If you live in the Northeast, you probably saw a majority of the thirteen games played in the NFL?s Week Four because of a Sunday full of heavy rain. But if you weren?t watching Brett Favre light up the scoreboard, there is no need to worry. RealGM is here to help summarize all that went down as the first quarter of the NFL season comes to a close. We will also showcase each game's top FIC* (field impact counter) performers using RealGM editor Chris Reina's innovative statistical system, and calculate each team?s Trench Counter**. Tennessee 30, Minnesota 17 Team Trench Counter: Titans +3.1, Vikings -3.1 The Tennessee Titans (4-0) made franchise history on Sunday with a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. The win marked the first time the team has ever started the season with four-straight victories. Kerry Collins went 18-for-35 with 199 yards against the Vikings as the Titans did their damage on the ground. Chris Johnson had 61 yards and two touchdowns while LenDale White added 13 yards and a score of his own. Adrian Peterson had eighty yards and two touchdowns in the loss as Gus Frerotte was ineffective and suffered an injury against Tennessee. Frerotte went 25-for-43 with 266 yards and an interception. The Titans recorded four sacks and forced three fumbles in the victory. Bernard Berrian had his best game as a Viking, catching five passes for 78 yards in defeat. Game FIC Scores - Kerry Collins, TEN: 29 - Gus Frerotte, MIN: 45 - Adrian Peterson, MIN: 45 - Chris Johnson, TEN: 35 - Bernard Berrian, MIN: 47 Tampa Bay 30, Green Bay 21 Team Trench Counter: Buccaneers +14.7, Packers -14.7 The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) defeated the Green Bay Packers (2-2) on Sunday in a game that was highlighted by a number of turnovers and an injury to Aaron Rodgers. Brian Griese went 15-for-30 with 149 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions in the victory, with Earnest Graham tallying 111 yards and a score on the ground. Warrick Dunn added 63 rushing yards, and tight end Alex Smith caught two passes for 26 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers, who left the game with a shoulder injury before returning in the fourth, went 14-for-27 with 165 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Rodgers left for good in the fourth after throwing his third pick. Ryan Grant managed just 20 yards on fifteen carries, as Greg Jennings was the lone star, grabbing six passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns for Green Bay. In addition to Grant?s struggles gaining yardage, he fumbled in the third quarter, which led to a 38-yard touchdown return by Jermaine Phillips. The victory was an emotional one for the Buccaneers as kicker Matt Bryant played despite the death of his infant son this past week. Bryant kicked three successful field goals and was 3-for-3 on extra points. Game FIC Scores - Aaron Rodgers, GB: 36 - Brian Griese, TB: 24 - Earnest Graham, TB: 50 - Greg Jennings, GB: 73 N.Y. Jets 56, Arizona 35 Team Trench Counter: Jets +14, Cardinals -14 Brett Favre did something he has never done in his lengthy NFL career as he led the New York Jets (2-2) to an emphatic victory over the Arizona Cardinals (2-2). Favre went 24-for-34 with 239 yards and a career-high six touchdowns. The only blemish on his line was an interception. Laveranues Coles caught eight passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns in the victory while Jerricho Cotchery grabbed four balls for 67 yards and a pair of scores. Kurt Warner went 40-for-57 with 472 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown by Darrelle Revis in the second quarter. Edgerrin James had just 29 yards on nine carries, but had two scores in the loss. Three Arizona wide receivers topped the one hundred-yard mark (Steve Breaston, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin), but they received a huge scare when Boldin was carted off the field following a helmet-to-helmet hit late in the fourth quarter. Game FIC Scores - Brett Favre, NYJ: 84 - Kurt Warner, ARI: 97 - Edgerrin James, ARI: 44 - Thomas Jones, NYJ: 24 - Anquan Boldin, ARI: 75 - Laveranues Coles, NYJ: 82 - Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ: 51 - Larry Fitzgerald, NYJ: 76 New Orleans 31, San Francisco 17 Team Trench Counter: Saints +4.1, 49ers -4.1 Drew Brees led the New Orleans Saints (2-2) to a big win over the San Francisco 49ers (2-2) on Sunday. Brees went 23-for-35 with 363 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Lance Moore stepped up in the absence of Marques Colston, catching seven passes for 101 yards and two scores. Deuce McAllister had 73 yards and a touchdown on twenty carries while Reggie Bush added 38 total yards in the win. The Saints? defense, which was criticized