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walkonwalkonwithhopeinyourheart · 5 years ago

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[OC] A quick scouting report on our new signing - Takumi Minamino via /r/LiverpoolFC

[OC] A quick scouting report on our new signing - Takumi Minamino

I want to preface by saying that it took me some time to actually find time to write this quick scouting report lol but to also watch several matches because I wanted to put something out that is accurate. Its actually really hard to find videos and statistics of Minamino's because the Austrian Bundesliga actually don't even track advanced stats aside from goals and assists. Of course I'm not an expert or anything so take everything with a grain of salt.

Positional Fit

I guess we should start with just exactly how he will fit with our team. I've seen a quite few questions asking about exactly what position he will play etc.

This season so far, Salzburg has lined up in a 4-4-2 diamond, flat 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1, and a 5-3-2. And in each of these lineups, Minamino has lined up as a RM/RW, CM and a traditional number 10 who plays right underneath the striker.

Minamino's versatility is a big plus because looking at the system we play in, he's able to slot in a variety of positions. In our bread and butter, 4-3-3, he can slot in as a CM or in the wing positions. When we switch to a 4-2-3-1 at times during a match, he can slot in as the CAM or RM. In a 4-4-2, he fits perfectly as a RM/RW.

I would like to point out that although technically he never played as a LM/LW, imo I think this is a position he is able to play as well. Salzburg never used him in that position because of Szobalszlai who is a strictly LM so it forced Mina to play more in the centre or right. However, during matches you will see that Minamino really can roam anywhere in Salzburg's system and can do the same for us.

Obviously no one really expects him to be a starter for us and I'm sure thats something he considered and is okay with too. With the sheer amount of matches we're playing this season, combined with our ambitions to win everyone of them - there will be plenty of matches in which he comes on a substitutue and matches where he can start.

Can he play as a false nine?

This is a common question and notion that I see often in this sub, and imo I'm not sure whether he can or cannot. On one hand, he has certain qualities that can help him excel in that role (which I will mention a little later) but I also feel like the false nine role is such a unique position that you cant just put a good midfielder in and expect him to excel. Bobby's hold up play, underrated strength and absurd IQ is really hard to replicate. But I'm not here to act like Ik everything so thats something we'll have to see in the season but I do have my reservations.

Strengths

Home vs Liverpool

Away vs Genk

Away vs Napoli

These are just the three last UCL games he's played in and his respective heatmaps for each. If a player is going to excel on this team, before any technical ability, before any skills or goals; the work-rate, the engine must be there and Minamino has it.

He is quite literally all over the pitch and watching him on film, he runs around like an animal pressing and harrying players. He averages 2.5 interceptions per 90 for Salzburg and tt helps that Salzburg is a team that emphasizes a lot of high pressure and quick counter-attack play which Minamino has been excelling in.

On a technical level, he really is exceptional. His touch, passing, and shooting is incredibly sharp and crisp. What I love about him the most is how tidy in possession he is,he has incredibly quick feet and reflexes, almost like the ball is glued to him. Here's a couple of more to enjoy.

Sure, he's skilled and has tekkers but what makes a skilled player an actually good player is vision and IQ. The ability to see space and openings just a half second before the defense can react and it's one of Minamino's biggest strengths. With the quality of forwards we have, its going to be a joy to watch passes like these Man there's so many more but you guys can look at it yourself on Youtube or something. I must say his half-turns are fucking orgasmic. Reminds me so much of Lallana's half turns, I swear they look identical when performing them.

Minamino's quick touches, great link-up play and clever one-two passing along with his ability to put in an accurate cross now and then is extremely valuable in games when we have to break down a Burnley, for example.

And although I hate using assists and goals as a measure of goal output, its worth mentioning that he has scored or assisted a goal every 115 minutes for Salzburg. What that does show me is how intelligent and involved he is in a team's scoring output.

What is often underlooked is how intelligent his runs are and how underrated his off the ball movement is. Now these runs don't always lead to a goal or assist, they seldom do but it puts the defense in a difficult position and opens up spaces for the likes of Haaland and Hwang Salah and Mane.

Weaknesses

It was quite hard to pinpoint any specific weaknesses in his game to be honest, From watching a lot of Asian football, what I notice in Asian footballers is when it comes to the technical aspect of the game, they're very exceptional.

Of course, you have to question if he can handle the transition to the PL. Playing in a much more physical league with less time on the ball and pose some problems for the 5'8, slight build Minamino. But we've seen similar players with that size excel.

Verdict

7.5 million for a player of his quality is more than a steal. Considering he came at that price and the quality that he will bring to our squad is truly amazing. He will bring the necessary depth to a team that will be hounded with fixtures and more than that he brings quality depth.

I think he'll be a great rotational piece and might even play a bigger role in seasons to come if Lallana/Shaqiri depart the club. As a fan I'm super excited because he's a joy to watch but I'm sure Minamino himself is very excited. Klopp can take his game to the next level as evident by similar players to Minamino such as Kagawa and Lallana.

TL;DR: Minamino good.

Submitted December 13, 2019 at 05:25AM by deadassynwa via reddit https://ift.tt/34mf6Fr

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ecoorganic · 4 years ago

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MAQB: The Cost of Extended Training for NFL Combine; How 'Hard Knocks' Will Look This Season

News and notes from around the NFL, including how trainers are preparing for extended combine prep for players opting out of the 2020 season, what we can expect from this season's 'Hard Knocks,' how Joey Bosa's big payday could help his brother and more.

Real football practices get started this week. Let’s go …

• To me, part of the issue opt-out guys face is purely financial. Normally, it’d cost an agent upwards around $30,000 to get a player housed, fed and trained in the eight weeks leading into the scouting combine—a cost that’s gone up over the years and become increasingly vital to any player’s pre-draft process. Now, rather than eight weeks, we’re talking seven months. So I decided to turn over some rocks on this Monday, and called Pete Bommarito, who owns Bommarito Performance Systems in South Florida, as part of that.

He’s been training athletes for the combine since 2000, and doing it through his own company since 2005. And as such, the last couple weeks have been crazy for him as kids have explored opting out of their college seasons (Miami DE Gregory Rousseau told us in

this morning’s MMQB that he’ll be working out there going forward).

“We’ve already started our draft prep,” Bommarito said this afternoon. “It’s very simple, we’ve got a number of NFL free agents working, we had four going at a time last week. And with the draft prep guys, we’ll just run them with those guys. We’ve been prepared for something like this.”

So how does it work? Bommarito’s plans for the players are intricate but the idea on this is pretty simple. The opt-outs would go into training with the free agents, working half-days three days a week, and full days two days a week, from now until Christmas. After that, they’d move into the normal draft prep, leading into All-Star games and the combine (their days at that point can last 10-12 hours).

As for the cost, Bommarito says that of the aforementioned $30,000, training a player for two months for the combine runs around $15,000-$16,000. In this case, Bommarito said, the standard for training, given the slower ramp-up and longer duration, would cost around $5,000 per month. That, of course, is before you get to housing, a rental car and stipend, which are generally a part of the package agents offer players.

