The GOAT
Founder GSEZ
I confess that I myself have not lived in New Orleans for a long time, although I do return often.
The city has many, many significant problems that may never be overcome.
But it also has absolutely magic moments that few other places can hope to match, and Sunday’s win was one of them.
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Bucs QB Tom Brady is in Tampa for his second season.
Why does the captain’s patch on his Bucs jersey have four stars?
Just asking for a friend.
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In the never-ending bid for more eyeballs and better ratings, NBC is continuing to juggle its NFL coverage and its studio teams. Learned earlier today that they are bringing Bob Costas back and are going to pair him with Drew Brees in the studio.
They’re going to call the show “Bob and Weave.”
I’ll see myself out.
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Blunt take:
With our best defense in years right now, it would be Jim Finks-level arrogance not to give recently retired QB Philip Rivers whatever he wants to come play.
Yes, he’s old. No, he’s never been a QB to take a lesser team deep into the playoffs.
But last season, in a new system for the first time in 15 or so years, Rivers went to the Colts and had his second-best passer rating since 2013, they went 11-5 and made the playoffs and lost a tough road playoff game in Buffalo 27-24. Rivers threw for 309 yards with two TDs and no picks.
Replacing a QB is a difficult political decision that ripples and wavers through an organization like an earthquake. But this should not be that difficult a call.
Having said that….
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Who is Trevor Siemian?
A/k/a T-Money Sizzle?
He’s a middle-aged (by NFL QB standards) journeyman whom a hater might consider a poor man’s Steve DeBerg, who threw for over 34,000 yards in his career and was cruelly termed by Bill Walsh (whom I still hate) as “just good enough to get you beat.” Well, maybe that depends on the coach, who won all of his titles with Joe Montana.
You know, T-Money is the sort of non-sexy guy everybody thinks it’s easy to replace, but it never works, like everybody wanted to replace our old LB Scott Shanle, and all he did for us was show up every day and play hard and smart for years and have the 4th most LB starts in team history and get a ring. But whatever.
Here’s what we do know.
In 2016 and 2017, he was the “game-manager” starter on a mediocre Denver team, where he went 13-11 in 24 starts. Let us note that in those two seasons, in the eight games he didn’t play, the same team was 1-7. In the 2017 offseason, the Broncos (overall record since 2017 is 22-34, just sayin’) decided that T-Money wasn’t the answer and they dumped him and went out and paid big money for the immortal free agent QB Case “Where Are They Now” Keenum, who immediately went 6-10 with the largely the same ballclub in 2018 and was promptly dumped after that year.
So maybe it wasn’t all T-Money’s fault. He certainly wasn’t killing them. And anybody who took his place got clobbered.
I am also highly, highly confident that he’s a better NFL starting QB than Taysom Hill, by at least an order of magnitude. T-Money may have been underutilized, but he’s never failed.
He has a slow, over-the-top delivery. He does not have, as they say, particular “arm talent.” He does not run the open field like, say, a Kyler Murray. But, like Jameis Winston, he is keen to learn and Sean Payton certainly knows how to coach around a quarterback’s limitations.
I say give T-Money the keys to the car and tell him to hit the gas. With the lack of WRs and TEs, it doesn’t look like much, but with a strong OL and RBs like Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram II, you do not want to fuck with this thing in a demolition derby.
And that might be enough. If they don’t sign Rivers, it needs to be.
Honestly, would be fun to watch. And that’s why we watch, or at least why we should.
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One more Trevor Siemian note.
He has one career win against the Saints. In the Dome. It was the game where Brees led us back late and then we scored the tying TD and then the Broncos blocked the PAT and ran it back for two points even though the returner CLEARLY stepped on the sideline and they refused to overturn it on replay.
The referee that day? The one reviewing the replay and refusing to overturn the obvious on-field mistake.
Bill Vinovich.
You just can’t make this shit up.
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QB Jameis Winston went down with torn ACL and MCL on Sunday.
He tried to get up and walk off.
There’s something known as a “tell” in poker, and I have all I need to know about Winston.
Get well soon, brother.
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FS Marcus Williams is by far the better defensive back. But why when it’s a nice play on or near the ball, is it always multi-position non-starter PJ Williams?
After we took the 29-27 lead against the Bucs on Sunday (as CBS Sports said, “Brady Time!”), the first play Bucs QB Tom Brady (you may have heard of him but we’re journalists around here and this is a first reference) threw an ill-advised pass down the seam on which Marcus Williams did not make a play. Brady was holding his own helmet with two hands afterwards, knowing that should have been picked. Even announcer Troy Aikman noticed.
The next play PJ, a/k/a “Williams the Lesser Conqueror” read the QB and took a pick-six to the house.
I know everybody thinks Marcus Williams is one of the 2-3-4 best free safeties in the league. And they know better than I, and they’re right.
But there are these small matters called “the playoffs.” And I know that, too.
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We drafted TE Adam Trautman.
We hoped we were getting Jason Witten.
We got Hoby Brenner.
Plus ça change…
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DE Marcus Davenport MVP Watch:
Three games of Marcus, against QBs Aaron “Don’t Shoot Me, I’m Only the Homeopathist” Rodgers, Tom Brady and Geno Smith, 248 passing yards per game, 5 passing TDs allowed, 4 picks, 10 sacks, 3 wins, 0 losses.
Four games of no Marcus, against QBs Sam Darnold, rookie Mac Jones, Daniel Brown and Taylor Heinecke, 306 passing yards per game, 5 passing TDs allowed, 7 picks, 7 sacks, 2 wins, 2 losses.
We will continue to monitor for you.
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The Saints are going to curb-stomp the Falcons on Sunday.
WHO DAT.