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By Rick Gosselin
DMN From The 50
Former San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer has said LaDainian Tomlinson is the greatest running back he's ever seen – and his eyes go all the way back to Jim Brown in the 1950s.
New Chargers coach Norv Turner won't make that same claim. He can't.
Turner earned his reputation as an offensive coach by calling handoffs to the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith. Turner was the offensive coordinator of the Cowboys when they won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and '93 – a feat that propelled him to an upgraded career as an NFL head coach. Emmitt Smith was very good to Norv Turner.
So I sat down with Turner last Friday before the start of the 2007 season and posed the question to him – who's better, Smith or Tomlinson?
"I don't think that's fair to either of them because it's all about production – and look at the way both of them have produced," Turner said. "It's incredible to me. LT's done it for seven years. Emmitt did it all those years in Dallas.
NFL
Tell Us: Who's the better RB?
"I'd hate to try to figure that one out. When you're as good as them, it really doesn't matter."
Smith won four NFL rushing titles. Tomlinson won his first last season. But Tomlinson is more versatile. He has already thrown seven touchdown passes in his career on halfback options. Smith never threw a pass for the Cowboys. Also, Tomlinson is one of only two backs in NFL history to catch 100 passes in a single season. Smith's best effort as a receiver was 62 catches in 1995.
"LT is a complete player, such a great route runner and receiver," Turner conceded. "He's been asked to do that more than Emmitt was."
But Turner sees more similarities than differences between the two.
"Both are fairly soft-spoken guys with unbelievable drive, just unbelievable drive," Turner said. "You don't do the things physically that the two of them have done unless you have that.
"They can make great runs because of their ability – but every game they also could make great runs because of their great, great competitiveness. Not a lot of guys do that."
Now, on to the 2007 season. Five teams that in August I thought would be playoff contenders – Baltimore, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia and St. Louis – have to dig themselves out of season-opening losses to get headed back in the right direction.
If the Super Bowl were played tomorrow
If the two best teams in the NFL squared off tomorrow in the Super Bowl, it'd be two AFC teams. I still like San Diego following an impressive season-opening victory over defending NFC champion Chicago. Let's go with Seattle in the NFC. Former NFL rushing champion Shaun Alexander is rounding back into form with a 100-yard rushing game in the opener.
The Darren McFadden Derby
If the Browns stick with Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson at quarterback, they may not win a game this season. Cowboys fans would love that – America's Team has Cleveland's first pick of the 2008 draft and that would mean Jerry Jones gets to select a fellow Razorback with that first overall choice. The Cowboys acquired that pick thanks to a draft-day trade last April that landed the Browns Brady Quinn. If and when Quinn gets on the field, the Browns might start winning some games.
Commish for a day
I remember when the NFL placed Tampa Bay in the geographically illogical NFC Central with Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota. The idea was to insert a warm-weather locale in with those four ice-box cities to provide a weather respite in December. The NFL would schedule the Buccaneers on the road early in the season to play their Northern foes and keep them home for the rematches in December. That's common sense scheduling for Florida teams. So why is Jacksonville playing at Pittsburgh on Dec. 16 and Miami playing at New England on Dec. 23? If I were NFL commissioner, I'd mandate that Florida teams travel north early in the season and stay home late. Just like it used to be.
Goose 101
Punt returns for touchdowns are usually money in the bank for NFL teams. There have been 24 over the last two seasons and the returning teams have won 18 of those games. Figure this one out – there were two punt returns for touchdowns on the opening weekend of the 2007 season and both came in losing causes. Roscoe Parrish ran one back 74 yards for Buffalo in a loss to Denver and Ed Reed 63 yards for Baltimore in a loss to Cincinnati.
