KingPriest2
11-04-2004, 01:07 PM
Giddy up
The young Texans are quickly moving to the front of the herd
Posted: Wednesday November 3, 2004 11:36AM; Updated: Wednesday November 3, 2004 3:14PM
Six of my top 10 lost, but this is such a common occurrence now that I won't even mention it. But you just mentioned it. OK, OK, I won't mention it again -- until next week. Thank you. Don't mention it.
Enough minor foolishness, and let's get to something really foolish:
NFL Power Rankings
Rank LW Team
1 2 Philadelphia Eagles (7-0)
The Ravens did not assign their best cornerback, Chris McAlister, man coverage on T.O. for the entire game, as some people, myself included, thought they would. McAlister covered him on just one pass, a fly pattern in the third quarter, and he broke it up in the end zone. No, as it turned out, most of the work fell to 6-foot-2, 215-pound Gary Baxter. I guess because they felt that he was a big guy, therefore a good physical matchup with the 6-3, 226-pound T.O. It was funny watching him trying to get a jam. Owens swatted him away like a fly, and when the game got really serious, took charge of it and put it away. I don't like writing this, because everyone else is, but here's the deal. You want to stop the Eagles, figure out a way to control T.O., because their other weapons, now that Brian Westbrook is down, are minimal. I had a dream last night, honest, in which the Steelers took Joey Porter out of his normal pass-rush responsibility and gave him the job of roughing up Owens in the bump zone. Then Deshea Townsend picked him up downfield. The result was a big fight on the field and both T.O. and Porter were ejected. No, I didn't dream a final score. If I had, I'd have placed a call to Coach T.J. on the coast and told him to bet it for me.
2 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (6-1)
They're my upset pick over Philly. If I'd have known the extent of the Patriots injuries last week, I'd have picked Pittsburgh then, too. The Steelers need another one of those emotional firecracker games on Sunday. Do teams put two of those, back-to-back, in this era? We'll find out. Strategically speaking, as for the possible matchup of LCB Willie Williams on T.O., I quote from the beginning of Gunga Din when the colonel sees that thugee pick stuck in the wall: "I don't like it. I don't like it at all."
3 1 New England Patriots (6-1)
The bleeding hasn't stopped. Usually we don't learn the true extent of Patriot injuries until game day, because they're not frivolous about mentioning them. It was bad enough having both tackles out at the end of the Steelers game, but the real killer was having the secondary decimated. If the situation is the same in St. Louis, we could be looking at loss No. 2.
4 4 New York Jets (6-1)
When you say jet, you're talking about LaMont Jordan, who gained 115 yards in relief of Curtis Martin (115 yards) Monday night. It's taken a while for the Jets to arrive at this good cop-bad cop scenario, but they've really got something going now. Martin softens 'em up with his darting type of running, built on good vision, and then Jordan socks it to them with real punishing power and an impressive burst. It comes at just the right time and the right place, Buffalo, where the Hawk flies -- that means northern wind that blunts the finest passers.
5 12 New York Giants (5-2)
Guess what, they run for little bitty short-yardage touchdowns now. Or at least they did against the Vikes. Why? Because Mike Cloud scores them while Ron Dayne watches in civvies. Scotland Yard has been called in to investigate the case of why it's taken so long for this to happen.
6 3 Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
The Greeks called the shot on this situation thousands of years ago. Hubris and Nemesis. Hubris was all the bragging about Daunte Culpepper. Nemesis was the Giants, who always beat them. Now they face Immensis, which is the volume of yards the Colts gain.
7 13 Houston Texans (4-3)
Last week K.C. drew the angry e-mails, this week it's gonna be Houston. Hey Z, you gettin' paid off by a) Charlie Casserly, b) Dom Capers, c) David Carr, 4) Andre Johnson (pick one)? I like this team, see. They're on the rise. They beat the right people.
8 5 Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3)
Would you agree with me that the AFC South is, overall, the best division for quarterbacks, or it least it was until Byron Leftwich got hurt. How's this lineup, Leftwich, Carr, Peyton Manning and Steve McNair, and only one of them (McNair) is older than 28.
