NLF 2008 Week 2: Life After Brady

The day the music died in New England

Not sure if you heard about this, but Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury eight minutes into the opening game last Sunday.

And at that moment, the 2008 NFL season unofficially ended for New England fans.

Now, some people (read: unmitigated homers and eternal "glass half full" optimists) are trying to put a positive spin on the devastating loss by implying that career backup Matt Cassel could come in and make like his mentor by "pulling a Brady", a.k.a doing what Brady did when he replaced injured Drew Bledsoe in 2001 and go on to league superstardom.

Me, I don't buy it for a second.

For one reason, Cassel hasn't started a football game since high school. He was permanently parked behind Heisman winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC, and then all-everything league poster boy Brady in New England for the last four years. That type of resume doesn't portend to years of success in this league.

For another, he isn't that good. He's somewhat mobile, somewhat accurate, and somewhat efficient. But nothing that he has done, in four years of preseason action and mop up duty, strikes you as seeing a player who has star potential. He looks very much like a career backup, which is what he has been his whole career.

For these reason I say the Pats season is over. Oh sure, they might win 10-12 games, thanks to a weak schedule and the pitiful parity that plagues the league nowadays, but so what. A first round playoff loss is not what Pats fans and players strive for, not with three Lombardi trophies already residing in Foxborough.

No matter what else happens, anything less than a fourth trophy is a failure for this team. And if New England couldn't win that last season with Tommy Boy, then I'm willing to go out on a limb and say they're not going to win it this season without him.

But you're welcome to go out and prove me wrong, Matt.
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As for the rest of the league, there were plenty of other injuries in Week 1 to depress other fan bases as well. Chargers DE Shawne Merriman finally smartened up and decided to have reconstructive surgery on his mangled knee, so his season is over; New Orleans lost potent offensive weapon WR Marques Colston for 4-6 weeks with a thumb injury; and Titans QB Vince Young injured more than his knee in a win over Jacksonville, as a bizarre scene unfolded in which the police were called to locate VY after his mom worried he might kill himself.

Other than that it was a quite Week 1.

Some surprises included the Cowboys dismantling the supposed playoff-contending Browns; ditto the Broncos destroying the hapless (again) Raiders; the Panthers snuck a last second victory out from under the Chargers; and Brett Favre led the Jets to a win over a game Miami team in his debut with Gang Green.

All of this makes for a wide open season (what else is new), and of course there are some key games to keep an eye on this week. Here are some to watch in my special "farewell to football in Foxborough" edition of the Top 5, complete with my predictions:

1.) Patriots (1-0) at Jets (1-0) 4:15
The first game AB (after Brady) was supposed to be one of the most intriguing on the schedule this year. You've got the Mangini/Belichick angle, made even spicier since the protege ratted out the mentor last season to ignite the whole Spygate saga. You've got Brett Favre's first division clash, leading the little team that wants to be great against the mighty Pats. And now, sans Brady, you've got the Jets thinking they can actually dethrone the king and take over the AFC East penthouse.

Even without Brady, this one promises to be a decent match up, if only to see which QB disappoints his fans more.
MY PICK: Jets 24, Pats 21

2.)Bears (1-0) at Panthers (1-0) 1:00
Both teams are coming off surprising road wins in Week 1; Chicago crushed the rusty Colts, spoiling the debut of Peyton Manning and shiny new Lucas Oil Stadium with a punishing ground game, led by rookie Matt Forte, while Carolina scored a touchdown with no time left on the clock to stun the Super Bowl favorite Chargers.

So the question is, now that neither team can surprise anyone, who will win? I have to go with the home team, because two tough road games to start the season is not conducive to a 2-0 start. As good as Chicago was, they had the advantage of playing a Colts team that was banged up. Look for Carolina to get to 2-0 today.
MY PICK: Panthers 17, Bears 14

3.)Titans (1-0) at Bengals (0-1) 1:00
While Tennessee tries to ease Kerry Collins into the role of savior as Young nurses is knee and psyche back to health, Cincy must erase the memories of a humiliating opening loss to Joe Flacco and the Ravens.

Although the Bengals mustered just 10 points and 154 yards of offense against the stout Baltimore D, I believe Carson Palmer, perhaps inspired by USC's beatdown of Ohio State last night, will come out blazing against the rocky Titans team.
MY PICK: Bengals 27, Titans 20

4.)Steelers (1-0) at Browns (0-1) 8:15 NBC
This bitter old rivalry gets the center stage as the Sunday Night Football game of the week, and for the Browns sake, they better play better than they did in last week's 28-10 embarrassment against the Cowboys. A night game at the Dawg Pound will have the home team fired up, but the Steelers, behind Willie Parker's 138 yards and 3TDs, had no trouble dispatching Texans in Week 1.

Something tells me Cleveland will play much better in this one (how could they play worse?), and if the prime time night game against their bitter steel town foes can't get this team to perform well, nothing will.
MY PICK: Browns 19, Steelers 17

5.) Eagles (1-0) at Cowboys (1-0) 8:15 MNF
Speaking of bitter rivalry games, nothing like a match between these two NFC East teams to spark tension and hatred, right? TOs old team trots into the Stadium riding a 38-3 smackdown of the Rams in Week 1, while the Boys' effortless win over the Browns proved they are the team to beat in the NFC, if not the league.

Look for a good old fashioned dogfight, with neither team willing to back down or let up, and plenty of fireworks, especially if TO scores a touchdown against his old mates. Something tells me he won't mind being fined for the celebration he'll have in store for his ex-BFF, Donovan McNabb.
MY PICK: Cowboys 31, Eagles 28

As always, these are my best guesses, so please don't lay any money on these picks. Enjoy Week 2, and for Pats fans, there's always next year.

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NFL 2008 Kickoff

So I see the last time I posted here was in mid-July. Whoa. Guess I let this one get away from me.

But as the 2008 NFL season is about to get underway I thought I'd better get back to blogging and give my thoughts on what might transpire this year.

Without further ado, here are my five stories to watch for this season and five game to watch this week. No betting info here. It's been long enough since I posted, why alienate the few readers I have left with my piss-poor picks.

Top 5 Stories of the Year:

1.) How will the Pats rebound from 2007?
Since the Patriots failed to complete their perfect season and culminate their undefeated run with another world title, the chant "18-1" has replaced the old familiar Red Sox "1918" refrain as the mocking cry for Boston haters.

Hard to argue with them, too, because coming so close to perfection only to come up short (thanks to a one-in-a-million, miraculous, lucky catch) hurt us pretty badly. But this is a new season, and the Pats have a clean slate and a whole host of issues to overcome in order to make it back to the Bowl.

For starters, Tom Brady missed the entire preseason with a foot injury, so no one is sure how healthy he is and how he will get out of the gate in the opener against Kansas City. he says he's fine, but there's gotta be some rust since he hasn't thrown a meaningful pass since February.

Also the defense has been severely altered in the off season. Stud DB Assante Samuel took the money and ran to Philly, aging LB Junior Seau was not brought back, and a unit that was already pretty old got a year older. Throw in a couple of ugly arrests, the lingering spectre of Spygate, and the hangover effect of falling short in an otherwise stellar season, and all eyes are going to be on New England, especially in the beginning of the year.

2.) Brett the Jet
As you may have heard, Brett Favre went from the Green Bay Packers, where he played in every game since 1992, to the New York J-E-T-S in a ballyhooed unretirement that made headlines throughout the summer.

Now that he has swapped his cheeseheads for the Cosmo crowd, how will the self described redneck adjust to life in the big city, with a new team, new scheme, new coaches, and most important of all, new ugly unis?

I saw somewhere that he has gotten more and more comfortable in the Big Apple as time has passed, but to me that's like saying a wild animal got used to his life in the zoo. They may have adjusted to their new surroundings, but that doesn't mean they are liking it.