Looking back at my weekend in San Diego
I drove through Balboa Park on my way to the Chargers' training facility Friday. If I had more time that day, I would have sought out Balboa Stadium on the edge of the park. That's where the Chargers called home from 1961 to '66. That's also where they won their only championship, when Keith Lincoln rushed 13 times for 214 yards and a touchdown in a 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots in the 1963 AFL title game. I remember that game from the black-and-white TV days. I love the old stadiums. Previously, I've made a pilgrimage to Golden Gate Park to see Kezar Stadium, the old home of the 49ers. I've been to the site of Municipal Stadium, the demolished AFL home of the Kansas City Chiefs. Also on my list of places to visit is the site of War Memorial Stadium, the demolished AFL home of the Bills. Next time through Buffalo, I'm going there. And the next time through San Diego, I'm going to Balboa.
Looking ahead at my weekend in Nashville
I see Vanderbilt is home Saturday night against Ole Miss. I may try to catch that game. There's a linebacker at Vanderbilt (Curtis Gatewood) and an offensive tackle at Mississippi (Michael Oher) I'd like to see. Oher was the subject of the book The Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game, written by Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball. The book is worth reading and preseason All-SEC pick Oher is certainly worth seeing. If he leaves school after his junior season, he's a likely first-round NFL draft pick.
Rising stock
Chad Greenway, LB, Minnesota. A top 10 defense found a way to improve in 2007 at a minimal cost. All the Vikings had to do was rehabilitate Greenway, their No. 1 draft pick a year ago who missed the 2006 season when he tore up his left knee in the preseason. Greenway made his long-awaited NFL debut Sunday and led the Vikings with 10 tackles and a forced fumble from his weakside linebacker spot in a 24-3 romp over the Atlanta Falcons. Greenway brings size (6-2, 242), speed (4.58 40-yard dash), intelligence (college degree from Iowa in communications) and productivity (two-time All-Big Ten selection) to the Minnesota scheme.
Falling stock
Mike Brown, S, Chicago. This is really a sad tale. Brown is a Pro Bowl player and an elite playmaker on a defense loaded with playmakers. But 2007 becomes the fourth consecutive regular season he has failed to finish, this time after suffering a knee injury in the opener at San Diego. He missed the final 14 games of the 2004 season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, the final four games of 2005 with a calf injury and the final 10 games of 2006 with a foot injury. Brown was placed on injured reserve Monday, so you can tack 15 more games onto his injury total. This is a huge blow to the Bears. Brown holds the franchise record with nine career defensive touchdowns. Chicago forced two turnovers in the opener against San Diego and Brown collected both of them, intercepting a Philip Rivers pass and recovering a Rivers fumble. Danieal Manning takes his place in the Chicago secondary.
Around the Ranch
How many veteran Texas football watchers would have guessed that Zach Thomas would have as productive an NFL career as Tommy Nobis? Nobis, the first overall pick of the 1966 NFL draft out of Texas, went to five Pro Bowls in his 11-year career with the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas, a fifth-round draft pick in 1996 out of Texas Tech, went to seven Pro Bowls in the first 11 seasons of his career with the Dolphins. Thomas will face the Cowboys for the fourth time in his 12-year career Sunday. He had a season-high 16 tackles against the Cowboys in 1999 and tormented Quincy Carter with a sack, an interception and eight tackles in a 2003 game.
Factoid
The 2007 NFL draft was a deep one for wide receivers with nine selected in the first 51 picks. But wideout has never been an instant impact position in the NFL. Those nine wideouts caught a combined 12 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown last Sunday on opening day. Last college season that same group combined for an average of 45 catches, 694 yards and nine touchdowns per week.
