Something To Think About...

No matter how many teams he's ruined, quarterbacks he's insulted, offensive coordinators he's pissed off, Terrell Owens, now a free agent, still presents one of the more difficult quandaries in sports.

Do you sign the talented superstar, and willingly accept the superstar's baggage and surrounding bull crap in hopes that he continues his past trend and does make your team better, or do you forge ahead with your "team first attitude" and hope that a second rate wide out corps can get the job done?

On the radio in New York, it's being talked about as I write this.  Should the Giants pick him up?  How about T.O. in Gang Green?  The Raiders, as is the legally required mandate in all NFL free agent talks, come up in the discussion as well.

What I want to know is, do you think he's worth it for your team?  I know we've got a bunch of Bear fans reading this, how do you feel about Owens playing for your squad?  Any other fans reading, please get at us.

I find it interesting to hear what people have to say about him.  There's really no denying how much better he's made teams and players.  Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb, and the Eagles as an organization can all vouch for that.  But, how many other great players switch teams as often as Owens does?  Thus, the issue.

Let me know...

(For the record, if the Bucs had a quarterback of any repute, I'd say go after him, just to see.  But, seeing as how Luke McCown could very easily be the starting QB, I'd hold off on a big name wideout for now).

Hump Day Headlines

In this week's Hump Day Headlines, we discuss the 44th President, the joke that is the Pro Bowl, more from the never ending Roger Clemens saga, and why Cardinals fans should take it easy...

• In case you were in a hole yesterday, you should know by now that Barack Obama is officially the 44th United States' President after his inauguration yesterday. Certainly, as Scott mentioned in his post yesterday, it was a historic day. He's the first African-American president in the history of this country, and it was certainly a day to celebrate. In the sports world, however, it was the best bail out topic for media trying to cover their various sports teams for the last few days. I think I heard ten TV journalists Tuesday ask an athlete, "What are your thoughts about Barack Obama as our next president today?" Chalk this question into the 'cliche questions that the media asks athletes' category. Now, I'm not saying that some of the athletes asked this question didn't have interesting answers, but do we need literally every single athlete and analyst weighing in on this? If I'm tuning into sports, I want to hear about sports. If I want news, I'll watch CNN, or the networks (which I did for about six hours yesterday.)
• Scott and I mentioned this a bit in the most recent BERNing on Sports Podcast, but this weekend next year (that is, the weekend between the NFC and AFC Championships and the Super Bowl), the NFL will play the Pro Bowl, it's miserable joke of an all-star game in an effort to increase interest in it. Adding to its reputation for being a miserable joke is the fact that this year's game, which will still be played in Honolulu after the season, will be missing two of the biggest stars selected play. Brett Favre and Phillip Rivers will no longer be suiting up for the AFC due to various injuries, and Kerry Collins will be taking over in their stead. As if it couldn't get any worse. Instead of watching the future hall of famer Brett Favre light it up at Aloha Stadium, we'll be subjected to watching the much less exciting Kerry Collins. Now, whether Collins deserves to be there over Favre in the first place is a different argument. I'd agree with those that would want to argue that point. But in terms of the game, which already has zero intrigue on a national stage, the fact that the NFL's prima donna and Rivers won't be in the game figure to make this one of the least watched programs on television the weekend after football season ends.
• Known steroid deal Kirk Radomski revealed this earth-shattering fact in his tell-all interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on the network's investigative program "Outside The Lines": he believes his friend Brian McNamee's story and not the one being told by Roger Clemens. Well that's just fine and dandy, isn't it? This is the story Radomski told a federal grand jury recently as Clemens is being tried for perjury. Clemens vehemently denied under oath all the accounts found by former Senator George Mitchell in the famous "Mitchell Report" examining the steroid problem in our national past time. Radomski's story seems to check out with what the court of public opinion already believes: that Clemens is guilty. He claims his old 'roid-dealing pal McNamee initially only told Mitchell part of the story to protect Clemens from further investigation. Apparently when McNamee realized this would put himself in the proverbial legal hot water, he let the rest of the truth come out. It's interesting stuff and I encourage all of you to read some of Radomski's quotes. And, if I were Clemens, I'd look up at the sky to see what little public dignity I have left rocketing down to the ground.
• Cardinals fans should be thrilled at their team's recent success. After all, the perennially  pitiful Arizona squad is representing the NFC in the Super Bowl for the first time in team history. But this kind of action is absolutely moronic. Cardinals fans had been taunting Eagles QB Donovan McNabb all week at his home in Chandler, AZ, leaving a Cardinals flag in his tree and a cardboard box in his driveway that read "Go Cards" and "Beat Philly" on two of the sides. McNabb laughed it off for the week, but not when he found this: fans after Sunday's victory over McNabb's eagles burned Cardinal cheers in diesel fuel into the QB's lawn, costing him $2,000 in damages. Granted, that's chump change for the star quarterback, but what the heck are these 'Zona fans thinking? Maybe more stupid than the fact that these fans could have burned down McNabb's house with the childish prank, was that the cardboard box left in the lawn had the address and name of the man that committed them. Chandler resident Rex Perkins, a 37-going on 15-year-old dope, was charged with misdemeanor criminal damage. His co-dope, Ryan Hanlon also admitted to the pranks. "When they decided to get diesel fuel out and start damaging the yard, they crossed the line," Chandler Police Sergeant Joe Favazzo said yesterday about the incident. Think so, Joe?

