Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images All the major outlets have the Detroit Lions in the top tier of their Week 1 NFL power rankings…. except one. The first game of the 2024 NFL season is just days away, and it’s just time to say the quiet part out loud: the Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in football and quite possibly the best. This team has Super Bowl aspirations, and just about every analyst you’ll read or hear from will agree that goal is both justified and attainable for the Lions team. That is more than reflected in the opening week’s power rankings across various outlets. Of the nine outlets we looked at, seven had Detroit in the top three to start the season, and only one had them out of the top five entirely. Let’s take a closer look at what these outlets are saying about the Lions as they enter the 2024 NFL season. Yahoo Sports: 2 From Frank Schwab: The Lions had some injury scares during training camp and preseason but it doesn’t seem like any major contributors will miss Week 1. We’ll have to see if rookie first-round pick Terrion Arnold gets a starting nod for Week 1 after missing time in August with a pectoral injury. The Athletic: 2 From Josh Kendall: These guys were in a good mood when they were 1-6 in 2022. Now, they have won 21 of their last 29 games, and wide receiver Jameson Williams looks like he’s taken a step forward in practice. Add Williams’ dynamic breakaway speed to an offense that finished third in the league in yards per play last year (5.9), and Campbell might not even need that 12th daily cup of coffee. MMQB: 2 From Conor Orr: The Sports Illustrated preseason Super Bowl favorite Lions come in at No. 2 on our power rankings. We can discuss a lot about this roster but, for me, the strength is on the line of scrimmages. This is a decidedly unsexy way of talking about a team with Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs, among many others. But D.J. Reader, Alim McNeill and Aidan Hutchinson as a combination are way more exciting to me. The Lions are going to absolutely wear teams down by forcing them into obvious passing situations which will lessen the stress on their still-developing secondary. They are also going to continue to be one of the most dominant possession teams in the NFL. Last year, the Lions held onto the ball for more than 31 minutes per game. The Browns, for reference, were the only club that broke the 32 minute barrier last year. USA Today: 2 From Nate Davis: Remember that WR Jameson Williams nearly put them over the top against the Niners in the 2023 NFC championship game. If he can develop into a consistent threat over a full season, there may be no stopping this team. The Ringer: 2 From Diante Lee: For the first time in my life, the Detroit Lions have real expectations to be one of the best teams in the NFL. Coming off of an NFC title game appearance last season, this team brought back both coordinators, nearly all of its offensive starters, and added experienced veterans Marcus Davenport, Carlton Davis, and Amik Robertson on defense, as well as first-round pick cornerback Terrion Arnold. In theory, all the defensive pieces are in place to play the style of football that Detroit wants: crushing the pocket up front and playing man coverage on the back end. Even if the defense’s aggression means they give up explosive passes at times, this defense should be much better against the pass on a down-to-down basis than it was a season ago. Sporting News: 3 From Vinnie Iyer: The Lions are hoping to make the NFC a two-team race after being strong runners-up to the 49ers last season. Detroit lost no key coaches and also worked more on shoring up weaknesses. The offense should be a little more explosive, and the defense should give Aidan Hutchinson more playmaking support on the back end. The 33rd team: 3 From Marcus Mosher: The Detroit Lions were just a few plays away from reaching the Super Bowl last year, and they made sure to retool their roster to give themselves an even better chance of taking down the 49ers. The secondary has been completely rebuilt, and they are hoping Jack Campbell will take a step in Year 2. If Detroit’s defense can be respectable, the Lions should be right back in the NFC Championship Game again. NFL.com: 4 From Eric Edholm: The 2023 Lions were a few plays away from reaching a Super Bowl with a defense that started out somewhat promisingly last season but really slipped after the early-November bye. Naturally, a lot of the focus has been placed on how much difference a revamped secondary and a beefed-up front can do for this team. Interestingly, the offense didn’t really cook until the defense had backslid a bit, so you almost have to marvel at how Detroit got to 12-5 in spite of very few complete performances — offense, defense and special teams all getting it done — after about Week 4. Believe it or not, I actually see this as a positive. The Lions were absolutely fearless, which was a big driver of their success, and I don’t expect that to change much this season. Now the talent level has risen, if only incrementally, but the biggest gains might be in the secondary and defensive front — two areas where Detroit arguably had the most room for growth. The NFC North is suddenly a bear, and the journey might not be as gilded at times, but I think the Lions can find a way to forge through with another banner season. CBS Sports: 7 [Editor’s Note: Prisco has the Packers #2, so adjust your reactions accordingly] From Pete Prisco: They should once again push for a deep playoff run
