Seahawks and Raiders have a bye, so it’ll be a dull week for me.

Current power rankings

1st tier
Chiefs, Rams,

2nd tier

Lions, Eagles, Buccaneers, Colts, Broncos, Packers, Bills, Commanders, Seahawks

3rd tier
49ers, Chargers

The Chiefs and Rams are basically slightly ahead of those other teams, but right now I like them as the two teams going to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs have Mahomes, Andy Reid, and a good defense. They’re battle tested and battle-hardened to, which I think gives them advantage. The Rams seem like a contender that is good in almost every phase, but not necessarily great in one. I think McVay is great, too,

The Lions and Eagles could be in the 1st tier–their rosters are strong (although players have left and they have injuries). I do think both QBs depend a lot on their supporting cast. Buccaneers remind of Detroit in that they have an all-around good roster, but maybe not quite as good. But if Mayfield can continue to play at the level he has been, I’d give him the edge over Goff and Hurts. I like the Colts, especially their OL, run game, and Warren. I’m not sure if their defense is good enough, and in all these ways they remind me a little of the Lions. The Broncos have a defense that can make them competitive against any team, I think, although I was expecting them to be a little more dominant. Sean Payton gives them an advantage against most coaches. The Packers seem like they have a strong, all-around roster. I have doubts about Love, though, so maybe they’re too high. For the Bills, I just want to say that I’m feeling it’s time to move on from Sean McDermott. I think they need better coaching. I’m not sure what to make of the Commanders, so I’m leaving in there. The Hawks secondary is banged up, but when those players return, they could be one of the best defenses. Kubiak and Darnold are doing well, but that OL scares me, especially against really good defenses.

Seahawks@Jaguars. The Hawks are banged up. Titans@Raiders. If the Raiders lose this one, they may not recover.

Buccaneers@Seahawks looks to be a potentially good game. It’ll definitely be a test for the Seahawks. They play well and win and they’ll look like contenders; if they don’t, pretenders. Raiders@Colts will be a tough challenge for the Raiders. Can the Pete and the coaches get the defense and OL to replicate their performance against the Bears? If they do, that will be a notable accomplishment. Not to state the obvious, but Geno’s gotta protect the football.

49ers@Rams If I had to choose one head coach as the best, I’d probably choose McVay. I’d probably choose him as the best play caller, too, but in this game, Kyle Shanahan’s play calling was really on point, too. Good game, but you could tell the 49ers missed Bosa, especially at the end of the game.

One last thing. I liked McVay’s decision to go for it at the end, even though it didn’t work out.

Seahawks face off with the Cardinals on Thursday. I hope the OL’s run-blocking can improve, and they can maintain decent pass-protection, in general and during play-action plays. In the last game, Darnold didn’t have any turnover prone throws or plays, and I hope he can continue that.

I’ve heard Pete Carroll talk about certain moments in a seasons where the team can fall a part or turn the corner. If they don’t win or at least play well against the Bears, the Raiders may be facing that. I have a hard time watching the offense. The OL isn’t playing well, but even if it did, I just don’t care for what I’ve seen from Kelly’s offense. The OL does need to improve, though. One thing that I really didn’t like was Pete hiring his son to be the OL coach. I heard Mike Holmgren say that the OL coach was the most important assistant coach. I’m sure not every head coach agrees, but I personally think that coach among the top three coaches, if not #1, in terms of importance. And I’m skeptical that Pete’s son is really good.

Dolphins@Bills

I thought the Dolphins struggled to stop the Bills run game, but at some point, for whatever reason, the Bills got away from running the ball. I thought they should have ran more, sprinkling in pass plays. (A similar thing happened in the Falcons-Vikings games, with the Vikings struggling to stop the Falcon run game.) It just seems like the vast majority of OCs just want to pass the ball, or they’re just unwilling to run in over and over again, even if the defense struggles to stop it. Personally, I want an OC who has no qualms running it over and over again, even if this means really low pass attempts. I believe Jimmy Garrapolo had a playoff game where he threw the ball 8 times–attempts, not completions–and the Niners won. If the run game is really successful, if the defense can’t stop it, why wouldn’t you keep running it?

When I was younger, when people talked about an intelligent basketball player, I assumed the player was smart in an academic sense as well. People also speak this way now–for example, “He came from the Ivy League, so you know he’s an intelligent player.” But does being smart in the classroom mean someone will be smart on the field of play? I have my doubts about this, and I tend to think intelligence expresses itself in a specific way within the sports context.

Off the top of my head, here some aspects of the nature of intelligence within a sports context:

Continue reading “What Does Intelligence Look Like Within the Context of Sports?”

I’m really look forward to this season, not only am I interested in seeing the Seahawks, but I’m equally interested in watching the Raiders. And I haven’t felt this way in a long, long time–probably going back to the 90s at least. I actually real hope for the Raiders, not that they will win a lot of games, but they will start playing better and become a solid team. I’m really hoping this happens, but I think their week 1 match-up against the Patriots is going to be tough. I really like Vrabel as a coach, and I think he’ll get the Patriots to play well. Watching some of their offense, it reminds of what the offense looked like under Belichick–good balance, and a good mix of spread and under center looks. I’m hoping the Raiders run defense is good (It looked awful in their first preseason game.), they play physical, run the ball well, and cut out the boneheaded plays. If they do this and lose, I can live with that. It would be a good first step.

With the Seahawks, I’m really looking forward to watching them, especially against the 49ers. My sense is that Klint Kubiak is as good as his father, Gary (or close enough), and the regular season games will start to show that. (This would be Klint’s 3rd year as the OC, not counting a partial season of being the OC in Denver.) If he is, the run game and the offense should be a delight to watch, especially the former. Kubiak’s match-up against Robert Saleh should be a good one (although I don’t have a good sense of how good the 49er defense will be as they have a lot of new, younger players). The match-up between Kyle Shananahan, with CMC fully healthy, and Mike Macdonald, in year 2 of his defense, should be really good, too. I can’t wait for this game!

Oh, I guess we should make some predictions, and initial power rankings of the teams. I’ll try to do that later.

The draft is a few days a way. What are your thoughts and hopes on the draft? Off the top of my head, here are some of my thoughts.

Continue reading “2025 NFL Draft”

I know the 2024 season isn’t over, but the coaching carousel has begun, and I wanted to discuss that.

First, Pete Carroll has interviewed with the Bears and will be interviewing with the Raiders. In terms of culture-building and working with players, getting them to perform at their best, I think he’s an attractive candidate for both franchises. With the Bears, Carroll’s old school philosophy is the Bears traditional approach. It would be great to see a physical team with a great defense and run game. Plus, I think he has the QB of the future, and he would know how to utilize a sandlot QB. With the Raiders, his philosophy of letting the players be themselves would make a good fit. But they have a big holes to fill, especially at the QB position. I think the key is who his coordinators will be, as well as the GM. Also, is he going back to the 4-3 or will he install a 3-4. (He’s a less attractive candidate if it’s the latter.) Depending on the alternatives, I’d be happy if he were got the Raiders job.

Second, Mike Vrabel. I would like him to get the Raiders job, too, but it sounds like he’s the next Patriots coach. I hope not. I’ve grown to dislike Robert Kraft, so I’m rooting against the Patriots.