During the major NFL downtime in February writers, not including myself, were scrambling to find stories or anything they could write about. One of those stories that surfaced was the possibility of New York hosting the Super Bowl in 2014.

New York put in it’s bid to host the big game and it obviously has something to do with that monstrous new stadium their building. When news broke about Arizona withdrawing their bid to host the Super Bowl every writer was chiming in with their two cents.

I was actually quite surprised at the number of people who were for having it there. To me, this is just a pipe dream on the part of the owners of new Meadowlands stadium. But a lot of people don’t see it that way. Many people feel the need to have the Super Bowl played in the elements, they figure it is what the NFL purists want.

Well I consider myself an NFL purist and I think it’s a ridiculous idea. I suppose I have to explain my reasoning so here goes.

The main problem I have is the weather that New York tends to get in February, that being cold and snowy. The Super Bowl is supposed to be played at a neutral site as to eliminate any possible advantage. If it were in New York and it was snowing, that clearly creates an advantage for some teams. If the Cardinals and Steelers were playing in said Super Bowl and it was snowing I’m pretty sure the Steelers would have a major advantage.

So say all that does happen and the Steelers destroyed the Cardinals how much news do you think would focus on the weather as being a clear advantage for Pittsburgh? I’d say that would be the main topic. So now you have a team that won but the luster has been taken off because of the advantage the weather gave. Do you think the league wants that? Do you think the league wants fans and writers saying that if it weren’t snowing that the game would be different? It takes credibility away from the champion and the league wouldn’t like that.

I know people say that dome teams have the advantage when playing in a dome and that may have been right 10 years ago. But now all the stadiums are turning to the same kind of turf which allows all teams an even playing surface, literally. Some people even say that when the game is played in Miami that warm weather teams have the advantage. That’s usually where I give up on the argument.

I would be very surprised if the league gave the go ahead on this one. Cold weather is a major advantage for some teams, not every team gets exposure to practicing and playing in the harsh winter conditions of the East coast. Like I said, I’m a total NFL purist and I love watching games played in the elements. Just not ones with as much on the line as the Super Bowl

Technorati Tags: NFL, Super Bowl

After taking a break at the conclusion of the season and just recently having someone tell me this blog is a waste of time I’m back! Just in time to get into this free agency business.

Free agency started on Friday and teams were chomping at the bit for it to start. The Bears seem to have been the most active, or at least have signed two of the bigger names in free agency. They landed Julius Peppers to a 6 year deal with $42 million guaranteed. They also grabbed Chester Taylor away from the Vikings.

Karlos Dansby signed with the Dolphins for 5 years. The deal gives him $22 million guaranteed. Division rival New England Patriots signed Tully Banta-Cain to a three year deal and were able to reach an agreement with Vince Wilfork for 5 years with $25 million guaranteed.

Baltimore was able to trade for Anquan Boldin. Arizona gets Baltimores 3rd and 4th round picks this year in exchange for Boldin and the Cardinals 5th round pick in 2010.

Lots of action for the first few days of free agency, and I’m sure it won’t be letting up anytime soon.

Technorati Tags: Anquan Boldin, Chester Taylor, Julius Peppers, Karlos Dansby, Tully Banta-Cain, Vince Wilfork

All week there was so much talk about how great the Colts are and how Peyton Manning is the greatest quarterback ever. Everyone who was doing the talking forgot one thing, there was still a game to be played.

Last night the Saints had something to say and they said it on the field. There can be no excuses made by the great Colts or Manning, they definitely aren’t making any. The game had few penalties and few mistakes. The costliest mistake was made by Peyton Manning when Tracy Porter picked off a Manning pass and returned it for a touchdown. That’s something you never saw Joe Montana do or something Tom Brady has yet to, and possibly may never do.

Manning may not be fully to blame for the interception, Porter diagnosed the play to perfection and stepped in front on the pass. However you rarely see Manning make such a mistake with such tight coverage.

