Giants OC Gilbride to Retire

After a season that wasn't as good as a mediocre 7-9 record would indicate, the New York Giants had to make changes. If Tom Coughlin was to remain head coaches, some of his lieutenants were going to have to go. Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo reported that Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride is set to retire after seven seasons as the head offensive coach with the Giants.(Gilbride spent 2004-2006 as QB coach)

Though the team won two Super Bowls (XLII, XLVI) during Gilbride's tenure as the OC, he was often criticized by fans and the media for his play calling. It led to the less than flattering nickname "Killdrive" that played off his last name.

The 62-yr old is expected to make the announcement official Thursday evening, though this is clearly the case of retiring instead of firing. The Giants had a miserable season on the offensive side of the ball, much of it due to injuries on the offensive line and backfield, but there were also poor play calls, offensive schemes, and one of the worst seasons of Eli Manning's career. The two-time Super Bowl MVP threw a career high and league leading 27 interceptions and was also sacked 39 times, the most of his career.

Manning and head coach Tom Coughlin backed Gilbride and Manning called for his return, but the Giants needed to make a coaching change just as they need to make many on-field personnel moves.

Gilbride was an assistant coach in the NFL for seven season with the Houston Oiler and Jackson Jaguars, the latter of which was with Coughlin. He had one plus seasons as head coach of the San Diego Chargers and was fired six games into the 1998 season. Overall, Gilbride recorded a 6-16 record.

Prior to coming to the Giants, Gilbride was best known for getting punched in the head by then Oilers defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan during a game against the New York Jets in 1993.

 

Schiano and Schwarz Next to Go

"Maybe I am overrated."

I thought that maybe Greg Schiano would survive in Tampa Bay after the team played harder and actually won some games after an 0-8 start. Bucs owner Malcolm Glaze didn't agree though - a 4-4 finish over the final eight games was not enough to save Schiano's job.

The second year NFL coach and his staff were fired on Monday along with GM Mark Dominik. Schiano's squad started the 2012 season 6-4, but lost five of their final six games to miss the playoffs. With this year's bad beginning, the Bucs lost 13 of 14 games overall. That was the main factor along with problems with former QB Josh Freeman and reported unrest in the locker room.

Schiano parlayed 11 seasons as the head coach of Rutgers into an NFL job with the Bucs, but wins at Rutgers had begun to dissipate after Schiano turned the program around.  There are already rumors that Schiano is the leading candidate to replace Bill O'Brien at Penn State, where Schiano served as an assistant from 1990-1995.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that ex-Bears coach Lovie Smith is the favorite to replace Schiano.

Detroit's fiery head coach Jim Schwartz wasn't able to build off  of 2011's playoff appearance. The Lions won four games in 2012, but were in the driver's seat in the NFC North division with a 7-5 record. In control of their own fate, the Lions lost three straight contests and were eliminated from playoff contention with a week to go in the regular season.

Prior to taking over the Lions head coaching job in 2009, Schwartz was the Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator for eight seasons and spent 10 seasons in total as a Tennessee assistant coach.

Shanahan Gets Canahanned

No surprise here - Mike Jones of the Washington Post reported that Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and his entire staff have been fired by owner Daniel Snyder.

One winning season in four years will do that to a coach, who also has to take repsonsibility for exposing an already injured Robert Griffin III to further damage to his banged up knee last season. A 3-13 record in 2013 didn't help either.

Ryan and Garrett Back in 2014

"I'm back baby!"

Jets head man Rex Ryan was informed prior to Sunday's finale with the Dolphins that he would return for the 2014 season. Owner Woody Johnson and GM John Idzik gave Ryan the good news and there was even a talk of a contract extension.

Ryan, arguably, did his best coaching job in taking a team that was written off before the season started and guided them to an 8-8 season.

Despite another season ending loss in December, owner Jerry Jones said Monday that Jason Garrett will be back as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys next year. With Tony Romo sidelined by back surgery, Kyle Orton and the Cowboys fought the Eagles down to the wire in week 17 for the NFC East division before the Eagles prevailed 24-22.

You have to wonder if Romo's injury actually might have saved Garrett's job.

Down Goes Frazier

Minnesota Vikings became the first coach on Black Monday to find out he was out of a job and the second coach overall to lose his job.

Cleveland Brown's coach Rob Chudzinski was fired Sunday night.

NFL Sunday Could Determine Black Monday

NFL head coaches better check their backs

NFL ownership doesn't wait very long to determine the fate of their head coaches. It's the reason the Monday following week 17 has become known as Black Monday.

