Fun With Conspiracies

When I have a lot of time on my hands, I like to look up something random on Wikipedia. This will ultimately lead to me traipsing around to many different Wikipedia pages, just reading up on different things. A couple days ago I was on Youtube and I was somehow linked over to a “Paul is Dead: The Evidence” video that gave evidence to the conspiracy theory that Paul McCartney has been dead for 45 years. That got me over to the “Paul is Dead” wiki page, which got me to the Wiki page for all conspiracies. The night somehow ended in me watching a documentary on Youtube about Jeffrey Dahmer (I shit you not – it was actually quite good), and one on alternative theories in the OJ case (his son killed Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson, or some hitman for the drug mafia). Anyway, it got me thinking as to what my personal favorite conspiracy theories are, in both sports and the wide world. Here they are now, my Top 10 conspiracy theories, 5 related to sports and 5 related to the world at large.

Honorable Mention.) 9/11 Was an Inside Job

I don’t want to talk about this one mainly because it would be so abhorrently evil if it was true. It will ruin America forever, and I’m sure of that. It would be an injustice on the level of the Nazi Party and the holocaust, and I believe that, as everything that the US has done in war in Iraq, Afghanistan stems from the actions of 9/11. If it was an inside job, and the WTC were downed in a control demolition, it would be the biggest political scandal ever, BY FAR. It would be an event that reaches far beyond anything I can currently comprehend.

The Sports’ Conspiracies

10.) Brazil Threw their 2006 Quarterfinal against France

I first saw this conspiracy bandied about after the World Cup finish in a pretty shoddy Youtube video. The main claims were that many of the Brazilian players were seen crying before the national anthem (as in they were depressed that they knew they would lose), and more jarringly, only three Brazilians even attempted to defend Zidane’s free kick which was tapped in by Henry for the only goal. In fact, one Brazilian defender is noticeably seen tying his shoe when the ball is in the air for what would be the goal. I doubt this has any merit too it, mainly because the Brazilians did put on a spirited effort to tie the game in the last 10 minutes, and Brazil is notorious for not defending set plays (which is just how they lost in 2010 to Holland). That said, I wanted France to win, but to see them absolutely dominate Brazil in that fashion was a bit odd. In the end it gets chalked up to France’s great defense and Zidane playing out of his skull, but Brazil definitely played soullessly enough to merit a thought of whether they were really in the game for the long haul.

9.) Barcelona gets preferential treatment

This started back in 2009, when Barcelona, a truly incredible team headed by Messi, Henry and Eto’o (they weren’t yet made up of basically the entire Spanish National team minus Casillas, Xabi Alonso and Torres). They were exciting, free-flowing, and mostly new. People weren’t tired of seeing them string together 5-foot passes yet. They met Chelsea in the Champions League semifinal, and Chelsea, in the mold of their previous manager Jose Mourinho, played all-out defense for 90 minutes in the Camp Nou in the first leg. I remember seeing the game and claiming that their strategy was “any time we get, give it to Cech, let him kick the ball 100 yards, and have Barcelona try it again.” It worked well enough, and then with Michael Essien’s super strike early in the second leg at Stamford Bridge, it seemed that the plan might just work. Then the injustice began. There were six shouts for penalties, ranging from the hollow (a push in the box by a Barca player, something that rarely gets called), to the incredibly, heinously obvious (a handball that would make Luis Suarez blush). None of them were granted, and in the 93^rd minute Andres Iniesta scored. Barcelona went through on away goals and beat Manchester Utd. In the final. The only reason why UEFA would want Barca and not Chelsea would be to avoid a 2^nd consecutive Man U – Chelsea final. I chalk that one down to incompetence. After the last two years, I’m not so sure.

In 2010, in the CL Semifinals, Barca was given the advantage of basically playing the entire second leg 11 on 10 after Tiago Motta was given a straight-red for an arm-bar that at worst deserved a yellow. Sergio “The Rat” Busquets (nicknamed so by me) crumpled down and then peeked to see if the ref was buying it. The ref initially didn’t, so Busquets rolled around some more, and then the ref gave the straight red. Inter defended brilliantly with 10 men and knocked out Barca, giving way to a boring final between Inter and Bayern Munich that UEFA probably wanted to avoid. 2011 was worse, when Barcelona was given an 11 on 10 advantage in the second leg of the Round of 16 tie against Arsenal (after losing leg one 1-2), and then again in the first leg of the semifinal against Real Madrid (after being scoreless for nearly 70 minutes). The Arsenal one was ridiculous, when Robin van Persie kicked away a ball barely a second after the offsides whistle blew, resulting in his second yellow. Oddly (or not so oddly), Barca did the same thing later and weren’t given a yellow card. The game was tied 1-1 when van Persie left (Arsenal up 3-2 on aggregate), before Barca scored two goals to advance. In the semifinal, Real Madrid had basically equaled Barca with great defense mainly due to Pepe’s covering of Messi. Then, after in what was actually a play with little to no contact, Pepe was given a red for swinging his leg to kick and airborn ball, but missing and getting Dani Alves’ leg. Alves went down as if he would need the leg amputated, and the medical staff carried him off on a stretcher. The lasting sight was Alves wanting to get off the stretcher before it even left the field and the Barca health team pleading with him to stay until they reach the bench, just to make the flop look 10% more decent. After Pepe left, Barca scored two goals turning the second leg into a dud.

The main point is why would UEFA favor Barcelona?? It is obvious really. A lot of the UEFA heads are Spanish, and Barca has ties in UEFA upper management. Barca is also seen as the crown jewel of the sport, the Lakers of UEFA, as they were sponsored by UNICEF, and played the beautiful game beautifully. Referees probably had no financial reason to favor Barcelona, but the amazing string of calls and cards to go for Barcelona is jarring. Both their 2009 and 2011 CL Titles were won under a shroud of controversy (leading to Mourinho’s hilarious quote that Pep Guardiola should feel ashamed that he’s never reached the CL Final without cheating). Barcelona is given the benefit of the doubt on almost every call. It probably doesn’t help that they are the best floppers out there. If it is true, then that probably just adds to the legacy of cheating and shadiness in UEFA and FIFA. It makes Jose Mourinho not look like a madman, and probably makes Messi come under darker light. I don’t think it is true, but in a sport with rampant favoritism and bribing, it could easily be possible.

8.) The Patriots did tape the Rams Walkthrough (and other Spygate related conspiracies)

Let’s take a trip back to late-January 2008. Before the 18-0 Patriots were set to play the Giants in Super Bowl XLII, a Boston paper released a story from a certain Matt Walsh, alleging that the he, a former video employee for the Pats, taped the Rams walkthrough prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. This unleashed a 2^nd round of Spygate drama, and although it was eventually shot down by the Patriots and the paper admitted fault, I’ve always believed that there was more to that story, and Spygate as a whole, that met the eye.

Roger Goodell really screwed himself in the Spygate circus by burning the tapes. That was a silly move that makes everyone think if he was hiding something, if the tapes were more useful than the Patriots spun them to be, which is a legitimate thought. Goodell finished the discipline over Spygate in about two days, seemingly very hastily. It was all very hush-hush and them the walkthrough story comes out. Why would Matt Walsh just tell a bold-faced lie? How could he get so specific as to say he taped the Rams walkthrough? For a team who was caught cheating by stealing signals, was taping a walktrough that much of a step up? All in all, it has never been proven and the story died a quick death, but what if it was true? If the Patriots really did tape that walkthrough, I think they should be stripped of their 2001 Super Bowl Title. Taping the signals on game day is one thing. Secretly taping another teams’ private practice is about as low as it can get. In a way, I’m happy the story wasn’t true because that would have released a shitstorm on the NFL that I wouldn’t have wanted to see.

7.) Every NBA Draft Lottery is fixed.

Doesn’t it seem a bit odd that so many draft lotteries are won by teams with little chance of winning them? Doesn’t it seem a bit odd that so many players go to teams that make sense. The year University of Houston center Hakeem Olajuwon was the 1^st pick, it just so happens that the Rockets win the lottery? The year that Akron native LeBron James is the first pick it just so happens that the Cavaliers win the lottery? The year that Chicago native Derrick Rose is the obvious 1^st pick it just so happens that the Bulls win the lottery against tall odds? Doesn’t it seem strange that almost always when there is a sure-fire 1^st pick, the lottery is almost always won by a premier team or a team with close ties to the player?

The draft lottery’s most notable shadiest moment came in 1985 when Patrick Ewing was the prize. The Knicks were in need of a jolt, and they, against tall odds, one the lottery. Back then, they put a bunch of cards into a spinning cauldron and Stern spun the wheel and then picked out a card, so the story goes that the NBA put a Knicks card in a freezer to make it icy cold, so Stern would know which card was the Knicks and then to pull that card. The next bit of conspiracy evidence is that Stern really takes a while rummaging his hand through the vat of cards before choosing one. Now a days, the lottery is actually done off-site, and then they reveal the order, but how can you really trust what is going on? All in all, even if it is true, that the lottery is many times fixed, it doesn’t really change my perceptions of the NBA. The NBA is already the most crooked of the 4 major sports, and especially so after the MLB cleaned itself up. The refs have more impact in the NBA than any other league, and one player can have more impact than in any other league. I will say that notable examples of lotteries appearing shady are with teams that don’t have great histories (The Cavs, the Rockets), but it definitely is odd to see so many guys get drafted #1 to a team close to home, especially when those teams are rarely the odds-on favorite to win the lottery.