Bottom line: This will get costly for agents, and might not be cost-effective once you get beyond the elite kids.

Also worth mentioning: A lot of trainers are courting agents, the same agents who have been in the ears of college players the last few weeks. XPE Sports sent a plan to agents that broke its program into General Prep/Foundational Movement (Oct. 5-Nov. 13), Speed/Position training (Nov. 30-Dec. 22) ahead of combine prep, with breaks for Thanksgiving and Christmas worked in. EXOS gave agents an even more detailed plan (that one’s below), with four periods (Sept. 7-Oct. 2, Oct. 5-30, Nov. 2-21, Nov. 30-Dec.) before combine prep.

Clearly, a lot of people were ready for this.

• Had a good talk on Monday with NFL Films supervising producer Ken Rodgers, as he worked through tomorrow night’s premiere of Hard Knocks: Los Angeles, which will be a very different Hard Knocks than what you’re used to. For one, it’ll feature two teams. And obviously, the circumstances under which it’ll be staged are very different.

“Practices look different, the locker rooms are different, how they arrive to camp, the testing, everything’s different,” said Rodgers. “We’ve got the video and a look inside that’s deeper than anyone’s seen. There’ll be more intimacy than anyone’s seen inside a COVID-safe environment in any workplace in America. It’s really not just a story of the Chargers or the Rams, this is a story of an American workplace trying to get back to productivity.

“To me, it’s a document of its time.”

Of course, there are also limits. Rodgers said in a normal year, a crew of around 45 NFL Films folks would flood the Hard Knocks site. This year after negotiations with the league and NFLPA, the limit is 13 and those 13 have to stay six feet away from players and coaches at all times, which, says Rodgers, “is completely different for us.” That’s meant, for example, longer lenses and the elimination of wide lenses.

And it will mean a different show than you’re used to. How? Well, we got to that with our questions for Rodgers. Here’s more:

MMQB: How will tomorrow look different for the viewer?

Rodgers: I don’t think the product will look that different. Our focus has been to keep quality just as high. I do think the camps look extremely different. So the process looks different, if not the product. Everything at these two camps looks different this year.… It is fascinating to see how these two teams are dealing with it on a day-to-day basis. Everything is different in terms of what you’re gonna see, but I think the filmmaking, to our crew’s credit, has changed technologically, you’ll see a lot more Zoom meetings, robotic camera footage, rather than actual camera operators, but the actual quality is the same.

MMQB: So you have the same number of robo cams (12) in each facility, but are you using those more than normal because of the limits?

KR: I’d say probably the same. The addition is the Zoom meetings that we are a part of, we’re recording those. They’re actually having less meetings in the robo-filmed rooms than usual. So yes, we’re actually using them more, but they’re having less of them, so it evens out. Then in addition to that, we’re filming all these Zoom meetings, so the net gain is humongous. Between robos and Zooms, we’re leaning much more heavily on robotic-operated or Zoom-operated cameras than human-operated cameras.

MMQB: Do you guys feel pressure, given the historic nature of this?

KR: I do feel a sense of history being captured. I can sense NFL Films producers of future years watching this footage as we’re capturing it, because I experienced the same thing as a young producer watching the footage of the 1970s that was captured before I was born. I can imagine future generations of NFL Films producers who didn’t live through this crazy, upside-down football season, and this crazy upside-down year in America not really understanding what it was like. And feeling a little bit of retrospective pride that we captured it the right way, and as fully as we are capturing it.

MMQB: Has this made the relationship with the teams more vital to getting it done?

KR: Not at this point. I gotta be honest, it took trust on behalf of the players union and the teams at the beginning of the process, that we were gonna go about our business the same way the players were. So we are undergoing testing every day, we’re wearing the tracing bracelets just like the players are, we are not going out to dinner, we’re not having guests visit, our crew’s not hanging out together in hotel rooms. We’re undergoing the same protocols the players are, and once they understood that, the trust level was there. That was what was required to gain that trust.

• Interesting to see the Patriots sign ex-Texans RB Lamar Miller. There was some concern in Houston that the torn ACL he suffered last August would rob him of some of his explosiveness at 29 years old. But the sense I’ve gotten is that Houston didn’t believe he was shot pre-injury, and people there think he can still be a quality depth option for a good team. That said, it’s tough for New England to have to go this well having spent first- and third-round picks (Sony Michel, Damien Harris) on the position over the last two years, while also having vets James White and Rex Burkhead on the roster.

• This today from Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, on the season ahead for his college scouts: “As far as our scouting staff goes I think we’re kind of prepared on a number of different fronts to attack this. But I think we have to be very flexible, too, because things will change and we’re going to prepare. There’s going to be a draft, we’re going to have to acquire players, so we’re just going to have to do it a few different ways.”

One very common refrain I’ve heard from people on that side of the business the last month is that teams with well-connected scouts are going to be at a huge advantage this fall. And that makes sense. With school visits unlikely to be allowed even if there is a college season, a scout’s ability to get people on the phone and get reliable information will be paramount. Which honestly is sort of like how journalism has been the last few months. Your Rolodex is always important, and even more so now.

• I’d say ex-Patriot/ex-Titan CB Logan Ryan overplayed his hand a little in the spring, in holding firm on his expectation of getting into eight figures for 2020. That said, if I’m a team that needs secondary help now, Ryan makes a ton of sense. He’s a great team guy and brings corner/safety flexibility, not to mention a ton of big-game experience.

• One fun leftover from my conversation with Joey Bosa (as seen in MMQB)—I did ask if he thought about how his payday may have helped his brother Nick financially. “Oh yeah, and I think he’s gonna far surpass it when the time comes because that’s the kind of player that he is, and not only him but every great young d-end that comes into the league now is gonna have a bar to get to and to surpass,” Bosa said. “I’m sure it’s gonna be passed up pretty soon here. But just to do that for my brother, I mean, I can’t say enough about the player he is and the person he is, how hard he works. He’s gonna deserve every single penny he gets.” And as for how he got word over to Nick, here’s that story: “He was playing his video games, so he had to run the headset on, headset off, and he was looking at me with this face. Like, ho-lee s---. But we were all waiting on it, and he couldn’t have been happier. Calling everybody and seeing the giant smiles they had on their faces, for me, it just means more than any dollar amount. And I think in his head, he’s thinking, ‘Oh, what am I gonna get?’” Health-permitting, Nick Bosa will get a lot.

• This tweet from Joe Burrow was the one for me …

He’s overstating it a little, but I can look back at my notes from last summer and see that he was seen as no better than a third- or fourth-round pick going into the 2019 season. So if he hadn’t had the 2019 season, that’s what he would’ve been. Or he’d have had to try and get a sixth year of eligibility. Either way, that’s a pretty good window into some of the collateral damage if the college season is called off.

• Ravens LT Ronnie Stanley told the Baltimore media Monday that his contract situation is “not really in the forefront of my mind.” But it should be for the Ravens, who’ve helped develop Stanley into a top-five player at his position, and an essential piece of Lamar Jackson’s supporting cast. His draft classmate Laremy Tunsil got $22 million per year. It’s fair to think Stanley’s worth that much, too.

