Bryce Miller

brmiller@dmreg.com

It's been a mind-numbing couple of months in the National Football League, the most powerful and cringe-inducing sports behemoth in the United States.

Ray Rice punched his now-wife in an elevator. Adrian Peterson disciplined one of his children to a degree that led to child-abuse charges. There are concerns about concussions. There are concerns about the commissioner.

Debate has been sparked about less-stringent marijuana testing standards. Debate rages, still, about Washington's nickname.

Marv Levy just wishes more people talked about Fred Jackson.

"In Buffalo, you can't imagine how much people revere Fred Jackson, because of his high character, his community involvement, coming from a Division III school," said Levy, the former Bills coach who guided the franchise to four straight Super Bowls. "So there are some good examples in the league, too."

It's been a dizzying road for the NFL, whether mapped in dollars or common sense. What started with George Halas paying $100 to lead the Chicago Bears has evolved into average teams being worth $1.4 billion, according to Forbes.com.

This season, however, marks arguably the most volatile stretch in league history.

Levy, a three-sport athlete at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, reacts to all of the NFL's public-relations headaches like a guy from a simpler time. That's why he appreciates, now more than ever, a player and story like Jackson — another athlete from Coe.

Jackson, the NFL's oldest running back at 33, has dodged tacklers as effectively and consistently as off-field problems. He toiled for five years before earning a shot in the NFL with Buffalo, pulled into camp at the urging of Levy after laps through indoor football and NFL Europe.

Wayne Phillips, a former Coe player and future coach, called Levy to alert him to a talent zig-zagging at his alma mater.

"He's at Buffalo because I brought him there when I was general manger," said Levy, 89, who lives in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. "The Bills didn't want to bring him in. We sent him to the arena league and he became MVP, Mr. Wilson (late Buffalo owner Ralph) still thought we needed a Marshawn Lynch or someone like that.

"We sent him to NFL Europe (leading rusher for Rhein Fire). We finally put him on the practice roster and then they realized, 'Wow, he's something.' "

Levy punctuates his next thought with a laugh: "I brought him on board, so hey, I want to take credit for that."

Laughing has become increasingly more difficult in today's NFL. The developments involving Rice and Peterson have run the gamut from painful to perplexing to polarizing. Families tight-rope tricky conversations that extend far beyond fantasy league standings. Fans toss out jerseys of tarnished stars.

The NFL's reputation has been dented and dinged, yet the millions continue to flow and flow and flow.

Levy wondered if the escalation of social media and increased awareness of negative issues in the league has distorted perception, making it tougher to know if this era is unfolding differently than others.

"It was very rare for us with the Bills, because we only brought on guys of high character," said Levy, who coached Buffalo to Super Bowls from 1991-94. "But I remember one of our players had a DUI (drunk driving), it was a huge story and the league was being blamed. I walked into the team meeting room and there were 50 other guys in there who were good citizens, family guys, hard-working."

So is it more volatile? Or is every laptop and smart phone blurring what we see and know.

"Absolutely everything undergoes evolvement — whether it's technology, journalism, the NFL, medicine," Levy said. "Are the times different? Yes. But they're different in everything."

The biggest danger to the league, he said, could be developing slowly and quietly in American living rooms.

Concussions and health-related concerns constitute the real long-term threat to those who benefit financially from a robust NFL.

"With the tremendous number of injuries now, there may be parents who say, 'I don't want my child to play that game,' " Levy said. "And there's the growing popularity of other sports, like soccer.

"I think the league is durable, though."

Levy bounces from one hot-button topic to the next.

On Rice: "I'm stunned they're back together again, to tell you the truth."

On Peterson: "That's very distressing."

On the Redskins nickname: "I don't think it's meant maliciously. But that being said, if there's really the sense of being insulted or discriminated against by Native Americans, change the name."

On subtle easing of marijuana testing: "I don't like the legalization of it, but that's my opinion.

Levy ducked many of the headlines while spending nearly a month of vacation in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

Given all-things-NFL lately, that could be impeccable timing.

"Yeah," Levy said. "There might be something to that."

Bryce Miller can be reached at 515-284-8288 or brmiller@dmreg.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Bryce_A_Miller

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ORTON: IOWA'S OTHER BUFFALO CONNECTION

Injured running back Fred Jackson is one-half of Iowa's connection to the NFL's Buffalo Bills.

Kyle Orton, the Bills' quarterback who played at Southeast Polk, joined the former Coe College player this season.

Orton is ninth in the league with 282 passing yards per game with a quarterback rating of 104, ahead of established starters such as Joe Flacco, Tony Romo, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick and Matthew Stafford.

In last weekend's rout of the New York Jets, Orton threw for four touchdowns and no interceptions — a week after his scoring pass in the final seconds upended Minnesota.

Buffalo is Orton's fifth team, after beginning his career in Chicago.

"The Bears didn't go streaking into the Super Bowl, so he was gone," former Buffalo coach Marv Levy said. "But how many times was Kurt Warner cut? Steve Young (struggled). Johnny Unitas couldn't make his first team — and on and on.

"So it's encouraging to see what (Orton) is doing. His performance last week was outstanding and Buffalo is very excited about him."