chance of signing a gigantic contract with a guy and then cutting it off after one year, the guarantee is essentially a formality, unless large sums of money not included in the third year or later. So if Bell gets a $ 45 million guarantee and, say, $ 40 million is guaranteed in the first two years, did it really win by giving $ 14.5 million this year? In other words: how much money could Bell have earned in 2018, 2019 and 2020, what I would call his main years of earnings (26, 27 and 28 years)?

By not playing this year: Zero this year, plus about $ 45 million over the next two years. Total: $ 45 million, unless of course Bell does not find a desperate team with huge room for maneuver (Jets? Colts?) To overpay for the player and position.

Playing with the franchise tag, then becoming a free agent in 2019: $ 14.5 million this year, plus about $ 45 million over the next two years, assuming it has done well this year. (This has to be taken into account.) Total: $ 59.5 million.

Bell could argue that since he is the best receiver in football, he should be paid as a receiver. Defective. Average number of rushes per game in the NFL: 19.8. Average number of receptions: 5.0.

Even if he loses this argument, Bell would argue, I am sure, that by not being beaten this year, he would be better placed to get that money back in 2021 (at 29) and beyond. Maybe he's going. And maybe in three years he will be able to say, "I told you so." He will show Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore as proof that it is still possible to play productively after 30 years. That's right, but these guys play, by and large, for the minimum at 33 (Peterson) and 35 (Gore) this year. But it's a big bet. And we did not even mention the market of the halves. Should a team desperate to go backwards pay $ 18 million a year? Or simply write one? In 2017, Alvin Kamara, the NFL offensive rookie of the year, was selected 67th overall, and NFL 2017 champion Kareem Hunt was ranked 86th. So there is a lot of play here.

I am not optimistic for Bell. Someone who has experience in negotiating important contracts with the NFL, and whose opinion, I implicitly trust in the contractual issues, told me Sunday: "It will never recover 14 , $ 5 million. We are not talking about a few millions. It's a serious sum that changes your life. "

Washington quarterback, Alex Smith, was a teammate, said it was dangerous to be the first pick in the draft, and Patrick Mahomes:

"I learned that you were congratulated for being a good teammate. I've learned to be a teammate of many different types over the years. Like Shaun Hill. I think when I got hurt early in my career in San Francisco, Shaun had to step in to play and watch Shaun play and get ready to learn a lot. Nous étions bons copains. Lui et moi avons participé. L'année suivante, c'était un concours ouvert. Shaun et moi avons directement rivalisé pour le travail et je me souviens que Shaun et moi parlions beaucoup du fait que cela n’était pas nécessaire. Les médias n’avaient pas besoin de le faire. Il ne fallait pas que ce soit moi contre lui. Nous n’avons pas à nous laisser entraîner dans ce cliché. Cela pourrait être différent. Que nous puissions nous battre nos fesses les unes contre les autres et que nous allions le faire, et que rien ne saignerait jamais dans le vestiaire. Il n'y aurait jamais une réduction des prix les uns des autres.

«J'ai beaucoup appris de cela lorsque les Niners ont rédigé Kaep [Colin Kaepernick]. Les gens voulaient en venir à son sujet contre moi… Je me suis finalement rendu compte que nos trajectoires ne se dressaient pas les unes contre les autres. Ma trajectoire, ce que je pouvais contrôler à ce sujet, n’a pas eu d’incidence sur cela. Je savais que si je jouais au football gagnant, il n’y aurait pas de place pour moi quelque part. C’est tout ce qui m’inquiétait et qui était un bon coéquipier.

«J’avais donc beaucoup d’expérience dans ce domaine lorsque nous avons rédigé Pat à Kansas City. Je me souviens du premier appel que j'ai eu avec lui lorsque nous l'avons rédigé. J’ai immédiatement dit: «Vous ne devrez jamais vous inquiéter de ce que je ne vous compromettrai jamais.» Je pense que cela l’a pris au dépourvu. Mais je voulais juste que ce soit très clair.

«Je savais que si je jouais au football, il n’y aurait pas de place pour moi. Pat et moi, aucun de nous deux ne l'a choisi. Aucun de nous n'a décidé à ce sujet. Pourquoi devrais-je le prendre sur lui? Je ne laisserais pas ce récit entrer dans notre vestiaire, entrer dans le vestiaire. Et puis l’autre chose, c’est que si vous montrez du respect, vous obtenez du respect. Pat est arrivé immédiatement et était un bon coéquipier. Alors, pourquoi ne serais-je pas un bon coéquipier?

