This is the second installment of my new column: “I’m Just Saying.” Peter King has a column (Monday Morning Quarterback), so it only makes sense that a well-respected sports blogger like myself has a column as well.

What-ev.

- So let me get this straight, the NFL moved the Giants-Vikings game to a NFC North city and is handing out free tickets? If I’m the Vikings, I’m pissed. Nice home game for Minnesota – think any Lion fans will get sauced up and attend the game for free just to root against the Vikings?

- Of course, if the roof of the Metrodome weren’t made of paper mache, the Vikings wouldn’t have to worry about playing at Ford Field.

- Does anyone else find it ironic that Sal Alosi’s job as the Jets’ head strength and conditioning coach is to help players get in shape and avoid injuries and he goes out and trips a Dolphins player…who gets injured? You stay classy, Sal Alosi.

- I’m willing to bet that if the Patriots played all of their games in a blizzard, they would be 19-0 and will have beaten their opponents by a combined score of 855-17.

- The Titans’ backdoor cover against the Colts on Thursday night was one of the worst backdoor covers in the history of backdoor covers. First of all, Indy was up 21-0 in the first half. So what should have been a blowout actually turned into a decent game because their defense is made of Charmin extra soft tissue paper. After they allowed Tennessee to crawl back in the second half, Peyton Manning had not one, but two chances to waste the clock and move the ball and he did neither. Then, with the Colts up by 10 in the final minutes of the game (they were favored by 3), Jeff Fisher trots out Rob Bironas for a field goal attempt but calls him back instead. He decides to put his offense back onto the field and Kerry Collins marches the Titans up the field for a touchdown on the final play of the game (a 4th down no less) and covers the spread. If Fisher were actually trying to win the game, he would have kicked the field goal and tried an onsides kick (he needed 10 points, after all). But because he was trying to screw bettors (which is the only logical explanation here), he decided to go for the touchdown and run the clock down to zero in the process. Final score: Colts 30, Titans 28. Thanks, Jeff.

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That was quick.

It hasn’t even been two full years since the Denver Broncos hired Josh McDaniels and now he’s unemployed and they’re searching for a new head coach. Following the team’s 3-9 start, the Broncos fired McDaniels on Monday after he led them to losses in 17 of their last 22 games.

Looking at his brief track record, it’s hard to argue with the decision. Immediately upon arriving to Denver, McDaniels started a feud with then-starter Jay Cutler, who was eventually traded to Chicago for a first round pick and parts (uh, Kyle Orton). Then McDaniels led the Broncos to a 6-0 start in 2009, only to collapse down the stretch to finish 2-8. In the offseason, he was part of the contingent that sent No. 1 receiver Brandon Marshall to Miami.

He also had a hand in dealing Peyton Hillis to the Browns in exchange for Brady Quinn, who is now third on the Broncos’ depth chart behind Orton and rookie Tim Tebow. Hillis, meanwhile, hasn’t stopped bowling over defenders since he arrived in Cleveland and has established himself as a feature back.

McDaniels also had a hand in trading away multiple draft picks in order to select Tebow in the first round of April’s draft despite the warning signs that he was a massive project as a passer. Not lost on anybody was his inability to retain Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator following the ’09 season or how he was recently fined because a member of his video department was caught taping one of the 49ers’ walk-through practices in London earlier this year. Spygate 2, anyone?

But even considering all of that, was it enough to fire McDaniels right now? You can’t even properly grade his first draft class yet and nobody has the faintest idea what will become of Tebow. The Broncos didn’t have to commit to him through 2011 but what about through the rest of 2010? And who are you going to replace him with right now? “Wink” Martindale?

McDaniels’ short tenure in Denver was obviously filled with way more misses than hits, but it’s not like the Broncos improved their situation by firing him now. If anything it was a lateral move but then again, sometimes what’s best is to cut your losses and start anew.

For a moment, let’s take a walk in Josh McDaniels’ size 10.5 shoes. (Actually, I have no idea what size shoes he wears, nor should I. That would be creepy.)

