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
What a time to be alive.
Take Me Home, Pat Mahomes...
I could probably end this one right here and it would still be one the best Random Shots I've done.
I told you last week Mason Rudolph jumped to Random Shots QB1 with the pre-snap Jadeveon Clowney wink.
This week, Gardner Minshew's back to the top spot. For plays like this:
And of course, this...
Hat Tip: MemesOfTheNFL
With that said, this is important.
Uncle Rico is an All-Time Great Character. We get it.
Like a great many All-Time Great Characters, he's best in small doses. Very small doses.
For example, this is great.
Fun pic, make your point, get in, get out. Move on.
Everybody's happy. Good job.
On the other hand, a what feels like a 90-minute feature on Uncle Rico during prime time Sunday Morning Countdown is an entirely different matter.
The over/under for how many times "Is this still on?" was said while this ran (and ran and ran), is currently at 3,000,000.
No charge for the advice, there ESPN. I'm just trying to make Football better.
Here's something better.
This kind of stuff. All day long.
I told you last week we needed some answers about Aaron Rodgers' conehead helmet.
I don't have any answers but Footballguy David Flinn sent me this.
Some of my favorite things about this league are all the different player personalities. One small way we see them expressed is in the clothes the players wear.
Some players dress like Rock Stars before the game. Some like Fashion Models. Some like Regular Folks.
You do you.
And that means you too, Daniel Jones.
Seriously, I love this.
Music Note This Week.
It's October. And October feels like Blind Pilot to me.
Specifically, Blind Pilot covering Gillian Welch's "Look At Miss Ohio".
This is not a rock song. But I recommend playing it LOUD.
My late little brother Rich had a phrase he'd use for a sound like this.
He'd shake his head a little and smile and say, "That's so pure". He'd say it all in one word though and drag out and emphasize the last syllable so it sounded like "thassuhPUUUUURE".
I miss him so much. Especially around music.
And if you want an even better picture of the band and song, here's a live version.
Which is a more accurate feel. Not sure things get much better than a band this good in an intimate space like The Kessler Theater in Dallas with a few hundred folks.
So good. And get out and see and support live music.
I hope Sam Darnold listens to Sam Darnold's Spleen.
I'm not sure smelling salts are going to help the Jets here...
Before Sunday's game, Baltimore safety Earl Thomas said the Ravens "got tired" of hearing about Cleveland during the preseason.
Turns out, Cleveland was tired of hearing about the Ravens being tired of hearing about it.
Funny how that works sometimes.
Futbolguys Note of the Week.
I don't know anything about soccer but this is kind of crazy.
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott seemed agitated Bill Belichick's son and another Patriot staffer were lingering on the sidelines near the Bills warming up.
Can't imagine why McDermott would be wary of the Patriots there...
Important question for you: Are you a "recline your seat on the airplane" person?
Our friend Daniel Jeremiah made it pretty clear where he stands on this.
Patrick Mahomes II. You're kind of ridiculous.
This is why you pay interns.
Of all the possible pictures, this is what the folks running the Raiders official social media account chose to go with?
Baseball season is winding down. But this was awesome.
Rarely seen in the wild, the rare and elusive Double Fumble.
I'm with you Giant Fans. After a rough offseason, things are looking up.
But let's not get carried away just yet.
I'm just going to leave this one right here.
What kind of sorcery is this?
Buffalo players weren't happy with the apparent double standard they saw Sunday.
Welcome to the real world, Buffalo.
You're right, defenders can hit Josh Allen differently than they hit Tom Brady.
And it works the same way from the other side. Jonathan Jones can hit people differently than Vontaze Burfict can. Or I guess "could".
It's not exactly fair. But neither is the world.
Halloween's not far away. Someone, please get this outfit for their dog and post a video.
This real live salary cap thing is hard.
Thanks to Footballguy David Dodds for that one.
Khalil Mack is the Random Shots Player Of The Week.
"A dog that poop fast don't poop for long, Man".
The Saints Troll Game = Strong.
As a #Footballguy, I'm totally down with Andy Reid's Mozart the Painter as the definition of a Footballguy.
The internet is tough though...
First reply.
Thanks to Footballguy Kirk Hardwick for the help with that one.
