In his latest edition of “Monday Morning Quarterback,” Peter King of SI.com writes this about Jeff Garcia:
5. Tampa Bay (4-2). How admirable is Jeff Garcia? He goes 15 of 20 with no picks or sacks against a formidable Panther D, and all he talks about after the game, in effect, is how he appreciates the chance to be an NFL quarterback.
Admirable? Garcia didn’t seem to appreciate the chance to be an NFL quarterback this offseason when he demanded a new contract from the Bucs or else he’d sit out of football.
Pat Yasinskas of ESPN.com wrote a great piece on Buccaneers’ RB Earnest Graham, who made the switch to fullback in Tampa’s 27-3 win over the Panthers on Sunday because of injuries. Graham’s selflessness allowed Warrick Dunn to rush for 115 yards.
“I’d just like to tell our fans what he did today is what this game is all about,” Gruden said.
Gruden’s right. If Tampa Bay fans didn’t see what Graham did (and they may not have because the position is anonymous by its nature), they should at least know about it.
Graham was the reason Warrick Dunn rushed for 115 yards on 22 carries. That was 115 yards Graham could have had.
“I feel proud to block for Warrick,” Graham said.
Try getting any other starting tailback around the league to say those words. You probably wouldn’t have much luck. Graham has been Tampa Bay’s starting tailback since the middle of last season and had established himself as the team’s primary ball carrier.
But he voluntarily gave up carries for bruises when Byron Storer, Tampa Bay’s only active fullback, went down with a knee injury early in the game. B.J. Askew, the usual starting fullback, was inactive because of an injury.
Gruden’s initial reaction was to turn to the contingency plan the Bucs have in place every week in case they run short of fullbacks. He, and the rest of the offensive coaching staff, began getting tight end Alex Smith ready to go in at fullback.
That’s when Graham approached Gruden on the sideline.
“I came to Gruden and said, ‘If you need a fullback, I’m your fullback,’ ” Graham said.
Hopefully this story doesn’t go unnoticed by the mainstream media (outisde of ESPN obviously). There are so many selfish athletes in sports these days; it’s nice to finally hear about the ones that give themselves up for the greater good of their team.
Sunday’s Best:Panthers (4-1) at Buccaneers (3-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX This isn’t the sexiest matchup on the Week 6 schedule, but it’s a battle for first place in the NFC South. Carolina is coming off a 34-0 rout of the Chiefs, a game in which they held Larry Johnson to only two yards rushing, while Tampa dropped a close one in Denver. The Panthers can thank a healthy Jake Delhomme and a stingy run defense for their hot start this season. With Delhomme back under center and a nice 1-2 punch of DeAngelo Williams and rookie Jonathan Stewart in the backfield, the Panthers’ offense has been incredibly balanced this season and therefore, hard to stop. And Carolina’s front seven has kept opponents from averaging over 100 yards on the ground. The Bucs will go back to Jeff Garcia at quarterback with Brian Griese nursing an injured arm. It’ll be interesting to see if the Panthers take away Tampa’s 8th-best rushing attack, because the last time the Bucs couldn’t run the ball was against the Bears – a game in which Griese attempted 67 passes. Will Garcia have to do the same this week?
Upset Watch:Cowboys (4-1) at Cardinals (3-2), 4:15 PM ET FOX I’m going right back to the well. In my primer last week, I warned to watch out for the Cards upsetting the previously unbeaten Bills. I’ll do the same this week as the Cowboys roll into the desert after almost blowing a 17-point lead to the Bengals last Sunday. Dallas has more talent than any other team in the NFC, but they’ve proven to be as fragile as T.O.’s emotions. Arizona flat out plays a different brand of football at home and could have wideout Anquan Boldin back this week, although it’s doubtful. Even without Boldin, the Cards have more than enough weapons to score on a Dallas defense that is giving up close to 23 points a game. The key obviously will be whether or not Arizona can stop the Cowboys’ high-powered offense. Dallas is racking up over 400 yards and 30 points a game and the Cards are just two games removed from surrendering 56 points to the Jets. Even if ‘Zona can’t pull off the upset, I would expect one wild shootout.
