Marc Lawrence

#PlaybookSports Leave your ego at the door every morning, and just do some truly great work. Few things will make you feel better than a job brilliantly done.

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

LITTLE MAC HAS GOT TO GO

The Chargers entered the year as AFC West contenders. Eight games later, they’re fighting to avoid becoming one of the worst teams in modern NFL history.

Sunday’s 44-22 blowout loss to the Texans dropped them to 0-8. They finally scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

By then, the game was long gone and the scores were pure window dressing. Los Angeles never seriously threatened.

Those late scores snapped a 37-drive touchdown drought. The Chargers had gone consecutive games without reaching the end zone against the Chiefs and Rams. In the process, they surpassed the 2024 Miami Dolphins, who went 30 straight offensive possessions without a touchdown.

And would you just know it: The same man, Mike McDaniel, who oversaw the Dolphins’ historic scoring drought is now running the Chargers’ offense during an even longer one.

The loss only turns up the heat on McDaniel, head coach Jim Harbaugh, and quarterback Justin Herbert. McDaniel already carries the Dolphins stain. Now he’s got a second one. That kind of double mark doesn’t get overlooked for long.

Expect him to be in the unemployment line sooner rather than later where hopefully he take some annunciation classes.

#NFL #Chargers #MikeMcdaniel #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

37 CONSECUTIVE DRIVES WITHOUT SCORING A TD

The Chargers entered the year as AFC West contenders. Eight games later, they’re fighting to avoid becoming one of the worst teams in modern NFL history.

Sunday’s 44-22 blowout loss to the Texans dropped them to 0-8. They finally scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

By then, the game was long gone and the scores were pure window dressing. Los Angeles never seriously threatened.

Those late scores snapped a 37-drive touchdown drought. The Chargers had gone consecutive games without reaching the end zone against the Chiefs and Rams. In the process, they surpassed the 2024 Miami Dolphins, who went 30 straight offensive possessions without a touchdown.

And wouldn't you just know it: The same man, Mike McDaniel, who oversaw the Dolphins’ historic scoring drought is now running the Chargers’ offense during an even longer one.

The loss only turns up the heat on McDaniel, head coach Jim Harbaugh, and quarterback Justin Herbert. McDaniel already carries the Dolphins stain. Now he’s got a second one. That kind of double mark doesn’t get overlooked for long.

Expect him to be in the unemployment line sooner rather than later.

#NFL #Chargers #MikeMcDaniel #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE THE BAD GUY

In case you didn’t know… Giannis spent a full year running the NBA’s most elaborate soft-shoe routine: I would never ask out… but also maybe I might… but also I definitely won’t… unless you make me.

He didnt want to be he villain.

Doc Rivers spilled the beans on the Bill Simmons podcast when he repeorted that the 'Greek Freak'
wanted Jon Horst and Wes Edens to be the ones holding the bag when the two-time MVP got shipped. That way Giannis could keep his hands clean and still land wherever he wanted.

Rivers also dropped the coaching truth nobody in Milwaukee wanted to hear while they still had him.

“He’s not easy,” Doc said. “He plays at this crazy downhill pace. He’s really a difficult guy. He has this great passing ability, but he doesn’t necessarily have super IQ at the same time. It’s really a strange thing. He really has one way. Every play he wants to force it. I wished he learned how to execute better.

”Translation: when Giannis decides he’s going downhill, the entire offense becomes a passenger."

Nine games into the new reality and Giannis is still Giannis — 27.3 points, 12.7 boards, 5.6 assists — while the Heat sit at 3-6. Meanwhile the Bucks, the team that finally blinked, are 1-9 and have dropped four straight heading into Friday’s date with Toronto.

As Paul Harvey would say, "Now you know the rest of the story."

#NBA #Giannis #Heat #Bucks #PlaybookCoffeeClub

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

THE NO.1 OVERALL NFL TRADE THIS DECADE

The Seattle Seahawks would not have won a Super Bowl without some smart in-season trades for veterans on both sides of the ball.
The 2025 Seahawks are represented well on the list of best in-season trades since 2020.

This year’s trade deadline is Tuesday, and there has already been a lot of action. Expect plenty more deals before next week, with teams hoping to acquire that one player who can push them into a Super Bowl.

