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Quarterly report: First month goes full tilt
Oct. 2, 2002
By Pete Prisco
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
A quarter of the NFL season is over. Where did it go?
If life moved as fast as the NFL season does, we'd all go from our roaring 20s to hanging out with Rafael Palmeiro at the drug store waiting for a hit of Viagra. The NFL season starts one day and the next thing we know it's time for the Super Bowl.
With this speed-of-light season, one week runs into the next. Didn't Dwayne Rudd throw that helmet a week ago?
So to help with the memories, we will give you our quarterly report every month that will be a look at the best and worst up to that point of the season. It will include the best and worst players as well as coaches, teams and moments. It will include the fun, the dumb, the weird and the emotional.
It will be honest, sometimes brutally, but it will also be fair. How could it not when my own preseason Super Bowl picks -- the Rams and Jets -- have about as much chance of getting there as O.J. Simpson does of getting back his rental car commercials? By the way, does anybody miss the Juice running through airports in that snazzy blazer?
After the first four weeks of this season, coaches might want to put Dr. Phil's number on their speed dial, especially, you, Mike Tice. Trying to understand these teams, these players, is downright impossible.
How can the Saints win their first three games and then lose at Detroit? Same thing holds true for the Broncos against the Ravens.
We all think we have a feel for this game, but the reality is we don't. And the coaches don't. And the players don't.
That's what makes it so much fun.
The purists will cry for the days of the dominant team, the dynasty that you could count on to win every week. That's downright impossible now. The salary cap has done that to this league, where winning from year to year is almost impossible, and anything over three years can be considered a dynasty of sorts.
Your time is up, St. Louis Rams.
The best thing about the first month of this season is points are up. Coaches are playing it wide open, going away from the days of cluttered-up offenses just trying to play for field goals.
That has led to the unpredictable ride that has been the first four weeks. All this passing, all this wide-open football, makes for the unexpected.
It makes for thrilling finishes, fans staying in their seats and sore channel-flipping thumbs.
Who's the best team so far? Raiders? Eagles? Chargers? All are candidates, but would you put your neck on the line for any of them?
September is the wild month of the NFL, and October is the month when the landscape starts to settle down. The true contenders will emerge, while the pretenders will fade away.
We'll evaluate October in about four weeks, which will take us to the halfway point. Sounds like a ways away doesn't it? It'll be here before you know it.
So enjoy the next three months. At this pace, it'll be over before our next meal. Then again, for the Bengals that might not be soon enough.
The report:
MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers are 4-0 and he's leading the league in rushing. That gives him the edge over Donovan McNabb and Rich Gannon.
Best coaching job: Bill Callahan, Raiders. When Jon Gruden went to Tampa Bay, the thinking was this team would go south, too. Callahan has changed the style, throwing on every down, and the Raiders are 3-0. Edges out Marty Schottenheimer and Jim Haslett.
Worst coaching job: Mike Martz, Rams. Strange calls aside, he has lost his team. That's a bad sign.
Best offensive player: Drew Bledsoe, Bills. Even though Tomlinson is the MVP, Bledsoe has been the best offensive player. He is on pace to break the single-season passing mark and has been nearly flawless. What a pickup.
Best defensive player: Joey Porter, Steelers. The linebacker has become a complete player. He has three interceptions (tied for the league lead) to go with his three sacks.
Best offensive rookie: Deion Branch, Patriots. He has 28 catches and two touchdowns to lead a good rookie receiving class. A second-round steal.
Best defensive rookie: (tie) Julius Peppers, Panthers; Ben Leber, Chargers. DE Peppers was expected to compete for this honor, so he's no surprise. LB Leber, a day one starter as a third-round pick, has four sacks and has been a surprise.
Surprise player: Rodney Peete, Panthers. Nobody thought he'd start at QB, let alone lead the Panthers to a 3-1 record.
Disappointing player: LaVar Arrington, Redskins. So many predicted he'd be the defensive player of the year. So far, he hasn't done much.
