$.01--On a Sunday where the schedule provided little optimism for sizzle, it figures that a backup quarterback tied the NFL record for touchdown passes in a game. That happened when Eagles reserve Nick Foles torched a truly awful Raiders' secondary for seven touchdowns in less than three full quarters.

It was almost comedic watching the Raiders inept secondary try to handle the Eagles' attack. I mean, I’d really like to give Foles credit for one of the most prolific passing outputs in NFL history. Truthfully, he had very little to do with it. Four of the seven touchdowns went to receivers who didn’t appear to be covered at all. Twice the cover man fell down, and two others were just inexplicable coverage gaffes.

Especially painful to watch was the play of Charles Woodson. He’s a Hall of Famer and won’t have to wait very long upon eligibility to get to Canton, but he looked old, slow and confused in this one. The entire Oakland defense forgot to show up a week after playing so well against the other Pennsylvania team. Making it worse, the Eagles hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown in over two games.

After the game got out of hand, it degenerated into a battle between Matt Barkley vs. Matt McGloin as the QB matchup. That wasn’t even a great game in college last year (USC vs. Penn State), let alone a NFL contest which Black Hole denizens paid hundreds to witness. This one crossed the line from offensive orgy to embarrassing overall effort far before fans should tolerate.

I feel the pain of Raiders fans. They sure looked like they were heading in the right direction, and then this abomination happens. At 3-5 they’re not dead and buried in the AFC playoff just yet, but the mortician is getting out the nails for the coffin. This was a chance for the Raiders to prove they were closer to a playoff contender than a top-5 draft pick, and they let a lightly regarded backup QB throw seven touchdown passes in three quarters. Epic fail, Oakland, epic fail. 

$.02--There was a lot of a human factor injected to the NFL world over the weekend. First came word that Broncos head coach John Fox was hospitalized after feeling lightheaded while golfing in Charlotte during Denver’s bye week. Fox is okay, relatively speaking. He needs heart valve surgery, a procedure he was aware he needed but hoped to postpone until after the season.

For those who want to criticize Fox for not putting his health first, I can offer a personal defense. I am in need of the exact same surgery that Fox is going to have. I suffer from aortic valve regurgitation that will require corrective surgery.

I don’t know the specifics of Fox’s case, but here’s mine. One of the components of my aortic valve, the flaps which close behind the blood expelled from the heart into the aorta, doesn’t work properly. Every time my heart beats out blood, a portion of it flows back into my upper chamber because the valve doesn’t fully close. I’ve known about this for several years now, but two different cardiologists have advised me to wait as long as possible to have the surgery. Advancements are being made all the time in surgical technique and rehabilitation, and the longer I can wait, the better. Plus, the replacement valve has a limited life span and I’m young enough (41) that it might give out before the rest of me does, which means I’d need the same surgery again when I’m much older and not in good physical condition.

It’s not painful, but I am aware of it at times. It’s hard for me to be flat on my back for long periods, and I will get lightheaded and get bad tunnel vision when I get up quickly sometimes. I’ve been advised to avoid strenuous weightlifting and endurance sports. Yet I still play full court basketball three or four times a week and almost never have issues. Fox is older and pudgier than me, but he’s not in bad overall health. I wish him the best and you can bet I’m following his progress with intense interest.

Then in the Sunday night game, Texans coach Gary Kubiak collapsed while leaving the field at halftime. Just after his Texans took a 21-3 lead, Kubiak fell to his knees and was described by NBC sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya as being in “intense pain” and “unable to open his eyes”. After the best half of football by the Texans this season, the thoughts went from the triumphant performance of Case Keenum and Andre Johnson to wondering about the well-being of the beleaguered coach. He’s currently in a local Houston hospital undergoing evaluation. Here’s hoping Kubiak had nothing more than a fainting spell caused by dehydration and exhaustion. 

$.03--The Washington Ethnic Slurs tried their hardest to let the San Diego Chargers beat them, but in the end Robert Griffin III and friends proved a little too competent. Washington prevailed in overtime 30-24, thanks to fullback Darrel Young scoring three touchdowns, including the game-winner.

This was one of those classic “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory” games for San Diego. Washington repeatedly handed the Chargers the game, only to see San Diego blow it right back. The Chargers blocked two Kai Forbath field goals in the first half. They also downed two punts inside the Washington 1 yard line. One of those possessions resulted in a Chargers touchdown when DT Sean Lissimore caught a twice-deflected ball and collapsed into the end zone.

Then there was the battle of Mike Shanahan vs. himself. On 3rd and 1 from well within San Diego territory, the play came in from the sideline so slowly that Robert Griffin took a delay of game penalty with all the motioning. Following that 5-yard setback, Griffin had to burn a timeout to prevent another one because once again Shanahan failed to get the call to him in a timely manner.