Favre will be under the microscope all season, as detractors will be looking to pounce on every misstep and sign of despair and fire off a "he should've stayed retired" story. But don't be surprised if Brett the Jet takes that chip on his shoulder and turns in a playoff berth. Oh, and expect a lot of interceptions, too.

3.)Rookie watch
There was a time when rookies came into the league and carried the clipboard for a few seasons, hoping to get an appearance in an actual game here and there in between playing tackling dummies on the practice squad. But now more than ever rookies are expected to make major impacts on the game and their new teams, which are shelling out big bucks to see their risky draft picks pay immediate dividends on Sunday.

More than a few big time picks have turned into big time busts, putting more pressure on these kids to come out performing like Pro Bowlers right from the get-go.

Some of those candidates who better put up big numbers early this year include RB Darren McFadden, who is expected to give the moribund Raiders a shot in the offensive arm; QB Matt Ryan, who will tackle the monumental task of making Atlantans forget about Mike Vick and a disastrous 2007 season; OT Jake Long, who needs to validate Miami honcho Bill Parcells' decision to lock up the No 1 pick well before the draft; and KC DE Glenn Dorsey, who slipped to #4 due to health and weight issues, then held out for most of camp and comes into the opener already behind the rookie 8 ball.

It's put up or shut up time, guys. You're not in Kansas (or Mizzou or Arkansas) anymore.

4.)How will the Giants follow up their Super season
Many (read: Pats) fans believe that the G-Men's run to the Bowl was a product of getting hot at the right time and having a couple of incredible breaks go their way (yes, we're talking about you, David Tyree). Now with a ring on his finger and Michael Strahan in the TV studio, we get to see how Eli "the other" Manning can produce when his team is the favorite instead of an unexpected underdog.

My guess is that they fall apart like a balsa model in a wind storm, and the loss of Osi Uminyora in the preseason finale will be the beginning of an onslaught of injuries and unfortunate circumstances that combine to fell the soon-to-be former champs. But that's just my unbiased opinion.

5.)New rules for the new year
On the heels of Spygate, defensive players will be allowed to hear signals from the sidelines like the offesnive players have been for years. How all this gabbing in the helmets affects the play on the field has yet to be determined, but something tells me it could do more harm than good. Don't be surprised if in a couple of years, all helmet communications are outlawed anbd we go back to the good old days of plays being brought in from the sidelines.

But the biggest rule chance could be the shoving out of bounds play. No longer will a catch be upheld if an offensive pplayer was forced out by a defender. From now on, if you don't come down in bounds, it's not a catch. This could be one of the single biggest rule changes to come along in years, and after a number of receptions and TDs are taken away, I think players and coaches are going to clamor for this rule to be revoked next year.

Top 5 Games to watch, Week 1
-NY Jets at Miami Dolphins
This one has more story lines than a David Lynch film. Not only do you have the Favre in Gang Green headliner, but the Big Tuna is calling the shots for the Fins against one of his old teams in hopes of resurrecting the once proud franchise, and the new QB for Parcells happens to be the old Jets signal caller, Chad Pennington. Intrigue and interest abound in this grudge match between two clubs that hope to compete with the Pats for AFC East supremacy.

-Detroit at Atlanta
The debut of Ryan will be highly anticipated and scrutinized by people who are curious to see if handing the reigns of a franchise over to a kid who was in college just a few months ago is a good idea. I say how can it be worse than allowing a freak of a quarterback who smoked week and killed dogs to run the franchise into the ground? Not only will Ryan be under the microscope, but Detroit, which had high expectations last year, is trying to get to the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and will rely on rookie RB Kevin Smith to lead them there.

-Dallas @ Cleveland
Definitely one of the more intriguing match ups of Week 1, as the sideshow of T.O., Romo and PacMan travel to the Dawg Pound to battle the feisty Browns. While all eyes will be on Jessica Simpson's fuck buddy and the return of Adam Jones to the NFL after a 1-year hiatus, the Browns, with an explosive offense and solid defense, could surprise the stars of HBO's Hard Knocks by applying a hard knock of their own.

-Kansas City at New England
The Chiefs are predicted to be one of the worst teams in the league, while the Pats nearly went undefeated last season. On paper this one looks like a mismatch of epic proportions, which is backed up by the two touchdown spread. But with Brady shaking off the rust, the defense adjusting to life without Samuel and Seau, and one crummy team always surprising the league, this one could be close than the experts expect.

Put it this way, if the Pats don't win big, or God forbid lose, it's gonna be a long week in the Commonwealth.

-Minnesota at Green Bay Monday Night
This was supposed to be the night that the Packers retired Brett Favre's jersey before the game against the arch rival Vikings. Now it's a curious contest that will be remembered as the first game someone other than Favre starts under center for the Pack since 1992. The Vikes, with stud RB Adrian Peterson entering his second season, have a golden opportunity to steal a win on the not-yet-frozen tundra, and if Favre's replacement Aaron Rodgers doesn't wow the crowds, expect the chants of "we want Brett" to rain down from the rafter of Lambeau Field.

Enjoy Week 1, and I promise I will be back here on a weekly basis from now on (no, my fingers aren't crossed).

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2008 AFC Championship Game: Chargers vs. Pats

San Diego stuns Colts, setting up a playoff rematch with the Pats, this time at Gillette Sunday's AFC Divisional Playoff Game was an "either/or" proposition for the New England Patriots and their ever-polarizing fan base:

either the Colts would win, setting up a grudge match rematch of their epic AFC Championship game of a year ago; or the Bolts would win, setting up a grudge match rematch of their epic AFC Divisional Playoff Game from a year ago. Not to mention it would also mean that Peyton's legacy would be back in its proper place -- playoff choker.

Either way, it was a win/win for Pats fans no matter how you sliced it.

Turns out Peyton and the beat up Colts were not as well prepared to defend their title as everyone thought they would be, and the listless Mannings dropped another big home playoff game, falling short of the big prize once again when they gagged to the Chargers, 28-24.

Christmas in January, anyone.

How else can you describe having the irritating, infuriating, self-promoting ADD-riddled quarterback with the goofy family and the toothy smile at home watching this year's battle for the Bowl instead of fucking with the Pats mojo during it?

And how do you explain our team getting another chance to elicit tears from the Whiny Bunch, a.k.a. LT, Merriman, Phillips and the rest of the crybabies from the left Coast, who still haven't stop bitching about New England players mocking Merriman's idiotic sack dance at midfield following that classic 24-21 comeback victory in San Diego last January?

Ho ho ho!

So the teams will meet again, this time in Foxborough, but at this point, does it really matter who lines up opposite the juggernaut that is the 2007 New England Patriots?

They've already beaten 4 of 5 supposed other "best teams" in the NFL this year --Indy, Jacksonville, Dallas and Pittsburgh -- not to mention already dismantled this very Chargers team, one that was chomping at the bit for revenge for that stinging postseason loss, back in Week 2 in Foxborough.

Throw in the fact that the Bolts are more banged up than Courtney Love after a 3-week bender, with QB Phillip Rivers, Tomlinson and TE Antonio Gates all nursing semi-significant injuries, and it shouldn't matter that we all know how hard it is to beat a good team three times in a row, should it?

Well, just ask the Cowboys about that one.

Go Pats. Kick the Chargers right in their whale's vagina.

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NFL Week 5 Games to Watch

While the Pats have a bye (well, they play the Browns at home), Tampa Bay will have its 3-1 record tested by Coach Dungy & the Colts

Sorry I've been gone for a bit again (I know, I promised I wouldn't do that anymore), but the 1-2 combination of a new job and coaching my son's little League team has left me precious little time for my beloved blogging.

Throw in the fact that I still have to track the Sox as the proceed in the MLB playoffs for my other blog, and you can see how it can be a little tough to keep up with this particular site.

