Posted by Will Brinson


Every week, our NFL experts will hand out the Eye on Football hardware to the best of the best from the NFL week that was.

Week 3 NFL Awards
Expert	Offense	Defense	STeams	Coach
Freeman	Fitzpatrick	Colts	Knox	Gailey
Judge	McFadden	Bills DBs	Bailey	Gailey
Prisco	Romo	Allen	Bailey	Coughlin
Brinson	McFadden	Freeney	Bailey	Gailey
Katzowitz	T. Smith	Freeney	Bailey	Schwartz
Wilson	Welker	Freeney	Bailey	Jackson

Week 3's over and everything in the NFL is clear, apparent and obvious. Like, for instance, that the Lions and Bills are really good. I mean, who didn't see that coming, right? Anyway, it's award time for us.

Offensively speaking, there were plenty of performances that inspired us this week, but Darren McFadden of the Raiders and his 171 yards against the Jets warranted enough consideration to sneak out the award. (And with good reason.)

It was a losing defensive effort that picked up the hardware this week, as Dwight Freeney's efforts inspired enough voters to cast something similar to his name in the ballot and pick up the award. What does it say about the state of defense in the NFL, by the way, that we had three voters cast for either multiple players or an "entity"?

Dan Bailey ran away with the Eye on Special Teams for the second week in a row after his six (six!) field goals against the Redskins gave the Cowboys a victory on Monday night. You can only make the kicks your team gives you and Bailey did just that.

As far as the Eye on Coaching award goes, well, Chan Gailey wins ... again! What kind of world are we living in, huh?

Leave your votes in the comments below or scream angrily at us on Twitter @EyeOnNFL.

