Jay Mariotti FanHouse

Concussions Kill? NFL Finally Gets It

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

A day doesn't pass without another ode to the NFL's massive popularity, be it another monstrously rated broadcast, another epic game, another billion-dollar gambling feast or this from ESPN: "Pro football is the ultimate reality TV.'' And who can argue, really? The NFL is the epicenter of sporting life in our entertainment-driven land, conquering the consciousness of men and women, old and young, reality and fantasy.

It's so big, in fact, that it's easy to miss the dirty little problem that the league -- and all levels of football -- are attempting to rectify without drawing too much attention to themselves. That would be the irresponsible and dangerous pressure within the sport to view concussions as merely an everyday occupational hazard, no different than sore buttocks or hangnails, and forcing dazed and dinged players to return quickly to the field lest they be known as soft and cowardly. Volumes of medical evidence now conclude that football-related head injuries can lead to brain disorders, including dementia and Alzheimer's, and leave players in such vegetative states that they can't function in their 40s, 50s and 60s, assuming they live that long.

Basically, football has been revealed as a death sport. And at long last, the public is educated enough about concussions that fans prefer a player protect his future and sit out instead of foolishly gutting it out for the team. For that awareness, credit the crusading likes of Mike Ditka, who've challenged the league to address and study the problems. Also praise the players who are breaking through the traditional play-it-down, suck-it-up culture and finally talking common sense. It began with Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who dared to venture into the taboo when he told Sports Illustrated, "Guys are getting so big, so fast, so explosive. The game's so violent. Now that they're cutting out the wedge deal on kickoff returns, those guys [are] coming free, and at some point somebody is going to die in football.'' Now, an Associated Press survey of 160 NFL players, released Wednesday, reports that 30 of those players have either downplayed or refused to report a concussion and that 80 have had at least one concussion playing the game.

The death option has to be a more pervasive part of the experience. Heretofore, players have been accused of violating their manhood if they worried too much about being injured, much less losing their cognitive skills too early in life. "The unfortunate thing in our business, more times than not, is that either guys don't know it or don't let somebody know it and continually play through those kinds of situations, where it's week after week, it's hit after hit, where they're not coming out of games and they never get healed," Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner told the AP. "And I think that's probably -- and I'm just guessing -- where the biggest effects are down the road, is guys that may not have a record that they had 10 concussions but probably had that or moreso and just played right through it."

Cowboys quarterback Jon Kitna has a grim approach. "I firmly believe you can be paralyzed on any play, and I believe there's going to come a time when somebody's going to die on the field from a hit on the field,'' he said. "Because the game is getting so fast, the big guys are getting bigger, and the little guys are getting littler, but the collisions are getting greater. That's the scariest thing for me. What else are you going to do? Shut the game down?"

That won't happen. Franchise owners, television networks and universities are making too much money. But what the football establishment can do is remove the peer pressure, the nonsense that players are less than real men if they don't play through head injuries. In that sense, 2009 is a landmark year. In Philadelphia, star running back Brian Westbrook suffered two concussions in 20 days and isn't expected to play anytime soon for the Eagles. This is a important development for a league that, in the past, expected players to play through head injuries, even as an estimated 120 to 130 concussions were suffered every regular season.

Two of the NFL's most prominent players, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu, are vulnerable to the aftereffects of concussions. Polamalu has six documented concussions since his high school career; Roethlisberger has three. Yet both have kept marching on and playing when healthy, even while Polamalu has said, "It's the worst injury you can sustain in sports. You can live life without your legs, your arms, but it's hard to go on in life without your mind."

The NFL must set standards for how college and high school players view concussions. More than 400,000 concussions were suffered on the prep level during the 2008 season. The late Gene Upshaw didn't help matters when he insisted, during his long tenure as president of the NFL players' association, that football injuries could not be linked to serious brain disorders. The new union leadership has pressured commissioner Roger Goodell into a proactive stance in the awareness battle, and, wisely, he is cooperating.

"There's been a cultural change in all the sports," Goodell said. "But in particular, I'm responsible for the NFL, and there's been a significant cultural change in the seriousness of these injuries, and how to treat them. And the fact is, they should be treated on a very conservative, careful basis."

The trickle-down effect can be found at the University of California, where star running back Jahvid Best is being kept out of action indefinitely after his frightening, neck-first tumble earlier this month. Best also suffered a concussion in his previous game, meaning the program could be considered negligent in allowing him to play with a head injury. No more famous college player than Tim Tebow also was allowed right back into action after a concussion, feeding the concern that pro and college teams use players as pieces of meat with no regard for their future welfare.

In the AP study, Washington Redskins kick returner Rock Cartwright said his brain was "shaking like a bell" after a hit a few years ago. "You know how a bell vibrates? That's how my brain was going at that time," he said. "I think five minutes later, I came back to myself. I went back out there and played football.

"You get back up, and things are spinning," Giants backup quarterback David Carr said, "but you don't tell anyone."

It's time for football players to stand up and tell the world when they have concussions. It isn't a sign of weakness as much as simple common sense. Recently, Goodell revealed he had suffered a concussion while siliding into second base during a baseball game as a kid. "I saw a doctor, but it was briefly, and I don't recall missing any time," he said.

Those days, thankfully, are gone. The human skull must be protected, not exploited, on all levels.

Concussions Kill? NFL Finally Gets It originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Worst Show on Turf: Eric Mangini's Cleveland Clowns

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

CLEVELAND -- The mental welfare of this perpetually beleaguered, nationally pummeled, unemployment-burdened, sports-doomed, pray-if-LeBron-leaves city was fairly stable between 1996 and 1998. Those were the three years when the NFL didn't exist by the lake, when civic outrage over the Browns' devastating departure to Baltimore faded into a hope that something better and more loyal was on the way. Who knew that not having them at all was a far saner fate than resurrecting them for the next decade?

And how many folks would like to light the franchise on fire about now, just as the Cuyahoga River once went up in flames in Cleveland's most infamous moment?

In a league bottom-heavy with awful teams, the Browns are the most dysfunctional and harmful to one's equilibrium. The despair reached a head Monday evening, when thousands of empty seats greeted the Browns and Ravens on a chilly, drizzly night. Two longtime season-ticket holders had urged fans to boycott the start of the game by staying out of the stands, but the protest didn't really materialize. People just stayed home, unable to sell their tickets, which was a blessing given the putrid nature of the Browns' latest debacle. It's bad enough that one of pro football's proudest franchises left town, moved to Baltimore, became the Ravens and brought a Super Bowl championship to a city that once lost its own team, the Colts, to Indianapolis. But it's much worse to watch these current Browns shame the legacy of Jim Brown and Otto Graham and Paul Brown while regularly making national headlines for all the wrong reasons, many bordering on the bizarre.

The Browns lost for the 16th time in the last 18 games and their ninth straight at home, falling 16-0 in a game that punished the senses of anyone dumb enough to attend. As if the competence of Eric Mangini wasn't being doubted enough -- why is this man a head coach in the NFL? -- why would he try a ridiculous razzle-dazzle play in the final seconds of a chippy game instead of taking a knee? There was Joshua Cribbs, one of the team's few NFL-worthy players, catching a pass from quarterback Brady Quinn and pitching a lateral to tight end Robert Royal. And there was Baltimore's Dwan Edwards, popping Cribbs and laying him out on the turf, leaving him stone-cold motionless as time expired. In a metaphor for everything that is wrong with this franchise, Cribbs was removed on a stretcher, placed in an ambulance and taken to a hospital after players from both teams surrounded him in prayer. He had feeling and movement in all of his body parts and was released from the hospital in the wee hours. But still ...

What the hell was Mangini doing? Especially when the Ravens were still angry, believing Quinn chop-blocked and rolled into Terrell Suggs' knee after an interception, forcing him to leave the game. "With five seconds left in the game, and you're down 16-0, to throw a hook-and-lateral, what's the point of that?'' said Ravens defensive end Trevor Pryce, echoing my thoughts. "I'm not trying to question their coaching; it's none of my business. But you see what the result was. You do a hook-and-lateral play with a whole bunch of guys that are big and run fast, people are running around crazy and someone is going to get hurt."

Ray Lewis, Baltimore's emotional leader, left no doubt that the Ravens were incensed about Quinn. "That's an illegal blow. I don't care how you want to look at it,'' he said. "When you're running down and you're looking at the quarterback going at somebody's knees who doesn't even have the ball. I want to see if he gets the same fine I got or even higher. Now this man (Suggs) is out four or five weeks because of some baloney like that."

Just as Edwards denied he was trying to injure Cribbs, Quinn denied he was trying to injure Suggs. "There was definitely no ill intent behind it. I was trying to go for the ball carrier," he said. "Suggs came across at the last second in my vision. I would never wish that upon anyone. I was upset about it on the field. We worked out in Arizona together. I couldn't be any more sorry about that. That was never the intent. I'm sorry to Terrell and the rest of their team. I apologize to him and his teammates.''

Quinn and the Browns should apologize for their affiliation with the NFL. There are college teams -- seriously -- that would beat them. The quarterbacking switch to Quinn didn't help, obviously, as he completed just 13-of-31 passes for 99 yards and a 23.5 passer rating. Not once did the Browns penetrate beyond the Ravens' 45.

"It's not like we were avoiding that part of the field,'' Mangini said.

Sure looked that way. It might help if Mangini would let Quinn throw deep, but clearly he doesn't trust him. "I've tried a lot of different things and obviously it's not been successful enough,'' Quinn said. "We're going to have to keep trying things until we get to the point where we need to be." That's not what a Browns fan wants to hear. The average life expectancy in this country is 71 years, you know?

The biggest sin a sports franchise can make is to compound one disaster with another. That's what the Browns have done, replacing the lackluster era of coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Phil Savage with the farce that is the Mangenius. In a matter of months, Mangini has: (1) caused a near-mutiny among players who think he practices them too hard and issues unfair punishments, such as the $1,701 fine handed to one player who took a bottle of water from a hotel room without paying for it; (2) thoroughly botched a quarterback situation, to the point Derek Anderson posted the league's worst eight-week passer rating since 1981 while Quinn barely can function; (3) won an internal power struggle over his ex-friend and confidante, general manager George Kokinis, who was dumped a half-season into his "tenure'' because he'd assumed he would be more than a lackey for Mangini -- and reportedly was ordered by management to seek counseling when he became withdrawn and uncommunicative; (4) managed four offensive touchdowns all season; (5) turned a boy's game into a hellish exercise that mercifully begs for yet another change in leadership.

That is expected to come at season's end, when owner Randy Lerner seeks a pillar of football wisdom. "The highest priority that I have is a strong, credible, serious leader within the building to guide decisions in a far more conspicuous, open transparent way," Lerner said. "I can maybe defend decisions by saying I've sought advice and I've brought people in, and we've gone to see people -- and I think my highest priority is to have a stable figure that represents the voice that explains the decisions."

Yet why would anyone with respected credentials want anything to do with a franchise that can't catch a break -- yet has no problem catching staph infections at its practice facility? Lerner wants someone such as Bill Parcells when conventional wisdom suggests he'd do no better than Mr. Bill. Ohhhh nooooooo! Mike Holmgren is said to be interested in the overseer role, but why would he want those headaches after leaving a much sounder franchise in Seattle? Lerner has talked with Bill Cowher, but why would he want to leave TV when he's having so much fun? Or why wouldn't Cowher take a better position in, say, Dallas? Mike Shanahan? Bet he lands in Chicago with Jay Cutler, who needs him. Only the Redskins may have a situation as bleak as the Browns, but at least they've had recent success.

The talent level demands a total overhaul. Yet until Mangini is swept out, a haze will hang over the franchise that always has defined Cleveland more than the others, including a basketball team that was nondescript until the arrival of LeBron James. As if a 1-8 record doesn't cast enough doom, the Browns will open their doors Wednesday to the NFL Players Association, which is investigating claims by players that Mangini's practices are too demanding -- as long as three and a half hours in full pads, according to a report -- and are wearing down the team. The claims might sound like sour grapes if not voiced by the respected veteran running back, team captain Jamal Lewis, who is retiring at season's end and, therefore, can sound off in ways that make everyone listen.

"There's talent all over this locker room, young and old. There's talent everywhere, but that talent has got to be ready for Sunday, it's got to be fresh for Sunday,'' said Lewis, who described his season as a "waste'' of time. "You can work all day, but if you're going to work like that, you're probably not going to get what you want out of your players. You got to take care of your crop. If you don't, when it comes time to harvest, you're not going to make no money because the crop is no good. That's that."

Last week, when the story was hot, Lewis' teammates surrounded him in the locker room at the practice facility and chanted, "J-Lew! J-Lew!'' Some interpreted it as a shot at the media, whom Lewis had just lambasted for blowing the story out of proportion. Others perceived it as a shot at Mangini. Given the circumstances this season, I'll assume the latter.

Mangini insists the Browns routinely practice two hours. "I feel good about the way we practice, the time we practice,'' he said. But he also has a voluntary, post-practice addendum known as an "opportunity period,'' designed for rookies and backups to impress the coaches. Two players, promising running back James Davis and defensive end Keith Grennan, have suffered season-ended injuries during the "opportunity period,'' which also was investigated by the league and sounds like an opportunity to unnecessarily risk injury. "I believe in this fundamentally," said Mangini, who said he first was introduced to the practices while coaching under Bill (4th-and-2) Belichick in New England. "Over time, so many guys have benefited from it. I think it increases the possibility of success."

But when his team is 1-8 and scores less in nine games than Peyton Manning does in nine quarters, it seems the only increased possibility is Mangini's dismissal. That would be a remarkable comedown for a coach who took the New York Jets to the playoffs in 2006, ratted out Belichick in the "Spygate'' scandal, started 8-3 last season, then swirled into a downward spiral that led to his firing. The fact Brett Favre is having marvelous success this season in Minnesota, after struggling last season with Mangini, doesn't help the Mangenius' cause. He has lost 12 of his last 14 games and Lerner may have to eat the final three years of Mangini's deal, which would add to expensive payoffs to former employees. They owe Crennel and Savage about $20 million. Kokinis, who may be sabotaged legally by the Browns, was making $1 million annually. If Mangini is fired, the Browns will owe him $9 million. That has led to a thought that Lerner may stick by him and urge the next football boss to do the same.

Bad idea.

"I still believe in Eric, and we're trying to give him the resources he needs to be successful,'' said Lerner, who isn't trusted by Browns fans who suspect he cares more about the stake in his European soccer team. "We all knew the situation we were in when Eric took over.''

"This is a process," Mangini said. "There's things that go along with that and that doesn't mean we're not looking to win every game, it doesn't mean we're not looking to improve each week. On the contrary, that's exactly what we're going to do. Randy and I share the same vision, and that's something that we talked about. And what we do talk about quite a bit is what's the best way to achieve that. I've always had good conversations with him and always will. But I also believe in the things that we're doing and I understand it doesn't happen overnight. There's not one formula in terms of specific ingredients, but there is a very specific approach that you have to take and I believe in that. It has been successful. It will be successful here."

The Browns won't even crawl out of the abyss, much less succeed, until they find a quarterback. At least Anderson had a track record with a decent 2007 season, but he plunged into the black hole with reckless, exasperating mistakes. Quinn showed promise last year in a late-season start against Denver but has regressed under Mangini. There are suspicions that Mangini benched Quinn just long enough so that it's impossible for him to attain an $11 million incentive bonus for taking 70 percent of this season's offensive snaps. No wonder Quinn put his house up for sale. If he doesn't show marked improvement, he could become trade bait while the Browns -- whoever is coaching and running them -- start over with Jimmy Clausen or Sam Bradford.

"That's kind of how I've learned to live life, at least in the NFL," Quinn said.

Now hear this: The Browns are not part of the NFL. If there were a soccer team in the Premiership, they'd be relegated to a lowly place. Allow me to speak for Cleveland in saying the city was better off without them.

Worst Show on Turf: Eric Mangini's Cleveland Clowns originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spygate to Stupidgate: Belichick Blunders

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

INDIANAPOLIS -- He was wearing a dark blue hoodie, stylish with a shirt collar, and my thought right now is that Bill Belichick should go back to the old tattered version. Because on Sunday night, in one of the most inexplicably arrogant brain cramps in the history of football and any other sport known to humankind, the coach who gave us Spygate introduced Stupidgate to the American lexicon.

There were the New England Patriots, three-time champions of the Super Bowl and Team of the Decade, facing 4th-and-2 at their own 28-yard line. They owned a 34-28 lead over the Indianapolis Colts. Two minutes and eight seconds remained. Armed with a capable punter and adept special teams, the Patriots could have pinned back the Colts and forced Peyton Manning, great as he is, to drive his offense about 70 yards. The Patriots' defense already had forced him into two interceptions. Two of the Colts' young wide receivers, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie, were dropping the ball. This was the most obvious decision a coach could make on any level, NFL to Pee Wee.

Punt the friggin' ball.

But that's not what Tom Brady heard when he went to the sideline. "They said, 'We're going,' " he said of Belichick and his assistants. As in, going for it. As in, dumbing down when the situation called for the purest form of common sense. As in, being willing to commit football suicide in a game that could help determine home-field advantage in the postseason and, ultimately, whether the Patriots can return to the champions' podium after a five-year absence. They even used their final timeout to talk it over a little longer, at which time someone should've slapped Belichick in the face and conked him over the head. No one did.

So the Patriots proceeded to self-destruct, in a decision that some might consider karmic revenge for Spygate, and everyone will agree establishes new lows for imbecilic strategy. "You see that happen in video games: You go for it on fourth down when you're not supposed to and something bad happens," said Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, as astonished as the rest of us. The play call was for Brady, operating from the shotgun, to quick-release a pass at the first-down marker for running back Kevin Faulk. But strong safety Melvin Bullitt, one of the young defensive backs whom Brady had picked on all night, rushed up and made the immediate hit on Faulk, who was bobbling the ball and wasn't given the forward progress he wanted. The Patriots needed a yard and a half. They gained only a yard.

The fans in Lucas Oil Stadium, the massive bricks-and-steel temple of Manning worship, exploded in shocked glee. Quieted by Brady and Randy Moss most of the night, they knew what was coming next. With two minutes left, Manning jogged into the huddle and told his offensive mates, while trying to contain his excitement, "Guys, obviously we need a touchdown. But let's not be in a hurry to score. I'm not interested in giving the Patriots the ball with 1:20 or 1:30 left.' " Because Belichick had wasted his final timeout to discuss his warped decision, the Colts could afford to run three or four plays, including a 14-yard pass to Reggie Wayne. With 36 seconds left, they had first-and-goal at the Patriots 1. Running back Joseph Addai didn't get into the end zone, but Manning calmly let the clock tick to under 20 seconds before dropping back, spotting Wayne in the end zone and hitting him with the game-tying touchdown with 13 seconds left. As a glaze of disbelief settled over the field and an estimated 12 million viewers -- at least those who hadn't turned off their TVs -- watched on Football Night in America, veteran Matt Stover kicked the extra point.

Your final score: Colts 35, Patriots 34.

Welcome to Bill Belichick's comeuppance, a wonderful day for anyone who has thought of him as a cheater and a boor. The hoodie had his initials, "BB," emblazoned on the front of his outer wear. Not since Bill Buckner has a "BB" in Boston sports blundered worse. Staring straight ahead and speaking in his trademark monotone, he took questions and didn't seem to regret what he had done, even though the Patriots are 6-3 and effectively four games behind the 9-0 Colts for playoff positioning in a rivalry where the home field means plenty.

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New England Patriots Photos

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) greets New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) on the field after Indianapolis defeated New England, 35-34 in an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

New England Patriots Photos

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 in Indianapolis. The Colts beat the Patriots 35-34. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) takes off his helmet during the fourth quarter of NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. Indianapolis won 35-34. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

The Indianapolis Colts defense react after they stopped the New England Patriots on fourth down during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. Indianapolis won 35-34. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning reacts after he threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Indianapolis, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. The Colts won 35-34.(AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 15: Quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts warms up before the start of the game against the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Peyton Manning

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INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 15: Reggie Wayne #87 of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates his touchdown with fans late in the fourth quarter of the game against the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts won the game 35-34. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Reggie Wayne

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INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 15: Raheem Brock #79 of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates after his teams 35-34 victory over the New England Patriots after the game at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Raheem Brock

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INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 15: Head coach Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts watches play against the New England Patriots during the game at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jim Caldwell

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INDIANAPOLIS - NOVEMBER 15: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots calls a play in the fourth quarter of the game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 15, 2009 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Colts won the game 35-34. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tom Brady

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"We tried to win the game on that play. We tried to pick it up right there," said Belichick, who lost for the first time as Patriots coach after leading by at least 13 points in the fourth quarter. "I thought we could make that yard. We could then either run out the clock or almost all of the clock. That's why I made the call. We had a good play. I don't know how you can't get one yard on that play. I guess we didn't."

Uh, did he not realize he technically needed two yards for the first down, not one? "Yeah, fourth-and-2," he said. So why did he keep saying he needed one yard?

And does he realize he'll be doubted at water coolers all over the land today? "Sure, they question everything," Belichick said.

Anything else he'd like to say in his defense? "Give them credit. The Colts made a nice play there," he said.

Give them credit? Belichick gave them a Christmas gift, wasting a wonderful effort by Brady that included 375 passing yards and three touchdowns, two to Moss in a time-machine throwback to their ultra-prolific, record-setting season in 2007. The focus should have been on Brady and how he has fully recovered from reconstructive surgery on his left knee, how he has thrown for 1,395 yards the last four games. Who knew he would be usurped by Belichick, who needs reconstructive surgery on his thought process? Sure, the Patriots have taken fourth-down gambles plenty of times, but they've never done so in such a high-profile situation where it made such little sense.

"That was coach being aggressive. I love that about him."
-- Tom Brady "That was coach being aggressive. I love that about him," Brady said. "That fourth-down play, that's one of your best plays, and you go to one of your best guys. We've got our offense on the field. We have over 450 yards of offense at the time. We've got a lot of great players on our offense. They stopped us. We had an opportunity to win the game right there. That's all we ask for as an offense. Coach has a lot of confidence in us, and we came up a half-yard short."

In the end, though, Brady couldn't hide his disappointment. "It's a bummer," he said. All night, he had reminded us that we'd started to underappreciate him amid all the well-justified gushing and gooing over Manning, who likely will be remembered as the greatest of all quarterbacks. If Football America has misplaced the breathtaking precision and mastery of Brady, he displayed again that he's a little more than just Gisele Bundchen's metrosexual husband. Basically, he and Moss eviscerated the injury-depleted and raw secondary of the Colts, who are without safety Bob Sanders, the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and cornerback Marlin Jackson for the rest of the season.

Didn't Brady try to talk Belichick out of the call? Nope. Nor did Faulk, who didn't exactly have Belichick's back when he said, "We execute. We're the employees. We do what he says." It's no fault of Brady that Manning won for the fourth time in his last five starts against the Patriots. But do praise Manning for taking advantage of the gift, not that anyone would doubt him in that scenario. Was he surprised by Belichick's call?

