EMERALD CITY & the 12TH MAN

 

SEAHAWKS HISTORY:

        The Coffee Capital of the World, Rain City, Transplant City, or as most know it as Emerald City is the home of the NFL’s 28^th franchise.  The “12^th man” refers to the fans of the Seattle Seahawks (used for many football teams) who were established as an NFL team at the start of the 1976 season.  The Seahawks were one of two expansion teams that first appeared in the NFL in 1976, the other team being the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Upon joining the league, the NFL placed Seattle in the NFC West Division while having placed the Tampa Bay Bucs in the AFC West Division.  The Seahawks are the only NFL team to have ever switched conferences two times as the following season Seattle and Tampa Bay swapped conferences, placing the Hawks in the AFC West and the Bucs in the NFC North.  Seattle had been Division rivals with the Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and Denver Broncos from 1977-2002 before their departure, which placed them back into the NFC West.  Seattle is also the only NFL team in the league's history that has played in both an AFC Championship and NFC Championship Game.

        During the Seahawks' inaugural season, they started slow losing their first five games before picking up their first win as a franchise.  Ironically Seattle's first win came against their expansion brothers, Tampa Bay, when they won 13-10.  Their only other win that season came when they played the Atlanta Falcons three weeks later.  In year two they again struggled to open the season, losing four straight games before grabbing their first win, yet again over the Buccaneers 30-23 in what became known as the “Expansion Bowl II”.  These Seahawks undoubtedly had many great players in their team history, though none better than Hall of Famer wideout Steve Largent.  Steve Largent was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the 1976 NFL Draft but was traded to Seattle in the preseason, thus never playing a game for Houston.  This move would become one of the most successful in the Seahawks’ franchise.

 

PETE CARROLL ERA:

        Carroll served as a defensive specialist coach at the collegiate level and in the NFL.  He started his coaching career at Iowa State, where he spent a year (1978) before moving to Ohio State for one season in 1979.  Pete was initially a secondary coordinator for both Ohio & Iowa State until he caught North Carolina State’s eye when they brought him in to be their defensive coordinator from 1980-1982.  His next opportunity was a one-year stay, yet again, this time it was at Pacific in 1983 as their DC.  Then Pete finally got his chance in the NFL as a defensive backs coach with the Buffalo Bills.  After spending a season with Buffalo, some time with Minnesota (1985-1989), and a three-year stint with the New York Jets, long-behold Pete Carroll got a shot as Head Coach for the Jets.  Unfortunately, it was only a one-season gig as their HC, and his next chance didn’t come until three years later when the New England Patriots hired him to fill their HC role where he lasted from (1997-1999).  Two failed attempts as an NFL HC led coach Carroll back to the NCAA to become USC Trojans Head Coach from (2001-2009).

        Pete Carroll spent a total of thirty-six years coaching for eleven different programs.  Along his way to finding long-term success with one organization, coach Carroll had spent many years serving six college teams and five NFL teams before becoming a mainstay with the Seattle Seahawks.  While coaching for Seattle, Pete Carroll enjoyed a successful tenure of fourteen years from (2010-2023).  Carroll was quite triumphant while accomplishing a few huge milestones for this team and organization over his longevity in Seattle.  In his first year as Seattle’s head coach the Seahawks won the NFC West; in doing so, they became the only team in NFL history to win their division with a record of 7-9.  On top of winning their division, they also beat the odds in a major way while upsetting the previous Super Bowl Champs (New Orleans Saints) 41-36 in the wild-card round of the playoffs.  Year three (2012) marked Pete Carroll’s biggest achievement yet as the Seahawks head coach when he led them to an 11-5 record while also going undefeated at home. 

 

SEATTLE’S SUPER BOWLS; LEGION OF BOOM:

The following season the Seahawks tied their franchise's best all-time regular season record 13-3, while making it to the pinnacle of the sport.  Seattle’s dominant defense, Legion of Boom (LOB) brought them to a place that Seattle had never seen before, the Super Bowl.  They met the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos, who had the number one offense in the NFL in 2013 and had also broken several records that season: leaguewide and franchise records.  Seattle ended up doing the unthinkable and upset the Denver Broncos and eventual Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in not only beating the NFL’s number one offense but routing them 43-8.

After Pete Carroll brought the Seahawks their very first Lombardi Trophy it was obvious that the whole city of Seattle believed in this team and was completely locked in.  However, it seemed like their success was only getting ready to grow.  Carroll and Seattle’s defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had one of the best defenses of all time with the Legion of Boom (LOB).  This group of monstrous supremacy was led by cornerback, Richard Sherman and safeties Earl Thomas & Cam Chancellor.  The Seahawks' next season was almost as fruitful as their previous one as they wound up finding themselves at the pinnacle of the sport for the second consecutive season.  Though, unfortunately for them, the outcome was much different this time around as they ran into Bill Belichick and Tom Brady’s dynasty, the New England Patriots.  To coach Carroll’s displeasure his former team, the New England Patriots proved that they weren’t yet done with their preeminence and Carroll’s team suffered defeat in Super Bowl XLIX.  Still, to this day, there are whispers both in the NFL and in the streets of football fans everywhere about how that game ended and that maybe if Seattle had only elected to hand the ball off to their running back (Marshawn Lynch) they would have ended up winning their second straight Super Bowl.  Instead, they chose to pass the ball from the one-yard line as we watched Russell Wilson throw it into the hands of the Patriots cornerback, Malcolm Butler.

       

CURRENT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS:

        The 2024 NFL season is now just four weeks away from the regular season-ending.  As for Seattle, they have had some ups and some downs, starting the season 3-0 but then started to unravel through the course of the season.  Seattle has now won four in a row and looks primed for a playoff run with new head coach Mike Macdonald.  Mike is best known for his awesome defensive-minded style and was the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator last season.  Mike isn’t the only new coach in Seattle as they also replaced their defense and offense coordinators when they hired Ryan Grubb as their OC, who spent the last two seasons as the Washington Commanders' OC and quarterback coach.  On the defensive side, Seattle brought in Aden Durde.  Coach Durde served as the Dallas Cowboys defensive line coach for the past three seasons.  Before their recent win streak started, the upside of this season for Seattle had been within their first three weeks of the season when they beat the Broncos (26-20) in a comeback win at home, followed by a meeting with the New England Patriots when they outlasted the Pats on the road in O.T (23-20).  Week three was a complete routing of a subpar Miami Dolphins team without their star QB Tua Tagovailoa (24-3).  Then things certainly started to take a turn for the Seahawks as the Detroit Lions proved to be a little too much for Seattle in a (42-29) loss on Monday Night football.  Then in weeks five and six Seattle dropped two straight games at home to a bad New York Giants team (29-20) and the Seahawks' NFC West divisional opponents, the San Francisco Forty Niners (36-24).

