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Ten Thoughts on the NFL

What another fabulous week in the NFL. Check out some of my Thoughts and leave a few of your own in the comment section.

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

1) The Indianapolis Colts are bad. So bad that our sister site that covers the Colts, Stampede Blue, is calling for them to fire head coach Chuck Pagano.

Even with Indy's struggles, they still lead the AFC South with a 3-4 record, and with the other crappy teams in that division, they are still the odds on favorite to win a 3rd consecutive AFC South title.

When it goes bad for a team that has legitimate Super Bowl expectations it seems to go bad in a hurry.

Pagano's seat isn't the only one that's warm for the Colts. General manager Ryan Grigson had a "heated conversation" with owner Jim Irsay after their latest loss, and in a battle between boss and employee, the boss usually comes out on top.

It's gotten to the point where star quarterback Andrew Luck is being booed at home and some are calling for him to be benched in favor of 40 year old Matt Hasselbeck. Luck seems to have regressed this season. Maybe it's injury related, I don't know, but his completion percentage is down, his touchdown percentage is down, his interception percentage is up, his yards per attempt is down and his yards per game is down.

2) I've been critical of Washington QB Kirk Cousins the last few weeks in my NFL Thoughts, but I have to hand it to him, he was balling on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yes, the Bucs are bad, but Cousins led his team back from a 24 point deficit in what was the best game of his career, 33 of 40 (82.5%), for 317 yards and 3 TDs, with a 124.7 passer rating.

I would settle down a bit on the "King" talk however...

...but Cousins deserved to be excited after his team picked up a big win that keeps the 3-4 Redskins in the mix of the NFC East.

3) Greg Hardy is a Dumbass.

Not only did he shove a few teammates before getting into a verbal tiff with fellow Dallas Cowboy hothead Dez Bryant, but his temper tantrum escalated escalated into physicality when he went at it with his special teams coach.

Hardy, if you recall, was arrested for domestic violence and found to be guilty, but on his appeal the victim failed to appear in court leading to all the charges being dropped.

The Cowboys have no intention of disciplining Hardy for Sunday's shenanigans, but then again, Hardy is tied for the team lead in sacks with 3 after playing just 2 games. If he were a lesser player, he may have been gone after blowing off practice last Thursday.

Grade A Dumbass.

EDIT: This just in... Jerry Jones wants to sign Greg Hardy to a long-term deal

Wow.

4) Thirty eight year old Tom Brady is playing at a ridiculous level right now. He's averaging a career best 342.3 yards per game, with 16 TDs and only 1 interception through 6 games. On Sunday he completed 34 of 54 passes against the New York Jets, and Patriot receivers dropped 9 balls. On the season Brady's pass catchers have dropped 21 passes according to Pro Football Focus, which is 2nd most in the league, and his Quarterback Accuracy Percentage is a league leading 81.9%.

It's a shame so many football fans loathe the New England Patriots, because they're missing out on watching one of, if not the, greatest quarterbacks of all time.

4a) Rob Gronkowski is pretty fun to watch too.

5) Which running back would you give more carries to?

Player A - 56 carries, 342 yards (6.1 ypc), 3 rushing TDs with 12 receptions for 97 yards and 1 receiving TD

Or...

Player B - 88 carries, 307 yards (3.5 ypc), 3 rushing TDs with 23 receptions for 132 yards and 1 receiving TD

Keep in mind that Player A signed a 3 year, $11 million deal with $5 million guaranteed this year and Player B signed a 5 year, $40 million contract this year with $18 million guaranteed this year.

Philadelphia Eagles head coach/GM Chip Kelly signed both Ryan Mathews (A) and DeMarco Murray (B), but Mathews is the better fit for his particular offense.

6) I know it's a small sample size, but St. Louis Rams rookie Todd Gurley looks like the next great running back in the NFL.

Speed, power, elusiveness, the 6' 1", 231 pounder is the real deal.

