Mike Tomlin wasn’t roasting Diontae Johnson. He was just stating a fact.
I know we live in a hyper-competitive society that yearns for morsels of drama and pettiness the same way a humble dog begs for dry, probably tasteless kibble when dinner is approximately two minutes late, but let’s not turn Mike Tomlin’s recent comments about former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson into something they’re not.
Let’s be better than that.
On Tuesday, with the Steelers set to host the rival Baltimore Ravens in a battle for AFC North supremacy this Sunday, Tomlin was asked for his thoughts about game-planning for Johnson now that he plays in Baltimore.
Tomlin answered the question very matter-of-factly. He’s not thinking much about Johnson, if at all. Why? First of all, he’s not trying to roast the veteran because he used to coach him. It’s just that the Ravens have two MVP candidates (reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and superstar running back Derrick Henry) along with explosive receiver Zay Flowers, among others.
Johnson has caught one pass for six yards in two games since getting traded to the Ravens at midseason. Why on Earth would Tomlin devote any notable energy to him right now with arguably the greatest backfield in NFL history awaiting the Pittsburgh defense?
Asking Tomlin whether he’s worried about the Ravens’ seventh-best playmaker is the equivalent of asking an opposing head coach if they’re worried about the New England Patriots’ third-string tight end with prime Tom Brady and Randy Moss coming to town. It’s like asking someone if they’re thinking about the Chicago Bulls’ 10th man in their rotation as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen bear down on them.
And of course everyone immediately reads into Tomlin dismissing Johnson’s skill-set as some matter of petty disrespect only because he used to play for him. What? C’mon now. The man is simply being honest.
After an alarming three-game losing streak, the crumbling Chicago Bears had to do something like fire now-former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Maintaining the status quo would’ve only deepened the Bears’ malaise.
Right now. Not in a week. Not sometime next month. Not the likely day after the 2024 season because the Bears have strangely never fired a coach midseason. Right. Now.
Beyond the mountain of evidence we already have that Eberflus isn’t fit to coach a professional football team, he somehow gave us another telling display of incompetence while firing his first official scapegoat. If left to his devices, it’s apparent he’ll only do more damage to a team that has seemingly already quit on him.
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Eberflus’ initial plan to change things up in Chicago was simply moving Waldron’s place up to the booth during Bears games. (He stayed on the sideline during the action.) Ah, yes, letting Waldron see more of the field from a bird eye’s view while still calling broken plays with no sense or rhythm would be the ticket.
That was his “big” change, dearest readers.
My goodness. Eberflus could not be more in over his head:
It’s unclear what happened to change Eberflus’ mind before eventually firing Waldron. During staff meetings, someone perhaps might have been in his ear before switching to the right decision. But the mere fact that Eberflus still initially wanted the same person running an irreparable offensive scheme from another place in stadiums shows exactly why he should no longer be the Bears’ coach.
Don’t be surprised when Eberflus gets eight more weeks from one of the NFL’s most dysfunctional organizations anyway.
This is the stupidest day in Bears history, a record that will subsequently be broken by every subsequent day in Bears history.
In vintage Chicago Bears fashion, they deployed a half-measure to solve their recent lifeless woes when they fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday. It’s almost certainly a ploy for head coach Matt Eberflus to try and keep his job as his coaching seat gets hotter by the week because he needed a person to scapegoat. Nonetheless, the Bears haven’t scored a touchdown in two weeks, so someone simply had to go.
The more interesting part of this development is how it concerns the struggling Caleb Williams.
The rookie No. 1 overall pick is now completing roughly just 60 percent of his passes and is averaging a paltry 6.1 yards per pass attempt. His Bears offensive line isn’t blocking well for him, and even when it does, Williams isn’t seeing the field well or putting many passes on target.
Still, it would be silly to bench the franchise’s only hope for the future amid all this chaos … right? Because, you know, as usual, it’s not all his fault.
Well, not according to some anonymous Bears players. Per a report from Marc Silverman of ESPN 1000 in Chicago, some unnamed Bears veterans apparently wanted Williams benched for backup Tyson Bagent before they fired Waldron.
