MMQB Review

Here are the five things I think I think about today's Monday Morning Quarterback from Peter King:

1. Kings ranks the Patriots 2nd in the NFL and says:

New England (12-1). How lucky are the Patriots to have Troy Brown (third interception vs. Cincinnati) to ride to the rescue of their secondary?

Luck has nothing to do with it. I bet every team has a gamer like Troy Brown on their roster. It's just that the Patriot coaches are just wise enough to utilize the resources at hand.

2. Kings ranks Carolina 10th and says:

Carolina (6-7). Well, then there's this one. There is no more admirable team in the NFL right now.

Admirable? OK - I agree that they bounced back from a lousy start but most admirable? Not to sound like a homer but the most admirable team in the NFL is the Patriots hands down.

3. Exhibit 5,632 why Peter should stick to football:

Why would the Red Sox pay Edgar Renteria a chunk more money than Orlando Cabrera, if they're going to spend real cash on a shortstop? And why go after either if Hanley Ramirez is ready to play short in 2006? If I were them, I'd find a way to make a deal for Tim Hudson (Billy Beane still loves the Greek God of Walks Kevin Youkilis) and live with Pokey Reese at short for 2005.

Maybe because Billy Beane already gave Eric Chavez a $63 million contract to play third and maybe because the Dodgers are offering stud pitcher Edwin Jackson in return for Hudson.

4. Peter on Charlie Weis:

I think the coach on his staff Bill Belichick could least afford to lose is Charlie Weis, and now the Patriots are going to have to deal with a major distraction the rest of the way as Weis tries to serve two masters -- the New England offense and the Notre Dame recruiting wars.

I think that Charlie should hire Lou Holtz as a "coach emeritus" to assist in recruiting. At his core - Holtz still loves Notre Dame and recruiting would be part time allowing him time with his ailing wife but still staying active in football.

5. Meaningless stat alert - Peter speaking about the Cowboys:

There are question marks, and age, all over the Cowboys' roster. Fourteen of the 53 active Cowboys are 29 or older.

29? That's an arbitrary number and besides the Patriots are one of the oldest teams in the league as has been almost every Super Bowl champ for the past 20 years.