CHICAGO

Was the win over Washington, fueled by a pass rush against a very sackable team, a one off or have the Bears turned the corner on defense?  Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com:

Hours after his team celebrated its first win in 364 days, Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus was in the thick of self-scouting his defense during the mini-bye week following the Thursday game.

He met with coaches and zeroed in on the unit’s biggest problems. Through five weeks, the Bears are 31st in red zone defense (77.8%) and have allowed opponents to convert on 57.35% of third-down attempts, which ranks 32nd.

Finding solutions is easier after a victory, especially after the defense showed signs of improvement. Chicago beat Washington 40-20 on Oct. 5, the first time the Bears defense had held an opponent to under 25 points in 15 games. Instead of having to go back to the drawing board, the win gave the Bears something to build on.

“I wouldn’t even say a weight has been lifted,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “I think it’s just the beginning. It would suck to get that one win and come out here and not let it continue over and roll over. We want to build it. If we don’t start a win streak, that would be more of a letdown than anything.”

Eberflus’ responsibilities have increased considerably since he assumed defensive playcalling duties Week 2 before the sudden resignation of former defensive coordinator Alan Williams. Being down a staff member led the Bears coach to explore the addition of a senior defensive analyst who would help enhance Chicago’s scheme while working ahead on future opponents.

A turnaround after a 1-4 start will require an all-hands-on-deck approach. Building upon the Bears’ strongest defensive performance thus far – one where Eberflus showed a more aggressive approach with the way he dialed up pressures – is where Chicago hopes to start.

The Bears’ pass rush had a prime opportunity to kickstart its effectiveness against Washington quarterback Sam Howell, who had been sacked a league-high 24 times going into the Week 5 matchup with Chicago. The defense came away with five sacks, more than doubling their season total (2) up to that point, and 11 quarterback hits.

The team effort up front resulted in the Bears’ highest blitz rate (28.3%) of the Eberflus era and a 31.7% pressure rate, the second-highest of the season. Chicago sent extra rushers on 17 of Howell’s 51 dropbacks, which held Washington to 3.9 yards per attempt, the sixth-best in the NFL in Week 5.

“Pressure is paramount, and we’re going to have to continue to do that, if it’s with four, five or six guys,” Eberflus said. “I think that’s important to be able to do that. With our secondary coming back, we’ll be able to be more flexible with that in terms of pressure and what types of pressure we have.”

Chicago’s next two games are at home against teams with sub-.500 records: Minnesota (1-4) and Las Vegas (2-3). The variance Eberflus utilized in sending different pressure players will be pivotal against experienced veterans quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Jimmy Garoppolo.

Having their pass rush get home against the Vikings will require a different game plan.

Cousins has successfully counteracted the blitz through five games. His 63.9% completion percentage when blitzed ranks 12th, and his seven passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in those situations are the league-best marks.

One weapon the Bears won’t have to worry about is receiver Justin Jefferson, who was put on the IR with a strained right hamstring.

“You’ve got to have the timing of [blitzing the QB], the rhythm and timing of it, when to call it, disguise it,” Eberflus said. “You’ve got to pick and choose your moments, because he is very effective [at beating the blitz].”

Against the Commanders, the Bears generated two turnovers: an interception by Greg Stroman Jr. and a forced fumble by rookie cornerback Terell Smith. That was the magic number they had hoped to reach after recording zero takeaways in losses to the Packers, Buccaneers and Broncos.

“If you’re ever plus-two in a game in takeaways, there’s a good chance you can win a game,” defensive end DeMarcus Walker said. “That’s the goal is to be plus-two every week and continue to rally them up and be a dominant defense.”

A more productive pass rush, coupled with generating turnovers, might be the key for a defensive turnaround. Aiding that production is the prospect of health in the secondary for the first time since the season opener.

Cornerback Kyler Gordon (hand) was designated to return from injured reserve this week while cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) and safety Eddie Jackson (foot) returned to practice Wednesday in a limited capacity.

“That’ll bring the energy, bring the juice,” Johnson said. “I think the DBs last week started that off. I think they played a very solid game holding that down for us, so we definitely have to get back and up the energy, up the execution. Just get back what we were missing.”

The mysterious departure of DC Alan Williams, which has faded from media consciousness, may have been addition by subtraction.

And did they actually “hire” the senior defensive analyst Cronin mentions, or just “explore” it?

DETROIT

On October 30 of last year, the Lions lost to the Dolphins, 31-27, to fall to 1-6 on the year.

In the prior two calendar years, Detroit had been 6-27-1, 4-19-1 with Dan Campbell as head coach.

The next week, having given up 24+ points in 9 straight games, the Lions beat Green Bay, holding the Packers to 9 points.

Rarely has there been such a clear one week dividing line between good and bad, because starting with the win over GB, the Lions are on a 12-3 run, with a bizarre Week 16 beat down last year at Carolina the only real blemish in their run of good football.

The last time Detroit won 12 of 15 games?  It was in 1995-96.

And someone with a Lions media guide and time to kill tells the DB that if they win in Tampa on Sunday, it will be Detroit’s first 13-3 run since 1961-62.

MINNESOTA

Complicating the situation with QB KIRK COUSINS is his no-trade clause.  Ty Forness of USA Today:

With the Minnesota Vikings staring off 1-4, there have been a lot of questions and speculation about Kirk Cousins’ no-trade clause. On Wednesday afternoon, he was asked about it and gave a very Cousins-like answer.