Calvin Johnson, the second overall pick of the draft by the Detroit Lions, did the heavy lifting for the class on the opening weekend of the NFL season with four catches for 70 yards and the lone touchdown. Four of his classmates didn't catch a pass, and two of them didn't even suit up. Here's the rundown on the Class of 2007 one week into their NFL careers (listing catches, yards, touchdowns and their overall selection in the draft):
Receiver Team Rec. Yards TDs Pick
Calvin Johnson Detroit 4 70 1 1
Dwayne Bowe Kansas City 3 43 0 23
Steve Smith NY Giants 3 16 0 51*
Craig Davis San Diego 2 15 0 30
Sidney Rice Minnesota 2 10 0 44*
Ted Ginn Miami 0 0 0 9
Anthony Gonzalez Indianapolis 0 0 0 32
Robert Meacham New Orleans Inactive
Dwayne Jarrett Carolina Inactive
Totals 12 154 1
* Second-round pick
From the wallet
If I'm buying an NFL ticket this week, here's how I spend my money:
Luxury box, San Diego at New England. The Chargers were the top seed in the AFC last season but lost at home in their playoff opener to the Patriots. Here's the rematch on the other coast. "It's the next game," Chargers Pro Bowl running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. "That's why it matters. But it doesn't matter because we may see them again. Our plan is to see them again in the playoffs. That's when it matters. For us to beat them Sunday, what's that going to prove? Nothing. We've beaten them before. We want to beat them in the playoffs. But I'll tell you what – it's going to be a barn-burner."
Club seat, Indianapolis at Tennessee. The Titans shocked the Colts in Nashville last December when Rob Bironas kicked a 60-yard field goal at the gun. But Tennessee will need more than Bironas' leg this time around. The Titans will need some defense. The Colts are already in midseason form offensively with a 41-point outburst in their season opener against New Orleans.
Downstairs on the 50, Minnesota at Detroit. Why not? There are only four games involving two teams with winning records this weekend, and this is one of them. The Lions have scored 75 points in their last two games, both on the road – 39 at Dallas in the 2006 finale and 36 at Oakland in the 2007 opener. Mike Martz makes offense fun. One of these teams is going to chase the Chicago Bears in the NFC North this season. We'll find out which one Sunday.
The game I've got circled on my calendar
Indianapolis at San Diego, Nov. 11. Talk about a loaded schedule – the defending Super Bowl champion Colts play back-to-back games against New England and San Diego. We should know the pecking order of the AFC playoff bracket by Thanksgiving.
Yellow flags
Penalties were down slightly from opening day a year ago. That's easily explainable – Ron Winter and his crew were given last weekend off. The Winter crew led the NFL in penalties last season, whistling 208 for 1,701 yards. The league average was 179 penalties per crew.
Book review: The GM, by Thomas Callahan
I found this a fascinating look at an NFL season by a true insider. It's the story of the 2006 season of the New York Giants as told through the eyes of their general manager, Ernie Accorsi, who retired at season's end. Callahan was given behind the scenes access to anyone and everyone in the Giants organization, and he humanizes the likes of Tom Coughlin and Jeremy Shockey. Accorsi doesn't pull any punches and was critical of a lot that went on in 2006 as the 8-8 Gaints qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. Accorsi also tells of his decisions to draft Eli Manning and Shockey and sign Plaxico Burress in free agency. Great tidbits abound in this book, such as:
■ Accorsi gives the scouting report on Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman: "If you put pressure on him in his own territory, he's going to give you the game. He shows a lot more talent on your side of the field than he does on his, kind of like a hitter who will kill you when the count is 3-1 but has no chance at 0-2. Let Grossman get into a comfort zone, though, and he can play."
■ Accorsi reveals the aspirations of Bill Parcells last December on the day the Cowboys visited the Giants: "Maybe six hours before the game, Parcells sat with a former Giants colleague in a car in the parking lot. They didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. Old friends, they just wanted to talk. What Bill supposedly said became the lead item on the front-office grapevine: 'I'm available to be the Giants GM if they get stuck, Keep me alive with [Giants owner] John Mara, will you?' "
■ Accorsi is also the guy who drafted John Elway in Baltimore and reveals the behind-the-scenes story on that debacle. Owner Bob Irsay traded Elway to Denver without telling his general manager or head coach.