"Not really. Not much surprises me with New England," Manning said. "You kind of expect the unexpected. Obviously, you get excited to get the ball back when you stop them on third down. And I can't lie to you: When you see them going for it on fourth down, you get a little nervous because you realize you might get a shorter field but that the game might be over."

Jim Caldwell, unbeaten as the Colts' rookie head coach, was critical of Belichick's decision without realizing it. Initially, the Patriots' punt team ran on the field, allowing the Colts time to react. "They had started to substitute themselves," Caldwell noted. "They obviously changed their minds and said let's go for it. But the officials give you an opportunity to match up when there's that much confusion. So we had an opportunity to get our defense in."

It was a defense, by the way, that was appalled by New England's strategic arrogance. At first, like the rest of us, the Colts thought Brady would try to draw an offsides penalty. When the ball was snapped, the defenders were driven by anger.

"Wow," defensive end Robert Mathis said. "All you can say is wow. That's a lot of disrespect."

"Total disrespect," linebacker Clint Session said. "They disrespected us and they got what they deserved."

I can't disagree. And really, who can?

Spygate to Stupidgate: Belichick Blunders originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brady vs. Manning: A Symphony on Turf

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:03:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

Oh, sure, it might be fun if they hated each other, stole each other's women, fired off nasty tweets, treated their rivalry like another bloody night in the Octagon. But the beauty of Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady -- wait, give Brady first billing, since he has a 3-1 lead in the Super Bowl rings derby -- is that neither is a jerk on a sports planet filled with such creatures. Both are classy, dignified men who avoid blowhardish braggadocio and succeed because they rely on a tool that can be so remarkably beneficial when used properly.

The brain, we call it.

Their collision course in football history is rooted in the cerebrum. Other than Joe Montana, no one has thought on his feet at a higher level in the biggest moments than Brady. Nor has anybody been a more efficient, dynamic conductor than Manning, who has made the line of scrimmage his personal symphony pit and turns film sessions into clinical studies. By luck and quirk of the NFL schedule, they will face each other for the 11th time on Sunday evening in Indianapolis, and while each emphasizes that he's facing the opposing defense, there will be an air of pomp and circumstance reminding us that this is the greatest of duels at the most glamorous of positions.

Who do I prefer? Can a question be more loaded? If I needed a quarterback to elevate the average talent around him, be the ultimate coach on the field and amass spectacular numbers that probably will dominate the record books when he's finished in seven or eight seasons, it's Manning. If I needed a quarterback to maximize an offensive system and win a game in the final minute -- every friggin' time, it seems -- it's Brady. This is Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird for a new millennium, the most compelling form of mano-a-mano competition going in team sports, or at least until Kobe Bryant and LeBron James clash in the NBA Finals. And even then, I'm not sure that would be bigger than the battle of two golden right arms who glorify what we all love to do this time of year: throw the football around the backyard, leading receivers in stride with sort-of-perfect spirals.

I'm glad they're friends. We need civility in these complicated times, gentlemanly showdowns in which they want to beat the other's brains out for three hours, and then maintain a deep mutual respect until their next meeting. Brady was asked if he appreciates the Johnson-Bird comparison. After playfully wondering which one he is, Brady spent the next minute extolling Manning's virtues.

"Yeah, I'm always keeping up on Peyton. We talk from time to time. I have a lot of respect for him as a player, and for the role model that he is, the way that he carries himself, the way the he leads the team, and the way he's a representative for the league, and all of those things,'' Brady said. "It was his third year in the league when I was a rookie, and it was pretty much my first start came against the Colts. Peyton came over on our field and said, 'Hey, I'm Peyton Manning.' I said, 'No sh**.' ''

He laughed, admiringly. "We were both getting warmed up and he was probably on his 100th throw of the day, two hours before the game,'' Brady said. "It was a pretty quick meeting.''

It's a tribute to their professionalism and character that they would confer with each other about injuries. When Brady had a staph infection after surgery, he immediately contacted Manning.
The rest has been world domination. They have ruled the decade, sharing four Super Bowl championships, three Super Bowl MVP awards, four league MVP awards and 13 Pro Bowl appearances. Because quarterback legacies are predicated on winning titles, I must say Brady has had the better career, however slightly. But he also has had the advantage of being in Bill Belichick's system, which has given him more chances to win than Manning. Colts fans will counter that Belichick is a crook who needed the Spygate affair to win -- and might even have had something to do with the mouse droppings and dead mice found of late in the Colts' 15-month-old, $720-million Lucas Oil Stadium. Fortunately, as always, Manning stays above the fray and eloquently praises Brady.

"What Tom has done during this decade, it's hard to do it justice,'' Manning said. "He's been unbelievably consistent and just seems to get better year after year. He's had multiple players around him, he's had some coaching changes. Though he said he may have had the same system, he's had some offensive coordinator changes and different guys to throw it to, yet he's remained consistent and accurate throughout.''

The difference, of course, is that Manning has been groomed to be one of the game's elite quarterbacks of all time. Son of Archie, brother of Eli, the bloodlines ordained that he would excel in college, be picked No. 1 in the 1998 NFL draft and reign over the sport from the start. Brady alternated with the much more ballyhooed Drew Henson at Michigan -- what ever happened to him? -- and wasn't chosen until 199th in the 2000 draft. Once he had his chance, he seized it, never let go and became the envy of every American male, not only directing the Team of the '00s but getting the world-class supermodel, too. Manning's personal path was nearly as prodigious, but the Patriots were his early bugaboo, the team he couldn't get by -- sometimes with disastrous results. For a while there, it seemed Manning always would hang in Brady's shadow, but three years ago, the Colts finally broke through for their first Super Bowl championship. And this year, they're smelling another with an 8-0 record, though injuries to defensive and offensive personnel could sabotage Manning. As for Brady, he has recovered from reconstructive knee surgery, but with 15 touchdown passes and a 6-2 record, he hasn't been nearly as prolific as he was in his record-breaking, 50-scoring-pass season in 2007, when the Patriots went 18-0 before losing to Eli Manning and the Giants in the Super Bowl.

It's crazy to ponder the similarities in the rivalry. The Colts have the NFL's best record this decade (109-43), just one game ahead of the Patriots. The Patriots have won three Super Bowls to the Colts' one, while Manning has won three MVP awards to Brady's one. And the Colts have won four of the last five, including a vintage 38-34 victory in the AFC title game that preceded their Super Bowl victory over Chicago. The sense earlier this season was that Manning was on his way to another championship, but the Indianapolis secondary isn't cooperating. Bob Sanders, so talented yet so injury-prone, is out for the year again. So is cornerback Marlin Jackson. The Colts' other cornerback, Kelvin Hayden, is also gone for a while. This while Manning has adjusted to new receivers -- Pierre Garcon (who had four catches in 2008) and rookie Austin Collie -- and a reconfigured line. So Brady is being urged by everyone, including former Patriot and current NBC analyst Rodney Harrison, to throw, throw and throw some more to Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Won't they leave tire tracks on Indy's two rookie corners, Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers?

A shootout could be in store. Certainly, Brady no longer is showing rust and mechanical issues from the two torn knee ligaments that forced him to miss last season. "Physically, I've felt great for a long time," he said. "The rehab process is what it is. It's pretty straightforward. The health of my knee is great, and I feel great physically."

Said Colts linebacker Gary Brackett: "Looks like the same guy to me, moving around in the pocket and not taking a lot of hits out there.''

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) works a running drill at the start of practice at the NFL football team's facility in Foxborough, Mass., Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 11, 2009. The 6-2 Patriots will play the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts Sunday night at Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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Buffalo Bills' Jairus Byrd makes a one handed catch during NFL football practice in Orchard Park, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell jokes that he takes a hands-off approach when it comes to tutoring rookie safety Jairus Byrd, who's had seven interceptions in his past four games. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

In this Sept. 20, 2009, photo, Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City, Mo. The Raiders drafted him ahead of receivers like Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin in part because he was the fastest player at the NFL combine. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

In this photo released Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, by The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, shows Atlanta Falcons' Tony Gonzalez and his wife October posing nude for an animal rights ad campaign. Tight end Tony Gonzalez and his wife posed in the nude for a new PETA anti-fur advertisement, a striking departure from former quarterback Michael Vick's gruesome dogfighting operation. (AP Photo/P.E.T.A.)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New England Patriots running back Laurence Maroney (39) laughs as he stretches before practice begins at the NFL football team's facility in Foxborough, Mass., Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 11, 2009. The 6-2 Patriots will play the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts Sunday night at Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

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San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary looks up after running back Glen Coffee was injured in the fourth quarter of their NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in San Francisco, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker (83) stretches before practice begins at the NFL football team's facility in Foxborough, Mass., Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 11, 2009. The 6-2 Patriots will play the 8-0 Indianapolis Colts Sunday night at Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Buffalo Bills' James Hardy puts on his helmet during NFL football practice in Orchard Park, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. The Bills (3-5) also have to determine by the end of the day whether to activate receiver James Hardy off the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list, or place him on season-ending injured reserve. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Buffalo Bills' James Hardy runs after a catch during NFL football practice in Orchard Park, N.Y., Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. The Bills (3-5) also have to determine by the end of the day whether to activate receiver James Hardy off the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list, or place him on season-ending injured reserve. (AP Photo/David Duprey)

Manning, too, raved about Brady's comeback. Remember, he also had two procedures on his left knee last year, though each involved infections of the bursa sac. Brady's left knee was shredded, including the anterior cruciate ligament. "My injury was completely different from his," Manning said. "He had major, major reconstructive surgery. Months and months of rehab. Mine was a unique type deal. I just can't relate to the injury that he had. What he's been able to do, coming back this year, is incredible. We've seen film of the Patriots playing other teams, other defenses, and you can't tell he missed last year with major knee surgery. He's picked up right where he left off the year before and handled it pretty smoothly.''

It's a tribute to their professionalism and character that they would confer with each other about injuries. When Brady had a staph infection after surgery, he immediately contacted Manning. "That is a true story,'' Brady said. "I called him and I said, 'Tell me about your knee and what you went through.' He provided a bit of insight. He was very encouraging. Always has been. He's just that kind of a guy. He's a very classy guy.''

They even compare notes on opponents, game plans and preparation techniques. "It kind of runs the gamut,'' Brady said. "He's got great knowledge of the game. He really studies it and understands what he does well and what his team does well.''

So the most pleasant big rivalry in the history of sports resumes Sunday night. In a year when the NFL never has seemed more popular, prepare for one of the highest-rated regular-season games ever, just as the weather gets cold in the East and Midwest and people need something to warm up to. "There have been some classic games between these two teams, we can't discount that," said Colts coach Jim Caldwell, the first rookie coach since 1931 to start 8-0. "There have been some memorable ones, and they have been hard-fought. Typically, they were games that had a lot riding on them. But this is Week [10] and not the end of the year. It's not the playoffs. It's not the Super Bowl."

Hmmm. Sure feels like it.

Brady vs. Manning: A Symphony on Turf originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pull the Plug on Cable Guy, Commish

Jay Mariotti — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:45:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

When an NFL player attacks an opponent with a dangerous, helmet-to-helmet hit, he is suspended immediately for a game or more. When Oakland Raiders coach Tom Cable acknowledges having struck his first wife -- this as two other romantic partners allege that he physically abused them, this after a Raiders assistant coach accused Cable of breaking his jaw and threatening to kill him during a training-camp confrontation -- well, I'm wondering where the NFL commissioner is right now.

Urgency has been the signature of Roger Goodell's tenure as it comes to violence and personal conduct. A violation occurs, he's on it at once, and next thing you know, Sheriff Roger is announcing another suspension. It has been the most important stance taken by a sports commissioner here in the new millennium, but just the same, Goodell must be as quick to act on a coach as he is a player. In the case of Cable, who at the least has serious anger issues and appears to have an ugly history of battering women and bullying men, it's hard for me to believe he'll be allowed to coach another week in America's most visible, successful league. The NFL says it is investigating Cable and his past, but Goodell already has the proof required for at least an indefinite suspension:

Blackistone: Suspending Cable Good for Everyone, Including Him
Reports: NFL Evaluating Cable, Al Davis Wants a New Coach

1. The assistant coaches who witnessed the incident between Cable and assistant Randy Hanson confirmed to police in Napa County, Calif., that Cable did grow angry and confront Hanson and that he grabbed Hanson by the shirt before the two were separated. Though they claim Cable didn't punch or threaten Hanson, it's clear that Cable bull-rushed him and made physical contact, which smacks of workplace violence that should deeply concern a league armed with rules against such conduct.

2. The training-camp episode was followed by an ESPN Outside the Lines report revealing that Sandy Cable, the coach's first wife, was abused during their marriage and sought a 1989 order of protection that included her comments: "On two occasions, one back in '86 and the other in '88, he hit me ... the second time in the face, however on attempts to call law enforcement, my husband would rip the phone out of the wall." She added that when they broke up, she brought up counseling as a solution. "That angered him even further," she said. Later that day, Cable confirmed that he struck her. He did so before leading the Raiders onto the field against the San Diego Chargers, not the kind of pregame development helpful to any team.

There could be more corroborated evidence for Goodell, much more, but for now, this is more than sufficient to remove him from the sideline. Once Cable admitted to hitting his first wife, he opened the door to the possibility that a serial abuser could occupy one of the 32 most prestigious positions in football coaching, dreadful as the Raiders are. "On only one occasion in my life have I ever touched a woman inappropriately," Cable said in a statement. "More than 20 years ago, during my first marriage, I became aware that my wife Sandy had committed adultery. I became very angry and slapped her with an open hand. What I did was wrong and I have regretted and felt sorrow about that moment ever since."

Sandy Cable wasn't finished. She denied committing adultery, saying, "He constantly made accusations throughout the relationship. There was never any infidelity on my part. And he did not slap me, he punched me."

I suppose any defenders of Cable might suggest that Sandy Cable is bitter and discussing matters from two decades ago. So how would they explain the accusations of Marie Lutz? She and Cable were going out as recently as January of this year, when she showed up at his Alameda, Calif., home one morning and discovered the presence of another woman. When Lutz asked to meet the woman, according to the police report, she said Cable "grabbed her by the left arm, causing her to fall to the ground" and "eventually pick[ed] her up and pushed her out the front door." She was off next to the emergency room, where she was checked out for back pain and a contusion.

She says Cable hit her "three, four times" during their relationship. One night, she remembers him being so angry in a car after leaving a restaurant that, "I could not recognize him." Months before, Lutz said, he had grabbed her by the neck. Cable, in response, turned the tables on the messenger, saying ESPN isn't playing fair and that, while Lutz did come to his house unannounced that morning, the Alameda Police Department cleared him after he cooperated with its investigation. "I never battered her in any way," Cable said of Lutz. "It is most unfortunate that ESPN has given Ms. Lutz this forum to revisit this incident when I did nothing wrong and further chose not to provide me with an appropriate opportunity to respond." Sorry, Tom, but when you strike a woman at one point in your life, you lose all credibility when assigning blame to the media exposing you.

I suppose any defenders of Cable might suggest that Lutz was outraged by the sight of another woman. So how would they explain the documents of Cable's second wife, Glenda, who said in court papers concerning their 2008 divorce that Cable "in the past ... has been physically and verbally abusive to me." She is still receiving financial support from Cable, which may explain why she's trying to distance herself from those comments, saying in a statement, "I have known Tom Cable for more than 20 years, including 17 years of marriage. Throughout the time I have known him, Tom has never been violent to me or our children. I chose not to speak to the media before now to protect my privacy and that of my children. However, I am very troubled by what is being claimed by others, and I felt compelled to speak out about my own lengthy experience with Tom."

Never mind that just last year, she went on court record as saying he was "physically and verbally abusive." Now, suddenly, her ex is a sweetheart.

Consider it far beyond a pattern. Tom Cable either is the victim of an intense, calculated smear job -- and I've yet to hear him or his attorney remotely infer that -- or he has struck three significant women in his life. Remember how proactive Goodell was in suspending Michael Vick, the dog killer? He needs to be even more aggressive in finishing the probe of Cable and quickly announcing the punishment. I'm shocked that society in general doesn't seem to be nearly as alarmed by the domestic-abuse allegations against Cable as it was about Vick. Maybe that has to do with Vick's former status as a superstar quarterback, while Cable is a largely obscure coach with a dysfunctional franchise that is off America's radar screen. But of all the issues that have confronted Goodell -- and there have been too many to count -- this is as critical as any.

Remember how proactive Goodell was in suspending Michael Vick, the dog killer? He needs to be even more aggressive in finishing the probe of Cable and quickly announcing the punishment.
"Tom Cable's history of violence against women raises a question: Why is he still the head coach of an NFL team?" wrote Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, in an e-mail to USA Today. "Mr. Cable admits having battered his first wife, and he stands accused of battering two other intimate partners as well. As a survivor of domestic violence, I know that women do not make such accusations lightly. Indeed, women have much more to lose than to gain by coming forward to tell their stories. The Oakland Raiders, properly, say they are undergoing a 'serious evaluation' of these recent allegations. At the very least he should be suspended during this process. ... A man who has admitted battering his wife has no business being a role model for all of us who would like to be able to look up to the head coach of an NFL football team."

Exactly.

Perhaps because no criminal charges were filed by any of the women, and perhaps because Napa authorities cited inconsistencies in Hanson's story in declining to charge Cable, the NFL is taking its time. Goodell is fortunate the Raiders aren't a premier team that receives plenty of air time. That said, this remains an ugly cloud in the league's charmed stratosphere. Just because the masses are hooked on attractive storylines -- Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady this Sunday night, the reaffirmation of the Super Bowl-champion Steelers as a team that could repeat, the resurgence of Brett Favre, the shocking success of Cedric Benson and the Bengals, the perfect record of Drew Brees and the Saints -- doesn't mean Goodell can stall on an alleged wife-beater. Even the Raiders, the most godawful franchise in sports history, are making it clear this is horrible for public relations.

"We wish to be clear that we do not in any way condone or accept actions such as those alleged," the team said in a statement. "There have been occasions on which we have dismissed Raider employees for having engaged in inappropriate conduct."

But Al Davis, aka Darth Vader, won't be firing Cable until he's good and ready, even though he also hasn't proved himself worthy of coaching an NFL team or developing a quarterback. No, this is a job for Roger Goodell. The man has wielded his hammer on numerous players who've violated the conduct policy, and now, he must bring down a 6-foot-3, 280-pound brute.

Before he strikes again.

Pull the Plug on Cable Guy, Commish originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Favre Quiets Haters, Gets Last Laugh

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:30:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Shame on them for booing him, mocking him, staging funerals for him, wearing flip-flops and eating waffle fries to ridicule him. The hostility toward Brett Favre was an embarrassment to a community that never looked smaller, an affront to the idea that the publicly owned Packers and their fans form a unique family bond amid the greed and sleaze of 21st-century sports. If the Cheeseheads truly had perspective, they would have stood and applauded the man whose swaggering presence defined a franchise and state for 16 years, and then they'd have rooted like hell for their boys to beat the old dude and the despised Minnesota Vikings.

More Coverage: Packers in Pain After Another Loss to Favre, Vikings

Instead, they booed him when he arrived at Lambeau Field, booed him when he emerged from the tunnel for warmups, booed him when he barked signals at the line of scrimmage, booed him when he came to the sideline. "We drove up Ridge [Road],'' Favre said of the bus ride from the Vikings' Appleton hotel, which was new to him, "and I saw all Packers fans -- some cheers, a couple of [middle] fingers, people, uh, not mooning but ... That part seemed really weird." Most of the good vibes, sadly, were drowned out by haters. Amazingly, all his personal records and playoff berths, all the special times in the two Super Bowl years, all the love for No. 4 during an epic period in football history -- it was sucked in by blind amnesia, the ignorant and short-sighted view that if he would cross enemy lines and play for the Vikings, then he must be a worthless S.O.B.

"I wasn't hoping for anything, said Favre, looking a little hurt when asked if he expected a kinder reception. "Sure, I would have loved better ... but it was about what I expected. It got worse every time I took the field. But I know what I did here. No matter what people say, good or bad, it doesn't matter. What I've done speaks for itself."

You know the rest. Hearing the rude reception, Favre had only one option in his surreal return to Lombardi Avenue. In what became an emotional, entertaining shootout between the legendary ex-Packer and the quarterback who replaced him, Aaron Rodgers, Favre would have to shut them up in the end.

And when he did, with four more touchdown passes tacked onto the three he threw against the Packers last month in the Metrodome, the place grew deathly silent. What if they tried to throw a funeral for Favre, only to have Favre turn it around and throw the funeral for them in a 38-26 victory? As night fell over Wisconsin, there was a numbing, haunting realization that he not only was the enemy now but that he was winning the cold war with a new team that could reach the Super Bowl this season. Remember, Packers management didn't want him anymore. Remember, general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy preferred Rodgers and shipped Favre away to the Jets last year. Remember, America is a free country, and as a free agent, Favre had every right to sign with the Vikings last offseason, even if he drove us all batty again with his maddening mood swings. He wanted to prove he could still play. He wanted to "stick it" to Thompson, as he admitted months ago.

Stick it, indeed. The two-game sweep gives the Vikings a 7-1 record, a 2 1/2-game lead over the Packers in the NFC North and the revenge he no doubt savored when he signed over the summer. It helps to have a plethora of weapons -- the world's best running back in Adrian Peterson, an emerging gamebreaker in Percy Harvin, potent receivers ranging from Bernard Berrian to Visanthe Shiancoe to Sidney Rice -- that Rodgers and other quarterbacks surely envy. But Favre was brought to Minnesota to manage the weapons, make sure he distributes the ball to them. At 40, he has been more effective and dynamic than anyone dreamed.
"I've never been one to rub it in a guy's face. I have a lot of respect for that organization and those fans. Nothing will ever change how I feel about them."
-- Brett Favre
This was unlike any day in sports history. We've seen legends join other teams -- Michael Jordan to the Wizards, Joe Montana to the Chiefs, Joe Namath to the Rams, Johnny Unitas to the Chargers, Wayne Gretzky to various U.S. clubs -- but never has an athlete who so embodied a franchise sided up with an arch-rival. That's what made it such a mental taffy pull for the Green Bay faithful, especially given the bitter circumstances behind the Favre-Packers divorce 15 months ago. They can boo all they want, but he got the last laugh in this post-split drama.

"I know I didn't have anything to prove to anybody," he said in the visitors' quarters, another new experience. "Am I glad it's turned out this way? Absolutely. But I knew I could play, and coming back had nothing to do with proving myself. I still have passion for the game. My arm feels great. My mind is in a good place. The team has welcomed me in.

"I'm not gonna sit here and throw any daggers. I think I've always handled myself with class. I've never been one to rub it in a guy's face. I have a lot of respect for that organization and those fans. Nothing will ever change how I feel about them.''

He didn't have to throw daggers. The scoreboard and statistics spoke for him: 17-of-28, 244 yards, four TDs, no interceptions, no sacks. "To have no picks, no sacks -- that's special,'' said Favre, shooting a sly smile. Rodgers, who was sacked six times and may not survive the season, was terrific in rallying the Packers from a 21-point hole to within 24-20 late in the third quarter. But Favre and the potent Vikings offense answered with touchdown drives and consistent big plays. He has had countless big moments in this stadium and elsewhere in the NFL. "But this ranks high," he said. "Where on the list, I don't know.''

