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5923. wabbit - 12/31/2007 11:02:21 PM From disarray and heartache to confidence and dominance, the Washington Redskins will enter the playoffs as the hottest team in the NFC after Sunday's 27-6 win over the Dallas Cowboys with a hot quarterback and maybe the hottest running back. And with a defense coming off a game in which it allowed exactly 1 yard rushing. And, perhaps most importantly, on a mission for the teammate who wore No. 21. It's been four weeks since the Redskins attended the funeral of their best defensive player, and they haven't lost since. "Win for Sean" was as strong Sunday as it was when the four-game winning streak began Dec. 6, reinforced by everything from the fiery speech given by kick returner Rock Cartwright on the field before the game to the white "21" on the front of the black baseball cap worn by coach Joe Gibbs at his postgame news conference. The Redskins (9-7) will travel to Seattle on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. game, a rematch of a 2005 division playoff won 20-10 by the Seahawks. Washington will be riding the longest current winning streak in the NFC, including three straight victories by double digits. It's a remarkable renaissance for a team that stayed afloat with close, ugly games before losing four straight, the last defeat coming the day before Taylor's funeral.
Kerry Collins waited all season to prove his value in Tennessee. The Titans wouldn't have been celebrating Sunday night without him. Collins rescued his teammates in the most precarious circumstances, leading them to three straight second-half field goals in relief of injured Vince Young and helping Tennessee rally for a 16-10 win at Indianapolis that drew cheers from Nashville and moans from Cleveland. The final piece of the AFC playoff picture came down to the final game on the final weekend of the regular season. Tennessee had to win to make the postseason for the first time since 2003, while an Indy win would have sent the Browns to the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Inside the RCA Dome, you could almost hear the groans coming from the shores of Lake Erie when Peyton Manning traded his helmet for a headset early in the second quarter. To the Browns' chagrin, that was how the Colts chose to play.
Three teams finished the season 11-3; Indianapolis, Dallas and Green Bay. I'm rooting for Green Bay to meet NE in the Super Bowl.
| Wild Card Weekend | Game | | Sat, 1/5, 4:30pm | Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks | | Sat, 1/5, 8pm | Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers | | Sunday, 1/6, 1pm | New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | | Sun, 1/6, 4:30pm | Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers | | Divisional Playoffs | Game | | Sat, 1/12, 4:30pm | Seahawks/Bucs/Giants at Green Bay Packers | | Sat, 1/12, 8pm | Steelers/Jags/Titans at New England Patriots | | Sun, 1/13, 1pm | Chargers/Steelers/Jags at Indianapolis Colts | | Sun, 1/13, 4:30pm | Bucs/Giants/Redskins at Dallas Cowboys | | Conf. Championships | Game | | Sun, 1/20, TBA | AFC Championship Game | | Sun, 1/20, TBA | NFC Championship Game | | Super Bowl XLII | Game | | Sun, 2/3, TBA | University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. |
Finally, farewell to Vinny Testaverde, who announced his retirement on Saturday after a 21-year NFL career. I was sad to see him leave NE, and Tom Brady said Testaverde was "one of the best teammates I've ever had". Testaverde was a class act who battled through a horrible first six years in Tampa Bay to have a good NFL career. Maybe he'll end up coaching quarterbacks somewhere.5924. wabbit - 12/31/2007 11:08:20 PM  It was a perfect regular season for NE, who had a record-breaking finale in the 38-35 win over the Giants. The game could not have been scripted better. What a treat.
A big thank you to Roger Goodell of the NFL Network. This game was on their schedule, meaning a lot of people would not have seen it without going to a sportsbar. Goodell decided that a game of this magnitude should be seen everywhere, and as a result, it was simulcast by CBS and NBC. Thanks to Goodell, some 34.5 million viewers watched this game.
