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Hi Folks, Here's what happens when you sit an NFL Junkie down in front of multiple big screens with Sunday Ticket and fresh batteries in the remote… Are any of you guys old enough to remember Oakland's Otis Sistrunk? Have you ever seen Sistrunk and Terry Robiskie in the same room? Hmmm… Great success story brewing in San Francisco: It wasn't long ago that Maurice Hicks was carrying packages for Fed Ex. Sunday, he was carrying the ball for the 49ers. I can't believe anyone would accuse David Boston of steroid use. Taking a look at guys like Thomas Jones and Michael Pittman, I'm sure it was just something in the Arizona water. I'm not real smart, but I can connect the dots there. By the way, I have absolutely no confirmation on this picture from Boston's rookie season taken before he began his "nutritional supplementation program". You won't see it in the box score, but the Donovan McNabb to L.J. Smith two yard TD pass in the first quarter was set up by a 47 yard defensive pass interference penalty by Shawn Springs trying to cover Terrell Owens. Just another example where the stats don't tell you everything. Want a picture of New England's dominance and how Corey Dillon has changed this team? Check out this series. I think you can make the argument that not only is New England's offense better this year, but they're a lot better this year.
Anyone else wonder if the rash of Titan injuries are just cosmic payback for Jeff Fisher mocking the "official" injury report each week listing players as either questionable or out with never any probable or doubtful guys? I kind of do. Eli Manning played three and a half quarters Sunday. And only completed four passes. For comparison, he completed half that many passes to Raven defenders. Baltimore DB Deion Sanders made a classy move during Sunday's game though when he took a moment and told the struggling Manning to hang in there and that he'd be a star in this league someday. People with short memories forget that Eli's older brother Peyton threw 28 interceptions his rookie year. And even those with pretty decent memories may have forgotten that Manning said it wasn't until about the 11th game that he started to get a feel for the game. This is how rookie quarterbacks play. Get used to it. Of course Exhibit A for a rookie quarterback that is breaking the mold is Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger. But anyone who thinks Roethlisberger would be having the same season in New York that he's having in Pittsburgh doesn't watch much football. One last thing on this. I love Roethlisberger and I've been hyping him since his first game. And I know Steelers fans are some of the best and most passionate in the NFL. But can we hold off a minute before we put him in Canton? I hear people wondering if Big Ben deserves a Pro Bowl slot over guys like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Please. And I'm certain Roethlisberger would be the first to tell you that. From the "I'm Glad Ron Jaworski Didn't Say This" file: When asked who was the toughest player he faced, ESPN's Mike Irvin said, "Wilbur Marshall. He had those big lips and he didn't put any Carmex on. And he was red eyed and he was dark in that uniform. I don't know how tough he was, but he was scary looking." CBS' Dick Enberg commented that Cincinnati's Carson Palmer had a New England connection - he was coached by former Patriot coach Pete Carroll. That's sort of a reach there, Dick, isn't it? That didn't sound right… Are you surprised it took Jacksonville's Reggie Williams until week 14 to score a touchdown? I am. The next time you see the Peyton Manning "Let's Go Insurance Adjusters, Let's Go!" commercial, watch for the guy who has the blank look on his face as he stares at Manning when he's at the grill. He's Footballguy subscriber and actor Ralph Scott. Cool. Pittsburgh's Jerame Tuman joins Seattle's Jerheme Urban in the "Another Funky Way To Spell 'Jeremy' Club". Maybe that should be a sub set of the All Name Team. If you were an NFL kicker, how could you pick any jersey number besides #3? Here's Atlanta coach Jim Mora on running back T.J. Duckett and his knee surgery: "So they did an MRI and it needed to be scoped. It's nothing serious. A lot of guys play without a meniscus. I've coached players before -- not at the running back position -- who have had it done on Monday and played on Sunday. So it's not a big deal." Watching some of these guys patch themselves together each Sunday doing whatever they have to do to get on the field (including plenty of things we'd probably rather not know about), I have to chuckle at the baseball snobs who fawned over Curt Schilling's incredible "toughness" for playing with a little blood on his sock… Everyone knows the Panthers have been hit hard with injuries. But consider this fact: Nine players on their active roster in week 14 were not even in Carolina's training camp this summer. Mike Tice and Bill Cowher are two of my favorite coaches. I love it how Tice should be fired for allowing the "idiotic" Randy Moss pass attempt but Cowher is "innovative" when Jerome Bettis completes the TD pass. Once again, it's all about results. Colts president Bill Polian joked that Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison earn enough money that they might buy the Indianapolis franchise. That's not too far from the truth… Tennessee's Billy Volek rolled up 426 yards, 4 TDs and no interceptions on Gunther Cunningham's Kansas City defense Monday night. And Antowain Smith paired with Chris Brown to rush for 122 yards. So much for the "I know how to stop my former team" theory. I have a