Week 13 kicked off with a bang as the NFL’s hottest team, the New Orleans Saints, traveling to the heart of Dallas to duel the NFC-leading Cowboys on Thursday Night Football. Former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman had some opinions to voice about his former team and former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt was released by his team.
Dak Prescott outduels Drew Brees to end the Saints’ 10-game win streak
The Dallas Cowboys, 7-5, defeated the New Orleans Saints, 10-2, on Nov. 29 by a score of 13-10.
New Orleans’ offense looked uncharacteristically static on this fateful Thursday night. Saints quarterback Drew Brees started the game 0-4, passing for the first time in his illustrious career. Brees was also sacked twice and threw for an interception that killed a late-game chance for the Saints to come back and take the lead. The only touchdown scored by the Saints came off of miracle penalties. As far as the first half was concerned, the Saints only managed to muster 59 yards and did not put up any points until after halftime. One of the hottest, if not the hottest, offenses in the league was shut out for half a game.
The general consensus among Saints’ players and coaches is that the Cowboys just played a good game while New Orleans couldn’t find a rhythm. Saints’ running back Mark Ingram said, “We [are] good. We just gotta fix it. We didn’t do enough today. We just need to make sure that this never happens again,” per ESPN. Coach Sean Peyton said that the bottom line is that the Saints “got beat”, though there were questionable calls.
Dallas has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in recent weeks. If beating one of the best teams in the league doesn’t get the Cowboys any respect, then I don’t know what will. The QB-WR duo of Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper again proved to be an enjoyable pairing to watch. Prescott threw 24 completions out of 28 attempts while throwing for one touchdown and no interceptions against the Saints.
What I like most out of Prescott is his lack of interceptions. In Prescott’s last four games, including this one, he has thrown for zero interceptions, while passing and rushing for a combined seven touchdowns. However, Prescott leads the NFL in fumbles at 11. Prescott’s play has been serviceable, but the fumbles need to be cut down if the Cowboys want to keep winning games.
The Cowboys’ defense, who may have had a little help from some bad officiating, managed to stop a lethal Saints’ offense that has laid waste to NFL cities across the country. Regardless of some questionable calls, the Cowboys’ effort on the defensive side of the ball was commendable. Dallas cornerback Jourdan Lewis snuffed out what could have been a late game-winning drive by the Saints after he picked off Brees. Granted, the pass thrown by Brees was soft and had little chance to find its receiver, but Lewis still came up clutch and sparked life back into the Cowboys’ season.
The Saints really just came out unprepared to play and their overall record now shows that. However, there is a superstitious positive side that Saints fans can take out of this game. New Orleans went on a historic win-streak back in 2009 but was brought back down to Earth by the Cowboys. The Saints, however, would bounce back and win Louisiana its first Super Bowl. Could this be an omen for the Saints? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Richard Sherman sounds off about his former team
San Francisco 49er’s cornerback Richard Sherman, who has never been known as a man for soft-words and pleasantries, commented in regards to his former team, the Seattle Seahawks.
Sherman was cut by the Seahawks after suffering a season-ending injury (torn achilles) in 2017. At a recent news conference, Sherman discussed how he really felt about former teammate and current Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson. Sherman discussed how he never really had a relationship with his former quarterback – just that they were teammates who “played through a very special time for the franchise.” Among other things, the cornerback also mentioned that he has seen Wilson on both sides of the good-bad spectrum, saying that he has seen his former teammate throw five picks in a game before.
When discussing his relationship with the Seahawks franchise, Sherman said that “You just expect that once you’ve done so much for a franchise that they wouldn’t cut you when you’re hurt. It’s kind of a respect thing more than anything.” According to Sherman, the Seahawks, 6-5, are currently a “middle of the road [team].”
Sherman is right about how his time playing for the Seahawks was during a “special time” in the franchise. Drafted in the fifth-round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Sherman played for Seattle from 2011 to 2017. His time with Seattle was absolutely spectacular, as Sherman made the Pro Bowl four-straight times and helped the Seahawks make it to two Super Bowls, winning Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos. The Seahawks, with Sherman, made the playoffs all but two times (2011 & 2017) and came out with a Super Bowl win, two NFC Championships and three NFC West titles.
Among all the individual and team accomplishments, Sherman and former teammates Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas came together to form one of the best defenses of all-time, affectionately known as “The Legion of Boom.”
This was indeed a special time for the Emerald City, but remember business is always shifting. If legendary players like Joe Montana can get traded and Peyton Manning can be cut, what player or coach in the league is indispensable? We have to keep in mind that the NFL is a business. It’s a lousy way of looking at things, sure, but it’s true.
Can we really blame the Seahawks for releasing Sherman while he’s injured? It sucks that it happened like that, but an achilles injury is notoriously tough to come back from and Sherman plays a speed position. Not to mention that Sherman was nearing age 30 at the time. Sherman was a force to be reckoned with in Seattle and he brought a lot of swagger to the team, but he was also insubordinate at times and could’ve been a real issue in the locker room if left to fester. From Seattle’s standpoint, releasing Sherman was the right move.
Does Sherman have the right to be mad? Of course he does, and I understand his resentment toward the team after he gave everything he had for many successful years. Is Sherman right about the Seahawks being a middle of the road team? Actually, yes, but that is a topic for another day. Sherman and Wilson will face off again on Dec. 2 in the Emerald City.
Star running back Kareem Hunt released by the Chiefs
Star 23-year-old running back Kareem Hunt has been released by the Kansas City Chiefs after a video surfaced showing Hunt in a physical altercation with a woman.
The decision to release the running back was made by the Chiefs’ on the night of Nov. 30. However, Hunt was placed on the “Commissioner’s Exempt List” prior to the Chiefs’ decision. For those unaware, players put on the list are required to remain away from team activities while legal proceedings are being dealt with.
“The Exempt List is a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances. The List includes those players who have been declared by the Commissioner to be temporarily exempt from counting within the Active List limit. Only the Commissioner has the authority to place a player on the Exempt List; clubs have no such authority, and no exemption, regardless of circumstances, is automatic,” per the NFL.
The video, which shows Hunt shoving and kicking a woman at a Hotel in Cleveland, was published by TMZ, according to ESPN. The video was published only recently despite it being reported earlier. No arrests were made, nor charges filed.
What Hunt did was inexcusable, no doubt about it. I won’t make any excuses for Hunt’s violent actions against another person. But Hunt is only 23-years-old and is only in his sophomore season. I hate labeling players as head-cases at such a young age; everyone deserves a second chance. However, if Hunt is signed by another team, he can’t play in any games until the investigation is over. Question is: what team in the league is desperate for a running back?
