$.01--The Atlanta Falcons marched into Philadelphia and trashed the whole “Andy Reid never loses coming off a bye” theory. The Falcons came out fired up from their own bye, quickly seizing a 14-0 lead and never really looking back. Atlanta very much looked like an undefeated juggernaut, back to their early season form of annihilating the opponent early with a precision passing attack and an aggressive, fundamentally sound defense.

Philly, on the other hand…Much is going to be written, discussed loudly, and disseminated over the next few days about the fate of the lesser birds in this contest. Firing the defensive coordinator didn’t exactly work, as Matt Ryan barely broke a sweat in completing 22-for-29 for 262 yards and three touchdowns. Michael Vick wasn’t his typical turnover machine; Philadelphia had its first turnover-free game in nearly a year. Vick wasn’t real effective in challenging the defense, netting just 177 yards on 35 attempts while getting sacked three times, but he wasn’t really the problem either. The line in front of him was shaky, and the running game once again almost nonexistent, both by choice and function. 

So the buck ultimately stops at Andy Reid, who gave the distinct impression in his post-game presser that he can read the writing on the wall. Perhaps that’s because it’s written in his blood. Reid has been a very good coach for a very long time, but that time has run its course. The talent is not close to playing to its potential on either side of the ball, and it appears Reid is out of buttons to push. There is still the core of a very strong team here, but Andy Reid is no longer the man to lead it. 

Vick might not be the quarterback on that good team either. I scribbled in my notes the drastic difference in body language and confidence between Ryan and Vick when they break the huddle and approach the line. Ryan is striding confidently, purposely stepping while surveying the defense, knowing he is making the right read and knowing his teammates will see the same things he does. Vick sort of ambles to the line in a hurried hunch, tentatively barking out his reads and looking very unsure if everyone is in the same chapter, let alone the same page. I don’t get the feeling he trusts his mates, nor do they look like they fully trust him. I honestly don’t know if yanking Vick now is the right decision. Plan B is rookie Nick Foles, a guy I thought they drafted four rounds too high. They are 3-4 and still very much alive for a playoff spot if they can string together a couple of wins, but they have the aura of a 1-6 team with a lame duck coach. That’s a bigger problem than pulling Vick or even firing Reid immediately can remedy.

$.02--The New York Giants escaped Dallas with a nail-biting win. They might not have won if Dez Bryant bit his own nails, it was that close.

New York dominated the early going, taking a 23-0 lead after 18 minutes of game time. That margin came courtesy of Jason Pierre Paul running back Tony Romo’s third INT of the day for a touchdown. The score belied how poorly the Giants offense was playing, and that water eventually found its level. Dallas stormed back with 24 straight points to take the lead, almost exclusively accomplished thanks to Romo atoning for his early mistakes. The Dallas defense really stiffened, suffocating the Giants rushing attack and limiting New York to no drives longer than six plays or 31 yards until the middle of the fourth quarter. It was at that point that the Dallas offense gave the game away with back to back turnovers, both resulting in Lawrence Tynes field goals that pushed the Giants back in the lead.

Cowboys fans are universally blaming Romo, but he wasn’t the only culprit. Jason Witten caught a team-record 18 passes, but the one he dropped was critical; Stevie Brown intercepted Romo on the very next play. Dez Bryant caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown, but because two fingers on his left hand grazed the white line his most important grab went for naught. Miles Austin alligator armed a throw on the game’s penultimate play, washing out a 133-yard receiving effort. The offensive line was downright terrible most of the night; Dallas had 19 rushing yards on 17 carries and quite frankly they were lucky to get half that many, while Romo was sacked 4 times and repeatedly harassed before the routes had time to develop.

