My friends, THE GURU’s heart is heavy - and not just because I had a pound of gyro meat for dinner last night.
No, I’m morose while thinking of the late, great Kevin Greene, an underappreciated star who wound up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 160 sacks, a record for an NFL linebacker and third in league history. Sadly, he passed away in 2020 at age 58.
My thoughts are of Greene because two of his former teams meet this evening when Carolina (3-3, 2-1 road) visits Green Bay (4-3, 2-1 home) for an 8:15 pm ET kickoff on Prime Video. Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung are on the call.
Greene did two stints with the Panthers during 15 highly productive seasons, playing in Charlotte in 1996 and 1998-99. After his playing career ended, he spent seven years as a coach in the league, including 2009-13 with the Packers. Interestingly, one of his Carolina head coaches was Dom Capers, the same man who brought Greene to Green Bay as a coach1.
Capers knew talent and surely that drew him to Greene, a physical force of nature who racked up double-digit sacks in 10 different seasons with four teams. Ten!
How good was Greene to the very end? Well, he led the NFL in QB takedowns in 1996 with 14.5, and followed that campaign with seasons of 10.5, 15 and 12 sacks to close out his HOF career. All while missing just four games over his final 12 seasons.
A legend whose presence will long be felt from Pittsburgh to the Carolinas to Canton. And he’s still third all-time in sacks, trailing only Bruce Smith (200) and Reggie White (198).
As for tonight, I’m taking the Packers to hold the line at home. Let’s call it 28-25, Green Bay.
On to the rest of this week’s games with the Giants (4-2-1), Niners (6-1), Saints (2-5) and Texans (2-5) on the bye2…
SUNDAY — 1 PM ET — CBS
Baltimore (4-3, 3-1 road) at Buffalo (5-1, 2-1 home)
A blast-from-the-past link between these two teams? Tyrod Taylor, the man who earned a Super Bowl ring backing up Joe Flacco in Baltimore, and then helped the Bills end their 17-season playoff drought in 2017. Remarkably, he’s still at it in year 16, backing up Jordan Love in Green Bay.
The important QB news of the week: Lamar is back and he’s ready to roll. Still, I’m taking the hosts. Let’s say Buffalo, 33-31…
…Tennessee (1-6, 1-2 road) loses at Cincinnati (4-2, 1-1 home) and I think of last-second Super Bowl heartbreaks that mirrored one another.
John Taylor’s late receiving touchdown in Super Bowl XXIII cinched San Fran’s win over Cincinnati while the Titans’ Kevin Dyson was stopped one yard short on the final play of the Rams’ Super Bowl XXXIV victory…
…visiting Cleveland (5-2, 2-2 road) falls to rival Pittsburgh (5-2, 3-0 home) in a critical AFC North matchup. The Browns haven’t been this far above .500 since their namesake was patrolling the sidelines…
…host Jacksonville (4-2, 3-1 home) topples Indianapolis (2-5, 1-3 road) and stretches its AFC South lead to three games over the Hoosiers. Cue Yogi Berra: “It’s getting late early” for the Colts and head coach Shane Steichen.
1 PM ET — FOX
When I see Arizona (2-5, 2-2 road) at Dallas (3-4, 1-2 home), I think of Arizona’s breakthrough playoff win on January 2, 1999, when QB Jake Plummer and corner Aeneas Williams led the Cards to a 20-7 victory in Big D3.
It was the franchise’s first postseason triumph since the 1947 NFL Championship game - and a brutal afternoon for Dallas sympathizer MONSIEUR MARTINEZ. Alas, the Cardinals’ next playoff win isn’t coming anytime soon. Cowboys by six…
…Minnesota (6-0, 3-0 road) suffers loss #1 at Dee-troit (4-2, 3-0 home), turning the NFC North into a legitimate race…
…on the road, Las Vegas (3-4, 2-1 road) breaks its four-game losing streak with a win at the Jets (2-5, 1-2 home). These are dark, dark times for the green and white, and that is saying something…
…Atlanta (3-4, 2-1 road) takes the “L” at Tampa Bay (2-5, 0-4 home) as Baker & Co. scrap to salvage their season.
4:05 PM ET — FOX
The Chargers (0-6, 0-3 road) lose to their SoFi co-habitants, the Rams (3-4, 1-3 home), but show some signs of life. Injuries have crushed this Harbaugh team but they’ll try to fight their way out of it.
Who has it better than LAC in 2026? Approximately 31 other NFL franchises and two-thirds of the CFL.
4:25 PM ET — CBS
The Chiefs (5-1, 2-1 road) win at Denver (5-2, 3-0 home), bouncing back from last week’s dud at Seattle. Sunday’s loss was a rare post-bye loss for Andy Reid & Co. but I think they account for themselves this week. And don’t be surprised if it goes to OT…
…visiting New England (4-3, 1-3 road) beats Miami (1-5, 0-2 home), snapping the red-hot Dolphins’ one-game winning streak. It’ll be a good weekend to be THE TRIBECA MULE, as long as he doesn’t check Saturday’s Colby College score.
8:20 PM ET — NBC
Washington (1-4-1, 1-1-1 home) lays the wood to Philadelphia (2-5, 1-2 road) in Landover. Jayden Daniels is going to have a big day and you can set every one of your Casios to it, DISCO MIKE.
MONDAY — 8:15 PM ET — ESPN
Chicago (5-2, 2-1 road) falls at Seattle (4-3, 3-1 home) as Windy City native Julian Love makes a big play for the Seahawks. The Notre Dame alum grew up in Chicago and nearby Westchester, starring at Nazareth Academy.
One of his coaches at Naz? None other than MORTON MIKE4, a well-respected molder of men, even if his hairline has been reduced to rubble, not unlike the 1871 Chicago fire.
That’s all for this week, folks. Enjoy the games and God bless!
Capers, by the way, is STILL coaching in the league at age 76. An alum of legendary Mount Union, he served as a graduate assistant at Kent State alongside one Nick Saban in 1973-74 and is currently in his 39th season as an NFL coach. He also tutored Greene in 1993-94 with the Steelers, Coach Dom’s first stint as a defensive coordinator.
LE GURU’s Week Seven record was 8-6 (.571), moving the season mark to 64-43 (.598).
Hat tip to Pro Football Reference for much of the data in this week’s Ball. Cheers.
Also known as CHICAGO MIKE