Have playoff hopeful teams seen enough to reach out and make a bold move to improve their fortunes? These 4 need to seriously consider bringing in reinforcements to accomplish their goals (which are slightly different for each).

Philadelphia Eagles – OG. You’re in a putrid division that is the laughing stock of the league, and could incite change to how divisions and playoffs are set up if a team like the Cardinals doesn’t get in because of you. Despite the offensive line being in shambles, Wentz is the best QB in the division. Its not enough to just win the AFC East division though. You have to look to greatly improve before you get there, or that accomplishment will mean nothing. You’d almost rather be the Giants (with a similar record) and get a much higher draft pick if you’re just going to go and get ran in the first round. Trade for a solid guard to help your line. Lane Johnson returned, Jason Peters is coming back, and Jordan Mailata has been a pleasant surprise as a fill-in for all of the injuries. You make a move at guard and all of a sudden the O-line issues could be heavily mitigated in the next few weeks! Brandon Brooks even has a shot to get back in the playoffs, so this could help you really unlock all of those skill position players. Kevin Zeitler may be available for the taking from a lowly Giants roster. If not from a division rival, then you need to find someone who allows Carson to get back to his MVP-caliber ways.

Seattle Seahawks – DE. What a gut-punch of a loss in Arizona. The NFC West always play each other tight, and the Hawks ALWAYS take things down to the wire. You need a marquee pass rusher. The experiments are over. I wanted to trust in Pete Carroll on those. After seeing Kyler drop back 50 times without getting sacked or even hit, its clear that Shaquem Griffin, Benson Mayowa, Bruce Irvin, Alton Robinson, Damontre Moore, Jonathon Bullard, Shaqeem Green, LJ Collier are all solid rotational players, but none of them have put QB’s on notice. See if you can go and get Ryan Kerrigan for cheap. We have legit championship aspirations, and we need to help our entire defense by putting heat on an opponents passing game or we aren’t getting the job done. Period. Don’t waste Russ’ home-cooking.

New England Patriots – WR. The Bills are comfortable and think they have the division within their grasps. Bill… Tom Brady thinks he can make a fool out of you and your system by dominating without you and laughing at the lack of weaponry that Cam Newton has to work with. Go and get Julio Jones or Amari Cooper. Get back on track. The Falcons are looking at a full rebuild, could use assets, and the 31 year old Jones may be expendable with Calvin Ridley and Russell Gage stepping up. With respect to the twilight of Steve Smith’s career, Julio would be far and away the most dominant receiver Cam would have ever played ball with. This all assumes that the Patriots aren’t fulling willing to embrace ‘Tanking for Trey‘.

Tenessee Titans – Slot WR. You need to get space from the Colts, but more importantly, you need to make sure that you can compete with the Steelers, Ravens and Chiefs. You have your deep threats in A.J. Brown and Corey Davis. You have a very good TE in Jonnu Smith. You can get Jamison Crowder to be an upgrade in the slot to keep your offense on schedule when you can’t go deep. He has been shining in the mud for the New York Jets this season. Derrick Henry will also open things up further for Crowder.

*Update* – Three out of these 4 teams did end up making deadline trades… they weren’t my exact reccos, but the Seahawks (Carlos Dunlap), Patriots (Isaiah Ford), and Titans (Desmond King) all made moves to get better down the stretch. When the Eagles get dominated in the wild card round of the playoffs, I’m going to write an article to embarrass them. It’s done.

The story of the season very well may be Russell Wilson at the peak of his powers, cooking like we’ve never seen before. He had 5 passing tuddies on Sunday. He’s the leading man in a premature MVP race, and being discussed on every talk show with regards to who sits on the QB throne at the moment. He deserves it, as he’s been consistently great for us. We almost expect his greatness and wizardry at this point, but it should not be taken for granted.

The defense also made quite the impressive goal line stand, stuffing the prolific and highly impressive Cam Newton (who has shut a lot of ya’ll up) from doing what he has done so many times. I’m hoping that this is the beginning of a little swag to L.J. Collier’s game (he also batted one of Cam Newton’s passes at the line). Hopefully now he knows that he can play with the big boys.

You know who already knew that before the rest of America did? D.K. Metcalf. Not only did he make it rough on an elite cornerback in Stephon Gilmore, but he took the physicality straight to his throat! Metcalf dominated the reigning Defensive Player of the Year with 4 catches for 92 yards and a 54 yard TD with said player draped all over his back. This was a lockdown corner, and both D.K. and Russ went right at him. That’s the level of confidence they have in each other.

