NFL 2014 Week 7 news and Power Rankings

I'm splitting my NFL blog posts into two, just like the NCAA.  I used to provide my insight into current news and events in the NFL, but have not done that for a couple of years.  I'd like to get back to that, so I will include news and insights into my weekly results, and have my picks be an entirely separate post.

Week7 takeaways
1.  It appears Seattle is starting to suffer the same "Super Bowl Champ" curse that has plagued previous champions.  Getting to the playoffs as a wildcard team is looking tougher; they must get their act together if they want to be that rare Super Bowl Champion who makes the playoffs the following week.

2.  The Bengals are starting to suffer the same collapse being experienced by the Texans.  First they tie Carolina, a team that had a negative difference between points scored and points allowed, and now they get shut out by Indianapolis, a team known more for their offense than their defense.  Cincy is now the only team in the AFC North with a negative point differential, and they are operating like a listless ship.  They need to get their act together, and soon.

3.  The records of both the Bills and the Saints may be deceptive.  The Saints have a losing record, but they are close in most of their games, so they could just as easily win as lose.  The Bills are the exact opposite -- they have a winning record, but they beat weak teams (like the Vikings) by the slimmest of margins.  The Bills are boosted by a weak schedule.

4.  The 49ers defense is struggling.  If the past two weeks are an indication, their defense is collapsing.  With their schedule, that could cost them a winning record.

5.  The Jags win leaves only one winless team, the Oakland Raiders.

Top 10 [Last week's position]
1.  DENVER BRONCOS (5-1) [4] : The Broncos overpowered San Francisco and allowed Peyton to set a new NFL record for career touchdown passes
2.  Philadelphia Eagles (5-1) [2]
3.  Dallas Cowboys (6-1) [3] : The Cowboys are building up a huge streak of wins.  Could even THEY believe their late season collapse is looming?
4.  Arizona Cardinals (5-1) [7] : I'll admit, this is not the NFC West team I expected to find in the Top Five at this time of the season
5.  Indianapolis Colts (5-2) [5] : Shutting out Cincinnati proved the Colts have a defense to go with their offense
6.  Baltimore Ravens (5-2) [6] : Their defense held Atlanta to a single score
7.  San Diego Chargers (5-2) [1] : KC knocked them off, and now they face the Broncos on Thursday night
8.  Green Bay Packers (5-2) [10] : Green Bay slaughtered Carolina, propelling them into the upper echelons of the NFL
9.  New England Patriots (5-2) [9] : They held back the Jets, but the defense needs some work
10. Detroit Lions (5-2) [11] : Holding back New Orleans earns them a Top Ten spot

Divisional rankings [Last week's position]
1.  AFC West [3] : This division has both the new top team in the league and the new bottom team in the league
2.  NFC East [2] : Any division that has two one-loss teams deserves to be near the top
3.  AFC North [1] : These three divisions have pulled away from the rest of the league

4.  NFC West [4] : With both San Francisco and Seattle suffering, this division could be poised for a fall
5.  NFC North [5] : With two teams now in the Top Ten, this division still has power
6.  AFC East [7] : Wins by Buffalo and Miami helped the division this week, but I don't know if that will last
7.  AFC South [6] : Despite Jacksonville's first win, the Colts remain the only bright spot in this division
8.  NFC South [8] : No team has a winning record

Week 7 Commentary
The administration of the Washington Redskins has made it very clear that they never really liked Kirk Cousins being there.  Last year, when RGIII went down with injury, Cousins came in and performed great; sometimes putting up better numbers than Griffin had.  This year RGIII again went down quickly to injury, and Cousins has played well.  The Redskins have been losing due to poor defense, not due to Cousins.  Yet, he has one bad game, Colt McCoy comes in and leads them on a game-winning TD drive, and now McCoy is the designated starter until RGIII returns, delegating Cousins to third string.

This is a completely ridiculous decision.  Remember Washington already had scored 12 points with Cousins under center, and were down by only five points.  It's not like McCoy engineered an amazing comeback.  Furthermore, Colt McCoy has failed to impress in all of his previous NFL stops, including the pathetic Cleveland Browns.  McCoy also had a poor preseason.  Clearly Gruden, Snyder, and company were just waiting for Cousins to mess up.

Cousins should demand to be traded, and do it now.  As soon as McCoy reverts to his normal mediocracy and poor ball management, they will regret giving him control, and may block Cousins from leaving.  Cousins can move to a team that needs a strong and stable QB, like Oakland.  He could move to a team that needs a decent back-up to support a team who needs it, like Chicago.  God knows Cousins would have good receiving tools in Chicago, and he grew up in the Midwest.