Status quo for progs on pros

Another week in the National Football League has come and gone, and with it went the health of a number of standout players who have meant a lot to their teams’ success in the first quarter of the season.

Just as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were sailing back toward more respectable seas, rookie sensation Cadillac Williams suffered an injury that kept him out of the Bucs’ 14-12 loss to the New York Jets in the Meadowlands. Coach John Gruden said that he will be wheeling his favorite car out of the garage this weekend when they take on the Dolphins at home, but instead of facing a 63-year-old Vinny Testaverde, “Chuckie” will be facing a rejuvenated Rickey Williams.

The biggest injury in the AFC came in the closing stages of the San Diego Chargers contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers as Ben Roethlisberger took an ugly shot to his knee that left him crumpled up on the field.

With only two losses in his career in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger was actually looking better than he did last year, but the Steelers could be in trouble if they have to rely on Charlie Batch at the helm.

Much like the story of Job, the gods of football seem to be testing the mettle of the New England Patriots as they added linebacker Willie McGinest to their string of injured starters. It is a tough pill to swallow for a team that has lost two of their big name linebackers, their inspirational safety in Rodney Harrison, their offensive and defensive coordinators, and a handful of ticket vendors who opted to take the same job across town in the Fleet Center when the National Hockey League welcomed the Bruins back to Boston.

At least one thing remained a relative constant—the Arizona Cardinals still stink. The difference is that they didn’t stink as bad against the Carolina Panthers last week, but a loss is still a loss. Fortunately for their fans, they won’t have to endure another dismal outing this week as they are joining the Packers, Eagles, and 49ers on the sidelines with a bye week.

It couldn’t have come at a worse time for Green Bay as Brett Favre finally had the breakout game he needed to get the cheese heads into the win column. After totaling 72 points in their first four losses of the season, the Pack put up 52 on the hapless Saints. Favre was understandably happy after the game, but the clock is ticking on that cannon arm of his.

Another aspect of last week’s results that was not surprising at all is that the Lil’ Mahi returned to his beloved Arizona Cardinals over the Super Bowl-bound Carolina Panthers. That’s swell, keep going with whatever team your heart desires! Even if you lose you can still be happy. That’s kind of the way I felt after picking the Dolphins over the Bills. I feel a little dirty about doing it, but now everything is right in Buffalo again as a guy named Kelly led the Bills to victory.

All warm and fuzzies aside, Blanco and Hunter are locked in a first place struggle with identical records of 48-26, and they still have Cramer three games behind at 45-29. With five weeks down and 12 to go, all three of them are not completely out of the woods as Brooks is even-Steven at 37-37, and the Lil’ Mahi is still in the hunt at 31-43.