Reconnecting With An Old Friend

Over the past year, I have been reconnecting with an old friend, Hockey. It is much harder nowadays to catch a game of hockey than I previously thought, but they are getting more nationally televised contests. Getting back to my point, in getting back in touch with thw sport, I managed to find a Penguins game, doubly difficult since I live on the West Coast, and was flooded with memories of games past and a remembrance of why I loved the game way back when.

I first started watching hockey and the Penguins in particular, in the mid to late 80’s. At the time I was but a budding sports fan who concentrated mainly on the Steelers and Pirates. But during one lull between football and baseball season, I decided to check out hockey and see what it had to offer to me, the sports consumer. What I saw blew me away and I found I had picked the exact right time to investigate this sport. The Penguins at the time were building toward a back to back Stanley Cup run. Their young and talented team was lead by a growing superstar by the name of Mario Lemieux, who by that point had already earned the nickname Super Mario. I was enthralled by the speed, action, skill and strength it took to play professional hockey, and mesmerized by the grace and talent put on display by the players and by Lemieux in particular. I never really knew what it was like to watch early Gretzky, only seeing him in his mid to late years, but by watching Lemieux, I got to see a superstar come into his prime. I saw how he could take over games, how his presence on the ice would change how the opponents would play the game. I saw how Lemieux would create scoring opportunities for not only himself, but also his teammates out of seemingly nothing. Watching Lemieux was a thrill each and every game and it drew me into the game of hockey.

There is a beauty to the game that is unmatched by any other sport. Each player has to have such a diverse level of skills that the men who play could be tremendous athletes in any other sport. To play hockey, you must have the hand-eye coordination and wrist speed and strength of a baseball hitter. You must have the physical strength and willingness to sacrifice your body of a football player. You must have the stamina of a NASCAR driver. You must have the vision and court awareness of a basketball player. Plus, a few times, you need to have the skills of a boxer. And you must incorporate all of these skills together and perform them on a pair of skates on a sheet of ice, which requires the grace and agility of a figure skater. This combination of skill sets made hockey, at least for me, irresistible.

Now, beyond the sheer beauty of the game itself, I found I had much to love in my hometown team.

First, they rocked the same colors as the Pirates and Steelers, which made it easy to already be sporting the right threads. Pittsburgh is the only North American city where all the professional sports teams in the big four (football, basketball, baseball and hockey), wear the same color scheme. Thus, to stand out in such a way in the sports world, and yet stand together as brothers playing for the same fan base, was appealing to me. Sure, now the gold in the Penguins uniforms is a bit different than the other two teams, but that matters little. The Pirates have incorporated red into their uniforms, so no big deal. Hey, each team has to be a bit distinctive in their own way. And if you doubt their connection to the Burgh sports world, just check out the shade of gold on Fleury’s pads, and you tell me that does not make you think Steelers and Pirates.

The team and its star came of age at same time I did, with both myself peaking with high school graduation and moving on to college and into the world at large just as the team secured their second championship. It felt as though we were intertwined on our separate paths. Sure, that sounds a bit nutty, but hey, sports can do that to you.

The Penguins Stanley Cup victories were my first real experience with watching a hometown team secure and celebrate a championship. The Pirates and Steelers, my teams from before I could even remember, had not won a championship since 1979, and being only five at the time I barely recall them. The two Cups that the Penguins brought home to Pittsburgh, I watched the team capture them from start to finish. And it began even before the start of their run as I watched them in the seasons previous as they began building toward that memorable first cup run. It was an intoxicating experience, and unfortunately one I was only able to relive again when the Steelers captured their fifth championship in Super Bowl XL.

And of course, one can never overlook Jaromir Jagr, who had perhaps the best mullet in hockey, and maybe one of the all time best. That alone would be enough of a draw for even the most casual of fans.

But like any good episode of behind the music, after the initial run of success and joy comes the downfall and split, and the Penguins and I experienced both.

The downfall began in 1993, after their disastrous playoff collapse against the Islanders. The team that year was even more powerful than the previous two squads, and was the odds on favorite to capture the cup. However, Mario’s bout with lymphoma had produced a pall over the team, one that at times was difficult to shake. And in a span of seven games, the tenacious team from New York managed to upset the favored Penguins. The series loss crushed me and left a harsh aftertaste, and unfortunately the team was never the same afterward.

That was followed by the players strike in 1994. This was a tough pill to swallow, since baseball was also going through a strike that ultimately ended their season without a World Series, and also brought an end to the contending Pirate teams of the 90s and seemingly beyond. Hockey did manage to at least salvage their season, but after being so disenfranchised by both sports, it was hard to get into the swing of things again, and the rift widened. My personal rift with baseball has never healed, and will never, but that is a story for another day.

Then came Mario’s first retirement. It was not surprising, looking at it now, to see why. He had won two championships, established himself as one of the all time greats and had even survived a bout with Hodgkin’s lymphoma while still playing, at one point coming to a game after treatment and scoring a goal. Plus, the game had changed by the point of his retirement to favor defense, which stifled Mario’s creativity as a player and a scorer. This change also begat more punishing defenders and abuse on scorers, and Mario was target number one. He had already been in the league since 1984, and with the punishment increasing and rules being made that hurt the type of player he was, it was no real surprise that he decided to hang them up. But it was still a blow to fans of the player and franchise that was hard to overcome.

Without Mario, watching Jagr try unsuccessfully to lead the team did nothing to help keep the interest of fans in watching the Penguins. Jagr at the time was an exciting player in his prime, with the ability to score at will. But he was also prone to moody play and had a tendency to be streaky. It was much like watching Pippen take over the alpha dog position in leading the Bulls when Jordan retired for the first time, with the same level of success, unfortunately.

During this entire period, the team was being horribly managed by the ownership group at the time. They wrote ridiculous contracts, paying exorbitant salaries to players in a misguided attempt to keep together the aging cup teams. Their financial management was poor, at best, and they were terrible at marketing and bringing in additional revenue. On top of that, they ignored the fact that to bring in more revenue, the Penguins desperately needed a new home to replace the aging and dilapidated Mellon Arena, but did little to solve this problem. As the team sank deeper into financial trouble, thus began the great player fire sale of the late 90s.

In hopes of reversing some of the financial troubles, they dumped player’s salaries as quickly as possible. In the process, they also stripped the team of any elite talent they had on the ice. This caused a severe drop in the on ice product and an increase in the already waning interest of the fan base. As people watched the team fall apart, they started staying away in droves. It was not that their hopes for another cup were lost, no that had long ago gone. It was that their hopes for a competitive team were gone as well, lost in the shuffle of departing players and impending bankruptcy. And when hope is gone, there is not much left.

This downfall coincided with the Steelers rising again to prominence in the mid 90s. As I am a football fan first and foremost, the Steelers took precedence in my sporting world, leaving me to only start following hockey regularly around January or February, depending on how deep the Steelers went in the playoffs. I had not quite mastered the ability to focus on two sports at once while studying, working and living life. There was just a little too much going on at the time. I am still not sure I have been able to master that skill, but I have improved since I did see a few Penguins games this season before football was over. Of course, that could also be attributed to the Steelers’ lousy season.

If I may a tangent, my worst time as a sports fan came at the end of the decade, as all three of my teams were on a downward slope. The Pirates were still mired in their swoon, one they still have yet to emerge from successfully. Although, on a side note, there does look to be more than a spark of hope from this season’s squad. But only time will tell, as the saying goes. The Steelers were in the midst of a rare slide that saw them miss the playoffs several years in a row, a phenomenon I would prefer not be repeated ever. And the Penguins were rapidly falling apart before my eyes. During this time, let’s just say no home team really captured or held my interest or spawned a blind devotion, since they gave me no reason for said devotion with their play. Now, mind you I am no fair weather fan, I support my teams whether they win or lose and through the thinnest of times as well as the thickest. Nothing drives me nuts more than seeing some cat run around with the hat or a t-shirt of a recent champion, suddenly proclaiming themselves to be lifelong fans of said team. You have to go through the pain to enjoy the pleasure when it comes to sports. If you don’t, the victories are hollow and empty. I went through four AFC Championship losses and one Super Bowl loss with the Steelers and it made their Super Bowl win that much sweeter. I went through the dark 80s with the Pirates, and it made their successes in the early 90s that much sweeter and coincidently that much more painful when they lost the NL crowns. And I went through the step sibling type struggles with the Penguins as they worked to not only become competitive and successful, but also to be looked upon as more than an afterthought in a football/baseball town, and it made those Cup victories as sweet as honey. You will not see me jumping on a band wagon just because the good times are here. But with that being said, one fan can only take so much heartbreak and losing, and all three teams were more than happy to dish out both in droves during that time period, and I found myself needing to take a breather or two from time to time. I would step back and remember all the good times they brought, the championships they won, the players that captured our hearts and imaginations, and remind myself that things can and will change. I reminded myself that one day they will all be back on top and I will be right there with them. Then I would throw myself back into the fray, cope with the losses and continue to hope for a better tomorrow. But it was a tough time for a Pittsburgh sports fan. Luckily, things are looking brighter now. A few weeks ago, I noticed something that made me take pause. At that moment in time, the Pirates were 3-0, the Penguins were in the playoffs and the Steelers had, just a few months before, anointed a young, competitive head coach to lead the team after the retirement of a local legend. It suddenly felt like 1992 all over again. But enough of my reminiscing tangents let us get back to where we left off, the fallout.

The culmination came with the 2004 strike, which really hurt sport on a multitude of levels. Personally, I fell on the side of the players. I felt like they really work hard for their money, and it is a highly specialized and demanding sport. But no one was seeing eye to eye at the time. The players wanted more money, but missed the point that it really was not there. And stubbornness and an inability to see beyond the moment stifled both sides and led them to damage the sport. And even now they are struggling to regain the same level of relevance they once had, although they are making great strides in their new incarnation. The league in its return has changed rules to favor scoring and a more wide open style of play. A style that is far more exciting to watch than what it had become. They got smart and installed salary caps and floors, insuring teams spend money on players and keep themselves competitive. They changed the scheduling around to favor regional match ups and long time rivalries to invigorate the interest of fans. All of these changes have helped in creating a brighter tomorrow for the sport, one that is just on the horizon.

Now, throughout this seemingly endless downward spiral, I kept an eye on the Penguins. While my interest may have waned from time to time, or been captured by other things, my devotion to the team never did. And I watched them through their trials, always hoping for a better tomorrow. Occasionally, there would be sparks of hope, but most of the time they would be extinguished by the splash of failure or mismanagement. But I always followed them hoping for those moments when the team might rise again. And as I watched, miraculous things began to happen.

It began with Mario’s return. Now, while he is a great player, he could not carry a below average team by himself to a championship. But just his return did wonders for the team and the fan base. Hope began to trickle.

That was followed with the drafting of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury was considered one of the best prospective net minders in a long time, and had the potential to be a franchise player that could backstop a team to a title. When the Penguins acquired him, hope began to flow. As his progress has shown, he is well on his way now to becoming a top flight goalie.

After the strike, there was a real need for hope, since the Penguins needed something drastic to happen to save not only interest, but also their place in Pittsburgh. This came in the form of lucking into the top draft position and grabbing the phenomenon that is Sidney Crosby. Most hockey experts and talking heads kept saying that Crosby could be better than Lemieux and Gretzky, and now he is wearing black and gold. Hope began to rush.

But just as rushing hope began to swell, suddenly up came a log jam. With a mix of fear and hope, I watched over the past several years the ongoing drama of the Penguins attempting to build a new home unfold. When it reached the breaking point of possible relocation in early 2007, fear seized me and all other lost Penguin fans. When I asked myself, why do I care so much, that’s when I realized I had forgotten how much I loved hockey and the Penguins. With that revelation, hope began to come on in a torrent. And much like any good Behind the Music, after that came the redemption.

I began to follow them in the box scores and paper. I suddenly had a slew of Penguin and hockey websites I checked with regularity. I tuned into any Penguins games I could find, which were few before the playoffs began, but like a thirsty man in the desert, I took every drop I could find. This renaissance has reminded me of everything I loved about the game and how exciting, thrilling, fast paced and fun hockey can be.

Now as they embark on their first playoff foray in years that old thrill is back in full force. Watching the maturation of Crosby and this team of young future stars is exciting, and knowing that one day he could be better than his mentor harkens back thoughts of those heady days of watching a young Lemieux come into his own.

But as good as Crosby is, and will be, he will never achieve what Lemieux has for the Penguins. Lemieux has saved hockey in Pittsburgh multiple times, and this cannot be overstated in any way.

His first save came as a player when he brought two championships, respectability and viability to the team. Not an easy task to do, since at the time, and still now, the Penguins rank third in the city behind the Steelers and Pirates. Lemieux almost single-handedly shed the perception that the Penguins were a mere afterthought in the Pittsburgh sporting scene, and helped bring the team into the fold of beloved local franchises. I also believe that now with this youthful, exuberant team he has built they can overtake the Pirates in local popularity.

His next save came as the owner, when he purchased the team in order to save it from bankruptcy and keep it in Pittsburgh. As the team roiled in financial trouble, to the point where it could not afford to pay Lemieux himself, he stepped into the breach and took over the responsibility of leading the organization and kept the team away from potential ownership groups that would have relocated the franchise. He continued in a capacity of owner and player, and eventually just owner, helping to guide the team out of bankruptcy and onto stable financial ground.

Then as a personnel man and smart owner he saved the team yet again in several ways. One by shrewdly identifying and amassing a large collection of young talented players whose maturation will only make the team stronger, more competitive and place them at the top of the NHL mountain for years to come. By becoming a player again and leading by example, showing his young charges how to play the game and imparting upon them his years of amassed wisdom and experience, teaching them in ways that no playbook or scheme ever could. And finally and perhaps most importantly, he helped the team by knowing when to hang up his skates for the last time and to hand the team over to his young protégé and allow Crosby and the young Penguins to find success on their own.

He followed that up by saving hockey in general by playing a role in the creation of a new collective bargaining agreement following the 2004 strike. With this in place, and both sides happy about the outcome, the games finally began again. If it were not for this agreement, there would have been no one on the ice, and no game to save.

And finally, he saved the team as a steward of the team and an adopted son of Pittsburgh, by finding a way against incredible odds to get a new arena plan put in place and signing a long term deal to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh for a long time to come. This may be the best save of all. And even though he said he would then be selling the team, even this did not happen. The potential buyers fell out, and after this Lemieux announced he would remain as owner. He is a Penguin through and through, and now a Pittsburgher through and through as well.

The Penguins, in their first foray into the playoffs in nearly six years are not faring as well as many had hoped or predicted. But they are a young team and have such bright promise and potential yet in front of them that this first adventure into the post season will one day be looked upon as a mere prelude to what is to come. Heck, most of them look like they do not have the ability to even grow a playoff beard. But one day, and that day will come soon, they will be the toast of the NHL, and their young leader will ascend to the stratosphere of not only hockey greats, but sports greats, and carry his team and the league with him. Crosby does look to one day be able save the sport of hockey by generating a mass amount of interest in hockey by his sheer brilliance and play, and that will be good for everyone. But Lemieux has saved hockey in Pittsburgh more times than Superman has saved Lois Lane, and that is good for all of us Penguin fans, the devoted and those of us who had lost their way and now, finally, found our way home again.

The Crystal Ball The Offseason

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts on February 8, 2007.


Congratulations and hail to the champions of Super Bowl XLI, the Indianapolis Colts.

Now what did I say last week, the team with the least scandals and distractions would win. And look who won, the team with the least scandals. Shocked I am at this development. Good players and coaches who keep their focus on the field and do not get embroiled in controversies and trouble off the field succeed. The Colts did just that, kept their focus on the game, had no one wrapped up in some off field distraction, kept their minds on the task at hand and came out with a tiffany trophy in their hands. Quality men like this are hard to find, and when they can be found, should be highly regarded. The Colts are such a team, from their head coach to their last player on the practice squad. Coach Dungy said as much too after the victory parade in Indianapolis, saying to the gathered masses how he felt about all of his players and the kind of men they are.

“The thing I love about these guys is there is not one guy out here that you would not want your son to be like, and that is most important to me.”

That is the most telling statement about this Colts team. They are not a collection of characters, but a group of men with character. I feel good about this team winning the Super Bowl because of who they are as people. Too much anymore in our world, and in the sporting world as a microcosm, we see the rewards and spoils being given to those who exhibit poor characteristics such as lawlessness, spoiled entitlement due to their position in life, rampant egomania, selfishness, poor treatment of other human beings, preening self promotion and a general lack of class. It is nice and refreshing that for once, you get to see men who lead by example and work hard not only to be successful athletes, but to be successful human beings as well, walk away as champions. I have mentioned previously that professional athletes should not be looked upon as role models, and I still believe that. These are grown men who play a game for money. Role models should come from those who make a difference in shaping the world of the next generation. They should come from parents, teachers and civic leaders and from those who work to make the world we live in a better place, like scientists, police and doctors. Far too often many of these people fall short of providing a good example to follow, and more often young people look to professional athletes as people to look up to and emulate. While I feel this should not be, if it must then this team would be one that kids can look up to and say, yes, I want to be like them when I grow up. It is nice to see some good people finally come out on top. I certainly would feel far less satisfied and more revulsion if we were talking about the Super Bowl champion Cincinnati Bungles.

I would like to also send a hearty congratulation to all of the Indianapolis fans. This is the first time they get to celebrate an NFL championship. It is an exciting time when your team brings one home for the very first time. Yes the Colts have won a Super Bowl before, but that was when they were still located in Baltimore. Indianapolis has never seen or experienced this, and I will bet they are delirious with joy right now. My only advice is to soak in every moment. You never know when you will get a chance to celebrate again. I had to wait 26 years for my next chance, and I certainly hope I do not have to wait that long for the next one. I have a friend, a Colts fan, who attended the game, and I cannot imagine how thrilling it must be to be at the Super Bowl and watch your team win. Last year, I was on cloud nine for weeks afterward, and all I did was watch the game on TV. I imagine it is an indescribable once in a lifetime experience and I am slightly envious. Come on Steelers, get back on the horse and I will meet you in Arizona in early February 2008.

The game itself was a water logged affair that affected play throughout the evening. Both teams set a record for turnovers in the first quarter with a combined total of 4. But the game had another record to start, that being the first opening kickoff returned for a touchdown. Of course, this excitement was provided by the elusive speedster Devin Hester. He is just amazing to watch. His speed, footwork and field vision are spectacular. After that things did not get better for the Colts, and began to look downright bad. They had a few stalled drives in the first half and more than a few miscues, including a flubbed extra point attempt and an extremely rare field goal miss by Adam Vinatieri. Before too long into the game, the Colts were down 14-6 as the Bears executed a long touchdown drive with a rare big play, and momentum was decidedly in the Chicago camp. But like true champions, they did not panic. They knew they had the preparation and talent to overcome, especially knowing they overcame much more in their victory in the AFC championship game. They showed their ability to remain in control during adverse times throughout the second quarter, and by the end of the half they grabbed a lead which they would never relinquish for the remainder of the game. They played like champions.

As everyone saw, this was a very sloppy game brought upon by rain that poured for the entire contest. Almost everyone figured this kind of weather would favor the Bears. Being an outdoor team far more accustomed to playing in adverse conditions than the Colts, who reside in a dome, at first it did seem exactly that. The Bears shot out of the gate from the opening kickoff, and for a while looked as though they may leave Indianapolis’ title hopes floating in a mud puddle. But there were two major obstacles that the Bears could not overcome, Rex Grossman and the Indianapolis offense.

The first obstacle, Grossman, is one many pundits and fans saw coming in the two weeks leading up to the game itself. Grossman has been too inconsistent to this point in his career. That is not saying he will not develop into a quality quarterback, but he still has a way to go with his passing accuracy, decision making and on field leadership. I have previously said that he is not a good quarterback, and right now, he is not. He has the talent and is capable, but not at the moment is just not very good. Watching him this season you could see his potential, but also how long the road he has yet to travel to become an elite quarterback. But everyone should lay off on busting on the kid too much. While this was his fourth season in the league, it was only his first full season as a starter. It takes time for a quarterback to become comfortable in his offense on the field, with his line and his receivers and with in game conditions. No quarterback will be successful until he reaches this comfort level. It is a lot to ask a first year starter to march through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. While Tom Brady managed to do it in his first year as a starter, he had years of experience behind him in Drew Bledsoe to lean upon. Having a resource like this I am sure helped tremendously. Grossman does not have a quarterback mentor behind him to aid in his development and therefore does not have this added resource. And it was not until a few years later that we really saw Brady blossom as a starting quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger tore up the manual regarding what a rookie quarterback can do, and even he could not finish the job. Now, he managed to take the Steelers to a championship the next season, but that showed how much more comfortable he became within the offense, with his teammates and on the field. We still have yet to see him blossom, and he may be a year or two away from reaching his true potential. Like I said, it takes a quarterback time to get comfortable and into a groove, and the key to this is patience. Remember, the Chargers drafted Phillip Rivers after two seasons of Drew Brees because they figured Brees would never become a big game quarterback. Look at him now. After a few seasons, he got it. It just takes time, and Grossman still has some time in front of him to develop.

The other obstacle was the Colt offense. The Bears defense played a tremendous game, but they could not, with any sustained success, stop the Colt offense and get them off the field. The Colt offense controlled the entire game and dictated the outcome by staying on the field. Indianapolis held the ball for almost 40 minutes. I know the Bear defense is good, and they did hold the Colts to only 22 points on offense on a sloppy night. But even the best defenses cannot keep an offense from scoring if they are exhausted. And by the end of the game, the Bears defense was just that, exhausted and drained. They gave everything they could to keep their team in the game to the very end. And despite their efforts, they neglected to give themselves more opportunities to win. With the rain coming down in sheets, the Bears, who were so scared of Peyton burning them with the big play kept their alignment in a Cover 2, taking away the big play. However, no Bear coach seemed to notice that Mother Nature had effectively taken care of the big play. Instead, the Bears stayed in this formation, instead of keying on the run, which Indianapolis turned to early and often. By the end of the game, the Colts had built an average of 5.3 yards gained per play average with a significant amount of help coming from big running plays, controlled the clock and dictated the momentum of the entire contest. By not switching their defensive keys, the Bears defense was not able to give the ball, and opportunities to score, back to their offense enough. And when they did, their offense squandered them, turning the ball over five times, once on an interception that was returned for a Colts defensive touchdown. These problems are what the Bears could not overcome, and why they lost.

One other thing I noticed about the game, there was not one single gadget play the entire time. With the increasing usage of gadget plays and trick plays in the NFL over the past few years, I figured we would see something out of at least one team. But no, neither team employed any diversionary stunts or pass receiving linemen. Perhaps the rain put a damper on such things. Something to think about, especially since the game last year was iced on a gadget play.

