"PIGSKIN ASSASSIN" by The Sportz Assassin

SUPER BOWL EATIN'S:  More food is eaten on Super Bowl Sunday than on any day....except Thanksgiving.   So, what does the Sportz Assassin eaton Super Bowl Sunday??  Well, my wife usually makes cheese steak fries with bacon [like they have at Outback Steakhouse].  She also makes potato skins, wings and we have chips and the normal snackage.  My beverage of choice??  Pepsi.  I don't drink alcohol...so Pepsi does me just fine!

CBS' SUPER BOWL:  CBS will televise Super Bowl XLI, making it the 16th time they've televised the game.  That breaks a tie with NBC as the most times a network has carried the game.  ABC has done it 7 times;  Fox has 6 times.  The last time CBS carried the game was Super Bowl XXXVIII when the Patriots beat the Panthers. 

THE JETS UN-CURSE LIVES ON:  No team that has ever lost to the NY Jets in the regular season has gone on to win the Super Bowl.  The Bears beat the Jets earlier this year [Colts didn't play them].  The Patriots, who nearly got to this game, were beaten by the Jets earlier this season. 

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I grew up on Mr Rogers....so I'm going to live in the land of make believe right now.  Like Joe Lunardi does on ESPN's college hoops, I'm doing the same for football.  Yeah, I know that there isn't a playoff in college football...but who cares!  In my mind, there is.  And here is my bracketology.  It's based on a 12-team format where the 6 BCS conference champions get in....at least 1 team from the non-BCS conferences...and 5 at large bids.  The lower seed plays at home. 

1-Ohio State* vs winner of....
8-West Virginia vs 9-Wisconsin

Right now, Ohio State is the top seed in this tournament...and should stay with a first round bye even with a loss to Michigan.  Wisconsin should be safely in the tournament by dodging Ohio State.  West Virginia could move up by beating Rutgers in a few weeks. 

4-Florida* vs winner of....
5-Notre Dame vs 12-Wake Forest*

Florida could move up to a #2 or #3 seed with an SEC title, a USC loss and the Michigan/Ohio State loss.  Notre Dame gets USC later and could move up to a bye.  Wake Forest represent the ACC Champ, who should be a #11 or #12 seed. 

3-USC* vs winner of...
6-Rutgers* vs 11-Boise State*

You would think that USC will move up to one of the top two seeds with by winning out.  Rutgers is the most intriguing team in this tournament.  They are undefeated with a couple of big games coming up.  Again, Boise State gets in by way of the top non-BCS squad. 

2-Michigan vs winner of....
7-Arkansas vs 10-Texas*

Michigan are a win over Ohio State from being the #1 seed....which could be big.  Arkansas is the school no one is talking about but should scare everyone.  The thing is that the Razorback probably won't sit in this spot.  They will either win out, be the SEC champ and move up to maybe a bye....or drop out of this entirely with a loss or two.  Texas will slide in with a Big XII title and play in an interesting rematch of former SWC teams. 

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EAGLES 27-REDSKINS 3 [Sportz 1-0 this week;  77-51 this season]:  When it rains, it pour.  In a downpour in Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, the Redskins season...for all purposes....ended.  The Redskins lost to the Eagles 27-3 in a game dominated by big plays from Philly, nothing of note from Washington, a big injury and rain.  It started off bad with Donte Stallworth catching an 84-yd TD pass against a confused Redskins secondary.  Then, Clinton Portis breaks his hand and is knocked out of the game.  Then a pass caught by Reggie Brown that flips in the air and brought down by Corel Buckhalter who runs the rest of the way for a TD.  That play was worth 57 yards.  And then with the Redskins driving....an interception returned for a TD....that was worth 70 yds.  In between all of that was a bunch of big men rolling around in the mud and neither QB doing much of anything.  I am one of the very few Redskins fans who stuck with Mark Brunell thru the bad times...and if we were still in it I'd want him in there.  But the season is over...and the Jason Campbell Era needs to begin now. 

