We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Every week in the NFL brings with it a host of impossible stories that make listening even more compelling. What happened to new Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs on Sunday is more than an impossible story, but falls into the realm of the paranormal.
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The term is appropriate to describe an almost otherworldly performance from the center, acquired just five days earlier in a trade with the Cardinals.
Having just arrived, Dobbs had to settle for a reserve role while Jaren Hall held down the fort in the absence of Kirk Cousins. He had to slowly become familiar with the place, his new teammates, the playbook and everything else.
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However, things don’t always go according to plan in the NFL.
Plan A with Cousins is now ruled out for the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles tendon. Plan B was scrapped after 13 minutes when Hall suffered a concussion. Plan C, throwing Dobbs into the fray in unfamiliar territory and getting a little familiar with the offensive system, was heresy.
But if that’s the only plan left, you might as well turn to an aerospace engineering graduate to try and save your season!
Unexpected performance
congratulations @josh_dobbs1 Our big win from yesterday! Looks like you rock on and off the field. We heard you even have a new nickname: “Passtronaut.” If the suit fits, wear it.🚀 pic.twitter.com/Pah3MuQsWs
— NASA Glenn Research Center (@NASAglenn) November 6, 2023
That’s good, because Dobbs is a graduate of the field and even completed an internship at NASA as part of his studies. Let’s assume that after that, even the considerable thickness of a notebook with offensive plays would no longer intimidate him!
Not only did Dobbs allow the Vikings to win in extremis against the Falcons, but he did so by throwing two touchdown passes, adding another major on the ground (7 carries for 66 yards) and completing 20 of his 30 passes.
And all of this without having to accept even the slightest handoff from center Garrett Bradbury in practice. Without being able to throw a single pass to his new receivers over the course of the week. Without having the slightest idea of the plays being called, to the point where some teammates in the middle of the huddle told him where they would be on the field a few seconds later.
Hurled into space like a probe, Dobbs floated weightlessly above the fray, deciphering complex codes as he went.
A nice resilience
Getty Images via AFP
Much more than his extraordinary studies or his unexpected counterpart, this Dobbs is, above all, a praise for his resilience.
He was selected in the fourth round by the Steelers in 2017 and had to wait six years for his first action. To that end, he was first released by the Steelers, hired by the Jaguars, released by them, rehired by the Steelers, and then signed by the Browns.
After his release, he only spent some time in Detroit, then got his first chance with the Titans last December, eight days after joining the team.
The Browns brought him back in the offseason before trading him to the Cardinals 17 days before the current season. The latter passed it on to the desperate Vikings in the middle of Halloween.
For those keeping count, the Vikings are Dobbs’ fifth team in 12 months.
After wandering left and right like an unidentified flying object, the wanderer of the stratosphere finally deserves this umpteenth landing to be the right one.
Realistically, everything indicates that Joshua Dobbs, a quarterback whose talent remains limited, will return to orbit sooner or later. Right now, though, the Vikings could really use him as their lucky star, even if he’s a shooting star.
- MY PREDICTION FOR THURSDAY: Panthers 19 Bears 22
THE NFL IN BRIEF…
A true spirit
AFP
The Cowboys made a splash when they signed wide receiver Martavis Bryant to their practice squad. At 31, the Steelers’ 2014 fourth-round pick is attempting a comeback after more than four years out of the NFL. He is known for his ability to make long plays, but was suspended for four games in 2015 and then the entire 2016 season for anti-doping policy violations. In 2018, he was traded to the Raiders, where he was suspended again. He even tried to revive his CFL career in 2021 and 2022 with Toronto and Edmonton before joining the Vegas Vipers in the XFL last season.
Heading for a Rodgers return?
Getty Images via AFP
Since suffering a torn Achilles tendon in Week 1, Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers has said he wants to return to action before the end of the season – a very ambitious plan. On Monday night, videos of him walking to the stadium without limping in the slightest and throwing long passes during warm-ups caused a stir online. After the game, he also told the Chargers safety that he needed to give him “a few more weeks.” The next day he hit the brakes and said he “started it as a joke.” In short, the mystery surrounding his potential return to play remains with the Jets struggling offensively.
International plans
AFP
According to Peter King of Pro Football Talk, the NFL is playing another game in Germany on Sunday and it appears that this is far from the end of its international expansion. In the coming season, the league wants to play a game in Spain or Brazil in addition to London and Munich. She would also have plans for Paris in 2025 or later, not to mention Dublin, Ireland. In the longer term, there is also interest in Australia and New Zealand. And what about us in all this? Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver have already been mentioned by the league as potential cities.