Some thoughts as we approach mid-season

Is it just me, or is anyone else surprised that the Redskins didn't find a way to lose on their bye weekend?

Haven't we heard the, "Peyton Manning is playing the best football of his career," mantra almost every season since he was co-MVP with Steve McNair?

Why is everybody so convinced that Manning will retire with a Super Bowl ring when Dan Marino, who at least made it to a Super Bowl (with fewer offensive weapons then Manning has had) never won a ring? I will concede that Manning is a supremely talented quarterback, but until I see him really dominate in the post season against a team running a 3-4 defense, I'm going to remain convinced that he will be the second coming of Marino - the best quarterback of his era to never win the big prize.

Hey, Shawn Merriman - take a look at Guillermo Mota, see if you learn anything. Nobody believes the "tainted supplement, I didn't know" defense.

St. Louis - when you have an injured Seattle team on the ropes at home and you have a chance to seal the deal, you can't let them get into feild goal range. This is why you could end up sitting at home in January.

Does anyone else see Pacman Jones as that kid in the lab experiment who's told to find the door with the candy behind it, but insists on repeatedly trying to open the knob attached to the electrodes? How was he not drafted by the Bengals? Everytime this kid goes to a club, he gets busted for assault.
It's admirable that teammate Vince Young has come to his defense, but trouble is not following this kid around. Jones has a history, because he actively puts himself in a position to get in trouble. This is the second incident involving spitting at a club.
I understand clubbing is what he likes to do to unwind - but it doesn't appear to actually unwind him. If he had an inkling of maturity and truly understood that his extracurricular activities are interfering with any subsequent contract he may be offered, the kid would find a hobby and stay out of the clubs.
Right now he has to qualify as one of the big first-round draft busts in the last couple of years. Nobody drafts a punt returner in the first round unless they can have an impact as a starter elsewhere.

File this one under "he's the Steinbrenner of the NFL...just not as competent."

Dan Snyder just doesn't get it...at least football. He understands marketing perfectly. How does a team that has been as consistently bad as the Redskins have over the last decade become the most valuable team in the NFL? By winning the Super Bowl during the offseason.
By overpaying for the top-impact free-agents he convinces the fans that he's committed to winning. It doesn't matter if the player doesn't fit the system, or doesn't complement the other players' style of play (see Adam Archuletta and TJ Duckett). Sometimes they give up draft picks for players that languish on the bench (once again, see Duckett).
In this day and age, a third round draft pick is often a contributing player in his rookie season, and, as such, a valuable commodity.
He also goes out and signs big name coaches to assistant contracts that don't necessarily fit the player personnel (see Al Saunders and the 700 page playbook).
These big signings have little to no impact, but they allow the fan base to believe something is being done (albeit briefly - the feeling seems to go away after a few regular season games), and gives them the offseason belief that this will be the year.
Unfortunately, expectations were raised this year because of the year-ending winning streak that propelled the team into the playoffs. They did that by playing Joe Gibbs-style football. Al Saunders does not play Joe Gibbs-style football.

Stick a fork in the Steelers. They would be better off with Batch starting - he's more accustomed to winning games without the benefit of a punishing runner like Jerome Bettis. Ben Roethlisberger is just not that good a quarterback if he has to put the ball up 30 to 40 times per game.