NFL Week 8 Recap

Favre. Favre! FAAAAAVVVRE!

In case you didn't hear, Brett Favre played his first game in Lambeau as a Viking this weekend, and it pretty much went the same way as the Minnesota/Green Bay game had a few weeks ago: Favre and Co. heartily dismantled the Pack, despite a He-Man comeback mounted by Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and his big 2nd-half resurgence. Say what you will about the old man's waffling (chances are you won't be wrong, either), but the fact remains that Favre can still flat-out play. And the '09 Vikings are much, much better all around than the Packers have been recently. Expect this circus to continue for at least another season, if not more, should the Vikes make as big a postseason run as everyone thinks they will.

Big vindication weeks for Vince Young and Steven Jackson this week; Young made his first start as a Titan since his alleged Chappelle-ian mental breakdown last season and he led the embattled Tennesee squad to its first win of the season over Jacksonville. Rams RB Steven Jackson, meanwhile, has quietly been building up some of the best stats in the NFL - going into Sunday he was ranked 3rd in rushing yards and 2nd in total from scrimmage, and on Sunday his team finally got its first win of the year under first-year coach Steve Spagnuolo. Jacksonville and Detroit aren't exactly elite teams, but a W is a W, and those teams needed 'em.

The Chargers and Ravens got much-needed wins this week, as San Diego became the latest squad to beat up on the lowly Oakland Raiders. Baltimore's win was much more significant, as they dealt the stampeding Denver Broncos their first loss of the season. There are certainly worse teams to drop one to, though: the Ravens defense is still one of the most intimidating groups in the league. And I can't reiterate this enough: Ray Lewis is freaking scary. Has anyone seen those NFL network commercials where they slow-mo his Raven dance? Oof.

And thank God for the Yankees, because New York football is in a sorry state right now. The Jets lost again to the Dolphins, 25-30, in a game I didn't watch so can't comment very much on. But all those grumblings that Rex Ryan's green meanies were more talk than walk is starting to look legit since their 3-0 start led to a 1-4 skid that included two losses to Miami and one to the confounding Buffalo Bills. Counting the Jets out is premature at this point (one thing clear about this Jets team is that they will not go quietly, if anything), but they definitely have work to do.

They certainly seem more competitive than the Giants, who were unceremoniously demolished by the Philadelphia Eagles in a humiliating, 40-10 defeat. Big Blue's skid right now can't really be understated; its defense looks confused and frustrated (after a Saints game where they under-pressured Drew Brees, the Giants' game plan has become to bring the house on the QB and leave a diminished secondary to stop the passing game), and an offense that thrives on ball control and a running game is trying to re-cast itself midseason as a long-ball threat. It's safe to say that opponents have figured out Brandon Jacobs' MO right now and are going out of their way to clog the holes up front so the big man can't get his wheels turning. Eli Manning hasn't found a way to compensate for this against solid opponents, and as a result his INTs are climbing at an alarming rate. A game against the Chargers, whose defense has been spotty, will be a big opportunity for the Giants to find their stride again.

Oh, and apparently the GM of the Cleveland Browns is getting fired. Unless I'm misunderstanding something, I'm thinking Eric Mangini dodged a biiiig bullet right now.