Football Fanatics

Even politicians are getting in on the football playoff action! Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is going to change his last name from Ravenstahl to Steelerstahl. According to the Mayor, the team gave him the idea, and it's definitely not a bad one!

I think that this temporary name change is really funny and entertaining. I mean, how many times is there even an opportunity for the Mayor to change part of his name from the opposing team's name to his city's name? It's pretty unreal. And awesome.

When I first started to read about this, I was waiting for the subconscious to be like, "Are you for real? This is stupid!" But as the idea sunk deeper into my over-footballed brain, I decided that this was a nice piece of sports-related "news" and the fact that this will probably never happen again is entertaining to me. The whole name changing part isn't the best part of this story. It's the fact that the Steelers are playing the Ravens next sunday and the Pittsburgh Mayor has "Raven" as part of his name. Actually the best part of this whole situation is that the -stahl part of his name actually means "steel" in German. So if we put those two together it makes: Raven-steel. So maybe someone had a prophesy back in the day and when they come to Ellis Island, decided to make that their last name... or not but I like to think I'm witty and creative. Anyway, I'm glad some people are having fun with football instead of just focusing on all the stats, etc.

I wonder if there are any Mayors with the name NewEnglandPatriotowski and if he/she would change his name if he lived, in let's say Buffalo. (I can dream can't I?!)

-The Jaxster

Pats Survive Mega Scare to Remain Unbeaten

The New England Patriots improved to 12-0 tonight despite being taken to the limit by the Baltimore Ravens. Jabar Gaffney caught a 8 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady with 44 seconds left to cap off a thrilling game-winning drive and deliever the 27-24 victory. The final drive survived two 4th downs and a deflected pass which is normally intercepted. If it wasn't for a few bizarre couple of plays and penalty calls, the Ravens would have won because everything went right for the upset. The Ravens' defense gave Brady fits the entire game, Willis McGahee ran for 138 yards, the weather stunk, and the Pats made several mistakes. Everything was in place for the upset.

But...

Near the end of the first half, Ed Reed intercepted Tom Brady and ran it back deep into Patriots' territory, but it was stripped by Kevin Faulk denying the Ravens a chance at a go ahead touchdown or field goal. After a huge punt return, Kyle Boller threw an interception to James Sanders which denied them a chance to take two possession lead midway through the 4th quarter. The Ravens' defense stuffed a Brady quarterback sneak on a 4th and 1, but the play was called dead after a last second timeout by Baltimore. Later in the drive, the Ravens stopped the Pats on 4th and 5, but a holding call was made giving the Pats a 1st and Goal. Finally, on the final play of the game, Kyle Boller completed a hailmary, but the receiver is tackled on the three. Other than the hailmary, if even one of those plays don't happen the Ravens probably win the football game.

So for the second straight week, the Patriots survived a scare from a team that makes its home just off I-95. Their next three games are home games against the Steelers, Jets, and Dolphins. The Steelers are 9-3, but are a poor road team. The Pats will want to kill the Jets, and the Dolphins are 0-12. I don't see them losing any of those three, so the game that could deny them perfection is at the Giants in Week 17. Right now it is unclear if the Giants will even need the game as they sit two games up for a wildcard spot. Even if they do, they have major injury concerns at running back. To beat the Pats, they will have to have a McGahee performance from Brandon Jacobs. I don't see it happening, thus the Pats will go 16-0. They have survived their scares and should win out easily.

Can they be beat in the playoffs? Only in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts. They will not lose to San Diego or Jacksonville in the divisional round, or to Dallas or Green Bay, on a dry Arizona field, in the Super Bowl. As far as the Colts, I can't believe I'm saying this, but it is almost better for Indianapolis to be on the road, away from the fast RCA Dome turf, in the AFC Championship. Remember when the Pats wanted awful weather to slow down Peyton and company? Well that has flipped. The Pats now want that fast track for Brady to go nuts with Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, and Wes Welker. The Colts would perfer a sloppy track where Joseph Addai can dominate the running game, and the defense can better defend a slower Pats' offense. If McGahee runs for big yardage on the Pats, Addai almost certainly will. The identities of the Pats and Colts have switched. Look for a fantastic AFC Championship Game where the Colts have a legit shot to upset the Pats. They will be 17-0 going into the game.

Pat Morgan

Mystery of Brian Billick

In 1998, Brian Billick was the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, who scored more points in a season than anyother team in NFL history. The high flying Vikes had Randall Cunningham throwing bombs all over the place to Cris Carter, Jake Reed, and some rookie named Randy Moss. Billick was heralded as an offensive genious, and was quickly hired as the Baltimore Ravens' head coach that offseason. Despite winning a Super Bowl in his second year, Billick has never brought his offensive prowess to Baltimore. Even that Super Bowl team had a stretch of five games in which they were unable to score a touchdown. That team won because it had one of the best defenses of all-time.

Last night's performance vs. Pittsburgh was symbolic of how the Ravens' offense has been under Billick. They cannot move the ball a lick in the big spot, and have become a turnover factory. The defense has clearly taken a step backward, and cannot overcome big offensive mistakes. Clearly Steve McNair is aged, and not the MVP type quarterback he was all those years in Tennessee. You can blame his injuries if you want, but got hurt a lot during his best years. The quarterback position has been a big problem for Baltimore. Tony Banks, Trent Dilfer, Elvis Grbac, Jeff Blake, and Kyle Boller are the other starters Billick has had during his tenure. McNair is the best quarterback Baltimore has had under Billick, and even he could only muster up 6 points in the AFC Divisional Game vs. Indianapolis last year.

But is it really the quarterback position? Billick's Vikings scored 556 points in 1998, but over his eight years in Baltimore none of his teams have been able to reach 400 (average 25pts a game). That includes the 2003 season when Jamal Lewis ran for 2,066 yards (2nd alltime). So fans can blame the quarterback all they want, but Billick's offensive mind has been exposed for what it really is in Baltimore. He clearly got lucky in Minnesota having a strong armed Cunningham who could carve up defenses hurling ropes to Moss and co. In my opinion, Billick will be on the hot seat if this team doesn't turn it around. After a 13-3 season, they have been a huge disappointment this season. He has had great defenses to cover up his inept offenses, but this year, Billick is being exposed for what he really is.

By the way, is there any coach in football with a bigger ego? The man clearly loves himself too much.

Pat Morgan