$.01--Is it really possible that Peyton Manning is better than ever? It’s almost inconceivable, but history says no quarterback has ever been better to start a season.

Manning torched the truly awful secondary of the Eagles, going 28-for-34 for 327 yards and four touchdowns. He was almost perfect on the day, once again avoiding any interceptions while netting almost 10 yards per attempt.

Those give Manning some truly amazing and unprecedented numbers. In his first four games, Manning is 118-for-148 for 1,470 yards, 18 touchdowns and no interceptions, with a QB rating approaching perfection. The Broncos are 4-0 this year and have now won 15 regular season games in a row.

Can they sustain this incredible run? They travel to Dallas next week to face the 2-2 Cowboys, losers at the San Diego Chargers on Sunday after giving up 401 yards passing to Philip Rivers. After that, the truly terrible Jaguars come to Denver. There is no rational reason to believe Manning won’t travel back to Indianapolis in Week 7 at a perfect 6-0 with as many as 25 touchdowns and 2,100 yards.

$.02--There are some games where teams win the game, and there are some where teams lose the game. The Houston Texans lost the game to the visiting Seattle Seahawks.

Houston had control of this game. They blasted out to a 20-3 halftime lead, controlling the line of scrimmage and not giving an inch to the physical Seahawks. Seattle only ran two plays in Houston territory over a six drive span from the middle of the first to near the end of the third quarter. JJ Watt was earning hyperbolic kudos at that point, including from John McClain on Twitter.

The Texans were cruising to an impressive victory over a very good opponent. And then they lost it. Ben Tate fumbled deep in his own territory, leading to a Seattle field goal that cut the lead to 20-6. The Houston offense went into hibernation after that, losing aggressiveness and taking the boot off the Seahawks’ neck.

Still, it took a more complete implosion than just going too conservative on offense. Matt Schaub lobbed a weak interception, as Richard Sherman easily darted in front of Owen Daniels and took the pick to the house with just 2:40 remaining. It was one of the sickliest throws you’ll ever see from a quarterback not named Sanchez.

Yet that only tied the game. A huge sack by Cliff Avril thwarted Houtson’s final drive, and the game went to overtime. It was there that the Texans completed the loss.

After trading punts, Houston once again approached midfield with some momentum. But once again Schaub was flattened for a bad sack, and the ensuing punt was another gaffe. Shane Lechler bombed the ball 61 yards to the Seattle 1-yard line, but Golden Tate unexpectedly fielded it anyways and gashed the unaware Texans for a 31-yard return.

As the Texans appeared to have Seattle stopped, a ridiculous penalty by corner Kareem Jackson gave the Seahawks new life. He did not stop at the whistle, instead choosing to body slam Doug Baldwin to the ground well after the play. The Seahawks ultimately capitalized and kicked the game winner.

The Texans are now 2-2, having lost to Baltimore and Seattle in consecutive weeks. They could easily be 0-4, as they trailed 28-7 in the fourth quarter to San Diego and needed overtime to beat the Titans. There is no doubt the Houston media, which has four full-time sports radio stations and nothing else to do, will treat Gary Kubiak’s team as if they are 0-4. It doesn’t get easier next week, as they must travel to San Francisco.

$.03--Tampa Bay made a splash in the news cycle this week when Greg Schiano unceremoniously benched starting QB Josh Freeman. The embattled coach decided enough was enough and turned to rookie Mike Glennon.

If you follow my draft writings at all, you know I was no fan of Glennon. In fact, his game for North Carolina State against Virginia last year is the single worst game for a quarterback that I’ve ever scouted, and I’ve been scouting for over a decade. He’s streaky, immobile, lacks velocity on his throws, and has a very poor grasp of where linebackers are in coverage.

Having said all that, I think Schiano made the right move. There is no way that Schiano was going to win with Freeman as his quarterback. None. For a coach desperate to generate something positive and bury a disturbing downward spiral, this was his best chance at doing so.

Alas, Glennon could not deliver even though he was facing a Cardinals team which was missing four of its top five linebackers. Glennon threw two interceptions and managed just 173 yards on 43 passing attempts, while the Cardinals snuck away with a 13-10 road win.

The end is nigh for Freeman in Tampa Bay. There is no discernible trade market for the man responsible for more turnovers than any other player over the last three seasons, one who has a litany of questionable personal decisions that reflect immaturity. I expect Freeman to be released before next weekend.

Schiano might not be far behind Freeman off the plank. His rigid disciplinarian style works great when teams are winning, but it’s another story when the losses are piling up. Players were already not-so-quietly brooding and complaining even before the season began. At 0-4 with a black hole at quarterback, it won’t take much for a full mutiny.

