$.01--The New Orleans Saints stunned the football media, not to mention most fans in the NFC South, by choosing to replace injured QB Drew Brees with gadgety Taysom Hill instead of the more conventional Jameis Winston. Saints coach Sean Payton defied conventional wisdom, football wisdom, really any type of rational thought in tabbing the oft-injured, 30-year-old backup wide receiver/running back to take over the offense full-time. Entering the game, Hill had thrown 18 passes and 128 career snaps at quarterback in three years--more than half of those with another QB (Brees or Teddy Bridgewater) also on the field. Never mind that the NFL’s reigning passing yardage king--Winston--is also on the roster for the pass-heavy Saints offense. 

Hill made the decision look smart on Sunday. With Payton tailoring the attack to his particular set of skills, Hill made the throws he needed to make and provided some sizzle with smart use of his legs. He leaned on Michael Thomas (9 catches, 104 yards) and I liked how well he made decisions on where and when to go with the ball. The 51 rushing yards and two TDs are a dimension that Brees doesn’t offer; Brees doesn’t have 51 combined rushing yards since 2016. Hill didn’t turn the ball over and didn’t look like the moments were too big for him in New Orleans’ methodical 24-9 win over NFC South rival Atlanta, an outcome that wasn’t seriously in doubt after the first drive of the second half. 

Hill deserves credit for the win. The New Orleans defense was fantastic in its own right, keeping the Falcons out of the end zone all game. If they can do that more frequently, Hill can play worse than he did on Sunday and still be acceptable.  

The longer view here involves Brees. He’s 41 and will miss several games with 11 broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. He missed five games with injury in 2019, too. Brees remains freakishly accurate; he’ll lead the NFL for the fourth consecutive season in completion percentage, with all seasons over an astonishing 70 percent. But the average yards per attempt and air yards are steadily declining. It shows when he has to uncork a deeper throw into coverage, which he often eschews these days.  

I understand the need to see if Hill can be Brees’ eventual successor. I would add that Winston is four years younger, cheaper and has a vastly more proven track record of accomplishment, but the Saints don’t seem inclined to even try and see if he’s the better fit. That’s a very curious decision from New Orleans. It worked for them on Sunday but I remain skeptical it’s going to work long-term. Hill at least proved worthy of a longer look with his impressive debut as the starter, however. Hard to argue with the NFC’s No. 1 seed through Week 11. 

$.02--For weeks now there’s been a common refrain around the NFL. You see it on Twitter, you hear it on sports radio, you think it every time you watch the Cincinnati Bengals. 

“Joe Burrow is really good but the Bengals might get him killed behind that line”.

Unfortunately, the refrain sang perilously close to being true on Sunday. Burrow left Cincinnati’s loss to the Washington Football Team on a cart after suffering a devastating left knee injury on yet another gruesome hit. 

The initial diagnosis is a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee. Based on how terrifying the hit looked, Burrow might be lucky that is all that’s wrong with his wounded knee. Here’s hoping Burrow gets a full recovery and returns with a vengeance in 2021. He’s a good one and the NFL needs him. 

Having said that, the Bengals absolutely must upgrade their offense to protect their investment. Notice I said “offense”, not just singling out the offensive line. Zac Taylor’s scheme requires too many slow-developing routes and options that take time for Burrow to scan. There aren’t any real rush-killers, things like backside screens or smoke routes to trips formations, or even the wretched wraparound draw play. The line needs (massive) help too, but fixing just the line without also understanding that maybe the offense has to be scaled back a bit to accommodate the relative lack of protection is like using a sanitary napkin to fix a gunshot wound. 

It would also be nice if the measures the Bengals take to fix the line actually worked. They’ve got an assortment of overdrafted flops littering their recent draft history. Cincinnati has drafted four offensive linemen in the first two rounds since 2015: Cedric Ogbuehi, Jake Fisher, Billy Price and Jonah Williams. Fisher is already out of the NFL, Ogbuehi probably should be, Price is rightly on the Bengals bench and Williams has played just seven games in two years. This team desperately needs a solid, unspectacular veteran journeyman or two (or three) on the line. 