The turning point in the game was no doubt the call by Sean Payton to attempt the onside kick at the beginning of the second half. The idea behind it was brilliant, keep Manning on the sidelines. If it wound up not working Payton probably would have been ridiculed for it by many people. But he stayed true to his philosophy of needing to take big chances in big games. Wether that play worked or not, you have to respect the man for staying true to his game plan.

While the world watched Peyton Manning prove he’s not even the best quarterback in the game today, let alone ever, they witnessed another quarterback take his game to a new level. Drew Brees played an amazing game. In the biggest game of his life he remained calm and poised. Right from the beginning of the game you could see his focus.

In the first quarter the offensive line of the Saints struggled a little with the pressure the Colts were putting on. But with all the chaos going on around him Brees slid around in that pocket and remained poised. The Colts came out and threw a lot at the Saints in the first quarter, the fact that New Orleans handled it played a huge role in the way the game went. Drew Brees handled the pressure of the big game like all the other quarterbacks that are considered to be the greatest did. Peyton Manning handled the pressure of the big game the way he usually does. His record in the postseason is 9-9. Now, remind me again of who dat everyone was anointing the greatest quarterback ever?

Technorati Tags: Drew Brees, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Peyton Manning, Sean Payton

It looks like Joey Porters time as a Miami Dolphin may be up. On Tuesday Porter told the Dolphins radio station that he feels as though he’s not being used enough by Miami.

“I’m an every-down player,” Porter told WQAM. “I’m supposed to be out on the field when the game’s on the line. I was on the sideline in the fourth quarter cheering.”

Things seemed to start heading south in the marriage when Porter was benched earlier in the season when the Dolphins played Tampa Bay. The only reason given for the benching was a coaches decision. Porter feels it stems from an incident on the Friday night before the Bucs game, in which he apparently went out for dinner.

Whatever the reason is it really doesn’t matter. Porter doesn’t think the relationship can be salvaged and has asked to be released. It’s tough to say whether or not the Dolphins will release Porter. Cameron Wake is the guy that’s been taking Porters time on the field. Wake is a pass rush specialist transplanted in Miami last year after spending two years playing for the BC Lions of the CFL. In his two seasons with BC he recorded 39 sacks rushing from the edge.

If the Dolphins do decide to release him he probably won’t be a free agent for long. As much jawing as Porter does bring to the table he’s still an asset. He’s surely has a few years left in the tank and he brings a level of intensity to a defense that you just can’t put a value on.

Technorati Tags: Joey Porter, Miami Dolphins, NFL

At the beginning of the season hopes were high for Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. But after a disappointing season by Cutler that included a league high 26 interceptions the Bears felt they needed to go back to the drawing board. They did just that and have decided on bringing in Cutler a little help at the coaching position.

Mike Martz was hired on Monday as the Bears new offensive coordinator. Martz was last employed with the 49ers serving as their offensive coordinator in 2008. Of course his claim to fame is designing the greatest show on turf back in his days with the St. Louis Rams.

Cutler and Martz seem to be a match made in heaven. Cutler can make any throw you want a quarterback to make, and that should make Martz tight in his trousers thinking of all the 30 yard passing plays he can conjure up.

There is where the problem lies for the Bears right now. Martz is known for his wild offensive schemes, which often rely on the quarterback having to hold onto the ball for a little longer while the receivers run their 25-30 yard routes. The problem with that is Chicagos offensive line sucks. If Martz wants his offense to work, he needs to reconstruct that line.

So the Bears will be undergoing an offensive overhaul this offseason. Making sure that line is solid will be their first priority. Don’t be surprised if they are aggressive in the free agent market or try to fan-dangle a trade too. Bringing in a big play receiver would help this offense a great deal.

This marriage will be an interesting one. These two guys have “unique” personalities, border-lining on eccentric. Fireworks could be flying on and off the field for the Bears next year.

