Try not to get too depressed ladies and gents. The work week starts back up tomorrow, but before another installment of indentured servitude begins, at least be thankful we have two more wildcard games to entertain us. Read the rest of this entry »

Atlanta is rallying so hard for their Falcons right now, anything short of a Super Bowl win will result in utter disappointment. First it was an assorted gaggle going hard in the end zone for ATL’s Dirty Birds, and now, Young Bobby Ray is using his musicianship for the ultimate fight song. Read the rest of this entry »

Pic Via NFL

It’s been a long time coming for Atlanta Falcons football. When they lost their sharpest talon in Michael Vick, the amount of rebuilding seemed insurmountable. Now, with a little grind, grit and Georgia dirt, they’re NFC Champs and have home field advantage should they choose to take it to the biggest Bowl of them all. Read the rest of this entry »

Chokers.

What else do you call the New York Giants after yesterday’s fiasco? At home, in an epic battle for NFC supremacy, the Giants had total control over the rival Eagles with a three touchdown lead in the second half. Plenty of time though, for Michael Vick to go into Madden mode. Vick gashed the previously ferocious Giants D with improvised rollouts and runs. A Vick to Jeremy Maclin touchdown with two minutes left leveled the game. After a failed Giants drive, the teams were a punt out of bounds away from overtime.

But Giants punter Matt Dodge had other ideas, inexplicably kicking to the always dangerous DeSean Jackson. A sliver of space was all Jackson needed to run to glory.

Head coach Tom Coughlin was sure to publicly humiliate his player post-game, deflecting from the fact that his team suffered a total collapse. A tough game at Green Bay looms and it remains to be seen if the Giants can make the playoffs and Coughlin can keep his job, particularly with Bill Cowher openly asking for it.

In the other marquee matchup of Pennsylvania and New Jersey based teams, the Jets refused to let their season die, eking out a win in a snowy Heinz Field. As expected, defenses dominated as both teams came into the game struggling to put points on the board. Ferocious hits were the name of the game, with several borderline cheap shots that may have James Harrison making another donation to Roger Goodell’s charity of choice. The Jets were able to cobble together 22 points on a kickoff return, a safety and a few well put together drives. A last gasp effort from Ben Roethlisberger gave the Steelers a last second shot at victory, but the Jets defense held firm.

The NFC playoff picture came into focus with Atlanta’s road shalacking of Seahawks and New Orleans’ loss to the Ravens. The Falcons were as usual led by Matt Ryan and Roddy White in a battle against the “first-place” Seattle team and look to lock up the one seed next week. The Ravens were led by Ray Rice’s giant day (230 yards, 2 TDs) meaning every fantasy nerd who drafted him in the first round will win their consolation playoff bracket. Too little, too late Ray.

Quick Hits

– Fitting that Tim Tebow’s first NFL start comes on the birthweek of our Lord and Savior. Young Timothy did better than some would expect, rumbling for a 40 yard TD on a quarterback draw. Unfortunately, not even St. Timothy could deliver a win for the Broncos.

– The Lions needed overtime to do it, but they notched their first road victory since 2007 by battering the bruised Bucs. Tampa’s playoff hopes are slipping away quickly.

– Washington fans should be worried by Rex Grossman’s 4 TD performance as it may con Mike Shanahan into keeping him around for 2011. Of minor note though, the Skins still lost and Sexy Rexy threw an INT on the final drive.

– Patriot Dan Connolly lived every offensive lineman’s dream turning a pooch kick into a near touchdown. His 71 yard kick off return was the longest by an offensive lineman in history.

Week 13 saw a bevy of divisional games finally start to put some space between contenders and pretenders in this the weirdest of seasons. The Falcons came close to wrapping up the NFC South and possibly the entire conference with another comeback victory against Tampa. Dressed in vintage orange unis, the Bucs took a ten point lead before an Eric Weems kickoff return brought the Dirty Birds within three points. Read the rest of this entry »

My name is David D. and I’m a Saints fan.

Yeah, I know you are too. Now.

But I’m a lifelong Saints fan. I made it through the “Aint’s” and Mike Ditka years. So this year has been…bizarre. Somehow the Saints became the best team in the NFC and are favorites going in to every game. And I honestly have no clue how to react. Read the rest of this entry »

For the third and fourth time in the last five years, Indy and New Orleans enter December as unbeatens. Both teams maintained the course on their quest for perfection, Indy with a routine win over the feisty Titans (sorry Gotty™) and New Orleans with anything but against the Washington Redskins.

Down to the Skins, the Saints got a key touchdown after wide receiver Robert Meachem forced and recovered an improbable fumble after a (terrible) Brees interception. That’s a once or twice a year in the NFL play. Read the rest of this entry »

Look, not every NFL week can be a winner. Luckily most of us were still comatose from a 20,000 calorie weekend, so we didn’t notice that the week 12 slate was full of dud matchups between mediocre squadrons. Still football is football and a full slate of games will produce moments.

The mediocrity started on the grand day itself, as America continued to punish themselves and Detroit’s fine citizens by putting the Lions on national TV. Plus as an added bonus this year we got the Raiders. In fact the most exciting thing to happen in the three Turkey day games was Josh McDaniels inspiring profanity, captured for millions of fans as Roger Goodell spilled his pumpkin pie. Who doesn’t love a little awkward announcing?

The Eagles and Falcons spared themselves similar profanities by barely keeping their playoff hopes alive. Against JV squads Washington and Tampa respectively, the favored fowl franchises foully fucked with their fandom before finally pulling out fourth quarter wins. Roddy White was the hero for ATL pulling down the game winning TD pass from backup QB Chris Redman with less than 30 seconds left. Read the rest of this entry »

Let’s just say the Patriots-Broncos game could make this a bitter affair. In case you missed it, the Patriots had plenty of chances to put the game away, but could not get the job done, with Tom Brady’s 4th quarter fumble proving particularly costly. Denver and their mustard striped unis move to 5-0 with the kind of defensive performance and mistake free offense that’s won Super Bowls before. I still think the Pats can take them in the playoffs though. Read the rest of this entry »

T.O. gave his take on the matter, but Commissioner Roger Goddell obviously didn’t take his advice under advisement.  Instead he’s condtionally reinstated Vick for the time being.

Vick will be considered for full reinstatement and will be eligible to play in regular-season games by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19). He had been suspended indefinitely since August 2007 after pleading guilty to federal charges relating to a dogfighting enterprise. He served 23 months in prison and was released from federal custody on July 20.

Vick, who’s an unrestricted free agent, can now participate in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and may play in the final two preseason games. During the regular season, Vick can participate in all team activities other than games. Vick also will be periodically evaluated by Goodell during his suspension and will be mentored by former Colts coach Tony Dungy.

More excerpts from the commissioner’s letter to Vick are after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »