sportsfanatic

OK, now I have heard it all. Terrell Owens is not wanting to give advise to Jerry Jones about how to run the Dallas Cowboys. This might be the best thing since TO cried for his quarterback. I think I heard Tony Romo practicing “Don’t cry for me Argentina” yesterday.

I think that the first piece of advice that TO should give Jerry is to get rid of everyone that is not a team player. Then, secondly, they should get rid of all the “thug” players. And then, lastly, they should get rid of the players that do not want to get hit.

Once all that is done, then the Dallas Cowgirls can go back to being the Cowboys and maybe win a game. That is just my 2 cents worth.

Even though the New York Giants lost today, there was a sweet victory of sorts. Today, Derrick Ward surpassed the 1000 rushing yard mark to end the regular season with 1,025 rushing yards. His running mate, Brandon Jacobs, has also surpassed the 1000 yard mark this season as well. Jacobs has 1,089 of his own hard earned yards on the ground this season. As a team, the Giants have 2,383 rushing yards. They also hold a team average of 5 yards a carry.

Derrick’s yards today came against one of the best run defenses in the league, the Minnesota Vikings. As impressive as he was today, I think last week pretty much sealed the deal when he eclipsed over 200 rushing yards in that game. As Derrick is the number 2 back and most of his yards are earned in the third down situation, he has stepped up big when given the opportunity. I think that a lot of people thought that the team would be hurt when Jacobs went down, but Ward has quieted most of them.

When you couple in the 406 yards that these two earned in pass receptions along with the 2,114 on the ground, and they have accounted for 2,520 yards of the Giants offense. Considering that the Giants have a total of 5,507 total yards, that is pretty impressive. If you throw in the third running back, Ahmad Bradshaw, they account for more than half of the offensive production in yards.

The history was made when Ward surpassed the 1,000 mark. He, along with Brandon, became just the 4th tandem to achieve 1,000 yards each in a single season. They join the likes of  Miami’s Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris who were the first tandem to ever accomplish the feat. They managed it in 1972. Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier of the Pittsburgh Steelers did it in 1976. The final running back tandem to do it was Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack of the 1985 Cleveland Browns.

Brett Farve has “retired” 2 years in a row. The first time that he did it, it was quite and painless as he held the Green Bay Packers hostage. The second year that he did it, it was painful and took away one of the best all time quarterbacks in the history of the Green Bay Packers. Now, he is crying the same song before the season is even over. It makes me think that he wants someone to jump up and down telling him that they can not survive without him.

Personally, I think that the New York Jets could survive. The Packers did what they needed to do and cut ties with Favre this year. An, though they did not get into the playoffs, they will be a better team next year for it. Aaron Rodgers has taken his bumps and bruises this season and he will be better for it.

What remains to be seen is if the Jets can manage to beat the Dolphins this weekend and try to get back into the playoff picture. I am not even sure if it is mathematically possible for them to climb back in. For all it is worth to me, I hope that they lose this weekend to the Miami Dolphins and lay this season to rest.

The Denver Broncos have no one to thank but themselves. They have played themselves right into the thick of it and now it is time to pay the piper. The last time these two teams met, it was an ugly game. Both offenses ran like the defense forgot to show up. Denver escaped with a one point victory and are very happy for that. However, Sunday nights game is not in Denver and it is for all the marbles.

Talk about being able to control your own destiny. If Denver wins, then it is all over and the Chargers can go home for the off season. The fat lineman can go home and eat double cheese burgers, LT can run up and down stadium stairs and make commericals, and Phillip Rivers can go chase teeny boppers with his buddy Matt.

However, if the Chargers wins, then that happens to throw a monkey wrench into the whole playoff pitcher. This leaves both teams with a tie win/loss record. So, then you look at win/loss between the two teams and that would also be tied. And, if by some miracle, the Chargers were to win by 1 point, then the real fun hits. Ouch!!! That makes my head hurt.

In the end, does it really matter? Not in my book. Neither of these teams will have a chance in the playoffs. I would think that either loses in the first round and goes home.

