They brought to mind greats like Lee Roy Selmon (who was given a place in the team's Ring of Honor today), Doug Williams, Ricky Bell, and John McKay. They also brought back memories of 26 straight losses to begin the franchise's history and Steve Spurrier, starting quarterback. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, looking for their first win since November 30 of last year, put on their old "creamsicle" jerseys and took on the Green Bay Packers at Raymond James Stadium. The Bucs had to play catch-up multiple times, erasing Packers leads, but they did that. They also picked off three Aaron Rodgers(notes) passes and sacked Rodgers six times. Rodgers' final pick was returned by safety Tanard Jackson(notes) for a 35-yard touchdown that put the game out of reach at a 38-28 final.

On offense, rookie quarterback Josh Freeman(notes) looked solid in his first NFL start, showing the advantage of his size and mobility when protections broke down and a nice feel for the pocket when he was able. The Packers were up, 28-17 at one point in the foruth quarter before Freeman threw touchdown passes to Kellen Winslow(notes) and Sammie Stroughter(notes). On the day, Freeman completed 14 passes in 31 attempts for 205 yards, three touchdowns and an interception -- not earth-shattering numbers, but great news for a team that's been struggling to get anything going on either side of the ball all season. There are still major problems on defense; Tampa Bay's frequent man coverage and single-safety looks leave them open to more big plays than just about any defense in the game, even though Ronde Barber(notes) played as if he'd found a time machine. But this was a big deal overall, especially for first-year head coach Raheem Morris, who picked up his first win.

Our only fear is that the Bucs will tie this win, and the totemic value of those jerseys together, and we'll see them again. Back to the pewter, guys!

Could anyone who watched "Hard Knocks" imagine this? Watching Chad Ochocinco's(notes) antics, and the front office bumbling their way through the Andre Smith(notes) contract talks, and a team that seemed to have 8-8 prospects at best, how could you possibly imagine that the Cincinnati Bengals would finish up the first half of their season at 6-2, and sole possession of first place in the AFC North?

Well, here we are, folks. The Bengals, possessors of one winning season in the last 19 years, swept the season series with the Baltimore Ravens with a 17-7 win that wasn't as close as the score indicated. It was interesting in that Cincinnati took a few pages from Baltimore's offensive game plan with some unbalanced lines and smashmouth football courtesy of Cedric Benson(notes), who picked up 117 rushing yards on 34 carries. Carson Palmer(notes) was efficient, completing 20 passes on 33 attempts, but it was clear that the Bengals wanted to tattoo their will on the Ravens, and they were able to do just that. Baltimore's defense went with a lot of man coverage and inside blitzes that the unheralded Bengals line picked up with aplomb. And without nose tackle Haloti Ngata(notes), the Ravens found it tough to stop the inside run.

As for the Ravens running their own game plan? Didn't happen. Ray Rice(notes) was limited to 48 yards on 12 carries, and Joe Flacco(notes) threw two interceptions. Baltimore was 1-for-10 in converting third downs, and the Bengals held a 40:00-20:00 advantage in time of possession. After going 39 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher, the Ravens can't seem to stop the bleeding -- their defense is clearly not what it used to be. They've lost four of their last five games, and they're on the outside looking in when it comes to postseason hopes.

As for the Bengals, they have the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field next Sunday. If they take the Steelers, who they've already defeated once this year, they'll have divisional pole position all the way, Then, the only challenge they'll face is the trap of wrapping up the regular season too early.

Who woulda thunk it?

Maybe DeAngelo Hall(notes) just has a thing against all Falcons coaches.

The ex-Atlanta, and current Washington Redskins, cornerback who clashed with old coach Bobby Petrino during the 2007 season mixed it up on the sidelines today with current Falcons coach Mike Smith(notes) after a chippy play on the sidelines.

The Associated Press describes the action:

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan(notes) was running for a first down and had just stepped out of bounds when LaRon Landry(notes) delivered a blow to the back late in the second quarter of Sunday's game.

As yellow flags flew, [DeAngelo] Hall jumped into the middle of things and was entirely surrounded by Atlanta players and coach Mike Smith. Hall appeared to be pulled away before any punches were thrown.

Here's a clip of the incident.

To me, it looks like Hall came over to the sidelines, mixed it up a bit and then got grabbed by the Falcons coach with the shaved head (who appears to be Director of Athletic Performance Jeff Fish -- coincidentally, Fish was with Oakland before Hall was signed and left for Atlanta the year after Hall left). The scuffle got a little bigger and Smith, who had been screaming at officials about Landry's foul, got in the middle and started exchanging words with Hall.

