(Best E Casino) - It was the great Homer Simpson who once said, "If you don't like your job, you don't strike! You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way."
Don't tell that to Anquan Boldin. While he may be unhappy in Arizona, the Cardinals wideout has no intentions of sleepwalking through the season.
Boldin made no secret this past offseason that he was unhappy with his contract. He claims the Cardinals promised him a new deal and have yet to fulfill that agreement. Things got worse when Boldin stated he had "washed his hands" of the situation, saying he would play out his current deal and not sign an extension. Finally, everything all spilled over and the electric wideout said he wanted to be traded.
That doesn't seem likely, given that he is signed through 2010, but Boldin isn't simply brooding on the sidelines while he waits out his deal. Instead, the Florida State product is taking out his anger on the corners of the NFL.
After his eight-catch, 82-yard performance in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers that saw all eight receptions come in the second half, Boldin made sure to get off to a hot start on Sunday. He hauled in a career-high 79-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter of Sunday's 31-10 win over Miami, the first of three scoring catches on the day.
"It helps when you hit an 80-yarder on one of the first plays of the game, that gets you off to a pretty good start," said head coach Ken Whisenhunt on Sunday.
The big day set numerous accolades for Boldin. He posted the 22nd 100-yard receiving game of his career, tied with Jackie Smith for the most in club history. He also became the first Cardinal to haul in three touchdown passes in a game since Rob Moore in 1997.
Not bad for an unhappy camper.
"I'm a Cardinal. Like I said, every time I go on that field, I'm gonna give my all,' Boldin said after the win. "I'm not going to deviate from that."
The Cardinals would do themselves well to try and fix the bridge between themselves and Boldin. After all, he turns just 28 on October 3 and receivers of his talent are hard to come by. Though the club would still have Larry Fitzgerald, he becomes less effective if Boldin leaves and isn't suitably replaced.
While it will be some time before the Boldin contract saga plays out, at least the Cardinals know he will be giving it his all in the meantime.
NOTES: Arizona is 2-0 for the first time since 1991, though that team went on to finish 4-12...Running back Edgerrin James gained 55 rushing yards on Sunday, making him the 14th player in NFL history to surpass 15,000 career yards from scrimmage...The Cardinals have scored 20-plus points in 10 straight games, the longest active streak in the league...quarterback Kurt Warner matched an NFL record by recording a perfect passer rating (158.3) for the third time in his career.
INJURIES: Defensive tackle Gabe Watson missed his second straight game due to a knee injury. Cornerbacks Eric Green (left calf) and Rod Hood (neck), as well as tackle Levi Brown (left knee strain), got hurt in Sunday's win. All three did return to the game, however.
WEEK 3: The Cardinals try for their first 3-0 start since 1974 when they hit the road to face the 1-1 Washington Redskins. Arizona hasn't beaten the Redskins since 2000, having lost its last six to its former division rival.
49ERS: WILL O'SULLIVAN SURVIVE THE SEASON?
With Alex Smith gone for the season because of problems with his surgically- repaired right shoulder, it isn't a question as to whether San Francisco quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan's talent will carry him through the season as much as if his body can handle the beating it is currently taking.
The 49ers allowed 55 sacks last year, tied with Kansas City for the most in the league. The offensive line isn't off to such a hot start this year either, as O'Sullivan has already been sacked 12 times and hit the turf eight times in Sunday's 33-30 overtime win over Seattle.
That means O'Sullivan is on pace to get sacked 96 times this year -- not a far fetched number with Mike Martz running the offense.
Consider this. While San Francisco led the NFC in sacks allowed last year, Detroit was just one behind at 54. Of course, Martz was the Lions' offensive coordinator last year. The previous season under Martz, Detroit was second in the NFL in sacks allowed with 63.
San Francisco head coach Mike Nolan isn't putting the blame on anyone just yet, though.
"The responsibility is shared throughout," Nolan said on Monday. "Some of it was J.T., some of it is was the line, but it was shared throughout."
O'Sullivan still managed to throw for 321 yards despite taking a pounding. But the journeyman has never gone through a full NFL season as a starter, so it is unknown how his body will respond.
Nolan, though, has confidence that O'Sullivan will hold up despite some possible dirty shots he felt his quarterback took against Seattle, though he wouldn't name names.
"There were a couple of hits on him that I thought some guys might get fined about," he said. "That's really concerned me more than anything else. Those kinds of things."
NOTES: After getting held off the stat sheet in his 49er debut in Week 1, wide receiver Isaac Bruce posted four catches for 153 yards...Reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Willis posted his first-career interception on Sunday and returned it 86 yards for his first NFL TD...The 49ers used five defensive backs throughout the game, keeping linebacker Manny Lawson on the sidelines.
INJURIES: Tackle Jonas Jennings left Sunday's win near the end of the second quarter because of a shoulder injury. Safety Dashon Goldson (knee) and corner Shawntae Spencer (knee sprain) also suffered injuries.
WEEK 3: Martz will get to face his former club this weekend, as the 49ers host the Lions. Detroit is 0-2 on the season and San Francisco has defeated the Lions in five straight meetings.
