Is the Pack back? Does anyone really want them to be back?Image: Getty Images
The Green Bay Packers are back.
That’s what some prognosticators would have you believe after their thrilling overtime victory over the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. Green Bay, entered the game — a must-win situation — with a 3-6 record. A seventh loss in 10 games would’ve almost eliminated the Packers from serious playoff contention with over a month left in the season.
With new life at 4-6, Green Bay clashes with Tennessee on Thursday Night Football in another game the Packers need to win in order to keep pace in the NFC. The Titans have had their own resurrection this season after losing two games to open the season; Tennessee has won six of its last seven games and leads the weak AFC South at 6-3.
While a loss wouldn’t hurt the Titans too severely, the Packers have reverted to a style that plays right into their hands. In the win over Dallas, Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon ran the ball 37 times (combined) for 203 yards and a touchdown. That’s precisely what Tennessee wants in slowing down the game.
Although he’s struggled this year, taking the ball out of Aaron Rodgers’ hands is ideal for the Titans. Rodgers threw only 20 times against the Cowboys, completing 14 passes, of which three were TDs. This was Rodgers’ first three TD game of the year — a week after throwing three interceptions against the lowly Detroit Lions.
Unlike the Cowboys game, if the Packers plan to stick to the ground and pound offense, that’s exactly what the Titans desire. Because you know they will run Derrick Henry down Green Bay’s throat regardless. Dallas tends to fall into that trap of wanting to be flashy and throw the ball even when the running game is working. Tennessee will run it again and again and again. Then they’ll run it some more.
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Even after the big win last week, this game will be even more challenging for the Packers to pull off. Slow, methodical drives down the field running the ball usually turn into low-scoring games, where the Titans thrive. Tennessee has given up more than 22 points once all season, and that was in the Week 2 loss to Buffalo, 41-7. And they haven’t scored more than 24 points in any game.
If the Packers are to win this game, they’ll need Rodgers to be the same guy he was last week. If he plays like he did before the Dallas game, the Packers might get blown out at home in Week 11. Green Bay should go for a similar formula, with a nice mix of passes from Rodgers and enough running to make the play action an effective option.
Ultimately, the Titans will get a big road win at Lambeau Field and douse another splash of ice-cold water onto Green Bay’s playoff chances. Rodgers had been bad most of the year until he faced the Cowboys, a team he usually owns no matter where they play. This week the Titans will knock the Packers back down to earth on Thursday night, forcing Rodgers to point the finger at everyone else again.
Would you let this man run your team?Image: Getty Images
No one strives for failure.
When you first got up on that bike with no training wheels, your goal wasn’t to fall onto the street. It was to ride around, in circles possibly, like your older neighbor on the same block.
However, the five-year-olds will listen to their parents and try to imitate the neighbor who can ride successfully. Elon Musk, on the other hand, is going all Logan Roy and trying to bully Twitter into success. He was forced to write a check that his ass should have never claimed that he could cash to buy the company, and now a person with no social media experience (outside of shit posting) is telling professionals in that field what to do.
He has owned the world’s most instant news-breaking platform for less than a month and it’s quite clear that he has no idea what to do with it. Musk’s most recent declaration is that current Twitter employees must be ready to sign on to work “extremely hardcore,” or take their severance and leave.
Maybe Twitter wasn’t making an ideal profit, but the brand was strong. The Washington metropolitan area has largely rejected its NFL franchise for years, but it will sell for more than $5 billion. Credibility goes a long way, and Musk destroys Twitter’s on a daily basis. #RIPJimmyFallon was trending Tuesday and Wednesday because while, The Tonight Show host is clearly alive, Musk appears to not understand the meaning of the word verified.
Musk isn’t the first rich know-it-all to ruin a business. It happens all the time in sports, and here are a few examples.
The gulf between Steph Curry and Klay Thompson has never been wider. In their primes, Curry was the alpha, but Thompson was right behind him. In recent years, injuries have accelerated Thompson’s career clock and we may be seeing the effects reach critical mass. En route to Golden State’s 130-119 loss to the Phoenix Suns, Curry poured 50 points on 28 shots, adding six assists, and nine boards. Curry has been sipping from the fountain of youth, dissecting defenses built to obstruct him, and still managing to create buckets at an otherworldly rate. Thompson looks prehistoric.
