Little bit of this, a little bit of that...

A lot of stuff is going on around the sporting world, and I'm back to give my thoughts on a few topics that are floating around inside my brain...

- I'll start by following up on Greg Paulus's progress to date. If I were to give him a grade, it would be an A-. Why? Because he has proved to be an adequate game-manager, and he has also shown the ability to push the ball downfield. In last week's game against Northwestern, Paulus went over 300 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns to lead the 'Cuse to their first win of theDoug Marrone era. Aiding Paulus's development has been receiver Mike Williams, who is proving to be a one of the Big East's elite receivers (over 200 yards receiving last week). If Paulus can limit some bad decision making, I'll drop that minus sign next to the A.

Staying on the topic of Orange football, let me give mad props to Doug Marrone (mad props is my slang term for tons and tons of credit). This guy has already completely changed the atmosphere surrounding Syracuse football. I think I speak for most Orange fans when I say that watching a game no longer feels like pulling teeth; instead, it actually feels like Syracuse has a legit chance at winning each time they take the field.

- After two weeks of regular season NFL action, I have drawn two conclusions: Rex Ryan knows how to run a defense, and the San Francisco 49ers are sitting pretty.

Let's start with the 2-0 49ers. Look at who they have beaten in the first two weeks: Arizona AT Arizona, and Seattle at home. San Francisco is already a leg up on the two teams thought to be the best in the west. All the 49ers have to do now is take care of business against the lowly Rams, and the division looks to be theirs. Here are some of the remaining games on their schedule: at Philadelphia, at Minnesota, at Indianapolis, at Houston (which now seems like no gimme), and at Green Bay. Assuming they can take care of business at home and steal two of these tough road games, the 49ers will surely be a lock for one of the top playoff seeds. Give Mike Singletary a lot of credit for turning this team around.

How about Rex Ryan? This guy is money, and he's making the Jets look like serious playoff contenders. Their defensive motto has to be something like "we don't give a rat's behind what you think you're gonna do against us, we're gonna come after you play after play until that clock says 0:00" (only I'm sure the actual motto contains a couple dozen expletives, none of that "rat's behind" nonsense). Seriously, the Jets defense has been in non-stop attack mode for the first two weeks, and it has them sitting at 2-0 and atop the AFC East. Marky Mark Sanchez has also looked better than average, sending a message to Pete Carroll (check my archived post on the Carroll/Sanchez disagreement when Sanchez left school early).

- Speaking of Pete Carroll, how about the goose egg his Trojans' laid this past weekend at Washington? Alright, so they didn't get shut out, but they definitely looked horrible. Aaron Corp looked like a high school JV quarterback, and their defense couldn't stop the Huskies when it counted. Could the Pac-10 race be a two team race between Oregon and Cal? It certainly looks that way now.

- My quote of the week goes to ESPN's Mike Sando, who said this regarding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranking of 28th in ESPN's weekly power rankings:

"The Bucs have allowed 900 yards in their first two games. They even made the Bills look good."

Ahh, Mr. Sando, how right you are. Giving up 33 points to the Bills offense is no easy task. Thank you for providing me with a dose of weekly humor.