Yankees’ Aaron Judge is on pace for another record-breaking season yankees,aaron,judge,is,on,pace,for,another,record,breaking,season,sbnation,com,front-page,mlb,dot-com-grid-coverage

Yankees Aaron Judge is on pace for another record breaking season
On: By: admin


Back in 2022, Aaron Judge brought the baseball world back to an era that hadn’t been seen since the late 90s and the early 00s. Those were the days when other shows on ESPN would get cut into whenever a prolific home run hitter was having an at-bat that was deemed to be culturally significant. While Tulane and Houston football fans probably weren’t enthused about having to share half of their screen with one at-bat of a regular season baseball game that they probably didn’t care about, it’s proof that there is nothing like hitting a bunch of dingers that can grab the imagination of fans all over the baseball landscape.

Judge finished 2022 with an astonishing tally of 62 home runs and a scarcely-believable wRC+ of 209 to go along with 11.2 fWAR for the season. His 2022 was so incredible that it was totally understandable when Judge, who was injured and missed time, “fell off” and had a “normal” season in 2023 where he “only” hit 37 home runs and finished with a wRC+ of 174 and 4.8 fWAR over 106 games. That’s still a very fine season for any player in particular but it’s not the type of season that gets ESPN to cut away from college football games in order to show off your live at-bat. With that being said, we might be seeing those days return in September because Aaron Judge is currently in the midst of another absolutely incredible season at the plate for the New York Yankees.

Heading into action on Wednesday, Judge is hitting .321/.440/.718 with a wOBA of .478, an Isolated Power number of .397, a wRC+ of 218 (!!!) with 32 homers and an fWAR of 6.1. There is so much here to talk about that it’s mind boggling. Sir, what are you doing with a .718 slugging percentage? Your wOBA is nearly .500, that is wild. Usually an Isolated Power number of .200 or above is considered to be “serious power hitting” so what are we supposed to make of a guy who nearly has an Isolated Power number of .400? He’s already cleared his 2023 fWAR production with 22 games left to spare, and the fact that he’s already five homers away from matching his 2023 number and the wRC+ being above 200 is all you need to know. Aaron Judge is currently the best hitter on Planet Earth and right now it’s not particularly close between him and the competition.

It is wildly impressive that Aaron Judge is currently on track for another season that could see him finish in double digits as far as fWAR is concerned. Although seasons like that are already rare to begin with, it’s always possible that some of the most talented players in baseball are capable of putting up at least a 10 fWAR season if they can fully lock in for an entire year of crazy production. Mike Trout and Mookie Betts immediately come to mind, and Shohei Ohtani could potentially do it as a two-way player at some time down the road. However, doing it twice would put Aaron Judge in some truly rarefied air as far as baseball greats are concerned. There are many Hall-of-Fame players who never cleared the single season 10 fWAR threshold at any point in their career, so to do it twice (in addition to having a stellar career outside of that) would be as close to punching a ticket to Cooperstown as you could get.

It sounds wild to talk about that while a guy is active but that’s where we’re at with Aaron Judge right now. He is simply hitting at a Hall-of-Fame level at the moment and we also know it’s not just some isolated breakout because he’s already had a season under his belt where he did this before. It also makes you wonder: “Well, if he’s this good and this dangerous at the plate, why is he even getting stuff to hit?” Indeed, Aaron Judge has gotten this hot once again because he’s been getting a level of protection that he’s never had — and as Mike Petriello of MLB.com noted, it’s coming from the front instead of from behind him in the lineup:

He’s seeing somewhat more in-zone fastballs when runners are on as compared to when they aren’t, and he’s seeing more first-pitch in-zone fastballs when runners are on as compared to not, and so on, a dozen other small things that add up to an advantage for him – which is part of why he’s slugging 203 points higher with a runner on base. Why, then, wouldn’t you work around him and risk putting him on? Because more often than ever before, someone is already on.

“What he and Juan are doing as a tandem is hard to wrap your brain around,” said manager Aaron Boone.

