San Francisco 49ers
Week two concluded in the NFL with more of the status quo. Not as many shockers this week as there were in week one. It's a matter of opinion really. Here's more of mine opinions on week two in the NFL:
The Good
-49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is finally healthy and earning the massive contract. He completed 68% of his passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns against the Bengals. If he keeps this up, the 49ers will be a playoff contender. That NFC West will also be a division race to watch
-Falcons receiver Julio Jones took a 4th&3 reciever screen pass 54 yards to the house for the game winining touchdown. Analytics say he hit 20mph on his run to the end zone. Julio proved why he's considered the best reciever in the league and well deserving of the highest paid reciever in the league distinction as well.
-Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had another great game. 272 yards passing on 65% passing with two touchdowns, another 120 yards rushing, while taking only two sacks and no turnovers. not too bad for a guy some thought would only survive as a reciever.
The Bad
-Cardinals rookie quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 349 yards...and they still lost. Being one of two rookie quarterbacks to throw for more than 300 yards in his first two games. This would be more celebrated had they won. Being 0-1-1 isn't going to save or torpedo his season, but putting up record number on a bad team is kind of like the tree falling in the woods with no one around.
-The ending of the Bears/Broncos game was terrible. Penalties, clock issues, blown chances, and a 4th&15 conversion. The only good thing that came out of it was the Bears apparently found a kicker in Eddie Pineiro as he kicked a 53 yard game winner. All of this in a 16-14 game between two 0-1 teams trying to avoid 0-2.
-The Chargers/Lions game ended in a 13-10 Lions win, and there was only one score in the second half when Matt Stafford hit Kenny Golladay for a touchdown midway through the third quater. One would think teams featuring Stafford and Phillip Rivers at quarterback would be capable of putting up more than 23 combined points.
The Ugly
-Quarterbacks are dropping like flies! Jags Nick Foles (IR designated to return), Steelers Ben Roethlisberger (season ending elbow surgery), and Saints Drew Brees (out six weeks with thumb surgery) are all out significant time due to injuries. Jags ans Steelers may be done, but the Saints have an outside shot to make the playoffs. Somebody wrap Deshaun Watson in bubble wrap please.
-Obligatory "Dolphins suck" post: The Dolphins lost 43-0 to the Patriots. They ran four less plays, got outgained by 97 yards, and gave up seven sacks. The average score of a Dolphin game after two weeks is 51-5. Maybe they will be historically bad.
-Eli Manning is in the last year of his contract with the Giants. The Giants are seemingly going to let him play it out even though 1sr round pick Daniel Jones is waiting in the wings.Eli has looked like a shell of himself and Jones is coming off a fairly impressive preseason. This has people calling for Manning's exit and Jones' entrance. Hard to see a two time Super Bowl winner being run out of town.
This was a quarterback heavy recap. Given that the NFL is a quarterback driven league, it's not surprising. Hopefully week three brings us some better performances, more stunning results, and a hit on a parlay (thanks for nothing Chargers/Lions). Although, I did enjoy some of the closer contested games. Overall it was another week of NFL football, of which, we have every weekend until the first Sunday in February. Let's enjoy it while we have it.
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As of 9:42 Central Daylight Saving Time Friday night, the Astros (and all other baseball players) are officially the Boys of Summer, officially so far as the season is concerned anyway. When the summer solstice arrived last year the Astros were nine games off the lead in the American League West. So in addressing the rhetorical axiom “what a difference a year makes,” the difference in the Astros’ case is a whopping 14 games as they start the weekend atop their division by five games. At this point in the season last year the Astros’ record in one-run games was a brutal 5-14. In 2025 they are 13-7 in games decided by the narrowest of margins.
That the Astros are just 4-5 in road games against the two worst teams in the American League is no big deal, other than that every game counts in the standings. Still, just as was losing two out of three at the pathetic White Sox earlier this season, it is no doubt disappointing to the Astros to have only gotten a split of their four-game set with the Athletics. The A’s had gone 9-28 in their last 37 games before the Astros arrived in West Sacramento. The former-Oaklanders took the first game and the finale, as the Astros’ offense played bi-polar ball over the four nights. Two stat-padding explosion games that totaled 24 runs and 35 hits were bookended by a puny one-run output Monday and Thursday’s 5-4 10-inning loss. Baseball happens. Nevertheless, as the Astros open their weekend set versus the Angels, they have gone 17-7 over their last 24 games to forge their five-game division lead.
The New York Yankees’ offense has been by a healthy margin the best attack in the American League so far this season. The reigning AL champions snapped a six-game losing streak Thursday. The Yankees mustered a total of six runs over those six losses, including being shutout in three consecutive games. The baseball season is the defining “it’s a marathon not a sprint” sport. With 162 games on the schedule, combined with the fact that the gap in winning percentage between the best teams and the worst teams is smaller than in any other sport, making much about a series, or week or two of games is misguided, apart from all the results mattering.
The future is now
Without context, statistics can tell very misleading stories. Cam Smith is having a fine rookie season and has the looks of a guy who can blossom into a bonafide star and be an Astro mainstay into the 2030s. But it’s silliness that has anyone talking about the big month of June he’s having. Superficially, sure, going into Thursday’s game Smith’s stat line for the month read a .321 batting average and .874 OPS. Alas, that was mostly about Smith’s two monster games in the consecutive routs of the Athletics. Over those two games Cam went seven for nine with two home runs and two doubles. Over the other 14 games he’s played this month Smith is batting .213 with an OPS below .540.
Cam Smith is a long-term contender for best acquisition of Dana Brown’s tenure as General Manager. If his career was a single game Smith is still in the first inning, but if his career was a stock it’s a buy and hold. If the Astros were for some reason forced to part with all but two players in the organization, I think the two they would hold on to are Smith and Hunter Brown. Jeremy Pena would be another strong candidate, but he turns 28 in September and is two seasons from free agency (unless the rules change in the next collective bargaining agreement). Smith is 22 and under Astros’ control for another five seasons, he’s not even presently eligible for salary arbitration until the 2028 season. Brown turns 27 in August and is currently ineligible for free agency until after the 2028 season.
Angels in the outfield
Hunter Brown pitches opposite Yusei Kikuchi Friday night. Kikuchi was Dana Brown’s big in-season move last season, and Kikuchi was excellent with the Astros which set up to get the three-year 63 million dollar deal he landed with the Halos. After a slow start to his season Kikuchi has been outstanding the past month and a half, with a 2.28 earned run average over his last nine starts. Brown’s 1.88 season ERA is second-best in the big leagues among pitchers with the innings pitched to qualify in the category. Only Pirates’ stud Paul Skenes has a better mark, barely so at 1.85.
Kikuchi was a stellar rental who helped the Astros stretch their consecutive postseasons streak to eight. There was an absurd amount of vitriol over what Dana Brown gave up for him. Joey Loperfido is 26 years old and having a middling season at AAA. Will Wagner is 26 years old and back in the minors after batting .186 with the Blue Jays. Jake Bloss is the one guy who maaaaaybe some day the Astros wish they still had. Bloss is out into 2026 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
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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