SportsCrack

A Patriot Fans Manifesto

Instead of pretending to be fair and balanced like Fox News, I am instead going to write in the henceforth ‘Pats-person.’ It is similar to first person and third person, except that I will in no way hide my undying allegiance to the most hated team in sports.

It was a mere seven years ago the Patriots were the underdog darling of the entire country. Since then, it’s been quite a journey. Back then they were the team that no one gave a chance to and were a general feel good story (except in St. Louis of course).

After a year off the Patriots were in the Super Bowl yet again, this time against the Carolina Panthers. Suddenly, the word ‘dynasty’ was being thrown around and although the underdog tag could no longer be applied to them, they were still respected by the majority of NFL fans.

The very next year, 2004, the Patriots were yet AGAIN in the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles were the next victim and around this time people were starting to see the Patriots a bit too much. Almost like ‘Hey, it was cute at first guys, now you’re annoying – cut it out!’

Two years and two gut-wrenching playoff losses later, we arrive at the beginning of the 2007 season. The Patriots had added a plethora of weapons including but not limited to Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Adalius Thomas. Then, during Week 1, the shit hit the fan.

It went by many names, the favorite appearing to be Spy Gate. The Patriots were caught red handed taping the defensive signals against the New York Jets. I’m not going to get into how Eric Mangina is a snitch and all that because it would go nowhere. You either agree with what he did or you don’t. Personally, I think it’s a bit more widespread than everyone made it seem, but oh well. The damage had been done. The ‘Patriot darlings’ were suddenly labeled as cheaters and everything they had accomplished up until then came under question.

Explaining the feelings upon hearing this, as a Patriots fan since childhood would be too difficult. The only thing I can equate it to is if the star player on your team was caught using steroids, but even then it’s like comparing apples and bananas. If you live in an NFL city that was once considered a dynasty, imagine Spy Gate happening to them right at the peak of their greatness. It sucks, let me tell you.

It didn’t necessarily suck because I believed it was such a horrible thing to do. Again, I think that every single NFL team in the league does what they need to do to gain a competitive advantage. It sucked because the New England Patriots had become the New York Yankees/Dallas Cowboys/Place a Successful Disliked Team Here, all rolled into one. Pretend that that team killed your dog and you’d have the general consensus of the new look New England Patriots.

However as the Patriots began to tally win after win each week, I began to feel less and less ashamed of what the Patriots had done. After all, they didn’t even get to use the ‘cheating intel’ from Week 1. Every win that they added to their record was legit and I became less and less concerned that I was rooting for the criminal of the NFL.

Now, as we stand on the precipice of NFL history, it just boggles me how in a mere seven years the Patriots went from darling underdogs to hated villains. It’s interesting to say the least. With success comes jealousy and with jealousy comes hatred. I’m sure there will be a lot of articles covering the Giants/Pats Super Bowl in the upcoming days. I’m sure that many of them will spew anti-Patriot content and that’s okay. I don’t really expect non-Patriots fans to side with them and am pretty sure that 45 ½ out of the 50 states (Vermont might be half and half) will be rooting against the Pats in the Super Bowl. I mean, if I wasn’t a Patriots fan, I sure as hell would.

Due to the success of the season it was easy to shrug off attacks by suggesting jealousy or ignorance. But if you thought Boston area sports fans were obnoxious before? Just think of how bad we’re going to be when we get to give it all back to you when we win the Super Bowl in two weeks.

Championship Round Quick Picks

Real quick:

Pats 41 Chargers 28

L.T. whines after the game and uses the word 'class' at least 3 times. Also, Rivers gets into an argument with at least two fans in the crowd because he still thinks he's in Pee-Wee football.



Giants 31 Packers 30

Major upset in what will be a much better game than people think.

Miami Dolphins Year in Review

It was an eventful year for the Miami Dolphins, albeit a year that did not include much wins (one to be exact). Although next year does show some promise after the hiring of Bill Parcells as the ‘executive VP of football operations’ coupled with the first pick in the NFL Draft.

