The Nickel Package
5 GOLDEN OLDIES
Bryant Young, San Francisco, DE, 33
* NFL sack leader is bright spot on a bad defense.
Donnie Edwards, San Diego, LB, 32
* Still wraps up as well as any tackler in the league.
Troy Vincent, Buffalo, FS, 34
* Former Eagle cornerback has aged gracefully with Bills.
Keenan McCardell, San Diego, WR, 35
* His five touchdown catches lead the NFL.
John Carney, New Orleans, K, 41
* Tied for seventh in scoring with 32 points.
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5 LOCKS
* Tampa Bay over N.Y. Jets -- Stifling Buccaneer defense will set the tone.
* Indianapolis over San Francisco -- Manning should throw at least three TD passes in a rout.
* Carolina over Arizona -- Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme is sharper on the road.
* Philadelphia over Dallas -- Eagles have owned teams in the second half this season.
* Denver over Washington -- Redskins are undefeated but are far from overwhelming.
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RATING THE 1ST-ROUND PICKS
***** Tampa Bay RB Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. His shoes have already been sent to Canton.
**** Philadelphia DT Mike Patterson. Eagles happily swapped Corey Simon for the former Trojan.
*** Dallas DE DeMarcus Ware. Has had shining moments, is ready for increased role.
** Jacksonville WR Matt Jones. College QB turned receiver still has lots of room to grow.
* Tennessee CB Adam “Pacman” Jones. Training-camp holdout still gets booed by home fans.
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5 TELLING STATISTICS
* The Ravens, who play at Detroit, are 1-7 all-time indoors.
* Miami has 10-plus penalties in each of its first three games.
* New England has given up 108 points in its first four games, most since 1994.
* The Rams, who play host to Seattle, have at least one turnover in 32 consecutive home games.
* San Diego, which has scored 40-plus points in consecutive games, hasn’t done so in three consecutive games since 1982.
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5 DOOMED DEFENSES
* San Francisco -- 49ers are catching Peyton Manning at the wrong time.
* Dallas -- Cowboys gave up average of 32.2 points in last 10 vs. Philly.
* Arizona -- Cardinal opponent Carolina is on pace for club scoring record.
* New England -- Banged-up Patriots don’t register many takeaways anymore.
* San Diego -- Chargers score a lot of points, but they give up a lot too.
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