$.01--Our long national nightmare is over, as the NFL and the referee union reached an accord late Wednesday. Their agreement allowed the professionals to work the Thursday night game in Baltimore, thus avoiding any potential competitive balance issues by having the replacements work an extra game for some teams. In the end, the settlement looks a whole lot like the proposals which were exchanged months ago. Read that as: the NFL embarrassed itself and harmed the shield in a completely unnecessary, egregious fashion.

It really didn’t have to be this way. I’ll admit to buying into the NFL company line that believed the replacement officials would do a good enough job that the public opinion would never sway so far in the other direction. They gambled on low-level college officials and they got burned. Badly. Everyone in the free world except Golden Tate, Pete Carroll, and the 27% of gamblers that bet on Seattle last Monday night saw just how consequential not having legitimate officials could really be. They certainly cost Green Bay a win, and gaffes earlier in the day directly contributed to losses for Detroit and New England, procedural calls that normal crews would not have bungled. 

The outcry was rightfully vociferous and acrid. When the middle aged moms at the bus stop, nice ladies but women who might be vaguely aware that Houston has a team that isn’t the Oilers anymore, are peppering me with questions about how the NFL could possibly allow such injustices, Roger Goodell’s league has a serious image problem. Interestingly (to me) it seems the image problem is more Goodell than the league, and that’s probably just how Goodell wants it. He has become the ultimate tool of the ownership. Normally using the word “tool” would be insulting in nature, but I genuinely believe Goodell doesn’t see it that way. He knows that part of his job description is to do the dirty work for ownership and accept the criticism that comes along with their unpopular desires. 

Make no mistake (channeling my inner Obama), this lockout was not on Goodell; he was merely the public face of a hardline ownership position that did not want to give in to any union for any issue, lest it set a precedent for the next time the NFLPA picks a fight. For as much as this lockout was about pensions and full time statuses and fairly token raises, for many owners it was about holding the line against a labor union making demands of them. Owners didn’t accumulate enough money to buy teams by acquiescing to every request made of them by what they perceive to be eminently replaceable labor. They fear any concession will be seen by DeMaurice Smith and his NFLPA as a sign of vulnerability and weakness, a crowbar in the door they so desperately want to keep nailed shut. It must pain the hardliners (allegedly CAR, CIN, DEN, STL, among others) that their plan blew up so disastrously in their faces. I wonder how much internal heat Goodell will take, if the humbled owners somehow place some blame on their own messenger. I know many fans would love to see some karmic retribution against Goodell, who is near-universally loathed and distrusted by most NFL fans.

$.02--The Atlanta Falcons improved to 4-0, beating the Panthers 30-28 to stay perfect on the season. They did so in dramatic fashion, as Matt Ryan engineered a one-minute drill from the shadows of his own goal post to set up the game-winning field goal by Matt Bryant.

The first down bomb from Ryan to Roddy White, which moved the ball from the Atlanta two to the Carolina side of the field, is a pass many teams try in that situation but few successfully execute. It helped that Carolina played passive prevent defense with short safeties, but the confidence Ryan showed in White to go out and make a play was huge. There was never any doubt from the Atlanta players that they were going to drive down and score. A few short sideline tosses made Bryant’s field goal all the easier, leaving Cam Newton just one last play to try and return the favor. Newton got sacked and the Falcons stormed the field in victory. 

This is the kind of victory that can produce long-lasting impact, imbuing confidence and swagger in Mike Smith’s Falcons. It was a defining moment for Ryan, who uncharacteristically let his emotions flow afterwards, telling the Panthers to “get the f*** off my field”. Ryan let it be known this was no ordinary comeback victory for the Falcons. They viewed this as a statement game and celebrated as such.

