Week 11 Matchups: Ugly but Effective

Chargers (4-5) at Bears (6-3)
Sunday, 4:15 p.m.
Line: Bears by 3.5.

Lovie Smith does not get the credit he deserves. His coaching staff is filled with temperamental geniuses who have impulse control issues. The offense is loaded with divas: when Roy Williams comes across as normal, you know you are dealing with some Timothy Leary-level team chemistry. On paper, Smith’s blitzed-up take on the stodgy Cover-2 defense, built around the talents of 30-something linebackers, looks about as dangerous as a Toyota Celica with mag wheels. This is a team that strives to beat opponents with punt returns, for heaven’s sake. Yet Smith has coaxed winning records out of this collection of disparate parts and quarrelsome personalities four times in the last six years, and he currently has a team that was universally overlooked in the preseason in the thick of the wild-card race.
Norv Turner has also mixed playoff runs with .500 seasons during his Chargers tenure, but he has done so under much more favorable conditions: his division is much softer, he has an indisputable franchise quarterback and he does not have to hold the reins on assistants like Mike Martz. Turner needs everything to break right to win, and this year nothing has. The Chargers’ offensive line has been torn apart by injuries, with Marcus McNeill (neck) and Louis Vasquez (foot) unlikely to play Sunday and the All-Pro Kris Dielman (concussion) out for the year. Philip Rivers’ mysterious slump is not so mysterious when his blockers are Brandyn Dombrowski and Scott Mruczkowski and his receivers include castoffs like Patrick Crayton. Turner cannot win when his quarterback is throwing interceptions, whereas Smith is only now learning what it is like to win otherwise: that is as clear a contrast as you need between these two teams. Pick: Bears.

Eagles (3-6) at Giants (6-3)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
Line: Giants by 4.5.

Andy Reid’s Traveling Cautionary Tale Tent Revival has arrived in town, and we are celebrating with a trivia quiz! Match the following Eagles Dream Teamers — a.) Nnamdi Asomugha, b.) Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, c.) Steve Smith, d.) Ronnie Brown, e.) Vince Young, f.) Jason Babin — with their unique accomplishments this season:
1.) I chase receivers with the enthusiasm of a teenager walking to the principal’s office after a food fight. 2.) My quarterback rating of 0.0 is lower than the punter’s, and I may be starting on Sunday! 3.) I line up offsides when not inexplicably covering Cardinals receivers not named Larry Fitzgerald. 4.) I am among the league leaders with nine penalties this season. 5.) I crumple untouched after catches in the open field as if the yellow television first-down line is real and made of plutonium. 6.) I throw the ball straight into the air while being tackled at the goal line.
There is also an essay: Explain how Andy Reid can simultaneously justify a 42-16 pass-run ratio when Michael Vick (questionable) has broken ribs, and grow testy when his reasoning is questioned.
The answers: 1-b, 2-e, 3-a, 4-f, 5-c, 6-d. If you need reasons why Giants General Manager Jerry Reese did not dive headfirst into the free-agent pool this off-season, here are six of them. The Reid essay has no right answer.
Standard warning: the Eagles, like poorly-constructed playground equipment, can still be dangerous. Pick: Giants.

Buccaneers (4-5) at Packers (9-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Packers by 14.

Like a flabby Hope Diamond, Albert Haynesworth is a fascinating, oversized trinket that brings nothing but misery to anyone foolish enough to acquire him. The Buccaneers signed Haynesworth and immediately inserted him into their defensive line; the results were 185 yards rushing allowed and a 37-9 loss. The Patriots, meanwhile, improved as soon as they rid themselves of Haynesworth. That is not scientific proof that Haynesworth is cursed, but perhaps he should be placed in the Smithsonian until there are further studies.
Aaron Rodgers has thrown just 18 incomplete passes in the last three games. One of those passes was a spike to stop the clock, three were throws out of bounds and four were dropped by open receivers. Count the drops as completions and take away the spike, and Rodgers’ completion percentage in the last three weeks is 84.7 percent. Some football stat-heads will tell you that completion percentage is a meaningless metric. That is true about 84.7 percent of the time. Pick: Packers.

Titans (5-4) at Falcons (5-4)
Sunday, 4:15 p.m.
Line: Falcons by 6.

Advanced statistical analysis reveals that going for it on fourth-and-1 from your own 29-yard line in overtime results in a 99.9 percent chance of a full week of second guessing. Mike Smith had probability on his side when he made his doomed decision against the Saints. He also had the league’s worst punter (Matt Bosher) facing one of the league’s best return men (Darren Sproles), so he may have feared a rare-but-traumatizing Dodge-to-DeSean punting gaffe when he made the call. Mathematicians call it the Black Swan Theory, because rookie punters can make experienced coaches wish they were watching Natalie Portman movies instead of football games.
The Titans and the Falcons are now second-place teams behind flawed, injury-plagued divisional front-runners who have byes. As compelling as this game may be, the real action is in the training and meeting rooms of the Saints and the Texans, where Sean Payton tries to cope with injuries to himself and others, and Matt Leinart acquaints himself with the children’s menu of the Texans’ playbook (“I can’t decide between the Donald Duck Zone Stretch to Arian Foster and the Andy Panda iso to Ben Tate!”) Pick: Falcons.

Bills (5-4) at Dolphins (2-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Dolphins by 2.
Having unsuccessfully game-planned for one opponent per week for most of the season, Dolphins coaches are preparing for two: the Bills on Sunday, and the Cowboys on Thanksgiving. “It’s tough because coaches can’t keep it to one game at a time,” Coach Tony Sparano said. “You can shrink it to the players. The only thing they’ll know is Buffalo and getting ready for Buffalo.” Shrink the Dolphins’ game plan too far, and it collapses into a Brandon Marshall Singularity from which only dropped passes can escape.
The Dolphins have gotten help in their back-to-back victories from an unlikely source: Reggie Bush, perpetual disappointment and current front-runner for Best Supporting Actor in a Reality Television Divorce Fiasco. “Something’s gotten into him,” tackle Vernon Carey said of Bush, who has run for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns in three weeks. Work ethic? Dignity? The realization that his name comes up more often on E! than ESPN has probably put a little spring in his step. Pick: Bills.

Cowboys (5-4) at Redskins (3-6)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Cowboys by 7.5.

The rookie sensation DeMarco Murray has rushed for 601 yards in the last four games, but that does not mean he has earned a starting job. Felix Jones may soon return from an ankle injury, and Cowboys Coach Jerry Jones (if he is not going to pretend otherwise then neither are we) gave conflicting reports during the week about how the carries will be divided when Felix Jones returns. “I haven’t seen enough of DeMarco,” Jones said, though he later explained that Murray would still get the bulk of the carries. That makes Felix Jones the nominal starter, an important position held by his predecessors, Julius Jones and Marion Barber. The nominal starter’s job is to not be as good as the backup, yet still lay claim to the starting role, allowing Jerry Jones to sound sagacious and quasi-mysterious when discussing his roster decisions during news conferences.
The twice-annual Cowboys-Redskins games serve the important purpose of making the Cowboys organization appear functional and sane by comparison. Pick: Cowboys.

