FMIA Week 6: Robert Saleh’s “Hell on Wheels” Jets, and Rust Belt Fever in the NFL

1. I think that was a great game Sunday night. Really great. Loved it. Magnetized by it. Five thoughts:

Highlights: Bills surge in fourth-quarter for win

Relive the action as the Bills mounted a fourth-quarter comeback after being shut out for three quarters to defeat the Giants 14-9 in Buffalo.

2.I think I will never understand if I see the replay 64 more times how the officials didn’t call a fumble on Cleveland quarterback P.J. Walker on an intentional-grounding call late in the first half deep in Cleveland territory. Probably cost San Francisco a field goal. Might have cost San Francisco the game.

3.I thinkJim Schwartz was the best hire, head coach or coordinator, in the 2023 hiring cycle. If the Browns can win enough games in the teens, they’ll make the playoffs.

4.I think the football story of the week was Kalyn Kahler’s investigation for The Athletic into the poor culture of the Arizona Cardinals under owner Michael Bidwill. A few points:

a. Per Kahler: “Avoiding Bidwill’s wrath was made more difficult because he sometimes involved himself in minor or mundane workplace tasks. One former employee said he became upset when a new hire’s cell phone number was assigned the 480 area code used in the Phoenix suburbs instead of the 602 area code for the city center. Another time, after a department opted to turn off the fluorescent lights above their cubicles in favor of softer lighting, one employee said Bidwill flipped the fluorescent lights back and announced: ‘Here we work with the lights on!”

b. Kahler noted there was no human resources director from 2008 to 2021, and that a new HR person was hired in 2021 and lasted two months and didn’t even put the job experience in his LinkedIn page, and she quotes an employee who talked about what an oppressive place it was to work. “People [employees] just didn’t say anything,” one Cardinals front-office worker said. “They complain under their breath, and they go into their car at lunch and they cry.”

c. I found Bidwill’s statement to The Athletic, in response to the reporting on a toxic workplace culture, highly interesting: “As I have said personally to every member of the Cardinals organization, I certainly have room to grow and with the benefit of hindsight, would have done some things differently over the years. I also know that my direct approach doesn’t always land well, and I’m working on that. I have always been driven by the desire to learn and improve and more importantly, to use those lessons in building the best organization possible. Over the last several years, we have taken significant steps to improve our culture and build a stronger community. We are a better and more inclusive organization today than we were yesterday and I’m extremely excited about what we can be tomorrow.”

d. No denials. No pushback on story after story of “this is an awful place to work.” In essence, all of Kahler’s reporting was confirmed by the man she was quasi-eviscerating. Great job of reporting, and great to shine the light on one of the teams we don’t know much about because of its low profile in a much louder NFL.

e. Let’s not forget the burner-phone charges levied by former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough, who claims he was ordered by Bidwill to use an untraceable phone to communicate with suspended GM Steve Keim while he was banned because of a DUI. McDonough is backed on his version of this story by former head coach Steve Wilks. Here’s hoping the NFL acts faster on this charge from McDonough than the glacial pace it used in investigating Daniel Snyder.

5.I think anyone who is not concerned about Deshaun Watson’s shoulder should start being concerned. He hasn’t practiced fully in 24 days. He missed his second game Sunday, off a bye, and best guess is he could miss at least one more still.

6.I think it’s not impossible Kirk Cousins gets traded, but I think it’s unlikely … unless an injury at quarterback forces a playoff-contending coach very familiar with Cousins, who could play to his strengths, to look for a quarterback. My guess is if the 49ers got an injury to Brock Purdy, they’d go with Sam Darnold. But if Miami loses Tua Tagovailoa before the Oct. 31 trade deadline, who knows if Mike McDaniel would want to roll the dice with Cousins for the rest of the year. There’s one other factor: Cousins has a no-trade clause. He’s very likely not going to waive it, no matter how bad the situation gets in Minnesota in the next two weeks, unless it’s—as I said—to a coach he knows well, with an offense he could master.

7.I think the one other thing about football trades, particularly at quarterback, is how difficult it is to transition in-season to a new offense. If a team is jonesing for Cousins, it’s going to have to be a team willing to cut the offensive playbook way back so Cousins can feel somewhat comfortable playing early. Also: A team interested in this player has to understand that Cousins won’t be abandoning his family to devote himself 100 percent to his next job. That shouldn’t be considered a slight to his profession, but rather an appreciation for a guy whose family is very important to him.

8.I think compensation will be difficult too, because you’d be paying for a two-month player. Cousins will be free after this season. The Rams paid second- and third-round picks for Von Miller to make a Super Bowl run. Would there be another similarly desperate team in the next two weeks? Doubtful.

