Saturday, December 29, 2007

Beautiful Imperfection?

ONE HOUR BEFORE KICKOFF, Giants-Pats. For the first time in either recent or distant memory, I am rooting, hard, for the New Jersey Eleven to dethrone or at least derail the Pats' so far perfect season. There are numerous reasons for this, in fact a series of innumerable ones, but this is neither the time nor place to sort these matters out. Suffice it to say I detest everything Boston-related with a passion that borders on the ludicrous. I hate the Red Sox and their annoying Nation, i detest the Celtics (it's hard to hate Kevin Garnett, but there's nothing wrong with hating on both Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, trust me). Hell, I might even take the British Redcoats and the Over now against the Colonists in the Boston Massacre if they did it all over again.

Then there's the Boston Cheatriots, with a paranoid, joyless, almost Nixonian coach, a confirmed steroid abuser at safety, Rodney Harrison, and a star QB who got one model pregnant, ditched her for a newer version, and smirks his way through life to the point where if this was a Hollywood movie, you know this guy would get his big-time comeuppance any time now.

This game featuring the 15-0 Patriots and 10-5 Giants was at first to be shown exclusively on the NFL Network -- ranking in fan popularity right behind Al-Jazeera TV. But somehow over the past few days, it was announced that this game will be broadcast over NBC, CBS, Fox News, Nickelodeon, the History Channel, the Sundance Channel and on both Food Channels. In fact, none other than Rachael Ray and Bill O'Reilly are set to man the booth in an epic battle of dueling loudmouth annoying cable TV personalities.

The Giants have two things going for them: a power running game and perhaps the league's best pass rush. With New England missing two starters on their offensive line, their own biggest strength is in danger of being nullified -- that's right, ahead of pretty boy Tom Brady, malcontent Randy Moss, and their front seven on defense, the absolute key to this team's offensive dominance all year long is an alarmingly efficient offensive line. The first 10 games of the year Brady had more time to survey the field than perhaps any QB in the history of the game -- more than even Dan Marino in his prime with the Dolphins, or Troy Aikman with the Cowboys in their Super Bowl years, this guy is guarded more closely than President Bush visiting Iraq.

So let's see history made, all right -- the end of history. With a ridiculous four Sports Illustrated covers under their belt this season alone, most right-thinking football fans will be rooting for the underdog Giants to pull off the upset. Hopefully the rumors are exaggerated and tens of thousands of Giants season ticket holders did not sell their tickets to this game to New Englanders. But then again, what better way to enjoy this first New England loss than to see it reflected in the disappointed mugs of spoiled Cheatriot fans? Just asking...

Prediction: Giants 24, Patriots 20

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Thanks For Coming, Now Please Leave


Merry and Happy to You and Yours.

All right, now that we've gotten THAT out of the way, let's turn to a favorite subject of us all, someone we literally wouldn't be here without: me. Yeah, like you didn't know that was coming.


This morning I had my last interview of this little round of interviews ... two last week, one today, so far one for two, with today's obviously still up in the air.

Last week, Wednesday, had an interview at BS for their highly (not) coveted third shift, what is known in the parlance of the day as the Graveyard Shift. In this case it would have been four nights/days a week, Tuesday to Friday: midnight to 10am. Maybe they call it the graveyard shift because too much of that shit will kill you. My interviewer was a reserved, poker-faced black professional woman ... hard to read her, but since I didn't get the position, it would be silly even for a person like me (who can harbor a grudge at the drop of a dirty look) to rehash, or even to hash period. 'Tis water under the bridge.

Second interview, Wednesday, a local position based here in Astoria. This one I scoped on craigslist, while BS and the place I went today, RSM Mc-something, came through one of my now five freelance agencies. Anyway, this guy puts out a research report, some kind of library science deal, out of his apartment up on 31st Avenue, so I would work a little at his place, then when I get the hang of it, I could do it here.

Anyway, there was an Asian woman working in the other room when I got there, I just assumed it was his girlfriend or wife, and we all chatted for a while. At the end of it, I must have done something right, so he said he'd give me a shot or try me out, and so that's some modicum of good news. I just called him before and he said he'd have something ready for me early next week, so I jotted it down in my Genuine Leather Lett's of London portable appointment book, patent pending, which I received as a gift yesterday. Thanks, Holly. "Fill it with jobs!" you said, and I sure hope to.
Today I put on my conservative blue pinstripe suit, red power tie, black Rockports and hit the bricks for my 11:00 date with destiny. After passing the typical post 9/11 Large Manhattan Office Building security, I headed upstairs, interfaced with the stunningly attractive young black receptionist, and signed the visitors' registrar, noting that two other people, at 10 and 10:15am, had signed in to see the same woman. My dreaded competition! I cursed them and their families going back several generations, and then for good measure put a powerful pox on their chances, before sitting down in one of the sumptuously plush leather easy chairs arrayed geometrically in the lobby area and starting to focus on my best sales pitch. After all, I would need to summon all my relevant skill sets if I was going to successfully pull this off, because lord knows I have my hands full being me on a semi-regular basis, and now I would have to convince someone else that I was indeed job-worthy.

Finally I met the supervisory person, an attractive woman in her early 40s if my
eyes weren't playing tricks on me, and after a perfunctory back and forth during which she yawned unapologetically -- I guess I have that effect on people -- she passed me off to a pair of actual proofreading specimens. More conversation, with me playing the part of the earnest, sincerely interested, grateful applicant, treading a fine line between eagerness and desperation, to a fare-the-well ... a fine fare-the-well if truth be told.

Have a better feeling about this one. It's an accounting firm, so there is some of what is called "cross checking" numbers in the business. What shift I would work at first should I be offered the job was never discussed; I told them I was okay with wherever they wanted to use me -- day shift, 4 to midnight, even 10pm to 6am -- although I told them I prefer one of the first two shifts if I was given a choice.

Freelancing really slows down during the dreaded holiday season. I worked last Friday at LT, then off Monday Christmas Eve, obviously Christmas day, which I spent with my sister on Long Island, then today I had the interview and called Robert at that research company, with the rest of the week still open ended. Late last week I called all five of my freelance agencies, let them know I was available these next two weeks, so get me some work, people! This is all the more pressing a matter because last week LT, my main client, the company that over the last 18 months has used me more than all the others combined, is phasing out freelancers over the coming months. In fact, the print department is itself being phased out, and so the ads and such generated by that department will be originating in the L.A. offices. That sucks, and yet it's another concrete reason to hate Los Angeles. There's always a positive if you're sick enough to look real hard.

Over the last few weeks I've gotten calls from two of my other mainstay freelance clients, and they've given me some work recently, but not enough, never enough work. I thought I would be a lot busier with all the new freelance agencies I've registered at in th
e last few months, but it still hasn't resulted in the workload I expected. That's why I'm leaning toward taking a full-time assignment with one company. I'm getting to the point where I'd rather know where I'm going to work tomorrow before the end of the day before, if that makes any sense to all you non-freelancers.

