What is Plaxico Smoking?

Yesterday, Giants WR Plaxico Burress said that New York’s receiving corps were just as good or better than the Patriots’ corp.  My take is this: It is great to go in the game with some confidence but to feed the Patriots more motivation is a bad ideal. Plaxico missed the memo that said that “New England thrives off of criticisim and use it for motivation.”

After Spygate, the Chargers dissed the Patriots. The Patriots demolished the Chargers in Week two.

Steelers’ CB Anthony Smith Guaranteed a victory of the Pats and ended up getting beat deep by Moss.  The Patriots D shut down the Steelers’, holding them to 10 points.

In the AFC Championship round, the Chargers were talking again. The Chargers lost again.

Now, Plaxico and the Giants are yapping. Osi was on Inside the NFL pretty much accusing the Patriots of being dirty. Now Plaxico is talking bout how he and the rest of the Giants are better than the Patriots in catching the ball.

While the Giants are solid at receiver, the Patriots are statistically better.

Burress ended the season with 70 catches for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns. Armani Toomer ended the season with 59 catches for 760 yards and three touchdowns. After those two, the numbers fell off hard and fast.

Before Shockey went down, he had 57 catches, 619 yards and three touchdowns.

On the other hand,

Moss ended his season with 98 catches, 1,493 yards and a record setting 23 touchdowns.

Wes Welker  had 112 catches, 1,175 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Dante Stallworth made catches that gained at least 30 yards in seven of New England’s games.

Jabar Gaffney chipped in with six touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was a game winner against the Ravens.

Now Plaxico, do you still think that your guys are better? You should have siaid that the Giants TE’s were better.

Patriots TE Benjamin Watson had 30 catches for 389 yards and six touchdowns. If Shockey didnt get injured, he would have had at least six touchdowns.

Like I said, it is good to have faith in your squad but don’t talk reckless like that. Just focus on the game! For Plaxico’s sake, I hope he and the rest of the Giants can back up their talk.

Damn Tiki

After the Giants clinched the NFC Championship last week, I’m pretty sure that Tiki Barber felt sick to his stomach. After Barber ran down his team, his quarterback and his coach, the Giants turned this around, played their hearts out and made Super Bowl XLII. It had to hurt Barber to know that the team did it without him.

Tiki retired at the end of last season to go to NBC, and released a book. It didnt take no time for him to criticize his former team.  Tiki did this to prove himself to the rest of the Football Night in America crew and he ran down Tom Coughlin to sell his autobiography. 

After the dust settled, the Giants won again. While Barber is artuiculate and knowledgable, he hasn’t really generated the kind of appeal that Keyshawn has at ESPN. Meanwhile, Coach Couglin changed some of his catankerous demeneor, and now the players love him and playing thier asses off for him. Eli Manning is finally coming into his own,and playing  flawless football for the most part. Manning actually had no interceptions in the game against Green Bay.

Tiki is on the outside looking in and wondering what could have been.  Now, I respect Barber for having other interests and pursuing. However, my problem with Tiki is this:  he didnt tell the whole truth when he first retired.

At first, it was about retiring before getting all banged up. Later, he said that Tom Coughlin took the love of the game away. Why didn’t Barber say that about Tom in the beginning of retirement talks?  My other problem with Tiki is apparently, he didnt have the guts to criticize Eli Manning when the two were in the huddle.

So, not only did the Giants beat Tampa, Dallas, and Green Bay, they also beat their former running back.

LOVE AND FOOTBALL?

So, I noticed an article at MSN.Com, talking ’bout “Dating Is Like The Super Bowl” http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspxarticleid=9223&TrackingID=516311&BannerID=544657&menuid=6&GT1=10787

I read it and to me, it was weak as hell. The analogy only gave the reader the dating game through the point of view of the Coach, GM and Owner. What about the point of view of the PLAYER? because that’s what most of us are in this game.  What about getting out there on your field of choice to play for whatever it is you want?  Some people play for  a meaningful relatioship while some people play for sex. There are those who play for that “elusive” wedding ring and bells and whistles of a wedding, while some play for self esteem or even money and revenge. The point is, everything looks good in the front office and in the luxury boxes. The field in love is just as brutal and unforgiving as the  gridiron or maybe even worse because while you may have wingmen or wingwomen if you will,  but you are a one man or one woman team at the end of the day. Honestly, I dont know where the author of this feature is coming from when she wrote what she wrote. But for me and maybe for most people, the following  is  what can and does happen in the game of love.

