NFC

The injury bomb fell on Green Bay, WI this Sunday, and the fallout will surely hit Charles Woodson the hardest. Just as many Packer fans were marveling at the relative good health of this team, Aaron Kampman and Al Harris, two Packer stalwarts that have had few injuries throughout their careers, were hit hard by misfortune.

The first question that comes to mind is, "Will these injuries have the same devastating effect on the Packers' defense as Nick Barnett and Cullen Jenkins' injuries did last season?" With the improvement this year in personnel and scheme, I wouldn't expect that drastic a drop-off.

What hurts as much as anything is that the two players whose seasons have just ended might have been the Packer's two least-injured players.

When Kampman missed the Packers' Nov. 15 win over Dallas because of a concussion, it was the first game since 2003 Aaron had missed. Harris has only missed four games in his entire career, all last season when he suffered a ruptured spleen. For his part, an adamant Al Harris says he'll be back in six months.

The fallout from these injuries will affect the Packers in many ways: For one, the inexperienced Brad Jones and much-maligned Jarret Bush suddenly will see a lot more playing time and another cornerback will probably be brought in.  

As I am writing this, I see that it's already happened. On Monday, they worked out and signed Josh Bell, a former Denver Broncos backup who started five games last year.

With Dom Capers' propensity for playing nickel, Jarret Bush will now see significant playing time as the nickelback, as Tramon Williams moves into Harris' spot. That also means Brandon Underwood will see action when the Packers go to the dime package.

Jeremy Thompson, the OTA marvel that looked so impressive in shorts and helmets, but disappeared once the pads came on, will now be active on game day for the Packers. The Packers are unlikely to look at free agent linebackers, as they feel that is a position of depth and they also have Cyril Obiozor waiting on the practice squad.

The leadership quotient on the Packers has also taken a big hit. The veterans Kampman and Harris were fixtures on defense and in the locker room. As Nick Collins said, "Guys were ready to step up, but not hearing their voices out there, it was tough, because they’re so vocal out there and they’re leaders and everybody feeds off their passion for the game."

This also ratchets up the pressure on the offense to score more points and be more efficient in the red zone. Few people doubt the Packers' ability to chew up yardage (they are currently seventh in the league in total yardage), but they currently have scored a touchdown only 52 percent of the time from the Red Zone (18 of 34).

That's a lot of points left on the table that has kept some games unnecessarily close. The margin for error will now just get considerably smaller.

But the biggest impact, I fear, will be on Charles Woodson (AKA Superman). Can Dom Capers afford to let Woodson loose as he did in the Dallas game, where Woodson single-handedly ruined any plans Tony Romo had for a Cowboys victory?

For your answer, watch the replay of the 49er game. Two plays after Harris went out, Capers blitzed Underwood and Woodson. The result; touchdown to Vernon Davis over the top on a vertical route, covered man-to-man by Clay Mathews with too-late help from Jarret Bush.

After the game, Capers said he decided to stop calling for pressure packages at that point to keep Woodson exclusively on Vernon Davis. So for everyone clamoring to know why the Packers stopped blitzing, there's your answer.

Of course, with a straight four man rush and no blitz pressure, Alex Smith had the time to quickly march the 49ers down the field for a touchdown to bring the game to a one score differential. Fortunately, the offense was able to move the chains and kill the clock on their final possession.

So the question I'll be asking myself every week is WWCD? What Would Capers Do?

Regardless of WWCD, there can be no question about one thing: The Packers' defense has been at its best when they have been aggressively attacking opposing quarterbacks. A huge part of that was due to Charles Woodson. I hope this doesn't mean we've lost that.

----------------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports web sites: Jersey Al’s Blog , Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge , NFL Touchdown , and, of course, Bleacher Report . Jersey Al is the Green Bay Packers Draft Correspondent for Drafttek.com

Jersey Al

You can also follow Jersey Al on facebook and twitter .

Hold on everybody, the Packer roller-coaster season is only in mid-ride. Just when most Packer fans were ready to bail out of the car, the season swooped up to its highest point so far.

The amazing win against the formerly on-a-roll Dallas Cowboys has left Packer fans everywhere just a bit giddy.

So what changed? What was responsible for the 180-degree turnaround from the putrid performance in Tampa? Specifically, what three things put a smile on my face?

1. Mike McCarthy had a good game plan and called a good game—for a change.

As critical as I have been of his coaching, I have to give him credit. Here are some of the things he did that I liked:

a) The running game. For once, Mike McCarthy ran the ball throughout the entire game, never abandoning it as he is so inclined to do. The Packers' running backs ran the ball 23 times for 90 yards, an average of 3.9 yards.

You wouldn't call that great, but it was enough to help keep the Cowboys honest. A good number of draw plays were called, again to keep the Dallas defensive linemen from committing all-out to the pass rush.Seems like a simple concept, but one that often eludes the Packers' head coach.

b) Screen passes: The Packers ran five screen plays, and while the average gain was not great, it would have been much better if the first screen to Ryan Grant hadn't been nullified by a penalty.

Not to mention what would have happened if Chad Clifton could just throw a block in the open field. On two quick screens to his side, Clifton had but one Dallas player to block and the Packers would have had large gains, as there were no other defenders in sight. Instead, he whiffed twice and the Packer running back was tackled for a loss or no gain.