Week 1 power rankings: Almost Everyone agrees, the Lions are elite
ESPN simulation of 2024 NFL season has Detroit Lions winning Super Bowl
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images An ESPN simulation of the 2024 NFL season ended with the Detroit Lions winning Super Bowl 59. Details here. On Monday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said after an offseason of not hiding from the fact that winning the Super Bowl is the goal this year, they are done setting their sights on the Lombardi Trophy and focused on goals that come well before that. “I just told the team, ‘Let’s not talk about it anymore,’” Campbell said. “And it’s just this: Of course we do (want to win a Super Bowl), who doesn’t?” We are not beholden to those same restrictions. The Super Bowl is the ultimate goal for this franchise, and for the first time in a very, very long time, that feels attainable. A predictive model over at ESPN agrees. Over on their website, Seth Walder published an article that used ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) to simulate the 2024 NFL season and in the end, they had the Lions beating the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl 59. Here’s a look at some of the other projections, as detailed by Walder. “Quarterback Jared Goff proved he was “good enough for f—ing Detroit,” continuing the relentless efficiency that he showed in offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s system in 2023 by finishing in the top three in QBR,” Walder wrote. “Cornerback Carlton Davis III bounced back to be a critical part of the Lions’ secondary, and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson took another step toward stardom, recording 14 sacks and forcing four fumbles. “The combination led the Lions to 13 wins and the top seed in the NFC. Detroit took care of upstart Chicago in the divisional round before settling the score in the NFC title game with San Francisco to advance to New Orleans and Super Bowl LIX.” Now, there’s an important caveat to the methodology here. Walder ran the FPI simulation 20,000 times, but the selection of the Lions as Super Bowl winners was not the result of the most popular outcome for those simulations. Rather, Walder just randomly picked out one simulation of the 20,000 (he calls it No. 515), and that one just so happened to have the Lions as Super Bowl winners. Still, going by FPI’s overall probabilities, the dataset has the Lions with a 10.3 percent chance to win the Super Bowl, only behind the 49ers (15.8%) and Chiefs (11.9%). They also have the third-best odds to make the Super Bowl (17.6%). In other words, gone are the days of “So you’re saying there’s a chance” memes are over. There’s actually a real chance.
Test your NFL knowledge with SB Nation’s new daily trivia game
Your new daily word game obsession is here. Be one of the first people to try out our new NFL player guessing game. Game week is here, but we’re adding something to the mix that we hope will provide a fun time for all. SB Nation’s product team has been playing around with a new daily trivia game and we get to be a beta test site for it! The goal of the game is to guess the correct random NFL player with the help of up to five clues. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. We’ll be playing this all week long with a mix of active and retired players. It will be a mix of well-known players and some “that guys” that we haven’t thought of in some time. The game will appear in slot #3 of the POD layout each day this week, with a new article each day for the game. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will let us know what you think and how we can improve the game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. Enjoy! What we need from you Play the game Share your result in the comments and on social media Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below) SB Nation in-5
Fantasy Football ‘24: 15 not-so-bold predictions
Double coverage? Doesn’t matter. | Photo by David Berding/Getty Images A look inside the fantasy football crystal ball Labor Day weekend has come and gone, so I feel like I can finally say it: Welcome to the 2024 NFL season! You’ve drafted most of your teams, and now it’s time to lock in your Week 1 lineups and cross your fingers. Buckle up — one thing I’ve learned from playing fantasy football for 30+ years is that you never know what’s going to happen once the ref blows the whistle. Before we get started, my Week 1 Fantasy Preview column, with my rides, fades, and sleepers, will publish this Thursday, right here at Big Blue View. It’ll be a weekly Thursday feature, and my Waiver Wire columns will run each Monday, starting next week. So keep it right here! Today I’m going to share 15 not-so-bold fantasy football predictions for the 2024 season. Throwing down a few predictions is always fun, and there are no consequences for being wildly off-target with hot takes. But I’ll tell you what — if I’m wrong about more than half of these, you get your money back. Last year, I didn’t get a single prediction wrong! But that’s only because I didn’t write a predictions column. I went back and looked at my not-so-bold predictions from the 2022 season, and I wish I hadn’t. What a mess. My first prediction was correct: That Deebo Samuel would regress after his massive 2021 season and finish outside the Top-10 WRs. My second prediction was that Kyle Pitts would lead all TEs in a bunch of stats (ugh)…and it went downhill from there. So with all of