A little over fifty years ago the Detroit Lions dumped Bobby Lane (one of the all time winners and carousers in NFL history) and got stuck with his curse.  Since then, the Lions went from being the butt of most NFL jokes to actually being the joke!  And, no matter what they have tried, they can't seem to beat the curse!

Some people have thought adding a running  back would remove the curse, but this is a team that had Barry Sanders and he couldn't remove the curse and I don't see how you could improve on Barry Sanders.  However, help could be on the way soon in the form of a young Georgia QB named Mathew Stafford.  Why, well first let's examine what the Lions need besides new management.  They need a young talented QB to build a new team around, a proven winner to change the losing culture.  Okay you say, but why Stafford and how can he eliminate Bobby Lane's curse?  To answer that, you need a little history.

Bobby Lane was an All State QB/halfback out of Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Texas.  Mathew Stafford was an All State QB out of Highland Park High School!  Bobby Lane lost in the state final his last game in high school.  Stafford won his last high school game, helping Highland Park to one of the most lop sided state final games in Texas history.  The one win that always eluded Bobby Lane!

Detroit has the opportunity to reverse the curse, to put a Highland Park QB back in place and get rid of Bobby Lane once and for all.  Whether they get Stafford in the upcoming draft or the next (he is a junior), it seems like manifest destiny for Stafford to come into Detroit and excise the demons that have plagued the Lions for so long.  Of course, this means Detroit will have to have a fairly high draft pick over the next year or two as there will be other teams vying for Stafford and many feel he will be the first QB chosen when he does come out, but the way the Lions are playing that does NOT seem to be too much of an issue.

Detroit has some good players, all they need is new management and a QB who can fill the shoes Bobby Lane left behind.   And while I admit it may seem a little ridiculous to believe this could end the curse; but, for the fifty years to be ending and for another great QB out of Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Texas to be available is too much of a coincidence to go unnoticed.  And, after all, they have tried just about everything else!

Remarkably the Dallas Cowboys had a chance to draft Mendenhall but instead chose to draft Felix Jones.  Now, Jones is a good running back but comparing him to Mendenhall is like comparing Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean.  Lake Michigan is a Great Lake, but it is only a lake and not an ocean.  And the Dallas Cowboys are in the NFL not the Little Rock high school league!

After Jimmie Johnson left it took Jones only a few years to totally destroy one of the best teams in NFL history.  He did this through the draft and through his control of the coaches and who played.  Parcells' biggest achievement for the Dallas Cowboys was firing coach/talent scout Jones and getting him away from anything having to do with real football issues as he had already proven he had less ability than an eight year old cheerleader.

Coach Jones is back and the Cowboys have him and all the Cowboy haters out there should love it.  Do not expect the Cowboys to go to the Super Bowl this year!  Do not expect the Cowboys to win the NFC East this year.  Heck, it's going to be a push for them to get into the playoffs.  And after this year they will be right back where there were before Parcells came, at or near the bottom of the league!  And don't expect Phillips to do too much, that's why Jones hired the spineless "Pillsbury Dough Boy" in the first place.  If I were Garrett I would catch the first vehicle (train, plane, auto, whatever) out of town!

If I were the IRS, I would be investigating anyone stupid enough to have purchased seat licenses for the new Cowboy stadium in Arlington (not Dallas - the people in Dallas are not nearly as gullible as the people in Arlington home of the hahaha Texas Rangers) as they couldn't be smart enough to earn the money honestly.  No one who earns their money honestly would give it away to a clown like Jerry Jones who uses the Cowboys to fan his enormous ego (so what if he could flim flam a bunch of country people into giving him control of their gas leases and then turn around and betray their trust and "convince" a judge(?) to back the fra... - I mean questionable business practice).

The pick of Jones over Mendenhall clearly demonstrates the clown is back and clearly sounds the death knell of the Dallas Cowboys!  Dallas could have easily picked up Jones in the second round, of course if they had drafted Mendehall as well, Jones probably wouldn't have made the team.

Felix Jones was a backup in college for a reason, because he is a backup!  (Most NFL teams didn't even have Jones listed as first round talent - some didn't even have him in the second round.)

Of course, this is also bad news for Cowboy haters, it is really tough to hate a truly pathetic team and that is where the Cowboys are headed and if Jerry Jones has anything to do with it, and you know he does, they will get there pretty quick!

Too much is made of the post Season aka bowl games in college, as if they were a playoff system. They are not, nor are they anything close! If they were, Illinois wouldn't be in the Rose Bowl over Missouri and teams would all prepare in a more serious manner.

The fact is, many schools approach a bowl game as a reward for a good season. They do not approach it like the SEC or USC, that bowl games are used to promote you for the next season. Perhaps, the ranking system which is more and more biased toward teams ranked high at the beginning of the year without reason will change this perception. It is changing a bit, but for most schools there is a big difference between playing for a championship and playing for maybe a high ranking next year.

The SEC has always prepared well for bowl games! Their supposed ranking as the best football conference is based upon their performance in bowl games and in the large number of sports writers with loyalties to SEC teams. This year they will continue a sterling bowl performance, partly by luck and partly by being more prepared. Mississippi State started the SEC bowl season beating Central Florida 10 to 3 in a very forgettable game. Alabama jumped out to a 2o point lead on a mistake prone Colorado bunch and held on by their fingernails to win 30 to 24, being out scored 24-10 in the second half. Kentucky barely beat a below average Florida State team missing 35 players to win 35 to 28. Three extremely unimpressive wins which normally should not mean anything but which will be used by the SEC to state how good they are (but anyone who thinks anything can be determined from those games didn't watch them).

Auburn's victory over Clemson in overtime appears to be the first good win for the SEC, except Clemson was very over rated! Why over rated? Who did Clemson play this year. Boston College? What good team did Boston College beat? Boston College barely beat Wake Forest who lost to Nebraska who was the whipping boy of the Big 12! Clemson actually had no quality wins this year at all! NONE! And only two semi quality wins over Maryland and South Carolina at the end of the year. So why was Clemson rated so high? Why is Ohio State rated so high? Weak schedule! And for Clemson, the weak schedule will continue into next year. So, while the Auburn win is the first good win for the SEC, it is hardly something to scream about.

