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Vikings, Bucs remain undefeated
Rams, Bills fall
SportsTicker
MARGATE, FL. (Mar. 19, 2000)
—
Now that the dust has cleared, things are shaping up after
four weeks in THE LEAGUE. The Bucs and Vikings stand alone
in the ranks of the unbeatens. Tampa Bay was impressive in
their wins over a tough Teddy Brown Buffalo Bills team. The
Bucs escaped with a 19-14 win. (Swammi had the Bills by 4
1/2) Oddly enough, Trent Dilfer made the difference rushing
the football. Drake used Dilfer on qb sneaks and draws to
gain 54 yards on 15 carries. Dunn and Alstott supported the
rushing attack with 79 yards and a touchdown a piece between
them. Brown's high octane attack sputtered after averaging
40+ points in his first two games, the Bills could only must
14 points against the Buccaneer stingy defense. The Bills
went on a scoring spree however in week 4, lambasting
Oakland 41-16. Tampa followed by dismantling the Jets in
their second game 31-22. Tampa faces the woeful Giants (0-4)
next week, followed by Dallas (1-3) in week 6. The Bucs
could easily be looking at 6-0 if they can get past Dallas,
placing them in the drivers seat in the NFC Atlantic.
Buffalo travels to Atlanta (0-4), then host Indianapolis.
(2-2)
Other Games
Minnesota Makes A Statement With
Two Big Wins
 
The Vikings came into week 3 & 4 with
two tough games on the docket, and left out unscaved. The Vikes bolted
up to 4-0 alone at the top of the AFC Central, and with the best record
in AFC. First, the lethargic Vikings took care of favored Kansas City
in overtime 37-31 (Chiefs by 4 1/2) . With the game tied after regulation,
Brooks won the coin toss and proceeded to march the ball down field
to score the go ahead touchdown. Robert Smith rushed for 76 yards on
17 carries. Leroy Hoard plowed in for the winning touchdown in overtime.
The Chiefs had ample opportunities to take control of the game but the
offense could not convert on all of the three Minnesota turnovers. The
Vikes then went into Dallas and corralled the Cowboys 28-17. Brooks
jumped out to the early 28-10 lead and slammed the door, letting the
defense finish the job late in the game with pressure up the middle
on Aikman. Brooks custom defenses didn't allow Aikman the time to get
the ball down field to his choice receivers. The Vikes must face the
NY Jets (2-2) next week in the early game and Tennessee (1-3) in the
late game. The Chiefs on the other hand, rebounded against the Pats
in their second game. K. C. is now 2-2, in third place behind Minnesota
and Green Bay in the AFC Central. The Chiefs look to gain ground on
the front runners in the central as they face Miami (1-3) in the early
game, and a sour Jaguar team (3-1) in the late game.
Packers Tame Feisty
Jags
 
After promising to score 100
points this week vs. Green Bay and Dallas combined, the over
confident Jags were lucky to escape with a 3 point overtime
victory over Dallas. Thanks to a missed field goal on the
Dallasng drive and a controversial safety call,
Jacksonville topped the Cowboys in OT. Afterwards they ran
amidst the Cheese Head Machine, and were steam rolled by Fox
to the thumping of 52-33. (Jags by 5) Green Bay's defense
was stellar. Moreover, the offense really produced big, ala
vs. Kansas City. Fox keeps insisting that he is playing for
respect, since The Swammi keeps making him the underdog in
games. This will be no different next week as The Swammi has
already installed St. Louis as a 5 point favorite over the
Pack. In the earlier game, the Pack stymied Oakland 37-22.
(GB by 4 1/2) Dorsey Levens rushed for a combined 209
rushing yards, with 101 coming against the Jags. The Jags
couldn't get their big play off against either team. Whitted
was held below 100 yards receiving for the first time this
season vs. Dallas. Green Bay has improved to 3-1 and they
face St. Louis (3-1) and New England (1-3) next week.
Meanwhile, the Jags will look to rebound against Tennessee
(1-3) and Kansas City (2-2).
Titans Get First Ever
Win Over Dolphins
 
The Titans are finally off
the schnide in The PFL, earning their first ever victory
over a PFL opponent last week as they surprised the
overwhelmed Dolphins 28-17 (Mia by 8). Although Eddie George
only ran once for 26 yards, he earned player of the game
honors with his 14 catch 103 yard performance. The Fins
never quite had the answer for George as Hines cleverly used
him to abuse the Dolphin poor tackling defense. The Dolphins
were stymied early by the tough Tennessee defense. The game
was knotted up at 7 for most of the first half before the
Fins pulled ahead in the second quarter, After leading 14-7
in the second half, the Titans rattled off 21 unanswered
before the Dolphins could recover. For the Titans it was
there first true defeat of an opponent. (One win was
credited last season due to forfeit) Now the Dolphins must
carry the dubious distinction of being the only team in THE
LEAGUE that the Titans have beaten. This probably won't last
for long as the Titans are improving each week. However,
Hines must face an agitated Jaguar team (3-1) followed by
unbeaten Minnesota (4-0) Meanwhile the Fins will face Kansas
City (2-2) in the early game, and winless Atlanta
(0-4).
Seahawks Get Off The
Schnide vs. Atlanta
 
The Seahawks earned their
first win as The Swammi predicted last week (Seahawks by 6)
as they topped winless Atlanta 38-31. Seattle got off the
schnide in fashion racking up 499 total yards offensively.
If there was a down side, the defense gave up 585 yards.
Seattle then moved on to spank Miami 30-14 to improve to
2-2, good for third place in the AFC west. Unfortunately for
Atlanta, they participated in another high scoring affair
that netted another close loss, as they fell to St. Louis
50-43 (Rams by 13). The shoot-out saw the Rams put up 501
total yards offense against the Falcon defense. Although
Atlanta's offense didup this week, the defense is
still giving up too many big plays. In addition in the two
games last week, the Falcons turned the ball over five
times. The Rams face a bitter Green Bay (3-1) team next week
in addition to a battle for supremacy in the AFC West as
they take on San Francisco (3-1). The Falcons face Buffalo
(3-1) in their early game and Miami (1-3) in the late
game.
49ers Pimp Slap
Pathetic Giants
 
If there was ever an
exhibition, that could compliment the phrase "complete
domination", it was shown on Sunday as the 49ers, mercifully
destroyed the Giants 36-0. "I really was practicing my
running game," stated Wayne Allen after the game. "We knew
they had been struggling, so we didn't want to try to run
the score up. We could see their frustrating in not
completing a pass for the first three quarters of the game,
so we used the game as an opportunity to develop the running
attack." The Giants were embarrassing. The execution in the
offensive game plan was poor, and the defense gave up points
at will. Allen could score anytime he wanted to. Although
the Giants woke up in their second game against
Indianapolis, they still lost a heartbreaker 31-28. Matt
Vanderjagct kicked the winning field goal from 28 yards out
with :03 seconds remaining. Time expired and the Colts
escaped with a win. The Giants lit the Colts up for 28
points, taking the lead at several points throughout the
game. The Colts answered right back, and won it in the end.
As for the Niners, they cruised to a 39-7 win over
Tennessee. (Niners by 11) After keeping the game close
throughout the first half (7-7), the Niners pulled away on
the stubborn Titans, who were fresh off of their victory
over Miami. The Giants slipped to 0-4, while the Niners are
tied for first place with the Rams at 3-1. Both the Rams and
Niners meet next week for supremacy in the division. San
Fran also takes on Oakland (1-3) in the early game. The
going gets tougher for the Giants as they face division foes
Tampa Bay (0-4) and the in state rival the NY Jets.
(2-2)
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