Roger and me...and you...and football

Did you receive an email from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell this week? I did. Maybe he just sent it to me? Maybe he wants to be more than just friends. He'll have to do more than a rather pedestrian and detached written correspondence though. I need dinner, chocolates, flowers - a little romancing Rog! It's almost Valentine's Day!

Anyway, a letter of this nature truly requires reading between the lines. So here's an interpretation of Roger Goodell's recent message to fans.

To NFL Fans:

Now that another remarkable NFL season has concluded, let me express my gratitude on behalf of all 32 NFL teams for your incredible support. [Keep in mind, you may lose your team in the near future because LA needs a club and I like the movies.] Record numbers of you watched at home, made your way to the stadium, and connected with the NFL in numerous other ways during the 2011 season. Your love of football is what makes the NFL special [But don't rule out another lockout where I'll make you agonizingly wait for the season to kick-off. You're important, but so is extra pocket change]. 

We are proud of the quality of the game today. From the individuals and team skills on display in every game to the record-breaking achievements of future Hall of Famers, the 2011 season was extraordinary on many levels. [I was invited on even more TV shows than last year. My thanks to our PR team]

It finished up with some of the most exciting playoff games of recent years leading to a tense, drama-filled Super Bowl between the Giants and Patriots that was the most-watched show in the history of television. What a tribute to our players, coaches, and fans! [...advertisers, media partners and Madonna.]

As good as it’s been, I believe the NFL’s best days are ahead. Our responsibility in leading the league is to protect and enhance the bond between our game and the passionate fans who sustain it. We know we have to earn your trust every day and prove we are worthy of your amazing support. [But I likely won't be protecting the bond between players' heads and their bodies, nor the tradition of 16 fixtures - bring on 18 games!]

Our commitment to improve everything we do is ongoing. We are not done yet. [I just can't leave a good thing alone. It's like coffee: why have it plain when you can add caramel syrup?] From the game on the field to the fan experience at home -- and everything in between -- there are ways we can do even better. We owe it to you, the fans, to believe in better and strive for more. [In other words, I will be making changes for changes sake because I need to leave a stamp on the league. It's about legacy folks.] Our game has always evolved and that will continue. I encourage you to visit our new web site – NFL.com/evolution – to explore how the game has improved over the past century. There are more good changes to come. [See my earlier comment about more games.]

Our mission is captured very simply in these four words: 

Forever forward. Forever football. [I wonder if I can get a gig with Hallmark - that's gold!] Thank you once again for your passion and commitment to the game we all love.

Roger Goodell [I wanted to sign off as "Commish", but had second thoughts. Let's keep this platonic.]

                             

Giant Super Bowl project: Beat Brady

The key to dethroning the Patriots – who are indeed royalty in the modern NFL era – is to unseat King Brady. The Golden Boy of American pro football is one of the few quarterbacks whose body of work apparently excludes him from being pulverized by opponents. If, instead, Patriot enemies were permitted to work within the regular parameters of the sport, then Brady's torso, and not his resume, would occupy tacklers’ thoughts.

Nonetheless, there are other roads aspiring champions can travel. So to assist the New York Giants, because they're the team requiring greater help in the upcoming Super Bowl I believe, here are three ways to unnerve Tom Brady (none of which, I'm proud to say, involve commenting on his hair before the ball is hiked).

1. Rush him: it’s a straightforward plan employed with monumental success since the days of Ghengis Kahn. If you pester people enough, at least Ghengis found, they’ll surrender entire land masses. Similarly, when Brady wins, it's because he's been awarded too much time. Nobody holds firm in the pocket like Brady, nor steps up as effectively when the rush comes. So blitzing him is certainly easier said than done. With a concentrated approach up the middle, however, that limits Brady’s ability to step forward and load, the Giants can disrupt the Patriots passing rhythm. But they also need to be wary of the short, escape-hatch pass Wes Welker. Charge! Fluster! Hit! This is the best form of defense against New England.