I have a problem with the SEC as I do with a lot of conferences. The lack of quality teams on their non conference schedule and their record against quality teams when the do play them. You used to see Texas, Texas A&M and USC on SEC schedules, you don't anymore. And, the ranking system is the direct reason why. Why play tough teams that might win even if they are not as good as you when playing weak, easy to beat teams means just as much to the votes. If the BCS really wanted to improve the college football rankings and pairings, it would give a rated weight to each conference based upon the strength of its non conference schedule. Thus, playing Louisiana-Monroe, Western Carolina, South Carolina State, etc. (all teams played by SEC conference schools this year) would hurt the conference's weighted score and thus hurt their BCS chances.

The Missouri/Arkansas game is one of the best matched games of the bowl season. Arkansas has proven when they are on they can play with anyone. Missouri is talented but still learning how to win the pressure games. I would give Arkansas a little edge in this one as Missouri still hasn't shown it can withstand the pressure and all the pressure is on them. Arkansas is ranked well below Missouri but they will be playing for a new coach but he is an experienced college coach and knows not to put too much pressure on at this time. Missouri is a team which lost both its pressure games to Oklahoma and now faces even more pressure to win. So, while Missouri is the better team, they would have done better in a bowl they were expected to lose. With the pressure on them, it is very likely this game will get away from them.

The Michigan/Florida game I look at as pretty much of a joke. No, I do not believe Tebow deserved the Heisman trophy. The only thing he really did this year is lose every important game Florida played.   And he lost to Auburn (a lower ranked team) and Georgia at the swamp. His stats were padded and his effectiveness extremely over rated (if he were that good he wouldn't have lost all those games - he was the quarterback, the one person on the offense who can make that much of a difference (don't believe it, just ask USC or Michigan about Vince Young, and he DIDN'T win a Heisman trophy). However, Michigan is NOT a good team!  Michigan is there basically because they (as well as most Big Ten teams) bring fans and television ratings.  If Florida doesn't win this game by a least four touchdowns, Tebow will have to go down as the worst Heisman trophy winner in history! (SEC fans, this is not a rip to the SEC, I believe the "other" SEC player (McFadden) should have been the winner (just as I believed Vince Young should have won).

Tennessee/Wisconsin could be a good game. No, I don't have a lot of respect for a Wisconsin team which came from behind to barely beat UNLV although they did crush the Citadel but Wisconsin is one of the best prepared bowl teams in the Big Ten and Tennessee is really not that good. Tennessee's ranking is more based upon sportswriters votes and a prejudiced opinion of the SEC more than anything done on the football field. So this game, and the Arkansas/Missouri game could end up being the most entertaining games of this bowl season.

Now, it should be stated (although I believe it to be obvious) that any team can win a one game playoff (Boise proved that last year beating Oklahoma). So, anything can happen. That being stated, LSU has so much more talent than Ohio State (a team totally undeserving of being in the championship game despite their record of beating a lot of bad teams - Washington was probably their toughest opponent all year) the BCS championship should be another rout for the SEC. However, having watched Les Miles throughout his career, and seeing an incredibly talented LSU team lose two games to very outmatched opponents, if I were an LSU fan I would not be comfortable. Ohio State already lost the big one this year, when Les Miles didn't get the Michigan job, so their luck is bound to change. This should be a cakewalk for LSU, but with Les Miles I wouldn't be too sure if I were an LSU or SEC fan (Les Miles does better when he doesn't have the talent than when he does for some reason). Both LSU and Ohio State got lucky when they locked out Oklahoma (something Auburn fans are familiar with).

So, is the SEC the best conference in college football. Right now, the way the system is run, there is no "best" conference. There are just a lot of schools and coaches using everything at their disposal to prevent their teams from playing opponents capable of beating them until they can at least get to the championship game. This may sound cowardly to the fan, but it is the way the system is set up, to punish teams willing to play and win honorably and reward teams that pick on the less fortunate, the smaller and poorer schools. Perhaps just of reflection of our current society!

Is there cause for concern in Dallas?  That depends on what was expected.  Tony Romo does appear to be the quarterback of the future but you have to worry about his private life looking more and more like that of Tom Brady and we don't really need someone of questionable morals as the face of the Dallas Cowboys (you can gripe about this Cowboy player and that, but the face of the Cowboys has always been Meredith, Staubach and Aikman, a Tom Brady isn't wanted).  Dallas still needs some help in the secondary and the running game is second class!

While a lot of talk has been made about the one/two punch of the Cowboys rushing attack and Marion Barber was selected to the Pro Bowl (obviously a press clipping phenomenon i.e. Marion the Barbarian), the fact of the matter is the running game in Dallas is a direct result of the passing game.  If the passing game is working the running game benefits from defenders having to play the pass.  If the passing game isn't working, the running game goes nowhere.  That has been a constant for Dallas for the last several years.  If they had a running game they wouldn't have had to settle for a field goal try against Seattle last year and we all know how that worked out!  To be a champion you have to have a running game you can count on, and while they haven't used it much this year New England does have a better running attack than Dallas (although it may not be strong enough either) as does most the rest of the NFL!  (The stats do not show this because of the passing game but if the passing attack is bad, you would get the results from last weeks Philly game - very little.)  If defenses are playing the Dallas run game honestly (not cheating to help defend against the pass), Dallas has no running game.  This is NOT the result of the line, which is pretty good, it is the result of personnel.  Dallas has no top quality running back!

I like Barber, he runs hard, but unless the hole is big enough for a fleet of trucks to get through Barber is running into someone, and you can have some nasty collisions that way and wear out a defense but you do not get a lot of yards!  As for Jones, he is more of a flanker than a running back.  Dallas should train him to become a slot receiver and he may be very dangerous.  But, as a running back, if a defensive lineman even breathes close to him, he's down!  He's a great open field runner but he has to start in the open!

So, should Dallas be concerned?  If they were thinking about winning the Super Bowl they should have been concerned all year!  While Romo has played well and made up for shortcomings in the running game at times, you can't expect that to continue in the playoffs!  Also, the NFL has been building up Green Bay a lot and Green Bay has been the beneficiary of a lot of questionable calls and non calls (which makes their Dallas game an anomaly as they didn't get any additional help while just the week before it took the officials to turn the game around for Green Bay at Detroit).  And remember, Brett Farve was elected as the "Sportsman of the Year".  (Deserving, I wouldn't want to say but at least he is a decent human being which is more than can be said of the "Athlete of the Year".)

