The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-7 in the NFL...

1. Brett Favre's magic has officially disappeared. What that means is he's no longer good enough to overcome his own mistakes. The moments of brilliance are few and far between these days.

2. One other note on the Sunday night game...Visanthe Shiancoe's TD catch should never have been overturned via replay. He absolutely had possession.

3. In his post-game comments, Mike Singletary said he still believes his 1-6 49ers can make the playoffs. He also revealed he believes in the tooth fairy and strippers with a heart of gold.

4. Are Niners fans still calling for David Carr? I think not.

5. I don't disagree with Bill Belichick's philosophy in going for it on 4th and 1 late in the 4th quarter, but the play call was awful. You have to put the ball in Tom Brady's hands there.

6. With his two interception returns for touchdowns Sunday, Browns linebacker David Bowens has now found the endzone as many times as Larry Fitzgerald this season.

7. I think Roger Goodell overreacted to last week's string of devastating hits. That said, if the league's emphasis on player safety had a negative impact on yesterday's games, I didn't see it.

8. Spoke with Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward on the Sunday Drive after their win in Miami. His take on the bizarre ruling following the Roethlisberger fumble, "Our guys said they had the ball. Their guys said they had the ball. I'm going to believe our guys over their guys." Get all that?

9. DeAngelo Hall is clearly Jay Cutler's new favorite target. Hall's stat line of 4-receptions (interceptions) for 92-yards and a touchdown was better than anything the Bears' receivers did Sunday.

10. Did the Raiders just score again? I imagine that performance even brought the color back to Al Davis's face. Then again...

11. There were several huge receiving days in week-7, but to me Kenny Britt's was the most impressive. The Titans wideout caught 7-balls for 225-yards and 3-TD's. Keep in mind he didn't start the game as punishment for his role in a fight last week, Kerry Collins was his quarterback, and the rest of the team combined had 10-receptions for 51-yards.

12. I still like Kevin Kolb, but let's face it...his uneven performance made Andy Reid's decision to name Michael Vick the team's starting quarterback a whole lot easier.

13. Don't know if he's injured, but something is not quite right about Drew Brees. With those 4-interceptions yesterday, he's now thrown 10 this year. Brees was picked off 11-times all of last season.

14. The Todd Collins award of the week goes to Cardinals rookie QB Max Hall. Even with a concussion, 4 of 16-passing for 36-yards and an interception is embarrassing. And yes, he's still Arizona's best option.

15. Strange, but I don't hear all the proponents of the overtime rule change saying anything now. We've had 7-games go into sudden death this season. None of them have been decided on the first possession.

The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-6 in the NFL...

1. You can say it's a nice dilemma to have, like Andy Reid choosing between a Philly cheese steak, or a sausage, onions and peppers sandwich...he'd probably order both...but I wouldn't want to be in Reid's shoes right now. How can you tell Kevin Kolb to take a seat? Both Kolb and Michael Vick have put up good numbers, but I'm giving Kolb the edge here. He's done it against the Niners and Falcons. To me that's more impressive than Vick's performances versus the Lions and Jaguars.

2. No head coach sounded more defeated after a loss yesterday than Wade Phillips. Make no mistake, at 1-4 the Cowboys are done. Phillips might as well get a head start and begin packing up his office now. I'm sure Jerry Jones will offer to help.

3. So much for Marcus McNeill solidifying the Chargers offensive line. In their first 5-games, the Rams had 10-sacks. Against the Chargers Sunday, they dropped Philip Rivers 7-times.

4. Let me end the Tim Tebow hype right now. Yes, he ran for a TD Sunday. No, he never came close to attempting a pass. Tebow is Brad Smith minus the athleticism. And the Jets didn't spend a 1st round pick on Smith. (He was a 4th rounder in case you were wondering)

5. Spoke with three different wide receivers on the Sunday Drive and they each had something interesting to offer. The Steelers Mike Wallace told me and Steve Torre, with Ben Roethlisberger now back they can actually use the whole playbook.

6. When we caught up with Deion Branch, he said it felt like he'd never left the Patriots. In fact, Branch revealed that he stayed in the same hotel the night before the game, and thought it was the same room for that matter.

7. During our interview with the Jets Braylon Edwards, I asked about Mark Sanchez's 2-interception day. His response, "Mark didn't go into a shell like he would've last year."

8. Back to Deion Branch for a moment...He had 9-receptions in his return to the Patriots. In the 4-games Randy Moss played with New England this season...9-receptions total.

9. Jason Campbell gets the Todd Collins award of the week. In their 17-9 loss to the Niners, the Raiders QB completed just 8 of 21-passes for 83-yards with 0-TD's and 2-INT's. Think Al Davis is still comparing Campbell to Jim Plunkett?

10. Believe it or not it took until week-6 for Drew Brees and the Saints to score more than 25-points in a game. Why do I get the feeling a sleeping giant just woke up?

11. Maybe South Beach really is a distraction. The Dolphins are now 3-0 on the road, and have given up 40-points in those 3-games. At home they're 0-2 and have allowed 72-points.

