5. I think this is what I liked about Week 1:

a. The class of the Carolina fans.

b. Steve Smith's reincarnation with the Panthers.

c. Kyle Orton.

d. Brandon Jacobs' spirit. The Giants are going to love the kid.

e. Everything about Kansas City.

f. Dallas wideout Patrick Crayton. If the Cowboys cut his playing time when they activate Peerless Price, they're making a mistake.

g. Jon Gruden's moxie.

h. Gunther Cunningham's tears. Yes, they were there again, after his rejuvenated Chiefs' D played so well.

i. Ed Werder's reporting on the Panthers on ESPN. People probably don't tell you this often enough, Ed, but you're really good at your job.

j. Everything about the Saints.

k. Nick Saban.

6. I think this is what I didn't like:

a. Daunte Culpepper.

b. Arizona's uniforms. High-schoolish.

c. Jet readiness.

d. Tennessee's run defense.

e. Matt Hasselbeck.

f. Drew Bledsoe and his cement shoes. Get rid of the ball!

g. David Carr.

h. Jake Plummer.

i. Just about everything that Tennessee did.

j. The Oakland penalties.

k. The sentiment by some analysts that the NFL shouldn't have played games on the fourth anniversary of 9/11. Silly. Playing football does not disrespect the people who died four years ago. Rather, it shows the resilience of a country moving on while remembering those who died.

7. I think most of us owe Gus Frerotte a big apology. We've all pretty much thought of him as a hanger-on without any real upside to help a team except if the starter (and maybe the second-stringer) got hurt. Well, watching a good chunk of Miami's dismantling of Denver, I came to realize that what is good about Frerotte is what's so good about the NFL: Guys who are given up for done don't have to believe they're really done. They can fight their way out of it and still be good if they believe in themselves.

8. I think the one guy who really impressed me in the game I covered was Indy defensive tackle Larry Tripplett. Sort of a nondescript former second-rounder, whose playing time figures to get cut into with the signing of Corey Simon. But not so fast. Tripplett knifed through the Baltimore line for seven tackles and two sacks, and his quickness surprised the Ravens. That's because he shed some weight in the offseason -- he's listed at 295 but looks about 285 -- and has become almost Sapp-ish in how he can knife through interior-line traffic. "I wouldn't say we hit a grand slam tonight,'' he told me, "but I think we all have to be happy about how we've come together as a defense. Whatever role Tony [Dungy] wants me to play, I'll play.'' Dungy told me he'll use Tripplett, Simon and another big quick guy, Montae Reagor on all first downs and most second-and-shorts. Tripplett looks as though he can hold the point against big run-blockers and rush with the best of them. Big test for Indy next week, by the way, with Jacksonville coming to town. "I think we're Jacksonville's New England,'' Triplett told me. Meaning: The Jags look at Indy as their measuring stick, the way Indy look at the Patriots as its measuring stick.

9. I think I never get tired of this stat: Two years ago Wednesday morning, Tom Jackson looked into the ESPN cameras and told America the Patriots hated their coach. New England is 35-3 in the 24 months since.

10. I think these are my non-NFL thoughts of the week:

a. Proud to be a Bobcat alum this morning, after Ohio U. beat Pitt on Friday night. I'm one of the degenerates who drank before the game, drank during the first half, watched the band's halftime show, then was back in the dorm (or apartment) by early in the third quarter. Maybe Frank Solich will change that. So weird to see Athens in an ESPN game.

b. Poor Dave Wannstedt.

c. If Craig Biggio's not a Hall of Famer, I'm Twiggy.

d. Coffeenerdness: Six shots a day. That's what I'm up to, and I don't imagine it's very healthy. Better espresso than grain alcohol, I guess.

e. For the eighth time in six weeks Manny Ramirez was a healthy scratch for the Red Sox last Thursday against the Angels. They can't trade him fast enough for me.

f. I have great feelings about Colgate University. What a great place to send your kid.

g. Finally, best wishes to Greg Bensel, the recovering Saints PR man extraordinaire. Ten days ago, Bensel was handing out meals and supplies to stranded people in new Orleans. He's a longtime resident and his house is ruined, with four inches of water still in it. His wife's store on Magazine Street has been looted and ruined. Yet here he is, running PR operations for the most intriguing team/story in America. The stress, and possibly some disease he picked up from all the dirty water in New Orleans, landed him in a San Antonio hospital late in the week. He didn't make the trip to Charlotte, watching on TV in his Texas hotel room. I can't fathom going on with a normal work life when everything in your world is upside down.

WHO I LIKE TONIGHT, AND I DON'T MEAN AL MICHAELS

Philadelphia 23, Atlanta 13.

Remember one thing about this game: Mike Vick isn't the only mobile quarterback in it. Researching a story about the complexity of playbooks in the NFL for Sports Illustrated's  preview issue, I ran across a page of key thoughts Falcon coach Jim Mora gives his team before playing mobile quarterbacks -- as the Falcs will tonight against Donovan McNabb. His points:

RUSH THOUGHTS

• See the QB.

• Hold an edge -- rush to proper depth and compress the pocket.

• Feel the waggle -- work flat to stay in the throwing lane.

• Maintain proper rush lanes -- rush lanes must stay relative (trap with four dots).

• Run games to obscure QB vision and alter escape lanes.

That last point was crucial in holding McNabb to 3.2 yards per rush on 10 scrambles in the NFC title game last seasons -- obscure the vision of McNabb, never show him the same rush front twice in a row, make him wonder where his escape route will be.

I don't think McNabb will need to rush much tonight. Terrell Owens, whatever weird thing he plans to do, is going to have a big game in his backyard. Two touchdowns big.