This deal can be a huge win for both teams. The Bengals get two high draft picks for a player who basically told them to go to hell. The Raiders all of a sudden have a front-line quarterback to pair with their powerful running game. They are mortgaging the future, but they must see real potential to get to the playoffs and compete this season. Ironically, this is a the type of deal All Davis would have made.

Palmer has been an excellent quarterback for years, but his skills seem to have slipped a bit. That said, he has a big arm, and he can rejuvenate his career on a team with a running game.

As for the Bengals, everyone left them for dead at the beginning of the season because they had a rookie quarterback, but the Bengals have a solid defense and Dalton looks pretty good so far. Now they have more picks to build for the future.

Toss that hair!

Washington Redskins cheerleader with killer smile.

We love blondes!

DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

- A week after the Bucs were absolutely embarrassed by the 49ers in San Francisco, they turn around on Sunday and dominate the Saints to even things up in the NFC South. Granted, this was the Saints’ third-straight road game and their head coach had to call plays from the bench and from up in the booth after tearing his MCL and fracturing his tibia in a nasty first-quarter collision with his tight end on the sidelines. But still, you can’t take anything away from the Bucs today. They picked off Drew Brees, forced four turnovers and got a 300-yard performance out of Josh Freeman. They were also without promising runner LeGarrette Blount, but Earnest Graham filled in admirably with a 109-yard effort. Suddenly the NFC South is once again tight, as the Saints and Bucs are both 4-2 and the Falcons are only one game behind at 3-3.

- Who would have thought that the midfield handshake would provide more action than the actual game between the 49ers and Lions today? I’m sure plenty of Lion fans were upset with Jim Harbaugh’s excitement following the Niners’ win in Detroit, which is understandable. Considering Harbaugh didn’t have his finest coaching performance of the year, he probably could have toned down his exuberance while heading out to midfield to shake Jim Schwartz’s hand. But let’s make one thing clear: If you’re going to dish it out, you better be willing to take it. And Schwartz has been dishing it out all year in the form of taunting opposing players and nearly knocking himself out with hay-maker fist pumps. In fact, as my good buddy Drew (a huge Lions fan) pointed out following the game, Schwartz gave Harbaugh guff in the first quarter after the San Fran coach challenged a touchdown. Schwartz seemingly shouted “No the rules!” at the 49er sideline. The Niners won and Harbaugh has every right to be excited. Schwartz should have kept his composure.

- For about the 9,000,000 time in my career, I was wrong about the Bears. They screw me at every turn. When I predict that they’ll win, they don’t. When I say they’ll lose, they completely dominate a divisional opponent 39-10 on national television. I don’t understand them and quite frankly, I don’t want to understand them. I have zero clue when it comes to predicting the success or failures of the Chicago Bears, whom I predicted would beat Peyton Manning in the 2006 Super Bowl. (We all know how that turned out and I think it’s fitting that I mention that game on the same day Rex Grossman throws four interceptions.) Tonight I thought Jared Allen and Adrian Peterson would take over the game in Chicago and instead, Jay Cutler and Devin Hester put on a clinic. They were masterful against a Minnesota team that I thought was a tad better than its record indicated. Thus, I humbly eat crow, as I was once again was wrong about Chicago. Congrats, Bears – you mother…

AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM…

- People have been waiting months for Mike Shanahan’s decision to start Rex Grossman to blow up in his face and it finally happened on Sunday. If the Redskins had anything resembling a quarterback they probably would have beaten the Eagles, whose offense went into hibernation in the second half. But instead they had Grossman, who was extra awful in a four-interception performance. The John Beck talk can wait until tomorrow. Here’s the question for today: Why didn’t the Redskins try to run the ball more? I know they fell behind 20-0 in the first half but for God’s sake, Philadelphia’s run defense is the worst in the league and Washington attempted 14 rushes. Nice game plan, Shanahan. You really thought this one through.

