Video Clips: Fun Timewasters

By Rick Morris

From time to time, we try to accommodate our Lounge content consumers who just want some fun, light entertainment. Hence this edition of our Video Clips series, entitled "Fun Timewasters."

These are simply some video clips that you can enjoy and consume in the form of good, mindless entertainment. On with the show!

Stephen Curry has been THE superstar of this year's NCAA hoops tournament. Here's a compilation of some of his more impressive plays:



Is this next one in poor taste? Possibly. But watching Hitler vent as a frustrated Dallas Cowboys' fan is some kind of funny!



In the last year, we have seen one of the all-time greatest TV commercials, a classic in its own time: the Peter Frampton Geico spot:




Howard Cosell and Muhammad Ali, nothing more needs to be said:



Here's a segment from the vaults of THE SPORTSWRITERS ON TV, the forerunner of all of the TV talking-head sports shows we see today:



Are you geeked for MLB Opening Day yet? You will be after you see this:



And last but not least, here are some clips from the "Bookie Mom" series online. If these clips don't have you laughing, you're probably a bit too morose to be a follower of The FDH Lounge!

The Super Bowl/To Catch a Predator:



The Coach K/Roy Williams feud:



The NFL Combine:



Making chalk picks:



How Bookie Mom collects from deadbeats:

How Good or Bad is Derek Anderson?

by Jason Jones

With Cleveland Browns fans excessively excited about the upcoming season, there are still some questions. My biggest question is, “How good, really, is Derek Anderson?” I have no doubt that the Derek Anderson I think I know is capable of leading the Browns into the playoffs. However, I do not think he is capable of winning a Super Bowl. I also do not believe the Cleveland Browns are a Super Bowl-contending team going into 2008. They are a serious playoff team. The idea that they can own Pittsburgh, beat New England, beat Indianapolis, and/or Jacksonville is still a far-fetched idea to me. Today, the NFL Network replayed the Browns vs. Bengals game from Week 2. I decided to Tivo the game then go back and analyze each and every offensive play (especially since there was next to no defense played in that game). I am going into this project with my eyes open and no bias. Most who know me or have read anything I’ve written on this subject are aware of my bias to Brady Quinn over Derek Anderson. This time, I will objectively look at DA’s best game to decide just how good he really is. Keep in mind I am watching an NFL Network Replay, which means we will only see the plays they deem worthy as to fit it into a nice 90 minute block. There may be some skips in time.

CIN-7 CLE-0, 7:57 1^st Qtr

First Possession

7:57-J.Lewis 7 yd dive

6:52-J.Lewis 3 yd lt. guard

6:03-DA 28 yd pass to a flipped Edwards called incomplete (not DA’s fault) the announcer’s criticized the throw claiming it set up Edwards to get hurt.

5:51-J.Lewis HB Sweep 5 yds

5:12-DA sits in the pocket until he inexplicably fumbles the ball with no one touching him, then scrambles to his right and wildly throws the ball to a relatively open Jurevicious and misses him by 7 or 8 yards. The ball ended up just in front of the camera men. He didn’t even look at the 3 receivers he had wide open running intermediate routes.

5:02-39 yd FG attempt is good by Phil Dawson

CIN-7 CLE-3, 3.24 1^st Qtr

Second Possession

3:24-DA throws over the middle 22yds to Kellen dropping it into a zone of a 4 yd radius for a 20 yd gain.

2:46-J.Lewis lt. counter for a 4 yd gain.

2:03-DA bootleg lt. throws on the run to Jurevicious in a closing window of defenders for a 13 yd gain.

1:20-DA steps up in the pocket and throws a bullet just before getting hit to Edwards (who had to lay way out to catch it) into a zone with a 7 yd radius. Edwards should not have had to dive for the ball; had he caught it in stride, he could’ve taken it to the endzone.

0:56-J.Lewis off rt. guard for a 3 yd gain.

0:18-DA short-hops this pass a good 6 yds. to Edwards on a very tightly-covered curl route. Terrible decision in double coverage when at no point was his receiver ever open.

0:13-DA throws this one directly to the linebacker 6 yards in front of Edwards never even looking at another option. It was read perfectly and should have been intercepted. Caleb Miller was clearly in view, while Edwards didn’t come into view until the last second.

0:09-39 FG attempt is good by Phil Dawson.

CIN-7 CLE-6, 14:36 2^nd Qtr

Third Possession

14:36-DA hands to J.Cribbs in a make shift end around for a 9 yd gain.

13:07-DA throws over the middle to a streaking Kellen for a 20 yd gain. This ball was actually thrown really well, up top where only Kellen would be able to adjust to get it.

11:44-J.Lewis rt. stretch play for 3 yds.

11:03-DA throws to Jurevicious in the lt. corner of the endzone for a 17 yd touchdown. Another very nice throw. If Jurevicious was 2 inches shorter it would have been incomplete, but he put in front of the receiver so the DB would have to go through Jurevicious to get to it.

Let’s pause from the QB analysis for a Josh Cribbs moment…

7:33-Josh Cribbs receives the kick off in stride just rt. of the hash marks, cuts back toward the middle of the field, finds the first seam between two blocks at the 20. He watches the seam close at the 30, and proceeds to bounce outside to the left bypassing 6 Cincinnati defenders. He regains his balance passing a linebacker and turns up the speed and the field en route to splitting the kicker with only Leon Hall to beat. He lays a stiff arm on Hall and proceeds to drag Hall the better part of 15 yards. He is eventually knocked out of bounds at the 12 yard line. This kid is amazing. He sets up blocks like he is playing a Madden video game.

CIN-14 CLE-13, 7:20 2^nd Qtr

Fourth Possession

7:20-J.Lewis runs off lt. guard for a 1 yd gain.

6:43-DA throws to his rt. to Edwards who didn’t have anyone within 8 yards of him in any direction. If Braylon Edwards is 6’3, DA threw it as if he were 13 feet tall. Just a terrible throw. It couldn’t have been a throw-away because Edwards was so very open.

6:37-DA on 3^rd and 8 from the 9, throws to a wide-open Jurevicious just having a picnic all by himself in the back of the endzone. Joe had the entire endzone all to himself.