In the personal gratification department, it might be No. 1. Let's not kid ourselves: When he has accomplished everything imaginable in the game -- virtually every major passing record, a Super Bowl title, an all-time Ironman starting streak, fame, wealth, a movie gig with Cameron Diaz -- Favre is still playing for reasons beyond his love of football. He also is going out on his terms, refusing to let the Packers tell him when. If the joyride ends up in Miami at the Super Bowl, we're looking at one of the classic sports stories ever. For now, he's content to enjoy the fun, such as his 16-yard touchdown pass to Berrian that put the game away with 3:48 left.

He reacted as if he was 25 again, leaping like a wild man, throwing his arms in the air, looking for people to hug. He ended up hugging everyone, including Berrian, who was lifted into the air by Favre as both grinned. This is the snapshot we'll record. Once again, when challenged by difficult circumstances to play well, he delivered. Favre was brilliant on a Monday night in Oakland after his father died. He was brilliant throughout much of his wife's breast cancer ordeal. He was brilliant in Minneapolis last month. And he was brilliant Sunday in Lambeau, his personal playground, against the team that disowned him.

"He's playing at a very high level," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "We talked about him not doing too much, and he did just about what he needed to do. He didn't get too creative. He kept it in the body, not out of the body."

Asked about the fallout between Favre and the Packers, Childress seemed to fire a shot at Green Bay management. "I wanted him as the starter. That wasn't what he was going to do in Green Bay," he said, referring to McCarthy's insistence that he fight for the job with Rodgers last year before the trade.

So much for the nonsense that Favre's arrival would create a "schism" in the locker room, as reported in training camp. Anyone mentioned Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels the last two months? His teammates love him. "It's Brett Favre, that's all I can say," said pass-rushing monster Jared Allen, who had three more sacks of Rodgers against a porous offensive line and now has 10.5 halfway through the season. "The guy is amazing, and we're blessed to have him on our team.''

"He's played this game a long time, he sees a lot of stuff that a lot of quarterbacks can't see," said Harvin, who accounted for 261 yards on total offense, including a 77-yard kickoff return when the game was in doubt. "And he can make a lot of throws that a lot of quarterbacks can't make. With us being explosive, to add him was like a blessing in disguise."

Speaking of disguises, Halloween weekend was the wrong time for this Cheesehead spectacle. It added to the animosity toward Favre, with a local bar called Tom, Dick and Harry's conducting a mock funeral. There it was, a mannequin Favre corpse wearing a purple No. 4 jersey, with a grave stone that read, "R.I.P. Brett Favre 10-1-69, 8-18-09. He must be dead. He turned purple."

If that wasn't nasty enough, someone wanted to change his street name from "Brett Favre Pass" to "Brett Favre Interception," though some suggested the 'P' simply be removed from Pass. The mayor of Green Bay declared Flip Flop Friday.'' The Titletown Brewery served waffle fries. If some of those stunts were kind of humorous, nothing was funny about death threats that reportedly were dialed in to the Appleton rock station that sponsored the funeral.

Which made it all the more pleasing for Favre to overcome the rancor. Maybe he didn't win the big public-relations battle locally. But the ultimate football warrior ended up one-upping Packers management forever with a double-whammy on the field. If this was a business tug-of-war, Thompson and McCarthy have slid into the mud. To Favre's credit, he made a point of wading through the post-game people scrum to approach McCarthy with a handshake. "Way to battle. Good to see you," Favre said as McCarthy, 0-2 against his nemesis, shook his hand and moved away quickly.

Some old Packers weren't happy weeks ago, when Favre called these Vikings the most talented team he has played with. What about the 1996 team that won the Super Bowl? "I was disappointed with only one thing he's done, and that was him saying recently that the Vikings are the best team he's ever played with," Jerry Kramer told USA Today. "Now he's bringing his teammates into the discussion, (the late) Reggie White and Frank Winters and Mark Chmura and all the guys he went to war with and won a Super Bowl with and saying they aren't as good as these Vikings. I wish he hadn't said that. I didn't think that was right."

Favre didn't shy from the criticism Sunday. "I'd venture to say my teammates would speak positively about me as a leader and a player," he said. Nor did he take back the most-talented comment, though he did point out that the Vikings have played just half a regular season.

"We haven't done anything other than go 7-1,'' he said. "The '96 team won the Super Bowl.''

It may or may not be the last time he plays at Lambeau. I'm done trying to forecast if Favre will play in the future. But as he prepared for a much-deserved week off in his new city, he tried to rationalize what Packers fans really feel about him.

"Packer fans cheer for the Packers first. I know that," he said. "But I hope that everyone in the stadium watching tonight said, 'I sure hate those jokers on the other side, but he does play the way he's always played. He brings excitement and passion to the game.' That's what people have admired me for. And I'd like to believe they still do.''

Oh, they do. They're just not going to tell him. Why give him the satisfaction when he already knows he has won?

Favre Quiets Haters, Gets Last Laugh originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tweet This, Cutler: Orton Kicks R Butt

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

Upon hearing that Jay Cutler was engaging in trash-tweeting with one Chad Ochocinco, my first impulse was obvious. Given his inaccuracy in the red zone, Cutler surely would hit the wrong letters on his cell-phone keyboard and require spell check. It wasn't wise for the Bears quarterback to answer Ochocinco's cybertaunts, not when he's being soundly embarrassed by Kyle Orton -- Kyle Orton, ladies and gentlemen! -- in first-half returns on the NFL's biggest offseason trade.

Yet there was Cutler, firing back when he should have been (a) working on his flawed passing mechanics, (b) pleading with management to find better weapons and (c) studying game film to determine why he went 2-of-9 with a bad interception inside the Atlanta 20-yard-line in Sunday night's loss. This while Orton has been the model of efficiency and near-perfection for a Broncos team that is 6-0 under coach Josh McDaniels, the first-year revelation who dared to unload Cutler and misses him now about as much as an unflushable toilet. Considering the mounting evidence against him, didn't Cutler have something better to do than play Twitter tag with a troublemaker?

More Coverage: Cutler Signs Two-Year Extension

Ochocinco: @jaycutler6 tell your defense I'm gonna run circles around them, I'm mad we lost, peanut Tillman is gonna kiss da baby along with the rest

Cutler: @OGOchoCinco it's only Monday. Already starting?

Ochocinco: @JayCutler6 Jay I have to get a jump on yall, on a serious note tell Lovie to put Tillman on me all game with safety help, please!!!!

Cutler: @OGOchoCinco Peanut on you with safety over top. You got it. Anything else you would like me to pass on?

Cutler again: @OGOchoCinco double coverage all game might be difficult. Don't you think?

Ochocinco: @JayCutler6 well after I embarass the secondary I want your jersey after game, that's all for now.

This exercise in silliness struck me as everything that's wrong with Cutler. For all his strong-armed gifts, he has an immature, reckless streak that isn't conducive to consistently excellent performances and leadership at the sport's most important position. When Cutler is on, he's as dangerous as any passer in the league, which is why the Bears signed him to a two-year extension Tuesday that will guarantee him an additional $20 million as the NFL enters troubled labor waters. When he's off, he's capable of self-destructing and doing his team no favors with pouty, mopey body language. He played at Vanderbilt, which suggests he must have some brains. Yet he also reminds me of Frank (Cush) Cushman, the guitar-playing doofus/QB prospect in Jerry Maguire.

I was among the many who thought McDaniels was clinically insane when he traded Cutler, who threw for 4,526 yards last season and is only 26, for Orton, a journeyman best known for a bushy neckbeard. But now people in Chicago are beginning to grasp why McDaniels was so eager to cast Cutler loose. The two would have gotten along like Jon and Kate Gosselin. McDaniels wants to run his New England-style pass system, which places a premium on accuracy, maximizing yardage on the scoreboard and avoiding mistakes. Cutler has a maddening way of amassing yardage and having nothing to show for it, exhibited by the Broncos' rank in the yards-per-point category the last two seasons: 28th and 25th. As national TV audiences have seen on two Sunday nights, in Atlanta and Green Bay, the Bears can drive downfield smoothly enough but are vulnerable to Cutler interceptions -- six total. Granted, his offensive line isn't nearly as good as the one he left in Denver, and the 27th-ranked running game is underachieving thanks largely to Matt Forte's fumbles and lack of power around the goal line. He also could use a legitimate No. 1 receiver, with Devin Hester falling far short of the standard while an explosive weapon such as Steve Smith goes to waste in Carolina.

Still, Cutler looks skittish. Three of his seven picks this season have come inside the 20. After his latest red-zone interception, coach Lovie Smith had words with the so-called franchise savior. "Don't do it,'' Smith said. "It's really kind of as simple as that. We can't have those interceptions down there. Jay realizes that, but he was trying to make a play.'' Contrast that with the careful, impeccable play of Orton, who was magnificent again Monday night in San Diego and has compiled these blurry numbers: 1,465 yards, nine touchdown passes, one interception (on a Hail Mary attempt) and a 100.1 passer rating. In the second half against the Chargers, he went 11 of 15 for 146 yards, two touchdowns and a 143.3 rating.

"Thank goodness we have him. He has been just superb,'' said receiver Brandon Stokley, who caught the clinching TD pass Monday and once played with a certain Peyton Manning. "He has stepped up to the plate when we needed him. None of these games have been easy, and he has made the plays we had to have.''

It's not a matter of which team is getting the better end of the deal. No, the lopsided results go far deeper, exposing the Bears' front office and coaches in their inability to take advantage of the team's first franchise quarterback in the modern era. Compounding those issues is the startling success of McDaniels, who has remarkably calmed the turmoil that crept in after the Cutler trade and the suspension of receiver extraordinare Brandon Marshall. Suddenly, the Broncos are united as one, and even Marshall is buying into the program -- though keep in mind he's playing for a contract. It helps to have a weapon such as Eddie Royal, a potent receiver who ran back a kick and punt for touchdowns against the Chargers. And how about a defense that is the real stunner, allowing only 10 points after halftime in six games thanks largely to pass-rushing force Elvis Dumervil? Last time the Broncos were in Qualcomm Stadium, they were destroyed 52-21 in what ultimately was the swan song for Cutler and coach Mike Shanahan. Ten months later, they're a Super Bowl contender in the AFC, where only Indianapolis and New England might be in the way. Maybe Orton won't best Manning or Tom Brady in the playoffs. But at least he'll be in the playoffs, something Cutler can't say for sure.

"I wasn't here last year, obviously. But I know the past. We know the past as a team. It has kind of been a one-sided deal for the last few years," Orton said. "Divisional games are at a premium. You've got to play your best ball, especially on the road and [on] Monday Night Football. We pulled one out."

The good thing about Cutler is that he realized Tuesday he has to stop the Twitter wars. On his off-day conversation with ESPN Radio, he declared a cease fire with Ochocinco, perhaps because management told him so. "I'm going to have to bow out of that," Cutler said. "Chad is great. He's a fabulous player. He is a social media sensation. Once Wednesday starts, I'll probably be out of that whole situation. The guy does some different stuff, but I think that's 100 percent him. That's his personality. That's how he is on the field. I love watching him on film. He comes to practice, he comes to work, and he does what he has to do to get himself prepared to play."

He also acknowledged the offense is sputtering. "We've got to get better. I've got to get better. The whole team in general, we've just got to do some things to help us win ballgames," Cutler said. "We're just not getting it done with the turnovers and interceptions. The trouble in the red zone, [the Falcons] didn't really do anything to really stop us. I think the entire offense felt good about our game plan and what we had going into it. It was just a matter of us making mistakes and making costly mistakes, really. Turnovers and penalties in the red zone; you just can't do that and expect to be a good offense."

To his credit, Cutler doesn't hold a grudge against McDaniels. He was the one who flipped out when the new coach sought his former New England project, Matt Cassell, and made Cutler available on the trade market. Cutler got his wish and a ticket to Chicago, but he left behind swarms of angry Broncos fans who are laughing loudly now. For Cutler's sake, it's a good thing the Bears played in Denver in the preseason and not anytime soon. Even if he's extending olive branches, the hatred for him out there is deep.

"A lot of people think I'm wishing the worst for the Broncos and Josh McDaniels. I don't," Cutler told ESPN Radio. "I watched the game [Monday] night. I have friends on that team. I talked to some of them afterwards and congratulated them. They're playing really good football. I'm happy for those guys offensively, defensively.

"This league is funny. It's all about timing. You could be one of the best players in the league but if you're not in the right system, you don't have the right people around you, there're a lot of different aspects that go into making a player or breaking a player. It's working for Kyle. It's working for Josh, and it's working for the Broncos. They've got a good thing going."

The Bears, meanwhile, are 3-2 in a division in which Brett Favre and the Vikings have started 6-0. If Orton, McDaniels are the Broncos are the NFL's best story, Cutler is a prime-time disappointment so far. Why do you think Ochocinco was tweeting him so early in the week, six days before the Bears and Bengals play in Cincinnati?

Because he wants to get inside Cutler's head, of course. Seems it's very cluttered right now.

Tweet This, Cutler: Orton Kicks R Butt originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Football's a Breeze in The Big Breesy

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:05:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

NEW ORLEANS -- The players have started wearing T-shirts bearing the inscription, "SB44." It's not a Louisiana highway or some exotic local beer but the stated aspiration of the Saints, a franchise that has managed only eight winning seasons in more than four decades and long was known for humiliated fans who wore bags over their heads. One fan was a young Eli Manning, who was a baby when his father got beat up in his final seasons but later would venture to the Superdome with his brothers, Peyton and Cooper, to see the Saints get mauled.

These days, Manning is just the latest victim of a team that doesn't hesitate to think big, even when its pedigree suggests small, careful, quiet steps to a championship. The idea of the Saints reaching Super Bowl XLIV should have been the halftime theme of the House of Shock, a musical troupe that instead gave us a Michael Jackson Thriller compilation. But then, we never, ever should be shocked by the great Drew Brees, who played a mesmerizing game of pitch-and-catch with his numerous weapons Sunday and proved again that he's among the most electrifying quarterbacks the game has known.

The Mannings may be the royal football family in the Big Easy, but clearly, this is Drew's town -- the Big Breesy. What he did to the New York Giants and their previously No. 1-ranked defense on Sunday wasn't only a statement. This was a sonic blur, a jailbreak, a gifted craftsman picking his way through proud, talented defenders as if they were statues in City Park. Coming into the nationally hyped game of unbeaten NFC contenders, the Giants had allowed merely 210.6 yards and 104.8 passing yards a game, both league lows, and 14.2 points a game. Brees stung them early and often for 369 yards and four touchdown passes, this on a day when the Saints' much-improved defense forced Eli Manning into two costly turnovers in a 48-27 trashing.

All of which begs loaded questions: Can you imagine the chaos and voodoo-killing on Bourbon Street if the Saints actually won the Super Bowl? Would there be enough Hurricane mix to quench the Who Dat crowd in a city that has endured so much bad football and, in the big picture, the horror of Hurricane Katrina? And armed with a 5-0 start for the first time since 1993, don't the fans have a right to dream?

"To win it the way we did says a lot," Brees said. "Everybody showed up. The fans were awesome. The defense played great. The offense did what we had to do. Seven different guys scored touchdowns. That's big. That's the type of rhythm that, when you get in, you feel like you can call anything and it's going to work."

So, where is this joyride headed? "The past two seasons, we didn't achieve the goals we set being one of those playoff teams fighting for the No. 1 or 2 seed, knowing the formula of how to win, following it and being disciplined," Brees said. "We lacked consistency. I feel like we've learned from that."

In a season of scintillating individual performances -- such as the continuing mastery of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady's barrage of TD passes against the hopeless Titans and Brett Favre's ageless run with the Vikings -- Brees' chop-job on a premier defense rates at or near the top as the most impressive. With apologies to the Indy 500 racer playing quarterback for the Colts, Brees looked like the 2009 MVP, completing 15 consecutive passes in a clinic that even would have dropped jaws at the nearby Manning Passing Academy. It even trumps his six TD passes on opening day, which came against the still-sorry Lions. He was especially at his best on attempts of 10 yards or more, completing 14-of-18 for 289 yards and three touchdowns, with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. After two TD-pass-less weeks in which coach Sean Payton emphasized balance in the game plan, Brees came out smoking against a banged-up Giants secondary that misses cornerback Aaron Ross and safety Kenny Phillips. "We couldn't stop them," Giants coach Tom Coughlin moaned.

Like a kid having a blast in a backyard, Brees took turns choosing his targets. Early on, it was Lance Moore, who would stretch out for a catch and pose for a crowd that grew louder and rowdier with every throw. Then it was Jeremy Shockey, the former Giants problem child, who was particularly amped up in his first game against his old team, waving a towel on the sideline and gesturing to his ex-mates when he caught passes.

"I'd be lying if I said this didn't feel a little bit better than some teams," Shockey said of whipping his old team. "I'm sure we'll face these guys again somewhere down the road."

"All week, he was pretty tame," Brees said of Shockey, who did a rodeo-like dance after his touchdown catch. "You know the inner fire was burning and it was about to explode."

But the star receiver in The Big Breesy no doubt is Marques Colston. And when Brees goes deep and lets Colston climb the sky with his 6-4 frame, well, Corey Webster and few other cornerbacks have little chance to do anything but sigh. He finished with eight catches for 166 yards and a third-quarter TD that pushed the lead to 41-17 and ended any chance of a Giants rally, not that it ever was a possibility.

It wasn't how Manning envisioned his first game as a player in the big dome on Poydras Avenue, about 10 minutes from where he and his brothers grew up in the Garden District. He wore the same frazzled, beleaguered look that Archie Manning, his father, had all those years as he was smothered into the turf. He completed only 14-of-31 passes for 178 yards, committing a costly fumble on a sack that Reggie Bush converted into a 7-yard touchdown run just before halftime. The Saints' blitzers harassed him into an uncharacteristic loss of poise; Manning was seen chewing out Ahmad Bradshaw and slapping his shoulder pad after the running back continually missed blocking assignments, including one that led to a drive-ending interception in the third quarter. Oddly, though Peyton and Cooper had played in the Superdome, Eli never did as a high-school quarterback. The Giants were supposed to play there in 2005, but Katrina wrecked the fantasy.

Sunday, the Saints wrecked the real story. "It's not the way I imagined it during the week," Manning said. "But you're going to encounter all sorts of games and situations. I look at it as a loss. We need to go back and work on some things this week, fix some things and try to improve."

"Of course it's embarrassing," defensive end Osi Umenyiora said. "The Saints are a good team but they're not THAT good. It's a humbling experience. It's better it happens now than later."

He and the Giants will have to endure sniping this week about their true legitimacy. Some assumed this would be the game where they'd prove their NFC preeminence, but when a defense is embarrassed to the tune of 493 yards and 28 first downs -- Brees averaged 11.6 yards per pass attempt -- you wonder if they belong anywhere near the top. Four of their five victories came against Oakland, Kansas City, Tampa Bay and Washington, among the league's worst teams. Exposed by Brees, they allowed 34 points in the first half, the same number scored against them in the first half in their previous five games combined.

The Saints, meanwhile, have drubbed the Giants and Jets in successive games, which has hushed some of the premature, out-of-control enthusiasm for an all-New York Super Bowl. If anything, the New York media should be pumping the Saints, who have beaten every opponent by two touchdowns or more and haven't trailed in a game all season. Consider that the Giants, who had won 18 of their previous 23 road games, relinquished 315 yards in the first half. The Saints are the Aints no more. Rather, they're an operation to be taken very seriously.

The same should be said of Payton, who steadily has established himself as a strong branch on the Bill Parcells coaching tree. The New Orleans job was considered one of the NFL's worst when he replaced Jim Haslett in 2006. It was rough enough taking over a 3-13 team, but the city was still emotionally reeling from the devastation of Katrina, making life harder for a rookie coach. He shook off the adversity and quickly led the Saints to the NFC title game, but the last two years, the Saints have underachieved and lost close games while Brees was putting up insane numbers in a perfect system designed by Payton. Sitting at home last winter, beer in hand, Payton concocted a scheme in which he would woo Gregg Williams to town as defensive coordinator. When he asked for an above-market salary, Payton didn't say no. He went to owner Tom Benson and asked him to take a small portion of money from his contract and transfer it to Williams' deal. The rest is history: An attacking defense, true to the coordinator's past, has become respectable. Eli Manning had come to his hometown as an MVP candidate himself, flashing more efficiency and maturity than even during his championship run two years ago. He left New Orleans in tatters, replaced late by David Carr.

Come on, coach. Don't you have a Super Bowl contender here?

"I don't think you can talk about big pictures after five [games]," said Payton, who has his hard-ass moments but is a kinder, more refined Parcells. "We're going to have more big games and we've just got to continue to improve each week. It was a good win and I'm happy with that, but there's a lot of things I think we can do better. We know it's early in the season. We've got a lot of football ahead of us. We like starting off fast."

"Staying grounded us definitely not an issue in this locker room," Colston said. "We've got some great veteran leadership. We know exactly what we are in this locker room. We don't really feel an outside pressure to prove it to anyone. We were just able to come in and do some of the things we were able to do on offense today."

"Of course it's embarrassing. The Saints are a good team but they're not THAT good. It's a humbling experience. It's better it happens now than later."
- Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora It's still early to declare a Super Bowl favorite in a volatile league still defining itself. But in the power rankings that dominate sports Web sites, my pecking order goes: 3. Colts; 2. Vikings; 1. Saints. Don't be shocked if those two teams, assuming Favre stays healthy, play for the NFC championship in one dome or another. And don't be surprised if Brees enters that game as the league MVP. Since the Chargers foolishly decided that drafting Philip Rivers and discarding Brees was a bright idea, he has passed for 101 touchdowns and more than 15,000 yards in New Orleans. His six-year, $60 million contract has turned out to be a bargain in an age of $100 million contracts for quarterbacks.

But if there's one topic he won't discuss, it's himself, even though he's credited as a local hero for his work with children's charities and post-Katrina efforts. Brees is such a good guy, he took time as a Purdue alumnus Friday night to text the current Boilermakers QB, Joey Elliott. "Drew Brees texted me last night and said, 'Hey, go out there and shock the world, have fun. I'll be watching,' " he said. Behind Elliott's 281 passing yards and two touchdowns, Purdue shocked No. 7 Ohio State on Saturday in the program's biggest victory in years.

In New Orleans, where he and his wife bought a house in the city and are entrenched as New Orleans icons, he's all about the trophy -- the Vince Lombardi hardware. "We're ready to handle whatever's thrown at us," Brees said. "We've experienced a lot from the last two years especially -- the agony of defeat and losing some close games that we felt like we never should have lost. We've learned a lot from that. We don't want to be that team ever again. So I think there's always that fire burning inside of us that makes us feel like that part is in our past, but yet we needed to go through that in order to be where we're at now."

There's an NBA team that plays next door, a pretty good one led by a remarkable point guard. But you gather that an even better leader, somehow, is taking snaps for the Saints and playing a run-and-gun game better than anyone in pro football. You can laugh at the concept of "SB 44."

I won't.

