$.01--It might be time for the Denver Broncos to have a serious discussion about Peyton Manning. The Broncos eked out an overtime win in Cleveland, but they do so almost in spite of Manning, not because of him.

Okay, that sounds awfully dire for an undefeated team that could clinch its division by Thanksgiving. Manning wasn’t awful, not in a league where Ryan Mallett, Brandon Weeden and E.J. Manuel are starting games. But relative to what we’ve come to expect from one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, the decline is stark, sudden and steep. The arm strength, already an issue ever since his neck surgeries which forced him from Indy and nearly from the NFL, is visibly weakened. There are way too many throws like this…

 

Manning has thrown 10 INTs and just seven TDs in Denver’s six wins. His completion percentage and QB Rating are both way down from his lofty standards. He seems more bothered by pass rush and less capable of making defenses pay for bringing extra pressure. Granted he is not helped by a moribund running game (though Ronnie Hillman erupted for 111 in CLE) or a patchwork offensive line missing multiple starters from last year, and he is learning Gary Kubiak’s paint-by-obvious-numbers offense on the fly, but this is not the Peyton Manning the Broncos expected.

Fortunately their defense is fantastic. Aqib Talib recorded a pick-six and the defense picked off Josh McCown with under a minute remaining to squelch Cleveland’s chance to win the game. Even without DeMarcus Ware, Denver’s defense kept pressuring McCown and did a fair job bottling up a strangely dogged Cleveland rushing attack (33 runs, 109 yards). These Broncos keep winning with defense and just enough positive plays from Manning.

It works against the likes of Detroit and Cleveland, anyway. The Browns made a questionable choice in trying for a two-point conversion after going up 20-16. They failed, leaving the margin 4 instead of 5. When Denver scored within the next minute to get out to 23, the Browns could only tie with a field goal instead of winning. I can see both sides of the argument; Coach Mike Pettine was aggressively playing for the win, but it did leave a 2-3 team at the exposed mercy of the 5-0 team they were trying to beat. If it would have worked, Browns fans would be toasting the call, not carrying torches.

$.02--The Carolina Panthers remain unbeaten, pulling the upset in Seattle by rallying for a 27-23 win over the reeling Seahawks. Carolina’s unexpected and dramatic win begs the question, which team does this outcome say more about?

The Cam Netwon-for-MVP advocate in me wants to say it’s Carolina, perhaps the most unlikely 5-0 team in memory. Cam and the Panthers keep making the timely big plays on both sides of the ball, while avoiding the crushing mistakes that plague so many other teams. This was the validating win Ron Rivera’s plucky squad needed from a national standpoint…and because of that the story will of course be the team providing the validation.

Seattle is now 2-4 and in very big trouble. Just two teams in the last decade have opened 2-4 and made the playoffs, the last being the Tebow Broncos. The offense is scoring about 4 points per game less, the defense allowing about 5 points per game more than a year ago. In short, there are a lot of places to lay blame.

Yet if you’re looking for one big reason why there will be little sleep in Seattle, Panthers LB Thomas Davis hit the nail on the head:

 

Seattle has been depleted by players defecting for big paydays elsewhere, and the players brought in to replace them (like Graham) are quite literally mercenaries themselves. What made Pete Carroll’s Seahawks so special was the overriding team spirit and cohesion. They might not have all gotten along or been great players, but the sum of the parts was strong enough to win a Super Bowl while everyone was swimming in the same direction.

That camaraderie and rowing in unison is clearly not there anymore. The blown coverages have become epidemic, never more notable than on Newton’s game-winning pass to Olsen. Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas, the two best players on the defense, were playing different coverages and argued about it afterward. Paddling in different directions is a key there for Carroll’s charges this year. Remember, they’re less than a yard away from being 1-5 and are much closer to that reality than they are top contenders in 2015. 

$.03-- Last week the NFL fined Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward for wearing decorative eye black strips honoring his late father, former NFL fullback Craig “Iron Head” Heyward. Cam violated the league’s rather stringent uniform policy and they chose to fine him. For this:

Never mind that the NFL fields are coated with pink accoutrement for Breast Cancer Awareness. Heyward tries to raise awareness for a different cancer, one which afflicted his popular father, and the NFL drops the hammer. The NFL sends the message that conformity is more important to the league than recognizing brain cancer in a former player, an effervescent man who passed away at just 39.

