Did you catch that?

You probably didn't even notice!  It took me a few days to realize, so I took a double take and lo and behold Peter King did what he had been itching to do since the beginning of the season.  You see, Peter King enjoys mentioning the fact that he lives in Boston and it appears his favoritism is getting the better of him. 


After week one the top team in his 'Fine Fifteen' was Green Bay.  As with all 'Power Rankings' he accepts the current champion as the reigning King.  Baltimore comes in at #2 after their trouncing of the Steelers, and then the Patriots.  Although they haven't even competed in a game, their 0-0 record is enough to be considered the third best team.


Fast forward one week.  Green Bay goes in to Carolina and handily defeats the Panthers (nevermind that the Panthers scored a garbage touchdown with 37 seconds left to make the score seem respectable).  New England wins in a shootout with Miami that past Monday where they surrendered almost 500 yards of total offense and then beat the Chargers while giving up another 470 yards while the Ravens were handled by the unranked Titans.  


Logic should prevail here.  Green Bay at #1, New England at #2, this makes perfect sense!  Patriots have scored 73 points to the Packers 72, 6 yard separation in total defense and Brady and Rodgers at 1-2 in Passer Rating.  In a situation where the teams are so close, there is no way the Patriots could leapfrog the Packers, could they?


Enter Boston resident and New England apologist Peter King.  In week one his comment about the Pats was "Haven't won a Super Bowl in seven seasons. Proverbial window's closing."  Then, after 2 games and a defense that is a mere 9 yards from ranking dead last in the NFL, King moves them to #1 with the well thought out argument: "Any arguments? Didn't think so."  Thank you Peter for your amazing analysis!


Of course we all know these Power Rankings are garbage, and Green Bay has some work to do too.  However, I can't let him slide on this one.  When a reporter that works for two major Sports News outlets such as CNN and NBC fails to use logic in his analysis, I can't stand idly by and let this go unnoticed.  It is a shame though, most of his writing is well thought out and insightful, however his blind affection toward New England is troubling to say the least.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/09/11/week.1/2.html


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/peter_king/09/19/week2/2.html

Has Dungy Lost it?

Last night on NBC Tony Dungy decided to give us his take on who may be appearing in the Super Bowl.  While he believes it will be Packers vs. Patriots, he did express his concerns for one team and not the other.  When asked if he had any concerns about the Packers, Dungy replied: “I do. That secondary has been torched two weeks in a row, giving up 800 yards passing. Now, we expected Drew Brees to put up some numbers, but 400 yards from Cam Newton has to have the Green Bay defensive coaches a little bit alarmed.”

Meanwhile the Patriots Pass defense has been lit up to the tune of 762 yards in the air.  Both teams have 3 interceptions, but maybe Tony should check out those run defenses.  New England has given up 196 while Green Bay has surrendered 152.  

I understand the Packers would be expected to shut down a rookie quarterback, but New England did give up 416 yards passing to Chad Henne.  For the record Henne has a career record of 13-18, a 75 QB rating and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in his career.  

It appears from my perspective that Dungy should look a little deeper when providing analysis.

Bo Don't Know Quarterbacks

Bo Jackson made my job easy by going on the Jim Rome Show and making perhaps some of the most over the top comments I have ever heard.  When asked about fellow Auburn Tiger Cam Newton, Jackson could not be contained.  "Cam Newton right now is probably one of the two 'baddest' men in the NFL, the rest of the world don't know it yet", Jackson remarked.  He went on to say that by the middle of the season all of the analysts will be backtracking and will have to pull the 'shoe leather' out of their mouths for daring to question a raw rookie.

He went on to say that Newton has the arm strength and power of Dan Marino and John Elway combined, that he is quicker and faster than Michael Vick and he will run over you with the power of a Jerome Bettis, Bo Jackson, or Earl Campbell.  He concluded with, "With the quality recevers and lineman that he got blocking for him, and the running backs that he can get that pill to...  This guy is scary, the Panthers are scary."  Seeing that he completed 42% of his passes and compiled a preseason Quarterback ranking of 64.9 for a 2-14 team, I will agree that Cam Newton is scary...  If you're a Panthers fan.

http://www.jimrome.com/junglehighlights?uri=channels/465575/1474371