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    NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 9 Edition
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    NFC Hierarchy/Obituary: Week 9 Edition

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    7 minutes, 21 seconds Read

    Week 8 of the NFL season is upon us and we have a new obituary for the old, mismanaged, delusional New Orleans Saints.

    Obituary: Saints (2-6)

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    The Saints were the star of the NFL after the first two weeks of the season, defeating the Panthers 47-10 and the Cowboys 44-19. Derek Carr looked like an MVP candidate, a rejuvenated Alvin Kamara had scored five touchdowns and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak appeared to be on the fast track to a head coaching job. Now? Not so much.

    Since then, the Saints have lost each of their last six games by a combined score of 177-94, including four straight losses by at least two points.

    The Saints are one of the worst-run franchises in the NFL. Even after the retirement of Drew Brees after the 2020 season, they have come out on top with aging, declining veterans under the delusion that they are still contenders, and all they have to show for it is a 27-32 (.458) record. . record in the last three-plus years, no playoff berths in football's worst league, the second-oldest roster in the NFC, a 33-year-old quarterback in Carr will be looking at $50 million in dead money if they bring him in next offseason, and otherwise just raise hell (click on the 2025 tab in this link). Sorry, that was a long sentence.

    Will they finally take their medicine and trade away some of their decent, aging assets at the trade deadline and commit to fixing their cap while starting over with youth next offseason like they should have done years ago? History says they won't do that because they're stupid.

    Cemetery

    102824Cemetery after the saints102824Cemetery after the saints

    hierarchy

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    14) Giants (2-6):Lol:

    We could have praised the Giants a week ago, and we certainly can now, but I think they're too much fun to write about every week, so I'll keep them around for a while.

    Last week: 15

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    13) Cowboys (3-4): Dak Prescott is taking a lot of heat because of the Cowboys' offensive woes. He is the highest-paid player in the NFL and some criticisms are valid. However, it's worth noting that he doesn't get any help from the running game.

    Cowboys rush on offense Stat rank
    Rush yards per game 74.1 32
    Rush yards per attempt 3.4 32
    Rush attempts per game 21.7 31
    Rushes of more than 20 meters 0 32
    Longest rush of the season 13 meters 32
    Rushing first downs per game 4.7 31
    Rushing TDs 3 Tie for last place
    Percentage of yards over the run 22.5% 32

    If that were to happen in Philly, there would be crowds for miles in every direction of the NovaCare complex with signs warning people to play football.

    Last week: 11

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    12) Rams (3-4): It's kind of remarkable how quickly fortunes can change in the NFL. The Rams were 1-4 and nearly dead in the water. But…they beat the Raiders in Week 6 and in Week 7 they surprisingly got Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua back in time to play the Vikings.

    Kupp and Nacua combined for 12 catches for 157 yards and a TD, and LA's offense seemed to have returned.

    Oh, and hey, they're also lucky the rest of the NFC West hasn't retreated. The NFC West now looks like this:

    NFC West Record Div record
    Cardinals 4-4 2:0
    49ers 4-4 1-2
    Seahawks 4-4 0-1
    Aries 3-4 1-1

    The Rams have as good a chance of winning this division as anyone.

    Last week: 13

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    11) Cardinals (4-4): In each of their last three wins, the Cardinals' opponents were pretty much running along and then “OH GOD NO WHAT HAPPENED!”

    102824CardinalsWinProb102824CardinalsWinProb

    I say this on behalf of the Cardinals. They compete against each other for 60 minutes. I can't say the same about the Bears last Sunday, for example.

    Last week: 12

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    10) Seahawks (4-4): Oh hey, old friend Josh Jobe snagged Josh Allen on Sunday.

    That's all well and good, but it also means Josh Jobe has some role in Seattle's defense. 😬

    He actually played 51 snaps against the Bills.

    Last week: 10

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    9) Bears (4-3): I would be curious to see how often teams convert successfully. Hail Mary plays when the defense rushes 5 players, but in this video it's either 3 or 4 (most often 3). It's also probably not a good idea to talk trash to fans during the game like Tyrique Stevenson did on Sunday:

    Also, maybe don't give the ball to the backup offensive lineman on 3rd and goal from 1st.

