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Christian McCaffrey
This week, 8 of 14 games were decided by one score or less. To clarify, I'm talking about a touchdown and two-point conversion or less. We even saw a couple top dogs take it on the chin, as well as toothless dog show some bite. Here are my observations:
The Good
-Panthers' running back Christian McCaffrey is a bad man! McCaffrey on pace to break the yards from scrimmage record and has 13 touchdowns. Sure Kyle Allen is playing as good as one could expect in the year of the backup quarterback, but McCaffrey is the straw that stirs the drink in Carolina. I have him as a 1a or 1b in the MVP race after his 27 touch 166 yard three touchdown performance in a 30-20 win over the Titans.
-Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson broke the Patriots' 21 game win streak over rookie or second year quarterbacks in a 37-20 win. Jackson went 17/23 for 163 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 16 times for 61 yards and two more touchdowns. Better yet, he didn't turn the ball over and was only sacked once. So much for "he can't play quarterback" or "he should convert to wide receiver" talk.
-Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is the other half of McCaffrey's 1a or 1b in the MVP race. Wilson threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-34 overtime win over the Bucs. On the season, he has 22 touchdowns and only one interception. He's doing this without the help of a star running back or receiver. Not poopoo-ing his teammates, but none of those guys have been named to an All Pro team previously except Tyler Lockett.
The Bad
-The Dolphins were able to beat the Jets 26-18. This is a bad thing several reasons. One: the Dolphins were supposed to be "Tanking for Tua" so a win hurts their chances of landing the first overall pick. Second: the Jets have enough talent to be a more competitive team, but are coached by the same guy the Dolphins fired last season. Third: Sam Darnold threw a ridiculous red zone interception. No wonder the Patriots make the playoffs every year.
-Bucs' quarterback Jameis Winston replicated his 2015 Rose Bowl fumble return for a touchdown in thier loss to the Seahawks. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google it. But Jameis, again, evaded pressure and fumbled the ball backwards only for the opposition to return it for a touchdown. This, amongst other reasons, are why he most likely won't or shouldn't be back with the Bucs next season.
-The Browns are the biggest dumpster fire in the NFL right now. After losing 24-19 to the Broncos, they're now 2-6 on the season and have no hope of making the playoffs after some picked them to win the AFC North. They were a sexy Super Bowl pick. Now, they're more talked about for what Baker Mayfield says in press conferences, or what Odell Beckham Jr and Jarvis Landry's pregame gear is about.
The Ugly
-Former Browns safety Jermaine Whitehead became former Browns safety when he decided to go Twitter thug on some reporters following their loss to the Broncos. He tweeted some profane language, racist remarks and even threw in a death threat as well as a standing invitation to fight. Players are given a cool off period after games before media obligations. Someone should take their phones as well because he reportedly did this while still in uniform!
-Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett sprained his MCL in his left knee. While they're optimistic he will be able to play against the Dolphins Sunday, they're not sure. If Brissett misses the game or isn't fully healthy against the Texans in a couple weeks, it could cost them the AFC South division title. All of this comes on the heels of him taking over for Andrew Luck after his abrupt retirement.
-The Bears are 3-5 and look like they're going nowhere fast. Despite having one of the better defenses in the league, their quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is dumpster juice. The 49ers hoodwinked them into trading up for what is the worst of the three quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2017 draft. They took him over Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Yikes!
I remember watching Rocky IV over and over as a kid. We had it on VHS and I'm pretty sure I wore it out. The scene when Rocky finally cuts Drago and Duke tells him he's not a machine, he's a man is iconic. Well the Ravens did that to the Patriots, and to a lesser extent, the Chargers did that to the Packers. Meanwhile, there are teams barely treading water (Lions, Jags, and Eagles), and others sinking fast (Browns, Bears, and Titans). We're over the hump of the midpoint and the light at the end of the regular season tunnel is now visible. It's still a ways off, but we can see what's ahead. Some of these teams are hoping not to get tripped up along the way. Others are hoping to just make it to the end in one piece.
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Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo 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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