Man oh man, it’s been a LONG week of preparation for this Sunday’s slate of games. I tell ya somethin’, there are a handful of great match-ups this week in the NFL. The monday-nighter will be a doozy with Denver looking to keep up their SMASHMOUTH style against a Pittsburgh team that, you know as well as I do, doesn’t get punched in the mouth all too often. Then of course there’s the showdown in the Meadowlands between Eli Manning and ‘The Switchblade” Philip Rivers. I just made up that nickname for Philip because he’s razor sharp and can DICE up a defense without hesitation. The game I’m lookin’ forward to the most, however, is taking place in the GREAT Northwest.
I tell ya somethin, throw out their record because Seattle is a HECK of a ball club. They got a veteran at quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck who has been doing it in this league for YEARS. They got a playmaker on the outside in TJ Houshmandzadeh who, lemme tell you, this guy just finds a way to CATCH the ball. And then they have a PLAYMAKER on defense. I met with the ‘Hawks defensive guys earlier this week and LOFA TATUPU is a guy who just gets after the ball. I mean, pound for pound, is there a better PLAYMAKER on this defense?
Then you look at the Lions, a team which, admittedly, hasn’t done a whole lot recently. But let me tell you somethin; in the meetings I had with Coach Schwartz this week, I can tell THIS guy wants to make an impression. This guy is a mind changer. Jim Schwartz needs to be renamed the Jim “The Sensai” Schwartz, because he he has this football team FOCUSED on a goal. The goal for the Lions this year is to make great strides in improving their image as well as their team. I love the chemistry this team brings with the womanizer Matt Stafford as well as the GO-TO-GUY in this offense, wide receiver Calvin Johnson. You talk about a game changer; this guy can flat out play. Throw out the records on this team, Calvin Johnson is a guy who can FLAT OUT make a difference in every game.
Although I’ll be in Denver to cover the Monday Night affair between two smash mouth teams, you can count on me having my eyes peeled on a TV set during this game. You talk about two teams that’ll take you from six to noon, that’s Seattle hosting Detroit for what shapes up to be a fight until the final whistle.