• We gave you the updated numbers on COVID-19 lists in the MMQB, and Monday was another good day in that regard. League-wide, one player went on the list (Titans LB Josh Smith) and one came off of it (Vikings LB Cameron Smith). Overall, that’s a good day.

• If Derrius Guice did what he’s alleged to have done, his NFL career should be over. The details, if you haven’t seen them, are horrible.

• Question or comment? Email us.

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deadcactuswalking · 5 years ago

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17th November 2019

Three consecutive weeks and we get eight, seven and now NINE new arrivals! This week isn’t even an album bomb week, either. I’d say I fully expect the charts to cool down and for Christmas music to start coming back but I have no idea. I’ve predicted a slow week for two weeks in a row and I’ve just been greeted with more and more nonsense coming at me, so I’m not even going to try and speculate here.

Top 10

The top five often doesn’t reflect that movement within the charts, and this week is no exception as everything in the top four hasn’t moved, and for a sixth week, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I is at the #1 spot.

I expected “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa to drop off after the debut but surprisingly, it held on, showing a lot of initial longevity here at number-two, the runner-up spot, although I could very much see this grabbing the #1.

“Ride It” by Regard featuring Jay Sean is still at number-three this week.

Also not moving at number-four is “South of the Border” by Ed Sheeran featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B.

At number-five, we actually have a new arrival and our biggest of nine debuts this week, J Hus’ “Must Be”, his lead single from an upcoming project, album, mixtape, what have you. It’s his first solo single since he was released from prison in April this year, and we’ll talk more about Hus and his music later, but just for now, it’s his eighth UK Top 40 hit and it’s pretty great.

Now, there is some impact of this important top-five debut of course, although “Memories” by Maroon 5 climbing up two spots to number-six is a direct result of J Hus’ high new arrival.

The real impact is seen within the rest of the top 10, as “Circles” by Post Malone is down two spaces to number-seven.

Also down two spaces to number-eight is “Lose You to Love Me” by Selena Gomez, which is falling off a tad quicker than I thought, although it could easily rebound.

Lizzo’s “Good as Hell” featuring Ariana Grande is also down two spots to number-nine.

Meanwhile, at #10, Lewis Capaldi’s “Bruises” is dropping down one space to the final spot here, but not near fast enough.

Climbers

Unless you’re a diehard fan of “The Last Time” by the Script (which is up six positions to #32 off of the album release, which should actually be incredibly disappointing for the band), there’s nothing to speak of here.

Fallers

Fallers on the other hand... well, it’s been a while since we’ve done this. Let’s split it into two vague genre sections: pop, rock and EDM vs. Hip-hop and R&B. First, let’s focus on the first section, as “Lights Up” by Harry Styles is down seven to #23, “God is a Dancer” by Tiesto and Mabel is down six to #26, “Liar” by Camila Cabello is down five to #29, “Post Malone” by Sam Feldt featuring RANI is down nine to #30 (Thankfully), “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi is down six but I have no idea how it’s still on this bloody chart anyway and “10,000 Hours” by Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber flops down six spaces to #35. None of these drops are exactly disastrous for the artists here, although the drops for “10,000 Hours” and “Lights Up” seem worryingly premature. In terms of hip-hop and R&B, we have “Be Honest” by Jorja Smith and Burna Boy finishing its run down eight to #25, “Follow God” by Kanye West flailing down 12 spots to #27 whilst it’s not even Top 40 in the US, “Tell Me” by Krept & Konan featuring D-Block Europe and Ling Hussle down 14 off of the debut to #37, “Take Me Back to London” by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy and remixed by Sir Spyro featuring Aitch and Jaykae down five to #38 (Typing that each time takes about 20% of my overall writing time), and finally, “Floss” by AJ Tracey featuring MoStack and Not3s is down 12 spaces to #39.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

There are no returning entries, and honestly none of these drop-outs are ones I’m worried about or unfortunate drop-outs, because none of these songs are really worth mentioning. Let’s cover these in order of how little I care for them. “Orphans” by Coldplay, dropping out from #32, is a great lead single yet it’ll definitely rebound next week as the album Everyday Life is released, “Kiss and Tell” by AJ Tracey and Skepta is the only one here that really worries me as it’s out from the debut at #31 (It could still rebound, but perhaps this just isn’t catching on), “Higher Love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston is okay but it did have a respectable run before dropping out from #34, “G Love” by Krept & Konan featuring Wizkid dropped out from #28 but that song doesn’t exist anyway, neither does “Graveyard” by Halsey out from #40 for that matter. “Break Up Bye Bye” by the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK (Specifically the... Frock Destroyers?) featuring uncredited vocals from Perrie Edwards is out from #35 as expected since the season’s finished, “Look at Her Now” by Selena Gomez monotonously hums its way out of the charts from #39, as does the regrettable “Playing Games” by Summer Walker out from #36, and finally, we have the detestable “Thumb” by M Huncho and Nafe Smallz out off of the debut at #30. I’m frankly kind of disgusted we ever let this chart in the first place.

NEW ARRIVALS

#40 – “Better Half of Me” – Tom Walker

Produced by Cam Blackwood and Mark Ralph

We all know singer-songwriter Tom Walker at this point. His debut album, What a Time to be Alive, went #1 and already produced two singles: “You and I” and “Leave a Light On”, both of which are inoffensive, boring guitar-pop fluff. This is his third UK Top 40 hit from this record and I’m not expecting anything close to any good or God forbid interesting from it... and, yeah, I’m right. The song’s a guitar ballad with Tom Walker singing in his nasal voice over some generic instrumental with piano and guitar with no attempt to even make it sound rich. The whole mix sounds really cheap, especially the transition from the pre-chorus into the chorus. Speaking of the chorus, Jesus Christ, Tom, have you been listening to Lewis Capaldi? It’s almost funny how Tom puts so much force into that part and it feels like a really inorganic warble and just sounds pretty gross overall. The lyrics are pretty sweet sometimes, though, I especially like the first verse. Otherwise, yeah, this is boring, milquetoast trash.

#36 – “Pump it Up” – Endor

Produced by Endor

Who’s Endor, you wonder? Well, I was wondering that too, so I looked it up and I found that Endor is a fictional moon in the Star Wars universe, known for its endless forests, savannahs, mountain ranges, and a few oceans. Okay, no, I’m kidding, obviously, but this dude seems pretty obscure, he wasn’t even on my first page of results for the term “Endor”. He’s not from Star Wars, he’s not from the Hebrew Bible, and he’s not a nation from Dragon Quest either. He’s a British house DJ who’s been releasing stuff since 2015 and became a self-proclaimed “Champion of the underground” before finally breaking out in the mainstream with this single released September this year on Defected Records, obviously his first UK Top 40 hit, and I mean it can’t be that bad if he’s latched on for so long with an underground fanbase. I mean, Skream likes him, and I like Skream, so it can’t be that bad.