If he benches Kyle Orton and starts Tim Tebow the rest of the year, he would appease fans that mercifully had to watch Orton complete only nine of his 28 pass attempts against the Chiefs on Sunday. They want to see Tebow play because he offers a glimpse of what the future may look like. (And while the future may look grim, the present isn’t anything to write home about so what’s the difference?)

But McDaniels’ job status might as well be attached to Tebow’s right arm. If he plays the rookie and Tebow is Jimmy Clausen-like bad, management may ultimately decide that he shouldn’t be calling the shots anymore. After all, since arriving in Denver he jettisoned Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall, traded Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn (yee-ikes) and dealt multiple draft picks in order to select the project that is Tim Tebow.

Why give the Broncos’ front office any more reason to fire him?

The downside, of course, is that Orton continues to struggle and McDaniels is fired anyway without having the opportunity to coach Tebow on the field. If you’re McDaniels, why not take a shot with Tebow and hope you catch lighting in a bottle? After all, you can’t get much worse than Orton’s performance on Sunday so why not?

But the other problem is that Orton is due $8.8 million in 2011 and he’s earned the right to finish the season (his effort on Sunday notwithstanding). Plus, there’s a real good possibility that Tebow isn’t ready to see the field so it would be selfish of McDaniels to start him and risk stunting his career. Akili Smith and Joey Harrington are just two examples of quarterbacks who weren’t ready to take the field when they did and we all know how their careers turned out.

If I were to make a guess, I would say McDaniels will keep his job for at least another year. It’s hard for a team to invest in a coach only to let him go after only two seasons. I don’t agree with most of McDaniels’ decisions to this point, but two years is hardly enough time to put your stamp on a team. If the Broncos show zero signs of improving next season, then McDaniels should go. But for now, they might as well see what he’s got.

Should McDaniels see what Tebow’s got in the meantime?

Update: Well, clearly I’m a moron because Josh McDaniels has been fired. Nice work, Stalter.

In a game only an Area Football fan could be proud of, the Broncos hammered the clueless Chiefs 49-29 on Sunday.

Matt Cassel threw for a career-high 469 yards and four touchdowns, while Kyle Orton threw for 296 yards and four scores. Neither quarterback was picked off, although it’s important to note that they were playing against air.

Dwayne Bowe’s assault on defensive backfields continued, as he caught 13 passes for 186 yards and two scores. He now has eight touchdowns in his last five games, which is enough to make any fantasy owner who dropped or traded him earlier in the year when he was laying goose eggs want to take a bath with a toaster.

With Kansas City’s loss, the AFC West is now up for grabs. The Chiefs and Raiders are now tied for first place at 5-4, while the Chargers (who we all know will win this juggernaut of a division with a 9-7 record when it’s all said and done) are 4-5. At 3-6, even the Broncos aren’t totally out of the picture if they can string a couple of wins together, and this is a team that gave up 59 points to Oakland three weeks ago.

Speaking of bad football, the Seahawks crushed the Cardinals 36-18 on Sunday. The win, coupled with a Rams’ loss to the 49ers (23-20 in overtime), puts Seattle back in first place at 5-4 in the NFC West. If you can find a worse division in football, let me know.

Sam Bradford put together a nice drive late in the fourth quarter to push the game into overtime. Of course, had St. Louis’ defense held on to a 7-point lead with about six minutes remaining in the game, the Rams wouldn’t had needed Bradford’s heroics. The Rams remain winless on the road this year.

Troy Smith has given the 49ers new life at quarterback. He completed 17-of-28 passes for 356 yards and one touchdown, while compiling a 116.7 QB rating. He also had a couple of touchdowns wiped off the board because of penalties. Despite their back-to-back wins, San Francisco remains a poorly coached team and Mike Singletary’s in-game management should continue to draw criticism from the media.

Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….

MVP Power Rankings

1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.

2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.

3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).

Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Coach of the Year Power Rankings

1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.

2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.

3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.

Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles

Rookie of the Year Power Rankings

1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?

2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.

3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.

