Dave’s Football Blog

More stuff I’ve missed in the last week:

• Arizona rookie QB Matt Leinart is going to be a dad. Let’s hope that his dip into the Hilton pool doesn’t prevent him from repeating that feat.
• You probably know this by now, but Carson Palmer looked pretty good on Monday Night. Julie de Rossi’s former achilles tendon appears to be holding up well, as is that massive knee brace Palmer managed to hide beneath his uniform. I still question the wisdom of bringing Palmer back this quickly; the Bengals are literally betting the future of the franchise here. Still, so far, so good for Palmer. That Week 3 matchup between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati should be an appropriately hateful affair.
• The gang at Football Outsiders has released their position-by-position rankings for every team in the NFL. I think they’re underrating the Carolina Panthers’ secondary and receiving corps, but if they’re basing these numbers on last year, I’m not too surprised.
• Among all players on the San Diego Chargers right now, LaDainian Tomlinson has the most career TD passes. Tomlinson, of course, is not a quarterback. I predict this will change by October 1, but I’m more confident in Philip Rivers than any non-NC State alumni out there.
• Rumors that have unhappy Patriots wideout Deion Branch going to New Orleans may have been fueled after the Saints traded Donte Stallworth to Philadelphia, thus answering the question of whether Reggie Brown, Greg Lewis and a bunch of no-names were enough for the Eagles. Of course, if Branch works out a deal to join Drew Brees and Reggie Bush in the Big Easy, then who’s going to catch Tom Brady’s passes? Brady may be throwing to his tight ends more than Ron Mexico.
• The Steelers could go winless this preseason. I still don’t care. Pittsburgh had a lousy preseason last year, too. How’d that work out for them? And how about those Colts, who haven’t won a game in August since, what, 2004? Preseason records don’t matter, people. They just give the press one more thing to talk about.