Pigskin Pensive

The pigskin dream, with its tangerine trees and marmalade skies, with its missed blitz pickups, those orcs that run a 4.4 forty, and that oblate spheroid that's so hard to hold and utterly unpredictable in its movements when encountering a fixed plane, that dream is still alive. That's right. If the playoffs started tomorrow…

The consensus amongst pigskin pundits and bobbleheads is that the New England Patriots are running an offense that would've been electric in the 1950s. Unfortunately, this is 2022. The Patriots defense is good, they say, but not good enough to make up for that 70-year gap in pigskin evolution. 

Those people are such a bummer.

Granted, this win came against an already damaged and discombobulated Cardinals team that lost their star quarterback, Kyler Murray in the 1st quarter. The challenges grow greater starting week, as the Pats visit Vegas and the apparently cursed Raiders, followed by the gauntlet of Cincy, Miami, and Buffalo. 

Still, I've got my…

Reasons To Let Myself Feel Good About This One

Mac Jones Has Had It - I'm liking spicy Mac n Cheese. Coaches ask their players to step up their game, and often use loud, colorful language to do so. Well, sometimes players need their coaches to step up their game, too. Yes, McCorkle's brief, four game streak without an interception ended (thrown as he was being hit), but he showed better decision-making overall in this one, while maintaining his trademark accuracy (24/35/235/0/1). More importantly, he was throwing the ball downfield more in this game. 

Chicks dig the long ball. 

So do I. 

The Kids Are All Right - When 'Mondre went down, I thought, that's it. We're out of running backs. Enter Pierre Strong, Jr., and Kevin Harris. Harris gave second and third efforts on his way to his first NFL touchdown and in one of those cameos that always earns a Supporting Actor nod when Oscars are announced, Strong racked up 90 yards from scrimmage on just 7 touches. 

But the star of the 2022 freshman class last night was clearly Marcus Jones, who didn't just play in all three phases of the game, he looked like a weapon in all three phases of the game. He caught a pass for a first down on offense, intercepted a pass on defense, and returned punts and kickoffs on special teams. Defenses are already paying attention when Jones enters the game on offense. 

It was also good to see Tyquan Taylor more involved in the passing game. 

Hoping Jack Jones knee injury is minor. 

The Defense Is Legit - Let me admit I was sure Josh Uche had purchased a one-way ticket on the express to Bustville coming into the 2022 season. Just one reason I am not a head coach in the NFL (and yes, there are so, so many more). As noted above, they were playing a team that had lost their QB1 before anyone broke a sweat, and whose backup was playing behind a broken offensive line. Having stipulated to all of these caveats, I would note for the court that the Patriots were also playing shorthanded. They played without starting CB1 Jalen Mills (then lost backup CB Jack Jones in the first half), while dealing with the continuing absence of DL Christian Barmore. (No, I'm not saying Jalen Mills = Kyler Murray. Yes, everyone is banged up at this point in the season.) They may not be the '85 Bears but with Uche and Matthew Judon, along with Kyle Duggar, Devin McCourty, and every CB named Jones, they've got playmakers. 

Sometimes a game is won because an unlikely hero makes a play. 

Look, I know how this movie ends. I've seen it before. (Spoiler Alert: It ends badly for the Patriots.) That's for later. For now, my pigskin heroes are in the playoffs.

Go Pats!