And just like that, the regular season is over. The NFL playoffs always guarantee some sort of fireworks and with two games Saturday and another two Sunday, we shouldn’t have to wait long for the insanity to, well, kickoff. Paying homage to the pigskin and the excitement that is January football, the Crew decided to do something a tad different for our usual preview. Read the rest of this entry »
Roger Goodell is grinning ear-to-ear. Whether you fancy high scoring aerial attacks or hard-nosed defensive battles, 2011′s NFL Thanksgiving Day lineup looks to be the best we’ve seen in years. Sit tight, enjoy (or tolerate) seeing the family, eat ignorant amounts of food and enjoy match-ups between four of the NFL’s premier squads (plus Dallas and Miami!). Read the rest of this entry »
When writing this, the word ‘pride’ comes to mind. Unaware of whether or not this is actually national news, or just some asterisk of awesomeness to credit Detroiters worldwide, a petition has been started locally to halt country-rockers Nickelback from performing during halftime of your yearly NFL Thanksgiving festivities. Read the rest of this entry »
Before we begin, let’s praise and honor sweet baby Jesus for not letting the lockout leak into the actual season. As soon as news broke that a season was about to start, we came together as a crew and started making predictions. At the beginning of the season, we came up with 10 predictions that we felt were either surefire or risky. As football seasons often do, this year has thrown a few curveballs. Read the rest of this entry »
For all the support and investment laid on the Detroit Lions by the city’s blue-collar fanbase, the on-field product has been a complete disappointment since the calendar started reading 2000. Equal parts punchline and punching bag, the Lions have remained about as relevant to the NFL as the G-Unit brand is to rap. After years of toiling at the bottom, the team finally looks ready to change every bad perception. Read the rest of this entry »
The Cincinnati Bengals’ star receiver was sent east, the running back attracts trouble and the guy rookie QB Andy Dalton was supposed to learn from retired rather than return to the team. And to make matters worse, the young man received his “welcome to the NFL moment” in his first preseason game when Detroit Lions super-defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh got a hold of him. Read the rest of this entry »
In the long and storied history of this country, it doesn’t get much more American than Thanksgiving and the NFL. And while John Madden isn’t around to give us the pigskin gospel, the combination still feels right. Plates are stacked as high as Phillip Rivers’ passer rating and positions on the couch are claimed at the crack of dawn to be in best view of the television. Read the rest of this entry »
When it comes to sports, those who document them are almost as important as the athletes themselves. For those who are still not in the know, ESPN is the architect behind one of the greatest documentary campaigns ever. Their “30 For 30” series has already produced classics centering around subjects like Len Bias, The University of Miami, the Knicks/Pacers rivalry and even one on the way about the Los Angeles Raiders – narrated by Ice Cube.
But “the worldwide leader in sports” can’t possibly do a documentary on every thought-provoking story that’s happened over the years. Below are seven stories I wouldn’t mind being brought to TV. Pardon the lack of diversity. Read the rest of this entry »
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 »
It’s that time of year again. That’s right, the fantasy football playoffs. Where hours and hours of draft research, obsessive-compulsive checking of Stat Tracker and smack talk come down to which team gets lucky enough to have Washington’s third-string running back go off for 2 touchdowns. Why do so many people, myself included, waste their lives away on this shit? I’ll leave that one to the philosophers and so will owners of Andre Johnson (11 recs for 193 yds), Brandon Marshall (21 receptions) and, yes, Quinton Ganther (scoring his first and second career rushing TDs), who are now one step closer to the glory of a fake championship. Read the rest of this entry »
Let us join hands around the Thanksgiving table and bow our heads for a few words. Shall we?
Lord,
So far as I see it, there are two options. Either Mike Ilitch decides his Little Caesar’s pizza franchise has room enough to house the Lions along with the Tigers and Red Wings, or Bill Ford Sr. gives the team a long, Fredo kiss-of-death “goodbye” and let’s them move onto greener, more winning pastures in another city. Read the rest of this entry »
The league’s perennials losers — The Lions, Raiders & Chiefs — all pulled out W’s yesterday. Everyone in Hades is today wearing snorkels and parkas.