all week, sacked J.T. O?Sullivan six times and forced a fumble. O?Sullivan went 18-for-36 with 257 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions in the loss. Frank Gore added 82 yards on just sixteen carries but scored no touchdowns as the 49ers were forced to throw often after falling behind early on. Arnaz Battle caught seven passes for 120 yards in the loss, as San Francisco squandered an opportunity to take sole possession of first place in the NFC West. Game FIC Scores - Drew Brees, NO: 62 - J.T. O'Sullivan, SF: 40 - Frank Gore, SF: 47 - Reggie Bush, NO: 15 Kansas City 33, Denver 19 Team Trench Counter: Chiefs +3.9, Broncos -3.9 Larry Johnson led the Kansas City Chiefs (1-3) to a shocking win over the Denver Broncos (3-1) on Sunday with 198 yards and two touchdowns. Damon Huard went 21-for-28 with 160 yards and one touchdown, a 10-yard strike to Tony Gonzalez. Dwyane Bowe caught seven passes for 85 yards in the win while the Kansas City defense kept Denver in check with a sack, two interceptions, and a pair of forced fumbles. Jay Cutler went 29-for-49 with 361 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in the loss. Selvin Young and Michael Pittman combined for 85 rushing yards on fifteen carries. Rookie Eddie Royal continued to emerge as one of Cutler?s favorite targets, catching nine passes for 104 yards. Brandon Marshall added 77 yards and a touchdown against the typically porous Kansas City secondary. Game FIC Scores - Jay Cuter, DEN: 69 - Larry Johnson, KC: 89 - Brandon Marshall, DEN: 56 - Dwayne Bowe, KC: 55 - Eddie Royal, DEN: 59 - Tony Gonzalez, KC: 34 Jacksonville 30, Houston 27 (OT) Team Trench Counter: Jaguars +1.6, Texans -1.6 Josh Scobee kicked the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) to a win for the second-straight week against the Houston Texans (0-3) on Sunday. David Garrard looked like he often did last season, going 23-for-32 with 236 yards and a touchdown. Garrard, Montell Owens, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Fred Taylor combined to rush for 139 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the victory. Matt Jones continued to shine in the wake of some offseason legal woes, grabbing five passes for 71 yards and a score against the Texans. Matt Schaub had his best game of the season, going 29-for-40 with 307 yards and three touchdowns, but the Houston defense simply couldn?t put any pressure on Garrard or the Jacksonville offense. Rookie Steve Slaton had 116 total yards and a touchdown in the loss and Kevin Walter starred with eight catches for 76 yards and two scores of his own. Game FIC Scores - David Garrard, JAX: 75 - Matt Schaub, HOU: 86 - Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX: 23 - Steve Slaton, HOU: 67 - Andre Johnson, HOU: 24 Cleveland 20, Cincinnati 12 Team Trench Counter: Browns +10.9, Bengals -10.9 The Cleveland Browns (1-3) won a battle of winless teams on Sunday over the Cincinnati Bengals (0-4) thanks to seventeen points in the fourth quarter. Derek Anderson went 15-for-24 with 138 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Jamal Lewis tallied 79 yards and one rushing score in the victory. Lewis also played the role of peacemaker, separating Anderson and Braylon Edwards on the sideline at one point against the Bengals. Edwards had 22 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Cleveland?s defense put a ton of pressure on Cincinnati with three sacks, three interceptions and two forced fumbles. Ryan Fitzpatrick, starting for the injured Carson Palmer, went 21-for-35 with 156 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in the loss. Fitzpatrick added 41 yards on the ground while Chris Perry had just 28 rushing yards. Chad ?Ocho Cinco? Johnson caught his first touchdown of the season, a 4-yard strike from Fitzpatrick late in the fourth quarter. The Bengals led 6-3 heading into the final fifteen minutes. Game FIC Scores - Derek Anderson, CLE: 31 - Jamal Lewis, CLE: 33 - Kellen Winslow, CLE: 35 Carolina 24, Atlanta 9 Team Trench Counter: Panthers +5.5, Falcons -5.5 The Carolina Panthers (3-1) played sixty minutes of strong football en route to a big divisional win over the Atlanta Falcons (2-2). Jake Delhomme went 20-for-29 with 294 yards and two touchdowns, while DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for 109 yards and one trip to the end zone against the Falcons. Muhsin Muhammad starred with eight catches and 147 yards and one touchdown while Steve Smith added 96 yards and a score of his own for Carolina. Neither team had a turnover, but Matt Ryan and the Atlanta offense couldn?t advance the ball against the Panthers? tough defense. Ryan went 21-for-41 with 158 yards while Michael Turner and Jerious Norwood had 107 yards between them. Roddy White caught seven