Some head coaches have already met their fate - Houston fired Gary Kubiak in the midst of a disastrous season that saw the Texans enter Sunday with two wins.

Here's the coaches likely to go, those who will survive, and those whose status is still up in the air.

Headed to the Guillotine:

Is there any way that Mike Shanahan keeps his job in Washington? I can't see it. Owner Dan Snyder gave Shanahan everything he asked for when he hired him prior to the 2010 season, but the results have not been there. The Redskins have been well under .500 in three of four years under Shanahan with the exception being last year's 10-win season led by rookie sensation Robert Griffin III.

But it was Shanahan's decision to keep playing Griffin on a bum knee that helped lead to the Redskins' 2013 debacle. Griffin wasn't the same QB he was in 2012 and reportedly didn't see eye to eye with his head coach. Shanahan has one-year and $7MM left on his contract, but if you truly believe  he's not the guy, why would you keep him around? I don't think Snyder will.

The Houston Texans had such high hopes after back to back playoff appearances and a 12-win regular season in 2012. Gary Kubiak paid the price for two straight early playoff losses and a bad start this season. Things didn't get appreciably better under interim coach Wade Phillips - they entered Sunday's play with 2 wins - and the job is Penn St.'s Bill O'Brien's to lose.

Detroit Lions fiery head coach Jim Schwarz is as good as gone. You're only as good as your players, but Schwarz had the players this year to make the playoffs and didn't. The Lions went from 2 to 6 to 10 wins and the playoffs in Schwarz's first three seasons at the helm and the future looked bright. Then came a 4-12 mess in 2012, followed by this season's collapse when the Lions controlled their destiny.

Three straight losses - to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and the Giants - eliminated the Lions from playoff contention before the season's final week and will eliminate Schwarz's job as well.

He hasn't had a steady lineup in his two seasons in Oakland, but Dennis Allen will be the eighth coach to come and go since 2000. The Raiders won just four games in 2012  and entered Sunday against the Denver Broncos with four wins again. This one seems pretty much cut and dried.

Teetering like Humpty Dumpy:

It appeared that there was no way Jason Garrett would survive the chopping block if the Dallas Cowboys didn't make the playoffs this season. Though not all his fault, the Cowboys have been a December train wreck since Tony Romo took over as the Cowboys starting QB.  He can't take all the blame if Dallas misses the playoffs this year since he led a touchdown winning drive in week 16 to keep the Cowboys season alive and will miss the season finale after undergoing back surgery.

Will that have an affect on owner Jerry Jones' decision making? I don't think anything short of a Super Bowl appearance saves Garrett's job. The odds of backup Kyle Orton leading the Cowboys to a victory over Philly and their red-hot offense is less likely than winning Powerball.

Rex Ryan is a big talker; most of the time too much of a talker. For the most part he's been relatively quiet this year and perhaps it's no coincidence that he might be doing his best job as head coach since he took the New York Jets head coaching job in 2009.

The Jets were supposed to be awful this year and the forecast got even grimmer when much maligned QB Mark Sanchez got knocked out for the year in the pre-season. Despite the ups and downs of rookie QB Geno Smith, the team never quit on Ryan. Not only that, but they finished at .500 after they defeated long time rival  Miami in the 16th game of the season Sunday.

First year GM John Idzik would like to have a coach that is his hire, but it would be difficult to let Ryan go after the team showed so much heart. Prediction - Ryan stays, but assistants go.

Tom Coughlin's Giants have won two Super Bowls in the last seven seasons, but you wouldn't know it based on this year's team. Compounded by a plethora of injuries, underachievement, particularly on offense, and a good dose of malaise, the Giants lost their first six games. A four game winning streak against mediocre teams and/or QBs produced false hope.

Eli Manning had the worst season of his career and led the NFL in interceptions. The offensive line did a horrible job of protecting Manning and didn't open any holes for the running backs either. The Giants counted heavily on second year back David Wilson to lead the running attack, but he got fumbleitis and then suffered a career threatening injury.

Overall the defense played well, but was on the field too much due to the offensive's ineptitude. The feeling here is that like their stadium counterparts, the head coach remains, but there's a shakeup among the assistants.  The biggest bulls-eye is on offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, who could/should lose his job despite endorsements from Coughlin and Manning.

Miami Dolphins head man Joe Philbin is one of those coaches that may be let go not just for the team's performance, but because of the public's perception. The Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin bullying fiasco happened under Philbin's watch and team owners do not like when their personnel make the organization look bad. (Though the NFL seems to care less about it based on the number of player arrested every year and the rampant use of PEDs.)

