Week seven of the NFL brought the usual excitement. However, there were moments when you’d grab your hair to pull it out, as well as moments in which you’d feel utter confusion. Here’s my personal look into week seven:
The Good
-Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is the real deal. He’s clearly established himself as one of the best young coaches in the league. Not only has he found a way to get something out of Jared Goff, he’s managed to use Todd Gurley as an all-around back. I’m impressed so far and look forward to seeing what he can produce in the future.
-Despite their heart-breaking loss to the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night, the Kansas City Chiefs have the league leader in passing yards (Alex Smith), rushing yards (Kareem Hunt), and second leader in receiving yards (Tyreek Hill).
-Shot out to some oldies but goodies still getting it done. Most know quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Brees are up in age, yet still performing. But what about the Carolina Panthers’ Julius Peppers at age 37 sixth in the league with 6.5 sacks?
-Props to Jeff Heath of the Dallas Cowboys. Heath is primarily a safety. However, he’s also a former high school kicker. Heath managed kickoff duties, 2/3 PATs, and a few tackles. This was a true throwback performance to the days of two-way players.
The Bad
-For all the talk about the New Orleans Saints now four-game win streak, their defense is still a sieve. They managed to give up 181 yards rushing to the Green Bay Packers knowing Aaron Rodgers was out at quarterback.
- Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy had the most touches (115) without a touchdown through week six than any other player in the league. Unacceptable for a player of his caliber coming off the year he had last year. He managed to score twice this week. The Bills are 4-2 after narrowly escaping the Tampa bay Buccaneers, but could easily be 2-4. Getting McCoy the ball more in scoring situations could help the Bills’ chances at success this year.
-The New York Jets are ruining their chances at taking a top quarterback in next year’s draft by playing well. I know winning is the name of the game, but Josh McCown isn’t the future, neither is any other quarterback on the roster. While I’m happy to see them playing well despite obvious appearances and moves in the offseason, don’t try too hard guys or you’ll ruin your chances for a top 3-5 pick.
The Ugly
-The Indianapolis Colts are a bad football team. They lost 27-0 to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday and gave up 10 sacks. Even if franchise quarterback Andrew Luck was playing, I highly doubt their 2-5 record would be any better.
-Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer broke his arm in the team’s 33-0 loss to the Rams. At 37, I’m not sure how much Palmer has left. With wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (34) coming to the end of the road and newly acquired Adrian Peterson (32) filling in for David Johnson, I think it’s time the Cardinals hit the reset button.
-Cleveland Browns all-pro left tackle Joe Thomas tore his tricep Sunday against the Tennessee Titans ending his 10,363 consecutive snaps played streak. I admire his loyalty to the team and the fans, but I hope this gives him the impetus to ask for a trade to a contender. He’s a first ballot Hall of Famer who deserves to play more meaningful games before he hangs it up.
One thing I’ve learned over the course of this season is that there are no for sure title contenders. Teams I thought would not be very good, (Saints, Rams, Titans/Jags) are division leaders. On the contrary, teams I thought would be contenders (Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders), aren’t leading their divisions and may not make playoffs. The parity the league has been looking for is definitely here this season. When asked this past weekend who I thought would be title contenders this year, I said half the damn league right now! Every team .500 and above has a shot to win this year at this point in time. Over the next few weeks, we should see water find its level.
*Bonus: Tweet of the day goes to @B1ackShefter with his Cam Newton/Rollo from Good Times comparison.
