BALZER'S NFL BLOG

What is going on in the NFL?

Howard Balzer

November 08, 2013 at 1:35 pm.

The Jonathan Martin saga is just one of few wild transgressions that have occured in the NFL in recent weeks. (Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s not an understatement to say that the NFL turned into bizarro world in the last two weeks that saw:

*Broncos coach John Fox take a leave of absence to undergo heart surgery;

*Texans coach Gary Kubiak collapse at halftime after suffering symptoms of a mini-stroke;

*Titans owner Bud Adams and former Houston Oilers coach Bum Phillips pass away within days of each other both at the age of 90;

*The Miami Dolphins torn apart by tackle Jonathan Martin, who seemed hellbent on trying to show the world that NFL locker rooms aren’t a pristine place and not caring who he takes down in the process.

Meanwhile, the Super Bowl is a little less than three months away in what might be frigid New York.

Is everyone having fun yet?

Perhaps the most unnoticed story during this tumultuous time came when backup Denver Broncos guard John Moffitt decided to retire in the middle of the season, eschewing a possible trip to the Super Bowl and more than $300,000 in salary for the remainder of the season.

Moffitt came to the realization he wanted to do other things with his life, and walked away with dignity, unlike Martin, who saved months-old voice mails and texts to illustrate how mean were some of his teammates.

When I said to an NFL player it seemed as though he was planning an exit strategy, the player responded, “It was a good one.”

Whether that is truly Martin’s plan is unknown at this time. But the unseemly mess could have been avoided had he simply handled the situation a whole lot differently.

When Moffitt walked, he said, “I don’t care about the Super Bowl. I used to. I mean, anytime I played this game, I gave my heart to it, and I’m a person that does think with his heart. … I don’t need the Super Bowl experience. I played in great stadiums, and I played against great players. And I had that experience, and it’s enough.

“I just really thought about it and decided I’m not happy. I’m not happy at all. And I think it’s really madness to risk your body, risk your well-being and risk your happiness for money. I just want to be happy. And I find that people that have the least in life are sometimes the happiest. And I don’t have the least in life. I have enough in life. And I won’t sacrifice my health for that.”

Moffitt said he doesn’t care what people think about what he did. He said, “Everybody, they just don’t get it and they think it’s crazy. But I think what I was doing is crazy. Once you tear away all the illusions of it, it’s hard work. And it’s dangerous work. And you’re away from your family. And it’s not good for families. It’s very tough on families.

“I’m ready to go to work and start doing other things right now. So, it’s a smoother transition and I’m still young enough to start a career and my body’s healthy and I’m good. I look at it as a great start to life, you know?”

Are you listening, Jonathan?

Remembering Bum

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is glad he got the opportunity to meet Phillips, who is a true icon in Houston. It was no small irony that his son, Wade, the Texans’ defensive coordinator, became the team’s interim coach while Kubiak is away.

Said Watt, of his relationship with Wade’s dad, “It was neat. When I first got drafted here, I had a chance just to do some research. I wanted to learn about Houston, learn about the city, and one of the first things that comes up is ‘Luv Ya Blue.’ It all came back to one man, Bum. And when I got a chance to meet him, and the way that he was around me and some of the words he said to me, and just seeing who he was, was a big deal to me.”

After attending the memorial serive, Watt said, “It was a special deal. I don’t know if it’s weird to say this about a memorial, but it was really cool. It’s so neat to see the way Bum handled his life and to see how many people he affected, and that’s what we all hope for. We all hope that someday, when our time comes, that people want to rally around and want to celebrate our life because we affected so many lives.”

Meanwhile, after becoming interim coach, Wade joked, “I get a better parking spot; I get closer up, but that’s about it. I’m just keeping the seat warm.

Dealing With Stress

Asked how he handles the stress of being a head coach, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher said, “I personally differentiate between stress and pressure. I think that there’s pressure on the job not stress. I think we do our best work under pressure as individuals. We have a responsibility to take care of ourselves. We exercise when given the opportunity. Sometimes it’s hard during the year. We also have physicals we take care of, make sure everybody gets their physicals during the offseason.”

Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians had an intriguing angle on exercise when he reflected on his experience with migraines when the head coach at Temple from 1983-88 and how he learned to deal with stress.

“One of the best things is exercise,” he said. “The problem is as a coach if you take 30 minutes and 40 minutes to exercise, you feel like you’re cheating yourself, you should be working, but really, you are working (while exercising) because you’re keeping yourself fresh.”

Lions Iron Man

After missing 19 of his first 32 games after being the first overall pick in the NFL draft in 2009, many wondered if Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford could stay healthy.

Now, in a division that has witnessed injuries to quarterbacks on every other team, Stafford has become the model of consistency and will start his 41st consecutive game Sunday.

Said Lions center Dominic Raiola, “He’s answered everybody else’s questions. We knew how tough he was, how tough he is. He’s a guy you can count on week in and week out and that’s big in this league.”

Said Stafford, “It was something that, honestly, in my mind, wasn’t an issue for me personally. I didn’t like missing games the first two seasons, but it was something that I never really experienced and didn’t have a lot of history with — so I knew it would get back to normal soon enough. I feel like it’s gotten that way. I’ve played through some stuff to make sure that I stay on the field. It’s something I take I pride in, for sure, being able to be out there every Sunday.”

Meanwhile, Stafford needs just 287 passing yards to become the franchise’s all-time leader in that category, passing Bobby Layne.

Layne played 97 games; this will be Stafford’s 54th. Stafford said, “Anytime you break a record, it’s a humbling experience. It’s not something that I’m setting out to do every time I go into a game. It’s not like I’m going out there to try and break records; I’m trying to win a game.

“If I do so, in the process, obviously I have a lot of respect for the history of this game and this franchise, too. It’s something that when and if it happens, I’m sure I’ll reflect on it after the fact.”

He will have even more reason to, because he went to the same high school (Highland Park) in Dallas that Layne attended.