$.01--The news of Jon Gruden’s resignation as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders transcended the sports world this week. Gruden and his ugly, inflammatory emails over several years made international news. The BBC did an extended segment on it, and it was A-block material on the national morning news shows.  

The initial cries of racism in Gruden’s emails turned out to be entry-level fodder. Gruden hated on pretty much everyone and used a work email account to colorfully insult a multitude of people of all ethnic, sexual and political persuasions. The writing was on the wall for Gruden and the Raiders, and it was written in Gruden’s own shockingly, naively unfiltered language. This wasn’t cancel culture, this was accountability for violating policies on a company email--even if the company (ESPN at the time) isn’t the one Gruden just quit under extreme duress. 

I’m obscenely skeptical of the NFL’s position that in the 650,000 emails being reviewed in the investigation of the Washington Football Team that Gruden’s are the only damning or guilty transmissions. As several players and agents have demanded, the NFL needs to allow independent eyes on this investigation. Based on what little we’ve seen, or rather been fed, it’s irresponsible for the league to not release it and allow us to judge for ourselves.  

Gruden sparing no quarter in profanely digging into far too many NFL power brokers almost certainly spells the end of his football career, and not just as a coach. No media company can look at the manner in which he scorched the earth below his own feet while on the company dime and think, yeah we need that guy. But removing him from the Buccaneers’ ring of honor seems overzealous. He’s a mouthy and classless asshat, not a murderer or wife-beater, and there are examples of both convictions still enshrined in Canton and some other teams’ honor circles. Gruden’s toxic ignominy needs to be enough.  

$.02--The Arizona Cardinals remain the NFL’s only unbeaten team, and they moved to 6-0 a lot easier than expected. Despite not having head coach Kliff Kingsbury and others due to a late-week COVID-19 issue, the Cardinals marched right through the injury-riddled Browns, 37-14 in Cleveland.  

This is one of those games where it’s difficult to glean too much. It was obviously an impressive effort by the Cardinals under weird circumstances, with Kyler Murray keeping himself firmly in the MVP conversation after a great (229 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs) performance on a breezy day on the shores of Lake Erie. Arizona’s defense was on point, notably J.J. Watt and the pass rush. Take nothing away from their dominance, but it does deserve some proper context from Cleveland. 

The Browns played without their two starting offensive tackles, and both Jack Conklin and Jedrick Wills are good ones. Their replacements, notably fourth-round rookie James Hudson in for Conklin at RT, didn’t look even practice squad-worthy. Top RB Nick Chubb was also out. Odell Beckham Jr. and Kareem Hunt also left with injuries, though OBJ did return. Baker Mayfield aggravated his injured left shoulder, enough that he held his postgame press conference in a sling. Injuries sapped the Browns on defense, too. It doesn’t excuse their poor overall play, but it’s important to note beyond just looking at the final score and throwing dirt on the 3-3 Browns. But you might want to at least know where the shovel is… 

The Cardinals passed this test with flying colors. And they could keep flying in the lofty skies of the unblemished for some time. Just two of their next nine opponents--Green Bay in Week 8 and the Rams in Week 14--currently have a winning record. Don’t expect the Cardinals to remain unbeaten through that string, but the easier-than-expected schedule gives a strong Arizona team a great chance to rack up enough wins to run away and hide with the NFC’s top seed. 

$.03--If you’re going to be bad, at least be entertaining. That was the theme of Sunday morning’s wakeup game in London between the Jaguars and Dolphins. Two of the NFL’s worst teams didn’t play great football, but it was a compelling and close game that brought more than enough entertainment value to the English fans at Tottenham.  

Jacksonville broke the NFL’s longest losing streak at 20 games when Matthew Wright’s 53-yard kick cleared the crossbar as time expired in the Jaguars’ 23-20 win. The fans went crazy for the game-winning kick, an appreciation for the football skills of the Jaguars playing in their adoptive overseas home. 

It marks the first NFL victory for head coach Urban Meyer, and he earned it by outcoaching counterpart Brian Flores. Or rather, Meyer was smart enough to let Flores horribly botch the game for his Dolphins. Blowing two challenges on consecutive plays in a one-score game and sapping the team of timeouts is the most prominent, but certainly not the only egregious error from the Miami sideline. The shotgun run on 4th-and-1 stands out, too.  

