National Football League notes, Super Bowl XLIII edition.

1)  Greatest Super Bowl ever?  Maybe, but probably not (I'll take Giants over Bills, Rams over Titans, and Giants over Patriots).  Greatest 4th quarter in a Super Bowl ever?  No, I don't think so.  How soon we forget last year's 4th quarter in which the lead changed hands 3 times and the Giants won the game on their touchdown with 35 seconds remaining (hmm, deja vu?).  Not to mention the Patriots undefeated season was on the line.  No, for my money, last year's Super Bowl 4th quarter was better.

2)  Cheerleader of the year!  From all the way back in week 2, here's Lilly of the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders.  For me, she epitomizes that all-american look: blond hair, pretty face, nice rack.  The NFL could do worse than hold her up as a symbol of American football.

3)  Two years in a row we got an American Idol alum singing the national anthem.  Last year Jordin Sparks, this year Jennifer Hudson.  Who will it be next year, Fantasia Barrino?

4)  James Harrison definitely had one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history with his interception and 100 yard runback for touchdown.  It's a play that will be talked about a lot, deservedly so.

5)  There was a certain inevitability about this game.  Going in, I knew Pittsburgh would win.  In the first 3 quarters, Arizona showed little sign that they could provide much of a challenge.  Indeed, the Steelers scored points in all four quarters of the game and were leading 20-7 in the fourth quarter.

It was the fourth quarter when Arizona finally did something and managed to take the lead, but even then, right after the 64 yard TD by Larry Fitzgerald I turned to crocoWife and said Pittsburgh would still win.  I think that's one reason this is not the greatest Super Bowl ever, the favored team won the game.  No surprises there.

6)  In a rant almost verbatim from last year ... nowhere near enough cheerleaders shown during this game.  Actually, there were NO cheerleaders shown during this game.  The only times I saw cheerleaders were in the background of shots of players or coaches.  Where were the cheerleaders!?  They can't fit 4-5 cheerleader shots into a 4-hour game?  Pathetic.  I'm beginning to think this is mandated by the NFL.  For some half-witted reason they don't want to have any "sexy" connotation in the most-watched game of the year.  Patently ridiculous.  Who doesn't like a little T&A with their football?

7)  Larry Fitzgerald broke out in a big way during this postseason.  He had 127 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Super Bowl and now holds records for most yards, most receptions, and most touchdowns by a receiver in a single postseason.  He's now a megastar football player.

8)  I don't want to overlook Santonio Holmes, who had 131 yards, a touchdown, and won the MVP award.  With all the great receivers on the field (Fitzgerald, Hines Ward, Anquan Boldin), Holmes was not in anyone's shadow.  He was the go-to guy on Pittsburgh's final scoring drive and made a tremendous, toe-dragging, arm-stretching, sideline-kissing touchdown catch to win the game.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy Crap!  Only 6 months until training camp!  Geaux Saints!

2)  The Saints went after Gregg Williams hard.  They wanted him to run their defense and made no bones about it.  I applaud the way the Saints go after the things they really want (Drew Brees being exhibit A).

3)  The Saints offseason priorities should be to re-sign Jonathan Vilma, re-sign Lance Moore, acquire a stud free safety, and implement a kick-ass Gregg Williams defense.

Divisional playoffs notes on the National Football League

1)  Really?  The NFC championship game is the Cardinals vs. the Eagles?  Could I care any less about those teams or that game?  No, I couldn't.  Neither team is very likable, which ensures I'll be rooting for whoever comes out of the AFC.  And neither team is dominant, which ensures they will lose in the Super Bowl to whoever comes out of the AFC.

2)  The New Orleans Saints hired Gregg Williams to be their new defensive coordinator.  This is a good move.  Williams's defense next season certainly can't be worse than what the Saints had the last two seasons.  Can it?  Williams is a well-respected defensive coach who has built tough defenses in the past.  This is good.

3)  Belated congratulations to the Denver Broncos, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Bucs, and New England Patriots!  You either choked your way out of the playoffs (Cowboys, Broncos, Bucs), or you were a good team but because of your tough division, you didn't make the playoffs with an 11-5 record (Patriots).  Excellent!

4)  In the AFC, the Ravens-Steelers game should be a ripper.  These are two tough football teams, both with great defenses, who hate each other.  This game will be better than the Super Bowl.  This game IS the super Bowl, really.  Whoever wins this game wins the Super Bowl.  Bet on it.

5)  The divisional playoff games made a case for not wanting that bye week.  Three of the four teams who had the bye week lost at home.  Seems like having that week off does indeed break the rhythm of the season.

6)  I guess the NFC South may not have been all I cracked it up to be.  Tampa Bay played their way out of a playoff spot, and Atlanta and Carolina both lost in their first playoff game.  And of course, the Saints were eliminated somewhere around week 14 or 15.  It was a hell of a regular season, though.

7)  My early prediction for next year's NFC South standings (subject to change after free agency and the draft).
Saints 11-5
Falcons 10-6
Bucs 8-8
Panthers 7-9

8)  We should all be Detroit Lions fans.  The Lions organization and no-win season is a reflection of America.  Economy trashed, housing market sucks, job market sucks, stuck in a painful war, but we fired the hated president and have a new president coming in who will fix everything!  Right?  Sound familiar, Lions fans?  Rooting for the Lions now is like rooting for America!  So be a patriot and cheer for those Lions!

Week 14 notes on the National Football League

1)  If you don't know the NFC South is the best division in football, then you don't know shit about football.  All four teams have winning records after 14 weeks of football, and they have a combined 24-2 home record.  That's a history-setting statistic.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Kelli of The Roar (Jacksonville Jaguars Cheerleaders).  She's cute as a button!

3)  The New Orleans Saints beat the hated Atlanta Falcons.  Following the game, the Atlanta players gave the Saints no credit at all.  They talked about how they beat themselves and how the Saints did nothing to stop them.  I love rivalries!  Everybody hates each other and no credit is given to the opposition when you get beat.

4)  Congratulations Denver Broncos!  You are going to win the AFC West and host a playoff game.  You have proven your worth by dominating a division containing the powerhouse Chargers, Chiefs, and Raiders.  Great job!

5)  My current Top 6: Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts. 

6)  What's the deal, Cowboys?  Are you a team that can win important games or aren't you?  The evidence is mounting that you are not.  Remember around week 4 or 5 when you were a shoe-in for the Super Bowl?  What happened?

I'll tell you what happened ... Wade Phillips happened.  Jones loves to hire coaches he can dictate to (Barry Switzer, Chan Gaily, anyone?), and Phllips is one of them, which means he's not the real power in the locker room.  The Cowboys are about 10 years away from being the Raiders and Jones being Al Davis.

7)  If the Saints aren't going to be in the Super Bowl, I'd hope to see a Titans/Giants championship game.  They've been consistently the best two teams all year, it'd be a great game.

No, you don't have to be a genius to figure that one out.  But there's no hot team right now who I feel like I'd rather see in the Super Bowl.  There's no Giants like last year.

8)  How about that NFC West?  With the exception of the Rams, that division is showing signs of life.  The 49ers are winning games, the Seahawks are trying their best, the Cardinals are going to the playoffs.

9)  Fantasy tip: Believe it or not, I think Shaun Hill is a viable option right now.  I'm considering him for my playoff matchup this week.

10)  The winless Lions' remaining schedule: Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers.  Seems likely they won't win any of those games.  At least they put up a fight against Minnesota, it looked for a while like they might actually win that one.  But of course, they didn't.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  Pierre Thomas just may be the RB of the future for the Saints.  When Payton dedicates the gameplan to include some power rushing by Thomas, good things happen.  I still wish McAllister was their main power rusher, but he hasn't looked that great recently when carrying the ball.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 414.  Both the Saints and Falcons had exactly 414 yards last week.  What a coincidence!  And ... if you add the digits from those totals, plus the number of catches by Jeremy Shockey ... 4+1+4+4+1+4+5 = 23.  Extra creepy!

3)  Brees needs to average about 330 yards a game in his last 3 games to break Dan Marino's yardage record.  That's not a sure thing.  That's a tough record to break, it goes to show how awesome Dan Marino was.  Can't believe that guy never won a Super Bowl.  Crazy.

Week 13 notes on the National Football League

1)  Those Thanksgiving day blowouts were sure fun.  Right?

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Alisha of the Oakland Raiderettes.

3)  The New Orleans Saints lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  It was a hard-fought game, like it always is against the Bucs.  Pretty disappointing loss after manhandling Green Bay last week.  This loss eliminates any possible wiggle room for making the playoffs.  They would need to win their last 4 games and hope for a lot of losses by the likes of Atlanta, Dallas, Washington, Carolina, and Tampa.

4)  Congratulations 49ers!  That was a legitimate win over the Bills.  Good job.

5)  My current Top 5: New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Bucs.  I'm still keeping an eye on the Colts, they've now won 5 straight and their next 2 games are against Cincinnati and Detroit.  Their winning streak will continue and they won't be tested until they battle the Titans in week 17.

6)  What are the Jets doing?  If they want to be taken seriously they MUST beat the likes of Denver.  This week they've got the 49ers.  We'll see what happens.

7)  It's hard to criticize the best player on the team, the guy who wins more games for you than anybody else, but in this case, Drew Brees's two late-game interceptions were killers.

Week 12 notes on the National Football League

1)  Washington Redskins, welcome to Saints-ville.  Yeah, the Saints beat Seattle in Seattle last year too, but that's not all you've got in common.  You've got a coach, Jim Zorn, who gets desperate in games too quickly, which is apparent by the way he sometimes abandons the running game and often goes for it on 4th down (see Sean Payton).  You are a team with a first year head coach who took other teams by surprise early, and now must contend with the fact that teams are onto you (see 2007 Saints).  You have a highly paid defensive line, including ends Jason Taylor and Andre Carter, that is supposed to be dominant, but simply isn't (see Will Smith and Charles Grant).  You've got a highly-regarded, young WR, Malcolm Kelly, who can't get himself into the mix (see Robert Meachem).  Get ready for inconsistency and barely making/missing the playoffs for the next few years.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Erica Jenkins of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.  She loses points for being a big country music fan, but I'll overlook it.

3)  The New Orleans Saints blew out the Green Bay Packers.  The first half was an entertaining game of swapping touchdowns.  The third quarter was the best quarter of football the Saints have played all year, resulting in a 21-0 advantage in that quarter alone.

4)  Congratulations AFC West!  You are the weakest division in the NFL!  Your best team (Denver Broncos) is barely over .500 and just lost to a team (Oakland Raiders) that had 2 wins before the game.  The Raiders exacted some payback for the Week 1 blowout Denver inflicted upon them, so the Raiders have that going for them, which is nice.  Also, the Raiders win eliminated 4 players from my suicide pool, which leaves me a 1:8 chance to win the ca$h.

The Chargers' season is probably finished.  With 7 losses I suspect they are out of the playoff landscape.  Technically, they could still win that sorry division, since they are only 2 games behind Denver.  But honestly, does it matter?  Whichever team wins that division is still shitty.

5)  My current Top 5: New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens.  I'll make the Saints an unofficial #6.  And I'm keeping my eye on the Colts, they've won 4 straight, including wins over New England, Pittsburgh, and San Diego; they also beat Baltimore earlier this year.

6)  Strange set of early games this week.  Not one was decided by less than 13 points.  Usually as it nears 1:00 pm I start keeping an eye on the close games so that I can switch over and watch how they end (NFL Ticket on DirecTV rules!).  But this week, there were no close games to keep an eye on.

7)  The Saints put on one hell of an offensive display against a team whose passing defense was supposed to be one of the best in the league.  416 yards, 7 touchdowns, 51 points ... without Reggie Bush.  The Saints have won 3 of their last 4 games ... without Reggie Bush.  I don't mean to imply the Saints are better without Bush, I just hope Coach Payton remembers how effective his offense is without Bush.  When Bush is in the game, Payton tends to try extra hard to get him the ball.  Not necessary, there are guys all over the field who will make plays as long as Drew Brees is directing the traffic.

Like I said last week, if Brees were to get hurt, his team would tank.  If that's not the definition of MVP, then I don't know what is.  Brees is in the top 2 candidates for league MVP this year.  He is lights out.

8)  This year, the sportscasters and analysts have latched onto the concept of incredible football plays being "like a video game".  Too many times I've heard someone say, "that looked like something from a video game!"  Madden football has been out there for years, and video game football even longer.  But I've noticed this year an increase in video game call-outs, which is annoying, because that would have been cool about 10 years ago ... maybe.

9)  Fantasy tip: I got nuthin' for you this week.

10)  The Saints defense grabbed 3 interceptions!  I can't recall the last time they accomplished that, so I looked it up.  The last time the Saints had 3 picks in a game was against the Panthers on November 25, 2007, one year ago today.  Not as far back as I would have guessed.

Between this week and last week, the defense is making great plays and making hard hits.  That's the kind of defense they need to be playing.  They ran some effective blitzes, real blitzes, not that bullshit corner blitz they'd been using all season.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  Deuce McAllister became the Saints' all-time touchdown leader when he scored his 54th touchdown against the Packers Monday night.  He has cornerback Jason David (of all people) to thank for breaking the record.  It was David's interception, which he returned to the 3-yard line, that set up the McAllister plunge.

Congratulations Deuce!  You are the most beloved player to ever wear a Saints uniform, it's perfectly appropriate that you hold the franchise touchdown record.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 157.5.  That was Drew Bress's QB rating against the Packers.  Damn near close to a perfect rating of 158.3.

3)  I must give respect to Pierre Thomas who had 18 touches for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Thomas has been playing well all season, continuing from his great play near the end of last season.  Deuce looked shaky on the first series of the game, 2 carries for basically zero yards and it was Thomas the rest of the way.  I love Deuce, it's too bad his kness are ailing him, it showed last night.  Thomas is proving he can run between the tackles, opponents might have to start accounting for him.

4)  I must give respect to Lance Moore who had 5 catches for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns.  This is his first year playing a significant role as a wide reciever for the Saints, but he's proving to have that Wes Welker type ability to catch a lot of balls and convert a lot of first downs.  Marques Colston is still their big threat, I wish he would get 100% healthy and stay healthy.  Brees has so much confidence in Moore now, I think Brees would throw him the ball even if all 11 defenders were circling him.

5)  I must give even more respect to Drew Brees.  The guy just plays perfect game after perfect game.  Some people are saying that the Saints offense finally emerged last night.  Well, that's bullshit.  With the exception of an egg they layed against Carolina, the Saints have scored 24, 24, 32, 31, 27, 34, 37, 20, 30, and 51 points this year.  Does that sound like an offense that isn't producing enough?  Not to mention they have the number one overall offense and number one passing offense in the league.  And it's Drew Brees who makes that all possible, he's still on pace to break Dan Marino's single season yardage record.  He is money.  And Don Banks of SI agrees with me.

Week 11 notes on the National Football League

1)  It interests me when teams get labeled "finesse."  The teams who earn that badge typically find it offensive because this is a MAN's game after all, but it's actually a silly tag to put on a team.  The Saints look like a finesse team when compared to the New York Giants, but the Giants look like a finesse team when compared to the 1970s Steelers.  So it's a relative label, and in today's NFL where so many games are won and lost in the 4th quarter on the strength of 2-minute drills and last-second game-winning plays, the entire league is finesse in comparison to what it used to be.  Every team in the league will wing the ball around the field in the 4th quarter if they are behind.  Instead of calling it the "2-minute offense", we should call it the "finesse offense"; every team runs it every year.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Lindsey H. of the Tennessee Titans Cheerleaders.

3)  The New Orleans Saints beat the Kansas City Chiefs and recorded their first road win of the season (if you count the London game as a "home" game, that is).  The Saints played a balanced game, with good effort on offense, defense, and special teams.  The offense was less lopsided than usual, with 25 rushing attempts for over 100 yards.

Okay Saints defense, was that so hard?  You got 4 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, and 2 red zone stands, forcing the Chiefs into field goals.  The offense scores it's usual 30 points, all you need to do is hold opponents to 20 and that's the Saints formula for success.  Truth be told, the Chiefs scored 24, but the refs blew a call on a replay that seemed obviously like a Chiefs touchdown.  You couldn't actually see the ball in the replay, but it would have been a miracle if it didn't break the plane of the goal line.

4)  Congratulations St. Louis Rams!  You officially suck again!  It was great that you took a brief respite from sucking, long enough to beat the Redskins and Cowboys back-to-back.  But now you've lost 4 in a row, and been blown out in your last 3 (outscored 116-32).  You might have 2 wins but you're playing worse than the Lions, who have 0 wins.

5)  My current Top 4: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens.  The Giants totally stomped the Ravens; surprising.

6)  As I've been saying ... the Patriots will be inconsequential this year.  They may or may not win their division, if they do, it won't mean much.  Losing your star QB when he is the identity of your team is a huge deal.

7)  I can relate to the Cowboys and their Tony Romo situation.  Romo is that team's identity.  When they lost him, they lost their identity just like the Patriots when they lost Brady.  Now that Romo is back, all of a sudden they look like a good team again.  It's amazing the way even the defense plays better when Romo is in the house.

If the Saints were to lose Drew Brees it would be the same situation.  Brees is the team's identity.  The Saints would stink royally if he got hurt.  And if he came back in his first game to beat the Panthers, Saints fans would be heralding the return of a savior, just like Cowboys fans are doing right now after Romo returned to beat the hated Redskins.

8)  A few oddities this week.  For the first time in 6 years, a game ended in a tie (Eagles/Bengals).  For the first time in NFL history a game ended with a score of 10-11 (Chargers/Steelers).  Donovan McNabb revealed that he didn't know there could be games that end in ties.  Who gives a shit about any of this?  They are quirky tidbits, but nothing more.  Nothing that needs to be talked about by every analyst and touted on the front page of Yahoo!.

9)  Fantasy tip: Start a running back that will score fantasy points for your team.  In other words, don't start Tim Hightower.

10)  I'm not a fan of Warren Sapp as an NFL analyst.  He's too smug, likes himself too much, laughs at his own (unfunny) jokes too often, mugs for the camera too much.  I could live without ever seeing that guy on TV again.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  Brees is still on pace to break Marino's yardage-in-a-season record.  With the way Sean Payton typically abandons the run, it should be no problem to break that record.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 5.  That's how many of their next 6 games the Saints need to win to even THINK about playoffs.  To be a serious contender, they need to win all 6.

3)  Playing their last 4 games on the road, the Saints have not played in the Superdome since Oct. 12.  They're finally back this week, hosting the Packers on Monday night.

Week 10 notes on the National Football League

1)  The 49ers.  They had the Cardinals beat, they led almost the entire game, they were in position to score the go-ahead touchdown at the end, then they blew it.  Here's something Mike Singletary and Mike Martz should know: when it's under a minute and you have no timeouts and you have a first down on your opponent's 1 yard line, you use the first down to spike the ball and stop the clock.  Then you throw a pass on second down so that if it's incomplete, the clock stops again.  On third down you make a judgement call, try to run it and hope you have enough time to run a 4th play, or throw another pass.  What you NEVER do is try to swap your offensive package before first down, while the clock is still running!

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Courtney L. of the Baltimore Ravens Cheerleaders.

3)  The Atlanta Falcons routed the New Orleans Saints despite my prediction that the Saints would win.  Here's what happened: the Saints' defense sucked, the special teams mostly sucked, and the offense was mostly okay but still kind of sucked.  And the coaching was a bit sucky too.

The Falcons did the same thing the Panthers did 3 games ago, played better football than the Saints and won the game.  I swear, the Saints defense looks like it's constantly in the wrong scheme.  I don't know who calls the defensive formations and plays, I assume it's the defensive coordinator, Gary Gibbs.  The Saints might need to pull a San Diego Chargers and fire that guy mid-season.  He's been here 3 years and the defense has shown zero improvement, even as we acquire better players (Ellis, Vilma, Porter) we still seem to be running the same old crappy defense.

Adding injury to insult, Mike McKenzie is now out with a fractured kneecap (sounds painful!).

4)  Congratulations Jeremy Shockey!  You've angered your quarterback the last two games, there are rumors that many of your teammates hate you, and you're injured more often than not.  'Atta boy, way to show those Giants what a huge mistake it was to trade you away!

It's a good thing for the Saints Billy Miller is a very good pass-catching tight end.  He made a few excellent catches against the Falcons and that's not the first time. 

5)  My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons.

6)  The Kansas City Chiefs aren't messing around anymore.  They've been playing tough football and have been in it in their last three games.  Wouldn't surprise me if they start winning games soon.  Of course, They play the Saints next.

7)  Minnesota vs. green bay.  Adrian Peterson was a monster and basically won that important divisional game on his own.  I hope he got a game ball from Childress, he may have saved the coach's job.  I'm surprised Green Bay didn't find a way to win that game.  I thought Green Bay was the class of the NFC North, but maybe they're not.

8)  I've noticed the Saints and Chargers are on identical paths.  They are basically the same team.  Pass heavy offense, shitty defense, mediocre record.  Check out the stats (added the Giants and Titans for comparison purposes):

Offense

Defense

The things that stand out between these average teams and these good teams are:
A) Good teams consistently win the turnover battle.
B) Good teams rely on a balanced offense, average teams rely on their passing.
C) Good teams pressure quarterbacks to get sacks and interceptions.

9)  Fantasy tip: If you had taken my advice in Week 3 and picked up Brady Quinn, you would have been rewarded this week with 239 yards, 66% completions, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.  I'm smart enough to follow my own advice; with Schaub and Roethlisberger injured, I dropped Quinn right into my starting lineup without a thought.

10)  NFL league MVP race, mid-season: If the Saints miraculously win their division or make the playoffs, Drew Brees is a shoe-in.  If Minnesota makes the playoffs on the strength of Adrian Peterson's skills, he's a solid candidate.  If the Cardinals earn a playoff bye week, Kurt Warner is a definite possibility.  If the Redskins continue to be a force and Jason Campbell continues to not turn the ball over, he's a long-shot candidate.  Also from the Redskins, Clinton Portis is a possibility.  And if the Falcons win the NFC South, Matt Ryan and/or Michael Turner must be seriously considered.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  Brees was trying really hard!  Too hard.  He threw 3 INTs, including one on the first play of the game.  He threw it right into double coverage in an attempt to make a statement and set a tone for the game.  Mission accomplished.  The tone of Falcons intercepting Brees all day was set.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 1.  That's how many sacks and interceptions the Saints have over their last 3 games.  One sack and one interception in 3 games.  That is ridiculous.  That is a defense that is not pressuring the quarterback in any way, shape, or form.

3)  Colston breaks out for 140 yards, which is not only good for the Saints, it's good for my fantasy team.

Week 9 notes on the National Football League

1)  The first game of week 10 has already been played and here I am posting my week 9 notes.  Sue me.  I was out of town again and only watched a little football last weekend.  So ... Brett Favre threw his 300th interception, the first NFL QB to do so.  Makes me wonder which QB has been sacked the most times in NFL history, or which RB has the most fumbles, which WR has the most dropped passes?

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Sarah of the Cincinnati Ben-Gals.  Sarah is a high school english teacher.  Let the fantasies begin.

3)  The New Orleans Saints were on their bye week, so I have nothing to report other than my prediction that they will beat the Atlanta Falcons this weekend.  Atlanta's a great run team, but the Saints have shown the ability to shut down good running games (Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore) this year (just like last year).  And the Falcons won't be able to defend the Saints passing attack very well.

4)  Congratulations Redskins fans!  You allowed Steelers fans to fill your house on Monday Night Football and cheer loud enough to force the Redskins into a silent count.  That is a trend-setting approach to supporting your team.

5)  My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals.  That's right, the Cardinals, their offense is lights out and their defense is respectable.

6)  The latest physiological science says stretching before you engage in physical activity is actually harmful.  I encourage you to click that link and read the article.  Muscles lose as much as 30% of their strength through static stretching, according to studies.  Are NFL players and teams aware of this?  Seems like every pre-game routine includes dudes doing static stretches, even with trainers helping them stretch by pushing against a leg for 30 seconds, or twisting a torso into a pretzel.

7)  I guess the Oakland Raiders have decided to take an eternal cigarette break.  They managed all of 77 yards for the entire game.  Around the league, 10 running backs and 18 receivers had more than 77 yards in week 9.  Pathetic.

8)  I suspect Saints Will Smith, Charles Grant, and Deuce McAllister will lose their appeal to the league and will in fact be suspended for 4 games each.  Grant is now out for the season on IR, so he can serve his suspension while he's out, but he needs to drop his appeal and take the suspension before the season ends.

9)  Fantasy tip: This has been a not-as-fun-as-usual season for fantasy football.  Nobody is reliable anymore.  Every week your stud players are liable to stink while no-name players gobble stats.  Makes it very frustrating to set a competitive weekly lineup.  My team fluctuates wildly one week to the next.  So just do your best, play the match-ups, pick up hot players off the waiver wire.

10)  The top 5 passing teams are a combined 22-19.  The top 5 rushing teams are a combined 31-10.  The top 5 passing defenses are a combined 26-14.  The top 5 rushing defenses are a combined 26-15.  Based on that, the best team in the league should have a very strong running game, and strong all-around defense.  The only team who is in the top 5 of rushing offense, rushing defense, and passing defense: the Baltimore Ravens.  The Ravens might be a team to watch the rest of the way, their problem is they are 26th in passing offense.  If they could get into the top half of the league in passing offense, they would be incredible.  They have a tough schedule coming up (Steelers, Redskins, Giants, Eagles, Cowboys) but if they make the playoffs they could be very dangerous.

Week 8 notes on the National Football League

1)  The New York Giants continue to show their ability to turn up the defensive pressure to win games.  They sacked Roethlisberger about 25 times.  Also, Eli Manning continues to show his ability to be totally ordinary.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Jessica of the New England Patriots Cheerleaders.  According to her bio she loves to eat banana splits.  In case you were wondering.

3)  The New Orleans Saints won a shootout with the San Diego Chargers in London.  With both teams sporting high powered offenses and suspect defenses, you had to know the over was the smart bet.  That was either two offenses who can't be stopped or two defenses who can't stop anybody.  Or both.

The opening Saints drive lasted 9 minutes, but only resulted in 3 points.  But that was the drive where I knew the Saints would win the game.  Holding the ball for a 9 minute stretch in the first half goes a long way to tiring out the defense in the second half, and San Diego's defense was surely tired.  I just didn't know the Saints defense would get equally tired.

4)  Congratulations NFL officials, you've found a way to botch more games this year than in any year I can recall.  This week it was the Falcons getting screwed when Mike Smith was not allowed to challenge a call on a supposed muffed punt.  It's unfortunate Smith could not challenge due to his lack of timeouts available, that's the rules, so that's fine.  But the call made by the officials was horrendous.

