Puka!
There were three examples this past week that there are plays that happen that remind me of why I continue to watch football. The first one came from the Los Angeles Rams WR Puka Nacua. When he’s been healthy he just about catches any and everything thrown to him. He did so from the picture above. He caught a pass with his right hand and brought it to his chest while falling down. And with a defender also having his fingers make contact with the ball in the process. Insane athletic feats are part of what makes sporting events amazing to watch. The insane part of this week is that this was one of three catches that I saw that had me going, ‘what did I just see?’
Too Bad He Plays For An Awful Franchise
The second one came in a relatively one-sided affair that showcased how incredibly talented and at the same time how sad it is that TE Brock Bowers is getting lost in the shuffle playing for the Las Vegas Raiders. The late Raiders founder/owner Al Davis had his flaws, but I don’t think the dysfunction that is currently happening under his son Mark would be getting his approval. They recently fired their offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, yes that same one who failed twice as a head coach in the NFL, but found success back in college football. Come to find out, Chip was the highest paid offensive coordinator in the league. And the result is one of the worst offenses this season, but to be fair when the organization trades for and extends QB Geno Smith you don’t start out of the gate running. Back to Bowers and his pass catching prowess. He caught this touchdown pass when the pass that was thrown by Geno Smith looked as though he was throwing it away, but it was to a spot where only Bowers had a chance to catch it. Yet, the trajectory of the ball was damn near impossible for anyone to go and get it, except for Bowers. I would expect he will be moving on from this cesspool in the near future, but for now he should get more recognition than what he is currently getting.
Lost Potential
You probably don’t remember who WR Treylon Burks is. He’s known as the first round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2022. He’s also known as the pick that the Titans received from the Philadelphia Eagles in the trade for WR A.J. Brown. Let’s just say that trade will go down in infamy as the worst trade in franchise history for Tennessee. Fast forward to present day and you can see from the photo that Burks is currently playing for the Washington Commanders. Burks obviously didn’t amount to anything with the Titans scoring only one touchdown in his first three season in the league with the Titans. Injuries and inconsistencies with his development resulted in the bust status. Yet, he made an insane catch in the end zone on Sunday night that rivaled Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-handed snag years ago with the New York Giants. Mind you this was now his second career touchdown of his career and it was certainly making some folks raise an eyebrow as to where has this been all of this time? This doesn’t mean that Burks will be turning a corner in his career arc, but it puts a feather in his cap that even at this point he and anyone for that matter can still accomplish some amazing athletic feats on a daily basis when the opportunity presents itself.
westhesportsguy.com 