The Chargers have taken a whole lot of criticism for their slow start this year. This past weekend however, I saw a Chargers team that was one tackle on special teams away from potentially beating the Broncos. I’m taking the Chargers and the points in this game as San Diego looks to get on track in Kansas City. Bottom line, guys like Phillip Rivers, LT, and Shawn Merriman have been in this league long enough to know that this Chargers team could still be a contender down the road.

TEXANS (-3) over Niners

Despite the return of Frank Gore, I don’t see the 49ers being able to match the output of the Texans. The Texans have a multitude of weapons offensively and Matt Schaub has figured out how to utilize them. And though the 49ers have gotten good, physical play from corners Dre’ Bly and Nate Clements, early in the season, they struggled mightily against the Atlanta Falcons. To me, that’s the “make or break” matchup for this game. Can Bly and Clements effectively stop Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter? I say no.

Patriots (-14.5) over Buccaneers

This could get really ugly really quickly. The Patriots are going to want to put on a show in front of 90,000 people so I’d expect more of what you saw from this team last Sunday.

Colts (-13) over RAMS

This is my weekly “could this line have been too high” game?

Vikings (+4) over STEELERS

This game is going to be won and loss at the line of scrimmage. Which is why I’m taking the Vikings plus the four points. Right now the Vikings lead the NFL in sacks, are stingy against the run, and have forced the second most turn-overs in the NFL. The Steelers have had a hard time opening holes for their backs and when facing Pat and Kevin Williams, that’s an especially bad thing.

Packers (-7) over BROWNS

Is it just me or is this a no-brainer at seven?

PANTHERS (-7) over Bills

The Panthers 8^th best rushing attack is up against the league’s worst rush defense. After intercepting Mark
Sanchez 5 times, could we see the Panthers run the ball over 50 times in this game – again?

Jets (-6) over RAIDERS

I see this as a bounce back game for the Jets. Mark Sanchez is going to mange the football mostly by handing the ball off to Thomas Jones and Leon Washington) and let the Jet defense win the game. I have to wonder what the line for the over/under of Jamarcus Russell’s quarterback rating would be for this game. I see Rex Ryan making this game a nightmare for Russell who won’t know what hit him.

Bears (+1.5) over BENGALS

Wrong team favored here. I know Cedric Benson may be running with a little extra gas in his tank after the “blackball” allegations, but Antwan Odom’s season-ending injury is a huge blow for this Bengals team (Bears win in a close game.

Falcons (+4) over COWBOYS

Most certainly have the wrong team favored here. The Cowboys have wins over Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Kansas City. Falcons have wins over Miami, Carolina, San Francisco, and Chicago. Enough said.

Saints (-6.5) over DOLPHINS

For some reason people think this is the Saints week to lose. They believe that the Saints won’t be able to stop the Wildcat because nobody else has been able to stop the wildcat. They’re wrong. The Saints will stop the wildcat because the Dolphins won’t be able to run it when they

’re trailing by multiple scores the entire game. And the Dolphins can’t stop Drew Brees.

Cardinals (+7) over GIANTS

I’m picking the Giants to win this game, but not to cover the spread. The Giants just got gashed by Drew Brees and the Saints and face another formidable opponent in Arizona. The Cardinals seem to be hitting their stride after their early season stumbles and are going to New York at the right time. The Giants win this game because a. they’re a better team and b. NFC West teams

are like 3-2543 when they go east. (The Cardinals are 1-

9 on the East Coast in the

past 2 seasons).

Eagles (-7) over REDSKINS

The Eagles and Andy Reid are angry – and good. Meanwhile, the Washington Redskins plays are being called by a retiree who was working at a bingo parlor two weeks ago. And the Eagles are just 7 po

int favorites. I’m taking the Eagles minus the points.

What I do know is that much like the Roman Empire, life in the NFL right now ranges from excellent and good to bad and god-awful. Like Rome, wealth and success in the NFL are held by a small group of powerful teams that are surrounded by other slightly less powerful teams. But usurpers are everywhere; I would not be surprised to see any of the top 10 teams at the top of this list by week 17.

Right now the NFL is a league of “haves” and “have nots”. And when you’re the latter, it’s an ugly sight. For the fortunate teams, every week is important. The 5-0 New Orleans Saints, widely regarded as the best team in the NFL right now, are one loss to the Atlanta Falcons from being the second best team in their own division. The NFL is a cut-throat league and every day is a struggle for supremacy.

Awful analogies aside, here are your week 7 Power Rankings.

