But the rest of the league was in action. Here are my thoughts and opinions stemming from what we saw Week 5 while Dirk Koetter was golfing.OFFSIDES: Drew Brees’ escape from L.A. (Well Womens Adam Humphries Jersey , San Diego)How excited would any franchise be to have the NFL’s all-time leading passer. There are other great quarterbacks out there, sure, but nobody has thrown a football for as many miles as Drew Brees has.Kind of makes you go back and think about what the Chargers could have been thinking when they set the table for Brees’ eventual departure from San Diego.Well, this is exactly what happened to me, so I googled it. What I found was a pretty good description of how everything went down from John Gennaro written for SB Nation’s Bolts From The Blue.I’ll let you read the details at your leisure, but let’s basically summarize this by saying Brees ended up leaving San Diego and landing in New Orleans because of an end of year shoulder injury suffered because Marty Schottenheimer didn’t want to play Philip Rivers out of principle. Then, when Brees got hurt, nobody wanted to pay him or promise him a starting job, but the Saints eventually did promise the starting job. Boom, Brees goes to the Saints, punts are blocked, onside kicks are recovered and now:Cinderella, and it hasn’t hit midnight just yet. Gennaro basically argues that letting Brees walk was actually a really good decision - or at least one which made sense. And he’s right.But I have the power of hindsight, and I’m going to use it.The bad decision made in San Diego wasn’t letting Brees go, it was drafting Rivers in the first place. Oh, wait. It was drafting Eli Manning, in the first place.I’m not going to get crazy in-depth N-if-L style here Authentic Justin Evans Jersey , but if the Chargers don’t draft Manning out of spite, then they likely draft either Robert Gallery, Larry Fitzgerald or Sean Taylor. Or they trade out all together.Players like DeAngelo Hall, Will Smith, Vince Wilfork, Steven Jackson and Ben Watson were all first round picks in 2004. Any of them could have been Chargers. And any of them could have changed the trajectory of their own careers by getting drafted by San Diego as well as Brees’.But what about the injury? Well, there’s no guarantee the injury happens. Now, I’m not going to get into butterfly effect stuff and destiny and all of that.I basically wrote all of this to say:Congratulations, Drew! I’m not happy about the team you play for, but I’m truly happy to see you accomplish everything you have against the odds you’ve done them against.FALSE START: The NFL is failing.Quinn Harris-USA TODAY SportsMany predicted the downfall of the National Football League. No doomsday clock was set, but it was happening. The beginning of the end.TV ratings seem kind of like stock markets. It’s a long game. Today, you may lose some pennies, but tomorrow you may gain some nickels. Just stick it out.Well, according to the Wall Street Journal, the league’s viewership is actually climbing for the first time in three seasons.Why? Well, in part by the same rule which has had most of the fans watching up in arms for weeks now.For the last two weeks we’ve seen a shift in the way officials call the new roughing the passer penalty, and for good reason. If anything was threatening the legitimacy of the league http://www.tampabaybuccaneersteamonline.com/beau-allen-jersey , it was that.Apparently though, it will not do what CTE, domestic violence and social injustice before it couldn’t do, and that’s kill the league.As the article mentions, young faces like Patrick Mahomes are lighting up the score boards while team strife like those being experienced with the Pittsburgh Steelers are giving some new teams opportunities they haven’t had in a little while.The resurgence of the Cleveland Browns - sort of - can’t hurt either.Bottom line, the NFL is fine, for now. We’ll have to wait and see what the next controversy does though.FREE PLAY: I wish they all could be Ali Marpets.Kim Klement-USA TODAY SportsI’m sure you’ve heard by now, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made Ali Marpet a very well paid man.If you ask me, Marpet deserves to be paid higher up the chain. But you didn’t, and neither did the Bucs. Which is fine.Since joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marpet has played three different positions, and has showed Pro Bowl potential in all three.If you could build a team of guys with Marpet’s ability to learn and re-learn, and rise above his challenges, you’d win a lot of rings and trophies.When I saw the news break across my phone screen, I literally let out a celebratory cheer. Not only is he critical to any kind of