countdown to ... the 2005 SUPER BOWL

my dream superbowl = jets v. eagles. though i think that it will be the steelers that will represent the AFC this year. and the eagles will win it all (terrell or no).

i think that pittsburgh will do it this year.

did anyone catch the end of the jets game let me paraphrase for you:

MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]
MADDEN: IF I WUZ THEM ID THROW FOR A TOUCHDOWN HERE
[run play]

i hope they aim so high

WHO WAS THE CRACKHEAD DOING THE RAMS GAME
At the end of the game they were fighting in the book to be the first to suck Holmgren's cock, "Holmgren's one of the greatest coaches in the game ... they'd be nuts not to bring him back next year ... the team is young and improving, they'll be back in the playoffs next year ...".

Er, HEY DIPSHITS, HOLMGREN'S NOW IN YEAR SIX OF A FIVE-YEAR PLAN TO OVERHAUL THE SEAHAWKS, AND HE'S YET TO WIN A PLAYOFF GAME.

Barry's NFL-watchage is another Canadian worry ticked off my list.

let's talk about how mike martz is the most arrogant, priggish, smuggish, crybaby wussiest sonofabitch in the galaxy. god i want to punch his fucking face in. i mean he's great for shedding the west coast (which is/was killing the nfl, seriously) but...what a fucking pompous pussy.

Don't worry about Martz -- he'll get duly squashed by Philly next week.

wow denver is already getting steamrolled.

at least the second game has a chance of being interesting.

Since there are only three downs, it's a more passing-intensive game, which results in higher scoring games compared to the NFL.

Interesting to watch players late in their careers doing tryouts for their broadcasting careers after their playing days are over. I've heard Strahan in radio interviews and he's usually great, but he was a bit fumfumfuh yesterday on ABC. Jerome Bettis on ESPN this morning was excellent, and by comparison Michael Ervin is revealed again as a screaming mass of hamburger.

It shouldn't have been that close. The Pats uncharacteristically lost the ball once inside the 10, and had to settle for a FG when they had first and goal from the three. They should have had another seven or ten points. The only reason the game was close was because the Philly receivers kept bailing out McNabb by somehow reigning in sloppy/risky throw after sloppy/risky throw.

ooo! "Question Time" is on Cspan!

Bandit
Age: 13 weeks
Breed: Jack Russell Terrier
1
966
22%

um, yeah Daria, I did .. as JB said .. to NOT cover the spread. Which they didn't.

Still, it feels ... what's the term? Phyrric victory? No, that's not the correct metaphor. HOLLOW victory i guess. I really, really wanted the Eagles to win. I feel for the people of the great city of Philadelphia, I really do. Some of the best people I've ever met are from Philly. Still ... the city seems cursed. I'm also a McNabb fan. I never never in a million years would have thought that the reason the Eagles would lose would be due to poor play by McNabb. Frankly, he was awful.

As others mentioned upthread -- I have never seen a more putrid two-minute offense. What in god's name were the Eagles DOING out there on those last two drives? It's like they were having a card game in between plays or something. I've never seen such an appalling lack of urgency in such a high stakes situation. Geez. such unpreparedness. Maybe Andy Reid ISN'T all that. And maybe, yeah, Belichick really IS a genius. Shit, who knows. The Patriots really are something, though.

Oh well. Props to TO on a great, great performance. You have to respect that guy.

Why? They lost three NFC title games in large part due to crappy playing by McNabb.

anyway, I went 8-3. what's your record tough guy?

Tom will probably be in the hall of fame now. Incredible. Unthinkable, for those of us who are devoted to Michigan football. But good for him. I'm happy for him.

Like his fucking DOG could go 8-3 AGAINST THE SPREAD. Seriously Alex, how fucking thick are you? You think I would come on here and boast about picking straight-up winners? Do you have any fukcing idea how hard it is to win consistently against the spread? that's the whole fucking point. jackass

I wasn't gambling on the games, but if I had been (i.e. going with what my choices were at the time), I would have gone 6-5.

I think one's 8-3 gambling record is *slightly* compromised when one bets three times against the eventual champs :)

(yeah, I know the Pats didn't cover)

There is SO SO much pressure on these kids. I can't even imagine. College football is WAY more insane than the NFL. Like, you think any BiG-TIME College program would put up with that bullshit two-minute drill that the Eagles displayed tonite?? No way!! Andy Reid would be out on his ass tomorroW!!!

IT's insane, though. College sports are insane. How about that John Navarre kid? Nice guy, did the best he could ... but the way the Wolverine "supporters" ripped into him ... I wouldn't be surprised to find him dead in a ditch tomorrow. fucking insanity, it really is.

Now that I've had some time to think about it, the game mostly sucked. I think I'll just write what I'm thinking about it in my blog as I don't feel like debating it, but I will say that I'm kinda glad the Eagles lost in a strange way. They'll still be the NFC pick for the Super Bowl next year so they should get another crack at it and hopefully they will have learned from this.

Assuming Abraham can play more than 6 games? And succeed w/ their non-Hackett OC ("Throw for a first down? What a GOOD idea!" "But what about the 2-yard screen on 3rd & 5, Coach?" *slap* "Draw play? on 1st & 20?" *slap* "Halfback opt" *slap slap* "But, Coach, Wayne Chrebet is our" "SHUT UP!")