Technorati Tags: Chicago Bears, Jay Cutler, Mike Martz, NFL

If the Colts defense wants to stop the Saints high powered offense this coming Sunday, they may have to do it with their best defensive player on the sideline. It’s being reported that Dwight Freeney has a torn ligament in his right ankle, which he hurt in the AFC championship game against the Jets.

Freeney had 13.5 sacks this year and his pass rushing abilities are second to none in the league. He’s the last player the Colts could handle losing going into this game.

The Saints passing attack is the best in the NFL. When Brees gets time in the pocket he has a habit of picking defenses apart. Although he was noticably off in the NFC championship game, it’s fully expected he’ll bounce back from that and have a performance worthy of being in the big game.

If, in fact, Freeney does happen to miss the biggest game of the year it may hurt the Colts quite a bit. Their defense is built around getting pressure on the quarterback. If the pressure isn’t there the Colts corners are going to have to play extremely well. The Colts still have Mathis coming off the edge on the other side, but now you can put the focus solely on blocking him instead of having to split the attention.

If Brees gets all day to throw the football the Saints are going to score a lot of points. Hey, maybe Freeney missing this game could be a good thing. We may be in store for the most offensive Super Bowl ever, and I mean that in a good way.

Technorati Tags: Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Super Bowl

It’s being reported that Kurt Warner is expected to announce his retirement on Friday. There was a lot of talk after the Cardinals playoff loss to the Saints that this could be Warners last year. So this news comes as no surprise.

This won’t be a Brett Favre job by Warner. If he does, in fact, decide to retire this Friday you can bet that his decision will be concrete. Warner will turn 39 later on this year and was given the business pretty good by the Saints in the NFC divisional game.

Back in 2004 it seemed like Kurt Warners best days were behind him. He was playing for the Giants and eventually lost the starting job to Eli Manning. The following year he signed with the Cardinals and his first two years there he shared snaps with a few other quarterbacks. But in 2007 Warner turned things around. He had all the weapons in place in Arizona and he started looking like the old Warner during his glory days with the Rams.

It’s been questioned whether or not Warners body of work in the NFL has done enough to earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame. A few years ago that argument held some weight, but not enough. With what Warner has done over the past three years with the Cardinals though should be enough to convince anybody he’s a worthy candidate.

Is Kurt a first ballot guy? That’s tough to say considering people don’t even know if he’s even worthy. But there won’t be a lot of time that goes by until people make the right call. If he does retire the last game he played will be remembered for the amount of punishment he took from the Saints defense. Everyone says how tough Favre is, Kurt Warner isn’t that far behind. He’s played the last three years, probably more, battling injuries. But he’s played through and in the process he’s helped turn the Cardinals something they’ve never been, a really good football team.

Warner has done everything a quarterback could dream of in this league. He’s been to three Super Bowls and won one, he’s won multiple league MVPs, he’s been to 5 Pro Bowls, he’s compiled big-time stats. There are very few guys who wouldn’t want to trade careers with the guy.

The league is pretty skinny on franchise quarterbacks these days. As time goes by, and Warner isn’t playing anymore, people will start to realize how great of a player Kurt Warner really is and his enshrinement into the Hall of Fame won’t come soon enough.

Technorati Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Kurt Warner, NFL

All week long now players have been dropping out of the Pro Bowl like crazy. It’s gotten to the point now where David Garrard replaced Peyton Manning because Manning is in the Super Bowl. Never can I remember the Pro Bowl ever being this ridiculous.

First off, you’ve got 14 players missing the game because of the Super Bowl. That right there is more than an offense or a defense worth of players gone. Then there’s 16 players so far that have dropped out of the game due to injuries. That’s 30 players total, which is more than half a teams roster.