Four my money the best trade in the league this decade has to be Christian McCaffrey, 2022, going from the Panthers to the 49ers.

This trade was so good for the 49ers, it's hard to remember McCaffrey as a member of the Panthers. The 49ers paid up for McCaffrey, sending draft picks in the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds for a back who at that point was dynamic but had played just 10 games the previous two seasons combined due to injuries.

It turned out to be a bargain for the 49ers.

Let me know what you think was the best trade ni the NFL this decade. I’ll be interested to hearing.

#NFL #CMAC #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

WE HARDLY KNEW YE, MIKE NORVELL

Paraphrasing Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wolken: The last time Florida State went hunting for a football coach, the job ranked among the top 15 in the country.

Serious names circled it—Lane Kiffin, James Franklin, and others who could pick their spots. When the Seminoles locked in on Mike Norvell after his Cotton Bowl run at Memphis, they had to outmuscle Arkansas and Ole Miss.

The brand still carried weight. Even after Jimbo Fisher’s messy exit and the Willie Taggart wreckage, Tallahassee was a place where the right man could contend for national titles.

That was seven years ago. Florida State is no longer an elite destination, and it hasn’t been since Bobby Bowden. Landing the hottest young coach is a long shot. Beating lower-tier SEC schools is no longer automatic.

The brand has slipped, the checkbook has slipped with it, and the Seminoles are about to find out what that costs.

Ending the Norvell era after Saturday’s 36-24 home loss to Clemson gives the fan base the relief it demanded.

The record against power-conference opponents—21 losses in the last 26 games—made the situation unrecoverable. It should never get that bad in Tallahassee. The next coach gets the simple benefit of a fresh start.

What fans should not expect is the same candidate pool. Industry sources say the financial picture is the biggest reason. Florida State is, for lack of a better term, kind of broke.

Early in the revenue-sharing and portal era the program had roughly $8 million, enough to sit in the top 15 or 20 nationally. Norvell used the portal aggressively, and the early results showed it. Then the spending stalled.

For the last three years Florida State has sat in the middle of the ACC pack on roster investment while the rest of the sport kept accelerating. The results followed.

The timing is favorable because the coaching market is still thin, giving the Seminoles room to make a solid hire without a dozen better jobs competing.

The larger truth is this: Florida State no longer commands the market. It must sell the next coach on the chance to rebuild something that used to sell itself. The days of outbidding Arkansas and Ole Miss are gone.

The next hire will be judged on whether he can turn the page and close the gap that opened when the money stopped keeping pace. In the current game, that is the only measuring stick that matters.

#FloridaState #Seminoles #MikeNorvell #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

TAKE A LOOK AT ME NOW

It was a game of shuffleboard for the AP Top 25 College Poll team last week.

Ohio State just got the boot from the AP Top 10 for the first time in five years, tumbling from No. 2 to No. 11 after a 30-18 loss at USC.

That’s four straight weeks the No. 1 or 2 team has dropped to an unranked opponent.

The Buckeyes hadn’t left the top 10 since September 2021. Eighty-six straight polls. Gone. They beat Akron by 52 earlier in the year and still sat outside the top 10 for a week.

Voters have long memories when the big dogs get bitten.

UCLA crashed the top five for the first time in 25 years. Bob Chesney’s Bruins are 8-0, their best start since 2005, after blanking Nevada. Highest ranking since they sat at No. 4 in 2001. Suddenly with a first-year coach, undefeated, and now in the conversation. Yes, its been quite a start for Chesney in Westwood this season.

New Mexico cracked the poll for the first time in program history at No. 22. First ranking since they started playing in 1892. Jason Eck’s Lobos are 7-1, their best start since 1982, and the only Mountain West team still unbeaten in conference play. Serious contender for the Group of 6 playoff spot.

Miami held the top spot for a third straight week after escaping North Carolina 38-35. The Canes have the look of a No. 1 team that is wobbling.

Georgia moved to No. 2. Utah, Notre Dame and UCLA round out the top five.

Indiana slipped to No. 6 after a gritty overtime win over Minnesota. BYU, Kentucky, Alabama and Texas complete the top 10. This is the last AP poll before the selection committee drops its first rankings tomorrow on Tuesday.

