Okay, so we can finally separate Josh McDaniels and Marvin Lewis after the former beat San Diego to reach 6-0 and the latter lost a tough home game to Houston. Here is our current power rankings for NFL Coach of the Year:

1. Josh McDaniels, Denver Broncos—Seriously, 6-0? The schedule keeps getting tougher, but it doesn’t seem to faze this team or their confident coach. Dude is a mini-Belichick, the first “offspring” to be worthy of that title.

2. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—After beating the Giants to reach 5-0, we can start talking about the very real likelihood of the Saints reaching the Super Bowl for the first time, and this guy is a big reason why. It’s still amazing that he managed to pay his defensive coordinator a quarter mil of his own cash to lure him, but it seems to have been worth it.

3. Jim Caldwell, Indianapolis Colts—Just like his QB, you can’t fault Caldwell for the bye week.

4. Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings—Now 6-0, there should be no question that Childress did himself and the city of Minnesota a huge favor bringing back #4. He sure wasn’t going to be 6-0 with Tarvaris Jackson, was he?

5. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—A tough win against the Bears, and this team is not fading any time soon. Really, the Falcons and Saints are two of the best teams in the NFC and it should be interesting when they meet.

Honorable mention: Tom Coughlin, Giants; Bill Belichick, Patriots; Marvin Lewis, Bengals

1. Royal is making his presence felt in other facets of the game
After hauling in 91 receptions for 980 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie last year, Eddie Royal has largely been a bust in his second year. But he proved Monday night that he could contribute in other areas, especially on special teams. He returned a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter and a 71-yard punt return in the second quarter. As Denver’s offense sputtered in the first half, Royal provided a major spark.

2. The Broncos’ offensive line has been fantastic
Kyle Orton has turned out to be a great fit for Josh McDaniels’ offense, but he owes a lot of his success to his O-line. They’ve protected him like Fort Knox all season and did so again Monday night. Orton had all day to throw and was accurate when his receivers broke free from defenders. The Broncos’ front five continues to be one of the better units in the league.

3. The Chargers’ defense is a mess
One would have thought Ron Rivera would have fixed some of San Diego’s defensive issues during the team’s bye week. But the same problems that the Bolts had heading into the bye were evident again tonight: They couldn’t generate any pressure, they didn’t tackle well and they couldn’t come up with the big stop when they needed it. The Broncos did whatever they wanted offensively in the second half.

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Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman is upset after general manager A.J. Smith described San Diego’s play this year has been “soft” at times.

From ESPN.com:

On Wednesday, Smith was quoted in The San Diego Union-Tribune as saying, “Everything is wrong with it right now. I’m not the least bit happy in a lot of areas. I’ve seen us be tough and physical to soft and bewildered.”

Merriman at first declined to comment, which would have been a first in his five-year career.

“I don’t know too much of that. That’s an opinion of a person, and it’s not needed,” Merriman said. “We know that we have to play better. We met for an extra hour and a half as a defense as a whole to discuss what we need to do and things we need to do to get better. And we’re going to make adjustments in this locker room as far as players and our attitudes and getting after people a little more. But all that extra [stuff] is not needed at all.”

Merriman said it would be easier to absorb such talk if it came from a teammate.

“The only opinions that matter to me are the ones in this locker room. Anything else, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Merriman’s comments in reaction to what Smith said weren’t that bad. In some respects he’s right – comments from a GM regarding the play of a team aren’t needed.

That said, this Chargers have played soft. They allowed the Steelers to do whatever they wanted last Sunday night and even when Jacob Hester gave them new life with his touchdown fumble recovery, San Diego’s defense sat back as Pittsburgh strolled back down the field and put seven more points on the board. When they absolutely needed a stop, they couldn’t get one.

So no, Smith’s comments aren’t needed. Nor are they untrue.

Midway through the third quarter of the Steelers-Chargers game on Sunday night, I started pounding away at a post dedicated to how Pittsburgh silenced its critics with a dominating victory over San Diego.

Seriously, I was finished outside of adding the final score and some stats. And it was good too. It was about how the Steelers got back to their grass roots while running the ball down the Chargers’ throats, controlling the time of possession and finally playing four quarters. At the time, Pittsburgh was up 28-0 and the game was essentially over as San Diego was on life support.

Then Jacob Hester made an incredible play early in the fourth when he stripped Stefan Logan on a punt return and raced 41 yards into the end zone to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 28-14.

No problem I thought, a couple extra sentences ought to cover me as the Steelers answered Hester’s touchdown with one of their own to make it 35-14.

Then the journalism gods decided to punish me for writing a recap when the freaking game wasn’t even finished, because the Chargers got within one touchdown of the Steelers late in the fourth before Pittsburgh iced the game with a 46-yard Jeff Reed field goal to give the Steelers a 38-28 victory.

Annnnnnnnnddddd delete.

