Peter King Monday Morning Quarterback for Sept 15 08

Where do you begin on one of the most dramatic NFL Sundays ever?

Broncos QB Jay Culter caught a break when this fourth-quarter attempt was whistled dead as an incomplete pass in Sunday's game. Replays showed that Cutler actually fumbled.
AP
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NEW YORK -- When Cris Collinsworth walked out of the eighth-floor NBC "Football Night in America'' studio Sunday night around 8:15, he closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth four or five times quickly, in sort of a Jack Buck I-don't-believe-what-I-just-saw moment.

Frenetic show Sunday night. Frenetic day around the league, the kind of day when network executives say, "You cannot overpay for the NFL.'' This had to be one of the most dramatic Sundays in the 24 years I've covered the league. Around 9:30 Sunday night, I got Mike Shanahan on the phone (now there's a guy who was in the vortex of this compelling day) and started telling him about the weirdness in Seattle, about Kurt Warner looking like a '58 Johnny Unitas, about Green Bay leading by 21 and trailing by one and winning by 23 (all in the same game), about Matt Cassel on the road against Brett Favre, winning his first start since high school ... and, well, I guess at one point I paused.

"What happened to the Colts?'' Shanahan said. "How'd they win?''

"Peyton Manning,'' I said. "Four offensive linemen out, Dallas Clark out, down 15-0 in the Metrodome, they can't run, Vinatieri misses a chip-shot and it looks like they'll lose, and Manning just, I don't know, wouldn't let them.''

"Wow,'' he said.

Let's start the five stories of the day where the wows deserved an exclamation point. In Denver.

• Denver 39, San Diego 38.

The call heard 'round the NFL.

The Chargers got robbed. Much more about that later, but suffice it to say referee Ed Hochuli's blown call of what should have been a Jay Cutler fumble with 1:17 remaining and San Diego up 38-31, could be the type of millstone around the Chargers' neck from which they never recover this year. It's the kind of mistake that surely has Hochuli sick this morning and the Chargers, and their fans, sicker.

Putting that call aside for a moment, what about this action: Denver was up 31-17 at the half. San Diego drove 59, 75 and 71 yards in the first 16 minutes of the second half to a touchdown, field goal and field goal, and it was 31-30, Denver. Here came Cutler, the heroic diabetic, with a fourth quarter worthy of Elway. He drove the Broncos 76 yards, then threw his first interception of the season, in the end zone. Philip Rivers came back with a 66-yard catch-and-run scoring pass to Darren Sproles, and hit the two-point conversion. With 4:22 left, Denver got the ball at its 20, needing a touchdown to send the game to overtime. Or so we thought.

"I knew with four and a half minutes to go that if we scored and there wasn't much time left on the clock, I'd probably go for two,'' Shanahan said. "Just a gut feeling. I looked at my defense. They were spent. I figured I didn't want overtime to come down to a coin flip where we might not see the ball again if we lost [the coin toss.]''

Methodically, Cutler drove Denver downfield. On second-and-one from the Charger 17 with 77 seconds left, Cutler rolled right and the ball popped out of his right hand as he raised it to throw. He definitely was not in the throwing motion. The ball landed on the ground near the Chargers' 10, and San Diego recovered. But wait. Hochuli had blown his whistle. The play was dead. When a quarterback loses the ball on a play like this, any whistle means the play is over, unlike if it happens to a running back or receiver; those balls can be recovered. Not this one. Denver retained possession. Two plays later, Cutler threw to second-round rookie Eddie Royal for a four-yard touchdown. Immediately, Shanahan held up two fingers.

"You don't make that kind of call unless you've got 100 percent confidence in your quarterback, which I do,'' he said. "In a case like that, you're prepared for what comes, and I knew I'd get killed if it didn't work. It goes with the territory. I knew it was the right call.''

"You'd say that even if it failed?' I asked.

"Oh yeah,'' Shanahan said.

The great thing about the conversion was Cutler's coolness. I always say what makes Manny Ramirez such a great hitter is he treats an at-bat in the World Series the same as he treats one on March 17 in Bradenton. Same deal with Cutler. Maybe he was churning inside, but as he dropped back with a division victory on his shoulders -- complete the ball you win, throw it away and you lose -- he looked like it was the middle of the first quarter. Just another pass. He threaded it between three Chargers, again to the precocious Royal. Ballgame.

We love Shanahan for his moxie. We'd have killed him if the play had failed. But can you argue with Shanahan's call, now that you've heard his logic, even if Cutler hadn't converted?

• Indianapolis 18, Minnesota 15

With Manning, you've always got a chance.