Anyway, I'll quit with the excuses and get to the previews. As we enter Week 5 of the NFL schedule, there are a number of surprises throughout the league, namely the fact that the Saints (0-3), Bears (1-3), Chargers (1-3) and Rams (0-4) have been HUGE disappointments, while the Packers (4-0), Lions (3-1), Steelers (3-1) and Bucs have been major overachievers, making for a league rife with parity and giving more credence to the term "on any given Sunday..."

The teams that are not surprising anybody continue to be the Pats and Colts, both sitting pretty at 4-0, exactly where every expert expected them to be before the season began.

New England has been absolutely dominant, averaging 37PPG while holding its opponents to a meager 12PPG as the defense has been stifling and Tom Brady continues to utilize his new BFF, Randy Moss, like a kid who just got a Nintendo Wii for his birthday.

The rejuvenated Moss has torched the rest of the #1 receivers in the league to the tune of 505 yards (1st in NFL) and 7 TDs (1st) on 31 receptions (4th), a 16.3 YPC average that doesn't even begin to tell the story of the grace, style and effortlessness with which he makes most of those catches.

While New England should have no trouble dispatching with the upstart Browns (2-2), the Bucs will have their hands full with former coach Tony Dungy's Champion Colts.

That game is just one of five games to watch this week, although I'm not sure how much of the Browns game New Englanders are going to catch with the Sox going for a series sweep against the Angles in the ALDS this afternoon at 3:00.

1. Buccaneers (3-1) at Colts (4-0)
Jon Gruden has not only laid to rest the talk of a possible coaching change after this season by getting his upstart Bucs right in the thick of the playoff mix in the lackluster NFC.

Behind a revitalized defense that is leading the conference in yards allowed per game (291.8), points allowed (44), and bone-jarring hits, and on offense that is finally capable of putting the ball in the end zone with veteran mercenary QB Jeff Garcia at the helm, the Bucs find themselves tied for the second best record in the NFC at the quarter pole one year after finishing with a miserable 4-12 mark.

But this game will be a true test of where the Bucs are at against strong competition. So far Tampa Bay has beaten three teams that are a combined 2-9, and a trip to the RCA Dome isn't exactly a place you want to test your young defensive and offensive players.

Peyton Manning and Co. have barley missed a beat after winning the title despite losing several key players to injury and free agency, and much like the Pats as long as they have Mr. Madison Avenue and mild-mannered genius Dungy they will be able to overcome most NFL obstacles.

Still this match up of the recent Super Bowl champs, laced with the subplot that everyone believes Gruden won his title with Dungy's players in his first season in Tampa lingering in the Dome like fireworks smoke, should make for an intense early season match up, with the deciding factor possible coming in the running game, as Tampa Bay lost starting RB Cadillac Williams last week for the season to a knee injury, a devastating blow to a unit that was averaging 137 YPG, good for 8th in the NFL, one spot below the Colts.
MY PICK: Indy 28, Bucs 24

2.) Browns (2-2) at Pats (4-0)
The only thing mildly interesting about this match up is the return of former defensive coordinator and current Brons head coach Romeo Crennel to New England for the first time since he left the organization for the browner pastures of C-Town three years ago.

Crennel has avoided the hot seat this season by guiding the Browns to a surprising 2-2 start, despite the distractions of signing #1 draft pick QB Brady Quinn just days before the regular season began, and then trading incumbent starter Charlie Frye after Week 2.

Backup-turned-starter Derek Anderson has made the denizens of the Dawg Pound stop clamoring for pretty boy Brady to take the helm of the floundering franchise by leading his team to a 51-45 upset of the cross-state Bengals, and after a loss to Oakland, an impressive 27-13 victory over the hated Ravens, using former Baltimore running back Jamal Lewis as a battering ram against the vaunted Ravens defense.

None of that will matter today. New England is locked and loaded, and you can bet the farm they're not about to fall victim to the upset bug that has been plaguing contending teams throughout the NFL and college landscape this season. The pats will win and win big, and they'll be up by so many points before the start of the Sox game that everyone will be able to tune out in time to catch the opening pitch.
MY PICK: Pats 45, Browns 13

3.) San Diego (1-3) at Denver (2-2)
The reeling Chargers take their sorry sideshow of a squad into the Mile High city fresh of the embarrassing home loss to the mediocre Chiefs, but with the Broncos having trouble living up to their own preseason Super Bowl expectations and learning they may be without the services of starting running back Travis Henry for a drug suspension, this game should be up for grabs.

Which disappointing team will want it more is what this one comes down to, and something tells me the wounded pride of guys like Phillip cry me a Rivers, LaDainian Crybaby Tomlinson and Shawne Merriroid will be enough of a motivator to overcome the offensively inept Jay Cutler and the Broncos. whose two wins have come via last-second field goals.
MY PICK: Chargers 27, Broncos 17

4.) Bears (1-3) at Packers (4-0)
The Bears have gone from cream of the NFC to the bottom of the barrel in just a matter of months, but it's not the anemic offense that is totally to blame for the sudden decline. The top-rated defense of a year ago has sunk to unfathomable depths, allowing a staggering 34 4th-quarter points in a 37-14 loss to the Lions last week, that coming on the heels of a 34-10 shellacking at home by the Cowboys the week before.

The Packers, meanwhile, have been the Saints of the 2007 season, riding the rejuvenated arm of record-setting quarterback Brett Favre to its best start in a decade and playing with the poise and confidence of a team with a veteran leader and a bunch of guys who have no business being one of only four undefeated teams in the league but don't know any better.

This ancient rivalry could take an ugly turn today, as the pack express looks to steamroll the stumbling Bears out of the NFC playoff picture in early October.
MY PICK: Packers 31, Bears 19

5.) Dallas (4-0) at Buffalo (1-3)
The Cowboys look to extend their season-opening streak of scoring at least 34 points in every game when they travel to rowdy Ralph Wilson Stadium for the first Monday Night game in Buffalo since Buffalo Bill was a star vehicle for Dabney Coleman.

With former franchise savior JP Losman relegated to spectator due to injuries and ineffectiveness, Buffalo will look to young QB Trent Edwards to lead the way. the rookie signal caller out of Stanford might be motivated by his alma mater's stunning upset of USC Saturday night, but that won't help his defense stop Tony Romo, running back Marion Barber, T.O. and the rest of the Dallas offensive juggernaut.

This one could be interesting--for a half--but much like Dallas' win at Chicago two weeks ago, look for the 'Boys to salt this one away in the second half and win easily.
MY PICK: Cowboys 41, Bills 24

That's the latest from the blogosphere, and I promise I will try to get back here before Halloween rolls around.

Go Sox!

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NFL Week 3: With Videogate behind them Pats look to go 3-0

New England hosts the Bills, the Bucs are home for the disappointing Rams, and three other games to keep an eye on

1.) Buffalo (0-2) at New England (2-0)
After last Sunday night's absolute ass-kicking of the San Diego Chargers on national television, coupled with the historic fines laid down on Bill Belichick and the franchise PLUS the announcement that the league has destroyed all evidence related to the Pat's video taping scandal, I think it's safe to say New England is ready to put the embarrassing Videogate incident behind them.

At least until they face Man-snitcher and the Jets again.

Today they Pats should be distraction free when they take on the hapless Bills at Gillette. Buffalo was predicted to be a darkhorse playoff contender this season by many 'experts', but after suffering a last-second loss to Denver in Week 1, the Bills got clobbered 26-3 by the Steelers last week.

Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman, whom many are still holding out hope will turn into a good NFL QB, has been horrid, as usual, and his days as an NFL starter are most likely numbered. In two games Lostman has thrown for 251 yards with no TDs and one pick, and those numbers don't figure to get any better as he goes up against a defense that has allowed just 28 points in two games and decimated the high-powered Chargers attack last week.

