Ten Things I Think I Think

Eli Manning led the Giants to a 35-24 win over the Jets. The game garnered little attention in baseball-crazed New York. Nick Laham/Getty Images

MAILBAG Peter King will answer your questions each week in Monday Morning Quarterback: Tuesday Edition. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

1. I think there are so many things that bug me about the buzz-less Giants-Jets game. It brings up multiple points. First, it's idiotic to schedule a rivalry game in New York for the beginning of October. New York's a baseball town. Following the Mets collapse and in the middle of a possible Yankee meltdown, Giants-Jets was a Seinfeld rerun on the night of good new TV. This game should never be played before November, because of the danger of butting heads with the Yankees or Mets. The biggest story in New York on the first or second Sunday of October will always be baseball; the New York Post and Daily News screamed about the Yankees-Indians series Sunday, with the football game a tiny ribbon headline on the back page of both.

Second: Hope you enjoyed this game. Their next regular-season meeting is in 2011. And if you live in western New York and love the Cowboys, I'd suggest you find a ticket for the Dallas-Buffalo game tonight. The Cowboys' next trip to Buffalo will be in 2015 -- if there's even a franchise in Buffalo by then.

As you can tell, I'm not really crazy about the infrequency of interconference games in the NFL. Especially when there's a rivalry involved. Sunday was the first, and likely last, time Chad Pennington and Eli Manning will square off as Giants and Jet starters. The last time the Giants and Jets played, in 2003, Dorsey Levens and Ike Hilliard scored for the Giants, and Brett Conway won the game with a late field goal. The next time they play, my money's on Kellen Clemens (or someone we've never heard of today) to face Manning.

As I've stated before, my feeling is that the NFL needs to have each team play a rivalry game once a year so that some real enmity could be built up in Jets-Giants, Cowboys-Texans, Eagles-Steelers, Niners-Raiders, Ravens-Redskins, Bucs-Dolphins, Bears-Colts and others.

2. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of Week

a. So great to see Chuck Noll, walking with a cane, on the field for the celebration of the Steelers' 75th anniversary season. 'Burghers have been concerned about Noll's health, and he looked bigger, but relatively good, walking across Heinz Field.

b. I'm guilty. I had no idea Matt Moore was one snap away from playing for the Panthers -- until David Carr went out with a bad back in the first half at New Orleans.

c. Seeing Cleveland punter Scott Player, with his single-bar facemask and his entire face (complete with bleach-blonde fu manchu) is the strangest-looking sight in the NFL. Who sees a full face today? "He's posing for his 1958 football card!'' Keith Olbermann called out when we saw his stark visage on the field against the Pats.

d. The Browns aren't pushovers.

e. The Lions are frauds.

f. Bobby Petrino is really smart and does some bright things (like weird reverses on fake punts), but he's having a very hard time making up for bad quarterbacking.

g. Kansas City has been behind by 10, 10, 7, 10 and 10 points at the half this year. That's a recipe for something, and it ain't good.

h. Ben Watson's a pretty good player, right? Then how could his six-catch, 107-yard game Sunday be the first 100-yard receiving game in his college or pro career? Positively amazing.

3. I think what makes me not want to forget the Patriots' Spygate story are conversations like the one I had with a club official the other day, a man I respect a lot. "From what I hear, it's best for everyone in the league if this story just goes away,'' he said.

Maybe. Or maybe it's best for the 130 million Americans who watch some part of the Super Bowl every year to hear an explanation from Bill Belichick or the league about what was found -- and whether there was something in the tapes that was a tangible benefit to a team winning any of three Super Bowls by three points apiece. I still think we're owed an explanation that's never been offered.

4. I think the Chargers will absolutely, positively be playing in January. Let's look waaaaay ahead, shall we, for a moment. We'd probably agree now that the Pats, Colts and Steelers look like logical one, two and three seeds in the AFC playoff pool. San Diego, competing for the AFC West title but probably not a bye on the first playoff weekend, would likely have the best chance to the fourth seed. Tennessee and Jacksonville look like the best bets for the wild card spots now. I'll seed the AFC thusly:

1. New England
2. Indy
3. Pittsburgh
4. San Diego
5. Tennessee
6. Jacksonville

Imagine San Diego's path to a Super Bowl. In 15 days, the Chargers would have to beat Vince Young and Albert Haynesworth at home, Brady and the invincible Pats on the road and Indianapolis and Manning.

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