$.01-- Ladies and gentlemen, we?ve found our surprise teams for 2009! With Denver?s great comeback against New England and Cincinnati?s last-second stunner over Baltimore, those two victors have established themselves as fully legit contenders. There is a whole multitude of reasons why, but the focus here is on great coaching--an alleged weakness of both the Broncos and Bengals. That preconceived notion is clearly flat-out wrong. I?m as guilty as anyone of doubting Josh McDaniels in Denver, but he has proven me hasty to judge. That?s ironic, because patience and a willingness to not rush to judgment appear to be hallmarks of his coaching style. As both John Madden and Marty Schottenheimer like to say, great coaches make great in-game and halftime adjustments. McDaniels clearly has figured out this concept; two weeks in a row the Broncos have come from behind to beat quality teams by pitching second-half shutouts. People laughed at McDaniels for insisting that Kyle Orton come back in the Jay Cutler trade, but true to his words, Orton has been perfect for young McDaniels? offense. The players trust and believe, and that can go an awfully long way. The same is true for Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati. Greatly aided by a more assertive leadership style from Carson Palmer, Lewis finally has a team with some pride and mental toughness. The defense is playing like a cohesive group, not a gaggle of somewhat talented individuals that happen to be wearing the same uniforms. Lewis? belief in Cedric Benson and his ability to get the volatile Chad Ochocinco to subjugate has turned around the Bengals? long-suffering fortunes. The talent has been there in Cincy before, but now it?s a real team, thanks in part to a great coaching job. $.02--At what point is enough enough in Oakland with Jamarcus Russell and his miserable QB play? The apathetic, inaccurate slinger clearly has incriminating photos of his coach (perhaps breaking someone?s jaw?) or owner Al Davis, because there is no other acceptable reason why a QB change has not been made. Sure he completed over 50% of his passes for just the second time in five games (he was 8-13), but Russell was sacked six times and lost three fumbles and appeared to not care at all that his team was getting pasted. Perhaps the worst moment, however, was on a play that should be Russell?s greatest strength. Rookie Louis Murphy got at least 5 yards behind the defense, but the cannon-armed Russell couldn?t get the ball over the top on about a 45-yard throw and allowed the defender to catch up and make a great play. When your calling card is downfield bombing and you can?t even do that right, it?s clearly time for a change. There?s just no way Charlie Frye or Bruce Gradkowski cannot give the Raiders a better chance to win than Jamarcus Russell, his exorbitant salary be damned. On the flip side, another former #1 overall pick that badly struggled in his early career looked pretty good for the Giants. David Carr was poised, accurate, and in control, none of which would ever aptly describe his Texans or Panthers tenures. Granted it was mop-up time in a laugher game against a vastly inferior opponent, but he did beat All Pro Nnamdi Asomugha on a great throw. Good for you, David Carr! $.03--Keeping with the ?how bad can they be?? theme, Cleveland beat Buffalo 6-3 in what just might be the worst game ever played. Derek Anderson went 2-17 through the air, begging the question ?Is Brady Quinn really that bad?? Buffalo was flagged 12 times before halftime (three were declined), and the refs missed a call where a Browns player had his helmet removed--the Bills player was holding it by the facemask as the play ended. All those weapons on offense for Buffalo, yet Trent Edwards can do nothing to get them the ball. An unforgivable special teams gaffe cost Buffalo the game, again despite the referees, who called roughing the passer on a play where the Browns defender initiated contact with Edwards before the ball left his hand. I truly hate calling for a coach?s head, but these Buffalo Bills are simply not professionally prepared to compete, not even against another team that clearly wasn?t ready to play. $.04--It was not a good Sunday for the game officials, who blew several calls and made a few others that should cause them great shame upon further review. From the aforementioned Browns/Bills calls, to the play in Detroit where a Lions defender was tackled from behind into Ben Roethlisberger?s feet and whistled for roughing the passer, to a play where Kellen Winslow openly taunted an Eagle (while down by three TDs) on a play where K2 dropped the ball and no flag was thrown, the zebras were far too often a lesser member of the Equidae genus. The inconsistency of calls regarding roughing the passer and unsportsmanlike conduct needs to get ironed out quickly, because indignant fans have had enough. $.05--Highlight of the week: Arizona?s late goal-line stand that sealed the win over Houston. I happened to be listening to the Texans? audio feed while watching it (thank you Sirius!), and Andre Ware summed it up perfectly: Houston was worried about not making the touchdown, while the Cardinals players were absolutely convinced they were going to make the stops. That difference in confidence and attitude was obvious as the downs bore on, and it?s the reason why Arizona should not be taken lightly and the Texans should not yet be taken seriously. $.06--You?re going to see and hear loads of opinions about just how egregious the bad teams are this year, but it?s time to move the Detroit Lions out of that grouping. I may be a homer here, but these Lions proved on Sunday they are not a bad team. Playing with a backup QB and without their best player (Calvin Johnson) for almost the entire game, Detroit went toe to toe with the defending champion Steelers and did not look overmatched in doing so. Coach Jim Schwartz has brought a new attitude to the Motor City and the players are gulping the Kool Aid. Yes they are 1-4, but look at the losses: New Orleans, Chicago, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh. The Lions won the first half against Minnesota and were tied with Chicago at halftime. Those aren?t moral victories, those are signs that the team is good enough to hang with the big boys but not quite ready to beat them. Yet. This Detroit Lions team is head and shoulders above the winless teams, including Tennessee, and is vastly superior to the other 1-win teams (Miami, which hasn?t played yet, is an exception). $.07--Five random NFL thoughts: 1. All you 49ers fans printing your playoff tickets already, welcome back to reality. 