Tom Brady is having a field day now that he finally has some targets to throw to downfield who aren't smurfs or geezers. Couple that passing attack with a solid ground game anchored by Lawrence Maroney and capable backups Kevin Faulk and Sammy Morris, and you have the makings of a prolific offensive unit.

We already know the defense is good (just ask Ladainian Tomlinson), we know the offense is loaded, and now that the coach has shed the remnants of the first scandal that has somewhat tainted his legacy, New England can get back to doing what they do best: destroying other NFL teams hopes & dreams.
MY PICK: Patriots 38, Buffalo 14 (hey, third time's a charm, right?)

2.) St. Louis Rams (0-2) @ Tampa Bay Bucs (1-1)
This was supposed to be the year, right? The year that new coach Scott Linehan got awoke the offensive juggernaut that used to be known as The Greatest Show on Turf and made the once superior St. Louis Rams relevant again on the STML-afflicted NFL landscape.

Not quite.

After two games the Rams are going backwards. Despite a hefty new contract, Marc Bulger has been as invisible as Whitey Bulger as the starting slinger has totalled just 535 yards and 2 TDs in losses to Carolina and San Francisco, not exactly Super Bowl-caliber teams.

To make matters worse, stud running back Stephen Jackson is already upset that he didn't touch the ball enough in the loss to San Fran, and with just 118 yards on 39 carries and no TDs in two games, you can bet there are a lot of FF geeks who are pretty pissed off that his production is down, too.

All this turmoil could make for a rough day when the rams travel down here to sunny Tampa Bay, where the teams will have a hard time believing it's the first day of fall.

Much like the Saints last week, you can bet the dome-bound Rams will not take too kindly to the stifling 88 degree heat beating down on them at Ray Jay this afternoon, but the temperature should be the least of their worries.

Tampa bay bounced back from a lackluster loss to Seattle in Week 1 with an impressive 34-10 victory of the saints last week at home. Jeff Garcia is a marked improvement over the cavalcade of weak-armed losers Chucky Gruden trotted out behind center last season as the Bucs already have more plays of over 20 yards than they had in the first 10 weeks of last season.

That the offense would be improved with the fiery veteran quarterback leading the offense was no surprise, but it was the re energized defense, which swarmed Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, et al last week that has really surprised the Bucs fans this season.

Led by ageless leaders Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber, youngsters like Barrett Ruud, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts last week, Jermaine Phillips, rookie safety Tanard Jackson and rookie linemen Jovan Haye and Greg White, the unit punished the Saints offense, hearkening back to the stout D corps of the 2003 Super Bowl team.

So today will be a real test to see which of these teams is for real and which one can start making excuses as to why they aren't better than advertised.

But at least the Bucs had low expectations going into the season.
MY PICK: Bucs 27, Rams 24

3.) San Diego (1-1) at Green Bay (2-0)
Before the season began this game looked like a mere blip on the Charger's way to the Super Bowl. Then San Diego got steamrolled by the Pats, and Green Bay upset the Giants at home behind the rejuvenated Brett Favre, and suddenly the trip to the not-yet-frozen tundra bodes as a tough test for the playoff-minded Bolts.

Favre passed John Elway as the all time wins leader in the NFL with the victory last week, and coach Mike McCarthy's edict to have Favre curtail his gunslinging ways, i.e. cut out the costly INTs that have plagued him the last few years, has seemed to work, Favre has thrown just two picks in 80 attempts, and if he can continue to keep himself in check, the star-less Pack could be this year's surprise team.

It may not be frozen, but the Chargers won't have an easy day in Green Bay.
MY PICK: Packers 28, Chargers 27 **UPSET SPECIAL**

4.) Detroit (2-0) at Philly (0-2)
Who woulda thunk it? This early season battle between intra-conference rivals means more to the championship-starved Eagles than it does the perennially horrible Lions?

But with Philly adjusting to the newer, slower Donovan McNabb, who inflamed the NFL community when he pulled the race card as the reason for his struggles, and Detroit off to its first 2-0 start since the Eisenhower administration, POhilly desperatley needs this game to remain relevant in the city of brotherly love as the Phillies make a late-season push for the playoffs.

Detroit, behind surprising QB Jon Kitna and stud rookie receiver Calvin Johnson, has been the surprise of the league so far, while the Eagles have looked old and unimpressive. I'm not sure the young lions are ready to win a big game in a hostile environment like this, but it should be fun to see them try.
MY PICK: Eagles 24, Lions 17

5.) Dallas Cowboys (2-0) @ Chicago Bears (1-1) SNF
This should be a classic case of what's more potent: Dallas' offense, which has scored 82 points in two games, or Chicago's defense, which has yielded just 24 points in two games despite losing its first game 14-3 to San Diego.

The Bears unit will be put the test by Tony Romo, TO & Co. tonight at Soldier Field, and it better be up to the task because the Super Bowl runners up cannot afford to drop another game this early in the season.

Then again, this is the NFC, so I guess a handful of losses really shouldn't matter.

This one promises to be an entertaining game as a national audience will get to see just how good Dallas is this season and just how bad the Rex Grossman era can truly be.
MY PICK: Bears 17, Cowboys 14

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NFL Week 2: The Results

Patriots leave Videogate behind with pasting of Chargers while the Bucs lay a beatdown on sorry Saints

New England silences critics with dominating 38-14 win over San Diego

What better way to answer a week loaded with scrutiny, criticism, and enormous expectations than by waylaying your most vocal and bitter opponent on national TV?

The Patriots took care of business and took out their frustrations over answering thousands of questions about the video taping scandal the way they always have throughout the Belichick regime, by treating an opponent like O.J.'s memorabilia dealer, and the end result left no doubt as to whether or not New England needed the aid of stolen game tapes to win their three titles.

Consider the answer a resounding "no".

With the hanging commissioner breathing down their necks, the eyes of the pigskin-loving planet trained on their Sunday Night Football contest, and a snarling bunch of crybaby Chargers ready to rip the Pats a new one, New England came out of the locker room and shoved the football down the throat of the vaunted San Diego defense, then let their own defensive unit lay the hammer on league MVP Ladainian Tomlinson (42 yds), over matched QB Phillip Rivers, the artist formerly known as Antonio Gates and Co.

The revamped defense, playing without suspended safety Rodney Harrison and lineman Richard Seymour, was led by blanketing corners Assante Samuel and Ellis 108 yards Hobbs and versatile linebackers Rosie Colvin (2 sacks, 5 tackled, INT) and Adalius Thomas (3 tackles, INT, TD); those four anchored a furious attack that limited the high-powered Bolts to a mere 201 total yards, a paltry 52 coming on the ground.

Meanwhile the much-hyped retooled offense ran like a well-oiled machine for the second week in a row, racking up an excellently distributed 400 total yards as Tom Brady was a Manning-like 25-31 for 279 yards with three TDs and one pick and New England cranked out 144 yards on the ground.

The Randy Moss experiment continues to get rave reviews as well with the reformed wideout grabbing 8 passes from Brady for 105 yards and two more slick touchdowns, bringing his two game total to 17 receptions for 288 yards (17 Y/C) and three scores, once again proving to be a fantasy geek's wet dream.

Not bad for a guy who missed the entire preseason.

That offense would thrive with Tom Terrific incorporating weapons like Moss, the invaluable Wes Welker and Dante Stallworth into the mix this year was a given; it's the defense that has been the surprise thus far with all the turmoil and uncertainty surrounding the unit coming into the season.

Samuel's holdout, Seymour's continuing health problems forcing him to the sidelines for the first six games of the season, and Harrison's embarrassing suspension for receiving HGH were all factors in pundits questioning whether this year's defense would be able to hold up to the challenge of taking a team to the Super Bowl.

After two weeks, 28 points and 428 yards allowed, I'd say those questions have been answered.

