A
statement in KC. What do you make of that score out of
Kansas City? The Chiefs looked awful in their last game,
putting up just 6 points in over 65 minutes against the
Denver Broncos. Then they explode for 41 points against the
San Francisco 49ers. Oh, their defense also shut out the
Niners along the way, and their special teams returned a
punt for a TD.
Which all
means they'll go and lose to the Matt-Leinart-led Arizona
Cardinals next weekend.
Yep, the Fins are that bad. Well,
we found out just how bad the Miami Dolphins are; and it's
bad. On Sunday, they lost to the Houston Texans, a team that
had been embarrassed in every one of its games. Not
including the games against them, the collective record of
the teams they've played is 1-10; only the Bills have been
able to beat a team other than the Dolphins, and that quite
nearly didn't happen (Sunday against the Vikings).
In the
offseason, people got very excited about this team that had
won six straight games to finish the 2005 season; with the
addition of Daunte Culpepper, it was supposed to be a march
to the Super Bowl. Now, they're in sole possession of dead
last in the AFC East, and of all the AFC teams and they've
scored the second fewest points. If the coaching staff
doesn't make a change at quarterback, and if that doesn't
turn into more points, some of them will be looking for jobs
in January.
The three newbies taking names.
For all of those fantasy football players who were wondering
if the early starts of the Jets' Jericho Cotchery, the
Bears' Bernard Berrian, and the Saints' Marques Colston were
flukes, you now know that if you waited to pick them up,
that was your mistake. The trio combined for 305 receiving
yards and three touchdowns, and they're all ranked in the
top 7 at their position. Luckily, I picked them all up in my
fantasy league two weeks ago.
Bush is the Saints' #2 rookie.
Marques Colston in particular is fascinating. He was the
fourth-to-last player selected in the draft in April, and he
is now the leading receiver on a team that also features
former Pro Bowl receiver Joe Horn. Most would have guessed
he wouldn't even be on the roster by now. Forget about the
whole NFL; Reggie Bush isn't even the rookie of the year on
his own team!
Early shutouts. Last year, there
were no shutouts through the first four weeks of the season;
this year, there are five.
My Top
Five:
1)
Vacant. No team looks like the
best team in the NFL.
2)
Baltimore Ravens. Say what you
want about their offense, but it's better than last year; In
the last two-and-a-half minutes on Sunday, the offense
marched 60 yards for the game-winning score against a
defense that was supposed to be the class of the NFL.
3)
Chicago Bears. The Bears are
running away with the NFC; their offense is serviceable if
not good, and their defense has just shut people down.
4)
New England Patriots. In the most
impressive win of this NFL season, the Patriots obliterated
the Bengals, whom many considered the best team in the
league, 38-13. A 25-point win on the road against the
league's "best team"? When they're on, they're the best team
in football.
5)
Indianapolis Colts. They're
undefeated, so that's saying something. But their defense is
troubling; I just see them exiting the playoffs early.
Again.
Honorable Mention: Denver Broncos.
This week on the Philip Marie Giants.
Well, I threw my first interception of the season. I hate
hate hate throwing picks. It's the biggest game-changing
play, and there's never any need for it. And for the second
straight week, we found ourselves down at halftime, this
time by seven points. But, again for the second straight
week, we didn't allow a single point in the second half, and
we went on to win, 31-19.
For those
of you in Dallas this coming weekend, both Jim and I will be
there for the
Gay Super Bowl; I'll be playing for the New York
Warriors, and Jim will be heading up the Los Angeles Motion.
Come by and say hey!
Thriller:
After a quarter of the season has passed we have a candidate
for game of the year, Indianapolis' 31-28 nail-biter over
the New York Jets that was not decided until the final wacky
play.
Here are
how the final seven drives of the game went:
--Jets
throw an interception into the end zone on fourth down, to
keep the score tied at 14.
--Colts
kick a field goal. Colts 17-14.
--Jets
score a touchdown. Jets 21-17.
--Colts
score a touchdown. Colts 24-21.
--Jets
return the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown. Jets 28-24.
--Colts
score a touchdown with 50 seconds left. Colts 31-28.
--On the
last play, the Jets fail to score on a desperate series of
laterals. Here are the official NFL stats on the play: C.
Pennington pass short middle to L. Washington to NYJ 40 for
8 yards [D. Freeney]. Lateral to B. Smith to NYJ 37 for -3
yards. Lateral to L. Coles to IND 44 for 19 yards. Lateral
to C. Pennington to IND 37 for 7 yards. Lateral to J.
McCareins to IND 35 for 2 yards. FUMBLES, recovered by NYJ-B.
Smith at IND 33. B. Smith to IND 37 for -4 yards. FUMBLES,
recovered by NYJ-L.Coles at IND 40. L.Coles to IND 27 for 13
yards. Lateral to N. Mangold to IND 27 for no gain. FUMBLES,
RECOVERED by J.David.
On the last
play, the Jets executed eight laterals; none of them were
ruled forward though at least looked like it was. It was one
of the most exciting non-scoring plays I've seen, since with
each lateral one thought the Jets were going to break
something. "Once we crossed the 50 and with the pass I
tossed to Justin, I thought, "Uh-oh ... something good's
going to happen," ' quarterback Chad Pennington said.
The Jets
outplayed the Colts for most of the game, but the difference
was Colts QB Peyton Manning, who led two late touchdown
drives with no timeouts. This is his 26th
fourth-quarter comeback. "I was pumped," Manning said on
his game-winning quarterback sneak where he spiked the ball
after scoring. "You practice those two-minute drills all the
time. Everybody's played that backyard game where you
envision the last play of the game. Anytime you can do it in
New York, it adds a little something to it."