- I think Jason Garrett played not to lose on Dallas’ second to last possession of the fourth quarter. While nursing a 16-13 lead with 3:36 remaining in the game, Garrett went conservative with three straight runs as New England forced a three-and-out. Then Garrett watched as Tom Brady marched right up the field for the game-winning score. Hindsight is always 20/20 but considering Tony Romo (317 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was having a pretty good day up to that point, I wonder why Garrett didn’t attempt a pass or two to try and pick up a few first downs. Instead, he gave Brady the ball back with an opportunity to win the game. That’s a losing proposition nearly 100-percent of the time and it certainly was again today.

- For as well as Matthew Stafford has played this season, he was pretty bad today. He was sacked five times, including once for a safety. He also looked scatter shot in the pocket and kept throwing the ball sidearm while trying to fit it into the smallest of windows. That said, the Lions were coming off a short week and an emotional win on Monday night against a division rival. They were due for a letdown, even with a good San Francisco team coming to town. All-in-all, the Lions are still 5-1 and sitting pretty in the NFC.

- If the Bills are going to make the playoffs this season then the defense has to keep up their end of the bargain. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw a costly interception late in the fourth quarter today against the Giants but the offense is doing all it can to win games for Buffalo. At some point the defense will have to start overachieving or else the Bills are going to struggle to keep pace in an ultra-competitive AFC.

- Considering this was their third straight road game and Sean Payton had to call the plays from the bench after he tore his MCL and fractured his tibia, the Saints deserve a reprieve for their performance in Tampa Bay. That said, a lot of their issues from a year ago were on display again today: Turnovers, poor execution by the defense, and a sloppy performance by Drew Brees. Seeing as how the Bucs were absolutely drummed by the 49ers last weekend in San Francisco, I expected more out of New Orleans today.

- The Texans’ defense held its own in the first-half against the Ravens without Mario Williams, but a 51-yard reception by Torrey Smith and a 56-yard snag by Anquan Boldin killed them in the first half. Even though they’re still in good shape in the AFC South, the Texans’ confidence has to be waning. They need to stabilize the situation quickly before things really get out of hand.

- The Jaguars have to be somewhat pleased that they were able to make a game of it in Pittsburgh today after falling behind 17-0. That said, what a rough day for Rashean Mathis. Not only was he brutalized in coverage but he also got stiff-armed by Rashard Mendenhall on the running back’s 68-yard run. His teammates deserved more effort than that out of the veteran corner.

“CHAMPIONSHIP”…

- Not the greatest performance by Jim Harbaugh and his 49ers today, but they proved that they could beat a good team on the road. Detroit isn’t exactly an easy place to play, even when the Lions are licking the basement of the NFC North. Ford Field gets even tougher when the home team is 5-0 and the crowd is pissed off following an ugly exit for the Tigers in the ALCS. But regardless, the Niners overcame a tough environment and another inconsistent effort by Alex Smith to reach 5-1 on the season. That’s pretty impressive, especially when you stop and think that they’re one bad quarter against Dallas away from being 6-0. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the Niners don’t win the NFC West running away.

- One more note on the San Fran-Detroit game: I think the refs made the right call on that pivotal Delanie Walker touchdown catch. When the play ran live, I thought Walker’s knee was clearly down. But the refs did the right thing by calling it a touchdown and then sending it up to the booth for a review. And while watching the review, it looked like his knee went down either a split second before or after the tip of the ball went across the goal line. In other words, it wasn’t indisputable evidence that it wasn’t a touchdown. If you’re a Detroit fan, you’re right to have beef with the call but if the Lions score one more touchdown in the second half they win and that play winds up being insignificant.

- Hey, they’re not all going to be pretty. The Patriots found a way to beat the Cowboys despite a sloppy performance by the offense. All eyes were on the New England defense coming into the game and for the most part, it certainly did its job. While Wes Welker and Jason Witten had quiet days, that final drive was classic Tom Brady, wasn’t it? Ten plays and 80 yards in two minutes and nine seconds. Brady was 7-for-8 on that drive, which included the 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez that left the Cowboys with just enough time not to be able to do anything to respond.

