As the annual NFL trade deadline has finally passed, we are reminded of its perpetual disappointment. Starting with the C.J. Henderson-to-Carolina trade, the NFL had eleven total trades transpire before its 4pm deadline. Many of these trades, were relatively minor deals. So while fans dreamed of their teams acquiring players like Deshaun Watson, Brandin Cooks and Fletcher Cox, all of those players stayed with their respective teams. With rosters now mostly set going forward, here are three things we learned.

The Rams are the most well run organization in the NFL

From a fans perspective, you always want to see your team make a run at a championship. For fans of the Los Angeles Rams, this has been a reality in recent years. Even since the recent Super Bowl loss to the Patriots, the Rams have made trades to acquire Jalen Ramsey, Matthew Stafford, and, now, Von Miller. To acquire Von Miller, the Rams gave up a second and third round pick in next years NFL Draft. A hefty price? Certainly, but the Rams have now added a future Hall of Fame pass rusher to a group that already includes Leonard Floyd and Aaron Donald. Combined with the consistently elite play of Jalen Ramsey and the Rams will again feature one of the leagues most feared defenses.

While many have expressed doubt over the Rams ability to rebuild without ample draft picks, the team has shown little worry in this regard. This is how all fans expect their teams to be run. The Rams and general manager Les Snead know that they have a team capable of winning the Super Bowl this year an are going all in. Who cares about the draft when there’s a ring on the line?

The Chiefs are still all in

Sitting at 4-4, the Kansas City Chiefs have been routinely criticized for sub-par play. Despite the “Super Bowl hangover” the Chiefs still believe in their ability to win a championship in the 2021 season. The most recent assertion of this was the trade for Melvin Ingram. With one of the worst defensive units in the NFL, Kansas City was in desperate need of pass rushers and Ingram certainly gives them that. Alas, will it matter? Ingram alone won’t improve that defense and they have the NFL’s hardest schedule the rest of the way. Of course, the Chiefs are one of the most talented teams in the league. They have Hall of Fame caliber players in Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. Their head coach is one of the best play callers in the league. While it may seem far fetched right now, the Chiefs are right to go all in with this core.

Deshaun Watson stays in Houston

The strangest story of the entire NFL season, and that’s saying something, has been the on-going Deshaun Watson saga. What once started as a trade request from one of the best quarterbacks in the league now includes over 20 claims of sexual assault. In a negligible move, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has refused to place him on the exempt list until the legal issues get sorted out. On the field, Watson is one of the best passers in the league. As such, he is still a highly coveted player. At the forefront of this chase was the Miami Dolphins. The only problem? Miami wanted Watson’s legal issues resolved before they pulled the trigger. Of course, this was never going to happen by Tuesdays deadline. So, Deshaun Watson remains on the Houston Texans where he has not played a single snap this season. This situation is awkward for all involved. The Texans are done with Watson, he is done with them, and Watson could be facing serious legal trouble. While it’s doubtful to happen, Roger Goodell needs to do the right thing and place him on the exempt list. Simply, this saga has been an embarrassment for all involved for far too long.

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By: Jason Willis

On the Week 5 edition of ESPN’s NFL Primetime Booger McFarland said “Mac Jones is playing the position as well as you can ask a rookie too.” Ask many around the NFL and you will likely hear similar comments. If you discuss the matter with Patriots fans you will quickly forget if you’re talking about Mac Jones or Joe Montana in his prime. At one point he was even the betting favorite to win Rookie of the Year. However, let’s take a step back.

When Mac Jones was selected out of Alabama in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft, he was the fifth quarterback selected. Going to the New England Patriots with the fifteenth overall pick, this looked to be a great landing spot for a passer with much to prove. Simply, he was almost never tested at Alabama. His team was the most talented in the country by a long shot and as such things came easy for them. 6/11 offensive starters are playing in the NFL right now and more will follow come next year’s draft. So while he threw 4,500 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just four interceptions, he very rarely faced adversity.

Of course, this is not the end all be all. Mac Jones has always has uncanny accuracy and ball placement. Even if the guys he was throwing to at Alabama were wide open most times, Jones always threw an easily catchable ball in the perfect spot. My worries with Jones stemmed from his ability to adjust to NFL speed. Could he make NFL throws into tight coverage? How would he respond to pressure? Would he have the confidence to continue throwing down the field? With these worries, I gave Mac Jones a third-round grade. My hope was that he could sit on the bench initially as he adjusted to the game at the NFL level. This looked like it may happen as the Patriots once had Cam Newton on the roster. However, following a strong pre-season from Mac Jones, Newton was released.

With the starting job now Jones’ to lose, the Patriots and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels wasted no time. Early on it was obvious that they would not be limiting the playbook for the youngster. Instead, the playcalling would be very similar to what was ran when Tom Brady was there. Lots of mesh, slant/flat and drive concepts with shots off of play-action. Throwing all of this at him so early in his career is certainly a bold move.

The biggest weaknesses for Mac Jones at this point is his timid play style. He simply does not take the chances needed from a starting NFL quarterback. The causes for this are likely numerous. First off, he is slow to process like most rookie quarterbacks. Despite playing SEC football, the NFL is a much faster, more complicated game and it takes all rookies time to adjust. This slow processor limits his ability to attack defenses however because even when receivers pop open, Jones is too late to see it. The other reason for this is his limited arm talent. He simply does not have high-level arm talent to stretch the field or throw the ball to the opposite sideline. This of course is most worrisome in his development. He can get acclimated to the NFL game sure, but can he ever overcome his physical limitations?

