$.01--It’s been a rough start to the 2021 season for the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have lost the two most important players on their offense for at least the remainder of the offseason with identical foot injuries.  

Quarterback Carson Wentz being injured is not a surprising development. He’s in Indianapolis in part because the Eagles got tired of him being such an injury risk. But when All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson suffered the exact same injury in the same week as Wentz, well, that’s just insanely bad fortune.  

The foot injuries will sideline Wentz and Nelson for at least five weeks and perhaps three months. The wide time range reflects the difficulty of the injury and the speed of the healing process that varies from person to person. Even the best-case scenario has both critical Colts components not able to practice before Week 1. 

GM Chris Ballard rolled the dice in trading for Wentz, who looked lost in a miserable 2020 in Philadelphia where he led the NFL in interceptions despite missing four games. Wentz has been a decidedly average NFL quarterback outside of his fantastic 2017 campaign, and he wasn’t even close to that level a year ago. If Ballard was hoping the change of scenery would reboot Wentz, it’s probably not going to happen quickly with the enigmatic QB in a walking boot instead of the huddle for the next few weeks. 

Nelson’s injury is a fluky one. The Colts explained it as a genetic abnormality that freakishly revealed itself at almost the exact same time Wentz aggravated an old injury. What Nelson does requires little preparation other than being in top physical condition. He’s arguably the best blocker in the NFL and his nearly flawless technique doesn’t need a lot of reps to get back to top form. The conditioning will take a hit, however, and the Colts need to be careful not to rush Nelson back from the foot issue.  

At least there was some good news from Indianapolis. The Colts signed All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard with the most lucrative contract ever given to an off-ball LB. Leonard is the rare off-ball backer who can impact the run game and the passing game without needing sub-packages around him. Leonard deserves the accolades and the lofty contract. 

$.02--Leonard wasn’t the only player to get a massive new contract extension. The Buffalo Bills locked up quarterback Josh Allen to a whopping six-year, $258 million deal that will keep the dynamic QB with the team until at least 2028. 

Allen jumped to the front of the quarterback contract line with a fantastic 2020 season, his third in the NFL. The Bills didn’t have to do anything until next summer at the earliest, but Allen’s rising star forced their hand. It’s a risk the Bills, a burgeoning contender with staying power, needed to take. 

Allen isn’t the greatest passer, but there is so much more to what he offers Buffalo that proves invaluable to the success of the Bills. His easy leadership, relentless effort and ability to bring out the best in the players around him have blossomed into one of the NFL’s feel-good stories. And he proved pretty darn capable as a passer in 2020, too. The entire Allen package--the ridiculous arm strength, the fast legs, the stunning strength for the position, the leadership, the fan-friendly presence--is the centerpiece of what the Bills are building in Buffalo.  

The timing for Allen’s extension is smart business by Buffalo. They got the deal done before Allen’s draft classmate, Baker Mayfield, worked out a long-term deal with the Cleveland Browns. The QB salary arms race never clicks backward, and it’s often as much about when the player gets the contract as it is relative skill level. Buffalo and Cleveland look very much like teams that will be competing with the Chiefs and perhaps the Colts for AFC supremacy over the next 3-4 years. While the Bills paid huge money to keep Allen, the fact they did it first means the Browns will have to pay even more to lock up Mayfield. That’s a savvy move by Bills GM Brandon Beane, one that gives him a leg up on Cleveland counterpart Andrew Berry.  

$.03--Fights are an annual rite of passage in NFL training camps. But not all fights are created equal. This past week is a good illustration of that fact.  

I was at Detroit Lions camp on Tuesday when rookies Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ifeatu Melifonwu threw hands after a special teams rep (St. Brown dominated both the rep and the fracas). It was a quick burst of intensity and emotion between two players going hard in practice. It was over quickly and both players moved on like pros; they did another rep against one another and had no issue. Coach Dan Campbell appreciated both the competitive intensity and the swift resolution.  

Contrast that with Giants practice the same day. A shove by a frustrated payer after a bad rep turned into a bench-clearing brawl that involved the entire team. That includes QB Daniel Jones, who wound up at the bottom of a large pile of heavily padded men throwing fists at one another with reckless abandon. Giants coach Joe Judge stopped practice, made everyone run several 100-yard gassers and went on a profane tirade at his undisciplined team. 