$.03--Just when you thought it was safe to start looking elsewhere with your (hypothetical) MVP ballot, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson reminded everyone he’s still The Man. On Thursday night, Wilson coolly, efficiently outshined upstart MVP candidate Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. The win keeps the Seahawks in first place, just as Wilson is in the MVP race. 

The numbers (23-for-28, 197 yards, 2 TDs) don’t scream “MVP”, but make no mistake, Russ was cooking. He would have had a third TD if D.K. Metcalf hauled in a wide-open pass that instead hit his face. Wilson and the Seahawks were better on the ground and better on third downs than Murray and his Cardinals, with the Seattle defense deserving a nod for containing Murray--8th in the NFL in rushing--to just 15 yards on the ground. 

Seattle desperately needed the gut-check win. After losing three of four, including the first meeting with Arizona, the Seahawks were sputtering. They couldn’t beat the good teams. Thursday night’s triumph proved that Russ can still cook and the NFC West still skews to the north end of the division. They get three games in a row now that they should expect to not only win, but dominate, with Philadelphia and the two New York teams. The Cardinals lost their chance to cast some doubt at the top. Arizona and the Los Angeles Rams are scrapping for the No. 2 spot in the NFC West, and they play each other twice in the final five weeks.

$.04--Sunday marked the first game in Cleveland for Carson Wentz. For many forlorn Browns fans, that debut is several seasons too late. 

The “Carson Wentz trade” is a heavyweight yoke around many in Cleveland. The Browns traded away the chance to draft Wentz in 2016, picking up a bounty of picks from the Philadelphia Eagles. The early returns on the trade were laughably in favor of Philadelphia and Wentz. Cleveland bombed on several of the initial draft picks (Corey Coleman, Cody Kessler, Derrick Kindred--and those were the good picks) while Wentz guided the Eagles to an 11-2 record and an eventual Super Bowl win in his second season.  

The Browns did better with the remaining part of the blockbuster. Through a series of other deals and acquisitions, they turned the rest of the bounty into Pro Bowl CB Denzel Ward and standout WR Odell Beckham Jr., among others. They waited for Baker Mayfield in the 2018 draft to properly address the QB position they eschewed with Wentz (and Deshaun Watson the following year in another draft trade). 

Since that time, the Browns have won the trade and the QB decision to roll with Mayfield over Wentz. Really. And it’s looking better by the week. Sunday’s game was not-so-subtle validation that the Browns are in better shape with Mayfield than they would be with the mistake-prone Wentz, who effectively won the game for Cleveland with an inconceivably bad pick-6 and another red zone INT (by Ward) that even the backup JV quarterback on your local high school team knows not to throw. Wentz leads the NFL in INTs, fumbles and sacks. Mayfield just finished his fourth consecutive game without turning the ball over and overcame a rough start to guide his team to a 22-17 win, one made closer by a garbage-time TD from Wentz. 

This was a huge win for the Browns. They’re now 7-3 for the first time since 1994 and have won two games in a row in terrible weather at home since the bye week. They won this one without Myles Garrett, the clubhouse leader in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year battle, too. And it provides a little more salve on the old wounds of failed regimes of Cleveland’s past. 

$.05--If the season ended today--and no, 2020, that’s not a challenge or request--the Baltimore Ravens would be on the outside looking in at the AFC postseason. The Ravens fell to 6-4 with an overtime loss to their apparent nemesis, the Tennessee Titans.  

Derrick Henry’s highlight-reel jaunt to end the overtime pushed Baltimore down in the standings with its third loss in four games. And there are common denominators with all three losses: Baltimore can’t handle powerful ground games, and they can’t reliably throw the ball when they have to on offense. 

