The Prelude, Week 7: A Handy Guide to Ignoring the Patriots - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

Matt Ufford is the editor of With Leather and a co-founder of Kissing Suzy Kolber. The Prelude is his sincere examination of the coming NFL weekend.

The Colts and Patriots don't meet until November, but already both teams seem penciled in for undefeated records regardless of their opponents the next two weeks. Already I can feel the large-font headlines creeping up like an ocean swell destined to be a thirty-foot wave.

The media tsunami for Pats-Colts will be fearsome-and almost certainly tiresome-but I don't begrudge these two great teams their attention. History adores blockbusters, and humans have a similar need for greatness-hence the annual story of the1972 Dolphins opening bottles of champagne and sportswriters' tendency to examine every phenomenon through the lens of "best (or worst) ______ ever."

The problem with such a media spotlight, however, is that it leaves too many worthy stories in darkness. Let's break out a flashlight and see which stories have gathered undeserved cobwebs.
Remember when the Chargers were 1-3 and the cries of Bring back Schottenheimer! were deafening? Two weeks later, the Chargers enter their bye week at .500 (and atop the AFC West) after consecutive convincing wins over division rivals. Amazing what two dominant games from LaDainian Tomlinson can do. It's not necessarily a stamp of approval for Norv Turner as a coach, but the silence on the subject is a telling example of the bizarrely fickle nature of fans.

Another team sitting at .500 in the Week 7 bye is Cleveland. Following a Week 1 drubbing from the Steelers that saw Charlie Frye yanked before the half and Derek Anderson struggle throughout the remainder, the Browns were the league's Official Worst Team. The only stories in Cleveland were which week Brady Quinn would start and how soon Coach Crennel would be fired. Barely a month later, Anderson is showing signs of genuine consistency, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow are legitimate offensive threats, and the Browns are in the middle of the pack in a tough division.

"Consistency" and "legitimate" are not words anyone expected to read about this team. I haven't seen a Brady Quinn story in weeks-a refreshing change of pace after all the draft hype and dance parties.

But it's not just the bye teams that have taken unexpected-and largely ignored-turns in recent weeks. The rest of the NFL is alive with plot lines worthy of our attention. They may not have the star power or the sex appeal of the Patriots' march toward history, but they still hold nuance and intrigue.

The sun shines all day, but overexposure causes cancer. Step into the night to gaze at more distant stars.

Week 7

... And so this week I'll look at the unheralded players or themes from every game-every game I deign to acknowledge, of course. I always leave out a few to satisfy my whimsy and anger touchy readers. All games are grouped chronologically, as are the parenthetical American military battles that don't get their proper due from popular history.

Early Games (Battle of Brooklyn, Revolutionary War)

Buccaneers (4-2) at Lions (3-2) -- The week's most unexpectedly intriguing battle. Detroit and Tampa Bay were left for dead before the season but now look like playoff contenders thanks to the leadership of historically (and somewhat deservedly) unheralded quarterbacks.

Exhibit A: Jeff Garcia, the former Pro Bowler dropped by San Francisco, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia before rising to the top of the Bucs' quarterback morass. Tom Brady may have good looks, Super Bowl MVPs, and a Brazilian supermodel, but Garcia's a scrappy survivor who married a Playmate of the Year. He doesn't have the same laundry list of accomplishments, but what he has done has come at far longer odds. That's my kind of underdog.

Exhibit B: Jon Kitna, whose career has been defined by being the passable backup a team never wants to turn to. Bald, unglorious, and deeply religious (he has reportedly converted over twenty of his teammates to the Christian faith), he predicted 10 wins for this Lions team before the season began, which gave me a hearty laugh. I'll be enjoying some fried crow with wing sauce when I watch this Sunday.

Patriots (6-0) at Dolphins (0-6) -- Buried somewhere beneath the talk of the Patriots going undefeated is a whispered undercurrent of Miami going a perfectly awful 0-16. With the trade of Chris Chambers for a draft pick, the Dolphins are already looking toward next season. Nice work, Nick Saban.

Titans (3-2) at Texans (3-3) -- The Colts used to coast into the playoffs feeding off the carcasses of the AFC South; now the division is the toughest in football. While the Jags and Colts face off on Monday (see below), the bottom half of the division presents a pretty watchable game as well, as Vince Young and his Madden-cursed quadriceps face off against a tough young defense.

49ers (2-3) at Giants (4-2) -- The Giants team devastated by injuries in Week 1 has now won four consecutive games, and they host the Niners before their London showdown with the 'Phins. That makes a 6-2 record before their bye more than feasible. Although that sets the table nicely for a repeat of last year's "five straight wins to get to 6-2 before finishing to 8-8," keep in mind that the two teams the Giants have lost to -- the Cowboys and Packers -- have a combined record of 10-2. Don't rule out the possibility that the G-men are actually maybe kinda good.

Chiefs (3-3) at Raiders (2-3) -- The Raiders are a Mike Shanahan "clockblock" (warning: some foul language) away from being 3-2 and in first place in the division. Obviously, there's still a long way to go, but the bottom line is that the Raiders have gone from being the laughingstock of the NFL to an opponent to be taken seriously, all without any significant contribution from their draft class. What Lane Kiffin has accomplished in his short time as coach is akin to modernizing a third-world country.