The Dolphins season started just like everyone else’s: with hope and a clean slate. With Trent Green under center, a confident Ronnie Brown in the backfield and an elderly promising defense, Dolphins fans were excited for the upcoming season.

The excitement continued even after a 16-13 OT loss to the Washington Redskins in Week 1. Over the next 7 weeks however, the Dolphins would rack up 7 more losses. They would lose Trent Green for the season after a Week 5 concussion (which gave the reigns to Cleo Lemon) as well as Ronnie Brown for the year in Week 7. Up until then, Brown had been running like a madman, piling up 602 yards on 119 rushes and 4 touchdowns. Going into the Week 9 bye, the Dolphins were 0-8 and had lost their starting quarterback and running back to year ending injuries.

It was perhaps at this time, as in Madden, that fans realized that even if they unrealistically won out the rest of their season, they would be 8-8 and would likely still miss the playoffs. The mood in Miami was dismal and the team members did not look happy. The depression would continue through Week 14, where the Dolphins stood at 0-13. During the 5 games since the bye week, the Dolphins had played in some close games (13-10 loss to the Bills in Week 10), some bad games (40-13 ass kicking by the Jets in Week 13) and the ugly (a 3-0 loss to the Steelers in Week 12, where we saw what was perhaps the worst playing conditions in the history of the NFL). The Dolphins were 3 losses away from being an immortal laughing stock in NFL history.

But then, something crazy happened. The Dolphins won a Week 15 game against the Ravens (surprise, surprise) and ended the entire nation’s dream of the defeated Dolphins ending the undefeated Patriots season in Week 16, which would have effectively imploded the universe. Still, the Dolphins organization as a whole was ecstatic that instead of being known as the ‘first team to go 0-16’ they would instead just be known as ‘that horrible 1-15 Dolphins team from 2007.’ The 2007 Dolphins were definitely a half glass full type team, that’s for sure. Even if they lost their remaining two games (which they did) they still won at least one game. Motivational coaches everywhere smiled to themselves.

The Dolphins ended the 2007 season 1-15 and once the good feelings of at least winning one game wore off, they realized they were still going to suck just as much next year. Then, something even crazier happened. Bill Parcells decided he was bored on NFL Sunday Countdown and wanted to get back into the NFL somehow. Parcells chose the Dolphins over the Falcons and Miami fans rejoiced. Perhaps they would not suck so much next year. Almost immediately, the new executive VP of football operations began to clean house, firing GM Randy Mueller and head coach Cam Cameron.

Dolphins 2007 Team Leaders

PASSING

Cleo Lemon: 173/309, 1773 yards, 5.74 yards per attempt, 6 TD, 6 INT

RUSHING

Ronnie Brown: 119 carries, 602 yards, 4 TD, 0 fumbles

RECEIVING

Marty Booker: 50 receptions, 556 yards, 1 TD

DEFENSE

Channing Crowder: 77 total tackles (60 solo), 1 sack (Jason Allen led the team in interceptions with 3)

Parcells would eventually bring in former Cowboys underling Tony Sparano as the new head coach a few weeks later. Considering the state of the team minutes after their season ended at 1-15, Dolphins fans have to at least feel good that the team is now on the right track with Parcells at the helm. Known for his keen eye for talent and no nonsense approach to the game, the team should look and play completely different next year, and for the better.

Who will the Dolphins take at #1? Will they trade down? Perhaps the only position the Dolphins don’t need to upgrade is running back, but with Darren McFadden available it would surprise no one if the Fins take him, considering his talent. LSU DT Glenn Dorsey is generally regarded as the best senior prospect in the entire draft and the Dolphins may very well take him. There are a bunch of different positions available with the number one pick, so it’s anyone’s guess as to which direction the team will go. But one thing is for sure, with Parcells steering them, they’ll be headed in the right direction.

Wannabe GM: San Francisco 49ers QB Situation

I’ve decided to pretend that I’m a GM of various ailing NFL teams and describe exactly what I would do to turn the franchise around. Think of it as a guideline for these teams to follow so they won’t suck as much next year.

The first edition: The San Francisco 49ers. The topic: The horrid QB situation they’re faced with.