Neither of those issues appears to have a quick or ready fix currently on the roster. As other teams have done, the Titans successfully took away the easy throws from Lamar Jackson. The Ravens don’t have great receivers and also don’t have size at WR other than Myles Boykin. It’s a flaw they covered with strong tight end play in recent years, but with Hayden Hurst in Atlanta and Nick Boyle on I.R., they don’t have enough there anymore. The pass protection that kept Jackson more comfortable in the pocket in 2019 is also breaking down, missing retired Marshal Yanda. It’s not the same offense anymore and that’s not on Jackson, though he’s also not playing as well as he did a year ago. Few ever have, hence his MVP and also why it’s so difficult to repeat.  

The Titans had lost three of four entering the game but climbed back into the AFC playoffs (for now) with the win. Riding Henry against a Ravens defense that is designed to play the pass--when it’s healthy, and it’s not--is a formula for success, just as it was in the playoffs in January. If the Titans want a return trip to the AFC Championship Game, they’ll need to prove their mettle in the next two weeks when they face two other 7-3 foes: Indianapolis and Cleveland. 

$.06--Blaming the officiating for a loss is a dangerous crutch. It’s nearly impossible to say a full 60-minute game gets unfairly decided by one blown call. Notice I said “nearly”... 

Purdue beat Minnesota on Friday night. They did what they needed to do, scoring a touchdown on a pretty pass from Jack Plummer to tight end Payne Durham for what should have been a go-ahead 19-yard touchdown strike. It was a perfect throw, a great route and a nice catch. 

Except the officials decided Minnesota needed to win the game. That’s the only explanation for the baffling, inept offensive pass interference call on Durham. 

I see a lot of terrible calls in watching my kids’ AAU basketball teams. Heck, I’m a Cleveland Cavaliers fan that grew tired of LeBron getting phantom calls. I’ve seen some doozies in football too, but I’m not sure I’ve seen one this egregious. Durham was called for pushing off, or something. The other officials tried to talk the flag-thrower out of it, but he held firm in his bizarre stance that almost touching someone before the ball is thrown is offensive pass interference. 

It was a dubious enough call that some sportsbooks actually refunded bets on the game. That’s the gambling equivalent of Donald Trump winning his election challenge in Pennsylvania. (It’s a joke; lighten up, Francis).  

The brutal officiating overreach sullied what was otherwise an entertaining game between two teams fighting to stick in the (hypothetical) bowl picture. It’s a shame that’s how the game will be remembered. 

$.07--It was a light calendar on the college football front. Unfortunately, several games were postponed or canceled due to COVID-19 issues. 

The most glaring hole came unexpectedly. Less than three hours before kickoff, Clemson and Florida State called off Saturday’s matchup after a Clemson player who tested positive was determined to have traveled on the team plane to Tallahassee. The Seminoles didn’t feel comfortable playing under those circumstances, and it’s hard to blame them for feeling that way. Although Clemson’s obtuse coach, Dabo Swinney, sure tried...

It was one of 18 college games canceled or postponed this week, including some midweek games that bit the dust. One of those struck close to home: Ohio and Miami in MACtion. This Ohio Bobcat did not appreciate our rivalry game being canceled, even if it felt likely we were going to lose to the hated Redhawks. Given that the outbreak was on the Ohio side of the game, it figures. 

Other teams played without some top players. UCLA lost its quarterback among several others but did play at Oregon. The Bruins lost when a late drive stalled on a dropped pass. The lack of cohesive rosters and practices surely played a role in some sloppy play around the landscape. 

It’s college football life in the time of COVID. As the pandemic sinks its teeth deeper into more pockets of America, it’s unlikely to get better before the end of the season. It’s a lot easier for some teams, and players, to toss in the towel after playing a few games and not living up to expectations. 

