Ten Thoughts On The NFL: Rookie QBs going wild! Seattle puts the NFC on notice! Johnny Manziel is back!

1) I saw this nugget on Twitter, but I couldn't remember who shared it.

Did you know that Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is the only person to start a season at 12-0 as both a player and a head coach?

I'll assume 95% of you reading this know exactly what team Rivera was on when he started 12-0 as a player.

At his Monday press conference, Rivera got a little testy when asked, then asked, then asked again about his quarterback passing the concussion protocol during their game against the Saints on Sunday.

"Please, we've discussed this before," Rivera said, via Tim Durr of Black and Blue Review. "I went through and answered your questions yesterday. I gave you all the information. In fact, I understand you called the league to make sure we do what we're supposed to. We follow the rules here. Don't question my integrity when it comes to those things. Understand that."

"I try to be as forthright as I can when I answer your questions. When I'm doing that, the least I could do, is get the common courtesy that I'm being believed. Okay, I take it very seriously and it is not up to me to make those decisions and these calls. It's up to the doctors, just so you understand that. I'm being very upfront with this and very forward because it does bother me. I'm not the doctor. I'm not the one who makes these decisions. We have a protocol and we follow the protocol. We had a player stay out for, what, 3-4 weeks? And at no point in time did we force that young man onto the field because we believed him. So please, do not question me on this."

Carolina QB Cam Newton took a shot to the head on Monday, he went to the locker room, the league's independent neurologist cleared him and he returned to the game.

I understand the importance of getting to the bottom of the concussion story, especially after the total fail by the Rams a couple weeks ago, but Carolina followed the rules. I can understand Rivera's saltiness at the line of questioning.

2) Speaking of Cam Newton, a few weeks ago we talked about what a Grinch Green Bay's Julius Peppers was when he tried to deny Newton from giving a kid the ball after scoring a TD. On Sunday it wasn't an opposing player trying to ruin a child's joy, it was an NFL referee. Luckily SuperCam wouldn't be denied.

Rude NFL refs can't stop Cam Newton from giving footballs to kids. https://t.co/KKuXKbyQPb

— SB Nation (@SBNation) December 7, 2015

3) Did you see the game that Tennessee Titans rookie QB Marcus Mariota had? He went 20 for 29 passing with 268 yards, 3 TDs and 1 Int, for a 118.2 passer rating. He also ran for 9 times for 112 yards and an 87 yard touchdown. That 87 yarder was helped along by a couple of nice blocks.

On the season Mariota, the #2 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, has a 19-9 TD-Int ratio, his passer rating is 95.1, but more importantly he's given Titans' fans hope for the future.

4) The first pick in the NFL Draft, Jameis Winston, is doing alright for himself too. He, Lovie Smith and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 6-6 and in the thick of the NFC wildcard race. He also had a real nice run in the Bucs' recent win.

On the season Winston has thrown 17 TDs to 11 picks, with an 85.6 passer rating, and just like Mariota, he's giving Tampa Bays fans hope for the future.

5) That was a facemask against Aaron Rodgers on Thursday night. It wasn't much of one, but anyone that has ever played football knows if you feel even the slightest bit of a tug on the facemask, you will immediately turn with the pull. I don't think Rodgers was acting at all.

But regardless, the Lions deserved that loss because of this weird defensive alignment.

Trying to figure out why Lions have 2 guys defending the boundary on an untimed down ... Result: 5-on-5 in end zone pic.twitter.com/DsOQnCHCxU

— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 4, 2015

The Lions also decided that NFC sack leader Ezekiel Ansah wasn't needed rushing the QB on the final play. Detroit used him down on the goal line.

6) Rejoice! Johnny Manziel is back starting for the Cleveland Browns!

Even though Johnny Football is a dumbass, the Browns need to see if he's worth their time and effort moving forward. If he can build off the 372 yard passing day from his last start, the Browns may be more patient with his youthful shenanigans.

7) I'd just like to point out that my preseason Super Bowl prediction of the Indianapolis Colts vs the Philadelphia Eagles is still alive. Both teams are tied atop their divisions.

8) The NFC East is worse than the NFC South was last season. But with that being said, I'm not in favor of division winner with a losing record being left out of the playoffs.

9) I think we've talked about this for a few weeks now, but the Seattle Seahawks are playing some real good football of late. They went into Minnesota and smacked around the division leading Vikings, 38-7.

Rookie running back Thomas Rawls (786 yards, 5.6 ypc) is having a fantastic season filling in for Marshawn Lynch, which means Lynch could be a cap casualty this offseason. The Seahawks would have to eat some guaranteed money, but running back is a young mans position.

10) So I guess Robbie Gould sucks now?

At 33 years old, he's all washed up.

Time to move on.

His weak leg is holding the Bears back.

Look guys, Gould had a bad game. He's in the middle of a bad stretch, something unlike anything he's ever experienced as a pro. But it happens.

Gould missed two field goals in a game for the second time this season. Before 2015, that has only happened to him once. But is he done?

He missed a game winning kick on Sunday and that hurt the Bears playoff chances, but him missing a kick he usually makes isn't a reason to turn the page on his career.

Do you remember way, way, way back in November of this year, when Gould hit his 17th straight field goal to start the season? Do you remember his last game winning kick way, way, way back in October of 2015?

After starting out 17 for 17 (100%) on FGs, he missed his next 3, but then hit his next nine in a row, before missing the last 2.

He's in a slump, it happens to most athletes. If the slump continues these last 4 weeks, then maybe it's time for the Bears to look into a new kicker, but for now let's slow the roll on running Gould out of town.