To make matters worse, the team had a chance to make the playoffs after winning three straight, including a huge home win over the Patriots. Then came back to back losses the last two weeks of the season against Buffalo and the Jets. Philbin is a goner.

Rumors are that Cleveland Browns head man Rob Chudzinski is on the verge of joining the one and done club after a four-win season. Which isn't really fair since the team decided to blow things up early - dealing Trent Richardson - don't have anything more than a mediocre QB on their roster, have veteran Willis McGahee as their leading rusher, and when it comes right down to it, don't have much of anything. PERIOD.

Ozzie Newsome and the front office have done a bad job. Chudzkinski should get a chance to work a second year with a new cast of characters, but it's unlikely he'll get that chance based on the way the front office has handled things this year.

Minnesota's Leslie Frazier could also join the list despite not having a lot of talent at QB and having his star running back, Adrian Peterson, banged up. The defense couldn't stop a Fiat, but the Vikings kept a lot of games within reach. They finished the last six contests 3-2-1 after a 2-8 start. I think Frazier gets a reprieve.

Safe For Now:

After a 7-9 NFL coaching debut, Tampa Bay's Greg Schiano looked to be as good as gone after the Bucs started 2013 with eight straight losses and Schiano and QB Josh Freeman butted heads. Four wins in five weeks should save his job even though the wins were not against stellar teams.  On the other side of the coin you also have to look at the fact that the Bucs lost three of those first eight games by three points or less.

It appeared that Schiano lost control of his squad, but despite losing second year stand out running back Doug Martin after six games, the team came back together under rookie QB Mike Glennon. The product of North Carolina St. University entered Sunday with 17 TD passes and eight interceptions in 12 games.

Somewhere Between Safe For Now and Nothing to Worry About:

Mike Munchak, Gus Bradley,  Marvin Lewis (A third straight first round exit in the playoffs could drastically change things.), Mike Smith

Nothing to Worry About:

Everyone else - Bill Belichik, Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Mike Tomlin, Marc Trestman, Doug Marrone, Chip Kelly, John Fox, Pete Carroll, Mike McCarthy, Ron Rivera, Sean Payton, Andy Reid, Bruce Arians, Jeff Fisher, Chuck Pagano, Mike McCoy

Disgrace On A Sunday Night

Outside of some super Super Bowl performances the NY Giants are a complete disgrace on prime time football.

Doesn't matter if it's a Sunday, Monday, or the rare Thursday night game. You don't want to call the season opener crucial, but when you're facing the Dallas Cowboys in a divisional game,  crucial fits the bill.

That's why Sunday's 36-31 Cowboys win hurts the  Giants. It's amazing that the score was that close considering the Giants committed six turnovers.

Whether it was an Eli Manning awful interception on the first play from scrimmage or David Wilson's two fumbles, Da'rel Scott causing an interception due to a slow reaction,  or a fluke bounce on a punt causing yet another score, the Giants could have lost by 30.

The defense played a decent game,  though Jason Witten continued to treat linebackers and DB's like fleas on a Great Dane. He caught his usual pair of TDs against the G-Men.

On the bright side,  Victor Cruz caught a trio of scores and Hakeem Nicks was very effective,  and when they didn't turn the ball over they were able to move on the Cowboys defense.

On the other side of the coin coach Tom Coughlin told the team at halftime that it was the worst game he had ever seen. After 60 minutes he must have really had some comments about the team.

That's Really Speakin' Deacon: Remembering Deacon Jones

Deacon Jones was one of the most ferocious football players when it was time to line up against the opposing offensive line. Off the field he was quite a character and an occassional actor. Sadly, we lost him too soon at the age of 74.

The man credited with the coining the term "sack" to describe his takedown of a quarterback, passed away Monday evening of an undisclosed cause.

Jones was selected in the 14th round of the 1961 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, the team he spent the majority of his 14 year career with. Jones and Ram linemates Merlin Olsen, Lamar Lundy, and Rosie Greer became known as the "Fearsome Foursome" for the manner in which they abused linemen, running backs, and signal callers.

At 6'5", 272 lbs Jones was an imposing presence made more so by his on-field trash talk. Pro Football Weekly researched Jones' sack total since sacks weren't an officially recognized statistic until 1982 (eight years after Jones retired) and found the Hall of Fame left defensive end totalled 194.5 for his career. He had 10 or more sacks over a span of nine straight seasons and recorded 26 sacks alone during the 1967 season.¹

Jones, whose given name was David, played for the Rams from 1961 thorough 1971. He then joined the San Diego Chargers for two seasons, and made the Pro Bowl for the eighth and final time in 1972. He played his final season in 1974 with the Washington Redskins.

