The Good
It pains me to see Matt Ryan doing so well this season. I typically associate Matty Ice with mediocrity, but not this season. The Falcons’ ninth year quarterback completed 75.7 percent of his passes (28-of-37) for 503 yards, including four touchdowns, in Sunday’s win over the Panthers. Ryan currently leads the league with 10.5 yards per attempt and is 200 yards ahead of Drew Brees for the NFL’s leader in passing yards. The Falcons schedule is going to get tough in the upcoming weeks, with games in Denver and in Seattle. However, you can’t deny how good this Atlanta offense is looking this year.
The Bad
On Monday, the Titans fired Bobby April, the special teams coordinator for the time. Why? Because in Sunday’s loss to the Texans, the Titans allowed a 67-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Titans were also flagged for having too many men on the field during a punt return, that penalty improved field position for the Texans and led to a field goal. So far this season, the Titans are ranked 31st in average kick-return allowed (28 yards) and 27th in average punt-return yardage allowed (14.9 yards).
The Ugly
For the second week in a row, this title goes to Odell Beckham, Jr.; simply because the 23-year-old acts like a whiny kid. After Sunday’s loss to the Vikings, Beckham went on a rant about how the refs were against him. He received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting, after cornerback Xavier Rhodes shoved him out of bounds. “The refs are looking to call anything and they’re not looking to call anything the other way, so you have to know that,” he said.
On Tuesday, Beckham told ESPN’s Anita Marks that he is “not having fun anymore” while playing football.
I used to do something similar when I was a kid. Whenever I was losing a game, I felt like it wasn’t fun anymore. Now, maybe Rhodes’ shove should’ve drawn an offsetting penalty, but Beckham needs to learn how to handle his frustrations in a different way. Would he have been as mad if he had more than just a career-low three receptions for 23 yards in last weeks game?
