These are desperate times for desperate men in Dallas.  Rumor has it Jerry Jones has been working the phones with the penal authorities in Virginia in an attempt to spring Michael Vick early to come fill in for the pinky-dinged Tony Romo.  Jerry must be channelling Al Davis with the nifty roster moves he's made in the last 2 years.  Hey, somebody tell Jerry:  You can't buy a Super Bowl and you can't  reform cementheads!   Even with 4 bodyguards Pacman Jones wants to enter the Ultimate Moron contest every time he has a pop or two.  At least he showed up in time to get hung out by Larry Fitzgerald a couple of times.  I know they are still 4-2, but have you ever seen a major league quarterback choke like Romo?  Between dropping snaps and his latest disappearing act, one begins to wonder about his poise under pressure. It might just be all the positive thinking reinforcement he gets from the Cowboy posse Jones has put together.  Thugs and Felons and Freaks, Oh my!

I am still trying to figure what kind of kool-aid they are drinking at Fox NFL Sunday.  Howie and Terry and Jimmy continue to praise what I see as the Least from the NFC East.  Jimmy flip-flopped from laughing at the selection of Jim Zorn to requesting his instant enshrinement at Canton.   The Redskins have a middling good team, but how do you lose to St. Louis at home?  The Redskins and the Cowboys and Eagles are all .500 teams-the sooner their fans accept it the easier this season will be to digest.  I will concede that the Giants are absolutely for real, but please guys, lay off the NFC East hyperbole.

The real class of the NFL is beginning to tell as the hobbled Jaguars smacked down the Rat and his Broncos, 24-17.  As I predicted last week, the AFC champion is coming out of the AFC South and the Jags still have a shot.  Maurice Jones-Drew runs like a shorter, stronger Barry Sanders. Whatever else they do, the Jaguars really know how to make the other team look bad and the Broncos stunk up the joint at home.  The Texans finally got untracked at home against Miami, not an easy task after Sage Rosenfels single-handledly gifted the Colts  a game they never should have been in position to win.  To reverse that negative momentum speaks volumes about Kubiak's coaching and the heart this Texans team possesses. 

The Colts certainly used the momentum gained last week to rocket past the puzzled Baltimore Ravens.  Ray Lewis and company arrived at the Colts' new stadium ranked first in the NFL as a defense and promptly got burned on two early blitzes.  Led by Robert Mathis and Melvin Bullitt, the Colts defense hammered the Ravens when they weren' blowing by them.  Peyton and Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne were in synch-it looks like Peyton is finally shaking off the rust.  Hey Coach Dungy-how about bringing in Jim Sorgi to take those knees late in the game?  Peyton's already had two surgeries this year, probably from all that late game genuflecting.  Dungy's boys are rounding into shape despite a nearly all-rookie offensive line and the absence of Bob Sanders.  If the Colts defense keeps movin' and stickin' like they did yesterday, the Colts can win it all.  Bring on the Titans!

 A few quick hits:    The Bradyless Bunch has scored 1 point more than the Bengals over 5 games averaging 17.8 per game.  If you think the Raiders are pitiful now, just wait until Lane Kiffin wins his slander suit against the Lemony Snickett of Oakland.  What a difference a Tuna makes!  The Dolphins are in contention every week.  As much as I hate to admit it, Matt Ryan looks like the real deal in Atlanta.  I guess I am still hating on Boston College since Doug Flutie busted my bank account way back when.  We all know the Lions are a joke, so what is the deal with the Vikings offense?   Childress has the 2nd coming of Eric Dickerson in his prime and he can't find a guy to hand him the ball?   I love the Steelers and the way Mike Tomlin has them prepared and game-planned every week.  But this Bengals game is a trap-game if ever there was one.  Take the points and watch for my picks later this week.