Last week: 8-5, making the season forecast 74-29. ESPN recently produced a nice one-hour documentary on the USFL. I enjoyed the piece and it was great to reminisce with many of the key players and highlights. But a couple of things bothered me, as someone who did my senior history thesis on why the USFL failed. For dramatic purposes, the piece framed the USFL as a tug-of-war between John Bassett and Donald Trump, prominent owners with very divergent agendas. Trump certainly was the preeminent villain in terms of escalating salaries and forcing the move from Spring to Fall, but he was far from alone. Bassett makes the ideal sympathetic hero, a people-friendly magnate dying of cancer, but he shares some of the blame in the league?s demise. Many struggling franchises needed real help to stay afloat in poor stadiums and novice fan bases (San Antonio, Portland, Arizona), but Bassett believed in fair market play, leading to mergers that confused and alienated fans and damaged league credibility and viability. They were the figureheads of the deeply divided ownership groups, but they were far from the only central players in both the rise and fall of the USFL. Don?t get me wrong, it?s still a great work that every football fan should watch. Just bear in mind that it?s overly dramatically framed, and Donald Trump (too willing to play along) is almost caricatured as the steamroller that flattened the league. When I interviewed several players, coaches, and owners in 1995 about why they thought the league failed, Trump was viewed more as the straw that broke the camel?s back, not the straw that stirred the toxic drink. Minnesota (5) at Green Bay (11): This is apparently the only game ESPN is allowed to talk about this week for some reason... The bottom line for me in this game comes down to offensive line play. Green Bay?s OL has been just brutal, but they did show signs of improvement last week against a decent Browns front. Minnesota?s defensive front four is the best in football, however, and that means trouble for the Packers. On the flip side, I like how the Packers own defensive front has been playing, and their speed can give the behemoth Vikings line some issues of their own. That means it?s up to which offense can do more under duress. I?ll take Adrian Peterson over Ryan Grant 100 times out of 100 in that fight, even though I think Aaron Rodgers can--and will-- outgun Brett Favre. Here?s hoping that the Packers faithful give Favre the respect he deserves for giving them so much success after years of futility. Favre wins in Lambeau Field...while wearing purple. Vikings 30, Packers 28. Denver (3) at Baltimore (15): One of the great questions this year is how these Broncos are 6-0. The easiest answer: they?re not bad at anything and they don?t make mistakes. Contrast that with the ?darlings? in Baltimore, who continually shoot themselves in the feet with coverage breakdowns, blown run blocks, and asinine penalties, resulting in a 3-3 record that leaves them teetering on the precipice of playoff outsiders already. If they don?t beat themselves, Baltimore at home is good enough to win this game. Added bonus in the Ravens column: it?s Halloween weekend in Baltimore, home of Edgar Allan Poe, author of the fantastic story ?The Raven?. Read that at halftime of a Baltimore 20-16 win. Atlanta (13) at New Orleans (1): This is one of the NFL?s better rivalries, and this meeting is pretty much the last chance Atlanta has of keeping the Saints from running away with the NFC South before November starts. Dallas did a great job exploiting the holes in the Falcons defense, something that Sean Payton no doubt studied carefully. He has the horses to exploit those same weaknesses, and the great New Orleans OL should give Drew Brees plenty of time and clean passing lanes to make it happen. The Saints have won the last five meetings in New Orleans itself, and they run that to six while essentially icing the NFC South. New Orleans 34, Atlanta 23. San Francisco (22) at Indianapolis (2): Earlier this week I wrote about the silver lining that San Francisco can take from last week?s loss with the play of Alex Smith. Funny thing about silver in clouds though; adding silver to clouds actually produces rain, as