Jones guested on a handful of TV series during and after his playing career and appeared in a couple of motion pictures, including "Heaven Can Wait" with Warren Beatty. My favorite was his appearance on one of my all time favorite TV series, "The Odd Couple", in which he appeared as himself in the first TV commercial that Felix Unger (Tony Randall) ever directed.

Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman) was supposed to say the majority of lines and Jones was basically just going to nod (Madison had explained that Jones was very quiet). When Madison got stage fright, Jones stepped up and delivered the lines for the final cut. That led to Unger's line, "That's really speakin' Deacon."

Whether on the field or off, Deacon Jones was never afraid to speak his mind. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.

1 - ESPN.com

The National Football Classless League

Stevie Johnson is the face of the NFL...not Stevie Johnson per se (and what male adult goes by Stevie anyway?), but classless players like him that the NFL is rife with. Case in point, Sunday's NY Jets - Buffalo Bills game. As we all know, the Jets'/then Giants' Plaxico Burress did something really stupid back in 2008 (almost four years to the day of Sunday's game) - carried an illegal weapon into a nightclub and then things went from bad to worse when he accidentally shot himself in the leg. Mayor Bloomberg made sure Burress was made an example of and off to jail for the gun possession he went.

That brings us to Sunday's game when Johnson caught a touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick and began one of the asinine little dances that is so prevalent in the NFL. But Johnson then took it one step further by pantomiming Burress shooting himself in the thigh. Johnson then topped his performance off with a harmless impersonation of Santonio Holmes' jet-in-flight touchdown celebration.

Johnson's actions were disgusting, despicable, and unfortunately, oh so typical. The league should heavily fine the wide out, who wasn't showing off so much when he was dropping passes like crazy last year. It's fine to celebrate that you scored, not everyone needs to just hand the ball to the referee, butover the years things have gone from the fun, high-stepping spike of the Chiefs' Elmo Wright and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson's wobbly leg dance to pre-planned and orchestrated celebrations like Joe Horn's cellphone fiasco and Terrell Owens' Sharpie in the sock ploy.

Those players and other clowns like them (hey cornerback do you really want to pound your chest after the wide receiver dropped a wide open pass?) don't realize how much their actions take away from the game and influence kids. Their lack of maturity and self centered approach to the game does nothing more than give their sport a black eye.

NFL Divisional Round Picks - Saturday

This is going to be a great weekend of football. Some tremendous physical match ups, some general real hatred between opponents, and the beginning of a coming out party (not that kind) for Matt Ryan (IMHO). Today I am just going to focus on today's games.


Things kick off with a bruising battle between the Steelers and Ravens. There's going to be a lot of pain killers taken after this one and that's just from the fans watching at home. The teams split the season series, each winning on the road.

Baltimore started things out in week four with a 17-14 win at Heinz Field on October 3. Pittsburgh came from behind late in week 13 for 13-10 win at M & T Bank Stadium.

Low scoring, physical games are the mantra when these two teams get together and today should be no different. The Steelers come in as three point favorites with the over/under at 37. I'm going with the Ravens in this one- I saw them as as the AFC champ early in the season before the Pats went on their tremendous run and still believe they could beat the winner of tomorrow's Pats-Jets battle. And I'm going to just squeak under the over/under with a Ravens 19-17 win.

I'm looking forward to this evening's game even more. Packers-Falcons. The Packers were impressive, esp. on the defensive side of the ball last week and made everyone outside of Philly smile for ending Michael Vick's (and DeSean Jackson's) season.

But this Falcons team is not talked about it at all. They are the clear favorite to emerge from the NFC and reach their second Super Bowl. (It shouldn't take a Gary Anderson miss to do it this time either). The Falcons are solid on both sides of the ball and their defense is vastly underrated.

When the two teams met on Nov. 28 it came down to a last minute drive by Matt Ryan and the Falcons that culminated in a Matt Bryant game winning FG with just 13 ticks of the clock left. The 20-17 win pushed the Falcons record to 9-2 at the time.

Ryan should get a chance to show a national TV audience just what he can do (and unfortunately that means hearing that stupid "Matty Ice" nickname several times over). The Falcons are 1.5 pt favorites with an over under of 43.5. If you haven't figured it out by now the pick here is clearly the Falcons and again a close one on the over/under, this time over. Falcons 27 Packers 17

Wildcard Weekend

Ok, so I had a terrible time picking NFL games this season. Something tells me I'm not the only one though with the inconsistency in NFL play this season.

For all the years I have played fantasy hockey and baseball this was the first season I played fantasy football. I joined a Yahoo public league and finished the regular season 7-7. That wasn't good enough for the playoffs, but I had fun anyway.

