NFL thoughts

Haven't done this in a while.

• The Lions fired Mariucci. Does it really matter? They'll still be the Lions.
• Byron Leftwich is out for at least a month. The Jaguars were a team that could spoil Indy's undefeated season. Don't see that happening without Leftwich.
• I'm not counting on the Steelers to spoil Indy's season. Tonight's an important game. The Steelers win their important games in September and October.
• If Indy does go undefeated, at least it would shut up the Bitter Has-Beens, I mean the 1972 Dolphins.
• Dat Nugyen is out for the season and may retire. Dat's too bad. Sorry.
• Aaron Brooks can look so good on some of his touchdown passes, yet he's so bad. Wonder if a good coach could turn him around.
• My Patriots rant: Rodney Harrison's a great player, but the Patriots' lousy defense can't be completely blamed on his injury. The front seven's been inconsistent against the run, and their pass rush has been terrible. Maybe the value of Romeo Crennel was underestimated.
• Sure we can blame the Giants' kicker, but when the Giants got into field goal position they stopped being aggressive and even lost yards. I don't understand coaches who have their teams stop right when the get in range for a long field goal. You have to trust your players to not turn the ball over, and as Tom Coughlin knows very well, field goals over forty yards aren't a guarantee.
• Jeremy Shockey celebrating and pointing to the camera before seeing that Feely missed the kick was the highlight of the year. Scroll down at SportsFrog.com to see it in a constant loop.
  
• Better than Ezra performed at halftime during the Jets game. I know someone named Ezra; Better than Ezra isn't better than him.