always not on the defensive side, but the offensive side
MDS you are up.
49ers tight in George. Kittle is my pick? He was remarkable
in the win over the Bangles with 13 catches for 151 yards
and a touchdown with these combination of size and speed
kill can just do so much in that offense
and Bengals coach Zack, Taylor
was beside himself after the game
with some of his comments. He was talking about how
thoroughly is defense had prepared for kiddo. How they
were well aware that the 49ers would go to Kindle in
the biggest moments it
Wasn't that they weren't ready for Kindle? He said
it'll just made plays no matter what they threw at him to try
to stop him. The 49ers are looking like, they're going to
be a tough team to beat down. The stretch
kid'll is a player.
No defense will want to have to reckon with
in the playoffs.
I think, Zack Taylor described it pretty well that
you can know what they're going to do
and you can't stop.
George Kittles been on here. Quite a bit lately MDS. He's
been playing terrific. Another guy who's been playing
terrific. And if you'd been there two games ago,
the Vikings probably would have won that game. We're talking about
Dalvin cook,
and when they play a Thursday night game, they sometimes get
lost in the Sunday and Monday games, and we sometimes forget
about those players. You can't forget about, Dalvin cook, 27,
carries 205 yards. Two touchdowns
also caught a pass for 17 yards.
He was so good. 222 yards from scrimmage. I was a huge victory
over Pittsburgh at the Vikings desperately needed. He now has
nine hundred seventy eight yards and six touchdowns in 10
games.
If the Vikings have him Mike there. I really really good
offense. A much better options than they are without him.
And if they're going to save Mike Zimmer's job. It's going
to be Dalvin, cook making that offense go. It's still
an uphill climb. That loss to Detroit hurt them so badly, but
they did get the win over Pittsburgh even
Oh, they tried their damnedest to blow a 29, nothing lead,
and they've got the Bears coming up on Monday Night
Football. I won't Rashaad Penny. I remember when
the Seahawks made him their first-round, pick in 2018. The
Seahawks have been desperate to find consistency at
the tailback position
since Marshawn Lynch left and
they haven't had anyone nearly as durable
as Lynch ever was. And Richard penny has had his share of
injuries. He missed two games as a rookie six games his
second year. He played in only Three games last year, he's
appeared in six this year,
but he had his best day ever with 137 rushing yards and
a couple of touchdowns. He showed a burst, he's got size. He's
got speed and if they can just find a way to keep him healthy.
Now, good luck with that
because I think past performance does predict future
durability or lack thereof in the NFL, but it was good to see
him. Finally have the kind of performance that they thought
he would have when they made him. A first
round pick out of San Diego State,
but it just underscores.
The struggles, the Seahawks have had offensively because
they just haven't had that presence and that consistency
in that performance in the running game since Marshawn
Lynch. All right, MDS. You're up next with defensive player
of the year,
or week, not year, but week, but maybe both, he won't be
the Chiefs. He won't be the defensive player of the year,
because he's only made an impact for half the year, but
the Chiefs got Melvin, Ingram for a sixth round draft pick,
just before the trade deadline, and he has made an enormous
difference, made a big impact in that dominant win. Over Las
Vegas on Sunday.
And before Melvin, Ingram arrived. They played 8 games,
the chiefs were four and four and we're allowing an average
of 28 points a game. Since Ingram arrived. The Chiefs are
5 and 0
and they're allowing an average of ten in points a game.
I don't know if I've ever seen a defense turn things around
midseason, the way the Chiefs have this year. I'm not saying
Melvin Ingram is the only player responsible for that,
but it's more than just a coincidence. That he arrived.
And that defense really improved. He has done a great
job and he's a big part of the reason the Chiefs again are
looking like, Super Bowl contenders.
We just talked about the Cowboys offensive struggles.
And what's going on with Dak Prescott. There's no questions
about that defense. And you could have picked several guys
off of that beef defense. So I have picked two. So in this
category defensive player of the week,
I'm going to go with Randy Gregory. Welcome back. Randy
Gregory, one of my very favorite players of all time.
