November 2017 – Page 2

Bills newbie McDermott looks out of his league with bizarre Peterman decision

What was Sean McDermott thinking?

That is the question being asked around the NFL after McDermott made a decision that has no obvious explanation.

The Buffalo Bills rookie coach benched Tyrod Taylor for rookie Nathan Peterman with the Bills still very much alive in the wild card race at 5-4 despite two losses in a row.

It’s not like Peterman was being touted as the quarterback of the future. He was a fifth-round choice, although Jon Gruden said he was the most ready to step in and start of any of the rookie quarterbacks.

Any team thinking of hiring Gruden might keep that comment in mind. Both Gruden and McDermott were wrong. Dead wrong.

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What to look for: NFL Week 11

A look ahead to Week 11 in the NFL’s 2017 season:

1. The NFL schedule makers gambled that the Eagles would have a good team when they matched them against the Cowboys in the Sunday night prime game in Week 11. Sure enough, the Eagles did their part. They are 8-1 and have the best record in the league. But the Cowboys are a disappointing 5-4 and are playing their second game in a row without suspended Ezekiel Elliott and injured tackle Tyron Smith. It no longer looks like a great prime time matchup because the Cowboys aren’t the team they were last year and the Eagles should win easily.

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Koetter is under pressure to right the Buccaneers’ ship

Dirk Koetter, the Tampa Bay Bucs coach who is enduring a frustrating season that could cost him his job, has an interesting take on the mindset of players on a losing team.

Koetter, who has spent 11 years in the NFL as an offensive coordinator and a head coach, said last week that players don’t tend to lose confidence in their own ability but lose confidence in others, including the coaches.

After losing five consecutive games before squeaking past the New York Jets on Sunday, Koetter said that some players may have lost confidence in him, his scheme and maybe their teammates.

“What happens when a team loses is sometimes (the players) are not confident in the coach, or the scheme, or the other side of the ball or their teammates,’’ Koetter said. That’s human nature. That happens in every aspect of life. Do I think there is possibly some of that going on (here)? Yeah, there probably is. The easiest way to fix it is (to) play good team football and get a win.”

I got to know Koetter when he was the offensive coordinator of the Jaguars and was always impressed with his candor, but this may be too much candor for his own good.

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Taking a look back: NFL Week 10

A look back on Week 10 of the NFL’s 2017 season:

1. The New Orleans Saints beat the Buffalo Bills, 47-10, for their seventh victory in a row after a 0-2 start. The only other team to win seven in a row after an 0-2 start was Dallas in 1993, although that was because Emmitt Smith held out the first two games. The Saints crushed Buffalo on the ground, rushing for 298 yards and six touchdowns, becoming just the fifth team to rush for over 295 yards and six touchdowns in NFL history. Mark Ingram led the way with 131 yards and three touchdowns. The Bills are going in the opposite direction of the Saints. They started off 5-2 but have given up 492 rushing yards in their last two losses to the Jets and Saints. It is easy to say the Bills missed defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, who was traded to Jacksonville, but that is probably too simplistic. The Bills have beaten only one winning team (Atlanta) and probably aren’t as good as they looked earlier. And quarterback Tyrod Taylor was benched for rookie Nathan Peterman late in the game, and Peterman will get his first start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. It probably means the end of Taylor’s career in Buffalo, as he will likely move on next year.

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Bob Kraft’s shady Bermuda tax-dodging comes to light in Paradise Papers

Bob Kraft got another reminder recently that being an NFL means living in a fishbowl.

The Guardian recently published the so-called “Paradise Papers,” pointing out that dozens of investors from around the world were legally shielding their fortunes in accounts in Bermuda.

The list includes Queen Elizabeth and her son Charles and celebrities like Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Martha Stewart, companies like Facebook, Twitter, Nike and Walmart and several Ivy League universities.

But Kraft’s name on the list got a lot of attention because he owns the New England Patriots.

And Kraft has tried to cultivate a down-to-earth image by saying he buys coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts, not Starbucks, and pays for the people in line behind him.

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