NFL Surprises

1) As usual, I spent Sunday at my neighbor's place watching NFL games. He has two tvs side-by-side (a 42" plasma and a 17" LCD inside his fireplace) and the two midday games on air featured Houston and Seattle. My friends didn't understand why I was proud to sit there and watch both Seneca Wallace and Sage Rosenfels behind center on their respective teams. Sure, they might not have won, but they still represented ISU well.

2) On the flip side, it was horrible to sit there and watch Dallas beat Indy. Most Texans cheer excessively when Dallas makes a good play while losing, jump up and down and hollar the Cowboys' greatness when beating a lesser team, and will absolutely not let up when they knock of the lone undefeated, and nearly invincible, Colts. Although I had a hunch Indy would take a fall this week, due to recent subpar play, I still thought they were better than this. One thing's for sure: it's not Peyton's fault. Well, for the most part. He did overthrow recievers, particularly towards the end of the game when it would have made the difference, but the way he controls his team is unmatched. How many times did he approach the line and point out the blitz and bark commands regarding oncoming defensive formations only to have the offensive line let him down? Credit the Cowboys with fired up defense, but Peyton should have had more protection. The fact the Colts have won all their games by an average of less than a touchdown could be a bit worrisome, but I think P. Manning has replaced Tom Brady and an aging Brett Favre as the smart and talented quarterback to watch in the NFL; this just might be the Colts' year.

As for Dallas, I wished this season they had to play the Bears...

3) ...who are possibly a more all-around football team than people think. I still hear comments about how Chicago is one-dimensional with great defense and could be a better team if they got a 'real' quarterback. What these people don't know is that in addition to the #1 defense in the league, they are currently second in the league in points per game on offense. Grossman is third in the league in touchdowns (behind two guys named Manning and Brady) and happens to be first in TD %. The comeback against Arizona was an anomoly and Rex will be consistently reliable in time for the playoffs. But what really makes Chicago complete is their special teams. They lead the league in punt returns, kicking points, and last week had a record 108-yard missed field goal TD return for the second straight season. Robbie Gould is the hottest kicker in football right now having just broke the franchise record with 27 straight made field goals. He is the only kicker who hasn't missed (aside from Gramatica who is one for one on FG) with an amazing 10/10 on 40-yarders. Let's just hope they can keep this momentum going into the postseason and the Bears will be tough to beat.