I'm sorry - was I saying something?

http://premium.theonion.com/images/archives/424/article3110.jpg
Above: McNabb attempts to go long with a two-liter bottle of refreshing Pepsi in the third quarter.
"Don't get me wrong—this year's Super Bowl was an exciting face-off," said Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid, whose team was defeated 24-21 in a hard-fought contest. "The Patriots only got 331 yards on our defense, mostly because it took us a while to adjust to tackling players doused in Axe Deodorant Bodyspray For Men. But you can be sure they felt the heat of our Ford Motor Company sponsored Lincoln Mark LT blitzes. Our nose tackle drove this season's hottest new luxury truck straight into their offensive line."

In spite of complaints from football fans, Super Bowl XXXIX was a tremendous financial success, with an estimated audience of 2 billion worldwide and a sponsorship revenue exceeding $820 million.

Advertisers as diverse as H&R Block, Verizon, and FTD paid top dollar to have their products and logos used or represented during game play.

"It was great for the team to earn a couple million when we lined up and used the Anheuser-Busch logo as our scrimmage formation," said Eagles safety Brian Dawkins. "Unfortunately, that logo is really elaborate, so we got flagged for having 40 men on the field."

Dawkins was hampered by penalties and flagged once for failing to dial 1-800-COLLECT.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, who completed 30 of 51 passes for 357 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions, said he would have performed even better if it weren't for the wind and the difficulties he experienced throwing the two-liter Pepsi bottle, the oversized Viagra tablet, and the 13 other objects that served as balls during the game.

"This is great for the league, but I'm not sure it's the best thing in the world for the players," McNabb said. "The anxiety made me throw to [wide receiver Todd] Pinkston a half-second before he turned and looked back for the ball—I mean, looked for the can of Campbell's new Chunky Chili. If I hadn't felt so much pressure to please the advertisers, I wouldn't have hit him in the forehead with that pass. I also believe that, if he'd been wearing a traditional helmet instead of a KFC bucket, he wouldn't be in the hospital right now."

http://premium.theonion.com/images/archives/424/article3111.jpg
Above: Dawkins (left) and Eagles defensive lineman Corey Simon praised the "smooth handling" of the Lincoln Mark LT they used to chase down Dillon in the second quarter.
The play in question earned McNabb and Pinkston $65,000 each.

Patriots running back Corey Dillon said it took some time to adjust to the new game rules.

"You expect to get hit, and you expect the game to be played hard," Dillon said. "But you don't expect the quarterback to call a lead-toss right off-tackle play and then hand off a damn 50-pound Kyocera Mita combination copier/printer/fax machine."

In spite of the unusual circumstances, Dillon went free with a 45-yard run, breaking four tackles and making clean, crisp prints all the while, in an open-field romp that office-machine manufacturers are calling the play of the century.

"One thing's certain," Dillon said. "Kyocera office products go the distance."

Patriots wideout Deion Branch, Super Bowl XXXIX's Most Valuable Player, was instrumental to the Patriots victory, catching The Pepsi Spirit, The Great New Feeling Of The Great City Of Jacksonville, and 11 passes for 133 yards.

NFL marketing chief Phil Guarascio admitted that on-field product-placement is in its early stages.

"The league is sensitive to complaints from fans who say advertising should not affect play," Guarascio said. "That's why we've urged Kyocera to develop lighter copiers."

"And we're still hearing things, good and bad, from the professional-sports community," Guarascio continued. "The NFL Player's Association has made several good points about a few ill-considered product placements that may have led to player injuries. Nonetheless, we think product placement will make the NFL a more exciting and profitable venture for players and marketers alike."

According to doctors, Patriots linebacker Teddy Bruschi is still listed in critical condition after recovering a fumble in the Kingsford Charcoal Red Hot End Zone.

A buddy of mine that is a huge Michigan football fan and his favorite t-shirt of all time is his "MIKE TOMCZAK SUCKS" shirt. Every year he would get his heart broken as Michigan would have a chance to win a National Title and yet somehow lose to Ohio St and screw it up, which is ironic as usually when Ohio St. has a chance to win it all they lose to Michigan. Michigan having to share their title killed him, almost as bad as Ohio State winning one.

Michigan coming to Bloomington to play Indiana is a bigger bar day than homecoming and only behind Little 5 for the amount of booze sold in town. IU fans like the tailgating, but the game is pretty much optional except when they play Purdue, which has been a joke the past ten years as the Boilermakers have gotten pretty good.

The Colt's defense has gotten better every year since Tony Dungy took over the team. This past year they were really good about getting sacks and causing turnovers. They were also the second youngest defense in the NFL and like four new starters. They have signed up a few of these players for a couple of seasons, so I think they could improve next season in to a top 10 defense.

If I was to pick a dark horse team I think will be tough next year, I would go with the Bengals. They didn't get as much hype as the Bills or Panthers for how well they played in the last part of the season, but they played nearly as well. If they can bring back Rudy Johnson, they will have a very high quality offense and are only a run stopper on the D-line away from being a very good all around team.