Week Three

I made a triumphant return to The Shack, in Playa del Rey, for the Patriots Dolphins game. Getting up at 9 am for the game was a bit of a shock to the system. As it turned out I should have stayed in bed.

Route Improvement

The Culver & Sepulveda Blvd. intersection which was torn up for over two years due to the 405 freeway expansion has been completed. They look ready to start the landscaping along Culver

I hadn't been to the Shack since the beginning of last season. The $5 breakfast buffet has been replaced by a three item breakfast menu. Take your pick from a breakfast burrito, a bagel sandwich or a scrambled egg plate. The lunch menu appears to have been pared down. The horrible rear projection big screen television has been replaced by a flat screen. I'm not sure how the men's room passes inspection from an engineering standpoint.

As for the Patriots game . . .

Five times, really New England, you were fooled five times by the direct snap to Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown?

Around the League

How much of Cleveland's (0-3) woes are due to Derek Anderson's ineptitude (14 of 37 for 125 yards & 3 interceptions yesterday) and how much is due to his preseason injury, Braylon Edward's slow start and the absence of Donte Stallworth. Anderson will likely have another week to show us. If Cleveland fails to beat Cincinnati (0-3) in the battle of the winless next Sunday it'll be the Brady Quinn show for a while. With both of the states football teams at 0-3 Ohio's state motto, "With God, All Things Are Possible", couldn't be more appropriate.

The Steelers, we already know you can't kill Big Ben (did you see the car he hit with his face a few years ago?) but come on Pittsburgh give the guy a little protection.

The Eagles defense looked really good. What I saw of them, I fell asleep after the half. I've watched two Steeler snooze fests in a row, last week's 10 to 6 win over the Browns and yesterday's 6 to 15 loss to the Birds.

Aaron Rodgers might have come back down to earth a little with the Packers loss. Down late and moving the ball it was apparent that the Packers were not engineered to come from behind quickly.

Denver has a terrible defense, they'll need to score 30 points to be in games.

How does Lions (0-3) President & CEO Matt Millen still have a job? San Francisco offensive coordinator and former Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz must have had a smile on his face last night after beating the his old team 31-13.

Has anyone written about Lion's head coach Rod Marinell's attempt to mold the Lions into a running team after Millen drafted wide receiver Calvin Johnson with the second pick in 2007, WR Mike Williams with the tenth pick in 2005 and WR Roy Williams with the seventh pick in 2004.