The New England Patriots are at Buffalo tonight and favored by 15-½ points, to go 10-0 on the season. Even casual football fans are aware of the Patriots pursuit of an undefeated season. I’m sure if you were to ask Tom Brady, Randy Moss, or Bill Belichick (is that really how it’s spelled, belly-chick?) they’d each say their just taking them one game at a time, and each game one snap at a time, in their business like, lunch pail, blue collar, get the job done style.
However, one has to wonder after ten games, should New England win (and why shouldn’t they?), if in the private circles of the Patriots meetings and practices there aren’t murmurings and speculations about, dare to dream, what if they do go undefeated and surpass the record of 17-0 set by the ‘72 Miami Dolphins?
Wasn’t it Lexus whose ad slogan a few years ago was “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection”? For what it’s worth, “perfection” is a term that’s overly used in the NFL and quite frankly, poorly defined. How many times have we been watching a game and hear John Madden or Troy Aikman, when referring to a pass completion say that so-and-so quarterback threw a “perfect” pass. So then what constitutes a perfect pass? Is it a nice tight spiral? If it is, then Anthony Wright has a bust destined for Canton. Most coaches and quarterbacks worth their salt, I believe, would say something to the effect of ‘a completion for positive yardage resulting in at least a first down, if not six points on the scoreboard’, whether it be a pretty ball, or an end-over-end toss reminiscent of Billy Kilmer’s Redskin career. Kilmer was renowned for throwing ‘ugly’ passes.
Antithetically speaking, this years edition of the Miami Dolphins are on a quest of another distinction, more dubious than exemplary. Miami is at Philadelphia to play the Eagles today and are 9-½ road underdogs to Philly. The Dolphins are 0-9 and may set the record for football futility if they finish the season winless at 0-16. How ironic would it be if the Patriots lose a game and the Dolphins go winless, making the same NFL franchise hold both records for going both undefeated (1972) and winless?
The St. Louis Rams won last week for the first time this season ruining the chance for two teams, them and the Dolphins, to go winless. If that had happened I would have been in favor of a one game postseason contest between the Rams and Dolphins. It could be called the Futility Bowl, but it would probably have ended in a 0-0 tie.
If there is any justice in the world, the Dolphins first win will be against the Patriots, putting an end to both probable streaks. I hope not.
All things considered, perfection, in football as in life, is virtually unattainable. We all have a love-hate relationship with our teams, which reminds me of something I told a very sweet girl once: It’s our imperfections that make us perfect for each other.
NBC Decided to go “green” on Sunday. All of their networks turned their logos green in an effort to draw attention to the environment, and the studio lights on the set of Football Night In America went dark and an eerie glow permeated the screen. Chris Collinsworth said something to the effect of “this lighting was meant for us” to Bob Costas. He may have been implying that the lighting, or absence thereof, was friendly to their less than attractive appearances, but rumor has it that after the show was over, he invited Costas out for a cocktail, ‘and maybe even something to drink‘.
Regarding Football Night In America, this show has me convinced of three things- One: Collinsworth, Jerome Bettis, and Tiki Barber were gifted athletes, but they make terrible football analysts. Two: Keith Olberman remains an obnoxious, pompous oaf. Three: Faith Hill could make me write bad checks.
Game of the week: New England and Indianapolis finally played THE game of the season. I personally was disappointed. This game was hyped for two weeks and both of these offensive juggernauts totaled a measly 44 points between them. I know, defense, defense, blah, blah, blah. I’m convinced Tom Brady has sold his soul to the devil. After Sunday’s game he has a quarterback rating of 131.8 for the season, with only 4 interceptions and is on pace to throw 66 touchdown passes, obviously the result of a deal with Beelzebub himself.
Game of the weak:The Texans beat Oakland 24-17. I’m a Texans fan (we are few but proud) and this game was not shown in the San Antonio viewing area. Apparently the local CBS affiliate thought the other game of the week in Indianapolis was more important. Texans RB Ron Dayne ran for 122 yards on 21 carries. Texan fans at the Battle Red Blog have given Dayne the nickname “London Bridge” for the way he falls down so easily. How bad is the Raiders run defense then? The Texans have a bye next week. The early line from Vegas is that “bye” is favored by 3.
The Browns gone from a 3-13 record last year to a 5-3 record after only 8 games. Cleveland fans don’t know how to act. First the Cavs make the NBA finals, then the Indians make it all the way to the ACLS, which can only mean the AFC title game has a reservation marked “Cleveland” at the table, right?
Detroit beat Denver 44-7. The 37 point gap was the most lopsided score of any game last weekend. What kind of job is Matt Millen doing now? The more appropriate question may be what kind of leader is Jon Kitna? The type every team should have.
The Cowboys beat the Eagles 38-17. I’ve just about decided that Wade Phillips is the benefactor of Bill Parcell’s tenure in Dallas. I mean Phillips’ past record as a head coach is just barely above .500 (I believe), and here Dallas is at 7-1 after Sunday night’s game? Is Wade that good a coach, or was the talent there when he got there and he just plugged in his system? Remember, the Cowboys’ Offensive Coordinator, Jason Garrett, was hired by Jerry Jones, not Phillips.
After starting out the season 0-4, the Saints have reeled off four strait Ws and are now at .500, just one game behind the first place Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who at 5-4 lead the NFC South arguably the worst division in the NFL.
The Steelers beat the Ravens 38-7. The Steelers have what I think are the best throwback uniforms of any team in the NFL, for what it’s worth (not much).
This season all the quarterbacks have a lime green inventory dot on the back of their helmets. Can someone tell me why? This would have come in handy in the early 90s when Thurman Thomas of the Bills misplace his helmet in the Super Bowl against Dallas.
