Non-Patsy Fans Need The Eagles To Thrash The $#%@&#* Patriots Tomorrow

"I just want somebody to beat the goddamned Patriots!"  - Bill Maher "New Rules" on Real Time

Ho hum. Another year, another appearance of the $#%@&#%  Patriots in the Super Bowl, the nation's largest sports stage. Never mind the rest of us - who'd like to see a different AFC opponent in the big game -  have to put up with this repeat BS (with the Patsies managing to hog the stage most years.)  And their delirious pain in the ass fans would be happy to have this monopoly extend the next 50 years, or longer.

Jacksonville came close to taking out Brady, Belichick and crew, leading 20 - 10 late in the game, but couldn't seal the deal . This was mainly because they didn't have the answers for the Patriots' D changes (or Offensive tricks) in the 2nd half. Here's hoping the Eagles do, and that maybe this post with a few pointers (which granted, they may already know) helps. Neither Janice (a Ravens' fan) or myself (Packers' fan) can tolerate another Patsy win, Lombardi trophy award etc.

 It's not a top secret security matter that 99 percent of NFL fans not from New England hate the Cheatriots with a passion. Last year we came close to seeing a third Super bowl defeat handed to these insufferable mutts  but the Atlanta Falcons blew it by failing to just kick a FG instead of going for an attempted TD pass from Matty Ice.  The FG would have given the Falcons a two score lead  late in the 4th quarter that would have been difficult to surmount. But Dan Quinn, the greedy Falcons' coach,  blew it along with his offensive coordinator.  The latter actually thought the yardage needed to make the FG was longer than it was.  Go figure.

Now the Philadelphia Eagles have a chance to put the kibosh on these entitled bastards, for whom an entire (younger) generation sincerely believes they're owed a Duck boat parade every February.  Nothing  could be worse for most SB fans than another Patsy win, so I am here to provide some insights to the Eagles to ensure a 'W' and make this Super Bowl Sunday the best since the NY Giants last beat Brady's gang in Superbowl XLVI.

Steve  Spagnuolo,  the D -coordinator who helped the NY Giants to two SB wins over NE,   delivered some terrific defensive advice to the Eagles players last week on the NFL channel show 'Good Morning Football'.

Summarizing:

- Brady likes to use a lot of clock, often taking it down below 10 seconds. The secondary has to be patient and do likewise so as not to give away its look, coverage.

-  The D line has to get in Brady baby's face even it doesn't sack him. Hit him and hurry him over and over again to make him as uncomfortable as possible. (According to Stats LLC, the Giants - the only team to conquer Brady twice on the SB stage - hurried him a combined 28 %  of the time in their Superbowl XLII and XLVI wins.)

-  Do NOT under any circumstances allow Brady to throw for more than 20 yards a play. Spagnuolo was very clear on that, emphasizing no completions over 20 yards.  The mistake the Jags made in the AFC championship was allowing the Patsies and Brady to first burn them with trick plays - then entice them to go to zone coverage (instead of man) in the 4th, leaving wide open spaces for Amendola.

- Brady and the Pats possess an almost preternatural knack for scoring before the end of the half, as they did in the Jags' game. Do NOT let them do it!  That effort made it a 14-10  score after the 1st half and much easier to come from behind and best Jacksonville in the 2nd half. (The Jags' O also didn't help by having 56 secs left and doing nothing with it, not even a FG effort.)

- Be sure to hit Gronk early as he comes off the line to disrupt his timing.

As for the Eagles' offense, Spagnuolo likes the idea of using lots of varied RPOs (run -pass options). The Jags used these too but alas, could not execute effectively after Bellichick and Co. made adjustments at the half.  Four three and outs basically sealed the Jags' fate.

It need not be so with the Eagles given they have the weapon to stop the Pats cold. As WSJ writer Jared Diamond  put it ('Eagles Like The Jags - But Better'):

"The Eagles have the personnel to combat the problems that plagued the Falcons and Jaguars.. In addition to a dynamic first unit led by Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham they boast a group of backups who likely could start anywhere."

This is important given you have to be able to blitz and put pressure on Bratsky Brady but at the same time not get so fatigued that you're running on fumes by the 4th quarter - enabling him and his Patsies to make a possible comeback.

My main worry is the game being played in a domed environment, which will have a temperature of 72F - way too hot for defensive "big boys" especially late in the game.

If the Eagles can surmount the overheated environment - thermal or otherwise- I am confident they can send the Patsies' fans home crying with only their $5,000 ticket stubs.

Prediction: Eagles 27  Patriots 10

So it will be the Eagles fans - nominal "underdogs" - who go home happy:

Brady Needs to Fall On His Sword - For the Good of the Game - And Himself

The game of football cannot be exceeded in importance by one player or one team. That includes prima donna QB Tom Brady, and his New England Patriots.