6.) Michael Jordan was suspended for gambling.

Michael Jordan’s abrupt retirement from the NBA in 1993, which led to a comical career in Minor League Baseball is probably the strangest story in NBA history. Here was an athlete that had just won three titles and was on his way to having a career that would eventually make him almost undisputably the best NBA player ever. He was at the top of his game when he just decided to give it all up to play baseball? Jordan claimed it was part of the fallout of the murder of his father and just a tiredness from the game, but that makes no sense for a guy so insanely driven by basketball and by winning. He wouldn’t want to go play a game that he was not the best in, that he could not win in. Over the years, the conspiracy theory developed that Michael was suspended from the league for 18 months for gambling too much (not necessarily on the game of basketball Pete Rose style, but that Jordan’s obvious gambling addiction was harming the league’s image, not only his personal finances). As weird as it seems, it makes perfect sense.

Jordan’s gambling problem was supposedly permeating through the team, as he would raise stakes on nearly everything, from a shootaround in practice to poker on the team plane. He was truly addicted (by all reports, he very well could still be). Stern, instead of publicly scolding the league’s biggest star, gave Jordan the option to temporarily “retire” from basketball as a way to serve his suspension and save face with endorsers. If any commissioner would think of such a plan, it is David Stern. Stern knew that a public suspension would be bad for the league, worse than even if Michael left for a while. Granted, Michael retiring still hurt the league tremendously, as attendance and ratings fell to a point that there was a legitimate discussion as to if the NHL could pass the NBA in popularity. Then, like the knight in shining armor, Jordan returns to save the league, win three more titles and put any questions over his “best-ever” worthiness to rest. I’m not sure if it is true, but I will say that out of all the conspiracy theory’s on the list, this is the one with the highest chance of actually being true.

Other Conspiracies

5.) There is a New World Order hideout under Denver International Airport

I’m guessing 99.9% of the population has never heard of this conspiracy and that is because it is patently absurd; but then again, that makes for the most entertaining conspiracy. Denver opened its new airport sometime in 1995 and it had a lot of architectural quirks. There is a bronze statue of a lot of symbols, one of which includes the phrase “New World Airport Commission”. The New World Order is a secret group of people conspiring to rule the world under one global government, and will use genocide to get the world to that stage, and part of the theory is that members of the order had a hand in building the airport (hence the “New World” Airport Commission). Anyway, after Denver International Airport was built, there were conspiracy theories that the US Military had built large underground bases, and one of them was supposed to be under Denver International. Then, a man who worked on building underground tunnels (reportedly to aid the quick transition of cargo, bags and fuel across the airport) claimed to have seen large “holding cells perfect for prisoners”, and “strange electromagnetic forces.” There are strange words, like “Cochetopa”, “Sisnaajini”, and “Dzit Dit Gaii” which conspiratists point to being a secret New World Order code. Finally, there is a haunting mural painted on the walls of the airport that depicts, of all things, genocide taking place, and after the genocide ends, the children of the world coming together under one rule (just like the supposed plan of the New World Order). Therefore, the theory states, Denver International Airport is a base for the New World Order to carry out part of their plans.

Of course, most of this has been debunked. The airport uses those tunnels (they do exist) to, as I said earlier, carry bags and cargo across the long airport. The words cut in the floor are Navajo words which are the words for different Colorado Native landmarks. Also, the paining is haunting, but it is about how the people of the world will come together to defeat genocide (not come together because of it…. And yes this is admittedly a stupid theme for a mural in an airport). However, the New World Airport Commission is pretty hard to explain. It looks like these evidences of a New World Order base at Denver International are really hollow, but nevertheless it is a wild theory that I, a lover of airports, am particularly smitten towards. Denver International is almost assuredly not a New World Order base camp/prison, but even then, the architects did a nice job of leaving enough strange elements to get people talking about the airport.

(I forgot one, although this has less to do with the New World Order aspect of it all: From the air, the layout of the runways of the airport make out what looks to be a Swastika. Of course, it takes a creative mind to fill in the gaps in the swastika, and this can also easily be explained, as the airport built runways in all directions, spreading them out so if crosswinds were to occur, at least two runways could be used. Then again, why a swastika type shape???)

4.) Elvis is Still Alive

To me, this conspiracy, if proven true, would be more meaningful and memorable than if the other theories about musician deaths were true, such as if Tupac was still alive, if Michael Jackson were still alive, or if Kurt Cobain was murdered and didn’t commit suicide. Elvis being alive has more merit than those (although the Cobain one is interesting, I ultimately put it right next to JFK as theories that wouldn’t really change anything if they were proven true). The basis for Tupac being alive was the proclivity of songs sampling him being produced after his death, though this can be explained through a catalog of recordings of his being made prior to his death and unused. The Michael Jackson ones have no merit at all. Elvis is a different story.

The amount of Elvis sightings since his death in 1977 are quite numerous, and deep in scope, with people claiming to know him well after death and being close friends (rather than just “saw him across the dark room” witnesses). Elvis would be just 76 today, so he could easily be alive. His death itself was quite mysterious, as he did amid a maze of drugs and illnesses, but he did not have any serious illness (cancer), nor was he the drug addict like a Jim Morrison or Jimi Hendrix. There is no reason for Elvis to have possibly made the career move of dying (other than the theory that many musicians find their greatest success after their death). If Elvis is still alive, he’s hid it well – which gels with a lot of the Elvis sightings as many people who claim to have seen him say that Elvis put on a totally new persona. Elvis is most probably dead, but it is always interesting to theorize that people who died are still among us.

3.) Osama was killed some time before the announcement

I’ll admit that this one is probably something I’m hesitant to talk about since it is political, but I feel it is an interesting theory, especially since if it was true probably doesn’t hurt Obama as much as it would seem. The theory is that Osama Bin Laden was killed well before the May 2^nd national announcement, one that was delayed about 2 hours from its originally scheduled time. The killing of Osama was a rallying day for the US as a whole, and really a perfect excuse for college kids everywhere to get hammered on a Sunday in celebration. More reverently, it was seen as a seminal day in the war on terror, and a day of rejoice across the world, that that madman would never harm another soul. The only question was when did he actually die? If he died that day, it would be extremely difficult to verify the body as him using DNA that quickly. If it was done a couple days earlier, which is not only likely but highly possible, there are two good reasons for Obama waiting on the announcement, one that especially doesn’t hurt his reputation. The first is the more scurrilous reason that he wanted to wait specifically for the 8^th anniversary of Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech, as a way of saying to all Republicans “The Mission is Accomplished Now, Bitches!”. The other was that he didn’t want an announcement of his death to coincide with the Royal Wedding earlier that weekend, which oddly makes sense. The Royal Wedding was a global event, and Osama wouldn’t have been more or less dead if he waited another day.

That said, there are darker theories, ones that claim that Osama died years earlier, and Obama was waiting to use the killing of Osama Bin Laden as a trump card to play anytime he felt his poll numbers were lagging. I say bunk to that theory since then why wouldn’t he wait closer to the election, when he knew his opponent. I mean, Obama’s approval ratings did get the inevitable bump (just like Bush’s did when Saddam was captured), but if the economy continues to lag, the specter of Osama Bin Laden’s death will shine less brightly upon Obama. Another theory is that Osama died of Farney’s disease, and that the US kept his body in a plan to use it, again as a trump card, although this is probably even less true as it alleges he died sometime during the Bush administration. Generally, most of these dark theories are just the mad concoctions of FOX NEWS and their viewers/supporters who are all a bit miffed at the credit Obama is taking for offing Osama. That said, I could easily see a case where he actually died a day or two before Obama’s national announcement, and then the delay with the announcement was caused by the administration making sure they covered their tracks.

2.) The 2000 election was fixed in Florida

Political again, but unlike Osama Bin Laden’s death, the 2000 Election has become something of a pop-culture event than a political race. Let’s go back to 2000, on a November night. Al Gore was winning a lot of the big states, but Bush was taking every last small state, and finally we were down to a situation where Al Gore was just three electoral votes away, and Bush 24, with Florida (and its 25 votes) the only state left. If Gore had won any of the 3-vote states (like Montana, the Dakotas), or even his homestate of Tennessee, or Clinton’s home state of Arkansas, the Florida result would have been moot. But alas, it was not, and it was first called to Gore, then Bush (leading to Gore conceding the race), to “too-close-to-call” (leading to Gore un-conceeding the race), back to Bush, and finally resting on “too-close-to-call”, the spot it would lie for several weeks. Over the next month, the country got all-too familiar with hanging-chads, Dade & Broward County, the prospect of a recount, absentee ballots, and the world got to laugh at a country who couldn’t effectively pick a president. In the end, the Supreme Court upheld a law that stated that recounts only had a certain time to be processed, and the state of Florida went passed that time, and basically awarded Florida to Bush and the presidency to Bush. After the dust settled, George W. Bush was our president, becoming just the 3^rd president to lose the popular vote. Al Gore became the world’s most prominent Global-Warming Awareness leader, and the country went back to forgetting what a hanging chad was. However, was Gore even given a fair chance in Florida?

