Ryan Mallett, the man with the almost mythical arm, was released this week by the Houston Texans and it had nothing to do with his arm.
Mallett was drafted in 2011 but had to watch other quarterbacks like Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker be picked ahead of him, and it had nothing to do with his arm.
Of all the guys who were blessed to play quarterback at the University of Arkansas, Mallett and Joe Ferguson had the best arms. Ferguson played 17 years in the NFL. Mallett made it 4 1/2 years, mostly as a backup, and it had nothing do with his arm.
Mallett missed a team flight to Miami on Saturday, saying he was caught in the Houston traffic. He later apologized on Twitter.
Mallett earlier missed a practice, too. Both incidents came after he was relegated to backup status. It wouldn't have been a matter of if he could win back the starting job, just a matter of when.
It is truly sad to see a guy with so much talent, and an opportunity millions of men would give a kidney for, just throw it away. Getting paid to play football is a dream most can't dare to dream.
Mallett had it all but let his emotions run his decision-making, and now he's on the list of those hoping for another chance.
He'll probably get it, but he needs to get it.
Being a quarterback means being the undisputed leader on and off the field, and the word pout is not mentioned in the definition of leadership.
With the right coach and the right system, Mallett could flourish, but he's going to have to learn patience because he's probably not going to be picked up by any team to start.
He'll be the backup until he can prove he has a golden arm and and a head to match.
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There are 1̶1 12* undefeated FBS teams going into this weekend's college football action, including tonight when Temple (7-0) hosts Notre Dame.
Of those 11 teams, only six conferences are represented. The SEC is one of those, but with only one team, LSU, which goes to Alabama next week.
As of today, the American Conference has three: Temple, Houston and Memphis. The ACC has Clemson; the Big 12 has Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State*; the Mid-American has Toledo; and the Big Ten has Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa.
Michigan State and Ohio State play in Columbus, Ohio, on Nov. 21, and Iowa, which is in the Western Division of the Big Ten, won't play either of those unless it is in the conference championship game.
Baylor is at TCU on Nov. 27.
This may be the last not great weekend in college football.
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If Alabama beats LSU and Ole Miss wins out, the Rebels would play in the SEC Championship Game.
If they win that game, would the playoff selection committee take a two-loss Ole Miss, or a one-loss TCU, or Baylor, or Michigan State, Ohio State or Iowa?
Of course, there is another factor. If Florida wins out and wins the SEC Championship Game in Jim McElwain's first year as head coach, the Gators would most likely be in the Final Four.
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If the season ended today, this is one guess at the first-round pairings: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Baylor/TCU and No. 2 LSU vs. Clemson.
The Pac-12 has a shot but needs Stanford to not lose again.
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Just six weeks after breaking his arm, Arkansas receiver Jared Cornelius is expected to be ready to play Saturday when the Razorbacks host Tennessee-Martin.
Going into the season the wide receivers were considered a big question mark, but with the emergence of Drew Morgan and Dominique Reed that isn't the case.
Getting Cornelius back in time for the stretch run is a big plus for the Razorbacks.
Sports on 10/29/2015
*CORRECTION: Oklahoma State’s college football team is 7-0 and was one of 12 undefeated Football Bowl Subdivision teams going into Thursday night’s games. Oklahoma State was omitted from a list of undefeated teams in an earlier version of this column that appeared in Thursday’s editions.