Sports Illustrated columnist Phil Taylor and I differ in only one respect in the matter of Tom Brady and  deflategate, he believes deflategate is "nonsense" and I don't. I believe fooling around with the rules- no matter what the hell they are- threatens the integrity of the game. And the fact remains, those balls were fiddled with. Taylor can believe it or not.

On the other hand, I agree with Taylor that - that no matter what one thinks - it's time Brady and the Patsies put the whole issue behind them with Brady "falling on his sword". Brady, owner Robert Kraft and the other Pats' bozos have had their histrionics and now it's time to get serious. As Taylor put it (SI, Aug. 10, p. 100):

"There is only one man who can put an end to the madness before it goes any further:Brady. He should call a press conference and announce he is accepting the suspension with no further appeal.  He can make it clear that this is not an admission of guilt, just an effort to end the matter in the best interest of the sport and before it crowds the courts. It would be his movie star moment ....and create a clip of video that would reflect far better on him than the press conference he had when the story broke, when he strained credibility as if he barely knew what a football was...."

Taylor goes on to aver that accepting his 4 game suspension sentence - as opposed to whining about it and pursuing a court case- would redound to his benefit especially as his "golden boy" image has been badly scuffed.  And yeah, while some (including me) would "see it as a tacit admission of guilt" the "weary public would surely give Brady points for ....putting this story out of its misery."

Maybe. But I still believe the story had value, in terms of exposing the skein of cheating woven into the fabric of the country - which not only involves deflated footballs, but tax cheats - using gimmicks to get an edge, as well as student cheats who try to game tests to get an edge up - or attempt to terrorize instructors with poor evaluations.

The deflategate story then put an urgently needed focus directly on ethics-related issues and the notion that "the ends justifies the means.". While some dismiss it all as "entertainment"  or "nonsense" - these are takes of those who probably lack any discerning judgment or ethical radar, period. They are so inured to PR and media junk food, they are no longer able to discern flatulence from significance. Sad. But note this: if we disallow our most cherished sports and games adhering to principles or honor, why should we demand any principle or honor in regular life?

Hell, assassinations of heads of state are fine and dandy so are films depicting them, just don't do any to our guys! CIA torture?  No biggie. Hacking into another nation's computers to gain a spy edge? No biggie again, it's all good!  Gives us an edge so what's wrong with that? Once the small transgressions are permitted, all others can follow with even fewer apologias.

Those who treat deflategate as trivial fail to grasp that it's not the magnitude of the infraction  but the ethical principle that inveighs against doing it - then using specious justifications.

Tom Brady's Deflategate Punishment? Eight Game Suspension - No Pay!

New England Patriots' "golden boy" Tom Brady, was like a king holding court at Salem State University - the audience full of mindless Patsy homers  and groupies. Typical reactions from these goobers: "He did nothing wrong!" and "This is a conspiracy between the NFL and the Colts!" Right, well hopefully most of those making such claims haven't received degrees.

Alas, the stage setting was not conducive to hard questions by interviewer Jim Gray (who acknowledged the event was scheduled before the Ted Wells report came out), what with random shouts of "We love ya Tommy!" and "We know you're innocent!" ringing out. But Gray, to his credit, at least tried his best.

He noted "there is an in the elephant room " - to which Brady popped, "Where?" And Gray retorted, "You may be the only one that doesn't see it."

When Gray added "You're in the news here, and the Ted Wells report has just been released", the crowd delivered a trademark chorus of homer-style  boos -  acknowledging for any doubters that they were dedicated to denial. Hear no evil, see no evil, and acknowledge no evil.

When Gray asked Brady for his reaction to the report, numerous bobble-headed mutts yelped "Who cares?" laced with other epithets mainly preceded by Fs. Meanwhile, Brady flashed his typical shit-eating grin and said "See,  I can't usually say those things".

When he finally settled down he said "I don't have any reaction since it's only been thirty hours and I haven't had a chance to digest it fully. But when I do I'll be sure to get back to you."

Great escape hatch!  But most of us aren't buying.

One of the Homer Boston Globe sports writers added to those egregious takes, telling anchor Chris Hayes: "Most of us think this is the greatest story about nothing ever."

Well, of course they would, the same as Warren Commission diehard groupies would be convinced any evidence for conspiracy in the Kennedy assassination is the "greatest story about nothing ever".

Why would they believe otherwise with luminaries like Vince Bugliosi and Gerald Posner brainwashing them that way?

But let's return to deflategate. As I noted in a Jan. 22 blog post, this dismissive attitude uncovers an ethical blind spot in too many who also spout nonsense such as:

Cripes! Big deal! The Patriots killed them 45 to 7 ! So without the tampering maybe it would have been 45-14. Who cares?".

Which totally misses the central point:  cheating to gain an unfair advantage irrespective of the outcome, while destroying the integrity of the game itself - risking fan alienation similar to the PED effects in major league baseball.   It doesn't matter if the final score was 70-7 or even  200-7, it is the principle  and the intention that we are about here.  Did it break a rule or not? If it did it demands a sanction.

