I absolutely hate talking on the phone. It’s so bad that I sometimes won’t even patronize a business or service if I actually have to speak to a live person. I had to do that this weekend due to a mix-up on a floral arrangement I ordered, with predictable frustrations.
Just goes to show how different things are. When I was a kid, a knock on the door or the sound of that wall-mounted telephone ringing were instant highlights at our house. It could be somebody looking for me!
Now, about the only time my phone rings, it’s this Spam Likely person who won’t take a hint, and if the doorbell rings, I literally try to duck down and hit mute on the tv. Sure, I’m risking missing out on Girl Scout cookies, but it also could be a local politician or somebody soliciting a service that nobody actually needs. Keebler makes the same thing as Girl Scout cookies, BTW, and they’re like $2.
Just goes to show how things change over time. Speaking of time, a general rule to follow is that teams are who they are after four games…one-quarter of the season. It’s not a firm rule, but usually, teams that are terrible defending the run or incompetent on offense pretty much stay that way. Four games seems to be enough of a sample size.
Of course, like everything else, things can change in time. If you’re off to a 1-3 start or worse, remember how things can change in time.
2021 has been one of the most challenging years ever, but I’m also blessed to be here still, writing Manic Monday every week. Thanks for sticking with me through the turbulence.
I hope that’s one thing that doesn’t change.
Did I Mention Change?
While we’re on the topic of things changing, not just the weather was dramatically different in Week 4. Watching all of the Sunday games brought to mind just how different things can be from week-to-week in the NFL.
Last week, I pointed out how awful Hollywood Brown looked dropping multiple would-be touchdowns and the Ravens barely beat the Lions on a record-breaking last-second field goal.
This week, Brown made an exquisite diving touchdown grab in the end zone and the Ravens walked into Denver and pummeled the formerly undefeated Broncos.
Credit where credit is due, Zach Wilson looked substansically better this week. The No. 2 overall pick got this first win while throwing for 297 yards and a pair of scores against one pick. Wilson completed some beautiful passes and easily had his best game as a pro. Quite a contrast to his first three games, and encouraging for disgruntled Jets’ fans.
Minnesota’s offense looked quite impotent after the first quarter. Kirk Cousins entered Week 4 as one of the steadiest signal-callers around and drove his team to a first-quarter score but that would be if for the Vikings. Dalvin Cook returned after a one-week absence and was held to 44 total yards on 11 touches. We’ll see if it was an anomaly or Cleveland’s defense quite soon as the Vikings host Detroit Sunday.
Where We Were Right
We projected WR Deebo Samuel to have a WR1 performance against Seattle and Samuel certainly didn’t disappoint. Samuel snagged 8-of-12 targets for 156 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 75-yarder. Samuel has led San Francisco in targets each week and gets an appealing matchup with Arizona next.
Terry McLaurin was out WR7 on the slate and came through in a big way. Entering Monday, McLaurin is sitting as the No. 4 wideout for the week after putting a 6/123/2 line of the Falcons.
Despite the uncertain quarterback situation, our projections loved David Montgomery this week, ranking him eighth. I almost blew this on in Discord but Deebo saved the day in the afternoon slate. We’ll keep an eye on Montgomery’s health this week as he was forced to exit Week 4 early.
Where We Were Wrong
That lackluster showing by the Vikings wreacked havoic on our projections. I already mentioned Dalvin Cook’s quiet return, but WR Adam Thielen was held to three grabs and 46 yards. The Brown allowed a WR1 performance in each of their first two games but have been excellent since.
Our projections were far too low on Atlanta QB Matt Ryan. Knowing how bad that Washington’s secondary has been all season, this is something I should have caught. Granted, Ryan’s play in Weeks 2 and 3 didn’t exactly inspire much confidence but Ryan generally plays better at home and had a big four-score outing.
Everyone whiffed here, but what happened to Chris Carson? He wasn’t hurt and the game script was about what we expected, yet Pete Carroll gave Alex Collins 10 carries, and Collins out-rushed Carson. Nothing seemingly happened to warrant a sudden committee, which makes it doubly frustrating for Carson, who we had ranked as a solid RB2.
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