Speaking of Steel Cages...

Apparently, Tom Brady isn't the Classy, Quality Quarterback that we all thought he was.

Brady went on WEEI, a local radio station and said he didn't mind losing to the Giants because he had a lot of respect for them. Thanks, Tom. You are ok by me.

Anyway, He than went on to insinuate that he has no respect for the Jets. Here's the exact quote, courtesy of rotoworld.com:

"Then a follow up question was asked about what teams he didn't respect, "There's four letters in their name," Brady said. "Those green guys?" he was asked. "Yeah, exactly." Something tells us this quote is going to get some play before the Patriots-Jets Week 2 matchup."

Yea, I'd say it probably would. You know what would be funny, If Vernon Ghoston collapsed Brady's lung and than Matt Cassel, or who ever Tom's backup is, became a superstar.

Life is a circle. Elton John said so. (Yes, That's a Lion King reference.)

Draft Review AFC East - New England Patriots

Saving the best for last it's time to finish up the AFC East and review the New England Patriots draft.

For years it's seemed the Patriots have needed to overhaul their LB corp and secondary yet they refuse to draft those positions early.

Would they continue that trend this year?

Round 1, Pick 10 (10) (From Saints) Jerod Mayo OLB 6'1" 242 Tennessee

And the Patriots have finally injected some youth at LB! I really like this fit. Mayo is a versatile player (ILB/OLB) with great size and intangibles. He fits like a glove in the 3-4 and will make an immediate impact on defense. Plus the Pat's moved down three spots and picked up a 3rd round pick to boot. A

Round 2, Pick 31 (62) Terrence Wheatley CB 5'9" 178 Colorado

This draft was very thin on corners and really after Talib I don't know how many of these corners have starting potential. Wheatley is a solid player who plays big than his size and is physical. He has a good work ethic and is a Patriots type guy. However, he's small and that will hold him back at the next level. Jason Webster and Ellis Hobbs also are both 5'9". I don't know how the Patriots intend to guard big WR's this year. I think there were a lot more intriguing corners available at this spot (Smith, Molden, Godfrey) who they could afford to roll the dice with. D

Round 3, Pick 15 (78) (From Saints) Shawn Crable OLB 6'5" 241 Michigan

Another player who fits great. Crable is a big, smart experienced LB from a big college program. Much like Mayo he can play inside or outside. He is another guy who will make an immediate impact on the Pats D and become a standout on special teams. B+

Round 3, Pick 31 (94) Kevin O'Connell QB 6'5" 225 San Diego State

From the people who brought you Tom Brady bring you Kevin O'Connell! I mean he has the experience (4 year starter plus red shirt year) and the size. He has decent speed and can make some things happen with his feet. However he's a project and a big one at that. I understand the need for a long term back up behind Brady but, when you see how late some like Woodson lasted you can only assume this pick was a big big reach. I also would have preferred Woodson to O'Connell as the toolsy project QB. D

Round 4, Pick 30 (129) Jonathan Wilhite CB 5'10" 185 Auburn

I like Wilhite. Three year starter in the SEC and is a little underrated. I don't know if he ever projects a starter but as a nickel or dime guy he could find a role. B

Round 5, Pick 18 (153) (From Buccaneers) Matt Slater WR 5'11" 195 UCLA

I mean this is a pick just for special teams (maybe gimmick plays) but there were WR's left who could have been taken for special teams purposes and fill a role catching passes. This pick is a giant reach. F


Round 6, Pick 31 (197) Bo Ruud OLB 6'4" 234 Nebraska

The younger brother of current Bucs middle linebacker Barrett Ruud. Might be able to make the team as a special teams standout but really he was more of an undrafted free agent type than a 6th rounder. C-

This was a weird draft for the Patriots. It's hard to make an overall draft grade for them for a few reasons. One, they hit on a lot of players who will make an immediate impact. Two, they also acquired a second round pick next year for a third rounder this year which was a shrewd move and has to boost their grade slightly. Three, Kevin O'Connell is a total wild card. Fourth, their the Patriots...there going to be good and it seems no matter who they throw out their in the secondary they will succeeded.

Finally the reason this is a weird draft is spy gate. Not going to beat a dead horse but the Pat's lost a first round pick (and likely a very talented player) because they cheated. I think you have to knock their grade down because of this.

C-

New England Selects....

This is interesting, everyone in building is booing the Patriots. Didn't see that coming.

Apparently, the pick is Jerrod Mayo. Wow. That's bad. He is such a freaking reach. I have never been a big believer in Mayo, and I think that this is a very very bad pick.

More Trade Mania!

The Jaguars have Traded up with the Ravens, which is huge because this means that they probably gave up NEXT year's first round pick to move up so high.

