KONsports

• Based on the first five weeks, my best guess for the Super Bowl would be Chicago and San Diego.  Coming into the season, the big question mark for both teams was quarterback.  No one was ready to put any faith in Grossman or Rivers, but their play so far this season has meshed perfectly with their teams.  I'm not saying either is the best in the game, not even close, but they are both playing mistake-free football.  The Bears especially look like the old Ravens, when all Trent Dilfer had to do was not give the game away.

 

• I think this will finally be the week the Saints show their true colors.  They have obviously gotten off to a fast start, but their defense and offensive line are going to start to drag the team down.  That being said, if they beat Philly this week, Carolina might not even win the division everyone, myself included, had handed them before the season started.

 

• How influential is a "Culture of Losing"?  This is a phrase that has described teams such as the Clippers of the NBA and the Royals of the MLB.  In the NFL, the Cardinals seem to embody it better than any other team.  That Culture is a key issue in the debate over who will do better, Vince Young or Matt Leinart.  Right now, Leinart clearly has the better team, but even with a different coach than years past, better players than years past, and even a new stadium, the Cardinals still cannot do anything right.  The Titans, on the other hand, have a terrible team and still almost beat the Colts.  Unless Leinart leaves the desert, I think I'm going to have to take Young by default. (And don't even mention Cutler until he plays in a game that matters, which he didn't even do in college--apologies to Vanderbilt, but they were terrible.)

 

• It was reassuring to see the young Niners bounce back after getting shut out in Kansas City.  I realize it was against the Raiders, but it can be very easy for a team to lose its self-confidence after getting blown out 41-0...especially considering they haven't had a winning season since 2002 when most of its current players weren't even in the league.  The only players on the 2002 team that year that are still with the Niners are Eric Heitmann, Brian Jennings, Eric Johnson, Brandon Moore, Tony Parrish, Derek Smith, Jeff Ulbrich, and, of course, Bryant Young.

 

 

As for the game-by-game predictions I made before the season started, my record is 47-27.

 

Interesting stats courtesy of ESPN.com:  Any thoughts on who will rise and who will fall among the actives? 

 

                                                All-Time QB Rating Leaders 

 

Player *-active	Yrs.	Comp. Pct.	Yards	TD/INT	Rating
Steve Young	15	64.3	33,124	232/107	96.8
Peyton Manning*	9	63.8	34,467	252/132	93.6
Kurt Warner*	9	65.5	20,130	124/83	93.5
Joe Montana	15	63.2	40,551	273/139	92.3
Marc Bulger*	6	64.6	13,191	78/51	91.3
Daunte Culpepper*	8	64.2	21,091	137/89	90.8
Tom Brady*	7	61.4	19,066	131/69	88.1
Trent Green*	9	60.8	25,711	150/93	88.1
Matt Hasselbeck*	8	60.9	16,779	102/64	86.0
Dan Marino	17	59.4	61,361	420/252	86.4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for my MLB playoff predictions, it's pretty easy to see that I have no idea what I am talking about with the AL, but I might know a thing or two about the NL.

 

As always, comments, critiques and suggested topics are welcome by replying here or by emailing me at KONsports@yahoo.com.