Great person great player. He's was terrific in that game.
After that, calf injury
one tackle, one sack to quarterback kits.
Inner. Option that should be on highlight reels. For a long
time to come a forced fumble, past the fence.
He ended the game on Third and three there with that strip
sack of Kyle Allen, and it was lights out. Randy Gregory.
Welcome back to the Cowboys.
Yeah. Look, I have to go with Aaron. Donald the guy that
I saw last night was the peak Aaron Donald, and I've got
a theory
that he spent Sunday,
Sunday night, maybe Monday morning, hearing
All about Michael Parsons and Michael Parsons this
and Michael Parsons that and Lawrence Taylor, this
and Lawrence Taylor that.
And they just had the demeanor last night of a guy who wanted
to remind everybody about who he was and what he can do. And
he was phenomenal. He had a sack right out of the gates
and the sack at the end of the game and it was disappointing
because it robbed us of what I thought was going to be
a potentially special moment with collar Marie running around.
Maybe firing up another
hail Marie type of a ball that would have potentially forced
overtime. You can see watch him here, Marie avoids, the sack
and then there's Aaron Donnie's like that. I we are, this is
not happening. We are not going to let this guy get free,
and he turns on the afterburners puts calamari
down, puts the game away. Aaron Donald who I think right now.
It's 7:01. Sneaky smart play for defensive player of
the year. You can give value on that bet. So
Aaron Donald still
one of the very best to have ever done it rookie.
Of the week MPS. Who do you have
charges? Rookie receiver. Josh Palmer knew he was gonna get
more opportunities on Sunday against the Giants. With
Keenan, Allen out, and Palmer, stepped up in a big way with
five catches for 66 yards,
and a touchdown. Definitely the best game of his young career.
Prior to Sunday. The Chargers hadn't really Incorporated Palmer
much into their passing game, but he looked like a player.
They can count on if they need him.
He's going to be valuable for them down the stretch, I think.
Speaking of Lawrence, Taylor, I mean, Michael Parsons, that's
a joke. I've not comparing him to Lawrence Taylor. I think he
needs more than this season, but he looked terrific and
continues look, terrific. And
I've don't know how many times I've picked him as rookie of
the week, but it's been a lot. And I think if there was just
a single category of Rookie of the Year, not offensive and
defensive. I think he would win. The award over Mike Jones
over any of the quarterbacks that were drafted and how he
fell to 12th in this draft, will never know. But he looks
like,
One of the best players out of this draft, three tackles 2
sacks, a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, that was
returned for touchdowns in the last six games, six games. He
has nine and a
half sacks. He has 12 for the season. I think they figured
out how good of a pass rusher is I'm not sure they knew that
before they started losing. All those pass rushers in had to
use him as a pass rusher.
They know now and everybody else in the league knows now to
Mike.
And he told me after the game, he likes moving around because
it creates more chaos for the offense. They don't know where
he's going to be. They can pick the best spot for him to get
the best matchup.
You know, that's the difference between him and an edge, rusher
Edge rush. You always know where that guy is. Now some of
them move around but not with the kind of Versatility and
flexibility that Michael Parsons has,
right? This one for me and this isn't based on this week's
performance, because we're Shawn Slater did not grayed out
well, against the Giants, but I picked. First of all,
I didn't know who else to pick because I always defer to To
your, I'm not complaining. I'm just being transparent. I let
you guys pick first and I take the last one and some weeks.
Like, who the hell am I going to take? So,
I'm taking Rashawn Slater for the comparison
as it relates to the Giants,
because whether it was Michael Parsons,
whether it was Rashawn Slater,
they shouldn't have done what they did when they traded out
of the 11th spot and stockpiled. A first rounder for
next year. Because when they didn't get Devonte Smith,
the guy that they had to have they went to their fallback could
area.
Tony who has not been great for them.
And that's putting it mildly. Some of the stuff. I'm hearing.