The next play of note as I fast forward through the Bengals offensive drive is the wide-open touchdown pass to Chad Johnson. Mr. Endzone Celebration spent the time to figure out that he was going to jump into the Dawg Pound, but didn’t take the time to find out which endzone they were in.

CIN-21 CLE-20, 2:48 2^nd Qtr

Fifth Possession

2:48-DA throws to Edwards in the flat. Edwards had to wait for it for a couple seconds, but found a way to get an 8 yd gain out of it.

2:11-J.Lewis runs a HB Slam play off lt. tackle, then cuts inside a Jurevicious block and makes the first DB miss. He eventually gets knocked out at the CIN 48 for a 17 yard gain.

2:00-DA takes a 5 step drop while CIN blitzes the kitchen sink. He throws it across the middle to Kellen who had to dive outward to catch it for a 9 yd gain.

1:34-DA throws the ball high to Edwards who reaches out for it in triple coverage and tips it into the air. As Edwards fall behind all three CIN defenders, he turns his body just enough to catch the ball on his back. Miraculous. Color Commentator: “This ball SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THROWN, what a concentration by Braylon Edwards”

1:11-DA throws another nice ball in perfect stride with Kellen between two DB’s; they never had a chance. Touchdown.

CIN-21 CLE-27 Halftime

Sixth Possession

15:00-DA steps back and fires one to Edwards separating from his defender. DA didn’t notice the other DB eyeballing him the whole way. Interception Dexter Jackson. Terrible read. He had good protection, had he waited one or two seconds Edwards would have been all alone 10 yards further down field.

CIN-24 CLE-27, 12:04 3^rd Qtr

Seventh Possession

12:04-J.Lewis takes the handoff off rt. guard for a tough 4 yds.

11:17-DA locks in on Edwards and throws a strike to his outside shoulder and Edwards does the rest. With Jerry Rice-like precision Edwards toe taps the sideline for a beautiful reception. He still had to dive for it.

11:00-J.Lewis gets a solid 10 yds. on a lead draw play up the middle.

9:08-DA in shotgun, fires it just outside of Kellen who brings it in just past the first down marker for an 11 yd gain.

8:25-DA sets back, he could’ve had a beach chair out there, pump fakes short then lobs one to the endzone with Edwards in perfect stride leaving two DB’s in his dust to coast in for a touchdown. Not DA’s best ball in this game, but a very nice throw.

Chad Johnson finally gets into the Dawg Pound and apparently thought it would be more fun than it was. To think, arguably the most arrogant WR in the game thought he would just jump into a crowd of the most rabid fans and WOULDN’T get doused with whatever they had with them at the time? Interesting.

CIN-31 CLE-34, 6:04 3^rd Qtr

Eighth Possession

The following is the case study example for anyone who thinks Jamal Lewis is old, slow, over the hill, or flat out doesn’t have it anymore.

6:04-From the 34 yd line (1^st and 10) J.Lewis takes the handoff cuts from the guard to outside the lt. tackle, makes it through the seam of 3 Bengals and on to daylight. The rest is Lewis trucking for 66 yards and one short possession but one long Touchdown run (66 yards).

CIN-38 CLE-41, 13:07 4^th Qtr

Ninth Possession

13:07-J.Lewis 3 yd dive play.

12:28-DA steps back and fires one hard down the middle of the field to a wide-open Steve Heiden with a cushion of 4 yds in any direction (albeit, 3 DB’s around him). The Color Commentator spent at least 30 seconds talking about how he was certain that play would be a short conservative run or pass. Yeah, conservative, if by conservative you mean a 30 yd. pass into loose triple coverage.

11:42-J.Lewis takes the handoff on a dive play and busts it up and over no less than 4 immediate tacklers for an 11 yd gain. (it was at this point during the live action of this game my mother called and said, “he looks a little like Jim Brown”).

10:54-DA bootlegs rt., finds L.Vickers at the last second, then Vickers puts a nasty spin move on the linebacker for a first down.

10:06-DA rolls back looks rt. then lt. and throws of his back foot to a WIDE OPEN Edwards who has to lay out like he was diving into a pool and proceeds to roll his way to another touchdown. ClevelandBrowns.com refers to this one as the “keep it rollin” play.

CIN-38 CLE-48, 8:29 4^th Qtr

Tenth Possession

8:29-J.Lewis does it again. On a delay with a great block from Vickers, he splits the seam and shakes in and out for a 48 yds. gain. No gas left in the tank my arsecheek!

7:56-DA looking very relaxed sends a pass over the middle that looks overthrown. DA wasn’t looking for Jurevicious though, it lands nicely in the falling arms of Kellen on the 5 yd. line.

5:54-DA drops back under pressure and lofts the ball out of the back of the endzone. With a second look, Winslow was covered and if he had thrown it low enough Edwards could have caught it on his curl route and fallen down shielding the ball from the two defenders close to him. The third read was Jurevicious basically running the baseline (basketball analogy) with the closest defender trailing a good 6 yds. behind him. A good QB would’ve seen that.

5:44-18 yd FG attempt is good by Phil Dawson

CIN-45 CLE-51, 3:36 4^th Qtr

Eleventh Possession

3:36-J.Lewis cuts outside for a 3 yd gain. (the most yards rushing by a Brown is 34 years-Jim Brown 223-Nov 3, 1963)

3:24-DA throws one across the middle to a waiting Edwards who has to adjust his run after the catch and caves under 3 defenders for a first down.

2:00-J.Lewis runs up the middle for no gain.

CIN-45 CLE-51, 0:28 4^th Qtr

Just for fun…

0:28-Carson Palmer steps back looking for Chad Johnson only to have Leigh Bodden catch the ball Willie Mays-style over his should and toe tapping the sideline shades of Braylon Edwards’ catch from earlier in the first half to end the game.

This was the second highest-scoring game in the history of the NFL. The idea was to take Derek Anderson’s best statistical performance and analyze just how good it was.

End of Game Stats:

Derek Anderson: 20/33 (60.6%), 328 yds passing, 9.9 avg per comp, 5 TD’s, 1 INT

Jamal Lewis: 27 carries, 216 yds, 8.0 yds per carry avg, 1 TD, long run of 66 yds.

