“Tales Of The Week” – Week 10 of the 2019 NFL Season (11-13-19)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Courtesy: Phil Huffmann-Baltimore Ravens
Peaking Too Early
One of the hardest things to do is maintain success in the NFL. How the New England Patriots do it is beyond all of our imaginations, but to stay hot for a while is one of the most difficult things to do. The Ravens are balling! This has to be the best offense in football. No, scratch that, this is the best offense in football. The Ravens lead the league in scoring with 33 PPG. They also lead the league in rushing yards led not only by their RB, but their QB too with 197 Rushing Yards/ Game. They’re 2nd in the league with total yards a game with 422 yards/ game. Their defense is heating up too. You can’t run on the Ravens. They rank 8th in the league giving up only 91 rushing yards each game. Their passing defense is getting better and better after acquiring CB Marcus Peters from the Rams. This team is on fire but are they peaking too early? Well, we are only going into week 11 of the season. It’s about to get really cold outside so teams are going to be switching some things up a bit as we get deeper into the season. The playoffs will be here before we know it. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have already put the league on notice. They have a huge target on their backs now. They’re the team that gave the Patriots their first loss of the season. The Ravens are currently the best team in the league. They may be peaking a bit too soon. Lamar Jackson has been the MVP of the season thus far in my opinion. But if Lamar Jackson can evolve even more when the playoffs start, the Ravens may be in route to the Super Bowl.
The Wild Wild AFC West
Before the season started, we all had the Kansas City Chiefs comfortably winning this division. We also had the LA Chargers leading the charge as they best wild card team in the entire AFC. But after injuries and slow starts, none of the 2 may even be the case this season. The Oakland Raiders didn’t have any pressure going into this season. Not having any pressure means not having any expectations. We all thought Jon Gruden was a mad man after last season’s laughable moments. But he actually has given the Raiders a legitimate shot at not only making the playoffs, but winning the division in doing so. Short at playmakers, Derek Carr has been able to weather the storm and do much with little. It’s no question the Raiders aren’t the best team in the league. It’s no question the Raiders aren’t even the best team In this division. However, they may be doing just enough to squeeze into the playoffs for the first time in 17 years.
Under The Radar
Batman has always been one of my favorite Super Heroes. He’s not the strongest Super Hero, nor is he the quickest. Batman doesn’t have any super powers, there is really nothing special about Batman. But one thing he does possess is intellectual abilities. Batman is known as the detective. He is one of the smartest people in the Super Hero world. That is what leads him to defeat his enemies. Batman has been known to defeat Superman. He’s under the radar and it can be said he is the underdog in every fight that he’s in. Well, the Minnesota Vikings are a lot like Batman. There is absolutely nothing special about this team. They run the ball well, but Dalvin Cook is only one man. They have a lot of weapons. These guys include Stefon Diggs, Adam Theilen, and the veteran, Kyle Rudolph. However, their leader is the true Batman, Kirk Cousins. Some say he takes too many chances, some say you can’t trust him, and some may even say he’s not what his numbers say. All of that is true. Kirk Cousins has proved that there’s nothing special about him. But like Batman, he finds ways to beat the Supermen of the NFL and has been leading the Vikings to a spectacular 7-3 start. The Minnesota Vikings are quietly making a lot of noise.
The BS Report
The team that represented the NFC in the Super Bowl last season are far from the team they once were. Last season, the LA Rams were explosive and electrifying ranking 2nd in the league with 30 PPG. Todd Gurley rushed for over 1,000 yards, Jared Goff passed for nearly 5,000 yards, threw 32 TD’s, and was considered one of the best QB’s in the league too. They are now the complete opposite. Many have forgotten Todd Gurley is even playing and we hardly even recognize Jared Goff. There’s no question this team is struggling. They took a tough loss in Pittsburgh falling to the Steelers 17-12. This was a bad loss for the Rams. Goff threw 2 INT’s and Todd Gurley failed to get over 80 all scrimmage yards in this game. They are the offensive leaders of the team and they haven’t gotten the job done all season. Goff was actually pulled from this game. Blake Bortles spelled him for a couple plays. It literally was a couple plays because Goff came right back into the game. Head Coach Sean McVay claims pulling Goff for Bortles was part of the game plan. I think different. No matter the case, the Rams are experiencing a Super Bowl slump. Jared Goff is on the hot seat and they are not a playoff team this season.