Thanks also to Tom Coughlin, without whom this game would have been a bore (yes, Tony Dungy, I'm thinking about you and Peyton Manning). Neither team had any real stake in the game, except for the records that the Pats stood to break (and they keep reminding us they don't care about those). The Giants weren't even going to play their first string team, according to the pundits. But Coughlin didn't listen to the pundits, and the Giants played like it was the Super Bowl, not a game that didn't really matter for them. Eli Manning had the game of his life for three quarters. He played like a kid who just enjoys playing, not the machine he too often becomes, and he completed some really impressive passes, including four for touchdowns. As long as they threw the ball, they owned the Pats defense for the first half.
By the second half, the Pats defense was starting to click and had better control of the game. They had taken away the Giants running game in the first half, and in the second they started pressuring Manning. By the fourth quarter, it was easy to see that the Giants were out of surprises; the Pats were all over them. And I can't be the only person who just *knew* that Randy Moss was going to run that exact same pattern again and get his record 23rd touchdown catch on Brady's record setting 50th touchdown pass. I can't believe the Giants didn't see that one coming.
Something happens on the sidelines that may partly account for the Pats success. When the Pats offense were off the field, they were watching the play of the Giants and Tom Brady has them huddling up to discuss things. Not with the coaches, just the guys who would be back on the field momentarily. They did this a lot, all season. I didn't see the Giants doing that. Eli Manning sat on the bench and rested, watched the game, but didn't engage his teammates. Brady is a leader, the other guys really want to play with him. I don't see that in Manning and the Giants. And he's running out of time, imo, to change his teammates' opinions.
Brady has had some year. In this game he went 32-42 passing for 356 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. For the season he had an NFL-record 50 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 4,805 yards (third all-time for one season), 68.9 percent completion rate and a 117.2 rating this season. Brady's previous high for touchdowns passes in a season was 28, which he eclipsed four hours before the Red Sox won the World Series. He's only the fourth quarterback to average 300 passing yards per game for a season.
The Patriots traded second-, fourth- and seventh-round picks (the 60th, 110th and 238th overall choices) in the draft last spring to Miami (60 and 238) and Oakland (110) for Wes Welker and Randy Moss, respectively. Between them, they got 210 receptions for 2,668 yards with an average of 12.7 ypc, and 31 touchdowns. That's some good trading.
There are those who say the Pats offense isn't playing as well now as they did at the beginning of the season. In the last five games of the year, three played with weather a factor, New England scored 27, 34, 20, 28 and 38. We'll take that kind of a slump any day.
I hope the Super Bowl is this good. I doubt it will be.
5925. jexster - 1/1/2008 12:41:00 AM Geaux Tigers!
5926. jexster - 1/1/2008 12:42:15 AM Anyone have naked pics of Tom Brady? 5927. jexster - 1/1/2008 10:57:08 PM Get your bets DOWN
Take Ohio State and the 4 1/2
5928. OhioSTOPAS - 1/2/2008 3:30:29 AM ??? Lacking confidence in your Tigers?
5929. wonkers2 - 1/2/2008 4:18:04 AM Nope. I'll take some of your Buckeye money. 5930. jexster - 1/2/2008 6:47:03 PM LSU is the dumbest team in college football. Even its white players are dumber than OSU's darkies. OSU's defense will be able to contain the LSU running game and their offense will a la Woody Hayes run it right up the gut of the overrated LSU defense and the grossly overrated Dorsey.
I always call a spade, a spade 5931. jexster - 1/2/2008 6:47:32 PM How could I forget Les Miles - most overrated coach in football 5932. wonkers2 - 1/2/2008 7:39:02 PM Put yer money where yer mouth is er shut up! 5933. wabbit - 1/2/2008 7:42:23 PM  Georgia would love to be back at the Superdome next week, playing for the title it really wanted. Instead, the Bulldogs will have to settle for being Sugar Bowl champs. Overpowering the country's last unbeaten team, black-clad Georgia took out its frustration at getting passed over for a shot at the BCS championship with a 41-10 rout of Colt Brennan and the Warriors on Tuesday night. Next Monday, on the very same Superdome field, Ohio State will meet LSU in the national title game. The No. 4 Bulldogs feel they're as deserving as either of those teams, and they'll certainly get no argument from Hawaii, which came to the Big Easy with a perfect record and left all beaten up.