Braylon Edwards: 8 receptions, 146 yds, 18.3 yds per rec, 2 TD’s, long rec of 37 yds

Kellen Winslow: 6 receptions, 100 yds, 16.7 yds per rec, 1 TD, long rec of 25 yds

Joe Jurevicious: 4 receptions, 44 yds, 11 yds per rec, 2 TD’s, long rec of 11 yds

Clearly, no one should knock 20/33 for 328 and 5 TD’s. The issue I am stuck on has nothing to do with what Anderson does, but what he doesn’t do. If reading this one time didn’t get the point across, read it again. Take note of how many times players are described as “diving” or “laying out." Note how many times the ball is not even close. Then take note of the descriptions of the big plays he did make. You will notice that a great deal, probably in the ball park of 80% the players he is throwing to are more responsible for making the plays. I am not completely down on Anderson. There were about 5 throws that he made, that I did not think he was capable of making going into this game. Every now and then Anderson will surprise you with a gem of a throw. As I mentioned early in this post, DA is good enough to take this team to the playoffs, he is not good enough to win a Super Bowl. Super Bowl winners don’t miss as badly as DA tends to miss. Yet, they make the plays that DA made in this game with much more precision and a higher frequency. Now for the angle almost no one wants to hear…Brady Quinn can make every throw from this game that DA made and at least half of the mistakes.

Example 1: 5:15 of the 1^st Qtr. Quinn doesn’t fumble the ball all by himself with no contact by a defender. That one is nitpicky though, chalk that one up to bad things happen to just about anyone. Same play, when he eventually threw the ball, DA sent it via UPS to the cameraman, overthrowing Jurevicious. Now I could say that it is a hard throw to make. But later on, he completes a much more difficult pass to Jurevicious on the other side of the endzone.

Example 2: 6:03 of the 1^st Qtr. Quinn generally doesn’t put his receivers in a position to get tagged and ultimately hurt. The only time he ever risked it was throwing to his now turned Cubs minor leaguer former Notre Dame teammate Jeff Samardjia. But he was huge, a young Joe Jurevicious.

Example 3: 0:18 of the 1^st Qtr. Quinn is exquisite at putting the right touch and softness on his short and intermediate passes. With the exception of getting the first time jitters out, I cannot fathom a world where Quinn would short-hop a pass as poorly as DA did here. Edwards was running a curl route through the teeth of the secondary. Even if the throw wasn’t short hopped, chances are one of the 3 DB’s would’ve intercepted it.

Example 4: 0:13 of the 1^st Qtr. A good QB rarely ever throws the ball directly to a defender because he has his blinders on for his target. Good QB’s on occasion will throw the ball directly to a spot that a defender is converging on. This example, the defender didn’t move on foot for about 6 seconds leading up to the throw. When the ball came, he didn’t have to move an inch to catch it. Luckily for us, he cannot catch.

Now these are only the mistakes in the 1^st quarter. They continue throughout the game. In this instance, since CIN cannot play defense any better than we could in this game, they are mistakes that ultimately didn’t cost us the game. All you needed to read was Browns win 51-45 to get that. I ask you, what happens when Anderson is playing against the Steelers (Week 3 and 11), the Colts (Week 5), the Cowboys (Week 6), the Giants (Week 7), the Jaguars (Week 12), the Eagles (Week 14) --all of which have substantially better defenses than CIN. Granted, with the improvements on defense, he may not have to put up 51 points, but these are mistakes that could/will cost the game next season. I don’t want to sound like a pessimist, but I as a fan want as much improvement as anyone else. I am not suggesting that Quinn be given the job. However, I do hope the coaching staff look at the spot with an open mind. If DA justifiably wins the job, I’m OK with that. But if we go into a game and DA is struggling, I hope they don’t stick with him for loyalty's sake. Quinn is a much more headstrong QB, who is less likely to make risky mistakes.

All-in-all, I am ecstatic for next season. If DA starts and plays the entire season, I still believe the Browns are a playoff team. The only question is, “what happens once we get there?” This team should be realistically looking for a Super Bowl run in 2009-10, I just hope the QB position is figured out long-term by then.

Super Wednesday

By Rick Morris

This past Sunday, a priest at my parish noted that on a week with Super Sunday and Super Tuesday, Ash Wednesday was actually a Super Day bigger than the others. I agree with that sentiment, as I’m sure many do.

I am a Roman Catholic who is celebrating Ash Wednesday and I believe strongly that the sentiment of the day transcends any parochial religious differences that believers may have. The message that we come from ashes and will return to that form someday is indisputable. On this day, regardless of your religious preference, I urge you to look within yourselves and ponder the big picture for a moment. Do you feel like you’re going in the right direction, just in a general sense? Real wisdom comes from the capacity for introspection, so if you devote the time to honestly take the measure of yourself and examine what is working and what is not, it should lead you in the right direction regardless of what you see.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part XIII

By Rick Morris

How can a game look like a lackluster Super Bowl for 55 minutes and utterly catch fire in the last five? There was an unprecedented three lead changes in the final quarter of a Super Bowl.

We just saw history, folks, and this will be a game that gets talked about 50 years from now when we reflect back on what the Giants just did.

Eli Manning completed his 2008 Redemption Tour with a moment that makes his career immortal, regardless of whatever else he accomplishes from here. The game-winning 12-play, 83 yard drive in the final 2:42, culminating in the touchdown pass to a previously-underutilized Plaxico Burress for the 17-14 win, defies belief still. Eli deserves the MVP and the play where he wiggled out of the grasp to hit Tyree deep in New England territory is the defining moment of this epic event.

Eli always had good maneuverability, slightly better than his brother in fact (and that is the ONLY area where he comes out on top of Peyton). But tonight he put it all together in a manner that few QBs ever do on the biggest stage. And it turns out he did win the MVP, good for him.

Now, New England, which reached for untold glory, suffers a humiliation that is under the radar but present nonetheless -- they were trying to be the first team to be both a Team of the Decade and have an unbeaten season (this was only because the Dolphins of the early '70s were decimated by World Football League defections and never got a chance to build on their accomplishments through the decade). But instead, they become the first Team of the Decade of the Super Bowl era to lose a Super Bowl in that decade.

Tom Brady clearly was not nearly 100%, proving my pregame skepticism completely wrong. Credit must go also to the unbelievable Giant pass rush, however, as Brady got hit more in one night than in several previous games combined. But chew this over for a second: the Patriot offense, the greatest regular-season offense in the history of the league in the regular season (at least in terms of points tallied), put up a donut tonight: one TD on their first drive, one on their last, and bupkis in between.