«Je me sens comme dans ma carrière et dans ma vie… J'ai beaucoup appris de mes cinq années à Kansas City avec Andy Reid. Je suis pour toujours changé à cause de cela. Reconnaissant pour cela. La façon dont il s'est terminé [being traded after two straight opening-game playoff losses]Je sens encore que j’ai beaucoup à prouver.

«Venir à une nouvelle équipe, une équipe de vétérans, et rattraper son retard si la plupart des gars connaissent l’offensive, c’est difficile. Vous sprintez pour rattraper tout le monde. Chaque dimanche, chaque semaine, vous essayez de trouver un moyen de gagner. Ensuite, continuons à prendre des mesures chaque semaine. Ce processus doit continuer en saison.

«L’une des choses que j’ai apprises de toutes mes expériences, en revenant au premier choix, est de savoir comment continuer. Jour après jour. Avoir un mauvais jeu, juste jouer votre chemin à travers. Je pense cependant que j'ai porté beaucoup de poids pendant de nombreuses années.

«J'ai eu beaucoup d'anxiété pendant quelques années là-bas, surtout après mon année recrue. J'ai creusé un grand trou. Vous venez de vous battre avec cette marque de buste pendant de nombreuses années.

«Il m'a fallu quelques années pour surmonter cela et en être complètement éloigné. Il n’ya pas de moyen facile. Personne ne peut vous dire quoi que ce soit. Ce n’est que quelques années plus tard, je suis libre de cela. Il m'a probablement fallu quatre ou cinq ans pour surmonter ce problème et le surmonter. Mais oui, ça m'a rongé un bon bout de temps en tant que jeune joueur. "

Joueurs offensifs de la semaine

Nick Chubb et Baker Mayfield, demi / quart arrière, Cleveland. Chubb a donné aux Browns une raison de céder Carlos Hyde aux Jags avant l’échéance, et il l’a montré dimanche dans l’étourdissant Atlanta. Chubb pour Cleveland: 20 courses, 176 verges, avec un touché au galop de 92 verges. Hyde pour Jacksonville: trois courses, cinq mètres. Ouch. Mayfield (17 sur 20, 216 verges, trois touchés, aucune décision, 151.2) semble de mieux en mieux tous les dimanches, et les sceptiques à propos du quart-arrière court numéro un au général sont assez loin dans les bois ce matin.

Andrew Luck, quarterback, Indianapolis. Cela devient donc très intéressant. Trois victoires consécutives – sur Oakland, Buffalo et maintenant Jacksonville – marquant 37, 42 et 29 points, sans être licencié, et avec des taux d'achèvement de plus de 70% à chaque match. Andrew Luck est de retour. Les Colts sont 4-5, et voici les Titans dans Lucas Oil dimanche prochain.

Ezekiel Elliott, porteur de ballon, Dallas. Cela aurait pu être aussi Zack Martin, pour son superbe blocage sur autant de clichés en seconde période lorsqu'il jouait avec un genou douloureux. Mais Elliott a été magnifique tout au long de la course, récoltant 151 verges et un touché sur 19 courses, et six balles pour 36 verges et un autre touché. Elliott est le type de colonne vertébrale dont les Cowboys ont besoin pour continuer à se nourrir. Il leur donne la meilleure chance d'attraper et de dépasser Washington vulnérable dans l'est du NFC.

Matt Barkley, quarterback, Buffalo. C’est bizarre de même taper ces mots. "Matt Barkley, quarterback, Buffalo." Barkley était parti. Sa carrière dans la NFL était Kaput. La seule raison pour laquelle il a commencé dimanche était à cause de blessures au 1 (Josh Allen) et au 2 (Derek Anderson), et à la méchanceté du 3 (Nathan Peterman). Les quarts-arrière auront de meilleurs jours que Barkley (15 sur 25, 232 verges, deux touchés, une interception), mais nombreux sont ceux qui remporteront un match sur la route avec une attaque sans espoir après avoir été dans l’équipe pendant moins de deux semaines.

Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback, Pittsburgh. Les Steelers ont connu une renaissance offensive – sans Le’Veon Bell. As has happened for the past 15 seasons, the offense revolved around Roethlisberger in an unexpected rout, 52-21, over the Panthers. With James Connor having a quiet night, Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes to five different receivers and had the first five-touchdown, no-interception, perfect-passer-rating game of his illustrious career. Prettiest throw of the night: his dropped-into-the-bucket piece of perfection to Antonio Brown, which Brown turned into a 53-yard touchdown.

