About half of all NFL games are decided by a touchdown or less, so September is when coaches talk about the tiny difference between 2-0 and 0-2.
St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz is trying to get accustomed to an unfamiliar 0-2 by rationalizing last year’s 2-0 start.
“You know how close that was to being 0-2?” Martz said. The Rams needed overtime to beat Philadelphia 20-17 last year and held on for a 30-26 win against San Francisco.
“It’s very similar,” he said. “There’s just a couple of plays here and there.”
Cincinnati’s Dick LeBeau believes it’s closer than a couple of plays. After a 20-7 loss to Cleveland, LeBeau noticed his Bengals ran 83 plays, converted more than 50 percent of their third downs and made 28 first downs (the Bears made 13 yet won).
“So I got to thinking that maybe this game was a little bit closer than what everybody seems to think it was,” LeBeau said. “[The Browns] scored two touchdowns, both of which were very close-run things. It was a matter of inches. If we get an inch better here or there on defense, they’ll kick field goals in that situation. We had opportunities on offense that came an inch or two short. So if we get an inch better, we will score.”
According to Tampa Bay’s Jon Gruden, the space between worst and first is nearly non-existent. The 2-0 Carolina Panthers were the worst team in the league last year.
Said Gruden: “We’re real shallow thinkers here. I don’t care who has what record. If you look at this league right now, the Carolina Panthers might be the best team in football. And a lot of people might be surprised by that, but you add [rookie defensive end] Julius Peppers and [linebacker] Dan Morgan and some mistake-free play out of your offense, and you can win.”
Even Detroit’s beleaguered Marty Mornhinweg has a spin, noting that the Lions’ 31-7 loss at Carolina would have been considerably different except for six defensive plays that gave up 207 yards.
Mornhinweg might be stretching the point. The Dan Ryan Expressway is a great place to drive, too, except for the traffic.
By year’s end, the difference between No. 1 and No. 32 will be measured in more than inches.
Patriots games: New England offensive coordinator Charlie Weis gives four reasons his team is scoring more:
“One is the development of the offensive line. The cohesiveness we have in that group makes it a lot easier.
“Second is the development of the quarterback. At this time last year Drew [Bledsoe] had just been hurt and, boom, we’re throwing in a guy [Tom Brady] with no experience.
“Three, Antowain Smith was just trying to get playing time at running back. Now he’s our lead dog and there’s a cohesiveness between him and the offensive line.
“Last but not least, there’s the added firepower at wide receiver and tight end. We’ve brought in some skilled players at those positions and it’s allowed me the freedom to be able to find ways to attack a defense. They don’t have to worry about only Troy Brown and David Patten like they did last year.”
By the way: After rookie T.J. Duckett gained 32 yards on five carries against the Bears last week, he didn’t play in the second half. Falcons coach Dan Reeves all but admitted he forgot about the kid.
“It was the plan coming in and you get away from it, him not playing in the second half,” Reeves said. “We’re trying to correct that so that’s not a situation at the end of the ballgame where you sit there and say, `Golly, why didn’t he play in the second half?'”
Paying respects: Saints receiver Joe Horn on Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher: “He’s got good, quick instincts. He’s got great instincts. He’s got quick-twitch muscles. He’s got some hellified twitches, man.”
Saints running back Deuce McAllister, also on Urlacher: “It’s just his reaction. It’s like he’s reading your first step. He’s just as quick as the back with his first step. That’s impressive for a linebacker, especially for a middle linebacker. You are used to a big guy, a physical guy but maybe a step slow. That’s not the case with him. He’s athletic.”
Joy for Joey: When he starts Sunday against the Packers, rookie Joey Harrington will be the Lions’ fourth quarterback in Mornhinweg’s 19 games as head coach. That’s twice as many quarterbacks as wins.
It made Packers coach Mike Sherman nervous as he prepared his team to open Detroit’s new Ford Field.
“I think we’re walking into a hornet’s nest,” Sherman said. “They might be the most dangerous team in football.”
No-gain Dayne: Two games into what could be a make-or-break season, Giants running back Ron Dayne has run 17 times for 28 yards.
Coach Jim Fassel noted Dayne was hit in the backfield on four of 11 carries against the Rams and added, “I don’t want anybody getting down on this guy now.”
Said Dayne: “I guess I’m not running hard enough.”
Slow motion: No interception run by a defensive tackle could be more entertaining than the 67-yard rumble by the Bears’ 6-foot-3-inch, 340-pound Keith Traylor against Jacksonville last year. Cleveland’s 6-3, 285-pound Kenard Lang pulled a “Traylor” when he went 71 yards against Cincinnati before quarterback Gus Frerotte caught him.
“At the start of the run I thought I was Carl Lewis,” Lang said. “The longer it got, the more I started to think that I was just this big old fat boy.”
Hot idea: The Dolphins have lost eight in a row to the Jets, but this is the first time they have played them in September in Miami since 1996, when the Dolphins won. So the Dolphins took a new approach when addressing the jinx.
“The mental hurdle for me will be the heat on Sunday,” Miami tackle Mark Dixon said. “It’s going to be hot.”
Asked whether the Jets were a demon the Dolphins needed to exorcise, Dixon said: “The demon is the heat. It’s going to be hot out there.”
