Oops

First off, I was going to write a blog defending Bill Belichick for his actions at the end of Super Bowl XLII, but since every member of the media outside the New England area and ESPN is against him, it would be pretty pointless for me to do so. I'm not in the mood to be torn apart right now.

Second of all, the Patriots only lost because Belichick was wearing that hideous red sweatshirt, not his trusty old gray one.

But my main point. Did anyone else watch Today on Monday morning? Did you notice anything about who was reporting on the Super Bowl? Yep, that's right, NBC had former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber covering Super Bowl XLII from Glendale.

VIDEO LINK BECAUSE IT WON'T EMBED

Now that has to be one of the most awkward television moments ever, but I have to applaud Tiki, as he did a fantastic job. But still, the sight of Tiki Barber interviewing a champagne-drenched Eli Manning about just winning the Super Bowl after essentially saying that the Giants had no shot at winning under Tom Coughlin or with Manning at quarterback just brings out all the awkward emotions in me.

As most of you know, Barber left the Giants after the 2006 season at the ripe age of 31 and was publicly criticized for letting his team down and walking away from the game. Personally, I agree with him in his agreeing to walk away from football. When you're 60-years old, do you want to be able to walk around or do you want to be stuck in bed reminiscing about the glory days? I'd like to have my health.

When I used to ask my mom if I could play football, she would tell me a story about Johnny Unitas and his son. The story goes that young his son was deciding between golf and football and went to his dad, the legendary quarterback for guidance. According to the story, the elder Unitas said that if his son wanted to be able to walk, he should play golf. I don't know how true that anecdote is, but it is still powerful.

Barber may not have had a good "football reason" (ie injury, fatigue, contract dispute, no playing time) to retire, but he had a career waiting for him in TV, a job he rightfully took. I don't know how good his performance on the tube has been, however. His early season criticisms of the Giants provided extra drama and really made him look stupid. I thought he would do a good job, but he has not really lived up to expectations.

So yeah.

This blog was supposed to be about Belichick.

But instead, it is about Barber.

Jerramy Stevens, We Hardly Knew Ye

Jerramy Stevens, you should be ashamed of yourself.

No, not for your comments before Super Bowl XL and then your subsequent choking.

For your past. You are a despicable human being. You deserve nothing of what you have.

Oh, excuse my outburst right there. I need to explain myself. The reason for my outburst is a Seattle Times in-depth feature on the 2000 University of Washington football team entitled "Victory and Ruins" that exposes the team's run-ins with the law and the lack of discipline provided by coach Rick Neuhisel and athletic director Barbara Hedges. The team featured felons and players who had misdemeanors and players charged with sexual assault. Perfect for the stereotypical athlete getting off on crimes.

Which brings me to Jerramy Stevens. Stevens was one of four players given his own section in the feature. His was entitled "Convicted of assault and rape, star player received raft of second chances." The actions of Stevens that are chronicled in this disgust me. I don't need to describe them. You can read the article yourself. But what is even more appalling is the action (or lack thereof) taken by the state of Washington and the school itself.

Here's FanNation's own Big Ben68 with his reaction to the Stevens article:

Holy f*cking hell...Stevens has done a lot of s*it and gotten away with just about all of it...

I don't want to sound like an athlete-hater, because I'm not. I am an athlete and I participate in athletics at my school. But I really hate special treatment given to athletes. It's something that just really gets me. In my Honors Algebra II class last year, one of my teammates on track spent an entire quarter with a 70 before being moved down a class. The track coach was our teacher. There was another incident in the fall at my school where the school received pictures of various students, including three defensive starters on the football team, drinking on the morning of our school's first night game in its 43-year history. All athletes had to sign a pledge when the season started accepting responsibility and discipline if something like this happened. The common understanding was that we would be suspended from athletics for a year. The three football players missed two games. Members of the women's soccer team that implicated did not miss any time, according to some people. The extent of their punishment was supposedly writing an apology and apologizing in team meetings. However, our administration did not release any information, so the details still remain cloudy.

