Heading Sideways

This appears to be the direction of 80% of the NFL. As soon as an arrow turns up for a team, such as the Atlanta Falcons, they head to Minnesota and leave with the arrow pointing down. As soon as you bury the Tampa Bay Bucs with a heavy down arrow after their annihilation at Atlanta, they go into Pittsburgh and beat a team that just turned up after beating Carolina. The rapid directional changes are what brings about mediocrity, unpredictability and increased viewing. T'is a bit frustrating though.

At the quarter pole of the season, we already have our first head coach firing. Dennis Allen was let go by the Raiders after showcasing how poor the low end of the NFL is to the London fans. I know the NFL disturbingly wants to go international, but sending the Raiders over as a representative was a real head-scratcher.

In addition to our first firing, we also have our first starting QB demotion, injuries not included. The Bills have replaced E.J. Manuel's starting job with a clipboard and have inserted Kyle Orton in as their starter. The Bills seem to be trying to ignite their offense, unlike the Jets, who are willing to suffer with Geno Smith. Maybe Jets fans need to wisely ban Bon Jovi music as well to get their team to notice.

Last year, the Lions gave us the first pizza-related injury with Nate Burleson crashing his car while trying to save a pizza from sliding off the front seat while driving. This year, they give us the first puppy-related injury. Joseph Fauria, we love you for your end zone dances and we love you for coming clean about injuring your ankle chasing your peeing puppy down a flight of stairs. Come back soon! The Lions are an odd bunch. Hell, they even had a lineman blow out his ACL against the Packers by doing the Discount Double Check!

I attended the Vikings-Falcons game last Sunday and could do a Waiver Wire list on just that game. QB Teddy Bridgewater looked fantastic. He was poised, he was accurate, and he made loads of good decisions. Having a reliable passing game provided the Vikings with the opportunity to find room for the flat-footed RB Matt Asiata to have a career day and to introduce the fantasy football world to RB Jerick McKinnon. He has the extra gear that Asiata is lacking. The Vikings will use this 2-back approach for awhile, but McKinnon will have the bulk of the load eventually, though I worry about Asiata being a goal-line vulture. Now, bear in mind, Atlanta's defense is terrible, so 500+ yards of output and 40+ points won't show up all that often. On the other side of the ball, RB Antone Smith is setting himself up to play a factor in the Falcons backfield. He has 13 touches and 3 TDs....and not cheap TDs. The kid has speed and moves. When they start feeding him more is anyone's guess. And then we come to WR Devin Hester. Not only is he still a factor in the return game, but the Falcons have done more with him than the Bears were willing to do. He recorded his second 5-catch game this season against the Vikings and took one of them to The House, using his return game moves to shake-and-bake his way to pay dirt. With Harry Douglas on the bench, he could be worth a look against the Giants this week.

One thing I like about Devin Hester is his humility. I will say that when the Bears visit the Falcons in two Sundays, if he has a big day, he will not stick it in the Bears’ face. He was given a great opportunity in Chicago and he wanted to be more than a return man. The Bears didn't need him in that role and let him find a job that would let him do more on offense. I am sure Chicago wanted him to retire a Bear, but it wasn't in the cards. Conversely, Steve Smith has to shoot his mouth off at the Carolina Panthers after having a big day, although much of it came on a tipped pass that was not intended for him. For him to call out the Panthers was classless. He had a nice career there, but was a non-factor in 2013 (as well as, 2009-2010) and they succeeded without him contributing much. They were moving on without him and were looking at running much more, thus lessening his impact on the game. PAYING him to go away stuck money in his pocket and allowed him to find a system that he still fit in. Steve Smith should just shut up and play the best ball that he can for the Ravens. Adding "Sr." to your name doesn't mean that you have grown up, Steve.