The Monday Morning Longsnapper

Credit Where Credit Is Due Edition

Jordan did have this game picked right, but, most people didn't give the Cardinals much of a chance in this game.  Most people didn't give the Cardinals credit a week ago, in Carolina.  Some even doubted their chances to beat the young Falcons, two weeks before that.  And now, for the third week in a row, they've shut us all up.  Except for Jordan.

What most people doubted (if I can confidently speak for the masses) was Arizona's defense.  People questioned whether or not a defense that was in the bottom five in the NFL in points allowed would be able to slow the Eagles.  Now, no one was confusing the Eagles with an offensive juggernaut but for whatever reason, we (at least, I) felt like stopping Atlanta and Carolina in consecutive weeks was merely happenstance.

Crushing DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart (not to mention making Jake Delhomme look like he was 70 years old) just wasn't enough to convince people.  Neither, apparently, was derailing another 2009 elite running back in Michael Turner and forcing 3 turnovers out of Matt Ryan.  Wasn't enough.  

Too soft, not a big game defense.

Then, they went up 21-6 in the first half, forced Donovan McNabb to make throws he didn't want to make, and generally had the heat on the Eagles in that first half.  Things certainly slowed down a bit in that third quarter for the Cards defense, but, the '85 Bears they ain't.  

The simple truth is that the Cardinals, lead by Jesus Christ and his lone disciple Kurt Warner, are a good team.  They weren't a good team all season, they were never the best team at any point in the season.  But, unfortunately for the Panthers and Giants and Eagles and any other team in the NFC, that's just not how it works.  

