It's hard to say who's worse, (former) Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, or the man who fired him, long-time Raiders president Al Davis.

Really, when you look at it, the public perception has been pretty even.

Kiffin, the youngest head coach in modern NFL history, is, by all means, a weasel. His public demeanor and cocky persona make him the nails on the NFL's chalkboard. But it's hard to hate on the guy. Who wouldn't take an NFL head-coaching job if the offer was on the table?

Sure, Kiffin had to know what he was getting into. Prior to his hiring, the Raiders had gone through three head coaches since winning losing Super Bowl XXXVII.

In Oakland nowadays, giving Davis a funny look is usually enough to get you fired. Just ask Bill Callahan, Norv Turner or Art Shell. Or, better yet, ask Mike Shanahan, Mike White or Joe Bugel how life is with Weird Al.

Yeah, if Kiffin's a weasel, Davis is a snake.

He somehow got away with not honouring the remainder of Shanahan's contract after he fired him in 1988, and he's about to try to repeat that feat with Kiffin.

Let's face it: The breakup between Kiffin and the Raiders had nothing to do with football and everything to do with money. Even though Davis is more than happy to shell out millions to the Javon Walkers and Tommy Kellys of the world, he's not about to admit he made a mistake in hiring Kiffin in the first place.

Instead, Davis spent weeks, maybe even months, waiting for Kiffin to grow tired of having no power within the organization. Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan appeared to have more command over the team than Kiffin did. Davis didn't want to pay Kiffin the $3.5 million left on his contract, and Kiffin wasn't about to let his cadaverous boss push him out of the job.

The two went on to battle in a staring contest. All the while, Davis came up with a plan.

Davis figured that if he fired Kiffin "with cause," he wouldn't have to pay him for the rest of the deal. Essentially, he's trying to say that Kiffin didn't become the coach he expected him to be when he hired him.

He claimed during Tuesday's press conference that Kiffin lied to the media earlier in the season when he said that he and Davis hadn't talked.

And that's what gave it away.

The thing is, everyone lies to the media, especially when asked about what are supposed to be private conversations and personal matters. There was no way Kiffin could win here. Had he divulged about his talks with Davis, the Raiders kingpin would claim he shot off at the mouth. By saying he hadn't talked to Davis, he apparently became a liar.

Things have changed a lot since Shanahan was let go without pay. In the modern NFL, there's almost no way Davis will get away with not paying Kiffin, but that's something that could take months to be resolved.

Did Kiffin deserve to be fired? Probably. He spoke ill of his own team on several occasions, and didn't see eye-to-eye with the people who mattered most. Does he deserve to get his money? Of course.

Who's worse? Well, it's tough to tell. Was Kiffin poisoned by the toxic atmosphere in Oakland, or is he a spoiled brat who was too young to take on such daunting responsibilities in the first place?

Has Davis just lost his mind? All signs point to yes.

It was a perfect storm of egos and power struggles during Kiffin's short spat on what is supposed to be the sunny side of the bay.

We feel sorry for Tom Cable.

It’s important not to get too excited in September. I always tell myself that, whether I stick to my guns or not. One team or player can look invincible in the early going, but can become invisible before the leaves have started to change colour. Sure, teams go through transitions all season, but in no other month are those changes so extreme.

It’s easy to become excited when your team comes flying out of the gates, but it probably doesn’t mean much until September’s through. The teams that made it through the month without any missteps (I’m looking at you, Bills, Titans and Giants), are probably in it for the long haul.

We’re still less than a quarter of the way there. Some teams will emerge as major players in October, while others will fade away.

Bags un-packed

After such a tumultuous offseason, Packers fans felt abused and vulnerable headed into the 2008 season. The Aaron Rodgers-led Pack was almost perfect early on. The honeymoon lasted two weeks.

Indeed, Green Bay has returned home from the romantic getaway and unpacked its bags. Aaron Rodgers is no longer the early-season MVP, Ryan Grant’s starting job could be in jeopardy, and the team’s top corner, Al Harris, is done for the year.

