Dumbest NFL Trick Play Ever?

After being disemboweled by the New York Giants to the tune of 24-0 in the first half last night (and it wasn't even that close), the Washington Redskins tried to pull off one of the dumbest trick plays I've ever seen. Considering they were fortunate to even be in field goal position, everyone in the building and watching on television expected a field goal attempt before they scurried off the field in shame. So after they line up, they shifted seven men wide to the left. Since the Redskins had fooled the Giants on a trick play for a touchdown in the previous meeting this year, New York Coach Tom Coughlin wisely called timeout.

You think at that point Washington just goes for a regular field goal try. But no! They come out and try the same thing again, with predictably disastrous results. The holder (the Washington punter) takes the snap and is nearly decapitated as three Giants come free at him and he heaves a pass that is intercepted and then nearly returned after Michael Johnson gets at least halfway down field.

Maybe this was Jim Zorn's poke in the eye to owner Daniel Snyder. If I were Zorn I may not have even come out on the field after that disgraceful performance in the first half, which was followed up by an equally pathetic second half en route to a 45-12 drubbing.

Thanks to Ace for the link. Plenty of wiseguy comments over there.

How soon I forget. Maybe coaches ought to start donating their brains to science.

Thanks also to Allahpundit for the link.

Giants Roll, Idiot Burress Facing Arraignment

The New York Giants rolled to another victory Sunday despite the absence of wideout Plaxico Burress.

The Giants spent most of a week cheerfully preparing to play the Redskins at FedEx Field on Sunday, carrying a six-game winning streak and a swelling sense of invincibility. But their smooth glide to a 10-1 record was gone in a painful flash on Friday night, when receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.

Suddenly, Sunday’s result against the Redskins, win or lose, would be a proxy on the Giants’ resilience and focus. Win, and the Giants further prove themselves a single-minded bunch, able to steer clear of even the most unseemly of distractions. Lose for the first time since Oct. 13, and frenzied debate would ensue over whether one bullet could cripple their equilibrium.

On a drizzly and dreary afternoon at FedEx Field, the Giants powered past the rival Redskins, 23-7, their latest show of defiance against a difficult schedule and the occasional off-field controversy.

Well, it appears nothing may stop them now. Eli Manning sent a not-so-subtle message to Burress and the rest of the league by throwing for 305 yards on a rainy day, spreading the ball around and utilizing Domenik Hixon, the (permanent?) replacement for Burress. The Giants are now the only team since the 1970 Vikings to defeat winning teams six straight weeks. They still face four teams with winning records, starting with Philadelphia at home next Sunday, when they could possibly clinch the NFC East.

Meanwhile, Quickdraw is scheduled to be arraigned on weapons charges Monday.

Giants receiver Plaxico Burress, who accidentally shot himself in the thigh Friday night at a Manhattan nightclub, will surrender to the New York City police on Monday morning and will be charged with criminal possession of a handgun, according to his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman.

Burress will plead not guilty, said Brafman, whom Burress hired Sunday and who has represented high-profile defendants like the rapper Sean Combs.

“I ask his fans and the New York Giants to withhold judgment in this case until the facts come out,” Brafman said in a telephone interview, adding that he did not yet know what the possible punishment for Burress could be.

Once can hope he's made an example of. Maybe some jailtime and a lengthy suspension will finally wake this moron up. He also could face charges in New Jersey since his has no concealed carry permit there, either.

NFL Week 1: Redskins at Giants

It's that most glorious time of the year as tonight we mark the return of the National Football League with the Washington Redskins paying a visit to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. When we last left off we were witness to the greatest play in Super Bowl history (above) and maybe the best play of all time.

Be aware this is a 7 pm eastern start as the game was scheduled early in order to avoid John McCain's acceptance speech this evening. As a friendly reminder for those who may be unfamiliar with my pigskin picks, since NBC is carrying the game, there the possibility that bedwetting douchebag Keith Olbermann may appear on the pregame and halftime, so feel free to change the channel at those time.

Since there's only one game today, we'll make our season prognostications and take a look at the rest of Week 1 later this week.

GIANTS -4 Redskins: The Giants are getting little respect coming off their remarkable Super Bowl run and from all accounts they like being viewed that way. They took a hit when Michael Strahan retired and another huge blow when Pro Bowl DE went down with a season-ending injury. Still, Justin Tuck has emerged and Mathias Kiwanuka was moved back to DE from linebacker, so there shouldn't be a major dropoff. And it's not as if their interior guys Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield are slouches. There are questions though at linebacker and it remains to be seen whether CB Corey Webster is the real deal after a huge postseason. Keep an eye out for hard-hitting rookie safety Kenny Phillips. Many teams will rue the day they passed on this Ed Reed clone.