Other claims aggregate around the:  "It was just gamesmanship,  not cheating" trope. Somehow merely changing the word to a euphemism renders the nefarious act innocuous.  The cheaters thereby become merely winners in disguise if they're  prepared to use their talents in innovative ways.

Those who peddle the gamesmanship meme are so inured to PR and media junk food, they are no longer able to discern flatulence from significance. They can no longer see principles - other than as expedient hostages to money and profits that accumulate for "winners".  No thought of how the integrity of the game  has been seriously been eroded. Further, what's the message to students, for example?  That cheating is ok just as long as they think of it as "gamesmanship".  I can take this illegal calculator into my trig class when it is explicitly forbidden.

"I ain't cheatin' just gamin' the system!"

This brings us to the penalty the NFL ought to level on Brady after finding, via the Wells report, that he "probably knew about the deflated footballs".  One sportscaster interviewed last week on CBS Early Show didn't mince words, asserting a mere fine would be a joke. "He could pay a hundred thousand fine right out of his pocket!" 

He stated that a suspension would be the only penalty worth anything, and indicated all eyes will be on the NFL to see whether they treat if flippantly - like Brady and his Patsy homers at Salem State - or seriously as a threat to the game's integrity.

What magnitude of suspension? He said "eight games" or half the season, with which I agree.  ESPN's Keith Olbermann didn't hold back while airing his grievances against Tom Brady last Thursday, saying the Super Bowl-winning quarterback should be suspended a year for his role in Deflategate and his mishandling of the scandal.

"They need to suspend Tom Brady for a year -- one day for the inflation, 364 days for everything else," he said in his commentary during his ESPN2 program. "Everything else" would encompass Brady's refusal to turn over emails, text messages, as well as his flippant takes including before (media day)  and after the SuperBowl.

Olbermann earlier zeroed in on the "innocent until proven guilty" defense of Brady's father:

"In a courtroom you're innocent until proven guilty. Everywhere else, like in a private company like the National Football League, or even in a government, 'probable' is plenty. Ask Richard Nixon. Ask Dan Rather. Ask Pete Rose."

Bingo! 

But will the NFL deliver a serious punishment, even after venerable Dolphins' coach Don Shula weighed in on how bad the deflategate  perfidy was - saying his perfect 17-0  (1972) team never had to resort to such hijinks?

I don't know. But whether that happens or not, New England's legacy will be tainted as will Tom Brady's - the same way Barry Bonds' legacy has been. (With an asterisk * beside his home run record).   This is the lesson that needs to be brought home to the kids who follow football, as well as other sports. 

Cheating never pays!

How Bellichick Outsmarted Seattle On That Pick Play

Even now, nearly a week after the most infamous play in Super Bowl history, many are scratching their heads regarding Pete Carroll's decision making in using that pick play to try to get a TD - instead of rushing Marshawn Lynch from the 1/2 yard 'line'. (Yes, that's all it was. One half yard, not 'one yard', not 'two yards').  As we all know, Carroll opted for that play rather than a run and it ended with Malcolm Butler intercepting it for the Patsies. (See image)

Carroll, in an interview with Matt Lauer several days ago, gave a bravura performance in what has to be the most ridiculous rationalization ever for a play - referring to the "process" the team went through in selecting a play.  And oh, by the way, the Pats had their goal line unit in. So what? Here's the deal, even if they had the unit on, the odds of a pass succeeding were slim and none, no matter how well Wilson threw the ball.

Here's why: In the Charlie Rose interview two days ago, with Robert Kraft, it was revealed the Pats knew all about that Seahawks' pick play from the tapes and had been working on it since before they left NE.  Kraft even joked that Brady rubbed it into Butler's face after he missed several chances to disrupt it. Finally, after solid advice from Bellichick - to launch his move before the receiver's turn - Butler nailed it.  He was ready and waiting- like a snake for a mongoose in a field- when Carroll fell into the trap of using it at the end of the Super Bowl.

How did Bellichick know it would be used? While being dunned all week by blowhards on 'Inside the NFL' and the NFL channel for letting time run off the clock (nearly 30 secs) there was actually a method to Bellichick's madness. That is, he opted to not take a time out in order to see Carroll's response. Remember, the Seahawks wanted to score but not leave too much clock time for Brady to get his offense moving.

Yes, Bellichick gambled - since if the pick was a success there'd have been virtually no time left to score. But again, the NE drills to defend the pick had been so successful there were no worries. Butler was zoned in and knew exactly what he had to do.

