Teams such as Cincinnati, Carolina and Tennessee have appeared to resolve its controversy for the time being, even if their records may not show that. But still others, such as Indianapolis, Denver, Miami, Minnesota and Washington have a long ways to go.
*Indianapolis fell to 0-6 after a late comeback fell short against Cincinnati. In Curtis Painter's fourth career start, he made just one critical mistake, a late interception to Leon Hall which killed any chance the Colts had of completing a comeback.
Overall, Painter has faired well considering he hadn't gotten much reps in over the years. His supporting cast struggled against Cincinnati's tough defense as both Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark committed critical mistakes, turning the ball over and giving Cincinnati a shot at cashing in.
Indy remains the center of a quarterback controversy until: 1) Peyton Manning returns to the field and saves this offense, 2) The Colts offense steps up and helps out the inexperienced Curtis Painter.
*Washington fell to 2-3, losing to Philadelphia 20-13 on Sunday, after head coach Mike Shanahan benched quarterback Rex Grossman in the second half. Grossman through four interceptions on 22 pass attempts.
John Beck took his place, making his first regular season appearance since his days as a Dolphin in 2007. Beck went 8 for 15, 117 yards and a rushing touchdown at the end of the game. For now, Beck has won the starting job over Grossman. But will he find success?
*Coming off a bye week, the Broncos (1-4) will be handing second-year gunslinger Tim Tebow his first start of 2011 after failed attempts with Kyle Orton at the helm. This has become huge news after watching Tebow's three starts last season (Broncos went 1-2 with him as starter).
Tebow continues to have a group of critics, saying how he can't throw the ball efficiently (which I somewhat agree with), but at this point this is Denver's best shot at winning games. In his five starts this season Orton has struggled, throwing seven interceptions and leading Denver to just one victory. Denver is in a panic out west, and giving Tebow a shot early in the season is a smart move, and a risk that must be taken.
*Chad Henne has been lost for the season following shoulder surgery, giving former Carolina Panthers quarterback Matt Moore his shot. Henne had yet to prove he's worthy of the starting slot, throwing 37 interceptions and just 31 touchdowns in his 31 starts, going 13-18 over that span.
I think the season-ending surgery was a blessing in disguise for the Phins, it gave them the chance to try out Moore, who made his 14th career start last night against Rex Ryan's hard-hitting Jets defense. His Dolphin debut was less than impressive, however, as he threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball two additional times (none were lost). Though he truly didn't have much help from his receivers as Brandon Marshall dropped a couple of key passes (including a touchdown), and Brian Hartline even dropped a pass or two.
I expect Moore to come out ready to play next Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
*Julius Peppers and Co. chased Minnesota's veteran Donovan McNabb all over the field on Sunday night, eventually leading to the benching of McNabb despite zero turnovers.
McNabb hasn't produced a whole lot (just four touchdowns), which may have led to his benching for next Sunday's game, but he also hasn't made as many mistakes as you'd expect (two interceptions, two fumbles). I think the real reason McNabb has been benched for rookie Christian Ponder is just the fact that head coach Leslie Frazier wants to try something new and get Ponder some reps with the first-team offense to shake things up for this 1-5 squad.
Personally I think it's rather silly throwing Ponder in there to make his debut against the undefeated and defending champion Green Bay Packers. Sounds like a homicide to me. Why not wait one extra week and give the veteran the nod against Green Bay? Silly.
*Amidst a possible playoff run for the Oakland Raiders, much to my surprise, Jason Campbell–starting quarterback–has been lost for the season with a broken collarbone.
But luckily for Raider Nation, Oakland is currently very close to making a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals for former Pro Bowler Carson Palmer. I think that would make both the Raiders players/coaching staff very happy, as well as the fan-base. And why wouldn't it? I think it would be a great move despite the lack of football activities Palmer has participated in as of late.
Fresh start for Palmer and fresh start for this offense as they attempt to return to the playoffs. Hope the deal works out for both sides. It would certainly allow Cincinnati to move on to the Andy Dalton era without having to worry about Palmer's 2012 status.
Photo credit
Beck: Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
Moore: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images
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