“You know I am just very focused on the Bears and going 1-0 this week, and anything else is not worth my time or energy or attention.”

What else could you expect from Cousins? Historically, he doesn’t speak much on matters like this. He is there to go to work, do his job and collect a paycheck. The last thing he wants to do is to create waves.

The question remains whether he will waive his no-trade clause if the Vikings ask him to. That would require a team wanting to trade for him, as it takes two to tango.

The rumored team has been the New York Jets ever since Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles tendon in week one. Will they be willing to make the move after Zach Wilson has shown some growth? Only time will tell.

Judd Zulgad, also of USA Today, lists 5 players besides Cousins that the fading Vikings could ship out:

The Minnesota Vikings’ decision to place Justin Jefferson on injured reserve this week made an already difficult season even more bleak. The Vikings have won only one of their first five games and the loss of their star wide receiver for at least four games has left many wondering whether the front office will decide to make moves by the Oct. 31 trade deadline.

If the Vikings trade veterans, it would land them draft picks and, if the team isn’t going to compete for a playoff spot, there would be few complaints about general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah turning his focus to the future.

The name that gets brought up most often is quarterback Kirk Cousins, who is in the final season of his contract. But the 35-year-old has a no-trade clause in his deal and it seems unlikely he would be willing to waive it unless his new team gave him a contract extension. That would require Cousins to be willing to commit to that club.

Why wouldn’t Cousins just play out his final season in Minnesota and then hit the free agent market and go through the same process he did in 2018 before signing with the Vikings? This would enable him to allow teams to bid on his services and give him far more control.

There are other players who would be easier to trade and could get the Vikings the type of return that would interest them. Here are five who could be candidates to be jettisoned before November.

Outside linebacker/pass rusher Danielle Hunter

The case to trade him: The Vikings got Hunter to end his training camp “hold in” by redoing the final season of his contract and giving him a one-year deal worth $17 million guaranteed and up to $20 million total. The three-time Pro Bowl selection has a team-leading six sacks and remains a dynamic edge rusher at the age of 28. The question is do the Vikings want to sign him to a rich multiyear contract after this season? His age and injury history — he missed all of 2020 and a large portion of 2021 — make both topics an issue. The Vikings also gave up the right to place the franchise tag on Hunter when they agreed to his reworked deal. Hunter might be the best trade chip the Vikings and that would include Cousins.

Potential return: You would think a competitive team that wants to upgrade its pass rush would be willing to give up a first- or second-round pick for Hunter. If it’s a first-rounder it likely would be late but that would give the Vikings some flexibility to package picks to move up. Especially if they land a top-10 pick in the opening round because of where they finish.

Wide receiver K.J. Osborn

The case to trade him: The wide receiver is in the final season of his rookie contract and seems likely to explore free agency. Jefferson is one of the best receivers in the NFL and Jordan Addison wasn’t selected in the opening round so he could sit behind Osborn. Osborn has 13 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns in five games this season and last year caught 60 passes for 650 yards with five touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who was selected by former general manager Rick Spielman to serve as a kick returner. The Vikings like Osborn, but unless they are going to bring him back why not try to get something for him?

Potential return: Jefferson’s injury might make the Vikings think about trading Osborn, but if they got the right return it would make sense. You likely would get a day three pick back for Osborn, but something would be better than nothing. That Saturday selection could be helpful in another draft weekend trade.

Left guard Ezra Cleveland

The case to trade him: This one is interesting. Cleveland was a second-round pick in 2020, the same year the Vikings took Osborn in the fifth round, and also is in the final season of his contract. When the Vikings picked Cleveland, the assumption was that he would remain at offensive tackle, a position he played at Boise State. Cleveland, however, was moved to right guard by the Vikings in 2020 and shifted to the left side the following year. The buzz is that Cleveland would like to play tackle and that isn’t going to happen with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill holding down the left and right tackles spots, respectively. Moving Cleveland in a lost season makes a lot of sense and also might be the reason the Vikings signed veteran right guard Dalton Risner earlier this year.

Potential return: Good offensive line help isn’t easy to find and the assumption is Cleveland would remain at guard with his new team. But the ability to play for a winner and then put himself on the free agent market as a tackle might interest Cleveland. I’m guessing you would get a day three pick for him but if it’s a third- or fourth-rounder you take it. Especially if he’s set on leaving Minnesota.

Linebacker Jordan Hicks

The case to trade him: Hicks had an outstanding game against the Chiefs, at least according to Pro Football Focus, and he’s the type of player who could help a team in need of a veteran linebacker. The 31-year-old is in his second season with the Vikings and ninth season overall. He agreed to a restructured contract with the Vikings last March that saved Minnesota $1.5 million against its salary cap for 2023. This is the final season of his contract and it’s unlikely he will return.

Potential return: Very small. Maybe a seventh-round or sixth-rounder, if there is a pick swap involved. This would be more to get a veteran to a place where he would have a chance to win and also add a late pick.

Safety Harrison Smith

The case to trade him: The 34-year-old safety could help a contender, but would the Vikings be willing to move off the veteran? He’s played his entire 12-year career in Minnesota and took a pay cut to stay with the team last season. Smith will turn 35 in February and has two seasons remaining on his contract after this one. It seems like a long shot he will be around next season; his salary cap hit is scheduled to jump from $11.8 million to $19.2 million and then $22 million. If Smith is traded, it likely will be because he agreed that at this stage of his career chasing a Super Bowl ring was something he wanted to do.

