ST. LOUIS, MO – Three weeks into the NFL season and there are few NFL Surprises greater than the fact that the Giants are 0-3 and the Jets are 2-1. Unfortunately for me, it’s not surprising that the Rams are 1-2 after their dismal showing at the Jerry Dome but that is still better than the Giants, so I’ll take that. There have also been individual surprises, both on and off the field. Here are some of the best of both.
Colin Kaepernick. Many people think that his start to the season is a surprise but I think this was due to happen. There are many quarterbacks that can burst onto a scene and cause some ruckus in a handful of games (Tim Tebow, anyone?) and even make the Super Bowl – like C.K.. What happens when you give defensive coordinators all spring to game plan against a gimmick? The gimmick stops working. Pretty soon the read option will go the way of the wild cat. Miami thought they were neat…for a season.
D’Angelo Williams. Down in Carolina the man that should be getting all the press isn’t Cam Newton. Williams is third in the league in rushing yards through three games – and he wasn’t even supposed to start this season. His rushes are allowing Cam Newton a lot more leeway in the secondary as we all saw last Sunday, when the Jints were set back ten years.
Aldon Smith. Missouri’s finest, Aldon is officially in the same category as Big Ben, Plaxico Burress and Mike Vick in the “When-you-do stupid-enough-crap-you-are-bound-to-get-caught” Department. If you were to throw a party, how would you get people to leave your home? I might flash the lights on and off, stop the music, tell the crowd that you have bed bugs….. I sure as hell wouldn’t choose to shoot warning shots straight into the air with a couple pistols, ignoring the fact that the bullets might come crashing down to Earth – injuring somebody. Then – a few months later – I definitely wouldn’t get caught driving while intoxicated, especially since the NFL has basically provided a twenty four-hour car service to all players, simply to avoid this kind of stupidity. Poor tree.
The officiating. Coaches, players, fans and gamblers alike have seen ludicrous targeting fouls. The contact the rule is intending to prevent is not preventable over half of the time, and the defensive players are getting railroaded for doing nothing wrong. When a receiver goes up in the air and comes down on the defensive back, chances are he is going to come close to the crown of the helmet. If you ask me, this rule is the product of a greater conspiracy, where in the NFL is trying to find every way possible to raise the average scores in a given game. The days of 9-6 Cleveland Browns vs Pittsburg Steelers games are over. The league would much rather have a superstar QB in a giant and impenetrable bubble, throwing to receivers that have an infinite advantage over the defenders. P.s… The Lingerie Football League said that refs they fired – are in the NFL.
Come back tomorrow for Cookie and her Off The Field craziness in Cookie’s Corner.
