Tie babies

Shed no tears for Atlanta after a drawn-out effort

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Every week, two or three or four things happen in the NFL that are not only unexpected; they're things you never, ever would have anticipated. Significant things. Things that will affect the playoffs and affect the future of great players.

Sunday there were five. Here are Sunday's significant things:

1. Denver (6-2). Weird stat of the week: Since Oct. 28, the Giants and Eagles have played three games and Denver none. True. Doesn't it seem as if Denver's had a bye forever?  2. Green Bay (8-1). I have never heard of a team clinching a division after 10 games. But if the Packers beat Minnesota next week, the Bears lose at St. Louis, and the Lions lose to the Jets, the Pack will be 9-1, Detroit 3-7 and the Bears and Vikes 2-8. Let's say the Lions go 6-0 and the Pack 0-6 over the last six weeks. That would make Detroit and Green Bay 9-7. In that case, Green Bay wins the division because of its two-game sweep over Detroit in the regular season. Somehow, I don't think Detroit's going 6-0 from here.  3. New Orleans (7-2). The Saints had better play stronger up the gut than they did Sunday.  4. San Francisco (7-2). The defense is growing up.  5. Tampa Bay (7-2). John Lynch looks as though he'll do a pretty good job on TV someday. At least that's what his FOX gig showed.  6. St. Louis (4-5). I seriously thought of putting them third. It won't be long before I do.  7. Pittsburgh (5-3-1). Hurricane Michael has left town, 'Burghers. It's safe. You can come out of your houses now.  8. Philadelphia (6-3). I am here to report exclusively that the Eagles cannot stand prosperity.  9. Atlanta (5-3-1). During the last month, the Falcons are 4-0-1. That's almost as good as the Montclair High field hockey team.  10. New England (5-4). "Even when we were down 27-6, I didn't think it was over," said Tom Brady. Prescient guy.  11. San Diego (6-3). If you can score moral points in defeat, the Chargers did so in St. Louis.  12. Miami (5-4). Jay Fiedler returns 20 days from today.

1. There was a tie, the first of the new NFL century. It will profoundly affect the NFC playoff race. I'll get back to that in a minute, but let's talk about the other ridiculously amazing things first.

2. St. Louis quarterback Marc (I Am Not Related To Ray) Bulger beat an outstanding defense (San Diego's) without the crutch of the game's scariest running back (Marshall Faulk, 36 yards rushing). It's particularly unfathomable to go 36-of-48 for four touchdowns and no picks against the Seaus. It's even more unfathomable to beg the question all of football is asking: Can Kurt Warner take a couple more weeks to recover from that broken digit? Coach Mike Martz said, after edging the Chargers, that Warner will be his guy once he's healthy enough -- probably Monday against Chicago -- which makes sense. I guess. Tom Jackson made a good point regarding Warner Sunday night on ESPN. "When he comes back, if he's not playing well, you don't have the luxury of going through one or two losses" to get Warner back on track, Jackson said.

It's startling that we're discussing this seriously, "this" being potentially sitting Warner when he's healthy. It would be like Brett Favre missing a month and Doug Pederson stepping in and tearing things up -- and fans then wondering if Pederson should keep the job. Or Barry Bonds missing three weeks and Joe Highminors hitting 14 homers and knocking in 42 during those three weeks. You couldn't keep Bonds out, could you? No. And Martz won't keep Warner out, either. Just for fun, let's look at the totals for Warner's first four NFL games, back in 1999, versus Bulger's this fall:

QB	Comp.-Att.	Pct.	Yards	TD-Int
Warner	82-113	.726	1,217	14-3
Bulger	92-138	.667	1,149	10-3

Bulger's not exactly taking the league by the same storm Warner did, but it's close. He is Warner Jr.

3. One game separates the four teams in the AFC East. Miami, Buffalo and New England are 5-4. The Jets are 4-5. A couple of weeks ago, we handed the division to Miami, we sent the funeral flowers to the Patriots, and we left the Jets out on the doorstep on a cold night like some skanky barn cat. What would you say if I told you the Dolphins (who play San Diego, at Buffalo, vs. Oakland, at New England on Dec. 29) will now struggle to make it to 9-7?

4. Never have two NFL players thrown for more than 450 yards in a game on the same weekend. Sunday, two did. One was a sixth-round pick (in 2000) of the Saints who never played a game with New Orleans, got waived, and signed with the Rams on Jan. 12, 2001. The other was selling insurance in Texas two years ago, unwanted by every NFL team. Bulger, the ex-Saint, threw for 453. Tommy Maddox, the ex-insurer, threw for 473. Brilliant quarterback men like Mike Holmgren and Steve Spurrier would give their left, uh, elbow to find a quarterback. AND BULGER AND MADDOX WERE BOTH ON THE STREET NOT VERY LONG AGO!