2. Every team coming off a bye won, most in convincing fashion. This reinforces my notion that entire divisions should get their byes at the same time, so as not to give a competitive imbalance. Atlanta and Carolina got an unfair leg up on New Orleans and Tampa (not that they needed that one!) by getting their bye already. Put a whole division on pause at the same time, then follow it up with two straight weeks of intra-divisional play. 3. Redskins fans are going to call for Jim Zorn?s head, but that game was lost early on when Chris Samuels went down. That left D?Anthony Baptiste to handle Julius Peppers for almost the entire game. Carolina took advantage and never stopped attacking. 4. This is incredibly premature, but here?s hoping that new Colts coach Jim Caldwell learned from Tony Dungy?s repeated mistake of resting his starters late in the year. It sure looks like the Colts will clinch the AFC South before December starts, but Caldwell must remember that the starters need to stay sharp late. Dungy stubbornly fought that notion and it cost them a few playoff losses. 5. Dallas finally found someone to step up and make a game-changing play in Miles Austin. Actually, he did it a few times, which makes his outstanding performance seem even less fluky. That bodes real well for a Cowboys team that doesn?t really have a defined leader or identity offensively. $.08: Non-football thought of the week-- Technically this is a football subject, but there is something much larger surrounding Rush Limbaugh?s interest in buying the St. Louis Rams. Without getting into politics too much, suffice to say Mr. Limbaugh is a highly divisive figure and would have it no other way. And that?s not anything that should prevent him from buying an NFL team. But it?s the racial angle that is most troublesome. Back when ESPN foolishly provided Rush with enough rope to hang himself on their network, he obliged with some racially charged remarks concerning Donovan McNabb. Those remarks, paired with his outward venom towards Barack Obama, demanding sainthood for James Earl Ray, and other sentiments that suggest a deep-seated racist nature are not easily ignored. That?s especially true for a league that is more than 50% black, yet is probably the greatest model of any group that race means nothing. Several writers, including Randolph Charlotin?s excellent piece here on RealGM, have opined that it?s not acceptable for a racist to own an NFL team. I disagree with that in principle; there are racists that own businesses, get elected to public office, even become highly successful sports figures. But the NFL could take a nice preemptive strike here and work towards soothing some of the bitter enmity that so badly ravages our nation these days and hold out for a better offer for the Rams, even if it means heading back to Los Angeles. The NFL doesn?t need to bring in an owner that automatically repels so many people, both politically and racially. With the NFLPA already publicly stating that same sentiment, it just makes too much sense for Roger Goodell to say ?No thanks? to Rush. $.09-- Florida State is pressuring legendary coach Bobby Bowden to hang up his hat and fully turn over the program to successor Jimbo Fisher. This is an interesting dilemma for both the school and the coach, one that has not played out well at other institutions with long-time coaching legends. Eddie Robinson at Grambling went out the door kicking and screaming, and the program has not recovered. Nebraska still hasn?t replaced Tom Osborn with any real success (sorry Frank Solich!), and it took years for USC to escape the doldrums after John Robinson. It?s a very delicate balance of both sides, though for the Seminoles it?s becoming increasingly apparent that Bowden has passed the end of the line. The man brought unprecedented success and amazing long-term prominence to a Florida State program that was best known for being where Burt Reynolds played college ball before Bowden arrived in Tallahassee. All those top 10 finishes and thrilling rivalry games, the Heisman winners and the NFL pipeline--Bowden created all that from nothing. Sure he?s had his scandals (Free Shoes University, the recent academic issues), but by and large Bobby Bowden is renowned for his dadgum spirit and positive influence on the game. But like so many other legends, the end game isn?t going well. Those close to the program will tell you Bowden does little other than being the public face of the team anymore, but even in that capacity his skills are obviously diminishing. The trustee that spoke up said nothing incorrect, even though Bowden sycophants clearly aren?t ready to hear it yet. $.10: Scouting Report-- Trent Williams, T, Oklahoma. 6?5?, 310, 40 time NA. Positives: Technically sound run blocker with a great mauling attitude. Fires off the snap and attacks with power, balance, and fervor. Great upper body strength. Good arm extension and hand punch. Good at finding targets in space at the second level. Moves in a short area fairly well for his size. Has played both right and left tackle on high-powered offenses. Has the base strength to envelop bull rushes. Decent, consistent knee bend. Has quick feet. Flips his hips and maintains balance while moving. Will play through pain and has shown great durability. Negatives: Doesn?t always recognize blitzes. Can be predictable and telegraphs whether it?s a run or pass. Can be slow to extend his arms in pass protection. Plays to the level of lesser competition too readily. Doesn?t consistently finish his blocks, too quick to try and make the next one. Guesses on opposing pass rushers? moves instead of reading and quickly reacting. NFL Comparison: A less fiery Eric Winston. Forecast: A premier right tackle prospect with enough athletic potential to maybe make a good left tackle. That equates draft-wise to Gosder Cherilus or Chris Williams as a mid 1st round pick. Midseason stock sliding a bit. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com Catch me every Monday at 5:05 ET, 2:05 PT with Papa Joe Chevalier at papajoetalk.com