$.01-- Greg Hardy is a terrible human being, a hotheaded punk who did reprehensible things to his former girlfriend. Yet because he’s a freakishly talented pass rusher, the NFL embraces him despite his criminal history.

Here’s a snippet of what Hardy did, courtesy of a blistering, well-sourced piece on Deadspin:

Barefoot and frightened, Nicole Holder walked as fast as she could through the darkness, and the moment she saw the cops she ran. She headed west on Fifth Street toward North Church, away from the Charlotte., N.C., apartment of Greg Hardy, a star defensive end then with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Minutes earlier he had, she said, thrown her against a tile bathtub wall, tossed her on a futon covered in assault rifles, and choked her until she told him to “kill me so I don’t have to.”

The pictures in that recently released piece are disturbing, but they shouldn’t really matter. We all knew about the words written above from the court case, which was eventually dismissed because the victim refused to cooperate. Domestic violence advocates will tell you this is unfortunately quite common. I can’t speak on experience there, but I can speak to this:

The NFL is a flaming bag of hypocrisy and deserves your venomous criticism on this issue. A league which promotes the campaign “No More” has no problem rewarding a player for whom no clearly does not mean no on this very issue. Hardy’s direct employer, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, goes so far as to laud Hardy’s leadership after watching him instigate a brouhaha on the sideline. The league as a whole suspended Hardy for less time (four games, reduced from 10) than it banned nonviolent drug addicts like Josh Gordon.

Hardy often gets compared to Ray Rice, who was also involved in a graphic domestic violence incident. Rice has never gotten a second chance despite showing obvious contrition and doing what he can to try and help keep others from making the same mistakes he made. Hardy, who is clearly not sorry or even fazed by what he did, quickly joined the Cowboys after the Panthers decided “no more” embarrassment. Because he’s still very good at his job and Rice was a fading star, he gets another chance.

Don’t tell me because the court case was dismissed and now expunged that Hardy is innocent and deserves the opportunity. Instead of being a Cowboys fan, be a human fan. Be a husband, or father to a daughter, or son of a mother. That victim could be someone you love. If Hardy played for a team you dislike, you’d rail against that team for employing him. The Cowboys should be ashamed of themselves, though I don’t think Jerry Jones has that gene.

Shame on you, Jerry. May the law of karma treat you and your prized employee the way Hardy treated that woman. And while you’re now concerned about what Hardy did, check out what Seahawks rookie Frank Clark did last fall. It was enough for Michigan to kick him out of school, but not enough to bother the Seahawks from drafting him in the second round. Wake up, Commissioner Goodell, you have a far bigger problem with a couple of your franchises than players wearing the wrong socks or smoking pot. Do something.

I tried to do my little part. I didn’t watch the Sunday night game between Dallas and Philadelphia. It’s my own insignificant protest. I won’t watch Dallas next week, either. Jerry Jones won’t notice, and not enough folks will turn them off to make much of a difference. But denial of commerce and revenue is the only weapon we’ve got. 

$.02--The Indianapolis Colts beat the Denver Broncos 27-24 in a game which just might salvage some dignity for the entire AFC South. Of course it took a pair of asinine Denver penalties to seal the win…

I don’t want to take away from Andrew Luck leading a great final drive to cap off the win. It was his best game of the season, in part because he didn’t turn the ball over after leading the league in giveaways heading into the weekend. Luck was sharp, he was confident and he bought himself time without panicking. This is the Andrew Luck everyone imagined. Well, as close to that ideal as he will get this year at 21-for-36, 252 yards and two TDs.

Yet the manner in which Denver lost steals the show. After the Colts jumped on top 27-24, Peyton Manning threw an awful INT, badly missing his target with a wobbly off-speed delivery. Instead of setting the all-time passing yardage record, he instead tied Jim Hart for 10th all-time in interceptions. Manning only needed two yards to top Brett Favre, but instead he threw his second INT.

Denver still had a chance, but then the dumb took over. With the Colts driving late, two asinine penalties sunk the Broncos. The most egregious was a personal foul on Aqib Taib for intervening in a pushing match between Colts TE Dwayne Allen and Broncos LB Von Miller. Apparently unsure if the physically imposing Miller could handle his own business, Talib went with the eye gouge through Allen’s facemask to give the Colts a much-needed first down. It’s as stupid, selfishly mindless move as you’ll ever see in a game. Ndamukong Suh, the unquestionable master of the cheesy personal foul, has to think it was totally outrageous.