And let me also add here that the Packers fool no one when they run a screen. They are very poor at disguising it. You can see the opposing players running to the ball carrier before the ball is even thrown. Perhaps if the Packers keep running it, practice will make perfect.

c) Blocking help: There were only three passes thrown to the tight ends this game, because the majority of the time, they were part of the protection package. When you are playing a team with a pass rush like Cowboys have, that's the right thing to do.

While in many cases Lee and Havner were of help in protection, Lee was called for two holding penalties and Havner was slow to react on two plays, both resulting in sacks.

But despite that, I am at least pleased that Mike McCarthy didn't do what he has done in other games this year—left inexperienced players out on an island to deal with All-Pro defensive lineman on their own.

d) Short passing game: Mike McCarthy finally realized that no matter the advantage he thinks the Packers receivers may have against opposing secondaries, it does no good to try to hit the home run if Aaron Rodgers doesn't have time to throw it.

The short routes and completions were plentiful. The slant route was back (despite Troy Aikman not realizing it had ever left). The screen pass, as discussed above, was back.

From my unofficial count after watching the game tape, 23 of the 35 passes thrown were passes of less than 10 yards in the air. To me, this was the best called game by Mike McCarthy in a long time.

e) Aaron Rodgers: Let's not give Mike McCarthy too much credit. Aaron Rodgers was given more responsibility for making line of scrimmage calls this past week. He managed the game well, and made an obvious conscious effort to get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible.

Rodgers threw the ball away three times to avoid a sack (one was penalized, but I applaud the thought, anyway).

He also dumped the ball off four times to avoid a sack. These numbers may not seem earth shattering, but compared to his other games, it's a downright plethora of sack-avoidance maneuvers.

Rodgers also seemed to move a bit better in the pocket, avoiding a few sacks and only losing a total of 11 yards on the four times that he was sacked. For comparison, the Cowboys lost 34 yards total on the Packers' five sacks.

Perhaps the Monday "Come to Jesus" meeting clarified everything for Rodgers. Evidently, in this no-holds-barred meeting, a few Packer players called out Rodgers for holding the ball too long.

Hearing it from his own teammates is probably what it took for him to see things in a different light and make a concerted effort to change things. I think he did a great job of it and showed his commitment winning and to his teammates.


2) Dom Capers finally let it all hang out.

Blitzes from the Edge. I've been calling for it all season: "Where is Matthews coming off the edge?" I have asked. "Why do the Packers keep running the same crossover blitz with the inside linebackers over and over? What happened to the DB blitzing we saw against the Bears?" Well guess what, all of that arrived last weekend, plus a whole lot more.

Watching the game tape, it was startling some of the blitzes I saw. Capers called some things you hardly ever see, like two defensive backs blitzing from the same side. Now, unless you're in a situation where you're blitzing eight, you just don't see that.

Let me tell you, from one play to the next, Romo had no way to predict who was coming and from where.

As an example, lets just look at the first half. The Packers blitzed 13 times in the first half. Here's what occurred.

Blitz #1: Bigby
Blitz #2: Matthews
Blitz #3: Woodson
Blitz #4: Collins
Blitz #5: Matthews & Jones
Blitz #6: Collins & Bush (same side)
Blitz #7: Bigby
Blitz #8: Barnett & Hawk - inside crossover blitz - sack
Blitz #9: Matthews
Blitz #10: Matthews
Blitz #11: Matthews - sack
Blitz #12: Barnett & Woodson - inside crossover blitz
Blitz #13: Matthews & Jones

Eleven of the 13 blitzes were from the outside. The first seven of the game were all from the outside, from six different players. When the Packers finally ran their inside crossover blitz on Blitz no. 8, it worked to perfection. No wonder!

Suddenly the inside blitz was a surprise and not expected. This is what we had heard since the day Capers had been hired, that the Packers defense wanted to be unpredictable and confuse the offense. Looks like that day finally arrived.

3) T.J. Lang:

Early on in training camp, word was that the Packers were going to give T.J. Lang a chance to compete for the right tackle job. I want the head of whomever decided to change that.

T.J. Lang was very good against the Cowboys. Not just OK, actually very good . He did not give up a sack himself, he neutralized Ware and Spencer on running plays and I saw him plant a few players into the ground.

After the game, McCarthy commented on how Lang is more comfortable on the right side. I see, so that's why the Packers decided to slot him as a backup left guard and left tackle.

Of course, there were plenty of other reasons to smile; Superman, aka Charles Woodson, better kick coverage, shutdown run defense, and more. But the three items above you could say were pleasant surprises, and I'm still smiling...

----------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog , Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge , NFL Touchdown , and, of course, Bleacher Report .

You can also follow Jersey Al on facebook and twitter .

Watching a Mike McCarthy press conference always brings out my emotional side. The chuckles, the sneers, the jaw-drops, the yelling, the abusing of my computer monitor. Good thing I don't work in an office full of people.

I am often left wondering, does McCarthy really believe the s**t he drops on us every week? Does he get a kick out of insulting beat reporters and fans with the same empty promises and catch-phrases? After this Tampa debacle, a real coach would have just come out and said:  We stunk today - players, coaches, collectively we were horses**t. I promise you it will NOT happen again as long as I am coach of this team.