A clown, a punk, a loudmouth; take your pick on the adjective you'd like to use to describe DeAngelo Hall. But this sort of stuff is expected from him. Shouldn't Mike Smith be above the fray? Yeah, he had every right to be mad about Landry's dirty hit, but once the flag was thrown, what else did Smith want the officials to do?

A head coach shouldn't be mixing it up with opponents unless an opponent directly mixes it up with him. It's not wrong, per se, but it's also not becoming.

Here's Halls' take on it, via Tweets from Washington Post writer Rick Maese (@rickmaese):

"Through the whole time, I'm trying to get guys hands off of me. Later on Coach Smith - Mike - came over, grabbed me, talked [trash to me, saying hed kick my [butt]... I definitely stay in Atlanta in the offseason, so Mike Smith want to see me, he can find me."

From the looks of the clip it looks like Mike Smith would have no reservations about looking up DeAngelo Hall. 

The artful use of a folded bill can get people past a long line at a club, seated quickly at a restaurant with a 45-minute wait or, as countless detective shows have demonstrated, a good piece of information from a cab driver with a hazy memory. As Chad Ochocinco(notes) found out today, it will not get you a call during an NFL game.

The impish Cincinnati Bengals receiver playfully tried to bribe an NFL official today during his team's game with its division rival, the Baltimore Ravens. With the Cincinnati Bengals up 14-3 in the third quarter, Ochocinco caught a 15-yard Carson Palmer(notes) pass near the sideline. The side judge ruled it a catch, but the Ravens contended that Ochocinco's foot was out of bounds. While the ref was under the hood looking at the replay, Ochocinco borrowed a dollar bill from an assistant and playfully tried to hand the one-spot to another official. 

Ochocinco was smiling the entire time and, as you can see above, the official put a stop to the hijinks before they really began. It didn't work, the ref overturned the call on the field and ruled that the pass was incomplete.

You're either going to be in one of two camps with this. Either you think it's hilarious (like me) or you think that the mere appearance of bribery toward officials is uncouth and needs to be dealt with swiftly. Judging by his track record, Roger Goodell will fall firmly in the latter camp. Expect a fine for Ochocinco, even though nobody will seriously think that this was ever meant to be anything but a goof.

On September 21, 2008, the 0-2 Miami Dolphins rolled into Gillette Stadium to face the New England Patriots in what looked on the surface to be a one-sided beatdown. And it was just that -- but not in the way that anyone expected. Faced with the prospect of going against the Pats with a limited offense, the Dolphins unleashed a short series of option plays drawn up by quarterbacks coach David Lee which Lee had run during his days as Arkansas' offensive coordinator. The sweep, power, and counter option looks of the Wildcat formation caught the Pats completely off-guard. Running back Ronnie Brown(notes) scored four touchdowns on the ground, and passed for another score. The Dolphins squashed New England, 38-13, and the NFL was buzzing about direct snaps to running backs, unbalanced lines, and all sorts of offensive trickeration.

Miami rode the Wildcat and a surprising defense to an AFC East title, but the second go-round with the Pats wasn't as successful. The 'Cat was neutered in the follow-up, a 48-28 Pats win in late November. The Dolphins also had major trouble running their option looks in two losses to the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 -- one regular-season and one postseason -- and all the offseason talk was about how Miami would add an aerial component to the Wildcat and make it a more integral part of their offense. Drafting West Virginia quarterback Pat White(notes) in the second round was supposed to take care of that, but as White and another mobile quarterback by the name of Michael Vick(notes) have proven, running a Wildcat QB onto the field is the rough equivalent of holding up a big sign that says, "Hey! Look! We're running the Wildcat now! And it's probably going right up the middle!" The Dolphins seem to enjoy more playbook diversity when Brown takes the direct snaps and runs or passes depending on what he sees.

In recent weeks, defenses have loaded up to negate the Wildcat. Two weeks ago against the Saints and last week against the Jets, head honchos Gregg Williams and Rex Ryan (the defensive coordinator of the Ravens who blew the Wildcat up last year) blitzed cornerbacks off the sweep-side edge and sent a bunch of spies after Brown. The Dolphins are not making defenses pay for loading up like that, and they need to start now. For every new wrinkle head coach Tony Sparano slyly infers, Bill Belichick will counter with different defensive looks. And as skilled as Williams and Ryan are, there are few more devious defensive minds in the game than Belichick's. We'll see what pops when the Dolphins return to Gillette for the first time since the Wildcat's debut.

It's the biggest game in Houston Texans franchise history. Admittedly, we're not talking about decades of legend here -- the team has been in existence since 2002 -- but at two games over .500 for the first time ever and facing a Colts team they've never beaten in Indianapolis, the Texans now have the opportunity to make a very large divisional (and potential postseason) statement. In beating the Bengals, 49ers, and Bills in the last three weeks, Houston's formerly porous defense hasn't allowed 100 yards rushing or 300 yards passing, and linebacker Brian Cushing(notes) looks like the leading Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. That's all well and good, but we know that the 7-0 Colts will test that defense to its limits.

