Let's talk Super Bowl...parties

After weeks of being scattered around the Phoenix-Metro area, I've finally settled down into my pad in the heart of Scottsdale, AZ - sans internet at my place ( who would've known so many people at this apartment complex were smart enough to encode their wireless networks). I've managed to ghetto rig my computer to use my cell signal as an internet signal. Yah, you're jealous I know. However lets get to the goodies. I am lucky enough to be smack dab in the middle of the FBR and Super Bowl crowd. Cold-weather migrants have been clogging up the streets to watch these two awesome sporting events for the past week making traffic absolutely amazing. However, with the Hooter's Super Bowl Celebrity Party at Taste, the MySpace VIP Super Bowl Party in Glendale, Lawrence Taylor's Golf/Fundraiser thing happening downtown, as well as a NFL Celebrity Poker tournament at the Fort McDowell Casino, it seems like the only people around here that know that there's a football game to be played are the two teams playing and the stadium crew. Sitting around with basic cable and lacking any sports channels, I had assumed there would be extensive Super Bowl coverage seeing as how AZ is hosting this auspicious occasion. But even the sports segments of these local news channels have failed to report on anything game related - interviews, analysis, football in general. I remember watching the Super Bowl years before and thinking man this is the biggest game of the year, there's people sleeping in the parking lot of the stadium...pulling week long tailgates. Even this months GQ ( if you think I'm a bitch for reading GQ then I have a middle finger full of hate for your redneck face) had an article titled "When The Super Bowl Was Super Bad"(Bad in a good way old man). Michael Silver stated that the Super Bowl used to be about the teams playing rather than the event itself; that the best parties happened in the players' hotels and not at these over-priced clubs. Hearing about these crazy real VIP style parties with our favorite athletes is what I remember hearing about. You know, stuff that Music Videos are made of. Now the only people doing the partying are the players not in the Super Bowl and a bunch of "BrOs" running this overly-hyped parties.

I'm officially over all this hype. The Super Bowl is one of the greatest sporting events in the world, not the greatest opportunity to rape a sport of its dignity. The Super Bowl is about the fans and the teams participating in it, and should not be taken advantage of by whores and douchebags who won't even watch the game. Give me back the days where The Super Bowl was a part of Football - not football being a part of the Super Bowl.
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Breaking News: Farve remembers he's 50

Brett Favre (pronounced Fav-re in my book) answered the questions on America’s Mind last night, and some with a resounding yes. What questions you might ask? Simple, Am I over-rated (a little bit), Should I have retired 3 years ago when my QB rating dropped into the 70s (yes), Do I really deserve all of this MVP consideration that I am getting (absolutely not).

I know, I know, disrespecting Brett Farve is a sin, or at least it would seem so in Bristol, CT where Mr. Painkiller Addiction is revered as “Godlike” by every analyst. “He is the greatest Quarterback ever to be involved with the game, period, no one deserves to hold his jock.” Or so I have heard year after year for the last decade and a half.

Now, do I think that Brett is one of the top quarterbacks of all-time? Statistically, I say yes, he has records to back up that statement. Is he a Hall of Famer? Absolutely, no doubt in my mind. But if you really take a look at Mr. Farve he is likely the most selfish quarterback to play the game. You can look at next Sunday for proof when he steps on the field injured with a separated shoulder and has a subpar performance but plays anyway because he’s “tougher than woodpecker lips” (a quote I recall from him about 8 years ago). He’ll cost his team the game but keep his streak and tough image alive. You can look at his countless mistakes where he tries to make something out of nothing and winds up turning the ball over. The fact that, though he is having a resurgence this year, he should have retired after his 4-12, 2005 season is glaring evidence. To look at that season and say something is wrong here maybe Brett should hang it up. It actually goes further back though for BGB.

