Forget about the 6-0 Tennessee Titans being the last unbeaten and potentially running the tables toward a 16-0 season. The New England Patriots did that last year, and I’m sure the ‘72 Dolphins (who went 13-0) still pop the champagne when the last unbeaten team loses, all while claiming they are still the only unbeaten team because the ’07 Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl. I am more interested to see if the Detroit Lions will break the ’76 Buccaneers record of going winless all year. We still have 10 more weeks of anticipation, here is what we know after week 7:
Nobody Wants to Carry the Torch
Titans QB Kerry Collins has more than filled the void left by Vince Young.
Never has the NFL had such a collective bunch of teams that just don’t look that impressive from week to week. The way things are panning out, just about anybody has a shot to win the Super Bowl and we are almost half way through the season. Some people may argue that the Tennessee Titans are undefeated, but their quarterback is Grandpa Collins, who’s statistics almost mirror quarterbacks at Air Force and Navy. I wouldn’t call Titans a clear cut contender, but they are a dark horse. The Baltimore Ravens were able to win a Super Bowl with an old n’ busted Trent Dilfer, but their defense was a alot more tough than the one the Titans put on the field (probably because they had more arrests collectively than the Titans). Right behind the Titans are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants, who play this Sunday and are predicted by many to go to the Super Bowl (so much for “America’s Team“). For every team in the upper part of the league, there are just as many teams in the middle part that could beat them on any given Sunday. Perhaps we will see some more separation in the next 4-5 weeks. It’s almost like the Olympic torch relay to Beijing this past summer. Everybody is afraid of carrying the torch because angry people protesting the exploitation of Malaysian children in the fashion industry might tackle them. Actually, that’s on “Zoolander,” whoops…and any NFL player, for that matter, afraid of being tackled by a beanpole, wimpy protestor should be kicked out of the league (except for place kickers and punters).
Mike Nolan is the latest head coach to be given the pink slip.
NFL Coaches Are on Shorter Leashes
People just aren’t as patient as they used to be. Just this morning someone blazed past me and cut me off, only to slam on his brakes and almost ram the car in front of him. If there ever was a race to the stop light, he won it. Owners and General Managers in the NFL are no different, they want wins and they want them now. If a coach can’t get them wins, then they will find one that can. There are only so many wins to be dished out a year and everybody wants a piece of that pie. The San Francisco 49ers fired head coach Mike Nolan on Monday, making him the third coach to be fired this year (Scott Linehan and Lane Kiffin being the first two). It doesn’t seem that Nolan will be the last one fired before the season’s end, grumbling is also coming from Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland, and Detroit. Might as well throw Dallas in there too, there’s nothing Jerry Jones likes more than to fire people and sign felons when he isn’t getting a Botox.