So, if as a Dallas fan you had them winning the Super Bowl this year, you DO have a reason to be concerned.  If, however, you are a reasonable Cowboy fan then you really should feel pretty good.  Dallas has two first round draft choices for next year and should be able to make a deal to get McFadden out of Arkansas - that will fix the running back problem immediately.  Of course, if they can't convince Jones to make the change to slot receiver (which I think would make him a star) they will have to let him go as Barber is the obvious choice as a backup to McFadden.  Then, Dallas has the rest of the draft to address their defensive back and receiver issues (let's face it, T.O. and Glenn are not getting any younger).

Winning the Super Bowl may not be realistic this year but it is realistic for the next several years as Dallas is a young team (second youngest in the NFL even with two old receivers) and with McFadden will have all the necessary skill players to be competing for the Super Bowl for a long time to come.  This year is just a bonus!

Many people are wondering why Illinois is in the Rose Bowl while teams like Missouri are not even in the Bowl Championship series. However, the reason is obvious. Illinois is in and Missouri is out for the same reason Ohio State schedules Dayton instead of Oklahoma on their non conference regular season schedule.

Let me state I like what Illinois has done this year. They have advanced the program a great deal and they are learning, learning mind you, to be a winner. Why did I say learning, because a winner does not have a valiant effort to beat Wisconsin then lose to a bad Iowa team! It takes time to learn to be a winner, to get ready game after game, to have the target of favorite on your back all the time. Illinois was unable to handle that pressure, as long as they were the underdog they performed to their ability and sometimes beyond, as the favorite they were not as good! Remember this is a team which lost to Missouri, lost to Iowa and lost to Michigan. They came in third in the Big Ten, a conference which just was not very good this year at all. Outside of the possible exception of Ohio State, there was not a team in the Big Ten this year which could have won the lower division crown.

So why did a 9-3 Illinois team leapfrog an 11-2 Missouri team which beat Illinois? Two reasons; one, the Big Ten Network and two, the Rose Bowl Selection Committee is basically made up of PAC 10 alumni and sympathizers. The establishment of the Big Ten network demonstrates the ratings/money behind Big 10 football, i.e. there is money to be had there. So, scheduling a Big 10 team, even a so-so Big 10 team, generally will result in good ratings. Plus, Illinois is the feel good story of the Big Ten. Does Illinois deserve their ranking? NO! The only good team they beat was Ohio State. Michigan (a team that lost to lower divisions Appalachian State) is the only good team Ohio State beat. Wait a minute, what about Wisconsin, they are ranked up there too, after all, they did beat Michigan and even manage a rally to overcome perennial football power UNLV and beat the Citadel by 14. They probably could have taken Bluebird Girls Academy too but unfortunately didn't have enough free games to play every powder puff in the country!

So, while Missouri's only losses came to Oklahoma which has a legitimate argument to be in the Championship game, it is Illinois, a team with only one quality win on their schedule and losses to Iowa, Michigan and Missouri, that will be in the Rose Bowl and not Missouri a team with five All American selections and wins over Texas Tech, Kansas and Illinois. But why would they select the third place team in the Big Ten (both Illinois and Michigan had identical Big Ten records but Michigan beat Illinois)? Don't they know Illinois probably won't stand a chance against USC, a team which did lose to Oregon, prior to Oregon losing their QB, in a close battle at Oregon? (I won't mention how badly Oregon beat Michigan, a team which beat Illinois,  AFTER their humiliating loss to Appalachian State!) Yes they knew, that is precisely the point!

Of course the Rose Bowl Selection Committee knows USC will probably blow out Illinois. In fact, USC will probably win by more than 21 points, not just on the ability of the athletes but on the pressure of playing in such a big game. Pressure USC is very used to and pressure Illinois has demonstrated, at a much much lower level, to not handle that well (Iowa) at this time. Then, after their blowout victory of their hand picked victim, USC and the PAC Ten along with the USC network (sometimes known as ESPN) will cry loud and clear that USC was really the team which should have been in the BCS Championship Game and should be Number One and USC will once again start off the year ranked Number One in the country in the polls!

The BCS, instead of bringing any type of reason or validity to College Football has instead, very insidiously, destroyed any honor that was left in the game. It is far easier to make it into the BCS Championship if you start the season highly ranked. How do you start the season highly ranked? Easy, have a big victory in your Bowl game to end the previous season. So now, not only do teams select powder puffs to play during the regular season to help them get to the BCS Championship game (does anyone really believe Ohio State could have won either the SEC or the Big 12?), they now want to play in a mismatched Bowl game they can win easily to declare themselves the best! (You must remember, the BCS Championship is like a one game playoff, any team, even a far less deserving team, has a chance to win!)

The BCS has totally destroyed the character of College Football! You wonder why there are so many thugs playing professional football, just take a look at how it is handled on a collegiate level? The presidents and athletic directors who have deliberately destroyed the game of football for their own greedy purposes are as morally bankrupt as the worst player who goes tossing money around in strip clubs. But, the main culprit is the fan who continues to allow these people to teach our young people that avarice and cunning cowardice are to be rewarded and hard work punished!

I wish the Fighting Illini the best in the game knowing they stand little chance. My only hope is they do not let this game derail the team from the turnaround they began this year!

It has been said by some people in the know that Mike Singletary will be the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.  If so, I hope it works out.  I have always liked Mike since his days at Baylor.  He gave everything on the field he had and off the field the man is class.  He was a Grizzly Bear at linebacker for Chicago but off the field when necessary he could be a Teddy Bear.  Smart, soft spoken and hard working he earned respect from everyone.

However, I must admit to reservations of Mike Singletary as a head coach.  Daryl Royal, the legendary ex head coach of the Texas Longhorns had a philosophy when looking for players, he wanted proven winners.  And, while it is true you can find a few gems among the pebbles, the truth is winners win!  My respect for Mike Singletary leads me to give him a bye for being at San Francisco but I certainly wouldn't give him a head coaching job based upon what he has done there.  Remember just a few months ago, people in the know were all forecasting the 49ers as winning their division and possibly fighting for a Super Bowl spot due mainly to all the talent on their roster.  Today they are one of the worst teams in the NFL.

