NFL Takeaways Week 7
By: Andrew Ferguson
I just love that the NFL dominates Thursday, Sunday and Mondays. Waiting between days with no football is a grind, but the NFL still finds ways to fill the voids. We just had our first blockbuster trades and both went to the same division for 2 teams making legit Super Bowl runs. This season has been top tier and as always, when you think you know something, you know nothing. A little John Snow reference for you for anybody that watched Game of Thrones.
But with week 7 out of the way, we’re close to the trade deadline, half way point of the season and that much closer to the playoffs. Let’s talk about week 7!
1) Trades! And More Rumors?
The Colts are the first team throwing in the towel and having a fire sale. It started last week when Chris Ballard was fired and everyone saw this coming. So far Quenton Nelson was traded to the Seahawks for 2 future draft picks. This is a massive acquisition for Seattle and it’s one of those under the radar trades. Nelson is one of the best at his position and Seattle is desperate to get their run game going. I think they have some regrets in not re-signing Ken Walker but they now have the pieces on the O-line to improve it and they’ll get Charbonnet and Jadarian Price back. The coaching is elite, JSN is a monster, the run game should be better and the defense is championship worthy. Watch out for Seattle after this one. The Colts also traded Deforest Buckner back to the 49ers for a reunion tour with his old club. So that just leaves Jonathan Taylor to be dealt next right? I honestly don’t think it happens. The Colts have him locked up for another 2 years and he’s the only good thing about this team right now. I could see them moving Downs to a WR needy team and maybe one or two other pieces but Taylor stays a Colt in my mind.
So as much fun as the trades have been so far with the Colts, who else should we keep an eye on? Well I’m pretty well versed in fantasy football so I apologize that my takes will be focused on the offense. I do think Downs gets dealt as he’s also just announced he wants out anyway. But names to keep an eye on are Tony Pollard, Brian Thomas Jr., Quentin Johnston and Jerry Jeudy. The Chiefs need a WR and one of these guys could come in and help instantly. I also think if a big package is put together for Garrett Wilson, he’s someone that could be moved. The deadline is November 10th so we still have some time and another two Sundays in front of us to see what shakes up. But I do expect to see some big moves.
2) Vikings are the Last Team Standing?
Hard to believe this is the last undefeated team. But here we are and they sit at 6-0. Ready for a hot take? I don’t think they’re the best team in their own division. I don’t think they’re the 2nd best team in their division. Time will tell but I still like both the Lions and Bears over the Vikings. My pick going into the season was the Lions and they might be starting to heat up. The Bears offense is healthy and nothing to play around with. The Packers are still floating around but I just don’t see them making a championship run, like I don’t see with the Vikings. Yes, they have an elite defense and Brian Flores deserves to be a head coach again. But with their small margin of victory, lack of efficiency from the QB spot and offense overall, I think we’ll start to see some things settle out in Minnesota. But we also just saw the Chiefs get dominated and the 49ers lose to Atlanta. So since the Vikings are now the last undefeated team, are they number 1 in my power rankings? Absolutely not and we’ll get to that later. I love their coaching staff and defense but that’s not enough for me to be fully bought in yet.
3) NFC East Update
Holy crap, some teams finally won in this division! And one had a bye! What are we making of the NFC East these days? I said last week I still believe this is the Cowboy’s division to lose and I still feel that way. The Giants keep surprising people with whoever is at QB but we’ll see how long JJ McCarthy’s play is sustainable. The Eagles are out of the equation this year. They just look awful and Sirianni is on the hot seat. Same with Dan Quinn, he has to go. The Commanders are in too deep of a hole in my opinion and this offense keeps taking hits with injuries that I just don’t think they’re able to bounce back from. The Cowboys and Giants seem to be in a 2 man race for this division and the Cowboys are going to get it together. The Giants are intriguing and now that Cam Skattebo is out of the doghouse, they’re a fun team to watch again. I think the Cowboys have put their roster together better and at the end of the day, have the talent to dig themselves out of the 2-4 start they had to win this division. Which might be the only way they get into the playoffs because there is a path where they finish 9-8 or 10-7 which won’t be good enough for a wild card. But even with that record, the Cowboys are not a team I’m going to want to run into in the playoffs. Their defense can only get better right? And if they run the ball as well as they did against the Eagles on Monday Night Football and get all of their elite weapons involved, it’s going to be hard to stop.
4) Should the Eagles do What the Colts are Doing?
Time to fire someone and start trading players right? I think so. It’s hard though because this team is built much more differently than the Colts. The Eagles still have a championship worthy defense in my opinion and have a lot of assets they could get a good return on if they choose that route. I think it’s time to rebuild the offense and salvage as much of the defense as you can for a quick turnaround. Saquon is an easy one for me. He keeps getting hurt and a team may be willing to give up a middle round pick for him. Imagine a team like the Vikings. They still have plenty of depth at running back to where they wouldn’t need to run Saquon into the ground but he could be a huge piece to the equation for their playoff run. People are hoping Hurts is back next year but I’d start planning for my future quarterback anyway. He seems to have peaked and his days as an elite Super Bowl quarterback may be over. Better to get in front of it and have some type of backup plan. Devonta Smith is also a piece that I would be okay with departing from. He’s a fan favorite and there aren’t many weapons after him in Philly, but he could get you a great haul of picks. Tough, but that’s just how the business is. I think Philly would be silly to not consider moving on from a lot of this core and start looking to rebuild the future.
5) What do Giants do with Their QBs Next Year?