So instead of simply giving Aaron Judge first base and calling it a day, managers have decided that they’d be better off actually dealing with Judge and whatever damage he can do with (more than likely) Juan Soto already on the base paths instead of walking Judge and potentially exacerbating the problem if someone behind Judge happens to do the damage. Essentially, since Juan Soto has been so good in front of Judge (and he’s also on 10 fWAR watch for this season, as he’s produced 5.0 fWAR over 83 games so far), it’s been nearly impossible to get Judge in that situation where the bases are clear and you can basically just give Judge the free pass and be done with it. Instead, you get to see scenarios like this one where the Mets were dealing with the Yankees last month.

It’s the top of the eighth, the Yankees are down 9-3 and Judge is at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs on the board. Now, it’s a six-run lead so the Mets have a very solid cushion and can afford to even take a grand slam here and still have a two-run lead. Mets manager Juan Mendoza still admitted after the game to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated that he was thinking about walking Judge, conceding the run and then testing his luck with Gleyber Torres. Instead, Mendoza decided to simply play the matchup straight up. Aaron Judge responded thusly:

It doesn’t matter if it’s an 0-2 count. It doesn’t matter if the pitch that was thrown was 99 mph. If you throw a pitch to that part of the plate against Aaron Judge, you deserve whatever’s coming to you. Here’s what it looked like on MLB’s Gameday tracker:

Oof.
mlb.com

Now, here’s a collection of Aaron Judge’s zone charts for this season:

judge pitch position graphs

OOF!
baseballsavant.mlb.com

So yeah: Aaron Judge is currently on an incredible heater and he’s doing it in an environment that is conducive for him to keep on seeing pitches right where he wants them instead of being pitched around. The combination of Juan Soto and Aaron Judge has proven to be absolutely lethal for most teams and as a result, Aaron Judge himself is on track to have another otherworldly season at the plate.

I’m not going to guarantee anything but I suppose it really wouldn’t be shocking if some mid-tier college football fans are going to be annoyed with ESPN and Aaron Judge once again in September because it appears that Judge is once again on track for another historically great season. As long as opposing teams feel like they have no choice but to test him, Judge is going to continue dropping the gavel upside their heads.

A.I. tried to recreate gymnastics and gave us a Lovecraftian nightmare of unimaginable terror a,i,tried,to,recreate,gymnastics,and,gave,us,a,lovecraftian,nightmare,of,unimaginable,terror,sbnation,com,front-page,olympics

AI tried to recreate gymnastics and gave us a Lovecraftian
On: By: admin


Gymnastics is a stunningly gorgeous sport. A perfect harmony of strength, flexibility, and athleticism that causes us to marvel at what the human body is capable of. Ask a computer to try and parse it’s nuances and you get one of the most terrifying things the world has ever seen. I’m sorry to show you this.

A.I. was prompted to recreate some footage of gymnastics, and it spat out something that’s a mixture of Guillermo del Toro’s wildest nightmares, and a future sequel to The Human Centipede. Contorted human forms become a bizarre mass of flailing limbs, heads vanish into thin air, then a butt with eight legs is performing on the balance beam.

ALL HAIL OCTOBUTT!

I think it’s actually pretty impressive that by just asking A.I. about gymnastics you get some creations that are more terrifying than anything dreamed up by H.P. Lovecraft.

Cthulhu has nothing on Octobutt.

Bernhard Langer set for last DP World Tour event 50 years after debut bernhard,langer,set,for,last,dp,world,tour,event,years,after,debut,sbnation,com,golf,golf-champions-tour,golf-dp-world-tour,golf-news

On: By: admin


Fifty years after his European Tour debut, Bernhard Langer will make his final DP World Tour start this week at the BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.

It will mark his 513th start on the European circuit—the tour where he amassed 42 career titles, second only to the late, great Seve Ballesteros.

“I’ve never said goodbye to anything so far in terms of golf; this is going to be a first experience [for me],” Langer told DP World Tour media officials.

“I have a feeling it’s going to be very emotional.”

