2021 NFL: Week 5

I’m not one for moral judgments. It’s easy to sit on a high horse and snipe at people. But when it comes to Urban Meyer, this isn’t a morality play. It’s an exercise in stupidity.

The NFL has a rich history of college coaches failing at the pro level. And it’s really not hard to see why that happens. Successful college coaches follow a formula. The first step is to recruit excellent players. Then set up a culture in the program with you as the all-knowing godhead. Hire some assistants to coach up your elite players and boom, you can win 95 percent of your games on talent alone.

It doesn’t work that way in the pros. Every team has talented players. You need to be a tactician. And from the time Meyer got hired in Jacksonville, his acumen has been called into question, with the signing of Tim Tebow being just one in a series of eyebrow-raising decisions.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Then came last week. Urban, after a tough Thursday night loss, decided not to accompany the team on the flight back to Jacksonville from Cincinnati. Maybe you’re wondering what the big deal is. Well, from what we’ve discovered, it’s very much a big deal. Countless interviews with various players, coaches and front office executives over the past few days have made it clear that coaches ALWAYS fly back with the team from road games. No exceptions. Especially after a tough loss.

And then, of course, we all saw his shenanigans with a young lady at his own establishment in Ohio. We don’t need a recap.

OK, he screwed up. How he’s going to explain what he did to his wife and family is his business. Him humiliating himself as the head coach of an NFL team is very much the organization’s business.

His press conference on Monday was embarrassing. Accounts from players made it seem as though his performance to the team was awful, too. This isn’t college. These are grown men you’re coaching. They’re not impressed with you. They expect you to do your job and if you can’t, get out.

I’m not one to call for people to get fired. It feels gross to me. However, I will say this: If Urban Meyer ends up unemployed soon or at the end of the season, it’s his own fault. And good luck getting a college job with all this nonsense floating around you.

NFL’S TOP 10

1. Cardinals — The lone unbeaten team in the league. But that’s not why they’re up here. I had my doubts about them over the first three weeks of the season, but the way the Cardinals took the Rams apart in Week 4 was impressive. Kyler Murray is my pick for MVP if the season ended today and defensive coordinator Vance Joseph has done an excellent job to this point. I’m excited to see how this team continues to grow.

2. Buccaneers — Tampa has been dealing with some injuries that has left their secondary shorthanded. They might need to score a lot to keep up during this stretch, but they have the firepower to do that. And I’ll keep saying it: They have Tom Brady. They’re not going anywhere.

3. Bills — Hey, remember when they lost to the Steelers in Week 1? Since then, Buffalo has outscored its opponents 118-21, including two shutouts. Just goes to show that opening week losses rarely mean much, especially when you have the kind of talent the Bills have. They have a chance to make a real statement this week in Kansas City.

4. Rams — Matthew Stafford and L.A. survived the “Finger Bowl” on Thursday night (more on that later) after starting off slow. They can’t afford to make the kind of mistakes they did in the first half against the league’s best teams. And they also need to make some adjustments on defense, which doesn’t seem to be the elite unit it was in 2020. But at 4-1, they’re in a good spot.

5. Cowboys — Is Micah Parsons the savior that Dallas has been waiting for? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s clear that this defense is not the dumpster fire it was last season. They’ve won three in a row with good wins over the Chargers and Panthers and they have two very winnable games coming up. Big D is back, baby!

6. Packers — After scoring three points in their season opener, the Packers have put up at least 27 points in each of their three following games, including back-to-back wins over the 49ers and Steelers. Remember Aaron Rodgers? Yeah, me too. He’s good. So that means this team will be just fine going forward.

7. Chargers — Justin Herbert gets a lot of accolades and rightfully so. The young man is already flashing elite talent and he’s just going to get better. But the X-factor in L.A. is new head coach Brandon Staley. The Chargers defense is suddenly a juggernaut.

8. Chiefs — It  feels weird to have THIS team THIS low in the rankings. But let’s face facts: The Chiefs have not been their usual selves and their defense is a real trouble spot. Again, there’s plenty of time left in the season for them to make some changes, but I don’t like their chances this week against Buffalo.

