Week 10 Thoughts

I can't believe that it's already week 10.

I missed the Minnesota Vikings yesterday. Football Sundays just feel different when they aren't playing. At least they already had a win.

Congratulations to Jacksonville Jaguars coach Gus Bradley on his first career win. He's had a rough start to his head coaching career but I think that he's got a bright future.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker was emerging earlier this season. Then he got hurt and missed some games. Came back. Yesterday, he went down again with a potential season-ending foot injury.

Seattle Seahawks players sure are quick to celebrate stuff. Even little stuff. At least receiver Golden Tate has settled down some. Pete Carroll must have had a little sit-down with him.

Whenever I see Marshawn Lynch carry tacklers today, I remember the freshman back at Cal. It would sometimes take seven defenders to bring him now. You could sense the disbelief on the defense. I'd never seen anyone like Lynch in college. Well, maybe Earl Campbell.

I don't think that the Seahawks defenders know the rules of the game. They were flagged for hitting the quarterback below the knees and for a horse collar tackle. Each time they were astonished that there was a flag on the play.

There's one disadvantage to having a great franchise quarterback. There's a huge drop-off when that quarterback is on the sideline. The Green Bay Packers are experiencing that now. That's still not a good reason not to find that great franchise quarterback. I'd much rather have that quarterback and hope that he doesn't get injured.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is averaging five touchdowns per game over the last two games. Nice, despite the small sample size.

Foles' first touchdown was a lot like Christian Ponder's early deep throw on Thursday. Foles threw his short. The defender tipped it and DeSean Jackson caught it and took it in for a touchdown. Ponder threw it short. Brandon Merriweather caught it rather than tipped it and Ponder has a much criticized interception. Both were poor decisions, poor throws and very different outcomes. Football is often like that.

St. Louis Rams receiver Tavon Austin finally had the game the team hoped for when they traded up to draft him. 98-yard punt return for a touchdown. 81-yard and 57-yard touchdown receptions. 138 yards receiving. 314 all-purpose yards. He joined Gale Sayers and Randy Moss as rookies with three 50+-yard scoring plays in  game.

The St. Louis Rams' 38-8 win over the Indianapolis Colts was the shock of the day for me. Colts defeat the Seahawks, 49ers, and Broncos and lose by thirty to the Rams. That's inconceivable! This was a bigger shock than the Jaguars first win of the season over the Titans.

The Carolina Panthers-San Francisco 49ers was a terrific defensive battle. The 49ers have had one of the best defenses in the league for a few years. The Panthers have joined them.

Panther win, 10-9. 49ers could have had a big lead in the first half but they got field goals rather than touchdowns.

San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Justin Smith is a great football player from snap to whistle. I got a kick out of watching him staring into the Carolina Panthers huddle. He doesn't even stop working between plays.

I love watching 49ers running back Frank Gore. He has an interesting running style. So slippery. He just slides through holes and past tacklers.

The hit of Panthers running back Mike Tolbert on 49ers safety Eric Reid looked a lot like the "leading with the crown of the helmet" rule that the NFL adopted this past offseason. He lowered his helmet and hit Reid with the crown of his helmet. It was most certainly outside of the tackle box.

Reid joined tight end Vernon Davis on the sideline with concussions. Huge losses for the 49ers.

49ers tight end Vance McDonald has to make that catch. Best throw of the day for Colin Kaepernick and it's a drop.

The New Orleans Saints set an NFL record 40 first downs against the Dallas Cowboys. I think that it took the Vikings three games to hit 40 first downs.

I'm really tired of the Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito story. I don't think that this is as much of a hazing problem as it is an Incognito problem. He's always been something of a loose cannon. He's always going to take things too far because he's an ass. If the coaches wanted someone to toughen up Martin, they should have thought about someone other than Richie Incognito.