At first I was a supporter of having the game played before the Super Bowl. I thought it gives something to the fans to tide them over until the big game. But now I don’t even care about the Pro Bowl and I just want the Super Bowl to get here. Not to take anything away from the players that are going but it’s kind of like in 1987 when the league had replacement players playing for a few weeks. It’s a game full of replacement players.

A hot topic this year was meaningless games. Get rid of meaningless games and you’ll cut down on players getting injured. Get rid of two pre season games and add two more to the regular season, which actually winds up increasing the workload for teams starting players. There were playoff teams at the end of the year resting guys before the playoffs because they were either already a little nicked or the team didn’t want to risk them getting injured in a meaningless game.

So imagine this season had an 18 game schedule. The playoff race went right down to the wire so you had teams fighting right through the 18 games. Take a team like the Jets, who were a wildcard team and had to fight through all the regular season games. Then they played three games on the road in the playoffs, they’re tired and beat up and they wind up losing. Do you really think the first thing after the game Nick Mangold and Alan Faneca would be talking about is “Hey at least we get to play in the Pro Bowl next week!”?

The Pro Bowl is the most meaningless game of them all. Yea it’s great for the first time guys but when it gets to be your second or third, which in the new format means you won’t be in the Super Bowl, it probably gets a little redundant. There’s talk about moving it to August, which would only cause to screw up teams preparation for the season. Not to mention if a player gets injured he doesn’t have the luxury of the offseason to recover.

The game has worn out it’s point and It’s boring. It’s not like the NBA All Star game where you have guys really showcasing their individual talent. All it’s gonna take is an injury like Wes Welkers in the Pro Bowl for people to start chirping up about how stupid the game really is. So let’s not get to that point and just scrap it. The league wouldn’t be flooded with letters of complaints, I can guarantee that.

Technorati Tags: NFL, Pro Bowl

As this game draws closer, the matchup between the Colts and the Jets becomes more intriguing. Obviously plenty of people are picking the Colts, figuring the Jets cinderella season is ready to strike midnight. A good chunk of those people probably want to see the Jets lose. Rex Ryan and company might have worn out their welcome, but it’s not gonna be easy to kick them out of the party.

The Jets play the kind of football that seems to give the Colts the most problems. They play physical on defense and force their will on the quarterback. And their offense plays ball control, not making very many mistakes which could keep Manning with his arms crossed shaking his head on the sidelines. This game won’t be as easy as some may think for the Colts.

The Jets seem to hang around like a bad cough. They keep games close and capitalize when the other team gets frustrated and makes a mistake. Both the Bengals and the Chargers had leads on the Jets, but they failed to put them away when given the opportunities.

The Colts will have their opportunities on Sunday. The key for them will be to take advantage when they arise. If the Colts can get up on the Jets by a couple of touchdowns they’ll win, the Jets won’t have any kind of chance if they have to start throwing and playing catch up. But if the Colts don’t make something of the opportunities and let the Jets hang around into the fourth quarter, their season may come to an abrupt end and people are going to have to stomach Rex Ryan for at least another two weeks.

Technorati Tags: Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, NFL

All I gotta say about this is wow. Prince has come out and made a song for his hometown Minnesota Vikings. The song is called “Purple and Gold” and I guess it’s supposed to inspire the team and fans.

Look, I’m a huge Prince fan. He’s one of the most amazing musicians ever and he’s released a lot of great albums. So it really pains me to say this, but this song is pretty shitty.

I mean if you’re a Vikings fan you’re probably creaming your BVDs, having Prince record a rally song for your team is pretty rad. But when it’s this song it’s not rad at all. If I were a Viking fan I’d probably just have preferred him to rehash “Let’s Go Crazy”.

Having said all that I don’t think the Vikings need any kind of rally song or any more flash than what they already add themselves. If it didn’t work for LTPrice, it probably won’t work for the Vikings. And if the Vikings happen to lose on Sunday it will only serve to remind them of the real glory they missed out on.

Technorati Tags: Minnesota Vikings, NFL