4th and Short: The Vikings' offense in trouble - and so are the Raiders
Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Every Monday, Williamson will look at four major developments from the previous weekend of action in the NFL.
How will the Vikings' offense look moving forward with rookie RB Dalvin Cook sidelined for the season?
This is a big worry. Cook had been exactly what Minnesota's offense needed after featuring the NFL's worst rushing attack in 2016, although much of that ineptitude was due to the offensive line.
Minnesota still has excellent wide receivers - and Sam Bradford should be back soon - but this just doesn't seem like the type of team that prefers to win through the air. Without Cook, Minnesota should remain quite competitive in a difficult division, but the drop-off at running back is going to be massive.
Before leaving early in the third quarter against Detroit, Cook had already racked up 444 yards on the season. The balanced style of play the Vikings had been displaying will have to change - and probably for the worse.
Can the Titans recover from Sunday's humiliating loss in Houston?
Sure, Tennessee can recover. However, if you recall, even though the Titans soundly defeated the Jaguars in Week 2, this team won just two of six games against divisional opponents in 2016.
Tennessee got throttled on Sunday for many reasons, and has to be better within in the AFC South moving forward. But obviously, there are other problems here that were exposed against the Texans. Namely, the Titans didn't seem prepared to deal with Deshaun Watson's dual-threat abilities and the scheme that Bill O'Brien has adeptly built around the rookie QB.
Tennessee's secondary is still a work in progress, and now Marcus Mariota has an injured hamstring. The Titans need to control games on the ground to recover from this embarrassing defeat. They are capable, but it won't be easy.
Are the Raiders in trouble, or can they recover?
Outside of Khalil Mack, Oakland's defense has been an area of concern for some time now. The secondary is talented, but very young. The linebackers are not talented. At best, this looked like a middle-of-the-league defense. But most of us thought the Raiders' offense would keep the team competitive.
After scoring just 20 points over the past two weeks, though, that theory is very much in jeopardy. Michael Crabtree was missed in Week 4 and Amari Cooper, who's dropping far too many passes, has been one of the more disappointing players in the league through four games.
Marshawn Lynch, with just 151 rushing yards on 45 attempts, certainly has not been the savior many thought him to be for Oakland's ground game. And Derek Carr also deserves his share of the blame - and is now dealing with a back injury that could sideline him as long as six weeks.
In a very difficult AFC West, the Raiders can't afford to fall too far behind Kansas City and Denver. So the answer to this question is yes, there is time to recover, but that doesn't mean Oakland isn't in trouble.
Is Jared Goff a top-10 quarterback in the league right now?
What Goff has done through four games in 2017 is impressive - and there's reason to believe the Rams finally have their true franchise quarterback. But is he one of the top 10 players at the most important position on the field?
Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady have their own tier. Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, and Russell Wilson are all better than Goff. And although he hasn't stepped on the field yet this season, so is Andrew Luck. That's seven.
Goff is outplaying Ben Roethlisberger by leaps and bounds, but are we ready to say he's the superior player? I can't give you that one, but I am open to the suggestion that he's passed Philip Rivers and Eli Manning. However, I am also putting Cam Newton and Bradford over Goff for the time being.
That is nine quarterbacks who are "better" than Goff right now, and I'm torn on Carson Palmer, who's still quite effective when given some semblance of protection. Kirk Cousins is probably in the discussion, as is Alex Smith, but I will give Goff the nod over those two right now and certainly for the long term.
So, the answer is no - Goff is not yet a top-10 quarterback. However, he's now lumped firmly within with the "Next Generation" - a promising group consisting of Carr, Mariota, Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston, Carson Wentz, and Watson. That is rather good company for Goff, especially when considering where he would have ranked in his rookie season.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
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