The Missing Piece

by: Erik Anton

This season, just like every season in the National Football League, we have seen something old and something new.

On the one hand, we are on the verge of history. With only three games left in the season, we have two undefeated teams, one from each conference. Not only that, but both teams have a fairly easy schedule over the rest of the year. The Indianapolis Colts (13-0) finish out their year at Jacksonville, at home against the New York Jets, and at the Buffalo Bills. While the Colts have already clinched home field advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs and are faced with the question as to whether to pursue perfection or rest their starters, the fact remains that the Colts are three games away from a perfect season. Meanwhile in the NFC, the New Orleans Saints (13-0) are also three games away from perfection and wrap things up with home games against Dallas and Tampa Bay, before their final game of the regular season at Carolina. The Saints, are more likely to play all of their starters for the rest of the season seeing as how, even while standing at a perfect 13-0, they are only two games ahead of the Minnesota Vikings (11-2) for the best record in the NFC. The Saints can't afford to let up as the Vikings don't exactly have a difficult schedule to finish out the year. They are at Carolina, at Chicago, and finish at home against the unpredictable, sometimes hot, sometimes cold New York Giants.

But the more things change, the more they stay the same. What would a season in the NFL be without the like clockwork December tank job of the Dallas Cowboys? September through November they are on top of the NFC East, but once December rolls around they are one game back of the Philadelphia Eagles, and only one game ahead of the New York Giants with three games left in the year. The Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns continue to be the league door mat with a grand total of four wins and twenty-two losses between them.

Still, despite everything that has happened this season, there is one thing that stands out more than anything else: the absence of the great John Madden. Madden, who retired last year after thirty years in broadcasting, left a void that has yet to be filled. And to be frank, I doubt it will ever, or even can ever be filled. John Madden was more than just a broadcaster; he was the voice of the National Football League.

He wouldn't just tell you what just happened, he would break out his now famous pen and break down the replay and explain how it happened and why it happened. I can say without hesitance that John Madden's color commentary taught me more about the game of football than any other source.

So how bittersweet is it that we are on the verge of having two undefeated teams play each other in the Superbowl, and the most legendary announcer won't be calling this historic moment? If you close your eyes and imagine something huge happening in the NFL, anything at all, who is the announcer calling the game? Chances are, it's John Madden.

Now there is still a lot of football left to be played. The Colts and Saints need to finish out their remaining three regular season games and then make it through their two playoff games to achieve the perfect 19-0 record and walk into the Superbowl undefeated. But given their remaining schedules and the way they have been playing, it's very possible.

All I can hope for, is if this does happen, that John Madden will come out of retirement for one night and call this game. Yes, I know John Madden was let out of his contract by NBC and the Superbowl is on CBS this year. But I'd like to think that the NFL, Madden, and the networks could work something out. This is bigger than networks and contracts. We are so close to to what could be the biggest and most historic game in NFL history. It would be a crime to have anybody else at the mic.



Twitter: @esanton

It’s not the despair, it’s the hope I can’t stand

By Nicholas McGee

For many sports fans, it is hard to believe just how well John Cleese’s now famous words relate to the ever heartbreaking world of professional sports.

Indeed as fellow Ray Romano stated on NFL Total Access a few weeks ago “the worst thing your team can give you is hope.”

The 49ers, in the past few years and especially in 2009 have become experts in providing you with hope, the belief nay the confidence, that maybe, just maybe we can pull it off, we can win the big games and be in the race to take part in the biggest dance of them all.

If previous years had been a lesson in how to do this, then 2009, under the stewardship of Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary, has been a masterclass rich with a plethora of live demonstrations of this all too common art form.

They did it in many ways, whether it was the Brett Favre miracle heave with 8 seconds remaining or the Joseph Addai trick play to win the game after keeping Peyton Manning scoreless, the 49ers continually held my heart and its hopes in their hands, and continually, they wrenched it out as they transpired to give away numerous winning positions.

However, last week the 49ers did something special, they took away the hope. Perfectly poised at 5-6 to return to .500 after a commanding win against Jacksonville, the 49ers took on Seattle at Qwest Field, a win and an expected loss by division leaders the Arizona Cardinals against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings would put the Niners one game behind the Cardinals heading into a potential division decider at Candlestick Park.

