From Jackson to AB: Highlights of 2019
Because it’s the NFL and it’s that time of year ...
Best surprise: Lamar Jackson. You knew the Ravens quarterback would probably be better in his second pro season than he was in his rookie campaign. But this? Who knew? Jackson’s MVPcaliber season, with an NFL-high 36 TD passes, has made a lot of people eat crow. He throws, he runs, he deciphers defenses. And he wins with youthful exuberance, while his team is the AFC favorite to advance to Super Bowl LIV. As Jackson has said himself: Not bad for a running back.
Worst surprise: Andrew Luck. Usually, it’s a player who gets caught offguard by an unexpected personnel move. This time, the franchise quarterback essentially cut his team by announcing his retirement days before the start of the season. Despite the timing, you can’t blame Luck for making the decision to walk away from his physically taxing occupation. But just as odd was Colts owner Jim Irsay not recouping $24.8 million in bonus money.
Best nod to the old AFL: 49ers vs. Saints. That Week 13 shootout at the Superdome, won by San Francisco in a big comeback, was perhaps the most entertaining game of the season. But I’d rank the Seahawks’ overtime win at San Francisco in Week 10 – with defensive big plays among the highlights – as an even better contest.
Worst adventure: Antonio Brown. Talent squandered. Money blown, including $30 million guaranteed from the Raiders — pending a legal battle. Image annihilated, the most damaging blows linked to allegations made in a civil suit and then his response to a woman quoted in a Sports Illustrated report, which led to his release from the Patriots. A lot to unpack with Brown, whose scorchedearth approach is not the way to best deal with myriad issues.
Best stand-in starter: Teddy Bridgewater. The Saints hardly collapsed when Drew Brees suffered a fractured hand in Week 2. Bridgewater seized the opportunity to keep the season afloat, with New Orleans winning all five games without Brees. Kudos to Sean Payton and Co. preparing for the possibility as they kept Bridgewater last offseason by making him the league’s highest-paid backup quarterback. And that short-term bump for Bridgewater should provide for a long-term benefit, as he proved worthy of the type of starting shot that Nick Foles landed last offseason as a free agent.
Worst tease: Jerry Jones’ Cowboys. All of the pieces were assembled for Dallas to follow up on last year’s division title and make a legitimate run at the franchise’s first Super Bowl in more than two decades. Then the season happened. Fooled again. On top of determining the fate of coach Jason Garrett, the owner/GM may face some serious consternation in assessing how much he’s willing to commit to sign Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper to long-term deals.
Best creativity: Oh, those sneaky Dolphins. The upset of the Eagles in
Week 13 was sparked by the “Fake of the Century” when Miami audibled out of the traditional field goal alignment and into a unique setup that resulted in punter/holder Matt Haack flipping a 1yard TD to kicker Jason Sanders on a shovel pass. Sanders was the first NFL kicker to catch a TD since Denver’s Jim Turner in 1977.
Worst sham, worst shame: Maybe the fiasco that was the “Colin Kaepernick workout” could have been avoided if all of the contractual details were worked out before the NFL announced the hastily arranged event. Roger Goodell’s league office is usually better than this. Then again, it could have also been avoided if quarterback-needy NFL teams had provided a fair shot over the past three years to the quarterback undoubtedly blackballed because of the symbol he became after igniting the protest movement in the NFL over social justice issues. Still a bad look, Roger.
Best resourcefulness: After losing
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Week 2 to a season-ending elbow injury and starting 1-4, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin somehow salvaged the season and put his team in the thick of the playoff chase, though Pittsburgh is currently on the outside looking in. Injuries that sidelined James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster for extended periods add to the woes. It represented Tomlin’s finest coaching job yet. And the season started with the tragedy of receivers coach Darryl Drake’s death during training camp.
Worst hype: Cleveland, again. So much for feeling dangerous, Baker Mayfield. The “Dream Team” thing turned into a nightmare 6-9 season so far for the Browns, who proved that it’s much easier to win on paper than it is on the field.
Best alternative solution: When a New Jersey prep playoff game between Camden High School and Pleasantville High School was suspended due to a shooting in the packed stands, resulting in the death of 10-year-old Micah Tennant, the Eagles stepped up and hosted the final 17 minutes of the game a few days later at Lincoln Financial Field. Sadly, it was 23rd shooting of the year at a high school sporting event, according to the National Center for Spectator Sport and Safety. Six people were charged from the incident. And by the way, Camden won the game.
Best reference to a fictional character: Baffled by the ruling from the NFL’s replay command center on a would-be interception in Week 13, Raiders coach Jon Gruden remarked, “We had an interception overturned by the Wizard of Oz.” The man behind the curtain in the NFL’s case is officiating director Al Riveron, whose department has been under perpetual fire for so many calls and nocalls that fuel mystery and, well, controversy.
Best active legend: Adrian Peterson. Sure, Drew Brees added the career TD passing mark to his collection of NFL records. Larry Fitzgerald still has his sure hands. Frank Gore passed Barry Sanders to become the No. 3 all-time rusher. But Peterson – who started the season on the inactive list as a “healthy scratch” – deserves some appreciation for staying power.