Letroy Guion's first NFL start went fine, rightup until the final possession.Guion's mistake, he said, was letting himself forget the situation. SanDiego had the lead late in the game and needed a few first downs to run out theclock, and long snap counts were sure to come from Chargers quarterback PhilipRivers as an attempt for easy yards.It worked: Guion jumped offside twice in the closing minutes of the seasonopener, with the Vikings trailing 24-17 and trying to get the ball back for onelast chance to tie the game."I've just got to do a better job of being focused late in the game,"Minnesota's fourth-year NFL New England Patriots Jerseys defensive tackle said this week.The pair of five-yard penalties was costly. Guion's first infraction, onsecond-and-3, gave the Chargers a first down at their 46-yard line. The secondpushed San Diego to the Minnesota 37. Fellow defensive tackle Fred Evansfollowed his teammate's gaffe and was called for encroachment on the Cheap Vikings Jerseys first playafter the two-minute warning, giving the Chargers the ball at the 30 with notimeouts left for the Vikings."Mistakes happen," Evans said. "

You can only learn from it and makeyourself better."The way the Vikings were sputtering on offense, scoring a touchdown in thewaning minutes didn't look likely. But those three crippling penalties made anotherwise-decent performance by the defensive line look a little lessimpressive. Guion was filling in for suspended stalwart Kevin Williams, who isset to return next week after sitting out for a three-year-old positive test fora banned weight-loss drug. Evans shared time at the other tackle spot with therecently acquired Remy Ayodele.Jared Allen and new starter Brian Robison applied plenty of pressure on theedge, and the Vikings had two sacks and forced Rivers into a pair ofinterceptions. There were some glaring missed tackles in the secondary onrunning backs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert, but otherwise the Vikingseffectively stopped the runlimiting the Chargers to 77 yards on 27 tries.But sound defense can quickly be eroded by Official San Francisco 49ers Jersey a lack of discipline andconcentration when those traits truly count.

Coach Leslie Frazier said theVikings even talked to their players before that final drive about bracing forthe likelihood of long snap counts to try to lure them offside."You know what the offense is going to try and do. For us not to execute inthat situation was discouraging and something we have to be better at if we wantto be a good team," Frazier said.Allen wasn't ready to criticize Guion. He was more concerned about theteam's overall performance."It happens. We've all jumped offside in our career," he said. "You'dlike not to put yourself in that situation. We had a 10-point lead. We'd like tobe in a spot where there is no hard count because they're not trying to run theclock out."Guion was naturally down after the game."That just shows the guy wants to win," Allen said. "If he wasn't down,that's when I'd have a problem with it. It's just something you learn. It comeswith the territory."The Vikings sure aren't giving Jets Jerseys Shop up on Guion, a quiet, polite Florida Stateplayer who was drafted in the fifth round in 2008. Playing behind Williams, asix-time Pro Bowl pick, Cheap Ravens Jersey Guion has steadily improved.

 His progress over the pastfew years has given the Vikings hope he can be a reliable run-stopper.The coaching staff has lauded his explosiveness off the ball, a strengththat, ironically, was at least indirectly responsible for those two penalties."I know he wanted to perform well," Frazier said. He added: "It's Authentic Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys hard tofill the shoes of a Kevin Williams, and we tried to stress that to him: `Just beyourself and not feel like you have to be Kevin."'Guion, an avid NFL Reebok Football Bears Jerseys fisherman whose post-career aspiration is to become a gamewarden, has tried to play with the kind of awareness required to be a successfuloutdoorsman. Learning from a standout like Williams has helped as he's grown asan NFL player. This week, he'll get another chance to prove himself againstbruising LeGarrette Blount and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers."Stop the run, and everything else will pretty much take care of itself,"Guion said. "We just have to stand up Cincinnati Bengals Jersey again and play the run, and everythingelse will fall into place."

