JAGS CAN’T HYDE FROM TRUTH FOREVER
FEW things can make you feel as stupid as the NFL. From the now-unbeatable Texans getting beat at home weeks ago by the offensively challenged Giants to the Bills blowing out the Vikings in Minnesota earlier in the season — strange results happen that make no sense.
The league always throws fans and pundits for loops every year, but this season has been as unpredictable as we can remember. And the Madman is not a fan of this insanity.
Never mind the normal volatility based on coaching decisions, player usage, matchups and injuries. It has gotten harder to forecast particular games, which makes predicting outcomes difficult. (Please don’t look at my record picking against the line in The Post’s Bettor’s Guide.) And if you misfire on how you think a game will evolve, you likely will misfire on fantasy projections.
When faced with a troubling slump, you can either surrender or trust your research process and work even harder. We will not go gently and embrace a losing plight. We will fight, and endure, and turn this skid into a streak.
To that point, we put our faith in the motivations of the Jacksonville front office. Rarely do calculated real-world roster moves happen with the same degree of unpredictability as weekly outcomes, or with the randomness that results in oneweek wonders.
So we look to the Jaguars backfield. We put our trust in human nature and the motivations that propel individuals to perform certain actions. To that point, we believe the Jags acquired Carlos Hyde for a reason.
The Madman was immediately suspicious that reason was fear that Leonard Fournette’s hamstring injury is worse than publicly disclosed. If they thought Fournette’s return was imminent, they wouldn’t have made the deal. In addition, if they thought T.J. Yeldon was a sufficient fill-in, they wouldn’t have pulled the trigger.
A fifth-round pick for Hyde might not seem like much, but if his role was to get a few carries in Week 8 then yield the job back to Fournette in Week 10, no chance they give up a draft pick. Instead, they would have signed a veteran scrub.
Because we are in the heart of bye-week hell, and because Hyde got limited use and production Sunday (six carries for 11 yards, zero catches on two targets), he could get dropped. Fantasy owners might be disappointed, or anticipate an imminent Fournette return (as has been reported), or because those fantasy owners have been seduced by Yeldon’s performance as a fillin.
We’re skeptical of those narratives because it doesn’t fit with the action taken. Otherwise the Hyde trade is far too wasteful. If you have an expendable roster spot, use it to snag Hyde if he becomes available — just in case logic and reason prevail.
Sure, the Madman can be wrong. But we still want to believe we live in a world that makes some rational sense. And in that world, it is time to Hyde.