Dave’s Football Blog

Seriously, does anyone out there believe for a second that the New England Patriots aren’t getting any respect? They sure seem to think so. I guess they missed all those pundits calling them a dynasty and positioning them as the great team of this decade.

I suppose it’s better not to read your press clippings, but damn. It’s almost as if Bill Belichek is running some MK ULTRA project in that locker room…

AP is reporting that Pats QB Tom Brady fought off a 103-degree fever the night before the AFC Championship.

Right. He caught himself a case of the Moynahan flu, so he did…

Dr. Mark Myerson is Terrell Owens’ doctor. He’s told reporters that he will not give Owens clearance to play in the Super Bowl.

Dr. Mark Myerson is from Baltimore, home of the Ravens, the team that Owens rejected last offseason.

Remember that scene in Friday Night Lights when Boobie Miles nearly assaulted the doctor that told him he couldn’t play? Yeah, we’re gonna hear about that scene more than once this week…

Jeff Thomason played pro football for 10 years. He has been out of football since 2002. He works as a project manager for a construction company in New Jersey. He competes in ironman triathlons on the side to stay in shape.

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Eagles called him and asked if he would fill in for injured tight end Chad Lewis in the Super Bowl. Thomason agreed and will take the two weeks’ vacation time he has accrued to prepare for and play in the game.

Seriously, take that script to a Hollywood producer and see how quickly you get laughed out of the office.

Granted, Thomason isn’t exactly in virgin territory. Thomason played for the Green Bay Packers for five years and has a ring from Super Bowl XXXI, in which the Packers beat the New England Patriots, 35-21. Andy Reid was an assistant coach under Mike Holmgren back then before he became head coach of the Eagles. Plus, Thomason played for Reid’s Eagles from 2000 to 2002, so he has plenty of experience with Reid’s west coast offense.

It’s not like Thomason will jump right in and start, either. L.J. Smith will take Lewis’ starting spot in the Super Bowl, while Thomason will be the second tight-end option off the bench.

Still, it’s hard to look at this story and not think the Eagles are just signing guys off the street to play in the Super Bowl…

“What a lot of people don’t realize is that I’ve been doing a lot of rehab on my own, a lot of healing on my own, but spiritually God is healing me, and I’m way ahead of where a lot of people expect me to be, even the doctor. He’s even shocked at what he’s seen. Spiritually, I’ve been healed, and I believe that I’ll be out there on that field Sunday, regardless of what anyone says.”

-Terrell Owens, who predicts he will be ready for Super Bowl XXXIX.

Those wacky Baltimore Ravens can’t seem to steer clear of the law, can they?

This time, it’s cornerback Corey Fuller, who was charged in Tallahassee, Florida, with felony possession of a handgun and misdemeanor gambling charges stemming from a high-stakes poker game held at his house. Reportedly, Fuller had been raking 10% of the pot.

As someone who has hosted poker games at my house before, I can tell you this: raking the pot is a major no-no. In most states with anti-gambling laws, a rake — which guarantees that the house gets a share of every pot, thus encouraging them to keep the game running — automatically makes your game illegal. One friend of mine who hosts a regular limit game and occasional tournaments makes sure never to rake the pot to keep his games on the up-and-up.

What amazes me the most about this, though, is that Fuller’s game got action with that big a rake in effect. 10% should run afoul of state obscenity laws. Everyone was a sucker at that table. Fuller was probably the only one who ever made money on that game…

Steelers WR Plaxico Burress hasn’t been thrilled with his role in the offense the last few weeks. Now that he’s a free agent, he may look for greener pastures.

Of course, he’s going to say that. Receivers are selfish bastards by nature. They want the ball all the time, and the only way they get it is if someone gives it to them. Burress didn’t get the ball much since his hamstring injury in Cincinnati, in part because he was sidelines, but also because he never really got back into the flow of the offense.

Lots of teams will want a big target like Burress. The Baltimore Ravens are desperate for weapons at receiver and may be making a play for Randy Moss. If Moss leaves Minnesota, Burress may just end up a Viking. Kansas City could use some receivers, though they need defense more. Seattle is desperate for someone with reliable hands. Jacksonville has been looking for a complement for Jimmy Smith ever since Keenan McCardell bolted for Tampa Bay.

Naturally, I’d like to see Plax remain a Steeler, but he’s clearly unhappy in this offense, and it’s a good market for receivers right now. Free agent wideouts will have plenty of suitors. Hell, for all I know, Muhsin Muhammad may replace Plax in Pittsburgh. That wouldn’t be so terrible, would it?

“Taking a pop culture incident like that and having it take precedence over the underlying problems of the world was absurd.”

-Nicolette Sheridan, on the controversial Monday Night Football skit in which she got naked in front of Terrell Owens.

(Yeah, and check out that Skyy Vodka ad on that link…)

As if the potential lack of Terrell Owens isn’t bad enough, the Philadelphia Eagles are now without the services of tight end Chad Lewis.

Lewis, who caught two touchdown passes in yesterday’s AFC Championship game, will require surgery on Wednesday for a “Lis Franc sprain” in his foot, which he suffered on his second TD pass. According to AP, this sort of sprain is more common in automobile accidents than TD passes. Which is funny, since the only thing I saw driving on Sunday was the Eagles…

L.J. Smith will take Lewis’ spot. The only other tight end on the roster is long snapper Mike Bartrum. That’s not good.

Clark Judge of CBS Sportsline has a hunch that Terrell Owens won’t play in the Super Bowl.

It’s probably a good one. Sure, T.O. was jumping around yesterday and stopped just short of stealing some pom-poms from the Eagles’ cheerleaders, the only people in Philly to sell more 2005 calendars than T.O. himself. His ankle sprain, however, is similar to the one WR Steve Smith of the Panthers suffered in the first game of the season, and Smith was supposed to be out at least 8 weeks. The period between T.O.’s injury and the Super Bowl? Six weeks.

Owens may be the most physically fit guy on the planet, but if he makes it out on that field at all, it will be with the most heavily-taped, cortisone-filled leg you’ve ever seen. Don’t hold your breath, folks.