By Julie Buehler
Now that we have football back, you can rest your weary eyes on this column to catch the nuggets of info, stats and facts that make the NFL so fascinating every week. I call it: Jules From The Gridiron.
I used to air it on my radio show every day, and I introduced the segment with a British accent to make it seem more dramatic and intelligent. But I’m no longer on radio (just rolling steady on KMIR, NBC TV) and thus, can’t feign drama or intelligence.
So it is what it is. Here we go…
If you see me around town and I look like I need a hug, it’s because I just watched the new-look San Francisco 49ers and I do need a hug.
That’s my team and I tried to be strong as Patrick Willis and Chris Borland retired. I tried to stay optimistic as Justin Smith and Anthony Davis made the same decision. But when Aldon Smith chose to do whatever it was he chose to do that earned him an audience with Santa Clara police, the Niners had no choice to cut him.
So when they faced the Houston Texans, that ‘mighty juggernaut of an offense’ (hoping you picked up on my sarcasm) and allowed, for the first time in Texans history, every quarterback who took snaps to finish with a passer rating of 100+, there’s serious cause for concern.
The formerly powerful pass rush looked more like grown men playing patty-cake. Sure they are still figuring out how to replace Smith, but that’s not a chapter in the handbook Jim Harbaugh left behind for Jim Tomsula, that’s going to take time.
We haven’t seen the new-look offense yet, so I’ll reserve any opinions on Jarryd Hayne and Colin Kaepernick until we get more information, but that defense is going to struggle until Navarro Bowman is back to fully being himself.
Speaking of defense, Matt Schaub and Michael Campanaro beat Rob Ryan’s defense when the Balitmore Ravens faced the New Orleans Saints.
Badly.
Ryan might have great hair, but he’s the most overrated coordinator in the NFL. In fact, the last guy in the NFL whose hair I even noticed was Curtis Painter when he played for the Colts in 2011. The team went 2-14 that year. The best thing about it was Painter’s long blond mane. Ryan’s defense would do the same if it weren’t for Drew Brees as the Saints quarterback.
Take a deep breathe now, the Raiders are good. At football. Their win over the Rams was solid. Obviously some things improved, but overall, the Rams look like they have a mediocre coach at the helm while the Raiders, for the first time since John Gruden, have a coach that’s not a rookie HC.
The best news out of San Diego was the new deal for Philip Rivers. He can finally afford to have more kids now and his plan to procreate enough to field a team might come true.
Julie Buehler hosted the Coachella Valley’s most popular sports talk radio show, “Buehler’s Day Off” every day for 3 years, but now she can be exclusively seen on KMIR sharing the coolest stories in sports. She’s an avid gym rat, slightly sarcastic and more likely to recite Steve Young’s career passing stats than American Idol winners. Tune in to KMIR’s nightly news or KMIR.com for her sports reports.