Raiders (5-4) at Vikings (2-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Raiders by 1.

Both the Raiders rookie receiver Denarius Moore and the Vikings rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph made spectacular one-handed catches in prime-time games last week. While Rudolph has been a bright spot for the Vikings, Moore has kept the Raiders in the playoff picture by giving Carson Palmer exactly what he needs, on and off the field. “Denarius Moore doesn’t say anything,” Palmer told The San Francisco Chronicle. Having spent a year living through “The T.Ocho Show,” Palmer deserves a little therapeutic silence. Pick: Raiders.

Panthers (2-7) at Lions (6-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Lions by 7.

Lions Coach Jim Schwartz said that the 22-m.p.h. winds at Soldier Field, not a finger injury, hampered quarterback Matthew Stafford in the Lions’ 37-13 loss to the Bears. “The wind affected his actual throwing,” Schwartz said. “I don’t think it had anything to do with the actual finger.” Stafford’s virtual throwing and hypothetical finger were not affected. Schwartz also said that his team “didn’t respond well” to turnovers. Considering how often their games end in brawls, it is not clear if the Lions respond well to anything. Pick: Lions.

Jaguars (3-6) at Browns (3-6)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Even.

Two of the people on the following list are not on the Jaguars’ active roster. Can you spot them? The list: Guy Whimper, Leger Douzable, Julius Strangepork, John Chick, Cecil Shorts, Danny Rebus. Give up? Whimper, Douzable, Chick and Shorts are all real-life Jaguars. Rebus is a character on the new “Electric Company,” and Strangepork was the medical officer on “Pigs in Space.” Give the Jaguars credit for at least adding a little flair to their anonymity. Pick: Browns.

Bengals (6-3) at Ravens (6-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Ravens by 7.

Ray Rice carried the ball just five times in last Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks, which can only mean one thing: Andy Reid sneaked into John Harbaugh’s briefcase and fiddled with his game plans. Rice was steamed, and he did not talk to reporters after the game, explaining later that locker-room frustration “leads to disaster, leads to trouble, leads to people pointing fingers,” And disaster, trouble, and finger-pointing lead to extra-awesome game capsules! C’mon, Ray, some of us are trying to earn a living here. Pick: Ravens.

Seahawks (3-6) at Rams (2-7)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
Line: Rams by 1.5.

All four N.F.C. West teams won last week, the kind of cosmic convergence that makes you want to climb into a teepee and listen to old Yes albums until the lyrics make sense. The schedulers knew we could only take so much, so the N.F.C. West teams all face each other this week in a kind of toddler swim meet. The Rams have scored 13 points in back-to-back games, so it can be argued that their offense has found consistency, though 4 of those points came from their defense. The Seahawks are nearly unbeatable when you turn the ball over to them in the red zone three times. Pick: Rams.

Cardinals (3-6) at 49ers (8-1)
Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
Line: 49ers by 9.5.

A predictable, rather sad quarterback controversy is brewing in Arizona after John Skelton’s back-to-back wins over the Rams and the Eagles. It is hard not to go through the motions on the Skelton vs. Kevin Kolb debate. Fordham bona-fides aside, Skelton is an adequate backup at best, his performance against the Rams (two safeties!) was dreadful, and the Cardinals are terrible. This is controversy as reflex, the automatic need to yell, “He provided a spark!” after even the least convincing victory by the guy off the bench. Skelton can only be successful if he faces a Juan Castillo-coached defense every week, with Larry Fitzgerald covered by linebackers and All-Pro pass rushers lined up a quarter-mile away from the quarterback. The 49ers, who actually know how to use their defensive talent, will not be as obliging as the Eagles. Pick: 49ers.

Chiefs (4-5) at Patriots (6-3)
Monday, 8:30 p.m.
Line: Patriots by 15.

With Matt Cassel (hand) out indefinitely, the left-hander Tyler Palko takes over a Chiefs offense that has scored 13 points in the past two weeks. Todd Haley has reinstated his rotate-the-backfield lunacy, limiting the playing time of Jackie Battle (4.6 yards per carry) so he can find a role for Thomas Jones (2.9 yards per carry). So things are not going well for the Chiefs president, Scott Pioli, who may feel the urge to barricade himself inside his old office in Foxborough, Mass., and refuse to come out. Pick: Patriots.

Your N.F.L. Questions Answered

Judy Battista, the N.F.L. reporter for The New York Times, answers questions from readers.

Two things: One, how long will Tim Tebow last as the starting QB of Denver. And what kind of impact do you think he will have? I.E., will he win the spot for the season and win, or will he go the Cam Newton route and show flashes of brilliance yet still lose out in close games?
– Posted by Justin, Quad Cities

The Denver Broncos should only hope that Tebow looks like Newton does, because Newton has been spectacular — far beyond what anybody expected. Tebow is not Newton, though. Newton does not have throwing mechanics issues, for one, and he is a superior athletic talent to Tebow. Having said that, the spark Tebow provides the offense when he is in the game is undeniable.

I imagine that at least for the first few games, he will look a lot like he did when he went in at halftime last week: some badly misfired throws, some short completions, some thrilling running. One of the biggest concerns with his style of play is that no team wants their starting quarterback to get crushed by linebackers on a regular basis — can Tebow hold up to that week after week?

That’s why everybody wants him to become more of a pocket passer. I think he will give the Broncos a jolt and, as opponents will discover at least early on, he will be a challenge to prepare for because of the threat that he’ll run. But the Broncos’ losses have not all been Kyle Orton’s fault, so if the defense doesn’t start playing better, Tebow alone won’t be able to change the results.

Unless he is absolutely terrible or gets hurt, I expect he’ll be the starter the rest of the season. This is a move made as much for the future as for now. The Broncos have to find out if he can be a starting quarterback in the N.F.L. The coaches and John Elway clearly didn’t think he could do it at the start of the season and if they are right, they’ll have to draft a quarterback next spring.

What happened to the Jets linebackers? I don’t see them making the big plays they made the last two years, especially Bart Scott. Does this account for the run production against the Jets?–Posted by Stoli, Washington, D.C.

If you remember, Bart Scott didn’t look great at the end of the playoffs last year either. Lots of things have happened — the departure of Kris Jenkins certainly does not help the linebackers or the defense as a whole, and at least from my perspective, the defense has looked a little slower this season so far. The fact that the Jets could not stop BenJarvus Green-Ellis — a nice running back, but not exactly Adrian Peterson — last week, when they knew the Patriots wanted to run, is telling and troubling because if the Jets’ offense continues to fall behind, the Jets are going to see more running until they prove they can stop it. They are currently ranked 26th in rushing yards yielded. Last year they finished ninth

Why are the Eagles sticking with their obviously flawed wide 9 defensive scheme AND sticking Asomugha in zone coverage most of the time? It’s beyond me why anyone would bother working so hard (and spending so much money) to get a player like Nnamdi and then play him in a zone 90 percent of the time.–Posted by Rich, Atlanta

Great questions and right now unanswerable. The Eagles’ defense is a mess across the board — the linebackers are not good (and that’s being especially exposed by the Wide 9), nobody is tackling well, only Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin are living up to their free agency hype — but it’s hard to scrap an entire defensive system midstream and start over. The Eagles are clearly hoping that some of their issues are due to lack of familiarity and that once everybody settles in and knows where they are supposed to be, the gaping holes will disappear. That may be wishful thinking, and Andy Reid could  be answering for a long time why he thought it was a good idea to make his longtime offensive line coach his defensive coordinator in the same year when there would be massive influx of new personnel and limited time to work together.