I wrote about twelve different captions for this one. But none do this justice.
And sidekick guy on the right doesn't get near enough credit.
Thanks to Footballguy Bob Henry for that one.
If you're going to celebrate with Jimmy Graham, you best be ready.
This was challenged, reviewed and upheld as not Pass Interference.
Just drop the new rule allowing challenges then. Seriously.
Tony Dungy is the nicest man on the Planet. When he says it's a "terrible" call, you know it's bad.
I'm with our friend Doug here. The Free Phone Football couple is brutal.
Well played Eagles Fans.
Thanks to Footballguy Keith Overton for the help with that one.
K.J. Hamler is a problem.
I admit this is kind of mean.
Hat Tip: MemesOfTheNFL
And this is really mean.
I love Patrick Mahomes II as much as anyone. But can we relax?
He glanced back towards the official as he scrambled. There are lots of things Mahomes does that deserve the OMG Freakout.
Looking back at the official is not one.
I like this A.J. Brown guy. Anyone who does the Safe Cracker is alright by me.
I have the New England Defense in my Local League. I'm all about them.
But I'm with FauxAndyLuck here.
Deep breaths.
One of my favorite things about the game are the little technique skills.
Justin Coleman with a textbook defensive back play here.
That's seriously beautiful.
Jarvis Landry fell forward for 30 yards on this play.
Be a co-worker like Saquon Barkley.
I talked the last couple of weeks about not being amazed when a 250-pound tight end shrugs off a 200-pound cornerback.
This is not that.
Will Fuller weighs 184 pounds.
And he's a handful.
The disrespect here.
My favorite commercial of the Week.
Tebow with the Clapper Light at the end destroyed me.
Christian McCaffrey: kind of ridiculous too.
Bill Belichick Does. Not. Care.
Neither does Matt Nagy.
I hope you find someone who loves you as much as Bradley Chubb loves false starts.
Also, best wishes for a full recovery to Chubb. He tore his ACL later in this game.
Jarrad Davis with the questionable "Undercover QB Spy" technique...
It's a beautiful game.
Bad news:
Jabrill Peppers posted more receiving yards than Odell Beckham.
Worse news:
Jabrill Peppers plays defense.
Thanks to Footballguy Sean Scofield for the help with that one.
Wrapping with this one from Footballguys Godfather, Seth Godin. If you don't know Godin, you should. Sign up here for free. Few business writers have been more influential on my journey than Seth Godin.
He wrote this week about chocolate. But it's not really about chocolate.
"Halloween is a month away. And over the next few weeks, a lot of cheap chocolate is going to get bought in preparation for the ringing doorbell.
"Cheap chocolate is made from beans picked by poor kids in dangerous conditions.
"And cheap chocolate is made from beans that don’t even taste that good, but come from more hardy trees, so it’s more reliable to grow.
"Some of the poorest people in the world raise cacao beans, and the market is driven by the low bidders. The low bidders are the folks who have no room for flexibility in their supply chain because the end product they sell is so price sensitive. For forty years, it’s been a race to the bottom, one that has led to plenty of ignored pain.
"On the other hand, expensive chocolate turns the ratchet in the other direction. The folks who make the bars, particularly those who do direct trade, keep paying higher and higher wages. They keep children out of the system. And they encourage their growers to use the tastier artisanal Criollo and Trinitario varieties, keeping them from extinction.
"The race to the top often creates more winners than losers. That’s because instead of seeking to maximize financial returns at the expense of everyone in the system, they’re focused on something else."
I'm down with Godin here.
Go for the good stuff. Race to the top. Not the bottom. Sometimes, that means paying a little more. But not always. I think that's true with food and with clothes and with music. And lots more. I'm biased of course, but I think it's also true for Fantasy Football content.
It's also good I think to consider the bigger picture and to think about more than just the actual product. Where it came from and how it got here. Like lots of things, it comes down to what it always seems to come down to for me: Have some self-awareness and realize it's not all about me. That's likely a good lesson for all of us. Certainly for me.
Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Clayton Gray, David Dodds, Bob Henry, Sean Scofield, Kirk Hardwick and David Flinn for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, send me an e-mail at bryant@footballguys.com.
Thanks for playing along and 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
