--I spent Sunday afternoon on
the plane headed to NYC to tape an episode of "The Focus
Group" for ESPN, so I missed a bunch of the games today.
I did get to watch the Sunday night game with some of our
illustrious Outsporters (George Viking Fan spent a
good part of the game complaining that he can't win his own
pool, while we discussed at length our choice for the one
athlete we'd love to have in bed for a few minutes; my
choice, David Carr, got cheers and jeers). The game was
pretty boring. With Denver controlling the game, up 12-7, I
declared that Miami would win the game--Denver had beaten
them up and down the field, but had little to show for it.
It was Miami's game, and this is Miami's league right
now. They are, in my mind, the best team in the League RIGHT
NOW. That, I'm sure, will change dramatically as the season
wears on.
A team that looks very much like Miami is San Diego:
Solid running back, serviceable quarterback, reliable
receivers, and a defense that is keeping them in games.
Marty has instilled in San Diego something his predecessor
couldn't: passion. Marty Schottenheimer knows how to get his
team up for games. Hopefully we'll get to see if he can do
that in the playoffs this year.
The karma for the New England Patriots lasted exactly
one year: from Week 3 of last year to Week 3 of this year.
This was the first topic that we discussed this morning on
"The Focus Group" was whether the Patriots are getting
"respect" - and, if they deserve it. Um, no and no. The loss
of Drew Bledsoe is a big one for the Pats.
As I said on the show, Tom Brady doesn't have a warm big brother to
help him through problems anymore, as Drew did last year;
now, he has the cold Bill Belichick. The Patriots are
hurting for talent right now, and that isn't going to change
this season. After the hottest start in the League, the
Patriots are now two games out of first in their Division,
tied with Bledsoe's Bills for second place.
MY TOP FIVE:
1) Miami - Ricky is carrying the offense, even when
he has a bad game;
2) Green Bay - Jim will be shocked to hear my Brett
Favre comment on "The Focus Group"
3) San Diego - Now tied with the Raiders for tops in
the best division in football;
4) Oakland - Is this the beginning of their annual autumn slide?
5) Philadelphia - I still believe they will go to the
Super Bowl. |
--Having the NFL Sunday
Ticket (where you get all the games) and being in a
fantasy football league is a dangerous combination. It's
constant remote control action and in my case, frustration.
Case in point: My fantasy quarterback and tight end are both
Buffalo Bills, Drew Bledsoe and
Jay
Riemersma. On
one play, they teamed up for a touchdown, which would give
my team 12 points. But running back Travis Henry was
called for a penalty and negated the score. On the next
play, Henry ran for a touchdown. I wound up losing by 11
points and Henry became my most hated
player of the day.
--Two amazing games Sunday,
involving three teams from the AFC West. First, Drew
Brees calmly led a 71-yard drive for the game-winning
touchdown as the San Diego Chargers rallied for a 35-34 win
over the Kansas City Chiefs. At night, Olindo Mare's
53-yard field goal with six seconds left lifted the Miami
Dolphins to a super-thrilling 24-22 win at Denver. Just a
few minute earlier, the Broncos went ahead, 22-21, on a
55-yard field goal by Jason Elam.
--Sloppy was the theme
of many games, with gobs of penalties. Examples: New
Orleans-Washington (23 combined penalties); Buffalo-Houston
(24) and St. Louis-Oakland (25). I saw the Buffalo Bills
twice keep Houston drives alive with dumb roughing-the-passer
penalties on third down. In one Oakland-St. Louis sequence,
there were three consecutive penalties on one punt.
--Drinks are on him:
Michael Smith was driving a beer truck two years ago.
But Sunday he was the toast of New Orleans,
after he had 356
combined yards -- including kickoff and punt returns for
touchdowns -- in a 43-27 Saints win.
--Signed
and Delivered: Did you see that weird sight of
Terrell Owens during the Monday night football game
between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks?
Owens, the often-odd 49ers star receiver, scored a
touchdown, then kneeled down and pulled a pen from his sock.
He signed the football he scored with and handed it to a
friend in the stands as he had promised. Chalk one up for
literacy.
--Go figure: The 0-5
St. Louis Rams with third-string quarterback Marc
Bulger beat 4-0 Oakland handily. The Green Bay
Packers, with enough injuries to fill a M*A*S*H unit and
coming off a short week, go into New England and drill the
defending champion Patriots. The Atlanta Falcons,
minus star quarterback Michael Vick, go into the
Meadowlands and beat the New York Giants.
--On the other hand:
Some things remaining, thankfully, dependable--the
Cincinnati Bengals lost to Pittsburgh, 34-7, and are now
0-6.
--The Pittsburgh Steelers
and Baltimore Ravens are tied for the AFC North lead
with 2-3 records. The Kansas City Chiefs, 3-3, are in
last in the AFC West. It's all about location, location,
location.
--The Carolina Panthers
started the season 3-0. But after blowing a 13-0 lead to
Dallas with less than four minutes to go, and losing 14-13,
the Panthers are now 3-3. The combined margin of defeat is
eight points.
--Tampa Bay has won
five in a row and allowed only 30 points during that
stretch.
-My Top 5: 1. Green
Bay (5-1). Only because of Brett Favre. 2. Miami (5-1).
Clutch win at the new Mile High. 3. Oakland (5-1). Was
Sunday a mulligan or a portend? 4. Tampa Bay (5-1). Typical
Bucs, they're more fun to watch on defense. 5. New Orleans
(5-1). Speed kills.
--My Bottom 5: 32.
Cincinnati (0-6). The pussycats of the NFL; 31. New York
Jets (1-4). Rumored they gave up 30 points in their bye
week; 30. Detroit (1-4). Joey Harrington gives reason for
hope;
29. Minnesota (1-4). Randy Moss has disappeared. 28. Houston
(1-4). Showed spunk in close loss. |
Mike
Vanderjagt of the Indianapolis Colts is statistically
the most accurate kicker in NFL history. He's also cocky--