These are the picks for the 2003 season. The bold represents the team selected to win. Games in red represent the Upset of the Week. At the bottom, The weekly and overall records for the season appear at the bottom. These picks are based purely on winners and losers with no consideration from the spread. The spread is only used to determine upsets for the Upset of the Week.
Washington defensive end Bruce Smith finally accomplished one of his goals. Team failures in four consecutive Super Bowls means he will never have a championship under his belt. But at least he has dozens of quarterbacks in his sacks.
With a full sack against the New York Giants, Smith became the career leader in sacks with 199, for now. With three games remaining, Smith has a little time to add to that total. After the season finale, if Smith doesn't tack on any more sacks, the record stays as it is, as Smith announced he will retire after the season. It is one record in a season that could have a few more go down.
On the first day of the season, Baltimore's Jamal Lewis trampled the Cleveland defense for 295 yards, a single game record that bested the 278-yard record set just a few years ago by Cincinnati's Corey Dillon. Immediately people raised the possibility that Lewis could become the fifth running back to break the 2,000-yard barrier. Sure he had a great start, but after one week, wondering about the league's fifth 2,000-yard season was very premature.
After 14 weeks and 1,622 yards later, Lewis is within reach to pass that milestone if not surpass the single season record of 2,105 yards set by Eric Dickerson. If Lewis averages 161.3 yards per game, the single season record is his.
St. Louis wide receiver Torry Holt has a chance to break Jerry Rice's single season receiving yards record of 1,848 yards.
And Kansas City return specialist Dante Hall with one more punt or kickoff return for a touchdown will break the record of combined kickoff and punt return touchdowns for the season.
Some of these records sound impressive, but the sum isn't as great as the parts of the whole. Take the single season rushing record. The first player to reach the 2,000-yard plateau was O.J. Simpson. His 2,003 yards is the lowest total of the four members of the two grand club (Terrell Davis with 2,008 and Barry Sanders with 2,053 the other two members), but it's truly remarkable because Simpson dashed and darted his way to 2,003 yards in just 14 games.
Dickerson raised the bar with 2,105 yards, but did it with 16 games. If Lewis, playing 16 games, goes just a few yards above Dickerson's record, what is it really a worth? Maybe the bigger accomplishment is average yards per game. Simpson averaged 143.1 yards per game in his 2,000-yard season. If, for example, Lewis breaks the single season record by just one yard, his per game average would be 131.6 yards per game, almost a 12-yard difference per game. To be the undisputed single season record holder, Lewis must gain 2,289 yards. He'd have to average 222.3 yards per game to do that.
And what about the career sack record now held by Smith? It took him 19 years and 276 games to out-sack defensive end Reggie White, 198 sacks in about 20 less games. Smith might have the record, but he isn't the greatest sack artist that ever lived. That person might not even be White, as the league began counting sacks as a statistic starting in 19XX. According to Hall of Fame defensive lineman Deacon Jones, he sacked the quarterback well over 200 times. NFL Films could view all video and count all of Jones' sacks, but the league won't honor those numbers because it was before the league recorded sacks.
Not that all records should have a secondary standard to be measured by. The previous record holder of the single season receiving yards record was Lance Alworth with 1,602 yards. Rice obliterated that record in yards and edged Alworth in yards per game. So Holt could achieve something very special. Hall is tied with several players so breaking the record would separated him from the rest and stand alone as the best.
I'm not taking anything away from Lewis or Smith. Smith is on top of the heap and Lewis could raise the standard. But sometimes there's a little more to a record that sets it apart from just grand totals. Records are set at a moment but true greatness comes from consistency.
This is far from a great season for me, even though I bounced back with a with a 9-7 week. Maybe I can set a personal record of my own with wins in a week.
Minnesota at Chicago - L
Rex is finally in effect! Rex Grossman, the Bears first round draft pick, will finally get his first start at quarterback for Chi-town. It's a case of waiting for the right time. The Bears are out of the playoffs and they're playing a team that hasn't performed well on the road. But how many rookies perform well in their first start? Grossman has an up and down day before the Bears succumb to the Vikings late in the game.
San Francisco at Cincinnati - W
Most San Fran players remain behind head coach Dennis Erickson despite the disappointing season the team has put together thus far. One notable exception to supporting Erickson was wide out Terrell Owens. He was unavailable for comment because he was in a dance studio preparing his next touchdown celebration. A well choreographed Bengals gameplan keeps Owens out of his dancing mood.
