Category: NFL (Page 1096 of 1282)

Detroit Lions quarterback Jon Kitna and his wife, Jennifer, get my vote for having the funniest Halloween costume this year. At a costume contest for charity, Kitna dressed as a naked man and Jennifer who dressed like the Wendy’s girl.

Now if that’s not funny, you probably don’t know the story behind it. Last year, Lions assistant coach Joe Cullen was involved in an incident where he had a little too much to drink and wound up at a fast food drive thru to order a snack. The only problem, besides the fact that he drove under the influence, was that Cullen was also stark naked.

“Joe didn’t have a problem with it, it doesn’t seem,” Kitna said. “The first question out of his mouth was, ‘Did you win?’ I don’t think it’s really an issue.”

What makes the situation even funnier is that Kitna is a devout, born-again Christian. You’d never think that a guy like him would go out of his way to kick a man when he’s down, but obviously it was intended to be good-natured and at least Cullen wasn’t offended.

Beat writer Pat Yasinskas reported an interesting incident between Carolina Panthers’ rookie receiver Dwayne Jarrett and veteran Steve Smith in today’s The Charlotte Observer. Jarrett was apparently talking to a set of reporters when Smith intervened with some choice words for the struggling rookie.

“Instead of talking to the media, why don’t you go watch some film?’’ Smith said.
Jarrett gave a slight smile and kept talking to the media.
Smith, followed up in a very strong tone.
“Seriously,’’ Smith said.

Now, Smith isn’t talking to the media, so maybe he just used this situation to take another shot at them. However, Jarrett has never appeared to be arrogant or cocky, so embarrassing him in front of the media probably wasn’t the best route taken by Smith, even if deep down he was just trying to help. Smith is a fantastic player, but like a lot of NFL receivers his maturity level is all over the board. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the altercation and if Jarrett either takes the shot personally, or works that much harder to try and appease the veteran.

Here’s a look at the top and bottom five after eight weeks of play:

1. New England Patriots (8-0)
Previous Rank: 1
Something tells me that for Bill Belichick and the Patriots, the past eight weeks has all been in preparation for the Colts. Belichick seems to be out for blood this year and is out to prove a point that no other team is in New England’s class.

2. Indianapolis Colts (7-0)
Previous Rank: 2
With a date against the undefeated Patriots only a week away and his team coming off a short week, Tony Dungy’s Colts still rolled over the Panthers in Carolina (where Indy had never played before last week). It never ceases to amaze me how Dungy always keeps his team focused.

3. Dallas Cowboys (6-1)
Previous Rank: 3
Year in and year out, there are always widespread quarterback issues in the NFL. Good for the Cowboys for opening their wallets and inking Tony Romo to a long-term deal.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
Previous Rank: 4
Other than turnovers and mental lapses from time to time, the Steelers don’t have a ton of weaknesses. Their offense can put points on the board and their defense – which is giving up an NFL-best 13 points per game – is as stingy as ever. Can they beat the Colts or Patriots? Unfortunately we won’t know until the playoffs.

5. Green Bay Packers (6-1)
Previous Rank: N/A
I offended a few regular posters by leaving the Packers out of my power rankings last week, so I’m here to say that I’m sorry. I was wrong guys, please forgive me! Brett Favre is playing like a schoolboy again and the defense (which is barely being talked about in the media) is playing extremely well.

28. San Francisco 49ers (2-5)
Previous Rank: 28
Where has the good play of the defense gone? All the defensive pieces the 49ers added in the offseason have translated into them giving up just under 24 points a game.

29. Atlanta Falcons (1-6)
Previous Rank: 30
Good deal for the Falcons – they had a bye last week and moved up a spot in the power rankings. Beat the 49ers this week and we’re talking about them going from #30 to #28 in a matter of just two weeks. Baby steps, folks…baby steps.

30. New York Jets (1-7)
Previous Rank: 29
Finally, Eric Mangini makes the switch at quarterback to Kellen Clemons. And just a shade under a decade too, alright…

31. Miami Dolphins (0-8)
Previous Rank: 31
Give Miami credit for making the long trip to London and putting up a fight against the Giants. I think if the Giants had a better playing surface than a chewed up soccer field it would have been a different story, but nevertheless, good for you Dolphins.

32. St. Louis Rams (0-8)
Previous Rank: 32
Just the Rams luck – they finally get moving on offense and Steven Jackson re-injuries himself. Like all of the bottom feeders in this power ranking, this is just a season to forget for the Rams.