Some Game of the Century, huh?
Despite the Original 81's warning for all of us media folk to have our popcorn ready for Sunday's showdown with New England, the Other 81 and the rest of the Patriots left the Cowboys in the same state they seem to leave every opponent these days: utterly despondent, slightly demoralized and muttering to anyone who will listen about a rematch down the road.
"I told my coach Sunday], 'If *they* make it to Arizona, we will see them again,'" Dallas wide receiver Patrick Crayton said Monday, stressing the "they" - as in the 6-0 rampaging [Patriots. "If they make it to Arizona, we will see them again. Seriously, I'm not backing down from that statement."
Well, then, if we're being serious, perhaps someone needs to inform young Crayton that, in statement games, statements should be made, you know, within the actual game. I guess that someone is your humble narrator. Someone who goes from a seventh-round draft choice out of Northwestern Oklahoma State to the No. 2 receiver behind Terrell Owens, as Crayton has done in just four short years, has a right to feel cocky. But still, shouldn't he check himself here? Alas, he wasn't finished, saying the New England defense only stopped Dallas "when we had penalties. If that's stopping us, it is what it is. But they're definitely not the real deal."
Well, at least he gets points for dropping an "it is what it is" on us. You will always get points around here using that in the form of a sentence. Even if you're making very little sense.
Am I reading the schedule incorrectly? Is there only one game this week? COME ON !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Terry Dougherty
Very biting, Terry, and quite to the point. Indeed, if you thought New England vs. Dallas was the only game on the NFL schedule, then you watched the worst blowout of Week 6 and missed a lot: the Saints' stunning win in Seattle, the Packers joining Dallas atop the NFC at 5-1, Jacksonville's thumping home win over Houston, LaDainian Tomlinson's fifth career four-touchdown game and, last but certainly not least, the breathtaking performance of Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson.
*Rich,
I know we aren't close, but I was wondering if you could do something special for my birthday next week. Fix the Vikings. Please. I don't mean write about how to do it on your blog (which I love, by the way).
I mean literally fix them. You're an NFL insider, right? You must know some receivers or quarterbacks. Get on the phone and see what you can get done.
At the very least, see if Prime Time has another comeback in him.
Seriously. Help is needed.
Sincerely,
Nick Ayers
P.S. -- Did buttering you up about the blog work at all?*
Get Rich, Quick
Care to add your voice to the discussion? Or cozy up to a guy with the ultimate in Total Access? Or simply register your vote in his latest contest? That's why they invented e-mail. Fire away at getrichquick@nfl.com.
Did it work? Nick, focus. Did it work?! Did you not see what Peterson delivered for your birthday? How does 361 all-purpose yards, the third-most in NFL history, suit you? How about the most rushing yards in a single game in not only Minnesota Vikings history, but also the most by an opponent in the lush history of Chicago Bears defense? Consider the Minnesota Vikings officially fixed! And don't any one of you out there ever doubt the sheer power of this blog again. Run tell that!
Seriously, how great is this kid? On NFL GameDay Sunday, Deion Sanders said the seventh overall choice out of Oklahoma has the vision of Marshall Faulk, the speed of Terrell Davis and the power of Eric Dickerson but hopes he also has the staying power of Emmitt Smith. Peterson's questionable durability in college was the main knock against him at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. That said, so far so very good. Just five games into his NFL career, Peterson has 607 yards rushing, the second-most post-merger yards in the first five games for an NFL rookie since the aforementioned Dickerson. And a health update: just five games in, Peterson's healthy as an ox.
Next up for Peterson? At Dallas, where, despite Peterson's perforation of the Bears defense and the Saints clutch win and Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard's taming of the Texans and LT's evening of San Diego's record to 3-3 thanks to four paydirts, New England just rendered everything else moot for quite a lot of people.
Want to talk historic performances? The Patriots put up 48 in Dallas (the second-most points the Cowboys have ever given up at home) as Tom Brady threw five -- five! -- more touchdowns Sunday to give him a record six -- six! -- straight games with three or more touchdowns to start the season. (No, this wasn't a birthday request from a Patriots fan in The Readership.) Brady now has a stupefying 21 -- 21! -- touchdowns through six games, easily on pace to throw for a silly 57 touchdowns -- 57 touchdowns! -- which would disintegratePeyton Manning's record of 49. How is that Randy Moss acquisition working out indeed. Well, it's working out so well that these were exact stat lines that so many naysayers said would create a Grade-A Moss you-know-what storm if they materialized in a huge, nationally-televised game against a rival receiver. Only 6 receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown for Moss while his other receiver mates not only caught more balls and twice many yards than him but a combined for three times as many touchdowns. That's supposed to infuriate Moss because, despite the win, he didn't get his catches, right? Well, here's what he said afterwards:
"I just wanted to go out there and do what I could to help my team win this game," Moss said. "I didn't want to feed off what [Owens] was saying or the hype between two 81s. I don't buy into that. I got a job to do and that's go out and try to catch touchdowns and get first downs. That's what I tried to do today."
Is that straight out of the Belichick script or what? Then, there was this about New England's remarkable start:
"I can honestly say when we came into the season, we didn't talk about any records, or what could be broken," Moss said. "The only thing we want to do is practice week in and week out, and execute. The numbers this team is putting up, I don't think we really pay too much attention to it. The only thing we're happy about is we're 6-0."
