TWO THINGS WE KNEW AND ONE WE DON'T YET:

Pats get back to winning ways, 30-21 over 49ers (Greg Beacham, October 5, 2008, AP)

From Randy Moss' dynamic 66-yard touchdown catch to Kevin Faulk's score on a direct snap, the New England Patriots returned to their usual regular-season form in an unusual place.

Faulk rushed for two scores, Matt Cassel had 259 yards passing and the Patriots won in San Francisco for the first time in franchise history, beating the 49ers 30-21 Sunday.

Moss had five catches for 111 yards for the Patriots (3-1), who returned from their bye week with a comprehensive effort that should erase the bad taste of the defending AFC champions' stunning blowout loss to Miami last month, which ended their 21-game regular-season winning streak.

Miami Dolphins defeat San Diego Chargers 17-10 ( JEFF DARLINGTON, 10/05/08, MIAMIHERALD.COM)

In yet another well-balanced win -- this time a 17-10 decision against the Chargers -- the Dolphins took a major leap toward NFL legitimacy Sunday as they proved their previous win against the Patriots wasn't a fluke. [...]

The defense, which was anchored by solid performances from linebacker Matt Roth, safety Yeremiah Bell and linebacker Joey Porter, held LaDainian Tomlinson to just 35 yards on 12 carries.

(1) Football players are fungible. Management matters.

(2) LaDainian is done.

(3) The current iterations of the Colts, Chargers, and Pats are slowing up enough that they're ripe for the taking, but it's not clear that the up-and-coming AFC teams--Bills, Titans, Jacksonville, etc.--are ready to bump them off.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 5, 2008 8:17 PM