Ten Things I Think I Think Peter King Has Not Thought Of: Tuesday Edition

Maybe I have just lost my touch, but I can't find a single article on the Al Gore invented Internet to mock. Work is also insane around the holidays and there is just a lot going on, but unlike Fire Joe Morgan, I am not going to quit. I guess we will have to stick to some quick hits.

I did not mean for that to rhyme.

1. Peter King continues to worship at the feet of Northeast teams.

There were six actual questions this week Peter picked to answer:

The beginning of the article was about the Redskins, who are located in the Northeast part of the United States then:

• SUDDENLY, IT'S A QUESTION ON A LOT OF MINDS. From Scott Zabinsky, of Elkridge, Md.: "What will the NFL do if both the Giants and Jets host the conference championship games?''

• CHAD'S CERTAINLY A GLASS-HALF-FULL GUY. From Chad, of Honolulu: "Did anybody lose with the Brett Favre trade? Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay are doing well. Favre and the Jets are doing well. Chad Pennington and Miami are doing well. This might be remembered as the most mutually beneficial trade of all time.''

• WHO KNOWS? From Adam Allred, of San Jose, Calif.: "Looking ahead to 2009, you mentioned that Josh McDaniels will be a head coach next year. Isn't the most likely scenario for him to end up in San Francisco and to take Matt Cassel with him? I can't think of a better fit for both of them anywhere else. And since we're talking reunions, could you see Donovan McNabb signing with Minnesota to reunite with Brad Childress? I don't think any other team would bring him in to be the starter.''

• NOW HERE'S A STUNNING DEVELOPMENT: I WAS WRONG ABOUT SOMETHING. From David Smith, of Coral Springs, Fla.: "Peter, In the offseason you mentioned that the Bears should pursue Donovan McNabb. Are you willing to say that they are better off having stayed put with Kyle Orton?''

I realize I am being very, very nitpicky here but he answers two questions about Donovan McNabb playing for another team next year, which is not even relevant right now. I know the Northeast teams are "where it is at" right now, but I find it hard to believe there were not questions about the Cardinals or any other team in the NFL that plays anywhere else in the country other than the Northeast. I find it hard to believe people ask him questions based completely on what he wrote in his MMQB as well. There have to be some questions that are about a team/topic not mentioned in MMQB.

There is only so much Matt Cassel, Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Jets/Giants/Patriots talk I can handle and I am beyond my breaking point.

2. Gregg Easterbrook brings up a similar point to me in his TMQ. The end of the world is nigh'.

Although Cassel is playing well, the New England rebound isn't about him. What's happening is the resurgence of a team and its system. Considering how rapidly Cassel has become effective, in retrospect, maybe it was never about Tom Brady, either.

I will never argue Matt Cassel is better than Tom Brady but I do find it is similar to the Broncos running back situation where it seems as if they always can find someone who will be successful at the position. Or they have done it twice, it could be a coincidence.

But unless Matt Cassel is one of the most gifted athletic prodigies of all time (and probabilities say he is not), the system he's in is causing him to succeed, rather than it being the other way around. How quickly we forget that just nine months ago, the New England Patriots were 35 seconds away from perfection! Then Brady got hurt and the New England system hiccupped. Now that's over, and the Patriots have adjusted, allowing their previously stellar performance level to return. From the start of the 2003 season until the first game of this season, when Brady was injured, the Patriots were 78-17 with two Super Bowl rings and a third title oh so close. This doesn't happen without excellent team players, top coaches and a well-run system.

I have vowed never to agree with anything Gregg Easterbrook says. So I will not agree with this...I will merely leave it there for you to read.

Brady is a superb athlete, but right now he may be at some supermodel's Mediterranean seaside villa wincing, because Cassel is demonstrating that Brady was not essential for the Patriots to win.

I am not jumping off the Brady bandwagon because I was never on the Tom Brady bandwagon. Every year some sportswriters act as if it is new and wonderful information to learn a superior offensive line, defense (above average), and great receivers in conjunction with a quarterback who knows the offense can help a team win games.