Defensive Players of the Week

Wesley Woodyard, linebacker, Tennessee. Could give this to any number of Titans defenders, who frustrated a very good Patriots offense on Sunday. Woodyard had 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks of Tom Brady, who was under constant pressure from Tennessee. The Titans blitzed early and often, hitting Brady six times and forcing several errant throws. The ultimate hat-tip from the Patriots was when they removed Brady in the fourth quarter to get him out of harms way with the game out of reach.

Chandler Jones, defensive end, Arizona. Good to be out on the road to see players shine who I don’t normally see in person. Jones, who has more sacks than any player in football since opening day 2016 (36.5, to Von Miller’s 32.5), buried Patrick Mahomes twice in the first half at Kansas City. Jones and his mates shattered Mahomes’ year-long sense of security in the pocket with a five-sack day. Jones comes hard every snap, and he can win a bull-rush or beat you wide. Impressive day for an impressive player, even in a loss.

Leighton Vander Esch, linebacker, Dallas. The stat line was very good for the rookie in his 10th NFL game—13 tackles, one interception—but as Cris Collinsworth harped on late in the 27-20 Dallas victory, it was Vander Esch’s tackle of Eagles back Corey Clement, evading two Philly blockers, for a five-yard loss at the two-minute warning that was the key play late in the Dallas win.

Vince Williams, linebacker, Pittsburgh. When the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier with his spinal injury last December, they struggled to replace his sideline-to-sideline impact, and gave up 28 points per game down the stretch. That’s down to 23.2 this year, and Pittsburgh held the explosive Panthers to 21 this week, in part due to the big plays of Williams, one of Shazier’s best friends. Williams returned a Cam Newton interception for a 17-yard touchdown, and on the next series, nailed Newton for an eight-yard sack.

Coach of the Week

Mike Tomlin, coach, Pittsburgh. On the occasion of Tomlin’s 200th game as a Steeler head coach (regular and postseason games included) Thursday night, a 52-21 victory over Carolina, it is worth noting that:

• Tomlin is 6-2-1 while battling the ghost and weekly will-he-show-up-or-won’t-he distraction of Le’Veon Bell, and making sure it doesn’t disrupt his team. This is not the case.

• Tomlin hasn’t had a losing season in his 11 full seasons as Steeler coach, and Pittsburgh needs only two wins in the last seven games to ensure making that 12-for-12.

• The Steelers, of course, have had three coaches in the last 49 seasons. The winning percentages of each: Chuck Noll .572 (in 366 games), Bill Cowher .619 (in 261 games), Tomlin .656 (in 200 games).

• In regular-season games since 2016, only Bill Belichick has a better record than Tomlin. Belichick is 35-7 since opening day 2016. Tomlin is 30-10-1. Andy Reid is 31-11. No NFC coach has more than 26 wins in that span.

Brian Daboll, offensive coordinator, Bills. Talk about a coach under fire. Daboll’s offense has been south of pathetic. Points scored in the Bills’ four-game losing streak: 33. Points scored Sunday: 41. When you’re in the middle of a crisis, you’ve got to resort to desperate measures, which Daboll did. He designed a pass to left tackle Dion Dawkins, and it worked, going for a 7-yard touchdown, and it actually broke up the route of the Jets. Daboll’s imagination went a long way in this game.

Goat of the Week

Eagles fans, Philadelphia. For booing the Eagles off the field at halftime in Week 10. It hasn’t been the season you’d want in Philly. And you’re losing to the Cowboys, toothlessly, 13-3. But booing the crap out of the team that delivered a stirring Super Bowl win nine months ago? Totally bush league.

New leader in my MVP clubhouse after 10 weeks. The race as I see it:

1. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans. Last week: 2. Apace for a 37-touchdown, two-pick season, and for the best passer rating of all time (123.8), and for the most accurate (.773) season a passer has ever had. Put up 45 and 51 points the last two weeks against winning teams. Saints have won eight straight. I don’t demote Mahomes lightly. He could still win it, as others could too. But it’s beginning to look a lot like Brees’ first MVP year.

2. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City. Last week: 1. A meh game in the 26-14 win over the Cards. Mahomes, in his 10th game, broke the Chiefs’ record for touchdown passes in a season. Might not be an exaggeratioin to say next week’s game against the Rams in Mexico could tilt the MVP race for good. A great game by Mahomes against the best team left on the Chiefs’ schedule will put him right back with Brees, 1 and 1a, for MVP.

