Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are doing what they do best around here ...

I swear I’d get more productivity from a house cat.

Anyway, apologies for taking so long to get a summary assembled of week four, NFL style. I made the mistake of starting to read the injury report for all teams, and I have just now had an opportunity to come up for air. When the list is this long, speed reading is not an option. Nearly 300 NFL players are currently on injured reserve. That’s a lot. Coming up with comparative stats has proved surprisingly challenging — I’m still looking — but at the least, it strongly feels like the injuries are greater in number than last year.

I know football is a rugged, physical game; injuries have always been part of the equation. That said, one has to wonder whether what is currently transpiring is a sign that the human body cannot endure physical training and supplement infusion, legally or otherwise, for the 24/7/365 that professional sports demands. One also wonders whether the NFL will, via the sheer number of injuries, be forced to consider setting up an actual minor league system as opposed to the de facto arrangement college football provides so as to provide a sufficient number of players with the necessary grasp of their respective team’s system and philosophy. Although if you’re the Carolina Panthers right now, I’d suggest your minor league team, were there such an entity, do the exact opposite of whatever your parent organization is presently subjecting its fans to.

Nevertheless, the games go on, even with at least a third of all NFL teams presently listing their mascot as the emergency quarterback. The most entertaining game was this past Monday, September 30, 2024, in Detroit Rock City, where the Lions showed the Seattle Seahawks they were not made for loving you by a 42-29 score. Lions quarterback Jared Goff was the original love gun, setting an NFL record by completing all 18 of his passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns. His performance was so stellar that Lions head coach Dan Campbell was utterly unaware, neglecting to give Goff the game ball (he rectified his error on October 1). Detroit’s defense, however, was anything but a strutter as Seattle quarterback Geno Smith lit it up for 395 yards. The Lions' secondary was far more in god of dunder than thunder form, committing stupid penalty after stupid penalty. Goff is becoming the elite quarterback predicted when the Los Angeles Rams made him the #1 pick in the 2016 draft, and he has skilled players at the skill positions to utilize. But unless the defense can mature in a hurry, it is difficult to see the Lions as a legitimate Super Bowl-winning contender should they get that far, thus having to face most likely Patrick Mahomes and company.

Elsewhere this past weekend, the Indianapolis Colts proved the wisdom of having a veteran backup quarterback on hand when Joe Flacco stepped in for a concussed Anthony Richardson and led the Indianapolis Colts to a 27-24 win over the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers. The game also showed that the Steelers’ defense, which had been superb, was, in fact, not all that. Jayden Daniels is all that, as the rookie quarterback demonstrated once again by leading his Washington Redskins Commanders to a 42-14 thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals. The Kansas City Chiefs did their usual just enough to win, defeating the San Diego Los Angeles Chargers 17-10. The Chiefs, along with the Minnesota Vikings, are the sole remaining undefeated teams in the NFL.

Finally, baseball. Because the New York Mets are involved, of course there will be a third, deciding game today (October 3, 2024) in their wild card series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Mets will send Jose Quintana, who has pitched well as of late, to the mound to face Tobias Myers, who has pitched okay as of late but has not gone past the fourth inning in his last three starts. It’s anyone's guess as to how this will turn out.

Have a non-tumultuous Thursday, everyone.