9 9 Kansas City Chiefs (3-4)
I argued my arguments for them in the mailbag last week, so I'm going to move on to ... to ... Dick Vermeil's magic formula (start the player piano, please) for winning. Fifty opportunities to move the ball, which is the sum of pass completions and running plays, will give you the W, he says. Last week in that defensive dogfight against the Colts the Chiefs had 69 opportunites, 42 runs, 27 completions. But the Colts also had ... wait a minute ... they only had 37. Twenty-five completions and a measly 12 rushes. You know, I think coach Vermeil is onto something here.
10 6 Indianapolis Colts (4-3)
On the Colts' first possession in Arrowhead, Hunter Smith, the punter, trotted onto the field on fourth down and was greeted by a standing ovation. He's the chap who didn't have to ply his trade a single time when Indy beat KC in the same place in last year's playoffs. So what did Hunter do this time? He ran for it on fourth-and-14. And got stopped only 12 yards short. Late in the first quarter he tried it again, and this time foot met ball, and his line drive 39-yarder was returned 46 yards by Dante Hall, setting up the Chiefs' second TD. There's a moral in here somewhere, or possibly a message. I just have to dig it out.
11 16 Atlanta Falcons (6-2)
Good win in Denver Sunday. Bad defensive stats to go with it -- in fact in the last two games the D has given up 84 points and 1,107 yards. Seems that someone in counter-intelligence has broken the Falcons' code.
12 14 San Diego Chargers (5-3)
I wanted to raise them more, honest, but too many others intruded on the scene. But for you Chargers fans, I'll give you a nice little touch of nostalgia, how's that? The 42-14 walloping of the Raiders was the worst over Oakland since the 55-21 beating in November of 1981, with such worthies as Dan Fouts and Jimmy Brooks and Chuck Muncie and Kellen Winslow (five TD catches) each doing a star turn. And what was so special about that year? That was the one that featured the great overtime playoff win in Miami, with Winslow catching 13 passes and blocking the kick at the end, remember?
13 8 Denver Broncos (5-3)
John Lynch is out for a month because of what he considered a cheap shot by Atlanta wideout Brian Finneran. On his way off the field, he let the Falcons huddle know what he thought of such tactics. Now Lynch is one of the really nice guys in football, but he's also an attack dog on the field and his resume contains its share of cheap shots. I'm particularly reminded of a real nasty one he laid on the Titans' Justin McCairens last year that knocked McCairens goofy for a while and had the Tennessee players hollering bloody murder and swearing revenge. I remember it so well because it was the defense that swore revenge on the Bucs' offensive players, which seemed a bit distorted, but I watched with interest anyway, to see exactly what sort of atrocities would be committed. So what happened? The Bucs marched right down the field and scored on their next possession, and no one wound up in intensive care. This bit of recent nostalgia has nothing to do with anything apropos, but by now you must know that it's kind of a sickness with me, the love of the extraneous.
14 15 Green Bay Packers (4-4)
By the time you read this, most of the election returns will be in, so you will know if the presidential jinx holds up. You've heard it ... they handed the Redskins a loss in the Skins' last home game before the election, so that means the incumbent loses. This is so serious that I can't joke about it. Let's put it this way. I never rooted as hard for Lombardi's Packers.
15 10 Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
Jamal Lewis was out, and so was All-Pro LT Jonathan Ogden, so they really had no weapons with which to beat the Eagles. I'm wondering if they would have pulled it off if both these gentleman had been present, since Philly's offense did little for almost a full three quarters. That question will be answered, and many more like it, this Sunday against Cleveland. Who am I kidding? Football questions don't get answered. They just get asked over and over again.
16 20 Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
I've noticed an interesting trend. Opposing QBs seem to be picking on left corner Marcus Trufant, who's supposed to be a shutdown type, as much or more than the guy on the other side, Ken Lucas, who's been, until this year, more or less of a journeyman. Just mentioning it.
17 22 Dallas Cowboys (3-4)
Why has left corner Terence Newman been getting beaten so much? And I don't even have a handle on their right corner. They can do it on a pass rush and prayer against Detroit, but Cincy could light 'em up with Chad Johnson Sunday, and then they face Donovan McNabb and T.O. the following week, and then it's Baltimore and Chicago, and ... uh, that's where it ends.
