Streaks, even choke streaks, are meant to be broken. This means both that the Chiefs will lose a game or two this season, and they might well break that choke streak in the process. Time will tell.

So, let's talk about that fantastic game in Pittsburgh, Griff.

It was close until well into the 4th quarter...but the Rams and that offense just don't quit.

Marshall who? The Rams are doing very well without him. And that defense is tough...having Aeneas Williams back helps.

Bulger passes for 375 yards, no interceptions...and no turnovers for the Rams. Big Game Torry Holt has, well...a big game as usual: 174 yards receiving on only 7 catches.

Sorry Griff...the Steelers just sputtered out.

And who's tied for first place, back where they belong in the NFC West? The Rams...duh! :)

They're just getting in line for a Heisman winner. :)
Its gonna be a long cold winter...

The Rams actually looked pretty good. They're much better balanced than they were. Where is the knock out punch though? The Steelers were hanging around much longer than they should have.

They don't have that knockout punch yet...this is not quite "The Greatest Show on Turf," but it seems to be getting there. Manumaleuna is beginning to fill Conwell's shoes...get Faulk back and get some more catches to Bruce, and there you go.

The problem last year was that teams finally figured out Martz's offense, in addition to injuries on defense. Apparently, Martz has retooled it, Bulger is playing solid, and Lovie Smith has that defense righted. Look for Warner to be second-stringer through next season, unless they can make a helluva offseason deal.

Sycamore personally recommends that Kurt retire. We love ya buddy, but your day in the sun has come to an unfortunate end. Retire, become offensive coordinator, and earn some more rings that way.

A caveat though...you know that Heisman does not necessarily equal Sanders-like greatness in the NFL.

You know, if there's anything else better than snapping a three-game losing streak, it's doing so against an undefeated team. The Giants have always played best under pressure, and now with the Marlins ending the Series, there's nothing to keep the papers from yelling at Big Blue if they do poorly.

Three-game losing streak...one more thing to blame on the Yankees. Lousy pinstriped bastards...way to go Florida.

I was actually thinking about this today. Why not stay on as the competent backup? Get healed, relax, take a few practice snaps during the week...?

He (through his wife on St. Louis radio) doesn't want that. He wants to be a starter. But what he fails to realize is that he's suffered some nasty injuries during his 4 years in St. Louis. And quite frankly, I don't think he's going to recover from them. But I'm willing to give him one more shot, considering what he did for football in St. Louis...and for football in general.

Chiefs 38, Bills 5. Chiefs are 8-0, the first team to have that record following a losing season in 31 years. Drew Bledsoe, arguably one of the better arms in the NFL left the field a battered and nervous man after having to pick blitzing linebackers and defensive linemen out of his teeth all night long. Buffalo gave up 7 turnovers (some of which were laughably inept), while the Chiefs turned in their most solid and well-balanced performance of the season. No one will be talking "luck" about this one. And the Bills came in to Arrowhead with a 4-3 record, so they could hardly be called shabby.

Among the more choice plays last night was an intended Priest Holmes run around right end which was stopped up by the Bills' D-line. Holmes reversed direction, running parallel to the front line to the opposite side of the field, turning the left end corner on the back of a *crushing* block by Chiefs' *quarterback* Trent Green. It was almost more fun to watch than should be legal. Oh...did I mention that the play went for a TD?

The Chiefs now will enjoy an extremely well-positioned bye week before going on to play the second half of the season. During the next eight weeks, 6 of the 8 teams the Cheifs will play now have losing records. Other interesting facts show that, of the 11 teams who have stood at 8-0 in the past, 8 have gone to the Super Bowl, and 5 have won it.

Being a Chiefs fan is fun this year.

I'm glad the Chiefs are doing well...and maybe they can break that cycle of bad luck in the playoffs this year. Vermeil's got a good crew there.

(Do you know how hard it was for me to say that?)

I appreciate it, Syc. Hey...how about the Rams and the Chiefs in the Stupendous Bowl?

Hell, I'd be happy if they'd bring the Governors Cup back.

But a Super Bowl involving the Rams and Chiefs...that would be fantastic.

File under "nice".

The Chargers can't play the Dolphins in San Diego tonight due to the fires in Southern California. Officials ask the NFL to either move or cancel the game.

The NFL moves the game to Phoenix...and lets people in for free.

...and raises a pile for relief.

maybe I missed something, but why didn't they play it in miami?

I didn't hear anything specific, but I would imagine it was mainly an issue of logistics.