3. Philip Rivers, QB, L.A. Chargers. Last week: 4. Joey Bosa hasn’t played a snap and the Chargers are 7-2. QB is the biggest reason.

4. Todd Gurley, RB, L.A. Rams. Last week: 3. He has a touchdown in 13 straight games. That seems good.

5. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh. Last week: Not ranked. MVPs won by the veterans on this list: Brees 0, Rivers 0, Roethlisberger 0. End of the schneid coming?

I

“It canceled out the weed smell we usually get in Oakland.”

—Chargers defensive lineman Corey Liuget, to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, on the strong smell of the California fires wafting into the Oakland Coliseum on Sunday during the Chargers-Raiders game.

II

"That's what happens when you go cheap. You get your ass kicked.”

—Titans running back Dion Lewis, who the Patriots chose not to re-sign after last season. Tennessee creamed the Patriots 34-10 on Sunday.

I know what quote will be on the Patriots’ whiteboard before the Tennessee-at-New England divisional game in January.

III

“This was a total team breakdown. A Kotitian disgrace.”

—Steve Serby of the New York Post, writing on the Jets’ 41-10 loss to the Bills.

“Kotitian” is one of the best adjectives in NFL history, crafted by one of the best makers of adjectives in NFL media history, Serby. It refers to Rich Kotite, who coached the Jets to a 4-28 record in 1995 and 1996.

IV

“This was a good game, but it wasn’t a perfect game.”

—Saints coach Sean Payton, after the 51-14 road win over the Bengals.

Darn close.

V

“I felt like it was worth it. I thought it would be more. It was a momentum-changer in the game.”

—Tennessee safety Kevin Byard, on the NFL fining him $10,026 for his act of running to the middle of the Cowboys’ home field and dancing on the large star emblem there during the Titans’ win Monday night.

VI

“My son was in Las Vegas with a lot of his friends and he came home. He didn’t come home last night, and I don’t want prayers. I do not want thoughts. I want gun control.”

—Susan Schmidt-Orfanos, the mother of Thousand Oaks murder victim Telemachus Orfanos, one of 12 young people massacred inside a nightclub in California Wednesday night.

I

On Nov. 5, 2007, Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes with zero interceptions, averaging 13.1 yards per attempt in a night game against the Ravens at Heinz Field. The Steelers, winning their sixth game of the year, beat the Ravens by 31 points. Roethlisberger’s passer rating: 158.3.

On Nov. 8, 2018, Ben Roethlisberger threw five touchdown passes with zero interceptions, averaging 13.1 yards per attempt in a night game against the Panthers at Heinz Field. The Steelers, winning their sixth game of the year, beat the Panthers by 31 points. Roethlisberger’s passer rating: 158.3.

II

It’s possible that the incompetence of the Buffalo passing game—temporarily derailed Sunday with a quite competent performance by Matt Barkley—could be its own category weekly. Let’s show you the most interesting ones this week:

• In their last 11 games, the Bills have started five quarterbacks (Tyrod Taylor, Josh Allen, Nathan Peterman, Derek Alexander, Matt Barkley). In their last 11 years, the Chargers have started one (Philip Rivers).

• In 2018, 42 quarterbacks have started at least one NFL game. Among those 42 quarterbacks, Buffalo passers are ranked 40th, 41st and 42nd. Allen (61.8), Anderson (56.0) and Peterman (30.7) are those bottom three.

• Matt Barkley’s 12th NFL game was the first in which he had a rating of more than 100. (His rating against the Jets was 117.4.)

• The Bills started Barkley 12 days after signing him. Last month, the Bills started Derek Anderson 12 days after signing him.

Monday, 1:11 p.m., Penn Station subway platform, New York City:

Living in New York City, I find it not particularly odd to see a man in a Superman costume playing the electric violin for money on a subway platform.

Would you believe Mike McGlinchey and Da’Shawn Hand as NFL offensive and defensive rookies of the year?

This week, having just passed the midpoint of the season, I asked Eric Eager of Pro Football Focus, the data-driven analytics firm that contributes to this column weekly, to rate the top 20 rookies in football through midseason. The rating is a combination of three things: impact, level of play, and playing time. (Cleveland running back Nick Chubb is on the list, but not high because he played just 146 of Cleveland’s 670 snaps through nine games.)