passes from Ryan, good for 90 yards. Jason Elam, three-for-three on field goals, was responsible for all of Atlanta?s scoring. Game FIC Scores - Jake Delhomme, CAR: 67 - Matt Ryan, ATL: 30 - Michael Turner, ATL: !5 - Mushin Muhammed, CAR: 95 Buffalo 31, St. Louis 14 Team Trench Counter: Bills -1.2, Rams +1.2 The St. Louis Rams (0-4) jumped out to a 14-6 lead, but the Buffalo Bills (4-0) remained perfect with another comeback in the second half. Trent Edwards went 15-for-25 with 197 yards, one touchdown and an interception while Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson combined for 103 rushing yards and one touchdown in the victory. Lee Evans had two catches for 88 yards and a score, a 39-yard strike from Edwards in the fourth quarter. Trent Green, who started in favor of Marc Bulger, wasn?t very impressive. He went 17-for-32 with 236 yards and an interception. Steven Jackson was the lone bright spot for the Rams, rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Donnie Avery joined in the ?fun? as well, rushing for a 37-yard score on his only rushing attempt. Jackson also had 78 yards receiving in the loss, while St. Louis put pressure on the opposing quarter (four sacks) for the first time all season. Game FIC Scores - Trent Edwards, BUF: 36 - Trent Green, STL: 37 - Marshawn Lynch, BUF: 30 - Steven Jackson, STL: 87 - Fred Jackson, BUF: 30 - Lee Evans, BUF: 53 - Torry Holt, STL: 41 San Diego 28, Oakland 18 Team Trench Counter: Chargers +8.4, Raiders -8.4 The San Diego Chargers (2-2) had twenty-five fourth quarter points on Sunday in a huge comeback victory over the Oakland Raiders (1-3). Philip Rivers struggled for the first time this season, going 14-for-25 with 180 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Thankfully for the Bolts, LaDainian Tomlinson dominated on the ground, especially in the final quarter, with 106 yards and two touchdowns. Antonio Gates had five catches for 58 yards and a score in the win. JaMarcus Russell went 22-for-37 with 277 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the loss. Michael Bush had 48 rushing yards and rookie Darren McFadden added 20 yards against San Diego. Zach Miller, who caught a 63-yard touchdown strike from Russell in the second quarter, finished the game with 95 receiving yards. Oakland led 15-3 heading into the final fifteen minutes before allowing the Chargers to score three touchdowns and a field goal. Game FIC Scores - JaMarcus Russell, OAK: 50 - Philip Rivers, SD: 36 - LaDainian Tomlinson, SD: 46 - Vincent Jackson, SD: 34 - Zach Miller, OAK: 60 - Antonio Gates, SD: 42 Washington 26, Dallas 24 Team Trench Counter: Redskins +3.7, Cowboys -3.7 The Washington Redskins (3-1) led the Dallas Cowboys (3-1) by seven at halftime, and held on for a huge September win in the tough NFC East. Jason Campbell went 20-for-31 with 231 yards and two touchdowns and Clinton Portis helped balance the offense with 121 rushing yards. Santana Moss caught eight passes from Campbell for 145 yards, while both Antwaan Randle El and James Thrash had touchdown receptions in the victory. Tony Romo threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, but went 28-for-47 and had an interception. Dallas ran the ball just eleven times, with three of those carries by Romo and Terrell Owens. Jason Witten led the Cowboys with seven catches for 90 yards and one touchdown. Owens had 71 yards and a score, while Miles Austin added 45 yards and a trip to the end zone as well. The Dallas defense had a pair of sacks, but didn?t force a single turnover as they continued to struggle against the tough offenses of their division. Game FIC Scores - Jason Campbell, WSH: 41 - Tony Romo, DAL: 75 - Clinton Portis, WSH: 56 - Marion Barber, DAL: 16 - Antwaan Randle El, WSH: 30 - Terrell Owens, DAL: 51 - Santana Moss, WSH: 87 - Jason Witten, DAL: 61 Chicago 24, Philadelphia 20 Team Trench Counter: Bears -9.1, Eagles +9.1 The Chicago Bears (2-2) won a very hard-fought battle with the Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) on Sunday after jumping out to a 7-0 lead and playing extremely tight red zone defense in the second half. Kyle Orton went 18-for-34 with 199 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions while Matt Forte ran for 43 yards against Philadelphia?s league-leading rush defense. Orton fumbled the ball twice, giving the Eagles tremendous field position, but Philadelphia was never able to truly capitalize by reaching the end zone. Donovan McNabb went 25-for-41 with 262 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Correll Buckhalter ran for 66 yards and a score as Brian Westbrook sat out with a right ankle sprain. Rookie wide receiver DeSean Jackson was both incredible and awful once again, tallying 106 total yards and a touchdown but