It’s bad enough for New York under Judge that three players have hung up their NFL cleats rather than deal with the travails of playing under the demanding coach. His passionate desire for uniformity and conformity fosters the melee and the unprofessional outburst.  

Like the miserable failure that was Matt Patricia as Campbell’s predecessor in Detroit, Judge too gleaned all the wrong lessons in coaching from mentor Bill Belichick. It’s difficult to watch it happen to a team that does have the talent in place to rise up in the standings if the team jells and clicks under Judge. Through the first two weeks of training camp, the opposite is happening in New York. Giants insiders I’ve spoken with this week have little faith that will change. I don’t see it working either, unfortunately. 

$.04--Bobby Bowden passed away on Sunday morning. The immediate and vociferous outpouring of love and respect for the longtime Florida State coach was genuine and well-deserved. 

I’m old enough to remember the Seminole program when Bowden first arrived. They were an afterthought, an underwhelming wannabe power. That changed very quickly for Florida State and it was all Bowden. His enthusiasm, his positivity, his authenticity--it helped sell the burgeoning college football superpower to kids who previously snickered at the school. 

He never changed, never stopped being Bobby Bowden. The schemes changed and he adapted well to the changing game style and culture of the young players. Not every coach could do it so easily, so seemingly effortless. That’s because he was always Bobby Bowden. Ask any of his players, his peers, his rivals, and they’ll all mention how easy it was for Bowden to be Bowden. That’s rare.  

I first met coach Bowden at my first Senior Bowl back in 2009. The first thing I noted was how small he was; for such a larger-than-life personality, he was a tiny individual. Bowden wore a tall wide-brimmed hat that didn’t even come to my chin level. The sheer volume of players both current and older who greeted Bowden never ceased. Even guys from Florida and Miami, FSU’s bitter rivals, seemed thrilled to say hi to coach Bowden. He greeted every one of them as if they were the most important person in the world to him at that moment.  

We don’t really get coaches like Bowden now. Nobody spends 34 seasons in the same place. Nobody wants that, not the coaches themselves, the players, the boosters or the schools. He was a titan of a different time, but time didn’t pass him by. Rest in peace, coach Bowden.  

$.05--Longtime readers know I’m a sucker for the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions. I’ve been to at least five of them, and not for any specific player. It’s a celebration of football history, something that I’m passionate about, and being around the who’s who of football greatness is exciting and rewarding. 

I didn’t get to go to Canton this year for the festivities, unfortunately. But I watched all the speeches and the pageantry, interrupting my final binging on the Olympics. Two things really stood out to me from the weekend’s events: Jimmy Johnson and the three first-ballot players who entered the Hall this year--Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson and Charles Woodson. 

Jimmy Johnson’s speech demonstrated precisely why he’s a Hall of Fame coach. He graciously thanked so many people and took so very little credit for his amazing career. There was a quote that really resonated with me, 

“I always tried to make my people better,” Johnson said. “Every player, every coach. I tried to make them better.”  

That’s what good coaching in any sport should be about. Not personal glory, not winning at all costs. Making those around you better.  

His philosophy on coaching also included the concept of working and not dreaming. 

“I didn’t dream of winning a Super Bowl. I believed it.”

His discourse on how the belief in yourself and those around you elevates the actions instead of blind aspirational words is something I wish more coaches, and leaders in general, grasped. Dreams are great but make them actionable. Make them credible. Make them attainable and understand how to make that happen. That’s what Johnson is all about. That’s not just great football coaching. That’s life coaching, and a lot of us need it these days. Thanks, Jimmy… 

The trio of all-time greats entering the Hall together on the first ballot is truly remarkable. All three are arguably the best players at their positions in the 21st century. It’s not normal for that level of greatness to all call it a career at the same time, but that’s what Woodson, Manning and Johnson all did. 

I don’t get into ranking the whole HOF classes, that’s just not something I care about. But I challenge anyone to find any induction class with three better headliners than what the 2021 class offered up. It was a great reminder of some of the best any of us will ever watch, and I feel blessed to have seen nearly every snap of all three.