Greetings from the Queen City, where the Bengals and Ravens will meet in less than 12 hours. From my concierge-level Marriott room, I enjoy a stunning view of the Ohio River. I snapped a picture of it last night, but not sure the Blackberry Curve does it justice.
Now, let's take a look at the fallout from a compelling opening Sunday:
- The Tomlin era begins with a bang, and it's nice to see Big Ben take the opportunity to take another thinly veiled shot at Bill Cowher.
"He's that way on the sideline, which is great. He's calm when he's talking to you," Ben Roethlisberger said of Tomlin. "You don't have to worry about getting yelled at or spit on, or stuff thrown at you."
- Chicago Trib columnist says Bears fans were longing for Thomas Jones on Sunday. Cedric Benson couldn't find any room, and his backup was the only one who displayed a little burst.
- Whitlock is surprisingly calm after the Chiefs' 20-3 loss to the Texans. He vowed to wait at least a week before launching his dethrone King Carl campaign. And does anyone know why kicker Justin Medlock is still on this roster? He did nothing to earn the job during the preseason, but Herm Edwards is determined to stick with him. His missed 30-yard field goal set the tone for an awful day for the Chiefs.
- Dan Shaughnessy comparing Moss-Brady to Bird-Walton? After the game, Brady talked about Randy Moss being a great leader. Hugs all around.
- Hashmarks disciple Gary Myers said Eli Manning had the best game of his career in last night's loss to the Cowboys. Now, we'll see if he can bounce back from a right shoulder injury. Am I the only who thought Jared Lorenzen looked a little like Ray Liotta last night? I don't know about you, but I thoroughly enjoy watching overweight players at the skill positions.
- The NY Post: The Defense Rests in Giants' loss to the Cowboys. I hated to see new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo have such a rough debut. One of the best guys in the business. Kiwanuka looked lost on a lot of plays to me. Granted, I was in the air for half the game.
- Steve Serby tells Jets fans to show Pennington some respect. With Tiki gone (but not forgotten), perhaps Chad Pennington is Serby's new guy. I don't have a big problem with the Jets fans cheering for Kellen Clemens when he ran onto the field. Would you rather they booed him? Now, if they really cheered when Pennington went down, that's a different story.
- I respect a columnist who's willing to mention Jack Bauer early in a Jets quarterback controversy column.
I'll be back with Part II shortly.
