Hollywood Donahoe

First off, i wouldn't call the McNabb fumble a blatantly bad call. The ref got it right in the end, yes, but I can't blame them for letting the play go on initially. McNabb's knee grazed the turf and wasn't down for long. Second, what was the other blatantly bad call against Philly? Most of the calls went in their favor. If you want to talk about blatant bad calls, look no further than the blatant illegal pick by Mitchell (no call), Ownes ripping Harrison's helmet off by the facemask during Samuel's INT (no call), ruling that Givens fumbled when his knee was CLEARLY down (eventually overturned), and the ridiculous ticky-tack illegal contact on Phifer. The ref who threw the flag was a good 30 yards away, and if anything, Smith pushed off.

If the game was fixed for the Pats, the ref never would've thrown that ticky-tack flag on Phifer in the first place, especially considering that L.J. Smith was the one who initiated contact. Also, if it was fixed for the Pats, the refs wouldn't have ignored the obvious illegal pick on Mitchell during the long Ownes catch-and-run that got them into scoring range in the first place.

Seems KFFL is full of inaccuracies today. Branch is signed through 2006. Amazing that mere fans frequently know so much more than the supposed "experts."

Sadly, it's not in the cards for me. But it's not so bad. I live in NY, so I generally get to see them when they play the Jets and Bills, and they're on nationally a lot since they started winning. Plus, they're on whenever there isn't a conflicting Jets or Bills game, so I really only miss them a few times a year of late. The worst part about those weeks is that I have to sit through NFL Primetime with the two most insufferable hosts of all time just to see comprehensive highlights.

Up until 1993, I had followed football but had never really cared for a particular team. Anyway, I new somebody with a new England connection who got me interested in the Pats, and before long I realized that following football is a lot more fun when you've got something besides wagers to root for. Been a diehard ever since, despite not being able to watch half their games (outside of the area and no dish). But I follow them anyway I can (internet, TV tickers, radio, highlights, etc.).

How do you figure? Their only key player who's an UFA is Vinatieri, and they always franchise him.

When I think of a dynasty team, I think of a team that goes into multiple Super Bowls in a limited time span and wins them all. But hey, that's just me.

That's exactly what they shouldn't do. Brady has a VERY high QB rating versus the blitz, and has thrown (I believe) 5 TDs versus 0 INTs versus the blitz in his playoff career. The teams that get to Brady are the ones that can consistently get pressure from the 4-man front, while still flooding the passing lanes with 7 players.

Got me. I'm monolingual. Your translation certainly makes sense, though. Assuming it is real (it certainly looks it), I wonder how many times it went horribly wrong before it went right.

Here's the frame-by-frame.

A quick google search led me to this page, which reveals Brady's major in colege to be "organizational studies." Not entirely sure what that, but I imagine it might involve studying organizations.

I think the team will be fine with his cap number next year, although it is high (a shade over $10 million). Cutting or trading (much less likely, I know) Law will free up around that same amount, $10 million. After '05, though, Brady's contract becomes an issue, since it'll be a contract year and because the cap hit jumps to $14 million in '06. Here's an outstanding page on the Pats' cap situation, if you're interested. Got bored of it (just like my Donahoe "Loser" avatar ), and wanted to go a more positive route. Not bashing the Bills, but praising the Pats. Glad you like it!

Ah, I see. To answer your question, Poole's been on IR for quite some time now. Off the top of my head, I think he went on sometime near...week 12, maybe? The starting corners should be Asante Samuel and Randall Gay, with Troy Brown and Hank Poteat seeing time in nickle and dime packages, respectively. (EDIT: And your memory serves you very well. Steve Smith made Poole his B word last year.)

You're about two years early with this post. Brady and Seymour are both signed through 2006, and they are by far the players the Pats will have to pay the most to keep.

Yeah, you're probably right. I was dealing with a Bledsoe apologist, though, so I thought I should account for every excuse possible.

Just wanted to point out that three plays after Brady's INT in SB 38, the defense allowed a LOOOOOOONG TD pass that gave Carolina the lead. Not exactly sure how the defense "bailed" Brady out. It was actually Brady who bailed himself out, as he completed 6 of 8 passes and threw the go-ahead TD pass on the very next drive. After that, the defense gave up an 80-yard TD drive in less than 2 minutes. Brady bailed them out by marching the team into FG range in just 55 seconds. So in a pretty short span of time, Brady bailed out both himself and the defense, and the defense did essentially nothing, allowing the Panthers to score 14 points in rough 2 and a half minutes of game time. Nice revisionist history, though. I just felt that someone should make note of what ACTUALLY happened.

I see reading comprehension is not your strong suit. From my post: 6-0 in the playoffs BEFORE this year's Colts game. BEFORE.

What? Are you really not getting this? What on earth are you talking about?

First off, the fact that EVERY MEDIA OUTLET IN EXISTENCE (all of which get their stats from official stats compilation services) credits Brady with the win should tell you something. Second, see my last post.

You probably won't accept this, but here's the OFFICIAL site of the Super Bowl referencing Brady's playoff record before the divisional round game against the Colts: Let's count! OAKLAND - W - 1 @Pittsburgh - W -2 vs. Rams - W - 3 TENNESSEE - W -4 @Indianapolis - W - 5 vs. Panthers - W - 6 I bet the guy whose job it is to compile those stats for that webpage is an anti- Bledsoe crusader. Are you really this dense or are you just trying to be difficult? Let's go over it once more. Start Game + Leave With Lead + Lead Maintained Throughout Your Abscence = WIN Get it?

Keep trying to convince yourself that Bledsoe got the win, but OFFICIAL NFL STATISTICS credit Brady with the win. I think those are a little more reputable than the voices in your head. The team was leading 7-3, partly due the fact that Brady didn't make any dumb mistakes (like lobbing the ball over his head as he was being sacked or throwing the ball into the numbers of Pittsburgh LBs) that led to Steeler points. he started, he left with the lead, he won. Bledsoe did a decent job to finish the TD drive that Brady started, but he was horrid in the second half, and everyone (but you) realizes this.

Explain to me how Brady played "less than a quarter" when he left just before halftime. I'll be waiting. Brady is credited with the win in that game according to official NFL statistics. Bledsoe is not. Deal with it.

Frankly, we wouldn't have sniffed the playoffs in '01, and I'm not sure the '03 team was good enought to survive Bledsoe.