Patriots

Last season, the Colts won the Lombardi in part by establishing a pass-wacky attack that defensive coordinators were obsessed with stopping, then gradually shifting toward the run in the postseason, then rolling out a rushing-based game plan in the Super Bowl that took everyone by surprise. … Belichick is among the best-ever students of the sport, so don’t be surprised if he remembers and attempts the same switcheroo. Of course at this point, don’t be surprised if Belichick suddenly rips off his prosthetic human face and reveals himself as a hideous reptilian space alien come to spearhead an invasion fleet.

Los Angeles’ TimeWarner cable — previously known as Adelphia — is rotten. It is quite possibly the worst cable company in America. Two years ago they dropped the ESPN Gameplan, so there was no way for me to watch the Gators unless I hauled my butt over to Westwood to catch them at the UGA bar on the UCLA campus or drove way, way the hell down to Tony P’s in Marina Del Rey. The cable at my home was spotty — when it was alive at all — for almost all of August, and the internet connection was down more often than it was up. When they decided to drop the NFL Network at the start of football season this year, it was the straw that broke this camel’s back. I switched to satellite. DirecTV, baby. It rocks. If you are a football fan, you must switch. I’m telling you. I don’t say this lightly. I am getting every single NFL game every weekend. I can watch every college game I want. I’m getting all the premium stations — HBO, CineMAX, Showtime, etc. — plus about three times more channels than I ever got with cable. I didn’t even have to pay for the dish or the receivers or the installation! And I’m saving $80/mo! Don’t be a slave to crappy cable! Switch now!

And now for some random Sunday afternoon NFL thoughts:

• Okay. the new ref uniforms look lame. I don’t hate them, but … they just don’t seem right.
• One word about the Vikings’ cheerleaders: Whoa.
• Kudos to FOX for using the Jane’s Addiction classic “Jane Says” during a commercial comeback.
• Chicago @ Minnesota = Rex Grossman @ Brad Johnson = UF @ FSU. Awesome.
• Has FOX always had the down and distance arrows in the color of the team with possession? Very cool.
• Peter from the Family Guy just rules.
• Peyton Manning is apparently in every single commercial on television. The thing is, I can’t complain. He’s funny.
• I dig the Steve Young Samsung commercial. “Watch the safety blitz!” heh.
• I also dig the Circuit City commercial with the wife saying, “I promise to only watch football on Sunday. And Saturday. And Monday. And sometimes Thursday.”
• What is up with the crazy robots on FOX? They’ve been doing it for years, and I just don’t get it.
• NFL player jerseys must be made of some sort of 22nd century kevlar carbon titanium NASA fabric. If someone grabbed one of my shirts like that it would rip instantaneously. Those things stretch like nobody’s business. I watched seven college games yesterday (not including highlights) and saw at least five jerseys and one pair of pants shredded to pieces. Does the NCAA disallow the use of space-age garment technology?
• THE TOSS SWEEP NEVER WORKS! Why do coaches insist on calling this ridiculous play on short yardage downs? You’re throwing the ball backwards!
• There are 8 minutes left in the Cardinals / Rams game, I can’t stand Kurt Warner, the Cardinals are down by nine, and I’m rooting for them.
  Update: Bulger just fumbled the handoff at the two-minute warning. Ha!
  Update 2: And now Warner fumbled. Pathetic.
• “Football Night in America” is a tragically poor name for a highlight show. And just who is Bob Costas blackmailing to continually get on television? The guy seriously takes everything with too large a pinch of melodrama. One of the reasons we love Madden so much is because he knows — just like we do — that football is really a silly game. Sure, it’s life and death and the players are gods amongst men and it’s a multi-billion dollar industry and America’s passion … but you have to just love the absurdity of it all, like John does. Chill out, Bob. (Note: At least he’s got Collinswoth and Bettis as some sort of comic relief.)
• When Bobbo was interviewing Carson Palmer, the subtitle under the Bengals QB read “Pittsburgh”. The subtitle underneath Costas was “30 Rock”. Is this some sort of attempt to make NBC’s NY studios cool? It doesn’t work.
• I cannot wait to see the Saints and the Falcons tomorrow night.
• WTF? Bucs’ QB Chris Simms just had his spleen removed?! What the hell happened? How was this not mentioned until a half hour into the late game?!
• With about three minutes left in the game, Al said that next week’s contest at Cincy would be a real “litmus test” for the Patriots. Apparently getting crushed on your own field by a team that’s had your number five out of the last six times you’ve played isn’t a test.
• James Brown noted that Carson Palmer had a “plethora” of weapons at his disposal. Go, JB.

Patriots VP Jonathan Kraft, on the new stadium:

“… People will look at the stadium when we have a big game and say, ‘Wow, they’ve got some empty seats today.’ They won’t be empty, really. People will just be walking around, enjoying themselves. We did this because we thought this would be great for fans. I’m a fan. I’ve been going to games here since 1971. And when I watch football, I don’t want to sit in a seat for three, three-and-a-half hours. I want to move around and see the game from all different angles. I think our fans will really enjoy this.”

The plot held no secrets, the characters were familiar, and yet neither the players nor fans who gathered at the premiere of the New England Patriots’ Super Bowl highlight video seemed to care that they saw most of the material before.

Although it first went on sale this week, the video has already set a record for sports videos, according to Joe Amodei, the president of the production company. A total of 400,000 videotapes and DVDs have already been shipped, he said — thanks to the drama of the game, the passion of the Patriots’ fans and the fact that 10 minutes of the halftime U2 concert was included.

Less than a week after winning the Super Bowl, New England running back Kevin Faulk was jailed after police said he became verbally abusive when told not to move a traffic barricade.
Faulk disputes the charges, according to attorney Jason Robideaux. He said Faulk’s passenger moved a barricade and Faulk’s wife became belligerent while Faulk behaved.

The party for team families and invited fans and supporters was loud and semi-drunken by the time I left at 1:50 a.m. As I walked out, a red-faced lout said to me: “Pee-DUH! You know why weah so happy? Othah than the Celtics, we ain’t won nothin’ since the Revolutionary Wah!”

Patriots: 20
Rams: 17

w00t!

Anyone predicting a Rams’ rout of the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI might want to take a quick history lesson first, starting with Week 10 of this season.
On Nov. 18 in Foxboro, Mass., the Pats led the Rams 10-7 in the second quarter and had a 1st-and-goal before Antowain Smith fumbled away the football. The Rams would hang on for a 24-17 victory, hardly the type of blowout many experts are predicting for this Sunday.

The scene was jubilant — a dream come true for a loyal New England Patriots fan like Michael Downing.
His beloved team had just capped an improbable comeback to defeat the Oakland Raiders in one of the most memorable playoff games in NFL history.
Just seconds later, as his family cheered amid the bedlam at snowy Foxboro Stadium, Downing collapsed of a heart attack and died.