Friday Morning Quarterback is back in action! After a weeklong whirlwind of a wedding, followed by a honeymoon in Ireland, I got to watch very little football. While disappointing, it was a pretty big rush to look up football scores and wonder “what the heck happened?!?!” Without getting into a ton of detail, here is what shocked me after coming back to see what the league looks like since week 1.
Shocker #1:
The Chiefs…Granted, I actually picked the Chiefs to go to the playoffs, but I had them sneaking in. They are now sitting amongst a small amount of 3-0 teams, and sounding pretty sharp.
Shocker #2:
The 49ers…This Super Bowl team is struggling mightily. Their Week 1 performance was grand, but they have fallen flat the last couple weeks, scoring 3 and then 7 points. They’ve had a tough schedule so far, but should be putting up more points on offense. In fact, only 3 other teams have scored fewer points than the 49ers. I feel like they’ll turn it around, but they better figure it out fast.
Shocker #3:
The Dolphins…this is the surprise team of the year, how are they 3-0?!?! And it’s not like they’ve beaten crappy teams, two of the wins are against the Falcons and Colts. When you look at the last half of their schedule, they should be able to cruise into the playoffs, which is hard to say this early in the season.
Shocker #4:
The Saints…yes, I said the Saints. Not that they’re 3-0, but I can’t believe how much of an impact a coach has on a team. The Saints didn’t gain or lose anybody huge this year, other than getting Sean Payton back. Same players, different coach has led the Saints to an undefeated record so far. It’s just crazy to think.
Shocker #5:
The Giants…I pegged the Giants to win the division. Whoops! Giants have let up the most points in the league and can’t seem to do anything on offense. Mark this as another prediction gone horribly awry.
A Sport I Could Get Into:
On a side note, FMQB and FFMQB went to Ireland for our honeymoon. It was safe to assume that “football” in Ireland doesn’t mean American Football, but it took us by surprise that it doesn’t even mean soccer! Ireland is a country rich in tradition, and a proud country. This is perhaps why they practically worship Arthur Guinness (I shouldn’t have to explain what product he made). But overall, they hold onto 2 sports that they created, and the whole country would rather play Hurling or Gaelic Football than soccer or any other sport for that matter. There was a huge Gaelic Football match the Sunday we left, and Dublin was swarming with fans. Finally had to look it up when we got home, and not gonna lie, it looks awesome! Check this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEAbWrdB9XU to see what’s it’s all about. It’s like a combo of soccer, football/rugby, volleyball, and basketball. I’m assuming Gaelic Football came first, with games starting in the 1300s, and modern rules being applied in the 1600s!!! (And I thought the invent of the forward pass was a long time ago)! Would love to see an actual game at somepoint.
Stat of the Week #1:
For the record, Peyton Manning is on pace to throw for over 6000 yards and 64 TD’s, both of which would demolish both single season records.
Stat of the Week #2:
The Steelers and Giants are both 0-3. These 2 teams have won 4 of the last 8 Super Bowls
Stat of the Week #3:
The Vikings have put up the 7th highest amount of points in the NFL, but are 0-3
Stolen Stat of the Week #4:
Alex Smith has 0 turnovers in 3 games
Stolen Stat of the Week #5:
Spencer Lanning of the Browns became the first player in 45 years to throw a pass, punt, and place kick in the same game. George Blanda would be proud!
Chiefs Stat of the Week:
The Chiefs have already won more games than they did last year, and Alex Smith has more wins with a 2-14 team, than Colin Kaepernick does with a Super Bowl team…
Skol Woes:
Yes, it is very disappointing that the Vikings are 0-3 so far this year, but let’s not bail on them quite yet. Do their playoff chances look slim? Yes. But, keep in mind that they have barely lost each game, and have held a lead in the 4th quarter of each game as well. Two of their losses have been last minute opposing TD’s (although one was to a 3rd string QB on a horrible team). Their receiving corps looks improved from last year, and with teams stacking the box against Adrian Peterson, they will see more chances to shine. As I answer later, I actually feel like Ponder is improving. Yet, he “conveniently” has a rib injury and is being benched for Matt Cassel this week. Should be interesting to see what happens if Cassel can pull off a win. Vikings have put up the 7th highest points, yet are winless.
WHAT?!?! #1:
In the world of stupid off the field injuries, some athlete’s take the cake. We all remember John Smoltz getting injured while trying to iron a shirt he was wearing, or Jaguars punter Chris Hanson swinging an axe at a stump (in the locker room for motivation) and nailing his leg instead. But we have another Darwin award winner. It was early Tuesday morning when Nate Burleson got into a single car accident. In football language, “single car accident early in the morning” means “the player was driving drunk.” Very similar to Rock music language for “he died of cardiac arrest” means “drug overdose.” But I digress…Alcohol was NOT involved in this case, but rather a very shifty pizza. It was reported that Burleson was driving home from watching Monday Night Football with some teammates, and the pizza he brought home began to slide off the seat. He tried to catch the box, and turned the steering wheel causing the accident….to be honest, I might try to save the food after experiencing the now infamous Little Smoky incident of 2012. My car still smells like BBQ sauce on warm days.
WHAT?!?! #2:
Involves another injury. Apparently Rashad Johnson lost a part of his FINGER on Sunday when trying to tackle a player. He didn’t realize it happened until he saw his glove get bloody, took it off, and part of his finger was still in it! Holy crap, how does that actually happen! What’s even crazier? They only expect him to miss 2 weeks! Some players get a hangnail and are out for a month. On a side note, this is the first time in history that the NFL didn’t fine a player for giving the finger…
What I missed:
I wish I could have seen Manning brother matchup from last week, it’s probably the last time we’ll ever see that unless Peyton plays another 4 years after this season. Also, seeing Andy Reid back in Philly to beat his old team would have been interesting.
Tough Divisions?
In the supposedly tight and tough NFC West, Seattle already has a 2 game lead over everybody. In the South, New Orleans also has a 2 game lead over the division (technically 3, since they already beat the Falcons)
Never Too Early to talk Playoffs:
If the playoffs started today, 1-2 is good enough to sneak into a Wild Card spot in the NFC. Both AFC Wild Cards are 3-0.
Games of the Week:
The Jets or Titans will be 3-1
Seahawks Texans
Patriots Falcons
Dolphins Saints (one will be 4-0, both missed playoffs)
Game of the Weak:
Vikings Steelers, one will be 0-4. Way to show London our best…
FMQB turns into TRL:
So I got a stroke of genius from my German buddy, and have decided to run with it. Want to hear a story or an opinion on a certain team or situation? Well FMQB is now taking requests and answering questions! I’ll start below:
Q: Should the Vikings trade for Josh Freeman?
A: No. For 2 years I have been against the whole “Christian Ponder is a starting QB in this league” thing, but to be honest, that sentiment is changing for me. Granted, I didn’t watch the past 2 Vikings games. But put film from his rookie year next to today’s? He’s a completely different QB who can make solid throws. In saying that, I can probably name 25 QB’s I would rather have on my team, but Josh Freeman isn’t one of them. Freeman is inaccurate and Ponder seems even faster than Freeman…For the record, if you look at all the QB’s ratings, Josh freeman is #33 (yes, you heard that right, and there are only 32 teams in the league).
FMQB 