COWBOYS 27-CARDINALS 10 [Sportz 2-0;  78-51]:  Dallas romps the Cards....whee.  Just another game in the "we're great/we're exploding" week to week drama in Big D.  Oh, and there was the classic "fake spike" that didn't work here. 

BEARS 38-GIANTS 20 [Sportz 3-0, 79-51]:  The big game of the NFC did two things.  One, it moved the Bears to a 2-game lead in the NFC race with a tiebreaker over both the Giants and Seahawks....and it put the Giants back to the pack in the NFC.

PACKERS 23-VIKINGS 17 [Sportz 3-1; 79-52]:  Whoa, Brett Favre went off in the Metrodome.  And another don't look now, but the Packers and Vikes are tied for the top of the Bears Division doormat.  Plus, the Mighty Vikings that were a darling early in the year are falling back into their place.

NINERS 19-LIONS 13 [Sportz 3-2;  79-53]:  This game perplexes me.  I am one of those people that feels that Detroit is a decent team but has gotten some back breaks.  But you don't lose at home to San Francisco.  You don't do that.  The Lions are 2-9 and are fighting for the top pick in the draft again.  On the other end, the Niners are 4-5???? 

SEAHAWKS 24-RAMS 22 [Sportz 4-2; 80-53]:  Ya know, there are teams that whine "well, we have had injuries, that's why we've been playing bad."  Seattle has lost Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander and have still stayed afloat with Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris carrying the load.  Great coaching job by Mike Holmgren, too.

BROWNS 17-FALCONS 13 [Sports 4-3;  80-54]:  All those Vick For MVP people can step back a little.  Cleveland...yeah, Cleveland....went into the Georgia Dome and did in Atlanta.  Atlanta is suddenly falling in the playoff race.

STEELERS 38-SAINTS 31 [Sportz 5-3;  81-54]:  Big Ben did his thing...but this time didn't turn the ball over.  Fast Willie Parker had a huge game, the defense held together just enough and the AFC is, again, imposing it's will on the NFC. 

CHARGERS 49-BENGALS 41 [Sportz 6-3;  82-54]:  Okay Bengals fans....now what?  This was like watching two completely different games.  The Bengals were lights out in the first half, getting Chad Johnson and Rudi Johnson involved in a 28-7 halftime lead.  But the 2nd half was all San Diego.  The Bolts outscored the Bengals 42-13 and watched as LaDainian Tomlinson bust up 4 TD runs...and nearly a 5th.  Cincy has now fallen to three games back of the Ravens in the AFC North and out of the playoff picture.  They've lost 4 straight games and 5 of 6....and are just 2-3 in "The Jungle".

RAVENS 27-TITANS 26 [Sportz 7-3;  83-54]:  Steve McNair goes back to Nashville for the first time as the opponent and looked really good.  Really good as he led B-more back for a win that put them 3 games up in the AFC North. 

COLTS 17-BILLS 16 [Sportz 8-3;  84-54]:  This is typical Indy.  Win big in the big games....and then eek out wins over the bottom of the league.

DOLPHINS 13-CHIEFS 10 [Sportz 8-4; 84-55]:  Well, now this Damon Huard/Trent Green QB controversy has more legs. 

JETS 17-PATRIOTS 14 [Sportz 8-5;  84-56]:  Um...is this true?  The Jets are just a game back of the Patriots for the AFC East lead??  Is that right??  How??  By the way...this was Game 1 of the "fake spike" play that I saw on Sunday....and it didn't work here either.  Oh, and nice class there Bill Belechik by showing no respect to Eric Mangini. 

TEXANS 13-JAGUARS 10 [Sportz 8-6;  84-57]:  When you get beaten twice by Houston, that should be automatic elimination from the playoffs.   Also, Byron Leftwich is looking a bit better to you now, eh Jags fans???  This makes two out of three weeks that David Garrard looked like crap...and they didn't win this one. 

BRONCOS 17-RAIDERS 13 [Sportz 9-6;  85-57]:  Well, Denver won this game.  

