Such is the case with Mark Sanchez, the third-year starter for Gang Green. He has brought the team to two consecutive AFC Championship games and still has to deal with the boo bids in the stands and newspapers alike.

“Of course you hear them,” Sanchez said about the boos coming from the crowd at MetLife Stadium. “You hear a lot of stuff.”

Fortunately for him, there were cheers at the conclusion of the 28-24 victory over the Buffalo Bills. If not for a near-last minute touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes, the story would have been different.

“I felt good,” Sanchez added, referring to the game-winning drive. “We’ve been in this situation before. We rep it all the time in practice. The game’s on the line; we have to win and we made plays to do it.”

By throwing his fourth touchdown pass of the day (to three different receivers), Sanchez now has eight game-winning drives to his credit since becoming a Jet. While his statistics may not always be the envy of fantasy football players everywhere, Sanchez has found his niche in making the big plays when it counts most.

” We always say that he’s at his best in big moments, and you certainly can’t get a bigger moment than we had (then),” said Jets head coach Rex Ryan. “That’s who he is. He’s a stud. Sanchize. He’s done it before. I think he’s had more fourth quarter comebacks than any other quarterback in the league. That speaks enough about Mark.”

By winning against Buffalo, the Jets were able to maintain a possible playoff berth at 6-5. While still far from a slam dunk to make the postseason, it would have been nearly impossible if they had dropped the Bills game.

“You have to win,” Ryan said matter-of-factly. “You have to beat those AFC teams. We have to look forward. Any time that we spend dwelling on what’s happened is not productive.”

Because they have lost both games to the New England Patriots, the Jets only hope of getting into the playoffs is via a Wildcard spot. That means that they will have to once again win on the road to reach their goal of winning the Super Bowl. That will certainly not be an easy task, just as it wasn’t the last two campaigns. But it gets harder each year and the regular season has been an inconsistent struggle for Ryan’s squad.

But they still have a pulse thanks to the late-game heroics by the quarterback. And he isn’t even called Broadway Joe.

 Photo by Bill Menzel

The free agent flurry following the signing of the new CBA changed the landscape of the playoff picture – on paper, at least. Now we get to see who will actually fit in with their new clubs and who will be a bust. The haves and have-nots are all on equal footing heading into Week 1 and at least some of the questions will be answered in the months to follow.

So without further delay, let’s spell it out for you – the only way we know how.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

AFC EAST

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS – The class of the conference has had their difficulties in the last few postseasons, but that will change come January. Bill Belichick picked up two veterans in Chad Johnson (we refuse to call him Ochocinco) and Albert Hayensworth that have a lot to prove. Who better than Belichick to squeeze everything out of them? Tom Brady is the best QB in the league and gets ring number 3.

12-4, division winner, Super Bowl champions

NEW YORK JETS – Rex Ryan’s bunch has been able to win road playoff games, but expecting Mark Sanchez to do it again and then some may be too much. This team needs a home playoff game to advance any further than they have the past two seasons, but have a big hurdle in the Pats to overcome. Sure, they beat them last January, but it’s not only a head-to-head issue.

10-6, Wild Card entry

MIAMI DOLPHINS – The quarterback carousel continues for the Fins, as it has since Dan marino retired. Chad Henne is not the answer and Reggie Bush’s exciting play will only mask the losing so much.

7-9

BUFFALO BILLS – Tyler Thigpen will eventually take Ryan Fitzpatrick’s job but is it really going to make much of a difference?

4-12

AFC NORTH

BALTIMORE RAVENS – The bruising Ravens will go at it tooth and nail with the Steelers again, but this time they will get passed them in the playoffs. Ray Rice is on the verge of stardom and that defense will lead the way again. Lee Evans was a good pick-up from the Bills and should be an improvement over TJ ‘Who’s-your-momma.’

12-4, division winner

PITTSBURGH STEELERS – An unexpected Super Bowl run nearly resulted in a third championship in six years for Pittsburgh, who made one too many mistakes against the Pack. They won’t have to deal with losing Big Ben for the first four games this time around, but an offseason marred with some controversy surrounding Rashad Mendenhall’s tweets and James Harrison’s opinions will have enough of a ripple effect to make them take a small step back.

11-5, Wild Card entry

CLEVELAND BROWNS – A team on the rise, the Brownies seemed to have found a franchise QB in Colt McCoy and a truck of a back in Peyton Hillis. A tough division will take its toll on them, though. Four games against the Steelers and Ravens will hurt their overall record.

