Craig: NFL needs to set a higher bar on trust

The three most disappointing performances from Week 1 belonged to the Bears, Buccaneers and Chiefs, three of the six teams to open the season with a loss at home.

The temptation is to say Lovie Smith and his Bucs laid the biggest stinker. After all, they did little to defend their Tampa 2 defensive philosophy, allowing Panthers backup Derek Anderson to complete 70.6 percent of his passes with a 108.7 passer rating.

But we'll give the nod to Andy Reid's Chiefs, a returning playoff team that was no match for the Titans.

Reid's problems this year actually began in the first 90 minutes of free agency when five good players escaped, including three-fifths of the offensive line. The next wave came when the "suspension" season rolled around and claimed projected starting right tackle Donald Stephenson, guard Rokevious Watkins and receiver Dwayne Bowe. Stephenson and Watkins got four games apiece for performance-enhancing drugs and substance abuse, respectively, while Bowe got one game for a marijuana arrest.

Down two more linemen and missing his No. 1 target, poor Alex Smith threw three interceptions and had a 45.2 passer rating. Smith threw only seven interceptions in 15 games last season and five picks in 16 games with San Francisco in 2011.

As is the case with all quarterbacks, the finger will be pointed at Smith. It won't be pointed at Bowe or the fact that of the 31 players suspended for Week 1, no team had more players out than the Chiefs.

Reid was asked about the return of Bowe this week at Denver. He said: "He's somebody that the quarterback has a lot of trust in."

Smith added: "Dwayne's the type of player that contributes everywhere on all areas of the field and in all situations."

And yet the trustworthy player who does it all couldn't be trusted to do anything but watch a confidence-crushing 16-point loss at home.

This isn't meant to pick on Bowe. It's meant as a suggestion that now, more than ever, is the time for NFL teams to begin using a higher bar when defining the term trust.

The sordid light shone on the league by the Ray Rice video this week will leave behind powerful tremors long after Rice is too old to return. If Commissioner Roger Goodell survives this scandal, the typical lengths of suspensions as we know them now will look old-fashioned. If Goodell doesn't survive, the next guy might be much more stern.

And it will be interesting to see how the Adrian Peterson situation is handled as he faces an arrest in Texas.

Last week, 19 teams opened the season with a combined 31 players suspended. There's enough diversity of skill to field a decent team with eight receivers, including Josh Gordon and Wes Welker; seven defensive backs; five defensive linemen; four offensive linemen and four linebackers, including San Francisco's Aldon Smith, who became a pioneer of new punishment when a typical four-game suspension grew by five more games because of personal misconduct.

The All-Suspension team also includes a tight end, a running back, of course, and even an elite kicker, Matt Prater. And with a warrant for Peterson's arrest issued on Friday, the list could grow longer by one 2012 league MVP.

Bowe will be the first to return this week. But in a league in which every quarter of every game could mean the difference between making the playoffs and everybody getting fired, Bowe's lack of trustworthiness last week might have already cost the Chiefs too much.

NFL Chatter

Bill Belichick never has thought the way other people think he should think.

It was early December in San Diego in 1995. Belichick was coaching a Browns team that was on its way to 5-11, not to mention leaving Cleveland for Baltimore.

The Chargers led 31-10 and the Browns had the ball in the closing seconds. Belichick called a timeout and sent Matt Stover in to kick a 40-yard field goal as a crusty old sportswriter (someone else) cackled, "First time in NFL history the losing coach ran up the score!"

Belichick later shrugged and said he thought Stover needed some work.

Over the many years since, Belichick has stayed unconventional on his journey to the Hall of Fame via New England. He's gone for it and not always succeeded on eyebrow-raising fourth downs deep in his own territory. He's shockingly dumped big-name players a year early and often succeeded afterward. And he's done unusual things like last week, when he rotated four players at the three interior offensive line positions. It didn't pan out in a loss at Miami.

After a Patriots loss, it's usually not a good idea to make any long-lasting condemnations of something unusual that Belichick did. Since 2003, he's 34-4 after a loss. He's had four two-game losing streaks and zero three-game losing streaks.

Three observations …

• The Bears averaged 7.25 yards on first-down plays and still lost at home against the Bills.

• The Giants gave up a league-low 2.73 yards on first-down plays and still lost by 21 points at Detroit.

• The Cowboys finished 8-8 with a plus-8 turnover ratio last year. This year they're 0-1 with a league-worst minus-4 ratio.

• Chicago will be a grumpy place as Jay Cutler throws two more picks in a loss.

• Despite the Jets' No. 1-ranked defense, Green Bay will be a happier place as Aaron Rodgers throws four touchdown passes.

Mark Craig • mark.craig@startribune.com