· Through three games, the Texans are well behind their record-setting sack pace from a year ago. Through four games, the Texans have allowed only seven sacks. During the first four games in 2002, David Carr was sacked 25 times en route to an NFL-record 76.
· Is anybody else out there getting sick of hearing from Vikings defensive tackle Chris Hovan? Granted he's a good player, but he's mostly known for his run-ins with Packers quarterback Brett Favre and thus far in his career he's been unable to lead the Vikings defense into becoming a respectable unit. Now he's running his mouth off claiming his lack of production (two tackles, one assist and no sacks through four games) is because he's being double teamed and that Warren Sapp is not producing and he hasn't been double teamed. Chris, good players fight through double teams to make plays and you're no Warren Sapp, except when it comes to shooting off your mouth.
· Dante Hall - three kick returns (two kickoff, one punt) for touchdowns in successive weeks and punt and kickoff return averages of 17.1 and 35.5 yards. Mark him in for the Pro Bowl already. By returning kicks for scores in three straight games, Hall goes into the record books as the first player to do so. Not to mention Hall now has six kick return touchdowns in his last nine games. Contract - 4 years, $5.1-million with a $1.5-million signing bonus. Kudos to the Chiefs for getting his guy so cheap as well as finding another guy you may have heard of on a bargain basement deal - Priest Holmes. The players win the games, but cap management goes a long way to getting (and retaining) those players.
· You just knew Randy Moss or Terrell Owens were going to
fly off the handle after this week's game between the Vikings and
49ers and leave it to T.O. to not let us down. Here's hoping his
sideline rant to offensive coordinator Greg Knapp was witnessed
by Moss so he can learn how foolish he looks when he goes off on
the Minnesota sideline.
· Keeping with T.O., perhaps the pressure of playing for a new contract is too much for him to handle. He has never outgrown his childhood immaturity and with the 49ers taking a more frugal approach to managing their club, his re-signing with the team is anything but a certainty. Look for the 49ers to tag Owens as their franchise player after the season and for them to trade him unless they can come to a quick agreement on contract terms. Two words for those teams that are thinking about going after Owens in the offseason: David Boston.
· The Chargers suspended Boston after he missed a meeting
with coach Marty Schottenheimer to discuss his less than exemplary
behavior and it comes as no surprise there is an apparent personality
conflict between the player and his coach. But don't look for the
Chargers to go too rough on Boston because they can't afford to
cut him after this season. His contract guarantees his 2004 salary
of $3.9-million and his release prior to March 15 when he is due
a $3-million bonus would result in a salary cap hit of just under
$8-million.
· The ESPN crew did a wonderful job in excusing the Saints defense for their utter lack of intensity in allowing the Colts to chalk up 55 points in their Sunday night matchup. Too many injured starters on defense, Dan, Joe and Paul told us. No mention that Edgerrin James didn't suit up or that Reggie Wayne was invisible until the third quarter. Not to mention that 55 points is still 55 points. Don't let these guys fool you - the Saints are bad and what's worse is they are quitters. They've quit in the past, they're quitting now.
· Is there an offseason free agent signing that has turned out to be a better fit than Stephen Davis signing with the Panthers? Davis' ability to chew up yards and clock is a great fit with coach John Fox's philosophy of ball control offense and great defense. Davis has three consecutive 100-yard games to open the season and the Panthers look like solid playoff contenders.
· Leave it to Tim Brown to come up with a huge game against
the Chargers this week after a horrendous start to the season (If
you eliminate the 4th quarter of the Raiders-Bengals.)
· Gus Frerotte was only good enough to start three games for the Bengals last year?
· There are plenty of reasons why the Browns can't escape mediocrity but their loyal fans should take a long, hard look at the team's home record over the past 12 games - three wins, nine losses. It's hard to rise above the fray when you can't win at home, especially in an environment like that at Cleveland Browns Stadium.
· Kwame Harris has struggled with pass blocking at times in filling in for the injured Derrick Deese but the 49ers are impressed with his run blocking ability. The 2003 1st round pick certainly looks like he will be the team's left tackle for years to come, the result being this likely will be Deese's last year with the team. However, look for his excellent pass blocking capabilities to be sought after on the free agent market.
· Look for the Texans to continue using their running back by committee approach. Coach Dom Capers has yanked Tony Hollings and Stacey Mack in successive weeks because of fumbles and it appears the team feels rookie 4th round pick Domanick Davis does not have the stature to be a feature back.
