Blanco leads as Brooks recedes

While it has almost become commonplace to expect the unexpected in the National Football League, the majority of teams favored to pull of wins last weekend did so in the comforts of their home stadiums and in their opponents’ lairs as well.

Indianapolis put the stop to the Cleveland Browns’ wild ride with a 13-6 win at home to become the first team since the Second World War to hold opponents to single digits through the first three games of the season.

Last season Payton Manning was under pressure to score early and often to get the horseshoes into the win column, but Dwight Freeney’s three sacks against Cleveland highlighted the reversal of fortunes in racecar town.

The San Diego “Super” Chargers also won at home to break their two-game slide, and they did so by blowing up the N.Y. Giants 45-23 in So Cal. Coach Marty Schottenheimer finally realized that they have the upgraded reincarnation of Thurman Thomas in the offensive huddle, but squirmin’ Thurman never rushed for 192 yards, caught six passes for 28 yards, and threw a 26-yard touchdown pass in one game for the Buffalo Bills in their heyday. With 220 yards from scrimmage, LaDainian Tomlinson set the bar for the 2005 season in Week 3 by earning the offensive player of the week nod, and he looks to improve this weekend at New England, but the Pats have other plans.

Tom Brady has led the chowder heads to three Super Bowl victories in his four-year career, and look to be on course to do the same at 2-1. Even if he can’t get the boys from Boston into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown he can rely on the ever-accurate leg of place kicker Adam Vinatieri who nailed his 18th career game-winning field goal with a 43-yarder to melt the Steelers at Heinz Field last week, 23-20.

There was no surprise by fans of the game when he split the uprights, but there was plenty of eyebrows raised when Carson Palmer threw for three touchdowns in Cincinnati’s 24-7 win over Chicago in the windy city. The Bengals quarterback led the team to its first 3-0 start since 1990, and even more remarkable is that he finished the game with a rating of 136.9.

The big time performances continued with a dominating display by Cadillac Williams. The Tampa Bay rookie running back did it again against the Packers in Green Bay during the 17-16 win over the cheese heads and broke Alan Ameche’s record set in 1955 for the most yards gained to start the season with 434. Williams’ closest competitor is Shawn Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks with 357, which is still a solid number to say the least.

The Bucs have been churning out wins weekly and look to be a serious contender with wins over Minnesota, Buffalo, and the Pack, but an in-state team is beginning to rival Tampa, as Miami is quietly in first at 2-1.

After beating Denver and losing to the Jets, the Dolphins nipped the Carolina Panthers by a field goal thanks in large part to the 132 yards that Ronnie Brown picked up on 32 carries in front of the home fans.

Willis McGahee bested Brown with 140 yards and a touchdown on 27 rushes for the Buffalo Bills in their 24-16 loss to Tampa, but he would rather have the “W” any day.

As passers go, the injured Donovan McNabb leads the league with 964 yards through the air, followed by Brady (948), and Kerry Collins (873), but the king of soup is battered and bruised for this weekend’s match with the Chiefs at Arrowhead and has vowed to stay on the field until he is carried off.

His silent partner in crime Terrell Owens is currently fifth in the league with 335 receiving yards behind league leader Tori Holt (358), and Randy “Sorry I ran you over officer” Moss (343), Steve Smith (342) and Terry Glenn (336).

With the Eagles, Redskins, Giants, and Cowboys all doing well, it will be a matter of how long McNabb and company can keep going if they hope to return to the big show.

On the local scene, John Blanco gave Rich Brooks the boot from the first-place penthouse with an impressive 11-3 record that vaulted him to the top of the standings with an overall tally of 29-17, but last year’s champ Will Hunter was able to match the weekly mark to improve to second place at 28-28. Jon Cramer surged into third place with a respectable 9-5 finish despite the Kansas City loss, and Brooks slid all the way down to fourth place after a dismal 5-9 showing. After talking trash, the psycho gnome found himself in the dumpster, but Brooks still fared better than the Cardinal-loving Lil’ Mahi at 4-10. As a guy who watched his home team walk away from four consecutive Super Bowls with losses, I can only say that picking the winner has to be less about your heart and more about your brain. As one of the smartest kids I’ve met, the Mahi finally parted with Kurt Warner and opted to go with the 49ers in Mexico City. Hope I’m right kiddo!