Week 5 Monday Morning After - MIA/TB, CIN/GB, NYG/DAL, KC/BUF

 

We meet again. Let's go through the games I watched yesterday, whaddaya say?

MIA/TB        

I don't really want to talk about this game. I've already written too much about the Dolphins as it is, but fine— Since I didn't dive into the actual game in today's Post-Script, I'll break down my experience of the game.

I listened to it on the radio. No issues, today. So salsa, either. I went with ramen. Not my best choice.

You may not know, but I fell in love with the NFL as an adult by listening to the Dolphins radio broadcast. Jimmy Cephalo and Joe Rose were, for like five seasons, my voices of the NFL. Bob Griese was with them at the time. I take a year off, and Griese is too old. That's a bummer for me. Makes me kind of sad. I miss his old man exclamations. “Oh boy!” or “Yeah!” I hear them in my head when I'm not listening to football. My favorite, though, is "All right!" But I'm happy to listen to Jason Taylor.

One thing I love about Jimmy Cephalo – because I want to praise this radio team since I can't the actual football team – is that he gets up for big plays for or against Miami. If I were a neutral fan of football, as I increasingly am, I would love Cephalo's enthusiasm for the game. And because all three of them played for the Dolphins in different eras and in different positions, their natural conversations about the game are, to me, both extremely entertaining and informative. Which is what ya boy likes from a broadcast.

They pointed out that the Dolphins defense was playing out of position today. I think the gameplan expected to limit Xavien Howard and Byron Jones to something like box safety roles, and the linebackers and safeties were meant to make up for their lack of mobility. That makes sense in my head as something a defensive coach would scheme to make work.

And what it sounds like is everyone was out of position all afternoon. But do you yank X and BJ? You can't do that if you're Flores, not if you're also sitting on a hot seat and these are supposed to be your two best defensive players. But I talked about how I'd react to that hot seat already today.

But really this game just comes down to how much Tom Brady hates the Dolphins. It's personal for him, you can tell. The run in the fourth, when the game was over? The physicality he showed at the end, shoving his way through the Dolphins defender....

Yeah. Not having your starting quarterback and playing Tom Brady with a head on fire is how fan bases think the season is over and your head coach should be fired.

You'd think Miami's fans would be used to it by now.

And I think I'm done with this game forever.

CIN/GB                    

I didn't watch as much of this game as I should have. I didn't see any of the scoring drives, and really only tuned in when the game was tied at 22 and the field goals started being missed.

Not because it wasn't on the TV. It was. My heart was just too crushed by the Dolphins game to pay enough attention to matter.

I have to say, I am disappointed in the Bengals. I really thought they'd win this game, and they could have. Zac Taylor has to stop playing for field goals in the Overtime period. Matt LeFleur, too, come to think of it.

I'll revisit both of these teams when I write the Rewatch Rankings. What do you want for free, your money back?

NYG/DAL        

This game was over the second Daniel Jones threw himself face first into Jabril Cox. (How is Jabrill Peppers doing, by the way? Badly. Okay. Apparently he's on the Giants and hurt. Got it.)

It's one thing to establish a physical presence from the quarterback position. It's another to concuss yourself.

It's not funny – but it was timely: right before that play I heard someone – it might have been me, it might have been the commentators – talking about (I think it was) Trey Lance and not throwing his body into defenders to try to make a play. They literally said, “He won't be around long if he tries that,” and then Daniel Jones tries it.

Not a good look.

What was going on with Dallas's field last night? Is it cursed or something? I feel like all 11 of New York's offensive starters went down yesterday evening. For the secret Mike Glennon fans (Gregg Rosenthal, if you're reading...): He's not the answer, either.

I called this game to be a blowout. Zeke does look thicker, stronger. And Pollard keeps gashing teams when they think Dallas is in a change of pace or tendency breaking formation. It's actually really excellent.

Look at Mike McCarthy finally understanding the Head Coach gig: let your coordinators coordinate. You coach them.

I do think this is sustainable for Dallas. For New York?

I don't know what's going wrong with the Giants, but nothing is working the way an NFL team is supposed to work. That's not true. Kadarius Toney is working. Holy shit is Kadarius Toney working.