$.04--The New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers are both 0-4. Pittsburgh has not been 0-4 in a non-strike season since before man walked on the moon. The Giants don’t go back quite that far for their last 0-4 non-strike season, just to 1979.

So which team is in worse shape? Both offensive lines are terrible, and neither team can rush the passer at all. Even though I would argue the Giants have looked more inept more frequently this year, they still have viable playmakers on offense and have some walking wounded on defense that offer some shred of hope for improvement. Plus, it’s impossible to think the Giants will continue to turn the ball over at such a rampant pace. They are the first team in the Super Bowl era to commit at least three turnovers in each of its first four games in a season while also allowing at least 30 points in each game, according to the ESPN Stats & Info department. The turnovers will cease simply because then cannot possibly sustain.

Pittsburgh looks truly hopeless. They got beaten by a backup quarterback on a winless team playing a home game in London. They got beat despite Ben Roethlisberger having a Herculean game, throwing for 383 yards and getting the team in position for a potential game-tying touchdown before getting strip sacked in Minnesota’s red zone. They played their best game of the year against what might be the weakest opponent they face all year, and it still wasn’t good enough to win.

Pittsburgh’s defense is a train wreck, no two ways about it. They have yet to force a turnover through four games, and they have just four sacks. Most of the recent high draft picks on defense--Ziggy Hood, Alameda Ta’Amu, Jason Worilds, Cam Heyward, Sean Spence--have merged as marginal starters, at best. The defense look old, slow, and overwhelmed. With their offensive line in complete chaos, it is hard to see the pathetic running game helping out Big Ben any time soon. These Steelers are headed for a top-5 pick in the 2014 draft. It still wouldn’t surprise me if the Giants win up winning six games, as irrational as that might seem right now.

$.05--The San Francisco 49ers kicked off the week by kicking the rotting carcass of the St. Louis Rams 35-11 in the Thursday night game. As I suspected, this was a “get right” game for the stumbling 49ers. They got back to their powerful roots, dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and beating the Rams over the horns with G-power and inside trap runs. Frank Gore looked 10 years younger in rambling for 153 yards and a touchdown, which he scored on a 31-yard jaunt just before halftime that essentially iced the game at 14-3.

While San Francisco exorcised some demons in righting their listing ship, the Rams appear sunk. The have two significant problems that are not going to be fixed anytime soon. First, they gambled on Cortland Finnegan, one of the most schizophrenic players in the league. He’s either really good or really bad, and this year is easily his worst. I haven’t seen the final weekend evaluation grades from Pro Football Focus yet but I cannot imagine that Finnegan isn’t the worst corner in the league so far.

Second, and far more damaging long-term, is that Sam Bradford is an average NFL starting quarterback on his best day. And those good days are getting rarer. In this game he was downright awful. He consistently looked overwhelmed by the strong pass rush. No, he does not have great weapons, nor does he have any semblance of a running game. But I saw a quarterback playing scared when I watched Bradford. A week after needing 48 passes to accrue 240 yards, Bradford got 201 on 41 passes this week. Five yards per attempt is the realm of Josh Freeman, Chad Henne and Brandon Weeden, not anywhere near where a former No. 1 overall pick should be. The Rams owe him $27 million over the next two seasons, which is more than what Jay Cutler is likely to get in an extension from the Bears. Bradford has sprinkled in a few prolific games around an overall body of work that leaves him in the lower-middle echelon of starting QBs. If you need an example of why the NFLPA readily agreed to modify the rookie salary structure, Sam Bradford is your poster boy. Those are the only posters you’ll see him on, because right now he’s an underwhelming talent on a team that will be lucky to win five games, definitely more of the problem than the solution.

$.06--New England traveled to Atlanta for the Sunday night affair. They exited with a 30-23 road win.

This game featured a pivotal moment early on, one which sparked furious debate on Twitter and in my own house. Midway through the second quarter, Atlanta was driving down the field. On 4th and goal from the New England 4-yard line and trailing 7-3, the Falcons opted to go for it instead of kicking the field goal. Matt Ryan wildly missed Roddy White on the play, and the Patriots took over. A couple of plays later, Tom Brady found Kenbrell Thompkins deep down the field and the Patriots were out of the hole.

I was screaming at the television for the Falcons to kick the field goal. Every point against New England is precious, and three points is a lot more than zero. My wife was firmly on the other side of the fence, however. She loved the aggressive message it sent, and the reward of getting a touchdown was worth the risk of getting zero to her. Even though it kept them from taking the lead by failing, she supported the opportunity. I vehemently disagreed.

This philosophical divide was evident on the broadcast as well. Tony Dungy, who is as conservative as a football coach can possibly be, agreed with me. Rodney Harrison, still steeped in the Patriots way, argued that “you don’t win by kicking field goals.” I still stand by my argument; you have to put the points on the board because you might not get a better chance later.