The two-time Masters champion grew up 45 minutes from Golfclub München Eichenried, the host course of this week’s tournament. His connections to this area run deeper than that, though. Langer worked as an assistant professional at nearby Munich Golf Club, which helped give him his start.

Langer then went on to win 123 times around the world.

He is a Ryder Cup legend, too, having played on Team Europe 10 times, winning six. Langer also captained the Europeans to a dominant victory at the 2004 Ryder Cup, winning 18.5-to-9.5 on American soil—one of the more impressive wins in Ryder Cup history.

He is, without a doubt, Germany’s most accomplished golfer.

So, in an ode to German golf, the DP World Tour paired Langer with fellow countryman Marcel Siem, who won last week’s Italian Open, and Martin Kaymer, who, like Langer, won a pair of major championships. Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits and the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

“It means a great deal just to play in front of the home crowd,” Langer added.

“Hopefully, I can make the cut, but I hear the golf course is a lot longer than it used to be, and that’s a challenge for me.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

TaylorMade and other brands give fans amazing patriotic golf equipment taylormade,and,other,brands,give,fans,amazing,patriotic,golf,equipment,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour

On: By: admin


July 4th week is here, and the golf brands brought the heat with the Red, White and Blue equipment.

TaylorMade, Callaway, PING and Srixon all have some patriotic equipment. From stars and stripes balls to putter and driver head covers, these brands did not miss

Let’s examine each brand to see what kind of American-themed equipment they offer on the market.

TaylorMade is first. The brand debuted its “Frozen Fireworks” headcovers. With red and blue treats on top, they scream summer. The black mallet style really makes the red, white, and blue colors pop.

For the blade putters, the only way to describe the red is American. Both have fireworks on them, which is a fun cover to have in the summer months.

The brand also released its new Tour Response stripe balls and the TP5 and TP5x balls with the American flag. The Tour Response’s regular stripe is red, white and blue with stars.

TaylorMade’s flag balls have the stars and stripes stamped all over. It is another way to be extra patriotic this summer.

Callaway took a different approach and gave their consumers hot dog balls. The Chrome Tour balls have logos for hot dogs, ketchup, mustard, relish, and onion. These are limited edition packs, but they come with four different sleeves, so all the options are there.

Hot dogs are a summer staple, making Callaway’s choice even better. Who does not like a good hot dog on a summer evening with the works?

PING put together a traditional driver head cover that could work year-round. The red and blue pom pom on the knitted cover is a classic move. Plus, the American flag stamp is a great patriotic option. The blue bottom with the stars and stripes pulls it all together.

It is not too flashy or in your face, but a simple way to be patriotic this summer.

Srixon put out a limited edition Z-Star Diamond golf ball with red, white and blue on it with the stars. It has a clean look and is another easy way to show patriotism.

The golf brands chose to be extra patriotic this year, and while July 4th is already here, these are still a great summer choice.

Which is your favorite Red, White and Blue moment? Let us know!

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Why Bronny James getting a 4-year, $7.9M contract from the Lakers is no big deal why,bronny,james,getting,a,year,m,contract,from,the,lakers,is,no,big,deal,sbnation,com,front-page,nba

On: By: admin


The Lakers wasted no time in doing exactly what we knew they were doing: Signing Bronny James to a contract. It just so happened that he became the first second round pick to sign, a four-year deal, and with the new CBA people saw the announcement and began to lose it.

On the surface this seems beyond ludicrous. To be fair, it is the largest contract of all time given to a second round rookie pick — but it has nothing to do with LeBron or nepotism; it’s just the new normal of the 2023 CBA. The minimum annual salary for a 4-year deal is exactly what Bronny received, which means the total money side of this had nothing to do with who his dad is. The truth is that revenues are rising, the salary cap is expanding — and that’s why we keep seeing new records for contracts, with the trickle down effect being that rookies are getting more money as a result.

Pelle Larsson, the first second-rounder to sign this year got a three-year, $5.4 million deal from the Miami Heat — and had they added a fourth year he would have been on the exact same contract as Bronny James.