Late Games (Battle of Chippawa, War of 1812)

Vikings (2-3) at Cowboys (5-1) -- There's been a lot of hot air from the punditry trying to make Adrian Peterson AKA "Purple Jesus" the next Gale Sayers or Eric Dickerson. It really doesn't matter how he stacks up against history's greats; what matters is that the Vikings have an exponentially higher chance of scoring (and winning) every time he steps on the field. So why isn't Brad Childress starting him? Does Childress really hate his job that much? Because I have a hard time believing anyone is that dumb.

Rams (0-6) at Seahawks (3-3) -- Mike Holmgren has a street in Green Bay named after him, yet anyone who saw his ham-handed play-calling and clock mismanagement on Sunday night against the Saints (and, to a lesser extent, Super Bowl XL) knows that this is a coach who-politely stated-has failed to adapt and improve over the years. Could this be the second straight week a winless team topples the 'Hawks at home? Holmgren makes it possible.

Sunday Night (Vicksburg Campaign, Civil War)

Steelers (4-1) at Broncos (2-3) -- The casual football fan is finally starting to realize the importance of a good left tackle, but even more important to the offensive line is how well the unit works together. Losing All-Pro center Tom Nalen to a torn right biceps is an ominous sign for the Broncos (not to mention the imminent suspension of Travis Henry and the fact that the Broncos' defense is giving up almost 200 rushing yards a game). The signs suggest the Broncos may be in for an afternoon of what they gave opponents for so long: getting worn down by a spirit-breaking running game.

Monday Night (Battle of Saipan, World War II)

Colts (5-0) at Jaguars (4-1) -- The Jaguars are the only team with a winning percentage of .800 or better that has yet to seize any headlines this season. David Garrard is effective but neither recognizable nor particularly proven. No one on the team has had a 100-yard receiving game this year. And the only real offensive threat is Maurice Jones-Drew, whose first good game was last week against Houston. In other words, the defense is nasty. Jacksonville deserves the spotlight, and on Monday they have a chance to dampen the mushroom cloud of hype that would happen if the Colts and Pats are both undefeated when they meet.



1. TV Distribution Maps. FOX gets the double-header this week: a nice, sensible, block of early games followed by the hegemonic popularity of the Dallas Cowboys. CBS's single game is the usual mixed bag of tricks and treats, and a gold star goes to anyone who can explain to me why a tiny patch of bayou is getting Kansas City versus Oakland.

2. NFL Style Watch.

I've tried to be understanding about all the throwbacks this year. I really have. But the Jets had to go and choose the uniforms of the old New York Titans. Sounds like the team in Tennessee and looks like the team in St. Louis. They looked bad wearing them, and they looked bad losing in them. My grade: F-minus-minus.

3. I sometimes fear I'm the only one who thinks the Coors Light commercials with the coach press conferences are about as funny as someone retelling you a joke from Two and a Half Men. However, that didn't stop me from enjoying this spoof, which uses the infamous outburst from Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.

4. The Cowboys tried to buy the domain name "Cowboys.com" in a recent auction, but backed out when they realized their bid was not for 275 dollars, but for $275,000. It's a pretty tightly run ship over there in Dallas. I can't argue with their bookkeeping skills.

5. No one questions Sean Taylor's toughness, but ... three dropped interceptions against the Packers? I thought Favre's throwing style was specifically designed for defensive backs.

6. Get in your Vinny Testaverde old jokes while you still can. He could break a hip on any given play (The best Vinny joke I've seen so far is this one).

7. So ESPN won't invite Jimmy Kimmel back the Monday Night Football booth. Shucks. I hereby recommend Jim Gaffigan for guest comic-relief:



I can listen to bacon jokes ALL. DAY. LONG.

8. I have to commend Matt Mosley for his work at ESPN's Hashmarks blog. Following a shaky off-season start, Mosley seems to have found stronger footing in the thick of the season, where he mixes catching all the league's little stories with a good amount of solid first-hand reporting. Keep it up, Matt -- just don't recommend any more musicals, okay?

9. I read very few sports books, but I'd be remiss if I didn't recommend Steve Friedman's The Agony of Victory: When Winning Isn't Enough. Friedman profiles unheralded champions in (mostly) solitary sports and examines the blurred line between being driven to succeed and being driven mad. It's the best-written piece of nonfiction I've read in at least a year.

10. Parting shot. Roger Goodell this week reinstated Packers WR Koren Robinson and allowed Tank Johnson to begin practicing with the Cowboys (his 8-game suspension still stands). And here's to second chances. As a blogger, I'm quick to point out Leonard Little's DUI manslaughter from six years ago or Najeh Davenport's laundry service in college or any other embarrassing or shameful story from years ago.

But the truth is, we're all human. I've done embarrassing things that I'm glad are unknown because I'm not a pro athlete or some other high-profile person. Yes, it's fun to endlessly prod the privileged elite about their past failings, but everyone deserves a chance at forgiveness. So welcome back, Koren and Tank. May you never need another second chance at playing the game you love.