Potential return: Smith has been selected to six Pro Bowls and could be headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when his career is finished. But at this stage, he probably would only get the Vikings a late-round draft pick and this might be one player the franchise doesn’t want to deal for a sixth- or seventh-round selection.

PHILADELPHIA

From what the DB has heard, there were considerable reasons for NFL teams to be wary of DT JALEN CARTER.  But, right now, the Eagles are looking like geniuses for taking the gamble.  Tim McManus of ESPN.com:

Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter exploded out of his stance and took a quick jab step to his left, forcing Los Angeles Rams center Coleman Shelton to lunge in that direction. And just like that, it was over.

Carter cut back right, clubbed an off-balance Shelton out of his way and wrangled Matthew Stafford to the ground for a third-quarter sack — his second of the game. He added two tackles for loss in a performance that helped propel the now 5-0 Eagles to a 23-14 win, and further bolstered Carter’s early Defensive Rookie of the Year credentials.

“Mr. Unblockable,” said cornerback Darius Slay following Sunday’s win at SoFi Stadium. “That’s his name.”

With 3.5 sacks under his belt, Carter is producing at a historic clip. The last first-year defensive tackle with at least 12 combined tackles and 3.5 sacks over any five-game stretch was the Rams’ Aaron Donald in 2014. The most sacks by a first-year defensive tackle since the stat has been tracked is 11 by Keith Millard in 1985, per ESPN Stats & Information research. Carter is on pace for 11.5.

Carter, who landed No. 2 in ESPN’s first edition of rookie rankings behind Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, is seventh overall and first among defensive tackles in QB pressures through five weeks with 25, per NextGen Stats.

“Man, he’s just been playing phenomenal. A young guy with a lot of energy, a lot of juice,” said veteran edge player Haason Reddick. “Everybody knew that he had this type of ability. I’m extremely happy for the young man.”

Coach Nick Sirianni echoed those sentiments but struck a more measured tone as he zoomed out to look at the bigger picture.

“We won’t put him in Canton yet. He’s got to just keep going each and every day and getting better, and it’s about consistency,” he said. “He’s got the ability to do it. He’s just got to be consistent with it, and that’s by working hard and growing each day.”

Carter was widely considered the top talent in the 2023 draft but fell to No. 9 in part due to off-field concerns.

Eagles rookie Jalen Carter is seventh overall and first among defensive tackles in QB pressures through five weeks with 25, per NextGen Stats. Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Multiple Georgia coaches declined to go to bat for Carter during the pre-draft process, in part because they had grown disenchanted with his practice habits and attitude.

But his work ethic has drawn strong reviews from his current teammates and coaches. The Eagles felt they were uniquely equipped to help Carter stay on the right path thanks to the presence of veteran leaders like Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham. Cox has assumed a lead role as mentor. He missed Sunday’s game with a back ailment, and Carter responded with his biggest game of the year.

“We obviously want Fletch here, he’s a veteran. He can motivate anybody on this team,” Carter said. “But unfortunately he couldn’t be here so we just go next man up, still work hard, we all still trust each other, and let’s do this. Let’s get a dub.”

When Carter was asked what he is working on week-to-week, he responded, “Everything,” noting that his hand work and gap movements weren’t quite up to his standard against the Rams.

And yet he had a number of dominant moments. It’s plain to see many more lie ahead if Carter continues on this trajectory.

“He has to keep proving it over and over and over again,” Sirianni said. “Because if you want to be considered in the top part of this league as a football player, it’s about consistency and it’s about doing it year-in and year-out. So, he’s had a good start. He has to continue to put the work in. We know he has the talent.”

ARIZONA

Kalyn Kahler of The Athletic takes a long look at “the troubling workplace culture” brought to bear by owner Michael Bidwill.

One day in 2019, Arizona Cardinals employees arrived at the team’s headquarters in Tempe, made their way to their offices or cubicles on the second or third floors, opened up their emails and found . . . An employee survey.

At most workplaces, this would be a decidedly ordinary part of the grind. But in Cardinals’ offices, the survey was monumental. Some who received it filled unglamorous, back-office jobs in finance, marketing, community relations or business development departments and had never felt like their opinions about the operation were valued. Further, many had negative feelings about the workplace but had been reluctant to share them because they felt replaceable — if they didn’t value the privilege of working for an NFL team, someone else would.

The team, owned by the Bidwill family for nine decades, didn’t have a dedicated director of human resources at the time. Some employees wondered if they could trust that their survey answers would stay anonymous.

Despite their fears, some employees wrote about unpleasant encounters with team owner Michael Bidwill and unwritten rules they dare not break in his presence. Many female employees addressed a variety of issues that made some of them feel like second-class citizens inside the building. After finishing the survey, some employees shared what they’d written with each other and realized how critical the results would be of the team’s culture and leaders.

“People tore Michael Bidwill to shreds,” said a former employee with more than five years of experience with the team.

In the following weeks, many Cardinals staffers awaited the fallout. “Everyone was wondering, what’s happening with the survey? Are we going to find out the results of the survey?” said one former employee.

But weeks became months, then a year. The survey was briefly mentioned in an email about gym memberships, but otherwise, many staffers concluded:

“It disappeared into thin air.”

The Athletic spoke to more than a dozen current and former employees with 100-plus combined years of experience with the team, most on the non-football side of the organization. All were granted anonymity out of their fear of retaliation from Bidwill, an attorney and former federal prosecutor.