also muffing a punt and dropping several passes. Eagles? kicker David Akers missed a pair of long field goals, kicking wide on one and hitting the crossbar on another. Philadelphia sacked Orton four times while Chicago grounded McNabb on three occasions. Chicago preserved the victory late in the fourth quarter by stopping the Eagles from scoring a touchdown on first-and-goal from the four-yard line. Buckhalter ran for three yards on first down, but the Eagles couldn?t get any closer on their next two plays. Coach Andy Reid opted to go for it on fourth down with 3:40 left on the clock, and the Bears kept Buckhalter out of the end zone once again. Game FIC Scores - Donovan McNabb, PHI: 47 - Kyle Orton, CHI: 42 - Matt Forte, CHI: 32 - Correll Buckhalter, PHI: 40 - DeSean Jackson, PHI: 49 Pittsburgh 23, Baltimore 20 (OT) Team Trench Counter: Steelers +5.6, Ravens -5.6 Jeff Reed kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime to give the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) a tight win over the rival Baltimore Ravens (2-1) on Monday night. The Steelers scored fourteen points in the third quarter to get back in the game after the Ravens took a 13-3 lead into halftime. Ben Roethlisberger went 14-for-24 with 191 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Without Willie Parker, rookie Rashard Mendenhall started and fractured his left shoulder. He is now out for the season after tallying 30 yards on eight carries. Santonio Holmes led Pittsburgh with 61 yards and a touchdown in the victory. Joe Flacco played more than respectably for the Ravens, going 16-for-31 with 192 yards and a touchdown. He lost a fumble that resulted in a touchdown for the Steelers in the third quarter, but led Baltimore's offense on a 76-yard drive to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Le'Ron McClain had 89 total yards and a touchdown, while Derrick Mason caught eight passes for 136 yards in the loss. Pittsburgh sacked Flacco five times, while the Baltimore defense got to Roethlisberger on three occasions. *The NFL Reina Value **Explaining The Trench Counter

John Elway proposed to girlfriend Paige Green, a former Raiderette, while the couple was vacationing in Italy last week. ?I?m very lucky to find Paige,? Elway told the Rocky Mountain News. ?She?s a great gal. I?m looking forward to a long life together.? The quarterback and the cheerleader met three years ago during a celebrity golf tournament in Los Angeles, where Green, an actress, called home.

Using my custom position-by-position Field Impact Counter (FIC), we can safely and accurately rank quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends by an objective statistical measurement. The importance placed on specific positions is far different in football than it is in basketball, baseball, and hockey. Because of this, we have separated salaries by position instead of having a single common pool. Quarterbacks are compared to quarterbacks. Running backs are compared to running backs. Wide receivers are compared to wide receivers. There are only four positions on the football field where we can truly use statistics to rank a player?s performance in the same ways we can for the other three major sports. Intangibles such as how a running back picks up the blitz or how well a wide receiver blocks for his downfield runners do not appear on stat sheets and in order to get a truly objective statistical ranking, these elements are unfortunately overlooked. Players are ranked from highest to lowest by the total FIC for the season, not per game because players only give contribute to a team when they are playing. Beside each player?s actual salary, we slide in raw cap value figures of the position, ranked top to bottom, which determines their ?deserved? salary. The player who has the highest FIC receives the highest ?deserved? salary. The player with the second highest FIC receives the second highest salary. The player with the hundredth highest FIC receives the hundredth highest salary. We then calculate the percentage increase or decrease from the actual and deserved and that figure becomes their Reina Value. The Reina Value is a valuation system that quickly determines how players perform in relation to their contracts or in the case of the NFL, their cap value. - Cutler is 16-21 with two touchdowns and a 136.0 rating when blitzed through the first three games of the season. - Brees has attempted 24% of his passes to a receiver behind the line and only 21% of the attempts have gone more than 11 yards. Not surprisingly, the Saints lead the NFL in yards after the catch with 521, a full 103 yards better than the Cardinals who are second in the category. Reggie Bush accounts for 230 of the 521 yards. - Rivers has a 50.3 QB rating during the 1st