1) .... Nick Foles is out at QB for Arizona this week.  The line opened at -7.5 and is down to -6.5 against Washington.  Pretty standard, about what you'd expect.  Anytime a starting QB is out, some guy who bets big money and calls himself sharp is going to pound the line down early in the week.  

Not so fast... Matt Scott, Foles' backup, is legit.  Started the 2009 season ahead of Foles, and after going 2-1 was benched.  Scott was one of the bigger recruits on the west coast coming out of high school, and there is no doubt in my mind that he's been waiting for this opportunity for a while now.  Scott said after the game last week that he "knows the offense just as well, if not better, than Foles" and that "they won't skip a beat."  

He's a confident kid, with tons of talent.  More of a dual threat than Foles is, and he'll add an extra demension.. Something Washington hasn't seen on tape. 

He's getting a second chance, and I expect him to make the most of it.  If anything, a true "sharp" would be moving this line the other way against a line that was already deflated due to the injury.

2) Helmet to Helmet contact... I get that injuries are becoming a problem, and some of the penalties are, indeed, justified.  But my least favorite thing about the evolution of football has been meaningless penalties.  Just because a guy hits helmet to helmet doesn't mean there was malicious intent.  If a defender's eyes are forward, there should never be a penalty.  If he is looking at the ground and leading with the crown of his helmet, then by all means 'T him up'.  Receivers are ducking and moving all over the place, how is a safety with sweat in his eyes running 20mph supposed to guess what the receiver will do?

2.5) ......It reminds me of this controversy over the bats in MLB.  Ash or Maple?  Here's the thing.  Baseball is a game where firm balls are flying at you at well over 100 miles per hour at times, and yet we're whining about dodging a bat?  How many people have died being hit by a baseball?  850 over the last 150 years (Death at The Ballpark by Robert Gorman).  How many people have died being hit by a broken bat?  0 in 150 years.  It's like banning throwing stars in a war fought with guns.