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 If needed, will the Rams suit up Chris Mortensen at kicker? Mort goes inside the Rams.
wav: 1597 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Dan Patrick Show
Pick your poison. Chris Mortensen looks at Daunte Culpepper and the Vikings' 6-0 start.
wav: 1075 k
Real: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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Week 7: Vikings' streak, Redskins' revival continue
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Titans 27, Jaguars 13: No surprises here. The Titans played their typical black-and-blue game. They used their passing game to get a lead and then used Eddie George to maintain it. I'm very anxious to see the Titans in their next four games, when they play the Ravens and Redskins on the road, then the Steelers and Ravens again at home. If they sweep these games, they will firmly establish themselves (at least in my mind) as the AFC favorite. I would have liked to have seen Steve McNair throw the ball a little more crisply Monday night, but that's pretty picky. Jacksonville again showed signs of a team pressing too hard to make things happen. I didn't see a team that has quit, which is at least a healthy sign. But they really need to get Jimmy Smith back in the lineup this week vs. the Redskins.
|  | | Cris Carter breaks away for a 24-yard touchdown reception for Minnesota. He finished with seven catches for 111 yards against the Bears. |
Vikings 28, Bears 16: This easily could have been a game where the
Vikings suffered their first loss, especially coming off a Monday-night biggie against Tampa Bay. Here again, falling behind 9-0 on the road, the
Vikings show why they're for real. Like the Rams, they can beat you every way
possible. Robert Smith's 170-yard performance was just another example. The Bears took away Randy Moss, so Cris Carter nailed them for 111 yards and Moss made
another terrific grab in traffic for a TD. Daunte Culpepper threw just 26
times for under 200 yards but there were no interceptions and three TD
passes. The Bears schemed the Vikings about as well as you can do it. Still,
no go. The most unsung aspect of the Vikings continues to be their offensive
line, which hasn't show any signs of missing Jeff Cristy and Randall
McDaniel. The Bears have their reasons for sticking with Cade McNown, but it
might have cost them this game. He missed some throws that could have
resulted in big plays. But they're down the road this far with McNown, and
with a 1-6 record, why change now? Bears rookie MLB Brian Urlacher now has
six sacks and at least he gives Chicago fans somebody they can identify their
past with -- a la Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary.
Redskins 10, Ravens 3: This is what makes the Redskins' Norv Turner a
good coach -- he's supposedly an "offensive guru" but he does whatever it
takes to win a football game. Turner refused to give up on the run vs. the
stingy Ravens' defense and was rewarded when Stephen Davis busted loose for a
33-yard touchdown with 10 minutes left to play. That's four straight for the
Redskins (5-2), and even though the Ravens played their 24th game without
allowing a 100-yard rusher, Davis earned 91 on 21 carries. For the Ravens, it
must be strange to be 5-2 and thoroughly frustrated. Tony Banks' interception
with the Ravens at Washington's 1 near the end of the first half was
boneheaded. Ravens coach Brian Billick is sticking with Banks, which doesn't
surprise me. He probably remembers how poorly Trent Dilfer played in the
preseason and you seldom hand a playoff-caliber team over to a rookie, such
as Chris Redman, who looked terrific in preseason. The Ravens enter a very
interesting stretch of four AFC Central games, including two against the
Titans, starting next week.
Raiders 20, Chiefs 17: Rich Gannon reminds me of Joe Kapp (for you
old-timers out there). He is not a very pretty quarterback but, boy, does he
compete and find a way to win. That might make him a perfect Raider in Al
Davis' eyes ("Just win, baby"), but I'm positive coach Jon Gruden would like
to see the offense run with more precision. Gannon only threw five
incompletions all day (out of 33 attempts), and he seemed to be making up plays
along the way to bring Oakland back from a 17-7 deficit. The Chiefs have
changed personalities, not all for the good. They aren't running the football
and they aren't stopping the run. This time, the Raiders' Tyrone Wheatley and
Napoleon Kaufman hit 'em for 123 yards on 25 carries. As for Sebastian
Janikowski, I guess it's a natural story line that he finally hit a
game-winner, but isn't he supposed to kick a 43-yarder? The Chiefs blew a
great opportunity to tighten the AFC West race -- now the Raiders (5-1) are
sitting fairly pretty with a two-game lead. Elvis Grbac's stats were OK, he
didn't throw an interception, but Gannon out-willed him Sunday.
Giants 19, Cowboys 14: Cowboys coach Dave Campo said he never gave thought to pulling Troy Aikman on Sunday. He should have, and I bet he did
think about it. What's more important -- winning a crucial NFC East game or
trying to avoid a quarterback controversy? Randall Cunningham might have
pulled this one out for the Cowboys. The Giants got back to doing what
generated their 3-0 start by striking with thunder and lightning -- Ron Dayne
(21 for 108) and Tiki Barber (9 for 93). Jason Sehorn's broken rib is a big
blow, at least for the next three weeks. The good thing is that one of those
week (this one) is a bye and neither of their next two opponents (Eagles and
Browns) are a big throwing teams. But the Giants definitely need Sehorn by
Nov. 12. The Rams come to town that day.
