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Poolside Rant

In my hasty rant last week I neglected to mention one of the QB’s that is lighting the NFL ablaze but I am going to rectify the situation this week. What about Drew Bledsoe you ranting fool? I may have given props to Eli last week but I am certain many of you are more surprised by the new Cowboys QB than the top pick from last year’s draft. Well I can safely say I had no questions about Bledsoe and am not very surprised by his great start this year.

Here is something I wrote in response to some clown who was bashing Bledsoe shortly after the trade.

“2/24/2005 8:35 PM Drew is an extremely talented quarterback. I think you will see Bledsoe back to an elite status with the Cowboys offense. He had no help in Buffalo the past 2 years. The year they had Henry and Price to help, Bledsoe threw for 3500 yards and was the difference maker from 3-13 to a playoff team. I think Cowboys with a solid corner and a playmaking DT are 12-4 and challenge the Eagles. Bledsoe wins comeback player of the year!”

Yeah, that’s right pay homage to me but I guess my point was that Bledsoe doesn’t have skill erosion or forget how to play. So get the dim-witted looks of your faces, you all knew being back with Parcells was going to put him back on the map and I am starting my Drew for Pro Bowl bandwagon now, jump on we’ll have fun. Enough I am starting to sound like a homer but come on, Bledsoe is tops in a few of my FF leagues in scoring QB’s. That’s got to be good for something and did I say Pro Bowl?

If you're going to NFL football bet this weekend I have a rant on the unbeaten that got beat, NFC East division and a rash of injuries last week, at least to my key players; let’s face it that’s really all that matters. So really how many of you were surprised the ‘Skins, Bengals and Bucs lost last week? Me neither. These teams were fortunate enough to face opponents that shall we say lesser teams for the previous four weeks. ‘Skins aside because they are a solid football team top to bottom that will struggle offensively every now and then but has a stoic D to bail ‘em out. Cincy hadn’t faced an offense that could run the ball and play tough defense, which by the way their division is made up of. The Bucs were riding around the Caddy like a six year-olds favorite new toy. Well the Bucs broke their new toy week 4 and Cincy finally ran into a team that had some skill on both sides of the ball. I am not jacking these teams nor do I think they are complete pretenders. The Bucs and former Bungals are legitimate contenders for playoff berths in their respective conferences but I just thought people were getting a little out of hand with the “undefeated” Bucs and Bengals. I think they both make the playoffs this year but last week showed that they hadn’t really faced any competition yet and they still have something to learn about winning big games late. Notice neither of these teams has played an NFC East team? That also will help you remain undefeated as the beast is back in the NFC East and fear runs though the unfortunate opponent that has to face a beast. Current NFC Champ Eagles team is last in the division with a 3-2 record, tied with Dallas and those two are a ½ game back of both the Redskins and the Giants. Bizarro world I love you!!

After being the NFL whipping boy the past five or six years the NFC East has reared up and looked very good early in the season. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though because although these teams have all improved, well except Philly, I don’t expect the trend of the East being perhaps the strongest division in football to continue. Only two division games have been played and Dallas has played both of them. Played that heart-breaking loss to Washington in the final 3:56 and 3 weeks later their impressive blow out of a previously dominant Eagles team, who scored 3 offensive points against Dallas. I think the Giants are fakers to a certain extent with wins against the Cards, Rams and their ninth ‘home’ game against the Saints. Come one 2 NFC West teams already this year, let’s just say playing the NFC West is good for offensive stats and leave it there. The ‘ninth’ home game won’t matter anyway; the Giants aren’t as good as their record leads anyone to believe. They are a competitive team and have abilities to make big plays but lack the defense to win close games and have yet to face a tough defense. The other teams in the division look to be pretty solid and the biggest question among them is the Cowboys who have an improving but young defense. So far Bledsoe has been able to help win some of the games the defense gets burned in but it’s early and I expect that young aggressive defense to be dominant by mid-season. Skins are solid on both sides of the ball and Brunell looks great, good work Joe Gibbs. The Eagles, well they are strong and despite last week’s game are not the whipping boys Dallas made them out to be. This is still a Superbowl contender but they may not be the only one out of the NFC East this year. With the awful North and brutal West it is possible we see both wildcards from this division although I am sure the Bucs and Panthers would have something to say about that.

Brutal injuries ravaged the RB’s last week around the league. McAllister gone, Davenport gone, Caddy still out, no Panther is healthy, Jones Questionable, Taylor questionable…do I need to go on? Some RB’s I want to pay some props around the league. Let’s start with the TD demon in Seattle in Alexander and someone HAS to explain to me why this guy isn’t locked up long term. Anyway the best $6.323 million being spent in the NFL right now but then again he has played the Rams, Cards and Atlanta and none of them even slow runners down. He is a stud anyway and deserves more credit than he gets.

The other guy who seems to get lost is Edge in Indy. This guy is lighting it up and is probably the most unselfish back in the league. I can’t believe the Colts will let him walk after this season, he is Peyton best protection plan and Peyton could turn me into an NFL receiver but a gifted runner and selfless team guy like Edge, not many of them around. See ya Reggie Wayne, see ya Stokely! Only one other guy to talk about and that’s LT but really I am just going to re-hash what other guys have said. Watch this guy for one game, I swear you will flip to the Charger game every opportunity you get just to see some of the stuff this guy does on the field. Emmitt’s record looked safe but man, LT is THAT kind of good. Does that tell you what I think of this guy?

I am going to finish off the RB story next week then get after some receivers. I will continue with a few things to look forward to this season as week 6 is the time the cream starts to rise and the chaff starts checking out who they want in the draft next year. Email me if you want to pop off on something I said or if I offended your tender sensibilities, hell almost anything can get me to a rant and I will give you all the glory for setting me off. Speaking of, I gotta get off this chaise lounge and into the pool…your fix is over and I am out.

Stay Tuned for next weeks article and get out there and nfl FOOTBALL bet on this weeks games......Mike P.