Like most NFL fans, I hope Ed Hochuli and his “guns” are on display ASAP

Tonight on Monday Night Football, the NFL’s “Replacement Referees” will be on center stage once again to make an abortion out of the greatest game on the face of the earth.  Week one was deemed a “success”.  Week two was “not that bad”.  But with all but one game left in this week, week three has been a complete disaster.  If Rodger Goodell and his cronies weren’t watching the DirecTV Sunday Ticket yesterday and punching themselves in the testicles repeatedly, then they will probably get four hours worth of chances tonight.

Notice how I didn’t say three hours?  That’s because games are running dangerously close to  FOUR hours this season.  There are seven EXTREMELY under-qualified guys out there, rocking Foot Locker employee gear.  When a flag is thrown, there are more refs discussing the penalty then there are women on an episode of “The View”.  I’m all for getting the call correct, but when it takes a good two to three minutes, five times per game, it gets absurd.  Then let’s not forget to mention that on more than one occasion, the small village meeting concludes with the wrong decision being made on where to spot the ball or what the penalty call was. Read the rest of this entry »

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are masters of the “Screen Pass”

Over the past decade, the NFL has transformed from a ground and pound league, to an ultra heavy passing league.  In 2002, four QB’s threw for over 4,000 yards.  Last year ten did.  And of those ten, three threw for over 5,000 yards (Eli Manning had 4,933).  We also saw Drew Brees break Dan Marino’s record for passing yards in a season, with 5,476.

When you see those gaudy passing statistics, you would figure that the QB’s are taking seven step drops and just letting it fly, 50 yds down the field.  While there are some teams that do have QB’s that are able do that, the short passing game is where they rack up the yards.  With the evolution of the slant route (Jets fans LOVE this pass pattern), it has essentially taken over as a run for some teams.  If you have a wide receiver who can get off the line quickly and cleanly, then cut to the middle of the field, it’s an instant six to ten yard gain if he holds on.  But while that pass play can lead to big gains, there’s nothing like the screen pass. Read the rest of this entry »

While looking around on Twitter Wednesday, one of my Mets Twitter compadres, (@metsfanmurph) had posted his 5 worst sports losses as a fan.  I knew I had read a column somewhere like this before, and then I saw he made a Bill Simmons reference.  Light bulb goes on.

In my adult life, lets say since 1999, I have experienced exactly one championship and countless heart breaking, knife in the stomach, kick in the balls losses.  Thank you 2003 Syracuse Orangemen for helping a brother out.  That’s 1 for my last 68. Read the rest of this entry »