On National Tight Ends Day, it was only fitting that the Hummers got the better of the Ferraris.
Some fancy stats on Sunday’s nightcap indicate that speedster CeeDee Lamb has fared better than a turtle like George Kittle. Most significant numbers mean otherwise.
The final score had Kittle’s 49ers defeating Lamb’s Cowboys 30-24 (again). But in the big picture, the disparity was huge.
You see, Lamb is part of a growing problem in the NFL. In short: Wide receivers make a lot of money.
He pays $34 million — like the Cowboys do Lamb — and gets a third-string running back.
Not often, but enough that some forward-thinking NFL teams are changing the way they model rosters.
Take Credits. When it came time to make a big deal for Stefon Diggs last season, the Bills told him to take a break … and take Gabe Davis with him.
Rookie Keon Coleman will be enough … especially in savings of around $15 million per year.
Don’t look now, but the Bills are playing the best football east of Detroit after letting someone else — thank you, Browns — pay the bulk of their nearly No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper.
The Chargers took this concept one step further when Jim Harbaugh turned his new NFL project into a college economics class.
In short: You recruit top talent on the cheap, ride it rich for four years, then say goodbye and start the process all over again, all the while investing heavily in linebacker depth on both sides of the ball.
Few, if any, in the NFL understand this concept better than Harbaugh, who ran it all the way to a national title at Michigan. So you won’t be surprised that the first thing he did when he got the Chargers gig was tell Keenan Allen and Mike Williams to hit the pike.
Ladd McConkey came in with a big save, and while many thought Harbaugh’s first season would be a disaster, the club currently has a better record than the Cowboys.
And a savings account that shows a better future.
National Tight Ends Day brought us nine catches, 81 yards, and two touchdowns from Cade Otton; 91 yards and two scores from Kyle Pitts; nine receptions and 124 yards from Trey McBride.
Guys named Adam Trautman, Josh Oliver, Tucker Kraft, Tyler Conklin, Brock Wright, and Nate Adkins had six more touchdowns on Sunday than AJ Brown, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Davante Adams, DJ Moore, and Deebo Samuel. Feel free to throw Justin Jefferson, kept out of the end zone Thursday night, and keep the shutout.
David Njoku, Sam LaPorta, Dalton Kincaid, and Evan Engram even got into a big scoring game on Sunday. Michael Pittman, Calvin Ridley, Terry McLaurin, and even Cooper did not.
Some tight ends make decent money; don’t get me wrong. But on their day, they deserved it.
Kittle had six catches, 128 yards, and a touchdown, while Travis Kelce had 10 catches, 90 yards, and a score. Sam LaPorta and Mark Andrews also had touchdowns.
And putting together a $20 million-a-year team, the aforementioned Diggs and Allen laid goose eggs.
Oh, let’s not forget: Hummers are not only cheaper, but they last much longer than Ferraris.
Injuries kept Dallas Goedert and TJ Hockenson from catching their brothers on Sunday. Meanwhile, flat tires prevented Brandon Aiyuk, Nico Collins, DJ Metcalf, Tee Higgins, and Mike Evans from getting their paychecks.
It wasn’t posted on any scoreboard, but the final score on Sunday was this: Tight ends 17 touchdowns, 22 members of the 20 million receivers club: 4.
Note to Ja’Marr Chase: It’s probably not a good time to press negotiations.
Then again, maybe that’s Jerry Jones on Line 1.
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