The Packers’ brass was looking mighty good for keeping Rodgers and letting Brett Favre walk when Rodgers started the season on fire. But, now that teams finally have A-Rod on tape, things have taken a turn:

Rodgers’ first two games (both GB wins): 42-for-60 (70%), 506 YDS, 4 TD, 0 INT, 1 SACK
Rodgers’ last two games (both GB losses): 35-for-66 (55%), 455 YDS, 2 TD, 3 INT, 8 SACKS

To make matters worse, Green Bay can’t get anything going on the ground. Grant has yet to hit the 100-yard mark and is averaging only 3.4 yards per carry. In the Packers’ loss Sunday at Tampa Bay, Grant carried the ball 15 times for only 20 yards.

Green Bay’s opening week victory against Minnesota was impressive, sure. But it wasn’t that surprising. After all, it was the Packers’ home opener at Lambeau Field, and there was a lot of hype around Rodgers. In week 2, Green Bay cruised past Detroit, but who doesn’t?

Against some serious challengers – Dallas and Tampa – the Packers were outscored 57-37. One of those games was at home, in primetime.

The Packers host Indy in a few weeks and they travel to Tennessee in week 9, but that’s about as tough as it gets. With an easy schedule and a fairly weak division, the Packers might have what it takes to play into January.

But the Super Bowl-coloured glasses that cheeseheads wore while watching their Packers play early on have long faded.

Jets taking off?

Jets fans didn’t know what to expect when Favre, a Green Bay castaway, showed up on their doorstep to start ‘08. After mixed results for a few weeks, the gunslinger we all know and love arrived in week 4.

Favre played well in the first three weeks, but the Jets were 1-2 thanks to losses to the Tom Brady-less Patriots and the (until then) winless Chargers.

Then, on Sunday, Favre took the field in ‘Jersey as the Jets hosted the Cardinals and did something he was never able to do in his 147 years in Green Bay: He threw six touchdown passes as New York ran up 56 points on Arizona.

Favre, now leading the league in touchdown passes, has a 110.8 quarterback rating at age 38. His previous best rating for an entire season was 99.5 in 1995.

Can the Jets keep the ball rolling? They’ve already spotted the Bills a couple games, but four of their next five opponents – Cincinnati, Oakland, Kansas City and St. Louis – have a combined record of 2-14.

Speaking of the Cardinals

Led by a sparkling offence, the Cardinals were on top of the world for the season’s first two weeks. But then the Cards had to hit the road to play two potential playoff teams. Two losses and 80 points allowed later, ‘Zona’s back to .500.

Kurt Warner’s one of those pocket-happy quarterbacks who has to be comfortable to be successful, which is a big reason why the Cards are so much better at home than they are on the road.

Last time they were at their beautiful new stadium in Glendale (I mean that in actual fact; the Cards spent the last week practicing in Virginia), Warner and the Cards put up 31 points on 445 net yards against Miami. Since then, Arizona’s 0-2, and the defence hasn’t looked the same.

Although Warner threw for 472 yards in Sunday’s loss to the Jets, he also tossed three picks, and the defence gave up 56 points.

With the possible exception of the Houston Texans, no team plays as good as the Cards do at home while struggling as much as they do on the road. Dating back to the beginning of last season, the Cards have lost eight of their last 11 road games. In that same span, they’ve won seven of nine home games.

But because of this, the Cards are in position to do something big. Their next two home games come against the 4-0 Bills and the 3-1 Cowboys. A pair of wins would officially bring ‘Zona back into the playoff conversation.

Overhyped Broncos?

The Broncos were the hottest team in football for the first 20 days of the year. But on day 21, Denver was embarrassed by, of all teams, the Kansas City Chiefs, who were held winless through their first three games, a trilogy of misery that included losses to Oakland and Atlanta.

While Jay Cutler was trying to make plays where they weren’t and forced too many passes, and while both Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal killed the Broncos’ chances by fumbling in the first half, the defence is still what’s holding the Broncos back.

They got through the first three weeks with wins despite allowing 84 points, including 38 against San Diego and 32 against New Orleans. But, Sunday in Kansas City, the offence wasn’t able to overcome the 33 points the Chiefs were able to put on the board. The Broncos have surrendered 30 or more points in three straight weeks for the first time since 1986.

Sure, 3-1 looks good. But the league’s third-worst defence doesn’t.

Week 4 one-liners

• A win against Cincinnati might temporarily save Derek Anderson’s job. But Anderson was once again awful, and should be replaced by Brady Quinn this week.