· Keeping with the Texans, Capers received a lot of credit for going for the win this Sunday on the game's final play against the Jags rather than kicking a field goal to move the game into overtime. So what? That's a gutsy call if you're the coach of a team that's likely to be in the mix for the playoffs, not a 2nd year expansion team that will be thinking about 2004 after their 10th or 12th game.
· The Jets used the media this week to try to light a fire
under Vinny Testaverde by saying rookie 6th round pick Brooks Bollinger
could be inserted as the starter unless the team begins to move
the ball. The result - six points at home against the Cowboys. Unfortunately
for Jets fans, the team's run last season was largely fueled by
players who are no longer on their roster (Laveraneus Coles, Chad
Morton, Randy Thomas) or who are currently injured (Chad Pennington).
This team is far worse than anybody expected. Age has caught up
to the team at running back and linebacker and the offensive line
has been exposed. With a tough schedule, don't expect more than
three or four wins from this squad.
· The Jaguars signing of wide receiver Troy Edwards merited little national attention and that was not overly surprising considering his career has been more or less disappointing. However, he showed some big play ability last week which is something the Jags receiving corps sorely lacks. Unless Matthew Hatchette steps up his play soon, look for Edwards to become the team's third receiver once he's more familiar with the playbook.
· The Broncos defensive backfield has played surprisingly well this season but a closer look reveals just how much they have been helped by the defensive line and the team's ability to get an early lead on their opponents. Although the team has recorded only ten sacks in four games, the defensive line has been able to generate a pass rush without the team needing to blitz very often. In particular, defensive ends Bertrand Berry and Reggie Hayward have played very well, contributing eight sacks combined. Hold your judgment on the defensive backfield until they've been truly tested.
· Keeping with the Broncos, let's also reserve judgment on Jake Plummer. Jake the Snake has played very well at times this season but the record shows he's been unable to be a consistent passer. Let's see where Jake's at near the midpoint of this season before we start talking about him being in the Pro Bowl, as some have already.
· The Rams are getting a good push from their defensive line, largely the result of teams having to double team defensive end Leonard Little. Defensive coordinator Lovie Smith feels Little is much improved over last season, particularly in his ability to play the run. Smith also has mentioned he feels defensive tackle Ryan Pickett is the best nose tackle in the league but he hasn't been able to showcase his talent because he has been banged up this year. I guess Smith doesn't watch much film of teams other than the Rams.
· Dolphins center Tim Ruddy is expected to miss a number of games after undergoing surgery to repair debris from his left knee. Although Ruddy had started all three games he appeared in this season, the coaching staff had him splitting time with 2002 3rd round pick Seth McKinney. If McKinney plays well in Ruddy's absence, look for the team to name him as the full-time starter for the balance of the season.
· Baltimore rookie Terrell Suggs set a record this weekend by becoming the first defender to notch at least one sack in his first four games in the league. Not bad for a guy who was getting plenty of bad press (including here) prior to the season.
· Don't be surprised if the Jets insert rookie 2nd round pick Victor Hobson into the starting lineup in place of Mo Lewis in the near future. Lewis has looked slow to the ball on run downs and unable to get the job done in coverage. Observers have noted that the Jets linebacking corps lacks speed and getting Hobson onto the field with Marvin Jones and Sam Cowart is the most expeditious way to rectify the situation.
· The Chargers lack of playmakers on offense and defense is astonishing but it's not hard to pinpoint the problem. The team has used too much salary cap space on marginal players and it's finally caught up to them. The deals for Tim Dwight and Stephen Alexander were particularly bad and have hindered the team's ability to retain their own free agents. On top of that, as mentioned above, the Boston deal looks bad and Marcellus Wiley has not played up to his contract. The Chargers don't seem averse to spending but unfortunately they have not spent wisely.
· That great Buffalo run defense? Try 343 yards against it in the last two games on for size. Granted, the defense was on the field for 42 minutes against the Dolphins and simply wilted in the Miami heat and this week 62 yards came on Brian Westbrook's dash in the final minutes when the team took a chance on a run blitz. Nonetheless, slice it and dice it any way you want, 343 yards against in two games is not getting it done.
· There is a lot of complaining going on in Chicago after
the team's 0-4 start and, as usual, a lot of the fans ire is directed
at offensive coordinator John Shoop. Shoop has failed to adjust
his offense to fit the skills of quarterback Kordell Stewart and
still calls too many passing plays on third down that have little
chance of getting a first down. On top of that, Shoop has now decided
to install a offensive packages for each of his three running backs
- Anthony Thomas, Adrian Peterson and Rabih Abdullah. It says here
the team would do well to get Thomas the ball early and often to
help Stewart out in the passing game.
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