“Big Game Brett” in the last decade does not have the most amazing numbers especially in the post season. In fact since the Cheeseheads won Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season Brett really has barely been average let alone a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback. In the year following their SB XXXI victory, Green Bay lost to the Broncos in Farve’s 2 Turnover performance leading to 10 Denver Points. Since then there haven’t been a whole lot of high points for Brett. The following season throwing for 23 INTs and losing on a 2 INT performance against SF in the NFC Wildcard game. In the combined next two seasons Farve accumulated 39 INTs to 42 TDs as well as 18 fumbles (of which 9 were lost) and no playoffs either year for the Pack. In 2001 The Packers returned to the playoffs after Farve’s seemingly resurgent year, passing for 32TDs and only 15 INTs (and 16 fumbles/6 lost) and Farve’s 2 TD 1 INT performance in the 1st round sent them to play the offensive super power, the St. Louis Rams. Those same Rams picked off Farve 6 times in the 2nd to last time the Pack made it past the 1st round in the playoffs. The next year he threw 16 regular season picks, and added on 2 more in a 1st round loss to Atlanta. In ’03 the Pack got out of the 1st round in OT against Seattle but lost in a close OT game against the Eagles in the 2nd round. ’04 was the last time Brett would see the postseason and a QB rating higher than 73 flaming out with a 1 TD 4 INT performance against a Minnesota team that had 11 interceptions all season. During this stretch of post-season futility Farve’s numbers are 149/249, 1,804 yards, 11 TDs, 5 INTs, 3 fumbles, 2 lost and a HoF caliber 70.1 QB rating.

Heading into the 2005 season the Packers sensed Brett was in the waning years of his career after declining numbers and efficiency and decided to take a top quarterback in the draft, Aaron Rodgers from Cal was the answer. Rodgers could learn under Farve for a year and be the future of the franchise. Unfortunately for him he had to sit back and watch Farve up close declining. In Rodgers’ rookie season the Pack went 4-12 and Farve had his worst statistical year as far as QB Rating (70.9) goes since he entered the league ending with 9 more interceptions (29) than TDs (20), and 10 fumbles, 7 of which were lost. It was at this time that Farve should have stepped down and let Rodgers take over for the good of the team.

Unfortunately for the city of Green Bay, in 2006 he came roaring back to show that it was a fluke bad season and in a stuffing display of mediocrity, finished with 18 TDs tied for the lowest since joining the Packers in ’92 and 18 INTs for a whopping 72.7 QB Rating. Tag onto that the 8 fumbles with 5 lost, and a mediocre 8-8 record without a shot at the playoffs. In Comparison the QB who many thought was among the league’s worst last season, Rex Grossman, threw for 23 TDs and 20 INTs and an overshadowing 73.9 QB Rating, along with 8 fumbles, 5 lost and a 13-3 regular season record, capped by a trip to the Super Bowl.

Sure he’s having a decent season right now, but last night is the perfect example of what he is capable of. Always trying to make the big play. The Pack are down by 3 and Farve forces a deep bomb on 1st and 10 that gets picked off. Now down 20-10 Farve continues to try to make something bigger happen to get back into the game, after two deep incomplete passes on 1st and 2nd and 10 he finally connects on a deep pass on 3rd and long, then proceeds to throw his second INT of the night. Luckily for Cheeseheads, Farve goes down with a shoulder/elbow injury and Aaron Rodgers enters the game. Down 17 Rodgers takes the game slowly and starts the comeback, the rushing game starts to pick up, Rodgers starts completing passes and brings them within a score and in striking distance until former Kitty Kat Nick Folk connected on a 25 yarder (which he could barely make with consistency in Tucson, and yes I am still bitter) to seal the game by 10 with less than 3 minutes remaining.

Rodgers: 2 ½ quarters, 18/26, 201 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

Farve 1 ½ quarters, 5/14, 56 Yards, 0 TD 2 INT

If I’m a Packer-fan I’m hoping Farve’s consecutive games streak ends, and Aaron Rodgers gets hot going into to post season.
More after the jump...

Who's #1: '85 Bears '07 Pats

Now it has been said, many times over the last 20 years, that the 85 Bears were the best team to play the game. And those ranking shows/articles/whatever that don't have them at number one have consistently put them in the top 3. With an 11-0 record and the fact that this team is destroying everyone, the 07 Pats are coming into that debate. I think it appropriate to analyze these two teams to determine once and for all based on many different factors which team was better.

One thing to consider is a bigger league with more players means lesser competition for these ’07 Pats to go up against, as well as training room quick fixes and techniques that get players out onto the field faster, and miss less time, and a changed game revolved around explosive offenses rather than stout defenses. And that is without mentioning the substance problems associated with many of today’s players, sure there were illicit substances in the locker rooms in the 80’s but it wasn’t HGH it was in the form of fine white powder.