Evaluating likelihood of Cousins being traded

Kirk Cousins sidestepped a question about being traded, which leads Mike Florio and Chris Simms to spell out why in order for that to happen, a team would need to want him.

9.I think the latest episode of the NFL Icons series (MGM+, formerly EPIX, Saturday at 10 p.m. ET) has a revealing look into the psyche of the greatest running back ever, Jim Brown. Two of the all-time greats have died a half-year apart. Last week I told some stories about the late Dick Butkus. Now hear the great Jim Brown, from NFL Icons, on why he didn’t like to run out of bounds to avoid contact: “Let me be emphatic about that: For me to run out of bounds because of a collision is to admit weakness. If a 185-pound cornerback is going to make me go out of bounds, I’m going to be building up his ego. I’m going to try to drop a forearm into his chest. Sometimes when you do that, miracles happen. Sometimes you get away. And then if I get an extra yard, I get an extra inch, that’s a part of my psyche. So I can’t turn it on and turn it off. I have to turn it on and keep it on until the game is over.”

10.I think these are my other thoughts of the week:

a. Loved this story by Mike Silver in the San Francisco Chronicle on longtime activist and 49er institution Harry Edwards, 80, who is suffering from terminal bone cancer.

b. It’s heartening to see Silver reflect on Edwards’ civil rights accomplishments while he’s still alive. Those are well worth remembering. As is this statement from Edwards about facing death with valor: “This is just about the end of the line for me. It’s not a morbid or fearful situation. We have an obligation to show those coming after that this inevitable phase of life can be handled with courage, dignity, grace and even a modicum of humor.”

c. Cautionary Tale of the Week: ESPN’s foray into sports betting, examined here clinically by Robbie Whelan, Katherine Sayre and Jessica Toonkel of The Wall Street Journal, would scare me a lot if I knew people who are casual or manic sports bettors.

d. Why the scare tactic? Because most sports fans are inextricably tied to ESPN for at least part of their fan experience. And now they’re going to be hit over the head with endless ads and daily shows and pleas to “Gamble, gamble, gamble!” I’ve said this a lot, and not to be an angry old man, but 10 or 15 years from now, just wait to see the flood of middle-aged people in this country addicted to gambling. The day’s coming. It’s inevitable. It’s sad.

e. The WSJ writers on Disney CEO Bob Iger’s 10-year agreement with sports-gambling company Penn National, a deal that had its roots when Iger re-took the top Disney job last November:

Iger had told interviewers that he had seen the writing on the wall for the traditional TV business, which was showing signs of being on its deathbed.

Overall, Disney was struggling. Its foundering share price had drawn attacks from activist investors … Its streaming business was bleeding cash and its whole traditional television business, more than just ESPN, was suffering … Disney is currently exploring potential strategic partners for ESPN and has had talks with major sports leagues about it.

Iger quickly set about trimming fat, announcing $5.5 billion in budget cuts and the elimination of 7,000 positions, around 3% of Disney’s total global workforce.

Soon, Iger warmed up to sports betting. His adult sons’ use of sports-betting apps opened his eyes to its popularity with a younger audience, he told associates. He said that it is “inevitable” that sports-watching and sports-betting will go hand-in-hand, and he blessed Pitaro’s efforts to find Disney a partner. Getting involved with gambling was the only way to ensure that ESPN [was] able to continue to attract younger audiences, he reasoned.

… Many on-air stars are eager to get involved with ESPN Bet, and the company plans to announce an expanded talent lineup to host and promote its gambling-related products and shows. ESPN forged a partnership with former NFL punter and foul-mouthed YouTube star Pat McAfee … He will promote ESPN Bet to his audience.

ESPN is also considering alternative broadcasts of games focused on betting, similar to the popular version of Monday Night Football hosted by former NFL stars and brothers Eli and Peyton Manning that airs on ESPN2 and ESPN+, and plans to promote betting to its growing fantasy-sports audience.

f. It’s coming, and you cannot stop it.

g. Now for some baseball. Great line by Jason Gay of The Wall Street Journal: “Phillies have an incredible number of players who look like they could work in a reptile shop.”

h. My opinion on the “clubhouse/locker room as sanctuary” controversy from the baseball playoffs: Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper was doubled off first base to end game two of the N.L. division series at Atlanta, and in the Braves’ clubhouse after the game, with reporters present, Atlanta’s Orlando Arcia yelled out, “Ha ha, attaboy Harper!” Totally fair game for reporters to report, in my opinion.