A lot of the problems stemmed from the ridiculous voting results from two counties: Dade and Broward; two counties that both had a high percentage of Jewish residents as well as a shockingly high percentage of votes for 3^rd Party candidate Pat Buchannan. What really made the story ridiculous was that Pat Buchannan was a staunchly conservative Christian, which made it very unlikely that he would receive significantly more votes from two highly Jewish concentrated counties than in any other county in the country. A likely explanation was that the maddeningly confusing of the manual ballot made people who thought they were voting for Al Gore vote instead for Pat Buchannan. Al Gore lost those two counties big time, and if he would’ve gotten 90% of the Buchannan vote, he wins the counties and then the election. Of course, this is where the fix possibly comes in. The state of Florida, instead of issuing a re-election in those counties with a better ballot, decided to keep those results, but recount them. This was despite the many cries of people in Dade and Broward County claiming that they voted for Buchannan mistakenly, instead of voting for Gore. In the end, the recount took forever, and it was mainly held up in the state government bureaucracy, and it just so happened that in the state of Florida, George Bush had his own brother as governor. The recount was held up, and finally took too long to be completed within the deadline set by the courts. Bush was president.

Now, I don’t think Florida was fixed prior to the election, nor do I think that the ballots in those counties were intentionally made in a confusing manner to draw votes away from Gore (and it can be said that Bush would be affected from the same confusing ballot – although it should be noted that there was no irregular voting for the candidates surrounding Bush’s place on the ballot). However, I think it is entirely plausible that Florida, a state headed by a Republican governor who happened to be the main Republican candidate’s brother, and a sate with a high republican presence in its state courts, would try everything to slow down this recount. Lost in all of this is if they never did do a re-vote in Dade and Broward counties, Bush probably still wins, but the actions of everyone involved in Florida wreaks of shadiness and purposeful laziness. I’m not sure why any ballot would ever be made that confusing, or manual, but Florida for some reason thought it was a good idea.

1.) “Paul is Dead” is true.

The Grand-Daddy conspiracy theory. Not only is it among the most interesting to dissect, but it is probably the theory that would give the most “Holy Shit” reaction if it was in fact true (well, apart from the 9/11 one). The theory is simple, really: Paul McCartney died in a car accident (an accident that definitely did happen) in 1966, and was replaced by a look-alike. The Beatles, troubled with guilt for hiding the death of their band mate, littered the proceeding four or five Beatles’ albums with clues to reveal that Paul was dead. Some clues are quite interesting. If you play some songs backwards of the Beatles, you get a long drawn out noise of a car crash, a man screaming and a woman crying, and then an ambulance. In another song, when played backwards, John Lennon is heard saying “Paul is Gone.” There are more symbolic lyrics to Paul death than I can possibly write (all when played forward, mind you). Then there are many visual clues on album art. The cover of ‘Abbey Road’ is the most infamous, where Paul is barefoot and out of step with the rest of the Beatles, who are dressed as if going to a funeral (John in the preacher’s white, Ringo and George in mourning black). In ‘Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart’s Club Band’, and a couple other albums, there are hands extended up in a blessed pose above Paul’s head. Then, there is the whole story of the look-alike. The Beatle’s held a Paul Look-alike contest shortly before his death, and the claim is that they used the winner in the contest to be Paul. Of course, the winner would have to both be left-handed, sound like Paul and be quite musical, but the theory goes that they found someone who was all three. Paul died in 1966, and the Beatles replaced him? Too crazy to be true, but alternatively, just as crazy that it might.

The evidence against this obviously is that it would have been extremely hard for the Beatles to find someone to emulate Paul so perfectly that no one could ever use Paul’s appearance or voice as clues. Think about that. Not one of the common clues for the “Paul is Dead” crowd is anything like “Paul stopped sounding the same” or “Paul looked different pre-1966 and post.” They are all just supposed clues littered along the album covers and in the songs of the Beatles. That said, the accident definitely happened, and there were talks of a premature TV report that Paul McCartney had died in a car accident. The Beatles did have a natural place to go with a replacement from the look-alike, and the Beatles were the type of band who would bandy about clues among their songs and the album artwork. There were also notable clues to the Beatles being reduced to “3” (John, George, Ringo) in songs post-1966. All in all, the circumstantial evidence is there, but they could all be the machinations of minds similar to those who claim the Dark Side of the Moon lines up perfectly with ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (which is a theory that just missed the list, mostly because I’ve never put it to the test). Paul is almost assuredly alive.

Then again, wouldn’t it be truly incredibly if the theory was true, if the Beatles were slyly employing a fake Paul for all those years, if the man now beloved as Paul McCartney, the last remaining relevant Beatle (Ringo Starr can count in millions in the relative obscurity that is his life now), is in fact an imposter, a replacement? The Beatles would have carried out one of the great hoaxes of all time, and done it under intense scrutiny over, what is now, 45 years. If Paul McCartney did die, that means millions have probably wasted their money going to Paul McCartney solo concerts these past 20 or so years. I will say that the replacement would have had to be quite an artist to be as successful as solo Paul. If Paul McCartney did die that night in 1966, it would probably have been one of the biggest “what-if?” deaths of all time, cutting off a bright bulb so shortly into a career. Paul McCartney, one can argue, is the biggest musical star right now, in that he could command the highest price. He’s still a Beatle, for shits sake. However, he easily could not be a Beatle, and the clues are there to say that we should have known it all along.

Top 10 "Not In Our House" Playoff Games of the 2000s

These are the games that were close heading into the game. These were toss-up, or close to toss-up games heading in. The road teams were getting some buzz, getting some love. However, when the game was done, the game gave you the feeling of "There was no way they were losing at home today." These are the games that make you slap yourself for thinking the road team could win. These aren't just blowouts, games like the Raiders 27-0 win over Miami in 2000 or the Bucs 31-6 win over the 49ers in 2002. No, those games were obvious heading in. These were not, but after the performances of the home team, they should have been. Here are the Top-10 "Not In Our House" Playoff Performances of the 2000s.


10.) Steelers 35 Chargers 24, 2008 AFC Divisional


This was both a game that was not as close as the score indicated (it was 28-10 midway through the 4th quarter), and was in the balance at the two minute warning in the first half (10-7 Chargers lead). However, what took place in between those two events, where the Steelers outscored the Chargers 21-0 and ended any hope of the Chargers miracle run from 4-8 to the Divisional Playoffs continuing, was pure awesome football. The Chargers held the ball for exactly one play in the 4th quarter. The Steelers took the opening kick of the second half and drove for a touchdown (to make it 21-10). Then, after a long Darren Sproles kick return, the Steelers intercepted Philip Rivers on his next pass. They then were forced to punt, and the punt hit Eric Weddle in the helmet, which the Steelers then recovered, and ran out the clock in the quarter all the way to the one yard line. After a nice goal line stand by the Chargers, Rivers was sacked and the Chargers had top punt back. The Steelers this time put the game away. In the part in between, the Steelers ran 39 plays to the Chargers 4. Gained 177 yards to the Chargers -2. It was domination, and allowed the Steelers to go from playing a close game against a hot team late in the first half to easing through part one of their road to the title in 2008. Ben Roethlisberger showed why he was up to that point, the king of the 2004 QB Draft Class.


9.) Falcons 47 Rams 17, 2004 NFC Divisional


Despite being a #2 seed, there was reason to be skeptical of the Falcons. They had only outscored their opponents by 3 points through the season (mainly due to two losses - 56-10 to the Chiefs and 27-0 to the Buccaneers), and had been outgained. Nevermind the fact that the Rams were worse in all those numbers, the Rams in a dome was still a scary proposition. After trading TDs on the teams opening drives, everyone thought they were in for a shootout. They were, but one team did all the shooting. The Falcons ran for 327 yards, which is by far the most by any team in the 2000s. It was all three members of their DVD running attack (Dunn, Vick and Duckett). Dunn ran for 162 and 2 tds. Vick (who was a steady 12-16 for 82 yards and 2 tds passing) ran 8 times for 119 more yards. TJ Duckett put up 66 yards of his own. The Falcons, though, didn't stop by just throwing and running for scores. Allen Rossum returned a punt for a TD, and the Falcons, who lead the NFL in sacks in 2004, sacked Bulger four times including once for a safety. When it was all said and done, the Falcons had scored the last 26 points in the game, and had delivered the final KO to the Rams "Greatest Show on Turf" era (they haven't been back to the playoffs since). It was Michael Vick's best day in a Falcons' uniform, and for one day, the Georgia Dome was the hottest place in the NFL.


8.) Steelers 27 Ravens 10, 2001 AFC Divisional


2001 was the forgotten year in the Steelers-Ravens rivalry. The Ravens were the defending champs, and the Steelers had missed the playoffs three straight years. Those things were not going to continue. After going 13-3, the Steelers had to face their rival for the third time. The Steelers had lost to the Ravens in Heinz Field earlier that year, but this was no repeat. In Heinz Field's first playoff game, the terrible towels waved like they had never waved before. The Steel Curtain would have been envious of the defensive stats the Steelers put up. They limited the Ravens to 150 yards and just 7 first downs. They sacked QB Elvis Grbac 4 times, picked him off 3 more times, and held the Ravens to 22 yards rushing. The Steelers moved the ball with ease against the Ravens defense, and controlled the game from start to finish. There was no doubt who the best defensive team in the AFC was in 2001. This would be the start of a decade-long rivalry, and although there were two more memorable meetings in the playoffs later in the decade, neither could match the pure intensity and domination of this one. The Steelers laid the hammer down with a ferociousness that would make Jack Lambert wet, and that is a hard thing to do.


