Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Saints Go Marching In Edition

Drew Brees moved 323 yards closer to breaking Dan Marino's single season passing yardage record (5084 in 1984) as his New Orleans Saints cruised to a 51-29 win over the Green Bay Packers. His performance--completing 20 of 26 passes for four touchdowns and no interceptions--is made even more remarkable by the fact that he put up those numbers against one of the league's top secondaries, a ballhawking group that had intercepted 16 passes prior to Monday night, returning six of them for touchdowns. With five games remaining, Brees already has 3574 yards and is on pace to finish with nearly 5200 yards; Arizona's Kurt Warner is also on pace to throw for more than 5000 yards. Aaron Rodgers helped the Packers nearly match Brees score for score in the first half but he was not nearly as sharp in the second half, finishing 23-41 for 248 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. New Orleans improved to 6-5, while Green Bay dropped to 5-6. Ironically, Green Bay still has the better postseason prospects because the Packers have a shot to win the mediocre NFC North, while New Orleans is in last place in the NFC South and probably will have to earn a Wild Card in order to make the playoffs.

After the teams exchanged punts, the Packers took advantage of good field position to take an early 7-0 lead on a one yard run by John Kuhn. It did not take long for New Orleans to answer--one play to be exact, a 70 yard TD pass from Brees to Lance Moore and then the rest of the first half was an old fashioned shootout. A 24 yard Garrett Hartley field goal just before halftime put New Orleans up 24-21 and at that point it seemed like whichever team had the ball last would win. However, the Packers simply could not keep up the pace in the second half. New Orleans took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards in 6:26 to push the lead to 31-21 after a 16 yard TD pass from Brees to Billy Miller. Rodgers threw an interception on the second play of Green Bay's next possession and Jason David's 42 yard return put the Saints at Green Bay's three yard line, setting up a Deuce McAllister TD run. McAllister set the franchise record for career touchdowns (54) on that play. The Packers never seriously threatened after that point.

Even with the bad performance (interceptions kill a passer rating very quickly), Rodgers still ranks 10th in the NFL with a 90.5 passer rating (he had been in the top five prior to this game). Naturally, with Brett Favre leading the New York Jets to a victory over previously undefeated Tennessee to remain in first place in the AFC East there will inevitably be comparisons between New York's record and Green Bay's record. Favre ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating (94.1), though Rodgers was slightly ahead of him until the Saints game. Last year, Favre had a similar passer rating (95.7) as the Packers went 13-3 and made it to the NFC Championship Game, where his interception was the decisive error that enabled the New York Giants to advance to the Super Bowl. Would the Packers be a 13 win team this season if Favre were still their quarterback? Not necessarily. The fact is that Rodgers has been nearly as productive this year as Favre was last year but the team has noticeably declined in other areas; the Packers gave up 291 points in 16 games in 2007 but have already conceded 260 points in 11 games in 2008. ESPN's Mike Tirico made an excellent point: the Packers' choice of Rodgers over Favre should not be evaluated on a week to week basis; after all, just a few weeks ago the Jets looked like a mediocre team while the Packers were 4-3 after a convincing 34-14 win over Indianapolis. Green Bay decided that Rodgers will be their quarterback not just this season but for the next decade or so, while Favre is a short term solution--and someone who retired and did not seem to be mentally up for the long grind of an NFL season.

Obviously, Favre has shown that he is still fully committed to being a top notch NFL quarterback. The Jets made key acquisitions at several other positions and decided to roll the dice that the 39 year old veteran would be the right man to lead them back to the playoffs. Earlier in the season, Steve Young said that it would take until week 10 for Favre to get fully acclimated to the Jets' offense, which Young thought would be too late to make a difference this season. Young's week 10 prediction was spot on--Favre posted a 117.7 passer rating in week 10 after having ratings of 76 or worse in the previous four games--and the Jets have been rolling ever since.

We'll never know how the Packers would have done with Favre this year--or how the Jets would have done with Chad Pennington, who has played quite well for Miami. What we do know is that Rodgers appears to be someone who can be a very good quarterback for years to come and that is something that the Packers could not have known for sure if Favre's presence had kept Rodgers glued to the bench. This may literally be a win-win scenario for all of the involved parties--or a win-win-win scenario if you consider that Pennington arrived in Miami because of the chain reaction that started with Favre leaving Green Bay for New York.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

*During the much hyped Deion Sanders interview of Terrell Owens (which aired Sunday morning on NFL Network), Sanders asked Owens if he is the same player now that he was before. Owens insisted, "I'm definitely the same guy. All I can say is I'm doing what is asked of me. I'm running my routes. It's not like I'm not open." Sanders then asked why the Dallas coaching staff does not make a point of featuring Owens in the game plan. Owens replied, "I don't think that it is difficult at all to get me featured...If I get in this interview and say 'I need the ball more and we need to do this and we need to do that' then the heat is going to be on me. So I've just been quiet." Sanders acknowledged this and said that everyone in the media has been waiting for Owens to "blow." Fellow NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci--who coached Owens in San Francisco--told Sanders that Owens cannot be happy with his lack of touches. Owens admitted that this is true, adding, "He's right. I don't like it. If (offensive coordinator Jason) Garrett is smart enough to know what has made me successful in all my years he'll go back to the offense and the type of formations and the things that I did that were successful in San Francisco. Look what I did in Philly. The difference is, in Philly and San Francisco, I was very much involved in the offense. It was a West Coast Offense where I was a priority...When I came here it was with the idea and the notion that we have a chance to win a championship. I want to bring a sixth Super Bowl championship to the city of Dallas. To have the numbers I have, to not really be involved--it is discouraging, it is frustrating." Owens emphasized that his top priority is winning a championship, not on putting up great individual numbers but he very sensibly noted, "You can't obtain that championship if I'm not involved in the offense. I think that a lot of people see that. When I get my hands on the ball, things happen. I can't throw it AND catch it. I can only do one thing...I think everybody knows my playmaking ability. It's not that I can't play. It's the system I'm in that's not allowing me to do the things that I did." Sanders said to Owens that the Cowboys used the same system last year but Owens countered, "You have to understand that teams have game planned us all summer...These defensive coaches have studied us all summer. They saw how we beat them. We're not getting the same routes. We have to go back to the drawing board."

After having his say with his words, Owens spoke even louder with his play in a 35-22 Dallas win over San Francisco, hauling in seven receptions for 213 yards and one touchdown. This is the second best yardage total of his career (he had 283 yards in a 2000 game when he set the still-standing all-time NFL single game record with 20 receptions), the fourth best single game yardage total in Dallas history and the most yards gained by a Dallas receiver since Tony Hill had 213 yards in a 1979 game. As Owens is fond of saying, "Who can make a play? I can!" Owens put it a different way after this particular game: "They unleashed me today." He also reiterated what he said to Sanders: "I've been telling you guys all along, it's not anything wrong with me. Performance-wise, I can play...It showed." Owens is 35 years old but he looks as fast and as strong as ever.

ESPN's Tom Jackson always says that Dallas should feature running back Marion Barber and should not cater to Owens' whims--but it makes no sense to suggest that a team's best player should not be featured. Jackson is right that it is important for an offense to establish a running game and to have good balance between running plays and passing plays, but Barber is a bruiser, a short yardage back, while Owens has the ability to make plays that dramatically shift field position--like his 75 yard touchdown early in the San Francisco game. Barber had 59 yards on 19 carries--with a long gain of just nine yards--and the Cowboys won anyway. Barber's longest gain of the season is just 35 yards, so he is obviously not a home run threat. In contrast, Owens ranks second in NFL history with 136 receiving touchdowns and he has led the league in that category three times; even during this "down" season he ranks fourth with seven receiving TDs, just one behind Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson for second place. If the Cowboys use him properly during the final five weeks of the season then Owens could very well catch up to leader Anquan Boldin, who has 11 TD receptions.