Draft watch: linebackers
Penn State's Paul Posluszny won his second consecutive Bednarik Award as the top defensive player in college football in 2006 – and he may not have even been the best linebacker on the Nittany Lions. Dan Connor earned All-America honors as an outside linebacker at Penn State and could wind up a higher draft pick than Posluszny, who went in the second round to Buffalo last season. Penn State is known as Linebacker U, but Connor could become only the school's fourth linebacker selected in the first round since 1967, joining LaVar Arrington (2000), Shane Conlan (1987) and Ed O'Neil (1974). Like Posluszny, Hall of Famer Jack Ham was a second-round pick. Here's the list of the top senior linebacker draft prospects:
Player School Ht. Wt.
o-Dan Connor Penn State 6-3 225
m-Phillip Wheeler Georgia Tech 6-1½ 235
m-Beau Bell UNLV 6-1½ 250
o-Shawn Crable Michigan 6-4½ 243
o-Ali Highsmith LSU 6-0 221
m-Keith Rivers Southern Cal 6-2½ 237
o-Tavares Gooden Miami 6-2 232
o-Xavier Adibi Virginia Tech 6-1½ 219
o-Curtis Gatewood Vanderbilt 6-2 221
m-Ezra Butler Nevada 6-2 247
o-outside LB; m-middle LB
Favre watch
No quarterback in NFL history has had his career defined by numbers like Green Bay's Brett Favre. Several NFL records are stacked in front of him this season. He is tied with John Elway as the winningest quarterback in NFL history with 147 victories. If he beats the Giants on Sunday, he'll be alone on top. Favre also needs seven touchdown passes to become the NFL's all-time leader, passing Dan Marino (420), and four interceptions to become the all-time leader, passing George Blanda (277).
Two-minute drill
■ I did nothing but watch college football all day last Saturday, and what a day it was with another round of upsets. What's become apparent is that there are some talented football players at some out-of-the-way places. When Appalachian State and South Florida can visit perennial Top 10 programs and leave with victories, that tells me the talent has been spread out in college football. I'm curious to see how this impacts future NFL drafting. Will scouts be taking a harder look at players from schools like South Florida, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee and Northern Iowa – all programs who proved last weekend they could play with the bigger boys?
■ The two worst games of LaDainain Tomlinson's NFL career came against Philadelphia in 2005 when he rushed for 7 yards and Chicago in 2007 when he rushed for 25 yards. He had 17 carries both days. There was one constant in those two games – defensive tackle Darwin Walker. He started for the Eagles that day and made a tackle and came off the bench for the Bears and made two tackles.
■ I included a note on my NFL page last Sunday about team Halls of Fame and received several e-mails expressing surprise that the New Orleans Saints had 35 enshrinees, third most in the NFL. This from a team that has managed only eight winning seasons in the franchise's 40-year history. Here's a list of those Hall of Fame Saints: quarterbacks Archie Manning, Bill Kilmer and Bobby Hebert; running backs Tony Galbreath, George Rogers, Dalton Hilliard and Reuben Mayes; wide receivers Danny Abramowicz and Eric Martin; tight ends Henry Childs and Hoby Brenner; offensive linemen Jake Kupp, John Hill, Stan Brock, Jim Bombrowski and Joel Hilgenberg; defensive linemen Derland Moore, Bob Pollard, Doug Atkins, Jim Wilks, Frank Warren, Wayne Martin and Joe Johnson; linebackers Joe Federspiel, Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Vaughan Johnson and Pat Swilling; defensive backs Tommy Myers, Dave Whitsell and Daye Waymer; kicker Tom Dempsey; general manager Jim Finks; coach Jim Mora; and defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell.
Final thought
Today I flash back to the 2005 NFL scouting combine, where I met Kevin Everett for the first time. He left Kilgore, Texas, to become a starting tight end at the University of Miami. Like most collegians I interview at the combine, Everett had high expectations for his future. "I plan on being one of the league's best players, a future Pro Bowler," he told me. Sadly, Everett will never realize that dream after suffering a fractured spine in Buffalo's season opener at Denver. I also remember interviewing former Texas A&M linebacker Reggie Brown and former Washington State offensive lineman Mike Utley, both of whom had NFL careers cut short by spine injuries. All serve as a reminder to just how brutal this game of professional football is.
http://cowboyszone.com/forums/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=59
DMN From The 50
Former San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer has said LaDainian Tomlinson is the greatest running back he's ever seen – and his eyes go all the way back to Jim Brown in the 1950s.
