NFL Reactions

Seriously, all I hear is "Wah, wah, wah," Ray Lewis. The loudest player in football needs a tissue for his latest issue: The officials lost the game, not us. Typical Ravens whining. The new rules for quarterbacks are in place, so you have to play by them. You should've complained or commented when the rules were changed, Ray. But you were probably busy fighting people at clubs.

So, here's some advice, Ray: Don't give up 27 points next time. Just sayin'.

OK, let's run down all the games from Sunday ...

... The Lions keep putting up a fight each week. Not saying they are making the playoffs or anything, but they are definitely better than the Rams, Browns, Redskins, Bucs, Chiefs, Raiders and maybe even the Panthers. The Bears are enjoying the early returns on Jay Cutler, who after a disastrous first-week performance has made quite the impression on his new team. But really, I don't need to hear any more "John-Elways-esque" comments when watching the highlight of him diving into the end zone.

... Can't the Browns catch one break, God? Please? I'm not a Browns fan by any stretch, but watching Cleveland play and inevitably lose is like watching the 1,876,237,867 times that the antelope doesn't escape the lions chasing it. You know the poor thing is gonna get caught and devoured, but you hold out hope that the Discovery Channel cameras will catch on tape the one time the antelope escapes. And then six lions pull down the antelope from every direction, disappear below the tall grass and reappear minutes later with blood all over their faces. But hey, at least that antelope doesn't have to watch Derek Anderson.

... Can we give up the Seahawks-as-NFC-West champs babble now? The Colts are a great team, yes. They look like one of the top five teams in football so far. But they just destroyed Seattle. Don't let 34-17 score fool you. It was way worse.

... The Giants are major contenders for the NFC title this year. No question about it. But people are freaking out about Eli Manning's foot. Really? Eli's foot? The New York Daily News went so far as to say Eli's is the most famous foot in the tri-state area. Ask Brandon Jacobs what he thinks about that. Or Mark Teixeira. Or Derek Jeter. Or C.C. Sabathia. I can think of about five other guys in the New York City area who are more important than Eli Manning. Sure, he's good and all, but not that good. You really think a heel injury that keeps him out two games and forces David Carr to hand the ball off to Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw about 40 times is that problematic? The Giants would be fine without Eli for a few games. So relax.

... God, I am sitting here scrolling through the games and posting reactions and, lo and behold, I reach the Redskins-Bucs game.

... The Titans are in serious trouble. Winless in their first four with Indy and New England on deck. Rough start. And I don't see them as anything but 0-6 before their bye week. Meanwhile, the Jaguars, a team that really struck me as terrible after Week 1, is 2-2 and breathing better. And with Seattle and St. Louis on deck, the Jags could be 4-2 going into their bye week.

... Oakland is just ... just awful. JaMarcus Russell is 43 of 108 so far this year. That's 39.8 percent.

... We already talked about the "We Never Actually Lose" Ravens. So let's talk about the Patriots. After losing to New York in Week 2, it was time to write the obituary for the dynasty. Not so fast. A solid, grind-it-out win against Atlanta and a great win against a very good Ravens team has New England at 3-1 and feeling confident. The passing game looked better, but it was the defense that played extremely well in this one. The secondary has meshed well with its new pieces.

... The Saints are the best team in the NFL right now. Yeah, I said it. I have never thought the Jets were as good as everyone talked them up to be. Sure, they'll be good this year, but not talk-smack-every-week good like they were acting. And don't think for one second that New Orleans is a pass-heavy, no-run-game, no-defense team. This is a well-rounded Saints club that is the cream of the crop in the NFC.

... The Bills and Dolphins played this weekend.

... Are the Broncos really that good or are the Cowboys just a mediocre 9-7 team with a great PR crew? (Think of the Cowboys as the Mitt Romney of football.) I think it's a little bit of Broncos being good and a little bit of the Cowboys being average. Denver gets its first real test next week when the Patriots come to the Mile High City. With their defense looking as good as any, the Broncos have a great opportunity to warn the rest of the AFC next week.

... The 49ers' defense single-handedly crushed my buddy Ken's fantasy team this week. I guess that's what happens when you face Kyle Boller and the Second Team to Go 0-16 in Two Seasons.

... Was there any doubt in anyone's mind that Jeff Reed would ice the games for the Steelers last night? Dude's got the entire city thinking the world is about to collapse when he steps onto the field and calmly drills the game-sealing kick. You had to know that was coming. There was no way the Steelers were losing that game, at home, on the brink of falling to 1-3. No chance. And they held on. And I won $5, too.

NFL Power Rankings (worst to first)

32. St. Louis
31. Tampa Bay
30. Kansas City
29. Cleveland
28. Oakland
27. Washington
26. Detroit
25. Carolina
24. Buffalo
23. Miami
22. Tennessee
21. Seattle
20. Houston
19. Arizona
18. Dallas
17. Jacksonville
16. Cincinnati
15. San Diego
14. Atlanta
13. Pittsburgh
12. Chicago
11. Green Bay
10. San Francisco
9. Philadelphia
8. Denver
7. New York Jets
6. Baltimore
5. New England
4. Minnesota
3. Indianapolis
2. New York Giants
1. New Orleans