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Ellicott City, Md.: I love the Commanders and Joe Gibbs, BUT -- they have no offensive imagination at all, and the magic of his halftime adjustments has faded. Is it time for him to go?
Michael Wilbon: Hi everybody, from Denver where the Red Sox fans, hungover in the afterglow, are heading for the airport and being replaced by Cheeseheads for tonight's MNF game...We'll start with the blowout in New England yesterday. Wow. We already knew the Commanders weren't an "elite" team by the way they narrowly escaped winless Miami and injured Arizona in the first six weeks...But that was something of a stunner yesterday, not that the Commanders lost; only delusional people thought they would win...but the way they got beat up and trashed and didn't brawl back. That was the "wow" for me. I don't want to start talking about Joe Gibbs' future when the team is 4-3 and sure to be 5-3 after beating the pathetic Jets in East Rutherford next week...The Commanders can still make the playoffs and even advance in the NFC. Who's great in the NFC? The Cowboys? Please. The Packers? We'll find out more about them tonight...But the NFC is still wide open. So Gibbs has some halftime adjustments yet to make. My questions about this team revolve more around the players. Who provides the fire on offense? Who's the charismatic star that the rest of the guys follow? It's not Portis. Campbell hasn't evolved as a personality yet. Who? Jansen, who has the personality, is hurt. I don't see the dynamic players like, say, Tiki Barber or Michael Strahan with the Giants in recent years. Maybe there's still time for somebody to emerge, but we're at the halfway point of the season...
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Gaithersburg, Md.: The Colts and Patriots have had a swagger about them this whole season that makes it feel like that famous Larry Bird quote at an All-Star Game three-point contest, where he showed up in the locker room and said "y'all are playing for second place tonight." Is the rest of the league basically playing for second place in your opinion?
Michael Wilbon: Well, third place. Yes. No doubt. Look, injuries can dramatically alter any NFL season. The 1986 Bears went 14-2 and looked like an '85 repeat but Jim McMahon got dumped on his shoulder by some Packer lineman and the season was done for them. Brady and Manning would have to stay healthy, but presuming relatively good health, nobody else is in their class.
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Cary, N.C.: Wilbon,
My question is does Belichick lose more and respect around the league after each week? Very good coach with a great organization, but are NFL insiders losing respect for him as a man? He never answered to why he was cheating and now he seems to be going overboard in trying to embarrass every team. Guess I thought he had more respect for the game, but it appears he has none. If he wants to rub Mangini's nose in it fine, but Gibbs too? Too many talking heads today are okay with Belicheat's actions.
Michael Wilbon: Belichick is on a maniacal mission to crush everybody's skull because the NFL had nerve to call him on cheating. That's what this is. He's foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog trying to crush the life out of every team the Patriots face. You know what...that's fair. But I'd like to see an opposing team play the Patriots with the same violent intent the Patriots play with. I think you'll see the school yard bully met with force this Sunday in Indy...
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Arlington, Va.: How would you rate Mike Tomlin's coaching performance at Pittsburgh so far this year? Now that we are getting to the mid-way point of the season, do you or your colleagues feel he is meeting or exceeding expectations?
Michael Wilbon: Aren't the Steelers 5-2? They're not the Patriots, not the Colts. But if all the players on those two teams voted secretly as to what one team they would NOT want to face, I promise you it would be the Steelers.
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Dulles Airport, Va.: What is the loudest NFL stadium that you have been to? Does it compare to the loudest college stadium? In my opinion Doak Campbell (FSU) is much louder than FedEx Field.
Michael Wilbon: Doak Campbell is up there. Jordan-Hare at Auburn is my No. 1...Well, LSU at night...Those are my top two...FedEx Field isn't among the loudest NFL stadiums. Those are Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, Philly, Lambeau...FedEx Field is just too big and the noise sort of evaporates. Oh, Baltimore's damn loud, too.
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Laurel, Md.: Don't look now, but the Browns are 4-3, in 2nd place in the AFC North. Is this the NFL's surprise/feel good story thus far?