It might very well have been a statement game for Ryan himself. He is off to a MVP-caliber start, similar to Aaron Rodgers through four games a year ago. Rodgers numbers were a bit more impressive (12 TDs to Ryan’s 11, QB rating of 122.1 to 112.4) but the results are eerily similar: a decisive, hyper-accurate quarterback with a bevy of viable weapons repeatedly picking apart opposing defenses with great tempo and unflappable presence. The Falcons just have a different look and feel to them this year than in previous seasons, and it comes from Ryan taking the proverbial next step. Only time will tell if he can stay up on the lofty perch, but it’s hard to argue against Matty Ice and the Falcons as the best team in the NFC right now.

$.03--Green Bay got some nice karmic repayment for the Monday Night officiating fiasco. It even came after the worst of the regular referees, the insufferably incompetent Jeff Triplette, did his best to make the Lambeau Field faithful long for the replacements that stole a win from them six days earlier. It took Saints' kicker Garrett Hartley missing a potential game-winning field goal, after a pair of penalties made it more interesting, to seal the 28-27 win for Green Bay.

It was a strange, poorly officiated game. Aaron Rodgers was sharper than he had been all year, throwing lasers all over the field for 319 yards and 4 touchdowns. At least three of his 10 incompletions were egregious drops by Packers receivers, a recurring theme. There were 52 first downs converted in the game, but just six by the run and only one in the second half. Rodgers had to leave the game for a play after being poked in the eye, and woefully incompetent backup Graham Harrell tripped while trying to hand the ball off and fumbled away a red zone opportunity. Morgan Burnett knocked away an easy catch by fellow DB Tramon Williams that would have given the Packers the ball near the red zone. The Packers were screwed on an eerily familiar non-call on obvious offensive pass interference on New Orleans’ first touchdown, in the same corner of the end zone no less. They unsuccessfully challenged a catch that every other officiating crew, replacement or otherwise, would have overruled. That error left them out of challenges to correct the obvious Darren Sproles fumble that Triplette himself blew. Packers fans everywhere (and they are everywhere) were screaming for justice and vengeance.

They got it, thanks to the woefully winless Saints. I could write several cents here about what is wrong in New Orleans, but I’ll be succinct: coaching matters, and they miss Sean Payton a whole lot more than they thought they would. Drew Brees was very good (35-for-54, 446 yards, 3 TDs) but not good enough to overcome a defense that lacks an identity. I know the Saints players keep trying to convince everyone that once they get their intended interim coach Joe Vitt back in a few weeks that all will be fine, but Payton’s ability to implement quick adjustments and prepare cohesive game plans for specific opponents simply cannot be replaced this year. They draw up-and-down San Diego at home next week before hitting the bye, and I still think they’re playing better than both Tampa Bay and Carolina even though they have one less win than either NFC South foe. 

$.04--My beloved Lions head to their bye week at 1-3 after letting the Vikings run away with a 20-13 win in Detroit. The 20 points allowed is a little deceptive, because the Lions defense was downright fantastic most of the day. For the second week in a row, the Lions special teams allowed not one but two returns for touchdowns, one each on a punt and kick. The special teams gaffes started right away, with Percy Harvin running back the opening kickoff 105 yards without really being threatened to be tackled at any point.

Attention to detail continues to plague the Lions. Last year they wound up catching enough lucky breaks to overcome their own errors, but the ball is bouncing the other direction this year. Special teams coordinator Danny Crossman needs to be fired immediately, as it is the bye week and there will be time to implement real changes. But the inability to tackle is not isolated to special teams; I don’t know the stats but based on empirical evidence the Lions miss more tackles than any other team, and have consistently done so during Jim Schwartz’s entire tenure as head coach. The same problems rear their heads every week: the slow starts by Matt Stafford, the abandonment of running the ball at the first sign of the defense making a play on it, the woeful special teams, the endemically awful tackling, the penalties stemming from poor technique by both DBs and the offensive line. Someone needs to hold Schwartz’s feet to the fire and demand some answers as to why he has not, or cannot alleviate these chronic issues. I’m actually happy the Lions don’t play next weekend so I won’t agonize over their disappointing play and I can fully enjoy a Sunday. There is too much talent in Detroit for the team to consistently perform so sloppily.