friend who was the local news anchorman for years. He once told me that whenever a competing station brought on a very talented weather or sports guy, he would make a point of sending videotape of the competition's broadcaster to other TV stations in bigger markets. The idea was to "help" the guy get a better job in a bigger market by getting him out of town and hurting the local competition. I thought of this when I heard that Bill Parcells put a good word in for Charlie Weis with Notre Dame. ESPN spun the story that Weis and Parcells had reconciled a broken relationship enough that Parcells would help him get a new job. I bet every NFL coach in the league would have done all they could to get Weis out of New England and into South Bend. Patriots QB Tom Brady was funny in the Sunday press conference when asked if he thought Notre Dame fans were excited to see the Patriots offense perform. He said, "I don't care about Notre Dame fans. I only care about Michigan fans." Regular readers know I've dogged Baltimore quarterback Kyle Boller more than once in this column. But I'm also a fair guy. And giving credit where credit is due, Boller threw four touchdowns Sunday. And he looked pretty good doing it. Nice work. San Francisco is 2-0 against Arizona. Unfortunately, they're 0-11 against everyone else… Don't look now, but over the last four weeks Buffalo has posted 37, 38, 42, and 37 points. Every time I see the Dolphins, I can't help but think of Charlie Brown and Lucy pulling the football away. Did you catch any of Dave Wannstedt's color commentary on the Arizona - San Francisco broadcast? He doesn't have the voice for it but I thought his insights were excellent. Keep an eye on Jake Plummer. He suffered a brain melt down Sunday in Denver when he flipped the bird to Bronco fans who were booing after an interception. He later apologized but this is an up and down guy. I think he'll either crash and burn or rise up high to the occasion. Not a lot of middle ground there with Plummer. Cleveland's Terry Robiskie said after Sunday's beating, "There was a point in time, where it was Men against Boys". Tom Jackson said not long ago that the "We're not smart enough" card is the next to the last card in the deck. The "We're not talented enough to win" card is the last card, and Robiskie just played it. We'll see where it goes from here. I love the new Patriots Visa commercial with Corey Dillon saying, "Not in our house, Buddy. Not today. Not tomorrow…" Speaking of Dillon, I can't imagine how this could have worked out any better for him. Coach Bill Belichick presented Dillon with a game ball Sunday saying, "Eight years and you've never been in the playoffs? You're in the playoffs." Like his counterpart, Chad Johnson, Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh has plenty of confidence. "If they throw me the ball," he said. "I'll catch the ball." But he's still learning how to talk to the media. Regarding last week's game, he had this gem: "I felt like we were going to beat them; We just didn't get it done," Houshmandzadeh said. "Man, they know we're better than them. I don't want you all to write that, though. So, if you all write that, you all put 'I don't want you to write that.'" Denver's Jake Delhomme didn't make any bones about Muhsin Muhammad being his go to receiver: "I know where my bread is buttered. And 87 does a good job." The reporters in the Jets locker room seemed to want coach Herm Edwards to claim some kind of "moral victory" for keeping the game close with Pittsburgh. When pressed, Edwards said, "We lost the game. We didn't come here to play with the Steelers or try to play good. We came here to win a football game and we didn't get it done." New England wide receiver / cornerback Troy Brown has three interceptions. Ty Law, Ray Buchanon, Lawyer Milloy and Charles Woodson each have just one. That's scary. San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson was pretty funny when asked what he thought of the Chargers preseason #32 ranking. "I never thought we were the worst team. I said, 'We're better than somebody. At least we're better than Arizona or San Francisco or somebody.' " I don t understand Kevin Faulk's TD dance where he brushes his arms off. Corey Dillon owners don't understand why Faulk is even on the field, much less in the endzone. San Diego linebacker Donnie Edwards didn't even have time to take his shoulder pads off before they whisked him up on the post game press conference stage. Edwards worked as a sideline reporter last year during the playoffs but it looks like he'll be busy this January. "We just were bad. We really were. I'm just disgusted. I guess that's the best word." Like I need to tell you it was Bill Parcells that said that… Carolina's Matt Willig is 6' 8" and 315 pounds. As the Panthers were stepping onto the field, Willig shoved quarterback Jake Delhomme and screamed, "All right Jake! Let's go Baby! Whooooo!" Delhomme careened sideways and you could hear a teammate say "Don't hurt him." Can someone please explain to me why the Ravens need male cheerleaders? This might be the most disturbing thing I've seen all weekend. I've never heard him sing, but Philadelphia's Jevon Kearse sounds exactly like Barry White when he talks. Titans head coach Jeff Fisher was less than complimentary of the Monday Night officiating crew. "Tom White and his crew did the best they could but in my opinion it wasn't good enough" said Fisher. I'd say he saw a nice little next day air envelope from New York Wednesday morning… Eli Manning's in a tough spot but one guy making it easier on him is backup quarterback Kurt Warner: "Bottom line, this is Eli's team. Period. No