The NFL Roundup 2019: Week 5 – What We Learned

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I’m starting to notice that as the weeks roll on, the NFL regular season is getting wilder and wilder. It just seems like some kind of big story pops up every single week now, and that’s fascinating simply because we suddenly have to more to talk about than just the games. And it just so happens that this week was no exception to this newly unspoken rule, for some big stuff happened on and off the field this week and because of that, it’s best we waste zero time today and get right down to discussing all the top stories from the field and what we learned from Week 5 in the NFL.
 
Something is amiss with the Rams vaunted defense.
Normally a Wade Philips coached defense is an outright terror for offenses to face week in and week out. Because Wade does an amazing job of disguising his coverages and his linemen always find a way to get to the opposing quarterback, but something is amiss with the Rams D right now. Because they’re suddenly letting everything through, and the players are out of position often and that’s just odd. After all, Wade expects better of his players and I guess this is on my mind today simply because I’m quite curious as to whether or not teams have simply figured out what the Rams are up to, or if there is some dissent within the locker room. Either way, they need to get these strange issues fixed and quickly and how they perform next week will give us an idea as to whether or not it’s a foundational problem, or something more.
 
The NFL needs to do a better job with enforcing player safety.
While I fully understand that the NFL is trying to do a much better job with player safety as a whole, especially when it comes to helmet to helmet hits, I have concerns with how the league is enforcing penalties when it comes to those particular hits. Because anyone who was watching Sunday’s Steelers/Ravens game was treated to the horrifying image of QB Mason Rudolph falling to the ground, unconscious, thanks to a helmet to helmet hit. And while he is fine and in concussion protocol right now, someone please explain to me why Earl Thomas wasn’t ejected from the game? Because he had time to stop, he chose not to, and that kind of ugly and nasty play deserved an ejection since it was beyond unnecessary and well, the league has to handle this better, plain and simple. They can’t toss one player and then not toss another for these kinds of hits, so really, at this point, if a player knocks a player out of the game because of a hit like that, just eject them and fine them. Because that’s how you send the message that this style of play isn’t acceptable.
 
The Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos finally won a game.
It’s been a tough start to the season for football fans in Phoenix, AZ and Denver, CO as well. Because both fanbases had high hopes for a big season from their respective teams and well, we know how that story starts out. But wouldn’t you know it? Sunday was a special day for both teams. Because Denver and Arizona each picked up a decisive win, the kind that helped other fans understand why these fanbases were so hopeful to begin with. So, congratulations to both the Broncos and the Cardinals for finally getting that proverbial monster off of their backs, and here’s hoping they have more success down the line because they are two franchises loaded with potential and it should be interesting to see if they build off of these victories in Week 6.
 
It turns out that the Cleveland Brown aren’t that good, after all.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the Cleveland Browns when the 2019 season kicked off, and a lot of us, myself included, bought right into it and with good reason. After all, they had a dynamic young quarterback under center, they made some epic trades in the offseason and had a solid draft and got rid of the worst coach in franchise history. But clearly those moves were all gloss and shine because this team is simply not as good as advertised and if you need fresh proof of that, look no further than Monday night’s game. Because the Browns were a mess on the field, to the point where seasoned veterans were making rookie mistakes and well, they may have bought into the hype as well. So really, now is a good time for this team to settle down and work on fundamentals first, otherwise it’s going to be another long year in Cleveland.
 
The Washington Redskins fired the wrong person.
Look, I get it. The coach is ultimately responsible for the team’s performance and Jay Gruden’s teams didn’t exactly wow the football world. But at the same time, it takes collaboration to build a good team and when the GM and the Coach are in sync and bring in great talent, wonders happen. Which brings us to why Washington got this firing wrong. Because Bruce Allen is an awful general manager, and he provided this team with second rate talent through and through and well, it should have been him leaving the building on Monday, not Jay. And this is just another embarrassing moment for the Redskins since it’s their billionth head coach of the Dan Snyder era, and I’m not honestly not sure who would want to take this job since there’s zero support from upper management. So, until Snyder wakes up and puts a competent GM in charge, or even better, steps down as owner; it’s back to the business of losing in Washington, and sadly, business is good. 

---