In the NBC viewing room, with all the early games on HD monitors, I watched most of this one. I forget who said it -- Jerome Bettis or Collinsworth or Tiki Barber -- but at one point, when Manning was getting bum-rushed by Jared Allen or Ray Edwards for the 18th time, someone said, "Poor Manning." After every series, Manning had a sourpuss look on his face on the bench, where he mostly was left alone.

The Colts had four backup offensive linemen playing, guys with names like Federkeil and Justin and Johnson -- not Manning's guys. But they were in Minneapolis on this day. The Colts trailed 15-0 with 17 minutes left. They had 15 rushes for 10 yards through 55 minutes. They saw Adam Vinatieri push a vital 30-yard chippy wide right, inexplicably, with the game on the line late. But the Colts had Manning.

"It's one of those games we probably shouldn't have won,'' Tony Dungy said from the Colts bus, hightailing back to the airport for the trip home. "But we've been in that position before, where we hadn't played that well and were down a lot and came back. We were down to New England by 18, down to Tampa Bay 21. And we came back. We were holding [the Vikings] to threes, and we kept saying, 'Just keep playing. We're one play away from getting back in it.' ''

You should read Don "Donnie Brasco'' Banks' account of the game this morning; he has the cliffhanging details. But suffice it to say Manning got the Colts back to 15-15, and he got the ball back at midfield with no timeouts and 67 seconds left. An eternity. On third-and-nine, he found Reggie Wayne up the left seam for 20 yards, far enough to put the Colts in Vinatieri's range again. He wouldn't miss twice. Ballgame. The Colts will have to get used to surviving with the no-names until, piecemeal, they get key cogs like Jeff Saturday back. But when you have Manning, 0-2 seems impossible.

"He never ceases to amaze me,'' Dungy said. "Part of his greatness is he never, ever says, 'This is not our day.' ''

• Green Bay 48, Detroit 25

Maybe rocky times will be coming for Aaron Rodgers, but when?

"It's only two games,'' he cautioned via the cell phone Sunday evening. "But I hope the fans buy myself and this team.''

Buy him? You kidding? If Rodgers were a stock, he'd be Microsoft in 1991. His two-game stat line:

In the same week the first pick in the 2005 draft, Alex Smith, went on IR and likely ended his busted career with San Francisco, the 24th pick in that same draft, Rodgers, began making a name for himself. Rodgers looks confident. He throws with a soft touch to some excellent receivers -- Greg Jennings is going to be a big star -- and the QB doesn't get rattled when things like blowing a 21-0 lead happen, as the Pack did in Detroit. And he is not surprised. "In my mind, I've been preparing for this for three years. I've been dreaming of this for three years,'' he said.

Rodgers is in a weird spot with Favre. At the end of last season, the formerly chilly relationship got warm, with Rodgers going to Favre's home for dinner. But a frost settled over the friendship in the offseason, when Favre retired and then came back, hopeful of getting his old job back, a job the Packers had given to Rodgers. When they both went to the ESPYs in Los Angeles, they didn't connect, even though they were in the same audience. I asked if the relationship was harmed forever.

"I sure hope not,'' Rodgers said. "I have so much admiration for Brett. I would love for the relationship to go back to what it was.''

• New England 19, New York Jets 10

Matty Ice.

In the New England locker room after the game, Matt Cassel had a smile so wide it looked like it was painted on. It wouldn't leave his face. He can say what he wants, as can the Patriots, but they never really knew what they had in Cassel, except that he was experienced. But after quarterbacking New England for seven quarters, here is what they have:

· A 71 percent passer.

· A manager of the game who, above all, has minimized negative plays. He's thrown zero interceptions and lost zero fumbles, though he has taken too many sacks (five) and sometimes must be more decisive in throwing the ball away when he's got nothing.

· A cautious player. He'll eventually have to take some chances and be bolder. If he doesn't, New England will lose games against teams with competent defenses that have productive offensive days. But for now, cautious is better than impetuous.

Bill Belichick wants Cassel to steer the ship. In the Meadowlands, he led the Patriots to five scoring drives in eight possessions, and on the ninth and final possession of the day, he did what the Patriots dreamed he'd do but probably didn't think actually would happen. He knelt on the ball for the final play of the game, before a two-thirds-empty stadium.

On fourth-and-three from the New York 29 with 1:56 left, out of the shotgun, he had dumped a safe five-yarder to Wes Welker to get a new set of downs and seal the game. He didn't try to do too much, just end the game. If he keeps doing that, he might invite comparisons to the last unknown quarterback the Patriots thrust in the lineup after an injury to a famous quarterback. But let's not go there yet. Way, way, way too early.

• Carolina 20, Chicago 17

The Panthers prove a point.