quarter of the first three games but a 135.4 rating during the 2nd half. - Rodgers has a 128.2 rating during the 1st half of the first three games but just 78.2 during the 2nd half. - McNabb has thrown for fewer yards as each week has gone by, but his completion rating percentage has gone up. - Romo is 16-28 for a 57.1% success rate in passing for 1st down on 3rd down. - O'Sullivan has a 132.2 rating on 1st down but just 72.5 on 3rd down when the defense is anticipating a pass play. - Russell has a 135.8 rating when in the shotgun, the best in the NFL. - Bush is averaging 4.6 yards per carry on 1st down but running into problems on 2nd and 3rd with averages of 2.3 and 1.8 respectively. He also is much more successful as the lone setback (6.8) than when he carries in the I (1.4). - Gore is averaging 5.6 yards per carry in the 1st half and 4.1 during the 2nd, but he has been more effective as a receiver (13.7 yards per reception) after halftime. - While we all know Barber is a punishing runner who excels in short yardage situations; no back has more runs for 10 or more yards this year than the Cowboys' starter with 11. - Forte's yards per carry has predictably decreased from each preceding week (5.3 to 4.0 to 3.3) as the somewhat flukish nature of the 50-yard gain against the Colts hasn't been duplicated. But he has become better and more comfortable out of the backfield as a receiver, catching seven balls for 66 yards and a TD against Tampa Bay. - Peterson continues to be unable to duplicate his production from last season as a receiver. Against the Panthers on Sunday, he didn't catch a single ball. - Julius Jones' had a 6.4 yards per carry average, his highest total in a game when getting at least 10 carries since he rushed 10 times for 116 yards during Week 14 in 2006 against the Saints. - Ward has rushed for a 1st down in 11 of his 26 carries, which is the best percentage in the NFL. - Tomlinson has rushed for 2.6 yards per carry in each of the past two weeks, his worst output in back-to-back games since Weeks 1 and 2 last season when he rushed for 1.5 YPC against the Bears and 2.4 at New England. He's only rushed for less than 3.0 YPC six times since 2005. - Jennings has 278 of his yards during the 1st half and has yet to catch a pass during the 3rd quarter. - Marshall's 2008 debut against San Diego was the more buzzed about game because of the 18 receptions, but catching three times fewer balls for essentially the same yardage makes the Saints' performance also impressive. - With 150 YAC, Boldin is the current leader among wide receivers in the category. - Bowe has been targeted 34 times, more than any other receiver in the game. - With five drops apiece, Braylon Edwards and Calvin Johnson lead the NFL. - This is the only position where we have little doubt who will finish with the FIC lead, so it will be difficult to speak of Witten's statistical achievements on a weekly basis. This week we instead focus on the excellent block he had against Packers' end Mike Montgomery that initiated the Felix Jones' touchdown. - Gates has now gone eight straight games without reaching 100 yards receiving, his longest streak since early 2006. - Winslow has caught seven balls for 69 yards when lined up off the line, easily his most successful spot. - Christopher Reina is the executive editor of RealGM

Mike Shanahan has run a successful NFL offense for almost two decades, but he has retooled the Broncos by borrowing a lot of the spread formations and passes ran by the Patriots last season. "We really liked what the Patriots were doing with some of their empty sets," quarterback Jay Cutler said, referring to some offseason study. "We've got similar weapons with our guys, with our tight ends, and our backs are able to get out. "Offensively, we kind of matched up with what they were doing and we thought we might put it in, and it's working so far."

The Fulton County Solicitor General's Office is pressing criminal charges against Brandon Marshall stemming from an incident involving a domestic dispute in early March. Carmen Smith, the Solicitor General of Fulton County, confirmed to PA SportsTicker on Thursday that her office is pursuing a misdemeanor charge against Marshall. Marshall was arrested on March 6, 2008 - his third arrest in a 12-month span - after his longtime girlfriend, Rasheedah Watley filed an affadavit claiming Marshall hit her in the mouth and eye, "causing visible marks above the eye, and laceration on her top and bottom lip".

Seattle has traded a late-round draft pick for Broncos' wide receiver Keary Colbert, FOXSports.com has learned. Colbert was in his first year with Denver after four seasons with the Panthers. He has 109 career receptions and seven touchdowns although he has not found the end zone since 2005.

