Painful as it is to write, I have to extend some congrats to the New York Giants. They came into the Frozen Tundra and beat the Green Bay Packers fair and square. The officiating was great, the teams seemed very evenly matched. The Giants were just the better team this Sunday night. All of the talk about the Packers giving the Giants the game is ridiculous. If anything, the Giants were attempting to give the Packers the game. But I look to 3 key people for this loss: 1) First and foremost, it has to be Mike McCarthy. His inablility to maintain the gameplan that has carried them to the NFC Championship game is inexcusable. Why was Ryan Grant limited to just 13 carries all game? Instead we get a heavy dose of Favre, which leads me to my next finger-pointing; 2) Brett Favre. He has been phenomenal all year, eclipsed only by Tom Brady. However, he reverted to the "old" Favre last night, with errant passes, poor accuracy, poor choices, etc. The INT in overtime was the most inexcusable play of the game. That ball was so slow and poorly thrown, it was begging to be intercepted. My 3rd goat of the game is Al Harris. All season long we have heard nothing but how great the CB of GB are, and for the most part, they have played up to expectations. However, we saw glimpses of how Harris could be beat in the Dallas game, and he looked awful in this game. He seemed out of place and slow all game. His inability to cover Burress was the key to the Giant's victory. How many 3rd downs were converted on Harris's watch? And this leads back to my number 1 goat: Why, oh why, McCarthy, can you not send the hard-hitting Bigby over to help Harris? How many hits could Burress have taken in that cold before he starts to hear the footsteps? I am not saying that Burress gets alligator arms, but maybe he doesn't convert a few of those 3rd downs...It's not like all the blame falls on these 3--there were other defenders guilty of too many crucial penalties, and the entire defense failed to put enough pressure on Manning, but I still think the majority of the blame is awarded to my 3 goats.

That ends my whining. Congrats again to the New York Giants and their fans on an improbable Super Bowl berth.

As for Favre,I am probably alone among Packers fans who will look at this as a fluke game for for our ageless QB, but I am more than ready for him to retire. He has his SB ring, he has all the records that he can get, and I am ready for Rodgers to step in and show us he can at least manage the team, and not make crucial mistakes when the other team is begging you to take the game from them. I am not looking for the next Favre, Brady, or P. Manning; I would, however, take a Garrard, E. Manning, Rivers, etc. Someone who limits their mistakes and can throw to these truly gifted receivers. Please, Brett, do us and yourself a favor and hang it up before you become a punchline (if it's not too late already).

As for New England, hat's off to them for sending one more trash-talking chump scurrying home with his tail between his legs. Igor Olshansky, have you finally learned who the New England Patriots are? While you are mulling over your poorly chosen words, maybe you could research LT, A. Smith, Patrick Crayton, Splicer, Tony Dungy, Joey Porter, Don Shula, and anyone else I have forgotten this season that has spewn garbage at the Patriots and whom either individually or as a team has paid the price of irritating a Juggernaut. Good luck to the Patriots in the Super Bowl (sorry, Giants fans), and I hope you can finish an undefeated 19-0.

Kimmy

Um, actually, you won't.

Thanks in part to Patrick Crayton's two drops on important passes, the Dallas Cowboys will watch as the Giants head to Green Bay to face my Packers. Dallas has not played inspired football in over a month, while the Giants have been on a hot streak as of late. Despite these glaring facts, Dallas still had a chance to win the game at the end, but Romo came up short. Maybe all the talk of him being the next Favre was, in fact, premature. He clearly has a long way to go. And by the way, anyone who doesn't see right through T.O.'s "tearful" backing of his QB is either blind or painfully naive. T.O. found a clever way to deflect criticism from himself while not throwing his QB completely "under the bus", as the NFL network likes to say. I'm not buying it. Luckily he has until next season to get his acting skills up to par. And Crayton has until next season to rethink his trash-talking-to actual skill ratio. News flash: His trash-talking far outweighs his skill.

Let me be the first to say that while I saw the Giants upset coming a mile away, I was as shocked as most non-Charger fans to see them knock off Indy. In Indy. Without being 100%. I was so happy to know that we would not have to endure another "holier than thou" Colts team in the Super Bowl.

It's nice to see that Peyton Manning is back to his usual self--good regular season, choke in the playoffs. Is anyone else seeing what I've been saying for years? Peyton Manning is over-rated. I said it, and I am sticking by it. He is only the 3rd best QB in football right now, and it's not even close. the man has been surrounded by talent for so long that his numbers will be great, but he is not as good as the numbers project.

I have come to a conclusion about the Chargers. I have thought that L.T. has been a whiny, sore loser for the past 2 years, but I didn't realize that Rivers is a ####. Seriously, I know he had a good game, but who does he think he is? talking trash to ANY crowd (even Indy or Dallas) is a "class-less" move, as L.T. would say. BTW, why is it a travesty when the Patriots mock his team, but fine when his team makes complete A$$es out of themselves? Can we say hypocritical?