This would have been a perfect Rose Bowl for the USC Trojans, except for the one part they couldn't control. They couldn't pick their opponent. The sixth-ranked Trojans routed Illinois 49-17 on Tuesday and showed the rest of the country that, yes, maybe they are the best team in college football right now. Certainly, a better test could have come against Georgia or Virginia Tech, or maybe next week against Ohio State in the national title game. But the Rose Bowl wanted a Pac-10-Big Ten matchup, and the national title game didn't want Southern California. So, it wound up being USC-Illinois in the Granddaddy of 'Em All, and the Trojans made the Illini pay.
Colorful confetti flip-flopping around him, fans in black and gold chanting his name, Tony Temple and his Missouri teammates were basking in a terrific ending to a magical season. Only one thing was wrong - the setting. See, this was the Cotton Bowl, not the national championship game they were a win away from reaching, and it wasn't the Orange, Fiesta or Sugar Bowl like they thought they deserved. Motivated instead of deflated, the guys from the 'Show-Me State' did their best to prove they belonged in the BCS by routing Darren McFadden and Arkansas 38-7 on Tuesday. Temple led the way, rushing for 281 yards and four touchdowns, both records in the 72-year history of the Cotton Bowl. Mizzou (12-2) was ranked No. 1 after beating Kansas in the regular season finale, then lost badly to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game - so badly that the Jayhawks wound up with an at-large berth into the Orange Bowl. Coach Gary Pinkel kept his team's spirits up by having them put together a list of reasons why Dallas was a great place to spend New Year's Day. Recruiting and appeasing their largest out-of-state alumni base likely were near the top.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was doused with water, surrounded by dancing players and then carried onto the field. He went out a winner. Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Hart ran for 129 yards and two scores and the Wolverines upset No. 9 Florida 41-35 Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl to win their first bowl game since 2003. This one was special. Michigan's senior class won its first bowl game in four tries and Carr ended his coaching career on a high note. Henne, Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham torched Florida's secondary all game. Arrington caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Manningham added five catches for 78 yards and a score. The Gators (9-4) kept it close thanks to four turnovers and plenty of big plays by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and speedster Percy Harvin. Playing with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and facing constant blitzes, Tebow was 17-of-33 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and a score. Harvin ran 13 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, and caught nine passes for 77 yards and a score. It wasn't enough.
NCAA Football
5934. jexster - 1/2/2008 8:02:20 PM I think the 2 best teams in the country played yesterday. USC and GA. I REALLY felt sorry for Hawaii...June Jones's Run and Shoot I wouldn't inflict on my worst enemy 5935. jexster - 1/4/2008 11:03:51 PM Golden Band from Tiger Land
 5936. jexster - 1/8/2008 5:29:21 AM Ohio State really sux 5937. jexster - 1/8/2008 6:32:04 AM The most over-rated sacks of dog shit since..since
Mr. and Mrs. Bill 5938. jexster - 1/8/2008 11:37:48 PM Fool us once Ohio U ...fool us twice
We won't get fooled again
LSU Good to Geaux 5939. OhioSTOPAS - 1/9/2008 4:30:46 AM Last I remember we were ahead 10-0, and then it's all blacked out. We won, right? 5940. judithathome - 1/10/2008 12:59:40 AM Hey, hello there, Ohio!! Stop by the Cafe and let us know how you're doing! 5941. Ms. No - 1/11/2008 8:00:04 PM I'm really bothered that Marion Jones is sentenced to six months in prison. She gets the maximum sentence while she's still nursing a child and yet Barry Bonds doesn't serve a day.
Not that I think steroids should garner a jail sentence anyway. Let their respective sports fine, expell and shame them. What the fuck purpose does it actually serve to put these people in jail? It's showboating, pure and simple. 5942. wonkers2 - 1/11/2008 8:09:17 PM Any opinions on who's lying Roger Clemens or his trainer, Brian McNamee? A knowledgeable acquaintance who believes Clemens is lying pointed out to me recently that Clemens went through periods of being a free agent several years in a row, possibly because MLB drug testing is not done on free agents. So, he could stoke up on steroids or whatever without fear of being tested.
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