• Eagles Fans:  That wasn't a missed pass interference call on your second to last pass of the season.  Two things, Kevin Curtis (still my man), was falling down anyway, and McNabb's pass was offline as it was.  Not a PI, sorry.
• Some part of me feels good for the Cardinals.  If I had told you, two years ago, that in the same sports year, the "Devil" Rays would be playing in the World Series, and the Cardinals would be playing in the Super Bowl, there's no way you'd have believed me.  What's next, are the Nationals going to beat the Globetrotters?  Has the world gone completely mad?  Let me guess, the economy's going to tank too, and we're going to have a black president, right?  Sure...
• Brian Westbrook has to be more hurt than he lets on, because when you look back at the three games he played in, he really only had one play of note which was the long screen pass in the Minnesota game.  That was about it.  Average or bad the rest of the way.
• Players that probably wish they didn't play football professionally on Sundays:  Corey Ivy, Willis McGahee (ankle), Willis McGahee (neck)...and anyone else on Troy Polamalu's side of the field at any given time.
• On that note, obviously you hope McGahee comes out OK from the scare he got on the field yesterday.  I've never been a big fan of him, especially after his comments regarding night life in Buffalo, but the kid's tough.  He tore up basically everything possible in his knee in college, was banged up this year, and now this neck injury.  Word was he was moving his arms and legs and speaking easily, so those are obviously good signs.
• The score may have been close, but Baltimore wasn't really in the game as much as it may have seemed.  They seemed to be waiting on a big play, which Joe Flacco has been able to deliver fairly often.  But, against this Steelers D it just wasn't to be.  I expected him to fold completely after the early interception, but to his credit he held it together.  The pressure he never seemed to get a break from, the nearly flawless downfield coverage his receivers faced--it was just too much.  The Steelers D isn't particularly flashy, but they just hit you hard, and often and right in the mouth.
• Lastly, Limas Sweed, if you ever, ever, ever ever ever ever ever (sorry got sick of using commas) drop a pass again like the one at the end of the first half where you're wide open with a chance to blow open the game, I will personally come to Pittsburgh and smack the hell out of you.

Results from NFL Championship Weekend

You win some, and you lose some, as the cliche goes. And Scott and I went 1-1. The Cardinals did more than cover, as the 32-25 score doesn't really describe how well the Cardinals played.
However despite their best efforts, the Ravens couldn't cover the 5.5, as the once turnover-proof Joe Flacco couldn't decipher which color his team was wearing. Three interceptions by Flacco did in the cover, as Troy Polamalu ran one back 40 yards for a touchdown to take the two point Steeler lead (covering) to a nine point lead (no longer covering). So kudo's to Scott on that one, because while I thought Pittsburgh would win I thought the Ravens would keep it closer.

For the playoffs, in the paraphrased words of Around the Horn's Tony Reali, "Heeeeere's how we stand:

Scott: 6-3 (1-1 this weekend)
Jordan: 3-6 (1-1 this weekend

It's no secret my picks have been bad, so I don't even need to waste my time relaying that information to you once again. All I can say is, if I get the Super Bowl right, that would provide a small vindication for my poor performance throughout the season. Stay tuned.

As for the games, Scott will have that tomorrow in the Monday Morning Longsnapper. But, a couple of quick thoughts from me:

• Once again, even if Kurt Warner wins the Super Bowl, he's NOT a hall of famer. The Eagles not winning did not help Donovan McNabb's case either. For me, neither should ever be enshrined in Canton.
• Larry Fitzgerald is really, really good. That guy could break some records if he stays healthy throughout his career.
• Joe Flacco reminded us he's a rookie. I guess no one can commend him any more for not throwing picks, not getting sacked, or not costing his team games. That said, impressive for a rookie they got this far.
• Now for the storyline that's going to get overplayed for the next two weeks: Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt was the Steelers offensive coordinator the last time Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl.
• And, so much for those #6 seeds, as both went down today.

Everything You Need To Get Ready For NFL Championship Weekend

Philadelphia (-3.5) @ Arizona

This match-up may be the best example of parity existing in the NFL. Not many people thought coming into this post season that the sixth seeded Eagles would be facing the least successful division winner for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. I guess that's why you always hear the old cliche "that's why you play the games".

This contest provides tremendous intrigue still, especially when you consider the storylines present. As I mentioned earlier this week, I think there's no way Kurt Warner is deserving of a hall of fame bid, but if Warner elevates another team to a Super Bowl, expecially the Cardinals, it would make him a legend in Arizona. As for Donovan McNabb, every win this post season is helping his case for future consideration.

That said, it has been Warner who has played outstanding football in this post season, while McNabb has been just good enough for his Eagles to win. Warner has completed nearly 63% of his passes this post season, has thrown for 491 combined yards, and has fired four touchdown passes while only throwing two picks. And maybe most impressively, Warner led his team into Carolina last week and pummeled a Panthers squad that was a perfect 8-0 at home in the regular season.

