$.01--All the hubbub surrounding Brett Favre?s return to Green Bay met expectations, as the Packer legend picked apart his old team for four TDs in the Vikings road win. Favre appeared somewhat invigorated by the challenge, and his new teammates clearly wanted to help make it a triumphant return. He also proved that the departed QB has the advantage over the defense he practiced against for years, instead of said defense knowing how to blunt his attack--a very common misconception. As far as the off-field histrionics, it?s really time for Packers fans to enter the modern age. Yes, Brett Favre was a legend that delivered your beloved franchise from years of slogging in an irrelevant quagmire. Yes, Green Bay is indeed different than any other pro sports city, thanks to its small size and community feeling. But this is the 21st century, years after Michael Jordan bolted the Bulls team he rescued from similar straits and returned to face the home team with a statue of himself outside the building. The fans cheered him as if he never left. Allen Iverson, who was embraced every bit as much by Philly fanatics as Favre was in Cheeseland, pouted his way off the Sixers, yet was given a hero?s welcome upon his return. I understand that none of the local legends that changed teams late while still being perfectly viable players (Joe Montana also fits the bill) wound up on fierce divisional rivals, but the closest example of that is Marcus Allen going from the Raiders to the Chiefs. While not given a warm reception, many stood and cheered the Raider great upon his return, understanding the business aspect of the game. It was Al Davis? fault he left, not Marcus Allen?s. Green Bay fans would be wise to remember it was not Favre?s decision to leave town either. $.02--The New York Giants are in real trouble after getting pasted by the Eagles. Three losses in a row, and each loss has been progressively more ugly. Their upcoming schedule looks brutal: all of the next five opponents are above .500, which is apparently a problem for the Giants, who netted four of their five wins against teams with a combined five wins thus far. Their pass defense is inept, and new Defensive Coordinator Bill Sheridan appears tone deaf as to when to dial up blitzes. Their vaunted O-line has not opened holes in the run game like in years past, and Eli Manning doesn?t appear comfortable behind them anymore. It?s way too early to write off such a talented, veteran, battle-tested team, but the G-Men are already looking up in the division at the Cowboys and Eagles. Their game against Atlanta in Week 11 could very well be for the final NFC Wild Card spot. Tom Coughlin is an excellent coach, but he?s really got his work cut out for him with this group. $.03--I have been a long-time critic of 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, dating back to his Maryland days. In fact, I gained loads of credibility in scouting circles for taking the unique position that he would turn into a major NFL flop. And to this point Davis has been a far better pitchman for Under Armor than he has been football player, though that finally appears to be changing. Davis has come alive with the return of Alex Smith (another bust-in-waiting, though lots of people called that one) at quarterback. Some 49ers fans with long memories have been quick to remind me of my negativity towards Davis, but it?s misguided. Though I don?t relish being proven wrong, it never bothers me personally when a player doesn?t quit in the face of adversity and succeeds. Congratulations to you, Mr. Davis, for finally getting it together. Too bad the team isn?t responding in kind. It might be a comfort to some fans that it took a gadget halfback pass for mighty Indy to get the comeback win, but the cold reality is that San Francisco is 3-4 and quickly falling out of playoff contention after a promising start. $.04--This hyper-protection of the quarterbacks has got to change. It should absolutely be a 15-yard penalty to hit the QB in the head at any time, but why is it almost never called when an offensive lineman goes high on a blitzing LB? Or it?s not a penalty when a safety leads with his helmet into the head of a receiver? In the Detroit/St. Louis game, Julian Peterson was (rightly) flagged for striking Marc Bulger in the head. But on the very same play: Peterson was face-masked, Sammie Hill got head-slapped, Dewayne White took a forearm to the throat while being chop-blocked, and William James got flattened on an illegal pick. You cannot tell me none of the officials saw any of those infractions. If the NFL is serious about protecting its players, it must protect them all equally and not single out the quarterbacks for special attention. $.05-- Highlight of the week goes to Ravens rookie Ladarius Webb, for his touchdown return of the opening kickoff of the second half in Baltimore?s romp over previously unbeaten Denver. I joked at halftime that the Broncos had the Ravens right where they wanted them--trailing 6-0, as Denver has mastered the second half domination this year. Webb make quick work of that, essentially icing the game with his 95-yard scamper that knocked out any hope Denver had of seizing momentum and establishing their ball control offense. The Ravens sorely needed the spark, coming off a three-game losing streak and getting a bye week to stew about it. That return might very well have salvaged the season for Baltimore. $.06--With the Rams win over Detroit and Tennessee pounding Jacksonville, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now the only team without a win. That begs the question: who will they beat? A look at the remaining schedule does not show promise; the two most beatable teams, Carolina and Miami, both looked pretty good in notching impressive wins on Sunday, and Tampa must travel to both. The Bucs draw Green Bay next weekend, a Packers team coming off Favreapalooza and with major (though improving) OL issues and little run game. If they can?t pull that one off, Tampa will have all their goose eggs in one basket: the visiting New York Jets in Week 14. That battle of rookie QBs and rookie coaches is the only remaining game where the Bucs won?t be at least one touchdown underdogs, and that?s assuming the Jets don?t do better than 2-2 between now and then. Keep in mind these Bucs were 9-3 and cruising towards a playoff bye at that point last year. It can all go away very quickly. $.07--5 quickies: 1. Memo to Jack Del Rio: when you?ve got a running back with 177 yards on eight carries and a QB that is struggling, just maybe you should think about getting Mo Jones-Drew the ball a few more times, even down by two touchdowns. 