Thursday Night Week 4 Recap - Odds n Ends n A Better Title

 

I'm still experimenting with my Voice, if you will. I watch a lot of talking heads (as, no doubt, we all do), and a recurring theme in their work is reminding the audience – both their producers in house and otherwise – of what they've said in the past. I don't want to spend a bunch of time reminding you what I've said, but then again, I don't want you hanging on my every word.

So it got me thinking about something I'm going to try for the Thursday Night Game. Maybe you can tell me whether you hate it or not.

Thursday Night Football Week 4

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-4) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)

What I said would happen: The Bengals needed to watch out for a trap game. The Jaguars would show up for the first half. The Bengals offense needed to get in a rhythm early, and Burrows was going to go to Chase often. The Jags would stall in the second half. Bengals would keep it close but win.

What did happen: The Bengals offense came out in the first half and sputtered; Burrows looked to Chase early and often, but the connection was off. Playcalling was out of rhythm with the flow of the game. Penalties and a missed field goal made the first half look lost. Jags offense looked poised and ready to trap the Bengals in The Jungle. James Robinson made the most out of a lot of Bengals overpursuit. Cinci's defense pressed too hard to assert dominance early. Then the Bengals offense got hot, the defense got right when it mattered, and the kicker nailed the game-winner.

Takeaways: The talk after the game seems to be two things: James Robinson looks through four weeks like he should have been the feature back all along; and Cincinnati are 3-1 and atop the division right now. The story is how the Bengals won a game they would have lost against the team they were least year. It's a good story. It's also accurate.

I got to enjoy this one on the radio courtesy of the Cincinnati Bengals broadcast team. Apparently Jacksonville are very protective of their streams and who can listen to them. So... good chance I won't be reviewing their booth this season. The Bengals' guys were fine. Just fine.

It seems that it's pretty common for the announcer not to give you the down and distance before every play, especially important plays. Too often I was relying on the NFL.com play-by-play tracker to tell what was happening on the field. Which was maybe a me problem and not a them problem. They didn't really offer much insight on the game, however. They weren't really talking the Jacksonville defense, or describing how Trevor Lawrence looked. Overall they were very audibly disappointed when the Jags did anything well and it felt very much like they were giving their audience just what they wanted.

If you are a Bengals fan, this is an experience tailored just for you. I didn't get it. I've never seen a team broadcast so down on their team.

For example: There was a really long ad-read for a car wash that was going to give discounts if the Bengals got two sacks. And the tagline was “Who Dey think that bad?” ...As in, who thinks the opponent is so bad they'll give up two sacks to the Bengals. And I'm like... lolwhut?

But, anyway, yeah – I wouldn't be going to them to listen to games just because.

How about the actual game?

I like how Chase (6/9 77 yards) looks like a veteran #1 – he protects his body exceptionally well on the boundary. But the real highlight is how Tyler Boyd (9/11 118 yards) is a guy Burrow obviously knows he can rely on now to move the chains. Mixon was looking to mix it up in the second half, but it was nice to hear Samaje Perine's name called in a big spot. (He's a story I've been watching since he was drafted by Seattle. He was a project that Adam Gase brought to Miami, went to the Jets for a while. Lost track of him until last night. He's got size and speed and hands, he's just never put it all together on the playing field. If he can play compliment to Mixon, this backfield might be the two-headed monster every team needs.) He went 7 yards on 3 rushing attempts, but it was the 15 yard reception, which if I remember right came on a critical third and long late in the game, that I'm talking about.

I could spend the rest of this piece not saying a word about the Jags, and I think you would be well-served. I didn't hear much from them, and in watching highlights and listening to recaps, I still haven't heard much. If you watched the game, you saw what I have. The Jags aren't a good team. They're relying on tight ends and overpursuit to Lawrence by greedy d-lines and blitzers to create rushing and passing lanes. You can't beat people if you can't consistently throw to your Guy. Whoever that guy is. And maybe this leads into a different conversation, but it isn't a problem that Aaron Rodgers looks to DeVante Adams in big spots – DeVante Adams comes through.

Kind of like how C.J. Uzomah (5/6 95 yards 2TDs) did. That guy had the biggest game of his life, didn't he? And isn't Burrows hilarious when he jokes about how Uzomah's not usually the guy they practice throwing a jailbreak screen to like that?

