Hi Folks,
We do a lot of really insightful, thoughtful and serious features here at Footballguys with some very smart people thinking deeply for you. This is not one of those features.
This is 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 keep relatively sane. Here's hoping it has a tiny bit of value for you. Let's go.
Adrian Peterson isn't making Vikings fans feel any better…
I've always been neutral on Donovan McNabb but it was fun to see him honored in Philadelphia Thursday night. He seemed totally relaxed before the game with the NFL Network Guys.
He was asked, "Is T.O. going to be here?" McNabb didn't skip a beat and said, "He didn't return his invitation. Nor did he get one."
It obviously was a big night for coach Andy Reid returning to town and McNabb was asked, "What do you think Andy Reid is thinking right now?" McNabb said (maybe a little too quickly) "He may be hungry right now".
We all had Rex Ryan left for dead. He may have had us right where he wanted us. Sunday he was FEELING IT rocking the Mr. T Starter Kit.
Love that Dude.
If I wrote Random Shots about Baseball, I imagine that Prince Fielder would be a regular. Sometimes, you just really need a nacho.
I was happy for Andy Reid after the Eagles game. This had to be sweet for him throwing it back up to Sal Pal.
And classy move by the Eagles organization and their fans to welcome him back so warmly. The scoreboard was great during pre game introductions.
While I'm on Kansas City - Andy Reid has as many wins as the NFC East does.
Thanks to Footballguy Dustin Herrod for that one.
Here's how it feels to be a Jaguars fan: Tarvaris Jackson just scored on you.
Music Note of The Week. Relaxing here with the Cinematic Orchestra. If you thought the song was cool in the Guinness Wheelchair Basketball Commercial I called out a couple of weeks ago, they get the credit. The song is called To Build A Home and it's pretty beautiful.
And don't worry - I'll do something thrashy next week…
@FauxJohnMadden was funny Sunday morning: "To counter Browns attempt at tanking, the Vikings up the ante by starting Christian Ponder at quarterback."
Ouch.
Cleveland's @TonyGrossi was funny too: "On field, Joe Banner chatting w/ ex-Eagle Leslie Frazier. "Whaddya need?"
Grossi also had this nugget: "With a win today, Brian Hoyer will have winningest record of 19 #Browns QBs since '99. Jake Delhomme's 2-2 is best win %."
Double Ouch.
God Bless Browns Fans.
Thanks to Footballguy Chris Sasser and Chive.com for that one.
The NFL now makes fans attending games use a clear plastic bag for carrying items into games.
I would love to watch how this process actually happens in Oakland.
I have this mental picture of the Black Hole guys checking their bags like Mike and Sully carrying their lunch boxes to work…
And Raider Fans, that's a compliment.
ESPN knocked it out of the park with the segment on Sunday Morning Countdown featuring Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson catching passes one handed from a JUGS machine . Adam Schefter took things to an entirely new level jumping in.
He may have fallen down but I believe that counts as a catch. And that speed setting was no joke. Nice work Adam.
San Diego scored a rushing touchdown. If I heard the announcers right, that's the first rushing TD since October 7 of 2012. Let that sink in.
If I were Brandon Weeden watching Brian Hoyer play, I don't think I'd be sinking any new money into my Cleveland house…
Nice surprise Sunday night to see my cousin in law (is that a word?), Ted Wilson, during the television broadest.
Thankfully the post game pics were not published.
We were watching the game with a bunch of friends and my wife mentioned what a big Steelers fan her cousin is. I concurred. Not 30 seconds later, Ted's on the screen and it was "And hey, that's him right there." Pretty funny.
Ted's a great guy and Monday morning he was reveling in the Pirates making the playoffs. Good for them.
My wife's family is a classic bunch. She has a huge family so there are a zillion cousins. I met most of them for the first time at a family reunion in Pittsburgh about 10 years ago where we had a party after a golf tourney thing.
I started a conversation with one of the guys and mentioned that I own a boat company. Goes like this. (At least the PG rated version would have gone like this.)
Cousin: So what do you do?
Me: I make boats.
Cousin: GET OUT. Boats?! C'mere.
Cousin puts his arm around me and pulls me across the room to meet his brother, Cousin #2.
Cousin: YO! We're gettin' a boat!
