It’s early in the first set of Sunday games , and a lot of thoughts are running through my mind already:

1. What is the point of this farce in London? The field isn’t ideal, the crowd sounds like they are at a funeral, the broadcast doesn’t look or sound quite right, and the Bucs are pretty much the worst ambassadors for the league possible. Josh Johnson has thrown two interceptions already in the first quarter, and the game is already over. Of course, it was all but over before the kickoff. It can’t be long now until we see Josh Freeman start to play for the Bucs – it’s not like they have anything to play for, and Freeman can’t be much worse than the alternative.

2. It’s going to be a long, long time until the Rams get their house in order. The Colts are just ripping them apart, and aren’t working very hard to do it. The Rams can’t stop the pass or the run, and they can’t run it at all. The only thing they can do is pass, and even that isn’t very consistent. The worst part is that there isn’t a whole lot to build on with the team – a few pieces on defense and maybe one or two on offense, but that’s it. This team is just starting from scratch – it’s like an expansion team, except they don’t even get the benefit of an expansion draft.

3. Favre and the Vikes are out-thinking themselves so far. The Steelers are playing stout defense, and the Vikes seem determined to use finesse and fanciness to overcome it instead of just facing it head on. This is one of the toughest games Minnesota has payed, and it seems to be intheir heads. They are still more than in it – down only 3-0 after the first quarter – but it will be interesting to see if they can settle down.

4. The Crabtree era is on. He caught a pass for four yards in the first quarter. Unfortunately, that is the only highlight for the Niners so far. They are getting totally run over by the Texans, and this one has the real look of a game that could totally get out of control. The way that San Francisco is playing lately saddens me – they got off to such a good start, and they have a real opportunity in their division, but they have looked like an entirely different, and totally underwhelming, team the last couple of weeks.

5. Is this the week when the Chargers finally wake up? They have looked like a shell of themselves so far this year, but they always do early in the season. So far this week they are demolishing the Chiefs. They should do that, but it was hard to believe that they would given the last few weeks. It’s definitely a more interesting league when they are playing well.

6. I still can’t decide what I think about the Jets-Raiders game in a few hours. The Jets, on paper, should win it easily. I don’t know what the mental state of the New York offense is, though, and I never know what Oakland team is going to show up. Tough game.

7. I can’t quit thinking that perhaps the Dolphins are poised to give the Saints more of a challenge than they are counting on. I also can’t stop thinking that I might live to regret that thought.

8. Tony Siragusa as a player was a monster. Tony Siragusa as a commentator is enough to make me wear out my mute button.

9. Some guys should not have beards. Brad Childress is one of those guys.