5)  My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears.

6)  Mike Singletary is taking charge of the 49ers in a very public way.  I just don't know if the team is talented enough to win games no matter who the coach is.  It's easy to like his style, I hope he doesn't go too over the top with it.

7)  The Colts have had a stranglehold on the AFC South for years, this year the Titans are claiming it.  I never would have guessed Kerry Collins would pile up wins like this, but with the assist of a dominant defense, he is.

8)  Philip Rivers, on the final drive of regulation (not counting the hail mary play at the very end), underthrows two open recievers, takes a delay of game penalty, then throws an interception.  Not exactly a clutch performance by ol' Philip.  The Saints defense deserves credit for the interception, but the rest of it is on Rivers.

9)  Fantasy tip: Give up.  If your team has less than 4 wins don't even bother setting a weekly lineup because you suck.

10)  Brett Favre leads the league in interceptions.  LenDale White leads the league in touchdowns.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints beat the Chargers, just like I predicted last week.  I'm a genius.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 72.  Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma leads the league in tackles with 72.

3)  Saints are on their bye week now, what a boring week of games it will be without the Saints.

Week 7 notes on the National Football League

1)  There's a rumor that Brett Favre conversed with Detroit Lions coaches and gave up all the "secrets" to the Packers offense.  Considering the Lions lost that game 48-25 I guess the info wasn't very helpful.  If the (speculative) story is true, then Favre is a dick; not cool at all.  If it's false, then who benefits from making up such a story and getting it to the public?  The Packers, that's who.  It paints the Packers as the victim and turns all the Favre-fans back into Packers-fans.

Whether or not the story is true, Favre is turning into That Guy whom controversy follows, which is disturbing, because if it continues, his legacy could get tarnished.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Rachel of the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders.  She has kind of a Mariah Carey vibe about her.  As far as vibes go, that's not bad.

3)  The New Orleans Saints got busted up by the Carolina Panthers.  What a tough game to swallow.  The Panthers just flat out dominated them, worst loss of the season for the Saints.

The Saints' offense looked terrible after Bush left with his knee injury.  The question is, will it look terrible the next 4-5 weeks while Bush is out, or did it look terrible only in that game because they had gameplanned for Reggie and will now be able to gameplan without Reggie?  Last year they played 4 games without Bush, and their yards per game and scoring per game went up; I expect they'll be okay without Bush.

4)  Congratulations Sebastian Janikowski, you kicked the longest field goal in Raiders history and it was a game winner to boot.  And it means that much more because of the special season the Raiders are having.  I guess when the coaching staff is determined for a guy to break a record, there's no stopping them.

5)  Over the last 2 weeks Dallas went from consensus Superbowl team to might-miss-the-playoffs, and St Louis went from worst team in the league to possible NFC West contender.  It's a crazy thing, this "parity."

6)  I'm standing by last week's death knell for the Patriots.  I believe they're not going to do anything important this year.  Sure, they beat Denver, but Denver's defense is ridiculously bad.

7)  My current Top 7: Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills.

8)  Drew Brees got some love from the national media as the FOX pre-game show aired an extended segment on him.  He had a sub-par game against the Panthers, but I know he's licking his chops to face that porous San Diego defense.

9)  Fantasy tip: If you own LaDainian Tomlinson, go ahead and trade him.  I did.  I picked up Larry Fitzgerald in his place.  Considering I'm in a keeper league and Fitzgerald has another good 3 or 4 years, while Tomlinson probably only has 1 or 2, I'm happy with that.  And I traded LT to a huge Chargers fan, so he's happy too.

10)  The Saints play the San Diego Chargers in London this week and I think the Saints win this game.  I'm getting a vibe that they're gonna win it.  Drew Brees is facing his old team for the first time, the Saints were embarrassed by the Panthers and are looking to redeem themselves, the Chargers pass defense is terrible and Brees is having a record-book year.  I think the Saints take this game.  And where does that leave the Chargers?  They'll be 3-5, not good.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints got killed by the Panthers.  The first half was an entertaining, hard fought game, but the second half turned into a rout.

2)  Saints stat of the week: #1.  Saints have the #1 offense in the league with 402 yards per game.

3)  Colston is a perfect example of how playing in games is very different from playing in practice.  He said all week that he was ready to play, then laid an egg in the game.  I counted 4 passes thrown his way, two of them bounced off his hands, one was very close to being intercepted, and one was intercepted.  I imagine he'll shake the rust off and be fine.

4)  Master Chief and Optimus Prime are Saints fans.

Week 6 notes on the National Football League

1)  The New England Patriots are cooked.  Tom Brady's absence has caused them to lose their identity and leadership.  A team without an identity is a team that flounders around the field.  All the Super Bowl champs are teams with identities.  New York Giants: tremendous pass rush.  Patriots: Brady and Belichick.  Rams: greatest show on Turf.  Ravens: Ray Lewis and the defense.  Cowboys: Irvin, Aikman, Smith.  49ers: Montana/Young, Jerry Rice, Bill Walsh.  The list goes on.  If your team has no identity it's going nowhere.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Marlana Aref of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Cheerleaders.  Her hair is kind of big, but so are her breasts, which makes everything A-OK in my book.  It's actually quite difficult to find NFL cheerleaders with boobs that large; believe me, I've been looking.

3)  The New Orleans Saints killed the Oakland Raiders.  The Saints beat up the Raiders in exactly the way a quality team should beat up a sorry team.

The Raiders' defense gave up 34 points and allowed Brees to have as good a game as any QB has had (87% completions, 3 TDs, 0 INTs, 320 yards).  The Raiders' defense sucks.

The Raiders' offense managed only 3 points, Russell completed 37% of his passes, and their leading yardage gainer had 46 yards (4 Saints had more than 46 yards, and the Saints punter averaged 44 yards).  The Raiders' offense sucks.

The Raiders' coaches continue to attempt super-duper long field goals and miss them, and can't get their defense lined up properly before the snap.  The Raiders' coaching staff sucks.

Reggie Bush did not return a punt for a TD.  The Raiders' special teams units are passable.

4)  Did you see how many Cowboys fans were at the game in Arizona?  When Nick Folk made the kick to send the game into overtime, the place erupted with cheers.  Speaking of that kick, looks like the old call-timeout-a-split-second-before-the-ball-is-snapped strategy may finally get put to rest.  Ken Whisenhunt outsmarted himself when he tried it and his team blocked the field goal attempt; game would have been over.  But no, Folk got another crack at it and sent the game to OT.

5)  My current Top 5: Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers.  (This week's game between the Saints and Panthers is HUGE.)

6)  Congratulations Richie Incognito, you got flagged for one of the dumbest penalties of all time.  All your Rams team needed to do was not turn over the ball, run some time off the clock and kick a game winning 30 yard field goal.  Instead, you draw a 15 yard penalty for, of all things, jawing at an official.  All you had to do was shut your mouth and your team probably wins the game, but you couldn't do it.  Even your teammates knew you were crossing the line when you wouldn't shut up, they tried to get in between you and the officials.  But that didn't mean anything because you had something *important* to say!  Luckily, your kicker made the field goal anyway.

7)  That type of penalty is actually typical of a Jim Haslett coached team.  I know this was his first game as Rams head coach, but he loves him some fiery football players.  When he coached the Saints he had two major issues.  1) Stubbornness (played Aaron Brooks two years longer than he should have).  2) Lack of on-field discipline by his players (Saints were consistently one of the most penalized teams in the league).  Hopefully Haslett can avoid those pitfalls in St. Louis.

8)  Drew Brees didn't play great against the Raiders, he played perfect.  I mean, can a QB play any better than that?  No.  If Brees is not being considered for MVP of the league this year, then people just aren't paying attention.  He is the Tom Brady for the Saints, and you all see what happened to the Patriots when Brady got hurt.

9)  Fantasy tip: why don't fantasy leagues have a "special teams" position on their roster.  It makes no sense to combine the special teams plays with the team's defense because so many special teams players are offensive players.  Why not have a position that includes the kicker's FGs and extra points, kick-return TDs, punt blocks, FG blocks, and successful onside kicks?

10)  Sorry I missed last week's notes, I was at a wedding across the country and didn't get to sit down and watch football on Sunday.  Maybe I'll give you a bonus cheerleader of the week later to make up for it.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints didn't turn the ball over even once!  What a major turnaround on penalties (3) and turnovers (0).  If they had played cleaner games all year, they would be undefeated right now.  I know, "coulda shoulda woulda."  But they lost all 3 games by such small margins and with such dumb errors, it's very easy to imagine them as undefeated right now.  The NFC is sleeping on the Saints, but they are as good as any team in the conference.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 8.  Number of players to catch at least two Drew Brees passes against the Raiders.  Only two of those players were wide receivers, the other six were tight ends and running backs.

3)  I wonder if something is wrong with Scott Fujita.  Is his knee still bothering him?  He's only had 3 total tackles in the last three games.  Is Jonathan Vilma stealing all the tackles now?

Week 4 notes on the National Football League

1)  Congratulations J.T. O'Sullivan, you've mastered the 27-step drop!  Dropping back that far ensures your receivers have plenty of time to complete their routes and get open for one of your bullet passes.  My 49er insider tells me J.T. will practice the 15-step drop this week in an effort to get rid of the ball quicker.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Amanda Lofland of the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders.  Picture speaks for itself doesn't it?  Cheerleaders kick ass.

3)  The New Orleans Saints killed the San Francisco 49ers.  Lance Moore and Robert Meachem burned the 49er secondary for over 200 yards and 3 TDs.  Drew Brees was his usual MVP self and Deuce McAllister made his presence felt in a big way, by helping control the clock and pick up tough yards.

4)  Thank God Lane Kiffin finally got fired.  Hey, professional NFL beat writers, next time leave the "Lane Kiffin is coaching his last game with the Raiders" and "getting fired any moment" blather at home.  Next time wait for the coach to actually get fired before talking about his firing.

5)  My current Top 5: New York Giants, Tennesse Titans, Washington Redskins, Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints.

6)  Another guy I don't want to hear anything else about: Vince Young.  He's a backup quarterback now and doesn't warrant any more press than any other backup QB.  Where are the articles about Mark Brunell or Jim Sorgi?  Where's the ESPN spotlights on Billy Volek?

7)  Sean Payton was fined by the league for criticizing the officiating in the Denver game last week.  This whole business with coaches and players getting fined for criticizing officials (both the NBA and NFL do it) is stupid.  I mean, what's the point?  To preserve the image of the league?  As in, if the coaches don't say anything, then it didn't happen?  Smacks of corruption behind the scenes.  If the officiating process is not an open book, then don't we have to question everything else too?

8)  I like the audio design of CBS games.  I've been noticing for a few years, they seem to capture the crowd noise better than FOX.  It feels more like you're really at the game.

9)  Fantasy tip: Deuce McAllister is back, so get him on your team.

10)  I don't believe Steve Young and Emmitt Smith could like each other any less.  They share post-game duties on ESPN after Monday Night Football, and the tension is always visible.  Young pretends like Smith isn't even there, and Smith alternates between seething and laughing.  They should spend less energy trying to hide it and use the natural animosity for more riveting television.  They could be the Siskel and Ebert of NFL analysis.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints are awesome!  Colston hurt, no problem.  Shockey in surgery, no worries.  Saints overcome all obstacles.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 1343.  Drew Brees's passing yards ths season, leads the league, on pace to set a new NFL record.

3)  How great was it to see Deuce McAllister in the game, pushing the pile, picking up extra yards after being seemingly stopped, catching screen passes, running through heavy traffic, delivering hits, bouncing off defenders, eating the clock at the end of the game, and of course, flying over the pile into the endzone on 2nd and goal.

4)  One big reason to get Deuce in the game plan is because it forces defenses to respect the running game, which opens up the passing game.  As evidenced by the many passes that went longer than 30 yards.  Here's an interesting tidbit: on two of the long TD passes in the first half, it was Reggie Bush in the backfield, not McAllister.  Was the 49er defense respecting Bush's running skills?

Week 3 notes on the National Football League

1)  My relationship with the Oakland Raiders is that I always root for them to be more of whatever it is they are.  Translation: when they're good I root for them to be better; when they're bad I root for them to be worse.  I just try to be supportive in whatever it is they're doing.

For the record, I'm siding with Lane Kiffin over Al Davis.  Davis has shown over the years he has no clue how to handle coaches properly.  I have no doubt that Davis is being a complete dick to Kiffin behind the scenes as well as via the media.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Tessa of the Sea Gals (Seattle Seahawks cheerleaders).  Nothing like a cute redhead to brighten your day.

3)  The New Orleans Saints lost to the Denver Broncos.  As expected, it was a shoot-out.  Final score: 34-32.  Both of these teams have strong offenses and average (at best) defenses, which means playoffs but no superbowl.

4)  The Saints need to figure out what the hell they're doing in short yardage situations.  This is two weeks in a row where they needed to convert a 3rd and 1 to effectively put the game away and couldn't accomplish it.  For good measure, this week they also couldn't punch the ball into the end zone on 4 tries from the one yard line.  The obvious question is: why is Deuce McAllister not put in the game for those situations?

5)  What a boring slate of early games on Sunday.  For the first two hours of NFL football the only interesting thing was Miami ahead of New England 21-6 at halftime.

6)  My current Top 5: Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans.