Six weeks ago, Carolina's season was in turmoil. Steve Smith, the star receiver, blindsided teammate and cornerback Ken Lucas in training camp. Even with the tough early schedule Carolina faced, coach John Fox had to do something severe to discipline Smith, and he decided on a two-game suspension. Games at San Diego and home with Chicago loomed. As did, quite possibly, an 0-2 start.

Sunday's game was hardly an artistic success, but Jake Delhomme knew it was vital to the psyche of the team. Smith can be a diva, albeit a hard-working one, and now, when he reports back to the team this morning for the final 14 games of the season, he'll realize, They can win without me. They just did.

"Guys have believed in our team from the first day of camp,'' said Delhomme. "But we needed to win without Steve. That's not a knock on Steve at all. I love him to death. We will welcome him back with open arms. But we had to prove we're the kind of team that could take something like that and come back strong.''

In Smith's absence, Carolina has built more of a power running game than it's had in Fox's tenure, with rookie Jonathan Stewart and fellow rookie right tackle Jeff Otah paving the way. "I'm no dummy,'' Delhomme said. "I want to throw it as much as anyone. But I realize the power running is what's really helping us succeed right now.'' With Smith coming back, no one should underestimate this team. Carolina looks like the class of the NFC South right now.

Posted: Monday September 15, 2008 7:23AM; Updated: Monday September 15, 2008 1:25PM
Peter King > MONDAY MORNING QB

MMQB (cont.)

Willie Parker has carried 53 times for 243 yards in the Steelers' first two games.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The Fine Fifteen
1. Dallas (1-0). Tough stretch coming up, with Philly tonight and a trip to Green Bay on a short week. Let's see how Marion Barber's bruised ribs hold up.

2. Pittsburgh (2-0). As long as Willie Parker averages 122 rushing yards a game, the Steelers should be able to survive Ben Roethlisberger's bum shoulder.

3. New York Giants (2-0).Justin Tuck pulled an LT in St. Louis, velcroing an interception and running it back for a touchdown. Giants have allowed 20 points in eight quarters.

4. Green Bay (2-0). Pack scored 24 points in 190 fourth-quarter seconds to ice the weird win at Detroit, and their red-hot quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, had nothing to do with it. Go figure.

5. New England (2-0). Next to the phrase "game-manager'' in Webster's, there is a photo of Matt Cassel.

6. Denver (2-0). In the span of six days, Broncs have scored 80 points and Jay Cutler has become a baby-faced closer. Now, can the defense catch up?

7. Philadelphia (1-0). The Texas Stadium crucible awaits.

8. Carolina (2-0). Panthers went 7-9 last year, entered this year with Jake Delhomme coming off Tommy John surgery, and suspended their starriest player, Steve Smith, for the first two games of the season for cheap-shotting a teammate. They've beaten the 2007 AFC championship game runner-up and the 2006 Super Bowl runnerup in the first two weeks of the season.

9. Buffalo (2-0). I never thought I'd be putting the Bills ahead of Indy, San Diego and Jacksonville. But the Bills have a legit defense, and guys like Ashton Youboty and Marcus Stroud are playing Pro Bowl football. Buffalo deserves it.

10. Tennessee (2-0). Kerry Collins wants to help Vince Young from sliding into a mental abyss, which he can do. He also does not want to give Young his job back.

11. Chicago (1-1). "That is the best defense I've faced in a long time,'' Delhomme told me after the Panthers somehow put 20 points on the Bears. Weird game. The Bears are going to be a tough out in January if they stay healthy and Kyle Orton's a little better than he was Sunday.

12. Indianapolis (1-1). Sit back and enjoy the greatness of Peyton Manning, who somehow willed a win out of a game the Colts had no business winning.

13. San Diego (0-2). They've lost on a last-play touchdown in Week 1 and on a terribly botched referee's call in Week 2. While I am duly sympathetic to their unfounded record, I also note the Chargers have given up more points than all but three other teams in football.

14. Arizona (2-0). Nothing personal, Whisenhuntmen. But it's the 49ers and Dolphins you've beaten.

15. Jacksonville (0-2).Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew, through two games: 35 carries, 97 yards. And it's not because they're washed up. It's because they have nowhere to run behind a patchwork line. That, folks, is everything you need to know about the struggles of the Jags.

What I Learned About Football This Week That I Didn't Know Last Week
Aaron Rodgers throws with more velocity now than Favre does.

Not my opinion; it's the opinion of Greg Jennings, who caught balls from Favre his first two years in the league and is in his first season with Rodgers. It goes against the grain of everything we've heard about Favre, who we still think of as Mr. Fastball, and the supposedly average-armed Mister Rodgers.