Do you think the new rule placing kickoffs at the 35 will survive after this season?–Posted by Dave, Connecticut

Yes, I do, because it is having exactly the effect the N.F.L. wanted when it voted for it: reducing the number of collisions on kickoffs. By drastically reducing the number of kickoff returns, it has definitely accomplished that. This was a move made for safety reasons — some of the biggest and most damaging collisions happen on kickoff returns — not for aesthetics. The N.F.L. knew it would greatly decrease the number of kickoff returns, and even though big returns are some of the most exciting plays in football, the league was willing to take that tradeoff if it meant cutting down on big hits.

The Chargers, who usually stumble out of the gate, are 4-1 and in first place– does that mean they won’t make the playoffs?–Posted by zb, New York

Ha! No, I think they’ll make the playoffs, and it probably helps that there hasn’t been much attention paid to them this year. Also helps that, while the Raiders are surprising, the Chiefs and Broncos have struggled early.

A lot of heat gets put on the Jets offensive coordinator, Schotty. But don’t you think he and Rex Ryan are simply calling the plays that they think the QB can make without turning the ball over?–Posted by Steve, Connecticut

Yes. I think the coaches know their offensive line is in transition (read: not very good right now) and therefore they can’t make Mark Sanchez spend too much time back there waiting for plays to develop. Sanchez is still not overly accurate, and at this point I’m not sure that is ever going to get better. You have to wonder if he will ever be the kind of quarterback who can consistently take over a game and win it on his own. It probably told us a lot that the Jets did not take too many shots outside the numbers and down the field last week, just to test a Patriots defense that had really been struggling in that area.

I continue to hear from everyone it seems (Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez, other current Jets, former Jets, pundits, analysts and prognosticators) that this Jets offense “isn’t built to put up huge numbers of yards or 30+ points/game.” Judy, what group in the offense ( O-Line, receivers, running backs, etc) would agree with that statement?–Posted by Steve, Connecticut

Not sure I entirely understand the question, Steve, but let me give it a shot. If the offense is built to run the ball, it’s clearly not built to be a scoring machine. Furthermore, as we’ve already discussed, the Jets seem reluctant to let Sanchez go downfield with his passes. This is not going to be a Packers/Patriots kind of offense, clearly, even though the receivers probably think they are capable of it. I don’t think saying it’s not built to put up 30 points a game is derogatory, it’s just the truth. This team is supposed to win by playing great defense and running the ball. Right now, it’s not doing either of those, and it doesn’t have a passing game capable of overcoming it, the way we saw Brady do in the first few weeks of the season.

To what extent are the Steelers’ difficulties this season due to their offensive line or the age of their defense? And what explains the dramatic increase in the number of yards rushing the defense is allowing this year? Is it regression to the mean, or something more insidious?–Posted by Carey, Pittsburgh

Well, the offensive line is a MASH unit, and the impact of that can’t be overlooked. They are getting Roethlisberger hit constantly. I haven’t seen enough of their games to know what is happening to their defense, except that their run defense is clearly giving up more yards than usual. But the defense is still ranked second in the league in yards given up. It will be interesting to see if the wallopping of the Titans marks the turning point for the Steelers.

Are the 49ers and Alex Smith for real? What is Smith’s QB rating score?–Posted by Ole Holsti, Salt Lake City

Alex Smith might be the best argument going for the value of good coaching. He was left for dead and his career looked to be over, and — presto — bring in Harbaugh. Now he’s third in quarterback rating (104.1 with seven touchdowns and one interception), behind only Brady, who is second, and Rodgers, whose rating is an absurd 122.9. Short answer: yes, the Niners are for real. They are playing well, and the rest of their division is a mess. If they don’t win it, I’d be shocked. This weekend’s game against the Lions will probably tell us a lot about them.

It’s safe to say the 49ers will win their division. They’re playing better football than anyone else in the NFC West. Can they prove that a team doesn’t need an elite QB to win big?–Posted by Greg, Silicon Valley

You’re assuming that Alex Smith — a former first pick — is not elite. I’m not sure we should do that. He has had a carousel of coaches and offensive systems and has never had a coach with the offensive mind or devotion to quarterback development that Harbaugh brings. I’m not saying Alex Smith is Aaron Rodgers, but with consistent coaching and an offense that suits him, he might be in the second tier of quarterbacks.

We see so many games plod along (see Jet offense most of last year), until crunch time then suddenly come alive in a flurry of offense, risk taking and big plays — what drives this transformation? Are the coaches inherently conservative until they have to open up? Is it really the grand chess match until inches become yards (yes, that “Any Given Sunday” reference) or the ball bounces one way or another?–Posted by BankerBoy, New York

I think it’s a combination of things. Yes, if a team is trailing and the clock is winding down, they have to take more chances going downfield. And, on the flip side, the team that holds the lead is often in some kind of a prevent defense, which allows the bigger opponent to get bigger chunks of yards, as long as the plays stay in front of the defense. In other words, force the opponent to drive down the field, but don’t give up the touchdown. You can’t say coaches are inherently conservative — how would you explain the offensive attacks of the Packers, Patriots, Saints, Colts (with Manning)? But you can say that coaches play to the strengths of their teams as long as they possibly can and deviate from that only when forced to.

Given the success of Victor Cruz and the fact that Steve Smith has not been a factor in the Eagles offense (according to Sheil Kapadia of Philly.com, he played in three snaps last week and has not been targeted in the past two weeks), doesn’t Jerry Reese and the Giants front office deserve some credit for not overpaying for Smith, especially considering the backlash the front office received from the media and fans after Smith signed with the Eagles?–Posted by Matt Barbarasch, New York

I don’t think anybody thought the Giants should overpay Steve Smith. But the criticism came when the number of players that the Giants theoretically wanted to keep piled up — including Kevin Boss (who was definitely overpaid by the Raiders) and Smith. There is no question that the Eagles thought Smith would be healthier sooner than the Giants did. The Giants trusted their doctors who, after all, did the surgery on Smith. So far, it looks like the Giants made the correct bet. As for Victor Cruz, he is delightful when he makes those circus catches, but he has also made some bad mistakes. If the Giants had been able to retain Smith — and not rush him back on the field — there’s not much question who the better receiver would be, if the health of both is equal.

For Giants, the Long View Looks Challenging

For as much as players talk about “taking it one day at a time,” they are (generally) not robots. They know which games are when, same as the fans, and even if they don’t mark down the expected wins and losses on a pocket schedule, there is still an awareness of when the team is entering a critical stretch.