So much of the offseason conversation revolved around Draymond Green, that Thompson’s slippage was glossed over. The vibes were different with Thompson so the expectations were more bullish than they were for Green. He’s chill, he sails, he rides bikes, and his brand is better. ESPN is even writing about Klay’s “epic comeback.”
This season he’s shooting 35 percent from the field, sinking below the league-average 3-point percentage (35 percent) — and he’s more ornery than ever. Before the season, Thompson repeatedly lambasted NBA2K’s rating adjuster Ronnie 2K about his 3-point shooting rating being an 88. He might have been too generous.
The last time Thompson and the Warriors were waxed by the Suns, Klay was ejected and reminded Devin Booker of his four rings. Against Phoenix, Thompson looks like his sun may be setting.
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In his first clash with the Suns on Oct. 25, Thompson was 1-for-8 from the floor before being ejected. On Wednesday night, he shot 6-of-17 from the field, scoring 19 points, but continuously rushed shots in transition and was downright slothful on defense. Thompson earned bonafides as a 3-and-D wing, but now he’s got neither. His front-rimming open triples and his shooting percentages are down in every zone.
Curry’s absolute masterclass in the first month of the season has deflected from Thompson’s deterioration. However, the more Thompson struggles to get his shot back on track, the larger the elephant in the room will grow. Thompson has endured cold streaks before, but they’re occurring more frequently, and last longer, and the highs aren’t so high and the lows are even lower.
Klay has heard the chatter and he’s been unhappy about it, telling Bleacher Report this week, “I feel like I deserve more credit for battling through all that injury shit. I helped a team win a championship last year and people still want to discredit what you do.”
The clamoring for Jordan Poole to replace Thompson in the starting lineup has already begun in earnest. However, their Big 3 starting unit is still the NBA’s most formidable, and Thompson has played only 22 minutes all season without Curry in the lineup. They’re attached at the hip for now.
Golden State’s youngsters off the bench were considered untouchable in the offseason, but that was when the championship goggles had Golden State believing they’d forged a Duncan-to-Kawhi-like transition. There’s a forward in Brooklyn right now who has expressed passionate opinions about his lack of help who could use a stable partner. Absent a Durant-Curry reunion, Golden State’s solution isn’t as binary as benching Thompson or moving him to the bench.
Steve Kerr discussed adjusting his rotation last week, but the obvious move is staring him in the face. Thompson’s legs don’t have the juice they used to, so why not cut his minutes in the regular season? The distribution of playing time between the 23-year-old Poole and Thompson, 32, is paradoxical to common sense unless Kerr is afraid of Thompson’s response.
Poole is Golden State’s Christopher Walken’s cowbell; they need more of him. In his 28.5 minutes per game, he’s exhibited boundless energy and his productivity is in line with last season’s, but after his contract extension, he should be playing more minutes so that Thompson can play fewer.
If the Warriors are going to win another championship, it may not be with Thompson in his current role.
One of the true shockers of the United States men’s national team’s World Cup roster reveal was Shaq Moore making the cut. His inclusion, alongside striker Haji Wright, appeared to come the most out of left field for diehard fans of the Stars and Stripes. Moore has had recent call-ups, played in four of the USA’s 14 World Cup qualifiers, and was in the squad that won the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Moore had sufficient momentum to be under consideration, yet left some scratching their heads as to what they missed.
I believe his lack of buzz came from two factors. First, he played at the United States’ second deepest position. After attacking midfielders and non-striker forwards, which the USMNT defines similarly, the fullback or outside back position was as loaded as any. We knew Sergino Dest, Antonee Robinson, and DeAndre Yedlin were getting called to Qatar. At most, USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter would’ve called in two more fullbacks to the team. I figured if it was just one more, Joe Scally would get the nod. If it was two, Reggie Cannon, due to his ability to play anywhere in the back four, would be the other. Cannon’s name wasn’t mentioned at all last week during the roster reveal and ensuing press availability. Scally is also headed to Qatar with Moore joining him.
