On Thanksgiving Day of 1984, the Patriots locked horns with the Dallas Cowboys in Big D. A tough, taut battle was finally settled in the final seconds on a field goal by Rafael Septien. The Patriots lost, 20-17, and stood at that time at 0-5 lifetime against the Cowboys. Septien, who played all but one year of his 10-year career with the Cowboys, hit on roughly 75 percent of his field goals in his career. He kicks off and the ball sails end over end into the arms of…
Make no mistake. These silver duds the Patriots are going to break out on Sunday night have one major purpose, and one purpose only.
Force the Cowboys to wear blue? If David Letterman made a top ten list, this would be number two.
Number one? Souvenir stores need fast cash. The white jerseys would have still made Dallas wear blue. Any time a team changes logos and/or uniforms, vendors begin to smile.
Fall from grace? In Buffalo, he's now known as "Clueless Drew". Wow. Didn't take long.
The real problem in Buffalo is Kevin "Chuck And Duck" Gilbride.
Oh, and if I were Gregg Williams, I might be tidying up my resume.
Ditto for Dave Wannstedt.
Ditto for Bill Callahan.
Bill Parcells looks a lot less imposing to Patriot Nation as the Dallas coach versus the Jet coach.
Another nice sidebar to Sunday night: Parcells doesn't have Bill Belichick. His opponents do.
It's a riot when you hear how complete a team Tennessee is, then read about how impossible a Super Bowl bid would be for them if they lose their division to Indianapolis.
And don't forget that Tennessee would lose a tiebreaker with the Patriots.
That one-handed catch by Keenan McCardell against Carolina was the catch of the year, to date.
Geek of the week: Huh? Chad Johnson guarantees a Bengal win over a 9-0 team? Looks like stupidity in that franchise isn't just confined to the owner's box.
Maybe he didn't see Kansas City gouge Cleveland on Sunday with an even better offense than the Ram squad which won Super Bowl XXXIV.
The Raiders looked more sick this week in their loss to the Jets at home than they did last week when they lost at Detroit.
The NFL Network is here. The time is fast approaching for women to accept the inevitable and begin to embrace the NFL like men do.
Okay, ladies, maybe I underestimate how many of you out there are football fans anyway. But if you are tired of men watching football and not much else, consider this.
He loves you, he may drink a beer of two, he's not into drugs, he's not into other women, and he happens to be a rabid football fan. Is he really that bad a guy?
The Ted Washington Watch continues. He's running.
The Rosevelt Colvin Watch continues. He's sitting.
Kyle Boller is out for the year. Don't forget that the top pick of the Ravens in 2004 belongs to the Patriots.
The Eagles have righted their ship, haven't they?
Three reasons for the Patriots to hate the Packers worse than the Jets or Raiders.
Brett Favre has no right to have the success he's had. Put Steve Grogan in Green Bay and he would be ten times the quarterback Favre ever was.
Super Bowl XXXI.
That putrid loss to the Jets at the end of last year.
Back to school: College football needs to get its power base out of Florida and back to the Midwest, where it belongs. Sorry, but all this emphasis on Florida college football has gotten the sport away from its romantic roots and has made the sport less attractive to watch.
Face it. You'll never see a Miami-Florida State game played in sub-zero weather or a driving blizzard.
Ditto for SoCal, but USC and UCLA don't get the publicity that the Sunshine State gets.
Deion Sanders as Falcon head coach? That would be an insult to the profession.
You want a good opinion of Sanders? Got just the person for you to ask. Head up to Raymond, N.H. and look for an ex-Red Sox catcher named Pudge.
Dallas still owns New England in history, but a win by the Patriots Sunday night gives the Patriots a two-game win streak in the series.
Kudos for Doug Flutie, but if I were Drew Brees, I'd be pretty darned embarrassed.
The Jaguar win over Indianapolis was a marvel.
It also showed that, when the Patriots invade the RCA Dome, things likely will go as things usually do when the Patriots play the Colts.
It's been cute, but it's not likely that the Patriots will be able to be unaffected by the injury bug if they aspire to go deep in the playoffs.
Remember him: Who was the man who brought the rule which gives a safety to a team who is caught holding in their own end zone to everyone's consciousness? None other than former Cowboy offensive lineman Andy Cvercko. His holding penalty in the end zone in 1962 on Pittsburgh's Big Daddy Lipscomb wiped out a 99-yard touchdown pass and instead cost his team a safety, which also was the margin of defeat to the Steelers.
For all you illiterates out there, it's pronounced "ferko".
So, Terry Glenn hates everything that is New England? Hah. He won't know the true meaning of the word "hate" until he takes the field Sunday night at Gillette.
If you are scared over Parcells coming to town Sunday night, consider these final points.
Parcells never won a Super Bowl without Belichick at his side. But Belichick won one without Parcells.
These two guys went at each other twice in 1994. One of those meetings was a playoff game, and Belichick won. With Cleveland against New England, if you can't remember the gory details.
By the way, Belichick's 1994 record against Parcells was 2-0.
That was Belichick's fourth year with Cleveland. This is Belichick's fourth year with the Patriots.
Parcells goes into this game without Curtis Martin. Belichick didn't need him to win a Super Bowl.
Now, tell all those who love the hype to sit down and shut up, and just let this be another game.
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