Had a Christmas party at one of my agencies last week, and it was cool but not as good as the year before. Different place, different vibe, fewer contacts made, etc. Maybe it was also because I had to tear myself away from a still functioning open bar situation because of an early interview the next day -- the one that, predictably, I didn't get anyway.
I don't mind going on interviews, what I really hate about the current online-driven employment market is when you don't even get a call back or really any feedback at all regarding why you didn't get the position. It becomes a waste of time in that way, whereas if you got something more than the hated "they decided to go in another direction" or "they're gonna pass" -- which I got last week from a woman at one of the agencies -- at least you feel like you're sharpening your skills in some way or fine-tuning your whole mojo. This is the worst of all possible worlds, a Kafkaesque exercise updated to Seinfeld-ian proportions. I'll leave you with that and let you get on with your business. Thanks for being you. I know I was.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

The "Far Too Much Time On My Hands" NFL Report

WOW! The NFL Pro Bowl teams were announced yesterday, and 11 Dallas Cowboys were selected to represent the NFC in Hawaii. Sure, they had the best record in the conference for most of the year, but that's still a ton of players -- 7 starters and 4 reserves. TE Jason Witten, WR Terrell Owens, OL Leonard Davis, Flozell Adams and Andre Gurode are the starters on offense, while LB DeMarcus Ware and K Nick Folk get the nod at their positions; backups include RB Marion Barber, QB Tony Romo, CB Terence Newman and S Pat Hamlin.

For all you Cowboys haters out there, there's even more bad news: S Roy Williams is likely to get a spot on the team replacing deceased Redskins S Sean Taylor -- making it an even dozen Dallas Cowboys on the NFC squad. Now they better make some noise in the upcoming playoffs, or there will be a huge and well deserved backlash. Even the so-far-perfect Patriots will only send 9 of their players to the AFC. But part of the process is directly related to popularity, and we know the Cowboys aren't called America's Team for nothing.

Not that I'm prescient or anything, but in my preseason picks, posted on this very blog back on September the 9th, I did have 10 'Boys going, along with my having Dallas going 12-4 if they got off to a quick start, along with Tony Romo throwing for 30 TDs on the year.

Specifically, without designating starter or backup in that post, I had Romo, Witten, T.O., Bigg Davis, Gurode, Ware, NT Jason Ferguson (injured in first game), Williams, RB Julius Jones (wishful thinking on my part), and P Mat McBriar, and I also made a case for rookie K Nick Folk being special, which he has been. It's all there in the Warden's World archives in black and white, or more technically it's the exact series of 1's and 0's that make up the digital content you see arrayed before you.

Cowboys lost their second game of the season, 10-6, to a fired-up Eagles squad, with some Dallas partisans (and players) affixin' the blame for the loss squarely on the comely (and come-worthy) shoulders of one Jessica Simpson -- spotted during the game in a Texas Stadium luxury wearing a Cowboys jersey with #9 in pink while Tony Romo suffered through his worst game as a pro: 13 for 36 with 3 picks.

Even before he banged his thumb early in the 3rd quarter, Romo's passes were often wildly off the mark. But in my opinion, a huge dose of blame has to be placed in the lap of offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who, on a day when his QB just didn't have his A-game, all but abandoned the running game. With the Eagles obviously in no danger of pulling away, Garrett called only 14 running plays, and just 4 total in the second half -- an absurd imbalance when you consider Romo was nursing a sprained thumb and their starting center also had to leave the game. This has been a trend all year with Garrett, and he's been bailed out all year with his risky play calling because Romo had been so sharp up until Sunday. The running game has been an afterthought most of the season, something you do to give Romo a chance to catch his breath, rather than a real strategy to set up the defense and keep them guessing.
This is a trend not confined to Garrett, but has spread league-wide with often predictably disastrous results. The Giants loss to the Redskins last Sunday was a case in point. Despite a swirling wind and freezing temperatures at the Meadowlands, offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride called for a mind-boggling 52 Eli Manning passes, 34 of which were not completed -- tying a 40-year record for futility set by Joe Namath.

Now, Eli Manning is not the most accurate of NFL QBs (55.7% completion rate on the season), but to be fair, by some estimates 12 of Manning's throws were on target but dropped by Giants' receivers -- but that has to be factored into a game plan where weather is such a big factor. And it wasn't like the Giants were having no success running the ball. Their bruising RB Brandon Jacobs rumbled for 130 yards on 25 carries, better than a 5-yard average, which will win you a whole lot of games. But Gilbride tried to get too fancy, and instead of feeding Jacobs, he called for those 52 passes by Manning (one off Manning's career high of 53 attempts set in 2005), many of which were thrown in the face of a stiff wind.

By comparison, Manning's counterpart, Todd Collins of the Redskins, had less than half the attempts, going 8-25 for 166 yards, just 18 total passing yards less than Eli had, in 27 fewer attempts. Collins by the way started his last NFL game almost exactly 10 years ago, so there was good reason to expect some rust from him.

In fact, just to play with the numbers a little more, the combined passing stats of the four NFC East starting QBs last Sunday -- Manning, Collins, Romo and Donovan McNabb (23-41 for 208 yards) -- amounted to a paltry 62 completions in 154 attempts, just over a 40% completion rate. That's ugliness personified.

Going against this trend, Saints QB Drew Brees was one exception to the incompletion-fest witnessed around much of the league's stadia (that's Latin for stadiums). The underrated Brees has had an up and down season after least year's stellar campaign, and against the Cards he went a remarkable 26-30 for 315 yards and 2 TDs. Earlier in the year he put together a sparkling 66-88 stretch, and now is doing all he can do save the Saints season: for the year he's completing passes at a 68.7 clip (second only to Tom Brady's 69.2), with 25 TDs against 15 INTs, while playing without his two top RBs (Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister are both out for the year).
Best use of fines by the NFL in a long time has to be those penalties meted out to the Atlanta Five -- that clueless flock of Falcons who thought it would be a nifty idea to show their solidarity with accused dog murderer Mike Vick by revealing home made signs supporting their ex-teammate during their one-sided loss to New Orleans December 10th on Monday Night Football. Their misguided show of morality cost them fines ranging from $7,500 to $10,000 for offenses that the NFL termed "displaying an unauthorized personal message" -- which quite frankly sounds like Iron Curtain terminology straight out of Stalinist Russia. But even the old Soviet Kremlin was probably right once in a while, as the NFL is in this case.

The latest Falcons loss was a typical stinker -- a 37-3 setback at the hands of the Tampa Bay Bucs that had all the earmarks of a team quitting on itself. In many cases, a team's lack of will shows up first in special teams, and sure enough Tampa Bay finally got the first kickoff return for a score in the 31-year history of the franchise -- a weird statistical anomaly right up there with no New York Mets pitcher ever throwing a no-hitter.

