Each week, Hall of Fame wide receiver and Westwood One Sunday Night Football analyst James Lofton tells you about the teams, players and trends that are on the way out and those that are on the way up around the NFL.
OUT: I’m going out on the limb early. No 8-8 season for the Cowboys this year. Less Tony Romo is starting to pay off in Big D. Romo was slinging it more than 40 times a game a couple seasons ago. This year, he’s under 30 attempts per contest. Less Tony leads to more Murray. DeMarco has an NFL-leading 534 yards on the ground after just four games. That’s a pace to outdo Eric Dickerson’s 1984 NFL record for yards in a season, but I’m not going out on THAT limb just yet.
UNCOVER: That’s the phrase that means just get open against the zone. But it could just as easily apply to the retractable roofs around the league. Open them up in Dallas and Indy! Football was made to be played in the elements. Last year’s Super Bowl was outdoors in New York/New Jersey in February! Sure, we are headed indoors to the desert in Glendale this coming February, but until then… uncover!!
UP! Playing for 60 minutes. Tampa Bay scored with seven seconds to go on the clock to get its first win of the season. The Bucs were blown out the week before on Thursday night, giving them lots of time to think about that loss and figure out how to regroup. Winning makes for a nice day off and something tells me the Bucs enjoyed their Monday a lot more than they did the Friday after the Falcons debacle.
OUT: Out of the AFC West shadow for the San Diego Chargers. Phillip Rivers and crew are about as solid a team as you can get. Remember they beat Seattle a couple weeks ago, and Denver late last season. Can’t wait for when the Chargers and the Broncos square off.
UP! Tough love! Dolphins head coach Joe Phlibin called out his QB Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill responded with 278 yards passing and two touchdowns in Miami’s blowout win over Oakland in London. That’s only 254 meters passing, after converting to the metric system, but chances are you won’t hear any complaining on South Beach.
– James Lofton
Pro Football Hall of Famer James Lofton is the analyst for Westwood One’s coverage of Sunday Night Football.
