$.01--Buffalo is no bull. Their amazing come-from-behind victory over the mighty Patriots is proof enough that the Bills are for real. How they accomplished it is even more impressive. The easiest and surest way for a great team to squash an upstart rival is to jump on them early. New England did just that, racing out to a 21-0 lead that made the 8-point line look artificially low. Then a funny thing happened, and now the AFC East is standing on its head. Buffalo quickly ripped off a 96-yard drive, a series of plays where Ryan Fitzpatrick finally seemed comfortable and the Bills figured out where the holes in the New England defense were. Fred Jackson ran hard and used a physical style to overpower tacklers. The Patriot safeties were continually a step late, while their linebackers seemed paralyzed figuring out if they should blitz or play contain on Fitzpatrick or drop deeper in coverage. It was a rare lack of poise and cohesion for the New England defense. On the other side of the ball, the Bills started being more aggressive in coverage and tried more varied pressures on Tom Brady. That forced some bad throws and threw the timing off some others, resulting in four interceptions sprinkled amidst Brady throwing almost every pass to Wes Welker; 15 of Brady’s last 19 attempts went to either Welker or Rob Gronkowski, and it seemed as if the Bills stopped trying to cover Ochocinco and anyone else. When the little brother Bills pushed back, the big brother Patriots chose to cry to momma and got away from what made them great instead of smartly asserting their dominance. Now the Buffalo Bills are 3-0 and loaded with confidence, while the Patriots have to look up at a team they had beaten 15 times in a row and wonder if their terrible pass defense can be overcome. I like what Chan Gailey said in the post-game press conference. He stated the obvious in that the Bills now need to demonstrate they can handle prosperity, but the manner in which he said it was the perfect pitch for this team. Gailey was simultaneously encouraging and defensive, showing guarded confidence in his young team but pushing them to avoid complacency. That is exactly what they need to stay on top of the AFC East. It will not be easy, but they have shown the world they can do it. $.02--New Orleans knocked off the previously unbeaten Texans in a 40-33 barnburner that told me a number of things about both teams. New Orleans showed they can still score almost at will with a wide variety of weapons. Darren Sproles and Mark Ingram have breathed much-needed vigor into the running offense, providing a more dynamic attack. Five different Saints, including both backs, scored touchdowns, and Drew Brees scattered 31 completions to 8 total receivers all over the field. The Saints trademark aggressiveness shined on the successful two point conversions, both of which came on the exact same play. They voraciously played to the raucous home crowd, and the defense dialed up several combo blitzes and bait-and-switch coverages to keep the Texans on their toes. While they give up a lot of both points and yards, they still strive to make big plays. It’s a dangerous philosophy, but it keeps working more than it doesn’t. As for Houston, this game proved they belonged even though they lost. Last year they also started 2-0 and then got thoroughly humiliated by Dallas, inciting a downward spiral that wound up in a 6-10 debacle. This time the Texans were game but simply outgunned. We saw the Texans have a cadre of weapons of their own, with James Casey demonstrating his versatility and third-string running back Ben Tate having another impressive game. They showed confidence and resilience, blowing an early 10-0 lead but not backing down from a firefight with a flamethrower. The red zone offense let them down in this one, but they played like they expected to beat a playoff team on the road, an attitude and element that they’ve never had before. Alas, they still have a long way to go on defense. Mario Williams was once again MIA, notching just one tackle and seldom winding up in the same camera frame as Drew Brees. Kareem Jackson still struggles to cover anyone, and Glover Quin is still learning the intricacies of playing safety. There are some bright spots--rookie JJ Watt is a legit beast, Quin is still an upgrade at safety and so is Danieal Manning, Brian Cushing played his best game since his awesome rookie season, Antonio Smith is great as a 3-4 end--but the story remains largely the same. These Texans are good, but not quite good enough to hang with the big boys. $.03--I know it’s early, but it just might be time to start throwing dirt on the Eagles. The injury-ravaged Giants were the better team in Philadelphia, and there really isn’t a lot the Eagles can do about it. For all the money they spent winning the offseason headlines, Philadelphia is quickly learning that having no middle class is as bad for a football team as it is for a country. They are also quickly learning