$.01--Normally I don’t like to lead with the Detroit Lions out of fear of being labeled a homer. But this week, my Lions deserve top billing. Their amazing 31-30 comeback win put a giant smile on my face that isn’t coming off for a while.
I wrote extensively about this game at Bleacher Report, and I strongly encourage even non-Lions fans to read the second slide. To expand upon all those thoughts, I think this is the kind of game that can completely transform a season. A loss there would have put the Lions at 4-4 and entering the bye week with a two-game losing streak. More to the point, it would have been the second loss in a row where they lost it late in the game thanks to self-induced mistakes.
That would have presented an awful mental frame of mind with a lot of time to let it stew. Instead, the Lions now get to focus on correcting some issues but do so under much less desperate and negative circumstances. Additionally, Matthew Stafford captured the hearts and respect of his teammates with his gutsy derring-do touchdown at the end. Not that the Lions weren’t already solidly behind him, but this is the sort of performance which convinces teammates their quarterback can do anything. I’m not sure he had that lofty status before. What a great win for the Detroit Lions!
$.02--I spent most of the weekend in Cleveland, where the doom and gloom about the Browns is a pervasive sickness. Cleveland started its third quarterback of the season in Jason Campbell, who was replacing deposed starter Brandon Weeden. The Browns fans were incredibly down on Campbell before the game in Kansas City, perhaps because the team opted to promote 3rd stringer Brian Hoyer over Campbell when Weeden was hurt earlier in the season. With Hoyer now on injured reserve, Campbell is the last Mohican in the gun, to quote Bill Parcells.
Campbell kept the Browns close against the undefeated Chiefs. His numbers were impressive: 22-of-36, 293 yards, two TDs, no turnovers and just one sack against what has been the league’s top defense thus far. His receivers, notably Davone Bess, let him down with some critical drops too. The veteran was poised and outplayed counterpart Alex Smith. His chemistry with star wideout Josh Gordon appeared to come easy, and he kept the team close enough to keep the Cleveland faithful engaged with hope.
As I drove home from the far west side of the Cleveland area, I drove past not one but two different houses with the same Halloween decorative theme. In each yard were tombstones with the names of every quarterback who has started for the Browns since their rise from the dead in 1999. Campbell makes the 20th in that dubious line.
He should be the starter for the remainder of the season, and I also strongly advocate keeping him around to hold the hand of the 2014 first round pick who will no doubt become the 21st starter. If the rookie isn’t ready, Campbell can steer the Browns ship until it’s time. Campbell is a consummate professional who would understand the role. There is no reason to keep Weeden around; he reminds too many of the ghosts of numerous failures who preceded him.
$.03--It seems like every year the injury bug bites hard. But this year it’s attacking with a virulence not seen since the 1918 flu pandemic.
Entering the weekend, 200 players were on injured reserve. That’s nearly double the total from the same weekend in 2012. And Week 8 is only going to add to the total. Patriots tackle Sebastian Vollmer went down with a broken leg. It was not pretty:
On former UH Cougar, NE Patriots\' OL Sebastian Vollmer\'s injury: you can hear the bone snap before the screams. Awful sounds.
— Jerome Solomon (@JeromeSolomon) October 27, 2013
Michael Vick and Robert Griffin both left their losses early. Vick said he felt his hamstring “pop”, which would indicate another long-term injury for the oft-injured Eagles QB. Griffin departed with a left knee injury apparently unrelated to the infamous ACL he tore last year. Neither player will go on IR, but they join the extensive list of walking wounded.
Look at some of the names of players who are out right now: Packers LB Clay Matthews, Bears LB Lance Briggs, Cowboys DE Demarcus Ware, Texans RB Arian Foster, Bears QB Jay Cutler, Packers LB Nick Perry, Falcons WR Roddy White, Jets WR Santonio Holmes, Bills RB CJ Spiller, Cowboys RB Demarco Murray, Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe, Packers WR James Jones, Packers TE Jermichael Finley, Seahawks WR Percy Harvin. That’s the core of a playoff juggernaut right there. Other than Finley, all those players are expected to return at some point during the season. And that leads to a larger point.
The NFL needs to create short-term injured reserve for players who are out for less than 8 weeks. The lack of roster flexibility forces teams to rush players back into the lineup out of sheer desperation. They need the bodies to field a full team.