Using my custom position-by-position Field Impact Counter (FIC) we can safely and accurately rank quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends by an objective statistical measurement. The importance placed on specific positions is far different in football than it is in basketball, baseball, and hockey. Because of this, we have separated salaries by position instead of having a single common pool. Quarterbacks are compared to quarterbacks. Running backs are compared to running backs. Wide receivers are compared to wide receivers. There are only four positions on the football field where we can truly use statistics to rank a player?s performance in the same ways we can for the other three major sports. Intangibles such as how a running back picks up the blitz or how well a wide receiver blocks for his downfield runners do not appear on stat sheets and in order to get a truly objective statistical ranking, these elements are unfortunately overlooked. Players are ranked from highest to lowest by the total FIC for the season, not per game because players only give contribute to a team when they are playing. * More information about the FIC at the bottom of this article. Beside each player?s actual salary, we slide in raw cap value figures of the position, ranked top to bottom, which determines their ?deserved? salary. The player who has the highest FIC receives the highest ?deserved? salary. The player with the second highest FIC receives the second highest salary. The player with the hundredth highest FIC receives the hundredth highest salary. We then calculate the percentage increase or decrease from the actual and deserved and that figure becomes their Reina Value. The Reina Value is a valuation system that quickly determines how players perform in relation to their contracts or in the case of the NFL, their cap value. - Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, and Tony Romo comprise 4/5's of the FIC top-five, and we are a few weeks away from having a true changing of the guard at the quarterback position. Because of the horrible weather in Cleveland and a blowout in Week 1, Roethlisberger doesn't have the attempts to be among the leaders in the FIC category, but he is the current leader in QB rating with 136.3 and 51.5% of his passes having been for first downs. All five of these quarterbacks are under 30 and have QB ratings over 100. Peyton Manning has a rating of 77.5, while Carson Palmer is at a panic button low of 37.1. Cutler leads the NFL in passing yards with 325 and tied with his buddy Rivers in touchdown passes with six. - Donovan McNabb is currently 3rd, and he's a DeSean Jackson blunder away from being 2nd on this list. The mobility he has shown within the pocket and eluding potential sacks against the Cowboys has been vintage McNabb that was getting the Eagles to the NFC Championship on a seemingly annual basis. - J.T. O'Sullivan has completed more passes over 25 yards (7) than any other quarterback in the NFL. - I'm not sure if we're all there yet on how to properly evaluate Reggie Bush, but I think we're getting close and this statistic does not even factor in his impact as a punt returner. The 3.3 yards per carry is a drop from his already problematic career mark of 3.6, but he is 14th in the entire NFL in receiving yards (175). - Adrian Peterson scored his first touchdown of his rookie season on a 60-yard touchdown pass out of the backfield. Over the first two weeks he caught five balls for 112 yards, but this season he has caught five balls for just 31 yards. He is being identified and shadowed by opposing defenses on every play no matter if he gets a carry or not. - The Eagles limited Marion Barber to just 63 yards on 18 carries (3.5 YPC), but he caught four balls for 51 yards. Barber very rarely caught balls out of the backfield in his first two and a half seasons, but since Week 14 last season when he caught 10 against the Lions, he has been looked at more and more by Romo. - Brian Westbrook leads all rushers with 13 first downs on the ground. - Willie Parker currently leads all backs with carries and is on pace for 424 this season which is almost 100 more than his previous highs in 2007 and 2006. - Jonathan Stewart has been the much better back in Carolina through the first two weeks of the season and was used primarily in the second half against Chicago. - FIC leader Anquan Boldin leads the NFL with yards after catch with 134. - The era of a dominant Calvin Johnson appears to be upon us already in Week 2 of his second season. He has over 100 yards in each of his first two games this season- last year he didn't reach the plateau until Week 15 in San Diego. - Greg Jennings leads the NFL in receiving yards with 258 (23.5 yards per reception) but still has not found the end zone. - Eagles' rookie DeSean Jackson is a *cough* fumble away from being several slots higher on this list. The fact that he and Eddie Royal are 6th and 8th, ahead of Terrell Owens, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and Torry Holt is an improbability nobody saw coming on April 26th. - Brandon Marshall has played in just one game but leads the NFL in receptions with 18. Not surprisingly with that kind of haul of passes, Marshall is averaging 9.2 yards per reception- his career average is 12.9. - Is there really much doubt that Jason Witten is the best tight end in the game? He is a true tight end in that he actually is a useful blocker, and he has 70 more yards than Tony Scheffler, who is second in yards. Nine of his 13 catches are for first downs as Romo is constantly looking for 82. - It always looked like Jeff Samardzija would catching passes on Sundays, but while he may end up pitching in the World Series, former Notre Dame teammate John Carlson has caught 10 balls for 130 yards through his first two games to become Matt Hasselbeck's most reliable healthy target. - Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow, and Tony Gonzalez are bunched together at four, five and six, but while Winslow and Gonzalez are averaging 8.5 yards per reception, Gates is at 15.3. Gonzalez has been in double-digits every year of the 11 seasons he has on the books while Winslow led all tight ends who had at least 300 yards in the category with 13.5 in 2007.