Comeback player: Robert Edwards, Dolphins. The fact the running back is even on the field gives him this award. Remember, doctors once thought they would have to amputate his leg.
Best draft choice: LeCharles Bentley, Saints. Bentley is already one of the best guards in the league. When he moves to center next year, he's going to be in the same class as Kevin Mawae of the Jets.
Worst draft choice: Bryant McKinnie, Vikings. The giant tackle is not signed, so he wins this easily.
Best assistant coach: Jack Del Rio, Panthers. The coordinator's defense leads the league in yards allowed. That's impressive stuff, considering he's essentially playing with backup corners.
Worst assistant coach: Paul Hackett, Jets: The offensive coordinator runs when he should pass and passes when he should run. Somebody should introduce him to Curtis Martin.
Best offseason move: Bills trading for Bledsoe. Where would they be if Alex Van Pelt were the starter?
Worst offseason move: The Vikings paying big money to defensive ends Lorenzo Bromell and Kenny Mixon. Have they really helped that defense?
Best trend: The wide-open, spread-out offenses really are a thing of beauty.
Worst trend: Poor tackling. Teams don't hit enough in practice anymore and it shows up in early games.
Best game: Buffalo against Minnesota in Week 2. The Bills won it in overtime on a Bledsoe to Peerless Price touchdown pass. This was full of drama and points.
Strangest moment: The Dwayne Rudd helmet fiasco. The Browns lost a game in the opening week when Rudd took off his helmet during the action, foolishly thinking the game was over. Down the road, this could come back to haunt the Browns in a big way.
Best front office: Saints. They lost a lot of key players, leading many to think they would win maybe six games. They already have three victories and have done a nice job replacing those lost players. The Bills are close behind.
Worst front office: Rams. How could they not improve that offensive line? Signing Jamie Duncan and Terrence Wilkins are two moves that have blown up in their faces.
Worst prediction: Jets and Rams in Super Bowl. Who's the idiot who pegged that one?
Best prediction: Saints in the playoffs. Give this fool some credit.
Oct. 2, 2002
By Pete Prisco
SportsLine.com Senior Writer
A quarter of the NFL season is over. Where did it go?
If life moved as fast as the NFL season does, we'd all go from our roaring 20s to hanging out with Rafael Palmeiro at the drug store waiting for a hit of Viagra. The NFL season starts one day and the next thing we know it's time for the Super Bowl.
With this speed-of-light season, one week runs into the next. Didn't Dwayne Rudd throw that helmet a week ago?
So to help with the memories, we will give you our quarterly report every month that will be a look at the best and worst up to that point of the season. It will include the best and worst players as well as coaches, teams and moments. It will include the fun, the dumb, the weird and the emotional.
It will be honest, sometimes brutally, but it will also be fair. How could it not when my own preseason Super Bowl picks -- the Rams and Jets -- have about as much chance of getting there as O.J. Simpson does of getting back his rental car commercials? By the way, does anybody miss the Juice running through airports in that snazzy blazer?
After the first four weeks of this season, coaches might want to put Dr. Phil's number on their speed dial, especially, you, Mike Tice. Trying to understand these teams, these players, is downright impossible.
How can the Saints win their first three games and then lose at Detroit? Same thing holds true for the Broncos against the Ravens.
We all think we have a feel for this game, but the reality is we don't. And the coaches don't. And the players don't.
That's what makes it so much fun.
The purists will cry for the days of the dominant team, the dynasty that you could count on to win every week. That's downright impossible now. The salary cap has done that to this league, where winning from year to year is almost impossible, and anything over three years can be considered a dynasty of sorts.
Your time is up, St. Louis Rams.
The best thing about the first month of this season is points are up. Coaches are playing it wide open, going away from the days of cluttered-up offenses just trying to play for field goals.
That has led to the unpredictable ride that has been the first four weeks. All this passing, all this wide-open football, makes for the unexpected.
It makes for thrilling finishes, fans staying in their seats and sore channel-flipping thumbs.