continued success the Bucs hope to have, he just seems like the kind of guy you want to be around and want on your team.Hawaiian shirts and tacos, folks. Those are the keys to a happy life. Starters for both teams were long gone before the Detroit Lions rallied for their first preseason victory under coach Matt Patricia, leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a loss that didn't feel like a loss."They keep score Womens Carlton Davis Jersey , so you want to win the game," Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said. "But our first two groups played well. ... We've just got to finish the game a little better."Brandon Powell scored on an 80-yard punt return and Jake Rudock threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Lucas with 30 seconds remaining to give the Lions a 33-30 victory Friday night.Detroit (1-2) rallied from a 21-point third-quarter deficit, after Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and regulars from both teams departed.Theo Riddick scored on a 10-yard run and Matt Cassel threw a 3-yard TD pass to Bradley Marquez to begin the comeback.Adam Humphries returned a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown for Tampa Bay, which led 20-6 at halftime and extended the lead to three touchdowns early in the third quarter."I think our guys know we're making progress as a football team," said Bucs coach Dirk Koetter, who's encouraged by the way his offense has performed in the preseason. "We're executing at a pretty high level. ... That starts with the quarterbacks."Ryan Fitzpatrick was sharp in what may have been his final tuneup for the regular season, which the Bucs will begin in two weeks without suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, who's banned three games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.Fitzpatrick, entering his 14th season, went 6 for 7 for 82 yards before he was replaced by Winston early in the second quarter. Winston also worked one quarter, throwing a 10-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin and finishing 6 of 10 for 60 yards with no interceptions.Stafford played into the third quarter for the Lions, producing a pair of field goals in his most extensive work of the preseason. The 10th-year pro, who completed 9 of 18 passes for 113 yards, moved the Lions 69 yards in 10 plays to set up Matt Prater's 24-yard field goal. He put together a 13-play, 90-yard drive to produce another short field goal."I felt pretty good out there. I felt like I was seeing it well," Stafford said. "Obviously, every time I go play I want one or two back Authentic Ryan Fitzpatrick Jersey , and today was no different."BIG RETURNHumphries' field goal return came on Prater's 62-yard miss on the final play on the first half. He started up the middle of the field, cut to the right to avoid a potential tackler before turning back to his left and racing toward midfield, where he cut to his right again and into the clear."I knew it was going to be short and I knew there was an opportunity to return it.," Humphries said. "We actually repped that in practice about 2 1-2 weeks ago. So, I'm glad coach Koetter called a timeout and was able to get me in there, and the defense did a great job blocking for me."BACKUP QBsBucs third-string quarterback Ryan Griffin, who'll back up Fitzpatrick during Winston's suspension, threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Freddie Martino in the third quarter. The fifth-year pro who's never taken a snap in a regular-season game finished 8 of 11 for 100 yards and no interceptions.Cassel was seven of 11 for 60 yards for the Lions.WEATHER DELAYThe start of the game was delayed 59 minutes because of lightning and heavy rain. Players left the field and fans were directed to seek cover in concourses, ramps and club seat dining areas at Raymond James Stadium about 40 minutes before the scheduled 8 p.m. kickoff. When the storm cleared, the teams returned to field for player introductions and a 20-minute warmup period before the national anthem.INJURIESLions: TE Luke Willson (knee) left in the first half and did not return.Buccaneers: They played without three starting offensive linemen —T Donovan Smith, G Ali Marpet and G Caleb Benenoch — as well as starting DT Beau Allen and S Justin Evans. First-round draft pick DT Vita Vea, sidelined most of training camp with a calf injury, did not dress for the third straight game. LB Devante Bond (foot) and S Keith Tandy (hamstring) left during the first half and did not return.NEXT UPLions: Close the preseason at home against Cleveland next Thursday.Buccaneers: Play final game before Winston's suspension begins, hosting Jacksonville on Thursday.