Courtesy of philadelphiaeagles.com

By TLarner

The season keeps on rolling as Week 2 is almost in the books. We saw many stars shine, and many more fade on Sunday. Tonight’s game is sure to keep us on the edge of our couches and recliners.

Quarterback Controversy in Philly

Kevin Kolb was out this weekend while recovering from last week’s concussion. Michael Vick looked great in relief of Kolb last week, and started his first game since 2006 yesterday. And it looked like he hadn’t missed a step. Detroit also had to use their reserves as backup QB Shaun Hill got the start for the injured Matthew Stafford. Vick began an offensive showdown with the Lions by connecting with receiver DeSean Jackson for a 45-yard score. Lions’ rookie running back Jahvid Best answered with a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. Best got the best of the Eagles’ defense by then taking a 75-yard screen pass to the house, making the score 17-7 Detroit. Then, the Eagles took charge with four unanswered touchdowns. Vick showed his elusiveness throughout the game that made him a threat in Atlanta. He was able to shake multiple pass rushes, and found Jeremy Maclin for a score before the half. Eagles’ running back LeSean McCoy had three rushing touchdowns, including a 46-yarder in the fourth quarter. Detroit made it interesting in the end, as Best, who is one letter away from being a “Beast”, found the end zone again. Hill later hit Calvin Johnson for a touchdown, narrowing the deficit to three as the Lions trailed 35-32. Detroit then recovered an onside kick with less than two minutes remaining. Fortunately for Head Coach Andy Reid, the Philadelphia defense shutdown Hill on fourth down to end the threat. Vick finished with 284 yards and the two touchdown passes. Now all the buzz around Philadelphia is who should Coach Reid start next week, Kolb, the future of the franchise, or Vick, who has been on fire in the past two games?

How ’bout Them Cowboys?

The Dallas Cowboys fell to an 0-2 start after their loss to Chicago on Sunday. Quarterback Tony Romo had another disappointing game as the Bears won 27-20. Romo finished with 2 interceptions, while Jay Cutler is looking hot in his second game, going 21-29 with three touchdowns. Also note that neither team was able to effectively run the ball. Chicago’s defense made an early statement when corner Charles Tillman jarred the ball loose from receiver Miles Austin, and D.J. Moore was able to pluck the ball out of the air before it hit the ground. However, Dallas answered with a 62 yard punt return by rookie first round pick Dez Bryant to take a 7-3 lead. After Cutler threw a touchdown to Greg Olsen, Dallas took 14-10 lead when another rookie, Chris Gronkowski, caught a one-yard TD pass from Romo. Devin Hester made a beautiful one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone, and the Bears went up 20-14. Cutler, who ran Mike Martz’s offense to perfection, then found Matt Forte for another touchdown. With a 27-17 lead, the Chicago defense strips Dallas receiver Roy Williams to end a must score drive.

Jets’ Offense Ready for Takeoff

The New York Jets recovered from a one point loss to Baltimore by easily handling their division rival New England. While Mark Sanchez looked rather awful last week, he shined against the Patriots. Sanchez threw for 220 yards and three touchdowns. Braylon Edwards, Dustin Keller, and Jerricho Cotchery each caught a touchdown. Ladainian Tomlinson lead the ground game with 76 yards and Shonn Green added 52 yards. Tom Brady looked good early, hitting Randy Moss and Wes Welker for touchdowns in the first half. Following Moss’s one-handed touchdown catch, Jets’ corner Darrelle Revis left the game with a hamstring injury, and is expected to miss a week or two. In the second half, Brady was picked off by Antonio Cromartie and Brodney Pool. In the fourth quarter, Jason Taylor sacked Brady, forcing a fumble, which was scooped up by linebacker David Harris, sealing the Patriots’ fate. While Sanchez was sharp in Week 2, the New England defense is considerably weaker than that of the Ravens. I’m looking forward to see if he can continue this level of play against a stronger opponent.

Game of the Week Results

Courtesy of colts.com

My Week 2 Game of the Week ended just the way I had expected. There was no looking back for Indianapolis as they defeated the New York Giants 38-14. Did anyone really expect the Colts to fall to 0-2 to start the 2010 season? Not with Peyton Manning calling the shots. Even as adults, little brother Eli is still getting beaten up by his older brother.