The Giants are in one now. Brandon Jacobs even admitted as much late Sunday night in Glendale, Ariz., when he said, “We have a lot of very tough games later on. We need to stay on a roll.”

The reason for early urgency is what lies ahead for the Giants:

November games with New England, Philadelphia and New Orleans; and December match-ups with Green Bay, Dallas (twice) and the Jets.

Given that slate, beating the Cardinals must be looked at as a critical springboard for the Giants, who will be home for the next month with games against Seattle, Buffalo and Miami sandwiched around their bye week.

The Giants made it to the quarter-pole of the season 3-1, a mark many observers likely predicted (though probably not with a win over the Eagles). They have weathered a slew of injuries, shown an ability to rally late and have found playmakers in unexpected places.

So is it reasonable to think the Giants can be 6-1 heading into a Week 9 game with the Patriots? What did you mark down on your pocket schedule?

And, more importantly, if you think they’re not 6-1, what does that say about their chances of ultimately surviving the winter gantlet and making the playoffs?

Embracing a Snow Bowl

When the N.F.L. decided the site of the 2014 Super Bowl would be the new Giants/Jets stadium in the Meadowlands, an involuntary shiver went through the league, visions of snowplows and Eskimo masks dancing through everyone’s heads.

So, what better way to celebrate such enthusiasm than by creating a Super Bowl committee logo featuring a snowflake?

The logo also features the George Washington Bridge, but fortunately, the designers did not jam it with rush-hour traffic. Of course, in the spirit of the snowflake, perhaps they should have. After all, the logo is supposed to be embracing all that is New York/New Jersey.

“As public anticipation for the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl grows, so too does our commitment to hosting an historic event that truly encapsulates the distinct characteristics of our region,” Woody Johnson, the owner of the Jets and co-chairman of the host committee, said in a statement.

Granted, it is wise not to pretend this is just a slightly northern suburb of Miami, and it could open up all kinds of new sponsorship possibilities (Uggs, anyone?), but do the Super Bowl promoters really want a constant reminder of the one reason people objected to this Super Bowl in the first place?

What do you think should be in the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl logo?

Leading Off: World Goes Mad, or at Least Football Does

If you went on vacation for a few weeks, left the country, put the iPhone on airplane mode and left it there, it would be easy to return and wonder if the sports world had gone completely off the rails. We know this from personal experience. But, as it turns out, it was not necessary to leave the country and turn off your smartphone to feel unmoored. In fact, you could have watched every second of the Lions and Bills starting the season 3-0, with a few glimpses over at the Browns going 2-1, while still trying to wrap your head around the Colts without Peyton Manning and still wonder what the heck is going on.

This is clear from the number of plugged-in football people who have been paying close attention and still reacted to Sunday’s developments by saying, “What the heck is going on?” This crowd is led by the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy, who absorbed the Patriots’ defeat-from-the-jaws-of-victory against the Bills and decided the laws of the universe have been rewritten. O.K., sure, maybe there are subatomic particles that can travel faster than light and scientists can stumble on new planets orbiting more than one sun, but Tom Brady throwing four interceptions and the Bills taking over as the new Kings of Karma? This cannot happen. The Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington even says so. The Bills even had a touchdown overturned and it ended up helping them. And thus, perhaps the rustiest of the Rust Belt cities has a reason to go wild, writes Yahoo.com’s Les Carpenter.

Yes, as Dan Wetzel writes on Yahoo.com, it’s Bizarro World. In the case of the Lions, they gave some hints last season that this was possible, but as Don Banks writes on SI.com, the mind-blowing part is that both the Lions and Bills have developed resilience neither team could have imagined. SI.com’s Peter King throws the Browns into the mix and heralds a new day for the Terrible Trio.

The weirdness hardly stops there. Not only is the Eagles’ once seemingly indomitable ship taking on water, the lifeboats are getting pretty crowded for a team that’s 1-2 and was being called the Dream Team about eight seconds ago. A loss to the hated Giants and Michael Vick’s broken hand are only the edge of their problems, writes Clark Judge on CBSSports.com, and The Philadelphia Daily News’s Sam Donnellon even goes so far as to say Coach Andy Reid might soon be reaching for a pair of water wings. While ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano believes Vick missing a few weeks might actually help the Eagles get organized and stop relying so heavily on him, the Philadelphia Daily News’s John Smallwood is wondering if Vick’s playing style may be his undoing. Against the Giants, a calamitous 14 minute, 51 second stretch was the Eagles undoing, and the Giants were happy that for a change, they did not engineer that calamity, writes Ohm Youngmisuk on ESPN.com.

In other calamities with Philadelphia echoes, Donovan McNabb is now being hooted toward the sideline in his latest city (Minneapolis), with the Star-Tribune’s Jim Souhan rushing to the head of the pack calling for Christian Ponder to start at quarterback after the Vikings torpedoed themselves for a third straight game. In Baltimore, Ravens fans not only have a win over Pittsburgh to enjoy already this season, they watched rookie receiver Torrey Smith turn his first three N.F.L. catches into touchdowns. Not bad for a day’s work. The Panthers’ Jonathan Stewart might be saying the same thing about his amazing, 60-yard, waterskis-would-have-helped touchdown if it hadn’t been overturned on replay.

Yes, there were other sports with forehead-slapping developments going on over the weekend as well. The Red Sox elbowed into the picture in dramatic fashion, interrupting their epic collapse with a dramatic 14-inning victory over the Yankees, which pulled them at least momentarily back from the ledge, writes Jeff Passan on Yahoo.com. It might be only a momentary reprieve, writes Joe Lemire on SI.com, but they’ll take it. As Danny Knobler writes on CBSSports.com, they are desperately trying to rewrite their own story.

There was a golf story this weekend that did not involve Tiger Woods until Woods decided to hijack the news and hire a caddie away from Dustin Johnson. But if you could ignore that little tempest, you are likely trying to figure out just how Bill Haas managed to make off with the FedEx Cup jackpot. We’re not even sure Haas knows how.

If all that isn’t strange enough, it’s worth taking in one more sight: a fantastically low-budget ad featuring Diego Maradona and his Dubai driving license.

But, not it’s still not stranger than the Bills and Lions being 3-0.

Follow Leading Off on Twitter: twitter.com/zinsernyt

Leading Off: Raiders Strike Again

There is something oddly satisfying about having the Raiders in the N.F.L., setting aside for the moment their fans’ part in the violence at Candlestick Park last weekend, because staying satisfied involves not attending any actual Raiders games. But they play such a great role in poking a hole in the N.F.L.’s carefully cultivated image of order and precision, the facade of being run by civic-minded, forthright businessmen. The Raiders are like the crazy aunt the otherwise mostly respectable N.F.L. can’t uninvite to Thanksgiving dinner.

