Posted by Will Brinson

The jury is still out on science, but the verdict on math is F-U-N, so we present the week in NFL from a numbers perspective.

1 - Middle fingers extended by Titans' defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil to an official upon not preferring the call on the field. Bad news: his fine is probably going to be a bigger number. Good news though is that Bud Adams will probably pay it, given his history for, um, flying birds at football games .

3 - 200-yard receiving games that Terrell Owens (and seven others) has in his career. Couldn't happen to a better guy!

8 - Consecutive games by Antonio Gates with a touchdown, just another record that he owns as a tight end. Once Tony Gonzalez retires in 2055, Gates can really work on catching his records.

25 - Yards that John Carney was able to move the football with his foot in order to ensure that Garrett Hartley is unemployed come Monday.

59 - Length of Josh Scobee's game winning kick for the Jaguars to topple the Colts Sunday. (Incidentally, that's also the number of Jags fans in attendance!)

60.2 - Quarterback rating for Donovan McNabb on Sunday. Of course, the number "one" is important too, since it's how many victories he has in Philadelphia.

67 - Games it took Maurice Jones-Drew to get 50 career rushing touchdowns, tied for the 13th fastest in NFL history. Yes, his fantasy owners are wondering why it wasn't somewhere between 64 and 66.

74 - Length of Arian Foster's third quarter touchdown run, which actually may be less important than ZERO, which is the number of carries he got in the first quarter after being benched for a "coach's decision" that made a lot of fantasy owners a whole lot of angry.

145 - Total yards from scrimmage by Charlie Batch as the Steelers lost their first game of the year. I assume everyone still thinks there's some sort of quarterback controversyin Pittsburgh?

158 - How many times Jeff Saturday and Peyton Manning have started a game together, which is the longest in post-merger NFL history. You wouldn't think you could get comfortable with your hands underneath another man's buttocks on a weekly basis, but I suppose after that many times it becomes routine.

165 - Speaking of Peyton, that's how many interception-less passes he'd tossed in a row until the third quarter against the Jaguars.

254 - Yards Steven Jackson needs to catch Eric Dickerson as the St. Louis Rams' all-time leading rusher following a 70-yard performance that helped him pass Marshall Faulk for second on the list and give him 6,991 for his career.

1,419 - Kyle Orton's passing yardage total thru four games of the 2010 season. Only Kurt Warner has a higher number in NFL history. (This is the part where we pause to let you pick up your jaw.)

12,012 - Career receiving yardage for Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez, the only tight end in history to cross the 12k barrier. It cannot be understated just how fantastic his career has been and, perhaps more impressively, continues to be .

Posted by Will Brinson

With his first rushing touchdown of the season, Maurice Jones-Drew scored his 50th career rushing touchdown.

It took him 67 games to do so, which ties him as the 13th fastest person to reach that milestone in NFL history. (Although, yes, certain people who own him in fantasy may be wondering "what took so long?")

Jones-Drew's diminutive stature caused him to fall to the second round in the 2006 NFL Draft, but few running backs in recent years have shown a nose for the end zone like "Mojo Drew."

He's without question the Jaguars franchise player, one of the few elite running backs and perhaps even more importantly, a spokesman for a city that desperately wants to hold onto its NFL team, despite the distinct possibility that keeping the Jags in Jacksonville might not happen.

Just another casual 1-yard jaunt for Jerome Harrison!

You may recall that I went to NFL headquarters and held a fantasy draft . Well, turns out that my turn to recap the fantasy league is the first week of the season.

Which is totally awesome because my team came out and ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED ... ME. That's right -- the only other team the Fuzzy Gullets managed to outscore in Week 1 was "What Would Revis Do," and I even lost to the absurdly abysmal "Press Coverage" team .

That didn't stop Dan Levy from whining on Twitter that the two teams who were lower than he was (me, Brian Bassett of the Jets Blog ) "didn't lose both QBs though." Um, Dan, you lost Matthew Stafford and Kevin Kolb is "questionable." It's not like your team is so miserable that you actually have to own the Cowboys' Roy Williams. What's that? Oh. I see. You DO own Roy. Errrrm.

Back to my team though, if this trend continues past Week 1, the good news is that my team is sponsored by Gillette, so at the very least, when I quit trying in life and become a homeless, bearded man begging for change, shaving will be easy.

Anyway, it's not a huge deal, as I still like my squad -- I think that every single team I drafted underperformed in Week 1, primarily because of some combo featuring Dwayne Bowe, Maurice Jones-Drew, Jerome Harrison and DeSean Jackson. Just turns out I have all of those guys on my team in the BFL. And Matt Ryan.

