Sorry for the delay getting this posted.  Here are my 5 questions to Jake from Battle Red Blog and his answers:

Chris Johnson had a huge day in the first game.  Why are the Texans better equipped to stop him this time than they were in week 2?

Having better safety play is a huge improvement.  Free agent signee Bernard Pollard has played incredibly well since starting in week 4.  Also, rookie corner back Glover Quin is physical and plays the run effectively.  I don't think that the Texans will "shut down" Chris Johnson, but if they can keep him from singlehandedly beating us the way he did in week 2, I think it gives us a much better shot.  The last part of shutting down Chris Johnson is jumping out to some sort of lead.  If the offense can put up some points early, that will force Vince Young to beat us through the air rather than just pound the ball.

What in the world is going on with Steve Slaton?  Any shot he returns to his 2008 form down the stretch?

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I was able to catch up with the elusive Brian at Buffalo Rumblings to ask him 5 questions about his Buffalo Bills.

1.  How much does Trent Edwards improve the Bills offense?

He really doesn't. Edwards-led Bills offenses have been slightly better moving the chains this season, but moving the chains doesn't help you much if you can't score, and this is a Bills offense that has really struggled to put the ball in the paint. In addition, Trent has developed a nauseating (to us, anyway) tendency to play incredibly tentative football - he's jittery in the pocket, doesn't take enough shots down the field, and doesn't let his receivers make plays. Still, he's a better option than Ryan Fitzpatrick. Needless to say, Buffalo will be looking at quarterbacks next off-season.

2.  Talk about what the T.O. experiment has been like.  Do you expect him to play this week?

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Talk about the change back to Alex Smith.  Did his time on the bench help him become a better player?

I think the bench this season helped him become a better player.  The last two seasons were riddled with shoulder injuries and a fairly dysfunctional relationship with Mike Nolan.  After the season, Smith had to decide whether to leave town or renegotiate his deal with the 49ers.  Smith decided to stick around claiming unfinished business.  I think one could get an idea of his mental toughness, especially considering how much money he had put away in the initial contract, and the fact that he could have sat and learned for a couple years somewhere else.

Sitting to start this season might have ended up being the best thing for him.  He was on yet another offensive coordinator, but after Hill won the job, Smith was able to sit back and learn the playbook without the pressure of being shoved into the starting position right away.  He came in two weeks ago in the loss at Houston and put together some of his best football as a pro in one half.  He struggled at times last week against Indianapolis, but showed some of the signs of continuing to step forward.  It's been a long, strange trip, and it will be interesting to see how this plays out over the course of the season.  He's got the talent, and maybe it's all finally coming together for him.

What do you see as Mike Singletary's strengths and weaknesses as a coach?

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1.  Does Brady look timid in the pocket to you?  I have only been able to watch one Pats game this season, the opener, and it looked to me like he wasn't stepping into his throws.  Have you seen that to be the case?  How would you assess his play so far?

I think Brady is suffering from a number of things.  First, his mechanics appear to be off.  He's simply not throwing the way he used to (overthrowing Moss a number of times).  Second, timing with his receivers isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Third, Brady and his receivers are simply not on the same page.  Tom expects Welker to go one way and he's adjusting to coverage, heading off in another direction.  Fourth, as you indicated, he's not stepping into his throws like we're used to.  There's certainly a bit of timidness, a desire to protect his left leg, but I'm not really surprised at this.  Many expected the return of the 2007 Brady and that's just unrealistic.

2.  Do you think this team misses Josh McDaniels?

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1.  Peyton Manning looks to be on pace for one of his best seasons ever.  What has changed so much from this season to last?  Is it just that he was healthy for the whole offseason or is there more to it than that?

Health is the main reason. Remember, he started playing at an MVP level immediately following Indy's lose to Tennessee last year. From then to now, he's been dominant. I also think he is just comfortable with the team around him. He' settled in with Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Anthony Gonzalez. He also really likes the new kids in Donald Brown, Austin Collie, and Pierre Garcon.

2.  Tell us about Pierre Garçon and what has made him one of Peyton's favorite targets.

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More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

Create your own caption. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

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I had the chance to catch up with our friend FSBlueApocalypse and ask him 5 questions about the Jags.

1.  Maurice Jones-Drew seems to be handling being the feature back pretty well.  Do you think he will hold up for 16 games?

Jones-Drew has been a 20-25 touches a game back for awhile now when factoring in receptions. He should be able to handle the load as well as any other back. He certainly isn't a scat back ;). Either way, I would love to see Rashad Jennings (Jacksonville's 7th round pick) get in the mix more.

2.  Is it going to take another 1999-like run to get the fans in Jacksonville to go to games?  What do you think the prospects are for the Jaguars long term in Jax?

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More photos » by Mark Greenberg - AP

Gotta love Broadway Joe. (AP Photo/JetBlue, Mark Greenberg)

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John from Gang Green Nation was nice enough to answer 5 questions about his New York Jets:

1.  Honestly, are you surprised at the success this team has had in the first 2 weeks of this season?  There was a lot of hype around the Texans and the Patriots are a hype machine.  What did you think the chances were you would beat both of them before the season started?

I'm absolutely shocked. I don't think anybody expected the Jets to flat out dominate two good squads the way they have, even the people who thought 2-0 was realistic. Conventional wisdom was that it would take some time for the defense to come together, and the rookie quarterback would struggle early. Joe Flacco's numbers in early season 2008 weren't pretty. I would have signed on for 1-1.

2.  Talk about the play of Mark Sanchez so far.  Is he running the same offense Brett Favre was running last season or have they scaled it back a little bit for him?

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Here are the questions we sent to Jake at Battle Red Blog with his answers:

1.  On a scale of 1-10, how much panic do you feel after the loss to the Jets? 

Probably about a 3, although I may not be a good representation of our readers.  There was enough negativity around the site Monday and Tuesday that I felt inclined to write a post entitled "Before You Jump" in an effort to calm everyone down.  Jeff Fischer has down a good job of keeping the Titans organization relatively stable, so it might be hard for you to put yourself in the shoes of an average Texans fan that has been waiting 8 years for a winning season.  Due to this history, we're a little more prone to pessimism.   

In my opinion though, even good teams have bad games.  The Texans have never done well with good 3-4 defenses and I am convinced that the Jets have the best defense we will see all year of that variety.  Am I rationalizing?  Absolutely.  Hopefully last week was a little more about the Jets being good than it was about us being bad, although there is no denying that there were elements of both at play in that game.  Now if we lose to the Titans in as much of a lopsided fashion, it's going to be hard to keep the mob at bay. 

2.  There is a lot of hype surrounding the Texans this season.  Do you think they have improved enough to get over the hump? 

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