5. James Mungro. No one rushes for 100 yards on the Iggles. This man, whom Colts QB Peyton Manning barely knows, had 101 ... in the first half. Indy, 35-13, at the Vet.

Now for the kissing-your-sister business. In NFC Wild-Cardville, the South is rich. One team from among New Orleans (7-2), Tampa Bay (7-2) and Atlanta (5-3-1) trio will win the division; the other two are the favorites to win the conference's two wild cards. The Giants (5-4) and the Rams (4-5) are the prime challengers for the final spot. The Giants are a pesky threat to the Rams because they have the tiebreaker edge by virtue of their head-to-head 26-21 win in Week 2 at St. Louis ... and because they have Washington and Houston in the next two weeks. At 7-4 with a tiebreaker edge, New York might not be a feared team league-wide but they don't seed the playoffs according to the fear factor. The Giants would get the Rams' attention. Still, either the Giants or the Rams would have to win one more game than the Falcons because of Sunday's tie. That tie, in effect, is a win.

Think about this: The toughest game on Atlanta's second-half schedule, arguably, was its most recent one, in Pittsburgh. And it didn't lose. So if the Falcons finish 10-5-1 and in the second wild-card hole, any team would have to go 11-5 to beat them out. That means the Giants would have to go 6-1 down the stretch, and they finish the season at Indianapolis and at home with Philadelphia. The Rams would have to go 7-0 -- with a three-game road trip (at Washington, at Kansas City and at Philadelphia) to beat them out under that scenario.

Now, it's possible either New Orleans or Tampa will collapse. But the Saints' last four games (Baltimore, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Carolina) suggest they won't. Tampa has a tougher schedule, with Green Bay and Pittsburgh still to come. But the Bucs, discounting the garbage points scored on them by the Vikes last week, have allowed 7, 6, 3, 20 and 9 points the previous five weeks. Hard to imagine them losing much from here on in.

So the Falcons won Sunday, even though they tied. They should feel that way anyway, coming back from 17 down with nine minutes left in regulation to get a tie out of it.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

With apologies to the many great players and who had great performances Sunday -- Bulger, Maddox, Plaxico Burress, Mike Vick, Isaac Bruce, Tom Brady and Manning, who just might have played the best game of his incredible young life -- this one goes to Indianapolis RB James Mungro. Here he is, the 98th-string back on the team, and he puts up 114 yards on 28 carries and two rushing touchdowns at the stadium where running backs go to die, Veterans Stadium. Heck of a job, kid, even if you have to go back to carrying Edgerrin James' water bottle sometime in the next couple of weeks.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

A rare TEAM AWARD, to the Jets, who forced a Ricky Williams fumble and recovered a Ray Lucas fumble, which held the Dolphins pointless and handed New York its first points of the game, respectively; held Williams to 53 yards on 20 carries; badgered Lucas into looking like a backup quarterback; held the Fish to 15 first downs and three-of-11 in third-down conversions; and, in general, slapped around a team that really needed a win in this game.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

New Orleans safety Steve Gleason, whose block of a Carolina punt late in the third quarter stopped the Carolina momentum and jump-started the Saints on their way to a 34-24 come-from-behind win. Add a blown assignment by a rookie defensive end from Indiana, Kemp Rasmussen, to the weird ways Carolina has lost games this year. Rasmussen was the left guard on a Panthers punt with 2:17 remaining in the third quarter, with Carolina up 17-13. Gleason, a second-year kid from Washington State, turnstiled Rasmussen. Absolutely abused him. And Gleason poured in and blocked the Todd Sauerbrun punt. The Saints took the ball at the Carolina 9 and took over the lead two plays later when Deuce McAllister punched it in from four yards out.

COACH OF THE WEEK

Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey. Against a good Falcons defense (well, it used to be good), the Steelers rolled up 645 yards in five quarters. That's almost enough offense for two good games. Maddox, Burress, Hines Ward, and Amos Zereoue all had career days, and two of them are supposed to be backups. Mularkey's done a great job putting good players in position to play excellent football, and it won't be long before he gets a shot at being a head coach.

