Ten Thoughts on the NFL

1) Let’s get this out of the way immediately. I’m picking the New England Patriots over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. I’m not exactly happy about it, but it’s what I think will happen.

Since I picked the Pats, I’ll probably be rooting for them to win the game, but I really don’t care either way. I’m hoping for some excitement, some big plays, and some entertaining commercials.

2) I’m also picking Tom Brady as the MVP for the game, because if the Patriots do win, he’ll be the reason why.

In the Mount Rushmore of great quarterbacks, it’s Brady and Joe Montana (This is not a debate), but the next two could be a handful of players.

Who do you have up there with Brady and Montana?

3) One last Tom Brady nugget.

Professional athletes are in the public eye and it’s expected that they’ll take some form of criticism at some point in their career. But their kids should never be a part of the story.

A Boston radio host called Brady’s 5-year-old daughter, “an annoying little pissant.” Maybe he thought he was being edgy or funny, but taking a shot at a child is just idiotic.

Merriam-Webster capitalized on the incident however.

4) One name I think gets left out of greatest QB discussions is Drew Brees, but in checking the all time numbers, he’s right up there and still going strong.

Brees is third all time in passing yards and almost a lock to become number one in 2018. He’s only 1,495 yards being Peyton Manning. Brees is also third all time in passing attempts and tied for third in passing TDs. He’s second in passes completed, and sixth in all time passer rating. Brees is number one in passing yards per game at 282.9, and also first in completion percentage at 66.9.

5) Another quarterbacking great that is often overlooked is Warren Moon.

Moon went undrafted (1978) after plying at the University of Washington, so he played his first six years as a professional in the Canadian Football League. He racked up over 20,000 yards and over 150 total touchdowns, but more impressively was the five straight Grey Cup titles his Edmonton Eskimos won.

If Moon was welcomed into the NFL after college, I wonder if he would have broken every NFL passing record there was at the time. Right now, he’s top ten NFL all time in yards, attempts and completions, and he’s thirteenth in passing TDs.

For those Tecmo Bowl players out there, I was unstoppable with Moon and the Houston Oilers. Even when my play was clocked, I had an outlet every time.

6) The Colts’ Andrew Luck, who missed all of 2017 with a shoulder injury, is reported to be close to being able to throw again. According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo, Luck’s year off may have done more than just healing his shoulder.

Following being placed on IR, Luck spent time in Europe working on balancing his muscles and getting them working together.

He came back bigger, stronger and refreshed.

If the Colts do hire New England’s Josh McDaniels, as the reports suggest, a healthy Luck will catapult them back into the playoff discussion in 2018.

7) The AFC South could be loaded next year, with the Colts rebounding, the Houston Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson coming back form his own injury, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ young and hungry, Championship caliber defense, and the Tennessee Titans’ new coaching regime set to get Marcus Mariota to the next level as a quarterback.

When the Titans hired defensive guy Mike Vrabel as their new head coach, I was curious to see his plan for the offensive side of things, but I think his hire of the Rams’ Matt LaFleur as their new offensive coordinator is a good move.

8) Andrew and I discussed UCF’s Shaquem Griffin in my latest T Formation Conversation podcast.

The talented football player that was was born without a left hand was his conference’s defensive player of the year in 2016, he was defensive MVP in this year’s Bowl Game win that capped off their undefeated season, and he had an outstanding showing at the Senior Bowl, but he wasn’t one of the players invited to the 2018 NFL Combine.

But that has been rectified.

And in case you missed my last podcast, here you go!

9) When I read this tweet...

My immediate thought was, “No shit.”

New Bears coach Matt Nagy will devise a plethora of ways to get his play-makers involved in the offense.

I can not wait for the season to start.

10) This may be the offseason for the Chicago Bears, but our team at Windy City Gridiron has been, and will continue, to kill it every day with the best Bears coverage around. You guys want Bears content all year long, so there is no offseason for us.

Yesterday is a great example of what we’re bringing to the table. Exclusive interviews, Xs&Os, free agency, NFL Draft scouting reports, podcasts, roster breakdowns and the best damn link dump in all of SB Nation.

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