I would like to send out a special kudos to the Colt offensive line, who, as a unit busted their humps and opened up big holes for Addai and Rhodes against a tough defense known for stopping the run, for creating a virtually impenetrable pocket for Manning all day and for taking control of the game for Indianapolis. Doing these jobs is difficult under ideal conditions, but in a driving rain and on a sloppy field, these tasks become immeasurably more difficult. The entire line did a spectacular job keeping the Bears out of the running lanes and out of Manning’s face, allowing only one sack all game, which came at the end when the outcome was already decided. Without these gentlemen, none of this would have been possible and the Colts would not be world champions. Personally, I could see an argument that these gentlemen were the real MVPs of the Super Bowl. Interestingly, I am not the only one. SI.com’s Peter King runs a column each Tuesday where he responds to reader email. One reader stated this very point, and pondered to King, who has a vote for the game MVP, if we would ever see linemen as a game MVP and said reader went so far as to say that knowing the bias toward traditional skill players that we would never see such an award being granted toward the unsung heroes in the trenches. King’s response confirmed the reader’s assumption. King stated he voted for Manning over anyone else, the running backs and the line, because of his excellent field leadership in adverse conditions. I do not disagree with King, he has a valid point with all that Manning did during the game. But he is overlooking one vital fact. If those five gentlemen in front of him do not do their jobs, Manning would not be able to do his. Does that not embody the definition of valuable? It certainly does to me. Perhaps one day the men on the line will be honored appropriately, but it would seem that day will not come anytime soon.

I am also very happy for Tony Dungy, who with this victory becomes only the third person to win a championship as both a player and a head coach. In Dungy, we have a good man of deep faith who always puts his family first and football second. He has stated he learned how to prioritize what is truly important in his life while working under Chuck Noll. Unlike some other coaches who feel the need to put in 20 hour days to succeed, basically eat, sleep and be consumed by football, Dungy never thought like that. He feels if you had a strong family and strong faith, the work will get done and success will follow. He is a humble man, a leader of men, a teacher and a person to look up to and emulate. It is nice to see the good guy win in the end. Not to take anything away from Lovie Smith, who by all accounts is much the same type of man as his mentor Dungy, but Tony has had to handle rawer deals thus far in his career, and each time he did it with grace, class and dignity. I am thrilled to see a man like this hoisting the Lombardi trophy, a true role model in the sporting world.

Now, much has been said over the past few weeks about the significance of the first African American head coaches to participate in the Super Bowl and now the first to win a Super Bowl, and much of it has been said by those with better prose and insight than I. But what I take away from this is that it is a triumph of opportunity and talent that will influence others for generations to come. Many gentlemen of a different color or race for years had to fight an old boys’ network just to get an assistant job, regardless of their ability to coach. And if they were lucky to get one of those positions, they had to be better, smarter and work much harder than their white counterparts not to get ahead, but merely to stay employed. However, thanks to many forward thinking and trailblazing individuals over the years, such as former commissioner Paul Tagliabue and Steelers owner Dan Rooney, more excellent men and coaches that would have previously been overlooked now have better opportunities to ascend to the top post of a team. These individuals spurred a shift in culture and mindset within the ranks of the league, and many others spurred social changes in our society as well, to assist in changing perceptions and opening doors that had once been permanently closed. Thanks to these changes and the men and women who instigated them, each year we see more young men get opportunities to lead teams. In the coming season, we will see 6 African American head coaches at the helm of NFL franchises, one of whom will be starting his first head coaching job ever. That number constitutes close to 25% of all head coaching positions in the NFL, and a good sign of progress. Now, these are good signs, but there is always progress still to be made. If you stop growing, then you stagnate. But the NFL continues to grow, and that is the best sign of all. As a side note congratulations to the AFC North, who has three African American head coaches amongst the four teams in the division, which shows how dedicated that division is to progress and opportunity.

But this overall shift in mindset and culture is what is most important. It has helped to create opportunities for those with talent to not only coach, but to be a leader and a teacher of men as well. Whether the coaches who earn these opportunities turn out to be Tony Dungy or Art Shell is not the point, and often mistaken as the focus of the discussion. African American coaches, and coaches of any race for that matter, should not have to be perfect or work harder than any other coach or bring in 12 wins a season each year just to keep their jobs. They should be allowed to make mistakes, take chances and win and lose based upon their abilities as a coach and leader. They should be able to know when they pursue a coaching position that they will be given a fair shake based upon their track record and how they perform.

And to me that is the significance of Dungy winning the Super Bowl; that coaches of different races now get, more than ever before, the same opportunity to succeed and fail as every other coach. Dungy has been a very successful coach in the 11 years he has helmed a team, taking 9 of those teams to the playoffs, but not perfect. He has taken chances, some of which paid off and other chances that have not, but he has been able to continue to have opportunities to coach as he sees fit. Tampa Bay foolishly forgot all he did for them in not only building a playoff contender, but resurrecting a franchise, changing the entire mindset of the organization and building a team of quality players and men. The Buccaneers lost sight of all of this and unceremoniously fired him. Perhaps if they did not, Dungy would have already won his first championship as a coach and perhaps have kept the Buccaneers reloaded and primed for continued runs toward another championship. As they stand now, the Bucs sold out a solid future for a sexy hire who, to date, has not been able to maintain any long term success with the team. Jon Gruden won that championship in 2002 with Tony Dungy’s team. Now, after five years and with the team indelibly stamped as Gruden’s, they are back to being cellar dwellers and has beens. But Indianapolis wanted a quality coach like Dungy, one that would not only build a successful team and be able to utilize the pieces they already had, but to shape and build successful men, and immediately snatched him up and let him coach the team his way. Now, five years later, he has triumphantly returned to Indianapolis with the Super Bowl trophy in hand.

Dungy’s success in being able to do things his way has created more quality candidates for coaching positions and more opportunities for other minority coaches, and these men have been able to lead teams based upon their ability and talent, as it should be. And the additional benefit of seeing these coaches given these opportunities to succeed and fail and strive and try is that it becomes an influence for the next generation of coaches. Perhaps there are young African American kids out there who may not be talented players, but love the game of football. Now they know they can be an integral part of the NFL by looking at men like Dungy and Lovie Smith and seeing how they are able to get opportunities and succeed. These young kids now can see new career paths open before them that at one time may have been unimaginable. Instead, now they can easily imagine growing up and coaching a team to a Super Bowl victory. They now know it is possible, because Tony Dungy has showed them it can be accomplished. That is the true triumph of opportunity and talent, and what really emphasizes to me the significance of Dungy’s victory. I imagine in the next few years, we will see our first Hispanic head coach and our first Asian head coach in the league as well. Then we will see the real benefits of these changes, when young Hispanic and Asian kids can grow up imagining coaching a team to a Super Bowl victory.

I am also happy for Peyton Manning, who was able to shed the unfair shackle of being called a big game loser. Peyton can now continue his career without that albatross, and who knows how good he may be before he is done without being fettered by such talk. Whether it has been fair or not, Manning has been scrutinized far more harshly than any other quarterback since Dan Marino for not being able to win a championship. This is based upon not only his talent and abilities, but I think probably it has also been fueled by jealousy. Personally, I have busted him from time to time since he can be an easy target. He’s tall, kind of goofy looking, kind of dorky and with his willingness to pitch just about every product under the sun, it is pretty easy to bust his chops now and again. But I will admit that much of that chop busting is born out of jealousy. Manning is uber talented, highly motivated, extremely prepared and very successful. All the work he does to be ready for each Sunday pays off, and because of it he makes it look very easy. In reality, it is not, it comes from his drive to be the best he can be. Most of us when we see someone succeed in such a fashion will develop feelings of jealousy. Why do things seemingly come so easily for him when the rest of us have to strive so hard just to get by? But the truth is, it is not easy. He works hard and diligently to be as good as he is, and his work ethic is infectious to the entire team. And he knows his success is not based upon his skills alone, but a result of those around him. I have seen a few interviews with Manning since the game, and in each one he is very gregarious and generous with praise for the team as a whole. He has said each time that he does not feel this is a personal accomplishment, he is happy to just be a part of a team that won the championship. What made him happiest was to be able to share this with all of his teammates, to be able to hug and congratulate everyone on the team that worked so hard to get them all there. I have blasted Manning before regarding throwing teammates under the bus, specifically calling out the protection problems he brought up to the press last year after their playoff loss. But I have felt that ultimately he is a team first type of guy, and everyone who knows or even spent some time with him echoes the same sentiment. It is great to see him give congratulations around to everyone, show he is a team guy and make me believe more than ever that those comments came from a place of frustration and anger at losing a winnable game and not from a selfish me first outlook. In his statements and interviews, he even went out of his way to speak of the play of his line. It would seem that Peyton truly understands how valuable the work those five gentlemen do really is. Because of his work ethic and attitude toward his teammates and how these things spread to everyone is one reason why since 1999 no team has won more games in the NFL than the Colts. And I imagine that this trend will probably continue for at least a few more years.

If you had any doubts who would win the game, you need only look at the quarterbacks. In the history of the game, the better quarterback always wins. In this year’s tilt, it was pretty obvious that Manning is a better quarterback than Grossman. Sometimes it can be painfully obvious, other times it can be more difficult to tell who is better, and a few times it comes down to who is better that day. In the Denver/Atlanta Super Bowl, it was obvious who the better quarterback in the game was. Going into the game, everyone knew that Elway was much better than his Atlanta counterpart Chris Chandler. Last year some thought Hasselbeck was the better quarterback, and he may have been. But ultimately, I think over time Roethlisberger will prove to be the superior quarterback. In the Denver/Green Bay Super Bowl, how do you pick between Brett Favre in his prime and an aging John Elway? Favre is the obvious pick, but on that day, Elway was the better leader. Perhaps one of the most difficult to choose was the 49ers/Dolphins Super Bowl. Montana versus Marino could be argued until the end of time precisely who is the superior quarterback. But Montana had the edge in having been there before and knew what it would take to win. Marino, unfortunately, did not and thus proving that the best rises to the top when the stakes are at their highest. Now, since football is the ultimate team game, it does not come down merely to which team has the better quarterback. It takes eleven gentlemen working in unison on offense, defense and special teams to win games. If one of those gentlemen fails, then the whole unit and the entire team will fail. This is not like baseball, where if one batter has an off night the team can still win, certainly not. In football, if the left tackle has an off night, the team loses. It takes the best effort from each and every person for a team to find themselves triumphant at the end of the game. But the quarterback can be seen as a window of the team. Since they are the leader of the offense, and most likely a team leader in the locker room as well, the quality of a team’s quarterback will show throughout the team. Any team will find themselves more confident and ready to perform at their highest at the end of a game if their field leader is someone like Joe Montana, but maybe not as sure of themselves or harboring doubts if the man at the helm is Jim Everett. So while quarterbacks are not the beginning, nor the end of a team’s ultimate success, they do play an integral role. So always look for the superior quarterback. It will give you a good idea how successful the team can be. And no, I have no explanation for the Giants/Ravens Super Bowl, since both Dilfer and Collins stunk in the game.

As I stated above, the better quarterback in this game was obviously Peyton and everyone knew that before the first offensive snap. For his efforts, Peyton was awarded the game’s MVP award. As I mentioned above, I felt the offensive line deserving but a highly unlikely choice, and I was proven correct. Looking at the traditional skill position players, I thought perhaps it would have gone to Dominic Rhodes for his stellar ground game performance. Alas, that did not come to be, but at least Rhodes got to share the Disney World commercial with Tony Dungy, which is an honor in itself. I suppose by granting him the MVP, this was a way for many writers to say to Manning, you are an excellent field leader and sorry about all the big game loser cracks and backhanded comparisons to Dan Marino. Although, to his credit, Manning has been saying that he has never felt there is anything wrong with being compared to Marino, considering how great of a quarterback Marino was, and to be mentioned in the same breath as the former Dolphin quarterback is an honor in itself. Being the stand up guy he is, he looked at those comparisons not as most have, that like Marino he is a great quarterback but cannot win the big game, but as a positive that few did, that he is on par with one of the all time greats and a hall of famer. Well, Peyton, enjoy that honor, plus the honor that one day you will be mentioned as a better quarterback than Marino and the honor that will come one day when people compare some hot young gunslinger to you. You have earned it.

So, with Manning’s new status as Super Bowl champion, there needs to be adjustments made to the best active quarterback in the league today. As before, this discussion is regarding current quarterbacks that are active in the league. Once retirement hits, some of these, if not all of them, will fall far on the list when compared to the greats that came before them. But still, in both active quarterbacks and retired greats, in my mind the discussion of who is the best signal caller starts and ends with championships. Sure, statistical brilliance and victories play a part, but with the ultimate goal of the game being bringing home the championship hardware, how many championships you win is what matters the most. It should be the one factor that skews every opinion poll regarding the subject, with the other factors used merely as tools to determine final seeding. Although this is a discussion for another day, using the above criteria, the best quarterbacks of all time are Terry Bradshaw, Bart Starr and Joe Montana. Starr, with two Super Bowl wins and three NFL championships, would be third, based upon the facts that it was a smaller league then and he ran an offense that relied heavily on the power sweep. Plus, it is hard to compare Super Bowls with NFL championships based upon how much the landscape of the NFL changed with the merging of the NFL and the AFL. Normally, with five rings I would put Starr in the pole position, but there is too much difference in the league between pre and post merger to be able to accurately compare the pre and post Super Bowl era teams. Bradshaw, with four Super Bowls, comes in second. A stellar quarterback with four Super Bowl victories and two Super Bowl MVP awards, he created a template for winning the big game. But number one would have to be Joe Montana, who also has four Super Bowl wins but also has an astounding three Super Bowl MVP awards. When the stage was the biggest, the lights their brightest and the pressure the most intense, no one was better than Joe Cool. Now, while you chew on that for a bit and create a new debate, below is the new ranking of the best quarterbacks in the game today.

1. Tie: Tom Brady – Stays here based upon his three Super Bowl victories. But now he is joined by…

1. Tie: Peyton Manning – With Sunday’s victory, he vaults from 5th on the list to a tie for first. If anyone else had more than one victory other than Brady, Peyton would be relegated to a tie for second. But since all the other active quarterbacks below have only one ring, Peyton grabs a share of the top spot. Why? Because statistically, Manning is the best quarterback in the game today. And before he hangs up his cleats for good, he will probably own all the significant quarterback records Brett Favre is methodically taking from Dan Marino. Speaking of which….

3 Brett Favre – Still on course to be a first ballot Hall of Fame entrant, Favre has announced his return for a 17th season. With a young, hungry and more experienced team behind him, Favre could not only make a run for the playoffs, but also wrap up grabbing all of the significant all time quarterback records from Dan Marino. I am sure watching Favre do this will cause Marino to break his own jaw as he congratulates Brett every week through clenched teeth. If anything, that will make watching Brett break records entertaining

4 Ben Roethlisberger – An excellent young quarterback who has not yet reached his full potential or his prime. Plus, he is the youngest quarterback on this list. Could easily move up on the list as time goes by and before he retires be at the top.

5 Brad Johnson – He still blows this theory out of the water, and will continue to do such until he retires. Since he is 38, that time may not be too long from now.


For those of you not watching America’s Game, well shame on you, you should be since it is excellent programming. But in case you missed it, they revealed the top three teams in the top twenty during the two days before the Super Bowl. The 1978 Steelers came in at #3, which is pretty good. Of all teams with multiple entries in the top 20, the Steelers trumped them all. The 1985 Bears hit at #2 and the 1972 Dolphins were #1. I was not surprised by this, since the Bears defense that year was unparalled and the Dolphins did go undefeated. Both were excellent teams and excellent choices for the top two spots. However, let us not overlook a few huge factors that seem to be left out when ranking the teams. Pittsburgh’s 1978 squad was a team that was Super Bowl experienced and far more potent on offense than it had ever been. The team also went on to win another championship the following year, bringing their total to four wins in six years. Also that season, they played in what is regarded as one of the best Super Bowls of all time against the defending champion Dallas Cowboys. They were in the midst of an unprecedented, and thus far unduplicated, run of excellence that still sets the standard for dynasties today. The Bears and Dolphins, on the other hand, the same cannot be said for them. That Bears team, while potent on offense and unbelievably devastating on defense, was merely a shooting star. They put together a season that could not be duplicated, not even by themselves. They had no long run of dominance, nor a string of championships. The Dolphins, while they did win another championship the next season, were neither dominant on offense or defense nor did they have a long run of success. If they did, they would be the team of the 70s and not the Steelers. The overlooked thing about that season is that they got more than a few lucky breaks, starting with the fact that they played the weakest schedule of any Super Bowl winning team. They played few teams with a winning record during the regular season, a season which at the time was two games shorter than it is today. I do not want to overlook nor minimize their accomplishment of going undefeated, since no matter who or when you play it is one of the pinnacles of success. Not once were they bested the entire season, and an accomplishment of that stature is next to impossible to obtain. But let us not forget that they had much in their favor that season that no team would have today. I am certainly not spreading sour grapes, since I am thrilled that Pittsburgh put two teams into the top seven, something no other team can say. And also, those Bears and Dolphins teams were very special and one of a kind and deserving of their rank, regardless of whatever else they accomplished before or after their magical seasons. But I just felt that perhaps these points should be made and not entirely glossed over.

With that being said, I cannot wait to watch the remaining twenty and hopefully twenty one, since I hope they make one on this years champion as well. None of the remaining twenty are ranked, but I know they still will be fascinating to watch; even I am sure the ones about the stupid Patriots. The people they interview are great, and the memories and stories they recall about their championship season are just mesmerizing to watch and hear. Listening to Mel Blount talk about the Mel Blount rule (in 1978 the NFL instituted the rule that states a defensive back may not make contact with a receiver beyond five yards past the line of scrimmage. Many around the league stated this rule was instituted because of Mel Blount and his penchant for punishing anyone in an opposing jersey that ventured into the Pittsburgh secondary, whether they had the ball or not) or Joe Greene talk about compensating for the decline in his physical game by increasing his mental game enthralled me. Hearing Mike Ditka talk about how coaching the Bears was a fulfillment of a dream and how that team was a motley crew that bonded with each other, their coaches and their city. Or George Seifert saying how superstitious he is and how it intensified in trying to lead a Super Bowl winner back to the championship in his very first year as a head coach while trying to replace the legendary Bill Walsh. These stories and so many more are captured in these episodes. Even if you are just a casual fan, you will find the history of these teams, their seasons and the NFL enthralling and a must watch show. I urge everyone to check out these wonderfully done and excellently produced pieces. They will be running all through the spring, so tune in each week. You will not be sorry.

Before we enter into the wasteland that is the football off season, let us catch up on a few tidbits from Pittsburgh and around the league.

Darren Perry, long time Pittsburgh defensive back and defensive back coach resigned a few weeks back after speaking with new coach Mike Tomlin. I know this is old news, and by now just about everyone knows that he was the only defensive coach to leave in the changing of the guard. Well, in this league if you are good you will always be able to find work. This week, it was announced that Perry will coach in the same capacity with the Oakland Raiders under new head coach Lane Kiffin. Darren, I know work is work, but come on, you are better than that. Here is hoping this is only a short stint and Darren can find work with a team soon that has a culture of winning, something he has become accustomed to after spending years at Pittsburgh and Penn State.

Pittsburgh center Jeff Hartings made his retirement official this week. He stated that the wear and tear on his body was becoming too much, and he did not want to get to a place where the rigors and long term injuries from the game would affect his life afterwards. He wanted to leave while he was still in relatively good health and able to play with his children instead of limping around due to chronic injuries. I do not blame him at all for this; especially knowing how demanding it is playing his position can be on a body. Already, Hartings is living without most of the cartilage in his left knee due to injury, which, I am sure will affect him down the road. I am glad he left while he is still able to and on his own terms. Although, I did feel weird about his retirement, because it made me feel like I have done so very little with my life. You see, I went to college with Jeff; we both attended Penn State at the same time. During my times at PSU, I worked for the one dining hall on campus that had a private dining room reserved just for the Nittany Lion football team. During my years there, I met quite a few of the players on the team. As with any large group of people, you will get a thorough mix of personalities. Some of the players were your typical spoiled jocks, and some were really great guys. Jeff fell into the latter group. He knew his physical talents could take him far, but he never let that affect how he saw the world, nor treated other people. I always thought he was one of the best gentlemen on the squad, regardless of how he played. Plus, he played guard, and being a former guard myself, I found it fascinating to meet and on occasion chat with someone who had what it took to play at the next level. I never did, but then again, I was not nearly as huge as Jeff. Perhaps that had something to do with it. Now, flash forward to 11 years after we both graduated and Jeff, who has done missionary work around the world, is retiring as a championship athlete and a millionaire to spend time with his family and start a church for people of all faiths. Me? Well, uhhh, I have a blog. Kind of makes you feel a touch unaccomplished. But since our lives have taken very different paths, I suppose it is not really fair to compare the two. But he does set a good example for many to follow. I wish Jeff all the best in his post football life and all the success in the world.

Congratulations go out to the latest inductees into the Pro Football Fall of Fame. This year’s class will include, in no particular order, Cleveland Browns guard Gene Hickerson, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Sanders, Buffalo Bills running back Thurman Thomas and St. Louis Cardinals cornerback Roger Wehrli. All are deserving of this honor, and more than a few of these gentlemen have been waiting for far too long. A note to all of the hall voters out there, you can induct more than six per class, start raising that number. There are some long overdue linemen out there who need to be enshrined and now. Without these men, all those skill position players you keep inducting would not have a career to speak of. Put in the men who truly make the good things happen. And also, put in former commissioner Paul Tagliabue. Sure, it may seem too obvious to vote him in, especially right after he retired, but the era of prosperity and labor peace he brought to the league is unparalled. He is a very humble and unassuming man who through his intelligence and leadership was able to move the NFL forward to heights never before imagined, and rarely did he feel the need to trumpet his own contributions for the successes that followed. He deserves to be honored among the greats of the game. Remember, if he did not do his job so well, you would not have a job to do at all. So get off your duffs and do the right thing on this one as well.

The Hall of Fame weekend, as always, will conclude with the playing of the annual Hall of Fame game. This year’s tilt will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New Orleans Saints on August 5th. This game will give Pittsburgh and New Orleans some extra time in camp, as the two teams featured in this game are allowed to report to camp a week early. This is particularly good for Pittsburgh, because they could use some extra time with their new coach. I also found out an interesting rule that states any team that has a new head coach is allowed to have one additional mini camp during the off season. Well, they will need that too. This is still a Super Bowl caliber team, and they need to show it this season. Strike while the iron is still hot, guys. Make your goal to be cavorting in a confetti shower in Arizona.

Dallas has not named a head coach as of yet. They spoke with both Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and Colts assistant head coach Jim Caldwell this week, but no word or indication as of yet as to who will lead the Cowboys next season. The front runner still seems to be Norv Turner, and mostly because of his ability to develop young quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see what move Jerry Jones will make.

Philadelphia quarterback Jeff Garcia is harping about money. After helping to save the Eagles season, Garcia, who is a free agent, wants a new contract commiserate with his worth. What Jeff did for the Eagles was admirable, and at bargain basement prices for the NFL. But at this stage in his career, Jeff knows his next contract may be his last. So now his decision for his future will hinge on one decision. Should he go for a big paycheck or go for his best chance at the elusive championship? A tough decision for sure, but Garcia should keep one thing in mind. Money comes and goes, but a championship is forever.

In other Eagle news, head coach Andy Reid has some major family issues on his hands with both of his sons mixed up in various traffic altercations and drug usage. We see this kind of thing all the time in our world, and it is sad no matter who is involved. It becomes much more intensified and scrutinized when the parties involved are the children of the rich and the famous. One thing I wonder about is if the incredible time demands that come from helming an NFL franchise take away from needed parenting time. Is the time Reid is using leading men on a football field affecting the time he needs to be leading his sons in becoming men and in life? I hope this is not the case, and their actions come from boys being rebellious and taking such rebellion too far. One thing is for sure, I hope the Reid’s are able to show their sons the dangers of the paths in life they are flirting with, and how ultimately they lead to nothing but sadness and self destruction.

