Raiders offensive coordinator Hue Jackson empowers his players, and his touch this season is paying off in big ways for Darren McFadden.

As I was contemplating which teams could land Randy Moss, there was only one team I could come up with that I would fully endorse taking a chance on the mercurial wide receiver: The Tennessee Titans.

I was very encouraged at what I saw from rookie QB Colt McCoy. I don’t know that you could ever put a rookie quarterback in a more difficult situation in his NFL debut than what McCoy faced against the Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger is at his best when he’s playing the way he’s always played. Big Ben being Big Ben is what the Steelers need, and it’s what they want.

Kyle Orton doesn’t get enough credit, and and his gaudy numbers overshadow a gutsy performance during the first month of the season. If it continues, Orton will no longer be known as a footnote to the Jay Cutler trade.

Sometimes it’s difficult for players to take the medicine of truth to improve their game. Carson Palmer responded with his actions, and despite a loss to the Browns found his mojo.

Just when teams think they’ve stopped Tom Brady by taking away Randy Moss and Wes Welker, the Patriots find new ways — and new weapons — to arm themselves for another title run.

The Raiders need a quarterback with swagger and substance, and the team will rally around the play of Bruce Gradkowski.

Now that he’s been benched again, Vince Young will have to do more than tell us how much he has matured. He will have to show more tangable evidence of his maturity.

After sitting down with Vince Young for our interview for NFL GameDay Morning earlier this week, I came away thinking about how you measure confidence and the amount that is required to play football at the highest level.

It’s difficult for any player to live up to a six-year, $54 million contract, but in a sense, Miles Austin already has earned his pay.

A first sampling of the 2010 New Orleans Saints revealed that even a defending Super Bowl champion has plenty of work to do. Before Thursday night’s game against the Patriots, the Saints spent the previous two days in the New England area in practice sessions with Bill Belichick‘s well-coached squad. Saints coach Sean Peyton said he wanted to get lots of work against a 3-4 defense because his team will play at least five opponents this season that employ a 3-4 scheme.

Defensive end Aaron Schobel, on the street after nine seasons with the Buffalo Bills, is a no-nonsense Texas boy who plays the game with a high motor and intensity. With plenty left in the tank, he will give you all he’s got on Sundays, and that’s plenty. But he needs to be in a 4-3 scheme.

Peyton Manning is looking to improve upon his chemistry with his wide recievers this season.

Everyone in Cincinnati is wondering if the signing of Terrell Owens will be a blessing or a curse for the Bengals. I tend to believe it’s going to be a very good thing for all the parties involved.