Top 5 NFL storylines heading into Week 5

Sep 29, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali (91) hits New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) while passing during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 41-14. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

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Sep 19, 2014; New York, NY, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the media at a press conference at New York Hilton. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

1. The scandals just keep on coming

Just when it seemed the heat on the league was dying down a bit, we had a number of scandals hit the front page on Monday.

In a story that shocked absolutely no one, Indianapolis Colts safety LaRon Landry was suspended for violating the NFL’s policy against performance enhancing drugs. The 29-year-old safety will have to sit out four games. The good news is that the Colts probably won’t notice because whatever Landry was taking didn’t actually make him any good at football. His four-year, $24 million contract is currently one of the worst in football.

This suspension showed, yet again, that the NFL has a major PED problem. The fact that Landry hadn’t failed a test until now is absolutely ridiculous. The guy’s arms are so big he probably can’t even scratch his head. He looks like Popeye after a dinner of spinach and a large side of gamma radiation.

Also on Monday, autopsy results on former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher revealed that he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) when he killed his child’s mother, Kasandra Perkins, and himself on December 1, 2012. CTE has been found in the brains of many former NFL players with a history of repetitive brain injuries.

Belcher’s mother, Cheryl Shepherd, has sued the Chiefs, claiming the team failed to care for her son. It is yet another example of how the risks facing NFL players may not be worth the rewards.

In the coup de grace to start the week, a report claims Roger Goodell’s security head and bodyguard assaulted a photographer in New York City on September 17. Several eyewitnesses claim freelance photographer JB Nicholas was pulled from his bike, wrestled to the ground in the median and punched in the face by Thomas Crowe. Crowe works for Goodell and was driving an SUV Nicholas was following in an attempt to get a picture of the commissioner. Nicholas has since been charged in the incident, but Crowe has not.

Something tells me we haven’t heard the last of this story.

The league needs a scandal-free week, but it doesn’t seem like we’ll be getting one of those any time soon.

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