*For a brief moment it seemed as if Chad Johnson may have finally figured things out. He told Deion Sanders of the NFL Network, "OK, this is what I learned the most. This is for anybody else that is coming along after me and for anybody that is playing on the other 31 teams: as an individual, no matter who you are, no matter how good you are, unless you play quarterback you will never dictate or run any organization ever. So don't ever pull what you saw me pull in the offseason, because you will lose." Alas, Johnson was just experiencing "spasms of lucidity," to quote Ferdie Pacheco's memorable line about Riddick Bowe. Prior to Cincinnati's game on Thursday versus Pittsburgh, the Bengals deactivated Johnson due to his insubordinate conduct; he reportedly was late to a team meeting, did not pay attention once he arrived and then got into a confrontation with Coach Marvin Lewis. Anyone who has closely followed Johnson and the Bengals knows that this is nothing new; Ocho Loco has often feuded with coaches and teammates. Where are all the people who have bashed Terrell Owens but said that Ocho Loco's antics are cute? The reality is that Owens has been a key performer on playoff teams for three different franchises, while Johnson has been a vocal distraction for a team that is perennially awful. His words and conduct do not set a good example for his teammates. Coach Lewis explained, "I think that any time you have to sit a player down, it sends a message to players because that's the only thing they get and understand. I don't know how many times I've said that. Money sometimes isn't as important to players as people would think it is. But playing time is important."

*Brady Quinn went 8-18 for just 94 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions for a passer rating of 21.3 in Cleveland's 16-6 home loss to Houston, who had lost eight straight road games; Derek Anderson--who Quinn replaced as the starter two games ago--came in for Quinn late in the third quarter and played the rest of the way, going 5-14 for 51 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a passer rating of 17.3. Anderson's bad numbers should be considered in context: he had no practice reps with the first team this week, he is a notoriously slow starter who needs a quarter or so to get into rhythm and he was victimized by several droppped passes, including a potential touchdown that Braylon Edwards muffed. I think that Quinn could develop into a good quarterback eventually but he does not give the Browns a better chance to win now than Anderson, a 2007 Pro Bowler, does. That is why Quinn started the season on the bench. Unfortunately, the rudderless Browns organization apparently has rabbit ears, the latest example of this being General Manager Phil Savage's profane email exchange with a fan. The fans clamored for Anderson to be benched and the Browns obliged but making Anderson the scapegoat for all of the Browns' failures has hardly helped to right the ship.

Rich Gannon, a former NFL MVP, had some interesting observations during the CBS telecast. He blasted Edwards for lacking concentration and for not finishing a slant route on the pass that became Quinn's second interception; Gannon noted that Edwards made a similar mistake a few weeks back when Anderson was the starter. After Edwards dropped a gorgeous stick throw from Anderson, Gannon exclaimed, "That wasn't a good throw. That was a great throw! Watch him stick here right into this tight coverage. Look at him (Edwards) coming out of the break. He's lackadaisical coming out of the break. You have to come out of the break with a sense of urgency. Y0u have to expect the ball. He's lollygagging coming out of these breaks, the quarterback's throwing it in there and he's not even expecting it. I tell you what, Kevin (Harlan), I wouldn't even throw it to him. I hate to say that but if the guy's not going to put in the effort you need--I don't like picking on anybody and I think Braylon Edwards is a great guy, a Pro Bowl guy, but he's putting some things on film right now that bother me. We talked about his focus, attention to detail and it's shown up all season long."

Gannon said that he attended Cleveland's Friday practice, the final one before the game. That is when teams really want to be sharp and set the tone for what they are going to do on Sunday. Instead, Gannon saw dropped passes and miscues, so it did not surprise him that Cleveland's offense struggled against Houston, which is hardly a powerhouse team.

*Matt Cassel--who Cris Carter repeatedly has called a "high school quarterback"--passed for 415 yards in New England's 48-28 win over Miami, becoming just the fifth player since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to have consecutive 400 yard passing games. His performances enabled the Patriots to accumulate more than 500 total yards in both of those games, the first time the franchise has accomplished that in the post-merger era. The one weakness in Cassel's game this season had been his inability to deliver the deep ball--which made Randy Moss a nonfactor after his record setting 2007 season--but on Sunday he hooked with Moss eight times for 125 yards. Tom Brady has had one 400 yard passing game in his entire career so far; it is obviously way too soon to say that Cassel is better than the 2007 NFL MVP but it is not too soon to at least suggest that at this stage of his career Cassel may be better than Brady was at a similar stage of his career. The common denominator for both players is the "mad scientist," Bill Belichick. Brady and Cassel deserve full credit for their talent and their work ethic but Belichick is the one who is designing the game plans that enable not only them but the whole team to shine. Remember when not too long ago some people suggested that the Patriots would flounder without assistant coaches Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel? To paraphrase Bill Russell's reply when someone asked how well he would have done against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, that question is phrased the wrong way. How exactly are Weis and Crennel doing without Belichick? It is also worth pointing out again that most of Bill Parcells' coaching success--including both of his Super Bowl wins--came when Belichick was on his staff. Greatest coach of all time is a subjective, nebulous distinction but there is a small group of people who could be considered worthy of that title: Paul Brown from the 40s and 50s, Vince Lombardi from the 60s, Chuck Noll from the 70s and Bill Walsh from the 80s are the standard bearers from their respective decades and Bill Belichick's accomplishments in the 2000s rank right alongside what those coaches did.

Dramatic Overtime Win Lifts Jets Into First Place in the AFC East

Brett Favre drove the New York Jets downfield to set up a game-winning field goal in overtime, lifting them to a 34-31 victory over the New England Patriots and into sole possession of first place in the AFC East. Favre completed 26 of 33 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and--very importantly--no interceptions; after the game he admitted that he was very aware during this contest that if he made even one careless throw that the Jets would probably lose. Matt Cassel, who ESPN's Cris Carter repeatedly refers to derisively as a "high school quarterback," had the best game of his brief career--and one of the best performances in team history--completing 30 of 51 passes for 400 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Cassel also led the Patriots in rushing with 62 yards on eight attempts. Cassel is just the third quarterback since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger to throw for at least 350 yards and run for at least 60 yards in the same game, joining former NFL MVPs Rich Gannon and Steve Young. Cassel had the best rushing total for a New England quarterback since noted scrambler Steve Grogan ran for 65 yards in consecutive games in 1978.

The Jets marched downfield after the opening kickoff and took a 7-0 lead on a seven yard pass from Favre to Leon Washington. In the early going, the Patriots moved the ball with ease only to stall in the red zone, kicking two field goals. The Jets also tacked on a field goal but then they broke the game open with two second quarter touchdowns, a 92 yard kickoff return by Washington and a 15 yard pass from Favre to Jerricho Cotchery that put the Jets up 24-6. The Patriots maintained their poise and finally reached the endzone just 15 seconds before halftime when Cassel connected on a 19 yard TD pass with Jabar Gaffney.

During the halftime show, the NFL Network studio crew interviewed Cincinnati wide receiver Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson. Deion Sanders asked Johnson what he learned in the wake of all of his offseason "shenanigans." Johnson replied, "OK, this is what I learned the most. This is for anybody else that is coming along after me and for anybody that is playing on the other 31 teams: as an individual, no matter who you are, no matter how good you are, unless you play quarterback you will never dictate or run any organization ever. So don't ever pull what you saw me pull in the offseason, because you will lose." Has Johnson actually learned from his past mistakes or is he just on his best behavior for the moment in order to increase his value so that the Bengals can get trade him (which is what Johnson wanted before the season began)?

The Patriots received the opening kickoff of the second half and moved into Jets territory but their drive was stalled by a Ben Watson fumble. New England's defense held the Jets to 20 yards in the third quarter but the Patriots did not score until the last play of the period when Cassel connected with Watson for a 10 yard TD. Cassel passed to Gaffney for a two point conversion that cut New York's lead to 24-21.