Does everybody understand that D.K. Metcalf went super saiyan? Gilmore was getting manhandled and straight bullied out there!! Some will talk about that 160-yard explosion in Philly in the playoffs last year being his breakout game… but against the Patriots, D.K. announced to the world that he’s just heating up. If you think that cornerbacks, safeties and defensive coordinators around the league didn’t watch in awe, and that it’ll change how they defend us, then its time to wake up. Metcalf is a problem. The best of the best became a speed bump in his path. When asked about the matchup and how it seemed that Metcalf got the better of him, Stephon Gilmore replied: “Russell Wilson is a great quarterback” ().

D.K. Metcalf is a taller, heavier AND faster Terrell Owens. Now, T.O. is a hall of famer, and one of the top 5 most prolific receivers ever, so don’t get it twisted… but I’m just sayin’, these are the type of tools that D.K. is working with. He’s no longer some prospect to watch. He proved himself to be a weapon who can dominate whoever, whenever. Should we start calling him Baby T.O.?

Can’t wait to see what else Russell and D.K. cook up together this season. That will be an enjoyable side quest to this season. Having a legitimate threat, such as Metcalf, changes the complexion and play calling of the Hawks’ O. He is also starving to get his respect, and I’m here for allahdat.

I was willing to give it another chance when Cleveland got stomped by the Ravens; as Odell Beckham Jr. caught 3 of his 10 targets. In light of that performance, his 4 catch, 74 yard Thursday night is a celebration, right?? Pump all of the brakes and ride slow homie. Most of his production was on one catch for 43 yards. Watching a full Browns game, it still looks like Baker and Beckham Jr. are not in sync. Sorry to kill the vibe ya’ll, but let’s tell it like it is.

Don’t get me wrong. I believe in the talent and ability of OBJ. I also do believe in Baker to be a solid facilitator who can lead an elite team (although my confidence has given way to slight doubt recently). It just doesn’t look like a great fit. Baker had the 3rd highest average time to throw in week 1 (per Next Gen Stats) and was not able to get Odell involved with 10 looks! It seems as if he’s pressing. Did you see the way it seemed like everybody breathed a sigh of relief when OBJ finally caught a deep pass tonight? Bruhhhh these dudes is on edge!! And this was against the Bengals, so we can go ahead and say less.

The Browns don’t need the pressure of taking advantage of an out-of-sync star receiver. They should get back to the ground and pound potential they have with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Those two MASHED tonight. They also have 3 potentially star tight ends. Their defense may thrive with more ball control. Mayfield was at his best in his rookie season when he wasn’t under pressure to make the offense boom. A change in philosophy (and one that Kevin Stefanski is partial to) should absolutely be in order.

Now, Cleveland may keep OBJ around to see if they can capitalize on the strong run game and make him a play-action deep threat this year. I don’t expect it to be a perfect fit. I watched a replay of the Cardinals @ Niners from week 1, and it was apparent that Kyler had the ability to strike at will to DeAndre Hopkins. That connection had the ability to shine and take over a game. D-Hop is an impact player for that team. That’s not the way this feels with Bake to Beckham. Mayfield was spreading the ball all around in his best game in some time. OBJ is an expensive luxury to have in that case.

With cap space an issue across the league (given the uncertainty of revenue for the league during this time in our world), not many teams will be able to make a bold move for Odell and his $14M. The New England Patriots have the 2nd most cap space after the Browns, and have proven that they may be closer to contenders than tankers. That defense is still looking solid. Cam is playing for $1M for a team that people have written off. He is playing without a care in the world, and pressure is not an issue there. Odell and Cam are already friends. This is the year that Bill gets to tinker, so why not? Buffalo went out and got their Cam clone a similar weapon in Stefon Diggs.

Don’t count out the New York Jets (they need to get Darnold help FAST) who are in the city where OBJ played for his first 5 years in the league as a Giant. They lost Jamal Adams and Le’Veon Bell, and look like a mess. you need to find out if Sam Darnold is your guy, or if the kid sees ghosts. Lastly, wouldn’t it be something if The Football Team made a play for the star receiver? Washington is leading their division (!) and Haskins could use another legit receiver across from Scary Terry. Rivera and company would only take that chance if they truly believe in Dwayne, but it would load up OBJ with shots at revenge on the G-Men.

Either way, I expect a testing period this year to give it one last shot to see if it can work with the Browns. If not, there are teams that would love to make a play for a guy that can do things like this. The Browns need to forge a new identity on the ground. Beckham Jr. was acquired by a different administration in Cleveland. His trade to the Browns was exciting, but always felt awkward and forced. We haven’t heard the last of questions about Odell Beckham Jr.’s fit and chemistry with Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. If he has any shot to stick, it will be as a deep play threat off of play-action. I don’t see it fully happening the way that it could pop off elsewhere. Move him for assets at the trade deadline and get a cheaper alternative who meshes with your team ethos. Let’s see how this one plays out!