Offensively, the Giants return all 11 starters from Super Bowl XLII and also have rising star Steve Smith and rookie Mario Manningham at wideout, along with a power backfield in Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Derrick Ward, who missed the latter part of 2007 with a broken leg. Offensively, they should operate efficiently and they have enough talent still on defense to be a contender.

Washington begins the Jim Zorn era with Jason Campbell back at QB after missing last year's playoff run; TE Chris Cooley and WR Santana Moss always give the Giants fits. The Skins embarrassed the Giants at the Meadowlands last December and the Giants need to show they can win at home after a dismal 3-5 slate last year. There's no way they're going 10-1 on the road again.

A pumped up crowd seeing the Super Bowl champions take the field for the first time and the desire for a quick start should be enough to propel the Giants, who have an easy early schedule and should be 3-0 when they have their bye week. Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning has a big game on a sultry late summer night. Giants 30-17

NFL Wildcard Weekend

We wrapped up a dismal season picking games against the spread, coming in at 114-130-12 after a 7-8-1 mark in Week 17.

For what it's worth, my friends at the NY Post, who run the Bettor's Guide every week, didn't fare much better. Nine of the 10 folks listed there also finished under .500, and I had the identical record as the erstwhile Hondo.

Good thing I don't gamble outside of the occasional office pool and Super Bowl boxes.

For the record, here's who we saw in the playoffs way back in Week 1.

NFC Wildcards
GIANTS over Dallas
SEAHAWKS over Panthers

Divisional
SAINTS over Giants
BEARS over Seahawks

Championship
SAINTS over Bears

AFC Wildcards
PATRIOTS over Ravens
Broncos over BENGALS

Divisional
CHARGERS over Broncos
Patriots over COLTS

Championship
CHARGERS over Patriots

Super Bowl
Chargers over Saints

Shows you how much I know, getting only six of the 12 playoff teams right. Alas, last year we went 9-2 in the playoffs and Super Bowl, so let's see if we can approach that mark.

On to this weekend's game.

SATURDAY
SEAHAWKS -3.5 Redskins: Forecast calls for rain in Seattle, but what else is new? Love the Redskins coming of their four-game win streak just to get here, but think this is where it ends. Short week, Seattle is relatively rested, and Todd Collins is due to come back to earth facing a sturdy Seattle pass rush. The Seahawks are better than I thought they'd be this year and don't be shocked if they wind up in the Super Bowl. Seahawks 27-20

STEELERS +2.5 Jaguars: Pittsburgh lost at home to the hot Jags three weeks ago and are in a rare home underdog spot tonight, which I believe gives them more than enough motivation. Sure, they're banged up on the offensive line and miss Willie Parker, but I expect Ben Roethlisberger to outplay David Garrard, while sloppy conditions slow the Jaguar rushing attack. Expect a nasty slugfest. Steelers 24-21

Viewer alert: Both games today are on NBC, so do your best to avoid their studio show and that douchebag Keith Olbermann, the current leader for the famed LGF Fiskie Award.

SUNDAY
Giants +3 BUCCANEERS: New York has been on full throttle the past two weeks, putting up 73 points against Buffalo and New England while Tampa has been on cruise control. Look for the Giants to establish the run, play it safe underneath in the passing game against sturdy Bucs pass defense. Giants have more weapons with Jacobs, Bradshaw, Burress, Toomer and rookies Kevin Boss and Steve Smith and are 7-1 on the road. Jeff Garcia 2-0 against New York in the playoffs, but the Giants league-leading pass rush should keep him in check. Giants 24-20

CHARGERS -9.5 Titans: San Diego hasn't won a home playoff game since the 1994 season and is peaking at the right time, while Titans may be left with Kerry Collins at QB and are missing their top receiver in Roydell Williams and TE Bo Scaife. On top of that, LenDale White is questionable. Forecast calls for rain, so expect LaDainian Tomlinson to get the ball around 25 times and ornery defense to take out their recent playoff frustrations on Tennessee. Likely the only blowout of the weekend. Chargers 37-13

If these picks pan out, the matchups you'll get next weekend are Seattle at Green Bay, New York at Dallas, San Diego at Indianapolis and Pittsburgh at New England.

NFL Week 14: Bears at Redskins

We enter Week 14 with Chicago traveling to Washington in another NFL Network game nobody will see. Considering this matchup, consider yourself fortunate. Both teams are 5-7, coming off crushing home losses, with little shot at a playoff spot. One of them is likely finished after tonight.

