NFL Roundup: RIP Dennis Green, J.J. Watt hurt, and more
By John Buhler
On Friday in the NFL, former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green passed away at 67, J.J. Watt got himself hurt, and much more.
Friday was a bit of a rough day in the National Football League: former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green passed away at age 67 due to cardiac arrest, Houston Texans face of the franchise J.J. Watt hurt himself working on his own, and a few players were either suspended by the NFL or on the verge of it.
Green was one of the most underrated head football coaches of his time. During his 10 seasons as the head coach of the Vikings (1992-2001), Minnesota won the NFC Central four times (1992, 1994, 1998, 2000), made the NFC Playoffs eight times, and finished with a 97-62 regular season record coaching the Vikings. His 1998 team famously went 15-1 and were upset at home by the Atlanta Falcons in the 1998 NFC Championship Game.
Green wouldn’t be able to recapture the same success in the Valley of the Sun, as his three years as the Cardinals coach (2004-06) were largely underwhelming. Arizona went 16-32 in Green’s three years in the desert. His “they are who we thought they were” speech after getting crushed by the eventual NFC Champion Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football in 2006 was the most memorable part of his Arizona tenure and unfortunately his NFL coaching career.
Green coached 13 NFL seasons, compiling 113-94 regular season record and a 4-8 mark in the NFC Playoffs. His great schematics and reputation as a head coach paved the way for many more African-Americans to get opportunities to lead football teams. He will be missed.
With the Texans looking to repeat as AFC South Champions in 2016, they’ll have their work cut out for them early as their star player defensive end J.J. Watt will miss training camp and all of 2016 preseason after undergoing back surgery. Watt may have hurt himself condition in his own private workouts.
Houston needs him to play at an All-Pro level if the Texans want to hold their own in an improving AFC South. The Indianapolis Colts get back quarterback Andrew Luck, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ aerial attack is one of the best in football, and Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is poised for a breakout sophomore campaign in 2016.
Besides the passing of Green and the reckless Watt injury, Friday was not a good day in the NFL, as one and up to three different players could be suspended by the NFL. Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Arthur Jones has been suspended by the NFL for violating the league’s PED policy. He will miss the first four games in 2016, not good news for an already weak Colts defense.
Dallas Cowboys rookie running back and No. 4 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft Ezekiel Elliott might be in some hot water after some domestic violence rumors involving his ex-girlfriend, first reported by TMZ Sports.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano first reported that Pittsburgh Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell might again be facing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. A consensus top five running back in the game, Bell is fantastic for the Steelers, but possibly missing the first quarter of back-to-back NFL seasons due to violating the drug policy has to raise some eyebrows.
The passing of an influential head coach to cardiac arrest, having a franchise’s best player out for all of training camp and the preseason due to injury, and three different players potentially violating the NFL’s PED, substance abuse, and domestic violence policies made for one awful Friday in the NFL in late July. Hopefully better news comes this weekend or early next week.
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