Football's a Breeze in The Big Breesy originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 22:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Brett Favre 'Sticks It' to Green Bay, Revives His Youth

Jay Mariotti — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:50:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

MINNEAPOLIS -- So here comes the folk hero once more, teasing when he should be wheezing, charming when he should be farming, reminding us again why we really, really want to love him. Anyone who had buried Brett Favre as a mercurial mope -- and who hadn't, other than friends, family and John Madden? -- was left to shut the hell up Monday night and nod admiringly at another inspirational portrait on a canvas unlike any other.

Five days from his 40th birthday, with so much mid-life stubble on his face that Norman Rockwell would run out of gray paint, Favre left an indelible stomp-print on the psyche of Wisconsin and proved that he's still capable of the spectacular. Remember when he said he wanted to "stick it'' to his old boss, Packers general manager Ted Thompson, who dared to purge Favre from a franchise he symbolized as much as anyone ever has done so in sports? Well, wearing his legendary No. 4 in the Minnesota purple that is reviled by the Green Bay faithful, he regenerated his youth by burning his old team for three touchdown passes, then sprinting off each time and celebrating the way he once did in green and gold -- fist pumps, raised index fingers, high-fives, even a botched chest bump that knocked running back Chester Taylor to the turf.

This might not have been the be-all, end-all to an ongoing drama, knowing the big one comes Nov. 1 when Favre returns to Lambeau Field. But a 30-23 victory, which leaves the Vikings at 4-0 and the Packers and battered Favre successor Aaron Rodgers at 2-2, does give the old man a large measure of revenge over Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy after their bitter divorce last year. And when he wasn't pump-faking, rolling out and humiliating Packers defensive backs -- how about Al Harris yelling at Derrick Martin after they were shamed on a 31-yard touchdown catch by Bernard Berrian? -- he was poking fun at himself on a televised Sears commercial.

That's what we need to see him dabble in more: self-deprecating humor that finds him agonizing for hours at a store over which big-screen TV to buy. Not everything has to be fears and tears, as his cameo in There's Something About Mary told us. As long as Favre acknowledges that he drove America to madness with career flip-flopping for the better part of two years, I suppose we can forgive him and enjoy what could be, if a magical script unfolds, one of the greatest sports stories ever told. Is it too early to imagine Favre leading the Vikings ... you know, I'm not going there yet. Just keep the thought warm on a back burner, and we'll see where it stands in January.

"Thats why I play this game. It's a lot of fun. It never gets old -- even though I do,'' Favre said with a smile, as that stuffy "Skol Vikings'' rally song echoed in the night.

Said Packers cornerback Charles Woodson, with a sour taste: "I didn't expect him to do that. I thought we would have played better, but we didn't. He played a great game and apparently got his wish: He stuck it to us pretty good. All I can do is take my hat off to him.''

You'd never know Favre was on the doorstep of 40. Between an arm that no longer betrays him -- as it did last year in New York -- and a wild "Nashville Guitars'' t-shirt that he wore to his postgame press conference, he looked 25. "My arm feels great,'' he reported, glee and relief in his voice. "It sure didn't feel good last year. I didn't make good decisions then, but it feels a lot better now, and it all starts with the arm, first and foremost. If I have to second-guess pulling the trigger, I shouldn't be here. But it feels good. It's just that the rest of me doesn't.''

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Favre Takes Out Former Team

Quarterback Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings celebrates after a touchdown during the game against the Green Bay Packers on October 5, 2009 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jamie Squire, Getty Images

Favre Takes Out Former Team

Jamie Squire, Getty Images

Minnesota Vikings' Brett Favre, left, celebrates with Chester Taylor, right, after Favre threw a touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, in Minneapolis.

Tom Olmscheid, AP

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre calls signals during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, in Minneapolis.

Jim Mone, AP

Fans of Brett Favre of the Minnesota Vikings talk prior to the start of the game against of the Green Bay Packers on October 5, 2009 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Jamie Squire, Getty Images

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre throws during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers on Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, in Minneapolis.

Morry Gash, AP

Julie Kolk, manager of Milwaukee Burger Co., stands outside the business Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009, in Eau Claire, Wis. The restaurant is scaling back plans to burn Brett Favre memorabilia during Monday night's Packers-Vikings game. Kolk says the fire department wasn't pleased about plans to ignite the Favre gear.

Bob Imrie, AP

What's still stunning, even after seeing Favre's Vikings jersey for two months, is the fact so many Minnesotans have adopted it after hating the man for 16 years. They used to call him "Brett Farts,'' among other ugliness, but now he's the cult star of a team with plenty of marquee players, including all-world running back Adrian Peterson. Sports are bizarre enough to believe almost anything, from Joe Montana in a Kansas City Chiefs jersey to Wayne Gretzky in a Los Angeles Kings sweater. But Favre in Vikings purple? It's the most astonishing switcheroo in NFL history, viewed as betrayal by some Packers fans who always saw him as the country kid from Mississippi who found a new home in the small-town Northlands. Even at Brett Favre's Steakhouse, located at 1004 Brett Favre Pass down the street from Lambeau, fans congregating Monday renamed part of the parking lot "Traitor Trail.'' All of which elicited some unwanted advice from Favre.

"It was 16 great years, and I hope they enjoyed it and appreciated that run as much as I did," he said before Monday's game. "But you just have to let it go and just move on."

That would be called snipping the umbilical cord, though no one doubts that Favre someday will be honored and his number retired on Lombardi Avenue. Afterward, he was more specific, saying he cares more about what his teammates think than the public. "I want to be able to prove to them that I can play,'' Favre said. "I don't know how I'm going to play week in, week out. But I want to show them, and I think they know now, that I can play some. I know there are gonna be Packer fans who still like me and some Packer fans who are unhappy with me, and I can understand. But as long as the guys in the room accept me and we have a good chance to win, it's all that matters.''

No doubt, the men in the room like him. "You guys saw it. He was on fire,'' said the monstrous defensive end, Jared Allen, who was on fire himself with 4 1/2 sacks of Rodgers -- one for a fourth-quarter safety. "He can take [the spotlight]. I'll just be the guy creeping around in the back. If it gives me five sacks a week, I will shut up and not say a word.''

And to think Favre was so nervous before the game, he said prayers at church Monday afternoon. "It really didn't feel that strange playing against them. If anything, it was seeing Aaron, Al, Charles, Nick [Collins] and knowing I used to go against them in practice every day,'' he said. "It was as nervous as I've ever been before a game. I didn't think I would be. When I got to the hotel [Sunday], it kind of dawned on me. When I went to church at 3 o'clock [Monday], I was throwing all kind of prayers out. I said, 'Man, I'm losing it.' So I'm thankful this game went the way it did. The good Lord answered my prayers, I guess.

"It felt a lot like I did when Dad passed away. But both games, I played well.''

On another memorable Monday night in 2003, Favre delivered a brilliant, courageous performance in Oakland after his father, Big Irv, died of a heart attack. This time, he was mourning a divorce from a beloved longtime partner. But being 4-0 in Minnesota removes much of the sting, especially when revenge has been served against Thompson and other management people who elevated Rodgers at Favre's expense. Before the game, he stayed in the locker room rather than socialize with the enemy. "I have a lot of friends on that team, and I knew everywhere you went, there would be a camera in your face,'' he said. "I felt like it would be more of a zoo than it needed to be in what already was a crazy scene. I hope that Packer fans know how I feel about them. But our fans were awesome tonight. I'm telling you, that place was rocking. I've been able to see the good in Lambeau and the good and the bad in here. It was awesome, a great environment tonight -- as I'm sure it will be in several weeks.''

For now, we'll catch our breath and appreciate this night. He easily won the matchup with Rodgers, who has even more pressure to excel than his predecessor, in that he'll be perpetually judged in Cheeseland against the Favre legacy. The coach who still believed in Favre, Brad Childress, wanted him to approach the game like "a cold-blooded serial killer.'' He later said it was "a poor choice of words,'' but sensitivity aside, it's exactly how Favre attacked the Packers in his first game against his former team. While Rodgers committed two costly turnovers and was beaten up by Allen and a fierce Minnesota defense that swarmed a weak Packers offensive line for eight sacks, Favre operated safely in front of a brick wall and devoured the 3-4 scheme of new Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers. Without a doubt, given the magnitude of the night, this was his most impressive outing since leaving Green Bay: 24 of 31, 271 yards, no interceptions and a 135.3 passer rating. Rodgers rallied late to go 26 of 37 for a whopping 384 yards and two touchdowns, but his first-quarter fumble at the Minnesota 33 -- forced by Allen, who else? -- changed the game's complexion.

"He's still got great command of the football, whether command is touch or velocity or being able to pump it,'' said Childress, whose decision to bring in Favre late in training camp thus far has proved brilliant. "He is what he is, a great competitor, so steely-eyed when it comes to competing. Some games are made more for him than others, and I thought he was great. He got excited when we made big plays -- offense, defense, special teams -- and he was stoked up pretty good. But he's done it enough times to keep it in check. You don't want your quarterback crying. He didn't get out of body.''

Of course, Favre has been known to cry, but not when his team is just 4-0. He took advantage of an early Rodgers fumble by driving the offense downfield, rolling out and hitting one of his many weapons, tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, for a 1-yard touchdown. He raced off the field to the congratulations of teammates who genuinely like and respect him, contrary to the so-called "schism'' that supposedly developed when incumbents Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels were scuttled. Rodgers answered with a touchdown pass and his own index finger, but Favre would dominate from there while the young disciple struggled to avoid a relentless pass rush. Favre's pump fake and 14-yard scoring dart to Sidney Rice just before halftime was a work of art, completing a 77-yard drive in which he went 5 of 5 for 54 yards. The Vikings didn't trail again, thanks to a quarterback who came through when the Packers were stacked to stop Peterson, who was held to 55 yards on 25 carries and allowed linebacker Clay Matthews to strip a ball and run for a 42-yard score. They put the onus on Favre to beat them.

He did.

"It is very disappointing,'' Harris said when asked about Favre rising to the occasion. "We can't give away points and have mental errors. As for Brett, he took exactly what we gave him and they came out with a win.''

"I thought Brett Favre played well,'' said McCarthy, who couldn't have been pleased to spit out the words. "I'm proud of us containing their run, but they were explosive in the passing game.'' When the game ended, Favre made sure he talked with Rodgers. "I said, 'Hey, way to battle.' I've been saying all along that the guy can play, and I think he proved it tonight,'' he said. "But it wasn't an easy game for him. Jared Allen is a beast, I just want everyone to know that.''

As midnight approached in his new kingdom, the old man was asked if he proved that he's still a difference-maker in the sport. "You guys can print what you want,'' he said. "I just did what I was expected to do tonight. You make that decision.''

The only answer, for now, is yes.

Brett Favre 'Sticks It' to Green Bay, Revives His Youth originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 02:50:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saints in Super Bowl? Brees, Improved Defense Have Shot

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:35:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

NEW ORLEANS -- You still slip-slide into a surreal daze upon entering the Superdome, recalling the horror it symbolized amid the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. No human being forgets how this "shelter of last resort'' reeked of stench from 30,000 refugees who had precious little water and food, how they reportedly were subjected to rape, violence, gang activity, drug dealing and the sight of a man committing suicide by jumping from the upper deck. But ever so quickly, the new excitement inside the Dome sweeps you right out of the past.

Refurbished and alive now, it's nothing but a den of delight in a city that still needs daily doses of hope and heart.

This is the home of Drew Brees and the Saints, a franchise once so awful that fans wore paper bags over their heads, but is suddenly resembling a team that could win a Super Bowl. Despair in the mushroom-shaped building has been replaced by raw delirium, an aura centered around a prolific and oddly underhyped quarterback, who has warmly embraced the city's recovery efforts and might not stop proving his former team, the Chargers, wrong until he reaches the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"Who dat! Who dat, who dat! Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints!'' blared a rap song over the sound system Sunday evening, a modern rendition of a long-lost chant after the defense tormented rookie Mark Sanchez and Brees calmly managed the cause in a 24-10 silencing of the formidable New York Jets. In their fourth victory without a loss, success was more about the smothering, blitz-heavy pressure put on Sanchez, another long interception return for a score by the reborn Darren Sharper and a running game sparked by Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush, who finally is beginning to escape Kardashian hell and reassert himself as a gamebreaking weapon. For the second straight week, Brees went without a touchdown pass, which is like Pat O'Brien's running out of Hurricane mix or Cafe Du Monde offering no morning beignets. But Brees' big smile afterward confirmed that he has a championship on his mind this year -- and knows that the chances are better with balance between the offense and defense and a less explosive aerial show. Do I need to remind anyone how many Super Bowls were won by Dan Marino, to whom Brees sometimes is compared because of their prolific numbers?

When was the last time Cool Brees, who completed 20 of 39 passes for a "mere'' 190 yards, had to manage a game so efficiently without contributing his usual wow factor?

"Maybe not since the LaDainian Tomlinson days in San Diego,'' he said, referring to his early years when he handed off to L.T. and got out of his way. "I'm just so excited about the way we've come together as a team, the way we're playing, what we're doing on defense and special teams, the balance we have. My job is to lead that group of men, manage a game, take care of the ball and win games. The fact that the last two games I've thrown no touchdown passes and passed for a buck seventy, a buck ninety -- I think that type of complimentary football is good for the offense and good for all our players.

"It's winning us football games. In the end, it doesn't matter how we get it done, as long as we get it done. Our defense is just unbelievable.''

Said coach Sean Payton, the offensive guru and Bill Parcells disciple who has vowed to do more than turn Brees loose: "To win big in this league, you have to play a complementary game. This isn't about style points now. This is about the formula to win each game, and to get on to the next week. If we've got to run the ball more, play more coverage on defense, we ultimately have to be in concert with one another to win each week. All three phases are needed to win football games.''

But make no mistake, the New Orleans reclamation project, on the field and in the streets, is largely a Brees production. No NFL quarterback -- not Peyton Manning, not Tom Brady, certainly not Philip Rivers in San Diego -- has matched his staggering numbers since 2006. Since the Chargers gave the job to Rivers and prompted Brees to sign with New Orleans as a free agent, he leads the league derby in touchdown passes (97), 300-yard games (25), yards (14,941), completions (1,296) and completions of 25 yards or more (112). Last season, he fell 15 yards shy of breaking Dan Marino's single-season passing yards record. This season, he threw six touchdown passes in the season opener -- the first game attended by his son, nine-month-old Baylen -- and followed with three the next week. Yet because he plays deep in the Bayou and isn't one to crack jokes and marry supermodels, Brees doesn't receive the national reverence and love of Manning, Brady and even someone such as Eli Manning, whose statistics pale in comparison. For this oversight to be corrected, Brees will have to win a championship.

Do we dare suggest this is the year? Who dat, who dat?

"That's what we want to do. That's what we can do,'' he said. "To win it for this city after everything that has happened would be unbelievable. It's our mission to have that trophy.''

"He knows that your legacy is your wins and winning a Super Bowl,'' Payton said. "That's ultimately how quarterbacks and coaches are remembered.''

I would say it's almost criminal that Sanchez, because he's in New York and good-looking and went to USC and posed for a magazine pictorial with a model that he ended up dating, has received more buzz than Brees. That will stop now after Sanchez threw three interceptions, one that Sharper ran back 99 yards for seven points, and had a passer rating of 27.0. He also was sacked by Will Smith in the end zone and committed a fumble that was recovered by Remi Ayodele, making the hotshot responsible for two New Orleans defensive scores. He also drew a 15-yard penalty on Sharper's return by diving at the knees of former Jet Jonathan Vilma, which will be viewed as dirty by some and didn't make Sanchez a lot of friends around the league. His coach, Rex Ryan, has won admirers in New York for his hustle and big mouth: saying he didn't come to the Jets to "kiss (Bill) Belichick's rings,'' beating New England and Belichick in his first try, taping a phone message urging season-ticket holders to make noise and, somehow, turning the Jets into as big a deal in New York as the Giants. In suffering his first defeat, he was just as candid about about his quarterback.

"I thought Sanchez at times looked like a rookie today,'' Ryan said. "He made some mistakes, which I'm sure he wishes he had back. He wasn't the only one who had a rough day. We have to do a better job of protecting him.''

Maybe, but Sanchez fell victim to the all-out blitzes designed by the team's new defensive coordinator, Gregg Williams. During the week, Williams warned his players what Sanchez does when he's being swarmed.
"We noticed during certain protections that when he gets pressure, he steps back,'' said Smith, who had two sacks. "Most quarterbacks step to the side, so it's really not a good thing for a quarterback do to step back. It played to our advantage.''

The next Joe WIllie Namath? He wears white shoes, but for now, let's hold off on Sanchez mania. "My mistakes killed us,'' he said. "Our defense played well enough to win. That game is 10-10 without three interceptions and a fumble. So that's the game right there. You turn the ball over like that, you just aren't going to win. I made poor decisons. That's no excuse for that.''

As for the embarrassing pick for a touchdown -- Sharper is convinced the rookie "never saw me'' -- Sanchez said he was guilty of telegraphing. "That's a classic rookie quarterback looking at his receiver. Sharper read me the entire way,'' he said. "He saw my eyes and I threw it right to him. There's absolutely no excuse for that. It was a poor decision and poor use of my eyes.''

That quickly, the Jets might have a division within the ranks. The defense played well and held Brees without a touchdown pass, normally a recipe for a victory. "I thought our defense played well enough to win. But I'm not going to make a big deal and criticize what happened,'' said the always-opinionated linebacker, Bart Scott, who probably will pop off if Sanchez performs poorly in Miami a week from Monday. "Honestly, I thought we were going to come in here and leave with a victory and then go undefeated. We'll try to learn from the experience and go 15-1. We are behind that kid 100 percent. There's no need for panic. We are not going to go off course. You will not find this team getting off his bandwagon.''

Yet.

In fairness to the kid, he was facing a much-improved defense that leads the league in quarterback knockdowns. The stars of the line are Smith and Charles Grant, both of whom were expected to be suspended by now for violating the NFL's steroids policy. But commissioner Roger Goodell hasn't taken action yet after Minnesota's star defensive linemen, Kevin and Pat Williams, were cleared to play by the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals after the same court ruled against Smith, Grant and former Saints running back Deuce McAllister. All five turned up positive last season for a banned diuretic, bumentenide, that can be used as a steroids masking agent.

"The situation presents several unique and narrow aspects that I believe call for us to put the good of the game ahead of questions of discipline,'' Goodell explained. "Considerations of fairness, uniform application of our policies and competitive integrity all support deferring the suspension at this time. I am not prepared to treat players differently when the same conduct is involved.''

Said Smith: "It feels great to still be out there. As me and Charles said all along, we're happy with the decision and happy to support our team.''

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Latest NFL Photos

NEW ORLEANS - OCTOBER 04: Quarterback Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints waits to be introduced before the game against the New York Jets at the Louisana Superdome on October 4, 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Drew Brees

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) passes under pressure from San Diego Chargers' Stephen Cooper (54) in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

DENVER - OCTOBER 04: Champ Bailey #24 of the Denver Broncos breaks up a pass intended for Roy Williams #11 of the Dallas Cowboys during NFL action at Invesco Field at Mile High on October 4, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Cowboys 17-10. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Champ Bailey;Roy Williams

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DENVER - OCTOBER 04: Running back Knowshon Moreno #27 of the Denver Broncos rushes as DeMarcus Ware #94 and Bradie James #56 of the Dallas Cowboys pursue during NFL action at Invesco Field at Mile High on October 4, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Cowboys 17-10. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Knowshon Moreno;DeMarcus Ware;Bradie James

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DENVER - OCTOBER 04: The Denver Broncos cheerleaders perform during a break in the action against the Dallas Cowboys during NFL action at Invesco Field at Mile High on October 4, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Cowboys 17-10. The cheerleaders were clad in pink as part of the NFL's breast cancer awareness program "A Crucial Catch" (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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DENVER - OCTOBER 04: Quarterback Kyle Orton #8 of the Denver Broncos is sacked by Bradie James #56 of the Dallas Cowboys during NFL action at Invesco Field at Mile High on October 4, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Cowboys 17-10. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Orton;Bradie James

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Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes, left, talks with coach Mike Tomlin during an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers in Pittsburgh on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward, left, spins away from San Diego Chargers' Stephen Cooper after catching a pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Pittsburgh onSunday, Oct. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH - OCTOBER 4: Quarterback Philip Rivers #17 of the San Diego Chargers looks to throw the ball in the first quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 4, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Philip Rivers

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You might suggest that Goodell issue four-game suspensions to all four linemen. But then, he'd be wrecking the chances of two elite NFC teams. We'll find out more about the Saints in two weeks, when they play the Giants after a bye week. All we know now is that they can win without Brees making history -- or doing much of anything, really, but hand off and hitting an occasional pass. "He didn't make the mistakes I made,'' said Sanchez, learning a lesson.

"I don't think he was the regular Drew Brees,'' Ryan said, "but he did make enough throws to win the game.''

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It will be interesting how this plays in the league MVP race. Peyton Manning is playing out of his mind. Brady is starting to shed rust, find Randy Moss and reestablish his eminence. Adrian Peterson, the regal running back, wins votes every time he busts through a tackler. Brees? Oh, he didn't throw six TD passes Sunday. Must be losing it, especially when the Saints missed out on three fourth-and-short situations, one at the Jets 1-yard line. "I'll focus on the win,'' Payton said to a questioner. "You can keep track of the fourth downs.''

Yes, they should be enjoying the Saints' first 4-0 start in 16 years, as most folks are in the Big Easy. Not far from the Superdome, you see abandoned, battered homes and homeless people, visible evidence that New Orleans isn't even close to breathing again. Brees knows this, too. "There's still a lot to be done,'' said the quarterback, whose foundation does magnificent work in the city. "A lot of people look at it as an opportunity to rebuild things better. It's getting better a little at a time.''

A Super Bowl won't bring back jobs, homes and lives. But it would bring joy and unite a community, which is what sports does best. No city ever has needed a sports lift more than New Orleans.

Make it happen, Drew Brees. Anyone with a heart is rooting for you.

Saints in Super Bowl? Brees, Improved Defense Have Shot originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vick Might Be More Bark Than Bite

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:40:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

PHILADELPHIA -- If there never will be a proper time to forgive Michael Vick, it does seem we've arrived at the junction of Grudging Acceptance Avenue and Second Chance Street. That would be the address of Lincoln Financial Field, where just a small cluster of 15 protesters -- carrying signs that read "NATIONAL FELON LEAGUE" and "VICK IS SICK" -- gathered in the drizzle before the presumably reformed dogkiller's first regular-season game in 33 months. And they didn't make nearly as much noise as those taunting and shouting them down.

"Go home, haters!" yelled one roundish fan, wearing Vick's No. 7 jersey.

"Revisionist history!" shouted another, in a Donovan McNabb shirt.

Obviously, my deep, dark fantasy of seeing every dog on the East Coast convene in south Philly and devour Vick in mass canine revenge -- surely, you've seen "The Birds" -- isn't going to happen. Somehow, there is love for Vick that should not exist. "I appreciate all my fans in Philadelphia and all my fans out there in the world," he said Sunday. "I'm pretty much trying to do what I can to get back in good faith with the public, my fans, to show them I can turn this whole thing around. I appreciate their support through thick and thin. I want to continue to go out, make the plays on the field and be a good citizen off the field."