Cousin #2: We're not getting a darn boat.
Cousin: To heck with you. We're GETTIN A BOAT. I KNOW A GUY. Meet JOE!
I then start talking about Footballguys AND mention that I've never been to Pittsburgh before. At that point, it was officially GAME ON.
They took it upon themselves to be good Pittsburgh Citizens and we proceeded to do everything Pittsburgh from kissing the Roberto Clemente statue to eating wings at the Quaker Steak and Lube to going to the old Outback steakhouse that was connected to the Pirate's Stadium outfield where the urinals have a view of the field and you can "Pee and See at PNC Park".
As we say in East Tennessee: "Them's good people".
Peyton Manning's thrown 650,000 touchdowns. In Madden. It only feels like about 300,000 in real life.
Oh Pacman…
Style note to Marc Trestman: Only remove the hat when absolutely necessary. (like it was in this case).
Does it make me a bad football fan if I have less than zero interest in watching The Book Of Manning ? I like Eli and Peyton (and Archie too for that matter) just fine but my interest is mainly in what they do on the field.
I realize that sounds kind of stupid in a column talking about the goofy stuff I talk about but I really do feel a disconnect there.
Sure I smile at the cute picture from the beach, but that's about it.
I'd much rather compare the typical in game reactions we've seen this season…
VS.
Although it's not all Eli's fault…
Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson knew something wasn't right with his hand during the game Sunday. He pulled off his glove and left part of his finger in it.
This report made the rounds and people kept asking Johnson for pictures.
So he obliged.
Click here if you want to see what it looked like.
He included the caption: "#thefinger Blessed to be able to still go out and do what I love this season. #thankful #trulyblessed #birdgang"
That's pretty cool.
Now the team is even getting involved…
Everyone knows concussions are serious business and this is not what the league wants to see with Jermichael Finley Sunday.
The "Make A Wish" type features destroy me every time. Sunday's ESPN segment was fantastic with a young man realizing his dream of meeting the Patriots and getting to take part in a walk through scrimmage.
That's so cool.
A couple of weeks ago, I said Jaxson De Ville was a terrible name for the Jaguars mascot. That may be true, but he's completely redeemed himself paying off a bet by dancing in a thong.
It's not too late to change your team name to Jacoby's Sweet Peas
If you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about…
More Raider Fan Stuff (of which I'm one).
Dress up and go to the Broncos game they said. It'll be fun they said.
Fan of the Week. My Buddy and diehard Bears fan Jeremy Johnson rocking his killer Smokin' Ditka shirt.
That's awesome.
Cool story of the day. Seattle fullback Derrick Coleman isn't just a great player. He also happens to be deaf. Love seeing a guy like Coleman battle challenges. Rock on, 40.
Former Baltimore LB Ray Lewis for some reason felt compelled to comment on the Jacoby Jones / Sweet Pea situation publicly questioning the team's leadership.
"When you think about the Baltimore Ravens and the transition that they went through, they're missing leadership right now. When you have an incident like that, the first thing a leader is going to do is find some way to dissolve everything that's going on and actually dissolve it before it comes to that type of head or even gets to this point. When you talk about the Baltimore Ravens they're going to have to refocus and find some quick leaders in that locker room very quickly."
Two things.
First. Keep it in the locker room. Few people have a voice more authoritative in that organization than Lewis. Say what you think you need to say. But keep it to the people that need to hear it.
Secondly. Talking about making situations or evidence "dissolve" comes under the heading of "things you don't talk about".
Just saying.
I make a living from Fantasy Football. It's dead serious business for me. And likely you too if you're with me this far through this article. But here's a reason to dial it back a notch. Denver RB Ronnie Hillman said that the trio of Bronco running backs used a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who'd go in and get the vulture short yardage TD.
From the team's website:
"I thought I got in, but they said I had something hit before I got over," Hillman said.
So the 19-yard scamper left the Broncos with a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.
"I mean, you definitely don't want to see anybody else go in at that point," he smiled when asked whether he wanted the finish the job.
But the other backs wanted a shot at the touchdown just as badly. So while Hillman, Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball waited to see where the ball would be spotted, they decided to play a quick game of rock-paper-scissors for that chance.
"We were just messing around on the sideline," he said. "Just something to do. Have fun."
