This past week has also had its share of incidents that were enough to make you run and hide or shake your head in utter disbelief.
In Tennessee, owner Bud Adams expresses his man crush on QB Vince Young. Coach Fisher announces on Thursday that Young is now the starting QB. For those of you playing at home, the Titans do have a GM. Things appear out of tune in Music City.
The atrocity on the field has now bled into the stands in Cleveland. A petition has gone out to all the denizens of the Dawg Pound to boycott the start of the game on Nov. 16th vs. Baltimore on Monday Night Football. He wants them to stay on the concourses, outside the stadium, or in bathrooms until the kickoff is over. He wants owner Randy Lerner to get a clear message that the fans have had enough. I have an idea: Just don't go to the game.
Upon further review, Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell has, in fact, admitted that last week's loss was his fault. He now sees that he made some mistakes. "We still have a lot of football to go...It's going to be OK, I promise. Just take my word that things are going to get better. I can't tell you when, but I know they are." Isn't that what they said on the Titanic?
Long-time Chiefs idiot Larry Johnson used a gay slur twice this week expressing his displeasure with Kansas City's coaches and the direction of the team. According to GM Scott Pioli, that includes creating a new culture and attitude in order to raise up a struggling franchise that has sunk to the NFL ocean floor. It's also well-known that disloyalty will not be tolerated.
Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has taken his share of sacks over the years. He's been driven into the turf 212 times since 2004 which is a NFL high for 87 games. So, I guess it should be no surprise then that he got sacked...during a bye week. In last week's win vs. the Vikings, Big Ben was thrown for a one-yard loss. Not anymore. An NFL scoring change is now calling it a sack.
There were also several teams that were the victims of brutal slayings. Cleveland remained true to form as Green Bay buried them 31-3. Kansas City avoided the upset by submitting to San Diego 37-7. Indianapolis ravaged the Rams 42-6 to stay unbeaten. In London, New England put on a jolly good show in old England by destroying Tampa 35-7. Oakland proved that they aren't a fluke by getting hammered by the Jets 38-0. And, Cincinnati was not a good host as they were very rude to Chicago 45-10. Six out of 13 games were blowouts with a combined score of 228-33.
Let's take a look at the Week 8 contests as we try to get past Halloween.
- Denver Broncos (6-0) at Baltimore Ravens (3-3): CBS, 1pm EST - Both teams are coming off byes, have suffocating defenses and balanced offenses, and young coaches who excel at putting together a game plan. This should be quite a ride.
- Cleveland Browns (1-6) at Chicago Bears (3-3): CBS, 1pm EST - I wonder if Browns coach Eric Mangini knows what he wants to be when he grows up.
- Houston Texans (4-3) at Buffalo Bills (3-4): CBS, 1pm EST - Normally, you wouldn't pick these two teams as being dangerous away from home, but both are becoming road warriors. Buffalo's ball-stealing secondary will have its hands full with Matt Schaub and Co.
- Miami Dolphins (2-4) at NY Jets (4-3): CBS, 1pm EST - If I had told you before the season began that by Week 8 the top two rushing teams would be the Jets and Dolphins, you would have laughed in my face. I have a feeling the Jets have their sense of humor back.
- St. Louis Rams (0-7) at Detroit Lions (1-5): FOX, 1pm EST - How bad do Lions fans want to see their team get out of their funk? The game is blacked out in Detroit.
- Seattle Seahawks (2-4) at Dallas Cowboys (4-2): FOX, 1pm EST - This is actually a critical game for Dallas who if facing Philly and Green Bay on the road the next two weeks, and if they want to be a playoff team, they must show up like they did last week vs. Atlanta.
- San Francisco 49ers (3-3) at Indianapolis Colts (6-0): FOX, 1pm EST - I think you could randomly select anyone in the crowd and let them be head coach while making QB Peyton Manning the offensive coordinator, and get the same results.
- NY Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-2): FOX, 1pm EST - There's no doubt that this is a big day in the City of Brotherly Love. The Eagles host the hated Giants who will be looking to exact revenge on Philly after last year's playoff defeat. Across the street, the Phillies host the Yankees a few hours later. Good times.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) at Tennessee Titans (0-6): CBS, 4:05pm EST - This has the elements of being a closer game than the records indicate. Both squads have lethal running attacks and the two worst secondaries in the league. It also marks the beginning of the Vince Young era...again...so the home crowd will be pumped.
- Oakland Raiders (2-5) at San Diego Chargers (3-3): CBS, 4:05pm EST - A loss to the Raiders could result in a massive amount of For Sale signs showing up in Norv Turner's front yard.
- Carolina Panthers (2-4) at Arizona Cardinals (4-2): FOX, 4:15pm EST - Last week, the Panthers allowed only 167 net yards and nine first downs to Buffalo...and lost. This week, Carolina visits the red hot Cardinals. Need I say more?
- Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at Green Bay Packers (4-2): FOX, 4:15pm EST - It's time. The reality that Packers fans have been dreading will come to pass when Brett Favre steps onto Lambeau Field wearing the scariest costume on the face of the earth. You can dissect this game as microscopic as you want, but Favre will be juiced for this ultimate showdown. Everyone will.
- Atlanta Falcons (4-2) at New Orleans Saints (6-0): ESPN, 8:30pm EST, MNF - Preparing a game plan against this smoldering Saints squad is like raking leafs in a wind storm.
BYE: BENGALS, CHIEFS, PATRIOTS, STEELERS, BUCCANEERS, REDSKINS
STANDINGS:
Adam Schefter: 11-2, 74-29
Chris Mortensen: 8-5, 72-31
Cris Carter: 7-6, 71-32
Peter King: 10-3, 70-33
Keyshawn Johnson: 7-6, 69-34
Mike Ditka: 8-5, 68-35
Eddie Chinn: 9-4, 68-35
No comments:
Post a Comment