We get our hearts mangled and ripped apart like Theismann’s leg only to patch it up again and get out there.  We do this because, could it be that the reward is greater than the risk?  While some patch up the ‘heart’ and get out there again, some just go the sideline.  People go to the sideline for various reason. Maybe they need to study the ‘playbook’ before trying again, or they wine or give up.

The author of “Dating is Like the Super Bowl” wrote about people being ‘benchwarmers’ and ‘trade material’ now who in the hell wants to be that? People will do whatever they can to aviod being that. Who is gonna stand  on the sidelines like a damn fool and wait for the ‘Coach’ to make up his or her mind? Anyone worth their salt would get out there and find somebody else!

 I do however agree with the author’s ‘rules’ of the game. one of the stories subjects said. ”When cutting or releasing a date, you should always do it in person, especially  if that date has been a good performer and has contributed to the overall success of your ‘team.’ and “Never release your decision to the ‘press’ or your pack of friends beforehand.”

Thats is some great rules but how bout strategy? In the game of love, in my opinion, defense is key!

Brady Hurt? Yeah Right!

From Boston.com Via INF

It seems as if people didnt get the memo about Bellichick and the Patriots. The memo is: This team is not only good but they are experts at the art of mind games.   The NFL’s website along with MSN, TMZ,and ESPN is asking about the status of Tom Brady’s ‘injury’

A photo and a video were leaked today with Brady limping in a walking cast. This is all over the web but it to me, the picture above is the real story here. Tom Brady isn’t hurt!  This image from Boston.com is of Brady and Gazelle or  Gissette or whatever her name is walking into the club.  Where is the footbrace? Where is the limp? Acoording to page six, Tom didnt appear to show any signs of injury in the club.

So, if folks want to know the truth about this, just go to  www.boston.com and call it a day!

SUPER BOWL XLII: GIANTS VS PATS

 

 

Aight! Its finally here! The 42nd edition of the Super Bowl, and who would have thought that the matchup would be between the Giants and the Patriots?  Now, noone is shocked to see New England here. However, no one expected the G-Men to be here.

Honestly, I wasnt even expecting them to make the playoffs because while they have the talent, it was too much friction between Tom Couglin and the Players,  Tiki retiring, and Strahan contemplating retirement. New York started off the season wrong with a couple of losses.  After the ’goal line stance ‘ game against the Redskins, the Giants started to believe. They carried that belief in themselves to a wild card berth  in the playoffs. They  were on the verge of beating New England in the final game of the regular season. They carried that confidence to Tampa, Dallas,and tonight Green Bay and turned it into wins.

New England , on the other hand was a juggernaut from begining to end.  They survived the spygate mess and went on to 16-0 in the regular season. At times, these guys looked beatable. Philly, Baltimore, Indianapolis, and the Giants were points away from beating these guys.  However, yesterday, New England was a hot mess. Brady threw 3 interceptions and Moss was pretty much invisible during the game.  The Chargers did not capatialze on the Pats’ mistakes and they paid for it with their ticket to Arizona. The Chargers were in the red zone three times and only mustered up field. You dont beat New England that way.

Now we have a rematch of week 17. Hopefully, this would be interesting.

Stay tuned for keys of the game.

‘Me And You’ (U) and ‘Double’ games ?

I ran across an old 1975 Time article featuring Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain. The article mentioned an interesting scheme in the battle of the trenches. During the mid 70’s the Steelers front line ran two schemes- ‘me and you’ and ‘double’. The Left Side Ran  ‘Me and You’ while the Right ‘Doubled’

On the left, Def. End L.C. Greenwood would push himeself and his blocker inside toward the Guard who in normal circumstances would block Def. Tackle  ‘Mean’ Joe Greene. While L.C.  is keeping that area jammed and trying himself to bust through, Joe is cutting though the outside and sweeping back in on the quarterback. That is the ‘Me’ Game.

