OK, gang, some house-cleaning announcements.
We are in New York City the rest of the week. Took the Mrs. 5-at-10 and the 5-at-10 tots to see the sites and take in a show or two. We’re pretty stoked.
With that, play nice because I will not be regularly monitoring our morning conversations.
So here we go – and yes, as we speak I am likely waiting in line somewhere at Hartsfield International Airport.
NFL Power Poll
Well, the first shoe has dropped. The Washington Redskins have fired the football coaching version of Ozzie Canseco.
There’s a real chance that the Gruden brothers may end up with the most NFL wins for a duo, and Jay Gruden’s 35-49-1 record with the Redskins certainly is a lower total than Jon Gruden’s 99 (and counting) career wins.
But the intrigue of the NFL season’s first fired head coach has less to do with Jay Gruden and more to do with the spin cycle it sets in motion.
First, who does Washington target? Byron Leftwich, the former Marshall star and current Tampa Bay OC, and Mike McCarthy are the betting favorites, according to SportsBettingDime.com. Leftwich is 11-to-2 and McCarthy is 13-to-2. Also much further down on that list are Jim Harbaugh (40-to-1), Rex Ryan (50-to-1), Lincoln Riley (60-to-1) and Urban Meyer (66-to-1).
Second, did you realize that Jay Gruden’s coaching tree is better than Bill Belichick’s, which is a testament to my belief that you can learn every bit as much from watching someone do a job the wrong way as you can from watching an expert. Gruden’s former assistants include Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan and first-year Packers coach David LaFleur. Quick, name Belichick’s most accomplished former assistant as an NFL head coach. We’ll wait.
Third, the Redskins now become firmly entrenched in the tank model. And they are not alone.
We know the Dolphins are in that tank, but they are used to it.
Which brings us to this interesting point: If you are among the powerless, what is your approach moving forward?
The Redskins must push Dwayne Haskins into the deep end and get an idea of what they think he could be. If it’s a disaster – the Redskins over/under win total right now is 2.5, and that’s with a game against the Dolphins remaining – then you have to be thinking about another QB.
But what do the Bengals do? Or the Jets, who have been derailed because Sam Darnold got the mumps between study hall and Mr. Mathis’ social studies class? And they are not alone. What about the Broncos or even the Falcons?
Yep, those are questions that must be asked – and Dan Quinn needs to keep his head on a swivel considering that he’s under-.500 as a head coach since Shanahan left for San Fran with a ton of talent.
To the poll.
Powerful
1. New England (5-0). We told you cats from the beginning that this could be as good a defense as Belichick has had in 15 years. How good? Glad you asked. The Pats have allowed 34 points this year. The vaunted Monsters of the Midway part III Bears have allowed more than twice that many (69).
2. Green Bay (4-1). Yes, the power poll is a fluid, ever-changing event, but the Packers leap from unranked to No. 2 is more about their schedule than the Chiefs’ struggles Sunday night. The Packers are right there with a lot of folks for the second-best record in the league but can claim wins over the Bears, the Vikings and the Cowboys. Not to mention the Pack would be unbeaten if not for an inexplicable series of events at the 1 against the Eagles last month.
3. Chiefs (4-1). Sunday night’s sluggish effort in a loss to the Colts has changed more than my perception of the race in the AFC. According to Caesar’s, the Pats are 1-to-1 picks to reach the Super Bowl; the Chiefs are second in the AFC at 9-to-4.
4. New Orleans (4-1). Is there another team in the league that could cruise to this kind of start after losing your starting QB for multiple weeks? It’s a testament to the entire organization. It’s also a testament to Teddy Bridgewater, who is perpetually undervalued and under appreciated. How’s this for a great stat: Did you know that Bridgewater is now 26-7 against the spread as a starter with the Saints (minus-3) beating the Bucs 31-24 Sunday? Bridgewater’s ATS stats are the best percentage of any quarterback with more than 15 starts in the Super Bowl era. Teddy Bridgewater, gambling Hall of Fame?
5. Seattle (4-1). If we were required to vote right now, and assuming you know, I actually had an NFL MVP vote, I’d vote for Russell Wilson. (Or Will Fuller, who was a fantasy football God Sunday.)
(Yes, that leaves an unbeaten San Francisco off, and you can call me a doubter all you want. The 49ers have not faced a team with a winning record yet – their four wins are against a quartet that is a combined 5-15.)
Powerless
28. Atlanta (1-4). Am I a little bitter? Yeah, you could say that. There are several one-win teams in the league, so why is Atlanta last? Glad you asked. With the exception of the Dolphins’ atrocious defense that has allowed 163 points in four games – yes, that’s dreadful – the Falcons have allowed the second-most points in the league at 152. And the Falcons’ minus-50 points differential is the worst among all teams that have at least one win. Did I mention that I believe Dan Quinn should be walked to the parking lot? But if this truly unravels – like 2-14 bad – will the Falcons explore drafting Matt Ryan’s successor and use that E-normous cap hit in their multitude of areas of need?
29. Cincinnati (0-5). We discussed Monday that the Bengals have a slew of traceable pieces. And they could certainly get first-round picks in exchange for A.J. Green or Gene Atkins.
30. New York Jets (0-4). The Jets may be the most unlucky team in the bottom five, but they are a bottom-five team nonetheless. Sam Darnold is an interesting case study for the next couple of seasons, no?
31. Washington (0-5). The rest of the season has to be about seeing whether Haskins has anything resembling the skill set to be a starting QB. Now would be a pretty good time to sell high any Washington fantasy players on your roster.
32. Miami (0-4). Good news? Well, the Dolphins didn’t lose last week. So there’s that.
How much do I love the draft?
We are going to get a chance to see later this month.
The XFL has announced that it will have a 71-round draft for its franchises on Oct. 15-16.
Yes, 71 rounds. Who’s going to grade round 49, Kiper? Huh? Whatcha’ got?
The league is going to assign QBs to the eight teams and then have a traditional snake draft after that with one caveat: The first 40 picks per team will be divided into four position groups with 10 picks per. There’s more here.