I was playing in a basketball game at my school's rec cen when a fight broke out between two players on the court. Someone came up with a great way to defuse the situation: "C'mon guys, none of us play for Miami." We all had a good laugh,and luckily nobody got hit by a helmet. Here we go!
-Chicago, huh? Offense gets stopped, and the defense and special teams come up with the winning scores. Matt Leinart killed Rex Grossman, and seems to be a difference maker already. If they make that kick ... anyways, their offense is good. The defense, tough to gauge: 6 turnovers and one nervous breakdown for the quarterback. Looks like maybe he Bears just can't (or won't) run the football, and they aren't talented enough to win the passes. What happened to downfield accuracy? He looked like Jeff Garcia tonight.
-Dallas prevents a breakdown of their own by giving T.O. what he wants. Dangerous precedent, Parcells: he doesn't stop wanting anything and everything he feels entitled to. Doesn't look like their gonna make it through the season. I continue to view his behavior as a cry for help, but the macho NFL culture prevails. I still say it's all Drew Bledsoe's fault.
-I went 2-3 in the initial week of "Lysol Picks the Winners,", but I remain undeterred and will respond with a better showing next week, you can count on that.
-Atlanta (or maybe just Vick) couldn't hang onto the ball, and that was the difference in a game where both teams ran all over each other. Hard to tell who is for real in the NFC East, if any of them actually are. The Giants and Dallas both won, but Washington got embarrassed. Next Monday night will be huge, dropping one team back significantly.
-Philly loses to New Orleans in another defense-challenged game. New Orleans has the magic, and a bye week to think up a way to recreate what Carolina did Sunday to Baltimore. They have a fighting chance, but I'm still not drinking the Kool-Aid on the Saints.
-Carolina showed that Steve Smith is still, if not the best, the most dangerous wide receiver in the NFL. Baltimore has a week off to plan for New Orleans, and they've gotta be hoping that Steve McNair will be back for that. Hey, Boller did a great job at what he is: a backup quarterback. But it's different when the team you're playing hasn't game planned a scheme for you. No McNair and Baltimore is gonna need some defensive touchdowns to win.
-Pittsburgh, as I said last week, needed this one. They got it, and will have to go to Atlanta and do the same thing next week. This will get them to 3-3, and maybe they'll remember they just won a Super Bowl last year.
-I knew Seattle-St. Louis would go into the 30's, but neither team put together a solid stop when they needed it, and it turns out that Torry Holt's spectacular catch loses the game for them. They needed to take more time off the clock, and Seattle marched back and won it. Seahawks still shaky, but winning a sad division.
-Cincy has forgotten how to score. And their defense isn't that clutch. Panic time, or should they just unsuspend Chris Henry?
The Top 10! (last week's rankings in parentheses)
1. Chicago Bears (1). They stay on top, because despite giving up early points, Chicago proved that their defense plays the whole game, every game, unlike their offense. They still scare me more than the Colts. But you know how it is in the NFL: once one team stops an offensive power, the rest of the defensive coordinators copy the scheme and the whole season changes.
2. Carolina Panthers (4). These guys scare me, too. Julius Peppers stays healthy, and he's the closest thing to a dominant pass rusher. Dwight Freeney doesn't even have a sack. The old schoolers like Bruce, Reggie and Lawrence shrugged off double teams, and so does Peppers. Their offense works with Smith. I can hardly remember them at 0-2.
3. Indianapolis Colts (2). Bye drops them a spot, but please, feel free to impress me any week now. Blow out Washington, you know you want to. I liked hating you better when you were good.
4. New England Patriots (3). They will kill the Bills next week, mark my words. The Pats are back, solid to get to the playoffs and deadly when they get there.
5 San Diego Chargers (5). Their exhibition game against my beloved University of San Francisco 49ers means nothing. They should fairly handle the Chiefs, and stay poised to move up the next time a top team drops. Still too early to put them up there.
6. Denver Broncos (6). Their exhibition game against the much-maligned CSU Oakland Raiders also means little. They have great chemistry with Plummer and Walker, and a defense that keeps teams out of the end zone. But they remain second-tier.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8). The team is building confidence, and have a relatively easy schedule. They might be the wild-card team in the lead at this point.
8. Baltimore Ravens (7). It's not good when old quarterbacks get concussions, regardless of what the tests say. I don't know if we'll see the same Steve McNair, and Boller at the helm kills their offensive potential.
9. New Orleans Saints (unranked). This win gets them up in the top 10. They just don't seem to be able to lose, but their schedule makes it seem impossible for this run to continue. They earned their wings this week.
10 New York Jets (unranked). That's right! The Jets! Their schedule is soft, especially compared to the Bengals, who I was gonna put in this spot (them or the Eagles). The Jets have ten games left, only three of which against winning teams; the Bengals have eleven, eight against winning teams, plus the Steelers in the final week! No way they outpace the Jets! Reap the benefits of the equalizer: schedule strength. These guys can sneak up on big teams, and should just run over the cellar dwellers.
