NFL Week 4 winners and losers: How is Mike McCoy still fully employed?
By Josh Hill
We are through four weeks in the NFL season, and the real winners and losers are starting to separate themselves from the pack.
What the hell is going on in the NFL? Seriously, the Patriots get shutout, the Cardinals can’t stop losing and the Broncos are two no-name quarterbacks deep and still undefeated. We’re through four weeks in the season now and things are still as muddy as ever, with Super Bowl hopefuls siting in the basement and Cinderella squads rising to the top.
New England will be alright after getting shutout at home by the Bills. Arizona will probably figure it out and earn a Wild Card spot. Aaron Rodgers will remain consistently amazing. Right now we’re in the fringes of a hurricane, slowly pulling towards a calm center where things finally clear up for a brief moment before all hell breaks loose again in the postseason.
Let’s live outside of the box score a little, since that’s where the real battles are won and lost anyways.
Loser: Jameis Winston
The Bucs quarterback has been upgraded from the power ranking of pain to straight up loser. It’s not that he lost to the Broncos or couldn’t stop throwing the ball to Aqib Talib, but because Dirk Koetter is letting him down.
You have to give Koetter some credit for not focusing solely on the development of Winston. He wants to change the culture in Tampa and that’s a hard thing to do considering how piss-poor it’s been since Jon Gruden left. But Koetter left Winston in a game Sunday that was way out of hand and allowed him to get brutalized. That’s not going to work, as it’s a form of the tough love approach that has sunk the Bucs ship so many times before.
Winner: Sam Bradford
Some of you got upset when I said Bradford was a loser after his Week 2 win against Green Bay. I still think he’s going to come crashing back to reality before the season is over, but for now it’s hard to deny how good he’s playing.
Bradford has been a total wild card linch pin to this season. Not only has he found his groove with the 4-0 Vikings, but he’s played a role in Carson Went’s success too. By being traded from Philly, Bradford inadvertently gave way to the rise of Wentz, as it was the former Oklahoma quarterback slated to start Week 1 against the Browns. Maybe he would have had this success with the Eagles, thus blocking this meteoric rise Wentz is on at the moment. So while he may be winning in Minnesota, he deserves some free cheesesteaks back in Philly.
Loser: Hue Jackson
Just like Jameis, Jackson is getting upgraded (downgraded?) to being a straight up loser from last week’s power ranking of pain. It seems that no matter what Hue Jackson does, he can’t outwit the curse of the Browns. They should have beaten the Ravens but were gipped on a bad call on Terrelle Pryor. This week they were undone in part by a horrible fumble call.
Jackson isn’t a bad head coach. But he’s been dealt an impossible hand to win with in Cleveland. The Browns very well could be 3-1 or 2-2, if the refs make two proper calls and Cody Parkey doesn’t shank a game-winner against Miami. Instead, they’re 0-4 and on their way to another losing season.
Winner: Jeff Fisher
Jeff Fisher is a Rubix Cube dipped in chocolate. Damn if he isn’t frustrating to figure out but all damn if we can’t kick our craving for more of him. He’s infamous for shucking out “7-9 bullshit” but has somehow managed to get the Rams to a 3-1 start. He’s an anomaly to a coaching culture that is about as thankless as it gets.
He survived in Houston/Tennessee for years by being mediocre, which was miraculous. But his second act in St. Louis/Los Angeles has been the encore we didn’t know we wanted until it was forced on us. Maybe it’s the while relocation thing that does the trick, but Fisher has duplicated his success with the Oilers/Titans in a way that is so identical that he might actually be some sort of android.
Week 4 NFL Head Coach Hot Seat
The coaching hot seat is starting to get more than a little warm for these underachievers:
1. Mike McCoy, Chargers
Holy hell, how does Mike McCoy still have a job? I used to actively root against the Chargers after A.J. Smith fired Marty Schottenhiemer but since then they’ve been doomed to let head coaches toil away long after they’ve expired. McCoy should have been fired last year and his days are numbered.
2. Chuck Pagano, Colts
Just like McCoy, Pagano should have been gone last year. If this losing continues, Jim Irsay might can him before the season is over. Extension or not, this thing is not going in the right direction in Indianapolis.
3. Mike Mularkey, Titans
He’s wasting Marcus Mariota. There’s no other way to say it, as Mularkey’s tired and ineffective offense is stunting the growth of a quarterback that shows signs of being something truly special. That’s grounds for immediate termination.
Week 4 Power Ranking of Pain
This week, let’s take a look at the worst performances of Week 3.
3. Alex Smith, QB, Chiefs
The Chiefs will probably bounce back after their bye week and murder the Raiders, but we have to start wondering how numbered Alex Smith’s days are in Kansas City. He’s been atrocious this season and could end up being the thing that holds up the Chiefs’ Super Bowl dreams.
2. Eli Manning, QB, Giants
Something is going horribly wrong in New York and Eli is officially at the top of the blame chart. With Tom Coughlin gone and Ben McAdoo busy grading math papers somewhere, Eli is going to be taking the brunt of the Giants 2-2 start to the season. Odell is starting to get restless and that overpaid defense needs a pep talk so it can finally start helping win some games.
1. Tony Romo, QB, Ex-Cowboys
If you think that Tony Romo is getting the starting job back in Dallas, you’re probably Tony Romo. Dak Prescott may not be reinventing the position — or playing above average — but he’s healthy and solid. That’s something that a Cowboys quarterback hasn’t been since before Troy Aikman, and Romo has officially been Brady’d.
Things That Will Definitely Happen in Week 5
Let’s close out with a look ahead at somethings that will definitely happen next week in the NFL. First, let’s look at Week 3 predictions to see how wrong I was:
- The Ravens are going to get annihilated after playing an actual team in the Raiders. Not annihilated but they indeed lost to Oakland.
- Arizona will remember their Super Bowl contenders, forcing Los Angeles will come crashing back to earth. C’mon, Bruce!
- Jacksonville is going to get their first win of the season over the Colts in London. The London Jaguars prevail.
Alright, as for things that will happen in Week 5:
- Sam Bradford is going to lead the Vikings to a 5-0 start, confusing everyone everywhere.
- The Cardinals will figure it out this week and start rebounding with the Drew Stanton Experience.
- Atlanta will become Super Bowl favorites after handing Denver its first loss of the season.
- Tom Brady is going to beat the Browns but will be slower out of the gate than some expect.
We’ll have to see how right or wrong these end up being when Week 5 of NFL action kicks off on Sunday.
Stay safe out there, America.