*This is no longer a Blog. It is officially a Blago in honor of the greatest American hero, Rod Blagojevich. He is my hero for one simple reason. He is not going to pretend that this an anomaly, the exception to the rule. His take, we’re politicians. This is what we do and I’m not going to pretend this is anything other than par for the course in the world of politics and government. God love him.
The 2008 NFL season had all kinds of happenings. 3 rookie no name coaches in the playoffs. The single worst coaching job in the history of the NFL. Brady’s knee snapped. Cassel guaranteed himself $50+ million. Brett Favre destroyed his legacy and two football teams. The fiction that was the Patriots good season. Crazy owners fired good coaches and didn’t fire the worst coaches. Joe Buck realized that it’s only an event if he is broadcasting it. Tony Siragusa taught me that blood can actually flow out of my ears with no physical injury. And most importantly of all, we all learned that you cannot call Brian Baldinger, Brian, or Baldinger, but that he can only be referred to as "Baldy". These things are important.
On the short list of things I was right about, we will start with Aaron Rodgers, or as he was known two weeks into this season, the single greatest quarterback ever to lace them up. He goes 2-0 with big numbers against two horrendous pass defenses and the talking heads were gushing like Keith Olberman about anything really far left of center. For the record, after that stellar beginning, Aaron won 3 games the rest of the season against teams not from Detroit. Yet, he is still blameless, it was the defense. Green Bay’s roster is not significantly different from the team that was so close to the Superbowl last year before Brett Favre felt cold and decided it was time to get back in the locker room. In the final 14 games of the season, Aaron managed just 5 games without an interception. Everybody’s fault but his. Yes his numbers are decent, but they are just numbers often racked up in games with deficits and prevent defenses. He’s no more than a poor man’s Matt Schaub.
Brett Favre. What is his actual IQ? I have been wondering this for a while. His mom would have to do the principal Sally Field style just to get him into the regular school. Alright, that’s going a bit far. But what brains are in there appear to have been crushed by his galactic sized ego. Hey, Favreau, your old team, with the fans that adore you. The franchise you helped revive. They didn’t want you because you throw too many brain dead interceptions in big games. They’d rather go with the kid because at least he’s not going to arbitrarily throw three huge picks in a playoff game. The media creation of Favre as an all time great is purely fiction. One Superbowl victory, a 14 point win in a game with two kick returns for TD’s by Desmond Howard. If you look closely at every playoff game he has ever been in, his failure rate is staggering. Look it up. And kiddies, this is a good lesson for all subjects: It ain’t true just cause the media says it is.
Brett Favre eviscerated a very well put together Jets team. Great O-line, defense coming along, excellent RB’s, top notch WR’s. And what does Favre do? He comes in, never learns the play book and throws interceptions like Congress doling out bailouts. His teammates hated his guts. He spent half his time in a private office. Where I imagine him talking to his agent about more Wrangler commercials. It is so perfect that this happened because it has opened the eyes of at least a few as to the fraud that is the legacy of Brett Favre. Sure, he’s a hall of famer, but he should never be discussed among the all time greats. Don’t tell the media though, it might make them sad.
The ego. It’s a riot. He single handedly destroys the Jets, gets the coach fired and has had more bad things said behind his back than any player I can ever recall. And what does he say after the season, he’s gonna take some time to figure out if he’s retiring or not. Brett, you couldn’t pay a team in this league to let you be their QB next year. And the fact that he is in the Pro Bowl with his 81.0 rating and 22 interceptions, while Phillip Rivers with his 105.5 rating and 34/11 TD/INT season is reason enough to overhaul the system. Too bad the fraud has a boo boo on his arm or he could set a Pro Bowl record for INT’s and mutinying teammates.
Kudos to the Dolphins, Falcons and Ravens for thinking outside the box and hiring head coaches who stirred up funeral level excitement from the fan bases. Three no name rookie coaches all in the playoffs. With any luck, this will mean the end of the retreads. Too bad this came too late for Jerry Jones. Jerry, your roster is stacked with talent. Dominant (at times) offensive line, play-makers all over the offense. Superstar Demarcus Ware leading the league in sacks, while his team did the same. Three talented RB’s. And what does this get you, 9-7 and no playoffs. The most humiliating loss in the history of the franchise, 44-6 to the Eagles. Your defensive captain getting into a fracas with a forlorn fan in your parking lot. All leading into the new Texas Stadium next year.
Since Wade Pillsbury Phillips was handed the well oiled and stacked machine that Parcells handed him, he has quickly run it into the ground. After starting out 12-1, Wade is 10-10 with that talent. Far and away led the league in penalties. And by the end of this year were a team that wilted in the face of any blitz. The QB and WR had no idea what to do in the face of a blitz. I have never seen more mishaps on blitzes. I have never heard players calling out their coaches and calling the system flawed. Clearly it was, but I’ve never heard it. This was the single worst coaching job in the history of organized sports. Wade Phillips has murdered the Cowboys and Jerry Jones doesn’t seem to care.