It would seem the love affair between the Denver Broncos and Jake Plummer will soon come to an official end. Word is the Broncos may be looking to trade Plummer sometime during the off season and hand the reins officially over to Jay Cutler. Look for this to happen, if it indeed will come to pass, around draft time.

Well, the only game left to follow is the Pro Bowl, and hardly anyone watches that. I find the Pro Bowl to be more of an excuse for a bunch of buddies to hang out in a tropical location for a week and then run through some plays at the end in some garish free shirts they give out. Maybe I am wrong, but I bet I could bust one for 50 yards in the Pro Bowl. Now, I am certainly not saying I am Pro Bowl caliber, no no no. What I am saying is the competition might not be what you would see on a normal Sunday. Regardless, I think I will pick the AFC. I would usually go with the NFC since the AFC won the Super Bowl, but with Belichick coaching the AFC teams, I bet he plays to win. Belichick hates to lose, and I bet he works it extra hard for this game, especially since he does not want his last game of the season to be a loss. I must admit, I caught a bit of coverage of the Pro Bowl, and it was interesting seeing Belichick there, joshing with the players and being downright open and gregarious, well, at least for him. Considering all of their past failures in the AFC championship game, I became used to seeing Bill Cowher prowl the sidelines in Hawaii. For a while, I began to wonder if he was just using it as a free family vacation. I wonder if Belichick will get so spoiled there this week he will begin to do the same. One can only hope. Something to ponder during the off season.

I received excellent feedback regarding the idea for the Super Bust. In case you missed it, check out the The Crystal Ball the Super Bowl column. Commissioner Goodell, people want to see this game. This needs to happen. If the wheels do not start turning, I will be knocking on your door.

There are two stories of import that have been getting more, and much needed, press as of late. I have been reading as much as I can regarding both issues, and I would like to pass along some of what I have found to you.

The first story involves the severity, frequency and long term damage of concussions. This has been a major hot button topic in the NFL for some time. As players get faster, stronger and hit harder, the severity and frequency of concussions has risen. However, not much more than talk has been done to help combat this issue. The NFL may soon have their hand forced to take real action.

This story recently appeared in the press, regarding former player Ted Johnson, a star on the Patriots Super Bowl winning teams. Johnson, who retired two years ago and now is only 34, has a multitude of problems stemming from multiple concussions from his playing days including memory loss, loss of short term memory, addiction to pain killers, depression and early signs of Alzheimer’s disease. These are things that will affect him for the rest of his life, and for a man who is only 34, there is a lot of life in front of him. He states he knew when the initial damage came, from playing full contact too soon after suffering a concussion in a pre season game. Johnson also levels accusations that he was put into full contact situations too soon by head coach Bill Belichick, and the coaches actions are what led directly to him sustaining additional concussions, ending his career and ultimately to where he is today. The ramifications of the story could be long reaching, if Johnson is successful in his fight to bring this issue to the public and to a head. It could also be devastating to the Patriots, since players will shy away from playing for a coach if they believe he may threaten their long term health. At the very least, it causes a huge chink in the armor of the Patriot organization and takes away from some of the things I said about them being an organization to be emulated. Johnson’s condition deteriorated with each successive concussion, to the point where according to neurologists, the typical post concussion symptoms people experience are now most likely permanent in Johnson. Another frightening revelation from the article that the suicide of former player Andre Waters last year was directly linked to brain damage suffered on the football field.

A sad example of how this damage, suffered during the playing days, can shape a player’s post football life can be found in the story of former Steelers center Mike Webster. Webster for years took the NFL to task regarding how head injuries suffered during his career affected his life after he left the game. Webster’s trials in life after football reached many lows, including periods of isolation from his family that eventually resulted in divorce and even went so low that there were times this former Pro Bowl, Super Bowl champion and Hall of Fame player was living in his car. Webster’s condition included memory loss, depression and dementia. Webster knew that the trials he suffered in life were caused by the punishment and injuries he suffered on the football field, and tried mightily to get the NFL to acknowledge this and have the Players union pay him the disability money he was owed. Unfortunately, Webster never saw a conclusion to his efforts. He sadly passed away before any decision was ever made. His family took up the mantle of his crusade, and ultimately won a decision. It was shown that the damage he suffered as a player did affect his life after football. Unfortunately, it was far too late for it to have any positive effect in his life. Perhaps, though, it can have a positive affect on the lives of other former players.

The culture of the NFL cultivates the notion of being tough and playing hurt, but this mindset can create many long term injuries and cause former players to suffer long after their playing days have concluded. No player is under an illusion that what they do is safe or easy. All players in the league know the dangers of their profession and what can happen. But players will throw themselves back out onto the field, oftentimes far sooner than they should. Many will never report injuries, just continue to play through the pain. Often this is done not through some sort of notion of strength, but out of fear of losing their jobs. Since competition for jobs in the NFL is fierce, once a player obtains a starting position, they will do everything to keep it. Many players fear if they are out for a long period of time with an injury, someone younger, faster or better will come along and take it from them. Unfortunately, this fear is not unfounded, as we see this occur all the time. So, to avoid losing their jobs, players will take the field injured to avoid a demotion or unemployment, thus exposing themselves to further injury, shorter careers and long term health issues.

And we as fans love to see these gentlemen play hurt. There is a certain nobility that comes from it that appeals to all of us. It derives from the idea of overcoming any obstacle to succeed, even if it is pain and injury. A willingness to sacrifice yourself for the greater good, a trait we would all like to see within ourselves and, with the game of football, can see manifested in a physical form from countless players on countless Sunday afternoons. It is one of the appealing aspects of football, and everyone involved knows it and it may be one of the many reasons players push themselves past previously thought limits to take the field of battle each week and coaches push players back onto the field as soon as possible.

Of course one of the reasons coaches push players back into play is also the need to win in the hyper competitive game of football. Coaches are constantly trying to win football games, not only for the drive to succeed, or the drive to win championships, but just to keep their jobs as well. With competitiveness between franchises and within the league reaching all time highs, owners are far more scrutinizing of their coaches than ever before. If a coach has a few bad seasons, owners are more than ready to jettison them and bring in the next hot thing. In years past, players were looked upon as disposable and coaches as kings of individual fiefdoms, but no longer. Nowadays, coaches are far more expendable than players for a litany of reasons. A star player will last far longer than a coach, because that player is the draw the fans come to see. A star player is who brings in the fans, revenue and publicity to an organization. They are the drawing card for many teams, not the coach. Even coaches who have reached the top of the profession and are well known are no longer the draw. Do you think Dallas fans were coming out to see Bill Parcells, or were they coming out to see Tony Romo and Terrell Owens? If you doubt any of this, look to the Atlanta Falcons as a perfect example. Jim Mora is a decent coach, and he was only on the job for four seasons. Do you think that is enough time to really build a team, to put together a strong core of players and to drive home a philosophy and plan of winning? Perhaps it is, or perhaps not. But since he had one of the biggest stars on his roster, everyone felt he should be winning and winning big. When he had two seasons in a row that were under expectations, Mora was shown the door. Atlanta owner Arthur Blank certainly was not going to give up on his underachieving star Michael Vick; that is his cash cow. Vick brings people into the stadium, both his and to the stadiums of other teams. Sales of Vick merchandise line his pockets. He is the face of the franchise. So if he is doing poorly, and the team is doing poorly as well, it must be the fault of the coach. With this attitude of job insecurity pervasive throughout the league, with the notable exceptions being Pittsburgh and perhaps recently Indianapolis and a few others, some coaches will do whatever it takes to win and keep their jobs, even if it means sacrificing the long term health of the men under their charge. But even though the players know the risks and take them in their hands willingly as they gird up each week, or sometimes hesitantly, that should not stop the league from working to ensure their safety and continue to look for ways of improving it.

The time for the NFL to do something is now, and they need to step in to protect not only their players, but their reputation and standing as the most popular sport in the country and one of the most popular in the world. Changing the culture and mindset of playing hurt may never go away. This attitude has been present in the league since its inception when men played without helmets. There is very little that the league can do about that. And I doubt very much there is anything the league itself can do about the hiring practices of teams and how they handle the business of their coaches. I imagine that if in the future we see more teams sticking with one coach over long periods of time and that coach shows consistent success, many other teams will want to emulate that pattern. But that is a change that will take time, and will only work itself out. What the NFL can do is work to keep injured players off the field and to protect the players when they are on the field itself.

The best way to avoid future concussions is to avoid situations where you can get one, and the best way to do that is to keep the players on the bench. While rule changes can sometimes be tedious or over reactionary, they can also be helpful. Outlawing helmet to helmet hits and hits that lead with the head in 1995 has led to a sharp decrease in head and spinal injuries. Perhaps it is time for the NFL to add new legislation and create a mandatory time of inaction for players after suffering a concussion. Considering it can take time for the post concussion effects to pass, the NFL may want to look into mandating that any player sit out the next two games or two weeks after suffering a concussion. Since one of the biggest dangers from someone suffering a concussion is the increased risk of suffering another concussion shortly thereafter, this could help keep them out of situations where they would be exposed to that potential risk. It would also give the player time to rest and concentrate on getting well.

As for on the field protection, the NFL should mandate all players protect themselves with the best equipment. Technology of equipment has improved in the game, and the Riddell Revolution anti concussion helmet is one of the few products out there that has been shown to reduce the damage that can be inflicted upon players. However, this helmet is not mandatory in the NFL, and many players opt not to use it for various reasons, including such asinine reasons as aesthetics. The time for the NFL to mandate this helmet be used by all players is well past, and the league needs to step in to add protection to those who bring in the revenues and the fans. I would hate to see this issue come down to something tragic happening to a star player to force this issue. The NFL should be proactive in player safety, and not wait until a star is permanently disabled or killed before they take action. Do not spend a season second guessing or wondering what if like NASCAR did in the wake of the death of Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR did not mandate head and neck restraints, leaving the usage of such devices to the discretion of the driver. After their brightest star was killed on the track, they immediately mandated their usage. But is should not have come to that, and I hope it will not in the NFL either. Do something now, before you are forced to do something when you have more and more former players like Ted Johnson, Andre Waters and Mike Webster hanging over your heads. No one wants to see that.

The other issue that needs to be addressed by the league is regarding the well being of former players and the disability issues they face and the retirement and disability benefits they receive. This issue, which includes concussions and head trauma but encompasses many other disabilities that former players face, is one that unfortunately does not get much press at all. The NFL Players Union has been slow to act, and at times seemingly disinterested in the concerns of former players. The league office itself has also been slow to act, at times giving the concerns little more than lip service and others seemingly defensive about the subject. Many of these former players find themselves left out in the cold, long after their playing days and worth to the NFL have past, with bodies racked with lingering injuries that were suffered upon the field of play. It is difficult to find a multitude of information regarding the subject, as those who are fighting for disability and improved retirement benefits do not have a well known spokesperson to spearhead their cause, nor are they a part of an organization that can give them a united front. Many players are fighting this battle on their own. It seems absurd to think that these players would need disability payments and retirement benefits, or not be able to get the best care since we live in a world where players make enormous amounts of money. But many of these former players were not in the rarefied air of stars nor did they make huge sums of money, and most played in a time where even the big money of their era would seem like pocket change in today’s NFL. Unfortunately, long term care for many injuries takes a lot of money and many players are not able to get that care without receiving disability. There are many efforts from various people to bring light to the plight of many of these former athletes. Some of the most notable and vocal proponents for assisting former players and improving benefits have been former linebacker Carl Banks and former player and coach Mike Ditka. Former receiver Ron Dixon has been working on developing a health and disability insurance program for athletes to help protect them against career ending injuries. And there are many other former players out there working tirelessly to improve retirement benefits for themselves and their brethren who helped make the league what it is today. But until they can unite under one banner, or a major star of the league will step forward and help champion their cause, their fight may continue to go unnoticed. The NFL and the Players Association need to do the right thing to make sure these men, who helped build the league into what it is today on their blood, sweat and tears, are properly taken care of and cared for now. They gave everything they had to the game of football without question; give something back to them now when they need it most.

Now, there is one last thing I need to do, and that is to wrap up my record for the season. With my final prediction proving correct, this brings our final season record to the following.

Last Week: 1-0
Playoffs to Date: 6-5
Season to Date: 156-111

Overall, not too bad, and it certainly was no worse than most of the self proclaimed experts. Plus, it gives me something to improve upon next year.

Well, that seems to bring us to the end. After 52 pre season games, 256 regular season games, 11 playoff games and 1 Pro Bowl, the 2006 NFL season is officially over. And with it, so are we. But fear not, loyal reader (s), The Crystal Ball will return next season. I may have a special around draft time, and perhaps one or two during training camp. I have not decided about draft time, since I know very little about gauging talent, but it might be a fun exercise. And I need to do at least one during camp; I will have to get in shape for the season just like anyone else. So look for us then. In the meantime, get out of the house! Do something active on your Sundays, read some books, or other great columns featured here that do not involve football. Yes, a shameless plug, what can I say, I learn from TV. Or perhaps you could take a hike in the mountains, ride a bike or sky dive. Do something each Sunday to make up for a sheer lack of nothing you will be doing this fall. And look, I did not need to wait until next year to hit 10,000 words. I went over 11,000 this time. Told you I would do it soon. The goal for next season, a 15,000 word column. So rest everyone, by fall I will be even more verbose than usual, and you will need your stamina. See you next season.

The Crystal Ball The Super Bowl

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts February 2, 2007.


Welcome one and all to Super Bowl XLI. The 41st edition of the biggest football game of the year will kickoff on Sunday and has turned from small idea to pseudo holiday. How did we get here so fast? I know two weeks is a long time, but is it just me or did it seem like the time flew by? Last year, it felt like an eternity before Super Bowl Sunday actually arrived. Perhaps because I was so anxious watching that water boil. I imagine that is how Colts and Bears fans are feeling right now. I do recall last year watching NFL network every night for two straight weeks, absorbing every detail and minor piece of information. It mattered not to me how inconsequential the information was, I wanted to know. If I did not know it, I found it out. And if I could not, then I felt I was missing something from the experience, and I wanted to experience everything possible. Not that I did, though, since I was nowhere near Detroit when kickoff occurred. No matter, when Pittsburgh retools this year and makes another run, I will be in Arizona when they take the field next year. Good times to be had. But before we get to next year, we have a small matter yet to determine. Who will carry the mantle of Super Bowl Champions for the next twelve months?

As we gird ourselves for this edition of the Super Bowl, I would like to take a moment to look back at how the game has changed and how the Super Bowl has gone from an idea that almost faltered to the extravaganza it is today. When the Super Bowl was first played in 1966, it was viewed by many as nothing more than an exhibition game. The upstart AFL had been nipping at the established NFL for six years by this point. The NFL had survived and buried many upstart leagues during its tenure, but the AFL was a new challenge. The AFL had a large number of teams led by owners who had wanted to be in the NFL but were denied a franchise and therefore motivated to succeed. They had cities where there were no NFL franchises, and could thus bring the people out who were looking for some professional football. They also were shrewd in that they placed a few teams in cities that did have NFL franchises, thus giving the football consumer a choice in how to spend their pro football dollar and bringing the competition directly to the NFL. And to keep the turnstiles moving, they had an exciting style of football centered around high powered, high flying offenses. In a battle that began with the first season of play, they also fought hard to get the best players out of college, beating the NFL many times in acquiring big name, big talent men. And most importantly, they had money. The competition for players drove up salaries to heights no one who played the game ever thought they would reach. Most players up until this point in NFL history had regular jobs in the off season, and most held them down during the season as well. Salaries, which by today’s standards would seem quaint, were growing at an astronomical rate. The NFL saw that they could be beaten by this upstart, exciting league, and did three things that I believe helped create football as we know it today. One, they began expanding. They awarded franchises in cities that had been begging for one, cities such as Atlanta and New Orleans. Two, they decided to merge the two leagues, incorporating the AFL into the NFL, absorbing the teams, restructuring them into two conferences and eliminating any outside competition. The original NFL teams would form the NFC conference, and the AFL teams would join the AFC conference. The merger officially took place in 1970. And three, they created a championship game to be played between the two conferences. This championship game was to be first played in 1966. Since the merger would not take effect until 1970, and the conferences would not form until then, the two leagues decided that the NFL champion would play the AFL champion until the two leagues became one. The two separate league championships became the basis for the NFC and AFC championship games. A fun fact regarding the merger is that there were not enough teams for the AFC to equal the NFC. At that time the NFL had 16 teams and the AFL had 10. To even this out, three teams were asked to join the AFC. These teams were the Cleveland Browns, who were once a part of the AAFC league in the 40’s, the Baltimore Colts, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So the first championship game, or Super Bowl as it became known as, was a meeting of league champions between the AFL and NFL. Some looked upon is as merely an exhibition, since the NFL was regarded by most as the stronger of the two leagues. The AFL looked upon this as their chance to shine. Many in the NFL world were frightened of what it would mean if the AFL won the game, and tremendous pressure to win was brought to bear upon the Vince Lombardi and the Green Bay Packers, who were the NFL’s first entrant into the new game. The Packers and Lombardi ultimately prevailed, and did again the following year. The AFL showed they could compete with the NFL teams and the impending new league in the third Super Bowl when AFL entrant the New York Jets defeated the heavily favored Colts, and AFL teams solidified their standing in Super Bowl IV with a Kansas City win over the Minnesota Vikings. Since then, it has been a competition between conferences as opposed to leagues, and the game and league itself has grown exponentially each year since the merger. But the first Super Bowl had its share of issues. They did not know what to call the game, coming up with the name when Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, in a joking manner, referred to it as the Super Bowl after seeing his children playing with a super ball. Hunt had meant for the name to be a stopgap, until a more suitable name could be found, but Super Bowl stuck. And the game was not popular at first. There was a scramble to fill the Rose Bowl for the first game, with some tickets even being given away. Now, you almost have to sell body parts to obtain tickets these days, which seems in odd contrast to the humble beginnings. And after the Packers won the first two games, many thought the idea, and the merger itself, might fail since many perceived that the AFL was lesser competition than the NFL. Luckily for all of us, the Jets and the Chiefs took care of that perception.

Despite the rough start, from the beginning the foundations for what we see today were in place. Television coverage for the first game was intensified more than any other game, and today we see more coverage both before and of the game itself than any other sporting event. Then commissioner Pete Rozelle wanted this game to be special, and made sure that all stops were pulled out in not only advertising, but in the pomp and circumstance. He wanted it to be more than just a game, but an event. Pre game ceremonies and lavish halftime shows were incorporated, and set the basis for what we see today. The tradition that started then has given way to shows that feature some of the biggest performers in the world vying for an opportunity to be a part of the biggest game of the year. Rozelle’s idea of the game being an event took off, and now many people and businesses use the Super Bowl as the focus of their year. Businesses pull out all the stops to debut commercials during the game, where prices for ad space have risen to $2.6 million for 30 seconds of air time. Snack food, fast food, soda, catering, party planning, electronics and beer companies along with venue rentals, clubs, bars, and sports bars amongst others see a large spike in business leading up to and during the game. Gambling, sports books and casinos see an abundance of betting done over Super Bowl weekend. Betting on a winner is no longer just an option, you can bet on everything including who wins the coin toss, first fumble, first touchdown, final score, number of field goals and on and on. If there is something to be determined by the end of the game, somebody somewhere is ready to take a bet on it. People from all walks of life gather together and indulge in a variety of foods, beverages and social interaction all to watch the game. Planning and hosting a Super Bowl party has become a cottage industry in itself, with many businesses offering catering, planning and hosting services, and many others offering how to's, menu planning and even games to play before, during and after the game itself. The Super Bowl has gone from small idea that had many opportunities to fail to a de facto holiday, where celebrations abound all across the land. A fair portion of these have very little to do with the actual game itself, with many using the day as merely an opportunity, or excuse, to gather with friends and celebrate. In some cases, there are parties that are geared around the commercials themselves, with the game being merely filler between advertising breaks. The game has come a very long way from its humble beginnings. I think Pete Rozelle would be amazed, impressed, proud and maybe even a bit frightened by all that has become of this little idea, spawned from the merging of two leagues.

There is so much more information about the Super Bowl out there, that I could go on and on. If you are interested in it, there are many fine books and websites that contain interesting facts and stories regarding the history of the NFL, the Super Bowl, the teams and players and much more. Everything from players in the first game, to the history of home versus away teams, how each are designated for the game and when home teams were first given the option of what jerseys the wished to wear can be found. Since I found this out, I have to share it. Teams designated as the home team were first allowed to choose their jersey starting with Super Bowl XIII. Before that, if you were the designated home team, you just wore your home jerseys. Since then, only a handful of teams designated as the home team have chosen to wear their road uniforms. Those teams are the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII (they lost), Dallas in Super Bowl XXVII (they won), the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVII (they won), and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL (they won). I guess it pays to go against the grain sometimes. Take a moment to check out this and all of the other fascinating stories, factoids and history of the game and league, you will be entertained.

Now, our combatants for Super Bowl XLI are the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. Let us take a gander at each team.

The Chicago Bears are one of the oldest franchises in the NFL, founded in 1919 as the Decatur Staleys. They moved to Chicago in 1920, and were renamed the Bears in 1922. The Bears storied history also includes 26 Hall of Fame players, owners and administrators. The Bears have had a rich history in which they have had some of the greatest players to play the game on their team. Players with names like Butkus, Sayers, Nagurski and Payton. They have won nine NFL championships in their existence, including Super Bowl XX against the New England Patriots. The team from that year is regarded as one of the best teams of all time, and arguably the best defense of all time. After their destruction of the Patriots, both head coach Mike Ditka and defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, architect of the famed “46” defense, were carried off the field. The duel coach carry is a move that had never been done before or has been duplicated since. The 2006 Bears, the designated home team for Super Bowl XLI, come into the game with a record of 15-3, including two dominating playoff victories. This Bears team shows it belongs with Bears teams of yore, with a stifling defensive unit and an offense capable of beating opponents with the big pass play and a punishing one two punch at running back. The Bears will go early and often to running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson, working to soften up the Indianapolis front seven, then unleash Rex Grossman with the deep pass. The Bears defensive strategy will be as it has been all season, punish the opposition. Led by perennial pro bowler Brian Urlacher, the Bears run a 4-3 defensive front with a cover 2 secondary designed to take away the big play and stuff runners at the line of scrimmage. The Bears have been stung on defense this year with the loss of defensive stalwart Tommie Harris to injury. And while some have noted their defensive production fell of near the end of the season, the team still finished the season allowing the third fewest points in the league.

