It’s time for another Fumble in the End Zone. Can you really resist the temptation to find out whether or not I worked out if
Robert Gallery (Raiders guard) is a bear in disguise as a human or not? Read on to find out.

Story that took the World by Storm

Plenty of stories to choose from: Favre’s career high six TD passes in a stupidly high scoring game, the Chiefs taking out the Broncos, the Raiders pushing the Chargers all the way and the fact that I haven’t taken a shower for three days.

However, the Redskins beating the Cowboys is without doubt the biggest story this weekend.

It’s been quite incredible to watch Jim Zorn’s team transform from a side that could do nothing right against the Giants in week one into an incredibly strong unit in the space of a few weeks. The defence completely shut down Marion Baber, essentially forcing the Cowboys’ running game into redundancy, and on the offensive side of things, Jason Campbell is running the offence deliciously.

I don’t think many experts (yes, I do remember saying ‘the Redskins have no chance of winning’ and yes, I definitely do qualify as an expert) saw this result coming, and it is yet more evidence to suggest that the NFC East is far and away the best division in the NFL.

I’m off to eat some humble pie for lunch and my hat for dessert.

Game of the Weekend

Cardinals 35-56 Jets

With the Jets 34-0 up at half time and my decision to choose the Jets' defence to play for my fantasy football team looking like an absolute masterstroke, you'd have been forgiven for switching channels to watch a different game (I know I did).

However, in the third quarter Kurt Warner picked his game up and scored 21 unanswered as he led the Cardinals to within 13 points of New York, which was a complete waste of time as the Cardinals D collapsed again in the last quarter and conceded another 22 points.

Loads of TDs, fumbles, interceptions, veteran QBs throwing wildly and four receivers catching for over 100 yards. Good times indeed.

Play of the Day

Texans @ Jacksonville, 1.48 on the clock, 4th quarter: The Jags were down by four points with less than two minutes to go. David Garrard, who had led Jacksonville down the field with 38 rushing yards (and taken a lot of damage along the way), found his team facing 2nd and goal. Garrard ran a beautifully designed QB draw and ran through a gap in the Houston line for the TD. It was an excellent piece of thinking from Dirk Koetter, the Jags’ offensive coordinator.
Good to see Garrard have a cuddle with the mascot after the play too, it was a lovely moment between two close friends.

Awards Section:

-Team:I would have given this to the Bucs as they gave a fantastic defensive performance against the Packers, but the award must go to the Redskins. To beat a sizzling hot Dallas side at Texas Stadium is hugely impressive, and Jason Campbell is currently looking like the most efficient QB in the NFL.

-Player: A special mention goes to kicker Matt Bryant of the Bucs, who took to the field only four days after his child tragically died. I can only imagine what Bryant is going through, and his decision to play was incredibly brave.

Elsewhere, Matt Frater did well to kick a 56-yard field-goal (but he is obviously not going to get the award), Brandon Flowers had a phenomenal game in defence for the Chiefs, Mushin Muhammad caught for 147-yards and Brett Favre threw for a career high six TD passes.

However, the award goes to Larry Johnson of the Chiefs, who was absolutely inspired playing behind a less than fantastic OL. 198-yards and two TDs, it’s no wonder that the Kansas fans are thrilled to see him healthy and ready to play ball again. He could single-handedly win the Chiefs games this season if he maintains the form he showed yesterday, and the Broncos defence had no idea how to deal with him.

-Coach: After 12 straight losses, the knives have understandably been out for Herm Edwards for quite some time. Against a 3-0 Broncos team, the outspoken (and highly entertaining) coach was under immense pressure to grab a win, and he deserves a lot of credit for gaining it against one of the form teams in the NFL. His Chiefs team was highly motivated, played great defence and never gave up. Good work Hermy.

-Rookie: Not too many outstanding candidates this week, but Jonathan Stewart of the Panthers has rushed for four TDs in his first three NFL games, including one yesterday and another 52-yards. Nothing spectacular, but solid stuff from the Oregon college graduate.

Tim’s Favourite/Most Amusing/Most Interesting Moments of the 9-Hour Marathon

1.I love the FOX NFL music. It gets me really pumped before games, even makes me feel a bit like Rocky.

2.Montell Owens scored on his first ever NFL carry. He scored for the Jags against the Texans with a 42-yard TD run, and I’m sure his Mum loved every minute of it.

3.Bruce Stritesky, the referee in the Packers game, got bopped in the head with an attempted pass in the first quarter. It amused me.

4.Brett Favre looks so happy every time he throws a TD pass, and his enthusiasm is infectious. When he threw for his second score yesterday (against some terrible Cardinals coverage), he celebrated like I did when I picked up my N64 on the day it was launched in 1997. Happy times.

5.Favre and Laveranues Coles are building a great relationship. Coles caught three TDs in the first half, yet he acts like a complete gentlemen and essentially the opposite of TO (he doesn’t moan, is humble, and gets on with the game). As the commentator said, ‘he’s no diva!’ I like to think I’m a diva.

6.How on earth did the Chiefs beat the Broncos?!

7.Aaron Rodgers threw the first picks of his career as an NFL starter against the Bucs, one of which cost his team possession (and the game) in the 4th quarter. Welcome to the harsh realities of the league you hairy wildebeest.

