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Phil Jackson's retirement from coaching the Los Angeles Lakers has moved New England Patriots overlord Bill Belichick to the top of the Forbes estimate of highest-paid coaches in the four major sports.

No other AFC East coach appears on the list, comprised solely of NFL and NBA coaches. Forbes speculates that because competition from the college ranks drives up salaries in those sports substantially more than Major League Baseball and the NHL.

Forbes compiles its rankings with media reports and estimates.

• Bill Belichick, New England Patriots: $7.5 million
• Mike Shanahan, Washington Redskins: $7 million
• Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics: $7 million
• Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks: $7 million
• Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs: $6 million
• Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears: $6 million
• Mike D'Antoni, New York Knicks: $6 million
• Ken Whisenhunt, Arizona Cardinals: $5.75 million
• Tom Coughlin, New York Giants: $5.25 million
• Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers: $5 million

In the days leading up to the Pro Football Hall of Fame election, Curtis Martin mostly has been recalled as one of the greatest ever to wear a New York Jets uniform.

New England Patriots fans consider the rugged running back differently.

ESPNBoston.com reporter Mike Reiss takes a look at Martin's all-too-brief stay with the Patriots before Bill Parcells emigrated with him to the Jets in 1998.

Reiss called Martin "The Greatest Patriot to Get Away."

The Patriots drafted Martin in the third round in 1995 and lost him three years later as a restricted free agent. The Jets drew up a clever offer sheet the Patriots couldn't match.

"I'm a very loyal person," Martin said Tuesday on a conference call. "I was totally open to staying in New England. I wanted to stay in New England.

"It's funny, because of all the teams that I may have had the opportunity to go to, the Jets were one in particular that I didn't want to go to."

Martin's loyalty changed when Parcells left for the Jets and the Patriots didn't actively try to re-sign their star running back.

The Patriots were awarded first- and third-round picks as compensation for not matching the offer sheet. Those players turned out to be running back Robert Edwards and fullback Chris Floyd.

Edwards rushed for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie but blew out his knee in an ill-conceived beach football game during Pro Bowl weekend and never played another down for New England. Floyd lasted three NFL seasons.

Reiss wrote of the Patriots losing Martin:

It was one of the key decisions that doomed the "triangle of power" regime of [head coach Pete] Carroll, vice president of player personnel Bobby Grier and salary-cap man Andy Wasynczuk.

Martin played eight seasons for the Jets and amassed 10,302 more yards and 58 more touchdowns before he retired.

Some, including Parcells, are promoting Martin as a first-ballot Hall of Famer when votes are cast Saturday.

Martin said he received a phone call from Patriots owner Robert Kraft this week, wishing him luck on the Hall of Fame.

"I've always respected the Kraft family and I always respected the Patriots organization," Martin said. "The Patriots organization was the best foundation that I could have had as an NFL player.

"Looking back on it, there is no other team I would have rather spent those first three years with."

What if the Patriots had done the right thing and kept Martin?

It's a fun question to consider because the repercussions likely would have been dramatic.

The Patriots would have been a better team, of course, and the Jets might not have been as competitive. That could have been enough of a swing for Carroll to keep his job. That means the Patriots might never have hired Bill Belichick.

What do you think would have happened?

Next up in the weeklong distribution of Associated Press hardware will be the 2010 coach of the year award on Wednesday night.

To guess who will win, we safely can eliminate three-quarters of the AFC East.

Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano won a single home game and nearly lost his job while owner Stephen Ross flirted with then-Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh right after the season.

New York Jets coach Rex Ryan made another deep playoff run, knocking off Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road before expiring in the AFC Championship Game. But the AP award is limited to the regular season. Ryan spent much of the campaign careening from scandal to scandal and dropped out of first place in December.

AP's voting panel couldn't have been too impressed by a coach who spoke presumptively about the Super Bowl for months then entered the postseason as a sixth seed.

Buffalo Bills coach Chan Gailey was downright fantastic in keeping his team from total implosion. The Bills began the year 0-8, but Gailey somehow kept them stoked enough to win four games and scare some playoff teams, taking the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers into overtime.

