Monday Morning G.M.

I have been in a funk of late between work and trying to get a feel of what is going on in college and pro football....hopefully I could get back into the rhythm of doing Stiles Points on a regular basis....every Monday I plan on writing a column called "The Monday Morning G.M." where I provide five quick thoughts about the NFL.....today is the first installment....

1. I don't like dealing with issues of race, but I have to give a quick comment after Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb stated that African-American quarterbacks are under more scrutiny and criticism than white quarterbacks....I am not here to rip McNabb....if that is how he feels, it doesn't mean he is wrong....however, I believe that quarterbacks in general have that pressure because of the nature of the position.....both African-American and white quarterbacks are under scrutiny....over the last two seasons, both Rex Grossman and Eli Manning, who are white, have been constantly ripped, scrutinized, criticized, booed, etc. by the media and fans....during last night's game, NBC announcer Al Michaels stated the Chicago media calls Grossman "Wrecks Grossman".....in New York, the Jets fans cheered when Chad Pennington got hurt during week 1....and until he won the Super Bowl last season, Peyton Manning was labeled a "choker" and not able to win the big games....I am not saying McNabb was out-of-line with his comment, but he should take some solace in knowing that white quarterbacks also get grilled....and right now, Grossman is the most criticized quarterback in the league.....

2. I like how Brett Favre has changed his attitude involving the Packers offense....in the past, Favre put it all on himself to try and win games by being the swashbuckling gunslinger who would try for the long bomb....after three games this season, it looks like Favre has bought into head coach Mike McCarthy's beliefe that he (Favre) should take what the defense gives him by throwing the short to medium passes....the Packers have been able to move the ball on a consistent basis despite not having a true number one running back.....

3. The Right Guard team of the year so far is the Denver Broncos....what I mean by the term "Right Guard" is that this team stinks but they are able to cover up that odor with an unimpressive 2-1 mark....the Broncos should be 0-3 heading into Indianapolis this Sunday....they were lucky to get off that game winning field goal in week 1 to beat Buffalo....and last week, head coach Mike Shanahan pulled a cheap stunt to ice Oakland lunkhead Sebastian Janikowski.....

4. After just three weeks, only five teams remain perfect: the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, Packers, and Cowboys....to most, the Packers may be the most surprising to still be undefeated....but I think it is the Steelers....with Bill Cowher leaving as head coach, an upheaval of offensive assistants Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, who were both considered to replace The Chin, and the griping of offensive lineman Alan Faneca, I thought this would be a year of transition - especially early in the season....but credit should be given to head coach Mike Tomlin for easing the team through the transition....any Steeler fan who says they expected the team to be 3-0 has a line of horsedung....this week the Steelers travel to Arizona to take on their old friends Whisenhunt and Grimm....

5. I know this is stating the obvious, but the San Diego Chargers look awful.....will someone please give me a legitimate reason why the Chargers fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season?????....maybe the San Diego offense is not that potent?.....besides LT, who else do the Chargers have?....Philip Rivers has been a nice quarterback, but he has not been some wiz either....and Antonio Gates is a stud tight end, but he needs more help from his fellow receivers....suddenly Marty-ball doesn't look so bad....