Hi Folks,
I say the same thing every December but I think it's fitting that the regular season wraps up this time of year. Because for me, the NFL season is sort of like Christmas: Tons of anticipation and then it seems to be over before I know it.
This was easily the most challenging NFL season in a while. But in the end, I still was there every minute. I admit it, I love Football. And I'm guessing the fact you're reading this in late December puts you pretty far up the Loving Football Scale too.
It's OK. They say Recognition is the first step...
Seriously, part of the fun in writing this column is that every week, I know I'll get to share some thoughts with folks like yourself who love football as much as I do. And that strikes me as a very good thing. I've had a blast throwing out my goofy observations this season. And I've smiled at the emails from people telling me they've thought some of the same things as they were watching the games.
Before this turns into a Hallmark card / Winston Wolfe scene, let's get on with this. As I wrap up the regular season in this week 17, I've pulled up some of the more interesting things I remember seeing during the year.
Bottom line is this thing has been a lot of fun to create for you guys. It's my sincerest hope that you've enjoyed reading it 10% as much as I enjoyed writing it. We'll do it again next season. If you've got thoughts and ideas on how this thing can be better, or just want to yell at me about my preseason Jay Cutler love, feel free to shoot me a line at Bryant@footballguys.com.
Here's to Football,
Joe
From Week 1
I’ll admit, he’s a little frightening at times but with the NFL season kicking off Thursday night, I was feeling like Jimmy Johnson.
I don’t know what kind of cup Joe Flacco’s wearing, but every QB in the league should have one.
Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict left the game with a concussion after this encounter.
Mandatory.com is back with Part Two of What If These QBs Were Bald?
Warning - you want be able to unsee some of these.
Here’s Johnny Manziel.
Wes Welker is reportedly ready to go with a new helmet.
Regular readers know I love the “Glitch In The Matrix” stuff where things are off. Sometimes the Matrix works together beautifully as it did for Saturday’s Arkansas State Game.
If I were the coach, I’d make Jemar Clark and Darion Griswold stand next to each other all the time.
Go Clark.
From Week 2
What’s better for lightening the mood than the Simpsons?
Your favorite NFL Players as Simpsons characters, that’s what.
And if you needed another thing to be happy about, cheer for Bleacher Report not breaking this into 47 separate slides…
FauxJohnMadden made me smile Sunday morning with this headline: “Devastating news for the Cowboys today, as Tony Romo woke up feeling great.”
Rock on Michigan State. Sunday was a nice effort for Spartan QBs as Kirk Cousins, Drew Stanton and Brian Hoyer all lined up under center.
Not sure what to do with that.
God Bless Terry Pegula. After much uncertainty, Mr. Pegula saved the Bills vowing to keep them in Buffalo and making lots of people very happy.
From the article written by Luke Russert, “I got to my desk and saw the headline on the Buffalo News web page that I knew it was really happening. Then, I cried. I cried for my grandpa, my Uncle Bill and for my dad. I cried for all those Buffalonians who had fallen on hard times, who looked to the Bills to bring some joy into their lives.”
I have no idea how effective he’ll be as an owner. But I’m cheering for him and the Bills.
Oh, and please can they wear the throwbacks every game?
Washington coach Jay Gruden hinted that it was “unfair” to label Robert Griffin III as injury prone.
Football fans responded with
I’m with Peter King in that I was bummed Cleveland’s Jordan Cameron missed Sunday’s game as like the rest of America, I’d been looking forward to Jordan Cameron against New Orleans defensive end Cameron Jordan.
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs decided to break out the gladiator mask for pre game introductions Thursday night.
Suggs said the inspiration came from Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. “He was like, ‘Yeah, you should do it. It would be tight.’ ’’
I mean, how can you argue with “Yeah, you should do it. It would be tight.”?
I love it that Mike Ditka…
is rocking the glasses from the guy in UP.
That’s pretty funny…
I’m dying to know what Aaron Rodgers is signaling here. Assuming it’s something different than what I think it is…
I’ve got a new theory.
It’s goes something along the lines of the universe needing balance. If you’re really good at something, you need to have something else in your life that’s as bad as whatever it is you’re good at.
My evidence for this is Andrew Luck and Nick Foles. They’re both really good quarterbacks. With most people considering Luck a great quarterback. Balancing out the quarterbacking goodness are the “beards” they’re forced to wear.