Michael Wilbon: YES! Glad you brought this up. And just think, without that bogus timeout before the field goal thing against the Raiders, the Browns would be 5-2 with the most impressive loss to the Patriots this season. Romeo Crennell has done a nice job there, especially since he changed his QB Week 1. Brady Quinn may never see the light of day in Cleveland. What a nice story. We're going to talk about that today on PTI. Braylon Edwards can do some foolish things at times, but he's among the top 3 receivers in the league in my book.
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Tom Brady's Knee: I can understand Bill Belichick's desire to crush every team in the NFL, but why keep your franchise QB in there to do it? One cheap shot helmet to the knee and it's goodbye Super Bowl unless Cassell suddenly gets good.
Michael Wilbon: You're absolutely right. And if I was on the opposing team, I'd hit Tom Brady with everything I had as late as I could and take the penalty and join the fight that would surely follow. Football is a violent game and there's got to be somebody out there sharpening his fans for the Patriots Golden Boy in the 4th quarter one of these weeks.
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Detroit: Heard from many gloating Lions fans today? The Bears look done.
Michael Wilbon: The Bears ARE done. When you don't have a QB and a running game you're done. The defense allowed only one touchdown yesterday (that after a Griese interception), but they're done and they might have to have a major re-tooling in the off-season. Brian Urlacher says he has arthritis in his back, which ain't good news. The Lions popped off at the mouth before the season and said they're a 10-win team. Well, they're halfway there. Much of the thanks has to go to QB Jon Kitna, offensive coordinator Mike Martz, and that quirky little head coach, Rod Marinelli...
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Stevensville, Md.: What are your thoughts about running up the score? In my opinion it's a teams job to put up points, not save their opponent from embarrassment. The Commanders' players are cashing million dollar paychecks just like the Patriots', so they have no one to blame but themselves for the blowout.
Michael Wilbon: Your thought is my thought. You want somebody not to run it up...don't let 'em. On the other hand, Belichick is a cheat and during games behaves with little class...If I was on the other side my goal would have been for Brady to be helped off the field, by whatever means necessary.
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Kansas City, Mo.: Mike: you've been everywhere in the NFL. Please tell me:
1. Your favorite stadium? 2. Best fans? 3. Best tailgating city?
Michael Wilbon: Favorite stadium (God, I can't believe I'm about to say this): Lambeau. The runners up would be Baltimore, Soldier Field and Seattle.
Best fans: Chiefs, Broncos, Steelers or Packers.
Best tailgating city: San Francisco...Nobody else need apply. The smells from the grills in the Candlestick Parking lot are without peer...Oh my goodness. I'm drooling just thinking about it.
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Arlington, Va.: Let me get this straight - you're suggesting blatantly trying to injure a player on the opposing team for no good reason other than you can't compete head-to-head. What kind of message are you trying to send?
Michael Wilbon: I'm saying football is a violent game and I believe in an eye for an eye. You think Sam Huff wouldn't have taken out Brady yesterday? And when I say "take out" I don't mean go for his knees; I mean a clean shot with every once of force one can summon...right in the strike zone. You think Butkus and LT and Bednarik would have stood for that stuff? No way. No chance.
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Oxford, UK via Cambridge: Mike, you've said all along you don't think the Pats will go undefeated. Well, barring a plane crash or other such tragedy, who the heck is going to beat them? Most of my mates were at Wembley watching the Giants and Fish. I've taped this game in order to show them how it's supposed to be done.
Michael Wilbon: Perhaps you didn't notice the Patriots have a date with the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 4 p.m. eastern. Let's chat on Monday about that outcome. I have the Colts winning. If the Patriots trash them, perhaps I'll reevaluate...have a great week everybody...gotta run over to Mile High for PTI and MNF...thanks. MW
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New Orleans: What do like better: Coaches wearing suit and tie during a game or the 'ole sweats and jacket?
Michael Wilbon: suits and ties, no question. Lombardi, Halas...Landry...Fashion, baby. The NFL should mandate it instead of ordering these guys wear stuff you can buy from Dick's or Sports Authority...Ahhh, but there's the reason the league has them wearing that junk, isn't it?