7-9

CINCINNATI BENGALS – A rookie starting QB, a shaky head coach and not much talent spell disaster.

3-13

AFC SOUTH

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS – Peyton Manning’s health will dictate whether the Horseshoes are contenders or pretenders. But either way, they will finish on top of a weak division. Kerry Collins is good enough to win with for a short period of time, but not once the playoffs begin.

10-6, division winner

HOUSTON TEXANS – Is this finally their year? No.

9-7

 TENNESSEE TITANS – A rebuilding year, but one with a proven veteran QB who has a bunch of wins under his belt.

7-9

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS – Those last minute wins have ran out.

6-10

AFC WEST

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS – Phillip Rivers needs to have a deep playoff run to be considered a big time QB and he finally delivers. The Bolts need to prove that last season was a fluke and come out of the box strong.

10-6, division winner

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS – Will the real Chiefs please stand up? Are they the strong team that won the West, or a club that overachieved and came crashing down in the playoffs? We say the latter.

9-7

DENVER BRONCOS – Kyle Orton is not a flashy QB, but he can be more than pedestrian if given half the chance.

7-9

OAKLAND RAIDERS – When they went 8-8 a year ago, the Silver & Black seemed to be moving up. But they lost some key players in the offseason and will again finish out of the money.

7-9

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

NFC EAST

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES – They have put together a hell of team but now must prove it on the field. Michael Vick is a dangerous weapon and they have added enough to an already talented team to come out on top in what used to be the NFL’s toughest division.

12-4, division winner

NEW YORK GIANTS – The G-Men have blown two potential playoff spots in a row and have enough question marks heading into the season to not disappoint this time around. With a thin receiving corps, they won’t be in the mix that late.

10-6

DALLAS COWBOYS – America’s Team is improving and will do better with a full year of Jason Garrett.

9-7

WASHINGTON REDSKINS – Mike Shanahan got his way. The ‘Skins dumped Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth. They would have sucked either way.

6-10

NFC NORTH

GREEN BAY PACKERS – The Pack snuck into the postseason and went all the way. Aaron Rodgers put himself into that ‘elite QB’ conversation by getting a ring and will have another big year. It just won’t end with confetti.

11-5, division winner

MINNESOTA VIKINGS – Can they rebound after a miserable 2010 with Donovan McNabb at the helm? Enough to sneak in as the last Wild Card team in the conference.

10-6, Wild Card entry

CHICAGO BEARS – The year ended dreadfully for the them and Jay Cutler had to redeem himself by actually having a legitimate knee injury. They will be a competitive team, but miss out on the playoffs.

9-7

DETROIT LIONS – Yes, they are getting better. But these things take time, you know.

7-9

NFC SOUTH

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS – Drew Brees is the difference maker and the loss of Reggie Bush will not be that big of a deal. They will recover from that ridiculous playoff loss to the Seahawks and be a contender again. A return to the Big Game is certainly possible, but not another surprise win there.

11-5, division winner, NFC representative in the Super Bowl

ATLANTA FALCONS – Losing at home to the Packers in the playoffs didn’t look so bad once Green Bay won the Super Bowl, did it? But you still have to consider how bad the Falcons looked that night. They will take a step back but still make it to the ‘second season’ because of the talent they possess.

10-6, Wild Card entry

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS – They won’t sneak up on anyone this year and that will be their downfall. Josh Freeman looks like a player and will be tough to beat one day – just not today.

8-8

CAROLINA PANTHERS – Cam Newton starting will make them a team to watch. But get used to the losing.

4-12

NFC WEST

ST. LOUIS RAMS – A team that made some big strides a year ago makes another and wins the league’s most pitiful division by default. Sam Bradford had a good rookie season and will again be the focal point of this team’s success.

9-7, division winner

ARIZONA CARDINALS – They will find out the hard way that Kevin Kolb is not the second coming of Kurt Warner.

7-9

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS – A Cinderella story last season when they won the division with a sub-.500 mark and knocked off the defending Super Bowl champs in the playoffs. Too bad Pete Carroll won’t be smiling like that this year with Tavaris Jackson at QB.

6-10

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS – You know things are bad when Alex Smith wins the starting QB job again.

4-12

Photo by Bill Menzel

All 32 teams got into the mix and there have certainly been some that have risen to the challenge. Although playoff games are not won in the heat of mid-summer, the moves made now do play a part in saying who gets there.