But onto the rest of the league, because, well, I suck. The top-rated squad through one week is the Tim Tebow-less "99-Rated Swagger," owned by Dan Shanoff . This is stunning because he even had to start LaDainian Tomlinson. It's not as stunning because he owns Chris Johnson and Tom Brady. Even with that fearsome pair, Shanoff himself wouldn't go on record about destroying the rest of the league.

Perhaps the most humorous moment of the week came when Football Outsiders mastermind Aaron Schatz posted the second-best score of the week ... with Arian Foster on HIS BENCH. (Actually, the second most humorous moment was when Steph Stradley of FanHouse berated him on Twitter for FO's Houston Texans projections.) Nevermind that FO thinks Matt Cassel will be good -- Schatz started Matt Forte and Rashard Mendenhall anyway, so he's doing just fine.

There were some other teams of note, I suppose (Matt Sebek of Joe Sports Fan somehow managed to get more than 20 points from a pair of receivers who were catching the ball from Derek Anderson; that should tell you everything you need to know about Week 1), but I dont' have the heart to get into it here. Instead, cruise on over to the Take it to the House Facebook page (by clicking this link or the giant picture below), hit the little like button, check out all the awesome tabs there, and follow me as I climb from the depths of embarrassment to dominate these fools.


The P&G Blogger Fantasy League (BFL) is a group of 12 digital sports influencers competing on the NFL.com fantasy platform for the chance to win P&G product, a donation to a local charity, and a trip to Super Bowl XLV, all furnished by P&G. The NFL Entities have not offered or sponsored the sweepstakes in anyway.

Posted by Will Brinson

Yesterday, Adrian Peterson pointed out to the world that he believes he is the superior running back to Chris Johnson. As Andy noted, AP is wrong . However, he's totally allowed to be "confident" and "willing to think he's the best" and whatnot; he's still wrong though.

And, you'll never believe this, but CJ didn't just let AP's drift meaninglessly along. Nope, he wants to make sure everyone's aware he's the best, and he said as much on the Dan Patrick Show (via Titans Insider ).

"I feel like he is a good back, and any time he plays he is a player I like to watch play and things like that," Johnson said. "But when it’s competing against him as a player, I don’t think there is a back ahead of me."

Johnson was, however, willing to concede that Peterson might be bigger (which isn't really a concession anyway, since it's, you know, a fact), but added that "I wouldn't say he's stronger or faster."

You won't find a ton of people who will agree with Peterson here -- although "stronger" and "bigger" he can probably have -- and the reality is that there's only one to solve it: production this year.

Johnson obviously won the contest for "better back" in 2009, and I'm pretty confident he'll win it again in 2010 (although, actually, I think Maurice Jones-Drew ends up being the most productive back in the NFL, for whatever the hell that's worth). But any speculation is moot -- if AP wants to be considered the best back in the NFL, he needs to prove it on the field this year.

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed .

Posted by Will Brinson

On Friday, we refuted a report that Maurice Jones-Drew had surgery on his knee. Today, Jack Del Rio confirmed that report .

He also blamed the original report (that MJD had surgery) on an "Internet blog." Sigh.

"No," he said. "No, has not happened, is not necessary. He's working, rehabbing, strengthening and gearing up for the regular season."

While I'm ecstatic to be in the correct corner on this one, the whole "Internet blog" thing is kind of played out. Especially considering that Del Rio was actually referring to the National Football Post , which, at this point, is pretty respected.

That's not to get all naval-gazy on Aaron Wilson and the rest of the crew over at NFP or anything; it would just be nice for professional coaches (who deal with the media all the time) to distinguish the differences between various news outlets.

At the same time, if I'm a coach in the NFL and someone issues a report indicating that my star player had surgery when he didn't, I'd probably be pretty cheesed too, so I kind of feel him there.

And, hey, at least it wasn't just someone randomly banging out tweets that were purposely falsified for the purpose of being purposely falsified.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Maurice Jones-Drew has been absent from practice (sans reason from the Jaguars), and it was reported by the National Football Post 's Aaron Wilson that Jones-Drew would miss the remainder of the preseason and recently underwent surgery to repair his knee.

However, a source told CBSSports.com that Jones-Drew did not undergo surgery and that he is merely being "rested because his place on the roster is secure. When asked if Jones-Drew would make a further statement regarding this issue, the source said that it was unlikely because it was 'a non-issue.'"

This falls more in line with the answer that MJD gave following Thursday's absence.

"It's like Allen Iverson said, it's practice," Jones-Drew said Thursday. "There's no worries."

The NFP's report had mentioned that if Jacksonville's game against the Bucs was a regular season tilt, MJD would be able to play; still, knee surgery is knee surgery, regardless of how minor it may be, and it's quite reassuring for Jags' fans that MJD is just fine.
 
