NFL insider notes Lamar Jackson somehow
It's difficult to improve on an MVP season as a 22-year-old quarterback in one's first full season as a starter. But just might do it.Yes, he was opposing the , a perennially helple s bunch that did their best to live down to their reputation at critical junctures in Baltimore's 38-6 beatdown on Sunday. And, yes, the Browns were thin at linebacker and throughout the secondary with a rookie head coach in his first game. But don't let any of that detract from Jackson's latest tour de force performance, one that was even more consistent and nuanced and, frankly, mature, than many of his jaw-dropping outings from 2019.There was a certain poise and calmne s to his masterful Week 1. His clear command of every tenet of the offense was obvious. He was operating at a higher level than anyone else on the football field, anticipating and regulating and putting his team in position to dominate, once more, picking up where they Devante Smith Pelly Kids Jersey left off the 2019 regular season. On the day, Jackson was 20 of 25 for 275 yards with two touchdowns and no picks and a stellar 152.1 rating, on a day when he established the run early but was able to carve the Browns almost exclusively with his arm and not his legs (just seven carries for 46 yards).But there was something extra special about his drive to close out the first half, which also served to effectively close out the competition portion of this football game, with his touchdown drive making it 24-6. It wasn't just what he did, but how he did it. , Jr. dropped an easy first down catch (more on the Browns browning it up, below) then perhaps soon-to-be-ex-kicker mi sed from 41 yards. This could be a huge momentum swing. Jackson could sense it. And his expert work on a seven-play drive, with 41 seconds and two timeouts at his disposal, spoke to Jackson reaching a higher level.Jackson would go five for seven for 69 yards on the drive, never scrambling, never panicking, doing all the damage through the air. He would require just 35 of those allotted seconds to hit paydirt on his second TD pa s to tight end on the day. He was outright toying with the Browns at times, it seemed, in the proce s. He fired immediately to slot man for 20 yards, and then, after a timeout, he found Hollywood Brown for 13 yards over the middle before waiting for him to make a cut down the sideline. A little hand gesture from Brown, who worked all offseason with Jackson in Miami, seemed to indicate where to thread the pa s. That was another 16 yards.Jackson worked the opposite sideline next, leading Andrews out of bounds for an 11-yard gain but only after teasing the entire Browns front. Jackson calmly slid up in the pocket, almost inviting contact, before Washington Capitals Women Jersey gliding back into a vacant pocket and rolling slightly before executing the strike."It's our job to get to the spot," Brown said in the postgame Zoom, "because that's where he's putting it." He misconnected with Andrews and then threw a back shoulder fade to that fell just short (Jackson chastised himself for not being more pinpoint after the game, though a more accomplished receiver probably makes the catch and he placed it where the defender had no shot). Then he crushed the Browns' will with a nine-yard TD pa s to Andrews.This wasn't about mesh points or Jakub Vrana Men Jersey hybrid offenses or fooling anyone with a keeper. Everyone knew the ball was going to be in the air every snap and everyone knows Brown and Andrews are the guys he goes to when it matters most, and no one could intervene. Other than the coaching staff leaving him in too long, when Jackson took a big hit on what could have been a dangerous sack up 31 points in fourth-quarter garbage time -- there wasn't anything to nitpick.Jackson obse sed about improving his downfield pa sing, and went out and was 14-for-17 for 229 yards and 3 TDs on pa ses of 10 yards or more. Expect more of the same next week against an overwhelmed defense and then another meeting with the looms in a battle of the last two MVPs. There's a good chance either one of them gets their hands back on that trophy this year. Cam shows what Pats are now aboutThe are not about style points. They have become a muscular offense in the image of new quarterback , and on two scoring drives that basically sucked the life out of the Sunday you could really feel it.Newton ain't me sing around, and coordinator Josh McDaniels can soften teams up with the power runs early Evgeny Kuznetsov Kids Jersey to set up the pa s, or vice versa. If you put too many helmets in the box, Newton will make you pay in the short pa sing game.The Pats went ahead early on an 11-play, 80-yard, six-minute drive. It went something like this: run, short pa s, run, run, run, short pa s, Cam keeper, short pa s to , run, Cam keeper for the TD. It was more of the same on an eight-play, 75-yard TD drive that put the game away, which started with three straight quick pa ses (two to Edelman and one to running back ), then a handoff, then another quick pa s to Edelman, then a Cam keeper, then a handoff for an inside run and then a Cam keeper for 11 yards to score. Newton ran 15 times for 75 yards, far away the team leader as New England rolled up over 200 yards on the ground. This is who they are. Get used to it.Dome team defenses struggle without fansFor what it's worth, keep an eye on dome teams, now with no fans, having their defenses struggle mightily. There were notable collapses by the defenses of the , and in the early games. Now, part of it might be that all three defenses stink (two probably do and the Vikings continue to decline rapidly from where they were a few years ago), but they combined to give up 108 points, with opposing QBs having no concerns about crowd noise or hand signals or silent counts.Frankly, it was ugly. Even got off under these circumstances, leading a wild fourth quarter comeback that will have the hot seat under Matt Patricia cranking again (wasn't buying the Lions as a playoff team narrative before this game; definitely ain't now). Might be a trend worth tracking after , and Trubisky combined to go 83 of 115 (72 percent) for 928 yards, 11 TDs and no interceptions. Wow ... QB controversy coming for ?The Colts may find they have a QB controversy on their hands sooner rather than later. has been a turnover machine for years, specializing in the first quarter and fourth quarter variety, which is why the were ready to move on by last December. The Colts should have put the Jags away early, scoring a quick TD, getting stuffed on downs near the goal line and then, driving again, Rivers got picked, which led to the Jags' first score. And, trailing by a score with le s than five minutes left, Rivers got picked again. Defenders can undercut his throws too easily, as arm strength has long seemed an i sue. But he is still pretty Andre Burakovsky Women Jersey quick to heave the ball up for grabs. Head coach Frank Reich goes way back with him, and with his $25M salary I doubt we see a quick hook. But is the better QB and he is already seeing the field in certain packages and that coul