NFL 2002 Week 3 Early Season Battles

There will be one battle of unbeatens, and four of "almost-unbeatens."

That’s the lineup for Week 3 in the NFL, where already the surprises abound.

The Chargers and Panthers, who between them won six games last year, have already won four. The Rams, who went to Super Bowl in 2001, haven’t won yet. And the Patriots, who lost their first two last year yet won the Super Bowl, haven’t lost yet.

Throw out all the preseason predictions -- the real-life NFL is back!

"It can’t really get any better than 2-0," says Carolina rookie head coach JOHN FOX, speaking for all eight of the NFL’s 2-0 teams.

But yes it can. Five of those 2-0s can go to 3-0 this week (one, Oakland, has a bye). The other two -- the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints -- meet in a "Battle of the Unbeatens," so one, barring a tie, will lose.

Bears vs. the Saints can also be called a "Battle of the Unbendings," because both teams boast staunch defenses.

New Orleans prides itself on a swarming defense. In Week 1, they knocked down Tampa Bay quarterback BRAD JOHNSON 21 times. Last week against Green Bay, they limited the Pack to 22 percent on third-down conversions.

"We’re trying to establish ourselves as one of the most physical defenses in the NFL," says Saints defensive tackle NORMAN HAND.

On the other side, one of the Bears’ defensive leaders will be part of the focal matchup of the day -- middle linebacker BRIAN URLACHER against Saints running back DEUCE MC ALLISTER.

Urlacher, runner-up last season to MICHAEL STRAHAN as the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year, was a terror last week against Atlanta. He recovered a fumble, sacked Falcons quarterback MICHAEL VICK twice, and finished with a game-high 13 tackles.

NFL FACTOID: IT AIN’T OVER AT 0-2

Since 1990, 14 teams have begun the season at least at 0-2 and have made the playoffs, including the Super Bowl XXXVI-champion New England Patriots last year. Worst record to start the season and still make the playoffs since 1990?  The 1992 San Diego Chargers began 0-4 and went to the Divisional Playoffs.

One of Urlacher’s duties will be to shadow McAllister, the Saints’ top draft choice last year who has admirably replaced Ricky Williams (now with Miami, see below). He has been the workhorse of the Saints’ backfield, rushing 31 and 21 times

in Weeks 1-2, respectively, for a total of 232 yards, ranking second in the NFC.

Meanwhile, both teams’ defensive backs will have to be at the ready. They’ll face the top receiving-yardage leaders in the NFC -- the Bears’ MARTY BOOKER (246) and the Saints’ JOE HORN (228).

Then there are all the Battles of Almost-Unbeatens -- the league’s 2-0 teams against the 1-1s.

One with an outstanding subplot takes place in Miami, where the unbeaten Dolphins face a riled New York Jets team that comes off a 44-7 loss to New England, but has something in its hip pocket -- an eight-game winning streak against Miami.

"I’m convinced there’s a curse," says Dolphins cornerback PATRICK SURTAIN.

But maybe the streak the Dolphins boast -- not losing a September home game since 1994 -- can break the Jets’ streak.

Or maybe the existence of something the Dolphins have not had in a while -- a solid ground game -- can do it.

The new "Miami Pound Machine" comes in the 5-10, 230-pound frame of RICKY WILLIAMS, acquired in a trade this offseason from New Orleans and already a favorite of Dolphins fans from South Beach to Key West.

And why not?  Williams leads the NFL in rushing with 243 yards and comes off a 24-carry, 132-yard, 5.5-yard-average game in Indianapolis. He became the first Dolphin with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since BERNIE PARMALEE in 1994, and the first to open the season with two 100-yard games since MARK HIGGS in 1991.   

"I’m doing whatever I can to get back to my (University of) Texas days, where I broke a lot of runs," says Williams. And where he won the 1998 Heisman Trophy.

The longest active winning streaks of one team over another (streak-holder listed first):

 

ALL IN A ROW

Teams	Consecutive Wins
New England-San Diego	10
Dallas-Washington	9
Miami-Cincinnati	9
Pittsburgh-Atlanta	9
Miami-Arizona	8
NY Jets-Miami	8

 

In Arizona, it’s another 2-0 vs. a 1-1 as the unbeaten San Diego Chargers visit the Arizona Cardinals.

That’s the No. 1 just-about-across-the-defensive-board Chargers, led by their new coach, former NFL linebacker MARTY SCHOTTENHEIMER.

