Jean Fugett: Around the NFL

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.

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.

WalterFootball.com would like to thank Redskins president 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 Players of the Week: Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers and Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans

Defensive Players of the Week: Aqib Talib, CB, Denver Broncos and J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans

Goat of the Week: Roger Goodell underperformed everybody last week!

Coaches of the Week: Dan Quinn, Atlanta Falcons and Jeff Fisher, St. Louis Rams

After Week 1 in the National Football League, some people might be surprised about how their team performed last week. If your team is now 0-1, you may have to be really worried about how they got there! Of course half the league is now 0-1, but is it the half that we expected? Looking at the standings going into Week 2, believe it or not, this is pretty much how it will look after 15 more games. There will be a lot of 8-8 and 9-7 teams this year. I do find it interesting that most of the new coaches who are trending are defensive-minded. Defenses get you to the Super Bowl, and I think that is why almost all of the new coaches seem to be from the defensive side of the ball. Rex Ryan in Buffalo, Jim Tomsula in San Francisco, Dan Quinn in Atlanta, Todd Bowles in New York, Jack Del Rio in Oakland and John Fox in Chicago; all are defensive-minded. It was impressive the way Dan Quinn changed that whole culture in Atlanta, and it is clear after only one game. Rex Ryan, already a proven winner, is now able to win with Tyrod Taylor starting at quarterback in Buffalo, and what does Jeff Fisher have now in St. Louis with the way the Rams beat Seattle. It was really tough to pick a coach of the week. There were also many outstanding offensive performances. Carlos Hyde was unbelievable; if you were able to stay awake on Monday night. One of the best defensive-team games that you will ever see came Sunday in the Broncos versus the Ravens. Consider there were two Super Bowl winning quarterbacks in Joe Flacco and Peyton Manning and not one offense scored a touchdown. Last time these two teams played, it seemed like a 1,000 points were scored!

Former Redskin and Cowboy tight end Jean Fugett was a Pro Bowler in 1977 and a starter in Super Bowl X.

AFC

If you look at the standings this week in the AFC North, many think the Bengals will finish at the bottom, but today are at the top. Most expected that the Browns would lose at New York, and they did, with style. Certainly a lot of fans thought the Steelers had a chance to beat New England, and the Ravens had a chance to beat Denver with the Broncos not looking great in their new offense and the possibly diminished abilities of Peyton Manning. We will see as the season progresses.

Looking at the AFC West, three teams started out very well by winning. The Chargers will always be difficult at home. The Broncos have a natural home-field advantage, and the Chiefs will be hard to beat wherever they play this season. The Kansas City Chiefs are a team that is already very good because of the way they are coached and staffed, and have an excellent defense that has played together for a number of years. A number of teams are now coalescing with new coaches and new systems, and some with new key players. Kansas City is not in that situation as they have been together for a long time. They know how to win. The Chiefs are a team I like. The Raiders? Who knows?

It was talked about regarding Tennessee whether they could build a system around Marcus Mariota and how well he would adapt to the NFL. We don’t see a lot of rookies coming in and doing well immediately, especially at quarterback. However, throwing four touchdowns in your first game is incredible and certainly makes a statement. Tennessee is well coached with a talented young core on offense, while the Colts have a lot of issues and signed a lot of old players to patch the problems.

The Colts are not the team they were last year; it takes a while for a team to come together. Jacksonville is a work in progress. Houston has not seen the improvement at the quarterback position so far that is necessary for the team to go to the next level.

It was impressive the way the Bills handled the Colts. Tyrod Taylor is a game-manager, and the fact that Coach Rex Ryan is able to win with Taylor, a career backup, starting at quarterback speaks volume to the coaching job done by Ryan in Buffalo.



NFC

In the NFC East, many are surprised the Cowboys are the only team with a win. People are surprised how the Eagles lost to the Falcons. Of course, the Giants or Cowboys would start with a loss from playing each other and the Redskins were the Redskins, having difficulty scoring points at home on opening day. Rookie right guard Brandon Scherff also was disappointing in his debut for a top-five pick. Sam Bradford may not be the answer in Philadelphia, and he certainly didn’t look it when the Eagles had a chance to win that game late. Did DeMarco Murray play?

In the NFC North, we expect the Packers to continue to dominate that division. A lot of people liked the Vikings to break out this year thinking that a 30-year old running back who hasn’t played in a year would be the difference. Bridgewater is okay, and he can manage games like Tyrod Taylor for the Bills. Quarterbacks are not going to win games for you; you just hope that they get rid of the ball without a turnover before they get pancaked. The Lions are a wild card not because of character or lack of ability but because of coachability in Detroit. The Lions had coaching changes with better results last season, but can they get past Green Bay in their Division? We won’t judge too quickly or too soon, but if I lived in Detroit, I would be worried after last week.



In the NFC South, we are seeing a sea change with the Atlanta Falcons finally showing up. They have a coach taking advantage of what they have, players desperate to win respect in the league. The previous coach, Mike Smith was also defensive-minded, but more cerebral; Dan Quinn’s defense is about punching people in the face.

Rarely, do you see an NFL team rally to the ball much like a college team as the Falcons did last week. When a defense hustles like that in the NFL, it will be hard to beat, especially at home. The Panthers are also well coached. Cam Newton continues to mature. The Saints are asking way too much out of Drew Brees. For Tampa Bay, it looks like another long year, while they hope the quarterback will improve.

In the NFC West, we have three teams that won last week, including the Rams, while everybody thought the Super Bowl champion Seahawks would win last week in St. Louis. The Rams are for real. If people haven’t had a chance to watch, the Rams have elements we talked about last week that are necessary to win. They have a player who can score from anywhere in Tavon Austin, a good defense and very good coaching. That makes a big difference. Nick Foles might be the answer at quarterback.

The 49ers surprised a lot of people in the first post-Harbaugh game; their new head coach also likes to punch people in the face. As long as Carson Palmer is healthy, the Cardinals can score enough points to win every week in that offense. That AFC West race will be one of the most interesting because Pete Carroll is already one game behind all of his opposition and all can really play well!





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