the Chinese so vividly demonstrated in their quest to keep the Olympics rain-free by seeding the clouds to the west of Beijing. It normally doesn?t rain indoors, but the Colts are playing better than ever and are precisely the type of lead in the balloon that San Fran doesn?t need right now. Indy keeps the 49ers slide going down with a 33-17 home victory. NY Giants (8) at Philadelphia (12): Huge game in the NFC East, and it comes at a bad time for the reeling Giants, losers of two straight. Last season the Eagles had Eli Manning?s number, and with Manning not real sharp lately they figure to have some success again defensively. My primary concern for the G-Men is their ability to snuff out the big play, something these Eagles rely heavily upon to score. With their secondary still struggling and the Eagles OL stabilizing, I think DeSean Jackson or LeSean McCoy can break a couple of big ones. That should be enough for Philadelphia to win the football side of the World Series matchup. Eagles 24, Giants 20. St. Louis (32) at Detroit (26): This is probably the best chance for the Rams to win a game, avoiding the fate of last year?s Lions and taking the collar for the season. It won?t be easy, with the host Lions coming off a bye and much healthier than they have been all season. The Rams, alas, are not very healthy--and not very good even when they are. The Lions are favored by 3.5 points, their largest margin as a favorite in over 2 years. Give the points; these Rams have scored just 60 points in 7 games and sport the worst OL this side of Green Bay. Detroit 27, St. Louis 13. Cleveland (29) at Chicago (21): These teams lost by a combined score of 76-13 last Sunday, but there is blowout written all over this one too. The Cleveland offense is terrible, scoring just four touchdowns all year. QB Derek Anderson has completed just over a third of his passes the last three weeks, and has completed consecutive passes just three times in that span (including his first five last week). Chicago may have some serious issues, but the Browns are ill-equipped to exploit them. Jay Cutler should have a huge day with his elusive receivers running wild against the team that ranks dead last in allowing yards after the catch over the last month. Chicago 37, Cleveland 10. Carolina (27) at Arizona (6): Carolina has a growing QB controversy, or rather Carolina would have a growing QB controversy if they had anyone legit to replace Mr. INT Jake Delhomme. For as good as the Panthers OL is and as great of a 1-2 RB punch as they have, it all unravels quickly when the passing game is more likely to turn the ball over (13 INTs) than produce a big play (12 passes over 20 yards, 5 of which came in the same game). The Cardinals defense plays with the same create-your-own-opportunism that Coach Whisenhunt saw personally in Pittsburgh. The playoff game in Carolina last year began the unraveling for Delhomme, and I just don?t see much chance for redemption in this one. Arizona 20, Carolina 17 in my survivor fantasy pick of the week. Seattle (23) at Dallas (10): Welcome to the Miles Austin show! The Cowboys receiver has burst upon the scene with over 400 yards and 4 TDs in his last two games, giving Tony Romo the legit big-play receiver he needs. That?s real bad news for Seattle, which has major injury issues on defense even after their bye week. This is a bit of a trap game for Dallas, which waxed a good Atlanta team last week and travels to PHI and GB in the coming weeks. That worries me a little, but more in terms of the 9.5 point spread. If Seattle had even average special teams this could be an upset, but their coverage and return units are all near the bottom. That means field position for a Dallas offense that is really clicking right now. Cowboys roll 30-13. Houston (14) at Buffalo (20): I had a friend in high school who loved to use the expression, ?just when you thought it was safe...? That applies here to the Bills, who have saved Dick Jauron?s hide by being less egregious than their opponent two weeks in a row. So just when you think it?s safe to say the Bills are back from the dead, along comes the Houston Texans. Led by legit MVP candidate Matt Schaub and fantastic rookie LB Brian Cushing, Houston