Could the Eagles, in a season rightly loaded with playoff aspirations, actually fall to 2-3? Enter Washington this weekend in a great NFC East clash on FOX. While the Skins have shocked the world with their 3-1 start and Jason Campbell and the Washington offense hasn't turned it over, the Eagles should win this game. They have the better quarterback, the better coach, and as great as the Washington defense is playing, I'll take the Philly defense.

5. Matt Cassel

With the unexpected way in which the New England defense got shoved around against the Dolphins, Cassel actually escaped a large amount of blame for the loss. Cassel held the ball too long, made bad decisions, and frankly looked like a backup -- unlike how he played against the Jets.

Randy Moss was a non-factor against the Fish. That simply cannot happen. New England needs to once again establish a deep passing attack. Even if Moss is covered, he must receive the ball to take advantage of his athleticism. Mike Nolan's defense is pretty solid but Cassel needs to step up, use Moss and Wes Welker, and make it happen.

6. Aaron Rodgers / Mike McCarthy / Ted Thompson

By now you know I am an Aaron Rodgers guy. But color me concerned with the health of his right shoulder. Rodgers is going to try playing against Atlanta, doing everything from taking an injection to wearing a harness.

You get even more concerned when you hear Rodgers say, "Listen, I want to play every game. I don't need that, 'Oh you've got to play because Brett played in 250 in a row.' I've played with some serious injuries before so that's personal pride. I don't need any extra fuel to play."

Rodgers shouldn't even be talking about Brett Favre's consecutive games streak.

I defended McCarthy and Thompson having a couple of draft picks behind Rodgers because I thought Brian Brohm was a top 20 player in the draft. Matt Flynn has moved past him. Fair or unfair, this is all going to open up everyone in Green Bay to a lot of questions depending on the severity of Rodgers' injury, who plays for him and how well the backup plays.

7. Kurt Warner

The Cardinals quarterback was flat-out miserable in the first half against the Jets last week, turning the football over at an alarming rate. Forget about looking like the MVP with the Rams. Warner played like the quarterback we saw in New York with the '04 Giants.

Dick Jauron's undefeated Bills visit Arizona on Sunday. While the Bills are headed toward the playoffs and look incredibly solid in every phase, this is more of a must-win for the Cards playing at home. With consecutive losses on the road against the Redskins and Jets, Arizona and Warner missed two opportunities to make a statement and distance themselves from the competition in the NFC West.

And with Matt Leinart sitting on the pine, Warner is hardly entrenched at quarterback. Even if a banged-up Anquan Boldin doesn't go, Warner cannot afford another horrendous game.

8. Rod Marinelli

No more excuses for the Lions coach. Matt Millen is out. Bill Ford Jr. is making changes. Imagine this concept: Wins and losses actually matter. The Lions are home against the Bears this week. This is one of those games preseason that I circled in the win column for Detroit. Chicago has had two great wins in primetime and two difficult-to-swallow losses. You could easily make the case the Lions should win this game, right?

9. Broncos defense

A week after the Broncos defense got exposed against the lowly Chiefs, Mike Shanahan's head might explode if the Denver defense gets exploited by his old quarterback. Griese never lived up to the post-John Elway hype in Denver but done a nice job for Jon Gruden's Bucs in his second tour of duty in Tampa. Questions about how good the Broncos actually are will dominate Denver if they drop a home game to a castoff.

Fantasy Land . . .

There was this one team in our SNY fantasy draft that I constantly ripped during the draft for being clueless. It made last week's game a must-win to save face. Thanks to a savvy Greg Olson pickup, team McShugganah is 3-1.