|
Hi Folks, Here�s what happens when you
mix an NFL Junkie, Sunday Ticket, a big screen TV and fresh batteries in the
remote� I�m sorry, but is there
anything less intimidating than a jelly rolled Warren Sapp skipping through the
Steelers warm-up area?�� Yes,
SKIPPING.�� He looked like Little Red Riding
Hood gone terribly bad.�� I thought Ray
Lewis had set the bar for self embarrassment in the pregame.� I was wrong. Speaking of Sapp, you think
he was cold?�� It�s 65 degrees and he�s
playing in long sleeves and wraps up in the parka on the sidelines.�� Quick check of Lambeau Tuesday night shows
a balmy 24 degrees with a 13 mph wind giving a �feels like� temp of 13.�� Note to Warren � it�s not getting any
warmer� Some teams win in spite of
themselves.�� Trailing with 2:07 on the
clock in the 4th quarter on the Dolphin 45, the Vikings were set to
punt.�� Fortunately, Coach Mike Tice
listened to the thundering boos from the crowd and went for it on 4th
down.�� You may not like him, but
it�s tough to argue that Dick Enberg isn�t one sharp dresser.�� His suit just looks better than everyone
else�s. Who wasn�t rooting for Gary
Anderson to make that game winning field goal after Cris Carter was on the
sidelines telling the Dolphins that his ex teammate couldn�t kick it that far?� When Mike Tice talks to Gary
Anderson, the kicker looks Tice squarely in the belt buckle. I don�t know how I fall into
the Moss Defender role, but I do get really tired of the people bashing him
without watching the complete game.��
Yes, he doesn�t always go all out when the ball�s not coming his
way.�� But as he does most weeks, he was
out there taking shots across the middle and blocking downfield for
runners.�� The first guy to congratulate
Gary Anderson Saturday?�� Randy Moss. Funny clip from NFL Films
Monday night of Donovan McNabb on his Draft Day�With the Eagle fans booing
loudly as Paul Tagliabue announced the pick. The announcers said Marcel
Shipp�s nickname is �Holy��� I�m not
making this up. Speaking of Shipp, what is
it with those Arizona players?�� Michael
Pittman from last year, David Boston and now Shipp all look like they could
join the Pro Bodybuilding Tour if the Football thing doesn�t work out. ESPN reported that Larry
Allen led all Cowboys in Pro Bowl Voting.��
Allen played in just a handful of games.�� I find that hard to believe with Emmitt Smith on the team. The Arizona Cheerleaders did
the Santa Claus outfit thing.� Bless her
heart but as they got close on camera you could see the Blonde counting her
steps out loud��� (Before I get hate
mail, my wife is blonde and much smarter than I am) I�ve been on Kenny Mayne
pretty hard lately.� But he redeemed
himself somewhat with a good �Mayne Event� Sunday where he was on the sidelines
of a game.�� He asks the NFL Films guy,
�So you�re the guy who makes mediocre players look like gladiators?��� And then when he found the NFL �fashion
police� guy who enforces the uniform codes and asked him, �You�re the guy that
penalizes for wearing the wrong stuff?��
Then what�s the penalty for wearing white sneakers with a sweater vest
like you are?���� But the clincher was
when he asked Mean Joe Greene for his jacket as he was walking out of the
tunnel.�� You old guys like me will get
that one from the Coke commercial.�
Mayne needed a good one. Evidently, I wasn�t the only
guy who thought the Office Depot commercial was weird when the kids dress up
like adults.�� The last scene where the
boy grudgingly says he can�t play golf this weekend because �It�s my weekend
with the kids� has now been cut. Has any team won more
quietly than the Titans? You can�t hardly help but
like Priest Holmes.�� Leaning on
crutches last week he said, "I'm so excited for Mike Cloud. This is such a
great opportunity for him.� His contract
is up at the end of the year, you know. So this is his chance to show everybody