I understand the venom with Romo. He’s choked just as many prominent times as he’s rallied the team to stirring victory, and those chokes tend to happen when the spotlight is brightest. Some of his interceptions, including the first two in this game, are just mind-bogglingly stupid decisions by someone who has to know better. But when his hat is on the right way, Tony Romo is still one of the better QBs in the league. In a game where Eli Manning was very inffective, Romo successfully threw the ball all over the field. Unfortunately the hole he dug was just a little too deep. There are going to be calls for the Cowboys to move on from Romo, and I do understand the sentiment. But I caution Dallas fans to be very careful what they wish for. His successor is not currently on the roster, and this looks to be a terrible draft from which to extract immediate QB help. In my opinion, giving him a better line and less to worry about gives the Cowboys a much better chance to win than breaking in a new quarterback, be it a rookie or a similarly discarded veteran. Put Tony Romo in Buffalo or Minnesota and both are playoff teams. Take Romo off the Cowboys and it will spare you the two or three losses per year he’s directly responsible for, but also strip you of the five or six that he wins on his own. 

$.03--My Lions won in dramatic fashion, eking out a hard-fought home win over the game Seahawks. Matt Stafford surgically attached the ball to Titus Young’s abdomen in the end zone with 20 seconds left to give the Lions the 28-24 victory.

If the Lions somehow keep the ship righted and claw back into the superlative NFC playoff picture, this win and the way Matt Stafford played in victory will be remembered as the turning point. Stafford was awesome in the literal sense of the word, and for the first time this year he played at that level before the final eight minutes of the game. This was a pleasant reminder why he was once the #1 overall pick and how he threw for over 5000 yards and 41 touchdowns last year. The 49-yard touchdown strike he threw to Young in the first half to close the score to 17-14 is as good a throw as you will see all year, over the top of the safety and perfectly leading Young away from the outside coverage. Stafford came out firing even though Seattle worked hard at bullying the receivers and essentially removed Calvin Johnson from the game. 

That’s the bigger story here for this Lions scribe. They won a game where Calvin Johnson had as many drops as catches (three of each), including letting the potential game-winning TD slip through his fingers. Somebody else finally stepped up. Titus Young caught nine balls for exactly 100 yards and two touchdowns. Brandon Pettigrew hauled in seven passes, all of which generated first downs. Joique Bell continues to impress with his hands, pulling in four of his own and nearly scoring before the second Young TD. Rookie Ryan Broyles caught a TD pass for the second consecutive week. Mikel Leshoure cranked out solid yardage when given a chance to run the ball. In short, all of the problems that have plagued Detroit’s offense all year were put behind them in this game.

Seattle has no reason to feel ashamed, but the loss has to hurt. Once again I came away impressed with rookie QB Russell Wilson. Even on a day where Marshawn Lynch had exactly one good run, albeit a 77-yard touchdown, Wilson repeatedly stood tall in the face of pressure and delivered clutch throws when his team needed them. His 3rd down conversion to Sidney Rice early in the fourth and the capper on the same drive, a beautiful fade to Zack Miller, were the works of a 10-year Pro Bowl QB, not a rookie. Detroit was just a little bit better on Sunday.

$.04--In the Thursday night affair, Tampa Bay cranked up the offense and blew past the host Vikings 36-17. Josh Freeman once again looked like he finally fully engaged and back to fulfilling the strong potential he showed in 2010. 

This was the third game in a row where Freeman has thrown at least three touchdown passes, and doing it in Minnesota is the most impressive of the string. The Vikings entered the game with one of the best pass defenses in the league, and they’ve even tougher in the friendly confines. That didn’t matter to Freeman and the Bucs, who carved up the Vikings for scores on six of their first seven possessions. As I alluded to above, Freeman appeared very dialed in and focused throughout the game. That is something that has just not been there for most of the last two seasons, and Bucs fans welcome it wholeheartedly. 

It also demonstrates what getting a legit No. 1 wideout can do for a struggling quarterback. Vincent Jackson didn’t put up great numbers (two catches, 40 yards), but his presence really opened things up for his fellow Bucs. His blend of power, length, and surprising quickness for a man of his size commands extra attention from defenses. Freeman is smart enough to know where the openings are, while Mike Williams and Dallas Clark are right where they belong in the pecking order.