Look at the Packers. They already have 11 players on injured reserve, including starters Bryan Bulaga and Randall Cobb. Matthews, Perry, Jones, Finley, James Starks, Brad Jones, Casey Hayward, Morgan Burnett and Jarrett Bush have all missed multiple weeks with injuries. None merited a trip to injured reserve, but imagine the stress this puts on the roster. With no allowance for week-to-week injuries, teams are forced to play guys who are not healthy and risk further aggravation.
The league must create four- and six-week injured reserve for players like Clay Matthews, Lance Briggs or Roddy White. The alternative is to expand the rosters to at least 57 players and allow 50 game day actives. Since the latter requires more money output, the short-term IR idea should get more traction.
$.04--While the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs garner most of the attention in the AFC, right now neither is definitively better than the Cincinnati Bengals. The River City Kitties annihilated the Jets 49-9 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
The Jets certainly did not bring their “A” game. Geno Smith was cold and the Jets offense came out quite flat, gaining just one yard in the entire first quarter. The Cincinnati defense had something to do with that, too.
The Bengals notched two pick sixes off Smith, enough to get the rookie benched late in the game. But the story of this game was Andy Dalton. Most folks will look at rising star Marvin Jones and his four TD receptions, but for me the bigger emphasis must fall on the man who threw those passes.
For the third week in a row, Dalton was outstanding. He’s completing downfield throws with confidence, easily the biggest knock on him in his young career. Dalton is also consistently finding targets other than A.J. Green. Tight end Jermaine Gresham added a touchdown pass in this one. Dalton now has 11 TDs in the last three games, with 1035 passing yards in those three wins. His QB rating for the month of October is over 110. If Dalton can sustain close to this sort of play, these Bengals can beat anyone in the AFC in the playoffs.
$.05--The Buccaneers ship keeps sinking to new depths. Thursday night was a new low, as a shockingly uncompetitive Tampa Bay team was blown out 31-13 by the surging Panthers. After a lousy 0-6 start it took a real lack of effort to play even worse, but somehow the Bucs did just that.
I don’t want to take away from Carolina, which played a smart and efficient game at a pretty high level. Cam Newton is playing with great confidence, while Mike Tolbert is running with bowling ball effectiveness. Yet this game was more about Tampa Bay just not trying very hard to win. And all of that blame falls on embattled coach Greg Schiano, both for not inspiring his players and for absurdly asinine game plan design.
Rookie quarterback Mike Glennon has attempted more passes than any other quarterback in NFL history over the first four starts of a career. Considering the Bucs have two viable receiving weapons, albeit very skilled ones in Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams, this places a completely unrealistic burden on Glennon. Coaches are supposed to foster positive, productive opportunities to help young quarterbacks succeed. Instead, Schiano has gone the opposite route; he’s demanding that Glennon win games for the team and carry the full burden of the offense. Considering the terrible design of the routes and the lack of any other viable threats, it’s a recipe for disaster of epic proportions. I can understand that losing star running back Doug Martin is a real problem, but not even trying to run the ball is simply not trying to win a game.
I’ve actually been impressed with Glennon, relatively speaking. I was a harsh pre-draft critic of his, giving him a 6th-7th round grade on my most optimistic of days. He’s handled pressure well and he delivers a nice ball when he sees the receiver getting open. All the feedback I’ve gotten from Tampa is that his teammates do respect his effort and like him personally. They know he’s overwhelmed, thrust into a terrible situation not of his making. They’re not quitting on Mike Glennon.
They are, however, quitting on Greg Schiano. Not overtly, of course, because of professional pride and the fact they know they will last beyond him in Tampa. But as far as going balls to the wall with effort and intensity, not a chance. The players see the wildly inefficient, ineffective schemes and they know. They feel the condescending, demanding coaching style and they know. They see the relative lack of talent at key positions, some of which is created by the team’s MRSA issue, and they know. This team is resigned to defeat the second the other team shows life.
It’s hard to imagine things getting any worse for the Bucs, but the schedule says otherwise. Tampa Bay visits Seattle next week, a game where I predict the initial line will be at least 21 points. Following that is a Monday night date with Miami, which could very well be Schiano’s last stand. If the home stadium is half-filled and acrimonious, I cannot see Schiano surviving another ugly loss.
$.06--Early in the week, the NFL suspended Washington safety Brandon Meriweather two games for repeated illegal hits. Meriweather continually violates the rules against leading with the head, and the league finally had enough. When he earned two more personal foul penalties in the Chicago game last week, the second of which was one of the dumbest, most sinister late hits you’ll ever see, everyone knew Meriweather was headed for suspension.