Now, Bobby Petrino himself flat out quit on the 3-11 Falcons right after the game, turning tail and leaving town without addressing the team and telling them of his plans to return to the college game. But Joe Horn (serial jackass), Roddy White (classic bust), DeAngelo Hall (most despised NFL-er?) and the rest of the sorry-ass Falcons had long ago tuned out Petrino and his coaching staff, and now they are truly a rudderless mess of a franchise. And where do teams who are hopelessly barren of talent at most positions turn but that noted football guru and shopper of groceries Bill Parcells, who has thus far taken four such teams from worst to first: the Giants, Patriots, Jets and Cowboys all making the playoffs under his trademark brand of stern, gruff guidance.

In fact, just a cursory glance at the Cowboys who made this year's Pro Bowl roster is a testament to Parcells' undeniable personnel acumen. We all know the story of how he mentored the undrafted Tony Romo, plucking him from the ranks of the unknown, nurturing Romo while stashing him on the 53-man roster until he was game-ready, and then turning to him last year when Drew Bledsoe faltered. The rise of Romo, whether you love or hate Dallas, is merely one of the most unlikely sports stories in recent years, and Parcells deserves the lion's share of the credit for sticking with Romo when other coaches would probably have given up on him at a much earlier point.

Among the other Cowboy Pro Bowlers directly tied to Parcells, RB Marion Barber was a 4th round pick and TE Jason Witten a 3rd rounder during his reign. Parcells can also be credited for turning DeMarcus Ware into the all-around player he is today -- such that he is a leading candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

So while first-year coach Wade Philips rightly gets credit for his leadership skills in guiding the Cowboys to their 12-2 record, let's not forget that Parcells built the roster almost from scratch. And while his 34-32 overall record has been judged a disappointment, keep in mind that he inherited a team that was just 15-33 in the three previous seasons. That's a pretty good turnaround, and so who would be surprised if he turned around a morosely moribund Atlanta franchise, sooner rather than later.
My First Annual "Worst Choice of Words" Award goes hands-down to NBC's Al Michaels, who, during an appearance last week on New York's Mike and the Mad Dog radio show following the Colts-Ravens game, said the following, bringing insensitivity to new depths: "Tony Dungy would've killed himself if he left Peyton Manning in the game and he got hurt!" Dungy's troubled 18-year-old son, of course, committed suicide two years ago. Way to keep sports in perspective there, Al!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

By The Numbers











The Strange, Random Symmetry of Week 14 in the NFL ... Crunching the Stats, Checkin' 'Em Thrice

None, Zip, Zero, Nada, Zilch -- Number of eventual playoff teams faced by the Miami Dolphins during undefeated 1972 season.

None, Zip, Zero, Nada, Zilch -- Number of games period won so far by 2007 edition of Miami Dolphins.

Wee 3 -- Total number of yards gained on 14 carries by rookie sensation Adrian Peterson in Vikings' 27-7 win over San Francisco, which goes to show you don't need to be at your best to beat the 49ers these days.

7th Heaven -- Seven straight games with 100+ passer ratings for Cowboys QB Tony Romo ... seven straight wins for Dallas ... seven 300-yard games for Romo on the season.

3 Out Of 4 Equals 9 -- 3 Sacks by Seattle's Patrick Kerney in 3 out of his last 4 games, versus Bears, Rams and Cards, giving the relentless pass rusher a league-leading 13.5 on the season.

4 More Can Play This Game Too -- 100-yard games last week by four undrafted free agent running backs: Packers' Ryan Grant (156 yards), Broncos' Selvin Young (156), Steelers' Willie Parker (124), Bills' Fred Jackson (115).

13 Is Quite Enough, Thank You -- Games into season Falcons coach Bobby Petrino quits to become Arkansas University's new coach-in-waiting.

Fine 15 -- Catches by Cowboys TE Jason Witten in 28-27 win over Lions, breaking Cowboys single-game record of 13 held by WR Lance Rentzel, tying most catches ever by tight end (Mike Ditka, Kellen Winslow Sr.), while setting a career high for yards (138).

Keen 17 -- Straight games with TD pass for Tony Romo, breaking Troy Aikman's franchise record.

The
Number of the Counting Shall Be 23 -- Months in jail to be served by disgraced ex-Falcons QB Michael Vick on dog-fighting charges.

27 Somehow Sounds Right -- Opening line by which Patriots are favored over visiting New York Jets this week, a spread usually reserved for historic college mismatches like Oklahoma versus Yeshiva or Miami University versus Wilfred Beauty Academy.

35 No Jive -- Cowboy record for completions set by Romo, in 44 attempts, versus Lions, breaking Aikman's 34 set in 1997.

Scoring Double
7:29 -- Time remaining in regulation of Chargers-Titans game when LaDainian Tomlinson scores on 7-yard TD pass to cut Titans lead to 7 points.

7:29 -- Time remaining in overtime when LaDainian Tomlinson scores on 16-yard TD run to give Chargers 23-17 win.

9:24 Sure Doesn't Buy What it Used to -- Pittsburgh edge in time of possession over New England in Steelers 31-13 loss to Patriots.

18 Seconds Over Motown -- Duration of game Dallas led over Detroit in 28-27 win, thanks to Jason Witten's very late 16-yard TD catch, with the Cowboys overcoming deficits of 10-0, 20-7 and 27-14 to pull out their 12th victory.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Down The Home Stretch

Week 13 -- the official three-quarter pole of the Pro Football season, the League Where They Play ... For Pay!

The Washington Redskins intentionally started yesterday's game against the Bills with just 10 men on defense for the first play from scrimmage, leaving Sean Taylor's safety spot vacant in honor of their fallen teammate. Buffalo, however, didn't get the memo of the Skins' plans and ran for 22 yards on 1st down. I'm quite sure that under similar circumstances, Bill Belichick would have called for a play-action pass or flea-flicker in Taylor's "direction"...

Troy Aikman spent most of the Bears-Giants broadcast doling out one excuse after another for Eli Manning's poor play lately, at one point claiming "There's just a lot of things going against a QB having success on this team." At another point he proclaimed that there's nobody on that Giants offense opposing defenses have to fear or game-plan for. Pure BS from Aikman, who's become quite the shill for New York teams recently.

I hate the New York Football Giants as much as any man alive, but c'mon: on offense they have a very solid offensive line, a top-5 tight end in Jeremy Shockey, and two above-average wideouts in Toomer and Burress. Their running game, despite injuries to starter Brandon Jacobs, is second in the NFC behind only Minnesota, which features rookie sensation and the NFL's leading rusher, Adrian Peterson. Most QBs will tell you that a strong rushing attack is a key asset to the passing game, but apparently Boy Troy has taken one too many concussions, or perhaps all that makeup he applies before telecasts has affected his analysis...

