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Hi Folks,
We do a ton of insightful, thoughtful and serious features here at Footballguys with smart people thinking deeply for you. This is not one of those features.
This is Random Shots and it's a few pages of me downloading my goofy and dysfunctional mental hard drive that gets stuffed with way too many random items from too many hours watching, reading about and listening to football every weekend and throughout the week. It's the only way I manage. Here's hoping it has some value for you.
We'll see. Now let's get to it.
J
I'm not a superstitious person. But I'm not stupid.
Meaning I don't want any of my favorite players near the Sports Illustrated or Madden cover. I hope I'm not turning the Random Shots cover photo into a jinx as well. I used the Aaron Rodgers cover shot last week, and this week too because Rodgers is one of my favorite players and it's a fantastic photo.
But I'm not going to lie, I'm getting a little nervous with Tom Brady as my QB in both my local leagues...
You know the folks who created the Tony Romo graphic knew the internet would run wild with this one.
Hat Tip to SBNation
Tony Romo in Green and Gold? Or is he just trolling us all?
He'd better hurry as you know Favre's ready...
This one was too easy...
Full Disclosure: Dale Earnhardt Jr, is my favorite NASCAR driver. Partly because I don't know the names of many other NASCAR drivers but mostly because he's a Footballguys reader. And seems like a good dude posting pictures of him getting speeding tickets. Driving a Buick.
Cool moment this past week when Talladega Superspeedway presented Earnhardt with a car. But not just any car. A No. 2 Chevrolet Monte Carlo his dad drove in his 1979 rookie season and in 1980 during his first Cup Series title season.
That's rad.
Exhibit A for "Winning Makes Everyone Happy": Malcolm Jenkins.
Yeah, I'm twelve.
Baseball Note. I'm with ForTheWin, Cubs manager Joe Maddon showed up at his press conference dressed like the "most obvious narc at the biker rally."
Cal QB Ross Bowers with the Play Of The Week.
Apparently, this is a thing for Bowers.
A play from his High School days a few years ago was even better.
We're just through six weeks...
I've written in the past about players who wear their wedding rings during the game. ESPN's Uniwatch had a good article a while back on the topic.
Most tape their finger like Ben Roethlisberger or use the QALO silicone wedding ring like Andy Dalton.
Ryan Fitzpatrick seems to be going old school with the uncovered metal ring.
Which given the beard, makes sense.
Either way, it's a good lesson for Married Guys - Wear Your Ring. Trust me.
Thanks to Footballguy Brett Clark for that one.
So many questions for the Las Vegas Golden Knight's mascot choice.
Why does a team called the "Golden Knights" choose a reptile looking dude for their mascot?...
Named "Chance"?...
That looks just like a Star Wars character?...
Clemson lost a huge game to Syracuse this week but coach Dabo Swinney appeared to be genuinely happy for Syracuse coach Dino Babers.
Per CBSSports.com, after the game, Swinney congratulated Syracuse after the game:
"According to Orange linebacker Zaire Franklin, Swinney also stopped by the home locker room to seek out wide receiver Steve Ishmael and compliment him for a tremendous performance. Ishmael, the leading pass-catcher in the FBS entering Week 7, was a thorn for the Tigers' pass defense all night with six catches for 73 yards and a score.
"'That's one of the classiest things I've seen in my life,' Franklin said, via David Hale of ESPN. 'To have been knocked down like that and have the humility to come talk to us, that was cool as hell.'"
Agreed.
Houston rookie QB Deshaun Watson should write a book on how to win a city's heart.
From giving a game check to people who suffered from Hurricane Harvey to rocking a throwback Warren Moon jersey before this week's game.
Of course leading the league in ESPN's QBR rating helps too.
Music Note This Week. Colter Wall is one of my favorite young artists. I found him from hearing Sleeping on the Blacktop in the Hell or High Water soundtrack and remember being surprised to see how his voice didn't seem to match his age. Good stuff.
Ben Roethlisberger recovered from a terrible Week 5 game with a big win over previously unbeaten Kansas City.
Which pretty much spoiled this video...
The Dak Prescott Campbell Soup commercials are gold.
"Lets crunch these numbers"
"We're architects"
"Let's build houses"
Kirk Cousins told a funny story Sunday talking about Mike Singletary and his little league football team.
Cousin's dad was the head coach and Kirk was the quarterback. Mike Singletary was the defensive coordinator. Cousin's dad had to miss a game and he turned play-calling duties over to Singletary. Who told then ten-year-old QB Kirk Cousins to call his own plays as Singletary needed to focus on the defense.
I wonder if the 49ers knew this story when they hired him? Even in Little League, Singletary didn't want any part of running an offense.
Quarterback is the most important position for an NFL team.
A picture to prove the point:
Even worse. And yes, it's hard to believe there's "worse"...
Don't skip over that. THE BROWNS HAVE NOW MADE 10 QB CHANGES IN THE LAST 22 GAMES.
Thanks to Footballguy Devin Knotts for that one.
ESPN ran a fun segment with Jac Collinsworth pranking Rex Ryan Sunday. What struck me though was how good Collinsworth is and how much he sounds like his dad.
He sounds like a good guy. Collinsworth was worried about busting Ryan saying, "I'm week to week here already".
Right up to the What-Fumble, I thought we were going to see this come to pass Sunday...
Golden Tate with a sweet People's Elbow.
The original from The Rock
And while keyboard warriors battled over whether this was a proper People's Elbow, The Rock showed why everyone loves The Rock.
To be fair to Cleveland, it does seem like the league is against them...
Thanks to Footballguy Mike O'Brien for that one.
I miss Al Davis.
The Hair. The Glasses. The Track Suits.
But mostly the swagger and the mystique.
Peter King posted this fantastic Davis story from Josh McCown.
“We were hanging out after a game, loading the car up, and this black Lincoln Town Car comes up, the window goes down, boom. He goes [in a distinctly Al Davis Brooklyn accent], ‘Hey McCown, come here.’ It's like a scene out of Goodfellas. My heart is beating fast and he says, "The second quarter, you threw the ball in the flat. You had [wide receiver John] Madsen on the corner. Why didn't you throw the corner?’ I'm stumbling through the answer, I'm following my reads and doing what I'm supposed to do, I didn't want to sell out the coaches. I kind of fumbled through the answer and I get done talking and he nods his head and goes, ‘It's the Raidahs, throw the ball dahnfield.’ And brrrrrrp the window goes up and he pulls off. It was a great experience."
That's gold.
Wrapping this one with awesomeness from Jason Pierre-Paul. He's befriended this young man and honored him with a sack celebration just for him.
That's awesome. You're probably not a famous athlete. But don't underestimate the light you can be in someone's eyes. See you out there.
That'll do it for this week, Folks. Thanks to Footballguys Clayton Gray, Brett Clark and Mike O'Brien for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, shoot me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Thanks for playing along. I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.
Peace and Grace to you.
J