MuscleSport Mag takes a look at some of the teams that did their homework and others that have acted as if the strike is still going on.

WINNERS

*PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Trading Kevin Kolb to Arizona for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a number two pick is a move that will pay off for years to come, especially when the Eagles picked up Vince Young as a back-up. Pairing him in a secondary that now includes the top free agent on the market in fellow CB Nnamdi Asomugha and also bringing in lineman Cullen Jenkins solidifies an already proven defense for Andy Reid’s bunch.

*NEW YORK JETS

If they were able to land Asomugha, the Jets would have been the top winners. But they did quite alright for themselves by bringing back Antonio Cromartie as a Plan B. GM Mike Tannenbaum shored up his receiving corps by re-signing Santonio Holmes and getting Plaxico Burress as a cheaper replacement for Brayon Edwards. Brad Smith (Bills) was a nice player that could perform many tasks, but he is replaceable.

*NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

The two big – and low cost – moves that the Pats made can either be looked at as ingenious or blow up in their face. Chad Ochocinco should have something left in the tank after a down year in Cincy and can excel in Bill Belechick’s system. On the other side of the ball, Albert Haynesworth can salvage his career or confirm that he is a bust after all.

Photo by William J. Hauser

In the divisional round against the Baltimore Ravens, Roethlisberger played less than stellar in the first half and had to lead his charges back in the second. The Steelers pulled out the game and two big dropped passes by Ravens wideouts largely played into the 31-25 outcome. Roethlisberger’s line ended up 19 for 32 for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

A week and a day later, the Steelers hosted the AFC Championship Game against the New York Jets and stormed out to a 24-0 second quarter lead. Rex Ryan’s crew seemed lost and a young Mark Sanchez looked overmatched. A late field goal put Gang Green on the board before the break and they looked like a different team in the second half. Two touchdown passes by Sanchez and a safety by Mike DeVito (who sacked Roethisberger in the end zone) put the Steelers on the brink of an epic collapse.

The Jets defense perplexed Big Ben and shut the Steelers out in the second half, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Even with an ineffective Roethlisberger the last two quarters, Pittsburgh held on by a 24-19 score and earned the Lamar Hunt Trophy, setting up a classic match-up in Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers.

Similar to the Baltimore game, the Pack started fast and had a 21-3 second quarter advantage, which included a 37-yard interception return off a wounded duck floater by Roethlisberger. Of course the Steelers rebounded and made this a very interesting game that came down to Green Bay needing a late stop to hold on for the 31-25 victory.

“They did a great job of taking away deep things and taking away the outside,” Roethlisberger said of the final offensive series. “You’re kind of stuck with very limited options there with that much time and no timeouts left. We just had to try to do what we could do.”

Roelisberger (25 for 40, 263 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions) was unable to do what Aaron Rodgers did. The Packers quarterback won the MVP Award with a memorable performance that included over 300 yards, three touchdowns and no picks.

Perhaps Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin summed it up best when asked to elaborate on his quarterback’s performance. “It was a losing one, just like mine.”

Photo by William J. Hauser

Green Bay’s favorite son dried his retirement announcement tears and had the itch again. He wanted to suit up and be an NFL quarterback once again. But the problem was that the plan to go with Aaron Rodgers had already been put in place.

The former first round draft choice had played the good soldier and bided his time. If Thompson would have brought Favre back, Rodgers’s attitude would most likely have changed drastically. To back-up a legend for three years and remain quiet was one thing, but to go through an entire offseason as the named starter to only have that ripped away as the preseason was about to commence was another.

Head coach Mike McCarthy was in Rodgers’ corner, so that made it easier that they were all in agreement that it was time to move on. Thompson had Favre in his control and eventually traded him to the New York Jets for a conditional draft pick, one that turned out to be a third rounder in 2009 that they packaged to move up and select linebacker Clay Matthews. Not a bad deal at all.

There were a number of critics who had a field day bashing Thompson, but he did what he felt was right for the franchise and it turned out to be the right move. Favre had an inconsistent season with the Jets and then played the retirement/out-of-retirement game again to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, the team he wanted to play for all along when he changed his mind the first time.

Rodgers seem to take a little stab at Favre in a roundabout way when he commented, “The whole organization stood by me and they told the truth, and I told the truth, and we moved on together.”

