Jean Fugett: Around the NFL
By Jean Fugett; thanks to Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell
WalterFootball.com is proud to partner with former Redskins and Cowboys tight end Jean Fugett, Jr. Esq. Fugett grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Amherst College. He was the last pick of the 13th round in the 1972 NFL Draft. Fugett made the Cowboys as a backup to future Hall of Famer Mike Ditka. Fugett eventually became a starter for Tom Landry’s Cowboys and started in Super Bowl X. He made the Pro Bowl in 1977.
As a free agent, Fugett went from being the lowest-paid starting tight end to the highest-paid with the Washington Redskins. While playing for legendary Redskins coach George Allen, Fugett attended law school at George Washington University at night.
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During and after his playing days, Fugett worked with CBS, the Washington Post and other media. He went on to serve as Director and Vice-Chair of the McCall Pattern Company Management Committee, founded a Baltimore law firm and partnered with Fanfone in Europe. After the death of his brother Reginald F. Lewis in 1993, Fugett took over TLC Beatrice International Foods, the largest black-owned and black-managed business in the world at the time. Fugett has served on committees with the NFL Players Association and on the Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association Maryland Chapter. |
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WalterFootball.com would like to thank Redskins general manager Bruce Allen and senior vice president/executive producer of media Larry Michael for connecting us to Fugett. Now, let’s let Jean take over.
Offensive Player of the Week: Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson
Defensive Player of the Week: Washington Redskins outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan
Coach of the Week: Marc Trestman, Bears
Goat of the Week: Gus Bradley, Jaguars
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It is very difficult to follow some teams in the NFL now that we have gone into such an uncertain time with the controversy off the field. That impacts teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers. Ray Rice suspended indefinitely; Adrian Peterson was suspended, reinstated and suspended again on Wednesday; and it looks like Ray McDonald continues to play. Who knows if Greg Hardy will play this week for the Panthers? There is a lot of unrest around the NFL; no player likes the idea of league-office discipline when the Commissioner plays the role of judge and jury. NFL leadership is not being clear how these issues. This could lead to some weird things on the field and big distractions for some teams. Two of the four teams lost last week. It will be interesting to see how organizations will now take off-the-field matters more into account. Previously, teams never cared about what happened off the field, because all NFL teams cared about was winning on the field. This situation will make games really unpredictable for those of us who have office pools trying to make picks on teams. |
Former Redskin and Cowboy tight end Jean Fugett was a Pro Bowler in 1977 and a starter in Super Bowl X. |
Looking at who is 0-2 the traditional coffin for NFL teams. Jacksonville is 0-2. What a shock …. No, that is not a shock. But a lot of people in Kansas City are very surprised they are 0-2 after the season they had last year. Both the Chiefs and Raiders are 0-2 now, which means there is a better than 50 percent chance that neither team will be in the playoffs.
The Giants are 0-2 and appear buried deep in their coffin. We see Tampa Bay at 0-2, and they too are in a coffin. But who thought that New Orleans would be 0-2 this year and potentially out of the playoffs with 14 games to go?
AFC –
The Dolphins have come back to earth, but the Bills have shown that they are potentially a playoff team this year. The Patriots, this week, were the team we thought they would be a week earlier.
The Bengals took care of business.
The Texans won, but what can you say about the Raiders? We think the Texans will now be in store for a good season, but the Raiders look like they are in store for more of the same … losing while waiting to move to L.A..
San Diego was very impressive at home beating the Seahawks. The old combination of Philip Rivers to Antonio Gates looked like they were young and brand new. How many times have we seen that? As one headline put it, Gates turned back the clock with his three touchdowns last week.
NFC –
The Super Bowl Champion Seahawks are going to have difficulty this year being up for every game. They are so talented, but last week’s game was a reminder that the old adage still applies in the NFL: On any given Sunday, any team can win. The same adage applies to the 49ers after the Bears’ comeback win over San Francisco. The Rams were a big surprise in how well they played despite all the injuries on both offense and defense.
I had picked Arizona to beat the Giants and was then surprised the Cardinals played so well without a healthy Carson Palmer. They went into New York and beat the Giants at the Meadowlands. You have to wonder how long it will be before the New York football Giants have a new head coach.
The Redskins and Cowboys came to play this week. They needed wins badly after Week 1. Niles Paul really impressed me with Washington and he is wearing a great number … my old number 84! Way to go Niles.
The Falcons lost at Cincinnati and seem to always have tough times on the road playing outside. The Panthers really surprised me, and why do the experts continue to underrate the Panthers? Maybe it’s because they play in Carolina, who knows, but they really handled the Lions and overcame off-the-field issues with Greg Hardy, who was inactive because of his problems, which did not keep Carolina from going on to an impressive win. How do they feel in New Orleans today? Even with 14 games left, starting 0-2 is such a depressing thing.
The Packers got back on track this week. Even though Green Bay lost in the opener at Seattle, there is no reason why the Packers can’t get back to meet Seattle to play for the Super Bowl in January like many had believed and predicted. That was a great comeback for the Bears in their win over the 49ers. That game looked like it was over in the first half. Nice win, Chicago!
The Vikings are clearly in disarray as a result of the Adrian Peterson decision(s). They had lost before they lost. Now without Peterson again, how can the Vikings win this week?
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Jean Fugett: Around the NFL - 1/8
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 15 Recap - 12/21
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 14 Recap - 12/11
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 13 Recap - 12/4
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 12 Recap - 11/27
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 11 Recap - 11/21
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 10 Recap - 11/13
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 9 Recap - 11/6
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 8 Recap - 10/30
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 7 Recap - 10/23
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 6 Recap - 10/16
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 5 Recap - 10/9
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 4 Recap - 10/1
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 3 Recap - 9/25
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 2 Recap - 9/18
Jean Fugett's Around the NFL Week 1 Recap - 9/10
Jean Fugett's 2014 NFL Season Preview - 9/5
Fantasy Football Rankings - May 9
2025 NFL Mock Draft - May 7
NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22
NFL Picks - Feb. 12
