New England signed free agent veteran cornerbacks Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden. Miami went the younger route and drafted Vonta Davis and Sean Smith.

Being division neighbors means they play almost the exact out of division opponents, save for Denver and Baltimore for the Patriots and San Diego and Pittsburgh for the Dolphins. Otherwise they both play the AFC South and NFC South.

Most of these teams feature large wide outs that are very tough to handle without the proper equipment: Atlanta’s Michael Jenkins (6’4” 217), New Orleans’ Marques Colston (6’4” 225), and Houston’s Andre Johnson (6’3” 225) to name a few.

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This weekend Denver faces yet another stiff challenge, and four division match-ups make the Opening Drive! Oh yeah, and some guy named Favre returns to the second team he played for. No big whoop. Let’s analyze! 

(6-0) Denver Broncos at (3-3) Baltimore Ravens 

For the past few games, we’ve all said “this will be the week the Denver Broncos lose.” So far those prognostications have proved worthless, as Josh McDaniels’ team is still undefeated. Kyle Orton has played efficiently if nothing else with nine touchdowns and only one interception (a half-ending throw-up) to his credit. This Sunday he faces a Ravens squad who has lost three straight and is in danger of falling out of the division race. With Cincinnati and Pittsburgh both off this week, Baltimore has a shot to climb out of their hole, but they need to hold a team to under 30 points sometime this season. 

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     President Barack Obama finally brought Air Force One back to the Chocolate City for a whirlwind 3.5 hour visit. President Obama stopped in briefly at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School to encourage the students to “be the best they can be.” Do you think any of those students’ parents held their children out of school that day? Obama’s motorcade then made its way to UNO for a town hall meeting. The president introduced everyone on the stage including Gov. Bobby Jindal, who got booed out of the arena— that was funny. Mayor C. Ray Nagin even flew in from Dallas for the event. Obama promised to rebuild the region and Big Easy stronger than before, but he actually focused more on his health care agenda. Strangely, unlike prior presidents, he didn’t enjoy a sit down meal in the food capitol of the world. Instead the pres requested a fantastic to go meal from the legendary local chef Leah Chase. Her incredible menu included: jambalaya, gumbo, shrimp Creole, and, of course, fried chicken to satisfy the chief executive’s hunger pains. Thank goodness the local stations aired Obama’s speech because CNN and Fox News decided to broadcast the Falcon “The Balloon Boy” Heene hoax. Don’t you love today’s sensationalism? Walter Cronkite is rolling over his grave. Americans should demand excellence from journalists, but they’d rather hear out about the new tattoo on Brittney Spears’ ass.

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(5-2) Pittsburgh Steelers 27
(6-1) Minnesota Vikings 17 

It’s about time I see Brett Favre being Brett Favre. That fourth quarter fumble and tipped pass/interception cost the Vikings another comeback win and an undefeated season. For shame. You should probably run Adrian Peterson more and stop 40-year old Favre from passing 51 times. Just a thought. Without Antoine Winfield, the Vikings’ secondary and run support is nowhere near as intimidating. Ben Ben and the Steelers are back in the division running after troubles the first weeks of the season. Troy Polamalu is all the difference in the Pittsburgh D.

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While the numbers look good, I’m not sold on Maroney’s performance against Tennessee. It’s not just because the Titans are a bad team. Laurence started off well, hitting holes quickly. But after the 45-yard touchdown, his feet were pitter-pattering again.

I’ll give Maroney the benefit of the doubt, but only to a point. It was a snowy field so maybe to keep his traction Laurence chopped his feet. I’d believe it, except Maroney has a history of stuttering in the backfield. That, and on one run, he tried to bounce it outside instead of taking what was available. Old habits die hard.

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(3-3) Houston Texans 28
(4-2) Cincinnati Bengals 17 

Every once in a while, Houston goes ballistic and puts up mega-points. Matt Schaub once again proves he’s a fantastic fantasy QB… five games a season. The Bengals aren’t an elite team, so you had to expect a letdown eventually after winning four straight. Now they dropped back with Pittsburgh, who are also 4-2, but technically behind since the Bengals beat them head-to-head.  

(6-0) Minnesota Vikings 33
(3-3) Baltimore Ravens 31 

Why won’t anyone beat the Vikings?! Steven Hauschka’s missed 44-yard field goal keeps the legend of Brett Favre in Minnesota going strong for another week. Who thought that the Baltimore defense would be the team’s weakness this season? They don’t deserve to be called “good” with the amount of points they’re allowing. Take that Ray Lewis.

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With a busier schedule than normal, the Opening Drive was relegated to Sunday morning! Here’s my quick takes on some of the weekend’s NFL match-ups. 

(3-2) Baltimore Ravens at (5-0) Minnesota Vikings In one of the better match-ups of the weekend, Brett Favre and the undefeated Vikes get their toughest challenge to date when the surely fuming Ravens come to town. I don’t know if I can imagine that team after losing three straight. I’d be scared. Still, Minnesota has a stout defense of its own. Favre and Joe Flacco need to protect the ball because each offense excels at cashing in on turnovers. Man I hope the Ravens win. 

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