The Indianapolis Colts have not existed as long as the Chicago Bears, but have a rich history as well, one that has seen them play in quite a few cities during their time in the NFL. Originally started in 1947 as the Miami Seahawks, the Colts moved to Baltimore in 1950. After a disastrous season, the team was sold to a Dallas businessman who moved the team to Texas and remained them the Dallas Texans, a name that coincidentally would be the original moniker of the AFL Kansas City Chiefs 9 years later. Another poor season left the franchise in shatters, and they became wards of the NFL, left to play out their games from a temporary home base in Hershey Pennsylvania. In 1953, Carroll Rosenbloom won the rights to a Baltimore franchise, and resurrected the team, where they remained until 1984 when owner Robert Irsay moved the team to Indianapolis under cover of night, a controversial move that is still a point of contention with many Baltimore natives. Many old Baltimore Colts and fans look to the Indianapolis franchise as separate from their beloved Colts, and the new Ravens as an extension of those teams of yore. The NFL looks upon the Colts as one continuous franchise, and the Ravens as an expansion, but many older Colts fans beg to differ. Colt legends of the past are known to frequent Ravens games, and the Ravens have even adopted the old Colts marching band, that was a staple for years at old Memorial Stadium. The Colts have won 4 NFL championships, including the 1958 championship against the New York Giants, a game that many point to as the greatest game ever played and a turning point in NFL history toward the game we see today. They famously lost Super Bowl III to the New York Jets, but followed that loss with a win in Super Bowl V against the burgeoning Dallas Cowboys. The Colts, both the Indianapolis and Baltimore versions, have 11 players and coaches enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The 2006 Colts will most likely have more than a few enshrines as well, starting with quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning is one of the best quarterbacks in the game today, and possibly one of the all time best. He is the face of an organization that has amassed a 2006 record of 15-4 heading into Sunday’s game. He leads an offense replete with weapons at both receiver and running back. Manning will direct an offense for Super Bowl XLI that will see receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne stretching the field, H-Back Dallas Clark working the seams and running backs Joseph Addai speeding from the backfield and Dominic Rhodes pounding up the middle. The Colts offense can be explosive, but is smart and experienced enough to take what the defense is offering; keeping the field and time of possession and wearing down a defense with their no huddle play calls. The defense has been known as a finesse defense, even though they run a similar setup as the Bears. They gave up a league worst in total rushing yardage this season, but have stepped up their game in the post season, holding down rushing teams such as the Chiefs and Ravens. With defensive end Dwight Freeney coming after Grossman, the Colts will look to pressure the young quarterback into mistakes and stifle a powerful Bears running game.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are your entrants for Super Bowl XLI. Pick your favorite and root them to victory. Or, pick your least favorite and root them to oblivion, since people rarely remember the losers of the Super Bowl. I know who I am rooting for; it is a pretty easy call. I will spend Sunday rooting for the Colts. Why you may ask? Well, I have a few reasons.

One, they beat the Patriots. That alone is enough for me to cheer them on to victory. I know also that I am not alone on this one by any stretch of the imagination.

Two, I am an AFC guy. Unless it is certain teams (read Patriots, Raiders and Ravens and I could even be talked into the Ravens and with enough booze the Raiders) I am going to root for the AFC team to win the Super Bowl. Unless Philadelphia is playing and Pittsburgh is not, only then I will go NFC. But with a few minor exceptions, I root AFC all the way. You have to support your conference; you always want to be a part of those on top.

And three, I am rooting for Tony Dungy. Tony is a class act all the way, an excellent coach, builder of men, a great teacher and leader who has been around football and the NFL for thirty years and has given back to the league far more than he has taken from it. And even though he masterfully resurrected a Buccaneers franchise that was nothing more than a joke and an afterthought, a team that fired him and then let another coach take them to the Super Bowl, he has been unfairly labeled as a good coach who cannot win the big game. Bill Cowher had that until last year, and now he is a winner. It is time for Tony Dungy to be a winner too. Plus, Tony is a former Steelers player and coach, who was a defensive coordinator under Chuck Noll and you always support those who spent some time in the Burgh. Especially those who helped bring a championship to the Steel City. And speaking of supporting former Steelers, one additional former coach on the Colts is to be cheered on, offensive coordinator Tom Moore. Tom was the offensive coordinator under Chuck Noll at the same time Dungy was the defensive coordinator. I think between the two of them, they have enough vibe from Noll and those Steelers to pull one off on Sunday.

Now I must admit I will have a little trouble rooting for Colts. I do not like rooting for teams that abandoned their original city. Allow me to clarify this a bit. I am not talking about the Cleveland Rams, who moved to LA after one season. Or the Chiefs, who were the Dallas Texans for one year then left because they could not compete with the Cowboys and Kansas City was salivating at the prospect of getting a professional football team. Those circumstances are different. Those moves occurred during a time when pro football was still trying to become something. During these times, pro football was not even competing with baseball as the number one sport, but with college ball as the number one football game. What I am talking about are teams from the last 30 years, when the NFL was on the rise, and moving teams became a way to extort money from taxpaying fans and cities to fund new stadiums. If a team wanted a funded stadium, they could just hold their city hostage until they either ponied up the money, or another city did the same. Super Bowl XXXIV was my least favorite Super Bowl, because each team had abandoned their former cities and fan bases for quick cash and new digs. Yes, it was one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever, but it felt hollow to me. Do not get me wrong, I am not stupid or naive; I understand that football is a business, and a business does what is best to keep itself viable and healthy. But we put different standards to sports and teams, for right or wrong. We look to teams as an identity of sorts. Who you follow and who you support says something about you, where you are from, and who you are. Newer teams do not have the years of tradition as older teams have amassed, although their fans still have a connection with them. A team forms a bond with a city and its fans, one that is established over many years. The city and its fans identify with the team, in both their successes and failures. The team in many ways becomes a part of their identity, and when you take that away it can be devastating. Baltimore fans love the Ravens, but still miss the Colts. The same could be said about Houston natives and their relationships with both the Texans and the Titans. Clevelanders fought hard to keep their Browns, even going so far as to hold onto the Browns legacy in court until they could get a new team. You may argue that it is unfair to hold teams to these standards, and I can see your point. Personally, however, what sports means to us as a society and as fans, things like loyalty, identity and community, goes beyond merely being a business, which some owners understand and others never will. And for that, I will root for the Colts, but in a muted way. The people of Baltimore deserve that much.

Moving on, there are a few loose ends to wrap up from news around the league. I know, who would have thought there are 30 other teams right now?

It is official; Brett Favre will be playing another year for the Packers. I know the older Favre gets, the more divisive his playing becomes. Some think he should retire, hang them up and stop tarnishing his image and stunting the organization’s growth into the post Favre era. Others say play as long as he wants, he has earned it. I myself have vacillated on this, but I tend to lean toward the latter. It is hard for an athlete to know when to hang them up. When you do, that is it. Playing professional sports is not like any other profession in that if you want to take a break, no problem. With sports, because of the rigors on your body, and how athleticism declines with age, once you are out, you are out. There is no going back, no return to form, no second coming. Many athletes have tried this to varying degrees of success. Michael Jordan won three championships in his second stint with the Bulls, but he was still young enough at the time. His two seasons with the Wizards were more telling of how an elite athlete cannot compete on the same level he once did. The same was proven true with Mario Lemieux and his second go around with the Penguins. As of right now, Favre still has skills, he has excellent leadership and he is great for the Packers. This year, he had some talent on the team, and it showed. They had a much better season than the previous one, and barely missed the playoffs. With those players gaining a year of experience, who knows, we could see one final run from Favre and the Pack before he rides off into the sunset.

Coach Mike Tomlin as filled out his staff and the coaches for the 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers are now finalized. I am glad to hear this, and all I have to say is, when do we start playing games?

In other Steeler news, center Jeff Hartings retired this week, ending an 11 year pro career. Hartings first played for the Detroit Lions as a guard after being drafted out of Penn State. Jeff then signed with Pittsburgh in 2001 and was moved to center, a position he had never played previously. But, his experience on the line, skills and work ethic transformed him into not just a center, but a leader on the line and in the offense. He joined the ranks of previous Steeler center greats that have held the position for the last 40 years. You thought Pittsburgh was stable at the coaching position, check out their center position. Their centers since 1964 have been Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings. So after seeing just the third Steeler coach named in 37 years, we will see just the fifth Steeler starting center in 43 years. Now, that is enough, no more change this off season. I cannot take anymore. Keep everything else intact, and I will calm myself. Deal?

Also, Heinz Field was voted the worst grass surface in the NFL in a poll of players. They were second to last behind Gillette Stadium, but the Patriots replaced their surface with Field Turf midway through the season, thus relegating Pittsburgh to last place. Kind of makes you proud in a weird sort of way, does it not?

The New York Daily News has reported that Miami detectives have interviewed Chad Johnson regarding an ongoing investigation about the shooting death of a 27 year old man in a Miami neighborhood. Could #85 be the 10th Bengal arrested? Say it ain’t so Chad!

There is word going around regarding the Cowboys coaching search. Jerry Jones has been a big proponent of new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, but is concerned regarding his level of experience and is looking to keep him as the offensive coordinator for a season or two. Jones has also been looking at former Dallas offensive coordinator and current 49er coordinator Norv Turner. Turner’s track record as a head coach as been mediocre, but the offenses that he put together in Dallas were some of the best. But now, Dallas may be waiting to speak with Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera before making a decision. Rivera’s name has been floating around for a few years in association with head coaching vacancies, and he had an interview with Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. Dallas has made no decision as of late, but stay tuned, Jerry Jones hates to be out of the media limelight for too long.

This weekend I am proudly hosting my first Super Bowl party. This is something I am hoping to make a yearly tradition, since I have had fun at some in the past, and others, well not so much. Everyone has their own take on the Super Bowl party, and I have decided to create my own. No decorations are needed, but I do have a Gatorade bucket that will be filled with beer and soda. The menu is exactly what you would expect for a Super Bowl party. Meatballs, wings, guacamole, nachos, salsa, cheese, chips and dip will be served. And most important, you have to have a team and be a fan. Sure, a party for party’s sake is fine, but this is football, and the last we will see of it for months. No, the Pro Bowl does not count. I want people who love to be entertained not only by the commercials, but also by the game itself. Those who are invited are big fans, great people and fantastic friends, and I cannot wait for them to come on over, have some tasty treats and beverages and laugh, joke and talk football and commercials. It will be a great start to a new tradition. Is it Sunday yet?

So, I am sitting around last weekend, basically bouncing off the walls suffering from football withdraw. By Sunday evening, I was flopping around like Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting and watching Super Bowl recap shows on the NFL Network desperate for any fix I could get. Getting a taste of Sundays with no football did not agree with me. But I thought to myself, why do we need this early reminder of what the next seven months will be? Cannot we prolong this withdraw until after the Pro Bowl? Yes, I know, the Pro Bowl barely counts as football, but it is something, and as the long dark winter of the off season approaches, you always enjoy that one last sunny day, even if the day is cold and windy. But I kept coming back to last weekend. What could we do to have some football between the championship games and the Super Bowl? Sure you could move up the big game, but then no one would have time for the hype, travel plans, and general mania that is created with a two week build up. All the other playoff teams have been eliminated, and there is nothing left to play for from them. Sure, you could have the losers of the championship games face off, but why would they want to play? They were one step from the big game, and now you are asking them to play in a conciliation game? Those teams would probably punch you in the face. But what can we do? A college exhibition game? That does not feel quite right. An NFL Europe exhibition? Sure, they are pro athletes, but still not quite right. Then it dawned on me. During the off week, the NFL should play the Super Bust.

The Super Bust would match the two consensus pre season favorites to play in the Super Bowl, yet failed to get there, against each other. Every year, almost every talking head out there sputters who they think will go to the playoffs, go to the Super Bowl and ultimately win it all. Rarely are any of these prognosticators correct, and most of the time, they are way off on their playoff entrants as well. The Super Bust would give them a chance to see their initial favorites square off against each other, as well as give the rest of us one more game. Sure, it is not bound to be good football, remember these teams are not playing on Super Bowl Sunday for a reason. But it is still football. And I would take that over a Sunday movie any day, and I know I am not alone on this one. There would be a few sticking points of course, like if one of the favorites actually made the Super Bowl. Then the second consensus favorite of the conference would play. Or, if the teams just played the week before and lost, they might not want to continue their season. This would be resolved as they would be bound by it from an agreement that was ratified by the league and the teams. And anyway, the players and coaches are all professionals, so I imagine if they have to play, they will, at least for pride and some scratch. Now, while the Super Bust would be treated as an exhibition game, nothing would count toward post season or season records, there could be incentives for the teams involved. For instance, pride at not being the loser of the loser game. But since most teams operate on a bottom line sort of operation, how about an extra first round draft pick for the winner, and an extra fourth round pick for the loser and maybe some cash thrown in for the team and a set game rate for the players as well. If the players want more than a set rate, give them a game salary based upon ticket and/or advertising sales. Next, what if one of the teams was a playoff team and the other finished 4-12? Well, we have either a blow out or a close game since the 4-12 team will play above their heads against a deflated opponent. As for venue, you could have cities bid on this game, much like the Super Bowl. You could even think outside the box and have the game in cities with no NFL team. I was thinking of maybe a permanent location like the Pro Bowl, perhaps in Los Angeles, but a better thought sprung to mind. How about having the game in Las Vegas? There is a ton to see and do there, no one would really be taking the game seriously anyway, and Vegas knows how to host a party. For an example, if this was in effect now, last Sunday we could have watched live from Las Vegas the Carolina Panthers versus the Miami Dolphins in the Super Bust. That’s a great game, I would have definitely tuned in. It would be perfect. Think of all the things this game would give us.
- A chance for two fan bases to see their team in action one more time before next season
- An added opportunity for one team to end their season with a win.
- Some extra earnings for players, even though many do not need it.
- A chance for each organization to strengthen their team monetarily and physically with added income as well as additional draft choices
- An opportunity to show how wrong most prognosticators really are
- An extra game of football
- A weekend of football and fun in Las Vegas
- A perfect excuse to go to Las Vegas (like you need one anyway)
- An excuse to have another big game party, this one where the game does not matter
- A chance to use the game as a warm up to your real party the next week for the Super Bowl. Try out those far out recipes you think may not work on the real game day. Almost like a Party Pre Season.
- Staving off football withdraw for another two weeks
- Another game for the NFL Network to show, giving more practice to both their broadcast crews and technical crews, both of which need some work
- Something for the sports media to talk about during the dead time when all other Super Bowl stories and angles have been beaten to death
- food and service industries seeing a bigger bump in production and sales, thus adding more stimulus to the economy
- Businesses around the world that have a stake in football seeing an increased profit, adding even more stimulus to the economy
- The advertising industry having another forum to debut killer commercials, almost like an exhibition commercial season
- Better play from the preseason favorites during the regular season, since none of them would want to play in the Super Bust

See all the good this one little game could add? Seriously, this is a perfect idea that needs to happen before next season. This needs to be brought up at the winter meetings and ratified by the teams with a 32-0 vote. Commissioner Goodell, I put the onus on you to make this happen.

So, with a split in the championships, I am dead even for the playoffs. Check it out.

Last Week: 1-1
Playoffs to Date: 5-5
Season to Date: 155-111

So it all comes down to one game. I have long ago secured a winning season, but will I have a winning post season as well? There is only one chance left to make it happen, so here goes.

Indianapolis vs. Chicago

For the Super Bowl, it basically comes down to a coin flip when picking a winner, unless you have something invested in either team. At this point, you know both teams are good, have stellar records, have had a bit of luck, are well coached and have lots of key personnel that can change a game as well as loads of role players that get the job done. You do not make it this far without having those things. So your standard match ups and game plans really do not play well into picking a winner of the game. Yes, they will play a part in the final outcome, but it is so different for this game than any other that it is difficult to use them to accurately predict a winner. It really comes down to a 50/50 shot in the dark. So people begin to look at other determining factors, and some of them can get pretty crazy.
- Who has the better uniforms
- Domed versus outdoor stadium teams
- Domed teams record in Super Bowls versus outdoor teams in Super Bowl
- Teams record in coin tosses during the season
- AFC versus NFC regular season records
- AFC participant versus NFC competition
- NFC participant versus AFC competition
- Computer predictions based upon record, level of competition, points scored, points allowed and any other factor and record known in the universe
- Experience at key positions
- Players ability to withstand and tune out the hype of the week
- Coaching leadership
- Team leadership
- Teams records on sunny days, rainy days, cloudy days
- Teams records in afternoon and evening games
- Proper Zodiac alignment
- Avo Bowl team themed guacamole recipe winners (Yes this does exist)

There are about a million different factors that people can come up with that can determine who will ultimately win the game. Some make sense, some sound crazy, while others sound strangely logical. I tend to lean toward the strangely logical, and my determining factor is just that. My factor is based on scandals. Try to stay with me on this one, because it may get a bit confusing. I determine Super Bowl winners based on who has a scandal, started a scandal, is embroiled in a scandal or on the cusp of one. And by my definition, a scandal is anything off the field that takes away from the team itself, puts all the focus on one player or anything that may disrupt a team from properly preparing for the game. It does not even have to happen on the eve of the game, one can blow up during media day, which is a great way to determine the scandal of the Super Bowl. If it happens beforehand, even better determination, since that is all anyone will want to talk about during media day, especially to the player in question and to all of his teammates. This kind of distraction can impair preparation and even cause disharmony in the locker room, which is exactly the kind of thing that a team looking to win it all does not need leading up to the game. Here are a few examples of scandal in recent Super Bowls
- Super Bowl XL: Jerramy Stevens runs his mouth - During media day, Stevens stated he thinks the Jerome Bettis story is a good one, but will end unhappily when the Seahawks leave with the trophy. This may seem like a minor, innocuous statement and mere trash talking, but this is a huge one. With this statement, Stevens basically gave the media something to pester the Hawks about all week. Plus, he brought on the ire of trash talking champion Joey Porter, who took major exception to his statement. On top of that, he added fuel to Pittsburgh’s already raging fire, and may have brought on the ire of his teammates. What did not help him was his penchant for dropping passes, which he continued to do famously during the Super Bowl, killing his team in key situations.
- Super Bowl XXXIX: TO – How can TO be a scandal? He had a great game! The Eagles acquired Owens for one reason, to take the team to another level. And he did just that, taking the Eagles to another level all season. The team felt invincible until they lost him to a broken leg. When faced by the fact that they would need to do it themselves or fail again, the team found something deep inside and pushed their way to the Super Bowl. During this time, however, TO keeps talking about how he is going to play in the Super Bowl. How he is going to come back and save the day, how he will be the key to victory. This causes locker room divisiveness and diverts attention from the team to one player. The rest of the team looks at this and does not want to play for the glorification of one man’s ego, especially when they did all the heavy lifting to get there without him. With all the talk being about TO, the focus went away from the team, and they lost. And it didn’t help that McNabb choked at the end of the game either.
- Super Bowl XXXVII – Barrett Robbins and Tijuana Nights – Oakland Raider center Barrett Robbins had a bender in Tijuana for most of the week leading up to game, and was unable to play come game day. His backup had to step in and start the game at a key position on the offensive line. Robbins, it later turned out, was suffering from bi-polar disorder and depression. But the distraction was enough to trump the Buccaneers distraction, which was head coach Jon Gruden was facing off against the team he coached just the year before, and the Raiders lost.
- Super Bowl XXXIII – Eugene Robinson’s bogus journey – Atlanta defensive back Eugene Robinson was busted the night before the big game for solicitation of an undercover officer. It would seem Eugene was in need of a little oral gratification, the kind that only $40 and some loose morals could cure. Two big problems with his plan. One, he tried to get it from an undercover police officer. And two, earlier in the day he had been awarded the Bart Starr award for high moral character. These things combined to make a huge distraction, and Robinson was burned several times during the game, including once for an 80 yard touchdown. Atlanta lost.

There are a multitude of other examples out there, and most of them show the team with the biggest scandal as the loser of the contest. Now, it does not always work that way, there are always exceptions to every rule. Brett Favre, who had been suffering from alcohol and pain killer addiction, was reportedly seen drinking a week before the Packers Super Bowl in 1996. While this was a huge distraction, the Packers did go on to win. Max McGee, a notorious partier, skipped curfew to tie one on in LA the night before Super Bowl I, and tie one on he did. McGee did not return to the team hotel until the next morning. McGee’s thought process was that as a back up he would never see duty. But when the starter was knocked out, suddenly a hung over McGee was in the game. But this worked out in the end as McGee caught seven passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, the Pack won going away and a great story was passed into Super Bowl lore. Maybe the curse does not affect the Packers. Let’s see, anything else here? Ahhhh, how about Super Bowl XX. Jim McMahon, who was already causing a stir through the entire playoffs, a topic of conversation during the build up to the game and a major thorn in Pete Rozelle’s side, continued his antics by mooning a news helicopter during practice the week before the game. But this had zero effect on the band of characters that were the 85 Bears, and they won handily. Or perhaps they won because it was found out that Patriots receiver Irving Fryar had cuts and bruises all over his hands because of a scuffle with his spouse. Hmmm, maybe the Packers are immune after all.

So what is this year’s scandal, or has it even happened yet? I can report that yes, barring something major happening before kickoff, and something could still happen, this year’s scandal is already in, thanks to Bears defensive lineman Tank Johnson. Tank was the talk of media day, mostly because he needed a judge’s permission to even be there. Tank has been arrested 3 times in the last 18 months, the most recent due to a cache of guns found in his home as well as a large amount of marijuana. Tank, however, is currently not allowed to have guns due to his parole, nor is he allowed to have the weed. Add to that, his bodyguard was shot and killed the same night Tank had his most recent arrest. It seems he and Tank decided to go out after Tank made bail. Because of all his self inflicted legal woes, Tank is currently under house arrest, only allowed to leave for work, which happens to be for the Bears. But one stipulation of house arrest is he is not allowed to leave the State either. So, just to play in the Super Bowl, Tank and his team of overworked lawyers had to petition a judge to let him come with the team to the Super Bowl. I think this more than qualifies as a distraction to the team and a worthy scandal. And with this information, I know exactly who to pick.


Indianapolis over Chicago


Now with that being said, and my explanation put forth, if the Bears win, I will not feel bad. They have always been a part of Chicago, and perhaps that is the karma that will lead them to victory. Plus, I really have nothing truly invested in either team, so it really does not matter much to me. And with two days left, the Colts could put out a scandal that would trump the Tank Johnson saga. If the Bears do win, at least I can yell, DA BEARS for the next 7 months. Now enough chit chat, let’s get this show on the road, it is time to crown a new champion.

The Crystal Ball The Good The Bad and The Ugly

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts on January 30, 2007.


I must apologize for the delay in getting this posted. Not that I have thousands of loyal and devoted readers, but for the couple two three of you out there, I am sure you have become accustomed to seeing things in a somewhat timely manner. With no game this weekend, I felt no great rush. And then I got socked with a cold, so that just put me on the lazy train. Suffice to say, I have been dogging it, and it has caused a backlog of other ideas now as well. Regardless of all of that, I am so very happy. What a weekend in the NFL. I think we all saw one of the best playoff games ever, maybe even one of the all time best. Just fantastic football and it all took place in 30 minutes. Let’s get right to it.

Bears defeat Saints:

Unfortunately, the magical season for the Saints ended one game short. They put up a valiant effort, even making it a game of it in the third quarter. But too many mistakes and just too much Bears. I applaud Sean Payton and his staff. They did a masterful job with a team many did not expect to do very much this year except score some moral victories. They did a wonderful job and I expect them to do much more in the future. The Bears, on the other hand, turned it up when it mattered most. The defense looked great, the running game stellar and they look like they may be peaking at the exact right time. I am not convinced yet that Grossman has what it takes, but they are in the Super Bowl, and he did have a part of it. His biggest test will be next week, and then we will see if he really has what it takes.

