What We Learned in the First Month of the NFL Season
October 3, 2017
Well, we are one month into the 2017 NFL season, and there have been some surprises. The Bills once again celebrated September, and new Head Coach Sean McDermott has them in first place atop the AFC East. Even the Jets have managed to be at 2-2 with everyone thinking they would tank the season to land a top QB in the draft such as USC’s Sam Darnold or UCLA’s Josh Rosen. Teams such as the Patriots, Dolphins, and the Ravens have had rough starts, with one week’s performance of great play followed by horrible play the next. The year isn’t gone if you are a Browns, Bears, or Giants fan, but I would hope for a win in the next week or two if I were you.
The Chiefs could win a Super Bowl:
Kareem Hunt was already on my radar, and I told you a few weeks ago that he was the real deal. After last night’s performance (21 rushing attempts for 101 yards) Hunt is well on his way for Rookie of the Year. Now I have never been a huge Andy Reid fan with his mismanaging of the clock or how he couldn’t get the Eagles over the hump with those great teams in the early 2000s. I don’t trust him in the playoffs, but at the rate Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt are going, this Chiefs team can host the Patriots, Broncos, or Steelers, and get their flight arrangements ready for Minnesota in February.
The LA Rams figured it out:
The Rams were awful last year, and that’s no hot take. However, this year, in his second year, QB Jared Goff is starting to figure it out. In 4 games, Goff has a completion percentage of nearly 67%, thrown 7 TDs to 1 interception and has a QB rating of 112.2. Todd Gurley has returned to form, with 4 TDs on the ground, 3 receiving after an abysmal 2016 campaign. New Head Coach Sean McVay came over from Washington, and has helped groom Goff into the QB the Rams drafted for their long-term future last May. The real surprise has been their defense, with Aaron Donald holding out all training camp, and Wade Phillips once again showing his wisdom on the defensive side of the ball. I look for the Rams to give the Seahawks some trouble down the stretch, and push for a Wild Card spot come January.
The Raiders are going NOWHERE without Derek Carr:
Derek Carr was injured during Sunday’s loss at the Broncos, and will be out anywhere from 2-6 weeks. He sustained the same injury that Tony Romo suffered last year that opened up Dak Prescott’s opportunity, and there is no Dak in Oakland for the Raiders to fall back on. Enter E.J. Manual. The 5th year QB out of Florida State saw little success in his 4 years with the Bills, and landed the backup job for the Silver and Black, and probably was content with being Carr’s backup. Nope. Now Manual has to face a tough stretch of defenses that include top team defenses: Ravens (15), Chargers (23), Chiefs (11), Bills (1), Dolphins (2), and then their week 10 Bye before Carr hopefully returns to play the Patriots in Mexico City on November 19. Look, the Raiders still have weapons like Crabtree, Cooper, and even Beast Mode, but their 14th ranked defense cannot sustain an injury to their team like Carr and survive. I look for the Raiders to be out of the playoff race by Thanksgiving, unless Khalil Mack and the defense can hold teams to under 17 points per game (allowing 19.75 pts/game now).
Written by David Chase