Records tumble in a great “meaningless” game

I watched the New York Giants attempt to stop the juggernaut that is the New England Patriots last night. The Giants was in control of the game throughout the first three quarters and even led by 12 at one point… and then Eli choked. You knew the Pats were going to be scoring probably on every drive as the Giants were unable to force a turnover, so with a 12 point lead, it was up to Eli Manning and the offense to "keep pace" so to speak. As good as Eli and the offense looked in their 2 minute offense at the end of the first half, as bad they looked at the end.

After Maroney ran it in from 6 yards out to close the lead to 5 with 4:00 left in the 3^rd quarter, Manning got sacked on 2^nd down for a 14 yard loss which put them in a 4^th and forever situation. After regaining 9 on 3^rd down, they were still facing 4^th and 13 at the Pats 46 yard line. The Giants punt the ball. The punt yielded only a lousy 28 yards, but the Giants D stopped the Pats and forced a punt in the 4^th quarter. All you have to do now is score again.

Mistake #1. Manning fumbles the snap on 1^st down. That made it hard to convert the 3^rd down and led to a 3 and out.

From the New England 35 yard line and sniffing weakness like a hyena, pretty boy Brady (yes, I can't stand Tom Brady) takes a shot deep down field to Moss. Moss drops the ball. The Giants have been very diligent all night long preventing the big play.

Mistake #2. Going right back to Moss on the same play, the Giants safety lets Randy get behind him for a 65 yard record breaker.

It's Brady's 50^th TD pass of the season, breaking Peyton Manning's record of 49 and it's Moss' 23^rd TD reception of the season, breaking Jerry Rice's record of 22. Of course, Peyton didn't get his record by just going Moss deep… Moss deep… Moss deep… Hey actually spread it around and had everyone involved. On Peyton's record season, the Colts also became the first team to have 3 receivers with 10 TDs each on the season as Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokeley all caught 10 TDs or more on the season. Take away Harrison and Peyton still had nearly 40 TDs. Take away Moss and Brady doesn't even make 30 TDs. Also, Jerry Rice set his record of 22 TD receptions in a strike shortened 12 game season. At that pace, he would have had 29 over a 16 game season, but the record now belongs to Moss.

At least it was a spectacular record breaking play of 65 yards! History can never do that play justice as you'll always just see that play being played. To truly do it justice, the previous play, an incomplete pass on the exact same play, really should also be shown. It was a pretty play. ;-) The Pats got the 2 point conversion to stretch their lead to 3.

Mistake #3. Under pressure to score again, Eli throws a pick giving the ball back to the Pats around mid field.

The Pats march down the field and Maroney punches it in from 5 to make the lead 10. With 4:36 left in the game, NOW, you ARE truly in your 2 minute offense because you have to score and get the ball back for another score attempt. What does 2 minute offense mean to you? To me it means 2 minutes right? Assume you have no timeouts and only 2 minutes to get a score. So when the clock hits 2:36, you absolutely MUST have a score on the board.

Mistake #4. Eli wastes time and play calling sucks. In an 11 play drive that destroyed the clock on behalf of the Patriots, the Giants ran the ball twice in the first 3 plays for a net of 9 yards. Just who the hell are you trying to fool?! The KNOW you have to throw the ball! Why even bother running it! Pathetic play calling… just pathetic! Of course, Eli didn't help either. Why bother with no huddle offense when you STILL take almost 40 seconds to get the damn play off! TWO MINUTE OFFENSE PEOPLE!!!

As a result, the Giants added a meaningless TD with 1:04 on the clock and 1 timeout left which meant they absolutely HAD to get the onside kick, which of course they didn't and the Pats won.

So on the night, the Pats broke the '85 Bears and '04 Steelers record for most wins in a season with 16… a perfect season. They also broke the '98 Vikings record for most points in a season. Brady broke Peyton Manning's record for most TD passes in a season with 50 and Moss broke Jerry Rice's record for most TD catches in a season with 23. Congrats to Brady, Moss and the Pats.

The Giants did show, like the Eagles and the Ravens, that if you get physical with Brady and the receivers, you have a shot at winning the game, but like the Eagles, the Giants offense choked and let the Pats back into the game, and like the Ravens, the Giants defense choked and gave up the big play that sealed their fate.

Nevertheless, it was a great meaningless game!

I hope the Pats have to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Divisional playoff game. I think the Jags' hard running style and physical defense have a very real chance of going into New England, especially if it is bad weather, and pound the Pats into defeat.

Of course, failing that, Peyton Manning and my Colts, now with Marvin Harrison back in the lineup, will go to New England in the AFC Championship game, having won his last two trips up there, and knock the Pats off to make a repeat Super Bowl appearance.

In the event that the Pats do manage to make it to the Super Bowl, my Cowboys will take care of business!

Of course, I'm still rooting for my ultimate Super Bowl… Cowboys vs. Colts!!! ;-)

Later
C

SharePoint Server 2007 and Office 2007 Service Pack 1 Available NOW!!!