"Brett threw a variety of balls,'' Jennings told me the other day. "His biggest thing was his ability to lead you into where he wanted you with something on the ball. The biggest difference between Brett and Aaron now is Brett threw with a lot of touch. Don't get me wrong. He had some times when he could really throw it hard. If he was trying to drill one in there, he would gun it. Aaron throws with a lot of velocity, a little more velocity, with good timing.''

The one thing, naturally, Jennings is still establishing with Rodgers is chemistry. "Brett anticipates a lot sooner,'' Jennings said. "He's been playing so long, been around defenses so long, that he dissects defenses quicker. He probably knows where he's going with the ball earlier than Aaron.''

And Jennings sees one other difference, from the Packer huddle.

"Brett's a little more loose in there. You know, not that Aaron's tight; he's fine. But Brett was passing gas in the huddle.''

Posted: Monday September 15, 2008 7:23AM; Updated: Monday September 15, 2008 1:25PM
Peter King > MONDAY MORNING QB

MMQB (cont.)

Norv Turner's Chargers have lost their first two games on TDs in the final minute.
Joe Robins/Getty Images
Quote of the Week I
"Ed came over to me and said he blew it. And that to me is not acceptable.''
-- San Diego coach Norv Turner, on referee Ed Hochuli, one of the NFL's best, admitting he made a mistake that probably cost San Diego a victory at Denver.

You saw the play: Cutler rolled right, and while raising his hand to throw a pass, had the ball fly out of his hand. Hochuli blew his whistle, which he should not have done. The Chargers recovered, but that became moot when it was determined that Hochuli had blown his whistle. On a mistakenly blown whistle following a forward pass (or interpretation of a forward pass), the official cannot overturn the call via instant replay or any other rules change. So the ball could not be transferred to San Diego.

"I'm sure we will revisit it at the end of the season,'' Jeff Fisher, co-chair of the Competition Committee, told me Sunday night. "But I do not see us changing the rule.''

Whereas rules now call for action to continue on a play when a rusher or receiver fumbles and has an inadvertent whistle blow, the rules for a quarterback and a pass play are different ... in part because the Competition Committee does not want to see quarterbacks flying around in piles, risking injury diving for loose balls.

Quote of the Week II
"I spoke with Mr. Fisher. I asked him what was going on and he proceeded to tell me about getting a call from Vince Young's therapist and she was worried about him. I asked him, 'What made her worry about him?' He stated, 'His mood, his emotions, he is injured, he wants to quit, and he mentioned suicide several times.' He went on to state that [Young] left his house with a gun.''
-- Andrea N. Swisher, Nashville Metropolitan Police officer, in her report of the Vince Young drama Monday night.

"Mr. Fisher'' is Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher. Officer Swisher went on to report that when Young came to the stadium, the Metro Police SWAT team searched him for weapons. "He was allowed to talk to his therapist and then he was released,'' reported the officer.

Interesting situation for a guy who's going through some troubling times and a team that has banked its future on him.

Quote of the Week III
"I feel like an athlete. First time in my life. Tommy Brady's got nothing on me.''
-- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, who tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee when bowled over on the sideline during Notre Dame's 35-17 win over Michigan Saturday.

Quote of the Week IV
"I'm sick about Tom Brady.''
-- Peyton Manning.

Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me
Re those quarterbacks you saw in East Rutherford Sunday afternoon:

Favre, through two weeks, has earned $1.41 million in base salary.

The three New England quarterbacks on the active roster -- Cassel, Matt Gutierrez and Kevin O'Connell -- are scheduled to earn a combined $1.16 million in base salary this year. For the full season.

Enjoyable/Aggravating Travel Note of the Week
Not mine. Michael Phelps'.

Phelps hosted Saturday Night Live' on NBC, went to after-parties until 7 or 8 in the morning, slept a couple of hours, flew to Cleveland early in the afternoon, and watched the Pittsburgh-Cleveland Sunday-nighter from a private box. There are more travel stories in his future: He'll be driving from Cleveland home to Baltimore early this week. So if you see a tall guy with lots of bling around his neck stopping for coffee somewhere on the Pennsylvania Turnpike or I-70, you'll know it's really Phelps.

Stat of the Week
In the first round of the 2005 draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected their quarterback of the future, Alex Smith, with the first overall pick. The night of the draft, when the Niners chose Smith over Aaron Rodgers, I will never forget the words new San Francisco coach Mike Nolan spoke to me: "Nobody ever made us an offer for the pick. But if someone had thrown a lot at us, I'd have made a trade. I know we could have won with Aaron. I liked him.''

(By the way, let's get one thing straight about that pick. Nolan's offensive coordinator, Mike McCarthy -- yes, that Mike McCarthy -- and GM Scot McCloughan both supported the pick of Smith over Rodgers.)

