8 Weeks of NFL Action

Here we are half-way through the NFL season, and it's time to answer some questions.

MVP:
Tom Brady - There is just NO way that it could be anybody else. I don't need to gush anymore about Brady because his stats say everything. He's on pace to have the greatest statistical quarterbacking season in the HISTORY of the NFL. If he can keep this up, we will look back and ask ourselves if this season really happened.

Randy Moss - Sure, all he does is run down the field and catch those beautifully thrown balls from Brady, but Brady wouldn't be the same without him. Wherever Randy goes he is always a top talent. He's been great with Randall Cunningham, Cullpepper, Aaron Brooks, and now Tom Brady. Brady has never put up great stats like this before Moss arrived, but now that he has the best receiver in the NFL, things have changed. Just imagine what the Packers would look like right now if they had Moss. Or the Cowboys. Or the Chargers. Or the Colts. Or anybody in the league who would have had the marbles to trade a FOURTH round pick for the guy.

Brett Favre - What an amazing ride this guy has taken Packer's fans on for the last 10+ years. Everybody wrote him off, and despite not getting Moss, he has taken a .500 team and turned them into a potential home field advantage, first round bye caliber team (in the NFC). I don't care what his numbers are because all he is doing is win games. Much like Vince Young, so much of what he does will never show up on the stat sheet, but golly, it's fun having Brett Favre in the NFL...unless your name is Aaron Rogers.

Offensive Player of the First Half:
See Brady, Tom. But let's give some credit to the other guys in the NFL. Big ups to Braylon Edwards (seriously), Derek Anderson (the Cleveland Browns quarterback), Adrian Peterson (you think he'd still go 7th?), Tony Romo (minus the Bills game), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (the Bengals have actually thought about trading Ocho Cinco), and Ronnie Brown (prior to his season ending surgery).

Defensive Player of the First Half:
Mike Vrabel- I know what you're saying. What a freakin' New England Patriots homer. Yes, but name me another played with better stats right now. 42 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and an overall monster for the Patriots D. Maybe he's a good player in a great system, but his stats are top notch right now.

Trent Cole- Trent Cole? That's right. Why? With 38 tackles, 9 sacks (leads the league) and 2 forced fumbles, Cole is wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. He was an absolute steal in the 5th round and is helping a wounded Eagles team stay alive in the NFC.

Elvis Dumervil- He currently has 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and an interception. He makes all the plays on the line for the Broncos.

Barrett Ruud- The man who makes all the tackles for that lovely Tampa 2 defense.

Champ Bailey - He should win this award every year for the way he changes every game he plays, but I can't give an award to a guy who has less interceptions than Junior Seau.

Most Surprising (Good) of the First Half:
Willis McGahee - 3rd in the league in rushing yards and has a solid 4.4 yards per carry.

The Cleveland Browns - Derek Anderson is 2nd in the league in TD passes. Braylon Edwards has turned into a man beast and is currently on pace for an 18 TD season. Maybe they are overachieving, but imagine if this team somehow wins enough games to go the playoffs.

Brett Favre - 4 more years! 4 more years!

The Buffalo Bills - I know they are 3-4 and that's neither surprising or good, but this is a team that lost to Denver and Dallas by a single point on game winning field goals. If this team was getting any breaks this season, they would be 5-2, with losses to Pittsburgh and New England, and would sitting in the final playoff spot in the AFC.

Most Disappointing of the First Half:
Vince Young- At least Michael Vick looked like he could pass once in a while. The Madden Curse continues.

Matt Leinart- Most CFL ready quarterback to come out of the draft in a long time. Maybe he should spend more time practicing with Archie in the backyard.

The Running Backs (Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Laurence Marroney, Frank Gore, Thomas Jones) - For whatever reasons, these guys have been duds this year, and you know, because you drafted them for your fantasy team and now you are relying on Earnest Grahm and Kenny Watson.

The NFC West - Looked like it could be an up year for this division with a good team (Seattle), a great offensive team (St. Louis) and 2 teams ready for their closeups (Arizona and San Fran), but golly, these teams stink.


But forget all this and enjoy the second half of the season where anythings possible. Except for the Patriots not winning the AFC East crown.

Running up the score rules

I agree with the previous post, to a point. The only difference between the Pats and that Eagles game is that by the end of the game the Eagles had the practice squad in, and they were still scoring. But everyone who's whining about the Pats, saying that they lack class and professionalism, is a big baby. The Pats have been the epitome of professionalism over the past several years and as to class, this is the big leagues. If you can't stop a team and they roll all over you, then you deserve what you get. The only thing that the media is bawling about that I agree with is the way that Belichick is exposing Brady. At some point a team is going to make it their goal to smash him, whether it's with bringing 12 guys on a blitz or a blatant foul or whatever. Without Brady that team doesn't run the same way or win the same way, and if I were a Pats fan I'd have a problem with it.

I'll pay someone $20 to slap Skip Bayless in the face, $50 if they get a picture.

