Week 5 NFL Notes

The other day, Durden and I were trying to think of some past RBs that we could compare to Brian Leonard. By that, we mean white, of course. The first name that came to mind for Durden was Luke Staley. Though he was white, I wasn't sold on that comparison until I read the Lions official website about Staley.

"Second-year running back who was making a favorable impression in training camp as a rookie before sustaining a knee injury and having season-ending knee surgery… Placed on Reserve/Injured August 19, 2002… Will compete for the backup running back spot behind incumbent James Stewart… Blessed with the perfect blend of size, strength and speed… Originally drafted by Lions in the seventh round (214th overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft."

After reading this I felt sheepish that I didn't remember Luke Staley as the ideal athlete. I won't make that mistake again and Luke Staley will certainly re-appear in this blog in the future.

But for now, here's a little trip around the NFL...


-The Chargers were flying around on defense and let Gates/Tomlinson do the work on offense as they should, but I'm one of few who isn't ready to declare them "back" just yet. They certainly did their job and capitalized on Denver's mistakes, but I have to believe there won't be too many teams giving the game away in the first quarter and then giving up like the Broncos did.

-Ronnie Brown is on pace for 2300 yards from scrimmage and about 16 TDs. His team's on pace to go 0-16

-The good news for Matt Leinart is that he's not involved in the QB carousel anymore. The good news for us is that we get to watch Kurt Warner try to shimmy out of a sack and fumble three times next weekend.

-I've gone from Eli Manning supporter in his college days to Eli Manning apologist since he was drafted. I'm not a Giants fan by any means, but I did tell my brother I thought they should do whatever it took to draft Eli. Another Jekyll and Hyde performance on Sunday was frustrating, but at least it came against the lowly Jets. If Eli shows any consistency, they're as much a Super Bowl contender as anyone in the NFC.

-Redskins looked great. The Cowboys should be the least comfortable of any remaining undefeateds, even after they take care of the Bills tonight. I still think the NFC East is up for grabs.

-Trent Dilfer looked like his old Super Bowl winning self this weekend. Heck of a pass for the TD though, and the celebration made it even better.

-The Patriots are taking all the attention away from the Colts, but they're just as good and I'm definitely looking forward to week 9. I'm in the minority that think the Colts might even be a little better than the Pats.

-Vince Young single-handedly won another football game (20-33, 157 yards, 3 INTs).

-The Seahawks are probably going to annoy their fans all year depending on which team shows up each week. Take nothing away from the Steelers though, they're legit.

-I'm back to hating the Browns after that debacle of not covering the spread. They had several opportunities late in the game to cover and ice it.

-It was nice to see the fun Brett Favre show up last night with those timely INTs to blow the game for the Pack.

-I'm glad I'm not a Saints fan.