        Seattle is now up one game in the NFC West over the Los Angeles Rams.  However, they still have some work to do before we can write them into the postseason.  They have one of the most difficult schedules left of any NFL team.  Seahawks will be playing two of the top NFC teams in the next two weeks with back-to-back NFC North opponents.  The only good you can make of this schedule is that they will be playing host to both Green Bay and Minnesota.  After that, they must face a tough defensive team that just terminated their head coach, the Chicago Bears.  When all that is said and done they will take a trip to L.A. in week 18 when they will duke it out with their division rivals, the Rams.  The Rams just came off a win and could stay hot now that they are healthy once again.  I also wouldn't completely count the Cardinals out, but Seattle will have to lose three of their last four games for the Cards to catch them at this point (Seattle swept Arizona).  Mike Macdonald's team is in a good place right now, I didn't see them winning this division coming into the year.  I still have less faith in them than the Rams or Cardinals but they do have the lead as of right now.

        The Seahawks’ offense is currently ranked 13th in the NFL in total yards per game (344.4), they are actually third-best in the NFC West in that statistic.  They are also ranked 15th in points per game (23.2).  Their passing offense is 3rd in the league with 249 yards per game thanks to the NFL’s 2nd best quarterback in total passing yards Geno Smith (3,474 yards).  Second-year wideout Jaxson Smith-Njigba is surely coming along well as he is currently tied for 9th in receptions with 75 and also ranks 6th in receiving yards (911 yards).  Defensively they have dramatically dropped in almost every category since the start of the season, however, they still pose the tenth-best pass defense, allowing 212.5 yards per game.  Just remember that they have a first-year head coach, they’ve been battling injuries to numerous starters on their defense, and they have beaten most of the teams that have looked weaker than them.  The exception comes with the loss to the Giants who've been very bad so far this year.  However, it is not how you start the season, but how you finish that matters most.  One last note is their O-line play, it has been a little better as of recently, though that is one thing to watch for with these next couple of games coming against good defensive units.  Particularly when they host the Minnesota Vikings with Brain Flores dialing up more blitzes than any other DC this season. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK; BIG BLUE EDITION

 

            I will do my best to keep this one short and sweet as there isn’t very much for me to say about a franchise that has been in dismay for the past couple of seasons.  I know that the fans of Big Blue would have my head if I did not mention that the New York Giants did make the Playoffs just two seasons ago, but that is already starting to feel like a lifetime ago.  This past offseason the Giants team was dismantled, well maybe that is going a little too far, but then again, they did lose quite possibly the best offensive player that they’ve had in recent memory and maybe since I’ve been alive.  That’s right, that is just how good the Giants’ now ex-running back Saquon Barkley had been for New York.  Don’t get me wrong here, I know that this is the same team that once had tight end Jeremy Shockey, wideouts Amani Toomer, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Plexico Burress, and of course Super Bowl hero David Tyree.  The running backs that these G-men have had over the years were also pretty good like Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, and eventual Hall of Famer Tikki Barber.  Over the last two seasons, Barkley had accounted for roughly 70-80% of the Giants' offense and is already the first or second option on his new team, the Giants division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

            The G-men have already gotten off to an unfavorable start this season with a 2-4 record and I don’t see them turning it around anytime soon.  They opened the season in the worst possible way, taking an absolute beating at home from the Minnesota Vikings 28-6.  They also lost two divisional games to both the Washington Commanders in a close 21-18 game and of course, losing another closely contested game to the Dallas Cowboys in primetime 20-15.  These Giants did manage to beat a better Seahawks team on the road, one where they were without their superstar rookie receiver, Malik Nabers in a 29-20 upset.  This past Sunday night we all witnessed the Giants drop another primetime matchup when the Cincinnati Bengals and all-star quarterback Joe Burrow came to town.  It was a bittersweet loss because Big Blue’s defense showed up, holding two of the league's top wideouts to under one hundred yards each, but their offense was terrible.  Cincy held the Giants to 190 passing yards and only 4.2 yards per play, they only allowed NY to score seven points total (NYG missed a FG).  Not only that, but the NYG were somehow only able to convert 5/15 third downs and ran over 70 offensive plays (74 total plays).  The Giants need to do something quick to turn their awful play around, I mean they were only penalized just twice in that game for only 9 yards and led the game in time of possession (34:07).  That would normally be a recipe for success but not for this team.  New York also found themselves only punting the ball four times, which would make you think that they led their team to a lot of scoring drives, on the contrary, they just elected to go for it on fourth down five different times in the game and a surprising twist had them converting on three of those attempts.  Three scoreless quarters with seven points in the third quarter is terrible, especially against a defense that ranks 23^rd in yards allowed per game (356) and 26^th in points allowed per game (25.3).

            On the other side of the ball, the Giants have been decent thus far.  Through the first six weeks of the season, New York’s defense is holding opponents to 314 yards per contest, which ranks tenth in the league.  They rank fifteenth in rush defense allowing 116.3 yards a game, twelfth in pass defense, giving up 197.7 yards through the air, and are only letting teams score 20.2 points per game, ranking ninth in that category.  It’s largely noticeable that their offense is holding them back from any success as of right now.  You need to score points in the NFL to have a chance to win games and right now they are only putting up 16 points per game (29th).  The Giants are 20^th in the league in total offense with 319.3 yards per game, their passing attack is 18^th with 213.5 yards per game, and the run game is pushing them to just over 100 yards per game on the ground (105.8) which ranks 24^th in that statistic.

            On the bright side, the Giants could be getting their number one draft pick back in their lineup for their week seven inter-divisional game against the Philadelphia Eagles.  The G-men have been without their rookie wideout Malik Nabers for the past two weeks now, due to a concussion he sustained in the Thursday night matchup against the Cowboys in week four.  The Giants are a bit banged up right now and have hopes that they will be able to get their starting running Devin Singletary back from a groin injury soon that he also sustained in week four.  New York is anticipating that their kicker Graham Gano will be back sooner rather than later from his hamstring injury.  Though for their O-line it seems like they may have lost their starting left tackle, Andrew Thomas.  It was reported earlier today that Andrew Thomas is exploring season-ending surgery for a foot injury he experienced this past week against the Bengals.  I like the Giants coach Brian Daboll and think that Big Blue’s head coach is doing everything he can to right the ship, but I also feel that it is ultimately too much for him and this team to overcome this season.  This NFC East is one of the toughest divisions in all of football, with everything that has been happening In East Rutherford, New Jersey I don’t expect Daboll to go anywhere anytime soon.  With the emergence of Washington’s rookie quarterback, this is starting to seem more and more like a three-team division in the short term, though these G-men do have some interesting pieces that could put them right back into the mix next season.