As public anger gradually gives way to resignation that he paid his dues in federal prison, the angle has changed. Now it's about how much impact Vick will make with an Eagles team that is collecting talented quarterbacks the way Imelda Marcos collected shoes. Cutting through the reams of words devoted to the Vick Experience, my early conclusion may surprise you. Could it be he'll be, um, more bark than bite this season?

When Vick entered the game in coach Andy Reid's version of the fad-mad "wildcat" offense, to the cheers of fickle Philly fans who boo Santa Claus yet cheer a dog murderer, it almost seemed the Kansas City Chiefs knew what was coming. Not to be confused with the elite defenses of the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, the woeful Chiefs limited the man who gave himself two nicknames last week -- "Superman" and "The Wildcat Originator" -- to seven yards of total offense. In 11 plays, he missed both of his passing attempts, gained seven yards on his lone carry, served mostly as a decoy, lined up at receiver for a fake handoff, took nine snaps out of the shotgun formation and appeared to be in the beginnings of a slow learning curve. True, the Eagles were showing simply the basics of their wildcat secrets during a 34-14 scrimmage victory. But how much damage can Vick really do this season when he admits, in the best-case scenario, that "10 or 11 plays in a game is ideal" for him? "Whether (the wildcat) will be effective or ineffective for us, it remains to be seen," he said tellingly. "My goal is to stay within the framework of the offense and not do too much."

That's a stunning admission for someone once hailed as a revolutionary player, highest paid in the NFL. It's fair to wonder if Vick, when pigeonholed as a wildcat QB, is positioned to succeed. With five minutes left in the final quarter and the Eagles rolling, Reid could have aligned Vick in the regular base offense and kept future defenses guessing about which formation he'll plug into. But in came Jeff Garcia, another accomplished veteran, and it became clear that Vick, for now, is being utilized strictly as a situational weapon. He's having a tough time handling it, he admits, though in a voice softened by 18 months in the slammer. By now, he thought he would have been a full-blown starter in the league, not a gadget who technically is the fourth QB on Reid's depth chart. "It's definitely a different scenario. It's hard -- I've never been in this situation before," Vick said. "I just tell myself to stay warm, stay loose and stay even-keeled so that when my number's called, I'm in tune with the game and playing within the framework of the offense. It's a different role, and hopefully we'll have more in store in the future. But it is what it is right now."

Right now. Those words hung in the air like steam from a cheesesteak grill. All of which leads me to ask how Reid will manage a quarterbacking logjam unprecedented in league history. I can't think of another roster that has featured three QBs with a collective 12 Pro Bowl appearances -- Vick, Garcia and, oh yes, McNabb, the longtime franchise face who is out with a fractured rib and is witnessing a musical-chairs game at his position. And what's crazy is, all were witnesses Sunday to a 25-year-old colleague who was making history of his own. Heretofore, Kevin Kolb's inclusion in this All-Star revue has made as much sense as his name pronunciation. His last name is said as "Cobb," yet another reason why Eagles fans balked at how Reid force-fed him as the starter the last two weeks. But after a three-interception game in a brutal loss to Drew Brees and New Orleans, Kolb returned with a magnificent outing, becoming the first NFL player to throw for 300 yards in his first two starts. He hit 24 of 34 passes for 327 yards and two scores, including a 64-yarder across the middle to a darting, dashing DeSean Jackson.

Suddenly, the Eagles have four quarterbacks who can play in this league. "It gives me confidence that I can get it done on this level. Hopefully, this will put my mistakes in the past behind me," said Kolb, a drawling Texan who wears cowboy boots. "I thought I believed it before, but no one truly knows until you get it done. It was an opportunity for me and some of the younger guys to prove there's a reason why they drafted us. In the huddle once, I said, 'Hey, we have talent just like Donovan and Brian Westbrook (also sidelined with an injury). Let's dominate these guys.' "

So convincing was Kolb's performance, Reid was asked if it's possible he'll keep the starting job even if McNabb is healthy in 13 days after a bye week. "Don is the quarterback of the team," Reid shot back. "That's not a problem. I don't think it's a problem for Kevin. I don't think it's a problem for the team. And I know it's not a problem for me. But this has been great for Kevin. It's good for the team to see that he can play in case something ever happens to Donovan. We now have the confidence that he can come in and lead our football team."

Said Kolb: "I'm sure it will be somewhat difficult to go back (to the bench). But my job was to come in these two weeks, and that'll be my job in the future. I have to stay ready and keep thinking I'm the starter, because we don't know about Donovan's injury. He has shown good progress, but if I don't prepare like that, and then I'm the starter, I'm all messed up."

His ascent also bolsters the likelihood that McNabb will be an ex-Eagle after next season, when his contract extension expires. Too, it suggests Vick might be in Philly for only a season or two, considering how badly he wants to start in the league. "I've just got to keep working hard every day," he said. "I can't make the determination of what happens at the quarterback position here. We have our guys in place: Donovan, Kev, maybe me or Jeff. We all have to keep working hard, stay committed and keep preparing as if we're all playing.''

Reid conceded that Garcia would have been his quarterback had Kolb been injured Sunday. Vick remains a project, pure and simple, which will quiet those who thought he might be the impending starter given McNabb's injury history. "We wanted to get him in and gradually get him back into a game-playing speed,'' Reid said. "We wanted to knock some of the rust off. We accomplished that."

Does Reid have a set number of plays for Vick in a game? "You can't do that for him," he said. "You're just gonna have to roll with it."

Vick will have to roll with some jarring hits, as well, including a shot by linebacker Tamba Hali that eerily resembled the Saturday night crunching of Florida's Tim Tebow. Difference was, Vick got up. "I've taken plenty of hits before, and I still feel like I can take a hit," he said. "I got rocked real good, but I got up and kept moving. That's going to happen when we're running the style of offense we're running."

As the national anthem played before the game, Vick reflected on where he has been and where he might be going in football and life. He thought about his grandmother, who died while he was in prison. "I thought about everything I've been through, what it took to get me back to this position," he said. "I was thinking about my grandmother and what she would think if she saw me here today. Last time I saw her, I was turning myself in to go to Leavenworth. She would have been proud of me. She'd keep pushing me. My ambition is to be great again. I'd tell her, 'I made it back, grandma, I made it back.' This time, I won't let my family down."

He is making regular appearances in the Philadelphia area, teaching kids about the evils of dogfighting and the horrors of prison. Some have been involved in the dogfighting culture. "It's very important just to have open dialogue and to see where their minds were at, why they're into what they're into, why they were doing it," Vick said. "We talked about the reasons behind why it goes on in our culture, how we can put a stop to that, and try to help out in the communities. I think a lot of people are starting to understand that it's pointless activity. There's no need for it. It's just a dead-end street."

So far, anyway, Philadelphia has been the ideal rebound city for him."It's been great," he said. "From what I've seen, from a visual standpoint, this is a rough city. The inner city is tough. It's a lot of kids out there that need help and need guidance, and I'm not afraid to be out there, go out in the community, talk to these kids and help them try to take their lives in a different direction."

By day, though, he is a wildcat quarterback. Curiously, Vick recalled how the scheme helped the Atlanta Falcons -- and ultimately hurt them -- in his previous NFL life. "I thought it was the best thing smokin', and it really helped our football team reach a certain plateau," he said. "But down the stretch, it kind of wore itself out and wasn't as productive as it was the first half of the season. It can be a part of your offense, but not a major part of your offense. I think you've just got to throw it in every now and then, but this league is too complex and too fast, and coaches are too smart, to line up and run it all the time.

"It's about making the right decisions and just playing football. It's almost like playing backyard ball, but it's become quite immense in this league now. It's efficient. In this league, it's not about how it looks, it's about winning at the end of the day, keep doing it until somebody stops it. Everybody's doing it, and it's productive."

If you were listening to Vick and not looking at him, you might not recognize him. His attitude has transformed from surly to humble, even charming. "It's very exciting to have an opportunity to just go out there and just play football," he said. "Regardless of my role, regardless of what I might be doing this week, just to suit up and be able to go out and play in a game that counts is awesome. I've been watching football for the better part of the last two years. This is a dream-come-true season for me. In my eyes, I've already won the Super Bowl, and this team's won the Super Bowl."

He hasn't. They haven't. The fans remind them of that every day. In two weeks, the Eagles will play Tampa Bay, and Vick will be a situational weapon, a freak show of sorts. "It'll be different because all eyes aren't going to be on me," he said. "That's the way it's gonna be the rest of the season."

Michael Vick, a quirky afterthought. On a team of multiple, breathtaking weapons, don't be shocked if he's an occasional b.b. gun, nothing more.

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Philadelphia Eagles Photos

PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles talks to team mates in the huddle against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Vick

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Quarterback Matt Cassel #7 of the Kansas City Chiefs passes during the game against the Kansas Philadelphia Eagles on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Cassel

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Quarterback Kevin Kolb #4 of the Philadelphia Eagles passes to tight end Brent Celek #87 during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles won 34-14. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kevin Kolb;Brent Celek

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Running back LeSean McCoy #29 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs the ball during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles won 34-14. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** LeSean McCoy

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Matt Cassel #7 of the Kansas City Chiefs throws a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Cassel

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Wide Receiver DeSean Jackson #10 of the Philadelphia Eagles runs the ball during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles won 34-14. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** DeSean Jackson

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Sean Ryan #89 of the Kansas City Chiefs congratulates team mate Jamaal Charles #25 after scoring a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Sean Ryan;Jamaal Charles

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Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley shouts to a referee about a fourth quarter call against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles defeated the Chiefs, 34-14, Sunday, September 27, 2009, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (David Eulitt/Kansas City Star/MCT)

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PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 27: Michael Vick #7 of the Philadelphia Eagles looks to pass against the Kansas City Chiefs on September 27, 2009 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Vick

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Vick Might Be More Bark Than Bite originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Critics Are Right: Phony Romo a Bust

Jay Mariotti — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

I am at a newsstand, staring at the cover of a gossip magazine. On it is a photo of Jessica Simpson, lamenting the breakup of her relationship with Tony Romo and gushing that she wants him back. Except the cover refers to him simply as "Tony,'' which is absurd in that it assumes "Tony'' is a major figure in Americana when, in fact, he's an erratic and overhyped quarterback who might be benched before you can say Daisy Dukes.

Seldom do I agree with the knee-jerk opinions of retired athletes, many of whom are bitter cusses plagued by Contract Envy, Media Envy and other jealousies centered around today's stars. But when it comes to First-Name-Basis Tony, who continues to fluctuate wildly in his fourth season as an NFL starter while smoother operators such as Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco excel as sophomores, it's hard to disagree with the harsh assessments of Tony Dorsett, Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman. Considering all are Hall of Famers who've won Super Bowl rings when Romo has yet to win a playoff game, they have the credibility necessary to criticize Romo's considerable underachievement in one of pro football's most scrutinized jobs, QB of the Dallas Cowboys. And as each periodically weighs in, I find myself nodding at just about every shot taken at Jessica's ex.

"I don't know why on God's Earth Tony Romo has been anointed a superstar in the National Football League," Dorsett said in a FOX Sports Radio interview. "Tony is very young in his career. Not to say you can't be young in your career and be a superstar because you've got one up there in Minnesota in Adrian Peterson. But the thing is this: You have a guy who hasn't done much, and quarterbacks in the NFL, most of them go through this growing curve. He hasn't gone through that growing curve, but he was anointed this great player all of a sudden. Now he's having to live up to that. And obviously Tony has some deficiencies ... I think the media has given him too much credit for doing nothing. He hasn't done anything really in the NFL to deserve all the recognition and visibility he's gotten so far."

Bravo.

Maybe it's as much a commentary on the sizzle of the Cowboys and their P.T. Barnum owner, Jerry Jones. But any perception of Romo as a marquee player, as the TV networks like to sell him, is woefully wrong. He can't win big games, whether it's a critical late-season contest, a playoff game -- he's 5-10 in December and January -- or a game such as the one Sunday night. A Week 2 meeting against the New York Giants was turned into a mega-event by Jones, who described it as "bigger than the Super Bowl'' because it was the opening regular-season game of his $1.2 billion, 73-acre colossus of a stadium. From the retractable walls that change from silver to blue (depending on the weather) to the 72-by-160-foot video board that hangs over the field like a high-tech cyclops, Jones rather ridiculously spoke of his new creation in orgasmic terms.

"I can't sleep at night,'' he said.

In other words, Jones wanted dearly to win the game and maximize his thrill. But Romo, who usually plays well in September, sabotaged his boss' dream with a dreadful performance -- 13 for 29, 127 yards, a 29.6 passer rating and three killer interceptions, all leading to Giants touchdowns in a 33-31 loss. It followed a strong outing by Romo in a Week 1 victory over Tampa Bay, against whom he threw for 353 yards and three touchdowns. This was supposed to be the year when he threaded together consistent games, grew up as a leader without any Terrell Owens distractions and took the Cowboys deep into the postseason. Instead, he already has planted a familiar seed that suggests he's doomed to a career of inconsistency. He lacks the dynamic efficiency and cool that has defined the greatest Dallas quarterbacks, Aikman and Roger Staubach.

"I think things happened so quickly for Tony -- in terms of obscurity to, all of a sudden, the national spotlight -- that he hasn't fully grasped what being the Cowboys quarterback is all about," Aikman said in the offseason.

Smith is challenging Romo to be a better leader, accusing him of not "demanding excellence'' from teammates. "I never saw him go snatch somebody up, and say, 'Hey, we can't win like this. We can't have guys jumping offsides. I can't have [a defender] coming at me unabated. Who is making the mistakes up front? Why aren't you picking this guy up? This is not going down this way. If you can't get your job done, get off the football field,' " he said.

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ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: Quarterback Tony Romo #9 of the Dallas Cowboys walks off the field during play against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium on September 20, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Tony Romo

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In this Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, photo, Dallas Cowboys running back Marion Barber (24) stiff-arms New York Giants cornerback Bruce Johnson during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas. Barber, who strained his left leg on the run, practiced with the Cowboys on Wednesday, and said he is hopeful of playing against Carolina on Monday night. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Lily Margraret Greenway, 8, left, of Cypress, Texas, yawns behind former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, while listening to former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, not pictured, addressing local business and civic leaders and elementary school children during the announcement of a community service project called Service Learning Adventures in North Texas, or "SLANT 45," at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Monday, Sept. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

Dallas Cowboys safety Gerald Sensabaugh, right, defends as New York Giants wide receiver Steve Smith (12) dives into the end zone for a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. The Giants won 33-31.

Donna McWilliam, AP

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: Fans wait for a game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium on September 20, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: An American flag on the field before a game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium on September 20, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: Running back Felix Jones #28 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his touchown with Leonard Davis #70 in front of Corey Webster #23 of the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium on September 20, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Felix Jones;Corey Webster;Leonard Davis

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ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 20: Running back Felix Jones #28 of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates his touchown in front of Corey Webster #23 of the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium on September 20, 2009 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Felix Jones;Corey Webster

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NBA basketball player LeBron James prepares to pass as he plays catch with friends on the field following an NFL football game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

NBA basketball player LeBron James plays catch with friends on the field following the NFL football game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Grouchy, old Cowboys, they are not. Having survived and thrived in the Dallas pressure cooker, they know what's required to win championships. No one is seeing a title aura in Romo, who takes too many chances and doesn't manage a game as much as he mismanages it. Last year, he has 21 turnovers in 13 games. This year, he's on the same pace. "There are some throws that you shouldn't attempt to make when you are playing certain teams," Aikman said this week. "We've seen him try and do that from time to time. When you play a team like the Giants, who match up pretty evenly talent wise, you have to be smart about those throws. Interceptions happen more in the playoffs and in bigger games in December. When the games are close, you have to be smart with the football and that has been a problem with Tony. I know the coaching staff is trying to eliminate those mistakes."

Said Dorsett: "He's not going to be on top of his game week in and week out, because this game is a very fast-moving game and he makes some decisions sometimes -- he's like a gambler man, he takes chances and sometimes those things, he gets bit in the butt by that.''

Their reactions are far more severe than his own. After every stumble -- nine times, he has had passer ratings of under 60 -- he flips his cap into backward mode and says he'll try better the next time. "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to play up to the level the rest of the other guys did," Romo said Sunday. "I have to get better at the mistakes I made and I will."

It's undeniable that Romo, as the Cowboys QB and by virtue of some strong performances in less-pressurized moments, has been anointed by the media before proving he deserves top billing. Remember, he emerged from obscurity, signing with Dallas as an undrafted free agent from Eastern Illinois. Just as major college programs in the Midwest ignored him, so did every NFL front-office boss but Jones. Is it possible the scouts had it right in the beginning? He was supposed to flourish under offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, but Romo keeps making the same mistakes in the games that matter most. Since replacing Drew Bledsoe as the starter in 2006, he has been enabled by Jones, who sorely wants Romo to become a dominant player to validate his oft-doubted status as a talent evaluator. As always, Jones is dabbling in fantasy when reality says Romo might not be a better idea than Jon Kitna, the veteran who wisely was signed as a backup. To no one's surprise, he defended Romo on his radio show this week.

"We have all the confidence in the world in Tony Romo," Jones said. "You'd like for him not to have a day like that, but when everybody is pointing fingers, when it didn't go good, then you want someone who can walk into that huddle in the next snap at practice, the next snap in the ballgame and walk out there and cut and shoot and play like they just won the Super Bowl. That's a great quarterback."

On cue, Romo's coaches and teammates also keep supporting him. "Tony's a fighter," coach Wade Phillips said. "He's going to keep after it."

"I know you guys don't see it from our perspective, but he takes a lot of things he does wrong very, very hard,'' center Andre Gurode told reporters. "I can't just imagine how he felt [Sunday] night when he went home. You see the guy [Monday], pat him on the back and say, 'Hey, we're going to correct our mistakes and get better.' ''

"The bad thing is when we win, it's all the quarterback, and when we lose it's all the quarterback," cornerback Terence Newman said. "There's times he's played bad and we've picked him up, and there's times we've played bad and Tony's picked us up."

To his credit, Romo often has bounced back from poor games to deliver solid performances the following week, which will be expected Monday night when the Cowboys host reeling Carolina. Last year, he answered a wretched game in Pittsburgh with a 113.8 passer rating in a win over the Giants. "[Quarterback] is certainly a physical position, and you've got to have the physical skills. But, at the end of the day, it's got to be someone that has a tough skin, that's got a high level of willpower,'' Jones said. "Someone that can say, 'Look, I didn't play well that play, that game,' and come back and play outstanding. The greatest of them all had many days as rough as Tony had Sunday.''

But not nearly as many. This far into his career, Romo isn't nearly as accomplished as those with comparable years of NFL experience, including Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning. No, the ups and downs of the Cowboys aren't all his fault, not as long as Jones stands by the overmatched Wade Phillips as his head coach and the defense -- zero sacks so far after amassing 59 last season -- gets pushed around as one of the league's worst. But in a quarterbacks league, Romo is a maddening case of having no idea what's coming from week to week, especially when Manning burns the Cowboys for 330 yards and two scores.

"It's frustrating," he said Wednesday. "I'm really disappointed in myself right now. I'm really not okay with my play right now." But not disappointed enough to stop wearing the damned backwards cap, I'm sure.

In the final analysis, he has the look of a heartbreaker. Jessica Simpson knows that much.

Critics Are Right: Phony Romo a Bust originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reed's Misses Save Hide of Cutler, Bears

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:30:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

CHICAGO -- Words aren't necessary. The images alone Sunday are sufficient portraits of why football might be the ultimate gratification mind game. There was Jay Cutler, managing a rare laugh as an official accidentally knocked his helmet off his head, punching the air in victory after a hellish week in which he threw four interceptions and was crucified again by the NFL coaching establishment. There was Robbie Gould, as in gold, calmly making yet another game-winning field goal in a volatile meteorological swirl on a cow-pasture surface pockmarked by two U2 concerts.

And there, on the Pittsburgh sideline, was Jeff Reed, literally looking ready to cry. Few professions in sports, or life, are more thankless than that of the placekicker. When you convert a kick, it's taken for granted. When you miss a potential winner, you're a bum. Reed, whose 82.8 percent conversion rate makes him the league's 10th-most accurate kicker ever, missed two such biggies on the oversized Brillo pad that is Soldier Field. And with those blunders came the first loss of the season for the Steelers, your defending Super Bowl champions, who might have begun to make their case for repeating if even one of Reed's kicks hadn't swerved wide left.

FanHouse Recap: Gould's Game-Winner Upsets Steelers

This could have been a day when the Chicago Bears started 0-2, when the acquisition of Cutler became moot in the face of a grim reality: Of the last 160 NFL teams to go winless over the first two weekends, only 22 rebounded to reach the playoffs. But Reed's misfires, juxtaposed against Cutler's cool perseverance and the money leg of Gould, saved the Bears from misery while reminding us that only one franchise, the New England Patriots, has won back-to-back Super Bowls this decade. The NFL has too much parity and anything-goes intrigue -- mind telling me how Cincinnati won in Green Bay? -- to be surprised that the Steelers and Bears are 1-1 after a thrilling matchup of American football hotbeds.

Afterward, Reed remained silent for several minutes while dressing at his locker. He took his time putting on his clothes and adorning his body with accessories, including an earring and a neck chain with a bullet. Off the field, Reed is a piece of work, proudly displaying part of his genitalia in a widely-distributed Internet photo and pictured at a bar with a young lady and a wild, Mohawk-looking hairdo. But never was he more naked to the world than on the night he couldn't make kicks when Gould, his counterpart, made his, a 44-yarder with 15 seconds left that gave the Bears a 17-14 comeback victory.

"I have no excuses,'' said Reed, facing the media like a man. "I'd like to congratulate Robbie on making the game-winner. I've been in those shoes before, and I know how great he feels right now, as opposed to how I feel. I missed two kicks, and, basically, I was trying too hard on both of them. That's what you do as a right-footed kicker; you hook them. I'm just embarrassed, you know, because these guys fought their tails off to win a game. If there is one player that can singlehandedly lose the game, I'll take the blame for it. I know they have confidence in me. It hurts me because I let them down. I was warming up, kicking the ball into the kicking net, waiting for my opportunity to shine, and I let them down twice.

"It hurts. Give credit to Chicago, a good team. But if I make either of those kicks, we win the game."

Said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, as stunned as anyone: "Of course that's uncharacteristic of him. He just kicked the game-winner last week (against Tennessee) in overtime. That's kind of what we are used to. We are not used to what happened today."

Reed's second failure, a 43-yarder, gave Cutler enough room to pull off his first fourth-quarter rally as Chicago's first franchise quarterback Sid Luckman -- assuming franchise quarterbacks existed in the leather-helmet era. If the city. A lightning rod for criticism, particularly from coaches who don't like his cocky attitude and the way he orchestrated his stormy departure Denver, Cutler was drilled by former NFL coaches Jim Mora and Mike Martz after what they deemed a rude performance at the press conference after the Bears' Week 1 loss at Green Bay.