Eye on Offense Award
Mike Freeman	Clark Judge
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Bills He deserves to win every award ever invented. Offensive award, defensive, Nobel, a Pulitzer and throw in an Emmy. It is true the Bills intercepted Tom Brady four times, a rarity, like when all of the planets in the solar system are aligned. It's clearly Fitzpatrick, despite Buffalo's defense prowess, who is driving this team and did so against New England. They'd lost 15 straight games to the Pats. Fitzpatrick's accuracy, skill and guts powered the Bills in what was the best performance -- period -- of the week.	Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders If this guy stays healthy, the Raiders stay at or near the top of the AFC West. He seems to run at a faster speed than everyone else, and last weekend the New York Jets were that everyone. It takes a lot to impress Jets' coach Rex Ryan, and he seemed overwhelmed by Oakland's running game -- with McFadden the first one through the door with 171 yards, two TDs and an average of 9 yards a carry. We always knew he could be special; what we didn't know ... and still don't ... is if he can stay on the field.
Pete Prisco	Will Brinson
Tony Romo, QB, Cowboys I know his numbers weren't great, but did he ever tough it out against the Redskins. He played with a broken rib and punctured lung and made some tough throws. He took some shots, but kept on going. Not only that, he was playing with a bunch of backups.  Still doubt this guy?	Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders If there was any question about Run DMC leading the league in rushing, he answered it Sunday, by rolling over the Jets with 171 yards on just 19 carries. He's piling up yards at a terrifyingly efficient clip (6.4 YPC) and deserves to be in the discussion as the best back in the NFL.
Josh Katzowitz	Ryan Wilson
Torrey Smith, WR, Ravens The Ravens were looking to get off to a fast start vs. the Rams. And behind the play of rookie Smith, who had yet to record a single statistic in a game before Sunday, that’s exactly what they did. Smith caught three touchdowns in the first quarter, and overall, he had five catches for 152 yards to help get the Ravens offense back on track.	Wes Welker, WR, Patriots It's rarely the case that a Patriots wide receiver has 16 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns and New England still loses. But when Tom Brady throws four interceptions and Chad Ochocinco drops what should've been a touchdown pass, that's exactly what happens. The lesson? No lead is too large for the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills to overcome.
Eye on Defense Award
Freeman	Judge
Indianapolis Colts, DST I'll avoid more Bills slurping and go an unusual route--the Colts.I know. Very weird. Yet in a game which the Colts truly had no chance to win due to the absence of Peyton Manning that Indianapolis defense played brilliantly minus a play or two. They stripped a sloppy Ben Roethlisberger twice and picked him off. They were the only reason Indianapolis was in the game late.	Buffalo Bills Secondary The Bills' secondary had three of the team's four interceptions vs. Tom Brady and fueled the team's comeback from a 21-0 hole. Incredible. Nobody spots Brady 21 points and wins. Only Buffalo just did, ending a 15-game losing streak. Drayton Florence's go-ahead TD was the big blow, but defensive backs George Wilson and Leodis McKelvin had crucial interceptions, too. Do you believe in miracles? Brady had four interceptions all of last season; he had four on Sunday.
Prisco	Brinson
Jared Allen, DE, Vikings I know his team didn't win, but he was a force all day. He had three sacks and was spent the game in the Lions backfield. He also made some nice plays against the run.	Dwight Freeney, DE, Colts Don't tell Freeney that the Colts only upside to this season is nabbing Stanford's Andrew Luck -- in a game that the Colts weren't supposed to even be in by the fourth quarter, he dominated up front and gave Indy a shot at its first win of the year with two sacks, a forced fumble and total disruption.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Dwight Freeney, DE, Colts Freeney dominated the Steelers offensive line, recording two sacks, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and a forced fumble. He almost single-handedly kept Indianapolis in the game and forced the Steelers to kick a last-second field goal for the win. Too bad Freeney can't play quarterback.	Dwight Freeney & Robert Mathis, DE, Colts They spent Sunday night meeting on Ben Roethlisberger, combining for three sacks and two fumbles that resulted in 10 Indianapolis points. You could make a case that Freeney and Mathis are just as deserving of offensive honors, too.
Eye on Special Teams Award
Freeman	Judge
Johnny Knox, WR, Bears I know, I know. The spectacular return didn't count because of a phantom hold. A really phantom hold. Such a phantom hold it insults the word phantom. But the fake-out kick return by the Bears was such delicious subterfuge and Knox was king actor selling the fake completely. It was a wonderfully designed play that worked. Did I mention the phantom holding call? One other thing: I think Knox could be one of the top three special teams players in football if he got more opportunities.	Dan Bailey, K, Cowboys He did the only scoring in the Cowboys' come-from-behind defeat of Washington Monday night, with a 40-yard field goal to win the game. Bailey wasn't the story of that game; Tony Romo was. Not sure how he gutted his way through another victory, but it wouldn't have been possible if Bailey weren't there to punctuate the drives that Romo began.
Prisco	Brinson
Dan Bailey, K, Cowboys He made six field goals, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter, to tie a rookie record. Well done.	Dan Bailey, K, Cowboys The last place you want to kick as a rookie is in Dallas, where there's been a revolving door of kickers for a while now. But Bailey doesn't care and he gets my nod again this week as his leg carried the Cowboys to a crucial victory when they clammed up in the red zone.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Dan Bailey, K, Cowboys With Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo getting very little help from his wide receivers and his offensive line, Bailey provided all of Dallas’ points in its win against the Redskins and set an NFL rookie record with six field goals in a single game. Bailey is now 9 of 10 on the season.	Dan Bailey, K, Cowboys For the second time in as many weeks, the Cowboys rookie kicker earns the nod. He was 6 for 6 on field-goal attempts against the Redskins and accounted for all of Dallas' points.
Eye on Coaching Award
Freeman	Judge
Chan Gailey, Bills He ended a brutal losing streak to New England but Gailey has done more than that in Buffalo. He's made the Bills relevant and the Bills haven't been relevant since the invention of barbecue wings.Buffalo hasn't had a winning record since 2004 and the last time the Bills made the playoffs was the late 1990s. Gailey isn't a great coach but he's solid. If he can steer the Bills into the playoffs he will have done one of the great coaching jobs of the past decade and making the postseason begins with their win over the Patriots.	Chan Gailey, Bills He wins in a photo-finish with the Lions' Jim Schwartz, and for this reason: Somehow, some way, he convinced his players that they weren't dead meat after falling behind by 21 points to Tom Brady and the big, bad New England Patriots. They'd lost 15 straight to these guys, for crying out loud, so there was every reason to quit. But they didn't. Now the question: Are these guys for real? I don't care. I just care that Gailey accomplished what no one in Buffalo has been to accomplish in years.
Prisco	Brinson
Tom Coughlin, Giants When his team looks to be down, facing a lot of adversity, Coughlin always gets them to respond. They went into Philadelphia as 9-point underdogs and dominated the Eagles. That's why Coughlin is a top-tier coach.	Chan Gailey, Bills We joked after Week 1 that Gailey deserved the award since it was his only shot of winning. Um, whoops? Gailey's masterful coaching job with the Bills has them undefeated and if the first two weeks weren't convincing enough, a 21-point comeback against the Patriots certainly should be.
Katzowitz	Wilson
Jim Schwartz, Lions What can you say about the Lions’ resiliency after falling behind by 20 points at halftime to the Vikings only to force overtime and win? Whatever it is, Schwartz’s coaching -- the adjustments the staff made and the fact it settled down the players -- can't go overlooked.	Hue Jackson, Raiders The Raiders first-year coach out-Rex Ryan'd Rex Ryan Sunday, forcing critical turnovers and relying on well-timed gadget plays to outlast the Jets.

Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Remember, after the Lions took Nick Fairley in the first round, how we all talked about how awesome the Lions defensive line was going to be with Fairley and Ndamukong Suh? In fact, with Fairley and Suh, in his second year, the Lions were going to be a dominant force for years to come.

Even Suh was excited about the possibilities.

“It’s going to be exciting to be able to have a guy like that come out and be really a truly impact guy from the first couple days of him getting on the field,” Suh said in May. “I think on paper we have one of the strongest defensive lines across the board. It’s going to be exciting with that, but we’ve got to go out there and prove it. It may look good on paper, but you definitely want to get out there and make some noise.”

It looked great on paper, and so far, that’s where it’s stayed because Fairley hasn’t played yet.

Fairley and Suh Possibilities

Fairley will miss significant time Suh likes Detroit’s D-line Podcast: Suh talks Lions, Fairley and more NFL Draft 1st round winners/losers

That theme will continue this Sunday. As Rapid Reporter John Kreger points out, the Lions injury report from Friday lists Fairley as out, meaning he definitely won’t suit up Sunday. That means it’s the third-straight week we won’t get to see how Fairley and Suh play together (not that it’s totally bothered the Lions; they are 2-0 without Fairley after all).