that shoveling all that money and responsibility on the fragile Michael Vick maybe wasn’t such a good idea either. Vick was questionable with a concussion he suffered last week, and now he will be questionable (at best) going forward with a broken bone in his right hand. If you are keeping score at home, that makes the tenth time Vick has not finished a game he started. Going back to the first point, teams have quickly figured out that the Philly defense features two great corners, one great end in Trent Cole, a one-dimensional (albeit a good one) pass rusher in Jason Babin, and a whole lot of marginal NFL talent filling every other position. Their linebacking corps is weaker than what I saw from the University of Alabama, and that is sadly not hyperbole. Their safeties are young and asked to do too much. One of their premium acquisitions, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, has been largely mediocre, getting just three tackles and one pass breakup in three games. Even Nnamdi Asomugha has been human, having allowed a touchdown pass two weeks in a row and looking vulnerable down the field. The offense is another matter. Philadelphia is loaded at the skill positions, and when Vick is on top of his game he is the perfect maestro to coordinate the high-powered attack. The problem stems from their offensive line and Vick’s lack of pocket awareness. Jason Peters is wildly inconsistent at left tackle, though he has been decent this year. The guard positions are a hot mess, with their best guard, Todd Herremans, manning right tackle. The entire line is too weak physically, unable to create opportunities. Vick tends to freelance at times, which is at times great and at times disastrous, but always very stressful to the guys up front. I think people tend to overlook that facet. Vick got his concussion last week because Herremans had no idea where Vick was going to be. Now Vick breaks his hand, then gets a little uppity complaining about getting hit and not getting calls. Muppet News Flash for Vick: if you got rid of the ball in a timelier manner, the referee is much more apt to protect you, though I do agree the hit that broke his hand deserved a flag. But this team wasn’t supposed to need benefits from the officials to run all over the league. The juxtaposition between the Eagles and Giants was stark, a collection of big-ticket stars with little chemistry going against a close-knit group of guys that were trying to win for one another and for their coach. The Giants proved playing together and team chemistry mean something, while the Eagles and their Daniel Snyder-esque approach to team building are doomed to fail. $.04--At about 3:26 Central time, you might have heard a raucous yell if you live on the southeast side of Houston. That was the Risdon house exploding with joy when Matt Stafford connected on a back-foot prayer that Calvin Johnson answered some 40 yards downfield to set up the overtime win for Detroit in Minnesota. With the Lions trailing 20-0 at halftime and Matt Stafford getting repeatedly walloped by a very game Jared Allen and Brian Robison, it looked pretty bleak. All the positive strides these Lions have made over the last 10 months, the emphatic 2-0 start and 6-game win streak were all just a horrible tease. It was back to the same old futility; Jeff Backus was a turnstile at left tackle, the running offense was nonexistent, special teams were horrible, play calling was pedantic, linebackers were making too many plays too far down the field. Then something wonderful happened: halftime. Minnesota curled up and played dead in the second half for the third week in a row, but this was a different Lions team after the break. Detroit got back to basics and leaned heavily on their playmakers, Brandon Pettigrew and Calvin Johnson. The defense keyed better on Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin, while the Vikings went a little bland offensively. Kyle Vanden Bosch and the Lions defense picked up the intensity and got better pressure on Donovan McNabb. Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan correctly diagnosed what schemes would work against Minnesota’s hard-charging defense. But most of all, the Lions showed fight and resilience, two characteristics that have long been in absentia. I love that fight in Detroit. They are a scary talented team that has finally learned how to win games they would have lost in the last, oh, 50 years. They showed a lot of things in this game that portend positive outcomes down the road. Matt Stafford took a beating but got up every time and kept standing tall. The defense survived some early gaffes and put on the clamps. Jason Hanson continues to be a clutch long-distance kicker well into his 40s. The coaching staff made good adjustments and did not panic when the initial game plan proved ineffective. Now they are 3-0 and very much in position to break the prolonged playoff appearance drought. $.05--Green Bay won their 9th game in a