It's on the other side of the ball where you might find the surprises. Peyton Manning(notes) doesn't lead the league in passing yards; that would be Texans quarterback Matt Schaub(notes) with 2,342 to Manning's 2,227, though Schaub's played one more game. Schaub won't have tight end Owen Daniels(notes), out for the season with a torn ACL. But he will have Andre Johnson(notes), among the toughest receivers to stop in the game. And with the Colts' injury situation, expect the Texans to spread things out with multi-receiver sets.

In the last week, the Colts have found out the following: Safety Bob Sanders(notes) will be out for the season with a biceps tear, cornerback Marlin Jackson(notes) is out for the year with a torn ACL, and cornerback Kelvin Hayden(notes) will be out for up to a month with his own knee injury. Sanders hasn't played much in the last few years, and the Colts like replacement Melvin Bullitt(notes) enough to have people wondering about Sanders' future with the team. Rookie corners Jerraud Powers(notes) and Jacob Lacey(notes) have stepped up in recent weeks, but the depth situation is pretty woeful. And the challenges for that young secondary only increase as the season progresses -- in the next month, Indy faces Houston twice, as well as New England, and Baltimore. All high-octane passing offenses, and all will be ready to tee off on the kids.

Enter the Texans. At 5-3, this team could make some serious hay even if they split the season series with the Colts, and there's never been a better time to get that done. Look for head coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to force matchups away from pressure, leaving the corners on an island and pass-rushers Dwight Freeney(notes) and Robert Mathis(notes) as the only real threats to Schaub's potential statistical dominance.

Last Sunday, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson destroyed the Jacksonville Jaguars defense for 228 rushing yards on 24 carries -- 9.8 yards per carry, and a long run of 89 yards. An amazing 40 percent of the Titans' yards on the ground come after 10 yards this season, and that's just about all on Johnson, who leads the NFL in rushing with 824 yards. He also leads the league in big plays from a back -- 10 runs for over 20 yards and five runs for over 40. Once he gets past your front four, Johnson is a major problem to bring down -- especially when he's facing a team like the Jaguars, whose defense is emblematic of the NFL's current trouble with tackling. It seemed that every time Johnson hit the edge against the Jags, there was safety Reggie Nelson(notes), ready for another whiff. And Tennessee's underrated offensive line pushed Jacksonville's front four around all day.

However, Johnson's got a bigger challenge this week -- the days of "four-lane highway" rushing lanes and missed tackles might be over in the short term. The Titans face the San Francisco 49ers today, and this is a defense primed to stop the big play on the ground. They've only allowed three rushes of 20 yards or more, and no back has gone for 40 or more on them this season. San Francisco has speed on the perimeter and the ability to clamp down on speed backs. According to Football Outsiders, the Niners rank fourth in yards per carry allowed to the left end (2.52) and fifth in runs allowed to right end (2.42). Johnson will face additional challenges in that San Francisco's defense doesn't have much incentive to back into coverage with Vince Young(notes) under center. In fact, because Young rolls out so much, and is so much better as a passer when he does, the Niners have all the reason in the world to guard the edges above all else.

So watch San Francisco's edge defenders -- the always underrated Justin Smith(notes) at end, and outside linebackers Manny Lawson(notes) and Parys Haralson(notes) -- especially on those breakout plays in which Johnson tries to bounce outside. Last Sunday, the Niners negated Indy's rushing attack, and the ubiquitous stretch play, limiting Joseph Addai(notes) to 62 yards on 20 carries. True to the ethos of head coach Mike Singletary, these guys arrive at the ballcarrier in a very bad mood. Can they stop Johnson, the single most dangerous ground threat in the league?

It was hidden beneath the pure organizational debaclizations of the St. Louis Rams and the Detroit Lions, but a very strong candidate for Tackle of the Year occurred in St.Louis' 17-10 win last Sunday. With 13:51 left in the game and a 10-10 tie on the board, the Lions kicked off after a Matthew Stafford(notes) rushing touchdown. Rams receiver Danny Amendola(notes) took the ball at the St. Louis 5-yard line, started upfield, and ... well, as Dan and Keith used to say on the Big Show, "He got the sheep knocked out of him." (Note: Despite the lame video title, Amendola was NOT paralyzed. Sheesh.)

