“Tales Of The Week” 2019 NFL Season (Week 2)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Miami Herald
The Lifeless Dolphins
Last season, the Dolphins were handicapped at QB. Ryan Tannehill wasn’t the man for the job. Things haven’t worked out for both sides there so the two decided to go their separate ways. In efforts to turn things around in Miami, the Dolphins signed QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick became known as Fitzmagic las season with the Bucs. He literally was magical in the games he started for Tampa Bay last season as he threw 17 TD’s in 8 games. He even ran 2 TD’s in himself last season too. That magic may have ran out. There’s no knock against him. This will probably be his last season in the league. This job in Miami was simply just a job to bring in a little extra money before he calls it quits. He’s already 36 years of age; I mean what more does he have left? He didn’t even have to move for this new job. 2 games in, he only has 1 TD and 4 INTs. 3 of those INTs came this weekend vs. The Patriots. 2 of them were Pick 6. The magic simply ran out in Fitzpatrick. He’s had a great career with 191 TD’s and counting, hopefully. The Dolphins also traded for QB Josh Rosen. Now Rosen is an interesting case here for the Dolphins because he was taken just a year ago in the 2018 draft by the Arizona Cardinals. #10 overall pick, Rosen was expected to be the man for the Cardinals and even the saver of the franchise. However, he struggled severely as he threw 11 TD’s and 14 INT’s. Fitzpatrick started the season as the starter, but those 2 Pick 6 changed everything for the Dolphins as Rosen relieved Fitzpatrick. Although Rosen threw a pick as well, he is clearly the better man for the job. Things were already bad for the Dolphins last week, as they loss 59-10 at home vs. The Ravens. That loss was so bad, that multiple players have contacted their agents requesting a trade including S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Things may have gotten worst for this team as they got blown out yet again on their home field. This week has gone from bad to worse because they failed to score a single point. The entire team looks unenthusiastic and pride less as they have gone to 0-2. Look for the Dolphins to continue to lose. They won’t fire their new head coach unless this pathetic effort on the field continues. But we can definitely expect them to have the #1 Overall Pick in next year’s draft.
The Star of the League
No matter what part of the world you live in, you will find Cowboy fans EVERYWHERE. There’s good reason behind it all too. They don’t wear the star for nothing. They’re all stars! Jerry Jones is one of the wealthiest guys in the league, yet alone the world. He’s entertaining, polarizing, and just flat out interesting. During Elliot’s holdout, when asked when will Zeke get a new deal, he responds “Zeke who?” Once the deal was completed, at the press conference he gives Zeke a shirt with that same quote up there. Zeke is back in the backfield, and he looks like he may be ready to take the league by storm. He ran for over 100 yards against the Redskins. The Skins didn’t have an answer for him. Elliot definitely showed over the weekend he deserved and is worth every dime he got over the summer. This brings us to the man behind Center. The man who is 2nd in the league in TD Passes through 2 weeks in, and in the top 10 in completion percentage as well, Dak Prescott. We all laughed at him when he turned down a $30M Contract Extension and heard rumors that he wants $40M. Well, we’re not laughing so hard now, and the Cowboys may not either because now he’s actually showing he’s worth that money. Dak looks comfortable and poised in the pocket. His arm strength and accuracy looks much improved too and he’s moving around really quick in and out the pocket too. The Cowboys did it the right way too because they gave him plenty of threats on the field. In fact, they went to the ESPN booth for one, Jason Whitten. Whitten has played 2 games and have 2 TD’s already after missing an entire season being an analyst on ESPN. Whitten is showing he’s a star on the field and in the booth on Monday nights. But the true prize here is Amari Cooper. Such a talented and young WR, he deserves to get paid in full too. He has the right mindset too. Because while he is playing good, he’s not complaining about money nor does he even talk about it or let it get in the way of football. The Cowboys also have 2 other threats that have been huge for them this season, Randall Cobb and Michael Gallup. Cobb is the experienced one. He was one of Aaron Rodgers guys early in his career. So he brings a veteran and leadership role to this group of guys and Gallup is the young gun who seems to get better and better each game. I know it’s early, but don’t be surprised if the Cowboys are playing in early February.