This is probably going to be Derrick Harvey, the defensive end from Florida.

Which is what they need to become a Super Bowl Caliber team.

The Patriots got the Saints 3rd round pick and the Saints got back a 5th. Pretty Even Value.

The New England Patriots Select...

To trade the pick to the Saints....

Hmmm..This could be a couple of things. It could be McKelvin, it could be Ellis.

And it's Ellis.

Sedrick Ellis is a solid force in the middle of a defensive line, and he fills a need. The Saints really wanted Dorsey but Get Ellis as consolation Prize.

We have Vanilla, Strawberry and People

I've never liked chocolate ice cream, don't know why....I hate peanut butter also.(Yes, I'm a weirdo and yes this tangent has a purpose)

You know what ice cream flavor I like?

Vanilla.

Some might call it bland or simple. I call it pure and refreshing.

Now you've either; A) Stopped reading or B) Wondering where on earth I could be possibly going with this.

Let's hope it's B.

If I want Ice Cream; Vanilla.
My Girlfriend; Strawberry (old faithful but flavorful)
My Car; Carmel Swirl (classy, smooth and rich)

I want my football team to be Rocky Road. You don't know what the hell is in it but it has a cool name and tastes really good.

Apparently Josh McDaniels didn't get the memo.

Bill Belichick came to the counter of Baskin Robins (Now...That's a funny image...someone with photo shop get on that) and Josh McDaniels scooped him an extra-large vanilla game plan, with a hot turd topping.

You know I think theres something we forget about assistant coaches....sometimes there assistants for a reason. It's why all too often first time coaches flame out. Jason Garret and McDaniels might be very good coaches one day, but this post-season was the year of the retreads and now we see why.

I didn't get anything, anything the Patriots did on offense. They had two weeks to game plan and came up with this? Did you not figure the Giants were going to be bringing pressure at Brady? It wasn't exactly a well kept secret. Where were the adjustments? You know...things you do when things aren't going as planned. Were you just content with an injured QB, who was clearly not right, getting pounded all game?

I wish I had game film to analyze (And when Anthony inevitable buys the Championship DVD I will) but here are some things I noticed.

1) Draws? Counters? Where art thou!

The Giants run defense is great. In fact the ability of their pass rushing front four to stop the run so well is the driving force behind defense. However since they are such a "north/south" type unit they are prone to draw and counter running plays.

I really can't remember the Pats running many of these types of plays. According to the Play-by-play they only ran up the middle three times and to the right twice. I understand the run wasn't working but they only gave Maroney 14 carries to get it going, and most of them were generic off left tackle plays.

2) Why abandon the run?

I know Maroney wasn't working but, did they gave him a fair chance? Secondly if Maroney's style of running wasn't working why not try Faulk? Faulk, I know was hurt for some of the game but he still managed to catch 7 passes while attempting only one run.

To a lesser extent I wouldn't have minded big bruising guys like Heath Evans and Eckel get some touches if nothing else but to wear down the Giants defense ala Brandon Jacobs.

3) Uh...Tom's Hurt. Maybe We Shouldn't Throw 50 Times?

Gripes one and two tie into this point, why the hell was Brady throwing so much?

A) He clearly was affected by his ankle sprain
B) Pass blocking was non-existent
C) This was a close defensive punch you in the mouth type of game. The Patriots should have been more worried about clock control and keeping the first down in manageable range.

None of these factors should lead to a pass heavy offense.

4) Wes Welker Could Have Had 200 Catches!

I wish I had an exact percentage to gauge how money the quick slant/screen play to Welker was, but I'm guessing it was close to 100%. I know he had 11 catches...but he should have had more.

Until the Giants either, proved they could stop that play or had to adjust there defense to stop that play, McDaniels should have kept going back to the well. On every throw to Welker it seemed to be a replay of his previous catch. Welker would run a quick 3-4 yard route, make the catch, and squirm his way upfield for a 7 yard gain. The coverage on him was soft, most plays the corner was playing a solid three yards off him.

Eventually the Giants would have adjusted (because ya know that's what good coaches do) but the adjustment would have resulted in other things opening up for the Patriots explosive offense.

It would have either, afforded Brady more time, leave Moss in single coverage or possibly both.

Another play they had similar sucess with was the Stallworth screen. He finished with only three catches but should have been targeted more.

Here's an offensive game-plan that would have worked.

1) Spread the field.

Force the Giants to consider not rushing 6. Going 5 wide would leave many people in single coverage if the Giants continued to rush 5-6 at Brady.

2) Go to a modified west coast offense.

Bill Walsh had the blueprint to beat a fierce pass rush many years ago. Quick routes, with a smart accurate QB and gifted WR's.

