Patriots, Cowboys looking like '02 Raiders
By Bill Soliday, STAFF WRITER
Sometimes the masses must be fed, so let us take a trip back into time with the Team of the Decades.
The first four games of the 2002 season represented something special for the Raiders. With Rich Gannon throwing more passes than either of the Wedding Crashers, in consecutive games Oakland scored 31 points on Seattle, 30 on Pittsburgh, 52 on Tennessee and 49 on Buffalo.
Not bad — 162 points for a 40.5 average. It stands today as the NFL record to open the season. Only it might not be after this week's NFL games roll to a close Monday night.
The Raiders' record is under attack by two teams. Through three games, Dallas has scored 38.7 points a game, New England 38.0. The Cowboys need 47 points Sunday against the mangled heap that is the St. Louis Rams, and the Patriots need 49 against the defenseless Cincinnati Bengals on Monday to blow up Oakland's record.
Furthermore, if the Patriots beat Cincinnati by 30 or more points, they will break another record — for the largest point differential through the first quarter of a season in NFL history. They are plus-79 (114 scored, 35 allowed) for a 26.3-point margin in three games.
The four-game record is 27.0 points per game held by the Buffalo Bills.
They scored 153 points and gave up 45. The year was 1992. Nice work until you consider when those same Bills reached the Super Bowl, they lost 52-17 to the Dallas Cowboys, the second biggest blowout in Super Bowl history.
This week's projections on a week when nine of 14 road teams are favored:
Miami 20, Oakland 19. The Raiders haven't won in Miami since 1990. They are 1-8 to the Dolphins since 1997, excluding postseason. Cam Cameron knows the Raiders' defense. So does Trent Green. It's a long trip, 3,088 miles as the Buick flies. Temperature 85-90 degrees, but feels like 100. Thunder and lightning expected. Daunte Culpepper struggles to walk in Miami, let alone play football. Partridge in a palm tree. Sorry.
Seattle 24, San Francisco 16. Do the 49ers have the Seahawks' number? Do the Seahawks even know what Frank Gore's number is? Gore is at his best in division games (1,203 yards in his last eight vs. the NFC West). But three straight over Seattle? Ahem.
Atlanta 17, Houston 14. Matt Schaub discovers you can go home again but when you do, it's best to have Andre Johnson (out) and Ahman Green (ailing) with you. Upset special.
New York Jets 20, Buffalo 6. The Bills are last in offense, last in defense, last in the American Conference. Check out the all-Big Game backfield in Buffalo — Stanford's Trent Edwards handing off to Cal's Marshawn Lynch. Let's see if we can't all just get along.
Baltimore 27, Cleveland 17. The Ravens gave up on Jamal Lewis and now he's averaging 5.8 yards a carry in Cleveland. Hold that thought. Not against his ex-buddies.
Dallas 41, St. Louis 10. Rumors out of emergency wards in St. Louis is they're changing the nickname of the Rams to the Rammed.
Chicago 23, Detroit 20. Bears plan to roll out the new, improved version of Brian Griese. Does this mean they will look like the Broncos did when Griese was tripping over everything — including his dog?
Minnesota 16, Green Bay 13. Speaking of tripping over dogs, Brett Favre trips over the Vikings two out of every three times he plays them in the Metrodome. Meaningful stat: Vikings are No.3 against the run, Packers are No.32 rushing. Not an advisable area for lopsidedness.
Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 17. This isn't just another southern-fried chickie-run involving 2-1 co-leaders. It's Round 1 of who wins the NFC South division now that Atlanta and New Orleans have played themselves into oblivion. The big issue is whether Jake Delhomme (sore elbow) will play. Scuttlebutt in Charlotte is it'll be David Carr. Even if the ragin' Cajun plays, we see footballs going the other way.
Pittsburgh 28, Arizona 16. That flashing red light over this one is a reminder than the Cardinals beat Seattle in Glendale, then went on the road and played the Ravens close. But Pittsburgh is another matter and the Cardinals are considering Kurt Warner instead of Matt Leinart. Ooh.
Indianapolis 27, Denver 24. Maybe in Denver. Not in Indianapolis.
San Diego 31, Kansas City 14. Maybe in Kansas City. Actually, no. Not in Kansas City either.
Philadelphia 24, New York Giants 23. First reaction is to just go with the Eagles. But the Giants beat the Redskins at Washington and the Redskins beat the Eagles in Philly. Yikes. Makes for a good "avoid it" game.
New England 37, Cincinnati 28. When they set the over/under at 521/2 for this game, you assumed of course that New England (first in NFL defense) would score at least 491/2 of those points. A Monday home dog should make it closer.
