|
Cyd Zeigler
--The New England Patriots
are just two wins away from claiming the longest winning
streak in the history of the NFL and being mentioned along
with the names of the other great teams in history. They
will not be denied.
--I loved
how Kansas fans heralded the return of Gunther Cunningham
as the great savior for the Chiefs’ defense. They ignored
the fact that the Chiefs didn’t add any new personnel to one
of last year’s worst defenses in the league. Gunther, they
thought, would have schemes and a program that could take
third-rate players and make them Super Bowl Champions. Now
they’re 0-2. Bwahahahaha.
--Two years
ago, the Pantherinos started the season 3-0. Then they
played the Packers, hit the wall and were out of playoff
contention by the end of October. This year we find the
Detroit Lions at 2-0. Same team, same situation, different
year. Check their upcoming schedule: Philadelphia (loss), @
Atlanta (loss), Green Bay (win), @ NY Giants (loss), @
Dallas (loss). That’s 3-4 and, despite some great excitement
around a strong offense right now, that means no plans of
playing in January. The rest of the NFC North should be
thrilled: it might be enough to keep GM Matt Millen
in Detroit for another year.
--The
New Orleans Saints are the cardiac kids. Have been for
years, will be for years. I picked their opponent, the San
Francisco 49ers, in an annual “losers pool” I’m in – pick a
team to lose every week and, as long as they lose, you move
onto the next week. They were the easy pick. The Niners were
starting Ken Dorsey at quarterback, for crying out
loud. But, they’re the Saints. Bad idea. They pulled it out
in the end, but it was up in the air to the VERY end. Note
to self: don’t pick the Saints anymore!
--The other
team I was going to pick was the Chicago Bears. Whew!
Another year, another overrated Green Bay Packer
team. They got KILLED today by a Chicago Bears team with a
worst quarterback, a worse running back and a worse group of
receivers. BUT, and this is the big one, the Bears have a
better defense and a better coach. And those two things are
why the Pack will miss the playoffs this year.
--Man, did
the Titans blow a big game. What is wrong with them?
I’m wondering if they’re just not that good – and if the
Colts are that good. The Colts have a tough road to hoe the
next few weeks. We’ll find out.
--I figured
the Giants would be good for maybe one win the whole
season. I’m sure I’m not far off. It took seven turnovers by
the Washington Redskins to hand the Giants their first win
of the season. They won’t get seven turnovers every week.
Who knows – maybe they’ll get two or three wins this year.
Top
Five: 1) New England – one-eighth of the way to a
perfect season; 2) Minnesota – Even if they lose
Monday Night (which they may), they’re my pick in the NFC;
3) Atlanta – Vick is heating up and the defense is
better. Look out; 4) New York Jets – they’ve beaten
two OK teams, but this is just the start of a beautiful
season; 5) Jacksonville – Defense wins championships,
and they have one of the best this season.
--Each week
I make five NFL picks against the spread in my "Fag Five:"
Check out how I did. |
Jim Buzinski
--We’re
back after both of us were forced to miss Week 1. It was
fun to again watch the NFL on DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” with
a digital video recorder and picture in a picture; a
football fan’s nirvana.
--Homoerotic
comment of the day came from CBS analyst Dan Dierdorf,
remarking on how tight the refs were calling defensive
interference on wide receivers in the Tennessee-Indianapolis
game: “So a guy’s not allowed to feel him any more?”
Runnerup,
the announcer who watched Saints receiver Joe Horn
warming up in a half-T shirt: “Horn is ripped.”
--The
Kansas City Chiefs are on my shit list after losing at
home to Carolina. I am in one of those "knock-out" pools,
where you take a different team to lose each week; if they
lose you stay alive, if they win you are out. I took the
Panthers to lose, figuring the Chiefs were primed for a home
win. But the Chiefs played their matador defense, missing
tons of tackles and allowing the Panthers to run all over
them in a 28-17 upset.
--Speaking
of "knock-out" pools, a lot of people were eliminated when
the Bears won at Green Bay for the first time in
seven years. It looked to me like the Packers were still
reading their press clippings after their impressive Monday
night win. Center Mike Flanagan
admitted as much to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "We
threw this away on Wednesday, We were still thinking about
(Carolina) on Wednesday. Maybe some people got a little
cocky. Maybe people weren't prepared. Maybe they were. It
doesn't matter. You've got to play every week."
