The National Football League will release the 2008 regular season schedule on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 at 2:00pm (ET) live on the NFL Network and at www.nfl.com.

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Well, it's official. The 2007 New England Patriots (16-0) are now in a category with the 1968 Baltimore Colts (13-1), 1969 Minnesota Vikings (12-2), 1983 Washington Redskins (14-2), 1990 Buffalo Bills (13-3), 1997 Green Bay Packers (13-3), and the 2001 St. Louis Rams (14-2) as a great team that didn't win the big one, and, as a result of which, can rank no higher than the forty-third greatest NFL team of the Super Bowl era. They can never be mentioned in the same breath with the 1984 and 1989 San Francisco 49ers teams, or the 1985 Chicago Bears. Hell, they can't be compared with any of the 42 Super Bowl champions. That's the way it is.

I said, prior to the game, that although the individual accomplishments of Tom Brady and Randy Moss are nice, they are eventually going to be eclipsed, and that Super Bowl trophies last forever. This morning, I would much rather have Eli Manning's 2007 season accomplishments than Tom Brady's. So would Tom Brady.

Now, a few observations:

1. THE DECISION:

A lot has been made of this already, and rightfully so. All season long, the Patriots have been accused of running up the score on opposing teams. As you may know, I don't believe that there is such thing as running up the score. That said, by going for it on fourth down as often as the Pats did all year, they did not give their relatively inexperienced kicker the live reps that build confidence. Gostkowski was never in a situation where he could get a win for his team. The Pats, for a vast majority of the season, were not in a position where they needed a field goal to tie or win. That hurt them Sunday. Furthermore, Belichick, who the Boston media is so intimidated by that they would never DREAM of second-guessing the walk-on-water genius (and I'm not disparaging Belichick; he's a great coach), should be taken to task for his decision to go in that instance. Belichick stated after the game that his decision to go on 4th down had to do with field position. At that point in the game, the Giants had three (3) points and were not moving the ball particularly well. Furthermore, needing 13 yards, the odds of converting were not great, especially considering how Randy Moss was a non-factor at that point. So what "field position" was saved by going for it, seven yards? Hardly a major field position shift. All of Boston will demand my head on a platter for second-guessing God in a hoodie, but that mistake, a shot at three points (the ultimate difference in the game), was a major one.

2. THE NFC EAST

The Giants play in the best division in all of football. The Cowboys won 13 games, the Redskins made the playoffs, and the Eagles did not have a losing season either. That's six games the Giants played against big, physical, tough opponents. If the Giants can withstand the beating they took from their own division, how can they possibly be intimidated by anything else? The Patriots, through no fault of their own, are a finesse team that plays in a division with a pathetic Dolphins team, and two very mediocre teams in the Jets and the Bills. When the Pats played the NFC East in 2007, although they won each game, the Eagles and Giants gave them a fight, and the Cowboys had the lead in the second half on them before imploding. Nobody else really tested them (except Baltimore, who are notorious for their aggressive defense). The Pats didn't really play all that fantastic since the second half of their game with Pittsburgh. In the playoffs, the Steelers and Colts were bounced, and the Chargers were so injury-plagued that they had no red-zone offense, yet still kept it close. The AFC may be the "dominant" conference right now, but the NFC East, owners of now eleven Lombardi Trophies, is (and always has been) where the big boys play.

3. THE PASH RUSH

Tom Brady is a future hall-of-fame quarterback. That said, when a team can pressure a QB that doesn't like to be bothered without having to blitz to achieve pressure, it's very difficult to be successful. The Giants defensive front was amazing, completely overpowering a Patriots offensive line that kept Brady from having to shower after most games. Brady, to my shock, was completely uncomfortable and could not answer the rush. The Giants just overwhelmed and overpowered a finesse team with pure strength. I know most people like scoring and high-powered offenses, but, for me, that was a great game to watch.