New England forced a Cotchery fumble on the first possession of the fourth quarter and tied the score with a field goal but the Jets countered with a drive that consumed nearly half of the fourth quarter and culminated in a one yard touchdown run by Thomas Jones. After the teams exchanged punts, Cassel and the Patriots got the ball back on their 38 yard line with 1:04 remaining and no timeouts left. Cassel smoothly led the Patriots down the field, making completion after completion and spiking the ball to stop the clock when necessary. As a long suffering Cleveland Browns fan, I have to interrupt this recap briefly to mention that I don't think that the Browns have had a two minute drill--and, technically, this was a one minute drill--run that efficiently since Bernie Kosar was at the helm (the Browns have won some games with last second heroics but usually more out of mad scramble, desperation plays than disciplined execution). I don't know which sin is more unforgivable--that Art Modell fired Bill Belichick or that Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore. During the past decade, Belichick should have been building a dynasty in Cleveland instead of New England; he is the last Browns coach to win a playoff game and, ironically, he did so against New England, then coached by his mentor, Bill Parcells (who has not had nearly as much success as a head coach on his own as he did with Belichick coordinating his defenses). Every time I watch the Patriots play, I can't help but contrast how well coached they are and how disciplined they are with how poorly coached the Browns are. Also, while the Patriots won't use this as an excuse, it is worth mentioning that they are playing without the 2007 NFL MVP (Tom Brady), the heart and soul of their defense (Rodney Harrison), their leading rusher from last year (Laurence Maroney) and two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Adalius Thomas. How many teams could absorb that many blows and still be so competitive? The reason that the Patriots can do this is that they are so well coached; also, Belichick and the team's front office have done a great job of building a deep roster. During the telecast, the NFL Network's Adam Schefter said that the Patriots set an unofficial NFL record for most games missed by starting players during their 2003 Super Bowl season, broke that record in 2004 and could threaten the mark this season.

Back to the Patriots' last drive: they reached the Jets' 16 yard line with eight seconds left. Facing a fourth and one, Cassel rolled out and delivered a strike to Randy Moss, who was "posting up" Ty Law in the endzone like they were playing basketball. Cassel made a brilliant throw and Moss' catch and toe tap were also fantastic.

Unfortunately for Cassel, the Patriots lost the coin toss and never got a chance to take the field in overtime. Favre was sacked on the first play of the possession but made a 16 yard completion to Dustin Keller on third and 15 to keep the drive going. The Jets methodically moved into field goal range and Jay Feely nailed a 34 yard kick at the 7:15 mark.

Earlier this season, ESPN's Steve Young--who may be the most perceptive football analyst on TV--said that it would be a 10 week process for Favre to really become acclimated to the Jets' offense. Young's take directly contrasted with what Tom Jackson and Cris Carter said, namely that Favre could have an immediate impact. Young said of Favre, "I think they (the Jets) got the right guy; they just got him a month too late. The thing dragged on and I think they wanted to get him in early August or late July so that they could have that time before the real bullets flew." I agreed with Young's concerns and really thought that by the time Favre and the Jets got in sync the season would be too far gone. However, the Jets managed to win some games while getting used to Favre (and vice versa) and, lo and behold, in week 10 Favre had arguably his most efficient performance as a Jet. Favre candidly admitted after the game that he has been going through an adjustment process but that the good part is that the team has been productive as that took place.

The Jets face a tough game at Tennessee and a loss in that contest coupled by a New England win at Miami could once again put the division title up for grabs but there is no getting around the fact that so far Favre and the Jets are doing better than I expected. After the 2008 NBA Finals, Kevin Garnett looked straight into the camera and said to all of his critics and doubters, "What can you say now?" What can I say now to Brett Favre and the Jets? All I can say is I was wrong--and congratulations on a big win.

Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Kurt Warner for MVP Edition

Kurt Warner went 32-42 for 328 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Arizona Cardinals defeated the San Francisco 49ers 29-24. The 49ers jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead after Allen Rossum returned the opening kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown; the Cardinals trailed the rest of the way until Warner connected on a four yard TD pass to Anquan Boldin with just 4:16 remaining in the game for what proved to be the decisive score. Both teams made numerous errors in the fourth quarter and the outcome was not determined until the Cardinals stopped Michael Robinson on third and goal from the two yard line as time ran out. As usual, ESPN's Steve Young summarized things best: "For a while I thought whoever screwed up last would lose the football game...It was exciting but rather inept football."

This game contained many interesting storylines/subplots above and beyond being a matchup of division rivals:

1) A young Arizona team emerging as a viable playoff contender under the leadership of graybeard--literally, before he wisely shaved off his facial hair--quarterback Kurt Warner.
2) In contrast to the quarterback position--where Warner won the job from the presumed heir apparent Matt Leinart--at running back the Cardinals have turned to youngster Tim Hightower, apparently signaling the beginning of the end of the career of Edgerrin James.
3) Mike Singletary's vocal attempts to whip his 49ers into being some semblance of a competitive team.

The 6-3 Cardinals now enjoy a four game lead in the anemic NFC West, with the 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams tied for second (or last, depending on how you look at it) at 2-7. The Cardinals have improved on both sides of the ball but Warner is clearly leading the way by playing at an MVP caliber level; in fact, as the Monday Night Countdown crew discussed, if Warner had not already done enough to merit consideration as a Hall of Famer he is putting the finishing touches on his Canton resume with his performance this season. Warner ranks first in the NFL with a 106.4 passer rating, which would be the 12th best single season rating of all-time if he can maintain it (his 109.2 rating in 1999 is tied for the seventh best all-time). Warner ranks second behind only Steve Young in career passer rating and he has now thrown for at least 300 yards in 45.1% of his career games (46 out of 102), by far the highest such percentage (with a minimum of 100 games) in NFL history (Hall of Famer Dan Fouts is a distant second at 28%). Warner already owns two regular season MVPs (1999, 2001), one Super Bowl ring (1999) and one Super Bowl MVP (1999) in two Super Bowl appearances. Tom Jackson rightly noted that there are already quarterbacks in the Hall of Fame who did not achieve all of those things. Warner ranks first all-time in passing yards per game, second in completion percentage and fifth in yards per attempt, a statistic that many people consider to be the most important measure of a quarterback's effectiveness. Frankly, I think that Warner has already done enough to be a Hall of Famer but this season he seems intent on removing any possible doubt from the equation.

Only a few months ago, Warner was considering retirement but when the Cardinals told him that he would be given a legitimate shot to win the starting job from Matt Leinart he jumped at the opportunity and ran with it. Warner told Young after the game that the NFL is not always fair, that a lot of political things go into decisions about who plays and that it frustrated him to sit on the bench last year when he knew that he was good enough to start. The 37 year old Warner is proving that age is just a number, not something that should define or limit a person's opportunities, and it is wonderful and fun to watch him be a full time quarterback again. As Ron Jaworski said during the game, the most important aspect of being a good quarterback is accuracy and Warner is one of the most accurate passers ever.

It is ironic that at the same time that Warner's star is ascending again four-time Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James--the leading active rusher and the 13th leading rusher of all-time--has been replaced as Arizona's starter by rookie Tim Hightower. When running backs lose it they often lose it quickly and they rarely get it back. James averaged at least 4.1 yards per attempt in six of his first seven seasons but in 2006 and 2007 he averaged 3.4 and 3.8 yards per attempt respectively with a long gain of just 27 yards; this season he is averaging 3.5 yards per attempt with a long gain of 16 yards. Meanwhile, Hightower had 109 yards on 22 carries in his first start, a 34-13 win at St. Louis last week, but he only rushed for 25 yards on 11 carries versus San Francisco. Warner said that he knows exactly how James feels but that James is continuing to be a great teammate and a great presence in the locker room.