SEAHAWKS: INJURIES BRINGING DOMANINCE TO A CLOSE
At this rate, it is becoming safer to play the role of Superman on the big or small screen than sign on as a Seattle wide receiver.
While the alleged "Superman Curse" has touched the likes of George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain (at least career-wise, in regards to Cain), Seattle wideouts are going through a similar bad spell.
To recap, the Seahawks began the year without Deion Branch (knee), Ben Obomanu (clavicle) and Bobby Engram (shoulder), then lost Nate Burleson for the season in Week 1 due to a torn ACL in his left knee.
That left Courtney Taylor and Logan Payne as the only healthy wideouts for Seattle until the team added Billy McMullen and Michael Bumpus last week. Yet low and behold, Payne suffered a torn MCL in Sunday's loss to the 49ers to end his season.
The curse is even starting to get to players who might be just thinking about playing wide receiver. Athletic backup quarterback Seneca Wallace, who has the ability to play the position, pulled a calf muscle and could be out for as long as a month.
Now ridiculously thin at wideout, one scenario could see the Seahawks bringing back Koren Robinson, who the club opted not sign last week while searching the free agent heap.
Robinson was drafted ninth overall in the 2001 draft by Seattle, but his career there was derailed due to problems with alcohol. He played with Green Bay last year.
This isn't the start Seattle envisioned when the season began. However, it is kind of appropriate that their could be a changing of the guard in the NFC West in the same season that will mark the end of head coach Mike Holmgren's tenure in the Emerald City.
Heading into their game with the 49ers, Seattle had won five straight games versus divisional opponents, while Sunday's setback was just the fifth in its last 29 home games.
"We played bad," said Matt Hasselbeck after the loss. "We expect to win at home. I am a little stunned and mad."
With such a thin wideout group, Hasselbeck has completed only 45.5 percent of his passes and has thrown just one touchdown pass to three interceptions.
NOTES: Tight end John Carlson is taking advantage of Seattle's need for a receiver, as the rookie made six catches for 78 yards on Sunday...Seattle posted eight sacks versus the Niners, getting a pair each by Patrick Kerney and Lawrence Jackson...Running back Julius Jones ran for 127 yards in the loss...Seattle is 0-2 for the first time since 2002.
INJURIES: As expected, running back Maurice Morris missed the San Francisco test due to a knee injury. Offensive tackle Sean Locklear (knee) also missed the game. Branch and Engram likely won't be back until after the Week 4 bye at the earliest.
WEEK 3: Seattle faces the NFC West's other 0-2 squad, the Rams, at home on Sunday. The Seahawks have won their last five versus St. Louis, winning 33-6 at home a year ago.
RAMS: LINEHAN RUNNING OUT OF EXCUSES
Rams head coach Scott Linehan was given a free pass after last year's 3-13 finish because his team was decimated by injuries. However, a year after beginning 0-8, Linehan's squad is off to an 0-2 start and the waters are boiling in St. Louis.
The Rams' latest stinker, a 41-13 thumping by the Giants on Sunday, came on the same day that St. Louis paid tribute to late owner Georgia Frontiere, something that couldn't have sat well with the front office.
Through two games this year, the Rams have totaled just 367 offensive yards and 21 first downs, while allowing opponents to post 963 yards and move the chains 53 times.
St. Louis, on the other hand, is just 3-for-24 on third-down conversions this year. If things don't change soon for the Rams, the front office just might make a move.
"Losing is a bad thing as a coach," Linehan said on Monday. "If you lose you're worried about everything. So when you don't win games, people are going to want the head coachs head; it's the way it works."
While he wouldn't guarantee a win, Linehan does believe his club will turn it around this Sunday versus Seattle, because they have to.
"In my mind we're going to beat Seattle and we're going to right this ship because we don't have a choice, I don't have a choice and neither does anybody else around here."
Given Linehan's seeming desperation, it wouldn't be a surprise if he went to quarterback Marc Bulger and top rusher Steven Jackson this week and begged them to get the offense going. Bulger threw for only 177 yards against New York, while Jackson is still under 100 yards rushing for the season through two games.
Linehan would also like to see his offensive line rebound as well. That unit was killed by injury last year but is much healthier this season, given that tackle Orlando Pace is in the lineup. Still, Bulger has been sacked 10 times already this season.
NOTES: The Rams have scored just 16 points all year and tight end Randy McMichael leads the team with 101 receiving yards...Wideout Torry Holt had 76 yards receiving versus the Giants to pass Michael Irvin for 16th on the NFL's all-time list. He is just one catch short of matching Henry Ellard and Keyshawn Johnson for 17th in league history for that category...Rookie defensive end Chris Long, drafted second overall, posted his first NFL sack on Sunday.
INJURIES: Defensive end Leonard Little (hamstring) and guard Jacob Bell (hamstring) both missed Sunday's game. Rookie receiver Donnie Avery (MCL sprain) was active but did not make a catch. Linehan said Avery should see more action this weekend. Wideout Keenan Burton will have an MRI done on his knee later this week.
WEEK 3: St. Louis heads to Seattle, where it hasn't won since 2004, this Sunday.
