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Random Shots Hi Folks, Here’s what happens when you
mix an NFL Junkie, Sunday Ticket, a big screen TV and fresh batteries in the
remote… Definition of Panic: 20 minutes until early game kickoffs and
seeing those fateful words pop on the TV Screen – “Searching for Satellite
Signal”… Culprit was a bad cable
outside. Still interrogating the
neighborhood kids over that one (Oh, they’ll talk…) It’s amazing how fast you can drive to Home Depot and get in and
out of there if you’re waving your hands and yelling a lot. I’ll admit it – I’m addicted to Direct TV. Certainly the big event of
the weekend was Emmitt Smith breaking the record. Coolest moment for me was
the sideline embrace with Daryl “Moose” Johnston. You probably saw Emmitt hug his Mom and his
wife. Then he hugged Jerry Jones
and then Michael Irvin. Each hug
was pretty much a short quick thing.
He looked very happy but not overwhelmed. As he finally made his way
to embrace Johnston, the crowd just erupted in the famous “Mooooooooose”
roar. You realized then that the whole
stadium was watching Smith on the sidelines.
And that they well remembered Moose.
Emmitt stepped back and looked at Johnston and gave him a 2nd
long hug. He pulled back and then just
grabbed him in a third embrace overcome with emotion. Clearly Johnston was in a different class from the others. I wasn’t sure that Emmitt
knew Johnston was wired and broadcasting live. You could hear muffled words from Smith and Johnston saying “it
was fun”. Very cool to see Smith
acknowledge a guy like Johnston who played such a vital part in helping Smith
do what he did. Great picture of
Excellence and Team Work which are a couple of things that make Sports cool. Speaking of blocking for
Smith, would it be possible for Jim Brown to embarrass himself any
further? I mean, I’m ok with the
beanie hat thing, but Brown was on one of the Fox shows crying about how great
Smith’s Offensive Line was and how he wasn’t touched on this run or that run. Give it up. Fortunately, the Payton Family showed a nice contrast and
the class we’ve come to expect from them. I think most people know I’m
more impressed by Jerry Rice breaking Payton’s total yards from
scrimmage record earlier this year (Putting him ahead of 11 running backs on
the list) but still, you have to give Emmitt Smith his due. Although I think ESPN’s Chris Berman
may have been a little dizzy from the hype when he said the best thing about
Smith’s record was that he gained every yard as a Cowboy. That’s really the best thing about it? Emmitt Smith to his credit,
seemed to downplay the actual event and looked as if he wanted to just get back
to continuing the game. That was
cool. Chris Berman said Sunday morning
that he thought every game around the league should be stopped at that moment
the record was broken to pay homage.
Puh-leease. And yes there were some
other games played this weekend… Didn’t you really expect
more points out of the Chiefs – Raiders game than a 20-10 score? The Raiders seem to be intent on running a
New England fade route… Are Tim Brown and Jerry
Rice just going to take turns each week being the hot Oakland WR? Buffalo’s Eric Moulds
and Peerless Price make a great tandem.
One reason is because Moulds is a team player. Nice interview with them including some words from Offensive
Coordinator Kevin Gilbride talking about how Moulds came to him on the
sidelines telling him that Bledsoe should go more to Price with Moulds in
coverage. I know that Bowling takes a
lot of skill and all but the PBA commercials where the bowlers are talking
smack is really funny to me… Deuce McAllister’s real first name is Dulymus. I like Deuce better. ESPN’s Sterling Sharpe
said he was planning to attend his first football game ever as a non player
last Sunday. That seems kind of
strange to me. Buffalo’s Travis Henry
scored a TD right after they had cut to Dallas and Emmitt Smith’s record
breaking run. The announcers made a
comment that Henry broke some of Smith’s high school and collegiate records and
that he had a similar running style and frame. And right when you’re hoping they wouldn’t keep going where you
could see it going, they go ahead and say that Henry might be the guy to break
Smith’s NFL record. Easy fellas… Tommy Maddox and the Sky Cam. Who said the XFL didn’t contribute anything. Plus, it exposed Jesse Ventura to
the nation… The Steelers scored 4 TDs on
their first 4 possessions. Yes, the
Steelers. Funny sign in Jacksonville
Sunday for the Houston game: “All our
Ex’s play in Texas” Not so funny that Jags owner
Wayne Weaver has been telling folks he thinks Tony Boselli may never
play again. Texans are being pretty
stand up about the injury not claiming damaged goods from Jacksonville but that
has to hurt. Did you see that a
Jacksonville “fan” spit on Coach Tom Coughlin after the game. That’s so lame. Should Quincy Carter
even be on an NFL roster? It’s a
legitimate question. And further proof
of how tough things are in Dallas. Here’s an interesting stat
line: C.Fuamatu-Ma'afala rush for 1 yard (tackle by M.Kemoeatu). That’s a lot of vowels for one yard… Watching Jeff Blake
throw a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half, I have to wonder if the
coaching staff takes into account whether the stadium has a roof or not… Replay didn’t show exactly
what it was that Pittsburgh WR Plaxico Burress did to get ejected in the
first half. But it appeared it might
have been something in retaliation for Baltimore leveling QB Tommy Maddox. If that’s the case, you can bet those two
are even tighter than they already were. Every time I flipped to the
Kansas City game, Priest Holmes was catching a screen pass and running
for 40 yards. You probably saw the
incredible hit Seattle’s Darrell Jackson took. After a seizure in the locker room, he was hospitalized and
stayed behind in Dallas. WRs Koren
Robinson and Bobby Engram stayed with him while the team flew back
to Seattle. That’s kinda cool. 6’ 6” / 280 pound Oakland
defensive end Tony Bryant ran down Priest Holmes along the
sidelines. That’s athleticism. Sideline reporter Bonnie
Bernstein looked ready for an Arctic expedition in Kansas City. I hope they never send her to Green Bay… Has Merrill Hoge been
raiding Deion’s closet? Speaking of Deion, Marcellus
Wiley was very good on the CBS set.