As I noted in our Super Bowl preview, the Football Outsiders website stated this week that the Giants were bucking history -- not merely because of trying to knock off an 18-0 team, but because they were one of the most mediocre teams ever to be in a Super Bowl if you look at the totality of their season. Few teams in the history of the game succeeded in pulling themselves out of the ranks of the average to attain necessary greatness later in the season. That may sound like a backhanded compliment, but it certainly is not. Eli Manning and many of his teammates were looking quite suspect as recently as midseason and the historical record is strongly against such a collection of players growing up over the course of the same season. They deserve a lot of credit for accomplishing such a rare feat.

Prior to the season, I picked the Giants to finish 6-10 as Tom Coughlin was brought back for what looked to be a lame duck season after his 2006 team was racked by turmoil. Who knew that shedding Tiki Barber would help the chemistry enough to bring the team together?

As for me personally, as I have noted I am a huge Dolphins fan and I was rocking my Nat Moore jersey tonight. Frankly, when Burress scored his touchdown, I was hyperventilating I was so happy and so utterly shocked. I had to run into the kitchen to get a bag to breathe into, earning me the scorn of the room!

Here's a little well-earned '72 Dolphins triumphalism.

To conclude this wrapup, here are some quotes I did not hear in the postgame interviews that I had hoped would be said:

^ Eli Manning: "You mean my brother struggled to beat this Brady character all these years? What's up with that? It only took me one shot!"

^ Archie Manning: "This is absolutely the greatest day of my life! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still ashamed of Cooper, but other than that, nothing can bring me down right now!"

^ Tom Coughlin: "Hey Tiki Barber, I got your coaching effectiveness swinging right here, son!"

^ Steve Spagnuolo: "Back up the Brinks truck, biatches!"

^ Kevin Gilbride: "What a sweet contract I have, I get paid for a full game but only have to work in the late second half!"

^ Tom Brady: "Even a wild night with Gisele won't erase this pain. Oh, wait, it will."

^ Don Shula and Mercury Morris, at midfield swigging straight from champagne bottles after bum-rushing the field: "We're still the only Perfect Team!"

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part XI

By Rick Morris

The New England drive didn't last long; Brady is getting pressured and hit way more than usual. He eluded pressure to get off a couple of intermediate-range passes, but they dropped incomplete.

The Giants, who have controlled the clock throughout the game, will start to move the ball from about their own 30. Will the Patriot defense be worn down enough to allow a long drive? The game hangs in the balance with 8:24 left and a third and nine situation -- completion to Amani Toomer for only eight. On fourth down, the Giants will look to boom one deep. It didn't happen; fair catch just inside the 20.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part X

By Rick Morris

The Pats go to punt on the first play of the fourth quarter and on that play, Chris Hanson could neither catch a predator nor keep the punt from going into the Giants' end zone.

For what it's worth, the Super Bowl ads have been lackluster on the whole. I look forward to seeing what the public consensus on the matter is tomorrow, but I am very underwhelmed by them.

Manning hits a huge 45-yard pass to Kevin Boss that puts the Giants down at the New England 35. It is imperative for New York to score here, preferably of course with a touchdown.

The camera just cut to Jeremy Shockey -- in a loge drinking a beer and not on the sidelines with his teammates. Classy.

Another big completion to Ahmad Bradshaw at the 12 clinches some points for the Giants on this drive minus a turnover. And then -- touchdown pass to David Tyree!!! My partner Jason Jones is right, we are going to witness history today -- and it may be a historic collapse by the Patriots!

That was a pretty good Coke commercial with Bill Frist and James Carville (who is one scary looking mofo).

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part IX

By Rick Morris

The Giants' playcalling was better on that drive, but they still stalled out before field goal territory was reached. The punt goes to about the 10 yard line, where the Pats' offense will look to finally get something going. New York kicked a field goal on the opening possession and the Pats followed up with a TD and we haven't seen any more scoring since. Unbelievable.

Just in case you were wondering, not everyone in this great land of ours is glued to this game. This old coot thinks football is a waste of time and things were better in the good old days -- and he's got so much more hilarious stuff here.

The New York pass rush is still absolutely insane, but New England gets out from under the shadow of their own goal line with a first-down completion to Wes Welker after having been backed up to their own five.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part VIII

By Rick Morris

The Pats won their challenge and continued to drive, but a big sack on Brady set up 4th and 13 from the 31 yard line and a bomb to Gaffney in the end zone that wasn't even close to completion leads to the turnover on downs.

I just had a question posed to me by my friend, former SportsTalkNetwork.com host Nick Despones about whether this turnover could be a turning point (because I had exclaimed aloud that New England winning the challenge would be a turning point before I pleaded, "Prove me wrong, God!"). I answered that the Giants could get a big boost right here, but only if aliens abduct Kevin Gilbride and someone else, anyone, even somebody from the stands, replaces him.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part VII

By Rick Morris

Wonderful racial profiling on that Chinese version of the Sales Genie commercial!

Pats start to move the ball again at the beginning of the third quarter before being forced to punt again -- and it was a pretty good punt with the ball backed up inside of the Giants' 20! This is a Bizarro World version of the shootout or quasi-shootout we all thought we were going to see.

Belichick has just thrown the challenge flag to try to nullify the punt play by claiming the Giants had 12 men on the field. Should we really be surprised that's the way The Hoodie wants to win?

A Close Super Bowl, Who'd a Thought

by Jason Jones

As someone who thought the halftime score would be 21-10 in favor of New England, I am very pleasantly surprised with the Giants' defensive pressure. It has been a while since there was a truly competitive Super Bowl. I hope this continues on. The repetitive secondary blitzes and 3rd downs that including sending the kitchen sink -- I am afraid the Giants might get burned once or twice. I am extremely happy that the game is not out of hand at halftime. Here's to seeing history and a close game at the same time.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part VI

By Rick Morris

Giants drive again but are forced to punt to the New England 11 yard line after a penalty on Ahmad Bradshaw for illegally swatting away a fumbled football.

Tom Brady now goes to work in the two-minute offense. They get nowhere after two plays. I could have sworn I just lip-read Steve Spagnuolo and he said, "How you like me now, Daniel Snyder?"

