Five Wide: 2022 Week Five

By Thomas Willoughby

I’m working on a theory. Just run with me on this one: every single team in the NFL is an iteration of the Atlanta Falcons. This past weekend we saw the Green Falcons blow a double-digit halftime lead, and over the past two weeks the Purple Falcons have blown massive leads. The Blue Falcons’ offensive line is getting Matt Ryan killed, the Orange Falcons’ new mobile QB can’t seem to find the endzone, and the Regular Falcons are still unable to beat Tom Brady. There’s something to it!

Two down, one to go, and it’s difficult to imagine how the Teal Falcons and the Orange Falcons could possibly top what we’ve seen at Spurs thus far. Luckily, they’ve a couple of weeks to concoct a more ludicrous game. I look forward to that. Until then, here’s a new Five Wide to keep you warm.

Londeau Field

I tweeted it on my way down to the capital through spotty data service on one of our nation’s motorways, that the Packers/Giants game on Sunday felt like (one of) the most important in the history of the London Games. Having experienced it, I feel vindicated in that statement. This was the London Games at its finest. From before the beginning to very end, this was it. The peak of the London series.

I found myself repeatedly saying to the person I attended with, “the New York Giants are really well supported here!”. Because they are. I think. I know there’s no exact science to knowing who the most supported teams in the UK are, but the Giants are always very well-represented at the games here, so that’s what I’m going off. But, man. They were absolutely dwarfed. My best guess is that three-quarters of that stadium this weekend were Packers fans.

It was a sea of green, with blots of blue, and dots of *insert any other team here*, from Seven Sisters into the ground. And it was LOUD, too. Their funny little “go pack go” chant ringing around White Hart Lane every time Daniel Jones and company took to the field. It absolutely wasn’t a Packers game at Lambeau. But, as the Wisconsin couple next to us assured us it was pretty close! 

I’m not going to talk about the game itself, but this felt like the culmination of 15 years of the series. It’s gone from feeling like a one-off-type league event to part of the calendar. A celebration of the league to an actual integrated league game. Proof that we can host these games, and for it to not feel out of place anymore. Feels good, man.

Getty Images

NFC, AFC...EFC?

Another week, and another thing that irked me about the London games. On Saturday, at an NFL UK Live event, Roger Goodell was asked about the prospect of a London-based team. This annual conversation simply will not go away, and, for as long as we’re hosting the London Games series, likely won’t in the future. For the first time, however, his line changed somewhat. No longer is it a case of “we believe in the London market and its fans”. It’s now that Europe could host a division.

Forgive me if I’m reluctant to buy into this at any real level. I remember being at the Atlanta Falcons fan rally at Trafalgar Square the day before their game against the Lions in 2014. Arthur Blank stated that he believed London could host more than one franchise, a sentiment echoed by Goodell in last weekend’s event. There’s an eight-year gap between those comments, by the way, and we’re arguably further away from a London team than we have been over the past decade.

Not that I’m arguing for or against a London franchise/European division. I can understand how, logistically, you could make an overseas franchise/franchises work if there are multiple (a third of their fixtures wouldn’t require a trip to America, and vice versa, for instance). And, if you squint hard enough, expanding games into Germany, and Spain down the line, could certainly look like they’re testing the waters for local uptake. But with the addition of the 17th game, and local media markets being taken up by the NFL last year, it doesn’t necessarily feel like this is as exciting as we’re being led to believe it is. Placation over planning, always. Don’t get your hopes up, basically.

Sunday League Referee

Listen, I know this is only really coming up here because it’s directly affected the team I support. But it’s a conversation I wanted to have, because it irked me a LOT. NFL officials: they are NOT GOOD. 

It feels like the driving conversation around the Falcons/Bucs game hasn’t been how utterly stifling the Buccaneers’ defense looked, nor how these plucky Falcons hung in to make a game of it, despite being down 21-0 heading into the 4th quarter. No, it’s how, on 3rd down, Grady Jarrett whipped around the Buccaneers’ offensive line, wrapped his arms around Tom Brady, rolled him across his body, and completed a textbook sack to force a punt. Only for Jerome Boger to decide that Jarrett had, in actual fact, ‘roughed’ the passer. 

