Columns

Blackbird Singing - Super Tidbits & News Around The NFL

Pictured, Go Daddy model Candice Michelle (see her and other commercials on home page during SB XLI)

Enlarge Text Decrease Text Print this Article send this article to a friend comment Add This bookmark facebook twitter rss

Posted On: 2/4/07

Written By:  

Tony Lombardi

I WANNA BE A COWBOY BABY..RIDIN’ AT NIGHT CAUSE I SLEEP ALL DAY ~ I have to admit, I can’t judge Michael Irvin objectively.  When the Colts left Baltimore, I became a 49ers fan and I despised the Cowboys.  And although I admired the talents of Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith, I could never do the same for Irvin.  He got away with more offensive pass interference than any other receiver that I can recall.  And then when he added for good measure all his skirmishes with the law, I viewed him as nothing more than an overpaid thug.

 

On ESPN, I can’t watch him.  The way he cackles on the set makes me wonder what he does during commercial breaks.

 

All that aside, I would have to admit that his statistics are at least Hall of Fame worthy.  Yet I have to ask, how is he deserving of HOF status and Art Monk isn’t?  Maybe Monk needed to be arrested a few times and then deliver mostly incoherent babble on TV and be an apologist for current NFL players of ill repute.

 

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME…SHAME ON YOU ~ "I can't see why it's taken so long for Art," said Brian Mitchell, the most prolific return man in NFL history. "I hear, 'He didn't have a signature catch.' Constantly catching first down, first down, first down, that's signature to me. And unlike most receivers, Art blocked linebackers and defensive ends. He caught the tough passes over the middle. He had a lot of deep catches, too. And when Art left the game, no one had caught more passes. He's got three [Super Bowl] rings and his stats speak for themselves."

 

Apparently Brian they don’t speak loud enough for the shameful voters that control HOF destiny.

 

GONNA KEEP ON TRYIN’, ‘TIL I REACH THE HIGHER GROUND ~ Prior to the HOF announcement of Irvin & Co., NFL Commish Roger Goodell discussed the league's substance-abuse policy in his State of the NFL Address. "We are raised to a higher standard in the NFL," Goodell said. "We must make sure the players are more accountable and our clubs are more accountable."  And Michael Irvin is such a wonderful role model now isn’t he Rog?

 

WE DON’T NEED NO EDUCATION…WE DON’T NEED NO THOUGHTS CONTROL ~ Under the guidance of former Falcons’ head coach Jim Mora, Michael Vick had very little latitude to change plays at the line of scrimmage.  Offensive coordinator Greg Knapp would only give Vick the freedom to alter the protection scheme or the side to which a play was run.  Under new HC Bobby Petrino, that won’t be the case any longer.

 

"We're going to put it all on him," Petrino said recently. "It's new to him, but he's excited about the challenge. I think that's the way you train a quarterback."

 

Or kill another head coach…

 

CAUGHT BENEATH THE LANDSLIDE, OF A CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA ~ ESPN’s research guru David Rose treats us to these Super Bowl delectable tidbits that only NFL diehards on the verge of mourning the end to another season can enjoy:

• For the 16th straight year, a player from Tennessee has reached the Super Bowl. Guess who…
•  
• The team that scores first has won 26 of the previous 40 Super Bowls, but that trend has not held true as of late. The team that has scored first has lost four of the past five Super Bowls.
•  
• A total of 2,279 players have played in the previous 40 Super Bowls. Mike Lodish is the only player who has appeared in six Super Bowls (Super Bowls XXV-XXVIII with the Bills and Super Bowls XXXII-XXXIII with the Broncos).
•  
• Teams that rush for more yards have won 33 of the 40 Super Bowls played. The last team to lose after running for more yards: the Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV (outrushed St. Louis 159-29, but lost 23-16).

YOU BETTER, YOU BETTER, YOU BET ~ For those of you who are inclined to need a little action for that needed edge on Super Sunday, you may want to consider the following:

 

Only once this season have the Colts won away from Indianapolis by more than seven points.

• Peyton Manning is 15-5 against NFC teams the past five years. AFC teams have won seven of the past nine Super Bowls and dominated this season's interconference games, going 40-24.
•  
• Rex Grossman had seven games this season in which he registered a passer rating of 100 or more, tying Manning for the league high.
•  
• In their three playoff games, the Colts have averaged 25 points and given up an average of 16.
•  
• Indianapolis' offensive line has surrendered just 15 sacks, a league low.
•  
• The National Weather Service is calling for a 50 percent chance of rain during the day, decreasing to 30 percent by the evening.

LONDON CALLING TO THE IMITATION ZONE, FORGET IT BROTHER AND GO IT ALONE ~ The NFL announced Friday that the Dolphins will become the first team to host a regular-season game outside of North America when they play the New York Giants on October 28 at London's Wembley Stadium.  So mark Dolphins’ fans as the first to get hosed by the NFL’s international effort.  While fans aren’t about to be pleased don’t count Fins owner Wayne Huizenga among those crying in their South Beach Corona.

 

"We are enthusiastic about it," said Mr. Blockbuster. "It's important for the growth of the league, to move forward on a global basis. If we can make the NFL stronger around the world, we will help."

 

The teams will arrive in England two days before the game and they’ll have byes the week after.  Huizenga is hoping to rally a road trip for Fins’ fans.

 

"It's a home game for us, and want to treat it as a home game," Huizenga said. "We want to get as many of our fans over there as we can.”

 

Any chance you can throw in a tour of Abbey Road Studios there Wayne?

 

YOU’RE EVERYTHING I HOPED FOR…EVERYTHING I NEED ~ During the 2006 season, players were polled to get their take on the playing surfaces of fields throughout the league.  The turf at Heinz Field, often bearing a close resemblance to the streets of Beirut, didn’t fare so well in the polls.  Forty-eight Steelers participated and 25 said the surface was “poor.”  Seven rated it as “good” while none gave it an “excellent” rating.

 

The results aside, the club has no plans to change their cow pasture said with hash marks according to Chairman Dan Rooney.

 

"You're looking for beauty rather than practicality. We have the best field as far as traction that you can have. You didn't see anybody slip, or very few slips during the year."

 

Ah yes, ignorance is bliss…

Post your comment

Your Name:

Your Email:

Your Comment:

There are no comments. be the first to post a comment.

«Go back to the previous page.

Enlarge Text Decrease Text Print this Article send this article to a friend Add This bookmark facebook twitter rss

Posted On: 2/4/07

Written By:  

Tony Lombardi