Packers 31, 49ers 28: All right, who leads Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning
and Brett Favre in touchdown passes this season? The 49ers' Jeff Garcia does,
as he added four more TDs. Favre entertained me more, though, in another
vintage performance. Antonio Freeman (six catches, 116 yards) had his first
100-yard day in 14 games. Let's hear it for the Packers' O-line, which was
starting two rookie tackles (Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton) -- the Packers
had 134 yards rushing and Favre was sacked just twice, although he had to do
a few magic acts to evade some blitzes. The Pack get a bye and should be
healthy when they return, but check those next four games -- Dolphins,
Vikings, Buccaneers and Colts.
Rams 45, Falcons 29: I can't wait for this argument again -- who is the
Rams' MVP, Kurt Warner or Marshall Faulk? Sunday, it was Faulk with 208 yards
rushing. I thought the Falcons again made a fair accounting, but their
defense had trouble getting off the field. I'm not going to say much more
about the Rams ... (yawn) ... they're starting to bore me. But they did
justify my theory that the game would do just fine without kickers.
Jets 34, Patriots 17: Now I know why Al Groh was so smug about his quarterback situation. It just didn't matter! All Vinny Testaverde had to do
was take the snap and hand off to Curtis Martin, this time to the tune of 143
yards rushing and three TDs. I believe Patriots owner Bob Kraft gets the
point. He got taken by the Jets when they stole Martin from him three years
ago. The Jets firm up their status as a contender with this convincing win,
getting big plays on defense from the oldies like Mo Lewis and Bryan Cox, and
the babies like John Abraham and Shaun Ellis. The Pats' defense was dominated
by the Jets' O-line; New England clearly missed underrated DT Chad Eaton.
Colts 37, Seahawks 24: Look out, Colts' foes. This is exactly what Indy
needed -- a breakout game by Edgerrin James, who rushed 38 times for 219
yards and three TDs. This had to happen in order for Peyton Manning's
play-action game to remain effective this season. Brock Huard looked pretty
sharp for the Seahawks, but now the second-year quarterback has a knee injury
to overcome.
Bills 27, Chargers 24 (OT): Remember, Rob Johnson told us a few weeks ago
he doubted he would last the season at the pace he was being hit.
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Rob Johnson told us a few weeks ago
he doubted he would last the season at the pace he was being hit. ” |
Now, Bills' fans get their wish -- Doug Flutie takes over at quarterback for the next few
weeks. But it was Johnson (29 of 47, 321 yards) who brought the Bills back
from a 10-point deficit by leading a 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter.
Chargers coach Mike Riley was kicking himself for pulling Jim Harbaugh just
for the sake of sticking to his plan of playing Moses Moreno in the second
quarter. Moreno's two fumbles meant 14 points for Buffalo. Coaches get fired
over that sort of thing, although based on what I saw, I wouldn't get overly
excited about Harbaugh's performance.
Saints 24, Panthers 6: Ricky Williams may be a strange dude but he's starting to make Mike Ditka look good. Williams not only got his fourth
straight 100-yard rushing day (38 for 144), but he threw a 34-yard pass and
had 35 more yards as a receiver. But how about Jim Haslett and his No. 1
ranked defense. The Saints' relentless attacking style netted eight more
sacks and they now have 27 for the season. Defensive tackle La'Roi Glover had
his second straight three-sack game and nine for the season, and rookie DL
Darren Howard (Kansas State) now has six sacks. The Saints are 3-3. Did you
hear me? The Saints are 3-3. Haslett is on my short list of coach of the year
candidates. Oh, the Panthers' Steve Beuerlein should have stayed home in bed
with the flu.
Eagles 33, Cardinals 14: Eagles coach Andy Reid took full blame for the Eagles not running the football last week. They ran it well with Darnell
Autry, Stanley Pritchett and Brian Mitchell against the Cardinals. On defense, the Eagles were almost at full strength -- Hugh Douglas continue to make a Pro Bowl run. The Eagles still look like a playoff-team-in-the-making to me.
Broncos 44, Browns 10: Brian Griese had 304 passing yards at halftime and
finished with 336. Mike Anderson had 103 yards rushing. The Browns left a
bunch of injured folks home. I don't know what this game meant, except that
the Broncos still have a shot in the AFC West.
Steelers 15, Bengals 0: How much space should you devote to a game that
has 22 punts, including 12 by the winning team? Kent Graham made one play --
actually Hines Ward made it for a 77-yard TD pass-run early in the game.
Graham was 6-of-7 for 121 yards to start off, but he completed just 7-of-26
for 52 yards the rest of the game. You can't tell me Kordell Stewart wouldn't
have produced more points. Somebody's pride is showing. The Steelers' D is
playing at a pretty high level. The Bengals' 0 is, well, just that.
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