$.08--NFL Quickies

--The NFC East doubled its win total outside the division on Sunday. Washington beat Cincinnati and Dallas beat Minnesota, each improving to 3-7 in the process. Before Sunday, the NFC East was 2-18-1 playing teams not in the division. The Eagles lost and the Giants are on a bye. Interestingly enough, the winner of Thursday’s game between Dallas and Washington will temporarily take over first place. At 4-7...

--It’s been a very strange year. Every week there’s a late lead that just isn’t safe:

--The Panthers shut out my Lions, 20-0. It wasn’t really in doubt either, despite the Panthers starting XFL refugee P.J. Walker at quarterback...with no Christian McCaffrey and also sans the team’s two best offensive linemen. Walker, who I liked as a prospect coming out of Temple very much, was impressive outside of two terrible red-zone INTs. The Lions showed about as much vitality as a poisoned mole waiting to get eaten by a zealous weasel. I wrote about the Detroit situation over at Lions Wire, if you please. 

--I was lower on CeeDee Lamb as a prospect than most draft analysts last winter. I knew he’d be good but I didn’t expect Lamb to be so good right away. This catch is bonkers:

--The Raiders gave Patrick Mahomes 1:43 on the clock to try and rally the Chiefs down the field for a go-ahead score. Mahomes barely needed half of it. Kansas City’s final drive was too easy. It’s why the Chiefs are 9-1 and the Raiders, who already hung the “1” on them, couldn’t quite pull it off again.  

--The Jets came close to beating the Chargers. New York lost by just 6, which made my outright win prediction look bad but the gambler in me happy. Alas, that was probably the Jets best chance to win all year. 

$.09--College/Draft quickies

--Justin Fields had a rough game but Ohio State survived a stern challenge from a very good Indiana team. Fields had been almost perfect all season for the Buckeyes but threw 3 INTs and left some points on the field. It’s a reality check on Fields’ soaring NFL Draft stock, though the context of playing what is a legit top-10 team does need to be included.  

--Penn State lost to Iowa on Saturday. It’s what the Nittany Lions do in 2020…

--Sticking with Penn State, their best prospect for the 2021 NFL Draft who is actually playing is TE Pat Freiermuth. His season is now over due to an injury. Freiermuth is a solid Day Two pick and the best traditional TE prospect in a draft class that looks painfully thin at the position. Florida’s Kyle Pitts is the unquestioned No. 1 TE, though he’s much more like a supersized receiver than a TE. 

--Florida State basketball doesn’t get enough respect, but that’s merely coincidental to this stunning factoid:

--Does your NFL team need a big, physical receiver with a lot of feist and an appreciable amount of athletic talent? I present Arkansas State’s Jonathan Adams. He’s a rising draft name to know, and I’ve brought him up before. Plays like this help:

$.10--One of my favorite things to do with this job is to travel to various football games, all-star games and the Combine. Alas, press availability for games is a no-go in the midst of the pandemic. My favorite trip every year, the Shrine Bowl in St. Petersburg in January, was called off earlier by organizers.  

Now I’m unfortunately pulling the plug on the 2021 Senior Bowl. The event will still go on in Mobile, and I’ll be following along as closely as I can. From home. Having kids who are involved in athletics adds a different dynamic to business travel. I can’t risk the possibility of getting COVID-19, or even being exposed to it enough that I’d have to quarantine for two weeks upon my return home. Their seasons are too short, already lopped off at the beginning.

The pandemic has been tough on everyone. It’s been devastating on the kids. As resilient as they can be, it’s so hard to force them to need to be that way. My own kids are doing okay, thankfully. That’s not true for others, unfortunately. Suicide hit my son’s high school this week. It’s hit two other local high schools and another middle school in the last month, too.  

If you have kids, please talk to them and make sure they’re okay. Insist the conversation, as uncomfortable as it might be. Educate yourself on the signs.  

Educate your kids too. A small gesture from a friend can make a huge difference to a struggling young person. It’s our obligation to help these kids through this disruption. They’ll never forget how we respond to the adversity and the stress we’re all trying our damndest to cope with these days. Help them make it out the other side.