If Brady had taken a 1-3 step drop and just hit Welker, Faulk or Watson (who really was a non-factor this game) over the middle, or hit Gaffney/Stallworth/Moss on a quick out it would have been deadly. The Giants secondary isn't exactly the deepest unit.

When you mix that in with the occasional Moss bomb play it might have been unstoppable. It at worst, would have forced the Giants to generate pressure with only their front four.

I didn't write this with the intention of disparaging the Giants. They won the game, flat out, they were a better more prepared team. They deserved to win, Eli deserved to be the Super Bowl MVP.

Eli deserved to be the Super Bowl MVP. Happy Giant faithful?

The only guy who I think was more deserving on an MVP trophy was Steve Spagnuolo. He was great. He had a great game plan, got the most (and than some) out of his players, and every blitz he dialed up worked.

During the second quarter my friend Dave turned to me and said "this game is boring, this sucks"

I disagreed. Spag's was an artist and the Pat's were his canvas.

One blitz that stuck out in my mind was when Webster (Corner Back) and Wilson (Free Safety)both blitzed, somehow Moss was still double covered. They play didn't result in anything flashy like a pick or a sack...just an incompletion.

But It was a great football play executed to perfection, and to me that's pretty damn entertaining.

Kudos to the Giants. They earned it, now their the Super Bowl Champs, on top of the world and the 18 and 1 Pat's are just the 43rd best team ever.


Oh..and if you ever see Steve Spagnuolo in an Ice Cream shop I bet you he's ordering Quarterback Crunch.

(Jason Comack Ladies and Gentleman, He'll be here all week. And remember the 9 o'clock show is different than the 6 o'clock show.)

This is the Only Giant Gushing I'm going to do all week...Promise.

Largely due to the grace which Jason has handled the last couple of days, I've decided that I'm going to write one Giants article, and then start looking forward to things like College Basketball and the Draft.

All that can be said is wow. We said on the radio show that there was no way that anyone in their right mind (wearing the Veil of Neutrality, of course) could possibly take the Giants to win this game. They were the inferior team, right?

Maybe not.

Listen, the Patriots are great, and they should still be considered one of the best teams of all time. They were so daunting that a mediocre defense was barely noticeable because of the output of a ridiculous offense. However, does anyone feel like this Patriot team was put together a little bit differently then all the other Super Bowl winners?

This team didn't look like the Patriots of old, in fact that looked a lot like the Rams that they beat to begin this run in 2002.

They spread the field and used the crazy amount of weapons they had in the passing game to beat teams into submission by dropping 40 points on them. They almost never ran the ball (until they had to in the postseason) and never needed to. They were the greatest show on turf north.

Then, this little upstart team that had gone through it's ups and downs comes into the Super Bowl as a huge underdog and is supposed to not even show up.

Then, the little team that could punches the favorites straight in the mouth and the favorites staggers back, wondering "Where the hell did these guys come from?"

Funny how history works.

Notes from the game:

- Stop Eli Hating. It's amazing. What else does this guy have to do? Here's an IGN.com article saying that five people deserved the MVP more. The guy lead two go-ahead fourth quarter touchdown drives. Let him enjoy his trophy.

- Phil McConkey, meet David Tyree. Turns out that Tyree was the 2008 version of Mcconkey, an obscure guy stepping up and carving a spot in history.

- If you would have told me that the Giants wouldn't run the ball well, but would win, I would have ahd you committed. Yet, here we are.

- Justin Tuck is a beast.

- I truly believe that Michael Strahan and Amani Toomer are done. Congrats guys, go enjoy your money. You earned it.

Now, To sign off:

I'll take a Large, please.

This Right Here Says Everything...

C.W. Post Pioneer: The Final Semester Column #1: Deja Blue!

In January 1991, I was only five years old. I didn’t quite understand what was going on around me. I didn’t get it when my father and brother were so touched by Whitney Houston’s national anthem. I didn’t get why all the players on the Giants and Bills were wearing yellow armbands. I didn’t understand that in the scope of things, the game I was about to watch meant so little.

However, I was old enough to understand the only two words that mattered to me that night: “Wide Right.”

When Norwood’s kick sailed just outside the uprights into the Tampa Bay night, I knew watch I had just watched. I had watched David slay Goliath. I had watched a team that wasn’t flashy or exciting defeat a team that was supposed to run their opponents into the ground with a high octane offense led by three future Hall of Famers. I had watched 60 minutes of championship football played by the New York Giants.

Fast forward 17 years, and Big Blue is stuck in a time warp that leads them right back to the days when Motown Philly topped the charts and the high top fade was still in style. The Giants are in a Super Bowl that they have no shot of winning against a team that is supposed to make them say uncle faster than you can say “Tom Brady’s ankle looks fine.”