Of the three games, the Lions may have been the most “remarkable” (used as loosely as possible). Before the first quarter was over, Detroit was down 24-3 to the Browns. The Browns. Yet, the home squad didn’t give up, battled back to take a momentary 31-27 lead in the third before falling behind 37-31. Fighting until the end, Dilla & Proof must have called in a favor because on the last drive of the game, the Lions were the beneficiaries of a rarely seen pass interference call on a Hail Mary giving them an untimed down. Matthew Stafford channeled the comeback spirit of John Elway and we now have the 2-8 Lions, two games more than they won last year.
Indianapolis remained undefeated, squeaking past the Ravens. Peyton Manning proved that it doesn’t matter what player’s plugged in at receiver, that play will become a household name the end of game. Insert tight end Tom Santi, who went from no-name to 80 yards receiving. The Ravens D gave the Colts the business the whole game, and Indy had three crucial turnovers – including two interceptions by Manning and a fumble by Santi after he suffered a shattering hit by Ray Lewis (definitely not what Santi had in mind for a birthday gift). No disrespect to the current players on the Steelers roster or the legacy of the franchise, but Ray Lewis is the walking embodiment of smash mouth football.
Other News and Notes
– There was a T.O. sighting in Jacksonville as Terrell Owens had 197 yards and a touchdown, but David Garrard & Maurice Jones-Drew kept the Bills out of the win column with a 18-15 win.
– Brett Favre had more TDs than incompletions. Think about that. Four TDs. 22 of 25 passing for a completion percentage of 88.0.
– The entire AFC North lost. All four games went down to the wire and all four teams could have stayed home, forfeited their games and everyone would’ve been none the wiser.
– The Giants got back to their winning ways over a Michael Turner-less Atlanta Falcons. In turn, they kept their playoff hopes alive. The Broncos effectively gave the division to the Chargers with their fourth straight loss.
– Next week the Pats & Saints will face off in a game with major playoff implications. On Sunday, the Saint’s had an easy time staying undefeated, going up against the Bucs and winning 38-7. Drew Brees threw for another three touchdowns and the team was 5 for 5 in the red zone. For a quick second, it seemed like the the only thing that could stop the Patriots from scoring was the time clock against the Jets. They slowed down and Mark Sanchez kept turning the ball over like it was a golden ticket with 5 (4 INTs & 1 fumble).
– The NFL has a sense of humor. How else could you explain a Detroit Lions & Oakland Raiders Thanksgiving Day game? Millions of women across the country will be dumbfounded when their husbands volunteer to help in the kitchen or make last minute store runs. EDIT: The Lions play the Packers, but it’s still the Lions.
– Since there were no standout clips available, we resort to inserting a clip of Kobe’s Horse shot against OKC.
Screw you Rookwood Tap and, for that matter, screw you all Wrigleyville bars from the heart of the brojects on Clark and Addison. Screw your buffet with the cardboard eggs, death to your pouty waitresses (though I appreciate the fake boobs,) screw you for not having coffee and screw you for having a bathroom attendant at a sports bar. And a special fuck you for playing country music during the commercials. Could I at least get some Black Eyed Peas?
I don’t know if it was my hatred that rubbed off on the Bears or just their own mediocrity coming to the forefront, but the Monsters of the Midway got rolled by the visiting Cardinals. The Cards moved the ball at will against the beaten down Bears D with Larry Fitzgerald serving notice as to why he’s the best wide receiver in the game. He dominated whomever the Bears threw at him in single coverage and, if he wasn’t open, Kurt Warner was finding someone else. With a brutal schedule up ahead, the Bears look headed for under .500 and Lovie Smith looks like he’s on his way out. Read the rest of this entry »
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