We're back with another recap NFL article this time focusing on Week 7 of the NFL season. It was quite an interesting week for football both for fantasy owners and for the general fan. We unfortunately had some significant injuries in addition to some duds from chalky fantasy players. I was actually left with more questions than impressions from this past weeks action but nonetheless there are some noteworthy highlights to discuss. As always, this article aims to recap last weeks action and highlight what was impressive and what has left us with some questions. We live by 1 rule in these articles: NO HOLDING BACK. If something needs said, it will be said. Nothing is held back as we highlight those teams/players that left us with some good impressions and those that left us with some questions. Please take a read and let me know your comments on this past weekends NFL action. Enjoy!
The Houston Texans looked a mess to start the season and a lot of people were down on them after their 0-3 start. Their defense didn't look great, DeSean Watson wasn't performing well, and they didn't have the ability to close out games. They experienced some pretty bad loses in that time, dropping games to the lowly Tennessee Titans and New York Giants. However, as I preached in last weeks article, September football means nothing. The Texans have now won 4 straight games to claim the top spot in the AFC South. The team looks more complete, with Watson playing better, the defense finding their way, JJ Watt looking as dominant as ever, and finally a running game showed up last week. Most impressive, the Texans were able to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road last week to erase any doubt they are the team to beat in the AFC South. I like what I am seeing out of Houston right now. They are quietly finding ways to win and look more impressive each week they play.
This one might be a bit atypical for the typical impression highlights each week but it caught my eye just the other day. If you have been watching any football over the last couple of weeks, really since before the season started, you may have noticed that there is a Jon Gruden Clearance Sale going on in Oakland. Most recently they traded away Amari Cooper, their star high talent WR to the Dallas Cowboys for a 1st round pick. Their season so far . . . anything but good. The Raiders, coming out of their bye week, have just 1 win on the season (Cleveland Browns) and sit at the bottom of the AFC West at 1-5. All while this is happening, reports keep surfacing that their is locker room disfunction and that players have lost faith in their starting QB Derek Carr. Even more, the report claimed that the players believed Carr didn't put enough out on the field for the team and was crying after being hit. Now random reports are common in today's world and whether you believe it is a product of bad journalism or not, it does happen. This report regarding faith in Carr unfortunately surfaced with no actual name on it, that is, who knows where it came from. Understandably this is a bit frustrating as all news today that is negative spreads like wildfire. So half of the sports world believed that the Raiders and players don't believe in Carr and have lost all faith in his leadership, even though their was no credibility to the story.
So what impressed me? Well, following a routine practice, Oakland Raiders tight end Lee Smith addressed reporters with a pretty well timed, well thought, critique of the story. He spent several minutes addressing the bond and brotherhood that existed in the Raiders locker room, their belief in one another, why they choose Derek Carr as a captain, and how as a team and in their locker room they support one another. He went as far as calling the report a joke. Smith did a great job defending his QB and team and I encourage you to follow up on the whole story here. I mean truth be told it is a bit of a joke. If you can't assign credibility to a report why take it that far? Derek Carr has literally broke his leg and back playing for the Raiders. He has pushed through both good and bad times and never backed down from leading his team. Of course the Raiders are in a bad place right now. They are 1-5, appear to be in the middle of a teardown and rebuild, and will be relocating their home soon. But stories like this do get out of hand. I am most impressed, however, with Lee Smith's willingness to stand up and defend his teammate, brother, and friend. You don't see enough of that today with so much blame being passed back and forth. It was a great thing to see and I have little doubt the Raiders have lost faith in their QB.
Have we officially seen the last of Blake Bottles this season? It sounds crazy but it is a legitimate question following Week 7 when Bortles was benched mid-game for backup Cody Kessler. If you have been following the Jaguars at all this season, you may have noticed Bortles has been pretty awful. Yes, he has a couple random good performances stacked into their early season but by and large he just isn't getting it done. Unfortunately this season has been the real test for Bortles who leads a very good Jacksonville team that is missing key pieces of its running game, mainly Fournette. The Jags have had to rely on Bortles for most of the season and he just hasn't risen to the challenge. Don't get me wrong, Bortles has never stood out as an elite QB and has had questions related to his future in the past. However, he was able to put it all together last year and lead the Jags to one of their best seasons in recent memory. I don't think they have given up on him just yet, seeing what he was able to do last season but time is running out. Jacksonville has a legit team, both defensively and offensively. Bortles needs to figure it out soon if he intends to keep his job and for the sake of Jacksonville in general. Until then, it remains a question as to how Jacksonville's QB situation will unfold.
This past week unfortunately left us with some significant injuries at the running back position. We saw Sony Michel go down with a knee injury, Marshawn Lynch land on the IR with a groin injury, Matt Breida re-aggravate a left ankle injury, LeSean McCoy leave a game with a concussion, and Bilal Powell land on the IR with a neck injury. No one every likes to see an injury and this past Week 7 surely left many fantasy owners looking for answers. The good news, Sony Michel's knee injury has been reported as only a sprain meaning we should see him back on the field sooner rather than later. There hasn't been much reported by way of McCoy's injury and Breida's injury has been lingering all season, so it may be something to monitor each and every week. Others such as Lynch and Powell unfortunately are done for the season (at least most of it).
The big question from all of these injuries relates to replacements. James White should see a clear uptick in usage for the Patriots with Michel out but he has never been an every down back. Look for Kenjon Barner to pick up some work until Michel returns. With McCoy out in the past, Chris Ivory has been the biggest benefactor and that should continue if McCoy misses time. Matt Breida has split time all year with Alfred Morris and more recently with Raheem Mostert, so who knows what that will look like should Breida miss time. Isaiah Crowell is the clear favorite to get more work for the Jets in Powell's absence but the biggest questions remains with the Raiders and who will pick up Lynch's workload. Lynch actually looked pretty good this year when the Raiders weren't trailing by a ton of points. Now it will be either Doug Martin or Jalen Richard moving forward. My guess, Martin gets the early down work while Richard becomes the 3rd down back. In all cases, nothing is guaranteed so with all these running back injuries, questions remain.
The NFL trade market has really started to heat up over the last week. With just under a week to go before the official deadline, we have already seen some big time players move teams and if it is anything like last season, there a lot more chaos to come. So far, some of the bigger names traded include:
A couple things stand out from these moves. First, the Raiders now appear to be in total sell and rebuild mode after giving up both Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper which now leaves them with a total of 5 1st round picks over the next 2 years. Second, the Giants appear to have just given up on the young, former 1st round pick cornerback, Eli Apple which is somewhat surprising as was just drafted in 2016 and is only in his 3rd season. But I believe the Carlos Hyde trade was the most surprising of all considering the Cleveland Browns just acquired him this offseason. Hyde was found nowhere in trade rumors and was having a decent season considering the Browns' overall team performance. That means the Browns have essentially stripped two of their biggest offensive players in Hyde and Gordon just as they landed their potential future QB. In any case, I believe that is just a taste of what is yet to come. The following names are still circling around the trade rumor mill:
Will more players move before the trade deadline? I think without a doubt we see players continue to find new homes but the question is who? Last season the trade deadline was wild. Will the above players mentioned be moved or will there be other surprises? I guess we will just have to wait and see. The NFL trade deadline is 4pm on Tuesday, October 30th.
