A quick look at the first two weeks...

But first...is it just me, or are the Sons of Tito trying their hardest to make this feel a lot like 1978?

Now...on to pigskin matters...

I'll comment only on what I have seen enough of to be able to comment on...

The Jets have played precisely a quarter and a half of good football out of eight total quarters played. They might want to consider worrying about playing football rather than what's happening on an opponent's sideline, or what an opponent's snap count is - as it seems that simulating Baltimore's snap count didn't help NY win.

Don't be surprised if other coaches through the course of this season accuse Mangini's team of cheating. There are things that all coaches do that are against the rules, but it's an unwritten rule as a coach that you don't talk about these things. Mangini crossed a line that may even make it difficult, not impossible, just difficult for him to garner another coaching position in the league. Don't believe it, check out Peter King -

"If he wasn't before, Mangini's dead to Belichick now," says one head coach.
"What Mangini did is a disgrace. He wouldn't be a coach in this league without
Bill, and this is how he repays him."...It's widely believed that New England
has stolen signals in this manner for years, but officials from various clubs
acknowledge that the Pats are not the only team that does it - PK, Sports
Illustrated

This weekend they'll have a chance to climb out of the AFC East's cellar...as long as they can manage to beat the Dolphins.

I feel bad for Joey Harrington. I've seen chunks of the Falcons games and that offensive line would make Peyton Manning look bad, yet Bobby Petrino is blaming Harrington for the team's offensive woes. So instead of trying to fix the line for a reasonably mobile QB like Harrington, Petrino goes out and gets his old college QB, the less than sterling Byron Leftwich.

If Leftwich had issues behind the Jaguars line, he'll be toast in Atlanta. Hope you have your cemetery plot picked out Byron, it'll save time for your next of kin.

The Chargers are looking very mortal right now. They struggled against the Bears, really having to work to beat an offensively challenged Chicago squad, and then were absolutely thrashed by the Patriots. If there's anyone out there other than AJ Smith that believes Norv Turner can lead a team to a championship, please raise your hand. Anybody?

I've watched a fair amount of every team in the NFC East, and the only one that looks good is Dallas...and I don't really buy that they're going to do this consistently.

Other quick observations -

The Steelers look good, the Seahawks do not, nor do the Saints.

I think the jury is still out on the Colts. The Defense looks better than expected, but I want to see it against a real powerhouse before I really make a determination about how good Indy is on that side of the ball.

Double Jeopardy

As explained at http://lp.findlaw.com/:

''The constitutional prohibition against 'double jeopardy' was designed to
protect an individual from being subjected to the hazards of trial and possible
conviction more than once for an alleged offense. . . . The underlying idea, one
that is deeply ingrained in at least the Anglo-American system of jurisprudence,
is that the State with all its resources and power should not be allowed to make
repeated attempts to convict an individual for an alleged offense, thereby
subjecting him to embarrassment, expense and ordeal and compelling him to live
in a continuing state of anxiety and insecurity, as well as enhancing the
possibility that even though innocent he may be found guilty.''

In essence, the courts can only try someone once for a specific crime. This doesn't prohibit, however, the same charges being filed in regards to the same crime on both federal and state levels - which is what seems to be the direction that Virginia is going in with the Michael Vick dogfighting case.

That is not what I am referring to with Vick.

While it appears to be likely that Vick will face an indictment from the State of Virginia in addition to his federal indictment, I am talking about something different.

I am talking about the other indictment that could be handed down in Atlanta.

From 2004 through 2006 the Falcons won 11, 8, and 7 games respectively. In each of those three seasons, in spite of passing for more yards each year, his completion percentage dropped from 56.4 in 2004 to 55.3, and, ultimately 52.6 last season. Overall, he is a career 53.8 percent passer who has piloted the Falcons to two winning seasons. The only time that the Falcons have won more than nine games with Vick at the helm coincides with his highest completion percentage - 56.4.

Joey Harrington, for all the knocks he takes in the press, is the better quarterback. Over the last three seasons playing for Detroit and Miami - two teams no one could really consider contenders, Harrington has posted completion percentages of 56, 57, and 57.5 respectively.

If after six seasons of Vick, during which the Falcons could achieve ten wins only once, what will it say of Vick - the so called "most exciting player in the game," if Atlanta wins ten with Detroit's first-round quarterbacking bust at the helm?

Isn't that just another indictment of Vick?

His defenders point to the number of dropped passes his receivers had last season. They don't point to the fact that, until this past off season when the dogfighting was about to hit the fan, Vick didn't spend anymore time around Flowery Branch than the bare minimum required. He didn't spend the extra time developing that rapport with receivers that quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Donovan McNabb do.

Whose fault is that? The receivers?

For all the hype, and the excitement he has caused on the field (and off), nothing ever justified Arthur Blank's signing of this man to the richest contract ever for a quarterback. As much as you may here players and coaches give proper respect to Vick's athletic ability - you never hear them talk about him as a great quarterback.

Why? Because defensive coordinators would rather face someone like Vick than someone like Brady or Manning. They know if they bottle up Vick, then they force him to pass. That's not a prospect that defensive coordinators in the NFL fear - not the way they fear what Brady, Manning, McNabb, Carson Palmer, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, or any one of a number of other quarterbacks can do if stuck in the pocket.

Don't be surprised if Vick faces another indictment by the end of the season - only this one will be on the football field.