Throughout last year’s NBA Season (switching to basketball… stay with me) we witnessed a team who not many saw as being one of the best at the beginning of the season, play some serious ball. This team rose up behind the ascent of a young, captivating player who took a leap from good to great. This player dominated all adversaries on the way to capturing our imaginations as well as the league MVP award. That team was the Milwaukee Bucks, and that player was Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks earned the top seed in their conference on the way to the playoffs, and hope for a title run abounded. Unfortunately for the state of Wisconsin, the Bucks lost to a lower seeded team before reaching the final stages.

Read that last paragraph again, because a very similar tale could be told of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens in this year’s NFL Season! There has been a constant parade of puff pieces and talk shows that have fawned over how incredible and unique Lamar Jackson’s season has been. The development of the Baltimore Ravens’ and Jackson’s dominant season was a prevailing storyline that we all followed all year. It was to the point where the prospect of them being in the Super Bowl seemed like a foregone conclusion. I personally made a point to watch as many Ravens games as I could to witness Lamar’s electric play. Lamar Jackson very well may be the future of the NFL. His 2019 regular season heroics and highlights will be something that many of us will always remember as somewhat of a sea-change. Much like the Bucks in last year’s NBA Playoffs, however, the Ravens in this year’s NFL Playoffs were defeated by a lower seeded team. This happened to both franchises despite the presence of the respective league MVP’s.

If this year’s Ravens are last year’s Bucks, then that makes Derrick Henry this year’s Kawhi Leonard!! He is the executioner of dreams, dynasties, hopes and storylines. We love (or love to hate) LeBron, Lamar, Brady, Mahomes, Russell and Zeke. Derrick Henry stood up and let his play do the talking: “Oh, you thought it was going to be about them…? Naw, you buckle-up and peep game. You’re gonna respect this whether you like it or not” {rough translation}.

The Titans upending the Patriots (who have won 3 of the last 5 Super Bowls) in the wildcard round of the playoffs was a statement game; but crushing the Ravens was a shocking revelation. Of course, like Kawhi Leonard on the Toronto Raptors, #22 got help. Tennessee has a head coach who brilliantly outcoached and embarrassed the great Bill Belichick. Not many may know that Titans QB, Ryan Tannehill was graded as the top QB in the league (Passer rating and PFF grade) in the 11 games he played in. Tannehill’s job was undoubtedly made easier by the threat of Henry, but he played well in his role. And you cannot forget that TEN has some dawgs on defense. But Henry makes it all gel. He is the titular titan of Tennessee. Nick Shook called the Titans “hungry and vengeful” and that is the perfect description, and it starts with Derrick Henry.

Henry is completely dominating everyone in his path. He seemingly gets 8 yards every time he totes the rock. He has more rush yards in the playoffs at this point in his career than any other human in the history of the league. He is the 2019 rushing yards leader and he turned into Thanos on a future HOF’er. That moment was not quite Bo Jackson against Brian Bosworth, but it was scintillatingly close. His historic playoff perform has launched his stardom to a new stratosphere. Some of the greatest RB’s in history couldn’t carry their teams on their backs like this.

Derrick Henry reminds us of the ability of certain moments in life (like sports) to crush any previous, long-held narratives that anybody wanted to believe or label you with. Those are beautiful moments in both sports and life. Like Kawhi did last year, Henry has unleashed in the playoffs the all-consuming fire that is his force of will. It looks like he has reincarnated the power and mystique of Beastmode.

Later today, the Kansas City Chiefs will want to air it out, strike fast and take Derrick Henry out of the game. They have the firepower to do just that, led by the still reigning NFL MVP in Mahome-dawg. Henry did have over 8 ypc against KC earlier this year (188 rushing yards and 2 tuddies) and has earned over 1,500 yds AFTER contact this season (including playoffs). Unlike basketball, in football one man can only do so much against a balanced and unified team… but he is bending those laws a bit before our eyes.

Henry had 182 on the ground against the Pats two weeks ago. That set a Titans playoff record, and was the most ever against NE in a playoff game in the Belichick era. Derrick Henry may be credited one day for ending the New England Patriots Dynasty – arguably the greatest dynasty in American sports history. When Henry scored the jump pass Tebow TD against Baltimore, that was when i felt this game was etched in history. It was iconic. That conjured memories of Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson and great backs of the past who were the do-everything motors for their teams. He is going beyond just playing well… he has tacked on a grip of exclamation points to his playoff performances!!

No matter who wins the super bowl this year, Derrick Henry’s 2019 playoff coronation will be remembered. His foes next year will have it in the back of their minds each and every game. Y’all messed around and let him get in his zone, and he broke all of the ceilings. This is a bad dude, and you can doubt this dangerous killer if you want, but he has already shown us that he can reach heights that we’ve never seen. He doesn’t care about your nice little storylines. You will pay this man, and pay his game, attention.