Bellichick and the Pats knew exactly what was coming when Carroll refused to stop the clock but let it run down to 0:26.  Thus, Bellichick knew with so little time left Carroll and his O-brain trust would not be able to afford losing many seconds if Lynch failed to score. Two failed run efforts might easily have sucked up all 26 seconds and even one failed effort might have knocked off more time than Seattle was willing to risk. Hence, the option to throw the ball on 2nd and goal instead of run - but leaving the run option if the pass failed.

But Carroll outsmarted himself. He planned for the pick play  -but so did NE. At the very least, if he was going to use a pass play he ought to have devised another option - maybe the would-be MVP Chris Mathews jumping for it in the flat - overpowering and out -jumping any NE DBs.

Carroll says he wants to use this failure to move forward, but for most Seattle fans they will never forget the golden chance they had and how Petie boy let it slip away. They also realize they may never get the chance again, given how difficult it is to get to the 'show'. 

From The Maryland Legislature to Seahawks: "BEAT PATRIOTS' ASS"! (And SB Follow-Up)

Tom Brady gets sacked in 4th quarter of Packers game in November.  Seattle should be able to do the same and keep this cheater off balance . 

The actual order (more of a request) from the Maryland Legislature (according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer) was "Please! Beat Patriot A**!"   With which no red -blooded American football lover with an inch of moral fiber could disagree. After all, these are the most notorious cheaters of all time, from their Spygate infamy to the recent deflategate.  (The most amusing aspect of which was science guy Bill Nye using a  simple demonstration to show Bellichick's explanation for "normal deflation after reaching atmospheric equilibrium" was a load of bollocks.)

Marylanders and their legislature are rightfully pissed at the New England Patsies for their cheating ways - including masking eligible receivers with ineligible - which they needed to take down the Ravens 34-31 in the divisional playoff round. Wifey, a diehard Ravens' fan, is as convinced as I am the Patsies and their Primadonna QB would be sitting at home today were it not for the blatant cheating.

But that's ancient history. All that matters now is Seattle and its "legion of boom" putting these cheaters down and the bigger the margin,  the better. Last year, the Seahawks made mince meat of the Broncos 43-8 and were dominating from the first play - a muffed snap from center with Manning bobbling it back five yards into the end zone.

 Granted, it may not be as easy today, because the Patriots offense runs a modified "Ron Erhardt - Ray Perkins" offensive system with multiple formations and personnel grouping variations on a core number of base plays. This allows them to keep most Ds off balance  (Unmentioned is how their O-line uses lots of despicable tricks such as punching opponents in the balls - ask Haloti Ngata).

Still, the Packers' D mostly had their way with them, with multiple looks and packages yielding a spate of hurries, knockdowns and sacks on "pretty boy" Brady - who in that late November game (which the Pack won 26-21) didn't coax the zebras to toss as many "roughing" penalties as he usually gets. The most critical Brady sack was a combo by Mike Neal and Mike Daniels on a 3rd and 9 near the end of the game where the Pats were about to go ahead. That sack, made a big difference.

But even bigger, which I have kept on disk, is when the Pack had the ball with barely less than 2 minutes left and needed a critical 3rd down conversion. Aaron Rodgers whipped a bullet pass to Randall Cobb to get it  -effectively sealing the win - and the cameras later swiveled to Brady on the sideline belching out multiple "FUCK!" s

Another secret to that game, defensively, was the Packers secondary being able to smother the Patsie WRs leading to several coverage sacks on Brady.  Given the Seahawks arguably have even a better secondary - with the likes of Kam Chancellor and Richard Sherman, they ought to do at least as much (though yeah, Chancellor is nursing a knee injury he suffered on the next to last play in practice Thursday). Still, Chancellor at 80 percent is better than most safeties at 100 percent. And coach Pete Carroll will continually remind his charges of having the chance to make history (becoming the ninth SB team to win back-to -back) and it may not come again.

On  NE defense,  every talking head and his pet monkey keeps yapping about the Patsies' great secondary and especially Darelle Revis. But the Packers countered Revis by moving Randall Cobb all around in different positions. There's no reason why Seattle can't do the same.

I anticipate that coach Carroll -  and Russell Wilson - will not let that Hawks' team go to sleep at the switch and they will handily take down Brady and company, 31- 17.

The Maryland legislature, and 55 million unabashed Patriots haters,  ought to be able to rejoice by late this evening.

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Follow-up (10. 10 ET)

Well, we  now have seen stupidity and stupid plays is not the province of the Packers alone. In one of the all time dumb shit plays in Super Bowl history, the Seahawks literally gave the game away at the end to the Pats. With just under a minute left and Marshawn Lynch having already ground the ball  up to the 1 yard line, grade -A moron Darrell Bevell (offensive coordinator) pulls the bonehead pay of the century after Bellichick lets the play clock run down to 0:30.   Clearly panicked by the move - both Bevell and Carroll expected a Pats time out)-  the call comes in:  a slant to Ricardo Lockette which gets picked when an unknown from Western Alabama jumps the route, coldcocks Lockette and snatches the ball, End of game.