Michael Wilbon: Hi everybody, from Denver where the Red Sox fans, hungover in the afterglow, are heading for the airport and being replaced by Cheeseheads for tonight's MNF game...We'll start with the blowout in New England yesterday. Wow. We already knew the Commanders weren't an "elite" team by the way they narrowly escaped winless Miami and injured Arizona in the first six weeks...But that was something of a stunner yesterday, not that the Commanders lost; only delusional people thought they would win...but the way they got beat up and trashed and didn't brawl back. That was the "wow" for me. I don't want to start talking about Joe Gibbs' future when the team is 4-3 and sure to be 5-3 after beating the pathetic Jets in East Rutherford next week...The Commanders can still make the playoffs and even advance in the NFC. Who's great in the NFC? The Cowboys? Please. The Packers? We'll find out more about them tonight...But the NFC is still wide open. So Gibbs has some halftime adjustments yet to make. My questions about this team revolve more around the players. Who provides the fire on offense? Who's the charismatic star that the rest of the guys follow? It's not Portis. Campbell hasn't evolved as a personality yet. Who? Jansen, who has the personality, is hurt. I don't see the dynamic players like, say, Tiki Barber or Michael Strahan with the Giants in recent years. Maybe there's still time for somebody to emerge, but we're at the halfway point of the season...
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Gaithersburg, Md.: The Colts and Patriots have had a swagger about them this whole season that makes it feel like that famous Larry Bird quote at an All-Star Game three-point contest, where he showed up in the locker room and said "y'all are playing for second place tonight." Is the rest of the league basically playing for second place in your opinion?
Michael Wilbon: Well, third place. Yes. No doubt. Look, injuries can dramatically alter any NFL season. The 1986 Bears went 14-2 and looked like an '85 repeat but Jim McMahon got dumped on his shoulder by some Packer lineman and the season was done for them. Brady and Manning would have to stay healthy, but presuming relatively good health, nobody else is in their class.
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Cary, N.C.: Wilbon,
My question is does Belichick lose more and respect around the league after each week? Very good coach with a great organization, but are NFL insiders losing respect for him as a man? He never answered to why he was cheating and now he seems to be going overboard in trying to embarrass every team. Guess I thought he had more respect for the game, but it appears he has none. If he wants to rub Mangini's nose in it fine, but Gibbs too? Too many talking heads today are okay with Belicheat's actions.
Michael Wilbon: Belichick is on a maniacal mission to crush everybody's skull because the NFL had nerve to call him on cheating. That's what this is. He's foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog trying to crush the life out of every team the Patriots face. You know what...that's fair. But I'd like to see an opposing team play the Patriots with the same violent intent the Patriots play with. I think you'll see the school yard bully met with force this Sunday in Indy...
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Arlington, Va.: How would you rate Mike Tomlin's coaching performance at Pittsburgh so far this year? Now that we are getting to the mid-way point of the season, do you or your colleagues feel he is meeting or exceeding expectations?
Michael Wilbon: Aren't the Steelers 5-2? They're not the Patriots, not the Colts. But if all the players on those two teams voted secretly as to what one team they would NOT want to face, I promise you it would be the Steelers.
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Dulles Airport, Va.: What is the loudest NFL stadium that you have been to? Does it compare to the loudest college stadium? In my opinion Doak Campbell (FSU) is much louder than FedEx Field.
Michael Wilbon: Doak Campbell is up there. Jordan-Hare at Auburn is my No. 1...Well, LSU at night...Those are my top two...FedEx Field isn't among the loudest NFL stadiums. Those are Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, Philly, Lambeau...FedEx Field is just too big and the noise sort of evaporates. Oh, Baltimore's damn loud, too.
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Laurel, Md.: Don't look now, but the Browns are 4-3, in 2nd place in the AFC North. Is this the NFL's surprise/feel good story thus far?
