Back, baby, back...

This blog is hunkering down after a well-executed Thanksgiving, 2006.

This blog, its spouse and offspring got to Cape Cod (Massachusetts, USA, Earth) mildly behind schedule, ate, drank and was fairly merry while keeping an eye on on the early games. We timed it up nice, watching the first game and-a-half then bolting just before halftime of the Cowboys pummeling of Tampa Bay.

Now this blog is back at his desk after one-hour nap, rested and ready to deliver the goods with the Friday Blitz and have it done by the end of the night.

I'll be getting in-depth on Brian Urlacher's season-to-date for the Bears and the impact the Patriots expect him to have on what is easily the most anticipated game of the weekend at New England. We're staying home to cover that one at 4:15 p.m.

Quick impressions from the early games....

1) Miami's given itself a chance. Now at 5-6, they play nothing but AFC teams the rest of the way - Jacksonville, New England, Buffalo, the Jets and the Colts. The road games are at Buffalo and Indy and, with Indy in the finale, Miami may catch a break if the Colts aren't playing for any kind of playoff seeding.

2) The second touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Terry Glenn in the Dallas-Tampa game showed the kind of plays a team can install and be successful with when it has a quarterback as athletic as Romo. Taking the snap at the Tampa 2, Romo pivoted to his right and threw a flare/screen to Glenn that Glenn quickly turned into a score by burrowing in. The ball was hitting Glenn's hands at about the same time most quarterbacks would have been releasing it. He's just exceptionally quick with his feet and with such an economical throwing motion where the load-up to the throw is so short, the ball gets out accurately and in rhythm.

Terrific day (duh) for Romo with five touchdown passes.

Meanwhile, Kansas City is going to have to make some plays over the top of this Broncos defense. It's 3-0 right now halfway through the second quarter and Denver is loading up the box to stop Larry Johnson. But Trent Green looks very comfortable and now Johnson is finding running room.

Denver's ineptitude on offense is putting too much heat on the Broncos defense.

Two amusing anecdotes from the day on the Cape.

When Kelly Clarkson was singing the anthem for the first game, this blog's wife, Erica, was standing watching closely (she likes her American Idol alums). So this blog made eye contact and stood up, busting chops that she seemed to be standing for the anthem. Next thing I know, another person stands up. Then another. Hands start going over hearts and we had a strange little "This is our country" moment. Kinda funny.

Later, when Cowboy Jason Witten got run out of bounds and knocked into a Cowboys cheerleader, this blog commented, "Whoa, he ran into the cheerleader."

"Did he nail her?" asked this blog's father-in-law.

"I don't know about that," this blog replied. "But he ran into her when he went out of bounds."