The best part is, the Raiders love being the crazy aunt. They live up to their stereotype every chance they are offered. Put danger-written-all-over-him quarterback Terrelle Pryor in a supplemental draft, suspend him for five games and of course the Raiders pick him using their third-round pick in 2012. The only slight surprise is they didn’t use a second-round pick. Never mind that no one thought he was third-round pick worthy, he won’t help the Raiders at all this season and many doubt he’ll ever cut it as an N.F.L. quarterback. He’s fast! He’s undisciplined! Sign him up! Just keep thinking we’re winning, baby!

So, while in a way Pryor and the Raiders are a perfect match, writes Alex Marvez on Foxsports.com, because the Raiders’ consistently boneheaded decisions on quarterbacks have left them with opportunities at that position, the matching part may not be a good thing. As Jason Cole writes on Yahoo.com, Pryor’s biggest criticism is his lack of discipline, which he desperately needs to succeed, and he just landed with the franchise run by Captain Queeg. And as Don Banks of SI.com reminds us, the Raiders’ track record with such player gambles is pitiful.

The Raiders and the 49ers still have some work to do to inspire any confidence in their franchises’ ability to deal with the violence that broke out at their preseason game Sunday. The 49ers went a little too heavy on the Chamber of Commerce sheen in their response that it was a one-off occurrence, writes Gwen Knapp in The San Francisco Chronicle, and the Raiders went a bit overboard insisting their fans are not as menacing as they tend to look. But the only real answer, writes Ann Killion on SI.com, is to cough up some of that $9 billion in N.F.L. revenue and protect the fans with better security.

Elsewhere in the slightly less chaotic corners of the N.F.L., the Giants are dealing with the latest injury blow — to cornerback Terrell Thomas — in what is likely to be the year of the injury (thanks for that lockout, N.F.L.!). The Titans’ mayhem machine, Kenny Britt, is getting his day in front of the N.F.L. sheriff, Roger Goodell, to explain why his off-field exploits keep involving the police. And we offer you a link to this handy –and hilarious — flow chart in case you need help deciding which team to root for this season.

Whichever team you root for, in any sport, it’s interesting to read Malcolm Gladwell’s essay on Grantland.com about why teams aren’t run like the businesses they claim to be.

In the big business of the N.C.A.A., we have the steady drumbeat of doom at the University of Miami, whose president, Donna Shalala, announced in a video message that the university is investigating the eligibility of 15 athletes in the wake of the sleazy booster scandal dumped on its doorstep last week. Dennis Dodd explains on CBSSports.com how the N.C.A.A. might use limited immunity in its investigation, keeping some players on the field. But the oddest development of the day has to be The Miami Herald profiling the Yahoo.com reporter who beat it to the biggest story in its backyard. If you could see the paper in 3-D, it might be waving a little white flag at you. Wow.

That is only a slightly less uncomfortable thought than what happened to Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday on Monday night when he lost a battle with a moth that lodged in his ear.

But Holliday might know exactly how the N.F.L. feels. In that case, the Raiders are playing the role of the moth.

Follow Leading Off on Twitter: twitter.com/zinsernyt

2011 Giants Season Preview

Thus far, the story of the 2011 Giants has centered on Osi Umenyiora. He is looking for the new contract he says General Manager Jerry Reesehad promised him. Umenyiora accused Reese of lying in a sworn affidavit during the lockout. After the lockout, he surprisingly showed up to training camp, with the Giants having given him permission to seek a trade. The  first-round price tag, however, was too steep for the rest of the league.

Though present for camp, Umenyiora, a 29-year-old defensive end, did not practice with the team because, according to the Giant public relations staff, “he says he has a sore knee.”

The Giants are now in an ugly Catch-22. Trade Umenyiora and, in their minds, they set a precedent for rewarding disruptive players who break contracts. (They also lose an upper-echelon edge rusher from a defense that has long been built on pressuring the quarterback up front.) Keep Umenyiora and, well, they have a disruptive locker room presence. A super disruptive locker room presence.

That’s what makes this whole ordeal interesting. Umenyiora is not staging his protest peacefully. Throughout all this, he has publicly blasted Reese and questioned the organization’s integrity. What makes it dicey for the co-owner and team president John Mara, Coach Tom Coughlin, Reese and the rest of the powers that be is that Umenyiora’s complaints seem founded. He has become the screaming kid in the supermarket whose parents are looking around nervously, thinking onlookers might be siding with him.

In an Aug. 1 letter to The Associated Press, Umenyiora wrote: “What really annoys me is the hypocrisy of people clamoring for my head for asking for a new deal or to be traded. Saying I have 2 years left on my deal. These contracts only mean something to us? Where is  O’Hara? Where is Seubert? True, inspirational football players, they were cut after being injured. They have years left on their deal.”

You think other Giants players aren’t thinking, “Hmmmm….Osi may have a point”? This is the type of drama that can fracture a franchise.

Doesn’t it always seem as if we’re hearing these kinds of stories with the Giants? Whether it’s Plaxico Burress or Brandon Jacobs or Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber or Tom Coughlin, who, by the way, has proved that no amount of short-term contract extensions, including his recent one, which lasts through 2012, can decrease the temperature of a New York coach’s hot seat. The Giants are always a source of back page fodder.

And it’s always relevant fodder that affects what happens on the field. This year is no exception. Look at the various story angles that protrude from the Umenyiora drama: Reese’s efforts to keep a perennial N.F.C. contender intact; the future of the much-ballyhooed defense minus perhaps its most explosive playmaker; the rebuilding of an offensive line that has been a beacon of stability but now must move on without veteran leaders Shaun O’Hara and Rich Seubert.

There’s a lot going on in New York. But let’s not get carried away. Drama can be a burden, but it’s nothing that can’t be overcome. Why, wasn’t 2007 the year Coughlin reportedly “lost the team”?

Offense

How about that, huh? An entire intro built around Giants drama and not one mention of Eli Manning’s demeanor, body language, leadership or whatever else the eighth-year pro supposedly botches or masters (depending on which arm-chair psychologist you talk to)? One reason Manning can be less analyzed these days is he has finally blossomed as a quarterback. At 30, it’s safe to declare him a finished product.

Over all, it’s a pretty good looking product. Manning is one of the toughest pocket passers in the league. His timing has sharpened over the years and his mistakes have decreased commensurately. (It was a mere aberration that he led the league with 25 interceptions last season; about half of those picks were a consequence of receivers tipping passes up in the air or running bad routes.) All in all, he’s a top 10 N.F.L. quarterback with a high-enough football IQ to run the whole show if needed (as opposed to only what coordinator Kevin Gilbride tells him to run).

Most impressive about Manning is that he has elevated his young receivers. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham have come to life in New York’s stable system – Nicks because of his strong, supple athleticism and big hands, and Manningham because of his all-around swiftness and excellence outside the numbers.

Manning will have to cultivate new relationships with other receivers in 2011. The steady slot outlet Steve Smith may be gone. As of early August, he remained a free agent and is just eights months removed from a sketchy microfracture operation. The Giants hope that third-round rookie Jerrel Jernigan, whom some have compared to Deion Branch, can fill the void. If he can’t, Domenik Hixon, who was emerging before a torn ACL last June, could get a shot, though more preferable would be for the big  third-year pro Ramses Barden to stay healthy and start cooking some of his considerable raw talent.

