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 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 keep relatively sane. Here's hoping it has a tiny bit of value for you.
We’ll see how it goes. Let’s get to it.
J
First things first.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote this:
Baseball note of the week. Mostly because I'm a sucker for anything BigFoot...
As MANY of you let me know, that is most definitely NOT Bigfoot. It's TEEN WOLF.
I'd like to say I was testing to see if you guys were paying attention. The truth is I just screwed up. To make up for it, I'm going as Teen Wolf for Halloween in a few weeks. Pictures then. Maybe.
And thank you guys for keeping me on my toes. You rock.
I try to keep my end of the bargain, so here you go.
Your author as Teen Wolf.
I know the tail and ears might not be accurate, but I didn't have Werewolf face stuff and this was my best shot.
Another Halloween picture with a Young Tony Romo from I'm assuming a Giants / Eagles / Washington fan...
"Bite size only please. I choke easily".
Wow.
Here's Bill Belichick in one GIF.
That's the Reverse Mullet Smile: Party in the front. Business in the back.
I grew up in Texas and it's my adopted second home. When you hear people say, "Texas Forever". This is how it starts. Click the YouTube picture below or click here to see the video.
Love him or hate him, Marshawn Lynch is never boring. Click the picture or click here to see the motion.
Thanks to Footballguy Dan Kang for that one.
Speaking of Lynch, he snagged a sweet cameo in the new Call Of Duty Trailer. Click the picture or click here to see the video.
Dallas released running back Joseph Randle Tuesday.
From the NFL.com aticle:
"The news comes just four days after Randle was deemed to have violated the NFL's personal-conduct policy for a recent arrest in Wichita, Kansas. He's facing a one-or two-game suspension, per Rapoport.
"Randle was also arrested for shoplifting in October of 2014.
"Through six games this season, Randle averaged 4.1 yards per carry as part of an early-season backfield rotation. After watching Darren McFadden shoulder 57 touches for 275 yards the past two weeks, the Cowboys reached the conclusion that Randle isn't worth the off-the-field baggage that accompanies him."
The most interesting thing to me is illustrating the old Talent / Baggage balance.
Randle's arrested and it's adios.
Greg Hardy is Greg Hardy and Jerry's voice quivers talking about him warming up.
It's how the world works. I get it. Just making an observation.
College Football Halloween Note. A classic from Auburn Saturday.
And I guess this one is supposed to be scary to Ohio State fans?
Thanks to Footballguys Andrew Garda and Brian Sumner for the help on those.
Number 71 La'el Collins is a 22 year old rookie. And kind of ridiculous.
Like lots of you I assume, I love the Red Zone Channel. But watching eight games at once, it's sometimes easy to miss the real stories of the games. After the Bucs won the game on the final play of Overtime Sunday, you may have seen Jameis Winston point to a player and race towards him.
The player Winston ran to was rookie linebacker Kwon Alexander who went to his knees after the win.
Alexander's 17 year old brother was shot to death in a fight less than 48 hours prior to the game.
"It has been hard losing my little brother," said Alexander, a rookie linebacker. "But I know that he would want me to be strong for him, so I came out here and dedicated this game to him."
"I never give up," Alexander said, again remembering his brother. "He wouldn't want me to give up. It was all for him."
He could have easily missed the game as coach Lovie Smith left the decision up to Alexander.
"Sometimes when you are going through tough times like that, you need to be around your other family, doing something that you really love, to take your mind off of what's going on at home," Smith said.
"Losing a 17-year-old brother, I can only imagine what the family is going through. I'm just glad his teammates were there for him to provide support as much as anything. I left it up to him as to what he wanted to do."
Click the picture below or click here to see Alexander receive a Game Ball after the contest. Powerful stuff.
Lovie Smith was a happy guy.
San Francisco TE Vernon Davis was traded from San Francisco to Denver Tuesday.
As of Thursday morning, his expression had not changed from this...
Thanks to NFL Memes for that one.
Titans President and CEO Steve Underwood introduced new head coach Mike Mularkey at Tuesday's press conference.
I'm sure Underwood's a nice guy and all but I don't know that the General Custer look inspires a lot of confidence.
Thanks to Footballguys Matt Waldman for the help on that one.
Detroit in London is always good material.
I don't know if it makes it better or worse but John Dingell represented Michigan in the United States House of Representatives from 1955-2015.
Our friend Gregg Rosenthal wasn't giving up hope though...
My favorite part of the London Games.
This is when you know advertising is working.
Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick injured his thumb yesterday and could miss some time. That's bad news for Random Shots as Fitzpatrick's a regular here.
Getting this one in while I can.
Ad Of The Week has to be Nike's Snow Day. Click the picture below or click here to see the video.
Everyone's seen that by now. If you like it, you might like the Behind The Scenes Video for it. Click the picture or click here for the video.
I received tons of love last week for the Wayne and Garth Bohemian Rhapsody where I posted some of the best three and a half minutes in the history of cinema.
No surprise there as you guys are a sharp audience. What I didn't know were lots of these facts listed in the excellent 10 Things You May Not Know About Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' article from BBC America.
Thanks to Footballguy Keith Overton for that one.
Rock on.
One more on Fitzpatrick. With all the focus on his hand yesterday, I was reminded that he wears his wedding ring during games.
While not common, there are several other players who do this as I've talked about in past years. Most notably quarterbacks as they're one of the few positions that don't usually wear gloves. There may well be plenty of players who wear their rings but we just can't see because they're wearing gloves. Paul Lukas at Uni-Watch.com did an interview with Jordan Palmer on the subject a couple of years ago.
Ben Roethlisberger wears one with tape over it.
Andy Dalton wears his without tape.
