0 – The Tampa Bay Bucs made it into the red zone five times against the Redskins Sunday, and didn’t score a single touchdown. The 0-for-5 in the red zone including two field goal misses, a lost fumble, and one interception. Total ineptitude? No, I got another number on the Bucs later. 
4 – Cody Parkey, the Chicago Bears kicker, is glad his team played the lowly Detroit Lions. Parkey, who is on one of my fantasy teams by the way, missed four kicks last Sunday (two field goals and two extra points). Many a kicker has missed four attempts on a Sunday. But none of them hit the upright with their four misses like Parkey did Sunday in the win over Detroit.
6 – The NFL record for most 40-point games in a single season is six. This was done by the 2013 Denver Broncos. The 2018 New Orleans Saints could equal or surpass that mark this season. After putting 51 on the Bengals last week, the Saints now have five games with 40 or more points.
9 – More on the Saints. The Saints scored on their first nine drives of the game against the Bengals in the biggest beatdowns of the season so far. New Orleans led 35-7 at half and won, 51-14. Not surprisingly, Cincinnati fired its defensive coordinator Monday morning.
501 – More on Tampa Bay. The Bucs totaled 501 yards against the Redskins, but were only able to tally three points in their loss. That’s the fewest points ever scored in the NFL by a team that amassed over 500 yards. One has to ask ‘how does that happen?’
Carmelo To Charlotte?
It looks like Carmelo Anthony’s career is coming down to a tragic ending. It has been hard to keep track what team he is playing for these days. The Knicks gave up on him and he tried it in Oklahoma City last year. That did not work so they traded him to Atlanta who immediately released him. Still, the Houston Rockets gave him a chance this season. Anthony is about to get released by Houston just after a dozen or so games. There have been some reports around NBA circles that the Charlotte Hornets are interested in adding him to their franchise.
Calling it quits for a hall of famer can be difficult. They just do not want to give up what came so easily to them. Recent numbers confirm that Anthony may need to take an objective second look. First of all, Houston had the best record in the Western Conference last season. With Melo now on the roster, the Rockets got off to a 5-7 record. Here are the numbers I was talking of. Through 10 games, Anthony had more missed shots (72) than field goals, assists, steals, and blocks combined (65). I even found this obscure stat. Houston, thus far, is 15.4 points per 100 possessions better with him off the court.
Reports state that Michael Jordan is looking to add a “name player.” The Hornets have not won a playoff series since 2002. They currently are 27th in attendance, and while the arena won’t be filled to see Melo, he does have a faithful following that could lead to a small uptick in fan interest. The Hornets are not a strong franchise, and they need all the help they can get, even if it’s a fading star like Carmelo.
As for on the court, the Hornets are a respectable 7-6 this season, and they are one of the better 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. The final few playoff spots in the East after Boston, Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Indiana are wide open. Jordan may feel Anthony could get the Hornets a first round playoff win.
Locally, it would be quite a story. But the numbers do not back it up.
Carmelo Anthony