GOAT OF THE WEEK

Baltimore safety Ed Reed. A gimme. Prematurely celebrating on what he was sure would be a touchdown as he returned a Jon Kitna pick, Reed waved the ball like a cheerleader waves a pom-pom. Of course, the dope had it poked away by a Bengal at the Cincinnati 6 (not at the 1, but at the 6, for crying out loud!) and the Bengals recovered in the end zone. I don't care that he had another interception (Kitna throws picks the way I chug lattes). Reed cost his team seven points by being a dumb old hot dog.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"I'm not a selfish individual. As long as we win, I'm fine."
—Terrell Owens, to interviewer Bob Costas on HBO's Inside the NFL. File this one away. I plan to bring it up about 19 more times this year.

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK

"SAKS, LIES AND VIDEOTAPE"
—Thursday's New York Post, upon the conviction of Winona Ryder for shoplifting.

The newspaper also said that, for Ryder, "Reality bites."

The final toteboard on the number of Esera Tuaolo coming-out "exclusive interviews:"

1. Robert Lipsyte column, The New York Times.

2. HBO RealSports.

3. HBO Inside the NFL.

4. ESPN SportsCenter.

5. ESPN The Magazine.

6. ABC 20/20.

7. ABC Good Morning America.

8. The Advocate.

I cannot confirm, but have heard, that Tuaolo also gave exclusives to his high school newspaper, the weekly shopper in his local grocery store, his church bulletin, and the cable-access outlet in his Minnesota neighborhood.

The second batch of mail found lots of people who think I'm too kissy-face with Brett Favre.

WHY IS EVERYONE RUN-OF-THE-MILL? From Jim (whose screen name, "modellsucks," indicates his team of preference): "Since my Browns are planted firmly in mediocrity, I can't make any passionate pleas to you about them not being in the Top 12. But is Pete Rozelle smiling or what? I don't see any one or two dominant teams this year. I see maybe a half-dozen or so teams that, if they peak at the right time, are probably capable of winning the Super Bowl. Please comment."

Everything you said is right. Here's the deal: Teams are amoebas. They change every week. When teams are so equal, they can't get on dominating runs the way they used to in decades past.

YOU'RE A NAME-DROPPER TOO. From Jeff Buck of Regina, Saskatchewan: "I am a regular reader and I enjoy your columns. However, this week you criticized the Sunday night ESPN crew for doing the exact same thing that you often do when you said, 'I counted the number of times the ESPN crew said some derivative of "I talked to Joe Jaguar last night, and he said ..." and I believe it added up to 698. Geez, fellas, we know you talk to all those guys. You don't have to bang us over the head with it every third minute.'"

Considering that you opened the column with a verbatim conversation with Brett Favre, making sure we knew about how his wife is still mad at you, I think an introduction is in order. Pot, meet Kettle."

Nicely done. Touché. There's a difference, though. This is a column. In journalism, it's perfectly permissible, and encouraged, to state your personal feelings often in a column. The ESPN guys, who do a good job for the most part, should be opinionated. That's good. I just find no redeeming value in a crew over and over again telling us that they talked to every coach and significant player last night. That's their job. Every network crew talks to all the key people the day or two before the game. Now, it's fine when some good information is imparted from these conversations. Like last night, when Paul Maguire made an excellent point with Fish-Jets tied 10-10 and the Miami defense playing lights out. "Jason Taylor told us [Saturday] if the offense scores 13 points, we'll win. That's what these guys believe," he said. But too often, it seems to me too many announcers use "I talked to .." for I-talked-to's sake.

YOU UNDERRATE THE BILLS. From Sam Fitch in Jamestown, N.Y.: "Why are the Raiders and Rams on your Top 12, but not the Bills? I understand they flopped against the Patriots, but why wasn't your mulligan rule used? You gave the Raiders one against the Rams and they are on a losing skid. You gave Miami a Mulligan for Ray Lucas. Why not the Bills? The Bills gave each team to whom they lost a run for its money, except New England and Oakland. They could very well be 7-2."

Sam, the Bills had a marginal spot in the Top 12 to begin with, and what last week came down to is me thinking what I always think when I do the rankings: If the Raiders and Bills met today on a neutral pitch in Topeka, who would win? I say the Raiders, who already own an 18-point win at Buffalo this year.

LOVE THE FALCONS! From Calvin Smith of Nashville, Tenn: "Your MMQB is a Monday ritual for me. It is always an interesting read. I was wondering what it would take for the Falcons to see the light of day in your Top 12? Vick's play has been tremendous but what I find to be a more compelling case for respect is their defense. They play very tough defense every down and are tenacious. Keep in mind that the Falcons are a Jay Feely kick and a Brett Favre comeback from being 7-1."

Everybody is this or that away from being the Super Bowl winner. So forget that stuff. But check this week's rankings. In Vick I trust.