18 11 Detroit Lions (4-3)
No insult, fellas, but with Roy Williams inactive, there just wasn't much of an offense. Is there one single, solitary reader out there who doesn't know this already?
19 17 Cleveland Browns (3-4)
A bye for them, a bye for me, we move on.
20 18 St. Louis Rams (4-3)
A bye for them, a bye ... what? It won't work again? Well, I've picked them to upset the wounded Patriots Sunday, but the guys who set the price aren't exactly enamored with the world champs, either, because the number's only 2 1/2.
21 23 Tennessee Titans (3-5)
And Billy Volek goes for 210 against the Bengals. You know something? The way the rules are nowadays, you could take a mule off an old Bonanza show, put a helmet and pads on him and he'd throw for 200 yards.
22 21 Cincinnati Bengals (2-5)
OK, now I've got to justify why I moved teams to certain areas on my board, because people's feelings are at stake. I felt that the Bengals, in an effort to hold their 21st spot, gamely hung in against Tennessee but were done in by their inability to stop the run. Therefore my considered opinion is that they should be lowered one place, since they are repeat offenders.
23 24 New Orleans Saints (3-4)
If they win their next three, against the Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos, they will be crowned AFC West champs, which might get them into the playoffs, on appeal.
24 31 Buffalo Bills (2-5)
They have four games remaining at home, and I would not count them out of any of them, since they had what it takes to overcome the Hawk ... a strong arm QB who can cut through the wind, running game, tough defense, and an asset that most people don't think of, a terrific punter in Brian Moorman, who can really hang 'em against those northern gusts.
25 19 Arizona Cardinals (2-5)
I'm not through with the latter point. A hidden factor in Sunday's blowout in Buffalo was the inability of by Scott Player, who's fairly effective in the desert, to cope with the Hawk, which gusted up to 40 mph. Moorman could, Player couldn't. Field position counts, or so I'm told.
26 26 Washington Redskins (2-5)
If someone would have come up to Joe Gibbs in the preseason and said, "Hey Joe, by the end of October you're gonna be five games behind the Eagles," what do you think he would have said? Oh. I know what he would have said, and it's not something he learned in his bible class.
27 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)
In order to incur no anger from Bucs fans, whom I know take this stuff more seriously than sane people would, I vowed that their bye week would not move them from their assigned spot. That's the team, not the fans.
28 25 Carolina Panthers (1-6)
On the record, they should be lower, but I don't have the heart. John Fox is too nice a guy. Oh, you're letting personal stuff interfere with the rankings, huh? Congratulations, you've passed the test.
29 32 Chicago Bears (2-5)
Now how did ESPN promote their Sunday nighter against the Niners (I don't know yet, because it's still on the tape)? I'll bet it was, "See Craig Krenzel against Ken Dorsey in a rematch of the famous Fiesta Bowl!" And in a bar in Vallejo, a guy opens a sleepy eye and asks, "Sopranos on tonight?"
30 28 Oakland Raiders (2-6)
As his team was getting blown out by the Chargers, Al Davis supposedly remarked that this was the worst Raiders team he'd ever seen. Well, I did a workup on this club against the 2003 vintage, which went 4-12. Same 2-6 record. Same amount of points scored (138) although last year's club allowed 184 points and the number for this one is 223. Yards per game -- 292.1 for '03, 316.5 for '04. Yards per game allowed -- 342.4 for '03, 350.9 for '04. At this stage I'd call it too close to call, but all the returns aren't in yet.
31 29 Miami Dolphins (1-6)
At 41-7, with a few minutes left Monday night and a while before John Madden noticed the silliness of it, Jay Fiedler was in there running the offense, taking hits, diving for yards, risking injury. I've never figured this out. Is it a kind of we-never-quit mentality, to possibly convince the players that what the scoreboard says is grossly inaccurate?
32 30 San Francisco 49ers (1-6)
I was going to do something clever about total yards and punts and stuff in the Bears game, but I won't flog that poor, sorry affair any more. One interesting note, though. Early this week DE Brandon Whiting went on injured reserve with a torn knee ligament. He was the Eagles' throw-in in the Terrell Owens deal last March, remember? Wonder how many times he's cursed T.O. for not reporting to Baltimore
The young Texans are quickly moving to the front of the herd
Posted: Wednesday November 3, 2004 11:36AM; Updated: Wednesday November 3, 2004 3:14PM
Six of my top 10 lost, but this is such a common occurrence now that I won't even mention it. But you just mentioned it. OK, OK, I won't mention it again -- until next week. Thank you. Don't mention it.