Colts defeat Patriots:

I am as happy as a clam the Pats are gone. Color me ecstatic that I have not had to hear peep one regarding the greatness of Belichick, Brady and the Patriot organization. If for no other reason that made this game fantastic. Oh, but it was so much more than that. The Colts finally found that extra something, that little piece of themselves that pushed them through. That little piece where no matter what comes at them, they know they can take care of business. And look what happened when they found it? They overcame an 18 point deficit to start trading points with New England. And with the game on the line, Peyton finally came through, calmly leading the Colts downfield for a game clinching touchdown with only a minute left. Of course, a minute is more than the Patriots usually need to score, and they went to work with every Colt fan sitting anxiously on the edge of their seats. But then the unthinkable happened. Brady faltered in the clutch, throwing an interception and thereby ending the game. I cheered for the Colts, although it did feel odd to be watching a game in the RCA Dome and cheering for the home team to come through in the clutch, when just one year earlier I was praying for them to falter in the clutch. I felt as good as I did last year when Pittsburgh was triumphing through the playoffs. It felt that good. Not just because New England lost, but because Indianapolis won. I felt good for Manning, who has had to suffer with the title of playoff choker. For right or wrong, that label has stuck with him. But now, after beating his nemesis when it counted most, he has been able to shake some of those labels loose. A win in the Super Bowl, and he can bury them forever. I will continue rooting for the Colts. I would like to see Peyton bury that label. I would like to see Dungy bury his as well. Plus, Dungy is an old time Steeler, and you always have to root for ex Steelers, unless they are playing or coaching against the Black and Gold.

Last week I wrote a big piece regarding the Patriots. I was basically admitting to myself all of the things that are good about the team and the organization. I am biased against the Patriots, and losing to them twice in the AFC Championship game will cause such a reaction. Ask any Colts fan before this season, and they will admit the same. However, in my praise for them, and my own cathartic release of what I liked about them, I neglected to bring up two things they lack. One is a foresight of letting certain players go. I had previously mentioned this phenomenon, where they are willing to let people go if they feel they no longer hold value for the team. Unfortunately, in doing this they end up dumping more than just players leaving their prime, but players who have provided not just on field heroics, but off field leadership. By doing this, the young players they acquire to restock the team have no one to look to for leadership. No one that is able to provide them with how to behave and act in tight situations. No one who can show them the way after a demoralizing loss and how to bounce back and respond the next week. Do you think they may have been able to respond better, especially on defense, if they had McGinist or Vinatieri on their roster? Perhaps not, but we will never know now, will we? If you can manage it, you should try to keep your core together for as long as possible. But they look past that when it comes to the bottom line sometimes, and I believe it is beginning to hurt them now more than they previously envisioned.

The other item they lack is class, both in victory and in defeat. After the San Diego game, they celebrated like children by dancing in the middle of the field. They did not act like professionals, and certainly not like a team that had been there before and still had a long way to go. If that was the Super Bowl, no one would have minded, they had earned the right to celebrate anywhere they chose. But it was a divisional game, and if you do not realize you have a long way yet to climb, you are destined for failure. Usually, we see such antics from the likes of TO, but not the Patriots. In losing to the Colts the following week, they showed me much more about their character than they ever did in winning. Brady walked off the field without congratulating Manning, something Manning always did to Brady in all of Brady’s triumphs over Manning and his Colts. I found this just in bad taste. Yes, it hurts to lose, especially when you are so close to the Super Bowl. I know this for a fact, and now so do the Patriots. But to walk away like a petulant child who has had his favorite toy taken away is, well, childish. If he had even a modicum of class, he would have walked over to Manning and said, job well done. But he has none. And Bill Belichick was not much better. He did show some class and congratulate Dungy, which he should. But he said maybe one word to Manning as he brushed past. Manning even went out of his way to speak with Belichick, moving people out of the way so he could go up and speak with the coach who has for so long vexed him. For all the good things about the organization, these are two of their most glaring problems.

One of the biggest stories of this Super Bowl is that this marks the first time a black head coach has led their team to the Super Bowl. And in a cosmic twist, the first time it happens, we have two, so we will also have this year the first black head coach to win a Super Bowl. I find this admirable and a great story line, but of course one that will be beaten to death all week. Both of these men have proven themselves great leaders and coaches. I know that the real story is that the NFL has shown progress not just in promoting black men to head coaching positions, but that they have worked hard in changing the culture of the NFL, that good men will get these opportunities, regardless of their skin color. I know in our society we will never be able to eradicate senseless prejudices and biases; unfortunately as human beings, we have shown and incredible incapability at this task. I am glad we as a society have made progresses like this where we have gentlemen like Smith and Dungy in the league, leading and teaching men both on the field and off. We should look to these men not just as trailblazers, but as examples for all of us to live up to, regardless of our color. If we had more men and women like these two, both white, black, red, green, purple and beyond, in all facets of life, imagine how far we could go as a society and as the human race.

However, with this discussion going on, we are missing out on another historic, if much less important, first. There has never been a man named Lovie as the head coach in the Super Bowl. We have had a Vince, and even a Weeb, but never a Lovie. Now that has to be significant, right? How long before our first Dakota or Skylar, I wonder.

Vick and weed – seriously, can we all admit that this guy is now overrated? His quarterbacking is suspect, at best. And now we see he is too stupid to know they will confiscate water bottles at airports, especially those that smell like pot? After investigation, Vick was vindicated by authorities who stated there was no evidence of drugs, but this is not a moral debate about smoking ganja. Personally, I feel what any player, or person, wants to do in the privacy of their own home is their choice and their right. Yes, marijuana is illegal, but let us not be blinded sheep about this. Many people do it, from all walks of life and in every income bracket. I am sure almost everyone out there knows a few people who indulge in the sticky. Whether or not you are fine with this, or find it morally reprehensible is not a debate I feel like entering on this particular incident. That is a debate for another time. The point I would like to make with this particular incident is that Vick needs to understand he is much more than just a player in the NFL; he is looked up to as a role model and as the face of an organization. While I agree with Charles Barkley’s stance, I am not a role model, for better or for worse high profile athletes are looked upon as role models in our society, and this phenomenon is nothing new. Vick should make the attempt to look as such, at least in public.

Coaching update:

Cam Cameron took the Miami job, bringing his offensive acumen to the Dolphins. Word has it that Jim Mora really wanted the job; however it would seem the Miami brain trust thought otherwise. Mora is now lying low as the secondary coach in Seattle. Jim, sometimes you need a bit of time to just lay low and lick your wounds. Other opportunities will come. I am sure by the end of next season, more than a few head coaching jobs will open up. It happens every season, just bide your time.

Steve Sarkisian removed himself from the Oakland job search, even though it looked as though he could have had it. But Oakland still landed a USC coach in the end. The Raiders hired Lane Kiffin, USC’s offensive coordinator for last two years, as their new head coach. Kiffin is the son of Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, a long time stalwart on the Buccaneer staff. Hopefully he can give his boy a few pointers now and again; he will need all the help he can get with this mess that is the Oakland Raiders.

Now, the only coaching vacancy in the NFL is with the Dallas Cowboys, as Bill Parcells retired last week. Parcells has established himself long ago as a legend, with his Super Bowl wins, his revival of several franchises and his now lengthy coaching tree. But during this last stint the drive did not seem to be in him. He never quite had the fire he had in New York. Now, even at half the intensity Parcells is formidable, but you want a coach who is into it 100%. This is why I did not feel too bad about Cowher’s retirement. Coaching at any level is difficult, and in the NFL it is a grind performed under a microscope. If Parcells feels his time is up, then I wish him well. I hope he stays retired, enjoys a bit of the good life, and I hope I see him again in a few years being inducted into the Hall of Fame, where he belongs. Happy retirement Bill, you deserve it.

Ok, time for a little honesty. When Cowher retired, I knew who I wanted to be the next coach of the Steelers. I wanted them to hire within and promote Ken Whisenhunt. I felt he would be the best choice. In him they would have an offensive minded coach familiar with the team who could open up the Pittsburgh offense and start maximizing the returns of the fantastic youthful core of skill position players on the roster. When that did not work out, I figured they would go with Russ Grimm. In Grimm they would have that stability of an in house candidate, but also one with an offensive mind and perhaps a new twist or two. I spent a bit of time talking myself into Grimm. He was not my first choice, but like I really have a choice in the matter. But the Rooney’s went outside the organization, and went somewhere no one would have guessed when the search started and hired Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin as the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mike Tomlin is a former college receiver who started his coaching career in 1995. There are more than a few similarities to his situation and that of Bill Cowher. Both men were 34 when they took the job, both long shot outside candidates and both former defensive coordinators who had not been on the job all that long before getting their first big shot in the show. Tomlin has had pro stops not only in Minnesota, but also Tampa Bay, where he coached the defensive backs and learned his craft under Monte Kiffin, Jon Gruden and Tony Dungy. Thus far, I have heard nothing but good things about his coaching, his personality and his all around nature as a coach, man and leader. I would imagine hearing nothing but praise about a man who worked under one of the best and classiest coaches in the game, Tony Dungy. In my opinion, that is the kind of pedigree you love to have in your coach.

But of course, I am scared. Change can be scary, plus, I only went through this once before, so I am not used to changes in coaches, obviously. Change can be a good thing and I need to remind myself of this. However, taking a chance on an unproven commodity can be risky. The last two times Pittsburgh chose the unproven coach it paid off, and well, but there were reasons to go in a completely different direction each of those times. When they hired Noll, the club had never had a winning tradition, and they were willing to go out on a limb. When they hired Cowher, the team had been years removed from their last championship, and needed an infusion of new blood to shake up things. But is that really needed this time? The team is not quite one full year from a Super Bowl win. I understand the paradox of status quo. Status quo can provide either stability, or it could be a dangerous lack of progress. The key is determining which it will provide. But in the end, I need to remember that the Rooney’s have been pretty good with their hiring track record, so I have faith in the organization. One thing I need to keep in mind is 1992. That year, I witnessed first hand my very first coaching change in Pittsburgh when Noll stepped down and Cowher was hired. I remember at the time thinking, who the heck is Bill Cowher? We all know now who he is, and keeping that in mind, I am sure by the time he is ready to move on, we will also all know who is Mike Tomlin. Hey, there are more than a few reasons why I am not running an NFL franchise. But I still maintain I could turn the Lions around in less time than it has taken Matt Millen to drive them into oblivion. William Clay Ford, just give me a call.

But one thing I am curious about is how well his interviews were that he vaulted past two excellent in house choices. If he was that dazzling in the interviews, I cannot wait to see what he does during the season. I hope that skill translates to wins.

Now, despite my own unfounded fears, no rookie coach could ask for a better situation for his first time in the spotlight. Tomlin now has a solid team only one year removed from a Super Bowl victory, stocked with a strong group of core players just entering their prime. He has inherited a good group of assistants of which he can retain if he likes and lean on while he learns some of the inner workings of head coaching, such as challenging plays, clock management, motivation, winning on the road and winning the close games amongst many others. Behind him is a well constructed organization with an excellent front office and scouting department and supportive owners that do not panic when things are not going well and patient enough to know that winning and losing are cyclical, and while things may be down, they will always come back up. On top of this, Tomlin will find behind him at every game, no matter where it is, one of the most rabid, devoted and faithful fan bases any coach could possibly ask for from an organization. I bet we can aid Tomlin in at least one to two road wins this year. If Coach Tomlin is half as good as all the press I have been hearing about him, with all of this at his disposal, he will do just fine.

Tomlin himself is getting off on a good foot, and seems to be impressing everyone in his first few days as coach. He has been magnanimous, funny, open and honest in his first press conference. His philosophy of a blue collar work ethic, a tough defense and a strong running game will go far in Pittsburgh, a team that thrives on such things and that have always been a part of their overall philosophy. He has stated in his first day that he is keeping Dick LeBeau and while he prefers the 4-3 defense, he sees no reason to change when he has a defense and personnel that thrive in the 3-4. The next day he promoted wide receivers coach Bruce Arians to offensive coordinator. Now, he is keeping the entire defensive staff but one, and a good portion of the offensive staff. He is also working on adding a second coach for the special teams. I must say, I already like the new guy, he is obviously smart, and knows better than to fix something that is not broken.

So, I would like to put out there a hearty congratulations to Mr. Mike Tomlin and a welcome to Steeler Nation. You are a part of us now. Please pick up your official towel at dispatch; it is next to the 5 trophies. And do not worry; we will make room for you to add a sixth one in there, and possibly more.

More news from the Arizona Steelers, I mean Cardinals. Russ Grimm, who obviously did not want to stay in Pittsburgh, was hired by the Cardinals as their new assistant head coach/offensive line coach. Interesting thought that at one point, that is exactly the head coach/assistant head coach structure most of us thought would end up leading the black and gold. The world works in mysterious ways.

So, with this being an open weekend where absolutely no football was being played, the horror, I felt this a good time to break out an idea I had around mid season. I would like to take this time for a little review and introspection. It is time to look back on the previous season and take a look at some of the things that made the season memorable. And in doing so, perhaps take a gander at a few of the things I have put forth here. It is time to glance over both in something I like to call, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.


The Good

The Steeler-centric bend of the column - Sure, everyone has their own favorite team and biases, as do I. I liked how I added another voice to the cacophony of Steeler Nation. Sure, the boys did not come up big this year, but that is ok. It shook off the bandwagon fans they picked up after the Super Bowl. I may go even further next year.

The return of the suit to the sidelines - This was a great step for the NFL, at least in my opinion. Harkening back the look of the authoritative coach of yesteryear, images of Stram, Landry and Lombardi danced in our heads as coaches did not look so much as pin ups for the latest merchandise offered but more like men in charge. That is the way a coach should look, none of this torn up hoodie nonsense or garish prints.

Denny Green’s post game meltdown – Oh, it had been a long time since we had that kind of entertainment. Plus, it lasted the rest of the season, and is still showing up. Perhaps he could crown the Bears if they win the Super Bowl, since then they WILL BE WHO HE THOUGHT THEY WERE!

The idiot feature – Oh, I should have come up with that from the beginning. This was a lot of fun to do, and I think added a nice little feature to the column. It will definitely be in the column again next season starting week one.

Devin Hester – Wow, what an athlete. He sure made everyone forget about Dante Hall in a hurry, did he not?

Unheralded players – Tony Romo, Marques Colston, Frank Gore and others came out of nowhere to make significant contributions to their teams and the NFL. You love to see players from little schools make it big over ones from football factories. I hope to see more of them next year.

America’s Game – One of the best sports documentaries I have ever seen, and maybe the best one about football ever. The beautiful mix of NFL Films footage, reminiscing from former players and coaches and the narration by A-List actors really brings these episodes together in a riveting way that will keep anyone’s attention, even if you are merely a casual fan. I watched the episode for the 1976 Raiders the other evening and for a nanosecond almost liked the team. Almost. This spring will be enjoyable watching the last twenty, where three Steelers teams will be represented. I will definitely be tuned in for all of them, and be ordering the DVDs for the Steelers Super Bowl teams.


A few good tidbits from me.

From Week 2:

- Not to bust too much on Vick, because he is a superior athlete, but he is a terrible quarterback.: Yeah, I still feel good about that. Prove me wrong, Michael.
- Hiring Art Shell, who has not coached in the NFL since Oakland FIRED HIM 14 years ago? I have no idea where that came from either.: And they fired him again.
- Not a bad first showing by the Giants last week. The defense looked tough, and their rookie backup running back looked strong. They played stupid though. Their running game was obviously clicking. They have two really good backs, and Tiki Barber looks like he is picking up where he left off last year. But instead of jamming the ball down the Colts throat, as they should have because it was working on the Colts undersized D, they went too much to relying on Eli to win the game with his arm.: Ok, they ultimately were not that strong overall, but I still contend they spent too much time relying on Eli, and will again next year. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

From Week 4:
- it seems like they might actually have a semblance of a team in New Orleans. And thank goodness, because they desperately need one. – I am so glad I was right about this one. Not just because I was right, but because of all that it meant for the Gulf Coast.

From Week 5:
- Ok, last week I was watching the Sunday night game, and right after it became a rout, I kept thinking of what NBC could be doing to keep interest. And then it hit me, how oh how did we not have the Superfans in the booth for at least part of the game? : I still think this is a good idea. And if I do not see one single Super Fans reference this week on the NFL Network, then they should fire their creative team and hire some new people, stat. You can contact me through the email link at the top.

From Week 6:
- Cowher says its all gossip and speculation, but actions always speak louder than words, and his actions show a man ready to hang it up, even if it’s for just a few seasons. – A little too good on this one.
- Come February 4th, a certain team, from a certain city will be hoisting a certain trophy above their collective heads. A team known simply as, Da Bears. DAAAAAA BEARS. – Could it be prophetic????

From Week 10:
- Baltimore is a good team. Ok, not good like Indianapolis or New England, but good enough that they will probably win the division and possibly go deep into the playoffs with how they are built. – Ha ha, dead on!
- Peyton Manning may be learning how to win the big game. – Ooooh, two in a row!

From Week 12:
- Regarding the Chargers: I feel confident they will screw things up in the playoffs. – Ha ha ha! All I can do is laugh.



The Bad

Too Steeler-centric – Now, I certainly do not believe that. But, if I looked at this from an objective standpoint and one of a casual fan, I could see people going, good gravy; get off of Pittsburgh’s jock already. But, until I am writing for NFL.com or some other major sports publication, I will keep my Steelers first and foremost. Sorry, Houston fans, I hate to disappoint both of you.

Game research – I did some for each match up, but not enough I think. I could have delved more into each game, histories of the teams, records against each other, key match ups. Part of me avoided that, since you could find that almost anywhere. I prefer a different angle. The problem is I have yet to define that angle. But I have some ideas. Maybe we will shake a few out during preseason.

Overall column format – I went in not really knowing what I wanted to do. By the end, I had a few regular features and a few things I liked, but it was not planned. But, you learn by doing, and I did. I have some great building blocks for next season, and cannot wait to start.

Column length – You would think I would learn eventually how to be more succinct. But I have not, and if I learned anything it was how to be even more verbose. Next season, I may even crack 10,000 words. Almost did this season.

Oakland ruining their bid for an 0-16 season – They really could have done something special and historic. If they lost them all, everyone would have been talking about them, every week. They would have been front page news. But no, over a two week span, they torpedoed that with two wins, and thus just relegated themselves to crappiness as opposed to being a historic team.

Thursday Night Football – How can I possibly say an added night of football is bad? Because the games were terrible, that is how. There was one game out of the slate of eight that was decent. The rest were chum. And I am including the Pittsburgh game in the chum. Sure, I had fun watching it, but did anyone else feel compelled to tune in? Certainly not. If the NFL Network hopes to keep things going, they best get some improved match ups for next season.

Monday Night Football – All season I have gone over the things wrong with this institution. Bad announcers, terrible games, lackluster teams, the annoying addition of the celebrity interview, low production quality. There is a lot that needs fixing, and honestly, I do not see anyone at ESPN smart enough to do any of it. They could have a jewel on their hands, but unfortunately, no one seems to want to polish it to perfection.

A few bad tidbits from me.

From Week 1:
- Many are saying the Colts will strangle the competition. Well, they stepped down in the running back department and last time I checked, when it came to the post season, they did not know how to strangle, but were pretty good at choking.: Ok, so it would seem I got that one wrong. So far.
- Many are saying the Ravens will explode this year. How so? Their defense is a year older, and that much more ineffective (the glory days of 2000 are over, ask the 1985 Bears how fast it goes away).: Yeah, way wrong on that one. But they did not go far in the playoffs. I would take a push, but they did explode. Could I be biased??? Nah
- I am picking Pittsburgh to win. Let the season begin! Now they better not lose and make me look stupid, I can do that on my own. : Umm, it seemed as though I needed some help. Thanks guys.

From Week 4:
- I said the Browns could pull off the upset, and very nearly did. Now, it is looking to me that their defense is far stouter than anyone could have thought, and if their offense could generate a few more points, they might be a team. – I must have been hallucinating. I think I had a cold that day.

From Week 10:
- Tom Brady is the most clutch QB in the NFL today – You know, this one does not feel so bad.


From Week 13:
- Do you think that maybe, just maybe, Joey Harrington might actually be a good quarterback? And that maybe, just maybe, his success this year is due to the fact that he finally has a decent team around him and a good coaching staff? And that maybe, just maybe, he played poorly in Detroit not because he was bad, but because the whole team, coaches and front office were atrocious and never gave him any real weapons, support or instruction? Yeah, I am thinking maybe, just maybe though. – Ok, yeah, I screwed that one. But I was not the only one fooled for a little while by Harrington.


The Ugly

Pittsburgh’s title defense – Not much I can say about that. As always, health and luck play a part in the success of any team, and Pittsburgh had a dearth of both. But despite that, overall, it was terrible. There were a few highlights, but not many. And ultimately, they could not find a way to beat the elite teams. I know this is still an elite team, but they need to find their way again. Perhaps Coach Tomlin can help.

Oakland – Yeah, they could have had the special season, but even if they did, they still would have been what they are, atrocious. It is amazing to think that a few short years ago, this was a Super Bowl team. What happened? How can so many things go so badly in such a short amount of time? It is flabbergasting to think.

Matt Millen’s Lions tenure – Shamefully, this will continue into the next season. Do Lions season ticket holders get a bag for their heads when they get their ticket packages?

From Week 2:
- Well, I think St. Louis might really be a sleeper pick this year.: Uhhhh, yeah.
- But now we have to look at the sticky situation that is Kansas City. I said before the season even started that they would go down the toilet. Half of their offensive line retired. That right there told me the season they would have. Teams win with a consistent offensive line that plays together for a long time. One of the reasons KC has had such a great running game is consistency on the line. With 2 of the 5 gone and new guys stepping in, that is a lot to overcome. – Ummm, who wrote that???

From Week 3:
- If they (Atlanta) keep out of trouble, they will spoil the Monday night homecoming. – That so did not happen. Nor did it for the rest of the season. Woof.

From Week 4:
- One other note before the good stuff. No TO discussion here. I could go into all the reasons why and why not, but it is this simple. I refuse to add to the miles of print that are already dedicated to him, especially since most of us could care less. These few sentences are already too much. Enough. – This would have been good, if I had kept to it. But since he showed up at least once a week by mid season, well, that makes me an idiot.


From Week 6:
- Referring to the Chicago/Arizona game: Wow, this one is about as tough to pick as a choice between pizza and lima beans. – Almost had lima beans.

Well, that is it for this week and a run down memory lane. Stay tuned for the Super Bowl extravaganza coming in but a few short days.

The Crystal Ball The Championships

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts on January 19, 2007.


Boy was I wrong this week, and in the worst ways. So much for that three out of four home teams win during the divisional round bunk. Not only did two home teams lose, but I picked the wrong away team to win. As typical, we had crazy, topsy-turvy weekend in the NFL.

Colts defeat Ravens:

The Ravens suck so badly. They had the Colts pinned on their own one yard line and then let them drive down the field. What happened to that vaunted Raven defense?

During one play sequence, Peyton scrambled, threw the ball and completed it to Marvin Harrison. Dan Dierdorf, doing color commentary for the game, said that Peyton is not Michael Vick, alluding to the difference in scrambling abilities between the two. This is very true and an obvious observation by Dierdorf. Peyton is a classic pocket passer, and you rarely see him mobile outside the pocket. However, all I could think when Dan said this was, yeah, Peyton completes his passes.

See, that is exactly why the Colts picked up Vinatieri, for games just like this. How about that 51 yarder that skipped off the crossbar and went through for three points? Very nice. I bet Vanderjagt would not have made that kick. I bet he threw his beer can at the TV in disgust watching this one play out.

