- Peyton Manning passes John Elway for 4th all-time with 302 touchdown passes for his career. I've watched almost every game he's played, but I have to say I was a little surprised by this one - seems really soon.... Names left in front of him: Fran Tarkenton, Dan Marino, Brett Favre. Even if Favre plays another year, Manning should pass him within 6 or 7 seasons, unless he gets hurt or retires early.
- He reached that mark by throwing 4 TD's against the Ravens, in a game in which the Colts were up by 30 points before the Ravens realized they were playing a game... must have been a hangover from the loss to the Pats. BTW, Manning was out of the game before the 4th quarter started - way up late and you sit out your starters, what a thought...
- Speaking of which, maybe Tom Brady will pass Favre next week by throwing 400 TD's in one game against the hated Jets... no way anyone's coming out of THAT game early.
- The Lions have leadership issues - I don't know how else you explain what has happened to them. They clearly have the talent to at least compete in the NFC, but they continually find ways to self-destruct.
- I've been thinking that Michael Vick should never play in the NFL again, and maybe his 23-month sentence (possibly combined with a state sentence) will make that a reality. One can hope.
- Along those lines, I have a hard time supporting teams with questionable character, or questionable characters.... despite being in Indy and loving the Reggie Miller era Pacers, I haven't cared about them since "the brawl." I just can't bring myself to root for a team that not only started that mess but then stuck up for the players responsible. Yesterday's incident with Jamaal Tinsley is just another in a long line of police-blotter stories with this team in the last few years.
- Also along those lines, the jury is still out on Kelvin Sampson. I don't like all of those extra phone calls, but he has benched significant players several times this year for "unspecified violations of team rules." If he can get himself and his coaches to follow his strict standard for the players, Indiana will be ok for the forseeable future.
- Cincinnati won the "Most Disappointing" bowl yesterday, barely holding off the Rams and their 3rd-string QB. Nice job, guys....
- Guess that guarantee didn't work out too well for the Steelers. Despite what they say about not caring about stuff like that, I think the Pats are one of those teams that is deadly when provoked, even if it is some stupid second-string DB doing the provoking.
- OF COURSE Isaiah Thomas' job is safe - I mean, why wouldn't it be?
- The Patriots, at one stretch in yesterday's game, called 34 straight passing plays. One turned into a run because Brady scrambled, but no called runs... You're not still clinging to the notion that they have a reliable running game are you?
- To further that point, I like this quote from Bill Simmons' NFL picks column for this week:
- The Titans are going to really regret yesterday's game when they lose the last wildcard spot to Cleveland....
- And finally, I've changed my mind. I actually want the Pats to go undefeated through the regular season, and for the Dolphins to go winless. I think it would be fun. Of course, I'd also like the Pats to follow that up with a loss in the AFC championship to my Colts, but we'll just have to wait and see on that one...
- He reached that mark by throwing 4 TD's against the Ravens, in a game in which the Colts were up by 30 points before the Ravens realized they were playing a game... must have been a hangover from the loss to the Pats. BTW, Manning was out of the game before the 4th quarter started - way up late and you sit out your starters, what a thought...
- Speaking of which, maybe Tom Brady will pass Favre next week by throwing 400 TD's in one game against the hated Jets... no way anyone's coming out of THAT game early.
- The Lions have leadership issues - I don't know how else you explain what has happened to them. They clearly have the talent to at least compete in the NFC, but they continually find ways to self-destruct.
- I've been thinking that Michael Vick should never play in the NFL again, and maybe his 23-month sentence (possibly combined with a state sentence) will make that a reality. One can hope.
- Along those lines, I have a hard time supporting teams with questionable character, or questionable characters.... despite being in Indy and loving the Reggie Miller era Pacers, I haven't cared about them since "the brawl." I just can't bring myself to root for a team that not only started that mess but then stuck up for the players responsible. Yesterday's incident with Jamaal Tinsley is just another in a long line of police-blotter stories with this team in the last few years.
- Also along those lines, the jury is still out on Kelvin Sampson. I don't like all of those extra phone calls, but he has benched significant players several times this year for "unspecified violations of team rules." If he can get himself and his coaches to follow his strict standard for the players, Indiana will be ok for the forseeable future.
- Cincinnati won the "Most Disappointing" bowl yesterday, barely holding off the Rams and their 3rd-string QB. Nice job, guys....
- Guess that guarantee didn't work out too well for the Steelers. Despite what they say about not caring about stuff like that, I think the Pats are one of those teams that is deadly when provoked, even if it is some stupid second-string DB doing the provoking.
- OF COURSE Isaiah Thomas' job is safe - I mean, why wouldn't it be?
- The Patriots, at one stretch in yesterday's game, called 34 straight passing plays. One turned into a run because Brady scrambled, but no called runs... You're not still clinging to the notion that they have a reliable running game are you?
- To further that point, I like this quote from Bill Simmons' NFL picks column for this week:
- The Titans are going to really regret yesterday's game when they lose the last wildcard spot to Cleveland....
- And finally, I've changed my mind. I actually want the Pats to go undefeated through the regular season, and for the Dolphins to go winless. I think it would be fun. Of course, I'd also like the Pats to follow that up with a loss in the AFC championship to my Colts, but we'll just have to wait and see on that one...