The list is heavy on defense, as you’ll see:

1. Da’Shawn Hand, DT, Detroit (114th overall pick). Ninth among all defensive tackles in pass-rush productivity, per PFF.

2. Jessie Bates, S, Cincinnati (54). First-team PFF safety at midseason, allowing just a 21.7 QB rating through eight games.

3. Derwin James, S, L.A. Chargers (17). Four sacks, a pick, 10 QB disruptions. First-day impact on solid D.

4. Darius Leonard, LB, Indianapolis (36). NFL tackles leader through nine weeks (66, per PFF numbers, in just seven games), and a very sure tackler.

5. Leighton Vander Esch, LB, Dallas (19). PFF tracks the number of run-stops for every defender, and Vander Esch is fifth in the league in run-stop percentage.

6. Jaire Alexander, CB, Green Bay (18). Five pass breakups, a pick, and allowing a rating of 74.1 in his coverage area.

7. Mike McGlinchey, T, San Francisco (9). Through nine weeks, PFF has him as the league’s best run-blocking tackle.

8. Baker Mayfield, QB, Cleveland (1). The Browns’ MVP, inconsistent on a shaky franchise, has been worth a win above replacement. Big potential.

9. Denzel Ward, CB, Cleveland (4). Though heavily targeted, Ward has allowed a 73.3 rating in his coverage area. Three picks too.

10. Saquon Barkley, RB, N.Y. Giants (2). His line hasn’t helped, but Barkley has powered through it: He’s second in the league with 54 tackles broken.

11. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit (43). We’ve said something similar about 67 backs post-Barry, but Johnson (3.1 yards after first contact) could be the long-term back the Lions have needed for two decades.

12. Taron Johnson, CB, Buffalo (121). Good all-around DB. Has come off the edge for three pressures, and he has two pass breakups and a pick.

13. Justin Reid, S, Houston (68). Morphed into the starter at free safety and played well (two picks, three pressures) after being the Texans’ top pick in a depleted draft last April.

14. D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina (24). Some shaky moments, but he’s been an important piece (164 yards after the catch) to a rising offense.

15. Maurice Hurst, DT, Oakland (140). Lasted till the fifth round because of health concerns, but he’s turned into a building block who is very hard to move.

16. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta (26). Got dinged out of Alabama because of mediocre separation speed, but he’s been a professional, mature-beyond-his-years wideout. Second in NFL with seven TDs

17. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland (35). Added value to the Browns last month, allowing them to deal Carlos Hyde for a fifth-round pick next year. Plus, 49.1 percent of Chubb’s yards have been gained on explosive (15+ yards) runs, third-best among running backs.

18. Michael Dickson, P, Seattle (149). The Aussie has justified the hype. Turned into the league’s fourth-rated punter, and engineered the fake punt of the year, running for a first down deep in his territory in Seattle’s win over Detroit.

19. Tremon Smith, DB, Kansas City (196). PFF’s top-rated return man in the league, and his monster return very nearly lifted the Chiefs over New England.

20. Jason Sanders, K, Miami (229). Missed only two kicks through midseason and produced 35 touchbacks. Great value for a seventh-round investment.

A PFF Elite subscription gives you access to performance metrics the pros use.

How the final two picks of the first round in 2007 spent this past week:

• The 31st overall pick, Greg Olsen, 33, caught four passes and played 45 snaps as a tight end for the Panthers at Pittsburgh.

• The 32nd overall pick, Anthony Gonzalez, 34, a Republican, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, getting 56.8 percent of the vote in Ohio’s 16th District in suburban Cleveland. Gonzalez, a wide receiver, played five NFL seasons for the Colts before retiring in 2012.

I

II

III

From a couple years ago, but it resurfaced this week. Worth a watch.

IV

V

To comment on the column, or to say anything about anything, you can reach me by email.

The heir to Bowles. From Edward S.: “Who would be your top three choices to replace Todd Bowles if he gets fired?”

I’d interview a load of smart young offensive guys—Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo, Stanford coach David Shaw, Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and Purdue’s Jeff Brohm. May the best man win … if there was one to fall in love with, and he would come.

A schedule idea from Turkey. From Abdullah O., of Konya, Turkey: “I can’t understand the NFL schedule. Why not eliminate divisions? Each team plays one game against every team in its conference and the last game with any team from opposite conference? This way all teams have an almost equal schedule, and playoff teams would be the best six teams in each conference, since there would be no favor for the division leaders.”