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REDSKINS 22-COWBOYS 19 [Sportz 0-1 this week; 69-45 this season]:  Wow...what a game.  The Skins saved their season with a...I guess....gutsy win.  They didn't really do anything more than take advantage of Cowboys mistakes and missed opportunities.  Washington really worked on running the football and working downfield.  Now, they didn't get any big passing plays, but got a few pass interference calls that moved the ball. 

It came down to Novak....who missed a game winning FG and, frankly, I hated him after that.  I was already scouting the available kickers that Gibbs may be auditioning this week.  Then, that blocked field goal attempt [which came right after my wife said "you really didn't think the Redskins would win, did you?"] and scuffle afterwards.  Novak got his 2nd chance....and hit it.  You got a job for another week, my friend. 

Here are some other musings:

-Terrell Owens did catch a TD and had a pretty good stat game.  But he cost his team this game.  After the TD, he did a 'sleep celebration' that cost his team 15 yds and ended up with him and Bill Parcells getting after it on the sidelines.  Then, he drops a wide open TD catch.  Mike Ditka said it best on ESPNews...and I am paraphrasing here.  He said that if Owens wants to celebrate and act up when he does something good, then he needs to act like a fool when he does something bad.  He does so many great things on the field...but he also has been dropping passes that a high school receiver would be benched for.

-Bill Parcells actually lost this game for the Cowboys.  For an old school coach, he made a new school mistake.  Up 6-5 after a TD in the first half, Parcells goes for the 2 point conversion.  Why?  That's good strategy late in a game but not smart when you have the entire game ahead of you.  If he kicked the PAT, then the Cowboys would have been up 20-19 when Novak missed his first FG...and Dallas would have killed the clock for the win.

-The Redskins aren't completely dead yet.  Being 3-5 isn't great...but it's better than 2-6 and with nothing to play for.  The Skins get the Eagles twice and the Giants at home...and have a serviceable skeddie to get back in this thing.  Next week: at Philly.

BILLS 24-PACKERS 10 [Sportz 0-2, 69-46]:  The only good player the Bills has goes down on the 7th play of the game...and G-Bay still gets rolled.  Ugh.

DOLPHINS 31-BEARS 13 [Sportz 0-3, 69-47]:  The Bears looked every bit as bad today as they did a few weeks ago in Arizona.  The difference here is that Miami didn't choke the game away.  This wasn't a fluke...Miami spanked them.  You can say Da Bears turned it over too much, which is true, but that doesn't explain how Ronnie Brown just abused the defense on the ground.  And I'd be concerned if I was a Chicago fan, as they could be without Brian Urhlacher and Mike Brown for a while.

LIONS 30-FALCONS 14 [Sportz 0-4, 69-48]:  Another game that made no sense.  The Lions defense has been bad all year long...but held Michael Vick in check.  On the other side, their offense looked awesome again.

CHIEFS 31-RAMS 17 [Sportz 0-5, 69-49]:  The Show Me State battle ended with two of the best running back performances you could ask for.  Both Larry Johnson and Steven Jackson got off with huge games.  But this game could be the one that keeps Damon Huard behind center the rest of the season.  KC is rolling right now and Herm Edwards needs to just keep it going.  Don't put Trent Green in there. 

GIANTS 14-TEXANS [Sportz 1-5, 70-49]:  This was an ugly win...but a win nonetheless for the Giants.  Oh, and Jeremy Shockey got LAID OUT in this one. 

SAINTS 31-BUCCANEERS 14 [Sportz 2-5, 71-49]:  What happened to that vaunted Bucs secondary?  Yeesh!

JAGUARS 37-TEXANS 7 [Sportz 3-5, 72-49]:  Speaking of QB controversies, can Byron Leftwich get back on the field after this effort from David Garrard??  He's managing the game very well and has the Jags back in the thick of the playoff chase.

RAVENS 26-BENGALS 20 [Sportz 4-5, 73-49]:  B-more pulled to a 2-game lead in the AFC North with this win.  The Ravens just smacked Cincy in the mouth and the Bengals lost their cool.  And, no, that wasn't an interference call you whiny Cincy fans.