The change of venue did not occur until 6pm PT Sunday, IIRC. I would imagine that the grounds crew at Pro Player in Miami was off Sunday, and so they might not have had enough time to get the stadium ready for a Monday game. But the Cardinals had just played Sunday in Phoenix, and it probably didn't take much to get the stadium ready for another game Monday. Probably happens frequently there, given that the Cardinals share the stadium with the Sun Devils.

In addition, they might have been thinking of the players' mental states. The Dolphins didn't fly out to San Diego until Sunday. So, after one 6-8 hour flight, they would have had to take another 6-8 hour flight back to Miami. And I would assume that many of the Chargers players make temporary homes in San Diego, and wouldn't want to be too far from home if any further problems arose from the fire.

I would say for once in his life that Bill Bidwell did something nice, but Sun Devil Stadium is run by Arizona State University, so it was nice of them to accomodate the game.

I swear, the Giants just don't want to make it easy for themselves. I was crying after Conway sent that one sailing left, just bawling. God bless you though Will Allen, you and your Secret-Service-like kick blocks.

Also - and I wonder if the Philadelphia Cellarites can confirm this - my brother has deduced that Brian Mitchell has a secret pact with McNabb and the Eagles to drain the Giants' budget by being hired as a kick returner and never running one back, ever. How far off is he?

B-Mitch is ancient, almost MY age, and so in order for him to run it back he needs a few good blocks. He sits back and waits for the blocks to appear and then makes good decisions. If the blocks never appear because your special teams players are weak, B-Mitch is a waste of funds and should be replaced with a speed guy. But on the good side, he'll never muff a kick.

____________________
B-Mitch is ancient, almost MY age, and so in order for him to run it back he needs a few good blocks. He sits back and waits for the blocks to appear and then makes good decisions. If the blocks never appear because your special teams players are weak, B-Mitch is a waste of funds and should be replaced with a speed guy. But on the good side, he'll never muff a kick
___________________

Additionally, he'll probably never kick a muff!

-sorry, I couldn't resist
go Cowboys!

No, see, we make the blocks. Typical scenario: The opposing team comes downfield, and ST forms a slightly horseshoe wall that brings them to a solid stop right there around center field and pens them in long enough for someone who tries to be able to get around on the side and drive for the endzone. Mitchell however has long ago decided that the best way to go, the best possible "good decision" as you put it, is to run straight into that wall of players. The concept of moving left or right is apparently anathema to him.

And jim: To hell with the Cowboys, and to hell with your traitor of a coach too.

I don't think Dante Hall is going to be available anytime soon, either, so that won't solve the runback dilemma.

Only six more days until the Chiefs kick some Cleveland butt.

Never know. Chiefs could catch Pittsburgh Pirates Syndrome between now and next season, start exporting talent like mad. :D

the chefs
 

don't the chefs usually come unravelled at this point in the season? actually, they could very well go 16-0 this year...good luck , el

am i the only one that is rapidly becoming a houston texans fan? i mean, they are sorta local for me and that helps...but you know what i really like about them? they always play football...you know? i hate it when they'll just let the clock run down and play it safe...i like flat out, balls to the wall football...of course they are only my #2 team, as i am a hardcore saints fan....one day we'll get all our shit in one sock and be a kick ass team...always been a raider fan...although i don't hold out much hope...at least for the next couple of years while they 'refresh their talent'....can you believe bill romanowski is gonna retire? and finally, the bucc's....seems like i may not see any of my teams go to the superbowl...but it's early yet...*shrugs* you never know.

The house is divided today...

Ravens vs. Rams tonight on ESPN. Love both teams, but of course, the Rams always come first for me. And Rho, being the Baltimore native, must give love to the Ravens.

Outlook: Both have great defenses, but the Rams have the offense. Rams by at least 2 touchdowns.

There is a process to our rooting for teams that goes like this:

--Any St. Louis team vs. a non-Baltimore team: St. Louis
--Any Baltimore team vs. a non-St. Louis team: Baltimore
--Washington Capitals vs. a non-St. Louis team: Washington
--Washington NFL team vs. any other team: The other team
--Washington Wizards vs. any other team: Washington (Rho), don't care (me)
--Any Philadelphia team vs. a non-Baltimore or non-St. Louis team (except the Washington Capitals): Philadelphia (me), don't care (Rho)
--House divided: Ravens-Rams, Capitals-Blues, college teams Rho likes vs. college teams I like

College-wise, well, Rho's main teams are those in the Baltimore-Washington area (mainly Maryland, Georgetown, Morgan State, Towson and Howard), with some liking of the Pennsylvania teams (except for Temple). Mine are the Missouri, Illinois, Maryland, and Pennsylvania teams (mainly St. Louis, Mizzou, SE Missouri State, Illinois, Maryland, St. Joseph's, and Penn).