WHY the fuck send in a pass play when you had the game in hand, Bevell, you dope? You have the freakin' time, you have Marshawn - 'Beast mode' - there and ready at the one!  You have 2nd and goal and can use 2-3 plays to run the clock down then get the TD with zero time left for Brady's brats. What brain fart suddenly erupted in  Bevell's brain?  Well, trying to get too cute by half.

Now, thanks to this epic stupidity of Bevell (and Pete Carroll for not overriding the call) we are stuck with the Patsies and their boorish, arrogant, insufferable fans gloating for the next year on how great they are and they didn't even get to deflate one football.

Fuckin' sad, but there it is. I can imagine how sad the'12th man' of Seattle is, and how they wasted all their energy on this game - to end it with the dumbest play call of all time!

See also:

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/02/pete_carroll_made_the_worst_play_call_in_super_bowl_history_and_were_not_over_it/

NE Cheating Patsies Should Pay (Dearly!) For Their Deflated Ball Strategy

Tom Brady didn't need deflated balls to beat Tim Tebow and the Broncos in December, 2011.

Overshadowing the Super Bowl itself-  now ten days away - is a new NE  Patriots' cheating controversy. This came to light in the wake of the AFC Championship game in which the Patsies blew out Indy 45- 7. Since then, an ESPN investigation (citing anonymous sources) exposed that the NFL has  found that 11 of 12 footballs used by  these cheaters were deflated in the AFC Championship game. (The NFL still hasn't concluded its own investigation.)

What do we mean here?

A deflated football is a helluva lot easier to handle - by QBs or receivers- in the rain or slippery conditions, as existed in Foxborough last Sunday. According to league rules, two hours before game time  the footballs (12 for each  team),   are measured and weighed by game officials to meet NFL specs-  this is indicated by being marked with the ref's signature.

Ten minutes before the game the balls are given to ball runners for each team. So how could ball deflation occur with such a small window of time?

CBS' Ron Mott demonstrated how last night on a CBS Evening News segment. As he noted - pulling out a small pump needle:

"In just a few seconds someone using a pump needle like this can insert it into the ball and release two or three pounds of pressure. Enough to gain an edge even if it's barely noticeable. "

NFL standards require pressures from 12.5  to 13.5 pounds per square inch for each football.  The ESPN source cites 2 psi less for 11 of the 12 Patriots' balls.

According to NFL rules:

"If any individual alters the footballs he will face discipline including a fine of $25,000"

But for many of us, especially after the earlier NE "Spygate" scandal, this is less than a slap on the wrist.

Echoing many sentiments, Mike Lupica of the NY Daily News Sports - noted last night:

"I believe a suspension of the head coach might be in play depending on what kind of proof the NFL has and what kind of chain of custody they find on these stupid footballs."

This is a sentiment echoed by Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis  Star, e.g.

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2015/01/21/doyel-patriots-have-to-be-at-super-bowl-not-belichick/22118459/

What should happen? In the ideal universe and in a nation of moral rectitude - with its sports' standards to match - the Patsies would be summarily "DQ'd" from the Super Bowl. The stupid, useless 'Pro Bowl' scheduled for Sunday in AZ would be replaced by a special playoff round with the two NE- victimized teams, Baltimore and Indy, playing for the Patsies' place, to go against Seattle.

But in the real world that will never happen, and it's even unlikely Bellichick will be suspended. Indeed, many otherwise sober observers are treating it all as a big joke. NE QB Brady himself laughed it all off on a radio talk show interview and so did ex-sub par QB Matt Leinart who offered: "This is a joke, all teams fiddle with footballs". Which is kind of like saying in response to massive tax cheating, "this is a joke all taxpayers cheat".   Which is bollocks because many of us don't, believing paying taxes is an honor and helps the country pay its freight.

But this uncovers the ethical blind spot in many who also spout nonsense such as:

"Cripes! Big deal! The Patriots killed them 45 to 7 ! So without the tampering maybe it would have been 45-14. Who cares?".

Which totally misses the central point:  cheating to gain an unfair advantage irrespective of the outcome, while destroying the integrity of the game itself - risking fan alienation similar to the PED effects in major league baseball. .  It doesn't matter if the final score was 70-7 or even  100-7, it is the principle  and the intention that we are about here. That so many Americans seem to have this ethical blind spot is disturbing and suggests the recent polls with a majority seeing no problem with CIA torture are no fluke.

Some also dismiss it all as "entertainment" which is the take of a person who probably lacks any discerning judgment or ethical radar, period. They are so inured to PR and media junk food, they are no longer able to discern flatulence from significance. Sad. But note this: if we disallow our most cherished sports and games adhering to principle or honor, why should we demand any principle or honor in regular life?

