NFL Week 7 Primer

The Return of the Power Back

Derrick Henry is having one of the greatest spans of running back play in the games history.

Years have passed since teams based their offense around a 'bell-cow' back to trample a defense into submission as the Tennessee Titans have done with Derrick Henry since the start of the 2019 season. Sure, teams have built dynamic running games around a freakishly athletic quarterback and a litany of diverse backs, a la the Baltimore Ravens, or the two headed Chubb-Hunt monster the Cleveland Browns have ridden to success in recent years, but no one person or team compares to Derrick Henry and what he has been able to accomplish.

His insane numbers since the start of the 2019 season are some of the best we will ever see. 37 games, 4,350 yards, 43 TD's on 843 carries, and that last number is the crux of Henry's greatness, durability. It may not be sexy or splashy to say, but for how he plays, it's what has allowed him to keep posting monster numbers week after week, season after season.

Wile Henry's power and speed are at an all-world level, it's his vision to see running lanes that allows him to go off script and cut back on dead outside runs that he seems to take to the house every week. These plays aren't there very often, but with his durability making himself available for 22.7 rush attempts over the last two and a bit seasons, he can break down a defense, get in his groove, and pop one for a house call.

Feed the bull, ring the cow-bell.

Who or What will Bury the 2021 Cowboys?

There are certain story-lines that teams carry with them for years. Some narratives take longer to crush than others.

Example One: Same Old Chargers.

Until the arrival of Justine Herbert, the only team that could beat the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers in a close game were wearing powder blue and gold. Phillip Rivers' last years with the Chargers were marred by what could have been; missed game winning kicks, blocked game winning kicks, fumbled snaps and fumbled rushes have handed the bolts some of their worst defeats in recent years. You could set your watch to it, it was more reliable than most alarm clocks.

Turning Rivers from Bolt to Colt, could have changed all of this, but blips on the radar have happened before.

Example Two: The 1999 - 2019 Cleveland Browns

Some teams have hard luck whittled into their bones. For the Browns it lasted 20 years. Everyone knows the story of the Browns since returning to the league in 1999, saying they were unlucky is almost insulting to what the Cleveland faithful have been put through since the turn of the millennium. Looking past an ownership group that would have better luck drawing quarterback names out of a hat on draft day rather than spending millions of dollars scouting Johnny Manziel, the Northern Ohio Based Football Team experience was closer to a haunting than just bad luck.

The tide has turned though. Cleveland seemingly exorcised their organisation by tearing down the very franchise that feasted on those whittled bones, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in last years playoffs. Their first playoff win since Bill Belichick was paroling the sidelines in 1995. Again, only one and a third seasons into this new narrative, but a start none the less.

The narrative that I'm fascinated with pertains to America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys.

The Cowboys have not made the Superbowl since the 1995 season.

Now, making it to a Superbowl is a lofty expectation, some of the greatest players in the sports history never made it to a Superbowl, but the aura around Dallas since the arrival of Jerry Jones in 1989 has been Superbowl or bust. After winning three Lombardi's in four years, 1992 - 1995, the Cowboys have been a bust, not making it back to a Conference Championship since.

Sitting at 5 - 1, with Dak Prescott in the MVP conversation and Ezekiel Elliot turning back the clock several years, it's a wonder where the wheels are going to fall off, but rest assured, they will.

Last year it was Dak's leg shattering under the weight of Logan Ryan in a week five match-up with the Giants. Previous years it's been a mixture of terrible defenses, Tony Romo upper body injuries and Dez Bryant playoff drops. History books will note, statistically, that Dez did not catch it.

With Dallas' defense humming behind cornerback Travon Diggs and pass rusher Randy Gregory, it all feels a little too rainbows and half time orange slices for America's Team heading into the meaty part of the season, and if Jerry Jones likes anything, it's drama. Don't be surprised if Jerry Jones starts to cook up a few of his own 'Mojo Moments' if the Cowboys hit a losing skid.

Everything's looking rosy at the moment, but 25 years of not meeting Mr Jones' expectations can wear thin on a man who likes the sheen of a television cameras lens.

Texans @ Cardinals - Game of the Week

Some people may say a 6 - 0 juggernaut welcoming a 1 - 5 face down dead in the water franchise to their building in week seven is not must watch television. I disagree.

There are two options here, Houston somehow pulls of an upset, or Arizona gets into throw-in-the-towel territory and Greg Gumbel and Adam Archuleta have their noses in history books by the second quarter. There are no other options.

J.J. Watt facing his former franchise, alleged sexual predator, Deshaun Watson, trade rumours swirling and a rookie third round quarterback potentially walking into a buzz-saw is exactly my type of entertainment.

Anything short of a 40-buger by the Cards should be a disappointment. An upset loss though, might be enough to put their whole season on tilt. Good teams beat up on bad teams, prove you're a good team, Arizona.