From: timr@sco.COM (Tim Ruckle)
Subject: Week 5--Synopsis and Comments
Warning: LONG
Organization: The Gifted and the Damned
Date: Wed, 07 Oct 1992 10:04:54 GMT
Keywords: 49ers, Vikings, Eagles, Broncos, Dolphins



thus starts the "second quarter" of the NFL season.  we knew coming into
this week that there could be only two remaining unbeated teams after the
conclusion of the games.  and while there is plenty of time left for the
those with trailing teams to bounce back, the picture is becoming clearer
as to who is realistically in the hunt at this point...

the AFC Central had the week off, and Houston and Pitsburgh (at 3-1) are
the only teams left which must share a piece of first.  there's only two
games separating them and the last place Browns, and  next week's division
games (Pitsburgh at Cleveland & Houston at Cincinatti) will need an upset
for one of them to pull ahead.

here's a recap and some thoughts on last week's games, starting with the
more or less inconsequential ones:

Jet's hosting the Patriots--battle of the winless AFC Easters.  the Pats
had scored just 13 points all season.  they managed to almost double that,
all in the second half.  didn't matter though, as the Jets jumped to a
17-0 first half lead, and finished up beating the Pats 30-21.  the Jets
were playing without their two best pass-rushers, but still sacked Millen
seven times (bring poor Hugh's total to 21 on the season.  the only thing
the hapless Pats have won so far is sole possession of last place in their
division, as well as having the dubious distinction of being the last
remaining team without a win (falling to 0-4).  the Jets rocket into a 
1/2 game lead over New England with their 1-4 record.

the west coast version of the AFC slacker game ended up with the Chargers
grabbing their first win from the Seahawks, 17-6.  McGwire came in for
Stouffer, but the 'Hawks couldn't carry the day.  San Diego's Stan Humphries,
the lowest-rated QB in the league, completed 15 of 28 for 200 yards and
(more importantly) wasn't intercepted (as he had been 8 times in his last
3 starts).  at 1-4, San Diego now shares last place in the AFC West with
both Seattle and the Raiders.

the Raiders upset the Giants for their first win, edging them 13-10 with
Jeff Jaeger's career-long 54-yard FG in the 4th quarter (that after missing
2 attempts in the 1st half).  Marinovich had a 68-yard TD pass to Tim Brown
to tie it up in the 3rd quarter.  on their last drive the Giants drove to
the Raider's 33-yard line, only to have Simms sacked for a 9-yard loss and
then throw for two incompletions.  New York punted with 2:02 left, and that
was that.  the Giants drop to 1-3, and are tied with Phoenix for last in
the NFC East.  they'll fight it out with them for sole possession of last
place next week.  (meanwhile, the Jets'll be up against the Colts--maybe
it's finally time for NYC to let 'em both secede to New Jersey and be done
with it, eh?... ;^)

the Cardinals picked up their first win by upsetting the Redskins 27-24.
Phoenix's Robert Massey returned two INT's for TD's in the 4th quarter,
and Chandler thew a TD with 41 seconds left to take the lead.  Lohmiller
had a chance to tie on the final play with a 40-yard FG, but missed wide
right.  the Cards snapped an 11-game losing streak, while the erstwhile
league champs fell to 2-2, but retain third place in that most dreaded
NFC East.  how quickly can a SB MVP get booed at home?  pretty darn quick.

Brett Favre, the former Falcon, was 33 of 43 for 276, but could only throw
for one TD as Atlanta beat the Packers 24-10.  the Packers cut the lead to
17-10 on the first play of the 4th quarter, but the Falcons marched right
back to put the game out of reach.  Miller completed 16 of 26 for 171 yards,
3 TD's and no INT's.  both teams are now 2-3, the Falcons tied with the
Rams for last place in the NFC West, and Green Bay sharing 3rd in the NFC
Central with the Bears.  Atlanta visits Miami next week, and New Orleans
hosts the Rams.

Tampa Bay's new pants couldn't overcome the resurgent Colts (heh heh),
and they fall to second place in the NFC Central at 3-2.  the Bucs led
14-7 at halftime, having held Indianappolis to only 30 seconds for time
of possession in the first quarter.  but the Colts tied it up on their
first possession of the third quarter, and scored 17 unanswered points
in the second half to win 24-14.  Indianapolis is now even at 2-2 (and
sneaking up on Buffalo to challenge for 2nd place in the AFC East. ;^)

last year the Lions went 12-4, won their division, and were one game away
from the Super Bowl.  last game they fell 1-4, losing to the Saints 13-7,
and now sit in last place in the NFC Central.  New Orleans had six sacks
and held Barry Sanders to just 36 yards.  the key play was a fumbled
handoff from Rodney Pete to Sanders, which set up the scoring drive that
put the Saints ahead in the 3rd-quarter.  the Saints now have 19 sacks
on the season, and are in 2nd place in the NFC West with a 3-2 record. 


