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Rest assured: Cowboys, Vikings and Eagles ususally win after a bye
05:29 PM CDT on Saturday, October 2, 2010
By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
The NFL begins its string of byes this weekend. Kansas City, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and the Cowboys are the first set of teams to get a weekend off. Green Bay , New Orleans, Oakland and Seattle draw the final byes on Nov. 14.
The byes represent a big edge for the Cowboys, a bigger edge for the Vikings and the biggest edge for the Eagles.
The NFL began incorporating byes into the schedule in 1990, stretching the season from 16 to 17 weeks to generate more television revenue.
The Cowboys are 16-5 coming off bye weeks. When they return Oct. 10 to face the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys will take a five-game post-bye week winning streak to the field.
The Vikings are 17-4 coming off byes. When they return to the field Oct. 11 to play the New York Jets, the Vikings will take a four-game post-bye winning streak to the field.
The Eagles also are 17-4 coming off bye weeks. Andy Reid has been coach of the Eagles since 1999, and he has never lost coming off a bye week. That constitutes an 11-game post-bye winning streak. If you count the three times the Eagles earned first-round playoff byes in the 2000 decade, Reid is 14-0 coming off byes.
The Eagles draw their bye on Halloween this season, then return home Nov. 7 to play the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys and Vikings were among the preseason favorites in the NFC but both are off to disappointing 1-2 starts. Minnesota coach Brad Childress thinks the bye comes at the right time for his team.
"We've got some guys that are a little bit beaten up," Childress said. "This allows some freshness to occur both mentally and physically.
"We've been practicing football from August 1 until the end of September, so this gives us a break after two months of this. Yeah, we've got a 13-game stretch to finish the regular season. But that will allow us to get into a routine and hopefully build momentum as we go."
The Vikings opened the season on a Thursday, then played back-to-back Sundays, now have this weekend off and then return to action on a Monday night.
"The schedule has been kind of stop and start for us," Childress said, "so we're really not going to know who we are as a football team for another 8-10 weeks."
OBSERVATION DECK
The Colt way
What I admire about the Indianapolis Colts is their willingness to play youngsters. Last week, the Colts gave two undrafted rookies their first NFL starts – left offensive tackle Jeff Linkenbach and wide receiver Blair White.
The Colts did not allow a sack, and White caught a touchdown pass in a victory at Denver. White was on the practice squad to start the season, then was activated Friday and made his first start against the Broncos two days later. He caught three passes for 27 yards and the touchdown.
In the labor negotiations between the NFL owners and players, there has been discussion about lengthening the season to 18 games. The potential trade-offs would be a reduction in the length of training camp and/or the number of practice sessions (organized team activities) in the off-season.
Currently, teams are allowed 14 OTAs. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning throws up a cautionary flag. "There's no way Blair White is able to come in and do what he does unless he's there for all the OTAs," Manning said. "If all he gets is training camp – and there's even talk of reducing that – there's no way he's able to step in and play like that."
It's a snap
Mike Scifres punted the ball 393 times in his first six seasons with the San Diego Chargers with only one block. David Binn snapped the ball to Scifres for all 393 of those punts.
But Binn's 2010 season ended in the opener with a hamstring injury. So the Chargers signed James Dearth, but he injured his foot in his first practice and also went on injured reserve.
The Chargers then signed Ryan Neill, who snapped for two games before he was placed on the reserve list with a knee injury. So the Chargers signed Ethan Albright last week, who will be their fourth snapper of the season today against Arizona.
In Neill's first game in Week 2 against Kansas City, Scifres had his punt blocked for the first time in three seasons.
UPSET OF THE WEEK
The Chicago Bears continue to get no respect. They are the last of the NFC's unbeatens at 3-0 but a four-point underdog tonight at the 1-2 New York Giants . The Bears have already whipped the Cowboys in Dallas – and the Giants aren't as talented an NFC East entry as the Cowboys. If Jay Cutler doesn't turn the ball over, there's no reason the Bears can't beat the Giants. Go with Chicago in the upset.
AROUND THE NFC EAST
Donovan McNabb started 78 games in Philadelphia wearing a green and white uniform. His 79th start will be in burgundy . McNabb was traded from the Eagles to the Washington Redskins in the off-season, ending an 11-year stay that produced eight playoff berths, five NFC East titles and an NFC championship. He'll return on Sunday for his homecoming game. "I'm sure I will probably have some type of feelings," McNabb said. "I just hope I walk out the right tunnel." The Redskins arrive in Philadelphia with a 1-2 record and a two-game losing streak. The Eagles sit atop the NFC East at 2-1. The Eagles are hoping McNabb isn't a welcome visitor at Lincoln Financial Field. "We always want our crowd to be hostile," Eagles guard Todd Herremans said. "We want them to be hostile towards everybody that's wearing a Redskins uniform."