During the game, Tony Kornheiser mentioned that Singletary views the locker room as almost a sacred place, takes a "paternal" interest in his players and views the team as a family unit. Kornheiser asked if players will buy into Singletary's approach in an era of high salaries and free agency. Anyone who understands human psychology and what it takes to be a good head coach realizes that this is a naive question: no matter what is at stake financially, most people want--no, crave--to be part of something bigger than themselves, something that they find to be intensely meaningful. Good players will embrace the changes that Singletary is making in the culture surrounding the 49ers and the bad players who don't will be promptly shipped out. Singletary and the 49ers' management have to use the second half of this season to find out which players they can build around and which players are not skilled enough and/or not focused enough to be part of a winning program.

As the 49ers tried to come from behind in the waning moments, Kornheiser attempted to make the outcome of this game into some kind of referendum on Singletary's chances to be the long term answer at head coach--but that is preposterous. This is only Singletary's second game as head coach and it would be asinine to make such a huge, franchise transforming decision on the basis of one game, win or lose. Singletary should be judged on the body of his work throughout the remainder of the season and he should have the opportunity to discuss with management his vision of how to turn the team around.

Singletary's passion and dedication are evident and admirable but by the same token he has to be held accountable to do his job effectively just as much as he rightly holds the players accountable to do their jobs. Young mentioned that Singletary must improve at game management, particularly clock management. Young also noted that the 49ers put inexperienced quarterback Shaun Hill in some precarious situations on several occasions with questionable play calling--and the final play call, running Michael Robinson up the middle with the game on the line, simply made no sense. After the game, Singletary said that offensive coordinator Mike Martz thought that there would be a "cavity" through which Robinson could run but the only "cavity" concerning that play is the hole in the head of anyone who thought (1) this would work and (2) it was the best possible call in that situation. Why not use Pro Bowl running back Frank Gore? Why not roll Hill out with a pass/run option? Whether or not Martz made the Robinson call, ultimately it is Singletary's responsibility to know his personnel and to veto calls that make no sense. I suspect that if Singletary is retained as the head coach he probably will want to hire a different offensive coordinator, one whose mindset more closely matches his own. That is not to say that Martz is a bad coach but Singletary seems to have a different philosophy than Martz does and for a team to be successful the coaching staff needs to have the same ideas about how to play the game.

Singletary certainly seems to understand both what he needs to do and the standard to which the players must hold themselves accountable: he candidly admitted that the 49ers' late game clock management was poor and when someone asked him if he was "happy" that the players displayed energy and intensity he scofffingly replied that happy is not the right word--he expects his players to have energy and be intense and he believes he should be sent home if it ever gets to the point that they don't display those qualities. Singletary is a rookie head coach who will make some mistakes but he is also a breath of fresh air because of his passion and candor, so I hope that he will be provided a full and fair opportunity to build a team in his image.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

*The Browns lost to the Broncos 34-30 on Thursday, blowing a two touchdown second half lead at home for the second consecutive game. Cleveland's defense seemed to have improved early in the season but now it is an unmitigated disaster area, giving up 564 yards versus Denver; that is the third worst total in the 803 game NFL history of the franchise, dating back to 1950 when the Browns were one of three All-America Football Conference (AAFC) teams that joined the more established league. The Browns have surrendered 993 yards in the past two games, the most that the team has ever allowed in consecutive contests--and considering how bad the Browns were right after they returned in 1999 that is really saying something.

Running back Jamal Lewis, who played for Baltimore's Super Bowl championship team in 2000, is disgusted by the attitude of some of his Cleveland teammates: "This is the NFL, you can't call it quits until the game is over. But it looks to me like some people called it quits before that. Denver was down, but they didn't call it quits. They kept their heads up and they finished. We didn't do that two weeks in a row--at home. Some people need to check their egos at the door and find some heart to come out here and play hard. This is a man's game. The way we went out there and played two weeks in a row, finishing the same kind of way, it's not there. I think there are some men around here that need to check their selves, straight up. That's it. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it ever in my life as long as I've been playing. I'm not cut from this kind of cloth. I play physical football, and I come out here and give it my all. I give it my all all week. To come out and be up by whatever--this is the NFL. You can't call it quits until the game is over."

Although Lewis' terminology may not have been quite correct--it would be more precise to say that the Browns lost focus, rather than to say that a team that was leading "quit"--but his overall message is right on point and a most telling indictment of a team that had several Pro Bowlers last season but lacks mental toughness and discipline. I'd go into battle with Lewis, Josh Cribbs, Joe Thomas and a few others but there are too many Cleveland players who clearly do not prepare properly during the week or focus on the task at hand during games.

The headline story for the Browns prior to the Denver game was about Brady Quinn replacing Derek Anderson as the starting quarterback. Quinn played well (23-35, 239 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions) but from a team standpoint there was no difference: with Anderson at quarterback the previous week versus Baltimore, the Browns built a big lead and lost; with Quinn at the controls the Browns did exactly the same thing. In other words, quarterback is not the central problem for the Browns. I think that the Browns can win with either quarterback but it has also become sadly apparent that they can lose with either quarterback. One obvious difference with Quinn at the helm is that the Browns looked a bit crisper, committing fewer false start penalties and seeming to be more organized. The NFL Network's Deion Sanders said that the Browns used a simplified game plan that enabled Quinn to be effective and that it also helped Quinn to play against Denver's weak defense, so the jury is still out until Quinn plays well against some tougher teams. Marshall Faulk wondered aloud why the Browns did not come up with a similar game plan to help Anderson shine--and that is a very good question, because Anderson definitely has the skills to be a very good quarterback. Barring injury, Quinn will almost certainly be the starter the rest of the way and Anderson will most likely be traded in the offseason--but I have the feeling that if Anderson lands on the right team, which is to say a team with a competent coaching staff, he will become a very productive quarterback. I have visions of him coming back to Cleveland wearing a different uniform and throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns as his new team stomps the Browns.

The Browns' organization is flawed from the top down and until that is straightened out the team will not be successful. Bill Walsh used to always say that it should only take a well run team three years to become competitive. The Browns returned to the NFL in 1999 and have made the playoffs one time. During that period they have never been competitive for a sustained stretch--there was a one and done 9-7 playoff year in 2002 followed by four losing seasons and then a 10-6 campaign last year followed by this season's 3-6 showing. That is pathetic and inexcusable decade and reflects poorly on the ownership: the Lerner family has yet to hire the proper football decision makers capable of building a winning team.

*During Sunday evening's SportsCenter, John Saunders said that after Tom Brady suffered his season-ending injury in week one, "Most people thought that New England's season went down with him," adding that "nobody" thought that Matt Cassel--who Cris Carter keeps referring to as a "high school quarterback"--could competently take his place. Saunders needs to spend more time at BEST, because I have repeatedly said that with Cassel at the helm the Patriots can still be a dangerous playoff team, a point that I emphasized in my recap of New England's 41-7 victory over Denver and in last week's Monday Night Football Quick Hits, when I noted the similarities between Cassel's production so far and Brady's statistics right after he took over for the injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001:

Cassel cannot match the record breaking standard that Brady set last year but it is useful to remember that in Brady's first year as a starter--when, like Cassel, he was an inexperienced player stepping in for an injured veteran--Brady was not Brady either or at least he was not the Brady of recent vintage: the Patriots closed the 2001 season with six straight victories en route to winning the Super Bowl but in those six games Brady had just six touchdowns and five interceptions, compiling a passer rating below 64 in three of those contests (his passer rating overall that season was 86.5); during the three game playoff run Brady had one touchdown pass and one interception, accumulating passer ratings of 86.2, 84.3 and then 70.4 in the Super Bowl. I'm not saying that the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl this year--but given Bill Belichick's track record it would be foolish to totally dismiss their chances.