Hell, assassinations of heads of state are fine and dandy so are films depicting them, just don't do any to our guys! CIA torture?  No biggie. Rectally excavating a prisoner is just a "little discomfort" to use Dick Cheney's parlance. Hacking into another nation's computers to gain a spy edge? No biggie again, it's all good! 

Once the small transgressions are permitted, all others can follow with even fewer apologias.

What would my sanction be? Well, I'd disallow ALL NE draft picks for this year. Zero.  None. Nada. Suck it up, cheaters.

But whether that happens or not, New England's legacy will be tainted, and alas, so also will this year's Super Bowl given the Pats will be involved in it.

Maybe it's just as well the Pack won't be a part of this year's  sorry spectacle.

Denver Broncos Want No NE Fan "Chowderheads" In Their Stadium - But It Won't Matter!

“No offense to proper Bostonians or any wicked arrogant fan of the New England Patriots. But the Broncos do NOT want you here in Denver. The local NFL franchise did not give blood, sweat and tears all season long to surrender the home field advantage to an invasion of loudmouths from New England. No Chowderheads allowed!"- Mark Kiszla, 'Go HOME, Chowderheads!', Denver Post, Jan. 17 column

Yes, Kiszla and other promoters of the Denver Broncos are on their high horses again. And we ain't talking MJ.  They believe they can effectively keep all NE fans out of Sports Authority Field tomorrow afternoon so there will be no competitive screams (or colors) to rival the Denver fans'.  This means their boys will have the optimum chance to win with a real "home field advantage", or so they believe.

Why this animus to opponent fans in their stadium? According to one Bronco quoted by Kiszla:

"Our fans remember what happened during the last AFC championship in Denver and they didn't like it".

He was referring to the Denver- Pittsburgh AFC 2006 face off when Broncos' players arrived at their stadium to find thousands of yellow "terrible towels" waving- leaving them to wonder where the Denver fans were.  According to former Denver player John Lynch, who was on the 2006 team:

"It was brutal. I'll never forget walking out into the stadium with Champ (Bailey) as we were going out for DB drills early, before the game. We both looked at each other and said: 'What is this?' The problem with the Pittsburgh fans was the Terrible Towels were so visible, so it felt like there were more Steelers fans than Broncos fans. You shouldn't let that affect you but it affected us....and the Steelers got off to a hot start.

We let a great opportunity go. It was a sickening feeling and I think people in the Denver Broncos' organization said: 'We can never let this happen again'"

The upshot,  according to Kiszla, was a 24-3 Steelers' lead at half time from which Denver never recovered .

The hidden reason, buried in another paragraph, is that Denver fans were "too subdued" in their purchase of championship tickets, leaving 30 % unsold just days before - which the Steelers' fans bought up. Kiszla notes this won't happen this time because under the new Bronco dictates, orders can only processed to zip codes in the Mountain West, Massachusetts zips are disallowed. Thus, according to Kiz, all 2,800 available tickets went to buyers in Bronco country.

This means, theoretically, there should be no Patriots' fans in the stands. Of course, this overlooks the money-greed dynamic present in every town's fans, so the ability to sell tickets over eBay or Craigslist remains. So I suspect enough "chowderheads" will show up to at least be heard, maybe part of the time.

In the end, it won't matter. The Broncos are hobbled by having lost star corner Chris Harris Jr. to an ACL injury, after having already lost  LB Von Miller. As SI has noted, this means the Broncos D will struggle to generate pressure. Add on to that NE RB LeGarrette Blount, who doesn't so much run through D-lines as plow through them, and the Pats have the formidable means to dominate time of possession and keep Manning off the field. Finally, let us recall that Brady is 7-0 vs. Jack del Rio coached defenses. Each time he faces them he puts on a QB clinic.

People - superficial observers - say that the Chargers running game didn't succeed  last week in Denver,  so why should New England's now? But they forget that the Chargers' top RB, Ryan Matthews, was only at half strength - having been injured the week before in Cincinnati. This time, the Pats bring a full deck for their running game and Bellichick won't let them be stopped.

Even if the Broncos manage to keep every last NE fan out of their stadium it won't matter in the end:

Patriots 31  Broncos 20


P.S. Don't look for Manning's "OMAHA!" callout  to be used more than once, if at all. It was designed to provoke SD defensive lineman into false starts - but it won't work against the Pats. All those who plunked down $100 for "OMAHA!" tees, sorry 'bout that!

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Footnote: 1/ 20

Arrrgh! YES! Yes, I was wrong on both counts: The Ponies managed to take the game (after Wes Welker took out Patriots' D-back Aqib Talib, thereby assuring Manning would have a field day, and Manning also barked 'Omaha!" at least 25 times.  I only later discovered corporate sponsors in Omaha  (of Manning's charity) had planned to donate in proportion to how many times he yelped 'Omaha'. So naturally, he'd try to help his own charity.

