Stormin Norman Rumack

Every now and then, I like to write about the teams the I am a fan of, and there are only a couple of professional sports teams that I now support as a fan. They are the Chelsea Blues of the EPL, and the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.

I became a fan of the Colts when they drafted wide receiver Marvin Harrison from my school, Syracuse University, in 1997. Now retired, he will be in the Football Hall Of Fame as soon as he becomes eligible. The Colts had another superstar who was also an Orange alumnus, and went to become a Hall Of Fame member in 1992,  and is  considered by some to be the greatest tight end in NFL history, John Mackey. He is reported to be afflicted with dementia, and residing in an assisted living facility, according to Wikipedia. The present day Colts have another future Hall Of Fame player from Syracuse on their roster, Dwight Freeney, one of the very best and most feared defensive ends since he came into the NFL in 2001. So for me, the Colts seem to almost be an extension of the school. I...

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This is one of those games that could end up being better than the Super Bowl .  There is no doubt that New Orleans 10-4 record would probably be better,if they hadn’t run into the severe injury problems they had, losing both Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas,( Chris Ivory did an admirable job picking up the slack, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, for 683 yards, on 130 attempts.) and other injuries as well, earlier in the season. Having said that, other teams have had the same problem, like the Colts. The Falcons are full value for their 12-2 record, and they look as good as anyone in the league,  in terms of winning the Super Bowl in February. Most analysts would probably pick either the Falcons, Saints, or Eagles, to go up against the Patriots at this point, and barring further injury problems. Atlanta can secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs by beating the Saints, and either a win tonight, or against Carolina next Sunday, will accomplish that goal. To gain a wild-card spot, the Saints have to win one...

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New England at Buffalo: A Patriots win at Orchard Park, New York on Sunday, or a Jets loss at Chicago, will give the Pats home field advantage throughout the playoffs. They have 14 consecutive wins over Buffalo. As detailed by ESPN.com, Tom Brady has thrown 292 passes, 21 for touchdowns, with his last interception on October 17 against the Ravens. If he manages another 17 clean passes, he will break Bernie Kosar’s NFL record of 308.  New England’s inexperienced defense is still vulnerable, and is ranked 28th in the league, having allowed 374 yards per game. There are some signs of maturity, as indicated in their forcing 14 turnovers in the last five games. On the other side of the ball, the Patriots have scored more than 30 points without a turnover in six consecutive games. That is a first in league history. The Pats beat the Bills by 38-30 the last time they met. Buffalo is 4-2 over their last six, after an 0-8 start. Although ranked last in run defense, the Bills held the Dolphins to 65 rushing yards last week,...

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Dallas is 4-2 under new coach Jason Garrett, after their 33-30 win over Washington last Sunday. Both of the losses have been by identical 30-27 scores, and to tough opponents, the Saints, and the Eagles.  The Cowboys blew a 20 point lead, and needed a David Buehler 39 yard field goal with less than a minute remaining, to win last week’s game. Jon Kitna has a 66% completion rate, to go along with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Receiver Roy Williams has a groin injury which kept him out last week, and running back Marion Barber missed the game with a calf problem. Arizona linebacker Joey Porter, who has five sacks this season, has a a triceps injury, which might sideline him. Receiver Early Doucet is on the injured reserve list, with a hip injury. With the Cowboys improved play under Garrett, their season long stats are no longer significant.  The Cardinals are 31st in passing, 30th in rushing, 23rd defending the pass, and 30th stopping the run. They have two wins in their past ten games.

Cowboys 36...

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Wow ! The Panthers won their second game of the season last weekend. As they say in the NFL, ‘on any given Sunday’…….. I don’t think there will be any big surprise upset in this particular Thursday night game. Tight end Heath Miller is expected to return from the injured list, but All- Pro safety Troy Polamalu will remain sidelined with a strained right Achilles tendon. Pittsburgh did clinch a playoff spot, in spite of losing to the Jets, although they haven’t wrapped up their division. As detailed by ESPN.com, their is a noticeable difference in the Steelers results, when he is in the lineup. They are 14-4 with him in the lineup the last two years, allowing 14.8 points per game, and created 41 turnovers. Without him, they are 5-7, and gave up 23.1 points, while manufacturing 11 turnovers. Polamalu is expected back for the playoffs. Prior to their defeat by the Jets, 22-17 last Sunday, Pittsburgh had won four straight, and they are now 10-4 overall, with three of those defeats at Heinz Field. Carolina is 2-12,...

