Six Week Surprises
I was long overdue for a blog entry, so here we go. Since we are six weeks into the NFL season, its time for me to pass out my six-week surprises. I’ll start with number six, and work down to number one.
6. The year that Plaxico Burress is having. Its amazing that his team is having the year that they are. Eight touchdown catches (halfway through Monday’s game), tied for the most in the NFL, and he’s done it with a bum ankle. He was hurt in the pre-season, nursing a sore back. For years I thought he was a head case that would never make it, despite his incredible level of talent. I watched this guy at Michigan State and thought wow, he’s a great player, but he’s got so much to learn, and too many problems upstairs. I drafted him reluctantly in both fantasy leagues, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
5. The Eagles are 2-3. I picked these guys to win the NFC East, and right now they’re in last place. These guys just can’t avoid injuries. One of these years they’ll keep most of their key players on both sides in tact. This year McNabb has been dinged up, Westbrook has missed a game, Sheppard and Dawkins have missed time and they’re looking up at the other three teams. Having said that, they’re still within striking distance of the Cowboys who were dismantled on Sunday.
4. New Orleans Saints are 1-4. How in the World did the darlings of last season fall so far? Losing on opening night to Indy is one thing, losing three of your next four is another. It was an impressive win for those guys on Sunday night in Seattle, but these guys look like a one-year wonder if there ever was one. I thought their defense was bad, but not this bad. Their passing game just hasn’t worked. They’ve thrown for a decent amount of yards with 229.4 per game, which is 10th best in the NFL, but they only have three touchdowns through the air, tied for third fewest in the league.
3. The Cleveland Browns are 3-3 going into their bye week and the schedule doesn’t look too tough the rest of the way. Their aerial attack has been unreal. You’d think Bernie Kosar was under center the way they’ve thrown the ball. Their 14 passing td’s are third most in the NFL, and their 239.3 yards per game passing is 9th best. They do however still have problems stopping the run, allowing nearly 150 yards a game on the ground, which is third worst. At 3-3, they’re just a game and a half out of first place and they have a shot to finish second in that division with their schedule being somewhat favorable after the bye.
2. The New York Giants. I mentioned Plaxico Burress’s incredible season earlier, and how he’s done so much even though he’s incredibly banged up. Everyone, present company included, thought that the writing was on the wall for Tom Coughlin when the season was over, and we all thought we were spot on after the team started 0-2. Their win against the Redskins has catapulted this team into the second spot in the division right behind the powerful Cowboys. This offense is enjoying a nice trio in the running game with Ward, Jacobs and Droughns. On offense they have relatively mediocre numbers going into the Monday night game (14th best rushing attack, 17th best passing attack and that will change when the game is over) and defensively they are 19th against the pass and 10th against the rush which is WAY ahead of where I thought they’d be. They’re 17 sacks, are tied for fourth most, and this team could be a contender, unless they go on one of their traditional second half collapses.
1. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I was way off on this squad when I did my NFL preview. I thought they’d be picking first in the draft next year, and they have done a great job of proving me wrong. They’ve only allowed 87 points, 6th fewest in the league, and they’ve allowed 314 yards per game defensively, which is 11th best in the league. Offensively, they’re using a third string tailback, and a journeyman quarterback in Jeff Garcia. They lost one of the best offensive linemen in Luke Petitgout. They’ve got the 23rd best passing attack and they’re the 19th best rushing team in the league, which isn’t great but its better than I thought they’d be. They’ve won games with good defense, though they’re numbers aren’t that great. They’ve been the Arizona Diamondbacks of football.
6. The year that Plaxico Burress is having. Its amazing that his team is having the year that they are. Eight touchdown catches (halfway through Monday’s game), tied for the most in the NFL, and he’s done it with a bum ankle. He was hurt in the pre-season, nursing a sore back. For years I thought he was a head case that would never make it, despite his incredible level of talent. I watched this guy at Michigan State and thought wow, he’s a great player, but he’s got so much to learn, and too many problems upstairs. I drafted him reluctantly in both fantasy leagues, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
5. The Eagles are 2-3. I picked these guys to win the NFC East, and right now they’re in last place. These guys just can’t avoid injuries. One of these years they’ll keep most of their key players on both sides in tact. This year McNabb has been dinged up, Westbrook has missed a game, Sheppard and Dawkins have missed time and they’re looking up at the other three teams. Having said that, they’re still within striking distance of the Cowboys who were dismantled on Sunday.
4. New Orleans Saints are 1-4. How in the World did the darlings of last season fall so far? Losing on opening night to Indy is one thing, losing three of your next four is another. It was an impressive win for those guys on Sunday night in Seattle, but these guys look like a one-year wonder if there ever was one. I thought their defense was bad, but not this bad. Their passing game just hasn’t worked. They’ve thrown for a decent amount of yards with 229.4 per game, which is 10th best in the NFL, but they only have three touchdowns through the air, tied for third fewest in the league.
3. The Cleveland Browns are 3-3 going into their bye week and the schedule doesn’t look too tough the rest of the way. Their aerial attack has been unreal. You’d think Bernie Kosar was under center the way they’ve thrown the ball. Their 14 passing td’s are third most in the NFL, and their 239.3 yards per game passing is 9th best. They do however still have problems stopping the run, allowing nearly 150 yards a game on the ground, which is third worst. At 3-3, they’re just a game and a half out of first place and they have a shot to finish second in that division with their schedule being somewhat favorable after the bye.
2. The New York Giants. I mentioned Plaxico Burress’s incredible season earlier, and how he’s done so much even though he’s incredibly banged up. Everyone, present company included, thought that the writing was on the wall for Tom Coughlin when the season was over, and we all thought we were spot on after the team started 0-2. Their win against the Redskins has catapulted this team into the second spot in the division right behind the powerful Cowboys. This offense is enjoying a nice trio in the running game with Ward, Jacobs and Droughns. On offense they have relatively mediocre numbers going into the Monday night game (14th best rushing attack, 17th best passing attack and that will change when the game is over) and defensively they are 19th against the pass and 10th against the rush which is WAY ahead of where I thought they’d be. They’re 17 sacks, are tied for fourth most, and this team could be a contender, unless they go on one of their traditional second half collapses.
1. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I was way off on this squad when I did my NFL preview. I thought they’d be picking first in the draft next year, and they have done a great job of proving me wrong. They’ve only allowed 87 points, 6th fewest in the league, and they’ve allowed 314 yards per game defensively, which is 11th best in the league. Offensively, they’re using a third string tailback, and a journeyman quarterback in Jeff Garcia. They lost one of the best offensive linemen in Luke Petitgout. They’ve got the 23rd best passing attack and they’re the 19th best rushing team in the league, which isn’t great but its better than I thought they’d be. They’ve won games with good defense, though they’re numbers aren’t that great. They’ve been the Arizona Diamondbacks of football.
posted by Bloggin' Bull at 8:16 PM
1 Comments:
Watching Plaxico Burress this year really is like watching him play in an alternate universe! And I did have the Eagles doing better than they are, too.
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