Some people speculate about what Belichick's career won-loss record would have been like without Tom Brady but it is just as valid to ask what Brady's career would have been like without Belichick; Belichick did an outstanding job of coaching Brady and bringing him along from being a backup quarterback to a solid starter to a Pro Bowler to an MVP. It is obviously far too soon to say what kind of player Cassel will ultimately become but any objective person can clearly see that Belichick and his staff have done an excellent job of coaching Cassel.

The Patriots will face the New York Jets on Thursday night with first place in the AFC East on the line. The Jets demolished St. Louis 47-3 on Sunday but their defense--and St. Louis miscues--set up a lot of those scores. Brett Favre threw for just 167 yards and one touchdown, though he did complete an outstanding 14 of his 19 attempts. Favre has put up decent statistics in his first year in New York but his replacement in Green Bay--Aaron Rodgers--and the quarterback that the Jets sent to Miami--Chad Pennington--are both having better seasons than Favre is. Pennington has rallied the 1-15 Dolphins to a 5-4 record, placing them just one game behind the Patriots and the Jets. While it is true that Green Bay has slid from 13-3 last year to 4-5 this season, that has much more to do with their leaky defense than with the quarterback change: Favre had a 95.7 passer rating last season, while Rodgers has a 93.3 passer rating this season. Favre's rating as a Jet this year is 89.8 and he leads the NFL in interceptions with 12, while Rodgers only has five interceptions.

Look for Favre to toss three interceptions versus New England as the Patriots beat the Jets to take over clear first place in the AFC East. The Jets have a better record than I expected them to have at this point but 6-3 could become 6-6 very quickly: after traveling to New England the Jets visit Tennessee and then face a Denver team that is fighting to stay on top in the AFC West.

Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Patriots Not Dead Yet Edition

Everyone who is gleefully hoping to shovel dirt on the figurative graves of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots will have to wait at least one more week. The Patriots bounced back from last Sunday's 30-10 loss in San Diego to rout the Denver Broncos 41-7. After the game it is easy to note all of the Broncos' flaws to try to diminish the significance of this win but Denver was--and still is--in first place in the AFC West while many people were questioning whether the Patriots will even make the playoffs this year in the wake of Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury. Matt Cassel had his most efficient performance of the season, completing 18 of 24 passes for 185 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a gaudy 136.3 passer rating. The Patriots totally gashed Denver on the ground, chewing up 257 yards on 38 attempts for a 6.8 yards per carry average. Sammy Morris had a career-high 138 yards rushing--and he only played in the first half! Randy Moss caught five passes for 69 yards and a season-high two touchdowns, adding to his impressive Monday Night Football resume and moving into a tie for second place on the NFL career-list for multiple touchdown games by a wide receiver (30; Jerry Rice holds the record with 44). The Broncos committed eight penalties and turned the ball over five times as they looked sloppy in all phases of the game (in addition to their offensive and defensive woes, their special teams gave up a 44 yard punt return that set up a New England touchdown).

Everyone--including Matt Cassel--understands that Cassel is not Tom Brady but it is important to remember that at a similar stage of his career Tom Brady was not "Tom Brady"--NFL MVP and multiple Super Bowl champion--either. If Brady could be called a Jedi Master at quickly reading defenses and then delivering the ball to the right place on time and on target, then Cassel is merely a Padawan learner right now. As Ron Jaworski astutely and repeatedly noted during the MNF telecast, Cassel holds on to the ball too long and yet despite taking that extra time he still misses open receivers. If reading coverages is like mastering a foreign language, Brady is a speed reader while Cassel is sounding out each word syllable by syllable--but Cassel has a good arm, is accurate (.663 completion percentage) and he avoids the big mistake (four interceptions in six games, solid 86.8 passer rating). He has obviously been well coached and he is just as obviously a good student, so it is reasonable to expect that by the end of the season he will be better at reading coverages; the game "slows down" as a player gains experience, particularly if that player is hard working and intelligent.

Tony Kornheiser noted that many people--and he candidly included himself--wrongly thought that Belichick should have signed a veteran quarterback instead of turning the team over to Cassel, who Cris Carter is fond of calling a "high school quarterback" (I don't understand why Carter keeps taking shots at Cassel but if Carter really thinks that there are any high school quarterbacks who could run a pro team the way that Cassel is leading the Patriots right now then maybe Carter is having a relapse of his drug problems). Jaworski explained to Kornheiser that Belichick understood that bringing in a journeyman veteran who does not know New England's offense would have been a setback for the team, so Belichick wisely chose to install Cassel as the starter, stand firmly behind him and not cut back the playbook at all. While the "experts" deride New England's prospects, Belichick is preparing his team for another long playoff run. Obviously, the Patriots will not be as dominant as they were last season, nor will they be prohibitive favorites when the postseason begins--but they will be a very tough out for someone.

While the Patriots' quarterback situation is OK right now, injuries are piling up at other positions; prior to the Denver game, New England placed running back Laurence Maroney on injured reserve and near the end of the game safety Rodney Harrison was carted off the field after sustaining a knee injury. Harrison is not quite the player that he was a few years ago but if he is out for an extended period--which certainly seems likely--the Patriots will miss his toughness, intelligence and leadership.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

*I just don't understand what the deal is with Derek Anderson. He is not a stiff; stiffs don't lead teams to a 10-5 record and make the Pro Bowl while tossing 29 TD passes, as Anderson did last year after becoming the starter in the second week of the season. Anderson has a very strong arm, he can make tough throws into small windows and he has the toughness to stand in the pocket and take a hit in order to deliver the deep ball--but sometimes his accuracy and touch completely desert him and he overthrows a receiver by 10 yards or fires the ball into the ground instead of between the receiver's numbers. During Cleveland's 14-11 loss to Washington, Anderson looked terrible for most of the game before coming alive in the fourth quarter and almost leading the Browns to an improbable come from behind win.

Granted, Anderson has not been helped by Cleveland's shaky offensive line play or by the numerous catchable passes his receivers have dropped this season but that does not explain the wide fluctuation in his performance level. He is almost like a streak shooter in basketball, a guy who could light someone up for 40 points on one night and then go 0-10 from the field the next night. The problem is that in basketball such a player usually comes off of the bench and when he is not shooting well the coach can put him back on the bench in favor of someone else who may not be a shooter but who can contribute in other ways. Anderson is the starting quarterback and it would not work to platoon him with Brady Quinn; that would just result in having two QBs who are out of sync. Nor does it make sense to simply cast aside a Pro Bowl player in favor of an untested second year pro. This is where coaching comes into play; someone on the Browns' coaching staff has to sit down with Anderson and go over film from when Anderson played well and find a way to get him to use the fundamental techniques (footwork, reads, throwing motion, etc.) that he employed on those occasions on a more consistent basis. The talent is there and the Browns are right to not give up on him too quickly but not giving up is not enough; they also have to provide Anderson with the proper coaching and instruction.

*Before the season began, all the "experts" kept telling us how Brett Favre was going to singlehandedly turn the Jets around while Aaron Rodgers would falter under high expectations in Green Bay and ex-Jet Chad Pennington would prove incapable of throwing the deep ball in Miami. The NFL season is nearly 40% over, so let's take a "midterm" look at how those three players have performed so far:

Rodgers currently is tied for fourth in the league in passer rating (98.8); his rating is not only better than Favre's rating from last year (95.7) but it is better than the ratings Favre posted in every season of his career except 1995. Rodgers may not maintain that level for the whole year but it is fair to say that he has hardly crumbled under the weight of high expectations.

Pennington ranks eighth in passer rating (97.4). The deep ball will never be Pennington's strong suit but he has 17 completions of 20+ yards this season, two more than Favre does. The Dolphins, 1-15 doormats last season, are a very competitive 2-4; they have scored 120 points while giving up 130, defeating both teams that played in last year's AFC Championship Game, New England and San Diego.