The Triumvirate (Julius Caesar, Marcus Crassus, Gnaeus Pompeius)

1. New Orleans Saints (5-0)

2. Indianapolis Colts (5-0)

3. Minnesota Vikings (6-0)

Generals (Brutus, Marc Antony, Octavian, Gaius Marius)

4. Denver Broncos (6-0)

5. New York Giants (5-1)

6. Atlanta Falcons (4-1)

7. New England Patriots (4-2)

Patricians and Merchant Class

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)

9. Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)

10. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2)

11. Baltimore Ravens (3-3)

12. Green Bay Packers (3-2)

13. Chicago Bears (3-2)

14. San Francisco 49ers (3-2)

Plebeians

15. Arizona Cardinals (3-2)

16. New York Jets (3-3)

17. Houston Texans (3-3)

18. San Diego Chargers (2-3)

19. Miami Dolphins (2-3)

20. Dallas Cowboys (3-2)

21. Seattle Seahawks (2-4)

22. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3)

23. Carolina Panthers (2-3)

Indentured Servants (Spartacus and his poorly equipped army)

24. Oakland Raiders (2-4)

25. Buffalo Bills (2-4)

26. Kansas City Chiefs (1-5)

27. Detroit Lions (1-5)

28. Washington Redskins (2-4)

29. Tennessee Titans (0-6)

30. Cleveland Browns (1-5)

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-6)

32. St. Louis Rams (0-6)

So let me ask you this question: how many times have you found yourself watching a football game thinking to yourself, could (insert coach’s name here) possibly manage the clock any worse than he just did? I’m no stranger to coaches mismanaging the clock late in games or during the closing minutes of the half, but sometimes there are cases where football coaches display such atrocious clock management (cough, Herm Edwards, Norv Turner) that it’s nearly inconceivable that aforementioned coach even knew how much time he had left.

Now let me preface this by saying that most coaches manage the clock correctly most of the time, either giving themselves as much time as possible to score or the opposing team as little time to score. However, it seems like, at least once a week, one coach makes a major blunder during a critical time in the game. And can I please be the first one to say; adept clock management really isn’t that difficult. Especially when you consider all the other immensely more difficult things that head coaches deal with on a daily basis, clock management really shouldn’t be a problem. And despite my consternation, coaches continue to make simple mistakes with major consequences.

For example, this past Saturday night, the Washington Huskies traveled to Tempe, Arizona to play the Arizona State Sun Devils in a very important Pac 10 matchup. With 1:17 to play in the 4th quarter and a 17-17 tie, Washington returned the ball to it’s own 10 yard-line. With 1:17 in the game, ASU had just one time out to spend, while Washington had two. Now, most coaches and most quarterbacks would be content to simply run out the clock and go to overtime. But not Washington coach Steve Sarkisian and his phenomenal quarterback, Jake Locker. Two weeks ago Sarkisian and Locker orchestrated an incredible 53-yard drive with 51 seconds left in the first half of their previous game at Notre Dame, completing 3 passes for 58 yards (5-yard penalty) in under a minute to set up a 40 yard field goal to take the lead at half time. Knowing this, Husky fans were shocked and upset when Sarkisian called running plays on first and second down. The Huskies then lined up for a 3rd and 1 play with 0:27 left in the game… And promptly threw the ball down field. The clock stopped with 22 seconds left to play and Washington still had two timeouts.

They punted the ball away to ASU who returned the ball to midfield with 13 seconds left in the game. On the next play, due to poor play-calling and severely blown coverage, the Sun Devils threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to win the game. Defensive mishaps aside, this loss can be put squarely on the shoulders of the Washington play-caller, Steve Sarkisian. Now, so far, the young former USC coordinator has done an excellent job at Washington, but his clock management late in this game was nothing short of appalling. In my mind, he has one decision to make: attempt to win the game with the time remaining or run the clock out and head to overtime. Sarkisian seemingly attempted to do both. And in the end, his Washington Huskies ended the game with neither.

But Steve Sarkisian isn’t the only coach who potentially cost his team the game in the past weeks. If you were lucky enough to tune into the incredible Monday Night showdown between the Miami Dolphins and the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago, you would have witnessed an even worse display of clock management by Dolphins coach Tony Sparano.

With over three minutes left in the game, the Dolphins trailed the Colts by a score of 27-23. In other words, the Dolphins have three minutes and three chances to stop the clock (two minute warning and two timeouts) in order to reach the end zone. The Dolphins started the drive (from their own 20-yard line) by calling two running plays to Ronnie Brown. This may have been salvageable, but the offense was so slow that after two running plays and calling a time out they had reached the two-minute warning. How in the name of Don Shula is that humanly possible? Here’s how. After Ronnie Brown’s first run, a gain of one yard, Sparano waited almost 45 seconds to call the timeout, just to save his offense from taking a delay of game penalty. Can you believe that? The Dolphins are down by 4 points with less than 3 minutes in the game and they spend 45 seconds doing absolutely nothing?!

But again there’s 2:26 left in the game and the Dolphins still have a time out and the two-minute warning. Plenty of teams have gone 80 yards in 2 minutes. In fact two of Peyton Manning’s touchdown drives went 80 yards in less than 2 minutes for touchdowns. This should all lead you to believe that the Dolphins should still have plenty of time to score. Until Sparano calls another running play that develops so slowly that it takes the Dolphins all the way down to the two-minute warning. I kid you not, the Dolphins managed to call two plays and a time-out in 1:13.  Now I think you know where this is going. After the two-minute warning, Sparano finally decides, hey, maybe throwing the ball is a good idea… But unfortunately for Dolphins fans who had a legitimate shot to win this game, the Dolphins had already lost this game. After gaining 46 yards and a devastating sack by Robert Mathis, the Dolphins finally run out of time and attempt one desperate throw to the end zone, which is subsequently picked off by Antoine Bethea.