row, counting the playoffs, by edging the rival Bears in Chicago. There should be little doubt in anyone’s mind that the Packers are the best team in the league, or that Aaron Rodgers has entered the Pantheon of elite quarterbacks. Rodgers has an almost unfair complement of weapons to throw to, but he is the reason why it all works. Today Rodgers quickly realized the Bears had no answer for Jermichael Finley, and he threw to his giant wideout (Finley has not lined up as a tight end all season despite his positional designation) for three touchdowns and several other chain movers. When the Bears modified their coverage to help on Finley, Rodgers immediately shifts his focus to Jordy Nelson in close and Greg Jennings down the field. The manner with which Rodgers diagnoses what the defense is doing is incredible; he is never caught by surprise, and when something unexpected does happen he remains in complete control. As Rodgers settles into his greatness, we are seeing more of his personality come through. He is not the warm and lovable rapscallion that Brett Favre was, nor the outwardly embraceable character of Peyton Manning or Drew Brees. Rodgers comes across as a bit of a jerk, a cocksure tormenter that revels in being a provocateur. He isn’t shy about showing his disdain for the opposing fans or flaunting his greatness to defeated defenders. He is kind of hard to like unless you are a Packers fan, much in the way that Jim McMahon was for the Bears back when that was the best team in the league. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Green Bay thrives on the bravado and seems to genuinely embrace having the targets on its collective jersey. They don’t seem real interested in being America’s Team, so long as they are the best team. Not everyone is going to like it, but it suits this team and their great young quarterback very nicely. They will be favored to win every game from here on out, and even though they have some flaws, they are absolutely the top team in the league this year. $.06--Amidst a torrential rainstorm in Charlotte, Cam Newton bested Blaine Gabbert in the battle of the rookie quarterbacks. Newton continues to impress and now he has a win to show for it, throwing a late TD to Greg Olsen to pull out the victory. He failed to put up big numbers, but he also avoided the rookie mistakes and managed the game pretty well. If you haven’t seen the highlights, this game was dominated by the weather conditions. It was raining so heavily during the second quarter that players could not see the opposing sideline, and every step produced a gusher of spray off the saturated grass. This is the kind of performance that should erase any lingering doubts about Newton. In awful conditions he did what he needed to do to get his team a win. The deep ball was not an option, and throws had to be perfect in order to get caught. The Olsen touchdown capped off a very efficient, focused drive where Newton looked very comfortable and confident. He carries himself like a winner, and that is infectious. Once again he impressed in his postgame news conference, and yet I still see some people doubting his sincerity or waiting for him to reveal his “true colors” and for the imagined façade to break. What, like Michael Vick vapidly whining about both his crappy offensive line and the officials? Or Carson Palmer and his “I only throw the balls, I can’t make them catch it” comments after a loss last year? I know it’s hard to admit you are wrong, but the people who predicted Newton would bomb really need to wake up and smell what they are still shoveling. It is hard to imagine Newton doing any more than he has already in his first three games. He is a budding star and sure looks like someone that can carry this Carolina team back to playoff relevance on his broad shoulders. I thought Gabbert looked very much the part of a rookie getting his first start in bad weather. He lacks Newton’s dynamic receiving options and tends to delay his throws a bit because he still lacks certainty and trust in his eyes, but there were some positives to take away from his performance as well. The offensive line did him no favors, and the safety is all on him. But I like that he learned quickly from it, as he was more cognizant of throwing the ball away or dumping it off rather than taking the catastrophic loss afterwards. His hill is much steeper, but Gabbert looks like he is game for the climb. $.07--It was a very strange week in Cincinnati, which means everything is pretty normal for the Bengals. The team announced early in the week there was no hope of achieving a sellout, so they preemptively blacked out the game for the local fans. That archaic rule is asinine on so many levels, but that argument will wait another day here. Next, wideout Jerome Simpson gets busted for receiving a parcel of marijuana at his suburban Kentucky home, and teammate Anthony Collins just happens to be there. No arrests have been made yet, but when the cops show