    The Bears were outplayed by the Commanders on Sunday, still had a chance to win and ultimately didn't make it.

    Last week: 6

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    8) Falcons (5-3): Jessie Bates is really good.

    He has a few INTs and 3 forced fumbles this season. He's particularly impressive because it's difficult to provide safety at a high level when the defense can't get a pass rush at all.

    (Side note: The video above shows what it looks like with Chris Godwin and Mike Evans missing.)

    Last week: 8

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    7) 49ers (4-4): The Niners are “ready” to get Christian McCaffrey back after their Week 10 bye. The Niners' running game didn't really suffer due to the loss of McCaffrey. Jordan Mason is third in the NFL in rushing and averages 5.1 yards per carry. But obviously McCaffrey can do a lot more in the passing game.

    The Niners would be wise to allow Mason to maintain a prominent role in the offense down the stretch, limit McCaffrey's touches, and then step it up alongside McCaffrey throughout the playoffs. Will Kyle Shanahan be able to avoid putting too much pressure on McCaffrey in regular season games like he has since the Niners traded him?

    Last week: 9

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    6) Vikings (5-2): Not only did the Vikings lose their second straight game after an 0-5 start, but they also lost one of their most indispensable players of the season in LT Christian Darrisaw.

    Remember in 2016, the Vikings' young quarterback got injured, so they turned to Sam Bradford, got surprisingly good play from him early in the season, started 5-0, had a bye week, then lost a series of games and finished the season 8-0. 8?
    Well, 2024 looks a lot like a 2016 remake, with Sam Darnold and JJ McCarthy starring as Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater.
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    5) Eagles (5-2): The Eagles are really good at football. Therefore, the opposing teams are wary of it. It should come as no surprise that Jalen Hurts often has a lot of time to throw during the game, leaving receivers wide open. On Sunday against the Bengals, he was 6/7 for 142 yards and 1 TD when the Eagles played the Bengals. Here are these seven litters:

    The Eagles should take advantage of their great rushing attack and run more play-actions. #Analysis.

    Last week: 5

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    4) Buccaneers (4-4): The Buccaneers have lost two games in a row, three of their last four and four of their last six. They also lost Chris Godwin for the season and Mike Evans probably for about a month. They are one game behind the Falcons in the NFC South, but are actually closer to two games since Atlanta has already beaten them. Only three teams in the NFC have more losses than they do, and betting markets think they have a 44.3% chance of making the playoffs.

    On the other hand, according to some of the smarter people in our comments section here, the Bucs should be ahead of the Eagles because the Bucs beat them in Week 4. Since I am a man of the people, here you go. 🫡

    I hope this satisfies last week's injustice in the hierarchy.

    Last week: 7

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    3) Commanders (6-2): I find it hilarious that most fans just accept that “Hail Mary” isn't called for holding during Hail Mary plays. 71 and 63 below both got away with blatant holds, out in the open for all to see, and the two officials who looked directly at them said, “No, I'm not going to ruin that.”

    But Jayden Daniels is also a real eye-catcher and the mood among the Commanders hasn't been better in 30 years.

    Last week: 4

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    2) Packers (6-2): Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley were sort of the poster boys (poster boys?) of the “Did They Wash?” movie. questions this offseason after joining their respective new teams. But Josh Jacobs has done it again for the Packers this year, after a down year in Las Vegas in 2023. The NFL's frontrunners:

    player Rush yards YPC TD
    Derrick Henry, Ravens 145 946 6.5 9
    Saquon Barkley, Eagles 130 766 5.9 5
    Jordan Mason, 49ers 134 685 5.1 3
    Josh Jacobs, Packers 145 667 4.6 3

    Henry, Barkley and Jacobs will give teams with good offensive lines the confidence to go out and pay for aging veteran running backs.

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    1) Lions (6-1):This is crazy:

    The Lions appear to be the best team in the NFL right now.

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