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FOOTBALL
Throughout the year, I’m going to focus Saturday newsletters on some prospects worth checking out. Not all of them will be applicable to the Rams’ draft needs or realistic given that the Rams will be without their 1st, 4th and 5th-round picks. But the labor pool in the NFL is relatively small, so there’s a good chance that these guys will land somewhere else and end up playing us on Sundays in the future.
Here’s three to check out today:
Iowa St. QB Brock Purdy
(Louisiana @ Iowa St., ESPN, 12pm ET/9am PT)
What a fun, fun, fun college football player. Purdy might be my single favorite player in all of CFB out of the sheer joy to get to watch him.
In terms of a prospect, there’s some severe limitations. He’s not big physically. He’s prone to sloppy technique because of his movement. And his accuracy isn’t anywhere near “good.” But watching him is just fun in a Johnny Manziel type of way. He makes plays over and over and over again without a stellar surrounding cast:
The early slate kinda stinks and I’m not even sure I wanna watch a ton of Duke-Notre Dame, so I might just watch Purdy carve up Louisiana-Lafayette (still kinda pissed at the audacity to rename themselves “Louisiana”…of all the schools…).
Florida State’s defense
(Georgia Tech @ Florida St., ABC, 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT)
Yes, it’s a cop out. Yes, I do that all the time.
FSU’s defense is loaded. DT Marvin Wilson is a potential first-round pick. S Hamsah Nasirildeen (though he’s recovering from an ACL injury last year and will miss this one) and CB Asante Samuel, Jr., are the next defensive backs out of a program that churns em. DT Cory Durden and LB Amari Gainer have a chance to play themselves into the murky middle of the draft.
Plus, it’s worth just getting a look at the rebooted version of Florida State. It was just three years ago that Jimbo Fisher bolted for Money University. Excuse me, I meant Texas A&M. Don’t know how I typed that. Whoops. The last two years, Willie Taggart came home to what should have been a storybook saga, but the football just didn’t turn up. Two years in, the program cut their losses and handed the keys to Mike Norvell fresh off a fantastic four years at Memphis. Should be fun to see how the program goes under his leadership.
Oh, and Brock Purdy? His brother, Chubba (yes you read that right), committed to FSU. Broke his collarbone last month and will miss another month or two, but that could be a fun relationship in the next few years.
Clemson LT Jackson Carman and Wake Forest EDGE Carlos Basham, Jr.
(#1 Clemson @ Wake Forest, ABC, 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT)
NFL on NFL matchup.
Yes, you also get to see likely 2021 NFL Draft #1 overall pick QB Trevor Lawrence and RB Travis Etienne on that Clemson offense so it’s prime viewing anyway, but Carman should be available on Day 2. Basham’s no joke either as one of the better edge rushers in the country especially as a power rusher. Not sure the Rams are going to look to add to the offensive line that early given how much they’ve invested since 2017 in both salary cap and the draft, but the quality of the matchup alone merits attention.
FOOD
The first day of fall this year is September 22, but with temps dropping now that we’re past Labor Day and football back I think you are allowed to call it fall already. Farmer’s Almanac my ass.
As such, it’s time to fire up the oven and start workin on that comfort food to sustain us over next 7 months or so. Hard to think of anything that fits autumny comfort food more than a roasted chicken.
Cheaper than a rotisserie from the store plus you get that good roasted chicken potpourri filling up your home. Nothing makes the month of September smell better than crispy chicken butts roastin in your kitchen.
Now I could write 1,000+ words on techniques and principles and science here (and maybe will later this year), but on Thursday when I roasted my first chicken of the season I went to my simplest method that always bangs out a perfect bird.
Oven to 450. Dry the chicken. Spices all over and in the cavity (in this case, salt, pep, paprika, garlic powder). Truss. Bird on rack in roasting pan. Bird into the oven for 15 minutes. Drop the temp to 350 and go 20 minutes per pound (good table for weights and times here). Take it out of the oven and let it rest for at least 15 minutes. Transfer to cutting board and get yer meat.
Joy.
FUCKERY
Rockets F Danuel House really got kicked out the playoffs for being too horny. Unbelievably believable.