It's going to be interesting when St. Louis joins the Atlantic 10 in 2 years.

Okay, who did it? Who said the game against the Falcons would be an easy win and thus doomed the Giants? I wanna know, who was it? Some tongues need cut out here. I know the sports section of the New York Post did it, but I know they weren't the only ones, so come on. Fess up.

It's the sad and sorry truth - whenever the pressure is off, or the Giants are expected to win, they tank. When it's do-or-die, they have the collective escape artist capability of Houdini, Batman, Bond, and Clinton together. Though I do admit, the novelty of B-Mitch running back a few kicks for double-digit yards was amusing.

And now I see the Steelers won. If the Eagles win Monday, I'm gonna be pissed clear until Wednesday or Thursday, minimum.

Go Packers.

Two minutes left and the Cowboys are ahead of the Bills. If they win this one, and the Eagles win tomorrow, it'll be a pretty tough mountain for the Giants to climb.

Gotta root Rams tonight. Steelers only need to win the rest of their games and have the Ravens collapse....

BTW- Flutie freaking rocks

14-3 in the 2nd quarter...the Marshall Plan is back in action tonight in St. Louis. (Whoohoo!)

so, what do you do when a non st louis team plays a non washington team in the wind is out of the west and the moon sets below the 33rd parallel and an announcer from the baltimore market is boadcasting the game with a st louis color man?

jesus christ...just root for the cowboys and be done with it already!

Okay. Dallas, Philly, AND Washington all won. Shockey busted his knee, he's out six to eight weeks. So, best-case scenario, he's back in time for Carolina at the end of the season. Worst-case scenario, God comes down and tells me Himself, "Yeah, you're not allowed to have fun during football season."

I've looked over the schedules, here it is. The Giants DO have a shot at a wild card slot. Barring massive failures on the part of the Cowboys and the Eagles, that's what they should shoot for.

Right now, the two second-best teams in the NFC are the Eagles and the Rams at 6-3, with Giants, Packers, Saints, Bucs, and 49ers after them at 4-5 each. These five share a lot of opponents fron now to season's end, so to analyze it out right now would be fruitless, as one week and the whole picture is changed.

My hatred to the Eagles is known, so yeah definitely wanting them to hurt. What I am seeing as well though is...the Rams have to take some falls. Syc, I'm sorry. I always liked you, I hold no grudge against you personally. This is just business.

The Bungles!?

i cannot believe the chiefs lost to the bengals...the mind just reels....at least the saints and the texans won today, that does my heart good. i had lost all faith in the saints in the first half but they rallied....by the hair on their chinny chin chins....makes me wonder if we would have beat them if michael vick was playing.

I will not yell, I will not scream. In deference to the birthday of certain bulletin board founders, I will not lament the complete lack of testicular fortitude displayed by the warriors of my city on the football field today. I abandon my bitterness. It's gone, out the window, farewell.

Not at all bitter.

Completely devoid of bitterness.

Yes sir.

Fassel must go, is what it looks like it comes down to. That team was completely unmotivated.

Do you hate the Eagles more than the Cowboys?

Fassel does not have to go. Put down the copy of the Post and step away. SLOWLY. What the big problem was Sunday was they had a rookie CB, and because of it, were afraid to blitz. If it weren't for that, the defense would have mopped the Eagles all game.

Don't believe me? Look at the last game a few weeks back: From the 3:14 mark in the first quarter to the end of the game, McNabb and the offense NEVER crossed the 50 into Giants territory. The first quarter. And what Westbrook pulled was the textbook definition of a fluke, don't give me that.

As to the other question...I don't know. Giants-Eagles is a blood feud, that's something you just have to respect. But ever since Parcells joined up with the Cowboys...that was just wrong. The Jets and the Pats, we could forgive, but this?

As it stands, the Eagles are the closer of the two evils, so yeah, they're getting the bulk of the hatred, but there's plenty to go around. Someone remind me to send a bottle of champagne and a thank-you card to the Pats? They made a rough day more bearable.

Michael Strahan was also owned, rook corners or no. And the rook corners didn't screw up first and goal on the 1.

The Eagles offense was all hosed up the first half of the season. It looks like McNabb is back in stride now.