You’ll notice Luck’s beard is proportionally bad compared to Foles and Luck’s quarterbacking skills are better in the same degree.
What do you think?
Truth be told, I’m kind of worried about Andrew Luck.
Speaking of headwear, I give you Joe Philbin.
If he got that crown any taller, he’d be pushing for a room at the Vatican.
I’m not Catholic, but rock on Pope Francis.
Washington’s Roy Helu found there was nothing like going for the spin the ball move and having the ref steal your thunder.
Jordy Nelson doing a Lambeau Leap into the arms of a fan wearing a Jordy Nelson jersey equals Happiness Meter Pegged.
From Week 3
Andy Reid makes me happy.
Although it’ll never top the Kool Aid gif from last year.
If you’re old enough to know what I’m talking about, you know what I’m talking about.
And the happiness wasn’t just limited to Reid.
Cyrus Gray enjoyed himself.
Although with every action, comes a reaction. On the other side of Gray’s celebration were Knile Davis owners who were making the Jerry Richardson face.
Much was made a few years ago when Richardson asked Cam Newton to refrain from tattoos or piercings.
Apparently Jerry said nothing about capri pants or tuxedo slippers.
You Go, Cam Newton. That’s a secure man right there.
This is how I remember Joey Porter, the player.
Joey Porter, the coach seems different…
Which illustrates one of my favorite quotes from the legendary Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast around here.”
Although in fairness, Cameron Heyward is a big dude.
Thanks to Footballguy Tom Winkler for that one.
Nobody gets ready for an overtime field goal like like Stephen Hauschka.
Thanks to Footballguy Erik Weinapple for that one.
The Good News: Finally a Houston TD from Fitzpatrick to Johnson.
The Bad News: Damaris Johnson…
Fantasy owners responded with
One more on Fitzpatrick.
Ouch.
I called out former Michigan State QBs Brian Hoyer, Kirk Cousins and Nick Foles last week.
Footballguy Joseph Hughes sent me this great pic.
Sweet.
And I know you Arizona folks are proud of Foles. Don’t screw this up for me…
Bengals WR / QB Mohamed Sanu is rocking a career QB rating of 158.3 He’s now 4 for 4 with 2 touchdowns. That’s pretty good…
That defensive back has some explaining to do…
I cheer for any quarterback with a mohawk.
I’m with Deadspin on this one. Derek Carr, please stop doing that with your tongue.
You don’t want to be Michael Jordan tongue wagging when a hit like this happens.
Break up the Bengals…
If there was ever a guy born to wear the Cincinnati uniform, it was Andy Dalton.
And if they ever do a remake of The Incredibles with human actors, Dalton’s a shoe in for Syndrome.
Sometimes no matter how you raise your kids, they just choose to go a different direction than you’d like.
You parents may be able to relate to this Eagle Dad.
Please tell me this ad ran in Denver…
Regular Random Shots readers know I like few things more than Tom Brady left hanging on the high five.
Things became much more clear Sunday. Evidently, this phenomena starts at the top of the Patriots organization.
Sunday night, Brady had some words for Marky Mark.
If there’s a guy in the league who should be wearing a mouthpiece, it’s Andre Ellington.
Dude has some teeth.
He’s no Steve Bisciotti. But I mean, who is?
Daryl Johnston misread the schedule and wore the “radio” jacket.
When you’re Ben Roethlisberger, you hold the laces however you feel like.
I’m going to leave you with Anquan Boldin explaining his part of the story.
This face usually accompanies the phrase, “You see, what happened was…”
From Week 4
The Falcons may have lost the game Sunday. But coach Mike Smith struck gold on the sidelines.
Yeah, I’m twelve.
Knock Knock, Drew.
Maybe I’m ten…
Have you noticed all the players and coaches using iPads on the sidelines?
Except they’re not iPads. They’re Microsoft Surface tablets.
On a related note from the NBA, new Los Angeles Clippers owner (and former Microsoft Big Shot) Steve Ballmer had this face for Apple when he said the team will “probably” have a No iPads On This Team rule.
Teddy Bridgewater has one game of NFL experience. And he’s already a better slider than Robert Griffin III.
Glitch in the Matrix from a couple of weeks ago.
Over the Weekend of September 13-14 The University of Minnesota Gophers and the Minnesota Vikings both lost by the same 30-7 score.