As we all know, the San Francisco 49ers had a QB carousel this season. Four different quarterbacks lined up under center in 2007: Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer, Shaun Hill and Chris Weinke. Call me crazy but that’s a lot of quarterbacks, especially if for the most part, they all didn’t show us much skill at all (except Shaun Hill). Firstly, let’s take a look at each QB’s stats (and their full names!):

Trent Farris Dilfer: 113 completions with 219 attempts for 1166 yards (51.6 completion %), 7 TD, 12 INT, 5.32 yards per attempt and a 55.1 QB rating. Trent played in 7 games.

Alexander D. Smith: 94 completions with 193 attempts for 914 yards (48.7 completion %), 2 TD, 4 INT, 4.74 yards per attempt and a 57.2 QB rating. Alex played in 6 games (and one play in a seventh).

Shaun Hill (Couldn’t find a middle name or initial): 54 completions with 79 attempts for 501 yards (68.4 completion %), 5 TD, 1 INT, 6.34 yards per attempt and a 101.3 QB rating. Shaun played in 3 games.

Christopher Jon Weinke: 13 completions with 22 attempts for 104 yards (59.1 completion %), 1 TD, 0 INT, 4.73 yards per attempt and a 86.2 QB rating. Chris played in 1 game… and I’m not entirely sure why.

To be fair, it’s hard to compare Shaun and Chris to Trent and Alex due to the varying degree of games played. It's like comparing apples and pebbles, but, we’re going to do it anyway.

Take a long look at that list. Soak in all of the statistics. If you owned an NFL team, which QB on that list would you want running your offense? What’s that? None of them? If I absolutely had to pick one QB on the list it would be Shaun Hill, but those are stats for three games. THREE games!

Trying to give Alex Smith the benefit of the doubt(which is difficult, he nearly ruined my fantasy team this year), since he is the franchise quarterback after all, I took a look at his previous two years statistics.

2005 (rookie year): 84 completions with 165 attempts for 875 yards (50.9 completion %), 1 TD, 11 INT, 5.30 yards per attempt and a 40.8 QB rating. Alex played in 9 games his rookie year.

2006: 257 completions with 442 attempts for 2890 yards (58.1 completion %), 16 TD, 16 INT, 6.54 yards per attempt and a 74.8 QB rating. Alex played in all 16 games in 2006.

Smith’s 2007 season was riddled by injuries but even so, the games he did play in were not of franchise QB caliber. You could say his 2007 was an off year and he could improve on both his 2006 and 2007 campaigns with a great 2008. I would have to disagree – the 49ers have waited three years on this kid, it’s time to look elsewhere. Not let him go entirely, but look elsewhere.

Heading back to the Shaun Hill front (the only other on-team option – that’s right, I’m not considering Weinke and Dilfer as options) I took a quick look at his career statistics. What I found was… nothing. In his six years in the NFL, all of Shaun Hill’s career stats came in 2007 (save for two rushes when he was with the Vikings for a whopping -2 yards).

So the question that stands before us? Are three quality starts enough to base a whole 2008 season on? Of course not, so that is why the 49ers must take a QB in the upcoming draft. The Niners have the 30^th overall pick in the first round (acquired from Indianapolis) and by all accounts, they are going to take a WR with their first pick. Why shouldn’t they? Their WR situation is more sordid than the QB one. They do have the 7^th pick in the 2^nd round, however. So here are some quarterback’s that will most likely be available.

• Colt Brennan (Hawaii)

• John David Booty (USC)

• Chad Henne (Michigan)

• Dennis Dixon (Oregon)

These are all promising picks, not to mention a bunch of other sleepers that we’ll learn about at the NFL Combine. If I had to choose though, it would either be Brennan or Dixon – with a lean towards Dixon. I think the 49ers offense would benefit greatly from an agile quarterback considering that even if they get a great WR in the first round, they still won’t have an all start cast at wide out.

Hopefully the 49ers will pick a quality QB this time and sure, he’s going to have his learning curve. But coupled with a rookie WR, a rejuvenated Frank Gore and a few tweaks on defense, the San Francisco 49ers could very well return to their former juggernaut status of yore.