However, if there is anything that I learned back in 1991, it’s that there is a simple formula to beating a much better team, and it happened to be perfected by the same organization that will try to do it again this Sunday night.

The recipe is not as complicated as you would think. It starts with a quarterback who is capable of protecting the ball. A guy who can make just enough plays to keep the chains moving enough to keep the ball out of the clutches of the other teams electrifying offense. In 91, it was Jeff Hostetler, a classic overachiever who took over for Phil Simms late in the season and led the Giants on a Cinderella playoff run. This year, its Eli Manning, who has shook every last doubter off his shoulders to stand up as the “Last Manning Standing.” Are the two similar? Of course, except for one thing: Manning is a hell of a lot better than Hostetler ever was. Manning has the capability to take the game over when need be, like he did in the last minute of the half against the Cowboys. He can torch a defense by spreading the ball around and strike quickly, which was something Hostetler never could even imagine.

Then, you move on to a punishing ground game, starring a pair of runners who would make a defense pay every time they tried to being them to the ground. Guys who could keep that clock running and the keep the first downs piling up on the stat sheet. Back in the early 90’s it was O.J. Anderson and Rookie Rodney Hampton. Now, Brandon Jacobs and rookie Ahmad Bradshaw fill those same shoes.

Next, you have to mix in some tough defense. Defense that will make a potent offense say uncle by hitting all of those high paid skill position players straight in the mouth. The pass rush is the key. Against the almighty Bills, it was LT, Carl Banks and Leonard Marshall. Against the unbeatable Pats, it’s Michael Strahan, Osi Umeniyora, and Justin Tuck. The Giants did a remarkable job of making one of the leagues best offensive lines look silly in beating up on Jim Kelly, just like they seek to do against Brady.

Last but not least, you have to be focused on getting revenge. The Bills had beaten the Giants earlier in the season in a heartbreaker, for more than one reason. After the Giants defense had knocked Jim Kelly out of the game, the Bills returned the favor by breaking Phil Simms’ foot. Kelly would return before the end of the season, but Simms would not. It would be the last of the Giants three losses that season, but it would be the one that would also be the sweetest as they took revenge on the grandest stage of them all.

This year, it seemed that the Giants were just another speed bump in the way of the Patriots quest towards 16-0. In the last week of the season, the Giants had nothing left to play for except pride. Instead of rolling over, they gave the Patriots one of the best fights they saw all season, ultimately coming up just short, as they were on the tail end of 38-35 score. The game bred bad blood between the two teams, as Vince Wilfork tried to poke Jacobs in eye, and Rodney Harrision went as far as the call the Giants dirty.

Much like their 1990 counterparts, these Giants have a chance to go get their revenge on a team that they don’t exactly like. They face great odds, as no one on this earth seems to be giving them much of a chance to even keep up with the Patriots, and Brady, the Football Jesus. However, all they need to do is go into the film room in Giants Stadium for an example of how the heavy favorite can be toppled by the little team that could.

Thoughts While Hating my Art 101 Class....

- I hate baseball right now, and don't see how anyone could not. The only two stories that ANYONE is following are Roger Clemens and the idiot trainer (Who lets their personal trainer inject them with anything? My doctor comes at me with a needle and I'm ready to fight him.) and Hank Steinbrenner talking about Johan. What's the point? Call me jaded, but I'm so done with baseball right now.

- I am excited for this weekend's slate of games, I think that Jaguars v. Patriots has the chance to be great, and Chargers v. Colts is going to come down to how effective Tomlinson is. I think that people are underestimating the fact that the Patriots and Colts CAN lose. I'd be surprised if both of them make it out of this weekend.

- In the NFC, it's pretty much a toss-up. The Cowboys and Packers are favored, but are both beatable. The Pack is probably the stronger team right now, but don't fall into all of this "The Cowboys are out of rhythm talk." It's crap, the Cowboys are going to give the Giants their best shot. I often don't think that receivers are that important, but Owens playing in this game is huge. I'd feel much better about the Giants chances if it's Glenn and Crayton on the outside. I always say this, but if their is one player that Corey Webster has played well against in his career, it's Glenn. Look it up.

- No matter who wins the other game, the Giants are going into a tough situation if they win. either Lambeau or Qwest are tough places to play, and the weather is sure to miserable either places. There are no easy games in NFC for anyone more.

- I've been a slave to my new Xbox 360 recently, and I love every second of it. Between Madden '08 (I know, I hate it, but It's football. I have to.) and Mass Effect (Play it. Just trust me.) and NFL Tour which releases today, I have a full plate of games. It's awesome.