Random Shots From Week 8

Joe Bryant with look at the fun and sometimes humorous events from last week's action.

Joe Bryant's Random Shots From Week 8 Joe Bryant Published 11/04/2026

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images random shots

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 sharing all the random goofiness from this week. With maybe a music note and sometimes a "soap box" wrap at the end.  

Here's to Football.

J

Aidan Hutchinson had Jameson Williams absolutely losing it.

"He aura farming"

Perfect.

I don't know if new Ravens' quarterback Austin Reed can play at this level. 

But I've seen him bring the house down before.

Jahmyr Gibbs is good at football.

Part of what I love about football is the weather. Give me cold air, muddy fields, and snow over a perfectly climate-controlled dome any day.

And nobody captured that better than NFL Films and John Facenda.

Thanks to Keith Overton for that one.

Don't give up.

We made it.

Well, well, well.

 Six touchdowns and a microphone? Yes, please.

The Buccaneers just won a game without completing a single pass.

In the year of our Lord 2026.

Somewhere, a 75-year-old high school football coach is telling everyone he was right all along.

But this is also true.

It's a big game.

Punters deserve love too.

Music Note of the Week: Billy Strings with "Dust in a Baggie" six years apart.

1. The 2012 House Party. 

Billy Strings playing "Dust in a Baggie" at a house party in 2012, long before people knew his name.

The story goes that it was around 3 AM, and somebody asked him to play one of his new songs.

And he did this.

2. The Caverns.

Fast forward six years to 2018. Same song, but now with a full band deep underground in The Caverns, a concert venue carved into the Cumberland Mountains near Pelham, Tennessee.

Still absolutely tearing it up. 

Just with better lighting and a few more people watching.

And all the old guys nod...

Seems like yesterday I was railing on Arizona for a crowded running back room.

Since then, Tom Brady changed teams, retired, started a broadcasting career, and became a team owner.

And the Falcons still can't escape 28-3.

About as political as I get here.

Bill Belichick is still not particularly interested in your questions.

The world champion Brewers at Lambeau.

And doing Lambeau things.

Christian Watson left the game in an ambulance.

Went to the hospital.

Came back riding shotgun in the ambulance.

Then ran onto the field. 

This game.

My favorite college mascot with my 2nd favorite college helmet.

Another top-10 College Helmet.

I don't know a ton about the NBA, but of course I know Inside the NBA.

And you don't need to know basketball to appreciate this.

I love seeing people tell someone how much they mean to them while they're still around to hear it.

Omarion Hampton seemed like such a good idea in August. 

I miss Mike Leach.

Thanks to Sigmund Bloom for that one. 

Rough.

Thank you, Internet.

random shots

Back in the day, refs knew how to ref...

Pretty much.

Fantasy Football in November.

This league is better with Gardner Minshew II in it.

Thanks to Matt Carey for that one.

Is this real?

Please let it be real.

Does Patrick Mahomes II know about this?

A baffling lack of self-awareness. At best.

This is what the internet is for.

These Brewers can't miss.

What do you call this formation?

Ouch.

We were this close to a Sexy Dexy touchdown.

Things move pretty fast around here.

Wrapping with this one. 

Shaan Puri is a guy I like and he shared something in his newsletter this week I loved.

He mentioned an old book called Your Word Is Your Wand, by Florence Scovel Shinn. One of the ideas is that the words we use have more power than we realize. Especially the words we say to ourselves.

He shared a simple change he's made in his life.

He's replaced "have to" with "get to."

You don't have to pick your friend up at the airport. You get to.

You don't have to take your kids to practice. You get to.

You don't have to call your parents. You get to.

I love that.

And I know it's not always that simple. There are plenty of things in life that really are hard. Changing a couple of words doesn't make the hard things go away.

But I wonder how many things we look at as obligations are actually things we're fortunate to be able to do.

I think about that especially with family and friends. The things that sometimes feel like interruptions or inconveniences are often the very things we'll wish we could do one more time someday.

There are a lot of things in life I don't have to do.

I get to.

I'm going to try to remember that. (In case you haven't realized it, most of these closing notes are aimed directly at myself.) Rock on.

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

And thanks to Footballguys Keith Overton, Phil Alexander, Dave Kluge, Sigmund Bloom, 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.

Peace and Grace to you.

J

Photos provided by Imagn Images
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