Miami grabbed 62 of the 70 first-place votes. Georgia took seven. Utah one. USC’s win over Ohio State was the biggest of Lincoln Riley’s tenure and shoved the Trojans right back into the playoff conversation at No. 18. Iowa returned at No. 21 after blanking Wisconsin.

South Carolina is ranked again after three straight wins; Shane Beamer’s seat cooled in a hurry. SMU’s playoff hopes are fading after a last-minute loss at Syracuse. Northwestern led into the fourth at Oregon and still came up empty. Oklahoma State handed Iowa State a short field on a personal foul and lost a 51-49 shootout. Luke Fickell is back on the hot seat after Wisconsin got blanked at Iowa.

Utah matched its highest ranking since 2015. Indiana owns the longest active top-10 streak at 22 weeks.
First-year coach, undefeated, and suddenly in the conversation. has lost three straight weeks for the first time since 2007.

The SEC leads with 10 ranked teams. The Big 12 and Big Ten have five each. The ACC has two. Notre Dame, Boise State and New Mexico are the rest.

Big games ahead: Miami at Notre Dame, same rankings as the 1988 “Catholics vs. Convicts” classic.
Georgia at Ole Miss, looking for payback from last year’s Sugar Bowl. BYU at Utah in a top-10 Holy War. Kentucky at Tennessee. Texas at Missouri. Alabama at LSU.

Yes. November is here.

Saturday still doesn’t care about your ranking from last week. It only cares about the final score.

#APTop25 #CFP #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

WOW!

Per the Playbook Football newsletter, at the half in the Ohio State-USC game and still no touchdowns in the Coliseum by the Buckeyes since 1949.

That's a might long time between drinks of water.

#Buckeyes #Trojans #BigTen #PlaybookSportsy

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

NFL WILD STAT OF THE WEEK

From this week's Coffee Club e-letter at: https://t.co/CPhnsgzOks

The Arizona Cardinals are 4-0 SU / ATS at the Cowboys home stadium since it opened in 2009.

It's no wonder Jerry Jones is not sleeping well this week.

#CoffeeClub #ArizonaCardinals #DallasCowboys #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

THE STATS DON’T LIE

So just how real are Jesse Legree’s Heisman chances?

Real enough to make the power-conference snobs highly uncomfortable.

The Oregon State freshman wide receiver is out there putting on a clinic that nobody else in the country can touch.

Through seven games he’s the only player in America with more than 1,000 receiving yards. He’s averaging better than 22 yards a catch while being tied for 20th in receptions, and he’s already got 14 touchdown grabs—two more than Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, the guy currently sitting as the betting favorite.

Smith is +110. Legree is 20-1 at BetMGM, the co-No. 4 favorite behind Smith, Miami’s Darian Mensah (+300) and Malachi Toney (+350).

Toney leads the nation with 66 catches. Fine. But Legree is doing what he’s doing on a completely different level of efficiency.

Drop those same numbers on a power-conference roster and Legree isn’t just in the conversation—he’s the clear-cut runaway favorite. Instead, the Heisman (and most of the major awards) keeps doing what it always does: it tilts hard toward the big-name conferences and the brand-name programs.

The numbers don’t lie. But the process still does.

If Oregon State were still in the old Pac-12, this kid would already be sitting near the top of every Heisman list. He’s not. That’s the reality.

No matter. The NFL draft doesn’t care what conference you played in. And on that stage, Legree is going to be impossible to ignore.

#JesseeLegree #JeremiahSmith #HeismanTrophy
#PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

SMALL BALL IS BACK:

The 2026 World Series is a full-throated celebration of everything small—and it’s about to deliver pure, unfiltered baseball theater.

The Rays and Brewers are the league’s model small-market outfits, sitting in the bottom half of MLB in both metro-area size and luxury-tax payroll. They also play small, and that’s exactly why they’re still standing when the big boys are already home.

Where’s the thunder? Nowhere. Unlike every other modern contender that lives and dies by the long ball, neither club leans on it.

Milwaukee finished with the third-fewest home runs in the sport. Tampa Bay ranked ninth-fewest. Even in their hottest stretches, neither team generated a league-average share of its runs via the home run. They simply refused to play that game.