This is not shocking but you will continue to read articles by Peter King and others describing how great Matt Cassel is. Last year Tom Brady could have eaten lunch in the pocket or perhaps even done some online shopping for Gisele a Christmas present, he was so well protected. Why does everyone think he could throw long bombs to Moss or wait for Welker to cross the middle? He had all the time in the world. You rarely see Brady having to scramble around in the pocket and make a play out of nothing because no one ever got near him. Then the Giants get pressure on Brady and everyone acts like they are geniuses for doing this and sportswriters are writing how important defensive lineman are again. Even though they never went away and have always been important.

3. This is the first line of Woody Paige's article for The Denver Post.

Mike Shanahan lost to The Cable Guy.

He is referring to Tom Cable, the Raiders head coach. I did not have the energy or patience to read the rest of the column closely. Ok, one comment about Woody's idiocy.

The former Colorado assistant and career offensive line coach had announced he, not his coordinator, would call the plays against the Broncos. His calls were superior to the Broncos' calls.

The play calls of Oakland were superior to the Broncos' calls? Incorrect. How about the Raiders execution of the play calls were superior to the Broncos' execution of their play calls. That makes a lot of sense. It is not like there is an official who hears each team's play call, decides which coach called a better play and then awards yardage based on how the play would have done theoretically.

4. Jemele Hill thinks Congress needs to bail out car companies because of its impact on sports.

Her columns usually start with a wrong premise, then she goes into misunderstanding the cause and effect of the fake problem she has just created and ends with her refuting her own argument. Let's see how this goes:

With so many people having lost their jobs because of the Big Three's mismanagement and financial problems, I know it doesn't seem like an appropriate time to worry about sports.

A correct premise! What to do now?

But no matter what Rich Rodriguez may think, sports still matter during crises.

Ba-da-boom. Not funny. So now she is going to ignore a correct premise so she can shit out a horrible article. Good for her.

Let's see if she understands cause and effect. The problem is that there is a lack of fan support for Michigan teams. Jemele thinks the cause is the lack of corporate support, let's see what we think.

Besides, in Detroit, the major sports teams already are at the mercy of the economy.

In every city, the major sports teams are at the mercy of the economy, but that is not necessarily why fans are staying away and this has NOTHING to do with a bailout for the car companies.

The Lions will be blacked out for the third straight home game on Sunday. Detroit's 0-10 record doesn't help, but given the economic climate, it seems unlikely that any of the Lions' three remaining home games will be viewed locally.

No, no, no. The economic climate has nothing to do with the games being blacked out. Neither does the cooling of the earth, climate changes, or anything else that has anything to do with the words climate or bailout. The Lions are 0-10...I have sat in the crowd in 2001 when a team was 1-13. There was no one at these games. It was December 2001, so Bush had not had a chance to fuck the economy up yet and the nation had a ton of pride after 9/11. The economy was in good shape considering...There was NO ONE at the game because the team was 1-13, not because of anything with the economy. Same thing with the Lions. Shut up.

The Tigers were a hot pick to go to the World Series in 2008, but finished last in their division. They were third in attendance in the American League, but with lowered expectations in 2009, who could blame the fans for not eagerly returning to the ballpark?

The Tigers have an underachieving, expensive team, and as Jemele said, expectations are lowered, so what does this have to do with the bailout of car companies again? You can't explain current attendance problems on future events that may/may not happen.

Some people argue the automakers deserve this fate. But the city and its sports fans don't deserve to be dragged down with them.

Lower ticket prices then. That's not going to happen, of course, but if a team is successful then people will attend games. This is a fact. (Based on nothing, but I think it is an understood fact)

Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006, the NCAA regionals last season and the 2009 Final Four will be played at Ford Field. That would be the same Ford family that built automobiles for 105 years.

And the same Ford family that has mismanaged the Lions for 40 years now. They deserve to suffer for that maybe? Counterpoint bitch!