In my Key Match-up, I stated the team who ran the ball better would win the game. In their Week 1 meeting with Houston, not only did the Texans gash the Colts’ defense on the ground, Indy couldn’t run the ball. Last night, Joseph Addai and Donald Brown sparked the ground game with a combined 161 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. Compare those numbers to the loss against Houston, when Addai had only 44 yards on 10 carries. Peyton was his typical self, completing 20 of his 26 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. He spread the ball around as Austin Collie, Dallas Clark, and Reggie Wayne all caught a touchdown pass.

Eli was smothered by the pass rush of Indianapolis. Star defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis each had two sacks. Each also forced Eli to fumble the ball on a sack. Defensive tackle Fili Moala recovered Freeney’s forced fumble in the end zone for a touchdown. Eli was able to find Mario Manningham in the third quarter and Hakeem Nicks with less than 10 seconds left in the game for touchdowns. Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 89 yards, but Brandon Jacobs only had eight yards on four carries. In his frustration, he threw his helmet, which ended up about 10 rows in the stands. Peyton is now 2-0 against Eli and both teams end Week 2 at 1-1.

Remaining Scores from Sunday

• Buffalo-7
• Green Bay-34

• Miami-14
• Minnesota-10

• Kansas City-16
• Cleveland-14

• Arizona-7
• Atlanta-41

• Tampa Bay-20
• Carolina-7

• Baltimore-10
• Cincinnati-15

• Pittsburgh-19
• Tennessee-11

• Seattle-14
• Denver-31

• St. Louis-14
• Oakland-16

• Houston-30
• Washington-27

• Jacksonville-13
• San Diego-38

Courtesy of neworleanssaints.com

Monday Night Football

Tonight, the New Orleans Saints travel west to face the San Francisco 49ers. The Saints were able to sneak past the Vikings last week in the first game of the 2010 season. The 49ers were preseason favorites to win the NFC West, but were manhandled by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1. San Fran Coach Mike Singletary has been vocal about his belief that his 49ers can take down the Super Bowl Champions.

Drew Brees and his offense was quiet against Minnesota. If the 49ers’ defense plays like they did last week, expect Brees, Reggie Bush, and Marques Colstonto light up the scoreboard. However, linebacker Patrick Willis of San Francisco is arguably the best defender in the NFL, and he won’t give up without a fight. Running back Frank Gore is looking to get the ground game running on all cylinders.

I expect a rather easy victory for the Saints. Offensively, they have too many weapons for the 49ers’ defense to cover. Bush, Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, and Jeremy Shockey are all big time threats for Brees to connect with. Pierre Thomas was effective on the ground last week, too. The Saints’ defense, which specializes as causing turnovers, will give opposing quarterback Alex Smith headaches. “Who Dat?”

Have NFL Splinters? Share them here.

By TLarner

Are you ready for some football? After a thrilling Saturday of college ball, the 2010 NFL regular season begins September 12th with a full slate of hard-hitting action.

Ragin’ Cajun

We all got a taste of the grid iron on Thursday with the Saints topping Brett’s Vikings at the Superdome 14-9. Favre went 15-27 for 171 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. I said the Vikings would need a big game from Adrian Peterson if they wanted to win, and while Peterson had a game high 87 yards rushing, he was held out of the end zone. Without his top wide out Sidney Rice, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe stepped up as Favre’s number one target with four grabs for 76 yards and a touchdown. Favre’s pick came on a poor throw while being tackled by Saints’ safety Roman Harper. New Orleans’ defense looks to have improved from last season, as they held Minnesota to only 253 total yards. Jonathan Vilma came away with the interception, and Sedrick Ellis recorded his first sack of the year. Drew Brees threw for 237 yards and a score to Devery Henderson in the first quarter to take an early lead. Pierre Thomas finished with 71 yards and a rushing touchdown after seeing very few carries in the first half. Marques Colston had five catches for 62 yards, and Reggie Bush added 47 total yards. Kicker Garrett Hartley missed two field goals that could have padded the Saints’ lead.

Notes from around the league

Cincinnati defensive end Antwan Odom will play Sunday against the Patriots. Odom tested positive for a banned substance, but says the substance is in a prescription medication. No suspension is expected to be handed down.

After getting in an accident early Thursday morning, Tom Brady will have plenty of extra cash for a fleet of new cars. The New England quarterback just signed a four-year, $72 million extension, making him the highest paid player in the NFL. He was also elected a team captain.

49ers tight end Vernon Davis also signed a contract extension. The Pro Bowler agreed to a five-year deal worth $37 million.

Seattle Seahawk’s sixth overall pick Russell Okung will miss at least the first week with a high ankle sprain he suffered during the preseason.