2. Derek Anderson?s 1st down passing numbers over the last three games: 9-for-25, 52 yards, 2 INTs. One of the completions was a 19-yarder that Mohammad Massaquoi promptly fumbled away. If I?m Brady Quinn?s agent I am screaming at the league to look into unfair practice in keeping DA in over him. The only justification Eric Mangini has is saving the Browns from paying Quinn?s incentives, and that?s highly illegal. 3. What was the point of dredging up the allegations that Raiders coach Tom Cable might be abusive to women? If the police found no reason to back the allegations, ESPN (and others) should have accepted that and left well enough alone. Enough with the irrelevant hatchet jobs already! 4. Jairus Byrd is having one hell of an impact in Buffalo?s injury-ravaged secondary. The rookie 2nd rounder from Oregon has tied an NFL record with at least two INTs in three consecutive games. Not bad for a guy that certain high-profile draftniks openly questioned Buffalo for taking in the 2nd round. 5. Real nice to see Ted Ginn Jr. come up big for the Dolphins after a very trying week in which he lost his starting WR job and ran with the scout team. It would have been very easy for him to sulk or mentally check out. Instead, he ran back two kicks for TDs and pulled his team out of the AFC East basement. $.08--Non-football thought of the week--I used to relish Daylight Savings Time, the changing of the clocks that signified longer nights. It also used to provide me an extra hour of sleep, most often used to recover from a long Halloween night of partying or coming off the sugar buzz of eating 272 Tootsie Rolls. But now I have a 4-year old and a 13-month old, and that extra hour of sleep means nothing to them. Instead, it meant that my son charges into the bedroom at 5:45 AM, not 6:45, and my decision to relish in the moment of watching USC get whipped quickly turned into the dreaded drool of regret into the cold other side of the pillow. At least the Lions/Rams game and Browns/Bears games were both nap-worthy! $.09--5 Random College Quickies: 1. I find it fascinating that in a season of such great disparity in the NFL between the haves and have-nots, the formerly disparate college football ranks have become so muddled. There are no real elite teams this year, and the difference between the 15th-best team (say, USC) and the 65th-best team (say, Michigan State) is thinner than ever before. Parity didn?t disappear; it just dropped down from the NFL to the NCAA. 2. A season of great promise in Ann Arbor has come to a crashing thud. This Michigan team simply cannot lose to this Illinois team, certainly not 38-13 to an Illini squad that hadn?t scored half that many points against a FBS opponent this year. With the ongoing rules violations investigations, RichRod really doesn?t need a stinker like this one. 3. Don?t look now, but Duke controls its own destiny in the ACC Coastal. If they beat Georgia Tech and Miami, a Blue Devils team that got soundly beaten by Richmond could wind up in a BCS Bowl. I doubt it happens, but that it?s still possible heading into November tells you just how far Duke football has come. 4. Speaking of those Richmond Spiders, I?ve had a chance to see three of their games this year. The Spiders are ranked #1 in the FCS, and without hesitation I would estimate they could make bowl eligibility if they played in any FBS conference. They?re easily better than any team in the Sun Belt Conference. 5. If neither of them makes a BCS Bowl game, some bowl organizer would be very wise to match up Boise State and TCU on New Year?s Day. And with Oregon whipping USC, the only team to beat them--Boise State--absolutely belongs in the BCS even though the rest of the Broncos? schedule is poor. $.10-- Scouting Report--Taylor Mays, S, USC. 6?3?, 235, 4.32 (est.) 40. Positives: Incredible physical specimen with outstanding measurables for the position. Built like a linebacker with the speed and agility (in drills) of a running back. Big-time hitter. Enthusiastic in run support. Keeps the run play in front of him and excels at cleaning up the tackle. Outstanding closing speed against the run. Doesn?t get fooled by play action very often. Gets to the sideline quickly when playing single high deep. Decent, not great, ball skills; tends to play the receiver and not the ball, but he has excellent timing with his hits and uses his length well. Well-respected in the locker room and a team leader in the weight room and practice field. His father played in the NFL, good pedigree. Negatives: Much more an elite athlete than great football player at this point. Lacks the ability to flip his hips and change direction in coverage. Speed is very straight-line. Gets caught up in traffic too easily for a player of his size. Often takes poor pursuit angles and arrives a step or two later than he could against the run. Has little feel for what receivers are trying to do in routes. Prefers to hit rather than tackle. Leads with his head way too often, will take penalties and rack up fines in the NFL unless he changes his ways, not to mention the injury risk. Is used to playing much deeper at the snap than any NFL scheme deploys, must learn to make quicker decisions closer to the line. NFL Comparison: Sean Taylor, Aaron Rouse Forecast: His athleticism is off the charts and Mays has a well-earned reputation as an intimidating hitter. But his lack of instincts and stiffness are real drawbacks that get overlooked too readily. Will be a top 15 pick, but fairly high bust potential. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com Catch me every Monday at 5:05 ET, 2:05 PT with Papa Joe Chevalier at papajoetalk.com