But what University of Washington did was horrible. Who knows how many people their football players hurt? Stevens was obviously out of control and the school barely did anything about it. Read the article. Read about what he did in high school. This guy is a disgrace. And the ignorance. To me, ignorance is the worst thing an athlete can have. Ignorance to rules, ignorance to authority, and ignorance to the team. Stevens had them all. He probably would not be drafted on the first day in the NFL Draft today because of his character issues. Stevens deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Pacman Jones as well. And Cedrick Wilson might have to join him.

It is a disgrace to the NFL that they have players like these associated with the league. One moment, you are reading about Brett Favre, but the next you are reading about Pacman Jones or Rae Carruth. Sadly, the NFL has members from both ends of the spectrum.

Now I don't have any personal connection to Stevens. I have Madden NFL 2002, in which Stevens is a backup tight end to Christian Fauria on the Seahawks, but I never really played with the Seahawks. Before Super Bowl XL, Stevens' 15 minutes of fame, I immediately disliked him. I was rooting for the Seahawks, but listening to this guy talk made me want to hurt him. I laughed at him after he dropped those three passes.

In the words of a Deadspin.com article, "The 2000 Washington Huskies were horrible people:"

We'll say this, and it'll be the last time we ever say it: We wish Joey Porter would have put his face through a wall.

Agreed?

Anyway, you owe it to yourself to read the Seattle Times feature.

Thanks for reading.

Lawrence Tynes: Zero to Hero

Ah, Mr. Tynes. You're a lucky man don't you know. If your Giants had lost last night, there would be a thousand angry New Yorkers outside of your home with pitchforks, torches, and broken bottles. There would also be a basket of cheese from yours truly in the mail. But no. Instead you become yet another athlete to redeem himself on the big stage. If I were you I would have a fruit basket in the mail to Corey Webster right now, by the way. I think he would deeply appreciate it.

Tynes is the new poster boy for America's short term memory loss. In a period of ten minutes he goes from the top of every hit list in New York City to the hero of the NFC Championship Game. However, like all athletes, he still has even more pressure on him. If he messes up again in Super Bowl XLII, should he just pack his bags and head back to Scotland? Or will he be allowed to stick around? Remember Jay Feely after his disastrous game in Seattle?

That is the matchup I will be watching on Super Sunday. Will Lawrence Tynes remain the hero? Or will he become the zero?

The Best Game No One Will See

Tomorrow, Thursday, November 29, 2007, the 10-1 Green Bay Packers travel to Dallas to take on the 10-1 Cowboys. This game could be the best of the season (yes, better than Pats-Colts), as it will most likely determine home-field advantage in the NFC. The road to the Super Bowl will most likely go through Dallas or the frozen tundra of Lambeau. It's an old fashioned Texas shootout between two of the top quarterbacks in the league this year, Brett Favre and Tony Romo. But the only thing is, no one will see this game.

Why?

NFL Network.

In my opinion, NFL Network is the biggest ripoff in the history of sports. The NFL can't do the same thing as NBA TV or an MLB channel because there are only a small number of NFL games each weeks, as opposed to many, many NBA and MLB games in a week. How many subscribers are there NFL Network anyway?

As someone who only has basic cable, is too young to go to a bar, and is too stingy to pay for NFL FieldPass, I will be relegated to following the game on NFL.com, CBS Sportsline, or ESPN.com, watching the little arrows. Yeah. It's horrible.

I think NFL Network is great for all of the offseason stuff like rebroadcasting games and the show "America's Game," but I don't think it is meant for broadcasting live NFL games. When the Vikings played the Packers on NFL Network last year, I got lucky because I was at my grandparents' house in Oregon who had NFL Network. The Packers won 9-7 (if I remember correctly) in a great game.

I was going to do a good ol' analysis of it, but for that, check this blog by our favorite Eagle Hater. I just don't have time.

So here is my prediction (a bit biased):

Packers 31, Cowboys 28

Let the best team win.

Homefield advantage is at stake.

Today We Are All Redskins Fans

Today, as hard as it may be to fathom for you Cowboys and Eagles fans, we are all Redskins fans.