Now, we can certainly argue about the nature of this deal. A second round pick with as many questions as Bronny getting a contract before Summer League is definitely a perk of being LeBron’s son — but in the grand scheme of things it’s really a minor issue. He’s the No. 55 pick, who probably won’t contribute much, and earning just under $2M a year is relative chump change, commensurate with what the majority of deep rotation guys will make this season.

In the end this is all no harm, no foul. LeBron is going to ride out his career in Los Angeles, play with his son, continue with business ventures in the city — and sail off into the sunset.

Hard Knocks revealed why Giants let Saquon Barkley go in NFL free agency hard,knocks,revealed,why,giants,let,saquon,barkley,go,in,nfl,free,agency,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,nfl-free-agency,hard-knocks,draftkings

On: By: admin


Odds are you are familiar with the NFL Films product of Hard Knocks, a documentary series that chronicles a team throughout the course of training camp and the preseason and ultimately ends right as the regular season begins.

Recently NFL Films has produced an in-season version of the show where they follow teams throughout the course of an NFL season. That is pretty self-explanatory.

Tuesday night saw the debut of a new version of the show. This latest HK follows the New York Giants over the initial part of this offseason and focuses on how the G-Men assembled their staff and team. It is always interesting to get these peeks behind the curtain and now we got a peek at an area that was previous off limits.

If you are a HK veteran like myself then in watching it a lot of things likely feel the same to you. Part of the challenge of this show is that there is no breaking news of any kind given that when anything massive happens it is then given to us in the next episode. There is relatively little shock value.

This is true for the Giants as we obviously know what they did throughout all of free agency and the NFL Draft; however, the debut episode was a lot about something that they didn’t do… pay running back Saquon Barkley.

New York selected Barkley with the second overall pick in 2018 and went through quite the song and dance with him once they finally got down to contractual negotiations. Barkley played on the franchise tag in 2023 so the time for a serious decision arrived this offseason and the Giants watched him walk in free agency to a division rival in the Philadelphia Eagles.

This subject is touched on throughout the episode but in the closing minutes Giants GM Joe Schoen is having a conversation with his brain trust and ultimately notes that they are not paying their quarterback in Daniel Jones what they are for him to hand the ball off.

Tim McDonnell, Director of Player Personnel: Take this a step further. We lose Saquon right… what’s our identity going to be on offense now? What’s our plan? What’s the next step of that, I guess is what I’m thinking. We’re losing… our explosiveness, our touchdowns. Quarterback, if it’s Daniel, depends on the run game.

Joe Schoen, General Manager: We’ve got to upgrade the offensive line and you’re paying the guy $40M. It’s not to hand the ball off to a $12M back. My plan is address the offensive line at some point here in free agency. We’re sitting at 6, there’s a chance there’s an offensive weapon there. This is the year for Daniel. The plan all along was give him a couple of years. Is he our guy for the next 10 years or do we need to pivot and find somebody else?”

To be clear this conversation was had before the Giants ultimately saw Saquon leave, remember that NFL Films is shooting these events in real time.

The benefit of hindsight tells us that the Giants did exactly what Schoen said in that they signed several offensive linemen in free agency (headlined by Jon Runyan) and took LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers at number 6 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.

As someone who roots for and covers the Dallas Cowboys I have taken a great amount of joy in laughing at the Giants and their decision-making for the last 15 or so years, but if we are fair about all of this then they did absolutely nothing wrong.

I’ll acknowledge that the Giants don’t exactly have the benefit of the doubt and that Daniel Jones is not exactly someone I would strongly believe in personally, but this is still the NFL and building around the quarterback is the most logical way forward. In fact the Giants failed miserably at trying to build around Saquon Barkley for all of his Giants career.

People will laugh and roll their eyes at what the Giants did especially because Howie Roseman is the Eagles’ general manager and is regarded as being very good at his job, so it looks like the Giants made a huge mistake that the Eagles capitalized on. Again, benefit of the doubt type stuff.

But the Giants finally made the hard decision that they avoided for so long. Good for them I guess.

