Coming at you this morning with a little love for Mr. Mo Collins and Mr. Frank Middleton, a couple of NFL players who reported for work as scheduled, attempted to do their jobs, admittedly weren't successful, but the effort and dedication cannot be questioned.

That was 10 days ago in the Super Bowl. Since then, Collins and Middleton have come under national media attack. Bad guys. Heartless. Uncaring. Meanwhile, there's Barret Robbins, an offensive linemate of Collins and Middleton.

While the details remain sketchy, Robbins went on a bar-hopping binge 24 hours before kickoff in San Diego, was reportedly seen consuming massive amounts of alcohol anywhere from Tijuana cantinas to La Jolla beach dives, missed a Saturday practice and team meeting, and according to the Raiders coach Bill Callahan was "incoherent" when he finally surfaced at the hotel.

Blame it, we have since been told, on Robbins' bipolar disorder. When was the last time a jock went over the edge, including two recent cases with the Cowboys, and it wasn't blamed on bipolar disorder?

On Tuesday, a half dozen of these "problems" where chronicled, another reason for me seeking an expert witness. Found him in Fort Worth, too.  Dr. Sam Barklis is a psychopharmacologist (whew) who specializes in the treatment of bipolar disorders, including his own. In the '60s, Dr. Barklis was diagnosed as bipolar while on the faculty at the University of Illinois.

All Dr. Barklis knew of the Super Bowl was Tampa Bay won, and Oakland didn't, but when the Robbins situation was explained, his reaction hit home. "This young man was depressed and suicidal," he said. "At the same time, much was invested in (Robbins) making a contribution to an overall plan or goal. He failed many people. No matter if it's business, family, sports, or whatever, immediate reaction tends to be very harsh from your peers. That's understandable."

Well, not understandable based on the media treatment of Collins and Middleton.  Callahan, the coach, scratched Robbins as a participant in the Super Bowl on Saturday night and told him to return to Oakland. That left the Raiders without their Pro Bowl center and best offensive lineman.

The next day, against a good Tampa Bay defense, the Raiders could not run the ball, something they hadn't done well anyway. But the Raiders also could not protect quarterback Rich Gannon, something they had done very well throughout the season. Gannon had an awful day, and, well, you saw the mess for the Raiders

Meanwhile, however, Robbins has now become a sympathetic figure in media opinion from coast-to-coast. Reportedly, he had stopped taking his bipolar medication the week of the game, which according to Dr. Barklis is a frequent mistake.

"Thirty percent of bipolar cases, it will happen, and not just once. Seven or eight times it can happen," he said. "What almost always follows is an abuse of alcohol or street drugs. And it only stops happening, and you stick to your medication, when you finally realize you have screwed up enough, and even worse, you repeatedly have screwed up the lives of people who love you."

Back to Collins and Middleton:

In their postgame comments, frustration overwhelmed both. They had just failed in the biggest game of their football lives. They went off on Robbins, an easy bull's eye.

In the edited-for-family-newspaper version of Collins' remarks, he said something about whatever rock Robbins had been hiding under, he should now stay there.

Middleton added that as a teammate, he was finished with Robbins. "I want to play with people I can rely on," said Middleton. "I don't want to go into next season worrying about some cat making it to the game."

Here's the question:

If Robbins is now being given a media walk because of personal demons associated with bipolar, why the harsh treatment of Middleton and Collins? A lot of people say a lot of things in losing postgame locker rooms, and some of those comments fail to pass the stupidity test.

But these two were lashing out at a handy AWOL target because they were dealing with personal anger, embarrassment and, yes, failure. Middleton and Collins weren't alone, they just happened to be among the most vocal Raiders when it came to Robbins.

Callahan, himself, was caught up in a postgame moment. While refusing to blame Robbins' absence on his team's offensive disaster, the coach was asked if it was a distraction.

"No, because I eliminated the distraction," Callahan answered.

Eliminated? Callahan might as well have been talking about dealing with a household rodent problem.

Later in the week, Callahan was much more sympathetic in discussing Robbins, but immediately after the Super Bowl, the coach was confronting his personal emotions.

Allow me to also admit a I've-heard-this-before roll of the eyes when "bipolar" was first mentioned as Robbins' behavioral excuse.

Blame that on bipolar being a common theme around Valley Ranch several years ago when the Cowboys were attempting to salvage the football careers of Alonzo Spellman and Dimitrius Underwood.

Failure happened in both cases, the same as it had in previous NFL stops for Spellman and Underwood. Actually, Underwood was a very troubled young man, but I do remember once asking Dave Campo if he thought Spellman's antics were bipolar related, or just a case of a bad guy being dumped into his locker room.

Campo gave me a look, but wisely did not reply.

This week, Spellman was sentenced to 18 months in a federal prison for terrorizing passengers and crew on a Delta flight last summer.

"Athletes make the headlines, but there's not a high percentage who are bipolar," said Dr. Barklis. "Many famous people are or were. Start with Lincoln and Churchill. After that, there's Hollywood stars, recording stars, business giants ... and writers."

Yes, what about writers?

"It is estimated 70 percent suffer from some form of depression, including the serious type," Dr. Barklis said.

Maybe that explains the latest media reaction to a couple of Raiders who at least showed up for work.