NFL season is back, which means I return to my fascination with Justin Herbert’s football media reputation. Quoting friend of pod Nate Silver, following Herbert’s disastrous debut against the Arizona Cardinals:
It’s funny to me that the former narrative has totally overshadowed the latter narrative. Herbert-haters, a now growing cadre, tend to invoke the three playoff flameouts while ignoring the larger body of regular season evidence that suggests a lack of an elite baseline. Ironically, Justin Herbert’s status might actually be helped by his infamy as a postseason choker. The well-known knock conveys that he simply has to overcome one issue, as opposed to a few. “But he chokes in the playoffs” is a narrative hurdle more appropriately reserved for an all-time regular season performer like Peyton Manning. But Justin Herbert isn’t that. He just looks like one, in both superficial traits and superficial output. So, how did this happen, and what are Herbert’s actual faults?