Scratch that, the Pats are off and running again, but it's a relatively nickle-and-dime type offense for being pinched on time. Randy Moss just had his first reception down to about the New York 40, but Brady just had the ball stripped and no phony "Tuck Rule" was able to save him here.

Ten second left and Eli's going to take one shot from midfield. Gilbride works his magic again as Manning throws incomplete to fumble-fingers Steve Smith at the 40 with five seconds left. Randy Moss comes in on defense, but they didn't need him. 7-3 New England at the half.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part V

By Rick Morris

The Giants and Patriots go on to trade three-and-outs. The sack on Brady at the end of his "drive" highlighted his ankle problems. I guess I was wrong; he is not 100%.

This game is sitting right there for New York if they mix up the playcalling a bit.

Carlos Mencia's Bud Light commercial was awesome, although I'm unsure how "You be the sandwich, I'll be the meat" got past Standards & Practices.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part IV

By Rick Morris

The Giants drive all the way down the field (after an amazingly sweet long sideline pass to Amani Toomer) only to have Steve Smith (ROOKIE!) shovel the ball almost right into the hands of Hobbs for the INT. New York has to limit the damage here and not let the Pats drive all the way down the field again.

And they hold! Three and out, and they get the punt return out past their own 37.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part III

By Rick Morris

We saw only two possessions in the first quarter of the Super Bowl, which was a new record.

Brady was a bit unsteady on that ankle on the first drive, and it was more methodical than most we've seen from New England this year, but it ended with a 1-yard TD run from Maroney on the first play of the second quarter. 7-3 New England.

The Pats squib the next kickoff out of bounds by mistake and New York takes over at their own 40. Has Kevin Gilbride pulled his head out of his posterior? We'll soon find out.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part II

By Rick Morris

Kevin Gilbride's playcalling absolutely sucks. For old time's sake, I'm hoping to see Buddy Ryan pop up tonight just to take a swing at him for being such an idiot.

Delayed handoffs to your 400-pound running back? Handing off to him out of the shotgun?

Predictably, although Eli Manning bailed them out repeatedly with third-down conversions, Gilbride putting them into a hole with the stupid scheming caught up to them in the end. Giants settle for a field goal after a long drive and lead 3-0.

Laurence Maroney (???) just had a huge kick return for the Pats, who will start around midfield.

By the way, the Pepsi Max commercial with "What is Love?" is the leader in the clubhouse for best ad.

Super Bowl Liveblogging Part I

By Rick Morris

Notes from the pregame show ...

^ Terry Bradshaw's bitter diatribe about being sick of the 1972 Dolphins was hilarious. His jealousy about never quarterbacking a perfect team shined through completely.

^ Why is the roof closed? The NFL's decision-making really sucks on matters such as this. They closed it in Houston four years ago for no good reason and they're doing it again. It'd be one thing if they had a monsoon on the horizon like last year in Miami, but they're playing in the freaking desert!

^ If I never see Ryan Seacrest doing his fey interview routine on the red carpet of A SPORTING EVENT ever again, it'll be too soon.

Super Bowl preview

By Rick Morris

A quick note at the outset: I am an unashamed, unabashed admirer of the 1972 Dolphins. During the course of this past season, it has become apparent that I am one of the few anywhere, apparently, as the champagne toasts and braggadocio about The Perfect Season that I find amusing and appropriate are hated by the rest of Western Civilization. How Don Shula, Mercury Morris and the rest of the gang I appreciate and respect have managed to "babyface" Bill Belichick (in the parlance of pro wrestling) by comparison remains one of the great mysteries of life to me. I also don't care much for The Hoodie. But I pride myself on objective analysis and I will not let my personal biases factor into my assessments of this game. Also, I will be live-blogging the game on this very blog as it is unfolding.

^ First of all, here's a look at some of the best resources you will find anywhere for your pre-game reading. Pro Football Weekly has a great overall game breakdown, injury report, series of keys to the game, position-by-position comparison and series of staff predictions. CBS Sports has a detailed game breakdown video up on its website. And USA Today has a great Tale of the Tape that breaks down the statistics in excellent fashion.

^ Football Outsiders made the very provocative argument that this Super Bowl is the biggest mismatch in history on paper. They back up that statement quite well, although they hasten to add that that does not mean the Giants have no chance to win. The gist of the matter is that not only have the Pats been playing at the historic clip to get to 18-0 (especially on offense, as we are all well aware), the Giants come into the game having put together a fairly mediocre season by the standards of the previous 82 teams that made the Super Bowl (when the whole of the season is considered statistically). Frankly, the dramatic improvement (whether lasting or otherwise -- we'll find out) of Eli Manning is a microcosm for what the Giants are trying to do here -- put together a dramatic, almost-unprecedented in-season improvement that culminates in a Super Bowl win.

^ In my previous analysis of the postseason, I have referred to the Giants defense as being nothing more than the sum total of its pass rush. The secondary and the run defense have striven mightily to prove me wrong, especially in the NFC Championship Game. I question strongly whether they can bring anything near that level of effectiveness tonight, inasmuch as they weren't able to do much in their previous loss to the Pats. There's only so much fault you can drop on a team for getting picked apart by Brady & Company, though, as I noted in my postmortem of the playoff game against Jacksonville; the Jags tried their best to put a body on all available weapons, but there are just too many. And the admittedly superhuman Giant pass rush can be disarmed by effective running from Laurence Maroney and screen passes to that wee little sprite Kevin Faulk.

^ Analysts who claim that the Giants are better off for having played the Pats and for having almost pushed them to the brink in Week 17 are probably right. New England has an enormous mental edge over everyone they play, but the intimidation factor is probably a tad less against a team that stood in better against them than almost anyone else.

^ No talk of Belichick's Patriots can be complete without addressing the role of various mind games that are constantly taking place. Doubtless he is deriving additional motivation from the interjection into the process of Spygate one more time from Professional Ambulance Chaser Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector. And the "Brady in a walking boot" motif struck me as a self-indulgent attempt by New England to interject a little drama into the proceedings, perhaps a bit the same as Bob Griese reemerging from injury to lead the Perfect Team over the top 35 years ago. Although the Giants will bring the heat in abundance, I don't look for Brady's alleged injury to play any part in the outcome whatsoever.