Twice in the game Ed Reed had a sure interception, and each time his opportunity on the ball was ruined because the ball was tipped by Ray Lewis. This man’s gigantic ego and penchant for wanting the highlight play every time twice ruined excellent opportunities for his team. You think that perhaps he might not be God’s linebacker? Perhaps Ray should practice his ball handling skills and study his teammate’s field presence and positions instead of that stupid seizure dance he does before each game.

I have a few friends who are big Ravens fans, which always leads to a friendly argument or two between us. One of them is always more than happy to remind me that Pittsburgh’s only loss in their 15-1 season came at the hands of, you guessed it, Baltimore. One of my friends, who works with the girlfriend, got a haircut as the playoffs began. She told me this, and I told her to relay to him that the haircut was bad luck, and he may have jinxed his team. She related this to him, even telling him about how I did not shave through the entire playoffs last year. What happened then? The Steelers won it all, of course. Now what happened this week? His Ravens lost. Superstitious? Absolutely. Completely ridiculous? Without a doubt. Coincidence? Considering I am a part of one of the most superstitious fan bases around, no, it is not a coincidence. I feel that too many fans forget the superstitious factor when it comes to rooting for their teams. I know it seems absurd, but one of the things that connect people with their teams are superstitions. We tend to feel that the small things we do will make a difference on game day. Now while I will blanch at this thought from a rational and logical point of view, from a fan standpoint, I believe it makes all the difference. Case in point, last year watching the playoffs, I watched each game wearing the same jersey, with the same terrible towel and the same hat in the same spot for all three games. The Steelers played great and played their best games of the season, blowing their competition out of the water. Yes, I know, the Colts game was close, but only in the last 5 minutes of the game. However, during the Super Bowl, I watched it at a friend’s house, thus changing my routine. What happened? They had one of their worst games of the season, and trust me by halftime I was contemplating driving home to see if that would turn things around. Luckily, Willie Parker helped keep me in my seat, figuratively speaking. We as fans do not have access to our teams as fans in the past have had. I have heard stories of fans and players going out for beers after the game, hanging around and swapping stories. When a few diehard Steelers fans started Franco’s Italian Army in Pittsburgh in the 70’s, Franco Harris would often come to their functions. He is still friends with many of them to this day. In this day and age, the average fan has no way of connecting with their team on this sort of level. But what we do have is the far fetched notion that with our little rituals and habits, we can help support and push our teams to another level, and thereby have a connection with them and help them win. By what we do, we feel a stronger connection to the team, especially when it works. And when it works, we feel as though we are actually a part of their success, that the little things we do actually make a difference. It may seem ridiculous, and to a certain degree delusional, but it adds to the fun, the joy, and even the heartbreak. So to all you true blue fans out there, never underestimate the power of the superstition. And avoid haircuts and shaving this week too, just in case. You can always shave Monday if you lose.

Oh, and by the way, nice support you gave to the home team there, Ravens fans. Your team is down right before halftime, they could use a pick me up in a close game. What they do not need is to hear their supposedly loyal fan base booing them because they do not want to try a high risk low reward heave ho play that considering how McNair was playing thus far would have probably backfired horrendously. Instead they would prefer to go into the locker room, catch a breath, get a new plan for the second half and gird themselves for 30 more minutes of dog fighting. Yeah, I know they were stinking up the joint, but they are still your team. Show some support and loyalty for heaven’s sake you twits.

Saints defeat Eagles:

It turned out to be too hard to climb that hill for the Eagles. The Saints look like a team on a mission.

This game featured some ridiculously hard hits, just the kind you love to see in the playoffs. Reggie Bush got tattooed early in the contest, getting the wind knocked out of him after getting pasted hard by an Eagle defensive back. But I give the kid credit; he got up and shook it off, put it behind him and had a good game, especially for a rookie. The pressure of playing in a high stakes playoff atmosphere does not seem to be affecting him at all, minus the one fumble near the end of the game. Perhaps playing all those years for a perennial national title contender in USC has paid off quicker than Bush or the Saints would have ever thought.

The hill could have been climbed by the Eagles, though, if it weren’t for Reid’s questionable coaching strategies. Reid went for it on fourth and ten and the team picked up the first down, but it is negated by a penalty. So, then Reid decided to punt when it’s fourth and fifteen? What is the difference? The game is less than 2 minutes from ending, your defense has not stopped the Saints all day, and chances are you will not get the ball back again. Your season is that moment, it is all or nothing; punting should not be an option. And it is that kind of behavior, not to lose play calling, which is the reason the Eagles will be sitting home this week. Fortune favors the bold; you need to put the onus to win on your team. With a call like that, you told your team you have given up, and they should too. So what happens? The Saints get a first down and run out the clock, game over. Shameful play calling Andy, just shameful.

Bears defeat Seahawks:

Grossman is so maddingly inconsistent. He can throw a pretty bomb down the field in one drive, and the next drive lose a fumble. If I were a Bears fan, I would be driven mad by this man. His play is pure feast or famine, usually in the span of two consecutive drives, occasionally in the span of two plays. Plus, why does he look like he is about to vomit every time he takes the field?

Mike Holmgren is such a jerk. He plodded up and down the sidelines the entire game, yelling and screaming like a petulant child, verbally berating his charges as though they were nothing more than pack mules. In all those interviews and puff pieces last year before the Super Bowl, everyone said about how great of a guy he was, and such a teacher of men, a caring type of person willing to give of himself for the betterment of the team and those who work with and for him. But, what they say and what I see are two different things. They say good things come to good people, I guess that’s why he has lost big in the playoffs over the past few years.

There was such bad offensive line play by Seattle at the end of the game that I was genuinely shocked. On the next to the last play of regulation, three Bear defenders rushed and eight dropped into coverage. One of the rushers then pealed off into coverage, leaving 5 Seattle linemen on 2 Bear defenders. Yet, Tank Johnson still managed to break through and sack Hasselbeck as three offensive linemen stood and watched their quarterback get thrown to the ground. Just poor play. What the team would do to get back Steve Hutchinson, I wonder.

During the game, it was mentioned that Brian Urlacher does not do as much film study as he did earlier in his career. He said that when he did study film, he thought too much on the field and felt he was a more successful player by just going on instinct. Considering how much rushing up the middle they gave up, perhaps he should get back to studying.

Congratulations to Bears kicker and fellow Penn State Alumni Robbie Gould for his fantastic game winning field goal in overtime. What a pressure packed situation for Gould to walk into, with not only the game but also the season on the line. But Gould came through like he was channeling Adam Vinatieri. I applaud the excellent work for a kicker in just his second year in the league. Here’s to dear old state, Penn State Pride.

Patriots defeat Chargers:

We have seen this game before, have we not? New England looks terribly overmatched, but keeps hanging around and hanging around and then suddenly, boom, the game is over and they are the victors. It just drives me close to madness. This team is not that good, their parts are either sub par cast offs or banged up. They have no real threat of an offensive weapon, and their defensive leaders are either hobbling or past their primes. Seriously, cannot anyone finish them off? Look at their roster and tell me who on that team really strikes fear into an opposing team. Brady is pretty much it, but he has no big game receivers. They are all just cast offs on which other teams did not wish to waste a roster spot. This team does the little things better than any other team in the league, and if one other team could even match their ability to do that by 75 percent, they would blow the Pats off the field. They win by smart football, minimizing turnovers and errors and capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes. You would think someone else would learn how to do that by now.

But San Diego, you had this coming. All of you who made my walk away from Qualcomm as miserable as possible after the Steelers game in October; this is your comeuppance for your hubris. Plus, I knew you would get payback for calling Tomlinson LT. That is, and always will be, Lawrence Taylor’s nickname. LT literally changed the way the game is played, Tomlinson has not. You created bad karma for yourself, and now it has come home to roost at the worst possible time. It hurts, does it not?

The Bolts also had way too many chippy moments and stupid penalties. They need to learn to play much smarter than this if they really want to go far. Several times they committed personal fouls that help set up the Patriots, which is always a bad idea. Perhaps they lost their heads with the excitement of a home playoff game. If that is the case, then Shottenheimer had them poorly prepared in more than just their game plan. Their miscues and turnovers led to 14 Patriots points. You cannot make mistakes like that against a team like New England, who has mounds of playoff experience and knows what it takes to win at this time of year. It was nothing less than terrible play and terrible field presence by a team that should have blown New England off the field.

Poor Tom Brady, suffering his first interception in his last 169 pass attempts. But what did he expect? Who would not wish to get their paws on a ball that was once held in Tom’s magical hands? Let us be honest, we all would. Donnie Edwards is just the lucky man who was able to fulfill that wish. Tom ended up throwing two more interceptions in the game. But because he really is the greatest human being to ever grace this earth, he did not let it affect him and he still managed to pull off the win. I have said it before, and will say it again, when Tom is playing, we all win.

Welcome back Martyball! Shottenheimer sucks. I know, this is not a shocking revelation, but let us look at a few of his more boneheaded calls that led directly to defeat. Its fourth and eleven early in the game, you need to go for the field goal here Marty. Do you need someone by you to tell you the common sense move or something? Take the points early; everyone and their mother knew this could be a close game. Take what you can get. Plus, already by this point in the game it was being revealed that your receivers had a wicked case of stone hands. Do you really think they will suddenly overcome this obvious issue when it is fourth and eleven? You need to take advantage of every scoring opportunity presented to you. Instead, you go to your passing game, which has been sucking in the opening quarter, and predictably the ploy fails miserably. The results are you turn the ball over to New England in good territory, and most importantly, you give the Patriots life when you had them previously pinned against the wall and out of sync. Marty says his job is game management and big decisions. Maybe he should change his duties to figurehead and be done with it. Now, going for it on fourth and one, that was a good call. Fourth and eleven is just too much when your offense is terribly out of sorts. The worst part of that fourth and eleven call? If he had just gone for the field goal and made it, that would have been the difference in the game. He would have then had more of a cushion on the lead, and when they got the ball back in the fourth quarter with four minutes left, they would have had a three point lead and could have just run the ball to run out the clock.

Moving on, later in the game he wasted what turned out to be a critical time out on a ridiculous challenge that anyone with one working eye could see would never be overturned. Even the referee who came over to speak with Marty after he threw the flag had an incredulous look on his face, as if to say, you really cannot be serious, are you? Why would you waste a timeout in such a stupid way? This time out they lost turned out to be critical on their last drive to try to get the game tying points. If they had this time out, they could have called it after the long completion, potentially ran one or two additional plays, and set up Kaeding for a shorter, and higher percentage, field goal attempt.

But the worst move was how Shottenheimer underutilized Tomlinson. You have the NFL MVP in your backfield. You have one of the best offensive lines in the league. When Tomlinson was getting handoffs, he was averaging over 5 yards a carry. How, on a day when we have already noted your passing game was sub par, did Tomlinson only get 25 carries? He should have been your workhorse, pounding and sweeping and drawing and catching passes in the flat against a Patriots defense that has been weakened by injury. But no, you did not do this, and now you have to hear at an ever increasing decibel level about how you are a playoff failure as a coach and cannot win when it matters most. Enjoy the off season if you can Marty, it may be more difficult this year than before.

Coaching Vacancies Update:

I missed that Jim Fassel is also a candidate for the Oakland job. They could do worse. Oh wait, they have. But it seems as though USC quarterback coach Steve Sarkisian has the inside track on this job. Who knows how this might turn out? Preparing for another Oakland train wreck.

Miami has invited Jim Mora Jr. back for a second interview. They are also showing interest in Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey as well as Jets offensive coordinator Brian Shottenheimer. However, Shottenheimer withdrew his name from consideration this week, instead choosing to focus on the Jets offense next year. Good call Brian; sometimes where you are is better than where you could be. And a few years of seasoning never hurt anyone.

Former Steeler offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is now the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Congratulations to Ken, all of his hard work has paid off with one of the most prestigious jobs in sports, head coach in the NFL. He will be able to do something good in Arizona, with all of the young talent they have on offense. It will be interesting when the Steelers face the Cardinals in Arizona next season. I was all jazzed to see the game, but I bet there will be a revenge factor involved in this game. And yes, just thinking about that makes me more than a tad uneasy. There is nary a worse feeling in sports fandom then watching your team lose on the road, and being subjected to the taunts and catcalls from the home teams fans as you trudge deflated to your chariot, hoping for a quick escape. I did that once this season, I do not need a repeat performance next season.

I do not blame Whisenhunt for taking the job, since the adage a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is in play here. Arizona wants him and is willing to give him his shot. Pittsburgh has not decided yet, and could still go with Grimm even if Whiz waited to see what their decision may be. He should take his shot while the opportunity is ripe. Plus, it might be a better fit, since Arizona is stocked with young talent waiting for a creative offensive mind to utilize it, while Pittsburgh has some old cogs that desperately need to be replaced. This season could be more than just a coaching transition in Pittsburgh, I fear.

Between Grimm and Whisenhunt, I think both will make excellent choices. I just have a feeling that Whiz would be a bit more innovative, and Pittsburgh could use a dose of that. I guess we will just have to see how it shakes out during the season. Hey, could it be worse having a hall of fame player as coach of your team who learned his craft under a hall of fame coach and a potential future hall of fame coach? Damn straight it could be, it could be a lot worse. Most teams would drool to be in a position like Pittsburgh. The truth is, you never know with a first time head coach. All you can do is hope for the best. Considering Grimm’s pedigree, I am all about high hopes. Of course, that would first require him to get the job, and I am big time hoping for that right now. Pittsburgh has narrowed the search to Grimm, Ron Rivera and Mike Tomlin. Grimm and Tomlin have each had lengthy second interviews, and Rivera will not be free to speak with Pittsburgh until Chicago’s season ends, either after Sunday, or after the Super Bowl. If Chicago should win this weekend, it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh is willing to wait to speak with Rivera again. That could be extremely telling.

There has also been much movement in the lower coaching ranks, with new coordinators being named, promotions being given and some gentlemen being shown the door. I toyed with the idea of tracking these moves, but two thoughts kept me from doing this. One, there are a lot of moves being made out there, and it is a rather time consuming task to keep track of them all. And two, unless it is your team, do you really even care? No, the average fan does not care who is running the offense in Seattle unless they are a Hawks fan. I would be willing to go so far as to say the average fan does not even know who is running another team’s offense unless, A, they happen to be playing that team on a given week or B, that gentleman is being bandied around as a potential head coach candidate. Of the coaching ranks, the head coach is the celebrity, the name that draws people in, not his assistants. I bet most fans would be hard pressed to name the assistants on their own team past the offensive and defensive coordinators. I know I could name most of Pittsburgh’s, but I bet even I would miss one or two. Does this make me a lesser fan? No, certainly not. But most of these gentlemen toil in obscurity until a chance may materialize that they could move up. A good comparison between head coach and his assistants is looking at the star system in Hollywood. The head coach would be an A list celebrity; while, say, the tight ends coach would be a character actor. Sure, you have seen his work, and could even recognize him as that guy, but you would not know his name. By comparison, Bill Cowher would be Brad Pitt, only by level of celebrity comparisons, certainly not in any other way, and Pittsburgh tight ends coach Mark Whipple would be John C. Reilly. You know Reilly; he played Dirk Diggler’s friend in Boogie Nights, and Cole Trickle’s friend in Days of Thunder. You like his work, you think he’s a pretty good actor, but he is not a name. He could not open a movie by himself. Nothing wrong with his work, just he is a good actor who gets the job done, like many assistants in the league. Sure, sometimes someone will break through and become a name, like say Bill Paxton or Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but not too often does that happen. Breakthroughs occasionally happen in the coaching ranks as well. Bill Belichick toiled for years on the Giants defensive staff, moving up from a position coach to become their defensive coordinator before securing his first head coaching job in Cleveland. That stop did not work out so well, so he ended up working as a defensive coordinator for Parcells again, bided his time, secured the gig in New England and now he is a name. The assistant coaches in this league are a vital part of each team, yet most of us have no idea who they are unless they get a shot at the top. But let us not forget them; they make great contributions to your team. We should all know who they are, because one day they may make the big time. I will wait to study the coaching roster, however, until Pittsburgh hires a coach, and until I see if special teams coach Kevin Spencer gets hired in Arizona. See, I know most of them. But that should not discourage you. Check them out, I bet their coaching histories and their lives are far more interesting than you once thought.

Ok, I give up. I am only one man, and I can only withstand so much. You have pounded me into submission. I will be a good consumer from now on and follow your bidding. After enjoying some tasty selections from the McDonalds dollar menu and a Grilled Stuft Burrito and washing them down with an award winning Miller Lite while watching 24, Prison Break, American Idol, Without a Trace, Cold Case, CSI and Rules of Engagement on my Sony HD TV, I will get in my Nissan truck and crank Black Sabbath while I drive through ooouuuurrrr country to get a $2.99 Value menu meal from Wendy’s and pick up some Budweiser before buying a Sprint Mobile phone with my MasterCard and shipping it by UPS and then calling Southwest Airlines for reservations on my Cingular Blackjack because I want to get away from the giant Rock’em Sock’em robots attacking my Dodge Ram and boldly go somewhere only my H2 could possibly reach.

We finally have a repeat winner, because Joe Buck is an idiot. I have mentioned previously how much of an idiot I think Buck is, but somehow he managed to top himself. First, he must be the whitest man in America. Just hearing him say the word funkified before the start of the game on Sunday made me cringe. Then, during the game, there was a discussion regarding the cleats being used by the players. With the inclement weather conditions and the new turf in Chicago, many players were using a longer 5/8 inch cleat as opposed to a shorter ½ inch or 3/8 inch model. Buck, ever the moron, actually said he wished he knew which one was longer. I had to pause while I processed in my mind the level of stupidity this comment reached. I know often in our society it seems that it is not only acceptable, but also cool and popular to be a total idiot. You must be a square to be educated and able to learn new things, to reason and deduce answers to problems. And I can understand not really being up on fractions, I think it was grade school that I myself last worked with and studied fractions on a regular basis. But to not know the difference between 3/8, ½ and 5/8, and saying that out loud? Was that supposed to be his down homey way of connecting with the common man? If it was, then Buck is a bigger idiot than I previously thought, because the common man knows the difference between 3/8, ½ and 5/8. The only people that don’t know this, and would be able to relate to Buck, are grade school kids, the party youth that worship at the alter of Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears and Raiders fans. Then later, after a Chicago run on third down, the referee initially called fourth down, but after a measurement, it was shown that Chicago obtained enough yardage for a first down. Buck, though, had so much trouble handling this change of status. He even went so far as to call it strange and weird. Honestly, is this really the guy that Fox has invested in for all of their big game broadcasts of major sporting events and their flagship NFL pregame show?

Well, both of my playoff horses have been defeated. That did not take long. My mission now is anyone but New England. I do not care between the Colts, the Saints or the Bears, as long as one of them defeats the Patriots. I cannot bear another off season of those insufferable Boston fans crowing about their Patriots and Red Sox. This has to be the most annoying sports fan base in existence. They whine when their teams are doing poorly, they whine when they are winning. And, God forbid, if they should actually win it all, they become absolutely intolerable with their constant crowing. Act like you have been there before, because you have you spoiled jerks. They crow that they won the Super Bowl and World Series in the same year. Yeah, great accomplishment. Pittsburgh did that in 79, I already know the feeling. Next. I fear if they win, they will also tie Pittsburgh for 4 Super Bowls in six years, and I’m almost sick to my stomach at the prospect. Already, too many people have them winning Sunday. They keep saying how the Pats already have Peyton figured out, how they can easily beat the Colts. I’m just waiting for one of them to start saying Brady is better than Montana, because Montana never had to work with sub par receivers. I know we are only a win away from that vein of thinking. Once I hear that, I may need to be admitted to Bellevue. Just wait, if they prevail this Sunday that is exactly the kind of talk we will all be subjected to for the next two weeks. Just the mere thought of two weeks of Patriot mania has me filled with dread.

And trust me this is not an isolated point of view. There are many in the world of football fandom that are burned out, fed up and just plain tired of everything Patriots, unless of course you are one of the New England faithful. Everyone has their own reasons, for some of us it is due to the fact that we have been rolled by the Pats, on more than one occasion, on their way to a championship. For others, it is sheer exhaustion from suffering through one story after another on the greatness of this team. And for even others, it is a feeling of haves versus the have nots. To them, it feels unfair that the Patriots should get all the glory while their team has never even sniffed the Super Bowl, and in some cases, the post season. But why should anyone hold this against the Patriots? Is this really their fault?

What the Patriots have been doing over the past six years has been nothing short of amazing, and as painful as I feel to admit it, a true dynasty in the same likeness as the 49ers, Cowboys, Steelers and Packers of the past. Considering what they have accomplished, this should not be a team that is to be reviled or despised, but one that should be praised and emulated. Despite free agency, coaching hires, shifting trends and increased competition they continue to find ways to not only win, but to stay on top.

First, they have done something that almost every football pundit has said since the start of free agency in 1993 was impossible, fielded a consistent winner. To keep up the level of winning the Patriots have achieved, it has been said, no team would be able to continue to afford the type of talent you would need in all areas of the team. And that would be a correct statement. The Patriots, like every other team, have not been able to keep all of their playmakers by giving them fat contracts to keep them in place. Since their first Super Bowl team, the amount of talent that has leaked from this team is astonishing. Yet, they keep finding ways to win. And the talent drain is not limited to on the field, but in the coaching box as well. When Charlie Weis left for Notre Dame, everyone said the Patriots, and especially Brady, were finished. Yet they still won. When Romeo Crennel left for Cleveland, once again the talk was that they are finished. This time, they took a no name coach named Eric Mangini and stuck him in Crennel’s spot and kept on winning. Then last year Mangini, with only one year on the job as coordinator in New England, left to work wonders with the Jets. And now, with all this coaching talent drain and personnel drain, we find the Patriots poised at the door step of another Super Bowl appearance. I dare you to name one coach on that team other than Belichick, I bet you cannot. Yet still they win.

Second, they overcome the loss of talent by finding treasures and gems elsewhere. How many players on the Patriots rosters are former has beens or never weres? Almost too many. How many players were cast offs from other organizations? I can name no less than 4 former Pittsburgh Steelers cast offs that have all played significant roles on the Patriots championship teams, and that is just off the top of my head. I know there are more out there. They draft good, solid players that contribute to the team and have all bought into the team philosophy. You never see a Patriot player on the news or after a game jawing about so and so or some perceived lack of respect, well, except for Tom Brady, but that was more than likely a psychological ploy by him for his team. They have no head cases, and if one emerges, it is like he was never there. Even players who were head cases or distractions elsewhere suddenly become different people in the Patriot regime. Corey Dillon was a huge pain in Cincinnati, yet you never hear a peep out of him since he has been with New England. Like everyone else, he has bought into the Patriot way of doing things and become yet another cog in their championship fueled engine. They all focus on the same goal, win it all and they work together like a well oiled machine.

This brings me to my third point, how they work together. This team functions as one unit. They do all the little things just right to maximize their ability to win games. They are not a dominant type of team that will steamroll over an opponent. No, they play smart, calculated football. They minimize their own mistakes. They do not turn over the ball often. They are patient, waiting for their chance to strike. They look for, find, and attack an opponent’s weakness until it yields dividends. They never panic in a dire situation. They know if they can keep it close until the fourth quarter, all the work they put in will pay off. They force opponent turnovers and mistakes, capitalizing on them with, typically, scoring drives. They do all the things no one ever sees just right, always keeping themselves around until they have weakened their opponent and are ready to pounce, and when that moment dawns, they attack, break the spirit of the other team and stroll away with another victory. Calm, efficient and devastating. But since no one sees them doing these little things, or even notices the little things, everyone wonders how they do it? How they keep themselves around? How do they keep on winning?

