All Access Football Report: Week 8

Kansas City keeps on taking it. Pittsburgh keeps on making it. New York keeps on faking it. Welcome to the NFL two month marker.

Oct 23, 2024

Volume XXIV Edition LXII | All Access Football Report: Week 8

Today’s All Access Football Report is presented by Sports Management Worldwide (SMWW), the global leader in sports business education.

Looking to break into the sports industry? 🚀 Join SMWW & PrimeTime Sports & Entertainment Inc. in Toronto on Monday, November 11th, 2024, for the Careers in Sport Workshop, part of the 17th Annual PrimeTime Sports Management Conference. This is your chance to experience The Power of Networking with industry leaders and insiders. Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to kickstart your career in sports!

ALL ACCESS FOOTBALL REPORT

Welcome to the Wednesday, October 23, 2024 edition of the All Access Football report. We have some midseason speculation that we dive in on, plus another shakeup in our college football polls.

We have also added NFL head coach rankings, which we’ll update every Wednesday of the season moving forward, along with the rest of our power rankings and polls.

Buckle up and let’s get to it!

CHIEFS STILL RULE NFL KINGDOM

At this stage of the season, we can begin to sort through the NFL contenders and pretenders. While you can state a case for about half the teams in the league being capable of contending for a Vince Lombardi Trophy, the current back-to-back champion Kansas City Chiefs remain the only undefeated team.

Chiefs two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes has not been his spectacular self, from a statistical standpoint. Projected out over the course of 17 games, Mahomes is on pace for nearly 4,000 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and 23 interceptions, which would be his worst season on paper, by far.

However, one could also state that Mahomes has done more with less than at any point of his professional career. No wideout on Kansas City has yet to catch 30 balls on the season, yet 10 different receivers have at least five receptions through the first six games, while a total of 15 players have been on the receiving end of a Mahomes pass thus far.

All Access Football has echoed our sentiments over the years that the head coach/quarterback combination is the most valuable aspect of most/any Super Bowl franchise. History would seem to back that up.

A depleted San Francisco squad proved no contest against the almighty Andy Reid-led Chiefs this past week and the meager Las Vegas Raiders appear to be not much of a match this week. It has been a remarkable start to the season for a franchise seeking to become the first-ever organization to win three consecutive Super Bowls.

Could we be witnessing history? Only time will tell.

IS A BRADY, BELICHICK REUNION ON THE HORIZON

Upon the announcement of Tom Brady becoming minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, it took less than 24 hours for rumors to swirl that the team was planning to gauge the interest of future Hall of Fame legend Bill Belichick to become their next head coach.

This would be quite the turn of events for the public perception between the duo that achieved six Super Bowl rings together. It has been 40 years since the Raiders organization was last fitted for one, so the move makes sense.

It has been no secret that Brady will have influence on the direction and decision-making process that is to follow for the Raiders in the coming months/years. One caveat might be that Belichick arrives strictly as coach, while front office decisions are left to Brady, GM Tom Telesco and Co.

Considering the franchise is currently floundering once again at 2-5 and has won double-digit games just twice in the past twenty years, a leadership tandem of Brady and Belichick might just be what doctor Mark Davis orders up next.

Should this would-be dream scenario morph into reality, lets just pray that it’s not accompanied by another 10-part docuseries. Amen.

NFL DRAFT WATCH

We had several fantastic matchups last week in college football. This week, our attention zooms in on some marquee matchups that feature a few names that you certainly need to know.

A significant amount of NFL personnel will be in College Station, Texas this week to get a glimpse at two potential ‘Tier 2’ draft-eligible signal callers in Garrett Nussmeier of LSU (AAF No.11 ranked team) and Conner Wegman of Texas A&M (AAF No.13 ranked team).

The Aggies are playing much improved ball, in spite of the unfulfilled expectations of Wegman thus far. However, his skill-set is alluring, as he demonstrates the ability to extend plays and beat opponents with his arm or legs. Meanwhile, the pocket-preferred Nussmeier continues to be a dark horse in the Heisman race due to his ability to make all the throws and gaudy big-game stats. “Gig’em!”

Another signal-caller who many predict will be drafted is Dillon Gabriel of Oregon (AAF No.2 ranked team). Opinions vary amongst the scouting community as to where his value lies and he is expected to be tested against a stingy Illinois (AAF No.15 ranked team) defense. A strong performance on Saturday could help bolster, and/or solidify his stock.

In what should be deemed appointment viewing television, with an audience disclaimer for the east coast (que the espresso), we got Friday Night Lights fireworks! Fresh off their bye week, Boise State (AAF No.26 ranked team) visits UNLV (AAF No.33 ranked team), in a showcase game for the nation’s leading rusher Ashton Jeanty, who possibly might be the best running back prospect since Saquon Barkley (Class of 2018).

While not as powerful as Barkley, the poetic Jeanty has carved up opposing defenses, slicing and dicing his way through defenders like a hot knife cuts into butter. Give that man two slices of bread and some cheddar, he might make grilled cheese out of the Rebels defense in that desert heat!