Those who spoke to The Athletic detailed how Bidwill would sometimes react strongly to what they considered minor transgressions – like a squeaky wheel on an office cart or a woman laughing too loudly in the office – contributing to a culture where many employees felt constantly on edge. That culture was referenced in a letter outgoing COO Ron Minegar delivered to Bidwill in December 2019 – “a majority of our employees are working in fear,” Minegar wrote.

Former employees also described unwritten policies about how women were to dress, interact with male football staffers and players, and where they could and couldn’t go in the building. Those policies forced them to operate in an environment that, as one framed it, was “outdated, archaic, constricted.” They also described how the lack of a robust human resources department made it difficult to know where to take complaints, such as nursing mothers having to pump near a shower area or in a conference room.

“You would think being an entertainment sports team that it would be a fun place to work. No, not at all,” said one employee.

In response to the allegations detailed in this story, Bidwill issued a statement that read: “As I have said personally to every member of the Cardinals organization, I certainly have room to grow and with the benefit of hindsight, would have done some things differently over the years. I also know that my direct approach doesn’t always land well, and I’m working on that. I have always been driven by the desire to learn and improve and more importantly, to use those lessons in building the best organization possible. Over the last several years, we have taken significant steps to improve our culture and build a stronger community. We are a better and more inclusive organization today than we were yesterday and I’m extremely excited about what we can be tomorrow.”

The Cardinals went 4-13 in 2022, lost franchise quarterback Kyler Murray to injury after a contentious contract negotiation, parted ways with their head coach and GM, then committed a tampering violation in the process of hiring a new coach.

Weeks before the 2023 draft, former Cardinals executive Terry McDonough, who worked for the team from 2013 to 2023 accused Michael Bidwill of organizing a scheme involving “burner phones” to circumvent the NFL’s no-contact stipulation of then-general manager Steve Keim’s DUI suspension in 2018. The Cardinals acknowledged the existence of the burner phone plan but blamed it on an unnamed executive. “Mr. Bidwill took swift action when he learned of that situation and directed the phones be retrieved and communications stopped,” a PR advisor hired by the team said in a statement.

Worth an estimated $3.8 billion according to Forbes, the Cardinals employ a pared-down corporate structure in contrast with other franchises and employ approximately 140 people on the non-football side of the operation. When Bidwill, 58, assumed the role of principal owner following the death of his 88-year-old father, Bill, in 2019, he didn’t hire a team president (his previous role) and left the position of chief operating officer vacant for more than three years before filling it in August.

That structure, some former and current employees said, contributed to the creation of a top-down culture in which Bidwill sometimes hovered over minor tasks and reacted strongly to the smallest of grievances.

Just after being hired, one employee said a supervisor told her she would be an “official Cardinal” once she got yelled at by Bidwill or another senior manager. “Like 20 minutes after that, Michael Bidwill yelled at me,” she said. Her offense? She was walking too slowly.

Bidwill’s office was in the center of the second floor, and some staffers hesitated to go near there — one former employee called it “tiptoe alley.” If the team lost the previous weekend, or if Bidwill had already yelled at someone that day, word would quietly spread: Don’t go down the hall today, Michael’s mad.

“There’s a lot of cubicles outside of his main office, and you can’t really speak normally most of the time,” said a former employee. “Like you have to peek and see: Is Michael in here today? Can you act normal? Can you not? It was so unpredictable. Sometimes he is in a good mood, sometimes he’s not.”

Avoiding Bidwill’s wrath was made more difficult because he sometimes involved himself in minor or mundane workplace tasks. One former employee said he became upset when a new hire’s cell phone number was assigned the 480 area code used in the Phoenix suburbs instead of the 602 area code for the city center. Another time, after a department opted to turn off the fluorescent lights above their cubicles in favor of softer lighting, one employee said Bidwill flipped the fluorescent lights back and announced: “Here we work with the lights on!”

In August 2019, after then-COO Minegar was arrested for extreme DUI, Bidwill scolded Minegar during a Mothers Against Drunk Driving presentation in the team auditorium. Several employees in the audience remember Bidwill telling Minegar: “I wanted to fire your ass.”

“He said, ‘Don’t f—ing do it again,’” a former employee present that day said. “Who is he cursing at like that? We aren’t children.”

Some Cardinals staffers looking to raise concerns about the workplace said they didn’t know where to turn. There was no dedicated HR director from 2008 until 2021 and no fully-staffed HR department until 2022. And some employees worried if they raised concerns they’d be quickly let go.

“We likened it to Broadway lights,” said one former employee. “It’s all bright and shiny, and if one bulb goes out, they’ll just throw it away, pop in another one.”

Added another employee: “People just didn’t say anything. They complain under their breath, and they go into their car at lunch and they cry.”

A few weeks before Minegar left his job in January 2020, ending a two-decade run with the franchise, he delivered a three-page letter to Bidwill that referenced the employment survey.

“We learned that a majority of our employees are working in fear,” Minegar wrote to Bidwill in the letter, which was first reported on by Pro Football Talk. “There are several factors, but much of this was directed at you based on the poor interaction they’ve had with you. What was your reaction when you saw the preliminary responses? Instead of leaning into it and trying to change things for the better, you shut the study down.”

A demand for arbitration Terry McDonough made to the NFL in April also addressed the survey: Bidwill’s workplace misconduct is so pervasive and toxic, that he halted a 2019 corporate cultural assessment of the Cardinals organization that was being conducted by an outside consulting firm after an expansive initial round of employee responses criticized the Cardinals’ woeful culture and placed most of the blame on Bidwill.

