Let me start off by admitting I was shortsighted about one problem with the NFL's replacement refs: Their decided lack of experience with the procedures of running a game are so bad that it's affecting everyone's confidence.

And by everyone, I mean fans, coaches, players and at least one owner who spoke Tuesday morning on the condition of anonymity.

Broncos head coach John Fox (L) speaks to officials during the first half of Monday night's game. (AP)"I'm not comfortable with what I saw last night," the owner said after watching the Atlanta Falcons' 27-21 victory over the Denver Broncos. "It wasn't professional. It wasn't our standards of what a game is supposed to look like … it's not the calls themselves and it's not player safety. That's a silly argument.

"It's the competence and control of the game officials. The officials are supposed to be in control. They're supposed to run the game. Last night after the fumble [by Denver in the first quarter], they didn't have control. They looked like … I don't want to say what they looked like."

Last night's

In falling to 0-2 after a 35-27 loss at Carolina, there is one clear issue plaguing the New Orleans Saints. To quote brilliant politician Marty Huggins, "It's a mess."

From offense to, in particular, the defense, the Saints are missing more than their coach and interim coach. The Saints look like they're playing with only 10 players on each side of the ball. The problems go beyond the loss of Sean Payton, the distraction of the bounty scandal and the Drew Brees contract snafu.

Drew Brees loses the ball vs. Panthers (US Presswire)In two games, Brees has thrown four interceptions (he had 14 all of last season) and is averaging only 6.6 yards per pass attempt. He hasn't been that low since the 2003 season when he was still in San Diego. That figure is nearly a full yard below his career average (7.4 yards) and is a testimony to how defensively challenged teams are playing soft zones. Carolina and Washington played disciplined football in the secondary while they waited for the pass rush to get to Brees, forcing him to throw

The Battling Jims – Harbaugh and Schwartz – reunite Sunday night when the Detroit Lions face the 49ers in San Francisco, where all eyes will be focused on the postgame handshake.

But while there is some very strong dislike between the two (Schwartz thinks he's intellectually superior to Harbaugh and Harbaugh looks down at Schwartz's haughty style), this pair isn't even close when it comes to some of the great rivalries among non-players.

Dating to the days when then-Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell forced out legendary coach Paul Brown, there have been plenty of ugly disputes among the men who pace the sidelines and, occasionally, the men who sit in the owner's box.

Here's a look at the top 10 off-field NFL feuds of all time:

10. Todd Haley vs. Josh McDaniels
Despite their ties (both are friends with and/or disciples of Bill Belichick), these two had a flareup after Haley felt that McDaniels had run up the score in a Denver Broncos win over the Kansas City Chiefs

The NFL picked up where it left off at the end of the 2011 regular season with offenses running amok.

Joe Flacco had a lot to smile about Monday night against the Bengals. (US Presswire)As noted Tuesday morning by NFL stat maven Michael Signora, the league opened the 2012 campaign with a Week 1 record of 791 points scored – the second-most points ever scored (837 in Week 12 of 2008). Five teams hit the 40-point mark, also the most ever in Week 1 of a season.

All of this leads to a few questions. First, will this become status quo? Second, is there anything the league can or even wants to do to stop it? Third, can teams that used the hurry-up, no-huddle approach, such as the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons, continue the rapid pace?

[Dan Wetzel: Ravens Lewis, Reed finally backed with explosive offense]

As one weary defensive coordinator pointed out Tuesday morning: "Are you kidding me? The league loved this weekend. If they could have this every weekend, they'd be [extremely happy]. They're never going to slow this down. This is the gravy

The NFL's controversial replacement referees made their biggest mistake on the final play of Week 1.

NFL vice president of officiating Carl Johnson confirmed that the Oakland Raiders should have been given an "untimed" play at the end of their 22-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Monday night.

It was a long evening for Darren McFadden and the Raiders. (US Presswire)The play came after the Chargers punted to end the game, downing the ball at the Oakland 5-yard line. However, because the Chargers touched the ball first, Oakland was entitled to a final play under league rules.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email after he spoke to Johnson that: "Yes. If the Raiders elected to take it. The officials should have notified them that they could have one more play due to the 'first touching' violation."

[Related: Oakland's Travis Goethel gets an unfortunate 15 minutes of fame]

The Raiders would have been able to run one final play from their own 5-yard line, needing to go 95 yards and then make a two-point conversion to send the

The legend of Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III took a huge, deserved step forward with his performance during Sunday's victory in New Orleans. The same can't be said for his rookie quarterback brethren. From Andrew Luck to Brandon Weeden, Ryan Tannehill and Russell Wilson, the other four quarterbacks who christened their careers Sunday were somewhere between bad and putrid.

Robert Griffin III evades the Saints. (US Presswire)Trending toward putrid.

Between the four, they managed two touchdown passes and 11 interceptions and two lost fumbles. All four lost and only two of the games were competitive. Of those two, Cleveland nearly pulled of a victory over Philadelphia after picking off Michael Vick four times. Unfortunately for the Browns, Brandon Weeden also threw four picks, which led him to an overall quarterback rating of 5.1.

Yeah, 5.1.

Don't take the stark tone of all this as some indictment. This is reality. Despite rookie quarterbacks coming in and playing well (Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger,

As NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reviews his now-rebuked decision to dole out suspensions to four players involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal, there is a bigger issue he needs to consider:

He needs to formulate a policy that is fair and, ultimately, more cooperative with players than is currently allowed.

Not everything has been thumb's up for Roger Goodell. (AP)Of course, he doesn't really have to do that. Based on a three-member panel's ruling Friday to overturn player suspensions, the decision is really just back in Goodell's lap. For all anyone knows, Goodell could rewrite the language of his decision and make the penalties even worse.

Don't expect that.

That's because Goodell privately knows, as people around him have admitted, that he went too far in this case. The season-long suspension of linebacker Jonathan Vilma, eight games for current free agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, four for defensive end Will Smith and three for current Browns linebacker Scott Fujita were all far too harsh in

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum have had great moments of teamwork.

Take, for instance, the recruitment of safety LaRon Landry. In March, as Landry was being courted by the Jets, New England Patriots and several other teams, Landry went to dinner at an upscale New Jersey steakhouse with Ryan and the coach's wife, Michelle.

Coach Rex Ryan (L) with GM Mike Tannenbaum (C) and owner Woody Johnson.Seated nearby were Tannenbaum and his family, including his two young children. As Ryan worked his gregarious charm, Tannenbaum's kids drew up signs that read, "Please come play with us" and eventually going over to the table for Landry to see. It was the perfect finishing touch to convince Landry that the Jets were the place for him.

Good stuff, which is not something you can really say about the uneasy state of the Jets today as they prepare to open the season against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Just this week, owner Woody Johnson had to defend his team against accusations that it has created a