bronxzoo

- Apparently Brett Favre is only worth so much to the Jets (and it's not what he was worth to the Packers, either). Either that, or New England's defense is still great, in spite of their old LB corps. You do have to be concerned about that offense without Tom Brady for an extended period of time. They have a MAJOR threat in that division.

- The Bills cemented their status as a legit contender in the AFC. Trent Edwards was simply outstanding, looking like a young Tom Brady today. (20-25, 239 yards, 1 TD). That last drive he led to take the lead will only help the the Bills more. They run the ball well, too. Marshawn Lynch is every bit as good as any other RB in the NFL.

- Tavaris Jackson is the guy keeping the Vikings in the middle of the NFC's Power Rankings. His complete inability to play a consistent game will probably cost them any chance at making the playoffs.

- In other NFC North news, nice game by Aaron Rodgers today: 24-38 passing for 328 yards and 3 TD's. The Packers' defense is the perfect example of bend-but-not-break defense, and it's certainly effective enough. Ryan Grant's injury has to be a concern, though.

- Aaron Rodgers: 42-60, 506 yards, 4 TD's, 0 INT's, 117.8 QB rating.
  Tavaris Jackson: 30-59, 308 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 64.8 QB rating.

And Vikings fans wonder why they can't win big games. Adrian Peterson+T-Jack + top run defense + worst pass defense = not good enough.

- Your NFL MVP as of week 2: Jay Cutler
The dude has been simply unstoppable. He has 3 legit weapons, plus a solid running game to back him up. He might have been the best QB in that famous QB draft. Remember how Vince Young and Matt Leinart went before Cutler? Now where are they?

- Big day for a couple of rookies: Darren McFadden demonstrates his unbelievable athleticism, running for 164 yards on 21 carries, including 89 yards on ONE drive. Jonathan Stewart: 77 yards on 14 carries, 2 TD's. Solid. My R.O.Y. choice, Chris Johnson, ran for 109 yards on 19 carries, too.

-Tennessee has the best defense I've seen so far. You can't run, your QB is under too much heat to consistently throw. It's rough for anyone.

-Anthony Gonzalez and Marvin Harrison should just trade places. Marvin, give up that #1 slot. You're the 4th best WR on your team. Gonzalez today: 9 catches for 137 yards. Harrison today: 1 catch for 16 yards. 'Nuff said.

-Peyton Manning continued to build his Hall of Fame legacy he's going to leave. Gritty performance from him today. The Colts do need to fix that offensive line. No RB can work with a bad offensive line, let alone against a good rush defense.

-The Giants look as good as anyone this year, and I won't be shocked if they win the Super Bowl, or the NFC East at least. Eli Manning looks a hell of a lot better now than he did at this point last year. Their team is so balanced, 2 solid RB, decent WR's, attacking defense. Dallas had better be worried.

-St. Louis, Kansas City, and Cincinnati better start looking at college seniors right now for the 2009 NFL Draft. They're not going anywhere this year, that's for sure.

- This is why the Cardinals are starting Kurt Warner: 19/24 passing, 363 yards, and 3 TD's. Leinart isn't a good enough NFL QB to warrant a start when they already have a guy who can light it up like Warner. Arizona is a legit NFC West contender, especially after Seattle choked their game away today against the 49ers.

-Nice to see the Saints finally activate Robert Meachem. He has the potential to be many times better than Marques Colston, as crazy as that sounds. He certainly has a lot of talent. Drew Brees shouldn't forget about him.

- Crazy game in Denver. A couple of bad calls screwed over the Chargers and I wonder if they'll file a grievance over it. They simply got hosed on Cutler's "fumble", which turned into a TD on the next play, followed by a gutsy 2-point conversion. Brandon Marshall is officially the new Terrell Owens. He was unguardable. Antonio Cromartie looked like a high school CB against him.

More to come following the Sunday Night (Pittsburgh @ Cleveland) and Monday Night (Philadelphia @ Dallas) games.

-If he gets 15-20 touches a game, Chris Johnson is your Rookie of the Year; 15 carries, 93 yards, 3 catches, 34 yards, TD.
Solid.

-If Brady is done for the year, the Buffalo Bills automatically become your AFC East team to beat. They throttled Seattle today. I can honestly say they're legit. Trent Edwards + Marshawn Lynch + good young defense = lots of wins

-Vince Young might be done for the year, but the drop-off to Kerry Collins isn't as steep as you might think- he reads defenses a lot better than Young does, and that's good for Tennesee's passing attack.

-If Chicago's defense plays this way this year, they'll win 11 games. Matt Forte is the real deal. He's the top threat to Chris Johnson for ROY honors.

-DeSean Jackson further confirmed my assessment that he is the best rookie WR in the NFL: 6 catches, 106 yards, and 6 returns for 87 yards, including a 60-yarder. You can't teach speed. He's got top 5 wheels in the NFL, for sure.

-Dallas is the team to beat for the Super Bowl as of right now, but I think they could be beaten if the Giants continue to rush the passer well. That o-line will give Marion Barber and Tony Romo all kinds of blocking provided they stay healthy.

-Speaking of the Giants, they don't appear to have lost any mojo from last year. The pass rush is still ferocious, even without Osi Umenyiora. They are probably the 2nd best team in the NFC, behind Dallas. Eli Manning certainly looks a lot more confident this year too.

-Philly looks great too. Granted, beating the Rams isn't all that impressive, but Donovan McNabb was excellent today. If he keeps that up, the NFC East will send 3 teams to the playoffs again.

-Green Bay is still the best team in the NFC North. If Aaron Rodgers plays this well year-round, the Pack could return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1997-98 season. The defense looked unstoppable, led by A.J. Hawk's 10 tackles.

-Adrian Peterson could very well win offensive player of the year now that Brady is toast. Other guys to consider are McNabb, Michael Turner (200+ yards in his debut), Chris Johnson (seriously), and Tony Romo.

Slim.

For them to make the playoffs we need about 5 things to happen:

1. Phil Hughes must come back strong. By strong I mean win every start, or at least pitch well enough to keep them in the game.

2. A-Rod needs to start hitting with RISP. Seriously, for a guy this good to be this bad in those situations is simply pathetic. (Pressing???)

3. Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte need to pitch 6-7 (or more) quality innings in every start for the rest of the year.

4. Someone needs to step up in the OF. Melky isn't cutting it this year. He plays good defense, but that's obviously not enough.

5. Oh, and the Twins and Red Sox both need to cool off in a big way.

Which of these have the best chance of happening? Only #3 really sticks out as likely. #1, 2, and 4 are possible but unlikely. #5 is just wishful thinking. We might need to find something else to do during October. Mine just happens to be below.

A Fantasy Football note

Who do I like as a sleeper this year?

Well, at QB I really like Matt Schaub. He's got weapons, specifically Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels, and also happens to play QB for a team that can't run the ball very well. That's a good combination.

At RB, I gotta go with Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans. The guy has wheels (A 4.24 40-meter dash time at the NFL Combine). He also can catch the ball, another plus, especially for PPR leaguers. Why do I like him? Just check out his 66-yard TD run in their preseason game vs. the Rams.

At WR, I like Robert Meachem. You might remember him as the 27th overall pick in the 2007 Draft, who didn't play in a single game last year for the Saints. Why do I like him? Duh. He plays for the Saints. He has more talent in his left big toe than David Patten, Devery Henderson, and Lance Moore combined. Did I mention that his QB is Drew Brees? Also a star in his first preseason game, with 166 yards and a TD.