Sportz Football Weekend Review - 9/19

PICKEM STANDINGS
Angel (21-11)
Sportz   (19-13)
Treesoup   (19-13)
Lew   (18-14)
Kiser Blade   (17-15)
Pre-Jock (17-15)
Raisin   (17-15)
Jamie   (16-16)
Monponsett   (16-16)
George Coztanza (15-17)
NYGFAN   (15-17)
Yannis   (15-17)

*In the NFC, here are your 2-0 teams:  Tampa Bay, Washington winner and the New York Giants. 

*In the NFC, here are your 0-2 teams:  Green Bay, Minnesota and Arizona.  All three of those teams were trendy picks to win divisions. 

*The last time that Tampa Bay [the worst team of the 1980s] and Cincinnati [the worst team of the 1990s] were both 2-0 in the same season was 1992. 

*Speaking of that...the last time both the Packers and Vikings were 0-2 was way back in.....NEVER.  Never.  It hasn't happened.  Um, well, now it has. 

*Since those teams are doing so poorly, the Bears suddenly become the favorite to win the NFC North.  Huh?  Well, they just murdered the only other team in that division to win a game, Detroit.  They did so with excellent team defense, running and Kyle Orton's breathtaking leadership.  I watched him against the Redskins last week, and he was as composed as any veteran could be.  It's obvious that the coaching staff believes in him...but his teammates really do as well.  All of that together does make Da Bears an intriguing playoff caliber team. 

*Anyone see how that Cards-Rams game ended??  Down 17-12...the Cards [whose fans had been tossing garbage on the field before they started their drive] waltzed down the field and got the ball into the redzone.  With no timeouts....the Rams blitzed Kurt Warner and he takes a sack.  Instead of getting everyone to the line and spiking the ball...he wants to run a play.  With :07 left, the ball is snapped...but whistles blow.  The left tackle moved before the snap...which [since they were in the final 2 minutes] resulted in a 10 second runoff....which ended the game.  Congrats Warner!!! 

*PS...I laughed my butt off on that fat dude from MAD TV's take of Jim Rome on Fox NFL Sunday.  All day long I was saying "Hil-arious" in my head. 

*The Patriots did everything in their own power to screw up in Carolina.  They committed 3 turnovers, including one late in the game, and they were penalized 12 times.  But those are pretty correctable, especially for such a well coached and experienced team.  What should worry Pats fans is Corey Dillon's funk.  While he did score twice against Oakland, he's only rushed for 99 yards this season with a per-carry average of 2.6.  Not just that, but he's spent most of his time whining and sulking.  Every time he gets stuffed in a run, he whines to the officials, whines to his linemen or flat out pouts.  Dillon toed the line last year for New England...but he was known as a disruptive force in Cincinnati.  Let's hope that Pats "team" gets to Dillon before he becomes a problem there too.

*That Colts-Jaguars game was so depressing to watch for everyone.  Colts fans [and anyone else] had to be frustrated watching Peyton Manning overthrow receivers all game long.  Jags fans had to be frustrated that they held down that offense, yet could only muster 3 points themselves.  But, the best part of that game hadto be the CBS close-up of Byron Leftwich lobbing the bird to a Colts defender.....twice.  The camera went to Leftwich, who was on his knees looking at the Colts bench.  He points to himself, then throws up the middle finger as he gets up to run over to that sideline.  On the way there, he lobs another bird while the camera shows his face dropping F-bombs.  I'm sure he may get a talking to sometime. 

*Speaking of that....how bad did Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Jake Delhomme and Daunte Culpepper play this past weekend?  If it wasn't for a 70 yd screen pass...Brady would've just tossed for 200 yards.  Hey, that's about 80 yards better than Peyton Manning.  How about Culpepper's 5 picks???  Jake Delhomme threw for just 154 yards to beat the Pats. 

*But, for every bad performance from a star...comes some great performance from a "has-been".  How about Trent Dilfer tossing 3 TDs??  Or Stephen Davis running for 3 TDs?? 

                                  

*On to college....Oklahoma got spanked at UCLA and now falls out of the polls for the first time since 1999!!!  "Wha happened? "......Notre Dame kept up with tradition.  After winning at Pitt and Michigan...the Irish lose at home 44-41.  Isn't this always the way??  Whenever Notre Dame wins a big football game, they put up a stinker the next week out......C'mon Clemson!!  Down by 3 in regulation, the Tigers had a dude wiiiiiiiiiiide open in the endzone and overthrew him.  Make that play, and the Tigers win and Miami goes to 0-2.  Instead, Miami picked off a pass in Overtime #3 to get their first win....This is why I wasn't too high on the Vols this year.  They lost at #6 Florida last week.  They have to play at #3 LSU this week, which the Tigers will make an emotional return to Baton Rouge.  Next up: Ole Miss, #7 Georgia, at Alabama, South Carolina and at #10 Notre Dame.  Yikes!!

NCAA TOP 12
1-USC.  They are at Oregon, Arizona State and Notre Dame in the next month. 
2-TEXAS.  With Oklahoma struggling, the Horns look like they could coast in the Red River game.
3-VIRGINIA TECH.  The Hokies look like the most complete team east of the Mississippi River.
4-LSU.  They make a big homecoming this weekend against Tennessee.
5-OHIO STATE.  They have Iowa coming up...and that win could set them back on track to a Big Ten title.
6-FLORIDA.  I'm not overly impressed by them, but they did win a big game for the first time in a while.
7-LOUISVILLE.  I think they'll be undefeated before it is all said and done. 
8-FLORIDA STATE.  If it wasn't for their defense, they may be 1-2 right now.  Hard to believe that a FSU team has problems passing. 
9-GEORGIA.  There is just something about them I just don't like. 
10-TENNESSEE.  Murderous sked takes them from Gainsville to Baton Rouge. 
11-PURDUE.  Just sailing. 
12-MICHIGAN.  They've got a tough game up at Camp Randall this weekend. 

NFL TOP 10
1-STEELERS.  Well, the Pats lost and the Colts are limping along.  While Pitt hasn't really beaten anyone yet, they've dominated the two teams they didplay.  Only the Bengals can say they've done that.
2-COLTS.  I cannot, in good conscience, put them #1 since they just went 3 quarters without scoring at home and Manning tossed for just 122 yards. 
3-EAGLES.  It looks like McNabb and Owens are cool again.
4-PATRIOTS.  New England got that horrible game out of the way.  Hopefully it is just thatand not something to be too concerned about.
5-BENGALS.  Okay...smacking the Browns is one thing, but totally humiliating the Vikings and Daunte Culpepper is quite another.  This team may be for real. 
6-KANSAS CITY.  Hereare the two scary things.  Holmes is sharing the load so he'll last longer....and the defense is playing pretty well.  Oh, they're not one of the top defenses but they aren't pushovers either. 
7-NY GIANTS.  Look like a legit NFC playoff team.
8-ATLANTA.  They had a huge letdown in Seattle, and still almost came back home with a win.
9-WASHINGTON  Yep!!!  Hail To The Redskins...Hail Victory!!!! 
10-TAMPA BAY.  Beating the Vikes and Bills aren't too impressive...but this defense looks like they did a few years back.  Oh, and that Cadillac is quite a beaut!!!