So that leaves us with one legitimate AFC East contender for coach of the year.

Bill Belichick coached the New England Patriots to 14 wins, most in the NFL. Sure, they were one and done in the playoffs, but all the votes were cast by then.

Belichick's season was incredible when you consider what he had to navigate as a coach and personnel overlord.

He overhauled the Patriots' offense, relying less on the spread and more on multiple tight ends. He handled the Logan Mankins holdout. Belichick made the decision to trade Randy Moss after two games and swing a deal to bring aboard Deion Branch. All the while, Brady was masterful.

Belichick also dealt with losing his best cornerback, Leigh Bodden, before the season began. At times, the Patriots started four rookies on defense, putting Devin McCourty on the opposition's top receivers. McCourty went to the Pro Bowl.

As much as Belichick deserves the award (I would have voted for him if I had a ballot), I doubt he'll win it because the Patriots were expected to be good, and the honor usually goes to a coach who guides his club to a dramatic improvement.

Chiefs coach Todd Haley, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith would fall into that category. Each went from out of the playoffs in 2009 to a division title. So did Pete Carroll with the Seattle Seahawks, but he's not winning it.

Belichick has claimed the AP award twice: 2003 (Patriots went from 9-7 and out of the playoffs to 14-2) and 2007 (Patriots went 16-0).

Is Rex Ryan the next Pete Carroll?

That's what Johnette Howard wonders in her latest ESPN.com column about the frat-house attitude the New York Jets are projecting under their devil-may-care head coach.

Howard weighs in on a sequence of events that make the Jets look like a team in crisis after just one game. The NFL is investigating boorish behavior. We watched glimpses of "jackass" behavior on "Hard Knocks." We saw them, as Howard puts it, "barfing on their shoes" in Monday night's season-opening loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Which leads her to muse about Ryan's methodology of trying to remain too much of a pal-around players coach, a concept that might work for an assistant, but not a head coach trying to guide a Super Bowl contender.

Howard writes:

Carroll was a flop in his first NFL head coaching jobs with the Jets and New England. He's since admitted he didn't handle his transition from coordinator to head coach well. He remained too buddy-buddy with his players. When people warned Carroll about it, he went all Sammy Davis Jr. on them and said, "I've gotta be me" -- same as Ryan, a former defensive coordinator with the Ravens, now does.

Ryan isn't likely to make a wholesale personality change anytime soon. But he's going to keep finding that the expectations have changed now that he's moved up one chair and become the on-field boss of a billion-dollar operation. He can't always indulge his inner Blutarsky. Especially not if he keeps throwing a team onto the field that couldn't convert a single third down until late in the fourth quarter against Baltimore and committed 14 penalties for 125 yards, the Jets' highest total in 22 years.

Next up are the stoic New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon at the Meadowlands. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick replaced the gregarious Carroll in 2000 and has established a model organization that has been emulated.

The Jets have chosen the opposite direction, replacing Belichick protege Eric Mangini with the charismatic, smack-talking Ryan.

If the Jets start their season 0-2 at home with a loss to an organization that measures every word and emphasizes total restraint, then Ryan's approach is going to look all the more improper.

Did you know that McDonald's milkshakes now are served with whipped cream and a cherry under a dome lid?

Wacky, I know.

Sometimes established behavior needs to be altered.

I buzzed the McDonald's drive-thru on the way home from Barnes & Noble, where I picked up the latest issue of The Sporting News. I'd read online snippets of Steve Greenberg's Q&A with Alabama head coach Nick Saban and wanted to check out the whole interview.

For four years, Saban remained unapologetic about his departure from the Miami Dolphins. Saban insisted he wasn't leaving for the Alabama job and then did just that after two disappointing NFL seasons.

In The Sporting News interview, Saban expressed remorse.

Greenberg asked how being branded a liar affected Saban.