Well, that wasn’t Skream, but it was interesting. It starts with some crowd cheering and the main hook coming in, which is delivered in a fun way (It kind of has to be, it’s just “Pump it up, you’ve got to pump it up, don’t you know?” for two and a half minutes), before the drums and the keys come in, and then the bass, and slowly it becomes a pretty fun, vibrant banger, with a pretty anti-climactic first drop but the way the 808 (or in this case, possibly 909) is modulated here is especially cool, and I love the cheesy Eurodance synths in the drop as well, and the second drop has a cool glitchy effect I really like. This isn’t bad at all, in fact I’d argue it’s pretty good house, it’s just that I wish there was more stakes here, because it just feels weak and at times empty.

#34 – “Gangsta” – Darkoo and One Acen

Produced by AJProductions

Okay, well, I’ve actually briefly heard this song on the radio, but I don’t know who Darkoo is, so naturally, I had to do some research again, and I found out she’s a female singer and rapper in the same vein as her male contemporaries who makes UK trap or drill music (I can’t really tell the difference a lot of the time if there is one, to be honest). I can’t really find a great comparison off the top of my head to a rapper she resembles in the mainstream currently stylistically, but that shouldn’t matter. Darkoo blew up three months ago with the song “Rover” (or “Keys to My Rover”) and this is her big first UK Top 40 crossover single with One Acen, who we know from their collaborations with people like Hardy Caprio. I believe this is One Acen’s second UK Top 40 hit, though I might be missing one. The most important thing is: is the song any good? And well, it’s okay, but Darkoo doesn’t sound any different from her counterparts, female or male, and has very little character, but to be fair, she’s not exactly helped by this absolute crap guitar beat, with a clap that I’d like to ask a lot of questions, and chipmunk vocals echoing her lazy interpolation of “Strike a Pose” by Young T & Bugsey. Darkoo’s vocals have constant stuttering put onto them as well, while One Acen’s vocals are a lot smoother, and don’t sound bad at all, especially the start of the first verse, but I can’t pay attention to anything else when the beat is mixed this awfully that it’s genuinely giving me a headache! The bridge is pretty cool, especially the strings and the gang vocals that elevate it, but everything fades out afterwards and hence it just sticks out like a sore thumb. This outro sounds like someone put a piano beat’s MIDI through a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundfont.

#28 – “Don’t Rush” – Young T & Bugsey featuring Headie One

Produced by GRADES

And that’s all for anything resembling anything other than UK trap (Excluding another upcoming new arrival), as I guess the last song was kind of R&B. Young T & Bugsey are rappers I had a pretty uninteresting first impression with although I liked their second hit single, “Strike a Pose”, as that had a lot of energy and groove, and a pretty great feature from Aitch, who has yet to impress me since if I’m honest. Headie One is someone who I was also initially bored by, but he did win me over with “Both”, a banger I still listen to due to its menacing guitar line and gorgeous soul sample. This is Young T & Bugsey’s third UK Top 40 hit and Headie One’s fourth, and I’m actually expecting some quality here... and well, I have no idea what that 80s-sounding synth and guitar sample is in the intro, but if that’s original, then this producer needs more attention because that sounds fantastic. It just transitions into a pretty dull Afroswing beat though, with none of the groove that “Strike a Pose” had. In fact, this is just “Strike a Pose” again, but now Young T and Bugsey have separate verses instead of one shared verse, and there’s no humour to this one and just feels like a bunch of filler bars. Only one line made me laugh here and I’m not sure if it was even intentional or not, but on their last single, Aitch was hilarious, sure, but both Young T and Bugsey delivered some equally sleazy lines. Here, I’m just bored by everyone, and Young T sticks to one flow for his verse (For the most part). Bugsey shares his verse flow with his chorus, so the whole song just kind of meshes together. Bugsey introducing Headie One with the same grandiose synth riff that was in the intro is a pretty fun idea, but it’s not worth it because Headie One is boring too. At least it’s professionally mixed, which is better than most of the more B-list UK trap that charts in the second half of the top 40.

Edit: Nevermind lol the bass is clipping throughout the chorus. Also realised I never talked about the line that made me laugh. In the first verse, Young T might have interpolated MC Smally and if he hasn’t, he’s used the same inflection and that’s hilarious to me.

#24 – “ROXANNE” – Arizona Zervas

Produced by Jae Green and 94skrt – Peaked at #1 in New Zealand and #27 in the US

Now for our only diversion from UK rap, but still vaguely in hip hop, Arizona Zervas, an R&B singer-songwriter who was starting a humble career before suddenly, TikTok found this song and now he has a global hit single. His live shows are pretty prolific for such a new artist... I am a bit weary of Arizona Zervas being a bit of an industry plant because this song blowing up so quickly is all too convenient, especially considering he got the playlist placement within three weeks. I don’t know, and I don’t care, it’s his first UK Top 40 single. Is it any good? No. I listened to the whole song and just sat there thinking what I could talk about... which is nothing. I guess I like the splashes of guitar and the... oh, for God’s sake, whistling? Sigh, well, the lyrics are questionable at times, and the second verse is pretty obviously ripped off from somewhere, and the guy sounds whiny and infuriating. That glass breaking sound effect is pretty corny as well. Also, Drake did the “Shake and Bake” / Ricky Bobby joke nearly exactly 10 years ago, Zervas, and he didn’t sound nearly as gutless saying it... wow, Drake sounding tougher than you really is an insult. Sidenote, why is “BedRock” five gruelling minutes?

#18 – “Down Like That” – KSI featuring Rick Ross, Lil Baby and S-X

Produced by S-X

From here on out, we only have British hip hop to talk about and now this is a name I didn’t expect to see... YouTuber and semi-professional boxer KSI, who after winning against Logan Paul, stated he would be working more on his music (He said this in a Good Morning Britain interview with Piers Morgan, by the way) and I didn’t expect this so soon, but here it is. It’s not KSI’s first time charting, it’s actually his second UK Top 40 hit after “Lamborghini” peaked at #30 in 2015, but he seems to be taking music more seriously now and without all the nonsense diss tracks he released (most of which genuinely charted), as he’s got his highest-peaking single yet and some pretty high-profile features from Rick Ross and Lil Baby, as well as relatively unknown British rapper S-X, who also produces the track. It’s his first UK Top 40 hit, but Rick Ross has a lot more (The information for this on his discography page is messy, scattered and often non-existent so I’m not bringing up specific numbers) and it’s Lil Baby’s third. I’m not expecting anything great from these guys, but I’d like to be surprised.

I wasn’t. S-X sounds pretty flat against the menacing piano line, especially when he gets into the falsetto but this beat isn’t bad, especially with the distorted vocal sample, although the vocals here are typically pretty muddy, which is expected considering a YouTuber recorded them. KSI is the lead artist but he doesn’t really give much of an impression, although his Dragon Ball Z reference was a nice touch, I guess. Rick Ross comes in with ad-libs about being the biggest in the game, and I always love a M-M-Maybach Music tag but his verse but is non-existent. Lil Baby sounds confused and initially off-beat, with his flow ending up sounding pretty janky, as he also refers to Rick Ross as “the biggest” and his verse sounds like it abruptly stops mid-sentence. Somehow, KSI had the best verse here, as the American rappers didn’t really seem to know how to adapt. Good beat, though.

