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Random Shots From Week 16

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 16
By Joe Bryant, December 27, 2023

Random Shots From Week 16
Photo: USA Today Sports

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 brain 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

Joe Flacco + Amari Cooper + Artificial Intelligence Art is a wild combination.

Geno Smith's already easy to like. Scenes like this, where Drew Lock talked about Smith encouraging him to lead the team to a Monday night win in Week 15, are so good.

Kevin Stefanski as a Jedi Knight.

Random Shots head coach Mike McDaniel taking time to give respect to the uniforms.

Be like Jordan Travis.

I have at least one thing in common with Matthew Stafford.

I know you're probably busy. But this short piece on RB Franco Harris and Raiders LB Phil Villipiano is totally worth the 7 minutes.

This one got me.

And it's a sweet reminder to enjoy the ride.

The ride.

Make sure to have the sound on.

Or as Trevor Siemian described the Jet's game this week: "It was freakin' fun, man. It was fun, it wasn't fun, then it was fun again."

Send this one to your favorite Eagles Fan.

Robert Griffin III is right.

Mason Rudolph had fun.

Rudolph crushing on Christmas week should have been easy to see...

George Pickens with a great lesson for dealing with the noise.

It's a cruel game sometimes.

My guy Jeff humblebragging.

Jahmyr Gibbs is not Barry Sanders. Full Stop.

But I'm not going to lie. There's a sweetness to this cut made even better by the uniform.

Kerby Joseph almost let the celebration get in the way of returning the ball.

Cordarrelle Patterson won the Christmas Cleats.

Although Odell Beckham Jr was right there with him.

Every Bijan Robinson GM (me included): "I can't believe Arthur Smith is so stupid and lets Tyler Allgeier see the field."

Also Arthur Smith:

Breece Hall illustrates the "Football vs Body" point.

The game (and the Vikings QB) is better when Justin Jefferson's on the field.

I have a question. How much "roughness" is okay in a contact sport like professional football?

Mike Tolbert attacked that drum like he did opposing linebackers.

Who says the NFL isn't artsy?

Foreshadowing.

A question I heard this week for Michigan folks: Would you trade a Lions Super Bowl win this year for the Pistons never winning another game?

For reference. It's been a long time since the Lions were this good.

Hang in there, parents.

And to be fair. Much of the frustration with officiating is the inconsistency.

Vikings rookie cornerback Najee Thompson made an entrance.

They're mic'ing the goalposts now?

But he redeemed himself with the game-winner.

Just going to drop this right here.

What it feels like starting Patrick Mahomes II these days.

The perfect trophy does not exi..

I know nothing about hockey. But if I did Random Shots for the NHL, I bet this guy would be a regular.

A wild play from Monday night.

Three quick thoughts.

One, I'm surprised this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. With the speed of today's game and the age of many officials, this happens less than I'd think it would.

Two, Jackson was gracious after the game, talking about the umpire. "He came back and apologized, like, 'My bad,' but it's all good," Jackson told reporters after the win. "It's all good. But those two points helped them out a lot."

Third, you hardly notice it (which is my point), but this play was another example of how masterfully Joe Buck calls a game. This was an unusual play, and he didn't skip a beat.

Ripple effects of the NIL and Transfer Portal.

(If you don't follow college football closely, running back Trevor Etienne led Florida in touchdowns this year but left for Georgia in the transfer portal.)

Las Vegas - Kansas City was unusual.

Sweet moment with Josh Allen reuniting with his former kicker.

Music Note: this week is a throwback to one of my favorite songs from one of my all-time favorite bands. I can't pick a favorite Rolling Stones album. Much less a song. But if you made me, I'd have Gimme Shelter from Let It Bleed in the mix. Maybe it's just because I've listened to it a zillion times, but this just feels ingrained in me.

And to be fair, I could have picked half the songs on this album.

Monkey Man could have made it just for the Helicopter Scene in Goodfellas.

Wrapping with this one.

I love sports. No surprise there. I'm guessing you do, too.

And for me, it's way less about the individual players. And way more about the bigger picture lessons and stories.

This play from Monday night was a great example.

The Raven defender rushed the quarterback and was flattened in the backfield. The play could have been over for him.

Instead, he paused for a second, then picked himself back up and got back in the flow of the play. He suffered a "defeat" and got back in the game.

And the result was his perseverance paid off.

It's a picture of life in a 15-second video. And just like life, it doesn't always turn out this way. Lots of times, nothing good happens after picking yourself back up. Or sometimes (oftentimes?), you get knocked right back down. It happens. But sometimes, good things happen, like in this clip.

The one thing for certain is nothing good will happen if you don't get back in the game.

I know it's cliche, and I know it sounds simple. It's also true. I'm not sure who needs to hear it, but get back in the game.

Thank you for being part of this goofy journey with us.

And thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Jake Bryant, and Clayton Gray for the help. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, email me 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.

We'll be back next week for our year-end wrap-up with some of my favorite Random Shots from the season.

Happy New Year. And Peace and Grace to you.

J

Photos provided by USA TODAY Sports
Tags Fun Timeless Josh Allen Tyler Allgeier Odell Beckham Jr Amari Cooper Joe Flacco Jahmyr Gibbs Breece Hall Lamar Jackson Justin Jefferson Kerby Joseph Drew Lock Patrick Mahomes II Aidan O'Connell Cordarrelle Patterson George Pickens Bijan Robinson Mason Rudolph Chad Ryland Trevor Siemian Geno Smith Matthew Stafford Easton Stick

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