Three picks from NFL Week 13 Richard Sherman would be proud of

Here’s the lay of the land in the National Football League after the 13th round of fixtures…

By / NFL / 6 years ago

Vile acts, vile teams and vile coaching decisions. Welcome to Week 13 in the National Football League.

We saw the Eagles get shot down by Russell Wilson, the Vikings further legitimise themselves as Super Bowl contenders and Aaron Rodgers become relevant in the playoff picture again.

Yet, none of these make our top three takeaways from yesterday’s action.

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Frat Boy Fury

Rob Gronkowski is known for his boisterous antics. By and large, these are ignored as there’s a general consensus that he’s just a big man-child who can’t be responsible for his actions. He was in Buffalo this weekend.

The Patriots were in control of the game. It was petering out. Gronk is sent out wide to take advantage of his matchup against a cornerback – which is Tre’Davious White. The LSU rookie is having a fine season and despite a clear hold on the big tight end, he intercepts the pass.

Of course, Gronkowski in all his self-entitlement, storms over to White, who’s on the ground, and forcibly jumps on him – causing him to enter concussion protocol.

For all the officials and regulators get wrong, they’ve taken clear steps to try and decrease the risk of brain injuries in football. What Gronkowski did was voluntarily injure a player. He should be suspended for multiple games and heavily fined.

The Kansas City Conundrum

When it works, it really works. But limiting turnovers in the hope that something sparks on offence through misdirection and occasional matchup advantages isn’t a recipe for winning. Even if it was.

The Chiefs have yet to learn that they simply won’t achieve anything if they don’t evolve. Andy Reid is one of the best head coaches in football, but he doesn’t trust his personnel to attack, and now his defence is shipping nearly forty points to the lowly New York Jets.

Alex Smith’s credibility as a franchise quarterback took another hit this April when the Chiefs flew up the draft board to take, who is essentially a very raw talent, in Patrick Mahomes. He doesn’t commit turnovers, but that’s because he doesn’t really throw the ball.

Check-downs and the occasional bomb to Tyreek Hill no longer qualify when you can’t effectively run block. Injuries have hurt them, but they’ve hurt every team.

The fact of the matter is – this team started 5-0; beating the Eagles and the Patriots. They’re now tied atop the AFC West with a Chargers team that started 0-4. Something has to change.

Even their star players are throwing a fit – and, on this occasion, the official’s flag.

Different Quarterback, Same Problems

If you’re an avid reader of this digest (which you absolutely should be), you’ll remember us pointing out that Evan Engram needs to be schemed around. He, alongside Odell Beckham, is the future of the Giants franchise.

Ben McAdoo benched Eli Manning in the lead-up to the clash against the Raiders – and as expect, it made no bloody difference whatsoever. His replacement – Geno Smith – threw for only 212 yards despite his lead rusher mustering thirty-two yards on fourteen carries.

Oakland are a terribly coached team and they still got it done.

Why? Because the Giants have a million issues – and a sure-fire Hall Of Fame quarterback is the least of them.

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