Oh, and if you're the jerk store who paid more for Jones-Drew than Chris Johnson in your recent auction fantasy draft with a bunch of experts and started getting concerned by a possible knee injury. (Ed. Note: That's me; see: link. )

For more NFL news, rumors and analysis, follow @cbssportsnfl on Twitter and subscribe to our RSS Feed .

You may have seen some of our tweets about 2010 BFL, a fantasy league full of famous bloggers (woo oxymorons), in which I'm repping CBSSports.com and this here blog.

For the draft, we traveled to New York City this past Thursday in order to all meet up and create fake teams. The trip seems pointless, until you realize that we drafted in the NFL headquarters. Yes, like where Roger Goodell works. Yes, it was spectacular. Yes, the winner of the league gets some Super Bowl action as well as a large charitable donation to the local charity of their choice. Yes, you will have to suffer occasional posts about how I'm doing (and you can read more about the league here .)

And yes, I'm quite confident I'm winning; after all, look how alert I was just moments before the draft began.



Of course, that didn't stop me from drafting a kick-A fantasy team. Or at least one that I think kicks some A. Before we get to that, though, let's talk about the participants, in draft order:

• Dan Shanoff: DanShanoff.com
• Me: CBSSports.com
• Dan Levy: PressCoverage.us
• Jerod Morris: MidwestSportsFans.com
• Josh Zerkle: WithLeather.com , KissingSuzyKolber.com
• Kyle Bunch: BlogsWithBalls.com
• Brian Bassett: TheJetsBlog.com
• Steph Stradley: FanHouse.com
• Philip Van Der Vossen: Gunaxin.com
• Diana Klockova: NationalFootballPost.com
• Aaron Schatz: FootballOutsiders.com
• Matt Sebek: JoeSportsFan.com

By the by, you can actually check out the P&G sponsored league , as it's public I belive. So if you care to see the draft results, here they are. If not, I'll tell you about them anyway.

First of all, I heart my team. A lot. I'm totally fine with taking Maurice Jones-Drew second overall, especially after seeing how the Vikings offensive line looked on Sunday. I really, really wanted DeAngelo Williams to fall to 23, but I'll deal with Beanie Wells. DeSean Jackson is a clear No. 1 wideout, so I'll absolutely take him in the third round. Wes Welker in the fourth? Yes, please.

Dwayne Bowe is primed to blow up this year (I like the Chiefs a lot, actually), so having him as a WR3 isn't something I'm unhappy about. Myself and two others waited to draft a quarterback and I think it paid off nicely with a combo of Matt Ryan in the sixth and Matt Cassel in the 11th.

Didn't particularly love my Jerome Harrison pick in the seventh -- although I ended up with Owen Daniels at tight end in the 10th, leaving Tony Gonzalez and Vernon Davis on the board at that point was just stupid. Kenny Britt I like as a solid backup wideout, especially paired with Julian Edelman on the bench; Edelman's insurance if Welker goes down again and Britt can fill in on the bye.

Marion Barber is still starting in Dallas last I checked, no? Okay, thought so. 9th round for him is silly. Levy hosed me on Dexter McCluster in the 12th and I panicked a touch and took Demaryius Thomas, but, again, I think he's a good backup, particularly since someone has to catch passes in Denver. Niners defense, as good as it is, in the next to last round is something I'm thrilled about, insofar as one can be thrilled about drafting a D. Same with Rob Bironas in the last round, I suppose.

It's not worth discussing any other teams. They're clearly inferior to mine. (I do like Bassett, Jerod and Zerkle's teams the best out of the other squads, though, I think. Except that Zerkle decided to draft a sampler platter of running backs for five rounds instead of wideouts.) But I certainly welcome your thoughts on the squad below.

Also, huge, huge tip of the cap to everyone involved at the NFL for making this happen: they couldn't have possibly been kinder to a fairly dangerous looking bunch, or more accommodating in terms of showing us around, peppering us with cool NFL stuff and letting us spin around in Goodell's desk chair until Sebek got sick and threw up.

Just kidding. That last one never happened. But the NFL rules for letting us swing up to the Big Apple and get our geek on in their offices.

So to does P&G -- for the purposes of FTC biz, they helped hook it up.

Maurice Jones-Drew is the brightest star on a Jacksonville Jaguars team that's had some identity issues over the past couple of years. He's also a favorite of fantasy football players and a pretty good running back too.

