"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth.......
'Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All nations and ages have been subject to them. Britain has trembled like an ague at the report of a French fleet of flat-bottomed boats; and in the fourteenth [fifteenth] century the whole English army, after ravaging the kingdom of France, was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by a woman, Joan of Arc. Would that heaven might inspire some Jersey maid to spirit up her countrymen, and save her fair fellow sufferers from ravage and ravishment! Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered."
--The Crisis, Thomas Paine, 1776
If you haven't yet read Babcock's piece on Tom Brady's injury , you should. Like Forrest Gump in Washington, DC, he said it all. I could go on and on about how this injury only seems appropriate after all the time that Bill Belichick has been so cavalier about his use of the injury report (and I do think it's funny that it happened the first week that Brady was off the report) or the year after we saw Belichick throw complete caution to the wind by leaving Brady on the field, with 25 and 30 point victories already in hand, to put an exclamation point on dominant victories. But, I won't. I've always thought that the Patriots were unfairly criticized for those actions, and I won't change my tune. Furthermore, despite what you may think, I'm not happy. The NFL needs its stars on the field, and Randy Moss needs Brady to get a ring. I don't mind seeing things shaken up, but I was not ready for this earthquake. Patriots fans haven't been the only ones affected by major injuries, but certainly this was the biggest blow to any team this season (and I can't imagine how it could be topped). I don't feel the need to delve any deeper into what Babcock said, but I will just leave Patriots fans with several thoughts to help them in this time (If you had Brady in fantasy, there is nothing that I can say to you):
1) This will be the most liberated you've felt in a long time. There is no pressure whatsoever for the rest of the season. 2) Bill Belichick would not have kept Matt Cassell for 4 years if he wasn't good. 3) Just try to remember that you don't even know these people. I'm sure there are fans out there who have been making themselves miserable ever since Sunday. Maybe a dad who has yelled at his children. Maybe somebody trying to get clean that fell off the horse. Maybe just somebody that has been tormenting themselves over a lost season. Well, stop fucking whining. You're team has won three rings in the last 5 years. Nobody gives a shit about your feelings. Furthermore, just try to keep in mind that these athletes live very different lives than we do, and they're probably finding ways to enjoy themselves despite these unfortunate circumstances. You should too.
I doubt Tom Brady is going to let depression get the best of him:
I think Osi will be ok too:
This news is not surprising in any way, except when you consider how long it took Shawne Merriman to realize that having two torn knee ligaments might impact his ability to play professional football. I've said all along that I thought his decision to play was foolish. He's so young, and I really think that it would be impossible for him to make it through all 17 games (plus the playoffs). On top of that, the damage that he could do trying to make it through could end his career prematurely. Now that he has made the right decision, I'll give the guy a little credit for giving it a go. He's not a doctor, and I'm sure I would feel like Superman as well if I were as athletic as him. He's up for free agency after 2009, so he was risking his financial future with this. It was incredibly stupid, but a small part of me respects this guy's dedication to the game.....a very small part of me is able to look past how unrealistic, shortsighted, and small-minded the decision was. And don't get me wrong, I still hate that fucking dance.
Anyways, here are the picks. I was 8-7 (didn't pick Thursday game) last week so there's lots of room to improve:
Green Bay over Detroit: It was very apparent to me this weekend that the Lions blow and the Packers don't. The Lions can't run, and Green Bay defends the pass very well. The Lions defense looked completely lost against Atlanta. Green Bay will pose a stiffer challenge.
Oakland over Kansas City: Who gives a shit. But really, I'm going to keep picking Oakland against bad teams. They'll be decent as soon as the pieces fall into place.
Giants over Rams: People say that we still don't really know how good the Giants are, and that's true to a certain extent, but this game falls outside the parameters of that statement. We know that they're better than the Rams.
Indy over Minnesota: The Colts shocked me on Sunday night. I had questions about whether or not they'd cover because of Manning's injury, but I certainly didn't think they'd lose. I like them over the Vikings, who looked like big time pretenders on Monday night.
New Orleans over Washington: Reggie Bush's performance on Sunday hasn't been played up as much as I thought it might. It would be great if he could wow us this season.
Carolina over Chicago: If the '08 Bears are anything like the '06 Bears, then it's hard for me to pick against them because there is always the potential for them to be totally anemic on offense but still magically put up 28 points via fluke 50 yard TD runs, interception returns, and big special teams plays. But, Carolina just beat San Diego without Steve Smith, and they just looked to good for me to pick against them.
Jacksonville over Buffalo: Only because they're at home.
San Francisco over Seattle: Apparently I see something in both the Raiders and 49ers that others aren't seeing. If they both get smashed this weekend, I'll be willing to admit that I might be seeing things that aren't there. I hate the NFC West.
Tampa Bay over Atlanta: Atlanta is not good. Garcia is out in this one, but I don't think it matters. Tampa has 9 quarterbacks. Plus, I'd take Griese over Ryan for one game in a heartbeat.
New England over the Jets: The Patriots hung on to beat the Chiefs despite the shock of their franchise player and starting quarterback going down for the season. The Jets barely hung on to beat the Miami Dolphins despite having everyone healthy and having upgraded significantly at quarterback. I don't care who's at quarterback, give me Belichick over the Mangina.
Arizona over Miami: Holy shit. Plenty of seats still available I'm sure.
Baltimore over Houston: If the Ravens can build some early momentum here, they have of a really great shot for a wild card spot.
San Diego over Denver: I still don't think that Denver is very good.
Pittsburgh over Cleveland: I hated everything I saw from Cleveland on Sunday. Pittsburgh has to be the clear favorite in the AFC now with Brady and Merriman gone.
Tennessee over Cincy: I may never pick the Bengals to win again. The Titans looked great on Sunday despite Vince Young's poor play. Kerry Collins is more than capable of handing off and taking a few shots downfield.
Dallas over Philly: The Eagles are good. There's no question about it. But, they'd need a healthy group of receivers to knock off Dallas. In fact, that's not even true because all their injured receivers suck too. They'd need at least one GOOD receiver to knock off Dallas. DeSean Jackson may be that good receiver later in the season. I don't think he's there yet.
COLLEGE PICK:
USC over Ohio State: I watched Ohio State play last weekend, and it wasn't pretty. They weren't just unimpressive. They sucked ass. Ohio outplayed them. Now, they may be one of those teams that play to the level of their opponent, but I just don't think they're capable of playing to the Trojans' level. I understand that the Buckeyes were in the national championship game last year, but USC was better than them (and were playing much better towards the end of the year). I understand that the Ohio State defense (particularly Laurinaitis and Malcolm Jenkins) are highly touted. But USC's defense is better. I know that Chris Wells is back this week, but he's not 100 per cent and I don't think he's good enough to swing this game in Ohio State's favor.
All that being said, I don't know if the Trojans cover 10.5. I'd throw them in a ten-point teaser with Wisconsin and Georgia. You can't miss there.
*disclaimer: My anti-Big Ten bias may be clouding my judgement here. I have been anti-Big Ten since the fall of 2006. To refresh your memory, that was the year when Ohio State and Michigan fans spent the entire season whining about how they were the two best teams in the country and it was a shame that they wouldn't be playing each other in the national championship. I guaranteed that both would get crushed by their faster and far superior bowl opponents (Florida for Ohio State and USC for Michigan). That being said, I'm sure that Wisconsin should be favored by more than 2 over Fresno State.
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