• Worry is spiking over Carson Palmer’s “sore elbow.” When asked if the injury could be a long-term thing, Palmer said, “I hope not.”

• Things have sure changed since the Bengals and Browns combined for 96 points in their meeting just over a year ago.

• Where has Braylon Edwards gone?

• Where has Chad Johnson gone?

• Never mind Edwards and Johnson, where has Donald Driver gone? It’s safe to assume Driver’s missing Favre.

• There’s only so much you can say about Matt Bryant right now. It’s impossible for most of us to understand what he’s going through, and playing football might be therapeutic. Three field goals and a win always helps, but it will obviously be a long struggle for Bryant and his wife, Melissa.

• Welcome to the defensive player of the year debates, Barrett Ruud.

• Matt Schaub saved his job Sunday, despite a loss to Jacksonville.

• David Garrard flashed his leadership Sunday. With the Jags trailing in the fourth quarter, Garrard took off on runs on five of the final nine plays of the go-ahead drive, including three scrambles in a row (one on fourth-and-eight and another for a touchdown).

• Garrard was forced to take off that often because his running game was letting him down.

• The Texans fell for a Jaguars’ fake punt in the first quarter. Montell Owens took the direct snap for a 41-yard touchdown. Problem was, there was no punter on the field. Had the Houston defence picked up on that, the Texans might have won the game.

• We said Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith would find their chemistry. It looks like they have.

• Here’s what Smith does for the Panthers, too: Muhsin Muhammad enjoyed the leftover coverage while the Falcons’ defence focused on Smith. Muhammad had eight catches for 147 yards and a touchdown.

• That was Muhammad’s best single-game output since the 2004 season, when he was on his first tour of duty with the Panthers.

• Bad news for Carolina: It lost starting offensive tackles Jordan Gross and Jeff Otah to injury.

• All this hype over Tim Hightower, but he’s only averaging 2.5 yards per carry.

• It’s safe to say Brett Favre and Laveranues Coles have adjusted to each other after a slow start. Coles has 14 catches, 180 yards and four touchdowns in two weeks.

• The Cardinals gave up more points in a 35-minute span Sunday than the Titans have all season.

• J.T. O’Sullivan has to know when to get rid of the ball. O’Sullivan’s been sacked a league-high 19 times, and a good number of those are his fault.

• Drew Brees loves to find scrubs when his team is hurting. On Sunday, with Reggie Bush held in check and Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey out of the lineup, Lance Moore became the lucky scrub.

• Even with Adrian Peterson’s hamstring injury, Chester Taylor didn’t get his first carry Sunday until there were less than six minutes to play in the third quarter.

• Before the Titans put the Vikings away with a Chris Johnson touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Tennessee ran eight offensive plays with a small lead. Six of those plays were passes.

• The Titans passed three consecutive times with a one-score lead in the final quarter, and went three-and-out.

• Tennessee’s lucky it held on.

• Tennessee’s defence was epitomized in the fourth quarter, when Gus Frerotte dropped back into his own end zone to throw on third-and-10 from his own two-yard line. Frerotte was pounded by Tony Brown as he released, throwing a pick to Nick Harper. The cameras flashed back to Frerotte, lying in the end zone, blood pouring from his left hand.

• When the Cowboys are in close, they get impatient. There’s no excuse for giving Marion Barber only eight carries.

• Terence Newman just wasn’t himself against the Redskins. Newman was destroyed by Washington receivers all day.

• Three of Tony Romo’s nine career losses have come against the Redskins.

• You wouldn’t know it with the Bills cruising, but Marshawn Lynch is actually struggling this season. Lynch still hasn’t had a 100-yard day, and his averaging only 3.5 yards per carry.

• Marc Bulger clearly wasn’t the problem in St. Louis. Maybe head coach Scott Linehan, who was fired Monday, was.

• The Rams’ defence has given up 30 or more points in seven straight games.

• The wackiest Raiders’ happening this week: Sebastian Janikowski’s 76-yard field goal attempt, the longest attempt since the merger of 1970.

• What a ridiculous idea, especially considering the Chargers had Antonio Cromartie back, ready to return the short attempt.

• The Eagles are a different team without Brian Westbrook.

• When will Andrea Kremer stop interrupting everybody?

Overstated headline of the week

“Larry Johnson is once again on top!”

