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

If anything these past few days have reaffirmed what I wrote a few days ago–If someone is going to beat the Yankees, it’s going to be the Phillies. The Yankees handedly won game 1, but games 2 and 3 were extra-inning affairs that could have gone both ways, and that’s exactly what the Angels need. Think about if the Angels hadn’t made a few clueless errors in this series. They could easily be up 2-1 right now. Unfortunately, despite their win it seems to me it will probably be too little, too late. Facing C.C. Sabathia is not the sort of pitcher they want to face. You never know, but I think they said it right on Baseball Tonight recently (it was either Fernando Vina or Buster Olney) who said the Angels just seem a little bit intimitaded of the Yankees. A little scared. They need to play the same way they did during the season to continue their success now.

But I’ll tell you who won’t be scared of the Yankees: The Phillies. The Phils have been there before, last year in fact, but they still won’t be favorites in a Phillies-Yankees World Series. They have the Lee and Hamels and Martinez (and Happ too), and they have the lineup to match it. But they also have grit, and they showed that tonight. Any team that’s going to win a World Series needs a bit of that magic and fire, and no doubt the Phillies have got it. So while I wouldn’t favor the Phils heading into the Bronx, I certainly wouldn’t count on them backing down.

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

Here’s what I don’t want to happen: A Yankees/Dodgers World Series. Sure the Joe Torre storyline would be nice for the media, but I just don’t see it panning out into a good series, which is all I can hope for now that my team has been eliminated (well, that and the Yankees not losing, so this would really be a double whammy).

The Yankees have an unbelievable lineup. It’s an All-Star team, it really is. And they’ve been that way pretty much this entire decade, but this year they have the pitching to back it up, and not just in the rotation. So while teams with a good offense might be able to pick up a few runs here and there, they can’t count on the run support they relied on throughout the regular season. So the pressure switches to the pitcher. In order to beat the Yankees (well, beat them four times at least) you have to be able to shutdown that offense, and while there are no pitchers in the postseason (or the world) that can definitively do that, so you have to rely on guys that have shutdown potential and that’s really all you can ask for. And for me, the Dodgers really only have one player that fits the bill: Clayton Kershaw. He struggled last night, but we all have seen his stuff when he is on and it could be enough to stifle the Yankees. The problem for the Dodgers is, he probably is their only pitcher who can do that to the Yankees for a good six or seven innings. Sure, Randy Wolf has been good, but his start in the NLDS wasn’t encouraging, and his .256 BABIP in the regular season, compared to his .290 career average, suggests his 3.23 ERA might have been a bit flukey (I’m not a huge fan of determining “luck” based on BABIP, as I’ve written before, but it’s still a factor).

The Phillies are a different story. We all know Cliff Lee has experience being just downright filthy in both the American and National league, so we’ll count him in. Similarly, Cole Hamels in the 2008 playoffs has proven himself, so while I wouldn’t necessarily mark him down as the best starter in the playoffs, he could be unbelievable. And let’s not forget Pedro Martinez. He is one of the absolute best pitchers in our generation, and he has had success pitching without his old velocity.

I know, I know, the Yankees haven’t even played a game against the Angels. And the Angels are good, no question. Jered Weaver and John Lackey fit the type I’m talking about. But for whatever reason, I’ve got more faith in the Phillies, though in truth I couldn’t tell you why. Despite all of this, I think the Yankees have the odds stacked in their favor, and that’s all you can hope for at this point.

NLCS: Phillies in 6

ALCS: Yankees in 6

World Series: Yankees in 6

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.