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The Titans won. OK,
they're not finished. Unless they lose next week.
Who'd have thought my second
note would be on the Washington Redskins? After
the Dallas loss, I could tell these guys were upset.
And, down 14-0 at home against the Panthers, it seemed they
were just that bad. But something happened in the
fourth quarter of this game and the Redskins suddenly showed
up to the 2001 season. I actually think it was the
waning seconds of the first half, when the Panthers were
deep in the red zone--Dan Wilkinson tipped a Chris
Weinke pass and Otis Leverette intercepted
it. Then, LaVar Arrington intercepts a pass in the
fourth quarter and scores a touchdown to finally get his
team on the boards. It's inspired plays like that that
can jump-start the Redskins' season.
Now, consider this. The
Redskins started their season 0-5. That five
game stretch included four away games. They play seven
of their last 11 at home. I'm not talking playoffs,
but they will end the season with six or seven wins.
Speaking of away games, how's
this one. The Baltimore Ravens have played four
of their first six on the road. They're at home for
six of their last 10, and four of their last
five.
Before the season I asked Jim
who the most unpredictable team in the NFL was. We
both said the same team: the New England Patriots.
How do you lose 10-3 to the New York Jets, and beat
the Indianapolis Colts twice with a combined score of
82-30? At 3-3, the Patriots are now 1/2 game out of a
playoff spot. All this with Tom Brady at quarterback.
I was not at all surprised by
the Minnesota Vikings' demolition of the Green Bay
Packers. This is typical Brett Favre - looks like
the king of the world one minute, a scrappy backlot
quarterback the next. No doubt, the guy will kill you
some weeks, as he did against the Ravens last week.
But, he looked a bit lost against a mediocre-at-best Vikings
defense. They've got two weeks to think about this
before their game against Tampa. That'll be a big one.
Last week, I questioned Peyton
Manning's ability to win big games. First,
Sunday's demolition at the hands of the Patriots wasn't a
big game; second, this one really wasn't his fault.
My Top 5: 1) St. Louis
Rams; 2) Oakland Raiders; 3) Pittsburgh Steelers; 4) San
Diego Chargers; 5) Chicago Bears.
My Bottom 5: 5) Dallas
Cowboys; 4) Carolina Panthers; 3) Kansas City Chiefs; 2)
Buffalo Bills; 1) Detroit Lions.
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How weird was Week 6, Part I?
The underdogs won the 10 of the 12 games. And of the two
favorites who won--St. Louis and Tennessee--only the Rams
covered the pointspread.
How weird was Week 6, Part
II? Cleveland, which got drubbed by Cincinnati
last week, drills Baltimore, the defending champs.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, gets shut out at home by Chicago.
Minnesota, which allowed 340 yards passing a week ago
and barely held on, rolls all over Green Bay, holding Brett
Favre to 169 yards passing. The same Brett Favre, who
was brilliant a week earlier against Baltimore’s
tremendous defense.
How weird was Week 6, Part
III? We saw some real sandlot plays: the Rams score on a
lateral from a receiver who had taken a handoff to a running back after a catch; the
Patriots score on a wide receiver pass, and the
Titans set up a score on a tight end pass.
How weird was Week 6, Part
IV? I’m in a pool where you have to pick only one team to
win each week to stay alive. I was one of 15 alive before
Sunday. All 15 went out (I died with Baltimore).
Three of Cyd’s Top 5 from
last week lost Sunday (Oakland had a bye). Two of Jim’s
lost, but two had a bye. Only the Rams held true to form for
both of us.
The Vikings played
with more passion and intensity than I’ve seen in the past
two years. Unfortunately, they only get Green Bay at home
once a year and the schedule is a killer.
The Colts stink. What
a sloppy, uninspired performance. In the first half, three
of New England’s four scoring drives took a total of three
plays!
The Chiefs stink. In
the third period against a mediocre Arizona defense, Kansas
City ran three plays. New quarterback Trent Green
looks like Tom Green half the time.
Me to Cyd before the start of
the Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game:
‘‘Atlanta could make this game interesting.’’ Cyd:
‘‘You’re crazy.’’ Final: Atlanta 20-New Orleans
13. Call me crazy.
Speaking of the Saints,
Sunday was the third time this year their game came down to
the final play with them having a chance to win or tie. They
are 1-2 in those situations.
Caught my eye: Tennessee
receiver Drew Bennett. Tall, rangy,
good-looking.
Top 5: 1. St. Louis (the 6-0
Rams are separating themselves from the rest of the league).
2. Vacant (that’s how much better the Rams are right now).
3. Green Bay (they got their annual losses at Tampa and
Minnesota out of the way). 4. Oakland (having a bye helps
their cause). 5. Pittsburgh (quietly playing the best
defense in football).
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It's
such a rare feat that no NFL player had done it in 22
years. But, against division rival Indianapolis, New
England Patriot David Patten scored four touchdowns
- one by land and three by air - as he ran one in on a
reverse, caught two, and threw one more. All told,
he accounted for 196 yards of offense - good enough, for
you fantasy guys, for 40 fantasy points (in standard
yards/TD scoring leagues).