he can play. And believe me, he can really play.�� See, there's always a silver lining."�� After Cloud�s game, you can
debate Holmes� ability to judge talent but it�s hard to argue he�s a class guy. For what it�s worth, if they
ever make a movie about Holmes, Denzel Washington is a ringer. I like Jeremy Shockey and he
helped me on my Fantasy Team this year.��
But I�ve yet to understand people going goofy when he runs over players
like he did David Gibson Sunday.� Gibson
is 6� 1� and 210�� Shockey�s 6� 5� and
253.�� When you�re that much bigger,
you�d better run over the guy. One thing I do think is fun
about Shockey though is watching him on the road while he�s egging on the crowd
when the Giants get in the red zone.��
He had the Indy fans in a frenzy Sunday.�� QB Kerry Collins said, �I wish he wouldn�t do that�� I know it�s because they�re
often indoors but aren�t the Falcons� helmets shinier than other teams? Here�s a pretty ugly series
from the Tampa � Pittsburgh game: 2-10-50� (4:59) T.Maddox pass to D.Kreider to TB 42
for 8 yards�� FUMBLES (D.Brooks),
touched at TB 42, recovered by PIT-A.Faneca at TB 37.�� PENALTY on TB-W.Sapp, Roughing the Passer, 15 yards, enforced at
TB 37. 1-10-TB22 (4:20) A.Zereoue
left end to TB 8 for 14 yards����
PENALTY on TB-D.Jackson, Taunting, 4 yards, enforced at TB 8. 1-4-TB4 (3:51) J.Bettis up
the middle to TB 2 for 2 yards���
PENALTY on PIT-D.Kreider, Illegal Motion, 5 yards, enforced at TB 4 - No
Play. 1-9-TB9 (3:32) J.Bettis
right tackle to TB 11 for -2 yards���
PENALTY on PIT-J.Hartings, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at TB 9
- No Play. 1-19-TB19 (3:07) T.Maddox
pass to A.Zereoue to TB 15 for 4 yards���
FUMBLES (C.Darby), touched at TB 15, RECOVERED by TB-D.Jackson at TB 19.
D.Jackson to TB 19 for no gain I love Travis Henry but his
fumbling is a serious flaw.�� Gregg
Williams doesn�t want to be a Mike Holmgren and deal an Ahman Green type guy
away but you can bet it�s a hot topic. The Jaguar �Fireworks Guy�
had the itchy trigger finger.�� Stacey
Mack was pushed out of bounds at the 6 but the fireworks flew like it was a
TD.�� The smoke was still hanging as
they kicked the Field Goal. My �future call� of the week
� Within a couple of years, QBs wearing gloves will be as common as WRs wearing
them.�� Aaron Brooks losing 3 plays from
dropping the ball like he did Sunday will push the issue.�� And if you�ve never picked
up a pair of those gloves, grab some the next time you�re in the sporting goods
store.�� You�ll be a little less in awe
of some of the one handed catches made.��
Lester Hayes had nothing on these things� Remember when Edgerrin James
was unstoppable?�� That may be too far
back.�� How about remembering when
Edgerrin James was good? Glad to see one of my
favorite names in football score his first TD � Congrats to Kansas City
Fullback Rock Cartwright. Brett Favre and Drew Bledsoe
combined for just barely 100 yards passing in the first half Sunday.� Yeah, we saw that coming� During the Giants � Colts
game they did a comparison showing the stats and pictures of Tiki Barber vs
Edgerrin James.� I admit I got
distracted in their hair styles being the opposite ends of the spectrum. Fun day on the CBS set as
the guys were ribbing Deion pretty hard about the Oakland thing.�� Jim Nantz said that if the Raiders won,
they�d be interested in Sanders.��
Boomer was all �Go Raiders�.��
And then Alex Rodriguez hands Nantz his resume.�� Boomer looks at Rodriguez and says, �All I
want to know to is can you hit a curveball?���
Then pointing to Deion, �Because he can�t�.�� Ouch. The Colts blast the William
Tell Overture over the sound system before the kickoffs (That�s the Lone Ranger
theme song to regular guys like me) I keep hearing folks talk
about how rookie WRs can�t contribute.��
Dont� Stallworth has 8 TDs in 12 games. If Pam Oliver interviewed
Duce Staley there would be enough forehead on the screen for 4 people� Definition of ugly
football?�� Houston was averaging 8.4