$.05--The best of the late afternoon slate of games was in Arizona, where the visiting Dolphins valiantly took the undefeated Cardinals to overtime. Arizona ultimately won on a 46-yard Jay Feely field goal, keeping their perfect record intact. It was not as easy as many thought it might be.

The story here was two quarterbacks that have not exactly been warmly embraced by their respective fan bases going out and playing pretty well against very strong opposing defenses. Rookie Ryan Tannehill certainly passed the eyeball test with his poise, his toughness, and his ability to put the ball where and when it needed to be. The Dolphins were widely critiqued from all angles for taking a top-10 chance on the Texas A&M greenhorn, but this is the second time I’ve really watched Tannehill and I’ve come away impressed both times. The right side of the Miami line is a sieve, and Tannehill got pounded early and often. He shook the hits off and continued to stand tall, delivering throws from different arm angles and bouncing right back up. Even though he fumbled on a vicious hit and threw an INT while being hit, the Cardinals defenders clearly respected him, as Tannehill got a lot of appreciative taps on the helmet and hands to help up from the enemy. Hopefully this performance will win him the respect of the Miami fans that are still waiting for their distortedly flawless Dan Marino to come waltzing in.

Kevin Kolb was also good. He was not great, but he doesn’t need to be with the Cardinals defense playing so dynamically. The numbers reflect the uneven day Kolb had: 29-for-48, 324 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs. That’s a lot of production but a lot of misses as well. The entire Arizona offense is that way; they failed to convert a first down on the ground, went 4-for-16 on 3rd down, and gave up eight sacks (four to Cameron Wake), yet they made plays when they needed them the most. I liked Kolb’s demeanor and the way the team responded to him on the game-tying drive, where he threw two great throws in a row to get the Andre Roberts touchdown. Kolb seems at peace with his role of line cook, doing enough to allow the sous and master chefs to do their magic without hurting the business, and maybe attracting a few repeat customers with subtle variations on the house favorite. If he can keep this up, the Cardinals are an awfully tasty dish heading forward. 

$.06--Robert Griffin III apparently wants to win other awards besides the Offensive Rookie of the Year, for which he is the first quarter frontrunner. Like maybe an Emmy for best dramatic performance. His Redskins should certainly be in the mix for best dramatic reality show, if such a category exists (I don’t really watch TV other than sports, news, Burn Notice rerurns and The Amazing Race). RG3 and his Skins mates nearly squandered a 15-point lead with just over 15 minutes to play. He fumbled the ball at the goal line after a vicious hit, only to see Pierre Garcon recover it for a fortuitous touchdown. Griffin later scored a touchdown on the exact same play, apparently proving that sequels can be better than the originals. Kicker Billy Cundiff missed three field goals before squeezing the game winner inside the upright, giving the tear-jerking angle to draw in the middle aged woman demographic. Griffin took several bone crushing hits, satisfying the teenage male WWE fan base, including one of the final drive that really put the Redskins in business. He even drew two penalties for unnecessary roughness to earn more street cred with the Jackass fans. Not satisfied with the degree of difficulty the Bucs presented, two Skins even injured themselves in a pregame warm-up collision. The Skins are quite the show, and RG3 is certainly a wildly entertaining and worthy leading man. 

On the other sideline, Tampa Bay is headed for a very interesting decision this offseason with Josh Freeman. The quarterback once again sleepwalked through the vast majority of another loss, as he has done for most of the last 20 games. Freeman did show some life for about half the 2nd half, enough to make the game come down to a last-second field goal for the Washington win, but it was too little too late. He’s proving his strong 2010 was the anomaly and not the norm, and I wonder how patient they will be with him while they’ll also likely have a top 7 draft pick. Personally, I would pull the plug without significant improvement between now and December. 

$.07--Awards:

Offense: Brain Hartline. The Dolphins WR lit up a very good Cardinals secondary for 12 receptions, 253 yards and an 80-yard TD reception. The numbers never lie, but they don’t tell the whole story of just how impressive Hartline really was.