Copa by the numbers: Argentina vs. Ecuador copa,by,the,numbers,argentina,vs,ecuador,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer,copa-america,soccer-sg

Copa by the numbers Argentina vs Ecuador copabythenumbersargentinavsecuadorsbnationcomfront pagesoccercopa americasoccer sg
On: By: admin


In a tournament full of surprises, the one assumed result was that Argentina, the reigning world champion, would make it into the knockout stage of this year’s Copa America.

Argentina boasts a 3-0 record in the group stages capped by a 2-0 defeat of Peru in its third and final group-round game. Standing in their way of advancing to the semifinals is Ecuador who edged Mexico after a scoreless draw in its final group game leapfrogging them by goal differential in Group B.

Kicking off at NRG Stadium in Houston, Argentina and Ecuador are the first two games of the quarterfinals starting on Thursday (8 p.m., FS1). Ahead of their game, here’s a numerical look at how these two teams match up.

127: The number of wins all-time for Argentina in Copa America. Following the win over Peru, Argentina improved to 127-33-41 in the tournament. Remarkable record when you think the nation has been playing in this tournament since 1916.

Lionel Messi has scored 106 goals for Argentina, 13 in seven Copa America tournaments combined.
Photo by Carlos Sipán/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

106: The number of goals scored by Lionel Messi all-time for Argentina. He has 13 goals all-time in Copa America but is still awaiting his first in this tournament. He’s also the first player to appear in seven Copa America tournaments and set a record in this edition with 35 all-time appearances when he took the field in the opener against Canada.

41: Longtime Ecuadorian striker Enner Valencia leads his nation with 41 goals. Valencia, who has spent time in Europe with teams like West Ham, Everton, and Fenerbahçe, is regarded as one of the best to ever play for the country.

29: The number of times Ecuador has qualified for Copa America since 1939.

Ecuador v Bolivia - International Friendly

Forward Enner Valencia has the most goals all-time for his native Ecuador with 41.
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

15: The number of times Argentina has won the tournament, the last in 2021. They completed the double of major tournaments, winning the FIFA World Cup in Qatar the following year.

1: As of Wednesday, July 3, this match was the only one listed as sold out with fans clamoring at a chance to see Lionel Messi play. However, Messi, who missed the team’s final group match against Peru due to a thigh injury is still questionable for tomorrow night’s game. Still…

300: That’s the average going rate for a seat in the lower bowl of NRG Stadium on secondary marketplaces. Tickets appear to hover around $137 to be in the arena, and if you really want to splash the cash, we found a front-row seat behind the benches still available for $2,800 on StubHub.

Joey Chestnut’s exit from Nathan’s Hot Dog contest opens up spotlight for a new star joey,chestnut,s,exit,from,nathan,s,hot,dog,contest,opens,up,spotlight,for,a,new,star,sbnation,com,front-page,everything-is-sports,draftkings

On: By: admin


The news that Joey Chestnut was out of the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest rocked the world of competitive eating. Chestnut, who has claimed victory at the eight previous Nathan’s contests, still holds the record with 76 hot dogs eaten at the event and won the contest in 2020 by a whopping 33-hot dog margin.

But due to his partnership with Impossible Foods, Chestnut is out this year.

Who can emerge from the rest of the field to pick up the mantle?

It might be none other than Geoffrey Esper.

Esper has finished second to Chestnut in the last three years, including in 2023 when he finished second with 49 hot dogs consumed, 13 behind Chestnut. That was an improvement from his performance in 2022 when he finished second to Chestnut with 47 hot dogs consumed.

Esper, who teaches electronics at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton, Massachusetts, is the second-ranked competitive eater in the world. His list of records and accomplishments in the world of competitive eating includes some incredible feats, including eating:

  • 9.75 pounds of SPAM at “SPAMARAMA at the Circuit of the Americas during the 2021 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in eight minutes;
  • 95 two-ounce Market Street Tamales at the Lewisville Western Days Festival in ten minutes;
  • 17.75 bagels with cream cheese in eight minutes, and;
  • 23.75 pounds of strawberry shortcake at the Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival in eight minutes, which he accomplished last month.