Two yards from being out of bounds, and 109 yards fromscoring a touchdown, Josh Cribbs took a gamble that paid off for the Browns.Next time, he might not be so daring.After watching three straight kickoffs sail over his head for touchbacks inCleveland's home opener against Cincinnati on Sunday, Cribbs snagged the fourthone, a line drive to the deepest recesses Authentic Tennessee Titans Jerseys of the end zone. Cribbs took a deepbreath and took off, returning the kick 51 yards to the 43-yard line."We needed a spark," Cribbs said. "We needed something to happen. I feltI could provide that for the team."Cribbs' gutsy returnhis initial one in the regular season under the NFL'snew kickoff rulesdid indeed fire up the Browns, who overcame a 13-0 deficitbefore losing 27-17 to the Bengals. Cribbs, the league's career leader witheight kickoff return touchdowns, said the changes have altered the way he andother specialists will handle returns."

Coaches want me to be smart, but make plays at the same time," saidCribbs, who had three kick returns for 91 yards and six punt returns Authentic Houston Texans Jerseys for 58."Returners will juggle with that. It's kind of a crapshoot. It's a toughsituation to be in, having to decide whether to be smart or try to make a playfor your team."It's almost 50-50."That was almost the ratio of touchbacks to kicks returned last week as 79 of162 (49 percent) were not brought out of the end zone. Last season, only 18percent (24 of 137) went for touchbacks on the opening weekend.Cribbs has been highly critical of the league's rule change, which wasimplemented for safety concerns. Cribbs argued that there isn't statistical datato support the switch and he was certain there would be fewer scoring returns.However, three were taken all the way back last week, matching the openingweekend mark set in 1970 and equaled in 1998.When he wasn't playing, Cribbs watched Week Indianapolis Colts Jersey 1 games, paying particularattention to Miami Dolphins Jersey every kickoff. He noticed returners being more indecisive thanusual. Some grabbed the ball and ran. Others hesitated, and many of them paidfor it."

I see a lot of returners getting themselves in trouble," he said. "Guysare Washington Redskins Jersey having some success, but guys are also getting themselves in trouble. Youhave to be smart and you have to factor in the hangtime of the kick. But, at thesame time, guys are trying to make plays and it can either work out in theirfavor or against them."A lot of times, the majority, it'll work out against them."Cribbs had no shot at the first three kickoffs by Cincinnati's Mike Nugent,who had no problem kicking the ball high and out of the end zone. His fourthkick, though, was low enough for Authentic Seattle Seahawks Jerseys Cribbs to snatch and bring out. He broke a fewtackles and put the Browns in good field position. Four plays later, they scoredtheir first TD of the season.Cribbs knew it was risky."It was about Authentic St.Louis Rams Jerseys nine yards deep," he said, "and it could've went eitherway."Browns coach Pat Shurmur wasn't sure what to expect on the first weekendunder the new kickoff rules.

Now that he's coached one game and watchedhighlights of a few, he's convinced kickoffs could be even more adventurous asplayers test their limitsand their coach's patience.There could be as many long returns as short ones.Some coaches will encourage returners to take a chance. Some will tell themto take a knee."It almost looks like returners now are treating that back line like thegoal line," Shurmur said. "Returners in this league have great courage. Theyrealize the opportunity to make a play, and so we'll have to see. It's going totake a couple more weeks to really see how that plays out. Josh obviously jumpstarted us with his return. He's a playmaker."And a risk taker.Cribbs is unlikely to change too much about his return style. He haspromised to choose the smart play over the sensational onefor now. As badlyas he would like to return kickoffs from one goal line to the other, Cribbsunderstands he must lower his expectations or risk disaster."My goal right now is just to get the ball to the 20 and Washington Redskins Jersey Authentic go from there,"he said. "

I hope every Carolina Panthers Jersey Authentic time I bring it out I get it out to the 40 or 50 orscore, but at least to the 20."Notes: RT Tony Pashos will likely miss Sunday's game in Indianapolis with anankle injury. Offensive line coach George Warhop indicated it could be weeksbefore Pashos is back. Until Pashos returns, the club may continue to rotateArtis Hicks and Oneil Cousins but Shurmur would like to settle on one.  WRMohamed Massaquoi said his hamstring is not an issue after being limited inWednesday's practice.