LOS ANGELES HASN'T LOST ITS CHARGE

 CHARGERS HISTORY:

        Welcome to Los Angeles, the city big enough to carry two NFL franchises, the Rams and the Chargers.  The Chargers were initially established in the city of Los Angeles back in 1960.  Upon their entrance to the city of Angels, the franchise got off to a hot start in the AFL with the Chargers winning ten-plus games in both their first two seasons in the league while making it to back-to-back AFL Championship Games.  The outcome wasn’t what they had hoped for as they had lost both years to the same Houston Oilers team.  Originally the Chargers started their franchise in Los Angeles but the following year the Chargers were forced to move to San Diego due to the team’s competition in La La Land with the Los Angeles Rams who had already set up shop in L.A. fourteen years before the Chargers arrival.  The Chargers were a regularity in AFL Championship Games early in their franchise history, appearing in five within their first six seasons.  They ended up going 1-4 during that Championship run and wouldn’t appear in any others nor would they make the playoffs for the next fourteen seasons.

        Since the Chargers have been in the NFL, they haven’t yet tasted true success other than that one AFL Championship win in 1963.  The Chargers have only made it to the Super Bowl once in 1995, though they wound up losing to the San Francisco 49ers.  They also haven’t had a Head Coach that has lasted longer than six seasons since Don Coryell (San Diego HC 1978-1985).  In fact, the Chargers only ever had two Head Coaches last at least seven seasons in franchise history (Don Coryell & Sid Gillman 1960-1971).  Long-time Chargers coach Sid Gillman had a lengthy decorated tenure as he led them for 11 seasons.  Gillman is the winningest Head Coach the Chargers have ever had and possesses a record of 85-53-6.  Coach Gillman had left the team and his coaching duties nine games into the 1969 season because of a hiatal hernia before coming back to coach them for the first ten games of the 1971 season.

 

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS PART II:

        After such a long history of San Diego being the home of the Chargers, the team decided to give The Big Orange another go at hosting their NFL franchise.  In 2017 the Chargers decided to pack up and move the organization about two hours north (123 mi) up I-5 N to head back to where the team was originally founded.  Upon moving back to L.A. they haven’t been a great team, only registering two playoff appearances in the past seven years.  Before this season the Chargers have only had two head coaches since their move back.  Now with this year's new GM Joe Hortiz, along with first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh it sure appears that this team will be heading towards a brighter future.  Los Angeles came into this season seeking a playoff run as the Chargers are two years removed from their last one.  No doubt he has done a great job so far, giving life to their run game while also getting this defense back on track.  They currently are sitting in sixth place in the AFC, while having the best-scoring defense in the league.  

 

        The Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter, who also served as Head Coach Jim Harbaugh’s DC last season in Michigan has the Chargers defense ranking in the top ten for just about every defensive statistic.  The Charger’s General Manager did a good job in the offseason making some savvy moves, inking some very good veterans to deals.  They completely bolstered their running back room by signing both Ravens' previous running backs Gus Edwards and the explosive but often injured runner J.K Dobbins (who led the league in yards per carry for a handful of weeks early on this season).  That move came after Harbaugh decided to go out and hire Greg Roman who spent four years with Dobbins and Edwards in Baltimore under Jim’s brother John Harbaugh.  They also made sure they got one of the top backups at the quarterback position for insurance in case Herbert went down, which proved to be helpful as he was banged up in pre-season, dealing with foot/ankle injuries, he also had to leave the field in multiple games this year missing a few snaps here and there.  Another big move by the Chargers was signing the great veteran O-lineman guard Bradley Bozeman.  It’s almost as if John Harbaugh sent a gift basket of talent to celebrate Jim’s return to the NFL as Bozeman also played for Baltimore his first four years in the league before signing with Carolina for two years.

 

        Harbaugh was instantly given the keys to LA among inking his name on the dotted line when he took this Head Coaching job.  It should come as no surprise that he probably had a lot of say in who the team would be drafting.  The first thing the Chargers did was draft the overall best offensive lineman in the 2024 NFL Draft (LT Joe Alt).  Then they figured it only made sense to go out and try to address their lack of weapons on the outside after moving on from both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams.  Now the Chargers got themselves two young studs to add to their receiver corps that will hopefully grow into stars soon.  Ladd McConkey (already their best offensive weapon) out of Georgia and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice’s son Brenden Rice who was drafted to L.A by way of USC.  The Chargers also found themselves adding depth to their defensive backs as well as their front seven through the draft. 

 

        If the Chargers indeed make the playoffs this year, I will not be surprised.  Herbert needs to stay healthy and they need to get their ground-and-pound game back on track.  Early on they were ranked 11^th in rushing offense through the first four weeks of the season.  Dobbins is out with another injury and they've faltered to 19th on the ground.  Their air attack has looked better recently and they've also been putting more points on the board, but they do rank 25th in passing and 20th in scoring.  The Chargers' defense has kept them in a bunch of games this season they had almost no shot of winning like earlier this year against KC when they could’ve possibly upset the Chiefs at home, but to no avail as they fell to the Champs 17-10.  Then last week against the Falcons terrible defense that they only scored one touchdown by way of a pick-six.  However, I will not count Sunday Night against the Chargers for the fact their top receiver rookie Ladd McConkey along with Dobbins were hurt, plus Herbert had to leave the game for a few snaps.  The Chargers are still holding off the Broncos for the 6th seed, while also having a two-game lead over the likes of the Dolphins, Colts, plus they also own a tie-breaker over the Bengals.  They should be able to make it into the postseason with only two tough games ahead when they take on the Buccaneers and the Broncos in the next two weeks (at home), the last two games are both road matches against two weaker teams (Patriots & Raiders).

TAMPA BAY IS BAKING (9/30/24- EDITED VERSION)

            Tampa Bay is now a few years removed from their magical run in 2020 when Mr. Brady came to save the day and brought these Buccaneers only their second Lombardi in the franchise’s history.  Tampa Bay is looking more and more like a playoff team this season.  I know they have only played four games so far and there are still three-quarters of the season to go, but they are off to a very hot start.  Head Coach Todd Bowles along with Tampa’s Offensive Coordinator Liam Coen (Coen served as Kentucky’s OC 2023) still have a lot of work to do as the Bucs are putting up 319 yards per game which is ranked 16^th in the league so far this season.  For the Defense, Tampa Bay took a unique approach by employing a co-Defensive Coordinator plan.  Both Kacy Rodgers and Larry Foote are listed as the teams' DCs, in any matter they need to do a better job going forward regardless of the team's 3-1 record as their defense is allowing 335.3 yards per game which ranks 19^th among the 32 teams.