NINERS 9-VIKINGS 3 [Sportz 4-6, 73-50]:  If this was college football, Minnesota would be penalized heavily for this loss.  And it startles me, since San Fran has the same record as my Redskins right now. 

BRONCOS 31-STEELERS 20 [Sportz 5-6, 74-50]:  Don't look now, but the Steelers are 2-6.  Last year, they lost their 6th game and never lost again.  It ain't happening this year.  I guess Jerome Bettis' leadership is greater than we thought.  And we'll see Bill Cowher at NC State eventually.

CHARGERS 32-BROWNS 25 [Sportz 6-6, 75-50]:  Two things. One, how did the Browns score 25 pts on the Bolts???  And, two, how great is LaDainian Tomlinson???  Oh, and three, am I the only one that doesn't like the Chargers powder blues??

COLTS 27-PATRIOTS 20 [Sportz 6-7, 75-51]:  The Colts are an impressive 8-0.  They just went into Denver and New England....the other top teams in the AFC...and came out with wins.  They could end up winning them all.  Well, they could be 15-0 heading into the final week against.....the Dolphins.

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As a Redskins fan...I am well conditioned to hate anything Cowboys, Eagles and Giants....and that includes Sir Tiki Barber.  But I must admit that Tiki got my support today as he ripped into three individuals for smacking him up about his retirement.

The three:

-New York Daily News' Gary Myers:  "he has created a season-long distraction" the Giants "don't need".

-ESPN's Tom Jackson:  the decision "has distracted the team from the task at hand."

-ESPN's Michael Irvin:  "To me, in my head, that's quitting.  That's not retiring."

On Tiki's radio show, "The Barber Shop", he lit into all three....even naming them.

Tiki:  "I will call them idiots, because they have neither spoken to me, nor any one of my teammates or any of my coaches.  Yet all they do is criticize me for being a distraction with this retirement thing.  And that includes Gary Myers.  That includes Tom Jackson on ESPN. That includes the ultimate character guy, facetiously speaking of course, Michael Irvin. Please get a clue on how to be a journalist.  Don't make blanket assumptions about it [retirement]. And obviously, as was evidenced [Monday] night, I am a huge distraction to the New York Giants."

Touche.

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COLTS 36-REDSKINS 22 [Sportz this week 1-0; this season 59-29]:  I don't know what is more amazing: the Skins leading the Colts at halftime, 14-13, or how quickly it turned to 33-14.  To me, it is the former.  The Redskins couldn't stop the Colts as much as you'd think.  Indy moved the ball but couldn't capitalize...plus Washington got a Antwan Randle-El punt return for a TD.  And that was pretty much it.  In the 2nd half, Peyton Manning exposed the Redskins banged up secondary.

With the bye week coming, the Skins have a lot of questions.  The main one is whether or not there should be a QB change.  I may still be one of the few Skins fans that think NO.  Mark Brunell, while not spectacular, gives us the best chance to win.  He rarely makes mistakes and is doing the best he can.  Now if the season is totally lost...I can see bringing in Jason Campbell to get some snaps.  I really feel that the bye week will be used by Joe Gibbs to incorporate HIS gameplan into what Al Saunders wants to do.  Every Redskins fan knows that Gibbs loves running between the tackles and throwing the ball down the field.  Al Saunders offense isn't doing that.  It is stretch runs, screen passes and dinks and dunks.  That's fine and all, but it doesn't utilize the weapons we have. 

FALCONS 41-STEELERS 38 [Sportz 1-1, 59-30]:  Who knew that this would be a shootout??  Michael Freakin' Vick tossed 4 TD passes...which doubled his career high.  Ben Roethlisberger tossed 3 TDs before being knocked out of the game....only to see Charlie Batch toss 2 of his own.  Right now, Pittsburgh finds themselves at 2-4 and with a long road to get back to the playoffs. 

PATRIOTS 28-BILLS 6 [Sportz 2-1, 60-30]:  The Patriots are quietly 5-1 again and pretty much have the AFC East wrapped up already. 

