Cover 7 | Wednesday A daily NFL destination that provides in-depth analysis of football’s biggest stories. Each Wednesday, Randy Mueller presents his insights from the point of view of the general manager’s seat.
As an NFL general manager, building a team in the offseason is calculated and very intentional. But the word “manager” in the title is reflective of the need to do just that — manage — when things happen during the season that nobody calculated. Every team’s decision-makers must respond and lead in both calm and stormy seas.
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The Cleveland Browns found themselves dealing with an unexpected and unfortunate situation after two games with the devastating knee injury to running back Nick Chubb. They were forced to face the unpleasant reality of needing to adjust, respond and adapt — first mentally, then on the field.
Some do it faster than others. The Browns did it quickly, and their defense led the effort by being overwhelming and at times dominating.
Opposing offenses are converting a league-low 19.5 percent of third downs, and the Browns have held opposing QBs to the third-lowest passer rating in the league at 60.0. In a game of third downs and matchups, the Browns are getting off the field better than any defense in the NFL. Pro Bowl defensive lineman Myles Garrett gets the pass rush attention, but the Browns have a fast and athletic group of linebackers who have been schemed up masterfully by defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in a way that gives offenses a very small margin for error.
A 13-3 halftime lead against the Titans in Week 3 didn’t seem that close. Back-to-back stops at the end of the first half and another on the first series of the second half removed any doubt about who was controlling the game. With lead communicator and under-the-radar inside linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. making adjustments and calls on the fly, the Browns consistently beat the Titans to the spot in both defending the run and pressuring the passer. You can see the confidence growing with this unit. It can carry this team.
By comparison, the New York Jets played Dallas and New England immediately after losing their franchise QB, Aaron Rodgers. Those were tough tasks as far as matchups go, I get it, tougher than a less-than-dynamic Titans team the Browns faced after losing Chubb. But the Jets have become even more of a circus since Rodgers’ injury, and question marks remain.
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Leadership also can’t save Zach Wilson and lose the rest of the roster. The front office has to be honest in its assessments and remember that Wilson does not stink all by himself. It needs to be real and accountable to the other parts of the team. The Jets have built a team without a veteran leader on the offensive side of the ball, and that’s not Wilson’s fault. Wilson is in no position to lead based on his career to date and his personality, and there’s no one who can fill that role.
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What the Chicago Bears are dealing with also is not found in the NFL coach and GM leadership manual. The offense has flat-out stunk, and you can choose any number of reasons. The most fault goes the way of the quarterback, Justin Fields, but the offensive line, including No. 1 draft choice and right tackle Darnell Wright — who is a guard if I’ve ever seen one — has been a disaster. As a GM, I think you lose credibility with the locker room when your top acquisitions are questioned. And believe me, players know when others are not performing. The offensive playcaller, the scheme and the consistently underperforming defense — run by the head coach whose expertise in that area got him the job — are all to blame as well. And it doesn’t help that the defensive coordinator had to resign after two games. It’s a mess.
This is a tough job for a first-time GM like Ryan Poles, who is still adjusting to his own chair and position. On-the-job learning and training is very hard in any workplace, but it’s especially so when running an NFL team. Adversity will hit most teams at some point during their season, and navigating this situation will take everything Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus can muster.
My advice for the Bears is to find and show progress in some way by going back to what Fields did well in the last month of the 2022 season. That’s really hard when you’ve lost 12 consecutive games, but Chicago has not been playing to Fields’ strengths this season. As bad as the Bears’ defense has been, people will see hope if the Bears can rectify things with Fields while there’s still time.
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At the other end of the mindset spectrum is dealing with prosperity, which is something the Dallas Cowboys needed to do after two weeks that saw them quickly lauded as Super Bowl contenders.
No team gets built up to “super team” status at the NFL level like the Cowboys do. I have thought this for many years while watching the leadership of owner, GM and head of football operations, Jerry Jones. The Cowboys are the NFL’s most praised team by media, fans and their owner. And to that end, I have never been able to trust that they will deal with prosperity and keep their focus on what’s directly ahead of them — which most recently was a struggling but frisky Arizona Cardinals team that beat them 28-16 in Week 3.
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My experience with this tells me it’s not as much about what happened Sunday but just as much about the attention to detail during the week. Teams must block out all the noise, good and bad, as they prepare Monday through Saturday. This is how the “rat poison” label originated with Nick Saban, where he was referring to all the positive accolades being thrown the way of his Alabama team during its 2017 run to the national championship.
Some teams handle prosperity better than others, but the fact is it’s a thing, and it has to be constantly addressed. Anybody can beat anybody at the NFL level.
Dolphins of my dreams
Many moons ago when I was the GM of the Miami Dolphins I complained, probably daily, to our scouting staff about our lack of team speed. Our team reminded me of one of those old-fashioned Electric Football games, where the players vibrated around on a metal field with a piece of cotton under the running back’s arm and a swarm of plastic where nobody ever broke out of the pack.
Speed has always been at the top of my criteria when evaluating and team building, especially at the skill positions. I find it somewhat funny and ironic that those same guys who used to hear me complain profusely while watching practice or tape are now running the Dolphins, starting with GM Chris Grier, who was my college scouting coordinator. We drafted the fastest and most explosive guys we could in an effort to rectify our lack of speed but never got a chance to see the rebuild through.
The Dolphins have come full circle and now have what might be the fastest, most explosive team the NFL has seen in years. Entering Week 4 the five fastest ball-carrying plays in the NFL this season have been made by Dolphins players — two by Devon Achane, two by Tyreek Hill and one by Raheem Mostert — according to NextGenStats. I’m not sure they can keep up the 70 points in 71 plays pace they set against Denver, but at least, even though it’s a decade later, I might have been heard.
What I loved from Week 3
The most impressive thing I saw this weekend, other than the 726 yards the Dolphins put up on an actual NFL team, was the Monday night closing effort of the Philadelphia Eagles. Every NFL team talks of imposing its will on its opponent and breaking their spirit. Well, the Eagles ran off the final nine minutes 22 seconds of the game by running 15 plays over 68 yards with five first downs. That was as dominant of a drive as I’ve ever seen.
GM discussion points
Front office discussion brings forth thoughts, ideas and questions that we as the final decision-maker may have not considered. That’s why I loved talking things through with my staff on a daily basis. Situations are fluid and can change daily when running a football team. I have always liked to have others involved because none of us is smarter than all of us.
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I’ve been a part of teams where nobody ever discussed anything. In fact, at one place I worked I never had a discussion of any consequence on anything football-related with anyone above me for 10 years. People on the outside would be amazed as to the communication, or lack of, inside NFL offices.
Here are a couple of things we would be kicking around today if I were leading any one of these teams:
In Chicago: Should we bench QB Justin Fields, just to allow him to take a step back and watch for a week or two? Twelve consecutive losses gets heavy on one’s shoulders.
In Indianapolis: Do we consider trading running back Jonathan Taylor now? After three games, do we need something more than a disgruntled running back?
In Green Bay: Are we going down the right track defensively with scheme, use of personnel, etc.? Let’s not be blinded by the 18-point comeback against the Saints.
Just saying, everything is on the table, and we don’t need to wait for a bye week to bring it up.
(Photo of Anthony Walker Jr.: Lauren Leigh Baco / Getty Images)
The Football 100, the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Pre-order it here.
