Week 3 of the NFL

Whammy! Get ready for another great week of NFL football. It seems like there is more parity this year than in years past. A lot of last week's games came down to the wire just like in week one. The Monday night game kept you tuned in. How did the Colts win with less than 15 minutes time of possession? The Sunday night game was awesome. Has anyone hit the titantron at Cowboys Stadium yet? I thought that was the preseason rave. There were plenty of outstanding individual performances. Kevin Kolb threw for 391 yards in his first career start but was outdone by Phillip Rivers, who slung the pigskin 436 yards. Coe College (IA) alum Fred Jackson rambled for 163 yards in the Bill's win and the week's leading receiver was Dallas Clark with 7 catches for 183 yards. The Jets and Mark Sanchez surprised the Patriots and are 2-0 in the young season. Let's hand out the Week 2 awards. The Game Ball gets co-recipients this week. Frank Gore gets the first one. He led the unbeaten Niners over Seattle by busting out 207 yards on the ground and 2 TDs. The other Game Ball goes to the Titan's Chris Johnson. He accumulated 197 yards on the ground, 87 yards receiving, and scored three times. It was a close battle for LVP. Tony Romo really stunk it up last week. Romo tossed three picks and had an abysmal 29.6 QB rating. Just horrible. A special award goes to Chad Ochocinco. Even though it was staged, it took a lot of planning and some good luck, to call his Lambeau Leap and then get to do it. Way to go 85. By the way, does Chad know ocho cinco isn't eighty five?

Week 3 brings us some intriguing matchups. But first off, it was announced that the Lions and Raiders failed to sell out so they have local blackouts on the games. I can understand Detroit. They play Washington but if you're a Lions fan, wouldn't you want to be there when they end their losing streak? I would and it might just happen this week. A big thumbs down goes to the Raiders faithful. You are hosting Denver, a division rival. You have crazy fuckin fans that dress up and are quite frankly scary. And your team might actually win some games this year and contend for a playoff spot. Come on! Oakland Coliseum is on my short list of NFL venues to visit.

The marquee matchup this week features a battle of unbeatens. San Fran visits the Metrodome and the Vikings. The weather should be nice as no rain or wind is forecasted. This game looks to be a battle of bruising backs in Gone and Adrian Peterson. The Niners boast the 3rd ranked rush defense in the NFL and Favre can't exactly open up the passing game anymore as he averages a pathetic 5.3 yards per attempt. I just don't understand how Shaun Hill wins games even though he's 9-3 as a starter. My complete lack of faith in him leads me to pick the Vikings in a close game but Favre does throw his first interception of the year.

Another exciting game pits the Falcons against the Patriots in Foxboro. The Patriots have a tough runs defense that will make the Falcons and Matt Ryan throw the ball. Ryan will need to spread the ball around, and he has the weapons, to free up some room for Michael Turner. The Falcon defense isn't very good though. With a ridiculously bad running game, the Pats have thrown the ball almost 70% of the time. Brady will have to light it up. The team that can establish the run, wins this game. And this week it's New England. I know, it makes no sense.

The final showcase game is the Jets hosting the Titans. Jet's Head Coach Rex Ryan has brought a cocky attitude and physical play to New York. This game should be one hell of a battle. Both teams feature strong rush defenses but teams have been throwing the ball at will on the Titans. This should be the game that Sanchez unloads but the Jets seem to be babying him along. That nullifies a huge advantage the Jets have. Look for the Titan's tandem of Johnson and White to wear down the Jets. The Titans are in a must win game and win a field goal battle.

Other winners on Sunday included the Redskins, Packers, Eagles, Giants, Ravens, Texans, Bears, Saints, Bengals, Raiders, Dolphins, Colts, and the Cowboys win the Monday Nighter.

Editor's Note. Champ, you forgot to mention that Michael Vick will see playing time this week. That's a major story. McNabb, Tomlinson, and Hasselback are most likely sitting out this week. I want to see more of the Wildcat offense but with legit passers in the mix. Think Vick, Pat White of Miami, or Tavaris Jackson. Scary. More teams need to use it in college ball too. Champ was 9-7 on his picks last week and that brings his season totals to 21-11. Not too shabby. Enjoy the games.