"Well, honesty and integrity is an important part of our character, my character. Those are words that we use all the time. I think that in my effort to protect our team at Miami -- because I had not talked to Alabama and did not talk to them until the season ended -- I expressed that [character is important] to [Alabama] through my agent and said it was up to them whether they wanted to wait and that I would not make any promises. I would talk to them then. I would only reassess my circumstances and our situation as a family at the end of the year. But I kept getting asked about this over and over and over, and in trying to defuse the interest and leave the focus on our team in Miami [long pause] ... I had a responsibility and obligation to the players on that team, the coaches on the staff, and I didn't want that to be the focus of attention. So would I manage it differently? Absolutely. I would still have the same integrity for our team, but I just would not answer any questions relative to Alabama.

"But I also feel like as a professional, you should have the opportunity -- just like LeBron James does or anybody else -- to make a decision based on what's best for your future and your family. And it may not be something that everybody agrees with, especially the fans of Cleveland or the fans of Miami. But you learn about yourself when you do things. As a family, we learned a lot about ourselves. ...

"I only feel badly that we did not stay there and finish the job, but at the same time we're very, very happy to be in a situation like we're in at Alabama. And happy because I really feel deep down that I learned I really am a college coach. We just make a bigger impact in college on the young people that we deal with, and that was something I missed and wanted to be a part of again. But I do apologize for any professional mishandling that might have occurred."

Greenberg asked if Saban might follow former USC coach Pete Carroll's path and return to the NFL. Saban said he has his family were "really satisfied" at Alabama.

Saban also said "I don't really feel like we failed" in his two seasons with the Dolphins. He admitted they miscalculated when choosing Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees, but cited the club's 4-12 record the year before he arrived and guided them to a 9-7 mark. They went 6-10 in his second season.

The record was bad enough for Dolfans, the lying even worse.

Saban's apology comes way too late.

Not even whipped cream or a cherry on top is going matter now.

Forbes magazine ranked the 10 highest-paid coaches in any sport and put Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots behind only Los Angeles Lakers maharishi Phil Jackson.

The financial terms of Belichick's contract, which runs through 2013, have been closely guarded, but Forbes pegs him at $7.5 million annually.

Perhaps reflecting a coach's importance when he has fewer players to manage, the Forbes list includes six NBA coaches, along with four NFL coaches. That leaves no room for baseball or the NHL.

The other three NFL coaches represent two in new jobs and the longest-tenured.

Tied for third at $7 million are Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and new Seattle Seahawks (and formerly of the Patriots and New York Jets) coach Pete Carroll. Tennessee Titans lifer Jeff Fisher is eighth at $5.75 million.

Given his popularity, you have to wonder how long until Rex Ryan makes the list.

In a related Forbes analysis, the Patriots ranked 10th on the list of most valuable sports brands in the world. Forbes estimated their brand value -- defined as "the portion of a team's overall value that is derived from its name as opposed to its market and league" -- at $156 million.

Take away the five European soccer teams and they ranked fifth behind the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets.

By the time most folks have had their morning coffee and checked in with the AFC East blog, this item might be irrelevant.

But for your night owls and predawn risers, here's a snapshot of what's going on in what's believed to be a fast-moving and fluid process.

There are notable rumblings the Miami Dolphins are in legitimate pursuit of Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall.

Two Miami Herald columnists, Greg Cote and Armando Salguero, independently blogged about it late Tuesday night.

Cote writes "I am as hopeful as I have been in a long while that Marshall could actually end up in Miami before the draft" and "genuine interest is there."

Salguero apologized for citing some backchannel info, but passed along some whispers that supposedly originated in the Broncos' locker room.

The Seattle Seahawks are believed to be the other top candidate for Marshall. The Seahawks hosted Marshall, but declined to sign the restricted free agent to an offer sheet.

As NFC West warden Mike Sando shared a quote Seahawks coach Pete Carroll delivered about Marshall on Tuesday: "We've done our homework and done our research on that. Really, it's not in our hands. The Broncos have some things that they have to do. We're on alert here."