8.The Bengals had better hope Carson Palmer stays fit for the rest of the season, as watching Fitzpatrick try to play was awfully depressing.

9.The 4th quarter of the game between the Texans and the Jaguars was extremely exciting. I absolutely love QBs running fast plays to get a quick score, and Matt Schuab did excellently to get his team into field goal range (and Kris Brown did very well to nail a 47-yard field goal).

10.It’s ridiculous that a coin toss should pretty much decide overtime (see Houston @ Jacksonville). The NFL needs to look at giving the team which loses the toss a chance with the ball.

11.The Raiders could be a genuinely good offensive side if Russell learns not to throw underneath on 3rd and goal. Field goals are not enough to win games against teams like the Chargers.

12.I love NFL Sundays. I love them more when I’m sitting in my pants and I find out there is a show called ‘The Mentalist’. I never want to watch it because I can only be let down, how can any TV show live up to a title as brilliant as that? I’m still smiling about it now.

13.Huge respect to the Bears for taking out the Eagles 24-20, I gave Chicago no respect in pre-season and they are playing really well.

Player most likely to need some TLC

I think we all know that Anquan Boldin took a disturbing hit to the head in the final minute of the Cardinal’s game at Meadowlands. Kurt Warner threw into the end zone, Boldin rose to catch it and had his head snapped forward by Kerry Rhodes who tried to take him out from behind, and was then hit in the front by strong safety Eric Smith that caused his head to snap backwards a fraction of a second later. It really is horrible to watch and I wish him a very speedy recovery.

Giant douche award

Mentions go to Greg Jennings who made life as tough as possible for Aaron Rodgers at the end of the 2nd quarter of the game between Green Bay and the Bucs; he couldn’t catch a rabbit with two broken legs walking on crutches for a couple of minutes. We also have to congratulate the Chiefs cheerleader who struggled to say ‘Come on Chiefs!’ to the camera; I’m not entirely sure what was wrong with her.

But one man put his team in a hole the size of the one in the sole of my right shoe this morning (it’s very annoying when it rains).

Matt Willhelm, linebacker for the Chargers, was penalised for looking over centre on a Raiders field goal attempt in the second quarter. Now, whilst Oakland managed to fail on four more attempts to score a TD from two yards out, the fact is that Willhelm’s utterly pointless penalty could- and should- have cost his team a TD. Matt, you deserve your award as much as I warrant a replica toy doll of me being made and distributed to all major toy stores; an awful lot.

The Raiders 8-8 Prediction Watch

Important issues first. I think Robert Gallery might be a bear that has infiltrated the human race. He has more hair than my dad has on his back, and that’s a big statement to make. I’ll be researching this over the coming week, and I’ll let you know what I’ve found out next week.

Now then, the Raiders. They have serious problems when it comes to closing out games; they led 15-3 going into the final 15 minutes, and lost 18-28. I know you all laughed off my prediction, but the fact is that the Raiders could very feasibly be 3-1. But they’re not. They’re 1-3. Now I never expected them to beat the Chargers, but they got into a position to do so and threw away yet another game winning situation in the closing minutes. I genuinely believe that Oakland are very close to being a good side, and Lane Kiffin should not lose his job; there are a lot of positive things about this team. However, LEARN TO CLOSE OUT GAMES YOU ABSOLUTE MENTALISTS!

Woe is my Fantasy Football team…

Pre-1800: My match with MTR is on a knife-edge. I have a great chance to go 1-3, with the projected score being 77-78. I’m in there…

2151: I’m leading 70-48…

Monday morning: A 94-77 lead and just Derrick Mason to play for MTR's team. I'm going 1-3 baby!!!

Calorie Meter

17:38- Good news. I’ve already had a bottle of wine, a beautiful roast beef dinner and a double espresso. The games haven’t started and I’ve pretty much guaranteed that by the end of the evening I’ll have hit 1500. Impressed? The things I do for you guys…

0100- I’ve never been so proud of myself. A couple more beers, a 12” pizza and some fruit smoothie to bump the meter up. Approximately 1500 calories for the session, and with any luck I’ll have that third chin I’ve been craving after a few more sessions.

2008 total after week 4= 4000. I'm beginning to live up to my potential!

Girlfriend Annoyance Rating (GAR)

Difficult to judge this week. We went out in the afternoon for some wine and a roast, and the combination of the two acted as an extremely potent sleeping pill. So when my lady was quiet, she was like a hibernating worm (albeit a sweet one) on the sofa.

But when she was awake, she was slightly hyper and wanting to be acknowledged due to the sugary goodness of the sticky toffee butter pudding (I'm sure it's called something different)...she had for dessert at the restaurant. Still only worth a 2/10 though, I just don’t seem to know how to make her crack and I'm not irritating her at all. Only 12 more regular season weeks to work out how…

Monday Night Football Prediction

Another week, another correct prediction. I said the Chargers would win 31-15 against the Jets, and whilst the score was wrong, the hammering I predicted would take place did indeed happen. As I continue to lose sleep over whether or not I’m a closeted Chargers fan, the most important thing is that my cumulative score has levelled out. 2008 total: 2-2.

Ravens 9-21 Steelers- A low-scoring affair will end with a Steelers victory.

Right, week four’s Fumble is complete. It’s been a wonderful weekend of football as always, but the question is this: what do you guys make of the weekend’s action? Disagree with me at your peril…