Enough minor foolishness, and let's get to something really foolish:
NFL Power Rankings
Rank LW Team
1 2 Philadelphia Eagles (7-0)
The Ravens did not assign their best cornerback, Chris McAlister, man coverage on T.O. for the entire game, as some people, myself included, thought they would. McAlister covered him on just one pass, a fly pattern in the third quarter, and he broke it up in the end zone. No, as it turned out, most of the work fell to 6-foot-2, 215-pound Gary Baxter. I guess because they felt that he was a big guy, therefore a good physical matchup with the 6-3, 226-pound T.O. It was funny watching him trying to get a jam. Owens swatted him away like a fly, and when the game got really serious, took charge of it and put it away. I don't like writing this, because everyone else is, but here's the deal. You want to stop the Eagles, figure out a way to control T.O., because their other weapons, now that Brian Westbrook is down, are minimal. I had a dream last night, honest, in which the Steelers took Joey Porter out of his normal pass-rush responsibility and gave him the job of roughing up Owens in the bump zone. Then Deshea Townsend picked him up downfield. The result was a big fight on the field and both T.O. and Porter were ejected. No, I didn't dream a final score. If I had, I'd have placed a call to Coach T.J. on the coast and told him to bet it for me.
2 7 Pittsburgh Steelers (6-1)
They're my upset pick over Philly. If I'd have known the extent of the Patriots injuries last week, I'd have picked Pittsburgh then, too. The Steelers need another one of those emotional firecracker games on Sunday. Do teams put two of those, back-to-back, in this era? We'll find out. Strategically speaking, as for the possible matchup of LCB Willie Williams on T.O., I quote from the beginning of Gunga Din when the colonel sees that thugee pick stuck in the wall: "I don't like it. I don't like it at all."
3 1 New England Patriots (6-1)
The bleeding hasn't stopped. Usually we don't learn the true extent of Patriot injuries until game day, because they're not frivolous about mentioning them. It was bad enough having both tackles out at the end of the Steelers game, but the real killer was having the secondary decimated. If the situation is the same in St. Louis, we could be looking at loss No. 2.
4 4 New York Jets (6-1)
When you say jet, you're talking about LaMont Jordan, who gained 115 yards in relief of Curtis Martin (115 yards) Monday night. It's taken a while for the Jets to arrive at this good cop-bad cop scenario, but they've really got something going now. Martin softens 'em up with his darting type of running, built on good vision, and then Jordan socks it to them with real punishing power and an impressive burst. It comes at just the right time and the right place, Buffalo, where the Hawk flies -- that means northern wind that blunts the finest passers.
5 12 New York Giants (5-2)
Guess what, they run for little bitty short-yardage touchdowns now. Or at least they did against the Vikes. Why? Because Mike Cloud scores them while Ron Dayne watches in civvies. Scotland Yard has been called in to investigate the case of why it's taken so long for this to happen.
6 3 Minnesota Vikings (5-2)
The Greeks called the shot on this situation thousands of years ago. Hubris and Nemesis. Hubris was all the bragging about Daunte Culpepper. Nemesis was the Giants, who always beat them. Now they face Immensis, which is the volume of yards the Colts gain.
7 13 Houston Texans (4-3)
Last week K.C. drew the angry e-mails, this week it's gonna be Houston. Hey Z, you gettin' paid off by a) Charlie Casserly, b) Dom Capers, c) David Carr, 4) Andre Johnson (pick one)? I like this team, see. They're on the rise. They beat the right people.
8 5 Jacksonville Jaguars (5-3)
Would you agree with me that the AFC South is, overall, the best division for quarterbacks, or it least it was until Byron Leftwich got hurt. How's this lineup, Leftwich, Carr, Peyton Manning and Steve McNair, and only one of them (McNair) is older than 28.