NFL.com's Jason LaCanfora reported Tuesday the Dolphins are shopping receiver Ted Ginn. That would seem to signal the Dolphins have another move in the works. Ginn is their only receiver who can stretch the field -- albeit ineffectively because he drops too many passes. But dealing him without a replacement in mind would be reckless.

In considering the currency of the day, the Dolphins own the 12th, 43rd and 73rd picks through the first three rounds of the draft.

The Seahawks hold the sixth, 14th and 60th picks.

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of the bigger unknowns on the Miami Dolphins' roster is second-year receiver Patrick Turner.

The Dolphins selected him 87th overall in last year's draft, hoping the 6-foot-5 target would make an impact on third downs and in the red zone. Turner was Mark Sanchez's favorite target at USC and led the Trojans in touchdowns his senior season.

Yet he failed to catch a pass his rookie year. He was a healthy scratch for all but two games. Ohio State rookie Brian Hartline, drafted 19 spots after Turner, caught 31 passes for 506 yards and a team-high three receiving touchdowns.

At the NFL scouting combine last month, Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland said Turner "has to step it up," but added, "He's a player for the future. We like the player very much. He's a big, huge target, which this quarterback needs. We feel very good about his development."

As Ireland noted, players develop differently, and Turner's college coach noted the process was a little longer at USC, too.

Pete Carroll, now with the Seattle Seahawks, talked about Turner at the NFC coaches media breakfast Wednesday as part of the NFL owners meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Orlando Grande Lakes.

"I think Patrick is a guy who has to develop his relationship with the club," Carroll said. "It took him a while at SC to really take over. He had a very good junior year, but it took him all the way to his senior year, while other guys we had who played the position had taken over immediately as freshmen.

"We watched him develop a little more slowly and get comfortable. Once he did, he took over.

"I would bet that if it's [similar to his college transition], he'll develop a very comfortable feeling and be a factor for them. He's a very, very good player."

ESPN analyst and former New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi talks about what it was like to play for Pete Carroll, who had a reputation in New England for allowing undisciplined behavior when he took over for Bill Parcells. Carroll also was head coach of the New York Jets.

How significant was the New England Patriots' surprising decision to trade defensive end Richard Seymour before the season?

ESPN analyst and former Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi thinks it might have made the difference between getting eliminated after one playoff game and still playing.

Bruschi sat down on the "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" to talk about Patriots coach Bill Belichick's controversial move.

"I really couldn't put any rhyme or reason to why he would do that," Brushi said. "Of course, yes, he got a 2011 first-round draft pick. But what I think that move did was sort of sacrifice the immediate success of the team to the future of the team."

The Patriots won the AFC East, but the Baltimore Ravens bounced them convincingly Sunday. The Ravens rushed for 234 yards.

"The constant double teams coming down on the defensive ends, Jarvis Green and Mike Wright, all the movement that they were getting, that's sort of where Seymour would have been," Bruschi said. "His presence might've made a difference.

"Within that game they actually moved Vince Wilfork from nose and over to the end position because they were having so many problems over there.

"Would those adjustments need to have been made is Seymour was there? These are the questions that are being pondered in New England right now."

Bruschi also talked about his former head coach, Pete Carroll, returning to the NFL (Bruschi is a big fan of Carroll's) and came close to predicting a New York Jets victory over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.

"I believe in what the Jets are doing and how they're running the ball, how [offensive coordinator Brian] Schottenheimer has tempered down what they're asking of [Mark] Sanchez," Bruschi said.

"You've got respect a coaching staff that realizes 'This is who we are. These are strengths we have to play to.' "

CINCINNATI -- After one try, New York Jets rookie Mark Sanchez has as many NFL playoff victories as the college coach who declared the quarterback wasn't ready to turn pro.

USC coach Pete Carroll criticized Sanchez for his decision to enter the draft after his junior season. The news Carroll was leaving USC for the Seattle Seahawks gave Sanchez the perfect opportunity to respond moments after winning his playoff debut 24-14 over the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I just wanted everybody to know I completely disagree with his decision," Sanchez said, unable to stifle laughter. "Statistics show that it's not a good choice."