I am glowering with envy, Cincinnati fans.

Joe Burrow is the guy. You hear all of the flamethrowers saying it. This morning you've got Skip Bayless tweeting that Burrow is the Fire to Lawrence's Ice and that he'd rather have Burrows. And I just— There's nothing I've seen from him through four weeks of this season – because I watched nothing last year and you kind of have to throw it out except for the number of starts – that suggests to me that he won't be one of the very best quarterbacks in the League for the next twenty years barring injury. Not even barring coaching. He's already bailing Zac Taylor out. And he may as well be a rookie.

We talk about how good Andrew Luck is, and I missed out on enjoying that because I was too worried with whether Tannehill was that good. Now I'm seeing Burrow calling damn audibles to tight end screens with the game on the line because he sees Zero blitz and knows the defensive coordinator's coaching background. The thing we should be hearing when we hear Burrows say this is that Taylor did not. Or didn't call a play to beat it.

But that doesn't matter. Burrow is going to win enough of these games against lesser opponents because he's got the weapons and the know-how to do it with. I'm excited for you, Cinci. Here's hoping your weird ownership and confusing relationship with the team don't ruin it.

I want to talk about the Jaguars. I really do. That was part of why I wanted to listen to their broadcast last night. The biggest part of it, really. I want to talk about them kind of desperately, actually, at this point. I'm not going to get to see many of their games this season, unless they play at Cleveland. This was their Primetime game unless they get the 10 am est London game.

It's just that their scoring drives didn't excite me. And their defense wasn't stopping Cincinnati, even while they remained scoreless. It felt inevitable.

Honestly, it felt like a good WWE title fight, or whatever, right? You want the underdog to look like he's beating up the guy you want to win until the very last second of the match. And that's what we got. We got a good, entertaining Thursday Night Football game. The best I think the Jags have to offer this season.

Trevor Lawrence throws the most amazing incompletions I've ever seen. His throwing motion, especially on the run, is like a horse stepping dressage. He did hit that 27-yarder to Agnew on the left sidelines. Did he lead Agnew a little too much to the to the boundary? Maybe. Would he have gotten him clobbered and made it a more difficult pass otherwise? Definitely.

They're just not a good team. It's amazing how quickly a franchise can go from the AFC Championship game to back to back winless seasons.

So apparently I'm not the only Dolphins fan having a crisis of faith.

...Why are the Dolphins fans who don't want Tua upset about potentially trading him to WFT for a 2 in next year's draft?

I've already made a pretty hard-line stance that if Miami trades for Deshaun Watson before his situation has resolved itself and he has spoken publicly I will divorce the team. And it will be messy. And public. About as public as you can make a divorce. I don't have any kids. But I'd talk so much shit about the Dolphins to them for the rest of their lives they grew to hate me as much as I hate trading for a potential sex pest.

But if I look at it without emotional eyes, the way I'm trying to give Jameis Winston and many other guys the benefit of the doubt, bearing in mind that the dude probably didn't actually do anything immoral but did get jerked off by a bunch of lesbian prostitutes in Texas.... Well, that could explain a lot – about Watson's character – and why the FBI are interested in him.

They probably aren't interested in putting him in prison, and the League probably knows that. But Houston, Texas might have a bigger problem. And the owner is probably involved. Otherwise Deshaun would be De-gone.

What am I talking about?

Some professional Dolphins fan tweeted out yesterday that the Dolphins were ready to make a move for Deshaun Watson as soon as Monday and were already lined up to send Tua to Washington for a Two.

There are a lot of things to be skeptical about with this claim, but I think most notably it should be asked why Washington would make this move. They have a developmental prospect. And are they really going to bottom-feed from Miami's castoff quarterbacks? They're going to trade to bring in the guy who publicly broke Ryan Fitzpatrick's heart last year?

Do we really think Ron Rivera would do that?

No. And that's why the national guys aren't talking about it.

It's nice to support independent writers et al, but damn. Is integrity not also important?

As for myself, I'm trying to Zen my approach to the Dolphins this season. [They aren't ready to compete in the division.] So I'm looking to see how the youngsters on first contracts develop. That's basically where I'm at with the whole thing.