Many have bemoaned the departure of the free-agent tight end Kevin Boss, but he actually has less innate talent than replacement Travis Beckum. Whether Beckum has Boss’s toughness down the seams remains to be seen, but in him the Giants have a receiver fluid enough to create more formation and route variations in the passing game. The abrupt retirement of Ben Patrick was offset by the addition of blocking tight end Daniel Coats. Fullback Bear Pascoe’s inexperience is no longer an issue after the solid work he did in 2010.

The magnitude of the personnel changes to this offensive line cannot be overstated. Giants fans are finally getting their wish with left tackle David Diehl moving back to guard to replace Seubert. At left tackle, Diehl was very average pass blocking on an island. But in the end, he almost always did his job. We don’t know if this will be the case with replacement William Beatty. It’s somewhat telling that Beatty, a second-round pick in ’09, wasn’t able to crack the starting lineup a year ago.

Revered as the gritty O’Hara was, he clearly lost a step because of injury last season. A change had to be made at his position. The Giants are hoping that the acquisition of six-year Niners guard/center David Baas will suffice. It might, but don’t bet on raving success. Baas can pull-block, but he doesn’t have the quickness to get to the second level (where O’Hara made his living). He’s not particularly strong, either.

Expect the Giants to run right even more frequently in 2011. Guard Chris Snee is elite in every sense, and tackle Kareem McKenzie, while a somewhat stationary player, at least offers familiarity and the strength to anchor in his phone booth. In part to take advantage of the underrated power of Ahmad Bradshaw and punishing power of Brandon Jacobs, the Giants employed more six-man lines than any team in the N.F.C. last season. This year they can keep referring to utility backup Kevin Boothe in these sets, though don’t be surprised if free agent pickup Stacy Andrews, or more likely, massive fourth-round rookie James Brewer, find a niche here.

Few who would have ever guessed that Jacobs would take a pay cut so the team could re-sign Bradshaw – the man who stole his starting job? (Jacobs maybe didn’t have a choice, but to his credit, he was publicly supportive of the idea.) Bradshaw is the No. 1 back not just because his receiving skills and shiftiness lend more versatility to the offense, but also because he’s the more powerful runner. This may seem absurd given the 264-pound Jacobs freight train running style, but the tape doesn’t lie: Bradshaw, who is compact and low to the ground, is tougher to tackle.

Defense

We tend to think of the Giant defense as being about a great front four. Jerry Reese has followed in the footsteps of Ernie Accorsi (who followed in the footsteps of George Young) by building his lineup around the defensive line. Hence the 2010 first-round draft pick he invested in Jason Pierre-Paul, despite already having first-round pass-rusher Mathias Kiwanuka and bookend stars Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora on the roster.

But as important as the front four is for New York, this defensive unit under Perry Fewell has become more about highlighting the versatility and athleticism of its top players by using a multitude of presnap looks. Tuck, the best right end in football, is frequently used as a standup linebacker and joker. Antrel Rolle, the prized free-agent safety from a year ago, plays a flexible Charles Woodson-like role on most downs. It works because Rolle has the man-coverage skills to guard receivers in the slot and he’s an excellent all-around tackler.

Furthering the emphasis on versatility and athleticism, the Giants were frequently in nickel defense last season and basically ran a 4-2-5. With Rolle so often aligned in the run front, the Giants kept explosive hitter Kenny Phillips and veteran Deon Grant in the deeper safety slots. With Grant now replaced by rookie Tyler Sash (a sixth-round pick but someone who could one day develop into a starter), the Giants’ nickel package this season will shift to more traditional three cornerback personnel. Corey Webster will often be asked to shadow the opposing team’s best receiver. Terrell Thomas will see plenty of one-on-one matchups as well (the Giants put a lot of stock in the coverage abilities of their defensive backs). The addition of physical first-round rookie Prince Amukamara could land Thomas in more of a safety-esque role, as Amukamara is most likely best suited for the outside, and Rolle is too valuable to relocate from the slot. However, Amukamara will begin the season on the mend after breaking the fifth metatarsal bone in his foot early training camp, so expect lanky dime back Aaron Ross to fill Grant’s old third safety chores.

Generating a pass rush shouldn’t be a problem with Tuck and (we assume) Umenyiora up front. The expected maturation of Pierre-Paul should help, too. But a legitimate concern is this defense’s ability to stop the run. Tuck is phenomenal in all forms of run defense, but the rest of the line is up in the air. Underrated defensive tackle Barry Cofield is gone and will be replaced by rookie Marvin Austin, a first-round talent who dropped to Round Two because of character. Generally, the transition to pro football is extra difficult for defensive tackles (probably due to the difference in competition they face; in college, the interior line is usually just made up of the fattest players a team has, while in the pros, the interior line is loaded with outstanding athletes.)

In order to start, Austin must beat out Linval Joseph, last year’s second-round pick who rarely got on the field. At the other defensive tackle position, it’s time for ex-Cowboy Chris Canty to earn his money (believe it or not, he’s the highest-paid defensive lineman on this team…which Umenyiora, and the less-disgruntled Tuck, have surely noticed). At 6’7”, 304 pounds, Canty has a rare build that can be used for creating congestion.

He’ll need to congest because middle linebacker Jonathan Goff offers little playmaking flair. The methodical Goff plays slowly when having to make reads. This is an issue because, as talented as Mathias Kiwanuka is, he’s still playing out of position as a strongside linebacker. If Kiwanuka proves to again be tentative in a two-point stance, or if he’s not the same player after last year’s neck injury, the coaching staff may have no choice but to put the insanely athletic though thus far non-achieving Clint Sintim on the field. Weakside starter Michael Boley is one of the best coverage linebackers in the game, but his output tends to waffle at times and he makes too many costly missteps against the run.

Special Teams

Matt Dodge needs to either make the Pro Bowl four straight years or date a Kardashian if he wants to ever be known for something other than booting the ball down the middle to DeSean Jackson. That was the mistake that drew the headlines in ’10, but Dodge’s problems actually ran much deeper than that. Simply put, his height and placement must improve. Otherwise, former Jet Steve Weatherford will steal his job. Kicker Lawrence Tynes has a big enough foot. Middling return specialist Darius Reynaud may have to fend off Domenik Hixon.

Bottom Line

There’s not a lot to suggest that the Giants will be better in 2011. They’ve lost a few minor role players and are counting on completely untested youngsters to take their place. But the core of the club remains intact, so if players who have elevated their games before can band together and do so again, a playoff run is certainly possible. Last season, guys elevated their game, but just not all at the same time.

Predicted: 3rd N.F.C. East

Andy Benoit is the founder of NFLTouchdown.com and covers the N.F.L. for CBSsports.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLtouchdown.com.