7.) Broncos 27 Patriots 13, 2005 AFC Divisional


The Patriots entered the game a tidy 10-0 in the playoffs under Belichick and Brady. The Broncos entered the game having not won in the playoffs since John Elway capped off his career in Super Bowl XXXIII. However, these were the new Broncos. With the league's third ranked defense and seventh ranked offense (and second best rushing attack) the Broncos were balanced. More importantly, the Broncos matched up beautifully against the Patriots, having beaten them soundly earlier in the year. The game did not start out too well for the Broncos, as they were being outplayed through most of the first half, and were lucky to be down just 3-0. However, they forced back-to-back fumbles, turned them into 10 points, and went into halftime up 10-3. In the second half, the Broncos set the new Mile High on fire. In what was easily the loudest, most energized game in Invesco Field history, they Broncos battered Brady repeatedly in the second half, and the hits, while not turning into any sacks, made their mark. Brady, to avoid being hit, lofted a pass into the end zone on 3rd and goal (with the Broncos up just 10-6). Champ Bailey picked it off, raced 99 yards, and one play later, it was 17-6, and the invincibility of the Patriots was over. The Broncos finished if off by going up 24-6, and the Patriots continued to make every mistake possible in the raucous stadium. Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal. Troy Brown muffed a punt. Tom Brady looked confused and looked absolutely Favrian, flinging the ball around. John Lynch capped the win with a juggling interception of Brady. It was the perfect way to end the Patriots reign.


6.) Colts 20 Ravens 3, 2009 AFC Divisional


The Colts record after resting their starters before a bye was not good (they had won games previously after just resting starters without the bye). In 2005 and 2007, the Colts lost their divisional round game at home, and the odd year curse would surely reappear against a Ravens team that throttled the Pats 33-14 in Foxboro, wouldn't it? After driving 62 yards on their first drive, and tying the game at 3, the Ravens looked ready to make it three straight home losses after byes, or at least make it interesting. However, that would be the last time the Ravens would even enter the red zone. Against a defense that made Tom Brady look like Jeff George the week before, Manning was great, hitting receivers in ungodly small windows time and time again. He engineered a perfect two minute drive to make it 17-3 right before half. It was pointless, since the Colts only needed 6. The Colts defense held the Ravens to 84 yards on their next 8 possessions. They turned the Ravens over 4 times in the game, held Ray Rice in check and were able to eliminate any possibility of the Ravens coming remotely close to beating them. In the first playoff game in Lucas Oil Stadium, the fans didn't know if the Colts from 2005 and 2007 would arrive. Luckily for them, the Colts who went 14-0 in the 14 games they tried in that year arrived, and the Colts dominated a team that had come in on a tremendous high.


5.) Bears 39 Saints 14, 2006 NFC Championship


The Saints were the sentimental favorite. Forget 2009, these were the miracle Saints. In the first year back in New Orleans, with a rookie coach and a QB who had a torn rotator cuff and labrum coming into the season, and a team that finished the 2005 season 3-13, the Saints were able to run out to a first round bye. The Bears did start the season 7-0, and led the NFC wire-to-wire (winning it by 3 games), but they had Rex Grossman at QB. It was Rex Grossman against Drew Brees. Luckily for Grossman, however, he had a defense and a running game on his side, as well as perfectly wintry Chicago conditions and a jacked up crowd in soldier field. When the Bears forced fumbles on back to back drives early, it was already a sign that there was no way the Bears were actually going to lose this game. The game was basically over when the Bears ran it 8 straight times with Thomas Jones, gained 66 yards and scored a TD to make the game 16-0. Drew Brees did throw for gobs of yards, and the Saints would make it interesting, but his safety resulting from an intentional grounding in the end zone would ice it. The Bears would pour on points as the snow intensified (along with the crowd). The Bears ended the game scoring 23 unanswered, running for 196 yards, sacking Drew Brees 3 times and forcing four turnovers against the league's top ranked offense. It was clinical efficiency by the NFC's best defense, and as they proved, best team.


4.) Colts 41 Broncos 10, 2003 AFC Wild Card


In Week 16, in a game that mattered, the Broncos went into Indianapolis and pummeled the Colts 31-17, outgaining them 465-183, rushing 54 times for 227 yards. It was pure domination. Couple that with the fact that Manning was 0-3 in the playoffs and the outcome of the Wild Card game seemed pretty obvious. It wasn't close at all. It was a blowout of epic porportions, but just the opposite way of the one-sided affair three weeks earlier. Peyton Manning got the playoff monkey off his back. The Colts didn't punt. The Colts didn't come close to punting. They racked up 479 yards. Peyton Manning didn't only win a playoff game, but tied an NFL record with four TD passes in the first half. The RCA Dome was basically a party zone for four quarters, with the Colts up 31-3 at halftime. Brandon Stokley caught 4 balls for 144 yards and 2 tds. Marvin added 7 catches for 133 yards and two more tds. Despite the Broncos actually running the ball pretty well, the Colts defense added to the fun, sacking Plummer twice, picking him off two more times and giving the ball back to the Colts offense that was about as perfect as any offense could be. In fact, as far as Manning was concerned, they were perfect, as Manning tossed up the second perfect passer rating in playoff history with a tidy line of 22-26 for 377 yards and 5 tds (more tds than incompletions). It might not have been Steve Young getting the monkey off his back with 6 tds in the Super Bowl, but Peyton Manning was on top of the world, and the RCA Dome was witnessing offense better than it had ever been played.


3.) Seahawks 34 Panthers 14, 2005 NFC Championship


The Seahawks were criminally underrated, despite outscoring their opponents 452-271 and having the NFL's best offense. The Panthers were a tad overrated after their 29-21 win in Chicago the week earlier and the sickening brilliance of Steve Smith. That said, there is no better explanation as to the domination of this game more than Steve Smith. Smith had 22 catches for 302 yards and 3 tds in his first two playoff games in 2005. In the Title Game, he had 5 catches for 33 yards (with just one coming in the first half). The Seahawks employed a weird moving zone to stop Steve Smith, and with him eliminated, the Panthers could do nothing. The Seahawks shut down the Panthers, giving up one punt return for a TD and a garbage time td (when the score was 34-7). In the process they picked off Delhomme three times and limited the Panthers to 36 yards rushing on 12 carries. On offense, they were just as amazing. Hasselbeck was brilliant, going 20-28 with two tds. Shaun Alexander, against the 4th ranked rush defense, put up 132 yards and two tds. However, three things defined the domination the Seahawks laid on everyone's favorite underdog team. First, was Seneca Wallace's amazing over the shoulder catch on the Seahawks first TD drive. Next was Walter Jones blocking Mike Rucker about driving him about 20 yards downfield. Finally, was the Qwest Field crowd. For three straight hours, the place was as loud as the boeing factory about 40 miles away. That was the loudest crowd I have ever heard in an NFL game, and it seemed to impact both teams. The Panthers seemed star-struck and overwhelmed. The Seahawks played with a never-ending passion and in the end were able to hoist the Halas trophy in front of the loudest 12th man ever.


2.) Patriots 20 Colts 3, 2004 AFC Divisional


This one hurt. This game happened before I knew that offenses, no matter how great, how explosive, were stoppable. The 2004 Colts were the best offense I had seen in my life. I hadn't been cognizant of the NFL enough from 1999-2001 to fully enjoy the Greatest Show on Turf, so the 2004 Colts were the team that opened my eyes to how great an offense can be. With their performance in this game, the 2004 Patriots opened my eyes to just how great a defense can be. This is the game that forever made me love defensive football. Losing in this game didn't hurt as a Colts fan. We were outclassed, outdone by a defense that wouldn't let their team lose (plus a running game that allowed the Pats to hold the ball for nearly 40 minutes). Manning played well, but his running game, run defense, and receivers let him down. Brady played well, but the true star was Corey Dillon. Brought to New England because he wanted a shot at even getting to the playoffs (something he never had done until then), Dillon ran for 144 yards and a game sealing TD. The game was actually close at halftime (6-3), and the turning point was when Tony Dungy punted on the Pats 49 on 4th and 1 on the Colts possession to start the second half. The Patriots went 87 yards for a TD (which took eight minutes off the clock), forced a quick punt, and then drove 94 yards for a TD (which took seven minutes), making the game 20-3. It was the most dominating 20 minute stretch in the Patriots dynasty, as they cooly finished off the team many predicted to upset the Patriots. The fans made the stadium into a winter wonderland, as for once, Gillette was rocking and ready to go. The stadium that is now notorious for it providing a lack of a home-field advantage was as loud as any. However, the most memorable image is Bill Belichick, right after the game ended, calmly dusting off his hands, telling evreryone "our work is done." There was no way the Colts were beating the Patriots that day.


1.) Vikings 34 Cowboys 3, 2009 NFC Divisional


The Cowboys were the hottest team in the NFL entering the divisional round of the playoffs. Sure, the Chargers had won eleven straight, but they rested their starters. The Cowboys had outscored their last three opponents 75-14. They had finally won a playoff game. They had the #2 offense in terms of yards. The Vikings were 12-4, and more importantly, were 8-0 in the Metrodome, but the team had to overcome the drama of a chilly relationship between Chilly and Favre at the end of the season, and a 3-3 finish. The game started with the Cowboys picking up yards, but in field goal range, Ray Edwards sacked Romo, who fumbled. The Vikings recovered. After trading punts, Brett Favre lofted a perfect pass to Sidney Rice, just past a Cowboys DB. The Vikings were up 7-0, and the game was already over. In one of the loudest stadiums, the Vikings faithful were louder than the Superdome crowd that would get all the love in the 2009 postseason. Tony Romo could do nothing against a pass rush that resembled the Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The main star was Ray Edwards, who sacked Romo three times, but Jared Allen chipped in with another, and the DTs shut down the Cowboys supposed three-headed monster and added a sack of their own. By the second half, the pressure from the d-line and the crowd had Romo ducking and flinching even before getting hit.


