OK, listen up people: The prohibitive favorite to win the NFL MVP plays for the New England Patriots.

His name should be Randy Moss.

Yes, Randy Moss.

Yes, I know, I know. Tom Brady is allegedly playing at an “elevated level” (love those cliché’s that seems to proliferate among announcers). Brady is on a pace to shatter the NFL record for completion percentage (74%), rating (134.0!), and touchdown passes. In fact, if Brady maintains his pace of 60 TD passes, it will rank with the home run record or Wilt's 50 pomts a game - stupefying and next to unbreakable.

Toss in the relentless John Madden man-crush on Tom Terrific (transferred from Brett Favre) that has been copied by every damn announcer (and you thought Favregasms were bad), and Brady looks like a lock.

Except that it would be wrong.

Go beyond the raw numbers, as impressive as they are for Randy: 66 catches for 1,052 yards and 16 touchdowns, a pace that will threaten the single season yardage record, and obliterate Jerry Rice’s TD record of 22 TD catches in a season. It is even beyond the freakish combination of 4.3 speed, the greatest ball skills in NFL history, and his superb hands that have terrorized every secondary he has faced.

Moss is the only receiver in football that can actually out run a Cover Two. Just ask his former coach Dennis Green as he says here.

"Teams might be in a two-deep [zone, with safeties splitting the back half of the field] but I always said Randy would run through the two-deep. To stop Randy Moss, you needed a deep two-deep."

The normal rules don’t apply to Randy Moss, because even when he’s covered, he’s dangerous, and a bad ball is still catchable.

Not since Bob Hayes frightened the NFL into developing zone defenses has any receiver impacted the league to this magnitude. And the lengths defenses go to contain him open the field for the entire Pats offense.

I know, you still want the MVP to go to Brady. After all, if Troy Aikman says it, it must be true, right? And a receiver is only as good as his quarterback after all.

Ok, try this on:

Exhibit A: Pats at Miami: These two TD catches against the Dolphins. Who else could come down with these balls? Does Brady even throw this pass before this season?

Exhibit B: Pats v. Colts. Colts lead 20-10, Brady is struggling. Brady tosses one deep, Moss beats the Cover Two for a momentum-changing 55 yard play. Pats score soon after to cut it to three, and then score again to preserve their undefeated season.

Exhibit C: These numbers: 92.6, 63.8, and 7.9.

Those are Tom Brady’s previous career highs in passer rating, completion percentage and yards per attempt.

This year those numbers are 134.0, 74.0, and 9.1

Coincidence?

The Pats are on a pace to destroy the season record for points set by the 1998 Vikings led by… Randy Moss.

More coincidence? Come on; say it is, I dare you.

Yes, Brady has Wes Welker, who is having a career season of his own. But Brady has had a Welker in the past – Troy Brown. Nice receiver, but neither he nor Donte Stallworth (2007’s Deion Branch) give cornerbacks and defensive coordinators night sweats.

And Tom Terrific has never had a year like this with Brown and Branch.

As to why Moss is not getting enough love from the press, well, he isn’t loved. Some of that he’s brought on himself. He didn’t cover himself in glory last year in Oakland, but frankly, that was not a professionally run franchise last year. Sorry, but I can’t drop all of the blame at Moss’ feet.

Besides that, many of the same people voting for the MVP love Brady and trashed the trade (including Pats Cheerleader Peter King). It may be too much to ask humbled Moss critics to see the light.

First, they’d have to wipe the egg off their faces.

Every so often, somebody just has to tick me off over something. And people ought to know better by now...

A few weeks back, FOX Sports resident Know-It-All Elliot Kalb wrote a piece proclaiming the late, great, Reggie White as the greatest sacker ever, and he went on to give his top 10 pass rushers ever.

Now, I don't have beef with that per se. It's his opinion, and you can add all of the standard disclaimers. Where Elliott dropped the ball is where he gave short shrift he gave to anyone who played before 1982, when sacks became an official stat.

As Deacon Jones, the Godfather Of The Sack said, "Since when does ‘all-time’ begin in 1982?"

You see, QB sacks are kind of like blocked shots in the NBA. No one who knows sports disputes that Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain blocked more shots than anyone else in NBA history. In fact, like their rebounding totals, I seriously doubt that it is even close. NBA ref Earl Strom believed that Wilt and Russell averaged at least 8 blocks a game in their primes.

Alas the NBA didn't even keep blocked shots as an official stat until 1974, the year after Chamberlain hung it up. This means that that record will always have an unspoken asterisk behind it. After all, how would it sound if home runs wasn't kept as a stat until 1970, and Barry Bonds hits 800? 

