Maybe your team has won the first few games, or maybe your team is down in a little 0-2 hole right now. Either way, just remember, it's not even October yet. There's still a ton of football left to be played, and a lot of things can happen over the course of the next few weeks.

For you Miami and Carolina fans, not to mention you folks who are rooting for the nine other teams currently sitting at 0-2, I can understand why there might be some hand-wringing going on for you guys, but take it easy, things are going to be ok.

Well, unless you are rooting for Detroit that is.

The Lions could be in trouble again this year with players like receiver Roy Williams coming out with gems like this:

Quoth Roy:

"I celebrate first downs all the time. I'm not gonna stop that. I'm an exciting player. If I do something exciting, I'm going to show my actions."

Reporter Mitch Albom's response: "But, you were down 10-0."

"What does that mean?" Williams replied. "That means nothing to me.
The score means nothing."

Ok then.

The Lions were eventually annihilated by the Chicago Bears by a final score of 37-7, so maybe it's a good thing that the score means nothing to Roy Williams.

Sorry Lions fans. I feel for ya. It's been a downward spiral ever since Barry Sanders left...

Moving right along... Where were we? Oh yes, looking at the standings.

So, I'm sure you 0-2 guys are looking at me, Mr. High-and-Mighty Pats fan, thinking, 'Hey it's easy for you to tell people to relax, your team is sitting pretty at 2-0.'

Well that is true. A 2-0 record is certainly better than being 0-2, especially when those wins are against two of your divisional rivals, but the fact is, being 2-0 right now doesn't mean you should book your reservations to the Superbowl next week.

If your team is 2-0 or even 1-1, that's nice, but I know better than to get too excited about the record at this point.

There have been plenty of times when I've watched my team come flying out of the gates at the beginning of the season, on fire, looking unstoppable... I start to get all delusional and begin to think they're going to go 19-0, only to watch in horror as they implode, going on to finish out the season at a miserable 5-11. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

The point I am trying to make here is simply this: if your team is down right now, it's not the end of the season, and if your team is up right now, it's not the end of the season. Over the next few weeks, things will begin to take shape. There will be unexpected wins, there will be unexpected losses. Towards the end of October, when the leaves
are all off of the trees, that's when things will start to take on a lot more meaning. Right now teams are just jockeying for the early positions in the race.

Until then, there's a lot of fun to be had and the first few games of this season have already given us some nice surprises.

In Week 1, Buffalo put up a good fight in what turned out to be an eventual loss to New England. Most people thought that this game was going to be a cakewalk win for The Pats, but they wound up barely hanging on and getting the win by a measly two point margin (I predicted a 3 point game, but, whatev.)

Then last week, The Bills went on to beat Superbowl favorite Miami in their own house, holding the Fish to only 6 points in a 16-6 victory over Dan Marino's favorite team. I generally dislike all of my AFC East opponents, but the one I dislike the least is the Bills and the one I dislike the most is The Fish, so that was nice to see from my perspective.

Baltimore shut down Tampa Bay in Week 1 by a score of 27-0, then they followed that up last week by laying the smack down on the Oakland Raiders, beating them by a wonderfully embarrassing score of 28-6. Anytime The Raiders get beat, I am happy, but I take particular joy in watching them get their asses handed to them by an embarrassing
margin.

How about Minnesota? The downtrodden Vikes defeated the supposed Superbowl favorite Carolina Panthers 16-13, and on Monday night, The Jacksonville Jaguars handed Pittsburgh their first loss of the year, beating them 9-0 in front of a national audience. (Heh.)

I don't know about you, but I think it's good to get that first Steelers loss out of the way and over with early in the season. The Steelers are obnoxious enough as it is and after winning the Superbowl last year, it feels like they've actually gotten worse. If they had gone on a little early season run, I don't know if I could have taken it.

Indy beat Houston 43-24 last week. Yawn... It's too bad for the Colts they don't give out trophies for the best regular season...

Now let's take a quick look at this weeks games. How about I pull some predictions out of my ass and then I'll let you tell me how wrong I am in the comments. Sound fun? Here we go!

Tennessee Titans at Miami Fish - Miami is reeling a little bit, sitting at 0-2. I don't think a lot of people (read: football 'experts') expected them to lose their first two games. Miami will be extra motivated to win this one. Pick: Miami.

Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings - Chicago is the better team, on paper anyway, but Minnesota did defeat Carolina last week, so that just goes to show you how worthless that whole 'better on paper' concept is. I'll still pick Chicago.

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Bucs - A divisional battle between 0-2 teams. Sombebody's gonna get their first win. I'm picking Carolina.

Washington Redskins at Houston Texans - I have zero interest in either of these teams so I'm just going to flip a coin. Heads it's Washington, tails Houston. It's tails.

NY J-E-T-S at Buffalo Bills - Oooo. Now this one could be a good fuckin game. I really hope the local affiliates will carry this one. This is a tough pick here though, very tough... MmmmmmmmmmmmBuffalo! The better Defense wins this one.

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers - How sweet would it be for Cincy to win this one and put The Champs at 1-2 to start the season? Visualize a positive outcome and pick the Bengal Tigers.

Jacksonville Jags at Indianapolis Colts - This is a game between divisional rivals and Jacksonville always seems to give Indianapolis a good game. My head tells me Jacksonville gets the upset, but my heart tells me that Indy gets the win, which I hate.

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns - Old Browns vs. New Browns. The Ravens are kicking ass so far this year and The Browns are not that good. I'll take Baltimore.

Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers - Eeenie, Meenie, Minie Mo... Philly.

NY Giants at Seattle Seahawks - A tough one. I'll pick The Seahawks. What's up with all the bird mascots in the NFL anyway?

St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals - Another bird mascot! I hope Arizona wins. I usually root for The Cards, because I tend to like the underdog teams, (except when they're playing The Pats that is,) but I have a feeling St Louis gets the win.

Denver at New England - I believe it was Khan Noonien Singh who once reminded us of the old Klingon proverb that tells us, revenge is a dish that is best served cold. I'll be hoping that it will be nice and chilly in New England that night.

Atlanta at New Orleans - Atlanta. Just because. Besides, I'm all out of quips.

Last week I made football shaped meatballs for the game.

This week I'm thinking chili. Can't go wrong with chili.

Clutch - Far Country

Enjoy the games everyone!

Ernie writes daily about football and other stuff at Mr. B and W. You should check it out.