4. THE GENIUS

Hopefully, the lemmings will stop with the whole "Belichick is a master motivator" and "Spy-gate will galvanize the Patriots" fables. These are paid professionals. The Pats didn't beat the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX because of Belichick telling the team about the Eagles planning a victory parade. They won because the Pats played better. None of this rah-rah crap is real. If you need extra motivation to win the biggest football game of the year, then you're screwed to begin with. I have defended the Patriots all year. They had a great season, but they were served humble pie by the New York Giants, not Bill Belichick. No matter what they say, the Pats did not take the Giants seriously. They saw the Super Bowl as a coronation, not a competition. They paid for it.

5. THE MANNING

Get used to seeing the Eli Manning 3rd quarter scramble and the Tynes catch, out-muscling Rodney Harrison for the ball. NFL Films will do to that clip the same thing they did to the clip of Joe Namath running off the field with his index finger up after Super Bowl III, Marcus Allen's awesome TD run in Super Bowl XVIII, and John Elway's airplane spin from Super Bowl XXXVII. Say what you want about Eli, but he will now be immortalized. Our kids will be watching that clip for years to come.

So, the Lombardi Trophy did not go to the team I follow, but it will reside in the NFC East for the next year, which is close enough I guess. The New York Giants are Super Bowl champions, and they deserve to be. Nobody (including me) gave them much of a chance, but they got the job done. As for the Pats, usually nobody remembers the Super Bowl loser, but, when you arrive there undefeated, you fade into history more infamous than famous. Such is life. See you in September.

~51

According to FOX Sports on MSN, the greatest NFL teams are as follows:

1. 1984 San Francisco 49ers

2. 1992 Dallas Cowboys

3. 2007 New England Patriots

4. 1985 Chicago Bears

5. 1989 San Francisco 49ers

6. 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers

7. 1972 Miami Dolphins

8. 1962 Green Bay Packers

If it were me, IF the Patriots win Sunday, I'd have to put them at number one, knocking the 1985 "Super Bowl Shuffle" Chicago Bears out of my top spot. If the Pats lose, Sweetness, The Fridge, and Da Bears remain at number one. I agree with the 1972 Dolphins being as far down as they are. I don't understand why the 1985 Bears are ranked so low, and the 1991 Washington Redskins, for whatever reason, are always overlooked in these types of polls. Let the mud-slinging begin!

~51

On a related note, the NFL has stated that Walker, who after twelve NFL seasons retired with 8,225 rushing yards, has had his rushing total reduced to 6,225. Apparently the final 2,000 yards were gained by Walker's "Corky Johnson" personality. Furthermore, the NFL announced today that 25 of Walker's 84 touchdowns were scored by "Myra O'Neil," "Buck Norton," and "Janet Huggins." The NFL regrets the error.

~51

Here's how I see the 2007 NFL playoff teams:

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

1-NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS: Obviously, this is the team to beat. They have the best quarterback, the best wide receiver, the highest-scoring offense this league has ever seen, and as prepared a head coach as you could ever find. If the Patriots have any flaws (and all teams have some flaws; it's exploiting them that's the trick), it's the fact that they've yet to show that they can consistently run the ball against a strong defense and play great defense themselves. Don't get me wrong; the Pats D is good, but they made Eli Manning look like his big brother Saturday night. If the temperature drops in Foxboro and the weather is bad, the Patriots passing offense will suffer some for it. At that point, the Pats running game and defense will have to get it done. Can they? I think they can, but 16-0, however amazing a record that is, will not help them win anything in January. Everybody is undefeated now. They should win it all, but the pressure is on.

2-INDIANAPOLIS COLTS: This Colts team reminds me of the 2004 Patriots team. They have had a fantastic season, but they've been overshadowed by the undefeated team from the Northeast. For all the press that Peyton Manning receives, I think Joseph Addai and the running game will be the story of the 2007 Colts. In years past, when Indy had to play in Foxboro, I never gave them a chance. This year however, I think the style of play the Colts incorporate will serve them well in inclement weather. They certainly can beat New England if they play their A-game and the weather cooperates, although I doubt that will happen.

3-SAN DIEGO CHARGERS: Here's a team that's peaking at the right time. They're going into the playoffs hotter than Jessica Alba, and L.T. is playing like we all expected him to play. I don't think this team has what it takes to keep up with the Pats or the Colts, but they could make things interesting.