While Rodgers was eclipsing 4,000 passing yards in each of the three seasons since Favre left Wisconsin, Favre had one amazing season (2009) and one this past year that was injury filled and not nearly as effective. It appears that he has finally played his last game while Rodgers led his team to the Super Bowl.

It would have been easy for Thompson to welcome Fare back and deal with Rodgers later. The heir apparent was still under contract in 2008 but it would have been a tough sell to convince him to stick around after that. The way everything turned out, Rodgers and Matthews became integral parts on both sides of the ball that propelled Green Bay to the level they are at today.

“In some ways sitting for three years and then playing is helpful,” Thompson said of his quarterback. “That’s the way it was back in the day. You always brought quarterbacks in and you developed them for about two or three years before you actually played them  - that’s hard to do anymore.”

As Favre finally rides into the sunset, Rodgers hasn’t even hit his prime years yet as an NFL quarterback. Second guessing? Not in the least bit for Ted Thompson.

Photo by Bill Menzel

These teams will need the extra week off between the conference championship games and Super Sunday. The NFC will be decided by the rubber match of the season pitting the North Division champion Chicago Bears and their division and long time rival Green Bay Packers. These teams hate each other and will go at it in the early game at Soldier Field.

The AFC is up next and the Cinderella New York Jets hope to keep the glass slipper on when they visit Heinz Field for the second time since December to take on the Steelers. The Week 15, 22-17 victory by Gang Green may be in the past, but it came at a crucial time for Rex Ryan and his bunch after they dropped two straight.

Just for shits and giggles, let’s take a look towards February 6 in North Texas at what might be:

PACKERS VS. JETS – Back on Halloween, Green Bay came into the New Meadowlands Stadium and shut out the Jets, 9-0. The home team was soundly booed and rightfully so, playing an atrocious game versus a quality opponent. The Pack didn’t exactly light it up, but their defense was on point.

That shouldn’t be the case if they meet again next month. The Jets will score more points, as will the Packers. This would be a great match-up and could go either way. What would be the main thing to watch here is how the Jets can exploit the Packers’ lack of a running game. Ryan can blitz all night long and still have Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie blanketing the receivers.

PACKERS VS. STEELERS – With Pittsburgh going for their second ring in three years, it would be a shock if they were beat by Green Bay in this potential contest. The Steelers, like the Jets, would be able to put a lot of pressure on Aaron Rodgers and the one-dimensional offense.

BEARS VS. JETS - When the Jets visited Chicago late in the season, they allowed way too many yards and points. Jay Cutler had all day to find his receiving corps and didn’t disappoint. Mark Sanchez had a decent game but the defense didn’t get the job done. For anything to turn out differently at Cowboys Stadium, a pass rush must be more like it was in the Divisional round versus New England.

Cutler is the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of the NFL. If he is having a good game and gets protection, he can light up the scoreboard. But if is hurried and banged around, the sacks and interceptions will be a plenty. This game would be decided by that factor.

BEARS VS. STEELERS - Pittsburgh would have the best chance to stitch Mr. Hyde on the back of Cutler’s jersey and would in all likelihood be able to handle Chicago without much of a problem.

Photo: William J. Hauser

The brash talk that has been a constant for Rex Ryan and his wards was mocked throughout the season by all the critics, but he (and they) have backed everything up. What’s wrong with having the balls to say that you expect to win the Super Bowl? Any head coach that breaks training camp and tells even his closest friends that his team is mediocre and will not win anything has given up before the coin toss. Give Ryan credit for being so forthcoming, even when it seemed to be blowing up in his face.

That would have been Week 13 and 14, when the Jets dropped two divisional games in a row and looked abysmal in doing so. The 45-3 Monday Night dismantling at Foxboro was followed up by a 10-6 home loss to the Miami Dolphins that had ‘hangover’ written all over it. Things could have gone south but the Jets went into Pittsburgh and came away with a improbable 22-17 victory over the favored Steelers. They clinched a wild card playoff berth a week later, even though they dropped a road game to the Bears.

The second season has been good to the Ryan-led Jets, with them making it to the AFC Championship game for the second consecutive year. Mark Sanchez has four road playoff wins under his belt already in just two seasons in the NFL and can make it five if he and his teammates can pull off another ‘impossible.’

Surely the Steelers will be the favorites in the game on Sunday and should be. They are playing at home and took care of the big and bad Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round. Down by 14 points at halftime, Pittsburgh turned it around and made the Ravens pay for their turnovers.