7) Speaking of real deal rookies, Oakland's Amari Cooper is being mentioned in the same breath as some all time greats. Through his first 6 games, Cooper has more than 500 yards receiving, a mark only reached 4 other times. Plus Cooper has something in common with this guy.

8) The Miami Dolphins looked even better in the 2nd game of interim head coach Dan Campbell's reign. Same players, same basic scheme, but a new attitude and voice at the top. Kudos to the Dolphin origination for going the unconventional route and picking 39 year old tight end coach Campbell to lead the team, rather than promoting one of the more experienced members of the coaching staff.

9) Sticking with that particular game, what the heck is going on with the Houston Texans? Head coach Bill O'Brien called their performance "terrible," and that it's something he takes "full responsibility for."

Even though the Texans play in the craptastic AFC South, a loss to the Tennessee Titans this week could prompt ownership to make a coaching change as they head into their week 9 bye. But I'm not sure everything should fall on O'Brien's shoulders. While many feel that O'Brien should have been able to build off of last years 9 win season, his team just isn't very good.

Then there's this report that leaked out yesterday. Back up QB Ryan Mallett missed the teams flight to Miami, which O'Brien viewed as the last straw, so he wanted to cut him, but general manager Rick Smith overruled O'Brien.

After witnessing the 2014 Chicago Bears season of missteps, it's interesting to see other franchises aren't immune to some drama as well.

EDIT: Mallett has been released

10) Former Denver Broncos' GM Ted Sundquist, the man that drafted Jay Cutler, wrote a very insightful article about the process of drafting him and what happened that led to the trade to the Chicago Bears. It's a fairly long read, but I found the entire article engaging.

Here are a few of the things Sundquist's scouts said of Cutler when he was at Vanderbilt.

  • "Great character guy. The BMOC, and acts it in a good way."
  • An athletic player with "good body control, good feet and good change of direction."
  • "Loves to compete, will get after you, and hates to lose. He'll do the extra and wants to find an edge."
  • "Very bright, learns and retains football well, is a quick study."

Did you know that Cutler scored a 29 on the Wonderlic test?

His article has a lot of pre-draft stuff, what was happening on draft day, what happened after the draft, but the most interesting stuff in my opinion was what led to the trade.

When Cutler asked out of Denver after they hired Josh McDaniels as head coach, Cutler was crucified by Bronco fans and the media alike. He was immediately labeled as a malcontent that was pouting because the team fired head coach Mike Shanahan, but that wasn't entirely the case

Of course Cutler was upset that the coaches that were developing him into a pro were all gone, but there was more to the story.

Shortly after Josh McDaniels moved into his office at Dove Valley, he called in Cutler and his agent, Bus Cook, for a closed-door meeting. The story goes that McDaniels began with a 20-minute dissertation of his resume, how he'd worked his way up the ranks in New England to become Bill Belichick's right-hand man with the offense and how the team would have been nowhere the year before without his tutelage of backup Matt Cassel. He continued on with justification of his hiring by Bowlen.

After the perplexing recitation of accomplishments, McDaniels suddenly shifted gears.

He began to bash and berate Cutler and his game to the tune of a verbal flogging neither had ever witnessed. The expletive-laden diatribe went on for a few minutes, after which Cook stood up and told Cutler they were leaving. As they walked down the long hallway past Bowlen's office, Cutler turned to Bus and said, "Get me out of here. I don't care how you do it."

I can't imagine any employee, let along a professional athlete coming off of a Pro Bowl appearance, taking that entire meeting in stride.

11) Not NFL related, but check out these two blocks by Stanford senior offensive guard, #51 Joshua Garnett.

I say two blocks, because I want to make sure you watch him at the beginning of the clip and notice his manhandling of the Washington defensive lineman.

And for those wondering, Garnett may not even be a player that ends up being drafted in the NFL.

What are some of your NFL related thoughts this week?

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