appears to have turned the corner and learned how to win. That trumps the Bills acumen for just knowing how not to lose. Texans win on the road 32-17. Miami (17) at NY Jets (18): Didn?t these teams just play? Grudge matches so close together are always hard to forecast, because the memories of the last one are so fresh...and largely irrelevant. Miami won that game by pounding the Jets defense and throwing over it while QB Chad Henne had all day to survey the field. Expect the Jets to come up with a different plan of attack to get pressure. One of the issues with Miami is that there?s really not much they do different from week to week, what you see is what you get. If they can successfully adapt some countermeasures they should be fine, but that?s not their strong suit; the Dolphins rank 20th in point differential after halftime, normally a good harbinger of in-game malleability. I expect a close game with several lead changes, and the Jets wind up taking the last one of those. New York 26, Miami 24. Oakland (24) at San Diego (16): I?d love to offer some in-depth wisdom to break down this game, but these two teams are about as schizophrenic as Sybil, which makes them near impossible to forecast. If the Chargers and Raiders teams that showed up last weekend meet here, San Diego wins by about 40, but take the squads from the week before and the Raiders triumph. The Chargers have a greater ability to win without their ?A? game than the Raiders, who are as bad as any team in the league when they don?t bring theirs. Chargers 28, Raiders 10 in a pick with lower confidence than you might expect. Jacksonville (19) at Tennessee (30): I had written a nice little blurb about how it was high time people stopped overrating the 0-6 Titans, then along came the news that Vince Young will start at quarterback. That changes my thinking on this one. I initially thought the Titans could rally off their bye week and have an effective gameplan against a Jacksonville team that runs very hot and cold. But with Young at the controls, the Tennessee offense becomes almost completely one-dimensional until Young proves he can beat even a high school team, or his own team?s wretched pass defense, with his arm. This marks the latest in the season that a winless team is favored over a team that is at least .500 in NFL history, although the change to Young dropped the line from 3.5 to 1.5 almost immediately. The bookies know, and I?m listening...Jacksonville 29, Tennessee 24. Byes: Washington (25), Cincinnati (7), Pittsburgh (9), New England (4), Tampa Bay (31), Kansas City (28) Drinking in the Dorm Room Games 3-2 last week, 26-14 on the season. Oregon 22, USC 20. This game decides the PAC-10 rep in the BCS, and I?ll take the home team against a freshman QB. Texas 40, Oklahoma State 30. This is one of those games where the Cowboys can certainly win, but I?ll believe it when I see it. Florida 30, Georgia 10. In Tebow we Trust. Auburn 21, Ole Miss 20 Central Michigan 36, Boston College 34. Had the Chips not stumbled in their opener, this win would have solidified them as BCS-bowl worthy to some.

The Ravens had the opportunity to shoot down rumors of a possible trade for Terrell Owens, but coach John Harbaugh only fueled speculation. "All I can say about T.O. is this ? I'm going to jump out a limb here ? I've got a lot of respect for T.O., OK? Always have," Harbaugh told the Baltimore Sun. "He's a football player, he practices hard, I think he's got a really good heart, always have. We have a good relationship. Now is anything happening there? Not that I know of. And I think I would know if something was happening. But he plays for another team. We have a ton of respect for him, and I've always liked him and I want to be positive about him." Harbaugh added that he won't be surprised if the Ravens pulled the trigger on a deal.

Ray Lewis was fined a total of $25,000 for actions during Sunday?s game against the Bengals, according to a league source. The fines were the result of two infractions during the game. On a pass play, he unnecessarily kicked an opponent. Additionally, during the fourth quarter he unnecessarily struck a defenseless receiver (Chad Ochocinco). The fines for those two actions amounted to $25,000.

