Saints They Ain't, Mickey Loomis More Like Mickey Mouse

AP Photo

I can assure you that Saints fans want to make sure
they aren't ever reminded of the days when their
beloved Saints were referred to as the Aint's, but
that was only because they couldn't win a game to
save their lives. Now it seems that they would be
better recognized if they borrowed their name from
an NHL team, the New Jersey Devils.

Guilt or innocence on much of what's been said and
suspected is still yet to be decided, but like the
old saying goes, "Where there's smoke, there's fire.
I have been saying from day one of the suspensions
that the man who should have gotten the one year
suspension, should have been Mickey Loomis, the GM,
not Sean Payton the head coach. Though I realize
that the head coach is ultimately responsible for
happens with the team, good or bad, Mickey Loomis
sees to be playing a pretty large role in all of
these shenanigans.

I know that in this modern era of sports teams can
often go from worst to 1st, but the Saints dominance
to me seemed a little too dominant at times, and
though I can't put my finger on it, it just didn't
feel right. Now I know that Drew Brees is no fluke
at QB, and Sean Payton is one hell of a coach, but
a little edge never hurt anyone, if no one finds out
that is. Now there comes news that Loomis was eaves
dropping on the opposing teams locker rooms.
"Where there's smoke, there's fire". You want to
believe people have it out for the Saints, you're
entitled to that, but I don't, and I can't think of
anyone who does. Everyone wants to knock you off
when you're on top, buy that's nothing new, and
they have already admitted to their transgressions,
so it's not as if it was fabricated. Defensive
coordinator Gregg Williams was guilty of this stuff
even before he got to New Orleans, and that may have
made him more appealing to them, and why they finally
got over the hump, and won it all.

If any of these new accusations are true it may not
seem as bad as "Bountygate" because injury to opposing
players may not necessarily come from it or be ordered,
but it should be punishable in as harsh a way as Gregg
Williams is being punished now. In light of the fact
that Loomis will be not just a multiple offender, but
one that actively worked on cheating more than he did
anything for the good of the game or the league, the
hammer on this Mickey should fall hard and swift.
There is no room for this sort of underhandedness,
and now that the FBI is involved Mickey Mouse Loomis
will more than lost draft picks to worry about.

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Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Mad Stork Sports Podcast For 3-7-12

If you missed this show, then you missed a doozie.
The opinions were flying and the passion was high.
Peyton Manning released, Drew Brees crying like a
baby, and Gregg Williams ready to lay one last
bounty on ME. Check it out !



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Time To Give Eli Manning His Due

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I couldn't help but notice how many NFL analysts
and announcers were almost going out of there way
to proclaim Eli Manning as an Elite quarterback
yesterday. By that I don't mean that they were
saying he was a "GREAT" quarterback, I mean they were
all making it a point to use the word "ELITE".

To me this was a clear indication that the fact that
many of you, and even some of them didn't believe he
deserved that title, was a thought that was out there.
The ESPN Twitter feed even Tweeted this after the game:

Eli Manning’s Career Playoff Victims: Aaron Rodgers,
Matt Ryan, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia

You can't help but notice that, that is quite the list,
and that "if" he wins the Super Bowl again this season
this he will either add Joe Flacco to that list or double
up on Tom Brady, and the latter is even more impressive.
For those of you who for years have been of the school
that Peyton is so much better than Eli, and I was one of
you, I will go on record as saying that is has reached the
point that Peyton is still better, but by very, little.
Thing is "if" he does go on to win that Super Bowl, he
will have two titles, and be two for two, whereas Peyton
will have just one, and be one for two.

I've said this before, and it's always worth repeating:
perception is reality, and since Eli does not come off
as one of the more cerebral players in the league, the
initial impression is that he's dumb, and he has clearly
shown that, that is the furthest thing form the truth.
No matter how much you try and avoid that sort of thinking
we are all guilty of it at some point. I guess that works
the other why too. It's probably why I think that Heisman
Trophy winner RG III is going to be a great pro. he is so
polished and well versed ion front of the camera, that he
leads you to believe that he is bright, in command, and
destined for success.