With the win, the Jaguars proved they’re not even the worst team in the state of Florida. The 1-5 Dolphins seized that throne of shame in London and don’t even get the benefit of the post-Atlantic trip bye; Miami opted out of taking the bye the week after the overseas game. They host Atlanta next Sunday in a game that will determine who the worst team in the entire southeast region will be. Trading away their first-round pick to Philadelphia this coming year is looking very, very bad now for Miami, too.  

$.04--Jacksonville’s triumph leaves just one team without a victory after six weeks. That would be the team I have cheered for more than 40 years, the Detroit Lions. 

In those 40-something years as a Lions fan, I’ve witnessed some truly awful football. And while Sunday’s 34-11 loss at home to the emerging Cincinnati Bengals is not among the worst I’ve seen, the bottom is visible from how ineffective and undertalented these Lions are.  

The Bengals wore that hat not long ago. Lions coach Dan Campbell can look across the field and see how to get a rebuild going the right way, and it starts with the quarterback. The Bengals got themselves a keeper in Joe Burrow with the No. 1 overall pick in 2020. The Lions got themselves an expensive lemon with 2016 No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff, and this game squeezed any juice of hope that Goff might be the long-term answer in Detroit. 

Should the Lions hold onto the No. 1 pick in 2022, and based on the meager talent on the roster, and the complacent timidity of Goff at QB, there is no reason to think they won’t, GM Brad Holmes will need to choose a path. One is the one the Browns used to kickstart their rebuild, tabbing Myles Garrett at No. 1 and waiting another (painful) year before getting the QB in Baker Mayfield. Or he can follow the Bengals plan and get the QB first and then fill the team around The Man. The first path leads to Oregon EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux, who did a pretty darn fine Garrett impression this weekend. The other leads to Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, who has some similarities to Burrow as a late-rising star who took a quantum leap in development in his final college season.   

$.05--Dallas edged New England in a thrilling matchup in the late-afternoon window on Sunday. Dak Prescott hit Ceedee Lamb for a TD pass in overtime, lifting the Cowboys to 5-1 with an impressive shootout win. 

It was a thoroughly entertaining game. One set of plays really stood out, and they involve Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs. The clubhouse leader for Defensive Player of Year had a fascinating series in the second half.  

Diggs gave the Cowboys a fourth-quarter lead with a blazing pick-6 off Pats rookie QB Mac Jones (who continues to play well). It was his NFL-leading 7th interception and it couldn’t have come at a more important juncture in the game. But on the very next New England offensive play, Jones went right back at Diggs and torched him for a 75-yard TD strike to Kendrick Bourne. The Patriots seized the lead right back. 

The high risk/reward with Diggs, and with offenses throwing at Diggs, is fascinating. He’s a playmaking corner, not a lockdown corner, and that’s a very different animal than what we normally see in the NFL these days. Coordinators have leaned more on the guys who can prevent completions better than guys who are threats to pick off any throw near them. Diggs brings back memories of a brash young Aqib Talib or Antonio Cromartie at his Chargers peak. It echoes back to one of my all-time favorite players, Hanford Dixon.  

It’s working for Dallas and Cowboys DC Dan Quinn, who understands how to work around the high variability. Diggs is an average cornerback in terms of coverage skills, but he compensates by making big plays. He’s just the fourth CB in league history to pick off a pass in each of the first six games. It helps Diggs that the Cowboys offense can score well and the pass rush creates opportunities, too.  

$.06--”I still own you”

Aaron Rodgers primal scream to the Soldier Field crowd after scoring yet another big touchdown in yet another Packers win in Chicago is the best taunt of the season. Rodgers earned the right to claim ownership over the bitter Bears fans in Green Bay’s 24-14 win in a key NFC North matchup. 

This matchup wasn’t Rodgers’ best game in the series, not by a longshot. The Bears were game and had a real chance when Justin Fields found Darnell Mooney to cut the Packers lead to just 3 midway through the fourth quarter. Rodgers wasn’t missing opportunities but wasn’t getting big plays until it came to the crunch time and the statement of ownership TD. I don’t generally like boastful trash-talk, but Rodgers earned the right to stake his claim there.  