Now the NFL doesn't have to have that problem. An amazing guy named John Turney decided to find out if Bruce Smith really held the all-time sack record when he "broke" LT's "mark". He went through years of film, game charts, play-by-play descriptions since 1960. Eight years he worked on this project (I think we should also give even more props to his spouse/S.O.) and he came up with a list we can enjoy. Be aware though, that it may get modified a bit, and only goes through the 1999 season.

Bottom line: Stats only take you so far. Context is even more important.

First: Any great player, be it Deacon Jones, Jack Youngblood, whomever - if they played prior to 1978 season, they had 14 games to hunt QBs. Prior to 1961, the schedule was 12 games. Second: Defensive linemen probably were able to get away with more in the past. Offensive linemen could not extend their arms to pass block before the mid-1970s. The headslap (pioneered with devastating effect by Jones and Rich "Tombstone" Jackson) was legal until 1977. On the other hand, there are considerably more chances to sack QBs today with increased passing, and offensive blocking techniques and pass protection schemes are more advanced. So it might be a wash, but the longer schedule certainly favors the D-linemen of today, as well as the now-common practice of moving a great lineman around the field to take advantage of mismatch. Paul "Dr. Z" Zimmerman of SI (who's forgotten more football than I have ever seen) has a great list. Here is mine:

1. Reggie White - The Minister of Defense was one of the first linemen I remember who was moved around constantly so that he could pick on an offensive weak link. Reggie was fast enough to play end, and possibly the strongest lineman ever, and could destroy any and all blocking schemes as a tackle. Dr Z. points out that if Reggie had had the headslap in his arsenal, his numbers would be totally sick. I have to agree.

Trivia for you: Reggie had a 21 sack season for the Eagles. In 12 games. Yes, a 12 game season because of the NFL strike, he got 21 sacks. Damn.

Trivia Point 2: Not too many people get rules passed because of them. Larry Allen so frustrated Reggie with a "jam" move to the face, especially in playoff games against the Packers, that the NFL finally banned that move.

2. David "Deacon" Jones - The man who did the most to market the sack was also one of the best. Maybe THE best, as he had 173.5 sacks in 14 seasons. The cornerstone of the Fearsome Foursome had consecutive seasons with 21 and 22 sacks (in a 14 game schedule), and I'm fairly sure that Bart Starr didn't lie down and give him any free ones either. Once beat Hall Of Famer Forrest Gregg for four sacks in one game. Lombardi double-teamed him regularly after that.  And watching his footage and listening to him, I am convinced that the man was slightly crazy and took great pride in that.

 

3. Lawrence Taylor - I'm putting LT here simply because he was a revolutionary. 142 career sacks in 12 seasons, including at least one 20+ sack season (16 games). He did it from the right outside LB spot, although the Giants would move him around as well. Too strong for running backs, and most tight ends. Too fast for linemen. Too crazy for anyone other than Bill Parcells. When he talked about hitting somebody so hard that "snot bubbles" came out, he was serious. And you knew it. Some say he made the left offensive tackle position a glamour one because you needed one to handle him and the LT clones that every team sought.

4. Jack Youngblood - We all know he played a Super Bowl (and well) with a broken leg. Take that T.O. What most people don't know is that he racked up 151 sacks (mostly in the 14-game season era) as the strong side end (it was Fred "Hunter" Dryer on the other side). Youngblood got tagged by TEs as well as O-linemen most plays, so that makes his numbers especially impressive. The man was a bad-####, okay?

5. Bruce Smith - 200 career sacks, and 14.5 more in the playoffs according to Kalb. He probably hung around a bit too long (19 seasons), but if they are going to pay you, I quote Tupac; I ain't mad at cha. Incredibly quick, a conditioning freak, and relentless. Some would say he wasn't as complete as the men ahead of him on the list, but Smith actually got tougher against the run as he got older. I still can't believe the Oilers passed on him.

6. Gino Marchetti - Dr. Z. and I believe in rating this Old School destroyer this high. He was voted one of the best ends in NFL history at the league's 50th anniversary. Gino was another revolutionary who used incredible speed to nail at least one 20 sack season. Also pioneered the "grab and throw" move that is commonplace today.

 

7. Alan Page - Yes, I'm a Vikings fan. But hear me out: 15 seasons, he racked up 148.5 sacks, most of those in a 14-game season.

As a defensive tackle.