Favre ranks 13th in passer rating (92.3). Favre electrified Jets' fans by tossing a career-high six touchdowns against Arizona but in the two games since then--a 26-14 victory against winless Cincinnati and Sunday's overtime loss to Oakland--he has one touchdown and four interceptions. He threw for fewer than 200 yards in each of those games, compiling a 73.9 passer rating versus Cincinnati and a 47.8 passer rating against Oakland. In addition to the two interceptions Favre had on Sunday he easily could have had another one in overtime when he wildly put the ball up for grabs.

On a purely statistical basis, Rodgers and Pennington are performing at least as well--if not better--than Favre, who has hardly turned the Jets into anything other than the mediocre team that I predicted that they would be. The Jets are not going to make the playoffs and the Favre farewell tour will end up just being a wasted year for them. Next offseason will sure be interesting for the Jets as Favre retires, unretires and retires while the front office tries to formulate a game plan for the team's future. Good luck with that, guys--I'm sure that Green Bay's management is not only happy that they got rid of that problem but also that they have found someone who can be their starter for the foreseeable future.

*Jeff Garcia completed 27 of 36 passes for 310 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 109.7 passer rating in Tampa Bay's 20-10 win over Seattle. He is just so much fun to watch, in part because he does not fit the template for a prototypical NFL quarterback--Garcia is too short, too skinny and he often looks frenetic in the pocket but the bottom line is that he can play. The great Bill Walsh believed in Garcia when nobody else in the NFL did and Garcia made the Pro Bowl three straight times as Steve Young's successor in San Francisco. Last year, at 37, Garcia made the Pro Bowl again, this time as a Buccaneer. Garcia and Tampa Coach Jon Gruden got into some kind of beef in the offseason and Gruden benched Garcia but now Garcia is the starter again and it will be difficult to justify replacing him if he keeps putting up passer ratings well over 100.

*ESPN's pundits are positively salivating over Dallas' midseason swoon. Tom Jackson seems giddy that the 4-3 Cowboys have lost two straight games and are dealing with a host of problems. Naturally, he places a significant amount of blame on Terrell Owens, who he now refers to as "two," which I guess is supposed to be a cute way of saying Owens' initials--but it wasn't cute when Jim Rome did it and it is not any more cute when Jackson does it. When I look at Dallas I see a team that lost its Pro Bowl quarterback, has a defense that is leaking like a sieve and has a meddlesome owner who signed two thugs (Adam Jones, Tank Johnson) in the offseason--and non-productive thugs at that. For the life of me I cannot understand how anyone can possibly justify mentioning Owens' name in the same breath with those two individuals. What do they have in common? Whatever you may think of Owens' comments over the years, no one can deny that he works hard in practice and he plays hard in games. He keeps himself in shape, plays hurt and the only "trouble" that he has ever been in consists of media-fueled soap operas of no significance. By the way, how are the teams that got rid of him doing? Are San Francisco and Philadelphia really better off without Owens? I realize that those organizations have multiple problems, but getting rid of a Pro Bowl player sure did not help. In contrast, Tennessee has moved on very nicely without Jones, while the Bears do not seem to miss Johnson at all.

Last I checked, Owens does not play on defense, nor can he throw the ball to himself, so it makes no sense to blame him for Dallas' recent slide. How can someone like Jackson who is not in Dallas' locker room speak about who is or who is not a leader on that team? I remember a few years ago when Jackson asserted that New England players don't like Bill Belichick and were on the verge of mutiny due to Lawyer Milloy being cut. That was a bunch of misinformed crap and Jackson's "analysis" of Owens and the Cowboys is equally misinformed. The only thing that Jackson has said about the Cowboys that makes sense is that their problems start with their owner. Jerry Jones should have never signed Adam Jones or Tank Johnson and Jerry Jones should be a much less visible and much less vocal presence on the sidelines and in the locker room. That said, once Romo gets back--or even after backup Brad Johnson has one more week of practice--the Cowboys will most likely get back on track toward a double-digit win season, assuming that Coach Wade Phillips finds a way to fix some of his team's defensive problems.

Monday Night Football Quick Hits: "Who Can Make a Play? I Can!" Edition

Marion "the Barbarian" Barber rushed 18 times for 63 yards and one touchdown and caught four passes for 51 yards and one touchdown as the Dallas Cowboys won a dramatic 41-37 shootout over the Philadelphia Eagles. Barber's one yard touchdown run with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winning points. Tony Romo went 21-30 for 312 yards and three touchdowns but he had a costly first half fumble in his own endzone that resulted in an Eagles touchdown. Romo also threw an interception that led to an Eagles touchdown drive. Donovan McNabb went 25-37 for 281 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions but he made two fourth quarter errors that seriously hurt the Eagles: a fumble on a bizarre double pump attempted hand off to Brian Westbrook at the Dallas 33 with the Eagles up 37-34 with just 8:59 left in the game and an overthrow of a 3rd and eight pass to a wide open Westbrook with 3:30 left and the Cowboys up 41-37. The first mistake led to Dallas' winning touchdown drive and the second mistake ended the Eagles' best chance to retake the lead (they got the ball back one more time deep in their territory but never got past midfield).

Terrell Owens finished with three catches for 89 yards, including two touchdowns. He had all of his production in the first half but he still had a major impact on the game in the second half, as ESPN's Steve Young--one of the best football analysts on television--noted after the game: "TO makes the big plays early, he gets open and I think he forces the whole defense to move in his direction. Great offenses in this league really have that second or third receiver, like Dallas Clark in Indianapolis. Jason Witten is a guy who gets open a ton of times (for Dallas)." As ESPN showed the highlights of Owens' two touchdowns, Young added, "These are the kinds of plays that open ballgames, these big touchdowns that affect the defense the rest of the game. When you get by the goal line, it's tough to score in the NFL. Well, let's put 10 guys on one side and TO on the other side. Did you see what happened the second time they ran that play? TO could do anything he wanted and they had to foul him (a pass interference call against Asante Samuel) to get to the one. That's the kind of player you need, supported by other great players, like Jason Witten." After that pass interference play moved the ball to the one yard line, Barber scored what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Emmitt Smith also noted that after Owens' two scores the Eagles were forced to double-team him, which created opportunities for Witten (seven receptions, 110 yards) and Barber. If you don't like Young's technical explanation of Owens' value, then you can always fall back on one of Owens' catch phrases from back in his 49ers' days: "Who can make a play? I can!"

With the Eagles leading 3-0, Owens opened the scoring for the Cowboys with a 72 yard touchdown reception, moving past Cris Carter into second place on the NFL's career touchdown receptions list (131). As Mike Tirico pointed out, Owens trails Jerry Rice by 66 touchdowns, so if Owens stays healthy it is not impossible for him to break the all-time record. Of course, maintaining a high level of production in one's mid to late 30s is very difficult for any player, let alone a wide receiver, which is what makes Rice's mark so incredible; I think that 197 will remain the target for quite some time and that Owens will not match it, but he may put the second place number all but out of reach for anyone who comes after him.

At one point early in the second quarter, Owens had 85 yards from scrimmage and the remaining Cowboys had -1 yard from scrimmage. After several fine runs by Barber put the Cowboys in scoring position, Owens scored Dallas' second offensive touchdown of the game on a nice four yard slant, putting the Cowboys up 21-20, enabling them to retake the lead after Romo's fumble on the previous possession. Owens is now second in NFL history with 30 2+ touchdown games; naturally, Rice (44) holds that record, too. Since Romo became Dallas' starting quarterback, he and Owens have hooked up for more touchdowns (28) than any other NFL tandem. That litany of records surprised Tony Kornheiser, who candidly admitted that he did not realize that Owens is that good. See how much you can learn if you actually watch the games and read the game notes instead of being obsessed with covering off field nonsense? Kornheiser said that controversy has "masked how good Owens really is" but who is responsible for that? Yes, Owens has exercised poor judgment in certain situations but I seem to recall Kornheiser and his Pardon the Interruption partner Mike Wilbon repeatedly praising Chad Johnson as some kind of lovable, harmless entertainer while at the same time relentlessly bashing Owens; those storylines reflect their biases, not any objective reality. If Kornheiser does not know that Owens is one of the greatest receivers ever he has no one to blame but himself.

