A serious contingency plan for the Rams... if worse comes to worse.

Let's suppose the Cardinals won't deal us the #5 pick unless we give them our #1 in 2011 and 2012. I agree with Billy Devaney, we shouldn't give up that #1 in 2012. That's just too much to ask. We don't know what the 2012 crop will look like just yet. We could be kicking ourselves from here until kindom come if we toss 2012 and it is a bumper crop.

Let's also suppose that Julio Jones goes at #6 to the Cleveland Browns, making a potential deal with the Cowboys pointless. Of course, this will really piss me off, but this scenario just might unfold tomorrow.

What do we do then? Roll over and die? I have a pretty serious proposition for this worst case scenario. How about this:

• Select Mike Pouncey with the #14 pick.
• Immediately contact Bill Bellichick and begin negotiations for Pick #28. The Patriots have already said that they are interested in negotiating with that pick. All sources indicate that this pick has a "For Sale" sign hung on it.
• The #28 pick has a theoretical value of 660 points. We'll offer them the 47th pick (430 points) and the 78th pick (200 points). This has a combined value of 630 points. Let's see if he'll take a haircut of 30 points. If he won't, then offer up the 145 pick, which has a value of 33.5 points. This shorts us by 3.5 point, but we can handle that.
• Bellichick will probably be looking for future picks. I would consider it, but don't give him the farm.
• With the 28th pick the Rams should select Greg Little, WR from North Carolina (UNC).

Some will complain that 28 is a tad rich for Greg Little. It looks like a reach. Granted, but not much of a reach. Right now, he looks like he's going bottom of the 1st top of 2nd. 28 is close enough to the bottom for my pain threshold. Let's remember that this is the hypothetical worst case scenario. Getting Greg Little is better than getting nothing, or Jonathan Baldwin.

I know Mike Mayock projected Greg Little as a middle 2nd rounder, which would be perfect for us at 47, but I assure you that the sea tides have changed. It does not look like the original projection is going to work out. Little is moving up.

If we were to work out this scenario, we would exit the draft with a blue-chip guard that we can plug in between Jason Brown and Roger Saffold. Brown, Pouncy and Saffold would make a formitable left side of the line. We would also have a potential star wide receiver, although he is a tad risky.

Essentially, we plug one hole at offensive guard, which is a serious need, and another hole at wide receiver, which is a crisis need. I don't like the fact that we plug the crisis hole with a somewhat risky choice, but you just can't have everything inside the worst case scenario.

Effectively, we would acquire two solid helpers for Sam Bradford and Steve Jackson. Steve will run better, and Sam will get sacked less. Sam will also have a better verticle threat.

There are other versions of this deal we might work out with Bill Bellichick. We might negotiate for that 33 pick (580) points, if Greg Little is still there. This deal would be a little cheaper, but not much. We would still have to give up 47 and 78, but we would get 33 and a 4th rounder in return.

The upset of all upsets in this fluke year

Jets ruin the Patriots 28-21

So we have the final and ultimate confirmation that we are living in a fluke year. The odds-on favorite to win the whole schmahola has gone down in flames. The Patriots go 14-2 and then one and done. It’s all over.

This constitutes the 3^rd straight playoff loss for the Patriots going back to Super Bowl 42. I told you the dynasty ended when the Comish handed the precious to the Giants. You didn’t believe me, did you? That’s your fault, not mine.

You do remember that I protested the early crowning of Patriots don't you? You do remember that I spelled out in detail why the Patriots were very over-rated. I also picked the Ravens to do them, but that might have been more honorable than the Jet's doing them.

For the Jets, this only proves that he who laughs last, laughs best. I'm laughing like hell right now, right along with you.

Moreover, Tom Brady did not play well. He shot 29 for 45 for 299 yards 2 TDs and 1 Int. His efficiency rating was sub 90. Sure, that’s good if you are playing with a formerly 1-15 team that has no receivers, but this is not the canonized saint of quarterbacks we were so recently hearing about. The NFL Network started a new hype line suggesting we were going to have to openly declare Brady the #1 QB in the history of the sport just as soon as he completed his SB45 championship run. Smarts like hell doesn’t it pal? You took a hard shot to the shitter there.