So why are we finally going to pick the Jets? It seems as if it is destiny for them to continue this crazy ride all the way to the Super Bowl on February 6 in North Texas. Sanchez threw for three touchdowns against the Pats and had zero picks. The Jets defense stifled Tom Brady and the rest of the New England offense, sacking the perennial All-Pro quarterback five times, and the ground attack that was so essential at Indy was once again on track. Shonne Greene put the dagger in with a late rushing score (76 yards on 17 carries in all) and LaDanian Tomlinson added 43 yards on 10 carries and scored the team’s first touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Sanchez.

Defensive end Sean Ellis had two of the five sacks and linebacker David Harris had nine tackles and an interception. Once again, cornerback Darrelle Revis shut down a team’s top wideout, this time it being Deon Branch.

By beating two quality teams in the Colts and number one seeded Patriots, the Jets have proved that they belong. Now the underdogs will spend another week talking about the game to come and more than likely have the skill to back them up.

Photo: Bill Menzel

As far as all the talk about taking the 7-9 Seahawks out and putting the 10-6 Giants in, nothing can be more ridiculous. Divisions are what they are – for good or bad. A sub-.500 team getting a home playoff game is not the usual, so people have to learn to live with it this time around.

The Wild Card round has shaped up to be ripe for the road teams to pull out more than one ‘upset,’ if you will, but they will in reality not be shockers. Here’s out take on the Jets at Colts match-up:

AFC WILD CARD

New York Jets (6) at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (3)

Rex Ryan has talked a big game but his team has backed him up by qualifying for the playoffs for the second consecutive season under his tutelage and winning (at least) 11 games for only the fourth time in franchise history. The Jets have played inconsistent for much of the regular season and perhaps their only complete games of the year came twice against the hapless Buffalo Bills.

They have struggled at times in all three facets of the game (offense, defense, special teams) so they will need to bring them all together if they hope to get to the next round of the playoffs. With Peyton Manning staring across the line at them, the Jets need to get a good pass rush on Saturday night, something that they had difficulty with of late. Jay Cutler had all the time in the world to find a receiver against the Jets two weeks ago and they paid the price for it.

Mark Sanchez’s shoulder injury should not effect him too much and if the Jets fall behind early, they will need him to hit big play wide receivers Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards. Ryan rested the majority of his starters in the season finale, so that should help, especially in the backfield and secondary.

The Colts struggled in 2010 and needed to go almost the full length of the season before clinching a playoff berth. The Jacksonville Jaguars hung around and made what seemed like an automatic annual affair a squeaker. Manning has suffered from the injuries to tight end Dallas Clark and wideout Austin Collie, but he always finds someone down the field and makes a new hero out of him. Don’t be floored if Taj Smith is just that guy.

The Colts’ running attack is far from the league’s best but is more than pedestrian. Joseph Addai has the experience and won a ring with the team before, so he can be the workhorse back for the playoffs without much fanfare or concern.

The defense has had some great moments and some others that were not so great. Robert Mathis and Dwight  will put a scare into any quarterback, especially a second-year pro like Sanchez. You can definitely score on the Colts and the Jets should be able to keep it close with their talented running and passing attack.

If the game comes down to field goals, Adam Vinatieri is an automatic. His late kick gave the Colts the third seed when the Kansas City Chiefs opened the door for them by losing earlier in the day to the Oakland Raiders at home.

PREDICTION

What should be a fun game to watch for fans of both teams will end with the boys in blue smiling when it is all said and done. The Jets will not go easily, mind you, and even hold a slim lead during parts of this contest. But Manning is hard to beat – especially at home under the roof – and the Jets just have had too many question marks over the last five weeks to come into Indy and make hotel arrangements in New England on the way out.

COLTS – 31, Jets – 23

Photo by Bill Menzel

The third Sunday in the young NFL season commenced last night with a thrilling affair that resulted in the New York Jets barely hanging on to beat the Dolphins, 31-23, in Miami. Quarterback Mark Sanchez threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns, two to tight end Dustin Keller and one to wideout Braylon Edwards.

By winning their second consecutive game, the Jets now sit atop the AFC East in a three-way tie with the ‘Fins and New England Patriots, all at 2-1. If Miami had won, they would have been 2 1/2 games ahead of New York with the tie breaker. The Jets did themselves a big favor by beating another divisional opponent, something that may come into play later in the year for postseason berths.