On the other side of the ball, the Vikings were on fire. Adrian Peterson was held in check. Sidney Rice, however, was not. The recipient of three touchdowns from Brett Favre, Sidney Rice ran through, over, around and past the Cowboys #2 ranked scoring defense. It was a sight to behold. Brett Favre added a 4th touchdown (a personal playoff record) late in the contest to make it 34-3, which was questioned as running it up the next day. It is the playoffs. There is no running it up there. The Vikings knew this and poured it on. In a game where despite having the superior record and being undefeated at home, the Vikings were only three point favorites and picked by many to lose (10 out of 12 ESPN experts picked the Vikings to go down), the Vikings were in complete control the whole time. Their defense kicked the crap out of the Cowboys in every way. The crowd was loving it, and so were the millions of Cowboys-Haters nationally. Just when people thought the Cowboys had changed, and that this year would be different, they were hammered in the most fun way possible. At least in 2010 they got creamed in the divisional round, and not Week 17 like the year earlier. It was Brett Favre's last amazing day, and boy was it amazing. With his performance, the crowd's noise, and the unrelenting pressure, there was no team in the NFL that could have gone into the Metrodome that day and hung close.


More Super Bowl stuff to come.

Top 10 "No One Believed In Us!!" Games of the 2000s - Part. 1

This is a two-part countdown of the ten biggest upsets of the 2000s in the playoffs. The games are ranked not on the actual size of the upset (based on Vegas lines), but on the factors surrounding the games. Games 10-5 are on this post.

We'll quickly go through the three games that just missed the cut:

13.) Colts 15 Ravens 6, 2006 AFC Divisional

12.) Patriots 24 Steelers 17, 2001 AFC Championship

11.) Giants 23 Packers 20, 2007 NFC Championship

Now, onto the list:


10.) Rams 24 Seahawks 20 & Vikings 31 Packers 17, 2004 NFC Wild Card


For the first time in the 2000s, there were 8-8 teams in the playoffs. The NFC was so bad that the 8-8 Rams and Vikings were actually Wild Card teams. This was the same year that all 6 AFC teams in the playoffs were at least 10-6, and the four division winners were 12-4 or better. That said, no one really thought the Rams or Packers would actually win, given their pathetic record. Both teams won, and really showed up. The Rams, who were outscored by a ridiculous 75 points, were leading throughout, but hung on to win by about five yards. The Vikings, on the other hand, brought the wood to the Packers. Brett Favre was picked off four times. Culpepper had three touchdowns, and Randy Moss gave the full moon. On back to back days, two teams that were derided by the media for being 8-8 went on the road and won. Of course, they would both be roundly throttled the following week, but they still got their "No One Believed In Us" win out of the way first.


9.) Saints 31 Rams 28, 2000 NFC Wild Card

The Saints are the only home team on the list, and they were favored in the game (by just a point). The reason why they are on the list was because despite those two facts, still it is shocking that they won the game. The Rams were the defending champs, and though their defense was horrible, their offense was even better than the year before and Kurt Warner was finally healthy again. The Saints, on the other hand, were not that great of a team, and had never won a single playoff game in their history. It didn't matter. The Saints came out red hot behind Aaron Brooks (can't believe I just wrote that sentence), and then withstood a furious Rams' rally in the 4th quarter to hold onto the win. The Superdome was rocking. It is hard to imagine the Saints being good pre-Brees, but there they were in 2000, slaying the defending champs and winning the first playoff game in franchise history. Saints fans' would have to wait until the end of the decade to finish the job though.


8.) Jets 17 Chargers 14, 2009 AFC Divisional

Before they scored their dramatic upset this year, a worse Jets team beat a hotter team coming off the bye last year. The Chargers entered the game on an 11 game winning streak. Phil Rivers was playing football better than any other QB, and the Chargers were ripe to go to their first Super Bowl (all that stood in their way was the Colts; a team they historically have played very well). Of course, the Jets were in their way as well. The Jets needed the Colts and Bengals to both rest their starters just to make the playoffs, and unimpressively beat the Bengals the previous week. The Jets entered the game as 9 point underdogs, and played like it, doing absolutely nothing for the entirety of the first half on offense. That said, they were only down 7-0 as Nate Kaeding missed two field goals. In the second half, the Jets offense finally clicked. Spurred by an amazing interception of Phil Rivers, followed by a bonehead interception of Phil Rivers, the Jets took the lead early in the fourth quarter 10-7. After yet another missed field goal by Kaeding, the Jets put the hammer down with a dramatic touchdown run by Shonn Greene. The Jets played it perfectly, capitalizing on the Chargers mistakes to win a game that they did little in. Therein lies the reason why the game is not higher: the Jets didn't play all that well. The Chargers just collapsed, which has been done before at home after the bye.


7.) Giants 21 Cowboys 17, 2007 NFC Divisional

76 points. That is what the Giants had given up to Romo and the Cowboys in two regular season games. The Giants had success scoring, putting up 55 points, but never really threatened the Cowboys. Dallas was finally supposed to end their long streak of not winning playoff games, as their 13-3 season had given them the #1 seed. The Giants struck first, but the Cowboys dominated much of the first half, calmly scoring two TDs on back-to-back 90+ yard drives. From that point on, it was all Giants. They put together a scoring drive in under a minute right before the half. Capitalized on a nice punt return to get another TD to take a 21-17 lead, and then the floodgates known as Dallas' o-line just opened. The Giants d-line started their epic postseason with two sacks and countless hurries of Romo, forcing the Cowboys into failed possessions. The Giants finished the game by picking off Romo in their end zone, escaping Dallas, a place no one thought the one time 0-2 Giants could win in. Little did they know what was up next.


6.) Seahawks 41 Saints 36, 2010 NFC Wild Card

Let's go into the way back machine.... all the way to this January. There was probably no more hated division winner than the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. The points are valid. The Seahawks were outscored by -97 points. That was the most a playoff team has ever been outscored by. They had the 28th ranked offense by yards, and 27th ranked defense by yards. Their QBs combined for a 72.1 rating. They were just not a good team. However, they have that field, that amazing, raucous gem of a stadium. Qwest Field is the great equalizer, and that, and the fact everyone spent the week deriding the Seahawks, and complaining that they were in the playoffs in the first place, made the Seahawks in a no-lose situation. Of course, the game played out early like everyone thought, with the Saints jumping out to a 10-0 and 17-7 lead. Of course, the Seahawks decided to score 27 of the next 30 points, and build a lead they would never relinquish. It was all capped by Marshawn Lynch's amazing "Beast Mode" run, where he singlehandidly broke six tackles and stiff armed last year's Super Bowl hero Tracy Porter into 2012. When it was all said it done, the Seahawks were partying like it was 2005, with Hasselbeck threw 4 tds and the 'Hawks were unbeatable in Qwest again.


5.) Buccaneers 27 Eagles 10, 2002 NFC Championship

The Bucs had never won a game where the temperature at kickoff was less than freezing until Week 17 in the 2002 season, when the Bucs beat up Chicago in Chicago. The Bears were 4-12. The Eagles, on the other hand, were 12-4, and had beaten Tampa to a pulp earlier that year, beaten the Bucs in the previous to postseasons without giving up a TD, and had outscored their opponents 415-241 in the regular season. The Bucs had a historically good pass defense (so good that Rich Gannon's 2 td 5 int performance in the postseason was actually average, not terrible), but they could not beat the Eagles, and they could not win in the cold. It started out perfectly, as the Eagles returner ran the opening kickoff back 70 yards, and Duce Staley took the next handoff for a TD. The Bucs were shocked, but they regrouped, and the Eagles never scored a TD the rest of the game. The Bucs suffocated Donovan McNabb, and finished it off with intercepting a pass, and returning it 90 yards for a TD to make it 27-10, and forever silence Veterans Stadium, in its final game ever. The Eagles were ready for a celebration. The Eagles hired one hundred cops to prepare for a mob after the game. Not sure if the mob happened, but if it did, the fans were rioting in anger, not jubilation.

Top 10 "No One Believed In Us!!" Games of the 2000s - Part. 2

Now the last 4, which were really a category all to themselves. Odd that the Patriots show up three times. They really know how to play interesting playoff games.


4.) Jets 28 Patriots 21, 2010 AFC Divisional

45-3. Forty-Five to Three. That was the reason no one gave the Jets a chance. And why would they? The Jets did beat the Patriots 28-14 in Week 2, but that seemed like a decade ago, back when Randy Moss was still doing things in New England and Danny Woodhead was an unknown player. The Patriots were on a roll that not even their 2007 undefeated counterparts could match. They had entered the playoffs winning their last 8 games, five of them by more than 20 points, and four by at least 29. They had scored 30+ points in eight straight games. Tom Brady had gone since Week 6 without an interception. They were the most efficient offense in the NFL. The Jets entered the playoffs with a 2-3 finish, and squeaked by Indianapolis in the Wild Card round. No one gave the Jets a chance (although, ironically, they were larger underdogs the previous year against San Diego - 9 points to 8.5). No one but the Jets.