San Francisco has had some injuries but injuries alone do not justify the horrible team the 49ers are putting on the field.  Miami may be the worst team in the NFL but they have had more injuries and have an aging team in need of total overhaul.  Their losses can be explained.  The 49ers have a talented roster.  They have the players!  But they do not perform on the field.  They make mental mistake after mental mistake.  Opponents only have to show up to have the 49ers hand them the game.  Mike Singletary is the assistant head coach of the 49ers!  Now, he may not be the head coach, but he cannot escape some responsibility for the total disaster in the Bay Area.  Remember how bad Oakland was last year?  Oakland hasn't really played their Number One pick so they are basically the team from last year and yet they are easily the best Bay Area team this year even though San Francisco has the defensive rookie of the year!

Bottom line, San Francisco improved their roster from last year and is a worse team!  Mike Singletary is the assistant head coach of San Fransisco.  Mike Singletary was a great player!  Mike Singletary is a fantastic person and wonderful human being!  Mike Singletary has earned respect from everyone in the NFL!  Mike Singletary has NOT shown he can coach!

Perhaps all he needs is a better situation to become a good NFL coach.  I hope so as I really like Mike.  And, the NFL needs people of his caliber (although, truth be told, every profession everywhere can use people of Mike's caliber).  I am concerned that Mike is not a proven winner as a coach and if he becomes head coach of the Falcon's he is staring out with a train wreck and no formula for improving the situation.  His experience in San Francisco is with losing, not with winning.

I want to see Mike succeed as a head coach.  But, being an NFL head coach is a lot like being an NFL Quarterback.  If you have a talented squad around you, you might be able to start and take your lumps as a rookie and still develop into a good to great Quarterback.  However, if your line is bad, your running backs questionable, and your receivers are unable to run good routes, a talented young player may have his career ruined if he is put out on the field too early.  Mike has not shown he is ready to start.  If anything, the experience in San Francisco says just the opposite.  Mike needs to get some more experience because the situation can't get worse than Atlanta's.

Maybe I'm wrong and maybe Mike can do well in Atlanta.  If he does take the job, I certainly hope I am wrong.  But, I really think the job in Atlanta needs an established head coach with winning experience.  I would hate to see any promising young coach, Mike Singletary, Jason Garrett, etc. pushed into that situation.  Yes, it is hard to become an NFL head coach and there are a limited number of openings but every year we see more and more failures and more and more openings so Mike doesn't need to rush into a situation he isn't ready for and I can't see how any rookie coach could be ready for the situation in Atlanta!

One last note, if Mike is ready for a head coaching job why wouldn't the 49ers be trying to keep him to take over.  Certainly the situation in San Diego over the summer should give the 49er ownership pause to reflect.  It is obvious to everyone Mike Nolan is NOT working out!  Every year he has improved the 49ers roster and yet they get worse!  If Mike is a potential NFL head coach any time in the near future I would have to believe the 49ers themselves might want to keep him (and this may be the case as Mike did withdraw his name from consideration to become Baylor's next head coach).  And certainly, the situation in San Francisco would be a much better situation for Mike to succeed at than the one in Atlanta.

But, whatever Mike decides to do, I wish him only the best as he has EARNED it!

With the resignation of Bobby Petrino the Atlanta Falcons once again dominate NFL news for something not related to play on the field.  And now the big question is:  Who should be the next coach of the Atlanta Falcons?

From the mess I have seen in Atlanta there really is only one choice, Bill Parcels.  Why Parcells you might wonder?  Certainly I wasn't impressed with Parcells' term in Dallas.  His game methods are no longer as relevant as they used to be and his dictatorial attitude certainly wasn't welcome either.  However, he brought discipline back to a unit that sorely needed it, he hardened the team and made then capable of taking on any situation and he honed them to a fighting edge just waiting to be released.

Now, could the Cowboys have been as successful this year with Parcels as the head coach.  No, they would not.  In a sense the NFL has passed Parcels by; however, in another sense Parcels' methods can never be outdated.  The real question is:  Could the Cowboys be as successful this year and in the next several years as it appears they will be without the Parcels' era?  And anyone, outside of a very stubborn Terrel Owens, would have to say no, without the discipline and character building Parcells did Dallas would never have been able to turn it around, especially not so quickly.  Just think back to how bad they were the year Parcells became coach.

Ever wonder why so many teams languish year after year in mediocrity?  It is because the championship fire, the discipline and work ethic needed to accomplish the hard tasks is missing.  And these are the things Parcels still can provide a team better than almost any other coach.  Many of the players in Atlanta rebelled against Petrino's dictatorial style, do you really think they would even consider doing the same to Bill Parcells?

Whatever it takes, Blank needs to write the check to Parcells and let him have the team for at least two to three years.  Atlanta fans shouldn't expect a championship but they should expect constant improvement until they have a team that is championship ready.  Then, bring in the next coach to take over.  He will have a team hardened and ready to take the next step.  But, without the character building Parcells can provide, Atlanta will continue to languish in the mediocrity which has historically defined the Falcons.

Parcells' strategy may no longer be good enough for NFL championships, but his character building will never go out of style and the proper character is the one constant in all champions!  So, even in an era where the big back moving the line of scrimmage behind a big line has gone out of style, Parcells may still be the best coach the NFL has!

New England's record this year is a product of hard work, luck and NFL rule changes.  Their three Super Bowl wins - all incredible comebacks in the final quarter - are another story.  Remember, where would their spying help them, in the second half of course!  Many paid off hacks who have columns say everyone has done this albeit only the Patriots have ever been caught (twice); and, what the Patriots did would only work in the era of speakers in the QBs helmet before that the QB wouldn't get the info in time to help.  With the taped signals and the speakers New England could use spotters to determine defensive call and let Brady know (via the speakers in his helmet) what the defense was doing so he could move the team down to win the game at the end!  Did the Patriots deliberately cheat, yes; did cheating help them win three Superbowls, probably but since the NFL made sure to destroy any damaging evidence the truth will never be known to prove or disprove their innocence; is their current record the result of cheating, almost certainly NOT!

The Patriots have had tremendous luck in being in the weakest division in the NFL this year.  They are also benefiting from the make up of the league in that there are a lot of weak teams this year.  Plus, while they have suffered a bit from the injury bug none of their injuries were to crucial personnel while the good teams they have played all had some serious issues due to injuries.  Does anyone really believe the Colts would have had only 6 points to show for three visits to the red zone if Harrison had been able to play?  When they played the Cowboys Dallas was without their number one receiver (Terry Glenn not T.O.), their number one linebacker and one starting conerback (the other was at 70% due to injury but played).

