It’s not the flashy uniforms, the bone-jarring hits or even Terrell Owens’ mouth. It’s not Ray Lewis quaking, Priest Holmes shaking or Ricky Williams baking.
The NFL is America’s favorite sport for one simple reason. It’s the importance of each and every week. With just 16 games, every Sunday could be the one when your team turns from pretender to contender – or, as Seahawks fans found out recently, from contender to pretender.
Each week is its own entity, all of them carrying equal weight in the journey toward Super Bowl Sunday.
But we’re here to tell you that this year is different. We don’t need that many games to find a champion. We need exactly one.
Philadelphia and New England. Neutral field. For all the marbles.
You can take your Kurt Warner storybook seasons and your Michael Vick scrambling legs and your Manning-to-Harrisons and give them the rest of the year off. Denver? Nothing without Elway. The Vikes, Jags and Steelers? All pretenders this year.
Seven weeks into the season, there are just two teams. The Eagles and Patriots have risen above everyone else. Let them show us who’s the best.
So the field is already booked, and the hotel rooms are reserved. That’s fine by us. Keep the site (Jacksonville) and the date (Feb. 6). That gives us almost three months of hype. Trust us, we can fill the space.
Ty Law vs. Owens.
Rodney Harrison vs. Donovan McNabb.
Tom Brady vs. Philly’s pass rush.
We could go on. And on. Think you’ve had enough of Ron Jaworski now? Try putting up with his analysis of the Eagles blitz for 14 more weeks.
And imagine the kind of game plan Belichick could devise to stop Owens, given three months to do it.
It usually takes a lot longer to find the crme de la crme. Teams can go unbeaten for six games and still show signs of weakness.
But the Patriots and Eagles have passed all the tests. They have withstood all challenges. They have proven themselves worthy of the massive hype.
Inevitably, both teams will lose at some point this season. The Patriots aren’t a blow-you-out type of team, while the Eagles have shown a history of disappearing on occasional Sundays (typically NFC Championship Sundays). Besides, no one goes unbeaten in the NFL anymore.
But don’t be mistaken, these two teams will line up on Feb. 6 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Shouldn’t we have seen it coming all along? Didn’t we realize that two budding dynasties were only going to get better with the addition of a Pro Bowl wide receiver (Philadelphia’s Owens) and a workhorse back (New England’s Corey Dillon)? Did we really believe that these volatile stars were going to shake up the chemistry?
How silly we feel now.
The so-called experts, all of whom were busy trying to unearth the next Carolina Panthers, picked the Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings to represent the NFC. No one wanted to predict the predictable: that Philly would finally get over the hump.
And New England, the defending Super Bowl champ, had its share of non-believers as well. The Patriots had a championship team coming back, sure, but wasn’t it time for Denver or Indianapolis to dethrone them?
Just seven weeks into the season, there are just two kings of the hill. So everybody else head to Arizona for a few rounds of golf, and let the hype begin.
Panthers at Seahawks
Kickoff: 1:05 p.m. Sunday
TV: Fox (Ch. 13)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks – RB Shaun Alexander, who did not score last week, has not gone back-to-back games without a touchdown since Weeks 13 and 14 of the 2002 season. WR Darrell Jackson has led the Seahawks in receiving in five of the first six games. DE Chike Okeafor has 51/2 sacks, tied for fourth in the NFC. CB Ken Lucas has an NFL-high four interceptions.
Panthers – QB Jake Delhomme led the Panthers to the Super Bowl last season, but he ranks at the bottom of the NFC in quarterback rating (67.1). Rookie WR Keary Colbert caught seven passes last week. DE Julius Peppers had seven sacks last season and has two in 2004. MLB Dan Morgan has a team-high 60 tackles.
Breaking down the game: Playing without injured defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, the Panthers’ defense is no longer a stone wall. Unfortunately for Seattle, the Seahawks’ offense has been about as powerful as a squirt gun lately.
Carolina’s cornerbacks are susceptible to big plays, so the Seahawks will have their chances. The key will be whether struggling quarterback Matt Hasselbeck can take advantage of the opportunities.
But the biggest key could be Alexander. The Panthers’ defense has struggled against the run, and Seattle wants to feature its ground game more. If Alexander can find some holes, he could be in for a big day.
Pick: Seahawks, 24-13.
Injury report: Seahawks – WR Bobby Engram (left ankle), LB Anthony Simmons (left shoulder) and DE Grant Wistrom (left knee) are out. LB Isaiah Kacyvenski (right ankle) is doubtful. P Tom Rouen (hamstring), CB Marcus Trufant (right shoulder) and T Chris Terry (right shoulder) are questionable. QB Matt Hasselbeck (right heel) is probable.
Panthers – RB Stephen Davis (knee) and RB Rod Smart (knee) are out. S Travares Tillman (forearm) is questionable. T Todd Fordham (knee), DT Omari Jordan (ankle), DT Kindal Moorehead (ankle) and G Tutan Reyes (ankle) are probable.
Little-known fact: Seattle’s three victories all came against teams that entered the game winless: New Orleans (0-0), Tampa Bay (0-1) and San Francisco (0-2). The Seahawks are still looking to beat a team that has something other than a zero in the “W” column.
Other NFL games
Baltimore (4-2) at Philadelphia (6-0), Sunday, 10 a.m.: The Ravens have a chance to end Philly’s run, and shut up Terrell Owens’ yapper in the process. If only Kyle Boller could figure out Philly’s defense … Pick: Eagles, 20-12.
Atlanta (5-2) at Denver (5-2), Sunday, 1:05 p.m.: In an effort to avoid Denver’s blocking scheme, the Falcons signed four U.S. hurdlers to play on the defensive line this week. Might save a few knees, but won’t stop Reuben Droughns. Pick: Broncos, 34-17.
New England (6-0) at Pittsburgh (5-1), Sunday, 1:15 p.m.: Finally! A playoff contender who gets the Patriots at home! A chance to see the streak finally broken! The end of the celebrations in Boston! … Yeah, we don’t think so either. Pick: Patriots, 20-17.
Scott Johnson is The Herald’s pro football writer
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