The Patriots started out strong, but could only muster a field goal in the first quarter. The Jets then took flight, scoring a TD early in the second, and following a stupid fake punt by the Patriots scored a TD to make it 14-3 right before halftime. The Gillette Stadium crowd was stunned, but the worst was still to come. Tom Brady and his offense simply looked lost. Brady felt the pressure of a fierce pass rush that was doing its best Giants in Super Bowl XLII impression. When he got time, the Jets secondary did not give anything up in one of the most inspired performances ever by a coverage unit. The Jets finally gave up a TD, and the Pats cut it to 14-11 late in the third quarter. Six plays later, and one spectacular catch later, it was 21-11 and the game was all but over. Mark Sanchez was great, and his receivers were better, but the heroes were the defense. The proud Jets defense was the butt of a million jokes after the 45-3 laugher, and Rex Ryan was personally embarrassed. He later said he watched the film of that game 20 times, and the Jets played with that similar preparation. It was an astounding performance, as the Jets were the ones embarrassing the Patriots in their home stadium (where Tom Brady hasn't lost a regular season since 2006, but has oddly lost two playoff games there since). The Jets were haunted by the memory of 45-3, but that won't comfort Patriots fans, who saw their team score less than half that.


3.) Steelers 21 Colts 18, 2005 AFC Divisional

The 2005 Indianapolis Colts were the Colts team that should have won the Super Bowl. They were the best Colts team of the decade, better than the 2009 unit that went 14-0 before resting their players. Better than the 2006 team that won the Super Bowl. They were 14-2, sure, but they were so much more than that. They scored the second most points in the NFL and gave up the second fewest, and this was AFTER they sat their starters the last two games. They set an NFL record, winning their first 13 games each by at least a touchdown. After twelve weeks they had outscored their opponents 366-162, which was a better differential than the 16-0 Pats. The Steelers were 11-5, and better yet, they were 10-3 with Ben Roethlisberger as their starting QB, but in a loaded AFC, that was good enough only for the #6 seed. The Steelers might not have even gotten by the Bengals had Kimo von Ollhoffen not have torn Carson Palmer's ACL. But here they were, in the same stadium that seven weeks earlier they had been dominated 26-7, in a game that they had put up less than 200 yards of offense and had given up an 80 yard TD on the very first play. The Steelers were 10 point underdogs, and understandably so. They were playing the best team of the decade to date. But just like the best regular team of the decade that was yet to come (we'll get to them - and you know who they are), it wasn't meant to be.

The Colts have always taken flak for losing after resting their starters, but usually even if they do lose, they start out the game good (like in 2007 where Manning hit his first 14 throws), but they were flat at the start. The Steelers took advantage of the Colts slothy start, and a surprising game plan that called for Roethlisberger to air it out, and took a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter. The Colts were stunned, and more importantly, were flawed. The Colts did not have a great o-line, and it was never more apparent than in this game. The Steelers used a relentless pass rush to dominate the Colts o-line and pound Manning time and time again. The Colts put together a drive late in the first half to make it 14-3, but the Steelers answered with a touchdown to make it 21-3 to start the third. After a historic season, the Colts were basically done. That's when it got crazy.

Manning started his comeback by waving the punt team off the field in the third quarter, and hit Dallas Clark for a 50-yard touchdown to start the 4th. On the next drive, aided by a nice overturn of an apparent interception, Manning led another TD drive to cut it to 21-18. It was now a game, but that black spot of the Colts cropped up again as Manning was sacked on back-to-back plays to effectively end the game. That was until Gary Brackett put his hat on the ball, forced a fumble, and Nick Harper scooped it up with green ahead of him. Slowed by a bad knee (due to his wife attacking him with a knife mid-week), Harper was tackled by Ben Roethlisberger. Manning drove the Colts into field goal range, especially for the most accurate kicker in NFL history in a dome, but Mike Vanderjagt missed by about twenty yards. The Colts comeback ended short and the Steelers continued their trip to get one for the thumb. The Steelers became the first six seed to win the Super Bowl, and the Colts had to endure another offseason of what-if? The Steelers were huge underdogs because they weren't as good as the Colts. But for that one day they were.


2.) Giants 17 Patriots 14, Super Bowl XLII

What hasn't been said about this game. The Giants, despite playing the Patriots really close in Week 17 (so close that they had a rightfully earned 28-16 lead in the third quarter), were 14 point underdogs heading into Super Bowl XLII, which was more of a coronation than anything else. The Patriots, 18-0, were set to be crowned "The Greatest Team of All Time", and join the annoying 1972 Dolphins in "Perfectville". Tom Brady had just finished arguably the greatest statistical season for a QB ever, and the Patriots offense was finally back playing indoors, on perfect conditions, with a newfound running game to boot (Maroney had 112 yards in each of the first two playoff games). The Giants entered having already scored two major upsets, beating 7 point favorites Dallas (above) and 7.5 favorites Green Bay in an epic in -27 degree weather. The Giants were confident. They thought they would win (with Plaxico even predicting a score that would be eerily close to the actual one - 23-17). Sports Illustrated's Dr. Z even predicted the Giants victory in SI's Super Bowl preview, stating he had a similar feeling before Super Bowl III. That said, no one really thought the Giants had much of a chance. The Patriots, known for their ruthless efficiency, were not going to let history slip away.

Instead of the Patriots letting history slip away, the Giants took it from them. Battering Tom Brady with the most ferocious pass rush seen in Super Bowl history (set an unofficial record for QB hits in a Super Bowl), Brady and the Patriots offense were limited to 81 first half yards (for a team that got over 400 a game). The Patriots did have the hafltime lead - 7-3 - but that was more because of unfortunate ends to back-to-back Giants drives. First the Patriots got a tipped interception, then a fumble coupled with an illegal batting of the ball ended another promising drive. The Patriots, the 18-0 favorite, were even getting the breaks. The third quarter featured another sack of Tom Brady and a curious decision to go for it on 4th and 13 from their 35, but at the start of the 4th quarter, the Patriots were still ahead 7-3, and set for perfection.

The only perfection attained that night was the 4th quarter. First the Giants struck a TD with a nifty 50-yard catch and run by Kevin Boss. Then the teams traded punts before Tom Brady finally played like the Tom Brady that was supposed to own the Giants, directing a cool TD drive to take the lead 14-10 with three minutes to go. It was all there. Despite the Giants playing their hearts out on defense and holding a team that averaged 36 points to 14, they were all but done. At that moment, truly no one thought the Giants had a prayer or re-taking the lead. There had never been three lead changes in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl before, but this was no ordinary Super Bowl. What followed is known now to all. Eli Manning escaped the clutches of various Patriots players, heaved a throw to unknown Special Teamer David Tyree, who snagged the ball with the aid of his helmet. Five plays later, Plaxico Burress caught a perfect pass from Eli Manning to take the lead with :35 left in the game. One sack later, the Giants had toppled the Pats, and surprised, shock and amazed everyone aside from Dr. Z.

1.) Patriots 20 Rams 17, Super Bowl XXXVI


There was no bigger cindarella story in the decade, or maybe since Super Bowl III. The Patriots were a team that needed a ridiculous referreeing decision plus two special teams touchdowns just to get to the Super Bowl. The Rams were a dynasty in the making. The Rams were 16-2, with a top-5 defense and, for the 3rd consecutive year, the top offense in the NFL. They set a record with their 3rd straight 500=point season (no other team has even done it twice in a row), while Kurt Warner racked up 36tds. The Rams were truly unstoppable, gaining more yards than they did in the 1999 season when they won the Super Bowl. The Patriots were a team that was outgained for the season, and had a second-year QB who was still being babied through most games. The only advantage the Patriots had was at head coach, and even then, Bill Belichick did not think the Patriots could pull it off (he was quoted as saying "Can you believe this team won the Super Bowl?" to Scott Pioli afterward). The Pats were the real David.

The Patriots won the game 3-0. The score might have said 20-17, but in all reality, it was the Rams three turnovers to the Patriots zero that won the game. The Patriots turned those turnovers into 17 points, and two of them happened when the Rams were near midfield. The Rams outgained the Pats by 160 yards. Kurt Warner went 28-44 for 365 yards. The key to the game, apart from the turnovers, was Mike Martz's insistence to not run the ball. Marshall Faulk was underutilized, and he was the player the Patriots keyed on. That said, despite playing the perfect game, the Rams tied the game in what seemed like 5 seconds to make it 17-17 with 1:21 to play. That's where a dynasty was born, but it was not the Rams, like Torry Holt was caught saying before the game started. Tom Brady, to the behest of John Madden, took the ball and dinked his way into field goal range, where Adam Vinatieri hit the first walk-off field goal in Super Bowl history. It was one of the best finishes in the Super Bowl, and it was the perfect way to cap the Super Bowl that was used as a tribute to America: with the Patriots winning.

There are many reasons for this not to be a bigger upset than Super Bowl XLII. That game featured a 10-6 Wild Card team beating an 18-0 juggernaut. This game featured an 11-5 #2 seed beating a 14-2 team that had flaws (had a lot of turnovers in the regular season). The specter of an 18-0 was huge, but it isn't enough to make it a bigger upset. No one did believe in the Giants chances to beat the Patriots (except for Dr. Z). However, the Giants totally believed that they could win. They believed they let the Pats off the hook in Week 17. Coincidentally, the Patriots and Rams played in the regular season in 2001 also, with the Rams winning 24-17. Unlike the Giants-Pats Week 17 game, that one was nowhere near as close as the score. The Rams outgained the Pats 482-230. Warner was amazing (except for a pick-6). The Rams led 24-10 before a garbage TD by New England, and the game ended with the Rams on the Pats 10 yard line, kneeling the ball instead of a late score. Unlike the Giants in 2007, the Patriots were truly lucky to even make the Super Bowl, needing a angelic overturn of a call and, again, two special teams touchdowns. Finally, the biggest reason that the Pats upset over the Rams was bigger (other than the fact that the line actually was higher for the Rams - 14.5 vs 14), was that it isn't obvious that even the Pats thought they could win the game. Bill Belichick certainly didn't think of the 2001 Patriots as a champion team, and neither did anyone. That game should not have been close, and even after Adam Vinatieri split the uprights, it was hard to fathom the Rams lost. The Rams were unbeatable. The Patriots were so beatable. But "No One Believed In" the Pats, including the Pats.