Offensive lineman Kevin Mawae announced his retirement Friday. The 16-year veteran was unable to find a team to play for after his contract with the Titans ended this offseason. Mawae helped pave the way for Chris Johnson to rush for 2,006 yards in 2009. He also blocked for former Jets star running back Curtis Marin while in New York. Mawae was elected to eight Pro Bowls. He is also the President of the NFL Players Association. He turns 40 in January.

Game of the Week: Dallas at Washington

My Game of the Week for the start of the regular season is the Dallas Cowboys at the Washington Redskins. First off, it’s a game between NFC East division rivals. Washington Head Coach Mike Shanahan makes his return to the NFL. Redskin’s quarterback Donovan McNabb makes his first start since being traded to Washington from division opponent Philadelphia. Dallas wants to make an early statement, proving they are the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Receiver Miles Austin, who has just given a six-year, $54 million contract extension, looks to build off his breakout season in 2009.

Key Matchup: Andre Carter & Brian Orakpo vs. Alex Barron & Doug Free

Dallas has suffered from some injuries along their offensive line. Left guard Kyle Kosier and right tackle Marc Colombo will both be out on Sunday. Alex Barron will replace Colombo, and Montrae Holland will fill in for Kosier. Barron was signed from St. Louis, and was expected to compete with Free for the starting left tackle job, but quickly proved to be a disappointment at training camp. I’m interested in seeing how Barron and Free can handle the pass rush of Washington’s two outside linebackers, Carter and Orakpo. As the Redskins switch to a 3-4, I expect this duo will cause more havoc for opposing QB’s. Each had 11 sacks last season, Carter as an end and Orakpo at linebacker. Tony Romo may find himself using his feet to escape the pressure, which he has proven he can do.

Best of the Rest

Looking at the rest of this weekend’s games, here is a list of my predictions (team in italics is home):

• Tampa Bay over Cleveland
• Miami over Buffalo
• Cincinnati over New England
• Colts over Houston
• Jacksonville over Denver
• Atlanta over the Steelers
• Titans over Oakland
• NY Giants over Carolina
• Chicago over Detroit
• Arizona over St. Louis
• Philadelphia over Green Bay
• 49ers over Seattle

Monday’s games:

• NY Jets over Baltimore
• San Diego over the Chiefs

Got any NFL Splinters? Share them here.

Courtesy of philadelphiaeagles.com

By TLarner 

Now that we’ve finished previewing the AFC, let’s take a look at the NFC, beginning with the East.

“If it was easy, soccer players would be doing it!”

Dallas Cowboys

Strength-While it hurts me to admit it, the Cowboys have become one of the top teams in the NFC. Their offense has matured into a serious threat behind quarterback Tony Romo and his plethora of weapons. In 2009, Dallas was second in the league in total offense with 399.4 yards per game. Romo had career highs in pass attempts, completions, yards, and a career low in picks last year. He was tied for first with Aaron Rodgers and Donovan McNabb with 17 passes of over 40 yards. The ground game was led by Marion Barber. He posted 932 yards and seven touchdowns. Felix Jones managed to hold a 5.9 yard per carry average with 685 yards. Don’t forget Tashard Choice, Dallas’ third option in the backfield. Receiver Miles Austin had a breakout year in ’09. He led the NFC with 1,320 yards receiving. Pro Bowl tight end Jason Witten was second on the team with 1,030 receiving yards. Along with receivers Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, and first round draft pick Dez Bryant, Dallas will have a potent set of small skill playmakers in 2010.

Weakness-While their skill position players may be among the best in the NFC, their offensive line may rate among the bottom feeders in the conference. First of all, two of Dallas’ starting linemen have gone down with knee injuries. Right tackle Marc Colombo just underwent surgery to remove loose particles in his knee. He’s expected to be out until the season opener. Left guard Kyle Kosier recently tore is MCL. He’ll miss at least a month to six weeks, meaning he may miss the first couple regular season games. Center Andre Gurode and right guard Leonard Davis return after starting all 16 games last season. Gurode is 32, and Davis will be 32 after Week 1. At left tackle, the Cowboys released Flozell Adams, who started 178 games for them since 1998. In an attempt to get younger on the line, 26 year old Doug Free will get the starts at Romo’s blindside. Former Ram Alex Barron was expected to compete with Free, but has shown very little to the coaches so far at camp. Dallas has one of the largest lines in the league, but they may be cut short by age, injury, and inexperience. In 2009, Romo was sacked a career high 34 times, and hopes he can find better protection this year.