Jim Nantz mentioned something about Wiley retiring and going to
work for CBS. Wiley was quick to say,
“No, the money’s not the same” Marino
jumped in with “Except for Deion”. You
could take that a couple of different ways. Green Bay RB Najeh
Davenport recently was cleared of major trouble in the closet
“incident”. No confirmation yet on the
rumors floating in our Shark Pool forums that he’ll be swapping his # 44 jersey
for # 2… Rob Johnson gets hurt and can’t finish a game. Stop the presses. I’m not a Rob Johnson fan
but I try to be fair. There were 20
seconds left when he got hurt. And
earlier in the game he did make a pretty cool move getting up and attempting to
tackle a guy after his helmet was ripped off. Is Dallas Coach Dave
Campo the most animated least menacing guy you’ve ever seen? Funny looking matchup of the
day: 5’ 10” / 184 pound Ray Crockett
covering 6’ 5” / 265 pound TE Roland Williams. Crocket defended the pass though. Go Ray. Drew Bledsoe’s beard made me think – when’s the last time a good QB
sported a beard? ( A real beard, not
the Kurt Warner / Brett Favre thing ) Between Tom Tupa and Todd
Sauerbrun, there were 15 punts in the Tampa Bay – Carolina game. Is there a weaker group of
WRs in the league than what Kansas City trots out there each week? Thank goodness for Priest Holmes and
Tony Gonzalez. Going into last week, I kept
hearing folks ask if the Saints were the new offensive version of the Rams, at
least in production. I don’t think
so… It’s easy to forget, but when the
Rams were clicking in years past, they were a sight to see. I’m sorry but the Bengals
and Corey Dillon were shafted on the “no TD” call. There’s a special place in Heaven reserved
for Bengal Fans that’ve endured this. Speaking of Bengals, did you
see that both Coach Dick LeBeau and WR Chad Johnson are
“guaranteeing” victory this week against Houston. Smart or not, you have to like that. Can someone explain the Steve
McNair “antler” thing after a TD?
It’s a Fraternity thing, right? Arizona WR David Boston
is struggling to get separation from the corners. But it’s not hard to see why as he outweighs most of them by 60
pounds. Do you move him to TE at some
point? Seriously. San Francisco’s Justin
Swift is the backup TE, long snapper and full back. That’s job security. Terrell Owens owners can throw a little thanks over to Tai
Streets. Streets demands much more
attention than did J.J. Stokes and has been a key for Owens. Much was made over Mike
Vick and Aaron Brooks being 2nd cousins. That’s a pretty talented family tree. Someone has got to tell
Cardinal Punter Scott Player about that Billy Kilmer single bar
facemask. He stuck his face in to make
a tackle and you could see that little facemask start to fold up. Reading between the lines
that Tom Brady is struggling a little.
He goes to wearing gloves on both hands. That’s not a big deal.
But you also don’t start doing something that different when things are
rolling your way. If you ever pick up
a football wearing those gloves though, you’ll lose a little bit of awe on
those WR one handed catches… Speaking of Tom Brady. He’s reportedly good friends with former
Michigan teammate Brian Griese.
Griese said that Brady called him looking for a little comfort with
everyone starting to turn a little on the Pats. The much criticized Griese was laughing, “You’ve been on top for
a while. Get used to how the rest of us
live” The World Series is
over. I heard it was a good one… Along that line, you think
we’ll see any 6 year old Coach’s kids running around a football field? I doubt it. That’s two consecutive games
Bill Gramatica has put a kickoff out of bounds. That has to drive Dave McGinnis
crazy. Martin Gramatica and Jay Feely both kicked 47 yard game
winning FGs with less than 5 seconds on the clock. If I’m kicker Tim Seder
in Jacksonville, I wouldn’t be looking for a realtor just yet… If you’re looking for a low
dollar TE with big upside, check out Houston’s Billy Miller. He’s quietly putting together a nice season
and David Carr has said he clearly feels the most comfortable throwing
to Miller over all the other receivers. Denver DT Lional “Jelly
Roll” Dalton said his Saturday night meal was a Double Cheeseburger, Slab
of Ribs, Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream.