After Pittsburgh’s big win over Arizona, the NFL thought police quickly announced Heyward will be fined once again for defying the rule. Because it’s a second offense, Heyward’s fine is doubled to $11,576 per CBS Sports. This is the same league who will not let Steelers RB DeAngelo Williams honor his mother, who died of breast cancer, by wearing pink outside of the officially designated time for that promotion, err, awareness campaign.

The NFL has some ridiculous uniform rules and I generally support players flaunting them. And when they do, I’m generally okay with the NFL fining them for willingly breaking a rule. It is a rule, after all. I can laugh when they fine Matthew Stafford for wearing blue shoes, or Peyton Manning for wearing high tops. But the startling lack of self-awareness in this situation by a league desperately seeking positive PR wherever it can get it is yet another indictment that Roger Goodell’s emperor is buck naked. And the owners to whom he answers are too busy counting money to care. Keep wearing it, Cam, and I will try my best to keep the memory of your father alive and kicking. Hopefully others do too. 

$.04--Another week, another officiating controversy in a Detroit Lions' game. I feel like I’ve written this cent enough times to pay Heyward’s fine.

This time, the Lions benefitted from the downright sad state of NFL officiating. The play in question, as well as a pretty detailed explanation from Mike Huguenin of NFL.com, are available here (you have to click on it, mom. It will open in a new tab).

That’s an interception, folks. I can understand your confusion, as questionable and obscure segments of the rule book have previously been used exclusively to harm the Lions. NFL Director of Officiating Dean Blandino, who would be wise to never attend a game in Detroit without wearing a disguise, offered a technically correct but simultaneously ridiculous defense of the call.

As a Lions fan suffering for pretty much all of my 40+ years on this planet, I’ll take it. The debatable judgment call helped spur Detroit to its first victory of the season, a 34-31 overtime win over the Bears in a game that lasted almost exactly four hours thanks to numerous officiating reviews.

Both teams deserved to lose the game more than to win it. But the real losers--once again--were the NFL and its officiating crew. There have now been 16 plays overturned by replay in Detroit’s six games. Sixteen. That number would be 60 if penalties were allowed to be reviewed, and it doesn’t count the missed illegal batting penalty which played a significant role in sending the Lions to 0-4 in Seattle.

The NFL can and must do better. If it means having an official in a remote location monitoring the plays and fixing the obvious technical and procedural mistakes which continue to plague NFL games, so be it. The on-field officials are trusted with too much responsibility for part-time employees. It’s trusting the teenage busboy to properly season and grill the Cajun shrimp at $60 a plate at a gourmet restaurant. Nobody would eat at that place, not for long. The NFL will start feeling the negative impact sooner than later if they don’t take steps to get the kitchen in order. 

$.05--The Houston Texans shook off a slow start and hammered the hapless Jaguars 31-20 in Jacksonville. Brian Hoyer was sharp, validating Texans coach Bill O’Brien’s decision to stick with him and keep Ryan Mallett nailed to the bench. DeAndre Hopkins appreciates the QB change, as he caught 10 of Hoyer’s 24 completions, two of them for touchdowns including a juggling act while lying flat on his back in the end zone.

The win elevates the Texans to 2-4 and keeps them--somewhat amazingly--as the most viable challenger to the Colts in the pathetic AFC South. Riding Hoyer is walking a tightrope, but Good Hoyer is good enough to win games when the rest of the team plays well. And the defense rose up in Jacksonville to take some pressure off the Houston offense. In fact, Houston’s final TD was a pick-six by Andre Hal to push the lead to 31-20. That marked Hal’s second INT of Blake Bortles on the day, and that leads to some hard questions in Jacksonville.

Gus Bradley’s Jaguars are now 1-5. Last year they started 1-10 before finishing 3-13. In Bradley’s first season they started 0-8 and finished 4-12. Eight wins and 30 losses is not conducive to job security, especially not when the company line was that this team was ready to make a step forward in 2015. That has not happened.

Jacksonville might be the best garbage time team in the league. Once again Blake Bortles padded the stat sheet with an empty TD late. For fantasy owners like myself, it’s a blessing. For Jaguars fans, it would be really nice if they actually led to victories. As with Bradley, the Jaguars face an intriguing decision with Bortles, who has 28 INTs and nine fumbles in 20 career starts. He’s only 24 and has a great arm, but his completion percentage is down despite a pretty strong young receiving corps. Bortles is consistently late to make reads and takes too many sacks and hits, issues that are not improving much with more experience. It’s still too early to write off his potential, but it’s clear he’s not ready to lead an NFL team to even 8 wins anytime soon. Right now there are too many mitigating circumstances to get too down on the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, but he needs to start demonstrating more meaningful positives soon. 

