Hello, boys and girls. Quite a week it’s been in the NFL, with everything from comeback wins to coach resignations (more on that last one in a bit). John Breech is unavailable today as he mourns a heartbreaking Bengals loss, but I, Cody Benjamin, will happily guide you through all the latest from around the league.
This is the Pick Six Newsletter. Now let’s get to it. (And please, do yourself a favor and make sure you’re signed up to receive this newsletter every day! You don’t want to miss our daily offerings of everything you need to know around the NFL.)
We’ve got Jon Gruden fallout, Week 6 predictions, QB power rankings and much more:
- Today’s show: Brady Quinn talks Jon Gruden fallout
Gruden is now almost 48 hours removed from his sudden resignation as Raiders coach. On Wednesday, Brady Quinn joined Will Brinson on the “Pick Six NFL Podcast” to dive into the fallout of his departure, with Quinn offering insight on his encounters with Gruden during the 2007 pre-draft process, when the Buccaneers were scouting him.
“He is a very much Midwest, old-school football coach,” Quinn said, before speculating about Gruden’s character and what led to the reported pattern of insensitive emails from the longtime head coach. “A guy who likes to have fun, kind of a guy’s guy type. I wasn’t surprised by any of what was said.”
Catch Brady’s entire conversation with Brinson (and subscribe for all kinds of daily NFL talk) right here.
2. Prisco’s picks: Chargers edge Ravens, Browns stun Cardinals
Papa Pete went an astounding 13-3 in straight-up picks last week. Now he’s back with predictions for every single Week 6 game. Here are some of his most notable projections:
- Buccaneers 30, Eagles 28: The Eagles will hang around in this game, as Jalen Hurts has a good day throwing it and running it against a bad Tampa Bay defense hit with injuries. Tom Brady wins, but it’s close.
- Chargers 41, Ravens 38: This will be fun to watch. The Chargers are awful against the run, so does this get the Ravens back running it again? It might. I think both offenses can have their way.
- Browns 28, Cardinals 23: The trouble (for Arizona) will come slowing the Browns’ run game. Cleveland will keep Kyler Murray on the bench as much as possible as the Browns win it with their rushing attack.
3. Insider notes: Cowboys are for real atop NFC East
Jason La Canfora is admitting mistaken predictions from before the 2021 season. He’s offering apologies for overlooking the Cardinals and overhyping the Seahawks and Patriots. But his biggest regret? Missing on the Cowboys. The insider is all over Dallas a real contender amid Dak Prescott and Co. surging to the top of the NFC East:
The offensive line has been arguably the best in football. Dak picked up right where he left off and is spreading the ball around to an array of weapons. They have two starting-caliber running backs. They can score in a bunch of different ways from anywhere on the field. And, well, they have stars playing like stars on defense. I fancied Micah Parsons for a rookie of the year candidate … but this has exceeded even my expectations. Trevon Diggs is a playmaking machine. Randy Gregory is bringing it. Everyone is on the same page and bought in. Epic failure is no longer a hallmark. And the rest of the NFC East is dealing with drama and tumult. The Cowboys are going to bank a bunch of wins.
4. Head coach hot seat rankings: Urban Meyer on a land mine
Patrik Walker is keeping tabs on coaches who could be next to go. And there’s no doubt in his mind about the man facing the most pressure: Jaguars first-year coach Urban Meyer.
Anything Meyer could do wrong after joining the Jacksonville Jaguars this offseason, he’s either done it, is doing it or will probably get it done in the next several weeks … All of this would be unacceptable behavior for a good coach, let alone one with no wins and whose offense and defense both rank toward the bottom of the league. Meyer has already been put on notice by owner Shad Khan, and his next mistake will likely be his last in Jacksonville.
5. QB Power Rankings: Josh Allen leaps into top five
Every week during the season, we rank all the starting quarterbacks, from first to worst. This week, Josh Allen made a nice jump into the top five, with Lamar Jackson moving up right behind him. Check out the full 1-32 rundown here, or a sneak peek at the new top 10 below:
- Tom Brady (+3)
- Aaron Rodgers
- Patrick Mahomes (-2)
- Dak Prescott (+1)
- Josh Allen (+3)
- Lamar Jackson (+4)
- Justin Herbert (-1)
- Kyler Murray (-1)
- Matthew Stafford
- Joe Burrow (+2)
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Gruden reactions, Lamar making history
Hungry for more headlines? We’ve got a few more for you right here:
- Aaron Rodgers says Gruden resignation was the ‘best thing for all parties’: And the QB explains why
- Mike Tomlin opens up on Gruden’s departure: The Steelers coach spent four years working under Gruden
- Jeff Fisher responds to Jon Gruden scandal: The former Rams coach was mentioned in Gruden’s reported emails
- Bucs remove Gruden from Ring of Honor: More fallout from the ex-coach’s email scandal
- Chiefs reportedly interested in Marlon Mack: They’ve apparently looked into the Colts RB’s availability
- Lamar Jackson making history this season: Check out why the Ravens QB is playing MVP-caliber ball