In reality, not much changed from the time the Steelers were up 28-0 to the time they walked away with a 38-28 win. They still dominated a hapless San Diego run defense by racking up 177 yards on the ground (Rashard Mendenhall finally strapped on the big boy pants and rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries) and kept the ball for 40 minutes and 20 seconds, compared to the Chargers’ 19 minutes and 40 seconds.

Pittsburgh dominated this game, but it can’t sit well with Mike Tomlin that his team nearly had another fourth quarter collapse. The Steelers can’t figure out a way to put their opponents away and I don’t know if that’s coaching or if the players are at fault for letting up. Either way, it’s a troubling sign so far for a defending Super Bowl champion that has split its first four games of the season and has looked rather mediocre.

Nevertheless, the Steelers earned their second victory of the year and did so by running the ball. Granted, Ben Roethlisberger looked great and the pass protection was outstanding, but this is a team that needs to run the football when the weather starts to turn and Pittsburgh did so tonight.

As for the Chargers, I applaud them for making it close in the end, but Norv Turner’s bunch didn’t show up until seven minutes left in the third when Hester gave them a spark. They were completely dominated in most phases of the game and all of a sudden they have zero running game. For a team that was supposed to walk away with the AFC West, San Diego barely looks like a .500 team right now.

The USA Today is reporting that LaDainian Tomlinson is officially listed as out for the Chargers’ home game this Sunday against the Ravens. But the good news for San Diego fans is that the NFL decided to lift its blackout for the game.

The team expects the effects of an ankle injury suffered in Monday’s win against Oakland to be too much for Tomlinson to overcome.

Darren Sproles and Michael Bennett will likely split carries for the Chargers in Tomlinson’s place when the Ravens arrive in San Diego for Sunday’s game.

The NFL also lifted the blackout for Sunday’s game in San Diego after the Chargers satisfied their ticket-selling requirements.

The Chargers had received a 24-hour extension to continue selling after Thursday’s deadline for games to sell out.

Darren Sproles will get the start against the Ravens, although Michael Bennett will also see some carries.

Glad to see the NFL lifted the blackout. It’s a ridiculous notion to make people pay hundreds of dollars to go to a game and then blackout a television broadcast if fans don’t fill the stadium. It makes me sick for fans in Jacksonville that all eight of the Jaguars home games won’t be shown on TV this season. People in this country work too damn hard not to be able to watch their favorite teams on Sunday.

You read that right. Shawne Merriman is (or was) dating reality TV star Tila Tequila and was arrested on Sunday for assaulting her.

Per ESPN…

San Diego Chargers star outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested Sunday and accused of choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV star Tila Tequila, as she tried to leave his suburban home.

Tequila, 27, signed a citizen’s arrest warrant, charging Merriman with battery and false imprisonment, San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Gary Steadman said.

Deputies responded about 3:45 a.m. to Merriman’s house in Poway, north of San Diego, after a woman called to say she was choked by the player and thrown to the ground when she tried to leave, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jan Caldwell said at a news conference.

Tequila, whose real name is Tila Nguyen, is best known for “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila,” which ran for two seasons on MTV. The bisexual dating show featured men and women vying for Tequila’s affections. She has also modeled for Playboy and other men’s magazines.

A few words of free, unsolicited advice for Mr. Merriman: 1) stop choking people, and 2) stop dating bisexual reality TV stars.

If this incident doesn’t quickly “go away,” then Merriman could face another suspension for violating the NFL’s conduct policy.

9/7 Update: Merriman denies any wrongdoing.

Quarterback Philip Rivers and the Chargers agreed to a new six-year extension worth slightly more than $92 million. Rivers will receive roughly $50 million over the first three years.

From the San Diego Tribune:

“I certainly couldn’t have asked that it could have gone any better than it did,” said Rivers, who signed the largest contract in club history shortly before Monday’s 4 p.m. practice. “I can’t say enough how excited I am and how thankful I am that it’s done, and (that) I’ll be here for a long time.”

Both sides expressed during talks the need to get the deal done before the regular season. There was the potential that Rivers could make a lot more money if he and/or the Chargers had a big season, but there was also the potential he could get hurt. And Chargers General Manager A.J. Smith had expressed his willingness to place the franchise tag on Rivers next offseason if no deal was reached.
There was a debate about whether or not the Giants overpaid for Eli Manning’s extension a couple weeks ago. Ironically, Manning got $34.5 million guaranteed and will make $48.5 million over the first three years, compared to Rivers’ $38.25 million guaranteed and $50 million over the first three years.

Manning has a Super Bowl ring, while Rivers does not. Yet there seems to be less outrage over Rivers’ deal than there was over Manning’s. Interesting.

Either way, the Bolts did what they had to do. They have a franchise quarterback in Rivers and they had to pony up after Manning signed his extension. When teams have a quarterback that has already proven he can win divisions and lead the franchise to the postseason, you have to do everything in your power to retain him.