I also ran the first My Pinstripes pick 'em with point spreads. I finished 114-135, by far the worst I've done in years and the first time I've finished under .500 for as long as I can remember.

But it's a new season today. The playoffs, where the Giants should be, but are not. There are some great matchups in wildcard weekend, so here we go.

Saturday night - Jets at Colts

The Jets had their inconsistencies much of the season, which made their fans nuts. Of course when coach Rex Ryan is blustering about Super Bowls all year it is very easy to disappoint. But the Jets won't this weekend.

The Colts are not the same team that beat the Jets 30-17 in last year's AFC championship game. Yes, Peyton Manning is still there, but much of the team is injured. Two of Manning's biggest weapons Dallas Clark and Austin Collie are out. The defense's best all-around player, Bob Sanders, is out. And speaking of the defense they can't stop the run for anything.

So what that means is that though Mark Sanchez's shoulder may be hurt a lot more than he's letting on, LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene should have big days, which will help open up the passing game.

The final score - Jets 23 Colts 20 Enjoy it Jets fans because if you have to play the Patriots next week, you are done.

Saturday afternoon - Saints at Seahawks

Yes, a 7-9 team is hosting a playoff game. The Seahawks crowd has an earned reputation as being one of the loudest fandoms in the NFL. What that means today is that maybe the Saints will score 30 points instead of 40.

Drew Brees had another big season, but not nearly as his near perfect 2009. The Saints defense isn't close to how it played in helping to raise the Lombardy Trophy last year. But this Seahawks team is bad, and though they had to win the final game over the Rams to win the NFC West, well..this team is bad.

Matt Hasselback has been banged up for much of the year and coach Pete Carroll actually considered starting Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback. He may still go that route if Hasselback and the offense don't move the ball.

The final score - Saints 33 Seahawks 17

Sunday early game - Ravens at Chiefs

KC surprised everyone this year. The media kept waiting for them to collapse and for the Phillip Rivers' led Chargers to storm by them. Except it never happened. The Chiefs have plenty of weapons on offense. Jamaal Charles (1,467) and Thomas Jones (896) combined for over 2,300 yards on the ground. Matt Cassel fought off an appendectomy, missing just one game, to throw for 3,116 yards and 27 TDs. He was intercepted just seven times. His favorite target was Dwayne Bowe who caught 72 passes for 1,162 yards and got in the end zone a league leading 15 times.

But and it's bigger than Nate Newton's butt before his tremous weight loss, the Chiefs have to go up against the Ravens defense. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, you know the drill. It's a squad that gave up just under 17 points per game. And this isn't a bad offense either.

Ray Rice has run like the Ray Rice of 2009 of late and the offense goes as steady QB Joe Flacco goes. Anquan Boldin and Derrick Mason both caught over 800 yards and scored seven TD's each, though Boldin has been a disappointment at times. Rice was also the 2nd leader receiver in catches on the team and he'll be utilized plenty on Sunday. What it should come down to is a good, close, low scoring game.

The Final Score - Ravens 17 Chiefs 13

Sunday afternoon - This is the one everyone is waiting for Packers vs. Eagles. Aaron Rodgers vs. Michael Vick.

The Packers have an underrated defense and it will need to play it's best on Sunday because the Pack has no running game. Aaron Rodgers will put the ball in the air plenty of times and will have to combat the Eagles blitzes. But..no not as big as the previous one...the Eagles defense is overrated.

You heard me. They make big plays, cause turnovers, but give up plenty of points. 377 to be exact. The Eagles allowed 26.8 points per game in their 10 wins. But oh that Eagles offense.

Michael Vick claims to only be at 75%, but that could be a ploy. He has dangerous weapons in DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy, and plenty of team speed.

This should be an entertaining game with a team that has green in their uniform holding off the other one late. Okay...

The Final Score - Packers 23 Eagles 16

There you have it..and never never never bet based on what I say. That is all.

Big Blue Completed A Great Sports Weekend

The Giants have a long history of not being able to put good back to back games together. But Sunday they had a huge road victory over the even more inconsistent Houston Texans, 34-10.

The key was another great performance by the Giants defense. The pressured Matt Schaub continually and shut down Arian Foster and the Texans league leading rushing games.

Hakeem Nicks showed again that this guy can develop into a huge play maker and star. He had two touchdown receptions on Sunday and had a chance for a couple more had he kept his balance near the goal line and not dropped a deep route pass that hit his hands.

Good game for Eli Manning, 3 TDS, though he still managed to throw a couple of picks. One them a very poor pass that led to the lone Texans TD.