That said, there was good Fairley news Friday.

As the Detroit Free Press writes, Fairley returned to practice today for the first time since Aug. 1 after spending the last couple of weeks conditioning and getting ready to return.

“It’s (his) first day,” coach Jim Schwartz said. “Still got a long way to go, but there’s steps along the way, and this was one of them.”

So, when can he return? Next week perhaps?

“You can’t tell,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “I’m not a trainer or a doctor or anything like that, but my hope as a football coach is to get him out there and let’s get him ready to roll, 'cause I think he’s pretty good.”

The injury issue first came up in training camp when, after a practice, Fairley mysteriously was spotted in a walking boot. Fairley said his ankle injury wasn’t a big deal. And it wasn’t. Until it was determined that the injury was worse than Lions trainers originally thought and that he had to have surgery. Fairley was supposed to miss a significant portion of training camp, but obviously, he’s been gone much longer than that.

But he got a little bit closer today to jumping off the paper and back on the field.



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Posted by Will Brinson



Sorting the Sunday Pile takes all of Sunday's NFL action and figures out the most important storylines for you to digest. Send your complaints, questions and comments to Will Brinson on Twitter. Make sure and listen to our Week 1 podcast review below as well and feel free to subscribe via iTunes.

(Ed. note: Week 2 Podcast will be live first thing Monday morning. Thanks for your patience.)

1. Michael Vick doesn't gets Michael Vick'd
Vick was going to get injured this year. That's just what happens when you combine a quarterback who runs like he does with an offensive line that blocks like Philly's doesn't. But what an unlikely way for him to get injured -- getting tackled in the pocket and falling into a head-to-head, concussion-inducing hit with Todd Herremans, his own offensive lineman.

And even though Mike Kafka looked pretty darn good in an impromptu relief appearance, and even though he provided an endless amount of philosophy-fueled jokes on Twitter, he's not Michael Vick, and he's not going to steal the starter's job or become the single-biggest story of the NFL season.

Fortunately for the Eagles, they've got a reasonably cushy schedule the next four games, facing the Giants, the 49ers, the Bills and the Redskins. But it's a quick reminder to those ready to crown the "Dream Team" as the likely Super Bowl champion: quarterback is a very talented, but very fragile position for them, and if they can't keep Vick upright, it's going to be tough sailing.

Three other notes on that game, while we're here. One, that was an embarrassing display by Falcons fans as Vick left the game, spitting out blood, to boo him mercilessly. I get that many folks won't get past what he did, and how much he might have cost the Atlanta franchise. But to boo a guy who could have suffered a serious head injury is just lacking in class. And kind of surprising for a sports city that typically doesn't show up to scream that loudly.

Two, can the NFL please do something about these "neck injury" classifications? Vick's neck might be sore, as Andy Reid said shortly after the game, he did in fact suffer a concussion. The only difference is that listing him with a concussion would rule him out for the game. A "neck injury" is a loophole for Vick to return to a potentially dangerous situation in terms of his personal health. The NFL needs to make teams get honest on these injury reports if they're going to be serious about player safety.

And finally, big ups to Matt Ryan for his performance in that game. Anyone who left the Falcons for dead after they were smacked around for the Bears obviously doesn't understand the importance of jumping to conclusions after a week's worth of football. The Falcons still got a little greedy when it came to forcing balls downfield to Julio Jones, and they could probably benefit from targeting Roddy White more, but Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner were dynamite. Ryan suffered an injury, too, but stood strong and led his team to a win with four touchdowns.

Absolutely a signature win, especially when you consider the opponent and the circumstances.

2. Dunta Robinson should be suspended
No need for a cute title here, and yeah, I'm adding one more point to the Eagles-Falcons game, but it's an important one. And it's pretty damn cut-and-dry when it comes to the hit of the Falcons cornerback on Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in the third quarter on Sunday night: it was dirty.

Maclin caught a ball over the middle, was running after the catch and got absolutely head-hunted by Robinson, who did the exact same thing to another Eagles wideout (DeSean Jackson) when these teams played in 2010.

Robinson was fined $50,000 for the monster helmet-to-helmet shot on Jackson. But that's not enough punishment -- he needs to be suspended.

The league said in 2010, immediately following Robinson's hit on Jackson mind you, that they would begin making an example out of repeat offenders by suspending them. We haven't seen that yet.

But we should; Robinson's decision -- and make no mistake, it absolutely was a decision, not a "reaction" -- to launch himself into Maclin helmet first was similar in a manner similar to the headbanging shot on Todd Heap that landed Brandon Meriweathear a big fine.

And it's similar, if not nearly identical, to his shot on Jackson last season.

There was a flag and there was a penalty, and Robinson was not ejected, as he should have been for the flagrant nature of the hit.

There'll absolutely be a fine coming his way in the middle of the week, but if Roger Goodell and Ray Anderson truly want to make an example out a classic case of a repeat offender, Robinson needs to be suspended.

3. Detroit Swag City
The Lions were one of the sleepiest of sleeper teams to begin the 2011 season. And with good reason -- if Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson can stay healthy, there's reason to believe Detroit's got enough potency on offense to compete with a playoff spot.