Yeah, that'll leave a mark -- hat tip to Yahoo's own Mike Silver for the link. The tackler, Lions rookie linebacker Zack Follett(notes), has a pretty unique way of looking at the world. I've covered the last three Scouting Combines, and of all the press conferences I've seen, Follett's was the most fun. For one thing, while he's a fan of Brian Urlacher(notes), his real hero is a bit more of a downhill force who plays much better indoors.

"Growing up, Terry Tate, No. 56, the Office Linebacker, he was my hero watching those commercials. I tried to emulate him when I was out there. ... Junior year of high school, I went to Champs Sports and they sold a Reebok Terry Tate number 56 jersey, and I bought one immediately. We watched all his YouTube clips and he's bringing the 'Pain Train' and doing the 'whoop-whoop' sound and I used to do it in high school, and I used to blow the horn. It kind of stuck with me a little bit."

Follett also hopes to get a little side business going.

"I make things out of wood. My dad taught me when I was little ... When I was a senior, I took it to the next level. I started making wood cutouts. I did one of myself, kind of experimenting. My other linebacker partner painted it. It was a life-size replica.

"I did one of (fullback) Lorenzo Neal(notes) because we used to train together (when Follett was at Cal). He's the only pro player I knew at the time. Hopefully, from an investment standpoint, I'm going to open a little wood shop wherever I move and I'll make them of teammates because I know they have a lot of money to waste."

If Follett keeps hitting like he did on the play above, he'll find a place in the NFL in the long term. As for Amendola, maybe he'll remember to put the cover on his TPS report next time!

The recent travails of the American economy have affected just about everyone. But when it comes to the country's interest in the National Football League, people are simply switching allegiances from out-of-pocket to stay-at-home. According to a report by Mark Maske of the Washington Post, television ratings for NFL games are at their highest in 20 years, with an average of 17.2 million viewers watching each game. Those numbers are up 15 percent from last season. Former CBS Sports President Neal Pilson and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft agree that the ratings spike is due to a desire of those whose wallets are lighter these days to stay closer to home.

"I think people are making conscious decisions that their entertainment dollars are best spent watching NFL games free on their television sets on Sunday afternoon and Sunday night and Monday night," Pilson said in the article. Another theory is that most of the NFL's worst teams, like the Chiefs, Rams, and Titans, are in smaller markets.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledges the trend. "Since we continue to be available on free television, our fans can gather around the television sets rather than pursuing other opportunities that are more costly." One wonders if Goodell is tipping his hand when it comes to the thought of a pay-per-view model with that remark -- certainly if this continues and small-market teams struggle in the wake of half-empty stadiums (the Jacksonville Jaguars will suffer their fourth TV blackout this season when they face the Chiefs on Sunday), a pay model might be thrown out there in continued CBA discussions as a way to keep the revenue-sharing model going. Overall, NFL attendance is down about two percent from last year according to Maske's article, but that's far more indicative of those small-market struggles than it is a ding on teams like the Cowboys, Giants, Jets, Redskins, Broncos and Seahawks, who have been selling out their stadiums as a near-automatic proposition.

On the verge of a CBA meltdown, an uncapped year, a possible lockout, and a very different business model, the NFL will have to find new ways to draw viewers and make money from that viewership. As it has many times before, television may be pro football's saving grace.

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder takes a lot of heat from a lot of people these days, but his harshest critic might be John Riggins, a beloved former Redskins running back. These days, Riggins is a D.C. sports media personality, and he doesn't hold back on the topic of Snyder.

It's like Riggo saw this video of Daniel Snyder being just a tiny bit relatable, sensed that a few people didn't hate Snyder as much as they did before, and immediately wanted to rectify that. Riggins was on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" on Wednesday night and unleashed his coldest words yet. Here are some of Riggo's words, via Dan Steinberg at the Washington Post:

"...This is a bad guy that owns this team. I'll just tell you that upfront. Bad guy. And if the Commissioner is worried about potential new owners and saying some of these guys shouldn't apply, he might want to police his own inside guys..."

Cris Collinsworth tried to maybe easy Riggins in the direction of saying that Snyder is a bad GM instead of a bad person, but Riggins made it clear what he meant.

"Let me put it to you this way, Cris, this person's heart is dark."

His heart is dark. Not a lot of gray area there. It would be hard to say something worse about a person than, "His heart is dark."

To me, that means that this is a person trying to do evil. This is a person who wants to, or doesn't care about, hurting other people.. He's not misguided, he's not trying to do the right thing and failing, it's not his fault because his daddy didn't hug him enough as a child ... he's just a bad person who seeks to spread misery. His heart pumps not with warm, life-giving human blood, but a frigid, black bile that fuels his foul existence.

Is that about what you're saying, Riggo? Because that's how I interpret it, and it's a little messed up, my man.

After the relative peace of a bye week, the Redskins return on Sunday to play the Falcons in Atlanta.