#15 – “Paper Cuts” – Dave

Produced by Ghosty

I’m tired of writing these introductions at this point, I have to write nine of them and explain everything and... ugh. Okay, this is Dave, we all know him if you read the series, he’s a UK rapper who’s very introspective and typically one of my favourites. This was marketed as the first time he would rap on a drill beat, which has me wondering how well he’ll fare on a track he didn’t actually produce (He usually does self-produce). It’s his first lead single since the #1 album, PSYCHODRAMA, and 15th UK Top 40 hit. I am a bit worried for the upcoming record though, if there is one, as he’s been keeping himself busy with pretty lacklustre features and a mediocre Top Boy soundtrack single. Regardless, is this new song any good? Well, Dave sounds pretty Dave here, talking about his past with his typical flow and contrived wordplay about Anakin from Star Wars and Red Bull, as well as an awfully misguided tangent about Megan Thee Stallion. Dave sounds really awkward here, which is odd as not only is this beat great and eerie but it’s also pretty much in his wheelhouse. This isn’t bad, but I feel there are people who could have made this a lot better and more organic or even just hyped up as the song as it is, it’s a slog and wildly uninteresting, despite only being three minutes. Good beat, though.

#13 – “Netflix & Chill” – Fredo

Produced by Kirk Beats

Fredo? Oh, come on, he’s one of the least interesting guys! Okay, well, he’s a UK rapper all the same and he can be pretty funny and wild when he wants to, like on his #1 hit, “Funky Friday”, with Dave, and even “So High” with MIST where MIST was just dead weight. Overall, I just find him okay most of the time, but it’s his seventh UK Top 40 hit and without any features, I doubt I’ll like this... and you know, maybe I’m wrong actually. This guitar line is pretty slick and the vocal samples are cute here, and the chorus is actually pretty fun with Fredo actually singing for once... although his vocals are awfully punched-in here. Jesus, that sounds unprofessional, but otherwise the trap beat is pretty cool, and his flow in the first verse is constantly switching and his style of casual, careless braggadocio is actually clicking with me here. His second verse is surprisingly long and despite him lazily repeating some of his bars throughout the verse, his bars can be pretty funny. The mixing is strange here, especially vocally, and I left this feeling conflicted if anything. Again – good beat, though.

#5 – “Must Be” – J Hus

Produced by JAE5

Finally, it’s the last song and probably the best one, to be honest, but I’ve already talked about the chart placements and all that nonsense, so let’s discuss the song – because it’s really freaking good! Okay, so perhaps some context here: J Hus is a pioneer of the genre ‘Afroswing’ and a pretty respectable rapper as well, although I personally didn’t like many tracks from his first and so far only studio album Common Sense. In June 2018, Hus was arrested for carrying a knife in Stratford and after changing his plea from not guilty to guilty, served eight months in jail. During this time, he would deliver a verse for Dave on “Disaster”, which is one of both rappers’ best songs. I think the most powerful statement I’ve heard from J Hus is when he was asked why he had a knife, because he responded, pretty simply, “You know, it’s Westfield”.

He was released on 5th April, 2019, to much rejoicing from his fanbase, the British rap community and his colleagues but since his release, he’s actually been pretty scarce – he made a guest appearance hours after release at a Drake show in London, and has done some features for Skepta, MoStack and... Ed Sheeran, but there hasn’t been any solo material until now. This is his massive comeback single, and, yeah, it’s great. Let’s talk about the lyrical subject matter here first and get that out of the way: J Hus is singing about paranoia and trauma he experiences now due to his time in prison and his roots in gang violence, giving him a tough exterior that isolates him from everyone else. Both the chorus and the end of the first verse sum it up pretty well.

If man slip, get up, dust yourself off / Everyone F off, yo

The second verse dives into being “Guilty by association” and with an incredible rhyme scheme, Hus mostly talks about how if someone dares even talk to his enemies, they will become an enemy, and how he doesn’t trust people anymore, but also interesting touches on how young black men struggle to fit into society without resorting to rapping or being a gang member, although he doesn’t do this in a serious manner, and is actually pretty humorous wordplay and just general turn of phrase.

I think he’s an opp, but I need confirmation

All that doesn’t matter if it’s not delivered well... and of course it is, with that groovy bassline and synth embellishes in the intro thanks to JAE5, and a funky trap beat with cute pitch-shifted chipmunk samples and a freaking sax loop just coming in whenever it wants to. In fact, the instrumental feels pretty frantic initially, but the second half of the first verse is just beautiful. After the epic drum fill, some grandiose, sweet-sounding synths come in and it’s just gorgeous. J Hus has a lot of charisma even if he tends to mumble in the first verse, but his voice is just so sonically pleasing to me, man, I could listen to him all day. Well, this is miles ahead of the rest of the rap here, and that outro with the string composition in the background might be one of my favourite musical moments of the year. Welcome back, J Hus. Glad to have you back.

Conclusion

Well, it should be obvious that J Hus is taking Best of the Week for “Must Be”, with Honourable Mention probably going to Endor for “Pump it Up”, although it isn’t that great. Dishonourable Mention goes to Tom Walker for just being boring with “Better Half of Me”, but I think Arizona Zervas is taking Worst of the Week for the sappy, gross “ROXANNE”. I don’t even want to try and make sense of what’ll happen next week. Interestingly, we’re going into the Christmas season with a lot of hip-hop on the chart, although we know most of this won’t survive the Winter and... well, you know what happens in Winter. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and I’ll see you next week!

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jasonfrompriceville-blog · 6 years ago

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Position Breakdown - WR / TE / HB

My purpose in all these preseason articles is to help you, the reader, become a better, more knowledgeable fan. One that balances passionate excitement and realistic expectations. I’ve tried to give a snapshot of who a player is, what he brings to the table, and what we can expect from him this season, in the context of his specific position group. I try to be positive, yet fair, and bold, but not hyperbolic. Maybe all this becomes infused into your conversations with friends, family and coworkers - even rival fans. Maybe you learn something. Maybe not.

For brevity’s sake, I’m not going player-by-player here. That would mean detailing a dozen or more guys and would involve a much higher ratio of opinions to facts. Instead, I’m going to single out a few players, talk about a couple units that may find themselves on the field at the same time and discuss realistic projections. This group is difficult to write about objectively, given their QB’s loftier-than-normal hype and their Head Coach’s dependence on the run game. The wide receiver unit in particular has immense talent and upside, but that’s been the story for several years now and there have yet to be results on par with their ability - and that’s going back 10 years or more, long before Gus took over. The tight ends under Gus have been largely nonexistent outside of roles as extra men on the line of scrimmage. And the only predictable position in this group, the halfback, is actually TOO predictable! As it’s been noted and seen on multiple broadcasts, he will often lead the opposing defense right to the football. So this will be a difficult article to wrap my brain around - but those are the most fun to write.