This very evening, (editors note: there was a delay in the posting of this article) Norv Turner continued his tradition of what I like to call, “The Norv Turner School of Clock Management”. Truthfully, I didn’t coin this phrase, but it is most certainly an excellent one. With 1:59 left in the fourth quarter, losing by 11 points, the San Diego Chargers had the ball on the Denver Broncos 26-yard line. Philip Rivers had just completed a first down pass to Antonio Gates and I was pleading with Turner to have Rivers hurry to the line, spike the football and have Nate Kaeding, the most accurate kicker in NFL history as of tonight, kick a 43 yard field goal.

Now I understand the Chargers are trailing by two scores and need an onside kick recovery to even have a chance, but regardless of the situation, as a head coach you are supposed to give your team the best chance possible to win the football game. Down by just two scores, (touchdown, successful two point conversion, and a field goal) Turner’s best option with the limited time that he had would have been to, after spiking the ball on first down, take two shots to the end zone and, if unsuccessful, kick the 43 yard field goal. Then with just more than a minute and a half left in the game attempt an onside kick and score a touchdown. My logic for this argument is this: as it stands, you are already in field goal range, so kicking a field goal now takes no extra time off the clock. If you instead decide to attempt to move the ball further downfield, it will take time off the clock, but even worse puts you in danger of being sacked or caught in bounds. Taking two shots at the end zone and then kicking the field goal at this moment would have allowed the Chargers to save their remaining time out in case they needed it after recovering the onside kick and would be the most time-efficient strategy. Perhaps most convincing is that a 43-yard field goal is basically automatic for Nate Kaeding who, as I mentioned earlier, just passed Mike Vanderjagt as the most accurate kicker of all time. Instead, Turner decided to keep his offense on the field, and in doing so lost 45 seconds of precious time and 11 yards after succumbing  to Denver pressure and taking a sack. Kaeding then missed the 55-yard field goal.

Again, I understand that the Chargers had little hope of winning this game, but like I said, a coach’s job is to put his team in the best situation to win the game and in my eyes, Norv Turner, much like Steve Sarkisian, and especially Tony Sparano did not do that.

My solution? NFL coaches should play Madden. I’m dead serious about this. I know I’m not the only person saying this too. I love the game of football. I’ve watched more football in the past five years than just about anyone I know. But my intricate knowledge of clock management comes almost solely from the game of Madden. I can’t fathom how many games of Madden I’ve played in my life (the true number being slightly too telling of my sad lifestyle) but what I’ve learned by putting myself and my opponent in countless late game situations is that clock management isn’t that hard to figure out. It just takes a little practice. And where better to do it than inside the friendly confines of EA Sports where the worst that can happen is a painful punch to the kidneys from a friend after a thrilling victory due to excellent clock management?

AFC EAST

New England Patriots
Tom Brady – Michigan

New York Jets
Mark Sanchez – USC

Miami Dolphins
Chad Henne – Michigan

Buffalo Bills
Trent Edwards – Stanford

AFC NORTH

Cincinnati Bengals
Carson Palmer – USC

Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger – Miami of Ohio

Baltimore Ravens
Joe Flacco – Delaware

Cleveland Browns
Derek Anderson – Oregon State

AFC SOUTH

Indianapolis Colts
Peyton Manning – Tennessee

Jacksonville Jaguars
David Garrard – East Carolina

Houston Texans
Matt Schaub – LSU

Tennessee Titans
Kerry Collins – Penn State

AFC WEST

Denver Broncos
Kyle Orton – Purdue

San Diego Chargers
Philip Rivers – NC State

Oakland Raiders
Jamarcus Russell – LSU

Kansas City Chiefs
Matt Cassel – USC

NFC EAST

New York Giants
Eli Manning – Ole Miss

Philadelphia Eagles
Donovan McNabb – Syracuse

Dallas Cowboys
Tony Romo – Eastern Illinois

Washington Redskins
Jason Campbell – Auburn

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings
Brett Favre – Southern Mississippi

Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers – California

Chicago Bears
Jay Cutler – Vanderbilt

Detroit Lions
Matt Stafford – Georgia

NFC SOUTH

New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees – Purdue

Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan – Boston College

Carolina Panthers
Jake Delhomme – Louisiana Lafayette

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Josh Johnson – San Diego

NFC WEST

San Francisco 49ers
Shaun Hill – Maryland

Arizona Cardinals
Kurt Warner – Northern Iowa

Seattle Seahawks
Matt Hasselbeck – Boston College

St. Louis Rams
Marc Bulger – West Virginia

PACKERS (-13.5) over Lions
This is a statement game for the Packers. This team is coming off of the bye week, something this team needed desperately after playing subpar just about everywhere. I see the Pack jumping out big early and not looking back.

Panthers (-3.5) over BUCCANEERS
This seems like a horrible matchup for the Buccaneers. As a defense, they are 28th against the run, allowing over 150 yards rushing a game. On Sunday, they face one of the best tandems in the league in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Though neither back has performed to 2008 standards, this seems like the perfect time for both Williams and Stewart to find their stride. I can’t see this game being close.

JAGS (-9.5) over Rams
How many times has a team been beaten 41-0 and then been 10 point favorites the next game? It may be unbelievable but it would be difficult to set this line too high. Look for Maurice Jones Drew and the Jaguars to have a huge rebound game against the lowly Rams.