The second reason most didn’t forecast a Moore call-in was his lack of memorable moments with the national team. That’s exactly why it came as such a shock to see Ricardo Pepi’s name off the squad. Moore scored about 20 seconds into the United States’ Gold Cup group stage match against Canada last year. It’s his only goal in 15 appearances with the Yanks. The pre-reveal buzz is never the best indicator of who gets to be on the World Cup roster. None of the online “experts” got all 26 right. Even without missing a minute of a USMNT match since the Nations League semifinal victory over Honduras, I only got 19 correct with what I felt was the American’s best-case scenario. One of my correct projections — Moore.
I put Moore on the roster as one of the last additions. I’m certain I wouldn’t have included him if the usual 23-man roster size was in place and I’m not sure Berhalter does either. My decision to include him came from being teammates with a roster lock in Walker Zimmerman and that recognition would be useful in adverse situations in Qatar. By himself, Moore has great pace from the outside and is a solid defender. That is also true for a few others on the U.S. roster, which is why his name didn’t stand out when called to come to Qatar.
Moore’s contributions at the World Cup should be small, if he sees the field at all. He’s the third-best fit at his best position — right back — behind Sergino Dest and DeAndre Yedlin. I see Berhalter heavily relying on that duo throughout the tournament, as opposed to Moore. If the middle of December comes and Moore is a household name, it’ll likely be because of injuries above him in the depth chart. Knowing the USA’s guaranteed games against Wales, England and Iran feature a trio of teams who don’t mind leaving themselves exposed defensively to have a better attack, Moore’s ability actually could be useful off the bench, compared to writing him off completely.
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In 2014, only two non-goalkeepers never saw the field in Brazil, Mix Diskerud and Timmy Chandler. Both of them flamed out with the USMNT soon after and we haven’t heard much from either since. That means Jürgen Klinsmann used 18 outfield players in four games. FIFA upped the number of substitutes allowed per game from three to five for this World Cup, meaning Berhalter is likely to deploy close to his entire non-goalkeeper roster in Qatar. It might be for just one game, but Moore could get his chance to shine. If he sees the field, I like his odds to not crumble under the pressure, especially if he’s in a familiar place, next to Zimmerman.
It may be time to finally eliminate the charades known as the American and National League. Just tell it to the Judge — Aaron Judge.
The Yankee slugger’s 62 home run season has been roundly celebrated as a new American League record. But there’s a good chance no one will ever break that A.L. mark, as the American League and National League are facing extinction.
With next year’s schedule increasing interleague play from this year’s 20 games to 46 games (28.4 percent of the season), it’s only a matter of time before half the games will be against teams in what is now the other league.
“I don’t think there’s any difference in the leagues,” said Bobby Valentine, who played and managed in the N.L. and the A.L. in a career that began with the Dodgers in 1969. In light of the new schedule and this year’s permanent addition of the designated hitter to the National League, Valentine told Deadspin, “I often wonder if they should have one MVP, which I think they should.”
Former National League President Leonard Coleman is fine with the separate leagues and awards. “Early on there was stiff competition between the leagues, but I think that’s pretty much evaporated,” conceded Coleman, who headed the National League from 1994 till 1999, when his position was eliminated with MLB consolidating the two leagues into its office. “You can keep them for tradition’s sake,” he said over the phone.
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But if things go Valentine’s way, it could be goodbye to an MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and a host of other double awards, following the example of the NFL, which makes no distinction between AFC and NFC when it comes to awards.
“That’s what I would prefer,” said Valentine, who added that he would merge the two sets of stats. “If I had the highest batting average next year, or hit the most home runs, had the best ERA, I’d like to think I was the best in baseball,” and not just in one league.
Coleman proposed a simple solution to the stats issue: “You can merge them yourself. You got a National League batting champ, you got an American League batting champ. You know who had the highest average in Major League Baseball. It’s right there in front of you.”
A potential change in baseball would follow what the NFL and AFL did with their awards and stats when their merger took effect in 1970.
Later today, Judge is likely to win his first MVP award, after his historic season. But with the intermingling of the leagues, there remains a question over his home run record.
With all due respect to the Yankees’ right fielder, should there be an asterisk next to his 62? And before you Yankee fans jump all over me, it’s not for the same reason that players like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa have earned their figurative asterisks.
Another area where the two leagues becoming one gets murky is league records. Is 62 home runs really an American League record when Judge slugged 10 of his home runs against National League teams?