And this game was on six days rest after beating GB at Lambeau, man! If anyone was gonna let down it was gonna be the Eagles.

I knew the Chiefs wouldnt' go 16-0...they aren't *that* good. But it was still painful watching them get manhandled by the Bengals.

Oh well...on to 15-1. That should still be an eye-opener of a season. ;)

Wouldnt it be funny if the wheels came off and they finished 9-7?

no?

Sadist.

Chewie, I want you to repeat after me..."The Giants are a lost cause this season...the Giants are a lost cause this season..."

I want you to repeat that about 700 times...believe me, it's better this way. There's always next year.

Ep, I'm sorry about the Chiefs...seriously. You actually got me into rooting for them.

I can't believe the Bears almost beat the Rams...what's up with that? That's alright though...Bulger's solid play in the 4th quarter should shut the fuck up out of the bitches that begged Martz to bench Bulger in favor of Warner. You DON'T change horses in mid-stream.

Jim, it's actually not as complicated as it looks when it comes to rooting for teams in this house. Now your Cowboys comment almost confirms for me that you were dropped one too many times on your head as a child, but perhaps it's just the lingering effects from that massive shit you took after that photo you posted, so I'm willing to cut you a break here.

McNabb and the Iggles seem to finally be playing like the teams of the past two years. Merrill Reese almost lost his mind over that goalline stance. Good game.

It's called "keeping the faith", Syc. I don't see you feeding Griff that same line, and he needs it as much if not more than I may!

Granted, as a Pittsburgh fan, he's probably moved on to watching hockey games by now...or NASCAR.

Heh. I know the Steelers suck... you're still in denial.

Watch your mouth on that Nascar jive. I'm rural but not that rural.

you know, hockey IS a gateway drug to NASCAR...be very careful, griff.

Griff's right...he knows his team is just not cutting the mustard this year.

And what's wrong with NASCAR? Good stuff.

How? How is it good stuff? I remember as a child watching a race with a friend's father. The cars went around the track once, I got up ready to leave, but they kept going. I didn't get it. I asked the father what the deal was, and he told me that they go around multiple times. Okay, I said, that's understandable. Simple track like that, couldn't just be once around. How many laps? Three, five, seven?

"Two hundred."

I calmly set down my soda and walked out to play in the sandbox, because even then, at that early an age, I had the common sense to know that if I sat down and watched that race to the finish, I would die.

I really just don't get the fascination with it all. It's like watching a hamster run on its wheel. I could put mutant guinea pigs into go-karts, lock the gas and the wheel, and achieve the same effect.

I enjoy the excitement, the tension, the fights, the speed...of course, I'm also a fan of golf...

...and probably make a million bucks, if you could make the mutant guinea pigs, like, eight feet long, and dress them in little suits with plenty of room for advertising on them.

How do you feel about drag racing? Motocross? Formula One? Lawnmower racing? Snowmobiles trying to cross ponds? Tractor pulls? Mud runs? Hillclimbs?

I like 'em all. Only in America can we have so many versions of the same basic thing, consuming massive amounts of money in the process, and generating still more money in the end.

What's not to like?

Now, that's racing. Car-to-car, going from here to there - ONE TIME - pitting what you can do to your machine against what the other guy can do to his. I personally prefer street racing to the regular long, low, lean, triangular cars with the spoilers, but I grew up by Franny Lew, so I'm prejudiced. :)

Meh. I never really got into it. I prefer cars to bikes.

God, I hope you're kidding.

I feel they should fall in.

Wow, there's a right nice collection of rednecks.

And in other news - J-Shock may make it for this Monday, next Sunday against Buffalo at the latest. I could see him on the sidelines at the Philly game, just wanting to go to Fassel and say "Look, I'll just rub some dirt on it. Just let me play." Good ol' tough-ass country boy...

Ya know Chewie, Queens isn't THAT much of a step above the rednecks you encounter in western PA. ;)

Chiefs squeaked out another one. The Cardiac Kids ride again.

10-1 is pretty sweet, though. I worry when they have to play someone who doesn't suck. They haven't been all that spiffy lately, and having the Raiders take them down to the last 9 seconds in our own house was pretty scary.

There's a definite change in the gung-ho vibe here in KC since the Bengals took us to the woodshed last week. We're still on a roll, but we haven't had a good, strong, well-rounded game for a few weeks now, and we really need a dominant performance soon to keep the confidence level up.

Still the best record in the NFL, though.