Oh yeah, they have a rookie running back named Doug Martin. Astute readers will note I predicted Martin would be the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and this is the kind of performance I anticipated in making that fearless prognostication. Martin ran wild, getting 135 rushing yards and chipping in 79 receiving yards to boot. He scored a touchdown each way, showing litheness, power, and relentless positive energy. It’s rare that a back can outshine Adrian Peterson (123 yards and a TD but also a costly fumble), but Martin did just that. If the Bucs defense can chip in the occasional turnover and keep finding the pass rush fountain from time to time, the Bucs are a serious monkey wrench in the NFC. They sit at 3-4 but haven’t lost by more than a touchdown and carry a +31 point differential. That’s the mark of a good and dangerous football team. 

$.05--Just when you thought the Saints might be making an epic surge from the bottom, the Sunday Night Football game happened. Denver bombarded the Saints 34-14 a little too easily, proving that the Broncos deserve to be mentioned with the scant AFC powers while the Saints are a lot closer to the team that lost to the Chiefs (the Chiefs!?!) than the one that beat the Chargers and Bucs in the last two games. 

I don’t know whether to be more impressed with the Denver defense or aghast at New Orleans’ own D. Or the New Orleans offense for that matter. The Saints were so thoroughly outclassed on both sides of the ball that it’s hard to really give the Broncos credit. Drew Brees once again struggled with pressure, shorting several throws and looking more panicky than I recall ever seeing him. It doesn’t help that Denver was in his personal space on almost every throw. The falloff in the New Orleans line has been more significant than anyone feared with the loss of Carl Nicks. Because they fell behind so quickly, so early, the run game was nonexistent. The garbage time Jimmy Graham touchdown was the only semblance of a pulse the Saints showed after their first TD, which came on the first play of the 2nd quarter.

Then there is the trainwreck that is the Saints defense. Denver notched 27 first downs, put up over 525 yards, and ran the ball for no less than four yards on 35 of their first 38 carries. Peyton Manning dissected the porous New Orleans coverage like Hannibal Lecter with some fava beans and a nice Chianti, often looking surprised that his targets were really that wide open. I’ll confess that I didn’t watch every play, but I do not recall seeing Manning get touched even once by the anemic Saints pressure. I do tend to blame the Saints here more than I credit the Broncos because pretty much everyone has lit up the New Orleans defense with relative ease. 

It will be very interesting to see how the Saints respond to this butt whipping. They entered with such momentum and good vibes, having scored perceived victories against the hated Roger Goodell and getting their regular interim coach, Joe Vitt, on the sidelines. Their next opponent is Philadelphia, a similarly fallen power with desperation and lots of fingers to point at lots of problems. After that, they draw Atlanta twice and San Francisco in three of the next four, and the reprieve is a trip to the black hole in Oakland. They could very well be steamrolling to a top 5 draft pick. 

$.06--Chicago got away with one in their comeback win over the Panthers. Despite all kinds of lackluster effort and generally solid play from the Panthers, Chicago escaped with the win on a last second Robbie Gould field goal. This is one of those games where the better team did not win.

The Bears did not have positive passing yardage until the 4th quarter against a Panthers defense missing Chris Gamble. Carolina’s heretofore moribund pass rush dominated the lousy Chicago offensive line for the first half of the game. Greg Hardy got three of Carolina’s six sacks, almost half their total from their first 6 games. Cam Newton looked sharp, throwing for 314 yards and largely delivering mechanically sound strikes all over the formation against the solid Bears coverage. Luck was even on the Panthers side, as they scored a touchdown when Louis Murphy recovered a Newton fumble in the end zone. All-time NFL leader in field goal accuracy Robbie Gould missed a 33-yard field goal for the Bears in the 4th quarter, something that just never happens to Gould.

But the Panthers just do not know how to win. Newton tried to find Steve Smith down the field in the 4th, but Smith fell down and Tim Jennings picked it off and returned it for touchdown. On the next drive Newton threw a touchdown pass to Steve Smith, but he dropped it. Carolina settled for a field goal instead of the touchdown and it cost them. So did a 6-yard punt that may or may not have been an intentional shank by Brad Nortman, clearly scared to death of Devin Hester’s return prowess. On the final drive that set up Gould’s redemptive winner, the Panthers called off the rushing dogs and sat in a vanilla shell that their own backup Jimmy Clausen could have picked apart. This outcome struck me much more as a Panthers loss than a Bears win, something I’ve felt now about Chicago two weeks in a row. Winning ugly is better than losing pretty. 

