| Week 4 |
| Rank | Team | LW | Comment |
| 1. | Denver Broncos (3-0) | 1 | The win over Oakland, coming from behind,
with a backup QB, in front of a hostile crowd, impressed me
more than the easy pickins' in Week 2 vs.
Dallas. |
| 2. | Green Bay Packers (3-0) | 3 | Pack lost the turnover battle to
Cincinnati, three to none, but boy, did they ever play a
stifling
defense. |
| 3. | Jacksonville Jaguars (3-0) | 4 | James Stewart is down, so the Jags
open a new can of running
backs. |
| 4. | San Francisco 49ers (2-0) | 2 | Bay Area fans will scream about a
bye week costing the Niners two spots. You see, it's the
way they
practiced that I don't
like.
|
| 5. | Miami Dolphins (3-0) | 6 | You know how many passes Dan Marino threw
in the second half last week? Three. Jimmyball equals
Shulaball, and that's serious football,
folks. |
| 6. | Minnesota Vikings (3-0) | 7 | It's weird seeing Randall Cunningham
in the humble-old-pro, backup role, but what the hell, he
delivers. |
| 7. | Seattle Seahawks (3-0) | 8 | That's right, Hawks are 3-0 against the
NFC East. Next year they'll be pushing for
realignment. |
| 8. | Kansas City Chiefs (2-1) | 9 | Chiefs are going to Philly for the
first time ever. Eagles fans are so down on the home team,
they just might decide to cheer for Marty's
boys. |
| 9. | Pittsburgh Steelers (2-1) | 5 | Maybe when the Cowboys have their bye
week the Steelers can borrow Chan Gailey to get Kordell
straightened
out. |
| 10. | Tampa Bay Bucccaneers (1-2) | 10 | OK, I can understand Warrick Dunn
getting a TD on a typical whirling, churning run, but Dave
Moore, a blocking tight end, making a leaping one-handed
catch for a score? Something must be bugging the Bucs, and
it's about
time.
|
| 11. | New England Patriots (2-1) | 11 | Yes, the two big plays that
snatched Sunday's game from the Oilers were very
impressive, but I still don't get the feeling the Pats are
fundamentally sound
yet.
|
| 12. | Dallas Cowboys (2-1) | 14 | People talk about zone blitzes, but when
defensive coach Dave Campo gets a read on someone's
offense, no rush scheme is better constructed. Just ask
the Giants (but don't ask the
Broncos). |
| 13. | Oakland Raiders (1-2) | 12 | The Raiders are starting to show verve
and spirit, but Jeff George is still master of the weird
interception.
|
| 14. | Cincinnati Bengals (1-2) | 19 | Is poor old Z losing it? Bengals
are beaten and they climb five places on the chart. What I
saw, though, was a defensive scheme that finally seems to
be coming
together. |
| 15. | New York Giants (1-2) | 13 | Oh boy, will they ever be
seeing their share of blitzes from now
on. |
| 16. | Atlanta Falcons (2-0) | 20 | Don't know why, just have a weird hunch
that they'll play well in San Francisco Sunday. And if
they don't, let's go easy on that e-mail,
OK? |
| 17. | Baltimore Ravens (1-2) | 17 | Losing Ray Lewis, an inspirational
run-stopper, will probably cost them the Cincy
game. |
| 18. | New York Jets (1-2) | 21 | The Colts stuffed the Patriots'
ground game two weeks ago, but Bill Parcells and his
offensive coach, Charlie Weis, saw weakness on the outside.
So the Jets loaded up with two and sometimes three tight
ends and ran the
perimeters to a fare-thee-well, 302 yards' worth. This, folks, is
coaching. |
| 19. | Tennessee Oilers (1-2) | 18 | Eddie George got his first hundred of
the season. It's a
start. |
| 20. | Washington Redskins (0-3) | 15 | One special teams breakdown, a pair
of missed field goals, bad breaks, and the Skins blow
another one. This can be corrected, but what's scary is
the noticeable decline of one of their real leaders, LB Ken
Harvey.
|
| 21. | San Diego Chargers (2-1) | 16 | And it's gonna get rougher,
too. |
| 22. | New Orleans Saints (2-0) | 23 | Stop complaining, all you Aints. I
raised 'em a spot from last week, didn't
I? |
| 23. | St. Louis Rams (1-2) | 27 | Dick Vermeil finds a running game
named Greg Hill, then it's lost. This is a jinxed
team. |
| 24. | Chicago Bears (0-3) | 24 | Trim the game clock to 15 minutes and
this is an unbeaten team. What happens in the locker room
at
halftime? |
| 25. | Detroit Lions (0-3) | 25 | Bobby Ross agonizes, and I agonize with
him. This shouldn't be happening to such a good
guy—and a good
coach. |
| 26. | Arizona Cardinals (1-2) | 28 | Adrian Murrell got tough yardage late,
but my favorite performer in Sunday's win over Philly was
weakside LB Tony
McCombs. |
| 27. | Buffalo Bills (0-3) | 22 | Two tight defensive struggles, then
they give up 406 yards to the Rams. Maybe the bye week
will sort things
out. |
| 28. | Indianapolis Colts (0-3) | 26 | If the defense plays great, then
the Colts lose close. If it takes the day off, it's
cash-register time on the
scoreboard. |
| 29. | Carolina Panthers (0-2) | 29 | Packers coming to town. Just 623 days
ago these teams were meeting for the NFC
Championship. |
| 30. | Philadelphia Eagles (0-3) | 30 | What's the one bright spot in the
Arizona loss? The emergence of Tampa Bay castoff Al Harris
as a terrific
cover-cornerback. |
