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Randy Moss is the best
wide receiver in the history of the National Football
League. He is a combination of speed and athleticism
that is unparalleled. I hope he gets his due and wins
a few MVP Awards before he's through.
At least Monday night's
performance will quell the "Fire Denny Green"
chants. And, when they beat Chicago next Sunday,
people will be calling for him to stay in Minnesota
again. Typical fans.
Marty Schottenheimer
is
my pick for coach of the year. His team was 0-5,
having just come off of an embarrassing loss to the
Dallas
Cowboys. Virtually everyone was talking about how he'd
get fired after this season, and how the Redskins
might be the first team to go 0-16. Since then, his
team has won four straight, including Sunday's win at Denver
after his starting quarterback got knocked out of the
game.
Wow, I cannot stand St.
Louis Rams coach Mike Martz. He's the kind
of guy that you KNOW got picked on as a kid and now he just
wants to show everybody a thing or two.
When I was in New England in
July, I read a Boston Globe article about "the best
athlete to ever play football." He was a
down-on-his-luck superstar from Texas. His name was Ben
Gay. He got picked up in late July by the Cleveland
Browns and, finally, played in the first NFL game of his
career, racking up 63 yards on 19 plays and scoring a
touchdown against the vaunted Ravens defense.
We may be witnessing the beginning of a great career.
Stay tuned.
The Ravens are 4-0
against the Steelers, Titans and Jaguars.
They are 0-3 against the Bengals and Browns.
Whatever.
The New Orleans Saints
are 5-4 right now. If they focus, they could be 9-4 by
mid-December. If, that is, they focus.
I have been calling for Drew
Bledsoe to replace Tom Brady in New England.
Then I got a good look at Tom Brady. Trade Bledsoe -
who needs the talent when you've got those eyes.
Why does Kurt Warner
never get blamed for anything? He fumbles a snap, it's
because the ball was wet. He throws an interception,
it's because his thumb hurt. He miscues a play, it's
because the receiver was wrong. The guy's an OK
quarterback - but, behind that offensive line, with that
speed in the receiver and running back positions, any
quarterback could win games. I'm just waiting for
things to get ugly in St. Louis. It's gonna happen at
some point here.
My Top 5: 1) Oakland Raiders;
2) St. Louis Rams; 3) Chicago Bears; 4) Pittsburgh Steelers;
5) Baltimore Ravens. Yes, the Ravens. They may
be unpredictable but, come playoff time, I'll take my
chances with them over any other team in the AFC.
My Bottom 5: 5) Tennessee
Titans; 4) Carolina Panthers; 3) Dallas Cowboys; 2) Buffalo
Bills; 1) Detroit Lions.
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In this weird season, I'm not
sure what qualifies as an upset any more. The Green Bay
Packers losing at home to the Falcons come
close, but Atlanta was a .500 team coming in. The Browns
over the world champion Ravens? Not after beating
them once already. Parity can be fun, but this is getting
silly. The next thing you'll tell me is that Atlanta, the Jets
and Seattle all have better records than Denver.
Oh, they do? See, point made. One interesting note, though:
Atlanta's win at Green Bay was the first time in 33 years a
double-digit underdog won at Lambeau Field.
Favorite play of the year was
the Peyton Manning's phantom spike at the end of the
first half at New Orleans. The Colts had moved to the
Saints' 33 and were trying to get one play off before the
half ran out. Manning took the snap and did a great fake of
a spike into the ground. He then describes what happened
:
"I faked the spike, unbuckled my chin strap, and just
started running toward the ref complaining," Manning
said. "I just kind of hopped, skipped, and jumped
around and then took off. It should have been a touchdown.
He shouldn't have blown the whistle."
Manning wound up in the end zone as the befuddled Saints
were trying to figure out what happened. But it was all for
naught as the referee, assuming the ball was spiked, blew
the play dead. Despite that, it was a brilliant improv call
by a guy who's really fun to watch, win or lose.
Cyd and I got into a debate
over which New England Patriot quarterback is better
looking: Drew Bledsoe (left) or Tom Brady? I
say Drew, Cyd says Tom.
 
Mark my words: The Packers
losing at home as a 10-point favorite will haunt them in the
playoff stretch. Losing safety Leroy Butler (broken
shoulder), their defensive leader, may hurt even more.
The Philadelphia Eagles
have quietly won three in a row, and play a huge division
game next week against the suddenly hot Washington
Redskins. The Eagles' offense is still shaky but the
defense had Ryan Leaf for lunch and dessert on
Sunday.
Kordell Stewart (21 of
33, 266 yards, one TD) is playing very well for the
Pittsburgh Steelers. If he keeps it up, this team could win
the AFC with that amazing defense.
My Top 5 (with this season,
write these in pencil): 1. St. Louis (a rather ho-hum
481 yards against a good Pats defense). 2. Pittsburgh (dominant
even when the Bus has a flat). 3. Oakland (Jerry
Rice became the oldest player to ever score three
touchdowns in a game). 4. New York Jets (they're 7-3
and still haven't thrown for 200 yards in a game). 5. Green
Bay (now we'll see what they're made of).
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Jeff
Garcia keeps on producing at quarterback for the San
Francisco 49ers, who are a surprising 7-2 after beating
Carolina, 25-22, in overtime. Gracia threw for 305 yards
and three touchdowns Sunday as the 49ers came back from
eight down to tie the Panthers with one second left in
regulation. It was the third time this season Garcia has
led the Niners to an overtime win. Clutch.