I would like Shedeur Sanders to succeed. There, I mentioned it.
I consider Sanders has been held to brutal and unfair requirements by the NFL and a few followers. I feel he is paying for the “sins” of his father, Deion Sanders, who some coaches and entrance workplaces within the league do not like as a result of Deion is so flamboyant.
This isn’t breaking information. I’ve heard this. Talked about this. Others have. The league needed to show Shedeur (and his father) a lesson, and so they did simply that with the draft.
When Eric Dickerson said this recently, it was dismissed by some as a cranky previous man yelling at clouds. It is not that I consider Dickerson, it is that that is the NFL. You cowl the NFL lengthy sufficient and you know the way the league works. They’re Weyland-Yutani from “Alien.” They’re The Firm. With the league, all is feasible.
“I let you know this a lot,” Dickerson mentioned, “what I heard from somebody that is within the NFL that the NFL advised [teams], ‘Do not draft him, don’t draft him. We will make an instance out of him.’ And this got here from an excellent supply, an excellent supply.”
Dickerson added: “He mentioned that – I will not say who – anyone known as the Cleveland Browns and mentioned, ‘Do not do this, draft him,'” Dickerson mentioned. “As a result of they weren’t going to draft him both. … They had been compelled into drafting him as a result of anyone made a name to them.”
This all appears like conspiratorial nonsense, however once more, we’re speaking about Weyland-Yutani right here.
I purchase at the very least a few of it.
Nevertheless. Having mentioned that.
There’s an unmistakable reality about what we saw with Sanders on Saturday against the Rams. Sanders was horrible. Simply completely terrible. It was genuinely stunning to see.
This was a different Sanders than we saw in his game against Carolina a number of weeks in the past. Then he accomplished 14 of 23 passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. He was fluid, dynamic and expert. He seemed like a participant who may push for the beginning job. Sanders was that good.
Then got here this sport. It was the oppo-Sanders. He was 3 of 6 for 14 yards in 5 drives. Sanders was additionally sacked 5 instances. A few of these sacks weren’t his fault. A few of them had been. However he seemed completely misplaced.
Perhaps he was nonetheless hurting from an indirect damage that sidelined him for a couple of days. We additionally do not know the whole lot concerning the gamers who had been on the sphere round him. Perhaps they weren’t superb. However what’s sure is that neither was he.
His unhealthy outing additionally comes on the day that Dillon Gabriel looked good. Gabriel seemed so good that the battle between him and Sanders got here to an apparent finish. Gabriel received. Gabriel received as a result of total he was extra constant. Not spectacular. However good and constant. He appears dependable, and that is what an NFL head coach needs from his quarterback.
What Sanders’ outing will do is trigger individuals to say: we advised you so. We advised you he was overrated. There was no conspiracy, you lunkheads. He was a media creation (I want I had this type of energy.)
And proper now, sitting right here – and it is painful to confess – Sanders’ critics look extra proper than the individuals who need to see him succeed. And, once more, I am the latter.
That is what you will hear and perhaps that’s right. Perhaps Sanders is overrated and groups knew one thing about his skillset that we did not. I do not consider this. I might prefer to see extra from Sanders earlier than coming to that conclusion, however that is what shall be mentioned about him. And to be clear it is not unfair.
It is unsuitable, nevertheless it’s not unfair.
Sanders has proven flashes of expertise, and if I had been the Browns, I might maintain him on the roster, and see all that is there. That appears to be the probably conclusion, however who the hell is aware of.
I would like Sanders to succeed …
… however at the present time was unhealthy.