It didn’t matter because the Chargers blew a golden opportunity at the end of regulation. Running back Danny Woodhead appeared to get into the end zone with a dive after a reception, but the play was overturned on review. My initial view was that it was a touchdown, but the replay seemed to show it was Woodhead’s off hand which hit the pylon, not the one with the ball in it. Regardless, the Chargers had three more chances to pound it in from the one.

Alas, they chose to try different methods. Norv Turner might not be in San Diego anymore, but his shadow lingered for the Chargers as they tried two poorly engineered quick fade patterns and sending the tiny Woodhead up the middle. Never mind they have an effective power back in Ryan Mathews. Never mind the Skins defense bit on every single play fake the entire game. Honestly it was hard to watch, and I’m not even a Chargers fan.

Now the Ethnic Slurs are 3-5 and somehow still very much alive in the NFC East playoff race. The Chargers fall to 4-4 and wonder what may have been. This is the kind of loss they will look back on and curse if they fail to hang onto that last AFC Wild Card spot, a status they lost to the Jets with the defeat here. They only have themselves to blame.

$.04--Look out above! The Carolina Panthers are now 5-3, winners of four in a row. This week’s victim is the shell of what used to be the Atlanta Falcons, who are now 2-6 after the 34-10 thrashing. The Panthers scored all 20 points registered in the second half to pull away from the undermanned Falcons.

The bell is tolling for Atlanta, which continues to play terribly on the road. Matt Ryan has one of the ugliest home/road splits imaginable. At home, Ryan is 123-of-168 (73%) with 9 TDs and 1 INT, and the Falcons are 2-2. On the road, the numbers plummet to 205-of-305 with 6 TDs and 9 INTs, and the team is winless. Three of those INTs came in this game, costing the Falcons dearly.

Cam Newton wasn’t significantly better than Ryan, especially early in the game. But he settled in and managed the Panthers to a key win. Cam Newton and “game manager” don’t often belong in the same sentence, but it was his ability to manage his own off day and even more injuries to the guards in front him which produced the Carolina win. That is a very important step for this Panthers team. They got a win without Newton needing to be Superman on offense. You can sense them learning to embrace the defensive identity, and it fits them very well. Their defensive front seven is as good as any in football right now.

$.05--The Miami Dolphins had quite a week. They defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 22-20 in overtime on Thursday night. Miami became just the third team in the modern era to win an overtime game with a safety, and it was a questionable call to produce it.

It had to be a cathartic victory for a team that has not had a lot to cheer about lately. They had dropped four in a row after starting 3-0, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The losing produced fissures in the team. Players grumbled about Offensive Coordinator Mike Sherman’s playcalling, which continue to defy rational football decision making principles. The notoriously fickle Miami fan base either dressed en masse as orange seats for Halloween or else simply failed to show up, as Sun Life Stadium was maybe 2/3 filled for the game.

But the biggest news was starting tackle Jonathan Martin going AWOL. Word came out on Wednesday that Martin had left the team in a tiff on Monday, after an apparent lunchroom prank broke the proverbial camel’s back. There are all sorts of allegations about this incidents, and quite frankly I don’t know who to believe. The end result is that Martin has left the team and is about to be placed on the non-football injury list.

Fractious locker rooms are trouble, and even though the reports are varying on the extent, it’s abundantly clear there is a fundamental problem with the Miami players. When one of the team leaders is accused of harassing another player, that’s a significant allegation. The Dolphins coaches and management need to act swiftly to clean up this mess. Nothing good can happen until the locker room is in order and the players are unified in a common goal. It’s a tall task for Joe Philbin. As for my thoughts on Martin, check out today’s tenth cent.  

$.06--Things are dramatically worse in northern Florida. The Jaguars didn’t lose, but only because they are on a bye week. They did, however, lose the best player on the team when wideout Justin Blackmon was suspended indefinitely for yet another violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

This is Blackmon’s second violation this year. He already missed the first four games with a prior violation. Now his career is in serious jeopardy, but this goes beyond his NFL career.

Justin Blackmon needs help. He’s a drug addict, whether he wants to admit it or not. Pissing away a lucrative and highly successful NFL career for the lure of things he knows he cannot do is a sure sign of an addiction.

I have made light of Blackmon’s off-field issues in the past, but those days are over. The story isn’t funny or worthy of cynicism any longer. Just as with Charles Rogers, the time to deride is long gone; it’s time to help Justin Blackmon. The Jaguars need to move on, but not ignore him. The organization has a chance to show some real compassion and humanity. Help Blackmon find a rehab center that really works. Help pay for it and support him in any way they can. Obviously he has to forfeit salary, but it would send a nice message if some Jaguars teammates and staff still offered support and encouragement, both publicly and in private.