    Finally they have also benefited from rules changes which allow Moss to be a superstar.  Certainly Harold Carmichael of the Eagles would have been every bit as good and probably better than Moss under the rules which now exist.  Moss is NOT that great but the rules involving pass defense give him a tremendous advantage.  These rule changes, which were made to increase scoring offense, give a selfish loser like Moss a tremendous advantage just because of his physical size.  Carmichael had to rough it out and frequently got beat up pretty bad because that was the only way to stop him.  Moss would quit as soon as it got tough as he has so many times before!  If the rules were the same today as 20 years ago Moss would have faded into obscurity years ago; however, under the current rules or the rules of 20 year ago Terrell Owens (whether you like him or not) would still be a star while Moss would be left to curse at young female traffic wardens.  If given a choice between Harold Carmichael or Randy Moss, I would take Carmichael every time!  And to say Moss is a certain "Hall of Famer" is to discredit everyone in the NFL Hall of Fame and turn it into a Hall of Shame!

Can the Patriots finish the season unbeaten?  It would be a tremendous feat but they have a good chance.  The Giants are the best team left on their weak schedule and we all saw what Minnesota did to New York!  Can they go undefeated and win the Superbowl?  That will be a lot harder.  Many people say playing the Colts in the weather at Foxboro would favor New England.  Why?  New England's team is based upon the spectacular passing combinations they have, weather has the ability to take that away (that's how they used to beat Indy).  Indy has a good running game and a defense which has had to play from behind and with sudden injuries (which also occur in bad weather).  New England's defense has profited all year from being ahead and staying relatively healthy.  What is the difference, just ask San Diego.  In fact, New England would stand a better chance against Indy at Indy than they will at Foxboro because New England is the team more set up as a dome team!

If the Cowboys pass defense has improved enough to stop Farve and the Packers this week, the Cowboys can certainly challenge New England.  With a healthy team and with youngsters who have gotten a lot more work in the secondary and with an offense comparable to New England's but with a slightly better running game (neither team has a great running game) the Cowboys match up better with New England than any other team right now.  However, the Cowboys will still have to defend the slot receiver, something which they have not done all year!

Does New England's run on Superbowls qualify as a dynasty?  That depends on your viewpoint.  If you feel Al Capone was just a misunderstood businessman than the answer is yes.  (Remember Al was only convicted of tax evasion, not murder or racketeering or bootlegging and the Patriots have only been found guilty of taping the Jets signals even though they had a lot more tapes the NFL destroyed later.)  If, however, you believe cheating is cheating whether or not you are caught (or prosecuted for the crime), their "dynasty" label is questionable.  However, there is no question this year's team's success is NOT related to cheating but to hard work, luck and rules changes!  And the Dolphins certainly had more than their share of luck during their undefeated run.

At first glance it appears to be a crazy NFL season.  San Diego seems to be falling apart while New England appears unbeatable and there only appears to be a handful of good teams in the AFC and NFC combined.  And, while Dallas' run was expected, the Packers resurgence caught everyone off guard.  With all the injuries Indy has suffered the fact they're winning at all is almost a miracle!

First, let's examine what has really happened in San Diego.  Marty was fired and many people are making a big deal out of it but has anyone bothered to look at what his record in San Diego was before he hired Phillips to run the defense, he went 8-8 then 4-12.  Doesn't appear to be that great to me.  The year Phillips came in and took over the defense, the team went 12-4, then 9-7 and 14-2 last year, of course as with all of Marty's teams they didn't win a playoff game!

The biggest difference in this year's San Diego team is the defense, it isn't dominating teams and San Diego is forced to play from behind instead of ahead.  This takes Tomlinson out of the game and puts the game on the shoulders of Rivers who doesn't appear to have the maturity at this stage of his career to take on that responsibility.  Plus, if you look at San Diego's record over the last several years, every good year was followed by an average to bad year and that was true even with the same coaching staff!  So actually, what is happening in San Diego is not really surprising at all, it should have been expected.  And, I will go one further, it would have happened even if they had kept Schottenheimer and everyone in San Diego would have been screaming at the ownership for having failed to fire him!  And to top it off, the marginal players on the team have been offerred an out by the fans for poor performance, blame in on the lack of Marty - which is a farce!

New England's perfection is a combination of a lot of talent being brought together under extremely lucky circumstances, having a good advantage over all the good teams they have played due to the injury bug (Dallas was missing a cornerback and their best wide receiver and Indy was missing their best wide receiver), the absence of any major injuries to necessary personnel, playing in possibly the worst division in the NFL, and a dilluted NFL having a handful of good teams and a lot of below average teams.  The good news for New England fans is that Dallas is the only team capable of beating them and Phillips has a history of not being able to stop the pass as was displayed in their first meeting!  I still have a problem believing Green Bay is for real, let's see how the rest of the season unfolds.  (They did lose to the Bears at home.)

Dallas was expected to be good, or at least as good as Romo could prove to be, but hiring Phillips was questioned.  I still question it.  Phillips failure everywhere he went was his inability to defend the pass, which has easily supplanted the run as most important in the NFL and that trend continues.  Dallas does not seen to have the personnel to defend the pass but curiously enough didn't make the effort to get anyone to fill that need!  Against Green Bay their D-line and linebackers may pressure Farve just enough to get the win but that will not be enough to get them
past New England unless their pass defense, particularly Roy Williams, improves dramatically!

Green Bay is the real surprise of the NFL.  But, the surprise has been helped a lot by favorable calls and lucky breaks.  The failure in Philly's return teams handed the week one game to Green Bay, without those failures Green Bay would have lost.  Bad calls (or the lack of calls) was the signature of their first win over Minnesota.  Likewise Washington had them beat but inexplicably made bad choices which cost them the game.  

Lately Green Bay has looked really good but their competition hardly rates merit, a team with no running game, a 44 year old QB who has only been back in the NFL for a few weeks and their best receiver injured on the sidelines hardly qualifies as a tough opponent.  That being said, the weak Dallas pass defense and Farve's experience may be enough to get Green Bay the home field advantage throughout the playoffs and Green Bay is very hard to beat at home in the cold!