            With a closer look at the Buccaneers who are off to a great start, their overall offense may be middle of the pack and their defense may be worse than their personnel say they should be though they are currently 3-1.  Winning seems to cure everything in the sports world, right?  Through the first 4 weeks quarterback Baker Mayfield looks more poised than ever as he has now thrown for a total of 984 yards on the season and ranks fourth in passing yards.  Mayfield has also thrown for eight touchdowns and ran for two more, while only throwing two interceptions.  Wide receiver Chris Godwin is currently third in the league with 27 receptions, sixth in receiving yards (322 yards), and tied with fellow receiver & teammate Mike Evans for second in touchdowns (3 TDs).  Baker is currently in fourth place of all QBs with an overall QB rating of 106.9 on the season, having produced a rating of 90 or better in three of his first four starts.  His only game where he did not achieve this came in week three against the Denver Broncos' top-five defensive unit.  In week one Tampa topped the Washington Commanders 37-20.  In week two Baker got his playoff revenge against Detroit winning 20-16 on Ford Field.  Week three marked their first loss of the season, at home to the Denver Broncos 26-7, then yesterday the Buccaneers got back on track beating the banged-up Philadelphia Eagles in Tampa 33-16.

            My early prediction for this Todd Bowles-led team is that the Bucs will find themselves in the postseason, yet again behind great quarterback play and a pair of unbelievably talented wideouts.  They will certainly have a lot of work to do with the rush offense and a full-time switch to the rookie running back Buck Irving may be the answer.  Rachaad White has proven to be inefficient as their number-one running back through four games and is averaging a measly 2.8 yards per carry on 41 attempts which is why the switch will inevitably come soon.  The other main thing to work on for this team is their defensive play as they have been pedestrian in both rush & pass defense.  Tampa is giving up 131.5 yards per game on the ground (22nd) and 203.8 yards through the air (16th).  Three of the Bucs' next four games are against divisional opponents while the other game will be a home matchup where they will host none other than last year’s regular season MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.   

Defensive Statistics

UNCONQUERED, UNSTOPPABLE, UNDEFEATED

 

                What’s going on NFL fans?  It has been an awesome three weeks of football so far.  We have seen a lot through the first three weeks of the season a lot of touchdowns, a lot of lop-sided wins, some big upsets, and a plethora of injuries that have taken place.  The NFL is now gearing up in preparation for week four to kick off this upcoming Thursday night when we will all watch the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants in East Rutherford New Jersey at 8:15 PM ET.  Although there isn't a single team that has tremendously pulled away from the pack, three teams have a zero in their win column.  The AFC South’s own Jacksonville Jaguars, their divisional rival Tennessee Titans, plus a team with Super Bowl aspirations, the Cincinnati Bengals.  However, this article is not about the winless teams, it is about the teams who have made it through the first three weeks seemingly unscathed, well at least from a record standpoint.

 

AFC UNDEFEATED TEAMS

 

BUFFALO BILLS 3-0

                This Buffalo Bills team may not surprise most having a 3-0 record after beating the likes of the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars, The Miami Dolphins who lost Tua to his fourth concussion in the past five years, and the lackluster Arizona Cardinals.  However, make no mistake about these Bills, they still have a Top-notch defense, they still have one of the best Head Coaches in the league, and they still have offensive weapons at their quarterback's disposal.  The reasons why certain people thought that they would take a step back this year, including myself, are preposterous.  I mentioned that they still have a great coach in Sean McDermott.  Maybe we doubters forgot that the Bills have a record of 76-41 ever since McDermott took over as their HC or maybe we have lost faith in the great QB Josh Allen.  It could also be because every time we look at their offense, we don’t instantly recognize the players that Josh is throwing the ball to.  Whatever the case I am here to put that nonsense to rest.  Buffalo came out swinging in week one and came back from a fourteen-point deficit to beat the Cardinals 34-28.  Buffalo’s second game was a very different story as the Dolphins were obliterated by the time the fourth quarter started and had to go to their backup QB because of Tua’s injury.  Buffalo won 31-10.  Then there was last night's blowout victory against the Jaguars which ended in a 47-10 dismantling of Jacksonville.  These Bills are for real and if they have the MVP-like great Josh Allen at the helm they will always have a chance.  The young core of players, especially their wideouts, will continue to gel with Allen and their success will only grow.  Having said that, the Bills have no easy ride ahead as their next three weeks are as tough as it gets for Buffalo.  Next week the Bills head to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sunday Night.  Then they are off to Houston to face off against the Texans.  After those two difficult challenges, they will meet up with the New York Jets in New Jersey to play Aaron Rodgers and the Jets, which is never an easy task.

 

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 3-0

One could only assume this may not be surprising to most as well.  Yes, this is the Chiefs, the current two-time consecutive Super Bowl Champs.  They possess one of the best Head Coaches in NFL history, and they have a prodigy, who already is in the G.O.A.T discussions as one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history, though he is not even thirty years old.  This one does feel a little odd though if I’m being honest.  The Chiefs are certainly one of the best-storied teams in recent history, but if you look at their undefeated start, you may scratch your head in pondering.  They beat the Baltimore Ravens in week one, but if you watched the game there were certainly a few questionable calls and penalties by the referees.  Even still the game came down to a heck of a play by Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who found backup tight end Isaiah Likely in the back of the endzone.  He was so far in the back of the endzone that it ultimately cost Baltimore the game as the front of Likely’s cleat (barely) went into the white line that outlines the out-of-bounds line that separates a touchdown from what could've been.  Either way, Chiefs Kingdom enjoyed a second victory over the purple and black (27-20) for the second time in KC’s last three games (beat the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game).  

Week two for KC was also controversial in that they had some penalties go their way as they enjoyed another victory at home over the Cincinnati Bengals 26-25.  The Chiefs' week three win came against the Atlanta Falcons 22-17 on the road in Atlanta.  This game was a very interesting one, it showed the Falcons growing their chemistry as a whole both offensively and defensively.  Mahomes threw what looked to be a game-changing pick early in the contest to All-Pro safety Justin Simmons, (6^th INT on Mahomes and 4^th straight game with an INT vs Mahomes) but it was still very early.  Later in the game, there were a few missed calls by the referees yet again, like when Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts was held in the endzone on what should have been a pass interference call.  This changed the whole trajectory of the game as the outcome more than likely could’ve favored the Falcons.  I’m not saying that Mahomes couldn't have led his Chiefs back downfield for another score, as he has done numerous times in his career, I’m just saying that the Falcons likely would’ve had seven more points on that drive had the refs not missed the call.  This was however a game-ender for KC’s defense as it was a third-and-five from about six yards out with 4:12 left in the game.  The Falcons would then try on fourth down but to no avail as Kirk Cousins's pass fell incomplete.  Kansas City has gotten off to a fiery hot start against three difficult opponents and next on the docket is a division game against the Los Angeles Chargers who may or may not have their Pro Bowl quarterback Justin Herbert.  These Chiefs have sustained a few injuries but when you have a QB like Mahomes nothing is ever out of reach.