STEELERS (-14) over Browns
Two words: Troy Polamalu. And: Steelers roll.

VIKINGS (-3) over Ravens
This Ravens secondary has been suspect lately and this Vikings team is too complete for a struggling Baltimore team. The Vikes can beat you in so many different ways. Take the gunslinger and the points at home.

Chiefs (+6.5) over REDSKINS
The Redskins have done something this year that no team has ever done before; play a winless team in each of their first six games. Two of the leagues worst teams meet in Washington this weekend. No idea who walks away with the win, but I can’t see Washington covering the spread.

SAINTS (-3) over Giants
Eli Manning is fighting injury and the Saints love to get after the quarterback. The Giants have yet to face a contending team and have five wins over teams with a combined 6-19 record. The Giants have also been middle of the pack against the run and were gashed by Dallas early in the season. This looks like an ideal early test for the Saints who should improve to 6-0.

Cardinals (+3) over SEAHAWKS
Seahawks fans are pinning their hopes on this game. This game looks like it’s going to be a high scoring affair and I believe that this game will come down to which defense can make more plays/less mistakes. While Hawks fans believe that Aaron Curry will have another tremendous performance against Kurt Warner and make life uncomfortable for the Arizona quarterback, I just don’t see Seattle putting Warner on his back enough to win this game. More so, Larry Fitzgerald loves running through this undersized secondary.

Eagles (-14.5) over RAIDERS
Honestly not sure you could make this line high enough. In losing efforts, the Raiders average losses of 21 points. Meanwhile, the Eagles average wins by a margin just over 22 points. I think this line may be too low. Now if the Raiders were given 20 points, I may have paused to think about this game.

PATRIOTS (-9.5) over Titans
Both of these teams are trying to recapture past success. The difference in this game is that the Patriots still remember how. Tom Brady should have no trouble slicing through this Titans secondary. Tennessee goes from a team that finished last season 13-3 to an 0-6 team this year.

Bills (+9.5) over JETS
I know how awful this Buffalo team is. But despite the 1-4 record they’ve played two tough games against the Patriots and the Saints and have shown an ability to stop other teams quarterbacks from putting up big games. I still think the Jets will win this game, but expect a closer score than projected.

FALCONS (-3.5) over Bears
The Falcons look as though they’ve found a rhythm on offense. And what an incredibly balanced offense it is. This team can beat you a lot of different ways. This will be the first week that the Bears have to defend the pass and the run equally, something I’m not sure they can do.

Chargers (-3.5) over Broncos
I have a very difficult time accepting that the Chargers are a 3.5 point favorite at home against the Broncos. The rule of thumb with Vegas lines is that home field advantage gives three points to the visitors. If that’s the case in this game, it means that the Chargers are still favorites at a neutral site. I can’t buy that. What I can buy however, is that over the past five years, the Chargers have been disgusting at home. Take the Chargers to cover the spread. Denver gets their first loss.

Last Week: 7-7

Yes, the Vikings are playing at a very high level and Favre is certainly a reason why they have busted right out of the gates with an impressive 5-0 start. He has provided a legitimate passing attack to complement their running game and defense, something that has been sorely lacking during the Brad Childress era. Anyone who caught even a mere glimpse of the Vikings’ much anticipated matchup against the Packers two Mondays ago or the aftermath of Favre’s dramatic last second touchdown pass to beat the 49ers, it also is clear that Favre has given the Vikings locker room a shot in the arm that neither Sage Rosenfels nor Tarvaris Jackson could have given them. It is fair to say that the Vikings are arguably the best team in the NFL and thanks in no small part to Favre.

However, here is why I immediately shut Sportscenter off in frustration and went to bed when I heard Dilfer make his statement: the Vikings are doing what they are supposed to be doing anyway. Even if Favre were sitting at home in Mississippi instead of playing in Minnesota, the Vikings would probably still be 5-0 or at the very worst 4-1. If Rosenfels or Jackson were at the helm, the Vikings were still going to be the favorites to take the NFC North and be a contender to play football well into January in the NFC. Adrian Peterson and the defense led by the monstrous Jared Allen still have played larger roles in the Vikings’ early success so far. Favre is no where near the point of accomplishing what he was brought in to do yet.

Childress brought Favre in to win the games he felt the Vikings could not do so with Jackson or Rosenfels at quarterback. The combination of Cleveland, Detroit, San Francisco, Green Ba and St. Louis is not exactly the most difficult stretch to begin a season. Most quarterbacks (even maybe JaMarcus Russell) would still win behind the rock solid offensive line, running attack, and defense that Favre currently has at his disposal. Remember, this team still won the NFC North with incredibly erratic play at the most important position in all of sports with the dynamic tandem of Jackson, then Gus Frerotte, and then Jackson again. I would even have to say winning just one playoff game would not be enough to truly justify the Favre signing. The Vikings went all in this year to lure him out retirement for the umpteenth time to do one thing and one thing only: win a Super Bowl. When Favre leads the Vikings onto the gridiron on Landshark Stadium in Miami this coming February, Dilfer then will be right. For now, hold your horses on being so quick to anoint Favre as the savior of the Vikings.