 

Denver managed to survive and force a field goal attempt, one which would have only put the Colts up six with enough time for some Manning heroics in his old haunt. Instead, Danny Trevathan committed an obvious defensive hold on the field goal. Automatic first down, game over.

This was Denver’s first loss, while the Colts seized control of the putrid AFC South by moving to 4-5. Indy became the first team to finally capitalize on Manning’s diminished arm strength and the utter lack of any running game. Even with that and a strong game from Luck, it still took Denver beating itself to get Indy the win. I suspect they’ll happily take it.

$.03--Another week, another test passed for Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals. Thursday night the Bengals shook off a middling first half to put a definitive whooping on the state rival Browns 31-10.

This was a game Cincinnati should have won big, and they did. The Bengals smothered Johnny Manziel and the pulseless Browns offense after halftime, allowing just two first downs and 32 total yards. Many of those were Manziel desperation scrambles with no particular aim. Johnny Football seldom had a chance, as his receivers could not get open and his line couldn’t withstand the pressure for too long. Cleveland tried just 12 designed run plays, making it even easier for the Bengals to kneecap the predictable, anemic offense.

Dalton had a bit of a revenge game. Last year on national television versus the Browns he laid one of the biggest eggs in NFL history with a dodo of a game: 10-for-33, 8 yards, 3 INTs in a 33-10 home loss where his Bengals were a touchdown favorite. That egregious performance is one often trumpeted by Dalton’s numerous, vociferous critics.

A night like this one, an efficient 21-for-27, 234 yards and 3 TDs should help erase that stain. Should. Having tight end Tyler Eifert, who caught all three TDs, is a significant difference in the Cincinnati offense from a year ago. But only the willfully blind will try to argue against Dalton’s obvious improvement in decision making and presence.

The Bengals did what great teams do, they squashed an inferior opponent and did so without suffering any injuries of note. Cleveland is a perennially transient train wreck, now working on firing yet another coach and drafting yet another first-round quarterback with yet another management regime. Good teams take no pity on those circumstances, and that’s precisely how Cincinnati treated it. Consider this another strong sign that these Bengals are indeed for real even though they remain perhaps the most disrespected, lightly regarded 8-0 team in NFL history. 

$.04--The Pittsburgh Steelers scored a hard-fought 38-35 victory over an improved Raiders team, thanks almost entirely to wide receiver Antonio Brown.

CBS showed a graphic just before halftime, where the Steelers led 21-14: Total yards, Antonio Brown 196, Oakland 170 (technically 169). He was that dominant. Brown tacked on a 57-yarder late in the game to set up the game-winning field goal. He finished with 17 catches for 284 yards, both team records. Just for good measure he netted 22 yards on two carries. DeAngelo Williams, the new starting RB with Le'Veon Bell lost with a knee injury, ran 27 times for 170 yards and also caught two passes for 55 yards.

Brown and Williams combined for 531 of Pittsburgh’s 597 yards. On the one hand, wow! That’s the highest total by a pair of teammates in the Super Bowl era. On the other hand, that sort of freakish production is wildly unsustainable. It barely beat the Raiders, who put up 440 yards of their own.

It’s really going to be a problem for Pittsburgh if they can’t get production from more than two players now that Ben Roethlisberger is hurt once again. The Phyrric victory cost them their stud QB for at least two weeks with a sprained left foot. Landry Jones had to come in and finish up this squeaker, and he’ll get the nod next week against the Browns, a game he might actually be able to win. But the rash of injuries Pittsburgh is scratching all season continues to fester. Jones is good for mop-up duty, not a full game.

The Raiders proved they are improved. Derek Carr had some blah drives but also showed real poise and accuracy in this tough loss. He’s got real weapons in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, receivers who can stress the opposing defense and make plays after the catch. Latavius Murray ran well once again before departing with an injury of his own, not believed to be serious. Obviously the Oakland defense needs more pieces, but this is a team on the rise and doing it the right way by committing to their young QB and building smartly around him. Better days are close, Raiders fans. Unfortunately this loss really hurts in the playoff chase, as they fall to 4-4 and lost the tie-breaker to the 5-4 Steelers.

$.05--My Detroit Lions made big waves this week despite floating on a bye week. On what was supposed to be an uneventful Thursday and with some of the team beat writers on a well-deserved break, principal owner Martha Firestone Ford asserted her control and surprised everyone by firing GM Martin Mayhew and President Tom Lewand.