PATRIOTS – 38, Bills – 30

New England won a shootout at home against the Buffalo Bills, 38-30, who also released Trent Edwards today. He had started the first two games of the season at quarterback for the Bills before being benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick and now the team is reeling and winless after three games. Perhaps new head coach Chan Gailey set the precedent for a bad season by chastising fans at training camp for booing the team. The situation is a mess up in western New York.

Colts – 27, BRONCOS – 13

Another division looking tight is the AFC South, with Houston, Indianapolis and Tennessee all at 2-1. The Colts left Denver 1-2 after a convincing 27-13 win over the Broncos. The Horseshoes are clicking on a  cylinders the past two weeks and will be a factor all year long.

Titans – 29, GIANTS – 10

The Titans went into the Meadowlands Stadium and embarrassed the Giants, 29-10. Chris Johnson ran for 125 yards while Big Blue shot themselves in the foot with three turnovers (two inside the Tennessee 6-yard line), committed five personal fouls and missed two field goal attempts. The Titans imporved to 2-1 while New York fell to 1-2.

That makes it two ugly loses in a row for Tom Coughlin’s bunch and the wheels could be coming off really soon for the G-Men. Brandon Jacobs followed up the helmet throwing incident in Indy last Sunday night with 17 yards on 4 carries and starting OT Kareem McKenzie was benched after committing two of the personal fouls.

Cowboys – 27, TEXANS – 13

Two teams that had been winless broke into the column on the left with season-salvaging victories. The Dallas Cowboys (1-2) showed up in Houston and took down their interstate rival Texans, 27-13, while Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings picked on the hapless Detroit Lions and won going away, 24-10. No telling what would have been the headlines had either one or both of these 2009 playoff teams started off 0-3.

Quarterback Tony Romo had three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) to silence the 71,000-plus in attendance. The Texans fell to 2-1 and need to shake this one off as a loss to a non-divisional opponent, regardless of where they play.

VIKINGS – 24, Lions – 10

With a passing attack slowed down by injuries and the age of the quarterback, Minnesota got off the schneid by hnding the ball to Adrian Peterson, who rushed for 160 yards and two scores. For Detroit (0-3), Shaun Hill went 29-for-43, 237 yards and one touchdown in place of the injured Matthew Stafford.

Falcons – 27, SAINTS – 24 (OT)

The defending Super Bowl champions appear as if they may be suffering from a Super Bowl hangover after all. They looked shaky in their opening win versus Minnesota and now lost a divisional game against their rival. A missed 29-yard field goal attempt by Garret Hartley in the extra session spurned on the Falcons, who drove down the field and won it when Matt Bryant connected from 46 yards out with under two minutes to go before a tie would have been declared. Both teams are now 2-1.

Bengals – 20, PANTHERS – 7

Jimmy Clausen got his first NFL start at quarterback for Carolina but could not get them in the win column. The former Notre Dame star threw for 188 yards and no scores while Cincy QB Carson Palmer sealed the game with a fourth quarter toss to Credric Benson.

At 0-3, the John Fox watch may be on in Charlotte. The Bengals improved to 2-1.

Steelers – 38, BUCCANEERS – 13

Using their third different starting quarterback since the pre-season while awaiting Ben Roethlisberger’s four-game suspension to run out, one would figure that Pittsburgh would be in big trouble. But exactly the opposite is true as they won again to start off 3-0.

Byron Leftwich was hurt in the summer, so Dennis Dixon took over. But he, too, became injured last week so enter Charlie Batch. The veteran had not started a game in nearly three years but led the way with three touchdown passes.

For Tampa Bay (1-2), their struggles continue as Josh Freeman gains some valuable experience in his first season as the starting quarterback.

RAVENS – 24, Browns – 17

Eric Mangini must be nervous every time his telephone rings after another poor performance by the Browns. Head honcho Mike Holmgren cannot have liked what he saw, especially with Anquan Boldin catching three strikes from Joey Flacco for scores.

Baltimore upped their record to 2-1 and bounced back after a bad game last week in Cincinnati.

CHIEFS – 31, 49ers – 10

Two of the season’s early surprises met yesterday at Arrowhead Stadium and followed suit. Kansas City is now 3-0 and San Fran still winless following the lopsided outcome. No one expected Kaycee to contend and many expected the Niners to challenge for the NC West, but that’s why they play the games.

Matt Cassel caught the 49ers off guard on a fake end around and threw a 45-yard strike to Dwayne Bowe for one of three scores on the day for the former Patriot quarterback.

