A little late on these, but they are too funny to pass up.

The Onion has an unbelieable caption following T.O.'s press conference last week. (Not to mention Jessica Simpson's elaborate plan.)

And SSSN details our record traffic day last week.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

1. Did the Giants stop Green Bay's running game or did Mike McCarthy give up on it too early? Was McCarthy so enamored with their matchup advantages at wideout that he didn't adjust enough for the weather? 36 called passes to 13 runs was the final tally. Of course you aren't going to win many games with 49 offensive snaps.

2. Did the Packers have too much faith in Al Harris? Let's be honest. Al Harris had his worst season in the last three-to-four years, and he capped it off with one of his worst games. All the Pro Bowl and All Pro love was a belated award for past achievement. Charles Woodson was the best Packer corner all year, perhaps the best in the NFC. But he covered Amani Toomer for most of the game Sunday and the Giants made him pay.

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Let's hope Sunday's AFC Championship doesn't wind up as LaDainian Tomlinson's most indelible playoff moment. Let's hope this of Hall of Fame player can erase the image of him sitting with his parka hood up, visor on, sitting stoically on the bench. (Wouldn't it be easier to watch at night with it off?). Let's also let the next few weeks play out before judging on his inability to play Sunday. Because there are already questions.

Deion Sanders, speaking on the NFL Network, summed up what many teammates and fans are thinking - unfairly or not.

Continue reading "Should Tomlinson be taking heat?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (59)

I watched most of the Friday Championship press conferences. While Tom Brady was surprisingly introspective, but really the only news was going to come from San Diego.

Philip Rivers returned to practice Friday, but only took a third of the snaps and is listed as doubtful. While the designation is a surprise, Norv Turner, Rivers, and LaDainian Tomlinson all expressed more optimism than you'd expect that Rivers will play. Turner said he didn't see a big difference between 'questionable' and 'doubtful', whatever that means. Rivers will try to warm up before the game, and they will take it from there. I still expect him to wind up playing.

Continue reading "Rivers status still a mystery" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 03:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Former Steeler Curtain All Pro Ernie Holmes passed away Thursday at the age of 59 in a car accident. It is a tragic loss for the Holmes and Steeler family and we send our condolences.

The fact that Holmes met his demise in a car accident must strike some fans as sadly fitting. Holmes was a great player, but he is perhaps best known for an incident that makes any T.O. drama look tame.

At a time when Holmes was broke and mentally unstable, he was on his way to the Steelers front offices to get some money. Most likely, he would have joined their traveling basketball team (imagine that). He couldn't get to the office in time, and on the way out of town became increasingly paranoid about the traffic around him.

Continue reading "Holmes was part of a different NFL" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When I wrote the playoff upgrades earlier this week, I got a number of emails about why Ryan Grant wasn't included.

We wound up talking about it on the Fix, but there were a couple of reasons I left him off.

1. He only played one game (and did lose two fumbles despite the career-making effort).
2. I already say him as a borderline first round pick going into the game. His value didn't change much.

Continue reading "Ryan Grant: First-round pick?" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

1. That the Jersey mob jokes are already old.

2. That he's a tough-talking Parcells disciple. Early indications are that the pressers could be entertaining.

3. As an old line coach, the big uglies up front are going to be very important to him. And he doesn't have a bad group to work with. Samson Satele is a promising center. Miami's offensive line was perhaps the team's greatest strength in 2008.

4. When Sparano called plays for Parcells in 2006, the Cowboys finished fourth in points and fifth in yards. They leaned towards the run, but not dramatically. Their reliance on the deep ball led to finishing fourth in yards-per-attempt despite it being the final days of Drew Bledsoe and the first starts for Tony Romo.

Continue reading "What we know about Tony Sparano" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hiring Chan Gailey as offensive coordiantor was a classic Herm Edwards move. He was the safe pick - probably too safe.

Gailey's tack record meshes perfectly with Herm's love of ball control football. I checked Gailey's eight seasons in the NFL when he was either a coordinator or head coach, and his teams had one defining characteristic; They ran like crazy.

On average, Gailey's teams have finished sixth in the league in rushing attempts, while finishing only 25th in pass attempts. Gailey isn't opposed to vertical strikes when he does throw, finishing tenth on average in yards-per-passing attempt. Gailey's NFL offenses have been mostly successful. On average, they have finished tenth in points and eleventh in giveaways.

Continue reading "Herm plays it safe" »

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And the winner is ...

Consensual Horseplay.

This post was brought to you by Patrick Dahl, Rotoworld Rookie of the Year candidate

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

When playoff time hits, Packers fans pull out all the stops.

No Seinfeld for Eli!

I don't actually believe that Seinfeld is Eli's favorite show anyway. It's probably Two and Half Men, but he just wanted to sound cool.

You will wear number four and like it, kid!

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)