I had a dream about Dianna Russini last night. No not that kind of dream. In an effort to resurrect her sports journalism career, she was interviewing various NFL podcasters and bloggers about their experiences, how they build their viewership and readership, how they got into the business etc (remember, it was a dream) and as we sat in her makeshift studio on a terrace at a swanky Sedona, AZ resort, her husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, kept poking his head around the corner to see what we were actually doing. Then, Mike Vrabel’s wife Jennifer showed up with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and that’s about all I can really remember. Vrabel did not appear in the dream as I guess he had business to attend to in Orchard Park, NY.
In the aftermath of the exposure of their extra-marital
affair this past April, Vrabel and Russini have been on very different
trajectories. Russini resigned from her position as NFL “insider” at the
Athletic (a New York Times media property) as her employer conducted its own
investigation into the matter. That investigation would eventually find that
Russini violated the terms of her employment. No kidding. From 2015 to 2023,
Russini was an NFL reporter for ESPN which included time as a beat reporter assigned
to the Tennessee Titans where Vrabel was head coach from 2018 to 2023. It is
clear that as a sports journalist, Russini’s involvement with the coach of an NFL
team she was covering represented a breach of trust. And it has obviously cost
her deeply as her wiki page identifies her as a “former” sports journalist and
it appears that she is currently unemployed. Vrabel, on the other hand, was “disciplined”
by Robert Kraft who may not be the best judge of character in this regard,
having been caught soliciting sexual services at a Florida massage parlour in
2019 and is alleged to have had a long relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. The
NFL cleared Vrabel of any wrongdoing in its slipshod investigation and Vrabel’s
“punishment” from Kraft amounted to a few counselling sessions and a public
statement about his having had some “difficult conversations” with his family and
with the team. So, she’s unemployed and he gets a slap on the wrist and we all
move on watching NFL games as we always did. It’s a man’s world, isn’t it? And
not just in football.
In a related story, last week, San Francisco 49ers owner Jed
York was suspended by the NFL for six games and fined a whopping $500,000 as
punishment for his arrest in an Ohio mobile home park on prostitution-related
charges. What does it mean when an owner is “suspended”? I guess he has to
watch the games on television like the rest of us – and probably not in a
mobile home park. Perhaps Dianna Russini should interview him next.
One of the legions of NFL pundits said on Saturday that
yesterday’s game at Highmark Stadium was far more important to the 1-2 New
England Patriots than it was for the 3-0 Buffalo Bills. For the Patriots, a
loss would have meant slipping three games behind the Bills in the AFC East and,
taking into account the tie-breaker formula, four games behind. With a loss,
the pundit argued, the Bills would still hold a one game lead in the division.
It was close to a must-win game for the Patriots and they came through, as one
would have expected from a team which went to the Superbowl last season.
Through three games, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye demonstrated a level of
regression which was alarming to Patriots fans and the pressure was clearly on
him yesterday. He delivered in spectacular fashion while his opponent on the
other sideline, Bills quarterback Josh Allen, posted his second consecutive sub-par
game. As the Bills were driving to tie the game with a field goal or take the
lead with a touchdown, Allen’s ill-advised deep ball into double coverage,
after miraculously eluding a sack, sealed the win for the Patriots.
The game featured three spectacular catches which deserve
mention. One was by Bills receiver Keon Coleman, who arguably had his best day
as pro, on the left sideline where he showed incredible athleticism, body
control and concentration in securing the ball (he later made a nice catch for
a touchdown). Two Patriots receivers made one-handed touchdown catches which
should each make the highlight reels when the 2026 season is done. Romeo Doubs,
wearing his Great Gazoo helmet cover (a few players around the league now wear an
extra layer of padding on the outside of their helmets – like former Bills
player Taylor Rapp), made his brilliant catch on a fade to the right side of
the endzone. Then, everyone’s favourite undrafted free agent out of Eastern
Washington University and sporting one of the best names ever to suit up in the
NFL, Efton Chism III, taking time out from his responsibilities as Commodore of
the Boston Yacht Club, made what would be the game-winning one-handed grab in
the fourth quarter. I’m willing to say right now that Efton Chism III will
never make a more impressive catch for the rest of his career.
Up next for the Bills is a Monday Night Football match-up
with the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium on Canadian Thanksgiving Day/Night. Yesterday’s
loss will generate a bit of soul-searching and angst among the Bills fan base
and I will be interested to see how first-year coach Joe Brady handles the
questions this week. With their first taste of adversity this season, look for the
Bills to better than they have shown over the last couple of weeks against the
Rams in what could be a Superbowl preview. The Bills then travel to Las Vegas in
week six which also fell to 3-1 with a loss to the Chiefs yesterday.
