That wasn’t that bad, was it? (if you’re a Bears fan-and I’m typing this early in the 2nd quarter) With four teams on the bye you’d think one of the windows would be lacking in quality but I think we’re ok here.

To The Games!

Texans/Pats:

Why would you start Drake Maye now, against Houston? I realize New England has their own timelines and internal processes but why not wait for the Titans or Jags which are coming up in two of the next three weeks? Instead, you’ll likely see the Texans get up early and then start blitzing the rookie and getting him all flustered. He ran for over 1,000 yards last year and I’m thinking we’ll see plenty of that today but not in a controlled, disciplined way.

Commies/Ravens:

Who’da thunk this would be an eyeball-worthy tilt? Well, t’is and the only reason is the rook qb Daniels-his play has elevated the entire gotdamn team to be taken seriously (maybe not the secondary) and that’s a helluva accomplishment. He’s the only QB to have a 75% completion rate with 1,000 yards passing and 350 rushing in any five consecutive games since 1970. My guess is the last one is Fran Tarkenton but I’m not looking it up. He can thank Lamar and his skillset for leading the way.

Browns/Eagles:

Watson’s mediocrity manifests itself in many ways including this one-in all five games this year he’s had 25+ pass attempts and yet he’s still not crossed the 200 yards barrier. And it’s not like the running game has pitched in either-Ford has all of one rushing TD so far this season. Things look bleak given how well Hurts has been playing and now he gets wr’s Brown and Smith back.

Cards/Packers:

Did anyone play stonehands Wicks last week, chasing the points from two weeks ago? [raises own stonehand] You would think that Michael Wilson would be the biggest beneficiary of all the attention being given to Harrison Jr. but he only just put together a half-decent game seven days ago. Love is hella consistent when he’s on the field, having scored 2 or more scores in seven straight games.

Bucs/Saints:

One thing I tend to do is not pay attention to bye weeks when drafting guys and that’s why the rookie Rattler is my guy today. Ugh. Will he be able to find Shaheed downfield at some point? That dude averages 48 yards on his TD scores for his career.

Colts/Titans:

Flacco has breathed new life into his career by being the most competent backup Qb in the league. I can see him fetching a fine draft pick if a playoff-bound team suffers an injury at that spot in the last few weeks of the season. For now AR is back behind center so let the INT’s rain down once again. With Levis on the other side of the field I can see this tilt being a sloppily-played one.

Go get it.