Esper remains the world record holder in the strawberry shortcake category but in his mind, the Nathan’s contest is a much bigger challenge because it takes more than just a big stomach. “This isn’t as easy as other races like strawberry shortcakes where whoever has the biggest stomach wins,” he said recently. “You have to concentrate on what you are doing to eat so much.”

With Chestnut sidelined, Esper believes he finally has a shot at the title.“I definitely have a shot this year,” said Esper recently. But he knows the field is wide open without the returning champion.

“[With Chesnut] not there, it changes the dynamics of everything. It’s going to be a tight battle for first,” said Esper.

Perhaps finally the bridesmaid will get a chance to be the bride on Thursday.

John Deere Classic reminds fans of the greatest PGA Tour tee markers john,deere,classic,reminds,fans,of,the,greatest,pga,tour,tee,markers,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions

John Deere Classic reminds fans of the greatest PGA Tour
On: By: admin


Welcome to Playing Through’s morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

Today’s topic is tee markers!

With the John Deere Classic this week, we wanted to look at some of the best tee markers on the PGA Tour.

Various tournament sponsors get so creative with their materials. From paint cans at the Valspar Championship to the little Waste Management dump trucks at the WM Phoenix Open, the creativity just flows.

Earlier this year, the RBC Canadian Open put itself on the list for its rink hole tee markers — goalie helmets.

There are iconic markers like the U.S. Open and other USGA events, but we wanted to do the more unique options for this article. The traditional ones are just as nice, but creativity goes a long way in this instance.

There are plenty of options, but these are the tee markers we consider to be the greatest on the PGA Tour.

The Greatest PGA Tour Tee Markers

Sanderson Farms Championship

Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Sanderson Farms Championship uses little chickens as tee markers. However, it’s also a way for the title sponsor to engage with the community. Patients at Friends of Children’s Hospital paint the chickens that sit atop the white Sanderson Farms boxes on each hole.

Valspar Championship

Valspar Championship, John Deere Classic, PGA Tour

Of course, Valspar is a paint company, so using paint cans as tee markers is on-brand for them. People immediately know the title sponsor because of this, too. We still want to know if paint is in these cans—can someone get this answer for us?

RBC Canadian Open — The Rink Hole

Each year, the RBC Canadian Open changes up “The Rink” hole, but it is one of the most unique things on the PGA Tour. From referee volunteers to the goalie helmet tee markers, it is the most Canadian thing at the Canadian Open. This year, the tournament added an organist to add even more of a facade to the lore.

Wells Fargo Championship

Wells Fargo Championship, John Deere Classic, PGA Tour

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Another iconic tee marker is the Wells Fargo stagecoaches. These were used at the Wells Fargo Championship, but now the tournament opts for the box one with the logo.

Regardless, it’s another excellent marker that is so on-brand.

John Deere Classic

John Deere Classic, PGA Tour

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Lastly, the John Deere Classic’s tee markers are truly iconic. The little tractors and various equipment are so creative and fun. John Deere understands its brand, and these tee markers prove it.

This handful of tee markers are just some of the best ones in professional golf. Which pro event has your favorite tee markers? Sound off in the comments below!

ICYMI: Top stories across professional golf

Check out these stories:

Can Jordan Spieth shake off frustrations and win again at John Deere Classic?

Justin Rose qualifies for The Open; see who else made it to Royal Troon

LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia falls short of The Open, frustrated by slow play warning

Rocket Mortgage Classic gives CBS Sports highest rated non-major/Signature Event of 2024

Solheim Cup: It’s official Lilia Vu easily secures spot on Team USA with World No. 1 Nelly Korda

Rocket Mortgage Classic gives CBS Sports highest rated non-major/Signature Event of 2024

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

NFL teams don’t need a No. 1 receiver and here’s why nfl,teams,don,t,need,a,no,receiver,and,here,s,why,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,dot-com-grid-coverage

On: By: admin


Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers is one of the NFL’s most highly-regarded young quarterbacks, and that’s in part because of the performance he put on in the second half of the 2023 season. From Week 10 through the Packers’ 24-21 divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Love completed 254 of 374 passes (67.9%) for 2,904 yards (7.8 yards per attempt), 25 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 107.7.