Ahmad Bradshaw's ankle was acting up, which gave Brandon Jacobs a chance to get some playing time and score another TD. Afterwards he said his attitude is much improved.

And how about the return of Osi Uminenyora. Looks like his knee is finally healthy.

With the Lions at home on tap for next week, the Giants could very well have a three game winning streak.

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Hell, I'm not, but today I participated in my first ever fantasy football draft. I've been doing roto baseball for 16 years and hockey on and off during that time. I figured I'll give it a shot so I joined a public Yahoo league as a newbie.

Here's my roster.

QB - Drew Brees

QB - Eli Manning

RB - Cedric Benson

RB - Jonathan Stewart

RB - Ahmad Bradshaw

RB - LaDainian Tomlinson

WR - Marques Colston

WR - Wes Welker

WR - Vincent Jackson

WR - Kenny Britt

TE - Vernon Davis

TE - Greg Olsen

K - David Akers

Defense - Pittsburgh Steelers

Dallas Cowboys

I had the 2nd pick in the draft. With Chris Johnson chosen, the 2nd pick was a Brees. I was hoping for the Jets or Vikings defense, but they were gone before I decided to go for some 'D'.

Looks like a decent team. We'll see what happens.

How Ya Doin' Super Bowl?

We still laugh at the way Paul McCartney addressed the Super Bowl crowd at Super Bowl XXXIX.

NFL Comish Paul Goodell says he's seriously considering the Meadowlands new stadium for the Super Bowl in 2014. As I walked the dogs in a 9 degree wind chill this morning I thought, what are you nuts? How could they not have put a retractable roof and expect people to sit in this cold?

As for today's game, this is the first time in a while that I won't mind whichever team wins. That being said I like more of the Colts' players and will probably have a slight rooting edge for them. As for a prediction - Colts 27 Saints 23 with Peyton Manning getting MVP.

Hopefully Dwight Freeney will be able to play, even in a limited capacity, for Indy. Horrible to make it to the big game and not be able to get in there.

Good luck to Rutgers product and Colts linebacker Gary Brackett.

Really hoping not to see too many shots of Kim Kardashian (Reggie Bush's fiance) or Kendra Baskett (Hank Baskett's Mrs. and the former Hef "girl next door"). I don't think they have a brain cell between them.

A Giant Disgrace

Football season is effectively over me. There is still one game to go in the regular season, plus the playoffs and Super Bowl. But it's done. When the clock read 00:00, the Giants season was done. Oh and that was the end of the first half, not the game.

The Giants, in their final home game at Giants Stadium, didn't bother to show up. A disgraceful display on both sides of the ball led to a 41-9 blowout at the hands of the Carolina Panthers. The loss, combined with the Cowboys and Packers wins, eliminated the Giants from a possible playoff appearance.

The entire game changed on one series in the first quarter and the Giants never recovered. ,It appeared the Giants were headed for a 7-0 lead when they marched right down the field on the game's first possession. But an Eli Manning TD pass to Steve Smith was negated by a Madison Hedgecock hold and a couple of plays later Mario Manningham fumbled away the football and the season. The Panthers completely dominated from that moment on.

The Giants defense which finally showed up last week against the woeful Redskins, reverted back to their "can't stop anyone" form. Jonathan Stewart rushed for the third highest (206) total yardage by any opponent in Giants' history.

It was a sad finish for the fans, especially those long time season ticket holders who can't afford the exorbitant prices at the new stadium.

As for next year, Tom Coughlin will likely be back. He's only two years removed from a SB championship. But defensive coordinator Brian Sheridan is likely gone. It's obviously not all his fault. The players did not get the job done. This was a defense that was supposed to better than last year's. Some heads will probably roll among the players as well.

O-Coordinator Kevin Gilbride's job is most likely safe, though he will probably look for a head coaching job. And what happened to this team's vaunted running game? Brandon Jacobs has played every game and maybe that's the problem. He's been very ordinary - yesterday he had six carries for one yard before leaving with a banged up knee.

The Sportsgasm

That is the term coined by the lovely Mrs. MM to describe the overlapping sports seasons. As in, "You're going to have a sportsgasm". With the Yankees heading to the post-season and the Giants off to a 3-0 start in the NFL, she is right as usual. Plus, incredibly, the NHL season opener is just a mere days away.

She first coined the phrase when the Yankees season began and I bounced between the early games and NY Rangers playoff hockey and Boston Celtics playoff basketball.

The sportsgasm is a great feeling, probably the equivalent of a woman eating chocolate. (Unlike women, however, I don't think the sportsgasm is better than sex.) And your partner may not enjoy your sportsgasm with you.