Antoine Winfield shook his head and winced. Asone of the NFL's surest tacklers, he's not used to whiffing."That's definitely not the example I want to set for the younger guys,"the Minnesota Vikings cornerback said. "That's not something I want to put onfilm. You'll seetrust mea better effort out of our defense this week."Winfield and fellow cornerbacks Cedric Griffin and Chris Cook held their ownin pass coverage against San Diego's wide receivers, keeping quarterback PhilipRivers from going deep. But after doing the hard part well, the Vikings let theChargers move the ball in the pivotal second half of last Sunday's season openerby completing a bunch of second-option short throws to running backs and tightendsand many times failing to tackle the receivers right away."It's mostly our fault," said Winfield, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound, 13-yearveteran who Cheap Ravens Jersey has long been one of the toughest players in the league despite hissize.So this week, the Vikings have taken a back-to-basics approach on defense.Most of it is mental."You can hit the dummies or whatever, but it's not realistic," Winfieldsaid. "You don't have guys diving or cutting or whatever. It's just propertechnique.

Bending your knees, and wrapping up."Winfield missed two tackles, NFL New England Patriots Jerseys by his estimation. When was the last time thathappened?"Ooh, I really can't remember. It's been a while. I'm not happy aboutthat," Winfield said.Linebacker Chad Greenway, another standout, let a couple of players slippast him. Safety Jamarca Sanford, another hard hitter who has parlayed strongspecial Jets Jerseys Shop teams play into a starting spot, let Chargers fullback Mike Tolbert runright through him near the goal line on his way to a touchdown run in the thirdquarter."It's just one of those games. You have games like that," Sanford said."We know what it takes to get better. We're going to go out and fix thatproblem."This week, the NFL Reebok Football Bears Jerseys Vikings host Tampa Bay, and the Buccaneers feature a coupleof big bodies to bring down in quarterback Josh Freeman and running backLeGarrette Blount. Freeman is listed at 6-foot-6 and 248 pounds. Blount is6-foot and 247 pounds.This is, then, the perfect time to refine the skill."It's hard to play defense in the NFL if you Cincinnati Bengals Jersey don't tackle well,particularly Authentic Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys the way we're structured on defense," head coach Leslie Fraziersaid. "So it's something that we have to improve in order to have the type ofteam we want to have."

In the "Tampa Two" scheme the Vikings have run since 2006, passes Official San Francisco 49ers Jersey arepreferably diverted toward the middle of the field, in front of the secondary.That puts sure tackling and quick reactions at a premium. Yards after thecatch can be costly, as the Chargers reminded them last week, particularly on acouple of crucial third downs."The effort was there. Guys were running around. When the opportunity isthere, you've got to make it happen," defensive end Jared Allen said.This, after all, is the root of why guys love to play this sport. It's aninstinct just as much as it is a developed and practiced technique."You've got to tackle. Playing defense, if it's not one of your strengths,you're not going to be around much," Sanford said.As Greenway noted, missed tackles were common all over the league last week,one reason yards passing were so high in many games. Sanford said some of thiscould be attributable to the first round of regular-season action, a clearcrank-up in intensity from low-contact drills in training camp and minimalparticipation in preseason games."It's something you've got to be concerned about it," Greenway said."It's something you've got to go out and Cheap Vikings Jerseys work on."

NOTES: The Vikings at least emerged from their opener unscathed,health-wise, unlike the Chargers, who lost PK Nate Kaeding and DE Luis Castilloto serious injuries in that game. Backup DE Adrian Awasom (knee) was the onlyplayer who didn't participate in Wednesday's practice for the Vikings. Starting RG Anthony Herrera didn't appear to be moving that well during Sunday'sgame, but said his surgically repaired left knee is in "great" shape, as ishe. "I surprised myself. I wasn't tired at all," Herrera said. He insistedhe's fully able to pull in either direction and "do whatever I want to do." The Vikings have filled their open practice-squad spot with Cedric McKinley,the former DE who was let go for a week before being brought back.