Earlier today, I wrote a post on Athletic Alley entitled A reflection on sports in 2008. In that article, I review several different sports events that stuck out to me in 2008.  For my readers here, I wanted to take a look at just one of those events.

For those that do not know, I am a huge New York Giants fan. Last season I had to endure all of the critics that would state that Eli was not made for this league. Some comments would be that Brandon Jacobs is no more than a tight end that is trying to be a running back. Well, to have them beat the only undefeated team for the coveted championship was the icing on the cake.

What I took pleasure in though is the fact that when each and every critic counted this team out, they did not count themselves out. Instead, they march into each teams backyard and took the football away from them. They even stood up to the New England Patriots and played them tough.

With all of that, the greatest accomplishment was when they went to Dallas during the playoffs. To see a dejected Tony Romo and Terrell Owens walk off the field was enough to have satisfied me had the Giants lost in the Super Bowl.

All in all, this had to be my most cherished sports reflection of all in 2008. I am just hoping that we can repeat in 2009.

Today the Pro Bowl voting results were announced. As a Giants fan, I am happy to see QB Eli Manning (2007 Superbowl MVP), G Chris Snee, C Shaun O’Hara , DE Justin Tuck, P Jeff Feagles, PK John Carney (the oldest Pro Bowl selection). Six selection from the Giants is pretty good. This will also be the first time in Pro Bowl history that quarterback brothers, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning, will oppose one another.

Manning and Drew Brees (QB New Orleans) are the backups to starter Kurt Warner. While I am happy that Manning has been selected as a NFC quarterback, it is also very appropriate the Kurt Warner and Drew Brees are also going. As of today, the statistics for both Warner and Brees in terms of passing yards and TD do exceed those of Manning. With the outstanding selections on from both conferences this should be a fun and competitive game as always.

This year’s corps of running backs have a lot to be proud of. It seems that each and every Sunday, the NFL broadcasters are talking about these boys a majority of the time. Names like Chris Johnson, Matt Forte, Steve Staton, Tim Hightower, Ray Rice, Jonathan Stewart, Darren McFadden, Rashard Mendenhall, and Felix Jones have been pushing the “old” guys out of the way. Hell, 3 of these names have already surpassed 1000 yards before we got to week 15. That would be Chicago Bears’ RB Forte, Houston Texans’ RB Steve Staton, and Tennessee Titans’ RB Johnson. What I am more impressed with is the fact that Chris Johnson did his while sharing almost half the teams carries with LenDale White. The other two have shouldered the majority of their teams totes.

I think that I can safely say that no one really thought that these three guys would have this big of an impact on the National Football League. I am amazed that between the three running backs they have carried the ball 697 times for a combined 3,199 total rushing yards. This is an average of 4.59 yards per carry. While Johnson leads the three in yard with 1,094, Forte has the most totes at 269 while Staton has the best average at 4.97 yards per carry. It is not surprising that Chris is ranked 6, Matt 7th, and Steve 8th amongst all rushers going into week 15.

Can you imagine what these guys will be doing in 3 years?

Last weekends NFL games managed to clinch 3 of the 8 division titles. The Titans and the Cardinals were able to win theirs outright as the Giants have to send a huge “Thank You” to the Steelers for theirs. The Broncos will have a chance to win theirs this coming weekend with a victory or a San Diego loss. There are several teams that look like they can wrap theirs up to with a win by them and a loss by the closest team that follows, but that is so much speculation.

When you look at the AFC East, there is a log jam at the top with 3 teams sitting at 8-5. Currently, that record will only get you a divisional championship as the wild card race is sitting at 9-4. When you head over to the NFC North as well as the South, the log jam is not as tight. It is still a jam there and this weekend can make it tighter or looser. It will really be up to several factors of how teams perform. All in all, it is set to be another exciting weekend on the gridiron.