New Chargers coach Norv Turner won't make that same claim. He can't.
Turner earned his reputation as an offensive coach by calling handoffs to the NFL's all-time leading rusher, Emmitt Smith. Turner was the offensive coordinator of the Cowboys when they won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and '93 – a feat that propelled him to an upgraded career as an NFL head coach. Emmitt Smith was very good to Norv Turner.
So I sat down with Turner last Friday before the start of the 2007 season and posed the question to him – who's better, Smith or Tomlinson?
"I don't think that's fair to either of them because it's all about production – and look at the way both of them have produced," Turner said. "It's incredible to me. LT's done it for seven years. Emmitt did it all those years in Dallas.
NFL
Tell Us: Who's the better RB?
"I'd hate to try to figure that one out. When you're as good as them, it really doesn't matter."
Smith won four NFL rushing titles. Tomlinson won his first last season. But Tomlinson is more versatile. He has already thrown seven touchdown passes in his career on halfback options. Smith never threw a pass for the Cowboys. Also, Tomlinson is one of only two backs in NFL history to catch 100 passes in a single season. Smith's best effort as a receiver was 62 catches in 1995.
"LT is a complete player, such a great route runner and receiver," Turner conceded. "He's been asked to do that more than Emmitt was."
But Turner sees more similarities than differences between the two.
"Both are fairly soft-spoken guys with unbelievable drive, just unbelievable drive," Turner said. "You don't do the things physically that the two of them have done unless you have that.
"They can make great runs because of their ability – but every game they also could make great runs because of their great, great competitiveness. Not a lot of guys do that."
Now, on to the 2007 season. Five teams that in August I thought would be playoff contenders – Baltimore, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia and St. Louis – have to dig themselves out of season-opening losses to get headed back in the right direction.
If the Super Bowl were played tomorrow
If the two best teams in the NFL squared off tomorrow in the Super Bowl, it'd be two AFC teams. I still like San Diego following an impressive season-opening victory over defending NFC champion Chicago. Let's go with Seattle in the NFC. Former NFL rushing champion Shaun Alexander is rounding back into form with a 100-yard rushing game in the opener.
The Darren McFadden Derby
If the Browns stick with Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson at quarterback, they may not win a game this season. Cowboys fans would love that – America's Team has Cleveland's first pick of the 2008 draft and that would mean Jerry Jones gets to select a fellow Razorback with that first overall choice. The Cowboys acquired that pick thanks to a draft-day trade last April that landed the Browns Brady Quinn. If and when Quinn gets on the field, the Browns might start winning some games.
Commish for a day
I remember when the NFL placed Tampa Bay in the geographically illogical NFC Central with Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota. The idea was to insert a warm-weather locale in with those four ice-box cities to provide a weather respite in December. The NFL would schedule the Buccaneers on the road early in the season to play their Northern foes and keep them home for the rematches in December. That's common sense scheduling for Florida teams. So why is Jacksonville playing at Pittsburgh on Dec. 16 and Miami playing at New England on Dec. 23? If I were NFL commissioner, I'd mandate that Florida teams travel north early in the season and stay home late. Just like it used to be.
Goose 101
Punt returns for touchdowns are usually money in the bank for NFL teams. There have been 24 over the last two seasons and the returning teams have won 18 of those games. Figure this one out – there were two punt returns for touchdowns on the opening weekend of the 2007 season and both came in losing causes. Roscoe Parrish ran one back 74 yards for Buffalo in a loss to Denver and Ed Reed 63 yards for Baltimore in a loss to Cincinnati.
