The Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots are both 3-0, undefeated in this young season.  That is not much of an eyebrow raiser at all, but there are three other 3-0 teams:

The Dallas Cowboys

For a team that was thought to be in the middle of the pack by a lot of people after Bill Parcells departed and was replaced by the controversial selection of Wade Phillips, the Cowboys are firing on all cylinders.  The defense appears to have not lost a step on what they’ve been building the last couple of years and the offense is shockingly reminding people of the St. Louis Rams of 6-8 years ago.

The Pittsburgh Steelers

It is true that the Steelers lost Head Coach Bill Cowher, Running Back Jerome Bettis, and more this past off season… but it hasn’t seemed to slow down this perennial AFC power.  Ben Roethlisberger is back after his injury plagued 2006 season and looks better than ever.  New Head Coach Mike Tomlin appears to have the Steelers right where they left off under the old coaching regime.  The last Pittsburgh Head Coach to go 3-0 in his first season with the team?  Bill Cowher.

The Green Bay Packers 

When it comes to teams that everyone had given up on, the Packers top the list.  It seemed like every preseason article chalked the Packers (and Brett Favre in particular) up to being over-the-hill and on the bottom of the league.  Well, put down the cheese and check out the standings… Green Bay is 3-0!  Not only is Green Bay 3-0 but Favre seems to be putting on quite a show having just tied Dan Marino’s record for most career touchdown passes.  The three teams that the Pack has defeated so far this season (the Giants, the Eagles, & the Chargers) are all respectable teams too.  The season is still young but the news looks good in Green Bay.

How many of these teams will be 4-0 next week?

Indianapolis hosts a tough Denver Broncos team.

New England plays on the road at Cincinnati.

Dallas welcomes in 0-3 St. Louis.

Pittsburgh travels to Arizona.

and, Green Bay plays at Minnesota.

Would Philly Fans Still Be Rooting For The Yellow Jackets?

From the world of what could’ve been, here comes the story of the Frankford Yellow Jackets. The Jackets were the original Philadelphia franchise in the NFL. Due to financial problems, the team went bankrupt shortly into their existence. Later on, the NFL granted a new football franchise to Philadelphia and the Eagles were born.

So, what would’ve happened if the old Frankford Yellow Jackets had not gone broke? There would most likely be no Philadelphia Eagles today. Philadelphia fans would be forced to cheer and jeer what would most likely be called the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets.

Now, that would be odd.

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Football For Your Brain!

We at IQFB.com came across a nice online football game recently. You can check it out for yourself at MastermindFootball.com. It puts a nice twist on online football games and combines fantasy football type action with more of a virtual coaching feel, and adds in a sense of online community too.

The game will appeal to you whether you’re into fantasy football or not. It satisfies most of the requirement of a good online game as it is both complex (in that it delves deep into the football strategy side of things) and simple (in that it doesn’t take up hours and hours of your free time in order for you to participate) at the same time. Another appeal that Mastermind Football has is that it allows for private messages between coaches and you can even play against real life friends. Any opportunity for football trash talking, whether real life or virtual, is a welcome opportunity for most football fans.

The game allows you to interact with your team on an ownership (naming of your team, hiring coaches, etc.), general manager (trading players and signing free agents), and head coach (deciding on starters and roster depth) level. While the players and statistics do not come from real world NFL players, they are accurate and believable. You can even look into the free agent market and find that must-have linebacker that’s keeping your team from reaching the next level.

Mastermind Football’s slogan is “Football For Your Brain!” and it fits the game perfectly. Whether deciding if a halfback’s discipline stat is more important than his backup’s running ability stat, or if you’re trying to assemble the best offensive line possible, Mastermind Football will definitely occupy another level of your football loving brain.

The game is easy to get into as well as you can sign up for a short season and a small league to start with, or jump right into a full season if you feel like you can commit to it.

Mastermind Football is highly recommended both as an online diversion from work and school, or as a fun way to interact online with friends. Check it out today!

It’s been a few years removed now, so it’s time to look back at Peyton Manning’s incredible 2004 season.

Peyton Manning, and the entire Indianapolis Colts team, has always been a stat machine. But, 2004 would be a season that would go off the charts as far as statistical accomplishments are concerned.

The eye-opener and easily most impressive stat is his touchdown passes. Up to that time in his career, and even since then, the most touchdown passes Peyton Manning had thrown in a year was 33. Thirty-three touchdowns is a lot of touchdown passes for any quarterback in the league, in any era. That is an average of more than two touchdown passes for every game played. In 2004, Peyton Manning threw 49 touchdown passes - beating his personal best by an incredible 16 touchdowns. In a league that most teams don’t average scoring three touchdowns in a game, Manning averaged three touchdown passes in a game for that season.