Who's the best team so far? Raiders? Eagles? Chargers? All are candidates, but would you put your neck on the line for any of them?
September is the wild month of the NFL, and October is the month when the landscape starts to settle down. The true contenders will emerge, while the pretenders will fade away.
We'll evaluate October in about four weeks, which will take us to the halfway point. Sounds like a ways away doesn't it? It'll be here before you know it.
So enjoy the next three months. At this pace, it'll be over before our next meal. Then again, for the Bengals that might not be soon enough.
The report:
MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson. The Chargers are 4-0 and he's leading the league in rushing. That gives him the edge over Donovan McNabb and Rich Gannon.
Best coaching job: Bill Callahan, Raiders. When Jon Gruden went to Tampa Bay, the thinking was this team would go south, too. Callahan has changed the style, throwing on every down, and the Raiders are 3-0. Edges out Marty Schottenheimer and Jim Haslett.
Worst coaching job: Mike Martz, Rams. Strange calls aside, he has lost his team. That's a bad sign.
Best offensive player: Drew Bledsoe, Bills. Even though Tomlinson is the MVP, Bledsoe has been the best offensive player. He is on pace to break the single-season passing mark and has been nearly flawless. What a pickup.
Best defensive player: Joey Porter, Steelers. The linebacker has become a complete player. He has three interceptions (tied for the league lead) to go with his three sacks.
Best offensive rookie: Deion Branch, Patriots. He has 28 catches and two touchdowns to lead a good rookie receiving class. A second-round steal.
Best defensive rookie: (tie) Julius Peppers, Panthers; Ben Leber, Chargers. DE Peppers was expected to compete for this honor, so he's no surprise. LB Leber, a day one starter as a third-round pick, has four sacks and has been a surprise.
Surprise player: Rodney Peete, Panthers. Nobody thought he'd start at QB, let alone lead the Panthers to a 3-1 record.
Disappointing player: LaVar Arrington, Redskins. So many predicted he'd be the defensive player of the year. So far, he hasn't done much.
Comeback player: Robert Edwards, Dolphins. The fact the running back is even on the field gives him this award. Remember, doctors once thought they would have to amputate his leg.
Best draft choice: LeCharles Bentley, Saints. Bentley is already one of the best guards in the league. When he moves to center next year, he's going to be in the same class as Kevin Mawae of the Jets.
Worst draft choice: Bryant McKinnie, Vikings. The giant tackle is not signed, so he wins this easily.
Best assistant coach: Jack Del Rio, Panthers. The coordinator's defense leads the league in yards allowed. That's impressive stuff, considering he's essentially playing with backup corners.
Worst assistant coach: Paul Hackett, Jets: The offensive coordinator runs when he should pass and passes when he should run. Somebody should introduce him to Curtis Martin.
Best offseason move: Bills trading for Bledsoe. Where would they be if Alex Van Pelt were the starter?
Worst offseason move: The Vikings paying big money to defensive ends Lorenzo Bromell and Kenny Mixon. Have they really helped that defense?
Best trend: The wide-open, spread-out offenses really are a thing of beauty.
Worst trend: Poor tackling. Teams don't hit enough in practice anymore and it shows up in early games.
Best game: Buffalo against Minnesota in Week 2. The Bills won it in overtime on a Bledsoe to Peerless Price touchdown pass. This was full of drama and points.
Strangest moment: The Dwayne Rudd helmet fiasco. The Browns lost a game in the opening week when Rudd took off his helmet during the action, foolishly thinking the game was over. Down the road, this could come back to haunt the Browns in a big way.
Best front office: Saints. They lost a lot of key players, leading many to think they would win maybe six games. They already have three victories and have done a nice job replacing those lost players. The Bills are close behind.
Worst front office: Rams. How could they not improve that offensive line? Signing Jamie Duncan and Terrence Wilkins are two moves that have blown up in their faces.
Worst prediction: Jets and Rams in Super Bowl. Who's the idiot who pegged that one?
Best prediction: Saints in the playoffs. Give this fool some credit.
