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Weekly Commentary
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Wednesday,
February 4, 2004
NFL RUNDOWN: Postseason
Ok I know that everyone is probably talking about the
Halftime show still, so I will address it briefly.
Yes
it was planned for Justin Timberlake to de-robe Janet Jackson, yes
Kid Rock showed disrespect by wearing an American flag with A HOLE in it, and
yes Nelly needs to stop grabbing at his..... The thing is that the media is
over-blowing the whole thing. I watched the game with a group of people that
weren't Christians, and even they noticed and commented on the Kid Rock thing.
But I was the only one in the group that saw the
Janet
Jackson incident. The rest of the people I was with had lost interest
with the halftime concert and had stopped watching. The league is acting all
shocked and offended, please give me a break, what were they expecting when they
hired MTV to produce the whole thing. The one bright spot in all the pre-game
and halftime nonsense was Ms. Beyonce
Knowles. What a beautiful performance with the singing of the national anthem.
All right now about the game, I have
to start off by apologizing to Chris. Early
last week I blasted him for thinking that both teams would score over 30 points.
Well Chris I was wrong and you were almost dead on. That being said, Chris and
all the rest of the media need to stop hailing this as
one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time. Are you kidding me?! The
first quarter and a half was the most boring football I've seen all year. I mean
unless you like to watch teams exchange punts. The last three minutes of the 2nd
quarter and the 4th quarter were the only parts of the game worth watching.
There was no scoring in the 3rd quarter. And for those that want to call it
great defense, where was that great defense when both teams were torching each
others defense's in the 2nd and 4th quarters. This game was full of missed
tackles, blown coverage, stupid decisions, and tons of penalties. All that talk
of an all-time great defense in the Patriots D-unit
can be thrown out.
Yes it was a great finish but that's all. A great game is one
that has you captivated from kickoff to the final whistle. And all this talk of
Tom Brady being Joe Montana, and the
Patriots being a dynasty needs to stop. Tom Brady is a very good QB, but there
are 3 or 4 QBs in the league I would start my team with over him. Peyton Manning
being my first choice. Put it this way, if Tom Brady were on the Chicago Bears
he would be putting up decent numbers, if Michael Vick
or Peyton Manning were on the
Bears,
the Bears would of made it to the playoffs. And where was all this dynasty talk
a few years back when the Denver Broncos were winning back to back Super Bowls.
Congratulations New England, hope this can hold you over till next football
season cause the Red Sox will still finish second to the Yankees.
Finally, the real reason why I watch the Super Bowl (just
kidding) is for the commercials. And I have to say this year
I was really disappointed. There were 4 maybe 5
commercials worth watching. Come on you have to do better than that. I heard
some where that Coca Cola wants a refund of its
2.5
million dollars back since the day after the Super Bowl no one was
talking about one of their commercials but just about the halftime show. Maybe
if they made a commercial worth remembering.
Anyways I'm out.
Thanks to those of
you who actually read this column. Hope you enjoyed it. See you
NEXT SEASON.
Hit
me up wit your questions/comments at Bigdome85@yahoo.com.
Wednesday,
January 28, 2004
Super
Bowl Special
How's everyone doing? First I want to
congratulate Chris for
three years of keeping up a good Site. I am honored
to be a part of it. And to Brenda, great job on the wedding pictures, really
nice update.
Alright, now for some football. First I want to say that I came down to
hard on Houston in my last update. Hey any place warmer than 10 degrees has
gotta be better than Chicago right now. Some people in the media have been
complaining that a two week layoff between the Championship games and the
Super Bowl is to long. I disagree, these two weeks
give me a chance to step back and break down the two teams. Plus planning for
Super Bowl day takes a lot of work. I mean where are you gonna watch it? What
are you gonna eat? Who you gonna watch it with? All these questions require a
lot of consideration.
