Sep 27, 20238 min read

Gridiron Talk: "That Stings"

When I said that each week gets noisier in the NFL, I'm not spittin' nonsense. Week 3 got loud! We got house raids; coaching disasters; and offensive warfare from the east-west and north-south. Straight electricity across the league- lets get electrocuted.

Dolphins put up the 4th 70-piece in NFL History in a historic day vs Denver:

Vikings drop to 0-3 after upsetting loss to the Chargers

Bengals get in the win column with MNF dub over the Rams

Cardinals stun the Cowboys in big time home win to secure 1st win

Bills and Chiefs both route on to 2-1

Bears Implode: DC resigns then team gets blown out by KC 10-41

Eagles; 49ers; and Dolphins are the last remaining undefeated squads

Stroud-Dell connection helps the Texans get their first dub... new duo cookin'?

Lions' youth continue to impress as Detroit roars past the Falcons at home

Wideouts went stat paddin' in Week 3:

The Lions are 2-1 for the first time since their last winning season in 2017 with a loud chunk of their roar coming from those rookie cubs. That rookie class everyone joked about is layin' down some early statements with impactful play in all layers of the game.

Brian Branch and Jack Campbell have been solidly progressing every game on defense thus far in the campaign for Detroit. Campbell is only playing in 42% of the snaps (86) on defense- I want to see that go up. For having a Base 4-3 defense, at least on record (ESPN...), the Lions have very odd personnel usage at linebacker. On-field signal caller Alex Anzalone is the only linebacker that has played in more than 65% of the defensive snaps for the Lions. Anzalone has played in over 95 percent- not sure if Aaron Glenn is switching between 3-4 and Base 4-3, or not. I will tune some focus on their defense in Week 4 to get some clearer understanding. Football Reference states they switched to the 3-4. Hmm.

When Campbell is in the game, he has played good. Sharper in coverage than most thought going into his rookie season as he holds a current 81.2 coverage rating (PFR). Campbell's tackling has been as advertised as he only has missed one tackle, posting 14 combined with a low 6.7 missed tackle percentage in his limited snaps. DC Aaron Glenn loves using him in the pass rush, something I hope continues just at a high clip: Campbell has been blitzed 6 times recording a sack and a QB hit showing extreme gap implosion and a sense for the backfield. Jack has the strength and explosiveness to cause serious damage to interior o-lines with Aidan Hutchinson rippin' up the outside. Give him so more reps and let the progression continue to blossom. The way you are with Mr. Branch.

Brian Branch has been in 79% of the snaps for that Detroit defense, and has TAKEN advantage of the reps. Expect that percentage to rise as Branch played in all 67 snaps in the win over the Falcons, punching out after an outstanding outing at the office. The cat was all over the field posting a game high 11 solo tackles- which was tied for the most across the league in Week 3 along with the Colts' LB Zaire Franklin. Branch became the first NFL DB with at least 10 tackles, three TFLs, and two PDs in a game since 1994. We see that Branch can be beat on routes, as most safeties/flex do at his size, but he has explosive pursuit to negate big gains, blossoming into a sure-fire tackler very early on for the Lions. Coach Campbell is lovin' his second-round pick:

The offensive rooks are layin' down some impact as well. To Lions fans, it seems like the team is being wary on how they utilize Jahmyr Gibbs by pacing his snaps to start his career. Gibbs saw his highest percentage against the Falcons (60%) in his first career start & first game being the featured back. Gibbs wasn't too shabby as he used 17 carries to rush for a solid 80 yards, with 34 yards coming after contact. We still are waiting for him to put together a crazy highlight play or a long touchdown run- but the more reps the more he will continue to get better. Sam LaPorta doesn't have any time to wait.

The tight-end has started two consecutive games and just had his first impactful outing in Week 3. LaPorta posted 8 receptions, 84 receiving yards; and his first career receiving touchdown in the win over Atlanta. LaPorta's 18 receptions are the most by a tight-end in his first three games in NFL history. Man, Lions fans gotta be pumped about this rookie class. The doubters? Not so much.

Lions youth gave off some good vibes, this next topic... the contrary. We are seeing some awful quarterback play across the league. Like awful. Luckily it has gotten better, especially concerning the elite and those that just got paid. If Joe Burrow had another treacherous game (still wasn't very good), then these four QBs may have went another week under the radar. Not the case. All four of you stink, and the stench is bad from a distance away.

Zach Wilson

Welp just like that, after two games, New York wants Zach Wilson's head. Not just the fans either... Jets players are sounding off on the disaster show at QB and in the coaching office. Robert Saleh; Nathaniel Hackett; and Zach Wilson will not win many games together. I just don't see any realistic chance of this thing being saved with those three doing the saving. That poor defense will lose a year off their potential.