12. Alex Smith is a smart guy, but the Niners quarterback has zero pocket presence. How many more times is he going to run directly at a defensive lineman?

13. Nice one handed catch Pierre Garcon. Now if you could only make more two handed receptions.

14. That was a franchise QB performance in the 4th quarter by the Texans Matt Schaub in their comeback win against the Chiefs. He completed 11 of 14-passes for 155-yards including the game winning 11-yard TD strike to Andre Johnson with 28-seconds remaining.

15. Does the NFL really need to throw Jacksonville a bone with a Monday night game?

The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-5 in the NFL...

1. No Halloween horror flick could possibly be any scarier than the film of Todd Collins' performance yesterday. The Bears quarterback completed 6-passes and threw 4-interceptions. My advice to Collins when they review the tape...close your eyes and be afraid...be very afraid.

2. It's time for Chargers special teams coach Steve Crosby to polish up that resume, because a pink slip should be in the mail. San Diego has now given up 2-kickoff returns for TD's, 1-punt return for a touchdown, and yesterday they had 2-punts blocked. All of this in 5-games. Brutal.

3. Your defense played too well for you not to catch that ball in the end zone Dwayne Bowe.

4. Hell has officially frozen over. Niners fans were actually calling for David Carr last night.

5. The Packers have zero faith in their running game. On a day when Brandon Jackson rushed for 115-yards, Green Bay handed him the ball just once in the 4th quarter with a 10-point lead.

6. For those of you in favor of parity, not only is this the first time since 1970 that there are no 4-0 teams, the entire AFC South is 3-2.

7. The Texans secondary couldn't cover my grandmother, and she's been dead for over 20-years.

8. Why are you attempting an onside kick to start that game in Detroit Steve Spagnuolo?

9. So much for rebuilding on the fly in the NFC East. Mike Shanahan's Redskins are a missed 52-yard FG in overtime away from being 4-1. Graham Gano went wide right on that kick back in week-2, after Washington had blown a 13-point halftime lead.

10. Congratulations Detroit Lions! QB Shaun Hill told me and Steve Torre on the Sunday Drive, that was the most fun he'd ever had after a win. I have the feeling the Lions will be able to celebrate a few more times before this season is over.

11. Opposing defenses are simply daring the Colts, Saints and Packers to run the ball right now. That's a major reason why Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers led their team's to 19, 20 and 13-points Sunday. Combined they threw for 3-TD's and 5-INT's.

12. Coaching hot seat after 5-weeks....1. John Fox (he's gone no matter what) 2. Wade Phillips (Jerry Jones isn't a patient man) 3. Mike Singletary (the clock is officially ticking)

13. Does any team win closer, uglier games than the Falcons? My pre-season Super Bowl pick is now 4-1. However, 3 of their 4-victories are by an average of 5-points, and their 1-loss was by 6.

14. The Bengals are an immature team, with an inconsistent quarterback and no real leadership to speak of. Any questions?

15. If the Jets really want to create a distraction for Brett Favre tonight, they'd name Jenn Sterger an honorary captain, and have her strut out to midfield for the coin toss.

The 15-Play Drive

15-thoughts on week-4 in the NFL...

1. Give the Eagles fans credit. They showed class with a standing ovation for Donovan McNabb. Who knew they had any?

2. If the Bears offensive line was responsible for protecting the United States, we'd all be speaking Russian right now.

3. Aaron Rodgers is an elite quarterback, but with no running game to speak of, the Packers offense is far too one dimensional. Call the Bills about Marshawn Lynch...like today.

4. Anyone out there still believe LaDainian Tomlinson is over the hill? Didn't think so.

5. I feel for you Lions fans. Detroit has turned losing close games into a work of art. Three of their four defeats this season are by 5-points or less.

6. Maybe it's just me, but the 49ers offense didn't look any better with Mike Johnson calling plays. 7-points and 269-total yards.

7. You have to get down after that interception Nate Clements. A touchdown there is meaningless. The game is over.

8. No team is more Jekyll and Hyde than the Seahawks. At home they've scored 31 and 27 in wins over the 49ers and Chargers. On the road 14 and 3 in losses to the Broncos and Rams.

9. How many people predicted the Chiefs would be the last team without a loss? Anyone? Bueller?

10. In the week of the kicker the Jaguars Josh Scobee not only had the most impressive game winner, a 59-yarder against the Colts, he had the best celebration. Scobee told me and Steve Torre on the Sunday Drive, he planned that victory lap.

11. Let's be honest...the Cardinals don't have a quarterback. Anyone have Jeff Garcia's phone number?

12. The Steelers, Texans and Jets did more than just survive without the suspended Ben Roethlisberger, Brian Cushing and Santonio Holmes. They're all 3-1, and about to get key reinforcements.

13. Why do I have the feeling that I could rush for 100-yards against that Raiders defense.

14. Learn to slide Bruce Gradkowski...you'll live longer.

15. An actual T.J. Houshmandzadeh sighting. He picked the right time to emerge from the witness protection program. I almost forgot he was still in the league.