But here's the thing: they're actually doing it. It almost never works like that (ask the 2010 Houston Texans) but it's working right now.

Perhaps the biggest difference in these Lions, though, is the heretofore unseen amount of swagger present in Detroit football.

Before the 2010 season began, Chiefs GM Scott Pioli accused the Detroit front office of tampering. In response, the Lions would like offer Exhibit A: a 48-3 beatdown of Kansas City on Sunday in which they absolutely mangled KC in every aspect of the football game. It's the single-biggest margin of victory in Detroit's history, tied with their 45-point victory against Cleveland way back in 1957.

Exhibit B? The Lions decision to run Keiland Williams up the middle on fourth-and-one, leading 41-3, with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Just don't expect them to admit they were rubbing it in.

"We're not trying to do anything other than trying to win the game," Schwartz said.

Exhibit C? The Lions were "thrilled enough with the win" to give defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham a Gatorade bath with 28 seconds left:



This would be totally normal except for the fact that Cunningham is a defensive coordinator and this is the second week of the season. Oh right: Cunningham's the guy the Chiefs accused of tampering during the 2010 season.

So, yeah, message sent. But don't expect this swagger to suddenly disappear -- the guy who instilled it, Schwartz, doesn't see a whole to love about the victory.

"We can play better," Schwartz said after the game.

That's a pretty scary thought considering the Lions forced three fumbles (and recovered all three) and picked Matt Cassel three times. But Schwartz is right -- they've started slow on offense in both of their wins this year, and didn't look exceptional against the run early against Kansas City.

4. The Chiefs are dead, long live the Chiefs
There's a lot to love about the second week of the NFL season, but while we're here, we might as well go ahead and note that the Chiefs are donecakes when it comes to competing in the 2011 NFL season.

They're 0-2, they look lost on offense and defense, their best players are dropping like flies, and they have a negative 79 point differential through two games.

Considering they just got done with the "easy" part of their schedule -- the Bills and the Lions -- this does not bode well for the rest of their year. And Jamaal Charles' injury -- the running back is believed to be done for the year after tearing his ACL while colliding with the Lions mascot Sunday -- is the most tragic part of this Icarusian swoon back to reality.

Charles is truly one of the most exciting players to watch in the NFL, he's a home-run threat every single time he touches the ball, and he's the reason the Chiefs led the league in rushing last year and barnstormed their way to the AFC West title.

There will be no more excitement this season, and there will be no such division title.

In fact, the only drama remaining for the Chiefs is whether or not Todd Haley can hold onto his job for the rest of the year. To his credit, he's certainly willing to take the blame.

"The season will not be canceled as far as I know," Haley said on Sunday. "What we have to do is we have to stop doing those things that are costing us dearly, and putting us in very difficult positions."

Haley might wish the season would be canceled, though. A quick glance at the Chiefs schedule pegs their Week 5 game against Indianapolis as the easiest contest remaining, as they've got two matchups with Denver, Oakland and San Diego remaining and play one of the most brutal five-game stretches in the NFL starting in November: at New England, versus Pittsburgh, at Chicago, at the Jets, versus Green Bay.

No one has a warmer seat than Todd Haley right now.

4. Yes We Cam 2.0
Normally I might be cheesed that people are jacking my "Yes We Cam" swag (unless that's been around since Auburn and I just missed it), but being on board the Cam Newton bandwagon's too fun to get worried about anything.

Newton now has two of the three-highest passing games in Panthers history, he's one of only seven quarterbacks to throw for 400-plus yards in two-straight games, he owns the rookie record for most passing yards in a debut, he owns the rookie record for most passing yards in a game (ever), and, yeah, I get it -- he's 0-2.

The fact that people are screaming about win-loss records by a rookie on a team that's coming off a 2-14 campaign tells me two things. One, either they don't understand that quarterbacks don't play defense (much like pitchers don't score runs in baseball; wins aren't relative to success). Or two, they're sitting back in a corner and chugging a warm glass of Haterade, just because they can.

Newton's a guy that's always inspired critics. And he probably always will. But right now, he's making the right throws, he's saying the right things, and he's showing some of the most impressive progression we've ever seen in a young NFL quarterback.

Does he make mistakes? Absolutely. His three interceptions were pretty terrible. One might even call them rookie mistakes. And one might even note that they were a result of Rob Chudzinski taking the gloves off on the offense and winging the ball around. But there's no real need in ripping Chud, because he and Ron Rivera's coaching staff are the guys putting Newton in a position to succeed, and they deserve credit.

Just like Cam, regardless of the record.

It's been mentioned before, and it'll be mentioned again -- the Panthers probably won't win a lot of games when Newton's throwing for 400 yards. But that's a byproduct of lacking balance in the offensive attack, not because "Cam's not a winner."

5. Is 400 the new 300?
Speaking of 400-yard games, you've probably noticed that we've seen a number of games this season that have featured 400 or more passing yards. Six to be exact, which is quite a lot. In fact, we're currently on pace -- barring another offensive outpouring on Monday night -- for a whopping 48 400-yard games and and an absolutely insane 176 300-yard games in 2011.