This is NOT Mrs. MM, but it could be during a football or hockey game.

There can be messy clean up with the sportsgasm. Chips, soda, beer, remote controls can often be sent flying in various directions. Actually, the remote control is usually reserved for big, bad moments, such as when the Rangers lost to the Devils in Game 5 of the 1994 conference finals. (Still haven't been able to totally fix that dent on the wall.)

Speaking of remote controls, the sportsgasm cannot be achieved without an excellent working remote control or two. You always need a supply of fresh batteries to be sure you're not stuck on one channel. (God forbid you have to get up and manually change the station.) You also should have a good working knowledge of the "last" and "favorite" buttons on the remote. They are essential in making rapid fire changes from one channel to another.

You should also be familiar with the SAP button, DVR controls, etc... no, not to use them, but how to shut them off if you accidentally hit one of them in the middle of a game.



So there you have it. Enjoy your sports and your sportsgasm. Oh and always practice safety... be sure to use a coaster.

Mark Schlereth is Wrong

Former NFL offensive lineman Mark Schlereth was just on ESPN discussing the Justin Tuck-Flozell Adams incident that took place in the Giants-Cowboys game Sunday night.

Schlereth is angry, and I mean angry, that Adams was fined $12,500 for his trip of Tuck that resulted in a shoulder injury to the Giants defensive lineman. (Adams was also fined that much because of another attempted trip later in the game, but Schelereth didn't bring that up.)

Schlereth contends that you have to stop the defender from getting to the QB no matter what. That if he had been fined every time he tried to trip a player, he'd have "played for free". Schlereth actually wants the union to step in to do something about these type of fines.

Has he lost his mind? Or more precisely is Schlereth biased as a former o-lineman, which in turn clouds his judgement? I'll go with the latter, though maybe a little bit of the former is correct too.

I agree, you have to stop the defender from killing your QB. But you do it within the rules, which means you do NOT make a play with intent to injure and that's exactly what Adams did. Tackle the player, hold them, whatever, but you do not perform just a blatantly dirty act to get the job done.

Adams isn't a first time offender. He is the most penalized offensive lineman in the league. Therefore, I stand by my original thought which is that Adams should have been suspended for one game.

You are very wrong Mark Schelereth.

NFL Picks - Week 4

We never had a chance to go over the picks from last Sunday, but we were 10-6 last week.

YTD - 27-19-1

Week 4 Picks

Big Blue has the week off, so we'll savor that 3-0 start for a bit.

Jets -1 vs. Cardinals
We have no faith in the Jets, but this is Arizona they're playing. Jets and Favre take this one, 20-17.

Broncos -9 at Chiefs
Chiefs are God awful and the Broncos offense is clicking on all cylinders. Broncs shouldn't blow them out.

Browns +1 at Bengals
Wow, tough one. The way things have gone for these 0-3 teams, they'll probably tie. Derek Anderson has to turn things around, doesn't he?

Jaguars -6.5 vs. Texans
Jags are beat up, but last week's win proved just how much talent this team has. Houston doesn't match up.

Saints -4.5 vs. 49ers
Saints defense has been nowhere to be found, but they should be able to do enough to beat the Niners.

Falcons +7 at Panthers
We love this Panthers team, but they haven't been that stupendous. Panthers win, but a close game.

Titans -3 vs. Vikings
The better team takes this one.

Packers +2 at Bucs
Interesting game and a tough pick. Bucs 'D' hasn't been as we would expect. The Bucs are not the Cowboys and that should mean a good enough day for Aaron Rodgers.

Bills -8.5 at Rams
When you're 8.5 point underdogs at home, you know you are in trouble.

Chargers -8 at Raiders
The same theory applies as above. Chargers should crush the Raiduhs.

Redskins +10 at Cowboys
Dallas is the superior team, but that's a big spread for such an intense rivalry.

Eagles -3 at Bears
Even without Westbrook, the Eagles should take it.

Steelers -5 vs. Ravens
Steelers should bounce back from last week's tough loss to Philly.

NFL Picks - Week 4

We never had a chance to go over the picks from last Sunday, but we were 10-6 last week.

YTD - 27-19-1

Week 4 Picks

Big Blue has the week off, so we'll savor that 3-0 start for a bit.

Jets -1 vs. Cardinals
We have no faith in the Jets, but this is Arizona they're playing. Jets and Favre take this one, 20-17.

Broncos -9 at Chiefs
Chiefs are God awful and the Broncos offense is clicking on all cylinders. Broncs shouldn't blow them out.

Browns +1 at Bengals
Wow, tough one. The way things have gone for these 0-3 teams, they'll probably tie. Derek Anderson has to turn things around, doesn't he?

