Monday NFL football recap - week 4

Steelers: Ugh. Horrible beginning. Great second quarter. Then we came out of the tunnel for the second half with Big Ben fuzzy in the head. And when your leader ain't leading, there isn't anything a team can do.

• The Ravens jumped out early, but then they started falling apart. Twelve men on the field? Twice? The second call got denied despite NBC's slow it down graphics showing the player definitely on the field. The craziness that is the NFL.
• Loved Cris Collingsworth on the 12 men on the field - "One way to double team, Antonio Brown."
• But the refs genuinely do a fantastic job overall. I mean, I see things live and then see it again when I rewind, slow it down, move it forward. Then NBC does all of that, and I see the refs got it right. How they do that?
• The cameraman caught a Baltimore Raven fan in a sea of Black and Gold. Yikes! Brave man. After sitting near two Buccaneers on Monday, I couldn't imagine having the guts to even enter Heinz Field wearing that uniform.
• I'm not sold on the stiff arm. I mentioned it last week, but the Steelers love using this move, and all I see is that the ball is very vulnerable.
• Vance McDonald excites this team. Unfortunately, we need more than that.
• I didn't realize the new guy Ryan Switzer was from UNC. He reminds me of my cousin Shad, a compact little guy but feisty as hell.
• Antonio Brown's brilliant catch in the end zone for a touchdown was huge for him, I think. He needs that recognition. Needs those accolades. I always say that I can't believe he caught that, but then I have to realize that isn't a true statement. I follow his social media. He works hard practicing those moves. If only his head could align with the heart and work ethic.
• Whoa. Big Ben totally lost that game in the second half. He needed glasses. He missed open guys and misread plays. He dropped the ball twice on his signature pump fake. That was just a bad half for the man. I'll give Baltimore some credit, but something was off with Ben.
• The stadium was practically empty by the end. I hate that. Fans should suck it up and be there during the losses just as they are for the wins. Aren't we all in this together?

Other:

• The first half of football, I dubbed Wide Open. The Falcons. The Bears. The Packers. The Pats. Boom. Boom. Boom. Wide Open receivers left and right. 
• Loved the gray throwback uniforms of the Detroit Lions but hated the Green Bay Packers' not-green throwback uniforms. Find the whole throwback uniform ridiculous, but since they keep doing it, I'll weigh in.
• Tampa's Gerald McCoy is undoubtedly a leader on that team. He kept gathering the defense into huddles to spur or urge them on, but maybe he was just ordering the night's meals because the defense played worse than they did the other night against the Steelers. I mean, seriously, those Bears receivers were WIDE OPEN. 
• Gotta say, the Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubsky looks like a scared kid in the face at the helm, but boy, can that kid throw! He set the team record for the most touchdowns in Bears history...before the first half ended. 
• Before the first half in the Detroit/Dallas game, Matthew Stafford was tackled in a way that he twisted, hit his head, then flipped over the tacklers back with his upper part while his leg and ankle bent at an absurd angle in the opposite direction. But that wasn't flagged. I guess because the tackler didn't land on him? Ah, jeez. The announcers were as surprised as I was when Stafford hopped right back up. The NFL should be so lucky.
• Kudos to the Colts kicker old man Adam Vinatieri who kicked his way into history yesterday with 566 field goals to take the lead in the most in NFL history.
• The Seahawks Earl Thomas, who wanted more money, held out but reported for week one so he wasn't letting down his teammates? He broke his leg in the game yesterday and flipped off the Seahawks sideline as he was carted off the field. Cue the Le'Veon Bell fans who will now say, "See!"
• What was the deal with the Raiders only prepping half their field for football? It drove me batty for most of the game. I didn't know where the end zone began or ended, and midfield, I kept thinking a baseball pitcher was coming out to pitch. 
• I thought the Cleveland Browns got robbed on the reverse call regarding ball placement in the fourth quarter that allowed the Raiders to tie the game. But can someone tell me why the Browns opted to punt instead of go for it? It was inches. You can't quarterback sneak a few inches?
• I thought Phillip Rivers of the Chargers looked drunk when he threw the ball. It was like someone playing backyard ball and just side arming it or tossing it up high and hoping for the best. Of course, it worked for the Chargers who won, but I thought it odd.