So how do they score? Both ranked among the top 10 in offensive WAR despite the power shortage. Elite pitching and defense carried them this far, but the offenses went full old-school: singles, bunts, speed, and pure situational hitting. No shortcuts. Just relentless pressure.

Dig into the numbers, and the picture gets even clearer. Tampa Bay and Milwaukee finished first and second in both singles and infield hits. Rays outfielder Chandler Simpson led the majors with 61 infield hits—nearly 20 more than anyone else.

The bunt is back in a big way: the two teams combined for 82 sacrifice bunts and 81 more bunt hits, with Brewers infielder David Hamilton leading the entire league in both categories. Both clubs also ranked in the top 10 in contact rate, productive-out rate, advancing runners from second with nobody out, and driving runners home from third with fewer than two outs.

Speed is the common thread that ties it all together. Both teams ranked among the top five in the majors in average home-to-first time, turning routine grounders into infield hits and forcing every defender into a high-stakes decision. The wheels turn every at-bat into a threat.

Bottom line: A World Series built on singles, bunts, and productive outs might sound like something only the purest baseball diehards could love. Throw in a collection of speedsters flying around the bases, putting constant pressure on the defense, and turning every ground ball into an adventure, and you’ve got the kind of October baseball that reminds everyone why the game still works.

This is small-ball done right, and it’s going to be a blast to watch.

#MLB #WorldSeries #Brewers #Rays #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

WHAT WE LEARNED WEEK 6:

From today's daily Playbook Coffee Club: https://t.co/3WR2lXrOC7

While the Titans and the rest of the league’s walking wounded figure to be no threat for the Lombardi Trophy this season, a changing-of-the-guard theme is starting to poke its head out from several corners of the NFL.

It begins at the top. The defending champion Seattle Seahawks are already 3-3, matching their total losses from last year, and they could fall three full games behind the undefeated San Francisco 49ers.

The team that was supposed to be the clear No. 1 when the dust settled? The Los Angeles Rams. Not. They still have time to get right and make a run, and some of their earlier losses could be explained away. But losing at home to the Arizona Cardinals as heavy favorites isn’t fluky. That loss also detonated the CIRCA Survivor Contest, sending 901 of the 2,908 remaining entries packing — 31 percent of the field — in one fell swoop.

The Cardinals became the first team since 1932 to win their first two road games in the same stadium. Those are also the only two wins Arizona owns all season.

Combined with the Colts’ loss, more than 55 percent of the live contestants were wiped out on Black Sunday.

Friction in the Giants locker room followed Cam Skattebo's zero carries in Sunday’s loss to the Saints, a game he didn’t even start. He said John Harbaugh was punishing him for his disastrous Week 5 overtime fumble at Washington. Harbaugh said otherwise after another ugly loss. “I got punished for what I did (against Washington),” Skattebo told reporters. “I understand it, so I gotta be ready when coach calls my name, and that wasn’t today.” Don’t get fooled by J.J. McCarthy’s garbage-time numbers. He came off the bench and threw for 243 yards and a touchdown, but nearly all of it came after the Saints pulled most of their starters once they had built a 34-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

Speaking of the Saints, they’re scheduled to fly from the New York area to Paris for the NFL’s first regular-season game in France against the Steelers. That game is still on despite the country's current social unrest. Pittsburgh won the league’s first game in Dublin last year.

Technically, first place in the AFC North belongs to the Browns. Cleveland is 4-2, the same as Baltimore and Pittsburgh, but the Browns already have wins over both division rivals. Is it time for a changing of the guard with the Chargers? Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel is looking more and more like the dead fish in the water that he was in Miami.

In the end, Houston and Green Bay, two of the league’s slow starters, are back in business. The Texans have now won two straight to improve to 2-4. The Texans overcame an 0-2 start in 2023 to win the AFC South and dug out of an 0-3 hole last year to grab a wild card. Now they’re trying to join the 1992 San Diego Chargers as the only teams to reach the postseason after starting 0-4.

The Steelers’ 4-2 start puts them in a relative three-way tie atop the AFC North. Hold the call to the florist for Aaron Rodgers.

