Seven & Out – Week IV
By Michael –Louis Ingram, Scouting Director/Associate Editor-Football Reporters Online
PHILADELPHIA (FRO) Each week, the National Football League puts out seven statistical samplings to savor from the week’s games – and here we decide whether it’s worth chewing or choking…
New Orleans safety DARREN SHARPER registered his 10th career interception- return touchdown (99 yards) in the Saints’ 24-10 win over the New York Jets. Sharper joins Pro Football Hall of Famer ROD WOODSON (12) as the only players in NFL history to record at least 10 career INT-TDs. Sharper, who had a 97-yard INT-TD in Week 2 against Philadelphia, joins DEION SANDERS (1994) as the only players in league annals with two INT-TDs of at least 90 yards in one season.
(Here is a clear case of semantics getting in the way of the truth. Cast off as being too old and too slow, Sharper already has five picks and two house calls. While five interceptions would be an exemplary season for most corners, Sharper’s guile and feel for the game were downplayed; in large part because he was a veteran who deserved more money! No doubt Sharper has already hit a bonus objective or two on the road to a Pro Bowl season).
Jacksonville wide receiver TORRY HOLT had three receptions in the Jaguars’ 37-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Holt, who has 884 career receptions, surpassed wide receiver KEENAN MC CARDELL (883) and moved into 10th place on the all-time receptions list.
(No real surprise here; another castoff who cast his fate to the free agent winds. If the NFL really gave a shit about players like Torry Holt, they would extol his virtues with more than a couple of lines, instead of going into orgasm over certain selfish, bratty quarterbacks who know to produce more drama than results. While not the best receiver to ever come out of N.C. State (Mike Quick has that distinction) Holt has been one of the most polished receivers ever to strap on in this league; how soon they forget!)
With 353 passing yards in the Colts’ 34-17 win over Seattle, Indianapolis quarterback PEYTON MANNING recorded his fourth consecutive 300-yard passing game. Manning is the third player in NFL history to start a season with four consecutive 300-yard passing games. Only KURT WARNER (2000) and STEVE YOUNG (1998) had longer streaks in NFL history (six consecutive games).
(Another useless statistic in a league where the fix is in for defenses to surrender gobs of points because of the desire for offense to have a distinct advantage; yards don’t mean shit – unless there are W’s attached to them. For all the accomplishments of the aforementioned passers, and the bullshit fawning over Drew Brees {who is only 55-51 and has only three winning seasons out of the eight he has had in this league} I know Manning won all of his games; can the others say the same?
Peyton Manning is by far the best quarterback in this league; and doesn’t need to throw for 300 yards to win a game. Unlike the others, Manning’s moves are a residue of design and not anal-retentive “game management.”)
New York Giants wide receiver STEVE SMITH posted a career-high 11 receptions in the Giants’ 27-16 win over Kansas City. Smith has 34 receptions through Week 4, the most receptions through the first four games of a season in franchise history.
(For a team whose pedigree has always been ‘defense first’ and ‘run first,’ this is a big deal. Not only has Smith become Eli Manning’s security blanket, he has shown flashes of brilliance in his pattern–running, making a living over the middle while carving up defenses. Give GM Jerry Reese his due in finding another draft gem!)
Chicago quarterback JAY CUTLER registered a 100.4 passer rating in the Bears’ 48-24 win over Detroit. Cutler is first Bears quarterback since 1970 to have a 100-plus passer rating in three consecutive games (minimum 15 attempts).
(Will you STOP already with the horseshit statistics? What the fuck does it mean to have a 100 percent passer rating? Not a damn thing. Ask Terry Bradshaw {71%} Johnny Unitas (78%} or Bart Starr {81%} what they really think of passer ratings – when they’re not having their respective championship hardware polished…)
New England wide receiver RANDY MOSS posted his first touchdown of the season in the Patriots’ 27-21 win over Baltimore. Moss has 137 career touchdowns and now ranks sixth all-time for the most career TDs.
(Not bad for a supposed “malcontent” - I only wish Moss had really pulled his pants down in that TD celebration. You don’t have to like him, but Moss is that cat in the band that knows {and everyone else knows} he can play; and just like Clapton had to genuflect to Hendrix {and he did!}, the league has to grudgingly admit Moss riffs on a whole different level).
Rookie head coaches JIM CALDWELL of the Indianapolis Colts and JOSH MC DANIELS of the Denver Broncos have led their teams to 4-0 starts. This is only the second time in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) that two rookie head coaches have guided their teams to 4-0 starts in the same season (2000: AL GROH, NYJ and MIKE MARTZ, StL).
(While a good start is important, how you finish matters more. Broncos have an interesting four game gauntlet to handle, while the Colts just keep keepin’ on; and, of course while Mc Genius gives the Belicheat clan moment to pause, Caldwell just wins games. Like they say-if it ain’t broke…)
Always remember – once the point is made – if you roll seven, you crap out!
mike@footballreportersonline.com
