Early Season NFL Talk

Week 7 of the NFL season kicks off tonight and there has been a lot of crazy stuff that has happened already. From games being cancelled and moved, to the crazy amount of big time injuries, and just some of the surprises, whether it be players or teams. This season has started out with a bang and I hope we can continue with the great product. I want to talk about some players who are on fire, teams who are playing great, and, of course, some predictions going forward.

Breakout star: DK Metcalf

My oh my, this guy is on a rampage. Now don’t get me wrong, he was very good last year only as a rookie. Last year, he hauled in 58 catches, 900 yds and 7 TDs, pretty impressive I would say. Through 5 weeks in his sophomore campaign he already has 22 catches, 496 yards and 5 TDs, so on pace to surpass all those numbers. It was hard for me to consider him a breakout star just based off the fact he was already pretty good last year, but some of the comparisons he’s been drawing make him impossible to ignore. He’s basically the lovechild of Julio and Megatron. There may be a better pick, but personally he’s been so fun watch and to see the leap from year one to two this early on is really impressive.

Favorite/Best Rookie: Chase Claypool/Justin Jefferson

This might be a little biased, but I’m fine with that. So immediately, everyone would think it’s biased because of Jefferson being the home team guy, well yes that’s true, but I’m actually not much of a Viking fan. Sadly to most of you…I’m a Steelers fan, diehard till the end. Not even sure if anyone in 10K knows that, but the cat’s out of the bag now and I’m sure it will come up again. Now I know there are a few other players on both sides of the ball who may have been better and more valuable already, but I’m cheating and combining that with MY personal favorite(s) at the moment.

Those two are Chase Claypool and Justin Jefferson. Claypool, a 2nd round WR out of Notre Dame and Jefferson a 1st round WR from LSU. Both players came into the league and immediately became X-factors for their teams. Jefferson has logged 28 catches, 537 yards and 3 TDs early on while Claypool has logged 17 catches, 335 yards and 4 receiving td‘s and 2 rushing td’s. I predict these two guys will keep up their performances and turn into stars in the coming years.

Here is a tweet from PFF to show how good these guys have been already this early on into their careers.

Surprise team: Chicago Bears

Okay, I am not going to act like I actually think the Bears are an elite team, but it’s hard to deny the record at 5-1. What’s odd is the fact they are a 5-1 team but have already changed QB’s, that’s just funny to me. Bumbisky leads them to a good start and still gets the shaft, hilarious. They have won all their games by a small margin and haven’t played the toughest opponents, but still, it’s hard to ignore 5-1. Their defense seems to be returning to the level they played at 2 years ago, and if that’s the case they don’t need a great offense to be successful. Rest of the way, I suspect they keep playing well enough to make the playoffs but I don’t think they have the fire power to make a serious move in the playoffs. I’ll enjoy keeping my eye on them the rest of the way and to see how they fair against the Packers.

Super Bowl matchup/Winner: Steelers over the Seahawks

It’s hard to overlook what these two teams are doing. Mr. Unlimited cooking and looking like the front runner for MVP, D.K. becoming a star, Chris Carson tearing it up. This team is primed for a run, the only concern is the defense. If there was any doubt, the Legion of Boom is now dead. It’s a little concerning that a team known for their defense for so long that now couldn’t stop a JV squad if the JV team only had 9 players, but it’s hard to be too concerned when the offense is scoring at will. They’re basically the opposite of the Bears. I believe over the rest of regular season people will know whether this Seahawks team can get by on just an offense or if the defense will need to step up.

BIG BEN IS BACKKKKKK. After thinking his career may be over, he’s back again and playing like vintage Ben. When he was hurt last year, I think a lot of people had the same idea, “could this be it?” Which, at the time, was a valid question. Steeler Nation was very uncertain and nervous of what might come next, luckily Ben wasn’t going down that easy.

After surgery on his elbow he is back and playing very well. The combination of him playing well, all the young weapons on offense and the absolutely wrecking ball of a defensive unit, this team is looking like teams of the past. Once again it looks like a team who will make the playoffs and has everything it takes to make another run if Ben stays healthy, which is a BIG IF, unfortunately.

I will keep my fingers crossed and pray he doesn’t get hurt, if he stays healthy I think this squad has a real chance to get back to the big game, but it won’t be easy. Time will tell, but as of now I’m taking the Steelers over the Seahawks in the big game, a throwback of Ben’s first ring. Wouldn’t it be fitting that he goes out on top against the team he beat the first time? I’m just saying, would be pretty special for that to happen. Regardless I am so stoked for the rest of the year. From getting to cheer on my fantasy players, watching my favorite team and just getting to watch football, it’s going to be a great rest of the year.

Those were just some thoughts and things I enjoyed watching the first 6 weeks of NFL Football that I wanted to talk about. Maybe I’ll check back in in another 6 weeks and see where we are. Until then let’s just be thankful we have football and hope COVID doesn’t screw it up anymore.