The Patriots looked good and Brady looked phenomenal aginst the vaunted Jaguars defense. It was nice to see Brady have a great game without Moss (I know--he was still a factor for coverage), but he actually seems to do better when he is not forcing passes to Moss. Congrats to New England, and I hope they can knock off San Diego next week. I am already tired of L.T. and Rivers.

Finally, my beloved Packers. i have to admit, I was worried when they went down 14-0. This score, coupled with increasing snow, seemed to set up a recipe for Favre INTs. However, the Packers stuck with Grant, who turned into a phenomenal game on the ground. Favre was great through the air, and the defense was solid, especially when they didn't have to defend from their own 4 yard-line. Every week, the Packers look more dangerous. Watch out to any team they have to face.

Saturday's games had a theme, as did Sunday's. Saturday's theme was great QB play, coupled with great a running attack, for home team victories. Sundays games showed more QB management of the game, along with under-performances by two of the "premier" QBs in the league, resulting in inexcusable home losses. I am not saying or guaranteeing that GB and NE are Super Bowl bound, but they have great chances. Good luck to both teams next week.

until then,

Kimmy

Congrats to the New England Players and Coaches for an undefeated regular season.  I am happy to say that we have witnessed history.  If my Packers do not reach the SB, I hope that the Patriots can round out this perfect season with a Super Bowl win.  In my book, there is no asterisk, and if you are not a whiny cry-baby or complete ####, there should not be any asterisk in your book, either.

Green Bay ended their season on a high note.  I didn't get to watch the game due to the pointless NO/Chicago "contest" (which ultimately meant nothing, as Washington won), but the highlights were enough to see that everyone played like they were supposed to.

I was happy to see that Dallas lost again, even if it didn't mean anything to the playoff standings.  Dallas played it's starters for a quarter and a half, and they played poorly.  This is what Dallas has become?  What happens if TO doesn't come back for their playoff game?  They could get bounced very easily, especially the way they have been playing.  Maybe all the talk of Romo being the next Favre was a little premature?

Congrats to New Orleans and Minnesota for playing like their playoff lives depended on the fianl game of the season.  Oh, wait--they didn't play very well.  And their playoff lives DID depend on it--at least, until Todd Collins and the Redskins dismantled Dallas. 

Here's looking ahead to next week--maybe we will see some better games.  I hope Washington can beat Seattle.  i would like to see the Redskins/Cowboys face off again.  The 'Skins have all the momentum...

Until next week,

Kimmy

Here it comes. The inevitable onslaught from the Bear fans who will try and use this last game as a platform to "prove" that the Bears are better than the Packers. Newsflash: They're not. This only shows that the Bears have had the Packers' number the last few years. The bottom line is that the Bears will still be watching the Packers in the playoffs from home. And honestly, the Bears winning did not hurt the Packers terribly, or help the Bears at all. I know a lot of people think that the Bears should be playing for pride, but the Bears have A LOT of work ahead to improve their team, and they need high draft picks. I actually hope they beat New Orleans next week so that they get an even lower pick.

As far as the game went, well, it was pathetic. I felt like I was watching the 3rd string offense out there for the Packers. They had one beacon of light--Ryan Grant--among the sea of darkness that was the offense and special teams. "Special" is right. I've seen mentally handicapped children that could play better on a punting unit. It was awful to watch. And the worst thing is, the Bears haven't exactly been doing this all year long. Yes, Hester has been running the punts back, but they haven't been blocking them much. Simply awful. No adjustments, nothing.

Thankfully, the Packers will NOT have to face Chicago in the playoffs. That feels good to say. Maybe they will get lucky and draw Minnesota somehow...

In the rest of the NFL, the Patriots marched on to 15-0, only one game away from perfection. Next Saturday they face a Giants team with nothing to gain by playing their starters, so they have that much better a chance of going 16-0. I personally hope they do it, and erase the '72 Dolphins' record we can't stop hearing about. I was happy to see the Patriots clobber the Dolphins, but I think the records the Patriots are chasing may be affecting their game. I hope that Brady and Moss get their respective records, but they seemed predictable in the second half, whereas they were near-perfect in the first half.

Anyway, here's to a (mostly) pointless week 17, looking forward to the playoffs.

Until next week,

Kimmy

Things went very well for the Green Bay Packers yesterday. First, they roll the admittedly weak St. Louis Rams to advance to 12-2. I realize the Rams are no powerhouse, but it was Favre, and it was a Dome, and given his past success in domes, anything could have happened. But Favre and Co. did their thing, through the air and with some help from the running game. Ryan Grant looked good, but a little unneccesary, given how well the passing game and defense were playing. And what happened to Atari Bigby? All season long it seriously looked like I could have covered better in the backfield, and then suddenly, he's a beast. Two INTs, some good pass coverage, and some good hits. Maybe Santa came early this year to Green Bay. Favre finally has the record that I didn't think he would be able to get--the passing yards record. I am still waiting for Marino to come out and say "Yeah, he's got the record, but I didn't play as long as him...". It's been the theme this year--why should he be any different?