A team spokesperson responded: “The 2019 survey was not ignored. In fact, significant action was taken based on its feedback, the most prominent of which was the creation of the Chief People Officer role. Some changes were immediate, like the employee wellness initiatives announced in February of 2020, just weeks before COVID shut down the country. Others took longer as a result of the pandemic.”

Along a second-floor hallway of the Cardinals offices, there’s a white plastic wall. Employees who spoke to The Athletic weren’t sure exactly when the wall went up (at some point during Bruce Arians’ coaching tenure from 2013-17), but they believe they know why it was erected.

That area of the second floor was occupied by a group of predominantly female employees. Some of those women, like others in the office, came to understand that Bidwill and others did not want them fraternizing with the male members of Arians’ coaching staff and players. No sources said they received that directive straight from Bidwill, but multiple women said supervisors or others conveyed to them that any contact with the football staff and players was frowned upon.

But coaches or players, perhaps unaware of this unwritten rule, often made small talk with the female employees as they walked down the second-floor hall. One day, a coach stopped to chat for longer than usual. Shortly thereafter, one employee said, a director told her they’d be putting up a wall to “cut down on hallway traffic.” Later, employees arrived to find the wall: a seven- or eight-foot-tall extension of two cubicle walls, tall enough that passersby couldn’t see the people working behind it.

The wall ordeal contributed to a feeling some women had that they were constantly under watch, and that feeling made some modify their behavior.

One former employee said she had to take a roundabout route to the women’s bathroom because the most direct path took her past the coaches’ offices. Once, at a golf event, a player offered her a cart ride to the next hole. She eventually took it, but not before asking herself if a supervisor might punish her for it.

Another former employee said a player took the seat next to her during a flight to a road game and engaged in a long conversation, something the player had done before with several of her male colleagues. Afterward, she said, a male coworker approached her and told her it wasn’t a good look to be talking to the player.

“It was a very old-school mentality that you’re always fighting against,” she said. “There were a lot of things that were just gray areas or rules that weren’t really ever set in stone or in a book, but just like, this is the way it is.”

Until early 2020, male office employees could use the team’s weight room whenever players weren’t present, but four women who spoke to The Athletic said they were either told directly by a supervisor or made to feel as if they weren’t allowed to use it and were discouraged from even using the staircase that led there, “for fear we might end up in the locker room,” one former employee said. The team eventually closed off the weight room to all non-football staff and offered employees discounted memberships to a local gym.

Female media members from outside the organization were permitted to enter the team’s locker room during open periods in accordance with NFL rules. But up until the 2022 season, female members of the Cardinals’ staff, including those who worked for the team’s in-house media operation, could not go in. Those in-house media members had to wait for players to be brought to them outside the locker room. A Cardinals spokesperson said the team intended to change that policy in 2020, but that COVID restrictions meant the locker room was closed to all media in 2020 and 2021.

“It felt like I was walking on eggshells,” one former employee said. “Am I okay to be here? Oh my God, what if someone sees me here? You’re just doing your job and trying to walk around the building in which you work and feeling like, ‘Oh, I can’t be on this side.’”

Up until at least 2020, some nursing mothers had to pump in an area adjacent to the showers in the women’s locker room. Others hunted for empty conference rooms to use.

Several women described an unwritten dress code for female employees in which women wearing leggings or shorts or skirts had to tie a sweatshirt or jacket around their waists if they were going to work on the field or be near players or football staff. They couldn’t show their shoulders and understood they needed to cover up so they weren’t distractions. One woman said she felt a responsibility to inform new female employees about the dress code, even though she felt uncomfortable passing along what she thought was a sexist restriction.

Shaun Mayo, the Chief People Officer hired in July 2021, responded in a statement: “These ‘unwritten rules’ are largely urban myths and old news. They were unknown to senior leaders until we received employee feedback from the 2019 survey. In most, if not all cases, they were based on perception – or misperception – rather than any actual policy. But the feedback was valuable. We’ve addressed them over the last several years and now have clarity across the organization.”

Mayo was not the first person to fill the role of Chief People Officer.

In February 2021, the Cardinals sent out a press release touting the hiring of Kelly Jones for that role. Many Cardinals staffers were excited about his arrival. Maybe with a robust HR department, the workplace would operate less like a mom-and-pop shop and more like a multi-billion-dollar company.

But Jones exited after just a couple of months on the job, and no explanation was given for his exit.

“That’s quite common in that building,” said the former employee with more than a decade of experience. “You don’t know people are gone until you start asking where they are.”

Jones declined to comment about his time at the Cardinals, telling The Athletic he wanted “to keep that part of my career in the rearview.” His tenure with the team is not listed on his LinkedIn profile.

A few months later, the Cardinals hired Mayo, who reports directly to Bidwill. Soon after, Mayo organized small-group listening sessions, a dedicated time and space for employees to meet him and air their grievances. Recently, the team held another round of listening sessions, hired an independent consulting firm to conduct its own workplace review and organized a pay review study to make sure employees were compensated on par with other teams. The organization also relaxed its work-from-home policies, instituted shorter hours for summer Fridays and brought in food trucks. The Cardinals hosted an open house at the facility for employees’ families, and handed out plaques to some employees recognizing their years of service. The team also arranged for the office staff to travel to this weekend’s game in Los Angeles versus the Rams, a new perk.

In 2022, the team renovated an unused office into a space for nursing mothers.