Biggest Question- Can the Cowboys’ defense create more turnovers in 2010? Dallas finished ’09 with a +2 turnover differential. This means they forced two more turnovers than they lost. The secondary only picked off 11 passes, which was tied for the fifth fewest in the league. Along with 10 fumble recoveries, Dallas had 21 forced turnovers. Compare that to Green Bay, who led the league with 40 turnovers. Luckily, Romo only threw nine interceptions, his lowest as the Cowboys’ QB. Corner Mike Jenkins led the Dallas defense with five interceptions last season, and Terence Newman followed with three. If the defense wants to do any favors for the offense, the front seven will strip the ball more, and the secondary will take a few more passes away from opposing quarterbacks.

 New York Giants

Strength- Unlike their foes from Texas, the Giants have had a strong and consistent line. The same five guys have been the starters for the past couple years now. Having a line with such continuity is vital in the NFL. Starting at left tackle for every regular season game since 2003, David Diehl anchors Eli Manning’s blindside. Left guard Rich Seubert has only missed two starts since 2007. Center Shaun O’Hara has only missed five games since taking over the job for New York in 2004. Chris Snee has proven he is among the best linemen in the NFL. He is 80 for 80 in games started since 2005. Right tackle Kareem McKenzie has missed seven starts since becoming a full time starter for New York (2002-’04 for the Jets, ’05-Present for Giants). These giant Giants have plowed through defenses together for years, and look to do so again in 2010.

Weakness-The New York Giants’ defense was rather porous last season. The 427 points they allowed was 30th in the league (26.7 points per game). They allowed 21 rush touchdowns, and another 31 through the air. If they want to return to the Super Bowl, improving the red zone defense is a must. In their final two regular season games in 2009, New York was outscored 85 to 16 (41-9 loss against Carolina & 44-7 loss at Minnesota). All star end Justin Tuck only recorded six sacks last season, half his 2008 total. Former captain Antonio Pierce retired this offseason after missing seven games with a neck injury. He would have needed surgery to continue playing. To replace him, the Giants signed 10 year pro Keith Bulluck, formerly of Tennessee. Bulluck started every game for the Titans since 2002, and made over 1,000 tackles, 18 sacks, 19 interceptions, and 14 forced fumbles. The addition of safety Antrel Rolle should improve the secondary. Rolle had four picks in ’09 with Arizona. Rookie defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul looks to add another dimension to the pass rush.

Biggest Question- Will Eli Manning continue to improve in 2010? Peyton’s younger brother will forever live in the shadows of his future Hall of Fame sibling. However, he made a name for himself with his improbable victory over New England in Super Bowl XLII. Manning’s numbers were a lot better in 2009 than 2007. He had career highs with a 93.1 passer rating, 27 scores, 4,021 yards, and a 62% completion rate. The area I would like to see Eli improve the most is his accuracy. His career 57% completion rate is far below where a all-star QB should be. With better accuracy, naturally his interception numbers will fall. Manning has started 87 games since 2004, and has thrown 88 picks. Receiver Steve Smith (not the Steve Smith from Carolina) had his first season with over 1,200 receiving yards, and second year pro Hakeem Nicks is coming off a solid rookie campaign, giving Manning two reliable targets.

Philadelphia Eagles

Strength- Donovan McNabb will start for Washington this year. Without him, the Eagles offense is surprisingly young and still loaded with talent. Kevin Kolb is the man under center now. In his two starts last season while McNabb was injured, Kolb threw for 741 yards, four touchdowns, and completed 64% of his passes. He’s actually the first QB to throw for over 300 yards in his first two career starts. Second year running back LeSean McCoy should take over the majority of the carries this year. He ran for 637 yards and four touchdowns in 2009. “Action” DeSean Jackson will continue to make big plays at wide receiver. He has caught 2,068 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons. Tight end Brent Celek tripled his 2008 total in catches and yards. He finished ’09 with 76 catches for 971 yards and eight grabs in the end zone. One of Philadelphia’s best lineman is left tackle Jason Peters, acquired in a trade last offseason from Buffalo. In a lineman camp I attended put on by former Bills’ line coach Jim McNally, he said Peters was the best lineman he’d coached since Anthony Munoz in Cincinnati. The oldest of the athletes mentioned is Peters, who is currently 28 years old.