Dallas looked terrible yesterday. I didn't get to watch the whole game, but what I did see was not impressive. Romo looked off even before his thumb injury, and it never seemed that the Cowboys could really get anything going. Luckily for them that they recovered every fumble, or the game could have been worse. Suddenly, the Cowboy fans that were lambasting the Patriots for squeaking by Philadelphia have become rather quiet. Turns out Johnson's defense is no joke. I am not holding my breath, but maybe Washington and/or Carolina could give the Packers and early Christmas gift and beat Dallas again. Let's see how great Dallas is if they have to go to Green Bay for the playoffs. BTW, do you still think Dallas is better than New England, Jimmy Johnson?

I believe Brian Westbrook was the most intelligent and classiest player on the field yesterday. You show me five other players that would have knelt down on the 1-yard line in order to run out the clock. Absolutely brilliant, and absolutely selfless.

I was a little dissapointed that I did not get to see New England pound Mangini and the Jets. Wind and rain are not conducive to high powered offense, as we have seen a year long. Maybe the Patriots will have better weather when they repay the Dolphins for Shula's arrogant comments. Now that the Dolphins have a win, no one is going to feel sorry for them anymore.

Normally, I don't care much for college football, but Rich Rodriguez earned #### of the Week. How do you say that you are going to stay with WV, sign an extension, and then bolt? I realize that a lot of coaches have done the bolting part lately, but as far as I know, none of them have signed extensions first. I really hope Rodriguez does poorly in Michigan. Karma, and all that.

I love it when Karma comes back to kick you in the ####

Anthony Smith must have been having a meeting with Karma during the Patriots Steelers game, because he obviosly didn't have time to try and cover New England's receivers.  Just goes to show you--put up or shut up.  Smith could manage neither.  Nor could the rest of the Steelers, apparently.  Nice one about seeing the Patriots again in the playoffs, though.  Not played out out at all.  Smith and Crayton should get together and go bowling.  I hear there are still lanes available at  Sore Loser Lanes...

And now to my favorite subject--the Packers!  After a dissapointing loss last week, I was treated to an impressive win over the lowly Raiders.  I know, I know.  It was just the Raiders, but the Packers did what great teams are supposed to do to lesser teams--they clobbered them.  The Packers clinched the division, and should be receiving the second seed and a 1st round bye.  All is well for this week.  The Packers only have one real test in front of them until the playoffs--the Bears.  For some reason, lowly Chicago can't put together enough defense to stop Eli Manning or the Redskins' back-up QB, but they always play Green Bay tough (at least over the past few years).  Should make for an exciting game that will likely be the reverse of what happened last year--the game meaning very little since one team is playoff-bound and the other is going to be watching from home.

As for the 1st NFC team, I almost had a glimmer of hope that they would lose yesterday.  I was excited and thinking about their games down the road--and then I remembered this was the Lions.  Game over before it began.  I know both Lions fans will probably write and say "But the Lions had it!  They just had to fall on that fumble!"  Again, they are the Lions.  This is what they do.

To other news; i.e. Michael Vick.  People are obviosly divided by the amount of time that he received.  Some people think that dog-fighting is no big deal, and that 23 months is too long.  I say he hasn't began to be punished.  Let's hope there are a few dog-lovers in prison with access to Vick.  Then maybe their will be some payback.  At least we can conclude that his career is most likely over in the NFL.  Good-bye and good-riddance.

 

Until later,

Kimmy

After the poor showing my Packers gave in Dallas this past Thursday, I didn't think I would be happy again unless they just destroyed Oakland.  Then I remembered the Bears had yet to play this week.  Next to a Packers win, nothing makes me happier than a Bears' loss.  And they lost in perfect fashion.  It seemed that nothing could go right for them, from the very start.  Rex Grossman injured (I felt really bad for him, actually...), which brought out the ever-interceptable Brian Griese (he did not disappoint).  When they went down 7-0 at the end of the first half, I had hopes that they were on their way out.  The second half got even better.  The Bears could not get anything going.  The offensive line was a mess, Griese is fast becoming the punchline of a joke that isn't that funny, and the defense.  Ah, the defense.  They did manage to shut down Portis' s running game, and then allowed Collins to throw for 224 yards and 2 TDs against them.  COLLINS.  This guy has not thrown a TD since 2002, and hasn't had a game like he had against Chicago since 1997.  I was 11.  What happened to this vaunted Bears defense?  They haven't really lost anybody (Brown doesn't count, since he hasn't been around for 3 years), so what gives?  Obviously, Urlacher is vastly over-rated this year.  The only times I heard his name called was when Collinsworth asked when they were going to call his name.  Nobody else really stood out, including Devin Hester, who was basically shut down despite the announcers continually trying to build up suspense everytime the Redskins had to kick.  We get it.  He's dangerous.  They can't just choose to not kick.  Besides, when the Bears offense is as bad as it was last night, it pays to kick it out of bounds and give it to them on the 40.  You'll be getting it back soon, anyway.