Instead, what was heard was the Mike Milquetoast show. A few examples:

QUOTE: "We have four individuals on our offensive staff that I'd be very confident in coaching the offensive line...  I think Shawn Slocum has done a good job in putting his print on what we're trying to do...   But our problems to me aren't teaching and scheme; they do not fall in that area."

MY COMMENT: Yet every week, the Packers are hurt by self-inflicted wounds. Missed assignments, mis-communications, bad decisions, penalties, etc. And he thinks the coaches have all done a good job. So is Coach McCarthy saying the players are too dumb to execute what they are taught? Or is he saying he's coached them perfectly and they're just not good enough?

QUOTE: "We don't need wholesale change. We may need to adjust some things and that will be our focus. ...I'm very confident in the issues that we've had in pass protection, that they are correctable."

MY COMMENT: Half the season is gone. NOW the coach thinks he MAY need to adjust some things? There goes another clump of my hair...   It's also heartening to hear that the pass protection issues are correctable. Whew! That's a relief. I'll just wait here patiently...

QUOTE: "If there was an error that was made leading up to this game it was probably too much work this week."

MY COMMENT: Earlier in the season, Coach McCarthy was called out for possibly not keeping the players focused in practice. Now he thinks he may be working them too hard? So basically, he doesn't know how to run a practice correctly and efficiently.

Here's what Packers great Leroy Butler had to say about this: "The guys weren’t in full pads all week, so it’s hard to overwork a group that’s not in pads. If they were in pads Wednesday and Thursday, I could see him overworking them where they’re tired... But if you have the youngest team in the league, they need to be overworked every day because you’re seeing the same mistakes. If he did overwork them, then they’re not working on the stuff that needs to be worked on."  How great is that?

QUOTE: "There is structure. To have a new message or a new messenger, I'm confident that's not what our football team needs right now. They have a very loud, direct, clear message in the team meetings day in and day out. So there is no question or uncertainty of what we are asking everybody to do, coaches and players, and the accountability of what needs to be done."

MY COMMENT: I think Coach McCarthy is not being honest with himself. What is the message? That if we make mistakes, we'll "fix'em" next practice? Where is the accountability? One more quote from Leroy Butler:  "But he needs to be more of a dad than a friend to these guys. Your dad disciplines you, but also loves you. Your friend tells you what you want to hear even when you’re playing bad."

SUMMARY:
Mike McCarthy is failing in many aspects of his job. Mostly, he seems to accept mediocrity while regurgitating the same old excuses and empty promises. He has proven to be a poor leader of men and his game-day decision making incites more questions than answers.  His post-game press conferences ostensibly do the same.

Mike McCarthy has 3 1/2 years left on his contract that pays him approximately $4,000,000 per year. Despite the widespread clamoring, McCarthy is not likely to be fired during the season. It would also take a monumental failure during the second half of this year for the Packers to eat the final three years of that contract. It's not something the Packers will want to do, and I'm sure Mike will tell his bosses the same s**t we are hearing: It's correctable...

By the way, if you haven't read it, the full Leroy Butler interview can be found here :  

----------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog , Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge , NFL Touchdown , and, of course, Bleacher Report .

You can also follow Jersey Al on facebook and twitter .

The Cardinals are the ultimate "tale of two teams" of late. They can look like an NFC champion one week and the same old Cardinals the next. Dr. Jekyll, meet Mr. Hyde.

So this week we have two teams that have battled each other longer than any other NFL rivalry in existence. Two charter teams that have a history about as "Jekyll and Hyde" as you can imagine.

And here they are, 90 years after their first head-to-head matchup, playing each other in the not-so-typical position where it’s the Cardinals that are coming off a championship season. But as is usually the case, the Bears are a slight favorite.

That’s because the Cardinals are an enigma. A mystery. A conundrum. One week they knock perennial division toughs Seattle into oblivion, or the Giants from conference heavyweight to question mark. The next, they watch their top-ranked rushing defense get rolled over at home by a 2-4 team that they shouldn’t have had that much trouble with.

Much of the same can be said for the Bears. Are they the team that piled up 170 yards on the ground last week? Or are they the team that ranks 26th in the league in rushing? Is Matt Forte the guy that put up 1,200-plus yards last year and the guy that has 211 yards in two games? Or the guy that has amassed 203 in the Bears’ five other games?

Inconsistency also marks the passing game for these teams. Both thought their (re)acquisition of Pro Bowl quarterbacks would launch them into NFC supremacy. There was little doubt that Warner was coming back, his sight-seeing trip of SF on the eve of his re-signing aside. But when the Bears traded for Cutler, he was the official missing link to take Chi-town back to the Promised Land.

But both passing games have struggled at times and been OK at others. Cutler has thrown as many picks as touchdown passes (11). Meanwhile, Warner set an accuracy record one week and a pick-fest the next.

Both teams will have one of their top receivers playing hurt, if at all. Anquan Boldin has missed much of practice this week, and Bears emerging wideout threat Devin Hester is also listed as questionable. The Cards can cover for Boldin’s absence better than the Bears can cover for Hester’s. But that doesn’t make either team a passing academy.