#NFL #Week6Review #PlaybokSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

THEY'RE FALLING LIKE DOMINOES

The team that was supposed to be the clear No. 1 when the dust settled?

The Los Angeles Rams.

Not.

They still have time to get it right and make a run, and they could explain away some of their earlier losses. But losing at home to the Arizona Cardinals as heavy favorites isn’t fluky.

That loss also detonated the CIRCA Survivor Contest, sending 901 of the 2,908 remaining entries packing — 31 percent of the field — in one fell swoop.

The Cardinals became the first team since 1932 to win their first two road games in the same stadium. Those are also the only two wins Arizona owns all season.

Combined with the Colts’ loss, more than 55 percent of the live Survivor contestants were wiped out on Black Sunday.

Turn out the lights. The party is over.

#CircaSurvivor #NFL #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

ALL SHOOK UP:

From today's Coffee Club e-letter...

College football just had a Saturday that left the sport looking like it got hit by a truck and then backed over.

The No. 1 team went down for the second week in a row. Five of the top seven teams lost.

Five. Of. The. Top. Seven.

That has never happened. Ever. Not in any season, any decade, any version of this game.

As a result, the rankings didn’t get shuffled — they got detonated.

AP voters walked in on Sunday with a blank page and fresh doubts. A season that already refused to make sense just doubled down.

Here’s the new order after the wreckage:
1. Miami (40)
2. BYU (20)
3. Ohio State (9)
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Indiana
7. Ole Miss
8. Texas Tech (1)
9. UCLA
10. Utah
11. Tennessee
12. Kentucky
13. Alabama
14. Houston
15. Iowa
16. USC
17. Wake Forest
18. LSU
19. Texas
20. Florida
21. Boise State
22. Missouri
23. SMU
24. Northwestern
25. Arizona

MOVIN’ ON UP
Miami at the top. Some voters wanted BYU there after the Notre Dame win, and the case was loud. The room still went with the Hurricanes. For at least one more week.

Who shot up: BYU (up 6). Took down the Irish in a street fight and stayed perfect. Big 12 title race is very much alive, and the Cougars just made everybody look.

Houston (up 6). Beat a ranked Oklahoma State and stayed relevant near the top of the Big 12. Next stop is undefeated Utah on the road. No soft landing.

Florida (up 12). The pollsters have been swinging hard with everything the Gators do. They beat Texas on the road and rocketed back into the rankings like they never left. Message received.

HIT THE HARDEST:

Texas (down 12). Biggest free fall on the board. Two straight losses and the playoff talk isn’t quieting — it’s gone. One more loss and the conversation ends.

Alabama (down 7). Second loss in a row. Ten points at Tennessee. The run game still looks soft up front, and the questions that started weeks ago just got meaner.

WE HARDLY KNEW YE
Oklahoma State (previously No. 18) and Mississippi State (previously No. 16) dropped out of the AP Top 25 this week.

These teams just lost their Top 25 membership. The voters watched the tape, checked the scoreboard, and kicked them out. The pretenders got exposed in real time.

Everyone still standing just got a clear reminder: this season doesn’t care about your name, your brand, or last week’s ranking.

It only cares about Saturday. And Saturday keeps winning.

#APTop25 #CoffeeClub #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

EVEN STEVEN

From a betting perspective, Week 5 was remarkably balanced in the NFL, especially on Sunday.

Seven favorites and seven underdogs covered; favorites went 7-7 and the dogs 7-7... if you scored the Bengals-Dolphins game at Cincinnati -7.5, the closing line. There were also 8 Overs and 6 Unders.

A tip of the hat to the oddsmakers who know how to set lines, especially in the NFL.

Here are other end results of the top five betting storylines for Week 6 of the NFL season:

RAMS STILL FAVORED

Monday night brought one of the season's most exciting games, when the Rams got off to a 2-3 start after losing to the Bills in overtime. You'd think that would drop their Super Bowl odds. Not so fast.

The Rams are still co-favored with the 49ers to win the Super Bowl at +700 odds.

The Rams' schedule gets easier, but they already trail the 49ers by three games in the NFC West. They have been one of the NFL's most disappointing teams so far, given what was expected. But the current market shows oddsmakers are unwilling to boost the Rams' odds, worried about exposure if they finally live up to the preseason hype.

