Indeed...

  • If Mark Ingram won the Heisman as Alabama's third best player, what awards did Terrance Cody and Rolando McClain get?  Ingram is a solid player, but the lack of ingenuity in Heisman voting (only QBs and RBs need apply) is reflective of the archaic thinking that holds the sport back across the board. 
  • Ray Rice is a Varsity tailback and the Detroit Lions were just JV.  He ran for a 166 yards on just 13 carries Sunday.  And unlike his brother, John Harbaugh mercifully spared the pathetic Lions from Rice for most of the second half.  By the way, Rice is a good NFL comparison for Ingram's talents.
  • The Saints are 13-0 and the Chargers are 10-3, but the two teams are carbon copies at the moment.  They are both getting extraordinary quarterback play with the help of diverse and talented receiving corps.  Both teams have great offensive playcallers (yes, it's time we give Norv Turner credit for the things he does well), who refuse to abandon the running game despite how easily they pass the ball at times.  But on defense, both squads are riddled with holes.  The Falcons and Cowboys had too many possessions where it was too easy to go the length of the field.
  • As for the Cowboys, they may still backdoor their way into the playoffs if the Giants fall apart, but who are they going to beat in the postseason?  The Cardinals and Eagles (despite losing the first match-up) are licking their chops at the prospect of firing deep on Gerald Sensabaugh and Geoffrey Pope (WHO?!?).  Good luck this week in New Orleans...
  • The Giants/Eagles game was breathtaking for three quarters, but it was not great football.  It was not even good football.  The Eagles have the talent to challenge New Orleans and Minnesota for the NFC crown, but they lack the maturity (DeSean Jackson) and leadership (sans Brian Dawkins) to pull it off.
  • As for the Giants, they need to be coached up.  Mario Manningham cannot run a route; the safeties wander around the secondary like lost children; they have no discernable scheme on defense; and no one on the team can catch a cold let alone a football. 
  • Two things from that game that I don't want to get lost in the shuffle.  One, Cris Collinsworth was fantastic last night.  He was spot on in his analysis and matched the energy of the game.  Two, Eli Manning threw the ball as well as I've seen him during his tumultuous Giants career.  He ended up passing for 391 yards in bad weather against a defense that gives him fits despite eleventeen drops by his receivers. 
  • Josh McDaniels told his captains to defer to the 2nd half when they won the coin toss Sunday.  And in that moment, the game was lost.  The Colts are a tremendous 1st quarter offense.  Their scripted plays are nearly indefensible, so keep Peyton Manning off the field as long as possible.  The Colts leapt to a 21-0 lead over the Broncos just like they jumped out 21-3 last week against the Titans.  Both Denver and Tennessee fought back, but they put themselves in too big of a hole.
  • Tony Sporano can coach.  If you compare the 7-6 AFC teams, Baltimore has much more talent than the NY Jets, Miami and Jacksonville.  When Ronnie Brown went down for the season, the death knell rang for the Dolphins, but Sporano did not hear it.
  • Maybe the Fox microphones were turned up particularly high, but the hitting in the Vikings/Bengals game was the loudest that I've heard all season.
  • If I'm a Minnesota coach or fan, I'm concerned that Adrian Peterson ran for only 3.7 yards per carry in his "breakout game."  He looks healthy, but the Bengals bottled him up yesterday until the outcome had been settled.
  • The Packers should scare the Saints.  If Green Bay wins their opening game as the #5 seed, they'll get New Orleans unless the #6 seed wins too, which is unlikely considering the Giants or Cowboys could not beat a Pop Warner team right now.  Anyway, the Pack has the speed on defense to make life difficult for Drew Brees plus two receivers (Donald Driver and Greg Jennings) that the Saints will not be able to handle.
  • Actions speak louder than words Tom Brady.  In his post-game comments, Brady admirably defended his teammate Randy Moss and wrote off the game as an aberration, a bad day.  However, Brady gave up on Moss in the second half and solely targeted Wes Welker, knowing that the Pats needed a victory over the impotent Carolina Panthers.  Bill Belichick pulled all the right strings for so many years, but he cannot get it right this season.  If you call out Randy Moss like Belichick did last week, he will either shut down or lash out, but he won't respond positively.  On Sunday, Moss shut it down.
  • Lastly, Brandon Marshall spent the offseason acting like Terrell Owens.  On Sunday, he played like him.  Marshall is the perfect receiver.  He has size, hands and the ability to make people miss after the catch.  After the 19th catch, you would think the Colts would have been ready for number 20.  Unless Indy was willing to bump him with two guys at the line and another man playing over the top, Brandon Marshall was not going to be stopped.

21 receptions, 200 yards and 2 TDs