The ‘You’ (It is named as such because one of the linemen runs a ‘U’ shaped route) is the opposite.  In  the ‘You’ game, Greene would run interference on the outside while Greenwood cuts over the Offensive Guard.

In the “Double” , Right End Dwight White and Right Tackle Ernie Holmes (R.I.P.) would do the same thing that Greene and Greenwood would do and sometimes on the same play.  This is the “double”. To really disrupt the Offensive line, Greenwood and Greene would run the ‘me’ scheme while Holmes and White run the ‘you’

In a spinoff, the two tackles can run their own patterns and charge ahead. This is called “torn” Here is what a rough diagram of the  play would look like. (NOTE: THE P Stands for Pick Up or Block. The Arrows are for the patterns)

                                                                              X(FS)                                          X(SS)

                                                X (Will-LB)                           X(Mike-LB)                              X(Sam-LB)

X(CB)                                     X(DE)              ←  X(DT)                               X(DT)         X(DE)                             X(CB)

                                                            P                                                                      P    ↓

 ——————————————————————————————————————–

(WR)                                      (T)                      (G)                     (C)              (G)            (T)                (TE)                                (WR)  

                                                                                                     (QB)

                                                                            (FB)                                         (HB)

 During this era, Pittsburgh ran the 4-3 package (Shown Above). I repeat, instead of charging ahead, the front four would run the pattern.  On the Weak side, the  Defensive Tackle or DT is making his way to the outside after the  Defensive End or DE blocked and jammed the guard and the tackle. This is  the example of  the ‘ME’ pattern.

 The You pattern is the opposite.  The example of this is shown on the strongside.  The Defensive Tackle (DT) would block the offensive tackle (T) and tight end (TE). while the Defensive End (DE) cuts accross or even under the guard. Both sides runing the same thing is ‘doubles’. It is not unsual for the Steel Curtain to run ‘Me’ on one side and ‘You’ on the other.

Okay, all of this had me wondering if these front four schemes are still being used in today’s game.  If not, two questions come to mind here.

-With all of the rule changes and such, will this scheme work in  today’s game?

-If this scheme works today, who can successfully run it?

-With all of that action goin on up front, what’s up with the Linebackers and Secondary?

Randy Moss Accused of Battery

Today,Randy Moss vehemently denied allegations of a Ft. Lauderdale woman claiming that the All Pro Receiver committed battery. Moss claims that this is extortion!

“They’re false allegations. Something I have been battling for like the last couple of days of threats going public if I didn’t pay X amount of dollars”  He said.

This is what we know so far.

-The incident allegedly happened on Jan. 6 on New England’s bye week.

-The woman in question knew Randy for 11 years, and he is not denying that something happened but he is denying “battery” and claiming the incident as an accident.

-The woman and her reps issued a restraining order on Moss.

-No Charges filed

-No police report

-Hearing scheduled Jan. 28

As it stands right now,  I want to give Randy the benefit of the doubt. Yeah, everyone knows about the incidents in that past  but they are by no means like this one since he came into the league. Moss have been doing everything possible to a productive member of the Patriots. So why would he throw it away over this kind of drama?

The problem I have with this is:  Why didn’t Rachelle Washington report this incident promptly? Why did she wait until the AFC Championship Game to come out with this?  According to Moss, Washington has her own house and own ride, why didnt she seek medical attention? It wasnt like Moss could stop her.

Right now, the media, critics and everyone in between should reserve judgement until more facts surface.

T.O. : A Snotty, Crying Shame!

T.O. , spare us the dramatics, You don’t give a damn about Tony Romo! Those tears were not for him. They were for YOU! Yesterday’s antics by Owens were only so he wouldn’t get blamed for the loss.  If the tears wasn’t bad enough, this dude here said that he had great relationships with his teammates and quarterbacks throughout his career. Now everyone knows that is lie. Let’s run it down shall we!