9 9 Kansas City Chiefs (3-4)
I argued my arguments for them in the mailbag last week, so I'm going to move on to ... to ... Dick Vermeil's magic formula (start the player piano, please) for winning. Fifty opportunities to move the ball, which is the sum of pass completions and running plays, will give you the W, he says. Last week in that defensive dogfight against the Colts the Chiefs had 69 opportunites, 42 runs, 27 completions. But the Colts also had ... wait a minute ... they only had 37. Twenty-five completions and a measly 12 rushes. You know, I think coach Vermeil is onto something here.
10 6 Indianapolis Colts (4-3)
On the Colts' first possession in Arrowhead, Hunter Smith, the punter, trotted onto the field on fourth down and was greeted by a standing ovation. He's the chap who didn't have to ply his trade a single time when Indy beat KC in the same place in last year's playoffs. So what did Hunter do this time? He ran for it on fourth-and-14. And got stopped only 12 yards short. Late in the first quarter he tried it again, and this time foot met ball, and his line drive 39-yarder was returned 46 yards by Dante Hall, setting up the Chiefs' second TD. There's a moral in here somewhere, or possibly a message. I just have to dig it out.
11 16 Atlanta Falcons (6-2)
Good win in Denver Sunday. Bad defensive stats to go with it -- in fact in the last two games the D has given up 84 points and 1,107 yards. Seems that someone in counter-intelligence has broken the Falcons' code.
12 14 San Diego Chargers (5-3)
I wanted to raise them more, honest, but too many others intruded on the scene. But for you Chargers fans, I'll give you a nice little touch of nostalgia, how's that? The 42-14 walloping of the Raiders was the worst over Oakland since the 55-21 beating in November of 1981, with such worthies as Dan Fouts and Jimmy Brooks and Chuck Muncie and Kellen Winslow (five TD catches) each doing a star turn. And what was so special about that year? That was the one that featured the great overtime playoff win in Miami, with Winslow catching 13 passes and blocking the kick at the end, remember?
13 8 Denver Broncos (5-3)
John Lynch is out for a month because of what he considered a cheap shot by Atlanta wideout Brian Finneran. On his way off the field, he let the Falcons huddle know what he thought of such tactics. Now Lynch is one of the really nice guys in football, but he's also an attack dog on the field and his resume contains its share of cheap shots. I'm particularly reminded of a real nasty one he laid on the Titans' Justin McCairens last year that knocked McCairens goofy for a while and had the Tennessee players hollering bloody murder and swearing revenge. I remember it so well because it was the defense that swore revenge on the Bucs' offensive players, which seemed a bit distorted, but I watched with interest anyway, to see exactly what sort of atrocities would be committed. So what happened? The Bucs marched right down the field and scored on their next possession, and no one wound up in intensive care. This bit of recent nostalgia has nothing to do with anything apropos, but by now you must know that it's kind of a sickness with me, the love of the extraneous.
14 15 Green Bay Packers (4-4)
By the time you read this, most of the election returns will be in, so you will know if the presidential jinx holds up. You've heard it ... they handed the Redskins a loss in the Skins' last home game before the election, so that means the incumbent loses. This is so serious that I can't joke about it. Let's put it this way. I never rooted as hard for Lombardi's Packers.
15 10 Baltimore Ravens (4-3)
Jamal Lewis was out, and so was All-Pro LT Jonathan Ogden, so they really had no weapons with which to beat the Eagles. I'm wondering if they would have pulled it off if both these gentleman had been present, since Philly's offense did little for almost a full three quarters. That question will be answered, and many more like it, this Sunday against Cleveland. Who am I kidding? Football questions don't get answered. They just get asked over and over again.
16 20 Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
I've noticed an interesting trend. Opposing QBs seem to be picking on left corner Marcus Trufant, who's supposed to be a shutdown type, as much or more than the guy on the other side, Ken Lucas, who's been, until this year, more or less of a journeyman. Just mentioning it.
17 22 Dallas Cowboys (3-4)
Why has left corner Terence Newman been getting beaten so much? And I don't even have a handle on their right corner. They can do it on a pass rush and prayer against Detroit, but Cincy could light 'em up with Chad Johnson Sunday, and then they face Donovan McNabb and T.O. the following week, and then it's Baltimore and Chicago, and ... uh, that's where it ends.