 

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 3-0

Now this is certainly more of a surprising feat when you think of all the teams that could’ve been in this undefeated scenario to start the first three weeks of the season.  Keep in mind that we have a long way to go before we can crown anyone a playoff team or a division winner.  The Steelers may come as a surprise because coming into the season, just a few weeks ago, there was a lot of chatter that no one knew who would end up being the team’s starting quarterback.  All that anyone had was speculation.  The known was that Russell Wilson rarely turns the ball over which would obviously favor a hard-nosed defensive team such as Pittsburgh.  The other known factor was that Russell’s play-it-safe approach could also have the Steeler’s offense looking the way they’ve been the last several seasons since Ben Roethlisberger retired.  

When Denver decided to move on from Super Bowl Winning QB Russell Wilson it seemed to be because he limited the upside of the team's offense by playing it safe, instead of taking big shots downfield to his playmakers.  The only real knock on their other newly signed quarterback, Justin Fields, was that he has turned the ball over a lot in the past and that could potentially put a lot of strain on the Steelers' defense.  On the contrary, Justin Fields has looked pretty good through these first three weeks for Pittsburgh.  He has fumbled the ball twice, but luckily for him, his teammates recovered both.  Fields has also thrown an interception but as the Steelers are rolling on undefeated that doesn’t hold much weight currently. 

In week one the Steelers took the show on the road to Atlanta where they beat the Falcons 18-10.  Then in week two Head Coach Mike Tomlin elected to start Fields again because Russell Wilson wasn’t yet healthy enough to play against his old team, the Denver Broncos.  Again, for the second straight week, it wasn’t a big difference on offense for the Steelers as they only scored 13 points, however, that was more than enough to defeat the Broncos in Denver 13-6.  With week three approaching critics were still talking about a possible quarterback switch to the Pro Bowler Russell Wilson because of Pittsburgh’s unimpressive offense that had only put up thirty-one total points after two games.  Russell still didn’t play as his injury was still bothering him, but no fear here for Head Coach Mike Tomlin as he had his men ready for battle against the 2-0 Los Angeles Chargers at home.  The Steelers put up their most points yet in week three and took down the Chargers in the Steel City 20-10 as Justin Fields threw for 245 yards, 1 TD & completed 25/32 passes, plus also rushed for another 6 yards and another touchdown.   The Steelers' defense is a game-recking unit, and we still don’t know what to expect from the quarterback position for this team, but Fields is seemingly getting better and better with each coming week.

 

NFC UNDEFEATED TEAMS

 

MINNESOTA VIKINGS 3-0

                Minnesota, much like the Steelers could be surprising to some depending on your individual views of their starting quarterback Sam Darnold.  Darnold was drafted by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft when he was selected third overall.  Many thought that maybe he could change the fate of that franchise and give their fans something exciting to root for again after decades of poor play and a championship drought that now ranges over 55 long years.  Instead, Darnold was not the answer and after being shipped off to the Carolina Panthers, where he spent two seasons, and then again finding a new team in San Fran for a season, he seems to have finally found a place he can call home.  Though often scrutinized, quarterback Sam Darnold is a good player.  Darnold’s career numbers don’t look great and when you are a young QB playing for a team that gets the publicity such as a place like New York it's hard to try and keep the outside noise from the NY media affecting you both on and off the field.  That mixed with the fact that the Jets didn’t have great offensive line play and the best skilled positional players around him.  Sam Darnold didn’t give up though, even after losing his starting role in Carolina to Baker Mayfield.  

                 Sam came into this season competing with the rookie, last year's National Championship-winning QB, J.J. McCarthy.  Many believed that J.J. probably would’ve been the starter come week one of the regular season.  That was unfortunately not the case for McCarthy after a freak injury that left him on IR for the entire season.  For Darnold, it seems like maybe the right time, the right place and he is undoubtedly taking advantage of this opportunity to showcase his talents as a starter, even if this ends up being his only season as a Viking.  Through the first three weeks of this season, Darnold has looked magnificent.  His completion percentage is 67.9%, the best of his career though it has only been three games.  He has thrown for 657 yards and has a TD: INT ratio of 8:2, with a passer rating of 117.3, also by far the best of his NFL career.  In week one the Vikings beat up a bad New York Giants team at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey with a final score of 28-6.  Then Darnold with their Head Coach Kevin O’Connell had the Vikings prevail at home over last year’s NFC Champs, the San Francisco 49ers, winning 23-17.  Beating the 49ers on any Sunday is very inspiring but for the Vikings’ fans watching their QB Sam Darnold sling a 97-yard TD to superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson out of their own endzone.  Then the unthinkable happened in a week three matchup between the Vikings and the Texans.  True NFL fans watched last year as the number two pick of the 2023 NFL Draft had the best rookie season of all time from a QB in C.J. Stroud.  Beating this Stroud-led Houston Texans team is one thing, but the Minnesota Vikings did something that no other team has done since Stroud became their starter.  Minnesota completely dismantled the DeMeco Ryan’s coached Houston Texans team in a win considering no one outside of Minneapolis could’ve seen coming, 34-7 keeping the Vikings unbeaten.

 

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 3-0

                The Seattle Seahawks had a massive change in the offseason that left people wondering how this team would look for the future after parting ways with their previous Head Coach of the past 14 seasons.  It is never easy to move on from a Head Coach of that caliber or length of time, especially one that brought the city a Lombardi trophy and had the team in two Super Bowl appearances.  The known was that Seattle should certainly have a good-to-great defense with a masterful Defensive-minded Head Coach Mike Macdonald.  The Seahawks hired Mike Macdonald to become their franchise's ninth Head Coach after how his defense performed last season.  Macdonald was the Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator in 2023 and was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers of America and I’ll tell you why.  Baltimore’s defense was incredible with Mike as their DC, allowing just 16.5 points per game, (1st) they had 60 sacks, along with 31 takeaways (both 1^st in the NFL). The Ravens also allowed the fewest touchdowns in the league (26) while finishing first in overall defense & first in pass defense.  The only major category that Baltimore’s defense didn’t rank first in was their run defense, which finished 7^th in the league.  

                So far through three games Head Coach Macdonald has Seattle’s defense off to an awesome start, although they’ve played three bottom-10 offenses to start.  The Seahawks and their 13^th man currently rank third in pressure rate while only blitzing 19.2% of the time, the seventh-lowest rate in the NFL.  This defensive-minded genius has Seattle currently ranked as a top-five unit in sacks (11), and top-ten defense in sack rate (9.8%).  The Seahawks have only allowed 248.7 yards per game so far this season, which is the second-best in the league, while also only allowing a total of 473 passing yards, which ranks third in the league.  Seattle kicked the season off with a home game playing host to the Denver Broncos and their rookie quarterback Bo Nix who failed to throw a touchdown, and the Seahawks won 26-20.  The following week Seattle took to the road to play the New England Patriots and again came out victorious after a game-sealing field goal in overtime that had them win 23-20.  This past weekend wasn’t as tough of a game as it could have been due to the Miami Dolphins not having their franchise QB Tua Tagovailoa.  Seattle steamrolled the Dolphins at home with a final score of 24-3 to stay perfect.  Even though these Seahawks are currently undefeated they will have their toughest challenge this upcoming Monday Night when they go on the road to play the gritty Detroit Lions and their dual running back attack in Detroit.