That was the way it was supposed to go, supposed to. Instead the Niners crashed and burned in the North West, a last second Olindo Mare field goal sealing the win for the Seahawks. Whilst in the desert, the Vikings were defeated by the aerial bombardment of Kurt Warner and the Cardinals, Brett Favre the man who broke so many 49er fans hearts in Week 3, left helpless. The 49ers were 3 games back and all hope, was extinguished.

It shouldn’t have happened like this, the Seahawks, by all accounts should have been tossed aside like Tiger Woods’ last condom by a 49ers team that is without a doubt, much further along in the process of building a championship-ready team, alas as always, the 49ers lost a close one.

The one positive from the outcome of the Seahawks game, was that the hope that the 49ers could still make the playoffs, was gone. Still in the race mathematically but to any realistic NFL fan, at 5-7 they were all but out.

Or so we thought, last night the Favre-conquering Cardinals rolled into town hoping to clinch the NFC West Division Crown, as I sat down to watch, all hope gone, I expected nothing but a Cardinals victory, how wrong I was.

In sheer amazement I watched as the 49ers defense destroyed one of the top offenses in the league, forcing 7 turnovers, 2 of them picks by Warner. All of the 49ers 24 points came following turnovers. Frank Gore, who fumbled a week earlier in Seattle to gift the Seahawks field position late in the game, rumbled for 170 yards and a Touchdown. Alex Smith, while erratic got the job done, firing Touchdown passes to Vernon Davis and the ever improving rookie sensation Michael Crabtree. Even when the Cards finally got into the endzone, the 49ers blocked the extra point, summing up a terrific night for the 49ers and a truly awful one for the Cardinals.

While the game, as a 49er fan, was fantastic to watch, it did one terrible thing, it brought the hope back. It wasn’t the result in it self, it was the performance, this wasn’t a defensive struggle or a game where the Niners just did enough, they absolutely decimated the Cardinals, they played like a playoff football team.

The 49ers now stand at 6-7 and are still in the playoff hunt, you may say it is only an outside shot, but if you look at the playoff picture and remaining schedule you will see it is a better shot than originally thought. The division is straightforward, at 8-5 the Cardinals hold a 2 game lead over the 49ers with 3 games remaining, with the Niners holding the tiebreaker between the two having swept the season series. Therefore the 49ers must win out and hope that the Cardinals lose two out of the three. San Francisco goes to Philadelphia on Sunday, then finishes their home schedule against Detroit before finishing the regular season in St. Louis. The Cardinals go to Detroit on Sunday, before facing the Rams and the Packers to finish off.

On the face of it the Niners winning the division seems very unlikely, the Niners will have to match their performance from last night to beat the Eagles at the Linc, while either team doing anything other than beating the Lions and the Rams would be a huge shock. This is the NFL though and anything can happen, if the Niners now get on a roll and the Cardinals slide, we could be in for a titanic turnaround.

It is the Wildcard race that really intrigues me however, with Dallas performing their usual December dive from the top board, the Giants wash in a sea of inconsistency and with Matt Ryan questionable for the Falcons, the Niners now have a real shot at the Wildcard. Again they have to win out, although technically they could make it with an 8-8 record, and hope the Cowboys, Giants and Falcons slip up. Dallas holds the 2nd wildcard spot currently with an 8-5 record, the Giants are just one game ahead of the Niners at 7-6 whilst the Falcons are also 6-7 but hold a tiebreaker over the Niners because of their win in San Francisco earlier in the season.

Again on the surface, the equation is a tough one for the Niners, take a look at the schedule though and it gets more interesting. Dallas travels to the Superdome to take on the undefeated Saints (ouch), then on to FedEx Field to play the 4-9 Redskins in what will surely be their Superbowl before welcoming the Eagles to wrap up. Hardly the easiest schedule, and the same can be said for the hard to figure out New York Giants who travel to FedEx next Monday Night, before welcoming Carolina to the Meadowlands and heading to Minnesota to finish off.

For the Falcons the equation is the same as it is for the 49ers, win out. They have an easier schedule than all three but it all depends on the status of Matt Ryan, they travel to New York to play the Jets on Sunday, the toughest game on their remaining schedule, this promises to be a fight to the death between two teams fighting for their playoff lives. Following that they welcome Buffalo before finishing on the road at Tampa Bay.

