Random Thoughts from Around the NFL

After watching New England win a tough game on Monday at Baltimore, I am more convinced then ever that the team will go undefeated. The Pats should have been denied on a couple of 4^th down plays late in the game, but kept getting lucky breaks. If New England was able to pull out a win like that where they played sloppy and got run all over, how is anyone going to beat them?

 

Please, no more Don Shula conversations or talk of the 72' Dolphins. We know - they had a great team and REALLY want to stand alone as the only unbeaten squad in history. But enough is enough - I get nauseous every time I see one of the clowns talking about the good old days.

 

Adrian Peterson of the Vikings leads the league in rushing with 1,197 yards, 104 more than the next closest player, yet he missed two full games with a knee injury. Damn he is good.

 

Let's hope we never again see a prime-time game in the swamp that is Heinz Field. Pittsburgh's turf sucks anyway, regardless of the terrible weather they've had for three of the last four games.

 

Is it me or is Justin Fargas ridiculous right now? The Raiders blow in pretty much every phase of the game, but they sure can run block.

 

I don't think we'll ever see a 44-year old quarterback like Vinny Testaverde make such of a positive impact on a team. Testaverde has just five touchdowns against five interceptions this season, but Carolina is a respectable 2-3 in his five starts and the team looks dramatically better on offense when he plays.

 

This just in – Saints' coach Sean Payton is an idiot. In case you missed it, Payton foolishly decided to call a double reverse late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against Tampa Bay while protecting a three-point lead and trying to run the clock out. Well, it did not turn out right as Reggie Bush flipped a bad toss to Devery Henderson and the Bucs recovered the fumble and went on to score the game-winning touchdown with 17 seconds left.

 

Congrats to the Reverend Isaac Bruce, who just passed Cris Carter for fifth all time on the league's receiving list with nearly 14,000 yards. Bruce has been very consistent over his 14-year career but has also dominated at times, including his monster 1,781-yard, 13-touchdown season in 1995.

 

Time for another Joe Gibbs rant. He called back-to-back timeouts at the end of Sunday's game against Buffalo to try and ice their kicker. Memo to Joe, you cannot do that - it's illegal and constitutes a 15-yard penalty. The field goal attempt went from a 51-yard try to a 36-yarder, which Rian Lindell made to win the game. Gibbs was a great coach in the 1980's and 90's, but the game has simply passed him by.

 

Will Marvin Harrison ever play again this season? My god he's taking forever to return from a bruised knee. Either the injury is much worse than the Colts are letting on or he is the biggest Sally in pro football.