Those include a pair against the pitching-poor Pirates, who finished with the second-worst record in the NL, and one against the Reds, who tied the Bucs with 100 losses. (The Mets helped him the most of any NL team, allowing three 4-baggers; the Brewers and Cubs each gave up two.)
When Maris was aiming at Babe Ruth’s hallowed record of 60 homers (Babe did it in the 154-game schedule that was then in effect in 1927), baseball’s commissioner, Ford Frick, declared in the middle of the 1961 season (which was lengthened to 162 games when the A.L. added two new teams that year): “If the player does not hit more than 60 until after the club has played 154 games, there would have to be some distinctive mark in the record books to show that Babe Ruth’s record was set under a 154-game schedule . . .”
Although there was never an actual mark in the record books, Maris’ 61 was often scoffed at. But even those Frickers couldn’t deny that Yankee right fielder smashed all his home runs against only American League teams.
Valentine and Coleman both agree that Judge is the legit American League single-season home run record holder. As Coleman put it, “Judge plays in the American League. He hit 62 home runs. That’s the record.”
Let’s get the main reason out of the way. No one outside of Portugal wants to see giant pain in the ass, huffing his own farts, twice-accused rapist Cristiano Ronaldo — who has denied the allegations — hoist the trophy. It was bad enough in 2016 when he left the final injured that he made sure every camera in the Stade de France caught him “coaching” from the sideline so that no one would be under the impression he had no influence on his country’s biggest ever result. A lot has happened since, and almost none of it good. If the soccer world not-so-secretly hopes that Lionel Messi can complete his résumé it’s partly because A) it would be the one thing that Ronaldo hasn’t won and then likely won’t and B) simultaneously hoping that Ronaldo whiffs on a penalty on the group stage so hard his leg wheels around and boots his nose through his brain.
Now that that’s out of the way, below the three main favorites of Brazil, Argentina, and France, Portugal is most certainly in a collection of teams that could win the tournament with a couple of breaks. The other part of the equation (that would see most fans choking up their lunch at the thought) is that if they are to go far in Qatar, they will probably do it as they did when they won the Euros in France. And that is playing a style that causes one’s face to melt like they just released the Ark of the Covenant. A quick review: Portugal won two matches out of seven in France. They scored three goals in the knockout stages in normal time, and two of those were against Wales. Their match against Croatia in the Round of 16 will be in any discussion for the worst match of all time. The final against France wasn’t much better.
But hey, flags fly forever and all that. It’s a formula they’ve tried to replicate twice since without much success. They went out pretty meekly to Uruguay in the Round of 16 in Russia. Then they had a supremely weird Euro 2020(1), swinging wildly from smashing Hungary in Budapest to getting utterly thwacked by Germany and then drawing with France, only to be bounced by Belgium at the first knockout hurdle even though Belgium created next to nothing (1.4-0.2 in xG in Portugal’s favor, but sometimes expected goals only get you a flight home).
Looking at the squad, there is a jovial attacking force possible from what’s available. Fernando Santos could cobble something together with Rafael Leão, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, João Felix, Vitinha, and one or two others that would get people off the couch regularly. Diogo Jota missing out through injury is a problem, but there are enough weapons here to still be pretty tasty.
But that’s not how Santos works. Portugal defends first, and second, and they’ll worry about the attacking later. And they can do that too. Ruben Neves is one of the better holding midfielders in the Premier League, and Ruben Dias and Danilo Pereira a pretty mean central defensive pairing. And as stated over and over on these pages, for a short tournament with a short run-up, it’s a lot simpler to install a defensive, compact plan than an expansive, attacking one.
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It does seem like Santos is trying to shift, however. Neves has been left to man the defensive shield alone, with Bruno Fernandes moving into midfield along with William Carvalho, allowing for a front three of Ronaldo, Silva, and Leão. That’s basically a five-man attack, contrasted against punting it up to ol’ No. 7 as we’ve seen in the past. Of course, cramming Silva, Fernandes, and Carvalho onto the field at once leaves them pretty narrow, which is how you see a team like Germany with rampaging fullbacks tear them apart. The same goes for Serbia, who got a draw and a win over Portugal in qualifying. All three of their group opponents have wide players who can wreak havoc if given too much space.
