Garrett deserves another chance
Cardinals insider and NFL writer Bob McManaman shares his observations and thoughts about what’s going on with the Cardinals and the rest of the league in his weekly offering that we like to call Tuesday’s Takeaways:
People tend to do stupid things in the heat of the moment, some of them worse than others, of course.
It happened to me on Thursday night when I tweeted this: “Myles Garrett does not deserve to play another down in the NFL.”
At the time, that’s exactly how I felt. So did a lot of people and friends I know in and around the NFL.
When Garrett, a defensive end for the Browns, ripped off the helmet of Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph toward the end of Thursday night’s game and then swung it at Rudolph, striking the quarterback on the top of the head, it was the most egregious act of violence we’ve probably ever seen on an NFL field.
When the league promptly announced Garrett had been suspended indefinitely and would miss at least the rest of this season, it was the right thing to do.
But as Garrett gets set to meet with the league Wednesday in his appeal process, he also has a right to come clean, show remorse and vow to do whatever it takes to prove he won’t completely lose his cool like that again. It won’t help him get back on the field this year, but it’s only fair he gets a chance to make right.
In short, he deserves to play another down in the NFL.
The former No. 1 overall pick doesn’t have a history like Vontaze Burfict.
Garrett was fined $52,639 for a face mask hit and two roughing the passer fouls following a Week 2 game against the Jets, but short of that, he hasn’t done anything really dumb until last Thursday.
Not everybody deserves a second chance. You can go too far and then you lose that chance.
But if Garrett fully tries to make amends and doesn’t just use his appeal hearing as an avenue to argue semantics tied to CBA rules and as such, enforceable suspensions of his kind, the league should consider reducing his ban.
By how much, I don’t know. But Garrett deserves to play again.
One of the reasons for that change of heart was reading some of the comments on Tuesday by his head coach.
“Myles Garrett’s a good person,” Freddie Kitchens said during a news conference. “We’re not going to pile on Myles. He had a bad lapse in judgment and that’s it. I’m still a Myles fan and I’m going to support him. Our organization is going to support him, his teammates, coaching staff will support him.
“There’s no excuse for that to happen on a football field. I know that. Myles knows that.
“All the players in the locker room know that. There’s no excuse. But, in saying that, we’re going to support Myles Garrett going forward in any way that he needs support.”
Things I liked in Week 11
❚ Don’t look now, but the Raiders have won three consecutive games after returning “home” to Oakland following a zany, seven-week stretch in which they stayed completely on the road.
If they keep their winning ways going when they play at the struggling Jets on Sunday, they’ll move back into a first-place tie with the Chiefs in the AFC West.
❚ The incredible rise of Saints receiver Michael Thomas, who continues to do things no other receiver has done before him. The latest — becoming the first player in NFL history to record at least 90 or more receptions (94) through the first 10 games of a season.
Thomas, who also became the first player with at least 90 receptions in each of his first four seasons, leads the league with 1,141 yards receiving. The previous record for most receptions in a player’s first 10 games of a season belonged to Julio Jones and Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison — each had 89 catches.
❚ That the Bills (7-3) have their best 10-game record since 1999. Yeah, Buffalo’s wins have come against opponents with a combined 12-44 record, but you can’t blame them for the schedule.
By the way, Buffalo gets a visit by the 3-7 Broncos on Sunday, so expect another win by the Bills, who could be headed to the playoffs for just the second time in 20 years.
Things I didn’t
❚ That the Jaguars established a franchise record for fewest rushing attempts in a game with nine during their 33-13 loss to the Colts. Leonard Fournette rushed for 23 yards on a season-low eight carries and he could have been a huge weapon for the Jaguars when it was still a game.
The good thing is that coach Doug Marrone recognizes he got away from the running game far too quickly, as he mentioned in a conference call with reporters the following day.
“That was a big mistake by me,” he said. “… I thought we needed to score points in a quicker fashion. That’s what led to increased pass attempts. That’s on me as a head coach. We need to be more balanced moving forward. Believe me, I know more than anyone that a strong rushing attack will open things up in the pass game. I know it works hand in hand.
“I was wrong, and I made a mistake.”
❚ That the matchup of two firstplace teams in the AFC when the Texans met the Ravens turned into an absolute Baltimore rout, 41-7. This was supposed to be a far more competitive game than it became.
“Flush it and move forward,” Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson told reporters after the game.
The Texans don’t have a choice. They have to play their divisional rival the Colts on Thursday night.
❚ Just how unfortunate the whole Colin Kaepernick “workout” turned out to be on Saturday. Both sides looked petty and nothing positive was able to come out of it.