Considering that Madden NFL 2010 cover boy Troy Polamalu will miss time today because of his second knee injury of the season, it's fair to say that if you didn't believe in such jinxes before, you're at least taking the time to reconsider your stance this morning.

With that in (open) mind, it makes what the Cincinnati Bengals have done that much more impressive. They not only have swept the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens to put a half-nelson on the AFC North, but they've thumbed their nose at the HBO series "Hard Knocks" -- the Badluck Schleprock of TV shows for teams as Madden covers have become for players.

As Stephen C. Smith of the Wichita Falls Times Record News points out, only one of the previous five teams featured in the series went on to make the playoffs -- the 2001 Baltimore Ravens. The other four -- the 2002 Dallas Cowboys, 2004 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2007 Kansas City Chiefs and 2008 Cowboys -- went a combined 27-37.

The Bengals were this year's featured team, allowing HBO cameras virtually unlimited access to the players and coaches throughout training camp and shown in five one-hour weekly installments.

Mike Holmgren said yesterday on his weekly radio show in Seattle that he would be interested in working for the Cleveland Browns. He said has not yet spoken to Browns owner Randy Lerner, who is looking for a "serious, credible leader" football authority to run his struggling team. Nor did he say if he would like to coach again. But he indicated he would welcome the chance to take on a rebuilding project like the 1-8 Browns.

Today's Browns-Lions game marks only the fifth time in 25 seasons that two 1-8 teams (or worse) have met. And of those bad teams, these Browns just might be the most pathetic. They enter the game at Ford Field ranked last in the NFL in total yards, points and passing yards. And, according to STATS LLC, the five touchdowns scored on offense by the Browns since Nov. 23, 2008, are the fewest in a 15-game span since at least 1950.

Had he done it after a win, perhaps Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez's prepared postgame statement last Sunday would have been considered colorful. Instead, it came on the heels of a crushing loss to Jacksonville. But hey; he was just trying to help.

Sanchez sat at his locker after the loss and wrote out his thoughts in anticipation of what he might be asked. He then went to the podium and quickly read from the sheet, rattling off specific key plays and offering a summary of what happened in the loss before taking questions.

The New York media did not find it amusing or witty or colorful. Said Sanchez: "I thought I had everything figured out, of course, as a 23-year-old rookie would, but probably not the best way to go about it. It didn't go over very well, so, trial and error and hopefully a one-time mistake."

Minnesota Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf said this week the franchise has received the boost it was looking for when it signed Brett Favre and made it clear the veteran quarterback would be welcomed back in 2010 to play the second season of the two-year, $25 million deal he received in August. The No. 40 (his age) doesn't seem so important compared to his other numbers through 10 weeks: a 107.5 passer rating, 17 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.

Maybe his benching last week had something to do with it, but former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter had two of the Dolphins' four sacks in their 24-17 victory vs. Carolina Thursday. He hadn't had a two-sack game since Week 13 last season.

With his 51st 300-yard passing game last week, Arizona's Kurt Warner moved into a tie with Dan Fouts for fourth all time and trails only Dan Marino (63), Brett Favre (58) and Peyton Manning (55). FYI: There have been 59 300-yard passing performances in the season's first 10 weeks. Last year, there were 76 the entire season. The record of teams with a 300-yard passer: 42-17.

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