After taking a break last week to cover college basketball media days, the Tuesday 10-spot is back, talking about the happenings in NFL from this week. I am still coming off the high that is covering the New Orleans Saints-New England Patriots game in person, and a couple of my thoughts this week stem from being in Foxboro. If you have any thoughts on this past week (or this coming week) in The League, comments are more than welcome! Here we go…
1. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens have been reincarnated in the form of the 2013 Kansas City Chiefs.
Honestly, the comparisons between the Super Bowl XXXV champions and the 6-0 Chiefs are eerie: the best scoring defense in the NFL, talent at every level on the defense, a reliance on superstar running backs whose first names happen to be homonyms (Jamal Lewis vs. Jamaal Charles), one big pass-catching threat (Shannon Sharpe vs. Dwayne Bowe), a dynamic return man on special teams (Jermaine Lewis vs. Dexter McCluster), etc. And like Baltimore over a decade ago, the biggest question is at quarterback. (Don’t tell that to Trent Dilfer, though.) Alex Smith may hold an unbelievably gaudy record as a starter recently (25-5-1 since the beginning of 2011) but his inability to consistently stretch the field, along with the entire offense’s ability to score points, may hold the team back from being of Super Bowl quality. Regardless, the two games between the Denver Broncos and the Chiefs in a three-week span (Nov. 17, Dec. 1) is must-see TV, being it’s the proverbial match-up between unstoppable force (Denver offense) and immovable object (Kansas City defense).
2. This season will go down as the worst in Tampa Bay Buccaneers franchise history.
Given the franchise started its history by losing its first 26 games, that’s saying something. At least back then, there was not a public smearing of a franchise quarterback, a breach in confidentiality due to the leak of a medical condition of same franchise quarterback, a staph infection outbreak in the team facilities, a suspicious attempt to absolve themselves from any fault for same staph infection outbreak with one of its players, and a borderline player revolt of the despotism that is the Greg Schiano regime. All this makes the days of Bucco Bruce look like the Roaring Twenties.
3. Enough with the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. (fill-in-the-blank top college team) talk.
It’s tired, old, and lazy conversation-starting. I fell victim to this once a couple of years back with a poor team in another sport, but as bad as the worst professional team is, in any sport, that team’s roster is still littered with all-conference and/or All-American players that are used to the grinds of playing against other professionals on a daily or weekly basis. Put that group up against a bunch of 18-to-22-year-olds and it won’t be pretty. Maybe the better question is this: what if the Jaguars were playing the Miami Sharks from Any Given Sunday? Who’s the better quarterback between Blaine Gabbert and Willie Beamen?
4. Time of possession is overrated? Not so fast.
As much as I keep hearing some football broadcasters and statistical geniuses ready to change the way the game is seen by the typical football fan say that time of possession is the most overrated stat in football, I see what happened Monday night and still hold on to the thought that it is not. The number one reason San Diego handed Indianapolis its second loss was that it possessed the ball for over 38 minutes, proving again that the surefire best way to defend a good offense is to keep them off the field altogether. Starting in the second quarter, the Chargers had four consecutive drives of over 11 plays, including a 17-play drive just before halftime and a 15-play drive that took over nine minutes spanning the third and fourth quarters. Each of those four drives ended in points, and now the Chargers are back to .500 at 3-3.
5. The Dallas Cowboys won the “Pyrrhic victory” award of the week.
What is a Pyrrhic victory, you may ask? It’s of Greek origin, and it is defined as a victory or goal achieved at too great a cost. The goal of winning Sunday’s game vs. Washington and staying atop the NFC East was achieved, but defensive end DeMarcus Ware, who has not missed a game in his NFL career, suffered a quad injury while DeMarco Murray sprained his MCL in his left knee. Ware is expected to miss a month and Murray won’t play this Sunday in Philadelphia. Was the win worth it, given the damage that came with the spoils?
6. Kenbrell Thompkins, get ready for NFL stardom.
Channeling the depiction of another (albeit fictitious) famous Patriot, Tom Brady clearly must have gone Uncle Sam on rookie receiver Kenbrell Thompkins one day and said he wants him as his main go-to target in the big stage. After a breakout performance on a Sunday night in Atlanta two weeks ago (six catches, 127 yards, TD) and catching the winning score with five seconds remaining against the Saints this past Sunday, the undrafted Thompkins looks like he is ready to put to bed the question marks New England has at receiver.
7. So if Eagles fans get the bad rep for being ruthless and obnoxious, what are Houston Texans fans then?
It was one thing when a jersey of Matt Schaub was burned outside of Reliant Stadium after the Texans lost to the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 29, but it’s totally crossing to cheer when Schaub injured his ankle and lay on the ground in pain yesterday against the Rams. I know this is not representative of Houston Texans fans as a whole, but just think that over a decade ago, the city of Houston didn’t even have a team. I am sure a good number of those same “fans” are moms and dads of kids that play or have played football. I wonder how they would have reacted in the stands if their child lay on the field in pain. These rogue Texans fans just need to have some perspective. Speaking of fans…
8. We did not forget 49ers fans either…
Doing the wave as Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell was getting ready to be taken off on a stretcher? You guys by the Bay definitely know better than that as well. Getting called out by the owner on Twitter for that action should let you know that was below the belt. Sticking with the theme of fan behavior…
9. Turning your back on Tom Brady is just flat stupid.
That’s what happened on Sunday, where I personally witnessed half of Gillette Stadium leave to get a jump on traffic before Tom Brady led a miracle touchdown drive to defeat the Saints. Can you imagine if half the patrons at Fenway Park left Game 2 of the ALCS during before the eighth inning that same evening? I know the Patriots, given all of their success in the past 12 years, can be an easy target for jealousy, bordering on hate, by outsiders. The same can be said for Patriots fans if they’re not careful, although I’m sure a good 99 percent of Pats fans that I have ever encountered became fans during the Tom Brady era and couldn’t tell me who Marv Cook, Rod Rust and Jim Nance were. If you are a Patriots supporter reading this and know at least two of those people I just mentioned, then you’re exempt from fair-weather fandom.
10. I might watch full episodes of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory for the first time next week.
The 1-4 Minnesota Vikings play the 0-6 New York Giants next Monday night. Enough said.