San Diego, which has not allowed a touchdown this season, comes off a nine-sack game against Houston and is ranked first on defense in -- are you ready? -- total yards per game, yards per play, passing net yards per game, passing net yards per play, sacks per pass play, first downs per game, and -- most importantly -- points per game.

The Bolts will have to contend with one of the NFL’s most resourceful quarterbacks, JAKE PLUMMER, and running back THOMAS JONES, fresh from a 173-yard career-high rushing effort against Seattle.

In Denver, it’s the 2-0 Broncos against the only team that has come to within two overtimes of also being 2-0, the 1-1 Buffalo Bills.

"There probably weren’t many people who thought we’d start off 2-0, but here we are," says Broncos quarterback BRIAN GRIESE.

A big reason for the Broncos’ spotless record is their defense, with mastermind RAY RHODES working his usual magic to stifle opponents. Denver’s defensive coordinator dropped two safeties and a linebacker into deep coverage last week to force San Francisco’s explosive passing attack into a short game.

The Broncos allow the fewest rushing yards per game (51.5) in the NFL and will face the AFC’s sixth-leading rusher, TRAVIS HENRY, who is second in the conference with three rushing TDs.

The final "Almost Unbeaten Bowl" comes in New England, where the you-can’t-call-them-a-surprise-anymore NFL champion Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Pats have won eight consecutive regular-season games and 11 in a row overall, including Super Bowl XXXVI.

"They’re a great team," says Jets cornerback DONNIE ABRAHAM. "I think people have to start giving them credit. They don’t look like they’re feeling the pressure of being the defending Super Bowl champion. To me, it looks like they’re having fun defending their title." 

The key matchup of the game could be similar to the Denver-Buffalo scenario, as the Patriots’ No. 2 NFL rushing defense (53.0) faces the AFC’s third-leading rusher, PRIEST HOLMES (206 yards), who leads the conference with four rushing TDs.

On Monday night (ABC, 9:00 PM ET), it’s a 1-1 team against an 0-2 team. But, oh, what an 0-2!

"There’s a lot of idle chatter about the St. Louis Rams being solved," says JON GRUDEN, whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers host perhaps the most feared 0-2 team in the NFL, the Rams. "But this is still a very complex mystery, if you ask me."

And why not?  Guys like KURT WARNER, MARSHALL FAULK, ISAAC BRUCE and the rest of the Rams’ brigade who have gone to two of the past three Super Bowls have not just overnight "lost it."  And the Bucs don’t want to provide the venue where the Rams "find it."

The teams have a great recent history between them. They’ve met the past three seasons, with no game being decided by more than seven points. It was 24-17 Bucs last year, 38-35 Bucs in 2000, and 11-6 Rams in the 1999 NFC Championship Game, the year St. Louis won Super Bowl XXXIV.

Monday night will be Matchup Night.

There’s Bucs DTs ANTHONY MC FARLAND and WARREN SAPP against Rams Gs TOM NUTTEN and ADAM TIMMERMAN. There’s two former NFL Europe QBs, Warner and the Bucs’ BRAD JOHNSON. There’s Rams CBs DRE BLY and AENEAS WILLIAMS against the "K-Brothers," WRs KEYSHAWN JOHNSON and KEENAN MC CARDELL.

And there’s the first meeting ever between Gruden and St. Louis head coach MIKE MARTZ. Let the brain-crunching begin!

Interesting quotes from around the NFL

"People said they had been to Brazil, Hawaii, Australia and Jamaica. When they got to me, I said: ‘Man, I’ve been working at McDonald’s forever.’  They looked at me, like: McDonalds?  And I said: ‘Yeah. I work. I work’"
San Francisco 49ers linebacker Jamie Winborn recalling the day at Vanderbilt he had to describe his summer to classmates.

"He’s as disciplined a guy as you’ll ever want to work with. He doesn’t leave a stone unturned. He’s disciplined in his training habits. He’s disciplined in his workouts. He’s disciplined in his personal life. He’s just a disciplined person. And by doing that, he just goes on and on"
St. Louis Rams defensive backs coach Carlos Mainord on Rams 12-year cornerback Aeneas Williams.

"I have some serious issues with my bobblehead"
Miami Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor, upon first seeing his bobblehead likeness in a pizza chain promotion.

"Last year we were one of the least-penalized teams in the league. That should be a given, that you’re disciplined. Penalties are things you can control. You can control the mental aspect of the game. I want a team that plays disciplined, but plays right to the edge. You have to play right to the edge to win"
Arizona Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis

 

 

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NFL 2002 Week 3 Early Season Battles