Year	300-Yard Games	400-Yard Games
2006	65	7
2007	81	4
2008	76	8
2009	100	7
2010	96	11
2011	22	6

Now, there's a bit of caveating that needs to occur here. First of all, Newton is on pace to throw for something like 6,538 passing yards in 2011. While it would be foolish to guarantee it won't happen, it's pretty unlikely that Newton shatters Dan Marino's single-season passing yardage record by nearly 1,500 yards. (Tom Brady is, of course, more likely, but it's still a long ways off.)

Which is to say, it's still early, and you can't just simply project NFL numbers, particularly 400-yard passing games, across a season and expect continuity from here on out.

But as recently as 1998, we had just 52 300-yard games. At this year's pace, we're in reach of that many 400-yarders. It might not happen right now, but remember how 1,500-yard rushing seasons replaced 1,000 yard seasons as the new benchmark?

That transition is in process for the passing game right now, thanks to the entire league taking things aerial. It's a trend that won't go away and, sooner than later, 400 might actually become the new 300.

6. More like a Breathalyzer score
Not every quarterback's out there gunning the ball around with aplomb, though. Take Luke McCown of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who registered a quarterback rating on Sunday -- 1.8 -- that's impressive for all the wrong reasons.



McCown was 6/19 for 59 yards with four interceptions in the 32-3 loss to the Jets and inspiring only in the sense that his play makes you wonder what the hell the Jags were thinking when they decided to cut David Garrard one week before the regular season began. As my man Mike Freeman wrote, Garrard's kicking it somewhere much more fun than Jack Del Rio's office, cackling his ass off at McCown's performance on Sunday.

What makes it slightly more understandable is that it was against the Jets, who aren't exactly a cream-puff defense.

What makes it all slightly less understandable is that the Jaguars traded up to draft Blaine Gabbert this year, and seem hesitant to give him the nod. Why? Obviously Garrard wasn't the guy, because they cut him. And obviously McCown isn't the guy, because even Braylon Edwards is unimpressed with the digit he posted.

Gabbert was 5/6 in junk time, but let's see what the kids' got already. Jack Del Rio might be stringing out his job a little longer by playing the "you left me with no quarterback" card, but if my boss threw away my computer before the NFL season started, I wouldn't leave the other brand new computer I just bought sitting in a box in the sideline while fumbling through deadlines on a 10-year-old PC that I know doesn't work.

I'd crack that box open, see if the new computer is worth what I paid. Which is what Jacksonville needs to do.

7. Mmmmmm. [Fractured] ribs.
It's time to give Tony Romo his due -- the guy gets absolutely shredded when he makes stupid mistakes, like last week's debacle against the Jets. But on Sunday he returned after it was announced he'd suffered some fracture ribs and everyone assumed that it was Jon Kitna's ship to sink.

It was not. Romo came in, hit Jesse Holley for a big gain and the Cowboys took things to overtime where they ended up winning 27-24.

"I didn't want to be 0-2, and at the end of the day it's about winning and losing in this game," Romo said afterwards. "We needed a win. Why I wanted to be out there? I'm competitive. If I can play I'm gonna play."

Not the most convincing win against a 49ers team, but it was a win that an injury-ravaged Cowboys team badly needed to win. Things might be about to get rough for Jerry Jones squad, and we'll find out just how much of a creative mastermind Jason Garrett really is -- Miles Austin's dealing with a hamstring injury, Felix Jones has a separated shoulder and Romo's got a couple busted ribs.

If Romo can play and Dez Bryant can get back from his quad injury, there's still plenty of firepower on this offense, especially if DeMarco Murray can learn blitz pickups quickly enough to stay on the field in more than passing situations. The former Sooner is a highly-talented receiver out of the backfield, and has the potential to be a serious threat.

None (or all?) of that might happen, though, and this could be a situation where Kitna's trying to manage an offense that can't move the ball on the ground and can't stop anyone from passing on them until their secondary's back up to speed.

With Washington and Detroit on the schedule before their Week 5 bye and New England and St. Louis immediately after, that's a dangerous proposition indeed.

8. Living in the 90's
Man ... anyone else harking back to the Super Bowl heyday when we used to get "In Living Color" halftime shows lately? (Men on Football!) And I really hope you do, otherwise I'm suddenly old and busted.

That's back when the Bills used to get beatdown by the Cowboys and Redskins on the reg, and after two weeks of football, there's a sense of déjà vu circulating around certain cities, as Buffalo and Washington are both undefeated.

The Bills seem to be a little bit more "fa real" than the 'Skins, if only because their offense is more potent, but Washington, who plays the Cowboys next week, is a better bet to get to 3-0 than Buffalo, who host the Patriots.

Still, it's a remarkably fascinating story that two teams that literally no one picked to find their way to undefeated at any point past the first week of the season. And I don't want to start laying bets on Rex Grossman or anything, just yet, but kudos to the guy for finding ways to win in Washington when no one -- including yours truly -- even bothered to take him seriously after his "we'll win the NFC East" prediction.

They still won't, of course, but two weeks into the season Grossman looks a lot more right than anyone would have ever thought.

Meanwhile, Chan Gailey looks a lot more smart than anyone would have thought (good thing Todd Haley fired that guy, huh??), pushing the Bills to a remarkable 2-0 after beating Oakland 38-35 in the most exciting game of the day, particularly when you consider the Bills came out of halftime down 21-3.