In all seriousness, there is one guy at ESPN who is not crying in the depths of catastrophic depression right now. Just one, mind you. That man is Chris Berman. As you know, I recently chastised him for being a party to this pre-playoff crowning of the Patriots. He was, but in sooth, Chris is a big Jet fan. He always has been. He says he is a sports caster today because he was sitting in the bleachers of Shea Stadium New York when the Jets upset the Oakland Raiders in the AFL championship game. This was the one that set the Broadway Joe Jets on course to win Super Bowl III.

You know Chris is partying like its 1999 right now. I’m happy for you and I am happy for the league. Moreover, I will be very happy to hear Colin Cowherd try to beg his way out of this one. Cowherd is a bootlicking, servile, ass-kissing, obsequious, fawning, brown-nosing Bellichick sycophant, and I’m pretty tired of it.

You know there is going to be hell to pay for this, don’t you Cowherd?

In all seriousness, all of the Bellichick sycophants… errrr… sports reporters at the four-letter network should be subjected to four hundred hours of Chinese water torcher for this loss of objectivity.

The Bears smack-down the Seahawks

But I get ahead of myself…

There was an earlier game this morning, and in it, a couple of old Ram coaches drove the Bears one step closer to the Super Bowl. This was the only non-upset of the weekend, in my estimation. Lovie Smith and Mike Martz got the Bears to do what they were supposed to do, and they smacked the Seahawks.

I must say that Jay Cutler looked awfully good in this game. I guess this shows what a triangle of Taurus dudes can accomplish together. You got three bulls yoked together here (Smith, Martz and Cutler) and they have some real torque.

How good is the job Mike Martz is doing with young Cutler? If you compare the footage of this playoff game vs. Seattle to that of the Thursday Night game against the 49ers last season, there is simply no comparison. In that 49er game, Cutler was throwing the ball into crowds of red shirts for no apparent reason. In this one he looked like a damn fine QB. This is the Martz effect folks.

Mike Lombardi is fond of saying that few men are qualified to evaluate the QB position, and fewer still are qualified to coach that position. I think it time we say that Mike Martz is the best coach (still coaching) with this very rare talent. If Mike Holmgren were still actively working Colt McCoy every day, we would probably have to give him priority.

The Falcons should feel confident of victory this weekend

The Atlanta Falcons have absolutely everything they need to roundly defeat the New England Patriots in Foxborough this weekend (game 3) of the 2009 NFL season. They have outstanding offense, they have a franchise QB in Matt Ryan, a franchise TE in Anthony Gonzales, and a powerful franchise RB in Michael Turner. They have an opportunistic ball-hawking defense that already has 9 take-aways against strong offensive teams. They are much better than their #22 ranking. They have outstanding special teams play, led by Jason Elam, owner of the NFL's longest field goal. They have youth. They have experience. They have all-pros. They have role-players. They have everything you need to put together a powerful contending football team. In short, the Falcons are a damn good squad. They are one of the more complete teams in the league.

The Falcons should be favored to win. We should not view the game as an upset when they do win. There is no reason to favor the Patriots by 4 outside of dynastanalingus. Dynastanalingus is a grave psycho-social malady that afflicts sports writers and handicappers world-wide. This disease is marked by a compulsive need to lick the assholes of whosoever is considered the reigning dynasty of the moment... even if said team has not won a Super Bowl in 5 years, and never ever enjoyed an undefeated season. Dynastanalingus is one of the most powerful causes of errant missed predictions, pseudo-upsets, and dismayed surprise. It also causes those afflicted to deny that dynasty is over, long after they have jumped the shark.

We could also sight the fact that ESPN is headquartered in Bristol, Connecticut. Need we remind the world that they covered a decade or more of meaningless BoSox games when the BoSox were absolutely terrible? Need I remind you that they turned the Yankees vs BoSox into the ultimate rivalry? Need I remind you of the hoopla they raised when the BoSox finally won the series. Much of the esteem for the Patriots stems from the pure bias of ESPN-ites who are from that sector of the country.

Keep your heads up Falcons. Fight. Win. The only thing that can stop you is you. The Patriots are rebuilding. If you execute your gameplan, you will prevail. There will be a street-fight, but you should be confident of victory.

Just think, you can spoil Monday morning for all the radio personalities who are desperate and Jonesing for a good moment to lick Belichick's asshole clean. This is especially true for those who think that a Wes Welker is a belt on a 3 piece suit, and his return guarantees the Patriots victory.