STARTERS

WR - Ryan Davis SR / Nate Craig-Myers JR / Darius Slayton JR

TE - Jalen Harris SR

HB - Chandler Cox SR

These are the names you’ll see most often on offense. Cox and Harris have been mainstays at their positions for a few seasons now, and offer a consistently high level of play inside their small role. Chandler Cox is a capable runner and pass-catcher, but opportunities are rare. He is also very close with QB Jarrett Stidham off the field, which has led to the term “security blanket” being used in regards to his comfort in the offense and the coaching staff’s level of comfort with him on the field. Jalen Harris has the least enviable position on the field, in my opinion, as he’s called on 90% of the time to block. He does his job very well, but one has to wonder what it would look like if we used our TE like most programs and actually threw him the ball occasionally. All signs point to that not being the case again this year.

This trio of starting receivers stacks up very favorably against the rest of the conference. Most publications say they’re between the 3rd and 6th best corps of pass-catchers in the SEC, and I tend to agree. Ryan Davis set an AU record for receptions last year with 84 and regularly turned screen passes into big gains or even 6 points. His impact should carry over into 2018. Nate Craig-Myers is one to keep an eye on. He has largely underwhelmed in his time on the Plains - after all he was at one point seen as the #1 WR in the country coming out of high school. His skill set leans more towards a short-yardage, chain-moving possession receiver, which has not been a facet of the offense since Darvin Adams and Cam Newton regularly hooked up on 3rd down for 6-10 yards a pop. That looks to change, based on comments from OC Chip Lindsey, and the middle of the field will be targeted much more frequently this season. Enter Craig-Myers and his thick frame and physical style of play. He can play a significant role in the offense. Lastly, Darius Slayton, the deep ball threat. It will be difficult to follow up last season’s 22 yards per catch, but who’s to say it’s impossible if the full playbook is opened up and all 3 levels of the field are utilized? Regardless, his role shouldn’t change very much. He’ll still be counted on to take the top off the defense and make contested catches down the sidelines.

NOTABLES

WR - Will Hastings SR / Eli Stove JR / Devin Barrett SO

WR / TE - Sal Canella JR

Both Hastings and Stove suffered torn ACLs in Spring Training, leaving little margin for further injury to the WR corps going forward. I’m happy to report, both are already participating in Fall Camp on a non-contact basis, and multiple sources have said they’re very pleased with their recovery time to this point. Both players are anticipated to return this season, but it’s unsure if it will be before October. Given that, I’ll simply say that they offer a lot to the Auburn offense in the way of explosive plays and mismatches, and we’ll need them back if we’re to contend for the SEC. Devin Barrett is another interesting case because he came to us as a RB and received limited playing time last year at RB, yet now finds himself split out wide operating in the same role as Eli Stove. He’s a little larger than Stove and a different style of athlete, but I can see him being successful at keeping that spot occupied until Stove recovers fully. Barrett was a highly-touted recruit and saw the field last season as a freshman, so the staff obviously wants to get the ball in his hands in some way. Sal Canella makes this portion of the list not due to his usage or stats from 2017, but because he was brought in from JUCO to occupy the middle of the field and redzone as a 6’5 230lb WR/TE hybrid. In limited snaps last season he recorded seemingly as many drops as catches, which ultimately led to him spending most games on the sidelines. I’ve read nothing that suggests he will be relied on heavily this season, but we sure could use his size and skill set more than we could use his brash attitude.

POTENTIALS

WR - Marquis McClain SO / Anthony Schwartz FR

TE / HB - Harold Joiner FR

Marquis McClain is built about like Ivan Drago from Rocky, but runs routes like him, too. Many have circled him as a breakout player, but he’s still too raw to make an impact on this season’s campaign. He’s drawn comparisons to Sammie Coates, but it may not be until 2019 that we get to see it. Anthony Schwartz makes this list as a true freshman because he recently won the silver medal in the World U-19 100M dash. That’s right, the 2nd fastest man in the world under the age of 19 plays football at Auburn University - and he actually had a faster time in the qualifying heats than in the final. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out that he needs to get the ball occasionally just to see what happens. It will need to happen early, because he plans to train for and compete in the 2020 Olympics. We’ll need to get him involved before those distractions crowd out his footballing focus. Lastly, the freshman I’m most intrigued by: Harold Joiner. At 6’3 220, he looks more physically imposing than his highlight tape would suggest, but he has elite talent and soft hands. Many have compared his frame to the recent Ole Miss TE Evan Engram who’s now enjoying the NFL game. I believe he could represent a mismatch for opposing defenses if used properly, even in 2019. I won’t hold my breath, though.

SUMMARY

A lot will be expected from this group, given their experience and talent as well as the hype around their teammate at QB. As 2017 wore on, the playbook grew and Stidham was allowed more control, leading to a more balanced and effective passing game. I expect that momentum to continue on into 2018. The offensive line tasked with keeping this passing attack humming will likely need the first month to truly gel, so expect a lot of quick, short passes that act as extended handoffs to get the big uglies into the flow of the game. We also can expect to see the intermediate passing game improve as Stidham has demonstrated that he has the arm strength and anticipation to fit passes into the tighter windows found near the chains.

There are no more excuses. The roster is loaded at this position, and every unique role for a WR in the Malzahn offense is now accounted for. The QB is in place and the OC has the ability to call plays unhindered. We can safely expect that this group of players produces explosive plays and tons of points in 2018. I believe there’s a 1000-yard receiver on this team for the first time in Malzahn’s tenure. Time to see who wants to be the one to ring that bell.

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yahoo-shutdown-corner-blog · 7 years ago

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NFL Power Rankings: How high can surprising Saints climb?

yahoo

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton noted something Monday that resonated. During his team’s five-game winning streak, the Saints have won in some various ways.

“That’s been encouraging,” Payton said.

For the past few years, the Saints had just one path to win. Drew Brees had to do it all. Brees is undeniably great, but more often than not he couldn’t drag his team to wins. New Orleans has had three 7-9 seasons in a row. It was frustrating. Payton and Brees are one of the best coach-quarterback combinations in the NFL, and they hadn’t had a winning record since 2013.

This season, the Saints are probably the best team you haven’t heard enough about. Maybe they were under the radar because preseason expectations were low. Perhaps you tuned them out after an 0-2 start. It’s possible you don’t believe their defensive surge is real. But they’re 5-2 and if they can keep playing this way on both sides of the ball, they’re a contender in the NFC.

The Saints’ defense has been one of the best in the NFL for its last five games. Yes, that sentence seems strange, but it’s true. Now the caveats: The schedule hasn’t been that tough, and it’s not like the first two games didn’t happen. Against Minnesota and New England, the Saints allowed a 141.4 passer rating and nearly 400 passing yards per game. Then it totally changed in Week 3 and hasn’t stopped.

Here are the opponents, quarterbacks and their passer rating against the Saints during their five-game winning streak (their bye was Week 5):

Week 3, at Carolina, Cam Newton: 43.7 Week 4, vs. Miami (in London), Jay Cutler: 71.1 Week 6, vs. Detroit, Matthew Stafford: 62.3 Week 7, at Green Bay, Brett Hundley: 39.9 Week 8, vs. Chicago, Mitchell Trubisky: 46.9

Three of those games were pretty friendly for a defense. Cutler has been bad coming out of retirement, Hundley was making his first career start and Trubisky is a rookie who had completed 12 passes in his previous two games combined. Then again, Newton is a former NFL MVP and Stafford is obviously capable. Newton hadn’t posted a rating that low since Oct. 30, 2014. Stafford hasn’t had a rating of less than 80 in any other game this season.

