Chemistry, perhaps that’s the key to winning a Super Bowl.

Or is it defense? A hot shot quarterback with reliable receivers? The wildcat? Those are just some of the questions NFL teams are trying to answer as they prepare for the 2010 NFL football season in a few months.

That’s probably why some of these teams are signing names here and there to get that perfect combination they are hoping will win them the Super Bowl. The Arizona Cardinals, for instance, have scheduled a visit with Chargers quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, a restricted free agent, as they explore adding depth as well as potential competition for Matt Leinart for that QB spot.

If the Cardinals sign Whitehurst and the Chargers decline to match the offer, Arizona would owe San Diego a third-round draft pick, which is the qualifying contract tender that was used on the quarterback, who was a third-round choice in 2006. That tender is worth $1,176,000 for the 2010 season.

The Cardinals have two third-round draft choices next month, having acquired Baltimore’s third- and fourth-round picks in a deal that sent wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the Ravens.

Leinart is the only quarterback currently under contract on the Cardinals’ roster.

On the other hand, New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis says the club has agreed to re-sign reserve defensive back Leigh Torrence to a one-year contract.

Torrence has been with the Saints since being claimed off waivers in…

I’m hoping the Patriots will have the balls to go ahead and sign this dude.

The 2010 NFL football season is shaping up to be an interesting one to say the least with two of the league’s biggest and longest tenured running backs parting ways with their respective teams.

The releases of LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook have set off a firestorm of rumors and speculation about where the two backs might end up next season. Both still have a little something left in the tank, so it’s just a matter of finding the right team for their skill sets.

As far as LaDainian Tomlinson is concerned, he limits his prospective employment to teams capable of winning the Super Bowl. He has reduced his options to a very small field. And then he’s going to have to take a very modest contract, given his performance level in 2009 (730 rushing yards, 3.3 per carry, 20 catches) for a very good team.

There is a reasonably good chance no Super Bowl contender will offer Tomlinson, 30, that chance. But history says that Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots might, or Mike Shanahan in Washington could. This is not to say the Redskins are a Super Bowl contender.

It appears that unless Tomlinson is willing to join a team like the Cincinnati Bengals or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, his best chance to reach the Super Bowl still might be through San Diego. And he just cashed out there.

One good fit for Tomlinson are the New Orleans Saints…

Can the Saints get back to form in time for the visiting Cardinals?

The New Orleans Saints missed out on perfection when they lost to the then struggling Dallas Cowboys. Then shockingly, they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers too in a game the Saints could’ve won if it wasn’t for Saints kicker Garrett Hartley missing a very makeable 37-yard field goal attempt.

But after they lost for the third straight time, this time losing to the Carolina Panthers big, 23-10, it’s clear that the Saints have a lot of fixing to do coming to their first game in the 2010 NFL playoffs against the red-hot Arizona Cardinals.

Heck, after watching the Arizona Cardinals put up 51 points to beat the Green Bay Packers last week, it’s clear that the Cardinals are clicking at just the right time.

Thanks to their ageless leader Kurt Warner who have put up a whopping five touchdowns in their 51-45 win over the Packers in overtime, the Cardinals qualified for this NFC divisional playoff game against New Orleans. And with the way the Saints have been playing lately, it seems everything has been set to motion for Arizona to defend that NFC title in the NFC championship game.

The Saints need to have a great game from Drew Brees if they want to deny the Cardinals a return trip to the NFC title game. He led the NFC in completion this year with 70.6 markers, 292.5 passing yards per game and a 109.6 passer rating. However, in their three-game losing streak to finish the season, Brees only had a couple of touchdowns and an interception, a far cry from the numbers he has been putting up early in the season.

If the Saints want to advance to the NFC championship game…

This week, we’ll go across the border, in Canada.

Because Week 13 of the 2009 NFL football season will kick off in Toronto where the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills will renew their AFC East rivalry on Thursday Night Football.

That’s right, the Buffalo Bills, trying to reach out to fans across Lake Ontario, is scheduled to play a total of five contests in Toronto, one per season through 2012. Unfortunately, the experiment did not begin well last year, with many in attendance supporting the opposing team in the Bills’ 16-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins on December 7.

On the verge of four straight losing seasons with a 3-7 mark, the Bills gave their home fans reason to smile with a 31-14 win over Miami last Sunday.

After averaging 12.3 points in the previous eight games, Buffalo broke out with 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, including a 51-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Terrell Owens, the second time the duo hooked up for a lengthy score in the last two weeks.

As far as the New York Jets are concerned, rookie Mark Sanchez will look to bounce back on Thursday as he has continued to struggle, tossing only two touchdowns against seven interceptions in the last three games. Sanchez was 13 of 17 for 154 yards and just one interception Sunday, enabling the defense to carry the Jets to a 17-6 victory over Carolina to snap a three-game losing streak.

Will that be enough to beat the Bills? We’re giving…

Are you ready for arguably the biggest game of the week?

Week 12 of the 2009 NFL football season culminates with arguably one of the biggest games you’ll ever get to see this year.

That’s right because on Monday Night Football, we have the New England Patriots taking on the unbeaten New Orleans Saints in a game that is arguably THE game to watch this week. The Saints are trying to stay undefeated against a Patriots team that came close from finishing the season unscathed a couple of seasons ago. In case you haven’t guessed it yet, this one is going to be good.

Tom Brady helped the Patriots beat the New York Jets last week in what was a nice confidence – booster before facing another highly decorated opponent on the horizon.

After a 3-0 start, the Jets entered this game as the wounded lion, and it was up to the New England Patriots to pounce. They did just that, coaxing rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez into four turnovers three of them interceptions.