Looking back at my weekend in San Diego
I drove through Balboa Park on my way to the Chargers' training facility Friday. If I had more time that day, I would have sought out Balboa Stadium on the edge of the park. That's where the Chargers called home from 1961 to '66. That's also where they won their only championship, when Keith Lincoln rushed 13 times for 214 yards and a touchdown in a 51-10 rout of the Boston Patriots in the 1963 AFL title game. I remember that game from the black-and-white TV days. I love the old stadiums. Previously, I've made a pilgrimage to Golden Gate Park to see Kezar Stadium, the old home of the 49ers. I've been to the site of Municipal Stadium, the demolished AFL home of the Kansas City Chiefs. Also on my list of places to visit is the site of War Memorial Stadium, the demolished AFL home of the Bills. Next time through Buffalo, I'm going there. And the next time through San Diego, I'm going to Balboa.
Looking ahead at my weekend in Nashville
I see Vanderbilt is home Saturday night against Ole Miss. I may try to catch that game. There's a linebacker at Vanderbilt (Curtis Gatewood) and an offensive tackle at Mississippi (Michael Oher) I'd like to see. Oher was the subject of the book The Blind Side: The Evolution of a Game, written by Michael Lewis, the author of Moneyball. The book is worth reading and preseason All-SEC pick Oher is certainly worth seeing. If he leaves school after his junior season, he's a likely first-round NFL draft pick.
Rising stock
Chad Greenway, LB, Minnesota. A top 10 defense found a way to improve in 2007 at a minimal cost. All the Vikings had to do was rehabilitate Greenway, their No. 1 draft pick a year ago who missed the 2006 season when he tore up his left knee in the preseason. Greenway made his long-awaited NFL debut Sunday and led the Vikings with 10 tackles and a forced fumble from his weakside linebacker spot in a 24-3 romp over the Atlanta Falcons. Greenway brings size (6-2, 242), speed (4.58 40-yard dash), intelligence (college degree from Iowa in communications) and productivity (two-time All-Big Ten selection) to the Minnesota scheme.
Falling stock
Mike Brown, S, Chicago. This is really a sad tale. Brown is a Pro Bowl player and an elite playmaker on a defense loaded with playmakers. But 2007 becomes the fourth consecutive regular season he has failed to finish, this time after suffering a knee injury in the opener at San Diego. He missed the final 14 games of the 2004 season with a ruptured Achilles' tendon, the final four games of 2005 with a calf injury and the final 10 games of 2006 with a foot injury. Brown was placed on injured reserve Monday, so you can tack 15 more games onto his injury total. This is a huge blow to the Bears. Brown holds the franchise record with nine career defensive touchdowns. Chicago forced two turnovers in the opener against San Diego and Brown collected both of them, intercepting a Philip Rivers pass and recovering a Rivers fumble. Danieal Manning takes his place in the Chicago secondary.
Around the Ranch
How many veteran Texas football watchers would have guessed that Zach Thomas would have as productive an NFL career as Tommy Nobis? Nobis, the first overall pick of the 1966 NFL draft out of Texas, went to five Pro Bowls in his 11-year career with the Atlanta Falcons. Thomas, a fifth-round draft pick in 1996 out of Texas Tech, went to seven Pro Bowls in the first 11 seasons of his career with the Dolphins. Thomas will face the Cowboys for the fourth time in his 12-year career Sunday. He had a season-high 16 tackles against the Cowboys in 1999 and tormented Quincy Carter with a sack, an interception and eight tackles in a 2003 game.
Factoid
The 2007 NFL draft was a deep one for wide receivers with nine selected in the first 51 picks. But wideout has never been an instant impact position in the NFL. Those nine wideouts caught a combined 12 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown last Sunday on opening day. Last college season that same group combined for an average of 45 catches, 694 yards and nine touchdowns per week.
