Listed on Bernie’s Insiders is the cumulative total of Gameballs and Goats awarded by fans throughout the season. It’s no surprise that Courtney Brown has risen to the top, with 545 Gameballs and 0 Goat votes. Also not unexpectedly, offensive coordinate Bruce Arians is at the bottom of the list.

This statistic tells us most emphatically how far off track this team is: Butch Davis has zero Gameballs. Even Quincy Morgan (16) and the offensive line (75) have more than that.

What are Butch’s failings, besides his losing record, of course?

— His ego seems to prevent him from taking responsibility when things go wrong. Biggest case in point: his decision to play the prevent defense in Pittsburgh last January.

— His approach yields more insecurity than loyalty from the veteran players. A coach need not be the most popular guy in the clubhouse, but he ought to be more respected than feared.

— With his rosy scenarios and flip-flopping worse than most politicians, he utterly lacks credibility.

— His judgement on personnel matters has been sub-par, from draft-day choices to roster cuts to on-field packages.

— He’s consistently outcoached on game day. Other teams make better adjustments and find the mismatches. Butch can spot when the officials make mistakes, but he’s less able to reverse his own shortcomings.

Sorry! Wish it weren’t true! But here we are, 3 and 5 and sliding. If we somehow get back into the playoff hunt, I promise I’ll elaborate on Butch’s positive qualities.