Well, before we creep closer to the edge this week, let’s take a look at how Crazy Darin’s Crazy Thoughts panned out in Week 4. Devin Hester got nowhere near 100 yards (in fact, he caught one lonely ball). Tennessee lost AGAIN (now that’s crazy). Big Ben only threw for two scores (thanks alot, Mewelde Moore!). Brandon Jacobs didn’t get outrushed by Ahmad Bradshaw (barely, though!). But at least I hit the nail on the head with Aaron Rodgers out-throwing (but losing to) Brett Favre! One for five. Let’s see if we can’t do better this week, eh?

1. Tony Gonzalez will catch a pair of TDs. The Niners have a solid secondary and Patrick Willis, but Gonzo (in a return to the Bay Area) will find the endzone twice. Is that really crazy or what?

2. Peyton Manning will throw for FOUR touchdowns. Both of the Titan CBs are dinged up (and will likely give it a go) and the Titan pass rush just isn’t the same without big boy Albert Haynesworth.

3. The Panthers will finally win a game. The Skins are bad, the Cats are home, and are coming off a bye. Watch the pair of Panther RBs rush the ball 20+ times apiece and each score at least once.

4. The Ravens D will score a TD. I don’t know why, I just think they will.

5. This week’s Monday Night Football game will suck. The Jets D will quell whatever the Fins throw out there, and the Fins D is good enough to only let Mark Sanchez move his offense down for a pair of TDs. Yawn.

OK folks, we’re going to put Huddle 180 on hiatus for another week, and go with a new feature: 5 Crazy Things. Or perhaps they’re not too crazy, but they likely have never happened, never will again, or you just don’t think is possible.

1. Devin Hester will catch 100+ yards worth of passes. One of our esteemed leaders, David Dorey, actually projects Hester to catch 100 yards and a TD against the Lions this week. I tend to agree. As an aside, if you own Jay Cutler, this is the week they’re going to throw the kitchen sink out there, at least from the passing game side.

2. The Titans will get their first win. Crazy? Well, it’s been 3 weeks and they still have none, so I guess it’s not that crazy. But the Jags should be winless, and just don’t appear to have anything going this season, save Maurice Jones-Drew and Mike Sims-Walker. What, exactly, is up with the two-last-name Jags?

3. Big Ben will throw for 3 TDs. Willie Parker has turf toe and it’s not known whether or not he’ll give it a go. Mewelde Moore, the primary backup, is a solid pass catcher, so that increases Roethlisberger’s potential to pass for TDs. And mix in the fact that the Bolt DBs are risk-takers. I see TE Heath Miller with an early TD, Santonio Holmes with a deep ball, and either Moore or Ward on a red zone look. Yup, that’s three.

4. Ahmad Bradshaw will outrush Brandon Jacobs. The Chiefs will see a huge dose of both Giant runners, but by the third quarter, this one should be out of reach and Bradshaw could see extended time. In fact, this has already happened this year (last week vs. Tampa). Won’t be much of a shock if it occurs again. And this is why this was the year to wait on RB.

5. Aaron Rodgers throws for more yards than Brett Favre, but still loses. The teacher will beat the student, but the student will wow the teacher with his wares. Yeah, Adrian Peterson is going to be used heavily come Monday night and while Brett Favre will want to gunsling his way around against his old squad, he simply won’t need to. Aaron Rodgers will, despite two solid corners for the Vikes, figure out a way to toss 250+ yards.

And that’s all, folks. Enjoy your Week 4, and here’s hoping the bye week bug doesn’t bite you too hard.

We’ll take a break from The Huddle 180 and do a quick look ahead to tomorrow’s games.  Here’s a few random things I’m looking for in each game:

GB @ STL

If Ryan Grant is going to get back to almost-stud status, this should be the game for him.  We’re also waiting for Aaron Rodgers to “break out” this season, but it’ll likely be Grant that has the potential to dominate in this one.

KCC @ PHI

I’d like to talk about Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook or maybe even Dwayne Bowe, but I just can’t ignore Michael Vick’s return to the NFL field.  He’ll have to shake off a ton of rust, but this one should be over early and Vick may be given the shot at some carries and tosses.

ATL @ NEP

I’m calling the upset here; Welker is still gimpy and is a GTS.  His replacement, Julian Edelman, is also listed as questionable.  Tom Brady really missed his security blanket last week and will be missing it even more this week.  The Falcons will pressure Brady and their offense is good enough to pick apart the rather average, Mayo-less Patriot defense.

CLE @ BAL

I’m looking at this matchup to see if Joe Flacco can actually produce as a fantasy QB week to week.  He’s been turned loose, and should throw for at least 2 scores against a real bad Brown D.   If he reverts to the rookie Flacco (which isn’t horrible, just not a fantasy QB), and only goes for 180-200 yards and one score, I would be nervous to start him weekly.