Next up in the Top-10 are the opposite games. The Top-10 "Not In Our House!!!" Games of the 2000s.

2010 Starting QB Rankings

366 days ago, I did this ranking, of the 32 starting QBs in the NFL. I loved it so much, I have decided to do it again (I don't care if you liked it or not.... just kidding (maybe)).

The rankings are not based on what they have done for their careers. The rankings are not based on what some hack on SI says about him while getting hard. The rankings are mostly based on how good they are now (the majority), and their outlook for the future (the minority). Basically, if two guys are about even, I went with the younger guy. Last year, I was dumb and did it with players who were starters but only because of injury and the like, so this year I decided to rank the actual starting QBs (if the team still had two starting QBs, I flipped a coin. Fine, I didn't flip a coin, but who gives a shit - I'm not decided NFC Wild Cards, I don't need ten rounds of tiebreakers). Here is a quick guide to the movers off last years' list.

Kurt Warner retired, so he has an excuse for leaving the list. Everyone else pretty much earned their way off the list by exemplifying their inner Ryan Leaf. Kerry Collins, Derek Anderson, Jake Delhomme, Jason Campbell, Josh Johnson, Shaun Hill, Trent Edwards, and Marc Bulger have all left the building. This comprised 32-26 and 24-23 of the list, so I did my job. I put the guys that didn't last 366 days at the bottom of the list, to be replaced by another 9 guys who might not be there next here. Anyway, here we go:

32.) Max Hall (Not Ranked Last Year) - 25, 1st year


I have a feeling that Whisenhunt stays with him unless he starts really sucking, which is a possibility, given that he is not all that good to begin with. I loved how before his first start, the always jolly and fat Peter King wrote something about how Kurt Warner told him that Max Hall reminded Warner of himself. Undrafted, and playing for the Cardinals. The one difference is that at least Warner was an Arena League and Euro League MVP in his day. Max Hall is not. He won a game against the defending champs, but really did nothing to win that game. The Cardinals one offensive drive came courtesy of a Brees interception out of his own endzone. The other two came via defensive returns. I'm not saying that Max Hall will not become the next Kurt Warner. I am saying that there is a better chance that I become the next Kurt Warner.


31.) Ryan Fitzpatrick (NR) - 28, 6th year


He had a nice start against the Patriots, but every QB has had nice numbers against the Patriots. He doesn't have a great arm at all, and really struggles to make out throws. He is a smart player, and I am saying this not entirely because he went to Harvard. To give him credit, the Bills don't have anything much to offer him as weapons, and can't protect for dick, but his physical skills might be the worst in the league. There is a reason he wasn't even the Bills starter at the beginning of the year, and probably won't be next year.


30.) Matt Moore (NR) - 26, 4th year


I totally had this guy wrong. I admit when I make mistakes, and I made a big mistake reading him. He has some physical tools, and hasn't had much to work with, but he is nowhere near the player that even Jake Delhomme on an average day was. He didn't get much protection, but lacked pocket awareness to escape anyway. He has the physical skills to be a journeyman, much like the two people above him.


29.) Alex Smith (NR) - 26, 6th year


People actually clamored to see David Carr over him after seeing him play. Alex Smith is a player who will have flashes of good-ness, but those just mask his horrible decision making, and awful touch on passes. He wildly overthrows way too many passes, and gets confused on making reads. This is really odd, considering his mental ability was his strongsuit coming into the league back in the 2005 draft. I love how the Bay Area has the three biggest #1 overall draft busts of the decade, and two are on the same team. I will say this, in the right system, he has a chance, but I don't know what that system is, since he has played in so many and failed in so many already.


28.) Colt McCoy (NR) - 24, 1st year


That was a great performance, but I cannot legitimately mark him any higher with only one game in his career. Colt McCoy barely got the ball downfield. He makes quick reads, and good decisions, from what I can see. He seems to be a more check-downy version of Drew Brees, which might not be a terrible thing. However, those last two sentences also described one Mr. Timothy Couch Potato. You need to have at least a good arm to play in the cold, outdoors, so this might not be as good as it looked in Game 1.


27.) Matt Cassel (25 Last Year) - 28, 6th year


Here is my take about Cassel, the first QB to be ranked last year as well: He has not regressed, but he has not progressed. It is painfully obvious that his success was really a product of having Randy Moss on his team, as well as Wes Welker, and a great Offensive Coordinator. Matt should not be ashamed or saddened, since he still has a nice contract to live off of, and is not the first QB to have his career made by Randy Moss. All that does is put him level with Jeff George, Randall Cunningham, Daunte Culpepper and Tom Brad.... (Okay, I couldn't do it).


26.) David Garrard (19) - 32, 9th year


The man who defined "average" is now worse than "average". He might be hurt longterm, which hurts this lists' credibility, but I didn't want to hurt whatever Bill fan may be reading this by listing Trent Edwards here as well. Garrard, when he has time to throw, or when he plays the Colts, can still be effective, but he is not the best decision maker on the field. He has a propensity for critical interceptions. His mobility gives him some upside, but he has already peaked.


25.) Bruce Gradkowski (NR) - 27, 5th year


I think that he is the starter when he gets healthy, so he gets the nod as the Raiders' representative. Gradkowski doesn't have the greatest arm, and is not the most accurate player, but he does one thing at about a top-10 level which makes him better than the seven QBs above: he can play well under pressure. This is extremely important as he plays behind the Raiders o-line. He can change his arm angle and throw with people in his face. Average player, which for the Raiders is better than most of what they've had of late.


24.) Josh Freeman (NR) - 22, 2nd year


He's a player that could jump up this list by next year. Freeman has gotten to the point where he will play effectively against bad to mediocre teams. He still struggles against the better teams, which puts him a level below the other young QBs in the league. Freeman is not your prototypical black QB, in that he is much more willing to stay in the pocket. He reminds me of Roethlisberger. He uses his athletic abilities to avoid rush and stay in the pocket, not to rush for yards. He has one of the best arms, and seems to be getting better, but I would love to see him step up and play good against a good team.


23.) Vince Young (NR) - 27, 5th year


He is really the perfect game manager. Against bad teams, Young will play good. That is fine. All QBs will play good against bad teams, and if they don't they belong in the UFL (Tim Rattay, for instance). Young is the type of player that will throw up a 17-30, for 180 yards, and one TD and one INT against good teams. That is not enough to win the game by itself, but it won't necessarily lose it. He doesn't seem to be near the runner he was in his rookie and sophomore season, which may be by design. He is finally firmly entrenched in that starting spot, though.


22.) Kevin Kolb (NR) - 26, 4th year


I want to see him perform against a good defense on the road before I make any final decision on Kolb. He struggled mightily early in the year against a good Packers defense. He played well against the 49ers (ass) and Falcons (not hard to do at home). He gets his chance this weekend against the Titans. Kolb has a much better arm than I expected, manly since the only thing he did in his performance against the Redskins was throw screens. His accuracy seems to be an issue, but it could get better. Physically, there is not much time for him to grow, as he already is 26.


21.) Matt Hasselbeck (17) - 35, 13th year


What is more shocking: That the Matthew is having a nice bounceback season, or that he is the second oldest starting QB in the league. I find it hilarious that Brett Favre is so old, that the second oldest QB in the league was once Favre's young backup. Hasselbeck had a great game against the Bears because he had time to throw, but there are two problems. First, he's old so his future prospects are whatever is worse than 'bleak', and he is extremely injury prone. On any play, he has about a 40% higher chance of getting injured than the average QB (note: not totally true), so that hurts his rankings. Still love the guy, though.


20.) Matthew Stafford (18) - 22, 2nd year


Hard to really rate him since he hasn't played much this year. His physical tools are off the charts, and in limited action against teams that were average to bad, his accuracy was much better than it translated to be in the NFL. He has great weapons to work with. There is a slight concern that I have that he might be injury prone, since this is the second time he hurt the same shoulder, but neither separation came when he was throwing the ball. He has a bright future, but he has to stay healthy.


19.) Kyle Orton (20) - 27, 6th year


Kyle Orton is having a dream season running Josh McDaniels' offense. If I was Tom Brady I would slap McDaniels. The endless line of QBs putting up huge numbers in McDaniels' offense while sucking elsewhere is really hurting Brady's image (of course it isn't because too many people are milking the goat that Brady held in that photograph to care, but whatever). The problem with Orton is that he kills you at the worst times, like his two failed 4th downs against Indy, or that fumbled snap and fumbled fumble recovery against the Jets. There is a limit to where Orton can take you, and that limit is about 8-8, unless you have the 2005 Bears defense behind him.