RAMS – 30, Redskins – 16

Snapping a 14-game losing streak is not an easy task, but St. Louis made it look that way by dismissing Washington at the RCA Dome. Overall number one draft pick Sam Bradford threw for 235 yards and a touchdown while back-up running back Kenneth Darby put the Rams (1-2) ahead for good in the third quarter after starter Steven Jackson was injured.

Washington (1-2) has lost two straight after beating Dallas in the opening Sunday night game of the season.

Eagles – 28, JAGUARS – 3

The resurgence of Michael Vick continued as the former Falcon franchise player had four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) in a blowout win over  hapless Jacksonville. Philadelphia (2-1) won for the second straight time with Vick under center and apparently do not miss Donovan McNabb one bit.

David Garrard had a miserable day for the 1-2 Jags by going 13-for-30, 105 yards, no touchdowns and a pick. This team will be picking high in next year’s draft.

CARDINALS – 24, Raiders – 23

Arizona escaped with a narrow one-point win over Oakland when Sebastian Janokowski was wide left on the last play of the game from 32 yards out. The kicker also missed two other attempts during the game and his team dropped to 1-2. Things are not well in northern California and head coach Tom Cable may be in trouble if the Silver and Black do not turn it around soon.

For the 2-1 Cards, Derek Anderson had two touchdown passes and LaRod Stephens – Howling had a 102-yard opening kickoff return. Although they played sloppy at times, Arizona walks away with a win when a loss would have been a tough pill to swallow at home versus a sub par opponent.

SEAHAWKS – 27, Chargers – 20

Little Leon Washington came up big yesterday in the Pacific north west with two kickoff returns for touchdowns. The former Jet special teams standout took the opening kick of the third quarter 101 yards and Seattle was on their way, leading 17-0 at that point.

But San Diego came back and tied the game 20-20 with 6:39 remaining in the contest. But Washington took the ensuing kickoff 99 yards to the house to put the ‘Hawks in front for good and improve their record to 2-1.

At 1-2, the Chargers are a bit of a disappointment so far, having also lost to divisional foe Kansas City in the matinee on the Monday night affair in Week One.

Photo by William J. Hauser

http://www.musclesportmag.com/2009/05/03/alzado-benoit-caminiti-debate-on-fox-sports-radio/

Well, another lovely Saturday afternoon took place on April 24 of this year when I once again was tuned into FSR. Since then, however, Webber had been replaced by Dan Moriarty, whose past experiences include bit parts on a bunch of popular 1990′s television programs such as “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Who’s the Boss,” and “Full House.”

The topic the two radio partners were discussing on this day was the New York Jets and HBO’s decision to cover them on this season’s “Hard Knocks” series, which brings the behind-the-scenes looks to the television viewer over five weekly episodes of an NFL team’s training camp.

Moriarty was bringing up some of the more colorful members on the Jets roster as the reason why the team was chosen, mentioning wide receivers Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes. The problem with this is that HBO and the Jets made the agreement on March 25 and Holmes was acquired from the Steelers on April 12.

Deese, a 13-year NFL veteran who earned a Super Bowl ring with the San Francisco 49ers, must not have picked up on his partner’s error and continued by saying something to the effect that if HBO wanted to expose players with off-the-field issues, then why didn’t they just use the Cincinnati Bengals? He even followed that up by saying, ‘They’ve never used the Bengals.”

HBO profiled the Bengals during last summer’s “Hard Knocks.”

Not trying to sound like I’m nit-picking, but this is unacceptable for two professionals to have such little knowledge of a subject they are discussing on national radio. Even giving Moriarty a little slack, Deese’s unawareness that Cincinnati was just on the show borders on the comical when you factor in that he is also a former player.

It appears to the educated listener that although some time has passed and one half of the original team has been replaced, this show continues to be put out less than accurate – if not completely wrong – information. Maybe I was on to something last year when I first wrote that article.

Come to think of it, I would welcome another live debate on Fox Sports Radio. They have my number if they’re interested, but somehow I feel that pointing out inconsistencies on their part is not something that they want reiterated.

Although I am surmising that this was written a little tongue in cheek (still inaccurate nonetheless), here’s a post from Moriarty’s Facebook page on April 13:

“It makes sense that the Jets now have Cromartie, Edwards and Holmes. It was a casting move by HBO for the Jets’ Hard Knocks series! Having cops around always helps ratings. # hbo # ny jets # nfl”