$.06--Sunday Night Football brought us the much-hyped DeflateGate grudge match between New England and Indianapolis. The Patriots, as they always do against Indianapolis, prevailed 34-27.

It wasn’t exactly the humiliating beatdown much of Patriots nation wanted in response to the Colts being the progenitors of the sordid scandal. Tom Brady’s father demanded 500 yards and 8 TDs, but his awesome son had a pretty strong night regardless: 23-of-37, 311 yards, 3 TDs . The pick-six off Julian Edelman’s broken finger was not his fault, and that was really the only thing which kept the game as close as the score would indicate.

Before the outcome was decided, the Colts ran one of the most asinine plays imaginable. On 4th down, they aligned in an unconventional formation that left the ball like this:

 

The foolish boobery was easily squashed, and the Patriots drove for a touchdown to push the lead to 13 on the ensuing, shortened drive. This came in the midst of a second half where at one point the Colts had run 24 plays and gained a total of 39 yards. Indy’s offensive line was badly overmatched, and that spelled doom for Andrew Luck, who was clearly not 100% even after missing two games. He did rally the troops for a late TD to Griff Whelan, the unfortunate snapper above.

New England remains undefeated and the team to beat in the AFC even though Denver and Cincinnati are both unblemished as well. Their mastery over the Colts has to be frustrating for Indianapolis fans, not to mention Luck. The Colts still control the AFC South despite being just 3-3, but the cold reality is they have no chance of winning against any of the other three division winners if they don’t significantly improve between now and January. 

$.07--I live in Michigan but am not a fan of either major college program in the state. Even so, Saturday’s game between Michigan State and Michigan will be one of the most vivid memories I ever have of any college football game.

I’ve never seen anything like the ending in Ann Arbor. Michigan had the game won 23-21 with about 10 seconds left and 4th down with the ball. All the Wolverines had to do was punt the ball out of bounds, or even just run around and kill the clock, and the game was over.

Instead, mayhem. Michigan’s punter mishandled a low snap, which Jalen Watts-Jackson scooped up and perilously took to the house as time expired for the jaw-dropping upset victory.

The entire state exploded with a unanimous “What the ****”. Rampant disbelief bled into shock and miserable grief for Michigan fans, while Spartans fans all held winning Powerball tickets. Tears of unabashed joy versus tears of gut-wrenching heartbreak.

For practical purposes, the stunning win kept Michigan State undefeated and very much in the College Football Playoff picture. Michigan has now lost twice, ending their playoff dreams but still very much ahead of schedule under Jim Harbaugh. Michigan never trailed until after the clock hit 0:00.

How insane was the ending? Watts-Jackson broke his hip after he scored in the melee of teammates leaping on him. Connor Cook did a Lambeau Leap into the small pocket of Spartans fans in the Big House while stupefied Michigan fans tried to make sense of the situation.

This one will be talked about forever, and not just here in Michigan. No matter which side you were on, or even no side at all, this game epitomized why we love football. The drama, the emotion, the unpredictability, it’s why we love the game! 

$.08--NFL quickies

--Ravens WR Steve Smith did the Pee Wee Herman dance after scoring a TD in San Francisco. He missed last week’s game with a fractured back. If you don’t like Steve Smith, you don’t like football. Sure he’s abrasive and cocksure. He’s also a Hall of Very Good player with unquestioned toughness and competitive spirit.

--The Jets are a very quiet 4-1, freakishly quiet for being a New York team. Ryan Fitzpatrick was efficient in posting 256 yards and 2 TDs to beat Washington 34-20. If Fitzpatrick can keep playing like that and Chris Ivory can keep pounding out over 120 yards (146 here), these Jets aren’t going to go away.

--Aaron Rodgers set another NFL record, reaching 30K passing yards in the fewest attempts. He beat Johnny Unitas by 43 attempts in becoming the 40th passer to hit the mark. Every one of them mattered in Green Bay’s hard-fought win over San Diego. The Chargers had two shots to tie the game at the end, but Philip Rivers didn’t see an uncovered Danny Woodhead on one play and then forced the ball to him and saw the ball, and their chances for victory, swatted away. Green Bay remains undefeated and the Packers sure look like the best of the rather large group of unbeatens, too.

--The vultures are starting to circle Andy Reid in Kansas City after his lifeless Chiefs fell to 1-5 with a 16-10 loss at equally uninspired Minnesota. Many, myself included, thought the Chiefs were poised to win the AFC West. Instead they’re poised to pick in the top 5.

