Since our Arizona Cardinals were out of action this past weekend, we'll have to talk about something else (but still football). Here are some quick NFL-related-but-not-Cardinals-related thoughts:
Colt McCoy did much better in his NFL starting debut than I had expected. I personally thought it would be a disaster of epic proportions, but McCoy's line (23 for 33 for 281 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions) wasn't bad, especially considering his apparently horrendous preseason.
I hate you, Chargers, Bears and Raiders. The Cardinals don't play for a week and they lose about as much ground as they possibly could because you guys suck.
I like that football is a contact sport, but I hate that it's a battle of attrition. We're not even halfway through and so many great players have gone down with injury. It's the same problem every season, but every time I'm forced to watch a scrub in a starting role, my eyes ache. The Packers, who entered the season as Super Bowl contenders, have been destroyed by critical injuries and it's completely disappointing.
The NFL and its pundits are way too reactionary and stuffed to the gills with useless hyperbole. This week, the banality includes the 49ers and Vikings being playoff contenders again because they finally won after five weeks of being crappy, Kevin Kolb back to being a super-awesome-great starting QB, the Saints being Super Bowl-worthy champions after a convincing win for once, Matt Ryan being the super-most-overrated QB again.
I don't buy that Ben Roethlisberger is a completely changed man, despite sappy tears during the national anthem. He's a beaten, scorned man, sure, but has he changed his wee-wee-exposing ways? It's possible, but I'm waiting a while before buying stock.
Brett Favre just looks so damn old this season. And he looks like he's hating every minute of every game. This year is going a long way towards ruining his entire shining career, in my eyes. Then again, I've never been a huge Favre fan so I won't be starting now.
The Rams look like a new team this season. They're still not a playoff contender, but you can tell how much confidence Sam Bradford has infused into their collective psyche. Last season, they looked like a team that expected to lose every game and this season, they look like they expect to win. Bradford's still making some mistakes, but he's remarkably poised for a rook. They still need a top-notch receiver and a playmaker or two on the defensive side of the ball.
Peyton Manning had some terrible throws against the Redskins. He was very lucky that Washington's defensive backs had a case of the slippy-fingers. I'm not going to go all Ron Jaworski here, but Peyton's looked a little off so far this year and it's kind of shocking considering how great he normally is.
The Jets continue to find ways to get wins and it's entertaining to watch. The Jets are sort of a love/hate team, but I tend to love them. Yeah, they're boisterous and have some knuckleheads on their team, but I like their guts. It's also a nice story to see Tomlinson having an up year.
A lot of teams are struggling at the quarterback position from week-to-week. Really, you could argue that only Brady, Manning, Brees, Rivers and Rodgers are elite quarterbacks, and everyone is, at best, a mixed bag of inconsistency, and at worst, should not be starting in the NFL.