I need to start off with a disclaimer about this week’s column. I literally got to see about a half hour of football in Week 8 due to being out of town. As a result, I only got to watch scores update on my phone (I even missed the Rams upset of the Saints)! So not sure about the quality of this weeks’ column, as my ideas for discussion worthy issues are rather slim. So I apologize, you guys caught me slackin’!
“And the Tebow Goes To…”
There are some iconic poses in the world of sports, the Heisman pose, the Jerry West NBA logo to name a few. But a new pose is sweeping the sports world…The Tebow! It’s even become a nationwide fad. Instead of “planking,” people are now picking random spots and “Tebowing.” A Tebow is where you kneel down, place your elbow on your knee, and your fist on your head. It looks much like “The Thinker” statue, except you’re kneeling instead of sitting. Tim Tebow does this pose everytime before he goes in for a series, and it has become iconic. This is my plea to the NFL to make a trophy, like the Heisman, and give it out to the MVP of the league every year. The pose will be of a Tebow.
While we’re on the subject, the Broncos looked atrocious on Sunday agains the Lions, at home. Tebow was sacked 7 times, and they got killed 45-10! Perhaps I crowned him too soon.
Scheduling WTH!
I was checking out the schedule for this week’s Games of the Week, and noticed something goofy. Normally Week 10 is the last week for bye teams, but this year it is Week 11. Not only that, the Bye’s skip over Week 10! What the Heck? Teams have byes in the following weeks this year: 5,6,7,8,9, and 11. Just strange to me.
No Mo-Town:
Don’t get me wrong, FMQB is still on the Lions bandwagon, it’s fun to see them do well for a change. But this new found success is getting to their heads. First it was a coach fight, last week Suh was kicking Matt Ryan and yelling “Bring out the cart” (allegedly), and now this past week they got involved in the Tebowing craze. But this week was flat out funny! The Lions got to Tebow and sacked him 7 times! After one sack, there is a great picture of Tebow laying on the ground, while the defensive lineman is doing a Tebow right next to him. Then a double move of cockiness, ex-Bronco Tony Scheffler caught a TD, did a FAKE Tebow, and then Mile High Saluted the Denver crowd. Both these moves were bold, but funny.
Where we’re at for Team Names:
Just a quick recap. We’re halfway through the season and there are a few nicknames I’d like to remind the readers where we are at, and even add a couple new ones.
Philadelphia Eagles are referred to as the Nightmares until they’re over .500
New York Giants are referred to as Los Tramposos (Spanish for Cheaters) due to faking injuries.
I am changing the name of a few other teams for the rest of the season:
With the multiple personalities of the Lions, they are hereby called the Detroit Rex’s since I think the Lions players are about as cocky as Rex Ryan.
The Washington Redskins are hereby changed to the Washington Fighting Sioux, since the Sioux is a lot less offensive than Redskins. Based on the crazy notion that the University of North Dakota should change their name, while the Redskins, Indians, Braves, and Seminoles are fine with their tomahawking and mascots.
Based on last week’s columns, the Baltimore Ravens are hereby the Baltimore Nevermores.
The Carolina Panthers will now be referred to as the Carolina Newtons (not to be mistaken for the measurement of mass), since if it were in God’s Gift to Man Cam’s power, he would be the only person on the team.
The Kansas City Chiefs will now be known as the Kansas City Chargers, since for some reason the whole “Start off horribly only to go on a winning streak” craze jumped AFC West teams from the Chargers to the Chiefs.
Stat of the Week #1:
If the two #1 seeds met in the Super Bowl this year, it would be a rematch of last years’ game.
Stat of the Week #2:
The Kansas City Chargers started the season 0-3, just 4 games later they are winning the AFC West.
Stat of the Week #3:
San Francisco’s Magic Number is 5, meaning they could clinch a playoff berth by Week 13
Stat of the Week #4:
The Kansas City Chiefs would currently host a home playoff game, but are -42 in point differential.