^ In terms of fun irrelevancies to the final outcome, this game marks the first time that two teams enter with a combined appearance figure in double digits: it's the Pats' sixth appearance and the Giants' fourth. Also, it marks the third time in the history of the Super Bowl that teams will play each other after missing a previous meeting by one year. The first time was in Super Bowl 19 when the 49'ers and Dolphins faced off against each other (San Francisco appeared in Super Bowl 16, Miami in Super Bowl 17). The second time was in Super Bowl 24 when the 49'ers and Broncos were matched (Denver appeared in Super Bowl 22, San Francisco in Super Bowl 23). The Giants and Patriots have twice missed playing each other in the Super Bowl by one year: New England was in Super Bowl 20, while the Giants made it to Super Bowl 21 and then the Giants were in Super Bowl 35, a year before the Pats in Super Bowl 36. The good news for those hoping for the big upset? NFC teams are 2-0 in such situations. Pete Axthelm would be proud!

^ Here's my actual prediction: I see the game being moderately high-scoring and hovering right around the pointspreads for side and total. I don't see the Giants being any closer to victory on the second go-round minus an unexpected turnover burst from New England; Belichick and his crew have had two weeks to prepare and extend their natural coaching advantage. New York will probably be coming from behind, perhaps as early as the second quarter, and they will be more predictable if they are. New England will look to establish great offensive balance between the run and the pass and in all likelihood they hit their offensive trough in their unimpressive effort against San Diego two weeks ago. The Giant pass rush will have to force at least two fumbles from Tom Brady or an equivalent number of interceptions from what would be uncharacteristically poor throws. Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress will probably each have decent but not hugely explosive games. Interestingly enough, neither team has punted the ball very well this season, so defensive stops could well result in good field position for the incoming offenses. In the end, the field for MVP will probably end up being crowded with a few possibilities, but Brady will take it, not least of which because the media has been snowed about the "adversity he is overcoming with his injury." New England finishes running the slate with a Super Bowl 42 win, 34-20.

How Do You Arrive At Your Super Bowl XLII Prediction

by Jason Jones

Ask yourself one question…What percentage of people across the country are rooting for the Patriots and how many are rooting for the Giants? The national media has spun this Super Bowl even harder than any other in recent memory. I guess that is justified, since we are about to witness history one way or another. They would have you believe that the “rooting breakdown” is barely 55/45 in favor of the Patriots. I clearly think it really is more like 70/30 in favor of the Patriots. The following is courtesy of ESPN.com. This is a collection of people who have given their picks for the Super Bowl. I have supplied all 129 of them with score and team. This list includes ESPN employees as well as celebrities that span sports, acting, music, etc. If that was not enough, I have done some basic adding and came up with what the average score would be according to people who honestly think the Giants will win. The average score by people who believe the Patriots will win. And, yes, the average score of all 129 people included. Enjoy, I’m not very good at math, so this was a son of a bitch.

ESPN STAFF and Selected Celebrities

1. Jeffri Chadiha: 24-23 Giants
2. John Clayton: 38-24 Patriots
3. Matt Mosley: 31-17 Patriots
4. Len Pasquarelli: 31-20 Patriots
5. Mike Sando: 30-20 Patriots
6. John Banks: 42-21 Patriots
7. Mike McAllister: 34-24 Patriots
8. Scott Symmes: 27-24 Giants
9. Sheldon Spencer: 27-23 Giants
10. Jeremy Green: 27-23 Patriots
11. Keith Kidd: 27-20 Patriots
12. Matt Williamson: 33-20 Patriots
13. Ken Moll: 28-17 Patriots
14. Doug Kretz: 31-17 Patriots
15. Marwan Maalouf: 28-27 Patriots
16. Gary Horton: 31-20 Patriots
17. Bill Simmons: 42-17 Patriots
18. Greg Garber: 38-21 Patriots
19. Gregg Easterbrook: 20-19 Giants
20. Jemele Hill: 38-31 Patriots
21. Wright Thompson: 35-3 Giants
22. Paul Newman (actor) Tie ---------
23. Joanne Woodward (actor) 28-14 Patriots
24. Jack Nicklaus (golfer) N/A Patriots
25. Arnold Palmer (golfer) 28-21 Giants
26. Gen. Mike Hayden (Dir CIA) 28-24 Giants
27. Martina McBride (singer) 31-27 Patriots
28. Placido Domingo (singer) 24-21 Giants
29. Serena Williams (tennis) N/A Giants
30. Don Rickles (comedy) 21-12 Patriots
31. Phyllis Diller (comedienne) 30-10 Patriots
32. Lebron James (cle cavaliers) 34-14 Patriots
33. Dwayne Wade (mia heat) 27-17 Patriots
34. Shaquille O’Neal (mia heat) 21-20 Giants
35. Keith Olbermann (msnbc) 27-21 Giants
36. Bill O’Reilly (fox) 31-30 Giants
37. Michael Phelps (swimmer) 24-17 Patriots
38. Mitt Romney (anti-Christ) 28-14 Patriots
39. Michael Bloomberg (Mayor) 31-28 Giants
40. Elisabeth Shue (actress) 31-20 Patriots
41. Mamie Van Doren (sex icon) 28-7 Patriots
42. Jerry Mathers (leave it to beaver) 30-27 Patriots
43. Bobby Thompson (baseball Giant) 28-21 Patriots
44. Ralph Branca (Brooklyn Dodger) 34-31 Giants
45. Chuck Yeager (pilot) 28-17 Patriots
46. Mickey Rooney (actor) N/A Patriots
47. Yogi Berra (NY Yankee) N/A Giants
48. Steven Van Zandt (sopranos) 20-14 Giants
49. Wayne Newton (singer) 35-30 Patriots
50. Dave Grohl (foo fighters) 24-21 Patriots
51. Dana Delany (actress) 28-21 Patriots
52. Mark Cuban (owner Mavericks) 28-16 Giants
53. Dr. Joyce Brothers (psychologist) 17-10 Giants
54. Andy Williams (singer) 21-7 Patriots
55. Barry Williams (brady bunch) 42-27 Patriots
56. Christopher Knight (brady bunch) 31-20 Patriots
57. Shirley Jones (partridge family) 34-20 Patriots
58. Adam West (original batman) 24-14 Patriots
59. Dawn Wells (gilligan’s island) 28-17 Patriots
60. Russell Johnson (gilligan’s island) 21-20 Giants
61. Haley Joel Osmond (sixth sense) 34-20 Patriots
62. Dick Vitale (espn coll basketball) 28-24 Giants
63. Dennis Miller (comedian/radio host) 19-0 Patriots
64. Dennis Farina (actor) 27-24 Giants
65. Randy Jackson (American idol) 31-24 Patriots
66. Tobin Bell (Jigsaw from “Saw”) 17-14 Patriots
67. Pam Shriver (tennis broadcaster) 24-13 Patriots
68. Neal McDonough (actor) 38-14 Patriots
69. Robert Patrick (actor) 35-17 Patriots
70. Stacy Keibler (wwe/actress) 32-17 Patriots
71. Jess L. Martin (actor) 25-21 Giants
72. Gordon Clapp (actor) 41-10 Patriots
73. Dr. Pat Robertson (reverend) 20-14 Giants
74. Dr. James Dobson (reverend) 34-24 Patriots
75. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) N/A Patriots
76. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) N/A Giants
77. Scott Turow (author) 21-17 Giants
78. David Wright (N.Y. Mets 3B) 27-24 Giants
79. Omar Epps (actor) 35-24 Patriots
80. Marisol Nichols (actress) 35-21 Patriots
81. Susan Anton (singer/actress) 31-28 Patriots
82. Dierks Bentley (singer) 27-24 Giants
83. Kirsten Haglund (miss America) 31-20 Patriots
84. Rachel Smith (miss USA) 29-28 Giants
85. Vince Neil (singer/Motley Crue) 49-14 Patriots
86. Tony Sirico (actor/sopranos) 35-31 Giants
87. Christopher Gorham (actor) 27-17 Patriots
88. Dominic Chianese (actor/sopranos) 24-21 Giants
89. Jon Tenney (actor) 27-24 Giants
90. John Slattery (actor) 41-28 Patriots
91. James Denton (actor) 23-20 Giants
92. Dick Van Patten (founder NBPF) 35-14 Patriots
93. Ed Asner (actor) 7-3 Giants
94. Eva Marie Saint (actress) 38-35 Giants
95. Marlee Matlin (actress) N/A Giants
96. Shelley Berman (actor/comedian) 28-21 Patriots
97. Dionne Warwick (singer) 27-17 Giants
98. Bob Weir (musician) 31-24 Patriots
99. Joan Jett (singer) 35-21 Giants

