The NFL season is like an education; each week we gain a few more insights into specific players, teams and overall trends. Every game teaches us a few new lessons. Us media members then take these insights and pretend we know what we're talking about.
So what did we learn in Week 7?
1. The NFC West is in trouble
The Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers have been among the best teams in football over the last few years. The Seahawks are reigning Super Bowl champions and the 49ers have made three straight appearances in the NFC Championship Game. But now the 'Hawks have dropped two straight games, including a 28-26 to the 2-4 St. Louis Rams yesterday. San Francisco just got pummeled by the Denver Broncos last night. There's no shame in losing to Peyton Manning during a record breaking performance. But a 42-17 blowout in primetime? Yikes.
The Seahawks are the fifth Super Bowl winning team to start 3-3 or worse after six games. Only one of the previous four made the playoffs. Seattle's defense has not been the same ferocious unit from last season. They're on pace to finish with roughly just 19.0 sacks after recording 44.0 last season. The pass defense has been middle of the pack, allowing six touchdowns through the air in their last three games. The Legion of Boom looks like it's out of dynamite right now.
San Fran has been up and down this year. They beat the Dallas Cowboys in their season opener, then dropped two straight. Last night they didn't even look competitive, allowing 419 total yards and six touchdowns.
These two teams were supposed to be the hard-nosed, physical ground-and-pound bad boys of the NFL. Instead, they've been relatively mediocre and beatable. The shocking Percy Harvin trade only adds to the strangeness. I won't count out either team. But they need to make some changes if they want to be serious championship contenders once again.
2. The Washington Redskins have no answers at quarterback
Remember when some people were claiming that Kirk Cousins was a better option at quarterback than Robert Griffin III? Yeah, I don't think so. After a disastrous two-turnover first half, Cousins was benched by coach Jay Gruden in favor of Colt McCoy, who threw a touchdown on his first pass attempt thanks to a spectacular yards after catch effort by Pierre Garcon.
RGIII hasn't played since Week 2 because of a dislocated ankle but his return could be sped up following Cousins' benching. "If the third-year quarterback looks really good in practice Wednesday, then there's a chance he [Griffin] would get the start," wrote ESPN's John Keim.
Even if Griffin is able to start, questions about his durability and effectiveness in this offense remain. Griffin still has a long way to go to become a dependable pocket passer. Three years ago, Washington believed it had one of the best combinations of talent and depth at the quarterback position in the league. Now, the Redskins are looking at a roster that may not have its quarterback of the future on it.
3. Dysfunction in Chicago
Uh-oh. It looks like there might be some locker room drama building for the Chicago Bears. Shortly after Chicago's 27-14 loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday, loud yelling was heard coming from the Bears locker room. The source was reportedly an irate Brandon Marshall calling out Jay Cutler.
Following Marshall's outburst, coach Marc Trestman and Cutler gave contradictory statements during the post-game press conference when it came to offensive calls. Then, because these things seem to happen in threes, guard Kyle Long criticized the fans at Soldier Field.
Several players and coaches cited turnovers as the primary issue for the Bears' recent struggles.
"Turnovers obviously hurt you," Trestman said. "When you turn over the ball, you take yourself out of it. We had three turnovers today offensively, and that was after a bad start. If you look at the games, I think there [is] some reasonably good execution in terms of how utilizing our offense, particularly."
"Same mistakes, same mistakes, same mistakes," Marshall said. "We've got to protect the football."
For what it's worth, Cutler threw on pick and had three fumbles (losing one) in Sunday's loss to Miami. Chicago goes as their quarterback does. If Cutler avoids critical mistakes, everyone is happy. If Cutler is part of the problem, it doesn't look as if anyone will be shy about letting him know.
