NFL Stats of the Week

October 23, 2007 – 12:49 pm

Since I sit at a computer for a majority of the day, I have a habit of reading various online articles upon their release. One such piece is ESPN Page 2’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback (written by Gregg Easterbrook), whose title is a parody of Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback. These commentaries are generally entertaining, but this week’s TMQ had a particularly interesting “Stats of the Week” section that I had to elaborate on. After the jump is the list with my commentary.

Stat of the Week No. 1: Until 4:06 p.m. ET on Sunday, New England had never been 7-0 and Miami had never been 0-7.

All this proves is that the Patriots are really good this year (Tom Brady: 27 TD’s (!), 2 picks (!!), and a 137.9 rating through 7 games) and that the Dolphins are worse than a Hannah Montana concert. The other interesting stat about these two teams is that the 1972 Dolphins, the only undefeated team in NFL history, could see the Patriots best their achievement (the regular season was only 14 games in ‘72, leading them to “only” a 17-0 record; the Pats would be 19-0 if they run the table) in the same year their franchise goes defeated (0-16). Oh, sweet irony.

Stat of the Week No. 2: At one point, Tennessee led Houston 32-7 and held a 311-34 advantage in offensive yards, yet the Titans ended up needing a field goal on the final snap to win.

This was an amazing game. Rob Bironias, the Titans place-kicker, had eight field goals, an NFL record. More on this in a minute.

Stat of the Week No. 3: New England has scored more points thus far this season than six teams (Carolina, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, Oakland and Tampa) scored all of last season.

Now that’s just ridiculous. On a scale of 1 to “Video Game/Arena Football” numbers, the Patriots are tipping the scales.

Stat of the Week No. 4: Jeff Garcia completed 18 consecutive passes, yet the Bucs lost.

Ever notice that Jeff Garcia kind of looks like Dr. Phil? All he needs is a creepy looking, really thick mustache and he’s there. I just gave him a Halloween costume idea. You’re welcome, Jeff.

Stat of the Week No. 5: Oakland has not won a game in its division since November 2004.

The Oakland Raiders are the toilet paper of the NFL…they just kind of pick up everyone else’s waste. Welcome back to the league, Daunte Culpepper!

Stat of the Week No. 6: The Giants have won five straight — over opponents that are a combined 10-22.

Seriously, are the Giants really that good?!? If you had to bet all of your worldly possesions on Eli and the Gang in the Super Bowl (no matter who they played from the AFC), would you? I would rather take the over on how many picks Eli would throw in a game of that magnitude that would then be quickly followed with a close up of his version of the the Manning face.

Stat of the Week No. 7 : The New York Jets, Miami and St. Louis are on a combined 0-18 streak; Indianapolis, the New York Giants and New England are on a combined 18-0 streak.

Yes, but the Giants play in the NFC. If the Steelers (clearly only the third- or fourth-best team in the AFC this year) were in the NFC, they would run away with the conference every year. This wasn’t always the case, but it sure is now.

Stat of the Week No. 8: (College stat bonus) Texas Tech’s coaches called 74 passes and 10 runs Saturday; Navy’s coaches called 67 runs and 12 passes. Both teams lost.

Now here’s a nice little college-age tidbit. The majority of writers (including Easterbrook) think that the NFL is headed towards a dangerously pass-wacky trend. College teams like Navy, Air Force, and Arkansas have continued to run the ball effectively regardless of their opponet. Who’s right? Well, the answer, coaches, is it depends who is on my fantasy team. If I have your quarterback or wide-out, you better be throwing. If I have your half back, put the shotgun spread playbook away. Case closed.

Stat of the Week No. 9: Randy Moss has scored twice as many touchdowns (10) as the entire Buffalo offense (5).

First off, the Bills are bad. Second, how many fantasy football team owners are either a) kicking themselves for thinking Dandy-Randy wouldn’t thrive with Dreamboat-Tom throwing to him or b) gloating every Sunday when Moss catches his third touchdown of 50 yards or more? I say 100%. Your either in one camp or the other. (If you can’t tell, I’m in the a group. Screw it all.)

Stat of the Week No. 10: Rob Bironas of Tennessee scored more points this weekend (26) than 17 teams (Atlanta, Arizona, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington.)

I told you there was more Bironas! He has got to be the envy of every kicker in the league. I mean, place-kicking in the NFL is not exactly a glorious position. You are expected to perform all the time, especially under pressure situations. If you screw up, they have your head. There are many times when they might get no publicity at all. But Rob? He’s the talk of Tennessee. If I were him, I’d be calling up some of those teams just for a casual conversation. “Hey, Redskins. It’s me Rob. Rob Bironas. Yeah, just calling to see what’s up. Hey, uh, how many points did you score on Sunday? 21? Oh, cool. I had 26. No big deal. Oh, you won? That’s cool. So did I. It’s my show.”  The best part of the above stat: six of those 17 teams WON.

These types of things are why I love the National Football League. On a somewhat side-note, I just bought a new TV, so give me a holler if you want to come over and watch some games. Enjoy the rest of the season, everyone.

Tags: dr. phil, fantasy football, go steelers, Humor, my show, NFL, rob bironias, stats of the week, the manning face, tmq