7)  What an awesome slate of early games on Sunday!  The Giants and Bengals went to overtime, Tampa Bay and Chicago went to overtime, and the Bills beat the Raiders on a last second field goal after a wild 4th quarter of swapping touchdowns.  It's easy to love the NFL with games like that.

8)  Is Matt Cassel aware that he has one of the best receivers in the NFL on his team?  Do you think if Chris Carter or Michael Irvin was on his team he'd get away with targeting them only 6 times per game when other top receivers in the league are targeted more than 10 times (Dwayne Bowe, Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Reggie Wayne) per game?  While that is troubling, it's likely not the real issue.  The real issue is that as soon as Brady got injured, Moss went into Raiders-mode and stopped trying.  He's not running particularly fast, he's not blocking particularly well, he's not doing much of anything.  I wouldn't be surprised if Belichick pulls him out of the starting lineup if Moss keeps it up.

9)  Fantasy tip: If you want to go for an upside backup QB, pick up Brady Quinn, he'll be playing soon enough.  If you want to reach even further, pick up Drew Stanton, he'll be playing before the season is out.

10)  The thing I liked most about Felix Jones's 60 yard touchdown run was T.O. kicking into gear and escorting Jones down the field to provide blocking on the way to the end zone.  Veteran leadershp by Owens.  P.S. Both of those dudes are pretty fast.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints got robbed by the referees! On a crucial 3rd and 1 in the 4th quarter a Denver linebacker was offsides but the ref didn't call it.  If the flag is thrown the Saints would have had a new set of downs and a potential FG kick that much shorter.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 315.3.  Average passing yards per game for the Saints, which currently leads the league.

3)  What is the real reason Deuce McAllister is not being put into games?  Sean Payton keeps saying the gameplan calls for Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas.  Ok, sure, but who comes up with the gameplan, coach?  Why is McAllister not part of it?

4)  Robert Meachem had his first legitimate big NFL play against the Broncos.  He burned a safety for 74 yards.  Last week he had a touchdown catch, but that was because the Redskins forgot to cover him as he strolled into the end zone and caught the easiest touchdown you'll ever see.

5)  Welcome back, Mike McKenzie.  It was great to see you out there breaking up passes, intercepting balls, and missing tackles again.  Just kidding, you played a great game for it being your first one after surgery recovery.

Week 2 notes on the National Football League

1)  The San Diego Chargers find yet another way to lose a game by way of bizarre circumstance.  It's easy to blame the refs for the chargers loss, and it's warranted, because the Chargers almost certainly win that game if the call is made correctly.  But ... it's the Chargers defense that lost the game.  When the bad call occurred, San Diego was leading by a touchdown, they were winning the game.  Winning, until the defense gave up a touchdown and 2-point conversion.  Not to mention the Broncos other 70 yards on that drive before the bad call.  Not to mention the other 31 points Denver scored.  By the way, I love Shanahan's call to go for two.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Lilly of the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders.  When I decided to investigate the Dolphins' cheerleaders, I was excited by the prospect of looking at what would surely be the hottest 25 chicks in the NFL.  I mean, it's Miami, right?  Isn't Miami renowned for housing the most awesome hotties in the nation?  Don't they spend all their time on the beach in thongs and in clubs in wet t-shirts?  I must say, I was bit underwhelmed.  Sure, the crew as a whole is much hotter than say, the Buffalo Jills, but not necessarily the hottest of the hot as I expected.  Except for Lilly.  She is definetly the hottest of the hot.  This blonde beauty is originally from Michigan and currently living in Awesomeville.

3)  The New Orleans Saints lost to the Washington Redskins.  Pathetic.  I'm usually not big on excuses, but injuries are the reason they lost this game.  Yeah yeah, I know, injuries are part of the NFL and every team deals with them.  It's true.  It's also true that sometimes those injuries cause teams to lose.  This is one of those times.

More to the point, the Saints offense needs to play better.  They were simply not productive enough.  Even with injuries to Colston and McAllister, the offense needs to be much more productive that it was this week.

4)  Is it time yet for the Browns to put Brady Quinn into a game?  Derek Anderson, who had a great run last year, is showing nothing this year (QB rating of 57.1 after 2 games), and the Browns are going nowhere.  Quinn has a a year-plus of clipboard holding under his belt.  Get him in there and see if he can spice up that offense.  Jamal Lewis is running well, don't waste his efforts.  And Quinn at least would make the team more interesteing for fans.

5)  Every week that Aaron Rodgers wins and looks good doing it is a week the 49ers second guess themselves and their draft pick of Alex Smith.

6)  My current Top 6: Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills.

7)  Reggie Bush really needs to stop taunting opponents.  Particularly when he's in the middle of a close game.  Particularly when he's not having a great offensive day.  And particularly when it makes him look foolish, amateurish, and unprofessional, which is what happens every time he does that horseshit.

8)  Trying to put the game away with a 4 point lead, Dallas needed to convert a 3rd and 3 in the fourth quarter.  Tony Romo's pass missed wide-open Marion Barber.  ESPN shows Romo walking off the field, with a shit-eating grin on his face.  If this was any other quarterback, the commentators would have been all over his shit, talking about how he "doesn't get it", how missing a wide open target is no time for smiling.  But no, not for golden boy Romo, not for the celebrity quarterback darling.  The didn't even mention it.

9)  Fantasy tip: Forget about the old guard, go with the youth brigade.  Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, Greg Jennings, Jay Cutler, Calvin Johnson, Aaron Rodgers, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Phillip Rivers.  These kids are carving up the NFL.

10)  In the fourth quarter of the 49ers/Seahawks game, with the 49ers down by 3 points and facing 2nd and 1, J.T. O'Sullivan steps on his own foot and hits the deck.  Sack.  The FOX announcer then proceeds to credit the center for stepping on his foot and tripping him up.  Nobody stepped in O'Sullivan's foot except O'Sullivan.  Luckily for him, he converted the 3rd and 8 by scrambling for a first down, and ultimately won the game in overtime.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints really need to get healthy on defense.  I haven't seen this many muscles pulled since my last visit to the chicken ranch.  Ha!  I kill me!

2)  Saints stat of the week: 100.  Percentage improvement in the number of wins in the first quarter of the season compared to last year.

3)  Since I'm in excuse-making mode, let's talk about the heat.  It was 95 degrees with a heat index over 100 at FedEx Field.  Yes, the Redskins were playing in the same heat, but the Saints wore black jerseys, while the Redskins wore white.  I'm just saying ... you try gearing up in NFL equipment and wearing a black jersey in 100 degrees for 3 hours and see how well you perform!

Week 1 notes on the National Football League

1)  Congratulations Dallas Cowboys, you dominated the Cleveland Browns.  The Browns, who have not played in a playoff game in 6 years.  The Browns, who have not won a playoff game in 14 years.  The Browns, who have not won their division since 1989.  You totally dominated them, Dallas.  Awesome.

2)  Cheerleader of the week: Marlina of the San Diego Chargers Girls.  Marlina is a business owner and loves animals or something.  I can't really say I care about anything more than her smokin' body and pretty face.

3)  Reggie Bush played his finest all around game of his NFL career to date.  Importantly, Bush looked fast.  Instead of looking like he was trying to be fast, he looked like he was actually fast.  Also, he stopped being such a pussy.  I called him out last year for running out of bounds and avoiding contact at every opportunity.  This week he was playing football like a man.  His 4th quarter touchdown was a play that last year he would have run out of bounds, this year he fakes like he's headed for the sideline, then jukes a guy and stiff-arms another.  Nice work, Bush.

4)  I doubt the Chicago Bears will play well enough every week to beat the Colts.  My feeling is Da Bears are a .500 team this year.  Of course, it could turn out that Indy is a .500 team this year too, in which case Chicago probably could play well enough every week to beat them.

5)  My current Top 5: Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants.

6)  Dante Rosario is an amazing talent.  The way he caught that game-winning touchdown pass and simultaneously ripped the hearts out of the San Diego Charger fanbase was a sight to behold.  No wonder he's such a big NFL name with those huge Gatorade and Nike contracts.  Bonus: Jake Delhomme's pump fake was so effective it juked at least 2 camera operators.

7)  Jillian Reynolds (the FOX weather girl) looked hotter on Sunday than she did all of last season.  She was clad in a cheetah print top and tight black skirt.  Stephania Bell (the ESPN physical therapist) looked cute but too buttoned up.  Show some cleavage, honey ... it's the NFL!

8)  This was a big week for first time starters.  Matt Ryan, Matt Forte, Joe Flacco, Aaron Rodgers, Tracy Porter ... all won games this weekend in their first NFL starts.

9)  Fantasy tip: My gambit of playing whatever defense faces the 49ers pays off.  Huge fantasy points for the Arizona Cardinals defense?!  That 49er offense is horrible.  On the weeks I don't play the 49ers' opposing defense, I will play the Raiders' opposing defense.

10)  Regarding the Favre/Packers situation that took place over the summer.  I back the Green Bay Packers.  An employee who almost quits two years in a row, then finally quits in the third year, is not an employee I want working for me.  However, I'm not unsympathetic to Favre's perspective, I just think he handled it badly.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints finally opened a season at home and did so in style with an important win over a division rival.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 8.  Number of tackles attributed to Scott Fujita, who also clinched victory by grabbing a game ending interception.

3)  Dear Tracy Porter, Sedrick Ellis, Jonathan Vilma, and Randall Gay, you are my heroes.  You add quality talent to the Saints defense.  After playing together for a few more games, I see no reason why you can't help the Saints have a top 10 defense this season.  Will Smith, Charles Grant, Roman Harper, Mike McKenzie, Scott Fujita, you got the help you needed last year, make it count this year.

National Football League notes, Super Bowl edition.

1)  I'm really happy for the New York Giants.  I lived in New York for 6 years and had plenty of friends who were Giants fans.  I watched Scott Norwood miss that field goal and cheered along with them.  I'm something of a closeted Giants fan in that way.  So while I won't claim to have known all along they could win, I am thrilled they pulled it off.

2)  It doesn't hurt my feelings to see Bill Belichick lose the Super Bowl, and not get the perfect 19-0 undefeated season.  It's very difficult to like that guy unless you're a Patriots fan.

3)  Jordin Sparks looked genuinely nervous before singing the national anthem.  She ended up singing a very gentle and nice version of the song.  She did a good job.

4)  The first quarter was very interesting in that each team had only one possession of the ball, both drives were clockeating monsters.  The two possessions produced the only scoring in the game until the 4th quarter.  Imagine if that had lasted the entire game.  Four possessions for each team?

5)  If you tuned in to the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter, you didn't miss much.  The Giants opened the 4th by coming alive on offense and firing the ball downfield on a quick drive that resulted in a touchdown.  Then the teams swapped leads a couple times before the game ended.

6)  Nowhere near enough cheerleaders shown during this game.  Actually, there were NO cheerleaders shown during this game.  The only times I saw cheerleaders were in the background and in one slo-mo replay of a player running on the sideline.  Where were the cheerleaders!?  I thought this was FOX for crying out loud!  They can't fit 4-5 cheerleader shots into a 4-hour game?  Pathetic.

7)  I'm having a difficult time accepting Randy Moss as one of the best NFL receivers of all time.  I haven't forgotten his slacking off in Oakland, he's been absent in the playoffs this year, and was absent again in the Super Bowl until the fourth quarter.  He had a total of seven catches in 3 post-season games.  Seven.  Could you imagine Jerry Rice or Michael Irvin or Marvin Harrison averaging 2.3 catches per game in a postseason, and catching zero balls in the first half of the Super Bowl?  Moss has great talent, but does he have great hunger?  Does he have the eye of the tiger?

8)  The officiating in NFL games is always worth mentioning.  Here's what I saw in the Super Bowl.  Amani Toomer should have been called for pushing off on the defender on that amazing sideline catch he made.  The fumble, when Eli was handing off to his running back, was recovered by the Patriots and stolen by the Giants in the ensuing pileup.  Should have been New England's ball.  And the officials missed a 12 men on the field call, but Belichick didn't.  He challenged the play and won.

9)  It's time for me to apologize to Eli Manning.  Earlier this year I wrote, "He can make enough great plays to keep hope alive, but you know in your gut that every snap is a potential disaster."  Let's face it, he played great throughout the playoffs and in the Super Bowl.  He won the Super Bowl.  I don't know what happened to turn his season around, but ... hmmm ... it's probably because he was reading my blog and got his ass in gear!  I don't need to apologize to him.  He should be THANKING me for saving his season!  Eli wasn't the MVP of the game, by the way.  For my money it must be a Giants defender.  I'll go with Justin Tuck who had 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and a forced fumble.

10)  Super Bowl commercials are a traditional source of Monday morning water-cooler discussion.  Lucky for you, I've revived my "Worst Commercial of the Year" series, so you'll be able to tell your co-workers with authority what the worst commercial this year is.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy Crap!  Only 6 months until training camp!  Geaux Saints!

2)  Looks like the Saints will be playing a "home" game next year in London against the San Diego Chargers.  As long as I get the game on DirecTV's NFL package, I'm fine with it.

3)  The Saints are somewhere around $30 million under the salary cap and have the #10 pick in this year's draft.  Sounds like a good situation to me.

Brett Favre's having an amazing season in the twilight of his career.  His statistics rival the best of his career.  It is a late-career resurgence that matches only those displayed by the likes of ... Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.

