The NFL Roundup 2019: Week 1 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​You know, I have to admit, that this might be one of the wildest opening weekends to an NFL season that I’ve ever seen. Because I can’t think of the last time, I’ve seen that kind of drama surrounding a player mere hours before Sunday’s slate of games, nor can I remember the last time I saw a team get that kind of beatdown in their first game of the year. If anything, it just speaks to the fact that anything can happen in the NFL, and it often does, which means it is high time we dive into all of the important storylines that popped up over the past few days and discuss what we learned from our favorite teams.
 
The NFL needs to do something about the sloppy play we witnessed here and there this weekend.
One of the reasons that I fell in love with NFL football, is the sheer fact that it demands perfection out of its players. Every play, every down, every game, it is all about perfection or outright failure and there’s something quite powerful about that. But over the past couple of years, I’ve started to notice that perfection isn’t quite at the top of the league’s mind anymore and this weekend hammered that point home. Because I saw a lot of dropped balls, blocked punts and rusty play and that’s just something that shouldn’t be present in a sport this popular and this big. Which means that the league needs to do something quickly to address the quality of the product because missed kicks for the second year in the row is just embarrassing to see and I don’t know if it is negotiating more practices in the next CBA, or require that starters play a certain number of quarters in the preseason in order to shake the rust off, but something needs to be done. Because you don’t see this kind of sloppy play in tune-up college games and I don’t get how it’s acceptable in professional football.
 
We are likely at the bare beginning of the Antonio Brown saga.
First things first when it comes to this topic, kudos to the Oakland Raiders. Because it’s obvious that AB wanted nothing to do with this franchise and rather than let the madness continue, they freed themselves of it. But while his release and subsequent signing with the Patriots should signal the end of this mess, I fear this is just the beginning. Because while Antonio is a gifted receiver, it’s inherently clear now that his talent has gone to his head and he believes he is bigger than a team and bigger than the game and well, that’s not something that the New England Patriots tolerate in the slightest. And I honestly wonder how long before the honeymoon is over in Foxboro and AB is displeased once again and uses more of his garbage tactics to try and force the team to bend to his will like others have before them and that is going to be ugly to say the least. Granted, nothing could come of this and he could be on cloud nine catching passes from Tom Brady, but a scorpion always stings and it’s just a matter of time before AB unleashes his special brand of egotistical fury, again.
 
The Miami Dolphins are a bad football team.
It’s a forgone conclusion that when a new coach takes over for a particular franchise that some housecleaning is going to be in order when it comes to the roster. Because the new coach has a vision in mind for the team, one that a particular style of player will help bring to fruition. But after seeing the Miami Dolphins get 59 points dropped on them in a single game and seeing all three phases of the team fail miserably in their jobs, I am at a loss for what exactly Brian Flores’ vision is for his new team. Because all the roster moves he made should elicit positive results on the field, but this team is actually worse than it was under Adam Gase, and that’s just terrifying for football fans everywhere. Because this current squad is downright awful and lost on the field and that’s on the coaching staff through and through. So, here’s to hoping that the Dolphins figure out how to jell together as a team and quickly because they are barreling toward a disastrous season, the kind that might bring about another coaching change and another roster purge.
 
Doug Marrone needs to get his players under control.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have been quite the entertaining team to watch over the past few years, since they’ve managed to impress us all with a newfound commitment to winning. But while it’s been great to watch them get within a game of the Super Bowl, I am starting to notice an alarming trend when it comes to this team in that, their players are easily unhinged and outright undisciplined at times. Because here and there, I’ve seen their players get into fights on the field and subsequently find themselves ejected and that happened yet again during Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Because Myles Jack felt the need to take a swing at Chiefs player and was tossed because of it and then felt the need to throw a temper tantrum as Jaguars employees dragged him off the field and well, I guess the question that needs to be posed to Head Coach Doug Marrone is, when is enough, enough? This keeps happening on a yearly basis and that’s because that kind of hot-headed attitude is allowed to persist, despite the fact that it’s embarrassing the franchise and well, the bottom line is that Coach Marrone needs to get his players under control, as soon as possible before this outright gets worse.
 
The Cleveland Browns are STILL a work in progress.
Make no mistake about it, the Browns made some serious splashes in the offseason, the kind that definitely excited the football world when it comes to their future. They got rid of an awful coach, installed one that can cater the system to the franchise’s dynamic quarterback, and they went out and got some incredible role players on both sides of the ball. And some of us, myself included, got caught up in the hype, in large part due to the fact that it would be amazing to see this team do more than lose all the damn time. But the high expectations we all set for this team came crashing down on Sunday since the Titans made Baker Mayfield look like a rookie and the Browns defense found themselves in a tough and exhausted position and well, all this does is hammer home a fine lesson in that, the Browns still have a long way to go, and they still have a young QB with a lot to learn and while they may eventually wow us on the field, in the here and the now, there will be some ugly growing pains for all of us to witness as they work their way toward football glory.  

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