T.O.

-Implied that Jeff Garcia was gay

-Ran down Donovan McNabb in Philly

-Implied that if he had Favre under center in the Super Bowl, he would have a ring.

Yeah, I know that TO invited Romo to his birthday party and they are seen together on the sidelines but that doesn’t mean that there is a strong bond. Hell, TO worked out endlessly with McNabb when he first arrived in Philly and we know how that relationship ended.

Folks can say whatever they feel about Randy Moss but he took a huge paycut to be with New England because he wants to win. Moss handled his business during his first year with the pats. While TO had some great games with Dallas, he manages to get in distraction after distraction. Now, the media do come down hard on him at times but this time, TO deserves every barb he gets.

Instead of getting the popcorn ready, how about some kleenex , Midol, and a little bit of Carl Thomas.

Giants Win, Romo Chokes!

I’m just gonna say what needs to be said here. The Dallas Cowboys deserved to lose yesterday’s game plain and simple. There were senseless penalities, dropped passes, and piss poor special teams play on the part of the Cowboys. The Giants’ D brought the pressure and Dallas’ offense failed to make adjustments.

Romo once again caved in to the Playoff pressure and it was his own dumb ass fault. Instead of galavanting with Jessica Simpson and Jason Witten in Mexico, he should have spent more time with his playbook. Before anyone come here and say “Well, Romo wasnt the only one not studying the book or film.” “Brady didnt spend his bye week studying. He was in New York.” “Others have done worse on their bye week.” Let me say this:  Tom Brady was pretty much flawless vs Jacksonville. In New York, surely he spent some time studying the book or I don’t know, maybe he went to practice too. In Green Bay, Favre, Grant and the rest of the Pack prepared, went out and kicked Seattle’s ass. What I’m saying is this: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BYE WEEK!

Jerry Jones had $67 millon reasons to advance to the NFC Championship but he ended up wasting his money. Jones watched his investment take two sacks outside of the box without throwing the ball away.  Jones also watched Romo throw that pick in the end zone.

Hey Cowboy fans, I heard that the NY Post planted a Simpson lookalike at the game. Tell me, that it had nothing to do with the outcome? Romo can’t be that dense can he? If Tony is indeed distracted by a “clone” of his ‘girlfriend’, his ass should be on the sidelines making a little bit above the league minimum and rockin the latest in officially licensed gear!

The bottom line is this:  After signing a huge contract like Romo did, there are no more excusses. No more faux passes!  Do whatever you do outside of the stadium. But on the field , just do your damn job- make the throws, make the adjustments and manage a game.

The receivers and defese should go back to some fundamentals and get some disipline.

As for for TO, I have somethin on that in the next entry.

Packers Demolish ‘Hawks

As long as the Packers have Ryan Grant in the backfield, I will never  again write them off as a one dimensional team.  After those two fumbles early on, Grant redeemed himself with 201 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Packers destroyed Seattle 42-20.  On Sunday, I made a boneheaded prediction.  I said that the Seahawks would win beause of their defense. I said that Bobby Engram was gonna cut up the Packs’ secondary. What the hell was I thinking? After that touchdown, it was a wrap for him.

But back to Grant. He set franchise records in playoff games for rushing and  rushing touchdows-eclipsing Ahman Greens mark of 156 yds on the ground. This was also Grant’s sixth 100 yard game of the season. The scary thing about this is he only started 7 games this year. Imagine his numbers if he started for the full season? I feel hella  foolish for doubting this guy but imagine how the Giants feel.

New York did not do a thing with Ryan but trade him, Now, he has thrived in Green Bay. I know Jerry Reece is kicking his own ass for letting this guy go.

As far as the Hawks are concerned, they were exposed as fradulent.  Their defense was MIA and the offense was nonexistent. Shaun Alexander had 20 yards on the ground.  Engram only had 67 yds.  Saying that I have overestimated Seattle, is a gross understatement.

Well, I have said my piece about this game. I’m not gonna grovel for you. Hell, I’m bending my back as it is! That was horrible prediction on my part, and that’s all I have to say.