Should that be the Sports Page Headline in the Miami Herald this morning?...Not really, because, well, some here might think it's "the curse" but I beg to differ...Houston's not-so-unlikely last minute win over Miami was not only not simply a curse but just a bit better football for just a bit longer. I would like to have seen the face of Ronnie "slinging arrows" Brown when Matt Schaub ran that ball into the endzone--the same way the Fins D refused to let LT run it in last week!

So the Texans--as I said a few days ago who are NOT the 0-4 team their record indicates--and, as some other blogger said (who picked the Texans) that the Dolphins and Texans were like mirror images of each other--young, aggressive teams which tend to do well against the run (which, Brown's stats being noted on the game...I don't recall the Texans leading rusher...were not thast great)--won by just being a little more aggressive yesterday, 29-28...a win not unlike the other three times the Texans beat the Fins...three points or less! And because Matt Schaub, unlike Matt Cassel and Phil Rivers, exposed the weaknesses of the Dolphins defense backfield for a huge amount of yardage.

I am sad the Fins lost after such stellar efforts against Pats and Chargers...but I am also glad the Texans, a fairly decent team after all (but for the stupid play of Rosenfels--get rid of him, Texans!), are no longer winless because they shouldn't have been in the first place! Good for you all, Texans! Now go out next week and whoop it up against the hopeless Lions. Just don't get smug the way the Fins did!

THAT'S RIGHT, DOLPHINS...YOU GOT SMUG! STUPID, STUPID...YOU BEAT THE PATS AND CHARGERS, KNOWN TO BE GOOD TEAMS, AND NOW YOU THINK BECAUSE YOU'RE AHEAD LATE IN THE FOURTH QUARTER (AGAINST A QB THAT APPARENTLY TOOK YOUR PASS DEFENSE APART ALL DAY, NO LESS) YOU CAN GO OUT AND CELEBRATE AT 28-23??? AND NOW YOU HAVE PAID FOR IT! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT???

You are going to go out next Sunday and beat the Ravens at home, that's what! And you don't even need an Peyton Manning to do it. Neither the Texans, nor the Bolts nor Pats, really stopped the Wildcat, so use it, and since "everybody knows" you can't run on the Ravens, do it anyway, because they can't stop the pass. And you pass rushers (Porter had another good day in Reliant Stadium) and especially you secondary folks, Flacco is a rookie, okay? A pretty good rookie (or else he wouldn't be starting) but a rookie nevertheless who couldn't do squat against a Colts defense that IMHO is outshined by the Fins anyway. You know what you have to do.

And the Sunday after that, you are going to beat the Bills at home.

And onto my other stupid picks...

Good golly Miss Molly! the Rams beat the Redskins--in Washington! Only one or two of the bolder bloggers picked the "hapless" Rams, and they did it by doing something no one else has been able to do to the Skins--force turnovers, and they--like 4 or 5 other teams--did it in the closing seconds (in fact time had expired). HOORAY FOR THE RAMS!

Thus the Rams and Texans have won their first games this year, and good for them. Don't like to see winless teams.

Well, my pick of the Falcons paid off. Another last second win, and this one makes the NFC North bolluxed up with no one who clearly standout (except the Lions, who just might do what the Fins couldn't and wouldn't do last year, go winless!). So the Bears, who looked at one point like they would easily take this division, are now 3-3. The Vikes, who looked like they really needed more than Frerotte to win with, are now 3-3. The Packers, who have looked either good or bad with Rodgers, are also 3-3. Sorta mediocre, these three, wouldn't you say? Now, look at the NFC South: the Panthers (wha-happen?), the Bucs (thanks you, Mr. Garcia!), and the Falcons (holder of the best rookie QB out there this year) are all 4-2 and the Saints are 3-3. Statistically the NFC East is the strongest division but I'm not buying it.

Panthers! Whaa haapen? Two words: Jeff Garcia. Okay, three more words: home field advantage...the Bucs haven't lost there in a long time. And, oh yeah, you guys were buying into that "the Panthers are playoff bound this year" stuff. As with the Fins, you folks got smug and you paid the price for it. But unlike the Fins you looked bad in losing!

And the Vikes eke out the Lions. And the Saints raid the Raiders. And the Jets buck the Bungles. And Cards clip the Cowboys (and apologies to that Cards fan who walloped my Pokes pick--see comments on previous post--you were right after all about the Cards). And Eagles fly over the Niners, who are apparently sinking fast. And the Packers drown the Seahawks.

Finally, three incredible wins that will reverberate around the league for at least this week.

I had picked the Broncos (I have to keep reminding myself never to pick this height of inconsistency!) over the Jaguars because it was at Mile High. Well, at the end of the day, it was the Cutler kids who needed air. Nice going, Jags! You needed the win with the Colts winning as well as Texans, and you did it! Have a nice week off.

I had picked the Colts, but figured it'll go either way anyway. WRONG! Peyton is back. The Colts D appears to be back. That momentum they built up against Texans in the last quarter last week carried through...what happened to the Ravens, another team that looked promising at the beginning of the year, have lost three straight now and have not looked too bad doing it (looked okay vs. Steelers and didn't look too bad vs. Titans, but what happened to that highly ranked defense??). Seems the Colts have rediscovered they are a good team after all.

And now we come to Chargers-Patriots, with the Bolts belting Bellichick's crew in a 30-10 win that took some of the sting off the Texans win over my aqua-orange boys. This puts the Chargers only one game behind the feckless horses...and they go to Buffalo next week (good luck...or will the Bills be looking ahead to Fins?) while Pats have the Broncs. Meanwhile, the Jets (who seem to have the easiest schedule in the NFL...why is it they always seem to have teams they can beat...Brett Favre, maybe?) and Pats are both at 3-2! the Bills are 4-1 and the Fins are 2-3, which means this now "not least" division is still up for grabs as only two games separate top from bottom. That is not something that happens too often. And kuddos to the Bolts, who clearly got the revenge they wanted...but what's gonna happen if they meet the Pats in the playoffs?

Remember bakc to the 70s and the Steelers-Raiders? This matchup seems similar.