Intriguing Matchup:Patriots (3-1) at Chargers (2-3) 8:15 PM ET NBC Remember when New England mocked Shawne Merriman’s “Lights Out” dance after a playoff win in San Diego a couple of years ago and hurt LaDainian Tomlinson’s feelings? The Pats return to the scene of the crime and no team plays with a bigger chip on their shoulder (and for really no reason) than the Chargers. Even though they won in convincing fashion against the 49ers last week, this is clearly a different Patriots team without Tom Brady. (What a statement, I know). It’ll be interesting to see if Matt Cassel can have a coming out party this weekend, because no team in the entire NFL is playing worse against the pass right now than San Diego.
Other Notable Games: Bears (3-2) at Falcons (3-2), 1:00 PM ET FOX The last time rookie QB Matt Ryan faced the Tampa 2 defense he had his worst outing as a pro, throwing two interceptions in a loss to the Bucs in Week 2. He’ll get a chance for redemption this week against Chicago, a team that has typically owned Atlanta in the past.
Jaguars (2-3) at Broncos (4-1), 4:15 PM ET FOX Big Ben and the Steelers lit up Jacksonville’s defense last week. Will Jay Cutler and the Broncos’ offense do the same on Sunday?
Ravens (2-2) at Colts (2-2), 1:00 PM ET CBS Peyton Manning vs. Ray Lewis is always fun to watch.
Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball 16 consecutive losing seasons (1993 to present) The Pirates used to be a powerhouse in the National League East. While they didn’t win a World Series in the 1990s, they were contenders for three straight years. Pittsburgh fans still had the memories of the 1979 world championship team, but then the team got rid of Barry Bonds and started a 16-year race to rock bottom. It’s the longest current losing streak in professional sports.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers National Football League 14 consecutive losing seasons (1983 to 1996) During the period between 1983 and 1996, the Buccaneers repeatedly put together abysmally bad seasons. They had three two-win seasons, one three-win season and one four-win season. The bright orange uniforms and the fact that they traded away future hall-of-famer Steve Young didn’t help.
Chicago Blackhawks National Hockey League 14 consecutive losing seasons (1946 to 1960) Something that must always be considered when ranking losing aptitude is circumstance. The Chicago Blackhawks are one of the NHL’s original six franchises and, for years, there simply weren’t that many teams in the nation’s hockey league. The team made a strong break break from its losing streak, however, by winning the Stanley Cup in 1961.
Los Angeles Clippers National Basketball Association 12 consecutive losing seasons (1993 to 2005) Staples Arena, in Los Angeles, is home to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers. When you look into the rafters, you see countless yellow and purple Lakers banners celebrating championships and superstars like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar. There’s almost no red and silver in the rafters.
How could you not feel for Pittsburgh Pirate fans? Not only do they continue to lose, but there’s not a lot of hope on the horizon either.
The 2008 NFL Season is only a quarter of the way finished, but it already looks like it could be one of the craziest years in some time. And as if anyone needed a reason to tune in this year, I’ve gone ahead and listed 32 of them below.
In no particular order:
1. Parity still rules. Who would have thought that the Bills and Titans would have better records at this point than the Colts, Patriots and Jaguars?
2. The Giants. The G-Men are the best team in the league and nobody is talking about them.
3. Aaron Rodgers is holding his own. The Packers have dropped three straight after starting the year 2-0, but that’s hardly Rodgers’ fault. The young man has gone through a lot this year and he continues to impress, including playing with an injured shoulder and throwing nine touchdown passes in five games.
4. The Colts 17-point fourth quarter comeback against the Texans in Week 5.
5. Preseason predictions still mean nothing. There’s no greater feeling than checking out who the pundits predict will be the best teams in the NFL in preseason…then realizing how wrong they were after the first couple weeks of the season.
