The Sportsletter - Any Given Sunday ☠️

🏈 ANY GIVEN SUNDAY 🏈

BY JEFF YODER'S ALTER EGO

SEPT. 10, 2023 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Welcome to "Any Given Sunday" 🏈 

Thought you knew The Sportsletter? Try again. ☠️

  SUNDAY SPECIAL  

The Sportsletter’s Sunday Column (“Any Given Sunday”) is back for the NFL season with unique and exclusive content over the next 18 weeks. Today, we’re sending the Sunday edition to our full list of subscribers so you can get a sneak peek of what it's all about. By next week, it’ll return to exclusive content featuring:

• NFL Sunday Column (Any Given Sunday)
• Fantasy Football Rankings
• The Underdog
• Sunday NFL Schedule

How to Get It: In order to get the Sunday newsletter moving forward, simply share The Sportsletter with 3 friends or make a donation to The Team.

  PICKS  

The Sportsletter's NFL Pick 'Em (Week 1)

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🏈 Play The Sportsletter’s NFL Pick ‘Em (Week 1)

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  COLUMN   

Any Given Sunday ☠️

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

The Sportsletter's New Sunday Column is Bringing the Smoke 💨

(By The Sportsletter's Alter Ego)

Clean. Informative. Professional.

These are all words I've heard from readers when they tell me what they think of The Sportsletter. And don't get me wrong, I'm honored. We strive for those straight-laced, buttoned-up accolades. But for the next 18 weeks, our Sunday column will be... not that.

Let’s take a poll: Show of hands, who has a favorite NFL team? 👋

Duh. Of course you do. So easily roped in. How many actually raised your hand? Were you preparing to click on a team name?

We’ll save the poll until the reading is done. That’s how this works (I’m in control, and I'm making a point). But isn’t it fascinating? How I just triggered a movement of thought and action through your screen? For most of my career, I climbed the ladder of sports media because of that ability. Not persuasion or pandering to an agenda (I have no agenda -- agenda free!), but rather the ability to transcend time and space. It’s a superpower, really. I’m special. Something I wrote days in advance somehow impacts you in the present, from miles and miles away. Maybe even across oceans and time zones. Magic! That's why I stopped climbing that ladder. I'd rather build my own mountain instead.

If you can’t tell by now, I’m releasing my alter ego.

Truth is, I have no power over you. Nor do I want any. The relationship between sports and media is a double-edged sword. Players and coaches hate the media because of that power. One wrong step, and they'll destroy you. Fans often hate the media narratives, but sadly, you need us to deliver your news and rile you up. Ah, sweet control. 💪

About 99.9% of the time, I write The Sportsletter with as little bias, opinion and fluff as possible. That’s our approach. It’s short and succinct, straight to the facts with bullets and links sending you to the ideal landing spots across the ridiculously wide world of the internet. We avoid most controversial topics and opinions while I relegate my own narrative to the basement of my subconscious mind. It's an attempt to protect (and project) sanity in a world of complete media nonsense. Nonsense like... this. But apparently, this works? We'll find out.

I know what I am Monday-Friday. I watch daytime sports TV and scour everything on the internet to curate your precious little sports digest, filtering through the chaos so you don't have to waste time. Then, I do it again at night and stay up late like the nerdy sportswriting version of Batman. You're welcome, by the way. After all, you have kids, businesses, responsibilities. I just sacrifice sleep. So we have a nice little thing going, you and me. Some of you read me with your morning coffee. Others while commuting to work on the subway. Many of you while on the toilet (please stop telling me that!). Intimate? Sure. Flattering? No. Our relationship is quite strange.

Even so, I would go to war for this integrity play I made five years ago; to create a safe and fun sports community free from the tyranny of screaming voices and political personalities. No, I don't want to be the next Collin Cowherd. Stop asking me to do a podcast. I don't want to write about your sidebar stories or anything that isn't directly related to mainstream sports. I don't care about changing your mind on a particular topic. And I don't have any interest in how you vote, your race, religion, or sexual preference. I don't want to go woke virtue-signaling or diving into conspiracy-theory rabbit-holes. I just want to be real. I think we all do.