CBS Sports had a chance to catch up with MJD, thanks to the fine folks at Gatorade and the NFL who are running the "Beat the Heat" campaign (go here -- NFL.com/trainingcamp -- and download the packet and Gatorade will donate $1 to charity to fight heat-related illnesses). So we asked him about the Jaguars' new stadium sponsor (Everbank), if the offensive line has improved this offseason, who he would take first in a fantasy draft now that he's an analyst and has to be honest, and what the hell will happen with Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens in Cincinnati.

CBSSports: Alright, we'll ask first: Everbank, man. My family's from Jacksonville, so I'm a closet Jags fan and I was pumped to hear ...

Maurice Jones-Drew: Wait, why be a closet fan? Might as well come out, man.

CBS: [Laughing] Man, I'm in North Carolina ... Gotta stick with my Panthers. Anyway, how important is this for you guys to pick up a name sponsor like that in terms of helping you contend as a small market team?

MJD: It's very exciting. I think from a front office standpoint, just with all the hard work they've been doing with selling tickets and trying to find sponsors. And obviously Everbank stepped up and will do a great job ... but as players, with all the hard work we've been doing, even though the last season didn't pan out the way we wanted it to, they see what direction we're going in and are interested in us, and that's always great to see.

CBS: Yeah, I  think it's tough for you guys, especially with such a rebuilt, young offensive line. How much growth have you seen from the two young guys, Eugene Monroe and Eben Britton, during the offseason?

MJD: Those guys last year grew so much and this year, working out with them through the offseason, they've just done a great job of staying ahead of the game. And pushing each other -- I  think more than anything those two guys push each other ... they push the whole line, and it's great to see that.

CBS: Alright, lemme ask you this random one: Terrell Owens is joining Chad Ochocino in Cincinnati. What do you think about that pairing?

MJD: [Laughing] It's gonna be interesting, man. Really, we don't play them, so I couldn't care less about it, but I know a lot of people are talking about it. It's gonna be good to see how those two guys get along -- really, the way they portray themselves in the media is not how they act ... I've hung out with them before and they're totally different when they know the cameras aren't on. So they might put a show on for the cameras, but behind the scenes they'll do a great job of learning from each other and working with Carson [Palmer].

CBS: Cool, cool. The Colts are always talked because they're the Colts, Chris Johnson's contract got the Titans in the press this offseason a lot, and everyone's always chattering about the Texans "taking the next step" -- do you guys think you're an underrated sleeper-type team in your division?

MJD: We've kind of always been that way I  think. No one every gives us the benefit of the doubt, so we're kind of used to it. That's just how it is -- all we do is go out and play games. We can't worry about what everyone else thinks. When we start worrying about people picking us to be Super Bowl champs or picking us to do this or that, that's when we get sidetracked. We just worry about what we have to do and take care of our business and we'll be ready to roll.

CBS: Speaking of sleepers ... aren't you hosting a fantasy football radio show now?

MJD: [Laug hing] Haha, yeah.

CBS: If you're an analyst, you have to answer HONESTLY -- who's your top fantasy pick in the draft this year?

MJD: [Not laughing] Myself.

CBS: Hahah, just making sure man, just making sure. Got any sleepers out there for the fantasy players?

MJD: I do man, I do. But you gotta listen to the show. I just can't, you know, give you all the news, because then people won't tune and in listen.

CBS: Fair enough. Let's talk about "Beat the Heat" with Gatorade and the NFL --

MJD: It's very exciting. Obviously Gatorade asked me to get out speak to other athletes -- pro, high school, collegiate, Pop Warner, whatever. It's an honor. And really, something I've tried to do my whole career is preach to people about taking care of their bodies -- your body's your resume in this business. So if you're always getting heat-related illnesses and things like that, team are going to shy away from you. So it's simple: drink water, drink Gatorade and hydrate yourself before, during and after practice.

And if you go to to NFL.com/trainingcamp and download the training camp packet, Gatorade will donate a $1 to charities to fight heat-related illnesses. And hopefully a lot of people will go out and do it, because it's definitely a serious topic. Whenever I was in high school, before Korey Stringer died, it was always like "Water makes you weak." And then he passed and it was a tragedy but it ended up being somewhat of a blessing because it opened up everyone's eyes to what was going on. So, I'm glad Gatorade took a stand on it -- it's definitely made an impact out here in Jacksonville.

CBS: Good deal, man. Alright, we'll get you out on this: what's the nickname of the new stadium going to be?

MJD:  I don't know about a nickname -- I think the phrase is going to be "We're on our way to the Bank."

CBS: "Take it to the bank?" I've heard stuff like "The Bank" and "The Vault" and stuff like that.

MJD:   Yeah, I bet it'll be "Take it to the bank." And we've got three weeks to be together so I'm sure we'll think of something ... gimme a couple days and I'll have something on Twitter.

-- Will Brinson

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