Moreover, Love did all of that without the benefit of what most people would consider a true No. 1 receiver. The Packers did have estimable targets in Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Tucker Kraft, and Dontayvion Wicks, but there’s nobody in that receiver/tight end group who scares opposing defenses to the point where defenses will be automatically arrayed against them.

And furthermore, that’s the way Love wants it.

“I think you don’t have to have a No. 1 receiver,” Love said on June 4. “I think it works out well when you can spread the ball out and you’ve got different guys making different plays and you can put them in different areas.

“I think it puts a lot more stress on the defense and the calls that they can get in, so I think in the long run it helps us not having a No. 1 guy, a true No. 1 guy, but I think all those guys can step up and be the one any given day.”

For Love, it gives him the freedom to hit the guy who’s open in the progression, as opposed to leaning too often on the alpha dog.

“I can just play the play.”

During an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show on July 19, Tom Brady presented the hypothetical alternative: What if you have a No. 1 receiver, and you have to throttle your entire passing game around him?

“You always felt like you had to do something to get them the ball,” Brady said about the specter of a true No. 1 guy. “I want him to keep running hard. I want him to be ready for when the ball does come.”

“The last thing you want is your No. 1 receiver to go two-and-a-half quarters into a game and not see a ball… ‘cause he’s going to get discouraged.”

“He’s got to go out there and break the huddle, run out 25 yards to his alignment, run down the field as fast as he can and try to get open, then back to the huddle. It’s a lot of effort that he’s putting in to not getting the ball… reward that guy earlier in the game.”

It’s interesting that for the most part, Brady got his thing done at a GOAT level without the benefit of a true No.1 receiver. Yes, he had Randy Moss for a few seasons, and there was Rob Gronkowski at his best, but the best quarterback ever to play the position had as many seasons without those force multipliers as he did with them.

Brady’s comments about how that true alpha receiver affects the quarterback’s mindset are interesting in that the NFL seems to be trending away from the No. 1 receiver as a must.

How do we define a ‘No. 1 receiver’?

True No. 1 receivers aren’t always aligned outside in isolated situations, but there needs to be enough of that to make it obvious that this is the guy. They must be able to beat press coverage at the line of scrimmage, and they need to be able to run away from tight match coverage against the NFL’s best cornerbacks. If they’re bracketed by an opposing defense, they must have answers against it. And whether it’s through demon speed or incredible route acumen (ideally both), they need to be the one guy their quarterback can always go to.

Here’s the problem: It doesn’t always work. And even if it does, how many true top guys are there at any given point in the league? Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals. Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins. Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders. Depending on how broad you want to be with the definition, there are at most maybe 10-15 receivers in the league at any time who are true field-tilters in that sense.

NFL teams are realizing this, and instead of going all in on one guy in the hope that he’s The Guy, they’re moving their resources around, and relying more on advanced schemes and concerts to get it done.

Making No. 1 receivers out of the aggregate

“It’s more about the collective unit of all those guys and just the rapport that they’re building with Jordan throughout the course of the offseason,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said of his receiver group, right around the time Love made his interesting proclamation. “I’m excited to get to training camp with them.

“All those guys had their moments where they were the leading receiver in a game. I feel really good about the collective unit. The hardest part is we feel so good about them, it’s hard to get everybody the amount of touches that you’d like to get, but that’s a good problem to have.”

It’s a good problem to have when you’re not dependent on one receiver, and you can scheme your receivers open to their best abilities. Last season, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs tied for the Packers’ lead in receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards – nine each, and on 19 targets each. LaFleur used Reed’s sneaky get-up speed to exploit opposing defenses in motion concepts, as shown on this 32-yard catch against the Bears in the regular-season finale.

