We thought we had covered every angle of the Ines Sainz controversy ... at least until former NFL player and current FOX/NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger decided to lose his mind and say what a lot of people are evidently thinking about the whole thing.

For those in need of the Cliff's Notes version: Sainz, an admittedly attractive reporter for the Mexican station TV Azteca, was allegedly harassed by several members of the New York Jets' roster and coaching staff in practice and in the team's locker room. The media frenzy that followed has taken several different paths. Some people see this as a referendum on not allowing women in NFL locker rooms at all (judging from the temperature of my Inbox, the thoughts on that concept are depressingly stuck in the Stone Age). Some see Sainz as a figure who takes feminism backward by providing eye candy. And there are those who believe that because Sainz doesn't dress in Amish fashion, she deserves whatever she gets. No public figure was

It seems as if the entire NFL world is piling on Dallas Cowboys right tackle Alex Barron(notes); that's what happens when your obvious hold on Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo(notes) kills what might have been a game-winning touchdown pass had a replacement-level lineman been replacing Tony Romo's(notes) front side as opposed to a guy who's been flagged an astonishing 78 times in the last five seasons, plus the Dallas game. At Shutdown Corner, we've been watching the Barron bandwagon go by with a sense of wonder since the Cowboys traded for him in the offseason.

We can now add a more intelligent voice than our own to the fire choir: NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock, one of the best X-and-O guys in the business, recently took Barron apart in reviewing his Week 1 performance on the NFL Network's must-watch "Playbook" show. Mayock didn't just focus on the Orakpo hold; he got all forensic and showed us that Barron had been a problem throughout the game and was the primary reason

We've already reported the alleged incident between Mexican television reporter Inés Sainz of TV Azteca and the New York Jets. Sainz (who has managed to turn this into quite the little media circus) went on the "Today" show on Tuesday morning and explained a bit more of her take on things.

Now, we're seeing an interesting cultural backlash. Some are saying that by using her looks to further her career, Sainz should have expected the treatment she allegedly received from the team. It's an interesting, if wrong-headed, notion that reminds me of USA Today reporter Christine Brennan's take on the Erin Andrews "peephole" incident via The Big Lead:

On the Erin Andrews situation, a quick thought for those who have asked: There are hundreds of women covering sports in this country who haven't had this happen to them. I wish it didn't happen to Erin, but I also would suggest to her if she asked (and she hasn't) that she rely on her talent and brains and not succumb to the lowest common

Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is known by most football fans as the quarterback who lost four straight Super Bowls. While it's true that Kelly's Buffalo Bills did lose Super Bowls XXV through XXVIII to conclude their 1990 through 1993 seasons (and give them a large hat tip for making four in a row under any circumstances), Kelly is just as much the guy who helped engineer the establishment of two powerhouse football teams.

When Kelly went to Miami in 1979, the Hurricanes were an independent afterthought at a school that was barely on the map for their sport. Kelly was the first of the great Miami quarterbacks, and his departure to the USFL just preceded the team's first national championship.

After a brief stop in the USFL (throwing for 9,842 yards and 83 touchdowns for the Houston Gamblers' run-and-shoot offense in just two seasons), Kelly went to the Buffalo Bills in 1986. The Bills had won just four games in the previous two seasons, but with a young, talented team around him,

The points of concern were there in the preseason, when the ultra-famous New York Jets couldn't do much on the offensive side of the ball. They averaged 14.2 points per game (only the Falcons, Bears and Panthers were worse), 277.2 yards per game (27th in the league), and 16 first downs per game (tied for 25th). But nothing could have prepared the Jets faithful for the pathetic offensive display their team put up in the season opener, a 10-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The best Jets pass thrown all day was probably by linebacker Bart Scott(notes), who zinged a football at Ravens running back Ray Rice(notes) after a bunch of trash talk between the two teams.

Once the game started, productive passing yards were hard to come by on either end. While Sanchez couldn't even complete simple checkdowns in the face of Baltimore's ravenous pass rush, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco(notes) overthrew pass after pass and was clearly struggling with his mechanics -- at times, he seemed to be

With all the hubbub about "Hard Knocks" and the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football, the New York Jets have something else to deal with – and unlike your average Rex Ryan soundbite, there's nothing funny about it. Inés Sainz of the Mexican television network TV Azteca, claimed that she was harassed by players and coaches in practice and in the team's locker room last Saturday. From the New York Times:

The New York Post reported that during drills, Dennis Thurman, the team's defensive backs coach, purposely overthrew passes that landed near Sainz on the sideline. The Post also reported that linebacker Jason Taylor(notes) volunteered to join the defensive backs. Players also reportedly made sexually suggestive comments in the locker room after practice. [...]

In a statement released by the Jets, [team owner Woody] Johnson stressed to Sainz that "he expects all members of the Jets organization to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times."

Looking at the quote sheets from San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary and quarterback Alex Smith after their team's 31-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks was an interesting exercise in blame-shifting. There's no question that Smith did not play well in this game -- his performance was even worse than his stat line (26 of 45 for 225 yards, no touchdowns and two picks), but after the game, Smith had more issues with receiver Michael Crabtree(notes) and his own coaching staff.

"The two plays that stand out are the two picks," Smith said of the interceptions that were intended for Crabtree. "The first one, I don't know if that's so much chemistry, just him being quick to turn and make a play. The second one ... I'm thinking one thing, and he's obviously not thinking the same thing, resulting in the pick six. That cost us. Huge. At that point it's still a one-score game, and that takes it to, I believe, 21-6, and it hurt us. It changed the game."

Now, it's true that Crabtree had a

Week 1 of the 2010 NFL season brought a series of surprises. The Seattle Seahawks were off every radar, but they trounced the San Francisco 49ers, a team that was supposed to have had the NFC West wrapped up before the year began. The Cincinnati Bengals parlayed the acquisition of Terrell Owens(notes) into a 31-3 disadvantage early in the second half against the New England Patriots before Cincy was able to make the 34-24 game more respectable than that score indicated. Here are a few more talking points from Week 1, fleshed out in greater detail.

Good call, bad rule. We've talked extensively about the controversial call on the Calvin Johnson(notes) pseudo-touchdown, and here's the story according to Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1:

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass [with or without contact by an opponent], he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or in the end zone. If [the player] loses control of