I was in the sauna at the gym when my phone exploded with texts and tweets. It’s a good thing I was the only one in there because my reaction likely would have created quite the ruckus. I had known Mayhew was on borrowed time, having written about it in my duties as editor at SideLion Report (shameless plug!). For me, the big and positive development is that Mrs. Ford dropped the hammer on Lewand.

For all the years of miserable football Lions fans have put up with over this century, Lewand is the common denominator. That’s certainly not to say he’s the primary reason, but his presence as the salary cap manager and chief conduit of ownership to on-field product has been no small part of it. Lewand is reviled by agents for his two-faced nature, a negative character trait I’ve experienced with Lewand firsthand. He and Mayhew were both legacies of the __ era, a name of which Detroiters do not speak a la Voldemort. It rhymes with Fat Killen.

If you ask insiders, and I have, Lewand was an inhibitor for some respected candidates to consider taking a job with Detroit. That absolutely would have been true in finding Mayhew’s replacement. And that’s why I am genuinely optimistic that the 50-plus years of general ineptitude may come to an end.

This is not a team without appreciable talent. Matthew Stafford is not great, but he’s proven he can put up massive numbers and engineer repeated comeback wins. He’s a better bet to build around than any of the quarterbacks in the upcoming draft, probably. Calvin Johnson, whose future in Detroit is cloudier than Stafford’s despite what one prominent agent tool of a reporter will tell you, and Golden Tate are a great wideout duo. Eric Ebron, while drafted too high by Mayhew, is a decent receiving tight end. There are strong pieces at all three levels of the defense in Ziggy Ansah, DeAndre Levy (whose injury has been more a factor in that unit’s decline than Suh’s departure) Glover Quin and Darius Slay. It could be a quick turnaround for the right personnel architect and disciple coach.

Lots of prominent candidates are being bantered about, from Bill Cowher to Jon Gruden to Bill Polian to even Nick Saban. Mrs. Ford had better take advantage of the NFL’s search committee in finding the replacements to overhaul this sorry state of affairs. Even though she’s 90, Ford demonstrated she’s not out of touch. Let’s hope that carries over to her first major hiring.

$.06--Of all the odd finishes of the year, the San Francisco 49ers upsetting the Atlanta Falcons behind Blaine Gabbert has to rank as one of the wackiest. Gabbert took over for the dethroned Colin Kaepernick and authored the feel-good shocker.

The 10th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Gabbert was a colossal bust in Jacksonville. He had fantastic hair and a great theme song (watch it, trust me) but was statistically awful. A 53% passer with 22 TDs and 24 INTs in two full seasons and part of a third before the Jaguars threw in the towel, he became something of a social media punchline. His inability to read defenses or handle the pass rush sure looked like they would forever relegate the Missouri product to the eternal bench in the sky.

So when 49ers coach Jim Tomsula made the change to Gabbert, most everyone assumed it would be the final desperate act of an overmatched coach. The 6-2 Falcons haven’t been playing well heading into this game, but Gabbert sure looked like the salve to their wounds. After all, his team had not won a game he started since 2012, dropping 10 in a row.

The new starter wasn’t great. 15-for-25, 186 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs are not great numbers, though the two TDs represent the first in over two games for San Francisco (hence Kaepernick’s benching). But Gabbert was not afraid as he often had been in Jacksonville. He extended plays with his legs and showed guts. His ability to look at more than one receiver on any given play was a welcome development for 49ers fans accustomed to the narrow vision from Kaepernick.

His teammates responded to him. When Gabbert dashed around right end and slid for a game-sealing first down, the quarterback was mobbed by his fellow Niners. It was the most harmonious moment of their disappointing season.

Atlanta’s once-promising season is now teetering on major disappointment too. The Falcons have dropped three of four, and the win was a 10-7 slogfest over lowly Tennessee. This game was undone by Coach Dan Quinn’s decision to kick a late field goal down four instead of going for the touchdown. Quinn was banking on his defense being able to get the ball back, but Gabbert kept it away.

