Studs and Duds: Cars-On Target

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around pointing skyward, while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Studs

Carson Palmer, QB Cincinnati (20-24, 233 yards, 5 TDs) -- There was an interesting moment during "Hard Knocks" on HBO this year when Palmer was giving his center, Kyle Cook, a little bit of grief about the smell that Carson had on his hand after taking snaps. It was essentially boys being boys, but Palmer played it well and had some fun at the expense of Cook.

So far this season, that was the only thing that didn't seem right for Palmer and the Bengals, and it came together Sunday when they absolutely embarrassed the Chicago Bears in every sense of the word. Like Tom Brady a week ago, Palmer did most of his damage in the first half, tossing four of his five touchdowns in the first two quarters, all to different receivers. His second half hookup with Chad Ochocinco was reminiscent of the 2005 Bengals, the last time this team started 5-2, and now has the Bengals in serious contention for either the AFC North or the Wild Card.

I guess everything smells pretty nice right now in Cincy.

Jets Rushing Attack (316 total yards, 4 TDs) -- It was only a week ago that Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez found himself on the other end of this list, tossing five interceptions in a disappointing loss to the lowly Bills. That game, his ground game combined for 318 yards. This week, they eclipsed the 300 yard mark again, becoming the first team to do such a thing in 34 years, and making Shonn Greene, a rookie out of Iowa that rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns, look like this year's Chris Johnson.

Thomas Jones was there to help Greene out, adding 121 yards and a touchdown himself in the blowout victory against the Raiders. A little known fact I was told by my junior varsity football coach -- if the opposing team's quarterback is enjoying a hot dog on the sideline before the game ends, you probably aren't going to have a fun week of practicing the next week.

DeSean Jackson, WR Philadelphia (2 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD, 1 rush, 67 yards, 1 TD) -- The list is short in the NFL of guys that can make this big of an impact only touching the ball three times. Jackson is on it, along with Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin and when healthy, Felix Jones (We could probably call this group the "Reggie Bush at USC All-Stars" if we were a certain someone else).

Against the Redskins, Jackson took an end-around to the house to start the game and then caught a pass Donovan McNabb underthrew, but he was so far ahead of everyone else, it didn't matter. Ron Jaworski spent most of the second half talking about Jackson's speed, doing some noise when he ran that resembled brushing your teeth with an electric toothbrush, but he had the speed part right. When he gets some space, you're almost positive it's going to be six.

Duds

The London Game -- I'm all for growth in sports. I with people in the United States cared more about soccer, and didn't hate the David Beckham experiment, even if it seemed more bling than bam. I wish people in states other than Michigan and Pennsylvania cared about hockey (including myself). I also wish the NFL would become widely popular around the world. What is an effective way to not have this happen? Pit two teams on the complete other side of the spectrum against each other, as the NFL did when the Patriots calmly destroyed the Bucs 35-7 at Wembley Stadium. Now I know your argument and I hear it -- this game was scheduled a while back and there is nothing that could have been done.

I call B-S. If you want people in England, or any country for that matter, to get pumped up about the NFL, you need to be able to flex this game. You need to send Minnesota over there to play Pittsburgh, or have the Broncos host the Cowboys or show Peyton Manning going against Tom Brady. You can't expect an entire country, fixated on another sport, to care when we ship them our Boston Market platter instead of Ruth Chris. It's insulting, and it isn't getting anyone excited.

Bears Rush Defense -- I play kickball (yep, adult kickball!) with a friend that used to play linebacker for the Chicago Bears. It was a short stint, but just to say you were a part of that squad is something to brag about to anyone, and though he approaches it humbly, it's a rare treat to say you are buddies with a guy that rubbed shoulderpads with Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher.

Or so it was. The Bears defense isn't what it used to be, and that was exposed on high this Sunday against the Bengals. Sure, Palmer tossed five touchdowns, but Cedric Benson had 189 yards on the ground, and made it pretty clear that this isn't the same defense Chicago fans were used to bragging about.

The Horrible Teams -- You all know about this 2009 seasons -- ton of Megan Foxs, ton of Amy Winehouses, not a lot of Tina Feys. The good teams are really good, the bad teams are really bad, and the bad teams are really, really, really bad (wait, did I mention that?). There are nine teams (Browns, Titans, Raiders, Chiefs, Redskins, Lions, Bucs, Rams, Panthers and Seahawks) that have won two games or less (most way less). The Titans, Lions and Seahawks were on a bye (hey, they didn't lose!), but of the other seven teams, six failed to score 10 points. Of those six, one got blown out (Oakland), two didn't score a touchdown (Cleveland and St. Louis) and all made us with wish that eyes were an option at birth.

The combined score against the horrible teams this weekend -- 230-49.