Best Pac-12 NFL Players: Week 8 Offensive Standouts

Best Pac-12 NFL Players: Week 7 Offensive Standouts

It’s a Good Day to Be a Pac-12 NFL Fan

This weekend, Pac-12 football fans got it all. Oregon and Washington State certainly lit up the field offensively. The Ducks are currently ranked 6th in Unafraidshow’s College Football Rankings. Likewise, many Pac-12 NFL players gave us memorable performances in week 8. Here they are!

Best Quarterback Performance

Gardner Minshew II – Washington State – Jacksonville Jaguars

Minshew magic is back! Let’s go!

Unlike the rest of football fans, Pac-12 NFL fans knew that Minshew was for real. We knew a long time ago. It’s just great to see everyone else accept it.

Against a competent New York Jets defense, Minshew didn’t flinch. He compiled 279 passing yards and 3 touchdowns. He also let the Jets sack him twice. But, for those who watched the game, his pocket-presence is next level. Minshew’s movement in the pocket and ability to extend plays is incredible.

Last, and definitely important, Minshew threw zero interceptions. Again. Overall, he has just 2 interceptions and 13 touchdowns this season. The sixth-round rookie is playing far above any expectation.

Gardner Minshew for Rookie of the Year!

Best Running Back Performance

Christian McCaffrey – Stanford – Carolina Panthers

Against the league’s second-best defense (New England Patriots are clear first), the Carolina Panthers flopped. They only scored 13 points, while the 49ers rolled through 51 points. However, that didn’t stop all-star, Pac-12 NFL running back Christian McCaffrey from creating highlights.

This season, McCaffrey’s durability and production is incredible. His 2019 stats include:

Keep rolling RUN-CMC.

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Best Wide Receiver Performance

Juju Smith-Schuster – USC – Pittsburgh Steelers

To say that this season has been rough for the Pittsburgh Steelers is to say the least. After a promising 2017 season and a breakout 2018 season, everyone was ready for Juju Smith-Schuster to keep the hype train going. With the departure of Antonio Brown (to mental illness?), Smith-Schuster was primed for an elite 2019 campaign.

But, all hope went down with Ben Roethlisberger. However, Smith-Schuster still has the ability to pop on the field. In week 8, he cleared the 100-yard mark for the first time this season. Granted, this week he played the Miami Dolphins (#tankfortua), but he’s a good wide receiver.

His plus-16.5 (No. 20) Production Premium and plus-39.2-percent Target Premium (No. 10) show that he still has talent, but he’s just trapped on an anemic offense.

Best Tight End Performance

Austin Hooper – Stanford – Atlanta Falcons

Even with Matt Schaub under center, Austin Hooper was a baller. He reeled in 6 of 7 targets for 65 yards and a touchdown. He was one reason why the Pac-12 NFL fans didn’t switch channels. Hooper’s late score helped the Falcons attempt a last-minute comeback (or at least cover the a plus-7.5 spread).

Honestly, look at those stats. Among tight ends, Hooper is:

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HTH: Antonio Brown vs JuJu, MLB Needs Bat Flips, One Shining Moment

Antonio Brown Juju Smith-Schuster fued, hot takes house, One Shining Moment, MLb Batflips are the Best

The Hot Takes House is open for business. Do not read any further if you are easily triggered. Leave a Comment.

Antonio Brown is making himself look REALLY BAD

Antonio Brown is super lame for releasing private direct messages between JuJu Smith-Schuster and him. We all know that releasing private messages is a huge no-no. The only people that typically do that are facing jail time, are owed money, or scorned lovers. Antonio Brown’s loyalty and character have to be questioned at this point. If he releases private messages for no reason, he will snitch too.

AB was trying to make JuJu look silly publicly. But he ended up making himself look petty and like all the ‘cancer’ talk from the Steelers was true. How can you clown a college player for reaching out to an NFL player for advice? JuJu comes across as ambitious and driven for reaching out to one of the best wide receivers in the NFL for mentorship while in college.

I defended Antonio Brown throughout his entire career and exit from the Steelers. Now, all the things he said about Ben Roethlisberger look true about himself. AB looks like a hater with low character. Was all this because he was upset JuJu was named the MVP for last season?

I do have to give credit where it’s due. Brown was right when he said young players see the NFL a different way until they get paid. Young players who are playing well do have a more idealized version of the league. And sometimes when they do get paid, they begin to think they are the center of the universe. Now everyone knows, you better watch what you send Antonio, it might end up on his Twitter account.

JuJu was right when he told AB to “Keep your emotions of the internet”.

MLB’s Antiquated Unwritten Rules are Dumb

I could not be any more tired of baseball’s antiquated unwritten rules. Seeing pitchers throw at batters because they bat flipped or rounded the bases too slowly after a home run is lame. That is no different than if a coach put a bounty on injuring a player in football because he didn’t like his touchdown celebration.

Old school baseball people call pitchers who hit players “hard-nosed” or “tough.” I believe the opposite. How tough to you have to be to hurl a 90+ mph ball at someone’s head? The actual repercussions for throwing at a player are minimal. There is the occasional dust-up at the mound, but most times the pitcher is either warned or ejected. That is a small price to pay for endangering another person’s life and livelihood.

Hitting a baseball in the MLB is one arguably the most difficult things to do in sports. If a player is successful 30% of the time through a long career, he will go to the Hall of Fame. It makes NO sense for anyone to be upset when a player celebrates doing something so difficult.

I loved Bryce Harper bat flipping against the Nationals. The fans loved it too. They celebrated it with boos. Now, the Washington fans have a villain and rivalry with the Phillies. All of that is great for the game. The old school “get off my lawn” crowd needs to wake up and smell the roses. Baseball’s unwritten rules are for the unimaginative dinosaurs who are unsuccessfully trying to prevent change.

Fans enjoy the celebration and want to see players having fun. Maybe if the baseball gatekeepers encouraged players to have fun and show emotions, the games’ best players wouldn’t be able to walk down the street in anonymity.

The moral of the story is, play better. Stop letting people do things that are celebrating-worthy against and you instead of being upset with their reaction.

One Shining Moment is The Greatest Thing in Sports

There is no one moment in sports I have anticipation for like the end of the NCAA Tournament. For three weekends, the sports world is emotionally and financially invested in the outcome of March Madness. It all culminates when Luther Vandross’ voice starts, “The ball is tipped, and there you are...”. Every year, the short filmmakers find a way to pour all the drama, emotion, and excitement from all 67 games into approximately three minutes. One Shining Moment never falls flat or disappoints. I love it.