The NFL Roundup 2019: Week 8 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

It really was quite the fascinating weekend of NFL Football, wasn’t it? Because this slate of games reinforced the fact that Week 8 really is the time of year, where we truly understand where our favorite teams are at in the season, and how far they have to go in order to compete for a championship. After all, the bad and mediocre teams exposed exactly what they need to address in the offseason, and the elite gave us an idea of how far they might go in the playoffs. If anything, while this information was sobering for some fans, it taught us plenty and with that in mind, let’s settle in and discuss everything of note that we learned from Week 8 in the NFL.
 
The league really needs to do more to improve the quality of Thursday Night Football.
We love prime-time football for one reason and one reason alone, because it provides the fans with the best possible games that the NFL has to offer. Or at least, that’s how it is supposed to work. Because Thursday Night Football continues to offer up stinker after stinker matchup wise and last week’s game meets that criteria as well. Which means, the league needs to do something and fast when it comes to this particular game because NFL fans expect better from prime-time games. But what is scary is that I’m not sure the league can make that work without creating some kind of flex schedule for these matchups, which will not go well with the players. So, in the meantime, I suppose we are going to have to suffer through some awful games while the league works to figure this out. At least, I hope they’re trying to figure this out.
 
Tampa Bay needs to bench and move on from Jameis Winston.
I am all for giving players time to adjust to a new coach and/or find their way in this league since the NFL is a tough sport and definitely has a learning curve. But what I’m not for, is franchises continuing to give guys chances when it is inherently clear that they cannot play at a high level and that’s precisely what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to do with their ‘prize’ quarterback Jameis Winston. Because he’s yet to do anything special in this league, he turns over the ball constantly and he looked pretty awful at times in their loss to the Titans on Sunday. Which means, it’s time to be done with this bust of a draft pick, and Tampa Bay should bench him immediately and dump him in the offseason, rather than continuing to try and get blood from a stone.
 
The Colts are one scrappy team.
I think it is safe to say that we all expected this season to be rough for the Colts, simply because the loss of their franchise quarterback in preseason should have been devastating to the offense. But Jacoby Brissett has done a phenomenal job under center, and the team has rallied behind the notion that they are better than one man. And for their efforts, they’ve having a hell of a season, and they’re demonstrating week in and week out that they are a scrappy team that refuses to lose and for proof, just look at how things went against Denver this past Sunday. Because all signs pointed to the Denver D shutting this team down. But they rallied, forced mistakes and enjoyed another important win and that ‘can do’ attitude is going to serve them well down the line.
The Browns need to get it together on offense.
The thought process in Cleveland was, that promoting Freddie Kitchens to Head Coach and letting him handle play calling duties would do wonders for the Browns and Baker Mayfield. But alas, that has proven to not be the case. For Mayfield looks like he is regressing in year two since he’s making some dumb decisions on the field, and his mistakes are being compounded by some questionable play calling. Because I saw some outright goofy plays take place on Sunday, with the shovel pass/INT being the weirdest one of all and well at this point, it’s obvious the Browns need to take a moment and regroup on offense. Because at this point it’s all flash and dash and teams see right through that. So, here’s to hoping coach Kitchens starts game planning to exploit weaknesses in defenses instead of trying to impress the league, and if he cannot, well then, get ready for another coaching change in Cleveland.
 
Bill Belichick nabbed his 300th career win as a Head Coach on Sunday.
Not many coaches make it five years in this league, simply because the NFL is all about top-tier results. And even then, the long timers make it a decade or so before they’re pushed out for a younger and more dynamic coach that an owner believes will revolutionize the game and relate to the players better. So, to see Bill Belichick coach for as long as he has is quite the feat, and his resume is equally as impressive. But perhaps the biggest achievement in his illustrious career came Sunday, when he nabbed his 300th win in the NFL against the Browns and well, this is a pretty epic achievement for certain. For only three coaches, including Big Bill have achieved this incredible honor, so I tip my cap to Coach Belichick for accomplishing one heck of a career goal and whether or not you like or despise the guy, you have to admit, this is indeed one impressive accolade. 

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