What's more, the Cardinals much maligned defense has been stellar too, as they have caused a whopping nine turnovers in their two playoff games, including six last week. Panthers QB Jake Delhomme had probably the worst game of his career, as Arizona intercepted five of his passes and caused him to fumble as well. So entering Sunday's contest, Arizona couldn't be playing better on defense. Oh, and Anquan Boldin is expected to play, so the offense that dominated Carolina last week could be healthier and better.

Now to McNabb and the Eagles. Sunday's NFC Championship will be the fifth Donvan has lead the Eagles to in the last eight years, so experience is no problem for the former Syracuse signal caller. He was very good in the Eagles win over the Vikings in the first round of the playoffs throwing for 300 yards and a touchdown, and in last week's game against a good Giants defense McNabb did just enough to help the Eagles win the contest. Oh, and against the Cards this year on Thanksgiving night, (the game nobody saw because it was on the NFL Network), McNabb threw for 260 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 48-20 romp.

Philly's defense has been stifling, allowing an average of 12.5 points per game over their two contests. In that regular season win over the Cardinals on Turkey night, the only reason Arizona even got to 20 points was due to some garbage points at the end. They intercepted Kurt Warner three times in the game and held the Cards rushing offense to a mere 25 yards that night. I wouldn't expect a complete domination against Arizona tomorrow, but you know defensive coordinator Jim Johnson will send the house on the blitz early and often to force Warner to repeat those same mistakes.

The Cardinals are trying to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in team history, and it's going to be a tough one for them to win. The guys in Vegas think so too, as the Cardinals are home underdogs despite the fact they went 7-2 at home this season including their playoff win over Atlanta. It would be fun to see a team that perenially stinks make the Super Bowl just for the intrigue of it, but part of me wants to see Donovan McNabb finally win the Super Bowl. I'll take Arizona to cover the 3.5 point spread, and keep it close, but I'd like to see the Eagles win. (So now that I'm picking Arizona, Philly fans, book your tickets for Tampa.)

Scott's Pick: Philadelphia Jordan's Pick: Arizona

Baltimore (+5.5) @ Pittsburgh

The Ravens colors might be black and purple, and the Steelers might be black and gold. But this game figures to be black and blue the whole way through. These two teams are very similar, in that they both ranked in the top three in defense (Steelers #1, Ravens #3) during the regular season, and they rely on their defenses to set up their offense. The biggest difference, however, is the quarterback play.

Here's a basic mathematical principle that we can all understand:

Ben Roethlisberger > Joe Flacco

In the Steelers win over the Chargers last week, Ben Roethlisberger made plays to help Pittsburgh earn a hard fought win. Even though he did have the help of Willie Parker's 146 yards rushing, Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Heath Miller and completed 65% of his passes to lead the Steelers to victory. The rookie Flacco, on the other hand, in two post season games, has completed just 44% of his passes, and has thrown for 296 combined yards. The key is that he hasn't thrown a pick. He doesn't make plays, but he doesn't make bad plays. That's probably the biggest reason the Ravens have survived the first two playoff rounds.

The defenses are excellent, and they're both opportunistic. In last week's win over the Chargers, Phillip Rivers threw an interception to Larry Foote inside the ten yard line which completely turned the momentum in favor of the Steelers. Especially when you consider that the play before was a Darren Sproles punt return into the red zone. It's no secret the Ravens defense has been unbelievable too, considering they made big red zone stops against the Titans last week, and Ed Reed ran wild on the Dolphins in the first round with 64-yard interception returned for a touchdown. Reed's pick was one of four the Ravens would get against a normally smart quarterback in Chad Pennington. So expect points to come at a premium tomorrow.

