Upcoming show - Sunday, December 31

Pat and Tim will ring in the New Year by talking everything NFL.

How did the Birds get so good? Who's going to sneak into the playoffs? Who's got the best chance of making it to the promised land?

All will be discussed, and answered, on your favorite NFL show.

Guests:

Chris Harris, fantasy expert, Yahoo.com

Mike Sielski, columnist, Calkins media

Sal Paolantonio, NFL analyst, ESPN

Don't forget to join us from 10am-noon on Sunday!

Who do the Birds want?

By Pat Callahan

Let's go ahead and assume the Eagles beat Atlanta Sunday, to clinch the NFC East and lock up the Conference #3 seed. The question here is: who do the Birds want to see come to Philadelphia as the #6 seed? Of course, to a man the whole organization will issue the usual blather about how "it doesn't matter...we'll just take it one game at a time...every team will be tough..." And blah blah blah. But of course, it does matter: the object is to win, so which team, out of Atlanta, Carolina, St. Louis, Green Bay and the Giants would make the easiest foe a week from now? Who would be the toughest?

Here is my take, in order of easiest to toughest out:

1. Green Bay – like the other pretenders, this is not a good team. What makes the Packers most appealing as a first round opponent is their lack of a playmaker on offense, and that includes Brett Favre. No one on this offense scares you.

2. Carolina – like Green Bay, the Panthers have not gotten their offense in gear all season long, wasting a healthy Steve Smith in the process. The defense was never as fierce as predicted.

3. St. Louis – the Rams have won two straight, and both Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson are on fire right now. The defense, however, is awful and cannot stop any running attack, let alone Brian Westbrook.

4. Atlanta – the theory here is you don't want to have to beat the same team two weeks in a row. The odds are very long against this match-up, however; both Philly and Dallas would have to lose this Sunday.

5. New York Giants – again, it's about familiarity, as well as the notion that this team is assuredly the best of the bunch. If the Giants win Saturday in D.C. and the Birds win Sunday, this is your match-up.

No show for Ho-Ho

This Week in Pro Football will take a one-week hiatus so Pat and Tim can celebrate Christmas with their friends and family.

We'd like to wish our loyal listeners a very Merry Christmas, and look forward to being with you all next week!

Sincerely,

Tim McManus and Pat Callahan

Dearest Commish

Mr. Roger Goodell
Commissioner
National Football League
New York, New York

Dear Roger:

Thank you for the Rolex and fathead poster of Paul Tagliabue. A very nice touch, indeed.

You had asked me to jot down my ideas for improving the game, so here they are, in no particular order:

·Rescind that rule which allows the clock to run when a player goes out of bounds in the games first 55 minutes. What in insult to fans: “let’s speed up the game by having less of it!” Try cutting back to, say, 5000 commercials a game instead;

·outlaw the scoreboards during games. Can I watch the game, please? Not a constantly scrolling, irritating, distracting flash of scores all game long. Every 10 minutes is fine;

·and while we’re at it, get rid of the down and distance stuff too! I’m watching the game, for God’s sake, Roger; how stupid do the networks think we are? Flash the down and distance between plays and get rid of it during the play, okay?

·tell them to shut up. We don’t need a non-stop audio assault by Moose Johnston, Randy Cross, Solomon Wilcotts and the king of bleeding from the ears, Bill Maas. As I said, I am watching the game; I don’t need a 60 second explanation of a three yard off tackle run!

·too many night games, Mr. Commissioner; remember, those idiots wrapped up and freezing in zero wind chills last week in Pittsburgh paid good money to sit there, they cheer, boo and basically make the whole thing work. Sundays at 1:00pm are fine, okay?

·do not expand the playoff pool; 8-8 is already bad enough to get in;

·issue an edict banning mono-chromatic uniforms. The Seahawks look like some alien race, and the Saints, Bills, the Jets (flat out awful-looking) are close behind. Do this ASAP.

There you go, Roger. I’ll mail this to you, right after this quick time-out, presented by Levitra.



Patrick Callahan
This Week In Pro Football

Upcoming Show - Sunday, December 10

Pat and Tim will delve into the NFC playoff race, and argue whether the Eagles are a favorite to claim one of the wild card berths.

Guests:

Chris Harris, fantasy expert, Yahoo.com

John McMullen, NFL Insider, football.com

Sal Paolantonio, NFL analyst, ESPN

Don't forget to listen from 10 a.m. - noon on Sunday!

Upcoming Show - Sunday, December 3

Pat and Tim take an in-depth look at the wide open NFC playoff race. Can the Bears win with Rex? Can the Giants get along long enough to slip into the postseason? Is Romo the real deal? We'll answer all those questions, and break down the Eagles-Panthers MNF matchup.