This timidness handicaps the entire offense as defenses are now going to force Jones to beat them over the top and to the sideline. Opposing teams will let him have the three-yard dump-offs if they know he won’t try and take them deep. Against the Houston Texans last week, Mac Jones attempted just two passes over twenty yards. With the exception of the Saints game in week three, he has just eight of these passes. The Saints game stands out as a total anomaly but also offers some hope. In that game alone he threw the ball 20+ yards twelve times but had just one completion. Currently, he is 28th in the NFL in yards per attempt.

Not many took Mac Jones seriously as an NFL prospect. As such the bar was set low so even meeting expectations has created some excitement. Alas, we must still be honest. Sam Monson at PFF put it very well. While a three-year-old tying his own shoes is impressive, at some point it is going to become expected. That is where we are now with Mac Jones. He currently has 1,243 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. Even though he hasn’t had the ugly games similar to Zach Wilson’s four-interception game or the ugly passes like Trevor Lawrence’s flea-flicker, it’s because he’s not even trying to create big plays. Big plays are not the only thing lacking, however, as Jones does not routinely test tight windows. Much of this can likely be attributed to the fact that he never had to do so in college. If Jones would show the willingness to attempt these throws more often like Wilson and Lawrence, it would go a long way towards feeling comfortable about his NFL future.

Thus far, Mac Jones is playing timid, albeit, safe football. Simply, he looks like a rookie quarterback and that is okay. However, as sports media and fans, the anointment of him as seemingly the best rookie quarterback should stop. Is the book closed on Mac Jones’s career after five games? Of course not, but at this point, he has been a below-average/bad quarterback on a below-average/bad team.

The post Let’s Relax About QB Mac Jones appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jason Willis

On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers lost to the divisional rival Seattle Seahawks. In this game, starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a calf injury. Of course, this prompted the entrance of rookie Trey Lance. While recent news has stated that Garoppolo’s injury isn’t as bad as it seems, the 49ers should turn to the rookie either way.

Currently, the San Francisco offense is middle of the pack. With one of the best play callers in the NFL in Kyle Shanahan and some of the best weapons, the 49er’s offense has so much more potential. Part of unlocking this potential is moving on from Garoppolo. While Garoppolo has been adequate so far, it is clear he holds the team back in many key areas.

The biggest area where Trey Lance can help the 49ers immediately is in the run game. Much like his father, Kyle Shanahan is excellent at scheming up the running game. As we saw when he was the offensive coordinator is Washington with Robert Griffin III, this can also include the quarterback. If Lance is inserted as the starter, Shanahan’s entire playbook will open back up. With the injury to starting running back Raheem Mostert, this would revitalize the entire San Francisco offense.

While Lance was hardly perfect as a passer on Sunday, one thing was clear: He is simply more physically talented than Jimmy Garoppolo. With likely the strongest arm of any rookie QB, he can make throws that Garoppolo can’t even attempt. With weapons like Deebo Samuel, George Kittle and Brandon Aiyuk being able to stretch the field more convincingly would make a world of difference. This is something that is not new to Lance either as he did it often at North Dakota State.

Trey Lance was not great on Sunday. However, for a rookie quarterback thrown into action against a good team, it was an admirable job. As mentioned, it was clear the talent gap between the two quarterbacks as well. Luckily for San Francisco, the Garoppolo injury allows them the perfect opportunity to insert Trey Lance permanently. When Trey Lance is on the field for the 49ers, everything about their offense just feels different. He is the 49ers x-factor for this season and going forward and it is time for Kyle Shanahan and company to embrace it. Truly, it is the difference in them being a good team and a great team.

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By: Jason Willis

For the last several years we have seen a young quarterback come into the season with questions and go on to take a massive leap. In 2018 we of course got to witness the emergence of Patrick Mahomes and his MVP season. In 2019 it was Lamar Jackson who proved critics wrong by leading an unstoppable Ravens offense and winning an MVP award of his own. Atlas, 2020 belonged to the Bills Josh Allen who finally put it all together to become an elite passer. In 2021, that player will be Kyler Murray.

In 2020, Kyler Murray had a stellar season. With 3,971 passing yards, 26 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions through the air and 819 yards rushing, and eleven more scores, he was a darling of the fantasy football community. However, from an on-field standpoint, it was imperative that he limited the mistakes, and take advantage of more opportunities. In 2021 not only has he done these things, but he also has improved on areas that were already a strength.

Much like the other players mentioned who took drastic leaps forward, Kyler is an incredible athlete. Early on, this athleticism dominated his playstyle whereas now, it accentuates it.

This play exhibits it well. As the pass rush closes in Murray is athletic enough to escape the rush but stays poised and keeps his eyes downfield. In doing so, he is able to find Rondale Moore of a long touchdown. In years past, a play like this likely turns into a sack as Murray tries to run. Instead, it’s a huge play.

Perhaps the only thing that could truly stop Kyler from achieving his potential is his head coach. Simply, Kliff Kingsbury is not an NFL-level play-caller. As such, much of the Cardinals offense comes from the former number one overall pick just improvising. If the Cardinals and Kyler are truly going to take the next step, they need more from their head coach.

As the season moves forward, time will tell if Murray can maintain this level of play. Currently, he has 1,005 yards passing with seven scores and three more on the ground. If this pace continues, he would finish 2021 with over 5,000 yards passing and over 35 touchdowns. While these numbers might not stay true, the talks of MVP are already ringing across the NFL. With the Cardinals sitting at 3-0 on the back of the Heisman winners’ play, who can blame them for talking?

Kyler Murray certainly still has more room to develop his game. However, just a few years ago we were all pretty convinced he would be the “shortstop for the Oakland A’s”. One of the most fun and exciting young players in the game today, 2022 is looking to be the year Murray takes over.

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