As a 245 pound defensive tackle. In fact, he played effectively late in his career at 228. And in case you are wondering, yes, that was really light even then. He also was the first defensive player to win a League MVP in 1971. Extremely intelligent, His Honor (he's currently a State Supreme Court Justice in Minnesota) also added superhuman quickness to take down enemy QBs. No other full-time DT is close to his totals. Given how seldom DTs turn in double-figure sack seasons, this record may stay a good long time.

8. Willie Davis - He was the best pass rusher on probably the best defense of his decade, the 1960's. The Packers had at least five Hall Of Fame starters on defense, Davis was one of them. Unofficially had at least two seasons with 20+ sacks. Can't wait to see the ultimate numbers, but he has to be on this list.

9. Al "Bubba" Baker - This list isn't about complete linemen, okay? I want to know how many heads you can collect when it's a passing situation. And for the first six years or so of his career, Bubba Baker was a wrecking crew. They used to keep a stat on how many sacks he racked up vs. games played. Understandable. He had 22-26 his rookie year, depending on whose numbers you used. Had 84.5 through his first 84 games. Finished with 128.5

10. Michael Strahan - I finally woke up to my fellow TSU (Texas Southern University) alumni in the 2000 NFC Title game. He absolutely embarrassed the late Korey Stringer; the Vikes Pro Bowl left tackle. I was ready to trash Korey, shame on me. Strahan is that good. I still don't like calling him the record holder. Can you imagine the uproar if Barry Bonds deliberately struck out to give Randy Johnson a strikeout record?

  

11. Derrick Thomas - Another great pass-rushing LB, who came closest to matching LT's pass rushing fury. Great first step and overall speed. When the Chiefs beat Houston 28-20 in a key 1994 playoff game behind Joe Montana, the real star was Derrick, who had 4 sacks of Warren Moon (the team had 9) as he just destroyed rookie (and future Pro Bowler) Brad Hopkins. In 12 seasons, he got 126 sacks, and holds the single game record of 7.

Trivia point: DT had those 7 sacks against Dave Krieg, but missed an 8th. Pity too. Krieg ducked under the sack attempt and fired the game winning TD on the final play of the game. Ouch. 

12. Mark Gastineau - Part of me wants to add him just to get people riled. That is fitting, since he riled a lot of people in his day. Again, I'm rating pass rushers, not the amount of class you showed doing it. Mark got a lot of chances to stir the pot too. According to Dr. Z, he averaged over 20 sacks over three full seasons, between 1981-84 (1982 was the strike year, and he won the Defensive MVP).1984 was the year he set the "official" sack record with 22. Gastineau did it with sub 4.6 speed (!) and great use of his hands. In fact, some people think it was Mark's sacks and dances that made the Jets push the NFL to make sack totals official.

    

I'll add a few more names to my list, Mean Joe Greene, some call him the greatest tackle ever, but I was surprised that his sack totals were so relatively low; Randy White, the "Manster" (1/2 man, 1/2 monster). 111 sacks in his long career and the total package at tackle. Only Page had more; Fred Dean, possibly the fastest pass rusher ever. Perhaps too light to be a great run defender, but was unstoppable when turned loose on the passer; Richard Dent, a Super Bowl MVP at DE for those great Bears defenses of the 1980s; Coy Bacon, who had 130 sacks in 14 seasons, all after the age of 26! Also had 21.5 sacks one season; Chris Doleman, who had 151 sacks splitting time between DE and OLB; L.C. Greenwood, a Hall Of Fame pocket crusher for the Steel Curtain, who probably lost sacks to some of his Hall Of Fame teammates; Kevin Greene, the all-time sack-holder for linebackers (160 in 15 seasons), although he spent some time at DE; Carl Eller, who had 133.5 in 15 seasons, most as Page's teammate; and Bob Lilly, the all-time great Cowboy DT.

“Son, you be prepared to work twice as hard for half the chance.”

- Advice given by my parents to me, circa 1972. Repeated on a regular basis ever since.

It was always about The Chance.

When you grow up black in this country, you recognize that race will always Be There. The Pink Elephant in the room that is America. If you don’t subscribe to being a victim, you also know that you have to you had to acknowledge it.
 

Then ignore it and work twice as hard. Or else the elephant tramples you.

For too many years in the NFL, the relevant pink elephant was whether blacks could be the acknowledged leaders of their teams. That is why centers, middle linebackers and quarterbacks who were black were such rarities. Centers make the line calls. Middle linebackers were the defensive signal callers, and there is no need to explain the quarterback position. First position to fall was the middle linebacker spot, with Willie Lanier leading a vaunted Kansas City defense in the 1960’s and 70’s. Eventually we have now got to the point where no one seriously thinks about switching a Vince Young to receiver.  And that is real progress.  You forget a future Hall Of famer like Warren Moon threw his first NFL pass at age 28.

