When I take a look out at the pigskin landscape, Dwayne Rudd's thrown helmet and all, it looks as unfamiliar as the Virginia football team riding a three-game winning streak. Yet, both are not a mirage, but reality. The NFL and NCAA have been filled with early season surprises and disappointments this year.
Let's start in the NFL. For anyone who opens the newspaper (not this one, of course, but a different one) and finds the NFL standings, one team especially jumps off the page -- the St. Louis Rams and their big goose egg in the win column (0-4).
Now, I must admit that I thought the Rams were just having a rough early stretch and were about to bust out against the Quincy Carter-led Cowboys. That was, until, All-World quarterback Kurt Warner went down with a broken pinky finger early in the first quarter. He now joins All-Pro Tackle Orlando Pace in the Ram infirmary and will miss the next eight-to-10 weeks recovering from surgery.
The Rams starting the season 0-4 in the NFL is like the Yankees losing their first 40 games in baseball or the Lakers losing their first 20 games in the NBA. It's simply mind-blowing.
So what happened to the former world champions, who now have lost nine straight games if you include last year's Super Bowl and this year's preseason?
First, even before his injury Warner simply wasn't himself. Whether it was a nagging injury or simply a funk all athletes go through, only the NFL's all-time career leader in quarterback rating knows. But I do know this, his one-touchdown-to-eight-interceptions ratio was making the Redskin riflemen look accurate (and that's quite a feat). He was throwing ducks that wobbled like they were missing a wing.
Second, the Rams miss wide receiver Az-Zahir Hakim (now with the Detroit Lions) much more than they expected. Without a viable replacement as the slot receiver, defenses do not have to worry about a speedster cutting across the middle and can let their safeties double team Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt on the outside.
Third, with the receivers unable to get open, whoever is signal-caller for the Rams has to hold on to the ball longer than their three-step drop, which throws off the timing and allows the opposing defense to swarm through the porous offensive line of the Rams, leading to countless hurries and sacks. Consequently, the Rams are averaging only 15.4 points per game, third-worst in the NFC.
If history is any indicator, the Rams -- a team most prognosticators pegged for the Super Bowl again this season -- won't even make it to the postseason. Of the 91 teams to start the season 0-4, only the 1992 San Diego Chargers made the playoffs.
Speaking of those lightning bolts, they are on the opposite side of the NFL spectrum, beginning the season an impressive 4-0. Any skeptics that remained effectively were convinced after the Chargers' 21-14 victory over the defending champion New England Patriots. The Chargers showcase the NFL's newest dominating "L.T." -- LaDainian Tomlinson. After rushing for over 200 yards against the "Chowdaheads" (a.k.a. Patriots), San Diego proved it is much more than a solid defense and bowl of Flutie Flakes.
Before moving on, I just have to clarify something that might have confused readers looking at the standings. Yes, the Carolina Panthers that are 3-1 are the same Carolina Panthers that went 1-15 last season. Furthermore, Carolina's quarterback is the same Rodney Peete who began the season with 17 more career interceptions than touchdowns. And no, it's not his son, either.
As for the NCAA scene, there have been some similar unthinkable surprises, most notably the collapse of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After entering the season ranked No. 10, the once-mighty Huskers now find themselves out of the
Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 1981 (a streak of 348 consecutive polls). Most of you reading this weren't even born in 1981! To put it in further perspective, in 1981 the U.S. was fighting a war with Afghanistan as an ally, and the slap bracelet was still a decade away from mass popularity!
The once fear-inspiring "Black Shirt" defense of Nebraska now has given up 76 points in its last two games against Penn State and Iowa State. In fact, the 36-14 loss at Iowa State on Saturday marked the Cyclones' first win against a ranked opponent since 1993 and their largest margin of victory over Nebraska since 1899! With 10 points, Nebraska trails the likes of Air Force, Kentucky, Louisville and Marshall in the AP Poll. Even Bowling Green is within three points of the Huskers! (Quick: name Bowling Green's mascot. The answer appears at the end of the column.)
For those of you keeping track, Florida now possesses the longest current streak of boasting a Top 25 ranking. The Gators have been ranked in 208 consecutive polls, dating back to 1990 and the early years of the "Ball Coach," Steve Spurrier. Michigan has the second-longest stretch, a streak that only started in 1998.
As far as surprises of the successful kind go, the aforementioned Cyclones and their QB Seneca Wallace rank toward the top, along with Tyrone Willingham's new Notre Dame squad. Notre Dame is the winner of my "Alfonso Soriano Award." Its namesake is the Yankees' second-year player who became the first second basemen in MLB history to have 30 homers (39) and 30 stolen bases (41) in a season. The requirement: We all knew they would be good in the future, but this good, this early -- we never would have expected that. The Fighting Irish are off to a 4-0 start, but still have to face Florida State and Tennessee later this season, with both teams having what they would consider a "disappointing" beginning.
With the parity of the NFL and the unpredictability of 20-year-olds in college, the landscape of both leagues promises to change dramatically again by the end of the year.
(Answer: Falcons. If you got the answer right without cheating, way to go! If you actually read the rest of the column before looking down here, I'm even more shocked.)
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