The victim of that hit, Bears wideout Brandon Marshall, even alluded to calling for his banishment according to a report from Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. After all, Meriweather had already received punishment for two illegal head shots in the Green Bay game last month. The head-hunting safety even concussed himself with one of those 100 percent intentional helmet-to-helmet hits. It’s hard to argue with Marshall’s cry for banishment when Meriweather clearly is not getting the message. He’s going to seriously injure, or perhaps even permanently maim, someone with these repeated, blatantly illegal acts. That person may even be himself.
So imagine my surprise, disgust and contempt for the NFL when they reduced Meriweather’s suspension from two games to one on Wednesday. This news broke just before I was hopping on my weekly spot on the Josh Pacheco show on ESPN Hawaii (3:30 ET on Wed. for those who want to stream it), and I was so angry that I jumped all over the host when he asked me about it. There can be no possible justification for even hearing an appeal on his case after all the recent talk surrounding concussions and permanent disability from head and neck injuries in the NFL. The league should be absolutely ashamed for letting him escape full punishment.
What happens next week when Meriweather launches himself once again into another player and injures him, or himself? In a game where he was supposed to be suspended, if Meriweather is guilty of yet another head shot, I cannot imagine the firestorm the NFL will face from health care advocates or the NFLPA. If I’m an opposing player and Meriweather hits me with his helmet, I’m suing the league for endangering my well-being. It’s akin to setting a serial rapist free in a courtyard full of Catholic schoolgirls in uniform. The NFL has taken an indefensibly hypocritical stance here, and they should be ashamed for it.
$.07--It’s halfway through the season, which means it’s time to dole out some awards.
MVP: Peyton Manning gets the nod over a late surge from Calvin Johnson. Andrew Luck and Jamaal Charles got consideration too.
Defensive Player of the Half: Tamba Hali. Others have more sacks but his four forced fumbles and INT/TD while on the top defense earn him the nod over Robert Mathis, Mario Williams and Karlos Dansby
Offensive Rookie: Gio Bernard. The Bengals RB has added a needed dimension to the Cincy offense. He outshines two linemen, Lions G Larry Warford and Chargers T D.J. Fluker. Eddie Lacy is closing fast.
Defensive Rookie: Bills LB Kiko Alonso, and this was the easiest award to select. Star Lotulelei and Sheldon Richardson are his closest competitors.
Coach of the Half: Andy Reid. His Chiefs have gone from earning the #1 overall pick to being the NFL’s last unbeaten. There are some other great coaches this year, but no way that’s not a winner.
Most Improved Player: Lions LB DeAndre Levy. Four INTs, one TD, and playing excellent pass defense all season have made a huge impact in the D. Buster Skrine and AJ Hawk deserve mention.
$.08--NFL Quickies
1. Hey London, enjoy all these Jaguars games. The Florida fans might want the team to just stay across the pond with more miserable blowout losses like the 42-10 beat down the Niners handed them Sunday. 0-16 looking more possible with every passing week.
2. Geno Smith wasn’t the only rookie benched by the Jets on Sunday. First round corner Dee Milliner also got the yank, and it’s not his first benching this season. I knew he was overrated in the draft process, but this is ridiculous.
3. Play of the week, and there were many which caught my eye, was Terrelle Pryor’s 93-yard touchdown run on Oakland’s first play from scrimmage against Pittsburgh. It spearheaded a big win for the Raiders, who are now 3-1 at home. Incredibly, the Steelers are now 15th on the AFC playoff totem pole, ahead of only Jacksonville.
4. Cowboys WR Dez Bryant had two meltdowns on the sideline of Dallas’ game in Detroit. You can watch them here, courtesy of businessinsider.com. Sure he came out after the game and pronounced his frustration with an underachieving team, but given the context of his week it’s a hard excuse to accept. He stated he thinks he can do everything Calvin Johnson can, only to watch Megatron put up one of the greatest games in NFL history. Bryant was no slouch--he caught two touchdowns--but was outshined in his personal showcase. You can bet your next paycheck his tantrums were about that as much as they were about the team’s failure.
5. If you’re looking for a reason why the Falcons are 2-5 and sinking fast:
Falcons rushing 11 carries for 10 yds
— Mike Jurecki (@mikejurecki) October 27, 2013
Steven Jackson’s return was supposed to help, but he had 9 carries for 2 yards at the point that tweet went out in the fourth quarter of their loss in Arizona. It’s a lost year for the Falcons.