The Chicago Bears take their 3-0 record to the Meadowlands on Sunday night to face the 1-2 New York Giants. After watching Devin Hester's 62-yard punt return for a touchdown (the 14th in his career) break Green Bay's back last Monday night, the Giants are not going to punt the ball to Hester. Not with a rookie kicker (Matt Dodge). "Kick it out of bounds," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "Don't let him have the ball." The Giants also will unveil their Ring of Honor at the game. The initial class will have 30 enshrinees, but the Giants have only released the names of six of them: Tiki Barber , Frank Gifford, Pete Gogolak, Bill Parcells , Phil Simms and Michael Strahan. The other 24 enshrinees will be introduced during halftime ceremonies.
AROUND THE NFL
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin says the Steelers-Ravens rivalry is the best in football. Both teams think they have the best defense in the NFL, and that produces a violent game when they meet. The game dials up a notch when it's played in Pittsburgh, the site of Sunday's clash. "I think the fans there carry their own swagger," Ravens LB Ray Lewis said. "It's just a legendary myth in Pittsburgh. I was a kid watching the Steelers and saw that stuff going on. Every time you step on the field, the legends live. You feel that when you go out there. If you are playing the linebacker position and go out there and don't feel it, then you haven't kept up with football. I kept up with football. Pittsburgh sits atop the AFC North at 3-0 with the Ravens right behind at 2-1.
The last team the struggling Jaguars wanted to see is the Indianapolis Colts, who visit Jacksonville on Sunday. Peyton Manning has a 13-4 career record against the Jaguars and a three-game winning streak. "Father Time will end up catching everybody," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said, "but it hasn't caught him yet."
Tennessee's Jeff Fisher will coach his 250th game on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Only seven coaches in NFL history had longer stints with the same team. Bud Grant is seventh on the list with 259 games with the Minnesota Vikings. George Halas sits atop the list with 497 games for the Chicago Bears
• • •
05:29 PM CDT on Saturday, October 2, 2010
By RICK GOSSELIN / The Dallas Morning News
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
The NFL begins its string of byes this weekend. Kansas City, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and the Cowboys are the first set of teams to get a weekend off. Green Bay , New Orleans, Oakland and Seattle draw the final byes on Nov. 14.
The byes represent a big edge for the Cowboys, a bigger edge for the Vikings and the biggest edge for the Eagles.
The NFL began incorporating byes into the schedule in 1990, stretching the season from 16 to 17 weeks to generate more television revenue.
The Cowboys are 16-5 coming off bye weeks. When they return Oct. 10 to face the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys will take a five-game post-bye week winning streak to the field.
The Vikings are 17-4 coming off byes. When they return to the field Oct. 11 to play the New York Jets, the Vikings will take a four-game post-bye winning streak to the field.
The Eagles also are 17-4 coming off bye weeks. Andy Reid has been coach of the Eagles since 1999, and he has never lost coming off a bye week. That constitutes an 11-game post-bye winning streak. If you count the three times the Eagles earned first-round playoff byes in the 2000 decade, Reid is 14-0 coming off byes.
The Eagles draw their bye on Halloween this season, then return home Nov. 7 to play the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cowboys and Vikings were among the preseason favorites in the NFC but both are off to disappointing 1-2 starts. Minnesota coach Brad Childress thinks the bye comes at the right time for his team.
"We've got some guys that are a little bit beaten up," Childress said. "This allows some freshness to occur both mentally and physically.
"We've been practicing football from August 1 until the end of September, so this gives us a break after two months of this. Yeah, we've got a 13-game stretch to finish the regular season. But that will allow us to get into a routine and hopefully build momentum as we go."
The Vikings opened the season on a Thursday, then played back-to-back Sundays, now have this weekend off and then return to action on a Monday night.
"The schedule has been kind of stop and start for us," Childress said, "so we're really not going to know who we are as a football team for another 8-10 weeks."
OBSERVATION DECK
The Colt way
What I admire about the Indianapolis Colts is their willingness to play youngsters. Last week, the Colts gave two undrafted rookies their first NFL starts – left offensive tackle Jeff Linkenbach and wide receiver Blair White.
