Kirk Cousins is a bum. Ship Stefon Diggs to Washington. Tank for Andrew Luck's replacement. Fire Robert Saleh.
If the Minnesota Vikings, Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers listened to those cries from people outside of their buildings, they wouldn't be a combined 8-1 in their past three outings. Patience still works in the NFL, particularly when it comes to crisis management -- big and small.
Minnesota left Soldier Field in Week 4 with a purple chin check, grumpy receivers and a quarterback facing enough heat to long for a Washington return (that's some magma-level heat).
Indianapolis was labeled a ho-hum 6-10 team after Luck's sudden goodbye.
San Francisco was scarred by five consecutive non-winning seasons and under pressure to make more change after a dismal defensive performance in 2018.
All three situations required critical thinking and sound decision-making, which sometimes leads to no changes at all -- just a faith in the roster you've spent years rebuilding.
Here's how good teams face their own issues: by taking a sword to them.
Minnesota Vikings: 'We're not a one-man show.'
The state of the Vikings in Week 5 required two responses: ease locker room tension and show that a forgettable performance was an aberration.
Support for Cousins and Diggs got the locker room to a safe place.
Safety Anthony Harris doesn't remember any team leaders talking up (or down) Diggs after he missed a work day over frustration with the offense and sparked trade rumors in the process. Sources said this was not the first time Diggs had expressed issues with the team. But Harris said, "We really care for that guy here," and they showed it with daps and hugs as Diggs took his team-issued fines for the absence and worked his way back.
"We pride ourselves in taking care of one another, being a family first, embracing what each individual is going through," said Harris, a sixth-year safety with the team. "Try to stay together, regardless of any reports that come out. It's about having your guys' backs."
That also meant building Cousins back up. Players knew the Chicago loss was hardly on the quarterback alone; the Bears beat up just about everybody in a 16-6 loss. A now-thriving offensive line had been playing with moving parts early in the season, which didn't help. A lack of overall offensive groove mimicked Cousins' rhythmless touchdown celebrations.
Harris remembers thinking amid social media outcry over Cousins' ability: Lay off him, let him work, go play, and we believe in you. No pressure from us.
Then, offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski saw Cousins immerse himself in the game plan for the Giants, poring over every detail with quarterbacks coach Klint Kubiak.
"He's a pro. He takes his job so seriously," Stefanski said. "He does a nice job of jumping in, learning a game plan cold."
Meanwhile, the Vikings' staff remained confident the explosive plays would come. The outside-zone running scheme, with Dalvin Cook turning 5-yard gains into 15, would facilitate more play-action chances downfield.
Three wins, nearly 1,000 passing yards and 10 touchdowns through the air later -- 354 and three of which were to Diggs -- the Vikings are glad they didn't overreact and instead clung to routine. Especially with a now-healthy line that is creating big holes, with young players Garrett Bradbury and Brian O'Neill emerging.
"Sometimes you get beat by a good team at their place," Stefanski said of the Bears loss. "You see the headlines, get asked the questions, but in our building, guys came to work and kept working. We felt strong in who we were. I don't think anyone lost any confidence."
Then, Stefanski stressed a key truism with the Vikings' offense, which Minnesota must uphold to win the NFC North: "We're not a one-man show."
Indianapolis Colts: Woe is not us, post-Luck
From the thousands of words Luck emotionally spilled onto a stunned media corps the night of Aug. 24, the Colts could pare down his retirement explanation to about six: mental anguish from constantly rehabbing injuries.
Privately, the Colts didn't attempt to psychoanalyze that reasoning -- which wasn't easy to hear, to be sure. They just accepted it, made the quarterback whole contractually and got back to work. As one source involved told me, everyone is looking for conspiracies and career-ending injuries that simply didn't exist. The situation dissolved fairly quickly once late August hit.
Indy set a tone nine days after the announcement by signing Jacoby Brissett to a two-year, $30 million extension, rewarding an ascending player without tying the future to him unnecessarily.
Brissett is now playing like he's worth twice that, throwing 14 touchdown passes to just three interceptions while leading the Colts to a 4-2 start. Teammates love Brissett, who revealed his on-field edge long ago: In college at Florida, he was so upset that coaches went with Jeff Driskel instead of him that he transferred to NC State and vowed to make everyone pay.
It's hardly a guarantee Brissett can keep up his current pace, but he's setting himself up for a far more lucrative negotiation next year. And he wears "Run the damn ball" hats, which is a great locker room morale boost.
Around Brissett, general manager Chris Ballard has built a roster with the versatility of a blazer that looks sharp at work and at happy hour.
The Colts' offense is at its best when it peels back and smothers a defense for nearly 40 minutes of running-game agony. But it looks comfortable when Brissett is throwing more than 35 times, too. Brissett has 901 yards and nine touchdowns to one interception in the three games the Colts gave him more freedom to deliver from the pocket.
The roster has just about everything: the linebacker leader for the next decade (Darius Leonard), the successful reclamation project (Pierre Desir), a Le'Veon Bell footwork disciple (Marlon Mack), the last-chance veteran who can still get to the quarterback at times (Justin Houston), five capable offensive linemen and the potent red zone target who's just happy to be out of Detroit (Eric Ebron). It could use one or two more splash playmakers on defense and another vertical threat, but this is a top-10 roster right now.
And then there's Frank Reich, purveyor of culture, picker of spots. He knows his team is ready to handle the storms of an NFL season.
"It really comes down to the mindset and the character of the team and the belief and conviction of what we're doing, and the trust in each other," Reich told me this offseason. "You can watch any sport, any time, the championship teams have that. ... The trust, the love for each other, is at the center of it. And it's all about the players. You need the provision, but it doesn't work without everybody in. You've got to have the leaders in the locker room who really believe."
San Francisco 49ers: Staying the course on D
Kyle Shanahan's best coaching move on his way to a 6-0 start didn't happen this season. It happened in December, when the defense of first-time coordinator Robert Saleh ranked among the league's worst in many categories that matter. Getting 30 on the Niners' D had become all too easy.
But Shanahan told media his "very, very good coach" would grow into the role, and he's not giving people the "drastic change" they want for the sake of a shake-up.
Ten months later, Saleh's unit is pitching shutouts, and he is sparking memes for unadulterated middle-aged sideline hype. His defensive front rolls eight deep with top-shelf talent, his pass defense allows a league-low 150.2 yards per game, and the 9-0 victory over Washington brought opponents' scoring average down to 10.6 per game for the season.
Saleh implemented a 4-3, Cover 3 scheme from his Seattle days, and all the moving parts needed time to coalesce. Shanahan knew what the players knew -- they were onto something, and adding a few more studs (Dee Ford, Nick Bosa, Kwon Alexander) would offer more slip-and-slide moments.
"We knew the pieces were falling into place," defensive lineman DeForest Buckner said. "We have a lot of first-round picks on this defense. There's a lot of talent. You had to let it all come together, and the coaches have put us in position to get after the quarterback. Teams know we're going to be physical all day."
Shanahan faced minimal heat after two down seasons because (1) not many put together a smooth offensive game plan better than him, and (2) injuries, man.
But sticking to his convictions on Saleh proved the wisest move of all, and the NFC West has been shifted.