Various NFL Commentary

Tony Gonzalez was unhappy about not breaking the record for receiving yards by a tight end at Arrowhead.

I'm with Herm Edwards on this one. When you have a big lead, every single team in the NFL runs the ball to grind down the clock. Not to mention any time a Chiefs quarterback puts the ball in the air, there's an abnormally high chance that it gets intercepted. I guess it's unfortunate that he couldn't break the record in front of the home crowd, but ultimately winning games should take priority, something the Chiefs haven't done much of lately. Gonzalez has been the consummate professional his entire career, there's no reason that should change now. Hey, it's possible that they won't throw him the ball at all in Carolina, then the Chiefs are on bye, then he can break the record at Arrowhead against the Titans. Would that make him happy?

Larry Johnson asks for more carries, delivers.

I had my doubts two weeks ago when Larry Johnson complained that he should be a bigger part of the Chiefs "offense." I'm not sure why, maybe it was the 3.3 YPC against New England in week one or the atrocious 1.8 YPC against Oakland in week 2 (two teams who are not exactly renowned for their run defenses). But since then he's got two 100+ yard games, including the 198 yard monster against Denver. We'll see if he's for real against Carolina and Tennessee in weeks 5 and 7.

Kevin Smith loses starting job to Rudi Johnson, complains.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, here we have a rookie running back losing his job to a proven veteran. Granted, Smith's numbers have been a little skewed by the Lions being forced to pass more after getting into huge deficits, but Smith hasn't exactly stolen the show with the carries he has gotten. Meanwhile Rudi Johnson (presumably after recovering his baggage) showed up with a 14 carry, 83 yard, 1 TD performance against the 49ers as the backup. Smith had 3 carries for 14 yards.

TO has a "serious talk" with Tony Romo after the Cowboys 26-24 loss to Washington.

Uh oh, here we go again. I seem to remember TO having a serious talk with another quarterback in the NFC East that didn't end well. It was pretty obvious the Cowboys were trying to force feed TO in the second half, and as a result neutralized probably their best overall offensive player in Marion Barber by giving him a ridiculously low number of carries (I can't remember the exact number, but it wasn't much). Note to Terrell Owens- you have the get open. On a related note, Patrick Crayton still has a serious case of the dropsies. His game was as if he was playing the Giants in the divisional playoffs or something.

Lane Kiffin finally fired from Raiders' Head Coaching job.

This had potential to turn into the Brett Favre of the coaching position. For Kiffin this must be a huge relief. Al Davis is obviously insane if he thinks any coach can turn a team as horrible as the Raiders around in a single season. Not to mention Kiffin opposed major offseason signings that any idiot could have predicted wouldn't work out (Javon Walker, Tommy Kelly, DeAngelo Hall), wanted to draft the best athlete available as well as one that would fill a major need at DT in Glenn Dorsey, and had to put up with Davis' antics when he wanted to simply control who was on his own staff. Not exactly Mike Ditka/Buddy Ryan, but it's not like Rob Ryan was/is doing anything special.

Scott Linehan removed from Rams HC position.

Everyone saw this coming. What really gets me is his replacement- Jim Haslett- the Rams defensive coordinator. Uh, last I checked the Rams haven't allowed less than 31 points through 4 weeks. Linehan did do Haslett one final favor, however, by benching quarterback Marc Bulger. Haslett now starts off on the right foot by re-instating Bulger as the starter.

Derek Anderson staves off the wolves with win over Cincinnati.

Ok, I admit that something is wrong with Derek Anderson, but it's not like his supporting cast is doing terribly well either. Braylon Edwards looks horrible, Donte Stallworth is a nonfactor just like he was in New England, Kellen Winslow can't get open, and Jamal Lewis put up a few performances worthy of Shaun Alexander or Cedric Benson before the Cincinnati game. The problems are not all Anderson's fault. In addition, what makes anyone think that Brady Quinn is the answer? Clearly he was drafted to be the long-term solution, but if Quinn starts the next month he has the Giants, Redskins, Jaguars, and Ravens on the schedule. Yeah, what a great way to start your career and build confidence by getting destroyed by 3 of the league's best defenses and a solid one in the Jags. Let Anderson take the fall, Quinn's not going to fare any better.