Here’s a scenario: JJ McCarthy plays well all season and the Giants make the playoffs. Jaxson Dart comes back healthy next year and demands his starting job back. What do the Giants do? I would imagine it would be a competition during camp with a slight edge over Dart but McCarthy has a shot here to make it interesting. McCarthy is also going to be close to wanting a payday as he’ll be going into his 4th year already. Crazy to think how time flies. But at the end of the day, I see both of these QBs on the roster next year with McCarthy starting off as the backup. He may have some chances to play since we’ve seen Dart get hurt every season which will lead to McCarthy being able to sign with a team and have his Sam Darnold moment. He’s playing well and letting it rip which we didn’t see anything of in Minnesota. How crazy would it be to see the Vikings have two franchise QBs walk away and succeed in their new homes? JJ may be that next QB.
6) NFC South Update
This division is the most frustrating and confusing division on the planet. And it’s like this every year. Now imagine being a fan of one of these teams in this division. What are the Falcons? Last year, they lost to the Jets and Dolphins but beat the Rams and Bills. This year, they’re losing to decent opponents, but beating the former undefeated 49ers and Packers. A little consistency would be nice. The Bucs started 0-4 with Baker, and now they just manhandled the Panthers. No team is above .500 so anybody has a shot here. Am I crazy for 1) thinking the Falcons can pull this off? Or 2) The Bucs coming out of that hole and getting the job done. I’ll start with the Falcons. They’re sneakily playing well on defense and not so secretly playing great on offense. Michael Penix has proven to be the X factor in this offense because it unlocks all of Bijan, Drake London and Kyle Pitts’ potential and abilities. He’s zipping the ball nicely and playing efficiently. They also get James Pierce Jr. back who is their leading edge rusher. That could be a huge addition at the midpoint of the season and they could be sitting at .500. As for the Bucs, Baker is back which is good, but this run game seems to be clicking and Bucky Irving is the lynchpin to their offense. If the Bucs can stop messing around and stop losing to bad teams, all it takes is a couple wins in a row to be on top in this division which is proving to be very hard for these teams. The Saints were fun at first but they’ve struggled over the last 6 weeks to get much going. They have some key offensive weapons coming back but it may be too little too late. As for the Panthers, they’re still a big question mark to me. Is the defense awful? Is Bryce Young that good? I still need more time before I’m sold on this team winning the NFC South.
7) Can the Rams Get it Together?
I’ve been saying this for weeks to not panic, then last week I said it’s time to panic and now I’m backing off the panic button just a tad once again. The reason is because of their upcoming schedule and they need to stop messing around. Over the next 3 weeks, they play the Chargers, Commanders and Cardinals. If this team is not 6-4 after that stretch, going into their bye week, then yes, it’s time to panic again. But after that, the schedule gets absolutely brutal with good teams. However, the Rams are a good team and need to beat good opponents. So my prediction, they get to 6-4 and finish 4-3 against that tough stretch down the road and get to a 10-7 wild card team. And trust me, they’re not a team I’d want to play in the playoffs, especially if they’re healthy. There is a chance here if everything on paper plays out the way it should. I’m a nervous Rams fan right now but my finger is off the button for now.
8) When Will Mendoza Start for the Raiders?
We’ve gotten the debut and a small sample of this year’s number 1 pick. But when the Raiders were 3-0, people thought we wouldn’t see Mendoza at all this year without an injury to Cousins. Well now the Raiders are on a 4 game losing streak and have come back down to earth. Time to put the rookie in right? I still don’t think so. They’re still in a competitive race for this division and the QB play doesn’t seem to be the reason the Raiders are losing. Cousins is playing well and actually ranks QB4 in fantasy, so he’s putting up stats. The Raiders have a really tough stretch of defenses over the next 5 weeks in the Jets, 49ers, Seahawks, Broncos and Browns. I just don’t think throwing a Rookie into this mix is going to get your team back on track or give your future franchise QB the proper experience he needs. If the Raiders are struggling during this stretch and are out of it by the time their week 13 bye hits, that’s when we’ll see Mendoza and it could be the last 5 games of the season.
9) Who’s the MVP Now?
Purdy and Mahomes didn’t do much for their MVP votes this past weekend. Both have had some drop off since hot starts to the season. So that leaves Josh Allen as the clear favorite. However, is it time to start considering position players for this role? Kenneth Walker, Jahmyr Gibbs and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are people that deserve to be in the conversation. The NFL pretty much gives MVP to a quarterback every year but they make up for it by having a separate award for Offensive Player of the Year. And out of the 3 I mentioned, who do you think deserves it? I think the Lions would be okay at best without Gibbs. But take out Walker and JSN, these two teams are lost. Look at the impact Walker has had with the Chiefs and the run game this year. But if you take out JSN from the Seahawks, they might be one of the worst offenses in the league. If Walker can stay healthy, he deserves that OPOTY award and deserves to be in the MVP talks if the Chiefs win the division and make the playoffs. That’s how important he is to this team right now.
10) Updated Power Rankings and a New Number 1!
So I gave you a sneak preview that the last undefeated team is not my number 1. But I do have a new team after the 49ers lost to the Falcons. You don’t deserve it if that happens to you. So right now, the Bills are now my favorite team to win it all. Even with the defensive struggles. Josh Allen is just unstoppable and he’s playing with a chip on his shoulder this year. He can throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards on any given day. How can you argue that? He’s the MVP favorite, the Bills are the Super Bowl favorite and if there is ever a year for him to get it done, this could be it. The Bills are on their way to a 1 seed in the AFC and that alone is such an advantage to winning a Super Bowl. You get a bye and all home games. Doesn’t get much better than that. If the Bills can keep their heads down, foot on the gas and keep beating good opponents, watch out.