Sometimes these things take a little time to become apparent. Thanks to Footbalguy Don Pavelka for this one.
Fun stuff on ESPN’s Sunday Countdown with our friend Adam Schefter turned Sumo Wrestler.
Some pictures tell the whole story. This is one of those pictures.
I love Jerry Jones as Mr. Burns.
Excellent…
First World Twitter Problems
NFL Network Reporter Ian Rapoport uses @RapSheet for Twitter. This led to a fun complaint from one of his followers Sunday.
Our friend C.D. Carter had this painful nugget Sunday.
On a lighter note, this Nick Foles as the undercover server at the draft was kind of funny.
But I want to know who set this up thinking a group of Philadelphia fans were not going to recognize Foles just because he’s got glasses on. How many 6’6” 240 pound Napoleon Dynamite looking dudes are there walking around?
The mustache was a little better but not much. Philly fans know what’s what. If you’re going to fool Eagles fans with Nick Foles, you’d better go Uncle Drew on them, still one of the best promos of all time.
Jacksonville’s Denard Robinson, San Diego’s Branden Oliver, New Orleans’ Travaris Cadet, Chicago’s Ka’Deem Carey, Washington’s Darrel Young, Atlanta’s Patrick DiMarco and Baltimore’s Kyle Juszczyk. Just a partial list of running backs with more points than LeSean McCoy in the last two games…
I’m with The Dude.
EJ Manuel’s been benched. For Kyle Orton.
The NFL’s the gift that just keeps giving. Thank you @RotoPat
If nothing else, it’s an excuse to reflect on this bit of genius from a few years ago after Tim Tebow took over for Orton.
Let that sink in Bills fans. Your QB was benched for Tim Tebow. Three years ago. You grumbling Patriot and Steeler fans have no idea…
I loved this writing from the NFL.com Tampa Bay - Pittsburgh game recap.
Talking about Tampa Bay QB Mike Glennon: “In his first appearance of 2014, the second-year signal-caller was forced into action against the Steelers, a team that had just dominated Carolina in a 37-19 win. The odds of a Buccaneers victory were longer than Glennon's neck.”
Glennon’s no Merton Hanks. But who is?
I’m with Peter King: Arizona’s Bruce Arians is the Coach of the Month. Arians seems unimpressed: “It’s a short elevator ride back to the s—house. People, all of a sudden, I’m the greatest damn coach in the world. I’ve been a sorry SOB for 17, 18 years now. That ain’t changed just because we won a couple of games.”
Deion Sanders made some waves Sunday night saying he didn’t know if the 49er players were really down for Jim Harbaugh.
The remarkable thing to me was watching Michael Irvin’s response.
Irvin said, “Wait wait wait. Are you saying the players…”
Sander interrupted and said, “I didn’t stutter and I didn’t stumble.”
Irvin raised his eyebrows and said, “Now that’s something, right there.”
Michael Irvin’s seen some things.
When he says, “Now that’s something, right there” - that’s saying something indeed.
Regular headsets dream about becoming Len Dawson’s headset when they grow up.
Leaving you with my favorite picture of Week 4 as Jimmy Garoppolo makes his own spot on the bench. Do what you have to do. And when you get into the game, take your shot.
From Week 5
The Black Eyed Joe’s Player Of the Year usually takes a few weeks to emerge. This year was no different but I’ve got my man.
Presenting to you the Black Eyed Joe’s Player of the Year (for now): Kyle Orton.
No offense to EJ Manuel, but this is the quarterback this city needs.
As someone said, is this a post game victory cigar or a scene from American Hustle?
I mean really. How can you not love a QB that looks looks like Uncle Rico?
So buy this shirt like I did.
Thanks to the awesome Bills Forum at Reddit for these. God Bless you Boys.
Interesting stuff from Jay Glazer this week. This week on FoxSports.com the story was “Jay Glazer says there's no way Jim Harbaugh returns in San Francisco next season, even if they win the Super Bowl.”
Peter King had a nice line on Harbaugh this week when he said, “Somehow I think Jim Harbaugh loves all the mayhem around his job. Because Jim Harbaugh loves mayhem.”
I think he’s right. Which made me ask my Buddy Kyle Lebeda of SlantShirts.com to throw these together.