Last week: 10-4, pushing the season mark to 57-19. I was also within three total points on three different games last week, including the Monday nighter that took way too many by surprise. The weather is starting to be more of a factor in games. Last week?s Cleveland/Buffalo game was marred by strong winds, and this weekend features games in Green Bay and Cincinnati, where cold temperatures and higher winds could put a damper on offenses. It looks like rain in Oakland and the Northeast, which helps out teams with power running games and slows down teams that like to blitz on defense. It?s also the time of year that many professional sports gamblers start to ease back on the wagering. There is enough baseline information on every team that the preseason notions and assumptions are now history. That is reflected in the lines for Tennessee, Buffalo, and Cincinnati; no more free points based on faulty assumptions. This is also when freak upsets tend to start popping up on a weekly basis. The best candidate this week: Kansas City over Washington, even though that?s not my game pick. Game of the Season So Far New York Giants (2) at New Orleans (1): I could go in about 20 different directions breaking this one down, but the one battle to which I always return is the Saints DL vs. the Giants OL. If the Saints D that we?ve seen in their past two games is the one that shows up at home off a bye, New Orleans should win. It helps New Orleans that Brandon Jacobs isn?t running with his usual fervor and Ahmad Bradshaw is dinged up. I think the Giants back-seven is better equipped to handle the Saints high-powered offense than any other team, but ?handling? them means keeping the score in the 20s. Can the G-Men put up that many points on the Saints? That?s the great debate, but something tells me the Giants? red zone woes aren?t going to end here. In order to beat New Orleans they cannot settle for field goals. New Orleans 27, New York 24. Best of the Rest Baltimore (9) at Minnesota (4): Baltimore is reeling after consecutive last-minute losses, but this is probably the toughest test yet for their revamped offense. The key matchup here is Vikings DE Jared Allen going against rookie backup LT Michael Oher. Allen gets sacks off pretty much everyone, so expect Baltimore to shift protections to help out Oher. That frees up Kevin Williams to do a lot of damage as a pass rusher, and it?s already near impossible to run between the tackles against Minnesota. That is true of Baltimore too; they rank near the top in all rushing defense metrics. But they showed vulnerability in the last two weeks with powerful inside runners that can cut. No back does that better than Adrian Peterson, and the Vikings don?t alter their plan of attack just because the opponent has a strong run D. Expect Peterson to still get a lot of cracks, and though he might take more 1-yarders than normal, he has the ability to break a couple. The Ravens? penchant for ridiculous penalties doesn?t help them, certainly not on the road against a QB that, like Tom Brady, cannot be touched without drawing a flag. Vikings 27, Ravens 17. Chicago (10) at Atlanta (12): Chicago comes in fresh off their bye week, a week they spent trying to plug the holes in their pass defense. Interestingly, these teams allow almost the exact same passing yards per game and yards per attempt. What that tells me is that the team that can run the ball and protect their own QB more effectively should win. The Bears defensive ends have been a major bright spot, but I see John Abraham & Co. having more success getting to Jay Cutler--a function of the Falcons? better OL and Chicago?s sputtering run game. That should be enough when paired with the prime time home game. Atlanta 30, Chicago 24. Arizona (14) at Seattle (16): This shapes up to be a highly entertaining affair, with the caveat that nobody has any idea which teams will show up on either side. These two are the toughest teams to forecast because they are so wildly inconsistent. I could lay out various victory scenarios for either team, but the plain truth is that I have no clue if Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde will show up on either side. Arizona is better equipped to handle those bad hair days, but Seattle at home can blow that hat off. If you lay money on this game, you probably have a gambling problem. Arizona 33, Seattle 30. Denver (5) at San Diego (18): This is one of those games where you have to trust the sports books. Denver is undefeated and is the best 2nd half team in football, certainly on defense. San Diego?s defense has largely disappointed, and they have the least-effective rushing offense in the league. All that, yet the bookies have set the Chargers as early four-point favorites. That screams out ?bet the farm on the Broncos?, which is precisely what they want you to do...which is why you should trust them on this one. The casinos make money every season, and it?s a game like this one where they suck you in that the bookmakers earn their paychecks. Take your empirical evidence that Denver should win and throw it out the window. San Diego triumphs off the bye, 24-20. Houston (23) at Cincinnati (8): The Bengals are in first place after sweeping their AFC North