When his flight to Buffalo was canceled in May,Bills tight end Scott Chandler had no second thoughts about hopping in his carto make the 14-hour drive from his home in Iowa.Though his wife was pregnant with their second child, and the drive ahead ofhim daunting, Chandler wasn't going to miss an opportunity to bond Indianapolis Colts Jersey with his newteammates holding player-organized workouts during the NFL lockout."It wasn't any Superman maneuver or anything. I just got in the car and Idrove," Chandler said. "It was important to me. You want your teammates toknow you're committed."Forget what it cost him in gas, the road trip is paying off substantially inproduction after Chandler scored twice in a season-opening 41-7 win at KansasCity last weekend.The touchdowns were not only the first of Chandler's NFL career, but firstsince 2006, when he was a senior at Iowa. And he finished with five catches for63 yards after entering the game with a career stat-line of: one catch for 8yards in 14 games."It was exciting for me to get out there and have those opportunities andtake advantage of them," Chandler said.He keeps this up, and there'll be far more opportunities to come, startingwith Buffalo's home opener against Oakland (1-0) on Sunday.After four seasons of bouncing around the NFL, from San Diego, to Dallas tothe Giants and back to Dallas again, Chandler might finally have found apermanent home after the Bills claimed off him Authentic Tennessee Titans Jerseys waivers in December.Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has built an immediate rapport with Chandler,and believes the Washington Redskins Jersey Authentic tight end's presence at the offseason workouts played a factor."That might have been a part of it. I'm serious," Fitzpatrick said. "Itwas important for those guys to make the effort this offseason. And then to seesome results from it on the field was good."The pass-catching tight end is back in fashion in Buffalo, thanks toChandler and his 6-foot-7, 263-pound frame presenting a big target.His two scores equal the number of touchdowns Bills tight ends produced overthe past two seasons combined. And he's the Bills first tight end to have twoscores in one season since Robert Royal had three in 2007."I've been in the league for a while, so I think I know what I'm capableof," Chandler said. "I don't want to say I went out there expecting it, but Iexpected to succeed."Chandler is finally getting a shot after being stuck behind such establishedstars as Antonio Gates (San Diego), Jason Witten (Dallas) and Kevin Boss (NewYork). And though he didn't get much playing time in his previous stops,Chandler drew from each of his experiences."As frustrating as those four years were, they weren't a waste," he said."There's a lot to learn from those guys, and I soaked up as much as I could."Coach Chan Gailey had several reasons to say he was "pleased" withChandler's performance. Aside from the production, Gailey noted how Chandler nowprovides the passing attack another threat beyond receivers Stevie Johnson andDonald Jones, who also scored against Kansas City, as well as David Nelson andRoscoe Miami Dolphins Jersey Parrish.That means Authentic Houston Texans Jerseys defenses must now pay more attention to Chandler."I hope they're sitting up at nights worrying about that because the moreweapons we have, the more ways we can spread the ball around," Gailey said.Chandler is pleased to finally be able to contribute, while helping theBills kick off the season with a convincing win. And he can't help but thinkback to May, when he got back in his car in Buffalo to make the drive home."I sat there and thought, `Good, that was worth it,"' Chandler said."Looking back, there wasn't any other decision for me to make."Notes: The Bills are following an NFL recommendation Authentic Seattle Seahawks Jerseys to have securityofficials conduct enhanced pat-downs of fans Authentic St.Louis Rams Jerseys entering the stadium. The newpolicy means fans will also be patted down from the knees to ankles.  DTTorell Troup (back) and LB Arthur Moats (knee) both returned to practice on alimited Carolina Panthers Jersey Authentic basis after missing the season opener last week.  Former Bills DEPhil Hansen will be inducted onto the team's Wall of Fame Washington Redskins Jersey during a halftimeceremony Sunday.