Oh boy. It keeps getting worse, doesn’t it?
After talking to a few people with knowledge of the situation, players went to Matt Eberflus & Ryan Poles asking them to make a change at offensive coordinator. There have also been a few veteran players requesting Bagent starts. https://t.co/h3QSrhZjQ1
Nikola Jokic is unbelievably more dominant than ever.
I never saw Michael Jordan truly play in his prime. I’ve been watching some measure of NBA basketball for about 20 years, so I’ve been around for just about the entirety of LeBron James’ legendary career. I know the tremendous history presented by guys like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
So it’s critical I get this out in the open, even while I understand some folks might consider the sentiment blasphemous.
For me, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic is one of the small handful of most outstanding basketball players that I’ve ever seen. He’s a singular all-time talent. Depending on the day and mood, you might convince me he’s the best I have ever laid two eyes on. Yes, he belongs in that Jordan and James conversation.
There is no other reasonable conclusion after watching Jokic enter Year 10 of his career this season — after already winning a regular-season MVP or NBA Finals MVP in each of the last four years — and somehow being more dominant than ever (seriously) on a Nuggets team some thought would be in frustrating transition.
Rewriting history
Nikola Jokić is 1st player in NBA history to have these stats after 10 games:
In fact, just 10 games into 2024-2025, Jokic is the clear frontrunner for a fourth regular-season MVP. With him averaging a near 30-point triple-double (c’mon) so far while shooting over 50 percent from 3 on high volume (C’MON!), the competition isn’t close. (He’s also tied for sixth in deflections and tied for 10th in steals.) As a result, instead of falling into a spiral of drama and malaise, the 7-3 Nuggets remain top-flight championship contenders.
Look at these numbers. Look at these NBA 2K-level numbers. Really, look at them.
It should be confounding. It shouldn’t make any sense whatsoever. Yet, with Jokic, it somehow all comes together in perfect harmony.
He is truly better than ever. That’s so ridiculous to think about, man.
Jokic’s potent new-look Nuggets offense
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Every nugget (no pun intended) about Jokic’s transcendent 10-game start boggles the mind.
On top of already orchestrating Denver’s offense like a conductor at the helm of a well-tuned machine the way he always does, Jokic is now pushing the pace for one of the fastest teams in the NBA. (Hello, Russell Westbrook Effect.) A year after playing a mostly effective but rigid style of offense with the 26th-ranked pace, Denver is seventh in the NBA in offensive pace at the time of this writing. According to Nuggets staff writer Matt Brooks, they are sixth in the NBA in transition possessions per game and lead the NBA in cuts. This happens while Denver remains an elite top-five half-court offense, per Cleaning the Glass.
Uh … what?
This chameleon-like mix accentuates Jokic’s best gifts: touch and anticipation. On top of already working for a quality shot at all costs in the half-court, Jokic now gets to ignite the sneaky Nuggets’ athletic group in transition for tons of easy baskets with his trademark dynamite passing. Life has never been easier for Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, and, of course, Westbrook.
Those summer concerns about poor spacing and 3-point shooting?
All gone by the wayside with a high-octane Jokic-led Denver offense that emphasizes punishing opposing defenses in every possible way while never giving them a break. At this rate, the NBA’s fourth-ranked scoring offense is downright impossible to gameplan for.
The Nuggets’ genuine team mentality
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
The wild thing about these Nuggets is that everyone moves off-ball. Everyone runs. Everyone touches the ball. Everyone trusts each other. Essentially, everyone has bought into Jokic’s beautiful game.
The fact that Jamal Murray hasn’t yet been himself while Aaron Gordon recovers from a calf strain only magnifies the tremendous progress Jokic and the other Nuggets have already made.
Jokic himself seems to be reinvigorated by this unfiltered chaos and energy. He’s playing with a simultaneous edge and joy in the sheer drudgery of November games like we haven’t seen in a while. On top of being a do-it-all-superstar who does all the little and big things, you can tell there’s something a bit different about Jokic’s approach to this season when he’s being this vocal while coaching his teammates in the huddle.
