NFL Week 7 Takeaways: Colts get screwed, MVP Candidates appear, Diversity is hurting officiating, Watson is tapping out and much more

NFL Week 7

1) Officiating in the NFL keeps getting worse

The Colts lost because of officiating! I hardly ever say that, but to call a penalty on a ball that was so clearly uncatchable was a joke. On top of that, we had a Sunday night game between the Eagles and Dolphins where the Eagles never committed a penalty. There is no possible way, especially since I counted five blatantly missed calls against the Eagles that were never called. We see officials control who wins on too many occasions; why is this happening? Are some games fixed?

Colts charged with controversial penalties late in loss | NFL on ESPN

2) Diversity has killed officiating

It used to take most officials working the high school and college ranks to get into the NFL as a referee, but not anymore. We live in a politically correct world. In our new world, we do not need the best of the best. Many older officials were removed for younger, unqualified referees; I guess we need younger officials. We do need younger officials, but what does gender or race matter? You should want the best officials, but if you are a woman or minority, you are moved to the head of the class. Whatever happened to the most important thing, that’s getting the call right.

3) Deshaun Watson does not want to play football

Deshaun Watson almost seemed to be waiting for one hard shot to get out of the Browns game against the Colts. As soon as that hit came, he tapped out. Watson is a phenomenal Quarterback when he wants to be. Still, his character has to be questioned, not just because of the message mess, but because he looks uninterested in playing after the Browns gave him almost 300 million dollars in guaranteed money. If Cleveland had a legit Quarterback, they would be a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Instead, they are stuck with Watson, and when he gets hurt, it’s P.J. Walker, who is utterly incompetent as an NFL starting quarterback.

4) Gardner Minshew is a turnover machine

The Colts record would look much better if Minshew quit turning the ball over. The Colts have enough talent to win, but they are not getting the quarterback play to win. Minshew does the one thing a quarterback can’t do, and that’s turn the ball over; he makes some spectacular plays, but the negative outweighs the positive.

5) MVP Candidates are starting to appear

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes (424 yards, four touchdowns passing) and Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson (357 yards passing, 3 TDs receiving, 36 rushing yards and one TD) may have officially declared their candidacies Sunday for MVP honors after Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s less-than-impressive performance against Philadelphia on Sunday night.

6) Belichick wins number 300

Let’s give it up for legendary Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who joined George Halas and Don Shula as only three coaches to have achieved 300 wins during regular-season play in league history. While we’ve focused on his mistakes this year – especially after Tom Brady left – Sunday proved why Belichick remains one of, if not the greatest, coaches ever to wear an NFL headset, regardless of any post-Brady struggles he may be experiencing. He completely out-coached the Bills Sean McDermott on Sunday.

7) Myles Garrett is a beast

Cleveland DE Myles Garrett had an incredible day, further solidifying his claim for Defensive Player of the Year honors. The All-Pro pass rusher became one of only seven players this century to record multiple sacks, multiple forced fumbles and a blocked kick in one game; plays by Garrett directly resulted in 17 Browns points in their one-point win. It’s a good thing he did because without his play P.J. Walker would have gotten the browns beat.