Dim the Lights on Friday Night

Football is a game of inches. Of following through with the details. In between all those crowd-pleasing 50-yard bombs and bone-crunching hits are the minutiae that make up the essence of the gridiron. Holding your block. Securing the ball. Following your lead. When it's fourth and one, those are the things that matter.

For NBC's Friday Night Lights, it may be fourth and long. What began as a series heralded almost unanimously by critics as "the most engrossing new drama of the fall season" now finds itself backed up against its own end zone thanks to poor ratings. And as with on-the-field action, the critical darling's handling of not-so-insignificant details may be the very reason its network could eventually find another loser on its hands.

Going Deep ...
In Dillon, Texas, football is god. The town's house of worship is artificially illuminated. And its high school team, the Dillon Panthers, is steeped in a winning tradition and ranked first in the state.

For new coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), all those factors simply mean he's on the hot seat every week. It doesn't help his job security when he loses star quarterback Jason Street to a life-threatening injury in the season opener. Though Taylor still has a talented but cocky running back to rely on, the team's season mainly rests on the shoulders of a timid, soft-spoken backup QB named Matt Saracen.

Credit Lights for showing there's more to football players than their athletic achievements. Besides the overwhelming pressure to step in and play like a pro, Matt carries the burden of caring for his aging grandma while Dad fights in Iraq. Hard-hitting bad boy Tim Riggins may already be a drunkard, but his pain and turmoil are, shall we say, multifaceted. Meanwhile his best friend, Jason, lights up the screen with a growing determination to live purposefully while adjusting to his paraplegic condition.

Other characters also escape the broad-stroke treatment, including Jason's cheerleader girlfriend, Lyla Garrity, who, despite making some major mistakes, isn't reduced to a ditzy stereotype. Holding the hand of her sweetheart, she prays, "Thank You, Lord, for all You have given to Jason and myself. We don't know why You are putting us through this test, but I know that You'll find a way to show us. And we will pull through this test, whatever it takes."

... and Out of Bounds
Mature words. Sadly, they don't protect her when her emotions pull her away from Jason into the passionate embrace of Tim. Sex is implied. On one occasion, Lyla (who often wears revealing tops, and in this case is shown in her bra and panties) dresses afterward, then mentions the purely physical, pitiful nature of their fling—yet still seems content to carry on with it.

That turns Lyla into one of several Christian characters set up to betray their moral convictions.

As for Matt and the rest of his teammates, things are steadily spiraling out of control. House parties include boozing, bumping and grinding. Rivalry week brings out the worst as a group of Panthers respond to their locker room being vandalized by taking baseball bats and crowbars to an opponent's car. Though Coach Taylor's instructions were that the only retaliation would be during the big game, they obviously fell on deaf ears. And there's little to no consequence for the crime.

Given that, just how much of an ongoing stabilizing force is Taylor? So far, he's about 85 percent there. His heartfelt concern for the team—particularly Matt—is inspirational. As is his all-too-real relationship with his remarkable wife. And it's easy to respect his sometimes desperate efforts to strike a healthy balance in a community fixated on winning. However, his halftime speeches include abusive language, and yellow flags fly when he advises Matt to do whatever it takes to loosen up and improve his game—even if that means getting a girl into the backseat of his car.

Too Many Men on the Field?
That last bit of advice could backfire on Coach (Matt's got a crush on his daughter), just as Friday Night Lights has seemed to backfire on both NBC and the show's viewers. Despite a glut of recent football-themed projects (Invincible, Gridiron Gang, Facing the Giants, MTV's Two-a-Days), the network was undoubtedly hoping to capitalize on the prior success of H.G. Bissinger's original book and the 2004 big-screen version of this story. But it seems the show's authentic tone and young, convincing cast still aren't enough to overcome bad timing and unnecessary roughness.