THE KICKING TEE

The Patriots have started 7 and 0. Everyone and their mama are going on and on about Brady and his boys hitting 16 and zero this season. I guess that recent history is already forgotten. The Colts have started the last three seasons as hot or hotter then this year’s Patriot squad. (not true at all—look at the numbers) Those Miami boys only had to wait until week 13 at the longest to pop their champagne corks. Close, but no cigar. The Pats have looked great, but it only takes one slip up. At some point Brady is going to have a hard time passing all over the field like he has so far this year. Could be against those Redskin safeties this week. Then the running game of injured Sammy Morris and “Not on the Field” Maroney could become a liability. New England will have a hard time making the Super Bowl with the Colts standing before them. This hot start could be long forgotten in a season with only 2 or 3 losses.

This Al Saunders has got to go. Sorry, but I could not stand it any longer. I just tried to throw some cold water on the Pats, but let’s get real. They are gonna smash the Skins this week. Washington’s D will be tougher than any New England has faced in a while, but I can’t see Al Saunders’ offensive offense getting the job done. Against the Cards, who had Anquan Boldin at QB for a snap, the Redskins won only with a defensive TD and a barely missed 55 yard field goal at the gun. Jeez! Two months in and Saunders has yet to get Santana Moss going at all. The play calling is just sad. I gotta change the subject. I am gonna blow a gasket.

The Jets are a nightmare. I called for Chad’s head a few weeks back, but apparently Mangini needed another game-ending INT or two. Mangini just guaranteed Chad another week. What is the point? Pennington is 31 and he is not going to suddenly add arm strength. The Kid looked good when Chad missed a game earlier this year. Clemens has done his clipboard apprenticeship. Time to see what ya’ got.

Tennessee held its collective breath when Vince Young left the game two weeks ago with a quad injury, but it looks like he will be back at the helm against the Raiders this week. Still, Kerry Collins and record breaking Rob Bironas steered the Titans to their 4th win on the season. Bigger news for fantasy players was LenDale White’s emergence as a #1 back. He had 27 carries f or 104 yards and a TD. Nice numbers for a guy that many thought would be a bust coming out of that supercharged USC program. He also had 4 catches. This guy could be the total package going forward with most defenses worried about the superstar taking snaps. He might be trade bait in a lot of leagues so if you need RB help, inquire soon or the price might be too high.

You can also look for RB help with Jesse Chatman, who just inherited the Miami job with Ronnie Brown down for the season. If Ike Hilliard is available in your league, he has put up consistent #’s this year in Tampa. Cleo Lemon might end up with a nice stat line this week if you need a bye week QB. The Giants are not great against the pass and Lemon has thrown for over 200 yards 2 weeks in a row. He will also be in the London game which will incite both teams to play well.