As we mentioned above, the Broncos’ defence is bad. Like, really bad. So it’s hard to get too excited about Johnson as long as he’s part of what will continue to be an inconsistent offence. It also doesn’t help that Johnson’s starting left tackle, rookie Branden Albert, was carted off the field Sunday with an elbow injury.

Blatant overreaction of the week

“The Titans don’t need Vince Young.”

Kerry Collins can probably get the job done, just like Trent Dilfer did with the Ravens in 2000. But Young is one of the most unique athletes in the NFL, and, when’s he’s healthy, the Titans would be hurting themselves if they didn’t utilize him. Working Young in every once in a while would force defences to prepare for two quarterbacks each week, and would make Tennessee that much more dynamic.

Why the (Chicago Bears) will win Super Bowl XLIII

The Bears’ defence really sent a message when they stepped up and stopped the Eagles on that fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line late in the fourth quarter Sunday night. Had the Bears let Philly get into the end zone, there’s a chance they would have lost by blowing a lead for the third straight week.

But Chicago looks to have learned from its past transgressions. And when you look back at their four games as a whole, the Bears have outplayed their opponents in each of them. There are still a lot of concerns in Chicago (the Bears committed four turnovers Sunday), but the defence can take this team deep.

Why the (Dallas Cowboys) won’t win Super Bowl XLIII

This team just has trouble closing, and we’re starting to wonder if Romo really does have problems winning the big games. Super Bowl teams win games like that, but the Cowboys let the Redskins hang around, and ultimately win the game.

Team of the week: Washington Redskins

Four weeks in, Jason Campbell’s still yet to turnover the ball. In fact, the Redskins once again had no turnovers as a team against Dallas. The offence went the entire month of September without turning the ball over (they fumbled once on a punt return). Clinton Portis was great against Dallas as well. The defence isn’t flashy, but it’s holding it down and letting Campbell and Portis score points.

Player of the week: Larry Johnson

Maybe LJ was listening as we ripped him in weeks 1 and 2. Against the Broncos, we saw Larry Johnson circa 2006: 28 carries, 198 yards and two touchdowns. Damon Huard only had to “manage the game” while Johnson had his best performance, yardage-wise, since the final game of the 2005 season. Just like that, Johnson’s third in the league in rushing.

Setting the pace

• Drew Brees is on pace to pass for an NFL-record 5,372 yards

• Brett Favre is on pace to toss a career-high 48 touchdown passes

• J.T. O’Sullivan is on pace to get sacked 76 times, tying the NFL record

• Derek Anderson is on pace to throw 24 interceptions

• Anquan Boldin is on pace to catch 20 touchdown passes, if he knows what team he plays for

MVP watch

As of right now, your NFL MVP is Albert Haynesworth, who is anchoring the best defence in the league while leading the AFC with five sacks.

Rookie of the Year watch

As of right now, your offensive rookie of the year is Chris Johnson, who is carrying the Titans’ offence with a 5.0 rushing average and 337 yards through four games. Your defensive rookie of the year is Saints cornerback Tracy Porter, who has been great in coverage, and has a sack, a pick and 22 tackles.

Ray Edwards single-season sack record watch

Edwards, the little-known Vikings defensive end, said in the offseason he planned on breaking Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record of 22.5. We’ll track his progress here each week.

Edwards didn’t play Sunday against the Titans due to a shoulder injury. He still doesn’t have a sack in 2008.

Redskins @ Cowboys

The Redskins are for real. Few expected the ‘Skins to go into Dallas and pull out a win, but Jason Campbell was once again under control and smooth and Clinton Portis was the sparkplug as Washington held on to beat the Cowboys. Dallas hasn’t been in a lot of tight games, so it might not know what to do in situations like these. One tip for the future: Don’t abandon the running game as soon as you aren’t in the lead. The Cowboys ran the ball three times in the second half.

Vikings @ Titans

Although the boxscore will show that the Titans had quite the game against Minnesota, Tennessee made its share of mistakes in the 30-17 victory. Fortunately for the Titans, the Vikes made more. For reasons unbeknownst to us, the Titans kept throwing deep while protecting a lead in the second half. Why go away from what works? Minnesota fumbled twice and took a plethora of drive-killing penalties. We expected this one to be ugly, and it was. The Titans don’t care; they’re 4-0.

