Bring your lunch pail, bag the hype
Just when we thought the National Football League had gone retro and was back to clearly marking its teams as either haves or nots, yesterday came along and
reminded us that
the distance from the penthouse to the outhouse in the current-day NFL
is often a
hard-earned yard here or there.In this league, no matter how pretty you think you are, Tony, you'd best roll up those sleeves, take that stupid ski cap off your head, grab a lunch pail, and be ready to put in three hours of hard work and good play.
After drinking their own Kool-Aid all week, do you think the Dallas Romos thought they'd go deep in the fourth quarter in Green Bay without scoring a single point?
Do you think those suckers on TV that can never seem to get enough of Jerry Jones' swill were smart enough to spit it out after watching his Cowboys do what they do best: lose meaningful games?
Me either.
But, hey, Jerry's 'boys weren't the only ones believing their own hype Sunday. As always, they were the silliest, though.
You think the undefeated Saints thought they'd have to play a full 60 minutes to finally shake free and escape against the one-win Rams?
What about the Dolphins needing every tick on the clock to put away a Buccaneers team that was banned in London only a few weeks ago?
And remember that Denver team that started 6-0? Well that team became the 6-3 team, that was decked by the kinder, gentler Washington team, that was gracious enough to make that awful Lions team look good earlier this year. Take, er, that, Denver!
Yesterday we were reminded yet again that in today's NFL, dining on what you did the week before, will only leave you feeling empty if you don't pay attention to what's on your plate on any given Sunday.
Still, amid all this chaos and upset, there was one team that didn't believe its press clippings yesterday. Instead, it continued to do its part to create them.
Marvin Lewis' Cincinnati team was all business when it went into Pittsburgh, gave as good as it got, and in the end, was just plain better, winning, 18-12.
With Oakland, Cleveland and Detroit on the Bengals' schedule the next three weeks, it would be mighty tempting to put three wins in the bank, and Cincinnati in the playoffs, wouldn't it?
I guess it all depends on whether these Bengals will accept fool's gold.
Now onto a sampling of what the nation's sportswriters and columnists are saying about their football teams across every NFL city, because in the Grill Room we love the newspaper business, even if it hates itself.
(18) Carolina 28
(8) Atlanta 19
- The Panthers sudden prowess is all so cliche...
- Ryan hits the bar, gets bounced.
(26) Tampa Bay 23
- Dolphin play was sickly but they brought their guts.
- After slow start, Freeman showed he was just Josh-ing.
(32) Detroit 10
- Vikings don't come clean in rout of Lions.
- The Vikes would be Lion if they said Stafford wasn't tough.
(17) N.Y. Jets 22
- Isn't it time for Jaguars fans to take a seat?
- For Ryan, there's no talking his way out of this one.
(4) Pittsburgh 12
- The Bengals know who they are -- for real.
- Steelers might pull a muscle looking up at Bengals.
(31) St. Louis 23
- These days, Saints huff and puff to breath relief.
- Take heart Rams fans, that your team has some.
(25) Buffalo 17
- Titans' winning recipe: dash of Johnson here, dash of Johnson there...
- Bills are pulling same, old stuff.
(13) Denver 17
- 'Skins use tricky colors to paint unfamiliar scene.
- It's a scary fall when you start a mile high.
(28) Oakland 10
- Haley would be smart to start playing dumb.
- Second half of Raiders' season starts as offensive as first.
(23) Seattle 20
- Just give the ball to Beanie, baby.
- Seattle's season of promise is not in the Cards.
(7) Dallas 7
- McCarthy's team wasn't about to Pack it in.
- At least Romo spread the blame around without dropping it.
(11) Philadelphia 23
- Lightning strikes again for Bolts in November.
- Eagles' defense can't shut the Gates to victory.
(5) New England 34
- Colts take Belichick's call, and hand him a loss.
- And about that call...
