Larry Stone: Mike's Right

We had the chance to visit with ESPN's Mike Patrick during Thursday night's Titans Countdown. As a brief aside, Mike ranks as one of the truly good people in our business: down-to-earth, versed in the game, and a truly super announcer. During the course of the conversation, I asked Mike to pick the best team in the two conferences right now.

Without hesitation, he named Jacksonville in the AFC. Improved defense, offense beginning to put up big numbers...it all leads to the Jaguars leading the way. Then, Mike said Tampa Bay was the best team in the NFC. The league's best defense, an adequate passing game and a solid running game, Mike reasoned, would make the Bucs formitable in the playoffs.

I was surprised. So, I spent Sunday afternoon watching the Bucs beat the Lions to see if I could figure out what Mike saw. I did.

Warren Sapp and the Bucs defense put on a show for Tennessee last season. But this defense may be even stronger. Sapp's lost weight and seems quicker to the ball. The DB's don't allow quarterbacks to get the ball deep. Offensive coordinator Mike Shula has opened up the offensive just enough to allow Shaun King to make plays, taking some of the defensive focus away from Alstott and Dunn.

Tampa won two big games at home this week from the Vikings and the Lions, and appears to be in the NFC Central driver seat.

Mike Patrick may be right. The Bucs defense against the Rams offense would be a heckuva way to decide who gets to the Super Bowl.

Some other Sunday thoughts....

Miami appears to be falling apart, just as they have seemed to do for the last decade. Marino throws two interceptions. Johnson benches him. The Jets win. To think: five weeks ago, the Dolphins had control of the AFC East. Luckily, the Bills and Patriots are sputtering, or the Dolphins might find themselves at home next month.

One wonders whether Atlanta may be playing out the string. The word from Falcons' camp is players simply want to get this season over. Tennessee needs to come out early and pound Atlanta Sunday.

Speaking of the Titans, CBS Analyst Randy Cross appears to be misreading the standings. He called Sunday for Jeff Fisher to bench Steve McNair in favor of Neil O'Donnell, because 'McNair's not getting it done.' Granted, McNair's not thrown a touchdown in several weeks, but the Titans are 10-3.

With that said, McNair must make plays for Tennessee to make noise in the playoffs. The Titans are, at their heart, a team built on running the ball and stopping the run. It's old style football tradition. Yet, you must be able to make plays downfield to keep the defense from stacking the line. Getting Yancey Thigpen back this week will be a big step.

If the playoffs began today, the AFC would look like this:
Wild Card: (#5 seed) Buffalo at (#4 seed) Tennessee
Wild Card: (#6 seed) Kansas City at (#3 seed/AFC West Champ) Seattle
Jacksonville (#1 seed/AFC Central Champ) and Indianapolis (#2 seed/AFC East champ) await winners.

Can you believe the Seahawks are now fighting for their playoff life? And if the playoffs started today, Miami would be out. Wow.

In the NFC:
Wild Cards: New York Giants, Green Bay, Detroit
Division Champs: Washington, St. Louis and Tampa Bay.

How about Wynonna doing the national anthem Thursday night...one of the most powerful performances of the year at Adelphia Coliseum! Hats off to the Titans' Marketing Director Ralph Ockenfels for knocking 'em dead with entertainment this season.