The Saints caught some breaks on the schedule but it’s undeniable that since those first two games, they’re shutting down whoever they’re playing. This is a fairly young team, especially on defense, and the Saints’ confidence is growing.

Cornerback Marshon Lattimore will start to get some defensive rookie of the year buzz. One cornerback can’t transform an entire defense, but it helps. Lattimore has played at a high level all season and has been the biggest difference in this surge. He closed out a 20-12 win with an interception with less than 1:30 left. In previous years, if the Saints’ offense scored just 20 points they had no chance. From a 17-13 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 21, 2013 through Week 2 of this season, the Saints were 1-19 in games in which they scored 20 or fewer points. In this five-game winning streak, they’ve won twice scoring 20 points. This is a different Saints team. It’s not just Lattimore either. Their secondary is much improved and they’re more disruptive up front, led by defensive end Cameron Jordan and his fantastic all-around season.

Yet, it’s OK if there’s skepticism. The schedule will get tougher, and the Saints defense relies on a lot of young players. Five games is significant but not enough of a sample to prove the Saints defense has completely changed. We can count on Brees. Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram will keep the running game going, too. The offense will be good. New Orleans has gained the second-most yards in the NFL, trailing only the Patriots. We just don’t know yet if the defense can hang onto their gains all season.

This Saints’ season started with a lot of uncertainty. There were the three losing seasons in a row. Brees’ contract voids after this season, and while it’s impossible to imagine Brees playing with any other team next year, there’s no guarantee. The first two weeks of this season made it seem like the Saints would waste another year of the Payton-Brees combination. Then the Saints came alive.

Take a look around the NFC. No team is a sure thing. People have said often over the past few years that if the Saints could just put together an average defense, they could contend again. Finally, that defense has come along. The next step is finding out if that defense, and the Saints as a whole, are here to stay.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) celebrates his touchdown against the Bears. (AP)

Here are the power rankings following Week 8 of the NFL season:

32. Cleveland Browns (0-8, Last week: 32) If you were up early and watched the Browns lose to the Vikings, it seemed like progress. They were competitive for a while. And they still lost by 17 points. The Browns have trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter of seven of their eight games.

31. San Francisco 49ers (0-8, LW: 31) The question becomes when Jimmy Garoppolo gets his first start. San Francisco has two games and then a bye. Starting him after the bye would give him three weeks to learn the offense. But, maybe they put him in sooner than that. The 49ers didn’t trade a second-round pick to keep watching C.J. Beathard play quarterback.

30. Indianapolis Colts (2-6, LW: 30) There was a report that the Colts would be willing to trade receiver T.Y. Hilton. If a contender is willing to give a ton for him, fine, and the Colts would probably need a great return to swing a deal. But how is trading a young receiver who led the NFL in receiving yards good for the franchise, now or in the future when Andrew Luck is back?

29. New York Giants (1-6, LW: 29) The Giants should be one of the most active teams at the trade deadline, as they try to get assets for the future and open up spots for younger players to get a shot. They also don’t have a lot of tradeable contracts, though NJ.com suggested cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie as one.

28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5, LW: 27) DeSean Jackson has not had the impact the Buccaneers had hoped. Jackson has led the NFL in yards per catch two of the past three seasons but is averaging just 15.9 yards per catch this season, 2 fewer yards than last season. In Jackson’s eight seasons since his rookie year, he has averaged fewer than 16 yards per catch only once. He’s catching 49 percent of his targets, and that would be a career worst. His two touchdowns are from 25 and 4 yards. It’s baffling that he and Jameis Winston haven’t produced more big plays.

27. Arizona Cardinals (3-4, LW: 28) The Cardinals have to find some pass rushers in the offseason. Chandler Jones has eight sacks. The rest of the team combined has five, and no player besides Jones has more than one.

26. New York Jets (3-5, LW: 26) Matt Forte created a stir when he took a shot at offensive coordinator John Morton as he complained the Jets didn’t run enough in a loss Sunday. It was a bit odd why he got only four carries in a rainstorm. “Everybody knows that that was the game plan and that’s what we wanted to do,” Forte said, according to Newsday. “I don’t have to get on a headset and tell somebody how to do their job.” It’s also worth noting that Forte had just 7 yards on his carries and as a team the Jets averaged just 2 yards per carry. It’s hard to keep calling runs when they’re not going anywhere.

25. Chicago Bears (3-5, LW: 23) Remember all the early season excitement about Tarik Cohen? As Jordan Howard has gotten hot, Cohen has been marginalized in the offense. He had a 70-yard catch in Week 7, but that was his only touch. That and a 14-yard catch in Week 6 are his only 10-yard plays since Week 3. On Sunday, Cohen had only a couple rushing yards on four carries, and one catch for 6 yards. The Bears desperately need offensive playmakers, and they need to figure out a way to get Cohen going again.

24. Miami Dolphins (4-3, LW: 18) The most deceiving thing in the NFL is probably a team whose record is bolstered by a lot of close wins. A great record in close games is not sustainable, and it leads people to believe you’re better than you really are. The Dolphins are 4-0 in games decided by six points or less. If you’ve seen them play, you know they look nothing like at team with a winning record.

23. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4, LW: 25) We’ve seen bits and pieces from Joe Mixon, but the breakout hasn’t come yet. He looked great on a 67-yard catch Sunday, but gained only 18 rushing yards on 11 carries against a bad Colts team. He’s averaging just 3 yards per carry this season. It’s tough to tell how much a horrible offensive line is to blame.

22. Green Bay Packers (4-3, LW: 22) It’s possible that the Saints’ pass defense is really good, and that’s why Brett Hundley struggled so much in his first start. We’ll get a long look at him in a home game against the Detroit Lions next Monday night, after he has had a bye week to prepare. Maybe he can rekindle some optimism for the Packers.

21. Oakland Raiders (3-5, LW: 20) The Raiders had the fewest sacks in the NFL last season. This season only one team (Tampa Bay) has fewer sacks per game than the Raiders, who have 12 in eight games. That’s hard to explain, given that the Raiders have Khalil Mack. The Raiders overcame the lack of a pass rush last season, but this season it’s catching up to them.

20. Denver Broncos (3-4, LW: 17) Take note of this quote from cornerback Chris Harris, via Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post: “It’s hard to win when you don’t score points.” It has to be frustrating for this world-class defense to see a season slipping away. The Broncos’ next step is probably benching quarterback Trevor Siemian, but I’m not sure that fixes everything.

19. Baltimore Ravens (4-4, LW: 24) The early indications are that Joe Flacco will be able to play Sunday, after suffering a scary collision on a dirty hit by Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso last week. That’s good for the Ravens because the thought of Ryan Mallett starting will keep their fans up at night.

18. Tennessee Titans (4-3, LW: 21) Rookie receiver Corey Davis should return from a hamstring injury this week. The Titans need something to spark them. They are 4-3 but haven’t been too impressive. Davis has shown short bursts of his incredible talent, but it’s time for the first-round pick to stay healthy and do it consistently. That could give the Titans a boost they need.

