NFL Open Thread
By 
I will be on the road for Week 15, although I do have a lengthy layover at DTW in the 1 o’clock window. Otherwise, I will probably submit to Delta’s extortion and listen to whatever 20 second snatches of broadcasts airplane wi-fi might allow me to hear. So let’s delegate!
I feel the two best football writers since Paul Zimmerman are now working, and yet neither is in a perfect context right now. Since the demise of Grantland, Ponce de Leon couldn’t find Barnwell on the ESPN site most of the time, and since he’s just one writer among many he’s been confined to increasingly narrow subjects. The quality of his analysis remains as superb as ever, but I miss the greater latitude he had at Grantland. You almost got the feeling that ESPN re-upped him to keep him away from Simmons but doesn’t know what to do with him.
Mike Tanier doesn’t the attention he deserves confined to Bleacher Report’s slideshow format, and he doesn’t do as much of the cutting-edge research he did at FO (the best of which is collected in the essential A Good Walkthrough Spoiled.) But within the confines of the BR format (lotsa slideshows!) at least he can write about a wide range of subjects. And he’s not only a sharp observer but he can just flat out write. Some examples from last week’s roundup:
Dak Prescott had the worst game of his magnificent rookie season, throwing two interceptions and completing just 17 of 37 passes for 165 yards against the Giants defense in a 10-7 loss. The Giants consistently generated pass rush with three or four defenders, confounding Prescott while keeping extra defenders in coverage.
By the third quarter, with the Giants leading thanks to a slant-and-whoa touchdown by Odell Beckham Jr., the cries for Tony Romo rang across the Twitterverse. They are sure to ring across the talk shows this week. Because it’s not like we have ever seen the Giants use this exact same defensive concept to defeat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl or anything.
What It Means
Dear America,
There are many gradients of quarterback play on the spectrum between MVP Candidate/Greatest Rookie in History and Bench Him Immediately.
Prescott has always existed somewhere between the poles on that spectrum. He has veered well to the left for most of the season, but there was always a possibility that he would face a tough defense on the road on some chilly evening and lurch toward the right.
Late-season, cold-weather games can be tough on even veteran quarterbacks. Ask Russell Wilson or Ben Roethlisberger, neither of whom will hear talk of benching this week.
At 11-2, the Cowboys are still in excellent position to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a game or two to spare. They can then get Romo some work in case he is needed in the playoffs.
Sincerely,
A sportswriter who isn’t addicted to hot takes.
Bell is so often praised for his “patience” that you can almost hear Axl Rose whistling every time he takes a handoff. Yet Sunday’s game was a perfect example of what patience means for a running back.
On handoff after handoff, Bell throttled down to half speed after receiving the ball, waited for blocks to develop and defenders to commit to gaps, then picked his way through the Bills’ run defense (that, admittedly, is disgraceful).
It was the perfect style of rushing for a flurry-covered field: more four-wheel drive than NASCAR-tuned suspension.
Even writing about the “turtle steeplechase” between the 49ers and Jets he’s highly entertaining:
So millions of Americans along the I-95 corridor were treated to a Jets-49ers despair-o-thon afternoon game. Unable to resist the football equivalent of a turtle steeplechase, I DVR’d that sucker and watched it in its entirety. My notes:
• The game starts off with a Bryce Petty interception on the second play from scrimmage, a Carlos Hyde touchdown on the third and a kick out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff. It is like watching a cheap slasher movie and seeing the boom microphone drop into frame in the opening scene.
• The 49ers have one consistently successful offensive play: Hyde on the inside zone from the pistol. The Jets were incapable of stopping this play for much of the afternoon as Hyde finished with 17 carries for 193 yards.
• Midway through the second quarter, Jeremy Kerley bumps into running back Shaun Draughn while going in motion, then catches a swing pass for no gain. This is that “Chip Kelly innovation” you have heard so much about. This being a Jets-49ers game, Kerley was just happy he wasn’t forced to play for both teams.
• With 31-year-old Matt Forte suffering a knee injury, 28-year-old Bilal Powell (pictured, No. 29, with Petty) receives the bulk of the carries. This is what passes for “giving younger guys a look” on the Jets roster.
• Early in the third quarter, Petty finally picks the lock on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s top-secret playbook. It turns out to be 200 pages with “HEAVE PROJECTILE IN GENERAL DIRECTION OF BRANDON MARSHALL, GET PAID” typed over and over again. Petty obliges.
• Petty doesn’t just have trouble with outside blitzes; he denies their existence like some kind of outside-blitz Flat Earther. So naturally, the 49ers stop using them altogether in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• Having made several clutch catches during the game, Robby Anderson makes another in overtime. Anderson is probably doomed to a life as the hard-working, all-purpose receiver stuck on a series of bad Jets offenses. “It gets worse,” Kerley says to himself.
• Powell scores a touchdown in overtime to give the Jets a 23-17 victory. Nation is forced to admit that this game was actually more fun to watch than Seahawks-Packers.
Lots of great lines here, but they’re also meaningful; as with Barnwell, you always learn something. Concerns about BR’s business model aside, always worth reading.