The Battles of the Undefeated:
Who Rules the AFC East - New England or Miami?
Sunday September 29, 2002
By Judi Vitale

Miami and New England face off this week in a battle for first place in the AFC East, even though they don't play against one another. Both are undefeated, and both have aggressive, hungry players. On Sunday, both teams will travel to face different (and formidable) adversaries, and both will struggle to retain their perfect records.

Let's look at last week's action for all four of these teams, then see what the planets have to say about this week's outcomes - and which team will hang on to their perfect record for a little while longer.

Dolphins Swam Rings Around the Jets
In a cake-walk against the Jets last Sunday, Miami was able to showcase its flashy offense and win, despite its weak defensive showing, which was made worse by Gemini Corner Back Patrick Surtain's injury in the second half. Surtain's MRI showed there's no tear in that knee, but with the bone-battering Saturn transit he's having now, he might be favoring it for a while.

The Dolphins standout was Ricky Williams, and no one can question that this feisty Taurus gives it all he's got, and that works for the whole team. Next Sunday, the Dolphins face the Kansas City Chiefs, who are fresh off their narrow defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots.

The Chiefs Fought Hard, but Lost to Brady's Jupiter-Induced Luck
The Chiefs fought hard against the Patriots last Sunday. Kansas City's defense was predictably weak, especially while Brady's passes were battering it. On the positive side, KC running Back Priest Holmes racked up 180 yards and 3 touchdowns for Kansas City. This fierce Libra might rip up the field again this Sunday against Miami, emboldened by his approaching birthday, and with the rest of his planets keeping him safe from injury-provoking Saturn.

Planets Put a Punch Behind the Chiefs' Game, but Also Incited Penalty-Prone Behavior
Last week's Mars-Pluto square made for some rough-and-tumble games Sunday, and it explains the sacks, interceptions and penalties that made the Chiefs-Pats game closer than the offensive stats might suggest. Kansas City remains a competent team, but the luck they had running in 2001 when Jupiter graced Cancer (their dominant sign) has waned. Although the Chiefs displayed a fighting spirit, it was Jupiter's lucky light shining on New England (and Capricorn kicker Adam Vinatieri's toe) that finally won the game.

Fierce Chiefs' Softer Side Faces Dolphins' Calculating Brain Power
One lucky thing for the Chiefs this Sunday will be the passionately volatile atmosphere the Cancer Moon creates. This will favor the Kansas City team's emotional bias, keeping them more fired up than usual, especially on defense. On the negative side, tempers could flare, costing them yardage in penalties. Miami has a lot of Cancerian team members, too, so they're also bound to play a tough game.

Once we balance out the pros and cons in this contest, it begins to look almost too close to call. In the end, the team that can be cool about handling all this emotion will win, and from the astrologer's point of view, it's Miami. Miami Quarterback (and Capricorn) Jay Fiedler will keep his composure better than Cancerian Trent Green will. Also, injury-causing Saturn could play a factor for KC (if not for Holmes, perhaps for QB Green himself).

The (Almost) Bottom Line:
The Dolphins hold on to their Undefeated Status, after this victory over the Chiefs by 3-7 points.

Patriots Stumbled, But Used Jupiter's Lucky (Game-winning) Break
Last Sunday we also watched New England struggle more than they should have to - in order to overcome Kansas City in overtime. Although Quarterback Tom Brady, as we predicted, flew high on his Jupiter transits to a career record-breaking day (39 of 54 passes for 410 yards and 4 TDs), the rest of the team didn't come close to matching his performance. The score turned out to be much less decisive than the oddsmakers (and this astrologer) believed it would be. New England will face San Diego this Sunday, and this curious match-up will be a battle between two presumably peace-loving Libra teams.

Chargers' Capricorn QB Will Rock in the Eye of a Feisty Storm
San Diego is also an undefeated team, and they too scraped their way to victory last week (over the Arizona Cardinals). Saturn pounded this team with an injury to the Achilles of Cory Raymer, their starting Center. (Raymer's Mercury was the planet under Saturn's assault. His replacement, Jason Ball, is an Aries, and his joints and tendons should be pretty sound for the moment.) Given the Chargers' aggressive defense, which won last week's game with dramatic takeaways and turnovers, Brady and his boys could be in some trouble. San Diego's Capricorn Quarterback, Drew Brees, will be level-headed against an emotional opponent while the Moon is in Cancer. With their sluggish defense, even the Patriots may not have enough luck to overcome the Chargers' winning combination.

The Other (Almost) Bottom Line:
Looks like the Chargers could be tough enough tackle the Patriots, by one touchdown.

And the ULTIMATE bottom line
The Dolphins will retain their immaculate record, for the moment, at least. The head-to-head match on October 6th between the Patriots and the Dolphins will give both teams a chance to settle their claims to supremacy over the AFC East one-on-one. Surely the planets will tell us if this will be a nail-biter or a no-brainer - we'll keep you posted!