...okay, and now for the division leaders:

the Bears blew a 20-0 4th quarter lead, as the Vikings pulled off the
second-biggest 4th-quarter comeback in NFL history.  with 14:03 left to
play, Harbaugh called an audible and was picked off by Todd Scott, who
went 35 yards for a TD.  Ditka was livid on the sidelines, and continued
after the game by whining to the press because his QB would *dare* change
his play or (gasp) make a mistake.  i suppose Harbaugh was playing on
defense during the next two Minnesota drives?  Ditka continues to show
why he is a real fist-class jerk--a poor loser who'll blame anybody and
everybody but himself.  Glanville may still be the biggest ass in the NFL,
but at least he shows some kind of entertainment value.  Mike says he's
not going to put 47 players' futures in the hands of one player who thinks
he knows more than him.  I tell you what, the only thing he seems to know
how to do anymore is throw temper tantrums.  take yer meds, Mike, and get
ready for your own early retirement.

it became apparent that the Bills don't have a lock on the AFC championship
this time 'round, as they get spanked by the Dolphins 37-10.  Louis Oliver
intercepted Kelly 3 times, including one for a record-tying 103 yards and
a TD.  trailing Miami 24-10 at that point, a Buffalo score could have kept
them in the game.  instead, the Bills move out of first place--for the first
time in 36 weeks--falling 1/2 game behind the unbeaten Dolphins.  to add
injury to insult, Kelly ruptured the bursar sac in his throwing elbow trying
to tackle Oliver (though he claimed he would not miss any game time because
of it).  Marino completed 21 of 33 for 282 yards, 3 TD's and 1 INT.  one of
the TD's was an "interception" by Keith Jackson for a 24-yard score.  the
Miami defense also sacked the Bills 3 times and recovered a fumble.  let the
AFC East counter-woofing begin...  (i mean, why the hell not--they'll just
get beat by the NFC champs like usual anyways ;^)

Over in the AFC West, the Chiefs suffered their 10th straight loss at
Mile High stadium, with John Elway leading the Broncos in his 21st
4th-quarter come_from_behind victory.  Denver was trailing 19-6 with
five minutes left in the game, and Elway passed for two touchdowns in
the final two minutes.  after Lowery's 4th field goal put Kansas City up
by 13, the Broncos answered by driving 80 yards in 14 plays, with Elway
hitting Mark Jackson for a 25-yard TD with 1:55 remaining.  that ended a
string of 12 quarters where Denver had failed to score a TD.  rookie Dale
Carter returned the ensuing kickoff only to the 5-yard line, and after
the Chiefs were forced to punt, Denver rookie Arther Marshal returned it
28 yards to the Kansas City 27.  Elway then hit Marshal for a couple of
passes before finding the recently activated Vance Johnson in the end
zone for a 12-yarder with 38 seconds left.  David Treadwell's extra point
skimmed the upright but went through for the go-ahead score.  gotta be a
heartbreaker for Chiefs fans, who's offense (IMNSHO) has been looking much
better than that of the Broncos.  but Denver now tops the AFC West at 4-1,
and Kansas City falls to second with 3-2 (though at least their wins equal
those of the other three contenders combined).  Denver's visiting Washington
(who're undoubtably pissed) come Monday night.  the Chiefs on the other hand
have to travel to Philadelphia.  this's perhaps one of those division races
that may ultimately be determined by a season ending photo-finish...