Jaguars -6.5 vs. Texans
Jags are beat up, but last week's win proved just how much talent this team has. Houston doesn't match up.

Saints -4.5 vs. 49ers
Saints defense has been nowhere to be found, but they should be able to do enough to beat the Niners.

Falcons +7 at Panthers
We love this Panthers team, but they haven't been that stupendous. Panthers win, but a close game.

Titans -3 vs. Vikings
The better team takes this one.

Packers +2 at Bucs
Interesting game and a tough pick. Bucs 'D' hasn't been as we would expect. The Bucs are not the Cowboys and that should mean a good enough day for Aaron Rodgers.

Bills -8.5 at Rams
When you're 8.5 point underdogs at home, you know you are in trouble.

Chargers -8 at Raiders
The same theory applies as above. Chargers should crush the Raiduhs.

Redskins +10 at Cowboys
Dallas is the superior team, but that's a big spread for such an intense rivalry.

Eagles -3 at Bears
Even without Westbrook, the Eagles should take it.

Steelers -5 vs. Ravens
Steelers should bounce back from last week's tough loss to Philly.

Week 1 Recap

A Giants win over the Deadskins to open the season and a 10-6 week for us for starters.

Here's a look at how we did on the individual games.

Giants -4.5 vs. Redskins. Correct
On the money, though we though both teams would score more. Giants should have, but we gave the Redskins more credit than they're worth. Giants cruised 16-7.

Jets -3 vs. Dolpins Correct
How bad to you think Chad Pennington wanted this one? He'll get another chance this year, but for now it's Favre and the Jets 1 up. Jets 20-14

Bengals -2 vs. Ravens Wrong
Why did we get back on the Bengals bandwagon? If we were wagering they'd rob a liquor store or get a DUI, we'd have a better chance. Joe Flacco made a great first impression for the Ravens. Ravens 17-10.

Patrios -16 vs. Chiefs Wrong
Needless to say, we didn't expect Brady to get hurt, but our chances went with him. Hard to believe the Pats still couldn't put more on the board, even with Matt Cassel at QB. Pats 17-10.

Steelers -6.5 vs. Texans Correct
Willie Parker would still be running through the Texans if not for the final gun sounding. Some teams just seem destinted to stink. Steelers 38-17

Titans +3 vs. Jags Correct
The whole Vince Young thing is quite bizarre, and shouldn't be dismissed. Meanwhile though, we thought the Titans would play tough in a big rivalry game and they did. Didn't necessarily think they would win straight out, but Young played well until he hurt his knee. Titans 17-10

Lions -3 vs. Falcons Wrong
What were we thinking picking the Lions on the road. We didn't know that rookie Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner (220 yds) would destroy the Lions. And yet, Matt Millen still has a job. Go figure. Falcons 34-21

Seahawks +1 vs. Bills Wrong
Wow! Did we ever overrate the 'hawks and underestimate the Bills. Mike Holmgren has to go one of these days, doesn't he? Bills 34-10

Saints -3 vs. Bucs Correct
Big early season battle that saw Drew Brees (343 yds passing) bring the Saints out on top. Reggie Bush contributed like it was 2006. Saints 24-20

Rams +8 vs. Eagles Wrong
Similar to the Seahawks-Bills, we were way off track on this one. Donovan McNabb, at least for one week, is back on top. Eagles 38-3

Cowboys -5.5 vs. Browns Correct
No trouble for Tony Simpson Romo and company. We'll find out real quick if Derek Anderson and the Browns were a tease last year or for real. Cowboys 28-10

Panthers +9 vs. Chargers Correct
This was our best pick of the week. We thought the Panthers 'D' would keep it close, but Carolina won straight out on the last play of the game. Panthers 26-24

Cardinals -2.5 vs. 49ers Correct
These are NOT your father's 49ers. Edgarrin James rushed for 100 yards for just the third time in 17 games. Cardinals 23-13.

Colts -9.5 vs. Bears Wrong
Oops. Who saw this coming? Yeah, sure you did. About as much as the Colts expected rookie Matt Forte (123 yards) to rush the football down their throats. Bears 29-13

Packers -2.5 vs. Vikings Correct
Brett Who? Okay, it was one game, but Aaron Rodgers first time out was a huge win against a division foe. Loved Adrian Peterson drilling Al Harris. Packers 24-19

Broncos -3 vs. Raiders Correct
Are the Broncos that good or are the Raiders that bad. Perhaps a little of both. The Raiders won't get better until Davis gives up the ship. Broncos 41-14

YTD 10-6