Anyway you want to slice this, he's earned it. I mentioned
in an earlier piece that I wasn't very impressed with the
breaking of Dan Marino's record by Drew Brees, as much as
I think he's a great Quarterback, because of how much both
Wide receivers and Quarterbacks receive these days as opposed
to when Marino broke the record, and yet in the same breath
I will tell you that he finished 67 yards shy of 5000 yards,
and 543 behind Brees, even though Brees had 68 more passing
attempts than Eli, about two games worth really of you figure
the typical QB throws about 34 passes per game. Just for fun
though, if you take that many attempts and multiply it by his
completion percentage, then Eli would have only finished a
mere 223 yards behind Brees, but that's all just speculation,
and theory. What isn't speculation and theory is that Eli is
still in this thing and Drew and that guy named Tebow are home
getting all healed up for next season. Time to step up, Eli
has more than arrived and Giants fans as well as fans around
the league need to now understand what they have.

NFL Divisonal Saturday Observations & Tim Tebow

AP Photo/Jack Dempsey

In case you missed it, or even tried to ignore it
there were definitely other things going on, on
and off the field that get missed or overlooked,
their always are. Now some of these may seem
very obvious, but it occurs to me that they are
still worth mentioning.

Invisibles - That is not plural, it's actually one
to say invisible in Spanish, and one other way to
describe OchoCinco or EightFive or Chad Johnson
or whatever he wishes to called, but what the heck
are the Patriots doing holding on to this guy?
He was in for ONE snap in a blowout last night
and has barely seen the field at all this season.
We know they're not afraid to cut guys, so are they
just doing him a favor and trying to get him a ring?

Best Team Lost? - Don't get the wrong idea, BUT did
it seem that even though the 49ers came out on top,
that the Saints were still the better team? I mean
I picked the 49ers to win, but the Saints just look
better to me, they just need to learn to play away
from home. I assure you, the best thing the Niners
did to win that game is get the #2 seed, because if
that game was played in New Orleans, it would have
looked alot more like the Pats Broncos game, than
the miracle in Candlestick it was.

Busted From Within - I am a John Fox fan, but last
night it seemed that he was as responsible for the
blowout loss to the Pats as Tim Tebow or anyone else
on that team was. It just didn't seem he was on the
ball at all, and basically conceded defeat before the
end of the first quarter. His time management skills
at the end of the half were similar to a first time
head coach. It's really unfortunate, because even
though their was little belief if any that the Broncos
could actually pull out a win, they never got any help
from their coach on this one.

A Man Among Men - Win or Lose their is no doubt that
we need more athletes and people like Tim Tebow around.
I have gotten alot of criticism for saying how I don't
think he's a good quarterback, and I stand by that, but
I haven't said I don't like him, not once. He plays
hard, is a good sportsman, and honestly seems to care,
and I'd be happy have 53 Tim Tebow's on my team than
some of these so called overblown Superstars that take
center stage every night. he may have lost on the
scoreboard, but I will say it again and again until he
proves me wrong, he is a winner in LIFE.

Defense Wins Championships - That may typically be the
case, but the favorites right now, have lousy defenses,
by the numbers anyway. Defense won yesterday in the
Saints 49ers game, but in the Broncos Pats game it was
the team with the better offense that won, and I just
don't see the 49ers going to Lambeau and winning if it
comes to that. We'll see.

Establish The Run - Apparently the Saints don't adhere
to that school of thought, and thy didn't get Darren
Sproles for that either. Drew Brees threw the ball 63
times, and Sproles caught it a record 15 times, but he
THREE times. The Saints as a team only rushed it 14,
but one was Brees, which was probably a scramble, so
realistically 13 times. Handcuff the defensive backs,
and it becomes a passing league. Drew Brees is a great
QB, but I'm still not as impressed as many by his Marino
record breaker this year.

I'm sure today will hold alot more stories, it's inevitable.

Is Breaking The Marino Record Impressive?

NFL.com Illustration

There is no question that the record broken by Drew
Brees for the single season passing yards established
by Dan Marino in 1984 is more than impressive.
However, the one thing that comes to mind when you
look at the fact that it was a broken not once but
twice this year and by 2 different quarterbacks and a
third was with in 40 yards of it is the question that
gets asked quite a bit about Quarterbacks these days:
Are they starting to put skirts on these quarterbacks?

In this particular instance when I say skirts I don't
mean just the fact that you can't hit a quarterback
below the knees, above the shoulders, at a certain time
of a day, but also the fact that cornerbacks can barely
even look at a wide receiver let alone defend them.
Make no mistake about it, What Brees, and Brady did this
year as well what Matthew Stafford almost did is still
very impressive. These are all very good quarterbacks,
but although I will wait before I say that Stafford is
ready to them in the elite status company, and yet it
is still impressive nonetheless.