WAS @ DET

Upset #2 here.  I don’t get why the Redskins are getting nearly a TD on the road.  Yes, I realize the Lions are horrible and won 0 games last season, but that was last season and they had a 50% turn-over on their roster entering this season.  Not the same team.  Sorry Skin fans, your team is not very good.  The Lions will feed Kevin Smith the ball and will win by a field goal.  So, what am I looking for here?  A Lion victory.

JAC @ HOU

I’m waiting for Steve Slaton to shake the fumblitis bug.  If he can’t, he’ll drop down to a #2 fantasy RB.  Of course, if I were not an owner, I’d be knocking on the Slaton owner’s door to look for a trade.  Slaton tore up the Jag D last season, and should do the same here this time around.

SFO @ MIN

Really, I’m just looking to see how many yards Adrian Peterson has and how many times Patrick Willis can chase Peterson down for tackles.

PIT @ CIN

I’m looking for Willie Parker to shake his “I can’t play on the road” thing and have at least 80 yards and a score against the Bengal defense.  Also looking to see if Bengal DE Antwan Odom can chase down Big Ben for another sack.

NYG @ TBB

I’m pretty sure the Giants will extend their dominance on the road against a real average Buc squad.  Brandon Jacobs should have a field day and will likely give way to Ahmad Bradshaw, who could come up with 50-60 yards of his own.

CHI @ SEA

As a Bear homer, I’m obviously hoping for a win, but I’m actually really interested to see what WR(s) Jay Cutler decides to lock on to against the Seahawk secondary.  Johnny Knox has kinda come out of nowhere to be the go-to guy, but we know Devin Hester has plenty of skills and Earl Bennett and Cutler have a long-standing relationship.

NO @ BUF

Very interested to see how many WRs, TEs and random RBs Drew Brees can pass to on Sunday.  With both Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas with injury issues, Brees may pass the ball 50 times.

TEN @ NYJ

It’s gonna be interesting to see what Mark Sanchez does against a real defense.  Yeah, the Titan D isn’t the same without Albert Haynesworth, but they’re still far better than the Texans or Patriots on the defensive side of the football.  The rookie will come back down to Earth this week and will look like a rookie.

DEN @ OAK

There could be double-digit turnovers in this game.  What was once a pair of proud franchises and a shoo-in for a wild west shootout now looks like a laugher.  The Broncos are 2-0 but really aren’t that good.  The Raiders look good in spells (especially in their opener) and could easily control this game.

MIA @ SDC

It’ll be strange to see no sign of #21 for the Chargers.  Can Darren Sproles carry the load?  I think the Bolts will give the Dolphins a heavy dose of Antonio Gates.  Can the Fins shake off a disappointing Week 2 loss?

IND @ ARI

Honestly, I’m just looking to see how many points can be scored in this game, most of which will likely be through the air.  2 or 3 passing TDs per team?  No problem.  The Colts pass D is currently tops in the NFL, but honestly, look who they’ve faced to start the season.

CAR @ DAL

So Jerrah Jone’s megalopolis is open for business and the hype has settled a little.  Time to break it in a little more with a big win against a real struggling Panther squad.   Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I could see DeAngelo Williams with over 100 rushing yards and close to 50 receiving yards in this one.  And of course, the real burning question is:  will the Cowboys ever force a turnover?

I was recently booted from a track & field message board. I know what you are thinking:

1. Why did you even join a track & field message board to begin with?

I ran the 100m and threw the shot put  in high school and up until last year I coached track & field on the middle and high school levels as well.

2. So what got you booted?

Believe or not I was asked to leave for discussing the one thing at the very center of the sport – performance enhancing drugs (or PEDs as they are called on the forum).  According to the forum rules members are not allowed to post “objectional” materal including “accusations/suggestions that athletes are involved in illegal drugs.” So members are basically told that they cannot discuss PEDs or other drugs for that matter. And sure enough after browsing through 5 pages of topics and their posts I realized that PEDs were not discussed. How could this be? A sport seemingly dominated by athletes on illegal drugs and the topic was no where to be found. Denial is not just a river in Africa…..

So of course I decided to test the water. I offered as a response to a question that the only way an athlete found to be taking PEDs while at the top of their sport can return to the top is if they resume taking PEDs. Members immediately told me to edit my post because I had broken forum rules and discussed performance enhancers. Since this is America and all, I mentioned that free speech (and common sense) should be allowed and as such my post would remain the same. But within minutes the forum moderator warned me to refrain from talking about drugs; and when I refused I was asked to leave.

I guess some track & field fans feel that the drug problem that plagues the sport might go away if it isn’t discussed. I’m glad we don’t have this problem in the NFL……..