We'll do the remainder of the schedule later this week.

REDSKINS -3 Bears: Since the Bears are involved, we'll defer to midwest correspondent 3 wood"Both offenses are bad. The Skins have a better defense than the Bears, Chicago is all banged up, is out of any hope for the playoffs, the Chicago receivers lead the league in dropped passes, and Chicago is playing on the road. The Skins should take this one." And so it shall be. Redskins 17-13

Skins' Taylor Dead After Shooting

Certainly this is a tragic event, but for too long there's been a trail of dead current or former Miami Hurricanes and dare I say the gangster culture is catching up with them.

MIAMI - Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has died, a day after he was shot at home, said family friend Richard Sharpstein.

He said Taylor's father called him around 5:30 a.m. to tell him the news.

"His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me," said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

He said he did not know exactly when Taylor died.

Police speculate he may have been a victim during a robbery.

Miami-Dade Police were investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were dispatched about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911. Taylor was airlifted to the hospital.

Sharpstein said Taylor's girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor's 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house at the time, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured.

"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Miami-Dade Police Lt. Nancy Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."

Taylor has has off-the-field incidents, so police may have to go back a ways to investiagte this shooting.

An All-American at the University of Miami, Taylor was drafted by the Redskins with the fifth overall selection in 2004. Coach Joe Gibbs called it "one of the most researched things" he's ever done, but the problems soon began. Taylor fired his agent, then skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Driving home late from a party during the season, he was pulled over and charged with drunken driving. The case was dismissed in court, but by then it had become a months-long distraction for the team.

Taylor was also fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006.

Meanwhile, Taylor endured a yearlong legal battle after he was accused in 2005 of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over allegedly stolen all-terrain vehicles near Taylor's home. He eventually pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.

Belichick Kicks Them While They're Down

There's a difference between beating people and going out of your way to kick them when they are down. The Colts are beating people. The Patriots are kicking them when they are down. John Clayton of ESPN has an excellent article on Bill Belichick's low class act:

Running it up: Belichick, Pats take no prisoners

On Sunday, Belichick kicked a Hall of Fame coach while he was down, running up the score on Joe Gibbs' Redskins to 52-7. This comes a week after Belichick reinserted quarterback Tom Brady midway through the fourth quarter of a 49-28 win over the Dolphins.

What seemed cute three weeks when Brady threw an unnecessary last-minute touchdown pass to Kyle Eckel while whipping the Cowboys 48-27 has turned ugly.

So why is Belichick running it up on people?

He wore the black hoodie in the Week 1 spy incident and accepted his punishment. Now, he's making the league pay with blowouts

So Belichick is PO'd that he got caught cheating, and is taking it out on the league. Yesterday, he brought new meaning to low class:

That's why he …

• … kept Brady on the field for an 88-yard drive six minutes into the fourth quarter despite already leading 38-0. On that 14-play drive, the Patriots went for a fourth-and-1 at the Redskins' 7 and ordered a 35-yard bomb to Randy Moss.

• … went for a fourth-and-2 at the Redskins' 37 on the next possession while leading 45-0. Backup QB Matt Cassel hit Jabar Gaffney with a 21-yard pass. Two plays later, Cassel scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown run to open a 52-0 lead.

Asked why he would go for two fourth downs in a blowout, Belichick responded, "What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?"

What you don't do Bill, is get 40 points up on an injured and undermanned team and still have your All-pro QB throwing bombs, doing QB sneaks on 4th down to get 1st downs, faking spiking the ball and throwing into the endzone, blitzing the other team late in the game, and needlessly pounding the team into the ground.

I'm not knocking the players, they are doing what they are told on the field. But Belichick knew the 'Skins had only three healthy corners going into the game, one got hurt early, and he still went out of his way to pound on them.

Still, there's no doubt what he's really doing. Redskins veterans Phillip Daniels and Marcus Washington, who have 18 years combined NFL experience, both said they had never seen a team run up the score the way the Patriots are doing.

Face it, folks, Belichick plans to lay waste to the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell took away a first-rounder, so the Patriots will take away your firstborn. Belichick has assembled perhaps the most dominating team in NFL history, and he's intent on destroying all opponents in his path.

This is just plain stupidity by Belichick. He is needlessly risking injury to his better players just to stick it to the league. And remember, what goes around comes around.

Other teams are noticing how the Patriots kick people when they're down, and it does not sit well with them. One of these Sundays, injuries will catch up to the Pats, the ball will bounce the other way, and they will get down in a game. And when that happens, watch for some big time payback. And I don't want to hear a word from Belichick when it happens.

This will not end well for Patriots fans.