The other issue, of course, is how Ronaldo can blunt that attacking verve. We’ve already seen with Manchester United how Fernandes becomes a shell of a player with Ronaldo stepping into his space all the time. Silva wants to get to where Ronaldo is standing a lot as well, and you’re wasting all that Leão can do if he’s purely shunted out wide to accommodate Ronaldo. But Santos isn’t about to drop his captain and country’s biggest icon, is he?
That said, there are few teams that can boast both a defense and attack that you can see being good enough to win, at least in the second tier of contenders. Spain doesn’t have a forward. England is…England. Germany is just kind of a wonky outfit. The Dutch don’t have a striker either. Portugal has tons of depth at fullback and in attack, and Neves can be backed up by João Palhinha. The only trouble spot is if Dias or Pereira gets hurt or suspended.
The draw is pretty kind to them as well. If they win this group, and they should, they’ll duck Brazil (though a third meeting with Serbia would have the nerves jangling). Likely Belgium or a beatable Spain or Germany or Japan would await in the quarters. The semis will see France, if they have any players left, or possibly England.
Maybe Portugal gets caught in between, unable to stick to the defensive attitude that got them their only major trophy and too smitten by the attacking possibilities. But we know they have the know-how for this. And they have one of the most dangerous players on the counter in Leão. It doesn’t have to be pretty, and Portugal has proven they can be functional.
Portugal might have wanted a slightly easier group, but it could have been way tougher. Ghana is sort of a mess right now, hiring a part-time manager Otto Addo less than a year ago. They’ve had a flux of players switch their eligibility to them in the past year, and thus haven’t been able to settle on a lineup. Their run of form has been awful, going out in the group stage of AFCON without winning a game, and getting two draws against Nigeria in the playoff to qualify. They’ve only beaten Madagascar and Nicaragua in their last 10 matches. Their likely starting forward, Felix Afena-Gyan, is a spot starter for Cremonese. They can defend though, and that’s probably what they will concentrate on, with a backline of Daniel Armartey, Alexander Djiku, Denis Odoi, and Baba Rahman. Normally, Arsenal’s Thomas Partey would shield them as he does for the Gunners, but Ghana has holes all over midfield that he’s been used to plug at various times.
It is finally time for the next generation of Uruguay, though Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are still hanging around. But this is a team that’s built more around Darwin Nuñez, Fede Valverde, and Rodrigo Bentancur. Diego Godin has still been picked, but it feels like he’s there more as a mentor to Ronald Araujo or his former Atletico teammate Jose Giménez. Valverde, who has been a revelation for Madrid so far this season, plays a little more in midfield for his country, which certainly makes them vibrant. But in true Uruguayan tradition, the defense is pretty goddamn slow, and just how much they want to get forward and use the skills of Nunez, Valverde, and Suarez versus exposing that stodgy backline will be the tough balance for manager Diego Alonso.
South Korea is sweating just how healthy Son Heung-Min can be after breaking his face a couple of weeks ago. He is unquestionably the team’s biggest star, and with him alone South Korea would be a threat against Uruguay or Ghana simply on the counter, given the magic Son Heung-Min has weaved at Spurs.
But much like Ghana, this team’s strength may be in defense. Kim Min-jae is currently anchoring the defense of Napoli, only the most fun team in the world right now, and will do the same for his country in Qatar. Under manager Paulo Bento, this is a far more patient team than you may remember South Korea being, the seemingly tireless pressing outfit all over the field. They sauntered out of an admittedly easy qualifying group, though recent results in friendlies have them on edge. They got clubbed by Brazil in June, and drew with Costa Rica in September. There have been wins over non-World Cup participants like Egypt and Paraguay, and it’s tough to ever know what to make of friendlies. South Korea is always a tough out, and if Son Heung-Min is healthy they won’t make it easy on the others but appear to be lacking the firepower Uruguay or Portugal can produce.
Most likely manager to get red carded: Let’s not worry about that, because with Addo, Alonso, and Bento this is far and away the Group of Death when it comes to manager handsomeness.
Best jerseys: Portugal, when they stick to their more traditional color of maroon rather than the neon red they sometimes opt for, always look pretty damn slick. Both the home and away jerseys this time around are no exception.