As you know I have picked New England to
win the game while at the same time hoping for a Carolina upset. For those of
you that are into betting the line is at about 8 points in favor of the
Patriots. For the Panthers to have a chance to win they have to be able to run
the ball
30-35 times in the game. If they do this it means
they weren't forced to throw the ball all game by being down and having to play
catch up. When teams get down early they abandon the rush. Stephen Davis should
be pretty
close to 100%. He needs to have a big game. One thing
to watch out for is the officials, and the way they call the game. If they let
the Patriots play the physical, bump the receiver 10 yards down the field style
that they played against the Colts, then Jack Delhome is gonna have a long
day.
The
Pats defense plays extremely physical and as hard as the refs will allow. That
being said the Panthers defensive unit is no slouch. They have a great d-line.
Add that to the fact that the Patriots have no running game and we might see Tom
Brady throw the ball 50 plus times. All you Pats fans shouldn't be fooled by
Antwoin Smith's 100 yard rushing game against the Colts,
it will not happen against the Panthers. One other aspect that will come into
play for both these teams is the Special Teams. The Panthers have the best
punter in the game in Todd Saurburn, and a very good kicker in John Casey. The
Pats have one of the best if not the
best kicker in Adam Vinneteri. This game might come down to field
goals and who is more clutch.
WHO HAS THE EDGE?
Pats defense against Panthers Offense
edge:
Patriots
Panthers defense against Pats Offense
edge:
Panthers
Quarterback edge:
Tom Brady
Running Back edge:
Stephen Davis
Coaching edge:
Patriots (this is were experience comes into
play)
Special teams edge:
Patriots
Well everyone hope you
enjoy the game because I sure will. And I'll talk to
you all one more time after the Big game.
Hit
me up wit your questions/comments at Bigdome85@yahoo.com.
Wednesday,
January 21, 2004
Countdown to the Super Bowl
Man this season has flown by. I have had
a
lot of fun doing these updates. This is one of the last 3 updates I will be
doing. Once again I was disappointed to see the New England Patriots advance.
Their stingy defense along with some nasty East Coast weather (yes the weather
played a big part) shut down Peyton Manning and the Colts powerful offense. But
in the NFC, I got to enjoy the Carolina Panthers
run
all over the Eagles. Yes the Eagles are once again going home after a defeat in the
conference championship game. I think that's three years in a row but who is
counting. Choke, choke, choke. Sorry Donavan, better luck next year. And do me a
favor, stop blaming the receiver after ever incomplete pass or interception you
throw.
I am hearing talk about how the
Super
Bowl is going to be boring. Nonsense, I am excited to see the underdog Panthers surprise the
Patriots. That being said my official pick for the Super Bowl is: New England
Patriots 24 Carolina Panthers 17. I do hope I'm wrong, but after 14 games
in a row without a loss, you would be insane to bet money against the Pats. I
hope Houston is ready for the big game. It's the city's chance to shine. The
Super Bowl brings millions of dollars in business each year to the city with the
big
game. I don't know if Houston can handle the pressure. I mean if you
were a player on one of the Super Bowl teams, would you want to spend the two
weeks leading up to the big game to be in Houston or some really hot spots like
Miami, or San Diego. I'm kinda going off on a tangent but it is a slow time in
the league.
Hit
me up wit your questions/comments at Bigdome85@yahoo.com.
Tuesday,
January 13, 2004
Special Playoff Edition
For
those of you who actually care about football, there is a lot to talk about.
Lets start off by putting this whole "the
Packers are a team of destiny"
deal to rest. I will admit, even with me being a diehard Bears fan, I found
myself rooting for Brett Favre (not his team) to prevail. Partly because of the
respect I have for his great career, and all he has gone through, and partly
because I don't like the Eagles. But Sunday proved that teams aren't destined to
win. There were no angels on the field helping the Packers. God wasn't willing
the Packers to win a Super Bowl just because Brett Favre lost his father.
Also,
on
Sunday I saw one of the most amazing
offensive performances
by an NFL team. Think about this, there was not one single punt by either team,
the entire game. What did you expect? You had the leagues number one offense
against its number two offense. Add to that the Chiefs having the 29th ranked
defense in the league, (the Colts defense hasn't exactly dominated anyone this
year). Enough said.