$.09--College/Draft Quickies
1. Ohio State 63, Penn State 14. It was an all-out evisceration by the Buckeyes. The biggest takeaway from me was the continued strong running of RB Carlos Hyde. For the second week in a row, Hyde showed a lot of very desirable NFL traits: speed, burst, power, quick feet, balance. It’s hard to not see Ben Tate when watching Hyde, and Tate is going to get a big free agent payday this offseason once his contract with Houston is up. Because of some off-field issues, Hyde is probably no higher than a 4th round pick. He has starting RB potential in the NFL.
2. For the second week in a row, Clemson QB Tajh Boyd did not play well. He did put up decent numbers in a Tigers win, but once again he showed major flaws as a NFL prospect. I’ve never bought into the first round hype on Boyd, and anyone still selling that junk stock should be investigated by the SEC. The regulatory one, not the overrated football conference. Boyd strikes me as a less decisive Colt McCoy, and that’s a 6th round pick in my book.
3. I came away very impressed with Buffalo OLB Khalil Mack in his wrecking crew performance against Kent State. Mack made an athletic interception and flashed his speed on the return. He also forced another INT and two intentional grounding penalties with his devastating pass rush. He is a NFL-ready impact player with enough versatility to play either 4-3 end or 3-4 OLB. There is no doubt in my mind he will be a top 20 NFL pick, and I will have him rated in the top 10 when all is said and done.
4. Oregon broke a 14-14 halftime tie and blew out UCLA 42-14 thanks to waves of defensive pressure and some nifty running by RB Byron Marshall. But my focus in this game was Bruins QB Brett Hundley, who has made top 10 status in many a mock draft, including my own. The more I watch of Hundley, the less I like what I see. His elongated delivery needs to quicken, but his field vision and pocket sense also need lots of development. After closely watching their last two games, I think Hundley would be wise to return to the Bruins for his 3rd season. He is not ready to make the jump. Now Ducks QB Marcus Mariota, on the other hand…
5. Two more pretenders fell from the ranks of the unbeaten this Saturday. Missouri lost a heart-wrenching overtime game to South Carolina when its kicker missed a chip shot which would have tied the game. Texas Tech was blunted back by Oklahoma 38-30 in Norman. Both the Tigers and Red Raiders were unexpectedly undefeated this late in the season. These programs should still feel a lot of pride in what they’ve accomplished even after the loss. I’d like to see them square off in the Cotton Bowl, the best of the non-BCS bowls, after the season as long as neither team loses more than one other game.
$.10--The NFL trade deadline comes on Tuesday. While I don’t expect much (read: no more than one) activity, it is fun to play the parlor game and speculate. Here are four trades I would execute if I were in charge of the teams involved. Note that these are pure figments of my hyper-caffeinated mind.
- Houston trades WR Andre Johnson to San Francisco for a second round pick. The Texans need to smell the proverbial coffee; this team is no longer competitive and needs a radical makeover. With Johnson now 32 and not a part of the long-term solution, it makes sense to get some useful return on the greatest player in Texans history. He immediately makes San Francisco a lot better, and he’ll fit nicely into any locker room.
- Detroit trades RB Mikel Leshoure and a 4th round pick to the New York Giants for WR Hakeem Nicks. The Lions desperately need someone besides Calvin Johnson to catch the ball, and Nicks offers downfield speed and playoff experience. Leshoure is healthy and can grind out tough yards inside, and given the Giants injury woes at RB he’s immediately the starter. Both Leshoure and Nicks are playing for new contracts which their current teams appear very unlikely to give them. I would make the draft pick a conditional 3rd-6th based on Nicks’ playing time and productivity.
- Atlanta trades TE Tony Gonzalez back to Kansas City for a 6th round pick. The Falcons are toast, and Gonzalez is languishing on yet another losing team. Let him return to where he spent to bulk of his Hall of Fame career in Kansas City and try to help the undefeated Chiefs get to the Super Bowl. They desperately need his ability to get open on 3rd downs and in the red zone.
- Jacksonville trades DE Jason Babin to the Bears for a 7th round pick. The Bears defense has been decimated with injuries. Babin can provide a short-term boost to a lacking pass rush as the Bears desperately try to cling to playoff relevance. The Jaguars can lose by 17 points just as easily without Babin as with him, and they need every draft pick they can acquire.