But the people who are upset with getting a Two for Tua seem to be forgetting that Miami gave a Two for Josh Rosen – the year after the Cardinals drafted him and knew he wasn't their long-term solution after only one season. If, after eight games, the front office don't think Tua is The Guy, I don't care what it costs to get the guy, or how much you get for Tua. Miami let Josh Rosen walk after giving up a Two for him. If Tua isn't better than Josh Rosen, then he's not worth whatever dead cap space his rookie contract would hit.

That's what I'm saying.

The Guy, whoever he is, is invaluable – priceless. ...That Guy just can't also be a sex pest. That has to go without saying.

If Tua was an owner pick, and now the rumors are coming out that Watson is an owner pick, then this team is sunk, either way. Let's hope that Jacoby Brisset plays out of his mind this weekend and makes it a difficult decision for Flores whether Tua gets the job back.

That's the best-case scenario for this season – and maybe the rest of the Brian Flores Experience.

I just can't bring myself to be as interested in this Brady/Belichick reunion as the Networks want me to be.

I get it that this is history in the making. And from that standpoint I am interested in the game, I guess. But.... All this Seth Wickersham book stuff – can't bring myself to care.

And, again – I get it. Really, I do.

Maybe it's the teams around Bill and Tommy B. I don't know that I see this being a great game. If Mac Jones were Trey Lance or.... As I'm writing this out, I realized I might be wrong about that. What if Mac Jones plays really well in this game, and it ends looking like Billy B has a quarterback for the future? Will we be talking about how Belichick has another decade of coaching ahead of him if he wants it, but Tom's days are numbered?

Aren't both of their days really numbered?

See – other than the upfront drama of this game, I don't see it being worth stopping everything we're doing to talk about. This feels a little bit like Mike Tyson v Lennox Lewis – these guys are at the ends of their careers, their body of work broken down, and one of them doesn't have the punch he used to have.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Bill not being available for Tom to say goodbye—Colin Cowherd nailed it when he said Bill is allowed to not want to be broken up with by Tom in person. I very much imagine Bill feeling like Tom turned his back on him. On their dynasty. I think Bill more than anyone in the world understands the symbiosis in legacy of a coach and his quarterback. Tom Landry is ubiquitous with Roger Staubach, for instance – Bill Walsh with Montana and Young – Don Shula with Griese and Marino. Bill doesn't seem like a lovey-dovey kind of guy. He's not going to want to give you a hug when you're going to finish your career with someone else because you're in your feelings if he's not willing to give you hugs after wins, bro.

Come on.

But whatever. We all want to know what these people are feeling and live out their psychodramas. I get it. It's why I watch, too.

I want to see what the pregame warmups are like. Are they going to be like Rodgers and McCarthy saying what's up, good to see you? Or is it going to be weird where they ignore one another? I want to know how Tom is going to react to Bill's defense. I want to know how much of the Tampa Bay offense really is the New England playbook. Does Brady get in his feelings during the game? His teammates have already said that they're emotional.

This just feels like the kind of game where we're expecting Brady to be the stoic, unflappable Brady we've always known – and I wonder if those fans flipping him the double bird and telling him that he sucks and they hate him.... I have a feeling Tom is going to be very emotional. And we'll see it in his play.

If he left because he couldn't get the affirmation he wanted out of Daddy Belichick, do you really think this is the environment where he's going to find it? This feels like the kind of game where Tom is thinking that now he has to prove to the fans he's given 20 unbelievable years two that he really is the GOAT by beating them in their house, too. It's like – it must be exhausting, fueling yourself with the doubt that people have in you? Does it not break Tom's heart a little bit on Sunday to walk into that building he made feeling like he has to prove it all over again?

If he left because Bill talked to him like he was 20 – if that's real – how is he not going to feel like a 20 year-old all over again, having to prove it to them all, all over again? I don't know.

I have the worst feeling this is going to be the game where he finally falls on his face and shows his age.

I wish I could say that and think it were actually going to happen. I don't trust the Patriots roster to show up and hang in this game. Not on defense.

The question then becomes how much like Brady is Mac Jones? Can he take an offensive roster filled with nobodies and castaways and journeymen and win the division with them? Can he take them to a Super Bowl? Does Bill have the same magic on defense he did in 2001 or whatever?

I think the short answer is no. I think the long answer is not yet.

We'll see. I just wish the football world were talking about something else.

And that's that for a Friday. I'll be back tomorrow with my Week 4 Game Power Rankings. Until then, hope you have a great weekend.