No one in 2005 loved Alex Smith enough to deal for him -- partly because teams don't want to dole out top of the first-round money anyway -- and the Niners lukewarm scouting feelings have been borne out over time. Last week, when the 49ers put Smith on injured-reserve with a broken bone in his shoulder, it sealed his fate in San Francisco. McCloughan said if Smith didn't head into 2009 as the starter, he wouldn't be back with the team at his bloated $9.6-million salary -- and now you can be sure he won't enter the offseason with the starting job. So it's a weird sort of goodbye. And the amazing thing is he'll be all of 24 when the 49ers release him.

This is what the 49ers got for their four-year, $24.83-million investment in Smith:

Games: 32.

Starting record: 11-19.

Completion percentage: 54.4.

TD-Int.: 19-31.

Comeback wins from more than seven points down: 1.

Posted: Monday September 15, 2008 7:23AM; Updated: Monday September 15, 2008 1:25PM
Peter King > MONDAY MORNING QB

MMQB (cont.)

Hurricane Ike caused significant damagae to the roof of Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.
AP
Good Guy of the Week
Tight end Mark Bruener. If there were any video crews available in Houston on Sunday, they could have done worse than to shoot good Samaritan Bruener and his Missouri City, Texas, neighbors cleaning up each other's property after Hurricane Ike. "I'll be cleaning up debris on my property, then going to help the neighbors for the rest of the day,'' Bruener told me Saturday night.

Bye weeks are gold around the NFL, and players look forward to them for weeks, sometimes months. They make plans to go to Aruba or Disney World with the family. Baltimore and Houston were supposed to play Sunday at Reliant Stadium, then take their bye weeks later in the year; but commissioner Roger Goodell rescheduled the game for November, eliminating their midseason byes, when Ike hit Texas and damaged the community and stadium. The Texans spent their bye weekend trying to get back to normal, and Bruener wasn't the only Texan reaching out to help neighbors and family in need. I use him as a metaphor for his teammates, many of whom cleared debris and lent helping hands to neighbors and friends, which is what we do as a country when things like Ike strike.

For much of Saturday, I was on the side of the Ravens, who wanted to play their game with Houston somewhere -- New Orleans if not Houston -- tonight. That's the message Baltimore player rep Matt Stover conveyed to Goodell late Saturday afternoon. Then I talked with Bruener.

"To not have the bye makes it really, really a long year,'' he said via cell phone Saturday night. "But you'd have to see what's happened here to believe it. We have people in the area who literally have had homes washed away. I've never been in a hurricane before. There were trees in our neighborhood, and in our yard, that were uprooted, and other trees that just snapped. I think if we had been asked to leave town and play a game somewhere else, it'd have been hard to have our minds in the right places, especially for guys who had to leave families behind while we left to play a football game. I think Roger made the perfect decision.''

The Way We Were
The second in a year-long (or longer) series .

Adrian Peterson vs. Walter Payton.

I thought of this Sept. 8, when Peterson, of the Vikings, ran over Green Bay's Al Harris on the left sideline on one romp and cut across the grain for a 34-yard scamper, leaving Packers defenders grasping. I know, I know. Payton did it for Chicago for 12 years. Peterson's done it for one. This new element of my column is not intended to say I think the modern guy is as good as the former guy. It's designed to compare a star from today to a star from yesterday in terms of style of play, greatness and personality.

I compare these two because of the similarities of style, mostly. Peterson's faster. He's probably slightly more physical, but not much, and two inches taller and 15 pounds heavier. Those are big numbers in the world of running backs, but here's what they have in common: Payton was a physically imposing running back who had one of the best stiff-arms in history; he never shied away from contact. Peterson needs to learn the art of the stiff-arm, but he loves physical play too.

"Walter's who Peterson reminds me of the most,'' Mike Ditka told me the other day. "The one edge he has over Walter is breakaway speed, but otherwise they're pretty similar runners. I think Peterson ought to run a little meaner, and he definitely needs to learn the straight-arm. When Walter played, he'd get hit hard for a few plays, but then he'd turn around on the next run and absolutely kick the crap out of someone.''

Ditka, in fact, is preparing some footage for ESPN on Payton and Peterson, and he'll point out how he thinks Peterson needs to do less steamrolling of defenders and more stiff-arming.

Talking to Peterson last year, I liked the fact that rushing 20 times for 224 yards at Soldier Field meant something to him because he was doing it on Walter Payton's turf. Most young players don't appreciate history, but Peterson not only knew who Payton was, he knew he ran something like him. In my opinion, a lot like him.

