In our ongoing quest to bring you the vital (and not-so-vital) knowledge from around the league, this is the first of a weekly series where I'll preview the games of the weekend with some analysis, some observations, and some lame attempts at humor.

But before I get to that, please allow me to jinx myself: Since Week 5, I've been picking all the games each Friday over on my site, and I've recently hit a major hot streak. After three straight 11-3 weeks, I pulled off a 13-2-1 record last week. That's a 46-11-1 run. I like to tell myself it's taken me a half-season to find my groove, and now I know the teams so well I can keep this up, but I know the NFL gods are just getting me fattened up like a Thanksgiving turkey, so they can lay a nice 7-9 week on me.

I'm already off to a good start this week (I picked the Steelers in the Thursday night game -- you'll just have to trust me), so now I'm all set up to fall flat on my face. And you've got a front row seat.

NY Jets (7-3) at Tennessee (10-0)

Everybody knows the Titans win, for the most part, based on their great defense and running game. Here are three little known facts about that:

1) The Jets have more sacks than the Titans. 2) The Jets have allowed less rushing yards than the Titans. 3) The Jets average just seven rushing yards less per game than the Titans.

Interesting, no? In case those numbers failed to sway you, here are three more factors why I think the Jets will take down the Titans this week:

1) The Jets are capable of putting up a lot of points, and taking the Titans out of their game a bit. 2) The Jets will have had 10 days off to prepare for Tennessee. 3) The Titans have been a little shaky in the running game of late. Collins has made up for it so far, but I don’t think he can do that every week. Especially if Kris Jenkins is laying on top of him.

The pick: JETS

Buffalo (5-5) at Kansas City (1-9)

It’s amazing how quickly Trent Edwards’s stock has plummeted of late. Early on, he was getting all kinds of praise from fans and "How the hell did so many teams pass on him?"-type comments from analysts. Now he’s getting booed at home on Monday night while Ron Jaworski tears apart his play on national TV.

This is another reason why sports is so fascinating -- that kind of stuff never happens in real life. Can you imagine the eqivalent to that in real life? It would be like a young guy at work getting all kinds of praise when he gets his first opportunity ("Hey, that Phil is one crackerjack accountant. We put him on the Feldman account, and he really whipped that sucker into shape"), and then a few weeks later, everybody wants the guy demoted or fired ("Can you believe that douchebag Phil is late again today? What an ass he is -- his numbers were all way off last month and when I confronted him about it, he groped me inappropriately").

The pick: BILLS

Philadelphia (5-4-1) at Baltimore (6-4)

Philly fans are lucky their baseball team just won the world series, because they otherwise they might’ve been suicidal over the Eagles embarrassing showing at Cincy last weekend. The Iggles limped away with an ugly 13-13 tie which put a serious dent into their playoff hopes, which were sky high early in the season.

Shockingly, their offense was completely stymied by the lowly Bengals defense (75 minutes, 17 drives, 13 points), and Donovan McNabb’s TD/INT ratio took a major beating (Coming in: 13/5, Sunday: 1/3). There was even talk after the game that Andy Reid could give backup QB Kevin Kolb some playing time down the stretch.

So which is more shocking: a) the Eagles offensive meltdown, b) the Kolb rumor, c) the fact McNabb didn’t know there were ties in the NFL, or d) the fact that McNabb’s ignorance of the tie rule became the story of the week?

I’m going with e) the fact that McNabb wondered if they had ties in the playoffs and Super Bowl. I mean, seriously? You think the Super Bowl could be a tie? Are you insane?

The pick: TIE EAGLES

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Fooch's Note: We get so fixated on the 49ers, it can be easy to forget about the rest of the NFL.  Thanks to Josh from Hollywood for taking us on an amusing trip around the league.

My name is Josh from Hollywood, and I'm a couch potato. Since I spend every Sunday (and some Thursday nights) planted on the sofa watching football, I figured I might as well give you my thoughts from the weekend’s action in the NFL -- whether you wanted them or not. The rest of the site is usually devoted to Niner-centric news, so we thought it might be nice to have a regular post on some of the odds, ends, and trends from in and around the rest of the league. My motto is "1 Man. 2 TV's. 15 games. No pee breaks." (I have a bed pan, and a very understanding wife.)

But seriously, congratulations if you make it all the way to the end of this post. And remember, you may think this is long, but Peter King picks bigger pieces than this out of his poop. Or something.

HUNGRY EYES: I'm really hoping the play of Shaun Hill against the Rams this week is a sign of things to come, because I’ve discovered that knowing your team has no long-term answer at QB is a lot like being a guy who's longtime girlfriend just dumped him -- you feel scared and alone, and you want to fill the void, but quickly realize there aren’t a lot of winners out there (in the dating scene or the QB market).

Sitting on the couch every Sunday scanning the field for potential solutions, I feel like the dude at the bar with the lonely eyes, desperately searching the bar for a friendly face. Only finding good QBs with long-term deals (dating equivalent: hot chicks with serious boyfriends), or bad QBs you wouldn't want leading your team anyway (i.e. fugly girls you wouldn’t introduce to your friends), you soon sink to searching the sidelines for an experienced, affordable backup (cruising for hookers after the bars close).

Trying to talk yourself into Matt Cassel at up to $10 million a year is depressing enough in itself, but it's especially hard on us Niner fans who grew up watching the primes of both Montana and Young. It's like a guy who once dated Giselle Bundchen and Angelina Jolie being relegated to picking up chicks outside the local Pretty & Plump outlet.

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If Lincecum pitches 25 scoreless innings today, his ERA will be a full run below Brandon Webb's. Bochy has a goal! All the Giants will have to do is not score for 25 innings.

As long as Lincecum hasn't given up a run, I'd put his pitch limit at 1,520. He doesn't even ice his arm, so he's good for it.

The North County Times (San Diego) reports that despite his interest in playing for the Chargers, Joey Porter is not a good fit in San Diego, and has a visit to San Francisco planned "in coming days". Link:

http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2007/03/03/sports/professional/chargers/1_07_123_3_07.txt

If Nolan can stomach signing a whiner like Lelie, I think he could certainly handle a mouthy guy who can actually produce on Sundays, inspire the players around him, and already has a Super Bowl ring. It would also add a nice symmetry to their offseason moves to improve the defense -- signing a CB, S, LB, and DL.

I for one would be ecstatic with the Niners free agency haul if they could land Porter. What say you?

Matt Maiocco, the 49ers beat writer for the Press Democrat, writes in his blog that he thinks TE coach Pete Hoener is the most likely candidate to replace Norv Turner as offensive coordinator. According to Maiocco's most recent post, Hoener has more experience as a play caller (though exclusively at the college level) than the rest of the staff combined, was schooled in Turner's system, and spent a lot of time working with both Turner and McCarthy the last 2 seasons. He also confirms that keeping the same offensive scheme is a priority to Nolan.

Link:

http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=502547

[EDITOR'S NOTE] - I just noticed this at espn.com and I'm glad someone put something up about it. Samuel getting tagged, along with Lance Briggs, shakes up the value of the remaining free agents. However, if we can land Adalius Thomas and some d-line help it could make up for not signing a big name corner. Spencer is a solid option on one side and a better pass rush could help cover for weakness in the secondary.

Link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2768800

The Bears laid the franchise tag on Lance Briggs too, but the Samuel move is the one that really hurts. The only top-notch CB left on the free agent market is Clements, who has already stated his desire to cash in big time. Now that he's the only real option out there, he'll likely get his wish.