the 49ers maintain their position atop the NFC West with their 27-24
win over the Rams.  San Francisco, who was favored by over 2 TD's,
needed a fourth quarter comeback from Young to win the game.  this was
his first since replacing Montana last year (and Young's critics have
noted that the Niners have lost three games--including this year's
only loss to the Bills--that could have been won at the end).  Young
went 20 for 29 gaining 247 yards, no TD's and one INT.  the INT came
at a critical moment, after LA had tied it up 10-10 in the fourth.
Young double-pumped, looking at Rice all the way, and was picked off
by cornerback Robert Bailey who returned it 24 yards for a TD. Young
did rush 3 times for 60 yards and 2 TD's, including a 39-yarder (with
3:55 left to play) that put the Niners ahead 24-17.  Young broke three
tackles and then paid back Bailey by dragging him 8 yards into the end
zone.  with 1:50 remaining, the Rams answered by driving 69 yards down
the field to score on a 9-yard TD pass to Flipper Anderson.  then on
3rd-and-4 following the kickoff, Young found Brent Jones open deep
down the middle for a 43-yard play to the LA 31-yard line.  two plays
later Rice brought down a beautiful 26-yard one-hander to the five.
after a couple of 1-yard Watters runs, Mike Cofer converted the 21-yard
chip shot for the winning FG.  Cofer, who's job was in question after
the Bills game, has been good for 6 straight since then.  Everett, who
came into the game as the lowest rated NFC QB, looked flawless most of
the night.  he didn't throw an incomplete pass till well into the 3rd
quarter, and ended up 20 or 24 for 232 yards, 2 TD's, and 1 INT.  he
hadn't looked that good since the '89 season, when the Niners met them
in the '89 NFC Championship game (only to pasted 'em 30-3, afte which
they've never been the same).  however, the Niners could not generate
any kind of pass rush, and sacked Everett only once (by Pierce Holt).
and the secondary remained soft.  of the 17 points that the Niners
scored in the final 6 1/2 minutes, both touchdowns came off of forced
turnovers.  Rams tight end Jim Price (who led his team with 6 receptions
for 57 yards) had a pass hit him in the hands, only to lose control after
a hit by linebacker Bill Romanowski, and the ball was tipped right into
the hands of linebacker Keith DeLong.  later, safety David Whitmore,
who'd been beat by Price, caught up with him and hacked the ball out of
his hands and Johnnie Jackson recovered the fumble.  both times the Niners
got the ball at midfield, and neither drive took more than 5 plays to score.
on another key play, Whitmore--on a 3rd-and-9 situation early in the fourth
quarter--stopped Anderson just short of the first down marker, and forced
the Rams to settle for a FG.  Whitmore and Romanowski seemed to have shaped
up into the leaders of this otherwised troubled defense.  on the plus side,
rookie Klaus Wilmsmeyer laid down two nifty "pooch" punts inside the ten
and also boomed a 54-yarder.  Klaus, who hasn't much work this season,
having been called on for only one punt against the Jets and getting a day
off entirely against the Bills, has changed his release from three to two
steps.  defensive end Garin Veris, aquired as a free agent the previous week,
was in on about five plays and looked okay.  Rice still only has 1 TD catch
on the year, and remains 7 short of Steve Largent's record 100.  but he has
now caught a pass a pass in his 100th straight game, 5 short of Dwight Clark's
Niner record but just a bit over halfway to Largent's record of 177.  and
Rice's catch deep in LA territory at the end of the game proved as good as
a TD in this case, and he appears more patient this year (having complained
publically last year about being "uninvolved" at this time last year).  yet
Rathman actually caught more passes than Rice, with 6 for 36 yards, as well
as rushing 4 times for 31 yards--including a 16-yard run.  Watters rushed 20
times for 83 yards and 1 TD, and catching 2 for 26.  Jones seemed back in
form, grabbing 4 for 89--including the key 43-yarder.  Sherrard got 3 for 39,
and while Turner didn't have a reception he did look damn good on special
teams.  WR Ron Lewis was activated off injured reserve Saturday but was not
a factor.  linebacker Mitch Donahue (knee) was placed on IR to make room on
the roster.  there were no serious injuries in the game, but linebacker Tim
Harris, already coming off of thumb surgery, had a sprained knee and kick
returner Marc Logan has a sprained big toe.  both are expected to play next
Sunday against New England, however.

the Niners have managed to maintain the momentum they had at the end of
last season, and they typically take it up a notch as the season wears on,
and can really shift into gear for the postseason.  still, i really can't
count anybody out in the division at this point.  i'm glad they've got two
division wins under their belt thus far (and also that Deon is gunna be
playin' baseball when we host the Falcons in two weeks ;^).  if the Niners
can take Atlanta, they've got a bye the following week and then take on the
Cards.  they might very well go 7-1 up to that point.  'course they gotta
take on the (current) division leading Eagles, Dolphins, and Vikings right
in a row (after finishing their final division games in November).  then
they finish up against the Bucs and the Lions.  at this point i will predict
a shored up defense, and offense that knows it can match up against anybody,
and a 12-4 season.  see you in the playoffs pardners.  and it don't matter
none if yer 16-0 or 10-6...the bigger they come, the harder they fall.
gunna get Joe one for the thumb.

and finally, in the much-hyped Monday night showdown between the unbeated
NFC East powerhouses, the Eagles simply dominated the Cowboys from the
get-go, and crushed them 31-7.  the Eagles defense sacked Aikman 4 times,
intercepted him 3 times, and scooped up a fumble.  they completely shut
down Emmit Smith, whose 67 yards on 19 carries must be viewed in light
of his runs against the prevent defense at the end of the game (after it
was all but over).  Philadelphia, who clearly dominated the 1st half,
led by only 3 points at halftime.  but they then came out and scored 21
unanswered points in the second half.  all the Eagles TD's came on runs:
Cunningham getting his in the 1st quarter, Walker getting his 2 in the
third and fourth, and Byars picking up the last one.  Walker ran 19 times
for 87 yards.  Randal who ran 7 for 43, completed 11 of 19 for 124 yards
and 1 INT.  there was a scary moment after he took a shot to the knees,
but he came back and looked confident all night long.  that, combined with
an improved offensive line and a running game, makes them the team to beat
at this point.  at the very least, i just hope this shuts up the 'Boys fans
for a day or three.

the NFC Central (plus San Diego) has the week off this time.   who'll be
leading going into the season's "halftime"?  and who's gunna be able to pull
it out and come from behind to make the playoffs?  who knows?

-tim(gawdilovethisgame)r

--
Everybody knows the dice are loaded, Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows the war is over, Everybody knows that the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed: the poor get poor, the rich stay rich
That's how it goes.  Everybody knows.                           --Leonard Cohen