Abdullah! Writing all the way from Turkey! Thanks. So I see two problems with your idea. One: Team A from the NFC would play Team B from the AFC once every 16 years. Not sure that’s a good idea—it means, for instance, that the Giants and Jets would play once every 16 years, and that, say, Andrew Luck and Drew Brees, in another era, might never play against each other. The other factor that most teams would lobby to retain is the home-and-away tradition of playing teams in your own division annually. I do like the fact that the playoff system would be cleaner because all 32 teams would have essentially an egalitarian schedule.

1. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of NFL Week 10:

a. I don’t say this nearly enough: Pro Football Reference is the MVW—Most Valuable Website. I love it. I use it five times a day, and maybe 20 on Sunday nights writing this column. If that was a public company, I’d buy stock in it.

b. Nothing stranger in any NFL game this year: Chicago kicker Cody Parkey hit an upright on two PATs and two field goals against Detroit, missing all four kicks.

c. Hard for even the most ardent Dirk Koetter backers to say he should return in 2019. His fault or not, the Bucs were abysmal in so many ways Sunday against Washington, not the least of which was going scoreless on their first four red zone visits.

d. Just watch this Khalil Mack sack of Matthew Stafford. He owned Lions left tackle Taylor Decker, steamrolling him on the way to Stafford.

e. The win over Detroit was Mitchell Trubisky’s first division win. He lost his first six NFC North starts.

f. The Cardinals are dragging down David Johnson, who led the NFL in scrimmage yards in 2016. He hadn’t rushed for more than 75 yards in a game all season before Sunday’s 98-yard performance in K.C.

g. Raiders have seven sacks in nine games. If there was just some way they could have had a pass rush this year.

h. Ryan Tannehill has missed 24 of the last 29 games for Miami.

i. Logan Ryan sacking Tom Brady on the last play of the first half. Now that must have felt weird … for both.

j. Chiefs/Saints 96, Bengals 24.

k. Same old Bengals. Imagine your defense on average 12 points allowed per quarter over two games. Yuck. And they’ve allowed more than 500 yards three games in a row. Grim times in Bengaldom.

l. Seattle defensive tackle Jarran Reed is going to be thinking about that dropped pick deep in Seahawk territory, down two points in the fourth quarter, for a while.

m. Seattle’s Rashaad Penny finally justified his draft status with a productive game at L.A., including a 38-yard run and an 18-yard TD run.

not. Andrew Whitworth is one of the best free-agent signings ever.

o. I mean that about the Rams left tackle, signed from Cincinnati last year. It’s not hyperbole. A month shy of turning 37, Whitworth is a road-grader at a position that’s vital in today’s game, and he’s turned into the kind of leader every team longs for.

p. Ndamukong Suh is still a huge factor, even if Aaron Donald sucks all the defensive attention (rightfully so) out of the Ram room.

q. Not saying Cam Heyward gets no respect, because he clearly gets some. But he is a major factor in every game for Pittsburgh.

r. Is lowering the helmet and contacting an opponent even a penalty anymore?

s. Aaron Jones (15 carries, 145 yards) is just what Aaron Rodgers needs to take some of the heat off him. Jones will be needed in a big way Thursday night in Seattle for Green Bay.

t. Regarding the Eric Reid ejection: It was borderline, but I thought he deserved it. The game doesn’t need 220-pound human projectiles flying through the air, uncertain where the tip of the projectile will contact the runner. If the NFL is going to exist well into the future, that’s the kind of play that should not be in the game.

u. Losing by 31 to anyone is not a good thing. (Surprise!) But Carolina is 6-3, and I’d still give the Panthers an inside track at a playoff spot in the NFC. Next four games: at 3-6 Detroit, 4-5 Seattle at home, at 3-6 Tampa Bay, at 3-6-1 Cleveland.

v. NFL players need to be as vocal as NBA players about supporting gun reform in America.

2. I think this is a vital time in the young reign of Matt Patricia in Detroit. His team is hurt. His team stinks. (Lions were down 26-0 Sunday in Chicago.) They’ve surrendered 16 sacks in the last two games. Matthew Stafford doesn’t have a chance. Now, beginning next Sunday, they’ve got three playoff contenders in a 15-day span—Carolina, Chicago and the Rams. All three are at home, but the way the Lions are playing, it could soon turn into a home-field disadvantage if the crowd turns on them. Big challenge for Patricia midway through his rookie year.