Peyton
Manning has
been unstoppable. This guy is a straight up throw back to old school QB's. If
you could build a perfect robot QB I would want it to come out like this guy. I
don't mean to sound cheezy, but lets examine this closely. Manning has great arm
strength, unbelievable pose, is a very smart decision maker. He is 6'5
(and yes
height matters in this league, no offense Doug Flutie) and is getting better
each year. Now I know he hasn't won a playoff game till this year, but to be
fair you have to put some of the blame on the teams he had around him.
You
know, I
was rooting against the Patriots, but they pulled it out against
one of my favorite teams
on Saturday. The Titans played all out but in the end the Patriots were just a
little better in a game played in 0 degree weather, with a 20 below wind
chill.
Before
I talk about all the coaching moves, I want to give my picks for next week. And
yes, I was wrong by picking the Rams to go all the way.
Indy
Colts over New England Patriots
Philly
Eagles over Carolina Panthers
Now
for what its worth, I
am a big Joe Gibbs fan.
Like Chris stated in his update, the man is a good Christian and a very likable
guy. He has done nothing but win in his career. From football to NASCAR,
he is one of the most respected men in all of football. All of that being said, I
am going to really hate to see him go out a loser by mixing himself up with the garbage
that is the Washington
Redskins
these days. He deserves a much better fit than this. By the way Redskins fans,
I'm really tired of hearing you all promote yourselves as the "most
diehard fans" in all of football. Any true football fan lives and
dies by their team's outcome on Sundays. So stop acting like the Skins recent
losing is hurting you any more than the last 18 years of losing the Bears have
gone through hurts me.
Back
to J.Gibbs. The league has changed so much since this man last coached. I'm
not sure if he will be able to fix this team in a fast enough time. I know teams
can go from first to worst these days, but they can also go from mediocre to very
bad in a short period of time. And as much as all Skins fans are celebrating
right now, trust me the honeymoon will be short lived if you all don't
get immediate results.
That's just how the league is these days. Like it or not, I would love to hear from
some Skin fans out there.
Hit
me up wit your questions/comments at Bigdome85@yahoo.com.
Thursday,
January 1, 2004
Week 17
Thoughts
Well its been a while, but I'm back. We
finally
have reached the end of the NFL regular season. This is the time of the
year were coaches are fired by the dozen, and here in Chicago we saw
first hand what happens to the coaches in this league that don't win.
Dick Jauron is a very nice, educated, and classy guy, but he simply
didn't win enough football games. I mean he got 5 years. In the NFL
these days, that is an eternity. Coaches who don't win immediately are
canned. Look at Bill Callahan from Oakland, took his team to the
Super Bowl
last year and now after one bad season he is out. Jim Fassel is another
example, this man is only a few years removed from the Super Bowl, and
he took his team to the playoffs last year, but he is out. It definitely
is a what-have-you done for me lately league.
But the
biggest coaching change
has come out of
Washington. Let me start by saying
"Washington your team sucked this year, and would have with or without
Steve Spurrier." I would love for the Bears to hire Spurrier as our next
head coach. While I give Snyder credit for being willing to spend
whatever it takes to win, I have to say his meddling in on the field
issues is ridiculous. It is what ultimately led Spurrier to resign.
Though Spurrier will probably never be a better NFL coach then he was a
college coach, I believe given the right situation he can succeed in the
NFL. And Washington was the wrong fit for him from the very first day he
took the job.
This has been a
very entertaining
NFL season. I have enjoyed every minute of the Bucs demise, and the
Panthers rise. I hope MEshawn Johnson never plays for another NFL team.