BENGALS 17-PANTHERS 14 [Sportz 2-2, 60-31]:  Huge win by Cincy.  After losing two straight in unamazing fashion, the Bengals needed a win over a quality opponent to get their spirits up.  This was also a big loss for Carolina, who drops a game while Atlanta and Tampa win....and N'Awlins on a bye. 

CHIEFS 30-CHARGERS 27 [Sportz 2-3, 60-32]:  Big win for KC, who needed this divisional win at home.  Damon Huard has done an impressive job keeping this team afloat while Trent Green recovers from his injuries.  As for the Chargers...they are in a bit of a jam.  They lose Shawn Merriman for four games for a positive steroid test.  They trail the Broncos in the AFC West with the Chiefs right up their keister. 

PACKERS 34-DOLPHINS 24 [Sportz 2-4, 60-33]:  Miami has to be the most disappointing team this season.  They are now 1-6 and pretty much dead. 

JETS 31-LIONS 24 [Sportz 3-4, 61-33]:  Don't look now, but the Jets are 4-3.  With a pretty lame schedule ahead, the Gotham Green could make some noise down the stretch. 

BUCCANEERS 23-EAGLES 21 [Sportz 3-5, 61-34]:  Weird images.  Matt Bryant nailed a 62-yd FG to win this game.  Donovan McNabb throwing two horrific interceptions.  McNabb throwing up all over the field.  Brian Westbrook's awesome TD catch and run in the closing moments. 

TEXANS 27-JAGUARS 7 [Sportz 3-6, 61-35]:  This game made absolutely no sense.  The Texans dominated on the ground and with their defense.  Huh???  And don't look now but the Jags are 3-3.

BRONCOS 17-BROWNS 7 [Sportz 4-6, 62-35]:  Ho-hum.  Yawn.  Jake Plummer puts up piddly numbers....Tatum Bell looks great...the defense is awesome....Denver wins.

RAIDERS 22-CARDINALS 9 [Sportz 4-7, 62-36]:  For all that talk about the New Cardinals....well, they sure look like the old ones.

VIKINGS 31-SEAHAWKS 13 [Sportz 4-8, 62-37]:  Seattle lost their Hasselbeck...then lost the game.  Give it up to Minnesota who find themselves sitting at 4-2 and are as difficult a team to beat as anyone in the league. 

 

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TITANS 25-REDSKINS 22 [Sportz this week 0-1, season 50-25]:  Wow.  I mean, this is about as disappointing as it can get.  Wedged between games at the Giants and Colts, this was a must win.  A must win against a team with a rookie QB and a team that hadn't won a game all year.  Instead, the Redskins defense was embarrassed.....completely embarrassed.  Travis Henry ran for nearly 200 yards and Vince Young, at times, looked like a 10-yr vet.  What troubles me the most was that Clinton Portis rushed just 14 times.  That's it??  In a game that was nip and tuck after an early 14-3 lead?? 

GIANTS 27-FALCONS 14 [Sportz 0-2, 50-26]:  The Giants have officially become that team that you have no idea what to expect.  They can look so bad....and then go into Atlanta and beat a very good Falcons team.  Tiki Barber just burned Atlanta's defense.

COWBOYS 34-TEXANS 6 [Sportz 1-2, 51-26]:  Okay, Terrell Owens' first two TDs were cool.  But why was he in there on a goalline situation with a backup QB for his 3rd TD????  Is he that much like a child that he needs that to feel good??  What's that?? 

LIONS 20-BILLS 17 [Sportz 2-2, 52-26]:  This was the week that Mike Martz remembered that Kevin Jones is a darn good running back.  Congrats to the Lions on their first win.

SEAHAWKS 30-RAMS 28 [Sportz 3-2, 53-26]:  What a game.  What a game!  The Rams owned this thing in the first half.....and Seattle took it from them in the 2nd half.  That Torry Holt catch was magical, especially if you saw how bad the Rams offense was in that half.  Still, Seattle marched down the field and hit a huge game winning FG as time expired.  Wow....what a game!