brethren, yet they almost certainly will be blacked out in their home market. That is karmic retribution to the Brown family for being frugal and continuing to employ too many people that get arrested too often. In other places, this lack of fan support would be a real downer. But Marvin Lewis and his coaches have fostered a very tight brotherhood that should thrive off the perceived slight. I also like their under-appreciated defense being able to slow down a Houston team that clearly lacks confidence in the red zone. So long as Carson Palmer?s thumb is okay, the Bengals will be too. Bengals 31, Texans 19. The Rest Detroit (24) at Green Bay (17): The Packers are always a tenuous pick with their simply unacceptable offensive line, but these Lions are the resistible object to that movable force. Even the ?good? Lions teams have struggled in the Land of Beer and Cheese, having won just once in their last 20 trips across Lake Michigan. Give the Lions some credit for playing a brutal schedule thus far and generally acquitting themselves as being vastly improved, but there?s a huge jump from being ?not bad? to winning divisional road games against a team coming off a bye. Expect a big week for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers pass offense in a 40-24 Green Bay victory. Kansas City (27) at Washington (21): Whenever the Chiefs play the Redskins, I cannot help but recall my childhood. I had one of those electric football tables where the players glided hopelessly out of control and there was no way to figure out plays. My favorite matchup was the Battle of the Indians between the Chiefs and the Redskins, with my baseball cards of Bert Blyleven and Rick Manning (Cleveland Indians, of course!) perched on the sides as head coaches. For some reason the John Riggins model could always run straight and the Art Monk model was always open, and the Redskins always won. I saw one of those tables the other day in an antique toy store and probably should have bought it. Oh well. Redskins find some offense in a 30-17 win. Carolina (25) at Tampa Bay (29): This is probably the best chance the Bucs have to win a game this season. Unfortunately for them, the Panthers are coming off a confidence-building win over Washington where the Carolina defense thoroughly dominated the line of scrimmage. Greenhorn QB Josh Johnson provides some spark for Tampa Bay, but that defense has little chance to slow down DeAngelo Williams or a revitalized Jake Delhomme. My Bucs fan cousin Brett is convinced his beloved will pull this one off, but he?s too easily distracted by his Yankees this time of season. Carolina 28-17, but be wary of the upset. Cleveland (28) at Pittsburgh (12): Clevelanders can depend on three negatives in life: orange barrels on the freeways, lake effect thunder snow, and the Browns losing in Pittsburgh. Derek Anderson might improve upon his 2-for-17 rate from last week, but they?ll need someone besides punter Dave Zastudil (Ohio U. product!) to be their best player. The Steelers are going to miss Aaron Smith a whole lot, but it?s probably not going to show up this week. Cleveland has just one win in Pittsburgh since their return to the league, a 33-13 pasting of Tommy Maddox in 2003, aided by a fumbled punt and 3 INTs. The irony here is that the QB that Derek Anderson is most historically similar to is one Tommy Maddox. My prediction here is for Pittsburgh to win by the average score of the last five home games vs. Cleveland: Steelers 32-16. St. Louis (32) at Jacksonville (22): Here?s the hangover effect of last season?s Lions actually completing a perfectly winless season. In years past, you could always assume that every team was going to win at least one game no matter how hopelessly they appeared to suck. But Detroit changed that, and it makes this winnable game for the Rams seem less likely. Jacksonville is way too up and down, and they take those to extremes. The Jags followed up a dominating win over Tennessee with the worst game played by any team this year in the loss to Seattle. The Jaguars team that showed up in Seattle last week will lose this game, but you just cannot accurately forecast which one will show up. Jacksonville is the pick, but not nearly as confident a pick as you would expect for playing a team that?s inferior to those historically inept Lions. Jacksonville 30, St. Louis 27. Philadelphia (6) at Oakland (31): I already used the Eagles (last week vs. the Bucs) in my survivor fantasy league, but if you haven?t yet, this is a great spot to do it. Philly in a 36-10 laugher. Buffalo (30) at New York Jets (13): Beware an angry Rex Ryan defense at home. Couple that with the Bills getting worse, not to mention more injury-ravaged, every week and this doesn?t look pretty. The intriguing side plot here is the diva WR battle between TO and Braylon Edwards. Methinks Braylon played his one good game this month on Monday night, but TO just doesn?t have the QB to get him the damn ball. J-E-T-S roll 35-13. Tennessee (26) at New England (7): One of the big topics on sports radio this week is, ?Why isn?t Jeff Fisher playing Vince Young?? The answer: Coach Fisher gets to see Vince Young in practice everyday and knows that Kerry Collins provides his team with the best chance