Here are Favre's numbers from the last 2 years compared to this year.  This year he's completing 66% of his passes, which is the best of his career.  Prior 2 years: 56% and 61%.  Yards per pass attempt this year: 7.7, again the best of his career.  Prior 2 years: 6.3 and 6.4.  Touchdowns: 26 so far this year.  Last 2 years: 18 and 20.  Interceptions: 15 so far this year.  Last 2 years: 18 and 29.  This year's quarterback rating is 94.1, the third best of his career.  Last 2 years, 72.7 and 70.9.

While Brett Favre is the darling of the NFL, the cuddly bear, the beloved MVP, the good 'ol boy; he also has a history of abuse with painkillers.  He beat that problem, but does his past add suspicion to his current level of play?

This type of speculation is the crime and legacy of the steroid-cheaters.  They've cast a long shadow on every other player who accomplishes great things.  After all, if the top statistics were accomplished by really good players bolstered by drugs, how can we believe that future top players can beat the drug-enhanced stats with natural ability?

If the steroid-using players think they're not hurting anyone other than themselves, they're wrong.  The people they hurt are the future (and present) players who accomplish great things on their natural ability.  Thanks to the steroid-users I have no choice but to look at Brett Favre this year and wonder about his incredible production.

Where does that leave a guy like Devin Hester?  He's been doing things on the football field the last two years that no player has ever come close to.  What am I to make of that?  Does he need to be under suspicion too?  What about LaDainian Tomlinson's touchdown record from last year?  Or Shawn Alexander's record from a few years back?  Everything is in doubt thanks to the cheaters.

Guys like Favre, Tomlinson, Hester, and any future players who set the world on fire should be absolutely pissed at guys like Bonds, Clemens, Jose Canseco, Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire.  It doesn't' even matter that I'm comparing baseball players to football players.  Every sport has steroid users, and there's no way to know who is who or which is which, so I'm forced to assume it could be anybody and everybody.

Week 11 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the New York Jets.  That is all.

2)  That kick by Phil Dawson which bounced off the support bar was clearly a good kick (watch it here).  I told crocoWife right away that the refs botched the call.  Good thing they fixed their own mistake, or the uproar would have been tremendous.

I liken that Dawson FG to a touchdown where the ball just barely crosses the goal line and then the defense pushes the player back to the one yard line.  It doesn't matter.  Once the ball crosses the goal line, even for a millisecond, the TD is good, you can't erase it.  Same thing for the field goal.

In basketball, when the ball goes through the net and bounces back up through it, does that negate the hoop?  No way.  In baseball, when a fan throws a homerun ball back onto the field, does the batter only get a triple?  Not a chance.

3)  How embarrassing is it that half the Ravens team, including Brian Billick, were in the locker room before the call was decided on the Dawson FG and had to be summoned back to the field?  The kick was clearly controversial, the refs were clearly huddling, the game was clearly not quite over, even if to allow the refs to explain why they were huddling.  That's just putting your head in the sand and wishing it to go away.

4)  Current Top 5: New England Patriots, New England Patriots, New England Patriots, New England Patriots, and New England Patriots.  At this moment there is no competition for the Patriots so there's no point in mentioning any other teams.  I have an interesting internal debate going on, where part of me wants to see them go 19-0 and sail into the history books, while another part of me wants to see someone beat them.  Not just beat them, demolish them.

5)  Karma is a bitch, ain't it Shanahan?  The whole call-a-timeout-one-split-second-before-the-play-is-snapped routine was popularized by Shanahan this year, and in the Denver Broncos Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans, it backfired twice.  The first time allowed the Titans a second chance at a field goal they missed (which they converted on the second try).  The second time allowed Jeff Fischer to challenge a play which ultimately resulted in a touchdown for the Titans.  Sure, the Broncos won the game, but you just know Shanahan is second-guessing that strategy now.

6)  Everybody named Brandon in the Monday night game scored a touchdown.  Literally.  Every player named Brandon on the Broncos and Titans notched a TD.  Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, and Brandon Jones all reached the end zone.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another game, another win.  Grandpa beat up the Carolina Panthers this week (which helps the Saints at least a little bit).  Packers are 9-1 and continue to look impressive.  Their game on Nov, 29 in Dallas should be a good one.

8)  I saw Mike McKenzie jawing at Jason David on the sidelines after David got burned on an Andre Johnson touchdown.  That was a rare glimpse at McKenzie's leadership abilities.  Maybe he is a leader on that Saints defense after all.

9)  Fantasy tip: If your team is .500 or worse, it's time to start throwing games so you can get a better draft position next year.

10)  Favre's terrific season is securing his place in the Hall of Fame.  Not only is he breaking records, but he's doing it at age 38.  Everyone will remember how well he played this year, regardless of how the season ends up for the Packers.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints lost to the Texans.  There's not much more to say.  It sucks.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 52.  Length of the field goal Olindo Mare kicked in the first quarter.

3)  I figure the Saints plan this year is to go 0-4, 4-0, 0-4, and 4-0 to finish 8-8.  Because if that's *not* their plan, then I don't know what the hell their plan *is*.

Week 10 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: St. Louis Rams beat the New Orleans Saints.  Arizona Cardinals over the Detroit Lions.

2)  Ben Roethlisberger is my favorite NFL quarterback.  If I was starting a team today I would pick Ben to run my offense.  No disrespect to Manning, Brady, Brees, Romo, or Palmer, all great quarterbacks, but Roethlisberger would be my guy.  He's a charismatic leader with a little bit of the outlaw in him.  I get the feeling that no matter what the situation he'll find a way to get his team through it.  Sunday's heroics against Cleveland, and last Monday's monster of a game have made a lot of people re-evaluate what they thought of him.

3)  While on the subject, if I was starting a team today ... I'd go with Joseph Addai as my running back.

4)  Current Top 5: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants.  The tradition I started two weeks ago continues ... my top 5 contains 6 teams.

5)  In the San Diego/Indianapolis game, the Chargers were so hyped up in the first quarter I wondered aloud if they would be able to sustain such a high emotional state through the whole game.  Intuitively, they could not.  And they did not.  They did get very lucky, however, with Vinatieri's bad night.

6)  Eli Manning does not inspire confidence.  Watching him, I do not get the feeling he can handle any situation and get his team through it.  No, he makes dumb mistakes (delay of game penalties), and throws interceptions and near-interceptions at the worst times,  He looks like a guy who has been given every opportunity and somehow managed to not capitalize.  The total opposite of Ben Roethlisberger.  Eli reminds me of Aaron Brooks.  He can make enough great plays to keep hope alive, but you know in your gut that every snap is a potential disaster.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another game, another win, another record.  Grandpa sucker-punched the Minnesota Vikings, and became the second player in NFL history in pass for 60,000 yards.  Packers are 8-1 with a lock on the NFC North.

8)  Tony Dungy, calm down.  Your team was flagged for "simulating a snap", not for a "false start".  Everybody who witnessed the event knew that you were purposely trying to draw San Diego offsides by giving the impression the ball was snapped.  Was it technically within the rules?  Maybe.  But in calling that play, you had to know there was a chance it would get flagged.  You are usually so unflappable, I'm surprised to see you respond like that.  On the other hand, you did the right thing by apologizing to the team for wasting that timeout you took in order to argue with the refs.

9)  Fantasy tip: If you are in a keeper league and it doesn't look like you're going all the way this year, seek out the owner of Adrian Peterson and offer your #1 stud in trade.  Thanks to Peterson's injury, you might be able to convince the owner to give him up.  Particularly if the owner was relying on Peterson and still has a good chance to win this year.

10)  I'm going to reverse my position on Reggie Bush's physicality.  I was listening to an Eric Dickerson interview where he was saying how lucky he is to have no serious long-term effects from his NFL playing days.  Guys like Earl Campbell can barely walk, and many more retired veterans have serious disabilities due to playing in the hard-nosed league.  If Reggie Bush wants to step out of bounds instead of taking an extra hit, or fall down when he clearly sees he has no more room to run, I'm not going to begrudge him that right.  While it doesn't look very manly during the game, I'd rather see him walking under his own power in 20 years than gaining an extra yard in a regular season game.  However, come playoffs, I expect every player to leave body parts on the field.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints granted the Rams their first win of the season. If you know the Saints, then you knew in the first quarter they were going to lose that game.  They opened the game well, with their first drive going for a touchdown, then they shifted into cruise control and got what they deserved.  Brees was throwing interceptions, nothing worked on offense, and not much more on defense.  The 4th quarter comeback was too little too late.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 3.  Number of bottles of champagne I imagine Jim Haslett drank after getting revenge on his former team.

3)  I swear, it's as if this Saints team is always prepared to believe their own press.  As soon as the media gives them the slightest praise, they show up on gameday unfocused and low-energy.  There are no weeks off in the NFL.  You can lose to a 7-1 team and you can lose to a 0-8 team.  If you are not prepared and not focused, you will lose.  There are no weeks off in the NFL.  It is very much on the coaching staff to have the team prepared to play.  A 4-4 team cannot expect to win simply by showing up for the game, and that's what looked like happened on Sunday.

Week 9 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Detroit Lions killed the Denver Broncos.  San Diego Chargers lost to the Minnesota Adrian Petersons.

2)  What the hell happened to the Chargers?  They couldn't stop one guy?  ONE GUY?!  I mean, was the Vikings' passing game so scary that the Chargers defense couldn't concentrate on the running back?  Were they playing dime packages out there or something?  Pathetic.

3)  Mike McKenzie intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD against the Jaguars.  Great play.  As a fan, McKenzie is a mystery.  Is he a leader on the Saints defense, or just a player?  There's something about him that is likable, people want him to do well.  And when he makes a big play like that, he seems like one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.  But I've also seen him make his fair share of mistakes.  Blown coverages, dropped interceptions, poor tackles, the usual stuff that afflicts DBs.  I can see his skills, I wish he utilized them more often, I wish he would get more interceptions in the course of a season.

4)  Current Top 5: New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and New York Giants.  The tradition I started last week continues ... my top 5 contains 6 teams.  That's how I roll.

5)  If the Patriots go 19-0 this year, there will be no asterisk next to the accomplishment.  I don't care what that old man Don Shula says.  Spygate is not anything the same as Barry Bonds juicing up to grab the all-time home run record.  The patriots were caught cheating, recording the signals of opposing team's coaches, and were punished.  It's not like the entire Patriots team took a daily regimen of steroids.

6)  Did you know that Ben Roethlisberger has thrown 20 TDs in 208 pass attempts and 137 completed passes?  That's a touchdown for every 10 pass attempts or every 7 completions.  The prolific Tom Brady throws a TD every 9 attempts or every 7 completions.  Tony Romo throws a TD every 14 attempts or 9 completions.  Payton Manning throws one every 19 attempts or 12 completions.  Did you know Roethlisberger had been playing that efficiently?  I did.  He's my starting fantasy QB.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another game, another win.  Grandpa squeaked one out on Kansas City.  Now they are 7-1.  Can they keep this up?  Let's take a look at their upcoming schedule: Minnesota, Carolina, Detroit, Dallas, Oakland, St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit.  They'll lose 2 of those games, maybe 3, which would give them a record of 12-4.  Yup, looks like they can keep it up.

8)  Isn't the Chargers defense supposed to be, you know, good?  There is only one player on Minnesota's offense that needs to be accounted for, Adrian Peterson, who ran wild and unchecked by San Diego.  Peterson is either the best player in the league, or Norv Turner is continuing to cast his spell of bad luck on the teams he coaches.  Or maybe both.

9)  Fantasy tip: You should be starting all your Saints.  Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, David Patten, and Saints Defense.  Stay away from Olindo Mare.  He sucks balls.

10)  There are so many games that I just don't care about lately.  Last week there was Buffalo/Cincinatti, San Francisco/Atlanta, and Houston/Oakland.  Could those games be any less relevant to the NFL?  I don't think so.  This week has Buffalo/Miami, Denver/Kansas City, Chicago/Oakland, and Cincinatti/Baltimore.  Yawn.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints are on a 4-game winning streak, and are only a half game out of first place in their division.  On Inside the NFL last night, Dan Marino guaranteed the Saints would make the playoffs and play in the NFC championship game.  Dan is correct.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 7.  Your New Orleans Saints have not allowed 100 yards rushing to any of their last 7 opponents.

3)  The Saints easy schedule in the season's second half will propel them into the playoffs, but it won't do them any favors in terms of getting prepared to play in the playoffs.  If they have to play Dallas or Green Bay in the playoffs, are they going to be prepared for it?  After playing St. Louis, Houston, Carolina, Tampa, Atlanta, Arizona, Philadelphia, and Chicago, will they have been tested?  Will they have the mettle to make it through the playoffs?  Perhaps overcoming an 0-4 start is all the challenge they need for one year, just the same, I won't be feeling very smug when they head into the playoffs.

Week 8 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: None.  There were really no surprises at all this week.  The better team won pretty much every game.

2)  I am definitely the New Orleans Saints' good luck charm.  When I'm at the game they blow teams out, the games effectively over by halftime.  Plus, they have not lost since I started going to games 3 weeks ago.  This week they killed the 49ers, who suck balls, with a classic Drew Brees performance and breakout game by Marques Colston.  Even Reggie Bush is continuing to pull his weight.  I'm not in love with Bush as a player, but if he keeps this up he will keep me happy.