Anyone that still says he doesn’t care about the game so much doesn’t know what they’re talking about:
This is what leadership in the huddle looks like. Jokic is extremely vocal with his coaches and teammates. A quiet player is a bad player
Just remember that the above happened in November.
Jokic’s Nuggets aren’t perfect quite yet
Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
While matters seem hunky dory so far, Jokic’s Nuggets still have things to work on.
The young wings have been good, but they have a way to go before they’re ready to contribute quality minutes in a tense playoff atmosphere. Even while brimming with electric playmaking talent, the defense remains a work in progress over finer details like cohesiveness and communication. Denver also definitely needs to find a way to temper Jokic’s minutes (38.1, the highest of his career to date) in a way that preserves him for the postseason while ensuring the Nuggets can still win some games in pursuit of one of the Western Conference’s top seeds. I don’t doubt Jokic could maintain his current monster level of play over an extended season. But Denver is not in the business of wearing him out before the crucible of the playoffs and a hopeful second title run.
His workload will have to come down eventually.
"I don't now how sustainable it is to play Nikola Jokic 40-44 minutes per night." – Malone, who was not wearing a hot dog costume while saying it.
However, these concerns look like they’ll be addressed, albeit gradually, over the next several months.
Because the Nuggets’ process as a marquee title contender looks impeccable right now. They’re doing all the right things against some of the NBA’s best teams and learning valuable lessons about themselves in the process. It’s still early, but they’re on track in every meaningful way.
You can see Denver starting to build toward something special.
A clear statement from the best player in the world
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
All this early-season success is thanks to Jokic, who has unbelievably taken his game to another level in his age-30 season. The gap has never been wider between him and the next-best player in the NBA. And he’s decided to bring everyone on his team along for the ride by leading by example. I suppose I shouldn’t say I’m shocked. When you’re watching one of the greatest athletes to ever palm a bouncy orange ball, all bets are off. Their peerlessness should probably be the expectation, not some dream ceiling you could never fathom.
Welcome to the NBA season where a fiery Nikola Jokic decided to stop giving a solitary inch to everyone outside of his bubble.
We should be excited and terrified at the same time.
To help bring his Denver Nuggets to a sharp 7-3 record, Jokic is averaging an astonishing 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 1.7 steals, and one block per game while also enjoying an efficient true shooting percentage of 67.1. For perspective, he’s averaging a near-30-point triple-double and sits fourth in the league in scoring while leading the entire NBA in rebounds and assists. If that weren’t enough, the Serbian big man is fourth in the league in 3-point shooting percentage (56.4) on a moderately high volume of four attempts per game. Phew.
For all intents and purposes, after a regular-season MVP or NBA Finals MVP in each of his last four seasons, Jokic has been transcendent through 10 games, even by his already high standards. He is the clear best player in the world — there is no “arguably” — and the gap between him and the No. 2 player (whoever that might be) seems wider than ever.
But if you ask Denver head coach Michael Malone, Jokic’s play so far this season apparently hasn’t been that impressive. After Jokic dropped 37 points, 18 rebounds, and 15 assists on the Dallas Mavericks in a thrilling Sunday night win, Malone said he hoped Jokic would “probably be fifth in MVP voting.”
Wait, what? Oh, Malone was joking, and it’s easy to see why:
Malone on Jokic’s 37-18-15; “what’s Jokic fifth in MVP voting now? So he’s gotta do more for us.” pic.twitter.com/4yh9mMc8RM
Malone will never confirm it himself, but there’s a decent chance he saw an absurd NBA MVP ladder that put the Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis and the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum over Jokic in this year’s early MVP conversation last week. While those two stars have also been awesome, given how utterly incredible Jokic has been for a Nuggets team that has needed him to play this well just to have a chance to win, lists like that reek of “voter fatigue,” a.k.a. people being tired of Jokic winning the league’s most prestigious individual honor in the regular season. Again.