Or maybe it's just a Fox Sports mandate that calls for a positive spin on poor Opie -- I mean Eli -- Manning's struggles, because just two weeks ago there was Terrible Tony Siragusa assuring viewers that Eli will bring a championship to the Meadowlands, in fact he flat out guaranteed it. Of course, Terrible Tony might have been referring to Eli being allowed to take big brother Peyton's Lombardi Trophy to the Giants locker room on show & tell day...

Yesterday Siragusa showed off his fine University of Pittsburgh education during the Philly-Seattle game, yet again interrupting the flow of the broadcast from his spot on the sidelines with his opinion that now was a "pristine" time for the Eagles to blitz. It would be embarrassing except that NFL game telecasts have become so atrocious that fans are probably inured against such mediocrity and the non-stop flow of mind-numbingly dumb commercials, in-game network promotions, and irrelevant graphics and statistics. It's amazing how much viewers have to sit through and suffer just to watch some actual game action -- that is, when the networks aren't coming back late from a commercial and missing plays. Disgraceful...
The Bears' Devin Hester once again was involved in the biggest play of the game -- but this time it was the catch he didn't make that was most important in deciding the outcome. The sublimely talented return king and former defensive back, increasingly being worked into the Bears offense this season, was wide open, a good 5 yards behind the nearest defender when he dropped a sure TD pass from Rex Grossman that would have put Chicago up 14-0. Instead the perfectly thrown ball bounced off Hester's shoulder pad and thudded harmlessly to the ground, changing the entire dynamic of the contest.

Hester was so visibly shaken from letting his teammates down that you knew he would try to make up for his gaffe later on, but the Giants kickers masterfully kept it away from him all game or pinned him hard against the sideline. Soon the Giants would tie it at 7, and although the Bears would eventually take a 16-7 lead, the prospect of a one-sided Bears game never materialized. That play, along with an overturned obvious non-catch in the end zone by Amani Toomer, swung the game in favor of the wobbling Giants...

But the best touchdown catch of the day award goes to a defensive player, Kansas City's Jared Allen, who made a sensational diving grab for a score in the Chiefs' loss to San Diego. In addition to scoring on the rare tackle-eligible play, the criminally underrated Allen also added 2 sacks and now leads the league with 11 1/2, despite missing two games at the start of the season...

Cowboys LB Greg Ellis' 2 sacks in the Packers game gives him a career high 10 1/2 with four games remaining, despite missing the first 3 games coming back from last year's season-ending knee surgery and being slowly worked back into the rotation. Nobody on Dallas can be enjoying their 11-1 start more than Ellis, a #1 pick back in 1998 who has endured all the down days with Dallas, including back-to-back-to-back 5-11 seasons from 2001-2003...

Jags QB David Garrard finally threw his first pick of 2007 after 231 attempts in the loss to the Colts, although it came on a batted ball at the line of scrimmage. Looks like Jack Del Rio made the right call before the season in going with Garrard over the erratic Byron Leftwich...

QB Vince Young may have had his best passing day as a pro in Tennessee's 28-20 win over Houston, completing 21 of 31 for 248 yards and 2 scores and ending a 3-game Titans skid. In fact, just when many "experts" were wondering if he would ever be a capable pocket passer, the 2nd-year Young has put together a string of four quality starts, hitting 90 of his 144 attempts for 1,056 yards...

Dallas QB Tony Romo's 4 TDs in the 37-27 win over Green Bay gives him 33 on the year for a new team record, shattering Danny White's former mark of 29 with four games to go. Romo is on pace for something like the 5th most TDs in NFL history. He led Dallas to scoring drives on their opening 5 possessions in the 1st half, setting the tone. Cowboy fans must be wondering if this is all a dream when you consider Romo still only has 22 starts under his belt; his record in those startsa sterling 17-5. In the Cowboys' 6-game winning streak following the New England loss, Romo has had 6 straight games with a QB rating above 100.

Tampa Bay, easily the NFL's most unknown, underrated team, improved to 8-4 with its 27-23 road win in New Orleans that all but clinched the NFC South crown, despite playing with backup QB Luke McCown. Let's just say McCown played a whole lot better than anyone outside his immediate family could have expected in completing his first 15 passes and going 29/37 for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns. Starting his first game since 2004 and only the 5th of his career, McCown's only real blemish on the day was a pick-6 returned 53 yards by the Saints' Mike McKenzie. WR Joey Galloway, quietly having a monster year, benefited most from McCown's strong arm, hauling in 7 passes for 159 yards.
Despite the Bucs outgaining the Saints 466-246, the game still might have gone New Orleans' way were it not for a ridiculous play call by Sean Payton with his team at midfield late in the game. Last year's consensus NFC coaching "genius" sent in an ill-advised gadget play dubbed the "Superdome Special" -- a pitchout off a reverse to Reggie Bush which was fumbled and recovered by Tampa Bay to seal the game. Even Mad Mike Martz isn't that doggone reckless!

You can assume that particular play will be eliminated from the Saints playbook with extreme prejudice. Afterward, a disconsolate Payton called it "
the worst job I've done as head coach since we've been here" in one of the day's biggest post-game understatements.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has a real chance to go 12-4 given their remaining schedule -- games against NFL "powerhouses" Houston, Atlanta, San Fran and Carolina. These teams not only have a combined 16-32 record on the season, but their composite point differential -- a key barometer of a team's strength -- is an astounding minus 303 points. Just for kicks, remember that New England's point differential is plus 257 (442 points scored, 185 surrendered) -- 110 more than the next-best team, Dallas (395 PF, 248 PA) -- heading into tonight's game against Baltimore. Don't think this is lost on the oddsmakers, who have installed the Pats as 20-point road favorites against the Ravens.

I haven't wagered on an NFL game with an actual bookie since around the 1996 season, when I picked three nickel (5 times) losers one Sunday afternoon and dropped 75 bucks. Decided to quit while I was behind. However, I would take the 20 points in this case and hope the Ravens can come close to duplicating the blitz-happy Eagles' defensive blueprint from last Sunday night's 31-28 game -- the closest anyone's come to handing New England their first defeat of 2007.

Final deep thought: What if the NFL schedule-makers had switched the weeks New England, which faces the entire NFC East in 2007, played the Giants and Cowboys? Instead of the 5-0 Pats playing the 5-0 Cowboys in Week 6, would we have been anticipating two undefeated teams facing each other the last game of the season instead of Pats-Giants the final week?

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Football Loses A Star

BOY OH BOY, this one, like all who pass away so young, came out of the blue. Sean Taylor died early this morning from gunshot wounds just one day after taking a bullet in the thigh from an intruder at his Miami home.