As for why there are so many below average teams, it is simple, the guard is changing.  Youth is being served and many of the older veterans are playing past their primes and those who are left either are just playing for retirement or have arranged to get on teams that give them a chance of a ring (Moss reworked his contract to make substantially less money to play for New England, he wasn't so ready to re-work it for Green Bay or others).  Expect quite a few changes over the next year or two before this is over.  New England recognized their window of opportunity was beginning to close and went out and got the pieces to fix what ailed them, a stud linebacker and the best trio of starting receivers perhaps ever assembled on one team.  Yes, Brady is good, but he is not that good, having a very good offensive line and his receivers makes him a lot better.

So, if your team isn't winning this year, don't despair unless you are a 49er fan.  The 49ers got their team in place, have the young studs, and still can't win.  They have to be the biggest disappointment in the NFL this year.  Mike Nolan may be a nice guy but it really looks like it is time for him to go as the 49ers are really under performing.

Youth is being served, the old guard is changing, and many of the losers are turning into winners.  So, outside of San Francisco there is hope!

The best game to watch this week however is Green Bay at Detroit.  Usually Detroit brings it on Thanksgiving Day and this should be a good barometer of how far Green Bay has really progressed, while Dallas may have more trouble with the Jets than many people think.  The Jets did go after the QB hard last week and may limit Romo's ability to scramble and make plays while the Cowboys' secondary continues to perform at a slightly better than high school level (as was said earlier, the hallmark of all Phillips' teams).


So get your popcorn ready, the final stages are set to start and the playoffs are beginning to loom.  The Patriots appear to be a lock for the Super Bowl but are only one or two injuries away (Brady or Moss) from fading away.  Dallas needs a pass defense and a prime time runner and Green Bay is still an unknown.  Pittsburgh is NOT ready to  crash into the elite teams and Indy has suffered too many injuries.  But, now is when it will really get interesting.  Can the Pats stay healthy, can the Colts get healthy, can the Cowboys ever defend the pass, can Pittsburgh find a way to win on the road, and can Green Bay actually live up to the promise?  Who knows but it will be fun to find out!

When the Cowboys and the Giants square off in New Jersey this Sunday the Giants will be playing for a piece of the NFC East lead, the Cowboys will be playing for much more.  Many analysts, including many in the Dallas area, have said due to the Giants week off, the emergence of their defensive line, and the overall health of the team, the Giants will beat the Cowboys.

But Dallas is a better team than New York because Dallas has better players.  The overall record of the teams New York has beaten is 13 - 36 with their only victory over a club with a winning record being their win over Washington which was more lost by the Redskins than won by New York.  The overall record of the teams Dallas has beaten is  19 - 37 with victories over the New York Giants and the 4 -4 Buffalo Bills.  The winning percentage of the teams the Giants beat is 36% while the winning percentage of the Cowboys' losing opponents is 51%.  Statistically a considerable difference.

While much has been made of the Giants sacking of McNabb in their victory over the Eagles and while the injuries on the Eagles offensive line have been the subject of many conversations everyone seems to forget that Brian Westbrook  (who everyone agrees is the most important person in the Eagles offense) also did not play in the game against the Giants severely limiting the Eagles running and passing game and his absence was the main reason the Eagles offense gave up all the sacks.  When Dallas played the Eagles they were healthy again.

The truth of the matter is it would be hard for any of the Giants players to start for Dallas.  Plaxico is probably the only one but he would only play because of Glenn's injury, otherwise he couldn't make the first team for the Cowboys either.  (Dallas plays a different defensive scheme than the Giants which makes a comparison extremely hard.)  Given the Cowboys (statistically) have played a much harder schedule than the Giants it seems the Cowboys should leave New Jersey with an 8 - 1 record; but wait, as was reported at the start of this blog many sportscasters are prognosticating the Giants will win!

The NFL's pumping up of a team in the large New York market is understandable.  And, the monetary persuasion sportscasters are subject to may indeed color their judgment.  Together, they have given the Dallas Cowboys an out, they can lose to the Giants and just say "well, a lot of people expected it, no big deal".  But that would be very wrong.  For the Giants to lose would be "no big deal" for the Cowboys to lose would scream "THIS TEAM HAS NO HEART"!  When the going gets tough, Dallas quits; because let's face it, while the Giants may not have the better team they will make it very tough!

Dallas is currently healthier today than they have been all year even though Glenn is still out, and a lot healthier than they were in their first meeting with the Giants earlier this year.  And now they have Tank Johnson suited up to play!  Much has been made of the Giants' injuries in their first game with the Cowboys but they played in that game and the Giants were losing when they got hurt!  Dallas has played a tougher schedule and Dallas has better players so Dallas should win the game except if Dallas decides to take the easy way out provided by the NFL and the media.

Cowboy fans want another Super Bowl title and will not be satisfied with anything less; however, if Dallas loses this Sunday to New York you can write that off for any time in the foreseeable future.  Because if Dallas loses to New York it will not be based upon the players ability but their willingness to take the easy way out, because there is no doubt the Giants are going to try to smack Dallas in the mouth.  If Dallas loses they will prove they have the heart of a loser!  Losing to New England was not nearly as big a deal as many have made out due to all the circumstances; however, if Dallas loses to New York on Sunday they may as well end their season then.  A team without heart is not going to win a Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl is always the goal of Dallas' fans and they don't want to settle for anything less.  Sunday we will find out if the players and coach have the same goal!

With all the off seasons acquisitions and the seemingly perfect play of Tom Brady not many people are giving the Colts a chance this weekend but the Colts have a very good chance of beating the Patriots and I believe the Colts will win.

This year the Patriots have been exceedingly lucky.  In their game against the Cowboys they went against a Cowboy team coming off a Monday Night game.  Historically, teams coming off a short week like that don't do too well in the second half of games the next week, my guess is they are a little tired.  Secondly, the Cowboys didn't take the Bills seriously enough and had to make a historic comeback against them.  Most teams have a let down after such an emotional high.  To top it off, the Dallas secondary was at half strength due to injury and Dallas' No. 1 receiver from last year still hasn't played this year.  And Dallas led halfway through the third quarter!

The Colts are just getting healthy now.  They have played a better schedule than the Patriots.  Like the Cowboys they have a very good offense capable of scoring on anyone but their offense is finally going to be healthy for the Pats game.  The Colts defense is playing very well and their secondary may be better than Dallas' even when Dallas is healthy.  And, they have a recent winning tradition!