And while I love our avoidant, non-confrontational approach, free from big media agendas, I’ve been keeping myself (my sportswriter’s alter ego) sitting on the sideline.

My alter ego doesn’t like it here.

That “traditional journalism” approach to the sports news page will continue Monday-Friday, the same way it has for five years since The Sportsletter began (Sept. 4, 2018). I like to think it’s incorruptible. It’s timeless. No mess. Just a few minutes each morning to tell you what happened while I hold a clipboard on the bench and take notes. And I’m an expert note-taker. You pay nothing. I live the dream. Everybody wins. But every now and then, that guy on the sideline (this sarcastic, wannabe witty alter ego) needs to play some downs.

Picture your run-of-the-mill backup QB with a headset and a call-sheet. He’s watching. He’s recording. He plays his part. But he’s not the one getting booed by angry fans (or being cheered as the hero). He’s not scrambling from the pocket with monsters breathing down his neck. He puts little at risk, and thus, he gains little in return. Maybe he wins the sportsmanship award (I've gotten plenty of those), but no MVPs. Because, alas, he plays it safe.

That’s been me (us, we, The Team, all of us at The Sportsletter) through five years of growing a media company from scratch. It's been a fun ride, but we’re the definition of the sportsmanship award. We're the team player. The scout team QB. Always doing our job, but rarely mixing it up with the big boys. On weekdays, we study the opponent — those over-inflated, owned media operations that give microphones to people who drive traffic with their hyperbole — and then, we create a game plan to conquer.

For five years, we’ve been efficient. Some check-downs here, some RPOs there. Our offense against this giant machine has no doubt moved the chains during that time (our six-figure subscriber count is proof). But it’s time for us to play ball. After all, anybody can beat anybody, and that's the beauty of...

“Any Given Sunday”

For the next 18 weeks, our Sunday Newsletter will be a place where the cut-and-dry version of The Sportsletter puts down the headset and picks up the helmet. Monday-Friday, we'll don the suit and tie and play the part of Bruce Wayne. Come Sunday, it's the Batmobile and vigilante journalism. It’s the season for a weekly NFL column that might ruffle some feathers. Satire and sarcasm. Hot takes and great debates. Honestly, it's time to hit some people.

Am I nervous? Weekday me is nervous. But my alter ego? He's been training for this. He feels like Aaron Rodgers circa 2008 after sitting behind Brett Favre for years. Young A-Rod was a team player, but his alter ego won a Super Bowl and three MVPs.

My alter ego has been handing water to the big guns for too long, carefully filtering their news links into a bottle of ice-cold efficiency. I can hear that waterboy screaming: "Put me in coach!" The Sportsletter has a new playbook for Sundays, and it might shock you. In fact, he (the alter ego) hopes it does.

When I was in college, I had a column in the school newspaper called "The Waterboy." It was based on a similar concept, and it won multiple national SPJ awards (Society of Professional Journalism). Let's see how it plays to a much bigger audience, shall we?

Our typical content will remain untouched and uncorrupted on weekdays (safe from the drama and nonsense). But “Any Given Sunday”? Pads on, people. My alter ego is running out of the tunnel, and I don't think I can stop him...

Let's have some fun and enjoy some football. You've earned it, team.

Insincerely,

-- The Alter Ego

Upcoming "Any Given Sunday" Schedule

• Week 2 (Sept. 17): 1st Down: Early Overreactions & Opinions
• Week 3 (Sept. 24): Zero Blitz: QBs With Early Retirement Plans
• Week 4 (Oct. 1): Punt: Special Guest Interview (?)
• Week 5 (Oct. 8): Hot Seat: Coaches Who Are Sweating After Month 1

*Content Schedule Subject to Change

How Do I Get “Any Given Sunday”?