"That was an amazing gutcheck by our team," Chan Gailey said.

Yes, ripping off five touchdowns in five second-half possessions is a "gutcheck." Or a guy doing remarkable things with unlikely personnel. Story of Gailey's career.

9. Same old, Same old
Being the lone expert to pick the Chargers for the upset over the Patriots on Sunday wasn't a bad spot -- San Diego could/should have won that game. Or at least not lost by two touchdowns anyway.

A brutal fumble from Mike Tolbert blew the game wide open, but it was kind of indicative of how San Diego operates in September; last week it looked like the Chargers might have kicked that monkey off their back.

Then they roll into Foxboro with a loaded gun and "pull a Plaxico" on themselves, firing repeatedly at the ground underneath their feet, whiffing three times inside the Patriots 20 and giving the ball away at the most inopportune times.

It's standard operating procedure for the Bolts, or at least it feels that way because it's September. And they'll probably be fine because the division is down (though you can argue the Raiders are dangerous and I'm fine with that) and they'll probably make the playoffs on the strength of a big November and December run.

But this is a team that's supposed to make a Super Bowl run. And they're not there right now. Which is, well, not that surprising.

10. Reviews under review?
The new NFL system for reviewing all touchdowns has been irritating through two weeks only in that every announcer in every game has to mention it after every touchdown, as if NFL fans weren't already aware of what's going on.

Oh, and the fact that there's some bizarro miscommunication going on with how the officials on the field and the people working in the booth are handling the issue of checking out plays.

Buffalo's interception by Da'Norris Searcy required a 10-minute break in which the officials finally came back on the field and announced, after everyone had left, that Searcy did in fact pick the ball off.

And Darren Sproles had what looked like a controversial score to end the Saints game in which he stepped out of bounds, yet no replay was deemed necessary.

Aaron Hernandez had a score against the Chargers Sunday that looked like a lock for a review under the dreaded "Calvin Johnson Rule," but the replay officials didn't even bother checking. Or it was so clear that they didn't need to.

If we're going to take the time to check out every single touchdown, let's make sure we actually check out every single touchdown. NFL fans might not be the most patient bunch, and it stinks seeing a touchdown celebration held off because of a potential rules issue, but getting the call right is the biggest deal, and providing a streamlined process for ensuring integrity of all necessary reviews is something the NFL needs to get in place immediately.

Put an APB out for:
Chris Johnson's rushing skills. It's one thing to be a star running back who really disappoints his fantasy owners (joke) by not producing at a high clip. It's an entirely different thing to be a star running back who's drawing boos from fans because you held out of training camp, demanded "Manning money" and then decided to start averaging less than 40 rushing yards a game.

Pop-culture referencing Jim Irsay tweet that's sure to drive Colts fans insane of the week
"All u negative,Colt haters.....ahhhh,well...ummm...that's just YOUR opinion...man!"

Hate to break it to, you Jim, but the bums lost. Again.

Muffed Punts
Leftovers from Sunday's action ...
... Andy Dalton and A.J. Green turning into a potentially dangerous connection in Cincy definitely deserves more love.
... Did anyone watch the Stanford-Arizona game on Saturday night? Because Andrew Luck is the real freaking deal, man. Kid is smart, strong, has a cannon for an arm, and can make all the throws. I'd tank my season for him.
... If you want to try a ridiculously delicious sandwich, and you live near a Village Tavern, hit it up for Sunday brunch and get the fried egg BLT. Standard ingredients but add cheddar cheese and an over-medium egg. It's unreal.
... Not even sure how to feel about this one -- some clown of a Bears fan mocked New Orleans devastation thanks to Hurricane Katrina a few years back, and some Saints fans got their revenge on Sunday. Or something.
... Does any good running back in the NFL have less breakaway speed than Michael Turner?
... Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson, two guys with Vikings history, are both franchise leaders for touchdowns (receiving and rushing, respectively) for their franchises now, and it happened on the same day.
... Josh Freeman is such a closer -- he stormed back against the Vikings on Sunday, giving him eight comeback wins in 14 career victories.

Worth 1,000 Words


Hot Seat Tracker
Long story, but I'm still waiting on the fancy math stuff. Whatever, not much has changed from last week, where the same small number of suspects find themselves with warm pants.

• Todd Haley -- It just stinks that he might not get to hang around and coach Andrew Luck.
• Jack Del Rio -- See: above. It's just an unbelievable mangling of the quarterback position.
• Tony Sparano -- The Dolphins are 0-2, can't defend against the pass and despite Chad Henne looking much better, are not as good as we thought.
• Jim Caldwell -- No idea if Jim Irsay would even can Caldwell at any point, as the Colts might actually like a figurehead with Manning around.
• Tom Coughlin -- A loss Monday would not go a long way in helping his job security.

Chasing Andrew Luck (Plus Odds)
Chiefs (2/5): Like I said, the schedule is brutal down the stretch.
Colts (2/1): As Pete Prisco likes to say, the snake has no head.
Seahawks (3/1): Seen Pete Carroll screw up too many things to think he can get picking up Luck right. Still, this team is bad.
Jaguars (5/1): Yeah, they've got a win, but they're throwing out Gabbert now. We hope. Which is awkward.
Dolphins (7/1): Surely they can't be this bad.

