Just Too Much..

It was just too much, way too much to absorb...a full schedule of football games, a Mets doubleheader against the hated Phillies, Brett Favre vs. Chad Pennington. Who could even think about Serena winning another U.S. Open?

Sunday certainly didn't disappoint, if you were a Mets fan, a Jets fan, or a football fan in general. The Mets salvaged the third game of their series against the Phillies behind Johan Santana and still more heroics from Carlos Delgado.

The Jets pulled a tough one out against a surprisingly tough Miami team and, for those who just love football, NFL style, Tom Brady hurt his knee, not a happy circumstance, surely, but one that seemed to open up new vistas for teams in the AFC East. That could mean the Bills, who looked ridiculously strong against the Seahawks, will battle it out with the Jets and Pats for the division title.

The great Peyton Manning and his Colts couldn't beat the Bears! And da Bears looked like the old Bears, all defense and just enough offense. And, oh yeah, Serena Williams beat Jelena Jankovic for the U.S. Open title.

Of course, that Mets win was the best for this writer. Not only did Carlos Delgado rip two loooong home runs, not only did Johan Santana baffle Phillies hitters into the eighth inning, but Luis Ayala gave Mets fans hope that he may be a legitimate closer, no matter what happens with Billy Wagner's elbow.

It was a channel-flippers delight. From my perspective in Toms River, there were two football games of particular interest, Eagles-Rams and Jets-Dolphins. Maybe it was fortuitous that the Eagles and Number 5, Donovan McNabb, pulled away rather early from the lowly Rams, allowing that much more attention to be paid to Chad Pennington’s comeback against the Jets.

Chad came within a couple of inches of bringing the Fish all the way back from a 13-point deficit versus the Florham Park boys in green, foiled in the end only by the quick and sure hands of cornerback Darelle Revis.

Of course, all that action afforded very little time to catch Pedro Martinez and the Mets endure an old-fashioned wuppin’ by the Phils. Just as well, I guess….who wants to watch a favorite pitcher get whacked?

Other surprises abounded around the league. There was Jake Delhomme threading the needle to one of his more obscure wideouts with zero seconds on the clock to break the Chargers’ hearts and signal the return of John Fox and his Carolina Panthers.

There were the horrid Detroit Lions lying down against the Falcons and letting LaDainian Tomlinson’s former backup in San Diego, Michael Turner, light them up for TD after TD. And B.C.’s own Matt Ryan’s first career pass went for a TD for 62 yards!

The Cowboys seemed to be having a field day vs. the Browns until Tony Romo got bent, folded and mutilated by three giant bodies in brown. But not before he hit Terrell Owens for a vintage touchdown.

There was another new QB in Baltimore too, a really tall fellow named Joe Flacco who ran one in from about 40 yards out. And there was Ray Rice from Rutgers making some nice runs too. That all this occurred against the Bengals of Cincinnati and their whacko wideout Ocho Cinco made it all the more enjoyable.

Expectations of a great game between the Saints and Buccaneers materialized as Reggie Bush wowed the Bucs secondary with moves they’d never seen and a stiff arm too. Drew Brees hit Devery Henderson for about 85 yards. But old veteran Tampa QB Jeff Garcia wasn’t able to bring the Bucs all the way back this time.

In some quarters, they said the Eagles would be tough, but nobody said it with conviction except those rabid fans last seen shrieking “Fly Eagles Fly” into the night. But a rook named DeSean Jackson seemed all they said he might be. And little Brian Westbrook was pretty huge once again. Oh, and did I mention the 90-yarder to a fellow named Baskett?

After the totally uneventful Giants win over the hapless Redskins on Thursday night, not much was expected in the way of excitement this first Sunday in September. Surely there would be the same stories this year, New England, San Diego and the Colts would dominate the AFC action. Jaguars and Titans would threaten but weaken down the stretch. The Cowboys would once again rule the NFC, and the same Giants and Packers would threaten once again The Bears would be terrible once again.

In one fell swoop though, the Pats lost the best QB in either league, maybe for the season. The Chargers lost with no time on the clock, the Colts lost to the Bears. And Ben Roethlisberger and his boys in black and gold lit up the scoreboard, with cameos by Hines Ward and the return of Willie Parker.

Hmm, maybe things will be different this year.

Maybe anything is possible. Rookie quarterbacks can excel in this league, and wide receivers too, if just given the opportunity. Old QB’s can still return from injuries to wow the crowd, big defense and heart can still win games, and old-fashioned power football can still be overwhelming.

And it’s not over yet, this first NFL week. There is still a contest between those formidable Vikings and Favre-less Pack coming up, those same Vikings accused of tampering with good ol’ Bret. It should be a war.

Despite all the strange pigskin happenings though, the highlight of the day was still that Mets game. Delgado’s first homer dented the scoreboard at Shea, impressive enough, but his second seemed to soar over the stadium’s upper deck. And those two dingers followed a two-run single in the first that put the Mets on top for once in this series.

Thanks to Santana, the Mets wouldn’t need anybody but Delgado on this night. Howard, no problem. Utley, who’s he? Jayson Werth, fuhgeddaboutit.

The Mets are still up by two. WOOHOO!