4-PITTSBURGH STEELERS: These guys do nothing for me. Yes, they've had a decent season, but losing to the pathetic Jets and getting completely blown out in New England had to hurt their confidence. This could be a one-and-done scenario for the Steelers, who, in my opinion, have no chance of upsetting the Pats, Colts, or Chargers. This team will not make it out of the divisional round, if they even get that far.

5-JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS: These guys can make some noise. They've already proven that they can win in Pittsburgh when the weather sucks, and I can't think of any reason why they won't do it again. This team runs the ball well, plays well defensively, and is well coached. I'm not sure if they can beat the Pats, but, if given the opportunity to play at Gillette Stadium, these guys will play very tough. Believe me, the Patriots, to a man, would much rather see Pittsburgh again than play these guys.

6-TENNESSEE TITANS: I don't see these guys going into San Diego and winning against a hot Chargers team. The Titans are a few years away, and blew their load just getting here.

NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

1-DALLAS COWBOYS: Talk about limping into the playoffs. Terrell Owens is hurt, Tony Romo has been downright awful for the better part of four games, and the defense can't get off the field. These guys are ripe for the pickings right now. There better be an "on/off" switch on that "prolific" offense, or else the Cowboys could get bounced out early. They better hope Seattle beats Washington next week, as the Redskins are hot right now. The Cowboys look very beatable.

2-GREEN BAY PACKERS: The Pack lost a big game in Chicago, and then they look amazing in a meaningless contest against Detroit. Like most of the country, I admire Brett Favre, but he's inconsistent. Depending on which Favre shows up, this team certainly has the talent to win at Texas Stadium, if they have to play there. This team is an enigma.

3-SEATTLE SEAHAWKS: The Seahawks have the unenviable task of stopping an emotionally-charged Redskins team next week. Good luck. The Redskins are playing great defense and Todd Collins looks like John Elway out there. The Seahawks too have been inconsistent and need to play error-free ball in order to derail the Redskins train. I don't like their chances.

4-TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS: Hey, Philadelphia! Remember Jeff Garcia? I know he talks like a Mary, but the guy has been a consistently good quarterback over the past two years. He was the reason the Eagles won the NFC East last year, and he's been the catalyst for the Bucs winning the NFC South crown this year. The Bucs defense is strong, and the game against the Giants is the reason why I'm an NFL fan. This game promises to be physical and both teams are playing well going into it. I don't think the Bucs can make it to Arizona, but stranger things have happened.

5-NEW YORK GIANTS: 35 points against the Patriots? I know they lost, but the Giants offense, even without that blowhard Jeremy Shockey, have been playing well going into January. As I said above, the Bucs/Giants game will be a good one, with the winner having to play at Green Bay or Dallas. I think the Giants can make a run, but the Bucs game looks to be physical. If they win, they go on the road against a team that's well-rested and prepared. I love this game.

6-WASHINGTON REDSKINS: Nobody wants to play the Redskins right now. They're the Jaguars of the NFC. They're going into January on a tear, and I truly believe that they would have beaten Dallas Sunday no matter what the Cowboys had on the line. As I said, Dallas would much rather have Seattle take the Redskins out than have to do it themselves. Washington has a shot to make some noise in the NFC playoffs. This team is tough and playing with a lot of intensity right now. Look out, NFC.

Linebacker51's predictions:

AFC CHAMPIONS: New England Patriots

NFC CHAMPIONS: Green Bay Packers

SUPER BOWL XLII CHAMPIONS: New England Patriots

As always, the pleasure was all yours.

~51

I love the New York Post. I really do. I fly frequently, and I pick up the Post every chance I get. I share the Post's political positions (most of them), love their headlines, and enjoy the New York attitude in general.

A good example of that attitude appears in the sports section of the Post. Every day, since the New England Patriots "spygate" scandal broke, the New York Post has placed an asterisk next to the words "New England" and/or "Patriots" wherever it appears in print. At the bottom of each page, the asterisk is explained with two words: "caught cheating." The Post does this in the NFL standings section, the Vegas odds sections, and in NFL related news articles, without fail. And I think it's great.

Yes, I think it's great. It's gamesmanship and it's the tweaking of a hated rival. I get that, and I think it's funny. There's just one thing, though.