You gotta like that… How bad has it been for New
England? Troy Brown was held to
59 yards. And the only other WR to
catch a pass was David Givens.
That may work in Kansas City when you have Priest Holmes and Tony
Gonzalez. This just in: New England
doesn’t have Priest Holmes or Tony Gonzalez… The cruel joke continues for
Fred Taylor owners (count me among you) He’s healthy, he looks great, and he’s running as effectively as
ever. He’s also been on the sidelines
for all 5 of Stacey Mack’s short yardage TDs… Linebackers don’t often win
games. But with 57 seconds left on the
clock, Jacksonville was on the Houston 45 and driving for the game winning
FG. Kailee Wong sacked Brunell
for –7 yards. Next play, Wong sacked
Brunell again. Two incomplete passes
later, the game was over and Houston wins. With the ruptured Achilles
Tendon, is Trent Dilfer calling it a career? Has there been a less respected Super Bowl winning QB in recent
memory? Why does the Jets’ John
Hall wear his chinstrap around his throat? Kickers… Film room ribbing of the
week. Atlanta’s Keion Carpenter
was completely steam rolled by Deuce McAllister. And Carpenter’s no 185 pound corner. He’s a solid safety playing at 205. The announcers commented
that Indianapolis hasn’t kicked off for a touchback in 2 years. Is that right? I hate to admit it but I’m
with Michael Irvin on this one following a tirade by former Coach Jim
Mora about what a terrible distraction Randy Moss was and how he was more
trouble than he was worth and the Vikings might be better off without him. Irvin listened and says, “Who is Jim Mora
to be talking like that? Find me a
coach that’s still coaching” Tony Siragusa’s neck is completely gone. Hard Luck Awards for the
week: CIN RB Corey Dillon 4
yard rush to the 1 (Jon Kitna to
Lorenzo Neal TD) CIN RB Corey Dillon
rush for no gain to the 1 DAL QB Chad Hutchinson
12 yard pass to Tony McGee to the 1
(Emmitt Smith TD) PIT QB Tommy Maddox 7
yard pass to Terance Mathis to the 1 (Amos Zereoue TD) OAK RB Zack Crockett
1 yard rush to the 1 (Gannon to Jolley TD) IND RB Edgerrin James
rush for no gain to the 1 (Peyton Manning rush TD) IND QB Peyton Manning
5 yard pass to Marvin Harrison to the 2
(Manning to James TD) NO QB Aaron Brooks
rush for no gain to the 1 (Deuce McAllister TD) MIN QB Daunte Culpepper
rush for no gain to the 1 (Moe Williams TD) MIN QB Daunte Culpepper
6 yard pass to Randy Moss to the 1 (Gary Anderson FG) MIN QB Daunte Culpepper
2 yard rush to the 1 and fumbles HOU RB James Allen 4
yard rush to the 1 (David Carr
to Billy Miller TD) DEN RB Mike Anderson
rush for no gain to the 1 (Jason Elam FG) Sometimes it’s better to
just not know… Former Coach Bill
Parcells made an interesting point about Pittsburgh QB Tommy Maddox
when he said he wants to see how Maddox responds when he’s suddenly down
14-0. That was the undoing of Kordell
Stewart. Gut feel? He’ll do just fine. The only question about the Pittsburgh QB
situation is why it took so long for Maddox to start. Much has been made of Peyton
Manning’s 0-5 record against Coach Steve Spurrier (0-4 Tennessee vs
Florida and then this past week’s loss)
That’s really pretty funny because there isn’t a coach in the league who
has less to do with shutting down the opposing QB than Steve Spurrier. He’ll tell you that. Manning may be 0-5 against Ron Zook or
Marvin Lewis but not Steve Spurrier. Why isn’t more being made of
the plastic beer bottle throwing incidents in Oakland and New England? The “in depth” TV segments
with the athlete profiles kill me.
Honestly, do people really want to know that stuff? I’ve got as much interest in Curtis
Martin’s art collection as I do Tom Cruise’s political views. Maybe it’s shallow, but I’m interested in
these guys because they play football. Has Bryant Gumbel
fallen this far? His HBO show is hyped
with full page ads in the Sporting News featuring 3 inch type headline
promoting the Esera Tuaolo story with “COMING OUT”. What possible good can come
from Jeremy Shockey calling out the Eagle secondary prior to the
game? I know he’s a rookie but some
things you just have to know. We’re not ready to say
Cincinnati’s WR Chad Johnson is the answer, but at least he seems to
understand the question. That’ll do
it for this week. Here’s to Football… Joe Joe Bryant
is the co-owner of Footballguys.com You can usually find him on Sunday
afternoon staring at the Sunday Ticket broadcast muttering “this is so cool…” |