NFL 2006—The Beat Goes On

By Rhonda Reigstad 

A huge return, unexpected injuries and much more highlighted week three of the NFL season…..

The New Orleans Saints marched to their own beat returning to the Superdome one year after Hurricane Katrina did surmountable damage to their facility and the city itself. Before a sellout crowd, which they haven’t seen in years, they handed the Atlanta Falcons their first defeat, 23-3.  

Gone are the days of fans calling their home team the “Aints” and putting bags over their heads. They have a lot to celebrate. Running back Deuce McAllister has been one of the bright spots and adding running back Reggie Bush, a former Heisman trophy winner, and quarterback Drew Brees in the offseason has given the city new hope. New coach Sean Payton is bringing in the offense he used in Dallas for so many years and is giving the team the extra push they have needed for a lot of years. 

Bush has proven himself worthy of being a legitimate running back in the NFL for many years to come. While many may have scoffed, he’s already turned in three solid performances for the Saints. So long as he stays healthy and has a good line in front of him, be prepared to see this guy headed for the record books in the years to come. Think the Houston Texans are kicking themselves right about now? 

Talk about having a leg up. Carolina Panthers kicker John Kasay kicked four field goals with the shortest one being 45 yards in their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Don’t tell me the fantasy football players aren’t scrapping to get this guy on their roster now. Who knows, maybe he will set the record for the further field goal ever in the history of football before the end of the year. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hurting in more ways than one. For the second time in four years, they have started out their season 0-3. It’s hard to believe that coach Jon Gruden led them to a Super Bowl championship just four years ago. Makes you wonder what’s going on down there. 

To add to the problems in Tampa, quarterback Chris Simms went out with a ruptured spleen after a hit he took trying to get into the end zone. No one realized just how serious his injury was until after the game was over. Simms will be out indefinitely. They will be playing with rookie quarterback Bruce Gradkowski and will be looking at their third string option as well for this coming week.  

Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander went out of their game against the New York Giants with a broken foot. Last year’s most valuable player, Alexander has been strong so far this year and his loss will be felt in Seattle. While quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has been red hot so far this year, with Alexander out, it will be a long season for coach Mike Holmgren and company.

The Green Bay Packers recorded their first victory of the year against the Detroit Lions. The highlight of the game was quarterback Brett Favre throwing touchdown pass number 400 for his career. Rookie wide receiver Gabe Jennings was the lucky recipient of the pass. Favre added two more touchdown passes to bring his total to 402. He ranks second all-time behind former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, who had 420 to end his career. Don’t be surprised if Favre becomes the all-time leader in touchdown passes this year. To think if Marino had been healthy all the years he played, his total would be more than it is now.  

It’s the loss of Grizzly Adams (or the Wolfman) this year. Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger decided to come back clean shaven. Is it going to work for them? Hard to tell but maybe Big Ben should have kept his in the offseason to help prevent that horrible motorcycle accident. Plummer has yet to be seen. We’ll see what happens very soon if these guys should have kept the facial hair for luck or not. 

The Chicago Bears are keeping their dominanace in the NFC North by staying perfect. Coach Lovie Smith has done a great job in just his second season with the Bears and they seem to have finally settled on a quarterback in Rex Grossman. Even though Grossman was injured for a majority of the year last season, rookie quarterback Kyle Orton filled in quite nicely and Grossman picked up where he left off. The Bears could be a contender at the end of the year so long as they stay healthy. 

In the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals are also picking up where they left off last year. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is back from his knee injury and doing well and Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, well, Peyton is being Peyton. Even with the loss of running back Edgerrin James to the Arizona Cardinals in the offseason, it doesn’t seem to have affected the Colts. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t been too “super” this year. Starting out the year 1-2, coach Bill Cowher and company are having a tough time after winning the big game in January. Was this team a fluke? Highly doubtful but maybe the loss of running back Jerome Bettis to retirement and a few others are having an affect on the team.  

It’s only week three and already been one heck of a wild ride. Are we going to have an undefeated team for the first time since 1973? That and many more questions will be answered in the weeks to come. There’s a lot of football to be played yet and the next weeks will be telling for the rest of year.

[Top] [Print this Page]