NFL Power Poll
Has the worm turned in the NFL?
For years if not decades the league has operated under the fundamental belief that the team with the best quarterback had the bets chance to win.
It made perfect sense, considering of the last 24 Super Bowl winning teams, only four had guys at quarterback who are not either Hall of Famers now or surefire picks to be in Canton when the time allows.
Those four, not surprisingly were led by transcendental defenses. Trent Dilfer and the Ray Lewis-led Ravens defense in 2000. Brad Johnson and Tampa Bay in 2001. Joe Flacco and the Ravens again in 2013, and Russell Wilson and the Seahawks a year later.
This year, the five teams that are still unbeaten have been been quarterback by, in order, two back-ups including a rookie, a journeyman from a prestigious university, the No. 1 overall pick in 2011 who is with his third team in six seasons, a rookie that Cleveland didn't believe could be a franchise guy and Flacco.
In some ways it makes sense. If you do not have an elite guy - a one-named player like a Brees or Brady or Big Ben (and any other B-names you can think of) - overspending at that position weakens you everywhere else.
It also makes sense in today's altered, pass-happy rules. Think of it this way: If you are counting on back-shoulder throws and pass interference calls, you do not need a Hall of Famer pulling the trigger.
In the end, guys like Roethlisberger and Manning and Rodgers and Wilson - guys with Super Bowl titles on their mantle - will be in the mix. But right now, with nine teams with either 3-0 or 0-3 records, it's important to note that as many Super Bowl winners with a perfect start as there are on the other side of the ledger.
In the NFL the importance of 3-0 and 0-3 starts can't be overstated. Since 1980, there have been 164 teams to start 0-3. A grand total of five - 3 percent - of those teams have made the playoffs, and the last team to do it was the Bills in 1998.
On the other side, 170 teams have started 3-0 since 1980 and 131 (77.1 percent) of them made the playoffs. Regardless how good everyone thought their quarterbacks were.
New England (3-0). If the NFL was truly about equity and value for merit, wouldn't Bill Belichick be the highest paid employee of any team, players included? Test case A to the theory that the quarterback position is being devalued. The Patriots are unbeaten as Tom Brady serves a four-game suspension and leaning heavily on Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett. So there's that.
Denver (3-0). Test case B to the theory. Trevor Siemian. Yes, Trevor Siemian, the Northwestern educated guy who likely has to convince some of his own family members that he actually is still in the NFL. Well, the Broncos won it all last year with a pass rush that changes games, and the formula still works.
Minnesota (3-0). Test case C. Another defense that swarms the quarterback and arrives at the ball both in a hurry and in a bad mood. Can the Vikings continue this after losing their starting quarterback and one of the league's best running backs to season-ending injuries? In today's quarterback-shuffling NFL, maybe they can and resurrect Sam Bradford, the former No. 1 overall pick, in the process.
Philadelphia (3-0). The most surprising team on this list by almost every measure. Rookie quarterback. New coach. Overhauled roster. You name it and the Eagles have embraced it and overcome it. Carson Wentz is drawing sentences and comparisons to guys named Manning and Elway and some other all-timers. We should pump the brakes on that - it's all of three games folks - but last Sunday's thrashing of a the Steelers was quite impressive.
Baltimore (3-0). Are the Ravens better than the Steelers and the Bengals in the deep and tough AFC North? It's debatable certainly, but there games in, Baltimore is 3-0. Since 1990, 99 of the 131 teams (almost 76 percent) to start the season 3-0 have made the playoffs. Stinkers
Tennessee (1-2). Sunday was a bad loss, not because off the opponent - the Raiders are going to contend all year long - but rather because of the self-inflicted damage. Too many turnovers and a stupid and painful penalty by former first-round pick Taylor Lewan cost the Titans a chance at a home win. It is getting close to time to question Mike Mularkey's offense, considering the Titans tied for last in the NFL with 14 points per game.
Jacksonville (0-3). Another high draft pick at quarterback and another team that is struggling. The Jags were a trendy pick to contend for the AFC South, and here's betting that Gus Bradley may be the first coach fired.