Thomas, the free-agent acquisition from the Ravens, proved that his speed, size, and versatility should be a perfect fit in Belichik's ball-hawing defense, and his interception that he returned 65 yards for a touchdown was a effective reminder that the addition of this physical freak may count just as much as that of Mr. Moss when all is said and done.

And if Rosie Colvin can come back from years of injury and ineffectiveness to play like he did Sunday--punishing the passer, roaming the field from sideline to sideline and crushing people whenever possible--this unit could really turn out to be something special.

Bottom line is that as the furor of Videogate dies down, the focus will return to what this season has been about since the beginning of training camp: how easily the Pats cruise through the regular season, and who's going to stop them on their way to their fourth title in six years?

Bucs send Saints marching back to New Orleans with a demoralizing 31-14 lossThis is why it's so hard to predict what team is going to the Super Bowl year after year--you just cannot base the estimation on what a team did the previous season.

Falling one game short of the ultimate game last year, the high-octane Saints were the chic choice to make it to the Bowl this season, what with Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston and Deuce McAlister all having had a year to refine their already potent offensive attack.

So far, not so good.

For the second week in a row the Saints got blindsided by an opportunistic offense while its own offense struggled to move the ball down the field, only this time it wasn't the defending Super Bowl champs doing the damage, it was the backsliding Bucs, who despite the addition of Jeff Garcia looked lackluster in losing to the Seahawks last week.

Don't let the final stats fool ya; New Orleans may have finished with more total yards (343-330), passing yards (244-243) and rushing yards (99-87) than the Bucs, but much of that came in garbage time as Tampa Bay had already jumped out to a 21-0 lead by halftime, and after adding another TD to make the score 28-0 with minutes to go in their third, Chucky called off the dogs on a stifling late September day in the Bay.

Everyone here expected the veteran Garcia to provide an immediate upgrade to what was a young and anemic offense, and the fact that he's been willing to butt heads with Gruden in order to run the plays he wants to run and not just the ones Chucky thinks will work has been icing on the cake.

The fact that 57-year-old receiver Joey Galloway is still able to toast DBs and corral 4 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns as he did in this game is a miracle(of modern science?) in of itself.

But the way the aging defense has regained its Super Bowl swagger while upgrading at most of the key positions has been nothing short of amazing. Against the Saints Monte Kiffin's squad, led by a rejuvenated Derrick Brooks (perhaps still pissed that peter King left him off his Topp 500 players list), patrolled the field like Leonidis and his Spartan army.

Up front Brooks (9 tkls) and emerging stud linebacker Barrett Ruud (11 tkls, 1 fumble recovery), along with newcomers Greg White & Jovon Haye (1 sack each), walloped Bush, Brees and McAlister while Ronde Barber, Jermaine Phillips and Tanard Jackson combined for 18 tackles and kept Brees from connecting with targets Colston, David patten and deep threat Devery Henderson until the game was well in hand.

And so two weeks into this season these two teams sit at 1-1, yet one team is looking like an up-and-comer, while the other is looking like a one-and-doner.

Other games of note:

-Cleveland 51, Cincy 45
In the "WTF?!" game of the week, the offensively-challenged Browns, who jettisoned their starting quarterback following last week's season-opening loss, rolled up 554 yards of offense and hung half a hundy on the reeling Bengals.

Cincy has now allowed 883 yards and 71 points in two games, including a Coltish 337 on the ground, and lost for the first time in five trips to C-Town despite 6 touchdown passes from Carson Palmer and 209 yards and 2 TDs from Chad Johnson, who got doused with beer after jumping into the Dawg Pound following his second TD.

He's lucky they didn't pee on him.

- Green Bay 35, NY Giants 13
The surprising Packers ran their record to 2-0 for the fist time in six years as Brett Favre became the winningest quarterback in NFL history, recording his 149th win to pass John Elway in an absolute pasting of the disgraceful G-Men.

While the star-free Pack continue to win behind the gritty play of their grizzled leader, New york continues to spiral down into an ugly abyss. Although injured QB Eli Manning did play and played pretty well, the Giants defense has allowed 846 yards and 80 points in two games, and the more they lose the more likely Commander Coughlin will be made the scapegoat for this mess sooner rather than later.

-San Fran 17, St. Louis 16 the Rams continue to disappoint fans and pundits who had them pegged as a potential sleeper team
-Indy 22, Tennessee 20 another close, exciting game between these emerging division rivals, this time won by the Mannings
-Pitt 26, Buffalo 3 so much for that turnaround season by the Bills
-Houston 34, Carolina 21 the Carr-less Texans are 2-0 for the first time ever
-Jax'ville 13, ATL 9 the Vick-less Falcons are 0-2 and the question is will they ever win one?
-Detroit 20, Minny 17 Kitna helps 10-0 boast by returning from concussion to lead game-winning drive
-Dallas 37, Miami 20 think Tony Romo, T.O and Co. are glad to be out from under the thumb of the grand Tuna? 41PPG says yes
-Arizona 23, Seattle 20 the Cards use a late FG to get over unimpressive Seahawks
-Chicago 20, KC 10 Devin Hester did it again, returning a punt 73 yards for a score as the Bears toppled the weak Chiefs
-Denver 23, Oakland 20 a late Raider FG was nullified by a Denver timeout, and after Oakland missed the new kick, the Broncos marched down the field and hit the game-winner
-Baltimore 20 NY Jets 13 with two backups QBs battling it out on the field, the Ravens defeated the Jets in an ugly, uninspiring game

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NFL Week 2: Sacks, spies and videotapes

With the specter of Videogate hanging over their heads, Bill Belichick and the Pats must focus on knocking off the bloodthirsty Chargers

We enter the second week of the 2007 season with the New England Patriots occupying a familiar place on the NLF landscape: the most despised team in the league.

But this season, something's different, and I'm not just talking about the revamped receiving corps and the addition of all-everything defender Adalius Thomas.

No, this year in addition to putting together one of the best teams on paper since the Dunder Mifflin crew, the Pats, and coach Hoodie Belichick specifically, have been saddled with the worst label in all of professional sports--cheaters.

When a Patriots assistant coach was busted in the opener for videotaping defensive signals being used on the New York Jets sideline last week at the Meadowlands, the repercussions sent shockwaves rippling throughout the league and further polarized its fanbase.

Jets coach and Sopranos co-star Eric Mangini, a former Belichick assistant who dared leave the Pats fold for the dark side of the Jets before last season, apparently had inside knowledge of the Patriot's cheating ways, but he waited until the fourth meeting with his former team to expose his longtime mentor and his habit of trying to gain a competitive advantage over his opponent at all costs.

The fallout has been a shitstorm of biblical proportions heaped upon the franchise that had become the model for contemporary NFL supremacy, and especially the coach who had always rubbed people the wrong way with his surly demeanor, cryptic quotes, and hideously ugly choice of sideline garb.

After a meeting with Commissioner Roger The Hammer Goodell Belichick was slapped with a fine of $500, 000 bucks, the organization was hit with a $250K tariff and also must suffer the painful loss of a first-round draft pick next April if New England should happen to make the playoffs this year.

Which is like saying Lindsay Lohan must go back to rehab if she ever drinks again.

But the monetary admonishment and loss of a valuable draft pick pales in comparison to the public relations hit the team has taken since the news broke that New England has resorted to such bush-league tactics for much of the dynasty years. Universal respect for what the team has accomplished has turned into an "I knew they were up to something" avalanche, with players, coaches and analysts coming up with instances of examples where the Pats players on the field seemed to know too much about what the plays their opponent was trying to run.

So where do we go from here? The Patriots were already despised by many for beating up on the league for the past six seasons, for stockpiling talent the way Angelina Jolie stockpiles adopted children, and for becoming the standard bearer for the perfect franchise from the ownership to the front office to the coaching staff to the players.