Michael Wilbon: YES! Glad you brought this up. And just think, without that bogus timeout before the field goal thing against the Raiders, the Browns would be 5-2 with the most impressive loss to the Patriots this season. Romeo Crennell has done a nice job there, especially since he changed his QB Week 1. Brady Quinn may never see the light of day in Cleveland. What a nice story. We're going to talk about that today on PTI. Braylon Edwards can do some foolish things at times, but he's among the top 3 receivers in the league in my book.
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Tom Brady's Knee: I can understand Bill Belichick's desire to crush every team in the NFL, but why keep your franchise QB in there to do it? One cheap shot helmet to the knee and it's goodbye Super Bowl unless Cassell suddenly gets good.
Michael Wilbon: You're absolutely right. And if I was on the opposing team, I'd hit Tom Brady with everything I had as late as I could and take the penalty and join the fight that would surely follow. Football is a violent game and there's got to be somebody out there sharpening his fans for the Patriots Golden Boy in the 4th quarter one of these weeks.
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Detroit: Heard from many gloating Lions fans today? The Bears look done.
Michael Wilbon: The Bears ARE done. When you don't have a QB and a running game you're done. The defense allowed only one touchdown yesterday (that after a Griese interception), but they're done and they might have to have a major re-tooling in the off-season. Brian Urlacher says he has arthritis in his back, which ain't good news. The Lions popped off at the mouth before the season and said they're a 10-win team. Well, they're halfway there. Much of the thanks has to go to QB Jon Kitna, offensive coordinator Mike Martz, and that quirky little head coach, Rod Marinelli...
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Stevensville, Md.: What are your thoughts about running up the score? In my opinion it's a teams job to put up points, not save their opponent from embarrassment. The Commanders' players are cashing million dollar paychecks just like the Patriots', so they have no one to blame but themselves for the blowout.
Michael Wilbon: Your thought is my thought. You want somebody not to run it up...don't let 'em. On the other hand, Belichick is a cheat and during games behaves with little class...If I was on the other side my goal would have been for Brady to be helped off the field, by whatever means necessary.
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Kansas City, Mo.: Mike: you've been everywhere in the NFL. Please tell me:
1. Your favorite stadium? 2. Best fans? 3. Best tailgating city?
Michael Wilbon: Favorite stadium (God, I can't believe I'm about to say this): Lambeau. The runners up would be Baltimore, Soldier Field and Seattle.
Best fans: Chiefs, Broncos, Steelers or Packers.
Best tailgating city: San Francisco...Nobody else need apply. The smells from the grills in the Candlestick Parking lot are without peer...Oh my goodness. I'm drooling just thinking about it.
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Arlington, Va.: Let me get this straight - you're suggesting blatantly trying to injure a player on the opposing team for no good reason other than you can't compete head-to-head. What kind of message are you trying to send?
Michael Wilbon: I'm saying football is a violent game and I believe in an eye for an eye. You think Sam Huff wouldn't have taken out Brady yesterday? And when I say "take out" I don't mean go for his knees; I mean a clean shot with every once of force one can summon...right in the strike zone. You think Butkus and LT and Bednarik would have stood for that stuff? No way. No chance.
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Oxford, UK via Cambridge: Mike, you've said all along you don't think the Pats will go undefeated. Well, barring a plane crash or other such tragedy, who the heck is going to beat them? Most of my mates were at Wembley watching the Giants and Fish. I've taped this game in order to show them how it's supposed to be done.
Michael Wilbon: Perhaps you didn't notice the Patriots have a date with the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 4 p.m. eastern. Let's chat on Monday about that outcome. I have the Colts winning. If the Patriots trash them, perhaps I'll reevaluate...have a great week everybody...gotta run over to Mile High for PTI and MNF...thanks. MW
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New Orleans: What do like better: Coaches wearing suit and tie during a game or the 'ole sweats and jacket?
Michael Wilbon: suits and ties, no question. Lombardi, Halas...Landry...Fashion, baby. The NFL should mandate it instead of ordering these guys wear stuff you can buy from Dick's or Sports Authority...Ahhh, but there's the reason the league has them wearing that junk, isn't it?