>>>King Kevin seems to have temporarily abdicated his throne so I will step in as guest NFL commentator. Please pardon any parochial POV. What is your take on this weekend's games? "Pretty damned interesting" is my take. And don't get me started about the Bears. That was the best and most important game of the weekend, with the most memorable play. I am still smiling. But not through worrying. This is, after all, Chicago sports. We have been conditioned to worry. That said, I like this team. They could .... go .... all .... the .... way!
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>>>Well, so much for impartiality.
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>>Most surprising items of the weekend...
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>>Another Bear returns a short field goal miss 108 yds. Who knew?
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>>San Diego put up 42 points in the 2nd half (NFL Record). Wow!
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>Wow is right. Maybe it's time to start taking the Chargers as serious contenders, and to stop taking the Bengals that way. This was a game they pretty much needed to win, playing at home, and leading by three touchdowns in the first half. And they blew it to fall to 4-5. Start warming up the hearse....
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>It is definitely a statistical fluke that the record runback of 108 yards is shared by teammates. Nathan Vasher was the first to do it, a year or two ago. But wasn't his an interception return? Any kind of return of a field goal is rare, I bet only a handful of times a season. Which may be one reason the Giants' field goal team wasn't very adept at defending it. Other than one big block, Hester was practically unchallenged.

Vasher's was also a field goal return, against SF last year. So similar that you'd think special teams coaches might want to start teaching coverage.

"On Nov. 13, 2005 -- almost exactly a year ago -- the Bears' Nathan Vasher caught Joe Nedney's missed 52-yard field-goal attempt in the back of the end zone on the final play of the first half and ran it back for a 108-yard TD return. The play helped Chicago beat San Francisco 17-9, and now Hester shares the record for longest NFL play with his teammate."
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20061112_CHI@NYG