I was
impressed by the game plan of new Jets coach Eric Mangini,
but he really blew it by eschewing the field goal facing a
fourth-and-goal from the Indy 2 with the score tied at 14. A
big underdog like the Jets should always take the points,
and getting in from the 2 is no gimmee. It wasted an
18-play, nine-minute drive and proved to be the difference.
The Colts
are 2-0 at home this season, and 2-0 at Giants Stadium,
beating the Jets on Sunday and the Giants in Week 1. The
Jets and Giants are a combined 0-3 at their stadium.
Thriller
II:
Another game that had me saying "wow!" was Washington's
36-30 overtime win over Jacksonville. The Jags scored 10
points in the final six minutes and tied the score on a
field goal at the end of regulation. Washington took the
overtime kickoff and scored on the fourth play, a 68-yard
pass from Mark Brunell to Santana Moss. I loved Dick
Enberg's call when the old baseball announcer said: "A
walkoff touchdown by Santana Moss!"
The ending
showed again why I hate the NFL overtime rule – too much
depends on which team wins the coin toss. I hear from
overtime supporters that the team that kicks off has only
itself to blame if it loses on the first drive. That team’s
defense needs to step up, it is said. But what about the
receiving team’s defense? If its offense scores first, that
D is let off the hook because a coin fell the right way.
Jacksonville should have had one possession to even the game
up. Had the Jags tied the score, then I would make it sudden
death. Mine is not the perfect system, but better than what
we have now.
Homoerotic
comment of the day:
Miami Dolphins coach Nick Saban, lamenting after the loss to
Houston, that his players did not get "positive
self-gratification."
From our
Discussion Board:
"Disgrace of the day: after a Dallas TD, the Titans' Albert
Haynesworth stomped on the head of Dallas' Andre Gurode --
AFTER Gurode's helmet came off. Gurode needed stitches and
had blurred vision and didn't return. Haynesworth was
ejected (and after getting a second penalty on the same
play, I think for arguing with the officials, the ensuing
Dallas kickoff was from Tennessee's 40-yard line )
-- it was a terrible act and there needs to be a
suspension." – Joe in Philly
After the
game Haynesworth was very apologetic, saying he had
"disgraced my name." "If they suspend me that's fine,"
Haynesworth said. "Because for what I did, whatever they
give me, I deserve it. I did it and it's wrong. That's not
the game of football that's not how it's supposed to be
played. I let my team down."
Pats Roll:
So much for the New England Patriots being lethargic two
weeks in a row. After sleepwalking through a Week 3 loss to
Denver, the Patriots went into Cincinnati and spanked the
previously unbeaten Bengals, 38-13. New England won the game
on defense and with a punishing running game, gaining 236
yards on 41 carries (a 5.8-yard average).
This
continues an amazing streak for New England, which has not
lost back-to-back games since 2002. Hard to believe that the
Bengals, my preseason Super Bowl pick, were six-point
favorites.
Just Like
2005:
The San Diego Chargers of 2005 were known for dominating
games, then blowing it at the end. After two wins this
season against tomato cans (Oakland and Tennessee), the
Chargers reverted to form in their 16-13 loss at Baltimore.
The
Chargers led from the start and were in charge, 13-7, but
could never make the one key play to get any more points.
Kicker Nate Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal, and the
holder Mike Scifres botched the snap on a 54-yard attempt.
With seven minutes left and facing third down, new
quarterback Phillip Rivers had Vincent Jackson open on a
slant for what would have been either a touchdown or a first
down deep in Baltimore territory, but the pass was
overthrown.
The Ravens
scored their game-winning touchdown with only 34 seconds
left when tight end Todd Heap broke two tackles inside the
5-yard line. "It came down to a missed tackle. I really
tried to take his head off," Chargers linebacker Shawne
Merriman said about missing the tackle on Heap. "This one
hurts because of the control we had the whole game and we
let it slip," said Rivers, sounding like last year's
quarterback, Drew Brees.
Ugly:
The Miami Dolphins lost to the Houston Texans, 17-15, the
first win of the year for the Texans. It showed that the
Dolphins, a hot preseason Super Bowl team, are pretty bad. I
think it's time to bench quarterback Daunte Culpepper and
give Joey Harrington a chance. With the 'Fins porous
offensive line, it might not make a difference, but
Culpepper is clearly not the same quarterback he was prior
to his major knee injury. "We're the worst team in the
league," Dolphins defender Jason Taylor said after the game;
hard to argue though I still give that title to the
Raiders.
Running on
empty:
Arizona Cardinals running back Edgerrin James had only 40
yards on 21 carries, a 2.8-yard average. Wonder if he
misses the offensive line he had at Indy? Peyton Manning has
as many rushing touchdowns (two) as James.
Top 5:
I like
Cyd's idea of not ranking anyone No. 1, since there has been
no dominant team, but I won't steal his thunder.
1.
Indianapolis (4-0): The Colts have been beatable, but
they always come up with the big play when they need it.
2.
Chicago (4-0): The Bears crushed the defending NFC
champion Seahawks, 37-6, and look like they finally have a
passing game.
3. New
England (3-1): The Patriots are as hard to kill off as
Rasputin.
4.
Baltimore (4-0): This team has gotten lucky the past two
weeks, but wins are wins.
5.
Cincinnati (3-1): Bengals better hope Sunday's thrashing
by the Pats was a one-week thing.
)
-- it was a terrible act and there needs to be a
suspension." – Joe in Philly 