Inside The Hashes Football Q & A with Kris Thomas
Inside The Hashes Football Q & A with Kris Thomas
Is the 2019 LSU team the best college team of all time?
I’ll say they are the best offense in the history of college football. LSU stands alongside last year’s Clemson team the only teams to finish the season 15-0 since the University of Chicago in 1899(they went 16-0). They were loaded at every position but LSU defeated the top 4 teams in the preseason AP top 25 and the 6 top 10 teams. Joe Burrow became the first QB in college football history to league the nation in completion percentage, threw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns. Burrow also broke Deshaun Watson’s record for the most yards in the BCS/CFP era and the most TD passes in a national title game. LSU scored 726 points which are the most by an FBS team in history and 3 points more than the 2014 Florida State team. In closing, this was the greatest college offense of all time but I still have to give the nod to the 2001 Hurricanes for the best overall team of all time. The star power they had at every position is something you’ll probably never see again.
Can the Titans beat the Chiefs?
Any given Sunday. For the most legitimate answer, they can. They did it before in the regular season. However, playing keep away from Patrick Mahomes isn’t going to work as it did against the Patriots and the Ravens. The Patriots offense was inconsistent all year and the Ravens offense isn’t built to play from behind. You saw this past weekend that all it takes is one quarter to come back from a 24 point hole. If the Titans want to win you can’t have Tannehill just throwing 14 times. Derrick Henry will likely have a big game again as he did in their earlier season matchup racking up over 180-yard rushing. But if the Chiefs get off to a two-score lead early it could get very ugly.
Can the Packers beat the 49ers?
Since that Sunday night beatdown by the 49ers, the Packers haven’t lost a game since. This is the most talented roster assembled around Aaron Rodgers since the last time they went on and won the Superbowl. A reliable running back, a good #1 WR, and a playmaking defense at every position. Rodgers didn’t need to perform superhuman performances, in fact, this season has been considered a down year for Rodgers. However, against the Seahawks, we saw flashes of the old Aaron Rodgers and now at age 36, that has become a rarity. If they want to win they need A-Rod to turn back the clock and be the bad man again considering the Niners won’t give up anything on the group with their front seven. The 49ers are a buzzsaw. They play great defense, win the battle on both sides of the trenches, and have playmakers on offense that can all hurt you for big plays, which is the biggest weakness for the Packers defense. I want a Mahomes Rodgers duel in the Superbowl but the 49ers are such a good overall team that it’s hard for me to imagine them lose at this stage.
Where do you see D’Eriq King land in the transfer portal?
One of the top choices is Arkansas. King’s former offensive coordinator Kendal Briles is now over there with Sam Pittman’s staff and that was King’s best season in college as a QB. Also giving him an opportunity to play in the SEC and test himself against the best conference in college football. Another option could be Oklahoma, with Hurts leaving, that leaves a door for another QB to be groomed by the QB whisper Lincoln Riley. With Mayfield and Murray winning the Heisman under Riley’s coaching and Hurts coming from Alabama being a finalist, it becomes the most appealing destination for King to improve as a QB for his last season. Others are interested but pencil these two in for the best options to land D’Eriq King.
Who has the biggest hot seat going into next season?
Easy Matt Patrica from the Detroit Lions. The reason why Jim Caldwell was fired was that the fans were tired of underachieving and wanted a new direction. The Lions finished 9-7 in Caldwell’s last year with the team. The past two under Patricia, the Lions have had 9 wins combined. There’s still plenty of time to turn this around with free agency and having a top 3 draft pick, but there has to be serious progression next season. They play in a tough division with both the Packers and Vikings both as playoff teams, and even with Mitch Trubisky at QB, the Bears are still better than them too. Patrica was supposed to make the Lions defense better however their defense hasn’t gotten better and the last two years, the Patriots defense has improved since his departure. With new defensive coordinator Cory Undlin coming over and reuniting with Patrica for the first time since 2004, maybe the outsider perspective is what Patrica needs to improve this defense. However given the history of the Lions and Stafford and Johnson’s health has hurt the offense in back to back seasons, more of the same is still to come.
-By: Kris Thomas
Writer/Interviewer