Leading Off: Two Sides of New York Football

It doesn’t take much deep thinking to divine the differences between New York’s two N.F.L. teams. One is a league stalwart, steered by a legendary football family, so buttoned down and traditional it refuses to employ cheerleaders. The other is the team of Broadway Joe, the all-you-can-eat bluster buffet that is Rex Ryan, a virtual halfway house of players with overflowing N.F.L rap sheets.

So was anyone really surprised when Mr. Lock-n-Load, Plaxico Burress, landed with the Jets instead of returning to the Giants?

O.K., so the weekend’s developments didn’t exactly fit into the knee-jerk analysis that the Giants were too goody-goody to sign their ex-con wide receiver. They did make him an offer. Mr. Law and Order, Coach Tom Coughlin, did try to get past the lingering bitterness of the havoc Burress wreaked on his 2009 team.

But it is absolutely in the Jets’ DNA to go bold. So when cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha kicked them right in the headlines by signing with the Eagles, you think they were going to out and sign who? Brandon Stokley? No, with Burress they had an opportunity to complete a matched set of loose cannons at receiver with Santonio Holmes, writes Rich Cimini on ESPN.com. Forget for a minute that Burress is 34 and just spent 20 months in prison instead of working on his post patterns, which as Steve Politi writes in The Star-Ledger of Newark means he is as big a question mark on the field as off it, the prime tabloid fodder for New York’s tabloid team.

And New York’s “Tabloids Make Us Squeamish” team spent its time extending Coughlin’s contract and talking its star defensive end, Osi Umenyiora, out of his off-season snit. It is, as Mike Vaccaro wrote in The Post, just the way the Giants go about things.

The team that really kicked its DNA into high gear was the Eagles. Signing Asomugha and other attention-grabbing free agents like Vince Young and Jason Babin as well as trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Eagles have started drawing comparisons to the Miami Heat, Ashley Fox writes on ESPN.com, even though they have so far mercifully spared us a prediction of seven Super Bowls. Asomugha is clearly no LeBron James, and as John Smallwood writes in The Philadelphia Daily News, might be as big an asset in the community as he is on a football field.

Also kicking around in the background was the news that the Colts had re-signed Peyton Manning,  and the fact that it was treated largely with shrugs says a lot about the Colts’ low-key DNA, writes Dan Wetzel on Yahoo.com. Mike Lopresti marvels in USA Today that Manning insisted on taking less money so the Colts could field a better team, while in Indianapolis what they really want to know is when he’s going to be able to play after off-season neck surgery.

A few mysteries in Miami might have been solved this weekend, but not because of a trade or a signing, but by an article by Omar Kelly of The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel about Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall revealing his diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. It does help explain much of the disorder that has marked Marshall’s life and career.

The disorder plaguing the N.B.A. right now, however, is strictly self-inflicted. And it has the unintended side effect of a strange fixation on where Kobe Bryant might play if the league goes dark. Marc Spears reports on Yahoo.com that China may be an option trumping his current offer in Turkey.

Baseball has settled down, now that its trade deadline (of sorts) has passed and the flurry of activity had ended. Jeff Passan of Yahoo.com takes a look at how the Rangers ended up the big winner and the parade of losers is being led by the Yankees. More notable, perhaps, Ubaldo Jimenez is thrilled to be moving from Denver to Cleveland, writes Scott Miller on CBSSports.com, partly because he loves the weather. Really.

You might be reasonably certain the weather had nothing to do with Burress’s decision to sign with the Jets over the Giants, except that his new team’s forecast always includes a lot of wind and an 80 percent chance of chaos.

Follow Leading Off on Twitter: twitter.com/zinsernyt

Giants Range Not So Far for a New Punter

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Seeking to bring in some competition at punter after Matt Dodge struggled through his rookie season in 2010, the Giants did not look far.

On Friday, the team reached a deal with the former Jets punter Steve Weatherford. The terms were not disclosed.

Last season, Weatherford’s 84 punts averaged 42.6 yards. Half those punts landed inside the 20-yard-line, which led the league. Dodge had a higher yards-per-punt average (44.8), but he managed only 20 punts inside the 20-yard-line and had nine touchbacks, five more than Weatherford.

Statistics do not tell the whole story about the Giants’ frustrations with Dodge. In the Giants’ monumental collapse against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dodge’s 36-yard punt directly at DeSean Jackson was returned for the game-winning touchdown. Coach Tom Coughlin was visibly angry with Dodge and had told him to punt the ball out of bounds to avoid giving Jackson an opportunity to make a play.

The loss was a crushing blow for the Giants, who finished 10-6 but lost a tie breaker with the Eagles and failed to make the playoffs.

Weatherford signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois in 2006. He spent two seasons with the Saints before he waived after seven games in 2008. The Kansas City Chiefs picked him up and he appeared in two games with the Chiefs before being waived again. He later signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and played in five games before joining the Jets prior to the 2009 season.

N.F.L. Moves: Young Joins Eagles, Jets Vie for Asomugha

12:36 p.m. | Updated

Big signing news of the day, so far:

The Eagles, having shipped their backup quarterback, Kevin Kolb, to the Cardinals on Thursday, have reportedly decided his replacement will be Vince Young, who was released by the Titans on Thursday. The Eagles’ last quarterback reclamation project, Michael Vick, said he was thrilled the team was taking on Young as its next project.

In other news, the Denver Broncos have reportedly found someone to complement running back Knowshon Moreno by agreeing to a three-year, $7.5 million deal with Willis McGahee. Wide receiver Roy Williams, who was cut by the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, will be reunited with his former offensive coordinator Mike Martz in Chicago after reportedly agreeing to terms with the Bears.

Friday’s biggest looming mysteries:
These involve perhaps the most talented player still dangling in free-agency limbo, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who is expected to choose between the Jets and the Cowboys, and the most talented player ever to shoot himself in the leg, receiver Plaxico Burress. Reportedly, the league has reinstated Burress, freeing him to sign on some available bottom line, and he is expected to sit down with Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Friday night to either hash out their differences or perhaps discuss the nutritional failings of jailhouse cuisine.

The Texans made some bold moves Thursday by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning, and want to be even bolder by adding Asomugha. NFL Network is reporting that the Texans are now out of the running and the Cowboys are in, but the favorites are the Jets, who are trying to create a supertandem in their defensive backfield, writes Bucky Brooks on NFL.com, with Darrelle Revis.

There is still lingering debate over one of Thursday’s other big deals, the trade of quarterback Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The consensus is that the Cardinals paid a steep price for Kolb, but had to go bold to fill their biggest need. But Clark Judge of CBSSports.com also warns that investing in discarded Eagles quarterbacks is not usually a good move.

Cutsville: As the Asomugha-Jets negotiations carry on, the team said goodbye to their three-time Pro Bowl quarterback and Mark Sanchez mentor, Mark Brunell, along with cornerback Will Billingsley and guard Marlon Davis.

Reverberations from Thursday’s big moves:

The Patriots joined the backyard party on Thursday and did one giant cannonball into the middle of the pool. They didn’t just shove Albert Haynesworth and his cartful of emotional baggage off the high board, they hurled Chad Ochocinco in there after him.