MVP Watch
Mark my words: a quarterback will win this year. Bold, eh? Whatever. Matthew Stafford's my leader in the clubhouse, but I wouldn't scream at you if you screamed at me for not picking Tom Brady, considering he's looking like, well, Tom Brady. Ryan Fitzpatrick deserves some love and no, I am not joking this week. And sure, Aaron Rodgers if you want. It's early still.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

Thanks to Tom Kowalski’s standing as the most-tenured Lions beat reporter, he was always the first to ask a question during coach Jim Schwartz’s news conferences. Schwartz made sure to honor that tradition after learning that Kowalski had died today at the age of 51.

Kowalski reported for MLive.com and Booth Newspapers, and he turned in a completed story sometime this morning (this was his last article). He later was found unresponsive by his fiancé and was pronounced dead at Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township, Mich.

Said MLive sports editor Bill Emkow to the web site: "My heart broke this morning when I heard the news. I love Tom Kowalski. He was my friend. I trusted him, and I know he trusted me.

"He is the first reporter that bought into what we were doing with MLive.com. I needed someone to buy into what we were doing online, and he was the huge star for Booth. I don't know why he listened to me, but he helped make MLive what you know it as today."

After Lions practice, Schwartz honored Kowalski in his own way, by maintaining a moment of silence with the press corps (he had previously done the same when he told his team the news) before moving on to the “second” question of the day.

"I'll just say this about Tom," said Schwartz. "The one thing he always tried to do was get it right. He knew football and he always wanted to get it right and we had a lot of respect for that."

Personally, I always thought Kowalski, whom I had never met, was a wonderful reporter and a pretty damn good tweeter. Witness his last original tweet, which referenced The Princess Bride, he wrote before signing off on Monday night.

“OK fellas, here we go ... Sleep well, I'll most likely kill you in the morning ...”

Photo courtesy of MLive.com.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Things are getting a little awkward for HBO, as another team -- this time the Detroit Lions -- has declined to appear on "Hard Knocks."

Previously, the Bucs said no, and then Denver declined to appear, now the Lions.

Per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions turned down the opportunity earlier this month, though no one's issuing a comment about the decision.

"It’s one thing to have cameras on the practice field. These guys are used to that and every day there’s cameras, fans watching them practice and things like that," Schwartz said last year about the show. "But when you start getting into meeting rooms, when you start getting into the cafeteria, into the dorms, into the locker room and things like that, it changes the vibe."

The Lions would actually be a pretty spectacular show to watch -- Nick Fairley and Ndamukong Suh will be an epic defensive tackle tandem starting as soon as there's football, Detroit is -- already -- a popular playoff sleeper in the NFL, and Matthew Stafford's ability to overcome injury heading into 2011 is a major storyline.

Plus, I'd tune in just to watch Jim Schwartz listen to Metallica in his office. But, the front office also knows this is a team trying to shed a losing culture that's permeated the entire organization for many years, and it's probably a smart move to keep egos, etc., in check by leaving the cameras at he door.

But, hey, there's always the Atlanta, guys!

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

When the lockout briefly was lifted last week, there was talk that those taken in the first round of the NFL draft could receive playbooks and interact with their new coaches – a courtesy that couldn’t be extended to the rest of those drafted in the later rounds because the lockout was put back into place during the middle of the second round.

But the Detroit Free Press writes that the Lions didn’t bother getting DT Nick Fairley any new reading material.

And if it seems like a curious decision – why wouldn’t you get the guy your information when you had the legal authority to do so?!? – coach Jim Schwartz feels he has a perfectly good explanation.

“Our blood pressure's pretty low on stuff like that," Schwartz said. "We don't want to rush things. You give somebody a set of instructions without being able to communicate with them, it really might not do a whole lot of good so we haven't done a whole lot."

Yes, but what if the lockout extends deep into the summer and then the lockout is lifted with only a short training camp possible before the regular season begins? Won’t Fairley be hampered because the Lions didn’t give him the opportunity to familiarize himself with the material when they had the chance?

In Schwartz’s mind, that theory is almost irrelevant when it comes to discussing Fairley, because he says his scheme isn’t complicated for defensive linemen and that Fairley’s obstacles will be more physical than mental.

Still, he doesn’t want Detroit’s draft class to get lazy during the lockout.

“Whenever they get the call and we're back to work, they don't need to be worrying about whether they're in good enough shape," Schwartz said. "What they need to be worried about is learning and doing all those other things, and if they're trying to do both it's going to be too much for them.”

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Posted by Will Brinson

DALLAS -- Ndamukong Suh is a really talented and outstanding defensive player. He looks flat-out ferocious on the field.

But when you get a chance to talk to him away from the gridiron, he's so outstandingly smart about the game and brings such a different demeanor (than you'd expect from his style of play anyway) to interviews that it makes him even more impressive as student of the football.

I caught up with Suh at Radio Row during the Super Bowl, and we chatted about his toughest matchup, how the Lions are turning the corner, who he thinks will win the Super Bowl and much, much more.