--Bonehead
coaching award goes to the staff of the Tennessee Titans
and head coach Jeff Fisher. Four times, the Titans
had a third- or fourth-and-1 and they missed each time in
their 31-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. On three of the
calls, the Titans ran what looked like a sprint draw, with
the running back lined up five yards behind the line of
scrimmage; it’s a play that takes way too long to develop
when you only need a yard.
--The
worst call the Titans made came on fourth-and-10 at
midfield with about 4:30 to play and down seven. The Titans
lined up to punt but faked it; punter Craig Hentrich
threw a pass that wound up six yards short. I don’t get
it—if you are going to go for it, a fake is the worst call
with that many yards to go. And having a punter throw the
ball instead of quarterback Steve McNair is stupid;
either punt or have the offense go for it.
--Said the
Titans’ coach Fisher: “`We let this thing slip away in the
second half. It was frustrating. Players didn't make
plays.'' And neither did the coaches.
--Cheap
shot of the day came from New England Patriots safety
Rodney Harrison, a guy known for playing dirty (his
cheap shot in an exhibition game in 1999 knocked out then
St. Louis Rams quarterback Trent Green for the
season). Against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Harrison
was flagged 15 yards for hitting quarterback Josh McNown
after he stepped out of bounds. What was terrible about the
hit was that Harrison went for McNown’s knees, a no-no. I
hope the NFL levies a major fine on Harrison; he’s a great
player but doesn’t seem to mind if he seriously injures an
opponent.
--Please,
will somebody put NFL coaches on a diet? Many of these guys
look awful. Bill Parcells, Denny Green,
Andy Reid, Lovie Smith, John Fox and
Mike Holmgren should be banned from wearing tight
poly-knit shirts; I thought the league cared about its
image.
--The
three most boring offenses belong to Tampa Bay,
Jacksonville and Buffalo. In two games, these teams have a
combined four offensive touchdowns (the Bucs have none).
Jacksonville, because of its defense and some good luck is
2-0; Buffalo has had some tough luck and is 0-2; both teams
have eached scored 20 total points. Such is the state of the
parity-driven NFL.
--How the
mighty have fallen. Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis
Rams ran 12 times for only 20 yards. Looks like he’s on the
downside of his career and expect rookie Steven Jackson
to get a lot more carries as the season progresses.
--An
Outsports fan favorite has been referee Ed Hochuli,
whom we call “Guns” because of his formidable biceps (a fact
that CBS announcer Phil Simms has mentioned more than
once). But the Guns were silent during the Cleveland-Dallas
games. He was wearing a shirt that was much less tight and
that had longer sleeves than in the past. Eddie, you gotta
think about your fans, so wash that shirt in extra-hot
water.
--The
referee’s call we liked least may have cost the San
Francisco 49ers the game against New Orleans. With less than
20 seconds left and down by three, the 49ers got to the
Saints 1 on Terry Jackson's long run with a short
pass, but offensive pass interference against Brandon
Lloyd nullified the play. The ref said that Lloyd made
contact on a block while the pass was still in the air. It
looked extremely close to us and it’s hard to see how a call
like that is made in such a tight situation; it was a
classic example of a referee deciding a game when he should
have kept the flag in his pocket.
--The
best NFL uniforms? The
Indianapolis Colts, home or away. Total class and
everyone looks good in them. The worst? I haven’t seen
anything that totally offends my limited fashion sense; many
teams look fairly nondescript.
--I watched
the games with good friends JP and Jim Allen.
Both of them insist that New York Giants quarterback Eli
Manning is much better looking than the Colts’
Peyton Manning. They’re crazy. Peyton’s both the better
QB and the better looker. You can decide for yourself:
Eli
Peyton
--Jerry
Rice of the Oakland Raiders failed to catch a pass for
the first time since he was a rookie in 1985, a streak of
274 games. He looked pissed after he was pulled from the
game with 2:37 left; he came to the sidelines and tossed his
helmet in frustration. He later joked about it and it seems
his frustration was an immediate natural reaction..
--Memo
to fans of 2-0 teams and those 0-2: The season has a
long way to go, so don’t celebrate or panic just yet. In
baseball terms, NFL teams have played 20 games out of 162.
Remember that last year the Bills went 2-0, the Vikings 6-0
and neither made the playoffs. Conversely, the Eagles lost
their first two at home and went on to win the division. And
the Patriots started 2-2 and since then they’ve gone 17-0. |
