From: v073pzuy@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Mr. Tinkertrain)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: OFF THE CUFF
Date: 7 Oct 92 23:56:00 GMT
Organization: University at Buffalo
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

Well, in  keeping with the name of this program, I am off to the races on a
whim, writing--of course--"off the cuff"...

--Don Shula deserves a lot of credit for getting his team motivated to beat the
Buffalo Bills in Rich Stadium.  But the differences between the teams are
obvious--Miami has a decided inferiority complex when it comes to playing the
Bills.  Don Shula, for 4 straight years, has pinned the entire season on 
beating the Bills.  Last year it didn't work in the opener (won, 35-31, by the
Bills), and look at the result--an 8-8 season, and missing the playoffs.  Two
years ago it worked (30-7 Miami in Joe Robbie), but the Dolphins *still* 
couldn't win the division.  And they fell out of the lead the very next week...

--The 'Fins would do well to use their new 2-4-5 defense against the Falcons
this Sunday in Miami.  They will need to have all the secondary help they can
get against Chris Miller, who has thrown for 11 TDs (only 3 INTs) in 5 games.
A lack of DLs shouldn't hurt against Atlanta, a team that couldn't run the
ball if you put 11 DBs on the field...

--Mike Ditka should be fired.  I know this won't sit well with some of the more
diehard Bears' fans, but he doesn't do any good for his team with his attitude.
There's an old adage in sports that says, "You're never as good as you think
you are after a win, and never as bad as you think you are after a loss."
Ditka's response after a Jim Harbaugh audible led to an INT that put Minnesota
on the board did nothing for Harbaugh or the rest of the Bears.  Rather than
feeling confident and regaining the momentum on the next drive, the Bears were
shaky and collapsed, losing, 21-20.  Before the season, Ditka said he felt this
team was better than the '85 Bears (that won the Super Bowl).  And we all
remember his "I don't know if this team can win another football game" outburst
last year.  Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Wayne Fontes, Mike Holmgren--the rest of
the NFC Central is passing the Bears by, and it points to Ditka.  Personally,
I'd bring back Bill Parcells, who does well with that sort of personnel.

--Color me satisfied that soft-spoken Herschel Walker was able to victimize
the team that traded him away in possibly the biggest trade in NFL history.
Ever since that time, unrealistic expectations were made of Herschel, all of
which seemed to point to him as "that bum."  It's not his fault that Viking
management couldn't get a hold of the concept of market value...

--The Eagles' biggest challenge so far will come against the Chiefs in 
Arrowhead this Sunday (easily the best game of the week).  The Cowboys' DE had
more problems with Walker than the Chiefs' big boys will have.  Someone try to
tell me Charles Haley isn't a linebacker who would *like* to be a defensive 
end...

--Consider this quote by Buffalo News' sports editor Larry Felser:  "It's
obvious the Broncos are a mediocre team made dangerous by one man:  John
Elway."  Ain't it the truth...

--The Raiders will probably try to mimick Miami's defensive alignment against
the Bills this week.  Look for a wisening up this week, as the Bills should do
what they didn't do against the Dolphins:  run, run, run the ball...

--Dallas only covers the spread this week against Seattle if Dan McGwire has
no clue how to run the offense...

--5 weeks into the NFL season, 12 more to go, but I still have 4 of my 6
preseason picks atop their respective divisions, with Buffalo and Washington
the only no-shows thus far.

--Guess my friend's pick for the 'Skins is looking better than mine:  8-8...

--Don't pen Miami a lock for the division yet.  The problems you saw during the
first 3 games didn't just magically go away because of Keith Jackson...

--As evidence as the Dolphins' overwhelming problems with the "Buffalo Jinx,"
I present the following:  Louis Oliver (3 INTs) was asked how it felt to 
finally have a good day against Jim Kelly (he has been habitually burned by
Kelly-to-Reed in the past).  The Don Himself jumped in and answered the
question for Oliver, saying, "I wasn't aware that Louis was the only player
who had ever been beaten by Jim Kelly."  Way to go, Dad...

--Defensive personnel problems have finally caught up with Cincinnati.  The
mirror seems broken, and the Oilers/Bengals game this week should clarify
this point one way or another...

--If Deion does indeed play both sports this Sunday, the betting here is that
he'll return a kick for a TD...

--Indy's no-huddle offense will catch quite a few teams by surprise this year...

--Saints' head coach Jim Mora has finally wised up and gotten rid of the
committee at running back, more and more placing the ball in the hands of
rookie Vaughn Dunbar.  Now, if only Bill Belichik would do the same...

--Judging what I've seen happen when the Partriots face an actual pass rush,
I'd say covering the spread this week (16-1/2 points) shouldn't be a problem
for the road-warrior 49ers...

--Wayne Fontes' partial abandonment of the run-n-shoot in favor of an extra TE 
previously this year further justifies my feeling that Joe Gibbs should have
been NFC Coach of the Year in 1991, regardless of the job Sanders--oops, I mean
Fontes--did with the Lions...

And that's how it looks to me...

					---Chet Zeshonski