9. Ravens — I’m going with two AFC North teams to close out the rankings. And the reason I have Baltimore above Cleveland, despite identical 3-1 records, is because I would pick the Ravens in a game between the two. Simple as that. Plus, Lamar Jackson > Baker Mayfield.

10. Browns — Hmmm, what exactly was that performance against the Vikings? By all metrics, The Browns have a better roster than Minnesota and yet barely skated by with a win. I guess that’s the real point here: They won. They won ugly, but they did indeed win and that’s enough. But come on, Baker Mayfield, you’re going to have to do a little better than that.

WHAT’S THE CHATTER?

Finger length victory: Football can sometimes come down to survival of the fittest. And on Thursday night, that rang true. Rams quarterback Matt Stafford suffered an injured finger on his throwing hand in the first half. He taped it up and was able to play the rest of the game. Russell Wilson hurt a finger on his throwing hand in the second half, but it was bad enough that he was forced from the game. Therefore, it wasn’t a surprise to see that L.A. managed to get out of Seattle with a much-needed win.

You can do that? Not to continue to harp on Thursday night, but we all saw Seahawks punter Michael Dickson have his kick blocked, only to see him scoop up the ball, evade defenders and boot the ball way down field. All the way to the Rams’ 10-yard line. The football watching world responded with a collective “whaaaaa?!!” When we saw a flag on the field, we all figured it was coming back because surely, that’s not allowed under the rules. Wow, we were wrong. Turns out, you can indeed do that, as long as you kick the ball the second time from behind the line of scrimmage, which Dickson (allegedly, he sure seemed past the line to me) was. Wow. I’ve been watching sports my entire life and I’m still amazed that I can experience things that I’ve never seen before.

Nothing to see here: Intrepid reporter Seth Wickersham, the kind of guy that you don’t want on your case, wrote an exhaustively researched book that chronicled the frigid relationship between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Many juicy details came out. The kind of details you eat popcorn to. But after last Sunday’s game between the Bucs and Patriots, which drew a huge television audience, both principles denied everything. Claimed their relationship is just fine. I don’t buy it, but I’ll accept it.

Hit the road: Some surprising roster moves went down this week as the Cowboys released linebacker Jaylon Smith and the Patriots traded cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Smith might have been the more surprising move to me because although rookie Micah Parsons has been exciting to watch so far, keeping a veteran guy like Smith around makes sense to me, even if just for depth at the position. But New England moving on from Gilmore is not that much of a shock even though he’s a former defensive player of the year and a 2-time first team All-Pro. Gilmore was on the PUP list as he recovers from a torn quad muscle and we all know Bill Belichick prefers to move on from players earlier rather than later.

APPOINTMENT VIEWING FOR WEEK 5

Packers at Bengals: Hey, Cincinnati is 3-1! How long that lasts is anyone’s guess, but for now, I’m enjoying watching this young team play hard. And they’re going to need to bring some serious energy to get past Green Bay. But, they’re at home and crazier things have happened, right?

Broncos at Steelers — I don’t buy Denver’s 3-1 record, but I do buy the Broncos defense, especially against what’s left of Ben Roethlisberger. Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in Pittsburgh, but all good things must come to an end. I’m calling it: The Steelers will finish under .500 in 2021. Book it.

Dolphins at Buccaneers — Miami was a sexy playoff pick once upon a time. They sure don’t look like it right now. But, the Dolphins have been a sort of kryptonite to Tom Brady over the years. Is there an upset coming? Doubt it, but keep one eye on this game.

Titans at Jaguars — I picked Tennessee to reach the AFC title game. The Titans are coming off a loss to the Jets. If they lose to the Urban Meyer Jaguars, I might have to fold my hand.

Bears at Raiders — Justin Fields has the starting QB job now. And Chicago is coming off a win and at 2-2, are still very much in the thick of things. Here’s a good test for the kid on the road.

Browns at Chargers — I’m thinking Brandon Staley will have something cooking for Baker Mayfield in this one.

49ers at Cardinals — It’s Week 5 and Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with an injury. What else is new? Whether it’s Jimmy G or rookie Trey Lance under center on Sunday, the Niners will need to play perfect football against an Arizona team that’s rolling.

Bills at Chiefs — The game of the week. I don’t like making predictions, but give me Buffalo to get the win in this one.

Colts at Ravens — It’s Monday night, there’s nothing else on.