Here is how, because they are the best TEAM out there. Almost every other team has better players. Other than Tom Brady, can you name me one other player on the Patriots roster that is a potential hall of fame candidate? Perhaps if his career goes well, Richard Seymour could be. In my opinion, Troy Brown should be automatic, but his numbers are not what hall of fame voters typically look for in a candidate. But Troy Brown is the perfect example of the kind of attitude put forth by the Patriots. All for one and one for all, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, do whatever it takes to win. Troy Brown probably at some point in his career could have gotten big money somewhere, and become a household name racking up numbers and paychecks. But he wanted rings, and that is exactly what he got. Sure, he may not be famous for his receiving, but he famous is for his willingness to do whatever it takes to win football games. When the Patriots secondary was ravaged by injury, which almost seems to be every year, Troy stepped in and became a nickel back. Just the mere thought of a two way player in this day and age is almost foreign to most people, but here is one, and a damn good one too. Did you see him against the Chargers Sunday when the Bolts intercepted Brady? He immediately switched into defensive mode, pursued the Charger down, got a hold of him, then proceeded to strip the ball so the Patriots could recover the fumble. The whole scenario gave the Patriots, who were at fourth and ten at the time, the ball back with better field position and a fresh set of downs. This is the kind of selfless play we see from this team each and every week. No ego, no glory hounds, no stat machines, just 53 guys working as hard as they can for the good of the team.

These are all things to love about a team. I would bet 90% of fans out there would wish the same things for their teams. How many Oakland Raider fans are out there right now who would give almost anything to see this level of success reach their organization? Or any level of success for that matter? This is what most people wish for their teams, a coach smart enough not only to know what to do, but what not to do in big games. Players striving for a glory greater than a highlight reel, a big paycheck and constant adoration from a cadre of sycophants. An organization who is smart enough to make the right moves, pull the right strings, pay the right people, pick the right new people and to know when to keep their nose out of it and just let the ship sail on its own. This is the organization that should be the model of efficiency, and the one that about 15 different organizations out there need to desperately be trying to emulate.

When the Patriots won their first Super Bowl, they were a feel good story by all accounts. Here was a team that the previous year went 5-11, and the next year overcame every kind of obstacle to win the Super Bowl. They suffered the loss of their franchise quarterback early in the season, who was then replaced by a backup quarterback drafted in the sixth round whose college career had been defined by being a career backup. No one knew then how good Tom Brady was going to be, and probably not even Tom knew how good he could be. When they made the playoffs, they were definite underdogs, especially in the AFC championship game against the much heralded Steelers. Yet they found a way to win, on the road to punch their ticket to only their third Super Bowl appearance ever. Once there, they dictated the game, did all the little things and hung around until the very end, giving themselves a chance to win against the heavily favored Rams. And what did they do? They got the job done, finished off their opponent and marched into the sunset with the trophy. This was a fantastic feel good story. It is always great to see a team break through that barrier and win their first championship, especially after years of mediocrity. The Patriots did it their way, and at the best time possible. The country was still reeling from 9/11, and here we see a team named the Patriots winning it all. No matter your affiliations, this felt good, and right to many people. I had some suspicions that the fix was in, and felt stronger about it the next year when they missed the playoffs, but that feeling was eliminated the following year when they did win it all again. Perhaps I am just too cynical after all. However, that is neither here nor there. People rallied behind the scrappy underdog with the young quarterback and the team of no namers who knocked off the dreaded Greatest Show On Turf, who had been predestined to become the next dynasty with their MVP quarterback, ridiculous amount of playmakers and their offensive genius of a coach. People can always relate to the underdog, and after feeling like one for months after the attacks, it felt good to see the underdog win one. Even I felt good for them after the win. Not that I jumped for joy, after all, they did beat Pittsburgh to get there, but you still felt good for the little guy winning it all, especially for the first time. By then, the formulas were in place, the philosophy set in stone, and they were on the path to becoming something more than champions, they were on the path to becoming the newest members in an exclusive club that consists of but a handful of teams, and they were doing it the right way. They were on the path to becoming a dynasty.

It has pained me greatly to write this, since I am no fan of the Patriots. Before their success, I could care less one way or the other about them. Now, I cannot bear the sight of them. But the fact remains that all of those points above are true. So what is different now? Everyone knows how they got here and what they did to become so successful. They are doing nothing different now. They still have all of those traits in winners that everyone loves, admires and wishes to emulate. What has changed with this team to turn them from little guy favorites to the latest in a line of bad guys, much like the evil heavy in pro wrestling? What has made myself, and many others, go from general indifference to mild joy to outright despising of this team? There are a few factors at work here.

One, people get tired of success. Certainly not their own, you never hear someone complain about being too successful, at least not in any serious way. But they get tired of seeing the same people, organizations, teams and groups succeeding. People like a certain level of change and variety, and when you see the same team winning over and over, it gets boring. Basketball suffered through this in the mid to late 90s when the Bulls were going through their second three-peat. If the same team wins repeatedly, people lose interest. Why should they care if it looks like their team may never get a chance? Why should they care to keep seeing the same guys winning over and over again? It is an unfortunate side effect of success.

Two, people derive a certain level of perverse satisfaction in seeing someone or something successful fail. Most of us will never be famous or rich or powerful. We will have modicums of success in our lives, but nothing that can be quantified or achieved like a professional sports team. We take joy in the triumphs of the teams we love. But at the same time, we take joy in the failures of those teams we hate. A word that best defines this joy is schadenfreude, which means satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune. This could be anything from the cocky guy in the bar spilling a drink on himself to watching a CEO go to jail for embezzlement. This feeling of schadenfreude is intensified if the party in question is one of great stature. We feel like if you knock someone off of their pedestal, then that is a victory for the little guys. Bring them down to our level so they can see what it is like to be one of the regular folks. Give them a dose of what it feels like to be nothing particularly special. They have had too much of something good, it is about time they taste the bitter flavor of failure and defeat. It is a childish notion, to be sure. But humans can sometimes be childish in nature, and fragile of ego. The more someone succeeds, the more it reminds us of our own failures which leads us resent them, and in an increasing pattern the more success said someone achieves. You want someone to win, to be on top, to have success, but not too much. Do not remind us of our own failings and lack of achievement, or we will turn on you in an instant. I think this is in play in a major way with the Patriots.

And third, and possibly most important, they are no longer the underdogs. In 2001, no one thought they could do what they did. Every game they played they were the underdog, the long shot everyone predicted to lose. Even when they navigated through the AFC, experts and pundits were saying how the Ram offense would shred their defense apart. Yet it never happened, and the Patriots prevailed. It was a pleasant surprise to many, and as I mentioned previously, a fantastic feel good story. But now, you expect them to win. Even when it seems they are undermanned, outgunned and outclassed, you still know they will find a way to win. Even when the odds makers favor the other team, you know those numbers mean nothing and the Patriots will find a way to win. Most fans do not wonder if they will win, just how. And as we established previously, people like the underdog, the little guy who overcomes inconceivable odds and a myriad of obstacles to achieve the impossible.

Personally, I understand this general line of thinking and feeling, having been on the side where the Patriots are now. I know there is a generation of people out there who grew up hating Pittsburgh because all they did was win. For us Pittsburgh fans, it was a wonderful time. We knew we had the best team in football, and when everything was clicking, no one could stop us. After many years of frustration, this constant level of high success was nothing short of euphoric. But for every other fan, and with some added vitriol from Oakland and Dallas fans I am sure, it was anything but fun. While I and others loved to see anything and everything black and gold waving from the highest mountain tops, it was most likely the exact opposite from fans of any other team. And this type of thinking and feeling has occurred for every other team that has had an extended period of success. From the 49ers, Packers and Cowboys to the Raiders and Colts, when a team becomes so successful it is commonplace to see them win, when they are everywhere due to their winning ways, fans of other teams tire of them and eventually turn on them. Sometimes this sparks great rivalries, like between Philadelphia and Dallas. But other times it creates a backlash where people begin to root against the successful team, or for anyone playing them. Right now, the Patriots are entering this stage. It is not of any fault of their own, they are only trying to be the best. It is merely a combination of human nature, fandom, success and schadenfreude. And who knows, if the Patriots hit the skids, lose for a few years, then rally behind their aging and close to retirement franchise quarterback, people might get behind them again. I will not, but hey, I am still bitter about two AFC championship losses at home, so who can blame me. They are on my list of teams to loathe, joining Dallas, Oakland and Baltimore. Once you make this exalted list, I forever will root against you, giving you the tools to repeatedly crush my spirits and deflate my hopes at your hands. You have the power to destroy my dreams of celebrating a championship, and all four of you have done that at some point or another, and I am sure some or all will do it again.

So, anyway, yeah, I stunk up the joint last week.

Last Week: 1-3
Playoffs to Date: 4-4
Season to Date: 154-110

I am crossing my fingers for a better week. Please.


NFC Championship Game

New Orleans at Chicago

Which will hold out longer to claim the NFC crown, Rex Grossman’s luck or the Saints’ karma? That is the question indeed. New Orleans won last week in front of a raucous crowd only their second playoff game in the history of the franchise. Think about that for a moment. They have only won two playoff games since the inception of the team. Pittsburgh doubled that last year alone. The Colts and Patriots have already won two games each this year! You know in downtimes when people will say we can always look forward to better days? This is the better days for beleaguered Saints fans. This is for what they have hoped for many years now. They have never made it this far in the playoffs, ever. After going 3-13 last year and enduring a marathon season of travel after being forced to basically play 16 road games, their story is one of hope and triumph over tragedy. What they have accomplished thus far should be more than enough, but you always like to see the little guy rise above it. Can they take this all the way? Do they have what it takes? Or like the city they play for, are they not all the way there, not all the way back, a good story but with much more work ahead of them. Only Sunday will reveal the puzzle. Personally, I would hope they go further, if only because the constant media scrutiny that is the two weeks before the Super Bowl could be a gigantic spot light on how much more needs to be done in the city of New Orleans, how much work still needs to be put in, how many families not only need help, but still need to find their way home, how much money the city and region still need to put things back together. A constant two week reminder to the rest of us of what really needs done, and that we all need to keep pitching in until things are put right again in the Big Easy. You know what, I could babble on about Grossman’s inefficiency and the weakening Bear defense, but I will not. New Orleans needs that spot light again, in a good way, to get people into action. That will be the real deciding factor. Sorry Bears, you know I love you, but they need this more.

New Orleans over Chicago


AFC Championship Game

New England at Indianapolis

As they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Welcome, then, my Colts friends. I have purposely avoided most media this week, since just about anything that can be said about this match up has already been previously spoken, written, screamed and televised. We know the teams intimately, we know their trials together, we know the dominance of one, and how the pendulum has swung the other way recently. We know the match ups, the stats, the scores, the games. I did not want to have this pounded into my head ad nausea this week because I think this could be a great game and I want to enjoy it, and if I hear one more Pats story I am going to go all Elvis and shoot out the TV. So, to avoid an expensive fit of rage, I have tuned it out. And I feel great and ready for what Sunday brings me. I am putting my hopes in the Colts, for a myriad of reasons, obviously. But I am smart enough to be extremely wary of the Patriots and am girding myself for t he possibility of another Pats Super Bowl run. But if I had one wish for this game, it would be as follows. Fourth quarter, game tied with three seconds on the clock. Indianapolis has the ball at the Patriots 25 yard line. And witnessing the death knell to their season that they have done to so many teams before, the Patriots watch in terror as Adam Vinatieri marches out onto the field to attempt a 43 yard field goal attempt. Vinatieri lines up himself and his kick, a sight so many Patriots have watched before, knowing the game was over. They watch again this time, horrified, knowing the same thing. As the ball is snapped, eleven Patriots make a mad dash to reach the ball, to get a hand on it, to nick it in flight, anything to keep it from its intended destination. But it is all for naught as the ball sails high into the air, straight and true and splits the uprights with marksman like precision. The RCA dome erupts into madness. The Colts are going to the Super Bowl. Peyton has the playoff monkey, at least for the moment, off of his back. They defeated their chief nemesis to make this happen. And in the mix of the pandemonium, Vinatieri calmly looks over at the Patriot bench, directly at Belichick, and the expression on the kicker’s face tells the genius exactly what we all are thinking in this moment. Tell me Bill, since you are such a genius, was that one million dollars more a year Adam wanted and you refused to pay really worth it right now? Wouldn’t you give just about any amount to have kept this moment from happening, to keep this particular stinging dagger from your heart? Karma, like payback, can be a real bitch.

Indianapolis over New England

The Crystal Ball The Divisionals

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts on January 13, 2007.


4 games down, 4 teams headed home, 4 teams moving on to face the remaining 4 teams. Wildcard weekend is officially a memory, and it was a wild one indeed. Well, ok, maybe not completely, but it did happen. Let’s take a brief peek at the action.

Colts defeat Chiefs – KC was woefully overmatched and obviously the strategy of running Larry Johnson constantly had zero effect. The Colts were smart and went right after Johnson, stacking eight in the box and daring Trent Green to beat them with his arm. I said not to trust Green on the road and that game was exactly why not. Here’s my question, with it being painfully obvious that Indianapolis’s defensive strategy was to key on Johnson, why didn’t KC just switch to play action passes and deep bombs against the man on man coverage in the secondary? They were holding down the Colts offense fairly effectively, keeping them to nothing but field goals in the first half. Play action passes could have given them a lead and sent Peyton and the Colts into panic mode. But hey, I guess that’s why I am not an offensive coordinator. Other than that, the most significant things I took from this were, I did not realize Peyton could start throwing picks so early in the playoffs and who knew they could run a balanced attack as opposed to Peyton just slinging it all day. Interesting.

Seahawks defeat Cowboys – No big surprise there. I thought Qwest would give them the edge. It did, but barely. It was just as I said, though, a crappy game. I feel bad for Tony Romo, whose muffed hold cost Dallas the game. Tony, these things happen all the time. And believe me when I say this, all the blame for the loss should not fall on you. If the rest of the team had played better, you would have blown the Seahawks off the field. If the game plan would have been styled to exploit the thread bare Seattle secondary, it would not have come down to a field goal at the end of the game. Ask Terrell how many balls he should have had and could have had. Start there, and work your way through the locker room. Everyone could have done more. The only thing distinguishing you is you are willing to take the heat and the blame. Dallas, if that is not a winner in the true vein of Roger the Dodger, I do not know what is. Embrace this young man, push his confidence back up and support him, so next year he is even better. He may never be Roger or Troy, but he is the best you’ve had in a long time.

Patriots defeat Jets – Not entirely surprised, but a bit disappointed. The Jets finally succumbed to a more talented team. Nice season, though, and good job Mangini. You really turned the team around and had them playing as a team the entire season. They did hang tight with the Pats for three quarters; unfortunately, it is a four quarter game. I thought they might be able to ride the wave just a bit further, but it was not to be. The future does look bright, however, for the boys in green. With only one free agent starter and tons of cap room, this team could get some weapons and has the confidence to turn this year’s wave into next year’s tsunami. New England looked like they were struggling there for a while, and then suddenly, they poured it on. Man how I hate when they do that. Will someone beat New England, please? Good gravy, what kind of blasphemy am I saying? If New England wins, that means we all continue to see Tom Brady, his excellent play and his stunning masculine beauty. And the more we get to see Tom, the more we all win.

Eagles defeat Giants – Did anyone check out the huge backup QB the Giants roll with? I thought Rod Farva had suddenly switched from law enforcement to the NFL. Is there ever a situation in a game when Eli does not look like a confused junior high kid? I didn’t think so either. And when he does something stupid, I seriously expect him to say awww shucks. Even in his post game interview, he looked like a kid dressed up in his dad’s suit. Until he looks like someone in charge, the Giants will never go far. At least his brother, even in all of his playoff losses, looks like a man in charge. The Eagles let the Giants hang around far too long, but nothing is as exciting as a game winning field goal. Could this be a team of destiny? They are showing the signs of such, but I guess we will truly find out this week. This was their sixth straight win, and if they go all the way, they’ll break Pittsburgh’s eight games streak to win it all set last year. I could live with that. Go Eagles.

One thing I must say, though, is I love Jeremy Shockey’s toughness. Usually, he leaves me with the impression of a guy who spends too much time running his mouth as opposed to running his routes. But after watching him make a catch, lose his helmet, and then just stick his head down and drive into several Eagle defenders trying to get another yard or two, that’s the kind of guy you want on your team. The kind that will do anything to push his team just that much further. The fact that he also played the entire game on a ravaged ankle shows how much he wanted to win. I still think he runs his yapper too much, but I do like his game more now.

Coaching Vacancies Update:

Atlanta found their next head coach, tapping the college ranks and hiring Bobby Petrino away from Louisville. Petrino is an offensive minded coach, and the Falcons obviously hope to have him utilize Michael Vick much better than he has been thus far in his career. This is good news for me, since I was worried that they might hire Whisenhunt due to his Atlanta connections. One opening filled. Who will be next?

Minnesota DC Mike Tomlin interviewed with Pittsburgh this week, with Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey scheduled for Saturday. Gailey was a former offensive coordinator with Pittsburgh in the mid nineties and had a head coaching stint in Dallas.

Former Green Bay head coach Mike Sherman is getting nibbles of interest from several teams. He is interviewing with the Cardinals and interest in the coach has been expressed by Miami and Pittsburgh. If Pittsburgh does interview Sherman, he will be the sixth person to interview with the team.

Miami met with Whisenhunt last week regarding their coaching spot. No word as to how the meeting went. Whisenhunt also had a second interview with Arizona on Friday, and has been asked to stay another day at the team’s request. It would seem as though the Cardinals are going to put forth an offer to Whisenhunt. It will be interesting to see what he does, since he passed up an offer from Atlanta until he sees how things shake out in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have not yet scheduled second interviews with any candidate, and their once short list of candidates seems to be expanding by the day. What is chafing me about this is not the thoroughness of the search; the Rooney’s have always been thorough and were the last two times they had to hire a coach. The chafing point is that they have two excellent candidates right in house and it seems as though they are daring both to make a move, to make their decision easier. But the more they keep pissing around, the chances expand that they could lose both of them, and where does that leave the team? Short of Chicago DC Ron Rivera, I cannot see them taking any candidate seriously other than Grimm and Whisenhunt, so why the game of charades? Just pick one and roll with it, or at least get them both in for a second interview so they know Pittsburgh’s serious.

Oakland DC Rob Ryan is a candidate to take over the head coaching duties for the Raiders. This actually might be a good idea. One of the only bright spots on the Raiders last year was their defensive play, which did manage to hold quite a few good teams to some low scores. Unfortunately, their offense was always held to even less. Remember, even in their win over Pittsburgh, their offense only managed 98 yards of total offense. Their defense scored 14 of their 20 points in that game, and also held Pittsburgh to 12 points. Not a bad performance against a defending Super Bowl Champion. They could do worse than Ryan. What am I saying, they did do worse just this year.

The Giants have elected to keep Tom Coughlin for another year, extending his contract through the 2007 season. According to the Giants owners, they have full confidence in Coughlin, and know that the team was hamstrung by a rash of injuries throughout the season. Yes, they did have injuries, and were playing in the ultra competitive NFC East. Plus, Coughlin did take them to the playoffs each of the past two years, a feat The Giants last did when Bill Parcells was the head coach. However, they lost each game in the playoffs the last two years, and it was pretty obvious the team was revolting under Coughlin, some more openly than others. Stay tuned folks; I bet this turns into an excellent soap opera next season

Cleveland clears out half of its offensive staff. Crennel is working to shake things up, and it seems the Cleveland brain trust sees the best way to do this is to get some new blood on the coaching staff. We shall see how that works out. I’d hate to see them turn into the Bungles, well, more so than they already have become.

Ok, I am at my wit’s end. The NFL needs desperately to diversify their sponsors. All weekend I again saw that sanity destroying Wendy’s $2.99 commercial and, as everyone who has watched at least one game this season can attest to, the Chevrolet ad with that grating song by John Mellencamp. Each I saw no less than 4500 times. To add to this misery, I’ve seen that jackass Nissan commercial so often, I’m beginning to hate the song Ironman. The only plus in the weekend of NFL advertising is they have started creeping out new commercials as the Super Bowl approaches. I saw a great one with Bruce Campbell dressed as a blue blood and wandering around a rather ornately decorated study. He may even have had a pipe, I cannot remember, I was laughing too hard that it was Bruce Campbell playing corporate shill. About halfway through, I’m laughing and said aloud that I do not care what this is for, it’s great. Turns out, it was for Old Spice, which just made it even funnier. Note, look for the never ending painting in the background. Just a fantastic spot.

Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick are idiots. First, let us take a long gander at Mr. Coughlin. The team did make the playoffs, but that is because the NFC sucks. The team finished 8-9 even though they are loaded with talent. They went 2-6 in the second half of the season after starting 6-2. Yes, they did have a bunch of debilitating injuries this season, but every team has injuries. The key to success is finding a way to deal with the unexpected. They have underperformed, they have rebelled against Coughlin, and he just does not see this or chooses to ignore it. When two of your stars, Barber and Shockey, call you out, repeatedly, for being out coached, that is not a team that supports its leader. Plus, the fact that he regularly throws players under the bus, especially his young quarterback who already has shaky confidence in the best of situations, rather than put the blame where it belongs, squarely on his own shoulders, just makes him detestable in my book. But this week, after their loss to Philadelphia, he actually topped himself in the post game interview. Throughout the interview he was obviously agitated, probably because he realized he was about to be out of a job. But he actually said that we should not be talking about the negatives, but about the positives. He brought up the first and 30 drive where the Giants ended up converting the set of downs and scoring a touchdown. He actually said, why are we not talking about that? Well, coach, no one is talking about it because while it was a good series, you still lost the damn game. And at the end, no matter how many good plays you make, the most important thing when the clocks hit all zeros is whether or not you have more points than the other team. This day, you did not, and that is the story. Idiot.

As for Belichick, I saw everything I need to know about the man at the post game coaches’ handshake. As he ambled toward Eric Mangini in his stupid cut off hoodie, he came upon a phalanx of photographers. When he got to them, did he say excuse me, or just squeeze his fat ass through to get to Mangini? No, he grabs a photographer and shoves him out of his way, following it with a few choice words for said photographer, who is just doing his job. Now, Belichick has been around, he knows how photographers and videographers are in trying to get THE shot, and how much more intensified their attempts to get said shot become as the playoffs progress. Plus, considering how icy he was with Mangini the two previous times they met, this looked to be something memorable. The question of how would they greet each other after this game was a topic of discussion all week. What did he honestly expect other than pandemonium? I think a common saying applies well here. How a person treats a waiter is an adequate indicator of what kind of person they really are. I think his actions here, applied with the above saying, say a lot about Bill Belichick, and to me they say egomaniacal jackass. And for all those out there who just worship at the alter of Belichick the Genius; remember this is the same coach who regularly got his ass handed to him by Bill Cowher when Belichick the Great coached the Browns. I think too many people forget this, and I love to remind everyone of it. Idiot. I have one other note about the post game greeting. All the talking heads were babbling about how it was nice that the mentor congratulated the protégé after the game. They were saying how they finally made peace and had a proper greeting, with Belichick opening his arms and accepting his professional rival. I have but one question here. Would Belichick have been so friendly and outgoing with Mangini had the Jets won? I don’t think so either.


