One of the least talked about stories this week is 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Martz coaching against his former team in the Detroit Lions. The game that could be the "Martz Bowl" has both teams in a must win situation. For the Lions they need to avoid a 0-3 start in a hurry if they look to turn around their season and this is a very critical game for San Francisco as their schedule gets tougher than understanding a George Bush press conference.

Martz has molded the two starting quarterback's entering Sunday's game. Jon Kitna and J.T. O'Sullivan have both had similar paths in getting to this point in their careers. They were both overlooked and had to work their way up as undrafted free agents to now starters for two NFL teams. Kitna had a couple of monster seasons with Martz at the helm and at this point it looks like O'Sullivan could do the same. Against Seattle last week the 29 year old first year starter passed for over 300 yards and ran for 30 more. Of course going up against a battered Seattle team doesn't look like much but it certainly helped the 49ers gain some confidence and a little bit of momentum after tripping up against Arizona in week one. The Lions on the other hand have nothing to be confident about. They are 0-2 and their defense may give up 400 or more points this year if that type of play continues. Unable to find a consitent running game the Lions first turned to Rudi Johnson and now reports have circulated they did the same with former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. No matter who is running the ball, the Lions need to churn some yards.

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After the end of last season in which the 49ers posted a horrible 5-11 record I looked once again to an off season filled with question marks and wondering what new changes the team would make to improve itself. Would the 49ers finally fix the mistake they made when they traded Terrell Owens and draft a proper replacement in the draft (Rashaun Woods doesn't count) or would they go the same route for years and sign an aging veteran who will do nothing but take up cap space? See Curtis Conway and Johnny Morton.

In March free agency hit like a storm and all of the league's 32 teams were affected. For the 49ers there would be no drafting of a franchise wide receiver. In the earliest days of free agency, with former Rams head coach Mike Martz now in charge of the offense, the 49ers signed another former Ram in Isaac Bruce. Two years and six million dollars later the former hated rival became a piece of the present for the red and gold. Bruce spent 14 years with the Rams both in LA and then St Louis before joining San Francisco. He has been known for some amazing seasons like that 119 catches he had in 1995 or more recently grabbing 89 passes with nearly 1300 yards in 2004. But those seasons, much like the 49ers playoff success, had all come in the past. What was left of a man at age 35 that was just released by a team that had three wins? I was skeptical at first and continued to be through training camp and then the preseason.

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The Syracuse Orange football team won its first game of the season yesterday by a score of 30-21, making their record 1-3 before entering Big East play next weekend vs Pittsburgh. Senior Curtis Brinkley rushed for a season high 145 yards and first time starting quarterback Cameron Dantley completed all but 3 passes and a touchdown. That was about the only good highlights you will see from the Orange this season.

Now the bad news? The win came against a win-less Division 1aa Northeastern team. The Huskies entered the game at 0-2 and still only lost by 9 to a bcs conference school. Not only that, but Syracuse lead early on 10-0 and still only managed to win by 9 points. In retrospect Big East counterpart Louisville faced 1aa Tennessee Tech earlier this month and won by a score of 51-10. Northeastern also totaled almost 400 total yards and had 22 first downs compared to Syracuse's 23. All the Orange reportedly celebrated after the game and just wanted this one to "sink in". Did they just think they topped the number one team in the country? You know things are bad when a team is so thrilled after a win like today. 

Continue reading "Syracuse finally wins...sort of"

Remember the good ol' days? Back when the Rams still played in LA and then the early part of their stay in St. Louis? I sure do. From 1990 to 1998 the Rams lost 9 or more games per season. The draft pick blunders (see Lawrence Phillips) and the coaching firings. Things were so bad that Cardinal and Lions fans were sending the Rams get well cards. It wasn't until Kurt Warner hit the scene in 1999 that the Rams started to finally win again. Between the Super Bowl run in '99 and up to 2004 St. Louis made the playoffs each season and was a consistent contender in the NFC. Hard times have fallen since, with several 8-8 marks and the removal of Mike Martz as head coach. The team seems to be in a downward spiral, blowing the roster up and starting all over from scratch. I couldn't be happier.

Continue reading "Same Old Sorry Ass Rams"

While the Monday night contest has yet to be played between AFC North rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore, Sunday's week 4 of the NFL season offered some high octane scoring, upsets, and the usual drama that the NFL is famous for. Here are 5 things to take from Sunday's games

5) The Bills are for real. Buffalo had another late come from behind victory, this week beating the win-less Rams 31-14.  The Rams entered the fourth quarter with a 14-13 lead, but Bills CB Jabari Greer’s interception for a touchdown on the first play of the quarter would lead to another Rams loss. Buffalo has defeated 2 playoff teams from last year and play only 2 teams the rest of the season that had winning records in 2007. An easy schedule and a battered New England team could mean division title for Buffalo. At the very least a playoff appearance for the first time since '99.

Continue reading "5 Observations from NFL week 4"