Taylor, an all-pro safety with the Washington Redskins, was just 24 years old and leaves behind a young daughter and fiance. As an NFL player, Taylor combined the hitting prowess of a Roy Williams with the coverage ability of an Ed Reed, a rare combination in the defensive secondary.

During last year's Pro Bowl, Taylor laid one of the all-time big licks on Brian Moorman, the unfortunate AFC punter who was running for a first down after faking a punt -- a collision so vicious and violent that, although technically legal and not a penalty, seemed beyond the pale for what was after all an exhibition game. But that was how Taylor played the game going back to his Miami University days as an All-American, and it was that game-changing ability that led to his being selected #5 overall in the 2004 NFL draft by the Skins.

Taylor laid people out for a living, just biding his time on defense until he could deliver a bone-jarring hit on an unsuspecting wide receiver or running back who strayed across his part of the field. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of a trademark Taylor tackle, and every offensive player knew where he lined up and took great pains to avoid him at all costs, such was his reputation as one of the sport's fiercest hitters.


It seems tragedy is hanging over the NFL this year, especially in Washington, where Taylor's ex-teammate Shawn Springs has had to deal with his dad, former Cowboys running back Ron Springs, slipping into a coma recently, apparently related to last year's successful organ transplant surgery. Everson Walls, the former Cowboy, showed that words like teamwork and sacrifice have meaning far beyond the football field with his selfless act of donating a kidney to the elder Springs. Now the Taylor murder once again demonstrates that pro football, for all the joy and sorrow it brings to the millions of fans who "live and die" with the outcome of a game, is just that: a game played on Sunday afternoon for our entertainment and amusement. Let's all keep that in mind as the rest of the season plays itself out.

We were all forced to read that corny poem back in high school, To an Athlete Dying Young. Writing way back in the 19th century, A.E. Housman could not have foreseen the scourge of urban gun violence and the young victims it claims on a daily basis, but somehow re-reading those lines about senselessly dying before your time still resonates on a morning when another well-known young athlete is suddenly gone, never to play again.
"Smart lad, to slip betimes away

From fields where glory does not stay
And early though the laurel grows
It withers quicker than the rose.

Eyes the shady night has shut
Cannot see the record cut,
And silence sounds no worse than cheers
After earth has stopped the ears:

Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out,
Runners whom renown outran
And the name died before the man."

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

NFL By The Numbers



The Week In Football

0 -- Miami Dolphins' win total after 10th straight loss, 17-7 to Philadelphia.The ancient Babylonians may have invented the concept of Zero, but it took the 2007 Dolphins to perfect it.

0.4 -- Eagles' QB Donovan McNabb passer rating in Miami game after going 3-11 for 34 yards with 2 INTs.

2 In A Row -- St. Louis Rams' win streak after losing first 8 games of 2007.

2 Clueless -- Number of referees standing right under goalpost who somehow managed to blow the call of Browns' Phil Dawson's game-tying 51-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

4 By 4 -- TDs thrown by Tony Romo and Tom Brady to Terrell Owens and Randy Moss versus Washington and Buffalo, respectively of course.

8 -- 49ers losing streak after winning first 2 games of 2007. By the way, the undefeated Patriots own the 49ers 1st-round pick in 2008, which is looking more and more like the second overall pick in the draft as the weeks go by.

82 -- Combined ages of starting quarterbacks Brett Favre (38) and Vinny Testaverde (44) in last Sunday's Green Bay-Carolina matchup, an NFL record.

8 to 0 -- Jaguars QB David Garrard TD to INT ratio after throwing 2 more TDs in 24-17 win over San Diego.

5 to 12 - Titans' QB Vince Young's TD to INT ratio after throwing 2 more INTs in 34-20 loss to Denver.

22 Skadoo -- Opening line by which Patriots are favored over Eagles in Sunday night game.

7 For 7 -- 7 TDs scored in first 7 Pats possessions versus Bills. Pats scored TDs on their last 2 possessions in previous game versus Colts, giving them 9 straight touchdown-scoring drives.

Perfect 10 -- New England, the 10th team to start a season at 10-0 since 1970, has outscored opponents 411-157, a difference of 254 points, for an average margin of 25 points per victory.

Sweet 16 -- TDs through 10 games for Randy Moss, 6 shy of Jerry Rice's record of 22 set in 1987.

26 -- TDs through 25 games as a Cowboy over last two years for Terrell Owens.

26 & 32 -- Joe Gibbs record in his second stint as Redskins coach.

33-30 -- Identical overtime scores in two Cleveland wins over Ravens and Seahawks separated by 15 days.

Great 38 -- TDs for Tom Brady on the year after throwing 5 more versus Bills, 11 TDs shy of NFL record of 49 set by Peyton Manning in 2004.

102.8 -- Yards per game receiving for Terrell Owens after catching 8 for 173 versus Washington.

105.2 -- Yards per game receiving for Randy Moss after catching 10 for 128 versus Buffalo.


Friday, November 16, 2007

Freestyle Friday

NO MOBS--NO CONFUSIONS--NO TUMULTS

Let's begin today with the often-crapulous "thoughts" of our fellow citizens.

In metro, one of our free papers here in NYC, there's a daily feature called "Today's debate" where some schmuck with a camera accosts three people on the street and asks them whatever shallow question is in the air at that moment. One such burning issue recently in the news is the preponderance of so-called hate crimes. Metro's roving reporter, or inquiring photographers, as they used to be called back in the day when every newspaper had one, posed the question this way:

"Why do you think hate crimes are up 20% in the City this year?"

The first person, a woman, responded thusly: "Not enough work, problems in the job market." Okay, I thought to myself, I can see that. I once took a sociology class at Hunter College called "The Economic Roots of Violence" or something like that, so I'm not averse to that mode of thinking.

But the second guy -- one Billy Amzallag, 49, a self-described business analyst from Brooklyn -- got even more specific: "Unemployment, rising real estate," he opined. "The job market is very tight." Wow! So I can't afford a house so let me hang a noose on someone's door or paint a swastika on the local synagogue. Damn mortgage rates! I'll teach you to adjust the prime rate, you Scalawag!
Earlier this week another raging debate played itself out in the pages of metro: "If the Writers Strike continues, what TV show would you miss most, and why?" The first two answers were nondescript, but the third one was a real winner. Juan Carlos Vargas, a 25-year-old architect from Long Island, showed off his solid grasp of pop culture by mentioning a show that has been off the air since May of 2006: "I'll miss Will & Grace because I really like Karen Walker." Way to turn the page there, Juan. Given that kind of superficiality, we'll be expecting big things from you in that whole building design thing, provided you eventually get past obsessing over a fictional television character.