Last night, I posted the following comment on Super Squirrel's blog about Sean Taylor:

Anyway, I had the same knee jerk reaction as everyone. The "OMG a famous person has gotten shot" reaction. I'm sure I would be reacting much differently if it was an Packer or something, but it's all sort of gotten numbed (can't think of better word choice) to me. My family watches the local Baltimore news every morning. Every morning its the same. Triple shooting, double stabbing, the list goes on. After a while, it's all the same to me. Sean Taylor is just another guy who got shot and I want him to recover. He isn't "Sean Taylor, football superman, who got shot fighting for his life and hopes to play football again." I couldn't care less about Sean Taylor's football career right now. This all might sound horrible, but in the society we are in where people get shot everyday, it all wears down on you. Taylor's just become another statistic of burglar's shooting the people they were trying to rob. It's just all gone numb on me.

Yeah, I hope Sean Taylor gets better, but I hope everybody else who has gotten shot gets better too. I don't care about Sean Taylor, Football Player, right now, I care about Sean Taylor the person right now.

I know this is all different for you Ben because you're one of the Redskins' top fans, but if you look at the big picture, Taylor's just another home burglary victim who got shot.

That sounds horrible, but it's the truth.

But now, after learning of Sean Taylor's death from my dad through my bedroom door at 6:47 AM, I realize that it is different. Me being a football fan, a die-hard (in my opinion), no less, has a profound impact on how I view this tragedy. The football impact on the Redskins is harsh; they lost one of the game's rising stars, someone who had a shaky start (see: spitting incident in playoffs), but had really started to pull it together personally and professionally. The impact on the Redskins (and the rest of the football world) is unimaginable, having someone taken from you that quickly, and especially after he was having good prognosis.

I was never the biggest Sean Taylor fan. I had watched him play at University of Miami, but something just didn't click between Sean Taylor the player and DJ the fan. After he went to the Redskins, more of the same followed, as I am an Eagles fan. I thought a lot of what he did was unnecessary like the spitting incident or blowing up Bills punter Brian Moorman in the Pro Bowl this past year. But I am still connected to him. On October 14, 2007, Taylor intercepted Brett Favre for the 278^th time, breaking the record set by George Blanda an eternity ago.

I did not know that much about Taylor, but I feel that if I could go back in time, I would pay a little more attention to him as a player.

It's such a shame this has to happen. Darrent Williams, now Sean Taylor. Last night, I said they were just victims of shootings. Now, as a sports fan, I realize that their loss is much, much more than just a shooting.

It was part of the game of football's soul being removed.

Colts-Pats, Dungy-Belichick, Manning-Brady, Addai-Maroney?

Lost in the mix of the Colts-Patriots rivalry, the Dungy-Belichick rivalry, and the Manning-Brady rivalry, I can sense a new rivalry brewing (at least in my eyes): Joseph Addai vs. Laurence Maroney. That does not seem totally illogical now, does it? Both running backs came in to the league last year as rookies. Both have great quarterbacks and great supporting casts. As Manning and Brady each get older, along with their receivers, I think that Addai v. Maroney will become the centerpiece of the Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots rivalry.

So let's compare these two men of the hour:

Name:	Joseph Addai	Laurence Maroney
College:	LSU	Minnesota
Age:	24	22
Height:	5-11	5-11
Weight:	214	220
Career Stats
Games:	24	20
Games Started:	8	3
Attempts:	397	264
Yards:	1,841	1,162
AVG:	4.6	4.4
Long:	41	41
Rushing TDs:	14	6
Receptions:	65	24
Yards:	546	231
Average:	8.4	9.6
Long:	73	31
Receiving TDs	3	1

Head-to-Head
November 5, 2006
Addai: 18 rushes, 43 yards, 1 TD
Maroney: 16 rushes, 63 yards
January 21, 2007
Addai: 14 rushes, 56 yards, 1 TD
Maroney: 8 rushes, 13 yards
November 4, 2007
Addai: 26 rushes, 112 yards, 5 receptions, 114 yards, 1 TD
Maroney: 15 rushes, 59 yards

Analysis
Overall, I would have to say that Joseph Addai is definitely "winning" this rivalry. First off, he's got the ring. Secondly, the Colts are 2-1 since he and Maroney came into the league. Thirdly, he has the better stats so far. Head-to-head, they were relatively even until their last showdown, when Addai definitely took the lead in this rivalry. But as Maroney develops (this season would be his rookie season had he stayed at Minnesota), he could definitely excel in the NFL, past Addai.

