Best of Yardbarker: NFL goes in on Ezekiel Elliott, NFLPA
It's been a week since the NFL handed down a six-game suspension to Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott after the league said it found "credible evidence" of Elliott using “physical force” against his ex-girlfriend. Given that the Dallas RB was never charged and how long this investigation took by the league, it's not surprising that the case has continued to pick up steam since.
The Cowboys, particularly owner Jerry Jones, appear to upset, Elliott expressed his disappointment in the decision and filed an appeal, the NFL has warned the back could be banned, Elliott's father chimed in, and the NFL and NFLPA traded barbs with one another. The latter came about as the NFL shifted blame for Zeke's suspension to the police and NFLPA: "By their logic, erring on the side of caution with a six-game suspension, the NFL avoids another media blitz focused on how the NFL is unconcerned with domestic violence. Avoiding a continuation of that damning narrative is paramount, even if it comes at the cost of undermining whatever credibility remains in the league’s dealings with DV."
It certainly appears like Elliott will fight this tooth and nail, and no matter what results, it appears the Cowboys will be without their star offensive weapon for some amount of time. So with Elliott on the sidelines, even more will be hoist upon fellow NFL sophomore Dak Prescott, who is on our list of the most important player on every NFL team:
As you might suspect, that list is littered with quarterbacks, but that wasn't the case for every team. Take, for instance, the New York Jets, who just can't seem to find a reliable signal caller. It's easy to see the team isn't confident in any of the QBs on its roster, leading us to the 'M! E! S! S! Mess! Mess! Mess!' quiz:
If you're looking for a team that looked like a mess early on but has suddenly come to life, we turn to the baseball diamond. Following a string of dominance in the NL Central that was finally ended by the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs, it looked like the St. Louis Cardinals were heading in the wrong direction. That carried over into this season, until the Cardinals took their season back by the unlikeliest of means: "As the young cat bounded across the Busch Stadium outfield, soliciting a louder and louder reply from the 40,000-plus in attendance, followed by the laughs of that same crowd as he clawed and bit the unfortunate young member of the grounds crew who was tasked with retrieving him, very few would know that presence of said kitten – now known as ‘Rally Cat’ – would signal the turning point of a resurgent moment in the Cardinal season."
The Cards have done this despite the struggles of their most accomplished pitcher, Adam Wainwright. Wainwright has an ERA over 5.00 and has not looked sharp in his past few outings. This is surprising, despite his age and injury history, because he's among the leaders in active pitchers in strikeouts and has had so much success over the years. In fact, he's led the league in strikeouts twice in his career.
However, as Wainwright falters, a new strikeout king has emerged. Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale has been absolutely dominant in his first season in Beantown, and he leads the league in strikeouts, innings pitched, ERA, WHIP and wins at present. That leads us to the 'For Sale this fall: All of the awards' quiz:
Sale has been so unhittable this season — and his entire career, really — that he's entered the pantheon of the top 20 left-handed pitchers of all-time:
Two of the great lefties on that list are among the 23 men to throw a perfect game in Major League Baseball. So we leave you this week with the '27 up, 27 down' quiz:
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