SAINTS 27-EAGLES 24 [Sportz 3-3, 53-27]:  Another game that went down the wire.  This was a huge win for the Saints, who got a key conference win which kept them in first place in the NFC South.  Joe Horn, welcome back, man.

BUCCANEERS 14-BENGALS 13 [Sportz 3-4, 53-28]:  Two things.....yes, that was a TD....and, no, that wasn't roughing the passer.  But here is a little secret Bengals fans: they've been calling this kind of stuff all year.  Sure, it seems to be a great football play....but the league has been over protecting the QBs this year and I've seen less violence on a QB flagged.  I agree with the fact that it shouldn't be a penalty, but I've accepted the fact that it is the way the refs are calling the game now. 

PANTHERS 23-RAVENS 21 [Sportz 3-5, 53-29]:  That was impressive.  Carolina's offense just beat up the Ravens vaunted defense.  Delhomme was happy to see Steve Smith again as they made big play after big play together.  The Ravens are in a bit of trouble, given the stretch of games they are now in.

JETS 20-DOLPHINS 17 [Sportz 4-5, 54-29]:  Who cares? 

STEELERS 45-CHIEFS 7 [Sportz 5-5, 55-29]:  They're baaaaack.

CHARGERS 48-NINERS 19 [Sportz 6-5, 56-29]:  This sure made up for that beatdown in Super Bowl XXIX, eh??   Stupid LaDainian Tomlinson scored FOUR TDs. 

BRONCOS 13-RAIDERS 3 [Sportz 7-5, 57-29]:  I thought these games were supposed to be good??  Jake Plummer looked horribe and still won.

BEARS 24-CARDINALS 23 [Sportz 8-5, 58-29]:  What a comeback by the Bears....who seem to be on this magical journey.  Three defensive/special teams TDs in the final 20 minutes of the game.  Unreal!

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GIANTS 19-REDSKINS 3 [Sportz this week 0-1; season 37-24]:  The Skins were about as lifeless as you can be.  For some reason, the G-men do that to us.  We were bad all the way around.  Their offensive line bullied us and their defensive line played pretty well.  Of course, LaVar Arrington got his revenge on the Skins with a tipped pass....I mean, that was great [get your sarcasm detector out]. 

COLTS 14-TITANS 13 [Sportz 1-1, 38-24]:  Speaking of lifeless:  The Colts just sleepwalked thru this game, it seemed.  They can't be doing this crap and expect to be a Super Bowl calibar team. 

RAMS 23-PACKERS 20 [Sportz 2-1, 39-24]:  Don't look now, but the Rams are 4-1.  Green Bay did what it does best - keep it close before screwing it up.

BEARS 40-BILLS 7 [Sportz 3-1, 40-24]:  Chicago looks like the best team in the NFL right now.  Not that Buffalo is a great team or anything, but their defense is slightly tough.  But Chicago made them look like the NCAA's Buffalo Bulls instead. 

PANTHERS 20-BROWNS 12 [Sportz 4-1, 41-24]:  Carolina's defense looked much better this week....but the offense is still having issues running the ball and moving the ball.  They've won 3 straight, but haven't really looked to convincing in doing so. 

SAINTS 24-BUCCANEERS 21 [Sportz 5-1, 42-24]:  What's more surprising:  the Saints at 4-1 or the Buccs at 0-4??  There is always that one team that you figured we be pretty good that just tanks out when the season starts.  Tampa seems to be that team.  The Bucs have already lost to Atlanta, Carolina and now New Orleans.

PATRIOTS 20-DOLPHINS 10 [Sportz 6-1, 43-24]:  Miami is also one of those flailing teams.  They were in this game for quite a while until a bogus pass interference call put New England on the 1 yd line.  Still, this team is in a ton of trouble and could teeter over if the players tune out Nick Saban.

VIKINGS 26-LIONS 17 [Sportz 7-1, 44-24]:  See if you heard this before: the Lions were in this game, even winning late, until they handed the game off to Minnesota.  No, they really HANDED the game to the Vikes.  Two horrific turnovers by Jon Kitna late in the game led to two defensive TDs for Minnesota. 

