Sportsfrog.com

Two road wins out of the four games, one by a slight underdog. Nothing entirely surprising about the first weekend’s games, and the storylines for the upcoming weekend have been in place for some time. At the least, New York’s win in Tampa probably makes the Giants/Cowboys re-rematch in Dallas the most compelling on paper next weekend. While Dallas has beaten the Giants twice, it is the Giants with all of the momentum at the moment. If the Cowboys are favored by a touchdown or more on that game, I would think Giants and take the points with gratitude. On to the national talking heads.

Don Banks in si.com with Snap Judgments:

“Had a heck of an intriguing question posed to me Saturday night at the Jaguars-Steelers game. If the 2006 NFL Draft were re-held today, would USC’s Reggie Bush still be taken ahead of UCLA’s Maurice Jones-Drew? I don’t think so. And I’m not sure it’s even remotely a debate. Score another one for the science of NFL drafting. Bush was the No. 2 overall pick in the first round. Jones-Drew went toward the end of the second round, 60th overall.”

Fair point. Can someone let Jack Del Rio know? Because it still takes far too long for Del Rio to get Jones-Drew involved in your average Jacksonville game. And he uses him far too infrequently.

Peter King in si.com with MMQB:

“I’ll just say it right now: We want the ball, and we’re gonna score. OK?”

– Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, kicking off his postgame press conference with a Leno-esque reprise of his overtime-coin-flip pronouncement that backfired four years ago in Green Bay. Seattle, of course, makes a return trip to Lambeau this weekend.”

I missed that on Saturday, so props to King for highlighting it. And, belatedly, heh. Well done, Matt Hasselbeck. The only thing you can do is laugh along with everyone else. Nice.

Clark Judge on sportsline.com with Judgements and this thought among others:

“And while we’re on the subject, what was with that Ben Roethlisberger run on third-and-6 with three minutes left? The guy throws for 337 yards, but when the Steelers absolutely, positively needed a first down to kill the clock, they go conservative and keep the ball in the hands of Roethlisberger? Somebody introduce these guys to Herman Edwards. You play to win the game.”

Yeah, that stuck out. The Steelers fans in the Swamp have highlighted that as the number one disappointment of the loss. You would have to think Mike Tomlin will learn from that mistake.

As for my thoughts (NTYC):

1. I am wondering what the long-term upside is for the Bucs as currently constituted. Gruden appears to have built a team capable good regular seasons and Wild Card playoff round drubbings. The offense doesn’t feel dynamic, and is not particularly infused with noteworthy youthful talent. The window is slamming shut there.

2. Disappointing debut for Mike Tomlin in the playoffs, but everything else about his first year is pretty damn promising. It should only get better for the Steelers. Wish I could say the same thing for the Bengals.

3. My hierarchy of potential upsets next weekend goes like this, from most likely to least lifely:

—Giants over Cowboys
—Seahawks over Packers
—Chargers over Colts
—Jags over Patriots

I don’t necessarily think any of the underdogs will win however, but the best chance feels like it will come to pass is in Dallas. Momentum and all that.