Jordy Nelson and the Packers missed Aaron Rodgers but ran the ball well against New Orleans. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Week seven of the NFL brought the usual excitement. However, there were moments when you’d grab your hair to pull it out, as well as moments in which you’d feel utter confusion. Here’s my personal look into week seven:
The Good
-Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is the real deal. He’s clearly established himself as one of the best young coaches in the league. Not only has he found a way to get something out of Jared Goff, he’s managed to use Todd Gurley as an all-around back. I’m impressed so far and look forward to seeing what he can produce in the future.
-Despite their heart-breaking loss to the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night, the Kansas City Chiefs have the league leader in passing yards (Alex Smith), rushing yards (Kareem Hunt), and second leader in receiving yards (Tyreek Hill).
-Shot out to some oldies but goodies still getting it done. Most know quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Brees are up in age, yet still performing. But what about the Carolina Panthers’ Julius Peppers at age 37 sixth in the league with 6.5 sacks?
-Props to Jeff Heath of the Dallas Cowboys. Heath is primarily a safety. However, he’s also a former high school kicker. Heath managed kickoff duties, 2/3 PATs, and a few tackles. This was a true throwback performance to the days of two-way players.
The Bad
-For all the talk about the New Orleans Saints now four-game win streak, their defense is still a sieve. They managed to give up 181 yards rushing to the Green Bay Packers knowing Aaron Rodgers was out at quarterback.
- Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy had the most touches (115) without a touchdown through week six than any other player in the league. Unacceptable for a player of his caliber coming off the year he had last year. He managed to score twice this week. The Bills are 4-2 after narrowly escaping the Tampa bay Buccaneers, but could easily be 2-4. Getting McCoy the ball more in scoring situations could help the Bills’ chances at success this year.
-The New York Jets are ruining their chances at taking a top quarterback in next year’s draft by playing well. I know winning is the name of the game, but Josh McCown isn’t the future, neither is any other quarterback on the roster. While I’m happy to see them playing well despite obvious appearances and moves in the offseason, don’t try too hard guys or you’ll ruin your chances for a top 3-5 pick.
The Ugly
-The Indianapolis Colts are a bad football team. They lost 27-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday and gave up 10 sacks. Even if franchise quarterback Andrew Luck was playing, I highly doubt their 2-5 record would be any better.
-Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer broke his arm in the team’s 33-0 loss to the Rams. At 37, I’m not sure how much Palmer has left. With wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (34) coming to the end of the road and newly acquired Adrian Peterson (32) filling in for David Johnson, I think it’s time the Cardinals hit the reset button.
-Cleveland Browns all-pro left tackle Joe Thomas tore his tricep Sunday against the Tennessee Titans ending his 10,363 consecutive snaps played streak. I admire his loyalty to the team and the fans, but I hope this gives him the impetus to ask for a trade to a contender. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer who deserves to play more meaningful games before he hangs it up.
One thing I’ve learned over the course of this season is that there are no for sure title contenders. Teams I thought would not be very good, (Saints, Rams, Titans/Jags) are division leaders. On the contrary, teams I thought would be contenders (Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders), aren’t leading their divisions and may not make playoffs. The parity the league has been looking for is definitely here this season. When asked this past weekend who I thought would be title contenders this year, I said half the damn league right now! Every team .500 and above has a shot to win this year at this point in time. Over the next few weeks, we should see water find its level.
*Bonus: Tweet of the day goes to @B1ackShefter with his Cam Newton/Rollo from Good Times comparison.
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. He has often looked befuddled in the batter's box. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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