The Falcons avoided the turnovers this week after 12 in the last four games, but managed just 17 rushing yards. They did not sack Gabbert once. San Francisco ran the ball 38 times, almost entirely with reserves as starting RB Carlos Hyde was out. That’s right; Atlanta lost to a backup QB, backup RB, and backup TE after San Francisco traded Vernon Davis to Denver this week. It’s as bad of a loss as any team with legitimate playoff aspirations has suffered all year. Maybe those Falcons’ playoff dreams aren’t so legitimate after all…

$.07--The Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams played a nip-and-tuck overtime game, though the action hardly qualifies as a thriller. It was about as exciting as a Wes Anderson movie where a bunch of shallow characters do nothing except talk funny for a couple of hours; unless you’re really invested in Bill Murray worship or facial twitches as drama, you’ll probably move on to something more interesting quickly, such as doing the dishes or watching the Louisiana Tech/Rice game for the third time.

Yet this humdrum game got very interesting near the end and especially after the game. This cheap shot by Lamarcus Joyner on a sliding Teddy Bridgewater changed the timbre of the game:

 

Minnesota eventually carried on to the win behind backup Shaun Hill. They won in overtime despite/because Mike Zimmer defied convention and took the wind instead of the ball. His gamble worked, and somewhere Marty Mornhinweg exclaimed “I told you it would work!”

Zimmer clearly did not appreciate Joyner’s cheap shot on his young signal caller. And he knew exactly where to point the finger, a giant middle one he flipped at Rams coach Jeff Fisher in his postgame press conference. The Vikings coach alluded to Gregg Williams and BountyGate, for which the Rams Defensive Coordinator achieved infamy in New Orleans.

Even NBC’s Rodney Harrison, widely regarded as one of the dirtiest players of the modern era, chimed in to slam Fisher as a coach who encourages cheap shots and dirty play. Pot, you are black, sincerely, kettle.

The win lifts the Vikings to 6-2 and a first-place tie with the suddenly reeling Packers in the NFC North. One of those teams will win the division and the other will almost certainly seize a Wild Card berth. The win here gives the Vikings a big tiebreaker over the Rams, who drop to 4-4 and are now two games back in that chase. Bridgewater was reportedly fine after the game, and that means the Vikings are fine too. They aren’t the best team, but the pieces fit together nicely and Zimmer knows how to keep them assembled smartly. 

$.08--NFL Quickies

--The New England Patriots have now scored in 31 straight quarters since being held off the board in the first quarter of the opener. As you might expect, that’s an NFL record. The Patriots destroyed mistake-prone Washington 27-10 in a game where the Ethnic Slurs dropped three of Kirk Cousins’ first six passes.

--Per SB Nation, Tampa Bay wideout Mike Evans dropped six passes on Sunday (I didn’t see the game). No player has dropped more in one game in at least 10 seasons. Amazingly, Evans still had eight catches for 152 yards. Think Jameis Winston might need another wideout?

--The Tennessee Titans shocked the New Orleans Saints in overtime behind a brilliant play call from interim Head Coach Mike Mularkey, who just took over this week. Mularkey snuck backup TE Anthony Fasano out the back side and had Marcus Mariota throw way across the field to find him uncovered in the end zone. Great win for the interim coach who actually has a shot to keep his position long-term.

--The Carolina Panthers knocked off the Green Bay Packers in Charlotte. It was the second week in a row the Packers were road favorites against an undefeated opponent, and the second week in a row they lost to a very good, aggressive defense. This loss apparently stung the Packers hard, as there was an altercation on the sideline and Aaron Rodgers threw a tablet in disgust after showing up his offensive line when he was slammed to the ground yet again on the final play. Green Bay sorely lacks offensive weapons, and it continues to cost them dearly when they play competent defenses.

--The Buffalo Bills thumped the Miami Dolphins 33-17, removing any lingering luster from the initial Dan Campbell coaching magic. Sammy Watkins made a fantastic TD catch and continually torched a Miami secondary which seemed oddly slow. I only had marginal attention to watching this one (it was on next to the Pittsburgh/Oakland game which was my focus) but every time I watched, I saw the Bills superior speed making an impact on both sides of the ball. 

$.09--College/Draft Quickies

--North Carolina walloped Duke 66-31 behind over 400 yards and 4 TD passes from QB Marquise Williams in the first half. The senior QB had a career day against a solid Blue Devils D in a rivalry game, showing the ability to rifle the ball down the field and the accuracy to hit receivers in perfect stride. He’s one of the more improved players in the nation and scouts are starting to notice. I got a text from an AFC South scout during that game saying Williams is “the best QB nobody talks about”. He must answer for two real clunkers, including the opening loss to what has emerged as a bad South Carolina team. That loss kills UNC in the rankings, perhaps enough to keep them out of the CFB Playoff even if they upset Clemson in the ACC Championship game. Williams throwing to Quinshad Davis and Ryan Switzer is as fun of a passing offense as you can find outside the Big 12.