The more that I hear about the BCS the more that I know that it is flawed from top to bottom. It goes back to the old say of “Garbage in, Garbage out”. When deciding a national champion, using a computer to pick the game has to be the worst thing that I have ever heard of. After watching the BCS Selection tonight, it just reiterates what I already know. It is not that I do not think that the Florida Gators or the Oklahoma Sooners do not deserve the chance to play for the most prized possession in all of college football, but instead, the fact that there are at least 8 other teams that are worthy to be playing for it as well.

The last time that I brought up the BCS I had a commenter state that the playoffs are done during the season. If that is true, then why are the only 2 undefeated teams, Boise State Broncos and the Utah Utes going to be playing for the chance to say they had an undefeated season, but no more? Under that  philosophy, these 2 teams should be going head to head for the crown.

The next case is the fact that there are 8 teams that have one loss. The Florida Gators lost to the Ole Miss Rebels, who are not even rated. The Alabama Crimson Tide did not lose a regular season game at all and they are cursed because they lost in the SEC Championship. The Texas Longhorns lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and beat the Oklahoma Sooners to give them their own loss, yet they are behind them in ranking and game. And on top of that, they do not even get to play the number 4 rank team in a bowl game.

I can sit here all night and make a case for the teams that got to go or for the teams that did not get to go and I can make a case against them going. Whether it is an 8, 10, or 12 team playoff, something has to give or we will be looking at another shared National Champion.

I sat down today to write my weekly post on the top 5 NFL games that held the most implications for week 14. In doing the research, I seemed to be running into the same problem with each and every game. This weekend is going to be huge. The main reason that the weekend holds implication for almost every team playing is the fact that this is the first week that teams will start getting eliminated from the playoffs. Some will fall due to how they perform this Sunday and some will fall because of how other teams perform. The fun thing is it can completely be the other way around too.

When you look around the NFL, there are going to be some great games. The New York Giants playing host to the Philadelphia Eagles will be a close one that people watch. All the controversy that has surfaced in the Plaxico Burress issues might have caused a few to be distracted. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be looking to take the Chicago Bears out of contention when they travel to Solider Field while the Minnesota Vikings will look to push the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. The Cincinnati Bengals will look to slow down the Indianapolis Colts at the new Lucas Oil Stadium. The Colts are currently in the Wild Card race.

The Cleveland Browns looks to duplicate the New York Jets play against the Tennessee Titans when the invade LP Field in Nashville. If Tennessee wins and the Colts were to lose, the Titans would be division champions. The Atlanta Falcons will be fighting for their playoff lifeline when they visit the Superdome to do battle with the New Orleans Saints.

The Houston Texans bent over and kissed their own asses goodbye and now they want to watch Green Bay do the same on Sunday when the head to Lambeau Field. If the Packers lose, they might as well do that. The Buffalo Bills will look to spoil the Miami Dolphins dreams of a playoff berth. The Dolphins have to leave the sunny Miami Gardens confines to go to the frigid cold of Rogers Centre.

The New York Jets are circling the San Francisco 49ers as they are looking to land an AFC East Divisional Championship. The Seattle Seahawks can actually be an ally to the Jets if they can somehow beat the visiting New England Patriots.

In a battle of the worst AFC division, the AFC West leading Denver Broncos will try to gallop over the last place Kansas City Chiefs. What is funnier about this game is the fact that in the equally sucking NFC West, the first place Arizona Cardinals will try to not be eaten by the “tied for last place” St Louis Rams.

If we turn our heads over to Heinz Field, we will be able to see one of the best games of the day as the Dallas Cowboys attempt to lasso some Pittsburgh Steelers and hogtie them. Dallas is fighting for their playoff life and if they lose and the Giants win, then the Giants are NFC East Champs.

To end the day games, the Washington Redskins will travel to Baltimore to scalp the Ravens. I just hope the Redskins are up for the task, because these Ravens are tough and they are chasing the Steelers.

The night game might be the biggest in one on one implications though. It is a fight for the NFC South 1st place. The winner of this game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers will probably win that division as well.

All in all, it looks to be a great weekend.