Chiefs @ Broncos

Really? Like, c’mon! Really? If anyone saw that coming, they should grab a Mensa application. Denver’s offence might be good, but they’re going to have off days. Today was one of them, and the defence proved that it isn’t good enough to bail them out.

Really?

Browns @ Bengals

We don’t believe in Cincinnati, but we really don’t believe in Cleveland. We didn’t see the Browns pulling this one out on the road, but they prevailed. Three things that come to mind after watching this one:

1) Will the win save Derek Anderson? It shouldn’t.

2) Where have Braylon Edwards and Chad Johnson gone? Both had touchdown grabs in the game, but neither has done enough four weeks in.

3) These teams have fallen off since they combined to score 96 points in week 2 last season.

Cardinals @ Jets

What did we say about the Cards on the road? This is just a difference team outside of the copper state. Fantasy owners will love Arizona all season, but the defence and lack of consistency will drive fans crazy.

Bills @ Rams

We were listening to Buffalo sports radio from Toronto this morning, and couldn’t believe the confidence these folks have in this team. They were already thinking about next week, barely considering that their team still had to get by the Rams. We’re sure Bills fans got a little nervous when their team fell behind 14-6 in the first half. Eventually, though, the Rams became the Rams. Buffalo outscored St. Louis 25-0 in the second half.

Um, we’re pretty sure Marc Bulger wasn’t the problem.

Chargers @ Raiders

Speaking of frightening starts, the Raiders gave the Chargers one hell of a scare, leading 15-0 at halftime. But San Diego put it together, outscoring Oakland 28-3 in the second half. Good teams find ways to win, and the Chargers did that in Oakland despite bad play from Philip Rivers.

Packers @ Buccaneers

Welcome back to the real world, Aaron Rodgers. After opening the season 2-0, the honeymoon is over for Rodgers and the Packers, who have lost back-to-back games against the Cowboys and Bucs. Even with Brian Griese struggling, Jon Gruden found a way to win by handing it to Earnest Graham. Gruden’s wacky week-to-week game plans are a bit unorthodox, but his team is getting the job done.

Texans @ Jaguars

If there were any questions surrounding Matt Schaub’s job status, they were put to sleep on Sunday. Although the Texans fell short in overtime against the Jags, they battled on the road, and Schaub was fantastic, completing nearly 75 percent of his passes for 307 yards and three touchdowns. One thing’s for sure: The Titans must love watching their division rivals beat each other up each week.

49ers @ Saints

The Saints are finally beginning to click on offence despite the absence of Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey. Even more importantly, they proved Sunday that they can win without Reggie Bush, who was held in check by the San Francisco defence. J.T. O’Sullivan continues to get sacked like mad; that’s killing the Niners.

Falcons @ Panthers

Atlanta is still on the right track. The Falcons are avoiding mistakes and keeping pressure off of rookie quarterback Matt Ryan. Today, they just weren’t able to get the ball in the end zone against a smothering Panthers’ defence. As the offence establishes some chemistry with Steve Smith back in the fray, Carolina’s going to be dangerous.

With exception to the Ravens and Texans, who had makeshift, Hurricane Ike-enforced week 2 byes, this is the opening weekend for bye weeks. Fans hate ‘em, players love ‘em, and coaches whine over their timing.

Take Giants head coach Tom Coughlin, who clamoured this week over his team’s week 4 bye. The defending Super Bowl champs are relatively healthy, and not even 20 percent of their season is complete. Who wants a bye after only three weeks? The G-men and Dolphins probably aren’t thrilled about having to play 13 consecutive weekends to complete the season.

Interestingly, the other four teams with byes this week – Detroit, Indianapolis, New England and Seattle – probably can’t complain. The Lions are 0-3 and trying to adjust to a rejigged front office following the termination of team president Matt Millen. The Colts are 0-2 on their new home field and third in the division, already two games back of Tennessee, and need the offensive line to get healthier. The Pats are coming off their first regular-season loss since December, 2006 and need to regroup. And the Seahawks need as much time as possible to allow their receivers to get healthy and/or good at football.

But Coughlin, whose team hasn’t lost since last December, understandably wants to keep the ball rolling. He doesn’t like that his team seems to land early-season byes year after year. His main gripe, though, is that the other teams in the insanely competitive NFC East have more beneficial byes.