that said, here are 15 fresh predictions for this season. They’re “not-so-bold” because they aren’t outlandish. I’d give each one at least a 30% chance of happening. Photo by Ryan Kang/Getty ImagesI’ve got Kupp a little higher than Puka Cooper Kupp will outscore Puka Nacua in all PPR and standard formats. I’m not alone on this one, and when discussing Kupp in my players to target column I noted that you can get him two or three rounds later than Nacua. Puka is dealing with a sore knee, and while Kupp is over 30, he appears to be fully healthy and his and connection with Matt Stafford is undeniable. Kupp won’t win the triple crown like he did in 2021, but I’m feeling a very big season from him. 2. Justin Jefferson will lead all wide receivers in targets and catches. Sam Darnold has scared away a lot of people. Were people really all that confident in rookie J.J. McCarthy making Jefferson the No. 1 WR again? Jefferson has shown in the past that he is QB-proof, and with T.J. Hockenson slated to miss significant time to start the season and Jordan Addison banged up and possibly staring at a suspension, who else is Darnold going to throw to? Jefferson’s volume is going to be nuts. 3. Malik Nabers will lead all rookie wide receivers in targets, catches, and fantasy points. I know, his QB is Daniel Jones. And this could be close with Marvin Harrison, Jr. and a few other rookies in position to start and be big cogs right away. I’ll still bet on Nabers, who’s going to be the focal point of the Giants’ passing offense, and looked uncoverable in camp. 4. Brian Thomas, Jr. will be the No. 1 fantasy scorer among the Jacksonville pass-catchers. I believe in the talent, and reports out of camp were glowing. While we are here, two other rookies not named Harrison or Nabers who I think have a legitimate shot at doing this on their respective teams are Keon Coleman and Ladd McConkey. Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty ImagesI’m all-in on the Heisman winner 5. Speaking of Thomas…Trevor Lawrence will have his first finish as a QB1 (Top-12). Lawrence has an ADP in the QB16-18 range, but I’m feeling a big bounce back from the disappointment of 2023. He had all kinds of bad luck and some injuries last season, and I think Jacksonville’s defense will be below average. The AFC South is full of teams that can score, and Jacksonville is one of them. Expect Trevor to be in his share of shootouts. 6. Jayden Daniels will outscore Caleb Williams, and finish the season as a Top-10 QB and the top rookie at the position. The rushing floor almost assures this if he can stay healthy. And that’s the bet – that he plays at least 15 games. While we’re here I’ll give you a bonus WR prediction: Terry McLaurin will finish as a Top-15 WR, and people will start calling him Scary Terry again. Last year, he couldn’t even have scare Shaggy and Scooby. 7. Will Levis will significantly outperform his ADP, and finish as a borderline QB1 in deeper leagues (14-18 teams). I’m all-in on the AFC South having four quarterbacks you can count on this season. Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty ImagesBreece Hall is locked and loaded for a big year 8. Josh Jacobs will finish the season as a Top-5 RB. He did it once before (2022), on a much worse offense. 9. Derrick Henry, in his age 30 season, will have the best yards-per-carry average of his career (previous best: 5.4 in 2020). I think box safeties are going to have actual nightmares before they play Baltimore. 10. It will only take one week for Breece Hall to have more carries inside the 5-yard line than the ONE that he had ALL of last season. That actually happened, people. What the actual…The real prediction here is that Hall will lead the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2024. Book it! Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesThe TE position is loaded with talent in ‘24 11. At least three tight ends will have at least 100 catches this season (the last time more than one tight end had 100 catches in a season was 2020, when two
Test your Eagles knowledge with BGN’s new daily trivia game
Think you can figure out which Eagles player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game! Game week is here, but we’re adding something to the mix that we hope will be a little fun this week. SB Nation’s product team has been playing around with a new daily trivia game and we get to be a beta test site for it! The goal of the game is to guess the correct Eagles player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in both active and retired players. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it. The game will appear in slot #3 of the BGN layout each day this week, with a new article each day for the game. Additionally, there is a more general version of this at SBNation.com, which will feature a variety of random players that do not necessarily have Eagles history. After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form. What we need from you Play the game Share your result in the comments and on social media Provide feedback (Google Form or in comments below) Bleeding Green Nation in-5
The Linc – Eagles working to remove “counterfeit political ads”
Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 9/3/24. Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links … Eagles working to remove ‘counterfeit’ political ads in Philadelphia – 6ABCA bus stop sign at 34th and Walnut streets in University City shows Kamala Harris wearing an Eagles helmet with the text “official candidate of the Philadelphia Eagles.” To some, it might seem official. Along with the Eagles logo, the ad also sends people to a real, nonpartisan voting information website: PhiladelphiaEagles.com/vote. There is no mention of either candidate on the website. Other signs around the city have also been spotted, but the Eagles want to stress they are not real. “We are aware counterfeit political ads are being circulated and are working with our advertising partner to have them removed,” officials said in a statement. NFL Week 1 odds have the Eagles favored against the Packers on a neutral field – BGNNFL Weeks 1 odds have long been available by this point but, hey, I’d say the subject is especially topical now since … game week is FINALLY HERE! That’s right, your Philadelphia Eagles are kicking off their 2024 season with a “home” game against the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Brazil this Friday night. The Birds are currently three-point favorites at this neutral field location, according to FanDuel. This means the Eagles would likely be six-point favorites if the game was instead taking place at Lincoln Financial Field, since home field advantage is generally worth three points. NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 1 edition – PhillyVoice3) Eagles (11-6 in 2023): The Eagles are a hard team to figure out for some folks this offseason. On the one hand, they’re coming off an epic collapse to close the 2023 season, during which the underqualified coordinators were exposed, the quarterback fell into a rut, some young core players were out of shape, the pass rush died, and every solution they tried only made things worse. In the aftermath, Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox retired. On the other hand, Jalen Hurts had the best training camp of his career in 2024, the new coordinators are adults, the rushing attack should be better with Saquon Barkley and a healthy Hurts, and there is so much talent otherwise on the roster, with guys like A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata, and Landon Dickerson all in their prime years, and Jalen Carter about to enter his. Ultimately, I believe the Eagles are a well-run organization, and they’ll bounce back. They’ll also have the benefit of a far easier schedule this season. My first bet: Early picks for NFL Week 1 – ESPNAndre Snellings first bet: Green Bay Packers +3.0 over Philadelphia Eagles (-120). Jalen Hurts didn’t play at all this preseason and for the second year in a row he’ll start the season with a new offense under a new offensive coordinator. The Packers are getting the full 3 points at ESPN BET right now, even though the Eagles won’t really have home field advantage with the game to be played in Sao Paulo, Brazil. While I expect the Eagles to look better than the team that lost six of their last seven games last season, they’ll be facing a Packers squad that ended last year on fire as Jordan Love took flight in his first year starting under center. Love enters this year with a full complement of exciting young wide receivers healthy, raising the ceiling for the Packers’ offense and increasing the likelihood they start the season on a high note. Rival coaches believe Eagles may struggle to replace legends: ‘(He) makes this whole operation work’ – NJ.com“(Fletcher and Jason) became dinosaurs and unicorns,” Washington Commanders defensive line coach Darryl Tapp, who played three years (2010-2012) with the Eagles, told NJ Advance Media in April. “I say that because it’s very rare an NFL athlete gets to start and finish their career in one place. It’s very rare when an athlete in this day and age has a career that lasts over seven years. So they have accomplished both of those feats.” Tapp, who was hired by the Commanders in February, is glad that he doesn’t have to game plan for Kelce anymore. As the former assistant defensive line coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Tapp has played against Kelce three times (two regular-season games and the 2023 NFC Championship Game) since 2021. “He is all you prepare for,” Tapp said. “I truly believe that Jason (was) probably the most important person on that offense. You can call me crazy. But having that chance to go against him the last three years, he is the guy who makes this whole operation work because he can read defenses. … He made everything work seamlessly.” Eagles notebook: Saquon’s appreciation for Jacobs, Covey’s role and more – NBCSPFor the last two seasons, Britain Covey has been a popular guy in the Eagles’ locker room and in the receiver meeting room. Part of his role is to lighten the mood and he does that with aplomb. Star receiver DeVonta Smith recently handed out a big compliment to Covey. “He’s the light of the room,” Smith said. “In the room, he’s always the guy keeping the spirits up, no matter if anybody is having a bad day, he’s going to be the guy to make sure that everybody in the room is having fun. Whoever it is who may be down a day, he doesn’t continue to let them feel that way.” From the outside, Smith and Covey are very different. One was a Heisman Trophy winner and early first-round pick. The other was an undrafted rookie a few years ago and finally made the 53-man roster out of training camp for the first time in 2024. But Smith and Covey are close. Aside from both being fathers to young children, they’re two of the smallest players on the team. They joke about that a lot. “He probably weighs a little
Community Convo: Which non-divisional opponent do you want to see the Browns beat?