"When I saw that postgame press conference, I thought he looked completely immature," Mora said on NFL Network. "He acted like he didn't even care."

"He just doesn't get it," Martz said. "He doesn't understand that he represents a great head coach and the rest of those players on that team. Somebody needs to talk to him."

This came after the Yoda-like Tony Dungy, who criticizes people about as often as he drops an f-bomb, condemned Cutler for not being more mature and a better leader. What's telling about Dungy and Martz is that both were mentors for Bears coach Lovie Smith at earlier stops. Was Cutler, still an inmate in the asylum, already wearing on coaches and teammates with his brashness? Or was it simply a case of people tolerating and even celebrating him when he wins and trashing him when he loses? Wisely, Cutler did his talking against one of the league's premier defenses, shaking off punishing abuse from James Harrison and the gang by finishing 27 of 38 for 236 yards for two touchdowns -- and no interceptions. He did this without a high-profile playmaker on offense, though he does have the developing Johnny Knox as a speedburner and his good friend, tight end Greg Olsen, as a receiver. Had the Bears lost, some writers were ready to set an over-under date on when Cutler would publicly criticize Bears management for not finding him a playmaker or two or three.

But they didn't lose, mainly because Cutler wouldn't let his mates consider the thought. During the final drive after Reed's miss, he went 4 of 4 with a yards-per-attempt average of 13.8 yards. In the fourth quarter, he was 9 of 10 for 92 yards. The City of Weak Shoulders, as I've always called Chicago, wasn't prepared for such late heroics from a quarterback. Maybe these people should realize what they have, sit back and enjoy it.

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Chicago Bears Photos

Chicago Bears Robbie Gould is congratulated by teammates after his field goal against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 20, 2009, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/MCT)

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Danieal Manning #38 and Nick Roach #53 of the Chicago Bears bring down Willie Parker #39 of the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Danieal Manning;Nick Roach;Willie Parker

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Charles Tillman #33 of the Chicago Bears hugs teammate Jay Cutler #6 after a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Charles Tillman;Jay Cutler

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass against the Chicago Bears on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ben Roethlisberger

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Alex Brown #96 of the Chicago Bears rolls on the ground after suffering an injury in the 4th quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alex Brown

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Johnny Knox #13 of the Chicago Bears runs for a first down after a catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Knox

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears avoids pressure from James Farrior #51 of the Pittsburgh Steelers as he looks for a receiver on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jay Cutler;James Farrior

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Johnny Knox #13 of the Chicago Bears celebrates a touchdown catch against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Johnny Knox

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears drops back to look for a receiver against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field on September 20, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jay Cutler

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CHICAGO - SEPTEMBER 20: Head coach Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears gives instructions to Hunter Hillenmeyer #92 during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 20, 2009 at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears defeated the Steelers 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lovie Smith;Hunter Hillenmeyer

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"I think that all of us have to get used to playing with Jay and the level he is going to play at," center Olin Kreutz said. "When we get used to that level, we'll be all right. He came through for us in the end. We believe in Jay. We know what Jay's capable of. All those interceptions (against Green Bay) weren't his fault. But he wasn't going to point that out. And we're not going to point fingers at everybody. We all know what kind of player Jay is and we stand firmly in his corner."

Cutler refused to let himself be bothered by the Mora/Martz knocks, just as he didn't listen to criticism after the Broncos ceded to his wish and traded him to the Bears. He's a carefree guy who, if you've seen Jerry Maguire, is the real-life answer to Kush. He was asked why there was such a difference between Week 1 and
Week 2.

"Didn't throw four picks," Cutler cracked. "I think they brought me here for a reason. I want the ball at the end of every game with a chance to win it. I always hope to get a chance. I always think we're going to get a chance if it's 3 minutes or 30 seconds. All we want is a shot."

As for reports that he screamed at receivers in Green Bay for being at fault on two of the interceptions, he said life is beautiful. "Guys are going to drop balls. We don't have time to dwell on it. I'm going to throw interceptions. we have to move on." Impressively, Cutler didn't hesitate to go right back to tight end Kellen Davis for a 6-yard touchdown pass after a previous drop.

"We were all disappointed and [ticked] off when he dropped the ball. But I told him to be ready, we're going back to him," Cutler said.

If this was the real Cutler, Mora and Martz owe him a huge apology. Said offensive coordinator Ron Turner, who once yanked a would-be scholarship offer to Cutler at the University of Illinois, forcing him to go to Vanderbilt: "The reality is he's a great leader. The reality is we could not be happier with Jay. We could not be happier with his demeanor, with his leadership, with his intangibles, with his work ethic, with what he brings to this team."

Cutler is much more humble in victory. He knows the pressure that comes with this particular job, and if he looked skittish in Green Bay, he was confident at his new home stadium. "It means a lot," he said. "It means a lot to this team. We've had a lot of pressure and expectations on us since I got here."

It also meant a lot to beat Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was unstoppable in the early minutes but eventually succumbed to an inconsistent running game. Crunch is supposed to belong to Big Ben. Because of Reed's misses, Cutler was handed the stage and coolly led a drive that resulted in Gould's winning kick. "He's accomplished a lot more than I have in a short period of time," Cutler said of Roethlisberger. "That's what makes him so great, makes him the elite quarterback that he is. The four, five years he's been in the league, they're always there. They're always winning Super Bowls. He's the guy who has raised everyone's level of play. Everybody else is trying to catch up with him."

The Steelers were only happy to return their own praise. "In the face of pressure, he made great decisions, put the football in some good locations, and guys converted third downs," coach Mike Tomlin said. "They did enough to win, we didn't. We accept responsibility for it."

Whether these teams win a championship this season depends on their running game and health on defense. The Bears will be without linebacking star Brian Urlacher for the rest of the season after he suffered a dislocated wrist. "Can't replace a Brian Urlacher. Can't do it," Cutler said. "We can't expect one guy to go in there and do what he does on the field, off the field, in the locker room. It just can't happen, so the responsibility falls on the whole building."

Which is why it helps to have a kicker who kicks the ball straight. Suddenly, the issues and injuries that haunt teams were answered by a football team's smallest player. You don't really think about missing kicks," Gould said, "because when you do that you're going to miss kicks."

Reed, admittedly, was thinking of missing kicks. "It was a bad field, but we play on a surface at Heinz Field that is not very great and I have been fine there," he said. "It is not an excuse. I didn't slip. I missed two kicks. Days like this, I didn't do good on anything. My kickoffs were bad, I thought, and I missed two very important kicks. If I had missed two kicks and we still won, I would have still been in the same mood.

"Obviously, the field wasn't bad enough for Robbie to miss. He hit his dead middle, and I was off."

Hence, the smiles and the tears. Two men, two feet, too many emotions swaying in the wind.

Reed's Misses Save Hide of Cutler, Bears originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cutler, Lovie Partners in Brain Cramps

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:40:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- So now, already, we are left to wonder if the biggest curse in professional football has swallowed Jay Cutler. He was supposed to be the savior of the Chicago Bears and still might be in due time, but in his first regular-season game Sunday night, he plummeted into the same black hole that has doomed so many of the franchise's wickedly bad quarterbacks.

Um, what in the name of Chad Hutchinson was he trying to do in the second quarter, when he floated a wayward pass to nobody in particular that was intercepted by Green Bay's Tramon Williams and returned 67 yards to the Bears 1? What in the name of Henry Burris was he doing just before then, when he tried a shovel pass to Matt Forte that entered the personal space of 325-pound Johnny Jolly, who couldn't have dropped the ball if it were covered in grease? What in the name of Peter Tom Willis was Cutler doing in the first quarter, when his wayward toss became the property of opposing safety Nick Collins?

Mariotti: Favre Just Spectator at Peterson Show

And please explain, in the name of the mercifully departed Rex (The Turnover Machine) Grossman, how Cutler could look so pathetic with 1:06 left, when he was supposed to answer the touchdown pass of rival Aaron Rodgers and deliver the eighth game-winning rally of his young career -- and instead telegraphed a throw that seemed to veer toward the dreadlocks of cornerback Al Harris as if guided by a magnetic force?

That would be a total of four picks for Cutler, making it a four-gettable performance by a quarterback who expects to be paid $100 million by the Bears in the near future. While we should point out that his array of wide receivers leaves much to be desired -- is that Johnny Knox or Johnny Knoxville? -- it should concern Bears fans greatly that he became so easily rattled and unglued by pressure applied out of the Packers' new 3-4 scheme. Chances are, he'll be given the benefit of the doubt by Bears fans for another week. But if he struggles next Sunday at home against the monster defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is possible, the "JAY CUT'' T-shirts that are so popular in town could be reversed to "CUT JAY.''

This was advertised as a duel between Rodgers and Cutler, and, in the end, it was the Green Bay gunslinger who avoided mistakes through his own struggles and made the giant throw when urgently needed. He found Greg Jennings for a 50-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 remaining after Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher slipped in single coverage, letting the receiver sprint past him like Usain Bolt whipping past a cement mixer. The result was a 21-15 victory for the Packers in the first of six round-robin games featuring Green Bay, Chicago and Minnesota, three elite teams in the long-downtrodden NFC North. You can excuse it as merely a first-game letdown, but don't tell the Bears, whose body language after the Jennings score spoke volumes on the sideline.

"[Bleeping bleep],'' muttered star linebacker Brian Urlacher, who dislocated his right wrist, left the game in the third quarter and likely will be out for an extended period.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Cutler was on the bench with his head slumped, looking aghast and incapable of inspiring a rally. It brought to mind a reported offseason insult by way of Minnesota receiver Bobby Wade, who said Urlacher had referred to Cutler as a "p----'' when Wade and Urlacher were together in Vegas. If that is harsh, Cutler certainly came up small in his first trip as a Bear to Lambeau Field, where the team's players and coaches are judged most severely by a large Midwestern city that treats the Packers like a blood rival. Cutler's last career stop in Denver is a pressure cooker, but as he underlined himself in saying that fan intensity in Chicago is a "9'' compared to "6'' in Colorado, losing and looking awful in Green Bay is the worst way to start a Bears career.

Welcome to the big city, kid. You're not in Santa Claus, Ind., anymore.

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers call signals against the Chicago Bears on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Aaron Rodgers

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears walks off the field following a loss to the Green Bay Packers on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jay Cutler

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CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 13: Kevin Kolb #4 of the Philadelphia Eagles passes against Charles Johnson #95 of the Carolina Panthers at Bank Of America Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kevin Kolb;Charles Johnson

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CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 13: Donovan McNabb #5 of the Philadelphia Eagles heads off the field after being injured against the Carolina Panthers at Bank Of America Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Donovan McNabb

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Matt Forte #22 of the Chicago Bears runs against the Green Bay Packers on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Matt Forte

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Brian Urlacher #54 of the Chicago Bears awaits the start of play in the 1st half against the Green Bay Packers on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Urlacher

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 13: Hakeem Nicks #88 of the New York Giants leaves the game after spraining his ankle against the Washington Redskins on September 13, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Hakeem Nicks

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Brian Urlacher #54 of the Chicago Bears stands on the sidelines after being injured near the end of the first half against the Green Bay Packers on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Urlacher

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers smiles at a teammate on the sidelines after throwing the winning touchdown pass against the Chicago Bears on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Aaron Rodgers

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GREEN BAY, WI - SEPTEMBER 13: Mark Anderson #97 of the Chicago Bears walks off the field after a loss to the Green Bay Packers on September 13, 2009 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers defeated the Bears 21-15. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Anderson

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"It's tough. I'm sure the city of Chicago is disappointed. I'm disappointed, and we have 90 people in the locker room who are disappointed,'' said Cutler, whose No. 6 jersey has been among the league leaders in sales for months. "But we have 15 more to play, and I think we ultimately will overcome this one and we will be fine.''

So why the ugliness? "It's still a learning process. We haven't been together that long in game situations, but that is no excuse for what happened out there,'' Cutler said. "There were a lot of failures. We've got to go back and look at it. I think we're still going to be a good football team, so there's no need to panic."

Oh, but Chicago wouldn't be Chicago if it didn't panic. And now that people have seen Adrian Peterson rumble for 180 yards with Brett Favre playing game-manager in Minnesota, one could envision the Bears missing the playoffs while the Vikings and Packers get in. Along with Urlacher, Chicago's hobbled include valuable tight end Desmond Clark, linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa and cornerback Trumaine McBride. "It's always tough to have your leader go down,'' linebacker Lance Briggs said of Urlacher. "He knows the defense better than anyone and he communicates everything to everyone else. In football, injuries can happen at any time, so guys will have to step up and play big.''

The Bears won't be fine if Lovie Smith and the coaching staff continue to mismanage games. As it is, there's a suspicion that Smith remains a glorified defensive coordinator who is in over his head as a head coach. If Jeff Fisher ever left Tennessee, there would be a groundswell of support in Chicago to dismiss Smith and hire the former 1985 Bear. The coaches did themselves no public-relations favors early in the fourth quarter, when they thought the Packers had 12 men on the field as the Bears were punting, leading to a regrettable audible. The ball was snapped directly to the up back, Garrett Wolfe, who was stopped on 4th-and-11 after a 4-yard gain. This gave the Packers a first down at the Chicago 30, and if that screw-up wasn't gigantic enough, Smith challenged the ruling. The call was upheld -- the Packers indeed had the legal 11 men -- and the Bears looked doubly stupid, especially after Mason Crosby kicked a 39-yard field goal that gave the Packers a 13-12 lead. In the final minutes, they could have used the timeout that Smith wasted on the challenge.

"It was a mistake on our part,'' Smith said. "We thought they had 12 guys on the field. We shouldn't have done it. Our team didn't execute it the way it should have been done.''

Which falls in the laps of the coaches. Afterward, you couldn't help noticing general manager Jerry Angelo chatting quietly in the press box with his trusted aide, Bobby DePaul. Smith was Angelo's hand-picked coach, but if the Bears don't make the playoffs, the howls for a change will echo through a city that has won one NFL championship -- the entertainment extravaganza that was the '85 Bears -- in 45 years. It's one thing to lose a game. It's another to lose to the Packers in front of a national audience on Sunday night when the coach goofs up, the ballyhooed quarterback throws four picks and the Packers win on a late bomb.

"I just kind of lost my footing a little,'' Vasher said of Green Bay's game-winning touchdown pass. "We have no room for error, especially on the back end. It's just really tough.''

They spoke in somber tones as thousands of Cheeseheads rejoiced outside. Last year, the Packers were 1-7 in games decided by seven points or less. This time, Rodgers bailed them out. "I was thinking, 'We're due. We're due for one good drive,' '' he said. "I told the guys, just give me one drive. It was important for us to get a win like this tonight. It'll definitely build our team character."

It also will build Wisconsin's faith in Rodgers, forever to be judged against the legacy of Favre. When highlights of the Vikings' victory were shown on the big board, fans booed vigorously. Not that Favre will be easily forgotten. In the fourth quarter, the announcer in the press box said, "Favre's pass ... excuse me, Rodgers' pass,
complete to Donald Driver.''

There are no such problems in Chicago. The good people are just waiting for a quarterback, any quarterback, to prove worthy of a comparison to long, lost Sid Luckman. So far, Cutler isn't that man.

Cutler, Lovie Partners in Brain Cramps originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Favre Just a Spectator at Peterson Show

Jay Mariotti — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:21:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

CLEVELAND -- If we grew nauseous over his annoying do-si-dos, his semi-psychotic flip-flopping between retirement and limbo and unretirement, now we're finally starting to get it. Why wouldn't Brett Favre want to come back, take $12 million this year, hand the ball to Adrian Peterson and have an all-access pass to one of the most delightful running backs of this or any other era?

More Coverage: Brady Quinn, Browns Fizzle

His days of having to heavy-lift an entire franchise are long over. Three weeks from his 40th birthday, Favre has been reduced to a game-manager who simply has to avoid his fatal interceptions of late last season, remain as reasonably healthy as his creaky body allows and exploit an all-you-can-eat buffet of breathtaking weapons, the most lethal of whom is Peterson. The yardage machine known as A.D. -- as in All Day -- reminded us Sunday that the the Minnesota Vikings are his team and the NFL his domain. Shaking off an improperly bandaged wound that left a gusher of blood rolling down his arm, he rambled for 180 yards and three scores, none more memorable than a 64-yard battle mission in the fourth quarter in which he made like a bumper car at the amusement park and busted through the tackling attempts of four or five Cleveland defenders.

"I had a blast," said Favre, as did any football-loving fool -- Browns fans excluded -- who watched Peterson zag and explode on the northeast Ohio lakefront. "I don't know what more you can say other than I'm thrilled to play with one of the best backs I've ever seen."

"When you play a player of Adrian Peterson's caliber, it only takes one time,'' moped Browns coach Eric Mangini, who has no idea what he's doing, as usual. "He only needs that one time and he can exploit it."

Sure, Favre was the headline of the 34-20 victory because it was his first regular-season game in Vikings purple, the color that represented anathema to Packers fans during his 16 transcendent seasons in Green Bay. And we won't soon forget the way he rushed downfield Sunday, like the floppy-haired twenty-something we grew to love at Lambeau Field, and literally tackled Percy Harvin after the rookie receiver caught a short pass and reached over the goal line for his first pro touchdown -- and Favre's 464th career TD pass. Harvin was a 3-year-old in Virginia Beach when Favre was an NFL rookie, and now, the old man was greeting him with the wild exuberance that always has defined his career. For a week, anyway, Favre was having the fun he always has sought, the fun he didn't have in New York last year or in Green Bay when management ran him out of his town.

"For him to be that old -- he's got a daughter my age -- and still has a love for the game, going to meetings and all that stuff. He's by himself."
-- Percy Harvin"I thought we were going to bump chests or something," said Harvin, who came to Minnesota with off-field baggage and has raved about Favre as a mentor. "He wasn't slowing down. I took it and we fell to the ground. It was a great feeling. You don't find too many players like that who still love the game. That's what makes him special and separates him from a lot of people. For him to be that old -- he's got a daughter my age -- and still has a love for the game, going to meetings and all that stuff. He's by himself."

Eventually, though, Favre will be a weekly sidebar to the superlatives of Peterson, my choice for the NFL's Most Valuable Player award and the major reason, along with a potentially dominant defense, why Minnesota finally could return to the Super Bowl. Favre was recruited by coach Brad Childress for his mind and savvy, not for his legs and even his arm. He'll be asked to crank up the ancient rocket gun on occasion, but against the perpetually rebuilding Browns, he threw only four passes that traveled longer than nine yards -- completing two for 30 yards -- on a day when he went 14 of 21 for 110 yards. If we're going to extol the virtues of prolific passers, turn to Drew Brees and his six touchdown passes and Tony Romo and his spectacular day without Terrell Owens. The new Favre is about pitching in, helping out when necessary, passing for 80 yards in a dozen completions of five yards or less and not screwing up what looks like the NFC's premier team.

"It wasn't a 400-yard passing game, but it doesn't have to be," Favre said. "As long as we win, that's what it's all about."

He is smart enough to realize that any championship equation starts with Peterson. On a warm day, he cut his arm in the first half, and the double whammy required him to take intravenous fluids at halftime. After scoring a touchdown early in the third quarter, the cut came open and left him a bloody mess. He ran off the field and collapsed into the arms of a trainer, who made sure the bandage stayed on. After all, there is no more valuable commodity in pro football than the back who could gain 2,000 yards any given season if Childress gets him enough touches.

"I gagged myself a couple times trying to get everything in my stomach out,'' Peterson said. "Normally, it makes me feel better and it did. I came in and got an IV and felt recharged and rejuvenated and was ready to go."

As long as the Vikings are winning, Favre's presence will be tolerated and even celebrated in their locker room. The question is what happens if he plummets into his trademark late-season ruts, such as when he threw nine interceptions in his final five games with the New York Jets and missed the playoffs. When he looked shaky in his first game action of the preseason, a report said there was a "schism" among Vikings players divided on whether Favre should playing ahead of Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenthals. He helped himself significantly last week when he asked Childress if he could address the team for 10 minutes, explaining precisely why he returned and why he waffled so long while his future teammates were toiling and sweating in training camp.

"I think the guys from within the last three weeks have gotten a pretty good judge about what type of guy I am, what type of player I am," Favre said. "Chemistry is so important. I don't care how good of a player I may be or the next guy may be. Being on the same page, the unit that plays more as one as opposed to a bunch of individuals is the one that succeeds. You can't coach chemistry. You can't fake it.

"You have to believe in one another and that is ongoing. This is a good group of guys; it really is. As I told them, I am honored to be a part of this team. I said I was very fortunate to play on a team that won the Super Bowl back in 1996, and this team is as talented. This team has to believe it which I think we do.

"At 39 years old, as I looked out into the room I saw a lot of me out there, at 21, at 28, at 32, whatever. I can just think back onto my career about the different stages I went through and all of the teammates I've played with and just the way that you think. As we all have gotten older, you think differently. You look at things a lot differently than you did as a younger person. I just wanted to kind of address it that way, not that it is going to give us three more wins or three more losses. I just wanted to be genuine and have the guys know where I stood."

Any doubters were converted. "He pretty much answered everybody's questions," said tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, another dangerous weapon that Favre must utilize. "He cleaned up everybody's wonders."

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CLEVELAND - SEPTEMBER 13: Percy Harvin #12 of the Minnesota Vikings carries the ball during an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns, September 13, 2009, at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Tom Dahlin/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Percy Harvin

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Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell leaves the field after the New York Giants defeated the Redskins 23-17 in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

The San Francisco 49ers' Isaac Bruce, left, and an unidentified coach celebrate after defeating the Arizona Cardinals 20-16 Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

San Francisco 49ers runningback Frank Gore celebrates as he scores the game-winning touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in the quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The 49ers won 20-16.(AP Photo/Paul Connors)

New York Giants' Lawrence Tynes (9) reacts after hitting a 45-yard field goal as teammates Jeff Feagles (18) and Chris Canty (99) stand nearby during the fourth quarter against the Washington Redskins in an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, in East Rutherford, N.J. Tynes had three field goals as the Giants won 23-17. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner walks off the field after losing to the San Francisco 49ers 20-16 Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009 in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

New York Giants' Eli Manning (10) throws a pass during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game as Washington Redskins safety Reed Doughty (37) tries to stop the pass during an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won 23-17. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - SEPTEMBER 13: Chris Cooley #47 of the Washington Redskins tries to elude Chase Blackburn #57 of the New York Giants on September 13, 2009 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Chris Cooley;Chase Blackburn

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GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 13: Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald #11 of the Arizona Cardinals is unable to catch a pass during the NFL game against the San Francisco 49ers at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-16. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Larry Fitzgerald

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GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 13: Running back Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers stands on the sidelines during the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-16. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Frank Gore

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GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 13: Running back Frank Gore #21 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates with teammate Chilo Rachal #62 after Gore scored a 3 yard touchdown reception against the Arizona Cardinals during the NFL game at the Universtity of Phoenix Stadium on September 13, 2009 in Glendale, Arizona. The 49ers defeated the Cardinals 20-16. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Frank Gore;Chilo Rachal

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"I was impressed," cornerback Antoine Winfield said. "He got up there talking about his No. 1 goal was to come here and help us win. As a team, our No. 1 goal is to win a championship. He seems like he's focused on that. He's just trying to fit in. We've welcomed him with open arms. A lot of guys respect him."