yards per drive midway through the 3rd Quarter. Didn�t you used to be
Marshall Faulk? Good �game within the game�
in Indianapolis Sunday.�� Giants LB Mike
Barrow often �out audibled� Peyton Manning and that�s not easy to do. Buffalo�s Brian Moorman had
an 84 yard punt.� That�s easy to brush
off and say �Wow, that�s a long ways�.��
It�s even bigger when you understand the field position change.�� Buffalo was on it�s own 14.�� One punt later, Green Bay has the ball on
it�s own 2.�� When will the Colts score
points in the 1st half?�� John Madden and former
partner Pat Summerall definitely took different directions when they
parted.�� Madden spent Monday Night on
prime time covering a crucial Pittsburgh at Tampa game.�� Summerall spent Sunday afternoon covering
the Bears and Panthers� Is it just me or do helmets
fly off now more than they used to?��
Why is that? Seems like we�ve seen way
too many terrible grass fields this year.��
I�m a natural field proponent but I�m starting to like the Field Turf
like Seattle has more and more.�� Marshall
Faulk recently said he�d prefer that surface over any other.�� If they could just figure out how to make
it muddy.�� Is a grass stain too much to
ask? 17 weeks of Terry Bradshaw
is about all I can handle.�� Do we
really need the Saturday night thing? Oakland�s defense came to
play Sunday.�� On a crucial series late
in the 3rd Quarter, the Raiders came up with 3 consecutive sacks. I don�t care who is
announcing, Monday Night Football is my favorite TV show.� Ever.�
Unless Rich Gannon plays out
of his mind Sunday, Dan Marino�s single season passing record will be
safe.�� I understand rooting for your
team or a player, but I was surprised at how petty some of the Marino
supporters were challenging how many attempts it took Gannon to get his yards.�� I thought the record was yards. ��If you want to go there, let�s bring QB
rushing yards into the discussion as we�re talking about the total player,
right? Sometimes the real life
drama is enough that you�d laugh if it were in a movie calling it too far
fetched.�� Michael Husted�s first FG in
2 years is a game winning 38 yarder?��
Unreal. Close second was Gary
Anderson�s knuckleballing 53 yarder to beat Miami with 17 seconds on the
clock.�� I love this game. Hindsight is 20-20 but I
cringed Monday Night when Coach Jon Gruden elected to take Martin Gramatica�s
points off the board.�� I had 3 distinct
thoughts. I hope not too many guys
lose their Super Bowl because Gramatica lost those points. I think I�d take my 3 points
and move along.�� It�s not necessarily a
�book� call, but I hate to see points come off the board.� Especially in a game you can tell will be
tight. And lastly, I thought that
surely, Gruden is smart enough to not let Mike Alstott, the most prolific
fumbler in recent memory, touch the ball.��
Like I said, hindsight is
20-20. Has there ever been less
said about Jeff George than there has been this year?�� I have to admit, I thought we�d see him on the field at some
point when Holmgren went out and signed the guy.�� Hats off to Matt Hasselbeck. Funny line from the Oakland
front office guy � �I�m not sure Deion Sanders is old enough to play for the
Raiders�. Charlie Garner owners may be
the only folks who appreciate the season he�s having.�� His 942 receiving yards are more than what guys like Tim Brown,
Joey Galloway, Curtis Conway and Troy Brown have put up. Something bad seems to
happen to Drew Bledsoe when he gets in the Red Zone. It�s week 17 and the Browns
have a shot at the playoffs.��
Cool.� I hope they get in just
for Dwayne Rudd�s sake. Buffalo was shafted on the
Ahman Green fumble.�� Why are those
calls not reviewable? How could you not like
Cincinnati RB Nick Luchey doing the Ickey Shuffle? When�s the last time you saw
the Bengals take a knee to run out the clock? Atlanta�s Bob Christian was
knocked out of the game with a clothesline tackle Sunday.�� ESPN�s Tom Jackson almost sounded