Calvin Johnson, the second overall pick of the draft by the Detroit Lions, did the heavy lifting for the class on the opening weekend of the NFL season with four catches for 70 yards and the lone touchdown. Four of his classmates didn't catch a pass, and two of them didn't even suit up. Here's the rundown on the Class of 2007 one week into their NFL careers (listing catches, yards, touchdowns and their overall selection in the draft):
Receiver Team Rec. Yards TDs Pick
Calvin Johnson Detroit 4 70 1 1
Dwayne Bowe Kansas City 3 43 0 23
Steve Smith NY Giants 3 16 0 51*
Craig Davis San Diego 2 15 0 30
Sidney Rice Minnesota 2 10 0 44*
Ted Ginn Miami 0 0 0 9
Anthony Gonzalez Indianapolis 0 0 0 32
Robert Meacham New Orleans Inactive
Dwayne Jarrett Carolina Inactive
Totals 12 154 1
* Second-round pick
From the wallet
If I'm buying an NFL ticket this week, here's how I spend my money:
Luxury box, San Diego at New England. The Chargers were the top seed in the AFC last season but lost at home in their playoff opener to the Patriots. Here's the rematch on the other coast. "It's the next game," Chargers Pro Bowl running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. "That's why it matters. But it doesn't matter because we may see them again. Our plan is to see them again in the playoffs. That's when it matters. For us to beat them Sunday, what's that going to prove? Nothing. We've beaten them before. We want to beat them in the playoffs. But I'll tell you what – it's going to be a barn-burner."
Club seat, Indianapolis at Tennessee. The Titans shocked the Colts in Nashville last December when Rob Bironas kicked a 60-yard field goal at the gun. But Tennessee will need more than Bironas' leg this time around. The Titans will need some defense. The Colts are already in midseason form offensively with a 41-point outburst in their season opener against New Orleans.
Downstairs on the 50, Minnesota at Detroit. Why not? There are only four games involving two teams with winning records this weekend, and this is one of them. The Lions have scored 75 points in their last two games, both on the road – 39 at Dallas in the 2006 finale and 36 at Oakland in the 2007 opener. Mike Martz makes offense fun. One of these teams is going to chase the Chicago Bears in the NFC North this season. We'll find out which one Sunday.
The game I've got circled on my calendar
Indianapolis at San Diego, Nov. 11. Talk about a loaded schedule – the defending Super Bowl champion Colts play back-to-back games against New England and San Diego. We should know the pecking order of the AFC playoff bracket by Thanksgiving.
Yellow flags
Penalties were down slightly from opening day a year ago. That's easily explainable – Ron Winter and his crew were given last weekend off. The Winter crew led the NFL in penalties last season, whistling 208 for 1,701 yards. The league average was 179 penalties per crew.
Book review: The GM, by Thomas Callahan
I found this a fascinating look at an NFL season by a true insider. It's the story of the 2006 season of the New York Giants as told through the eyes of their general manager, Ernie Accorsi, who retired at season's end. Callahan was given behind the scenes access to anyone and everyone in the Giants organization, and he humanizes the likes of Tom Coughlin and Jeremy Shockey. Accorsi doesn't pull any punches and was critical of a lot that went on in 2006 as the 8-8 Gaints qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. Accorsi also tells of his decisions to draft Eli Manning and Shockey and sign Plaxico Burress in free agency. Great tidbits abound in this book, such as:
■ Accorsi gives the scouting report on Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman: "If you put pressure on him in his own territory, he's going to give you the game. He shows a lot more talent on your side of the field than he does on his, kind of like a hitter who will kill you when the count is 3-1 but has no chance at 0-2. Let Grossman get into a comfort zone, though, and he can play."
■ Accorsi reveals the aspirations of Bill Parcells last December on the day the Cowboys visited the Giants: "Maybe six hours before the game, Parcells sat with a former Giants colleague in a car in the parking lot. They didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. Old friends, they just wanted to talk. What Bill supposedly said became the lead item on the front-office grapevine: 'I'm available to be the Giants GM if they get stuck, Keep me alive with [Giants owner] John Mara, will you?' "
■ Accorsi is also the guy who drafted John Elway in Baltimore and reveals the behind-the-scenes story on that debacle. Owner Bob Irsay traded Elway to Denver without telling his general manager or head coach.