When McDonough’s allegations made headlines in April, the Cardinals held an emergency all-staff meeting to reassure employees. Later that month, every employee received invitations from Mayo and Tina Givens, senior director of people operations, to attend another listening session.

The April listening sessions took place in the executive conference room in the center of the second floor. The shades were lowered, but the location was public — anyone in the office could see who was coming and going. In at least one case, the session ended before the employees were done sharing their concerns.

Sixty minutes wasn’t enough time.

SAN FRANCISCO

Can you taunt with a printed message on a tee-shirt?  This at ESPN.com:

The NFL is considering fining San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle for the T-shirt he wore under his uniform Sunday night that contained a profane message about the Dallas Cowboys, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

Under the terms of the NFL’s fine schedule, personal messages carry a fine of $10,927.

ADVERTISING

Kittle, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, revealed a shirt under his jersey that said, “F— Dallas,” while celebrating running back Jordan Mason’s 26-yard touchdown in the end zone at the end of the 49ers’ 42-10 rout. Kittle also had three receiving touchdowns in the game.

In an interview with “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, Kittle said he “might have been mildly inspired” by 49ers linebacker Gary Plummer, who wore a similar T-shirt during the 1994 NFC Championship Game against the Cowboys.

“It’s just there’s some things that need to be worn for the franchise, and I think it’s just coincidence that it just happened to appear on my chest on ‘Sunday Night Football,'” he said.

Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, on his podcast Monday, called out Kittle for wearing the T-shirt.

“I just feel like he’s making it way more personal than it had to be,” he said on his “The Edge with Micah Parsons” podcast. “Kittle’s my guy, but I’m going to say this: Laugh now, cry later.

“We got something for that, just trust. If we see them again, just trust. … You going to make it personal? We can make it personal.”

One day later, 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, during an interview with FanDuel’s “Up & Adams” podcast, said that San Francisco took note of some of the Cowboys’ pregame comments before responding to Parsons.

“It was already personal before the game started, and now — 42-10 — I don’t think you want to see us again,” he said Tuesday. “It might be a little bit worse.”

Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse said on Wednesday that he didn’t have a problem with Kittle flashing the T-shirt.

“The only way to stop that is to keep him out of the end zone,” Kearse said. “I don’t have a problem with nothing he did. If we do our job and keep him out of the end zone, he wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

DENVER

DE FRANK CLARK is persona non grata with Sean Payton’s Broncos.

Denver defensive end Frank Clark had already been ruled out for tonight’s game, and it appears he has played his last game for the Broncos.

The Broncos will either trade or release Clark soon, according to Field Yates of ESPN.

Clark has agreed to restructure his contract and give up $1.686 million in guaranteed salary to make it easier for the Broncos to move on from him, so he clearly wants out, and the Broncos want to move on from him.

The Broncos signed Clark to a one-year contract in June, three months after he was cut by the Chiefs. He has played just 36 snaps in two games with the Broncos this season.

Clark was a three-time Pro Bowler with the Chiefs and will surely generate some interest from other teams, but he wasn’t a good fit in Denver and won’t be there any longer.

LAS VEGAS

The NFL aspires to get Jon Gruden’s case out of the Nevada state courts and into the in-house arbitration system run by The Commish.  On November 7, the NFL will pitch its case to the Nevada Supreme Court.  Mike Florio with a good run-down of the issues:

The news came on the anniversary of the event that sparked the lawsuit.

On October 11, two years to the day after Jon Gruden left his job as coach of the Raiders, the Nevada Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in Gruden’s civil case against the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The news comes courtesy of attorney Daniel Wallach, who has posted the official, one-page notice that a 30-minute hearing will be held on November 7, 2023.

The issue is narrow and simple. Should the trial court’s decision to not compel Gruden to submit his claims to arbitration controlled by the NFL and Goodell be upheld, or should it be overturned? The NFL has challenged the decision through the appellate court system in Nevada.

The league has hoped to use the relevant clause in Gruden’s contract with the Raiders to force arbitration, even though Gruden has no dispute with the Raiders. Also, the league has argued that arbitration is appropriate under the NFL Constitution and By-Laws, which covers “[a]ny dispute involving . . . any players or employees of the members of the League . . . that in the opinion of the Commissioner constitutes conduct detrimental to the best interests of the League or professional football.”

The NFL has a habit of attempting to divert litigation against the league to its in-house system of arbitration, which is ultimately controlled by the Commissioner. It’s an inherently unfair practice, which rigs the game against the person making the claim — and keeps the entire dispute secret. In this specific case, the fact that the Commissioner is a defendant makes the Commissioner’s desire to resolve the case even more conspicuous, delicate, and potentially inappropriate.

The lawsuit traces to the allegedly selective leak of supposedly secret emails harvested by the original Beth Wilkinson investigation regarding the Commanders. A limited group of individuals had access to the roughly 650,000 documents. Someone leaked to the media emails Gruden had sent to Commanders president Bruce Allen in 2011, when Gruden was working for ESPN.

The emails casually and repeatedly used a stunning variety of improper terms and references. After the first leak to the Wall Street Journal did not result in Gruden leaving the Raiders, a second leak to the New York Times finished the job.

If the Nevada Supreme Court rules that the case should proceed, the league will have the ability to attempt to seek an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court. The league did precisely that in the litigation over the relocation of the Rams.