If the 49ers do indeed win out, and the Falcons do not, they need the Cowboys to lose 2 of their 3 games, and the Giants to lose 1, this scenario would leave all three teams on 9-7 but the 49ers would get the wildcard spot thanks to having a better conference record. An unlikely scenario, yes, but not impossible in today’s NFL.
All this is academic for me though, the hope is back but I’m banishing it, I refuse to have my expectations built up again only to have them shattered. Therefore I have already convinced myself that the Eagles will beat the Niners on Sunday, at least then just like last night, I can be pleasantly surprised. Here’s to no hope! Smart man you are Mr Cleese, a smart man indeed.

http://www.twitter.com/nicknufc

Never Give Up! Never Surrender! (Unless you're the New England Patriots)

By: Erik Anton

I could not believe my eyes. With over 5 minutes left on the clock, the New England Patriots threw in the towel. They gave up. They pulled Tom Brady out of the game. Nevermind the fact that they have an offense that put up 59 points in a single game just six short weeks ago. Or the fact that they have a supposed genius as their head coach. When faced with a seemingly impossible obstacle, the Patriots decided to just quit playing. Why was this? The Patriots sure have the offense capable of scoring. Their going for it on 4^th down two weeks ago deep in their own territory as well as going for it on 4^th down early several times last night sure proved they have the arrogance needed to surpass such a deficit. I think the answer is very simple: they did not have Peyton Manning.

I am sure nobody has forgotten the Colts huge comeback win over Tampa Bay in October of 2003 on Monday Night Football. Down 35-14 with just about four minutes left on the clock, the Colts did the impossible. They scored 21 unanswered points, sent the game into overtime, and won on the leg of Mike Vanderjagt. When the impossible was put in front of him, Peyton Manning made the impossible possible

Everybody in the wide world of sports loves to debate whether Peyton Manning is better or if Tom Brady is better. In my opinion, last night sure added points in Peyton’s favor. His leadership has led the Colts to their present 11-0 record, even after trailing late in several games. That is what championship teams do. When the time on the clock is your worst enemy, you grab the clock by its throat and choke out every possible second. You don’t just throw your hands up in the air and say “I quit!”.

What does this say about the Patriots? Unless you count the game in London where they were billed as the “visiting” team and defeated Tampa Bay, New England is winless on the road this season. They have a coach arrogant enough to try to convert a 4^th and 2 deep in his own territory in Indianapolis, but without the courage to try to pull a “Peyton Manning” and force a comeback while down big on the road. Is this because coach Belichick was overwhelmed? Did the genius coach have a problem placed in front of him that he couldn’t solve? Or is it because he didn’t have the confidence in Brady and his high scoring offense and their ability to score hard and fast?

Needless to say if Manning and company were faced with the very same thing, Peyton would have not been pulled out of the game. In fact they would have had to drag him kicking and screaming off the field if they even tried to pull him. Furthermore, just two weeks ago they were faced with a 34-21 deficit with 4:12 left in regulation against these very same New England Patriots. Manning put his game face on, rallied his troops, and led them on two scoring drives, throwing the game winning touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 0:13 left.

Of course in the end, this is all just my opinion. The Brady/Manning debate will go on until the end of time and both quarterbacks will undoubtedly go into the Hall of Fame. But one thing can be said for sure: Peyton Manning will fight you tooth and nail and MAKE you beat him. Regardless of how much time is left on the clock, Manning will come out swinging. He won’t just give up because things aren’t going his way.

The Colts are 11-0 and have already clinched their division. A first round bye is next, followed by locking up home field advantage. The Patriots are 7-4, and winless on the road (unless you want to be a semanticist and count the victory in London). They are going on the road to play Miami this weekend. The Dolphins are sitting at 5-6, only 2 games behind the Patriots in the AFC East. Expect Miami to come out fighting. With the way both teams are playing, it is not too farfetched to think that Miami may end up winning the AFC East this season. The Patriots need to find themselves and FAST. There is not much time left in the season.

http://www.twitter.com/esanton

Photo from Boston Herald. http://www.bostonherald.com