--The coolest 4th down conversion you’ll see all year:

 

Incredible presence of mind from Arkansas TE Hunter Henry, a 2nd-4th round draft prospect who hasn’t put up great numbers but continues to impress with his all-around game. The Razorbacks ultimately prevailed in this overtime, aided by a facemask penalty which set them up closer on the 2 pt. conversion. Bad loss for Ole Miss, and it also hurts Alabama’s case as the Tide’s sole loss came to the Rebels.

--Oklahoma State blasted TCU from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Frogs had just too many injuries to keep it up. Interestingly, the Cowboys pulled it off despite not having excellent pass rusher Jimmy Bean, who tore his ACL sometime during the week and is now out for the season. Bean is one of the most improved players in the nation and should still hold 3rd-4th round draft status.

--I was in The Big House to catch Michigan’s 49-16 rout over visiting Rutgers. Now that my fingers and toes have defrosted from the blustery cold, here are some quick draft thoughts from this one…

  • Michigan DE Chris Wormley dominated Rutgers LT Keith Lumpkin in a battle of players destined for the middle rounds. There is very little nuance to Wormley’s game but he’s quite good at parlaying his initial quickness into a strong bull rush, and he can flatten around the edge nicely for a big man. Lumpkin has no business playing in space and might have the slowest cut block I’ve ever seen, but he down blocks with great force and handled his business well when he had time to fire out his long arms.
  • Wolverines LB Desmond Morgan continues to impress. He’s a good-not-great athlete with limited lateral range, but he’s got a high football IQ and reacts quickly. For my money Morgan is a better prospect than Jake Ryan from last year, and Ryan went in the fourth round to Green Bay.
  • Rutgers WR Leonte Carroo missed the game, a major disappointment for me as he was the top 2016 prospect on either roster. When he plays, Carroo shows me 2nd or 3rd round skills, but between injuries and suspensions, it’s hard to evaluate or depend upon him.
  • The top Scarlet Knights defensive prospect is edge rusher Kemoko Turay, and I was hoping to see a lot of him. Alas, he played only a handful of snaps; I counted five but it could be more as the font and color scheme of the Rutgers uniforms make reading their numbers darn near impossible. Turay seldom plays more than a third of the snaps even though he’s got thoroughbred athleticism. It’s an off situation and nobody, including NFL scouts who have been through Piscataway, can definitively answer. 

$.10--One of my more quirky personality traits is that I’m incredibly susceptible and attentive to advertising. I’m one of those sickos who actually watches commercials. I don’t use an online ad blocker, and not just because my salary depends on you supporting the fine advertisers on this site (hint hint).

I care about public perception and I care about the advertisements which shape it regarding companies. I’ve been on strike against Burger King ever since they introduced The King in their ads several years ago. Mr. Risdon does not do creepy mascots shilling food I wouldn’t normally eat regardless. On the flip side, I’ve gone to Checkers just because I’m a fan of Mr. Bag even though their food is arguably nastier than even Burger King.

Similarly, I will never drive a Lincoln as long as the Ford Motor Company (Lincoln’s parent) insists upon those ridiculous Matthew McConaughey ads. I don’t want to be driving down I-196 and have people thinking I support that sort of drivel, even though I honestly do like their car designs a lot better than Cadillac or even BMW. I am Lincoln’s target demographic and interested in their products, but their line of advertising repulses me like a moustache on a stripper.

I’ve always been like this. As a kid I was so transfixed by the Scrubbing Bubbles I insisted my mom buy a bottle so I could watch them motor around the bathtub. Imagine my disappointment when that didn’t happen…and I still won’t buy that product as a result.

On the flip side, I will be loyal to brands with great advertising. I switched my insurance coverage to Allstate in part because of the Mayhem ads, though I recently switched away because they just weren’t cost effective. I’m swayable but not flippant.

It makes me wonder, am I alone in being like this? Are you so easily sold by slick advertising? Let me know either on Twitter @JeffRisdon, on the comment section here or let me know in person if you happen to see me. We can share a Diet Dr. Pepper with Little Sweet, another pitchman who has sucked me in.