And
I know I do a lot of mad Jim Harbaugh stuff. Because there’s a lot of mad Jim Harbaugh stuff out there.
In the interest of fairness or equal time or something like that, I found this adorable image this week.
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File this one under “Joe thinks these guys earn their money”…
Tom Moore is 75. Logan Thomas is 23. I just thought this was an interesting picture Sunday.
Adam Jones hasn’t had a fair catch since 2006. I love that.
It’s a good life lesson. I get it that discipline and patience are all part of the game. But there’s something to be said for the Dominican baseball attitude that “You don’t walk your way off the island”. Do what you do.
Uh oh. Maybe the Patriots don’t suck…
Tom Brady and Julian Edelman played hot potato with the ball after a touchdown pass Sunday night.
The goofiest part was that Edelman wasn’t even on the field for the play. It was a Brady to Tim Wright touchdown.
Also, can I say this? Thank you Vine and Instagram and YouTube for NFL video clips on the Internet. This 10 second clip is available from “official” sources that require you to watch 60 seconds of a lame commercial to see a 10 second clip. I understand advertising and making money. We do it too. But there’s a balance there. And way too many of these video sites are on the wrong side of it. I expect to see the NFL seek out and try to squash these videos. Since Vine’s been out for a couple of years, I’m guessing the 65 year old suits on Park Avenue have heard of it now. But here’s hoping they don’t try to squeeze every last penny. And maybe, you know, allow things that encourage and promote people talking about their product…
Off the soapbox now.
The NFL recently announced a ban on Beats headphones (or non Bose headphones which pretty much means Beats headphones) for players on camera.
The President of Bose had this message for Colin Kaepernick and basically every other NFL player:
Miami was rocking some sweet uniforms this weekend.
All they needed was a brush on top of their helmets and they could be the Marvin Martians.
The Hurricanes were not messing around though. Sweet Superplex move here.
Thanks to Footballguy Matt Cox, Marc Levine and James Schneider for that one.
Another example in the “if you’re really good looking you can do whatever you want” department.
Matthew McConaughey can tuck his Dazed and Confused T-shirt into his pants and still be cool.
The rest of us look more like this.
With our without the European Shoulder bag.
If you’re going to do the National Anthem for your home country, bring it.
The internet blew up a little over this guy but I thought he made a great recovery. Who doesn’t trip trying to skate over carpet? Dude kept it alive and finished. Black Eyed Joes hat tip to you, Sir.
You don’t see a lot of quarterbacks with pony tails at this level.
Brian Hoyer was on the other side of the field in Nashville Sunday. And at the other end of the hair spectrum.
I can’t tell you where Mike Glennon falls on that scale…
Note for Rod Marinelli: 55 on 23 is almost always a bad idea…
Nice to see Tom Coughlin’s Great Grandfather back on the Giants sidelines Sunday.
“Evil Mr. Burns Jerry” is my favorite. But “Ecstatic Jerry” is not far behind. Bonus points as we almost always get a slice of “Jerry’s Minions with Teeth Clenched Fist Bumps” to go with it.
Ryan Fitzpatrick may barely be an NFL QB. But he’s a Hall of Famer in the beard department.
The Patriots cheerleaders had on Cincinnati linebacker Devon Still jerseys.
That’s awesome.
Rock on, Leah.
From Week 6
Carolina’s Fozzy Whittaker scored his first touchdown Sunday.
It was a softball, but the internet responded appropriately… Waka Waka.
You hope you never see it, but a player carted off the field often reveals how his teammates see him. Browns center Alex Mack broke his ankle Sunday and the team’s reaction with players from both sides of the ball rushing over to him, as well as Mack’s replies, are worth a thousand words.
Baltimore’s Joe Flacco said, “At one point, I was on pace for 16 touchdowns today. Surreal.”
I say, that’s why they play the whole game, Joe.
Still, @FauxJohnMadden got it right.
Boobie Dixon with a sweet hurdle Sunday. But not recommended.
I’ll go ahead and say it - the Black Eyed Joe’s All Name Team has it’s captain this year with Dixon.
If Boobie is a new name for you, don’t worry. He went by Anthony Dixon up until this year. But in the NFL’s “these are the rules and they don’t bend… until we bend them”, Dixon changed his name on the roster to his nickname of Boobie. Because I know you guys need to know that kind of thing. And you know, because it’s Boobie. Let’s not kid ourselves here.
