Ben, you are so right, they had the OL running everywhere but where they should have been blocking. But to give their Giants their due, had they lost the Patriots (and me and saxon) would never have let you hear the end of it. (cough 16-0 cough). But no-one will do what the Patriots have done in the salary cap era. Its impossible to do unless you get a Brady in the 6th round or trade a 4th rounder for Randy Moss.

Had 19-0 happened, it would have been so funny drafting at 7 and laughing at the 49'ers being stupid.

But 07 is over, 08 is 6 1/2 hours away, I have been watching the entrances to the Superbowl, and just realised how good they actually were.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acFUsm66qEY "Teamwork"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRsYROOO20w "Resiliency" (Eli Manning looks like he just walked out of a caravan :D)

One final thought before I place my bets, If Manning was a Patriot and Brady was a Colt, who would have the most Superbowls?

Farewell NFL

When free agency began this year, I had a new sense of excitement about continuing to rebuild my career in the same way that I had rebuilt my knee after my catastrophic injury in 2005. Unfortunately, what I found out was that the league did not share any of the optimism about me as an Unrestricted Free Agent that I expected. In fact, there was an overwhelming sense that there was no room for me among this year’s group of quarterbacks; whether in a starting, competing or a backup role. No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position. It seems that the stance I took in both Minnesota and Miami regarding my rights as a person and player has followed me into Free Agency.

After taking a long look at my career and my personal convictions, I have decided to begin early retirement from the NFL effective immediately. Since the beginning of training camp I was told that my opportunity would come when a quarterback gets hurt. I cannot remember the last time so many QB’s have been injured during the preseason. I have been strongly encouraged from family, friends and league personnel to continue to be patient and wait for an inevitable injury to one of the starting quarterbacks in the league. I would rather shut the door to such “opportunity” than continue to wait for one of my fellow quarterback’s to suffer a serious injury. Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life.

The decision I made in 2006 to represent myself rather than hire an agent has been an invaluable experience. I now understand why so many people within the NFL community are uncomfortable with a player really learning the business. The NFL has become more about power, money and control than passion, competition and the love of the game. Regardless of this shift, player’s rights are still supposed to be a part of this league. Since I will not be given the opportunity to honor the memory of Gene Upshaw by wearing a patch on my uniform this year, I will instead spend some of my energy applying what he taught me about standing up for what is right and not sitting down for what is clearly wrong.

I want to thank my family and my fans for their unwavering belief in me as a person and a player. I embraced both the peaks and the valleys of the game and my career. I am a better person today as a direct result of the experience of playing in the NFL. I can now focus on the enjoyment of watching some of the greatest athletes in the world play the game I love without the distraction of waiting for those elusive return phone calls.

Thankfully,

Daunte Culpepper

Farewell Daunte, I notice that you took less time to release that than you did most of your passes in a Dolphin jersey.

I suspect the guy I saw in the Dolphins jersey with the name Culpepper covered in three strips of red tape at Gatwick station last October is a happy man.
And you've only had two offers, both for backup positions, for one year each. Fact is, you're done.

BIG NEWS!

Sort of.

To tie in with the new season, I've launched my very own US sports blog.

So as well as putting up with me being an opinionated •••• on here, you can now do the same elsewhere on teh internets!! For free!!!!

Seriously, I need all the views and comments and love I can get so please bookmark it and, like, pretend to check it once a fortnight or my ego will pop and I'll lose the will to take the mickey out of Paul. And why would anyone want to take away that most essential of human rights?

http://nflbabus.blogspot.com

Thanks kids. I'll pay you back with love. In the form of many many many beautiful words which you'll have to click on the link again to read. Win-win!

Link not working





























Only kidding

I like the picture best, Ben ;)

Good work :p

Not a huge fan of baseball and basketball comes a big second to NFL for me, but a good read.

Speaking of injury prone QBs is Steve McNair still floating about somewhere?

bloating more like

He retired at the beginning of this year.

I found this interesting tit bit

"Steve's favorite hobbies is wood carving or sculpting, where he often creates images of camels and polar bears. One of Steve's carvings sold for more than $200,000 to an undisclosed bidder on Ebay"

:hi: Nice to be of some sort of help :hmph:

WTF??? Talk about random :eek: :D

After days of promising, here is my list of bets for the season and the first week:
Accumulator, 7s from 8 and 6s from 8: To win their divisions: NE, Steelers, Colts, Chargers, Cowgirls, Vikes, Saints and the Seahawks.

Singles: Rookie of the Year: Mayo 40/1, Harvey 50/1, Gholston 40/1
Most Rushing Yards: Maroney 50/1e/w, Mendenhall 50/1e/w, Grant 20/1e/w

Accumulator First week: Cincy, Jets, Pats, Steelers, Jags, Eagles. Cowboys, Chargers and the Colts, which returns around 16/1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1s4ReSvjyA Flea Flicker, if only the commentator could get the name right...

Great reading fella. Will keep checking up on it. From my perspective, I'm no baseball or basketball fan. It's only NFL for me, but I get your comments entirely when I think about other interests that I have .. I can relate.

And thanks for the pic, she's some talent. Especially putting Romo off his game last season .. :sob: ;) :D

"The Bengals said Thursday that they will refer to the receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson by his new legal name, Chad Ocho Cinco, in all club business. That includes the back of his jersey for Sunday's season opener at Baltimore."


:lux:

I'm interviewing Jason Brisbane, the British guy from Kingston who was just signed to the Chargers practice squad, on Wednesday.

Really looking forward to it :p

Yeah, great blog Ben.

Ocho Cinco makes me think he is an arse.

And RDS, ask him if he supports Palace ;)

got my dough down on giants handicap tonight.

phili
new orleans
green bay
colts
cincy
seattle

10 pound divisonal acca returns just under 6grand.

You should have included NE just to bump it up a little bit :D

I have subscribed :)

Come on you Redskins! :)