1. The Red Sox should never get knocked out of the playoffs before the ALCS. It’s just bad for baseball.

2. Wade Phillips will not be a head coach in the NFL next season unless he can orchestrate a Tom Coughlin like turn around. Thanks to Miles Austin and Jay Ratliff, that might still be possible.

3. No team should ever win a game when their quarterback (Derek Anderson) has a 15.1 passer rating. Derek Anderson was so bad, he had nearly as many completions to the opposite team as he did his own (2 completions, 1 interception).

4. If the NHL is able to successfully thwart Jim Balsillie from buying the Minnesota Wild, the NFL should be able to stop Rush Limbaugh from buying the Rams… Right?

5. Fantasy Football stops being fun when you’re 4-0 but your team underperforms so woefully that you lose to an opposing team that didn’t start its quarterback, number one wide receiver, tight end, and opposing defense. I started Willis McGahee, Calvin Johnson, John Carlson, and Neil Rackers who combined for an incredulous 7 points between them. I also sat Roddy White against the 49ers in favor of Steve Smith with a matchup against the Raiders. Three points would have won me the week.

We all have to come to terms with the fact that:

1. Tim Tebow is the poster boy of sports in America. Move aside Lebron and Shawn Johnson, Brett Favre and yes, even you Michelle Wie, America only cares about Tim Tebow and how many chapters of a book he can read before his headaches set in. I cannot remember the last time media covered the health of a collegiate athlete as actively as they have pursued the status of Tim Tebow. And while reporters critiqued Tebow’s every breath, a much better quarterback named Sam Bradford returned to the football field as well. And I don’t buy this Florida-LSU national championship showdown either. The Tigers offense isn’t BCS bowl worthy and this definitely won’t be their last SEC loss….
Oh and this just in, Barack Obama’s main competition for the Nobel Peace Prize? Yup, you know it. Tim Tebow.

2. The Broncos are better than we thought they were. Nobody wants to jump onto the Kyle Orton bandwagon but it’s time to face the facts; they’re 5-0, allow an average of 8.3 points a game for opposing offenses this season and have wins against the Patriots and Bengals–a Cincinnati team that would be undefeated themselves if Brandon Stokely hadn’t plucked Kyle Orton’s batted ball out of the air and raced 87 yards for a game-winning touchdown.

3. The Cowboys are just really mediocre. Miles Austin bailed out Tony Romo and the rest of his teammates by almost single-handedly winning the game against the Chiefs on Sunday. Don’t be fooled by Tony Romo’s 300 yards of passing either. 250 of them were to Miles Austin and almost all of those yards came after the catch.

4. J.P. Losman will lead the Las Vegas Locomotives to the UFL championship this year. After watching a gritty come from behind win to beat his California Redwoods, coach Denny Green said of Losman and the Locomotives, “They are who we thought they were!” Just kidding. He did however say, while analyzing his ground game, “We were really chasing the rabbit into the rabit hole in the second half.”
I don’t know which is more comical, Dennis Green coaching a team called the Redwoods or JP Losman getting his first UFL win while teams in the NFL with quarterbacks named Jamarcus Russell, Marc Bulger, and Kyle Boller have one win between them.

5. It’s time to usher in the Vince Young era in Tennessee. With all due respect to Kerry Collins, there is simply no way the Titans will contend with him behind center. Jeff Fisher has to realize that he’s playing in the AFC and that, even if he won the remaining 11 games on his schedule he still might not make the playoffs (as the Patriots learned last year). If this was the NFC it would be a different story, but the Titans are now all but done. If Jeff Fisher needs more motivation, all he has to do is look into the stands where his fan base is begging the organization to make a change. And why not just run straight wild cat formation the rest of the year with Young and Lendale White in the shotgun and Chris Johnson running the motion route from the wide position? The Titans could be the first team ever to rush for 3,000 yards and it would probably sell tickets.

6. Chad Pennington is probably done in Miami. Out with the old Chad and in with the new. If you missed Monday Night’s game, Chad Henne did an excellent job managing the Dolphins offense. Henne however, displayed not only the ability to spread the ball across the field and hit open receivers for first downs, but also the strength to stretch the middle of the field, as evident on Ted Ginn Jr.’s 53 yard touchdown catch. Most impressive however, was that Henne led three come from behind drives during the fourth quarter against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
6.a. If in fact Chad Pennington’s days as a Dolphin are over, is it merely setting the two-time Comeback Player of the Year Award to win it for the third time?

Final Thoughts About the Weekend:
Football reigns supreme in America right now. For the most part each individual game in the Division Series was interesting, but the Series themselves were all short without much major drama. Alex Rodriguez has quieted his critics who have termed him “un-clutch” in the past for now, but he better realize that Yankees fans equate performance in the ALDS roughly with that of the regular season. With expectations in New York as high as they are right now, the only way A-Rod can permanently quiet his critics is by leading the Yankees to a World Series. I’m much more excited by the second round matchups in the MLB playoffs and especially a potential showdown between Joe Torre and his former team. While things in baseball have been going more or less as predicted (all four favorites winning short series’) both the NFL and College football have had their share of surprises and great matchups. The week ahead features more of the same for football fans and the start of two potentially great series in baseball. Early indications all point towards a great week of sports ahead.