18.) Chad Henne (21) - 25, 3rd year


Although Chad Henne has fallen behind a certain other QB from the AFC East, he's still showing promise. His performance against the Patriots was a total nightmare, but in reality, he's not that bad. He still stares down his receivers too much, and relies too much on short routes, but that could change once the Dolphins get any viable deep threat. Brandon Marshall has really helped him to get consistent. What also helps his ranking is that he is still young. There is still room to grow physically, which is key.


17.) Carson Palmer (9) - 30, 8th year


I'm done defending him. He is nowhere near as bad as some people (Bill "I love Mad Men and Jersey Shore so much I would fuck Don Draper wearing Snooki's tan" Simmons, for instance) think he is, but he is clearly not, and probably never get to, where he was even in 2006-2007. I forgot that he decided not to have Tommy John surgery after the 2008 season, instead deciding to let his elbow heal naturally. That might be as big of a factor as that gruesome knee injury back in 2005, but that it more becuase if Kimo von Olhoffen never shredded Palmers' knee (and career), the Colts win the title that year. Fuck You Kimo.


16.) Sam Bradford (NR) - 23, 1st year


Man, I am totally on board with the Bradford Machine. He looks great. He has no weapons at all but random rookies from Missourri. He lost the teams incumbent No. 1 starter and then lost his security blanket and favorite target in Mark Clayton. All he did was beat the Chargers. He is getting a lot better pass protection than most #1 overall picks, but still. The guy is great. He inherited one of the least talented teams of any #1 overall pick ever, and has already TRIPLED his teams' win total from last season. Sign me up.


15.) Mark Sanchez (22) - 23, 2nd year


He has really impressed me this year becuase he is far less of a gunslinger than he was last year. His decision making was not good at all last season, and he has cleaned up that part of his game tremendously. He has a lot better pocket presence than last year as well. Sanchez can throw a beautiful deep ball, but has also improved his short and intermediate game as well. He is the most improved QB from 2009 to 2010. Well done, Sanchize.


14.) Tony Romo (15) - 30, 8th year


Here is the problem with Bromo. He has peaked. He's already 30 years old. There is no real getting better for him. He still has the same problems he always did. He has enough Roethlisberger-esque moments to make himself think that he can elude pressure, which he can't do. He doesn't read zone blitzes well at all (case in point, the Vikings intercepted him on pretty much the same zone blitz in last weeks game and the divisional playoff game last year). Romo has ability to throw a great deep ball, but struggles in the red zone too much. There is just not enough there to grow to go higher.


13.) Donovan McNabb (13) - 33, 12th year


He is getting better in Shanahan's system every week, which gives him nice potential. His strung of serious, but freak, injuries have probably kept him fresh, in the game-worn sense. McNabb still throws one of the best deep balls in the league, and still is maddeningly wildly accurate in short throws. McNabb remains one of the hardest QBs to sack in the NFL, which is amazing. He was able to fend off a serious Colts pass rush and deliver good throws. Obviously, he is up there in age, but still seems to have all the physical skills that he had five year ago, as far as his arm is concerned.


12.) Joe Flacco (6) - 25, 3rd year


I did actually believe that he was the 6th best QB in the league this time last year, but he has regressed. In crunch time, he turns into a shell and starts checking down way too much. He also relies way too much in his arm, failing to step up into a lot of throws. Flacco is still not that great at reading defenses. Flacco is young, and he can improve, but I am just not seeing it. He has good enough physical tools that he is this good without any of the things I mentioned above. Joe Flacco is now the overrated member of the 2008 QB draft class, which is a nice change from last season.


11.) Jay Cutler (8) - 27, 5th year


If he gets protection he is one of the better players, but he has seen so battered the last couple of years that he might turn into Marc Bulger (with better ability). When he did get time, in the Green Bay and Dallas games, he was great. He is not making the same mistakes last year. He seems to have truly learned that his physical ability will not take him everywhere. Cutler is still easily the best QB out of that draft class, and can win games for a team if he gets protection. He has even proved that he doesn't necessarily need good receivers to win games either. The dumbest notion in the league is that he wouldn't have been better than Orton if he was still with Denver.


10.) Brett Favre (16) - 41, 20th year


With Moss, he has started playing like he did in 2009. That Favre was a completely great player. He didn't take many chances. He did not force balls (NFC Championship Game excluded). Favre's arm is fine. If the Favre of the past two weeks was him with a bad elbow, then he would be the best QB in the league with a good elbow. Brett Favre is still one of the best QBs in this league if he gets enough protection, and that is the key. However, he is one of the better QBs in the league under heavy rush, which was showed for 58 minutes of that NFC Title Game.


9.) Matt Ryan (10) - 25, 3rd year


I love Matt Ryan. He is still only 25 so he has a couple years of growing to do physically, but he is a far more mentally progressed QB than Flacco. Matt Ryan was overrated as a rookie, but then became underrated because he was so overrated. He doesn't have the weapons Flacco does. He doesn't have the defense that Flacco does. He's won just as many games as Flacco. Matt Ryan's quick release allows him to get away with not great protection. He goes through his progressions quickly, and makes good decisions. He can get flustered when pressured, but that should get better as he gets more experienced.


8.) Matt Schaub (12) - 29, 7th year


He hasn't been hurt in two years, which is really the only the thing he had to prove. He is just as good as anyone now. He can lead comebacks as good as almost every other QB in the league. He has great rapport with Schaub. The biggest weakness in his game is that he gets flustered under pressure, and doesn't move well around the pocket. What aids this weakness is the fact that he is great on the run, which Kubiak uses a lot. He doesn't seem to have a great arm, but has fantastic accuracy, and touch. He's great.


7.) Aaron Rodgers (7) - 26, 6th year


He's a tad overrated now, as Steve Young already labelled him as a hall-of-famer. His play last year was great, but that Int% was in no way sustainable, and we have seen that this year. He's already matched his interception total from last year in six games. Here are the positives. He is the best thrower on the run in the league. His weird top down release allows him to easily throw running either side. Rodgers also has great touch. The one thing though is that he forces WAY too many balls into tight coverage, which results in quite a few incompletions.


6.) Eli Manning (11) - 29, 7th year


Since the rankings last year, no player has done more to cement his top-10 status more than Eli Manning. Sure, he has thrown 8 interceptions, but six of those were first in the hands of his receivers but bounced off and were picked. His completion percentage has rised four straight years. He doesn't have any more crap games, except for that Indy one where he got no protection at all. The Giants pass offense is now one of the most quietly formidable in the league. He's advanced so much since that 2007 postseason. He will never be his brother, but he's finally entrenched as a player of his own.


5.) Tom Brady (5) - 33, 11th year


He's about where he was last year. One nice quarter won't change anything. Tom is a QB who will do well late in games because defenses usually get conservative late in games. He is one of the best timing passers in the league, and will dominate with short and intermediate routes. Here is the concern. This was the first game since the opener against Buffalo in 2009 where he successfully led a 4th quarter comeback, and that was aided by the Bills fumbling a kickoff. He's nowhere near as consistent as he used to be.


4.) Philip Rivers (4) - 28, 7th year


Rivers' performance without Vincent Jackson has really made him grow up in my eyes. It may not show in the rankings, since the top-3 are all hall-of-fame QBs, but his continues to get better every year. He still has an ungodly throwing motion, but his incredible accuracy is astounding. He is one of the smartest QBs at identifying blitzers and coverages, and his headiness allows him to overcome massive athleticism deficiencies (speed, mainly). I am now at the point where I respect the hell out of him. His GM has done nothing right by him, by feuding with his best weapon, but he has put that team on his back, and if not for ungodly special teams, he would have a 4-2 or 5-1 team.


3.) Drew Brees (2) - 31, 10th year


How do you win a Super Bowl and drop? Not quite sure, but his performance this year has been less than. Brees from 2006-2008 would have been in the top-5. Brees in 2009 might have been a perfect storm of greatness. His numbers in 2010 are much more indicative of the QB from before, one who could put up great numbers, complete a hell of a lot of short passes, but throw untimely interceptions, and not see coverages as well as other great QBs. Having Sean Payton really helps though.


2.) Ben Roethlisberger (3) - 28, 7th year


He was great in his return, and by all accounts has started to become even more of a film-junkie than he was before. Physically, he is one of the best QBs EVER. His numbers have been great throughout his career. Early in his career, the Steelers ran it a lot, and his rate numbers (Y/A, cmp%, passer rating) were amazing. Then, they started to air it out, and his conventional numbers became amazing as well. He has played his whole career behind an average at best o-line, and has excelled. Roethlisberger may not be the greatest citizen in the world, or more accurately, he is nowhere near that, but as a QB, there is only one better in the league.


1.) Peyton Manning (1) - 34, 13th year


This guy. He's the 3rd oldest starting QB in the league, which might be cause for concern, but the all-time greats like Unitas, Elway, Montana, Marino and Favre aged pretty well physically. Mentally, he's as good as ever. Defenses are taking the deep ball away more and more, and he has become more and more cerebral. He rarely forces balls, and reads defenses about as well as anyone in the league. For a long time, the quip was "What would he do with a bad o-line?" The past two years have made it plainly obvious that he has had a bad o-line the whole time, but he's able to read blitzes and get rid of the ball that it doesn't matter. 2010 might be his strongest test, with all his receivers banged up, Dallas Clark potentially missing the rest of the season and Joe Addai injured. I'll be damned if he doesn't do what he always does, play amazingly well.


We'll see what the list looks like in 2011. The top-10 is pretty entrenched, but there is room for newbies. Just ask Eli Manning.