Blackmon is too talented to not get another shot once he proves he is clean and sober. He might need to take a full year off, go underground and reinvent himself as a man. Some team will give him another chance, but it will be his last one. 

$.07-- They’re ba-ack! The New England Patriots finally looked like the New England Patriots in their 55-21 evisceration of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tom Brady finally looked like, well, Tom Brady. It helped that Rob Gronkowski looked like his old self too, perhaps even better. Danny Amendola even managed to start and finish a game, no small feat for the porcelain wideout.

The Patriots racked up 33 first downs, 610 total yards of offense, and an amazing 12.5 yards per pass. The yards and first downs are the worst-ever showings for a Pittsburgh defense. New England salted the game away with four touchdowns in the fourth quarter, blowing open what had been a close contest.

This is the New England team everyone else fears. After wallowing in a funk for most of the season, Brady and the offense finally looked in sync. They ran for 197 yards in addition to Brady’s surgical attack on the woefully overrated Pittsburgh defense.

I thought the NBC Sunday Night crew did a great job highlighting how awful Troy Polamalu has become in coverage. Brady repeatedly targeted him, knowing the hirsute one’s undisciplined style was ripe for the picking. The fact that he’s still relied upon to be the best player on the Steelers defense is perhaps the most telling indication of why Pittsburgh is 2-6 and looking at 4-12.

$.08--NFL Quickies

-- Christian Ponder threw a Hail Mary at the end of the Minnesota/Dallas game that is one of the most pathetic efforts I’ve ever seen. From the Dallas 47, Ponder bought a little time and uncorked a ball that barely made the 10 yard line before bouncing harmlessly several yards from pretty much anyone.

-- This week’s wincing in pain injury happened to Jets WR Jeremy Kerley, who had his elbow bend completely backwards in their win over New Orleans. The official term is “subluxation” but trust me, it looks a lot worse than that odd word conveys. He could be out at least a month, a bad blow to a team already bereft of receiving talent.

-- Nice comeback drive and win by Tony Romo and the Cowboys in the aforementioned game vs. Minnesota. For all the crap he takes, right or wrong, Romo coolly directed the game-winning touchdown drive over an inspired Vikings team.  Ninety yards in 9 plays, including a big strike to Dez Bryant, saved a lot of grief for Dallas. The win keeps the Cowboys in first place on a weekend where the NFC East amazingly went 3-0.

-- The Rams lost to the Titans, but I saw something from St. Louis which should scare the Rams even more in the long term:

 

Aside from my garbled grammar, the fact that journeyman backup Kellen Clemens is making throws the No. 1 overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft cannot should be deeply disturbing to Rams fans. They must avoid giving Bradford an extension on his already ridiculous contract; on his best day he’s the 12th-best QB in the league, and he’s not at that best very often.

-- Big win for the Browns in beating the Ravens in Cleveland. Jason Campbell has given the Browns new life even as the running offense has ground to a halt which makes the departed Trent Richardson seem spry. The Browns are now 4-5. The Ravens are 3-5 and the Steelers are 2-6. If you’re one of the few who were with me over the summer in calling the Browns the second place team in the AFC North, take a deep bow. Throw out the games where Brandon Weeden started and these Browns are 4-1. D’oh!

$.09--College/Draft Quickies

-- Northern Illinois deserves more attention, so they get the lead nod here. They blasted yet another opponent, this time beating UMass 63-19. The Huskies remain undefeated on the season and are poised to once again crash the BCS. This time they’re a little more battle-tested. NIU won two road games against Big Ten teams, thumping Purdue and Iowa. Dual threat quarterback Jordan Lynch belongs as a Heisman finalist. If they survive their next game, midweek showdown with 8-1 Ball State next Wednesday, they should hit the MAC title game undefeated. The Cardinals are the best team they’ll face all year--that includes both Iowa and Purdue--but look for NIU to once again play on a very prominent stage in January.

-- Speaking of Purdue, they got thumped by Carlos Hyde and Ohio State 56-0. It’s a rough debut season for Boilermakers coach Darrell Hazell. They have one win, a 20-14 squeaker over FCS bottom feeder Indiana State, which is 1-9 at that lower level. Purdue ranks 100th or worse in all four main stat metrics. Ladies and gentlemen, this is called bottoming out. Better times will come for Hazell, who built a winner at Kent State. At least the new uniforms looked fantastic. I love the train tracks on the black helmets!