I usually break down these pre-games with "When the so-and-sos have the ball," then add some special teams and coaching thoughts before settling into "The Brady Hunch." But I’m finding that nearly impossible to do this week, with these two teams.

Neither team run blocks particularly well, and both offensive lines have nearly killed their signal-callers in pass blocking at times. Both special teams have been hot and cold. The fans of both have (justifiably) questioned some of the coaching calls.

These teams are about as evenly matched as they could be. The Cardinals have been true road warriors this year and have come back from bad losses to incite the masses with strong games on the road. The Bears just thrashed the Browns last week and have a long history of beating the Big Red.

This should be a close game, and my educated guess here says that whoever turns the ball over less will win. I know that’s not exactly rocket science. But with these two teams playing as inconsistently as they have been all season, nailing down anything "exact" is like nailing Jello to a tree.

That said, The Brady Hunch :

Cardinals 23
Bears 21

This Was Originally Published on The Cardinals Page on NFL.com BlogBlitz .

The Green Bay Packers have finally found something that can help their running game, and I'm not talking about the signing of former Packer Pro-Bowler Ahman Green. No, quite accidentally (thanks to the injury to Korey Hall and the blowout of the Lions), the Packers finally put fifth round draft choice Quinn Johnson onto the field.

With a safe 26-0 lead and only the hapless Lions to hold off for one quarter, Coach Mike McCarthy took the opportunity to see what Quinn Johnson could do in live game action.

Inactive for the first five games as fullback No. 3 in the Packers fullback triumvirate, Johnson finally got to play in a regular season NFL game. Based on Johnson's  performance and the success of the running game in the fourth quarter, McCarthy may have found a serviceable power running game for the Packers.

Quinn Johnson lined up for 13 snaps in the fourth quarter of the Lions game. The last two were Aaron Rodgers kneel-downs, so lets throw those out and call it eleven snaps. Here's a quick synopsis of what Quinn Johnson did on those eleven snaps:

1. Grant runs to the right, Johnson has a backside seal block and he successfully keeps his man away from the play.

2. Straight lead blocker into the hole with Grant following. Johnson meets the linebacker head-on and neutralizes him. LB has no chance at a tackle.

3. (See No. 2)

4. Johnson PANCAKES the linebacker. Meets him head-on, ties him up and throws him onto his back.

5. Leads into the hole, sideswipes the linebacker out of the play then continues on and throws a cut block at another player.

6. In a short yardage situation (third and one), Johnson ties up the linebacker, keeping him sealed to the inside. Kuhn runs behind Johnson to get the first down.

7. Johnson blasts into the hole, blocks the linebacker and pushes him back five yards down field. The linebacker tries to get away and Johnson continues to chase after him until the whistle blows.

8. Johnson PANCAKES a Lions linebacker. Johnson comes through the hole, heads for the outside linebacker, meets him head on and pulverizes him. The Lions linebacker seems to disappear into Johnson like a scene from Alien played backwards.

9. Leading Ryan Grant off-tackle, a Lions linebacker takes himself out of the play in an attempt to avoid Johnson's block. That, plus TJ Lang sprinting 10 yards down field from the other side to make a block, help Ryan Grant spring loose for a 22-yard gain, his longest of the season.

10. Johnson can't find anyone to block on this play, as the Detroit defenders have obviously figured out it's better to avoid him.

11. Johnson leads Ryan Grant into the hole, standing up the linebacker with another successful block.


One big thing you should take from the descriptions above - you'll notice there is not even ONE case of a missed block or assignment. Johnson knew exactly where to be, who to block and how to do it. Johnson has come a long way from training camp, where he struggled with learning the offense, running too upright and missing or not holding blocks.

That last part is the key. Johnson is now holding blocks and not letting the defender slip away. In training camp, Johnson was trying too hard to blow up opponents with a single hit. That may have worked in college, but the NFL is a whole different story. NFL defenders can take a hit and brush it off. Johnson has learned to take the player on squarely with his his elbows extended and to keep the defender centered in front of him using his forearms. That allows him to hold the block longer and then use leverage to potentially drive him to the ground for the pancake. His blocking techniques are markedly improved. Kudos to Johnson and running backs coach Edgar Bennett for bringing about this transformation so quickly.

So now that we've seen what Quinn Johnson can bring, will we see Coach McCarthy commit the Packers to more of a power running game, utilizing Quinn Johnson and playing more to Ryan Grant's strengths? The Cleveland Browns appear to be the perfect test case and the perfect opportunity for the Packers to establish confidence in some type of running game before Brett Favre and the Vikings come to Lambeau. This is one writer who says, "Bring on the Mighty Quinn!"

----------------

You can find more of Jersey Al Bracco’s articles on several sports websites: Jersey Al’s Blog , Packer Chatters , Packers Lounge , NFL Touchdown , and, of course, Bleacher Report .

You can also follow Jersey Al on twitter.

One thing is clear in Washington—the Jim Zorn era is over. Washington Redskins owner, Dan Snyder, has already tried to get ex-Denver Bronco Coach Mike Shanahan to take over this sinking 2-4 team; Shanahan is not willing to do so, stating: "there was little he could do in the middle of the season for them and that changing coaches during the season in the NFL rarely works".