Draft watch: linebackers
Penn State's Paul Posluszny won his second consecutive Bednarik Award as the top defensive player in college football in 2006 – and he may not have even been the best linebacker on the Nittany Lions. Dan Connor earned All-America honors as an outside linebacker at Penn State and could wind up a higher draft pick than Posluszny, who went in the second round to Buffalo last season. Penn State is known as Linebacker U, but Connor could become only the school's fourth linebacker selected in the first round since 1967, joining LaVar Arrington (2000), Shane Conlan (1987) and Ed O'Neil (1974). Like Posluszny, Hall of Famer Jack Ham was a second-round pick. Here's the list of the top senior linebacker draft prospects:
Player School Ht. Wt.
o-Dan Connor Penn State 6-3 225
m-Phillip Wheeler Georgia Tech 6-1½ 235
m-Beau Bell UNLV 6-1½ 250
o-Shawn Crable Michigan 6-4½ 243
o-Ali Highsmith LSU 6-0 221
m-Keith Rivers Southern Cal 6-2½ 237
o-Tavares Gooden Miami 6-2 232
o-Xavier Adibi Virginia Tech 6-1½ 219
o-Curtis Gatewood Vanderbilt 6-2 221
m-Ezra Butler Nevada 6-2 247
o-outside LB; m-middle LB
Favre watch
No quarterback in NFL history has had his career defined by numbers like Green Bay's Brett Favre. Several NFL records are stacked in front of him this season. He is tied with John Elway as the winningest quarterback in NFL history with 147 victories. If he beats the Giants on Sunday, he'll be alone on top. Favre also needs seven touchdown passes to become the NFL's all-time leader, passing Dan Marino (420), and four interceptions to become the all-time leader, passing George Blanda (277).
Two-minute drill
■ I did nothing but watch college football all day last Saturday, and what a day it was with another round of upsets. What's become apparent is that there are some talented football players at some out-of-the-way places. When Appalachian State and South Florida can visit perennial Top 10 programs and leave with victories, that tells me the talent has been spread out in college football. I'm curious to see how this impacts future NFL drafting. Will scouts be taking a harder look at players from schools like South Florida, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee and Northern Iowa – all programs who proved last weekend they could play with the bigger boys?
■ The two worst games of LaDainain Tomlinson's NFL career came against Philadelphia in 2005 when he rushed for 7 yards and Chicago in 2007 when he rushed for 25 yards. He had 17 carries both days. There was one constant in those two games – defensive tackle Darwin Walker. He started for the Eagles that day and made a tackle and came off the bench for the Bears and made two tackles.
■ I included a note on my NFL page last Sunday about team Halls of Fame and received several e-mails expressing surprise that the New Orleans Saints had 35 enshrinees, third most in the NFL. This from a team that has managed only eight winning seasons in the franchise's 40-year history. Here's a list of those Hall of Fame Saints: quarterbacks Archie Manning, Bill Kilmer and Bobby Hebert; running backs Tony Galbreath, George Rogers, Dalton Hilliard and Reuben Mayes; wide receivers Danny Abramowicz and Eric Martin; tight ends Henry Childs and Hoby Brenner; offensive linemen Jake Kupp, John Hill, Stan Brock, Jim Bombrowski and Joel Hilgenberg; defensive linemen Derland Moore, Bob Pollard, Doug Atkins, Jim Wilks, Frank Warren, Wayne Martin and Joe Johnson; linebackers Joe Federspiel, Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Vaughan Johnson and Pat Swilling; defensive backs Tommy Myers, Dave Whitsell and Daye Waymer; kicker Tom Dempsey; general manager Jim Finks; coach Jim Mora; and defensive coordinator Steve Sidwell.
Final thought
Today I flash back to the 2005 NFL scouting combine, where I met Kevin Everett for the first time. He left Kilgore, Texas, to become a starting tight end at the University of Miami. Like most collegians I interview at the combine, Everett had high expectations for his future. "I plan on being one of the league's best players, a future Pro Bowler," he told me. Sadly, Everett will never realize that dream after suffering a fractured spine in Buffalo's season opener at Denver. I also remember interviewing former Texas A&M linebacker Reggie Brown and former Washington State offensive lineman Mike Utley, both of whom had NFL careers cut short by spine injuries. All serve as a reminder to just how brutal this game of professional football is.
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