“But Willo”, a collection of ill-informed fans have repeatedly tried to tell me this weekend, “that makes up for the non-PI call against Dee Alford on Scotty Miller a play earlier!” Ok, genius, then explain the phantom holding call against AJ Terrell, on 3rd down, only 3 plays prior? You know, which would have seen the Falcons end the Buccaneers drive for the first time? Oh you can’t? Ok then!

Jerome Boger’s explanation was equally as odd. “What I had was the defender grabbing the quarterback while he was still in the pocket, and unnecessarily throwing him to the ground.” I don’t think I have the space on this piece to truly describe how pathetic this response is.

Like, this wasn’t the only one. Like, look at this. Look at the Jared Goff one. MATE. Come on. I appreciate there’s probably an element of acting in response to the Tagovailoa incident, but NFL referees have been routinely deciding games for years now. This is a multi-billion dollar operation. We don’t pay to watch ref-ball, we pay to watch football. It’s gross. Stop it.

The MattRhulina Panthers: 2020 - 2022

Pour one out for Matt Rhule, who managed to achieve what the the lazy of us can only dream of. After two and a bit years, and 11-27 record, and some of the most insipid football the league has seen this decade, David Tepper has finally had enough. He’s gone, and has become the first coaching casualty of the year. Realistically, he shouldn’t have made it to the end of last season.

There was a moment last season when it looked like the 7-year, $62million contract the Panthers gave him would pay off. They started the season 3-0 last season, and Sam Darnold, acquired from the Jets, looked rejuvenated. Much like everything Darnold (and Rhule, if we’re being honest) touches, however, it all fell apart. Pretty quickly, too. A 5-12 sophomore season should have been the end of the experiment, but when you’ve invested that much into a project, Ben McAdoo is a pill you can swallow if it means you can sort of save a few million dollars.

Matt Rhule will make $834,000 a month for the next 4 years for his efforts in Carolina. It’s unlikely he’ll be given another shot at the NFL level following his exploits. That said, he’s still well thought of at the college level, so will likely have plenty of high profile suitors there. I’m not going to suggest that I could have got a better tune out of the Panthers than Rhule did in his time as head coach. But I’d have only charged them half as much for my services. Tepper, call me.

Jared C. Tilton-Getty Images

NFC West: The Division Of Broken Promises

I think we all had the NFC West as the most intriguing division in the NFL this season. Having had three playoff teams last season, it was interesting to see how this powerhouse division would leap forward. What we’ve got in reality is a bit of a regression. No shame in that, of course. But I don’t think any of us expecting three of those teams sub .500 after 5 weeks. It should be more dominating than this, right?

Amazingly, the more interesting team from this crop is the one propping up the division. The Seattle Seahawks divorced Russell Wilson in the offseason for a bevy of picks and players, and steered well clear of the non-existent Baker Mayfield stakes to roll with Geno Smith and Drew Lock. It’s a decision that, actually, looks pretty smart in hindsight? Smith is looking legitimately good, both statistically, and in the eye test. They’re 2-3, with the same record as the Rams and the Cardinals, without the big QB contract, and with a tonne of capital to work with in the coming seasons.

The 49ers top the division on 3-2, leaning heavily on their defense rather than the offense that’s been denied the growth of Trey Lance. It’s not exciting, but it’s getting the job done. How they handle the offensive juggernaut that is the Atlanta Falcons after being hit by a plethora of injuries remains to be seen.

For the Rams, having scored 80 points across 5 games is concerning. But you’ve got to wonder; has McVay been sussed, or has Stafford gotten to the wall? Only 10 points against the Cowboys, and these questions should be raised. They ought to find form against Carolina on Sunday, mind. As for Arizona; good news! DeAndre Hopkins is back soon. Bad news, Modern Warfare 2 is out in a couple of weeks, so Kyler Murray is likely to be out for the rest of the season at that point.

Features Image Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Thomas Willoughby

NFL ANALYST & SOCIAL MEDIA

THOMAS IS A WRITER, AND REGULAR GUEST ON THE TOUCHDOWN REVIEW SHOW PODCAST, FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. YOU CAN FIND HIM @WILLO290592 ON TWITTER

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