4. I think maybe we should have seen the Carr firing coming. Those close to Gary Kubiak say Carr did not progress much from the mechanical, non-instinctive player the coach inherited 14 months ago when he got the Texans' job.

Last summer, on a visit to Texans' training camp, I saw Kubiak micromanaging Carr. I thought it was wise at the time to throw so much into trying to save the quarterback's career in Houston. Looking back, you can see how much work Kubiak had to do, and why, in the end, it was too much to overcome. I wrote:

The other day, Carr threw a pass into a coverage scheme that he, and Kubiak, knew right away was the wrong pass at the wrong time. Terrible decision. And instead of soft-pedaling his criticism, which is the way Carr has been treated for four years as the Disappointing Golden Boy of Houston football, Kubiak offered this gem: "You've been in the league four years and you make that throw? There is no way you can make a throw into coverage like that!''

You've got to love a coach who does not come in and kiss the franchise quarterback's rear end. Because smooching is not what this quarterback needed. "David can't assume, 'I'm OK, we've just got to fix the stuff around me,' '' Kubiak told me after a Texans practice, sounding Parcellsian. "He's not OK. He's a long way from being OK. We all are.''

With Kubiak and offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun micromanaging his every move, there's no doubt in my mind Carr's going to be a better player this year. Will he be a franchise quarterback? I don't know. No one does. I have my doubts. He's got to do it under pressure. But he's going to have a chance, even though I think the Texans should have taken Reggie Bush instead of Mario Williams with the first pick in the draft because Carr needs another offensive weapon desperately.

Last Thursday, the day I watched Carr running Houston's talent-shy first-team offense, Kubiak was standing deep downfield, eyeing Carr's mechanics closely. Every so often, he'd see something, amble up and say something to Carr, then go back and resume watching him from afar. It's so fascinating why Kubiak was doing this.

Last winter, when Kubiak sat down to study every game Carr played last year, he noticed something fatal to quarterbacking success. He noticed when Carr faded back to throw, he consistently looked to the side of the field that was his first option. Imagine how crucial this is. If you're a safety, and you've scouted Carr from the end-zone coaches tape that every team sees, and you've seen that you can figure out the side of the field he's trying to throw to the second he begins his pass-drop, wouldn't that be a huge advantage?

When Kubiak first sat down with Carr to watch tape, he said, in so many words: Are you kidding me? You're an NFL quarterback, and you telegraph your throws so blatantly? So on this day, in this practice, Kubiak watched Carr take his drop and watched his eyes as much as his arm. He watched to make sure Carr was surveying the entire field on his drop, not just half of it.

5. I think you should not count Brady Quinn out of silver and black. Remember where you heard that first.

6. I think if Vegas had a tote board on the 2008 Hall of Fame voting, the odds would be shortest for Darrell Green (2-1) and Cris Carter (5-2).

7. I think Peyton Manning's funniest moment the other night hosting Saturday Night Live was when he talked about his family's quarterback heritage, pointed to his dad and brother in the audience and then saying his mom, Olivia, got cut by the Dolphins and failed in Canada. "She's been a real disappointment to us all,'' he said. Not bad, kid. Anyone ever tell you you'd be good in commercials?

8. I think no one at these meetings really knows what the Raiders will do with the top pick a month from now. Including them.

9. I think I'd be surprised if Daunte Culpepper suited up for Miami this year. I could see him in Oakland, Kansas City or Detroit, though. I think power-of-positive-thinking Herman Edwards would be a good coach for Culpepper, who needs some of that right now.

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

a. What an admirable person Elizabeth Edwards is. I've read the theory in the past few days that John Edwards staying in the race is a case of blind ambition sweeping up a sick woman and, common sense be damned, continuing with a consuming presidential campaign. Balderdash.

b. Anyone who's ever been to Holsten's, the homemade-ice-creamery (it's made in the basement) and luncheonette (I once interviewed Michael Strahan there over a cheeseburger and vanilla shake) in Bloomfield, N.J., will be pleased to know that the last scenes of the last Sopranos episode were filmed there last Thursday.

Holsten's is the ice cream of the King girls' youth, and I have to say it matches any I've ever had, including Graeter's in Cincinnati. Word is the crew was very pleased with the Jersey realism of the place. Well, of course they would be, because it's a real place, with real cheeseburgers and ridiculously good vanilla shakes.

c. Kay Yow epitomizes class. I wish my daughters could have played for her.

d. Coffeenerdness: The most underrated coffee in the country is Peet's. Starbucks is the Yankees. Peet's is the A's. When you're the A's, you've got to try harder, and you can't make any mistakes. I've got to say every time I've been in a Peet's, I get a uniformly great cup of coffee or latte. (There's one in Terminal 7 at JFK Airport) Simple, very rich, semi-jolting.

e. IPod Download of the Week (which could become a regular feature here if I keep finding ways to load this contraption): Went into download mode the other night. What a great invention, buying any song in history for 99 cents and playing it 99 times. You know what I can't get enough of? Johnny Cash. Listen to Folsom Prison Blues and you'll know why every convict in America loved the man. By the way, I've got the video iPod. But other than The Office, I haven't found much to watch of TV shows or videos. Any suggestions?

f. Did Rocky Balboa really have to get made? I think not.

g. Please skip this if you, like me, hate it when people bore you with their rotisserie teams or fantasy football teams. Judging by the adverse reaction to the team I picked for SI a couple of weeks ago, you'll really hate the one I chose in my 12-team New Jersey league, a mixed league, the other night. Infield: David Ortiz, Tadahito Iguchi, Carlos Guillen, Adrian Beltre, Ronnie Paulino. Outfield: Ichiro, Chris Young (Arizona), Delmon Young, Magglio Ordonez. Starting pitchers: Daisuke Matsuzaka (couldn't help myself), Adam Wainwright, Erik Bedard, Bronson Arroyo. Closers: B.J. Ryan, Trevor Hoffman. For the record, Matsuzaka was the 62nd player picked in our league.

h. Great job on the Matsuzaka story in SI, Tom Verducci. Great knowledge passed along in a fascinating (as usual) way.