NFL Notes & A Sad Admission

Some thoughts as we careen toward the regular season in the NFL:

Antonio Bryant, a receiver from Tampa, looked like a game-breaker against the Patriots Sunday night. He had one 33-yard catch that could have clinched him the third-WR spot behind Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard. And considering Galloway and Hilliard are a combined 69 years old (not exaggerating), there’s a good chance both will miss some games. Watch for Bryant to pick up the slack.

After watching Jim Sorgi and Matt Cassel play in lieu of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, respectively, I have come to this conclusion: The Colts could survive without Manning for a couple games. The Pats could not survive without Brady.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is going to be good, and rookie receiver Harry Douglas is going to be his guy, but this year is going to be extremely tough. The Falcons are definitely on the sleeper watch for next season, though.

I watched Brett Favre work the Jets offense after just a few days of practice and I got scared. They looked better than at any point I’ve seen them in a long, long time. And with Laverneous Coles sitting out, it’s been Jerricho Cotchery developing the early relationship with Favre.

It seems like no matter when Darren McFadden gets hit, he always finds a way to fall forward.

Elsewhere on the Raiders, tight end Zach Miller is going to lead the club in receptions. Javon Walker looks completely done and even got called out by head coach Lane Kiffin after the game.

Vince Young looks like a clueless rookie. Going into year three, he should be so much better than he was on Friday.

The Packers offensive line got demolished by the 49ers. Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times.

49ers rookie receiver Josh Morgan, a sixth-round pick from Virginia Tech, is doing a whole lot to get himself noticed. In two games, he has 9 catches for 182 yards and a touchdown. Five of the 9 receptions have been for 20 yards or more. Normally, you just kind of chalk that up to preseason and go on your way. But this is the 49ers and Mike Martz we’re talking about. If Mad Mike decides Morgan is a guy who gets it, he could find himself starting opposite Isaac Bruce from week 1.

Another Virginia Tech receiver who seems to be getting some play is Eddie Royal, taken in the second round by the Broncos. He had two catches for 67 yards against the Cowboys.

I know Brandon Marshall is suspended for three games (which will probably be knocked down to two) and I’ve sworn up and down that I’d never select another Denver player for as long as Mike Shanahan is head coach, but damn that guy is good. I’m talking about maybe being top five in the league good. If he’s still sitting there in the early middle rounds of the draft, I’m going to have a serious quandary on my hands.

Dallas rookie back Felix Jones has serious skill. He’s going to end up costing Marion Barber some numbers.

Buffalo tight end Robert Royal caught two touchdowns Thursday night against Pittsburgh. On the one hand, they were his only two catches of the preseason, so you could chalk it up to the fluke nature of the preseason. On the other hand, both were as part of the first-team offense in the Red Zone (one from the 7, the other from the 13) and both were thrown by starting QB Trent Edwards. In a new offense, could this be an indication that Royal is in line for a scoring explosion? I would never pick Royal, but it makes me wonder about the status of Marshawn Lynch in the Red Zone game plan.

Dan Carpenter, the undrafted free agent replacing Jay Feely in Miami, made all four of his field-goal attempts as the Dolphins beat Jacksonville. I might just draft him just so everybody in the draft room says “who the hell is that?”

Another guy nobody’s ever heard of who will at some point make a lot of fantasy rosters this season: Seattle’s Brandon Coutu, who kicked five field goals Saturday, including two from beyond 40 yards and a 36-yard game-winner in overtime. Couto, a seventh-round selection out of Georgia, is fighting Olindo Mare for the place-kicking job. (You might remember Mare as the guy who sucks. He lost his job in Dallas last year to another rookie, Nick Folk, the fourth-highest scoring kicker in 2007.)

The previous two paragraphs are perfect examples why one should never, ever pick a kicker before the last round.

You know you suck as a defensive back when the fans are so sick of you, every time an opposing receiver catches a ball in front of you, they boo - loudly. Such was the case for New Orleans’ Jason David, who was abused by Houston WR Kevin Walters. He couldn't be more unpopular if he suggested Bourbon Street should ban strip clubs and booze.

Two guys who made their teams on Monday night: New York’s Domenik Hixon (2 RD receiving, plus an 82-yard TD on a free-kick return following a safety) and Cleveland’s Syndric Steptoe (80 yards and a TD receiving, 130 yards on two kick-off returns).

I hate Tony Kornheiser. I hate the guy who hired Tony Kornheiser. I hate Tony Kornheiser’s friends. I hate Tony Kornheiser’s family (unless they themselves hate Tony Kornheiser). He’s worse than Dennis Miller, Joe Theisman, John Madden, Joe Morgan and Tim McCarver combined. And I look forward to the day he shuts the hell up and goes away.

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So I have a pretty sad confession to make: I’m rooting for the storm.

The storm in question is Tropical Storm Fay, and it’s bearing down on the Florida coast. Why am I rooting for such a thing just a few years after the disasters of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Because it could help me in fantasy baseball.

See, I’m in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot with three weeks to go. I’m playing the first-place team this week, and he’s got me on roster talent. But what he also has is Francisco Rodriguez and John Garland. Rodriguez is the Angels closer. Garland is an Angels starter scheduled for two starts this week. As the storm bears down on Tampa, the likelihood of the Rays-Angels series getting rained out increases. If that happens, Rodriguez will get fewer save chances, and Garland would likely lose his second start. That could be the difference between winning and losing, making the playoffs or sitting it out once again.

I really want to make the playoffs.

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Terrible. Just terrible.