- What a huge blow for the Raiders, who notched another win to get to 4-2 on the year. Jason Campbell’s season-ending injury forces the front office to make its first big decision in the post-Al Davis era. Will Oakland stick with Kyle Boller? Get Terrelle Pryor up to speed quickly? Trade for Kyle Orton before Tuesday’s deadline? Gasp! Sign Brett Favre? Gasp again just for good measure! Things are about to get real interesting in Oakland.

- The Eagles still haven’t played a full four quarters since their season opening victory against the Rams, but a win is a win – especially for a team that had lost its previous four games. Philly is still alive thanks in large part to LeSean McCoy and the awfulness that is Rex Grossman, and can now collect itself during its bye. Time to work whatever magic you have left, Andy Reid.

- What a massive interception by Giants’ corner Corey Webster in the fourth quarter against the Bills. New York was on its way to squandering a fourth quarter lead for the second time in two games before Webster went up high to snatch a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass out of the air. Had the Bills scored and went on to win, a huge cloud of doubt would have formed over Giants Stadium the next two weeks. Instead, thanks in large part to Webster, Eli Manning and a big day from Ahmad Bradshaw, the Giants head into their bye with a 4-2 record. Not bad for a team many thought would crumble under the amount of injuries they suffered in preseason.

- I didn’t like Green Bay’s second half performance against St. Louis because when you couple it with the Packs’ first-half against the Falcons last week, you wonder if the slightest of cracks are starting to form in the foundation. For the first time all year, the Packers let their foot off the gas and if it weren’t for a couple of poor decisions by Sam Bradford, the Rams would have made it a game in the second half. That said, Aaron Rodgers’ first-half performance was perfect. Literally. It was literally perfect. He had a perfect passer rating at halftime after throwing three touchdown passes in the second quarter. The bullet he threw to James Jones to make the score 10-0 was incredible. That’s the type of pass that makes you wonder how he fell 23 picks in the draft. Twenty-three picks!

- For anyone who has watched him play this year, there’s no question that Michael Turner’s game is declining. But with Julio Jones sidelined and the offense in a major funk, the Falcons turned the clocks back and put a game on Turner’s shoulders. He responded by rushing for 139 yards and two scores in Atlanta’s 31-17 win over the Panthers. For all of their talk about becoming more explosive, it was Turner and the ground attack that got them back on track. This was far from a perfect win, but the Falcons really needed this for their moral.

- Nice effort by Baltimore’s defense. Even without Andre Johnson in the lineup, the Texans were able to cross midfield on six of their first seven drives but the Ravens only allowed two touchdowns the entire game. Baltimore quietly continues to turn in solid performance after solid performance following its ugly loss to the Titans in Week 2.

- Marvin Lewis looks like he’s having fun again, doesn’t he? Of course he does. He doesn’t have Chad Ochocinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh constantly in his face after every series trying to tell him how to do his job. He also doesn’t have to worry about Carson Palmer going off the deep end trying to manage all of the different personalities in the huddle. He just has Andy Dalton. Quiet, low-key Andy Dalton. If the Bengals somehow make the postseason this year, this will be Lewis’ finest work to date. It must be nice for him to do his job in peace for once.

- One week after they crushed Tennessee, the Steelers built a 17-0 lead at home against Jacksonville as Rashard Mendenhall goes off for 146 yards and they still had to hold on for a 17-13 win. What a hard team to figure out.

Everyone assumed Aaron Curry was a can’t miss prospect when he was drafted #4 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft, but so far he’s been a bust. He wasn’t even starting in Seattle when they traded him to the Oakland Raiders this week.