NINERS 34-RAIDERS 20 [Sportz 8-1, 45-24]:  When the Niners are rolling you up....you really suck!

JAGUARS 41-JETS 0 [Sportz 9-1, 46-24]:  This one got out of hand early.  The Jets were thoroughly spanked in every possible way.  And it would have been worse if the dogs hadn't been called off.

CHIEFS 23-CARDINALS 20 [Sportz 10-1, 47-24]:  Both Damon Huard and Matt Leinart looked good in this game.  The difference was Larry Johnson's receiving ability [though he was knocked out of the game with a neck injury]. 

                                

EAGLES 38-COWBOYS 24 [Sportz 11-1, 48-24]:  This game was actually pretty bad.  Yeah, there were some big plays and electric energy....but it was a poorly played game.  Dallas blew coverages all day long.  Drew Bledsoe couldn't stay on his feet...and when he did, he couldn't figure out how to pass the ball.  Of course, the story of this game was how Donovan McNabb went off....and Terrell Owens was shut down.  And while Donovan was on one sideline smiling.....T.O. was busy yelling at everyone on his sideline.  It couldn't happen to a better team. 

CHARGERS 23-STEELERS 13 [Sportz 12-1, 49-24]:  Philip Rivers actually had to be a QB in this game.  Trailing 10-0, young Rivers led the Chargers to a 23-3 run to end the game....making some pretty big plays in the progress.  As Madden said after the game, this is his coming out party.  On the other side, Big Ben and the Steelers are in trouble.  Now 1-3, they could trail the Ravens by 3.5 games by the end of the week. 

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REDSKINS 36-JAGUARS 30 [Sportz this week 0-1, this year 29-18]:  Is this the same offense that played this preseason??  That played the first two weeks of the season??  The Redskins much maligned offense put up 31 pts on a bad Houston defense last week which was nice to see.  But to put up 36 pts on the Jaguars defense!?!?!  This is a defense that held the Steelers to NOTHING!  This is a defense that held Peyton Manning and the Colts to 21 pts and shut him down in the 1st half last week. 

Like I said, last week it was nice to see that the new offense can work - even if it was against a gasoline can like the Texans secondary.  I mean, most of those 22-for-22 completed passes were little screens.  I really figured that it would be back to the 3-and-outs and the struggles of before.  I mean, this was the Jags defense!  Instead, Brunell got the ball down the field to his receivers.  Clinton Portis was able to run the ball up the gut on that defense.  It was amazing!  Especially since one guy, Santana Moss, busted out for a 3 TD day that included the game winning TD catch and run in overtime. 

FALCONS 32-CARDINALS 10 [Sportz 1-1, 30-18]:  It has pretty much fallen apart for Arizona.  They let the Falcons rush for 262 yards and benched their ex-MVP quarterback for a rookie.  Nice week there Denny!  Atlanta has two guys run for 100+ yards...and neither was Warrick Dunn. 

BILLS 17-VIKINGS 12 [Sportz 1-2, 30-19]:  This is one of those weird, "hey, what's going on here" games.  The two teams combined for 27 penalties and 182 yards penalized.  Nice.  Oh, the two teams combined for 158 rushing yards. 

COWBOYS 45-TITANS 14 [Sportz 2-2, 31-19]:  Tennessee seems bent on careening to the top pick in the NFL draft.  Dallas got a 2nd bye week in a row.  Unfair!  But, it was nice [I guess] that T.O. is alright and that Terry Glenn needs a dog on him at all times.  Vince Young, by the way, had some good moments...but it's hard to succeed when your entire team sucks. 

CHIEFS 41-NINERS 0 [Sportz 3-2, 32-19]:  Just a good ol' spanking.  Nothing really to talk about here.

