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Thursday, September 29, 2005
Updated: January 11, 10:48 AM ET
Ten more NFL truths

By Jason Whitlock
Special to Page 2

I no longer need to hype this column. In a secret, yet-to-be-published poll of NFL coaches, my Top 10 NFL Facts column was tabbed as the No. 1 reading material for league coaches.

In fact, my sources in Dallas told me this week that Bill Parcells had to break up a fight between two of his assistants who were arguing over exactly what makes me the foremost authority on the NFL.

One coach was convinced my playing experience at Ball State gave me keen insight. The other coach contended my sources throughout the league feed me inside information.

Both are wrong. It's Madden '06.

Here's what you should think about as we head to Week 4:

10. The gap between the NFC and the AFC is closing.

Other alleged NFL experts will say it's too early to suggest that the NFC is gaining ground on the AFC. I'm not an "alleged" expert.

So far, the two conferences have split 12 games evenly. A year ago, the AFC dominated NFC competition, posting an impressive 44-20 record when the two conferences met on the field.

Why will things even out?

There are more average-to-good teams in the NFC than in the AFC. The top of the AFC -- New England, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis -- is still better than the top of the NFC. But if you take away the NFC's top three teams -- Atlanta, Tampa and Philly -- and the AFC's best, I'll take the rest of the NFC over the rest of the AFC.


	With Randy Moss on your team, you should be putting up more points.

9. The Raiders are the lone winless NFL squad with a chance to qualify for the playoffs.

At some point, Oakland head coach Norv Turner will figure out a way to generate an explosive offense out of Randy Moss and Jerry Porter. If he doesn't, Al Davis should waste little time before acknowledging the mistake of hiring Turner.

The Raiders are averaging 19 points per game. That's criminal when you have two receivers as big and as talented as Moss and Porter. Turner isn't making a big enough effort to get either receiver the football. That won't last forever. When Turner figures it out, the Raiders will start scoring 30 and will win nine games, which might be enough to win the AFC West.

8. Ben Roethlisberger is the reason Buffalo's offense stinks.

Stick with me on this one. Second-year quarterback J.P. Losman has no business starting in the NFL. Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey isn't stupid. He knows better than anyone that Losman isn't ready. But because Roethlisberger held the reins as a rookie while Pittsburgh's defense and Jerome Bettis won 15 regular-season games last season, Mularkey is convinced Losman can do the same thing.

He can't. The Bills would have a far better chance of sneaking into the playoffs with backup Kelly Holcomb running the offense. Last week, Losman couldn't take advantage of an injury-riddled Atlanta defense. Losman is an inaccurate passer and lacks poise in the pocket.

7. Blame Big Ben for Chicago, too.

With average play from the QB position, the Chicago Bears could've upset the overhyped Cincinnati Bengals. Instead of average QB play, the Bears are stuck with rookie Kyle Orton, who threw five interceptions last week.

Chicago's defense did a nice job of slowing Cincy's high-powered offense. But somehow the Bears have convinced themselves that Orton has an NFL future.

He doesn't. He looks like a 13-year-old boy at recess, and throws like one, too. What are the Bears thinking?

"Maybe we'll get lucky like Pittsburgh did with Roethlisberger."

I have a better shot of getting "lucky" with Halle Berry than the Bears do with Kyle Orton.

6. The way NFL teams avoid him, you'd think Jeff George had been Michael Brown's right-hand man at FEMA.

I mean, the Jets say they want to throw downfield and they sign 42-year-old statue Vinny Testaverde to fill in for Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler? Testaverde is just as likely to throw an interception as a touchdown.

Testaverde has never won squat in the NFL, and he's just too old and too mistake-prone to help the Jets.

George couldn't even get a tryout in New York. He's five years younger than Testaverde. His arm is still live, and he wants to play. He worked out for the Detroit Lions last week. George could help the Ravens, the Bears, the Jets or the Lions.

5. Given Trevor Pryce's modest stats Monday night -- four tackles -- it might be difficult for some of you to contemplate just how incredible his performance was against the Chiefs.

It was the finest performance I've ever seen from an NFL defensive lineman. You might mistakenly believe Pryce's performance was a product of his exploiting KC's young offensive tackles. You'd be wrong.

Pryce took turns whipping everyone on Kansas City's offensive line. The Chiefs have the best guard tandem in the league. Will Shields is a Hall of Famer and Brian Waters was the best guard in football a year ago. Pryce, who lined up everywhere Monday, spanked Shields and Waters when given the opportunity.

Pryce couldn't be blocked. You won't see a better defensive effort this season.

4. Contrary to what was reported in USA Today this week, Edgerrin James' stock is declining during Indianapolis' defense-inspired 3-0 start.


	Bottom line is, James needs to get in the end zone more.

James, Indy's franchise-tagged running back, is off to a great statistical start. He has rushed for more than 300 yards and is Indy's offensive MVP. The problem for James is, he's being exposed as a guy who doesn't produce touchdowns. He has scored just once this season.

He scored 35 of his 52 career TDs in his first two seasons. He also recorded 33 of his 58 plays of 20-plus yards in his first two seasons. James has never been the same since injuring his knee in 2001.

James is a tiptoer. His running style is effective, but he doesn't run hard. His strength is excellent vision, which masks the fact that he doesn't have great moves and rarely breaks tackles.

With defenses focused on dropping eight into coverage and stopping Peyton Manning, James should be putting up fantastic fantasy numbers.

3. Of the undefeated teams -- Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Washington and Tampa Bay -- the Buccaneers will stay undefeated the longest.

If the Bengals get by Houston this weekend, which I don't expect, they'll lose on the road at Jacksonville. Seattle or Denver will stop the Redskins within the next two weeks. The Colts have two straight road trips against beatable opponents -- Tennessee and San Francisco -- but winning on the road is terribly difficult.

Meanwhile, the Bucs host Detroit, then get to play the QB-less Jets. After Tampa Bay wins those, I envision the Bucs' trouncing overachieving Miami and whipping San Fran on the road to make it to 7-0.

Tampa has a better running back, a better quarterback, a better receiving corps and a comparable defense to the Tampa team that won a Super Bowl. I'm not predicting the Bucs will return to the Super Bowl. I'm just suggesting it's a possibility.

2. The University of Cincinnati might have the worst-coached football team in America, and Andre Ware is a very underrated broadcaster.

I made the mistake of watching the UC-Miami (Ohio) game on ESPN2 Wednesday night. The game was horrific. Coach Mark Dantonio's defensive scheme was embarrassing. The Bearcats left Miami's receivers in soft one-on-one matchups all night.

At the end of the game, Ware said Miami quarterback Josh Betts should send the UC coaching staff a thank-you card. Ware's bone-honest commentary was the most entertaining aspect of the game.

1. The Saints need to shut up and quit whining about opening the season in New Jersey. The Saints were wasting talent long before Hurricane Katrina.

Jason Whitlock is a regular columnist for The Kansas City Star. His newspaper is celebrating his 10 years as a columnist with the publishing of Jason's first book, "Love Him, Hate Him: 10 Years of Sports, Passion and Kansas City." It's a collection of Jason's most memorable, thought-provoking and funny columns over the past decade. You can purchase the book at TheKansasCityStore.com. Jason can be reached by e-mail at ballstate68@aol.com.