It’s simple. You can make a donation to The Team (large or small, one-time or monthly), or use your referral link to share The Sportsletter. If 3 people sign-up using your link, you’ll be automatically added to the Sunday list.

Week 1 is here. Don’t forget to play The Sportsletter’s NFL Pick ‘Em for a chance to win some cash and bragging rights (because why not?). We’ll see you back here next Sunday for some no-holding-back football thoughts.

Who's Your Favorite NFL Team?

AFC East

Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets

AFC West

Broncos | Chiefs | Raiders | Chargers

AFC North

Ravens | Bengals | Browns | Steelers

AFC South

Texans | Colts | Jaguars | Titans

NFC East

Cowboys | Giants | Eagles | Commanders

NFC West

Cardinals | Rams | 49ers | Seahawks

NFC North

Bears | Packers | Lions | Vikings

NFC South

Falcons | Buccaneers | Saints | Panthers

  NFL   

Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings 📊

Image via Giphy

Since it’s Week 1, there are few surprises to the projected top players for Fantasy Football. We only know what we don’t know, so expect some surprise breakout stars not on the list. But Lamar Jackson against the Texans after his big payday? Expect LJ to eat.

Top QB Projections

1. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) — Opp: Lions

2. Lamar Jackson (Ravens) — Opp: Texans

3. Jalen Hurts (Eagles) — Opp: Patriots

4. Josh Allen (Bills) — Opp: Jets

5. Joe Burrow (Bengals) — Opp: Browns

Top RB Projections

1. Austin Ekeler (Chargers) — Opp: Dolphins

2. Christian McCaffrey (49ers) — Opp: Steelers

3. Tony Pollard (Cowboys) — Opp: Giants

4. Bijan Robinson (Falcons) — Opp: Panthers

5. Derrick Henry (Titans) — Opp: Saints

Top WR Projections

1. Justin Jefferson (Vikings) — Opp: Bucs

2. Tyreek Hill (Dolphins) — Opp: Chargers

3. Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals) — Opp: Browns

4. CeeDee Lamb (Cowboys) — Opp: Giants

5. Davante Adams (Raiders) — Opp: Broncos

Top TE Projections

1. Mark Andrews (Ravens) — Opp: Texans (Q)

2. T.J. Hockenson (Vikings) — Opp: Bucs

3. Darren Waller (Giants) — Opp: Cowboys

4. George Kittle (49ers) — Opp: Steelers (Q)

5. Kyle Pitts (Falcons) — Opp: Panthers

Top Defense Projections

1. Ravens — Opp: Texans

2. Commanders — Opp: Cardinals

3. 49ers — Opp: Steelers

4. Cowboys — Opp: Giants

5. Jaguars — Opp: Colts

  NFL SCHEDULE   🗓️ 

The Week 1 Watch-List

1 O’Clock Games (1:00 pm ET)

Panthers @ Falcons (ATL: -3.5)

Texans @ Ravens (BAL: -10)

Bengals @ Browns (CIN: -2.5)

Jagaurs @ Colts (JAX: -5)

Buccaneers @ Vikings (MIN: -6)

Titans @ Saints (NO: -3)

49ers @ Steelers (SF: -2.5)

Cardinals @ Commanders (WAS: -7)

Afternoon Games (4:25 pm ET)

Packers @ Bears (CHI: -1)

Raiders @ Broncos (DEN: -3.5)

Dolphins @ Chargers (LAC: -3)

Eagles @ Patriots (PHI: -4)

Rams @ Seahawks (SEA: -5)

Sunday Night Football (8:20 pm ET)

Cowboys @ Giants (DAL: -3.5)

Monday Night Football (8:15 pm ET)

Bills @ Jets (BUF: -2.5)

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Product Manager: Matthew Cahill

Lead Designer: Joe Stella

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

Please consider supporting The Sportsletter, an independently operated and bootstrapped publication, and you'll receive our exclusive Sunday edition. Many thanks to everyone who already supports us!

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