He dares, Tony has been a handful for them behind
the scenes and if they had to do it all over again, they probably
would stay put at number 11, will clearly that stay at
number 11
and take Michael Parsons,
but they also need help on the offensive line
and Rashawn Slater,
maybe could have been good enough to Stave off whatever
major changes are coming. And, you know, I'm starting here
that maybe Joe judge isn't as safe as they want us to
believe, he's going to be especially with a new GM on
the way. And so
we're Sean Slater.
Kind of by default not because of his performance necessarily
against the Giants, because the Giants could have had him or
Michael Parsons and the guy they have is not going to help
them get to where they're trying to be. All right. Coach
of the week time MDS. Who do you have
Titans? Coach, Mike. Vrabel worked on Urban Meyer staff at
Ohio State for two years, but minor could not call variable
a loser on Sunday as variables. Titans. Just beat the tar out
of Myers Jaguars
22, nothing win, and it never even felt that close
this Titans team.
Has been hit hard by injuries, but I still think they're going
to win the AFC South and be very dangerous in January. And
I think it's a real credit to Vrabel that all those injuries
didn't send their season into a tailspin
variable, has his team playing winning football.
I'm going to take issue with one thing that Sean McVeigh
said today. He said they were in a uniquely challenging
position with all the covid cases. I don't think that's
true. We talked a lot about all the covid cases challenging.
Absolutely. There's no question. They lost
two players right before the game hours before the game,
Jalen Ramsey and Tyler higbee. How do you make up for those
two guys? I don't know how they did it, but they did. It hop to
DeAndre Hopkins, had 12 targets five catches for 54 yards. He's
having an MRI. We know that
Stafford was terrific
Chandler, Jones and Marcus golden. They had three
pressures in one sack, wherever you want to look on this Rams,
team. They got the job done. And Aaron Donald we already
talked about but credit to Sean McVeigh for having that team
ready to play
in a game. They had to win if they were going to stay in
the division race
and kudos to Cooper cup with 13 catches for 123 yards. Last
night. We wrote an item earlier today at PFT. He could break
the single. Season reception yard of 149 held by Michael
Thomas
and the single-season.
Yardage reception
record set by Calvin Johnson nine years ago of 1964.
I believe he's not on Pace to break them, but he could and
I think the Rams will be very aware of that as the season
continues to unfold. I'm gonna go with Kyle, Shanahan,
you know, coming off of a disappointing Loss in Seattle.
It would have been very easy for the 49ers kind of fall
apart, but one thing that Kyle Shanahan does well, and this
dovetails with something that seems that I were talking about
today on PFT live, he figures out ways to get the ball to his
best players and his best players by far our Debo Samuel
and George. Kittle
and unlike teams like the Seahawks where you wonder why
aren't they using DK Metcalf? Why aren't they getting
the ball in the hands of this guy who can just do incredible
things with it? Why aren't they using
him in the backfield? Why aren't they designing plays
where he's going to be opened by virtue of just, the Design,
the timing of the throw. You don't have to get open down
the field.
They do it with kid'll, they do it with Samuel and it all
tracked back to Shanahan and, you know, to hold it together
to keep the team together after they blew that lead.
After they, they let the
Bengals drive down the field to start over time. They stiffened
when they needed to, they got the win all across the board,
Shanahan turning a team that was ready to fall off the cliff
into a real playoff Contender. And I think
they're going to make it. I think they're going to get one
of those wild card berth and they could be a dangerous team.
When the post season rolls around. All right, we need to
take a break before we do have dies, have to give you
some props for breaking out. The very old-school
PF t-shirt. We have not had gear in a long time. I think we
need to bring it back. I think this is the impetus. Yeah. This
is the old. I think, I think that was stitched in my
basement once upon a time
but impressive that you still have it impressive. It's not
moth-eaten like your Cabana Gear.
Well done. Well done, breaking that out today. It makes me
want to go find some of my old PFT gear.
It's great stuff. It's comfortable. It's warm on
a cold day. I love it.