The Patriots, while having some injuries, have a lot of talent to fill in.  In fact, none of the Patriots' injuries or playing time losses (such as Harrison's - who did play in the Cowboys' game) would be considered very bad.  Injuries to Brady, his offensive line or any of his top flight receivers might harm the team but they have been relatively injury free.  But, outside of Dallas, they haven't played any good teams (Washington is a good team but they suffered major injuries at the start of their game with the Pats and it messed up their entire game plan and they were never able to recover plus their offense is still a work in progress) while the Colts have.

This weekend the Patriots will have to face a team as healthy as they are and barring unforeseen injuries (which have been the friend of the Patriots this year) will suffer their first loss of the season.  The Patriots have had a lot of fun running up the score on beaten teams this year but that is going to be remembered by players and coaches for a long time to come and this time they will be facing a good healthy team, with a great quarterback and the story will be very different.  The Pats will go down this weekend and don't be surprised if there are more losses for them in the weeks to come.

Instead of a Super Season, this year could very well end up as a Super Bust for the Patriots.  So far the only thing they have proven this year is they are totally devoid of class, but this should not be any surprise as most teams become extensions of their coaches.  The Cowboys became America's Team because they were an extension of their coach, Tom Landry, Belichik is also a great coach but well below class in character.  The NFL was made by coaches like Tom Landry and Don Shula they last thing it needs is Belichick.  Too bad!

It seems in today' world of football, winning games is all that is important.  Meaning it doesn't matter if you beat your little sister or the big bully down the block, it all counts the same.  In the NFL, the New York Giants started out 0 -2, losing to Dallas and Green Bay, two teams with winning records.  Since then the Giants have gone 5 - 0, being given a game by Washington, (face it, the Giants didn't with this game as much as Washington lost it) then beating the Eagles, Jets, Falcons and 49ers in four successive weeks, four teams with an combined record of 6 - 20.  This week they play the 0 -7 Dolphins in London.  From all the talk, if they win we should let them off the rest of the season to get ready for the Super Bowl since they will then have played almost all the worst teams in the NFL and have won them all, their last 5 opponents having a combined record of 6 - 28 (if they win in London that is).

 How does this make the Giants a dominant NFC team?  I would love to hear this explanation.  The only thing I can figure out is the same people who put together the BCS for colleges are ranking the NFL as well.  After all, Ohio State and Boston College are probably not even Top Ten teams but they are ranked 1 & 2 in the BCS due to playing something akin to a JV schedule (remember, Boston College barely beat Wake Forest who lost to Nebraska who just fired their AD due to the extreme poor performance of the football team and Washington is easily the best team Ohio State has played).   The truly disgusting part of this is that no. 8 Kentucky played no. 14 Florida last week in Kentucky and was a 4 to 6 point underdog - so everyone knows the system is a total lie.  And, as expected, Florida did win.

So in college if Texas left the Big 12 and joined the Sunbelt Conference and USC left the PAC 12 and joined the Mountain West, Texas and USC would probably play in every foreseeable National Title Game as they almost certainly would be undefeated and top the BCS standings.  At least in the NFL the playoff system prevents the same thing from happening but the ridiculous notions put forth by many sportscasters who are apparently driven more by commercial interests than reality result in the same stupidity which dominates the college game.

I guess the real mess is caused by sportswriters being loyal to their teams (and employers) and not to their profession.  Maybe its time for fans to stop being fans, get off their couches and go do something more important than listen to the garbage spouted by so called sports journalists and games more controlled by the cash register than by the play on the field.     After all, if the journalists are compromised by the money, who isn't and who really knows?

I grew up going to the Cotton Bowl and watching the Cowboys under Tom Landry.  Troy and Emmit were not only great players but great role models as well.  Today, "America's Team" has supposedly been replaced by the New England Patriots with a glamor boy QB who thinks nothing of fathering b.a.s.t.a.r.d children and a coach who believes you are only wrong if you are caught.  Unfortunately, fans seem to embrace this approach.  Winning has replaced ethics and morals.

In the recent meeting between Dallas and New England the only surprise was that Dallas was able to hang with them for two and a half quarters.  New England has a very good defense,  a superb and under rated offensive line, a QB with talent if nothing else and with free agency acquisitions the most lethal group of receivers in the league.

Dallas has a young team with a good offensive line, marginal running backs, a good group of receivers and a promising young QB.  Dallas also has an steadily improving defensive front and good group of young linebackers; however, Dallas has the worst defensive secondary in football.  Perhaps the worst ever!  Anthony Henry, a journeyman defensive back who might make the Pro Bowl if he has a fantastic season and plays well above his head is the best defender Dallas has.  Roy Williams, while a great player, has been lost since Dallas converted to a 3 - 4 scheme and is now a liability instead of an asset.  And Newman, for all his athletic ability, has always failed miserably to be a number one corner.  And the rest of the crew is a whole lot worse.

 Tim Cowlishaw, in the Dallas Morning News, criticized coach Phillips for stating his goal was to stop New England's ground game.  Cowlishaw feels to stop New England you have to stop Brady and his receivers.  I will grant Cowlishaw's point, however, I cannot fault Phillips strategy either.  Who on the Cowboys roster is going to stop New England's receivers?  The fact is, they were running uncovered all day long, from the snap count on.  Henry, the Cowboy's best defender this year, wasn't even playing!  Phillips' only hope was to put as much pressure on Brady as he could and pray he had a bad day, personnel wise he couldn't do anything else.  If you want to criticize Phillips for anything, criticize him for not doing something about the worst defensive secondary personnel in the league before the start of the season not for using the only strategy available to him.

It has been reported Dallas is looking for a rematch.  Dallas' defensive front is good and has been able to make up for a lot, but the Giants showed everyone you can throw all day against Dallas and New England just punctuated that.  Minnesota's Tarvaris Jackson, possibly the worst QB in the NFL, will probably have a stellar game against Dallas as Minnesota does have one of the better offensive lines.  As long as his throws are on target (a lot of his throws haven't been), Minnesota should be able to put a lot of points on the board.  Couple this with the fact that Peterson will probably score anytime he gets into the defensive backfield and Dallas will have its hands full just beating Minnesota much less getting to the Super Bowl.