Another factor in the 2004 season for Manning was that he threw for over 4500 yards. The NFL has for a long time been a league where the very good to great quarterbacks are the passers who can consistently amass over 3,000 yards passing in a season. Manning proved he was at the top of the quarterback chart when he threw for one-and-a-half times what a quarterback who is merely “very good” or “great” would throw for.

With all those extra yards came another stat topper, for the season Manning averaged 9.2 yards per pass attempt. In a game where you need ten yards to get a first down, Manning was coming close to averaging that - not on every pass completion… but on every pass attempt.

Manning threw ten interceptions during the 2004 season. No quarterback likes to throw interceptions, but they are part of the game. If you look at the season immediately prior to this magical year, Manning threw for 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. One year later he had increased his touchdowns by 20 and left his interceptions at the exact same number.

2004 also brought Manning his highest completion percentage to date. Manning’s 67.4 pct completion percentage meant that less than one of every three passes he attempted fell to the ground incomplete.

It is hard to imagine seeing another statistical year from a quarterback rivaling the 2004 season that Peyton Manning put together, but then again… as long as number 18 is still suiting up - anything is possible.

We’ve just finished week two of the 2007 season, let’s look at a few misconceptions, or just interesting facts, regarding the NFL.

Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints have a dynamic offense that can score at will. Really? Through the first two games, the Saints have two offensive touchdowns. In fact, stretching back to last year the Saints have lost five of their last seven games.

The New York Giants are contenders. Really? Including the end of last season, Eli Manning and his Giants pals have lost nine of their last eleven games.

Brett Favre is done. Really? In the first two games of the season Brett Favre has more touchdown passes than interceptions, he has a combined 492 passing yards, and the Packers are 2-0. In fact, going back to the 2006 season, the Packers have won six consecutive games.

No Jerome Bettis and no Bill Cowher, the Steelers are primed for a decline. Really? Through the first two games of the year the Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-0, have given up only 10 points, and Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has five touchdown passes and only one interception. Not to mention that in game one the Steelers gave up only seven points to the Cleveland Browns, the same Cleveland Browns who scored 51 points this week against the Bengals who were picked by most teams to win that division.

Sometimes all is not what it seems in professional sports, and sometimes those talking heads just plain don’t get it… then again, it is only week two.

Kickoff Return Futility For Tampa Bay

Picture yourself a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan, the excitement of the opening kickoff is approaching and you could care less. Why?

Here’s a statistical oddity, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the time of their first game in 1976 through the 2006 season have never returned a kickoff for a Touchdown. They’d done it five times in preseason games during that time, but never during a regular season game. Imagine, if you were a Bucs season ticket holder since the early days you would’ve gone over thirty years and have never seen your favorite team return a kick for a Touchdown.

You would think just by chance there would be a couple missed tackles one day, a trick reverse on the return, or maybe even a lateral filled return that would bring the Buccaneers fans to their feet. Nope. Nothin’.

Wishing luck to the Tampa Bay special teams unit,
IQFB

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Inside sources with the New England Patriots have let it slip that the Patriots are turning lemons into lemonade concerning their recent violation of NFL rules. While there is apparently no truth to the rumors that head coach Bill Belichick is changing his name to Beliflick, the news of new team sponsors has leaked out with the image found below.

Other changes for the team have also been hinted at:

- Bill Belichick’s title will be changed from “Head Coach” to “Director”
- Team introductions will now be referred to as “the opening credits”.
- The “helmet cam” will be replaced by the “opposing coach’s clipboard cam”.
- New Assistant Coach: Steven Spielberg.
- Famed TV psychic Sylvia Brown will come in on Saturday Night’s to predict the opposition’s game plan for the next day.
- Super Bowl rings will be replaced with Super Hero Decoder Rings.
- Bill Belichick was known to never want to speak to Jets coach Eric Mangini again, he has since changed this to “never ever again”.

Neither head coach had much to say regarding either the videotaping incident or the punishment handed down, although when asked if he ever thought that his coaching staff had been videotaped during a game, Belichick replied “If I thought I was ending up on film, do you think I’d dress like this?”

1975 Miami Dolphin Evacuation

In 1975, just three seasons removed from their perfect season, the Miami Dolphins lost three star players to the rival World Football League.

The World Football League (WFL) started in 1974 and had experienced serious financial difficulties. Before the start of their second season, the Memphis Southmen of the WFL signed Dolphins players Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, and Jim Kiick away from Miami to play for Memphis. The Memphis franchise was one of just a couple WFL teams that had semi-smooth operations, eventually petitioning to join the NFL after the WFL folded but they were denied.

