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Hi Folks, Here's what happens when you mix an NFL Junkie, Sunday Ticket, a big screen TV and fresh batteries in the remote... Eagle QB Donovan McNabb gave new meaning to "leaving it all on the field" Sunday afternoon. I'm just glad they didn't cut to one of his chunky soup commercials right afterward... If anyone in your league will give you a decent value for WR David Boston, take it now and don't look back. Trust me on this one. Speaking of Washington QBs, Patrick Ramsey could well be the missing piece of the puzzle. I like the young man and think he'll do well there. But don't go crazy and trade Drew Bledsoe for him just yet. The Titans are terrible and Shane Matthews looked pretty good after week 1 you'll remember. I do like Ramsey though. If I was a young NFL prospect, I'd strongly consider changing my name to Deuce just to hear the fans yell Dooooooce in case I made it big... Regular readers know I'm not a big Rob Johnson fan but after Brad Johnson fumbled the ball away Sunday, Rob Johnson was the first one over to give him a pat on the back. That's pretty cool. Good thing for Tim Couch and William Green that the Browns fans don't get to vote on who starts. Is it me, or are there more running backs lining up with the wideouts now? Sure, you see guys like Marshall Faulk or Charlie Garner out wide and I was ok with Garrison Hearst and even Eddie George split out Sunday, but when Arizona FB Joel Makovicka is out wide like he was against the Panthers, that's over the line. Did you catch the latest dirty trick from Miami? Several Patriots complained the Visitor's locker room at Pro Player Stadium was so cold it was "like a meat locker". Maybe that was the problem... Exhibit A on the difference between Pro Football and the College Game: Danny Wuerffel. To whoever found Marty Schottenheimer a hat that fits - Thanks. You have to pay attention because things move fast. The Patriots are playing in October like we thought they'd be playing in September. Who knows what'll happen in November? Carolina's Rodney Peete locks onto WR Steve Smith on just about every play. Yes that's the Panthers #1 QB and the # 1 WR. I told you things move fast around here. Is it possible to discuss the Bengals without using the word "hapless?" Listening to people yesterday, I believe the answer to that is "no". The Patriots were geniuses for figuring out the Rams. Have people now figured out the Patriots? Someone tell Peter Warrick you don't usually field a punt on your 5 yard line. And yes, I know it's a lot harder than it looks. He's a little too old and a little too slow but does anyone do that post run shuffle celebration thing better than Jerome Bettis? You gotta love that black mouthpiece he wears. I understand what he's saying and all, but I like Johnnie Cochran when he stuck to regular news. Not the Sports News. The over / under for age on Tommy Maddox is 32. If you took the over (like I did), you lost. Hard to believe he's only 31 years old. Anyone else think they were having a 1995 flashback during the Emmitt Smith TD run? Where's that been? Giants QB Kerry Collins is doing a nasty Jeckyl / Hyde thing. He looked good Sunday though. And I can never remember whether it's Jeckyl or Hyde that's the good one... Serious question - Does Bengal QB Jon Kitna like his hair that way? My kids think Isaac Byrd's wing flapping TD Dance is pretty funny. Funny line on the Fox set. Jimmy Johnson was saying something about a flashback and Post Concussion Syndrome speaking as if he had personal experience with it. Terry Bradshaw shot back, "When did you get hit with anything besides a lawsuit from Jerry?..." Those guys seem like they have fun. Ever notice how opposing teams usually help Emmitt Smith up off the ground after a tackle. That's kinda cool. Coming back from one of the commercial breaks in the Miami game, the camera is doing the obligatory pan shot from the beach as two very attractive women in bikinis walk toward the camera. You're thinking "that looks like a nice place to be" and right then on cue the dorky guy in the Speedo walks in front blocking the view. Pretty much just like real life. Vikings owner Red McCombs has apparently found a buyer for his franchise. I say we send him as our lead negotiator to the Middle East. Anyone who can unload that team for $450 million dollars has to be a better salesman than whoever we have over there now... Pittsburgh's Antwaan Randle El is quick but he was nailed in an open field tackle by 282 pound rookie defensive end Charles Grant on the reverse. That's athleticism. Tough Guy Award for the Week - Pittsburgh's guard Alan Faneca with a nasty gash on his forehead requiring an undisclosed number of stitches. Did the Y.A. Tittle pose on one knee with blood streaming everywhere. Right back out there and then is head butting Jerome Bettis a few plays later. Don't look now, but the Bengals are playing better Football. I would absolutely hate to be the Steelers next week in that no win situation. Fun moment on Monday night - Brett Favre encouraging the Chicago crowd to make more noise as he raced toward the 40,000 yard mark. Remember when the Titans were "unbeatable" at home and had the 13 game home win streak? That seems like a really long time ago. Word on the street was that Washington Coach Steve Spurrier got involved a little more than usual (which is not at all) last week with the Redskin Defense. Whatever happened, it worked. Although against the Titans, it's hard to tell. With 4 minutes left in an already decided game, why in the world was Washington RB Stephen Davis still on the field after that ugly knee injury? Question - Does "icing" a kicker with a timeout ever work? Ever? I think it's just a ploy to pump up advertising sales. Bill Gramatica as