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11/30/2004 Archived Entry: "MNQ - 11/29"

Posted by steve @ 03:02 AM EST [Link]

MONDAY NIGHT QUARTERBACK: Two good weeks in a row? After scoring 13 out of 16 last week I very nearly repeated the feat! I could have easily scored 13 correct picks but unfortunately Oakland blocked a field goal attempt by Denver Sunday night and ended that. For God sake's, Denver was an 11 point favourite going into the game. I guess Langston Walker is my new enemy for life.

Along with Denver, picking the San Francisco 49ers was my other mistake. Given that both San Francisco and Miami came into the game 1-9, I think it perfectly defensible to pick the home team. Unfortunately Miami decided that it simply needed a second victory on the year.

There's been a bit of a debate about whose streak of consecutive starts is more impressive: Brett Favre or Cal Ripken? I have to go with Favre. As Eric Neel wrote earlier this week on the records held by Favre, Ripken and the catch streak by Jerry Rice, "I'm not sure the other two streaks even belong in the same conversation with Favre's. Let somebody come running at Cal like Terry Tate tearing down the office halls, and then we'll talk about him. And as for Jerry, well, his is dependent -- it's a streak about Joe Montana and Steve Young, too. Brett's is all on Brett. And that's the key difference: The Orioles survive without Cal in the lineup, the Niners get by without Rice (remember John Taylor?) for a game or two, but the Packers live and die with and without Favre. He's not a key cog; he's the engine that makes all the wheels turn. His streak, for the hits he's taken, and for the role he plays for his squad, is the most impressive. And it isn't even close."

Well, I can't argue with this logic as I completely agree with it. The sheer fact that he's been able to prolong the streak in a year that has included the death of his father and a persistent injury to his throwing hand tells you how tough this man is.

Why am I not surprised that the unholy marriage of Jerry Jones and Bill Purcells has finally hit the rocks. Frankly, I'm surprised it didn't occur earlier. So the big debate will be whether Drew Henson will get any more starts this season. If I were a betting man I'd say Purcells has won the war this season and Vinny Testaverde will start the rest of the way for the Cowboys. Who's ultimately right? I think unless Testaverde is going to be starting next season, you might as well start Henson this season. I can understand Purcells' reasoning -- that he believes he can still make the playoffs this year and needs Testaverde to do it -- but I wonder how much of that is just to spite Jones.

I know this will hardly be controversial but the last four games that Peyton Manning has played have been the best consecutive four games that any quarterback has ever played. I never saw Johnny Unitas play but I'll defend that contention against any other modern era quarterback you care to name. 10 touchdowns in one week? I wouldn't be surprised if he ends the season with 60 touchdowns. If he isn't league MVP this year, no one is.

Yet despite all of that I don't see the Colts winning the Superbowl. Sure, the Colts apparently paid for a medical procedure that replaced Manning's arm for a cannon but that defense needs a lot of improvement. You can't expect Archie's kid to score four or five touchdowns every game.

On the other side of the Manning fence is his brother Eli. Hey Eli, remember what we were telling you about the Giants porous offensive line? Yup, it had nothing to do with Kurt Warner. Sure, Kurt liked to fumble the ball but the sacks and hurries weren't his fault. Did you think you were going to do better? You were blitzed out the side of your head by the Philadelphia Eagles this weekend and those five sacks proved it. You'll improve kid, but hopefully the November 28 version of the Philadelphia Experiment proved to you that the Giants need a lot more help up front regardless of who the quarterback is that they plan to sacrifice to the Football Gods.

I was almost tempted to hand the Cheerleader of the Week award to a New England Patriots member after the beating the team inflicted on the Baltimore Ravens. Given how many times a Patriots cheerleader has received it, I'd better hold off before I run out of women on that squad to award it to. That doesn't mean we can't congratulate the Patriots however. The best defense of that game didn't come from Baltimore that day, it came out of New England. Ravens coach Brian Billick said after the game that the team couldn't get anything going. That's a polite way of saying they were totally outplayed on both sides of the ball.

Week 1 - 8 out of 15
Week 2 - 11 out of 16
Week 3 - 9 of 15
Week 4 - 7 of 14
Week 5 - 7 of 14
Week 6 - 9 of 14
Week 7 - 6 of 14
Week 8 - 8 of 14
Week 9 - 8 of 14
Week 10 - 9 of 14
Week 11 - 13 of 16
Week 14 - 12 of 14

%: 67.3

Last week I went off on a rant about the pregame show that Fox tacked on to their football coverage but this week I wish to praise another pregame show. Dollars to dimes, the best pregame program is Sunday NFL Countdown. You can't get better than Chris Berman and Tom Jackson. Sure, Berman has his share of habits which can annoy people but the two guys know what they're talking about.

I suppose I have little choice other than to hand our Cheerleader of the Week award to a Raiderette. This week's prize goes to Elizabeth, a third year member of the squad who hopes to one day go into broadcasting. The official Raiders web site calls Elizabeth a "blonde-haired, blue-eyed stunner" and I wouldn't disagree under any circumstance.