New on Sports Illustrated: NFL DFS Week 4: Perfect Million Dollar GPP Lineup Guide

<a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/10/01/nfl-dfs-week-4-perfect-million-dollar-lineup-gpp-guide"> <p class="subtitle">Shoot for the moon with your daily fantasy lineups.</p> <p>Living in the daily game world for any sport requires a lot of work with little reward for the casual player unless the stars align for one magical day. Most daily owners need to decide whether to be a grinder or a swing for the fence player. One path keeps you alive for more days of action with the idea of building your bankroll slowly. The other has a donation feel while offering a pot of gold at the end of a distant rainbow.</p> <p>Since the daily sites started offering the million-dollar overall prize, I’ve been trying to find my get-out-of-jail-free card. The goal is to handicap the main football slate on Sunday and invest in the best possible combination of foundation players. If my key players have success, I will be in the hunt with many teams. Each football season, I expect to be in the mix in four or five weeks.</p> <p>All players listed are for the main slate of games on Sunday.</p> <h3>Quarterback Stacks</h3> <figure><img height="93" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjU2MDUxNzQ1NDY2MTk3/image1.png" width="620" /></figure> <p><strong>Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills</strong></p> <p>Follow-through is the critical ingredient needed to take down a massive overall prize in the daily space. The Bills are 16-point favorites against Houston at</p> </a><a href="https://www.sisportsbook.com/">SI Sportsbook</a>, pointing to a one-sided game. Allen broke out of his early-season slump with the best Week 3 QB performance (367 combined yards with five touchdowns). His top wideout (Stefon Diggs) earned a top-three billing at his position after a masterful showing (127/1,535/8) in his first year in Buffalo. He’s on pace for 108 catches for 1,082 yards and five scores over a 17-game schedule while only ranking as a bottom-tier WR2 in PPR leagues. <p>I expect the Bills to play aggressively on offense vs. the Titans with an eye on ending this game by halftime. Buffalo’s defense ranks highly against the run (7th) and the pass (4th), leading to them controlling the time of possession.</p> <p>Houston played better than expected out of the gate on both sides of the ball, but the drop to Davis Mills at quarterback invites a dull offensive day on the road. The Texans face a top-tier quarterback for the first time this season, and Buffalo will attack them in the deep passing game.</p> <p>Allen may be an against-the-grain play with many daily investors taking a position in the Bills’ run game and defense. I expect Diggs to get out of the gate quickly, and I could see Gabriel Davis ending the passing game scoring with a second-half bomb. Allen should steal at least one rushing score, and he projects to pass for 330 yards with four touchdowns.</p> <p><strong>Best Opposing Options</strong>: Brandin Cooks ($6,400), David Johnson ($4,500)</p> <p><strong>Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks</strong></p> <p>Last week’s game started great for anyone stacking the passing game for both offenses. Wilson got DK Metcalf rolling early (5/88/1) at halftime while forcing the Vikings to chase on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, Seattle came up empty offensively in the second half, and their defense continues to allow opponents to move the ball up and down the field and control the clock.</p> <p>This week, San Fran should regain their run game and score plenty of points. This combination puts Wilson back in “teabag mode” – he shines the most when forced to throw late with the game on the line (i.e., in hot water). His 2021 passing stats (895/7) look great, but he has only been on the field for 71 out of a possible 180 minutes (39.4 percent). Last year, Wilson struggled in San Francisco (181/2) while shining at home (261/4).</p> <p>The 49ers struggled defensively in two of their three games (Detroit – 33 points and Green Bay – 30 points). In Week 1, the Lions beat them with their backs (16/121/1) and tight ends (9/99/1) in the passing game after San Fran jumped out to a big lead. Aaron Rodgers beat them with his top wideout (Davante Adams – 12/132/1).</p> <p>For someone looking for a low-value hookup, Will Dissly should get the start at tight end, with Gerald Everett landing on the Covid-19 list.</p> <p><strong>Best Opposing Options</strong>: All 49ers’ starters are in play.</p> <figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MTg1NzE3ODk3ODMyMzIz/dak-prescott.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys</strong></p> <p>After a tough run game matchup vs. Tampa in Week 1, the Cowboys ran the ball 72 times over their next two matchups. As a result, Prescott only threw the ball 27 and 26 times over the past two contests despite gaining 9.0 yards per pass attempt with strength in his completion rate (83.0).</p> <p>The Panthers rank highly on defense (2.6 yards per rush and 6.2 yards per pass attempt), with only 30 points allowed. In addition, a ball-control offense (105.5 minutes of possession – 58.6 percent) helped their defense while facing three struggling offenses (NYJ, NO, and HOU).</p> <p>Dallas has top elite wideouts (Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb), and their tight end usage has been up (22/214/2) after losing Michael Gallup in Week 1.</p> <p>The loss of Christian McCaffrey does lower the offensive bar for the Panthers. However, Carolina has wide receiver talent, and they will test the Cowboys’ secondary that shows risk over the first two games (17/250/2 and 15/233/1).</p> <p><strong>Best Opposing Options</strong>: Chuba Hubbard ($5,900), DJ Moore ($6,600), Robby Anderson ($5,100), Terrance Marshall ($4,000)</p> <p><strong>Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs</strong></p> <p>Three turnovers by Mahomes over the past three weeks led to a lower ceiling and back-to-back losses. Nevertheless, he has three scores each week while delivering a high floor in yards. Defenses have slowed down Tyreek Hill in Week 2 (3/14) and Week 3 (5/56), forcing the Chiefs to focus on their second wideouts and Travis Kelce (6/76/2, 7/109/1, and 7/104).</p> <p>The Eagles held quarterbacks to three low games (164/0, 189/1, and 238/3) with strength in the play vs. wide receivers (24/294/2). Their defense held Calvin Ridley (5/51), Deebo Samuel (6/93), CeeDee Lamb (3/66), and Amari Cooper (3/17) to short games.</p> <p>Stacking the Chiefs’ passing game comes with a price, and this matchup points to Mahomes being a lower percentage own along with Tyreek Hill. Additionally, in most matchups, Philly tends to play their top cornerbacks in the same spots, pointing to Hill avoiding CB Darius Slay.</p> <p><strong>Best Opposing Options</strong>: Miles Sanders ($6,400), Kenneth Gainwell ($4,300), DeVonta Smith ($5,700), Dallas Goedert ($4,800)</p> <p><strong>Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers</strong></p> <p>The goal-line calls will determine the playable value for Garoppolo against the Seahawks. He has three top receiving options, but the 49ers want to run the ball in close. This week, George Kittle landed on the injury report with a calf injury, putting him at risk to play on Sunday.</p> <p>Seattle's defense can't get offenses off the field (114 minutes of play), and they have struggled against the run (104/465/3) and the pass (921/5) over the first three weeks. The Seahawks should push San Francisco to score 30+ points, giving Garoppolo a reasonable chance of hitting in the daily space.</p> <p>Ultimately, I need to see Kittle cleared from the injury report to invest in the 49ers’ passing attack.</p> <p><strong>Best Opposing Options</strong>: Chris Carson ($6,300), DK Metcalf ($7,200), Tyler Lockett ($7,100), Will Dissly ($2,600)</p> <p><strong>Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals</strong></p> <p>I almost left Murray off the top-six quarterbacks to stack this week based on his matchup vs. the Rams. In 2020, he struggled in his only complete game (188 combined yards with three touchdowns) against Los Angeles. However, the depth of the Cardinals’ wide receiving corps should help Murray in this matchup, plus an aggressive pass rush could lead to some possible big runs.</p> <p>The Rams have nine sacks through three weeks, with only Tom Brady having success (432/1). <a href="https://www.sisportsbook.com/">SI Sportsbook</a> set an over/under in this game at 54.5, inviting a high scoring game.</p> <p>After three games, Murray has 1,075 combined yards with 10 touchdowns while underachieving so far as a runner (17/70/3). Just like Mahomes, Murray should be a lower percentage own in Week 4.</p> <p><strong>Best Opposing Options</strong>: Sony Michel ($5,200), Cooper Kupp ($7,800), Robert Woods ($5,300), Van Jefferson ($3,900), Tyler Higbee ($4,600)</p> <h3>Foundation Core Players</h3> <p>Some of the players (Alvin Kamara, David Montgomery, Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, and Darren Waller) listed as foundation options for Week 4 were mentioned in my <a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/30/nfl-dfs-week-4-picks-plays-values">DFS article on Thursday</a>.</p> <figure><img height="80" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjU2MDUxNzQ1NTMxNzMz/image3.png" width="620" /></figure> <p><strong>RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans</strong></p> <p>The Titans have a favorable matchup on the road, but they could be without their top two wideouts allowing New York a better chance to stack the ball against the run. After three weeks of action, Henry already has 92 touches while being more involved in the passing game (12/105). He is on pace for 2,595 combined yards (17 games) with 17 scores and 68 catches.</p> <p>The Jets struggled to defend Christian McCaffrey in Week 1 (187 combined yards with nine catches), but their run defense did play better against the Patriots (24/101) and Denver (37/121) despite allowing four rushing touchdowns.</p> <p>Henry needs over 150 combined yards with a pair of scores at a minimum to fill his salary bucket this week.</p> <p><strong>RB Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers</strong></p> <p>After entering Week 1 with a slight hamstring issue, Ekeler saw the field for 74 percent of the Chargers’ plays in Week 3. However, Los Angeles continues to give another back short-yardage and goal-line chances, lowering his ceiling. Over the past two games, he gained 222 combined yards with one touchdown and 15 catches on 35 touches. In his only match against the Raiders in 2020, Ekeler gained 79 yards with four catches.</p> <p>Las Vegas allowed 334 combined yards to running backs over the first three games with five touchdowns and 13 catches. Despite some risk, only Najee Harris (81 combined yards with a touchdown and five catches) delivered a playable game in the daily market (Ty’Son Williams finished with 94 combined yards with a score and three catches on 12 touches).</p> <p>This game expects to be high scoring, and Ekeler should be active again in the passing game. His key to success is finding paydirt. Note: Ekeler isn’t on the main slate, but I didn’t want to ditch his writeup after doing some research.</p> <figure><img height="413" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTgwNDM0OTQzODk2MjAxMDY4/detroit-lions-dandre-swift.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>RB D’Andre Swift, Detroit Lions</strong></p> <p>The coach-speak out of Detroit is that they want to get Swift the ball more. He has an elite pass-catching skill set with the ability to make plays in the run game at the goal line. After three games, he gained 289 combined yards with two touchdowns and 19 catches. As a result, Swift sits third in running back scoring (59.90 fantasy points) in PPR leagues while seeing his snap percentage (68, 63, and 56) slide over the past two games.</p> <p>The Bears struggled against running back out of the gate (452 combined yards with two touchdowns and 11 catches). Most of the damage came last week against the Browns (240 combined yards with a touchdown and eight catches).</p> <p>Both Jonathan Taylor (knee) and Antonio Gibson (shin) have injury concerns heading into the week, but they should play. Saquon Barkley fits into a contrarian play due to the Saints' stout play vs. the run (65/181/1 – 2.8 yards per rush).</p> <p><strong>WR Amari Cooper, Dallas Cowboys</strong></p> <p>Fantasy owners moved Cooper up to the one/two turn after his monster game in Week 1 (13/139/2 on 17 targets). Unfortunately, his payback came over his next two starts (3/24 and 3/26). He currently sits 18th in wide receiver scoring (50.0), showing how quickly a player’s value can change over a short time frame. Cooper remains a top player at home (6/106/1, 6/88/2, 11/226/1, 11/147/1, 6/100, 12/134/1, 7/79/1, 6/112/1, 4/121) over the past two seasons.</p> <p>Carolina traded for CB CJ Henderson this week after playing his way out of Jacksonville's starting lineup. The Panthers will also give CB A.J. Bouye his first playing time of the year. Wide receivers have 31 catches for 380 yards and three touchdowns vs. Carolina while facing three weak receiving corps (NYJ, NO, and HOU). Corey Davis (5/97/2) and Brandin Cooks (9/112) had the most success this season.</p> <p>Cooper has a sliding salary, and his play and momentum should move back in the right direction in Week 4.</p> <p><strong>WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys</strong></p> <p>I won’t double stack the Cowboys’ top two wideouts this week, but I’m confident that one of the two should finish as a top 10 wide receiver this week. Game flow led to Lamb only seeing three targets (3/66) vs. the Eagles. Over the first two games, he caught 15 of his 24 targets for 185 yards and a touchdown. His ceiling remains high while offering a reasonable floor. Lamb needs Carolina to play well offensively this week, which may be a lot to ask with Christian McCaffrey out with an injury.</p> <p><strong>TE Noah Fant, Denver Broncos</strong></p> <p>The Broncos already had two injuries (Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler) that should improve Fant’s opportunity in the passing game. Over his previous two weeks, he caught six combined passes for 48 yards and a touchdown on nine targets. However, Fant still ranks 11th in tight end scoring (29.00 fantasy points) in PPR leagues.</p> <p>Baltimore struggled to defend Darren Waller (10/105/1) and Travis Kelce (7/109/1) over the first two weeks. Waller earned his success by volume of chances (19) while the Ravens decided to focus on Tyreek Hill in their defensive game plan (a win for Kelce). In Week 3, T.J. Hockenson finished with only two catches for 10 yards despite two great games (8/97/1 and 8/66/1) to start the year.</p> <p>Fant falls into the salary savior category, and Denver has enough firepower in the run game and at wide receiver to keep Baltimore from focusing on defending Fant.</p> <h3>Value Options</h3> <p><strong>RB Zack Moss, Buffalo Bills</strong></p> <p>The Bills surprisingly had Moss inactive for their first game. In limited snaps (18 – 28 percent) in Week 2, he vultured a pair of goal-line touchdowns in a minimal opportunity game (34 combined yards with two catches on 10 touches). Buffalo gave him the lead running back role against Washington, and Moss responded with 91 combined yards with a touchdown and three catches.</p> <p>Houston gave up six rushing touchdowns (three to quarterbacks) over the last two weeks. Over this span, running backs gained 352 combined yards with four touchdowns and 10 catches.</p> <p>Devin Singletary remains in the mix for touches, and a hot hand could lead to the running back opportunity shifting back to him. With Moss, I’m confident that he will be the goal back while understanding Josh Allen can snipe rushing touchdowns in close. In addition, his value in the passing game puts him at least a 50/50 split, helping his floor. I also view Moss as the closing back who should see most of the action late if the Bills blow out the Texans as expected.</p> <p><strong>RB Trey Sermon, San Francisco 49ers</strong></p> <p>The Sermon owners came away from last week’s game with more questions than answers with his role in the 49ers. San Fran fell behind early, taking away any chance of establishing the run game. Despite a dull showing (34 combined yards with a touchdown and two catches), the 49ers had him on the field for 59 percent of their snaps, and his score gave him close to backend RB2 value.</p> <p>Seattle had already defended 104 rushes over the first three games. They faced the Colts (30/113), Titans (40/212/3), and Vikings (34/140). Much of their defense failure has also come against running backs in the passing game (27/248 on 32 targets).</p> <p>I don’t see Elijah Mitchell being a factor this week (his status could change with a better injury update), and Kyle Juszczyk won’t see as many chances in this matchup. Sermon should score a minimum of one touchdown even if Trey Lance steals a touchdown at the goal line. Sermon should push toward 20 touches with a healthy game, which works well for his lower salary.</p> <p><strong>WR Corey Davis, New York Jets</strong></p> <p>The Zach Wilson to Davis combination shined in Week 1 (5/97/2), but the passing window has been small for the Jets against New England and Denver. Over this stretch, he caught only seven of his 15 targets for 49 yards. New York has already allowed 15 targets, and Wilson has seven interceptions.</p> <p>Tennessee had significant issues defending the Cardinals (17/246/4) and Seahawks (19/326/2) wideouts over the first two weeks. Their pass defense tightened up against the Colts (194/0), which is more of an Indianapolis offensive issue than a great improvement by their defense.</p> <p>Davis faced his former team, adding motivation for success. I don’t view him as a target in single lineup entries, but he makes sense in GPPs for owners entering multiple rosters.</p> <figure><img height="345" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTgxOTA1NTExNzA3MzIxNDc1/aiyuk-10-probowl.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p><strong>WR Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers</strong></p> <p>I’m going to use Aiyuk based on my two-game winning streak theory in the daily games. I’m looking for a player that flashed the previous game while also delivering enough stats to be a difference-maker based on his salary. Last week, he caught four of his six targets for 37 yards and one touchdown. In his only game vs. Seattle in 2020, Aiyuk caught eight passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.</p> <p>Wideouts have 39 catches for 515 yards and four touchdowns on 72 targets against the Seahawks. Zack Pascal (4/43/2), Julio Jones (6/128), and Justin Jefferson (9/118/1) had the most success.</p> <p>Deebo Samuel should draw CB Tre Flowers, creating a winnable window for Aiyuk. If George Kittle doesn’t play, his opportunity will rise even more. Last year, we saw him string together multiple good games, which points to a buying opportunity in this matchup.</p> <p><strong>TE Will Dissly, Seattle Seahawks</strong></p> <p>For a daily owner looking to punt the tight end position, Dissly should be the lowest tier option to target. The Seahawks have had him on the field for 84 of 161 plays (52.2 percent) while working as their TE2. Gerald Everett should miss this week’s game with Covid-19, giving Dissly a starting opportunity. Russell Wilson delivered 19 touchdowns to his tight ends from 2018 to 2020.</p> <p>The 49ers struggled to defend T.J. Hockenson in Week 1 (9/99/1), but they kept the Eagles (3/30) and Packers (2/10) tight ends in check over the previous two matchups.</p> <p>The goal with Dissly is to score at the goal line with a 4/40 type day.</p> <h3>My Week 4 Million Dollar Lineup</h3> <figure><img height="461" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjU2MDUxNzQ1NDAwNjYx/image2.png" width="620" /></figure> <p>I’m happy with my roster structure until I come to the flex position and defense. I saw multiple viable options in a similar range to Robert Woods. I choose to ride the improved Rams’ passing game with the hopes that their WR2 finds his stride against the Cardinals. Unfortunately, the decision to land on him forced me to take one of the weakest defenses on the board. On the positive side, Tennessee would have a downgrade in receiving talent if Julio Jones can’t play after losing A.J. Brown last week.</p> <p>The gambler in me wanted to roster Gabriel Davis as a second hookup to Josh Allen, which would have put me in range to roster a top-tier defense below the Bills. </p> <p><strong>More Fantasy Week 4 Coverage:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/30/nfl-dfs-week-4-picks-plays-values">DFS Picks, Plays and Values</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/29/week-4-football-rankings-projections">Rankings & Stat Projections</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/28/waiver-wire-pickups-faab-week-4">Waiver Wire Report</a><br /></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/27/week-4-touches-targets-volume-regression-index">Touches, Targets, Volume & Regression Index</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/29/start-em-sit-em-week-4-quarterbacks">QB Start 'Em, Sit 'Em</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/29/start-em-sit-em-week-4-running-backs">RB Start 'Em, Sit 'Em</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/29/start-em-sit-em-week-4-wide-receivers">WR Start 'Em, Sit 'Em</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.si.com/fantasy/2021/09/29/start-em-sit-em-week-4-tight-ends">TE Start 'Em, Sit 'Em</a></li> </ul> <hr /> <p><em>Senior analyst <a href="https://www.si.com/author/shawn-childs">Shawn Childs</a> is a multi-sport, high-stakes fantasy legend with lifetime earnings in the high six-figures. He has been providing in-depth, analytical break downs for years all while helping his subscribers to countless titles and winnings across season-long & DFS. An inaugural inductee of the NFBC Hall of Fame, Shawn can teach you how to prep like a champ!</em></p> <p><em><a href="https://twitter.com/shawn__childs">Follow @Shawn__Childs on Twitter</a></em></p>

New on Sports Illustrated: NFL DFS Week 4: Perfect Million Dollar GPP Lineup Guide

Shoot for the moon with your daily fantasy lineups. Living in the daily game world for any sport requires a lot of work with little reward...

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New on Sports Illustrated: Justin Tucker Will Rock You (Or Sing You a Sweet Aria)

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/10/01/justin-tucker-kicker-slash-opera-singer-daily-cover"> <p class="subtitle">How the Ravens’ opera-singing, record-setting kicker calls on both his standout talents.</p> <p>Before and after every practice, Justin Tucker rehearses. He climbs into his SUV, cranking up a playlist that covers modern rock to Italian opera and croons along for the 15-minute commute between his Baltimore-area place and the Ravens’ facility. “I guess the car is my music studio,” Tucker says. “I can get in two or three arias, including a little warmup, if I’m really feeling it.”</p> <p>Tucker is typically feeling it. This was most obvious last weekend, when the NFL’s most accurate kicker ever converted his 50th straight fourth-quarter/overtime field goal in style,</p> </a> <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/26/justin-tucker-66-yard-field-goal-crossbar-ravens-beat-lions">belting an NFL-record 66-yarder</a> that bounced off the crossbar and through as time expired to walk off against the Lions, 19–17. But it also applies to special teams meetings, locker room showers, and all the other impromptu venues where fellow Ravens find themselves serenaded by Tucker’s classically trained bass-baritone. <p>Beginning in 2012 when he signed with the Ravens as an undrafted free agent out of Texas, Tucker’s larynx seemed to capture as much interest as his leg, leading to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0VxPN2bdNw&ab_channel=RoyalFarms">commercial appearances</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY8gs-XgRtI&ab_channel=CatholicCharitiesBaltimore">charity gigs</a> and <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/10327944/baltimore-ravens-kicker-justin-tucker-opera-singer-espn-magazine">countless articles</a>. And while the Justin Tucker Show hasn’t made a public appearance since his runaway victory in “Most Valuable Performer,” a 2018 NFL player talent show aired on CBS—this is largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic: “The idea of trying to fill up a concert hall or a church to go sing in front of a gathering of people ... hasn’t been worth the risk,” he says—it has perhaps never been more instructive than now to view Tucker’s growing legacy as a kicker through the lens of his love for singing.</p> <figure><img height="814" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjU1ODY2MjU2NTAwNjEx/dcovtucker_v.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Consider the overlaps: With an 82.7% career conversion rate from 40-plus yards, also tops all-time, Tucker displays the range to hit low Cs and long FGs. Both pursuits require rhythmic precision, the sort attained through diligent, repetitive training. And while his commutes are exclusively private gigs, the audience limited to his airbags, Tucker’s song choices play vital roles in shaping his day. “If it’s first thing in the morning I can get the vibe right, a little more energized and motivated,” he says. “Then on the way home, I’ll just carry a tune to unwind.” (Plus what are uprights anyway but prongs of a giant yellow tuning fork?)</p> <p>All of which has set the stage for “the best kicker in NFL history”—as Ravens coach John Harbaugh declared soon after Tucker beat the Lions, albeit with the help of a friendly crossbar—to keep making records in his second decade, no signs yet of missing a beat.</p> <p>As Tucker explains, “Honing in on your craft and developing a technique that looks a certain way, time and time again—that requires much preparation and hard work. To make something that is actually difficult appear easy, I think there’s a level of artistry in that idea.”</p> <p>Tucker is on the phone in early September, pondering a question after practice: What is the most nervous he’s ever been, singing or kicking? Initially his reply comes fast: “That would definitely be on the stage. The field—that’s my place; that’s where I’m in my comfort zone.” Then he reconsiders and switches course, settling on a coin toss of two nail-biting events.</p> <p>One took place in the divisional playoffs of his rookie season, five months after he beat out Pro Bowler Billy Cundiff for the starting job during training camp, when Tucker jogged onto the field in Denver for a game-tying extra point with 31 seconds left, in front of a crowd of 76,732, following a 70-yard touchdown known among Ravens fans <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmRYZOuXHrA&ab_channel=NFL">as the Mile High Miracle</a>. “I had the butterflies going crazy in my stomach,” says Tucker, who nonetheless nailed the point-after and later booted Baltimore to the AFC championship with a 47-yarder in double overtime.</p> <p>The other arrived three years later as Tucker took a deep breath before singing “Ave Maria” inside the historic Baltimore Basilica cathedral, which on that December 2015 night hosted a packed house—this crowd of about 900 Christmas concertgoers—buzzing in anticipation of the guest soloist. But again he shook off the nerves to deliver a memorable performance, and not only because he similarly nailed the aria despite having just one dress rehearsal with the orchestra and choir.</p> <p>“I remember my colleague, before the concert, went back behind the Basilica to the sacristy, where the priests get dressed,” says Bill McCarthy, executive director of Catholic Charities of Baltimore, which puts on the annual event. “And there was Justin, in a tuxedo, doing push-ups. It was like, ‘Wow, he prepares like he prepares for a football game.’ ”</p> <figure><img height="413" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjQ1ODg0NDg0MDY5MjUx/justin-tucker-kick-prep.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Tucker first took to music as a kid in Houston, starting with the trumpet in middle school. “Brass is where it’s at it,” he says. <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2682088-the-secret-to-justin-tuckers-success-issinging">Self-taught guitar followed</a>, as did another more percussive pursuit in eighth grade: kicking footballs. High school brought a hiatus when a stodgy band director forced Tucker to choose between his mouthpiece and his mouthguard. But he rediscovered the joy in many ways while on campus in Austin, <a href="https://www.sikids.com/spare-time/justin-tucker-vocal-leader">producing a mixtape with some Longhorns teammates</a>, successfully auditioning for the Butler School of Music and majoring in recording technologies.</p> <p>Though Tucker displayed some vocal chops throughout college, his abilities crescendoed when he spent both semesters of his senior year studying under Nikita Storojev, an associate professor of voice at the University of Texas and a bass with opera credits across the globe. In particular, Tucker learned an Italian technique known as <em>bel canto</em>, or beautiful singing, which requires such taxing training that Storojev likens it to playing chess while also running a marathon. “You need to use your intellect and your physical potential,” Storojev says. “It’s based on muscle coordination. He had to learn how to support every note, how to concentrate, how to use his diaphragm. And if you work in sport, you’re able to use your diaphragm.”</p> <p>Tucker made swift progress, impressing Storojev with his ability to sing in six foreign languages (Italian, Spanish, German, Latin, French and Czech); his rehearsal habits (“You ask him to learn something, next lesson he know the whole piece by memory,” the professor says) and his raw talent. “His natural voice has beautiful color,” Storojev adds. “​​It’s easy for me to teach him, because we have all kinds of similarities.” The results? “In one year, he jumped from amateur to professional level. He learned what sometimes takes people their whole life.”</p> <p>A former defenseman for the Russian army hockey team in the late ’60s and early ’70s, he says, Storojev also recognized Tucker’s knack for staying cool in the spotlight. “Sometimes singers have too much emotion, and he learned from sport how to control his emotions. Once I tell him, ‘Imagine you perform in front of 10,000 people.’ Opera houses are around that. I remember his answer: ‘No problem; I perform in front of 20,000.’ ”</p> <figure><img height="930" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjQ1ODY5NzIwMTE5MTI1/justin-tucker-ravens-raiders.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Kohjiro Kinno/Sports Illustrated</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>The same personality trait stands out to Tucker’s closest colleague today. “The reason he’s as successful as he is,” says Sam Koch, the longtime Ravens punter and holder, “is because of his confidence and his swagger. He knows how to take the mind out of it.” A rigid routine is one way. “He warms up the same way every day, goes out there and hits the same balls every day,” Koch says. But the duo also keeps the mood light, muttering inside-joke catchphrases to each other before big kicks. Examples include <em>Prepare For Glory</em> and, for reasons Koch cannot explain, <em>Babies and Memories</em>. “Just a funny thing to ease the moment,” he says.</p> <p>It is in this quest for metronomic repetition that Tucker’s two passions diverge. “A lot of guys listen to music on their headphones coming into the stadium, or in the locker room, or out on the field playing catch,” he says. “In that way, music is more distracting for me than it is helping me focus. I tend to not listen to anything around game time. I want to just dive deeply into my technique and visualize and try to get an idea for what the wind is or how the grass feels underneath my feet.”</p> <p>Even so, the parallels are inescapable. (Just beware of those pesky “parallel fifths situations,” Tucker says, “which anybody in the music theory world will tell you is no bueno.”) Consider the <a href="https://www.espn.com/blog/baltimore-ravens/post/_/id/51457/the-ravens-wolfpack-and-the-most-precise-1-3-seconds-in-nfl-history">1.3 seconds of harmony required</a> for every successful snap, hold and kick sequence. “The execution of our operation, all of us coming together to do our jobs,” Tucker says, “to draw upon another fine arts term, it’s like a choreographed dance that we’ve practiced time and again.”</p> <p>The unit had a rare change this offseason when the Ravens parted ways with 11-year long snapper Morgan Cox and gave the gig to rookie Nick Moore. And while the old trio was guitar-string tight, vacationing together in Las Vegas after Baltimore won Super Bowl XLVII, the revamped one has picked things up no problem, with Tucker connecting on 7 of 8 field goals and 7 of 7 extra points entering Week 4. “I view our relationship like brothers,” Koch says. “Sometimes we fight; sometimes we get along really well. But we all hold each other accountable.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, Tucker keeps his vocal cords fresh whenever possible. He traditionally introduces the plays of the week at Ravens special teams meetings with a football-themed jingle, Koch says, often accompanied by “some sort of Chris Berman–type additive.” He sings backup to his son in whatever 5-year-old Easton is digging that day, which lately has been the Pokémon theme song and the soundtrack to <em>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone</em>. And he continues to squeeze in those commuting rehearsals, though he notes that he is “in less of a classical phase and more a post-’90s grunge rock vibe right now, like Third Eye Blind. So maybe it’s a ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ on the way to work and a ‘Motorcycle Drive By’ on the way home.’ ”</p> <figure><img height="414" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjQ1ODM0Mjg2NjM4OTc5/justin-tucker-headshot.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Simon Bruty/Sports Illustrated</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>With live concerts back in full swing across the country, McCarthy hopes Tucker will return for a third appearance at the Catholic Charities Christmas Festival. (In 2016, accompanied by the Morgan State University Choir and the Choral Arts Society, the kicker followed up “Ave Maria” at the Basilica by bringing down the house of worship <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY8gs-XgRtI">with “O Holy Night.”</a>) But for now McCarthy will settle for watching Tucker kick instead of sing, texting <em>Sports Illustrated</em> last weekend, “Maybe he did push-ups before that 66 yarder!”</p> <p>More likely is that, aside from taking an extra half-hop step to generate more power, as though he were kicking off, Tucker delivered his signature moment precisely because he did nothing special. He lined up at the spot of the hold, vision fixed on the middle of the uprights. He took three steps back and two to the left, crossing his chest mid-slide as a nod to his Christian faith. Then he charged, planted and swung, and once again it was curtains at the Justin Tucker Show.</p> <p><strong>More SI Daily Covers:</strong></p> <p><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/24/frank-gore-sr-jr-daily-cover">Two Generations of Gores</a><br /> • <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/16/nathaniel-hackett-journey-from-doctor-to-dancer-to-top-head-coaching-candidate-daily-cover">Nathaniel Hackett: Neurobiologist, Hip-Hop Dancer, Your Next Head Coach</a><br /> • <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/15/orlando-brown-jr-upbringing-insistence-on-trade-to-be-left-tackle-daily-cover">Orlando Brown Jr.: The Son of Zeus Forges a New Path</a></strong></p>

New on Sports Illustrated: Justin Tucker Will Rock You (Or Sing You a Sweet Aria)

How the Ravens’ opera-singing, record-setting kicker calls on both his standout talents. Before and after every practice, Justin Tucker re...

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New on Sports Illustrated: Sam and Jamie Pittman Have Moved 17 Times in 35 Years. Now They're Home

<a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/10/01/sam-jamie-pittman-journey-to-arkansas-football"> <p class="subtitle">The Razorback head coach and his wife Jamie have made 17 moves across 35 years. This landing spot might just be his last.</p> <div><em>View the</em></div> original article</a> to see embedded media. <p>She unpacked the boxes. All of them. Every time.</p> <p>Even when she knew in her gut that they would be moving again in 12 months (or less), Jamie Pittman always unpacked everything, always did her best to make that time in a new house in a new town with a new job and new friends as normal as possible. Home would be <em>home</em>, not a transitional living space.</p> <p>Her husband Sam, a gifted offensive line coach, would be in demand and get a better job. Or the head coach he worked for would get fired. Something would inevitably happen that sent them on their way again. So much free gear to give away, so many new things to learn—fight songs, rivalries, traditions. The churn was constant.</p> <p>But wherever they landed, Jamie planted herself with conviction. “You just have to enjoy every stop,” she says. “You make great friends at every new place, and then it’s on to the next adventure.”</p> <p>Until now, perhaps. At stop No. 17 on their Football Coaching Life Tour, Sam and Jamie Pittman are ready for their last adventure. Pittman, age 59, is the second-year head coach at Arkansas. He paid decades of dues to get his shot; he was hired to tepid reviews; then he seized the opportunity like a man who couldn’t wait for this chance to prove himself.</p> <figure><img height="375" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjQ0MjgxMTE5MjIxNjM1/sam-pittman.jpg" width="620" /></figure> <p>Pittman dragged the proud Arkansas program up off rock bottom last year, going 3–7 with several narrow losses, vastly improving the competitive quality of the team. Now the 4–0 Razorbacks have taken off: They’re ranked eighth in the country after <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/26/ncaa-college-football-rankings-arkansas-win-shifts-chaotic-landscape">authoritative wins</a> over Texas and Texas A&M, riding fresh momentum into an unexpected <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/30/ncaa-football-picks-predictions-week-5-sec">showdown with No. 2 Georgia</a> between the hedges Saturday. If votes were cast today for national Coach of the Year awards, Pittman would likely win.</p> <p>To use Pittman’s own pet phrase, yessirrrrr, it’s been a long time coming. A lifetime of boxes packed and unpacked. It has been easier to get through than it would have been with children, but that doesn’t mean it was <em>easy.</em> Let Jamie be the guide through every new location.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Beggs, Oklahoma. The year: 1986. “What have I gotten myself into?”</em></p> <p>They were newlyweds, having met in Pittsburg, Kansas. Sam had just finished his playing career at Division II Pittsburg State and was a graduate assistant coach; Jamie was a Pittsburg native. It didn’t take long for them to fall in love and get married, but Jamie got a word of warning from Sam’s dad about the lifestyle she was about to embark upon after Sam was hired at Beggs High School, a map dot on State Highway 16 in Okmulgee County, about 35 miles south of Tulsa.</p> <p>“You’re never going to see your husband,” he told her.</p> <p>Jamie knew very little about sports. Her home life was out of the American archetype: her dad came home from work at 5 o’clock, they ate dinner together at 6, and they had family time thereafter. This was a sudden departure.</p> <p>“He was getting home at 10 o’clock,” she says. “I was not very happy.”</p> <p>“Jamie,” he told her, “this is coaching.”</p> <hr /> <p><em>Princeton, Missouri. The years: 1987–88. “That felt like a long way from Pittsburg.”</em></p> <p>Nestled up against the Iowa border, Princeton was about four hours from where Jamie grew up in southern Kansas. After getting married at age 24 and figuring out that her new life would include a lot of alone time, Jamie went to school so she could work in the medical field. “I had to find something,” she says.</p> <p>Sam had found a job as the head coach at Princeton High. The couple moved into a house on the 50-yard line, directly across the street from the stadium. Jamie could open the front door and holler at her husband to end practice and come home for dinner. Sometimes the players would come with him. Their dog, an English bulldog, became the team mascot. “That was a fun two years,” she says. “We were just kids.”</p> <hr /> <p><em>Trenton, Missouri. The years: 1989–90. End of the high school days.</em></p> <p>Jamie welcomed this relocation about 30 miles south from Princeton because she was already working for a doctor in Trenton. The town had a couple of faded claims to fame: it once was the world’s largest producer of Vienna sausages (which should appeal the residents of Vienna, Austria), and it was the hometown of 1920s bank robber Roy Gardner. Sam Pittman’s tenure as coach of the high school wasn’t quite as memorable.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Hutchinson, Kansas. The years: 1991–93. “A really good Mexican restaurant downtown.”</em></p> <p>Hutchinson Community College, northwest of Wichita, hired Sam as its offensive line coach. Jamie was excited to be back in her home state, closer to home. But part of Sam’s workload was serving as dorm director, and the couple lived in one of the dorms for their first three months in town. That was less than ideal.</p> <p>They moved into a rental house, and Sam applied a new coat of paint to the exterior while Jamie added some touches to the inside. The owner liked what they did so much that he kicked them out and moved back into the place.</p> <p>But they came to enjoy the college-town atmosphere, including the Mexican restaurant where they ate a couple of times a week. Sam immediately improved the line play. After a season he was promoted to head coach, and Hutch ended a streak of six straight non-winning seasons under Pittman. That culminated in a berth in the Valley of the Sun Bowl—which was Pittman’s last game as a head coach for 27 years.</p> <hr /> <p><em>DeKalb, Illinois. The years: 1994–95. A move up the ladder to Division I.</em></p> <p>Pittman’s work began to resonate with college coaches during his stint at Hutch, and Charlie Sadler hired him at Northern Illinois. “We really liked it there,” Jamie says. “Northern was a lot of fun, the staff was all like family. It was really cold, but we liked it there.”</p> <p>But Sadler was fired after Sam’s second season on the job. That led to a move farther east than they’d been before.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Cincinnati, Ohio. The year: 1996. If you thought the workdays were long before ….</em></p> <p>A Dec. 19, 1995, story in the Cincinnati Enquirer mentions a couple of changes to the Bearcats’ coaching staff. Among them: John Harbaugh promoted to assistant head coach; Rex Ryan arriving as the new defensive coordinator; and a sentence devoted to the hiring of Sam Pittman as tight ends coach. Jamie got a medical job working downtown.</p> <p>Cincinnati head coach Rick Minter was single, Jamie says, and he expected everyone on the staff to spend day and night at the football facility. Jamie remembers Sam leaving for work at 6 a.m. and not returning until after midnight. “That was a hard job,” Jamie says.</p> <p>That was a lot of work to go 6–5 for the second straight season, but it did lead to another new opportunity.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Norman, Oklahoma. The years: 1997–98. “Our first taste of big-time football.”</em></p> <p>John Blake was the second-year coach of the Sooners, bringing back program familiarity after a disastrous one season under outsider Howard Schnellenberger. But as much as Blake won the hearts and minds of fans with his personality—“he was a fun, fun guy,” Jamie says—he didn’t win many games. Blake and his staff were dismissed after the ’98 season.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Kalamazoo, Michigan. The year: 1999. “A hard move.”</em></p> <p>In coaxing Jamie into their coldest locale yet, Sam “told a story” about what his salary was going to be. Jamie later found a pay stub that showed he’d inflated the number. Jamie also was still trying to sell their house in Oklahoma for much of their time at Western Michigan.</p> <p>But Sam enjoyed working with offensive coordinator Bill Cubit, and their wives hit it off and remain good friends today. After that season, they were a package deal heading back to the Big 12.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Columbia, Missouri. The year: 2000. High socks and a pink slip.</em></p> <p>Larry Smith hired Cubit to be his OC and Pittman to coach his line at Mizzou. Smith had done the improbable, breathing life back into a moribund program and taking the Tigers to their first bowl games in 15 years, in 1997 and ’98. But the momentum had stalled and Smith made staff changes after a 4–7 backslide in ’99. When Missouri went 3–8 in 2000, everyone was fired.</p> <p>Jamie’s memory of that season: “Sam had a lot of respect for Larry. But he made all the coaches wear high socks. He didn’t like the low ones.”</p> <hr /> <p><em>Lawrence, Kansas. The year: 2001. Another firing.</em></p> <p>This was another move back to Jamie’s home state, which she loved. “I was so excited about that job,” she says. She worked for an OB/GYN and made a lot of friends. But Sam’s penchant for hiring on with coaches who had about run their course continued. After Terry Allen recorded a fifth straight losing season, he and the staff were fired.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Lawrence, Kansas. The year: 2002. That one fall Sam Pittman didn’t coach.</em></p> <p>Jamie says Sam was still being paid by Kansas that year, and was more choosy about his next stop after four moves in four years. So they stayed in Lawrence, and she kept her job. It’s the only year of Sam’s adult life that he wasn’t spending his weekends coaching or playing football.</p> <hr /> <p><em>DeKalb, Illinois. The years: 2003–06. Northern Illinois, Part Two.</em></p> <p>When Sam told Jamie that they were heading back to NIU, she went into the bathroom and cried. But this, at last, was a solid situation after so many win-or-be-fired seasons. Joe Novak had the program winning.</p> <p>When Sam came onboard, the winning accelerated. NIU went 10–2 his first season, then 9–3 the next. The Huskies had four straight winning seasons and for a while Sam believed he was in line to be the next head coach after Novak, who was near retirement. But after being given a sense that it wouldn’t happen, the Pittmans were on the move again.</p> <p>By this point, the dream of becoming a major-college head coach was starting to fade. “He started getting older and thought it was never going to happen,” Jamie says. “Looking back, it’s funny how it all works out.”</p> <hr /> <p><em>Chapel Hill, North Carolina, The years: 2007–11. “We thought we were going to retire there.</em></p> <p>At the time, this was the Pittmans’ favorite stop. They loved Chapel Hill. Sam loved working for Butch Davis, and Jamie became close friends with Tammy Davis. They bought a lot in Pinehurst, with designs on building a retirement home there. The Tar Heels were winning, going to three straight bowl games.</p> <p>But an agent scandal that centered on Pittman’s former boss and current fellow UNC assistant, James Blake, led to a major NCAA investigation and a mid-summer boring of Davis. Everett Withers was named the interim head coach and Pittman stayed on staff through that season, but he would not be retained.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Knoxville, Tennessee. The year: 2012. Take down the Christmas decorations.</em></p> <p>After a struggle to sell the house in North Carolina, Jamie didn’t arrive at Tennessee with Sam until the summer of 2012. Once again, this was a job gotten on the rebound with a head coach up to his neck in quicksand. After being blown out by Vanderbilt on Nov. 17, Derek Dooley was fired. Jamie had just decorated the house for Christmas when her husband came home and told her they were moving again.</p> <hr /> <p><em>Fayetteville, Arkansas. The years: 2013–15. At home playing big-boy ball with Bielema.</em></p> <p>This was a happy landing place. Bret Bielema had just been the surprise hire away from Wisconsin, and he wanted an offensive line coach who would embrace his run-heavy, power style of play. Enter Pittman, at once coming in at the beginning of a head coach’s tenure instead of the end.</p> <p>“We were so happy to be here,” Jamie says. “We loved it. I thought, ‘This is it. We’re not leaving.’ “</p> <p>There was just one problem with staying forever, and that problem was Sam’s friend Kirby Smart. An assistant under Nick Saban, Smart had already told Sam that if he got a big-time head coaching job, he would hire Sam without even bothering to make him interview. And then …</p> <hr /> <p><em>Athens, Georgia. The years: 2016–19. The silent treatment for a year.</em></p> <p>When Smart was hired at Georgia, Jamie knew the call was coming and that they were leaving her favorite locale. She says she barely spoke to Sam for the first year at Georgia.</p> <p>“I was madder than mad,” she says. “But I truly believe he learned a lot from Kirby, and I don’t think he would be the head coach at Arkansas if he hadn’t worked for Kirby at Georgia.”</p> <hr /> <p><em>Fayetteville, Arkansas. The years: 2020-present. The end. … For now.</em></p> <p>Arkansas’s head-coaching job opened early last year, on Nov. 10. The Pittmans wished he could get involved, but didn’t have much hope. They made some back-channel inquiries, but the search was going in other directions.</p> <p>Then, Jamie’s phone rang on Sunday, Dec. 8, the day bowl bids went out and Georgia was ticketed for the Peach Bowl against Cincinnati. The caller: Jon Fagg, deputy athletic director and a friend from their previous stay in Fayetteville. His question: “Would Sam be interested in our head-coaching job?”</p> <p>Jamie’s response: “Is this a joke? Of course he would.”</p> <p>Jamie says she “about passed out” before calling her husband at the Georgia football facility. The wheels started rolling immediately: Arkansas’s athletic brass would fly in that day, and if they were going to do that, they meant business.</p> <p>Jamie dashed out for Starbucks and pastries, putting out a spread on the dining-room table. Athletic director Hunter Yurachek offered the job. When he produced a contract for Sam to peruse, offering far more than he’d ever made as an assistant, he asked for a minute to talk to his wife in private.</p> <p>“We grabbed each other, and he put his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet,” Jamie says. “We were so excited, so happy.”</p> <p>The pace accelerated from there. Deal agreed upon, they were to fly back to Fayetteville that night. Jamie hustled to find a dog sitter for their latest English bulldog, put on an Arkansas-red outfit, and off they went to their latest (last?) relocation.</p> <p>This time, Jamie was sure enough that she bought Arkansas sweatshirts for her entire family for Christmas in 2019. (A five-year contract will provide the assuredness to take that risk.) And the results since have only added to their security. At this point, the love from the fans is a bit overwhelming. “They treat you like somebody you’re not,” Jamie says. “They act like you’re a celebrity.”</p> <p>This week, a woman stopped her car in the street when she saw Jamie trying to put money in a parking meter, introduced herself and handed her the change to pay for the parking. Occasionally cars will drive past the Pittman house and yell out the window, “Woooo, Pig, Sooie!”</p> <p>Sam and Jamie Pittman’s last move has been their best move. It took far longer to reach this point than it probably should have, but the wait is worth it when you stick the final landing.</p> <p><strong>More College Football Coverage:</strong></p> <p><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/28/ncaa-scott-frost-mike-norvell-college-football-coaches-on-hot-seat?utm_source=recommendations&utm_medium=in-article&utm_campaign=end-of-story">Head Coach Hot-Seat Check</a><br /></strong><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/29/taulia-tagovailoa-maryland-football-quarterback-history?utm_source=recommendations&utm_medium=in-article&utm_campaign=end-of-story">Taulia Tagovailoa Is Resurrecting Maryland's QB Position</a><br /></strong><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/30/cincinnati-notre-dame-defense-marcus-freeman?utm_source=recommendations&utm_medium=in-article&utm_campaign=end-of-story">Cincinnati–Notre Dame to Put Coaching Familiarity to the Test</a><br /></strong><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/college/2021/09/30/nlrb-advisory-opens-next-frontier-college-sports-unionization?utm_source=recommendations&utm_medium=in-article&utm_campaign=end-of-story">The Next Frontier in College Sports: The Unionization of College Athletes</a></strong></p>

New on Sports Illustrated: Sam and Jamie Pittman Have Moved 17 Times in 35 Years. Now They're Home

The Razorback head coach and his wife Jamie have made 17 moves across 35 years. This landing spot might just be his last. View the origin...

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New on Sports Illustrated: No, the Vaccine Isn’t Really A Personal Choice for NBA Players

<a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/10/01/vaccine-not-personal-choice-nba-players-kyrie-irving-andrew-wiggins"> <p class="subtitle">We’ve seen instances of Irving's concerns being on the money before. Which is why this most recent story, relating to his vaccine hesitancy, is so frustrating.</p> <div><em>View the</em></div> original article</a> to see embedded media. <p>The frustrating thing about a handful of Kyrie Irving’s polarizing views—about the earth being flat, for instance—is that they overshadow the fact that he’s been spot-on about other important points.</p> <p>In May, before playing in front of a Boston crowd for the first time since leaving the Celtics, he told writers <a href="https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/05/25/kyrie-irving-racist-fans-quote/">he hoped fans wouldn’t behave in a racist or belligerent manner</a>. But then on that trip, <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/31540143/boston-celtics-fan-appears-throw-water-bottle-brooklyn-nets-kyrie-irving">a fan launched a water bottle at Irving’s head</a> as the guard walked off the court following the contest.</p> <p>Irving drew criticism from some corners during the height of the pandemic, too, when the players association vice president <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29304500/sources-kyrie-irving-play-key-role-friday-call-players">reportedly supported the notion of punting on the rest of the suspended NBA season</a>—and the idea of the bubble—after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer. His concerns included the idea that simply returning to business as usual, even in a bubble, might undercut the players’ ability to draw increased attention to the issues of system racism and police brutality against Black Americans.</p> <p>Months later, after the bubble was up and running, <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2020/8/27/21404052/kyrie-irving-nba-bubble-concerns-black-lives-matter">that sentiment seemed to gain validation</a>. Players were beside themselves after an officer shot Jacob Blake in suburban Milwaukee, prompting the Bucks to first boycott, then postpone their playoff game that evening as a result of the incident. In a memorable comment surrounding the situation, Bucks guard George Hill would say, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nba/bucks-hill-frustrated-with-social-injustice-nba-bubble/2020/08/24/fb70f84e-e665-11ea-bf44-0d31c85838a5_story.html">“We shouldn’t even came to this damn [bubble], to be honest,”</a> a remark that lent credence to Irving’s initial objection.</p> <p>So we’ve seen instances of his concerns being on the money before. Which is why this most recent story, relating to Irving’s vaccine hesitancy, is so frustrating.</p> <iframe height="375" width="100%" src="https://disco.headliner.link/d/si/web/widget.html?widgetId=WI_ckqtsrrc3000163p0dktoiptd" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> <p>The decision to not get vaccinated, when the science overwhelmingly suggests it leaves individuals and the population as a whole far safer that way, would be more comparable to the flat-earth conspiracy theory that Irving fed into six years ago if not for the broader, more serious risks involved here. For as much as some people—and unfortunately a handful of NBA players—repeat that a person’s vaccination status is a personal issue, it’s also a public-health issue.</p> <p>“I think there’s something to be said for people’s concern about something that’s being pressed so hard. Like, why are you pressing this so hard?” <a href="https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1443689491437260800?s=20">Draymond Green asked rhetorically Thursday</a>, adding that he saw teammate Andrew Wiggins’ choice to remain unvaccinated—<a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/24/sf-health-officials-exemption-wont-allow-warriors-wiggins-to-play-if-unvaccinated/">potentially leaving him unable to play in home games, due to San Francisco’s vaccine mandate</a> for large indoor events—as a personal one.</p> <p>The obvious answer, of course, is that we’ll soon surpass the 700,000-lives-lost mark in America due to COVID-19. There’s no such thing as it being a merely personal choice when <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/01/are-covid-vaccines-becoming-less-effective-.html">being vaccinated greatly reduces the likelihood of contracting and spreading the disease</a>. Getting the shot helps the cause, and potentially saves lives. Not taking that step allows for an increased probability of others getting sick. The shot is the unselfish move at a time when many people are making vaccinations about themselves.</p> <p>This isn’t to suggest Irving doesn’t ever think about people other than himself. When <a href="https://www.nba.com/news/kyrie-irving-regrets-flat-earth-comments">he eventually apologized over his flat-earth comments</a>, Irving said he’d heard from scores of science teachers whose jobs were made more difficult due the questions he’d raised. (He also said the fallout showed him how much weight his words carry as an NBA star.) In the wake of Floyd being killed, Irving bought Floyd’s family a home. A little over a year ago, he committed $1.5 million to help supplement the income of WNBA players who chose to sit out last season—both for those who sat out due to coronavirus concerns, and social-justice ones. Three years ago, Irving embraced his Native American heritage during an emotional trip to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in North Dakota. The year before that, in 2017, he gave the tribe—<a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24444427/kyrie-irving-embraces-native-american-heritage-sioux-naming-ceremony-nba">which his late mother was born into</a>—a donation in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/be7e2e19c0744d9e8af83078fc1d9424">excess of $100,000</a>.</p> <p>Irving also <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2890850-nets-kyrie-irving-donating-pallets-of-food-masks-to-standing-rock-sioux-tribe">donated pallets of food and masks to the tribe last year</a> in the midst of the pandemic—something that was sorely needed in the Native American community, <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-12-10/covid-mortality-twice-as-high-among-native-americans-than-whites">which had a COVID mortality rate nearly twice that of white Americans</a> and got hit harder than perhaps any other demographic in the country last year due to inequities in infrastructure and access to healthcare.</p> <p>Just as Irving has embraced the Native American community, the NBA beats us over the head with the messaging that it's a “brotherhood.” Yet at times it’s hard to feel as if we’re talking about the same league. On the one side <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelVPina/status/1442485305781547012">you’re hearing about how Karl-Anthony Towns’s life has been utterly shattered by the virus</a>, not only claiming the life of his mother and six other relatives, but also draining Towns of 50 or so pounds upon contracting the virus himself. On the other side, you hear others expressing doubt and calling the vaccination a personal choice, as if no one else has the potential to be impacted by that call.</p> <p>It sounds somewhat ludicrous to fully assert that viewpoint in light of the fact that players like Irving and Wiggins could miss more than half of their games due to local vaccination mandates in New York and San Francisco. It becomes a team issue at that point, as it impacts their teams’ chances without them on the floor. That’s <a href="https://twitter.com/SIChrisMannix/status/1442582955428225027?s=20">a wildly consequential thing for a club like the Nets</a>, who look like the favorite on paper, but just months ago saw their championship hopes extinguished by a lack of availability.</p> <p>The issue of vaccinations has come under an enormous microscope lately in the NBA, with some calling into question Lakers LeBron James, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/28/sports/basketball/lebron-james-covid-vaccine.html">who earlier this week said he’d gotten the shot</a>, but only after some hesitation about it. (He’s also gotten some social-media <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/view-co-hosts-rip-lebron-211800701.html">criticism for trotting out the same “It’s a personal decision for each person” line</a> that Green and so many others have said recently.) Yet there should probably be more grace shown to those who take the time—even if it’s more than we’d like them to take—to ask the right questions and talk to the right specialists to feel more comfortable. Something that’s lost in the primarily white, male-dominated media world is the fact that Black athletes—<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/amid-coronavirus-pandemic-black-mistrust-medicine-looms-69983726">Black people—have historical reasons not to inherently trust medical practices</a> as much as everyone else.</p> <p>At least James eventually came around to making a decision that’s backed by thorough levels of research, much like a number of other NBA players likely did. <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32314590/vaccination-rate-nba-players-rises-95-percent-sources-say">The league currently sits at a 95% vaccination rate</a>, despite how vocal the increasingly thin minority has been as of late. Between the threat of missed game checks in New York and San Francisco, and NBA rules making it increasingly challenging to take part in activities alongside teammates without the shot, the league is knowingly <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/32301923/in-memo-teams-nba-crafts-protocols-requiring-unvaccinated-players-many-same-restrictions-rest-league">tightening the screws on those who haven’t gotten their shots yet</a>. It’s something the unvaccinated won’t enjoy, but it’s also not all that different from what airlines, schools and hospitals around the country are mandating. And those employees aren’t being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars per performance.</p> <p>Regardless of what some cable networks say, or what some YouTube videos will have you believe, the reality is that <a href="https://www.governing.com/now/the-long-history-of-mandated-vaccines-in-the-united-states">there have almost always been some vaccinations required in this country</a> to keep the population safe. To join the military. To send children to school, or to college. To work in health care.</p> <p>And whether Irving, Wiggins, Bradley Beal and others see that as keeping themselves safe is somewhat irrelevant, harsh as it sounds. It’s just as much about keeping everyone else around them protected, too. And that’s what makes the vaccine more than just a personal choice, despite the way so many people keep labeling it.</p> <p><strong>More NBA Coverage</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/27/karl-anthony-towns-covid-19-daily-cover">Karl-Anthony Towns Opens Up About Season of Grief</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/23/ranking-best-nba-players-top-100-2022-kevin-durant-giannis-antetokounmpo-lebron-james">SI Top 100: And the Best Player Is ...</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/28/nba-training-camp-questions-eastern-conference-nets-76ers-heat">Biggest Training Camp Questions: Eastern Conference</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/29/lakers-lebron-james-russell-westbrook-carmelo-anthony-age">Lakers Biggest Problem Isn't Age</a></strong></li> <li><strong><a href="https://www.si.com/nba/2021/09/27/kyrie-irving-nets-covid-vaccination-status">Kyrie Could Derail Nets Championship Run</a></strong></li> </ul>

New on Sports Illustrated: No, the Vaccine Isn’t Really A Personal Choice for NBA Players

We’ve seen instances of Irving's concerns being on the money before. Which is why this most recent story, relating to his vaccine hesit...

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New on Sports Illustrated: GamePlan: What Past Patriots Quarterbacks Can Teach Us About Tom Brady Vs. Bill Belichick

<a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/10/01/gameplan-tom-brady-vs-bill-belichick"> <p class="subtitle">Other QBs have not fared well in reunion games against their legendary coach. Here's a look at the chess match Tom Brady faces.</p> <p>It’s been 18 years, but Drew Bledsoe remembers Sept. 7, 2003, as if he just threw that seven-yard touchdown pass to Dave Moore. As if that Bills’ defense just picked off Tom Brady four times. As if Lawyer Milloy were just cut by the Patriots and signed by Buffalo last week.</p> <p>Absolutely, yes, that experience—Bills 31, Patriots 0—sticks with him.</p> <p>“I only beat them one time,” Bledsoe said this week, from the road, on business</p> </a><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/07/01/rick-mirer-drew-bledsoe-wine-patriots-retired-athletes">running his wine company in the Pacific Northwest</a>. “But that one time felt awfully damn good, man. You can downplay it all you want. It matters. And it certainly will matter to those guys.” <p>Bledsoe can’t say he knows exactly what Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are feeling ahead of this week’s showdown in Foxboro, given just how distinct this reunion is in terms of the length of time and level of accomplishment that working relationship had. But he is familiar with the emotion of going home again, to face the coach who let you go—and the sort of moment Brady will be out there pursuing on Sunday night under the lights at Gillette Stadium.</p> <p>Thing is, though, Sept. 7, 2003 wasn’t the first time Bledsoe returned to New England in an unfamiliar uniform, and it wasn’t the first <em>or</em> second time he’d played his old team. It took three tries for him to get one over on the Patriots and, as he said, he never pulled it off again.</p> <p>Such is the challenge Brady’s facing this week.</p> <figure><img height="345" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjQyMjE1Nzc2NjkyMDUz/brady-vs-belichick.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports (Belichick); Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports (Brady)</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>Now, to be sure, Brady isn’t facing the Patriots of Mike Vrabel, Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour. And Brady’s bringing the cavalry back with him to Massachusetts—he’s got a veteran line in front of him and as talented and balanced a group of skill players alongside him as there is in the NFL.</p> <p>Still, what’s in front of the greatest Patriot ever as he preps for his old team is something that’s routinely turned other quarterbacks in his position into fractions of what they’d usually be. It’s not really the players Brady’s going against (though they’ll obviously be a part of it) so much as it’s being up against a coach who plays on an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses as well as anyone in NFL history facing a player he knows inside and out.</p> <p>Belichick vs. Brady means plenty to Bill and Tom, regardless of what they say.</p> <p>But there’s more to the matchup than just pride or any unresolved grievances. There’s also what’s going to happen in the game itself, and how Belichick’s knowledge of Brady plays into it.</p> <hr /> <p>Week 4 is here, and that of course means the most anticipated regular-season game in years—and maybe NFL history—is upon us. But we’ve got more than just Pats-Bucs for all of you in this week’s GamePlan column. Inside the column, you’ll get …</p> <p>• A look at a very big weekend in the NFC West.</p> <p>• What to watch for, should Justin Fields get the nod Sunday in Chicago.</p> <p>• An examination of just how bad a gambler I’d be.</p> <p>• A good reason why the Niners are playing it cool with their quarterbacks.</p> <p>But we’re starting with, you guessed it, the greatest quarterback ever and the greatest coach ever. </p> <hr /> <p>Matt Cassel can’t remember any specific example of Belichick’s keying on a weakness of his in his only game against the Patriots—a 30–7 New England rout of the Vikings in Week 2 of 2014. But he threw four picks that day, and he can also recall what it was like in Patriots team meetings seeing Belichick address the defense on the other team’s quarterback. So there are certain assumptions he feels comfortable making.</p> <p>“I remember sitting in some of those meetings and listening to him talk to the defense, how <em>We can’t let this guy escape the pocket to the right, we gotta make him escape the pocket to the left. Because when he’s escaping to the right, he’s much more accurate. He likes to escape to the right because he throws better on the run going to his right than his left</em>,” Cassel said. “I just remember those types of conversations taking place.</p> <p>“And I’m sure due to familiarity with certain players like me, being around those players a long time, there’s part of it that might come into play in how they approach it, how they game plan it.”</p> <p>Likewise, Bledsoe couldn’t put his finger on any one thing that Belichick might’ve culled from their three seasons together in New England (1996, 2000 and ’01), but the results indicate that the coach was able to use that background effectively. And really, the results indicate that Belichick’s <em>always</em> used that background effectively against every quarterback he’s worked with.</p> <p>How much so? Well, we dug into it, and went all the way back to when Belichick first called a defense in 1985 with the Giants, and found six quarterbacks in that time who he worked with and then later competed against. Here are the numbers …</p> <p>Drew Bledsoe (11 GP, 11 GS): 209-for-370, 2,438 yards, 13 TDs, 19 INTs, 65.4 rating</p> <p>Vinny Testaverde (9 GP, 8 GS): 162-for-284, 1,847 yards, 11 TDs, 7 INTs, 79.4 rating</p> <p>Jeff Hostetler (2 GP, 2 GS): 20-for-40, 159 yards, TD, 68.7 rating</p> <p>Matt Cassel (1 GP, 1 GS): 19-for-36, 202 yards, TD, 4 INTs, 39.1 rating</p> <p>Jimmy Garoppolo (1 GP, 1 GS): 20-for-25, 277 yards, 2 INTs, 79.5 rating</p> <p>Brian Hoyer (1 GP, 1 GS): 11-for-22, 155 yards, 73.1 rating</p> <p>Eric Zeier (1 GP, 0 GS): 13-for-20, 173 yards, TD, 109.0 rating</p> <p>That’s 24 starts, and Belichick is 16–8 in those games. On only two of those occasions did the quarterback in question post a 100 quarterback rating—one was Testaverde playing for the Ravens against the Patriots in 1996; the other was Bledsoe playing against the Jets in ’99. In 21 of the 24 games, Belichick’s defense held the quarterback’s passer rating under 86.</p> <p>That, of course, is a staggering rate of success. But, again, if you ask the people involved in those games, they really can’t put their finger on any one edge that Belichick might be leveraging in these sorts of matchups.</p> <p>“That’s the thing—it seemed like Bill had intimate knowledge on most of the quarterbacks we played,” Bruschi, the ex-Patriots linebacker said. “I mean, you get the same info when you’re going up against Bledsoe in Buffalo, and you believe him when he says, <em>This is what this guy is going to do</em>. But he said that plenty of times with Peyton Manning also, like<em>, This is what they want, right here, and this is what we have to take away</em>.”</p> <p>So, sure, Bruschi says, Belichick will know what to do against Brady. But is it really different than what he knows going against, say, Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers?</p> <hr /> <figure><img height="349" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjQxNzkxNjQ4NjcxNTcz/brady-belichick.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Robert Deutsch/USA TODAY Sports</p> </figcaption> </figure> <p>This, to me, is where it gets interesting—because these guys who played for the Patriots, who played with Brady and who know that offense intimately, were able to rattle off, pretty naturally, what they’d expect from Belichick on Sunday.</p> <p>Bruschi says, right away, he’ll be looking at the personnel Belichick’s putting on the field, and exactly what it’s telling Brady to do.</p> <p>“He’s gonna look at Tom like Peyton Manning,” Bruschi said. “I remember him coming into a meeting room saying, <em>Fellas, all you’re going to have is six to stop the run, because we’ve got problems on the back end, so we can’t help you by bringing a safety down and having seven and eight in the box. It’s gonna be stopping the run with just you.</em> And we’d know that’s what we were going to have to do, because his whole saying is, <em>Every handoff to Leonard Fournette or Ronald Jones is one less throw from Tom Brady—Brady to [Mike] Evans or Brady to [Rob] Gronkowski or Brady to Antonio Brown; we’d rather have to tackle those [running backs].</em></p> <p>“So I think you’re going to see some light boxes, you’re gonna see obvious pass defense situations where you’ve got extra DBs, and the football equation in Tom Brady’s mind will be to run the football. And then it’s, can he control his emotions enough to say, <em>O.K., I guess I’m just gonna run it every down</em>?”</p> <p>And to illustrate the concept, Bruschi told a story. Early in the Brady-Manning rivalry, the ex-Patriot says, New England would dare Manning to check to run plays, and Manning simply wouldn’t do it, playing right into Belichick’s hands. Finally, Bruschi continued, in the 2006 AFC title game, Colts’ center Jeff Saturday and Manning’s receivers convinced the Hall of Famer that they needed to run the ball.</p> <p>In the first half of that game, the Colts ran the ball just nine times for 32 yards. In the second half, they ran it 21 times for 93 yards, despite facing a 21–6 deficit at the break, and came back for a 38–34 win that delivered Manning to his first Super Bowl.</p> <p>“Peyton, he had to have his own teammates in the huddle saying, <em>Listen, man, it’s time to run it</em>,” Bruschi said. “There’s definitely a psychology to it, because sometimes, you just know the personality. <em>This is what he does; this is what they’re gonna do</em>. I don’t think that’s Tom. But there’s an emotional aspect that I think Tom’s going to have to control—<em>This is what I see, I know what they’re in and I’m supposed to run it here … but will I?</em>”</p> <p>“That’s the whole impact.”</p> <p>And just as Belichick knows who Brady is psychologically, and will play that game, he knows who Brady is physically too, where he’s limited, and how Brady manages those limitations—mostly because he helped Brady manage those limitations for two decades.</p> <p>“With his experience with Tommy, they’ve had such an unparalleled level of success, but he’s also been with him when things didn’t go well and he knows what that looks like,” Bledsoe said. “If you can push the middle of the pocket so he can’t set his feet, he’s not going to get out and go beat you running the football. What he really likes to do is step up—so if the center of the pocket’s open, Tommy’s gonna be pretty good. If the middle of the pocket gets pushed back into his lap, that’s when he struggles a little bit.”</p> <p>So what if Brady can maneuver up front? That’s where Bledsoe got to the second layer of it, where more tendencies show up. “They’ve known forever and ever, on third-and-medium, he likes to throw these little short routes to the slot. So I’d expect those to be doubled on third down. In the red zone, certain plays, Gronk is going to have a defensive end hitting him and then he’s gonna have a safety over the top and a linebacker underneath. They’re not gonna let Gronk beat them in the red zone.”</p> <p>Like Bruschi says, much of this is stuff Belichick would probably pick up on and exploit with any quarterback.</p> <p>But there’s one more layer to it, one that may be unique to this matchup. Earlier in the week, Belichick said that the Buccaneers’ offense is, in essence, the Patriots’ offense—something Tampa coach Bruce Arians took exception with. Maybe that’s right. Maybe it’s not. Regardless, if Belichick thinks Tampa’s running a “Brady scheme” then that’s worth paying attention to, because that area, using a team’s scheme against it, is one that all these guys raised as an area Belichick excels in.</p> <p>“When you’re playing against the defense I was playing against, when I was playing against the Patriots, really smart players understand by formation, motion and by the release of your receivers where they’re headed,” Bledsoe said. “So then they’d start pattern-reading, rather than just playing coverage. They’re actually looking at what’s going on and anticipating what route is coming.</p> <p>“So that’s when you’ve got Tedy Bruschi, who looks like he’s gonna run under one route but then all of a sudden he pivots his hips and he’s back in the middle of another route because he recognizes the entire scheme. That’s what makes it <em>really</em> difficult. They’re so well-prepared, they understand what you’re doing from a conceptual standpoint. Rather than just reacting, they’re anticipating. That’s what those guys have done so well for so long.”</p> <p>Indeed, Cassel explained how Belichick weaponized Norv Turner’s scheme against him in the 2014 game. There were general ways it was happening—the Patriot corners would let the receivers get outside of them and into the downfield routes that offense favors. There were also specifics. One came early on, when Patriots’ safety Devin McCourty recognized a look and baited Cassel into thinking he was coming down to cover a crosser.</p> <p>Cassel, seeing that, threw deep to the post. By the time the ball was gone, McCourty had flipped his hips and gotten deep. It was the first of Cassel’s four picks on the day.</p> <hr /> <p>There was another thing early in that Viking game that unsettled Cassel. Every piece of evidence they had told the staff and players that the Patriots played a 3–4 defense, right through New England’s Week 1 game. “And we get into that game,” he explained, “and all of a sudden, the first thing we notice—and everything from the run game and our protection scheme, how we were going to pick up stuff was based off that 3–4 defense—they show up and they’re in a four-down front.”</p> <p>It meant the Vikings had to flip everything upside down in protection and in the run game, and that was the week they lost Adrian Peterson to the commissioner’s exempt list. Then, after the Vikings adjusted, the Patriots had adjusted again. Which was hardly a first, for them.</p> <p>“One thing I did experience the couple times I played against Belichick-coached defenses, they won’t be static for the entire game,” said Bledsoe. “They’ll give one look the first series or two to try and figure out how the offenses are gonna attack them, and then you’ll see an adjustment mid-first quarter, second quarter and again certainly after halftime, based on what they see in terms of what the Bucs’ offense is trying to do to them.”</p> <p>Which brings us to the inverse of this theme—how Brady can take any advantage Belichick might have there and turn the tables on him.</p> <p>Cassel mentioned how well Brady knows guys he practiced against for years, guys like Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy, J.C. Jackson and Jonathan Jones. Bruschi pointed out how he knows how Belichick will adjust to different formations, personnel groupings, shifts and motions, and that should, at least, give him insight into what the Patriots are doing before the snap.</p> <p>“And he can control the tempo—possibly, you’ll see hurry up, just so he can control it, and put a formation out there to get the answers,” Bruschi said. “That’s a lot of what Peyton would do to us. So the Patriots would have to counter that with some very good disguise. They’ve got a good, experienced secondary, and linebackers that know how to do that. So it’ll definitely be a chess match out there.”</p> <p>This is where we mention that Brady also has the better team.</p> <p>Ultimately, you’d think that would be the ultimate queen on Sunday’s chess board. And for all this strategic stuff, would give Brady the best chance to walk away with the sort of memory that Bledsoe got 18 years ago.</p> <hr /> <figure><img height="375" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjI0NTkzNTI1ODc2NTY1/kyler-murray.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2>FIVE STAR MATCHUPS</h2> <p><em>Ranking the five best games this weekend.</em></p> <p>1) <em>Buccaneers at Patriots (Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET):</em> The easy answer is the correct one. Let’s not be stupid or too cute here.</p> <p>2) <em>Cardinals at Rams (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET):</em> Half of a great NFC West round robin day—both teams come into SoFi Stadium unbeaten. One has a chance to rubber-stamp its place <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/28/nfl-power-rankings-week-4">as the NFL’s best team</a> through a quarter of the season. The other gets its shot to move up in class, with a young quarterback who’s playing MVP-level football. And speaking of Kyler Murray, he and Matthew Stafford might be running first and second at the still-very-early stage of the race for MVP.</p> <p>3) <em>Raiders at Chargers (Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET):</em> Justin Herbert alone is worth tuning in for. And don’t look now, but Derek Carr is too. To me, the best story line to watch here might be how the Las Vegas defense holds up. Going into the year, the team felt really good about where its offense was, but that the defense could go either way. So far, Gus Bradley’s made a huge difference there. But the Chargers’ offense will present new challenges for his very young secondary.</p> <p>4) <em>Seahawks at 49ers (Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET):</em> The other half of that round robin has Russell Wilson and the defending division champs looking to avoid falling three games back (barring a Rams-Cardinals tie) through four games. And how the Niners respond after a crushing loss to the Packers on a big stage should be interesting too.</p> <p>5) <em>Panthers at Cowboys (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET):</em> Both these teams have talent, and are off to hot starts. I’d give both a better than 50-50 chance to make the playoffs at this point, and there are lots of interesting game-within-the-game elements to this one. Two I really like: <em><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/27/maqb-week-3-panthers-trade-for-cj-henderson-fields-belichick">Whether C.J. Henderson is ready to step in</a> and help slow down the Cowboys’ fleet of receivers; and how a proud Dallas offensive line handles the Panthers’ burgeoning defensive front</em>.</p> <p><em>Watch NFL games online all season long with fuboTV:</em> <a href="https://www.fubo.tv/lp/football/?bgvideo=nfl.mp4&title=Live%20Football.%20Stream%20and%20DVR.&priceline=*Regional%20and%20mobile%20restrictions%20apply&cta=Get%207-Day%20Free%20Trial%20Now&irad=356362&irmp=376635"><em>Start with a 7-day free trial!</em></a></p> <hr /> <figure><img height="424" src="https://www.si.com/.image/c_fit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_620/MTg0MjE3NTI1MDgzNDQ5MTcz/justin-fields-bears-browns.jpg" width="620" /> <figcaption> <p>Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated</p> </figcaption> </figure> <h2>FOUR THINGS TO FOLLOW</h2> <p><strong><em>If Justin Fields starts, how will the Bears’ coaches adjust?</em></strong> A few days ago <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/27/maqb-week-3-panthers-trade-for-cj-henderson-fields-belichick">in the MAQB</a>, we raised the reasons why Chicago should try playing its first-round pick under center a little more—after deploying him out of the shotgun on 41 of 45 offensive snaps last Sunday. Of course there could be a lot of reasons why the Bears didn’t put Fields under center against the Browns, not the least of which would be what was best for the other 10 guys in the huddle. But given what happened last week, it’s fair to expect, should Fields be the guy, some level of adjustment to get Fields going. And I think that starts with the Bears’ trying to spark the run game, move the pocket and put the quarterback in position to play faster.</p> <p><strong><em>Lamar Jackson vs. Vic Fangio.</em></strong> Because the schedule worked out this way, the 2019 MVP has yet to get his first test against the one of the game’s best defensive minds. Not only that, he hasn’t even played a branch on the Fangio defense tree—he’ll play the Bears for the first time later this year, and he hasn’t had his shot at Brandon Staley in either of Staley’s Los Angeles stops yet. And while Jackson’s numbers are middling through three weeks, the eyeball test shows a player who’s been at his best in pulling Baltimore through major injury problems, and a player who’s delivered in a very big way down the stretch the last two weeks. Getting to see how Fangio combats all that should be a lot of fun.</p> <p><strong><em>A Chiefs get-well game.</em></strong> Andy Reid’s back in Philly for the first time in eight years, and he’ll have a lot more to worry about when he gets there than just catching up with old friends. If Patrick Mahomes hadn’t pulled a rabbit from his hat in Week 1, the Chiefs would be 0–3 right now. And part of it, to be fair, was some expected transition, with young players’ dotting the defense and an entirely new offensive line that’s starting three rookies. The good news for Reid & Co. is that the Eagles looked shaky on Monday night and were on the road going into a short week, and that should give Kansas City the opportunity to work out some of its issues in game situations.</p> <p><strong><em>The trend lines with taunting penalties.</em></strong> There were three taunting flags league-wide in Week 1, eight in Week 2 and two in Week 3. The argument I’ve made is that it was always going to take a few weeks for the officials and players to really get a handle on this. And maybe it’s happened faster than that, with so few flags last week. Here’s hoping things keep going that way.</p> <hr /> <h2>TWO BEST BETS</h2> <p><em>Season record: 1–5 (Really bad, I know. Note: I never told anyone to actually take my advice.)</em></p> <p><em>Washington (-1.5) at Falcons:</em> Feels to me like the Football Team is undervalued here (see, I know gambling jargon!). I think they’ll get a big road win to steady the ship.</p> <p><em>Panthers (+4.5) at Cowboys:</em> I know the game’s at AT&T, but I think this is a tough spot for Dallas, and it’ll be a field goal (or less) game either way.</p> <hr /> <h2>ONE BIG QUESTION</h2> <p><em>Why isn’t Trey Lance playing yet?</em></p> <p>I feel like we’ve been over this enough, but the question keeps coming up.</p> <p>It’s pretty simple, actually, The Niners aren’t like most teams that draft quarterbacks in the first round. And that’s because the Niners aren’t a rebuilding team with little hope to contend right now. So the idea of throwing the season out and riding out the highs and lows of starting a rookie quarterback, like you’re seeing with the Jets, Jaguars and even the Patriots, isn’t happening.</p> <p>Lance is one of 43 quarterbacks drafted in the first round since 2008—the year when Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco went in the top 20, started from the jump and led their teams to the playoffs. And if Lance is truly redshirted (sitting the entire year), he’d be just fourth first-round quarterback in that 14-year span to be afforded that luxury. The other three were Jake Locker (2011), Patrick Mahomes (’17) and Jordan Love (’20).</p> <p>The teams Locker, Mahomes and Love played for had two things in common with these Niners. One, each had a very competent, playoff-tested veteran quarterback (Matt Hassselbeck, Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers); and two, each contended through the season (those Chiefs and Packers made the playoff, and the Hasselbeck Titans just missed them).</p> <p>So everyone should listen to Kyle Shanahan when he talks. Because as often as coaches lie in these situations, the Niners’ coach really hasn’t in this one.</p> <p>Here’s what he said this week: “Trey’s our backup quarterback. This isn’t the preseason. We’re not just going back and forth all the time. Trey goes in for specific plays or things we want to do. Trey, week-in and week-out, he gets better each week the more reps he gets on scout team. But there’s not a big decision going into that each week. We put in a game plan for our starting quarterback, the backup needs to be able to do all of that if he gets hurt.</p> <p>“And what’s cool about Trey is because of his different skill set, we always keep him alive with a couple of plays on situations.”</p> <p>It’s that easy. Jimmy Garoppolo’s the best option right now for a team that was in the Super Bowl 20 months ago, with Garoppolo as its quarterback, and a team like that can’t afford to throw games away in the name of player development. When Lance becomes the best option for the Niners in the here and now, then I’d expect Shanahan will go to him.</p> <p>No need for everyone to overthink this.</p> <p><strong>More NFL Coverage:</strong></p> <p><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/29/why-rookie-quarterbacks-should-consider-trade-demands">Why Rookie QBs Should Consider Trade Demands</a><br /></strong><strong>•</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/28/week-3-takeaways-cowboys-control-afc-east-breaking-down-mahomes-ints">8 Things to Know: NFL Is Wide Open (NFC East Isn't)</a><br /></strong><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/29/nfl-mailbag-chiefs-worries-panthers-steelers-patriots">Mailbag: What Should We Make of Surprising Starts?</a><br /></strong><strong>• <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2021/09/28/nfl-power-rankings-week-4">Power Rankings: Rams for Real, Chiefs Still in Top 10</a></strong></p>

New on Sports Illustrated: GamePlan: What Past Patriots Quarterbacks Can Teach Us About Tom Brady Vs. Bill Belichick

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