Yes, that was Thursday, and by the end of the day Friday the whole thing might explode into an “Animal House” toga party, but let’s just pause for a second to say, “Wow.”

Now, whether this move turns into an epic team chemistry chain reaction that leaves Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with a set of fried eyebrows, that will be the central mystery of the Patriots’ season. But it certainly got everyone’s attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe. Belichick is clearly counting on his magical powers to reclaim wayward talent, writes Don Banks on SI.com, at least in the case of Haynesworth. With Ochocinco, it’s how to manage the cultural clash between the league’s most buttoned-down team and the Queen Mary of self-promoting showboats. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com urges Ochocinco to shut down his Twitter account and behave now, but that would be rather like asking Niagara Falls to act like a nice little waterfall.

To a lot of people right now — including Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com — Belichick looks like a genius. But, as Alex Marvez writes on Foxsports.com, by the end of the season he might be getting measured for a straitjacket with a hood.

N.F.L. Mayhem Central: Young Joins Eagles, Jets Vie for Asomugha

11:58 a.m. | Updated The hamster wheel that is the N.F.L. offseason is expected to hit warp speed today. Clearly, the poor hamster should have struck a better deal in the collective bargaining negotiations.

Big signing news of the day, so far:

The Eagles, having shipped backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals on Thursday, have reportedly decided his replacement will be Vince Young, who was released by the Titans on Thursday. Not surprisingly, the Eagles’ last quarterback reclamation project, Michael Vick, said he was thrilled the team was taking on Young as its next project and Eagles are clearly banking on Vick being a good influence on a player who

Reverberations from Thursday’s big moves:

The Patriots joined the backyard party on Thursday and did one giant cannonball into the middle of the pool. They didn’t just shove Albert Haynesworth and his cartful of emotional baggage off the high board, they hurled Chad Ochocinco in there after him.

Yes, that was Thursday, and by the end of the day Friday the whole thing might explode into an “Animal House” toga party, but let’s just pause for a second to say, “Wow.”

Now, whether this move turns into an epic team chemistry chain reaction that leaves Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with a set of fried eyebrows, that will be the central mystery of the Patriots’ season. But it certainly got everyone’s attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe. Belichick is clearly counting on his magical powers to reclaim wayward talent, writes Don Banks on SI.com, at least in the case of Haynesworth. With Ochocinco, it’s how to manage the cultural clash between the league’s most buttoned-down team and the Queen Mary of self-promoting showboats. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com urges Ochocinco to shut down his Twitter account and behave now, but that would be rather like asking Niagara Falls to act like a nice little waterfall.

To a lot of people right now — including Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com — Belichick looks like a genius. But, as Alex Marvez writes on Foxsports.com, by the end of the season, he might be getting measured for a straitjacket with a hood.

Friday’s biggest looming mysteries:
These involve perhaps the most talented player still dangling in free agency limbo, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, and the most talented player every to shoot himself in the leg, receiver Plaxico Burress. Reportedly, the league has reinstated Burress, freeing him to sign on some available bottom line, and he is expected to sit down with Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Friday night to either hash out their differences or perhaps discuss the nutritional failings of jailhouse cuisine.

The Texans made some bold moves Thursday by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning, and want to make it even bolder by adding Asomugha. NFL Network is reporting that the Texans are now out of the running and the Cowboys are in, but the favorite is the Jets, who are trying to create a supertandem in their defensive backfield, writes Bucky Brooks on NFL.com, with Darrelle Revis.

There is still lingering debate over one of Thursday’s other big deals, the trade of quarterback Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The consensus is that the Cardinals paid a steep price for Kolb, but had to go bold to fill their biggest need. But Clark Judge of CBSSports.com also warns that investing in discarded Eagles quarterbacks is not usually a good move.

N.F.L. Mayhem Central: Patriots Go Big

So, the abbreviated N.F.L. off-season seemed rowdy enough for a few days, sort of like a backyard party with dozens of 7-year-old boys, when the Patriots came along Thursday and did one giant cannonball into the middle of the pool. They didn’t just shove Albert Haynesworth and his cartful of emotional baggage off the high board, they hurled Chad Ochocinco in there after him.

Yes, that was Thursday, and by the end of the day Friday the whole thing might explode into an “Animal House” toga party, but let’s just pause for a second to say, “Wow.”

Now, whether this move turns into an epic team chemistry chain reaction that leaves Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with a set of fried eyebrows, that will be the central mystery of the Patriots’ season. But it certainly got everyone’s attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe. Belichick is clearly counting on his magical powers to reclaim wayward talent, writes Don Banks on SI.com, at least in the case of Haynesworth. With Ochocinco, it’s how to manage the cultural clash between the league’s most buttoned-down team and the Queen Mary of self-promoting showboats. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com urges Ochocinco to shut down his Twitter account and behave now, but that would be rather like asking Niagara Falls to act like a nice little waterfall.

To a lot of people right now — including Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com — Belichick looks like a genius. But, as Alex Marvez writes on Foxsports.com, by the end of the season, he might be getting measured for a straitjacket with a hood.

Friday’s biggest looming mysteries involve perhaps the most talented player still dangling in free agency limbo, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, and the most talented player every to shoot himself in the leg, receiver Plaxico Burress. Reportedly, the league has reinstated Burress, freeing him to sign on some available bottom line, and he is expected to sit down with Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Friday night to either hash out their differences or perhaps discuss the nutritional failings of jailhouse cuisine.

The Texans made some bold moves Thursday by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning, and want to make it even bolder by adding Asomugha. Their biggest competition appears to be the Jets, who are trying to create a supertandem in their defensive backfield, writes Bucky Brooks on NFL.com, with Darrelle Revis.

There is still lingering debate over one of Thursday’s other big deals, the trade of quarterback Kevin Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The consensus is that the Cardinals paid a steep price for Kolb, but had to go bold to fill their biggest need. But Clark Judge of CBSSports.com also warns that investing in discarded Eagles quarterbacks is not usually a good move.

Kiwanuka Re-Signs With Giants

The Giants have agreed to terms with defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who missed all but three games last season with a neck injury.

Justin Tuck, Kiwanuka’s fellow defensive end, celebrated the signing with a post on Twitter that read, “Kiwi is returning to the Big Blue, yes sir.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is expected to be a short-term contract with performance incentives.

Kiwanuka, 28, was expected to return. He recorded 23.5 sacks in five seasons as an end and outside linebacker for the Giants, but concerns about the herniated disc injury he suffered in September 2010 limited his value on the free agent market. Kiwanuka was cleared by doctors to resume football activities in February.

Kiwanuka’s re-signing came in the wake of several departures from the Giants defensive line this week. Defensive tackle Barry Cofield agreed to terms on a six-year contract with the Redskins on Tuesday. Veteran backup Rocky Bernard was informed of his release on Wednesday. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who demanded either a new contract or a trade during the lockout, has not attended pre-camp activities. With Tuck, Kiwanuka, and second-year defense end Jason Pierre-Paul under contract, the Giants are not expected to accommodate Umenyiora’s contract demands.