That the Dallas Cowboys, traditionally the NFL's biggest TV draw, went 0-2 in losing to the Chicago Bears was a gift. Even before that loss, NFL Network's Rich Eisen had suggested there was drama afoot in saying Cowboys coach Wade Phillips "has fallen on more swords than a Braveheart extra!" Owner Jerry Jones, also on NFL Network, described how his team's first loss had affected him physically: "I've had all the fire knocked out of my fanny. I'll do anything to get a half-point victory today."

After Dallas' loss to Chicago, Fox's Howie Long saw a bigger problem: "Jerry can build a Field ofDreams, but unfortunately, Jimmy, Troy, Emmitt and Michael aren't coming out of the cornfield." (Not that Jones should be looking for those ex-Cowboys who can be identified just by their first names; they all went into broadcasting.) Said Fox's Terry Bradshaw on what the Cowboys should do: They've got "to stop falling in love with throwing the pass."

On-air types offered debatable truths Sunday. "Chris Johnson is the best football player in the National Football League," CBS' Bill Cowher said. (Johnson, said NFL Network's Steve Sabol, also "is pure rock and roll.") And, said NFL Network's Warren Sapp, the Tennessee Titans' Vince Young "scares no defense in the NFL."

And, of course, there were new takes on perennial talking points. As with Brett Favre. Fox's Long, with a reference to Fox's Jimmy Johnson being in CBS' ongoing Survivor series: "I don't know who made the bigger mistake: Jimmy during his first night in Nicaragua or Brett coming back to play this season." Fox's Bradshaw suggested Favre "looks like an old man" who doesn't want to play.

Fox, which has the Super Bowl, should resurrect those sound bites if Favre gets there.

Say what? Fox's Pam Oliver asked Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, "What on earth possessed you to say that women do not belong in the locker room?" Briggs' response: "Because our locker room is our realm. I'm not saying no women should be in the locker room. That statement came after the Jets incident (involving a female reporter). We're walking around the shower, we're naked, and we are answering questions while we are trying to dry off." Huh?

Strong stuff: Ex-coaches who get TV jobs get a side benefit: a platform to take shots at their successors. CBS College Sports Network analyst Phillip Fulmer was forced to resign as Tennessee's football coach after the 2008 season and was replaced by Lane Kiffin, who moved on to Southern California after one season. "The people of Tennessee feel betrayed" by Kiffin and are glad he is gone, Fulmer said Saturday. "His arrogant attitude turned people off. The bigger question is: How does a guy like this end up with two jobs with historic football teams like Tennessee and USC?"

Spice rack:ESPN's Bob Knight, at a charity roast in his honor in Hammond, Ind., on Saturday, explained that the news media missed the real story behind his famous throw of a chair across the court at an Indiana game in 1985: "There was a lady across the floor who reminded me of my grandmother. She said, 'Coach, if you're not going to use that chair, how about throwing it over to me?' You see, that's the press for you." … Olivia Manning, mother of NFL quarterbacks Eli and Peyton, on NBC Sunday: "I thank the offensive lines every night in my prayers." … Fox's Oliver, ending her postgame interview with Bears quarterback Jay Cutler: "Pretty teeth, by the way." Whether athletes like it or not, they are role models when it comes to flossing. … CBS' Boomer Esiason, in a concise verdict on the big Week 1 controversy over a potentially game-winning Detroit Lions catch against the Bears that was ruled incomplete: "Detroit got hosed!"