DESERTED CARDINALS OF ARIZONA

 

         Arizona has always been known for its natural attractions.  The weather there is mostly dry, non-humid heat.   The cuisine is mostly southwestern with its unique Sonoran style of Mexican food with its bold flavors and plenty of chili peppers & spices, especially on the southern border of Arizona.  Other styles of food you can find out there are mesquite barbecued meats because of the mesquite trees that are Indigenous to Arizona.  The Velvet, Honey, and Arizona native mesquite trees can all be found there and are all very useful for their unique dishes.  Another reason people would be intrigued to visit or live in this southwest state is the beautiful natural sites all around including the Grand Canyon, Saguaro National Park, Monument Valley, and then of course the city of Tucson.  The NFL team that calls Arizona its home is about two hours north of Tucson in Glendale, Arizona.

 

CARDINALS FRANCHISE HISTORY:

        The Arizona Cardinals were established as a football team in 1898 as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago.  The Cardinals were the first football franchise in the United States and are one of only two original franchises still operating in the NFL.  The other active original team is the Chicago Bears.  Arizona hasn’t always been the home for the Cardinals though, they have moved multiple times and have had several different names along the way.  After they were known as the Morgan Athletic Club (1898), they became the Racine Normals (1899-1900), and then they were known as the Racine Street Cardinals (1901-1906, 1913-1919).  It wasn’t until 1920-1943 that they became the Chicago Cardinals and then again from 1945-1959.  In 1944, the Cardinals merged with the Pittsburgh Steelers and were named Card-Pitt due to a draft that had many players lost for at least a season if not longer. 

        Upon the 1960 season, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis where they played from 1960-1987 before making their way to the state of Arizona to become the Phoenix Cardinals (1988-1993) where they played their home games for 18 years at Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.  It wasn’t until the 1994 season that the Cardinals changed their name yet again to the Arizona Cardinals which is still their name today.  Though the Cardinals are one of the two original American football teams they unfortunately do not boast a good winning percentage. They possess one of the worst in NFL history dating back to 1920 when they first took on the Cardinals name.  From 1920 to 2023, the Cardinals franchise had an overall win percentage of just 42.4%, they own the most losses by any franchise in NFL history with over 800 losses in the regular season, and as Arizona fans already know, they also own the current longest active championship drought in North American sports. (77 years since their last championship) In the Cardinals' entire history, they have won just two Championships that date back to 1925 and then again in 1947.  Since the NFL renamed their ultimate game from the Championship Game to the Super Bowl, the Cardinals have only made one Super Bowl appearance in 2008.

        The Arizona Cardinals are in a group of their own in the NFL, though it is not a group you would want to be associated with, as they are currently one of twelve NFL teams to have never won a Super Bowl Title.  These Cardinals have more than 200 more losses than wins in their respective team’s history.  It may not surprise you that the Cards have only made it to the playoffs nine times since the Super Bowl era was born.  They have had some pretty good teams over the past three decades, they were just never good enough to earn a title.  The division they play in (NFC West) is also considered one of the toughest in the NFL.  The other three teams in their division have all individually either played in or won the Super Bowl within the past 10 years.  In the NFC West, the Cardinals divisional opponents consist of the Seattle Seahawks, who won the Super Bowl in 2014, the Los Angeles Rams won in 2022, then there are the San Francisco 49ers who have been in two of the last five Super Bowls though have lost both of those games coincidentally to the same Kansas City Chiefs team twice.

 

KEN WHISENHUNT ERA:  

        During Ken Whisenhunt's time as the Arizona Cardinals Head Coach, the Cards seemed to be in better spirits.  The Cardinals enjoyed some success under Whisenhunt as he had led the Cardinals to six playoff games in his tenure and they enjoyed a playoff record of 4-2, however, his overall win-loss record was under .500, 45-51.  Most people probably forget that these Cards had one of the best wide receiver tandems in NFL history in future Hall of Famer, Larry Fitzgerald and his teammate of six seasons, Anquan Boldin.  Larry Fitzgerald was a staple for Arizona for 17 years and produced over 17,000 yards and 121 touchdowns within 263 games.  Larry is an 11-time Pro Bowler, 1-time All-Pro, and was voted to the HOF All-2010s Team.  Anquan Boldin was a 3-time Pro Bowler, 2003 AP OROY and a 1-time Super Bowl Champion.

        Another player that made the Cardinals a legit threat to the rest of the league was the 4-time Pro Bowl, 2-time All-Pro, 1-time Super Bowl Champ, Super Bowl XXXIV MVP, and 1999 PFWA OPOY quarterback Kurt Warner.  Kurt was one of the best overall QBs of the last thirty years with a much different story than most.  I don’t think there is another story in comparison to Kurt’s as he was originally a walk-on for the Green Bay Packers after going undrafted in 1994.  The Packers cut Kurt as he was not good enough in their opinion to even be their third string.  The funny thing is Kurt Warner ended his career with a trip to Canton, Ohio when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2017.  Warner had a few stops along his way to Canton; after getting cut from the Packers he spent a few years with the Iowa Barnstormers (Pro indoor team) before arriving in St. Louis to play for the Rams.  It was this move that helped his career take off.  Fast forward to 2005 when Warner signed with the Cardinals.  Kurt was originally brought to Arizona to be a bridge QB and help develop the USC standout Matt Leinart; however, the opposite became the team’s destiny as Leinart never quite worked out and Warner had the Cards in the Super Bowl in his fourth year there.  For Warner, this was his third Super Bowl appearance, and he became the NFL’s second quarterback to take two teams to the Super Bowl.

        This Cards Super Bowl team had a magical run on their way to the 2008 Super Bowl.  They had an elite offense behind their pass catchers in Fitzgerald and Boldin, but they also had a good offensive line and one of the better running backs of the 2000s in Edgerrin James.  Their defense also had some dawgs with defensive end Antonio Smith, Linebackers, Chike Okeafor and Karlos Dansby, then their defensive backs.  This team posed a major threat with two of the best safeties in the game Antrel Rolle & Adrian Wilson.  En route to their first Super Bowl appearance, they had to play three straight games before reaching their ultimate goal, the Super Bowl, as they had a regular season record of 9-7 and did not lock up a first-round bye week.  In the Wild Card round, they beat the Atlanta Falcons 30-24, and in the Divisional round, they faced the Carolina Panthers and prevailed 33-13.  The NFC Championship Game had the Cards host the Philadelphia Eagles which they were also victorious 32-25.  They had everything going for them until they got to the Super Bowl where they played an unbelievably great coached team in the Pittsburgh Steelers.  We all probably remember how that game ended, however, if the Cardinals had scored a touchdown from only two yards out with 18 seconds on the clock before halftime, then the outcome could’ve been completely different.  Instead, we all watched as Kurt missed Boldin on what looked to be a 2-3 step slant when James Harrison stepped in front of him to intercept the pass and bring it the length of the field back to the endzone.

