Monday, Nov. 12, 2001

Monday Musings

Moss’ loss; Broncos buck Kennison; stone paws

By Jeff Reynolds, associate editor of special projects, and
Michael Holbrook, managing editor of special projects

• The strangest throw of the day had to come from Broncos QB Brian Griese during the second half of Denver’s 26-16 win over San Diego. Leading 26-10, Griese dropped back to pass but found himself swarmed under by the Chargers LB Gerald Dixon. Instead of taking the sack, Griese inexplicably tossed the ball away just as he got hit. The loose ball was picked up by DE Raylee Johnson and returned 45 yards for a touchdown. After instant replay review, the pass was ruled to be a lateral and a live ball and the Chargers’ score was upheld. Luckily for Griese, the Denver defense stuffed the ensuing two-point conversion attempt and shut down the Chargers the rest of the way.

• Speaking of the Broncos, give them credit for scoring a big AFC West victory despite being incredibly thin at wide receiver. WR Eddie Kennison was inactive for the game after apparently telling head coach Mike Shanahan Saturday that he was retiring. Add in the season-ending injury to Ed McCaffrey and the Broncos basically have All-Pro Rod Smith and a bunch of nobodies at wideout. Think Shanahan now wishes he had traded Olandis Gary or Mike Anderson for a wide receiver before the trade deadline?

• There’s nothing like seeing Vikings WR Randy Moss whooping it up after a touchdown … especially when it’s the score that cut Philadelphia’s lead to 48-17 late in the fourth quarter. Yep, that’s certainly cause for celebration.

• Will there be another QB matchup this season more dreadful than the Ryan Leaf vs. Michael Vick showdown in the Georgia Dome Sunday? Yecch! Leaf ended up 14-for-22 passing for 114 yards with one touchdown and only one interception while Vick was only 4-of-12 for 32 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Just to think, the San Diego Chargers considered these two the future of the QB position at various points in the evaluation process.

• A case of the dropsies: Steelers WR Plaxico Burress let what looked like an easy touchdown catch slip through his hands in the first half of Pittsburgh’s 15-12 overtime win over Cleveland. Later in the day, Saints RB Ricky Williams made like the great boxer Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran as he attempted to corral what looked like a sure-thing TD catch in the fourth quarter of the Saints’ 28-27 loss to San Francisco. New Orleans settled for a field goal and never took the lead.

• Does anyone resemble the town drunk any more than Falcons QB Chris Chandler? Chandler watched from the sideline Sunday, with a facial shadow well past 5 o’clock, his disheveled hairstyle hidden beneath a team cap bent in farmer fashion. If only you could smell that breath of fresh air from the Georgia Dome.

• Maybe it’s just us, but we don’t think Jake Plummer and Kerry Collins combined equal a starting NFL quarterback.

• The Lions remain winless after Mighty Mouse (a.k.a. Martin Gramatica) kicked a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds at Detroit Sunday to lift Tampa Bay over the Lions 20-17. Right about now, first-year Lions skipper Marty Mornhinweg is wishing he never would have come back to practice on that Harley Davidson.

• Marty Schottenheimer should be fined by the NFL for making a statement in which he compared Redskins RB Stephen Davis favorably to Marcus Allen — and then threw Christian Okoye, Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack into the mix.

• I have to admit I really thought the Indianapolis Colts were going to be an elite team in the AFC this season and even run away with the Eastern Division. I should have known better than to think anyone could streak to that title, but who could have pegged QB Peyton Manning to be the guy losing games for Indy?

• Hats off to Tampa Bay DT Warren Sapp. After projecting he would break former New York Jets DE Mark Gastineau’s single-season sack record of 22, Sapp went seven games into the season and had only one sack. This week, Sapp added two more, for a total of three at the midway point of the season, meaning he needs just 19 to tie Gastineau. Good luck, Warren. And oh, by the way, Sapp has 18 tackles this season, good for 10^th on his own team. A world-beater, that Sapp guy!

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2001 - 2002 Season