This just in:  Bryant Gumbel makes me wish John Madden was in the booth.  Seriously.  I cannot stand his just-woke-up-no-energy voice, and the fact that he knows next to nothing about football really fires me up.  My hell would include a play-by-play from Gumbel, Kornheiser, and Dan Dierdorf.  For all eternity.

On a positive note, Chris Collinsworth is as good as Gumbel is bad.

Anyway, here's to the Packers and hopes for a decisive victory this weekend.  And for a good game between New England and Pittsburgh, even though we already know who's going to win (right Anthony Smith?)...

Kimmy

 

After watching an admittedly interesting and exciting (but for the wrong reasons) MNF game, I have a few observations.  First, what game are the announcers watching?  I watched Ben Watson inexplicably drop an easy, perfectly-placed TD pass.  However, after the drop, we get treated to Jaws' commentary about the stifling Baltimore defense, and how they did a great job shutting down NE's offense.  Really.  So Brady going 3/3, and the Patriots marching down the field to the Baltimore 1- yard line was the result of "dominant defense"?  If Watson catches either of those two passes, and HOLDS ON, this game takes a different turn from the start, in my opinion.  After that, we are treated to a variety of pass interference on Patriot receivers from Raven D-backs that is not called.  Why, I am not sure.  I AM sure someone should have called the Baltimore PD, because there were muggings going on all over the field.  Seriously, I know that Wes Welker is a great receiver, but the refs should tell Baltimore that if they want to wear his number, they should buy his jersey rather than trying to crawl inside the one he's currently wearing.  There was so much holding of Welker on the Brady INT, I thought they were playing an impromptu game of Twister.  After all the no-calls that went on in the game; after 3 and 1/2 quarters of looking the other way while the Ravens mobbed the Patriots' receivers, the officials decide to throw the Patriots a bone and give Gaffney a TD that was not earned.  I watched the same "catch" that the ref standing 5 feet away saw, and the same "catch" that was reviewed by these "experts"--he was bobbling the ball when he went out of bounds.  Was it a catch?  Absolutely not.  Did it make up for the rest of the bad calls and no calls.  I think so.  But it shouldn't have to be like this.

BTW, here's a little head's up to the Patriot's receiving corps (minus Welker)--you are not playing Hot Potato.  You can keep the ball after you get your hands on it.  I promise.

This just in.  Kyle Boller cannot throw the length of the field.  Kudos to his teammates for gathering as many penalties as they can in order to myth-bust this little nugget of misinformation.  I'm still waiting to see when being able to throw the ball 50+ yards from your knees is going to come in handy...

Here's to hoping the officials will finally get a game right...

Kimmy

 

 

 

Well, the "Game of the Year", NFC-style, has come and gone.  The Dallas Cowboys proved they were the better team, and Charles Woodson proved he may actually be the Packers' MVP, since the other defensive backs appeared incapable of stopping Romo.  Period.  If TR had suddenly decided to toss TO a beach ball, he probably would have scored 4 TDs.  Likely two of them would have come off of penalties by Atari Bigby.  How in the world did he fool so many people into thinking he can play safety?  Or football?  Bigby is a liability for the Packers defense, and needs to be removed, immediately.  There does not seem to be any chance of the Packers gaining home-field at this point, given the Cowboys remaining schedule.  I don't see another loss mixed in anywhere, much less the 2 that would be needed.  So we will in all likelihood be seeing the Packers march back to Dallas in January, with 0-10 in Dallas being a distinct and probable statistic.  In a word, dissapointing.

In other news, at least my family got to share in my dissapointment after razzing me post-Packer defeat.  Nothing gave me more pleasure Sunday than watching the Bears squander a 9 point lead with 12 minutes left.  At home.  Good stuff.  Unfortunately, the Packers have not locked up the division yet.  Next week, with any luck.

BTW, how bad can things get for Miami?  You have to be thinking that if they were going to win, this was the week for it.  Anyone who really thinks Miami is going to beat new England for their first win doean't really watch football, or really needs to increase their medication.

Finally, God Bless Sean Taylor, and his family and friends.  I thought the missing-man formation was so touching.  As for the Bills, I don't think people should be mad at them.  If Gibbs didn't know the formation was coming, then there's no way Jauron knew. 

Until next week,

Kimmy