Around the NFL: Steelers Stifle Jaguars Purr

And the tale of two Steelers teams continues. They dismantled a solid Titans team last week and looked well on their way to another blowout victory against the Jaguars. Somehow that didn't happen and it made what should have been a relaxing Sunday afternoon, into a pre-Halloween horror story. The Steelers get another gimme game this week against the Cardinals but, before we get there, let's go around the NFL.

STEELERS 17, Jaguars 13

• I have to admit that I never felt nervous at any point during the Steelers game after they jumped out to a big lead. Why? Maybe because the Jaguars are that bad. Maybe because I knew we had Big Ben on our side against a rookie quarterback. Or maybe it's because the Steelers defense is #1 in the league. Yeah, that's right. The eleven members of the AARP that makeup the defense, are holding their own pretty well. Any comment Mr. Sapp?

• The replacements on defense look much better than the regular starters. The writing is on the wall for Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith no matter how well they play when they return.

• The offensive line has looked much better and it has to be mainly the play of Max Starks. How the heck is he pulling this off?

• Can we say Rashard Mendenhall and Lamarr Woodley are back to normal? I don't know, but I sure hope so. I'm very surprised at how well Mendenhall ran.

Around the NFL

• The Cincinnati Bengals are 4-2 somehow. Seriously if anyone has a clue how they're doing it, let me know.

• If I'm the Indianapolis Colts, I place Peyton Manning on IR today. Why bother risking his future, assuming he's in any plans for the future, to play on a team this bad.

• There seem to be a lot of people that aren't high on the New York Giants. I like them personally. They are the furthest thing from healthy on either side of the ball and still boast a 4-2 record. Not that it's all his fault, but if Eli Manning played any bit consistently, they might be 6-0.

• If that's they way Jim Harbaugh is going to act when he wins a regular season game, I sure hope the San Francisco 49ers don't win the Super Bowl. If that happens he might bludgeon someone to death.

• If that's the way Jim Schwartz is going to act when he loses, then thank God he wasn't the coach when the Lions went 0-16...

• How far the St. Louis Rams have fallen even before they actually got up. They were easily the favorites to win the NFC West coming into this year and now sit 4.5 games back of the San Francisco 49ers and even worse they've yet to record a win. It's no easy task to beat the Green Bay Packers, but at least make it a game.

• The Philadelphia Eagles got back on track with a win. When you get four interceptions against one quarterback who doesn't finish the game, you should probably win by more than seven points though. How is this team so bad?

• Really Vince Young? Really? You're the guy responsible for the Philadelphia Eagles being labeled the "dream team" and your first pass gets picked off. Young has talent, but that guy can't get out of his own way.

• Rex Grossman or John Beck? This one is easy. Grossman plays if the Washington Redskins want to win the division. He played a bad game, but he always does. This week he just happened to turn the ball over often which isn't the norm for him. He'll bounce back fine as long as the D.C. media keeps the pressure off of him.

• Once Jason Campbell went down, I was ready to write the Oakland Raiders' obituary right next to their late owner Al Davis.' Kyle Boller wasn't going to get it done, but Carson Palmer is a much better option, even without playing all year. Giving up a first and second rounder for him wasn't wise though. As NFL panelist Jon Saia said, "Good to know the Raiders can still be really stupid even without Al Davis..."

• Don't look now, but the Houston Texans are 3-3. The win over the Steelers seems a distant memory as this team has lost two crucial games against potential foes in the battle for playoff spots. Will they even make the playoffs?

• I thought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would be better than they have been, but then they got obliterated by the San Francisco 49ers. Then, a week later, they beat the New Orleans Saints. I'm not really sure what to think of them at this point.

• And finally the Christian Ponder era begins for the Minnesota Vikings. It's such a shame that Donovan McNabb's career will likely end like this. The guy just needed to play well enough to solidify a spot in Canton, and he's only made the notion of the Hall of Fame a dream at best. It's especially worse that his coaches and receivers have done him no favors.

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