By Paul Gotham
Tougher than the rest
Game plans and match-ups step aside. Dwight Freeney’s ankle rules the headlines surrounding the Super Bowl. Freeney’s doctor calls the injury a third degree sprain. Indy’s staff refers to it as a basketball injury. Either way, with the words ligament and tear in the discussion, Freeney will be challenged to be “rough and ready.”
Freeney who has harassed QBs to the tune of 84 sacks over eight seasons, received some ill-timed payback when he stepped on Mark Sanchez’s leg during the AFC Championship.
At first, Freeney appeared to do nothing more than roll his ankle. Now, fans have to figure out if the Colts are playing possum, or if Freeney is truly injured.
The combination of Freeney’s injury and the absence of Bob Sanders does not look good for Indy. The Colts need some miracle therapy, ’cause “The road is dark and it’s a thin, thin line” between winning and losing next Sunday.
Forever Young
Arizona’s Kurt Warner retired last week. Safe to say that Warner will be good to his word and not try a comeback. Warner leaves the game ranked second all-time with a completion percentage of 65.5 and 258.8 yards per game. Once was a time when people doubted that Warner would get into the hall of fame. Now, the question seems to be when Warner will get his bust in Canton.
Warner’s retirement will set wheels in motion. Is Matt Leinart prepared to put behind him the fraternity / sorority / coed life he has so eagerly embraced up until now? Will Cardinal coach, Ken Whisenhunt, start a QB search? Is Donovan McNabb on Arizona’s radar?
Warner leaves behind a legacy of class and deserves all the acclaim he gets.
“May you build a ladder to the stars and climb on every rung. May you stay forever young.”
Countin’ on a miracle
Speaking of Warner, today the Chicago Bears hired Mike Martz as their offensive coordinator. It was Martz who ten years ago took a quarterback from the Arena Football League and put him under center for ‘The Greatest Show on Turf.” Of course, it was Martz who later benched Warner.
Martz gets the task of working with Jay Cutler. Martz and Cutler may make Felix and Oscar, of Odd Couple fame, seem amicable. The word ego is probably one of the first words used when discussing Martz and Cutler.
Oh yeah, Mike? By the way, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce won’t be running out of the tunnel in Bears’ uniforms.
Sympathy for the devil
Never one to take a back seat to ANYone, Terrell Owens recently tweeted that he “would be on the cusp of breaking Jerry Rice’s career receiving records if only he had played with better quarterbacks.” Hmmmm…he’s kind of got a point. If Owens spent the last 14 seasons catching passes from Joe Montana and Steve Young, things might be different in the record books. Of course, that is assuming Terrell could actually get along with the hall of famers.
Owens assertion set off an interesting discussion on the radio: how the perception of a player’s ability is affected by his situation. The best example of this was Archie Manning. What if Archie Manning called signals for Bill Walsh’s 49ers? Would we consider Manning the greatest quarterback of all time?
“Just as every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints. As heads is tails just call me lucifer ’cause I’m in need of some restraint.”
Super Bowl Saturday
Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic have an idea that is long past due. Move the Super Bowl to Saturday! What is the big deal? Get it done! The Monday after the Super Bowl has to be the least productive work day in the United States of America. Let us be unproductive on Sunday.
I apologize
Rex Ryan at an MMA event in Miami – nothing good can come from that. There is not a tent large enough to camouflage ol’ sexy Rexy. He’s got to know people are going to provoke him. And in that situation, there is no such thing as an instigator penalty. An inappropriate finger gesture is nothing when one considers what could have occurred.
Thankfully, Rex apologized for his poor judgment.
“Temper too quick makes me blind. I apologize.”
Who’ll stop the rain
Scenes from Miami show nothing but overcast skies and rain. That could put a hurtin’ on the field conditions. Yeah, I know. It’s Monday. I just wanted an excuse to make a Creedence reference.
Who are you?
Get ready for a Reader’s Digest version of a halftime show. Pete Townsend announced The Who will play ‘Baba O’Riley’, ‘Pinball Wizard’ , a bit of ‘Tommy’, ‘Who Are You’, and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ The studio versions of those songs easily exceed 20 minutes. Abbreviated versions are on tap.
The passing of Tom Brookshier
Growing up during the sports-starved decade of the 1970s, any televised sporting events were required viewing. Before cable television, sports fans had to plot their schedules according to that rare television broadcast.
Sunday afternoons in the fall mandated a hunkering down in front of the tube. Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier always had the early game. It was those guys who educated millions on the intricacies of football. I was sad to hear when CBS chose to not continue Brookshier’s contract. Sadder still this week to learn of his passing.
Ironically, it was Brookshier, a former Philadelphia Eagle, who nurtured my love for the New York Giants. A former defensive back, much of Brookshier’s analysis of the Giants focused on New York’s ability to stop the ball. Of course, in the 70s he would not have had much of a choice. The Giants’ offense personified ineptitude. The thought crossed my mind that it was Brookshier who introduced the influence of defense to me.
I always enjoyed Brookshier’s wit and his ‘call-’em-as-he-saw-’em’ attitude.
Got any NFL Splinters? Post them here.
Ryan’s interview was quite funny when he insulted the Dolphins, and told all the Miami fans the Jets are going to beat them twice next year.
This really should end up being an excellent game. Each of those teams are extremely well matched. It looks like Indy could have the advantage given that Manning is just about unstoppable. If he can play, Freeney and Mathis ought to be capable of getting enough pressure on Drew to force him to unload the ball earlier than he really wants to. If the saints defense does not come up with a couple of turn overs the colts will most likely win.