Vince Young(notes), Quarterback, Tennessee Titans. I wouldn't say that Vince Young was the reason that the Titans won yesterday, but Young did everything that could've been asked of him. 15-of-18 for 125 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions? Jeff Fisher will take that every time. Of course, he it helps if you have a running back that goes for 228 yards and two touchdowns (thank you, Chris Johnson), your defense gets two interceptions and you get to play from ahead (something Kerry Collins(notes) rarely got to do). Did VY's presence in the line-up spark this kind of performance from the rest of the team? Things like that have been known to happen.

Greg Mattison, Defensive Coordinator, Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens played, by far, their best game of 2009 against the Broncos yesterday. They were strong, they were physical, they were tough and they had the right game plan. They decided that they would tee off on the Denver running game and short passes, and if Denver wanted to beat them by going vertical, then hey, have it it, Kyle Orton(notes). He couldn't do it. Denver's biggest play of the day was a 39-yard pass interference call on the Ravens. Outside of that, the Broncos had just one play all day that went for more than 20 yards, and it came in garbage time.

Ted Ginn, Special Teams, Miami Dolphins. Note that it doesn't say, "Ted Ginn, Wide Receiver." Ginn didn't catch a ball (though, it should be noted, neither did his replacement, Brian Hartline(notes)). That didn't stop Ginn from just about singlehandedly winning that game for his team, though. That Miami offense was doing nothing yesterday, Wildcat or no Wildcat. But they got one defensive touchdown, and two special teams touchdowns from Ginn, both of which were "Man, that guy is crazy athletic" moments.

DeAngelo Williams(notes) and Jonathan Stewart(notes), Running Backs, Carolina Panthers. This result -- a 34-21 Panthers win over the Cardinals -- I did not see coming. The Cardinals were on the come, and the Panthers looked to be in trouble ... and then this happens. And the reason that the Cardinals were on the come was their run defense, and the Panthers plowed through them for 270 yards on the ground. They were so effective that Jake Delhomme(notes) only had to throw the ball 14 times, and that fact is not at all coincidental to the fact that the Panthers won.

Shawne Merriman(notes), Linebacker, San Diego Chargers. Shawne Merriman actually affected a game yesterday. His presence was actually noticeable on the field. It started a little bit with the game against the Chiefs last week, and then exploded this week. He had two sacks against the Raiders and wreaked havoc in their backfield all day.

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, displeased with the Chargers 38-28 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, called his team "soft." Sort of. Here's the quote:

“Everything is wrong with it right now. I’m not the least bit happy in a lot of areas. I’ve seen us be tough and physical to soft and bewildered.”

Now Shawne Merriman(notes) is mad at him. If I was A.J. Smith, though, I wouldn't be too worried, because from what we've seen so far this year, as long there's any sort of a warm, living body between Smith and Merriman, Merriman can't get to him. Really, any toddler would do.

Merriman got bent out of shape about the "soft" label. Here was his response, via the AP:

“I don’t know too much of that. That’s an opinion of a person, and it’s not needed,” Merriman said. “We know that we have to play better. We met for an extra hour and a half as a defense as a whole to discuss what we need to do and things we need to do to get better. And we’re going to make adjustments in this locker room as far as players and our attitudes and getting after people a little more. But all that extra (stuff) is not needed at all.” [...]

“The only opinions that matter to me are the ones in this locker room. Anything else, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Well, it might matter. Especially since Merriman's contract is up after this year, and Smith is the one deciding whether or not Merriman gets to stay in San Diego.

There's also the small matter of Smith being right. I understand that Merriman doesn't want to hear it from anyone outside of the locker room, and that's fine, but I don't see how he's in a position to defend himself or the defense.

It's not that I blame Merriman; as he's still clearly hobbled with the knee injury and probably shouldn't even be on the field yet, but let's face it: The Chargers are giving up 25 points and 365 yards per game. They have a paltry six sacks in four games. They're giving up 4.6 yards per carry. They were pushed around by the Steelers offensive line, and they shouldn't be pushing around anybody.

You can attribute that to injuries or whatever, and that might be legit, but the bottom line is that it's not very good. If Shawne Merriman or anyone else doesn't like it, they can feel free to go out on the field and change perceptions, but until they do, "soft" is the label that A.J. Smith and everyone else will give them.