With three touchdowns last night, Jahmyr Gibbs now has more scores in his first three seasons than Hall of Famers Earl Campbell, Eric Dickerson and Gale Sayers did. He’s tied atop that list with HOFer Barry Sanders at 47, and the two Lions are also tied for the most TDs before turning 24 years old.
This calls for a closer look at Gibbs’ career, which reveals he’s even better than I’d thought.
I’m always loath to compare historical records with today’s 17-game seasons, but Gibbs has actually played fewer games so far (45) than Campbell, Dickerson or Sanders did (46) through their first three years. Sayers, ever efficient, scored his first 46 touchdowns in just 41 games.
- Gibbs: 45 games played, 47 touchdowns
- Sanders: 46 games, 47 touchdowns
- Dickerson: 46 games, 46 touchdowns
- Sayers: 41 games, 46 touchdowns (including eight on kickoff and punt returns)
- Campbell: 46 games, 45 touchdowns
Not only is Gibbs outpacing several of the top 100 players in NFL history, he’s also done it despite splitting time with David Montgomery for two seasons. Hard to overstate how impressive that is, considering Montgomery scored 32 touchdowns in that same frame. (Then again, it’s nice to get to take breaks.)
Not bad for a first-round pick once widely criticized because of “positional value,” though not by our Lions beat reporter, Colton Pouncy, whose post-draft analysis was bang on. That was the same year Detroit GM Brad Holmes drafted linebacker Jack Campbell, tight end Sam LaPorta and safety Brian Branch. Absurd.
Today: Week 14 watch guide, fun NFL nicknames and some tape analysis on Caleb Williams, as told by Ted Nguyen (who shared his season award predictions this morning).
Which current player is nicknamed “the Passtronaut”? Answer is at the bottom of this newsletter.
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Week 14 watch guide
Plenty more at stake this week, including J.J. McCarthy’s whole mindset and a potential playoff spot for the resurgent Jaguars. Here’s the schedule:
We’ll talk nicknames after a note from Ted Nguyen.
What Ted’s Seeing: Next thing to fix in Chicago
From my Week 13 film review: The Bears are still just scratching the surface of their potential.
Head coach Ben Johnson vowed during their bye week to get the running game going, and since then, they’ve been the most explosive running team in the league.
Now Johnson has to fix their passing game. The Bears are eighth in explosive-pass rate, but they haven’t been efficient, and Caleb Williams leads the league in off-target passes.
Williams isn’t an inaccurate passer, despite the alarming off-target rate. He has strong mechanics and throws the ball well. The problem? His head is swimming while trying to become an anticipatory passer, and his footwork isn’t as clean as it needs to be.
On the play below, the Bears had tight end Colston Loveland (No. 1) run a choice route to Williams’ right and receiver Luther Burden (No. 2) run a dig route on the opposite side. Loveland was Williams’ first read and Burden was his second on a play designed to stress the inside of the Eagles’ secondary.
Williams first looked to Loveland, as intended, but the Eagles were in match coverage and covered Loveland tightly on his choice route.
That gave Burden a window inside to run to. Williams was already in a position to throw as he turned to Burden, but the rookie receiver didn’t quite get out of his break as expected, hesitating and causing Williams to sail the pass just behind him.
In a timing offense like Johnson’s, everyone has to be on the same page, and right now, they just aren’t. The Bears have a young group of skill players who will grow together. They’re close to a breakthrough.
Back to you, Jacob.
Bringing back nicknames
When Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was recently asked what he sees in Chiefs pass rusher “Stone Cold,” Stroud replied, “Who?”
The NFL once overflowed with nicknames like “Broadway” Joe Namath, Walter Payton’s “Sweetness” and Reggie White’s “the Minister of Defense.” The good old days.
In Stroud’s case, the reporter was referring to All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones. I wouldn’t have guessed it, since the closest connection Jones has to “Stone Cold” is that those words are in his Instagram username. Also, that nickname was claimed long ago by the former pro wrestler Steve Austin.
Great nicknames like “Megatron” and “Beast Mode” feel like a thing of the past. What’s changed? Like many things, it’s easy to blame social media. Athletes once carried a mystique, and nicknames only added to it. Written for the front page, an alias like “Night Train” conveyed so much lore.
Modern versions feel intentionally designed to be “TB12”-style personal brands. Years after “the Galloping Ghost,” the best we could do with a superstar like Jaxon Smith-Njigba is “JSN”? Jayden Daniels as “JD5”?!
That doesn’t mean nicknames are dead. In fact, despite writing (and re-writing) the above, we still have better handles than I’d initially thought. Such as:
- The Sun God = Amon-Ra St. Brown
- Sonic and Knuckles = Gibbs and Montgomery
- Kirko Chainz = Kirk Cousins
- The Hitman = Harrison Smith
- Cheetah = Tyreek Hill
- King Henry = Derrick Henry
- Indiana Jones, formerly Danny Dimes (sometimes Danny Nickels) = Daniel Jones
- Joe Shiesty = Joe Burrow
- SaQuads = Saquon Barkley
- Slim Reaper = DeVonta Smith, and though Kevin Durant had it first, the NBA star didn’t like it until after Smith had accepted it at Alabama
Still, we need continued creativity, like BenJarvis Green-Ellis’ “the Law Firm.” I’ll contribute by calling Brian Thomas “Ghost,” since he disappeared from my fantasy team.
Extra Points
📚 Stay in school. An uninspiring crop of quarterbacks has NFL personnel suggesting quarterback prospects stick with college football, for now. “I think it helps everybody,” said one executive.
🏈 Offensive line coaching is like catnip for me, so you bet Tim Graham’s story on the Bills’ unsung hero — offensive line coach Aaron Kromer — was a fast click. Reader comments suggests others appreciated it as much I did.
📓 “Big Mess in Texas” is how Cowboys fans see most seasons under Jerry Jones. It’s also the title of the latest book by author David Fleming, whom I asked if there’s anything current fans can take solace in:
💬 “The original attempt at America’s Team, the 1952 Dallas Texans, had to deal with rattlesnakes on the field, barroom brawls, bounced checks, paternity suits, humiliating defeats, miraculous wins, and a legendary month-long bender in Pennsylvania (it’s a long story …) that would make Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys blush.
Yet somehow, this team still managed to change the course of NFL history. So, who knows? Maybe there’s still hope for the Cowboys. Maybe.”
Trivia answer: Josh Dobbs, Drake Maye’s backup in New England and a former NASA intern, is “the Passtronaut.”
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