The Eagles play six games before their bye, 10 after. The Cowboys and Redskins share a week 10 bye, which leaves them with only seven uninterrupted games to complete the regular season.

League spokesman Greg Aiello told the Newark Star-Ledger this week that “the byes fall when they fall… They are one of many factors that have to be considered when constructing the schedule.”

In other words, it’s the luck of the draw. But that just doesn’t feel right, does it?

In the past, before the NFL started using a very structured schedule, things were a lot stranger.

In 2001, the Cardinals had a bye in week 1. Seriously, week 1. How is that even a “bye”? You’re playing 16 straight weeks. That same year, the Chargers were off in week 17. At least the Cards got an extra week to prepare for the season. San Diego, which finished 5-11 that year, just went home a week early.

This happened for three straight years (1999, 2000, 2001) when the league had an uneven number of teams. The Browns were re-born, but the Texans were yet to be conceived. When Houston’s franchise joined the league in 2002, things got normal again.

During that three-year span of first and last week byes, the NFL’s newest team (Cleveland) was victimized by a schedule of 16 straight games twice. The Chargers were also forced to do it twice, while the Bengals and Cards had to do it once.

The teams that were forced to take the first or last week off always sucked, but, strangely, weren’t always the worst teams in football the previous year.

So, again, it could be worse. But does a week 4 bye also hurt teams?

One thing’s for sure: The NFL should be making sure that, if possible, all four teams from each division share their byes. In the worst-case scenario, the division rivals should only be separated by a week or two. But the Giants may very well be at a disadvantage with such an early week off.

Last year, the Giants’ bye was smack dab in the middle of the season, and New York won the Super Bowl. So is there a correlation between team success and team byes? It doesn’t look like it.

In 2005, the Steelers went all the way with a week 4 bye. The year before that, the Pats won the Lombardi Trophy despite a week 3 bye. In 2001, the Pats won the title with a week 16 bye. The Ravens won it all the prior season despite a week 14 bye. The Rams were off in week 2 in 1999, but that didn’t stop them from winning the Super Bowl.

In fact, dating back to 1995, the Giants are only team to have won the Super Bowl after having their bye right in the middle of their schedule. That doesn’t bode well for the Panthers, Saints, Chargers or 49ers this year.

Of course, none of it really matters. It seems as though the timing of bye weeks is about as crucial to Super Bowl victories as Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey were to the Giants in ’07.

Still, it would be nice if division rivals could be off at close to the same time, if not the exact same time. It seems like the league at least tries to keep them close. In the NFC North, the Bears, Packers and Vikings take vacation in week 8. The Lions, who don’t matter anyway, are off this week.

Coaches will find issues to complain about, no matter how things are done. This week, Coughlin made it the timing of his bye. Would it be great if the league could schedule all of the byes for weeks 7, 8, 9 and 10? Sure, but having eight teams sit out for four straight weeks must not work out logistically.

If the league has the capabilities to do something like that, it should. Just saying…

On to the picks, excluding the Lions, Colts, Dolphins, Patriots, Giants and Seahawks…

Last week: 11-5 (8-5-3 against the spread)
Season record: 30-17 (20-19-8 against the spread)

We really like the Falcons’ offence right now, but on the road, against the Panthers’ defence, it’s a whole different story. Carolina has become a very healthy team, and, despite the fact that the road team has won the last five games in this series, the Panthers will be too much at home. Watch for Jake Delhomme to find more of his chemistry with Steve Smith… Carolina 24, Atlanta 17

The Browns just aren’t that good a team. Injuries are hurting what was already a bad defence, with safety Sean Jones out and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley dealing with a groin injury. Dating back to the last month of 2007, Derek Anderson hasn’t performed like a starting quarterback. The Bengals will make this Anderson’s last start with Cleveland, winning for the sixth straight time against the Browns at home… Cincinnati 23, Cleveland 20

Speaking of last starts, it could be Matt Schaub’s final chance to keep his starting job as the 0-2 Texans travel to Jacksonville. The Jags gained a lot of confidence with that last-second victory in Indianapolis, and will only build on that against a Houston team that has struggled to do much on offence. We’re a tad worried about the Jags’ secondary without Reggie Nelson, but they should still have no problems getting the W… Jacksonville 27, Houston 20