To pick this game, I use this logic: Both teams have great defense. Both have similar philosophy on offense, preferring to run the football to set up the pass. The Steelers have a dynamic special tems presence in Santonio Holmes, who returned a punt for a touchdown last week. But it's not like the Ravens can't cover him for one game. They have played each other twice already this season, and the Steelers won both contests. Often times, teams have trouble beating a team three times in the same season, but the Ravens wanted this match-up, openly rooting for Pittsburgh to beat San Diego last week after they beat Tennessee the day before.

The Steelers are a great team. They were 12-4 in the regular season. They earned the first round bye, but have less momentum entering this week's game because the Ravens had to win twice to get here. There's a reason for that, though: they're better than this Ravens team. They were during the regular season, and they're 7-2 at home including last week's playoff win. The Steelers have a tough spread to cover, so I'm taking the Ravens. But the Steelers should eek out this game in a close one.

Scott's Pick: Pittsburgh Jordan's Pick: Baltimore

Great Quarterbacks? At times. Hall of Famers? No.

ESPN.com had a poll question yesterday that asked its viewers which of the two quarterbacks leading their teams into the NFC Championship game this weekend was more deserving of a selection to the Hall of Fame in Canton: Kurt Warner or Donovan McNabb?

Amazingly, Kurt Warner was receiving nearly double the vote total the last time I checked. The Cardinals' QB had amassed more than 60-percent of the vote, while McNabb's total was somewhere in the 30-percent range.

Is this a joke?

A few questions came to mind. 1. Why was there such a decisive victory for Warner? 2. Why did he win every state? (Not one state was pro-McNabb) 3. Why didn't McNabb at least carry Pennsylvania? (Obviously Eagles fans have never appreciated the quarterback they have.)

I realize these poll questions are not as accurate as presidential election polls. But never have I been so shocked by an ESPN.com poll result.

Kurt Warner should not go to the Hall of Fame. Even if he wins the Super Bowl this year, there's no way you can convince me this guy has had a stable enough NFL career to be enshrined in Canton. True, he has won two MVP awards (1999, 2001) and he led the Rams to a Super Bowl victory with a storybook season in 1999. But those feats in no way qualify him for the Hall of Fame by themselves.

Look at his career statistics. Other than those two brilliant seasons for the Rams, Warner has been a below average quarterback the rest of his career. His lifetime record as a starting quarterback is 57-48 (regular season starts). Take away those two Super Bowl years and he's 30-43. Until this year, his last legitmately good year came in the Super Bowl year of 2001. Have you ever heard of a Hall of Fame player that had six seasons between his last two good years?

He had a great year this year. True. But the Cardinals only went 9-7 despite Warner's 'brilliance'. He has had great success as a post season quarterback. True. He is 7-2 lifetime in the playoffs. But aren't we talking about a guy who just had a great two year stretch and a nice renaissance year this season?

Donovan McNabb, on the other hand, has been a MUCH steadier and more consistent winner over the course of his career. And for a good five year stretch McNabb was considered one of the best quarterbacks in football. (Warner never held that status for more than a three year stretch.) With the Eagles playing in the NFC title game this weekend, this will be the fifth such championship round game Philadelphia has played in over the past eight years. And McNabb has accomplished most of his feats with miserable receivers like James Thrash and Todd Pinkston.

Listen, I'm not saying Donovan McNabb should go to Canton either. He's never won the Super Bowl, although his Eagles lost the 2005 game to New England, despite McNabb's most heroic efforts to keep Philly alive. (He vomited on the field and kept playing, trying to will his team to victory.) He has never won the MVP award. But he went to five consecutive Pro Bowls between 2000-2004, and he has finished in the top ten in passer rating and touchdowns five times each in his career. He ranks fourth among active quarterbacks in career passing yards and touchdowns, all while also being a running threat through the earlier parts of his career. And, he's 82-45-1 as a starter in his career (all regular season stars), winning 64-percent of his games.