Now the road gets much tougher, as the Patriots play in another hostile environment against a New Orleans Saints team looking to keep its perfect season unblemished. The Saints have shrugged off a slow start defensively, shutting down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win their 10th straight game after yielding a long touchdown drive to open the faceoff.

The Saints’ 10-game winning streak is the longest in…

It’s Week 10 people.

You read it, Week 10 of the 2009 NFL football season continues this Sunday with a huge lineup of games that will surely make or break one’s weekend. (Depending on who ya’ll are betting on of course…)

And while we all go ga-ga over the Pats – Colts matchup this Sunday night, there are still some huge games on this Sunday’s schedule that you shouldn’t dare miss. And since teams are starting to make that one last gasp for a playoff spot, we can expect some very very competitive games starting this Sunday all the way to the Super Bowl.

We’ll start off with this matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to the once winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Packers have dropped their last two games, sending them to a 4-4 mark. They desperately need a win when the Cowboys visit them at Lambeau.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked six times for the second consecutive game last Sunday against the Bucs. Rodgers has absorbed a league-worst 37 sacks this year. Perhaps what’s even more unsettling is the way they virtually gave the game away to Tapa Bay.

Green Bay allowed a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and gave up an 83-yard kickoff return to Clifton Smith to set up the first of Tampa Bay’s three touchdowns in its fourth-quarter comeback. This is after the Packers surrendered…

And that’s not just because England fans cheer for the Patriots for having ‘England’ on their team’s name.

Yes, it’s silly really. But fans from England will now keep on cheering for them Patriots after the way they just dominated the field at Wembley Stadium. It was the first game overseas this 2009 NFL football season and this time, it was the Buccaneers bending over for the Patriots en route to the 35-7 ass whooping.

The New England Patriots were winless on the road coming into this one, losing their last two games away from home. But thanks to the American football fans at Wembley Stadium, New England finally got its first win on the road in England, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in emphatic fashion.

The way English fans have been behind the Patriots that afternoon made the Buccaneers feel lost. And boy, were they lost indeed as they were yet to hit the scoreboard after almost two quarters. The Patriots were already ahead of the Bucs 21-0 before Josh Johnson connected with Antonio Bryant to score Tampa Bay’s first score of the game. But it was clear the Patriots had all the momentum, and with the crowd at Wembley Stadium behind them, the Bucs didn’t even had a chance.

It was evident in the second half when the New England Patriots scored…

For now, that’s what the Birds from Philly are chirping about.

That’s bad news to this Tampa Bay team that hasn’t won anything after four weeks into the 2009 NFL football season.

And in case you’re not paying attention, yes, quarterback Donovan McNabb returned to practice early this week and will suit up and start for the Eagles against the Buccaneers this Sunday. He missed two of the first three games with a fractured rib but thanks to Kevin Kolb, the Eagles never skipped a beat.

Kolb carried the cudgels and threw for 300-plus yards in both of his starts. Now that McNabb is ready to return, expect the Philadelphia Eagles passing game to keep it going against the Bucs.

”Kolb really did play well,” McNabb said. ”The offense really rallied around him. Guys stepped up and made plays for him. That’s what you want.” McNabb also said that the bye week last week came at the right time to give him time to recuperate and the opportunity to get himself ready for Tampa bay this Sunday. He acknowledges the fact that he’s still hurting but he’ll play through it while hoping that it will fully heal in due time…

It’s Week 2. Can this week surpass last week’s exciting finishes?

It’s been a helluva’ start to the 2009 NFL football season. I mean, we saw Tony Romo move on without T.O. like an animal, throwing touchdowns effortlessly against that confused Tampa Bay defense. Then we saw Drew Brees do Romo three touchdowns better by coming up with six. And who can forget about the ”Immaculate Deflection” Brandon Stokley took advantage of to score the game-winning touchdown in Denver’s 12-7 win over the Bengals?

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, we saw Tom Brady score two touchdowns in less than two minutes to lead the New England Patriots over the Buffalo Bills, 25-24 on Monday Night Football. Incredible.

Can Week 2 do better? Let’s sure hope so because Chad Ochocinco for one, has already hyped us up for this weekend’s games when he told everybody that he’s going to Lambeau Leap at Lambeau Field. Apparently, he already forgot about their disappointing loss to the Broncos last Sunday. (Hee hee…)

Unfortunately for Chad Ochocinco and the Cincinnati Bengals, they’re facing a Green Bay Packers defense that came up with four interceptions the last time they were on a football field. Ochocinco won’t be getting any Lambeau Leaps if his team can’t move the chains against that D.

My pick? The Green Bay Packers by two touchdowns. And…

Time to bet on this weekend’s line-up of NFL games people.

Yep, the 2009 NFL football season is finally underway and we’re kicking off with a bang with two huge games this Sunday that will feature the return of Brett Favre in one contest and the Cowboys’ first game without T.O. in another. That’s to be followed by a rather nasty Monday night double – header that will feature Tom Brady’s return to the field after a year of absence before the Chargers and the Raiders take their usual spot on Week 1.

And since we’re huge fans of Brett Favre, let’s start with him. The Cleveland Browns will host the visiting Minnesota Vikings as Favre takes on former coach Eric Mangini who now calls the shots on the Browns sidelines.

For the Cleveland Browns, their training camp opened with a familiar theme, a new head coach searching for a starting quarterback. Three preseason games later, Brady Quinn took a lead on Derek Anderson by all accounts except for the account that counts most , that of head coach Eric Mangini.

Well, these guys better get their act together because the Minnesota Vikings are coming. Dealing with Brett Favre’s arm is one thing but trying to contain Adrian Peterson in the run game is a whole different story. Can the Browns take it?

Next we have the Dallas Cowboys taking on the…