And it’s not hard to see why Malone likely thinks that that sentiment is ridiculous, as he watches his superstar player put his team on his back every single night:
AD leads the way in the first @KIA MVP Ladder of the season 👀
It’s still so early, and anything can happen in an arduous 82-game season. More importantly, Jokic is also past the point of caring about chasing regular-season MVPs. He and the Nuggets are trying to win championships first and foremost, meaning they will likely have him turn off the jets the closer we get to the postseason so he can conserve his energy for a hopeful (and long) NBA title run. Jokic’s Nuggets have bigger fish to fry these days.
But I’m gonna tell you this right now and remember it well. Davis is having a great season. So is Tatum. So is the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant. They are still nowhere near the same stratosphere as Jokic right now. It’s not even close. No one impacts or controls a game more, and he somehow took another massive step forward. And if the all-time center actually does average even, say, an impeccably efficient 25-point triple-double throughout the entire season for a contending Nuggets team, he will be taking home a fourth NBA MVP award.
Full stop. Voter fatigue about Jokic be damned.
The esteemed honor would lose a ton of credibility if anyone else got it in that scenario.
The Colts benched Anthony Richardson for Joe Flacco, who looks washed up.
The Indianapolis Colts benched second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson early because they didn’t want to alienate their locker room. They also did it because they had faith that 39-year-old veteran Joe Flacco would give their offense a high floor of performance.
Uh, about that.
Just one week after Flacco averaged 6.6 yards per pass attempt in a Sunday night loss against the Minnesota Vikings, he threw a pick-six on the Colts’ first offensive play from scrimmage to the Buffalo Bills’ Taron Johnson. Then, to follow that up, he threw an interception to Buffalo defensive tackle Austin Johnson on the Colts’ eighth play.
That’s right. Two disastrous picks in the first eight plays as the guy who was supposed to be the steady, calm veteran over the “inexperienced” and “chaotic” young guy.
By no means do I think Richardson would be faring better — however, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell seems to disagree. Still, it’s hard to argue against getting him more valuable reps while watching an almost 40-year-old Flacco flail about and fail in the most comical possible fashion.
Congratulations, Colts. You reap what you sow. You better hope Richardson’s confidence isn’t ruined when he inevitably takes over again.
Even American military members are tired of hearing about the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys are 3-5. They haven’t won a game since early October. Starting quarterback Dak Prescott is likely out for the season, owner Jerry Jones is making rash trades, and head coach Mike McCarthy is probably leading his last days in Dallas over the next several weeks. Yet, for some reason, programs like NFL on Fox still want to champion them and talk about them so, so much.
Fortunately, it appears even United States military members — Fox hosted its NFL show from the US Navy base in San Diego on Sunday — are tired of hearing about these mediocre Cowboys.
As host Curt Menefee threw it to Jimmy Johnson for his thoughts on the Cowboys’ struggles, the United States Navy base erupted in raucous booing, as Johnson couldn’t initially even get his point across.
A note to all networks and media outlets. The Cowboys are terrible. They are irrelevant. There are many other things happening in the NFL. Just keep that in mind.
The NBA NEEDS Cooper Flagg in the Eastern Conference.
With all due respect to fans of woeful NBA teams like the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers, it’s time we have a frank conversation. And I apologize for how it will exclude your totally valid (but, to me, ultimately tertiary) needs as diehard supporters of your respective favorite teams.
The NBA’s latest truly generational draft prospect, Duke’s Cooper Flagg, must play in the Eastern Conference when he likely jumps to the league in the summer of 2025. Full stop.
There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it, either.
If we want to have a truly healthy and balanced NBA, throwing another potential franchise superstar like Flagg into an already-stacked West is a dire scenario for the league. The sheer talent disparity between the two conferences — the West has had more All-NBA players every season for 26 straight years — is already way too glaring.