up at your house minutes after someone delivers a 2.5 pound pot of pot, prosecution ensues. Then running back Cedric Benson, fresh from serving an abbreviated jail sentence, files suit against the NFLPA for unfair business practices. He has an interesting case, claiming he is not subject to NFL-imposed discipline because the transgression occurred while he was a free agent (technically unemployed) during the lockout. I will not claim to know the legal intricacies here, but he seems to have a valid point that is at least worth exploring in the court system. Finally, the Bengals get down to what they do best--losing football games in a decidedly uninspiring manner. The blacked out fans were fortunate to not have watch one of the most static, boring NFL games ever played, a game that featured a stretch where 14 of 15 drives ended in 8 plays or less with a punt. The fourth quarter brought the excitement of sloppy turnovers, bad tackling, and an intentional safety that put the final tally at San Francisco 13, Cincinnati 8. That win puts the Niners alone in first place in the NFC West at 2-1, with their victories over punchless Seattle and hapless Cincinnati. Dare I say it, but San Francisco just might join the ranks of the Bills and Lions in breaking their prolonged playoff drought. $.08--5 NFL Quickies: 1. Great move by the Saints to make Steve Gleason an honorary captain and give him a platform. Gleason was a special teams demon that reignited the Saints post-Katrina with a blocked punt that led to a touchdown in the first game back in New Orleans. He was recently diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig Disease) and is doing everything he can to raise awareness of the terrible malady. Good luck with your fight, Mr. Gleason! 2. I think all the hubbub over faking injuries is moot. There is no way it can be enforced with any sort of integrity, especially as the season progresses. Players accumulate enough bumps, bruises, strains, and pains that every one of them could have a valid flare up of some minor malady. Yes, football players should be tougher than that, but these things have a way of taking care of themselves. Karma… 3. I loved the strong comments about Carson Palmer quitting on the Bengals by Shannon Sharpe and Bill Cowher. Sharpe spared no rod in scolding Palmer for quitting and showed his enmity towards the erstwhile retired quarterback, while Cowher more calmly--and correctly-- stated that Palmer was only hurting himself by not showing up. I respect Boomer Esiason’s first-hand empathy for Palmer, but he has to know that there are better ways to escape hell than taunting the devil. As for the Bengals, Andy Dalton is more promising than Palmer has been in the last few years anyways; they have no need for Carson Palmer. 4. Twice in the Jets/Raiders game I watched and grimaced as Jets corner Antonio Cromartie consciously chose to wait to get blocked rather than attempt to help on a tackle. The first came on Oakland’s first drive on a play that set up a touchdown on the next play, where Cromartie had the ability to take a shot at stripping the ball from Kevin Boss but instead loitered lazily a couple yards away before choosing to attack a blocker well behind the play (Darrelle Revis did the same). The other came on a Darren McFadden run where once again Cromartie stood idly until a blocker found him when he had a chance to swoop in and make a tackle. Oh yeah, he fumbled away a kickoff that led to another touchdown. No way Rex Ryan will tolerate that sort of weak passivity and egregious play for long. And Cromartie wondered why nobody wanted to pay him this offseason… 5. Baltimore pasted a lifeless St. Louis team that appears to be getting worse by the week. Two things were noteworthy here: Ravens rookie wideout Torrey Smith caught 3 touchdown passes, which happened to come on his first three career receptions. That’s the good. The bad is also Ravens related, as Coach John Harbaugh not only kept his starters in the game but directed Joe Flacco to continue flinging deep throws down the field with the score 37-7 and less than 2 minutes in the game. That sort of classless, gutless chicken bleep will have negative repercussions at some point. 5a. I was never a big Sam Bradford supporter in the draft community, and the last two weeks have reinforced my tempered enthusiasm. Bradford can be great at times, but he is a complete mess when under even token pressure. He strikes me as lacking confidence in his receivers and his line, but instead of inspiring them to be better, Bradford’s constant mopey/angry stare makes him seem distant. The Rams are in trouble if Bradford doesn’t get better. Quickly. Bonus: Though not mentioned by name, I greatly appreciate Andrew Siciliano of the NFL Red Zone Channel nodding at me with his quip that “one pundit thinks Shane Lechler is the best punter ever”. That’s me, and I do, thank you very much! $.09--College/Draft Quickies: I attended the Oklahoma State/Texas A&M game