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Marty Schottenheimer is
my choice for Coach Of The Year right now. Three weeks
ago, his Washington Redskins were in disarray, having
just lost to Dallas. Rumors floated everywhere that
he'd be fired at the end of the season, and his team was
looking at a possible 0-16 record. Three weeks later,
they are 3-5 and are a fumble and 1/2 game out of first
place in the Division. He even has guys like LaVar
Arrington saying how much they like him. That's
coaching.
The ending to the Bears-Browns
game was one of the craziest I've ever seen - and for it to
be the second consecutive game the same guy returned an INT
for a TD in overtime? Bizarre.
I think kickers/punters are
the cutest guys in football. Well, some of them.
While Buccaneer Martin Gramatica and Cardinal Scott
Player duke it out for the "ugliest man in
football" award, guys like Raven Matt Stover,
Charger Wade Richey, Jett John Hall and
Patriot Adam Vinatieri can play with their helmet off
any day.
There's a really ugly trend
in the coaching ranks of the NFL. Coaches are trying
to turn their athletic, play-making quarterbacks into
pocket-passers. This has shackled guys like the
Saints' Aaron Brooks and the Eagles' Donovan
McNabb. In Minnesota, it took coach Denny Green
just three weeks to realize the same thing was happening to
quarterback Daunte Culpepper - and Minnesota has made
adjustments. I'm hoping Andy Reid and Jim
Haslett do the same and unleash their guys.
Then you have Mike
Holmgren, who still can't get out of the way of his own
ego, and who insisted on starting his "quarterback of
the future," Matt Hasselbeck, against the Washington
Redskins on Sunday. The result: a 27-14
embarrassment. The Seattle quarterback starters'
records: Hasselbeck: 1-4; Trent Dilfer
2-0.
A trend I've enjoyed this
year: the RB/WR/TE option pass. This week, Kansas
City Chief Tony Gonzalez completed a pass for 40
yards. I hope teams keep this up.
Mid-season Review:
My Top 3 Weirdest Teams:
1) New Orleans Saints; 2) New England Patriots; 3) Kansas
City Chiefs
My Top 3 MVP Votes:
1) Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots; 2) Michael Strahan,
DE, New York Giants, 3) Curtis Martin, RB, New York Jets
My Top 3 Hottest Players:
1) Trent Green, QB, Kansas City Chiefs, 2) Jason Taylor, DE,
Miami Dolphins, 3) Drew Brees, QB, San Diego Chargers
Top 3 Teams I Think Will
Excel The Next Nine Weeks: 1) New Orleans Saints,
2) St. Louis Rams, 3) Baltimore Ravens
My Top 5 Teams:
1) Chicago, 2) Oakland, 3) St. Louis, 4) Baltimore, 5)
Pittsburgh.
My Bottom 5 Teams: 5)
Dallas, 4) Arizona, 3) Buffalo, 2) Carolina, 1) Detroit
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This season is officially the
weirdest I can remember. Absent a great team or even a truly
lousy one (outside of Buffalo and Carolina),
it is impossible to predict the league from week to week.
One example: How do the Saints go into St. Louis one
week, come back from 18 and win, only to lose consecutive
home games to the average Falcons and Jets?
Maybe the Saints are afraid of things that fly.
The Baltimore Ravens were outgained and outplayed by
the Pittsburgh Steelers, but won the one stat that
counts--the scoreboard. The Ravens were lucky (Steeler
kicker Kris Brown missed four make-able field goals),
but good teams do find a way and at 5-3 the Ravens are very
much in the thick of things.
Saw a first: a quarterback fumble the intentional spike.
Tampa's Brad Johnson did it in the waning seconds of
the Bucs' loss at Green Bay. The officials, though,
assuming it was a normal spike, blew the whistle and the
play dead, though admitting later it was a fumble.
Weird day: Peyton Manning and Brett Favre each
throws for less than 200 yards, but their teams win. A good
sign for both teams to win when their stars are having to
throw for 300 yards.
We've seen the impossible happen in two sports this week.
First, the Yanks hit game-tying two-run home runs on
consecutive nights against Arizona. And the Chicago Bears
on consecutive weeks tie the game on the last play of
regulation and win in overtime on an interception return by Mike
Brown. Amazing.
Cyd's all excited by the Redskins and Marty
Schottenheimer, but seems to have forgotten it was his
ineptitude and rigid-ness that got them in an 0-5 hole to
start with.
The Bills and Chargers--who played an
emotional thriller the week before--had major letdowns on
Sunday, each losing at home.
Peyton Manning of the Colts ran for a 30-yard
touchdown at Buffalo, but his less-than-elegant running
style had his teammates laughing. "I saw Peyton running
(on a naked bootleg), he looked like a giraffe on the loose
at the zoo," tight end Ken Dilger told the
Indianapolis Star. "In fact, somebody told me they
named a giraffe after him at the zoo there in
Tennessee." Manning confirmed that there is indeed a
giraffe with his namesake.
My Top 5: 1. Chicago (two miracles in a week gets
them the top spot for a week). 2. St. Louis (how the hell
did they lose to the Saints?). 3. Oakland (drop them if they
lose to the Broncos). 4. Green Bay (defense really stepping
up this season). 5. Pittsburgh (have the tools to stay in
the hunt all season).
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On
Sunday, the impossible happened. A week after
shocking the San Francisco 49ers with an touchdown off of
an interception in overtime, Chicago Bear Mike Brown
did it again. In overtime, he intercepted a
deflected pass from Tim Couch and ran it back untouched
for the game-winning touchdown.