Newz Forum: OTHER: Dean's List: Fruit vs. Vegetables

The NFC sack race is heating up, but it's taking a back seat to the age-old battle between fruit and vegetables...

Arizona's Bertrand Berry leads the conference with 10, while Carolina's Julius Peppers is proving to be no sack of potatoes with nine tackles of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage...

With a league-leading 28 field goals through 11 games, New England's Adam Viniatieri is on pace for 161 points, a mark that would tie Washington's Mark Moseley for the third-highest single-season total by an exclusive kicker in NFL history - weather permitting, that is. Then again, rain, wind, snow, hale, cats, dogs or any other kind of inclemency has ever managed to contain Vinatieri, never mind stop him. And "weather" you like it or not, health permitting, the two-time Super Bowl-winning kicker is a sure bet for the Hall of Fame...

But that's not all. Vinatieri is more than just a great kicker. By all accounts, he's a great football player. And by some, less reputable accounts, he's a great quarterback. Thus far in 2004, Vinatieri is 1-1 under center with a four-yard touchdown pass. In other words, every time he drops back to pass, he throws a touchdown. You might even say that he completes all pass his passes...for touchdowns! And with a 122.9 rating, Vinatieri is challenging MVP-lock Peyton Manning (126.6) for the NFL passer efficiency title. But seriously...

What it all mean is that 352 pass attempts into 2004, Peyton Manning (41 touchdowns, seven interceptions) is performing more efficiently than a quarterback who, like Vinatieri, averages a four-yard touchdown per pass attempt...

And get this: Peyton's 126.6 passer rating is 3.2 points higher than that of Kurt Warner (a solid 85.5) and his brother Eli (a subhuman 37.9) combined...

Record aside, point differential is the truest statistical measure of a team's performance. So it's no coincidence that division leaders Indianapolis (8-3, 12.8) Philadelphia (10-1, 11.5), New England (10-1, 11.4), Pittsburgh (10.1, 8.0) and San Diego (8-3, 8.9) rank 1-5 in the NFL in this category...

But in Atlanta, the numbers aren't adding up. The NFC South-leading Falcons are 9-2 with a pathetically slim average margin of victory of 1.6 points per game. Call it Parity, but something tells me that no team has ever been 9-2 with an average point differential of less than two. And that "something" also tells me that Falcons aren't just the luckiest 9-2 team in NFL history - they're the worst 9-2 team in NFL history...

Forget about the kettle. Balco chief Victor Conte calling former client Marion Jones a liar is like the pot calling the weed green. Despite his candid account the scandals surrounding his steroid distribution ring on "20/20," Conte remains the root of this evil, the face of dishonesty...

And while we're pointing fingers, let me be the first accuse Redskins punter Tom Tupa of using performance-enhancing drugs. He must be. How else can we explain how the 38-year-old's punting average has increased in each of the past three seasons? That's just unnatural. Or are we to believe that the former Cardinals quarterback has simply been treating his body better with each passing - and punting - year? Rhetorically speaking, I'm Dean Christopher...

[Edited on 12/4/04 by deanchristopher]

I was thinking the same about Tupa myself, how he managed to improve no end.

Hey, the Redskins would not have any such business on thier team.