--Here’s hoping Tennessee rookie QB Marcus Mariota is okay after Miami’s Olivier Vernon dove into his lower leg during Miami’s 38-10 awakening. Mr. Vernon can expect a hefty fine, though it’s worth noting that play is completely legal if Vernon were an offensive lineman hitting a defensive lineman. 

$.09--College/Draft Quickies

--I watched the Baylor/West Virginia game and focused most of my attention on two Bears. Wideout Corey Coleman shattered the school’s single-season record for TDs early on, and this is just Baylor’s 6th game. He’s the most prolific receiver in the nation, a legit deep burner with just about everything you can ask for in a #1 NFL wide receiver.

Except he’s short. Listed at 5’11”, I’m told by scouts he’s much closer to 5’9” and change. Right or wrong, many NFL decision makers will have a problem with his lack of stature. Many coaches will want him to play in the slot, and while Coleman has the lateral quicks to thrive inside he’s more dynamic on the outside. It will be interesting to see where he winds up being drafted. I will rank him as a top 25 talent for sure, perhaps the top WR in this class.

I’m also a big fan of DT Andrew Billings. He has no problems with size, listed at 6’2” and 310, though he moves like a much smaller man. He’s a very active, powerful nose tackle. I marveled at his ability to stack the double team, use his violent hands and leverage to get off the blocks and still impact the play. That’s very uncommon, and it should get Billings drafted in the first half of the first round. Should.

--Memphis upset Ole Miss, led by quarterback Paxton Lynch. I’ve been a fan of Lynch since last year, but he’s really taken his overall game to another level in 2015. The 6’7” junior has a strong arm but also great touch. He’s mobile but keeps his eyes active downfield. Mel Kiper ranked him 17th overall recently, and that’s about the range I have him in now too. I don’t think he’ll get drafted that high because Memphis is not a power conference school and he is prone to inaccurate streaks. He’s an exciting study.

--Ohio State took to the field wearing black uniforms and helmets in the Saturday night win over Penn State. I have three observations from this one

- Cardale Jones must have compromising pictures of Urban Meyer, otherwise there is no explanation for why the Buckeyes coach plays Jones at QB ahead of J.T. Barrett.

- Penn State DE Carl Nassib is going to be a good-not-great pro player for a long time. Think former Jets DE Shaun Ellis.

- The black uniforms are okay, but the helmets need to go away and never see the light of day again.

--Boise State turned the ball over seven times in the first half of their surprise loss to Utah State. That’s really hard to do! 

$.10--Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to renew some long-lost friendships, and I’m reminded how important it is to keep in touch with those we care about.

My first incident was my 25-year high school reunion. The Vermilion High School Class of 1990 gathering was a great time back in July. I was a little worried that few would remember me as I only went there for my senior year, but I was quite pleased to get such a warm welcome and fond memories. It was not long after my heart surgery and I felt genuine compassion and concern for my well-being from folks I hadn’t seen in, well, 25 years.

The next opportunity came two weeks ago. Unfortunately this was not a joyous occasion, as I traveled to Chicago for the funeral of an old colleague and friend. Darrell Iwema was not a close friend and I hadn’t spoken to him in 13 years, but he was one of my favorite golf partners and his sly wit always seemed so close at hand even after all the years.

Darrell’s service brought back together a group of us who all worked for the same company back in the 1990s and early 2000s. I have kept up with a couple of friends over the years but for the most part I’ve been out of that loop since 2002. We were part of something truly special at the time and we knew it, and our bonds of collective experience came back very quickly. A few still even work for what’s become of the company.

Then this past week I reconnected with someone who once was an incredibly close friend but who I let drift away too readily. He was the best man at my wedding and I hadn’t spoken to him in over 10 years. As with my other reunions, I was a bit worried that time would dull the memories. Or worse, keep us trapped in them. Fortunately that was not the case, not in any of these situations.

Of course we reminisced. That’s what reunions, and sadly funerals too, are for after all. But the relationships were not frozen in time. I talked about all sorts of current events, jobs, music, sports, even a lengthy discussion on how to handle ISIS with two folks I didn’t really know all that well.

It’s that progression of the old relationships that makes me feel great. The president of my old company quickly organized a bigger reunion for next summer, where we can all get back together under happier circumstances. My best man Ed and I are planning on getting together again soon, and for those who know the two of us, you probably know how that’s going to end.

I would encourage you all to think about those who were important to you at one point or another. Reach out with sincerity and at least say hello, even if you last parted on uncertain terms. It’s worth your time.