Now they've got a quarterback who had a baby out of wedlock and is getting ready to tie the knot with Leo DiCaprio's leftovers; a wide receiver who was one of the most talented-yet-despised players in the league just a year ago until he found football God and decided to clean up his act for the good of the jewelry; and a coach who has proven that just having the best team and smartest coaches doesn't mean you can't resort to the ancient art of gaining a competitive advantage over your opponent by any means necessary.

My analysis? Patriots overcome the newfound adversity and ride the fuel of widespread hatred all the way to title #4.

NFL WEEK 2 GAMES TO WATCH:

1.) San Diego (1-0) at New England (1-0) SNF 8P NBC
Oh you think this one won't be a doozy? The two teams that slugged it out in last year's AFC Wild Card game, resulting in a late Patriots win and subsequent crying by many of the Chargers players including league MVP LaDanian Tomlinson, will meet again under the lights at Gillette for a must-see showdown tinged with revenge and redemption.

Tomlinson and other Chargers have been very vocal about the role of Videogate in that playoff victory last January, and you know he, Steroid Merriman and Phillip Rivers, who was horrible towards the end of that contest, want to exact a small measure of revenge by taking New England down in their own crib on national TV.

Too bad it ain't gonna happen. Brady and Randy Moss proved they are already on their game despite no preseason time together, and the defense, though smarting from the HGH-induced suspension of Rodney Harrison, will be up to the challenge of stopping Tomlinson and forcing Rivers into more foolhardy mistakes that will cost his team the game.
MY PICK: Videogate be damned, Pats 27, San Diego 21

2.) New Orleans (0-1) at Tampa Bay (0-1)
The saints are one of the trendy favorites to reach the Super Bowl from the weak NFC this year, but after getting torched for 41 points in the season opener against the Colts a week ago Thursday, people might want to readjust their opinions.

The Bucs, meanwhile, looked like the same old middling Bucs of four of the past five years, failing to score a touchdown in a 20-6 loss at Seattle despite upgrading the offense with QB Jeff Garcia and with the fire under Chucky Gruden's ass hotter than it has ever been. But something tells me the Bucs are going to make a game of it against their NFC South rivals in what could be the final home opener of Chucky's regime, and although they may not win, look for Tampa Bay to at least keep it close, and possible even get in the end zone.
MY PICK: New Orleans 34, Tampa Bay 24

3.) Cincinnati (1-0) at Cleveland (0-1)
The Bengals may have defeated the hated Ravens last week, but a lackluster performance where Carson Palmer only threw for 192 yards and the defense forced 6 turnovers yet the team barely squeaked out a 27-20 win wasn't exactly the impressive opening effort Super Bowl-starved fans in the Queen City were hoping for.

The Battle of Ohio has been a lopsided affair of late, and when Cleveland traded starting quarterback Charlie Frye to Seattle following their 34-7 loss to Pittsburgh in the opener, they sent the message that the time is near to hand the reigns of the franchise over to hometown hero Brady Quinn. It could be another lopsided outcome, but one thing's for sure, with the Dog Pound clamoring for Brady to guide the team and Chad Johnson ready to bust out a new TD celebration, things won't be dull in C-Town this afternoon.
MY PICK: Cincy 37, Cleveland 19

4.) Indy (1-0) at Tennessee (1-0)
These two AFC Central rivals have seen their fare share of tough battles over the last few seasons, especially last year when the Champs barely knocked off the upstart Titans at home, 14-13, in Week 5 last season, then dropped a stunning 20-17 decision to Tennessee in Week 13 when the Titans kicked a 60-yard FG with time expiring to hand the Colts their second loss of the season.

With Vince Young more comfortable in the offense and Tennesseans once again supporting a football team other than the Vols, this game will be no cakewalk for television personality Peyton Manning and his shuffled band of title seekers. In fact if I were a gambling man I'd look for Tennessee to pull off another upset today. Of course I'm a lousy gambler, but it's always fun to pretend.
MY PICK: Tennessee 24, Colts 23

5.) Minnesota (1-0) at Detroit (1-0)
Two teams vying for this season's most surprising team go head-to-head at Ford Field today and both are coming off impressive wins highlighted by outstanding performances from their number one draft picks.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 103 yards on 19 carries in his first game since being selected with the seventh pick back in April, and for Detroit heralded rookie receiver Calvin Johnson validated his #2 selection when he lit up an awesome Oakland defense for 4 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in Detroit's see-saw 36-21 victory over the Raiders. Both talents will be on full display today in a game that could be one of the most exciting in the league this week.
MY PICK: Detroit 27, Minnesota 24

Other Game Predictions:

-Pittsburgh 31, Buffalo 17
-Carolina 24, Houston 13
-Jacksonville 19, Atlanta 6
-Green Bay 23, NY Giants 20
-St. Louis 28, San Fran 21
-Dallas 31, Miami 14
-Arizona 27, Seattle 24
-Baltimore 16, NY Jets 3
-Denver 34, Oakland 17
-Chicago 13, Kansas City 10
-Philly 28, Washington 17 (MNF)

Enjoy Week 2, and remember, don't take any of these picks seriously-after all, I am the World's Worst Gambler!

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Patriots lineman Hill found dead after accidental drowning

The NFL and the New England sports community suffered another tragic loss when the body of Patriots defensive end Marquise Hill was found a half a mile from where he fell into the waters of Lake Pontchartrain Sunday night.

Hill, a third-year player and Louisiana native who played collegiately at LSU and won a National Championship with the Tigers in 2003, was riding a jet ski with a female companion Sunday after dark when tragedy struck. The rough waters located near a busy shipping channel contributed to the water crafts overturning, and the fact that neither rider was wearing a life vest only exacerbated the situation.

By all reports Hill, an exemplary player, role model and human being who was able to swim, made an attempt to rescue his female friend, who could not. The friend was found unharmed, clinging to a piling, but Hill could not navigate the strong current and was washed away despite rescue attempts by an alert bystander on shore and numerous search groups.

Hill's tragic death comes on the heels of the sudden passing of two Denver Broncos players this off season, corner back Darrent Williams from a fatal gunshot wound on New Years Eve, and running back Damien Nash from an apparent heart attack after a charity basketball game in February.

The Boston sports family also has endured unexpected deaths in the past eight months: Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach in October; Celtics guard & playoff legend Dennis Johnson, also from a sudden heart attack in February, two days before Nash; and former Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley, whose painful, paralyzed life came to a abrupt end in April.

Combined with the recent deaths of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock, USC kicker Mario Danelo, and former Eagle Andre Watters, and there has been more than enough disturbing confirmations that even our most physically gifted and athletically talented people cannot escape the harsh realities of the real world.

R.I.P., Marquise.

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WTF are the Pats doing?!

First New England drafts a thug from 'Da U' and then it trades for Mr. Malcontent himself, Randy Moss

Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but the Sox blog is really keeping me busy , especially with all the games against New York this past week.

But what has happened during the 2007 NFL Draft these past two days have forced me to put down the red ink and post something about what the Sox' sister team is doing out there in Foxborough.

I went to bed last night reading all I could about New England's only 1st round pick, U 0f Miami safety Brandon Meriweather. All the reports are the same: hard hitter, fast runner, nose for the game, can step in immediately and be a factor in the secondary, all the things you want to hear about a No. 1 pick.

Oh, except for the fact that he tried to bash somebody's skull in on the football field last fall.

Yes, he's that Brandon Meriweather, the one who had his face plastered all over every sports and news show in America, along with 30 of his close friends & teammates after they were inolved in that infamous, ugly on-field melee between Miami and Florida International in October.

Various versions of the video are readily accessible on YouTube, and Meriweather is easy to pick out of the sea of players: he's the skinny one wearing #19 who can be seen joining the fracas shortly after it began, and he is doing his best imitation of trying to put out a fire that might have sprung up on the FIU player's face & legs, because he keeps stomping on them furiously.

Your New England Patriots #1 draft pick, folks.