Can you blame him? The Skins look broken. All that money paid out to get the big free agents has amounted to a whole lot of nothing for the Skins—that's par for the course for these Dan Snyder Skins .

Albert Haynesworth seems to spend more time on his knees, helmet in hand, than in his stance—anyone who is surprised by that should go back and look at the book on Haynesworth.

He had one truly stellar year in Tennessee and Dan Snyder pulled an Al Davis. He signed him based on what he thought he could do instead of what he has done. Haynesworth is lazy, undisciplined, and incapable of consistency.

$100 million paid to a guy that can't guarantee you success is a whole lot of money down the drain.

Add to that the signing of the truly overrated cornerback, DeAngelo Hall, and you have a defense that looks good on paper, but is actually just the pretty outside wrapping for a very cheap Christmas gift.

Rattle off their great defensive stats if you like, here's the true measure of their "greatness"—the only team they have played worth their salt was the New York Giants. Period.

Detroit? Tampa Bay? Kansas City? Carolina? Train wrecks.

The Redskins should be 5-1 at best and sitting pretty in the NFC East. Yet they struggled mightily against all of the above and any defensive superiority exhibited wasn't validation, but rather expectation.

Even more depressing is the fact that the offense is so bad. Clearly they have no idea what they want to do on offense and even if they did, they appear to lack the personnel to get the job done—Jason Campbell is obviously holding a grudge after the Cutler fiasco.

That kid can't seem to get his mind right long enough to be even a little bit consistent. He shows flashes of progress and then slips back into boring mediocrity. The Skins answer to that is to bench him for Todd Collins.

Wow.

If I'm a Redskins fan, I'm calling for Jim Zorn AND Dan Snyder's head.

No one is playing well for this team and it doesn't look like any of those high-dollar players are interested in being there.


Blame the latter on the poor coaching done by Jim Zorn, the obvious tension between Jason Campbell and the rest of the Redskins management, the inexcusable lack of offense, etc. The bottom line is this: the Redskins have a bunch of individuals running around in football jerseys—not a team.

Dan Snyder should get the NFL equivalent of a Razzie award for his truly awful management of this storied franchise and Mike Shanahan should take a permanent pass on this team—it's just too big of a mess to clean up.

As for Jim Zorn—just resign. The way the Redskins are handling you right now is so disrespectful—they bring in a "consultant" to call the plays ?

Huh?

How about they just fire you altogether since that is essentially what this move implies? That would be the right thing to do.

Or, here's a better idea. How about they hire a management "consultant" as well since it's clear that Dan Snyder has no idea what the heck he's doing either.

Just a thought.

The NFL is slowly becoming like college football. You have coaches running up scores (Belichick), players acting like thugs on the field (Dante Wesley), massive blowouts of perennial powerhouses (Tennessee Titans), Cinderella teams dancing and spilling punch all over your new shoes (Denver), and small schools beating the big bad Division-I team (Raiders).

Not for nothing, but, aren't these multi-million dollar players supposed to know what they are doing when they strap on their helmet?

Forgive the hangover and the possible crass nature of some of this rant but after watching the latest Monday Night offering, well, just had a few things to say about this ridiculous weekend of "pro" football.

Denver overtakes San Diego....again

San Diego will never, and I repeat, NEVER...never. Never ever. Never ever never. Never ever never ever win a championship with Norv Turner—period.

Norv Turner is the epitome of all that is wrong in pro football today; just because you were a great offensive coordinator back in the day when MC Hammer pants were fashionable and people thought it was cool to wear biker shorts as everyday clothing, doesn't mean that you are going to be a great head coach.

He doesn't have the instinct for coaching ticks to bite dogs much less for getting a team to play enough cogent football to make anyone take them seriously.

The man has managed to take a team who many thought would be the toasts of the AFC West and turn them into a sideshow joke. San Diego is sitting at 2-3 right now and there is little explanation for it except the fact that Norv Turner is not the man who should be wearing a headset.

As a matter of fact, he would be a much better head coach if he were standing outside the stadium—perhaps then he would be far enough away from the field to make the right call.

My god, what a train wreck. This is the team that many thought would win eleven games?

Please.


Who is this Denver team?.....No, Seriously

Denver appears to be this year's "feel-good" story. You know how it goes (cue voice-over): The young coach, once shat upon by the ENTIRE league, finds redemption with each new win....blah, blah, blah.

Listen....Denver is winning. Good for them.

Frankly, however, it would be nice NOT to see their twelve year old coach fist-pumping like a school boy on the sidelines after each win.

Tell the truth: is Denver really THIS good?

It's hard to imagine that a team that won on a trick play in their first game could now be 6-0 with complete command of the AFC West. They literally have no challengers and look like they will not only win the division easily but will do so before their head coach has lost his virginity—his playoff virginity that is—get your minds out the gutter.

Denver has sucker punched every team they have faced thus far and it's beginning to feel a little old. At this point, truly, it would just be nice to see what Josh McDaniels will do if he loses a game.

I vote he cries—who's with me?


Brett Favre wins....again

Favre wore out his welcome in 2008. Don't really give a flip that he's back. Never really cared about his "impact" on the Vikings.

Only a person with zero knowledge of the NFL would negate the importance of his presence on this Vikings team. All they needed was a veteran quarterback to get them over the hump and his leadership and passing ability immediately put them in the drivers seat for the NFC North.

