He’s No Jake the Shake

A star is born. Jake Flakes go on sale this week in Arizona. ESPN magazine already has Jake Plummer on its cover holding a snake. “It’s a boa,” Plummer said. “I’m over my fear of snakes.” If you’re known as “Jake the Snake,” that’s probably a good thing. Everyone wants to shake hands with the Cardinals’ new hero, but he’s been playing with a sore thumb. “Some people grab your hand and squeeze it like a gorilla,” Plummer said. What would you expect from Dolphins’ fans--no doubt sent to Arizona by Jimmy Johnson to sabotage this weekend’s opponent.

Keeping track of comebacks has become a way of measuring a quarterback’s skills, although it cries out for the question: If they are so good, why are they always behind? Anyway, Troy Aikman has 20 comebacks for the Cowboys, leaving him only three behind Roger Staubach, who was known best, for, well, his comebacks.

The Giants had four first downs, 107 yards and no touchdowns on offense last week. This week they play the Redskins, who gave up 541 yards, 30 first downs and 41 points.

Who wins? Hint: The Giants’ offense never made it across the 50-yard line last week. Another hint: The Giants have lost the second game of the season for four consecutive years.

The Eagles’ defense prompted a league-low 17 turnovers last season, but going on the attack under new defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, they already have four. One more on the final drive, and they would have a victory too.