  

2005. The elephant is not as pink as before. Smaller too. And maybe the elephant is gone from this corner of society for good. Because only the head coaching spot remains.

 

It is great to see the success of the Big Game Hunters Marvin Lewis, Lovie Smith, and Tony Dungy. It is easy to forget how hard the road was for each man to travel. For example, Dungy was the youngest defensive coordinator in NFL history at 29 with the Steelers. In his stints with Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Minnesota, Dungy's defenses were always among the NFL's best and most opportunistic. Yet, it took 10 years to get his shot. I mean how can anyone explain that? How in the hell did David Shula – David Freakin Shula - get a five year run in Cincy ahead of Dungy? And when he got his chance, it was with the pathetic Tampa Bay Bucs, the worst franchise in NFL history up to that point. All he did was turn them into a perennial contender.

 

In two years.  

Half a chance.

Twice as good.

In fact, with the exception of Marvin Lewis, every black coach in NFL history to date has gotten his team to the playoffs within two seasons. Art Shell, Ray Rhodes, Dennis Green, Dungy, Herman Edwards, Lovie Smith all did it in their 1st or 2nd season with their first teams. Only Edwards can be said to have walked into a situation that was not marked “Total Disaster”.   Half a chance.

 

Cleveland Browns fans should be inspired. 

 

 

I’m sure someone will read this and accuse me of bringing up the so-called “Race Card”, as if life is some game of BizzaroWorld game of Texas Hold ‘Em that I can win playing it at any time.

Please.

Don’t be upset with me. If you’re a Lions fan, be upset with Matt Millen because Crennell, Edwards, Smith and Lewis were available, and you got stuck with Marty Morningwheg and Steve Mariucci.

 

Bills fans, you must be happy with Gregg Williams and Mike Mularkey right now. And Bears fans? Oh yeah, the front office got wise and got Lovie.

 

The tragedy is that the NFL had to mandate interviews just to get a qualified minority candidate in the front door – which met with some criticism. Not surprising, because doing The Right Thing isn’t easy, and seldom painless.

 

You know, whenever we talk about race in this country, and our efforts to atone – or at least redeem - for past sins, some people usually think it’s about getting even.

 

It’s never been about that. It’s about starting even. About the simple acknowledgment of The Elephant when it matters. Hell, anyone can acknowledge it 50 years later.

 

Perhaps acknowledging The Elephant will help Art Shell. The man is still waiting for a second chance - hell he's still waiting for a serious interview - despite a 54-38 (.587) record. You look for reasonable, rational reasons why when Dave Wannstedt goes 82-86 in two tries, and Norv Turner gets two shots to go 58-80-1. Ask yourself why Sherman Lewis never got a chance. I don’t want to look in that dark corner, but when the rational explanations are exhausted, what are you left with? But now, just maybe, we’re seeing an end to an era. It’s why I root for a Colts-Bengals AFC Title Game.

 

So that when I see it, I can say it. Ding ####. The Elephant is dead. Here’s to The Chance.

Yo RedMan (not the rapper), er, Mr. Claus. Can I call you Brother Santa?

Relax, this isn't about me. I'm thinking of my fellow men and women, so here goes. Get that pen and pad ready. I was thinking that my friends in the the FOX Blog World could help me on this if they want.

Anyhow, here is my list:

David Stern - A FUBU jogging suit, just so he could abide by a better dress code when he sits courtside.

Larry Brown - The patience of Job while he works his magic on the Knicks. And a true point guard who can put up with Larry Brown.

Kobe Bryant - Ben-#### for his shooting arm.

Phil Jackson - A true number two scorer to pair with Kobe. 

Marvin Lewis - An AFC Title Game matchup against the Colts.

Terrell Owens - A clue and some self-esteem. Yeah Santa, I said self-esteem. There is a real difference between loving yourself and being in love with yourself. If that's too tall an order, how about a series called, "The Surreal Life: Terrell and Donovan"?

Brett Favre - A coach who isn't awed by The Legend Of Brett Favre. You know a coach who will see one of those "What in the @#&*#$@ was he thinking!" throws that Brett is good for three times a game, and ask him, "WHAT IN THE @^(*@#  ARE YOU THINKING!"

Jose Canseco - A chance to play in the World Baseball Classic. Not sure which planet he'll represent yet.

Ron Artest - See Terrell Owens. Oh and Santa, go extras on the Common Sense please?

Barry Bonds - Public drug tests. And a 100% pass rate.

