Apologies for the lateness of the Monday Night forecast, but some Big Dummy inadvertently forgot to bring the snap drive containing all of the tip-top-secret proprietary information to our tip-top-secret remote posting station…hmmm…we’ll have to cut that boy’s ass to the street.

Monday Night Doubleheader:
Could you have asked for a more thrilling Sunday Night game than the ‘Skins and Cowboys gave us?

Random Patriots’ Thoughts:

The Patriots had a very good day on offense yesterday and we were dead wrong regarding the outcome. The defense remains troublesome. It’s hard to determine whether the defense shut down Carson Palmer in the early going or that he had a bad start. After the Pats built a big lead, Palmer had pretty good success moving the chains. It’s true, we analyze the Patriots more critically than the other 31 teams, because we root for them and sincerely want the team to perform well. Coach Belichick has a proven record of developing defenses that become more competitive and improved over the course of the season. Don’t be fooled by Sunday’s final score. That defense needs a lot of improvement and will have a lot of growing pains during the season. “Defense wins championships”, to quote the great Bud Grant.

Post Game Moss & Mankins Thoughts:

The media was abuzz over Randy Moss’ post game “show me the money” rant yesterday afternoon. He’s feeling “unloved” because the team has not seen fit to extend his contract. He came to the Pats in ’07 with a troubled reputation with Minnesota and Oakland, but has performed well here and has caused no behavioral disruptions. He claims not to be concerned about what the media says, yet specifically mentioned media reports about him and claimed that he wants no misunderstandings with the fans or the team. He just wants a new deal. It’s just a variation of the old “f-you, pay me” position popularized in “Goodfellas”. Unfortunately, he did not articulate his thoughts well and the interpretation of his comments will be spun in a thousand directions. Since he is such a polarizing media figure, he would’ve been better served by keeping his thoughts between himself, his agent and the team. While he seemed sincere, the timing of his public remarks was bad. The time and place for such is not directly following a great team victory.

A recent ESPN report indicated that Logan Mankins and the team had resolved their differences and that a new deal was imminent. Unfortunately, the report also indicated that the Patriots demanded a “public apology” from the Mankins Camp and the proposed deal imploded. If true, it seems clear that this demand did not come from the coach, as what coach would be foolish enough to require a proverbial Bacia el anello (kissing of the ring) from a disgruntled All-Pro whose services are desperately needed? This was an ownership demand, and if true, requires the public’s perspective of Mr. Kraft to be viewed in a different light. Perhaps there is a missing piece to the story of which the public is unaware or the story itself is inaccurate. We’re always willing to give the alleged offending party the benefit of the doubt.

Mr. Kraft is a fabulous businessman who has done incredible philanthropic works in the Greater Boston community and should be highly respected and commended for all of his good works. Mr. Kraft has also turned the Patriots from a certifiable joke that was nearly moved to St. Louis in the mid ‘90’s to one of Forbes’ most valuable professional sports properties. To those of us who have followed this team from its AFL/Fenway Park days to what it has now become are in awe of how Mr. Kraft has built the value of the Patriots’ franchise. Perhaps some hubris has also come along as well. Mr. Kraft has repeatedly reminded fans of how he and his family were season ticket holders during the long, dark days when the team went 1-15 and 2-12 freezing on the aluminum benches and dealing with the rowdies and assorted drunks at the old Schaefer/Foxboro concrete bowl. Perhaps he ought to take a step down from the rarified heights of ownership to remember how much silly, stupid drama was associated with this franchise prior to his assuming ownership and think how a paying member of the public would regard any demand for a public apology from Mankins. Quite simply, it contradicts everything for which the franchise has stood for the past 15+ years. Whomever is responsible for making such arrogant demands would be wise to remember that it is the quality of the product that is of primary concern to the fans, not paying tribute to the party that is responsible for producing it.

Forty years ago this week, the MNF experiment started as the Jets traveled to Cleveland and history was made. Over the years, there have been many, many changes to the broadcast crews. Some were good, while others downright awful, just like the hundreds of games that have been played down through the years. Now, the game is so popular that the opening weekend features a doubleheader.

At NY Jets -2.5 Ravens 35.5

If football success could be measured solely in terms of hype, the Jets would’ve been crowned Super Bowl Champs before camps opened. A lot of that is New York-media driven, and that’s fine because the Jets haven’t had this amount of exposure since the guy from Beaver Falls, PA was launching rockets back in glory days. The Jets were this year’s “Hard Knocks” focus on HBO (never watched it once), their quarterback is a poster boy and their coach is more famous for dropping f-bombs than drawing actual X’s and O’s. He’s no defensive dummy and learned everything about how to coach a D at daddy’s knee (no shame there). The Jets have a very good team and ought to make a lot of noise in the AFC this year. They have the best defense in the NFL and Revis has returned from his holdout a far richer man (just don’t agree with failing to honor an existing contract).