Every Tuesday during the NFL season, we script out the 15 most compelling story lines in the upcoming week's games.1. The Falcons had some hiccups last season, but at no point were they so thoroughly outplayed from start to finish as they were in Sunday's loss to the Bears — not even in the playoff loss to the Packers, in which they were just overwhelmed in the second half. This was a four-quarter debacle, and now they must come home, wounded, and face an Eagles team that was sloppy but still managed to win on the road by three scores. "Let's not say the sky is falling," head coach Mike Smith said after the loss in Chicago. "I know that we will get things fixed." But can they be fixed internally? They might be having a bit of an identity crisis. No one questions the move to draft WR Julio Jones, who had an auspicious debut with 71 yards receiving and already looks seasoned. But the defense doesn't appear significantly upgraded, and the power run game of yore looks gone. They moved on from free-agent OG Harvey Dahl, a big slobberknocker, in the offseason and saw C Todd McClure's 144-games-started streak end. Dahl's replacement, Garrett Reynolds, had trouble keeping Bears DT Henry Melton (two sacks, seven QB hits) out of QB Matt Ryan's face much of the day. The Eagles are not big defensively, so perhaps a dose of the old run game in the first quarter — like the Rams used effectively early on — might be on the menu.2. The Eagles simply had more speed than the Rams. Michael Vick (several back-breaking escapes from pressure; 97 yards rushing) and LeSean McCoy (17 touches, 137 yards, two TDs) just sucked the wind out of the Rams' defense, and DeSean Jackson, despite a sure TD drop, also came up with some big catches downfield. The Falcons not only have to pressure Vick, but they have to take him down and not let McCoy Official San Francisco 49ers Jersey leak out as a safety valve. Easier said than done. LB Sean Witherspoon was out of position on a few plays in coverage Sunday. Vick's accuracy was poor Sunday, and it might hover around the 50-percent mark as WRs Jeremy Maclin and Steve Smith work themselves into game shape and the offensive line works out its significant kinks. But Cincinnati Bengals Jersey I don't think the emotional factor of returning to Atlanta will have an effect. Vick now has played the Falcons twice since his release from prison, once in Atlanta in 2009, and should be able to keep things in check. What he must do, though, is worry less about making the heroic plays and focus more on being effective on the little stuff. Sunday's game tape showed there were plenty of things to clean up.3. Right now, the Rams are feeling a lot worse about themselves than they did a week ago. It appears the injury to QB Sam Bradford (finger) isn't serious, but RB Steven Jackson (quadriceps) probably is out for Sunday and CB Ronald Bartell (neck) and WR Danny Amendola (elbow) could be out for significant time, perhaps the season. ORT Jason Smith (ankle) also left the Jets Jerseys Shop game Sunday. This is a big early test in Steve Spagnuolo's tenure, as his Rams have gone from prohibitive favorites in the NFC West to suddenly having the floor drop from beneath them. He also has to battle emotions as he returns to New York to face his old Giants club where he made a name for himself under Tom Coughlin. Defensively, though, Spagnuolo might have more success scheming against Eli Manning than he did against Vick, who simply ran away from a dozen pressures.4. The Giants are clearly no healthy unit, either, but they did not suffer any more losses Sunday other than on the scoreboard. The run defense was pretty good, and there were pressures despite the absence of DEs Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, but the pass coverage was subpar for this group. CB Corey Webster had an up-and-down day. Offensively, though, it was rough to watch. Eli Manning just doesn't look like himself; he hasn't since football has come back. No doubt the loss of his safety net, WR Steve Smith, contributes to his lack of confidence. Hakeem Nicks is great, and Mario Manningham is a talented No. 2, but there is nothing happening in the middle of the field. Opponents can play outside leverage on Nicks and Manningham and use safeties over the top because there is no tight end to fear and no slot guy to worry about working the underneath stuff. When the run game stalls, as it did Sunday, the Giants are not going to win a lot of games. Despite the Rams' injuries, this will not be a cakewalk for the Giants.5. Chargers-Patriots will feature two great offensive teams playing in New England, but each team has a few other things to clean up after Week One. The Chargers, plagued so much by special teams a year ago, got off to a nightmare start, allowing a 103-yard KO return and losing their kicker (Pro Bowler Nate Kaeding) on the same play. Things settled down after that a