Before I hit my midpoint rant about the NFL, the first week of the NBA has been great. It seems every night can be dubbed "Upsets Galore" as last year's division winners Phoenix, Denver, Dallas, Miami, and Detroit find themselves at the bottom of their respective divisions.
The NBA's undefeated teams: Utah, New Orleans, and Philadelphia.
Remember it is still extremely early in the season and most of the above will be corrected as players get back into shape and teams start to mesh.
I have managed to watch most of the Clipper and Laker games, and this is the first time EVER that they are both looking dangerously good. I like the fact that both teams' stars in Elton Brand and Kobe Bryant have not even had big games yet.
Phil Jackson seems to to be hearing my call for more playing time for Andrew Bynum, Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar. It will be interesting to see what happens when Chris Mihm and Kwame Brown return.
The Clippers can beat anyone when healthy as we are seeing now. Even though they play a eight-man rotation, Corey Maggette and Shaun Livingston are more than good enough to be starters. The pickup of Tim Thomas is paying off.
The Seattle Sonics embark on a five game road trip tonight, beginning at Miami against the champs minus Shaq. While a series of road losses can quickly doom the Sonics' season, I recall an early east coast swing similar to this one in 2004 in which the players bonded and surprisingly went 5-1, propelling the team to the playoffs...
After sacking Andrew Walter nine times and thoroughly dominating the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football, Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren packed it in for the second half, rushing for 207 yards to close out a satisfactory 16-0 win during a windy and rainy evening at Quest Field.
Opening Drive: Seneca Wallace with the pump fake, cornerback Fabian Washington bites, and a lob to Deion Branch for a 22 yard touchdown. Beautiful.
Seneca Wallace ran for the Seahawks longest carry of the season for 37 yards. Also beautiful.
How do you not love ESPN's Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon? Insightful and amusing guys.
Seattle's offensive line was finally clicking like they should be, blocking for a solid 5.3 yards per carry and giving Seneca Wallace time to complete 60% of his passes. Even though it was against the Raiders, this should inspire some confidence moving into the second half of the season.
While shutting out the Raiders is not enormously impressive, nine sacks should encourage more aggressive play calling from John Marshall to help out the secondary. Again, this game will inspire confidence moving forward.
Imagine if a ticked off Hasselbeck and Alexander return to a confident team with a winning record in the next month...
The Seahawks are one full game up on the Rams heading into their showdown in Seattle on Sunday. Even if the Rams win and tie Seattle, the schedule slightly favors the Seahawks:
Seattle faces the 49ers twice, Packers, and Cardinals. The likely loss is at Denver, but Hasselbeck, Alexander, and the rest of the offense should be back and rolling for the final two games against the Chargers and Buccaneers. If they hold on to the four likely wins and pick up one of the tough ones, 10-6 is easily possible. If they win both of those, 11-5 will take the division.
The St. Louis Rams also have four likely wins with the 49ers, Cardinals, Redskins, and Raiders. However, their other three games are considerably tougher with the Panthers, Bears, and Vikings.
Raider defensive end Tyler Brayton got into a scuffle with loudmouth tight end Jerramy Stevens, climaxing with an attempted low blow with his knee. Brayton was immediately ejected with offsetting penalties being assessed to both teams. Look for a fine and suspension from the NFL; I find this to be worse than the Titans DT Albert Haynesworth's stomp on the head a couple weeks ago - this was a shot at the Stevens' family jewels for crying out loud!
Speaking of Jerramy Stevens, he dropped a sure touchdown right after the penalty and was benched for the rest of the half. For such a talkative and cocky guy, he should catch the ball.
Ditto for T.O.
Dallas-Washington always a great game, by the way.
Mike Martz's offense is clicking in Detroit. Look out.
The New York Giants should have beaten the Houston Texans by a lot more than 14-10. The loss of Strahan will hurt more than we think.
I am having a hard time disagreeing with Sports Illustrated's Peter King's Midseason Awards: MVP - Drew Brees, Offensive Player - Peyton Manning, Defensive Player - Champ Bailey, Offensive Rookie - Marques Colston, Defensive Rookie - DeMaco Ryans, Coach - Sean Payton, Executive Mickey Loomis. Note the New Orleans Saints have half of those.
Rex Grossman's interceptions finally cost the Chicago Bears a win, so now we turn to the Indianapolis Colts who are still 8-0. I did not think they would survive this two week stretch with games at Denver and at New England. Unless they pack it in after clinching homefield like last year, I do not see them losing a game at all.
Halfway through the season, the AFC playoff picture is fairly simple: Baltimore, New England, and Indy will take their divisions, while San Diego and Denver will battle for the West with the other getting a wild card. Look for Jacksonville or Kansas City to take the final spot, with Cincinnati and New York on the outside looking in.
The NFC, in comparison, is a mess. The only lock is Chicago in the North, but Minnesota can push for a wild card spot. We know about Seattle and St. Louis in the West. The Giants are hot since their 1-2 start and should take the East, although Philly and Dallas will challenge them. Anything can happen in the South, with New Orleans, Atlanta, and Carolina each a game apart. After the Dolphins proved the Bears are beatable in Chicago, the NFC has become wide open.