The Awards Section
Offensive Player of the Week

Jay Cutler, QB, Denver. An amazing performance by an emerging star, who came back from throwing a costly interception in the fourth quarter, deep in San Diego territory -- allowing the Chargers to take a late lead -- and drove Denver the length of the field (aided by Ed Hochuli) for a touchdown pass to Eddie Royal with 29 seconds left. That made it 38-37, Denver. Shanahan (as noted earlier) chose to go for two. Then, cool as a cuke, Cutler bounced on the balls of his feet three times, a la Joe Willie, and fired a completed conversion pass to Royal between three Chargers. This folks, was as exhilarating as Carolina's last-second win over the Chargers in Week 1. For the day, Cutler was 36 of 50 for 350 yards, with four touchdowns and one interception.

Brandon Marshall, WR, Denver. He might have locked up player of the week honors with two quarters of work, when he had 10 receptions at halftime. But finishing with 18 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown is special. Marshall has become a terrific go-to guy, who can get open deep and reliably on the sidelines. He's about to have a monster year.

Matt Cassel, QB, New England. A workmanlike day (16 of 23, 165 yards, no touchdowns or picks), but let's realize what this man did. In his first start in the NFL, and his first start at quarterback since a high school playoff game in 1999, he jogged onto Favre's new home field Sunday in New Jersey, and beat one of the top 10 quarterbacks of all time. Pats 19, Jets 10. Read Sports Illustrated this week (the big tease) for my take on how he got to the Patriots and who got him there. Cassel wasn't outstanding, but he was calm, he was efficient, he didn't try to do too much, and he never made the big mistake that often plagues inexperienced players thrown into the cauldron.

Defensive Player of the Week

Chris Horton, S, Washington. The seventh-round pick from UCLA, playing because of an injury to Redskins starter Reed Doughty, had two interceptions and recovered a fumble, accounting for three takeaways in Washington's narrow win over the Saints. Washington doesn't usually get much credit for its drafts, but Horton played the biggest role of any defender in helping repel the prolific Drew Brees at FedEx Field.

Special Teams Players of the Week

Darrell McClover, LB, Chicago. In the first quarter at Charlotte, McClover, the left end in the Bears' punt rush, dodged a block attempt by Panthers running back Nate Goings and deflected a Jason Baker punt into the sky. Brandon Lloyd came down with it, and the resulting touchdown should have spurred the Bears to a 2-0 start. But Delhomme had something to do with that.

Tim Jennings, cornerback, Indianapolis. You simply cannot down a ball near the goal line better than Jennings did in a crucial spot with 1:51 left in the Colts game at Minnesota. Jennings sprinted downfield late in the fourth quarter on a Hunter Smith punt, and about eight inches from the goal line, batted the ball into the air, regained his balance, and caught it to down it on the half-yard line. The Vikings couldn't do anything with it, had to punt the ball back to Indy with the score tied at 15, and Manning drove the Colts to the winning field goal.

Darren Sproles, RB, San Diego. A 103-yard kick return when your team's getting blown out would be enough. But Sproles added 53 rushing yards, 89 more kick-return yards and 72 receiving yards. On a day of amazing performances around the league, Sproles stood out.

Coach of the Week

Mike Shanahan, Denver. A gimme. When you're at home, with a crowd rocking the house, and a quarterback as hot as Cutler is, the coaching book says play for overtime. Shanahan, wisely, burned the book, went for two and won one of the most exciting games of his life, 39-38, over San Diego.

Goat of the Week

Ed Hochuli, referee. Hate to do this because I never credit Hochuli for a game well-officiated, which I should. We all should appreciate the work of the officials more than we do. But Hochuli put San Diego into a gigantic hole in its bid to make the playoffs with the whistle he blew on the obvious Cutler fumble late in the fourth quarter of Denver-San Diego. The whistle negated the Bronco fumble and enabled them to win in regulation.

Posted: Monday September 15, 2008 7:23AM; Updated: Monday September 15, 2008 1:25PM
Peter King > MONDAY MORNING QB

MMQB (cont.)

Even after his knee heals, Vince Young may be on the bench for the Titans.
AP
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of Week 2:

a. Two journalists deserve kudos for good weeks. Richard Sandomir of the New York Times broke the story about a the German-based insurance and finance company, Allianz, trying to buy naming rights to the new stadium in the Meadowlands while having major Nazi connections in the company's past. On Friday, a spokesman for the new stadium said talks had broken off with Allianz. That's how journalism should work ...

Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean did a terrific job covering the Vince Young drama, writing last Wednesday that Young balked at having a team-ordered MRI on his injured knee; the team dispatched a psychologist to his home, who reported Young was extremely depressed; and that Young "might not get his job back'' when he returns from his injury in two to four weeks. The quotes from his mother, about the "growing-up process'' her son is going through are especially troubling long-term.

b. Did you honestly think Ohio State was going to give USC a game?

c. You recruited the Pryor kid for a reason, Jim Tressel. He's not a pane of glass. Put him in there. He won't break.

d. I'm not going to give the thoroughly misguided human (if he or she is indeed human) who began selling the Bernard Pollard Fan Club T-shirts online after the Tom Brady injury any more attention than this one sentence and this one question: What would your mother think of you if she knew what you were doing?

e. Sign of the Day: In Kansas City, watching a horrendous quarterback performance by the Chiefs, one fan held up a greaseboard with this message "Colquitt for QB.'' Dustin Colquitt, the sign-maker meant. The punter.

f. Who'd have thought after two weeks the Eddie Royal/Brandon Marshall combo would be more dangerous than Randy Moss/Wes Welker.

g. I have a bold prediction: Jack Del Rio will have the Jacksonville defense on a rampage this week at Indy, one unlike the Colts have ever seen.

2. I think these are my Vince Young thoughts of the week:

a. Perhaps someone in the Titans' college scouting department needs to work a little harder in the background-check area, or Bud Adams needs to hire a private eye. Three times in the past seven years Tennessee has had a pick in the top half of the first round, and the yield has been Albert Haynesworth, Pacman Jones and Young.

b. Though the one thing I'll say about Haynesworth is this: When he screwed up, he knew he screwed up (when he stomped on Andre Gurode), and he admitted he was wrong and he apologized about 16 times and went about trying to make things right. The only thing I've heard from Young is some impossible-to-believe schmaltz last Thursday, wondering why everyone was so worried about him. Vince, we cover things a little differently in the NFL than they were covered at Texas.

c. Vince Young reminds me of who Bruce Springsteen wrote and sang about in "Glory Days.'' And Young's glory days were in Austin, not Nashville.

d. Tennessee has home games with Houston and Minnesota in the next two weeks. Suppose the Titans are 3-1 when Young is healthy enough to return. Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger likes throwing deep; Collins is more accurate deep than Young. I would not be at all surprised, when Young says his knee is ready, that Jeff Fisher says to him, "You don't look ready to me.''

e. One final quote about Young, from someone I'll call Deep Titan, someone inside the organization: "Vince definitely is going to have to win the locker room back. As bad as Pacman was when he left the building or at 3 o'clock in the morning, it never interfered with his football. He loved football. Loved practice. The guys loved him. Players are going to be on your side if you show that you're going to help them win. Vince has to prove that to this team.''

3. I think it's going to be a tough few nights sleeping for Ed Hochuli.

4. I think once the Raiders saw Lane Kiffin flirting with Arkansas last year, then had to swallow a 31-point opening-night loss to Mike Shanahan, it became clearly a question of when, not if, Al Davis will fire Kiffin. I don't know when it will be. But beating Kansas City is no cure-all, believe me.

5. I think there's enough blame to go around in Cleveland. The secondary is as bad as advertised. Derek Anderson isn't accurate enough. Braylon Edwards has five drops in two games. The pass-rush is on a poor 24-sack pace for the season. And now they're 2.5 games behind Pittsburgh with only one home game till November on the horizon -- and that's against the Super Bowl champion Giants Oct. 13.

The saddest thing Sunday night was the deflation of the crowd, about 15 percent of which stayed 'til the end of a 10-6 game. I can tell you from being in Cleveland a lot in the offseason that you cannot overestimate the crushing disappointment these first two weeks have been for people who love the Browns.

6. I think Scott Linehan's got to get a little better control of himself before he goes to the podium.

7. I think this is what I liked about Week 2:

a. The flexibility of the NFL Broadcasting Department and the league -- making provisions for a Baltimore-Houston Monday-nighter, had it been played, to be aired on DirecTV. It stands to reason that the displaced Texans fan in Yakima and the Ravens fans in Fargo who plunked down $300 for a season of NFL Sunday Ticket should be able to see every game for which they paid.

b. Dan Dierdorf on Colts-Vikes, with good information on Manning's wounded knee. Said Manning told him, "It's a constant struggle to keep it loose.''

c. John Abraham can't stay healthy for 16 games, but the year he does he'll be All-Pro.

d. You can see why the 49ers gave the quarterback job to J.T. O'Sullivan. He's calm under pressure, throws an accurate ball (65.4 percent through two weeks) and looks like a tough kid. Mike Martz's kind of guy.

e. Arizona's allowed only 23 points in two weeks. I'm not a buyer yet, but I'm paying attention.

f. The way the Titans play defense, you've got to figure if they can just score 20 points a week they'll go 12-4.

g. I love Keith Bulluck. What a gamer. Plays great in the regular Tennessee defense, is the unquestioned leader of the unit, and blocked a punt for a touchdown in Cincinnati on Sunday. Not many players in the league do more for their team than Bulluck.

h. I really have to be careful not to go overboard on Justin Tuck. He's one of the five best defensive players in football right now, and he's just scratching the surface. If you gave me a choice between Tuck and Mario Williams right now, I can't tell you which one I'd pick.

i. Chad Henne looked good in garbage time in Arizona. He's got a commanding presence for a kid.