The East’s embarrassingly slow start to the 2024-2025 season only confirms as much. It’s still a small sample size (less than 10 games into the year at the time of this writing), but here are some eye-opening early numbers to keep in mind if you’re one of those people who’d like to see Flagg play somewhere West of the Rocky Mountains:
Only two East teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, currently have a winning record. That’s right. Quite literally, everyone else outside of Cleveland and Boston in the East is straddling the line at .500 or lower. Yikes.
Eight of the NBA’s 10 best records so far belong to Western Conference teams. Eight. EIGHT.
The West, itself, is winning over 70 percent of its games head-to-head with the East so far. That’s roughly a 57-win pace over an 82-game season, by the way. A real ho-hum kind of dominance.
The East, itself, is also being heavily dragged down by the struggling Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks, who were supposed to be bellwethers as conference heavyweights. From injuries and age to good old-fashioned bad luck, these two teams are instead mired at the bottom of the standings. Tough scene.
I know it’s tempting to say we’ll appreciate someone with Flagg’s unique all-around abilities wherever he plays. Which, sure. That’s part of the deal we make as sports fans. Sometimes, it’s just about sitting back and appreciating the show talented athletes can put on.
You take what you can get. I understand.
Still, this massive disparity between the NBA’s East and West simply cannot continue. Flagg and the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama are/were considered two of the best draft prospects in the league in years. For both of them to play on Western teams in a conference where, for example, a 50-win team was the fifth seed last season (a 50-win team was the No. 2 seed in the East) would be an unmitigated disaster for competitive balance.
Western teams already tear each other apart all year. Meanwhile, the 2-3 squads fighting at the top of the East get to be on cruise control as they please. A possible superstar like Flagg going West would just make it even worse. It’s not tenable or sustainable for players or fans of Western teams. (The conference really needs more “nights off,” if you know what I mean!)
The East needs an injection of potential all-time youth and talent. Badly.
So, this is my message to fans of fledgling squads like the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors. I’m really rooting for you.
Go capture that Flagg.
The NBA’s interconference competitive balance might depend on it.
Kevin O’Connell is still one of Anthony Richardson’s biggest fans.
One of the toughest things to overcome as a struggling NFL quarterback is how you grapple with your confidence. If you’re someone like the Indianapolis Colts’ Anthony Richardson, who recently got benched, it’s very easy to dwell on your failures and think you won’t be able to make it in the league if someone’s “giving up” on you this early.
But Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell isn’t going to let Richardson fall by the wayside. He can still see his talent and moxie and doesn’t want him to get down on himself.
In a new video from Inside the NFL/NFL Films, O’Connell is recorded sharing some strong words of encouragement for Richardson after the Vikings beat the Colts last Sunday night. For someone like O’Connell, who isn’t remotely obligated to be this candid with an opposing player, it’s a great show of grace and understanding of the bigger picture:
It’s probably hard right now, but Richardson need not keep his head down. He will likely get another opportunity sooner rather than later to start, hopefully, to reach his immense potential in the NFL. And he can rest easy knowing that coaches like O’Connell everywhere will be in his corner.
But during a conversation on ESPN’s Get Up Thursday morning, Adam Schefter was (rightfully) unsure that Johnson would leave a perfect situation in Detroit only to expose himself to the Bears’ rampant dysfunction. Honestly, given how the Bears have continually got in their own way over the years, Schefter makes a great point.
Even coaching the talented Caleb Williams can’t be that attractive for a coordinator who could have a head-coaching job absolutely anywhere he wants:
While it’s worth noting that Schefter isn’t exactly reporting anything here — which doesn’t rule out the possibility of Johnson coming to Chicago — everything he says does ring true.
Should Johnson choose to leave Detroit this winter, he will be one of the hottest NFL head-coaching candidates in a long time. And with a candidate like that, everyone with an opening will want to bring Johnson to their organization. But that doesn’t mean he’ll seriously entertain everyone. Johnson is so exceptional that he can afford to be patient selective.
If he takes an interview, it’s probably with the intent of eventually taking that job. And in that regard, why would Johnson potentially sink himself by coming to the Bears? It doesn’t make much sense.
Buckle up, Bears fans. Something tells me this little saga is just getting started.