Weakness-The Eagles secondary may be questionable going into 2010. At one corner is pro Bowler Asante Samuel, who led the team with nine interceptions in ’09. He can match with some of the bests receiver’s in the league. However, the other starting corner, and former Pro Bowler himself, Sheldon Brown was traded to Cleveland. Ellis Hobbs will replace Brown. Hobbs did start all 16 games for New England in 2007-’08, but only played in eight games last season. Philadelphia has struggled to find a replacement for Brian Dawkins at free safety. Now in Denver, Dawkins was the team’s defensive leader and had knockout power as a tackler. The Eagles signed defensive back Marlin Jackson this offseason, but the injury plagued Indianapolis Colt is now on Philly’s injured reserve list with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Rookie Nate Allen, taken in the second round, now will get the start at free safety. Veteran Quintin Mikell also returns at strong safety.

Biggest Question- How well will the Eagles’ two quarterbacks play this year? The previously mentioned Kevin Kolb will be the full time starter, with Michael Vick coming off the bench in some wildcat-type plays. I believe Kolb showed a lot in his first two starts last year. Had he been given an entire offseason to work with the starters, he probably wouldn’t have thrown the three picks in the loss to New Orleans (he did throw for 391 yards against the would be Champs). He came back strong against Kansas City with two scores and no turnovers. Head Coach Andy Reid hopes to see Kolb enter the West Coast offense with no problems. Vick threw a few passes last season, his first back from suspension. His big game came at Atlanta when he went 2 for 2 with 48 yards and a touchdown. He also added 95 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in 2009. Vick has another offseason of work under his belt, and may see an expanded role in the offense.

Washington Redskins

Strength- One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. In the case of the Washington Redskins, Donovan McNabb is that treasure. While McNabb’s numbers haven’t declined in recent years, Philadelphia went in a new direction with Kevin Kolb, and McNabb was traded for two draft picks, one being the second round pick used on safety Nate Allen. In 2009 with the Eagles, McNabb had a 92.8 passer rating. He threw for 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and 3,553 yards. In his career, he has totaled 32,873 yards with 216 TD’s. While he ran often early in his career, age and injuries have slowed McNabb down, but he still flashes signs off his youth given a chance. So far in his 11 seasons, he has ran for 3,249 yards and found the end zone 28 times. He is one of only four players to have 30,000 yards passing, 200 touchdowns and 3,000 rushing with 20 touchdowns (John Elway, Fran Tarkenton, Steve Young). Among Eagles franchise records, he holds career wins with 92, and is all-time leader is completions, yards, and scores.

Weakness-McNabb has some weapons to throw to, including Santana Moss and Chris Cooley. However, he might not have a quality back to hand off too. The Redskins’ ground attack last year was a group effort. Clinton Portis led the group with 494 yards and one touchdown, only the second time in his eight years he ran for under 1,200 yards (523 yards in 2006). New to the group this year are Larry Johnson and Willie Parker. Johnson had career years in 2005 and ’06, but only ran for 581 yards in Cincinnati last season. He had a miserable 3.2 yards per carry and no scores. Parker has also seen his stats decline greatly. After rushing for just under 5,000 yards in his first five seasons with the Steelers, Parker only managed 389 yards in 2009. Some teams like having two or three good running backs, but not having all three coming off career lows. New Head Coach Mike Shanahan was able to produce some great runners in his time with the Denver Broncos. Portis ran for over 1,500 yards and had 29 touchdowns in his first two years in Denver before coming to Washington.

Biggest Question-Can Donovan McNabb take this team to the playoffs before his window of opportunity closes? McNabb was able to do that a lot with the Eagles. He led them to five NFC Championships and one Super Bowl. Many times, he did it without having good receivers or running backs. The weapons McNabb has around him now in Washington are as good if not better than the Todd Pinkston’s and Freddie Mitchell’s in Philly. He also has a good line in front of him, including former Saint Jammal Brown and first round pick Trent Williams at the tackle positions. It’s not the line or receivers I’m worried about, it’s Donovan. How many more years can he put up over 3,500 yards and over 20 touchdowns? He is 33 years old now, and will be 34 in November. With the injuries he has suffered in recent seasons, McNabb has shown he is no Brett Favre. If Washington wants to win, they have about three seasons left before they’ll be searching for a new franchise quarterback.

Division Prediction-­The teams I pick to win these Division Predictions are the teams I feel have a better chance of making the playoffs, not the teams I personally like. That’s why it hurts me to make this year’s NFC East prediction. This will be the first season in a long time I’m unable to pick Philadelphia as an outright winner, mainly because of the uncertainty of the Kolb era. New York has a good team, but I don’t think they have quite what it takes to win the division, maybe a small chance at a wildcard spot. Washington, with McNabb, has improved greatly, but are still a few pieces away. To all you Dallas fans, I hope this is the only season I have to say the Cowboys will win the NFC East.