I hope Bruce Smith gets passed on the all-time sack list soon. I hope
the Patriots get bounced from the playoffs in the first round. And I
hope you all have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Hit me up wit your questions and
comments at
bigdome85@yahoo.com
Wednesday,
December 3, 2003
Week 13
Thoughts
Well it was a pretty entertaining Sunday. I'm happy, my Bears
are still mathematically
still in the playoff race. Kind of funny though, today I heard
some one say that in Tampa with the Bucs being 5-7 every one says
they have no chance. But here in Chicago with the same 5-7 record
we are all thinking playoffs. Just goes to show you all the losing
this city has gone through the last decade, any little sign of
hope and we are all over it. I have to say that the New
England-Indy game was probably the most exciting of the year. I
mean come on, if you can't score the winning TD when you have 1st
and goal from the 3 yard line then it just sucks to be you.
I see
Michael Vick
made his return to the sorry Falcons and yes they still lost. He
did ok though in his 1 quarter of playing time. How bout that
Chad Pennington?! I didn't really think he was all that but he
has been
pretty darn good
since he came back from a broken hand.
Early in the year when the
Vikings
had just lost there first game and were 6-1 their owner ripped
into them after the game. I was thinking at the time "take
it easy man it is just one game" turns out he was right to
call them an embarrassment to the fans. They have gone 1-5 since
that great start.
Finally I know I said I would list 10 receivers better than
MEshawn Johnson, so here goes: Randy Moss, Terrell
Owens, Marty Booker, Chad Johnson, Donald Driver, Hines Ward,
Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, and Charles Rodgers. Now
it is not necessarily in that order. Have a good week you all.
Hit me up wit your questions and comments at
bigdome85@yahoo.com
Thursday,
November 27, 2003
Week 12
Thoughts
Happy
Thanksgiving everyone. Hope every one has a
blessed
holiday
(even though I have to work). Ok lets get something straight if
Bruce Smith has not been able to break Reggie Whites all-time sack
record by this time, (what is it his 30 season) he shouldn't be
blaming the lack of playing time he is getting. Come on you have
had
19 years
Bruce its time to move on. And what was all that hooping and
hollering on Sunday when he got that half sack, please he got
their right when his teammate was about to take the QB to the
ground. He shouldn't have gotten the half sack. Yeah the Bucs
really needed the all-pro wide receiver KJ to win....NOT! What a
joke, I'm so glad the NFL doesn't put up with all the nonsense
that the NBA does. The NFL is not about the individual players its
about the team.
The
NBA
needs to take a
lesson
from the
NFL
and stop pampering its "superstars". What gives with
Tiki Barber? This guy can't hang on to the football if his life
depended on it. It is all in his head now. He needs to stop
thinking so much about fumbling. Ok that all for this week.
Hit me up wit your questions and comments at
bigdome85@yahoo.com
Wednesday,
November 19, 2003
Week 11
Thoughts
Hey
how is everyone doing this week? Well it is official the Bucs are
not going to the playoffs. Think about this, both teams that
were in the Super Bowl last year are a combined 7-13. Yah I know,
pretty pathetic. And to cap it all off I just heard some news that
both shocked me and brightened up my day, the Tampa Bay Bucs have
deactivated
Keyshawn Johnson
for the rest of the season. Why? you ask. Well no it wasn't
because of injury. But as the Bucs' GM put it "Keyshawn's
actions were becoming detrimental to the team." In effect the
Bucs have suspended Mr.Give me the D@$# ball, for the season. This
is a shame. How can someone with a superstar attitude (if not
superstar talent) be so selfish that he forces his own team to
suspend him because of his attitude? I guess since I never have
had or will ever have such God given athletic talent I can not
understand the "trouble" Johnson is going through.
Enough
about the Bucs. Yes it is official there is no longer an
undefeated team in the league. The
Cincy
Bengals
(who by the way are playing better than they have in a decade)
took the Chiefs out to the shed and spanked them. Still at 9-1 the
Chiefs are the best team.
Just
in case any body from San Francisco was getting excited about the
Niners...don't. They beat a pathetic team in the Steelers
yesterday. And were have the Vikings gone? this team starts off
6-0
then loses four in a row. If the Bears had won the last 2 weeks
they would only be 1 game back. Alrighty enough for this week.
Hit me up wit your questions and comments at
bigdome85@yahoo.com
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