Until Dallas does something about its absolutely pathetic defensive secondary they and their fans should forget the glories of the past.  Currently Dallas is not competing for a Super Bowl they are only competing to win meaningless games; when the playoffs start, with their current secondary personnel, expect Dallas to make an early exit if they get there at all!  And don't expect their luck versus the Eagles to change, the Eagles may be bad this year but McNabb can still avoid the rush long enough to throw the ball and that is all that is necessary against the Dallas secondary!

I would like to see the 'Boys winning again but it doesn't seem likely.  They can upgrade the running back position in the draft with either back from Arkansas but it is a little harder to get quality secondary personnel and Dallas needs quite a few.

A response to Vick accepts plea deal

I know there are several Vick haters out there who want to celebrate but there is nothing to celebrate. You cannot undo what has been done and no amount of jail time or fines or banishment from the NFL can ever undo the damage or bring the poor dogs back to life.

It is easy to say bad things about Michael Vick mainly because of the money he makes (it appears many people are jealous even though the fan is the one responsible for the outrageous sums paid to players), about how horrible he was to do this but perhaps you might temper it with a little bit of compassion. Did you know the U.S. is 42nd in infant mortality and 41st in life expectancy (however, I think you will find the wealthy far outlive the average and they seldom suffer infant death). I have a dog, she is happy and I make sure she doesn't ever fight, I don't even want her to be a hunting dog and I abhor people who abuse there pets, that being said it is pretty awful that we appear to be more concerned about pets than we are about people. People should at least be treated equally.

Michael Vick is the product of his upbringing. When he was a child, the dog fight sponsors were probably the people he looked up to. And, he wanted the same kind of respect for himself that he gave them when he was a child (guessing here of course, but it seems reasonable considering all the facts). I know some people from the area and apparently the dog fighting venture was not secret. Michael Vick did not try hard to hide it as he did not see it as wrong. My question is why did the Atlanta Falcons know nothing about something that was pretty common knowledge (I am also told there are NFL players out there who also knew but I cannot verify that).

The sad thing about all of this is that it could have easily been avoided if Michael Vick had any real friends who cared more about him than the money they could make off him. He was allowed, due to his athletic ability, to get away with a lot of various things from the time he was in Junior High School. I am sure he is now very shocked that he is being forced to be responsible and feels it is the result of people being out to get him. Yes, he is an adult, but he is an adult with a warped sense of self and morality because he played football. He was treated no differently than an animal in a zoo (this is not a racial slur, this is true of most athletes whatever their race) and used to bring glory and money to the powers that be and as long as he continued to do so he was given special privileges and was allowed to consider himself above the law.  And he was put on a pedestal by the fans!

Perhaps it is time we stopped portraying those who are good at playing a game, which in reality takes a lot from society and gives nothing back, as heroes and instead portray them as what they are, people playing a game and who contribute nothing to this nation (yes, they do sponsor a few charities for tax break purposes and to employ friends and relatives as Lance Armstrong does). Perhaps there is a correlation between our blanket worship of sports stars who in reality do nothing at all but play a game and the extremely high infant mortality and low life expectancy in our nation.

Yes, Michael Vick is guilty, if you knew anyone from that area you knew that already (I do not want to get into the argument as to why local officials who had to know about the operation almost from its inception did nothing). However, if you support the multi billion dollar sports machine called the NFL which has gotten the U.S. Congress and the Federal and State Courts to approve contracts that are on their face illegal and the seizure of property from its lawful owners for their personal enrichment - can you claim to be innocent?

Let's face it, the most guilty party is the fan! At least he NFL owners and players do what they do for money and power, and that is in all likelihood the same reason why Congress and the Courts go along, but what is the fans excuse, some sort of glory by osmosis?  May God have mercy on our souls because God does see what we are doing and deliberately allowing and we cannot be sorry or forgiven for that which we do deliberately!

So, if it makes you feel better to curse Michael Vick, go ahead, it doesn't get you off the hook.  You can pretend it doesn't matter all you want, just remember one thing, our life on earth is but a blink of an eye compared to eternity, and a lifetime of torture on earth is not equal to one day in hell!

A response to 5 Thoughts: Computer Virus The write makes a mistake here which is commonly made by people who are not real familiar with computers, THEY DO NOTHING ON THEIR OWN, THEY FOLLOW THEIR PROGARAMMING.  To state the polls have human errors is true; however, to state the computers do not is totally false.  The writer must obviously buy into the excuse "it must have been a computer glitch" every time he catches the store overcharging him for sale items.

And the computer programmers have their agendas, how else would you explain Texas which has played Ohio State, Oklahoma and Nebraska being rated only very slightly higher than a West Virginia team who has played nobody, nobody and less than nobody!  Only USC, having played both Nebraska and Arkansas can come close to difficulty (although Arkansas was missing two of its most valuable players against USC and USC does have the benefit of PAC 10 officials).  I know SEC fans feel their conference is so tough in all positions, well, if it is, play someone out of your conference who is good.  Only Arkansas and Tennesee elect to play tough outside competition (although I question how tough California is without PAC 10 officials).  Auburn did at one time and was beaten badly by USC each time.  Until the SEC teams decide to play real competition outside their conference and win, I will continue to see them as overrated teams who play bowl games well but have a lot of poll voters with SEC allegience.

It seems this year, the BCS and the NCAA are determined not to allow a Big 12 team into the championship game (the reason for the unexplainable computer ranking of Texas and the "joke" bowl with Oregon and Oklahoma - and you thought wrestling was choreographed).  Since it is a computer we are suppoosed to say it is fair but all programmers know that is a total lie!  However, the human polls are just as bad.  No one actually believes West Viginia is that good but they know the weakness of their schedule should make it easy for them to go undefeated if they can get past Lousiville (at least Lousiville played Miami, it's not their fault Miami is not too good this year).  One thing is certain, if either Michigan or Ohio State makes it to the National title game and they are facing West Viriginia, as long as they don't totally overlook them like Georgia did last year they are guaranteed a victory.  All they have to do  is play as well as they would against Purdue!  However, USC with PAC 10 officials is all but invincible so there is a more than good chance it will be USC in the title game.  (I understand USC generally has PAC 10 officials at all games, home and away, conference and non-conference.)  You can call that whatever you want, I believe they call it insurance.