In the big picture, the issue is taking care of the ball. Favre did just that, though he did so on a perfect afternoon in September. In contrast, his young counterpart, Cleveland's Brady Quinn, did not.

Looking like a rookie, Quinn watched a ball slip out of his hands and drop behind him. It's clear Mangini doesn't trust him with much more than dump passes, and I'd advise the so-called Mangenius to keep the Derek Anderson option open. "I didn't take care of the ball like I needed to," Quinn said. "It's going to hurt you in the end. The one ball that slipped out, I was trying to make a play."

You wonder what life will be like if Favre flubs down the stretch like last year. And, closer to the point, what if he gets hurt? He was punished and sacked Sunday by a surprisingly energetic Browns defense, and he is quick to point out that his body is the football version of Humpty Dumpty's. The Jets acknowledged last week that they were aware of his serious arm injury late last season but didn't report it as such, as required by league rules, on the weekly injury report. Is he doomed to another crippling injury that leads to uneven play? What should the expectations be, anyway, for a man who would be the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl if it indeed happened? Didn't Favre say he wouldn't be shocked if his Ironman streak, now at 270 regular-season starts, ends sometime soon?

"I would be the first to admit, I don't think I am capable to make some of the plays I used to make," he said. "My mind might tell me I can, but I don't know physically if I can do that. Understanding my limitations, how it pertains to what we are trying to do is all a part of this process. All I want to do is win; that is all I came back for.

"There is nothing like it."

In the end, he knows he can't simply hand the ball to Peterson.

"I have heard all along, 'You don't have to do much; we have a great running game,'" Favre said. "We all know that, but there will always come a time when you need to make plays. You have to do certain things that you may not have to do on a consistent basis."

Translation: Eventually, he'll have to repay Adrian Peterson by winning some games. For now, Favre is another witness to greatness, not unlike a certain LeBron James who, for a change, watched an athlete as grand as he is from a stadium suite.

Favre Just a Spectator at Peterson Show originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Sun, 13 Sep 2009 20:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With His Life in Crisis, Ben Marches On

Jay Mariotti — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:53:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

PITTSBURGH -- His name is long, but not nearly as long as some of his days and nights. Ben Roethlisberger is followed by calamity like few others in sports, whether it's a helmet-less motorcycle accident that leaves him sprawled on a downtown street or a woman in Nevada who accuses him of rape. He has seen the glory of two Super Bowl championships, and he has suffered the pain of numerous concussions and wicked lacerations.

And he's all of, what, 27? In real-life years, he must be 47.

But through his travails, Roethlisberger has perpetuated a remarkable pattern of leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory when the minutes are few and other players are buckling under pressure. Last we saw him, he was taking charge of the most spectacular Super Bowl finish ever, leading an eight-play, 69-yard drive and finding Santonio Holmes for his tippy-toed touchdown catch for the ages. Thursday night, he continued where he left off, calmly directing the winning field-goal drive in overtime and clinching an aesthetically unpleasing 13-10 victory over Tennessee with a 22-yard pass to a rookie receiver, Mike Wallace. He'll never be as prolific as Peyton Manning, never be as explosive or pretty as Tom Brady. Yet do not forget Big Ben in any discussion of elite quarterbacks and leaders.

"I didn't want to start this already, these fourth-quarter comebacks,'' said Roethlisberger, who went 33-of-43 for 363 yards and a touchdown on a night when the Steelers had no running game. "It's crunch time, being able to make plays. It's fun to do it.''

Said his coach, Mike Tomlin: "He was Ben. When the rubber meets the road, he is at his best. In those moments, he manages to see the field with great clarity. He provided quality plays time and time again.''

Roethlisberger calls it "backyard football.'' And watching him operate in Heinz Field on a pleasant evening, hours after Tim McGraw and the Black Eyes Peas put America in a musical football mood, he really did seem like a kid in a neighborhood back in Findlay, Ohio. But Roethlisberger's life right now is anything but childlike. A day doesn't pass without another ugly salvo fired by lawyers for Andrea McNulty, who is accusing him of sexually assaulting her in his hotel room during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe. The story sounds eerily similar to that of Kobe Bryant, who was accused of rape in a Colorado lodge before the case eventually was dropped by prosecutors.

McNulty, then an executive casino host at Harrah's, claims Roethlisberger phoned and asked her to come to his penthouse room and fix a television that wasn't working properly. From there, McNulty says he stood in front of the door, blocked her from leaving and then grabbed and kissed her.

What followed has been a two-way verbal war that would make Perez Hilton blush. As Roethlisberger was preparing for the season opener against the Titans, he was blitzed by news that McNulty's lawyer will ask a Nevada court to force him to name all of his sexual partners. This came days after she offered to settle if he admits publicly to raping her, apologizes and gives $100,000 to the Committee to Aid Abused Women. "[McNulty's] only interest has been and is to regain the dignity that was taken from her," said her lawyer, Cal Dunlap. "Our client is a victim of sexual assault who, as with all such victims, was violated in every sense of the term."

It promped another angry response from Roethlisberger's lawyer, David Cornwell, who quickly rejected the offer. "This case is about Ms. McNulty's contemporaneous statements and conduct that prove her allegations are false," Cornwell said. "Against this backdrop, her proposal is bizarre. We previously offered Ms. McNulty a graceful exit. Now, we will continue to press our defenses and claims and pursue our application for sanctions." McNulty says she was hospitalized for depression and suffered medical problems. A lawyer for Harrah's employees says she's lying and revealed an e-mail in which McNulty humorously wrote a mock resignation letter, announcing, "She is with Big Ben's child and ... she has relocated to Pittsburgh.'' Other co-workers have said she bragged about having sex with Roethlisberger.

His only words about McNulty came during a press conference. "I did not sexually assault Andrea McNulty. Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me. I would never, ever force myself on a woman,'' said Roethlisberger, who isn't married. "As much as I'd like to answer everyone's questions, I'm going to respect the legal process and I'm confident that the truth will prevail."

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger passes against the Tennessee Titans in the first half of the NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won 13-10 in overtime. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

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PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Pittsburgh Steelers players run on the field during introductions prior to the game between the Tennessee Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 10, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Titans 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

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PITTSBURGH - SEPTEMBER 11: Jeff Reed #3 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is congratulated by David Thornton #50 of the Tennessee Titans after Reed scored the game winning field goal in overtime on September 11, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Titans 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Reed;David Thornton

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Tennessee Titans quarterback Kerry Collins gets rid of the ball as he is pressured by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Farrior in the fourth quarter of the NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won 13-10 in overtime. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Kerry Collins (5) walks off the field after a 13-10 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in a NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher watches his team as they play against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL football game, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won 13-10 in overtime. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Pittsburgh Steelers players run on the field during introductions prior to the game against the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field on September 10, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Titans 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images)

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PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Wide receiver Justin Gage #12 of the Tennessee Titans runs with the football as he is tackled by Ryan Clark #25 of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on September 10, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Titans 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Justin Gage;Ryan Clark

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PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Running back Mewelde Moore #21 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with the football as he is tripped up against the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field on September 10, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Titans 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mewelde Moore

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PITTSBURGH, PA - SEPTEMBER 10: Wide receiver Hines Ward #86 of the Pittsburgh Steelers is tackled after a pass reception by Keith Bullocks #53 and Nick Harper #20 of the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field on September 10, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Titans 13-10 in overtime. (Photo by Scott Boehm/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Hines Ward;Nick Harper;Keith Bullocks

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Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu (43) makes a tackle on Tennessee Titans running back LenDale White (25) during the first quarter of an NFL football game Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Polamalu injured his left knee late in the first half against Tennessee on Thursday night and was ruled out for the rest of the game. (AP Photo/Don Wright)

I'm still not certain why his case has generated only a wee fraction of the outrage heard during Bryant's episode. Is it because Roethlisberger is white? Is it because he is handling it with convincing dignity? Unlike Kobe, who was mired in his turmoil during an NBA offseason, Roethlisberger marches on as the emotional leader of a team trying to disprove theories that NFL champions can't repeat. Only the Patriots have done so in this decade, but the Steelers have a shot because they're the best organization in sports, have a brilliant young coach in Mike Tomlin and sustain lock-solid leadership thanks to veterans like Roethlisberger. Know how tightly bonded the Steelers are? Tomlin chose not to sign Michael Vick, who would have been a great situational weapon for this team, because Roethlisberger was fighting McNulty's civil suit. "Given some of the things that my quarterback was going through, I didn't think it was the appropriate time to add another quarterback to the mix," Tomlin said. "He's going through somewhat of a trying time with the civil allegation, a case against him. I didn't want to do anything that seemed less than supportive of Ben."

The reward was evident in the season opener, when the Steelers lost all-world safety Troy Polamalu to a sprained medial collateral ligament in the second quarter. The knee twist was grotesque enough to make you question your dinner selection, particularly if it was one of the locally-beloved meat sandwiches with cole slaw and french fries stuffed in the middle. In fact, if Polamalu didn't have so much hair flowing from his helmet, it would have stood on end. He was trying to recover the ball after a blocked field goal when the Tennessee tight end, Alge Crumpler, tumbled awkwardly on his left knee and crumpled it. Most of us would have gathered our ligaments, menisci and scattered kneecap parts and called an ambulance. Polamalu walked to the locker room under his own power. Is he superhuman, as often rumored? Minutes later, confirmation came that he is not.

He was out for the game and at least 3-to-6 more weeks, if not for most or all of the season. "They are reading the scans and so forth. It's speculation at this point,'' Tomlin said. "I'm sure there's a possibility [it could be longer], but I don't have any concrete evidence that it will be any more than that.'' Which should remind us, again, how difficult it is to repeat as champions in the NFL, a gauntlet of health risks and unpredictability like no other. Polamalu is as important to the dominant Blitzburgh defense as Roethlisberger is to the offense, as shown in the first half when he made a stunning one-handed interception and several tackles.

"We definitely were aware of him not being in there," said Titans quarterback Kerry Collins, who launched a TD drive soon after Polamalu's departure. "You call the plays based on coverage, and sure we'd like to say, 'Hey, he's out of the game' and do a couple of different things."

"When he's not out there, you can tell it's not the same,'' Roethlisberger said. "He's a phenomenal player and we wish him a speedy, speedy recovery.''

Which makes Big Ben's savvy and presence even more vital. Late in the fourth quarter, he found Hines Ward for a catch-and-run jaunt that nearly broke for a game-winning touchdown. But Tennessee safety Michael Griffin wound up his arm and gave the ball his best Tomahawk spike. He landed his fist perfectly on the pigskin, and the Titans recovered to force overtime. How did Roethlisberger spend the brief intermission? He walked right over to Ward, an intensely proud veteran who was beating himself up after his first lost fumble since a Week 9 loss to Denver in 2006.

"When Hines caught it, I said, 'There's our field goal, game's over,' '' Roethlisberger said. "Then I thought he was gonna score. Then I saw the ball come out, and I was almost in disbelief. I walked over to him and said, 'You're a veteran, let this go. We're gonna come back to you.' He was upset, as someone who has been around this team for a long time. It's one of those jawdroppers where you're just not used to it. I had no worries about going back to him. He's Hines Ward, and you expect the best.''

The Titans should have won. Between two Roethlisberger interceptions and Pittsburgh's puny rushing stats, this was a ripe time for Tennessee to back up LenDale White's vow to stomp a Terrible Towel -- the Steelers' traditional secret weapon in the stands -- as he did last season. But kicker Rob Bironas didn't convert two field-goal shots inside the 40 -- the first, he missed; the second was blocked. "The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't beat the Tennessee Titans. The Tennessee Titans beat the Tennessee Titans," said wide receiver Nate Washington, an ex-Steeler. But without pressure from pass-rushing fiend Albert Haynesworth, who bolted for the Redskins and big money, Roethlisberger had enough time to pump-fake and maneuver after the Steelers went to a no-huddle offense in the third quarter. In particular, Holmes is emerging as a premier wideout, a significant development if Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall keep struggling in the running game.

"I'll be to the point,'' Tomlin said. "We talked about the things we needed to do. We had to win the trench warfare -- we didn't do that. We had to take care of the football -- we didn't do that. We talked about out-hitting them -- jury's out on that. But the last thing, we had to be prepared to ride an emotional roller coaster and play 60 minutes -- and we did that. We're not a perfect team by any stretch. We're fortunate to win. Such is life in the NFL. We'll take the victory, and I love how our guys stick together.''

As far as Tomlin knows, the championship victory in Tampa last February is distant news. Such is the message he has drilled into his team, that a Super Bowl victory last season means nothing this season. "That's gone forever,'' he said. "When I walk down the hallway and look at the championships of the Steelers in the '70s, it's the same faces in the same positions on those photos. That's not the reality in today's NFL, to be quite honest with you.''

Yet despite free agency, salary caps and other parity-friendly devices intended to sabotage dynasties, the Steelers do have a chance to repeat. So much depends on Roethlisberger, who was sacked four more times -- after 139 sacks the last three seasons -- and needs to maintain his physical and mental health.

"Ouch!'' he said as he eased himself into a chair after the game. "I got hit a lot.''

He gets hit a lot in life, if you haven't noticed.

With His Life in Crisis, Ben Marches On originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 02:53:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reality TV Bad Place for Merriman, NFL

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

My first instinct is to doubt a girl who, among other idiosyncrasies, changed her name from Tila Nguyen to a potent Mexican liquor. Tila Tequila has posed for Playboy and Maxim. She is a bisexual whirlwind who hosted an MTV reality show, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, in which she chose between lesbians and heterosexual men for dates. She wrote a book called, "Hooking Up with Tila Tequila: A Guide to Love, Fame, Happiness, Success and Being the Life of the Party." She has 4 million friends on MySpace and is a social-networking fiend.

One of her recent posts, on Twitter, involved love letters to football star Shawne Merriman. Wrote Ms. Tequila on Saturday: "Im tweeting you from the next ... room ... WAKE YOUR --- UP! LOL. ... awwww U sleeping like an angel. ... SExy Sexy babay!"

"I like attention,'' she once said.

Ya think?

But I learned long ago never to summarily dismiss any woman who accuses an athlete of domestic violence. So what we have here, in the case of Tequila vs. Merriman, is yet another potentially dark moment for the NFL on the eve of a compelling season. According to Tequila, the Chargers linebacker known as "Lights Out" -- you've watched his dance, I'm sure -- spent the wee hours of Sunday choking, restraining and throwing her to the ground as she tried to leave his suburban San Diego home. If her charges of battery and false imprisonment are true, this would be the latest sick story to tarnish the inner sanctum of a league that has seen Michael Vick murder dogs, Donte Stallworth hit and kill a man while driving drunk, Pacman Jones become a perpetual public menace, Ben Roethlisberger deny that he sexually assaulted a woman and, since 2000, at least 467 arrests and citations (we're not talking speeding tickets here) involving league players. This is why commissioner Roger Goodell has emphasized his personal-conduct policy in the initial stages of his regime. And this is why he must continue to make the criminal element his No. 1 priority, realizing that players have learned absolutely nothing from all the high-profile crises.

The question I'd have for Merriman is why he's hanging out in the wee hours with a reality star. As it is, Merriman is one of the NFL's most disappointing marquee players, having served a four-game suspension three years ago for a dirty steroids test. Even if it wasn't received with the moral outrage accompanying baseball's major steroids sins -- Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and Sammy Sosa being the latest -- it reminded us that football continues to be overrun by performance-enhancement issues. Now we wonder if Merriman, a frenetic defender given to outlandish quotes and wild emotional displays on the field, has a dangerous side to him.

"It's disappointing to hear about the issue involving Shawne Merriman," said Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, who has had several players encounter off-field incidents and is said to be losing patience with Merriman's personal conduct. "We'll continue to monitor the situation and let the legal process run its course."

For two days, Merriman and his attorney, Todd Macaluso, have been aggressive in claiming his innocence and undermining her reputation. They said Tequila was intoxicated -- that isn't a phrase you write every day -- and that he was attempting to prevent her from driving drunk. A warning: Just because they've gone on the offensive doesn't necessarily mean he's innocent of the accusations. Said Merriman in a statement: "At the time, I was concerned about her welfare given the intoxicated state she appeared to be in and I encouraged her to stay until safe transportation could be provided. We would all do our best to help a friend if we considered their actions to be detrimental to their personal safety. I in no way caused any harm to Ms. Nguyen; however, paramedics were called and she was examined but no injuries were reported. She was released and has since returned to Los Angeles. There have been no charges filed against me. I want to thank the San Diego Sheriff's Department for their professionalism. I will continue to cooperate fully with the Department and I look forward to clearing my name regarding these false allegations. I want to put this behind me so I can continue to focus on a successful season for the Chargers."

Said Macaluso, to the Associated Press: "There was absolutely no wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Merriman. He essentially was doing what was appropriate under the circumstances in trying to protect the safety of Miss Tequila. There were numerous eyewitnesses that will support his version of the events that transpired at his home."

All I know is, someone's lying.

It should be pointed out that Tequila, who claims she was held against her will, was able to call 911. "She was able to talk. She was able to walk. She was mobile. She didn't have any serious injuries that our deputies saw," said San Diego Sheriff's Department spokesman Jan Caldwell, who added that the deputies confirmed that Tequila had been drinking. Merriman and Tequila had appeared until closing time at a downtown San Diego nightclub called Stingaree, where they also had been the night before at an advertised function after the Chargers' final preseason game.

"Im the Head Cheerleader Prom Queen and @shawnemerriman is the Prom King! hahaha! LETS GOOO! LIGHTS OUT! SAN DIEGO I WILL SEE U TOMORROW!" Ms. Tequila wrote earlier that day on Twitter.

The nightclub actually felt compelled to make a statement, saying Merriman and Tequila were there with friends to celebrate a birthday. "They seemed in good spirits throughout the evening and were enjoying themselves," the statement said. "There was no outward indication of any problem between the two of them." But then, what would you expect from a local club frequented by Merriman and other San Diego athletes?

Merriman seems to believe the matter will disappear quickly. He practiced Monday and said afterward, "I think when it all surfaces, it will be a different situation. Period." But there are two sides to every story.

"Due to the serious nature of this matter, and out of respect for all domestic violence victims and defendants, Ms. Nguyen and her representatives will not be publicly addressing the facts and circumstances of the incident," said Tequila's New York-based attorney, Scott E. Leemon.

The question I'd have for Merriman is why he's hanging out in the wee hours with a reality star. The best way to avoid trouble is to think two or three steps ahead and, you know, not invite her to your house in the distant 'burbs after you've been at a nightclub. If Tequila's text messages and Tweets suggested a romantic relationship, Merriman told ESPN that she is only an acquaintance. OK, then why invite a female acquaintance to your house at 2 AM? Not to drape a sinister blanket over all reality stars, but just last month, a Canadian reality actor named Ryan Jenkins took his own life after he was accused of killing his former wife. Maybe reality isn't a good place for Merriman -- or any of us -- to hang out. The disturbance call to police came at 3:45 AM from Merriman's home. Tequila requested an ambulance that took her to a hospital, where she was treated and released.

It's about the last news Smith wanted to hear. As much as the GM speaks of signing "character" players, the Chargers have been dogged by too many police episodes and steroids cases in recent years. Some think this team is primed to make a Super Bowl run, but the Chargers can't do so if Merriman continues to be irresponsible. He's too important to the defense, the locker room and the total cause. Management wasn't pleased last year when, after injuring his knee and missing all but one game, he immersed himself into nightlife in Los Angeles and flew there back and forth to do a weekly football TV show.

If this turns out to be a serious matter, Merriman conceivably could be suspended by the NFL. That's not a recipe for beating the Steelers, Patriots and other contenders in the jammed-up AFC.

"We've been through so much stuff -- off-the-field issues, individual problems, suspensions, things that were hard to deal with," linebacker Stephen Cooper told the San Diego Union-Tribune, not mentioning that he served a four-game suspension last year after testing positive for a banned stimulant. "This team is going to be fine. Shawne is going to be at practice and play in games. We're going to be good."

"The last thing I want to be," Merriman said, "is a distraction to the team."

Guess what? He already is. Next time, he should leave Tila Tequila -- and all other types of tequila -- at the bar and then leave reality TV to the world's kooks and losers.

Reality TV Bad Place for Merriman, NFL originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Goodell Reinstates Vick Much Too Soon

Jay Mariotti — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:20:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

So just like that, quicker than you can electrocute an underperforming fighter dog, Michael Vick is officially back in the NFL. What should have been a step-by-step, multi-week process -- you know, to make sure he truly is rehabilitated after 18 months in federal prison -- instead became a puzzlingly mad rush to reinstate him to an active roster. He'll return to the Philadelphia Eagles for their Week 3 home game against Kansas City, meaning he'll be an integral component of a contending team and the core focus of a regular season that should center around more triumphant stories.

Tell me: What happened to Commissioner Hammer, anyway? Since when did Roger Goodell become Vick's guardian angel? Wasn't this supposed to happen as late as Week 6? Couldn't this have happened next offseason so as not to engulf Tom Brady's comeback from knee surgery, Brett Favre's latest drama in Minnesota, Jay Cutler's arrival in Chicago, the Mark Sanchez experiment and other developments?

"I was surprised, but I'm just blessed to have an opportunity," Vick said after his spotty quarterbacking performance in the Eagles' final preseason game. "If it was a six-game suspension, and if that was the ruling and the final verdict, I would have been happy and just would have said I had to work on personal development and perfecting my game. It's still somewhat like a dream when I step out there on the field, coming where I came from two years ago and where I've been. I just try to enjoy the moment. I can't complain about anything.''

Complain? Vick has been placed on a fast track to mass popularity, a favor we never would have envisioned when his dogkilling activities were revealed. Goodell's aggressive stance against the league's criminal element has been the landmark achievement of his early tenure, and while Vick did pay his debt to society at Leavenworth Penitentiary, Goodell also should have stayed true to his Personal Conduct Policy and made him wait the entire six weeks. Somewhere along the way, the commish got caught up in a goodwill deed of enabling Vick's return to a normal life. "I said to Michael repeatedly, we're looking for a success story here," Goodell said. "We would like to see him be successful, and this is a transition to hopefully maximize the opportunity for him to be successful."

That sounds more like Florence Nightingale than a man protecting the image of America's most important sports league. Allowing Vick's comeback after only two weeks off doesn't jibe with Goodell's words just a few weeks ago, when he was much harsher in a letter to Vick. "I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others. I am prepared to offer you that opportunity," he told the ringleader/bank roller of Bad Newz Kennels. "Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands. Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited. I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career.''

Suddenly, barely a month later, Goodell has seen enough to grant that big break? In my mind, the six-week period away from the regular season would have been the ultimate test of Vick's so-called new lease on life. How would he handle his days and nights while waiting for late October? We'll never know. "I think he's making real progress," Goodell said. "I think he has a better feel for the challenges ahead of him.''