New Orleans (0-3). Drew Brees is still slinging it and scoring points but the Saints couldn't stop a runaway snail at this point.
Chicago (0-3). The Bears may be the only team at the bottom of the NFL totem poll who fully expected to be hear. Chicago is rebuilding and to do that it is restructuring its roster. And the result is an 0-3 start in what could be a very long year.
Cleveland (0-3). The Browns are to the bottom layer of the NFL to what the Patriots are to the pinnacle. At least we can always count on the Browns. Consistency counts for something.
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher answers a question during a news conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. Florida State faces Georgia Tech on Saturday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton) College football lists
We have embraced the lists and the chance on Tuesdays of working in as many 5-in-10s from the 5-at-10 as possible.
Today, let's explore some of the topics du jour (topics of the day, that sounds good, we'll have that):
LSU potential replacements
Jimbo Fisher. Connections, check. Opportunity, check. Was he close last year?
Tom Herman. Listed right there as 1B with Jimbo.
Bobby Petrino. LSU will go offensive; Petrino is extremely offensive. (Thank you.)
Lane Kiffin. A stretch? Maybe. Everyone wants Sabanities, though.
Sonny Dykes. At La. Tech before going to Cal with big offense.
Hottest seat (now that Les is gone)
Clay Helton, USC.
Charlie Strong, Texas.
Brian Kelly, Notre Dame.
Steve Addazio, Boston College.
Gus Malzahn, Auburn.
Heisman frontrunners
Lamar Jackson, Louisville. Monster date at Clemson on Saturday.
Christian McCaffrey, Stanford. Bad news is he can't top last year's numbers.
Jabrill Peppers, Michigan. Versatile star with an awesome collective resume.
Dalvin Cook, FSU. Welcome back, Mr. Cook. You were missed.
JT Barrett, Ohio State. Keep plugging and collecting TDs.
FILE - In this April 27, 2016, file photo, Miami Marlins' Dee Gordon makes his way to the dugout after scoring against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning of a baseball game in Los Angeles. Gordon issued an apology on Twitter addressed primarily to his young fans as he returned from an 80-game suspension for a positive drug test. ``I know I let you down, and I’m sorry,” Gordon said in a video. Gordon, who won the NL batting and stolen base titles last year, was reinstated before Thursday’s, July 28, 2016, game against St. Louis. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo, File) Sports emotion
We have forever been a big softy about silly sporting moments.
Movies like Beaches and Terms of Endearment never really made a dent. Now the celebration scenes of 'Miracle' or the "Son, kick their butt" speech from Shooter or "Dad, wanna have a catch" scene in "Field of Dreams" get us almost every time.
Every. Single. Time.
So it's not a surprise that the Marlins tributes to pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died early Sunday morning in a boating accident, moved us.
It's just how it is, and when Dee Gordon homered after his tribute to Fernandez and Gordon was crying rounding the bases, well, it was pretty dusty in here.
Trevor Coleman (26), de los Falcons de Atlanta, celebra luego de anotar en el encuentro del lunes 26 de septiembre de 2016, ante los Saints de Nueva Orleáns (AP Foto/Butch Dill) This and that
- The Falcons lead the NFC South after pounding the Saints. Also of note, each team held hands in a circle around midfield during the National Anthem. Thoughts on the gesture.
- The debate was in full swing last night, and each candidate had some moments. The biggest loser in this: The American people because one of those knuckleheads is going to be our president. Oy.
- Here is Nick Saban blasting LSU for firing Les Miles. His points are fair, but know this: If all the other schools in your conference are telling you why you should keep a coach, that's hollow praise, since those places already feel pretty comfortable beating your guy. Period.
- TFP ace sports columnist Mark Widener delivers another excellent one today, as he looks at the comeback story of Colton Jumper.
Today's question
Go crazy on any of the above.
As for a Rushmore, well on this day 60 years ago Babe Didrikson Zaharias died.
Rushmore of best female athletes of all time?
Go, and enjoy the day.