i. I’ve heard scores of things in locker rooms, on sidelines, in tunnels coming off the field. Some I wasn’t meant to hear. But if I hear something, it’s fair game … unless a player or coach prefaces the remark with, “This is off the record.” Which has happened. I may try to talk the coach or player into letting me use it. But in the Super Bowl-winning locker room last year, I was talking to Skyy Moore, who scored the winning touchdown, and Patrick Mahomes approached and bear-hugged Moore (who’d had a rough rookie year) and said in Moore’s ear: “Waited till the last game, huh? Love you! Way to get it in there!” Fair game. I used it. Of course there was nothing bad in there, but my point is, if I hear it and it helps my story, I’m using it.

j. If I thought Arcia was just kidding around, I’d have noted it in the story. But I still would have used it.

k. One other baseball note: It’s totally weird that two of this season’s three 100-win teams, the Dodgers and Orioles, got swept 3-0 in their division series. Baseball has set up a system that requires winning either three or four series to be declared champions. So of course unusual things can happen. That’s baseball. I wouldn’t go changing the system because of it. Next year the Dodgers and Orioles, just as easily, could win their division series 3-0.

l. The Dodgers’ cornerstone players are Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Kershaw got one out and gave up six runs in game one of the series against Arizona. Betts and Freeman went 1-for-21 with zero RBI in the series. It’s not usual, but it’s happened in baseball for decades and decades. Very good teams fall flat in a series.

m. And the Braves need to look at their game-four at-bats against a nice but not dominant starter, Ranger Suarez. On his second at-bat, the all-world leadoff hitter, Ronald Acuña Jr., swing at three pitches out of the strike zone—and grounded out to the pitcher. The Braves were over-eager and swinging at balls all night in game four, and that’s a big reason why the Phils won in four.

n. Well, Colorado was a good 2023 college football story for a few weeks anyway. Amazing thing happened to the Buffs Friday night. They led Stanford 29-0 at the half, gave up 364 passing yards and four passing TDs in the second half to the 11th-rated pass offense in the Pac-12, and lost in overtime 46-43. So Stanford, a month after losing at home to Sacramento State, wins in one of the most electric environments in college football.

o. Watched USC-Notre Dame Saturday night. Major takeaway: USC quarterback Caleb Williams looked altogether shaky against pressure. Three first-half picks, and an Irish defender had a shot to pick him off on his first possession of the second half. Some bad decisions with guys in his face. What exactly do you think he’ll face behind the offensive lines of most teams vying for a top pick in the 2024 draft?

Highlights: Notre Dame dominates USC at home

Notre Dame’s defense came up with five turnovers and stonewalled Heisman winner Caleb Williams, resulting in an Irish rout in South Bend.

p. Interview of the Week: Edward Felsenthal of Time Magazine on Paul Hollywood is interesting.

q. Hollywood is the star of the cross-culture hit “The Great British Baking Show” (called “Bake Off” in Great Britain), which I really like. He gives one reason why people like this show—and why people probably like him too:

“When I was just starting Bake Off, I was approached by The Gadget Show in the U.K. And basically they said, ‘There’s been another line of bread-making machines. Would you like to have a look at them?’ I said, ‘Not really, no.’ And they said, ‘Well, would you like to go head-to-head with them? We make the bread in the bread machine, you make a bread, and then we do a blind tasting with the public.’ So I went head-to-head with seven bread machines and I got 96 percent of the vote. You can’t beat homemade breads made by hand.”

r. Ecclesiastic Story of the Week: Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe, on the fourth-round pick of the Boston Celtics in 1953, and what he did with his life after college.

s. Headline gave it away: “The Celtics draft pick who chose the priesthood over the NBA.”

t. Great quote from the 91-year-old priest, former Holy Cross guard Earle Markey, to Shaughnessy, on what made the decision for him—basketball, as the fourth-round pick of the Celtic in 1953, or the priesthood:

“I was asking myself: What am I going to do with my life?

“I still had an open field in front of me. I decided that I wanted to live a life in which—at the end of my life—I had done good for other people. A victory with the Celtics would not compare with celebrating Mass or doing things for other people. They were different worlds.”

u. Love this factoid from Shaughnessy: “Markey didn’t learn he’d been selected by the Celtics until an envelope arrived at his Holy Cross mailbox a few days after the draft.”

v. What? Markey wasn’t at Barclays Center, watching the draft unfold?

w. Writing Song of the Night: “You Turn Me On (I’m a Radio),” by Joni Mitchell. What a voice. The greatest of my lifetime.

x. Ever play Poop Bingo? I have. Many times. Many days. Many games. It’s the favorite game of grandkids Freddy and Hazel in California, and we played four games last weekend on my trip there. Not too complicated. You place markers on the animals or animal poop square that the game-host calls out. You hit on four squares in a row and you win. I came close twice, but I just couldn’t get the wombat poop card or dung beetle poop card to come up for me. Such a shame.