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports The Browns schedule has some big names The Cleveland Browns returned from their holiday weekend to the practice field yesterday in Berea. The team is now in full regular-season mode as they prepare to welcome the Dallas Cowboys to town on Sunday. While the week-one matchup will tough, Cleveland remains the favorite according to Vegas. The Browns schedule overall will make for tough sledding, especially down the stretch as they face a gauntlet of elite quarterbacks in addition to our division rivals. Today’s conversation starter and question deals with the games on our schedule against teams not within the AFC North division. Which non-divisional squad on the schedule would you like to see the Browns beat the most? Would you feel good if they could pull off a convincing win against Dallas on Sunday? Maybe seeing the Browns defeat the Chiefs would assure you they could compete for a Super Bowl. Now let’s look at the non-division games on the schedule and you can decide for yourself. Week 1 vs Dallas Cowboys Week 2 at Jacksonville Jaguars Week 3 vs New York Giants Week 4 at Las Vegas Raiders Week 5 at Washington Commanders Week 6 at Philadelphia Eagles Week 9 vs LA Chargers Week 11 at New Orleans Saints Week 13 at Denver Broncos Week 15 vs Kansas City Chiefs Week 17 vs Miami Dolphins Let us know who you want the Browns to beat most in the comments below and why. You will find my answer and reason there and it may come as a bit of a surprise.
Bengals ranked among top Super Bowl contenders
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images The return of a healthy Joe Burrow is a big reason why. It is finally Week 1 of the NFL season, and the Cincinnati Bengals are preparing for a matchup with the New England Patriots this Sunday. Paycor Stadium will be rocking as the Bengals look to start their run back to the Super Bowl this coming February, and according to a new ranking heading into game week, they have a decent chance. Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports recently ranked his most likely Super Bowl LIX winners and explained why they would win. Taking No. 6 on the list, the Bengals are also the third favorite in the AFC listed behind Kansas City (No. 1) and the Baltimore Ravens (No. 4). The biggest reason this team has a shot? The reason Vacchiano gives shouldn’t be a shock to anyone… the return of Joe Burrow. “When Joe Burrow is healthy, the Bengals have a chance to win it all. It’s that simple. He’s made it all the way through the season twice — in 2021 and 2022. In those seasons, the Bengals made the AFC Championship Game twice and the Super Bowl once. Don’t worry about Zack Moss trying to replace Joe Mixon at running back or losing No. 3 receiver Tyler Boyd to Tennessee or the defense that ranked 31st last season or … Look, it’s all about Joe Burrow, OK? The guy just wins.” The Bengals have seemingly become the one team in the AFC that could slow down and defeat Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs over the last few seasons when they meet in the playoffs. With a healthy Joe Burrow and an improved defense, it seems that could be the case once again this season if the two teams meet. Well, at least that’s what we hope. But first we need to see this team go and beat this Patriots squad. Who Dey!
Breaking down Anthony Richardson’s final preseason game and what he needs to fix
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images A few days have passed since the Colts’ last preseason game and there was a a lot of chatter about Richardson’s performance, with an overwhelming amount being negative. Throw 1 Richardson made the right read, but was late and behind on the throw. Had it been earlier and in stride, the result would’ve been a bit better. The theme of being a bit late on his thrown has been seen throughout the preseason from Richardson. Below is a screenshot with advanced graphic designs to show that not only are Richardson’s shoulder and hip alignment not in sync, but they are not aligned to the ideal target area. Throw 2 The second throw was a screen pass that was blown up beautifully from the Bengals defensive tackle. Throw 3 The third throw is a great example of how a great pre-snap read can make all the difference. He read the blitz perfectly, threw his hot read right away and it led to the first down. Throw 4 Richardson throwing RPOs in rhythm is a beautiful thing to watch and is one of the best things he does. Steichen needs to dial these up early and often because RPOs are a set of plays that Richardson consistently performs well with. Throw 5 Same thing as Play 5 as he throws beautifully on RPOs. This RPO was on a bubble screen as opposed to a slant. Throw 6 Firstly, I love to see the crisp footwork on the deep play action drop. I also love the fact that he’s making the right progressions high to low. He clearly looks downfield first, almost makes a throw that would’ve certainly been forced and then catches himself and makes the smart easy completion underneath. He got the easy first down plus several free yards instead of forcing it down the field on 2nd and short. This is how you move the ball in the NFL. Throw 7 While the ball was slightly high, the timing was beautiful and the receiver should’ve caught the ball. The placement on this one was perfect and his body was seemingly perfectly aligned (unfortunately there isn’t a good angle to