3. I think in the span of two hours, Dante Fowler Jr., went from goat to semi-hero in Los Angeles. He gave the Seahawks new life with two awful penalties early, then sealed the Rams win with a strip-sack of Russell Wilson, leading to the needed insurance touchdown. That’s going to turn out to be a smart trade by the Rams—and Fowler is going to be an important part of the Rams’ chances next Monday against the Chiefs.

4. I think Tennessee’s going to be in the pennant race in late December, for one important reason an NFL GM enunciated for me the other day: “Playing against them makes your offense feel like it’s playing in quicksand. Just hard to get anything going consistently against them.” New England had won six straight. The Pats had scored an average of 35.5 points a game in that streak. And Tennessee’s front just throttled the Patriots, who had zero points in their last nine possessions. For a Josh McDaniels/Tom Brady offense, that’s borderline unprecedented.

5. I think it’s hard to envision anyone beating out Aaron Donald (10 games, 12 sacks, rushing from all over the Ram front) for his second straight Defensive Player of the Year award.

6. I think I like Brandon Marshall to the Saints a lot—if that’s what happens in the wake of Dez Bryant‘s unfortunate Achilles tear in his first practice in New Orleans last week. The 6-foot-5 Marshall, given 15 snaps a game, will be the kind of jump-ball-winning weapon Drew Brees would use wisely every week. For the Saints’ sake, I hope it happens.

7. I think this is my weekly advice to Jerry Jones: Stop storming toward an extension for Dak Prescott. Pas encore. Great guy, great teammate … average-at-best QB for the last 1.5 years. Attendre. You want him to be the future; anyone who roots for the Cowboys is rooting like crazy for him to be the future. But you can’t be sure he is, yet.

8. I think I’m pretty sure Jerry Jones is not listening to my weekly advice.

9. I think I’m not too fired up about Aaron Rodgers’ completion percentage hovering around 60 percent. (It was a career-low 61.1 percent after nine games.) Why? He is on pace to set a yardage record (he has never thrown for 5,000 yards, and he was apace for 5,084 entering Sunday’s game against Miami), and his TD-to-pick ratio was 15-to-1. Plus, his yards-per-attempt was 7.8; it hasn’t been higher in a season since 2014. He’s been playing with a patchwork receiver corps, and with a strained knee. I don’t think it’s time to worry about Rodgers.

10. I think these are my other thoughts of the week:

a. Heartbroken for the California shooting victims, and continue to be heartbroken, too, for the tens of thousands fleeing the fires there. Amazing that people as far north as San Francisco were being told to stay indoors over the weekend because of unhealthy levels of smoke and particulates in the air—from hundreds of miles away.

b. Kudos to the Los Angeles Times for its expansive coverage of the murders at the country bar, and the fires. Two stories, either of which could be the California story of the year, happening within 36 hours, and the paper of record came through with strong work. Read the paper’s excellent blog on the fire and the fire-fighting efforts.

c. Writer Liam Dillon, on the scene at a church where many of the evacuees have temporarily settled, writes this tough scene:

Standing next to his white truck in the church parking lot, Markham Odell recalled escaping from his property along the Feather River Canyon in Paradise on Thursday morning. The sky, Odell said, became as black as midnight at 9:30 a.m. and as he was preparing to leave, a dead bird fell out of the sky and hit him in the shoulder . He felt overwhelming heat from the fire.

“I’m 61,” Odell said. “I’ve never panicked at any time in my life. But I felt it start to come.”

Odell, a prospector who works in Nevada, has lived on his property since 1987. A friend of the family sent him a photo after the fire came through. His home, greenhouse, barn and shed where he kept his tools were gone. “We’re homeless,” he said. “Most of our friends are homeless. Our family also.”

d. Op-ed of the Week: From the widow of Pat Tillman, on protesting NFL players, and people who would try to divine Pat Tillman’s thoughts about the actions of today’s players.

e. From Marie Tillman: “Patriotism is complex, like Pat himself. It is not blind or unquestioning. And it’s a fool’s errand to argue over who’s allowed to claim sacrifice. Many of the kneeling athletes say they are protesting as American patriots who want the nation to be better than it is. When I look around at the vitriol aimed at them for expressing their beliefs, and at the compulsion to simplify complicated issues to pit people on opposing sides, I want to kneel, too.”

f. I stand with Jim Acosta of CNN, April Ryan of American Urban Radio, Yamiche Alcindor of PBS, Abby Phillip of CNN, Peter Alexander of NBC and those doing the citizens’ work of asking questions—and countering false claims when need be—at the White House.