The only chance the Jets have to salvage things remotely, is if they bring in a veteran; robotic; slinger to orchestrate the offense. Colt McCoy is a better option than continuing a project with Wilson. Nick Foles is a better option, sh**, even Brian Hoyer is a better option. Watching Zach Wilson play QB at this level makes your eyes hurt. Watching Saleh and Hackett force themselves to coach outside of the box is a hell of a lot worse.

Justin Fields

Justin Fields is officially doomed. The last hoorah is up Bears fans and Justin Fields enthusiasts. To make things brief: Fields will never work out under Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy. Justin was spot on by saying he's playing robotic in the offense to start the season. It's an understatement. Coaching plays a huge part at the pro level, I speak that time and time again. That doesn't make it 100% ok for Fields to rely on coaching in it's entirety.

Even with the bad offensive line, try and show that you have the IQ to get the ball out and make reads. Can't sit in the pocket and take negative yards time and time again. Field possession for the defense feels that impact which is why they got blown out by KC. It's a mess in Chicago and may bust out Justin Fields.

Ryan Tannehill

No one wants to talk about Ryan Tannehill and the disaster show at QB in Tennessee, huh? Tannehill needs the most smoke of this bunch. He is playing awful! Tannehill's 27.9 QBR ranks 32nd in the league behind Fields (21.0) and Z. Wilson (26.7). Tannehill has the 29th worst completion percentage among QBs and the 30th worst rating to go with his 1 to 3 touchdown/interception ratio. Tannehill was solid in the Titans' lone win in week 2 against the Chargers (blame Brandon Staley), but played horrendous in the two losses. Can't be havin' a 25.0 bad throw percentage if you want your team to find winning ways.

Desmond Ridder

I will try and keep things easy on Ridder, but at the end of the day he feels to be an anchor (not pillar) for the Falcons' plans of future success. Was Ridder efficient in the first two wins to start the year? Yes, he was. The Falcons need more. Having that play at QB can't work to a winning degree, at least a playoff winning degree. Ridder won't have the skill or stones to win a game in crunch time when you are forced to go away with strategy and pace. The Lions beat them to the punch in every matter in Week 3. When the plan wasn't working, they simply didn't have enough skill under center to make things happen to get the gameplan back in working ways. Brock Purdy and Desmond Ridder will have to win games when the system isn't working... can they?

The Bears organization is a dumpster fire and Sean Payton is pullin' a full out Nathaniel Hackett in Denver... see what I did there. Now we get to see both disasters square off against one another in Week 4.

Chicago is an absolute mess after a disaster Week 3 saw their defensive coordinator Alan Williams mysteriously resign after an alleged raid of his personal property with an on-the-field whoopin' from the Chiefs toppin' the cherry off up top. Matt Eberflus's defense is one of the worst in the league and what he and OC Luke Getsy have done with Fields and that offense is criminal. The Bears have now lost 13 games in a row. I don't think Eberflus will last much longer. He needs to go. The last time we saw a coach get fired before mid-season was when the Falcons gave Dan Quinn the can after a 0-5 start, as well as the Texans giving Bill O'Brien the can after a 0-4 start in 2020. Time for Eberflus to join the list.

Despite the house fire started by Eberflus in Chicago, I think the 0-3 Broncos and their staff is more embarrassing. Sean Payton will admit that karma is a mean b****. The Dolphins did Payton and his team so bad as they swam to a fifty point blowout of the Broncos posting the third highest point total in a game in NFL history. Things are starting to burn down in Denver as Sean Payton is chewin' his words. If they lose to the Bears... do we need flames lit on Sean Payton's seat? I think things are already a little to hot. That game is about to be something else...

Bad coaching is the theme after Week 3 it seems. Not sure how I finish up rippin' the likes of a Eberflus and Payton just to have a smellier name on the list of stink jobs. Sure enough- insert Brandon Staley.

People had the gull to claim this cat as a defensive mastermind last season, just for his team to blow a 27-0 lead versus the Jags in the playoffs last year and now allowing teams to score at will in 2023. The amount of boneheaded decisions Staley makes under the headset is unbearable to analyze. Week in and week out he leaves us with tidbits that leave us shakin' our heads. Staley amped up his game in the bonehead department with another masterclass against the Vikings.

Facing a 4th and 1 at the Chargers' own 24 up four with less than 2 minutes to play in regulation and the Vikings with one timeout- this dude went for a conversion & didn't convert. Stuffed at the sticks like someone stuffed his head. I am sick that the Chargers won, to be honest. I don't want Staley gettin' away with that level of stupidity!

Staley is becoming a parasite to the Chargers' potential and more importantly- a parasite for the potential of Justin Herbert. It will be criminal if Herbert loses years of his prime in the basement of losing due to lackluster coaching. This one will ring some ears: Justin Herbert is the new prime Matthew Stafford. Oh, I said it.

Week 3 Players of the Week:

Power Rankings after Week 3:

We got ourselves a neck and neck battle again in the NFL PIck Em competition. I eliminated that Week 1 misfire, making this a game going into Week 4. Current standings: