“Two things can be true at the same time: I'm very happy and appreciative of my time I spent as a Met and I'm beyond grateful and appreciative for the Baltimore Orioles.” - Pete Alonso, on returning to Citi Field, has me wondering who was the first to say “two things can be true at the same time:”
🎙️ Leading Off
Aaaaaaaand a few Happy First Week of the NFL to You! Topped off by Steve Ballmer conceding he’ll accept the NBA’s penalties without pursuing litigation which is a wise move considering he’s….in litigation! Ballmer’s currently being sued by former Aspiration investors. They believe his participation signaled the company was on better footing, and not a money laundering vehicle designed to circumvent the NBA’s salary cap. They also don’t have much to lose in suing one of the 10 richest men in the world. If you’re wondering why Ballmer won’t admit wrongdoing though, it’s because he can’t. Ballmer admitting to his scheme could jeopardize his actual legal defense. He’ll tuck his tail between his legs and hope his lawyers do a better job in Real Court than against Adam Silver.
🏈 Hard In The Paint
(Mike Tomlin/X)
Time to talk Ball. I’m an ardent believer in steering away from Winners and Losers. You can find those in about 40 other publications or, yaknow, the standings. Instead, let’s unpack what we actually witnessed across a hundred hours of football:
Mike Tomlin discussed the collectively bargained limited contact in training camps as one hypothesis for why defenses struggled in week one. Maybe. Maybe an idea, but the lack of tackling practice didn’t exactly prevent a deluge of injuries. The reality, brought to you by KMARK, who never played a snap, is that great defenses are coached by great coordinators who love to eat weeks of tape before putting an offense in a straightjacket. Until every team (except the Chargers) puts 10 or 12 weeks of tendencies on film, expect offenses to have an upper hand.
Drops. Lotta drops. From every one of Arch Manning’s receivers to George Pickens, I didn’t notice a crispness from the wideouts. Gotta squeeze it fellas! Ball can’t hit the turf.
Illegal Man Downfield - a hallmark of early season football. What were we doing all camp!
Someone teach QBs how to slide. The feet-first version that got Kyler Murray knocked out isn’t working. For one, I find it to be wildly unfair for defenders. The 15-yard personal foul is unavoidable when a sprinting QB decides to slide at the last second. Beyond that, Murray is only the latest star to bounce his head off the turf and risk permanent damage. Someone help these guys absorb contact.
Here’s what I’m watching pre-snap: the evolution of offenses have defenses playing a base nickel package (5 DBs). Count the linebackers and you can read the package. On early downs, you’ll notice nickel with a walked down safety (to stop the run). There were whispers in 2025 of teams leaning on Cover 3. Close your eyes: one safety taking the deep middle, flanked by a left and right corner dropping into a deep third. 3 defenders at equal depth (deep) each splitting the field into thirds. The walked down safety becomes an underneath defender. Is this real? Has the league abonded Cover 2? Only one way to find out: watch 100 more hours a week for the five six months.
📻 Over The Air
📡 JumboTron: Tuesday’s Must Watch
All times PST
Braves vs Cubs, 4:40pm TBS, the SuperStation Bowl
☎️ The Phone Line
Best thing on the timeline today:
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Walkup Song
Walkup Song
The Offspring
For the Cowboys defense:
Spotify