5. Bill Simmons is pussy footing around whether he quit the B.S. Report or not. He gives passive aggressive a bad name. I actually hope Simmons quits ESPN and strikes out on his own. I wonder if his columns would be any worse? He probably would include profanity and use references that would make him seem cooler to the kids. He is almost 40 by the way. If he went out on his own, I would probably never have to write anything about any other writer, I would have enough to write about him.

6. I am going to be honest, all expensive free agents scare the shit out of me. Even trading for one does as well. I am not for trading another huge package of prospects for Jake Peavy. The Cubs and the Braves are being smart by making Kevin Towers sweat it out. They are asking way too much for a pitcher who has recently gotten injured and has a fucked up looking delivery. The Padres have to get rid of Peavy, and yet they still want a king's ransom in return. I know one of these teams will cave, I just wonder how much they will give up.

7. The Angels will do anything to not upgrade their offense.

I mentioned above I am not for trading prospects for players but the Angels have hung on to Edwin Santana, Brandon Wood, and every other top prospect so long, they almost have no value now. I have read those names in trade rumors for years now.

The Angels appear reluctant to guarantee more than seven years in a contract for Teixeira, said a source familiar with the club's thinking. They appear more likely at this time to pursue Sabathia, with an offer in the range of Johan Santana's six-year, $137.5-million contract with the New York Mets.

They won't give Tex more than seven years but are willing to give an overweight pitcher whose arm is going to fall off soon six years? Even with Sabathia the Angels still have to find some offense. They have been coasting in the AL West for the past couple of years and I think this may be a year the A's try and catch up with them a little bit. How many first round exits does one team have to endure without actually figuring out they need more offense?

8. The Red Sox need to find a way to make Jason Varitek disappear.

Isn't what made the Red Sox so successful, and put them in the position they are in today with having good young players, is the fact they were able to separate their emotions from players? Derek Lowe, Pedro, Johnny Damon, and Mark Bellhorn were all let go. Why can't they do this with Jason Varitek? It's not like they don't have the players to trade for an above average catcher. That's all they need...especially if they sign Tex.

Of course handling a pitching staff is also important, but Varitek can't do that forever.

9. Gregg Doyel thinks Myron Rolle should win the Heisman.

He and his sexual predator picture need to really, really think about what they write. I agree Rolle is what we want all student-athletes to be, and it is great he was up for the Rhodes Scholarship, but this is not even close to a reason he should get the Heisman. I think Doyel just picks fights with his readers.

Your Turn: Reader Rip

suitntie: I agree that this is what we hope our youth aspire to, but the Heisman is not meant to award the scholar part of college football. For you to imply that this outatanding acheivement has been overlooked just goes to show that you live in your own self important world.

Writer Retort

Gregg Doyel: Until I came along, only the eggheads knew about this award. Congratulations, egghead. But now that I've opened the doors of Cool to this thing, the rest of society -- the hip among us -- can celebrate Myron Rolle along with geeks such as yourself, suitntie.

This is journalism? Again, I say bloggers are doing nothing to destroy the spirit of journalism, the mainstream media, like Gregg, have already beaten us to the punch. This is awful.

10. I am serious, Kansas is going to be better in college basketball than people think. Granted, they have not played anyone yet but there is a good team out there. UCLA is Duke East in that they have no established center presence, but I think they will still make the Sweet Sixteen this year. I know people are freaking out about the loss to Michigan.

I love UNC fans. I had a gentleman who is a "big" UNC fan come in my office yesterday and tell me how injuries were hurting the team. (Typical UNC excuses are injuries, the other team was hitting everything they shot, or officiating was lopsided...they just rotate them for each loss). Then he started complaining they lost Ty Zeller for the year to a broken hand. Except, he said this, "Losing that Tyrone---Taylor, or what's his name, the tall guy, that really is going to hurt us now."

Yes, that guy you don't even know his name, that sounds like a real big loss. UNC fans don't even need to know what they are making excuses about to make excuses. Plus, they have the best team in the nation so they have no reason to complain. No UNC bashing this year I promise...just that one.