Come and get it!
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?DisplayLang=en&nr=20&freetext=office+2007+sp1&sortCriteria=date&sortOrder=descending

Later
C

How ‘bout them Cowboys?!

   37      27

Brett Favre 0-8 ½ at Texas Stadium!

Later
C

Writers Guild math?

OK, so I don't have an opinion one way or the other about the Writers Guild Strike out in Hollywood, but I did stop by a related link from Wil Wheaton's blog and noticed a YouTube video titled "Why We Fight". Now either somebody's seriously got to check their math skills, totally possible given today's educational standards (don't even get me started), or some gross misleading is taking place here. I'd like to believe that someone just didn't do their math properly.

If you check out the video, they tell you that writers got 2.5% royalty fees on their work. Then to boost home video sales, they agreed to an 80% cut with the understanding that they'd get that back when the home video market was flourishing. FIRST QUESTION: WHY DIDN'T YOU GET IT IN WRITING? So that takes their royalty rates down to 0.5% (2.5 * 20% = 0.5). OK, so they're getting 0.5% royalties. Now here's where the math goes seriously wrong. They say that if you buy a movie for $20 (they actually say $19.99, but this is just 1c short of $20 so for easier math, we'll just use the round figure of $20 instead) then they only get 4c on the deal.

OK, so $20 * 0.5% = 10c. Checked it twice! Its 10c NOT 4c as they state in the video. SECOND QUESTION: WHY THIS GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE NUMBERS? The problem I have with the video is that they then predicate their entire pitch on the 4c figure, mentioning it over and over and over again. They also state that all they're asking for is another 4c. Now while 4c appears to be a small number, that's exactly what they want you to believe. Oh it's only 4c. We should actually look at it in a sense of percentages. In essence, they're asking for a 100% raise. When was the last time you went into your boss's office and asked for a 100% raise? Even better, when was the last time your boss actually gave it to you? I bet NEVER on at least the latter. But it's only 4c right? THIRD QUESTION: IF THE AGREEMENT ON THE 80% CUT DID EXIST, THEN WHY ASK FOR ONLY 4c? WHY NOT ASK FOR 16c (OR 40c IF YOU USE THE CORRECT MATH) AND GET THE ENTIRE 80% CUT BACK? That makes we question the whole 80% story in the first place. Nonetheless, it seems to me that the studios can correct the math, show that writers are actually getting 10c and since all they're asking for is 8c, apply another 20% cut to royalties and end this strike right now!

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Later
C

My latest gadget – a DROBO!

OK, so I'll do a full write up and review of this awesome gadget, but thus far I must say that first impressions just blew me away!
Yes, it's expensive, but man, oh man, what an awesome way to make data redundancy, expansion and disaster recovery totally brainless! Stay tuned for my review in a couple of weeks after I've stretched its legs and put it through its paces some more. ;-)

http://www.drobo.com

Later
C

We the people…

have spoken…

Not in 40 years has an Indianapolis incumbent mayor lost a bid for re-election, but yesterday, we went to the ballot box and delivered a very clear, very strong message not only to former Mayor Bart Peterson, but also to Mayor Elect Greg Ballard. The message is simple. "You are beholden to the people. Treat us right and with respect."

Ballard got 51% of the vote while Peterson only managed 47% in the biggest "shock" of the election.

I'm not quite sure why it came as such a shock though. The city council in general also changed significantly as several incumbents there were voted out too. Why? Taxes. Peterson and the council thought they could get away with the exorbitant raise on our taxes. They thought they could just push it through and we would just accept it. They were wrong. People took to the streets, exercising their constitutional right to petition their government. The protests eventually forced Governor Mitch Daniels to order reassessments for most counties.

The next mistake was that of over confidence. The media kept telling us that yes, the taxes issue was bad for Peterson, but Ballard didn't have a strong campaign and Peterson was going to win anyway. I guess the people didn't agree.

Peterson did many good things for the City of Indianapolis, but he also did some things that rubbed people the wrong way.

• Make no mistake, we love our Colts, but I'm not sure too many people wanted the new stadium which is in large part being paid for with our tax dollars.
• The systematic cutting of the police force over the years was also not good at all. We've seen crime rates in the city rise significantly to the point where it now became a problem. Then suddenly we have to raise taxes some more to pay for more police. Not that I'm opposed to more police, but what happened to all the "savings" they got from cutting police in the past? Why couldn't that money just be reappropriated back to the police force?
• Taxes. The property tax scandal this year was the final straw. Most people saw a rise of 35% or more in their taxes while in some places taxes doubled or even tripled. Immediately you wonder, what the heck are they doing with the budget that so much more taxes are needed? Should fiscal constraint be the first order of business, rather than raising taxes? Of course, when the news broke that only residential properties were adjusted, that just did it. If you truly can't keep the budget in line and you must raise taxes, at least do it uniformly throughout residential, commercial and industrial properties.

Now Ballard will have an opportunity to do it right, but the message from the people is clear. Tread lightly Mr. Ballard because if you take us for granted, you'll go the same way Peterson did. We are not your subjects. You work for us, not us for you…

Later
C