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The Vikings will have third-string quarterback, Joe Webb, starting for them, with the game being played at TCF Bank Stadium, outdoors at the University Of Minnesota, on Monday evening.  The last time the Vikings were not in the dome for a home game was on December 20, 1981, the last time they played at Metropolitan Stadium, in Bloomington. The temperature is forecast to drop into the single digits. As detailed by ESPN.com, Chicago has won ten straight outdoor games in December and January, against dome or warm-weather teams. The Bears Jay Cutler struggled with the Patriots last  week, completing 12 of 26 passes for 152 yards, with two interceptions.  He was successful in the previous two games, with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Oddly enough, the Bears rank 26th in passing yards, 25th in rushing yards, 18th against the pass, and 2nd in defending the rush. The Vikings are 23rd in passing, 9th in rushing yards, 12th in defending the pass, and 10th in defending  the run. Prior to being carved by the Patriots,...

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Saints at Ravens: The Saints are trying to win their seventh straight game. They are averaging 30 points and 402 yards during their upswing, after a comparatively slow start to their season at 4-3. They also had some significant injury problems early on, including both running backs, Reggie Bush,and Pierre Thomas. They combined for 129 yards in total offense, in the 31-13 win over the Rams last week. The Ravens have won three of their last four. They almost blew a 28-7 lead at Houston, and hung on Monday night for a 34-28 nail biter victory. Joe Flacco has 21 TD passes and eight interceptions this year. The Ravens are 14th in passing, 21st in rushing, 14th against the pass, and 8th in stopping the run. New Orleans is 5th defending the pass, and are 16th in stopping the run. Offensively, they are 2nd in passing yards.

Saints 30 Ravens 27

 

Falcons at Seahawks: There is no way that a Super Bowl caliber team like Atlanta should have too much trouble with Seattle. The Seahawks are having a descent...

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Browns at Bengals:  How much more can be said about Cincinnati, that’s not repetitious ? Not a whole lot ! They’ve lost 10 in a row, and even Terrell Owens is publicly expressing frustration with the coaches, which of course is most unusual for him, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. To be fair however, he has certainly played well this season, and only needs 17 yards to become the third NFL player to reach 1,000 yards in ten different seasons. At this stage, the team statistics probably don’t mean all that much, because sooner or later, the Bengals will manage to win a game. Is it this week ? They are ranked 15th in passing, 30th in rushing, and defensively are 15th against the pass, and 24th in stopping the run. The Browns, since their bye week of October 31st, have three wins and three losses. They were defeated by the feisty Buffalo Bills, 13-6 last week.  Cleveland is 27th in passing, 17th in rushing, 16th defending the pass, and 23rd in stopping the run. Peyton Hillis now has 994 yards and nine touchdowns in his...

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San Diego bounced back nicely last weekend, with a 31-0 pasting of the Chiefs, after their surprising loss the week before to the Raiders, 28-13. The defeat by Oakland was the Chargers only loss in their last six games. Their overall numbers are solid. On offense, they are 2nd in passing, 13th in rushing, and defensively, the Chargers are 1st defending the pass, and 4th in stopping the run. San Francisco has three wins and two losses since their bye week, on November 7. The Niners pounded Seattle last week 40-21, and also had wins in that stretch over the Cardinals, and the Rams. The losses were to the Packers 34-16, and the Buccaneers 21-0, On offense, they are 19th in passing, 18th in rushing, while defensively, they are 20th against the pass, and 9th stopping the run. Both the Chargers and 49ers are one game out of first place in their respective divisions. San Diego is 7-6, and San Francisco is 5-8. The Chargers are 5-2 at home, while the Niners are 1-5 on the road.

Chargers 33  49ers 19

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Cincinnati Bengals receiver Terrell Owens is having an outstanding season in what has otherwise been a brutal year for the team. After the Bengals 23-7 loss to the Steelers on Sunday, their record has fallen to 2-11, one game better than the 1-12 Carolina Panthers. 

Owens has 72 receptions for 983 yards, 9 touchdowns, and is averaging 13.7 yards per reception. As noted in a December 14 story by the Associated Press, he is among the league’s top six receivers in catches and yards, even though he had only one reception for 22 yards against the Steelers.

He certainly has every right to feel frustrated, but once again, the very talented and accomplished  Tennessee-Chattanooga alumnus, has expressed in public, what should have been kept in the clubhouse, and behind closed doors. This type of behaviour has been part of his repertoire, throughout his career in the NFL.

On this occasion, much like all of his other moments of frustration over the years, the former third round pick of the 49ers in...

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