The Injury Bug
Injuries are all a part of the game. But the thing about some injuries is that it can either make you or break you. In the Eagles-Falcons game, we saw that it can break you, especially when you lose your 2 best WR’s. Carson Wentz and the Eagles failed to move the ball without Alshon Jeffrey and Desean Jackson. Things got a little better in the 2nd half, but ultimately, they came up short. What’s even worst though, is when you lose your QB. You see, losing a WR for a game or 2, or even the season won’t really hurt you much, especially if you have a favorable matchup within the coming weeks. But when you lose a Drew Brees or even a Ben Roethlisberger, you’ll be due for some trials and tribulations. Both QB’s gone down early and were unable to return to the game. We all know we live in a world where we know we can expect the unexpected. You never know what may happen. That’s why you get insurance. When natural disasters, like Hurricane Dorian hit, it’s good to have Home Owner’s Insurance. If you’re still paying for that new Lexus or BMW, that insurance will pay off in the end in case of an accident. So the 2 disasters over the weekend were obviously Brees and Big Ben. Let’s start with Drew Brees and the Saints. Over the weekend in Week 2, we realized the Saints have good insurance. They’re obviously the Geico of Insurance because they take care of everything. Teddy Bridgewater came in when Brees went down. They didn’t win the game, but we can blame the refs once again for that when they ruled a fumble return dead by the Saints that was clearly going to be a TD. Taysom Hill also is a serviceable QB that can also play WR too. Sounds like a Philly Special to me. And that brings us to The Steelers. They have pretty good insurance too. Their insurance is fairly new, but qualified to get the job done. All-State is what the Steelers have, as the 2nd year QB Mason Rudolph replaced Big Ben after he went down with an elbow injury. Rudolph played well as he threw 2 TD’s in yet another loss for this team. Drew Brees is expected to miss 6 weeks. However, Ben Roethlisberger will miss the rest of the season with the Elbow injury. The Steelers are the team we all should be concerned about. They’re winless, they have only 1 option at backup at the moment and he doesn’t bring much experience either. They don’t have many weapons and they play in a pretty competitive division. The Saints should still be expected to win their division regardless of the health of Drew Brees. Geico insurance pays off. But this All-State policy in Pittsburgh may make for a long season for the winless Steelers.
The NFC West
This may be the toughest division to play in this season. 3 teams are undefeated (Rams, 49ers, Seahawks – 2-0) this season. Those 3 teams could possibly make the playoffs this season too. The LA Rams just went to the Super Bowl last season. Although they have their issues regarding the health status of their star RB Todd Gurley, they still are a deadly threat on both sides of the football. Jared Goff had a phenomenal season last year, and he hopes to build upon that success this season. DT Aaron Donald, who won Defensive Player of The Year the last 2 seasons, looks like he may win it again for a 3rd consecutive season. The Seahawks are being led by a Super Bowl Champion and 6X Pro Bowler, QB Russell Wilson. Their running game isn’t what it used to be so we can expect to see an even more dangerous version of Russell Wilson. His weapons are healthy, and it’s clear and evident with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. But the Seahawks made a move that isn’t being discussed enough this summer. The addition of former Houston Texans DE will surely help this team, especially once we get closer towards the playoffs. But the team that the Rams and Seahawks fear the most just may be the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers were competitive last season.At 4-12 last season, their record didn’t do them much justice for the way they played. They played solid defensively last season too. And it looks to be better this season. They’re only giving up 17 PPG (9th in the league) and just 73 Rushing Yards/Game (8thin the League). But the things that’s different in San Francisco is having a reliable QB. Jimmy Garappolo missed all but 3 regular season games last season due to a torn ACL. In this early NFL Season, the 9ers are being led by Jimmy G to scoring 36 PPG (3rd in the League). George Kittle had a breakout year without Jimmy G. He will again be a vital part of this offense as Jimmy G will take this team to the next level, the playoffs.
