"The Stack" 8-10-18
Baker Mayfield looked awfully impressive last night for the Cleveland Browns as did Tyrod Taylor as the Browns beat the Giants and provided Browns fans some hope and excitement, real or fake, for the regular season.
The Stack is back on this Friday and we don’t have too much to get into today. Just some golf and football. Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox hit for the cycle yesterday in an 8-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. That was pretty neat. The Seattle Mariners hit for the cycle as a team in the first inning against Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros. That’s pretty amazing. And I think the NBA schedule comes out today. Let’s look at what else we have in “the stack” for today, Friday August 10th:
NFL Thursday preseason thoughts
I know it’s only one preseason game, but boy was I impressed by both Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns in their 20-10 win over the New York Giants. Each threw a touchdown to tight end David Njoku and overall the Browns looked like a fairly competent team. You don’t want to take too much stock in one preseason game, but I’m definitely liking the Browns’ chances of winning multiple games this year. Saquon Barkley looked pretty good as well for the Giants.
Josh Allen was so-so in his debut with the Buffalo Bills. He did throw a touchdown, but it wasn’t enough as the Carolina Panthers won 28-23. Kelvin Benjamin still has been with Cam Newton, but he showed some blazing speed on a touchdown catch.
The Cincinnati Bengals offense looked sharp early on which is good considering their offense was crap last year. They beat the Chicago Bears 30-27. Ryan Tannehill didn’t get hurt which is good the Miami Dolphins. They lost to Tampa Bay 26-24. Other scores included the following:
New Orleans 24 Jacksonville 20
Pittsburgh 31 Philadelphia 14
Baltimore 33 Los Angeles Rams 7
New England 26 Washington 17
Green Bay 31 Tennessee 17
Houston 17 Kansas City 10
Indianapolis 19 Seattle 17
San Francisco 24 Dallas 21
Unfortunately for us (because people will make a big deal about it) and for the NFL, the anthem issue won’t go away. I don’t want to keep talking about this, but when it makes headlines on CNN and is one of the top headlines on ESPN.com, I need to at least mention something. Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins put a fist in the air which isn’t the worst thing that can be done. Two Miami Dolphins players, Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson took knees which the NFL said they cannot do when they put their ridiculous anthem policy in place. I don’t like what Wilson and Stills did, mainly because of how big of a deal this will become and get blown out of proportion. Four Jacksonville Jaguars players didn’t come out for the anthem which is fine, because that is what the NFL said players could do if they so choose. I think there is a lot of anger going on right now and I don’t want to type this out and give a platform to those whose anger at the players and the NFL is misguided, but as I mentioned, when this is gaining steam on cable news networks and their websites, we need to at least mention it. Hopefully the NFL and the NFLPA can come to a quick resolution.
Friday’s NFL preseason games are as follows:
Atlanta Falcons @ New York Jets 7:30 PM ET NFL Network
Detroit Lions @ Oakland Raiders 10:30 PM ET NFL Network
PGA Championship underway
Round one of the PGA Championship is in the books and if you don’t know much about your clubhouse leader through one round, Gary Woodland, it’s okay. I don’t know much about him either. I have heard of him though. There are plenty of guys in contention. Ricke Fowler is seeking his first major title and he shot a solid five under (-5). Zach Johnson had some really nice shots including a chip in to help him get to four under (-4). Things didn’t start so hot for both Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. Woods was three over (+3) through two holes, but rallied to finish even par. Spieth also struggled early on and finished at one over (+1). Both are still in it though. This course has some big bunkers and some water, but it looks like a beautiful course. There is still lots of golf to be played, but right now Woodland is your leader. Let’s see if he stays that way through the weekend.
Coming up Monday: PGA Championship reaction plus other headlines in the sports world
Listen to this week's "The Sports Block" podcast here.