Anyway, let the ponies enjoy their brief time as champs. It won't be so easy against the No. 1 defense in the NFL - the Seahawks. As we know great SB D's beat great O's. Wanna see the script? Look at Superbowl XIX!

Pats Dispatch Tebow - Hopefully No More "Tebowing" in Our NFL Future!

 Tim Tebow is now gone from the NFL ranks, at least for now - and let us hope forever. While his Xtianoid groupies may be saddened they'll see no more "Tebowing" - the rest of us are delighted. We had had enough of his sanctimony, and also hypocrisy - thanking the Lord and praising him after a 'W' - but delivering nary a tweet after a loss. What? "Satan" caused your losses?

Robert Kraft, NE Patsies'  owner explained yesterday on CBS Early Show why the kid's time was up. He was diplomatic saying: "Well, we've only really ever used two quarterbacks and we already have them." But the real reason as anyone who's into football knows, is that Tebow - aside from some option tricks- didn't have the ball skills to consistently beat NFL secondaries ....or D-linemen.

The Patriots taking Tebow in the first place was somewhat astonishing, given that back in December, 2011 they laid on a big time butt whuppin'. See the image below of one of the many sacks Tebow took at the Pats' hands:


As I wrote on a blog post back then:

"Patriots 41, Broncos, 23. Praise the Lord and pass the humble pie!"

And recall Dan Shaughnessy's (of The Boston Globe's)  remarks the next day:

"A simplistic, throw-back offense isn't enough to exchange scores or keep pace against Patriots quarterback Tom Brady , a thoroughly 21st century man.
Sorry, Tim Tebow. Your time never arrived."

Indeed! Meanwhile, Tom Brady - a real QB - sadistically picked apart an outmanned Broncos' secondary - almost like a necrotic kid ripping off a fly's wings and legs one by one. Brady completed 23 of 34 for 320 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. And he had a 1-yard rushing touchdown, followed by a menacing spike, in the second quarter that put the Pats up, 24-16 after they had once trailed, 16-7.

At the point of that spike, Brady was heard by many fans in the stadium to scream:

"Take that! You Tebow Maniacs!"

Here he is in mid-Yell:

Let's also get straight that many Denver Broncos' fans were themselves embarrassed by the overt, holier-than-thou baloney coming from Tebow. It so turned some fans off that they actually took the time to pen letters to the Denver Post, averring they were changing allegiance - to the Kansas City Chiefs!

Now, that is a pretty gross downer and state of disappointment. Of course, meanwhile, the Colorado Christians were pumping Tebow's saintliness until it stuck in just about every normal person's craw. Thankfully, at the end of the 2011 season, Tebow was sent packing to the Jets, where he became a media darling of the dumbo set, but never really delivered more than a few offensive tricks as the Jests slid back.

Again, it was strange and odd beyond belief the Pats took Tebow, given what they exposed of his weaknesses two years back. One can only surmise that Bill Belichick thought he could somehow remake the guy into a real pocket passer - but in practices likely discovered it was a lost cause.

A Tom Brady, Joe Flacco or Aaron Rodgers, he ain't.

We do wish Tim well, and hey - perhaps a college coaching job or some other similar gig (HS coach in Gainesville, FL) is in his future. But I am fairly certain no other NFL team will pick him up before the season begins - which is tomorrow,  but technically not until Sunday when most teams face off. While Tebow did win the Heisman, his tricks simply weren't adequate to spell success in the harder hitting, more remorseless NFL. When one of is glorifiers writes his autobiography that's what they ought to keep in mind.

Did the GIANTS Deserve Their SB XLVI Win? Of Course!

"Homer fan derangement syndrome" is not a pretty sight to behold. In fact, it's downright ugly and bespeaks the intermittent seizures of insanity and irrationality that can overcome pro football fans if their team doesn't make it to the highest mountain and win - in this case the SuperBowl. Well, Superbowl XLVI is now in the books, and the New York Giants 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots has set off this peculiar derangement syndrome in multiple cities - generally expressed on their assorted (newspaper) football forums.

On the New England Patriots (boston.com) boards one sees it expressed multiple ways, ranging from the purely zany and idiotic to the off the wall. Of course, Pats' fans would feel horrible after 100% investing themselves in the belief they'd exact revenge for the Giants beating them in SuperBowl XLII and ruining their perfect season and place in NFL history. Thus it is partly understandable that Pats fans at Univ. of Massachusetts might go ape shit and riot after the loss, unable to handle the inability to get that revenge.

Then there were assorted other comments on the boards, including to the effect the refs "blew the call of a safety" on Tom Brady (giving the Giants 2 early pts.), insisting there was no such thing. (Really? Look at it again and then consult the NFL Rules Book!) Another whined that the "Zebras muffed the call on Manningham and he was clearly out of bounds". Errr...don't think so! Look at the still AP photo in this morning's papers clearly showing Giants receiver Manningham with both feet in bounds and hands securely wrapped around the ball.

