This is an open game thread.
Denver takes on Kansas City in Kansas City on CBS and the Redskins travel to New York to face the Giants on Fox, and though the Seahawks have played three of the four teams, my gut reaction is: I don't care. I don't care who wins. I don't care in what fashion. The Broncos, Chiefs and Giants all torched Seattle, winning by a combined 69 points. That means any chance of salvation through opponent adjustment is impossible. KC and Denver cancel each other out. At best, a blowout win for the Chiefs would minimize the Rams week 12 win over the Broncos, but that feels like grasping at straws.
So on days like today and most Sundays over the last three seasons, to be honest, I enjoy football not through the eyes of a Seahawks fans, but as someone that has developed a rooting interest in individual players. Like many football fans, I track and anticipate and watch all 200 hours of the NFL draft. I never have the time nor resources to track every player. Apart from a couple notable quarterbacks, I don't remember too many players I did not like. I remember the players that excited me.
Between the Chiefs, Broncos, Redskins and Giants, there are few players I have much interest in. No former Seahawks. Few draft picks I paid much attention to. The one player that excites, that is just plain fun to watch, and who I have tracked since 2008, is Jamaal Charles. It wasn't really appropriate to talk about it last week or in the aftermath, after Charles ran all over the Seahawks, but Charles was probably my favorite prospect from the mega talented 2008 running back class.
Jamaal Charles looks surprisingly pristine. He's got great size, is crazy fast, wasn't run into the ground, has some ability to receive and worked in a reasonably pro-like offense. He has elusiveness through the hole, open field moves and a broad shouldered, long armed frame that could and likely will fill out as he ages. The biggest knock on Charles is that he fumbles. Scouts.com rates him as a 5 star prospect, and all he did at the combine was post a 4.38 40, 4.22 20 Yard Shuttle and a 6.8 3 Cone Drill.
Most years a player of Charles potential would not be available at 25, but in a class with 3 surefire first rounders, Charles might fall into the second round. He's a tantalizing prospect--I could handle watching that for the next five years.
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