 

CURRENT 2024 CARDINALS:

           This current Arizona team is much different from the top down.  Their current Head Coach is Jonathan Gannon who was signed to a five-year contract before the 2023 season.  Before Gannon was announced as the Arizona Cardinals Head Coach he made a name for himself as the Philadelphia Eagles Defensive Coordinator during the 2021-2022 seasons.  Gannon is now in his second season as the Cards’ Head Coach, and you must figure this will not be his last regardless of the team’s record at the season’s end.  I firmly believe this is the truth in Glendale, Arizona, as last season was a throwaway year.  Gannon could only watch as his team suffered a terrible season-long defeat after losing their superstar quarterback, Kyler Murray.  Kyler went down in December of 2022 to an ACL tear, but once he returned to full health Kyler looked very good.  Regarding fantasy football, Murray had ranked eighth among all starting QBs from weeks 10-18 last season once he was back under center.  He also ranked sixth in fantasy points per game.  Kyler has a win-loss record of 29-37-1 in the regular season along with losing his only playoff game in his six seasons as an NFL starter.

        Kyler is a very talented player who shows special abilities.  He is a dual-threat QB who can extend plays using his legs, even behind somewhat less desirable O-line play.  Kyler is very accurate with his deep ball throws; he has great awareness both in and outside the pocket.  He has speed that most quarterbacks do not possess and can take off when the pocket crumbles around him.  He is also like Lamar Jackson given his vision as a runner, which he has shown through his ability to make tacklers miss with his natural, God-given athleticism and agility.  He also always makes sure he never takes a big hit in the process.  Murray always leaves it all out on the field every Sunday.  Now he has some shiny new toys that the Cardinals have brought in the past couple of off-seasons through the Draft and free agency.

        General Manager of the Cardinals Monti Ossenfort has taken some swings in the NFL Drafts that have been major hits.  When you see the Tight End Trey McBride accumulate over 1,100 yards on 90 receptions for Colorado State you don’t think twice about drafting him if he were to fall to your team.  Monti did exactly that and in his rookie season, he showed some flashes but shared snaps with veteran TE Zach Ertz.  McBride’s second year he caught fire catching 81 passes for 825 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, while only starting 12 games.  Now Trey is in his fourth year and is the sole number-one Tight End for the Cards.  Ertz is now a part of the Washington Commanders, and I project McBride to have a fruitful statistical season.  I project Trey McBride to have 88 receptions, 1,050 yards, and 8 TDs.

        Another major draft pick that will help change the trajectory of the Cardinals’ offense and team, in general, would be, none other than Hall of Famer and longtime Indianapolis Colt’s wideout Marvin Harrison’s son.  Marvin Harrison Jr. looks to be every bit of a franchise receiver.  At Ohio State, he wowed Buckeye fans in his sophomore year when he caught 77 receptions for 1,263 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.  He nearly repeated this production his junior year with 1,211 yards and 15 total TDs minus 10 receptions (67 rec as a junior).  With Marvin Jr. as the Cards' true number-one option in the passing game, I can see him producing at a high level for the next several years with Kyler Murray at the helm.  I like Marvin Harrison Jr. to record about 98 receptions for about 1,280 receiving yards and around 12 touchdowns this season.  In his first game as a pro, he had a dud, but in his second game, he showed up and showed out, scoring twice in the first half against the division-rival Los Angeles Rams.  Marvin's final stat line for week two was 4 rec, 130 yards, and 2 TDs.

        When it comes down to it, I certainly believe that this team is now in a good place, under good management, and has a good coaching staff.  The Cardinals are full of untapped potential and young talent on offense and defense.  Kyler Murray in my opinion, is an immensely talented quarterback, though maybe not a top-ten QB at this given time.  Having James Conner in the backfield is also very helpful as he is a hard runner with good vision and doesn’t turn the ball over.  Then you add in Harrison Jr., Trey McBride, wideouts Michael Wilson, and Greg Dortch and that is an offense that can wreck even the best of defenses.  Through the first two weeks of the season the Arizona Cardinals are now 1-1.  In week one Arizona lost to Buffalo 34-28 and in week two the Cards shredded the Rams 41-10.

VIKTOR THE VIKING'S VITAL VICTORIES

 

PURPLE PEOPLE EATERS:

            Long ago, a Professional American Football team destroyed every one of their opponent’s offenses every single week.  This was because of the Minnesota Vikings' lethal defensive linemen which consisted of five of the most feared men in professional football.  If you don’t know what I am referring to, I am talking about Alan Page, Gary Larsen, Jim Marshall, Carl Eller, and Doug Sutherland.  Their constant dominance between 1967 and 1977 put the Vikings on the map and would become one of the best defenses in football history.  The Minnesota Vikings quickly became a popular team because of their fearsome defenses.  Their nickname at the time was “The Purple People Eaters”.  This group of men that turned the Vikings into every opponent’s nightmare was heavily predicated on this team’s successful decade of defense.  During their decade of defensive dominance, Minnesota won ten NFC Central division titles within eleven years.  Minnesota never won the Super Bowl with The Purple People Eaters, although they still managed to do something special in that era.

           During the Minnesota Vikings' years of defensive supremacy coached by their Head Coach Bud Grant, they were known for having a powerhouse defensive line that both restricted their opposing teams and also constricted the offenses on the other side of the line.  As one of the NFL’s best defenses to ever play, The Purple People Eaters set some highly, unlikely repeated feats.  In 1969 the Vikings gave up only 3.4 yards per attempt, while only allowing the second-lowest total points per game (9.5 ppg) in NFL history.  In 1970 this same defense only yielded 10.2 ppg, in 1971 the purple and gold ended the season second in the fewest yards allowed while also ranking first in the NFL in ppg (9.9).  1971 was a special year for their defense, allowing twenty or more points only once that season.  Minnesota had reached yet another benchmark with their suffocating defense in 1975 by becoming the first NFL team to end the season leading the league in total defense, pass defense, and rush defense. 

