Life and Stuff

A Boston sports fan will usually be the last person to admit that their team was lucky to win the game, but this Boston sports fan is about to break the mold. To put it as simply as possible, the Patriots got lucky Monday night and absolutely stole one from the Baltimore Ravens. Just when it looked like the incredible streak was over, The Baltimore Ravens set a new high in stupidity led by Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan and LB Bart Scott. Scott has not only won the "Moron of the week" award, but he may have won it for the year as well. It all started when The Ravens appeared to have stopped the Pats on a fourth and one with about ninety seconds left in the game. Unfortunately, one of the officials saw Ryan signal for a time out before the ball was snapped, thus blowing the play dead. I have no clue why Ryan called time. Maybe it was because he wanted to attempt to ice Tom Brady, but Tom Brady is the most calm, cool, and collective athlete you will find in the league today, just like his idol Joe Montana. Ryan should have saved the time out for the offense, because even the most casual of fans would have known that the Ravens were going to get at least one crack at the end zone before time ran out.
Brady promptly fired a TD to Jabbar Gaffney to put the Pats ahead. That is when Scott swore at an official and got nailed 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. Not satisfied with the first penalty, Scott grabbed the penalty marker and threw it into the stands drawing another 15 yards. Scott's actions put his team in grave danger, but shame on the officials for not ejecting Scott from the game once he threw the flag into the crowd. If Roger Godell can fine Tom Brady for failing to buckle a chin strap on his helmet, he can certainly fine Bart Scott for his unprofessional behavior. I know the Ravens almost got a miracle hail Mary, but there were holds all over the place on the play and it probably would have been whistled down anyway had Boller found the end zone. So, the Patriots did get lucky because the Ravens could not control their emotions and come up with the big play when they needed it the most. Now then, on with the bullet points.

• If you think Brett Favre won't start this Sunday against the Raiders, you're crazy. Favre may have had a game he would like to forget against the Cowboys but only a hospital visit would keep him off the field, the man is too gutsy.

• The ESPN telecast of the Pats/Ravens game was an absolutely disgusting display of bias on a national broadcast. It all got started with that entirely false rumor Ron Jaworski spread about Moss dogging it against the Eagles. Then they brought up old man Shula to the booth in a pathetic effort to jinx the Pats. When Kevin Faulk made that first down after the Raven time out, Mike Tirico sounded like his dog died as he acknowledged that the Pats got the first down. Let's face it, the media is jealous of the Patriots because they don't go out of their way to give them the scoops they want and they are not a likable team in the eyes of the national media.
  

• Hines Ward and the Steelers played with anger on Sunday that led to a key win over the Bengals that was fueled when they found out Bengals WR TJ Housmanzadeh used one of those awful terrible towels to wipe his shoe. That's okay TJ, if someone handed me one of those silly hankies, I would have blown my nose with it.

• Way to go Panthers, you put 31 points up on the board with Vinny Testaverde at QB. Of course you did play the lowly 49's, so that may have had something to do with it.

• Another round of kudos goes out to our boy Gus Ferrotte, who threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in a win over the Falcons. However, he did throw two picks, but then again, it was the Falcons, one of the worst teams in the NFL.

• Anyone else think Chris Redman will start for the Falcons on Monday night against the Saints?

• I hate to pick on the Redskins but they did two things that I felt were inexcusable in their loss to Buffalo on Sunday. First of all, I understand that they wanted to honor the memory of Sean Taylor by leaving his safety spot unmanned on the first play from scrimmage. But, even the worst offense will be aware of the gap and try to expose it, which is exactly what the Bills did. Second of all, if there is a coach in the NFL that I would expect to have memorized the rulebook from cover to cover, it's Joe Gibbs. You can't risk a penalty that would give the opposing kicker a better chance to win the game towards the end of it. In calling two time outs resulting in a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Gibbs single-handedly turned a long field goal into a chip shot for Bills K Rian Lindell.

• I pity the poor Dolphins. They have not scored an offensive touchdown in three weeks, and their defense got blown out by the mediocre Jets offense. After 12 games, they're still looking for answers.

• Please tell me that the Jets will never wear those throwback New York Titans uniforms ever again. Those are some ugly duds.

• A strong passing game by Vince Young on Sunday leads me to believe that he may have found his passing touch again.

• I knew AJ Feely was a phony! He threw four picks on Sunday, four picks! Even Gus Ferrotte didn't throw that many interceptions. I guess you can put the rumors of a QB controversy in Philly to rest for the time being.

• Hey John Kitna, do you still think the Lions are going to win 10 games this year after the pasting you took in Minnesota on Sunday?

• Andre Allison's kickoff return for a touchdown on Sunday set a new NFL record for kick returns in a season with 19. What happened to the days when a kickoff return TD was a rare thing?

• In speaking to the media on Sunday, Lions coach Rod Marinelli said, "Our fundamentals were off, that's my responsibility not theirs." This has been yet another quote of an obvious nature from the people who brought you duh.

• The Jaguars blew their hopes at a division crown with their loss to the Colts.

• Raiders QB Duante Culpepper had to sit out their game against the Broncos after spraining something while racing a teammate in practice. After what Josh McCown did in leading them to a victory, he may just have to sit there a little bit longer.

• Speaking of quarterbacks named McCown, how about "Cool Hand Luke" throwing a last second TD pass in leading the Bucs past the Saints. Evidently there was no failure to communicate with his wide receivers.

• The Patriots were not the only team to get lucky this past week, you can throw the Cardinals into the mix too. Kellen Winslow Jr. was clearly forced out of bounds on a touchdown pass that would have given the Browns a win. Unfortunately, the officials did not feel he was pushed out of bounds and the Cardinals stole one.

• Eli Manning is a good enough QB that if you allow the score to remain close, he can lead the Giants to victory. Of course it doesn't hurt that the other team's QB was Rex Grossman.
  

• Last week's quiz answer was Carl Pickens. Since no one got it right, I'll try an easier one this week. Can you tell me the original name of old Foxboro Stadium?

• The workload has lessened, so I'll be back on Tuesday. Until then, good night and good luck.