Stat of the Week #5:
The Cardinals are 1-6, and have only a -40 point differential where as the Chiefs are 4-3.
Stat of the Week #6:
Sam Bradford is tied for 3rd in the league for the amount of times sacked, but he’s even missed 2 games.
Stat of the Week #7:
Only 12 RB’s are on pace for a 1000 yd season…two of those play for Houston.
Stat of the Week #8:
The #2 and #3 leaders in receptions in the league both play for New Orleans…neither of them are Wide Receivers
Stat of the Week #9:
Cam Newton has 7 more rushing TD’s than Michael Vick
Poe-leeasssee!
As I mentioned last week (or Edgar Allen Poe mentioned in 1847, however you want to look at it), the Baltimore Nevermores needed to be extremely careful of playing bad teams due to their tendency to beat the good and lose to the bad. The Cardinals took the Nevermores to the brink, only to have them come back from 24 down to win the game and barely escape Poe’s predictions.
Quarterback Rankings
On Sunday night, FFMQB asked “Do you think Tony Romo is a Top 10 quarterback?” I said yes but it would be at the bottom of that list, she said no. So it got me thinking about how good QB’s are in comparison. I’m sure this will spark some disagreements and perhaps debate, but here is my list. I am including Peyton Manning, Chad Henne, anybody who should be their team’s #1 QB right now.
- Peyton Manning
- Tom Brady
- Drew Brees
- Aaron Rodgers
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Philip Rivers
- Tony Romo
- Eli Manning
- Matt Ryan
- Jay Cutler
- Michael Vick
- Matt Schaub
- Matthew Stafford
- Cam Newton
- Mark Sanchez
- Ryan Fitzpatrick
- Matt Hasselbeck
- Joe Flacco
- Matt Cassel
- Jason Campbell
- Joshua Freeman
- Sam Bradford
- Kyle Orton
- Rex Grossman
- Andy Dalton
- Carson Palmer
- Christian Ponder
- Tim Tebow
- Alex Smith
- John Beck
- Kyle Kolb
- Blaine Gabbert
- Colt McCoy
- Chad Henne
- Donovan McNabb
- Tavaris Jackson
One disclaimer, the only reason I have Cam Newton so low is because he’s a rookie and hasn’t won. Sure he puts up stats galore, but until he proves to be a winner, he will not break my top 10. Same goes for Ponder, Dalton, and Gabbert, it’s too early to put them above other proven QBs.
Also, there are very strong arguments for any of the Top 4 to be the best QB in the league. I feel like Rodgers could be #1 or #4, that’s how close it is for me.
If the Playoffs were to start today:
Baltimore, a team with a .714 winning percentage, would be out, while Buffalo, a team with a .714 winning percentage, would have a first round bye.
The Texans, Chiefs, and Bengals would have a higher seed than the Patriots.
Quote of the Week:
“If there was one team on the Rams schedule this year that I would have said they don’t have a shot at winning, it was against New Orleans” Matt
World Series Magic Dust:
I had 2 questions after Sunday’s games, and both revolved around the miracle in St. Louis. First, holy Rams, where did that come from? The second, what the heck happened to the Saints? As I mentioned last week, the Rams had scored 56 points total, while the Saints scored 62 points in Week 7 alone. The Rams were up 17-0 at half, but my initial thoughts were the Saints could easily erase that deficit. But the Rams kept pouring it on and somehow the team that was averaging 9 points per game kept scoring! In the end it probably won’t mean much, but at least we can say that the Rams were competitive with a team that is a Super Bowl contender. Must have been some leftover World Series Magic Dust in St. Louis.
Games of the Week:
Wooo great lineup this week! Tons of divisional matchups and playoff implications. Be sure to pay attention to the following games:
Buccaneers at Saints
Jets at Bills
Nevermores at Steelers
Bears at Nightmares
FMQB 