Defense: The San Francisco 49ers. Shameless copout, I know, but they pitched a road shutout and allowed just eight first downs (2 by penalty) while forcing four turnovers. It was so dominating from so many different performers that the team gets the nod over perennial nominee JJ Watt (2 sacks, TFL, fumble recovery) and Cam Wake (4 sacks).                                                                          

Special Teams: Percy Harvin. The Minnesota dynamo took the opening kickoff to the house from 105 yards, effectively sucking the fight out of Detroit before the Lions regulars had even taken the field. That burst Harvin put on as he broke from the pack was special. Apologies to Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein, who is legitimately in the mix for rookie of the year.

Assistant Coach: Josh McDaniels. The Patriots Offensive Coordinator has earned loads of criticism over his young career, but what he did to the Bills in the 2nd half of New England’s romp deserves special recognition. Six straight touchdown drives featuring a great balance of running and passing, making Tom Brady look like the 3-time MVP, that was mighty impressive.

$.08--5 NFL Quickies

 1. You want the definition of hustle? I’ll give you two: Texans nose tackle Earl Mitchell trucking down the field to catch Titans WR Kendall Wright from behind to keep a potential home run to a 20-yard gain. The Texans were up 31-7 at that point. The second came early in the Denver/Oakland game, where Raiders rotund DT Lamarr Houston recovered a self-imposed Demaryius Thomas fumble 60 yards down the field. Hustle! 

2. He was maddeningly obstinate as a coach, but I am really liking Mike Martz in the TV booth. Last week he called the Lions/Titans epic and provided the right amount of wonder and fandom to go with his spot-on breakdowns of offensive play design. I only caught intermittent bits of Martz on the Rams upset over Seattle, but once again he was very descriptive and insightful on play design and assignments while not being afraid to show he was enjoying himself. So what if he doesn’t know the names of half the players? Keep at it coach, you’ve got a future in television.

3. One of the signs of coaching acumen is halftime adjustments. Raiders rookie coach Dennis Allen might want to work on that; Oakland is -48 in point differential in the 3rd quarter, the worst of any team in any quarter. They have more 3rd quarter penalties (11) than points (7). 

4. In my Titans season preview, I stated that if Matt Hasselbeck that Tennessee is a playoff team. So much for that. Hasselbeck threw two TD passes to the Texans as well as his own Titans teammates in relief of Jake Locker, who JJ Watt sent to the showers early in the first quarter. I haven’t heard an official announcement yet, but the way Locker walked off the field it sure looked like a broken left collarbone. That’s a 5-6 week injury and a chance for Hasselbeck to ride the white horse to the rescue for what has been a miserable start in Nashville. 

5. Since scoring six touchdowns in the first five quarters they played, the Jets offense has produced one TD in the eleven quarters since. Mark Sanchez is 44-for-101 with a QB rating in the low 40s since the Buffalo game. To make things worse, top receiver Santonio Holmes appears lost for the year with a bad foot injury. I know Rex Ryan likes hard rock music, and I have a song suggestion for him: Some Heads Are Gonna Roll by Judas Priest.

$.09--5 College/Draft Quickies

1. On a humid, intermittently rainy day in College Station, Texas A&M carved apart Arkansas in a game that was much more about the lack of Arkansas effort than Aggie greatness. This game was over before it started. I’ve been to over 100 games and I have never seen worse body language and attitude on the sideline early in a game as I have from Arkansas. Even QB Tyler Wilson wasn’t immune, going thru the motions as Rome burned around him. I don’t care that he’s only an interim coach in a near-impossible spot; John L. Smith must be replaced immediately. One bright spot was WR Cobi Hamilton, who once again showed good feet and deceptive burst.

2. I admit up front that I have not seen the game yet, but West Virginia/Baylor is surely one of the most exciting football games ever played…if you like offense. The statistics are off the charts: 133 points, 1507 yards of offense, 67 first downs. WVU QB Geno Smith had 8 touchdowns to just six incompletions in his 51 passes. This wasn’t some Podunk shootout between a couple of non-BCS lightweights either; both were ranked entering the game, and West Virginia appears a legit challenger for the Big 12 BCS berth. Can’t wait to fire up the DVR and watch this one!

