JET
09-18-2006, 01:44 PM
A little humor is welcome, so I present DJ Gallo (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/060918) from ESPN Page 2, talking about week 2 in the NFL:
6.I enjoyed the little mini-tournament the NFL scheduled at the beginning of the season to determine which quarterback is the worst in big games. In the first round we had the Manning Bowl -- Peyton vs. Eli -- with Eli advancing to the next round with the loss thanks to a backbreaking fourth quarter interception. But there waiting for him in the championship game was a very formidable opponent in Donovan McNabb. Not a Manning family member, true, but a player with a very Manning-esque résumé thanks to three losses in conference championship games, as well as a disastrous performance in Super Bowl XXXIX. Despite that pedigree, though, through three quarters yesterday it looked like Eli was going to run away with the title as the Giants fell way behind. But then McNabb stepped up as only the great ones do, leading the Eagles to just two first downs in all of the fourth quarter and overtime as they blew a 17-point lead over the final 14 minutes of regulation to lose. And at home no less. It was definitely a statement game by McNabb and one contenders to the throne won't soon forget.
Of course, the skins weren't spared:
4.The Redskins have scored one offensive touchdown in two games on the heels of a preseason in which their first unit didn't score a single point. Obviously this is not what Joe Gibbs had in mind when he brought in Al Saunders from Kansas City to run the offense. But it's not surprising either. Saunders has a 700-page playbook and learning the whole thing will take time. And the way Washington's offense looks so far, I'm guessing the Redskins have only memorized the front cover and the dedication, and maybe the table of contents and the introduction, too. But it's very likely they haven't gotten around yet to memorizing the part of the playbook that contains the actual plays. Or at least the part of the playbook with the plays that actually work. Saunders probably put all of those at the end to give it an exciting conclusion.
6.I enjoyed the little mini-tournament the NFL scheduled at the beginning of the season to determine which quarterback is the worst in big games. In the first round we had the Manning Bowl -- Peyton vs. Eli -- with Eli advancing to the next round with the loss thanks to a backbreaking fourth quarter interception. But there waiting for him in the championship game was a very formidable opponent in Donovan McNabb. Not a Manning family member, true, but a player with a very Manning-esque résumé thanks to three losses in conference championship games, as well as a disastrous performance in Super Bowl XXXIX. Despite that pedigree, though, through three quarters yesterday it looked like Eli was going to run away with the title as the Giants fell way behind. But then McNabb stepped up as only the great ones do, leading the Eagles to just two first downs in all of the fourth quarter and overtime as they blew a 17-point lead over the final 14 minutes of regulation to lose. And at home no less. It was definitely a statement game by McNabb and one contenders to the throne won't soon forget.
Of course, the skins weren't spared:
4.The Redskins have scored one offensive touchdown in two games on the heels of a preseason in which their first unit didn't score a single point. Obviously this is not what Joe Gibbs had in mind when he brought in Al Saunders from Kansas City to run the offense. But it's not surprising either. Saunders has a 700-page playbook and learning the whole thing will take time. And the way Washington's offense looks so far, I'm guessing the Redskins have only memorized the front cover and the dedication, and maybe the table of contents and the introduction, too. But it's very likely they haven't gotten around yet to memorizing the part of the playbook that contains the actual plays. Or at least the part of the playbook with the plays that actually work. Saunders probably put all of those at the end to give it an exciting conclusion.