I THINK YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH BRETT FAVRE. From Michael Dunn of Nutley, N.J.: "Pete, I love your column. I love reading about your daughters and their high school sports careers. It's truly great. But I have a critique. What does Brett Favre have on you? He's obviously your favorite player in the league, and he also sounds like a friend, but enough already! I'm getting nauseated by the amount of Favre coverage that you throw at us. Ugh! Stop the madness!"

Point well taken. I plead guilty to, occasionally, overwriting Favre. But who was the newsiest player in the NFL last Monday? It was Favre, coming back from what looked like a bad injury, hours before he played a big Monday night game. I hadn't written about him, in this column or in my Sports Illustrated magazine Insider, since the preseason. He's the most charismatic player in football. I thought giving you fresh stuff from a big NFL star, on the morning of a big game, would be a good column.

MAKE IT AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL. From John Baur of Albany, Ore.: "Am I crazy, or is part of the answer to the increasingly savage hits that are causing so much concern in the NFL to require LESS padding and protective gear? Think about it: Bodies are getting bigger and faster than ever, and with all the plastic gear everywhere, players are flying around like missiles and thinking they're indestructible. Don't you think they'd play smarter, hit smarter, if it hurt a little when they smacked into somebody? Nobody has ever accused rugby players or Australian rules football players of being wimps, and they wear less padding than the average NBA player."

Wow. That's really interesting. I wonder if someone out there, perhaps in Australia, could send along some injury data from rugby or Australian Rules Football. I like your train of thought there.

Two of them:

1. Driving to Ericsson Stadium Sunday morning around 9:30, I turned the AM radio on and pressed scan. Nineteen of the 26 audible radio stations aired religious programming.

2. You don't want to eat a meal in the Charlotte airport if smoke bothers you. Who knows what the law is there, but the two good-looking, sit-down restaurants I found -- a burger place and a fish place -- were both lousy with smoke Sunday night. One couple had cigarettes lit while dining on what appeared to be fish sandwiches. This is one of the most incomprehensible things I see when I'm on the road.

1a. I think, after watching Sunday night's Dolphins-Jets game, that I'm inclined to vote for Chris Chambers on my AP All-Pro ballot. What hands! What a tremendous ball-catcher on the sidelines! It's not often I use exclamation points about football players. But Chambers was just amazing against the Jets, even though he finished just three for 48 yards.

b. Ray Lucas, how do you take that sack? I am incredulous that you took that sack.

c. I really don't want to be too cruel to Lucas. God knows he feels sick enough already. But to be a good quarterback in this league -- to be a quarterback in this league, period -- you have to show up on the final drive of very big games. You can't take a dumb sack. You can't two-hop a decisive pass on the game's most important play.

d. The big question about the Dolphins now is, Will they still be in control of any playoff destiny when they get Jay Fielder back? With Baltimore and San Diego coming up at home, I see Miami 6-5 when Fielder returns Dec. 1 at Buffalo.

e. Get well soon, Cris Carter.

f. You have a very bright future, Chad Pennington.

2. I think these are my quick-hit football thoughts of the weekend:

a. Does any coach in victory or defeat show more class than Tyrone Willingham? There must be about 20 NFL owners kicking themselves for not hiring this man when they had the chance.

b. I saw a one-inch penalty here. Carolina had the ball on the Saints' two-inch line in the third quarter when defensive tackle Kenny Smith lined up in the neutral zone and was called for being offsides. The crew marked off a one-inch penalty, moving the ball to within several blades of grass of the goal line. Lamar Smith dove in on the next play. At one point in the game, by the way, Smith had 10 carries for 63 yards -- one rush for 59 yards and nine more for four yards.

c. Amazing how many empty seats there were at Ericsson Stadium on a fairly nice day. Showers in the morning, partly cloudy and 63 degrees in the afternoon. Perfect day for football. And there must have been 25,000 empties. Loyal following you have there, Cats.

d. Smart idea by ESPN Sunday night, getting Bill Parcells on the phone to talk about several things, including the drafting of Pennington three years ago.

e. I have never heard Chris Berman as funny and uproarious as he was last night on NFL Primetime.

f. Hidden flaw in the Packers win: James Stewart, 15 carries for 122 yards. That's not good.

g. Hidden gem in the Packers win: Donald Driver (11 catches for 130 yards) looks an awful lot like Robert Brooks, a gutsy guy who'll go anywhere to get anything.

i. Nice homecoming, Marvin Harrison, grabbing six catches for 137 yards, with two long TDs.

3. I think the 49ers confuse me. I don't know how, against Kansas City, San Francisco puts up 323 yards and Terrell Owens puts up 51. That should be a fat stat day, boys.