Last week: 11-5
Season: 30-18
Sometimes the masses must be fed, so let us take a trip back into time with the Team of the Decades.
The first four games of the 2002 season represented something special for the Raiders. With Rich Gannon throwing more passes than either of the Wedding Crashers, in consecutive games Oakland scored 31 points on Seattle, 30 on Pittsburgh, 52 on Tennessee and 49 on Buffalo.
Not bad — 162 points for a 40.5 average. It stands today as the NFL record to open the season. Only it might not be after this week's NFL games roll to a close Monday night.
The Raiders' record is under attack by two teams. Through three games, Dallas has scored 38.7 points a game, New England 38.0. The Cowboys need 47 points Sunday against the mangled heap that is the St. Louis Rams, and the Patriots need 49 against the defenseless Cincinnati Bengals on Monday to blow up Oakland's record.
Furthermore, if the Patriots beat Cincinnati by 30 or more points, they will break another record — for the largest point differential through the first quarter of a season in NFL history. They are plus-79 (114 scored, 35 allowed) for a 26.3-point margin in three games.
The four-game record is 27.0 points per game held by the Buffalo Bills.
They scored 153 points and gave up 45. The year was 1992. Nice work until you consider when those same Bills reached the Super Bowl, they lost 52-17 to the Dallas Cowboys, the second biggest blowout in Super Bowl history.
This week's projections on a week when nine of 14 road teams are favored:
Miami 20, Oakland 19. The Raiders haven't won in Miami since 1990. They are 1-8 to the Dolphins since 1997, excluding postseason. Cam Cameron knows the Raiders' defense. So does Trent Green. It's a long trip, 3,088 miles as the Buick flies. Temperature 85-90 degrees, but feels like 100. Thunder and lightning expected. Daunte Culpepper struggles to walk in Miami, let alone play football. Partridge in a palm tree. Sorry.
Seattle 24, San Francisco 16. Do the 49ers have the Seahawks' number? Do the Seahawks even know what Frank Gore's number is? Gore is at his best in division games (1,203 yards in his last eight vs. the NFC West). But three straight over Seattle? Ahem.
Atlanta 17, Houston 14. Matt Schaub discovers you can go home again but when you do, it's best to have Andre Johnson (out) and Ahman Green (ailing) with you. Upset special.
New York Jets 20, Buffalo 6. The Bills are last in offense, last in defense, last in the American Conference. Check out the all-Big Game backfield in Buffalo — Stanford's Trent Edwards handing off to Cal's Marshawn Lynch. Let's see if we can't all just get along.
Baltimore 27, Cleveland 17. The Ravens gave up on Jamal Lewis and now he's averaging 5.8 yards a carry in Cleveland. Hold that thought. Not against his ex-buddies.
Dallas 41, St. Louis 10. Rumors out of emergency wards in St. Louis is they're changing the nickname of the Rams to the Rammed.
Chicago 23, Detroit 20. Bears plan to roll out the new, improved version of Brian Griese. Does this mean they will look like the Broncos did when Griese was tripping over everything — including his dog?
Minnesota 16, Green Bay 13. Speaking of tripping over dogs, Brett Favre trips over the Vikings two out of every three times he plays them in the Metrodome. Meaningful stat: Vikings are No.3 against the run, Packers are No.32 rushing. Not an advisable area for lopsidedness.
Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 17. This isn't just another southern-fried chickie-run involving 2-1 co-leaders. It's Round 1 of who wins the NFC South division now that Atlanta and New Orleans have played themselves into oblivion. The big issue is whether Jake Delhomme (sore elbow) will play. Scuttlebutt in Charlotte is it'll be David Carr. Even if the ragin' Cajun plays, we see footballs going the other way.
Pittsburgh 28, Arizona 16. That flashing red light over this one is a reminder than the Cardinals beat Seattle in Glendale, then went on the road and played the Ravens close. But Pittsburgh is another matter and the Cardinals are considering Kurt Warner instead of Matt Leinart. Ooh.
Indianapolis 27, Denver 24. Maybe in Denver. Not in Indianapolis.
San Diego 31, Kansas City 14. Maybe in Kansas City. Actually, no. Not in Kansas City either.
Philadelphia 24, New York Giants 23. First reaction is to just go with the Eagles. But the Giants beat the Redskins at Washington and the Redskins beat the Eagles in Philly. Yikes. Makes for a good "avoid it" game.
New England 37, Cincinnati 28. When they set the over/under at 521/2 for this game, you assumed of course that New England (first in NFL defense) would score at least 491/2 of those points. A Monday home dog should make it closer.
Last week: 11-5
Season: 30-18
posted by The Gryphon at 7:52 AM
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