-Chicago, huh? Offense gets stopped, and the defense and special teams come up with the winning scores. Matt Leinart killed Rex Grossman, and seems to be a difference maker already. If they make that kick ... anyways, their offense is good. The defense, tough to gauge: 6 turnovers and one nervous breakdown for the quarterback. Looks like maybe he Bears just can't (or won't) run the football, and they aren't talented enough to win the passes. What happened to downfield accuracy? He looked like Jeff Garcia tonight.
-Dallas prevents a breakdown of their own by giving T.O. what he wants. Dangerous precedent, Parcells: he doesn't stop wanting anything and everything he feels entitled to. Doesn't look like their gonna make it through the season. I continue to view his behavior as a cry for help, but the macho NFL culture prevails. I still say it's all Drew Bledsoe's fault.
-I went 2-3 in the initial week of "Lysol Picks the Winners,", but I remain undeterred and will respond with a better showing next week, you can count on that.
-Atlanta (or maybe just Vick) couldn't hang onto the ball, and that was the difference in a game where both teams ran all over each other. Hard to tell who is for real in the NFC East, if any of them actually are. The Giants and Dallas both won, but Washington got embarrassed. Next Monday night will be huge, dropping one team back significantly.
-Philly loses to New Orleans in another defense-challenged game. New Orleans has the magic, and a bye week to think up a way to recreate what Carolina did Sunday to Baltimore. They have a fighting chance, but I'm still not drinking the Kool-Aid on the Saints.
-Carolina showed that Steve Smith is still, if not the best, the most dangerous wide receiver in the NFL. Baltimore has a week off to plan for New Orleans, and they've gotta be hoping that Steve McNair will be back for that. Hey, Boller did a great job at what he is: a backup quarterback. But it's different when the team you're playing hasn't game planned a scheme for you. No McNair and Baltimore is gonna need some defensive touchdowns to win.
-Pittsburgh, as I said last week, needed this one. They got it, and will have to go to Atlanta and do the same thing next week. This will get them to 3-3, and maybe they'll remember they just won a Super Bowl last year.
-I knew Seattle-St. Louis would go into the 30's, but neither team put together a solid stop when they needed it, and it turns out that Torry Holt's spectacular catch loses the game for them. They needed to take more time off the clock, and Seattle marched back and won it. Seahawks still shaky, but winning a sad division.
-Cincy has forgotten how to score. And their defense isn't that clutch. Panic time, or should they just unsuspend Chris Henry?
The Top 10! (last week's rankings in parentheses)
1. Chicago Bears (1). They stay on top, because despite giving up early points, Chicago proved that their defense plays the whole game, every game, unlike their offense. They still scare me more than the Colts. But you know how it is in the NFL: once one team stops an offensive power, the rest of the defensive coordinators copy the scheme and the whole season changes.
2. Carolina Panthers (4). These guys scare me, too. Julius Peppers stays healthy, and he's the closest thing to a dominant pass rusher. Dwight Freeney doesn't even have a sack. The old schoolers like Bruce, Reggie and Lawrence shrugged off double teams, and so does Peppers. Their offense works with Smith. I can hardly remember them at 0-2.
3. Indianapolis Colts (2). Bye drops them a spot, but please, feel free to impress me any week now. Blow out Washington, you know you want to. I liked hating you better when you were good.
4. New England Patriots (3). They will kill the Bills next week, mark my words. The Pats are back, solid to get to the playoffs and deadly when they get there.
5 San Diego Chargers (5). Their exhibition game against my beloved University of San Francisco 49ers means nothing. They should fairly handle the Chiefs, and stay poised to move up the next time a top team drops. Still too early to put them up there.
6. Denver Broncos (6). Their exhibition game against the much-maligned CSU Oakland Raiders also means little. They have great chemistry with Plummer and Walker, and a defense that keeps teams out of the end zone. But they remain second-tier.
7. Jacksonville Jaguars (8). The team is building confidence, and have a relatively easy schedule. They might be the wild-card team in the lead at this point.
8. Baltimore Ravens (7). It's not good when old quarterbacks get concussions, regardless of what the tests say. I don't know if we'll see the same Steve McNair, and Boller at the helm kills their offensive potential.
9. New Orleans Saints (unranked). This win gets them up in the top 10. They just don't seem to be able to lose, but their schedule makes it seem impossible for this run to continue. They earned their wings this week.
10 New York Jets (unranked). That's right! The Jets! Their schedule is soft, especially compared to the Bengals, who I was gonna put in this spot (them or the Eagles). The Jets have ten games left, only three of which against winning teams; the Bengals have eleven, eight against winning teams, plus the Steelers in the final week! No way they outpace the Jets! Reap the benefits of the equalizer: schedule strength. These guys can sneak up on big teams, and should just run over the cellar dwellers.