There are not many other people who would see this as a rivalry, partly because of the Manning-Brady stuff that overshadows it, but I will always be comparing Addai and Maroney.

Interesting take, eh?

What a day, what a day!

Wow! I don't remember a day like this in the NFL ever. So full of excitement and anticipation. There was the biggest regular season game in years between New England and Indianapolis. There were three kickoff returns for touchdowns. There was the longest scoring play in NFL history. The rushing record was set. There were so many great performances, I'm going to have to go through each game individually to list them all!

Atlanta Falcons 20, San Francisco 49ers 16
Atlanta Falcons
Warrick Dunn: 27 rushes, 100 yards, 1 TD
Michael Boley: 10 tackles, 1 FF
Keith Brooking: 6 tackles, 1 sack
Lawyer Milloy: 8 tackles, 1 INT
San Francisco 49ers
Vernon Davis: 7 receptions, 77 yards
Patrick Willis: 10 tackles, 1 sack

Buffalo Bills 33, Cincinnati Bengals 21
Buffalo Bills
J.P. Losman: 24/34, 295 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Marshawn Lynch: 29 carries, 153 yards, 1 TD, 1/1, 8 yards, 1 TD
Lee Evans: 9 catches, 165 yards, 1 TD
Angelo Crowell: 14 tackles (11 solo)
Cincinnati Bengals
Carson Palmer: 26/39, 271 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Kenny Watson: 7 receptions, 90 yards

Detroit Lions 44, Denver Broncos 7
Detroit Lions
Jon Kitna: 16/31, 252 yards, 2 TDs
Kevin Jones: 17 rushes, 71 yards
Shaun McDonald: 5 receptions, 78 yards, 1 TD
Jason Hanson: 3/3 FGs, 5/5 XPs
Shaun Rogers: 3 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT, 1 TD
Denver Broncos
Patrick Ramsey: 29/46, 262 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Brandon Marshall: 9 receptions, 96 yards

Green Bay Packers 33, Kansas City Chiefs 22
Green Bay Packers
Brett Favre: 24/34, 360 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Donald Driver: 5 receptions, 99 yards
Greg Jennings: 3 receptions, 85 yards, 2 TDs
Mason Crosby: 4/5 FGs, 3/3 XPs
Corey Williams: 6 tackles, 2 sacks
Charles Woodson: 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD
Kansas City Chiefs
Damon Huard: 19/32, 213 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Larry Johnson: 19 rushes, 53 yards, 1 TD
Tony Gonzalez: 10 receptions, 109 yards, 1 TD

Minnesota Vikings 35, San Diego Chargers 17
Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson: 30 rushes, 296 yards, 3 TDs
Chester Taylor: 9 rushes, 60 yards, 1 TD
Sidney Rice: 4 receptions, 66 yards, 1 TD
San Diego Chargers
LaDainian Tomlinson: 16 rushes, 40 yards, 1 TD
Matt Wilhelm: 14 tackles (11 solo)
Antonio Cromartie: 2 tackles, 109-yard missed FG return for TD

New Orleans Saints 41, Jacksonville Jaguars 24
New Orleans Saints
Drew Brees: 35/49, 445 yards, 3 TDs
Reggie Bush: 17 attempts, 72 yards, 1 TD
Marques Colston: 10 receptions, 159 yards
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quinn Gray: 20/33, 354 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs
Reggie Williams: 6 receptions, 128 yards, 1 TD
Reggie Nelson: 10 solo tackles
Maurice Jones-Drew: 5 rushes, 28 yards, 2 receptions, 31 yards, 100-yard kickoff return TD

Washington Redskins 23, New York Jets 20 (OT)
Washington Redskins
Clinton Portis: 36 rushes, 196 yards, 1 TD
Shaun Suisham: 5/5 FGs
Rocky McIntosh: 12 tackles (11 solo)
New York Jets
Kellen Clemens: 23/42, 226 yards, 1 TD
Jerricho Cotchery: 5 receptions, 90 yards
David Harris: 24 tackles (20 solo)