Now he’s the starter in Oakland:

Three days ago Aaron Curry was a backup strongside linebacker in Seattle. Now he’s preparing to start at the weakside for the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Curry’s prospects took a sudden turn Friday when coach Hue Jackson announced that the first-round pick in the 2009 draft will replace Quentin Groves in the Raiders’ starting defense at home against the Cleveland Browns. Groves has been a starter since signing with Oakland before last season.

I’m a little surprised here, so we’ll see if Jackson is making the right call. I wonder how guys in the locker room will feel about a starter losing his job to another guy before one practice.

I was listening to the NFL Network with week, and Gil Brandt basically called out Aaron Curry as a player who doesn’t give you maximum effort. Brandt explained you can get away with that at certain positions, but at the linebacker spot it was essential that you had guys with high motors who gave you everything they had.

Many players have revived their careers in Oakland under the legendary Al Davis. That said, the Raiders have brought over plenty of veterans who did nothing. Let’s see what happens to Curry.

DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

- The Giants and Eli Manning had the game I thought they would last week in Arizona. Manning threw three touchdown passes but he was also picked off three times as the Giants started slow and finished poorly. Of course, Eli wasn’t the only reason the G-Men dropped a game they simply had no business losing. Their defense couldn’t stop a Seattle offense that has suddenly started to hit their stride after staging a dramatic comeback in the second half last week against Atlanta. Tarvaris Jackson, Charlie Whitehurst and Marshawn Lynch tuned up New York’s defense for 424 total yards. What’s most remarkable about the Seahawks’ 36-25 win is that the Hawks fumbled twice in New York territory. This could have been an even bigger blow out.

- The Steelers winning a home game against the Titans hardly constitutes a “Didn’t see that coming” moment. That said, this was a Pittsburgh team that didn’t have Casey Hampton, James Harrison, Aaron Smith, Chris Kemoeatu, or a fully healthy Ben Roethlisberger. Considering how good Tennessee’s defense has been this season, it was rather surprising to see Big Ben (who threw five touchdown passes) and Pittsburgh bully the Titans for four quarters. It appears those claims about the Steelers being finished were greatly exaggerated.

- Much like the Steelers’ win over the Titans, it’s hardly surprising that the Raiders traveled to Houston and beat the Texans. This isn’t the same Oakland team that was pathetic four or five years ago. That said, Al Davis just passed away yesterday and the Raiders took on a solid Texans team that just bullied Pittsburgh a week ago. Nobody would have been surprised if the Raiders’ hearts weren’t in it and left Houston without a win. But they played hard for four quarters, shut down Arian Foster, and won a huge road game to get to 3-2 on the season. Granted, Matt Schaub did throw an inexcusable interception at the end of the game and the Texans were without Andre Johnson. But “Just win baby?” Absolutely.

AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM…

- Hey Andy Reid, this is why you don’t hire your offensive line coach as your defensive coordinator. I realize that’s kind of harsh because it’s not like Juan Castillo is the only reason the Eagles are now 1-4 after losing today in Buffalo. (After all, it’s not Castillo’s fault that Michael Vick is careless with the football or can’t manage a clock near halftime.) But there’s no way the Eagles’ defense should be this bad. I don’t want to take anything away from Buffalo because its offense can score on anyone. But Reid’s decision to hire Castillo looks like a massive miscalculation. MASSIVE.

- Mark Sanchez has to raise the level of his play if the Jets are going to succeed this season. For the past two years the Jets have relied on their rushing game and defense to make the playoffs, where Sanchez has been very good. But this year has had a different feel to it for New York. The defense hasn’t been as good and the ground game has been non-existent. Thus, 166 yards against one of the lowest ranked defenses in the league just isn’t going to cut it. He was very good on the 85-yard drive in the second half to cut New England’s lead to 27-21, but that was the only time he looked sharp all day. If Sanchez doesn’t start playing as well in the regular season as he does in the postseason, the Jets won’t make the playoffs this year. That’s just the bottom line for Rex Ryan‘s struggling team, which has lost three in a row after starting the year 2-0.