was lining up for the game winning 50 yard FG (which he made) Sunday, had to be thinking - "Don't hurt myself if I make it...Don't hurt myself if I make it..." Keyshawn Scores! Seriously. Chicago TE John Davis managed to score 3 TDs during his first 6 years in the NFL. He's equaled that total in the first 5 games of the 2002 season. That's a breakout. Call us officially worried about Bear RB Anthony Thomas. With much hyped rookie RB DeShaun Foster getting close, Carolina's Lamar Smith picked an awful time to give up two crucial fumbles... I still don't know how they do the magic 1st down stripe on TV and I don't really care. Just don't mess with it. It was reported during the game that Washington Defensive Coordinator Marvin Lewis showed the Redskins video of Olympic Speed Skater Apolo Ono to get them fired up. I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere. Ram QB Jamie Martin doesn't look to be the savior but they certainly didn't seem to be scaling back the offense for him. Multiple motions and all kinds of different formations on most plays. Pick Up Your Jock move of the week - Curtis Martin faked KC Safety Jason Belser so badly at the 5 yard line that I thought Belser had blown both knees and dislocated a hip. Why does Dick Vermeil wrinkle his nose up like that all the time? He's got a lot to learn making the transition from backup to starter but you have to like how the Jets' QB Chad Pennington started. He was clearly pumped up head butting the lineman and his enthusiasm sparked the team for a while. Anyone else have a hard time believing that it was announcer Troy Aikman complaining about the penalty thrown on Tyoka Jackson for clearly leading with his helmet against Jeff Garcia? He kept going on and on about while partners Cris Collingsworth and Joe Buck were silent. Wondering about Denver's Rookie RB Clinton Portis? It was 50 seconds left in the 2nd quarter before Olandis Gary carried the ball. Mike Anderson was out so it's not a total picture but that has to be good news for Portis. One test of a good team is how they respond to adversity. Denver was embarrassed on Monday Night in week 4 against the Ravens. With a 26-9 drubbing of a previously unbeaten San Diego team, I'd say they answered well. Hard luck awards for the week:
Rumor has it the 49ers slipped Nytol Extra Drowsy into the Ram's Gatorade supply Sunday. I'd buy that... Key to rattling Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe - force him to move out of the pocket. He's the anti-Sundance Kid from the old Robert Redford movie - he's better when he doesn't move. Started off a little bumpy but Jon "Chuckie" Gruden looks to have the Buccaneers heading in the direction he wants. Eagle Coach Andy Reid sweats more than his players. You think Fox is having trouble selling ads? They're down to promoting their new legal drama series "Girls Club" where three female attorneys are "determined to make their mark on the justice system." "A relationship-driven series set in San Francisco, one of the world's most romantic and vibrant cities, girls club explores the personal and professional lives of three twenty-seven-year-olds -- best friends since law school -- who live together and share a desire to achieve success and fulfillment in their lives, despite being employed by an "old boys club" law firm." I'd venture to say the Coors Light "Twins" ads are "reaching" the NFL audience more effectively. I hate to say it because I've always liked the guy but I believe we're real close to saying Eddie George might be done. How many Bears fans wish Washington would have pulled off that trade sending rookie holdout QB Patrick Ramsey to Chicago? You think Spurrier is glad that deal didn't go down? Another Fox ad I don't get - What's with the promotion of the "Magical Matchups" with the Voodoo guy / Mardi Gras thing? And why do they have Donovan McNabb's head on the poster in the parade? As if new St. Louis QB Jamie Martin didn't have enough going on in his life being thrust to the helm of the winless Rams, his wife gave birth to a baby daughter last week. Congrats to the Martins. Oakland's Rookie CB Philip Buchanon is special. He and Charles Woodson in that backfield will be scary. Speaking of Buchanon, Chris Berman had a good line. ESPN ran video of Buchanon talking post game with a bucket lid hat sort of cocked sideways on his head. Berman said, "Hat's off to Philip Buchanon. Actually he should take that hat off..." C'mon Boomer, he's 22 years old. All you need to know about the New England game Sunday - Kevin Faulk was the leading rusher with 2 carries for 17 yards. Morten Anderson is 42 years old. That's cool. Ask Future Hall of Famer CB / S Rod Woodson if he now believes in Drew Bledsoe's arm... Dallas showed us why you rarely see teams attempt the Fake Field Goal. Going back to the Super Bowl and counting preseason, St. Louis has lost 10 games in a row. San Francisco has one of the better backfields in the game with Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow and no one says much. But if Denver's Mike Shanahan has more than one back see less than 80% of the carries, the FF world screams like the world's coming to an end. Here's a stat line you don't see too often: "P.Dawson kicks onside 13 yards from CLV 30 to CLV 43. RECOVERED by CLV-P.Dawson." You gotta love the kicker sticking his head in there and recovering his own onside kick. That'll do it for this week. HEY! - If you've got a random shot of your own after this week's games, send it to me at [email protected] by Monday night. Can't make any promises but maybe I'll print a few from you guys. Have a great one. Joe Joe Bryant is the co-owner of Footballguys.com When he's not chasing his four children and his dog through the house, you can find him mesmerized by his Sunday Ticket. |