Honorable mention: Max Hall, Arizona Cardinals; Rolando McClain, Oakland Raiders; Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys; Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

You think it’s hard to predict the games and standings from week to week? Try picking MVP candidates. There are five or six different candidates emerging every week. We’ll do this as one post again today and start separating them out next week. And I’m sure by this time Tuesday everything will be turned upside down again. Enjoy the games today everyone!

MVP Power Rankings

1. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—He didn’t play last week and yet the Eagles still won, but barely, on the road in San Fran. Against a team that still hasn’t won a game yet. And hence my case is made again. And when Kolb and the Eagles lose at home to the Falcons today, fans in Philly will be chanting Vick’s name, which will have made my case again.

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Week 5 comes with a realization that there isn’t a clear-cut best team in the league right now.

My top team in Week 4, the Colts, lost to the last-place Jaguars last Sunday thanks to a Josh Scobee 59-yard field goal. Despite their record, the Packers are a mess, the Ravens don’t give me that we’re-the-best-team-vibe and the Saints have injury issues.

So while I’ve moved the Packers back into the top spot, just know I’m not entirely convinced they’re the top team in the league. Right now, no team has established themselves as the best.

Let’s get nasty…

Check out Week 4’s Power Rankings

1. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 2
One would have thought that after their embarrassing loss to the Bears on Monday night last week that the Pack would come out and steamroll the Lions. But as fellow TSR contributor and Green Bay fan John Paulsen said to me after the game, this team lacks that killer tenacity. Regardless, they moved back into the top spot after a one-week hiatus.

2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 1
I wrote it before the season and I’ll write it again now: the Colts are going to have issues stopping the run all season. They’re weak up the middle defensively and they’ll continue to struggle against any team that can establish the run.

3. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 4
It’s never easy to march into Pittsburgh and knock off the Steelers. It’s even harder to look good while doing it, so I’m not going to knock the Ravens for having to pull out a win in the final minute. This isn’t college football, where teams get style points for wins. That was a hard-fought win, Baltimore.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers
Previous Week: 3
Even though the loss to the Ravens last Sunday stings, Mike Tomlin has to feel good that his team went 3-1 without Ben Roethlisberger. Even though everyone in Pittsburgh is excited for his return, it’ll be interesting to see how rusty Big Ben is next week. The Steelers’ bye couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

5. Atlanta Falcons
Previous Week: 5
You could have seen that letdown coming from a mile away. The Falcons were coming off a huge emotional win over the Saints in New Orleans and were taking on a winless 49ers team at home. Thanks to Roddy White’s outstanding hustle, the Falcons were fortunate to walk out of the Georgia Dome with a victory last week.

6. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 6
I thought about dropping the Saints down after they struggled last Sunday with the lowly Panthers, but this is one banged up football team right now and Carolina has always given them trouble for one reason or another. The Saints just have to get by with what they have until they can return to full strength.

7. New York Jets
Previous Week: 7
The Jets are already making me look bad for predicting them to finish third in the AFC East. What a display of domination they put on in Buffalo last Sunday and who says L.T. is finished? It’s great to see him at the top of his game again.

8. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 11
Holy special teams, Batman – what a performance in Miami. Congratulations to Tom Brady for his 100th career win. Even though it’s fun to root against the Patriots because of their success, let’s not overlook the fact that Brady is a self-made player.

9. Houston Texans
Previous Week: 9
Considering the Texans were without Andre Johnson and benched Arian Foster for the first quarter, it was impressive that they still scored 31 points. I realize it was against the Raiders, but Bruce Gradkowski has breathed life into that team and it was good to see that Houston didn’t falter against an inferior opponent on the road.

10. Chicago Bears
Previous Week: 10
I’ve been awfully hard on the Bears so I’m going to give them a mulligan this week. Even though they still probably would have lost given how bad Jay Cutler was playing, they didn’t have a chance once Todd Collins entered the game. And whom else am I going to put here? Dallas? The Giants? This is a worse spot than No. 1.