All of that was a given.

That said, why do we have to hear the media boot licking every time he is on television or spoken of in print. You would think he is the second-coming of Johnny Unitas or Sammy Baugh.

Brett Favre is the same damn guy who holds every passing record that the Packers could conjure. He is the same guy that led said Packer team to two Super Bowl appearances and one win. He is the same guy who took a franchise from nowhere back to somewhere.

Is he older? Yes. Should we care? NOOOOOOOOO! stop talking about how he's 40! We all know he's a man—he's the same guy Ron Jaworski! The. Same. M-A-N.

Sorry, flashbacks of the Monday Night Farveball. I mean Football broadcast.

Let Brett Favre be Brett Favre without the media over-stroking. It's annoying and, frankly, makes many of us want to kick the crap out of somebody.


Tennessee....Tennessee....

After that 59-0 woodshed, mama caught me in the cookie jar, teacher caught me cheating on the test beating the Titans took on NATIONAL TELEVISION—they should never be allowed on TV again.

The last time I saw a whupping like that one, I was watching UCLA on the receiving end.

That game was literally more painful to watch than an episode of...of...well, seriously can't think of anything that was worse to watch than that game on Sunday afternoon. The Titans are dreadful.

Jeff Fisher needs to go to Oz and visit the Wizard.

He needs to see if there is anything he can do to get his mojo back.

He needs an exorcism cause something awful has taken over his coaching body.

Even more depressing was the unrelenting nature of the Pats playcalling even after it was clear that there was no way in haiti the Titans were gonna launch a comeback.

Still not sure if that was poor judgment by Bellichick or just poor taste—leaning a bit towards the latter since they still sent Tom Brady out after the half.

Tennessee doesn't look like it could beat a drum right now much less another NFL team. They may as well take that whole team down to the NFL office and forfeit the rest of the season because David Garrard, Kurt Warner, Matt Schaub, Peyton Manning, and even Shaun Hill are salivating to get at that pass defense—if you can call it that.

Funnier still, they actually put in Vince Young on Sunday. As if to say, we're screwed anyhow, may as well throw the head case in for some reps....way to build his confidence Jeff.


Some closing thoughts on the weekend

So much bad football this weekend. It felt like we all should have gotten a lobotomy to erase the sheer mediocrity of the so called "good" teams playing like chumps:

Philadelphia Eagles: great job making JaMarcus Russell look like a quarterback.

Buffalo Bills: you guys need prayer, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Baltimore Ravens: you should be 6-0. What the heck is wrong with you?

Washington Redskins: If Todd Collins is the answer, I see more Tom Collins in your future...Cheers!

Jacksonville Jaguars: There are no words for your utter ineptitude. Overtime? Against the Rams?...The Rams!

New York Giants: Wow...go sit in a corner.

Green Bay: Field goals against a Detroit team minus it's best players?....Really?

Cincinnati: Guess you were due to turn back into that pumpkin, eh?

And to the NFL—thanks for a whole lotta nothin' this weekend—I'll be back next week to be entertained all over again.

(From the “Things are not Always as They Seem Department”: Offensive Line Edition)

DETROIT LIONS at CHICAGO BEARS

Detroit broke their losing streak, and do not expect to start another one of that length this century. Chicago has been playing better than expected with an anemic running attack, and their leader on defense out for the year. Expect this to go into the fourth close before Cutler pulls it out.

BEARS 24    LIONS 14

CINCINNATI BENGALS at CLEVELAND BROWNS

Even though Eric Mangina finally put Derek Anderson back in as the starting quarterback, he may be the worst head coach in the AFC. His offensive line certainly is, and the Bengals should exploit that.

BENGALS 34    BROWNS 20

OAKLAND RAIDERS at HOUSTON TEXANS

If Houston is going to fulfill expectations of being a playoff contender this year, they must win this game. Oakland has had trouble passing the ball lately, so expect the Texans to crowd the line to stop those good Raiders running backs.

TEXANS 31   RAIDERS 17

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS @ INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

Without their starting quarterback, the Seahawks are not hard to stop. The Colts are always hard to stop with their quarterback.

COLTS 41   SEAHAWKS 20

TENNESSEE TITANS at JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

The Jags got a taste of victory last week, while the Titans still seek their first win. Both teams will be hungry, and this game will come down to who wins in the trenches.

TITANS 23   JAGUARS 21

NEW YORK GIANTS at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

The Giants are looking good even after a few important injuries. The Chiefs have yet to find their stride on offense. Expect the Giants to ground and pound all Sunday.

GIANTS 38   CHIEFS 14

BALTIMORE RAVENS at NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

This is a matchup of two of the elite teams in the NFL today. The Ravens have an edge defensively, and the running game. Both receiving, and blocking units are evenly matched. This might not be the last time these teams play against each other this season. Flip a coin this Sunday.

PATRIOTS 28    RAVENS 24

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS at WASHINGTON REDSKINS

The Bucs head into Sunday with a young, athletic, and talented Josh Johnson starting at quarterback for his first time. The Redskins are reeling, and Clinton Portis is hurt again already. Could spell doom in D.C.

