I slightly altered the lyrics to “Friday, I’m in love” by The Cure!
Verse 1
I don’t care if Monday’s blue
Tuesday’s grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don’t care about you
It’s Sunday Malik, I’m in love
Verse 2
Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Thursday doesn’t even start
It’s Sunday Malik, I’m in love
From the 1992 album “Wish”
I hope someone else hasn’t said this and I will profusely apologize to those who have but I am digging the home uniforms on the road! I have avoided walking
underneath ladders and spilling salt. I am now compelled to beg you all to watch the old comedy ”Used Cars” starring Kurt Russell where another main character is majorly superstitious. Pure genius!
Without further ado…..
My thoughts on Malik’s performance against the NY Jets.
To quote Christopher Walken playing the Continental “Wowwie wow wow! This calls for the……wait for it….Champaign!” ok, the photo isn’t from the Continental but I love Walken, so there.
This is the good Malik, the one us Phins’ fans have been waiting for. I will humbly refer you all to my last column “How to solve a problem like Malik?” Now since I know that Jeff Hafley and Malik Willis read my column (ha) because Malik took SOME of my advice to heart and to mind.
DIGRESSION BEFORE PROCESSION
Before my hero worship of Malik’s techniques (rhymes!) commences, I must note: that late hit on Malik was such a cowardly hit, but had that been Tua on the receiving end, he would have died. Malik might secretly be Luke Cage(look it up – one of my favorite Marvel characters). That hit barely fazed him. What a badass kung fu master! I was in shock on how stout he is and how he just brushed that dirty hit off. It was like a 5-year-old child hitting him. Very zen!!! That “shock absorption” was worth millions to this organization and for that alone Sullivan gets major kudos. That said, since I love Malik, I need him to survive and thrive. Malik, make you the one and only Malik! Don’t take the big hits that other mobile QBs took e.g. Francis Jean Tarkenton, Randall Cunningham, Lamar Jackson, Archie Manning, Michael Vick. All those dudes took big hits to their upper body and lower body. I see scrambling QBs as analogous to riding motorcycles on the city streets. Sooner or later if you scramble too much, you’re gonna take a big hit involving strong kinetic energy from yourself AND the person that hits you (meaning double the kinetic energy), meaning it is gonna hurt with significant potential for short term and long-term damage. Never forget the hits are CUMULATIVE. that said, Malik blowing up Minkah at the pylon WAS LEGENDARY!
OBSESSION WITH PROCESSION
Somethings we know that happen with the earth that we can measure but cannot control:
- The earth orbits the Sun
- The earth spins on its axis giving us day and night.
- As the earth spins, it also wobbles slightly every 23,000 years or so. That is called Procession.
Some things we know that happen with Malik that we can measure AND that he can control
- He has elite NFL throwing strength
- He has elite NFL speed. He made those pocket “take-offs” look easy. Not easy.
- He can vary his delivery using change of speeds and arm angles.
- He has the build of a NFL linebacker.
To the game!
There were throws on the first drive and others against the Jets where Malik threw it perfectly. PERFECTLY! His weight was forward and the football went where it was aimed. Just like I said on my previous column. In football, your feet are as equally important as your hands. Ask any offensive tackle. The whole “west coast” offense is based on the QB’s feet position. The QB reads “deep, then intermediate, then short (check down)” with his feet rotating and dictating where he’s throwing the ball. If his feet are at 45 degrees, he’s generally throwing to the TE or WR but on possession routes. I watched Joey Harrington (remember him?) give a great demo on the West Coast offense back in the day. Back to the good Malik, he was making the QUICK throws on that first drive. It was very similar (like I mentioned in my last column) to the preseason game where Malik matriculated us down the field. Just a thing of beauty!
Where I got nervous, is on that first drive, when Malik held it for an extra beat and hit Dulcich for the big seam completion. But I am sure you noticed, that he was in rhythm. One, two, three—throw!!!! All the simple but proven techniques work.
I cannot also go any further without talking about the o-line and TE work. They made things happen but more importantly, they fit in the rhythm of the offense. Destroying defense lines in the mode of the 1970s Dolphins is glorious, but that isn’t necessary if things are in rhythm. And the whole offense was “on-time and on-target.” Dang near impossible to stop. This is a pattern that I like seeing. This is something to build upon. We may have won ourselves away from Jeremiah Smith but we now know Malik CAN do it. Let’s some positive karma his way!