3)  Monster Park in San Francisco needs to be either renovated or demolished.  The home of the 49ers is extremely dated.  The seating is crowded, the TVs on the concourse are easily 25 years old, there is only one jumbotron and large scoreboard, and the stadium is in the worst location of all time.  The traffic situation getting into and out of the ballpark is ridiculous.  There is one freeway on which you can either go north or south.  That's it.  No alternate routes.  And the nearby neighborhood is no place you want to get lost in.  Also, the parking areas are a freakin' mess.  The bay wind blows the tailgaters' trash all over the place.  The more I think of it, the more I think renovation is out of the question.  That is not a stadium nor a location befitting the NFL.

4)  The Patriots are more than crushing opponents, they're crushing the entire league with the weight of their awesomeness.  I mean they are insane, out of their minds with playing dominant football.  I really can't imagine the Colts beating them next week.  The Colts are the second best team in the league, but they're still not going to match up very well against the Patriots.  The other three teams in my top 5 are: Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and San Diego Chargers (I can't count, so what?).  Pittsburgh plays New England on Dec. 9, should be an interesting game.  The Cowboys know how to make a bye week interesting, they signed Tony Romo to a 6 year, $67 million contract.

5)  The San Diego Chargers came up with a dominating win against Houston to a backdrop of soot and ash.  I'm glad the damage to the city of San Diego has been ... well, not nearly as bad as it could have been.  I can't tell you how disappointed I am to hear that many of those fires were caused by arsonists.  What the fuck is wrong with people that they start fires with the intent of doing as much damage as possible.  People like that should be hung from a noose in the town square.

6)  The 49ers' cheerleaders, called the Gold Rush, came out in the second half wearing Halloween costumes.  There was a nurse, a bumble bee, a couple cops, a Supergirl, a Lara Croft, a beer wench, a Dorothy, etc..  At the two-minute warning, they did the famous Thriller dance.  It's true about San Francisco, even the straight guys are gay, as the cheerleaders did not receive much attention or applause from the crowd.  Nothing like Seattle, where they love their cheerleaders.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another week, another win.  This time Grandpa whipped up an overtime win against Denver, in Denver, on Monday Night Football.  The Green Bay Packers at 6-1 may be the best team in the NFC.  They play the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 29, so that's at least one NFC game to look forward to.

8)  I was surprised by the amount of cigarette smoking at Monster Park.  Lots of smokers hanging out all over the stadium.  Well, maybe it's not "surprising," but in comparison to Qwest Field, where I didn't see any smokers at all, it seemed like virtually everyone was smoking.

9)  Fantasy nook: Son of a bitch!  Just when I think Marques Colston is cooked, he busts out for three touchdowns.  Of course he was on my bench.  Of course I lost my fantasy game by only 4 points, points which would have been more than covered by Colston's big day.  My fantasy team is 4-4 and in danger of falling out of the playoff picture.

10)  Tom Brady is ridiculous.  Throwing touchdowns at a record pace is not enough for that guy.  He is now rushing for TDs, he ran 2 in against the Redskins.  The way he's playing, he's set to have the best season a quarterback has ever had.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap!  The Saints dominated the 49ers.  When they beat the Jaguars next week the league will be on notice that the Saints are back and mean business.  Bitches better run for cover!

2)  Saints stat of the week: 100, again.  The Saints have not allowed 100 yards rushing to any of their last 6 opponents.

3)  The NFC South is still very winnable for the Saints.  They are only one game out of the lead with 9 games to play.  If they can win their remaining division games and half of their non-division games, I'd say that's good enough to take the division.

Week 6 and Week 7 notes on the National Football League

Week 6

1)  The reason Week 6 is so late is because I was visiting Seattle and attending the demolishment of the Seahawks by the Saints.  I lucked out and my seat was on the aisle, 40 yard line, next to a few other Saints fans.

2)  In Seattle they sing the Canadian national anthem, "O Canada", before the American national anthem.  And they let fly a live "seahawk" out of the tunnel to lead the players onto the field.

3)  12:38, first quarter: Seattle's first offensive possession ends in a botched punt that New Orleans returns for a touchdown.  7-0, Saints.  The route is on.

4)  11:24, first quarter: NBC's skycam crashes to the field, nearly hitting a Seattle player who almost trips up in the wires.  The game is delayed for ten minutes, the crowd boos.  I've always wondered when a QB was going to throw a pass and accidentally hit that camera, but crashing the field is almost as good.  When the game resumed, the crowd was into it, ready for action.  For not being a dome, Qwest Field is loud.  They did a good job with the acoustical engineering.

5)  The lady sitting next to me cheers like only a drunk non-fan can cheer.  Cheering when the crowd gets loud, regardless of what just happened on the field, not because she's paying attention to the game.  Half the time she's cheering the Saints, half the time she's cheering the 'Hawks.

6)  14:28, second quarter: New Orleans scores their first offensive touchdown.  14-0, Saints.  The route is on.  Drunk Lady hits me in the head repeatedly with her Saints bandana as she swings it in a circle over her head.

7)  8:06, second quarter: New Orleans blocks a Seattle field goal attempt.  5:18, second quarter: New Orleans scores their second offensive touchdown.  21-0, Saints.  The route is on.

8)  3:41, second quarter: stadium employee walks up the aisle telling everyone beer will not be sold after halftime.  Drunk Lady immediately grabs her purse and races to the concourse.

9)  Seahawks fans love them some cheerleaders.  Their cheerleaders are cute and the crowd roars every time one is shown on the jumbotron.  0:30, second quarter: Saints score third offensive touchdown.  28-7, Saints.  The route is on, so I give them my permission to score zero points in the second half.  You know, to cut the Seahawks some slack.

10)  6:39, fourth quarter: Seattle scores a TD.  28-17, Saints.  This is either the beginning of the Seahawks comeback or a garbage time touchdown, depends what happens next.  0:01, fourth quarter: turned out to be a garbage time touchdown.  Saints win 28-17!

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap, the Saints won a game!  Looks like all they needed was my attendance to give them the motivation they needed to win.  crocoPuffs in the building is the ultimate good luck charm.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 5 sacks, which is one more than they've had in their first four games combined.

3)  Reggie Bush must be reading my posts and taking them to heart.  He looked like a legitimate NFL player out there.  Sadly, Colston has NOT been reading my posts, because other than a couple dropped passes (one in the end zone) and a 2-yard touchdown, he was invisible again.  David Patten played a hell of a game, though.  Maybe he will be the veteran receiving presence the Saints need.

Week 7

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Detroit Lions over the Tampa Bay Bucs was a pleasant surprise, and helpful to the Saints.  Buffalo Bills over the Baltimore Ravens.  Denver Broncos over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

2)  Everyone is now discussing New England in terms of their place in NFL history.  While it's probably too early to be calling them the greatest offense ever, they look as unstoppable as any of the great offenses I've seen (1999 Rams, 1998 Vikings, 1994 49ers, 1992 Cowboys, 1989 49ers, 1984 Dolphins).

3)  For about three quarters against Atlanta, the Saints looked ready to notch another tick in the loss column.  The defense couldn't get off the field and the offense couldn't make any plays, couldn't convert any third downs.  But they hung in there and scored the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter on a nice drive capped by a nice run by Reggie Bush.

4)  New England Patriots are still #1.  My top 5 includes the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers, and New York Giants.

5)  Brett Favre watch: Green Bay was on a bye week.

6)  Fantasy nook: Last week the fantasy "experts" were all over the Redskins Defense, picking them to be awesome in week 7.  'Skins had a decent week, but I started the Giants Defense.  Seemed obvious to me that the Giants D vs. Trent Dilfer would be a lopsided matchup.  Whaddya know, I was right as usual.

7)  The Saints still need to improve their game, but a win is a win and they're not completely out of it just yet thanks to a fairly weak division that is still up for grabs and a favorable upcoming schedule.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap.  The Saints are on a roll, shooting up in the standings like a rocket.  Soon to be leading the NFC South.  I'll be at the Saints/49ers game this weekend, so it's a lock they will win.

2)  Saints stat of the week: 100.  The Saints have not allowed 100 yards rushing to any of their last 5 opponents.

3)  Reggie Bush showed some power for the second game in a row, he is definitely reading this blog and taking my advise seriously.  Colston made a big play against Atlanta, pulling off a 33 yard reception on the winning TD drive on 3rd down, with most of the yardage coming after the catch.  Hopefully that will warm him up enough to start posting the big fat numbers.

Week 5 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Washington Redskins dominated the Detroit Lions.  San Diego Chargers dominated the Denver Broncos.  Chicago Bears squeaked by the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay.

2)  Some strange officiating was going on in the Steelers/Seahawks game and I seem to be the only person who noticed.  During the Steelers 10 minute drive in the third quarter I noticed two plays that did not make any sense to me.  On 2nd and 1 from the Steeler 41, Willie Parker made a long run and stepped out of bounds at the Seahawk 25.  Holding was called on the Steelers.  The next play was 1st and 10 for the Steelers from the Steeler 42.  Shouldn't it have been 2nd and 11 from the Steeler 31? How in the world did the Steelers gain a yard and a first down on a holding call?  Even the Fox telecast graphics thought it was 2nd and 11 until all of a sudden it wasn't.

A few plays later, on 3rd and 10 from the Steeler 41, Najeh Davenport turned a short catch into a long gain to the Seattle 40.  Holding was called again on the Steelers.  The next play was 3rd and 13 from the Steeler 39.  Shouldn't it have been 3rd and 20 from the Steeler 31?  Again, I have no idea how the officials determined the outcome of that play.

3)  Was the 10 yard holding penalty being applied to the end of the play?  If so, then the Parker play would have resulted in 1st and 10 from the Seahawk 35, and the Davenport play would have resulted in 4th and 1 from the 50 yard line.  Nope, I guess that's not the answer.

4)  Patriots still rolling, and are still the consensus #1.  Lots of folks are saying this was the first game that Randy Moss did not make a big impact.  I call bullshit.  Cleveland's game plan was largely geared around stopping Moss, which enabled the rest of the offense to march up and down the field.  He didn't have huge stats, but he had a huge impact on the game nonetheless.  The other teams in the top 5 are Pittsburgh, Indy, Dallas, and Green Bay.  Same as last week.  I'll be shocked if Dallas beats New England next week.  Shocked, I say!

5)  I've got it!  The holding penalty must be applied to the location of the infraction.  On the Parker play, the hold was at the Steeler 45, so the next play would be 3rd and 7 from the Steeler 35.  On the Davenport play, the hold was at the 50, so the next play would be 4th and 11 from the 40.  Hmmm ... that's not it either.

The refs totally blew it on both those plays.  I don't understand why no coaches were yelling at the refs about the absurdity of those calls.  The Steelers scored a TD on that drive and won the game 21-0, so maybe it didn't matter in terms of the outcome of the game, but maybe it did.  And that's kind of the point of having referees in the first place, to ensure the rules are being followed and that each team is treated fairly.

6)  In the week leading up to the game, Reggie Bush proclaimed himself a tough runner who loves to carry the rock between the tackles, and he would prove it against Carolina.  In related news, Reggie Bush was told (by me) to put down the crack pipe.  After watching the kid for a season and a quarter it's clear that he shies away from contact whenever he can.  His actions speak louder than his words.  He runs out of bounds instead of turning up-field to get the extra yard, he moves sideways more than he moves forward, he curls up and falls down as tacklers approach, he doesn't dish out any punishment to defenses, and he approaches the line tentatively and doesn't hit holes very hard.  He's like the Marvin Harrison of the Saints, except Bush is a RB, so that approach just isn't going to cut it.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another game, another NFL record.  This week Grandpa tied the NFL record for most interceptions in a career.  Not exactly the kind of record to make your children proud, but a record just the same.  Thanks to those picks Green Bay lost their first game of the year.

8)  Matt Leinart broke his collarbone.  Kurt Warner is now the full time starter in Arizona.  Good luck with that, Cardinals.

9)  Fantasy tip: Don't play any Saints until they prove they can win a game.

10)  It's official, David Carr stinks.  No idea how he lasted 5 seasons as the starter in Houston.  Yes, Carolina won the game, but not due to Carr's play.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  This goddamn Saints team is killing me.  Killing me, I say!  As I said before, Olindo Mare sucks.  He has missed more field goals than he has made this season.  He's been a huge bust so far for the Saints.  He's been terrible on field goals, and couldn't kickoff on Sunday due to an injury.  Well, his long kickoffs were the reason the Saints signed him, so without that, he's pretty much useless.

2)  Saints stat of the week: rushing defense 4th in the league in rushing average allowed, 3.6 yards/rush.

3)  The Saints need a veteran receiver.  Right now.  Devery Henderson finally had a decent game, but still dropped his share of balls.  Marques Colston continues to play uninspired football; I wouldn't be surprised if he was pulled from the starting lineup soon.  To add insult to injury, I won't be starting Colston on my fantasy team until he proves he can play like a number one receiver, the way he played last year.

Week 4 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Cleveland Browns over the Baltimore Ravens.  Atlanta Falcons over the Houston Texans.  Oakland Raiders BIG over the Miami Dolphins (Oakland, don't get too comfy just yet.  You beat a mediocre Browns team and an awful Dolphins team.  Culpepper, 5 of 12 for 75 yards and 2 TDs and 3 rushing TDs, what kind of screwed up stat line is that?).

2)  I started this season by stating to a (Chargers fan) friend that I wasn't very impressed with Norv Turner's history as an NFL head coach.  What can I say; I continue to be less than impressed.  Why do I have the feeling Schottenheimer would have more than one win after 4 games with this team?