18 11 Detroit Lions (4-3)
No insult, fellas, but with Roy Williams inactive, there just wasn't much of an offense. Is there one single, solitary reader out there who doesn't know this already?
19 17 Cleveland Browns (3-4)
A bye for them, a bye for me, we move on.
20 18 St. Louis Rams (4-3)
A bye for them, a bye ... what? It won't work again? Well, I've picked them to upset the wounded Patriots Sunday, but the guys who set the price aren't exactly enamored with the world champs, either, because the number's only 2 1/2.
21 23 Tennessee Titans (3-5)
And Billy Volek goes for 210 against the Bengals. You know something? The way the rules are nowadays, you could take a mule off an old Bonanza show, put a helmet and pads on him and he'd throw for 200 yards.
22 21 Cincinnati Bengals (2-5)
OK, now I've got to justify why I moved teams to certain areas on my board, because people's feelings are at stake. I felt that the Bengals, in an effort to hold their 21st spot, gamely hung in against Tennessee but were done in by their inability to stop the run. Therefore my considered opinion is that they should be lowered one place, since they are repeat offenders.
23 24 New Orleans Saints (3-4)
If they win their next three, against the Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos, they will be crowned AFC West champs, which might get them into the playoffs, on appeal.
24 31 Buffalo Bills (2-5)
They have four games remaining at home, and I would not count them out of any of them, since they had what it takes to overcome the Hawk ... a strong arm QB who can cut through the wind, running game, tough defense, and an asset that most people don't think of, a terrific punter in Brian Moorman, who can really hang 'em against those northern gusts.
25 19 Arizona Cardinals (2-5)
I'm not through with the latter point. A hidden factor in Sunday's blowout in Buffalo was the inability of by Scott Player, who's fairly effective in the desert, to cope with the Hawk, which gusted up to 40 mph. Moorman could, Player couldn't. Field position counts, or so I'm told.
26 26 Washington Redskins (2-5)
If someone would have come up to Joe Gibbs in the preseason and said, "Hey Joe, by the end of October you're gonna be five games behind the Eagles," what do you think he would have said? Oh. I know what he would have said, and it's not something he learned in his bible class.
27 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)
In order to incur no anger from Bucs fans, whom I know take this stuff more seriously than sane people would, I vowed that their bye week would not move them from their assigned spot. That's the team, not the fans.
28 25 Carolina Panthers (1-6)
On the record, they should be lower, but I don't have the heart. John Fox is too nice a guy. Oh, you're letting personal stuff interfere with the rankings, huh? Congratulations, you've passed the test.
29 32 Chicago Bears (2-5)
Now how did ESPN promote their Sunday nighter against the Niners (I don't know yet, because it's still on the tape)? I'll bet it was, "See Craig Krenzel against Ken Dorsey in a rematch of the famous Fiesta Bowl!" And in a bar in Vallejo, a guy opens a sleepy eye and asks, "Sopranos on tonight?"
30 28 Oakland Raiders (2-6)
As his team was getting blown out by the Chargers, Al Davis supposedly remarked that this was the worst Raiders team he'd ever seen. Well, I did a workup on this club against the 2003 vintage, which went 4-12. Same 2-6 record. Same amount of points scored (138) although last year's club allowed 184 points and the number for this one is 223. Yards per game -- 292.1 for '03, 316.5 for '04. Yards per game allowed -- 342.4 for '03, 350.9 for '04. At this stage I'd call it too close to call, but all the returns aren't in yet.
31 29 Miami Dolphins (1-6)
At 41-7, with a few minutes left Monday night and a while before John Madden noticed the silliness of it, Jay Fiedler was in there running the offense, taking hits, diving for yards, risking injury. I've never figured this out. Is it a kind of we-never-quit mentality, to possibly convince the players that what the scoreboard says is grossly inaccurate?
32 30 San Francisco 49ers (1-6)
I was going to do something clever about total yards and punts and stuff in the Bears game, but I won't flog that poor, sorry affair any more. One interesting note, though. Early this week DE Brandon Whiting went on injured reserve with a torn knee ligament. He was the Eagles' throw-in in the Terrell Owens deal last March, remember? Wonder how many times he's cursed T.O. for not reporting to Baltimore