It's amazing how these "Man in the Street" features always manage to find the three most uninformed human beings walking among us on any given day. But for sheer volume of uninformed, misguided and just plain batshit thought processes, sports talk radio is the forum of choice. After the Cowboys beat the Giants 31-20 last Sunday, New York fans demonstrated their complete command of the obvious, as demonstrated by the guy who called up WFAN the other morning with this trenchant nugget: "If you take away the first Romo TD when he crossed the line of scrimmage, and all the other Giant mistakes, it's a different game." Craig Carton rightly laughed the guy off the air, saying, Sure, if you take away all the TDs one team scores and eliminate all the mistakes, bad plays and penalties of the other team, guess what -- the outcome of a given game may indeed be altered in a substantial fashion. And if you took away some pertinent anatomy from your uncle, he'd be your aunt instead.

Speaking of Carton, he's half of the new morning team along with Boomer Eiasion that replaced Don Imus. At first I had written off the show because of advance word about Carton being sort of a typical morning zoo kind of radio personality, but you know what: he's not that bad, knows a lot about sports, and comes off as pretty sharp and witty. It's actually not as unlistenable as you might have expected. I still find myself switching between WFAN, ESPN and Air America in the morning before I leave the house. Years ago I listened religiously to music while getting ready for work, mostly WFUV, but my listening patterns have changed over the years. Just thought I'd share that with you while I was on the subject...

...and Speaking of Sports, I am not one of those spoiled Yankees fans who are Alex Rodriguez haters. In fact, I am smart enough to realize that this guy is one of the all-time greats in the history of the game. Not only that, but I also don't believe in booing a guy as long as he hustles and doesn't come up short in the effort department. But all that said, I do have to trot out one gigantic NEVERTHELESS when it comes to A-Rod returning to the Yanks with a big new contract.

Like most fans, I had already mentally turned the page and come to terms with an Alex Rodriguezless New York Yankees ball club next year. The way I figured it, we could NOT win a playoff series again next year WITHOUT him, just like we DIDN'T win one WITH him this year, thank you very much. It's kind of like after someone breaks up with you. At first it's tough, but once you've made up your mind to turn the corner and get your self-esteem back, the last thing you want is that person back in your life. Yet here comes Alex back into the fold.

Someone floated the theory that A-Rod is suddenly in a big hurry to get signed before the Mitchell Report on steroid use becomes public and his name gets mentioned prominently as a player who has used illegal performance-enhancing substances a la home run king Barry Bonds. That would serve the Yankees right for reneging their pledge to cut ties with A-Rod once he chose to opt out of his original contract. I know it bothered team captain Derek Jeter, who made recent comments to that effect. But Jeter may have more important things on his plate right now than taking jabs at his former BFF given news that New York State is seeking to collect millions of dollars in back taxes against him.

Another good Office episode last night with a conflicted Michael giving testimony in a deposition relating to Jan's lawsuit against Dunder-Mifflin. Have you noticed the commercials being run week after week during that time slot by companies like Career Builder and Monster are increasingly being geared toward the legions of dissatisfied, unfulfilled office drones and cubicle serfs that apparently make up the show's demographic? Makes sense...

I've watched the Caveman show on ABC almost every week since it debuted about six weeks ago, and after initially dismissing it as hideously unfunny, I have to be fair and admit that it's starting to grow on me like, well, the hair on a prehistoric man's arms. Is it just me or is this a burgeoning trend? Probably just a result of me not having cable television...
One popular series I've somehow managed to avoid up till now are the 40 or so different permutations of Law & Order spread over 40 or so different channels and time slots. But lately I've been regularly watching the Law & Order: Criminal Intent reruns being shown on Channel 9 at 11:00 in the New York area featuring the guy from Full Metal Jacket, Vincent D'Onofrio, and that blond woman (Kathryn Erbe) who plays the other detective. It's no Kojak, of course, but what is? Yet as far as the police procedural genre goes, it's pretty good: with believable plots, top-notch acting, and clever writing. D'Onofrio is excellent as the constantly fidgeting, intuitive cop who tries to get under the skin of suspects in the attempt to get them to slip up, and has a good understated chemistry with Erbe.

There was one episode on recently that I really liked concerning the murder of a college professor. One suspect, a grad student, was writing his dissertation on Bob Dylan's Desolation Row, which is a sure-fire way to keep me interested, as lyrics from that epic song on Highway 61 Revisited were being cleverly bandied about and woven into the storyline.

Saw something on the subway the other day that I had never seen in all my decades of riding the rails: An Asian woman reaching into her pocketbook and handing out two big corn on the cobs (or is "corns on the cob") to her young daughters, who proceeded to devour them with a ravenous glee. For some reason it really tickled me to see that.

I could go on, but I think you get the point...

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Tuesday Afternoon Cornerback








NFL Week 10 By The Numbers...


0 - Miami's 2007 win total after a 9th straight loss, this one 13-10 to Buffalo, increasing their very real chances of becoming Bizarro World cousins to the undefeated 1972 Dolphins team.

1 - St. Louis Rams win total after their upset 37-29 win on the road against a hot New Orleans Saints squad.

2 - Number of costly FG misses, including a 29-yarder late in the 4th quarter, by usually automatic Colts' K Adam Vinatieri in Colts 2-point loss to San Diego Sunday night.

3 - Number of costly delay of game penalties incurred by QB Eli Manning at his home stadium in the second half of Giants' 31-20 loss to Dallas.

4 - Number of home games for the 8-1 Cowboys in the next 5 weeks, including 3 straight versus Redskins, Jets and Packers.

5 - Sacks of Eli Manning by Dallas on Sunday, after Giants offensive line had surrendered only 8 total in the previous 8 games.

Pick 6 - Number of interceptions thrown by Eli's brother Peyton Manning in 23-21 loss to San Diego Sunday night, a new Colts record -- breaking Bill Troup's mark of 5 set in 1978.

Lucky 7 - Number of Field Goals kicked by Shayne Graham in Bengals' 21-7 win over Baltimore, none longer than 35 yards out.

8 Is Enough
-- Number of Tony Romo passes versus Giants in two games this year, including 4 to WR Terrell Owens.

Number 9 ... Number 9 ... Number 9 - Total wins New England will be stuck on after suffering their first two defeats of 2007: upset losses this week at Buffalo and next week at home versus Eagles. You heard it here (and likely only here!) first.

10...10...10 - Number of touchdowns, interceptions and fumbles on the season for Chargers' QB Philip Rivers.

11 - Number of TDs for WR Terrell Owens in 9 career games versus Giants.

12 - Number of Monday Night home games won in a row by Pittsburgh after last week's 38-7 dismantling of Baltimore Ravens.

Minus 18 - Total yards NOT gained on 8 rushing attempts by Detroit Lions versus Arizona Cardinals.

20-20 - Record of AFC teams versus supposedly weaker NFC in head-to-head games.