A.B. views himself as an icon and a brand. He is somewhat correct. His work ethic is unquestioned. His talent is generational. He styles himself in bold and eccentric ways that we’ve never seen. He works his tail off, posts his workouts and broadcasts his motivations all over social media. He believes that he is fighting for his freedom and for his principles. He is obviously hyper aware and hyper focused on all of the criticisms. So much so that he doesn’t see the full reality of his actions.

The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth

–Antonio Brown on Twitter

It’s pretty easy to see him as clouded, crazy or selfish. There have been a great deal of memes calling him a clown for all of his antics (some hilarious). He has been painted as the great villain of this season so far. These takes may be justified… but I believe that he has made moves with his own best interests in mind, according to the leverage that his game-changing talent has afforded him.

Yes, Brown’s actions have been incredibly selfish when viewed through the prism of a team sport such as professional football. I won’t go so far as to call him a clown, but he has certainly been directing the circus. A.B. has been given too much leeway by two well-known player-friendly coaches in Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh and Jon Gruden in Oakland. This will not fly with Bill Belichick in New England. Brown will need to put his ego in check and go on chill mode.

Let me make this clear: this is not an article meant to defend or justify Antonio Brown and his out-sized actions. I want to take a deep look at the media’s treatment of him compared to other players, and furthermore, how the media is so good at telling us what we should pay attention to and care about.

I’m here to tell you (and began writing this point even before he got signed) that Antonio Brown will get his check and he will dominate this year. Bet that. We can call him whatever we want to, and make all of the memes (please do), but players have been given second chances after doing WAY worse things than A.B.! It is interesting to see the ways in which the media directs our attention, and almost dictates which topics we care about.

Reuben Foster was recently given a second chance after twice being accused of domestic violence and threats. Greg Hardy was told that he would get a second chance to play (although it didn’t end up happening) after being accused of threatening and throwing his girlfriend on a pile full of guns. Tyreek Hill was accused of breaking his son’s arm and was caught on audio recording telling his fiancé that she needed to be afraid of him. Heck, Ezekiel Elliott has been in trouble for multiple reasons, including exposing a woman’s breast without her consent on camera. There were apparently long-time cover-ups for Josh Brown and his domestic violence, as well as the whole Jerry Sandusky cover-up. These men deserved real punishment.

In a very telling sequence of events, Ray Rice was originally only suspended two games when news broke that he knocked his fiancé out cold with a punch to the head. When the video came out, that’s when the public outrage occurred, not before. Societal pressure and criticism are what caused the NFL to change their ruling, and indefinitely suspend Rice.

And so, we need to ask ourselves: how often is our anger and energy weaponized and channeled by the media and it’s agenda? I would argue that its quite often. Consider the Eurocentric nature of our international concerns and empathy.

When there is a tragedy or safety concern in a European country, we have Facebook filters and hashtags to support them. The media runs with these things with wall-to-wall coverage. That is great, empathy and concern for others is always a good thing. Selective empathy is not. When disaster strikes countries that are predominately black or latin, the same social media support or level of awareness doesn’t seem to be present. Why is that? Let’s pray for Paris… but can we also pray for Nigeria?? Why did we hear more about the Notre Dame Cathedral being partially burned (then restored by donations from millionaires) than the ongoing burning of the Amazon Rainforests?

Why did Michael Vick get a year and a half in jail and a two year suspension from the NFL for dog fighting (something that clearly should have been punished), while Donte Stallworth got less than a month in jail and a one year suspension from the NFL for DUI manslaughter? Even if you get yourself to a point where you believe that the legal ramifications fit each’s respective crimes, there’s still the issue of disparity in how there were mass protests over Vick ever getting a second chance in the league, and most don’t even know about Stallworth’s transgressions.

Again, Antonio Brown has acted selfishly, without regard to anyone but himself at times… but doesn’t that describe a lot of entertainers? His new team is not without it’s controversies, but they will hopefully help him to gain maturity and humility (hopefully). Do not pretend for a second that Brown has committed some heinous act for which he should be blackballed from the league. The same could be said of another notable former NFL star (whom the Jaguars need to call up):

We all need a villain in sports. That’s part of the beauty of fandom. Call Antonio Brown whatever you want, and root for his downfall if you would like… that is your sports right. I am not here to defend or denounce him. Moving on past his situation, let’s keep in mind that in the day and age of social pressure and viral stories, which topics are we being fed by the media? Which are we ignoring? How about we transfer some of our organized outrage to those who deserve it? And how about we start highlighting the positive instead of sensationalizing the negative?