Florida Gators in the NFL: Richardson is for Real
Florida Gators in the NFL: Richardson is for Real
Plus, Anzalone is All Over the Field Again and Pitts Produces
The University of Florida has produced two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame - Emmitt Smith and Jack Youngblood. A few other Gators deserve to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio - Fred Taylor, Lomas Brown, and Wilber Marshall.
A bunch more - guys like Kevin Carter, Maurkice Pouncey, Wes Chandler, Carlos Dunlap, Nat Moore, Mike Peterson, Joe Haden, Jevon Kearse, and Reggie Nelson - probably don’t have Hall cases but still had incredible careers. Those players represent every position on a football field with one obvious exception.
Do you know which former Gator quarterback - who finished his college career in Gainesville, sorry Cam Newton - had the best NFL career? It’s Rex Grossman. Now I love Sexy Rexy, but his career numbers - 10,232 passing yards, 56/60 TD/INT ratio, 55% completion percentage - are mediocre. When you look at the best NFL QBs to play at every major college, Grossman ranks among the worst of them.
That’s all going to change. Anthony Richardson is the real deal and his time is now.
That throw was one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen. Slipping on the turf, pressure on his back and in his face, and with no stride, Richardson threw the ball 65.3 yards in the air and hit his receiver Alec Pierce in perfect stride just beyond bracketed double-team coverage. It is the third-longest completion in the Next Gen Stats era (since 2017).
That wasn’t the only incredible throw from Richardson in week one. He had three passes that went for more than 50 yards. Two of them went for touchdowns.
According to Pro Football Focus, only six quarterbacks have completed two passes of over 55 yards in the air in the last decade. Only one of them accomplished that feat in the same season. No one had done it in the same game - until Richardson on Sunday.
It wasn’t a perfect season debut by any means. Richardson threw an interception and missed two other deep shots that were wide open. But even those were excusable. On the pick, his receiver slipped. And deep passes are by nature low percentage; even still on the second one, Richardson and his receiver Adonai Mitchell were fingertips away from another long touchdown.
Despite the big plays, Richardson and the Colts lost on Sunday. He only completed 9/19 passes, and he had that interception in the red zone. But Richardson had a passer rating of 101.2 and a QBR of 87.7, second only to Josh Allen. Five of his six rushes went for first downs including this ferocious run on fourth down where he dragged a defender for three yards and got the Colts within a score late in the game.
Insert standard Richardson mantra here - IF HE STAYS HEALTHY - he’s going to be a superstar and by next season, he’ll already be the greatest former Gators quarterback to ever play in the NFL.
BEST PLAYER OF WEEK 1
Partly because of his lucious, golden locks and partly because he’s a damn good baller, Alex Anzalone is hard to miss when watching Detroit Lions games. He started Sunday Night Football off with a bang.
Anzalone finished with 13 tackles including a league-high three for a loss. After the game, he was given a game ball by Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
Anzalone has yet to make a Pro Bowl, but if he plays anywhere close to how he did in week one and the Lions have the big season everyone is expecting, there is no way he won’t be a Pro Bowler.
BEST PLAY OF WEEK 1
Come on. It might end up being the play of the year. Let’s look at that Richardson throw one more time.
NEWS AND NOTES
Kadarius Toney signed with the Browns practice squad on Tuesday. Cleveland says they want him to take some time getting up to speed with the playbook before he’s brought up to the active roster.
TOP 10 WEEK 1 PERFORMANCES
1 - Alex Anzalone, LB, DET
Week 1: 13 tackles, 3 TFL, 78 snaps (100%)
2 - Anthony Richardson, QB, IND
Week 1: 9/19, 212 yards, 2 TD, INT, 6 rush, 56 yards, 2 TD
3 - Kyle Pitts. TE, ATL
Week 1: 3 rec (3 targets), 26 yards, TD, 54 snaps (96%)
Kirk Cousins looked rusty and the Falcons offense was once again a mess. But better days are ahead for that group. Pitts played the highest percentage of snaps in his professional career. He had six career touchdowns in his first three seasons; he’s going to exceed that total this year alone.
4 - Gervon Dexter, Sr., DT, CHI
Week 1: 1 sack, 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits, 42 snaps (66%), 4 ST snaps (14%)
Dexter now has a sack in four of his past six games dating back to last year. He has figured out the NFL game. He’s in great shape this season and played a career-high in snaps. This is going to be a monster season for Big Dex.
5 - Demarcus Robinson, WR, LAR
Week 1: 7 targets, 4 rec, 42 yards, 72 snaps (92%)
Robinson may move up to WR2 in the Rams’ explosive passing attack with Puka Nacua’s injury. He should be high on the fantasy football waiver list additions.