This is a coaching league. More than any other sport, it is about coaching. And Wade Phillips has always been a failure. This year was humiliating. The penalties, turnovers, wrong routes, special teams embarrassments. Let’s not forget that this team out gained the Giants 336-230 in last year’s playoff loss. They had a 120+ yard running back and did not turn the ball over until the game’s final play. Time of possession: Cowboys 36:30, Giants 23:30. People don’t remember this stuff. So, how did they lose, you ask? 11 back breaking penalties for 84 yards compared to the 3 Giant penalties. It’s that simple. And this year, they were more undisciplined, had more penalties. And Jerry doesn’t appear to have any concern. The only hope for the Cowboys is that during Jerry’s next face lift, they figure out that they had a few too many ill placed sutures where his neck connected to his brain. They loosen his neck from his brain and then he wakes up and realizes this team is the best in the NFC with Mike Shanahan as their coach and an instant contender. Jerry, don’t let the Pillsbury dough boy continue to kill this team.
And while we’re on firings. Mangini is out, Shanahan is out and Marvin Lewis and Wade Phillips are gainfully employed. I don’t get it.
And on a completely unrelated and wholly uncouth matter. You’ve been warned. There was a very peculiar image of Romo on the bench all by himself early in the Eagles game. He took a long slow whiff of his finger as he gently brushed the length of it by his nostril and got the strangest half drunk little smirk. Whatever could he be smelling and smirking about. It could only be Jessica. Pull out your tivo, I swear to you it is right there plain as day. Let’s just say I didn’t feel real good about the Boys chances in that game after that disturbing image.
The fiction that was the Patriots great season. Yes they had a lot of injuries. Yes Cassel played great as the season went on. Yes they won 11 games. However, can you please tell me just one quality win that the Pats had? You can’t, because there was not one decent victory out of the 11. Don’t believe me. Let’s have a look see. The Pats split with the Dolphins and Jets, so you could call the Pats drubbing of the Fins in the Miami a quality win, but that’s the only one and it’s borderline at best. The Jets were Favred and that loss, which would have put them in the playoffs, is now just humiliating. Other than that, they beat an Arizona team in a blizzard that had quit before their plane touched down at Logan.
So, against playoffs teams (throwing out the AZ snow quit game) the Pats were 1-4. Split with Miami, waxed 63-20 by Pittsburgh and San Diego, and a loss to the beginning to get going Colts. Not very impressive, by any standards. They did manage to go 8-0 against KC, SF, St. Louis, BUF, SEA, OAK and AZ. Again, it ain’t true just cause they say it is.
The games (home team in CAPS):
CARDINALS +1 over Falcons
Cardinals play good ball at home and Falcons do not have enough fire power for a high scoring affair. That and every one in the world has picked the Falcons. I like the Falcons, Matt Ryan is incredible, but they need another receiver. They are solid. Cards will have fire in their bellies as a home underdog. Matt Ryan is so good as a rookie it is almost incomprehensible. If Boston College didn’t consistently have the least talented wide receivers ever, imagine what he could have done. He did it with no receivers, not one pass catcher that would even sniff an NFL practice squad. He has every throw there is in his arsenal and reads defenses like a grizzled veteran. He has guaranteed his BC coach an NFL job in the future. The future may be now as the Jets are interviewing him. Not this year though, Matt, your ride is over.
Colts (pk) over CHARGERS
I don’t get this line at all. How can the Colts not be favored? Rivers had the best year of any NFL QB, however, the Chargers cannot get into the playoffs without both LT and Gates injured. Every year, they are game time decisions on playoff day. The Colts are on fire, 9 in a row, and Manning is playing as well as he ever has. Chargers cannot stay close with dinged up weapons.
DOLPHINS -3 over Ravens
I thought the predictions on the Falcons game were one sided. I cannot not find anyone in America who has picked the Dolphins. The chance to be that right is just too much to pass up. This game is far from a foregone conclusion. As good as the Ravens defense is (and it is not as good as 2000 nor as good as the Steelers this year) they are still the Ravens. They can and will struggle to score points quite frequently. The Dolphins, oh those tricky Dolphins. Pennington is deadly accurate and not easily fooled. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Ted Ginn, there are weapons. Is it so out of the realm of possibility that the Fins can put some points on the board, even if they need to get tricky to do so? Fins defense has been anything but consistent, but these are still the Ravens and a rookie QB not half as good Matt Ryan. Flacco is going to be excellent, but Matt Ryan will be an all time great. *
(Here’s what I wrote about Joe way back on October 4, 2008.) * Joe Flacco is unflaccable. I’m coining that phrase. Arm strength, poise. Terribly impressed with this guy who no one ever thought would be starting early on in his career. Out of Delaware. He’s got a cannon, and his head and heart appear to be in the right place. He could be a top 10 QB within 5 years. You heard it here first. And when you have to do it with the Ravens’ receivers who like to be known either as Wingus and Dingus or the Mandrell sisters, that’s all the more impressive.
What Matt Ryan’s doing already is just plain silly.
Dolphins can and will win this game. This was a toss up for me, but with so many integral parts of the Ravens having attended the University of Miami or as I call it, the University of Thuggery, that tipped the scale for me. They refer to it only as "the U" because half their players couldn’t spell or pronounce it in full. All these thugs back in their old stomping grounds. They’ll be lucky if no one ends up killed or in jail. I’m sure they had some fun with their old cronies last night. I feel safe in assuming it was a better than average night for Miami area strippers.
Eagles -3 over VIKINGS
This one will not be close. Vikings and T-Jack will be flummoxed by Phili’s crazy blitzing defense. Eagles are the team hitting on all cylinders at the right time in the NFC. They will be in the Superbowl. The Giants are not the same without Plax. The Panthers are as weak a 2 seed as there has ever been. McNabb and Reid needed to feel so unappreciated that they got into "we’ll show those effers" mode and it’s working.
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