The rubber has hit the road and Leyden’s Log is off and running. This week offers unusual matchups, the dawn of a new era in Texas, a record-breaking start and the promise of dramatic finishes.
Inside This Edition:
- A Kanye/Taylor duet
- Five QBs spanning 1937-2009
- Favre passes Marshall with #271
- Tampa Bay needs a GPS system
- Sophia Loren turns 75 QUESTION OF THE WEEK As always, we tend to business first – awarding points for last week’s best responses to the question, “What’s the most unlikely finish to the 09-10 football season?”
Getting on the board first with a point is
Doug Barker from Fanwood, New Jersey, who wrote, “Raiders are trailing the Patriots late in the 4th when
Richard Seymour sacks
Tom Brady, breaking his leg in 4 places, causing a fumble, which he then scoops up and takes back to the house for the winning score.” I don’t know if the breaking the leg part was all that necessary, but I’ll take it.
Netting the opening deuce is frequent contributor
Tim McMaster from Reading, PA, who checked in with, “...seconds to play in Super Bowl XVIV and Philadelphia is down 21-17 to Cleveland.
Michael Vick is trying to lead the Eagles to victory. The legendary Dawg Pound has made the trip and is louder than ever before because of Vick's history with man's best friend. Vick rolls out... uses his legs to buy some extra time and throws a pass towards the end zone.
Brandon Marshall looks open, but just as Marshall is about to haul in the winning touchdown,
Pacman Jones comes out of nowhere to intercept the ball and clinch the first Super Bowl title in Browns history.” That's creative, yet somehow not incredibly outlandish.
The initial triple-point score of 2009 goes to
Matt Boyer from Oakland Township, Michigan, and it’s not because he re-tweeted Leyden’s Log to his followers on Twitter (always a good idea, though). Matt was patient, waited for current events to unfold, and tweeted this answer to me: “Most unlikely finish?
Kanye West and
Taylor Swift performing a duet at halftime of a Lions/Browns Super Bowl this February.”
This week’s question – Why Should I Cry For You?
Send responses to tleyden@wxyz.com, leave a comment on Facebook or send a response via Twitter to @tomleydenSONG OF THE WEEK When you were young and your heart was an open book, you used to say live and let LOG...
RANDOM OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK You can span 72 years, from 1937-2009, with just five quarterbacks – Sammy Baugh, George Blanda, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana and Brett Favre. Assuming Matthew Stafford is a franchise quarterback that plays 10+ years, it could take only six QBs to span 85 years.
Sammy Baugh: 1937 - 1952
George Blanda: 1949 – 1975
Roger Staubach: 1969 – 1979
Joe Montana: 1979 – 1994
Brett Favre: 1991 – 2009
Matthew Stafford: 2009 -
FOUR TOPS The best four games of the week Seventeen years ago, a young man named
Brett Favre stepped on the tundra at Lambeau against the Cincinnati Bengals and rallied the Packers to a fourth-quarter victory. He hasn’t missed a game since. This week in Detroit, as his former team hosts that same Bengals franchise in Green Bay, Favre will break
Jim Marshall’s long-standing record of 270 straight starts. The way I see it, #271 should be a tightly contested battle between the Vikes and Leos. I’m not saying Detroit will win for the first time since December ’07 or hold
Adrian Peterson under 150 yards rushing, but they’ll keep it interesting to the final gun.
I hesitate to put the Saints/Eagles game in the Four Tops because of
Donovan McNabb’s questionable status, but as of now it appears 5 will play Sunday. Considering these two squads put up a total of 83 points in Week One, it may be wise to take the over (whenever it’s set). By the way –
Drew Brees just threw another touchdown pass against the Lions defense. If explosiveness is what you seek – look no further than the Linc.
If a spectacle is more to your liking, you won’t want to miss Sunday’s finale, when the Giants travel to Dallas to officially open up the brand-spanking new Scoreboard Stadium. New York looked business-like in its efficient win over Washington to open the year.
Tony Romo looked free in his most statistically impressive performance as a Cowboy. With the lights shining brightly in primetime, I predict no punts will hit the scoreboard and the last team with the ball will have a chance to tie or win the game.
While the Jets/Patriots game is intriguing, I’m heading to Invesco for my final Four Tops matchup. It’s been 19 years since Cleveland has beaten Denver, but there’s something ringing historical about this ballgame that makes me think we’re in for a tight finish. I’m flashing back to The Drive and
Earnest Byner here… feeling vibes, trusting my instincts.
HOW’D I DO? Grading last week’s Four Tops Steelers/Titans – Overtime. Enough said –
ACowboys/Bucs – Good day for the Dallas offense, but nothing standout –
B49ers/Cardinals – You people need to start listening to me. Always a good one –
A Patriots/Bills – I’m a sandbagger. Game of the week –
ASeason Totals – 3 A’s, 1 BTWITTER QUESTION OF THE WEEK Chattin’ with the Pros@TomLeyden – What’s your first impression of Michigan?
@CV31 (Charlie Villanueva) – I would say the friendly people and way too many deer. LOL
OVERTIME Other games to watch Bucs/Bills – Give Tampa’s bus driver a GPS system. This is the first time the Bucs will ever play in Buffalo. Since 1976, eight games against the Bills – all in Florida. Weird.
Cardinals/Jags – Only the third time we’ve seen this one. First time in JAX since 2000.
Raiders/Chiefs – Are the Raiders resurgent? Is the Chiefs defense that bad?
Steelers/Bears – Rugged, rough, hard-hitting, blue-collar.
Pats/Jets – Solid matchup. Patriots haven’t lost to the Jets in Jersey since 2000.
SCOOPPanthers/Falcons, Bengals/Pack, Hawks/Niners, Ravens/Bolts, and score
DROPNew Houston/Old Houston, Rams/Skins, Colts/Fins, it like it’s hot.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shelley Lawson, Ben Macione, Erin McKenna, Angelique Chengelis, Patty Paul and
Sophia Loren, who is still every bit the diamond at age 75.