Of course everyone associated with the team & the league says that Meriweather is contrite, that's not how he really is, and he will have to conform to the strict policies and style of the Patriots team. And when you think about it, the brawl was a spur of the moment thing and he may deserve the benefit of the doubt that his emotions probably got the best of him.

Oh yeah, but he was also involved in a incident where he discharged a firearm in the direction of a suspect who had shot his Hurricane teammate in the ass last July.

Anyway...people change ya know (like the battered wife said about her hot-tempered fiancee)

As if that bit of draft day news wasn't enough to wrinkle the nose of any diehard Pats fan, waking up this morning made one such fan think that the Apocalypse was finally upon us: the Pats traded for wide receiver/world class asshole Randy freakin Moss.

Everyone who watches the NFL knows Randy Moss, whether it be for his spectacular catches, length-of-the-field sprints to the end zone, and acrobatic feats like throwing the ball over his shoulder or catching a hook & ladder and running in for a TD.

Too bad everyone in the country with a TV set knows who Moss is from his litany of on-and-off field incidents, a list that would take up most of this post to detail. Some of the lowlights include attempting to run over a police officer in Minnesota, walking off the field before the end of a game, squirting a bottle of water at a referee during a game, and perhaps most memorably wiping his ass along the goalpost at Lambeau Field during a playoff game a couple of years ago.

Add to that laundry list a history of admitting that he stops trying when he's not into playing, that he jakes it every time he feels like, and that he has such a problem with authority that he drew the ire of respected NFL coach Art Shell and noted football maverick/Black Hole creator Al Davis, and to say the Pats are getting a guy with a lot of baggage is like saying Donald Trump is having a bad hair day- it's redundant.

Of course Moss has talent, although no one knows whether that talent is actually in decline, or have his totals just dropped because he decided he didn't want to contribute in Oakland anymore. Either way, my question is, why bother?

The Pats have always been the leader in taking character over talent, as evidenced by the numerous drafts when big-name guys were on the board but the NE brass went for lesser-known character guys. Now it appears that the team may be selling out on its own motto just to borrow from Davis' familiar mantra of "Just Win Baby"

Is it really worth it to bring another Rozelle trophy to town?

People of Foxborough, heed the words of the immortal Clark W. Griswald: "roll 'em up!"

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So long, Drew, and thanks for the memories

After 14 seasons and over 44,000 passing yards quarterback Drew Bledsoe decides to call it a career.

The Numbers:
-6, 717 pass attempts (5th all time)
-3,839 completions (5th)
-44, 611 pass yards (7th)
251 TDs (13th)

The Records:
-Passing attempts in a game (70, 1994)
-Pass attempts, season (641, 1994)
-Completions in a game (45, 1994)

Bledsoe was your prototypical NFL gunslinger: big, strong-armed and immobile

Ironically if you take a look at Drew Bledsoe's long and prolific NFL career you can trace the beginning and the end of it to one man...

...and they call him Tuna.

It was Bill Parcells who brought Bledsoe into the NFL in 1993 (not that he wasn't going to get in anyway, he was the No. 1 pick) and it was Parcells who helped show him the way out; as Cowboys coach his benching of Drew during a game in October was the last time Bledsoe would see action on an NFL field.

In between Bledsoe piled up numbers that are comparable with some of the all time-greats to ever play the position. He may not have won a championship while on the field (he did receive a ring for being a member of the Pats' 2001 championship team), but he went to two Super Bowls, 4 Pro Bowls and threw for more yards than all but 7 other quarterbacks in NFL history.

He was a gangly-but athletic kid coming out of Walla Walla, Washington when he enrolled at nearby Washington State, but by the time he ended his career at WSU he had set a number of school and Pac-10 records and was good enough to be taken number one overall in the draft. Parcells and the Pats chose Bledsoe over Notre Dame prospect Rick Mirer, a move that will go down as one of the greatest draft day decisions of all time.

After a couple of seasons in New England Drew had shown a propensity to be able to get the ball downfield and had taken the Pats from the laughingstock of the league (2-14) in 1992 to 10-6 and the playoffs two years later. By his fourth year in Foxboro he had the Pats back in the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade, although they would lose Super Bowl XXXI to Brett Favre and the Packers, 35-21.

It didn't matter; Drew was the king in Boston, like another Bird or Clemens, a sports icon that crossed all cultural lines who was genuinely liked by players, coaches and fans alike. He was on top of the world, and it looked certain that multiple championships and a Hall of Fame career was in the cards for the affable big guy.

Unfortunately a career that began with so much promise took a near-tragic turn that ultimately altered its course forever. In the second game of the 2001 season, Bledsoe was hit with a devastating tackle by the New York Jets' Mo Lewis after completing a pass, knocking him out of the game with an unknown injury. It was later discovered that the hit had sheared an artery in his stomach, which led to some serious internal bleeding, and if he hadn't received swift & proper medical treatment, he could have died that day.

But instead of Bledsoe the man suffering the ultimate loss it was merely Bledsoe the football player that lost everything he had worked so hard for. Stepping in to replace the Pats' field general was a little-known 6th round draft pick out of Michigan named Tom Brady. Faster than you could say Wally Pipp, Bledsoe would never see the field as a starter for New England again, and we all know what Brady has done with the chance he was given.

The rest of Bledsoe's career had some high points, but it was mostly filled with low expectations and disappointment over what might have been. He spent 3 seasons in Buffalo and another two with Dallas before he lost his starting role to Tony Romo last October. After the season the Cowboys cut the 35-year-old vet, and rather than try and pick up the pieces again and attempt to earn a Super Bowl ring on the field he decided the time was right to step down. The league is full of young, strong, fast and mobile QBs and Bledsoe is none of those things, so he wisely opted to get out of the way and let the new breed take over.

I will always have fond memories of Bledsoe from his days in New England. He was fun to watch, a class guy, and a true role model for kids and other athletes as well. Some people (a.k.a. my wife) have hinted that I had such a man-crush on him that I named my son after him, to which I say absolutely untrue.

Just because my son's name is Drew, and he was born in 1997, and I'm from Boston, and I own one of these...

... doesn't mean I'd name my child after him!

Thanks for the memories, Drew. See you at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in five years.

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Random Blogging: Birkhead, Pacman and "nappy-headed hos"

That may seem like an odd assortment of tags, but consider these stories making news right now:

New NFL commish Roger Goodell has reacted swiftly and mercilessly to the trouble- making riff-raff infecting his league; talk radio kingpin/mumbling fossil Don Imus is embroiled in another controversy thanks to his severe, incurable case of diarrhea of the mouth; and Anna Nicole's babydaddy has finally been revealed, and boy is it going to take a long time to wipe the smile of that guy's face!

Let's recap a wild and weird few days in the on the pop culture grid.

-Goodell rains punishment down on NFL troublemakers
There's a new sheriff in the League, and his name is not Reggie Hammond, it's Roger Goodell. In a few short months the man who replaced Paul Tagliabue has come down hard on a couple of oft-troubled players, quickly making the previous regime look like the Wonder Years.

The new head honcho of the NFL hasn't enacted a complete new disciplinary program yet, but he still found it within his power to suspend the Titans trouble making DB/return specialist Adam "Pacman" Jones and his oft-arrested former West Virginia teammate Chris Henry of the Bengals for a total of 24 games next season under terms of the existing conduct policy.

Jones received one of the harshest, and most expensive suspensions in league history as he was banned for the entire 2007 season following his embarrassing strip club shooting incident in Vegas this February. That fiasco, in which he allegedly "rained" $81 Gs down on a bunch of strippers, resulting in a melee where 3 people were shot and a bouncer was paralyzed, was the final straw, and he now stands to lose $1.3 million in salary.

It was Jones' 10th run-in with law enforcement in the last few years, and he fast becoming just as well-known for hanging around with "the wrong crowd", League-speak for gang bangers and dope slangers, as he is for his spectacular interception & kickoff returns.