First the position by position matchups:
Head Coach: Bears, No argument necessary but Ditka did it without a telescopic lens.
Coaching Staff: Bears, Buddy Ryan was a great defensive coordinator, he engineered the unstoppable 46 defense.
QB: Pats. McMahon’s QB rating in ‘85 was 82 and change, and Brady’s about to set some serious passing records.
RB: Bears, Payton and Suhey were dangerous, and you could probably add Perry in this category. Maroney has 2 TDs on 105 carries, “Fridge” had 2 TDs in 5 regular season carries.
OLine: Bears. They protected McMahon and led Payton to over 1550 yards rushing.
WR: Pats, come on Randy Moss when he wants to play is as good as anyone in the game right now. And though Willie Gault was a world class sprinter and averaged over 21 y/c, it’s no contest, not to mention that the Bears leading receiver was Payton with 49 receptions.
TE: Bears, Moorehead and Wrightman combined for 59 catches and over 15 y/c, NE’s Watson has more TDs but a lower y/c and he is in a pass happy offense.
LB: Bears, Samurai Mike is in the Hall, Otis Wilson should be and if Wilbur Marshall wouldn’t have been slowed by injuries he was on pace for a HoF career, the three combined for 20 sacks in 85. I love former Kitty Kat Tedy Bruschi but I don’t think he’ll be in the Hall anytime soon, and no one really fears or game-plans around the Pats Linebackers.
DLine: Bears with a slight edge. Mongo McMichael was the originator of the quick Lineman, “Fridge” was one of the biggest to play the game at the time and he still managed to run a sub 5 second 40, and who can forget this years HoF inductee and SB XX MVP Richard Dent who had 17 sacks that season.
DB: Bears, Gary Fencik led the storied 46 defense out onto the field and Lesley Frazier had 6 picks on the year, the Bears DB’s had 20 INTs total. The only Pats DB anyone knows is Rodney Harrington and it’s because of his involvement with HGH.

The Bears Defense was #1 in points allowed, held teams to a 47% comp. rating, allowed only 22 total scores (16 passing, 6 rushing), just over 6000 total yards and were #1 or 2 in 7 major defensive categories, including 34 INTs. They also made it through the entire post season giving up 10 total points, all 10 in the Super Bowl rout and 7 of which were off of a turnover. And who can forget they went through opposing quarterbacks like that one girl at a Frat House.

Their offense wasn’t the most potent they were only #2 in points scored, #1 in 3/4 top rushing categories, and scored 44 total TDs on offense and 16 INTs (5 of which belonging to the backup Fuller).

The 2007 Pats (with 5 games remaining) have already allowed 21 total scores (15 passing and 6 rushing), 3400 yards, and a 60% pass completion rate. They have 16 INTs and are ranked 8th or lower in 7 major defensive categories.

The Pats are a dominating offensive force this season there is no doubt. They have put in 51 TDs with 5 games to play, and are just under 4900 yards for the season. They rank in the top 3 in 6 major offensive categories and #1 in 3/6 passing categories.

But many of those points have come in the waning minutes of a blowout game while the Pats are running up the score, where as when the Bears where winning by large margins they were not trying to set records. And the ’85 Bears were missing their staring QB for 3 games, I doubt the ’07 Pats would be nearly this successful without their GQ coverboy.

The numbers don’t matter, everyone can look at this astounding offense that the Pats are fielding and give them a lot of very deserved credit but when the chips are down that Bears defense would have eaten Brady’s lunch, and the Colts proved this season that if you get to Brady you can rattle him by picking him off twice (half of his season total). Plus their running game is so rusty from Maroney never seeing the field that the Pats would never get anything going. The Bears offense would definitely struggle against the Pats defense, but stopping Payton just would not have happened. The ’07 Pats are allowing over 4 y/c and that isn’t to anyone of Walter Payton’s status it’s to Cordell Buckhalter and Jamal Lewis. This game would be a first half slugfest but the ‘85 Bears would quickly take over.

The last thing to consider is environment, since Chicago and New England aren’t the nicest places to play in February this game would be in a very neutral territory and everyone loved the ’85 Bears, they were brash, fun, popular, and even recording artists. No one outside of New England likes the Pats and most wish their demise. People loved Ditka and hate Belichick.

The Bears would win this game, they’re Grabowskis.
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