6. Jason Campbell’s development. People in the know say that it usually takes a quarterback 2-3 years to fully learn the West Coast Offense but so far this year, Campbell has thrown for over 1,000 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. And oh-by-the-way, he also has the Redskins at 4-1. First-year head coach Jim Zorn has done a remarkable job in Washington so far.
7. The Titans. There’s not a defense in the league that has been more clutch late in games than Tennessee has.
8. Ronnie Brown. No offense to Ricky Williams, but it’s nice to see that the guy who didn’t quit on the game because he wanted more time to smoke weed is having more success than the guy who did.
9. The balance of power is starting to shift between the two conferences. The AFC has long dominated the NFC in terms of teams and quality of play, but so far this year those roles have been reversed. Four of the top five or six teams in the league belong to the NFC.
10. Brett Favre. Through five weeks, no signal caller in the league has a better QB rating than Favre. And his six-touchdown performance against the Cardinals in Week 4 was vintage Brett.
11. Baltimore’s defense. They might be aging unit, but Ray Lewis and Co. can still lay the wood can’t they?
12. Rookie quarterbacks playing well. Matt Ryan just went into Lambeau and knocked off the Packers, while Joe Flacco almost pulled off upsets against top defenses in Pittsburgh and against Tennessee. These first round signal callers have been impressive to say the least.
13. Adrian Peterson. Forget the sophomore slump – the 2007 Offensive Rookie of the Year is proving that he’s no fluke.
14. The Bears finally have a quarterback. Kyle Orton is nowhere close to being the best quarterback in the league, but watch him play – he has a little gunslinger mentality in him. And hey, he’s no Rex Grossman, which is a great thing (just ask Bear fans).
15. Kurt Warner. Some groaned when the veteran unseated youngster Matt Leinart in preseason, but so far head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s decision to go with Warner has paid off.
16. The Dolphins. They might be all hype right now, but who cares? The Fins’ fan base saw only one win last year – let them enjoy the ride.
17. Ben Roethlisberger’s toughness. This is arguably the worst offensive line the Steelers have produced in years, yet Big Ben continues to show how underrated he really is. His performance against Jacksonville in Week 5 was simply amazing.
18. The Bills. It’s easy to pull for a young team and most of their wins this year have been nail bitters. Hopefully QB Trent Edwards is okay from the hit he took against Arizona last Sunday and he’ll get back on the field soon.
19. The young Titans’ secondary. Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin share the league lead for interceptions. And they play in the same defensive backfield.
20. Marty Booker’s catch against the Lions.
21. Jay Cutler. The kid is cocky but it’s hard not to like his swagger.
22. Michael Turner’s running style.
23. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. The Packers’ wideouts are just two example of why teams don’t need to spend first round picks on receivers.
24. Fresh starts in Oakland, Detroit and St. Louis. Yes these three franchises are a mess. But maybe there is a silver lining now that Lane Kiffin, Matt Millen and Scott Linehan all received their walking papers. Maybe…
25. Eli Manning. The former first overall pick is proving that last year’s postseason performance wasn’t a fluke and he really has taken the next step as a NFL quarterback.
26. The Panthers. Jake Delhomme is healthy and playing well again, rookie Jonathan Stewart has been a great complement to DeAngelo Williams and the run defense has been fantastic so far. Carolina is a legitimate contender in the NFC.
27. Monte Kiffin’s defense. The Bucs don’t even rank in the top 10 in any major defensive category except for points allowed, but ask Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton and Aaron Rodgers if they would want to face Kiffin’s unit on a weekly basis.
28. The Patriots are still finding ways to win. It hasn’t been pretty, but Bill Belichick and New England are still finding ways to win despite not having Tom Brady under center. Even after being blown out by Miami at home in Week 3, the Pats are still a team to watch out for in the AFC.
29. Reggie Bush. He might not be able to run consistently between the tackles but he sure as hell can run outside of them.
30. Terrell Owens…when he shuts up and just plays. And Tony Romo…when he can hang on to the football.
31. The Bengals. For providing the casual football fan with plenty of entertainment off the field.
32. Al Davis. For providing the casual football fan with plenty of entertainment off the filed.