bit, but the groups are still a weakness until proven otherwise. And the early returns on the Patriots' new 4-3 defense were mostly good after the first game— even though it gave up 488 yards, mostly through the air — but that was against Chad Henne and the Dolphins. Philip Rivers and the Chargers obviously provide a different animal of a challenge, but the Vikings did have success hemming the passing game in for three quarters by playing deep safeties and getting pressure with their defensive ends. Can the Pats get pressure? It didn't happen early in Miami, but their front seemed to wear down the Fish by the end of the game.6. So when was the last time a team went on the road, beat a division winner NFL New England Patriots Jerseys the previous season by 34 points and get less national ink than the Bills? Even here, I am listing them sixth. So what's the deal? People might not be able to name a lot of Bills players if you spot them Ryan Fitzpatrick, and quite frankly there are not a lot of believers until they beat someone else. But this offense might be quite for real, and here's doubting that the Raiders, coming off a 23-20 win over the Broncos and traveling on a short week, can do much to stop it. The Bills' offensive line is far from a name group, and the run defense needs to turn in more impressive performances before I am convinced that major change has occurred. But this team is competitive and looks to go 2-0 in a very winnable situation.7. Rex Grossman might not inspire a lot of confidence outside of Redskins Park, but in the building everyone is on board. There appears to be a bit of a culture change in D.C. with the players, for the first time since before Jim Zorn was coach, refusing to take their Monday off following a victory. The troops reported back to work, wanting to build on their 28-14 Week One victory. And Grossman is winning over people one at a time. He was not perfect Sunday, but he was darned good, moving the offense with aggressive, attacking throws. Against the Cardinals, who blitzed the heck out of Cam Newton in Week One, Grossman might have some very favorable coverages to exploit. That defense is bad.8. Perhaps the most impressive team in Week One, the Ravens will have to show they were not merely feeding off the energy of the Steelers rivalry. But they looked about as good as a team can look in all three phases, taking control of the game from the first snap and pushing down on the Steelers' necks. So what in the heck could the Ravens do against the Titans? I'll give Tennessee credit: It has some fight in that dog. But if the Jaguars were able to find a pass rush against the Titans, good God, what are Haloti Ngata and Terrell Suggs going to do against them? And offensively, the Ravens were a different team. Lee Evans caught zero passes Sunday, but I can tell you his presence was felt. Just having that deep threat there opposite Anquan Boldin changes the playbook. And who needs Todd Heap? Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta showed they can be factors, too. I don't smell a letdown from the Ravens.9. I also can't imagine the Steelers playing any worse. If there is a young coach better at fixing problems and motivating veteran players than Mike Tomlin, then I haven't seen him. It's not like we haven't talked about the Steelers' deficiencies in the secondary or on the offensive line before, either. But Sunday felt a little different in that the Steelers' defense hasn't looked this old in a long time. Yes, teams such as the Packers have spread them out and exposed their lack of speed. But Sunday, Ravens receivers, backs and tight ends were running freely — and away from Steelers defenders. I have no doubt that their pride and talent will show up in a big way against the Seahawks. These are the types of games they almost always dominate. But this might be a long-term story worth keeping an eye on.10. After an extra few days of rest, the Saints will have regrouped from Green Bay with some clear missions: improve the pass rush, get more from the run game and find a way to replace Marques Colston for the next month or so. But they also have some interesting motivation against their Week Two opponent, the Bears. Seems that many Saints fans who made the trip north to Chicago five years ago for the NFC title game felt that a number of Bears fans made some classless Katrina comments before, during and after the game in Chicago. Saints fans are some of the best in the league, but they haven't forgotten, I am told; expect a very loud, lusty cheering section on Sunday. And oh, yeah, the game: The Bears showed they are better than about 90 percent of the country thinks they are, and they handled the passing game of the Falcons quite well, abusing Matt Ryan and that offensive line. So whom do the Bears get to attack on Sunday? Old friend Olin Kreutz, who had a nasty divorce from the team in August, is the