It's incorrect.

Now, again, I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, so I do not have a dog in this fight. I am writing with no biases or agendas. The masses could decide to either erect a monument to Bill Belichick in City Hall Plaza or toss him screaming from the Tobin Bridge, for all I care. That said, Belichick has been called a lot of names in recent years: arrogant, genius, etc. These names may or may not be accurate, but one name he is called is not accurate, and that is the moniker of "cheater."

For the last time, the New England Patriots were penalized a first round draft pick and cash for the following infraction: They filmed the New York Jets defensive coaches from the sidelines. The act of videotaping was NOT, in and of itself, the problem. It was WHERE the camera was. The Patriots, and any other NFL team, have EVERY RIGHT to film the Jets signals, just not from the sidelines. If the Pats had filmed the signals from the press box, like everyone else does, there would have been no issues.

Let's say you're a college student, and your professor allows you to film his lecture so that you can use it to study for finals. His only request is that you only film his lecture from the left side of the classroom. If you defy his request and film his lecture from the right side of the classroom, are you breaking the professor's rules? Yes. Does that give you a COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE over your classmates when taking the final exam? Absolutely not.

The Patriots broke an NFL rule, and were CORRECTLY punished for their actions. Bill Belichick is an arrogant prick (not that it's a bad thing; so am I), and he and the NFL have butted heads for quite a while. He's made that evident with his boring press conferences, nonsensical injury reports, and "I just woke up" attire on the sidelines. Belichick's defiance of the NFL's latest edict was just another arrogant move, and the NFL responded. I have NO issues with any of it.

What I DO take issue with is the, for the most part, jealous fans of other teams (usually rival clubs like the Jets, Dolphins, Steelers, and Colts) saying the Patriots "cheated." They DID NOT cheat. They broke a rule. I'm not playing semantics here. There is a difference. If you don't see it, you're not being honest with yourself.

Come out and say you're envious of the Pats and their success. Or, just say you hate Bill Belichick because he's arrogant, or that Tom Brady is an absentee father and Rodney Harrison is a steroid abuser. That's all well and good. But, please, stop justifying the failures of your beloved franchises just because the current team in New England is better than they are.

I surf this site every once in a while and read things like "the Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX because the Pats were cheating." Are you serious? Nobody over the age of six can honestly buy that. The Patriots won that game, and every other game for that matter, because they were a better team. That's it. End of story.

I still think the New York Post is hilarious, though.

~51

That's why they play the games, Folks.

Philadelphia at Dallas: Everything I have been saying about BOTH these teams is (unfortunately) coming true. The Cowboys (full disclosure: the team I follow) have been propped up on this high pedestal by the media as the "only hope" to knock off the Pats in February. As I have written here in the past, the Cowboys are a flawed team that had several bounces go their way this season (anyone remember the Monday Nighter in Buffalo?). Tony Romo STILL forces passes to Terrell Owens when Owens is covered. As for Owens himself, the team HAS to force passes to him to prevent the inevitable locker-room cancer that he is from rearing his ugly head (it's just a matter of time). As for Sunday's game against the Eagles, Jason Witten was open all day long. There were no Eagles players that could cover him. Why throw the ball anywhere else? Because Owens has to be appeased, that's why. Anyone can be a model teammate when your team is winning. Winning, as they say, is a great deodorant. Tony Romo, when playing well, looks like John Elway. When he plays poorly, he looks more like Dave Brown. I love the Cowboys, but this team is not as good as it thinks it is. Now they have to win out on the road. If they are for real, they will. We shall see.