Uncle Orton. Ready to throw it right over them mountains.
Note for phone camera creeper dude: They can see you.
San Francisco at St. Louis might not have been a great game. But we did get those beautiful Rams throwback uniforms. Which is always a good reason to post an Eric Dickerson pic.
Awesome is a word that gets overused. But that’s awesome.
Tennessee’s Charlie Whitehurst was just named one of Nashville’s Most Beautiful People.
For what that’s worth.
Sunday’s Glitch in the Matrix:
Into the second quarter, all of the afternoon games were tied.
Thanks to Footballguy Andrew Clouse for that one.
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Only Peyton Manning sacks Peyton Manning…
I think I’ve figured out Calvin Johnson’s problem. He’s eating at Zaxby’s.
Wrapping with a reminder from Joique Bell. Call your Mom.
Bell talked enthusiastically afar the game about how he and his Mom talk and pray before each game. Listen to Joique and call your Mom…
From Week 7
Of way more interest to me was the incredible punt return touchdown by the Rams with Tavon Austin drawing all the coverage to the right side of the field while Stedman Bailey caught the ball on the left side and scored.
Here are some great pictures from USA Today showcasing Bailey’s athleticism.
That’s Bailey at the top of the picture lined up on top of the gunner. When the play starts, he’s on the 50 yard line.
After the snap, he starts sprinting downfield staying on the left side anticipating the ball going left. In the meantime, Tavon Austin is on the far right side pretending to be ready to field the punt.
Here, Bailey has covered 25 yards racing downfield on the left toward the spot where he hopes the ball will be going. Austin continues to draw the Seahawk coverage to the far right corner.
Bailey catches the ball over his shoulder here on about the 13. Think about that. He’s run 37 yards in the time it took Seattle to snap and punt the ball. Try lining up next to the long snapper and catching the ball that’s punted downfield. Bailey catches it like a wide receiver (which he is) with his momentum taking him to the 9 yard line. He then turned and went 91 yards for the touchdown. So Bailey covered 132 yards here for the score. Crazy.
It wasn’t original as Chicago used the play back in 2011, but it certainly was fun.
Disappointingly, Seattle coach Pete Carroll chose to throw his gunner, wide receiver Ricardo Lockette under the bus instead of admitting the coaching staff was schooled.
From Carroll: “Unfortunately on the play, Ricardo was just getting lined up, checking with the officials and missed the snap count by a hair. Stedman was there with him and he makes the catch on it. And he might have seen it differently if he’d been able to get off right. But he missed the snap. And it might have affected him on that play.”
The pre snap picture is pretty clear with Lockette lined up and ready. The problem wasn’t missing the snap or lining up wrong. The problem for Lockette, and the rest of the team, was failing to look for the ball. I’m not going to presume to know more about coaching and leadership than Pete Carroll, but this looks like a time to take your lumps and move on. Not throw up some lame (and incorrect) excuse about missing the snap count.
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Arizona’s Darnell Dockett is out for the year. But that didn’t stop him from communicating with Raiders fans Sunday.
The smiley face was a nice touch.
To be fair to Dockett, he says he was provoked by Raider fans yelling things about the player’s mothers and throwing ice and coins at them.
Raider fans? Yelling and throwing stuff?
Note to Alex Rodriguez.
You may be a big deal in New York. But at JerryWorld, you’re kind of in the way.
Non Football Note (as if any of this is too much about Football…). Here’s how you watch a Motocross event like a Boss.
It’s almost November and the Blackhawks have more wins this year at Soldier Field than the Bears.
This makes Bears fans feel like…
Hang in there, Fellas.
God Bless Cowboy Fan.
Note for All Of Us: Watch the real action. Not the action on the screen.
If you’ve been to a concert lately and seen most of the crowd watching the show through the five inch screen of their phone while recording a video you know what I mean.
We saw a fantastic example of this Sunday.
A great play is happening right in front of them but they’re staring up at the (albeit ginormous) screen. Seeing the same picture that I saw 1,000 miles away. When it’s there, watch it.
I talked last week about the anniversary of the famous trade that sent Herschel Walker to Minnesota for a host of draft picks. And how Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson disagreed as to who deserves credit for the trade.
Then told you what is absolutely not in dispute is Emmitt Smith’s rocking outfit.
But thanks to Footballguy Philip Tucker for adding more to the story.
I missed the pants. And they’re glorious. Until someone can prove it wrong, I’m going to assume they’re capri length…
Between Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson and Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin and Cowboys fans, sometimes I think I could write a Random Shots column and never stray from Dallas.
Fun note about my Buddy. His nickname is Whopper and he’s one of the best guys I know.
I co-own a fantasy team with Whopper and two other friends. I knew Whopper was in Cleveland with some friends to see the Pittsburgh game. What I didn’t know was that he’d wrangled sideline passes and was giving Footballguys tips to the Papa Johns Guy while having this pre game view.
As we usually do Sunday morning right before kickoff, we were having a group text to determine our starting roster. Here’s how the conversation went:
Joe: “I think we should bench Kendall Wright.”
Matt: “I think we should start Justin Forsett.”
Whopper. “I think… I just shook hands with Jim Brown.”
That’ll derail a conversation.
So fun. Great to see nice things happen to great people and they don’t get any better than Whop.
I like the way Lions coach Jim Caldwell thinks.
He said it would take a “miracle” for Calvin Johnson to play last week.
Then officially listed him as Questionable which means the player has “approximately a 50 percent chance of playing”.
This is an old one but still interesting. The Eagles have the only logo that faces left as pointed out by BleedingGreenNation.com
They suggested it might be for the “E” in the feathers.
Mind blown.
Thanks to Footballguy Rob McGirr for that one.
I normally like ESPN’s Tom Jackson a lot. But Sunday he gave us this head scratcher talking about how in his day he’d cheapshotted Roger Staubach knocking him unconscious with a clothesline hit.
Jackson said, “You need to understand. A dirty play doesn’t make you a dirty player.”
I’m with Mike.
The Onion sometimes is more real life than fiction. They nailed this one with the headline Nation Struggling To Remember Why It Was Ever Mad At Roger Goodell
From the article: “WASHINGTON—Saying they were at a loss as to what could have recently made them feel any anger and distrust toward the NFL commissioner, Americans across the country confirmed Thursday that they are struggling to remember why they were at one point mad at Roger Goodell. “I can distinctly remember being outraged at Roger Goodell about something a few weeks back, but at this point, I honestly couldn’t tell you what it was,” said 36-year-old Pittsburgh resident Stephen Kreiser, who, like millions of football fans nationwide, was unable to put his finger on precisely what could have happened to cause him to question Goodell’s leadership and even go so far as to demand his resignation. “Maybe it had to do with a new rule change or something. I mean, if he had done something really terrible, it’s not like I would have just immediately forgotten it. Oh, well, I’m sure it was nothing.” Reached for comment, Goodell confirmed that it was in fact nothing.”
If Hollywood ever makes a movie about the current Steelers, Will Ferrell is a shoe in for Ben Roethlisberger.
Colts owner Jim Irsay returned from his suspension and was awarded a game ball. Assistant Camera Dude here looked a little unsure.
Apparently Father Time is a Raiders Fan.
Who knew?
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I told you a couple of weeks about Brett Favre pitching the Personal Groomer thing.
This week he’s moved up to the Copper Bracelets.
I’ve got even money that says we see him replacing our Clayton Gray on the Magic Ear Wax removal wand before the season’s over…
Wrapping this week with an incredible video on Joe Haden and his brother Jacob.
The emotion in his voice as talks about struggling to understand his brother on the phone is beyond powerful. I love it when Joe says, “I play for the both of us.”
Rock on.
The beauty of stuff like this for me is that we all can do it. Most of us can’t relate to Joe Haden athletically. We can’t run downfield like Stedman Bailey and catch a punt over the shoulder. I know I can’t. But the kind of love on display here is something within our ability. Go for it.
From Week 8
Eyebrow raising moment towards the end of the Minnesota - Tampa Bay game when the Buccaneer Cheerleaders took it upon themselves to run out to the 20 yard line, and do the “cheer” thing in between the huddles.
Some sources suggested this was Tampa Bay trying to use their “home field advantage” and distract the Vikings players.
Here’s my question: How does that work exactly?
Somehow just the Minnesota players are affected while the Tampa players are immune?
Is this how it goes in the Buccaneers huddle?
Tampa Player #1: “Dude. Check it out”.
Tampa Player #2: “Check what out?”