question." You think Rams coach Mike Martz was frustrated with Chris Chandler's six interceptions? At one point, Martz called nine consecutive running plays. That's saying something. The Jets' Chad Pennington was fired up on the sidelines as he encouraged his team mates not to beat themselves. " We've done everything imaginable to **** ourselves. Everything. Ok? We're going to get the ball back. Let's put a drive to together and put some points on the board. We're just making mental mistakes. Me, you, everybody. We're all in this together, Ok? Let's tighten our **** up, and do what we know how to do." Great example Sunday night of why you never give up. Washington strong safety Ryan Clark stayed with the play and tackled Philadelphia's Todd Pinkston at the 4 yard line after an 80 yard completion. An Eagles TD appeared to be a formality. But on the next play, Antonio Pierce forced a fumble from Terrell Owens and the Redskins recovered. Glitch in the Matrix for the Steelers - Jets game: Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger and New York quarterback Chad Pennington both suffered identical 33.6 quarterback ratings. I'll put NFL Films cinematography up with anyone in the world. They're consistently top notch. I love the new Happy Holidays ad the league is running. Roethlisberger drops back in slow motion. The side judge backpedals. The camera follows the arcing football into the hands of Plaxico Burress for a touchdown. Burress runs to the wall and hands the football to a kid wearing a #80 jersey. Kid's face explodes into a smile as his eyes light up. All while "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" plays. Two thumbs up. Detroit moved the ball better through penalties than they did through the air Sunday. The Lions were the beneficiaries of 49 yards in defensive pass interference and illegal contact calls in the 1st quarter alone - two more yards than Harrington threw for all day. Another angle to illustrate Detroit's passing woes: Joey Harrington ran for 22 yards. That was only 7 less yards than he passed for. Ouch. He may not contribute a lot, but Black Eyed Joe All Name Team Running back Ian Smart certainly sounds good. Keenan McCardell seems happy in San Diego. Good for him. And even though they lost, you can be certain the Bucs enjoyed hanging 392 passing yards on the Chargers showing they're managing to get along without him. Sign at the Ravens - Giants game: "Hey look, it's a little practice Manning to get ready for next week." Richard Petty was interviewed on the sideline by Tony Siragusa. They may have featured two of the worst hats in the history of television. Eddie George was inactive for the first time in forever Sunday. He should have faded away in Tennessee. It would have been better than fading away in Dallas. He was all class after the game though: "It is disappointing, not being able to compete, perform, dress," said George, who had not been inactive in 149 previous games. "But this is [Parcells'] team, and he just put together the best team on the field, and unfortunately I wasn't part of it." Rudi Johnson's middle name is Ali. His mom was a big fan of the boxer. You have to like that. That sound you heard Sunday afternoon was Oakland quarterback Kerry Collins crashing back to Earth. Note to Warrick Dunn owners: Jim Mora and T.J. Duckett really do hate you. New Orleans has struggled but defensive end Charles Grant continues to be a monster. On a series late in Sunday's game, Grant stuffed Richie Anderson on one play, stripped Testaverde of the ball on the next play (though the Cowboys recovered) and finally sacked Testaverde on the next down, forcing Dallas to punt. One of the best things about Sunday ticket in December is flipping channels from Buffalo to Jacksonville. My kids like to see how it's getting dark in Green Bay but still sunny daylight in Arizona. God Bless America. The Browns were held to 17 yards of offense Sunday. Yes, it was Cleveland that scored 48 points two weeks ago in the shootout against Cincinnati. Seattle's TE Itula Mili injured his ribs when he crashed into the goal-post on a pass play in the end-zone. You could hear the crunch well up into the stands. "That's what they call a post pattern" he said after the game. I can't believe they used to have the goal posts at the goal line. AND have two support posts. It's an oldie but I love the Southwest Airlines "Last Day Of School" commercial. The mini van smoking the front wheels out of the parking lot is priceless. I've determined that Sean Salisbury is best taken in very small doses. Kenny Mayne sized doses. It's 4th and 3 for Miami and your best bet is really to let A.J. Feeley attempt a pass? Hard Luck Awards
I'll also add in a flip side hard luck award for any team playing against Corey Dillon. Dillon's TD was clearly a botched call where his knee was down before the ball crossed the line of scrimmage. It would have certainly been reversed if challenged, but Cincinnati failed to throw the red flag. And one more along those lines, anyone facing Minnesota kicker Morten Andersen was hit for 3 extra points. Minnesota punted from the Seattle 35 yard line but the Seahawks were flagged for 12 men on the field. This put the ball to the 30 and the Vikings elected to kick a field goal which Andersen made. Sometimes it's better to just not know… That'll do it for this week. Thanks for playing along and I hope you have a blast with whatever you're doing. If you've got a Random Shot of your own, shoot it to me at [email protected]. Here's to Football, Joe Thanks to Bob Harris and Couch Potato for the help on this one. |
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