Atlanta at Indianapolis - W
In a surprise move, Falcons head coach Dan Reeves was fired with three games remaining on the schedule with coaching duties handed over to Wade Phillips. I understand short notice and all that, but Wade Phillips? I would had at least brought in Jim Mora in hopes he delivers his, "Playoffs? Playoffs?!??!!??" statement after Atlanta goes down to the Colts.
Detroit at Kansas City - W
Former Lions running back and future Hall of Famer Barry Sanders was at Ford Field last week promoting his new book. Besides pumping, Now You See Him..., it's a sign that it's all good between Sanders and the Lions organization. Detroit sure wished this happened early in the season. They would had begged Sanders to suit up again. At least one great running back will be on the field, though he plays for K.C. Priest Holmes leads the Chiefs past Detroit.
Jacksonville at New England - W
As the temperature drops, the Jaguars are getting hot. Jacksonville has played arguably their best two games of the season the past two weeks and it has nothing to do with motivational ploys. Head coach Jack Del Rio didn't have the old stump turned into firewood, placed in the locker with matches with the meaning, "It's time to catch fire." He learned he can't quite trust the players to be careful enough. No need for a fire marshall as New England stops and drop the Jags as the Patriots roll to victory.
Pittsburgh at New York Jets - W
Steelers running back Jerome Bettis is openly voicing his belief that he won't be back with the team next year. Bettis probably won't be alone in either being allowed to walk or cut from Pittsburgh. There'll be enough former Steelers to assemble a small caroling chorus for the holidays. For now, Bettis and the Steelers sing the "Beat by the Jets Blues."
Seattle at St. Louis - W
Reserve quarterback Trent Dilfer considers teammate and Seahawks starter Matt Hasselbeck the league MVP but doesn't take into consideration the value of winning on the road. With jet-lag wearing Seattle down, the Rams flatten the Seahawks.
Houston at Tampa Bay - W
If the pattern holds true this week then T.B. should just forfeit this week and week 17 But it's the Texans for goodness sakes. If the Buccaneers can't break the pattern, they really have problems. The Bucs take care of business.
Buffalo at Tennessee - L
A tale of two ailing quarterbacks. Buffalo's Drew Bledsoe isn't fully recovered from dizziness and Tenneessee's Steve McNair is questionable with a calf injury. This game comes down to the running games. Bills runner Travis Henry has been hot of late. He'll be the difference-maker as the Bills pull off the Upset of the Week.
Dallas at Washington - W
It was Parcells himself who kept on telling us that his Cowboys weren't really a good team. Now Spurrier is kind of following the same steps, though saying Washington really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY, isn't a good team. Spurrier's Redskins prove it as they put up a dud against the Cowboys.
Cleveland at Denver - W
The quarterback shuffle is on in Cleveland. Head coach Butch Davis promoted Tim Couch back to starter after a good performance in the second half of Monday night's game. Couch even went as far as saying he'd restructure his contract if the Browns want him back next year. Couch will draw the line at making only commission per win. Couch won't make money this week as the Broncos cash in on a victory.
Baltimore at Oakland - L
Raiders head coach Bill Callahan was nice enough to retract his comments about the stupidity of his team, which was the right thing to do. Oakland leads the league in penalties and hasn't done much right recently. Callahan doesn't have to say his team is stupid. The proof is on the field. Count this as a Ravens win.
Carolina at Arizona - W
The 'Lina defense will play very tentative for part of the first quarter as they line up opposite a team in red jerseys. But once they realize they aren't playing Atlanta, the Panthers will get off their heels and go for the kill.
Green Bay at San Diego - W
The only explanation why Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer sticks with Doug Flutie at quarterback is because he wants his team to play spoiler. It's a very difficult task to spoil this game for G.B. fans. Trying to spoil the day for Cheeseheads makes bleu cheese, which is well liked in Wisconsin. But nothing is loved like the Packers. The fans will be behind the team as the Pack smack the Chargers.
New York Giants at New Orleans - W
The remarkable streak of nine straight games with at least 100 yards rushing ended for N.O. running back Deuce McAllister last week. He should be able to make up for lost yardage against the Giants as McAllister and the Saints plow through New York.
Philadelphia at Miami - Monday Night - W
Historically, these teams are heading in opposite directions at this point of the season. Philly again is getting stronger during the stretch run. The Dolphins after two big wins couldn't score a point in the cold of Foxborough, Massachusetts. Yes Miami is back at home but time to thaw won't be enough as the Eagles scorch the Dolphins.
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