Schedule: Thursday, Nov. 24 — Uruguay v. South Korea (8 a.m. EST), Portugal vs. Ghana (11 a.m. EST)
Monday, Nov. 28 — South Korea v. Ghana (8 a.m. EST), Portugal vs. Uruguay (2 p.m. EST)
Friday, Dec. 2 — Portugal v. South Korea, Uruguay v. Ghana (10 a.m. EST)
Teoscar Hernandez is a MarinerIllustration: Getty Images
It’s hard to not see the Toronto Blue Jays sitting in the catbird seat. It doesn’t feel like the Yankees are exactly poised to hold onto their seat atop the AL East, even if Aaron Judge returns. They don’t have the potential for growth that the Jays do, given the youth of their roster. Bo Bichette, Vladito, Alejandro Kirk, and Alex Manoah haven’t hit their peaks, yet, or at least they shouldn’t have. There’s still plenty of room in the payroll before hitting the luxury tax, with a season on deck where they could draw close to or even over three million fans. There are holes of course, but the Jays aren’t getting caught by the Orioles yet, the Rays aren’t going all out ever, and the Red Sox aren’t even trying.
And yet Toronto kicked off the MLB offseason with a trade that seems panicky at worst, and confusing at best.
They traded right fielder Teoscar Hernandez to the Mariners for reliever Erik Swanson, and pitching prospect Adam Macko. It is important to remind folks just how good Hernandez has been for the past two seasons. The only right fielders better in terms of fWAR over the past two seasons are Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker, Bryce Harper, Starling Marte, Kyle Tucker, and Adolis Garcia. That’s three MVPs, another surefire MVP one day in Soto, and some others who are at the very top of the contributor pile if they don’t make the star pile.
Yes, the Jays needed a little pen help in front of Jordan Romano, but was it worth giving up a plus outfielder?
Sure, this all goes out the window if the Jays sign Judge, but that’s unlikely. Did their collapse in Game 2 of the Wild Card series spook them?
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There’s a reason that good teams basically comprise a bullpen out of what they have lying around. While they do take outsized importance in the postseason, good relievers can come from anywhere. You cannot be more dominant than Swanson was for the Mariners last year with his 0.91 WHIP. He was worth half of what Hernandez was, and Hernandez missed 30 games. Throwing 60-70 innings over a full season just isn’t worth all that much.
It can’t be future payroll they are worried about, can it? Matt Chapman and Hyun Jin Ryu come off the books after this season. Bichette and Vlad Jr. are three years away from free agency. Even with Hernandez going into his free-agent year, what was the problem? Even if the Jays didn’t want to sign a then-31-year-old to a big-time deal, couldn’t they use what Hernandez has poised for this season?
Sure, it improves the defense, with Whit Merrifield, at the moment, moving to right and Santiago Espinal going full-time at second. Both are improvements with the glove. The Jays were already a good defensive team in the infield, a slightly below-average one in the outfield. Is this really enough of an improvement?
Sure, the Jays have offense and power to spare, but why not seek bottom-of-the-rotation help?
There’s still a lot to play out this winter, and the Jays have plenty of time to make this make sense. It’s just, at the moment, it feels like they either were worried about payroll — the one true thing that could derail their arc toward being a true power — or they’re overly antsy about bullpen help, which is everywhere. You can find it walking to the grocery store. You can find it at the deadline. You can find it in some failed prospect who finds a new grip on a cutter. You don’t give up All-stars for it.
Maybe the Jays have a plan. It’s just a little worrying when possibly the most exciting up-and-coming team in MLB makes a move that we can’t immediately explain.
The Lions are suddenly on a two-game winning streak and are close to playing themselves off the Powerless Rankings. This is the first time Detroit’s won consecutive games since Weeks 6 and 7 of the 2020 season.
The Lions managed to defeat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers last week, and for their Week 10 encore, beat another divisional foe, Chicago. This was a high-scoring affair that the Lions narrowly escaped, 31-30.
Justin Fields may be evolving into the franchise quarterback Chicago Bears fans have been waiting for since Al Capone was alive. Jim McMahon was a capable Super Bowl-winning game manager, but Fields is demonstrating his potential to introduce Chicagoans to a higher caliber of individual quarterback play. The scintillating plays he’s made with his legs thanks to offensive coordinator Luke Getsy finally noticing his 4.4 speed are becoming too common to ignore.