Even if the chances of getting the highest court in the country to review the case and overturn the ruling is slim, the extra step injects even more delay into the process. Which could potentially keep Gruden’s case stuck at square one through the third, fourth, or maybe even fifth anniversary of the day the leaks achieved their apparently intended result.

BUFFALO

QB JOSH ALLEN defends his diva receiver.  Alaina Getzenberg of ESPN.com:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen said he’s “tired of hearing all this nonsense from people” regarding teammate Stefon Diggs’ emotions after a clip of the receiver throwing a tablet on the sideline went viral.

The televised incident happened with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Diggs sat on the bench and slammed the tablet down before throwing it on the ground as he stood up.

“He’s a competitor; he’s a fiery competitor. I’m tired of hearing all this nonsense from people,” Allen said. “There’s a lot of guys in the league that have that same fire that don’t get talked about. He’s a lot of our juice on the sideline, making sure the offense is staying up and as energized as possible and we feed off of that.”

Allen on Wednesday said Diggs, at that moment when he slammed the tablet, was mad at himself for running a wrong release on a route.

“He’s a captain for a reason,” Allen said. “When you look at the sidelines of guys that are talking and making sure everybody’s ready to go, for better or worse, he’s up in guys’ faces and he’s making sure we have as much juice as we need — and he supplies that to our offense, especially in times we need it. He doesn’t get the burn he deserves there. Frankly, it kind of ticks me off when people want to say stuff about him, but we’ll keep that all internal here.”

The frustration came amidst the Bills’ second-lowest scoring performance of the season (20 points) and the offense coming out of halftime with consecutive drives ending in punts, including the drive just before the clip was shown that started with a 48-yard pass to Diggs but ended three plays later with no more yards gained.

Diggs said after Sunday’s game that a “lack of sense of urgency” was apparent.

“You work hard in practice and the carryover is supposed to be, alright, you go have fun now,” Diggs said after the game. “… We were kind of like just not as, you know, ‘Let’s go get it; let’s get after it,’ you know what I’m saying? We were trying to figure it out. But that lack of sense of urgency, it showed, and then we get in that mode of not necessarily rushing, but more like, ‘OK, we got a score,’ you saw that.”

He has been the subject of attention in the past for sideline reactions during games, including during a loss to the Bengals in the playoffs last season. He has described himself as someone that “plays with a lot of heart” and has emphasized how important winning is to him.

Coaches and teammates, including Allen and coach Sean McDermott, have emphasized that Diggs’ passion is what makes him who he is and so successful.

“I try to be there for my guys, give them some positive energy, a boost,” Diggs, who went out onto the field to encouraged the defense between the third and fourth quarters, said Sunday. “You never know, a couple extra claps, a couple extra yells, anything can happen.”

The Bills’ offense is third in points scored per game (30.4), while Allen continues to lead the league in completion percentage (73.1%). Diggs is sixth in receiving yards (520), is tied for the most receiving TDs (5) and has 100-plus receiving yards in three of four games.

The Bills host the New York Giants on Sunday night.

– – –

A front office scandal. Mike Florio:

Earlier this year, the Bills made Jon Roth their new Chief Operating Officer. On Wednesday, Roth was fired.

According to Tim Graham of TheAthletic.com, with confirmation from the Associated Press, the Bills fired both Roth and team general counsel Kathryn D’Angelo. The Bills concluded that Roth and D’Angelo were involved in a romantic relationship.

Roth also served as COO of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Both teams are owned by the Pegula family.

Graham reports that the situation came to a head during the Bills’ recent trip to England, for a game against the Jaguars. Graham explains that, because D’Angelo reported to Roth, the relationship became problematic internally.

Both Roth and D’Angelo are still listed on the team’s online roster of front-office employees.

Josh Dziurlikowski reportedly will serve as the interim COO and Jim Overdorf will work as acting general counsel as the Bills attempt to fill the two jobs with permanent hires.

In July, the Bills fired Ron Raccuia, resulting in a new management structure that, given recent developments, has been largely scrapped.

THIS AND THAT

SIX DEGREES OF PERFORMANCE

Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com does a nice job of dividing the 32 teams into nine groupings that reflect their current status:

Week 6 of the 2023 NFL campaign is upon us, which means we’re just over a quarter of the way through the regular-season schedule. Two teams remain unbeaten, 15 are under .500 looking to get back on track and all 32 have given us at least a basic picture of what they’re capable of — or not — in the hunt for the next Lombardi Trophy.

Obviously a lot can change between now and the end of the season. But if we were taking stock of every single team five games into the year, here’s how we’d sort them:

The early heavyweights (6)

Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Kansas City, Miami, Buffalo

From our vantage point, there are three legit contenders in each conference right now: the Bills (3-2), Chiefs (4-1) and Dolphins (4-1) in the AFC, and the Eagles (5-0), 49ers (5-0) and Lions (4-1) in the NFC.

Buffalo has proven vulnerable both to the run and its own big-play mindset, but Josh Allen is as dynamic as anyone at the most important position in the sport. The Chiefs have yet to hit their Super Bowl-standard stride on offense, but Patrick Mahomes is doing enough with rotating weaponry and an underrated defense. And Miami has proven to be no fluke when it comes to sheer electricity, with Tua Tagovailoa comfortably distributing to the uncoverable Tyreek Hill in Mike McDaniel’s explosive attack.

Much like their Super Bowl LVII opponent in Kansas City, the Eagles have endured some offensive hiccups, yet remain ultra-trustworthy thanks to their core foundation featuring Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and a sturdy line. The 49ers are the most well-oiled machine in football, with Brock Purdy still oozing poise as Kyle Shanahan’s point guard alongside a fearsome, proactive “D.” And Detroit is gradually shedding its long-held label of disappointment with a tough and balanced attack.