The effect this mass evacuation of players had on the Dolphins was significant and the AFC would’ve been significantly different had these players not gone.

It would be as if Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith had left the Cowboys in the early 1990’s. Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and Edgerin James leaving the Colts in the early 2000’s, would’ve had a similar effect on their team.

Alternative professional leagues have had a wide variety of effects on the National Football League, but few have had such a dramatic effect on one specific team.

The Raiders Debt To The Vikings, Chargers, and Bills

Most Raiders fans don’t know it, but they owe a debt of gratitude to three franchises in the NFL. Without the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, and Buffalo Bills, the Raiders may not even exist right now.

In 1960, the owners of the Minnesota AFL franchise rights were convince by the NFL to not join the AFL and instead join the NFL. This led the AFL to have only seven teams instead of its stated goal of fielding eight teams. The AFL moved to replace the Minnesota franchise, but what city would get a professional football team? The owner of the then Los Angeles Chargers stepped up and threatened to also leave the AFL unless another west coast team was added. The AFL, not wanting to lose another franchise, agreed and put a team in Oakland, California.

The Raiders had a not-so-successful first year in pro football and in fact had lost over $500,000. On the verge of folding and ceasing operations, they were saved by a loan given to them by Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson. The Raiders would go on to be one of the more successful teams of the late 60’s, 70’s, and early 80’s.

If the Vikings hadn’t left the AFL there would’ve been no need for another team to be added.

If the Chargers hadn’t threatened to leave the AFL, the next team added would’ve most likely been in a different city.

If the Bills owner hadn’t loaned the Raiders the necessary funds to continue operations, the Raiders may have gone out of business.

Two teams that had the same effect on the Raiders getting into the league and one team that enabled them to stay in the league. So, lets hear it Raiders fans – where’s the “Thank You” to the Vikings, Chargers, and Bills?

A Question of Identity

What’s in a name? Its interesting tracking the name changes of professional football franchises, and its not entirely uncommon for a team to change names. Name changes can happen for a variety of reasons, most notably because of a change in venue.

The New York Jets were originally the New York Titans.

The Tennessee Titans were originally the Houston Oilers.

The Kansas City Chiefs were originally the Dallas Texans.

The Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Ravens (due to an agreement with the NFL to not continue as the Browns).

The Chicago Bears were originally the Decatur Staleys, then the Chicago Staleys before settling on the Bears.

But, changing the geographic portion of a team name happens less and almost only when a team relocates to a different area.

The Cleveland Rams became the Los Angeles Rams and then eventually the St. Louis Rams because of the team moving.

The Baltimore Colts became the Indianapolis Colts.

The Los Angeles Chargers became the San Diego Chargers.

The Oakland Raiders became the Los Angeles Raiders and then moved back to Oakland to become the Oakland Raiders again.

So, name changes for teams are not unheard of. But, a team changing the geographic portion of their name when they don’t relocate to a new area is a more unusual occurance.

The Los Angeles Rams at one point became the Anaheim Rams without moving.

The Phoenix Cardinals became the Arizona Cardinals without moving.

This is primarily done for marketing purposes and to appeal to either a wider or more select audience. The biggest user of this method would be Major League Baseball’s Angels who have gone from the Los Angeles Angels, to the California Angels, to the Anaheim Angels, and finally to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The remaining name change scenario is a team that does relocate but chooses not to change their name. This unlikely scenario was enacted by both New York franchises (the Giants and the Jets) when they each relocated to the neighboring state of New Jersey.

Charting the evolution of a team’s name can prove an interesting part of that team’s history.

The first game of the year and Randy Moss, quiet for much of his two years in Oakland, appears to be back to the Randy Moss of old. It was against the New York Jets, so we may not want to read too much into it - but an impressive game for Mr. Moss anyway.

In honor of his big game comes… Three Randy Moss Facts

With his first touchdown as a Patriot on Sunday, Randy Moss now has 1/3 the amount of touchdowns this year as he did all of last year with the Raiders. Yes, Randy Moss scored only three receiving touchdowns during the 2006 NFL season as a member of the Oakland Raiders… not to fear though, his three TDs led the team in not only receiving touchdowns, but touchdowns all together.

Through the 2006 season, Randy Moss has rushed the ball 23 times for 159 yards… a 6.9 yard per carry average!

As the 2007 NFL season starts, Randy Moss is in 5th place on the all-time Touchdown Receptions list with 102… only about half as many as Jerry Rice caught in his career (197).