sentimental for the �old days� when he said, �I used to get to do that but he
can�t do this anymore�� Titan�s Coach Jeff Fisher
gave backup QB Neil O�Donnell a game ball last week for all the work he�s done
in practice with Steve McNair injured.��
That�s pretty cool.�� Sometimes
coaches don�t get enough credit for pushing the right buttons with the little
moves like that. Chris Berman saying �the
RAY-Dahszzzzz� is ok the first 800 times you hear it each weekend but it gets
old after that. Once again, Ed McCaffrey was
absolutely drilled sacrificing his body across the middle.� This time Derek Gibson did the honors.�� I get sore watching that guy play. Vonnie Holliday dedicated
Sunday�s game to his 16 year old cousin who died Saturday from a congenital
heart defect.�� Holliday delivered with
an incredible 5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles.��
Coincidence?�� I think not. I like Suzy Kolber a lot but
she needs to lose the flesh colored headset mic.�� It looks like a growth. Do all the interns at Dell
really wear the same shirt like on the commercial? Poor John Hall had to chase
Kevin Faulk on the kickoff return.�� He
was just close enough to keep running but everyone knew he never had a chance. The guy on the KIA
commercial says Snowmen don�t have legs.��
Give me a break, he�s never seen Frosty the Snowman?�� Bill Belichick puts his
challenge flag in his sock.�� I think
that�s funny for some reason and I have no idea why. Watch Stuart Scott on the
Monday Night Countdown.�� He�s so
worried about being shorter than the other guys his seat is so jacked up that
it looks like a High Chair.�� Tom Jackson says Sterling
Sharpe can turn �Tennessee� into a 6 syllable word� Cleveland�s on an 8 game
stretch where they�ve lost every home game and won every road game.�� That�s really weird. Tim Biakabutuka, Fred Lane,
Lamar Smith, DeShaun Foster and Dee Brown.��
Over the last few years, I think you could safely call the Panther RB
situation �unstable�. Ahman Green produced almost
one third of the total yards produced by both teams in Sunday�s game. My buddy David Dodds said
that with 4 sacks on one series, Rob Johnson looked like he was trying to catch
David Carr in sacks.�� And how do you
keep a series going long enough to get sacked 4 times? Arizona�s Kevin Kasper could
be the only blonde WR in the league� Think St. Louis has thrown
in the towel?� The Rams mustered 17
rushing yards against Seattle, one of the worst rush defenses in the league. I�m sure there�s a story
behind the name of Kansas City�s R-Kal Truluck. Colt RB Edgerrin James has 2
Rushing TD�s.�� Packer RB Tony Fisher
had 2 Rushing TD�s� Two different Redskin RBs
had 20 carries each Sunday.�� In the
same game.�� I hope Miami doesn�t wonder
why they lost Saturday.�� The Dolphins
ran 38 plays from scrimmage.�� Minnesota
ran 62. It�s hard to put a price on
experience.�� On 3rd and 6,
the Bronco�s Ed McCaffrey runs the route deep enough for the first down,
catches the ball and immediately looks to the sideline marker making sure he
gets the first down.�� Rookie teammate
Ashley Lelie may be a fine WR someday in this league, but he�s a long way from
doing those types of little things. Arizona DT Barron Tanner is
6� 3� and 346 pounds.�� His �belly rub�
dance is classic.�� Bill Maas was asked
if he ever got as big as Tanner.�� Maas
said, �It got bad, but it never got that bad.� What is it with the teams
going with the solid color pants and jerseys this year?�� Arizona tried it Saturday with the red
jerseys and pants.�� Didn�t seem to
help. I probably read too much
into things like this I see a huge danger sign for New Orleans.�� Cornerback Dale Carter was mugging for the
camera laughing and joking just seconds after his Saints were humiliated by the
Bengals.�� People ripped me when I said
the same thing about Ryan Leaf after his last loss at Washington State. The Cowboys have not scored
