Dispatches

Peter King

September 26, 2005

Tom Brady's 100th career touchdown pass Sunday at Carolina came in his 64th start, at age 28. Joe Montana's 100th TD throw came in his 62nd start, at age 28.... The Bucs are playing defense like their 2002 Super Bowl team. In their 19-3 victory over Buffalo, they held the Bills to one first down in the first 40 minutes.... A big reason for the Packers' struggles is the poor play of new starting guards Adrian Klemm and Will Whitticker, a rookie who was beaten by Browns defensive tackle Orpheus Roye for a sack and another knockdown of Brett Favre in Cleveland's 26-24 upset at Lambeau Field. "We noticed on film that we could bull-rush the guards," said Roye.... It's amazing how many defenses are ahead of the offenses. Nine teams were held to 250 or fewer yards on Sunday, a pathetic total.... The Bengals have won their first two games by an average of 21.5 points, and Carson Palmer (above) has a quarterback rating above 100 in five straight games. Still, there is a pervasive feeling in the locker room that the team hasn't arrived yet. "Given our past and where we're coming from, we know how to lose," said left tackle Levi Jones. "Now we're trying to find out how to win."