- What in God’s name was Matt Schaub thinking on the Texans’ final play? He could have waltzed into the end zone from inside the Raiders’ 5-yard line but he gave the game away instead by throwing an interception to Michael Huff. Schaub is going to think about that pass all week.

- Nobody saw them being blown out 48-3 but the Bucs’ loss to the 49ers was hardly surprising. Tampa certainly had some built in excuses coming into Sunday’s action (i.e. a short week, a cross-country trip), but I don’t think the Bucs were as good as their 3-1 record indicated. Their offense lacks explosion, their run blocking hasn’t been good, and opponents can take advantage of their pass defense just like Alex Smith (three touchdowns) and San Francisco did today. The Bucs’ run defense apparently wasn’t up to snuff either, as Frank Gore rushed for 125 yards on 6.3 yards per carry. At 3-2 Tampa is still in good shape but I don’t think this was a loss that Raheem Morris can just chalk up to a bad day. The Bucs have issues that need to be corrected if they want to keep pace with the Saints in the NFC South.

- The Panthers deserve more praise than criticism for hanging with the Saints today, but what was Ron Rivera and his coaching staff thinking when they took a timeout with two seconds remaining in the first half? The Saints were trying frantically to get their field goal team on the field and Carolina saved them the trouble by calling a time out. Naturally, John Kasay made the kick to give New Orleans a 20-13 halftime lead in a game they eventually rallied to win by? You guessed it: Three points.

- Considering how many issues the Vikings have had in the second half of games this year, one would have thought Leslie Frazier would have kept his foot on the gas towards the conclusion of the first half today against Arizona. But instead of trying to increase their lead by pushing the ball up field, Frazier and the Vikings were content with a 28-3 lead. They were promptly booed by the home crowd, which chanted Christian Ponder’s name heading into the locker room. Only the Vikings could make fans uneasy with a sizable lead.

- Peter King speculated on “Football Night in America” that Mario Williams “probably” tore his pectoral muscle in the Texans’ loss to the Raiders on Sunday. That would be a massive blow to a team that lost its best offensive player a week ago when Andre Johnson hurt his hamstring against the Steelers. Suddenly the AFC South looks like a crapshoot.

“CHAMPIONSHIP”…

- All week I wrote about how the Bills’ loss to the Bengals last Sunday was an aberration. They got caught with their pants down but they obviously learned from it. The Eagles made a ton of mistakes today but let’s not take credit away from a Buffalo team that everyone completely overlooked coming into the season. It wasn’t hard to figure that Fred Jackson would have a big day against Philadelphia’s pathetic run defense and that he did, rushing for 111 yards with a couple of good-sized runs. I’ll be honest, part of me has been waiting for the Bills’ play to fall off but I’m over that notion. This Buffalo team isn’t going anywhere.

- Bill Belichick works in mysterious ways doesn’t he? For weeks the Patriots have kept the ball in the air against opponents while BenJarvus Green-Ellis has largely been an afterthought in the offense. In fact, Stevan Ridley was starting to garner some attention has a better option than Green-Ellis in the ground game. Yet with the Jets in town today, Green-Ellis rushes for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots defeated their AFC East rivals, 30-21. Granted, Tom Brady (24-of-33 for 321 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the passing game was still highly active but the game was clearly on Green-Ellis’ shoulders. This is one of the many reasons why Belichick is so good. He doesn’t forget about any of his weapons and if he sees a weakness that he can exploit, he attacks it. He also knows how to feed the hot hand and he doesn’t over think the game as it plays out. Some may disagree but he has the best mind in football in my eyes.

- It’s not like I’m drinking the Kool-Aid, but I’ve been really impressed with the Bengals. Yeah, beating the Jaguars and their rookie starting quarterback isn’t earth-shattering news. But who does Cincinnati have starting under center? Andy Dalton, a rookie quarterback, whose main playmaker is a rookie receiver in A.J. Green who has received less attention than Julio Jones and yet is producing week in and week out. The Bengals showed a lot of poise down 20-16 in the fourth quarter on Sunday and rallying to beat the Jaguars. Who would have thought that Cincinnati would be 3-2 with the mess of an offseason they had?