REDSKINS 24   BUCCANEERS 23

BUFFALO BILLS at MIAMI DOLPHINS

Miami is starving for a win, and the Bills are still trying to get consistent. If Miami can run the ball, then they win. Something tells me Trent Edwards will get hot Sunday.

BILLS 27   DOLPHINS 21

NEW YORK JETS at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

The Jets rely on their defense to win, while the Saints rely on their offense. The Jets will not have the services of two of their top DBs, so Drew Brees should be licking his lips.

SAINTS 27   JETS 17

DALLAS COWBOYS at DENVER BRONCOS

Denver might be catching Dallas at a good time. The Cowboys are down to one healthy running back, and you know that Champ Bailey can cover Roy Williams. Dallas has been inconsistent versus the run, and the Broncos could use this, and the mile high air to their advantage.

BRONCOS 31  COWBOYS 27

SAINT LOUIS RAMS at SAN FRANCISCO 49ers

Kyle Boller will start at quarterback, and you never know which version will show in his inconsistent make up. The Niners are hurting at running back, so they will have to rely on Shaun Hill getting the ball to Vernon Dean, often.

RAMS 34   49ers 24

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS at PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Game of the Week

The Steelers are not happy with one win right now. Expect them and the fans to be fired up for this game. The Chargers need to run the ball to stand a chance, though their passing game always makes them dangerous. This is a big battle of two teams with Super Bowl expectations, and a good measuring stick.

STEELERS 34    CHARGERS 31

GREEN BAY PACKERS at MINNESOTA VIKINGS

Though the media is trying to hype this game up, the one to bookmark in this series is the game at Lambeau Field later this year. The Vikes are clicking right now on both sides of the ball.

The running game carries them to victory, as the defense gets them the ball back quickly. The Packers are not running the ball well right now, and that bodes very good for Minnesota. Ball control is the Vikings game.

VIKINGS 27   PACKERS 17

Season Record So Far : 32-15  ( Did Not Predict Opening Day Game Pitt/ Tenn)

NFL LUCUBRATIONS

For those of you not glued to ESPN listening to the Favre Diary, there has been a few other things going on in the NFL.

One big subject might be to hold a poll on which NFL head coach will be fired first. You could toss in a few others, but this is my five, in no particular order, who I think are on the hot seat.

1. Jim Zorn, Washington Redskins He wouldn't even make a good offensive coordinator.

2. Eric Mangina, Cleveland Browns He, as I said the day he got the job, was a mistake to hire.

3. Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars Jack is rebuilding, which takes time. Yet, he has been in Jacksonville a long time. Most coaches don't last that long with a team these days, so he makes this list almost by default.

4. Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys Jason Garrett should go first, but Jerry Jones loves this guy enough to call him a future head coach. Let him try in the UFL before the NFL Jerry. Word is that the Boys are hot for Mike Shanahan right now.

5. John Fox, Carolina Panthers Another coach on one team a long time. His team is really not performing well right now, so perhaps his sand glass is running empty in Carolina.

You could toss in a few others, but this is my five who I think are on the hot seat.

You may have noticed I spelled Eric Mangina's name wrong, but maybe you didn't? This name was given to him by me when he was running the Jets. Retread hires are an unknown generally, but this one had disaster written all over it.

Mangina seems to have a predication for neglecting the trenches. This is something Cleveland does not need right now, and the top brass should accept the full brunt of the blame.

Brady Quinn was handed the starting job, and did little. Derek Anderson replaced him last week, and gave the same results. Anderson was a Pro Bowl player two years ago, which also happened to be the last time running back Jamal Lewis was effective. There happens to be a reason for this theme.

The Browns offensive line has stunk the past two years. If the team had Johnny Unitas, and Jim Brown together in their backfield now, I doubt the results would be much better. Though I never saw Quinn as an NFL talent, he certainly cannot be blamed. That applies to the season Anderson had last year.

If no one is blocking or catching with any consistency, you just will not win many games. Mangina might go into next year as coach, but if they may as well get rid of him now if he does not build their trenches in the 2010 draft.

The Tennessee Titans are without a win so far. This is not what was expected from a team that had such a long and dominant stretch last year. Though I did predict a last place finish for them this year, which many disagreed with me on, I certainly wonder what will happen to their season if they fail to win Sunday in Jacksonville.

The Titans will face the Colts and Patriots the next two weeks before facing the Jaguars again. Losing this week will give Jacksonville confidence to come into Tennessee and win again.

If the Titans are 0-6 at that point, who knows what the moral of the team will be. Jeff Fisher has perhaps his most daunting task ahead of him so far in his 17 years as head coach of the team.


DO NOT FORGET TO DONATE TOWARDS THE CURE OF BREAST CANCER THIS WEEK if you are able.

Go To : http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org

Last week's record: 11-5

Overall record: 33-15

Lock of the Week: 2-for-3

Detroit (1-2) @ Chicago (2-1): Detroit is still coming off of the high of their first win since 2007, but I don't think they'll get a winning streak going this week. The Bears have looked much better in the past two weeks than they did in Green Bay three weeks ago. The Bears' defense will force Matthew Stafford into a few picks, and they will finally play a game that doesn't come down to the last few plays.