The NFL will look into the inadvertent whistle rule that required officials to give the ball back to the Broncos in the final seconds of Sunday?s win over the Chargers, according to New York Daily News. Greg Aiello, league spokesman, said the NFL competition committee will look into the rule this winter, perhaps changing it as it did the "down by contact" rule. "Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game," Aiello said Monday. "Ed [Hochuli] has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official?s grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained."

The scoreboard is where games are officially won and lost, but they are largely decided by the team that wins the battles of yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards lost, first downs and turnovers. For this reason, I created the following formula called the ?Trench Counter? to look at which team truly controls the game: (2x Yards per pass) + (2x Yards per carry) + (.5 First downs) - (Penalty yards/10) - (2.5 Turnovers) - (Opposing Team's Trench Counter) Click here for more information on the Trench Counter For the 2008 season, our weekly team rankings will be based solely off of this formula. *Week 2 Trench Counter in parenthesis 1. Philadelphia Eagles: 15.3 (4.8) As has become the norm in Andy Reid?s offense, Donovan McNabb connected with nine different Eagles in their 41-37 loss in Dallas. Without the severe penalties for the Cowboys, the Trench Counter would have been on the minus side for Philadelphia. Their lack of an effective pass rush allowed Tony Romo far too much comfort in the pocket. Even still, the Eagles had enough dominance leftover in the bank from their Week 1 win against the Rams to remain atop this list despite the loss. 2. Pittsburgh Steelers: 13.3 (15.0) On a messy night, in a low-scoring game, Mitch Berger and Jeff Reed were vital for the Steelers. Reed deserved four points for the 48-yarder while Berger averaged 45.5 yards on his six punts and pinned the Browns inside their own 20 four separate times. 3. Denver Broncos: 13.0 (0.8) Brandon Marshall?s 18 receptions puts him second in single-game history. With the emergence of Jay Cutler and his receiving weapons, the possibility of a Steelers/Broncos AFC Championship rematch from January 2006 looks like a distinct one. 4. Tennessee Titans: 12.4 (10.2) Chris Johnson is averaging twice as many yards per carry (5.9) than LenDale White (3.0) even though they have virtual identical attempts through the first two weeks. White, who has two touchdowns to none for Johnson, will likely continue to be a goalline vulture. 5. New York Giants: 11.0 (18.2) Justin Tuck had an improbable interception return and has easily been the Giants? best defensive player through the first two games of 2008. 6. Arizona Cardinals: 10.2 (19.2) The Cardinals are 7-3 in their previous 10 games and have scored at least 20 points in each of them. 7. Baltimore Ravens: 10.1 (PPD) Their game against the Texans was postponed due to Hurricane Ike. 8. Buffalo Bills: 9.2 (7.0) The Bills are 2-0 for the first time since 2003 and they did it largely on the steady arm of Trent Edwards, who was 20-for-25 with a QB rating of 119.8 and FIC of 49. Fred Jackson caught seven balls for 83 yards and three first downs. 9. Washington Redskins: 8.8 (21.4) Jason Campbell looked like a different quarterback against a depleted Saints? defense, taking shorter drops and finishing the game with 321 yards and had a 104.1 QB rating. 10. Minnesota Vikings: 6.2 (9.6) Could two teams that begin the season 0-2 face each other in the Super Bowl? It?s doubtful but I expect the Vikings and Chargers to at least reach the playoffs. Minnesota limited the Colts to just 25 yards, picked off Peyton Manning twice and still lost. That is the price that is paid when a team has scored just two touchdowns even though they have a running back on pace for 2,152 yards. 11. New England Patriots: 5.6 (8.9) LaMont Jordan was New England?s workhorse down the stretch, carrying the ball 11 times for 62 yards with his first carry not coming until late in the 3rd quarter. 12. Dallas Cowboys: 5.1 (-4.8) Tony Romo completed 21 of his 30 passes for 312 yards (10.4 per pass), but turned the ball over twice, Barber and Jones couldn?t get much against Philadelphia?s run defense and the Cowboys had more than double the penalty yards. It was an exciting and hard fought game, but that McNabb fumble in the 4th really setup Dallas. This ranking is clearly one that is especially hard on the Cowboys and there is little doubt they will finish the season in the top-five. 13. San Francisco 49ers: 4.6 (10.3) Isaac Bruce caught four balls for 153 yards, all of which were first downs. 14. Green Bay Packers: 3.8 (10.2) Aaron Rodgers went 24-for-38 for 328 yards and three touchdowns while finding seven different receivers. 15. Atlanta Falcons: 3.0 (-5.4) The Falcons? defense wasn?t nearly as bad at the scoreboard appeared as 10 of the Buccaneers points came off turnovers when they began the series already in the red zone. 16. Carolina Panthers: 1.6 (5.0) Jonathan Stewart was brilliant for the Panthers against Chicago, averaging 5.5 yards per carry with two TDs. 17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0.6 (5.4) The Buccaneers? running game was tremendous against the Falcons, averaging 5.9 yards per carry. Earnest Graham carried the ball 15 times for 116 yards and a TD, while Warrick Dunn had 49 yards and his first one with Tampa Bay since 2001. 18. San Diego Chargers: 0.5 (-0.8) Even though they were a Jay Cutler fumble away from coming out of Denver with a win, there are a couple serious problems for the Chargers. LaDainian Tomlinson?s injury and 2.6 yards per carry. Antonio Cromartie getting routinely burned by Brandon Marshall. 19. New York Jets: -0.7 (-8.9) Cornerback Darrelle Revis did an excellent job limiting Randy Moss to two catches for 22 yards. 20. Chicago Bears: -1.0 (-5.0) Greg Olsen?s two fumbles were terribly costly for the Bears; the first one cost them at least a field goal, while the second one was deep in their own territory and setup Jonathan Stewart?s first touchdown. 21. Kansas City Chiefs: -3.7 (-5.2) The Chiefs managed 190 yards against a Raiders? defense that allowed 441 six days earlier. 22. Indianapolis Colts: -6.4 (-9.6) The Colts really had very little business winning this game, but Ryan Longwell saw far too much time on the turf and at least some credit must go to the defense even though they yielded 5.1 yards per carry. 23. New Orleans Saints: -8.6 (-21.4) Reggie Bush touched the ball 18 times and had 146 yards and a TD (on the punt return), but only 28 of those yards came on his 10 carries. While the Saints are having major difficulties establishing their own running game, their defense is allowing 5.8 yards per carry. 24. Oakland Raiders: -10.0 (5.2) Six days after the Raiders secondary was torched by Denver, they held the trio of Thigpen, Huard and Hagans to just 3.6 yards per pass while picking off two balls. JaMarcus Russell?s 55 yards on 6-for-17 passing was offset by 300 total yards rushing by Darren McFadden (164), Michael Bush (90) and Justin Fargas (43). 25. Cincinnati Bengals: -10.2 (-10.2) Carson Palmer has a 37.1 QB rating and they only have 19 first downs through the first two games, which is dead last in the NFL and even behind the Ravens and Texans. They have been in the top-10 in each of the past three seasons. 26. Detroit Lions: -10.8 (-10.2) Detroit?s secondary was utterly dreadful against Greg Jennings and company, yielding a very easy 8.5 yards per pass. 27. Jacksonville Jaguars: -10.8 (-7.0) The Jaguars averaged 4.6 yards per carry in 2007 (3rd in NFL) and through two games have only averaged 3.0 (29th). 28. Seattle Seahawks: -10.8 (-10.3) Jim Mora and the Seahawks stopped the Niners? ground game, sacked J.T. O?Sullivan eight times, but O?Sullivan threw for 321 yards. 29. Houston Texans: -11.5 (PPD) Their game against the Ravens was postponed due to Hurricane Ike. 30. Miami Dolphins: -13.4 (-19.2) The Dolphins did an admirable job stopping the run (2.6 yards per carry), but let?s not look at the kind of day had by Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. The silver lining for Miami is how healthy Ronnie Brown looks, but that offensive line hasn?t done him or Ricky Williams many favors with their inept run blocking. 31. Cleveland Browns: -15.2 (-15.0) The countdown on Derek Anderson is clearly underway. He strung together four nice games last season, but he hasn?t had a 100.0+ QB rating in 11 consecutive games. New free agent Shaun Rogers, however, looked very good for the Browns up front. 32. St. Louis Rams: -22.0 (-18.2) The Rams are giving up 481.5 yards per game, which is unsurprisingly last in the NFL. Meanwhile, their offense is averaging 183.5 yards, also last in the NFL. It is a truly rare feat for a team to be equally matched on both sides of the ball at this degree.

The NFL plans to give referee Ed Hochuli lower grades after he erred on a call late in Sunday's San Diego-Denver game, according to Associated Press. "Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. "Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official's grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained." The play occurred with the Broncos at the Chargers' one-yard line in the final minute. Denver's Jay Cutler dropped back to pass, and the ball slipped out of his hands, bounced off the grass and into the arms of San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins. Hochuli ruled it an incomplete pass. Replay ruled it a fumble, but it was spotted at the 10-yard line, where the ball hit the ground, and given to Denver because the rules did not permit possession to be awarded to San Diego because the whistle had blown.