It turns out the field goal debate was rendered moot. New England blew the game open in the second half, jumping out to a 30-13 lead after entering the locker room tied at 10. Atlanta made it interesting late with a spirited rally, but never got close enough that the field goal would have mattered. The Patriots are now 4-0, while the Falcons are unquestionably the most talented 1-3 team in the league.

$.07--Don’t look now, but the Cleveland Browns are in first place in the AFC North. Technically they are tied with Baltimore and Cincinnati at 2-2, but by beating the Bengals on Sunday, the Browns are clearly the hottest team. Granted it’s only two wins in a row, but that qualifies as hot in the AFC this year.

They have gone about it unconventionally. This all started with the controversial Trent Richardson trade. While many predicted that the move was a bloody towel on the young season, the players themselves saw it differently. They saw it as an opportunity to demonstrate that they belong in the future plans of the new regime. Foremost among those opportunists has been quarterback Brian Hoyer.

Hoyer made his first start in Cleveland, his hometown, a winning one. He wasn’t great but was emphatically better than counterpart Andy Dalton. Hoyer threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns, while Dalton managed a meager 206 yards on 42 attempts. Neither team could run the ball a lick, as both defensive fronts controlled the game.

These are the games which Cincinnati is built to win, but Cleveland turned the tables. The Browns avoided mistakes and never relented the defensive pressure. This is the Browns team which I expected to see when I picked them to go 8-8 and finish ahead of the Steelers and Ravens. It’s strange that it took a radical trade and a switch to the third-string quarterback, but I suspect all my friends and family back in the 216, 440, and 330 area codes will take it.

$.08--5 NFL Quickies

1. To touch back on something I brought up in this week’s Football Meteorology column, Denver ran 71 plays against Philadelphia. The Eagles, alleged progenitors of the fast-break offense, ran 69. That’s the third week in a row the Eagles have run fewer plays than their opponents. Denver racked up 35 first downs on those 71 snaps.

2. If you’re looking for a reason why Detroit is 3-1, look no further than third down defense. Already leading the league entering the weekend at a 26.4 percent rate, Detroit held Chicago to 1-for-13 on third down. That number was 0-for-11, and the one conversion was a touchdown against prevent defense. If you’re looking for a second reason, he wears #90.

3. Spontaneous one here: I just watched the Matt Flynn interception that was returned for a touchdown. Good middle school QBs know not to throw that ball. Get well soon, Terrelle Pryor, Raiders fans need you. Desperately.

4. It will get buried in the vicious Chicago media with the incessant picking at Jay Cutler, but the Bears have a major problem at safety. Chris Conte might have played one of the five worst games I’ve ever seen by a safety. He has poor instincts and subpar athleticism, a lethal combination. Major Wright, the better of the safety tandem, has horrible positional discipline and overreacts to the slightest fakes. They can and will be exploited unless they can somehow amp up the pass rush, which barely sniffed Matt Stafford on Sunday.

5. They probably deserve more run than this little blurb, but the Tennessee Titans moved to 3-1 by spanking the Jets behind yet another strong outing from Jake Locker. It’s cool to see Locker finally appear to have found the “on” position for his personal light switch, but he is spending Sunday night in the hospital with a hip injury that saw him carted off the field. As long as Locker can come back and keep on keeping on, there is no reason to think these Titans cannot stay in the thick of the AFC playoff race all year.

$.09--5 College/NFL Draft Quickies

1. Friday night was an opportunity to evaluate San Jose State QB David Fales. A hot name amongst many in the internet draft community, I’ve never been a big Fales guy. This game, an ugly 40-12 loss to a very physical Utah State team, is a great example of why. Fales struggled all night with accuracy issues, which is his alleged calling card. While he was under a lot of pressure most of the night, Fales missed some easy throws with a clean lane. His arm strength isn’t very good and when he tries to gun it he really loses precision, akin to Colt McCoy or TJ Yates. Fales does have some legit NFL qualities; he can go thru progressions, manipulate defenders with his eyes and a lethal pump fake, and put perfect touch on intermediate balls. But he looks like a backup at the next level, again like TJ Yates. Those guys shouldn’t be drafted before the sixth round. I’ll be stunned if he comes off the board in the first two days of the draft.

2. Once upon a time, Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas was the first pick in a mock draft. My own initial 2012 preseason mock draft, to be precise. Since that time, Thomas has played his way progressively down the ladder, from the top rung to needing a boost just to reach the bottom step. He might have gotten that lift in Thursday’s win over Georgia Tech. This was the Logan Thomas I’ve been waiting expecting for well over a year, a confident, poised, flamethrowing leader who happens to be able to run like a giant deer. As much as the optimist in me wants to bite back into the Logan Thomas apple, I need to see a lot more than this one great effort. Consider it a false positive, and consider Logan Thomas a better prospect at tight end--or defensive end, as one NFL scout suggested to me--than quarterback.

