Monday, Nov. 19, 2001

Monday Musings

Amazingly, the Bears’ lucky horseshoe hasn’t run out of magic

By Michael Holbrook, Managing editor of special projects

I mean, it is luck that’s carrying these Bears, right? Either that or Jauron sold his soul to the devil and every break is guaranteed to go the Bears’ way. That’s the only explanation for the weird happenings surrounding the Bears this season.

The Bucs are now 19-4 under head coach Tony Dungy (clearly in his last season at the helm in Tampa, don’t you think?) when leading at halftime. Tampa led 9-7 after 30 minutes of play.

Doesn’t it always seem as if Denver plays host to the first snow game of each season? Watching the snowflakes fall in Denver Sunday during the Redskins-Broncos game once again reinforced how much I love to watch games played in bad weather but hate to be there in person. In fact, I just started shivering again after thinking about sitting in the stands during a torrential downpour in Evanston, Ill., in 1998 during a 12-6 victory for Michigan over Northwestern. Brutal.

It sure looks like the Jay Fiedler era will be over in Miami after this season. Fiedler has made way too many mistakes as the leader of the Dolphins’ offense, and that was quite apparent Sunday vs. the Jets. Fiedler was intercepted three times, two of which were returned for touchdowns, as the Jets rolled to a 24-0 victory.

With the Dolphins’ stout defense, all they need is a steady signalcaller who doesn’t turn the ball over and is capable of making big plays when needed. Fiedler has shown some big-play potential, but his weakness of turning the ball over has been deadly to coach Dave Wannstedt’s team.

Number of the day: One. That’s the number of touchdowns that Redskins RB Stephen Davis has scored this season after totaling 28 the previous two seasons. Davis has been a fantasy owner’s nightmare this season for more than just being unable to get in the endzone. Would you believe that Davis has totaled 99 yards on three separate occasions? In other words, he has fallen short of a yardage bonus by one lousy yard THREE TIMES! (Can you tell that I own Davis in my fantasy league here at PFW?)

Boy, Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander is either making things very easy or very difficult on head coach Mike Holmgren, depending on how you look at it. Alexander followed up his 266-yard performance against the Raiders by rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown in leading Seattle to a 23-20 win at Buffalo. Alexander is looking so impressive that it’s hard to imagine Holmgren will reinsert Ricky Watters back into the starting lineup when he returns from injury next week. But you never know what the dynamic of the situation is behind closed doors. In other words, will Watters pout and be a divisive influence in the Seahawks’ locker room upon his return, especially if he isn’t starting? This will be interesting to watch.

The most impressive catch of the day was made by Bears WR Marty Booker, who got pounded by both S John Lynch and LB Jamie Duncan but still held on to the ball for a touchdown in the Bears’ 27-24 win vs. Tampa. Tying for the runner-up spot are the one-handed catches made by Colts TE Marcus Pollard (who stuck his right hand out, pulled in a pass from QB Peyton Manning and rambled 86 yards for a TD on the opening play of the game in New Orleans) and Bucs WR Reidel Anthony, who had a Bears defender draped all over him but still managed to haul in a one-handed catch late in the first half to set up a field goal in the Bucs’ loss vs. Chicago.

The most impressive throw of the day had to be 49ers QB Jeff Garcia’s lob into the corner of the endzone with one second left in regulation. The 49ers trailed 22-14 at the time, and this was their last shot at tying the game. So what did Garcia do? He matter-of-factly lobbed an absolutely perfect pass into the corner of the endzone, and WR Terrell Owens caught the ball in stride, keeping both feet inbounds before running out the back of the endzone. The 49ers converted the two-point conversion to tie and drove down the field for a game-winning field goal on the first possession of overtime.

Chargers DE Raylee Johnson put on quite a show vs. the Raiders Sunday, registering three sacks as he upped his season total to 8.5. That equals the number of his fellow DE Marcellus Wiley, giving the Chargers arguably the top DE tandem in the NFL (with apologies to the Giants’ Michael Strahan and Kenny Holmes).

Ageless Raiders WR Jerry Rice also put on a show in that same Raiders-Chargers game, catching eight passes for 131 yards, including three touchdowns. It was vintage Rice as he repeatedly got open for big catches, and QB Rich Gannon didn’t hesitate to look his way

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2001 - 2002 Season