· Rush Limbaugh, we hardly knew you. And that is a good thing.
· ESPN, you got what you asked for and now you're paying
for it. Please don't act surprised.
· Byron Leftwich's 336 yard passing, 2 touchdown performance
against the Chargers should put to rest any doubts whether he will
be the Jaguars starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.
However, a closer look reveals that Leftwich benefited from some
blown and soft coverage by the Chargers as well as a 60-yard screen
pass to running back Fred Taylor.
· Refs Decide the Outcome Game #1: The Broncos are screaming
mad about a missed clipping call on Dante Hall's game winning kick
return from Sunday's game against the Chiefs and are set to send
videotape of the play to the league's head office. Surprisingly,
Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil agreed that Julian Battle should have
been flagged on the play.
· Refs Decide the Outcome Game #2: The Bucs Simeon Rice was
flagged for leaping on the Colts Mike Vanderjagt's game winning
field goal miss on Monday night, allowing Vanderjagt a subsequent
attempt which he converted. What's leaping, you say? Starting more
than one yard behind the line of scrimmage on a field goal attempt,
running, jumping and landing on a player while attempting to block
the field goal. Funny thing is, Rice did all of the above except
landing on a player, making this call absolutely inexcusable.
· The struggling Falcons have all but decided that Michael
Vick will not return for the team's Monday night game next week
in St. Louis. In fact, the Falcons may hold Vick back until after
the team's bye in week eight.
· How pathetic has the Rams special teams play been over
the years? When kicker Jeff Wilkins won the award for special teams
player of the month this past week, he became the first Rams special
teams player of the month since punter Sean Landeta in September,
1994.
· Keeping with the Rams, look for current starting free safety
Aeneas Williams to be moved to cornerback when Jason Sehorn returns
from injury. Sehorn's fractured foot has sufficiently healed that
he may be able to play in the team's game against the Falcons this
week. With Williams moving back to corner, the Rams will shift either
Travis Fisher or Jeremetrius Butler, neither of whom has set the
world on fire with their play this year, to the nickel back role.
· Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski has received medical
advice that he should remain out of the line-up for four more weeks
before being re-evaluated to determine if he should continue playing.
· With the Bears already out of post-season contention, the
coaching staff has begun to look ahead to 2004. With that in mind,
rookie 2nd round pick cornerback Charles Tillman will move into
the starting line-up in place of Jerry Azumah and 3rd round pick
linebacker Lance Briggs will take over for Bryan Knight. Future
changes are also likely and it won't be a surprise if 2002 5th round
pick Bobby Gray replaces Mike Green at strong safety.
· After recording 21 takeaways during all of 2002, the Texans
have recorded 10 during their first four games this year. Leading
the charge is cornerback Marcus Coleman who has four interceptions
and a forced fumble and who became the first Texans to win an NFL
award when he was named AFC Defensive Player of the Month.
· How far has Ron Dayne fallen since winning the 1999 Heisman
Trophy? Prior to the Giants game against the Dolphins, Dayne was
given the task of being the scout team running back, emulating the
Dolphins Ricky Williams. Williams won the Heisman Trophy in 1998.
· The Dolphins had hoped to sign starting right tackle Todd
Wade to a contract extension prior to the end of the season. However,
talks have broken off and it looks like Wade will test the free
agents waters. It's unlikely the team would use a franchise or transition
tag on Wade because he doesn't deserve the salary that would command
(upwards of $5-million) and because of the team's salary cap situation.
· The Bengals aren't there yet but the signs indicate this
team could do some damage over the second half of the season. The
team has displayed a much more competitive attitude this season
and their increased confidence should serve them well. Other than
their opening week loss to the Broncos, the Bengals have stayed
close in their losses this season and their 1-4 record is somewhat
deceiving.
· The Bears scored 20 points in their first two games of
the season against the 49ers and Vikings when Anthony Thomas had
16 carries in total. In their last two games against the Packers
and Raiders, they scored 47 points with Thomas getting 35 total
carries and topping 100 yards rushing in each contest. The team's
renewed commitment to Thomas and the running game has created opportunities
for quarterback Kordell Stewart in both the running and passing
games. By the way, the 100-yard rushing efforts are the first for
Thomas since the third game of last season, when he topped the century
mark only once.
· When Emmitt Smith went down with an injury, forcing him
to miss the balance of the Cardinals game against the Cowboys, he
had minus one yards rushing on six carries. Inconsequential other
than the fact this is the first time Smith has ever had negative
yards rushing in a game.
· Keeping with Smith, his injuries were a hairline fracture
of his left shoulder blade as well as a separation of the shoulder
and he will be out a number of weeks. Marcel Shipp will take over
and don't be surprised if he shows the kind of production the Cardinals
were hoping Smith would provide. Shipp looked very good during the
2nd half of last season and it says here the team made a huge mistake
in signing Smith as a free agent. Not to knock a future Hall of
Famer, but Smith was signed to put fans in the seats and a serious
football organization would have allowed Shipp to attempt to build
on the success he displayed in 2002.
· By the way, Cards fans were so enamored with the Smith
signing they have stayed away from Sun Devils Stadium in droves
- there were more 50,000 empty seats for their home opener.
· The Giants were hoping to see more from wide receiver Tim
Carter in his extended tryout as the team's third receiver due to
Ron Dixon's knee injury. Unspoken was that team management would
like to rid themselves of Dixon after this year because of his poor
attitude, bad practice habits and constant tardiness. However, Carter
has just five receptions for 41 yard and no touchdowns so look for
Dixon to return to his role as the team's third receiver soon after
his return.
· The Redskins had given some thought to moving rookie offensive
guard Derrick Dockery into the starting line-up in place of Dave
Fiore in part because of Fiore's inability to stay healthy. The
idea was to get more continuity across the line but Dockery struggles
in this week's game in Philadelphia have likely scuttled those plans.
The rookie 3rd round pick struggled in pass protection as well as
with the crowd noise.
· The Panthers recently signed defensive tackle Kris Jenkins
to a contract extension and have now locked up their starting defensive
line through the 2007 season. The thought of facing Julius Peppers,
Jenkins, Brentson Buckner and Mike Rucker twice each season should
send shivers through the rest of the NFC South.
· Keeping with the Panthers, wide receiver Steve Smith had
a fit when told by his agent that the team felt he was a marginal
receiver and needed to further prove himself before they were willing
to offer him a lucrative contract extension. Smith has had anger
management issues in the past and his outburst likely hurt his chances
of receiving an extension.
· Watching Tommy Maddox over the past couple of games leaves
little doubt as to why Pittsburgh has not granted their star signal
caller from a year ago a new contract. Maddox has made a number
of poor reads and his interceptions have proven costly. Although
the team's offensive line has not provided the same level of pass
protection from a year ago, Maddox has been to blame for most of
his turnovers.
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