Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - Congratulations to you,
Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, for getting an opportunity to smile for a few minutes during what must have been one of the most miserable weekends of your life. Zimmer's defense fueled the Bengals' 17-14 upset of the
Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, and Zimmer was at M&T Bank Stadium to preside over the unit just three days after the tragic and sudden passing of his wife, Vikki. Zimmer's son and daughter were also in Baltimore to root on their dad.
In honor of Vikki Zimmer, we'll leave this preamble pithy-comment-free for this week.
I WAS SURPRISED THAT...
...the pupil beat the mentor in the Broncos' 20-17 overtime win over the Patriots. I was among those figuring this Josh McDaniels madness was going to end just as soon as Denver played against an offense capable of spreading them out and scoring some points. But Kyle Orton (35-of-48, 330 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) outplayed Tom Brady (19-of-33, 215 yards, 2 TD) in frigid conditions at Invesco Field at Mile High, and Matt Prater's 41-yard field goal with 4:51 to play in the extra session gave Denver a win in a game it trailed 17-7 at the half. The Broncos are 5-0 for the first time since 1998, when they won the Super Bowl, but their next three are at San Diego, at Baltimore, and home against Pittsburgh. So...sorry to hate, but we'll see.
...the Ravens came up small against the Bengals. That supposed offensive renaissance appears to be over in Baltimore, as the Ravens managed just one scoring drive versus visiting Cincinnati to bring their total of offensive points in the last two weeks to 21. Baltimore (3-2) is still perceived to be an AFC contender, but John Harbaugh's club had better wake up and start winning these close games, because at the moment, they look like the third best team in their own division.
...a quarterback had a 2-of-17 passing day, his name was not JaMarcus Russell, and his team won the game. The signal-caller was Derek Anderson, who threw for a grand total of 23 yards in Cleveland's 6-3 thriller at Buffalo, the first win of the Eric Mangini era. Anderson, who had the second-worst completion percentage for a winning quarterback since 1970, was bailed out by Jamal Lewis (31 carries, 117 yards), a defense that forced three turnovers, and kicker Billy Cundiff, whose 18-yard field goal with 26 seconds left ended one of the worst football games you could ever have the misfortune to see.
...the Vikings kept their foot on the gas against the Rams. Sure, it was only St. Louis, but on a short week following a dramatic home victory against the Packers on Monday night, something told me Brett Favre and company were going to come out flat. So much for all that. Favre was an efficient 18-of-24 for 232 yards with a touchdown and an interception, Adrian Peterson scored two more touchdowns, and the Minnesota defense forced four turnovers in a 38-10 walkover. And in case you're counting, that's 34 points in five games for the Rams.
...Peyton Manning failed to turn water into wine on Sunday night. Manning continued his early-season brilliance in the Colts' 31-9 runaway over the Titans, completing 36-of-44 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns and a pick to move Indianapolis to 5-0 and three games clear of their nearest competition in the AFC South. The 300-yard performance was Manning's fifth straight, just one off the league record. The guy's the NFL equivalent of a deity. Enjoy him.
I WAS NOT SURPRISED THAT...
...the Cowboys went down to the wire against the Chiefs. I predicted in the preseason that Kansas City would be among the NFL's most improved teams over the second half of this season, and I'll stand by that statement despite the Chiefs' 0-5 record. Todd Haley's team led for most of what would become a 26-20 overtime loss, but two long touchdown passes from Tony Romo (20-of-34, 351 yards, 2 TD) to Miles Austin (10 receptions, 250 yards, 2 TD), including a 60-yarder in overtime, helped depleted Dallas escape. Austin's yardage total was a franchise record, eclipsing the previous mark of 246 set by Bullet Bob Hayes in 1966.
...Eli Manning played, and played well. Come on, you really thought a Manning was going to sit out? Manning was gone before the end of the first half in what was already a blowout over the laughable Raiders, but completed 8-of-10 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns before yielding to David Carr (9- of-14, 90 yards). Should be more injury stories regarding Manning this week, but something tells me he'll be in the lineup next week against his dad's team, the New Orleans Saints.
...Donovan McNabb led the Eagles' assault over the Buccaneers. After missing just under a month with fractured ribs, McNabb (16-of-21, 264 yards, 3 TD) was able to dip his toe back in the water in a 33-14 win over a bad Tampa Bay team, showing quite a bit of chemistry with rookie wideout Jeremy Maclin (6 receptions, 142 yards, 2 TD). Jeremiah Trotter started at middle linebacker and posted three tackles in his return to the NFL. Michael Vick was again not much of a factor, finishing with four rushes for 10 yards and completing 1- of-3 passes for 1 yard.
...the Jaguars laid an egg in Seattle. Jacksonville had been one of the league's toughest teams to figure out, winning a couple of games but doing nothing consistently well over the first four weeks. The inconsistency continued, as the Jags followed up a 20-point win over Tennessee with a 41-0 loss at Seattle, with Maurice Jones-Drew (12 carries, 34 yards) doing next to nothing and the defense allowing Matt Hasselbeck (18-of-30, 241 yards, 4 TD) to return from injury with two touchdown tosses each to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson. Jacksonville receiver Mike Sims-Walker was suspended for the game due to a violation of team rules.
...the Falcons went on the road and handled the 49ers. OK, so I didn't think Atlanta would win by 35 points, but I did figure Matt Ryan and company would respond after a bye week that followed a listless loss in New England. Ryan (22-of-32, 329 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) was on-point, and Michael Turner (22 carries, 97 yards, 3 TD) and Roddy White (8 receptions, 210 yards, 2 TD) combined for five touchdowns. Could the 49ers have been thinking a bit too much of themselves after that 3-1 start?
TOM CABLE = LATRELL SPREWELL
I already knew Tom Cable was a horrible head coach, since I'm one of the few people covering the league who had the displeasure of watching the guy work a college sideline. Cable was at I-A Idaho in 2003, and I covered a game in which his Vandals got handled by I-AA Montana on a gorgeous late-September day in Missoula, MT (the most beautiful college football setting not yet visited by the ESPN Gameday crew, by the way). Anyway, in addition to being a bad coach, the current head coach of the embarrassment to the NFL that is the Oakland Raiders organization might soon be a convicted felon.
In a story by Michael Silver that appeared this weekend on Yahoo! Sports, former Raiders assistant Randy Hanson sheds plenty of light on the training camp incident in which Cable allegedly attacked Hanson in a meeting and broke his jaw. Napa, CA police are investigating the attack, and the NFL is reportedly monitoring that investigation as it ponders what sort of action to take against Cable.
If what Hanson says is true, and there hasn't been anyone inside the organization or out (apart from the non-credible Cable) who claims otherwise, Cable should be suspended from the league for a minimum of a year. The NFL needs to hold its coaches to an even higher standard than the players, and its head coaches to the gold standard of behavior.
WINLESS TEAMS AND WHEN THEY'LL WIN
Tampa Bay (0-5) - vs. Carolina (Oct. 18th)
Tennessee (0-5) - vs. Jacksonville (Nov. 1st)
Kansas City (0-5) - at Oakland (Nov. 15th)
St. Louis (0-5) - vs. Arizona (Nov. 22nd)
UNBEATEN TEAMS AND WHEN THEY'LL LOSE
N.Y. Giants (5-0) - at New Orleans (Oct. 18th)
Minnesota (5-0) - vs. Baltimore (Oct. 18th)
Denver (5-0) - at San Diego (Oct. 19th)
Indianapolis (5-0) - at Baltimore (Nov. 22nd)
New Orleans (4-0) - at Atlanta (Dec. 13th)
