Until Whistle Blows, It’s Furor and Far Between

Further proof that six days between NFL Sundays are seven too many....

Frenzied fan and media furor: Look at Tom Brady’s body language! He looks down! He looks tired! He looks like he knows his team is in for a long season! Simmer down, everyone. Last week, Brady lost for the third consecutive time to Jake Plummer. Who wouldn’t look down after that? A week later, Brady could be seen throwing for two touchdowns and driving his team to three more in New England’s 38-13 victory over previously undefeated Cincinnati. How do you like that body language?

Frenzied fan and media furor: How can the Dallas Cowboys possibly go on with all the distractions Terrell Owens is causing? Here’s how: Play the Tennessee Titans. The Cowboys did this on Sunday. They won, 45-14. Imagine if they hadn’t been distracted.

Frenzied fan and media furor: What on earth are the Titans doing throwing young Vince Young to the wolves? Better that than watching Kerry Collins throw into NFL-caliber secondaries for the remainder of 2006, you’d have to say. With or without Collins in there hitting open cornerbacks and linebackers right in the numbers, the Titans have the stuff to lose to the Cowboys by 31 points. Why not groom a quarterback for a better future while they’re doing that?

Frenzied fan and media furor: We want Leinart! We want Leinart! You got him! You got him! Because it doesn’t take a ton of bricks to fall on Arizona Cardinals Coach Dennis Green for him see the Kurt Warner fumbles from the trees. Or something like that.

Sunday, Green pulled Warner early in the fourth quarter of a 32-10 loss to Atlanta, sent in Leinart and announced he was staying with Leinart next weekend against Kansas City.

So there you have it, Texas and USC fans who began September wondering how long it would take Rose Bowl duelists Young and Leinart to begin their careers as NFL starters. The answer: before Columbus Day.

Which, considering the recent histories of Collins and Warner, sounds about right.

And just as in Pasadena last January, Young barely edged Leinart, logging NFL Start No. 1 in Week 4, with Leinart set to follow in Week 5. Both endured growing pains Sunday -- Young completed less than 50% of his attempts and had two passes intercepted, Leinart fumbled his second snap and had one of his eight passes intercepted.

But it wasn’t all bad. Young passed for 155 yards and a touchdown. Leinart completed five of eight attempts for 49 yards in less than a quarter.

In Tennessee and Arizona, where the home teams are now a combined 1-7, it has been formally decided: The future is not now, the future is off in the future, so the Collins and Warner patchwork kits have been relegated to the past, for now.

Of course, if the Titans are jeopardizing that future by gambling with Young’s development, they have only themselves to blame. They got the ball rolling when they determined the Steve McNair era was over, resulting in McNair hobbling over to Baltimore, Billy Volek throwing the Titans under the bus (Coach Jeff Fisher’s words), the bus blowing a tire, the Oakland Raiders determining the Kerry Collins era was over, the bus losing its brakes, the Titans losing their minds and throwing the keys to the bus to Collins.

What happened to the organization after that?

Just follow the skid marks.

Meanwhile, what’s up with McNair?

Oh, just about everything. For the second consecutive game, McNair rallied the Ravens to victory, only this time it was worth bragging about. Driving your team to a late field goal that beats Cleveland, 15-14, is one thing. Tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap with 34 seconds left to overtake San Diego, 16-13, is quite another.

In Baltimore, McNair hasn’t done anything to make anybody forget Johnny Unitas, but in the month he has been there, McNair has done enough to dim the memories of Kyle Boller, Anthony Wright, Elvis Grbac, Chris Redman and Tony Banks.

Did the Titans err in breaking up the McNair era?

Submitted for your consideration: Record of McNair’s new team: 4-0. Record of McNair’s old team: 0-4.

Error apparent.

Meanwhile, all this talk about Brady’s body language means too many people have too much time on their hands. In Week 3, Brady lost to the Denver Broncos, 17-7, while Deion Branch was modeling Seattle Seahawks khaki, Adam Vinatieri was practicing clutch Colts field goals for the next time Indianapolis meets New England in the playoffs and Willie McGinest was in Cleveland staring at his Super Bowl rings and chanting as pungent incense burned, “I made the right choice coming here, yes I did, yes I did. ...� So Brady hung his head a little and let his shoulders slump over all that. He had reasons.

What about the Bengals’ body language after losing at home by 25 points to the whittled-down Patriots, leaving only the cities that lost and stole the Colts, Baltimore and Indianapolis, undefeated in the AFC at 4-0?

In the NFC, the only unbeaten team is the Chicago Bears, who improved to 4-0 with a 37-6 rout of Seattle, a city dominated last week by a frenzied fan and media furor over the Seahawks’ heading for big trouble with Shaun Alexander out because of a broken foot.

Turns out, they had it right.

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