COLTS 31-JETS 28 [Sportz 4-2, 33-19]:  This was a great game....especially in the 4th quarter.  The Colts marched down the field [15 plays] for a go-ahead FG.  Then the Jets march down the field [11 plays] for a go-ahead TD.  Then the Colts march down the field [12 plays] for a go-ahead TD.  Then the Jets take the insuing kickoff back for a TD.  Then the Colts glide down the field and ended it with a Peyton Manning QB sneak for a touchdown.  Then, the Jets tried their best Cal/Stanford impression which led to a nice highlight....but ended up with nothing. 

PANTHERS 21-SAINTS 18 [Sportz 5-2, 34-19]:  This was a weird game where both teams' offenses played well....they just couldn't seal the deal.  Still, the Panthers are just a game back of the division lead and have wins over Tampa and N'Awlins.  The Saints have got to be thrilled...as they are 3-1 with only one home game thus far. 

RAVENS 16-CHARGERS 13 [Sportz 5-3, 34-20]:  Kind of a defensive struggle that was bookended with a couple of nice offensive drives.  It was big for B-more to win this game and to finally see Steve McNair take control of the team and march them down to a win. 

TEXANS 17-DOLPHINS 15 [Sportz 5-4, 34-21]:  This Miami team is just sooo out of sorts.  The defense looks okay, but that offense is horrible.  Culpepper looks scared and that is killing everyone else. 

RAMS 41-LIONS 34 [Sportz 6-4, 35-21]:  Let me say this: when a game like this comes on my Sunday Ticket, I just hope it becomes an offensive shootout so I'd be compelled to watch it.  Oh, and don't look now but the Rams are 3-1 and in first place in the NFC West. 

PATRIOTS 38-BENGALS 13 [Sportz 6-5, 35-22]:  Let me start this off by saying I applaud Cincy head coach Marvin Lewis for sitting Chris Henry after his involvement with a DUI check point last week.  I live in the greater Cincinnati area, but not at all a Bengals fan, and am embarrassed for them for the way this franchise has been acting.  Their blanket "we'll just see what happens" take is fine for isolated incidents....but there are several players who are having legal issues and this one continuing to do so.  Next, wow!  Cincinnati looked flat and the Patriots looked pissed.  Don't kill off New England yet.  They, like Cincy, are 3-1 and they have a win in Paul Brown Stadium.

BROWNS 24-RAIDERS 21 [Sportz 7-5, 36-22]:  Well, maybe Oakland is bent on getting that #1 pick.  Maybe that's why they blew a 21-3 lead to the freakin' Browns!

BEARS 37-SEAHAWKS 6 [Sportz 7-6, 36-23]:  A couple of points: (a) the Bears are for real.  You can smack up the fact that Shaun Alexander was gone for this game, but that doesn't excuse the defense; (b) Chicago got a big win that could very well give them the home field in the NFC playoffs; (c) Seattle isn't the best team by far right now.  They need to get #37 back out there as soon as possible. 

sportzassassin at 1:33:18 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own

                         

Let me start this blog entry off with a statement:  Dick Enberg needs to be put out to pasture.  I am a Skins fan [I also watch the Panthers games] and an NFC guy....so I rarely have to sit and watch Enberg call a game.  When I come across him on the Sunday Ticket, his poor game calling is amusing.  But when you are watching a game as good as the Skins-Jags game was....well, it was far from amusing.

Whether he called Chris Cooley "Chris Cooper"....misnamed half of the guys on the field.....wondered how that Colts-Patriots game was going....called 1st downs and kept talking about how big that was when it was a yard short and the punt team is running on the field....kept mixing up Ladell Betts and Clinton Portis....kept calling it FedEx Stadium....or not knowing who anybody on the field was....he sucks.

He sucks now.  He used to be great.  Hearing his voice on Sundays is part of what the NFL is about.  But, Pat Summeral went thru the awkward period where he stayed too long.....and he was the voice of the NFL.  Enberg is getting there.  He may need to be bumped down from the better games to the Browns-Raiders game or something. 

I don't mind quirky and I don't mind some mistakes here and there.  What I do mind is an old man fumbling thru a game....especially one that was sooo good. 

sportzassassin at 12:54:34 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 0 comments: Add your own