His arm talent is still a work in progress, but he’s been a livewire in the Bears’ previously dormant offense while throwing to a zombie receiving corps. Despite Sunday’s loss to the Lions, Fields’ spectacular play has stood out. In Chicago’s 31-30 defeat, Fields became the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to rush for two touchdowns, throw a pair of touchdowns and rush for 100 yards in a single game.
Under Matt Nagy, Fields had the NFL’s highest passer rating on designed rollouts in 2021, and it took until a third of the way through the 2022 season for the new coaching staff to notice. Through a five-game span, Fields has rushed for more yards than any quarterback in the Super Bowl era. He’s also the only quarterback with multiple rushing touchdowns of 60 or more yards after another 67-yard scamper against the Lions.
The Atlanta Falcons should be kicking themselves in the head right now watching Fields in Chicago galloping past defenses like their former signal-caller Mike Vick — though Fields is blessed with a sturdier frame — while Marcus Mariota is tossing footballs toward the clouds like he’d been launched into space and forgot which direction the line of scrimmage was.
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A year and a half ago, Fields was available for Atlanta to take him with the fourth pick. He’d gone to high school in nearby Kennesaw, played one year collegiately at UGA, and longtime franchise quarterback Matt Ryan was already beginning to go sour the longer he played past his body’s natural expiration date. It was the easy choice, and yet, Atlanta got it wrong. Instead, the Falcons gave Matt Ryan an extension for a young team that was in the midst of a rebuild everywhere but the quarterback position.
Additional hairsplitting about a hitch in Fields’ throwing motion, his occasional hiccups against elite defenses, Fields’ epilepsy diagnosis, and Ohio State’s less-than-stellar history of producing good quarterbacks, resulted in teams devaluing him out of the top 10. Yet, the No. 2 pick, Trey Lance, was a North Dakota State quarterback who was even further behind in his development than Fields after making a quantum leap from facing FCS competition.
It would be one thing if the Falcons made a selection with that fourth pick that filled a position of need with a top-five talent. A pocket-passing virtuoso, a game-wrecking rusher like Micah Parsons, or a shutdown corner who could drape even the best receivers.
No, the Falcons turned down Fields for Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. This season, head coach Arthur Smith has used said tight end as a decoy and blocking tight end. We’re in the third quarter of the 2022 season and Pitt has hauled in 54 receptions for 313 yards.
After Fields’ rookie season, the Falcons ditched Ryan anyways and incurred the largest cap penalty crater in NFL history to make a run at Georgia native Deshaun Watson, because the Falcons were still under the illusion that they were a signal-caller away.
Like Watson, Fields also fell in the first round of the NFL Draft due to concerns over his accuracy. However, as we’ve seen from Josh Allen and Tua Tagovailoa, quarterbacks can be salvaged. Fields wasn’t a sure thing, but it’s worth kissing a few frogs to draft a prince.
In the most recent draft, Atlanta selected 6-foot-4 receiver Drake London, but the Falcons’ depth chart doesn’t feature an arm who can maximize his or Pitts’ talent. Travis Kelce doesn’t shine without Patrick Mahomes. Shannon Sharpe doesn’t dazzle without John Elway. Gronk was attached at the hip to Brady. Mariota ranks 27th in completion percentage, has thrown the NFL’s third-most interceptions, has rushed for half as many yards as Fields, is 32nd in average passing yardage, 23rd in attempts, and is off target at a prolific rate.
At 4-6, the Falcons appear content to hover around .500 with Mariota or Desmond Ridder, if they ever decide to send him out for a twirl. UGA made the same mistake with Fields during his true freshman season, believing they’d found their guy in redshirt freshman Jake Fromm.
Fields belonged in red. From UGA to Ohio State’s scarlet red, the Falcons talked themselves out of cashing in a lottery ticket and have spent two seasons regretting that choice since. Now they find themselves navigating the landscape hoping another franchise quarterback finds his way to Atlanta.
This week, snubbing Fields in the draft looms larger in the rearview mirror. The Falcons will get an up close and personal peek at the road not traveled when Fields comes home to Atlanta this upcoming Sunday. Fields will undoubtedly be energized for this one and if he leaves his footprints all over the Falcons’ defense, the pressure on Atlanta’s front-office brass to solve their quarterback problem will intensify.