Six games highlight Saturday’s preseason action in the NFL. Below are six things to keep an eye on tonight in the NFL.

1. It’s the start of a new era in Detroit.
Word out of Lions camp is that rookie Matthew Stafford is way ahead of the curve when it comes to first-year quarterbacks. Even though Detroit would love to see veteran Daunte Culpepper take the majority of the snaps behind a brutal offensive line this season, it appears that Stafford has made quite the impression and it may be hard for the Lions to keep him on the sidelines. Today when the Lions host the Falcons in both teams’ preseason opener, Detroit isn’t going to overact to Stafford’s performance either way. If he goes out and throws two interceptions in two series, they’ll shrug it off as a learning experience. If he throws two touchdowns on his first two pass attempts, the team will chalk it up to preseason luck and hope the live game experience will be valuable in his development. The point is that it’s only preseason and chances are, his performance won’t be an indication either way of how well he’ll fair in Detroit. The key is that the Lions can officially put their disastrous 2008 season behind them today, and Stafford represents the future.

2. Cutler makes his Bears’ debut.
You’ll be hard pressed to find a Chicagoan who isn’t thinking playoffs (or even Super Bowl) after the Bears acquired quarterback Jay Cutler from the Broncos this offseason. You’ll have to excuse Chicago fans for their budding enthusiasm because, you see, they’ve been waiting a long time for a quarterback of Cutler’s ilk to pass through their great city. Sure, the Bears still don’t have the greatest set of receivers and there are still question marks surrounding the offensive line, even after the offseason addition of Orlando Pace. But none of that will matter once Cutler lines up under center tonight against the Bills and riffles his first completion, because the Bears finally have their quarterback.

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Last month we started looking at last season’s statistics for position players in fantasy football land, and today we’ll look at a position many often overlook. That’s fantasy defenses, which can sometimes put up just enough points to earn your team a victory once in a while. It’s always smart to try and grab one of the top units, although as we’ve seen before, things change, sometimes drastically, from year to year with fantasy D’s. Me? I like to grab my defense before my kicker. This list is based on point totals from one of my leagues, so keep in mind that stats vary from year to year.

1. Baltimore Ravens—The Ravens’ defense is perennially awesome, and we’ll find out for sure how much of that was due to former coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head honcho for the Jets. Ryan took plenty of players with him too, like LB Bart Scott and S Jim Leonhard, but the Ravens still have Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs. Reed just keeps getting better every year, and his sick nose for the ball is one reason the Ravens had a league high 26 picks. They will keep scoring low as always, but their 34 sacks last season isn’t much to get excited about. Bottom line: The Ravens won’t be a number one this year, but are still top 10.

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When it comes to fumbles, nobody drops the ball more than quarterbacks, because they handle the ball more than anyone besides the center. Brett Favre has 157 of them, which leads active players (yes, we’re considering Favre active). But many times when a QB fumbles, he can pounce right back on the ball. Running backs are a different story. The ones who fumble a lot often wind up in their coach’s doghouse because most of the time it’s because of careless ball handling. As for fantasy football, you’ll want to be careful with these guys too because they take points off your scoreboard, both by negative points for fumbles, and for lost opportunities on offense. So here is the active Top 10 in fumbles by running backs…..

1. Edgerrin James (43)—James isn’t as bad as early in his career, like when he fumbled 8 times during his rookie year of 1999 with the Colts. But you tend to look the other way when the other numbers offset the fumbles—and James was an All Pro that year with 2139 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns.

2. Ricky Williams (41)—Ricky definitely comes down with fumble-it is pretty often, and that has to drive Bill Parcells crazy. I wonder if it would help if Ricky thought he was carrying a bag of..…oh forget it.

3. Jamal Lewis (39)—Lewis has improved drastically in this area, fumbling only twice last season. But he fumbled 8 times in back to back seasons in 2002 and 2003 while with Baltimore. Yikes.

4. Ahman Green (37)—He hasn’t fumbled since 2006, but that’s only because Green has carried the ball just 144 times since then.

5. Michael Pittman (31)—Pittman was one of like 15 running backs used by the Broncos last season.

6. Shaun Alexander (31)—For a few years there, Alexander was putting up such ridiculous numbers that Mike Holmgren was forced to accept some drops.

7. Warrick Dunn (26)—He’s never had more than 4 fumbles in a season, but he’s been playing for so long that he wound up on here. Dunn may be one of the most underrated RBs in the history of the NFL.

8. Fred Taylor (26)—Taylor has fumbled less in recent years, but he’s also carried the ball less. It should be interesting to see if his career is re-ignited in a Patriots’ uniform.

9. LaDainian Tomlinson (25)—He fumbled 8 times in his rookie year, and only 17 times since. With 2657 total carries, that’s not bad at all.

9 (tie). Clinton Portis (25)—Portis is a solid RB, but he does have two quirks—he’s injury prone and he drops the ball a few too many times.

Source: Pro Football Reference