to win. Collins hasn?t been great but he also hasn?t been the problem. That pass defense is flat-out terrible, and it?s hard to be a team that wants to run, run, run when you?re losing 17-3 by the end of the 1st quarter because your safeties can?t cover at all and your defensive front can?t get much pressure. That is a nightmarish but likely scenario again while facing Tom Brady, Randy Moss et al., especially considering the Titans/Oilers franchise has one win in Foxboro in the last 33 years. Patriots 41, Titans 20. Byes: Indianapolis (3), Dallas (15), Miami (19), San Francisco (20) Drinking in the Dorm Room games Last week: 4-1, raising the season tally to 19-11. Texas 24, Oklahoma 20. Texas really showed me something in how they responded to playing terrible in the first half against a terrible Colorado team. They can build off that and beat a dinged-up Sooners offense. Virginia Tech 26, Georgia Tech 25, perhaps in overtime. Alabama 31, South Carolina 16. Ohio U. 29, Miami OH 10. A sweet Homecoming victory for my alma mater. If you?re in Athens this weekend, head to the Junction and have a quad for me. USC 33, Notre Dame 27. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com

The Ravens have signed wide receiver David Tyree. Tyree was released by New York as part of their final cuts in September. He missed last season after suffering a lingering hamstring injury while coming back from offseason knee surgery. Tyree is know most for his incredible catch against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

Tony Fein, a former Ravens linebacker and Iraq war veteran, was found dead Tuesday morning in his home state of Washington. He played for Baltimore in the preseason and was arrested in a high-profile incident at the Inner Harbor. "He was always searching for some type of direction. It's really sad," Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. "Our heart definitely goes out to his family. It's heartfelt when you wake up and get news like that with someone you just went to war with." Fein's death came one day before he was due to appear in District Court to face charges that he assaulted a city police officer.

The Ravens have lost linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo for the remainder of the season. Ayanbedejo will undergo surgery on his torn left quadriceps tendon on Wednesday. "I want to be healthy tomorrow," Ayanbadejo told the Baltimore Sun on Tuesday. "I want to be back better than ever for next season. I don't even want to miss a single day. That's why I'm having the surgery tomorrow and flying to Birmingham today. One day of not having the surgery done is one day of not having rehab and feeling better quickly."

Ravens coach John Harbaugh still believes that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady received better treatment from the officials than Joe Flacco on Sunday. Flacco was hit a number of times, but New England was only flagged once for an obvious helmet-to-helmet hit. "I know Joe got hit five different times in the game, hard, and there was one call," Harbaugh said Monday during his weekly press conference. "Five that weren't called and the one that was called was the sixth one. Tom didn't get hit five times. "We want him to be hit more than he was hit, but when he did sort of get hit, he was called. That goes to the credibility of the whole thing."

Some members of the Ravens questioned the officiating of Ron Winter and his crew following their loss the Patriots. "Without totally going off the wall here, it is embarrassing to the game," linebacker Ray Lewis told the Associated Press. "[Tom] Brady is good enough to make his own plays, let him make the play. When you have two great teams that are going at it, let them go at it. Both of their touchdown drives had personal fouls that kept drives alive. Did that win or lose the game? No, but it got them 14 points." After expressing frustration at the roughing the passer rules, Baltimore safety Ed Reed was asked this thoughts on some of the spots that the Ravens received on close plays. "Terrible," Reed said. "Nothing to take away from anybody else's job, but at some point, we have to be better about that. This game has evolved too much not to be precise when there is a spot, when there is a penalty, when anything is going on on this field. We're too smart as human beings. "The history of the game -- from where it's been to where it's come to -- to not be precise ... This is a game of inches. This has been a game of inches for years. Now you're putting one person in charge, or two people in charge [of spotting the ball], and they're making things bad. I swear it felt like 2007 almost, when we played the Patriots at home. They don't need no help. They're a great team. They don't need any help from anybody. We don't need any help from anybody. We definitely don't need anyone taking it away from us."

Ravens left tackle Jared Gaither was taken off the field on a stretcher Sunday following an apparent neck injury. Gaither was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital for tests on his neck and shoulder after a collision in the backfield in the second quarter of the Ravens' game with the Patriots. Gaither, 23, has movement in both arms and legs.