17. Los Angeles Chargers (3-5, LW: 19) It’s a little strange that Tyrell Williams isn’t a bigger part of the offense. With Keenan Allen out last season, Williams had a fine 69-1,059-7 season and looked like he was on his way to being a nice target for Philip Rivers. With Allen back this season Williams has 22-322-1 through eight games and has games of 15, 22, 27, 11 and 24 yards. It seems like Los Angeles could benefit from having someone other than Allen be a factor in the passing game.

16. Detroit Lions (3-4, LW: 14) Sunday’s loss was disappointing, but they have a chance to get on a winning streak. Their next three games are at Green Bay, vs. Cleveland and at Chicago. If they’re not 6-4 coming out of those three games, that will be the real disappointment.

15. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3, LW: 15) I like the Marcell Dareus acquisition. The Jags gave up a conditional sixth-round pick this year, which is very little for a former All-Pro who was once the third pick of the draft behind Cam Newton and Von Miller. He was clearly out of the Bills’ future plans, but he could make the Jaguars’ defensive line even nastier, and it was already very good without him.

14. Washington Redskins (3-4, LW: 12) Kirk Cousins’ future became a lot tougher to figure out with the Jimmy Garoppolo trade. While Cousins will do just fine next offseason, the 49ers were a major bargaining chip for him. They had a much-publicized desire for Cousins and a ton of salary-cap space. Now that’s off the table, and there aren’t as many obvious suitors for a quarterback who will be 30 next August and will demand a record-setting contract.

13. Dallas Cowboys (4-3, LW: 10) We can’t be sure if there’s another legal turn coming in the Ezekiel Elliott saga. But if this is it and his six-game suspension starts now (and I’m assuming so, which is why they drop in the rankings this week), Dallas’ next six games are vs. Kansas City, at Atlanta, vs. Philadelphia, vs. L.A. Chargers, vs. Washington, at N.Y. Giants. I think 3-3 is realistic. That would put the Cowboys at 7-6 and probably needing to win their final three games. Not impossible. And anything less than 3-3 might knock Dallas out of the playoff picture, depending if a 9-7 team can get in this season.

12. Houston Texans (3-4, LW: 11) Lost in the (justified) Deshaun Watson hype is the Texans did not pass their first non-Browns defensive test since losing J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. They couldn’t slow down Russell Wilson. Too many of those big plays Wilson made were easy. That’s not a good sign going forward. Watson has been playing at a record-setting level, and he might need to keep that up if the defense will struggle like this.

11. Buffalo Bills (5-2, LW: 16) It’s not hard to figure out how the Bills are doing this. They’re plus-14 in turnover margin. No other NFL team is better than plus-8. Buffalo has turned it over just three times all season and have forced multiple turnovers in each game this season except one, a 9-3 loss at Carolina. It’s hard to believe the Bills can sustain this pace in turnover margin, but it’s working so far.

10. Carolina Panthers (5-3, LW: 13) Because he’s not a quarterback, we probably don’t talk enough about how valuable linebacker Luke Kuechly is. The Panthers are a totally different team without him, and not many defensive players have that impact. No other NFL inside linebacker is as valuable as Kuechly.

9. Atlanta Falcons (4-3, LW: 9) Kyle Shanahan did many things well as Falcons offensive coordinator, and one of them was to make sure Julio Jones got as many targets as he could handle. Jones had an insane 203 targets in 2015, and 129 in 14 games last season. That’s more than nine per game. This season, Jones has had more than nine targets just twice in seven games. This shouldn’t be that hard: Get your potential Hall of Fame receiver the ball as often as possible.

8. Minnesota Vikings (6-2, LW: 7) The Dalvin Cook injury looked like it would wreck the Vikings, but Jerick McKinnon has taken a huge step this season. He was really good Sunday with 122 total yards and a touchdown. Cook is the superior player but McKinnon has played well enough that the drop hasn’t been too steep.

7. Los Angeles Rams (5-2, LW: 6) Next up for the Rams is an interesting game at the Giants. The Giants aren’t good, but the Rams are flying across country for an early game, which can be tricky. It’s one of those games where if Los Angeles is for real — and there’s no reason to believe it isn’t — this shouldn’t be a tough game.

6. New Orleans Saints (5-2, LW: 8) For the first time all season, rookie running back Alvin Kamara played more than half of the offensive snaps. His percentage of snaps has increased every week since Week 2. After Mark Ingram said repeatedly that he “sucked” on Sunday, it’s fair to wonder if Kamara’s usage will continue to grow.

5. Seattle Seahawks (5-2, LW: 5) Russell Wilson has 786 yards and seven touchdowns in his past two games. We’ve seen this before: When Wilson gets hot, he’s scalding. It helps him that Paul Richardson has developed into a very nice target at receiver.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2, LW: 4) There doesn’t seem to be any reason for the Steelers to give Martavis Bryant more snaps or targets than JuJu Smith-Schuster. Smith-Schuster looks like the real deal, and it seems like the rookie is popular among his teammates and through the city of Pittsburgh too.

3. New England Patriots (6-2, LW: 3) I hate the Jacoby Brissett trade even more now that the Patriots have dealt Jimmy Garoppolo. But trading Garoppolo was the only logical way that situation could have played out. Garoppolo is a free agent in March and the Patriots couldn’t retain him unless they spent a ton to give him the franchise tag. It’s also obvious the Patriots expect many more good years out of 40-year-old Tom Brady.

2. Kansas City Chiefs (6-2, LW: 2) Kareem Hunt hasn’t scored since Week 3, and Monday night was his third game of the past four averaging less than 4 yards per carry. Hunt is still impacting every game but his pace from the first few weeks had to slow down, and it has.

1. Philadelphia Eagles (7-1, LW: 1) With how well Carson Wentz has played, it’s surprising Alshon Jeffery has been so quiet. His long touchdown catch against the 49ers was just one play, but maybe that’s the spark. If Jeffery plays like the true difference maker he has been in the past, the Eagles get a lot better. And they’re already pretty good.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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ecoorganic · 4 years ago

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MAQB: The Cost of Extended Training for NFL Combine; How 'Hard Knocks' Will Look This Season

Real football practices get started this week. Let’s go …

this morning’s MMQB that he’ll be working out there going forward).

Bottom line: This will get costly for agents, and might not be cost-effective once you get beyond the elite kids.

Clearly, a lot of people were ready for this.

“To me, it’s a document of its time.”

And it will mean a different show than you’re used to. How? Well, we got to that with our questions for Rodgers. Here’s more:

MMQB: How will tomorrow look different for the viewer?

MMQB: So you have the same number of robo cams (12) in each facility, but are you using those more than normal because of the limits?

MMQB: Do you guys feel pressure, given the historic nature of this?

MMQB: Has this made the relationship with the teams more vital to getting it done?

• This tweet from Joe Burrow was the one for me …

• If Derrius Guice did what he’s alleged to have done, his NFL career should be over. The details, if you haven’t seen them, are horrible.

• Question or comment? Email us.

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