NFL
Either this is an easy week to pick or we’re all walking into a trap. We all agree on 7 of the 14 game this weekend and have a consensus for most others. The only game we’re split on is the Falcons-Chargers, or what could be billed as Battle of the Potential Frauds. Both teams come in with good records but unimpressive games. We’ll see how it shakes out.
If you want to see how Sportscolumn stacks up against the other experts, check out this excel file.
There was a lot of gagging in Week 5 as Minnesota, Seattle, and Arizona let big leads slip away late in the game. Only Minnesota managed to get it together and not choke. The beginning of the second quarter of the season really helped to separate the good teams from the frauds. A lot of questions still need to be answered about the pre-season contenders (Kansas City, Carolina, Tennessee) and whether they need to be written off and week 6 promises to provide those answers. But without further delay, here are your Power Rankings.
How can an NFL team that gives up more passing yards than they pickup be 4-0 to start the season? When you have Michael Vick behind center, you don’t need passing yards. Last season, the Atlanta Falcons proved to the entire football world that they had no running game, no impact receivers, and a dismal defense. This season, the Falcons proved that none of that really matters when you have such an elusive player like Vick. Thus far Atlanta’s defense has held up well, and that would be an understatement. Despite a great start, are the Falcons really legitimate Super Bowl contenders?
When I looked at the games on the schedule this week for my survivor pool, there weren’t that many that stood out as clear winners, which means that this weekend should be a great one in the NFL. While there aren’t any marquee matchups, except Giants-Cowboys, there are a bunch of games that look to be really tight. Should be a great day on the couch with Sunday Ticket but a terrible week for Picks. Still, your friendly staff here at Sportscolumn is taking our best shot at calling the winners. If you want to see how Sportscolumn stacks up against the other experts, check out this excel file.
He wore number 88 and he played wide receiver and tight end and also punted for the Washington Redskins from 1963 through 1970. However, Pat Richter could have very easily ended up playing baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Braves, Baltimore Orioles or Houston Colt 45s.
The best word to describe Jim Steffen is tenacious. Steffen was a defensive back for the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins during an NFL career that lasted seven seasons.
What a boring week in the NFL. The only game that even came close to living up to expectations was the Colts-Jaguars. After almost falling asleep during the late games, I rallied hard and was faced with St. Louis vs San Francisco? Even in the interest of journalism, I was barely able to watch that game. The shootout between Omar and Barksdale’s crew on The Wire was much better than anything the Rams and Niners could put together. Poor ESPN. The good news is that Mike Patrick is back next week.
Perhaps Marcus Coleman should have been cast as Forrest Gump because on Sunday at Arrowhead he just kept running and running and running. Not even Priest Holmes, who became the all-time leading rusher in Chiefs history could catch him. It’s quite possible that Tom Hanks himself would have trouble catching up to Coleman. Eventually, though, Coleman stopped…when he reached the end zone. Now we all expected something like this from the Kansas City defense, but when your offense starts giving up touchdowns to the opposition, you know you’re in a heap of trouble. Not even Hollywood could have scripted an 0-3 start for the Chiefs.
When a casual Redskins fan is asked to name former running backs with the team he would probably call out Larry Brown, John Riggins, Earnest Byner, Steven Davis. Many may not remember A.D. Whitfield.
As I prepared and waited all year, starting from January of this year until September, I had excitement built for the 2004 football season. Starting January and continuing through the summer months, I was very excited for my team and how they will perform this year because of some good pickups. Then with one decision by one man, the season and the organization really took a downhill turn and it is rolling quickly down to the bottom as the season is moving along. My excitement turned to worrying and then move after move helped improve that and built my hope high up until kickoff, but now as the season is three weeks in, the season is basically over because of bad moves in the off season having more to do with the front office and not as much to do with Ricky Williams leaving. The time to start cleaning up and getting rid of some bad parts is after this season, too bad that it’s a few too late.