3. USC did not wait long to react to a 62-41 beatdown at Arizona State. They fired embattled coach Lane Kiffin as soon as the plane landed back in Los Angeles. The storied Trojan program has fallen precipitously under Kiffin, having lost seven of eleven and getting embarrassed both Saturday and in a Sun Bowl loss to Georgia Tech. Early and rampant speculation is that Broncos' defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, a former Trojan linebacker, is in line to get the job. Whomever gets it faces a tough brew of outrageous expectations and reduced scholarships thanks to the shady state of the program under former coach Pete Carroll. One name I like: Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald.

4. I was in South Bend for Oklahoma’s 35-21 win over Notre Dame. I wrote a lengthy scouting breakdown over at Detroit Lions Draft, but here’s the heavily abridged version: Notre Dame’s top defensive prospects stunk. Louis Nix needs to drop some weight if he wants to be a first round pick, while Stephon Tuitt looked undraftable in this game. The best Irish player was guard Chris Watt. Oklahoma center Gabe Ikard really impressed, as did linebacker Corey Nelson. And everyone who considers themselves football fans need to visit South Bend on a game day; I’m not an Irish fan at all, but the atmosphere is truly unique.

5. Ohio State polished off Wisconsin 31-24 under the lights in Columbus, seizing control of their B1G destiny. They did so by largely containing dynamic Badger RB Melvin Gordon, whom I compared to former Buckeye phenom Robert Smith, to just 74 yards on 15 carries. Underrated by the draft community but overrated by the vociferous Wisconsin faithful, wideout Jared Abbrederis showed his mettle by besting top CB Bradley Roby or over 200 yards. I need to watch the game critically yet, but I really liked the burst and body control from Abbrederis, who beat Roby far worse than anyone I’ve ever seen. It was nice to see a return to form by Braxton Miller, who threw four touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to victory. If they can win next week at Northwestern, and that’s far from a given, they should be double digit favorites in every game thereafter. That includes the finale in Ann Arbor.

$.10-- One of the great bastions of my college life is coming to a sad end. It was announced this week that EA Sports will no longer publish their annual NCAA Football game series. This is the result of a lawsuit settlement, which is nicely detailed here by the New York Times.

For those who knew me in my college days, especially those blessed enough to live with me at Ohio University, you know how much of my life has been wasted by playing the NCAA Football games. Between that and Sega Hockey, I reckon I spent at least 40 hours a week playing those games. I always preferred the college game to the more popular Madden/NFL series, which didn’t feature near the formations or playbook possibilities.

One of the most appealing aspects back when I was a college student was the fact that I actually knew some of the people featured in the game. In the 1995 version, I had a Geography class with three Ohio Bobcats. Even though the team stunk and only one of them ever played much, it was pretty neat to think that the fat guy sitting to my left is featured in a real video game (I wish I could remember the names, but too many nights at The Junction erased those brain cells). The next season was even more personal, as one of my housemates (Hi David!) was good friends with a starting wide receiver on the team. He actually came to our crappy apartment and played the game AS HIMSELF.

Aside from the folly of building Ohio University, which won five games in my first five years there, into a virtual national powerhouse, the NCAA game was great for building multi-player camaraderie. Because I played all the time, I was pretty good. Fraternity brothers would stream in and out, challenging one another to raucous games. Those of us who were skilled would be relegated to playing as doormats like Ball State or UNLV, while weaker players could use Ohio State or Nebraska. The only rule was no Miami OH, because Muck Fiami!

After college I still religiously purchased EA’s NCAA football game every year. I grew from Sega to Playstation to PS2 to Wii over the years, and every summer I would buy the infernal time waster. Features like exportable draft classes, rivalry trophies, and customizable playbooks kept me, and millions of others, completely hooked. Even though my playing time was greatly diminished, it still was my favorite game to play.

That ended about six years ago. I bought the 2007 version and finished just one season. I broke down and bought the 2008 game, but I found it still in the wrapper when I moved across the country this summer. The good folks at the used video game store game me $3 for it.

That will be my last experience with the series, which saddens me. I looked forward to playing it with my kids. I’ll never get to see the thrill of my son creating himself as a 5-star defensive end recruit, or the fun in me playing as Ohio State, him playing as TCU (his favorite team, go Frogs!) and meeting in the national championship game. We’d simulate it, of course, to keep it fun. Even though I haven’t played in a long time, I will miss that bastion of my younger, more frivolous days. I bet many men of a certain age feel the same way. RIP NCAA Football. Cause of death: the NCAA.