Each week, James Lofton tells you about the teams, players and trends that are on the way out and those that are on the way up.Out: New offenses in Baltimore and New York. Did Gary Kubiak really mean to have Joe Flacco throw 62 times? And let’s not beat a dead horse while its already down, but that Giants offense… well, the less said the better.
Up! Flags in pockets instead of on the field. I don’t need the official count of how many flags were thrown to know that the games I saw sure passed the eyeball test. Listen, I know your team got flagged more than it should have, but it certainly felt like real football.
Out: Stay out of the 0-2 hole if you plan to be a Super Bowl contender! The last team to do it was Jimmy Johnson’s 1993 Dallas Cowboys. The Pokes were without Emmitt Smith in weeks 1 and 2 as he held out for more dough. After he returned, it was smooth sailing to a repeat victory over the Bills.
Up! Sharing! I called the Sunday Night game between the Colts and Broncos and the Monday Night game between the Chargers and the Cardinals. I noticed that Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning must’ve been sharing a pair of gloves. Rivers wore a glove on his left hand and he sent the right-handed glove to his best bud Peyton. Now, if we could just get some of those guys with the long dreads to share with their follically challenged bothers, we’d have something special.
Out: The NFC Least… sorry, East. The Cowboys, Giants and Redskins got beat by an average of slightly more than two touchdowns. And it looked worse than that. The East’s only winner was the Eagles, and they went to the locker room at halftime down 17-0. Credit to Chip Kelly’s team for their 34-point second half, but still. Time to step it up!
Up! Price Tags! $100 million for J.J. Watt and it feels like a bargain. Who knew? And how about those Bills staying put in Buffalo? Not sure how anyone could say no to Terry Pegula after he stepped to the bargaining table with somewhere between 11 and 14 J.J. Watts (assuming “J.J. Watt”, like “Benjamin” before it, becomes NFL slang for $100 million).
– James Lofton
Pro Football Hall of Famer James Lofton is the analyst for Westwood One’s coverage of Sunday Night Football.