in College Station, and in the course of the day spent several hours talking with various scouts and personnel people to get opinions on all things draft. Look for a full summary the first week in October once I translate all my randomly scribbled notes and figure out how to play back the voice recorder app on my near-death Droid. Other thoughts: --Clemson has now defeated two top-20 teams in Auburn and Florida State, yet I still get the sense nobody takes them seriously. Both have been at home. Next week they travel to Blacksburg for a night game against Virginia Tech. The winner of that game has a great chance to run the table undefeated, and a convincing victory could set that team up for an at-large BCS berth even if they somehow lose the ACC Championship game. I like the Hokies at home, but underestimate Tajh Boyd at your peril. --Colorado must be thankful they joined the PAC-12 after getting blown away in Columbus. Those trips east for early games are never easy, and now they don’t have another Eastern Time Zone game scheduled in the next five years. Nice rebound win for the Buckeyes. --Toledo has played a real tough schedule and deserved better than getting absolutely jobbed by the officials in the OT loss at Syracuse. The Orange scored a late TD to go up 29-27 but quite clearly missed the extra point, yet the officials called it good. Even after a review where it was even clearer the kick was wide left, they allowed it to stand. Toledo drove down the field and kicked a last-second FG that should have been the game-winner, but instead it merely forced overtime. --It took a Herculean effort by Rutgers WR Mohamed Sanu to knock my beloved alma mater, Ohio University, from the ranks of the unbeaten. Sanu grabbed a Big East record 16 catches for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns. I love Sanu as a draft prospect more than most do, as the big junior plays with a preternatural smoothness and deceptive toughness, and he runs great routes. His hands are as good as anyone in the country (see his one-hander against UNC), and I think he will make an excellent #2 wideout in the NFL. His lack of great speed is the biggest knock, but he knows how to make the most of what he’s got. --Michigan QB Denard Robinson continues to impress with his NFL future…as a running back. He’s in no sense an NFL quarterback prospect; I would argue he shouldn’t be playing quarterback in college. But he has such impressive field vision, acceleration, and ability to cut at full speed, he has the potential to be a DeAngelo Williams-type running back in the NFL. Most draftniks see him as a wide receiver, but I would prefer he stay in the backfield. $.10--One of the hardest aspects of being a professional draft and talent evaluator is when players that you are convinced are going to be great wind up failing to meet expectations. Such is the case with Aaron Curry, the Wake Forest linebacker chosen #4 overall in 2009 by Seattle. On arguably the worst team in the league, Curry was going to be a healthy inactive in Week 3 before a late lineup change. I have a hard time believing the Seahawks have four better (two starters, two reserves) outside backers than Curry, but judging by how little Curry had done it’s hard to argue with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, whom it should be pointed out did not draft Curry. Carroll favors 4th round rookie KJ Wright, one of his own, and he has fallen behind journeyman Matt McCoy as well. At least I was not alone in being wrong on Curry. Mel Kiper had Curry in his top-5 overall that entire college season, while Nolan Nawrocki from Pro Football Weekly called Curry “a devastating force in the middle” and “easily the top linebacking prospect in the last three years”. NFL Draft Scout called Curry “a sure-fire can’t miss prospect”, while Mike Mayock said of Curry, “he’s the type of player you want to build a defense around”. It’s not as if Curry has been terrible. His first two seasons resulted in over 100 solo tackles, with 5.5 sacks and four forced fumbles over the two years. That’s a decent contribution, but the Seahawks were banking on getting those combined numbers, and more, every season. Curry is a victim of his draft status, a prisoner of expectations. He is still generally well-regarded around the league, but in Seattle he is one of the foci of criticism of the fans. They see linebackers drafted later on, guys like Clay Matthews, James Laurinaitis, Brian Orakpo, or even Brian Cushing, who have been far more impactful, and wonder why Curry can’t be that guy. I’m sure the Seattle coaches and management wonder why as well, as do all of us draftniks that saw things that maybe weren’t there with Aaron Curry. I would like to see Seattle trade him and try to get something more useful for themselves, and see if Curry can become the player so many thought he would be somewhere else with a fresh start and lowered expectations. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com