I feel like what I said about him last week, that he “deserved some love” was too much an understatement. This guy is going to be a star in this League.

I wrote earlier today maybe too much maybe too little about how it's up to the individual players to develop their game at the professional level. We ask how the Giants' coaching staff didn't identify Toney as a contributor sooner. Maybe they did. Maybe he has been elevating his game now that his number has been called. That's just how it goes, sometimes.

Shepherd and Engram have to get healthy. Golladay has to contribute. He went down with an injury, too, didn't he?

This Division is the Cowboys' to run away with. 

Will they? They should. 

The Eagles, though. They're not going to let it be easy. I don't know whether I could be more disappointed in the Washington Football Team if they were dressed in Aqua and Orange. But that is for another post.

KC/BUF        

What did I say? I put this as my #3 game of the week, and I think I was right to do so. I would have had more fun with the Browns and I should have paid more attention to the Bengals. I said this one would be high-scoring and close, but that KC's defense would get stingy when it mattered.

Yeah, I was wrong about that, but right that the Bills would score a ton of points. Too bad KC couldn't get it done last night.

The Bills look too good and you're going to hear every talking head in the world argue that they're the best team in the NFL through 5 weeks. There might be some pushback that the Cardinals deserve it, but you will hear that the Bills are the new team to beat in the AFC. I don't need to tell you that. And if you're a Dolphins fan, I don't need to tell you they're not ready to compete with the Bills. I already have. (I just don't remember where to hyperlink and pat myself on the back.) And it's really not close.

Josh Allen is just too good. Some of those throws he made last night were surgical. His runs back-breaking. How do you let a guy that size scamper for that long in the middle of the field without touching him at all?

Seriously, watching Josh Allen slide, surrounded by five dudes he outsizes and outruns is just too awesome.

If I didn't know it would probably literally kill my father, I would openly root for the Bills and Allen. He's just too good.

KC is in trouble. They have the Chargers in their division, and the defense can't stop anyone. Is that the personnel, Stevey Spags, or is it just that the Chiefs are going to get everyone's absolute best? I think it's the latter. The Chiefs aren't in that much trouble. Like, I don't expect them to miss the Playoffs.

But they do have a problem if Kelce is as slow and old and shellshocked as he looked last night. (This is where I would post shots from the game, if I had access to the film)

The KC offense works because you've got the thunder and lightning of Kelce and Tyreek Hill.

I couldn't help but notice that Pringle and Hardman had their numbers called in big spots last night. Almost like Andy Reid has been reading what I have to say about his team. He hasn't. He just has eyes like I do. And his eyes see what mine do: he needs another option to make itself available in the passing game.

Because Kelce has lost a step and it's too easy to cover Hill when the defense can spy him.

I've said it, but I really don't think the Chiefs are in trouble.

I've written before about how I think the parity of the NFL is a good thing. And I still think that, as I watch the Chiefs teeter toward a precipitous fall. They get every team's best, every week. They're the AFC's measuring stick. Everyone they play expects to get blown out. They expect to blow everyone out. And this sort of thing happens.

They right the ship eventually. I don't see this campaign turning into a 9-8 stinkfest. Mahomes is too good. He and Reid and Bieniemy, like every team, just have to get this figured out.

The Bills, on the other hand, are your AFC favorites. They have to be. Who else can score the way they do and play defense? The Rams? Not every week. The Cardinals?

Yeah, probably.

In the AFC? I can't think of anyone. The Chiefs were supposed to boat race them. Can the Chargers? I don't think they're ready yet, but they will if they have to – they proved that against the Browns.

And that feels like that.

I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of my observations from the weekend. Either tomorrow or Wednesday I'll have the Game Rewatch Rankings, as well as a Power Ranking of the League through 1/3 of the season. I'll revisit that weeks 10 and 15 with my Playoff scenarios and predictions for the open Wild Card slots.

And of course I'll have something to say about tonight's game either very late tonight or early tomorrow.

Staying busy.

I hope your weekend went well, I hope you enjoy tonight's game, and I'll talk at you soon, eh? Thanks for what you do, not just your time and attention. You'll see me around.