Provided Carson Palmer's knee holds up the Cincinnati Bengals have a good shot at reaching the Super Bowl . (Source: AP)

T.O. = B.O.R.I.N.G. - Speaking of annoying trends, let me address Terrell Owens and his much-publicized move to the Dallas Cowboys first so I don’t have to mention it again. As he’s proven in two previous stops already, T.O. will dominate and leave it all on the field during the games and then away from the field he will create enough distraction and prove to be so much of an annoyance that the Cowboys will have to question, like the 49ers and Eagles have already had to, whether T.O. is worth all the trouble. The one T.O. angle that I do love for this season is the little “Terrell Owens support group” that has been set up in Philadelphia. With the Eagles’ signing of Jeff Garcia to back-up Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia has become the de facto meeting place for all T.O. victims. I fully expect to see Drew Bledsoe sign with the Eagles in 2007.

All that Glitters - Perhaps the most bizarre story of this early season is the announcement by several NFL clubs that they will no longer be playing Gary Glitter’s music (i.e. Rock & Roll Part 2) due to the singer’s conviction in Vietnam for inappropriate acts with young girls. You wonder if the NHL shouldn’t adopt this same morality policy when it comes to arena music selection.  Just think, the league could use Chad Kroeger’s drunk driving charges as a thinly veiled excuse to rid us of all the Nickleback songs that are played during all hockey games.  That would be a plus.

Texas-sized mistake - Now that Houston Texans RB Domanick Davis has been placed on the IR and officially ruled out for all of this season I think it’s safe to say that the Texans are officially regretting their decision of passing over Reggie Bush in favour of DE Mario Williams.  Virtually everyone who had an opinion on the draft already felt that the Texans made a grave mistake back in April by not selecting a ‘back who has already drawn comparisons to Barry Sanders and Walter Payton.   I fully expect that Reggie Bush will have an immediate impact and will be a perennial Pro-Bowl quality player for years to come. At least the mistake of passing over Bush has resulted in his landing in New Orleans – a community that can certainly use something to get excited and cheer about.

Seriously, that’s the name? - There has to be a better name than the ‘Physically Unable to Perform’ list. The PUP list is a place where clubs can designate an injured player for an indefinite period of time and then activate them to the roster during the course of the year as they get healthy. But seriously, how much razzing do you think Curtis Martin and Priest Holmes have taken from their friends after it was announced they are physically unable to perform? I feel like each one of these roster moves should be sponsored by Cialis or Viagra.

Fantasy Baby - How far has Chiefs RB Larry Johnson’s status risen? This is the same player that two years ago Dick Vermeil said, “It’s time for him to grow up and take the diapers off.” He has gone from being Priest Holmes’ understudy to this year’s No. 1 fantasy draft pick option. He went from a player who was rumoured to be traded for Keenan McCardell to a rusher who capped the 150 yard mark in each of his first three NFL starts last year. When you consider that Johnson ran for 1,750 yards despite only starting in 9 games, 2,000 yards seems like an academic figure for him to leap past this season. 

Surprise team - Philadelphia Eagles: At first glance it seems odd referring to a team that has made it to the NFC title game in four of the last five years as a surprise team but that’s what you get for a team that went 6-10 last year, lost their starting QB for a significant portion of the season and lost their collective franchise mind when they brought T.O. into the fold in the first place. Provided the Eagles are healthy they’re strong on both sides of the ball. With the addition of 1^st round pick, Brodrick Bunkley the Eagles boast one of the better defensive front fours in the league. The secondary anchored by Brian Dawkins is extremely solid. Offensively a healthy Run DMC and Brian Westbrook will make all the difference. Off-season acquisition, Donte Stallworth who came off a breakthrough fourth season with the Saints looks like he’ll provide a major improvement in the receiving corp and by default become McNabb’s top target.  The pieces are all here as long as the Eagles can survive one of the NFL’s toughest divisions in the NFC East.

Super Bowl: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

AFC: I know it’s a lot to hinge a Super Bowl berth on one pre-season performance but Carson Palmer’s stat line in his first post-major knee injury game won me over. In only one half of work Palmer went 9-for-14, 140 yards and threw for 3 TDs.  Behind Palmer, the Bengals boast an impressive offensive unit of WRs Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh and RB Rudi Johnson. On the defensive end the Bengals are bolstered heavily by Head Coach Marvin Lewis’ defensive acumen. The AFC is a very competitive landscape full of a plethora of teams that have the potential to reach the Super Bowl; New England, Indy, Denver, Pittsburgh have just as much of a chance to reach the big game as the Bengals. I just get a good vibe from this team despite their off-field shenanigans. In case you missed it, the Bengals had no less than five of their players charged/arrested during the off-season.  It’s gotten to the point were the team is now referred to as Cincinaughty Bengals.

NFC: Each year there’s always one team that flies under the radar and exceeds expectations which afterwards leaves you feeling foolish for not spotting their leap even when they had all the variables. Last year few foresaw that the Seahawks and Steelers would make it all the way to the Super Bowl; let’s face it there were more intriguing options with the Panthers, Colts and Patriots. This year I think that unexpected next leap is going to come for the Bucs.

Despite all the press for the Chicago Bears’ vaunted defense, Monte Kiffin’s crew was once again the NFL’s best defense unit last season. Things should stay the same as nearly the entire unit returns this year. The Bucs’ defense is chocked full of big playmakers and veteran experience. No other team in the league possesses an impact player at all three defensive positions like the Bucs have in Simeon Rice, Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber – all three are difference makers.

You can make a strong argument that had he not had part of his rookie season derailed by injury Carnell “Cadillac” Williams would have received some significant MVP consideration. In the eight games that he had 20+ carries, the Bucs went 7-1. In the six games he was limited to fewer than 20 rushes (mainly due to injury), the team went 1-5. In addition to Cadillac the Bucs’ offense hinges on the continued development of QB Chris Simms. In spite of his uncanny resemblance to Silas from the Da Vinci Code, Simms was impressive in his trial by fire full-time audition after Brian Griese went down for the year to injury.  Simms looked better with each passing week and had it not been for a referee mistake in ruling that Edell Sheppard didn’t have possession of the ball, Simms would already have his first playoff victory and perhaps more.