Tom’s Hot Takes: Vikes/Packers, Tom/Gisele Take Divergent Paths
Tom Woldum
|
The trade deadline has passed, not without some exciting moves. Plus, Dan Snyder, Tom Brady & Gisele Bundchen, and more. Time for some Hot Takes from Vikingland, across the NFL, and beyond:
ITEM: Vikings Trade T.J. Hockenson To Vikings
HOT TAKE: This trade lit up my fantasy league text string in a big way—almost as much as it lit up my big happy face. The Athletic gave Minnesota an A grade for this deal, while leveling Detroit with a resounding F.
The move by Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addresses the Irv Smith problem: he had been placed on IR, and frankly, has failed to grow into the expectations placed upon him when he was drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft.
To be clear, T.J. Hockenson is not a superstar, but he’s very good at what he does—he blocks better than primary blocking tight end Johnny Mundt, and catches passes much better than Smith.
Having a tight end that can handle both the blocking and passing roles will be huge for the offense overall—defenses have been selling out on the run when Mundt is in—something he has combatted in a limited way with a few key catches, including a touchdown in last week’s game. Conversely, defenses smell pass all the way when Smith is in the game. With Hockenson, the Vikings will not be tipping their hand.
A word of warning though: the blowup on social media and text strings seems to align with someone expected to be a superstar. I see a very good player here but not a guy who’s going to regularly fill the stat sheet.
This season, he’s put up two 80+ yards receiving games (including one dazzling 179-yard, two-TD day) but five others with yardage totals of 40 yards or less. And that’s OK with all the other weapons at Kirk Cousin’s disposal.
ITEM: Packers Stand Pat at the Deadline
HOT TAKE: Could I say it any better than CBSSports.com? Their article summarizing trade deadline moves was headlined: “Dolphins, Vikings swing big deals, while Packers, Rams whiff”. I enjoyed that so much that I almost didn’t notice another article on their site, grading each NFL team at the midway point of the season and just after the deadline had passed. How is this for fan self-esteem, seeing these grades for the NFC North:
Chicago Bears: C-
Detroit Lions: F
Green Bay Packers: D-
Minnesota Vikings: A
This pretty much matches most major news outlets’ assessment, and mine too. The Packers sitting out the trade deadline (albeit they were rumored to have at least taken a swing at Chase Claypool, though as noted above, they whiffed) pretty much signaled the concession speech that we’ll never hear spoken out loud.
For the Vikings, the path to the playoffs is now so well-cleared and direct, the big challenge is going to be finding a way to stay focused, to keep their foot on the gas pedal, to be mentally prepared to peak not at mid-season but leading into the post-season. With so little pushback to be seen from the divisional rivals, I fear a letdown. Avoiding that will be Kevin O’Connell’s biggest challenge over the next two months.
ITEM: DeShaun Watson to Start December 4
HOT TAKE: Please join me in accepting that not even the Packers—especially in their current state of disarray—deserve to be out-and-out hated, and in focusing our true, venomous hatred on the Cleveland Browns as they prepare to reinstate their disgraced quarter-of-a-billion-dollar investment. Watson will return in four weeks.
His presence, given his history, should be reviled by all. But the biggest criminals, in my mind, are the Browns braintrust, who signaled what they (and, some may argue, the NFL as a whole) are really about: winning at any cost, in pursuit of the financial rewards and ego strokes that go with it.
A hateful man at the helm of a hateful team puts a huge blight on the sport most of us really (otherwise) love. If you don’t already hate the Cleveland Browns, I hope you’ll find it in your heart (if you have one) to begin hating them no later than the 4th of December.
ITEM: Dan Snyder Considering Sale of Commanders
HOT TAKE: I agree with the rest of the NFL owners, who have collectively put up all the signals to declare they are eagerly awaiting the day that Dan Snyder packs his things and leaves. He’s a boorish, petulant billionaire who has mismanaged his team, offended nearly everyone who comes in contact with him, has operated a “toxic work environment”, and has been the subject of a congressional investigation into financial improprieties.
Bleacher Report called him out as early as 2009, with an article entitled “It’s About Greed and Ego: Snyder is an Egotistic Idiot; Worst Owner Ever.”
Deadspin did the same in 2014, over his “Dickhead Behavior”, and in April of this year Dan Gartland of Sports Illustrated wrapped it all up in a bow, declaring that “Forcing Snyder to sell the team would be a godsend to Washington fans, employees and anyone else who can’t stand what a pathetic jerk he is. Sending such a widely despised weasel packing would be great for the NFL for obvious reasons”. What’s not to love about this guy?
Jeff Bezos and Byron Allen are both waiting in the wings to scoop up the Washington Football Team. The smart money is on Bezos to land them because he’s an old, rich white guy with more money than any other person on the planet.
But Allen– who is old and rich but not white, and who rose from an early career as a standup comedian to eventually become a billionaire media magnate— would be the first black owner in NFL history.
When it comes to doing the right thing, the NFL has been falling nearly as fast as Dan Snyder in recent years, and one would hope that they would take the steps necessary to reverse their fortune, and ensure that the next owner will improve more than the bottom line for Snyder and the other owners.
ITEM: Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen Divorcing
HOT TAKE: From a football standpoint, let’s take this news as a reminder that these people are still human beings. Brady took time away from the Buccaneers during training camp, and now the news is here that their divorce is final. In between, many football fans have been grousing about Brady’s numbers being down (he’s thrown 9 TD passes midway through 2022, after leading the league with 43 a year ago) and wondering what could possibly be wrong with the legendary QB and the 3-5 Bucs.
Life-changing personal problems can weigh on a guy—whether he’s slaving away at the office or a historically talented professional athlete. Now, will Tampa Bay fans find it within themselves to feel empathy for the Brady as the weak links begin to emerge from his Teflon persona, or will they scoff at the notion that human beings deserve some slack when their marriage is at an end?
Interestingly, Gisele revealed to TMZ this week that her reasons for giving up on Brady are no different than most fans’ reasons for giving up on their team’s quarterback, saying, “I need someone who is consistent.” Don’t we all?