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If someone were to ask me before the games today how many points the Broncos would score if Kyle Orton threw for 476 yards, I probably would have responded with: “31.”

Because you have to figure that Denver gets in the end zone at least four times if Kyle freaking Orton is throwing for 476 yards. I mean, there’s no way the Broncos are scoring less than 31 points if Kyle bowl haircut Orton throws for 476 yards, right?

Thirteen. As in 13. As in 13 points the Broncos scored on Sunday in their 27-13 loss to the Colts.

How does Kyle Orton throw for 476 yards and the Broncos only score 13 points? Matt Schaub threw for nearly 500 yards last week in Washington. Do you know how many points the Texans scored? Thirty. I realize that Houston has a much more potent offense than Denver, but the math doesn’t add up when a quarterback throws for nearly 500 yards, only turns the ball over once and his team only scores 13 measly points.

Josh McDaniels is going to look at the film from the game today and puke. Peyton Manning threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns, but everyone knew he was going to do that. He’s Peyton Manning. When Kyle Orton gives you 476 yards, you have to at least be in position to win that game in the end.

The Broncos ran nine plays inside the Colts’ 15-yard line in the second quarter alone and only came away with three points. The red zone offense was brutal the entire game and some of that is on McDaniels, some of it is on Orton, some of that is on his receivers, some of it is on the offensive line and some of it you just have to chalk up to good defense.

Either way, Kyle Orton threw for 476 yards today and the Broncos only scored 13 points. I guess I could have just written that and saved myself 250-plus words, because it explains it all.

When the Broncos finally gave up on troubled star Brandon Marshall and traded him to the Dolphins in the offseason, they deemed first round pick Demaryius Thomas the answer to their massive need for an offensive playmaker.

When Thomas struggled with a foot injury for much of the preseason and missed Denver’s loss last week in Jacksonville, it was easy to question whether or not he would make an impact his rookie year.

But apparently he will.

The former Georgia Tech product caught eight passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in the Broncos’ 31-14 rout of the Seahawks on Sunday. He was targeted nine times, so the fact that he caught eight of the passes thrown his way shows that the rookie can make plays in Josh McDaniels’ offense.

Of course, you can’t talk about a rookie that hauled in eight passes for 97 yards without talking about the man who was pitching him the rock. Kyle Orton finished 25-of-35 for 307 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions, proving once again that he’s more comfortable in his second year under McDaniels. Denver’s running game once again couldn’t get going, but with the way Orton threw the ball Knowshon Moreno and company weren’t needed.

As for the Seahawks, their 31-6 victory over the 49ers smells flukish in light of how they played today. Not that winning at home and losing on the road is anything new for Seattle.

Merry training camp season, everyone. It’s been a long offseason, but football is finally gearing up again and to celebrate I’m rolling out a new series on TSR entitled “2010 NFL Question Marks,” where I discuss one or two of the biggest concerns that teams have heading into the new season. Granted, some teams have more issues than others, but I’ll primarily be focusing on the biggest problem areas. Today I’ll be discussing two potential issues that the Broncos face in 2010.

I’ve tried to stick with talking about only one position when discussing teams in this question marks series, but it’s hard not to bring up two key issues that the Broncos will face this season.

Brandon Marshall amassed 101 receptions and 10 touchdowns last season – almost half the number of TDs that Kyle Orton threw (21). The player with the next most receptions on the team last year was Jabar Gaffney, who finished with 54.

Needless to say, now that he’s in Miami the Broncos’ receivers have their work cut out for them trying to duplicate Marshall’s success.

The team did well by selecting former Georgia Tech product Demaryius Thomas in the first round of April’s draft. His skill set is off the charts and in time, he could make Denver forget about Marshall and become the Broncos’ go-to guy.

But he also keeps injuring his surgically repaired left foot and while he should be ready to go by Week 1, will the foot be a problem for him from here on out? How many times do we see a player hampered by an injury all season, even though he’s able to play every Sunday? Receivers have a difficult time making an impact in their rookie years as it is, so it stands to reason that Thomas could struggle this season.

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