on an opening drive all season. It was sort of sad to see
Eagle LB Shawn Barber run away from Emmitt Smith on the interception
return.�� Smith was never a burner but
he used to be able to catch linebackers in a footrace. David Carr�s linemen pay for
him to get a massage if they give up more than 2 sacks each game.�� Unless they�re playing a 40 game season,
looks like the linemen are paying for a lot of massages��� You gotta like Denver RB
Clinton Portis.�� When asked what might
happen if Terrell Davis was able to come back from his injury, Portis laughed
and said, �He�ll have to play Full back�� Marvin Harrison isn�t going
to break the single season reception record, he�s going to demolish it. Charles Woodson says he�s
going to play with a fractured fibula.��
Why isn�t this getting any press?��
Think the Bengals have
confidence in RB Nick Luchey?�� Here�s a
series from the 4th Quarter: 3-2-NO36����������� (4:25) N.Luchey right tackle to NO
34 for 2 yards 1-10-NO34����������� (3:43) N.Luchey left tackle to NO 25
for 9 yards 2-1-NO25����������� (3:01) N.Luchey left tackle to NO 15
for 10 yards 1-10-NO15����������� (2:19) N.Luchey right tackle to NO 9
for 6 yards 2-4-NO9����������� (2:00) N.Luchey right guard to NO 3
for 6 yards 1-3-NO3����������� (1:50) N.Luchey up the middle for 3
yards, TOUCHDOWN. Chris Weinke capped a
disastrous week for Florida State QBs as he was demoted to third string in
Carolina. I like College Football but
these folks who think Ohio State could beat the Bengals do not have a
clue.�� It�d be ugly and it�d be ugly
fast. I wonder if anyone in August
would have believe that Kevin Kasper, Marc Boerigter, and Nick Luchey would account
for 6 TDs between them in one weekend? Interesting situation with
Deion Sanders and the Chargers claiming him off waivers effectively �blocking�
Oakland.�� These are big boys playing
with a ton of money at stake.�� The big
loser of course is Sanders who may wind up gaining nothing out of the
deal.�� Although you have to wonder what
kind of shape he�s in. Hard Luck Awards SF QB Jeff Garcia Potential
99 Yard TD Pass dropped by WR Tai Streets CAR QB Rodney Peete 69 yard
pass to WR Steve Smith to the 2 (Brown TD) CAR QB Rodney Peete 10 yard
pass to WR Muhsin Muhammad to the 1 (Brown TD) DET RB Cory Schlesinger rush
for no gain to the 1 DET RB Cory Schlesinger rush
for no gain to the 1 (yes, consecutively)�
(McMahon to Stewart TD) TEN QB Steve McNair rush for
no gain to the 1 (George TD) JAX QB David Gerrard 4 yard
TD pass to WR Bobby Shaw nullified by penalty (Gerrard to Smith TD) NYG QB Kerry Collins 1 yard
rush to the 2 (Bryant FG) SEA QB Matt Hasselbeck 29
yard pass to TE Jerramy Stevens to the 1 (Alexander TD) OAK QB Rich Gannon 10 yard
pass to WR Jerry Rice to the 3 (Crockett TD) OAK RB Zack Crockett 1 yard
rush to the 3 (Gannon TD) OAK RB Charlie Garner 19
yard rush to the 1 (Crockett TD) DEN RB Mike Anderson 8 yard
rush to the 2 DEN RB Clinton Portis 1 yard
rush to the 1 (Beuerlein TD) DEN QB Steve Beuerlein 30
yard pass to TE Shannon Sharpe to the 2 (Portis TD) CLE RB William Green rush
for no gain to the 1 (Couch to Campbell TD) TB PK Martin Gramatica 50
yard FG taken off the board accepting penalty on Pittsburgh Sometimes it�s better to
just not know� That�ll
do it for this week.�� Here�s to
Football� Joe Joe
Bryant is the co-owner of www.footballguys.com�� You can usually find him on Sunday afternoon
staring at the Sunday Ticket broadcast muttering �this is so cool�� *** Unsubscribe Instructions
***��� If you�d like to be taken off
this email distribution please do this:��
Send a new email addressed to [email protected]�� In the body of the email, please put your
email address that you wish to unsubscribe.��
Please do NOT reply back to this email with an unsubscribe message.�� This will only remove you
from the email distribution list.�� You
will still of course be able to access the website. |