Here's what Carroll said one year ago about Sanchez's decision to enter the draft:

"The facts are so strong against this decision. After analyzing all the information, the truth is there, he should have stayed for another year. He lost out on a chance to fully prepare himself. The facts are there's a 62 percent failure rate for underclassmen quarterbacks."

Statistics certainly didn't look like a failure Saturday. He finished with only three incomplete passes -- one of them a dropped touchdown by Braylon Edwards -- and a 139.4 passer rating.

"I talk to Coach a bunch," Sanchez said of Carroll, the former Jets and New England Patriots coach. "I told him I was going to hammer him about it. I wish him the best, whatever happens, whether he stays in school or not."

Soon enough, Rex Ryan will have been correct.

The rookie coach mistakenly said the New York Jets had been eliminated from the playoff race Sunday after crumbling to the Atlanta Falcons. Turns out, there still is a mathematical ray of hope.

For now.

The Jets sacrificed a season that appeared destined for the playoffs. They rank No. 1 in scoring defense, total defense and passing defense. They lead the NFL in rushing offense.

That sort of formula should have clinched a postseason berth by now.

Problem is, Mark Sanchez is part of the equation, too.

But was the Jets' decision to start Sanchez straight out of college complete rubbish?

The Jets threw away their season, but maybe it will have been worth it in the long run.

"When you're going to develop an outstanding quarterback, you're just going to have to bite the bullet and not look back," former St. Louis Rams head coach and offensive guru Mike Martz said.

The dilemma when it comes to rookie quarterbacks is whether it's more beneficial to put them in the huddle or to let them watch from the sidelines for a season.

"In the big picture, it's all a step in the right direction," said former Jets quarterback Ken O'Brien, who didn't take a snap his entire rookie season in 1983. "The best way to learn is to play."

That theory is not absolute.

"Some guys, like Peyton Manning or Troy Aikman, take that first-year beating, and it makes them better for the long run," Scouts Inc. analyst Matt Williamson said. "Some guys are not mentally strong enough to overcome a terrible rookie year, and the confidence can be shot."

The Jets seemed like geniuses three weeks into the season. They were 3-0, and Sanchez was performing beyond his years. The former University of Southern California star played as though he'd been in the league two or three years already, apparently turning what Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco achieved last year into a trend.

Since then, Sanchez's season has been spotted by a series of youthful indiscretions that ranged from immature (scarfing down a hot dog during a game) to reckless (injuring his knee while diving head-first three days after New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi taught him how to slide).

The hot start is a distant memory. Entering Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jets are 7-7 and on the fringes of the playoff race.

The recurring theme, however, will be those interceptions. They came in big bunches. Three, four, sometimes five at a time.

Sanchez has thrown at least three interceptions in four of his 13 starts. The Jets went 0-4 in those games, losing by an average of 9.3 points. They dropped two of them at the Meadowlands by a field goal.

"There are times when he's looked great against complex schemes," said Jon Ritchie, an analyst for ESPN's "First Take" and former Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles fullback, "and there are times when he's looked confused out there. That's what everyone expected."

USC coach Pete Carroll was labeled a unappreciative whiner when Sanchez decided he would forego his senior season and enter the draft.

Carroll claimed Sanchez wasn't ready. Sanchez started one full season, and while he posted remarkable numbers, he would head to the NFL with only 16 collegiate starts. The learning curve would be one harsh arc.

The Jets traded up to draft Sanchez fifth overall and make him the face of the franchise. He would have to fall flat on his facemask to not win the job from veteran Kellen Clemens in training camp. Sanchez signed a five-year contract, which also escalated his timetable. Six years is the common length of a highly drafted quarterback's first deal.

"It's a tough situation for anybody to come in right out of college, where you didn't play much, and plug in," O'Brien said. "It just takes time."

What has been troubling about Sanchez's development is that Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer have needed to simplify it as the season has progressed. Ryan, who is dyslexic, applied one his own comprehension tricks and color-coded Sanchez's play-calling wristband to underscore the importance of ball security.