100. Tom Scholz (boston) 28-21 Patriots

101. Rodney Atkins (singer) 42-17 Patriots

102. Dolph Lundgren (actor) 21-13 Giants

103. Carl Weathers (actor) 31-17 Patriots

104. Leroy Neiman (artist) 31-21 Patriots

105. John Cena (wwe wrestler) 34-14 Patriots

106. Maria Menounos (tv host) 30-27 Patriots

107. Julia Mancuso (skier) 31-28 Patriots

108. Kerry Walsh (volleyball medalist) 35-27 Patriots

109. Jeremy Wariner (track medalist) 24-17 Patriots

110. Mike Eruzione (1980 US hockey) 38-21 Patriots

111. Karch Kiraly (volleyball medalist) 28-17 Patriots

112. Tyson Gay (track star) 27-14 Patriots

113. Sanya Richards (track star) 21-17 Giants

114. Clint Bowyer (NASCAR) 45-24 Patriots

115. Matt Kenseth (NASCAR) 24-21 Giants

116. Jeff Burton (NASCAR) 34-13 Patriots

117. Ted Giannoulas (SD Chicken) 34-26 Patriots

118. Carrot Top (comedian) 27-23 Patriots

119. Scott Adams (dilbert) 37-21 Giants

120. Judy Tentuta (comedienne) 28-21 Patriots

121. Penn Jillette (penn and teller) N/A Patriots

122. Sean Salisbury (ESPN) N/A Patriots

123. Merril Hoge (ESPN) N/A Giants

124. Ron Jaworski (ESPN) N/A Patriots

125. Mark Schlereth (ESPN) N/A Patriots

126. Mike Golic (ESPN) N/A Patriots

127. Mike Ditka (ESPN) N/A Giants

128. Keyshawn Johnson (ESPN) N/A Patriots

129. Emmitt Smith (ESPN) N/A Patriots

ESPN SportsNation Poll (as of Feb 1) – 492,651 total votes

Patriots will win-60.7%

Giants will win-39.3%

Total Score and Average Score of those taking the Giants

939-734 (in favor of the Giants)

26.08-20.38 (giving the Giants a +5.7 point margin of victory)

Total Score and Average Score of those taking the Patriots

2293-1390 (in favor of the Patriots)

31.41-19.04 (giving the Patriots a +12.4 point margin of victory)

Total Score of All Participants (129-not including the D-Bags who are too lame to actually pick a winner and chose to go with a tie in a non-tie era).

3232-2124 (in favor of the Patriots)

29.65-19.48 (giving the Patriots a +10.17 margin of victory)

If you do not have a rooting interest and might have been wondering how to make a pick without getting to completely immersed into it, this may be the best way to go. In a manner of speaking, this is the “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire-ask the audience” analogy. That is of course, if 129 of the ESPN employees and a gamut of celebrities were an audience at your disposal. If that is the case, then maybe your pick should be…

PATRIOTS, 30-19 (by way of rounding up or down).

Championship Sunday preview

By Rick Morris

The inescapable conclusion after last Sunday is that the stunning upsets we witnessed are preventing us from witnessing what could have been a much better Championship Sunday (the thought of this saddens me greatly – it’s one of my favorite days of the year and I love to have my friends over for a daylong feast of gridiron). Indy and New England clearly have established the greatest intra-conference rivalry of the decade, joining the Dallas/San Francisco battles of the ‘90s, the San Francisco/Washington/New York Giants triad of the ‘80s and the Pittsburgh/Oakland struggle of the ‘70s in the pantheon of great back-and-forth struggles. Likewise, Dallas and Green Bay have established a tremendous history both separately and in epic games against each other and both clearly appeared to be on a clear path to the NFC title game. The games we are left with seem to be lacking compared to what might have been.