The NFL has ripped me off big time with something called the NFL Bandwagon. You put in your team, and if they did not make the playoffs, they ask you five questions and assign you, based upon your answers, a team to root for during the playoffs. Now, I figured you did not need some psychological assessment and assignment of a team; with a few ground rules you can pick your own playoff horse. But, in the effort of research, I thought I would go through the quiz and see who would be chosen for me. After putting in Pittsburgh, and the NFL Films guy, which I thought using his voice was a stroke of genius, saying how they’re great, but this wasn’t their year, I started answering the questions. They were fairly simple, like who is your college team, are you a night owl or morning person, do you like to do it yourself or hire help, if you see a penny do you pick it up or let it be. After answering the questions, they processed it and who was my team? The New England Patriots. So, after cleaning the vomit off of my laptop, I went through it again to see if it was a fluke, this time getting different questions, but ones that were along the same vein as the previous quiz. The results? You guessed it, the New England Patriots. Once I stopped bashing my head against the wall, I thought, well, maybe one more time, what the hell. I went through once again and received yet another different set of questions. The results this time? Yeah, it was, the New England Patriots. So, obviously, NFL.com has the same man crush on Tom Brady as John Madden. Since I don’t, and I’m sure I am not alone in that boat, I thought I’d tweak the Playoff Horse rules just a bit. Here they are in their entirety. And whatever you do, avoid NFL Bandwagon. If you are too lazy to pick your own horse, you should not be rooting for anyone anyway and should spend your time making sure your season ticket renewal form for the Black Hole is filled out in the proper color of crayon.

1) Avoid teams from your division – This has too many incestuous ramifications, and could create bad karma for your team the next year. Plus, if they won it all, would you really be able to live with yourself? Avoid division teams at all cost.

2) Avoid traditional rivalry teams – This is paramount, and can create as much bad karma as a division rival, perhaps more. If you are a Raiders fan, you do not root for Denver ever. You would never see a Cowboys fans rooting for Philadelphia either. Plus, if you did that, wouldn’t you just feel sleazy, like you slept with your best friend’s girlfriend?

3) Avoid teams that beat up on your team – Sure, your team had a bad year, but why rub their noses in it by rooting for a team who tortured them. Plus, you could possibly look like a band wagon fan, and you want to avoid that at all costs.

4) Never buy any merchandise of your playoff horse – This is a very short term commitment, no need to invest any money in it. Plus, you could be labeled as a band wagon fan or even bring bad football karma to your team. You never want to split your true loyalties. And, if any of your family or friends who know nothing about football sees this merchandise, it could lead them to believe this is your favorite team and the next thing you know you find Seattle Seahawks Salt and Pepper shakers under your tree next Christmas.

5) Look for teams that did not play yours - This makes it easier to cheer for your playoff horse, since you cannot create bad karma or look like a band wagon fan. Plus, you will not be reminded of when they played your team this season, which could be a bad memory for you.

6) Try to find some connection to your favorite team – Does your playoff horse play in the same state as your team? That works. Are their former players from your team on their roster? Probably, so why not root for those guys, you liked them at one point in their careers. Well, unless that player is T.O. Do you have a friend who is a big fan of a team? Go with his or her team. They would do the same for you, and maybe they have recently, like last year when they cheered on Pittsburgh and congratulated you on Pittsburgh’s Super Bow victoryl. Hee hee.

7) Look for the sleeper – This is a great one, since if you pick the right team, and they go all the way, you look like a genius. And if they lose, well, you have lost nothing. There is always one team lurking and ready to pounce; the only question is if they could go all the way. Maybe they just need some extra cheer.

8) Pick one team from each conference – Always have two, it increases your odds for making it through the playoffs. Plus, if they both happen to make it to the big game, then you look like an uber genius. On the chance this should happen, switch all support to the team representing your conference. Always good for your real team to be in the more powerful, and Super Bowl laden conference. Trust me, the 80’s and 90’s were rough on us AFC folks.

9) You must pick your horses before the playoffs begin – Yes, I know, this only gives you a week to mourn your season’s end and then find someone to root for, even if it’s only half heartedly. But you cannot cheat by peeking at wildcard weekend and seeing who might really have a shot.

10) If your horses lose before the Super Bowl, you are done – Just like if your own team were eliminated from the playoffs, so too go your temporary allegiances. After that, you can only pick winners for each game. Well, if you have a few bucks on the game, then cheer away. But if not, then just watch as an objective party. Now, if you want to root still, my advice is to root against the teams you cannot stand. If you are any true fan, I’m sure there will be more than a few of those around, even when there are only two remaining combatants.

Remember, this is only for the short term and just for a little fun. You are just rooting for a team so you can create a little vested interest in the playoffs without losing your savings. After the team is done, or the playoffs end, so does your support for your playoff horse. Any cheering for them after that means you are either gleaming off of their success and that would compromise your own team, or you are a band wagon fan, and that would really hurt your team and your credibility. You never want to do anything that would compromise your true allegiances. With that in mind, go out there and find your playoff horse. Since the full rules did not come out until this weekend, I am giving a temporary pass on rule 9. Call it a late Christmas present.

While drawing up the full set of rules, it dawned on me that I neglected to list out my playoff horses last week. So, without further delay, here they are. And as you see, I did not violate rule 9.

AFC Horse - The New York Jets. Why? I liked the underdog factor they brought to the playoffs, plus they did not play Pittsburgh last season. Also, I was rooting for Kimo Von Oelhoffen, who left Pittsburgh to make some scratch in the Big Apple. And, I tend to root against the Patriots whenever possible, so the fact that they split the season series with New England and were heading for the rubber match in the playoffs, well it was all too tempting. However, none of that helped and they were overmatched and out played. So now, my first horse is done.

NFC Horse – The Philadelphia Eagles. Why? Well, they are another Pennsylvania team, and I tend to have an affinity toward all professional teams from the Keystone state. I like Andy Reid as a coach despite his occasional clock mismanagement, plus he looks like a boss I once had, which leads to many jokes between me and the girlfriend whenever the Eagles play. Westbrook is a great player and highly underrated, although he is finally getting some due this season. Jeff Garcia has that underdog feel about him and is playing with a chip on his shoulder, I dig that too. People ignored the team after McNabb went down, so they have kind of slid under the radar. Plus, I have several friends who are HUGE Eagles fans. They are to the Birds as I am to the Steelers, that’s how huge. I thought I’d give them a little extra backing this post season, since they threw their backing my way last year. And considering who they are playing come Sunday, they will need all the support they can get. Update on how the Eagles do next week.

As I work to hone my prediction skills, I am keeping track of my playoff picks and the first week was gang busters. I thought I would also add it in to my overall total, to see what I come up with over a total of 267 games played, not counting pre season.

Last Week: 3-1
Playoffs to Date: 3-1
Season to Date: 153-107

Not too shabby indeed. Now, who do we have on the slate for this weekend, the all important divisional round? Just a few important games, that’s all, nothing major. One factoid I keep hearing regarding the divisional round of the playoffs that I find pertinent is that the home team wins very often in this round. Since the playoff expansion to 12 teams, home teams have won 47 out of 60 games in the divisional playoff round. That is a high percentage to say the least. Extra rest and a raucous home crowd play big parts in this success, on top of the fact that the home teams in this round were distinctively better than the visiting team during the season. Not in every case, but definitely in most cases. Plus, 5 times since the playoff expansion, the home team has swept all four games in the same weekend. Very impressive. The overall percentage breaks down to about 3 out of four games will be won by the home team. So, looking at the slate of games, the big question is which three home teams will prevail? I am not one to follow numbers and statistics too closely, although I probably should for situations just like this. So, keeping in mind these home team statistics, let’s make some picks.

Saturday

Indianapolis at Baltimore

The football weekend starts in the land of crab cakes. Baltimore’s former team versus their current team in a showdown for AFC supremacy and a birth in the title game, oh the ramifications of it all! This game could go so many different ways, it is not funny. If the Ravens get in Peyton’s face early and often, it could be over quick. If Peyton catches fire early, that forces Baltimore to play catch up, and even with an aging Air McNair behind center, they are not really built to play from behind. If the Ravens get down early, the onus falls to the defense to win, and will they be able to do such a thing if they get down by a few scores? The plus side is that the Ravens have had a little bit of rest while the Colts had a physical game last week against the Chiefs. I hate to say it, but I’ll go with the rested team. Get your Peyton can win the big one comments warmed up, its time for another round starting Saturday evening.

Baltimore over Indianapolis


Philadelphia at New Orleans

Who does not love the feel good story of New Orleans? Everyone does. How the team has lifted the city on their backs, and all the work the players do for the people of the area and all they give back to the community in time, money and services. And then on top of that, the team went out and put together a 10-6 season, capturing the second seed in the playoffs and giving the city, state and region something to really cheer about. It almost seems too good to be true and even I would just love to see them succeed, even though they are playing the Eagles. How cold do you have to be to not want to get behind a team like this? And in this game, they have a good chance. The Eagles secondary is hurting, especially with Lito Sheppard out with a dislocated elbow. I cannot even imagine how much that had to hurt. I could easily see Drew Brees strafing the Eagles secondary all day long. But I gotta back my horses, and the Birds are my horse. Not every fairy tale can have a happy ending. But if the Saints march over the Eagles, I might have to break rule 10, I mean it is the Saints, and they do wear black and gold.

Philadelphia over New Orleans


Sunday


Seattle at Chicago

Ok, let’s just say it, the Seahawks got really lucky last week. They look nothing like the team that lorded over the NFC last season. Hasselbeck looks like the version of himself that made the ridiculous proclamation in the overtime game in Green Bay a few years back, and Shawn Alexander is looking rather pedestrian. Must be that Madden curse coming back to haunt them. Plus, I bet if I lived in Seattle, I’d have a good chance at being a nickel back for the Hawks right now. But, they are not the only team in the playoffs with issues. Da Bears have more than a few questions at QB with Grossman’s inept performance in the season finale. His numbers and effectiveness are way off and dropped considerably over the second half of the season, reaching an apex of futility against Green Bay. Was this a harbinger of doom, or just a minor slump? It is unknown, and we really will not know until after this game, or perhaps even next week. Yes, despite all of Grossman’s issues, Da Bears are still too much for a ravaged Seahawks secondary and a semi-effective offense.

Chicago over Seattle


New England at San Diego

The football weekend will wrap up in sunny San Diego as the Chargers host the Patriots for the right to go to the AFC Championship game. There is a lot of talk regarding New England and their return to supremacy in this game, with everyone touting the Belichick/Brady playoff record of 11-1, Marty Shottenheimer’s record of 5-12 and the fact that Phillip Rivers has never played a playoff game. All valid points, for sure. A first playoff game can be very stressful for a young quarterback. I remember Roethlisberger’s, and while the team won the game, he looked terrible. But here are a few other tidbits that seem to be overlooked as we approach this showdown. Shottenheimer is 7-2 in his career against Belichick. The Chargers had a week off and are playing at home while New England had to endure a slugfest against the Jets. The Chargers have one of the most ferocious 3-4 defenses in the league, much tougher than most of the opponents the Patriots have faced this year. The Patriots had to work extra hard to keep ahead of those same Jets last week, despite the fact that the Jets have a poor running game. The Chargers, on the other hand, have perhaps the best running game in the league, and arguably the best running back. Perhaps these few tidbits could play a factor into the outcome of the game. I think it will enormously, so let’s all sing it together. San Di-e-go…Sup-er Cha-rgers!

San Diego over New England

The Crystal Ball The Wildcards

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts on January 6, 2007


It took 16 games and 17 weeks, but the real Bill Cowher finally showed up. Sunday in Cincinnati he was back to his old self. Spitting, cursing, scowling; the jaw protruding as he prowled the sidelines leading the team to victory. The shame of it was that unfortunately, it was only just a final appearance.

After 15 years and compiling an overall record of 161-99-1 (.619) including a 149-90-1 (.623) mark in the regular season, 10 playoff appearances, 8 division titles, 6 AFC championship game appearances, 2 AFC championships and 1 Super Bowl win, Bill Cowher stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. For only the second time in my life, I will see the search and appointment of a new head coach in Pittsburgh. Cowher walked away to spend more time with his family and just be a normal guy, which is admirable. I am of mixed feelings on this. I am sad to see him go, but I am happy that he left if he was not really into it. I applaud him for spending so much time with one team and living a dream of coaching his boyhood team to the ultimate prize. I applaud him for wanting to focus on real priorities, family, and not created ones, grown men playing games for a living. I applaud him for walking away with class and style and being gracious to the Rooney family until the end. But it is an end of an era, and I have become accustomed to seeing him prowl the Pittsburgh sideline. I will miss Cowher, and all the fire he brought to the Steelers. I am excited to see who will be the next coach, and reluctant to accept that probably one day Cowher will coach again somewhere else. But for now, I would like to think of the good times he brought to the team, to the fans, to Pittsburgh and to all of us, and look forward to seeing who will next bring that passion and fire. Good luck Bill, we will miss you.

In other Steelers news, Willie Parker was named the Team MVP. It is a well deserved honor, despite his little fumbling problem from time to time. If we could just get someone to spell him every now and again, Willie could soon compete for a rushing title.

Also, I was correct on my assumption of the team this year, but just off by one loss. Ironically, if I had been dead in predicting their record, they would have made the playoffs, screwing up my prediction in a much more pleasant way. But, you cannot win the Super Bowl every season.

So now, the season is over, and we are left with nothing but the memories. Pack everything up and dream of a day when the proud warriors will once again take the field of battle, to fight over small sections of turf, each trying to acquire or defend them. Until that day, we have but our memories. So, how about a little bit of season wrap up, just to tie up a few loose ends. I was shocked with how poorly so many teams played with something on the line. The Giants barely won over a crappy Washington team. Cincinnati and Denver both lost at home when a win would have helped their playoff chances, and the Broncos only had to win and they were playoff bound. Baltimore had trouble with the lowly Bills while fighting for seeding. Dallas lost while trying for a home game. If you cannot get fired up now, you are gonna blow everything when the games are win or go home.

Detroit screwed their fans yet again by winning, and taking away their chance at the number 1 pick in the draft. Sure, they have screwed up picking first many times before, but at least it gives the fans a modicum of hope. And to further kill that hope, Matt Millen is keeping his job. Just exactly how stupid is the Ford family? I am 100% convinced now he has dirt on them. Either that or they can write off losing on their corporate taxes. Stupid Lions.

Brett Favre had a teary interview with NBC after the Sunday night game, saying that if this is it, it is a good way to go out. Now, no one knows for sure whether or not he will retire but him, but it sure seemed likely to me. But then again, Favre said he was done after the last game last year, and you see how that worked out.

My condolences go out to the family of Darrent Williams. Bronco cornerback Darrent Williams was killed early Monday in a drive by shooting. Just a tragic and senseless act for which there does not seem to be any motive. Unfortunately, it is merely another horrible example of some people feeling the only way they can settle a dispute or to demonstrate their manhood is by brandishing a gun. I wonder about our world sometimes.

That damn NFL Network needs a new sponsor. I saw that stupid Wendy’s $2.99 commercial at least 935,642 times watching two hours of pregame, 3+ of actual game and 1 of post game on Saturday night. That grating whistling from the commercial has haunted me in both waking and sleeping hours ever since.

Moving on, let’s take a look at the potential coaching changes of the NFL. And it has been a busy first week.

Arizona – This happened Monday when Denny Green was fired. No big surprise there. Who did not see this coming?

Giants – Not a change that is being talked about, but overdue since Coughlin lost the team a while ago. Plus he prefers to throw players under the bus than to take the rightful blame for losses. Who wants to play for a guy like that? I imagine the team will be looking for a new coach sooner rather than later.

Atlanta – This happened Monday also when Jim Mora was fired. This also was no big surprise. When your star player throws you under the bus, you should probably start stocking up on boxes and updating your resume.

Pittsburgh – Odd to see them in this discussion, but here we are. Also, in another coaching change in Pittsburgh, Dick Hoak, the running backs coach who has been either a player or coach on the team, except for one year, since 1961, retired Tuesday. You rarely see that sort of longevity with one team anymore, and may never see it again.

Oakland – This happened Thursday, and honestly, I’m surprised it took that long. Maybe Al thought there was one more game left, and when he finally realized the season was over, it was Thursday.

Miami –Saban abandoned the mess he further made in Miami for Alabama on Wednesday. Also no surprise, but did he have to lie about it over the last few weeks of the season?


Now, I have managed to cull from tons of sources a few potential candidates for the open head coaching jobs in the NFL. If I was able to find the teams interested in them, I listed those as well.

Pittsburgh OC Ken Whisenhunt – Atlanta, Arizona, Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh AHC Russ Grimm – Atlanta, Arizona, Pittsburgh
Chicago DC Ron Rivera - Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Arizona
Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz - Pittsburgh
Former Green Bay HC Mike Sherman – Arizona, Miami
Titans OC Norm Chow – Arizona, Miami
Indianapolis AHC Jim Caldwell
San Diego OC Cam Cameron
Giants HC Tom Coughlin - Oakland

Oddly enough, Oakland is going for who may be the worst coach on the list. Figures. There is a lot of talent on this list; it will be intriguing to see who lands where. More updates as they are warranted.

Jim Nantz and Phil Simms are idiots. They spent the entire game on Manning’s jock, talking of how great he is and how the Colt offense is unstoppable. How next to impossible it is to sack Manning and how he makes such brilliant decisions. Hey, morons. 4 teams this season have figured the Colts out. Plus, last time I checked, there was one team last January that managed to sack Peyton not once, but five times, all in one game, if you can believe it. He must not be that elusive if they sacked him 5 times. I know Peyton is an excellent quarterback, and a fantasy football wet dream, but he is no god on that field, just another player.

This constant fawning over Peyton reminds me of the never ending argument about the best quarterback in the NFL. Each year, and probably every year from now until the end of time, the debate rages about who is the best signal caller amongst the 32 starters, and in some cases the numerous back ups, in the league. Personally, I think the argument should start and end with championships. The ultimate goal is not to break records or pad stats; it is to win that ring. Right now, there are only a handful of quarterbacks in the league that can be put into this discussion. Below are all of them, in order of how they should be ranked as the best in the league.

1) Tom Brady – Woof does this pain me, but the truth is the truth. He has three rings, and before everything is said and done, he could have a few more. Plus, he puts up some pretty decent stats.

2) Brett Favre – One ring, another appearance, and working on grabbing all of Marino’s passing records. A first ballot hall of famer for sure, he lands in second only because of his lack of multiple rings.

3) Ben Roethlisberger – Yes, kiddies, Big Ben should be ranked higher than Peyton. Why you may ask? Because he got the job done, plain and simple. Plus, he will be entering only his fourth season next year, and is just starting to bloom as a quarterback and team leader. He could have a few more rings by the time everything is over as well.

4) Brad Johnson – Ok, he kind of blows this theory out of the water a bit, but the truth is he won a ring in Tampa Bay. You have to make that part of the discussion.

Everyone else, well, they line up at fifth spot and roll down from there. Sure, I would put Peyton at 5, unless someone else wins one this year, then the line starts at 6. And if Peyton goes all the way, then I will put him at two, and we can start an argument between who is better, him or Brady. But until then, he, and everyone else without that ring, is no better than fifth, period.

Now, before we go any further, I need to give a little help to those of you out there who, due to unfortunate circumstances, will not be able to watch your team in the playoffs. So, what is one to do? How do you keep the playoffs interesting if your team is sitting at home eating Cheetos? Easy, you pick your playoff horse. The best way to do this is to pick one team from each conference, and root for them all the way through to the Super Bowl. If one goes down, you still have the other team. If they both go down, well, then you gotta pick again. But if you follow one, and they make it, it is almost as tasty as if your team did. Ok, it is not nearly as good, not even remotely close, but it does give one a certain amount of satisfaction and it is a fun way to watch the playoffs. So, here is what you need to know.

1) Avoid teams from your division – This has too many incestuous ramifications, and could create bad karma for your team the next year. Plus, if they won it all, would you really be able to live with yourself? Avoid division teams at all cost.

2) Avoid teams that beat up on your team – Sure, your team had a bad year, but why rub it in by rooting for someone who tortured them. Plus, you could possibly look like a band wagon fan, and that is not what we are going for at all.

3) Look for teams that did not play yours. This makes it easier, since you cannot create bad karma or look like a band wagon fan.

4) Try to find some connection to your team – Does your playoff horse play in the same state as your team? That works. Are their former players from your team on their roster? Probably and why not root for those guys, you liked them at one time? Well, unless the player is T.O.

5) Look for the sleeper – This is a great one, since if you pick the right team, and they go all the way, you look like a genius. And if they lose, well, you have lost nothing. There is always one team lurking and ready to pounce; the only question is if they could go all the way. Maybe they just need some extra cheer.

6) Remember, this is only short term – This is the most important one of all. Always remember you are just rooting for a team so you can have a little vested interest in the playoffs. After the team is done, or the playoffs end, so does your cheering for your playoff horse. Any cheering for them after that means you are either gleaming off their success and that would compromise your own team, or you are a band wagon fan, and that would really hurt your team, your credibility and create some terrible karma.

Now that you know the rules, go pick a few teams and have fun.

Unfortunately, my bad week in week 16 hurt more than I thought. I ended up finishing 3 spots out of the money. But not bad overall.

Last Week: 11-5
Season to Date: 150-106

Still, I could do better, and next season, oh, I will. But in the meantime, let’s try to hone these skills with some of the wild card action.

Saturday


Kansas City at Indianapolis

Kansas City squeaked into the playoffs by luck and some bad play by quite a few other teams. Now they have a chance to show off their stellar running game on a larger stage. This game has been touted all week as Larry Johnson versus the Colts porous run defense. Larry could have a huge day. But what everyone is ignoring is Peyton will get the ball on occasion, and he is playing at home. A strong running game and run defense are important, especially now, but if the Colts get ahead early, I do not trust Trent Green on the road that much.

Indianapolis over Kansas City


Dallas at Seattle

Tony Romo has come way down to Earth in recent weeks, and it could not be at a worse time for the Cowboys. But, Seattle has a ridiculously banged up secondary, which could be beneficial to the Boys. The Hawks have looked inconsistent all season, and numerous injuries have not helped their cause. But despite their secondary, they are mostly back and fairly injury free. I just have trouble seeing Dallas winning in Seattle. Either way, I do not see this game as being very good. Mostly just some sloppy football.

Seattle over Dallas


Sunday


N.Y. Jets at New England

This could be a great game, or a complete stinker. I kept thinking that New England has lost a step, and I’m not one hundred percent convinced they have not. But after watching them take apart Tennessee last week, they may be better than most people, namely other Patriot haters such as myself, think. The Jets have done it all with smoke and mirrors and playing way above their heads. They split the season series with the Patriots and almost won the first meeting. Mangini will have them up big time for this game. I think they can do it. I am calling this an upset.

N.Y. Jets over New England


N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia

I have had enough of the dysfunctional, annoying and underachieving Giants. The Eagles, however, are my horse. They are peaking at the right time and just far enough under the radar. What do I say about this game? Enjoy your retirement Tiki; you’ve had a great career.

Philadelphia over N.Y. Giants