<< Front page Sports December 5, 2003

Titans shocked on Monday night

Last weekend’s NFL contests, whether upsets or routs, yield these pressing questions (and answers):

How on earth did the lowly New York Jets beat Tennessee? That’s easy: quarterback Steve McNair should not have been playing. It was obvious that he was still hurting, especially when he threw his second interception. He stepped up in the pocket and had 20 yards in front of him to get the first down but he chose to throw it instead. Two weeks ago he would have run for the first down. That was only the tip of the iceberg. If tight end Erron Kinney had caught the ball in the end zone on fourth and goal, that game would have gone into overtime and then who knows what would have happened.

Is New England the new team to beat in the AFC? No, Tennessee is still a better team despite having one more loss. In a week or two Tennessee will have McNair healthy again and will regain their powerhouse title. New England has a strong defense and good offense, but not a consistent enough offense to win the trophy.

Is Philadelphia the new team to beat in the NFC? Yes. With quarterback Donovan McNabb now on fire, Philly is going to march straight into the Super Bowl, where they will come up short against the Tennessee Titans.

Will Kansas City get home field advantage throughout the playoffs? Yes, after they finish the season 15-1 they will get the top seed in the AFC. They should sweep their conference with a win against Denver, their last real competition of the season. If they can stop running back Clinton Portis, they will beat Denver.

Top 5

1. Tennessee Titans (9-3): They are too strong offensively and defensively to be stopped when they are healthy. A win over Indianapolis would assert their strength and prove that the loss to the Jets was a fluke.

2. New England (10-2): They are playing great defense now and that is what is keeping them on a winning streak. Though they allowed 34 points against Indianapolis, the Colts do have the best offense in the NFL and the Patriots defense made a goal line stand to win the game.

3. Kansas City (11-1): Their offense is good enough to carry them in the regular season, but not the playoffs. Their defense doesn’t look strong enough to win the Super Bowl.

4. Philadelphia Eagles (9-3): Between McNabb and their strong defense they are looking at a trip to Houston.

5. St. Louis Rams (9-3): They are back to their high-flying offense that won the Super Bowl for them in 2000. If they can stop McNabb, the title game could be a repeat of the 2000 Titans-Rams matchup.

Cellar Dwellers

28. Cleveland Browns (4-8)
: They just cannot stay out of legal trouble. Until they draft a good offensive player who can continually pass a drug test, they will be an on-and-off team.

29. San Diego (2-10): With quarterback Doug Flutie in their offense they will win more games, but not many.

30. Oakland Raiders (3-9): Wow, they need to fix player-coach relations before they can regain their winning ways.

31. Arizona Cardinals (3-9): This one is simple: they just suck!

32. Atlanta Falcons (2-10): They better hope that Vick breathes life back into this team.

   

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