EAGLES STILL FAVORED

The Eagles are 2-3, haven't looked good yet this season, and play immediately after a game in London. They're facing the Carolina Panthers, who are rested after a bye.

And yet the Eagles are still favored. It's not by much, which shows how the Eagles have slipped. They're 1.5-point favorites. That's also some respect for the Panthers, who are playing very well on offense and are 2-2 to start the season.

MANY SMALL ROAD FAVORITES
Week 6 could bring some interesting games. A half-dozen small road favorites that could make for interesting games.

#NFL #RAMS #ODDS #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

FSU AND MIKE NORVELL IN A NO-WIN SITUATION

This week’s PLAYBOOK Football Newsletter shares a stunning fact: Florida State is more than $430M in debt, complicating a potential $68M payout to part with football coach Mike Norvell and his staff. Most of the debt is facility-related, making it hard for FSU to take on more debt, meaning it can’t afford to fire him.

Buying him out would trigger a potential $68M payout to part with football coach Mike Norvell and his staff. Most of the debt is facility-related, making it difficult for FSU to take on more debt.

The Seminoles' 44-20 loss Oct. 9 at Louisville makes them 4-15 in conference play and 10-20 overall since winning the 2023 ACC championship game. The Seminoles seemed in control, up 14-0 and in the red zone in the second quarter. But the Cardinals came up with a fourth-down stop, scampered for a 97-yard touchdown on the next play, and sparked a run of 35 straight points.

The seat under Norvell has been piping hot since last season, and it didn't help matters that 2026 began with a lackluster performance against middling New Mexico State, four takeaways that still resulted in a home loss to SMU, and an early lead that the maligned defense coughed up at Alabama to the tune of a 50-point burger.

Fans have been ready to see him fired for some time, showing up for an easy win over Central Arkansas seemingly just to boo him.

#MIkeNorvell #FloridaState #Seminoles #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

A STEAL OR A CALCULATED GAMBLE?

When Texans coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade at the postgame podium Sunday—right after Houston clubbed the Titans—it stood out.

Those announcements rarely come with that much enthusiasm, and it was either the relief of a needed win or genuine belief they had just found real value.

Houston was the logical landing spot on paper. Wide receiver depth was an issue, and the CJ Stroud-Harrison connection from Ohio State is legitimate.

But anyone who has followed how Nick Caserio and Ryans build rosters knows this sits outside their normal pattern.

They place real weight on how players respond in adverse situations: effort when trailing, sideline engagement, and willingness to execute when the play isn't drawn up for them.

The Texans have long leaned into that identity—early-morning practices in the heat, the players they keep versus the ones they move—and the results have followed.

Their roster is constructed around competitive types who show up in those spots, whether quiet or vocal.

Harrison does not profile that way based on the available evidence from Arizona.

That is the crux of the deal. Either the Cardinals are moving a talented player who had checked out, giving Houston a clear edge, or the Texans are stepping away from their established standard to salvage the season.

History with these kinds of deviations is not kind to the middle ground. Teams either get the player they expected or absorb the cost of the mismatch.

One outcome moves the needle. The other does not. The tape supports the concern. Across his targets in 2025 and early 2026, there are enough instances where Harrison appears to give less than full effort, struggles against physical coverage, or loses contested situations at a higher rate than peers with comparable draft capital.

Those are patterns, not outliers. Whether it was scheme, circumstance, or something else, they'll now test it in a new setting with a quarterback he already knows.

We’ll see the results soon. Every trade deserves a careful look, but the evidence points to a binary result: Harrison either elevates and fits what Houston has built, or the Texans pay the price for prioritizing talent over the traits that have defined their approach.

Stop and think about that.

One path creates value. The other does not.

#NFL #MarvinHarrisonJr #Texans #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

BETCHA DIDN'T KNOW:

Kentucky just authored one of the rarest bounce-backs in college football history.

The Wildcats responded to a road win at South Carolina like few teams ever have—with a fourth-quarter rally that forced overtime and a one-point win.

Their reward? They were bounced from the AP Top 25, only the seventh team ever to win a game and still fall out of the poll.