San Francisco 49ers Year in Review

The 2007 NFL football season has been great. Although I can’t remember a football season that I didn’t enjoy, this year was so chock full of headlines and interesting stories, it would take days to cover them all. Throw in my first full season of NFL Sunday Ticket, and you’ve got yourself a good time. Anyway, I’ve taken it upon myself to pick a few random NFL teams, and take a look at their season as well as a look ahead to what’s in store for them next year. We’ve all been talking about the playoff teams so much; I’ve felt the need to write about some of the non-playoff teams. Call it a swan song of football before I jump into writing about basketball, if you will. Anyway, today’s team: The San Francisco 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers started out the 2007 season as the trendy sleeper pick of the pre-season. They were coming off an improved 2006 performance and signed many key free agents including CB Nate Clements and WR Ashley Lelie. Frank Gore was coming off a fantastic year (1695 rushing yards, 8 TD’s) and Alex Smith appeared to be maturing into the starting QB role after an equally impressive 2^nd year in the NFL (2890 passing yards, 16 TD’s 74.8 QB rating).

The 49ers started out 2007 with an impressive come from behind victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the second Monday Night Game of the evening. Although the offense was stagnant for the most part, many were optimistic about it all, concluding that the Niners could come from behind and win close ball games. Not to mention, it was a divisional victory and who complains about divisional victories, right?

The optimism continued in Week 2 as the 49ers squeaked out another close win in St. Louis 17-16. Alex Smith again had a mediocre showing, but Frank Gore rushed for a respectable 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 2-0 49ers could easily have been 0-2, but they were not – and there defense was playing fantastic. 49er fans were beginning to think that all of the preseason hype was beginning to look legit and they did indeed have a playoff caliber team.

However, it was at this time boys and girls that the wheels began to fall off the 49er bandwagon. They dropped six straight leaving them at 2-6 and looking at a Monday Night match up against their division rival, The Seattle Seahawks. During this nationally televised game, the 49ers were shutout 24-0, in one of their poorest showings in franchise history. They would not win again until Week 12, an overtime thriller against the Arizona Cardinals. But by then, it was too late.

During the final five weeks of the season, the 49ers would go 2-3, beating the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They finished the season 5-11 and are generally regarded as the biggest disappointment of the entire season, when taking into account pre-season predictions. After last years run at the NFC West title, the 49ers were outclassed by the front running Seattle Seahawks in both games this year, being outscored 47-3.

There is a lot to look forward to next year, though. Patrick Willis, the 49ers first round draft pick won defensive rookie of the year honors. Frank Gore, while not having his best of years in 2007, is still relatively young and can only get better. While the defense isn’t anything to write home about, you’d be a fool to think it can’t be tweaked a bit and be a top 10 unit.

2007 Team Leaders

Passing

T. Dilfer - 113 completions, 219 attempts, 1166 yards, 7 TD, 12 INT

Rushing

F. Gore - 260 carries, 1102 yards, 4.2 average, 5 TD

Receiving

A. Battle – 50 receptions, 600 yards, 12.0 average, 5 TD

Defense

P. Willis – 135 solo tackles, 39 assisted tackles, 4 sacks

One of the big questions going into the off season for the 49ers is what to do at the quarterback position. Will they stick with Alex Smith? Perhaps they will give Shaun Hill a chance? This is a topic in and of itself (one in which I will be writing about next) but you can’t rule out the 49ers taking a QB in the draft, either. Alex Smith has appeared to hit a stopgap talent wise, but he could still get better. It is however, a major concern that the organization will have to address for the team to live up to its true potential.

One of the most glaring needs for the 49ers is of course, the wide receiver position. Darrel Jackson is in no way a #1 receiver and Ashley Lelie did not live up to expectations at all in 2007. This could again be because of the inconsistency at the QB position (the team started 4 different QB’s during the season) or the 49ers could need better receivers. I believe it is a mixture of both.

If the 49ers focus on a promising younger receiver, possibly a quarterback and depth on defense in the draft, they have a realistic shot at accomplishing next year what they were supposed to this year. We’ll all just have to wait and see.