Proper Reaction Monday: Level-Headed Takeaways From NFL Sunday, Week 4
Finally, we're starting to get some real information! As I've explained in the two previous iterations of this column, people make wild assumptions based on limited information. Two games is not that much information. After three NFL Sundays, we can start to form better opinions.
Still, 28 teams have played three games. That still represents less than one-quarter of a season. Actually, it represents less than one-fifth of the season. Thus, there are still some wild takes getting thrown around following NFL Sunday #3.
First, let's revisit some of last week's takes and see how they fared after gathering an extra 5.9% of information.
Revisiting Hot Takes Following NFL Sunday, Week 3
Dallas Cowboys badly exposed in loss to Arizona Cardinals
I made the case last week not to overreact to Dallas losing to Arizona. They promptly beat the ever-loving snot out of the New England Patriots, 38-3. I was not as high on the Cowboys entering the season as others, but they are clearly one of the better teams in the NFC. Losing Trevon Diggs hurts, but the defense is still among the league's best units.
None of this really matters until the playoffs, anyway. The Dallas Cowboys are going to reach the NFL playoffs and that's when the spotlight shines brightest. Dak Prescott has an impressive regular season record with virtually no postseason success to talk about. That has to change this season. Or else.
Or else what? Exactly.
The Minnesota Vikings should trade Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins threw a terrible pick-six early against the Carolina Panthers and it appeared this take wasn't going to age well for me. But, the Vikings rebounded and won the game. There are still questions about this team's viability, but I'm not counting out an NFC North championship. They have the Kansas City Chiefs at home this week. That's a huge game. The Chiefs are more vulnerable right now, seemingly, than they have been in some time.
The Minnesota Vikings probably need to win that game. And, I think they will.
This Week's Hot Takes From NFL Sunday, Week 4
THE BUFFALO BILLS ARE NOW THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFL!
I actually think this is probably true. However, I still want to point out that I find the media hilarious. The Bills lost in Week 1 to the New York Jets and everyone left them for dead. "Josh Allen turns the ball over too much," they said. The Miami Dolphins put up video-game numbers for three games and they became the darlings of the league.
The Buffalo Bills put on an impressive show on Sunday and are one of the best teams in the NFL. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Then, the Buffalo Bills ran a train on Miami this past NFL Sunday, now everyone's back on the Bills train. The way people jump on and off hype trains is enough to make anyone's head spin. I've been on the Bills since the start. I picked them to win the AFC East and nothing changed through three weeks. They beat the Dolphins in impressive fashion. But my opinion didn't change.
That's the entire point of this weekly column. Stop overreacting to every single NFL game.
The Carolina Panthers should have taken CJ Stroud or Anthony Richardson over Bryce Young
This stuff cracks me up even more than the team bandwagon jumping. People say all the time: "it takes 3-5 years to properly evaluate an NFL Draft." That's true. Yet, every year we get this same lazy take after just a few games. Apparently, Stroud, Young and Richardson's futures are already decided after four games.
CJ Stroud looks very good, no question. I had him ranked as the second quarterback in the draft, behind Young, and wrote the Texans would be foolish not to draft him. But writing off Bryce Young after three starts is extremely short-sighted.
The Carolina Panthers offensive line is a complete disaster. Not one of their starters ranks in the Top 20 at his position, according to Pro Football Focus. The team has virtually no weapons to help out its young quarterback.
The Anthony Richardson stuff is worse than the Stroud stuff, though. There was a genuine debate about whether Young or Stroud was the better player. I battled that a bit myself. No one had Anthony Richardson ranked above them, for the most part. And they still shouldn't.
Anthony Richardson makes incredible plays with his legs but has a long way to go as a passer. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Richardson helped lead the Colts to nearly massive come-from-behind victory over the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams escaped in OT without Richardson touching the football. But Richardson only completed 11 passes in the entire game. His big plays mostly come from his legs. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it sounds a lot like Justin Fields. I'm not saying they're the same, but there are some similarities and Richardson has to improve as a passer.
His throwing motion is too slow and he misses a lot of easy throws. That's normal for a rookie quarterback. But, so many people see the "NFL RedZone" highlights and assume he just plays at a high level all the time. He doesn't. He's part of the reason they trailed 23-0 in the first place.
Stroud might have been the most NFL-ready QB in this year's NFL Draft. It certainly looks that way and I won't argue it. But spare me from crowning him as the guy who's clearly going to have the best NFL career after four weeks.
The New England Patriots need to fire Bill Belichick
I am not making this up. This is something circulating among New England Patriots fans and media.
I do love the sentiments that Bill Belichick isn't a good coach without Tom Brady. The Patriots got worse after their Hall of Fame quarterback left!? What a surprise!
Sure, Belichick made some questionable decisions. Putting the team in the hands of Mac Jones wasn't the best choice. But, if you remember, Belichick wanted to keep Jimmy Garoppolo. I think there would be an entirely different conversation happening if he were still on the Patriots roster. But, Brady forced his hand by going to Robert Kraft. Fine, but cut Belichick some slack for having to go find a new Tom Brady in the middle of the first round.
Belichick suffers from something that many of the greats do: their own expectations. Some of Quentin Tarantino's movie have lower critical ratings than many movies that they're better than by other directors. Why? Because critics compare his movies to his other movies. Kill Bill might not be as good as Pulp Fiction. But it's certainly better than most of the movies rated ahead of it.
New England Patriots fans want head coach Bill Belichick fired after a disastrous NFL Sunday loss against the Dallas Cowboys. (Photo by Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
That's what Belichick faces. The Patriots roster isn't great. He's the GM, part of that is on him. But part of that comes from trying to win in Tom Brady's final seasons and sacrificing everything for that goal. The mere fact that New England was 25-25 in three regular seasons post-Brady prior to this season goes to show how good Belichick is.
However, New England fans got used to being yearly Super Bowl contenders. That's not realistic for teams that don't have elite quarterbacks. The Patriots went 7-9 with Cam Newton -- who literally could no longer competently throw footballs past five yards -- in 2020 and made the playoffs with Mac Jones in 2021. How many other coaches would have pulled that off? Not many.
Quick Hits From NFL Sunday
Nathaniel Hackett had a better record through four games as Denver Broncos head coach than Sean Payton does
I'm going to include this blurb every single week until it isn't true. I've made my case about Sean Payton before, so no need to rehash that.
Sean Payton and the Denver Broncos nearly had another disastrous NFL Sunday but managed to survive. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
He's an OK NFL coach, but not a genius worthy of a first-round pick. It's really funny that he absolutely obliterated former head coach Nathaniel Hackett publicly and he actually has a worse record through four games. Hackett went 2-2 through four weeks last season. Payton is 1-3 and only has that one win because the Chicago Bears and Matt Eberflus are one of the only bigger disasters in the NFL.