Tennessee Titans 20, Carolina Panthers 7
Tennessee Titans
LenDale White: 31 rushes, 100 yards, 1 TD
Albert Haynesworth: 7 tackles, 3 sacks
Carolina Panthers
Drew Carter: 3 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD
Jon Beason: 11 tackles (9 solo)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17, Arizona Cardinals 10
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jeff Garcia: 18/28, 196 yards, 1 TD
Earnest Graham: 34 rushes, 124 yards, 1 TD
Joey Galloway: 5 receptions, 84 yards, 1 TD
Arizona Cardinals
Larry Fitzgerald: 4 receptions, 95 yards
Darnell Dockett: 10 tackles, 2 sacks

Cleveland Browns 33, Seattle Seahawks 30 (OT)
Jamal Lewis: 20 carries, 37 yards, 4 TDs
Kellen Winslow: 11 receptions, 125 yards
Seattle Seahawks
Matt Hasselbeck: 30/47, 318 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Bobby Engram: 14 receptions, 139 yards, 1 TD

New England Patriots 24, Indianapolis Colts 20
New England Patriots
Tom Brady: 21/32, 255, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Randy Moss: 9 receptions, 145 yards, 1 TD
Mike Vrabel: 5 tackles, 1 sack
Indianapolis Colts
Peyton Manning: 16/27, 225 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Joseph Addai: 26 rushes, 112 yards, 5 receptions, 114 yards, 1 TD

Houston Texans 24, Oakland Raiders 17
Houston Texans
Sage Rosenfels: 11/19, 181 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Ron Dayne: 21 rushes, 122 yards, 1 TD
Oakland Raiders
Justin Fargas: 23 rushes, 104 yards, 1 TD
Robert Thomas: 11 tackles (9 solo)
Kirk Morrison: 8 tackles (7 solo)
Stuart Schweigart: 8 tackles (4 solo), 1 INT

Dallas Cowboys 38, Philadelphia Eagles 17
Dallas Cowboys
Tony Romo: 20/25, 324 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Julius Jones: 13 rushes, 57 yards, 1 TD
Marion Barber: 16 rushes, 56 yards, 1 TD
Terrell Owens: 10 receptions, 174 yards, 1 TD
DeMarcus Ware: 8 tackles (7 solo), 1.5 sacks
Philadelphia Eagles
Donovan McNabb: 27/46, 264, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Brian Westbrook: 16 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD, 14 receptions, 90 yards
Mike Patterson: 8 tackles (7 solo)

Pittsburgh Steelers 38, Baltimore Ravens 7
Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger: 13/16, 209 yards, 5 TDs
Santonio Holmes: 4 receptions, 110 yards, 2 TDs
Nate Washington: 3 receptions, 51 yards, 2 TDs
James Harrison: 9 tackles (8 solo), 3.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF
Troy Polamalu: 7 tackles, 1 FF
James Farrior: 6 tackles, 1 sack
Baltimore Ravens
Terrell Suggs: 11 tackles (6 solo), 1 sack

Players of the Week
Offense

1. Adrian Peterson, MIN
   
2. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT
   
3. Drew Brees, NO
   
4. Clinton Portis, WSH
   
5. Randy Moss, NE
   

Defense

1. James Harrison, PIT
   
2. David Harris, NYJ
   
3. Shaun Rogers, DET
   
4. Corey Williams, GB
   
5. Darnell Dockett, ARZ
   

Special Teams

1. Antonio Cromartie, SD
   
2. Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX
   
3. Glenn Holt, CIN
   
4. Nate Burleson, SEA
   
5. Leon Washington, NYJ
   

What a great week!

However, a dark cloud does hang over this day: Chad Johnson was taken off of the field in Buffalo on a stretcher with a neck injury. My prayers are with him and his family.

