As the calendar flips to December, the temperature of your overreaction remains very hot. While some of your teams are very fortunate to have nothing but playoffs in sight, others are just looking for someone to get fired.
Whether you’re in the NFC (L)East or the AFC West, there’s an overreaction for everyone!
Kirk Cousins is an Overrated Quarterback
I have no idea where the hell this overreaction came from, but it’s stupid. Kirk Cousins is, in my opinion, the best quarterback in the NFC East. Yup, I said it. And I know what I’ve said about Carson Wentz in the past. When you consider that he was a third-round pick after the Washington Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III in the first round, and that Dan Snyder forced RGIII on the Skins even with the injuries, Cousins is probably underrated if not underappreciated.
Let’s compare him to the other quarterbacks from 2012 who actually have jobs in the NFL (Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill). Despite the injuries to Luck and Tannehill, Cousins has still played 12 fewer games than the next guy (58 compared to Tannehill’s 70). However, he still ranks second among those four in passing yards per game, 265.6, has the highest total completion percentage at 66%, and the second-best quarterback rating at 94.9.
Yes, he got sacked four times and threw two picks against Dallas, and also fumbled. But the Cowboys played the game of their season on Thanksgiving, and the Redskins offensive line stayed at the buffet table. Furthermore, if you just watch the games, Cousins is one of the best scramblers in the league. In fact, if I had to redraft 2012 QB’s, only Russell Wilson would be ahead of Cousins. The Redskins are going to be pissed when he leaves and wins a Super Bowl elsewhere.
Starting Geno Smith Was the Right Move
Let’s be honest, we all knew this was a bad idea from the moment it was announced. Geno Smith does NOT give the New York Giants the best chance to win. Geno Smith does NOT need to be “evaluated” any more than his four years with the Jets or the preseason. What Geno Smith did do, is making it a lot easier to fire Ben McAdoo and Jerry Reese (THANK GOD!). I also don’t buy that he’s a better fit for McAdoo’s offense. Is this the same offense that saw Eli Manning throw for over 4,400 yards and 30 touchdowns when Ben was the offensive coordinator?
As for Geno, in two full seasons as the Jets quarterback (2013-14), he was sacked 71 times, threw 34 interceptions, 25 touchdowns, and less than 60% completion percentage. He was sacked three times and threw just one touchdown with a QBR of 39.2 against Oakland. What about that says “NFL Starting Quarterback”? The way McAdoo could have saved his job would have been to start rookie Davis Webb. You know, the actual future of the organization. Make no mistake about it; this is what tanking looks like in Week 12.
The Eagles Are Still A Super Bowl Favorite
I know I said I was all in on the Eagles. But I’ve also said that about the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings in the last couple weeks. Look, they have the best record (tied with New England and Minnesota) at 10-2 and have basically wrapped up the division. They have, statistically, the best offense in the league and an excellent defense. However, the rest of the pack has started catching up.
However, Sunday night’s loss to the Seattle Seahawks is cause for concern. Although it was only a 24-10 loss, it wasn’t that close. And when you look at Philly’s schedule, it’s not that impressive. Sure, they beat the Cowboys with Zeke and squeaked by the Panthers in Week 6. Those are their two best wins. Other than that, who did they beat? The Broncos? The Chargers? Hell, they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, and that loss continues to get worse.
If this were college football, they would be Ohio State and be sitting at home. Sorry, Eagles fans. Beat the Rams this week, and maybe I’ll swing back to that side of the pendulum.
The AFC West Will Have Two Playoff Teams
I’m happy I didn’t pick two playoff teams in my official preseason predictions. In fact, it’s probably the only prediction I’m happy with right now. So this may be an overreaction a few months too late. Anyway, remember when the Chiefs were 5-0? How about the Broncos sitting pretty at 3-2 through the first few weeks? Welp, the AFC West has fallen back to mediocrity, and that is a compliment. Kansas City currently leads the division at 6-6 with the Chargers and Raiders also at .500 but having lost head-to-head battles.
What makes it that much more difficult is the AFC South has some very talented teams. Jacksonville sitting at 8-4 in the Wild Card and the Baltimore Ravens at 7-5 will probably keep the AFC South at just one playoff team. When you look at the schedule of those teams still in the hunt, Baltimore has the best chance at that #6 seed.
Not-So-Crazy Overreaction: Russell Wilson is the MVP
This award is typically an award for quarterbacks. Considering Aaron Rodgers, the popular preseason pick, is out with injury let’s look at the top-3 guys many think are in the running.
Player 1
3,632 yards, 26 touchdowns, 68.5% completion percentage, 109.7 quarterback rating
Player 2
3,005 yards, 29 touchdowns, 60.7% completion percentage, 102 quarterback rating
Player 3
3,256 yards, 26 touchdowns, 62.4% completion percentage, 96.9 quarterback rating
Player 1 is Tom Brady; Player 2 is Carson Wentz, Player 3 is Russell Wilson. Why should Wilson be the Most Valuable Player? Same amount of TD’s as Brady, better completion percentage and more yards than Wentz, but a dual threat who also has three rushing scores. Plus, if you watched Sunday night’s game, you saw how much of a wizard Russell Wilson is. When he takes this team to the NFC Championship game, it will make it that much more obvious who takes home that individual award.
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