Anyway, it’s football season! And as we are now in week 5, we’re starting to figure out where all those teams we were confused about lie. And we definitely learned a lot this week.

Stock Up: Denver, Cincinatti, Seattle

Let me start with the Denver Broncos. I definitely have not been on that bandwagon, and if you read this article I wrote a couple days ago entitled, “Overachieving in Denver” you might note that I had already penciled in the Broncos to be 4-4 after Week 9. Well that’s not going to hapeen anymore. The Broncos proved that they can beat good teams too, taking down the Patriots in overtime. (A friend noted that the Giants have had an easier schedule than the Broncos, so it was wrong to criticize Denver for not having had a real matchup) And I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a head coach more pumped up than Josh McDaniels at the end of the game. Furthermore, the Patriots are still listed by Footballlocks.com as the odds-on favorite to win the Super Bowl, should that still be the case?

The Bengals proved they would be legitimate 5-0 team if it weren’t for a freak play, and are a real force in the NFL. First they beat Pittsburgh, now Baltimore, and it’s getting easier to mark down the close call with the Browns as a blip on the screen. Still not completely sold on them but they’re making a great case to be considered as one of the best teams in the league.

While I didn’t see any of the Seahawks game, if you win 41-0 you’ve got do something right. i thought the Jaguars were surging, but Seattle shut down MJD and David Garrard.

Stock Down: Buffalo, Dallas, San Francisco

On the other end of the spectrum the Browns and Bills had what must have been one of the worst games in the history of football. Derek Anderson had only two completions…and won. Not much else to say except that I didn’t know the Bills were this bad, I suppose they are though.

Even though the Cowboys actually won their matchup, it took an overtime to make it happen, and that’s not good when you’re playing the Chiefs. The good news for the Cowboys is that Miles Austin emerged as a serious threat on offense, which will be pretty helpful because I don’t think anyone thinks Roy E. Williams is that good. On the other hand, playing at the same pace as Kansas City is not going to hold up against better teams, and Coach Wade has got to be feeling the pressure.

Again, I don’t know exactly what happened to San Fran, but I was really feeling their resurgence. Even though I thought Atlanta would win the game today, I was expecting the 49ers defense to hold up pretty well, but instead Michael Turner ran all over them. Was last week’s defensive performance a fluke? We shall see.

Vikings (-10) over RAMS
No letdown here for the Vikes. Adrian Peterson and the Vikings defense will gut the Rams.

Cowboys (-8) over CHIEFS
Maybe I’m wrong, but I still think this team is going to be a contender. Look for the Boys to play their first full game of the season.

PANTHERS (-3.5) over Redskins
Look for Carolina to get back on track after the bye week.  Not a contender, but definitely better than the team that has to bring in a Coaching Advisor for its head coach.

Bucs (+15) over EAGLES
Giving the Bucs way too many points. The Eagles will win this game, but the when the Vikings only get 10 points over the Rams, how can the Eagles get 15 against the Bucs?

RAVENS (-8.5) over Bengals
Can you see the Bengals running against this Ravens defense? Moving the ball period?

GIANTS (-15) over Raiders
The Broncos already won a game in which the score (23) was greater than Jamarcus Russell’s quarterback rating in the game (22.6). Look for that to take place again at the Medowlands on Sunday.

Steelers (-10.5) over LIONS
This team is starting to find its groove again. Rashard Mendenhall is ready to carry the load and Troy Polomalu maybe back as early as this weekend.

Browns (+6) over BILLS
GET ME OUTTA HERE!!

Falcons (+2.5) over NINERS
49ers without Frank Gore? Wrong team is favored here. Falcons win outright.

SEAHAWKS (pk) over Jags
Maybe I’m biased, maybe I just realize how desperate the city of Seattle and its football team are for a win.

Patriots (-3.5) over BRONCOS
Broncos will make me a believer if they can cover the spread. Until then I’m going to take the Patriots on sale at 3.5.

CARDS (-5.5) over Texans
There will be a lot of points in this game and when it comes to a shootout there aren’t many teams that I’d rather have than the Cardinals.

Colts (-3.5) over TITANS
Has there ever been a smaller spread for a 4-0 team playing an 0-4 team? Could you imagine what the spread would be if Denver was in Tennessee? Would the Titans be favored? This is 2009 not 2008 and Kerry Collins appears to age in Dog Years.

Jets (-1.5) over DOLPHINS
The Dolphins are 1-3 and have an inexperienced backup quarterback facing one of the best defenses in the NFL. The Jets are 3-1 and have shown that they’re one of the better teams in the NFL. Tell me why the Jets are less than 2 point favorites. I can’t figure it out.

2. Indianapolis Colts (4-0)
Right now Peyton Manning is playing at a level above just about every other quarterback in the NFL. He seems like he’s in another world. And if you saw the game two Monday Nights ago you saw an impressive Colts Defense swarm and attack the Cardinals’ Kurt Warner. They played strong, physical football and have been more than good enough to let Peyton Manning take over games with his arm.

3. New Orleans Saints (4-0)
This team is downright scary. They’re the most complete team in the NFL right now. Now they need to prove that they can continue this streak of dominance. The past two weekends the Bills and the Jets have proved that Drew Brees is indeed a mere mortal, but the Saints responded by showing that right now they are the deepest team in this league. Gregg Williams is making this defense click and the past two weeks they’ve really carried the team. On offense, when Pierre Thomas went down, Mike Bell provided rushing between the tackles. When Bell went down, Pierre Thomas returned the favor. Oh and then there’s this guy Reggie Bush.