Rodgers is now 21-5 in starts against the Bears, his most wins against any team. That includes wins in 11 of the last 12 meetings. He now has a 57-10 TD/INT ratio against Chicago. Ownership, indeed. 

$.07--Ed Orgeron is on his way out as the head coach of LSU. Less than two years after the Bayou’s favorite son led the Tigers to a national championship, Orgeron is being shown the door from his dream job. 

The two sides agreed to an exit after two disappointing seasons, with Orgeron getting a huge buyout to leave before it gets any worse. His heroic star fell so fast. Orgeron simply lost his way. 

As Pete Thamel of Yahoo quoted a source,

“It’s one of those things where no one wanted to be there anymore. The players didn’t want to play for him, the coaches didn’t want to coach for him.”

It’s a stunning fall from grace for Coach O. Going from deified legend to exiled pariah in such a short time is a difficult feat to pull off, but the resigned acceptance from nearly everyone in and around the program proves it’s the right move for LSU. It goes beyond the middling record without Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson et al, but more wins would have allowed Orgeron to bury the Xs and Os and recruiting critics enough to stick around. 

Based on Orgeron’s post-announcement quip, he sure appears to be done coaching. Here’s hoping he fades away quietly and enjoys his hamburgers and whatever else he wants to buy in relative oblivion. He’ll never recapture the glory of 2019 and it would be sad to see him try and fail. It seems like he knows that, at least for now. 

Following Orgeron at LSU is not an easy task. For as weirdly as it ended, it seems certain that Bayou Bengal fans will hold Coach O in high reverence for his incredible 2019 season. One early name that keeps popping up is Mel Tucker, who is currently doing a nice job picking up the pieces of Mark Dantonio’s own fall from grace at Michigan State. Expect some NFL-type coaches to also get some mentions. LSU is a top-shelf program, a better job than some NFL teams, but there will be intense pressure to win right away and the current crew isn’t to that level. 

For a deep and well-done extended read on Orgeron, check out this excellent piece from Brody Miller at The Athletic.

$.08--NFL quickies

--Give the Raiders credit for rallying around themselves with all the chaos going on. Las Vegas forced four Denver takeaways in a 34-24 win that put the Raiders back in a tie atop the AFC West with the Chargers. Good gut-check victory for some proud players in Vegas, and the divisional road win is an important one. 

--In Sunday night’s game, Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt connected with Seahawks RB Alex Collins on two overhead rights that did Lennox Lewis proud. Watt was penalized but not ejected despite making clear contact with a wild punch to Collins’ helmet. Why? Because he was judged to be trying to dislodge the football. 

I absolutely, 100 percent believe Watt was trying to get the ball and not hit Collins in the helmet. But he did. Now we’re asking officials to judge the intent of a player swinging haymakers? That’s not a slope anyone wants the NFL and its already overtaxed officials to start slipping down…

--Congrats to Patriots WR Jakobi Myers on his first career TD reception. It took him a while:

--Minnesota snuck past Carolina in overtime to level its record at 3-3. The Panthers are also 3-3 but there is a very different feel in those two teams arriving at the same destination. The Vikings have won 3 of 4 and Kirk Cousins in settling into a nice groove. Carolina opened 3-0 but has dropped 3 in a row. Not having RB Chirstian McCaffrey is a big reason why, but Matt Rhule’s Panthers have to find ways to win without their star.  

--On that Vikings overtime winner, I’ll just say this: if that’s Calvin Johnson making the play, that’s absolutely not ruled a touchdown. 

--Here’s wishing a happy retirement to David Baker, who is moving on from running the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Baker presided over the beginning of a huge expansion for the Hall in Canton. He also brought a personal touch and pride to running the Hall that was very well-received by members and fans alike. 

$.09--College/Draft quickies

--Kentucky hadn’t started a season 6-0 since Bear Bryant (yeah, that Bear Bryant) was their head coach back in 1950. The Wildcats proved the great start wasn’t a fluke in a hard-fought 30-13 loss to top-ranked Georgia. The Kentucky defense was game, but QB Will Levis and the Wildcat offense found out what everyone who plays Georgia quickly learns--the Bulldogs defense is on another level. Georgia LB Nakobe Dean put on a show worthy of a top-40 overall prospect. Give the Georgia special teams credit too--two blocked field goals late in the game heavily contributed to the lopsided score in a game that was more competitive than the final margin would reflect. 