As for the Eagles, they won their Super Bowl on Sunday. At 6-8, and playing with a lame-duck quarterback, they were fantastic on defense. Brian Dawkins was a force, although even he couldn't stay with Witten. As for the Eagles offense, the only weapon they have, and it's a big one; don't get me wrong, is Brian Westbrook. He's one of the best players in the league. Donovan McNabb, however, is helping me look like a genius (not that I need it - � ). McNabb was a liability at QB, and it is a near certainty that he will be gone come 2008. I honestly feel that the Cowboys defense, which played fairly well, would have had a more difficult time with journeyman QB A.J. Feeley than they had with McNabb. McNabb took bad sacks that took the Eagles out of field goal range, and looked confused and rattled in the pocket (though he did play better than Romo yesterday). All in all, the Eagles are playing out the string at the tail end of a mediocre season. They won Sunday, but they'll be playing golf by the first week of January. And come next season, a new era will begin in Philly, while McNabb will catch on somewhere else (Chicago?) and shit all over the Eagles in interviews throughout the summer of 2008. Mark my words. Did you see the game in Tampa yesterday? The Eagles let the wrong QB go last year. The proof is in the results. Tampa won their division and are in the playoffs. Jeff Garcia, old and effeminate, is outplaying McNabb yet again.

The Pats are still perfect, and figure to end the season 16-0. A lot of people are going to laugh at what I'm about to say, but here goes: Home field advantage for New England is not the advantage it was in years past. Poor weather conditions against the lowly Jets leveled the playing field Sunday. The finesse passing game that the Pats employ, along with a less-than-average running attack and poor linebacker play will cause problems in cold weather against teams like Jacksonville and, yes, Indianapolis. The Pats SHOULD beat those teams, but inclement weather is a great equalizer. Jacksonville showed the ability to beat a good team on the road in bad weather yesterday. They can run, play excellent defense, and have nothing to lose. The world is a crazy place.

As for the rest of the league, the Chargers seem to be peaking at just the right time, the Seahawks continue to be inconsistent, Tampa Bay looks good, and nobody is going to feel bad for Jeremy Shockey. His "Me First" mentality is hardly exclusive to him, but he's such an unlikable asshole that the injury couldn't have happened to a better guy.

That's all for now. Merry Christmas.

~51

While watching the NBC Sunday Night Fooball game last night, here is what I observed:

1. Donovan McNabb is all done in Philadelphia. For the past two seasons, McNabb has not only proven to be fragile and injured, but the quarterback who replaces him immediately breathes new life into the team. Last year it was Jeff Garcia, and this year it's the legendary A.J. Feeley. Feeley comes off the bench and damn near pulls off the upset of the year. Had McNabb been at the helm in Foxboro, the Pats would have won fairly easily, in my opinion. McNabb needs a change of scenery (Chicago, maybe?), and it's only a matter of time before Mama McNabb blogs about how poorly the Eagles are treating her son.

2. The Eagles exposed the one true weakness on this Patriots team: a poor secondary. Dallas exploited it somewhat in October, and the Colts did a good job as well, but the Eagles were very impressive in showing the world that the New England pass defense is weak, and that they have been protected in past games by their terrific offense and the fact that they have been playing with leads for the most part. Suddenly, offensive teams around the league with good offensive lines and firepower have a blueprint for success. If a very mediocre Eagles team with a retread QB can go into New England's house and do what they did, then what do you think Brett Favre and the Packers offense can do? I still like the Pats to win the whole thing, but invincible they are not.

3. The Patriots have morphed from a physical grind-it-out team that won big games in previous seasons to a finesse team that does not respond well to being hit. When the weather in New England gets colder in January, the passing game will suffer, forcing the Pats to play more ball-control, a game they can no longer play effectively. They are not a very physical team at all, and it's going to be interesting how they adapt against a quality team in inclement weather.

That's all for now. As always, the pleasure was all yours.

~51

I know that Miami fans will be ripping off their paper-bag masks in anger when they read this, but it must be said; the 1972 Miami Dolphins are the most overrated team in NFL history. That's right. I said it.

Not only does this team not deserve its number one ranking in many "expert" polls, it hardly belongs in any knowledgeable fan's top ten. Put it this way, if that team lost one of its games that year, we'd never hear about them whatsoever.

Look at the facts: The 1972 Dolphins played exactly two (2) regular season games against teams with winning records. Those "winning" teams: The 8-6 Kansas City Chiefs and the 8-6 New York Giants. They went through the wild-card Cleveland Browns in the AFC Divisional Playoffs, and defeated a concussed Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers in Pittsburgh to advance to the Super Bowl, where they were underdogs to the overachieving "Over the Hill Gang" Washington Redskins.