3. I expected a whole lot more from Florida State in their matchup with USF. The Bulls legitimately scared the #4 ranked Noles a week after losing to Ball State, but they could not blame QB EJ Manuel, who almost singlehandedly kept their national title hopes alive. He was brilliant, zipping balls with precision and showing off the athleticism while running around and through the South Florida D. But Manuel is proving a difficult evaluation. Not unlike his predecessor Christian Ponder a couple years ago, there are times like this game where Manuel’s obvious skills scream first round talent but just as many, if not more, where I see ball placement, confidence, and mechanical issues that make me hesitant to call him a 4th rounder. Stay tuned.

5. Because the USA Today poll does not include teams on probation (Ohio State), the only Big Ten teams ranked in their poll are Northwestern and Nebraska. Michigan State rightfully dropped out after getting beat in Columbus, while perennial poll stalwarts Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan are all struggling through disappointing seasons. Northwestern could very well lose their next three games (@Penn State, @Minnesota, Nebraska) while the Cornhuskers travel to Ohio State next Saturday. That opens the possibility that the Big Ten has no teams ranked in the USA Today poll next Sunday. Inconceivable.

6. I spent some time this week breaking down some of the tight end class of 2013 and I can say without hesitation at this early juncture that this is a terrible year to need a tight end in the draft. Notre Dame’s Tyler Eifert is the best of the lot, but that’s like saying he’s a Ford Fiesta amongst Yugos and Geos. A couple of talents that some draftniks have talked and tweeted up, Chris Gragg from Arkansas and Ben Cotton from Nebraska, look like pedestrian collegians with no real NFL ability. Last year’s class was thin, but this one is downright bald right now.

$.10--Time for my annual rant on the ridiculous nature of the NFL scheduling of byes! Pittsburgh and Indianapolis had this week off, a bye after just three games in a sixteen game season. Other teams will not get their week off until Week 11, meaning the Titans, Vikings, Giants, and Seahawks all have to play ten games before their byes.

The way the NFL handles byes is a slap in the face of competitive balance. If Roger Goodell is all about protecting the shield, how about protecting the integrity of competition? It makes zero sense that Pittsburgh has a break after three games while division rival Cleveland must wait until they’ve played nine. Forget for a moment that the Browns are utterly irrelevant, and look at the inherent advantage the Browns get when they face the Steelers in Week 12. The Steelers will have played eight straight weeks, while Cleveland will be relatively fresh after playing just one post-bye game. The Cowboys are off next week while the Giants have to wait until almost Thanksgiving for their bye. Both teams play key division games in December, and the Giants get a distinct advantage from receiving their breather so late.

Here’s what needs to happen:

--Entire divisions get their byes at the same time. I advocate having just four weeks with byes, Weeks Six thru Nine, with two divisions off each week. That is probably not palatable for the television networks, however.

--The week following a bye is dedicated to intra-division games. To stick with the AFC North as an example, every team in the division gets Week 6 off and then Baltimore vs. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland take place in Week 7.

--All teams play at home on Sunday entering their bye week. Teams that play Monday night on the road lose two days of their bye time, and that’s patently unfair. Teams coming off byes cannot play on Thursdays, either. Let’s say you are a teacher and the school closes for Spring Break. While your cohorts are turning pool boys into pool men or impersonating Tommy Lee in Cancun for eight days, you have to come back two days earlier to work an in-service day with your least-favorite students locked in your room with you all day. That’s what the NFL is doing to teams that come off byes to play on Thursdays. 

This is an issue that I believe DeMaurice Smith should jump all over as an example of the NFL mistreating his constituents and creating an unfair playing field. I’ve asked a few players for their opinions on the matter, and I think Connor Barwin summed it up best when he told me “dude that makes too much sense, never gonna happen”. I hope he’s wrong. Make it happen, Mr. Commissioner!