Hi Folks, Here's what happens when you mix an NFL Junkie, Sunday Ticket, a big screen TV and fresh batteries in the remote... Maybe it's just me, but didn't this seem like the "hard luck" factor was unusually high on Sunday? Ricky Williams, Travis Henry, Fred Taylor, Deion Branch and James Thrash were all pulled down at the one yard line allowing someone else to score. Sometimes it's better to just not know... We all need goals. My goal for this week's column is to not say anything whiny, self righteous, or stupid about Randy Moss. C'mon and see if I can make it... Yeah, I'm dating myself, but does anyone remember when ESPN was mostly about Sports and MTV was mostly about music videos? Here's a perfect example of what it's like to be a Cincinnati fan from Sunday's Game: Bengals have the ball on the Tampa Bay 11 yard line at 2nd down and 5. An incomplete pass, a sack, and two consecutive delay of game penalties later, Neil Rackers misses a 45 yard field goal that's short. God Bless you guys. Emmitt Smith is deservedly getting a lot of attention about chasing Walter Payton's rushing yardage record. But isn't Jerry Rice breaking Payton's total yard from scrimmage record almost as impressive? Or even equally impressive? But you hardly heard a peep about that. Whether you love or hate the Vikings, you couldn't help but feel for Coach Mike Tice as his team melted down Sunday night before the half. We've all had days like that where virtually everything that can go wrong does. The difference is that when it happens to you and me, half the sports world isn't watching... Jimmy Johnson's hair bothers me more than it used to and I'm not sure why. After holding Priest Holmes to 52 yards rushing, you'd better think twice before starting RBs against the Dolphin Defense. Can't make up my mind on the new Seahawks home jerseys. They're either the best or the worst in the league. Get back to me around week 8. Does anyone know if that neon green pinstripe glows in the dark because that would really make a difference. I think it'd be kinda cool if Jamie Martin came out of nowhere to lead the Rams replacing a guy who came out of nowhere to lead the Rams. Bigger question (and granted, a lot has to happen here) - What if Martin pulls a Tom Brady? QB Trent Green and TE Tony Gonzalez total 8 TDs between them. Go figure. Speaking of Mike Tice, does he ever talk on that headset? Every time I see him, he's wearing it like a necklace. Although Big Mike can do whatever he wants as far as I'm concerned... Akili Smith in Cincinnati gave the Bengals a completely different look. Where Gus Frerotte would stand stiff in the pocket and throw an ugly incompletion, Smith scrambles around and then throws an ugly incompletion. In light of the Howard Stern "business", I wonder what would've happened if Jeremy Shockey had been drafted by... Never mind. Aaron Brooks had a bad game Sunday - Aberration or hint of things to come? I'm going with aberration. The NFL has declared the Denver RB situation as officially comical. With owners trying to decide between Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson and Clinton Portis, Coach Skeletor decides to give Reuben Droughns the TD run Monday Night. Donte Stallworth owners should be very nervous. He is no stranger to hamstring troubles... Biggest Disappointments thus far: Four way tie between - The Titans, Jets, Rams and Vikings. I said it in the matchups and caught a lot of flack over it, but Marshall Faulk just doesn't look like the same back to me. It'll be a real test now though as the team looks to him to carry the load. See, it is possible to speak of Faulk without saying "step up"... (And no, that doesn't count) Keep an eye on the New England TE situation. If Cam Cleeland and Daniel Graham miss more time, Christian Fauria could be a great pickup. Any Jeremy Shockey owners watching Todd Heap and thinking they could've got the same thing a lot later in their draft? Buffalo WR Peerless Price just toyed with Reggie Austin Sunday. At 6' 2" 222, the Jets' Damien Robinson is a big safety. But he temporarily suspended the laws of physics when he laid out 6' 6" - 275 pound Kyle Brady Sunday. You remember the last time you saw Jimmy Smith drop two consecutive passes like he did against New York? Me neither. If Philadelphia WR Todd Pinkston isn't the skinniest guy in the NFL, I don't know who is. He turns sideways and totally disappears... It's fun to see the experience and savvy of Brett Favre. He seems to know how to get just enough out of his players to win. I bet he'd be a great coach. Will Keyshawn Johnson ever score a TD again? Seriously. I'm all for the old classics like the Giants and the Bears but I think the Texans have one of the best helmets in Football - college or pro. In case you missed it - Denver Offensive Lineman Tom Nalen and Dan Neil are sort of old school types and don't "sit for" the media. They didn't participate in the Monday Night Football thing where each player introduces themselves and tells what school they went to. So the MNF producers decided to spoof them with a stupid voice over thing that was way uncool. If the Broncos have any guts, the whole team will pass on doing the intros for the Nov. 11 Monday night game. I completely respect what he's done but didn't Emmitt Smith used to be a lot better? Is Vinny Testeverde finished? Through weeks 1-3, Jacksonville's Fred Taylor had 6 Red Zone opportunities compared to just 1 for Stacey Mack. Then Mack scores 3 short yardage TDs against the Jets. I wonder what happened to change Coach Coughlin's mind? Detroit's Bill Schroeder and Joey Harrington - one of the hottest WR - QB tandems on the day. Yeah, we saw that coming... David Terrell has to be near the top in the Reception to TD ratio (6:3 through 4 games) But that TD "dance" thing he does is embarrassing. Does anyone make more circus type grabs than Miami's Chris Chambers? Jerome Bettis did well last week on the CBS set and Peyton Manning was sharp too. Smart move for CBS. Has Detroit RB James Stewart ever broken a tackle? Aaron Glenn's United Way commercial with the little kids scoping his cards as they cheated him in a game of "Go Fish" is classic. Proof that gravity exists: Rodney Peete and the Panthers are welcomed back to Earth. John Fox could lose 8 more games though and has to be considered for Coach of the Year. Detroit's Corey