AFC Championship Game: The Patriots delivered a huge 38-14 beatdown back in September, at least momentarily taking the air out of the sails of a Charger franchise itching for a legitimate rivalry with the Team of the Decade after last year’s crushing playoff loss. In fairness, the Chargers were still adjusting to a new system after massive coaching changes coming into 2007 and were not ready to be pronounced as brutal failures under Norv Turner, as I and so many others did. Nevertheless, they still don’t stack up as well against the Pats as the Colts, who probably also would have lost but probably would have kept it closer. San Diego is banged up, with key injuries at QB, RB and TE – while all of their big-name players will probably participate in some role, the team will suffer mightily for them not being 100%. The Hoodie will be prepared for either Philip Rivers or Billy Volek; don’t be surprised if there is some shuffling between these quarterbacks in a vain attempt to gain a matchup edge of some sort. Ironically, Charger castoffs Rodney Harrison and Junior Seau have been playing very well this year and pose two significant obstacles for their old team. On the other side of the ball, Jacksonville has taken an unfair “20/20 hindsight” rap this week for not pressuring Tom Brady more; frankly, what they accomplished was to avoid a string of humiliating big plays with him decimating their blitz. The cold, hard reality is that it takes more than 11 defenders to shut down the New England offense this year, period. As far as I can tell, the league is granting San Diego no special dispensation Sunday and they will have to get by with the standard 11! The only hope for the Chargers, and it is a very remote one, is for playmaking corners Antonio Cromartie and Quentin Jammer to account for at least three turnovers and for the offense to convert almost every conversion. It won’t happen. New England wins, 38-17.

NFC Championship Game: Call it heresy given the copious amounts of respect coming their way, but I’m still not very impressed with the Giants. The alpha and omega of their defense is a pass rush; that’s it. Giant discard Ryan Grant is the real deal, a legitimate superstar who had his first career-defining game last week in the massacre of Seattle. He has provided the impressive Packer offense with the balance it lacked for the first half of the year and he figures to run all over the New York D. While the fearsome pursuit the Giants can bring will result in a few sacks and knockdowns of Brett Favre, he will nonetheless pick apart the secondary with precision most of the time. Meanwhile, Eli Manning’s recent hot streak should not end with a sudden thud in this game. The Giants should be able to use their rotation to establish the power running game in the snow and keep the Green Bay defense honest. I do look for one or two key interceptions, including a late one to seal the first Packer Super Bowl berth in a decade. Green Bay wins, 27-16.

I Hope It Is Not Too Soon

by Jason Jones

WARNING: If you are easily offended by religious discussions or generalizing about the effects of the recently deceased, you might want to reconsider reading the following article.

I want to preface this by saying; it is never good when someone dies. I can empathize with what a person goes through when a close friend is lost. Now to imagine that emotion multiplied by 60 or 70 people. Then say the person that is lost is employed by a company that has millions of fans. That is a lot of people claiming to feel loss. I get that, to some degree, but when does it end. If you have not figured it out yet, I’m speaking of Sean Taylor and the Washington Redskins. Most people don’t know what goes through a person’s mind when you lose a friend who is also a teammate. I do. As much as it is difficult to deal with, you pay respects and maybe even dedicate the game or season to him, but it never lasts this long. I can guarantee you of one thing. The Redskins players may have known Sean longer than I knew Jay. However, they were not within 25 feet and 15 minutes prior to their teammate’s murder. I was. So when I say what I say on this issue I can empathize with what they must be feeling and in some ways feel worse. They were some number of states away; thousands of miles. I was within feet and minutes. I get the desire to dedicate the entire season to his memory. The decals on the helmet are more than understandable. And to some degree I can even understand the media’s propensity to want to revisit this great story. Washington loses their starting safety via murder. The very next game on an emotional short week, they lose their starting quarterback to injury. After a record of 5-7 the team had to do something and do it quick to salvage their season-which they consequently dedicated to Sean Taylor. Insert Todd Collins. The quarterback change had to have something to do with the turnaround. Let’s not chalk this one up to God and Sean Taylor just yet. Todd Collins has been waiting to start an NFL football game for 10 years. Chris Cooley had been leading the team in receptions and yards. Clinton Portis was running better. The defense was playing solid for what would become four games. Sure you can give the emotional state of the team some credit for their play, but not all of it. Most of this blame should be placed on the national media as a whole. This is a teammate, not a sibling. We dedicated the season and the home opener to Jay. We won the home opener in cinematic fashion. The season turned out better than we initially thought it would. And yes, often we felt Jay was looking down on us. Even as I have lost track of most of those teammates, I am sure we all remember Jay often. Here’s the rub, we never went into a game insinuating that Jay was responsible for us winning a close or un-winnable game. Behind closed doors the lost teammate can be a personal motivation, but if you were going to listen to the media…They would have you believe that Sean Taylor is in heaven orchestrating each of the events of the following games as if he is some divine puppeteer. The world doesn’t work that way. It’s just like when a football player makes an amazing play and says, “If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t have been able to do it”. No S@#t ! If one is to believe in some divine ruling body (to cover all religions), then you could not possibly believe that you would physically be alive without your God. To believe that your God sits up there and pinpoints and manifests each and every aspect of your performance is ridiculous. Sure maybe your God gave you the talent that allowed you to make the high school team, then get seen by that college scout, and so on and so on. I am absolutely exhausted with all of this Sean Taylor propaganda. As if I should watch this Redskins vs. Seahawks game because the story of the Redskins be lifted up on high at the hands of Sean Taylor. There is no supreme being who spends each and every second a team spends on the field doing what it needs to to ensure that your team ends up victorious. The whole concept is absurd. The Redskins are a middle of the road football team who went on a run in the last quarter of the regular season; it’s a small factor if not coincidental that it’s the same team who had a player who was murdered. Now that the Wild Card game is over…Are we to believe that Sean Taylor went on a coffee break in heaven when the Skins missed that FG and it was all down hill after that? No. It’s never as good as you think and it’s never as bad as you think. It is what it is. A team on a nice playoff run fell to a better team. There was no divine intervention involved. I’m sorry, but this whole Sean Taylor issue is shades of, “The Saints will win the Super Bowl because they are playing for the victims of Hurricane Katrina”. Give me a break. It still comes down to throwing, catching, running, and stopping the other guy. There is not much more to it.