$.07--Awards:

Offense: Matt Stafford. With apologies to Doug Martin, who gets rookie of the week honors, the Lions' quarterback torched an aggressive Seattle defense for 352 yards and three touchdowns despite Calvin Johnson having the worst game of his career. 

Defense: Tim Jennings. The Bears corner is having an All-Pro caliber season, and even though this was not his best day in coverage he still saved the day for Chicago. Jennings bagged two interceptions, one of which he returned for the game-changing touchdown, to go with his team-leading eight solo tackles. It was a week strangely devoid of dominating defensive performances, even in the 7-6 Cleveland win over San Diego.

Special Teams: Olivier Vernon. The Dolphins rookie defensive end recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown and also blocked a field goal. Sweet win for the Dolphins, especially because the blocked punt came at the expense of none other than Tim Tebow.

Assistant Coach: Dirk Koetter. The Falcons' offensive coordinator dialed up a doozy. Atlanta scored on its first six possessions, including touchdown passes on the first three, and sucked the fight out of the Philly crowd and the Eagles toothless defense. The execution was great, but the play design was just as exceptional.

$.08--5 NFL Quickies

 1. I like to think of myself as having a very good eye for talent, but I really missed on Patriots rookie DE Chandler Jones. My #1 choice with a bullet for biggest bust in the draft, Jones continues to impress with his quickness and pass rushing arsenal. At this point he is the leading candidate for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Oops!

2. In the Bears/Panthers game, Carolina corner Josh Norman intercepted a Jay Cutler pass on a 2 point conversion attempt. He ran it all the way back for a touchdown, but NFL rules dictate that the play is dead once the possession changes. That is a rule that needs to be changed. As it is in college, the defense should be able to score on the failed conversion attempt. Those two points would have given the Panthers the win. Interesting that neither Norman nor Jay Cutler knew the rule, as they jousted for more than 50 yards down the field.

3. The Chiefs have still not held the lead in regulation time this entire season. That’s seven complete games without a lead, something that has never been done in the Super Bowl era. My wife saw that stat on the screen, looked at the subsequent shot of KC Coach Romeo Crennel, and uttered “dead man walking.” Dan Patrick used that very line about 90 minutes later. I love my wife!

4. Hey Pittsburgh, Stryper called. They want their uniforms back, or at least some royalties for shamefully ripping off the Yellow and Black Attack tour circa 1988. I caught a Bible at one of those shows that I kept in the glove box of my car for years. To Hell With the Devil, and those awful uniforms too.

5. I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: The Tennessee Titans are insane if they go back to Jake Locker over Matt Hasselbeck. Even with the tough loss to the Colts, they are very much alive in the muddy AFC Wild Card race, but only if Hasselbeck is their QB. That they’re chasing the Colts is a testament to the rapid improvement in Indianapolis, which should get interim coach Bruce Arians a head coaching job somewhere (Kansas City? San Diego?) next year. 

$.09--5 College/Draft Quickies

1. Alabama proved more than up to the challenge of an undefeated Mississippi State team. The Tide defense rolled and swarmed impressively, but the player that seized my attention from a scouting perspective was QB AJ McCarron. With so many other junior QBs struggling (Logan Thomas, Tyler Bray, Aaron Murray), McCarron has stepped up with his remarkable efficiency, strong football IQ, and accuracy all over and down the field. He’s proving he can be more than a Saban-system QB. McCarron is also impressing Heisman voters and will be in NYC for the ceremony barring a freakish collapse.

2. As McCarron rises, someone must fall. That someone is Matt Barkley, who is quickly becoming the most overhyped prospect since JaMarcus Russell. At one point he threw three straight INTs, but Arizona happened to only catch the last one, which ironically was Barkley’s best throw of the three. Barkley doesn’t handle pressure well, has a limited arm, and his accuracy isn’t tight. As I tweeted Saturday, if Matt Barkley went to Fresno State and not USC, he would be considered a third round prospect…at best. I’ll stick by my Brady Quinn 2.0 comparison and I’ll go down in flames clinging to it.