4. I think Julius Peppers is absolutely, categorically the genuine item. Against the Saints, Peppers pushed New Orleans right tackle Spencer Folau back, back, back -- until quarterback Aaron Brooks had to step up in the pocket to evade this Tasmanian Devil of a rusher. Peppers then pushed Folau to the side, dove at Brooks' feet and brought him down. Hard. The sack made him the first Carolina defensive linemen in the team's eight-year history to record 10 sacks in a year. And he has seven games left to chase the NFL rookie record of 14.5 by Jevon Kearse, set two years ago. Interesting, though, that last night on talk radio in Charlotte I heard a caller complain about Carolina taking Peppers over Joey Harrington.

5. I think these are my personal thoughts of the week:

a. Does anyone really buy that Furio, with his pick of New Jersey Italian babedom, would choose Carmela?

b. Does anyone really think they'll ever be the same after seeing the Ralphie dismemberment last night?

c. Coffeenerdness: America's new neighborhood back fence, the coffee bar, recently served as the setting for this weird bit of good fortune: A startup magazine called Kickoff, which covers youth football, was trying to get an interview with Jon Bon Jovi, who often speaks fondly of his Pop Warner football days. The publisher, Julie Davis, walked into the Starbucks on 57th between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in Manhattan -- and, hunched over the register paying for his regular Breakfast Blend, wearing a lavender suede jacket, was Bon Jovi himself. After cream-and-sugaring the coffee, he did a five-minute interview with Davis for the magazine.

d. Eminem's movie made $54 million over the weekend. I actually like that "Lose Yourself" song, and I actually want to see the movie.

e. Montclair (N.J.) High Field Hockey Note of the Week: Quiet week for the Mounties. Beat Pompton Lakes 2-0 to run the record to 18-1-0 entering Wednesday's New Jersey state tournament opener against Randolph at home. (If you want to read more about our prospects, here's a link to get you to Newark Star-Ledger correspondent Mike Morreale's story previewing MHS' chances: http://www.nj.com/hssports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1036577552230508.xml

Retained No. 12 ranking in the state. Saw tournament T-shirts get issued to the girls, featuring a quote from coach Mary Pat Mercuro -- "As individuals we're nothing. Together we're awesome!" Actually, the quote was "As individuals we're crap. Together we're awesome!" But the PC thing was done, and crap became nothing. I assume there will be much excitement, win or lose, to report next Monday, and I hate to leave you hanging without much to report, but there is not much to report.

6. I think if you think my NFL ratings are dumb, you ought to read the USA Today/ESPN poll today. Oklahoma, with one loss this season and after owning Texas in their annual border war for two straight years, is ranked sixth. The Longhorns, with one loss, are third. That would say to me that the coaches think Oklahoma is worse than Texas, and not by a little. Interesting logic there. You can go too far with the most-recent-loss syndrome, you know.

7. I think special teams are to the Giants what football is to the Bengals. How is it than an NFL snapper can't snap?

8. I think I would like to say I'm surprised about Jake Plummer, but I'm not. I am surprised he can't take the snap from center. I am not surprised he looks this bad. And now I think the Cardinals would be foolish to slap the franchise tag on him at season's end, when his contract runs out. When your trusty veteran is completing 53 percent of his throws, it's time to move in the proverbial other direction.

9. I think the Patriots give the fans their money's worth. Did you know Tom Brady invented that last touchdown pass to David Patten? Did you know Brady's on pace for a 4,475-yard passing season?

10. I think this is all you need to know about the strangeness of this season: After Week 1, I had New England and St. Louis the best-rated AFC and NFC teams, respectively. Week 3 it was the Pats and Saints. Week 5 it was the Raiders and Niners. Week 8 it was the Broncos and Eagles. And now it's the Broncos and Packers. What a long, strange trip it's been. And we have three months, almost, to go. Put on your seat belts.

Let's see. Oakland's last month included losing to rookie quarterback Bulger, seeing LaDainian Tomlinson steamroll its defense in a 39-carry tour de force, scoring 10 points on defensively challenged Kansas City, and watching San Francisco hold the ball for the final 15:01 and 28 plays of an overtime loss. Denver's last month included a heart-stopping, last-second loss over Miami, coming back from a two-touchdown fourth-quarter deficit to win at Kansas City, and conquering the Super Bowl champs in Foxboro. I should like Denver by 30. But I'll take the Broncs by seven, because these are proud Raiders. Denver 30, Oakland 23.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Monday Morning Quarterback appears in this space -- no kidding -- on Monday mornings. Click here to send him a comment.

 

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