The 2007 New England Patriots can lose three games leading up to the playoffs, and they'd STILL be ten points better than the 1972 Dolphins. In fact, the 1984 San Francisco 49ers (18-1), the 1985 Chicago Bears (18-1), the 1989 San Francisco 49ers (17-2), the 1991 Washington Redskins (17-2), and the 1992 Dallas Cowboys (16-3), are all, in my humble opinion, superior teams to the 1972 Miami Dolphins. In fact, you can make an argument that the Steelers, Raiders, and Cowboys teams that won Super Bowls in the 1970s fielded better teams than the 1972 Dolphins.

Why? The first, most obvious reason would be quality of opposition. The 1985 Bears team had two playoff shutouts against very good teams. They shutout both Bill Parcells' Giants and the division-winning Rams en route to a Super Bowl rout against the Patriots. Many of the 49ers teams from the 1980s and Cowboys teams from the early 1990s had Hall of Famers at virtually every position, and had to play against loaded teams to get to the Super Bowl.

The only reason Don Shula and the other pathetic Dolphin oldies perk up when a team is undefeated this late in a season is because their egos won't allow them to step away and let the current generation bask in any adulation. There's nothing more pathetic than an old-timer shaking his fist at today's youth and talking about how much better and tougher it was "back in my day."

The 1972 Dolphins know, in their heart of hearts, that they are an overrated team. The only thing that makes them relevant is the fact that they went undefeated. As soon as another team does it, that team is automatically better than the 1972 Dolphins, and they all know it. They will no longer be a relevant team, and they will fade into obscurity, where they belong.

The 1972 Dolphins won Super Bowl VII, and they went ahead and won the next year, too. Good for them. They were Back-to-back Super Bowl Champions, and nobody can take that away from them. That said, there are teams in the dustbin of NFL history from Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, and, probably very soon, New England, who have fielded teams that would take that Dolphin team apart, and fairly easily, I might add. So keep clicking your champagne glasses as you tell old war stories to each other. You may have yourselves convinced that you were the greatest, but true NFL fans know the truth.

~Linebacker 51

An Open Letter to the Haters of the New England Patriots

It's amazing how success turns a feel-good story into an Evil Empire. I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, so I'm not defending the Patriots because they're "my team" or anything like that, it's just funny how a team on the cusp of greatness gets a lot of national support, but once they establish themselves as an elite franchise, the whole world hates them.

Do you know why the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Cowboys are hated so much? Because they have been consistent winners over the years. Different people can fabricate different reasons, but that's what it is. These teams, at one point or another, have shattered your team's dream. As a result of this, you hate them. It's really as simple as that.

When the Patriots made their run in 2001, the whole world was behind this rag-tag group of overachievers who were going up against "The Greatest Show on Turf." Since that time, the Pats have enjoyed unparalleled success, and, for the most part, your team has not. Therefore, they are now a team you all love to hate. It's basic, grade-school logic at it's purest.

I can guarantee you that, if the Boston Red Sox continue to win World Series titles over the next five years or so, the national media will turn on them, as will most of MLB's fan-base. The Sox will assume the "Evil Empire" moniker from the Yankees. What most people think is funny and innocent now, like Jonathan Papelbon's dancing routine, most will find arrogant, pompous, and disrespectful in the future. Mark my words; it's going to happen.

As a child, I hated the San Francisco 49ers. Why? Because of "The Catch" and the fact that my beloved Cowboys could not compete with them. Now that I'm older, that hatred has turned to respect. It's the same thing with Red Sox Nation. They have banded together, joined by their hatred of the Yankees. Why? Because Red Sox Nation had to look up in the standings, only to see the Yankees for literally generations.

So, to the undefeated New England Patriots, I say this: Congratulations and good luck. You have now joined an elite fraternity of franchises that the nation loves to hate. It means you have had great success, and that you will be a fixture on national television for the foreseeable future. Let the haters out there hate all they want. It's when they stop hating that you have to worry.

PS: If you're a Patriots fan, please don't believe the bullsh*t that your fellow Pats fans tell you about referees and the NFL being against you and all that other conspiracy crap. There are no conspiracies. You just notice bad calls more now that the spotlight is on your team. All the calls even out.

-Linebacker51