If the Falcons can score 38 on the Chiefs, what will the Broncos do? We’re expecting to once again see a lot of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall as Denver has its way with K.C. The Chiefs have lost 12 straight games dating back to last year, but the spread for this one is still in the single digits. We’d jump on that… Denver 40, Kansas City 17

Who would’ve guessed at the start of the year that in week 4 the Saints would only be a five-point fave at home against the 49ers? Now, we’re wondering if that’s too much. Mike Martz has his offence playing extremely well, and should work Frank Gore a lot in the flats against a battered and bruised New Orleans linebacking corps. There’s only so much Reggie Bush can do with Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey out, so we’re expecting an upset here… San Francisco 23, New Orleans 20

It’s all about the venue in the Cardinals-Jets game. We just can’t go with ‘Zona on the road, especially against Brett Favre and the Jets. No, we’re not thinking about Favre’s injury. We’ve been here a thousand times, and won’t be fooled into adjusting our prediction based on an injury that won’t play a role. But injuries to Bertrand Berry and Adrian Wilson will cost the Cards dearly… New York Jets 30, Arizona 20

The Packers finally came back to earth Sunday against the Cowboys. Things get worse now with Al Harris out indefinitely with a ruptured spleen and Charles Woodson still feeling the effects of a broken toe. How will the Packers win in Tampa without the health of their two top cornerbacks? They won’t. In fact, we like the Buccaneers to run away with this one… Tampa Bay 27, Green Bay 13

We don’t expect to see a lot of points from either team as the Vikings and Titans get together. Minnesota’s been great (and is always great) against the run, which is Tennessee’s stronger point on offence. Same deal the other way. With Adrian Peterson still dealing with a bad hamstring, the Titans move to 4-0 at home, but not in impressive fashion… Tennessee 10, Minnesota 9

Are the Chargers back on track? Against Oakland, it doesn’t really matter much. San Diego has won nine straight games against the Raiders, and LaDainian Tomlinson’s toe is feeling better every day. The Raiders’ best player, Nnamdi Asomugha, is expected to be limited with an elbow injury, only making matters worse for Oakland… San Diego 38, Oakland 17

Don’t expect Trent Green to save the Rams, whose struggles have hit historical proportions. The Bills couldn’t have asked for a better opponent in their attempt to move to 4-0. Steven Jackson’s pissed off, the highest-paid player on the team is on the bench and the head coach is on the brink of losing his job. The Bills have next to no important injuries, and will walk all over the Rams... Buffalo 35, St. Louis 10

Later in the year, when Jason Taylor and Malcolm Kelly are healthy and the Redskins get to host the Cowboys, we expect a Washington win. But, right now, there’s no stopping this Dallas team, especially at home. Jason Campbell is playing with a lot of confidence after two nearly perfect outings, so we expect the Redskins to keep it close… Dallas 34, Washington 27

The fact that Brian Westbrook wasn’t able to practice all week really worries us. To make matters worse, Donovan McNabb sat out most of the week with a chest contusion. In Chicago, the Eagles’ defence might have to carry the team the way it did last week against the Steelers. The Bears’ offence has been better this year, but the defence has blown double-digit leads in back-to-back games. With Tommie Harris’ status still up in the air, the Eagles pull out a close one… Philadelphia 17, Chicago 14

Injuries will also play a huge role in the Ravens-Steelers Monday Nighter. Pittsburgh hasn’t looked good on offence for a couple weeks, and now Willie Parker’s out with a knee injury. Baltimore’s defence has been back to normal early on, but Samari Rolle is hurt once again and Dawan Landry won’t play after suffering a neck injury last week. In Pittsburgh, the Ravens still might not have the firepower to get past a hurting Steelers team… Pittsburgh 20, Baltimore 13

Yeah, this isn't technically an NFL play, but it's so worth showing. Morgan State wide receiver Edwin Baptiste made one of the best catches of all time Saturday against Winston-Salem. We'll let the video tell the story:

Update: Since the last video was removed from YouTube, I found another, much crappier version. Better than nothing. Plus, we all get to see the conclusion of that wicked Ryan Braun walk-off grand slam from Thursday night!

That is just ridiculous. Michael David Smith points out at College Football Talk that Baptiste wasn't even mentioned in a recap of the game on the Morgan State website.