Tooth-and-nail fighters (5)

Seattle, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Jacksonville, LA Chargers

When it comes to these teams, everything is just a little bit harder than it should be, though they’ve looked capable. Preseason MVP hype oversold Trevor Lawrence’s first outings with Calvin Ridley for the Jaguars (3-2), but Doug Pederson’s unit has played close and tough with both the Bills and Chiefs. The Chargers (2-2) are forever in their own way thanks to curious situational coaching, but Justin Herbert remains robotically efficient. The Buccaneers (3-1) offset a lacking run game with Baker Mayfield’s unexpected ball security. The Saints (3-2) are doing the bare minimum with the ball but boast a top-five defense and weapons in Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave who should emerge further as the year goes on. And the Seahawks (3-1) are getting another solid year from Geno Smith, even if their own “D” has been suspect when not matched up with the Giants.

Literally the AFC North (4)

Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati

They’re rugged, they’re ugly, they’re all rough and tumble, and no one can quite figure out who they are just yet. OK, so maybe that’s underselling the Bengals (2-3), who look primed for a return to the top as long as Joe Burrow truly is back on a working calf and slinging it to Ja’Marr Chase. The Ravens (3-2) have also displayed another stingy “D” and more efficient Lamar Jackson through the air, though his supporting cast is once again banged up and erratic. It’s hard to believe the Steelers (3-2) are above .500 considering how ugly their Kenny Pickett-led attack has been, but [insert cliche about Mike Tomlin’s guys never quitting]. And the Browns (2-2) have teased their own nasty defensive front, but Deshaun Watson’s health and composure are still cloudy.

All for show (1)

Dallas

The Cowboys (3-2) deserve their own tier. Why? Because the talent is there. It really is. Even after Trevon Diggs’ injury, they have some of the game’s best players on both sides of the ball, including CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. But as we’ve seen time and again in Dallas, on-paper hype doesn’t always equal crunch-time results. Dak Prescott remains an underrated turnover machine (29 picks in his last 33 starts) when his iffy line breaks down or non-Lamb wideouts fail to separate. And for as dominant as their “D” can be, it’s just tough to pit them against the other powers of the NFC and expect success when it matters most.

Mystery flavor, for better and worse (5)

Atlanta, Green Bay, Washington, Chicago, Las Vegas

These clubs have flashed greatness, or at least scrappiness, without necessarily looking like real contenders: The Falcons (3-2) have an elite backfield but no reason to trust young QB Desmond Ridder over long stretches, the Commanders (2-3) are a feisty bunch with Sam Howell slinging it but have never been winners under Ron Rivera, the Raiders (2-3) have a beast in Maxx Crosby but remain curiously slow-moving on offense, the Packers (2-3) have serious upside but also major unpredictability in QB Jordan Love and the Bears (1-4) are praying Justin Fields’ breakout vs. Washington was not a fluke for his aerial development.

Surprise spoilers (5)

LA Rams, Indianapolis, Houston, NY Jets, Arizona

The Cardinals (1-4) may never come close to swiping a wild-card spot, but they’ve at least hung in ballgames with Joshua Dobbs under center and Jonathan Gannon’s defense occasionally opportunistic. The Texans (2-3) appear to have found a gem in first-round QB C.J. Stroud, who’s looked as polished as a veteran in the pocket. The Rams (2-3) don’t have the line to keep Matthew Stafford fully comfortable, but his receivers in Sean McVay’s offense are fireworks-worthy. The Colts (3-2) have endured three different injuries to rookie QB Anthony Richardson to stay competitive, with Zack Moss the surprise standout on the ground. And the Jets (2-3), while still struggling to clear a low bar without the injured Aaron Rodgers, remain a spirited bunch.

See you in 2024 (2)

Carolina, Minnesota

The Panthers (0-5) need all the help they can get for hapless No. 1 pick Bryce Young, who’s struggling to average even five yards per pass attempt in his once-hyped debut. The Vikings (1-4), meanwhile, are getting more top-10 production from Kirk Cousins, as well as generating creative pressure under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores, but they’re losing at the margins and just lost their best player, Justin Jefferson, to injury. It might be time for their forward-thinking front office to really look ahead.

Sad, sorry nostalgia (2)

New England, Tennessee

We all remember the days of Bill Belichick owning the NFL, but with each week his Patriots (1-4) look more and more like a relic, trotting out the same slow supporting cast and expecting new results. QB Mac Jones is flailing out there, and not even Belichick’s defense has saved the day. The Titans (2-3) aren’t nearly as pitiful, but it’s fitting Mike Vrabel has a Patriots background; their own dependence on an aging, old-school approach has left them with fewer than 16 points three different times already..

Every day is a new nightmare (2)

Denver, NY Giants

Hey, it is October! We needed somebody to be horrific for Halloween. Both the Broncos (1-4) and Giants (1-4) fit the bill. Denver has somehow been worse under Sean Payton than Nathaniel Hackett, and it’d almost be better if Russell Wilson were still as dysfunctional as he was in 2022 — then at least they might have an easy scapegoat. The Broncos’ “D” is a sieve, and much of Wilson’s production has come when games are already decided — or about to be squandered. In New York, the G-Men can simply do nothing right if banged-up QB Daniel Jones isn’t running for his life.