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

By Paul Gotham

Staying undefeated

One quarter of the NFL season done (at least for most of the league), and four unscathed – Minnesota notwithstanding. And, no that is not intended to be a prediction for the Monday Night outcome. Prior to the season, this discussion could have had a ‘Sesame Street’ theme to it – as in one of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong. Enough of that. You get the idea. Sure, the Giants, Saints, and Colts all fit. But did anyone predict the Broncos to be 4-0? As I was saying, this could have used a ‘Sesame Street’ theme. But the Broncos are proving they belong. 26 is the key statistic for Josh McDaniels’s squad. 26 represents the number of points allowed. No typo here. After four games, Denver has protected the end zone better than any other team.  The next closest is San Francisco with 53 points.  To date, the Broncos have allowed two touchdowns.

Kyle Orton is benefiting from the defensive pressure. We could do a blind resume, but I’ll spare everyone the anticipation. Or maybe I won’t. Yesterday, Orton went 20-29 for 243 yards, 0 interceptions, and two touchdowns. His counterpart went 25-41 for 255 yards, 1 interception, and zero touchdowns. Yeah, Orton isn’t as sexy as Tony Romo. He just gets the job done. Wonder if Jessica Simpson has designs on joining Kyle’s ‘mile-high’ club?

The stat for Indianapolis must be 300. As in 300 yards per game. For the first time in his career, Peyton Manning has opened the season with four 300-yard games. So much for missing Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy. Manning’s strike to Reggie Wayne was the 55th time the teammates have combined. Only Manning and Dan Marino have thrown 55 or more TDs to two different receivers. The Colts only figure to improve when Bob Sanders returns.

AP Photo/Bill Feig

After week two, Drew Brees had everyone trying to guess what his nine touchdown passes would convert to over 16 games. Since then, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sharper have taken care of getting the ball in the end zone.  Thomas rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns last week. This week, Thomas 86 yards on the ground, caught four passes for 46 yards and scored one TD. Sharper has five interceptions this season – two returned for touchdowns including one for 99 yards yesterday against the Jets. The New Orleans defense pressured  Mark Sanchez so much that the Jet rookie quarterback  must have dreamed of fleur-de-lis last night. With the win, New Orleans goes into the bye week undefeated as they prepare for the Giants.

Speaking of the Giants. Call it chocolate. Call it vanilla. Call it what you want. The Giants have had a cake walk thus far. After spanking the wet rag Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the G-Men pounded on the Chiefs yesterday. Please wake me when the Giants play a relevant team. It is nice that Mario Manningham and Steve Smith have made fans forget of past Giant receivers.

The New England Houdinis

Somehow, the Patriots escaped defeat in week one when Buffalo’s Leodis McKelvin fumbled a kickoff. This week, the Ravens were driving with less than :30 in the game, when Mark Clayton dropped a fourth-down pass inside the ten yard line. Of his miscue, Clayton commented: “Flat out drop.”

Despite revamping almost their entire defense, not having Wes Walker, and Tom Brady recovering from reconstructive knee surgery, the Patriots stand at 3-1. Guess we shouldn’t be surprised by a Bill Belichik-coached team.

Which way to Asbury Park?

After a “month-long vacation in the strasophere where he found it really hard to hold his breath,” Mark Sanchez came crashing back to earth yesterday. In a  sea of fleur-de-lis, the rookie went 14-27, 138 yards, 0 TDs, and 3 INTs. Ouch! Don’t worry Mark. It’s all part of ‘ooh-ooh growin’ up.’  Besides the Jet defense held the high-flying Saints without an offensive touchdown for 50+ minutes.

Converting on third down

Joe Flacco might not get the headlines, but the Raven QB gets first downs. In their loss to New England, Baltimore converted on 9 of 14 third down opportunities. Flacco went 8-11 in those situations. Maybe he needs to improve on taking a roughing the passer.

Get the fork ready

Remember when Tennessee began last year 10-0? Remember how the Titans earned home-field advantage in last year’s playoffs? That all seems a distant memory as the Titans fell to 0-4. The last team to go 0-4 and make the playoffs? The 1992 San Diego Chargers. Yeah, yeah, yeah the Titans went 1-4 in 2002 before making AFC title game.

Got any NFL Splinters? Share them here.