g. The pushback from those (including scores on Twitter when I posted similar thoughts after the president demeaned reporters at a White House news briefing) who support the president will not go away. All are entitled to their opinion in this country. But ragers on social media and at political rallies can’t and won’t prevent reporters from doing what reporters have done for decades: question authority, investigate what needs to be investigated, and act as the collective watchdog for the citizenry. It’s a part of the Constitution.

h. If there’d been Twitter in 1973, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein would have felt the ire of the Nixon-right-or-wrong crowd as bad as, or worse than, Jim Acosta’s feeling it now. There’s something Woodward and Bernstein can be thankful.

i. Story of the Week: by Stephanie Carnes, a clinical social worker in upstate New York who has worked with Central American immigrant students, for Huffington Post, on the goals of those in the caravans surging north from central America. Stark, and real.

j. Sports Column of the Week: I don’t agree with much of this piece by Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, but I admire him a lot for writing against the grain and making some good points about the relentlessly slammed Bill James opinion the other day that all athletes are replaceable.

k. Food for thought, for sure. But my point is this: Sure the Red Sox or the Packers or the Warriors or the Canadiens would continue to field their teams if every player on their teams suddenly walked away or left in free-agency, and they had to invent new teams tomorrow. But it’s a foolish premise. Teams change all the time. But it’s a particularly demeaning thing to say that franchise is more important than the players, and it’s just dumb. There are no teams without players, and no players without teams. So what’s the point in arguing either side?

l. Bob Gibson turned 83 the other day. Bet he can still throw 85. After warming up, that is.

m. Coffeenerdness: Best hotel Starbucks in America: the expansive lobby location in the Sheraton in downtown Seattle. Not only is the workspace desirable (long, spacious bar with power at every seat), but in the evening there are six beer choices, six wine choices and two cider choices. I believe if the stools were 20 percent more comfortable, I could live there.

not. Hey Nick Ahmed! Congrats on the Gold Glove!

o. Bryce Harper probably could hit 45 homers a year playing for the Yankees, 35 to 38 playing in most other parks. I suppose everybody should be lusting over trying to get him, but he’s got a little too much Giancarlo Stanton in him for my taste. Last season showed he can have some serious dry spells.

p. Manny Machado is great. Really. But he scares me for other reasons. Not running hard too often, those suspect “accidents” on first-base bags.

q. You’re talking about paying those guys $30 million to $37 million a year, I assume. Seems overly risky to me, but I’m sure they’ll get it somewhere.

r. Seattle to Kansas City, nonstop, Alaska Airlines, 9:50 a.m. Saturday. Mimosas ordered by my seatmate in first 105 minutes of the flight: six. Waking minutes in last 100 minutes of the flight: zero.

s. I haven’t caught on to that morning drinking thing. Maybe one day.

t. On the same flight, I lost count how many times the woman in the row behind us sing-songed to her teacup Yorkie: “Do you wanna see Grandpa? You’re going to see Grandpa!”

u. Yes you are!

v. Good boy!

w. I am thinking seriously of emptying out both of my email mailboxes. I mean, going down to zero in each, and then purging them daily. Whatever I miss, I miss. Something freeing about that thought. Anyone ever done that? And just starting from scratch?

San Francisco 27, New York Giants 12. The Legend of Nick Mullens grows. And on the other side, for the second straight year, the Bay Area swallows Eli Manning. Last year, it was the (correct) Ben McAdoo benching in Oakland. This year, in Santa Clara, Manning could be making his last start for a while, or ever, in blue. If Pat Shurmur doesn’t see competence out of his offense tonight, the Eli Watch will be on.

Today, Tuesday … Pittsburgh. Le’Veon Bell watch in Pittsburgh.

Tuesday … Tampa. Happy 55th birthday, Vinny Testaverde. That happened suddenly.

Thursday … Seattle. FOX lessened the potential quality of its Sunday doubleheader games this year by letting the league schedule a stronger slate of Thursday games. Last week: Carolina at Pittsburgh. This week: Green Bay at Seattle. Rodgers-Wilson should be fun … if both teams enter remotely healthy. Rough turnaround for the Pack, from Sunday afternoon to a 1,900-mile Wednesday flight and a Thursday game in the Thunderdome, particularly after trips to Los Angeles and Foxboro in the last 16 days. It is downright odd that, through mid-November, the Packers do not have a road win this season.

Saturday … Indianapolis. Happy 40th birthday, Reggie Wayne.

About Le’Veon …
Covered out the wazoo. Just
wake me when he plays.