The Colts did not allow a sack, and White caught a touchdown pass in a victory at Denver. White was on the practice squad to start the season, then was activated Friday and made his first start against the Broncos two days later. He caught three passes for 27 yards and the touchdown.
In the labor negotiations between the NFL owners and players, there has been discussion about lengthening the season to 18 games. The potential trade-offs would be a reduction in the length of training camp and/or the number of practice sessions (organized team activities) in the off-season.
Currently, teams are allowed 14 OTAs. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning throws up a cautionary flag. "There's no way Blair White is able to come in and do what he does unless he's there for all the OTAs," Manning said. "If all he gets is training camp – and there's even talk of reducing that – there's no way he's able to step in and play like that."
It's a snap
Mike Scifres punted the ball 393 times in his first six seasons with the San Diego Chargers with only one block. David Binn snapped the ball to Scifres for all 393 of those punts.
But Binn's 2010 season ended in the opener with a hamstring injury. So the Chargers signed James Dearth, but he injured his foot in his first practice and also went on injured reserve.
The Chargers then signed Ryan Neill, who snapped for two games before he was placed on the reserve list with a knee injury. So the Chargers signed Ethan Albright last week, who will be their fourth snapper of the season today against Arizona.
In Neill's first game in Week 2 against Kansas City, Scifres had his punt blocked for the first time in three seasons.
UPSET OF THE WEEK
The Chicago Bears continue to get no respect. They are the last of the NFC's unbeatens at 3-0 but a four-point underdog tonight at the 1-2 New York Giants . The Bears have already whipped the Cowboys in Dallas – and the Giants aren't as talented an NFC East entry as the Cowboys. If Jay Cutler doesn't turn the ball over, there's no reason the Bears can't beat the Giants. Go with Chicago in the upset.
AROUND THE NFC EAST
Donovan McNabb started 78 games in Philadelphia wearing a green and white uniform. His 79th start will be in burgundy . McNabb was traded from the Eagles to the Washington Redskins in the off-season, ending an 11-year stay that produced eight playoff berths, five NFC East titles and an NFC championship. He'll return on Sunday for his homecoming game. "I'm sure I will probably have some type of feelings," McNabb said. "I just hope I walk out the right tunnel." The Redskins arrive in Philadelphia with a 1-2 record and a two-game losing streak. The Eagles sit atop the NFC East at 2-1. The Eagles are hoping McNabb isn't a welcome visitor at Lincoln Financial Field. "We always want our crowd to be hostile," Eagles guard Todd Herremans said. "We want them to be hostile towards everybody that's wearing a Redskins uniform."
The Chicago Bears take their 3-0 record to the Meadowlands on Sunday night to face the 1-2 New York Giants. After watching Devin Hester's 62-yard punt return for a touchdown (the 14th in his career) break Green Bay's back last Monday night, the Giants are not going to punt the ball to Hester. Not with a rookie kicker (Matt Dodge). "Kick it out of bounds," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "Don't let him have the ball." The Giants also will unveil their Ring of Honor at the game. The initial class will have 30 enshrinees, but the Giants have only released the names of six of them: Tiki Barber , Frank Gifford, Pete Gogolak, Bill Parcells , Phil Simms and Michael Strahan. The other 24 enshrinees will be introduced during halftime ceremonies.
AROUND THE NFL
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin says the Steelers-Ravens rivalry is the best in football. Both teams think they have the best defense in the NFL, and that produces a violent game when they meet. The game dials up a notch when it's played in Pittsburgh, the site of Sunday's clash. "I think the fans there carry their own swagger," Ravens LB Ray Lewis said. "It's just a legendary myth in Pittsburgh. I was a kid watching the Steelers and saw that stuff going on. Every time you step on the field, the legends live. You feel that when you go out there. If you are playing the linebacker position and go out there and don't feel it, then you haven't kept up with football. I kept up with football. Pittsburgh sits atop the AFC North at 3-0 with the Ravens right behind at 2-1.
The last team the struggling Jaguars wanted to see is the Indianapolis Colts, who visit Jacksonville on Sunday. Peyton Manning has a 13-4 career record against the Jaguars and a three-game winning streak. "Father Time will end up catching everybody," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said, "but it hasn't caught him yet."
Tennessee's Jeff Fisher will coach his 250th game on Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Only seven coaches in NFL history had longer stints with the same team. Bud Grant is seventh on the list with 259 games with the Minnesota Vikings. George Halas sits atop the list with 497 games for the Chicago Bears
• • •