Denarius Moore reminds me of Chad Johnson in his prime. Not huge, but gets downfield and makes the acrobatic play consistently. Maybe that's why Carson Palmer likes him so much.
Michael Bush looked awfully polished as a receiver, catching balls in stride and moving very well after the catch.
Vincent Brown looks like a player. Vincent Jackson could not have looked more apathetic after Philip Rivers threw a pick that was targeted for him in the end zone.
Rivers obviously isn't the same player he was the three previous seasons. Maybe there's something wrong with the Chargers scheme, or turmoil in his personal life, but a simpler explanation might be the loss of Antonio Gates for five games and a diminished version of him the last three. Consider Donovan McNabb before and after Terrell Owens got to town, and Tom Brady's massive spike when Randy Moss arrived, and you can see the effect a truly elite target has on a quarterback. Maybe Gates really was the rare "king-making" target that turns good quarterbacks into great ones and great ones into league MVPs.
I said on the radio that Tim Tebow was like Michael Vick on the Falcons in that you never knew when you would get a huge game or a bad one since it all depended so heavily on rushing yards. But the more apt comparison is probably Vince Young who was a monster during the second half of his rookie year and very good in the latter half of 2009.
John Skelton finally got Larry Fitzgerald the ball. Maybe Kevin Kolb should take note if he ever gets his job back.
Something's not right with Roddy White when Julio Jones goes down and Harry Douglas (14 targets) becomes Matt Ryan's first read.
Matt Schaub's injury opens the door for the 5-4 Titans in the NFC South. It also means Andre Johnson's return might underwhelm. That said, Matt Leinart didn't kill Larry Fitzgerald's value in Arizona.
The Ravens have beaten the Steelers twice, the Texans and the Jets, but have lost to the Seahawks, Jaguars and Titans.
Christian Ponder passes the eye test.
Mike Shanahan sure showed us. It's too bad Leonard Hankerson's out. He might have made the Redskins marginally relevant.
The Bills were dominated for the second week in a row, but Fred Jackson always produces. DeMarco Murray is a top-10 back for now, and I'd be shocked if Felix Jones was more than a garden-variety change-of-pace guy when he returns. People are calling Jones "Wally Pipp," but Pipp was a productive regular for years before Lou Gehrig took over.
I believe Mike Smith made the right call, going for it on 4th and inches from his own 30-yard line in overtime, rather than punting the ball back to the Saints. You may disagree, but if so, explain it to me in terms of mathematical probability, not blind faith in old school commandments which say what you can and can't do.
Eli Manning nearly led the Giants back against the 49ers, but the degree of difficulty against that defense is high. Manning had to fit throws into narrow windows to make big plays against them, something which wouldn't be easy to repeat should there be a playoff rematch. Manning's becoming like some of the other top quarterbacks in the league in that he's looking for whatever receiver is open and not locking in on one player. As a result, Hakeem Nicks is might be more Marques Colston when he gets fully healthy than Andre Johnson.