It's as if the league loves the story line, the relentless ESPN updates. By reinstating Vick for Week 3, Goodell gives the Eagles a chance to incorporate him into game plans pretty much all season. And don't you think a few teams are ticked off right now of the expedited return date? Had they known Vick would be ready long before Week 6, my guess is more teams would have shown interest than the Eagles and Cincinnati Bengals.

If nothing else, at least Vick's first extended performance at quarterback should remind the fickle Philly fans that Donovan McNabb is the starter at that position, period. Vick struggled against the New York Jets' second- and third-stringers, throwing an interception, losing a fumble, taking four sacks for 40 yards and posting a dismal 29.7 passer rating. The Eagles should be using him as a situational weapon this season, nothing more, and maybe now, coach Andy Reid will abandon the urge to prepare Vick as a quarterback. The new plan should be to employ Vick in moderation and exploit his legs, which are fresh after two years away from the game and can be of better service than his skittish arm.

"There were a lot of things I could have done better, but it was good to get out there and play some quarterback on a consistent basis and shake off the cobwebs," Vick said. "It's what I want -- to get hit a little bit and get a feel for the game and get chased around. I still think I'm a couple of weeks away. I'll take this time to get myself in shape, build my endurance, continue to strengthen my legs and to work my mind with the offense."

Said Reid: "I think he got a chance to see that he has a little juice in those legs. He turned it on a couple of times there. I'm sure he'll be a little sore. That's OK. He'll have a couple of weeks to recover from it."

Reid has a man-crush on Vick. He'd like to think he has a younger McNabb in his arsenal, a McNabb who can run instead of staying in the pocket. Reid has a man-crush on Vick. He'd like to think he has a younger McNabb in his arsenal, a McNabb who can run instead of staying in the pocket. Granted, it's breathtaking to watch Vick operate on the run, such as when he bolted up the middle off a play fake and scored a 2-yard touchdown, his first since the 2006 season unless we're counting his prison intramural games. "I didn't even know what to do with myself," he said. "I always told myself I was going to keep the ball, hand it to an offensive lineman, spike it. I got up and I just lost it. My mind went blank. I just ran off the field like nothing happened."

So off he goes for a couple of weeks, giving ESPN's Sal Palantonio a chance to breathe on the Vick beat. When he returns, the Eagles need to focus on Vick's past as a QB -- lowly 53.8 percent completion percentage, more career 100-yard rushing games than 250-yard passing games, 52 interceptions opposed to 71 TD passes -- instead of force-feeding him. That way, they keep the peace with the sensitive, controversy-prone McNabb. "Just play football. That's over,'' McNabb said of his frustration with Vick-related gadgetry, which he now says is old news. "You have to understand with everything that's going on right now, everybody is making a big deal out of our whole situation. We communicate every game. We communicate in practice. We communicate here in the building. So it's no different than what we've done in the previous years. Now I know that with everything going on people are searching trying to find something.''

"There's no rift between Michael and Donovan," Reid said. "Michael is just happy to be back in the league right now and just kinda building a foundation here for down the road in his career. He's not looking to dethrone Donovan McNabb, that's not what he's looking to do."

"I just don't think that's going to be an issue," said NBC analyst Tony Dungy, the former Colts coach who has counseled Vick. "And I don't think that Michael is going to be a guy that's going to go in there and try to split the locker room." The Eagles should thank their lucky stars that Goodell has taken a liking to Vick, though he really shouldn't be personally involved. "We thought that if Michael did the right things, probably one to three weeks would be the likely outcome. So this is certainly in the range we expected," team president Joe Banner said. "We appreciate the commissioner's thoughtfulness and I think this is a good outcome and we look forward to having him."

The commissioner's "thoughtfulness'' conveniently overlooks obstacles that could have warranted a ban until Week 6. Remember when Vick lied to Goodell two years ago about his involvement in the dogfighting ring? For that reason alone, he could have kept holding Vick's feet to the fire. But he didn't. "I don't like being lied to, like anyone else, but we have to move forward,'' Goodell said.

Who knew he had such a heart? For that matter, who knew that animal-rights activists would be so quiet in Phllly? So far, the presumably reformed dog killer has caused no problems off the field. "We have spent an awful lot of time talking and meeting," Goodell said Thursday after meeting with Vick. "We have given him mentors in Tony. He's got a great organization that he's with that has given him a lot of structure and resources, and a lot of the players have been very helpful to him, which he expressed this morning. He's demonstrating -- which is the key thing to me -- he's demonstrating his commitment, he's demonstrating he's going to use better judgment going forward, and I want to encourage that."

Gee, if I ever get busted for murdering dogs, I hope my boss is half as understanding.

Goodell Reinstates Vick Much Too Soon originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greed Reigns With NFL's Blackout Policy

Jay Mariotti — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

Today, I am going to embarrass the National Football League. I just wanted Roger Goodell and the boys to know that. Start with this: Through 2011, the NFL will be paid a combined $11.6 billion by CBS, NBC and FOX for television rights fees. Through 2013, the league will be paid an additional $8.8 billion by ESPN. That's $20.4 billion coming in, a staggering figure reflective of how pro football reigns supreme in American sports.

So why would Goodell and the owners continue to black out telecasts -- the longstanding penalty for teams that don't sell out home games within 72 hours of kickoff -- when the economy is crippling fans who no longer can afford tickets? Isn't it stinkingly greedy of the league to demand packed stadiums when many people don't have the scratch to afford ticket prices that averaged $75 last year? This would be a perfect time to lift the blackout rule, if only temporarily, as a way of thanking the customers for making the NFL a monumentally thriving enterprise. By televising all home games, no matter how many seats are empty, Goodell not only would extend a goodwill gesture but foster civic unity in tough times when folks need pride and entertainment.

But the commissioner isn't budging, even amid reports that the Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers and at least 10 other franchises are facing potential blackouts this season. It's possible the Jaguars, caught in the teeth of a poor economy in northern Florida, won't sell out any of their home games, which might jeopardize the local future of a team that always has been rumored to be headed elsewhere. That would be eight games the people won't see, distancing the city from its team and primary national identity. The reason the NFL has a blackout rule is to spike ticket sales, but in a financial crisis, it's Goodell's duty to ease up on the consumer blackmail. So far, he remains blind to it all, even with trouble spots all over his map: Minnesota, Oakland, San Francisco, Detroit, St. Louis and Cincinnati among them. Imagine if the Vikings and Chargers play in the Super Bowl next February, not beyond possibility, after a season in which games were blacked out in their towns.

"The blackout policy is a longstanding policy in the NFL,'' Goodell said recently. "It has served us well. It has served the public well, and I do not anticipate any changes with our blackout policy.''

He was asked Tuesday in Ashburn, Va., where he was visiting the training facility of the Washington Redskins, if the Jaguars are an endangered species. "It's one of the markets where we're seeing some challenges from ticket sales coming into the 2009 season,'' he said, knowing that the team's season-ticket foundation has shrunk from 42,000 to 25,000 in one year. "And we'll have other markets that'll have those challenges. It's all part of the challenges that we're seeing in the economy, and what our clubs are going through.''

In times like these, we find out which leagues and franchises are human and which are cold. I'm certainly not saying Goodell is an ogre -- his attempt to clean up the league's criminal element represents the best work by any commissioner, in any sport, in recent memory. But he is forgetting the fans, the ones who buy the tickets, purchase the jerseys, launch the fantasy leagues and drive up the TV ratings high enough to create the $20.4 billion golden goose. It's nice to know that 24 of the league's 32 teams didn't raise ticket prices from last year. Now, take the deed one step further and keep the games on TV every week.

"People are having it tough down here," Jaguars business executive Tim Connolly told USA Today. "People are watching their dollars and they're being tighter than ever."

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HOUSTON - AUGUST 31: Quarterback Brett Favre #4 of the Minnesota Vikings talks with receiver Jaymar Johnson at Reliant Stadium on August 31, 2009 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brett Favre;Jaymar Johnson

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San Diego Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson signs autographs for members of the Little League World Series champion Chula Vista, Calif., baseball team at the NFL football team's practice facility Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

San Diego Chargers' Luis Castillo interviews Oscar Castro, left, and Bradley Roberto of the world champion Park View little league team of Chula Vista, Calif. at the Chargers' practice facility Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

Andy Rios of the Chula Vista, Calif., Little League baseball team runs between two lines of San Diego Chargers football players on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in San Diego. Chula Vista won the Little League World Series on Sunday. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

The Chula Vista, Calif., baseball team, champions of the Little League World Series, poses with the San Diego Chargers NFL football team at the Chargers' practice facility Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)

In this Aug. 22, 2009, photo, Denver Broncos quarterback Tom Brandstater looks to pass against the Seattle Seahawks during an NFL preseason football game in Seattle. With the Denver Broncos' top two quarterbacks sidelined by injuries, rookie Brandstater will start the team's preseason finale Thursday night, Sept. 3, against Arizona. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Tennessee Titans punter Craig Hentrich (15) talks with special teams coach Alan Lowry during NFL football practice in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009. Hentrich followed a doctor's diet program during the offseason, lost 29 pounds, and is returning for his 12th season with the Titans. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) guards defensive end Paul Kruger during team practice on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, in Owings Mill, Maryland. (Karl Merton Ferron /Baltimore Sun/MCT)

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Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs (55) chats with defensive tackle Trevor Pryce (90) and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata (92) during team practice on Tuesday, September 1, 2009, in Owings Mill, Maryland. (Karl Merton Ferron /Baltimore Sun/MCT)

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Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox, left, and team president Mark Richardson, right, watches practice with team owner Jerry Richardson, back right, and general manager Marty Hurney, back left, during the NFL team's football training camp in Spartanburg, S.C., Saturday, July 26, 2008. Mark Richardson and Bank of America Stadium head Jon Richardson, sons of team owner Jerry Ricardson, stepped down Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 according to a team news release. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Carolina Panthers president Mark Richardson on the field before an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday, Dec. 8, 2008 in Charlotte, N.C. Richardson and Bank of America Stadium head Jon Richardson, sons of team owner Jerry Ricardson, stepped down Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009, according to a team news release. (AP Photo/Rick Havner)

Pro football is so wildly prosperous, we take sellouts for granted. Last year, merely nine of 256 regular-season games were subjected to blackouts, five in Detroit, a devastated city that should have the option of watching the Lions even when they're, um, winless. Don't be surprised if that number is over 30 this year. For every bigger-market situation such as New England, Washington and the New York Giants, where stadiums are sold out for the season, or every phenomenon city such as Denver and Pittsburgh, where sellout streaks have lasted decades, you have several red alerts.

All of which continues to remind us that sport isn't immune from the crash. And why the NFL and the players union would be pulling one of the all-time acts of idiocy by allowing a lockout after the 2010 season, a lingering possibility. Now more than ever, people need their sports. In particular, they need the NFL, which is concluding a compelling preseason in which several stories -- Brett Favre, Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Jay Cutler and Mark Sanchez among them -- reduced baseball's regular season to an afterthought. Under Goodell's predecessor, Paul Tagliabue, the NFL avoided work stoppages in an era when baseball could not, which, along with baseball's ongoing steroids problem, contributed to the surge of football as America's overwhelming sporting pastime. Goodell, dealing with new NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, can't afford to drop the ball just because Jerry Jones, he of the $1.2 billion stadium, is squawking about the players getting too big a slice of the revenue pie.

"Anytime you're negotiating, you take a step forward and maybe a step back," Goodell said. "We're communicating, we're trying to get information to the union leadership, make sure they understand the challenges we're facing as a system and as a business and make sure they understand that so we can design a system that addresses the issues for the players and the coaches and the game."

To hear a disgruntled NFLPA employee named Mary Moran, the union may have tried to collude with the NFL. Moran told federal investigators that the former NFLPA president, Troy Vincent, had a meeting with Goodell and tried to provide him with confidential union information. That has resulted in a federal investigation of the union, which won't help the timetable for a new collective bargaining agreement. "Listen, I think everybody in the NFL wants to play," Goodell said. "The owners want to play, the players want to play. It's our job to get a deal done. That's why I keep saying a lockout is not a strategy, nor an objective. What we want to do is get an agreement that works for the players and the coaches and the game and allows to continue to grow it."

The NFL has $8 billion in annual revenue. Total costs for players this season will near $5 billion. The system works for everyone.

But as in all labor disputes, greed rules.

And no one thinks of the fans.

Goodell can do himself an early favor in the public-relations game that surrounds labor impasses and lift the blackout rule. Every sports organization has had to grin and bear it, including the New York Yankees, who reluctantly reduced the price of premium seats in the new stadium. Several leagues are troubled by financial issues, such as the WNBA and women's golf, and arena football died a predictable death. The NFL has no such worries, which is why fans should be allowed to see the product every week.

It's called good business.

Greed Reigns With NFL's Blackout Policy originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boo All You Want, Fans: Broncos Stink As Cutler Thrives

Jay Mariotti — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:52:00 EST

Filed under: NFL

DENVER -- Because it was their duty as guardians of the Rocky Mountain empire, they convened in their football temple, gathered their hostilities and booed. And drank. And booed and drank some more. The fans greeted Jay Cutler with a standing boovation, booed him when he jogged onto the field, booed him when his image was shown on the big screen, booed him when he tied his shoes, booed him when he scratched his nose.

How loud was it? At one point, Cutler cupped his hands over his ears. How raucous was it? The stadium was shaking when he ran out for his first series as an enemy player. How zany was it? Fans wore diapers in the parking lot and "Crybaby Cutler" T-shirts while finding unique ways of defacing his jersey, such as burying it in tailgating food and even manure. How gratifying was the reception for the coach who traded Cutler, in what might be recalled as one of the dumbest trades in NFL history? Josh McDaniels was thrilled.

"It was a great atmosphere. This was more than a '6' on a scale of '10' in terms of the crowd," he said in a direct fireback at Cutler, who rated his new football town of Chicago as a '9' and his old town of Denver as a '6' in recent comments. "That was a great response. The fans did a great job in trying to help us and create noise. I could tell [the Bears] were having trouble hearing at times."

Cutler's former Broncos teammates, too, were rough on him, blitzing and crushing him at will. Elvis Dumervil threw him down in what nearly was a safety, then performed a dance for the delighted fans in the north end zone. Later, Dumervil blew past Orlando Pace and knocked Cutler to the turf after he delivered the ball, drawing a personal foul and the wrath of Bears center and Cutler protector Olin Kreutz. A scuffle ensued, followed by another minutes later, when Kreutz locked the linebacker in an embrace and prompted Elvis to belt out, "Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love. Ahhhhh!" When Darrell Reid dumped Cutler with considerable glee, Wesley Woodyard got in Cutler's face and mouthed off, prompting the quarterback to shove him back. This continued for most of the first half Sunday night, making this the first preseason game ever to require an Octagon. Turns out the hype was not overstated.

Truly, as much a town can hate a former quarterback, Denver cannot stand Cutler. The players, while understanding business is business and not sharing the local disdain, tried to give the fans a reason to get excited.

"Cutler? Oh, yeah, we had a lot of guys who wanted to get after him," Woodyard said. "There was definitely trash talk."

"We played against him every day in practice but never had a chance to hit him. We would always joke about him taking some hits," defensive end Kenny Peterson said.

Said Dumervil: "I don't like quarterbacks, period. Me and Jay are cool off the field, but once we're on the field, he's fair game."

But eventually, as night fell over a gloomy football town, the fans stopped booing. Reality was settling in that, no matter how much they want to blame Cutler for demanding the trade that led him to Chicago, they're stuck with an inferior team and a dubious future. For two decades, the Broncos were one of the NFL's premier franchises, winning two Super Bowls, spending money generously and wisely and contending regularly in the AFC. In a matter of months, though, they've become a laughingstock led by a rookie head coach, 33-year-old McDaniels, who looks like a waterboy and might be the weakest twig on the Bill Belichick tree. First he tried to acquire his New England project, still-untested Matt Cassel, and only succeeded in angering Cutler, who merely is a potential Hall of Fame QB. Now he's stuck in a raging feud with suspended receiver Brandon Marshall, who made a mockery of McDaniels' authority at practice last week by walking during warmups while the rest of the team ran, swatting down a pass thrown to him and punting a ball that he should have handed to a ballboy. All the while, we wonder what has happened to the steely management style of owner Pat Bowlen, who fired the most accomplished coach in Broncos history, Mike Shanahan, and replaced him with a lad.

When the fans boo Cutler, aren't they really venting bitterness over the demise of their beloved franchise? And they only bled a little more when Cutler, showing no jitters in his return to Invesco Field and bouncing right up after every hit, went 15-of-21 for 144 yards and a touchdown pass in an efficient half of play. When he hit running back Matt Forte for a 6-yard score with 13 seconds left before intermission, finishing off a 98-yard drive, he punched the air and raced to the sideline, where he and his teammates celebrated with a joy not normally seen in August.

The conclusion was obvious. Cutler has moved on to a town that will adore him and a team that should make the playoffs, if not contend for a Super Bowl in a hazy NFC. The Broncos? They're a mess -- and might be for a long time. Getting to Cutler with blitz packages might be the highlight of the a long season ahead. In the end, they can boo all they want, but they really should be booing McDaniels and Bowlen for running a franchise quarterback out of town at the pre-prime age of 26. And receiving in return a mediocre Kyle Orton, two No. 1 draft picks and a third-round pick? How stupid was that?

"It's exactly what we prepared for, what I thought it would be. We knew coming in that it would be a hostile environment. Denver has good fans, and we knew it would be loud," said Cutler, wearing an orange Bears cap after the 27-17 victory. "But that was good for us, good preparation for the first week at Green Bay. The guys knew what kind of pressure I was under and really picked it up for me. This wasn't your everyday situation."

How fascinating to see him take the high road, as he did last week when he voiced nice comments about McDaniels. This was a dramatic departure from the Cutler who was known as a jerk in his first three Denver seasons, the Cutler who picked verbal fights with San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, the Cutler who never minced words, the Cutler described by Chargers linebacker Matt Wilhelm as "a punk" and "one of the biggest crybabies in the league." Is he possibly growing up? "I think both sides would change certain things, go about it a different way," Cutler said of the pre-trade acrimony in Denver. "But both sides are happy now and we're moving on I'm not getting into specifics, and I'm sure they're not either. It happened, it's over with and we're both moving a different direction." And McDaniels, the coach who dissed him and may live to regret it his entire career? "He's going to be a good coach," Cutler said. "I think their offense is going to be fine. [McDaniels] is an offensive mind. Just the brief amount of time I was able to spend with him, he's impressive. He knows a lot about offenses, he knows a lot about getting guys open and scoring points, as everyone's seen when he was in New England, so I think they're going to be fine."

And was he a little freaked by Dumervil? "Elvis always has a lot to say. He's a high-motor guy, and I love him to death," Cutler said. "I wish him the best of luck. Those guys were really fired up."

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DENVER - AUGUST 30: Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd #84 of the Denver Broncos catches a 16 yard pass against Trumaine McBride #26 of the Chicago Bears during the third quarter at INVESCO Field at Mile High on August 30, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brandon Lloyd;Trumaine McBride

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Denver Broncos running back Darius Walker (34) breaks into the secondary as he carries the ball during an NFL preseason football game against the Chicago Bears in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. The Bears won 27-17. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Chicago Bears quarterbacks Jay Cutler, left, and Brett Basanez joke with each other in the fourth quarter of the Bears' 27-17 victory over the Denver Broncos in an NFL preseason football game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler looks on against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter of the Bears' 27-17 victory in an NFL preseason football game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler heads off the field after the Bears' 27-17 victory over the Denver Broncos in an NFL preseason football game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Denver Broncos quarterback Tom Brandstater passes during an NFL preseason football game against the Chicago Bears in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. The Bears won 27-17. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson, front, runs for a touchdown as Denver Broncos cornerback Alphonso Smith looks on in the fourth quarter of the Bears' 27-17 victory in an NFL preseason football game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Chicago Bears running back Adrian Peterson works for yardage against the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter of the Bears' 27-17 victory in an NFL preseason football game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Broncos fullback Peyton Hillis (22) is tripped up by Chicago Bears safety Kevin Payne during an NFL preseason football game in Denver on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2009. The Bears won 27-17. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

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DENVER - AUGUST 30: Quarterback Jay Cutler #6 of the Chicago Bears greets Champ Bailey #24 of the Denver Broncos after the preseason game at INVESCO Field at Mile High on August 30, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. The Chicago Bears defeated the Denver Broncos 27-17. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Champ Bailey;Jay Cutler

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In this June 10, 2009 photo, New England Patriots' Tedy Bruschi is seen on the field during the first day of the team's NFL football minicamp in Foxborough, Mass. According to reports from The Associated Press, Bruschi will announce his retirement at a news conference Monday, Aug. 31, 2009. A person familiar with Bruschi's decision spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. The team declined to comment Sunday night. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

What impresses me most about Cutler is how he responds to negativity. He does speak with his arm, his mind, his moxie, his toughness. The Broncos and their fans can paint him as a baby, but it's clearly understandable why he felt disrespected when a first-year coach comes in and wants to bring in a far less accomplished guy. Wasn't McDaniels watching Cutler put up monster numbers? Wasn't it unfair to blame Cutler for playoff-less seasons when the Broncos had porous defenses?

They're only going backwards without him. Orton has enough trouble throwing the ball well without an injured middle finger, which he gashed in the second quarter. He appeared to dislocate it and was seen trying to pop it back in place, though McDaniels -- from the Belichick school of injury fakery -- says it's fine. With Chris Simms injured, the team's only healthy quarterback is rookie Tom Brandstater, whom McDaniels calls a four-year project. Offensively, the Broncos were a penalty-ridden mess. No wonder so many fans wear jerseys that hail the past -- ELWAY, SMITH, DAVIS, MECKLENBURG -- and ignore the present.

"You don't sustain drives when you're starting first-and-20, second-and-15," said McDaniels, who wears a sideline hoodie like his mentor, Belichick. "You you can't play in the NFL when you need 15 or 20 yards every time you need a first down. We've got to fix what's wrong. We're not gonna win playing like that."

"They played better than us. They played smarter than us," Orton said of his former team. "There's a lot of things we have to address, and we don't have a lot of time. It's time to stop saying we have time. Time's running out before the regular season."

And there's a fair chance they won't be getting help from Marshall, who wants a new contract and, like Cutler, has demanded a trade. Problem is, why would the Broncos or any other team want to invest big money in a petulant receiver? They are stuck with him and, according to team leader Champ Bailey, Marshall would have much to prove in the locker room before his teammates would welcome him back. "Look, we'll play with who we can play with," McDaniels said. "Life goes on sometimes in this league and you play with who you have and do the best you can."

He wouldn't be in such a dire position if he'd just tried to respect Jay Cutler. You sense Cutler will have a long career in the NFL; you don't sense the same about McDaniels, at least as a head coach. "It's a business. You never know exactly what's going to happen," said the triumphant QB. "There's coaching changes, there's player changes every day. You just have to stay in the game and wherever you land, you land.

"I love where I'm at in Chicago. I think we're heading in the right direction."

As opposed to his old team. Once, the Broncos were known as Orange Crush. Now, they're Orange Mush.

Boo All You Want, Fans: Broncos Stink As Cutler Thrives originally appeared on Jay Mariotti FanHouse on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 01:52:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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