Tampa Player #1: That girl in the bikini bottom grabbing her ankles.”
Tampa Player #2: C’mon, Man. That’s just Kymberli and Darla Faye with their butts stuck up in the air. Those are our cheerleaders.
Tampa Player #1. “Oh man. My bad. What pass coverage are we in?” Then a few seconds later does the awkward Ron wave with “Hey, Darla Faye”…
Thanks to Footballguy Mike Benjamino for that one.
Here’s the life of an NFL coach summed up in a picture.
Trailing by four in the fourth quarter with time ticking down, Marvin Lewis doesn’t have time for whatever is making the other guys laugh.
Like everyone else, I was with Faux John Madden in giving up on the Lions Sunday morning.
“London residents grateful for opportunity to experience the Lions as many Americans have grown to know them.”
As you know by now, the Lions and Mike Smith had different plans…
Jeff Schultz nailed it.
Everyone knows Falcons owner Arthur Blank looks like Vincent Price.
For Mike Smith, this can’t be good.
Thanks to ESPN’s Ashoka Moore for that one.
Fortunately, this didn’t happen.
There was buzz this past week about grumblings in the Seattle locker where some players reportedly said quarterback Russell Wilson “wasn’t black enough”.
I think the announcers went a bit too far Sunday though. They mentioned Russell Wilson threw a pass to WR Luke Willson and added, “No relation”. I don’t make these up…
God Bless Houston Texans Elvis Fan.
Thanks to William Nichols for that one.
Just Tom Brady and his super model wife trolling for Bears fans after hanging 51 on them.
Wow. I’ve got nothing for that.
I bet Rob Ryan would though…
I don’t have the heart to tell Philip Rivers the communication speaker in his helmet only works one way. Yeah, like none of you ever yell at your television…
The Master Plan is becoming clear now.
Green Bay and State Farm collaborate on the secret kinesiology discovering the Discount Double Check move is guaranteed to tear an ACL when performed by a 240 plus pound human after jumping. They release this move on an unsuspecting public in the form of a seemingly innocuous but never ending ad campaign.
Then Aaron Rodgers introduces the move on the field.
Then lovable B.J. Raji gets into it. (Joe’s note - I originally mistakenly wrote Johnny Jolly instead of B.J. Raji. 9,534 emails and thirty minutes later - I quickly corrected my mistake. Thank you Packer fans.)
They even went outside the NFL lulling the league into complacency with soccer star Tim Howard.
Once the seed is planted, division rivals Detroit and Chicago are encouraged to express themselves with the celebration.
And bam.
Packers GM Ted Thompson is doing the Mr. Burns…
Vikings fans, thank me later for the headsup.
And zip it, Wrestling Gurus - I know it’s a belt thing. Just let me have have this one.
Time for one of those “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words” shots. For better or for worse, this is the Dallas Head Coaching job in one photo.
The funny part of this is that it’s not really funny.
God Bless Lions Fans. But especially London Lions Fans.
Jerry Jones did an interview with Jon Gruden and Mike Tirico during the game Monday night.
I would have loved to have heard how this went down. How much arm twisting do you think was involved getting Jones to agree to an interview?
ESPN: “Umm, Mr. Jones. For a live interview during the game on National TV, would it be possib…
Jerry Jones: “YES”
Is it me or did Michael Irvin look a little too comfortable in this hat?
Ray Lewis was pushing the limit on acceptable tie / shirt / jacket combo Sunday.
He nailed Monday Night though.
I wrote in Week 7 about the hilarious Matthew McConaughey ad where he does the cleaned up Rust Cohle on a shadowy drive with moody music pitching Lincolns.
I said, “You’re better than that. I don’t care how much they’re paying you.”
Jim Carrey nailed it with this series of Saturday Night Live commercials.
For you youngsters out there, believe it or not, there was a time in history where Saturday Night Live did not suck. Thanks for the reminder Jim Carrey.
On that note, the Steeler broke out my favorite uniforms Sunday with the throwbacks.
Glorious.
Which made me think of a time long long ago when Saturday Night Live most definitely did not suck.
Non Football Note. Kelly Slater, you are ridiculous.
Matt Tobin and Jeff Maehl with the biggest hit of the game.
Unfortunately, both play for Philadelphia.
Like you, the first thing I think of when I hear “AC/DC Air Guitar” is the New England Musket Gang.