2021 NFL: Week 7

There’s a negative light shining on the NFL at the moment. More so than usual. With the fallout from the Jon Gruden emails attracting the kind of attention that makes the evening news, you would think the league would be anxious to shift the attention to what’s going down on the field, rather than the secretive nonsense that happens behind closed doors in team front offices.

And then news broke this week that made me raise my eyebrows and clutch my figurative pearls.

A report out of Houston — from reporter John McClain, who is as solid as they come — said that the Texans and Dolphins were close on a deal that would send quarterback Deshaun Watson to Miami.

What?!

Let’s review. Back in March of this year, a massage therapist filed a lawsuit accusing Watson of sexual misconduct. That started a chain reaction of women coming forward with lawsuits of their own, all claiming that the star quarterback had behaved inappropriately. In April, the Houston Police Department announced they had opened an official investigation into Watson that has yet to be completed.

In this country, you are innocent until proven guilty and I feel strongly that such a standard should be upheld. But when it comes to playing professional football, that doesn’t necessarily come into play.

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

The Texans have refused to let Watson take the field this season, which is the right thing to do. My question is: Why would the Dolphins want to bring that drama into their organization? Let’s take morality out of the equation for the moment. We have no idea if Watson will ever play another down in the NFL. Miami would be absolutely foolish to give up anything of value to bring Watson in when you can’t guarantee that he’ll ever wear a Dolphins uniform.

But putting morality back into the situation, I have no idea how the organization would sell this move to their fans or to the public at large. Does the Dolphins brass think that we’ll just forget about all the allegations? Maybe they can’t be blamed because many players who have done some pretty bad things have been allowed to return to the field. Some people might point to Michael Vick as an example.

Here’s the difference: Vick was tried and convicted in a court of law for running a dog fighting ring. He served prison time. He paid his debt to society, even though many people argue that the punishment wasn’t harsh enough.

Watson’s case is still winding its way through the legal system. He shouldn’t be anywhere near a football field right now and the fact that the Dolphins could be seriously considering making a trade just blows my mind. And that’s hard to do these days.

NFL’S TOP 10

1. Cardinals — With every game, Arizona is silencing every preseason doubter, myself included. I’m genuinely surprised when the Cardinals are forced to punt and their defense is second in the league in points allowed. And they just won a game without their head coach present. Things are going well in the desert.

2. Buccaneers — Injuries are catching up with Tampa’s secondary as the team ranks near the bottom of the NFL when it comes to passing yards allowed. But last time I checked, Tom Brady is still under center and their schedule has a stretch of very winnable games coming up. There’s nothing to really worry about. At least not yet.

3. Rams — They’re sitting at 5-1 and you can make the argument they haven’t played consistently good football. That’s a nice problem to have. Speaking of winnable games ahead, L.A. faces off against the Lions and Texans over the next two Sundays before an interesting matchup against the Titans at home.

4. Cowboys — Dallas is humming offensively as the Cowboys top the league in points per game and yards per game. The running game is clicking, Dak Prescott was just named the NFC’s offensive player of the week and the defense is making enough stops. Now if they can do something about head coach Mike McCarthy’s clock management issues, Big D might have something here.

5. Ravens — Don’t ask me how they’re doing it. Baltimore has piled up the injuries this season and yet, they’ve only lost once. Is it Lamar Jackson’s late-game heroics? Is it a defense that despite some up and down performances, still ranks in the top 10 in points allowed? Is it a culture of winning that doesn’t allow excuses? You could safely answer all of the above. If they keep enjoying success, John Harbaugh might be the coach of the year.

6. Bills — I still think this is the AFC’s most complete team, and if I’m being honest, I wanted to rank them ahead of the Ravens. But I’m admittedly prone to being a prisoner of the moment on occasion, and I got caught up this week. Despite coming off a tough loss, Buffalo gets to enjoy a bye week before coming back against the 1-6 Dolphins, 1-5 Jaguars and 1-4 Jets. This team has an excellent chance of being the AFC’s top seed.

7. Packers — Green Bay is riding a five-game winning streak, but the Pack better not get caught looking ahead to Week 8 against the Cardinals and forget to take care of business against Washington on Sunday. Here’s a fun fact: Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback and yet, the Packers are 21st in passing at 234 yards per game. For another team, that might be a problem. For a team in the NFC North, it’s apparently no big deal.

8. Titans — This team really needed that win over the Bills on Monday night. Not for their win/loss record, because they’re still the class of their division, but for their confidence going forward. And they got it done. But despite Derrick Henry’s all-around brilliance running the ball, the Titans defense is giving up yards at an alarming rate. That’s going to be a problem.