The Jets had a terrific season in Rex Ryan’s first year, as they backed into a Wild Card spot and made it all the way to the AFC Championship. They were brash, cocky and took no prisoners along the way and played very good football. Patriots fans need to take the hate for the “Jest” out of the equation and recognize that they’ve built a powerful team. As they move into the New Meadowlands (as co-tenants with the Giants), they brought in some established veterans to make a Super Bowl run. “Father of the Year” Antonio Cromartie and LaDainian Tomlinson came over from San Diego, though there are questions about how much gas LT may have left in the tank. Mark Sanchez had a great rookie season and may very well become New York’s next matinee idol (something the Jets have lacked since the halcyon days of the Great Joe Willie). Provided that he sticks to the script and not try to play over his head, Sanchez should be all right. The offensive line is formidable, despite the loss of Alan Faneca as Ferguson and Mangold were recently signed to long term extensions and Vladimir Ducasse from UMass was a high draft pick. In recent years, the Jets’ GM, Mike Tannenbaum, has emphasized quality over quantity on draft day, moving up on the board to select Sanchez, Shonn Greene and the very best cornerback in the game, Darrelle Revis. OLB Calvin Pace may be out for the first four games. On the defensive front, Kris Jenkins needs to rebound from a knee injury because he is a tremendous force in the middle when healthy. The Jets drafted Kyle Wilson, a cornerback from Boise State, who will make an immediate impact in the starting lineup.

Here’s the problem for the Jets: On Monday night, Coach Harbaugh’s Ravens come to the Meadowlands looking to kick their ass, and they have the talent to do so. The Ravens are no longer the All Defense/No Offense Ravens of years gone by. They have one of the best young quarterbacks in the game, Joe Flacco, who’s starting to come into his own. Ray Rice is a tough, dependable force at running back and he’s backed up by Willis McGahee. GM Ozzie Newsome was able to get some wideout help opposite Derrick Mason by acquiring Anquan Boldin and TJ Houshmandzadeh. LT Michael Oher looks like a perennial All-Pro in the making. On defense, the front seven (led by Ray Lewis) is as tough as there is, but the secondary is a little bit shaky to start the year. Dominique Foxworth suffered a knee injury and was put on IR and Ed Reed started the year on PUP, so there is a weak spot for Sanchez to go after.

This is going to be a tough, hard fought game that will probably be decided by a field goal. The only slight advantage that goes in the Jets’ favor is Coach Ryan’s knowledge of Flacco’s strengths and weaknesses and the fact that the Ravens’ secondary is not at 100%. Both teams’ defenses are going to be blitz happy and make life difficult for the quarterbacks.

Projected Final Score: NY Jets 16, Ravens 13

San Diego -4.5 At Kansas City 45

There’s nothing like an old AFL Wild West matchup to close out Week 1. Scott Pioli has now hired Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis as the new DC/OC of the Chiefs. Let’s hope that Haley does a lot of “listening” around these guys as they both have a wealth of football knowledge. Let’s see, Vrabel, O’Callaghan, Cassel…who’s next, Babe Parilli? It’s good that Pioli is upgrading the talent and infrastructure with people who know how to win, but the jury is still out on Haley.

The Chiefs’ major reconstruction remains a work in progress. They have drafted some good players and appear to have found a stud in running back Jamaal Charles. As Patriots’ fans can attest, Matt Cassel is a good quarterback if given the pportunity. It is ironic that Cassel was the understudy to both Palmer and Leinart at ‘SC, was an afterthought draft pick by NE and is now starting while Hollywood Heisman is now a third-stringer in Houston. Cassel had his ups and downs last year with KC but now needs to assert himself as a leader. If he’s made it this far, he can take the next step. We like the kid and really wish him well. Outside of Charles, Cassel is not blessed with a lot of quality weapons and will need to rely on the emotionally immature Dwayne Bowe as his primary target.

Defensively, the Chiefs appear to be a more complete unit. Linebackers Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson key a 3-4 group that is a mixture of veterans and young players who are coming into their own, though the jury’s still out on DE’s Glenn Dorsey and Tyson Jackson. Dorsey was supposed to be an All-Everything coming out of LSU a few years ago and has yet to live up to the hype. They drafted safety Eric Berry out of Tennessee this year, and he also received a great amount of media attention.

The Chargers have made a name as the NFL’s Bridesmaids, as every year they have a great regular season only to fail in the playoffs. Last year’s playoff goat, kicker Nate Kaeding, inexplicably missed a number of field goals in the loss to the Jets. San Diego has a tough, terrific quarterback in Philip Rivers and they don’t appear to be missing Tomlinson at all. They drafted San Jose State’s Ryan Mathews in the first round and he was handed the starter’s job. TE Antonio Gates was signed to a long-term extension and he’s one of the NFL’s best. They will miss WR Vincent Jackson, who refused to sign his RFA tender and is reportedly on the trading block. The O-Line is also mighty thin without Marcus McNeill, who has also failed to sign his tender. The Chargers’ GM, AJ Smith, has taken a big gamble by playing hardball with two of his best offensive contributors, as Rivers won’t be in his prime forever. To help pick up some of Jackson’s slack (he’s not coming back to SD), Smith acquired Patrick Crayton from Dallas.

On defense, the spotlight’s always on Shawne Merriman, though he was late getting into camp and has not been the same player since injuring his knee a couple of years ago. The rest of the defense is a veteran corps, though they will miss NT Jamal Williams, who left for Denver in free agency.

We hate the possibility of blowouts, especially in crapshoot weeks. But that outcome may very well exist for the Chiefs. True, they’ve added some nice pieces to help Cassel with the offensive attack, but the Chargers are eager to start off on the right foot and will effectively exploit the holes in the Chiefs’ defense and come away with a convincing win.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, Kansas City 20