"He doesn't seem to be learning from his mistakes or getting better in any way," Williamson said. "He still really doesn't understand coverages or the speed of the game at this level. He isn't seeing things clearly and is either very rushed or too slow in everything he does."

Martz and O'Brien insisted Sanchez will come around.

Martz stressed the importance of the Jets acquiring more help for Sanchez at receiver and spending a lot of time working together during his first full NFL offseason. Dropping top receiver Braylon Edwards into Sanchez' lap in Week 5 didn't do him any favors.

"There's a little bit of a disconnect with them, which is understandable," said Martz, who 10 years ago in St. Louis ran the record-setting offense dubbed "The Greatest Show on Turf."

"That rapport and that chemistry, it takes a long time to develop. I don't think people realize how difficult that is. There's thousands of throws that need to happen."

Sanchez has been one of the NFL's worst play-action passers. He ranks 27th in the NFL with a 58.8 play-action passer rating, completing 52 percent of his throws with three touchdowns and seven interceptions.

"It's just a matter of repetition," O'Brien said. "It's a lot more beneficial to watching yourself on film and having recall of which decisions to make. You can figure out 'This is what I did last time and I was knucklehead. Let's forget about that.'

"You store it all away. Your mind becomes a vault. You have to click through all those pictures, that video game in your head and dial in that right formula the next time you come across it."

As for the toll a disappointing first season can have, jangled confidence shouldn't be an issue with Sanchez. His leadership intangibles might be what carry him.

"The good players, they have such a deep-seated belief in themselves that they might be shaken a bit," Martz said, "but they just can't be moved off the mark. He's got too much going."

Teammates recognize that. Ritchie, who went to the playoffs with Rich Gannon and Donovan McNabb, noted the guys in the locker room are willing to forgive mistakes and weigh the future benefits when they see a young quarterback committing himself at the facility, whether it be on the practice field or in the film room.

"Guys know that he's putting in all the time in and that he is sacrificing to do everything that he can to get better," Ritchie said. "He's a guy you love to have on your team and will be much improved. That rookie wall hits everyone, and you come to the conclusion that he's hit that.

"But a guy that has such an unbelievable attitude, positivity surround him all the time, can lead a group of men who have been playing in the league just with his sheer charisma. That played into their decision and I can't fault them there."

So don't be so anxious about throwing away this season, Jets fans.

When we look back on 2009, Sanchez will have junked the Jets' chance to make the playoffs. But Sanchez's long-term future might turn out to be worth forfeiting the postseason.

"He'll be so much better next year," Martz said. "It was absolutely the right thing to do. That team will evolve with him."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

A few reminders for fans getting too lathered up or excessively despondent over how great or awful their teams are two games into the season:

• The Buffalo Bills started out 5-1 last year and didn't make the playoffs.
• The Miami Dolphins opened last season 0-2 and won the AFC East.
• The Sports Illustrated cover curse will claim a victim or two before it's all over.
• The New England Patriots lost their first two games in 2001, including a seven-point loss to the New York Jets in Week 2, but claimed their first Super Bowl title five months later.
• Like Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, Ryan Leaf also started his NFL career 2-0.
• One significant injury can change the course of a season. There are players on each team a fan would dread losing to a torn ACL or a dislocated something-or-other.
• The 1998 Bills started 0-3 but made the playoffs.
• Rex Ryan joined two other rookie head coaches who started their careers by not allowing an offensive touchdown in back-to-back games: Red Miller with the 1977 Denver Broncos (AFC champs) and Kay Stephenson for the 1983 Bills (didn't make the playoffs).
• Four words: performance-enhancing substances policy.
• Pete Carroll won his first two games as Jets coach. He finished 6-10 and didn't return.
• Al Groh won his first four games as a Jets coach. He finished 9-7 and didn't return.
• The Jets have opened 2-0 nine times in franchise history. They've gone on to make the playoffs twice: in 2004 and 1968, when they won the Super Bowl. Their combined record in seasons when they win their first two games is 63-56-2.
• Jerod Mayo will be coming back for the Patriots eventually.
• If Terrell Owens can heat up, the Bills' already-surprising offense can do some damage.
• The San Francisco 49ers are 2-0, just like they were two years ago. They finished 5-11.
• The Bills shut out the Patriots 31-0 in the 2003 opener. SI put the Bills on the cover. They couldn't reach the playoffs, and the Patriots won the Super Bowl.
• The New Orleans Saints are the fifth team in NFL history to post 45 points in each of their first two games. Only two of the others reached the postseason.
• Saints quarterback Drew Brees tied Charley Johnson's 44-year-old record with nine touchdowns through the first two games. Johnson's 1965 St. Louis Cardinals went 5-9.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Four days ago, I put together an item with the help of ESPN's research crew that showed the New England Patriots' opening-day defense could be their youngest since Pete Carroll's first year as head coach.