9. Chargers — There’s nothing like the NFL. A team can be rolling with a full head of steam and still get stomped, which is what happened to L.A. on the road against the Ravens. But that’s OK, it seems every team in the league gets a mulligan. The Chargers just had theirs. Let’s see how they respond.

10. Chiefs — I’m not happy with this team. They can’t run the ball at all and defensively, Kansas City is just a mess. But then Patrick Mahomes does Patrick Mahomes things and the Chiefs are somehow sitting at .500. There are teams with better records that I have ranked lower and I’m starting to question my own intelligence.

WHAT’S THE CHATTER?

Not sure about that: Jon Gruden has stayed out of the public eye since resigning last week and that’s probably for the best. But that doesn’t mean he has nothing to say. Apparently an HBO producer called the former Raiders head coach, and he said the “truth will come out.” As mysterious as that sounds, it’s hard to imagine that translates to anything that good. He’s going to have to take the L on this one.

Here come the politicians: The investigation into the Washington Football Team has attracted the attention of Capitol Hill. Two members of Congress have requested “all documents and communications” in connection with the Washington team probe and are questioning whether the NFL acted in an impartial manner. Furthermore, Congress also wants Commissioner Roger Goodell to answer questions about the investigation. This is what happens when you’re a huge part of American life and you fail to handle business in a forthright manner. Politicians eager to be front and center of something big always come knocking and I can’t remember a time when that worked out well.

That sounds nice: Derrick Henry gets a 17th game this season, which means that the record books could change soon. The Titans running back is on pace to finish with 2,219 rushing yards, which would break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record. He has three other records in his sights, too. But he says that’s not on his mind. “I just don’t try to get too caught up in it and worry about things like that,” Henry said. “Rather than, this record is coming up or I have a chance to break this record. How can I do better each and every week, be a better teammate, be a better leader of this team, go out there and try to take advantage of every opportunity I get to help this team win.” Again, that sounds nice. I don’t buy it, but that’s a very admirable sentiment.

Urban update: The Jaguars broke their 20-game losing streak by beating the Dolphins in London last week, but the fact remains: Urban Meyer still hasn’t won an NFL game on American soil. I’m just being mean, of course. Actually, a trip across the pond was probably just what he needed after his time in the national crosshairs, so to speak. I’m not trying to say that just because he got a victory that all is forgiven, but at least he got that 0-5 monkey off his back.

Baker’s murky future: This was supposed to be the year that Baker Mayfield takes a big leap and proves himself to be the quarterback of the future in Cleveland. Instead, he missed Thursday night’s game after it was disclosed that he suffered a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder that will require offseason surgery. Not only that, reports came out that Mayfield also has a fractured humerus bone in his left arm. It’s not a guarantee that he’ll return to the field in 2021. Did his chance at getting a contract extension from the Browns just fly out the door? Possibly. What a bummer.

APPOINTMENT VIEWING FOR WEEK 7

Washington at Packers — Don’t worry, I’m not making a case that you should watch this whole game. I’m just interested to see if Green Bay starts slow with an eye on its opponent the following week. I have theories to prove here. And if this game is close at halftime, I can safely declare myself to be a genius.

Chiefs at Titans — Derrick Henry should have no problem stomping a mudhole in Kansas City’s front seven. Expect the Titans to run the ball at every opportunity and play-action their way to a convincing win. Speaking of genius, my AFC title game pick is starting to come together.

Bengals at Ravens — In years past, this would be a game that Baltimore could safely pen as a win when the schedule was released. No longer. Cincinnati is a young team that plays aggressively on defense and has offensive talent that is way ahead of where they should be. The Bengals are a fun watch. That doesn’t mean I’m picking them to win though. Give me the Ravens all day.

Lions at Rams — Jared Goff returns to Los Angeles. Man, he really got a raw deal. Here’s hoping that even if Detroit loses this game — and they most likely will — that Goff manages to play well. I still root for him.

Bears at Buccaneers — Tom Brady seems to be a little more motivated than usual because as a Michigan man, he’s going up against an opposing quarterback that went to Ohio State. Here’s yet another fun fact: Tommy Boy has never started against a former Buckeyes QB. Ain’t that something? I know, I don’t care either.

Colts at 49ers — Indy looked good in its Week 6 win. Could this be the start of a run of wins? We’ll see.

Saints at Seahawks — It’s Monday night, there’s nothing else on.