1. Week One picks are tough. Chokechain and I finished 8-8, in 42nd place out of 100+ with 67 points, 32 points behind the leader and below the dread Annabella line. The White Buffalo did even worse, finishing in 50th. Last year, we started even slower; the WB finished 2nd and we finished 14th in a 88-man pool.
2. The Vikings looked terrible. Daunte looked terrible and the running game was nonexistent. I’m not giving up hope on the season, however, because our problems are theoretically fixable. Green Bay’s, on the other hand, aren’t. The fact that neither team’s coach is ever going to be confused as a genius suggests that while a division win is still likely in the cards for the Purple, they’re unlikely to do much in the playoffs.
3. Speaking of coaches named Mike who won’t be confused with geniuses, let’s all enjoy the last whacky gasps of the Martz era. Martz is the anti-Belicheck, never content to keep it simple when he can screw things up and outsmart himself. It happened to work last week, but seriously, what other coach in the league goes for it on fourth and ten from the 34 when you need two scores and there’s almost four minutes left? Kick the field goal! (And I’d still say that even if I didn’t have Jeff Wilkins while Chokechain had both Bulger and Holt going.)
4. If I were Bill Cowher, I’d keep the Bus in the garage and ride the Parker light rail express for another week or two. (And I’d still say that even if I didn’t want to start Parker against the WB next week.)
5. Eli Manning doesn’t appear to suck this year. His two interceptions were not mistakes but excellent defensive plays instead and he also threw a lovely spiral to the corner that hit the base of the pylon at the back of the end zone. Nice arm. Unfortunately, his receiver had pulled up short so it was for naught. Kurt Warner looked all right, but the Arizona running game didn’t.
6. I’ve always liked Trent Dilfer as a quarterback and I expect the Browns will do a little better than people think thanks to him. But not much better. Still, there’s a lot to be said for a quarterback who may not win the game for you, but won’t lose it either.
7. Michael Vick: still overrated.
8. It’s way too soon to declare that the Tuna has rejuvenated Drew Bledsoe and that Dallas will return to the playoffs, but keep in mind that Phil Simms wasn’t exactly the Peyton Manning of his day either. Let’s see… strong defense, check. Bruising running game, check. Decent QB throwing high percentage balls, maybe. Whether you like Bledsoe or not, he’s a big upgrade from Testaverde and that was an impressive win over a solid AFC playoff contender.
9. Denver looked really bad. I don’t know why Mike Shanahan thought that he could turn Jake Plummer into the second coming of John Elway, I just know that he’s wrong and Jake is still The Fake. I’m not sure Plummer even had a completion in the first half.
10. Cadillac Williams looks pretty good, but I thought Ronnie Brown looked even better, Williams one long run against a Vikings defense that had given up notwithstanding. It surprised me that Cedric Benson got in the game after so little time with the team. Arrington showed nothing, but the new Giants rookie looks like what Ron Dayne was supposed to be.