Still Fly | ‘24 NFL Draft | College Hoops Top 25 | Jets Falcons | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Since we’re waiting until next April to listen to Nothing Was The Same front to back, we’ll dive into some random features from Drake’s catalog. Today’s is “I’m Still Fly” by Big Page featuring Drake. This tune came out in January of ‘09 so it is a rare pre-So Far Gone album Drake that Zuck just so happened to have on his Instagram playlist.
Drake and Big Page had a falling out in ‘10 that included “Drake’s bodyguard taking a swing at Page’s manager and hit his beer bottle.” (The Boombox) Jeez, fellas, I hope no good Guinness was spilled. The incident took place at a Chris Bosh birthday bash in Toronto while he was still playing for the Raptors, pre-Big 3 Era.
Last week on The Ride, Drake mentioned stealing his mother’s debit card so he “can maintain an image and ride around in overpriced rental cars that ain’t tinted.” The phantom rapped about in the chorus may have been one of the rental cars. This is the kind of investigative journalism you’ll find at Week to Week Notes.
This song is so old that it was cool for Mr. Big Page to have lyrics about New York Jets flying. I miss the fat Rex Ryan days.
On to the sports…
These numerical rankings are subject to change. After today, we’ve profiled 155 College Football players, which would nearly cover the 1st 5 Rounds of the NFL Draft. I got all 155 players' profiles saved on a draft that I promise I won’t send you (it’s a 172-minute read and still growing), but just for context the Mel Kiper’s of the world cover anywhere from 250 to 300 prospects, so I still got a ways to go. Eventually, the plan is to start making Mock Drafts with NFL teams once the draft order is more finite.
Edgerrin Cooper is from Covington, Louisiana. A 4-star recruit coming out of high school, Cooper played mostly special teams during his freshman year with the Aggies. In ‘21, despite only making 1 start, Cooper was 4th on the team in tackles with 58. Last season, the 4th year linebacker had 61 more tackles and had a career-high 5 passes defended. This season Cooper has broken out on the stat sheet as he has had 83 tackles and a whopping 8 sacks. Cooper has displayed this season that he can blitz the passer at an elite level while also being solid in coverage. Not only can the hard-hitting LB be an asset in pass defense, but PFF College gave him an 87.8 Defensive Run Grade in the ‘23 season.
Ja’Lynn Polk is from Lufkin, Texas, the home of other NFL WRs such as Dez Bryant and Keke Coutee. As a true freshman, Polk played at Texas Tech where he flashed with 28 catches and 2 scores. He transferred to Washington after ‘20 but was only able to play 3 games with the Huskies in his first season due to injury. In ‘22, Polk had 41 catches for 694 yards and 6 TDs, a very solid season that he was able to improve upon this year. The 4th year WR solidified himself as WR2 on Washington as he has caught 60 passes for 1,000 yards and 8 TDs. Polk has made quite a few difficult contested catches this season and has the potential a very good WR2 in the NFL.
Roman Wilson is from Maui, Hawaii. Wilson has partnered with Ann Arbor’s Drip House to assist relief efforts in Maui from wildfires. He added his own Maui Mocha latte and the Wolverine Spam sandwich to the menu, with 50% of each item sold directed to Aloha United. In ‘20 as a freshman, Wilson got a bit of playing time in 6 games. In ‘21, he got his first starts, caught 25 passes, and scored 2 TDs. In ‘22 as a junior, Wilson again caught 25 passes for 376 yards and this time 4 TDs. This past season has been Roman Wilson’s best statistical year as he has had 41 catches for 662 yards and 11 TDs. This earned Wilson 2nd Team Big-Ten honors. While he may never be a WR1 in the NFL, Wilson is a very physical WR who is great at blocking and has shown this year that he has real pass-catching ability too.
Storm Duck is from Boiling Springs, South Carolina. Coming out of high school, Duck was viewed as a 3-star prospect and was listed as the #15 player in the state of South Carolina. Duck chose to play for the UNC Tar Heels, where he played for 4 years. In ‘19 as a freshman, he impressively made 9 starts and had 2 INTs. Duck was only able to play in 2 games in ‘20, as he suffered an injury, but he came back in ‘21 to make 4 starts. Last season in ‘22, Storm Duck was named Second-Team All-ACC as he made 12 starts posting 46 tackles 3 INTs, and 9 PBU. Storm Duck then decided to fly to Louisville for his redshirt senior season and he just registered his 1st career sack in his last career collegiate game.
Jackson Powers-Johnson is from Draper, Utah, where he won 3 state championships playing on both sides of the line of scrimmage. As a freshman in ‘21, JPJ came off the bench to play in 11 games on the offensive line before actually transitioning to defense in preparation for the Valero Alamo Bowl. Last year as a sophomore, Powers-Johnson earned his first career starts as he made 12 of them all over the offensive line. He played over 400 snaps for the Ducks including 350 snaps at right guard, 44 at center, five at right tackle, and one at left guard. PFF College gave JPJ an 84.1 overall grade, an 86.2 pass-blocking grade, and an 84.7 run-blocking grade for his sophomore season. This past season, JPJ played center for the Ducks and was twice named the PAC-12’s Offensive Lineman of the Week. He got on the Week to Week Notes radar when he recovered a fumble on Friday night and scored a TD (in the GIF). Unfortunately, the TD didn’t count but for a brief moment, JPJ had himself a TD celebration.