36 - Number of passes over 20 yards completed by Romo so far this year, most in the league and 3 more than Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Derek Anderson.

71.7 - Former Dallas QB Quincy Carter's lifetime passer rating in 38 NFL games, with career completion percentage of 56.5.

74.2 - Lifetime passer rating of Eli Manning, with career completion percentage of 55.0.

245 - Where Giants' DE Osi Umenyiora, New York Daily News football columnist Gary Myers' 2007 Midseason Defensive MVP, ranks among defensive players for total tackles after finishing Cowboys game with zero solo stops and 2 assists.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Fiction Romance

“Should I be surprised if the dangers that have always wandered about me should at some time reach me?” – Seneca

Ted watched Julie talking to his father and the thought that flashed through his mind was, he wished he still loved her.

He leaned back in the Barca-Lounger and continued to look at the two of them, although in the din of the living room’s conversation, he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying to each other. But it was obvious they were getting along.

From where he sat, his vision partly obscured by two enormous potted spider plants, he felt sneaky somehow, as if he wasn’t supposed to be staring at the two of them.

He was convinced she was crazy. Not eccentric, odd, offbeat – no, she was just plain crazy. But that wasn’t why he didn’t love her anymore, or why he didn’t like her even. He could tell by the glow in his mother’s eyes that she thought this was the one, her future daughter-in-law, who would supply her with grandchildren – more grandchildren to add to his sister’s two kids. But he knew this wasn’t the one.

They met on the train, but he told everyone they met at a party.

When she eats, she looks like a lost child, her entire effort spent on the task at hand… using her fingers in place of a fork. No matter how hungry she was, she took her time.

Their first date, a movie, they bought the tickets ahead of time and went to a cheap steakhouse on Times Square, had 45 minutes before showtime, they just made it, her taking a bite and talking, another bite, another five minutes nonstop talking. It was cute, but then he rushed her at the end. Then she had to go to the bathroom again and he sulked while he waited, in danger of missing the beginning of a film, which he hated.

The thought occurred to him that she had no one to talk to, no one who would listen. Of course.

She had been in New York less than two years, he learned on the walk uptown. One good thing about her was she didn’t mind walking, loved to walk and talk, the city was still new to her, so she pointed out everything that he was too jaded to notice anymore.

She was just making it, less than making it, going whole days eating nothing but chocolate bars. He felt sorry for her, she was pretty, and if it wasn’t love it was close enough to build on.

Her apartment was big enough, but not worth the money she was paying for it. He felt like going to the landlord and bitching because nothing worked. The kitchen light, the gas, the hot water in the bathroom sink. And no furniture, just a mattress on the floor, a suitcase, and a small plastic stand with a few shelves she used to put her socks and panties in.

The first time in her apartment they sat on the mattress, listening to the soundtrack from Dr. Zhivago, her choice, and he kissed her and pushed her back and felt for the snap on her jeans. She resisted, but only for a second, and then he was on top, taking his own pants down, never taking her eyes from hers. Big brown eyes, childlike, unquestioning, full of wonder. When it was over she held him close for a long time, as if they had just been through something uncharted. He flipped the tape over and looked out the window as he lit a cigarette.

She had no phone so he had to call her at work. She told him she couldn’t really talk on the phone, so he ended up going to her job and making plans with her that way.

Their fourth or fifth date she started talking about her past, growing up in Wisconsin, her parents divorce. Her parents put her in a school for slow children until ninth grade, and she resented them greatly for it. She was raped by one of her classmates at age 15, and she couldn’t really enjoy sex because of it, didn’t like sex, it was best if she stayed celibate, it was easier that way. He took it as his mission to get her to enjoy it, viewed it as the key to all her problems.

One day she took a shower in his apartment and he saw her diary sticking out of her bag. Her handwriting was terrible, barely contained in the wide lines of the book. Sprawling was the word that came to mind. It embarrassed him to read it, not because he was uninvited, just the glimpse into her world has startled him. Childlike poems full of birds-blue sky-tomorrow’s another day sentiments. Cries for help like, I wish I could fit in with other people, be part of a team. And aphorisms like, when you don’t have money you think you’ll be happy when you get it, but then when you get it you realize it’s not that important.

When he heard the water shut off he snapped the book shut and put it back in the bag.

When she came out of the shower, fully dressed, towel around her head, the first thing she asked him was, did you like my diary? Rather than lie to her, he said he had and he enjoyed it. She didn’t get mad, instead took the book from the bad, sat down next to him on the mattress and began reading from it, evidently a play about three dead children and a friendly spirit. It was all too much for him.

After a month he realized it was pity for her and his own loneliness that kept him going back. She never called him, but was always happy to see him, and yet he couldn’t tell if she loved him or not. He liked a little mystery, he told himself, and what’s the difference anyhow, since he was sure he didn’t love her. But he liked to be with her, imagined himself her protector, her catcher in the rye.

He liked to just look at her when her attention was elsewhere. Sometimes she looked plain frightened, other times bewildered and confused. But always pretty, her orange hair falling in her eyes and getting in her mouth, and she would blow it away distractedly from the side of her lips.

“I run to work,” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“I run. In the morning. From my house to the train.”
“In those things?” he asked, pointing to her loafers.
“Yeah. Why not?
“Well, I could see if you were late or something, once in a while, but otherwise, it’s not ladylike.”
“Well, I just like to run.”

Her schedule at work was different every day, but they took the same train, so they agreed to always take the first car, and so about twice a week they would run into each other. They would read the paper together until she got off at 14th Street saying “You have a nice day, okay?” in that loud singsong voice of hers, and that would brighten up his day, seeing her in the morning.

One day it crossed his mind to ask her to move in with him. He would say roommates when he asked her, but he was thinking lovers. He was tired of living alone anyway. And splitting the rent would be like getting a raise. He could get her out of any lease, there were a thousand different ways to do that, and it wasn’t like they needed to rent a moving van to get her stuff over to his place.

He started to get ahead of himself, imagining them cooking dinner together and watching TV, huddled together on the floor with a blanket over their laps.

When she said no that weekend, he took it as a challenge to convince her otherwise, in subtle ways, without directly bringing it up again. She liked the feeling of independence, she said, living on her own, wanted to prove she could make it on her own.

She always talked about having kids, even had the names picked out: Yuri and Andre. Two horrible names, he thought, absolutely ridiculous. No man is ever gonna let her hang those awful names on his kids, especially me. It’s Alexander for a boy, he knew that much.

Three months into it, she got pregnant, or so she said. He couldn’t believe it, and asked her if she had made love to anyone else. She paused for too long and now he knew a story was coming.

It was simple really, the way she told it. She was shopping at the supermarket the first day in her new apartment, and left the store at the same time another man was leaving. They made small talk, he asked her if he could help with her bags, and before she knew it he was right outside her apartment door, then inside the apartment with her, and then they were doing it. Doing it, that’s how she put it.