Chicago wins, 22-12

Cincinnati (2-1) @ Cleveland (0-3): The Browns are a pathetic mess right now. It amazes me how this team was so close to making the playoffs two years ago, and now they are back to not being able to get out of their own way. The only problem Cincy will have is not having a letdown after a huge win. The Bengals will win easily.

Cincy wins, 30-9 (Lock of the Week)

Seattle (1-2) @ Indianapolis (3-0): Going into this game, it's looking like Matt Hasselbeck will have to sit this one out. Seneca Wallace actually played pretty well last week, and he won't have nearly as much pressure as he normally would with Dwight Freeney probably being out of the game. However, the Colts are making so many big plays right now, and Seattle simply won't be able to keep up.

Indy wins, 34-20

New York Giants (3-0) @ Kansas City (0-3): The Chiefs are not moving the ball anywhere near good enough to stay with the Giants. KC looked horrible against Philly last week and they got lit up by a backup quarterback. Eli Manning is going to cut them up. The really good Giants' running game is going to run wild. This game will play out similarly to how KC-Philly game played out last week.

New York Giants win, 31-10

Baltimore (3-0) @ New England (2-1): This is a big game on a lot of levels. Baltimore has had a pretty easy schedule thus far and now they get the Big Bad Pats. The Patriots are pretty banged up right now, and of course, we have no idea if Wes Welker will play or not. The Ravens' offense is moving the ball up and down the field really well right now and they are about to go up against an average defense. Tom Brady will keep it close, but the Ravens will pull it out.

Baltimore wins, 26-20

Tampa Bay (0-3) @ Washington (1-2): There are plenty of reasons to pick Washington in this game, but I'm picking them solely because if they lose this game, there may be a lot of people in the organization that will have an extremely stressful week. They just lost to a team that went winless last year and are about to face a team that has a bad defense and just benched their starter for a second-year, unproven guy. The 'Skins have to win this game.

Washington wins, 20-7

Tennessee (0-3) @ Jacksonville (1-2): Last week I said that the Titans were the only 0-2 team that could afford to go to 0-3. Now they have to win. They can't afford to go to 0-4. Jacksonville, on the other hand, got a much needed win last week, so they won't have the sense of urgency that the Titans will. Tennessee will blow this game open in the second half.

Tennessee wins, 36-21

Oakland (1-2) @ Houston (1-2): Honestly, Houston should win this game easily. But, I never know which Houston team is going to play. They looked horrible in Week One, pretty good in Week Two, and pretty average in Week Three. On the other side, Oakland has a huge problem in JaMarcus Russell. He is playing so bad right now I'm pretty sure Tom Cable is upset that they released Jeff Garcia (who they can re-sign now). JaMarcus Russell plays atrociously again and the Texans get the victory.

Houston wins, 24-16

Buffalo (1-2) @ Miami (0-3): The Dolphins are reeling right now. They've lost Chad Pennington for the rest of the year, and now the future has become the present much quicker than they anticipated with Chad Henne taking the reigns. Buffalo's defense played pretty well last week, but their offense really needs to step up. The Bills are also pretty banged up, but they still have enough to pull out the win.

Buffalo wins, 19-13

New York Jets (3-0) @ New Orleans (3-0): This will make it four weeks now that I've picked against the Jets. Hey, they have to lose sometime. This is the classic "Unstoppable Force vs. Immovable Object" when the Saints' offense and Jets' defense are on the field. I almost always go with defense in these situations, but I'm going with the offense to get the better end of the ordeal this time.

New Orleans wins, 27-17

Dallas (2-1) @ Denver (3-0): Most fans think that the Broncos will eventually come down to Earth with the schedule they have coming up. I agree, but it will not happen this week. I'm going out on a long, fragile branch, but I think Denver pulls this out. They are playing great defense right now and the Cowboys didn't look great in their win over Carolina this past Monday. I think this is a statement game for Denver and they'll win a close one.

Denver wins, 24-21

St. Louis (0-3) @ San Francisco (2-1): It is looking like Marc Bulger will have to sit this one out, which means that means Kyle Boller will play. I don't trust any team that has Kyle Boller under center. Frank Gore probably won't play, but Glen Coffee played pretty well last week, and the Niners will probably be working on a short field a lot. Once again, Steven Jackson will have to play out of his mind for the Rams to get their first victory this year.

San Francisco wins, 28-6

San Diego (2-1) @ Pittsburgh (1-2): LaDanian Tomlinson and Shawne Merriman will both likely play, while Willie Parker and Troy Polamalu will both likely be out. All of those are big because LT adds another weapon to a potentially potent offense, and the Chargers have a different defense without Merriman. Parker just had his best game of the season and Pittsburgh has struggled without Polamalu. In the end, this will all come down to who wants it more. San Diego has never won a regular season game at Pittsburgh and a late Pittsburgh score will keep that streak alive.

Pittsburgh wins, 21-16

Green Bay (2-1) @ Minnesota (3-0): This one isn't as big as it will be when the Vikes visit Lambeau, but it is still a huge game. The Pack have to come out and put up scores early to quiet what will undoubtedly be a loud, emotionally-charged atmosphere. Obviously, that will be tough for Green Bay with all the sacks they have allowed. Now they run into a pretty good defense, and I think that is where the game will be won for Minnesota.

Minnesota wins, 30-24