Just wondering

How come everybody freaks out about the Patriots running up the score, but nobody said anything when the Eagles beat the Lions 56-21? Should the Patriots be punished because they are able to do it every week while other teams can't? I don't know, just stuff I think about at night.

E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!!!

Boston fans should be counting their blessings, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime convergence of awesome teams. You will never have it so good again. At least I have the Flyers, who this afternoon will tool on your Bruins and make me fall in love all over again.

Quick World Series note, I'm thinking Dice is good for at least six earned runs tonight. I think Terry's going to let him pitch and try to work out of jams and that the Rockies will blow him out. Then tomorrow everything will return to normal and the Sox will win the series.

The Eagles will win tomorrow. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Just Pondering

Which ratio will be better?
Josh Beckett's Playoff Strike Out-to- Walk ratio?
or
Tom Brady's Touchdown-to-Interception Ratio?
(Isn't it great to be a Boston Sports Fan?)

Whose #1?

Lately, the only conversation I hear around football is the search for the best team in the league. More specifically, who is better, the New England Patriots or the Indianapolis Colts? People from each side have great reasons for their decisions, but the honest truth is that those teams are in a dead heat. Neither team is better than the other, and if they are, it's by the slightest margin. Even if one team dominates the other come November 4th, it won't matter, because the real game won't come until they meet again in the AFC championship game.

The big thing I keep hearing that the Colts are the better team because they are the defending champs and they have played and beaten better teams than the Patriots. I can basically agree with both statements, but I don't think you can dock the Patriots, who don't create their own schedule, for beating the teams they've been asked to beat. And really, look at who these teams have played. The Colts have beaten the Saints, Titans, Texans, Broncos, Bucs and Jaguars. The Patriots have beaten the Jets, Chargers, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Cowboys and Dolphins. Looking at who each team has beaten, both have 3 or 4 quality wins in my mind and both got lucky by playing good teams (i.e. Saints and Chargers) before they got things relatively back on track. Both teams have won 3 games against divisional opponents and both have beaten good NFC teams.

The truth of the matter, is that if both teams win this week and we get an amazing undefeated match-up in Week 9, whichever team comes out victorious has a great chance to go for a perfect season. We should all just forget the talk about who the better team is and be more impressed at how great these teams have been for so long. It's easy to overlook these two juggernauts because they have been SO good for SO long, but don't forget to look around the league and see how hard it is to be good year after year in the NFL. That means you, Philly, Chicago, San Deigo, New York, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Dallas, Baltimore, New Orleans, Seattle and everybody else who follows a 12 win season with a 5 win stink bomb.

Wacky World Series

This is the first World Series in a little while that I'm actually interested in. As a sports fan I was interested in '04, you pretty much had to be, but it seemed like a series that was decided before it started. I didn't think the Cardinals had a chance and the games were a series of anti-climaxes. This series on the other hand? It's only the most intriguing baseball match-up in a long time.

First, there's the Colorado Rockies. It's really hard to know what to expect from this team, because you can't set the bar too high or too low. On one hand, they're practically the hottest team ever, on a nigh unprecedented winning streak. They looked like they'd never lose in the first two rounds, to the point that Kaz Matsui is driving in runs like he's Ted Williams. They're playing unbelievably well and so it'd be fair to expect them to have a heck of a series. On the other hand, they're the ultimate "happy to be here" team. Nobody expected anything from them when the season started, or at the All-Star break, or even when they made it into the playoffs. If they lose, they're still a great story and one of the best Cinderella stories of recent times. If I were a Rockies fan, I'd have no idea where to set my level of expectation. Add to this the fact that while they have been scorching hot, they've had nine days off. This team has basically no history, so who can say how they'll react after that kind of break?

Then there's the Sox. Rolled through the regular season, with some bumps here and there, but clearly an elite team and one of the best in baseball. They do have some holes and some warts and because they've been analyzed to death we know them all. Nonetheless, on paper they're clearly the more established, more experienced, and more talented team. However, this series is potentially a terrible match-up. Sure they've got number one stud Josh Beckett at home to open. But during the regular season the Rockies hung six runs on him (the most he gave up all year), at home, and chased him out of the game. Sure they've got better 1-4 pitchers on paper. But Dice (playoff shaky) and Wakefield are due up at Coors field and they both rely on movement in their pitches. Altitude+breaking balls=sadness, see Mike Hampton. Note: what I said about Wakefield no longer applies, since they're starting Lester. If he's 100% that's a great move, way to go Terry.

Finally, there's the question of who's got the better home field advantage. Fenway's going to be rocking and rolling and there's no better place to start a series if you're the home team. Once again though, the Rockies can answer. There's already the altitude, and then add in the fact that due to unseasonably warm temperatures on the East coast the Sox will go from playing in mild 65 degree nights to a nasty 30-33. If you're a Sox fan and saw that Sunday night game between the Broncos and Steelers and saw the snow, you'll be nervous.

I don't have a prediction, but I'm watching every game of this one. It should be stellar.