2008 Week 1 vs. Chiefs: Defensive Starters Pos. Player Status DE Ty Warren With Team DT Vince Wilfork With Team DE Richard Seymour Traded to Raiders LB Mike Vrabel Traded to Chiefs LB Jerod Mayo With Team LB Tedy Bruschi Retired LB Adalius Thomas With Team CB Lewis Sanders Not with Team CB Ellis Hobbs Traded to Eagles S Rodney Harrison Retired S James Sanders With Team

On Sunday, it got even younger.

Although the Patriots probably aren't done tinkering with their lineup, the trade of nine-year veteran defensive lineman Richard Seymour means the Patriots will have that much less experience when they take the field Sept. 14 against the Buffalo Bills on "Monday Night Football."

The Patriots will start the game with at least six new defenders on the field than last year's opener.

They traded Seymour, linebacker Mike Vrabel and cornerback Ellis Hobbs. Strong safety Rodney Harrison and linebacker Tedy Bruschi retired.

Left cornerback Lewis Sanders was not re-signed and is unattached. Sanders started only in Week 1, but his replacement, Deltha O'Neal, is gone, too. O'Neal signed with the Houston Texans but didn't make the squad.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

	John Cordes/Icon
	Playing behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, Matt Cassel never got a chance to start as a QB at USC.

Southern California coach Pete Carroll has been awaiting this game for what seems like an eternity.

No, we're not talking about USC-Ohio State.

"It's the matchup we've all waited for: Favre versus Cassel," Carroll joked with ESPN.com on his weekly conference call. "It's awesome, man."

For the first time in 3,217 days, Matt Cassel will start a game at quarterback. Not only must the New England Patriots backup replace a legend, he'll also have to face one. The Patriots visit the New York Jets in one of the most intriguing Week 2 matchups.

"He'll be ready for this thing," said Carroll, who coached Cassel at USC but never started him because of Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. "It doesn't matter who you play. It just happens to be against one of the great all-time quarterbacks, which is bringing all kinds of hype and buildup.

"He's fortunate to have this chance. He's got the chance to beat Brett Favre, which would be pretty cool."

Carroll doesn't subscribe to the popular theory the Patriots will tear sections out of their playbook to accommodate Cassel, a fourth-year pro who has thrown only 57 passes in mop-up duty.

"I'm sure that they won't have to limit what they're doing too much, but they will some," Carroll said. "It'll call for everybody around Matt to do really well, too.

"Whereas Tom Brady could bail them out and just be the phenomenal player that he was, everybody's going to have to play for them to maintain the level of success that they've had."

Carroll didn't recruit Cassel out of California's Chatsworth High, the last place he started at quarterback. The Patriots fired Carroll after the 1999 season and he didn't begin coaching USC until 2001.

By that time, Cassel already had redshirted a season and could tell snaps would be scarce at quarterback. So Cassel asked to be use as a receiver and on special teams. He actually started one game as an H-back.

"This is the first game he's going to start in a long time because he's had the misfortune of being behind Heisman Trophy winners and then in the NFL behind the best quarterback that maybe ever lived," Carroll said. "He's had to wait forever. This is a kid that never gave in to that, persevered through all of that and continues to believe in himself.

"This'll be a great chance for him. I hope he plays within himself and gives himself a chance to be a part of those players."