But see, in the case of fan derangement syndrome, the reality or facts of the matter don't mean a thing! These are easily swept under the rug of the obsessive fan's perceptions and converted into either the "luck" of the opponent (and I do admit the Giants had some luck in recovering two would be fumbles the Pats might have had) or that the "refs gave the calls away" or made miscalls.

Nowhere is this fan derangement more entrenched than the NE boards, but a close runnerup manifestation still persists on the Green Bay Packer forums of the Milwaukee Journal -Sentinel (http://www.jsonline.com/) where assorted Pack fans continue to make such wacked out statements as "The Giants are the worst team to ever win a SuperBowl" and "It was all luck, luck, luck...."

But, of course, the trouble with the luck argument is that it turns two ways. One could also argue the Packers were "lucky" in most of their 13-0 run this past season, pulling out cardiac last minute wins thanks to Aaron Rodgers, until they met a 6-8 Kansas City team that exposed their defensive flaws. I.e. had the Pack D been able to make one critical stop near the end of the game (like the Giants' D did last night leaving time for Eli Manning to work his 3-minute magic) they'd have won that KC game 14-12 as opposed to blowing it, 19-14.

Some other pro Green Bay commenters also want to claim, lamely "the only team that could beat the Packers this year was the Packers themselves" then pointing to the 37-20 playoff victory of the Giants at Lambeau and Aaron Rodgers "not being 100% on target, 8 drops and 3 fumbles". But this trickery of syntax merely shows fans' degree of derangement and how that impinges their perceptions - just as it did with NE Pats fans.

The truth is that Rodgers probably played fairly but - unlike Eli Manning- tried to force the ball in certain situations and paid the price. Eli basically took what the Patriots gave him, and Rodgers wanted more. In addition, Rodgers rhythm was thrown off by the relentless pressure inside imposed by the likes of Giant defenders Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul. This made him rush throws when he didn't want to make them, and worse, made him try to overcome press coverage on his WRs - ending in two sacks. As for those eight drops, let's be frank, at least five were due to Pierre-Paul's disruption of Packer slot receivers near the line of scrimmage - causing slightly delayed running of assigned routes.

Obviously then, if Rodgers is throwing to the location a receiver is supposed to be, as opposed to where he actually is (even if off by barely a yard) there will be a dropped pass because it's competent execution depends on precise location. The G-men knew this which was exactly why they consistently bumped Pack wideouts. But the hardnosed Pack fans don't want to hear this, they refuse to "give Jack his jacket" meaning the Giants the credit they deserve. They want to lay all the blame on the Pack "playing its worst game at the worst time".

But think about this logically. Does a 15-1 team (then) bruited to the "best"- and which has effectively THREE weeks to prepare for the biggest game of the season and also play at HOME, merit any consideration as a putative worthy champion or champion to be if it can't carry out the win? And against a 9-7 regular season opponent? I don't believe so! Instead, the Pack - this year's version - disclosed themselves to be a pretender with a flawed and suspect defense incapable of making critical 3rd down stops.

But will the deranged fans on the Packer boards admit this? Hell no! It was "all luck, luck, luck" for the Giants, or as one guy put it: "Sometimes its better to be lucky than good". Totally missing the irony that last year Giants' fans might have said the exact same thing about the then 10-6 Packers, lowest seeded of all NFC teams, then making a run and taking the prized Lombardi trophy at the end. It's all relative and all a matter of perspective, but one thing that's become common in all these late season, lower-seeded champs is that they make their own luck!

It is clear to the dispassionate football observer over the past ten years, that the older paradigm of the top seeded team getting to the show has been replaced by the newer paradigm of the late, hot lower seed. Look, in the past 5 years, at No. 6 seed Pittsburgh getting the Lombardi, and the No. 6 Packers getting it last year, while the No. 4 Giants got it this year. Did all these teams prevail merely by luck? Well, maybe a little, but much more in doing the hard work and preparation, and mounting a full steam of gas when most needed.

What the deranged fan needs to do, instead of dumping on the victorious lower seeded team, is maybe realize that his team was so favored in previous years and also.....maybe being the top seed isn't worth all it's cracked up to be! New England was the No. 1 AFC seed and look at what happened to them in the SuperBowl. Meanwhile, the Packers were the No. 1 NFC seed this year and the 49ers were No. 2 and both were beaten by the Giants in the second and third rounds of the playoffs.

Sometimes, it pays to be just plain GOOD at the right time, rather than depending only on luck! In this regard, the telltale words of Packer defender Charles Woodson, quoted in The Green Bay Press -Gazette two weeks (ago about the Giants win over Green Bay in the playoff ) is one every deranged fan ought to heed:

"They just wanted it more than we did".

So, maybe desire is what trumps luck and maybe ebbing of desire, or "fire in the belly" is one affliction that befalls previous SuperBowl champs.