The old saying goes "records are meant to be broken" and
usually when they are most of us are impressed, that being
said when three, or four guys are in line to break the same
record, you have to ask yourself is there something wrong
here? Has the playing field changed? I for one think it
has, and add another old saying goes on to say "defense wins
championships", and though points are sexy I myself would not
mind seeing a little defense once in awhile. I myself grew
up in an era were bump and run play was very prevalent, so
maybe it's not just time to take the skirts off of some of
these quarterbacks but to take them off of some of these wide
receivers as well. though you don't want see anybody get
seriously hurt or hospitalized, keep in mind that a hard hit
every once in a while is part of the game. I mean it is still
American football, right?


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Mad Stork Sports with Nick Rizzo Replay 12-30-11

In case you missed the show this week, we discussed
the Drew Brees Record breaker on Monday night against
the Falcons, the NFL Playoff scenarios going into this
weekend and much much more. Here is your podcast,
Enjoy !



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Drew Brees Knocks In Hall Of Fame Door

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

In isn't too far of a stretch to say that the way
Drew Brees passed Dan Marino for the all time
single season record for passing yards was a
statement. With the Super Bowl ring on his finger,
five Pro Bowl selection, and a Super Bowl MVP he
is certainly making the San Diego Chargers regret
the day they gave up on him. The only question I
have is, with the game so clearly in hand against
the Falcons on Monday night, did he really need to
do it then, and score to boot? It wasn't the final
home game of the season, he'll most certainly see
snaps next week, no matter how few, and it was just
a case of running up the score at that point, so was
it necessary? I am not necessarily criticising the
decision, I'm just curious if it was the classiest of
decisions? Whether is was Sean Payton's play calling
or Brees just wanting put a bow on it, I don't know,
but I can assure you it isn't a clear cut answer.
It seems a little school yard, it seems a little much,
but whatever the case, it is what it is. I just wish
some of these athletes could show a little restraint
some time. I mean what harm could it do?


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Elite NFL QB's: Not Such A Long List

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Depending on the results you get every Sunday the
chatter is constantly changing for a handful of so
called "Elite" Quarterbacks, but after taking a
close look at the starting QB's at present in the
NFL today, the fact remains that there is NO top
ten. Not if you want elites. If you just want to
round off your list, well that's a different story,
but if you want a list of QB's that you would feel
could win you a game if you needed it, then here
they are, and keep in mind that they are NOT in any
particular order, because the truth is that we all
differ in our point of view, but here's a list that
I doubt anyone could question.

1. Tom Brady
1. Ben Roethlisberger
1. Peyton Manning
1. Philip Rivers*
1. Eli Manning
1. Aaron Rodgers
1. Drew Brees

* No Super Bowl Ring

That's it ! No one else! There isn't a single solitary
name worthy of making this list that isn't already on here.
Wanna feel better that your guy wasn't left out, well below
is a list of honorable mentions, but they are NOT elite.
Cry, moan and groan, all you want, but the fact remains
that if your life was on the line, you wouldn't want any
of these guys slinging the rock for you. You're welcome to
disagree. In case you lost track of all the one's I put
there, remember no particular order, you can have fun doing
that yourself, there are SEVEN on that list, 21.875%

32. Matt Schaub **
32. Carson Palmer **
32. Tony Romo **
32. Michael Vick **
32. Jay Cutler **
32. Matt Ryan **

** Not even a Super Bowl appearance

If you combine both lists, you get a total of 13 QB's or
less than 50% of the league, which means that the rest of
the league is playing with a QB that is clearly less than
all that. Yes, there are a few winning QB's off that list,
but just because your team is winning games, it doesn't
mean you can be depended on when the game is in your hands.

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NFC South: Where Will The Line Be Drawn?

In posting my 2011 division standings
predictions, my second set of selections
has taken me to the NFC South, and yes
I will continue to pick em from first
to last. This way I will have more to
be held accountable for, just how I like
it. Today it's NFC South's turn:

1. New Orleans Saints (Drew Brees, nuff said!)
2. Atlanta Falcons (Title hopes still on ICE!)
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Next year is their year)
4. Carolina Panthers (Cam the Sham & the Panthers)

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