Caleb Love is from St. Louis, Missouri, where he was named the ‘20 Gatorade Player of the Year for his home state. In high school, Love was a 5-star recruit who in ‘20 played in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic, and the Iverson Classic. Initially, out of high school, Caleb Love picked UNC as his college. He immediately started as a freshman for the Tar Heels averaging 10.5 points and 3.6 assists per game while being named to the ACC All-Freshman team in ‘21. In his sophomore season, Love played a big role in the Tar Heels’ March Madness tournament run, including scoring 22 second-half points to beat Duke while ending Coach K’s career. Last year was the combo guard’s final year at UNC as he scored 16.7 per game while being an honorable mention on the All-ACC team in back-to-back years. This year Caleb Love transferred to Arizona. The senior leads the team in points (13.8) and assists (4.4). When Arizona beat Duke earlier in the season, Love proclaimed “I’m a Tar Heel for life” so it must’ve been nice knocking down 4 clutch free throws down the stretch in Cameron Indoor Arena.
LJ Cryer is from Katy, Texas, which is only about a half-hour west of Houston. He played his high school basketball there at Ranch Morton High where he scored 3,488 points - the 5th most ever by any player in Texas public high school. Out of high school, Cryer originally went to Baylor University. In his sophomore season at Baylor, he averaged 13.5 points per game while coming off the bench. Last year for the Bears, Cryer was a starter who averaged 15 points per game while shooting 41.5% from deep. This past season Cryer transferred to Houston and has the Cougars a perfect 8-0 to start the season. Now with Houston, Cryer is averaging a career-high 17.8 points per game and is playing at an All-American level.
Johnell Davis is from Gary, Indiana, where in high school he averaged 25 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.4 steals, and 3.2 assists per game as a senior. Davis (not related if you’re wondering) played a pivotal role in FAU’s March Madness Tournament last spring. Last year, he won the 6th Man of the Year and was All-C-USA First Team as he averaged 13.8 and 5.4 rebounds per game off the bench. Davis is great off the drive with some very nice finishing ability around the rim. The 6’4” junior guard is now a starter for the Owls and has picked right up from where his game was last during his March Madness hot streak. So far this season, Johnell Davis has improved his 3 point shot, now shooting at a career-high clip of 45%.
Spencer Johnson is from American Fork, Utah. His hometown produces all the forks of the United States. Nah, kidding, but it did host Kevin Bacon for a few scenes when he made Footloose. The junior guard played at Weber State and Salt Lake Community College before joining the Cougars. He also served on a mission retreat and got married. Wow, busy guy. Johnson is in his 4th season with the Cougars’ program after cracking the starting lineup for the team last year. Last year, Johnson averaged 11.6 points per game with 46.1% 3-point shooting. This season he has taken on more ball-handling responsibilities and leads the team in assists with 5.4 to go along with his 12.4 points per game.
Otega Oweh is from Somerset, New Jersey. His older brother Odafe Oweh plays linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. In high school, Otega played for Blair Academy in Northwest New Jersey where he was a 4-star prospect and broke out his sophomore season averaging 14.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 1.9 assists per game. Oweh last season was a freshman for the Sooners who came off the bench as he averaged 4.8 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. This season, Oweh has stepped into the Sooners’ starring role as he leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. The NJ product has not only turned up his game to another level on offense, but he also averages 2.3 steals per game on defense.
Notes Nobody Asked For
Jets vs Falcons (Week 13, ‘23)
Pregame
- Rainy and cold Sunday in the Tri-State. I love it. This is going to be a game where the Jets win an ugly one and Coach Saleh calls it a great “culture” win, but it’s going to make me sick to my stomach when they miss out on drafting Marvin Harvison Jr. in April.
1st Quarter
- Injuries to Jets’ TE CJ Uzomah and Falcons’ S AJ Terrell on back-to-back plays. Of course, I hope they are okay, but this is a lot of TV commercial breaks.
- Jets QB Tim Boyle has a chance to take a deep shot on play action and he throws the ball away to the sideline.
- The Jets special teams downs a punt inside the 3-yard line. Nice job fellas. The Jets’ defense then proceeds to get a safety on Bijan Robinson who gets tackled by Ashtyn Davis (not related if you’re wondering). 2-0 NYJ.
- The FOX broadcasters just said that the Jets have scored more 1st Quarter safeties this season than TDs. Yup, that sounds about right.
2nd Quarter
- Dalvin Cook fumbles the ball. Cook is so cooked. What a terrible signing.
- The Falcons score a TD. 7-2 ATL. Shout out to Falcons’ kicker, Younghoe Koe, from Ridgewood, New Jersey. One of my good friends from college played travel soccer with him growing up and said he was an insanely great player.
- The Jets get a FG of their own. 7-5 ATL. Then DJ Reed gets an interception on a nice play.
- I guess the Falcons kicked another field goal, it was 10-5 ATL at the half.
3rd Quarter
- On the first play of the 2nd half, Boyle hits Garrett Wilson 30 yards downfield on a play-action pass. Look at that, they threw it downfield. Wow.
- Garrett Wilson makes another great effort on a catch that won’t count because he only got 1 foot in bounds.
- The Jets can’t score TDs so they kick another field goal making the score 10-8 ATL.
- CB Sauce Gardner makes a nice tackle for loss on RB Bijan Robinson. Atlanta still scores a FG on the drive 13-8 ATL.
- Tim Boyle throws one of the easiest interceptions I’ve ever seen. Holy hell.
4th Quarter
- Tim Boyle has now been benched. Yikes.
- I just had 3 Beef and Bean Burritos with a Caesar Salad for dinner. It's kind of an odd combo but it did the job.
- The Atlanta Falcons are an awful football team. The NFC South is such a joke division if they are in 2nd place.
- The game ends with Trevor Siemian getting sacked on 4th & 17. How did we get here?
- At this point, I’m sorta happy that they lost, but I feel bad for any Jets fan who sat in the ran and watched that.