11/21/24
November 18, 2002
NFL Week 11 Wrap Up
Did the Raiders shed the demons of last year's "tuck"?
There seems to be a Campbell's Soup curse - Terrell Davis, Kurt Warner, and now Mr. McNabb. Maybe the victorious Strahan & Co. should put out insurance before their playoff run.
Maddox went down, ditto Griese. Peter King thinks the backup QBs aren't looking so bad. (witness Marc Bulger auditioning for a big time contract tonight) -- but weren't we lamenting the decline of QB talent just a year ago and the rise of the "QB as manager"?
Can someone tell me what happened to the Packers?
In the "no shock" category: Dolphins swoon in fall, Christie kicks a winner (that guy covering T.O. got torched though!), Bucs win with defense (AND Crybaby Keyshawn got the ball), Colts stomp "America's (Bad) Team".
Vick may start something special, is Bledsoe still an MVP candidate?
In the "-tons" category: Pennington edges out Harrington
Someone tell the Bungles to stop guaranteeing wins and learn some football.
I'm not sure how beating the living heck out of the Ravens qualifies as a 'swoon', owillis :) Hell, the Fins have a one game lead in the division race in arguably the toughest division in the lead. That's not so bad :) Now, whether or not Lucas can not kill us again until Fiedler returns... who knows. [Count me deeply in with the 'I never thought I'd want Jay Fiedler so badly' crowd....]
posted by tieguy at 10:46 AM on November 18, 2002
The Packers are now 2-10 at the Metrodome in the last 12 games. I think most Vikings fans would agree that it would be ok to have losing seasons, as long as we beat the Pack. The rivalry between these states is something special.
posted by emoeby at 12:31 PM on November 18, 2002
my two cents: i have the worst luck: i started McNabb and Maddox on my 4-6 fantasy team yesterday. i think Peter King's exactly right on backup QBs and where to find QBs and the perilousness of the draft (don't i know it: i drafted Torry Holt, Michael Pittman, and Michael Bennett high). 'Jeremy' Shockey. i'm a Vikings fan. I don't mind the Packers. it's the Packer fans that make you want to go crazy. yeah, the AFC East is arguably the toughest division, but you've got to argue against the AFC West, then, and i don't know how to pick a leader. seeing Dallas at the bottom of the NFC East will keep you warm on a cold winter's night. it's almost anybody's Super Bowl to win. no one is dominating now. no one is winning consistently in hard spots.
posted by Sean Meade at 12:54 PM on November 18, 2002
Colts are finally getting it together (at least against the more pitiful teams). I like Dungy, so I'm hoping the Colts can show signs of improvement for his sake (and the Colts). This may not be a popular opinion, but I think Steelers will be in good shape, even if Maddox is out for the season (which doesn't seem like the case). I think if Kordell got a second shot this season he would prove himself. Sounds crazy, but he hasn't always been bad, and he probably learned a few things watching Maddox (DON'T FORCE THE ISSUE AND MAKE MISTAKES). Don't forget, before his mental collapse, he was pretty impressive. 2 cents, keep the change.
posted by jacknose at 01:10 PM on November 18, 2002
McNabb's performance should be considered one of the gutsiest(sp) in NFL history. He breaks his ankle, hobbles on one foot for the rest of the game, and throws 4 TDs. I can't think of anything like what he did. Looking beyond football, what he did has to rank alongside Kirk Gibson's limping World Series home run as an all time sports moment. Truly amazing. As for my beloved Packers: it's not so much a Metrodome curse as it is an artificial turf curse. Their offensive line is built for grass. On turf, the defense has a better pass rush and that forces Favre to make mistakes. What I was impressed with was even though Brett threw 3 interceptions, they only lost by 10.
posted by shackbar at 03:11 AM on November 19, 2002
Hmmph. I'm a Packers fan, and had to live amongst Vikings fans in Minneapolis for 8 years. I like Packers fans because they're fans through good seasons and bad, which is not necessarily the case with the Vikings "fans" I ran across in those eight years. I'll take a winning season over beating a rival any day of the week and thrice on Sunday. At the end of the season, if all you've got to be proud of is beating a rival, you've got some serious coaching issues to deal with. Speaking of which, as far as Packers are concerned, all my life the main rivalry's been against the Bears. I wasn't even aware of any Vikings rivalry until I got up there in '93, so maybe it's more a rivalry in Minnesotan eyes than anything else. We don't like the Metrodome, but I don't think the Vikes were even considered rival-caliber, least not while I was growing up and not at present amongst the Packers fans I know. At any rate, that damn Metrodome's got to go. I don't think they blame it on crowd noise anymore, but this time it looked like underestimating the Viking offense's aggressiveness worked against our defense in a major way. Knew it was going to be a close one, though. I've obviously got some Vikings issues to work out, but they did play a great game on Sunday.
posted by evixir at 03:45 AM on November 19, 2002
Anyone else think the Rams might actually have a shot at the playoffs?
posted by Discman at 01:24 PM on November 19, 2002
I can't think of anything like what he did. Looking beyond football, what he did has to rank alongside Kirk Gibson's limping World Series home run as an all time sports moment. Truly amazing. As every Canadian boy knows, this would be the hockey equivalent.
posted by grum@work at 01:42 PM on November 19, 2002
Anyone else think the Rams might actually have a shot at the playoffs? Yes, but it will be extremely difficult. The question is, can the Rams afford to lose another game? If not, it's a tall order. Can the Rams win every game from here on out? We'll see.
posted by jacknose at 03:02 PM on November 19, 2002
grum, read the link. Thanks. Baum is the man. (It's one thing to limp, but a broken foot on ice skates -- ouch.)
posted by jacknose at 03:04 PM on November 19, 2002
The Rams can make the playoffs if the keep Bulger in. Warner will screw things up, if he plays next week, they lose to Washington. Taking a look at the rest of the games though, Washington, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Arizona, Seattle, and San Francisco, the toughest being SF in the finale. All of those are winnable.
posted by corpse at 03:10 PM on November 19, 2002
McNabb's performance should be considered one of the gutsiest(sp) in NFL history. He breaks his ankle, hobbles on one foot for the rest of the game, and throws 4 TDs. I can't think of anything like what he did. Looking beyond football, what he did has to rank alongside Kirk Gibson's limping World Series home run as an all time sports moment.
It reminds me of Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier with broken ribs. (Lotsa popups, but it's him telling the story.)
posted by kirkaracha at 09:09 PM on November 19, 2002
10 Things Owillis Screamed At The Top Of His Lungs While The Giants Beat The Redskins 1. Joe Gibbs would never have done that! 2. Run the ball 3. Run the ball 4. Run the g-d ball 5. Mr. Matthews, your time is up. Please return the quaterback position to its locked and upright position and grab that clipboard 6. Michael Strahan's sack record is still a big, stinky fraud! 7. Jerome Shockey should team with the Iron Sheik in a cage match 8. Jerome Shockey is my enemy 9. Marvin Lewis, why aren't we covering Jerome Shockey? 10. At least Dallas lost too. (two weeks to go, sucka!)