Phillip Rivers is also underwhelming.  He tossed 2 interceptions and lost a fumble against a crappy Chiefs team.  And that lost fumble was huge, by the way.  The Chiefs had previously turned the ball over, giving the Chargers a chance to get back into the game.  But instead of leading his team to a game-tying touchdown, Rivers dropped the football on the grass while being sacked and Kansas City returned it for a TD.

The Chargers make too many mistakes, which comes down to either discipline or talent level.  I think the talent level proved itself last year (Rivers notwithstanding), which leaves discipline, which comes down to coaching.  Which makes perfect sense considering the massive turnover in the coaching staff from last year to now.

The most baffling part is that they were winning the game 16-6 at halftime while riding Tomlinson's 116 rushing yards.  In the second half, they handed the ball to Tomlinson 6 times.  How does that make sense?  I'm no NFL coach, but that one seems pretty obvious to me.  No wonder the San Diego crowd was chanting "MAR-TY" during the game.

3)  Detroit posted 34 points in the 4th quarter against the Bears.  Impressive.  In fact, it's an NFL record.  But what the hell does that mean for the Bears defense, a unit that was supposed to be dominant?  Well, they're certainly not dominant when giving up 34 fucking points in a single quarter.

4)  The Patriots continue to crush opponents, I can't wait to see them play Dallas in a couple weeks.  Speaking of the Cowboys, they destroyed the Rams and are my #2 team in the league.  I like them more than the Colts right now, with Indy coming in at #3.  The Packers and Steelers round out the top 5, while Seattle looks like it's making a move in the NFC.

5)  Donovan McNabb played a hell of a game Sunday, no?  He lost a fumble, threw no touchdowns, and was sacked 12 times while making no meaningful plays for his team.  Like I said, maybe if he played EVERY game as if he had something to prove, he wouldn't get the criticism he does.  Granted, his offensive line was worse than the Saints', using a matador pass protection scheme.  Still, when McNabb makes no plays and generally seems lost on the field, he should expect some criticism.

6)  Worst team in the league?  St. Louis Rams.  In 4 games, they've scored only 39 points.  In 3 games, the Saints have scored 38.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another week, another win, another NFL record.  This is getting repetitive.  So repetitive, in fact, that I'm simply copying and pasting these lines from last week.  Grandpa pulled off the fourth straight win of the season for the Packers and broke the NFL record for most touchdowns thrown by a QB in NFL history.  Congratulations Brett Favre!  Keep on winning!  The Packers 4-0 record is more remarkable than Favre's personal records at the moment.  I mean, breaking those records was only a matter of time for Favre, but being at the top of the NFC defies all expectations.

8)  Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner are now sharing time at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals.  Weird.  Arizona won the game, and both QBs led the team on touchdown drives, but the difference in the game was a punt returned for a TD.  Warner was brought in when the score was only 7-0 in Pittsburgh's favor.  Seemed kind of early to yank your starter, unless that was your plan going into the game.  I wonder how long that strategy will work?  My prediction is not very.

9)  Fantasy nook: Son of a bitch!  I KNEW playing Kevin Curtis would be a mistake, the guy had one big game, which means absolutely nothing.  I should have played Derrick Mason instead.  Okay, I'm late to these bandwagons, but if Sammy Morris or Dwayne Bowe are available in your league, you should snap them up.

10)  Coaches in the NFL are important.  Very important.  The best coaches win year after year, or have an off year, then come back and win again.  Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, and probably some coaches not named Bill too, say ... Bill Cowher, nope, damn!  All Bills.  Anyway, Norv Turner has been an entirely mediocre coach and coached mediocre teams for his career.  Fans shouldn't be surprised if San Diego turns up mediocre this year (his name's not Bill, for starters).

Wade Phillips left San Diego to coach the Cowboys.  Look how that's turning out.  I wonder if the Chargers offered him the head coaching job before he left.  Inheriting a very good team and keeping them very good is not as easy a task as it seems.  Exhibit A: Norv Turner and the Chargers.  It makes me appreciate the job guys like Barry Switzer and George Seifert did when taking over good teams and keeping them good.

At this point, Chargers fans and Saints fans are in the same boat.  Both sets of fans had high expectations set from last season's success, and this season's media predictions.  Both teams were picked by many to advance to the Superbowl this year.  It's one thing to endure a season with your team when you know going in they are going to suck.  It's another thing to endure a season of sucking when your expectations are so high.  It's extremely disappointing.  At least in the Chargers case, you could kind of see it coming when Turner was named head coach.  With the Saints, it's the same players and coaches from last year, which makes it both baffling and heart-wrenching.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  It was a good week for the Saints, they did not record a loss.

2)  Saints stat of the week: Have not given up a TD on 21 kickoffs & punts this season.

3)  Here's how to keep hope alive, Saints fans.  Take a look at who they've lost to, and how much those losses mean in the big picture.  Every team's goal is to win their division.  To that end, beating your divisional opponents is very important.  The Saints have lost one game to the Bucs, and have not yet played Atlanta or Carolina.  The Saints can conceivably go 5-1 in their division.  Face it, the Falcons and Panthers aren't very scary, so if the Saints can play just "good", that's probably good enough to get 4 wins.  The Saints/Buccaneers rivalry has been a good one ever since the NFL realignment created the NFC South.  The Saints beat the Bucs twice the year the Bucs won the Superbowl.  The Bucs are playing well right now, but it seems entirely possible for the Saints to win their next matchup.  And if the Saints take care of their division, good things will happen.

The other 2 Saints losses came to teams not in their division, and not even in their conference!  From that perspective, things could be a lot worse.  It all starts next week against Carolina, which I consider a must-win game.  If the Saints go 0-4, they can forget about the playoffs.

Week 3 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Green Bay Packers over the San Diego Chargers.  Jacksonville Jaguars over the Denver Broncos.  Oakland Raiders over the Cleveland Browns.

2)  What's up with LaDainian Tomlinson?  He's just not putting up the numbers everyone expected of him.  Is it because he played 3 tough defenses to start the season?  Is it a poor offensive scheme and philosophy from Norv Turner and Clarence Shelmon?  What is it?  And why was he arguing with Philip Rivers on the sideline during the game?

3)  The Saints better get their asses in gear if they want to make the playoffs.

4)  The Patriots are still looking like the best team in the league.  The Colts are still looking like #2, with the Steelers, Packers, and Cowboys rounding out the top 5 (until the Saints get their asses in gear).  The Houston Texans lost to the Colts, but damn, that AFC South division looks tough this year.  I can picture the Texans grabbing a wildcard playoff spot.

5)  Another player was taken off the field via stretcher this week.  Cedric Killings of the Houston Texans fractured his C-4 vertebra but has already stood on his feet, and doctors expect him to walk out of the hospital on his own power.  As I said after Kevin Everett's injury in Week 1, it's only a matter of time before a player is killed on the field.

6)  Worst team in the league?  Buffalo Bills.

7)  Brett Favre watch: another week, another win, another NFL record.  This is getting repetitive.  And intriguing.  Grandpa pulled off the third win of the season for the Packers and tied the NFL record for the most touchdowns thrown by a QB in NFL history.

8)  Matt Leinart got pulled in favor of Kurt Warner?  Interesting.  And Leinart was having a better season than Rex Grossman.  How long before Grossman gets yanked?

9)  Fantasy tip #1: If you think you'll need a new QB soon, pick up Brian Griese, he'll be the Chicago Bears' starter in 2 weeks.  Fantasy tip #2: If you can get Reggie Bush, he'll likely start posting good numbers now that he will be the featured back in New Orleans.

10)  Donovan McNabb and Kevin Curtis exploded and connected on 4 touchdown passes.  I guess McNabb felt he had something to prove.  Maybe he should play every game with something to prove.  Maybe then he would have won a superbowl.  And isn't that really what it's about when it comes to good quarterbacks who play on good teams?  They get all the blame when the team doesn't win games, and all the blame when they don't win a superbowl.  Not because they are black.  Peyton Manning had the same criticism before he finally won last year.  Same thing with Steve Young and John Elway before they won their superbowls.  What about Jim Kelly?  Dan Marino?  Quality quarterbacks who will always be remembered for having not won a superbowl.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap.  The Saints played a little better, but not good enough to win, and not significantly better than the last two weeks.  And certainly not as well as I'd hoped, considering it was their home opener.  I still blame their offensive line for not providing enough protection in the passing game.  I'm starting to think I should also blame Marques Colston.  He disappears for large chunks of games, and I'm pretty sure he was responsible for Brees's 4th interception.  It looked like he gave up on the play and let the defender beat him to the ball.  That's a Randy-Moss-as-Raider move.

2)  Saints stat of the week: Steve Weatherford's punt average against the Titans: 53.3.

3)  Looks like Deuce McAllister may have been ailing when he missed last week's second half.  This week, he tore his ACL, probably out for the season.  That sucks.  He's a class act and a solid football player.

Week 2 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: The Cincinnati Bengals scored 45 points.  And lost.  To the Browns!  Houston Texans over the Carolina Panthers (are the Texans for real? See my thoughts below).  The Saints lost again.

2)  Spygate.  I don't know if every team videotapes their opponent's sideline, but clearly the Patriots are not the first, last, or only team to do it (hopefully the last, but probably not).  Does that make it right?  Of course not.  Jimmy Johnson all but admitted on the FOX pregame show that he'd been involved in that type of activity.  Nobody in the league (players, coaches, former players and coaches) seems particularly surprised or outraged, so I can only assume it was a common practice.  The people making a big deal about it are the fans and media types.  This is not a defense of the Patriots actions, just an acknowledgement that NFL teams have been cheating for a long time, hopefully it will stop now.

3)  Olindo Mare sucks.  The New Orleans Saints managed to take a position (kicker) that was rock solid for years with John Carney and turn it into a question mark.

4)  Right now, the Patriots are looking like the best team in the league.  Nobody in the NFC is even close, and only the Colts in the AFC seem like they could give them a good game.

5)  Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans might be for real.  Their defense looks legit, and Schaub is leading the team in a way the team has not been lead before.

6)  The Oakland Raiders always find a way to lose.  Somehow you instictively knew Janikowski would miss that second kick, didn't you?

7)  Brett Favre watch: another week, another win.  Grandpa pulled off the second win of the season for the Packers and captured the NFL record for the most wins by a QB.

8)  O.J. Simpson has been arrested and is facing conviction.  Again.  I'm wondering how many crimes O.J. has NOT been arrested for.  Most career criminals get arrested once for, I dunno, maybe every 6-7 crimes they commit.  Or maybe O.J. is the worst criminal ever, getting caught every time.  Either way, he's retarded.

9)  Despite Derek Anderson's big day, I stand by my statement that the Browns should play Brady Quinn.  Who's to say Quinn wouldn't have thrown 5 TDs, or at least 3, and gotten a huge confidence boost in the process?  Is Anderson that much better than Quinn?  If he is, then why plan to play Quinn at all this year?  Just stick with Anderson and play the season.  If you want to go with Quinn, then get him in the game and start racking up experience points.

10)  Stating the obvious here, but the Saints pass defense is horrible.  Their run defense has been pretty good, though.  I thought Roman Harper would be all over the field making plays this year, but it hasn't happened.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap, did the Saints play terrible again.  They made Tampa Bay look like world champions.  Their offensive line looks like crap, forcing Drew Brees to dump the ball off quickly for short gains, not enough time to let longer plays develop.

2)  Saints stat of the week: Fumbles by Saints running backs Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister: 4 (2 each).  Only one of those fumbles was recovered by the Bucs, but it's indicative of the way the team played.  The game was one big fumble.

3)  What the hell happened to Deuce McAllister in the second half?  Did he even play one snap?  Get that kid involved in the game, he was the only player producing decent results in the first half.

Week 1 notes on the National Football League

1)  Outcomes that surprised me: Green Bay Packers over the Philadelphia Eagles (I believed the Eagle hype), Washington Redskins over the Miami Dolphins (I expected the Redskins to go winless this year), the combined 80 points scored by the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants (I thought these were supposed to be strong defenses?).

2)  I'm saddened by the spinal injury to Kevin Everett of the Buffalo Bills.  A man is going to die on an NFL field one day, I'm glad it didn't happen this week, and hope it never happens, but it's inevitable.  The players are only getting bigger, stronger, and faster as the years pass.

3)  Damn good thing the San Diego Chargers won their game over the Chicago Bears.  If the Bears had won, we'd hear nothing but Charger fans whining about the botched call when the Bears were offsides at the goal line.  The Bears defense practically took the snap from center, yet somehow they were not offsides.  Brilliant.

4)  That's the way I expect Ben Roethlisberger to play, 4 touchdown passes.  That is why I drafted him on my fantasy team last year and this year.  Last year was a disaster and he pretty much cost me the championship in my league.  This year he will atone for his sins against me.

5)  Can't say Randy Moss surprised me with his big game for the New England Patriots.  It's well known that Moss has the talent to create big statistics and plays hard only when he feels like it.  On a quality team like the Patriots, he feels like it.

6)  The Oakland Raiders still stink.  Shocker.

7)  Brett Favre is ridiculous.  How is Grandpa still winning NFL games?  He's a hall-of-famer, I just hope he doesn't get seriously injured while trying to extend his career a couple extra years.

8)  The game winning field goal kicked by Jason Elam for the Denver Broncos was nutty, but not THAT nutty.  That's the kicker's job, stay cool under pressure and make kicks.

