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Random Shots From Week 5

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 5
By Joe Bryant, October 14, 2020

Random Shots From Week 5
Photo: Imagn Images

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

Tyreek Hill was fined for unsportsmanlike conduct on this play last year.

I don't know if this is even real and it's so good I don't want to know.

Another week of Football means another week of Philip Rivers super clean smack talk. In this one he's roasting Roquan Smith after his running back Jonathan Taylor blew past him. These guys are pros but you have to think it makes Taylor feel great to see his QB repping him here.

Not sure if you've heard, but Derrick Henry did this Tuesday night...

The Internet, then of course did its thing.

And...

And my favorite...

Warning - I'm pretty sure it's all downhill from here.

And side note - Don't be throwing facts around like Norman was running full speed to the sideline and Henry used Norman's momentum to knock him off balance using his momentum against him and it was more a Judo move than a stiff arm and Henry has about 40 pounds on the cornerback.

Work with me here, People.

Baseball note.

Hmmm...

This is Random Shots. This is why we're here.

Seems like giving Jimmy Garoppolo a zillion dollars was excessive. Brian Hoyer was entirely capable of this kind of play.

But George Kittle still loves him. So it's cool.

A.J. Green literally switched teams mid-play.

There's often more to the story but not a great look for a fading often injured once big-name star WR to appear to be bailing once the franchise finally lands what looks like the answer at QB.

You can't tell me this guy wouldn't make a good tackle. Dude had slippers on.

Fletcher Cox with the “Hey...HEY” is the big brother to keep us focused we all need.

Second-guessing coaching decisions is pretty much what we do. The Vikings and Mike Zimmer gave us lots of material Monday night. I asked Twitter what they thought.

Apparently, only 40% of my Twitter folks would have made the right call. You trust your offense to win the game right then and there. End it.

Yikes.

I like Drew Brees. But there's some truth here.

Rex Ryan's found his home on ESPN's Sunday Morning show. This week he said, "Carson Wentz is under more pressure than the top button on my suit."

Music note this week. Jack White dropped a sweet shoutout to Eddie Van Halen Saturday night.

If you made me pick my favorite White Stripes song, it may or may not surprise you that it's "We're Going To Be Friends". Personal reasons. If I'm ever in your town, I'll buy you a beer and tell you about it.

Even Kyler Murray must yield to the laws of physics.

Is it wrong I think of this guy every time Nelson Agholor scores?

I'm no offensive coordinator but I think Robert may be on to something here.

Awww.

I said all summer I wasn't sure if I could watch Alex Smith play. He broke his leg so badly last year, amputation was a possibility. Yet there he was Sunday. Against Aaron Donald. Comeback player of the year seems like a formality at this point.

Donald gave Smith a passing grade after the sack. Saying something to the effect of "That gentleman's leg appears to be quite strong".

Head coach of an NFL team seems like one of the more difficult jobs in the world to me. I've never understood the people who seemed to enjoy seeing a coach fired. I didn't get it with Bill O'Brien and I didn't get it with Dan Quinn.

If you need an example of showing class and grace after a setback, Quinn gave us one this week with a letter to the city of Atlanta saying he'll continue to "root like hell" for the Falcons and their fans.

"How fortunate am I that I close this chapter the very same way that I opened it -- with gratitude," Quinn wrote. "Being the Head Coach of your Atlanta Falcons has been the privilege of a lifetime. I can't express my appreciation enough to Arthur Blank for the opportunity to represent this organization for the past six seasons. It truly has been my family. My wife Stacy and I will forever be grateful for every single person in this organization who made our lives better and fuller.

"I will miss so many things, but none more than the men in the locker room. From Pro Bowlers to practice squad players, it was an honor to fight shoulder-to-shoulder with you and be a part of your lives on and off the field.

"Finally, to the people of Atlanta and Falcons fans everywhere, I can't thank you enough for making this Jersey boy feel right at home. I know there are great things ahead for this team and I'll continue to root like hell for them, and for you. I hope I represented your team with the grace and character you deserve."

With that said...

Baltimore beat those mighty Bengals so I guess we can all get back to calling Lamar Jackson the greatest QB to ever play the game...

Pittsburgh Mood.

I like this team a lot, but let's be real. The Steelers have beaten the Giants, Broncos, Texans, and Eagles. Relax. We'll know a lot more after Cleveland, Tennessee, and Baltimore.

Speaking of Cleveland,

Hat Tip to Justin Bailey.

Andrew Thomas was all of us. A catch is a catch.

I'm not a big Baker Mayfield fan. But Ricky Bobby is never, ever the wrong answer.

Hall of Famer Joe Morgan died this week. I, like most everyone else my age, grew up emulating Morgan's batting stance flapping my elbow. He could play in the field too. Tip of the cap to you, Joe Morgan.

Yeah, he got outplayed by Derek Carr and they lost the game. BUT THAT ARM ANGLE THO! Amirite?

May you find someone who'll hold onto you like Marshon Lattimore does Mike Williams.

The full play is even more impressive. It's worth noting Lattimore had been beaten by Williams a few plays earlier. This was 4th and 7 in overtime and the stop here for New Orleans won the game. Wow.

One more baseball note. "Walker Buehler's Pants" was trending on Twitter.

The Internet did what the Internet does.

And...

And my favorite...

We've all seen the "Did Brady Lose Track Of Down" clip where it appears he thought it was still 4th down.

This quickly became a meme and Chase Claypool jumped in after his four-touchdown game.

Then Brady gave us all a lesson when he took every bit of air out of the sails turning it on himself to congratulate Lebron James.

He's not just good at football.

Wrapping with this one from Jake Butcher. You should be following Jake on Twitter if you're not.

2020 has challenged us all in lots of different ways. One of those ways is how we look at "optimism" and "pessimism". I like Jake's angle here on where these things lead us. And I think he's spot on.

Pessimism is easy. Pessimism is a fast way to "belong". If you're in a group and everyone is complaining, the path of least resistance is chime right in and join the chorus. The world is full of people who seem to always lean towards finding the bad side of everything. And even though they're often miserable to be around, those folks somehow seem to attract a crowd.

Optimism is different. Optimism often means breaking away from the crowd and instead of doing the easy thing and throw in the towel, optimism often requires the bearer to do work in justifying their position. And I get it. We're not talking about irrational optimism here. This isn't the "Let's turn that frown upside down!" This is real life calm self and situational awareness on how you're going to move forward. And it's hard sometimes. But the result is it puts you on the road to independence and interdependence. And so worth it.

Rock on.

Thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Clayton Gray, David Dodds, and Justin Bailey for the help on this one. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, send me an email 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

Photos provided by Imagn Images
Tags Fun Nelson Agholor Tom Brady Joe Burrow Derek Carr Chase Claypool Fletcher Cox Aaron Donald Jimmy Garoppolo Brandon Graham A.J. Green Derrick Henry Tyreek Hill Brian Hoyer Lamar Jackson George Kittle Marshon Lattimore Baker Mayfield Kyler Murray Josh Norman Roquan Smith Jonathan Taylor Carson Wentz Mike Williams

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