He has suffered injuries, yes. He didn't know the rules of overtime, yes. He was benched earlier in the season, yes. But just because he's been so unfairly villified in Philadelphia for the bulk of his career doesn't mean he shouldn't be appreciated for the consistent career he has put together.

Neither one should be considered legitimate candidates to be Hall of Famers in the future based on their resumes right now. And unless Kurt Warner strings together a few more seasons with outrageous success similar to his 1999-2001 stretch, he should never be considered for a hall call. McNabb, however, if he wins the Super Bowl this year might have a serious case for enshrinement one day.

So for those of you who were read to book Warner's flight to Canton yesterday, want to give that ticket to Donovan McNabb?

Monday Morning Longsnapper

Home-Field Don't Mean Jack Edition

OK, so, let's take a look at this.  Carolina loses at home.  They did that, umm, zero times this year. Tennessee and the Giants lose at home.  That at least makes some sense, they each did that a lot--once a piece.

In fairness, the G-Men and Titans were in the game, and could've or should've won.  The Panthers got destroyed, save from that first drive of the game.  You know that one, right?  That one where they did what's worked all year for them, running wild with DeAngelo Williams' 31 yard scamper and Jonathan Stewart punching it in from 9 out.  Things looked mighty fine kicking off.  Then Jake Delhomme turned into Charlie Batch, fumbling and throwing awful picks like it was his job.  And, in fact, it may cost him that job at some point in the near future.  Delhomme just has to thank his lucky stars there's no one waiting in the wings in Carolina, otherwise, he'd be out on his keister.

What does it all mean, you ask?  I answer, I don't fully know.  Sometimes, that extra week of rest that those teams had may wind up hurting, especially when the team coming in is a hot one.  Outside of Arizona, that was the case.  Also, it's likely that Tennessee isn't really that good.  After winning the first ten, they were a mediocre 3-3 to finish things up.  Were they as good as the 10-0 team, or as average as the 3-3 team?  Probably somewhere in the middle, but it is nice to put things into perspective.  

Same thing goes for the Giants, who, after starting 11-1, finished out the year on a 1-3 slide.  Which team were they?  Again, somewhere in between but losing a go-to receiver like Cheddar Bob (err, Plaxico Burress), obviously hurt Eli Manning on Sunday.

• Don't blame Kerry Collins for Tennessee's loss.  The Titans aren't a team built to come from behind, or, frankly, to rely on Collins for anything other than the proverbial game management.  This Raven's D is fierce, and you don't need me to tell you that.  Don't get mad at Collins, it's a miracle he was able to do as much as he did this year.
• If there is a better wideout in the league when it comes to just going up and getting the ball than Larry Fitzgerald, I'd like to meet him.  Two weeks ago it was that flea flicker, this week just a long bomb in a crowd.  The guy is an athletic freak, and when the ball touches his hands, it's about as good as caught.  Side note, some how, the Cardinals passing attack didn't miss a beat with Anquan Boldin out.  Interesting.
• Donovan McNabb has fun when he plays, and I think that's good for the league, for sports.  End of the Giants game on Sunday, on a rushing play he scampered off the field on the Giants sideline, and picked up a phone, presumably to let NYG personnel know their work was done for the year.  He received a penalty for these actions, and Troy Aikman actually said that "sometimes I don't know what goes through this guy's mind".  Easy Troy.  This guy's not frying dogs or shooting people at clubs or getting caught for DUI's.  He doesn't know about ties in the NFL, that's an issue, but let's not confuse someone who likes to have fun with a real troublemaker.
• Questionable decision late in that Giants game:  with his team down two scores, Tom Coughlin challenged a spot on a 3rd down rush.  The initial ruling was 4th and short, and that ruling was upheld.  Giants lose a timeout (after already having burned one earlier in the quarter), and try anyways to get the remaining few inches for the first (which they didn't get).  So, you lose a timeout and the ball, all when you knew you'd wind up going for it anyway on 4th.  Having such trouble scoring as it was, why would they even allow themselves to lose that second T.O. of the half?