Once again, I didn’t get this done until Friday.  I have been doing too much driving in terrible traffic!

My favorite players the week were…

Offense

This week there was an argument that the best way to improve a Jets quarterback’s play was to send him to another team.

I only picked quarterbacks this week, but I’m sure it will be different next week.

Sam Darnold Vikings quarterback

When the Jets gave up on Darnold he seemed to be broken.  He was with the Carolina Panthers for 2 years & then Kyle Shanahan gave him an opportunity to compete for the backup role in San Francisco last year.  He won that job & learned a lot there.  This led to him being the 2^nd team quarterback with the Vikings this year until J. J. McCarthy was injured during the preseason.  That put Darnold in the unexpected position of starter.

Against the 49ers, he threw for 268 yards, 2 touchdowns & a 109.1 passer rating.  He threw a beautiful bomb to Justin Jefferson for a 97-yard score that really flipped the game around.  I would never have expected a play like that when he was with the Jets.  I would have expected a safety or a pick 6.  Then with 7:41 left in the game he hit Jalen Nailor for a 26-yard gain that allowed the Vikings to kick a field goal & essentially clinch the game.  It was a clutch play.  Michael Silver quoted Darnold in the San Francisco Chronicle “They were showing man and bluffing zone.” “I worked against those guys all last year in training camp and saw that a lot. I was ready.”

Geno Smith Seahawks quarterback

Former Jets quarterback Geno Smith also delivered on Sunday.  He passed for 327 yards with 1 touchdown & a 103.1 passer rating.  What impressed me the most was how clutch he was.  He always seemed to get rid of the ball just in time or tuck the ball & run.  It wasn’t a dominant performance, but he made very few mistakes against a defense that looked very good (until Thursday).

Maybe there’s hope for Zach Wilson after all!

Kyler Murray Cardinals quarterback

Murray completed 17 of 21 passes for 266 yards & 3 touchdowns for a “perfect” 158.3 passer rating against the Rams.  The Rams have some injury issues but should still be a solid defensive team.  The Cardinals tore them up in the 41-10 victory.

Defense

Maxx Crosby Raiders Defensive End

Crosby was fantastic as usual in the 26-23 win over the Ravens.  He had 6 tackles (5 solo) with 4 of them for a loss including 2 sacks of Lamar Jackson, who is tough to sack.  He also had a pass breakup.  His 4^th quarter sack of Jackson for a 9-yard loss was a game changer.  It was a huge part of their comeback from 10 points down to win.

Aiden Hutchison Lions

The Lions lost, but Hutchison did everything he could.  He had 4.5 sacks on Baker Mayfield, who is a mobile quarterback.  That was the second most in a single game in Lions’ history.  He became the 4^th player in NFL history to record a 3-sack or more game in each of his first 3 seasons, joining Jevon Kearse, Justin Houston, & Reggie White!

Fred Warner 49ers linebacker

Warner’s effort also came during a loss, but that doesn’t take away from how well he played.  He intercepted Darnold on a big play.  Then he had an even bigger play with a forced fumble from Aaron Jones that saved a touchdown at the goal line. He finished the day with 9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, & 2 pass breakups on top of the interception & forced fumble.  He was dominant.

Jessie Bates Falcons safety

Bates intercepted Jalen Hurts with 30 seconds left in the game to seal the victory over the Eagles.  He also had 12 tackles, 2 pass breakups, & 1 tackle for a loss.  It was an exceptional all-around game for the versatile safety.

Special teams

Austin Seibert Commanders kicker

Seibert was a free agent until the Commanders cut Cade York after their 1^st game of the season when he missed 2 field goals.  They signed Seibert in hopes of improving their kicking game.  They should be pleased with the results.  He kicked a franchise record 7 field goals to win the game against the Giants 21-18.  His final kick came with no time left on the clock. This was the 2^nd time in NFL history that a team won after giving up 3 touchdowns without scoring any touchdowns.

Ka’imi Fairbairn Texans kicker

Watching the Texans the last 2 weeks, I felt like they were in scoring position any time they crossed the 50-yard line.  Fairbairn has been that good recently.  He hit all 4 attempts with kicks of 56, 47, 59 and 53 yards. He became the first player in league history with 6 50+ yard field goals in a 2-game span.  He is now the only kicker in NFL history to have multiple games with 3 50+ field goals.

My favorite wine of the week is…

Inniskillin Cabernet Franc Icewine 2022 $100 (375ml) Niagara Peninsula VQA Canada

100% Cabernet Franc

I was lucky enough to attend an Ice Wine Masterclass with Randy Dufour from Inniskillin Winery at the Napa Valley Wine Academy.  We tasted the Riesling Icewine, 3 Vidal Icewines (traditional, lightly oaked, & sparkling), & the Cab Franc.  They were all fantastic & I almost wrote about the sparkling Vidal Icewine, which I hadn’t tried prior to this.  The Cab Franc was just too cool though.  I had only tried it once before in Dusseldorf at Pro Wein in 2023.  I never seem to see it in California.  That’s not surprising since it is only 2% of their production.  The Cabernet Franc was just so unusual & interesting that it had to be my choice. 

For those unfamiliar with Icewine (or Eiswein as it is called in Europe), here are a few facts…

It is made from frozen grapes.  In Canada or the EU, it can only be made with grapes that have naturally frozen on the vine.  It isn’t just a little frozen either.  Inniskillin doesn’t pick until the temperature is -10C/14F.

Since the majority of a grape is usually water, Icewine provides a much lower yield than grapes for traditional table wine, only 8-10% what would normally be expected.  It takes about 10.2 pounds of grapes to make a bottle of Icewine!

Traditionally frozen grapes were picked during the night by workers wearing gloves so that their body heat wouldn’t warm the grapes.  Now most of the grapes are machine harvested.  They don’t have to worry about damaging the grapes because they are frozen so hard. Randy said they were hard as marbles & will bounce if you throw them against the floor.

The grapes are pressed with a portable basket press in the field to keep them frozen (pneumatic with a bladder).  It is a hard press to extract the tiny amount of unfrozen juice remaining in the grape.  They can press thousands of pounds per square inch (PSI) & take 3.5 hours before they start getting much juice flowing.

After pressing the juice is transferred into stainless steel tanks in the winery & the juice is warmed up for fermentation.  It takes at least 3 weeks to ferment due to the high sugar content.  Fermentation is stopped when the alcohol level hits 9.5%.  They feel that it can show volatile acidity at anything over 10%.

The result is a delicious, pure fruit with high residual sugar (RS) 263.8 g/l for the Cab Franc & high acidity. The Cabernet Franc has 9.7 g/l of acidity & a low PH of 3.29.

The wines will generally last 30+ years.

The 2022 Cabernet Franc Icewine I tried was lovely.  It was a little higher in RS than the other 3, but the high acidity kept it from being too syrupy, although it would probably taste good poured over vanilla ice cream like syrup.  It showed complex & intense flavors with cherry, strawberry, & classic Cab Franc notes of tea & a hint of tobacco leaf.  As the wine sat, the cherry notes became deeper & more luscious.

The traditional pairing for this wine is with chocolate, either dark chocolate or chocolate-based desserts.  I think it would also pair well with pâte.

These are all tasty wines & all of them are worth a try.  If you come across the Cabernet Franc Icewine, I highly recommend it.