Another trouble-magnet from the world wide leader in that department is wide receiver Chris Henry. The second-year player out of WVU has been arrested more times in the past two years than Robert Downey Jr was during the '80s, and for that he will serve an 8-game suspension next season. His hi jinks, which range from DUI to possession of a firearm, will cost him roughly $200,000; lucky he isn't a big star or it would have cost him Pacman money.

But Sheriff Goodell isn't playing games with the image of the league anymore. With so many transgressions running the gamut from possession of a small armory (Tank Johnson) to the Viking's Booze Cruise he realized he had to act swiftly to curtail this kind of counter-productive (to profits) behavior. With the Players Association's blessing and at the urging of fans & media, Goodell has hit the players where he knows it hurts the most

In the wallet.

-Don Imus latest member of the Hollywood's Bigoted & Intolerant Club
When the talk radio veteran (and his sidekick/producer) yukked it up at the expense of the players from the Rutgers women's basketball team last Wednesday, he couldn't have realized the severity of the repercussions that would follow.

Trouble was he didn't seem to care, either.

Now Imus is facing a shitstorm of epic proportions; advertisers have pulled out of his radio show & its TV simulcast on MSNBC; he has been suspended from the show for two weeks beginning next Monday; and a slew of public figures, from Al Sharpton to Barack Obama, are calling for his outright ouster from the airwaves.

The reason for all the hoopla ocurred last Wednesday when Imus was on the air talking about the young ladies from the Rutgers team which had just lost in the Women's National Championship game, but you would have thought he was referring to some crack whores living in a van down by the river. He made comments about their tattoos, producer Bernard McGuirk classified the game vs. Tennessee as the "jigaboos versus the wannabes" and then Imus infamously uttered the most unoriginal description of a black women to come around in decades, "that's some nappy headed hos."

For some reason what was merely the latest in a long line of bigoted, insensitive and just downright unfunny quotes might be the one that gets this leatherfaced windbag off the air for good. He is currently in full-fledged Mel/Kramer mode, going on a nationwide apology tour and uttering the stock phrase rolled out by all celebs with good publicists in these situations: "I'm not that kind of person."

Look, dickhead, you've made a career of making stupid comments and putting your foot in your huge mouth, but this time you didn't mean it? Then how about when you called journalist Gwen Ifill a "cleaning lady", a Washington Post reporter a "beanie wearing Jewboy" or respected African American writer Bill Rhoden a "quota hire"? Did you mean those comments or not? I'm confused.

You see there's a difference between making jokes about people who do foolish things while in the public eye and just slamming innocent people because they are of a different color, religion or ethnicity.

But you're beginning to see that difference now, aren't you Don?
(sorry Mom, but I never liked this guy)

- Birkhead, not Howard K. Stern, father of Anna Nicole's daughter
After months of nauseating media coverage, innumerable potential candidates and one fucked up judge, the paternity of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter Dannielynn has finally been revealed:

Larry Birkhead, come on down, you're the proud possessor of a potential billion dollar lottery ticket!

When news broke that Birkhead was indeed the true father of Dannielynn, not Smith's lawyer/ lover/lackey Stern, I'm sure the first thing on his mind was the health and well-being of his little girl.

And his second though immediately after was "I'm rich, bitch!"

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NFL Hot Stove: What are the Bucs Doing? Edition

It's now a foregone conclusion that the NFL is the most popular sport on the planet (excluding that silly soccer of course) because this year the league's winter signing period has overshadowed spring training baseball, stretch-run NHL hockey & NBA basketball and so far even March Madness as far as headline-grabbing fan interest goes.

Of the many teams making multiple, roster-altering moves (New England, Denver, San Fran...) none have made as many mind-boggling alterations than the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The sheer ridiculousness (word?) of the deals would make it appear as if the comedy act known as Chucky & Brucie is actually trying to get themselves fired so they can sit back for a year, get paid, and eye their next cushy head coach/GM gig. Because they way the Bucs braintrust have botched this free agency period has many in the Bay Area questioning not only the football business acumen of the duo, but their sanity as well.


How has Chuckie and Brucie (mis)managed to debilitate an already disastrously constructed team in just four days time? Let me count the ways:

1.) Traded for a quarterback who didn't want to play here
When word leaked out that the Bucs were trading for Jake Plummer, many in the Bay Area screamed "why? He's old, unpredictable, and has never been able to win a big game (no, I'm not counting the 2006 playoff game against New England- the Pats lost that one.) Then when Plummer announced he would retire rather than play anywhere other than Denver, everyone exhaled, thinking Tampa Bay had avoided making a big mistake.

But wait. A day later the teams announced the trade had been revised to make it a deal for Plummer's rights for a conditional draft pick, the condition being Denver would get a pick if Plummer suits up with the Bucs. Say what? Why would they even bother to trade for a guy who doesn't want to play? To trade his rights later, perhaps. But is it really worth the gamesmanship when you consider the pressing needs the team has right now, quarterback NOT being one of them?

Then, to make matters worse...

2.)...they signed a 37-year-old midget QB to compete with Chris Simms
Nothing like a little healthy QB competition, right Chucky? Way to stick with one direction, dude. I thought Simms was the man for the near future and beyond that Gradkowski was your boy, but you just dropped him for your old West Coast buddy Jeff Garcia, huh? Ah these romances never, last do they?

3.) Let defensive end Dewayne White leave
Saddled with high expectations ever since the sack king left Louisville a year early and was selected 64th by Tampa Bay in the 2003 draft, DE Dewayne White never realized his potential with the Bucs. In four seasons the speedy pass rusher amassed 111 tackles, 14 sacks and 5 forced fumbles; not exactly eye-popping stats, yet White was always stuck behind guys like Simeon Rice and Greg Spires on the depth chart, Pro Bowlers who weren't ready to cede their position to the new kid.

So when former Tampa D-line coach and current Detroit head man Rod Marinelli saw the opportunity to grab White, he did so. Now White is reunited with two of his earliest mentors, Marinelli and former Bucs linebackers coach Joe Barry, who is now Detroit's defensive coordinator, and the fit looks like a match made in heaven. White should blossom in Marinelli & Barry's defense, and Barry is thrilled to be getting a young, hungry defensive stud:

“We needed a guy – a speed guy,” said Barry. “We needed to upgrade the speed; the edge of our defense. Quite frankly, we put a premium on pass rush. To run this system, to run this scheme, we’ve got to be able to rush the passer – bottom line. We put a premium on that and Dewayne White – he brings an element of speed and pass rush to us.”

Translated: White is ready to explode with a double-digit sack season, and the Bucs will rue the day they let him slip away for monetary reasons, especially when...

4.)...they answer by signing aging veteran Kevin Carter to a 4-year deal
Don't get me wrong, Carter is one of the greatest, most durable pass rushers of the last 20 years, as his 97.5 career sacks (4th among active players) can attest to. But the 12-year vet is definitely on the downside of his career; of his 4 double-digit sack seasons, 3 of them came in a row (1998-2000) and he hasn't had one since 2002, when he had exactly 10.

But I thought the Bucs were trying to go younger, especially on the lines? Why let White go only to sign the 34-year-old Carter for nearly the same money you could've paid the 27-year-old?

That's almost as messed up as...

5.)...signing 30-year-old Luke Petitgout coming off an injury-marred season
If the 9-year vet out of Notre Dame can stay healthy then his versatility (he can play both guard and/or tackle) and leadership will be great assets to a team that is very young along the O-line. But if the injuries start to pile up following the stress-fracture in his leg last season that caused him to miss 7 games, then this signing could go down as another Derrick Deese/Todd Steussie-type debacle.

There's a few things off the top of my head that are causing local talk show callers to flip out and giving the local media fodder to speculate how a man who was perceived to be a "football genius" when he arrived can resemble a colossal clueless clown right now.

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