[More Super Bowl coverage]



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Black Monday is upon us, and that means plenty of coaching changes. We've organized all the NFL teams into a semi-draft order (yes, we know the Raiders don't have that pick and yes, this could change, but it puts the bad teams up top!) to give you an idea of who's been fired, who might be fired, how much job security they have, and potential candidates in different cities. See someone you think SHOULD be on the hot seat or a candidate for a certain job we missed? Let us know in the comments.  

RELATED: BLACK MONDAY/TUESDAY RUMOR MILL ROUND-UP

Team	Coach	Job Security	Candidates
	Ron Rivera	Rivera lands a 4-year, $11.2 million deal reportedly	The Panthers announced on Tuesday that Ron Rivera will be the organization's fourth head coach .
	John Fox	Fox HIRED!	It seemed like the Broncos might go with someone that was familiar with their organization, but ultimately, they opted for experience and Fox , who they believe can help the defense and the team turnaround quickly.
	Chan Gailey	Safe	The Bills were terrible in 2010, but they never gave up and routinely came close to upsetting better teams. Also, no one else wants the gig.
	Marvin Lewis	RE-SIGNED!	Lewis called himself "unemployed" and he seems as good as gone but then there was a report that he'll return with Cincy in 2011 . Then there was a report he wouldn't. Now he's back, officially .
	Ken Wisenhunt	Safe ... for now	Hard to imagine the Cards would dump Whiz until they give him a shot with another real quarterback. Cowher thinks Kevin Kolb lands here.
	Jim Harbaugh	HIRED!	After much speculation as to where Jim Harbaugh would land, he finally ended up signing a $25 million, 5-year deal with the Niners .
	Jason Garrett	HIRED!	Garrett was named the full-time Dallas head coach on Thursday at a lengthy press conference in Cowboys Stadium.
	Gary Kubiak	NOT FIRED!	Kubiak is safe but the entire defensive staff has been canned , and now the Wade Phillips for DC speculation begins.
	Pat Shurmur	Pat Shurmur HIRED!	Shurmur bolted St. Louis for Cleveland and it appears Mike Holmgren really wanted someone familiar with his West Coast offense.
	Jim Schwartz	Safe	Lions won four straight to close the season; Schwartz has to be a hero in Detroit at this point.
	Pete Carroll	Safe	NFC West title locked Carroll in and even with the Seahawks ugly loss to the Bears, it's hard to question what he did in his first season.
	Jeff Fisher	OFFICIALLY BACK! DONE	In a surprising move, Fisher and Tennessee are parting ways. Now, the Titans will have to replace their head coach and their starting QB.
	Mike Shanahan	Needing a QB	Dan Snyder letting Shanny run the team so him getting booted is a long shot. QB situation is a bit of a nightmare though.
	Leslie Frazier	HIRED!	The Vikings didn't wait long -- they announced on Monday that Frazier's "interim" tag would be lifted and he'll be their head coach.
	Hue Jackson	Jackson was hired Monday	Cable got the boot and now it looks like Hue Jackson's the favorite to land the coaching gig. Al Davis is involved though, so anything could happen.
	Steve Spagnuolo	Such a cold seat	Even without a division title, the turnaround in St. Louis is pretty clear and Spags is safe.
	Tony Sparano	EXTENDED!	After the Fins chased Harbaugh  and embarrassed Sparano publicly, they apologized financially by giving him a 2-year extension. How swell.
	Jack Del Rio	SAFE!	Del Rio's got one more year, but it's "playoffs or bust" for JDR, according to owner Wayne Weaver.
	Norv Turner	Safe for 2011	Front office says Norv's their guy for at least next year. Another disappointing season like 2010 and he could finally get the boot.
	Tom Coughlin	SAFE! Coughlin is confirmed as returning by Giants owner John Mara	Coughlin's in the middle of a playoff fight (thanks to the Bears) and Casserly says he'll be back with a one-year extension .
	Raheem Morris	Award-winning?	Losses in late games by the Packers and Giants would get Morris in the playoffs and a pretty good shot at Coach of the Year if he doesn't win anyway.
	Jim Caldwell	Safe	As long as Peyton Manning's playing for the Colts, it's hard to see them dumping Caldwell.
	Mike McCarthy	Safe	The Packers look like the latest team to go from  "talented team to nearly miss the playoffs" to "white-hot wild card that wins the Super Bowl," so there's no reason to question McCarthy.
	Todd Haley	Division champion	Haley's pretty golden in KC, no matter what some people want to say about his ego.
	Rex Ryan	In like foot. Er, flint	Back-to-back playoff berths for Ryan mean he's plenty fine.
	Andy Reid	Safe	The only question is whether or not Reid will trade Kevin Kolb in the offseason and how long they can keep Vick.
	Sean Payton	Safe, duh	He won a Super Bowl two years ago.
	Lovie Smith	Surprisingly safe	Did anyone think Lovie was safe heading into 2011? Yet he won the division and the Bears are white-hot. Very impressive year.
	John Harbaugh	Safe	Only thing he has to worry about is whether he has to face his bro once a year or not.
	Mike Tomlin	Safe	Clearly, Tomlin's doing alright.
	Mike Smith	Safe	Weird thing is, Smith's not getting nearly enough love as a potential coach of the year candidate.
	Bill Belichick	Safe	Retirement is the only way he'll ever get removed from New England. Arguably his greatest coaching job ever.