4. New York Giants (4-0)
Steve Smith and Mario Manningham have gained stardom in New York after four impressive games. Smith in particular has become one of the best young wide receivers in the NFL. Eli Manning has made some mistakes early but has delivered when it has mattered most. The defense has played well in two games after the G-Men were gashed by the Dallas running game, albeit against two teams with a combined 0-8 record. But like the Ravens, the Giants face a tough schedule. After their next game against the Raiders, the Giants have games against New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia (2), San Diego, Atlanta, Denver, and Dallas. Combined record: 19-9.

5. Baltimore Ravens (3-1)
Jim Harbaugh’s team has taken off under the leadership of Joe Flacco in his second year under the helm. Flacco seems ready to take on the status of an elite quarterback and carry this Ravens offense. And with the emergence of Ray Rice as a “factor back” and the apparent return of Willis McGahee, it looks like he will have a strong supporting cast. Is the Ravens defense the team’s greatest concern right now? A tough upcoming schedule will show just how far this team can go.

Tier 1.a.
6. Philadelphia Eagles (2-1)
See description of Saints above. No offense to Kevin Kolb, who has been very solid in Donovan McNabb’s absence, but if no. 5 hadn’t been hurt in the huge NFC showdown between the Eagles and the Saints how big a game could that have been? And with the Eagles getting healthy coming off their bye week is their a more exciting team in the NFL?

7. New England Patriots (3-1)
Tom Brady is back ladies and gentlemen. And as the season continues he’s only going to get stronger. With Wes Welker back in the slot and Fred Taylor finding early success with the running game, don’t be surprised if this team starts climbing up the list quickly as other teams above them start to lose.

8. New York Jets (3-1)
There may not be a better defense in the NFL right now. They’ve now held Tom Brady and Drew Brees out of the endzone in the past three weeks. Rex Ryan has this team believing they can go as far as they want. If Sunday was any indicator, Mark Sanchez will have to take care of the football for that to be a possibility.

Wake Up Calls
9. Atlanta Falcons (2-1)
Is it just me or does it feel like this team has a lot to prove this weekend against the 49ers? The ‘09 Falcons haven’t clicked on offense yet the way they were expected to and a match up with a physical San Francisco team will be a good indicator of where this team is.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2)
Maybe a couple early scares is exactly what this team needs right now. But they were pretty impressive on Sunday night. Strangely they’re struggling to put pressure on the quarterback, but the Steel Curtain seemed back in business and I’d expect this team to return to dominant form, especially if the offensive line can spring Rashard Mendenhall like they did the other night.

11. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
This team has some major concerns upfront on its offensive line and to an extent in its secondary as well. Favre looked a bit like he was taking an exacto knife to this defense and the O-Line gave up 8 sacks to a nasty Vikings defense. Despite these problems, the Pack is still one of the most talented in the league and I’d be surprised if they don’t come back reinvigorated after the bye week. A relatively soft schedule doesn’t hurt either.

Muddled Middle
12. Denver Broncos (4-0)
Play somebody. I dare you. I double dare you. Oh that’s right, the Patriots come into town this weekend. As you can tell, I don’t believe in the Broncos early season success. In my opinion they have yet to play a top 15 team in the NFL. Now it’s true that you can only win the games that you have on the schedule, but I need to see Denver win some big games before I crown them a contender. A brutal upcoming schedule will help determine the status of this team.

13. San Francisco 49ers (3-1)
See Denver. Shaun Hill, much like Kyle Orton in Denver, has done a good job taking care of the football, allowing above average running games and defenses to win physical football games. Despite their success thus far, the 49ers would do well to get Michael Crabtree in uniform as soon as possible to help out this offense.

14. San Diego Chargers (2-2)
When this defense decides it wants to help its offense win some games this team can be very dangerous. The Chargers have two losses to tough teams, but this team needs to decide if they can be elite with the core they have now or if they’ll be a perennial tease year in and year out. Elite teams find a way to win games. Elite teams don’t escape from Oakland with wins. Elite teams come together right now and turn things around. Only time will tell.

15. Chicago Bears (3-1)
Do the Bears have a lot of talent? Yes. Do they let lesser teams hang with them for an absurd amount of time? Without a doubt. Like the Chargers, this team needs to decide just how good they want to be. Unlike the Chargers, they play in an unforgiving Division. They have yet to play a game where they are close to reaching their potential. If they have too many more games like this it may be a long road back in this Division.

16. Arizona Cardinals (1-2)
Don’t be fooled by the slow start. No team in the NFL is underperforming more than the Cardinals are right now. Look for Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald to get back on track in Houston this weekend.

17. Cincinnati Bengals (3-1)
This team seems  to have everything they need to be a good NFL team; a pro-bowl caliber quarterback, a veteran, talented running back, and a disruptive defensive line. They came away with two big wins, first in Green Bay and then against the Steelers the next week. In fact, they’re a last second Brandon Stokely miracle touchdown catch away from being undefeated themselves. But I can’t buy into this team yet. Not when they need overtime to barely beat the Browns.

18. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2)
Jacksonville is coming off of two division wins in which they averaged 34 points a game. Over the next five weeks the Jags play four teams with a combined record of 1-15. It wouldn’t be too surprising for this team to be 6-2 heading into what could be a crucial game against the Jets in the Meadowlands. Stay tuned, this team could be quietly climbing up the rankings.

19. Dallas Cowboys (2-2)
If there’s a team in the NFL that should be panicking right now it’s this one. They have all the talent in the world and just two wins against two teams that have yet to win to show for it. Without a doubt they can compete with the best teams in the league, but can they beat those teams? Certainly not right now.

20. Houston Texans (2-2)
The Texans offense has found its stride after the week 1 debacle with the Jets. Unfortunately this team looks like the only way it wins football games is when it scores last. While exciting on offense, the Texans need to turn things around on defense if they don’t want to finish they year as a middle of the road team.

Dazed and Confused
21. Seattle Seahawks (1-3)
While the return of Matt Hasselbeck this weekend gives the Seahawks faithful renewed hope, the Hawks have a long way back to contention. The Seahawks need to get healthy – and fast. Playing in a weak NFC West always helps, but if this team is looking to return as the class of the West, it needs to start this weekend at home against Jacksonville.

22. Miami Dolphins (1-3)
The Dolphins have had a rough start to the 2009 campaign. But three straight losses to playoff teams aren’t the Dolphins major concern. Miami suffered a critical blow in a loss to San Diego when they lost Chad Pennington for the rest of the season. Ronnie Brown and the Dolphins prolific running game will pick up some of the slack, but losing Pennington may kill the Dolphins chances this season.

23. Tennessee Titans (0-4)
This team needs to continue to run the football. The Titans are second in the NFL right now with 5.5 yards per carry, but have just 99 attempts (21st). With Kerry Collins continuing to struggle, Jeff Fisher needs to put the rest of this season in the hands of LenDale White and Chris Johnson.

24. Carolina Panthers (0-3)
This team has fallen farther than any other team last year. Much like the Titans, the Panthers need to rediscover their identity as a football team which led them to 12 wins last season. This team is a smash mouth football team that had the third most rushing yards in the NFL last season. So far this season only the Arizona Cardinals have attempted fewer rushes than Carolina. With the combination of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan, it’s hard to imagine the Panthers will stay away from the ground game much longer.

25. Detroit Lions (1-3)
Almost anything is a success coming off an 0-16 season and by and large, that’s what the first four games have been for Detroit. After snapping a 19 game losing streak against the Redskins, they hung tough for half a football game in Chicago. Now the Lions need to start playing four full quarters of football. Regardless, things are looking up in Detroit.

26. Buffalo Bills (1-3)
The Dick Jauron era appears to be coming to a close in Buffalo. After being named the Head Coach of the Buffalo Bills, Jauron has had three straight 7-9 seasons and now, another slow start may have doomed him. After playing a competitive game in New England, the Bills have all but flopped. A game against the lowly Browns may get them back on track, and the return of Marshawn Lynch can’t hurt but they have a long road back.

27. Washington Redskins (2-2)
This team maybe .500, but when you have two wins against the St. Louis Rams and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a combined total of 5 points, it doesn’t matter what your record is – you have problems. In two years, with largely the same supporting cast, this team has gone from a dangerous playoff contender, to a disaster from an organizational standpoint. The Redskins have a lot of question going forward, with both personnel and from a managerial standpoint.

Knocked Out
28. Kansas City Chiefs (0-4)
This team has a lot of young talent, both on offense and on defense. What’s apparent however, is that this team has not bought into first year Head Coach Todd Haley’s system and his sporadic, public emotional outbursts on the sidelines have been met with a lot of negative media attention. When your team is 0-4, the last thing you need is to create more negative attention.

And speaking of negative attention from the media directed at 0-4 coaches…

29. Oakland Raiders (1-3)
The Raiders have been atrocious on offense. They’re last in the NFL in total offense, have a quarterback with a 42.4 rating and just lost Darren McFadden to a knee injury. To make matters worse, their head coach is being investigated by the NFL into an alleged fight he had with an assistant coach.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4)
Tampa appears to have some of the pieces to the puzzle in place. They have three running backs, all of whom have been successful at the NFL level, an emerging cover corner in Aqib Talib, and a talented wide receiver Antonio Bryant. Now they need to figure out both who their signal caller of the future will be and that small problem of how to stop other teams on offense.

31. Cleveland Browns (0-4)
This team has looked miserable through the first four weeks of the season and the only reason why they’re not 32 is because they have two quarterbacks who are starters in the NFL. Surrounded by the right players, Derek Anderson has shown what he can do (earn a spot in the Pro Bowl) and Brady Quinn certainly isn’t lacking for talent. But other than a lone bright spot in Mohamed Massaquoi, this team has had an abysmal start to the 2009 season.

32. St. Louis Rams (0-4)
This team needs help at almost every single position on the field. They have top picks in Chris Long and Jason Smith at Defensive End and Left Tackle respectively and a pro-bowl caliber running back in Steven Jackson, but after those three, are looking to improve at virtually every other position on the field.