-- I touched on the Florida State/Miami game a bit over at DetroitLionsDraft, highlighting Cameron Erving and Stephen Morris. One other player who deserves some scouting merit from that game is Hurricanes left tackle Seantrel Henderson. He’s got some reliability issues, having been benched repeatedly throughout his Miami career for poor effort. But when Henderson decides he wants to bring his “A” game, he’s one of the 10 best players in this upcoming draft. He played that way against Florida State, annihilating anything in his path and giving Morris time to make his (poor) throws. Henderson is a tough draft projection because of his inconsistent effort.

-- I only caught some of Fresno State’s win over Nevada, but once again FSU quarterback Derek Carr looked like a solid first-round talent. He’s going to need to impress at the Senior Bowl to solidify that status, but he has the physical and mental tools to handle the upgraded offense. Fresno doesn’t ask him to play to his strengths all the time, which waters down his obvious gifts. If you like to concoct mock drafts, you need to have Carr slotted in your top 40 if you strive for accuracy.  

$.10--To expand upon the Jonathan Martin situation in Miami, one of the widespread allegations is that fellow lineman Richie Incognito has repeatedly bullied him. There is talk of forcing a $15,000 payment to help cover a group trip to Las Vegas, which Martin apparently did not attend or want to have anything to do with.

The bullying allegation, and right now it’s just that, an allegation, seems out of place for a NFL locker room. Even for Richie Incognito, noted for his surly demeanor and team-killing penalties, this is a step beyond. Reports on the Sunday AM shows indicated that the league and the player’s union are looking into it, albeit informally.  I think the NFL and NFLPA need to take this very seriously. After several days, it appears the Dolphins themselves are finally doing so. Here’s a statement from the team:

“We received notification today from Jonathan’s representation about allegations of player misconduct. We are taking these allegations very seriously and plan to review the matter further. We have also reached out to the NFL and asked them to conduct an objective and thorough review. As an organization, we are committed to a culture of team-first accountability and respect for one another.”

It’s hard for a lot of people to conceive that a NFL offensive lineman can be the victim of bullying. Jonathan Martin weighs 315 pounds and is clearly no stranger to the weight room. But that doesn’t mean he cannot be bullied or put into hostile work environments at the hands of his coworkers.

What really bothers me is the cavalier, sneering attitude of so many football players towards this. Mike Ditka, who apparently still thinks it’s 1965, suggested that Martin should attack Incognito. That’s to be expected from the “old school” mindset. But this one stunned me:

 

Ross Tucker is someone I respect very much. He’s a Princeton grad and an erudite, pensive man who happened to play football for a living. Tucker is one of the smartest football people I can think of. So when it’s ingrained in him that Martin should attack his antagonist, it deeply bothers me.

This is nothing short of blaming the bullied for enabling the bullying. To put it another way, it’s blaming the rape victim for dressing nicely. It’s validating the negative actions of the bully, even encouraging it as a positive. That’s irresponsible at best, reprehensible at medium, and criminal at worst. Tucker and all those who support his stance ought to be ashamed.

Perhaps this illustrates the divide between those who played football and those of us who did not. I suppose I cannot grasp that extreme machismo of a NFL locker room. But step back from that for a minute. This is a work environment, and it’s quite obviously hostile. Worse, Incognito is seen as a team leader and respected presence.

It is embarrassing that no other Dolphins stepped forward to defend Martin. Some of the allegations of what’s going on inside that locker room are downright disgusting; check @AdamHBeasley’s tweets from Sunday. I’ll sample a couple for you:

“One young defensive player, whose privacy I’m protecting, has literally gone broke because he’s been pressured to pay for older players.”

“When I talked about anger, dysfunction last week, this is what I was referring to. The issue extends far beyond the Martin situation”

He’s also conveniently retweeted some cyber-bullying by Incognito directed at ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who broke certain aspects of the story.

For those who do not believe that bullying can occur in this situation, wake up and smell what you’re shoveling, to quote Sgt. Powell. If you think that Martin fighting back is the best recourse, I encourage you to visit with the victims of workplace violence and school shootings. That’s what those people were doing, fighting back against bullying, and it pushed them that far. The best response to being bullied is not to fight back, it’s to move away from the situation and try to not let the bully know how much it’s impacting you. That’s awfully difficult, I know. But you have to try and do that while also letting others know the situation. It’s okay to reach out for help. It appears Martin tried, but the Dolphins dropped the ball.

Maybe the Ross Tuckers and Mike Ditkas of the world need something truly awful to happen to see the hideous stupidity of their viewpoint. What if Martin did fight back, and that fighting back involved shooting up the Dolphins facility? Or taking his own life to make a statement? Those are the realities of 2013, and as much as the NFL players and veterans want to deny it, they have to come to accept that.

*Late edit--About 10 minutes after I finished this, the Dolphins announced that Incognito has been suspended indefinitely while the team investigates the issue.