10 thoughts on the NFL: Davante Adams traded, next coach fired, MVP race

1) The New York Jets completed their Davante Adams trade to appease Aaron Rodgers and try to salvage their season. If possible, imagine my shocked face. This move was already planned before the end of the game last night, so it wasn’t as if Rodgers left the field throwing a tantrum to make it happen (or so we think). If the Jets don’t make the playoffs despite Adams, I wonder who Rodgers will blame.

Also, watching Hail Mary to Allen Lazard at the end of the half made me sick, but seeing Rodgers throw another INT at the end of the game made everything better. The best that can happen is that Rodgers wastes the rest of his career languishing with the Jets.

2) ManningCast, please make sure Bill Belichick is on the mic for every Jets MNF game. His ongoing petty war with this organization after firing it as head coach and then destroying it for two decades is generational hatred.

3) Who will be fired first: Doug Pederson of the Jacksonville Jaguars or Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys? Make your cases in the comments.

4) Jerry Jones is trash. It is cowardly to threaten radio presenters for asking him questions about his squad decisions – in a completely non-confrontational way, I might add. But that’s exactly what little men do when faced with responsibility. They try to puff up their chests and bully people with less authority. With him at the helm, may the Cowboys never win another playoff game.

5) I’m not saying Lamar Jackson should win back-to-back MVPs, but…this might be the best he’s ever played. He’s fifth in EPA+CPOE, third in PFF passing grade and is currently on pace for 4,300 passing yards while already having 403 yards on the ground. If he becomes the first player ever to surpass 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing, you might as well make it unanimous again.

6) I wish I could feel worse if Kevin Stefanski had to stand in front of people and lie about Deshaun Watson being the Cleveland Browns’ best chance to win. Watson’s failure will likely cost Stefanski his job, even though he tried everything possible to prevent this Hindenburg from crashing. But at some point you gotta rip the Band-Aid off, man. If you keep flaunting it and playing to everyone’s faces, in the end it’s on you.

7) After all the talk about how the New England Patriots could potentially start Drake Maye with this offensive line, the rookie’s 3-TD debut feels especially sweet. Sure, it wasn’t clean (2 INTs, lost fumble), but the young man looked like the real deal. The duel between Williams and Maye is officially underway and I hope it is as fun as planned.

8) This season I’m thinking about “bridge” QBs more than ever: Start with them first if you want to give your rookie QB some extra stamina if needed, but NEVER use a young QB in favor of a veteran like the Panthers did with Andy Dalton and Bryce Young. You may benefit immediately from the vet knowing what he’s doing, but eventually this guy will show you why he’s not a rookie somewhere like Dalton. What then? Even though Bryce Young looked lost and probably needed some sort of reboot, benching him didn’t do anything.

9) Speaking of which, this previous scenario will be almost exactly what plays out if the Pittsburgh Steelers target Russell Wilson instead of Justin Fields this week. People who think Russ can still cook like he did in 2014 might get a short-term improvement in proficiency that they haven’t seen from Fields in the last few weeks, only to end up with the same undercooked, salmonella-infused mess Wilson has served up the last three seasons.

10) Caleb Williams plays for the Chicago Bears and is doing really well. That’s it.