Syc, big mistake - you're lumping Queens together into one classification, and that can't be done. Queens is made up of multiple neighborhoods. I'm from Bayside - so many steps above Western PA, we need portable oxygen. We have sidewalks, intact flat streets, buildings over two stories high...

Now if you're thinking about places like Hollis or Jamaica...well...it's a question of which stereotypes you're comfortable around.

A possible NFC Championship match up is on tap in St. Louis today, as the Vikings come to town. I dunno though...I think the Vikings are overrated. The Rams should win this one.

Another possible championship match up happens in Charlotte, as the Panthers play the Eagles. But I think the Panthers are overrated too...I'm going with the Eagles.

(For Chewie's benefit, we have the Bills in NJ to play the Giants. Buffalo has a 1-4 record on the road...but the Giants have a 1-4 record at home. I'm going to go with the Giants, but it's gonna be close.)

Looking at this week's schedule, it would seem that the Vikings-Rams and Eagles-Panthers games are the games of the week. Too bad the Rams are on at 1:00 today (same as the Eagles).

Oh...can't forget about the Ravens...they're playing the 49ers in Baltimore today--should be an easy win for the Ravens.

Whoohoo for football!

(edit--I thought the Eagles were playing here in Philadelphia today, but they're not...my bad.)

You leave out the NFL's best record from your commentary? Man, what nerve. I think I'll leave The Cellar out of protest.

Oh. Wait. No, I won't.

The Chiefs won again, and again, by a narrow margin to what was supposed to be a massively inferior team. The Cardiac Kids strike again. I wish they'd blow someone out, and soon.

Nevertheless, they are 11-1. This is a good thing. I missed the damn game though, as I was on aircraft all afternoon. Why should it take three stops and a plane change to get to Austin from Kansas City?

Oh well...I had a great time playing with my GPS on the way. Pretty cool to watch it go from zero to 550 mph in about fifteen minutes, and from 600 feet to 35,000 feet.

Next week, I watch the whole game. GO CHIEFS!

Ep, the Chiefs were left out b/c I believe in them now. Chewie, on the other hand, needs all the help he can get. :)

Sorry Mike...I really thought the Giants could pull it off today.

Let us now talk about the nice asswhipping that the Rams gave the Vikings. Bulger gave a solid performance that should shut the goddamned chuckleheads in St. Louis up. Marc Bulger will be the starting QB until he seriously melts down. After all, there was a time when another starting QB got hurt. And when he healed, no one seemed to care that the backup stayed in...an unproven QB whose only real claim to fame was the AFL. That year was 1999 and the backup QB was a guy by the name of Kurt Warner.

Bulger is in for the long haul. He too could lead the Rams to greatness. He's 15-3 as a starter. End of story.

Reverend Ike threw a 41 yard pass! 41 yards! It led to a touchdown on the next play!

And what's up with the Ravens having a real offense recently? 44-6?! Amazing.

Eagles/Panthers was a tough defensive battle with solid playing by both McNabb and Del Homme. Eagles pulled it off in the end, but it was close.

I'm of the mind that this is a solar-eclipse kind of year in the world of sports. Something's just...off about the whole profession. Consider what we're seeing/have seen this year:

~~~~

The Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox in serious competition for the World Series.

The very real possibility the AFC Championship game may be played out between the Cincinnatti Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, with the winner perhaps facing the Carolina Panthers.

The New York Knicks - short Houston and Van Horn, two of their key veteran players - beating a full-strength, Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers.

~~~~

Something ain't right this year. I don't know what, I don't know why, but something's just not right.

I'm sorry, but I have to beg to differ....something is very, very *right* this year!

Fuck dynasties. Fuck threepeats. Fuck giant payrolls. Give me sports, give me competition...give me parity or give me death!

My team is so *due*, it boggles the mind to think about it. There's nothing wrong with this year; it was all those other years that were hosed.

BIG GAME THIS WEEKEND

Cowboys at Eagles

anyone else going?????

this one actually means something.....eagles can lock a playoff berth, cowboys can retake the division lead and hold the tie breaker.

my predictions for next season:

Kurt Warner signs with the cowboys.....Cory Dillon or Deuce staley, too. dallas goes 13-3, wins division, plays cincinatti in the bowl. and wins......again

Boy, didn't I tell you to put that glue down?

Cowboys are surprising this year, but I think the Eagles can pull it off. Of course, neither can beat the Rams...

Speaking of God's Chosen Team, they play next Monday at Cleveland...*zzzzz*