Guests:

Chris Harris, fantasy expert, Yahoo.com

Sal Paolantonio, NFL analyst, ESPN

Dont forget to join us from 10 am-noon this Sunday!

Selfish

By John McMullen

Jim Mora Sr. got quite a bit of play a few weeks ago when he called Michael Vick a “coach killer.” Of course, the only reason Mora spouted off about Vick is the coach he perceives as being “killed” is his own son.

But let’s be honest, while Vick has not developed into the signal caller people hoped for, the Atlanta Falcons are a far more competitive team since he sauntered into town.

That said, Mora’s words got me thinking about the real “coach killer” in pro football. A player that is quite frankly, uncoachable...

Brett Favre.

In my years in Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of seeing Favre play twice a year and it was breathtaking. In his prime, Favre was one of the best ever -- second only to Joe Montana in my mind.

Year in and year out, the Vikings had more talent than the Green Bay Packers but when people asked for my prediction, I always went with Favre. He was that good.

In fact, Favre created the monster that is Andy Reid when he led a Packers team with Edgar Bennett as the primary running threat to a Super Bowl championship. It was then and there that Reid developed his legendary disdain for the running game.

Today, I feel silly for ever lauding Favre -- a pariah that may even trump T.O. as the most selfish player in the NFL.

You can debate the reasons Favre is hanging on -- whether it be ego, Dan Marino’s records or staying far away from that loving family his groupies drone on and on about.

Whatever the reason is immaterial -- what is germane to Green Bay is that Favre's reason for staying isn't winning.

And, his apologists that dot the network airwaves look more and more foolish when defending him at the expense of every other player on his team -- most of which actually listen to their coaches and try to carry out an assignment.

Of course the future Hall of Famer’s status in the game makes it impossible for his own coaches to call him out for his willful ignorance of their game plan -- something every other NFL quarterback would get lambasted for on a weekly basis.

In the woeful NFC, the Packers would likely be a playoff contender if Favre would just manage his own ego. Instead, the gunslinger just hurls the ball into coverage whenever he likes and waits for his minions to blame his young receivers who aren’t “playmakers.”

Nonsense -- Favre’s play is the ultimate act of selfishness on the football field.

No matter what Joe Buck and John Madden tell you.

All is not Lost?

By Pat Callahan

O.K., it looks really bleak right now for all you who bleed green and have been spoiled over the past five years. The Birds were absolutely steamrolled Sunday night by Joseph Addai and the Colts, the second week in a row they surrendered over 200 years rushing. It appears that, almost without us noticing, the Eagles have become mediocre. Are they?

The answer is yes, but you need to remember these two things: (1) Eagles fans were drinking green Kool-aid in September when all the experts were picking them to go 11-5 and win the NFC East; and (2) They still might make the playoffs.

Admit it, many of you bought into the pre-season fluff from ESPN, etc. that the Birds defense was back to its former rampaging self and the McNabb/Westbrook team would dominate. And it did start out well: 3-1 out of the gate and a suddenly explosive offense helped to mask some serious defensive deficiencies. But it soon became clear that the Eagles quick strike offense was leaving its aging and too-small defense on the field too long and the losses started to mount: New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, even Tennessee – all because the defense could not make a big stop.

But take a color blind look at what you’ve got: Dawkins and Trotter are warriors, but their best days are clearly behind them; and an undersized front seven has been negatively impacted by some recent bad drafts – McDougal, Bunkley, etc. It will take some time to rebuild, and maybe a change in leadership on this side of the ball.

Now to the good news: despite the ship taking on big water, I don’t see two teams – assuming Dallas wins the NFC East – substantially better than the Eagles in the NFC who will take the wild card berths. Do you? Carolina needs a Jake break; Minnesota lacks offensive talent; Atlanta, St. Louis, San Francisco – no, no, and no.

The Birds play three such teams over the last five weeks. Aside from Dallas on Christmas Day, they could win any other game (Carolina, Washington, NY Giants, Atlanta).

It could happen. And you heard it here first.

Random thoughts:

- AFC Rankings
1. Indy – Come on, Peyton, just say hike, will you?
2. Baltimore – McNair is a leader.
3. San Diego – Wear the throwbacks!
4. New England – I don’t see a road playoff win.
5. Kansas City – LJ is a load.

- Let’s do this –
1. Rethink the QB roughing rules – good intentions gone way bad.
2. No more guest in any booth, ever.
3. Cut commercials back to, say, 52 minutes per hour.
4. Get Tom Coughlin to relax; have a scotch, Tommy.