As I've repeatedly indicated in this space, I grew up reading great articles by Kornheiser in magazines like Inside Sports back when Kornheiser was a great journalist who wrote insightful, in depth pieces. He is also capable of writing entertainment columns that are laugh out loud funny but the combination of his irreverent humor with his sports coverage often rubs me the wrong way now; I miss the Kornheiser I grew up with but I suppose that ESPN provides him several million reasons to prefer what he is doing now (not for nothing was the title of one of his books--a hilarious read, by the way--Back for More Cash).

After Owens' first half aerial heroics, Barber and Witten did serious work in the second half; Barber pounded the Eagles with tough runs and some timely receptions out of the backfield, while Witten found plenty of room to roam in the middle as Owens occupied two defensive players on the edge.

Despite the late mistakes, McNabb looked better than he has looked in quite some time. He broke tackles, made good reads and was very accurate with his throws. As Young said after the game, McNabb seems to have moved back into the elite category of NFL quarterbacks. Stuart Scott did a voiceover for a graphic that showed that McNabb has been an excellent September quarterback for the past several years, so we'll wait and see if McNabb stays healthy and productive for the entire season.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

While some "experts" predicted doom and gloom for the New England Patriots sans 2007 NFL MVP Tom Brady, Matt Cassel played very solidly (13-23, 165 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions) as the Patriots beat the New York Jets 19-10 to improve to 2-0 and extend their NFL record regular season winning streak to 21. In his first home game as a Jet, Brett Favre went 18-26 for 181 yards and a touchdown but he threw a costly third quarter interception in his own territory that Cassel and the Patriots quickly converted into New England's only touchdown to give the Patriots a 13-3 lead. If Favre continues to throw the ball up for grabs against good teams, his interception totals are going to go up and his passer rating is going to go down. It is early, but based on what they have shown so far there is no objective reason to believe that the Jets are going to be a playoff team this year, let alone a Super Bowl contender; they squeaked by a weak Miami team and trailed almost the entire game against a New England team that some people thought would be vulnerable without Brady.

Of course, you cannot mention Favre without also talking about his Green Bay replacement, Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay is 2-0 now after a 48-25 victory over Detroit in which Rodgers went 24-38 for 328 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating for that game was 117.0, even better than the 115.5 he posted in week one. Rodgers ranks sixth in the NFL in passer rating (117.8), while Favre is eighth (104.1). Obviously, there is a long way to go in this season but Rodgers seems to have the necessary tools to be a very good NFL quarterback, so it is understandable why Green Bay's management elected to stop riding the Favre "I'm retiring/I'm not retiring" carousel. Prior to week one, ESPN's Tom Jackson and Cris Carter seemed to almost gleefully predict doom for Rodgers but, to his credit, Jackson has now completely changed his tune. During the "Whiteboard Breakdown" segment on Monday Night Countdown, Jackson said that after two games Rodgers has been the best player in the league and he called Rodgers "a naturally gifted passer."

The most exciting game of week two took place in Denver, where Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler (36-50, 350 yards, four touchdowns, one interception) and Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers (21-33, 377 yards, three touchdowns, one interception) engaged in an old fashioned, AFL-style shootout as their teams combined to produced 942 yards of offense. Denver made the winning score with just :24 left as Cutler hooked up with Eddie Royal for a four yard touchdown pass and then Denver Coach Mike Shanahan boldly went for the two point conversion, which also turned out to be a Cutler-Royal connection. NFL coaches usually go the safe route in that situation; this is just the third time that a team has won a game with a two point conversion since the NFL instituted the two point play in 1994.

Unfortunately, the ending of this game was marred by a bad call by Ed Hochuli, the usually reliable referee who has become famous for his prodigious "guns" and detailed explanations of calls. Two plays prior to the final touchdown, Cutler rolled out to pass but lost control of the ball. It was pretty obvious that he fumbled but Hochuli blew his whistle and ruled that this was an incomplete pass, nullifying San Diego's recovery. Once Hochuli realized that he had made a mistake there was nothing he could do because the play is dead as soon as he blows his whistle, as Hochuli explained after the game: "All we can do to fix it is put the ball at the spot that it hit the ground, which is why we moved it back to the 10-yard line and the down counts and it becomes third down."

Stat of the Week: Kurt Warner had more touchdown passes in the second half of last season (21) than any other NFL quarterback. In case you're wondering, 2007 league leader Tom Brady had 20 of his NFL single season record 50 in the second half of the season. Throwing a lot of touchdowns is nothing new for Warner; his 41 touchdowns in 1999 ranked third on the NFL single season list at that time and that is still the fifth highest single season total in NFL history.

This season, Warner is picking up right where he left off last year: after completing 19 of 30 passes for 197 yards and one touchdown in Arizona's 23-13 week one victory over San Francisco, he compiled a perfect passer rating (158.3) in Arizona's 31-10 destruction of Miami, completing 19 of 24 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns. This is the third time that Warner had a perfect rating in a game, tying Peyton Manning's NFL record. Warner started the game 9-9 for 221 yards.

Monday Night Football Quick Hits: Opening Week Edition

Aaron Rodgers passed his first test with flying colors, achieving a gaudy 115.5 passer rating by completing 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions as his Green Bay Packers defeated their division rival Minnesota Vikings 24-19 in the first game of Green Bay's post-Brett Favre era. Favre lovers/Green Bay haters in the media will have to look long and hard to find something to criticize about Rodgers' performance. There is obviously a long way to go this season but now the whole nation has had an opportunity to see why the Packers were ready to hand over the reins to Rodgers.

There is beating a dead horse and then there is shooting the dead horse, kicking it 50 times, pistol whipping it and whacking it with a folding chair a la a pro wrestler; the latter is a good metaphor for Tony Kornheiser's commentary during the early portion of the Green Bay-Minnesota game, when every single thing that happened precipitated an overwrought comparison of Rodgers to Favre. After a series of penalties resulted in the Packers facing a first and 33, Kornheiser went too far even for his compliant booth mates Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski when he said that everyone will be watching this play to see if Rodgers can pull off the kind of magic that Favre does in such situations; Tirico and Jaworski calmly noted that teams do not routinely deal with that down and distance.

After Rodgers threw his first touchdown, Kornheiser suggested that the crowd was happy because Rodgers had made a Favre-like throw but Jaworski countered that the fans were merely celebrating the fact that their team scored: "You've got to let it go, Tony," he advised, before adding, "I'll go into the football. Aaron Rodgers did a great job with the play action. Korey Hall was about the fourth receiver in that progression. Great job in that regard by Rodgers." That in a nutshell is the problem with having someone like Kornheiser or Dennis Miller in the MNF booth: Jaworski virtually has to call a timeout to "go into the football"; Kornheiser and Miller are both intelligent and witty but they are not football analysts and their presence takes away air time from someone like Jaworski who can actually analyze and explain the game. I resent that ESPN thinks that it has to "add" something to the telecast in order to attract more viewers, whether that something is Kornheiser or the incessant parade of non-football related guests to the broadcast booth, a practice that mercifully is supposed to not take place as much this season. ESPN should just show the game, using their big budget to provide multiple camera angles and the best commentary from analysts who truly understand the intricacies of the sport; viewers who want to be "entertained" by something not related to sports have the option of switching to non-sports programming, while real sports fans do not appreciate such "extras."

