Badgers in the NFL: J.J. Watt, DeAndre Levy, Lance Kendricks shine in Week 8 NFL action

Week 8 came and went and saw me calling for Cary Williams and Nate Allen to be fired into the sun, as is tradition.

I mean, look at how poor this coverage is. They, quite literally, gave up the only play they were charged with stopping: the 75-yard touchdown bomb. The Packers also looked terrible and Mike's Giants had a bye, which is the best result this week! Go Big Blue! But hey, at least we aren't Jets fans.

Here's how former Badgers did in the NFL in Week 8:

J.J. Watt was his usual, dominant self in the Houston Texans' victory over the Tennessee Titans; recording two sacks, one pass breakup and two quarterback hits. He also took a selfie after one of his sacks on Zach Mettenberger. The lesson, as always? If you do something stupid, like use the word "selfie" in a blog post, J.J. Watt will sack you. /nervously looks over shoulder

DeAndre Levy had seven tackles, including one for a loss, in the Detroit Lions' one-point win over the Atlanta Falcons in London. Did y'all see how that game ended? Straight shenanigans. The Bears' official Twitter account gets it.

@Papatuzz It's a shame you can't decline a delay of game penalty.

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 26, 2014

Anyways, Levy has been having a heck of a season for the Lions and deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Watt and Russell Wilson when "Badgers doing well in the NFL" are brought up.

Dezmen Southward chipped in one tackle for the Falcons against Detroit.

It may have been Cris Carter that Chris Berman once described as, "all he does is catch touchdowns." That mantle has since been passed to Lance Kendricks. For the third week in a row and fourth out of five, Kendricks hauled in a touchdown pass from whichever St. Louis Rams fan won the "I Get To Play QB This Week" contest. Stat line for the week: one catch on one target for 1 yard and one touchdown. THAT'S EFFICIENT!

Russell Wilson had a mildly mediocre day in a wildly boring win over Carolina. He went 20-of-32 for 199 yards with one touchdown and one pick. He also ran the ball six times for 35 yards. He outplayed Cam Newton, though, so hopefully everyone thinks Wilson is black enough for ... something. I didn't understand what all the hoopla was about. Can't a man, regardless of race or creed, just barely do enough to beat the Panthers in peace?

Because this is a Big Ten blog, we will keep you updated on Brad Nortman's exploits every week and you will rub it in any Iowa fan's face that they don't have a punter in the NFL. Nortman had two punts on Sunday for a 39-yard average, one down inside the 20 and a long of 47. WHAT'S UP, IOWA!?!?!

Did Owen Daniels even play in Week 8 or ...*quickly Googles Owen Daniels* ... oh, I guess not. Daniels sat out the Baltimore Ravens' three-point loss to the Cincinnati Bengals with a wrist injury.

James White saw a little action in the New England Patriots' demolition of the Bears (/starts a soft "Cutler's fault" chant until everyone in my neighborhood instinctively joins in), rushing the ball six times for 17 yards. Not too impressive, but being on a Bill Belichick-coached team as a running back means he might get 30 carries next week.

Also in Wisconsin/New England news: the Patriots landed former Badgers linebacker Jonathan Casillas in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Casillas hasn't played this month due to lingering hamstring and groin injuries, but he comes to the Patriots with 15 starts in 55 career games.

Chris Borland recorded nine tackles and a forced fumble in bye week action at the park by his house. Kid has a nonstop motor.

Travis Frederick and the rest of the Dallas offensive line are having a great season run blocking. DeMarco Murray has rushed for 100 yards in every game this season, which is some sort of record. This week, however, the pass blocking took a turn for the turnstile as Washington sacked Tony Romo easily 1,000 times. Frederick said, "there is not one guy who is really responsible," but I think we all know who is responsible for this.

I couldn't find many stats for Joe Thomas, because quantifying what an offensive lineman does well is still difficult or because I don't pay for Pro Football Focus' premium stat package, but what I did find shows an offensive lineman still at the top of his game. The Ogg Hall 10th Floor East Tower 2003-04 alum has only given up one sack this year and had two penalties called against him.

Beau Allen didn't record a tackle for the Eagles. I bet he would have stopped that 75 yard touchdown from happening.