Tuesday Clean Up

Another week of the National Football League is done and it's time to sift through the rubble to find the nuggets of goodness as well as this week's Top 5/Bottom 5...

-The Panthers might not admit it, but the season was basically saved on Sunday. There have only been three teams since 1990 that have started the season 0-3 and managed to make the playoffs. Steve Smith was back on the field for Carolina and that seemed to make a world of difference in the Panthers' offense. 19 points in two games? That's not going to get it done. 26 points in Tampa? Welcome back, Steve Smith. His presence pulled away a lot of attention and freeing up Keyshawn Johnson for a 7 reception performance with 97 yards and 2 TDs(one on the slowest reverse ever, but who's complaining?). Speaking of not admiting things...I don't care what Johnson says about his return to Tampa; He loved every minute of beating the Bucs.

-John Kasey hit field goals from 51, 50, 49 and 46 yards against the Buccaneers. There is no doubt that the guy is money in the bank, but can a legit case be made that John Kasey is the best Carolina Panther in the team's short history? Just wondering...

-Jake Delhomme deservers a shout out for the 12-yard scramble on 4th and 7 to set up Kasey's game-winning field goal. It was a key play, but more than that, Delhomme proved that he is in fact faster than continental drift. How about that? I owe my dad a beer on that one.

-Here's a quote that you might enjoy from a pre-season story in the Seattle Times about Shaun Alexander gracing the cover of this year's Madden NFL '07:

"I don't believe in curses," Alexander says. "I'm always the person that goes against the grain, the baseball player who grabs the random bat. Once you start believing in curses, you have to think about what sock you put on, how many times you stepped on a crack, did you pass a black cat, did you walk under a ladder, did you open an umbrella in the house. After that you get worn out."

Yeah...no such thing as the "Madden Curse". I'm sure that Alexander suffering a broken bone in his foot is completely "unrelated". EA Sports must be stopped. How many football seasons must those computer dorks wreck before they've had their pound of flesh for being picked on by jocks in high school?!?!?

-After being pasted in Seattle by the Seahawks(and their geek-cursed running back), the New York Giants TE Jeremy Shockey laid the blame for the 42-30 defeat on the coaching staff. According Shockey, the G-Men were "out played and out-coached." Head coach Tom Coughlin had a brief chat with Shockey on Monday and the tight end then further explained his comments on the blowout to the assembled media. Shockey seems to say a lot of things...strangely, he never seems to say the word "sorry". Shockey was just running down his coaching staff because he wants to win and he's a competitor. This, by the way, is what personal accountability sounds like. But never mind any of that. Nothing at all to see here folks. Keep moving and remain calm. Nothing going on at all.

-Maybe it was just one game and perhaps it was only because they were playing the Houston Texans, but Washington finally found their offense. It's amazing that one week you can be a washed-up and old QB and the next week you're setting a record for consecutive complettions to start a game(22-for-22). But is it really that impressive if Mark Brunell probably didn't throw the ball more than 10 yards at a time all day? Eh, that's for another week. This week the Redskins(like the Panthers) avoid the soulless abyss of 0-3.

-Is anyone else noticing that Ben Rothlisberger just doesn't look like he's okay? I don't know if it's a slump, but Rothlisberger is 0-2 as a starter in '06. It's early, I know, but his falling down heave that was picked off in the fourth quarter was as awful. In his two starts this season, Rothlisberger has a completion percentage under 50% and has 5 picks with zero TDs.

-Nice win by the Bengals in Pittsburgh...and an even better post-game celebration with more Bengals getting arrested. The Bengals are well on their way to picking up the Dallas Cowboys baton. "America's Team" North is going places. Maybe in the back of a squad car, but they are going places, I tell you.

-Okay, I've wasted enough time. Here's the latest Top 5/Bottom 5:

Top Five
1.Indianapolis(3-0)-Solid win over an up and coming Jacksonville team
2.Cincinnati(3-0)-Only pepper spray can slow the Bengals
3.Chicago(3-0)-Rex Grossman didn't have a great game, but the Bears keep winning
4.San Diego(3-0)-Bye weeks are good before having to fly cross country
5.Baltimore(3-0)-Either the Ravens will overtake the Chargers this weekend or fall out of the poll, since Baltimore and San Diego play on Sunday.

Bottom Five
5.Cleveland(0-3)-Only the Browns could toss an INT into the endzone with 3 min remaing to allow the Ravens to go on the winning drive.
4.Detroit(0-3)-Mariucci...Marinelli...what's the difference as long as Millen is still in the front office?
3.Tennessee(0-3)-Kerry Collins wasn't terrible this past week, not that it mattered.
2.Oakland(0-3)-The Raiders' offensive line put in a solid effort by limiting the bye week to two sacks.
1.Houston(0-3)-Head Coach Gary Kubiak scolded Mario Williams and the Texans defense after the beatdown from Washington. Not a good start to Williams' NFL career.