6 - C.J. Gardner-Johnson, DB, PHI
Week 1: 5 tackles, 66 snaps (99%)
7 - T.J. Slaton, NT, GB
Week 1: 5 tackles, 40 snaps (53%), 12 ST snaps (39%)
8 - Jonathan Greenard, EDGE, MIN
Week 1: 1 QB hit, 52 snaps (73%)
Strange game for Greenard. He didn’t record a tackle, but he was a menace in the Giants backfield. He had five quarterback pressures, four hurries, and one hit. Bigger statistical days are ahead.
9 - Evan McPherson, K, CIN
Week 1: 1/1 FG, Long 51, 1/1 XP
McPherson’s fantasy prospects don’t look as great as they did before the season. The Bengals offense stunk. But when they get it figured out, Money Mac remains as automatic as any kicker in the league - especially from 50+ yards.
10 - Ventrell Miller, LB, JAX
Week 1: 1 tackle, 10 snaps (14%), 14 ST snaps (56%)
Miller’s first career regular season game was also his first real game in 653 days, going back to the Florida-Florida State game at the end of the 2022 season. That alone is something to celebrate.
THE REST OF WEEK 1
Dante Fowler, Jr., OLB, WAS
Week 1: 2 tackles, 1 TFL, 21 snaps (33%)
Jonathan Bullard, DL, MIN
Week 1: 1 tackle, 1 TFL, 28 snaps (39%)
Dameon Pierce, RB, HOU
Week 1: 3 rush, 16 yards, 9 snaps (11%), 5 ST snaps (20%)
Van Jefferson, WR, PIT
Week 1: 1 rec (2 targets), 1 yard, 49 snaps (72%)
Brandon Powell, WR/PR/KR, MIN
Week 1: 1 punt return, 1.0 avg, 30 snaps (55%), 6 ST snaps (25%)
Powell saw quite a bit of action on offense after Jordan Addison’s injury but was never targeted by Sam Darnold. With Addison possibly out a few weeks, Powell should be in line for some touches going forward.
Trent Brown, LT, CIN
Week 1: 51 snaps (100%)
Brown had an up and down debut for the Bengals. He was beaten a few times and gave up one sack but won his fair share of battles against a tough Patriots defense.
Jawaan Taylor, RT, KC
Week 1: 54 snaps (100%)
After leading the league in penalties last season, Taylor got on the board early and often in KC’s opener. Taylor committed two false starts and had a bunch of others that looked close, along with some borderline formations. After one of the penalties, NBC’s cameras caught Patrick Mahomes saying “74” in reference to yet another penalty on Taylor. It’s going to once again be a bumpy ride.
O’Cyrus Torrence, G, BUF
Week 1: 62 snaps (100%)
Torrence committed three penalties in week one after having only six infractions his entire rookie season. There is already one former Gators offensive lineman known as a penalty magnet in the league; we don’t need a second.
Stone Forsythe, OT, SEA
Week 1: 54 snaps (81%)
Forced into action early after starting right tackle George Fant went down. Played mostly left tackle in his career. He was abused on a few pass rushes and also committed a false start penalty. After a rough first half, he played a little better in the second half but still needs to clean up a lot if he’s starting in week two.
Eddy Piñeiro, K, CAR
Week 1: 1/1 FG, Long 43, 1/1 XP
Zach Carter, DT, CIN
Week 1: 2 tackles, 27 snaps (42%), 4 ST snaps (19%)
Tommy Townsend, P, HOU
Week 1: 1 punt, 56.0 avg, 28.0 net
Townsend had a punt blocked for the first time in his career.
Amari Burney, LB, LV
Week 1: 1 tackle, 25 ST snaps (75%)
Marco Wilson, CB, NE
Week 1: 2 tackles, 15 snaps (29%), 3 ST snaps (14%)
Wilson committed a terrible pass interference penalty in limited snaps.
Taven Bryan, DT, IND
Week 1: 17 snaps (22%), 8 ST snaps (32%)
Marcus Maye, S, MIA
Week 1: 3 snaps (6%), 8 ST snaps (32%)
Kaiir Elam, CB, BUF
Week 1: 9 ST snaps (33%)
Fred Johnson, OT, PHI
Week 1: 6 ST snaps (19%)
Kyle Trask, QB, TB
Week 1: 2 rush, -2 yards, 2 snaps (3%)
Trask got the victory formation kneel downs in Sunday’s Bucs win. He now has three career rushes, all victory kneel downs, which unfortunately is equal to his number of career completions.