2. Limit the short passing game: Rob Gronkowsi seems larger than his six-feet-six, which adds a psychological layer nobody needs. His hands, to make matters worse, are in more places than Jamie Oliver. But stunting the short game is vital to New York's success because it's central to Brady's act: it's where he'll hope to eclipse Madonna's medley. If Brady hits Gronk quickly though, the Giants will need to pounce. You don't want the big lug in stride, chugging for home. The goal is to take away the middle and force Brady to push it outside and long. The Pats move the chains and churn the clock better than anyone in the NFL, so the G-Men will want Brady to beat them via extraordinary plays only. That, at least, they can live with.

3. Be ready for the no-huddle, and play action: The Pats have a mediocre running game, led by a man so inspiring that they refer to him as The Law Firm. So if you're the Giants, how much sense does it make to fear the run? About as much sense as Bill Belichick's hoody. Brady and Co. will speed-up the battle by forgoing huddles, so the Giants need to finish tackles and hit their marks with the aplomb of Broadway performers. Then, if New York's secondary can hold in the slot for a moment and allow Brady his fake hand-offs and fancy pirouettes, they'll be better able to track the Pats' diligent but slow receivers, who let's face it, would've been late for the midnight ride had Paul Revere called in sick.

This article first appeared on Technorati as Three ways to beat Brady and win a Super Bowl

Super Bowl Sunday's three biggest upsets

With the Super Bowl almost upon us, we thought it a good time to recall some of the classic games of the past - the ones that likely prompted more tears than a Vernon Davis winning touchdown.

By Kent McGroarty (guest blogger)

The Super Bowl has become a sort of holiday over the years, and is arguably more fun than February’s “official” breathers, Groundhog and Valentine’s Days. Yes, there’s also Mardi Gras, but people get just as hammered on Super Bowl Sunday as they do when piling on the beads. At any rate, Super Bowl usually comprises one team crushing the other, making the big day less exciting than it ought to be. Then there are times when the team everyone thought would get their cleats handed to them actually wound up winning the whole shebang. Such games are also among the best entertainment in the game’s history. 

Super Bowl upsets make for some awesome football, so here are three of the biggest ever:

Super Bowl IV: Kansas City Chiefs 23 - Minnesota Vikings 7

Not only were the Kansas City Chiefs widely regarded as not having a snowball’s chance in hell in this one, they were also dealing with a gambling scandal around quarterback Len Dawson. Despite Minnesota being the overwhelming favorites, the Chiefs took a 16-point lead at halftime, and their defense repeatedly kept the Vikings from invading the Chiefs end zone. Amazingly, KC held the Vikings to one touchdown on 67 offensive yards, and scored the game-winner on a 46-yard run. Dawson threw for 142 total yards and was named MVP. 

Super Bowl XXXVI: New England Patriots 20 - Saint Louis Rams 17

It could be said that Super Bowl XXXVI was during a time when nobody really feared the Patriots or Tom Brady. Though the Pats took a 17-3 start, league MVP Kurt Warner and the Rams scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to tie it with a minute and a half on the clock. Many figured the game would go into overtime, yet Brady drove his team to the Ram’s 30-yard line to put Adam Vinatieri in perfect position to kick the game-winning field goal. The astonishing victory thrust Brady into the spotlight, and there he has remained as one of the game’s greatest quarterbacks. 

Super Bowl XXXII: Denver Broncos 31 - Green Bay Packers 24

Though it may be hard for some to remember when Brett Favre was just a pretty-young-thing, it was assumed Favre and the Packers would crush the aging John Elway and his Broncos. Though the Packers had won the Big Dance the previous year, they couldn’t stop Terrell Davis from rushing for 157 yards and scoring three touchdowns, including the winner with a mere two minutes on the clock. Elway finally won his ring.

Kent McGroarty is a Philadelphia based blogger for Gold Star Games, a tailgate gear supplier.