“Tales of the Week: 2018 Preseason Edition”
By:Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo from: Sporting News
Super Bowl Slump
The Philadelphia Eagles may be experiencing what we all like to call the Super Bowl Slump. 1-3 in the preseason, they find themselves asking what’s next for this group of guys. While Carson Wentz isn’t medically cleared for full contact drills, Super Bowl 52 MVP Nick Foles is still trying to shake the rust off and find his groove. Their best receiver, Alshon Jeffrey, is trying to find his way back in the lineup as well. The former pro bowler has been battling a rotator cuff injury since the playoffs last season, but hopes to be in the lineup on opening night as The Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Stadium. It’s no secret, the Eagles look terrible this preseason. But how much can we take away from exhibition games? Well, one thing we know is that these gambes don’t count. These games are simply meant for players to find their groove and their rhythm before these games actually do count. The QB position is the most important position in football, and this team needs Carson Wentz. How many of you like cars? It’s a nice Sunday morning, and you decide to get your car detailed. You got that beautiful Mercedes Benz and you even vacuumed the inside of the car out too. You take the car to get cleaned and even waxed. And you go as far as applying that shine to your tires. Suddenly, you get a flat. What makes it bad is you just got those brand new Yokohamas. The only thing that you can do at that moment is put the spare on. Nick Foles is the spare tire. He gets you by! He can get you through a couple of days, maybe even up to a month. But you won’t name him your franchise QB. This team may be in trouble. It’s going to be a relief to have Wentz back behind center, but you ask yourself when will that actually be? Everyone needs chemistry. Not having that chemistry is going to be the very thing that will hurt this team this season.
The Running Lions
The Detroit Lions are a team that everyone wants to be successful, including the NFL. They’re always talked about, they play on Thanksgiving, and they’re QB is one of the highest paid players in the league at the moment. They always get close to the finish line, but can’t seem to get over the hump. They’ve been through a flurry of RB’s from Jhavid Best and Kevin Smith to Theo Reddick and Ameer Abdullah. Of course, we can’t forget about Reggie Bush. Bush was actually the last Detroit Lion Running Back to rush for 1,000+ yards back in 2013. The last 1,000 yard rusher running back to do so before Bush was Kevin Jones in 2004. This team has been looking for its next Barry Sanders for a while now. This offseason, they made a move to sign 3X Super Bowl Winner, LeGarrette Blount. Blount has been known for being a winner. He simply brings success to every team he plays for. Blount has helped lead his team to the playoffs the last 6 seasons. So you ask yourself, will this Detroit Lions team make it to the playoffs this season? The odds of that happening look extremely high. All that was missing in Detroit was a consistent running game. Blount is as consistent as a RB you can possibly think of. We know Marshawn Lynch as “Beast Mode”, but I’m convinced that LeGarrette Blount has a beast mode side to him as well. He rushed for over 1,000 yards two seasons ago with The New England Patriots. That same season, the Patriots won the Super Bowl. Last season, he didn’t quite get the 1,000+ yards rushing, but he did win yet another Super Bowl with The Philadelphia Eagles. He was splitting carries all season long with multiple RB’s, including All-Pro RB Jay Ajayi who was acquired through a trade last season in Philadelphia. What we do know about the Lions is that they love to air it out. Matt Stafford averaged 35 Passing Attempts last season. Still, that doesn’t compare to 2012 when he averaged a career high 45 Passing Attempts. There is no excuse for The Lions to air it out as much as they have in previous years. This is the most balanced team this Lion’s offense has been in years. The Lions are 1 of 3 teams to have two 1,000 yard receivers last season. The Lions are ready to make some noise and become Kings.
Help Needed, Not Wanted…
In Corporate America, Silicon Valley, there are always questions that are left unanswered. There are things we don’t understand, things that happen and we all wonder why, and then there are things that surprise us and cause us to scratch our heads. Why is former Cowboys Pro Bowler WR Dez Bryant still a free agent? Why did Dez Bryant meet with The Cleveland Browns not once, but twice, just to leave Cleveland without a deal being done? Why was he signing Cleveland Browns apparel when he’s not even on the team? Why did he get waived by The Dallas Cowboys in the first place? I can think of 10 teams off the top of my head that could use a talent of Dez Bryant that addresses a team need too. Jacksonville, Houston, Indianapolis, New England, Carolina, Tennessee, San Francisco, Washington, Cleveland, and Baltimore. Getting a new job is hard, and tiresome. Perhaps that’s why Dez Bryant said he will likely wait a little bit later to sign. When you get a new job, there’s paperwork to be filled out, maybe an assessment, and then there’s the background check and drug screening. That may be the holdup here with Dez Bryant. We all like the process, but we don’t appreciate the journey. When we’re searching for a new job, they tell us they need us when they post their job listings on Indeed.com and ZipRecruiter. So we apply, hoping to hear back from them, and we take the initiative and call them ourselves. They offer us a job, and the hiring process of everything takes forever. But in the case of Dez, he’s met a few teams and he still remains unsigned. There’s one thing I didn’t mention earlier when filling out job applications, “Reason for Leaving.” Companies want to know your background history, your reasons for leaving a job, and were you dismissed by the job, or did you leave on your own terms. As good as a talent Dez Bryant is, he still remains unsigned. That alone causes many to scratch their heads. Let’s review the resume’. Dez had trouble in college where he lied to investigators of his relationship with HOF Deion Sanders. To add, Dez didn’t have the childhood most kids wanted or needed. Additionally, just before the 2012 season, he had a couple of embarrassing incidents that left a mark on his reputation. In March 2011 he was cited for parking in a fire lane, stemming from cursing at a security guard who asked him to pull up his sagging pants to cover his underwear. He was temporarily banned from the mall, though it was lifted just a few days later. Seventeen months later, he was arrested on a misdemeanor for allegedly assaulting his mother. I believe due diligence is being done here. Teams are playing it safe with Dez Bryant. There’s no doubt in my mind he will be on an NFL team this season. The only question is when…?
