The NFL Roundup 2021: Week 13 Recap

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​Hello again, football fans and welcome to another edition of the NFL Roundup, one that is definitely going to be full of frustration today. Because this weekend’s slate of games featured some downright embarrassing football. The kind that featured some goofy play calling and disgusting play from the league’s so called ‘elite’ and well, that means we should get right down to recapping Week 13 in the NFL, and all the ugly moments it sent our way. So, we can purge this awful week from our minds and look toward a better one, hopefully.
 
The Minnesota Vikings need to make some serious changes in the offseason.
On paper, the Minnesota Vikings appear as though they are super close to competing for a playoff spot and maybe need one or two key players to make them an outright contender for a Super Bowl. But in reality… this team is a mess and in need of an overhaul. Why you ask? Because they lost to the freakin’ Lions. THE LIONS. The worst team in football right now and this embarrassing L is squarely on the shoulders of their coaching staff and their joke of a quarterback. Because the play calling was awful and kept the Lions in the game and Kirk Cousins yet again, couldn’t make big plays when the game was on the line and well, that’s it folks, the Vikings need a coaching and offensive overhaul in the offseason so they can finally give the fans something more than mediocrity.
 
The New Orleans Saints are in dire need of a quarterback.
One must appreciate the loyalty that Saints Head Coach Sean Payton has for his quarterbacks. Because he has stood by everyone last one of them and put his faith in their abilities and sadly, there has been zero return on that investment. Because sadly, Payton put all of his faith in QBs that were either unproven or awful and because he put loyalty over honesty, the Saints are suffering now, and there’s no free agency options available to fix this mess. Unless they go big and sign Colin Kaepernick, which they sadly won’t. Which means the Saints are likely going to just ride this crop of quarterbacks to a sour offseason, wherein hopefully the Saints invest in a top-tier backup or starter to compete with or sit behind Jameis Winston… so this kind of ugly play under center doesn’t happen again.
 
The Buffalo Bills need to get back to fundamentals.
Earlier this season, the Buffalo Bills were a wonderful team to watch. Because they were a well-oiled machine in every phase of the game. But somewhere along the line, they got into their own heads and now they play panicked football and if you don’t believe me, look at last night’s game. Because all they had to do to stop the Pats, was stop the run, since Big Bill Belichick wasn’t keen on throwing in that wind. But they panicked and they let the Pats win and that’s embarrassing. But not all hope is lost, because if this team can take a minute and calm themselves down and get back to the fundamentals that made them successful earlier this season, they can back to their winning ways and it will be quite interesting to see if they do indeed hit the reset button after this game, or let their frustrations continue to guide their performance.
 
The time has come for Lamar Jackson to prove to the league he’s a capable QB.
Make no mistake about it, Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is a thrilling player for certain. For he is a master of the RPO offense and knows how to hold or break a defense with his legs. But there is just one problem when it comes Lamar, in that, four years into his career… we still don’t know if he can handle throwing the ball and for proof… look at Sunday’s game against the Steelers. Because that last throw of the game was just terrible and not indicative of what a franchise QB should accomplish on the field. Which means this is it, he needs to prove to the Ravens and the league that he can lead a team with his arm, and if he cannot… then the Ravens need to skip inking him to a big deal and find themselves a QB that can handle a simple throw like the one he missed.
 
The Broncos need to make some serious offensive changes, right now.
The Denver Broncos have been a different team on defense since the Von Miller trade, because everyone on that side of the ball got the hint, that it was play better or play elsewhere, and their wonderful play reflects that, and the defense should be commended for stepping up. But the Broncos offense, is a whole different story. For the play calling still stinks and the QB play is sub-par at best and George Paton needs to send a message to the offense as well and the best way to do that… is to step in and fire offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and bench Teddy Bridgewater. Because neither have shown the team they have much to offer. So why not let a new coordinator give it a go and turn Drew Lock loose? And while some might say that’s a bad idea when they’re 6-6 and ‘in the mix’, this offense cannot hang with decent or quality teams… so just make the change now and see what happens because there’s nowhere to go but up.  

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