confirm the good alignment). He placed the ball in a spot where only the receiver can get it. Throw 8 Another great play here from Richardson, looking to his left first and seeing his initial read of the running back wheel taken away. He stays in the pocket, keeps his eyes downfield and finds Mitchell open on a drag/crossing route, hits him in stride and takes a hit in the process. The result was a touchdown and one of his best plays of the game. Throw 9 I like the fact that Richardson made two reads before going to his checkdown option running a quick out/arrow, but what i don’t like is feet are pointed down the field and don’t adjust when he readjusts. Going back to the elite graphics, you see that his shoulder alignment is decent and compared to the red line (the proper alignment to the ideal target zone), it’s in a relatively good spot, but his feet don’t move. He was initially aimed down the field as that’s where his first reads were, but as he moved closer and closer, he failed to readjust the feet and in this case it lead to a high and inaccurate. You can’t rely on just your arm to make throws. Throw 10 While everyone on social media jumped to blame Richardson on this throw, it’s quite clear that it’s a miscommunication between him and Granson. Granson is running an option route that allows him to sit (presumably if it’s against a zone and/or finds a cushiony area) or drift out of his break/route if it’s man, if it’s close to a linebacker’s hook/curl zone or if it’s match coverage. Richardson read it as a sit and Granson ended up drifting. The Bengals’ safety ends up cutting down as it’s a Cover 3 Robber coverage. As you can see in my graphic, corners are deep and drop, free safety drops and then the strong safety comes down into WILL linebacker’s zone as the WILL’s responsibility is the running back. Richardson most certainly did not see the safety come down, Granson read it well and drifted and that’s what led to the miscommunication and unfortunately the interception. The blame is on both players as they need to be on the same page. Throw 11 The first throw after the interception was a great one, but unfortunately it was dropped by Pittman. Throw 12 On this throw, it’s another example of a crossing route (horizontal throw) that Richardson fails to properly align to. The red circle below is the target zone, green star is the receiver Mitchell who is moving very quickly and two black arrow lines show the misalignment. The shoulders are aligned decently well, but the feet are way behind where the receiver needs to get the ball. What happens is Richardson has to rely on his arm only (quarterbacks throw with their body, not their arms) and when that happens, a variety of things can happen. In this case, you see that Richardson’s shoulders are slightly elevated, which is unnecessary beacuse it’s not a throw that requires any air so what will happen is the ball will sail on him, which it does. So his body is not properly aligned and his shoulders are elevated, so those two things will cause a lot of accuracy issues. Throw 13 Richardson just misses this throw to Mitchell, but mechanics were decent and the timing of it was relatively good. Throw 14 This was an incredible throw and as you can see, his body is perfectly aligned to his target zone/spot. When that happens, you’ll be as accurate as anyone. This throw also confirms to me that he is a much better vertical thrower than he is horizontal thrower as discussed earlier. Tucked in tight. #HOUvsIND |
Last chance to sign up for S&BP’s Pick’em Competition!
Las Vegas Raiders fans | Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images Less than one week until the regular season starts! We are less than a week away from the NFL regular season starting and that also means Silver and Black Pride’s Pick’em Competition is about to begin! The Kansas City Chiefs will kick off the season by hosting the Baltimore Ravens (go Ravens) next Thursday at 5:20 p.m. which will also be the first game of our competition. So, make sure you mark that on your calendar as the last thing you want is to lose the competition on one pick. Also, don’t forget about the Friday night game in Brazil between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles during the opening week. We still have a few spots left in the S&BP Pick’em Competition, but you need to act quickly if you want to participate. At the time of writing, we only have 32 spots remaining. Sign-up instructions are below. Sign-up steps: Go to football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/pickem or click this link Click the ‘Join a Group’ button at about the middle of the page (you may need to make a Yahoo account if you don’t already have one) On the right side of the screen where it says ‘Join Private Group’, enter 13582 as the GROUP ID# and Raiders24 as the PASSWORD and click the ‘Join Group’ button Then, you can get a jump start on your picks for the season opener! One note, please only sign up if you plan on making picks throughout the season. As mentioned above, we have limited spots available so please don’t take a spot from someone else if you’re not going to have the time to make picks every week. We’ll provide a weekly post on the site throughout the season with updates on the standings so you can see how you’re stacking up against the competition. We look forward to continuing this tradition and remember to sign up soon to reserve your spot!
