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Too weird for words

This season's first half filled with all-out oddities

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Posted: Wednesday November 03, 1999 12:40 PM

By John Donovan, CNN/SI

	• Storylines • Flags and Flattery • Direct Snaps • Must Sees & Mismatches • The Bottom Line

If you're looking for explanations, you've come to the wrong place. The Glance has come up empty this week.

You figure out how the Detroit Lions, without that Sanders guy, are leading the NFC Central. You figure out how the Kansas City Chiefs are on top of the AFC West. How can Vinny Testaverde mean that much to the New York Jets?

Some guy named Stephen Davis is leading the league in rushing. Some guy named Kurt Warner is the league's top passer. Tim Brown -- didn't he retire six years ago? -- has more catches than anybody in the loop.

The Tennessee Titans, a team with a nickname right out of the Arena League -- these are the old Houston Oilers, remember? -- are legitimate AFC contenders. The storied Jets and their stocky coach are not. Denver and San Francisco are down. Green Bay is on its way there. Atlanta is out.

Hey, folks, we're just stating facts here.

As we enter halftime of this slaphappy season -- bye weeks be damned -- the Glance offers up Five First-Half Oddities in an odd-as-they-get NFL first half.

1. Bottoming out: Teams that finished in first place last season are winning only 42 percent of their games this season. We told you not to ask us why.

2. Topsy-turvy? The top three touchdown throwers: St. Louis' Warner, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Washington's Brad Johnson. The top three interception throwers: Arizona's Jake Plummer, Green Bay's Brett Favre, Buffalo's Doug Flutie.

3. Good and bad: The Redskins are considered one of the better teams in the league, yet they're allowing 13.8 yards more than they gain every week. They have the second-best offense, yet the worst defense in the league.

4. The Beasts: The AFC East is 6-1 against the NFC, the only loss coming from the Jets at the hands of Washington. Overall, the AFC leads the NFC 19-12.

5. And they're not going anywhere anytime soon: Cincinnati is still in the league.

On to this week's Glance, which has to ask: How can the second half of this thing be any screwier than the first?

The answer: Well, Mike Ditka could ... no, he already did that. Ryan Leaf could go ... nope, did that. Barry Sanders could come ... ahhh, no chance of that. Well, guess there's no way it could be any screwier.

Sweetness No one could even come close to earning that nickname nowadays. As far as style on the field? Without Barry around, style is in short order.

Is Favre really hurt? After the Monday night performance, you'd think his arm had broken in three. Eight interceptions in three Packers losses have coaches wondering.

McNair and the Titans They dethroned the Rams, now they're quickly becoming the hot new team to jump on. Are they Super Bowl material? The Titans? What's this league coming to?

Flattery -- Kevin Johnson: After seven losses, you know how easy it would be to go through the motions? The Browns' receiver didn't, and was rewarded with a game-winning TD catch.

Flag -- The Bengals: Wow. Nobody loses as big as these Bengals, whose only win is over the Browns. Bruce Coslet's head is on the block, but the thinking here is that move wouldn't change a thing.

Flattery -- Ricky Williams: Injuries, bad coaching and bad luck haven't stopped him. And now the Saints' RB is on a roll. Considering he's about the only threat they have, his success is flat-out amazing.

Flattery -- Mike Holmgren: Give it up for Holmgren, Seattle's football czar. He put his muscle where his mustache is, had his team play controlled in a place that can unravel rivals ... and got a big W for it all.

Flag -- Fred Miller: The St. Louis offensive tackle had six false starts called against him in the showdown with the Titans. Hey, Fred, here's another flag to add to your collection.

Our pick for the most balanced team in the league: Jacksonville.

The least balanced? The defense-heavy, no-offense New York Giants.

Hey, Ben Coates. Your team is winning. Quit your whining already.

Tennessee at Miami (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET). If the Titans can slip past that stingy Dolphins defense on national TV in Miami ... maybe then, maybe, we'll start to believe. Did we say maybe?

Dallas at Minnesota (Monday, 9 p.m. ET). Cowboys haven't won on road against non-division foe in two years. Vikes show signs of snapping out of offensive funk. Deion vs. Randy Moss. Air it out, guys!

Arizona at New York Jets (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET). Two struggling, struggling teams. The Cards have to have this one for a shot at the playoffs. With Dave Brown at QB and no running game, it's not likely they will.

Halfway into this season, what have we learned? That the Packers and Niners are down, the Broncos and Jets are kaput, the Rams and Titans (swoon) are the best? We gotta think the cream will eventually rise to the top, and that it's not there yet. It will rise to the top, won't it?

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