Schlesinger is a poor man's Mike Alstott. As the TV cameras focused on Lions QB Joey Harrington talking to backup Ty Detmer on the sidelines, the announcers made the comment, "Is there anyone better to learn from than Ty Detmer?" I looked at my dog and said, "You answer that one, Elvis" Speaking of Joey Harrington, it's only one good game but I like this guy. If you owned the Bengals, what would you do? I'm sure there are good people in some places of that organization but I think I'd give serious thought to firing everyone from the parking attendants to the players to Mike Brown. I'd then appeal to the NFL for expansion status, burn all the uniforms and start completely over from scratch. I mean a new name, new colors, new everything. If I fall into a few hundred million dollars, watch out... I'm rooting for the Jets' Chad Pennington. Great story. Played High School football where I live in Knoxville, Tennessee but was skipped over by the University of Tennessee recruiters as they scanned the nation. Cowboys' PK Billy Cundiff is not even remotely related to the Gramaticas. He kicks the game winning FG against the Rams for the biggest Dallas win in a long time and barely cracks a smile. When will the NFL correct the overtime problem? It's a shame for two teams to play that hard for 60 minutes and have a coin toss decide their fate. The college system is vastly superior with each team getting chances to score. In addition, you have the whole strategy element with the first team deciding to go for the FG or the TD. What exactly is it that the Giants see in Ron Dayne? Anyone else think it's a little weird that 6' 1" Cleveland rookie linebacker Andra Davis makes a huge catch while 6' 1" rookie WR Andre Davis watched? I'm not usually much for sideline reporting but Ron Pitts had some very cool information from the game in Arizona. The dark blue Giants helmets were 107 degrees while the white Cardinals helmets were 79 degrees. The dark blue Giants jerseys were also hotter at 89 degrees vs 72 for Arizona. You can't do much about the jerseys but I've always wondered why more teams don't use the white helmet. Could the Giants have a white helmet to wear with the blue jerseys? Did you see Dan Marino tense up when Peyton Manning said that Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe was on pace to break Marino's single season yardage record? Eagles Safety Brian Dawkins hit for the "cycle" He became the first player in NFL history to catch a touchdown pass, grab an interception, sack the quarterback, and recover a fumble in one game. That's a pretty good day. Maybe it was just me, but Rod Woodson looked a little like he was second guessing his decision to jump up into the crowd of Raider fanatics after his TD... I couldn't believe Coach Marty Schottenheimer went for that 4th and 1 on his own 37 with 9:14 left in the 3rd quarter. Of course, now it's a genius move to show his team how much faith he has in the running game. When you come up short there and the game turns around, you're an idiot. Gotta love that hindsight. Cruel practical joke that'd probably work - Find Rams Coach Mike Martz in a deep sleep somewhere. Shake him vigorously and say, "Mike! Wake up! It's time to start preparing for the first game of the season." I guess there was nothing he could do, but did it bother anyone else to see Steeler RB Jerome Bettis laughing on the sidelines seconds before Cleveland kicker Phil Dawson was set to try and win the game for the Browns? Not to take anything away from New England's Troy Brown, but there's a lot to be said for that slot receiver position in Bill Belichick's offense. Deion Branch caught 13 passes for 128 against a tough Charger defense. It's tough to lose your job and wish the other guy well. Did you notice though how Kordell Stewart looked like the happiest guy on the field as Tommy Maddox led the Steelers to a win? Whether you like Stewart or not, that's pretty cool. Dan Patrick fawning over John Elway is no longer the worst Coors commercial ever made. The clubbing footage with Charles Barkley is easily more lame. I bet good money that the creative agency who did those two had is not connected with the "Twins" spot. It's almost not fair to make rookie backup cornerback Mike Echols cover Jerry Rice. Welcome to the Bigs, Kid. I like the guy, but please would somebody give Coach Marty Schottenheimer a hat that fits so he's not doing the cone head thing? If I'm Quincy Carter, I'm buying dinner this week for kicker Billy Cundiff. With 13 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, Carter elected to throw a 5 yard completion across the middle of the field. I thought the game was over but they were lucky to stop the clock with 1 second. San Diego's Tim Dwight may not be doing much in the boxscores but he had one of the best blocks I've ever seen springing LaDainian Tomlinson for his TD run. As Tomlinson was running down the right sidelines, Dwight races ahead of him and takes out the last guy that could have stopped the TD. Did Chris Berman really say he wished he was Rod Stewart in his dreams? Bubba Franks may be the best throwing left handed TE in NFL history. I like the Raiders but there were two flagrant blocks in the back that weren't called on the 2nd punt return TD against the Titans. Although I'm sure there's some karma at work in there somewhere... I'm not a huge fan of Baltimore's Ray Lewis, but I don't remember seeing a more dominant guy on the defensive side of the ball in a long time. There are lots of great defensive players, but I don't think anyone is in Lewis' class for being constantly around the ball and disrupting the other team. Whether you like the Steelers or not, you had to enjoy a guy like Tommy Maddox throwing the ball to a guy like Antwaan Randel El as they drove down the field in overtime. You've gotta love the NFL. Oh yeah, Randy Moss was charged with a misdemeanor possession of marijuana Tuesday. At this point, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would review the case. ``Under the policy, a drug-related violation of the law is grounds for disciplinary action," said Aiello. There - I did it. Have a great week, Everyone. We'll see you soon. Joe Joe Bryant is the co-owner of Footballguys.com When he's not chasing his four children and his dog through the house, you can find him mesmerized by his Sunday Ticket.