How We Saw Week 7

The Vikings are 6 – 0.

The Cowboys are 5 – 1.

The Panthers are 5 – 1.

The Seahawks are 5 – 1.

All four lead their divisions.

2003 was supposed to be the Green Bay Packers’ last run at the Super Bowl.  After coasting to a division title last year, they were supposed to coast again this year.  Maybe the Vikings would give them reason to pause for a moment, but it was the Packers all the way.

Same thing with the NFC East and the Eagles.

Same thing with the NFC South and the Buccaneers.

Same thing with the NFC West and the Rams.

Instead, these four NFC divisions are all being won by teams who didn’t read the preseason headlines, didn’t listen to how “unstoppable” the Rams’ offense was, or how “unbeatable” the Bucs’ defense would be.  The hot NFC Championship talk, instead, is about the high-flying Vikings and the high-flying Cowboys.

Huh?

It goes to show what a difference a coach makes.

In Minnesota, Mike Tice has taken control of his team and has them following his lead, playing every play.

In Dallas, you’d think Bill Parcells was the second coming after listening to his players talk about the man who has already won as many games after six weeks as the Cowboys have in each of their last three seasons.

Carolina is now excited about a man who last year built a great defense and, this year, has complimented it with a serviceable offense.

And Seattle now has Mike Holmgren focusing on coaching and only coaching.  No General Manager duties.  Just winning games.

In the AFC, it’s much of the same:

The Colts are 5-1 thanks to Tony Dungy revamping a defense that has been one of the worst in the League the last few years.

The Chiefs are 5-0 in Dick Vermiel’s magical third season.  Care to wager where they’ll end up in February?

Then, there’s the AFC North.

No shortage of innovative coaches there, with Marvin Lewis, Brian Billick, and Bill Cowher (oh, and Butch Davis).  Yet, the Baltimore Ravens are alone in first in the division with a 3-3 record.

The most intriguing of all to me is the AFC East.

The Patriots are 5-2 simply because coach Bill Belichick has been able to keep the Patriots from coming unglued after their devastating loss of Lawyer Milloy, and their terrible loss in Week 1 to the Buffalo Bills.  The Pats’ win this week in Miami gave them a giant lead in the race for the AFC East title.  Yes, they’re only up by a half game against the Dolphins and one game over the Bills; but, as the season progresses, I think you’ll see this team get more and more Super Bowl talk as they win the division.    

Now consider the two coaches leading the Bills and the Dolphins.  There is nothing about Greg Williams or Dave Wannstedt that makes me think those teams will catch the Patriots come December.

The Jets have won their last two games, and I have certainly taken notice.  Never did I think they would beat the Texans after they knocked off the Bills last week.  Yet, they went on the road, went down 14-0, and came out on top.

That’s great coaching.

With all these great coaches in the NFL, who can we look to to fade down the stretch?  

Other than the aforementioned Bills and Dolphins, how about the St. Louis Rams?  Mike Martz hasn’t done anything spectacular in his tenure as head coach.  He took Dick Vermeil’s team to the Super Bowl, then lost in one of the biggest upsets in the history of that game.  His play-calling is still suspect, his uses of timeouts and challenges are atrocious, and his road record (1-9 in the last two seasons, with the Rams’ lone road win coming at Arizona last year) will not get them to the playoffs.

And what team's head coach will be able to lead them from their present doldrums to the playoffs?

How about one of those teams in last year's Super Bowl, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  John Fox may be a good coach, but his lack of talent will start to catch up to him.  If John Gruden can get his team to focus more on their games and less on the plantations, the Bucs will win the NFC South again.

And, I still contend, will meet the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

--Flying back from the Gay Super Bowl in Boston on Thursday night we had a rather buff flight attendant we assumed was gay but weren’t quite sure. As we were about to land, he got on the PA system to announce the score of Game 7 of the Red Sox-Yankees series. “The final score was 6-5 in overtime,” he said. “Overtime?” He’s gay, I said to my traveling partner. 

--It was nice to get back watching the NFL after a week off, and the season keeps getting weirder. Baltimore is 3-3 and leads its division. The defending-champion Bucs are 3-3 and two games out of first. Minnesota keeps playing like on a mission, New England survives a ton of injuries to go 5-2, Dallas has won five in a row and Cleveland loses at home to previously winless San Diego. Go figure. 

--Funniest play I saw was by San Diego defender David Binn on punt coverage. Punter Darren Bennett laid a perfect ball that should have been downed at the 1. But Binn, misjudging where he was, stood a half-yard in the end zone and not in the field of play. He saw the punt coming his way and tried comically to sort of swat at it, seemingly to realize he was in the end zone. He acted like the ball was radioactive. The result was a touchback, giving Cleveland the ball at the 20 instead of the 1. Had San Diego lost the game, Binn would have been the goat. 

--I’m with those who say Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair is the league MVP so far. He has no running game and the Titans have nonetheless scored more that 30 points in four straight games because if McNair’s arm and leadership. 

--Catch of the day was by the ultra-cute Drew Bennett (left) of Tennessee. On a pass from McNair of about 30 yards, Bennett twisted his body around near the sidelines, reached out to make a great grab, then managed to stay in-bounds. At 6-5, Bennett is quickly becoming a favorite of McNair. 

--You’ve seen the play 30 times, but Randy Moss’ lateral for a touchdown to Moe Williams on the last play of the first half was brilliant. It’s one reason why the 6-0 Vikings have the look of a team that can go far in the playoffs. 

--The Bucs were whipped by San Francisco, 24-7, a team they dismantled in last year’s playoffs. The Bucs have now given up 65 points in their last nine quarters and it all started when they blew a 35-14 lead to Indianapolis two weeks ago. Looks like Tampa is experiencing the post-Super Bowl letdown and realizing that every team gets up for them. Up next: a home date with 5-1 Dallas.

--Cincinnati (2-4) is a different team under Marvin Lewis. They aren’t beating themselves, play aggressively and have confidence. Wide receiver Chad Johnson is an emerging star and the team looks like it has a solid future under Lewis. 

--Poor Denver. First they lose QB Jake Plummer for a month with an injury, and now backup Steve Beuerlein is on the shelf for a month after getting hurt Sunday. Danny Kannell isn’t the answer. I have more arm strength than he does. 

--Goat of the day? How about Miami kicker Olindo Mare, who had one field goal blocked in regulation, then blew a 35-yarder that would have beaten New England in OT. A play after the miss, Tom Brady hit Troy Brown for an 82-yard TD and just like that the Pats had their first-ever win in Miami in games played in September or October. 

--In Week 2, the New York Giants lose a game to Dallas when their kicker boots a kickoff out of bounds with 11 seconds left, giving Dallas new life. Now on Sunday, they lose to Philadelphia on Bryant Westbrook’s 84-yard punt return with 1:16 remaining. Talk about a collapse. 

--Unsung hero for the New York Jets in their win over Houston was linebacker Quincy Stewart. The Jets took a 19-13 lead with under two minutes left and kicked off. J.J. Young of the Texans made several great moves and looked ready to go 90 yards for a score. But Stewart hustled and was able to slow Young down enough to be tackled at the Jets’ 27. Houston was unable to score on their drive and the Jets had their second straight win.