The NHL - Can I get back to you on that one Santa?

The Chicago Bears - A playoff game in a foot of snow. I love snow Santa...

The Philadelphia Eagles Front Office - A visit from Jacob Marley. Hey, T.O. may have been a Wack-O, but you fight with every vet over money except for McNabb. It's caught up to you. Finally.

George Steinbrenner - Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens - The Boston Red Sox

Julio Franco - A chance to drive in Rickey Henderson after a single and steal of second. 

Serena Williams - A year of good health. And another S.I. Swimsuit spread, please?

And a final wish, a serious one Santa,

To Tony Dungy and Family - Peace of mind from The Man, and all of the consolation that we can muster. I'm just one of many many sports fans and others who recognize your class exceeds your considerable coaching talent. Santa, make sure that Tony knows that, ok?

Yours truly,

The Doc

 

 

 

Looking back at the games of the weekend... give props to the the Bengals for clinching their first division title since 1990 by spanking the Lions. Marvin Lewis takes another step towards Coach Of The Year. Carson Palmer breaks Ken Anderson's team record for TD passes. And I thought he was a system QB at USC....I stand corrected.

I was of the belief that if Tony Dungy went 16-0, he should automatically win Coach of the Year. Even if the Colts finish 15-1 or 14-2, he still should be one of the top two candidates.

However, when you look at how far the Bengals have come, from league (bad) joke - a franchise that players either saw their careers ruined (see David Klinger), or couldn't wait to leave (see: any number of players over the last 15 years), to a serious threat to either Indy or New England, Marvin is the man.

And he did it in less than three years.

In a related note, you can't help but notice how the fans in Detroit have turned on the team and Matt Millen. Millen could have had Marvin Lewis. He went for Marty Mornhinweg. After that predictably proved disasterous, he skipped the interview process and then picked up Steve Mariucci. Can't say I totally blamed him for the latter move. After all Mooch had some success in SF, and he was a hot prospect.

Yet, you just know Lewis was a good coach just waiting for a chance. As was John Fox, Charlie Weis, Lovie Smith and Romeo Crennel. And the best revenge is living well indeed.

...at least that's what I think the 1972 Dolphins are saying. As everyone knows by now, members of the that team that went 17-0 crack open a case of The Good Stuff whenever the last undefeated team goes down. 

That champange is starting to turn. In fact, I wonder what size Depends does Larry Csonka take?

Here's one for you dear reader: Suppose the Colts beat the Chargers next week to get to 14-0. If they lose before the regular season is out, will the Colts be recognized as 'equals' to the 1972 squad? I know the Dolphins won't want to acknowlege them until they go 16-0 (and if they lose in the playoffs, Lord help them), but what about YOU?

The Colts have to beat San Diego and Seattle in the next three weeks to run the table. Given how much tougher their schedule 

On a related subject, if Tony Dungy's crew can go 16-0, he gets Coach Of The Year. End of story.

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One day, Jerome Bettis will retire. And a smart GM will sign him to a 2 month contract for December and January only. He'll rumble in the snow, rack up 3-4 100 yard games, hurt some linebackers, get some playoff money, then go home. You figure Bettis could play until he's 40 or so.

Is just me, or is Mike Tice starting to look like the next Wayne Fontes? You know, high expectations, get to the brink of firing, then his team saves him with a late rush.

Oh, and don't tell me the Vikings are better off without Randy Moss. Unless he funded The Love Boat a couple of months ago, the Vikings are proof that chemistry is about winning more than the reverse. Hard not to notice that both Troy Williamson and Napolean Harris were inactive. These were the guys that Randy Moss was traded for.

I won't bet against the Pats playing the Colts again in the AFC Title game. I'd like to see some fresh blood at the top, but I'm not stupid.

Kyle Orton. Next!

The Seahawks are interesting. You have to make them the "cream" of the NFC, although I think it's more a case of the rest of the conference being sediment. However, Shawn Alexander is a absolute hammer (sign him NOW), Matt Hasselback does more than "manage the game" (footballspeak for "Don't screw it up!"), and the wideouts are getting healthy. The defense does what they need to do to win, and judging by the Monday Night beatdown they applied to the Eagles (man, I could have used those defensive points this week!), perhaps they are Good Enough. Not a great defense, but good enough to win some playoff games.

Which brings us to the Xmas eve showdown with the Colts. If Seattle has clinched homefield, they have no reason to pull out the stops in what normally could have been a benchmark game. The Colts will be under pressure to sit starters rather than go all out to protect their 16-0 mark. A game that has "Game Of The Year" stamped on it, could be a non-event.