The NFL Roundup 2018: Week 9 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​Week in and week out, the NFL is delivering some fine games and some fine stories, and this past weekend’s slate of games were no exception to that rule. So, once again, it would be silly to waste any time discussing anything else, so let’s dig right in and discuss what we learned from Week 9 in the NFL. 
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Stick a fork in the Buffalo Bills, they’re done.
You know, I feel bad for Bills fans right now. After all, the franchise went out and snagged their guy at QB by drafting Josh Allen, bringing hope to every fan in northern New York because maybe, just maybe, their team would start to improve and win again and well, here we are, with another disastrous season on their hands, wherein Nathan Peterman is under center instead of the brand new franchise QB because their O-Line can’t keep anybody healthy. The Bills are simply a bad team this year and any way you slice it, their season is over. Which means I do hope some of the young guys get some playing time so that the franchise can start evaluating their future and I also hope they invest in a better offensive line when the offseason arrives.
 
The Rams finally lost a game, and it’s a good thing.
I made mention of the fact in my Week 9 preview that the Rams were going to lose at least one game this year, and the Saints are the ones that made that happen and well, I think it is a good thing that Los Angeles dropped a game in the middle of the season, and no, that’s not an insult in the slightest. Because it has to be a terrible feeling for those players to lose a game and see their streak end and by having that happen now, they can use it as motivation to never feel that way again, and they can regroup, fix their mistakes and play harder. So, expect this team to rebound in scary fashion because they are humbled now and they know they are better than that loss, and they will be happy to prove that to any team that wants to challenge them further.
 
Aaron Rodgers is in dire need of a supporting cast.
Sunday night’s game should have been a shoot-out for the ages between Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, but instead it ended up being quite the blowout since the Pats ran away with this game in the fourth quarter and really, this matchup revealed the fact that Rodgers is in dire need of some better players around him. Because a top tier quarterback can only will his team to win for so long, and a lack of quality receivers and a porous defense doesn’t help your franchise QB win games. So, here’s to hoping that come this offseason, Green Bay takes the time to find #12 a solid running back, some wide receivers and a secondary on the defensive side of the ball so the Packers can get back to their winning ways in 2019.
 
Somehow, Vance Joseph keeps holding on to his job.
Where I come from, poor decisions and giant mistakes will cost you your job. But in the football world, it apparently allows for executive management to ‘stay the course’ because Vance Joseph is going to be the head coach of the Denver Broncos for the foreseeable future and well, this is a terrible decision. Joseph simply isn’t ready to sit in the big chair at Dove Valley and while the Broncos are more competitive on the field this year, they’re still losing, and they’re losing games they should have won. So, until John Elway finally sees that Vance isn’t the guy, the sad clouds hanging over all of Broncos Country will continue to hover and hopefully Elway and CEO Joe Ellis open their eyes to the fact that they need a dynamic leader at the helm to get this team back to its winning ways.
 
The Dallas Cowboys are a mess right now.
Everyone was wondering, prior to last night’s game, as to whether or not the addition of Amari Cooper would be exactly what the Cowboys needed to get their offense back on track and well, it turns out that he was not. Because once again, Dallas embarrassed themselves in prime time by losing to the Tennessee Titans in tough fashion and well, make no bones about it, the Cowboys are a bad football team right now. They stink on offense, they stink on defense and special teams aren’t much to write home about either and well, a lot of this comes down to coaching and the time has come for a change there in my opinion. But Jerry Jones has declared (for the moment) that there will be no in season coaching changes, so this train wreck will continue to chug along until Jerry comes to realize that it is time for someone else to helm his franchise on the field.

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