MidValleySports.Com

By Joe Torosian

Kick it!

Off The Top: Jeremiyah Love getting 14 touches (11 carries/3 catches) in the Arizona Cardinals game against the Las Vegas Raiders gave me Ki-Jana Carter vibes.

Love had 395 carries at Notre Dame, and running back is the easiest of all offensive positions to transition into from college to pro.

Braindead move by Mike LaFleur and the Cards.

Forty-nine years ago on this day, I got my butt kicked…because I was afraid I would get my butt kicked…I put hope in my butt kicker that he wouldn’t kick butt…and I was afraid to fight because I thought his friends would all join in, in kicking my butt.

The butt kicker ended up kicking my butt…and I learned a life lesson that I gradually applied to all aspects of my life going forward.

Forget about the mob, forget about trying to fit in, forget about what everyone else may think…and do the good you know you ought to do.

As Otter once said, “I got news for you, Pal. They’re going to nail us no matter what we do. So, we might as well have a good time.”

A lot of quarterbacks flashed really good numbers last night…which was Week One of the preseason—against guys who will, for the most part, be unemployed in a matter of days.

Bravo to Drew Allar, Gardner Minshew, Anthony Richardson, Kedon Slovis, Jacoby Brissett, and the rest…but, whatever.

For a first time under center, Fernando Mendoza, the numbers were okay…but in Week One of the preseason, it should be about something more than numbers. After Mendoza threaded the needle on multiple throws, I’d seen enough.

It’s like a scout will say about the sound of a ball coming off the bat, or the sound Roy Munson heard when Ishmael Boorg was bowling.

“You stroke a hell of a ball,” Munson said just by the sound of the crashing pins.

Mendoza’s got a great stroke, and numbers aren’t necessary to know he can make Staffordesque big-time throws.

(BTT is an actual metric)

Did First Things First co/tri-host Kevin Wildes actually compare the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini drama to a hand-holding affair?

I guess Wildes is in agreement with Roger Goodell that Vrabel cheating on his wife and family is a “personal matter” and warrants no action by the NFL.

But Alaric Jackson and Puka Nacua’s situations are what really threaten the Shield’s image.

Last Add Love & Mendoza: The difference between Love and Mendoza playing? Love is a running back and expected to be hit every time he carries the ball…Mendoza, a quarterback, is not expected to take a hit on every down.

If Mendoza is getting hit on every down, then someone will be getting benched or “The Stallings Treatment”…You may ask, “Who’s Stallings?” And I would say, exactly.

And Cincy let Joe Burrow play…unbelievable.

(By the way, it was Cincy that drafted Carter #1 overall and saw him tear his ACL on his third carry of the first preseason game of 1995.)

Speaking of Burrow, when asked about the Jayden Daniels-jersey flap with LSU, the Bengals starting quarterback said he didn’t know much about the situation. Then he did the smart thing and didn’t elaborate beyond his own experience.

Note to Media: Did anyone see a sign above Burrow’s locker that read, “LSU Jersey Number Discussion”…? 

You didn’t, because it’s not there. You know why? Because LSU football and jersey numbers aren’t his blanking business!

Note to Daniels: Burrow’s business is in Cincinnati.

When I saw Mason Rudolph take the field last night, I started singing (paraphrased) Emerson, Lake & Palmer: “Welcome back my friends to the career that never ends…”

By the numbers, Mason Rudolph is now 31 and entering his 9th season in the NFL. Back in the day, Max Mercy told Roy Hobbs they come and they go, but not Rudolph.

Last Note Mendoza: I’m getting the feeling the media is starting to triangulate on him—and look for ways to take him down. Because he might actually be their worst nightmare: Tim Tebow with an arm.

Why is preseason important? Without preseason, we wouldn’t have been able to say back to our flatscreen, “Hey! There’s Hendon Hooker!”

Sean McVay says Stetson Bennett will start against Kansas City on Saturday. It’s funny: for a guy who doesn’t say much and hasn’t played a single NFL snap, Bennett might be the most polarizing player on the Rams.

And if Bennett completes 9 of 10 for 145 yards and two touchdowns against KC, the narrative will be: “Well, it was against guys who will, for the most part, be unemployed in a matter of days.”

Note to Dodgers Fans: My gift from the New York Mets to the Los Angeles Dodgers this season—Edwin Diaz. Sound the trumpets!

#93—May the San Francisco Giants rot and lie stinking in the earth. 

The Dude abides…

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