Then they went to LSU and did it again. Same script. Overtime. Identical one-point margin. Walk-off two-point conversion.

First team in FBS history (overtime era) to win consecutive games by a single point in extra time.

Five of the previous seven teams that won a game and dropped out of the AP Top 25 managed to win their next outing.

Kentucky just joined that short list — and did it in the most precise way possible.

Well done, Wildcats. Well done.

#NCAA #Kentucky #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

NOT SO SUPER

From Issue 8 of the Best Football Newsletter on the Planet, the Playbook, here's a morsel you probably didn’t know.

Every Super Bowl team since the 2021 season, AKA the 17-game era, was at least 4-2 after 6 games.

The records shown below for Super Bowl teams were each after 6 games:

• 6-0: 2 (2022 Eagles, 2024 Chiefs).
• 5-1: 3 (2021 Rams, 2023 Chiefs, 2023 49ers).
• 4-2: 5 (2021 Bengals, 2022 Chiefs, 2024 Eagles, 2025 Seahawks, 2025 Patriots).

That’s bad news for the Chargers, Cowboys, Eagles, and Texans, all of whom had more than 9 preseason projected wins.

#NFL #SuperBowl #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

THE SKINNY ON MIKE DITKA

Today’s stars can race past linebackers, outleap safeties for the ball, then turn around and help clear a hole in the running game.

Mike Ditka was doing all three before the position became a headline act.

The football legend, who died Friday at 86, helped fuse two seemingly separate jobs into one. The formula later made stars of Rob Gronkowski, George Kittle and Travis Kelce.

At Pitt, from 1958 through 1960, Ditka played in a run-first offense that threw the ball just over 25 percent of the time. When the Panthers did pass, Ditka was the first call. He led the team in receptions and receiving yards in all three seasons, finishing his college career with 45 catches for 730 yards and seven touchdowns.

He was also a standout defensive end—some believed that was his best position—and served as Pitt’s punter. Teammate Foge Fazio, who later coached the Panthers, compared Ditka to a prizefighter who “couldn’t wait for that bell to ring and get back out there.”

Ditka put it more simply: “I like contact. I just like to hit. And I don’t mind getting hit myself. You can get hit and knocked down and go back and hit the other guy harder.”

That was Mike Ditka. Even after retirement, he could bring a room to its feet as a motivational speaker.

I saw it firsthand at the 2001 BoDog Conference in Las Vegas, where I had the honor of speaking.

After Ditka’s inspiring talk, he took questions.

I quickly put him on the defensive when, as head coach of the New Orleans Saints, I asked what prompted him to trade eight draft picks to move up and select Ricky Williams with the fifth overall pick.

Williams was a stud running back—and a well-known marijuana user. Ditka’s answer was convincing enough to win over most of the attendees.

Later that night, at Club Rio, where Calvin Ayre had booked the entire nightclub for the BoDog party, I spotted Ditka sitting in a chair, rolling a cigar. I went over to introduce myself.

His opening line: “What the f---? You had to put me on the spot and ask me about Ricky Williams?”

I told him he handled the question like only Mike Ditka could. His anger quickly turned to a nodding smile.

“Yeah,” he said. “I guess I did.”

Ditka’s No. 89 is one of only 11 numbers Pitt has retired, a program that has produced an impressive roll call of football greats, including Dan Marino, Larry Fitzgerald, Tony Dorsett, and Aaron Donald.

I’ll never meet another Mike Ditka in my life. For that, I’m thrilled I got to meet the real McCoy.

#MikeDitka #ChicagoBears #NFL #PlaybookSports

[Marc Lawrence @MarcLawrence]

JUSTIN TIME

It’s almost criminal — Justin Herbert has stacked up monster stats, Pro Bowls, and highlight-reel heroics for years… yet he still hasn’t tasted a single playoff victory.

That drought ends in 2026. Last season looked like a springboard — until the Chargers face-planted with a brutal 0-3 straight-up and against-the-spread collapse to close the year.

But don’t let that final stumble fool you. This squad has the horses, the scheme, and the swagger to flip the script. Bolt up—it's Week 5, and lightning is about to strike for the winless Chargers.

This is from the 2026 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine. Click here for PDF view: https://t.co/H26VMs9x6e

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