Welcome to our weekly column where we look at all things NFL from our regular NFL tipster and Rugby League raconteur Nick Tedeschi. He will look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the NFL, holding back no punches.
The Voice – Referees Edition
Announcements from NFL officials are critical to the game. A strong voice, confidence in delivery, clarity in language … all are critical. Who are the bet on the mic? Here are the referees ranked in order of their ability to announce:
- Shawn Hochuli
- Bill Vinovich
- Alex Kemp
- Clay Martin
- Land Clark
- Brad Allen
- Clete Blakeman
- Alex Moore
- Alan Eck
- Shawn Smith
- Brad Rogers
- Craig Wrolstad
- Adrian Hill
- Scott Novak
- Ron Torbert
- Carl Cheffers
- John Hussey
Dumb Penalties From Dumb Players
Kansas City tackle Juwan Taylor is continuing to set new standards for stupidity, streaking to the lead of most flag this year with eight. Taylor has been in the top three in the NFL each of the last three seasons with false starts and offensive holding making up the majority of penalties along with a nice smattering of illegal formation. He has had a total of 49 flags thrown on him in three seasons. Other players to have featured are Chicago’s Darnell Wright, Buffalo’s Dion Dawkins and Baltimore’s Ronnie Stanley.
Targets and Air Yards Tell The Story For Betting Wide Receivers
When betting NFL player props, particularly over/under receiving yards, it is best to ignore raw numbers like catches and receiving yards and look to targets and air yards. This gives a much truer picture of future performance:
Top 10 Targets: Puka Nacua, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, Ja’Marr Chase, Keenan Allen, Tetairoa McMilan, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Justin Jefferson and Amon-Ra St Brown.
Top 10 Receptions: Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St Brown, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Chris Olave Garrett Wilson, Ja’Marr Chase, Deebo Samuel, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs and Justin Jefferson.
Bet on Davante Adams and Tetairoa McMillan. Lay Deebo Samuel and Stefon Diggs.
Top 10 Air Yards: Puka Nacua, Davante Adams, Malik Nabers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka, Justin Jefferson, Quentin Johnston, Jerry Jeudy, Tetairoa McMillan, Tyquan Thornton.
Top 10 Receiving Yards: Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Justin Jefferson, Emeka Egbuka,, Amon-Ra St Brown, Quentin Johnston, Zay Flowers, Garrett Wilson, Ja’Marr Chase, Cortland Sutton.
Bet on Davante Adams, Tetairoa McMillan and Tyquan Thornton. Lay Zay Flowers, Amon-Ra St Brown and Courtland Sutton.
Random People Who Played in the NFL
Wrestler Bill Goldberg, the dad from ‘Good Times’, the dad from ‘Webster’, Apollo Creed and Sloth from ‘The Goonies’.
Week 5 Bad Beat Power Rankings
No sport lends itself to cruel beats more than American football. Here are the four worst for Week 5:
4. Over 41.5 NY Giants-New Orleans: There were 30 first half points scored with the total a low 41.5 but the two stuttering offenses managed just 10 points in the second half to see the game go under the total.
3. Philadelphia H2H: The unbeaten Eagles led the Broncos 17-3 at home heading into the final quarter. This one was over. Then Bo Nix and the Broncos marched back, hit the front on a two-point conversion and held on for the win.
2. Cleveland +3.5: At no point did Cleveland trail Minnesota by four until the final 25 seconds of the match in London. In a low match with few points, only a Jordan Addison touchdown took Browns bettors away from the cover.
1. Arizona -7.5: For the second week straight the Cards sit atop the worst beats when they blew a 21-6 lead and an unmarked run to the endzone to make it 28-6 when Emardi DeMercado laired it and fumbled through the endzone. The Titans then scored a touchdown after throwing an intercept – and then forcing a fumble. It was a brutal beat.
Punter Stat of the Week
Eight of the last 12 winners of the Ray Guy Award for the best punter in college football were Australian born.
Four Rules Lost To History
Football has been a dynamic game with ever-changing rules that has developed into the sport we see today. Here are four rules that have been lost to history:
- Point Afters were originally worth four point and taken from in-line where the touchdown was scored – kickers had the option to ‘punt-out’ though which meant kicking to a teammate who then would try to drop kick the ball over from a better position.
- Incomplete passes were originally assessed 15-yard penalties
- Offenses could punt on any down and recover the ball without the opposition touching it to continue the drive.
- When a ball went out of bounds possession went to whatever team recovered it
Fun Fact #1
Jerry Rice holds the record for the most receiving yards after the age of 40 with 2169. Tom Brady sits second with six.
Fun Fact #2
The Houston Oilers have more division titles since 1990 than the Cleveland Browns – and the Oilers left Houston in 1996.
Fun Fact #3
Wes Welker kicked both a field goal and an extra point before he had a reception in the NFL.
Read It
Former commissioner Pete Rozelle is without question the most important administrator in football history, a giant of his time and an enduring figure who modernised pro football. Rozelle died before his time in 1996 at age 70. Read his New York Times obituary here.
Watch It
If Adonai Mitchell’s costly showboating wasn’t warning enough in Week 4 with Arizona Cardinal backup running back Emardi Demercardo butchering a 71-yard touchdown run by arrogantly showing the ball off before the line and then dropping it before breaking the plane. The Cards led 21-6 at the time. They would go on to lose 22-21, making the act of self-sabotage all the more abhorrent. The best player in the NFL should not be showboating, let alone a backup with three touchdowns in three seasons. Here are some other acts of showboating one dreadfully awry. Watch them here.