He was really pissed. Even though it happened before they were going out, to him it was the act of a slut, and he told her so. She started to agree with him and then her words were choked off by tears.

He felt bad for making her cry, but how stupid to let someone in right off the street, he thought, and how could he be sure it wouldn’t happen again tomorrow.

They went for a blood test. He hoped it turned out not be his so he could walk away from her without any guilt. And that’s what he would have done, he was convinced, but when he learned it was his, he was overwhelmed by the thought of being a father.

The smart thing to do, if not the right thing, was to abort. But it never was seriously considered by either of them. He was 31, she was 27, each still children in their own ways, and so maybe it was time to grow up.

Where before they had never argued, however, now they began fighting about the name for the kid, about how they were going to pay for medical expenses, whose apartment they would move into. It was fast turning into a nightmare, and the unanswered questions made his head spin.

On top of this, he had accepted an invitation for them to go to his parents for Sunday dinner the coming weekend. A big mistake, but then last week it didn’t seem so bad. He just hoped she wouldn’t do or say anything that would mortally embarrass him. True, they were only his parents, but they had a way of complicating his life in a myriad of ways.

He rehearsed her as to what she should and shouldn’t say in front of his parents. First of all, of course, she should in no way bring up the fact that she’s pregnant. Everything else was minor in comparison, but he was still sick to his stomach that she would blabber away any number of disturbing things. He had watched her before as she told total strangers things about herself that were best left unsaid in any company, and he cringed at the vision of her doing it again in front of his parents.

--BW

Friday, November 09, 2007

Joined In Time

Good news and bad news for the upcoming weekend...

The good news is that I will be working Saturday and Sunday for a small midtown ad agency that needs the expert assistance of a leading freelance proofreader to help them through a project. (Apparently they couldn't find that person so they settled for me.) The bad news is that it looks like I'm gonna miss the big clash between the Cowboys and Giants set for 4:00pm Sunday, with first place and bragging rights on the line.

Ironically, almost exactly a year ago (11/12/06), I missed the Cowboys' win over Arizona on another Sunday afternoon when I also had to work, only that day I had a catering gig instead of a proofreading project.That game was notable as it marked QB Tony Romo's first career 300-yard passing performance, and we can trace his current status as one of the NFL's bright young stars to those first few games.

In fact, the 27-10 win over the Cardinals on that day was only Romo's third start at that point, all road games (at Carolina, Washington and Arizona). He went 2-1 in those games en route to starting his career 5-1, and his star has only risen steadily since then.

The 27-year-old Romo now has 18 starts under his belt, and has led Dallas to a 13-5 record in those games. He has thrown for over 300 yards in 8 of those games, an incredible percentage in such a small sampling. And I doubt too many QBs in NFL history threw 35 TDs in their first 18 starts.

To put his great start in perspective, Hall of Famer Troy Aikman played 12 seasons and threw for over 300 yards a franchise-best 13 times. But Romo has a long, long way to go if he's ever gonna come within spitting distance of Brett Favre; the Green Bay legend has come back with a vengeance this year after last season's disappointment, surpassing 300 yards 5 times this year already after only 3 such games in 2006, and he will likely add a few more 300-yard games to his career tally of 52!

Obviously, Romo's mannerisms, joy for the game, and gunslinger mentality remind many of Favre -- the QB he grew up idolizing -- but to me the touch on his passes and cool pocket presence bear more of a resemblance to 49er great Joe Montana. But I'm sure any Cowboys fan would take a hybrid combination of the two in a heartbeat.


NFL.com has an interesting poll question on their Website this morning, asking fans: "Which player would you most like to have to be the cornerstone of your franchise?" Listed are:

Tom Brady
Adrian Peterson
LaDainian Tomlinson
Peyton Manning
Tony Romo
The very fact that Romo is even listed among such upper-echelon talent says a lot about how far the undrafted QB from Division 1-AA Eastern Illinois has come in such a short time. Brady, as you would expect, leads the voting at 36%, followed by Manning (24), Peterson (20), fresh off his dismantling of the all-time NFL rushing record, then Romo (12) and LT (6). Brady was himself only a 6th-round pick back in 2000, and despite 3 Super Bowl wins and years of dating supermodels, is still only 30 years old. Peyton Manning is in his 10th season now, and the 31-year-old shows few signs of slowing down. In fact, the case can be made that a QB's prime years are often his early to mid-30s.

Now, obviously I'm speaking as a severely biased Cowboys fan, but age considerations aside, right now there are only 2 QBs I would swap straight up for Romo -- Brady and Manning. Two other top-flight QBs -- the Saints' Drew Brees and Bengals' Carson Palmer -- would also merit serious consideration. The only factor eliminating Favre, having a terrific 2007 season, is his advanced age. Otherwise, based on intangibles like upside potential and leadership as well as more black-and-white elements like statistical performance, Dallas fans should thank their lucky Blue Star that things worked themselves out precisely as they did.

And let's not overlook the decisive role one Bill Parcells played in not only taking a chance on the longshot Romo in 2003, but seeing enough of him in 2004, 2005 and 2006 to keep Romo on the roster through the QB carousel that saw Quincy Carter, Vinnie Testaverde, Drew Henson and Chad Hutchinson spinning around the position as starters after Aikman called it quits. Remember, it wasn't enough to keep Romo hidden on the Practice Squad, where any other team had a chance to claim him, but Parcells wisely kept him on the 53-man roster through most of his four seasons as Cowboys' head coach. It's that confluence of sheer luck, good timing and business sense that leads to a Tony Romo ending up on one team versus another, or making it in the league at all.

More than half a century ago, a certain Pittsburgh-born QB was drafted in the late rounds by his hometown Steelers in 1955 but was cut before the season began. The unheralded QB had a good but not great college career, splitting time as a senior with another player while passing for only 527 yards. His release from the Steelers forced him to take a construction job to support his wife and young child, but on weekends he played semipro football for $6 a game.

The next
season he was offered a tryout by the Baltimore Colts. He made the team as a backup QB, and a broken leg suffered by the starter in the 4th game forced him into action against the Bears. He completed his first pass -- but it was to the other team and returned for a TD. He botched the next play too, a fumbled handoff that was recovered by Chicago en route to a 58-27 rout of the Colts.

But the QB improved over the course of the year, leading the Colts to upset wins over Cleveland and Green Bay. And while he threw for 9 just TDs on the year, a scoring pass in the season finale would begin a string of 47 straight games with at least one TD pass -- an NFL record that still stands despite the wide open, pass-happy game pro football would become. He also would become the first NFL QB to throw for over 40,000 yards in a career.

That QB, of course, was the legendary Johnny Unitas, which just shows how destiny, fate and fortune interact in the National Football League -- still the greatest sport ever devised in the history of mankind.