During the Packers' next possession, Kornheiser continued to assault the dead horse mercilessly: "I've mentioned this before, the great gamble here. Not to disparage Rodgers--because he's good--but he was given a 13-3 team, and so the question becomes is this the right year to hand a 13-3 team over to somebody with inexperience, because they are knocking on the Super Bowl door. That is the great question in all of this." Does this add anything to the broadcast? Wasn't all of that pretty obvious even before Kornheiser said it in various ways 50 times? After the camera panned to Packers GM Ted Thompson, Kornheiser continued, "He's the guy who did it--he and (Coach) Mike McCarthy. They made this decision. Brett Favre said that he wanted to come back and they finally said the train has moved out of the station. I question that, because that was in July. They hadn't even loaded up the train yet. There were no passengers on it--"

Jaworski, sounding as exasperated as I felt, finally interrupted to provide some perspective: "I know, but Tony you forget that Brett Favre retired. He quit playing football. What were they supposed to do? Wait for him to come back? You've got to move on." That is good advice for both the Packers and Kornheiser.

Favre's Sunday debut as a New York Jet was impressive (15-22, 194 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, 125.9 rating) but it is worth noting that he put up those numbers in a 20-14 win over a Miami team that went 1-15 last year. It was a quintessential Favre performance in every way: he showed off his arm strength, guts and gunslinger tendencies and he also put the ball up for grabs, most notably with his miracle touchdown pass to Chansi Stuckey, a desperation heave that should have been intercepted. Let's see what Favre and the Jets do against some better teams. The most remarkable thing about Favre is his astounding consecutive games streak; his durability is a product of conditioning, toughness and a little luck but I think that Favre also helps himself with his footwork. When he delivers a ball from a crowded pocket he often seems to throw off of his back foot, instead of planting his front foot like most quarterbacks and thus exposing himself to the type of devastating knee injury that Tom Brady just suffered. Throwing off your back foot is not something that coaches teach or that most quarterbacks can do efffectively on a consistent basis but--whether by plan or instinct--Favre seems to have a knack for avoiding the kill shots that have taken out so many quarterbacks.

ESPN's Tom Jackson and Cris Carter are a little too giddy in their predictions of how well Brett Favre will do in New York and how much pressure they think Aaron Rodgers is facing. This is understandable, because Jackson and Carter are former Pro Bowlers who surely identify more with Favre and his struggle with Green Bay management than they do with an unproven, career backup like Rodgers--but just because their take is understandable does not make it objective or correct. Favre is an old quarterback who has been an erratic postseason performer for years and who has annually been speaking about retiring. This summer he actually did retire and the Packers had a succession plan in place. When Favre later said that he could understand that Green Bay had moved on you either had to admire his boldness or wonder at how disconnected he is from reality. What did he expect Green Bay to do after he retired: fold the franchise? Of course they moved on, just like every other team in sports history has done after a great player retired. Jackson and Carter's commentary on this subject seems to be inspired more by bias than by an objective evaluation of Rodgers' skill set or a realistic appraisal of Green Bay's options after Favre flip-flopped; Green Bay management was correct to finally rid itself of the annual Favre retirement drama and to put Rodgers on the field full time before they have to decide whether or not to sign him to a long term deal.

As for the second Monday Night Football game--Denver's 41-14 rout of Oakland--suffice it to say that the Raiders should be sued for deceptive advertising if they don't scrap their "Commitment to Excellence" motto.

Here are some notes/comments about Sunday's action:

1) The biggest story by far is Tom Brady's season-ending knee injury. Naturally, many people are predicting doom and gloom for the Patriots because New England will be without the services of the reigning MVP, a player who tossed an NFL record 50 touchdown passes last season. Obviously, it is not a good thing to lose the best player in the league but it is very premature to write off a team that went 16-0 last season and is currently riding an NFL record 20 game regular season winning streak. Keep in mind that when Brady became the starting quarterback for New England in 2001 he had virtually the same credentials--or lack thereof--that Matt Cassel currently has: Brady was a 24 year old, sixth round draft pick who had been as low as seventh on the depth chart in college, while Cassel is a 26 year old, seventh round draft pick who spent his college career as a backup to Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Yes, that analogy crumbles a bit considering that Brady did achieve some success as a starter in college, while Cassel has not been a starter since high school, but it would be a mistake to underestimate the importance that coaching has played in the success that Brady and the Patriots have enjoyed. Brady was well prepared to step in and play because he was well coached and Cassel certainly looked well prepared as he compiled a 116.0 passer rating while completing 13 of 18 passes for 152 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions as New England beat Kansas City 17-10, scoring all 17 points after Brady got hurt. It is important to not just look at those numbers but also consider a couple of the throws that Cassel made, in particular his 51 yard completion to Randy Moss on a 3rd and 11 play from the New England one yard line and his 10 yard touchdown pass to Moss at the conclusion of that drive. The fact that Bill Belichick and the coaching staff trusted Cassel enough to have him throw a bomb out of the end zone--instead of doing a safe running play up the middle and punting the ball on fourth down--speaks volumes and the throw itself showcased that Cassel has a strong, accurate arm. The touchdown pass was also a very well thrown ball, placed where only Moss could catch it.

The bottom line is that Cassel has a good skill set, he has talented players around him and he is being coached by one of the greatest coaches ever. The critics are always looking for reasons/excuses to doubt the Patriots but the Patriots usually come through. Remember when Belichick released Lawyer Milloy prior to the 2003 season? Buffalo beat the Patriots 31-0 in week one and Tom Jackson declared that Belichick had lost the team because the players were so upset by how Belichick had treated Milloy--and then the Patriots made Jackson look foolish by winning 14 of their next 15 regular season games en route to their second Super Bowl victory. Sometimes when people pick against the Patriots I think that they are wishing more than they are analyzing.

2) In the August 25, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated, Jim Trotter wrote about the real Chad Johnson, the Chad Johnson that "Ocho Cinco's" media friends usually whitewash before bashing Terrell Owens:

While football fans were watching Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson become a caricature of himself in the off-season, popping off repeatedly with demands to be traded--or, presumably, to be given a new contract--a small group of Bengals players turned their attention to coach Marvin Lewis. Almost from the moment Lewis took the Cincinnati coaching job in 2003, he assigned Chosen One status to Johnson. The former Oregon State standout could get away with anything. Walk out of a meeting without permission? Walk off the practice field and not return because the quarterback hadn't thrown enough passes his way? Put on a sideline skit after scoring a touchdown during a game? Johnson had done them all without significant consequences.

The Bengals looked terrible in their 17-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, producing just 154 yards of offense. "Ocho Psycho" had one reception for 22 yards. Considering that "Ocho Psycho's" teams have no record of postseason success while Owens has been a major contributor on playoff teams for three different franchises, it would be refreshing--yet unlikely--if the media would report the truth: "Ocho Psycho" is a major problem for the Bengals and a major contributor to the unprofessional attitude that has dogged the franchise for years. Most of the NFL's talented receivers are selfishly interested in their statistics but the great ones also want to contribute to a winning effort; "Ocho Psycho" gives every indication that he is primarily interested in his own numbers and his own drama as opposed to helping to build a winning team.

3) ESPN's virtual reality football field--featured on Sunday NFL Countdown and Monday NFL Countdown--is really cool; instead of having ex-players dressed in suits walking through plays, now Tom Jackson narrates the action as three dimensional versions of NFL players move up and down the field in very life-like fashion. Considering the enormous popularity of video games and fantasy sports, how long will it be before sports leagues are replaced by "leagues" of three dimensional, virtual reality players? Maybe that sounds crazy, but virtual reality players won't get season ending injuries or hold out for bigger contracts or get in trouble at three in the morning.