The sound you hear is Art Shell falling off his chair.
Consider the popcorn popped.
But wait, there's more
Now, I'm not one of those observers. I mean, I get paid to talk football year round and if there's only one more game worth talking about between now and January, I might as well just sit back and sell a book. Wait a minute. I am going to be doing that between now and January anyway.
But, back to my point.
While it's now tough to consider an NFC team a viable candidate to win the Super Bowl, I'm not ready to cede the AFC to the Patriots and Colts just yet. First of all, it's a rarity to see two teams play for the AFC Championship in back-to-back years. In fact, it's only happened three times, most recently taking place exactly 20 seasons ago when the Broncos and Browns faced off for a second straight year in 1988. Secondly, the Pittsburgh Steelers are poised to have a quality stake in this race.
While New England's defense may not be the real deal in the eyes of Patrick Crayton, it appears to be so for the rest of the league - ranked second overall, behind Pittsburgh. Look at the offensive standings and the Steelers happen to rank first overall in the AFC in average rushing yards per game. Last I checked, an effective running game and a shutdown defense are the top two ingredients in winning a title. Right there on the NFL docket, just five weeks after the so-called next Game of the Century between the Patriots and the Colts, lurks a Week 14 visit for Pittsburgh to New England. Win that game and it's a whole different ball of wax in the AFC, right?
Of course, the Steelers must keep on keepin' on between now and then - a tall order when you consider the Ravens always like exacting their pound of Black and Gold flesh when they can. But the Steelers only face Baltimore once between now and Week 14. Pittsburgh's other contests to successfully negotiate: at Denver, vs. Cleveland, at the Jets, vs. Miami and two games with the suddenly sad sack Bengals. The Patriots may one day discount the Steelers, but who among us will currently count them out of the AFC mix?
And if you want to search for another important AFC game other than the Week 9 Game of the Century, there's one the very next week -- Week 10, Sunday Night, Colts at Chargers. As previously mentioned, the Chargers have hit their bye week at the .500 mark, thanks to their first game of the season featuring a multiple touchdown game from Tomlinson and a multiple sack game from Shawne Merriman. After the bye comes a home date with Houston, a visit to Minneapolis (LT vs. AP - let the hype begin now!) and then the home date with Indianapolis, perhaps mentally fried from their previous week's battle with New England.
In other words, the Chargers might have a nice head of steam and confidence heading into that contest with Indianapolis. By that point, coach Norv Turner should have fully assimilated San Diego's newest acquisition into his offense - Pro Bowl wide receiver Chris Chambers. (Someone want to run by me how getting rid of Chris Chambers and Wes Welker to two of the most threatening competitors in their conference makes the Dolphins better?) Add Chambers to the mix with a burgeoning Vincent Jackson and an unstoppable LT-Antonio Gates tandem and you've got yourself a dangerous unit. If Philip Rivers can get them the ball. And Norv Turner can make them all blend.
And I hate to say it -- because I've been burned year after year thinking that the Jaguars could morph into a top-tier threat in the AFC - but this week's Monday night game in Jacksonville may prove to be a huge one. His timing may have been off, but Jack Del Rio appears to have made the right move by moving on from Byron Leftwich in favor of David Garrard, who has rewarded Del Rio by not throwing a single interception all year. Maurice Jones-Drew, a.k.a Pocket Hercules, has proven his sensational rookie year was no flash in the pan. After a season-opening dud against Tennessee, Jacksonville and its defense has responded with four impressive outings.
But, now here come the Colts. With a healthy Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai. Coming off a bye week in which most of the free football world anointed the Patriots as 2007 National Football League champions. They will be ornery. They will be poised. And even if Jacksonville beats them and surprisingly takes over the AFC South lead after seven weeks, it's far from over. After hosting the Colts, Jacksonville must head out on the road for three straight games: at Tampa Bay, at New Orleans and at Tennessee. And when they finally get home from on Nov. 18, the San Diego Chargers will be waiting. Good luck with all that. To many, the AFC could use the drama.
A star is born
Speaking of drama…everyone should set their TiVos for CSI: Miami this week. I know. It's a moot request. Of course, everyone has already season-passed the exploits of Horatio Cane and the suddenly shockingly bald Rex Linn and the rest of the not-so-merry troupe of South Florida forensic detectives. But this week's episode, in particular, will be… well… ear-catching. Next Monday on CBS (America's and Jim Nantz's Most Watched Network), David Caruso and his omnipresent sunglasses will be investigating the tragic passing of a fictional football great. With the script calling for a review of this fictional football great's fictional highlights, the CSI: Miami producers needed someone to call the fictional play-by-play of this fictional great's fictional highlights. So they called in an actual bona fide sportscasting professional. You betcha. They called in your humble narrator.
Immediately, I demanded an on-camera role and a trailer bigger than Caruso's (with room temperature bottled water only!) and, at the very least, a game-worn pair of his sunglasses. But my Hollywood dream soon came crashing down to Earth. Like Judge Smails' grandson, Spaulding, I got nothing and liked it. Actually, I got a CSI: Miami hat. And scale pay for the voiceover session. And memories to last a lifetime. So, while the Jaguars and Colts have at it, join me in TiVo-ing a very special CSI: Miami Monday night and listening for that brief moment of glory. I'd love to hear your reviews of my performance at getrichquick@nfl.com. Please no autographs.