8. I think this is what I didn't like about Week 2:

a. Come on, Visanthe Shiancoe. You absolutely have to catch that touchdown pass from Tarvaris Jackson. Beautiful play-action from Jackson, fades left, throws a well-timed ball to Shiancoe with a step on his man ... and Shiancoe dives and has it right in his breadbasket, and drops it. Minnesota settled for a field goal, making it 6-0 instead of 10-0.

b. How can a Rod Marinelli defense leave Greg Jennings uncovered deep downfield?

c. Tyler Thigpen cannot be playing for Kansas City right now. His decision-making is horrendous.

d. David Garrard threw his third interception at 2:17 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday. Imagine equaling your interception total for all of 2007 on Sept. 14.

e. I'd like JaMarcus Russell to look a little better than six of 17 for 55 yards at a poor Kansas City team early in year two if I were a Raiders follower.

f. Tarvaris Jackson looks awful, and I think the Minnesota play-calling is too protective of him.

g. Anyone want the NFC West?

h. The one crazy stat that's incongruous to me: Against Buffalo and San Francisco, two teams with middle-rung offenses at best, Seattle's allowed 67 points.

9. I think rookies have really hit the ground running. Anyone notice that rookies are 4-5-8-16 in the rushing standings after two weeks? Matt Forte (215 yards), Darren McFadden (210), Chris Johnson (202) Jonathan Stewart (130) all are on pace to exceed 1,000 yards.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. Cliff Lee is 22-2 with three possible starts left ... for a sub-.500 team. Should there even be voting for the Cy Young in the American League?

b. How good is Roy Halladay?

c. How weird is it to see the Yankees closing the old stadium with semi-meaningless games?

d. I don't care what Tim Wakefield's numbers (9-10, 3.92 ERA) say. The only more valuable Red Sox this year are Dustin Pedroia (200 hits, 13 games left), Kevin Youkilis and Jon Lester.

e. Speaking of Youk, and I certainly don't want to brag here, but the team I own but didn't pick in the WEEI fantasy football league in Boston beat the team Youkilis owns but didn't pick, 124.77-85.71 in Week 1.

f. Coffeenerdness: Now this is sure to be a big hit with travelers coast to coast. Delta Sky Magazine interviewed me about coffee and took my picture with Bailey, the golden retriever, and you'll see it -- if you're really, really lucky -- in your seat-back pockets come November. I should let everyone in on a secret: I really don't know anything about coffee, except what I like.

g. Good to be with you the other day, Red Hawks of Montclair State, and to experience your sidelines for a half Saturday. Those are some ratty haircuts you guys have. And congrats on your first win of the season, 13-6 over Wilkes. You're doing a heck of a job, Ralph Pacifico.

h. By the way, Emma Pacifico, if you think fifth grade is hard, wait till you get to sixth.

i. One of the funniest/most interesting hours of radio I've ever heard: Howard Stern grilling Chris "Mad Dog'' Russo. Never, ever did I think I'd hear the Dog discuss his sexual habits on a national radio program.

j. You could have been on land Saturday, Anderson Cooper. You didn't have to be standing in the water.

Who I Like Tonight, and I Mean Tony Kornheiser
Cowboys 28, Eagles 23. But ... Donovan McNabb is 10-5 lifetime against Dallas (4-3 at Texas Stadium), and, feeling lousy last year, threw for 208 yards in a 10-6 win over Dallas in December. If I were the Cowboys, that would worry me.

McNabb put up 38 points last week against the Rams (OK the Rams) and looked like vintage McNabb. With one exception -- he ran only once, for three yards. And in his conference call with Dallas reporters the other day, he said, "There's no 14-second scrambles with me anymore. I drop back, get the ball out of [my] hands and let my receivers work.''

I pick Dallas because I think Dallas is the best team in the NFC right now. But what's important in this game, as Bill Cowher used to tell his Steelers, is to withstand the early barrage of emotion from the Cowboys and noise from the fans. By late in the first quarter, it will be a football game, not a frenzied pit bull attack. McNabb's the kind of player who can ignore all the stuff swirling around at the start of the game, settle his team down and be sure that the best team wins. That's the most troubling thing for the Cowboys tonight, that the stage won't be too big for the other quarterback.

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