Note for you married guys: Wear your wedding ring. It's a big deal. Even if she says it's not. Trust me on this. And I know Jimmy Fallon is the default argument. If we're worried so much about things like that, we probably should never leave the house. And even that didnt help Fallon. My advice which costs exactly nothing is to just wear the ring in all but the most extreme circumstances. Ok. Off the soapbox now.
Thanks to Footballguy Bryan Teagle for the help on that one.
One Manning Brother (Eli) threw for six touchdowns and lost Sunday. One Manning Brother (Peyton) threw for zero touchdowns and won.
It's a funny game sometimes.
Thanks to Footballguy Rod Kuseski for that one.
I'm with Bob Holtzman. I love seeing players who "get it". And Antonio Brown clearly does.
Because I know you guys need to know this stuff, Sunday was the "Sports Equinox". As the good folks at FiveThirtyEight.com pointed out, we saw Major League Baseball, NFL Football, NHL Hockey and NBA Basketball all on the same day.
Pretty Cool.
Here's a question for you guys. Several outlets noted that this Sports Equinox was even better as all FIVE major US Sports were in play.
So that's my question for you. Does MLS Major League Soccer count as a Major US Sport?
Hmmm.
Let's hear it.
Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston has gone three games without an interception and the Saints have won four out of five including three in a row. With Tennessee, Washington and Houston up next...
Too bad for Drew Brees owners. He totally fell off his pace in the second half...
New York's Stevan Ridley poking holes in my "Look Good - Play Good" theory.
Larry Fitzgerald, you're kind of ridiculous.
Oh Justin.
Click the picture or click here to see the video. If you dare.
Baseball Note. Congrats Royals on the huge win. We're already looking to next year.
Talk about earning their money. This was beyond scary for Ricardo Lockette Sunday.
This wasn't the first time these teams have had a knockout hit like that. Click the picture or click here to see Golden Tate take out Sean Lee a while back.
For you guys dealing with injuries (which is pretty much anyone playing Fantasy Football this year) the good folks over at The Cauldron put together the 1st Annual Fantasy Football Academy Awards "In Memoriam" segment hosted by (not really) George Clooney.
Too soon? Maybe. But sometimes all you can do is smile...
Click on the picture or click here to see the full video.
They're making a joke about the Lions there but there's truth in the shoulder pad thing. I'm always interested in how things change over the years and one of the biggest changes you see is how much smaller shoulder pads are today.
Compare Bennett's pads to legendary defensive end Deacon Jones.
Not that it really means anything. But what in this column really does?
Congratulations Denver Broncos and defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
Not many teams and defenses force Aaron Rodges to make this face.
C.J. Anderson can forget about getting any favorable calls from this official. Do officials wear cups? I hope this one did.
Thanks to Footballguy Pete Mandeville for that one.
Love that AFC South...
And Alex Jacobson with the perfect description of the Monday Night Turnoverfest...
Thanks to Footballguy Sigmund Bloom for that one.
I think it's fair to say this is not "trending well"...
Luck was asked after the game about reports that he's been playing with broken ribs. He declined to discuss it and put the blame on himself per NFL.com
"I'm not going to get into that right now," the Colts quarterback said.
Instead, what Luck did want to talk about was his game-losing interception, where he forced a pass late to Coby Fleener in overtime that was tipped by Roman Harper and intercepted by Luke Kuechly.
"We did some decent things to give ourselves a chance," Luck said, "but messed it up at the end by throwing that interception."
On one hand, it's admirable for Luck not to make excuses. On the other hand, you can be sure the league with it's strict policy on injury disclosure will want to talk about it. Stay tuned.
Back to my normal tone for this article, I think Faux John Madden may have summed things up.
And don't look now, Bears Fans...
From Sunday's broadcast.
Thanks to Footballguy Jeremy Johnson for that one.
Here's the real question. Which punter has the better golf swing? Click the picture or click here for the video.
These are the real issues.
Note to Jets defensive lineman Damon Harrison: Probably don't need to keep that mouthpiece in all the time there Big Guy...
I know they're cutting budgets at ESPN but can they not afforrd a non taped up pair of glasses for Mike Ditka? From Sunday's broadcast.
Later in the show he broke out this pair.
Dallas QB Matt Cassel and his former coach Pete Carroll before the game reminding us that there's more than just football. I still think it's interesting Cassel never started a game at college as a quarterback. Playing behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart will do that...
Closing with this fantastic story about some high school students in Detroit who volunteered to serve as pallbearers for three homeless Veterans.
From the MilitaryTimes.com article:
"Three veterans laid to rest last week were not known in their communities. Their families had dispersed and dissipated, as did their battle buddies.
"But they served their country, and that’s all that mattered to students at the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy who stepped up to serve as pallbearers at the funerals of those three homeless veterans.
"Six students from the all-boys Catholic prep school in Detroit walked the remains to their final resting place at the Great Lakes National Cemetery, the high school announced Oct. 20.
“The men we honored today put their lives on the line for our country and now they deserve our dignity and service in return,” Leonard Froehlich, a senior, said in the school’s news release. “There is no better way to pay our respects than by being pallbearers. We honor these service members by being with them in their last moments on earth, and that in itself is a privilege.”
I love this. There's just something right about a proper and respectful burial for all people. While these folks are focusing on Veterans, this applies equally to Civilians. I'm stoked to see where this might lead and how others might get involved. It's a great reminder that We're All In This Together.
That'll do it for this week, Folks. Thanks to Footballguys Doug Drinen, Clayton Gray, Dan Kang, Andrew Garda, Brian Sumner, Keith Overton, Bryan Teagle, Rod Kuseski, Sigmund Bloom, Jeremy Johnson, Pete Mandeville and Matt Waldman 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