Saints' starting center. Lots of anger could be in the air for what should be a very hard-fought game in the Dome.11. The Bears might be atop the NFC North, but it's a three-way tie atop the division with the Lions and Packers, and each was impressive in Week One. The Lions were the better team in Tampa in Week One, but they also were the most mistake-prone. One of Lions head coach Jim Schwartz's key goals this season is to make this a smarter team, one that can finish off wins (a problem during last season's 2-10 start but less so during the 4-0 finish) and not beat itself with mistakes. After surviving a few early miscues (a pick-six and a breakdown on Authentic Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys punt coverage), the Lions almost committed their biggest boner when Gosder Cherilus was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and gave the Bucs a better chance to win. That led Schwartz to say, "There are some things that happened in this game that are inexcusable and will not continue." I expect a cleaner game from these hypertalented Lions Sunday against the Chiefs, who had about as bad an opening week (34-point home loss, Eric Berry out for the season) as any team in the NFL.12. It feels like about three weeks ago that the Packers finished off the Saints in the terrific season opener, and the talk about 16-0 has already started — in hushed voices, of course — in some parts of Wisconsin. It probably won't happen if history is any indication, but it has been a few seasons since we have seen an offensive team with this Cheap Ravens Jersey kind of talent playing at this level of execution. Other than a few penalties on the offensive line and maybe some things in the run game, there's not much to complain about. They'll have no problems moving the ball against the Panthers, who just lost their defensive heart and soul, MLB Jon Beason, to a season-ending injury. But what should be interesting to watch is how their defense attacks the run game and Cam Newton. The Packers came away saying they allowed too many yards and big plays against the Saints, and Newton's unique skills will provide a nice challenge for a group that eventually will regain its Super Bowl form in time.13. I already wrote a lot Sunday night about Newton's debut. Just throwing his name out there in a few conversations with league people on Monday, and most were impressed. Heard a lot of "didn't know he had it in him" comments, expecting him to run more and throw with far less accuracy. But he will come down to Earth this week, and, if so, the question will be: NFL Reebok Football Bears Jerseys How far? Can he make a few plays against the world champs? In terms of confidence, we know he will be high early, and maybe he can scramble successfully against a few of those semi-slow Packers linebackers. But I'll be watching his demeanor after a turnover, a bad play, some kind of adversity. I want to see how he handles pressure against a better team in his first home game. The Panthers' coaches have done a great job of keeping the playbook fairly basic right now and yet still allowing Cheap Vikings Jerseys Newton to play to his strengths.14. It's hard to make excuses for Tony Romo when he continues to undermine his own play with one or two key mistakes in crucial situations. Heck, Dez Bryant might have indeed been supposed to sit down on that route in front of the bracket coverage. But there's no way that Romo can make that throw, regardless. And the red-zone scramble and fumble is just careless football. Some Cowboys folks I have talked to over the years say it's not stupidity; they insist Romo is as football-smart as some of the coaches. But his overconfidence that he can make any play at any time — and many times, he has made those plays — might be Romo's Achilles' heel. Will that manifest itself against the 49ers on Sunday? Perhaps not. But anyone who can remember the first three quarters of Sunday night's game saw a Cowboys team that, if its depth isn't too thin and injuries don't kill it, can win the NFC East. As we have said before and will continue to say: It all falls on Romo.15. The Texans might coast to the AFC South title, but they are far from a perfect team. The Kevin Walter injury hurts (although it's not nearly as serious as initially thought), especially considering that his would-be replacement, Jacoby Jones, is also their primary punt returner. But they will go to Miami a confident team, one that still can get better offensively (imagine that) and is still leaning Wade Phillips' defensive scheme. Defensively, they are trying to create mismatches, and someone else is likely going to have to step up with Mario Williams (two sacks as a linebacker in Week One) going up against Dolphins OLT Jake Long. But we might see Arian Foster back on offense, and if not, Ben Tate showed he could be a darned good replacement — maybe even better. Yeah, I said it.