How do you write a Steelers recap on a week where they have no game? Well, we could talk about what they did (or will be doing). It looks like Fast Willie is on the cover of ESPN: The Mag. Big Ben got his numbered retired at The U (saturation coverage by Big Ben News). And Jeff Reed probably practiced for his gig at Wolfie's bar this Thursday. Other than that, no one got arrested, no one tried to auction their car, and no one made much of a blip on the radar. It was kind of boring.
So I guess we'll have to talk about the rest of the league. Unfortunately, they didn't give us much more to talk about. A few random thoughts...
--The most glaring observation from this week was the state of quarterbacking in the NFL, best illustrated in the Carolina-Arizona, Testaverde vs. Rattay showdown in the late game. Maybe this season will make teams reconsider the decision to have only 2 QBs on the roster.
--How long until Kordell gets the call to come back?
--The Jets-Eagles game was so big, ESPN dispatched Kermit the Frog to get the pulse of the teams' respective fans. You know, playing up the whole "not easy being green" angle, because both teams are awful. But it could've been worse. I'm shocked they didn't find this a fitting occasion to cram Mike Greenberg down our throats, especially considering his man-crush on Chad Pennington.
--Weren't the Rams the Greatest Show on Turf a few years ago? Now they're throwing out Gus Frerotte and Travis Minor and struggling to score 3 points on the Ravens. What a painful game to watch. Meanwhile, Baltimore remains the same team they've been for the entire Billick era: good defense, horrible offense. You can bring in McGahee, McNair...it makes no difference. Their offensive skills erode when they put on those horrendous uniforms.
--The highlight of the game: Kyle Boller threw a 50-yard touchdown on one knee. If you didn't get that joke, click here.
--In a game featuring Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, the receiving star of the show was...Wes Welker. By the way, I'm not sure if any of you caught this, but Cris Collinsworth said on NBC that the 2007 Patriots might be the best team ever. Way to not get too caught up, C.C.
--Will the Patriots go undefeated? I don't know. Why don't we ask a hypothetical question over and over as if someone had an answer?
--For half of the 1st quarter, we had no announcer audio for the Chiefs-Bengals game, just crowd noise and the "whooshing" sound whenever graphics popped up. I don't know if it was an fantastic experiment or a technical malfunction, but a game without two babbling announcers was exquisite.
--Pet peeve: a team is getting destroyed and they're still showboating. If you're ever curious to this phenomenon, tune in to any Cincinnati Bengal game. Nice chemistry on that team, too. That Marvin Lewis is doing a tremendous job. I have a feeling that Carson Palmer has had enough Chad Johnson for 10 lifetimes.
--If we're discussing trash talk on a bad team, Joey Porter is the leader in the clubhouse.
--Scariest thing about the Patriots? Look at that division! Jets 1-5, Bills 1-4, Dolphins 0-6. It's a good thing they're not in the BCS, because their strength of schedule would be last in the nation.
--Where are the people who coined the phrase "Mangenius" last year?
--How do the Colts win the Super Bowl (beating New England in the process), open the season undefeated, and be perceived as less of a team than the Patriots?
--Yeah, the Duel in Dallas was great. That game meant as much as the 2004 regular season game where the Steelers destroyed the Patriots, ending their 21-game winning streak and running up 34 points behind a rookie QB. I'm still waiting to catch a glimpse of the Skirmish in Steeltown Trophy the Steelers won that day.
--Green Bay and Tampa Bay continue to prove that you win in the NFL with a quality rushing attack.
--I feel much worse about the Steelers losing to the Cardinals after the Fighting Whizzes lost to Vinny Testaverde.
--The Seattle Seahawks are unwatchable at this point. At least the game last night eliminated the "When will the Saints win one" storyline.
--Adrian Peterson runs for 224 yards and 3 TDs and he gets less carries than Chester Taylor. Apparently Brad Childress watched Dave Wannstedt's hit video series, How Not to Handle Stud Running Backs, before the game.
--Congrats to the Nittany Lions on their big win over Wisconsin. Maybe that will divert attention from the front page story on the PG about their embattled program.
Here's a troubling quote from that story, courtesy of Steve Garban, vice chairman of the university Board of Trustees:
"I think it concerns everyone, any time you have these incidents," he said. "But it's happening at a lot of colleges. I don't think we're unique. I don't think it's any trend. I don't think anything's changed in the program."
Good to know that Garban apparently subscribes to the "everybody else is doing it" theory of life. How about a "We're Penn State and we're not going to tolerate behavior like this" line?
--South Florida is #2 in the BCS. Never thought I'd write that line in my lifetime.
--Nice win by the Pens on Saturday night. Plenty of offense, a Sidney Crosby scrap, and a victory on Canadian ice. The "Fire Michel Therrien" cries die down for a night.
--There's no Steeler game next Sunday afternoon, either, as Denver gets their long-awaited rematch of the AFC Championship at Mile High. Try and find a constructive way to pass the time.