Future Thoughts
Here is a bold prediction: the winner of Monday's Baltimore-Pittsburgh game will beat New England. Like it, huh? But seriously, I think the team that comes out and dominates on defense and scores some points has a chance. Either team has the potential to do this, and each team has the potential to flop. I personally would like to see a Pittsburgh triumph, but I logically do not know who to pick. All I will say is that either the Steelers or Ravens will beat New England when they get their shot.

Well the Steelers set that straight. So my bold prediction is that the Pittsburgh Steelers will triumph over the New England Patriots later this season. I'm such a genius.

Hopefully next week can live up to this much excitement.

I should be slapped…

I should be slapped and you all are going to rip me apart for saying what I am about to say.

I have no problem with how the Patriots are playing football.

Quick scroll down and leave a comment before I explain.

First off, I am not a Patriots fan. I rooted for them in 2001 and was partial to them during their other Super Bowl runs. I think Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but superstardom has taken away some of the qualities I used to like in him. I'm not a huge Belichick fan, but I will acknowledge that he is a good coach.

So anyway, back to my point. I don't see anything classless by what the Patriots did. Sure, throwing for a touchdown on 4^th and 2 with a huge lead is probably the closest they came, but some of this blame should fall on the Redskins. I mean, isn't it the defense's job to stop the offense? So basically, if you can't stop the offense, you just want them to lay down and die? That's not going to happen. People's jobs are to score points. If they don't score the points, they aren't doing their job.

So hypothetically, Wes Welker catches a pass in the right flat, turns up field, breaks a tackle, and is in the clear. It's 28-0 in favor of the Patriots. What do you want him to do? Fall down after getting a first down? Run out of bounds at the one yard line? No, he's going to try to score. He's doing his job. If the defense did its job of trying to stop him, maybe it would be a different story.

Last week, Belichick had a 42-7 lead against a lethargic Dolphins offense and the next thing you know, he's down to a 14 point lead. Belichick probably did not want to make that mistake again with a more powerful Redskins offense. But again, some of the blame for the Patriots "running up the score" can be placed on the Redskins defense. Look at the length of the Patriots' possessions from the game:

Possession 1: 14 plays, 90 yards, 7:16 TOP, TOUCHDOWN
Possession 2: 5 plays, 15 yards, 2:12 TOP, Punt
Possession 3: 9 plays, 67 yards, 5:09 TOP, TOUCHDOWN
Possession 4: 4 plays, 3 yards, 0:57 TOP, FIELD GOAL
Possession 5: 1 play, 0 yards, 0:08 TOP, Fumble
Possession 6: 8 plays, 73 yards, 1:32 TOP, TOUCHDOWN
Possession 7: 13 plays, 85 yards, 7:46 TOP, TOUCHDOWN
Possession 8: 14 plays, 88 yards, 7:56 TOP, TOUCHDOWN
Possession 9: 6 plays, 45 yards, 2:37 TOP, TOUCHDOWN
Possession 10: 3 plays, -9 yards, 1:54 TOP, Punt
Possession 11: 1 play, -1 yards, 0:22 TOP, END OF GAME

My point is that the Patriots weren't just getting the ball and chucking it downfield for an easy touchdown. They were moving the ball and eating up clock while they were doing it. The Redskins just couldn't stop it. Some of you out there think that the backups should have just gotten the ball and taken knees. Well they aren't going to. The backups are trying to make the team. Even in a 52-7 win, if a backup misses a block or a tackle, that could be it for them. They are trying to stay on the team and if the only playing time they get is in garbage time, they are going to make the most of it.

The Patriots offense was just too good for the Redskins defense. The Patriots still have class. They were playing smashmouth football. They were not going to stop until they actually were stopped, which only happened three times the entire game. If you can only force a turnover or a punt on three occasions, you're going to lose. If your team goes 2-12 on third down conversions, you're going to lose. If you give up 486 yards of offense, you are most likely going to lose. If you let them have the ball for over thirty-seven minutes, you're going to lose. Get it?

See my point? The Redskins defense couldn't stop the Patriots offense.

And guess what happened?

The Patriots won.

By a lot.

So all you Colts fan you get your knickers in a twist after the Patriots score an insurmountable amount of points, think about your defense.

The Patriots are just playing football.