Doubs got more outside targets than Reed did, and his ability to leverage his route precision against cornerbacks and safeties made him an ideal foil in that regard. Here against the Dallas Cowboys in last season’s wild-card win, the Packers ran a similar concept with Reed running motion. But in this case, Doubs ran the out-cut at 15 yards while Reed and Bo Melton ran the vertical routes. It was a great beater for the Cover-3 defense the Cowboys were running, and it resulted in a 39-yard gain. Is the lack of a No. 1 receiver a freeing component for the Packers’ offense? The tape seems to back it up.

You can win a Super Bowl (several, actually) without an alpha dog

The Kansas City Chiefs just won their third Super Bowl in the last five seasons, and without Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, they might not have even made the playoffs. Patrick Mahomes had to make a lot of chicken salad out of other things in the 2023 campaign, because outside of Travis Kelce, it could be argued that the Chiefs didn’t even have a consistent No. 2 receiver. The Chiefs tried to bring more to that equation in free agency with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and in the draft with Texas’ Xavier Worthy, but it remains to be seen whether either Brown or Worthy can be an alpha dog in Andy Reid’s offense.

It also remains to be seen whether Reid sees it as a priority.

Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, the Chiefs led the NFL in dropbacks with pre-snap motion with 546. Mahomes completed 336 passes in 489 attempts with motion for 3,389 yards, 1,219 air yards, 23 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 109.9. Without motion, Mahomes completed 169 of 257 passes for 1,845 yards, 850 air yards, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.4. The Chiefs knew they didn’t have the kinds of receivers who could consistently separate without schematic help, so they gave them as much schematic help as possible.

Mahomes also had the NFL’s most passing attempts with three tight ends on the field – 46, of which he completed 30 for 391 yards, 115 air yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.2. Not the best numbers, but the point remains: If the Chiefs didn’t have ideal targets, they were going to do their level best to transcend that with deployment and scheme.

How else do coaches work around a lack of alpha receivers?

San Francisco 49ers fans might argue the point that their team doesn’t have a true No. 1 receiver, but unless you think that Brandon Aiyuk is one, it’s a tough point to contend. I think that Aiyuk is an ideal 1A receiver – he does a ton in Kyle Shanahan’s concepts, and one of those concepts is condensed splits that allow receivers to find more room on the outside of the formation. Per Pro Football Focus, the 49ers led the league with 829 snaps in formations where receivers were tighter to the formation. The Los Angeles Rams ranked second with 730, and that’s another team where the No. 1 receiver argument becomes complicated.

285 of San Francisco’s passing plays came out of condensed formations last season, and the reasoning was clear. Brock Purdy had 20 explosive completions out of those tighter splits in the 2023 season.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been turning down head coaching jobs of late – perhaps because he realizes that as much as he’s done with his playbook to amplify Detroit’s offense, he’ll be able to pick his spot in a relative sense. Now, some might say that Amon-Ra St. Brown is a No. 1 receiver. The Lions certainly paid him that way with the four-year, $120.01-million contract extension with $77 million guaranteed St. Brown got in April, but St. Brown presents an Aiyuk-like case of a very good receiver whose efforts are amplified by scheme. That’s not to denigrate Brown at all – it’s more a realistic analysis of his attributes.

In Johnson’s offense, the Lions ran a lot of 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) and 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers). They ranked third in 3×1 formation snaps behind the Chiefs and the Washington Commanders with 515, and they ranked third in 2×2 formation snaps behind the Philadelphia Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts with 627. Factor in Johnson’s multi-faceted run game, and there isn’t one book on the Lions’ offense – making everything more difficult to read.

And in the end, maybe that’s the whole point in today’s NFL. More than ever, the league is about spacing and matchups more than this set of routes versus that kind of coverage. NFL offensive coordinators are trying everything possible to win those particular battles, and without a true No. 1 receiver, and all the advantages and limitations therein, maybe it’s that much more difficult for defenses to understand what a passing game is trying to accomplish.

In a game where milliseconds play out like minutes, any kind of hesitation is a big deal.

So yes, it’s great to have a No. 1 receiver if you can identify, develop, and keep one. But more and more, the NFL’s best offensive minds are looking for workarounds to that formerly incontrovertible ideal.