9)  Wow.  Could Charlie Frye have been pulled any quicker?  Well, technically, yes, he could have.  But damn, that was a really quick hook.  Most people are saying the Cleveland Browns should keep Brady Quinn on the sidelines for a while.  Not me.  I say throw him in there and give him some experience.  The NFL is for men, not pussies.  Weed out the pussies by throwing them into the fire and see how they react.

10)  Alex Smith surprised me by leading the San Francisco 49ers to a late game victory.  He gave no hints throughout the game of being able to run that offense, but when the game was on the line he came through for his team.  49ers still suck though.

Bonus! New Orleans Saints notes!

1)  Holy crap, did the Saints play terrible in the second half against the Indianapolis Colts.  First half was fine, they looked a bit rusty, but 10-10 at halftime against the Colts was perfectly acceptable.  And then ... the Colts found their game and made the Saints look like chumps.

2)  Saints stat of the week: The Saints had the ball on offense 3 1/2 minutes longer than the Colts.

3)  The New Orleans Saints are much better than what they showed against the Colts.  They had an off game and key players (Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Duece McAllister, Marques Colston, Jason David) had off nights.  They are a very good team and will bounce back from this loss.  Hopefully the whipping will serve as a wake-up call that the season has started.

If you pour Drano into a glass, serve it to your spouse, and your spouse dies, think you'd walk out of court scot-free on the defense that you didn't know Drano was poisonous?  Even if you really didn't know, it wouldn't matter.  It may have been accidental but you poisoned and killed your spouse just the same.  And honestly, what jury would believe that you didn't know Drano is poisonous?

Ever been pulled over for speeding?  Did you tell the cop you didn't know what the speed limit was?  Did the cop say it didn't matter if you knew because you were speeding anyway?  Did the cop write you a ticket?  You bet he did.

So how are there still people who don't think Barry Bonds cheated?  He admittedly used Balco steroid products.  Whether or not he knew he was cheating is irrelevant to the fact that he cheated.  He used the products.  He cheated.  It's simple.

The point is, it's your responsibility to know.  To know what the speed limit is, to know Drano is poisonous, and if you are a professional athlete, to know what you are using in and on your body.  Bonds needs to own up to that responsibility.  Claiming ignorance is the lamest excuse on the planet because it is his responsibility to not be ignorant.  He can't just shirk that responsibility and expect people to sympathize with him.

The amazing thing is, somehow, some people actually are sympathetic with Barry Bonds.  The concept of personal responsibility is not popular.  I've written plenty of words on the topic.  It's always easier to blame others or claim ignorance than to stand up, take responsibility, and face the music.  Nice role model you are, Barry Bonds.  You are teaching kids it's okay to cheat as long as you don't get caught, and even if you do get caught, you just deny it.

You've heard the news that Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, has received a federal indictment for involvement in an illegal dog fighting/breeding/torturing/killing ring. There's no question he has some serious hurdles to jump if he plans to avoid jail time.

But let's assume for a moment that he gets convicted and sent to federal prison. He's a superstar NFL quarterback with Fortune 500 endorsement deals. His jersey is a top seller. He's an amazing athlete. Clearly, the warden will choose him to be the quarterback of the prison football team. Vick will field a team with a bunch of ragtag amateurs and tough guys. Using his charisma and street smarts he'll recruit guys to make the team more formidable. He'll become good friends with a wacky prisoner who is able to get anything he needs from the outside, for a price. He'll become enemies with the warden and prison guards. He'll hold scrimmages against other prison teams (which are made up entirely of NFL players). And finally, he'll lead his team to victory in a revenge game against a team made up of the prison guards.

Or maybe he'll just get shanked by a jealous hater.

In an unbelievable story, a golfer, while attemptng to retrieve his golf ball from a pond, gets bit and pulled into the pond by an alligator.  Which is the identical back-story of the character Chubbs from Happy Gilmore!  The amazing coincidence includes the fact that the alligator had only one eye.  Another detail which matches the film exactly!

Today isn't April 1, but this story sounds like a prank.  It resembles the Adam Sandler comedy so closely as to be almost unbelievable.

Sometimes during NBA games a team will run a promotion that allows fans to shoot a half court shot, or shoot free throws, or maybe 3-pointers.  At this Mavericks playoff game in Dallas against the Golden State Warriors, they let a fan take a crack at dunking a ball while launching himself off a trampoline.  Check out the video below to see the rim-shaking two-handed jam that this fan threw down.  It's beyond description.

Being a Saints fan has never more rewarding than it was this year.  First, they hired Sean Payton as their new head coach.  Then they signed Drew Brees as a free agent.  Then they drafted Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, and Roman Harper (who unfortunately got injured early in the season).  Then they won their first 3 games, including a huge, morale boosting, domination of the division rival Atlanta Falcons.

In week 6 they had a huge victory over the Eagles, which was the first real test of the season.  It was the first time the media took notice of the fact that the Saints were a quality football team.  In week 14 they had another huge win over Dallas.  And if people were not taking them seriously at this point, then they never would.  Another solid victory over the Giants in week 16 clinched a bye week and home playoff game.

In the fist playoff, they beat up on the Eagles some more, who at the time were the hottest team in the league.  And then yesterday, they lost to the Bears, who will face the Colts in the Super Bowl.

A hell of a season.

And I didn't even mention Drew Brees's MVP worthy play, or Sean Payton's 'Coach of the Year' win, or Marques Colston's runner-up in 'Rookie of the Year' voting, or Duece McAllister's mentoring of Reggie Bush, or the emotional way in which the city of New Orleans rallied around this team, or a dozen other notable things from this year.

It's much more of a season than anyone was thinking about in August.  Can't wait for next year.

This might sound like smoke to you, but if we can assume for a minute that they were not going to win the Super Bowl, then I'm glad this is the game they lost.  It would have been a heart-breaker to lose to the Eagles the week before.  And to make it to the Super Bowl, then lose, is a much harder loss to take than losing in the NFC championship game.  This way they have something to strive for.  Something to build on next year.  They can be confident in their ability, their rookies have more experience, the team can grow, and come back strong next year.

That is, as I said, assuming the Saints were not going to win the Super Bowl.  Obviously I'd have preferred for them to go to the Bowl and win the whole damn thing!  But if they were going to lose, this was the right game to lose.  Have you seen what has happened to the Super Bowl loser the last few years?  Seattle did okay and went back to the playoffs this year.  The year before, Philadelphia went 5-11 after the loss.  In 2004 Carolina went 7-9.  And In 2003 Oakland went 4-12 after losing the Super Bowl.  Not exactly the sort of company I'd want the Saints to keep right about now.

Anyway, here's to the best season in Saints history!  May next season bring an even better result!

NBC has been employing a new technique with their show Las Vegas.  At the halfway point of an episode, they recap what happened in the first 30 minutes.  Presumably to encourage viewers to stick around who may have flipped over after watching a 30-minute show somewhere else.

I think it's a good strategy.  Except for when the recap reveals things that did not happen yet!  Which is exactly what happened on the 11/10/06 episode.  The recap showed things that were coming up in the second half of the show, but presented them as if they had already happened.  Rookie move.

I don't know if NBC is using this same recap segment on other shows besides Las Vegas, but if they are, I can only hope they're getting it right on those shows instead of proving themselves to be three monkeys fucking a football.

What I learned from the 2006 World Cup.
crocoPuffs Feature: Football, European style. World Cup 2006

"When the refs aren't calling the fouls, you just have to play through it."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

"You're standing at the line, it's time to make the free throws."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

There's more than one way to psych out an opponent.

Social engineering a basketball game.

"Coach put you in the game, now it's time to prove you belong."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

"It only takes one guy to fumble the ball, but the whole team loses."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

"When the refs aren't calling the fouls, you just have to play through it."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

"You're standing at the line, it's time to make the free throws."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

"We've scored the touchdown, now it's time to kick the extra point."

Pepper your speech with these crocoPuffs-created, sports-related metaphors; people will respect and fear you!  You will become the recognized authority on everything!

The Sacramento Kings were eliminated from the playoffs last night.  Can't say I'm surprised, once they traded Chris Webber they seemed out to prove that winning on the road would be impossible.  And so it went, eliminated on the road in Seattle.

However, they didn't go out like punks in Game 5.  They played a hell of a game.  They showed up.  They just weren't good enough this year.

On the bright side, Maurice Evans played more than a handful of minutes, and I was very impressed with him.  He played well and I hope the Kings bring him back next season, I really like that kid.

Next season will be a whole new Kings team and I'm ready to find out exactly what they've got.  Hopefully there will be no injury excuses, and I'm looking for Geoff Petrie to pull another magical off-season out of his hat and put together a team that has a fighting chance.

As a long time Sacramento Kings fan, I've seen it all.  The seasons during which we would pray for 30 wins; making the playoffs for the first time in 1996 after a too long drought; the deals that brought Vlade Divac, Chris Webber, Jason Williams, and Peja Stojakavic to the team all in the same season; the so-close-it-still-hurts-to-think-about loss to the L.A. Lakers in the 2002 Western Conference Finals; and this season, the purging of that championship-contending team with the ousting of Divac, Webber, and Doug Christie.  Most notably Webber's recent trade to Philadelphia.

Chris Webber's Sacramento story has been nothing if not compelling.  When the Kings traded Mitch Richmond to get him in 1998 he didn't want to report to the team, and by the time he was traded to Philadelphia he didn't want to leave.  He did show up eventually in 1998, of course, and at first his plan was to bide his time, then bolt when his contract was over.  And it showed, because his heart wasn't always in it.  I remember a playoff game against Phoenix where he practically disappeared, and seemed surprised that his teammates won the game despite his lack of effort.  When it came time for him to sign a new contract, he didn't leave after all, he stayed in Sacramento and decided to give it a serious run.  But his numerous injuries have kept him off the floor, and he's been slowly degrading to the point where at times this season he's looked like my step-father - who hobbles down the court on Saturday mornings with a bad back.

The thing is, Webber complained a lot while he was in Sacramento.  Reporters asked him about his relationship with Tyra Banks and he boycotted the local media in protest.  He'd have a bad night and hear a smattering of boos from the fans and he'd criticize the fans for not supporting him.  He'd criticize his teammates for being soft, criticize the team management for not keeping players he liked on the team.  Neglecting to point a finger at himself, he never seemed keen to look very closely in the mirror.  He tried to project a tough-guy image, but he's just not that tough.  Since he couldn't handle Sacramento's softball media, I always wondered how he would be able to handle the New York or Philadelphia media.  Now we know.  Not very well.

He's barely been in Philly two weeks and he's already upset about his playing time and the (perceived) under-utilization of his skills.  He's avoiding reporters by leaving the locker room after games before the media is allowed in.  The fans are booing him more strongly than any booing he ever endured in Sacramento.  Webber has since stated that the fans booing him didn't bother him, but if there's one thing to know about Chris Webber, it's that he takes things personally.  You can bet your bottom dollar the booing bugged the shit out of him.

And if there's two things to know about him, the second is that he always knows how to spin things afterwards to make them sound palatable.  He flashes a broad smile and tells you everything you want to hear.  I think he fancies himself a straight-shooter in the mold of Charles Barkeley or Shaq, but he's not really.  He never had the balls to stand behind his statements, he always seemed to be changing his story, or his comments were "misunderstood."  Just wait, Philly fans, you'll see what I mean.

In general, he just isn't fitting in with his new team yet.  Which is pretty much the same thing that happened last year in Sacramento.

Last season, Webber missed the first 50 games or so while recovering from surgery, and the Kings were the best team in the league in his absence.  The offense flowed and they racked up wins.  Then Webber came back and made no effort to fit in with what the team was doing.  He didn't want to work himself into the flow, he wanted to be The Man™.  In doing so, he disrupted the good thing the team had going.  Looks to me like he's doing the same type of thing in Philadelphia.

To put it into perspective, think about your own career.  When you change companies, do you march into your new boss's office and tell him how things are gonna be because you know better then him and the rest of the company combined?  Or do you lay low until you get the feel for what the company is trying to accomplish and how you fit in?

When it comes to his skills, there's no denying he is a very good player.  But he's not a great player.  It's rare that he puts his team on his back and wins games practically on his own.  Which is exactly what guys like Kevin Garnett, Shaq, Allen Iverson, and Tim Duncan do.  When in the clutch, Chris Webber is not your man, but he thinks he is.  Therein lies a problem.  Webber is first to point out his greatness and last to acknowledge his weaknesses.

And Webber's number one weakness lately is lack of hustle.  It's almost as if he feels chasing a loose ball is beneath him, grunt work for the lesser paid players.  He's got points to score and assists to dish out, no time for muscling under the defense to get that tough rebound and putback basket.  Already apparent with the new Kings, they have more hustle.  Brian Skinner, Kenny Thomas, and Corliss Williamson (acquired in the trade for Webber) will hustle.  They'll play hard and defend for every minute they are on the court.  The same cannot be said for Webber, which is one reason why he's having a hard time already in Philadelphia.

I'm no Chris Webber basher, I like the guy and liked his game up to a couple years ago.  I enjoyed watching him play for the Kings, and I think he's a decent person off the court.  But I can't deny the part of me that feels like now he's getting what's been coming to him.  Part of me is happy to see him miserable in Philadelphia right now.  Because he never acknowledged how good he had it in Sacramento.

Players and fans rumble during a game.
crocoPuffs Feature: NBA Fight Club

Do you play in the NBA?  No?  Well, no problem, just tell the media you do and they will report it as if it were true.
That's what this clown did.