- Championship? Not quite, but the Chiefs do have a pulse after winning their second straight game. Matt Cassel was outstanding in Kansas City’s comeback over Indianapolis, completing 21-of-29 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns. I don’t want to get carried away after one game but this is the type of performance out of Cassel that shows people that he can be a serviceable starter.

- There’s no need to overreact to his performance today because he’ll probably go back to his inconsistent ways next week, but Alex Smith was very efficient in the Niners’ 48-3 win over the Bucs. It was nice to see him react to the pressure instead of lo0king for it and then making mistakes. He kept his eyes downfield, didn’t stare down receivers and finally played with a sense of purpose. It helped that Tampa’s pass rush is weak and Frank Gore was gashing the Bucs on the ground, but let’s give credit were credit is due. Smith was very good.

- The Giants deserve to be ridiculed for their embarrassing loss to the Seahawks but Victor Cruz was nearly unstoppable today. He turned his 11 targets into eight receptions for 161 yards and one touchdown, and made one of the best catches I’ve ever seen. Just think, we may have never seen what this kid could do had the Giants not suffered as many injuries to their receiving corps. Not that I want to see anyone get hurt but Cruz has been really fun to watch the past couple weeks.

Davis was one of the true icons of professional football. For years the Oakland Raiders were one of the perennial powers in the old AFL and then the National Football League. The Al Davis Raiders won three Super Bowls, and the team always carried the image of its brash owner. The “Silver and Black” were always one of the more intimidating teams in the NFL. They talked a good game and they could back it up. Davis was known for his “Just Win Baby” attitude, and he loved speed and power football. With quarterbacks like Kenny Stabler and Jim Plunkett, Davis loved to throw the ball downfield.

Al Davis was his own man, and he had his own epic battles with the NFL and later with his own coaches. As the years went on, however, Davis continued to have a hands-on approach to the Raiders, but his obsession with old formulas led to botched draft choices and toxic relationships with his coaches. he let Jon Gruden go, only to watch Gruden lead Tampa Bay to a victory over the Raiders in the Super Bowl the next season. That seemed to start a downward spiral, and the Raiders never really recovered.

In recent years it became apparent that Al Davis had lost it as an elite owner as the Raiders became one of the worst teams in the league. Their consistent “Commitment to Excellence” was replaced by consistent ineptitude.

Yet that doesn’t take away from Davis’ accomplishments. The man is a true legend, and he will be missed.

Here are a couple of interesting tidbits from team press conferences Thursday at the NFL scouting combine.

Fox names Orton his starter “right now.”
New Broncos head coach Jon Fox told reporters that Kyle Orton and not Tim Tebow is his starting quarterback as of right now. Fox said that he’s interested to see how Tebow looks but noted, “As far as I’m concerned, (Orton) is under contract and he’s the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.” It’s not surprising that Fox would side with the more seasoned quarterback, seeing as how he refused to give up on Jake Delhomme in Carolina until the bitter end.

Titans don’t plan on meeting with Shockey
New Titans head coach Mike Munchak said that the team has no plans to speak with free agent Jeremy Shockey about coming to Tennessee. As I wrote the day the Saints released him, I see Shockey winding up in Miami to play under new OC Brian Daboll (who loves to use his tight ends, almost to a fault sometimes).

Henne is still the Dolphins’ starter
Speaking of Miami, GM Jeff Ireland referred to Chad Henne as his starter during his press conference on Thursday. It looks like Henne is the clear-cut favorite to enter the 2011 season as the Dolphins’ starting quarterback, although don’t rule out Miami taking a flier on someone like TCU’s Andy Dalton or Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi in the middle rounds.