     Indeed, The Purple People Eaters had a fantastic decade-long run and appeared in four Super Bowls (1970,1974,1975,1977) though unfortunately for the Vikings and Minneapolis, Minnesota they lost all four games.  Their reward didn’t exactly come in the results that they and their die-hard fans of Minneapolis would have hoped for, yet they did get something out of it.  While not everyone was recognized for the purple and gold through their defensive golden years, four men had received the best possible honor you can outside of hoisting the Lombardi.   Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen eventually all ended up in Canton, Ohio when they were inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Though they may not have ended up with those prestigious Super Bowl Championship rings that could’ve been passed down for generations through loved ones.  They instead got some of their player's faces sculpted into busts that will live on forever in the NFL’s Hall of Fame.  

 

KEVIN O’CONNELL ERA:

           When the 2022 NFL season approached, the previous Offensive Coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams (2020-2021) Kevin O’Connell along with, at the time, Washington Redskins (2019) coaching various other positions such as quarterbacks coach, (Cleveland Browns, 2015, San Fran, 2016, Washington 2017-2018) special projects, and passing gamer coordinator was hired to replace the Minnesota Vikings previous head coach (Mike Zimmer) of several seasons.  Before O’Connell arrived in Minnesota, he came fresh off a Super Bowl victory with the Los Angeles Rams who beat the Cincinnati Bengals in a closely contested 23-20 win.  In Kevin O’Connell’s first season as the Vikings' Head Coach, they won the NFC North with a surprising 13-4 record, however, what was even more surprising was that they ended up losing to the New York Giants in the NFC Wild Card game at home 31-24.  For both Kevin and the Vikings to win the division in his first year was crazy, especially because Aaron Rodgers was still on the Green Bay Packers at the time plus the Detroit Lions were on the start of an upswing, just barely missing the playoffs due to a tiebreaker to the Seattle Seahawks that had beat the Lions earlier that season. 

 

2024 MINNESOTA VIKINGS:

           Some of Minnesota’s top familiar faces have been shipped out of town in the last few seasons, like superstar wideout Stefon Diggs.  In 2020 Diggs was the first big name that left the Vikings after being traded to Buffalo and since has been traded again this past offseason to the Houston Texans.  They also decided to release their old running back Dalvin Cook plus yet another Pro Bowler, wide receiver, and hometown hero Adam Thielen.  After Thielen’s ten seasons as a Viking, he was signed by the Carolina Panthers as a free agent just a few seasons ago.  Still, with all those missing offensive pieces, they continued to be very good on offense because of Head Coach & offensive guru Kevin O’Connell and quarterback Kirk Cousins.  In with the new out with the old right?  That’s exactly how the Vikings handled their business, even with Kirk Cousins.  Kirk was injured last year as he suffered a torn Achilles back in week eight of last season.  As heartbreaking as it was seeing Kirk’s last season as a Viking cut short due to such a grueling injury, it was pretty much assumed before the injury that it would’ve probably been his last one there regardless.  Kirk turned 36 years old in mid-August and he never quite brought Minnesota to the promised land, so this is the business side of things in the NFL. 

          Now we start the J.J. McCarthy era, actually, we will have to put that on pause until next season.  McCarthy ended up on IR (injured reserve) and needs a complete Meniscus repair.  This dreadful injury came in a preseason game where McCarthy oddly enough threw a touchdown.  On the play in which he got injured, there wasn't any contact, and J.J. walked off the field without showing any signs of an injury.  J.J. McCarthy was drafted in the first round of this year's NFL Draft and is fresh off his National Championship Win, where he played under now ex-Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh who signed a massive deal to be the Los Angeles Chargers' new Head Coach.  J.J. was very efficient as the Michigan Wolverines quarterback in his junior year, he completed over 72% of his passes.  However, his numbers do not reflect that of a top-caliber quarterback as he threw for 2,991 passing yards, 22 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.  J.J. may not have had the greatest stats but fortunately for him, he was not asked to produce at a high level given Michigan’s stout defense alongside their efficient ground game. 

          When Michigan’s Head Coach needed to rely on the passing game, he knew that McCarthy wouldn’t turn the ball over, which is apparent as he only threw 11 total interceptions in his collegiate career.  In J.J.’s sophomore and junior seasons, he averaged about 200 yards through the air per game and had a passer efficiency rating of 155.0 or higher.  Like I said above McCarthy may not have had eye-popping statistics in Michigan, but he did end up finishing tenth in Heisman Trophy Voting in 2023.  That alone shows how good of a player he was when you think about how many teams and players there are in the nation.  I know that McCarthy will be itching at the bit to get back out on the field as soon as he is healthy again and I figure he must be dying to be able to throw some darts to the Viking’s incredibly talented wide receiver Justin Jefferson.

         Justin Jefferson is an elite standout player not just for Minnesota but is also highly regarded throughout the league as one of one.  You have Ja'Marr Chase, Tyreek Hill, and Justin Jefferson at the top of the list of wide receivers in the NFL.  There are a couple of other great receivers, but most people in the league would tell you that they are the top dawgs right now.  Justin Jefferson started his dominance as an LSU Tiger in 2019 as a junior when his ex-QB, now Cincinnati Bengal Joe Burrow helped him achieve insane numbers in just 15 games (111 rec, 1540 yds, 18 TDs).  From that time on, a star was born.  During Jefferson’s rookie NFL season fans watched him ball out, grabbing 88 receptions, 1,400 yards, and scoring 7 touchdowns.  In his second season, he continued to further elevate his game once again hoisting in 108 passes, 1,616 yards, and 10 TDS.  In 2022 Justin made it to his third consecutive Pro Bowl while receiving a First Team AP All-Pro nod.  That season he was targeted 184 times, caught 128 balls for 1,809 yards, and brought in 8 touchdowns.  He averaged 106.4 receiving yards per game in his third year before missing seven games last season.  Jefferson recently made NFL history this week for tying a record as the fastest player to reach 6,000 receiving yards in only his sixty-second career game.  This benchmark matched Jefferson to an all-time great Hall of Fame NFL receiver Lance Alworth who set this incredible record in the 1960’s while playing for the San Diego Chargers.

         There are a lot of unknowns for the Minnesota Vikings and their fans for this season.  What is known is that they have a hell of a Head Coach, a great Defensive Coordinator in Brian Flores, a very reliable backup quarterback Sam Darnold, and a top wideout in Jefferson.  They pose a threat both on offense and defense with a very talented roster plus they brought in some good veterans like ex-Packer’s runner Aaron Jones alongside a slew of defensive vets.  Even in one of the toughest divisions in football, the sky is the limit for these Minnesota Vikings.  Throughout the first two weeks of the season Minnesota finds themselves in sole possession for the division lead in the NFC North at 2-0.  Week one may come as no surprise as they beat the lackluster New York Giants 28-6, then this past Sunday the Purple & Gold hosted last year’s NFC Champs and came out on top with a massive upset winning 23-17 against the San Francisco Forty-Niners.