This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
So, what's been the incendiary, inflammatory NFL news du jour in the buildup to Week 6? Ummmmm … weeellllllll … I got nothing.
There certainly hasn't been anything to rival the breathless, gushing hyperbole train that preceded last week's Return of the Brady.
Which is fine. It's just that, for a league that attempts to be omnipresent in fans' minds and hearts and TV screens, you'd think we could've done better than Cam Newton riding a scooter while concussed, or Antonio Brown's latest tribute cleats honoring Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez and MMA fighter Kimbo Slice, or Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg calling the national anthem protests of Colin Kaepernick and others "dumb and disrespectful" before walking back her criticism as "inappropriately dismissive and harsh."
Hmmmmmm … we may actually just have to focus on the games we'll be watching here in Week 6 of NFLonTVinSLC.
I suppose we could also focus on the games we WON'T be watching? Can we please start that flex scheduling thingy a bit earlier? Seriously, what sense does it make to forgo Atlanta at Seattle (and Julio Jones vs. Richard Sherman) in favor of Indy at Houston?
(The answer is none. It makes none sense.)
Eagles at Washington, 11 a.m., Ch. 13 • With Philly right tackle Lane Johnson's 10-game suspension in effect, the Eagles will be starting rookie Halapoulivaati Vaitai — who was inactive the first four games — in his place.
Two thoughts here: 1. I'm pretty sure halapoulivaativaitai is the word that ended my epic ninth-grade Spelling Bee run in third place; and 2. Starting a rookie RT who's making his NFL debut could be worrisome for a team with a rookie QB and a starting running back averaging 3.3 ypc going against a defense that hasn't allowed a second-half TD in its past three games.
Chiefs at Raiders, 2 p.m., Ch. 2 • San Diego fending off Denver on Thursday has Raiders fans much-enthused, as it put Oakland alone in first in the AFC West. We'll have to see how long the Raiders remain there, considering the 7.0 ypp their defense is allowing is the worst such mark since the NFL-AFL merger.
"They've played some good offenses. That's kind of inflated that," Chiefs QB Alex Smith inexplicably offered in the Raiders' defense. Were I him, I don't know that I'd be pointing out, "They don't really need to worry — I'm not nearly as good as Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Philip Rivers."
Cowboys at Packers, 2:25 p.m., Ch. 13 • There's been much made of Dallas rookie QB Dak Prescott ranking fourth in the NFL with a 69-percent completion rate (and zero INTs). There's also been much made of Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers ranking 31st at 56 percent (with three picks). Honestly, there's been too much made of each. You wanna call Prescott vs. Tony Romo a QB controversy, I get it. Let's not get crazy, though, and start suggesting you'd rather have Prescott than Rodgers. I will laugh at you.
The more relevant numbers this week, anyway, are Ezekiel Elliott's league-leading 109.2 rypg vs. the Packers' defense's league-leading 42.8 rypg allowed.
Colts at Texans, 6:20 p.m., Ch. 5 • Shockingly, Brock Osweiler has not played up to his $72 million deal. The good news is, he's playing at home, where the Texans are unbeaten thus far. The other good news is the Colts are not quite on the level of New England and Minnesota, the teams he lost to. The other, other good news is, he doesn't have Andrew Luck's offensive line. Luck has already been sacked 20 times this year, including 11 in the past two games. You know your year isn't going well when Brock Osweiler can say to you, "I really feel for you, dude."
Are we sure we can't flex Falcons-Seahawks here, after all? No? Well, to anyone who watches this game, "I really feel for you."
Twitter: @esotericwalden