--Neyland Stadium in Knoxville degenerated into Woodstock 99 without the fires near the end of Ole Miss’ 31-26 win over the Volunteers. Tennessee fans littered the field with water bottles, most of which were filled with liquidous substances that were not water, golf balls and anything else that wasn’t nailed down in protest of a questionable 4th-down call and enmity towards one-time Vols coach Lane Kiffin, now leading the Rebels. 

I thought Vols TE Jacob Warren got enough to get the first down on the questionable spot, but it was certainly debatable. What’s not up for debate is the abhorrent behavior from the fans. Be better, Tennessee…

--Purdue stunned No. 2 Iowa in a 24-7 romp in Iowa City and they did so thanks in no small part to WR David Bell. The 6-2 junior caught 11 passes for 240 yards and a TD - nearly 50 yards more than Iowa’s passing game all on his own. Bell is a wildly talented player who falls under the radar a bit, but he’s a top-50 overall prospect in this draft class if he elects to enter it. His ability to get off defenders and go get the ball is special. Ask the Hawkeyes…

--Not much good has come from the first year of the post-Solich era for my alma mater, Ohio. But we got this gem from Saturday’s MAC Disappointment Bowl matchup against Buffalo:

--The lower levels of college football don’t get attention, but one of the best rivalry games at any level took place Saturday night in Allendale, MI. Ferris State beat Grand Valley State in a battle of unbeaten D-II heavyweights. These two schools from opposite sides of the Grand Rapids metro area go about things in very different ways and the contempt for one another is legit. Kudos to Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly for returning to GVSU, where he coached the Lakers into a national power, and still referring to the school as “we” during the broadcast.  

$.10--Knowing when to call it a career is something we debate a lot in the NFL mediasphere. There’s a fascination with how long Tom Brady will keep playing, but he’s the exception. Too many great players wind up staying a year or two long. Think Drew Brees at the end in New Orleans, or Dwight Freeney getting shoved all over the place in Detroit, or Andre Johnson looking completely cooked in Indianapolis, or the best example of someone who didn’t know when to say when: Ed Reed’s disastrous half-season in Houston. 

But it’s not just sports where too many former standouts don’t exit on time. It happens even more frequently in the world of music, and we got a great display of that this week. Former Motley Crue singer Vince Neil needs to hang up the leather pants and put his long-gone voice to rest for good. 

Neil has always been more of an entertainer than a polished singer. Even in Motley Crue’s heyday, his thin voice and propensity for losing the key, and the words, to the songs was something fans talked about. But the surrounding show and the notes he still could hit in Girls Girls Girls or Home Sweet Home made it worthwhile. I saw Motley Crue on the Dr. Feelgood tour, the height of their big-haired prowess, and even though Vince wasn’t great, the overall experience made up for it. 

That was 31 years ago. Time has not been kind to Vince Neil. Clips emerged this week of a badly off-key Neil yelling in a nasally unpleasant warble at a concert in Florida. His solo tour ended one night later when the iconic singer fell off the stage and broke ribs as the band started playing Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away).

The delicious irony aside, here’s hoping Neil realizes the rock and roll dream is over. Vince is not alone. Back in the glory days of the pop-metal revolution--my high school years of 1986-1990--Dokken was my band. The years have not been kind to Don Dokken either. My friend Shawn, who trekked with me circa 1995 to watch Don’s underwhelming performance in a solo tour, sent me a recent clip of Dokken “singing” the classic Dream Warriors. It sounded more like a goat coughing up a hairball. Hearing Axl Rose sing Guns N Roses anthems live is an instant skip on Spotify; it’s painful how bad he’s become. 

I couldn’t stand David Lee Roth in his Van Halen prime. To this day, his solo tour in 1987 is the worst of over 350 concerts I’ve attended. Even then, Roth couldn’t sing a lick. But I give Roth credit for his recent announcement that he’s retiring after an upcoming short residency in Las Vegas. Good for Roth, and good for our collective ears. Maybe Diamond Dave can be the shining example for a growing cadre of former rock stars who need to hang up their leather pants and spent voices.