Hillman chose rock. Ball and Moreno went with scissors.
"Luckily I won," he laughed. "So it all worked out."
Coach John Fox was quick to dismiss this.
"That's just little stuff that people like to get on TV and have something to talk about," Fox said Tuesday. "Ronnie Hillman was going back in the game. That was just a little way to have fun, I guess. That wasn't official. Ronnie was running the ball. We decide that, not them."
Hmmmm.
Once again, Bill Belichick tells the press exactly what he wants to tell them.
From Monday's press conference:
Q: How close was Rob Gronkowski to playing yesterday?
Belichick: I don't know. He was inactive.
Q: Did he have a shot to play?
Belichick: He was inactive.
Q: Going into the day, was there a chance he'd play?
Belichick: He was inactive for the game.
Q: What about Danny Amendola?
Belichick: He was inactive too.
Q: I know they were inactive.
Belichick: They were inactive so they didn't play.
Q: I think you have an idea how close they were.
Belichick: Well, they weren't able to play. What do you want, percentage points? They couldn't play.
Q: Going into the day, did you know they couldn't play?
Belichick: They were inactive.
Q: That doesn't answer my question.
Belichick: They were inactive, it's as simple as that.
I'd like to know how many near heart attacks this picture caused when the story floated that this guy was the Raiders new mascot.
You just know there's a Denver / Kansas City connection behind that somewhere…
Vontaze Burfict: Uncool.
I've been as critical of Mark Sanchez as anyone. Yes, the headbands are easy Random Shots material. But the reality is that he's helping Geno Smith. Sanchez is into the game and looks to be doing all he can to help Smith and the team succeed. Like a veteran should.
I love Martellus Bennett. How can you not like a guy that calls himself the Black Unicorn ?
This week's gem is for Bears coach Marc Trestman.
"I think me and Coach Trestman are probably the only two people who understand each other," Bennett said. "I always say Coach Trestman reminds me of the first Willy Wonka. Not the Johnny Depp one. The Johnny Depp one was really cool, but the first one before that, the 1943 version."
He meant Gene Wilder I think. And that was in the 70's. But with Bennett, you just let it roll.
Peter King with a nice one Monday.
"Jordan Cameron is seventh in the league with 20 receptions. Cameron Jordan is ninth in the league with 3.0 sacks."
Well hello there, Ahmad Bradshaw.
Note to Jets rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson: Play to the whistle. In Sunday's game he started celebrating the rushing stop of Fred Jackson. As Jackson ran by him.
To his credit, he owned up to the mistake: “I thought he was down,” Richardson said. “I thought Calvin Pace had him. I didn’t hear the whistle. That was all my bad. It won’t happen again. (The coaches) didn’t see it. I hope they didn’t. I’m going to hear about it in meetings.”
Another one from Peter King
“It’s so intimidating when fans flip off our bus. How will I ever play tonight?… Lol”
—@geoffschwartz, the Kansas City guard, as the team bus pulled into Lincoln Financial Field Thursday evening. Kansas City didn't seem affected.
Mike Glennon becomes the newest starting quarterback in Tampa Bay. With Glennon, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson, that's three former North Carolina State QBs starting in the NFL. Pretty cool.
Thanks to Footballguy Keith Harrison for that one.
Charles Woodson is really good at eye black.
Why do I notice these things?
Travis Benjamin. Submitted without comment.
Because I'm mentally still 12 years old…
Hard Luck Awards for Week 3
And the Nullified Touchdown:
SD QB Philip Rivers pass short left to WR Eddie Royal for 5 yards, TOUCHDOWN NULLIFIED by Penalty
Sometimes it's better to just not know...
That'll do it for this week, Folks. Thanks to Footballguy Doug Drinen, Chris Sasser, Matthew Cox, Keith Harrison and Jeremy Johnson 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.
Note for you folks inclined to pray or those that care enough to read all the way down this far. This season of Random Shots is dedicated to my close friend Mike Wenger who apparently has decided to upstage Chuck Pagano this year. Mike's been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and is undergoing aggressive chemotherapy right now. Much Love, Buddy. Mad Respect. Go Chiefs.
Thanks for playing along. I hope you make the most of whatever you're doing in your life. Love your neighbor and stick together.