3. Barkley’s top targets, however, are both legit NFL talents. Marqise Lee might be a star at the next level. Lee pulled in a Pac-12 record 345 yards on 16 receptions, none more impressive than his 49-yard TD. He set up an inside move nicely, caught the ball (a strong Barkley throw) with his hands and exploded through the defense with a burst that would make Reggie Bush proud. Lee is not draft eligible until 2014, but look for him to be picked very high in that draft if he keeps his act together. Robert Woods, who could be in the 2013 draft, isn’t as big or quite as fast as Lee but is a more polished all-around player. He consistently shows a willingness to make tough catches in traffic, and he has some juice after the catch. At this point he appears to be a late 1st-early 2nd round pick should he declare. This is a very jumbled WR class right now.

4, My beloved alma mater, Ohio University, saw our dream of an undefeated season and potential BCS buster status ruined with a loss at bitter rival Miami. Tyler Tettleton got sacked at the Miami 10 as time expired, giving the Red Hawks a 23-20 win. I do not approve of the decision to go for the win instead of the potential tying FG, Coach Solich. And yes, the BCS spot was there for the taking after Kent St. pounded undefeated, Big East-leading Rutgers on the heels of Toledo whipping previously undefeated Cincinnati last week. If the undefeated MAC champ has a better BCS ranking than an automatic qualifying conference champ, the MAC team gets the bid. Sadly those chances ended in Oxford, but I’m still very proud of these Bobcats. #MACtion

5. I do not have a Heisman ballot, but if I did it would look like this:

1. Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
2. AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama
3. Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
4. Kenjon Barner, RB, Oregon
5. Manti Teo, LB, Notre Dame

$.10--Ohio State and Penn State played in Happy Valley on Saturday in a game that means absolutely nothing. Both teams are on probation and unable to play for the B1G title, even though it’s pretty clear these are the two best teams in the conference. Ohio State won, staying undefeated. Of course that means nothing because the Buckeyes cannot win their division, cannot go to a bowl, and cannot represent the conference in any fashion. 

I’ve been a strong proponent that both schools deserved major punishment for their vastly divergent violations. Ohio State openly flaunted the back channel of funneling cash and extra benefits to players, then blatantly lied about it when questioned. Penn State was the very definition of “lack of institutional control” with the Jerry Sandusky fiasco. Both schools merited heavy sanctions. But punishing the current players is like kicking the family dog when you’re unhappy with the rising price of gasoline. 

These players and teams are innocent victims of the crimes of their predecessors. The Penn State players are especially being unfairly treated. As much as I loathe the criminal activity that brought on the punishment, I feel very strongly that the players who chose to remain with the program are paying the price for crimes they had no part of committing. And I think that’s very wrong.

I had a conversation with my father on this subject this week, and his solution was blunt: hit ‘em where it really hurts. Instead of costing these innocent (using that term loosely) players chances at glory, why not punish the guilty coaches and administrators with significant monetary damages? It’s complicated because both the real scalawags here, Jim Tressel and Joe Paterno, are both long gone and unable to take further lashing. So maybe the NCAA should ensure that the schools get themselves in order and strip past television revenue. They did hit Penn State hard with monetary fines, but Ohio State and USC and North Carolina have escaped with minor dips into the pocketbooks despite fairly serious and egregious transgressions. I know it seems sort of warped to hurt the university as a whole because the now-deposed football coach cheated, but what other way is there to provide real incentive to schools to keep their athletic houses in order? Take away Ohio State’s share of Big Ten Network proceeds and shared conference bowl revenue for the last two years, and make sure they don’t balance that out by cutting funds to non-revenue sports. Hit the football program, and only the football program. Keep the football program on probation but the current players with something to really play for. It’s only fair, but that statement right there makes it certain that the NCAA will never even consider it.