SimonOnSports

SCARY MEN ARE ABOUT TO HIT TOM BRADY SECTION THE TIME JUSTIN TUCK TRIED TO IMPREGNATE TOM BRADY OHHHHH SHIIIIITTTTT SCARY MAN IN THE SHREDDER MASK MAKES TOMMY SCARED SAD TIMEOUTS ARE SAD FACE PALM SECTION GAME TIME FACE PALM POST GAME FACE PALM PRESS CONFERENCE FACE PALM SOMEBODY HOLD TOM'S HAND SECTION DON'T BRUISE THE PRETTY THROWING HAND AWWW THE REFEREE FEELS BAD FOR TOMMY HE EVEN PATS HIS BACK LIKE A LITTLE KID TEBOWING DIDN'T WORK SECTION FIELD PRAYERS? BENCH PRAYERS? IT DIDN'T WORK FOR TEBOW EITHER EXIT WOUNDS SECTION JUST CHECKING THE SCOREBOARD TOM BRADY'S JERSEY NEEDS MORE Ls JAUNT TO THE LOCKER ROOM SLOW WALK OF SHAME WITNESSING A PUNTER CELEBRATE MUST BE DEVASTATING HYNOSKI IS COMING WITH THE HUGS TOM IT IS NOT A DREAM, SUPER BOWL LOSSES ARE REAL SWEET BRADY TEARS TASTE DELICIOUS SECTION PURSED LIPS, THE PRECURSOR TO THE SWEET SALTINESS THE SWEET SALTINESS... WELL THE WIFE IS STILL GISELLE... BUT E...

Watching last nights game got me thinking, when did the Intentional Walk become all the rage? During the entire 162 game regular season the St. Louis Cardinals intentionally walked a total of 44 batters while the Texas Rangers intentionally walked just 21. The intentional walk is something normally reserved for a special occasion, like the pitcher is coming up next, or the winning run is on 2nd in the 9th inning and you want to set up a force play. Last night alone the two teams combined for a total of 6 intentional walks and instead of strategy it just seemed like the casual thing to do. In some cases these walks backfired and in some cases they were completely befuddling. The Rangers decided, Fuck it, we're not pitching to Albert Pujols in any scenario. Hell we're not even going to pitch to him with 2 outs and no one on. Conveniently for Ron Washington, of the three times they intentionally walked Pujols the only time Holliday didn't do something horrific, like bo...

In life there is often no bigger motivator than a previous failure and the desire to overcome it. The Human thirst for revenge and vengeance is an unending chain in our DNA. In this years playoffs, nothing has defined it more so than revenge. Wildcard Round January 24th, 2010: AFC Championship Game, New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts In Rex Ryan's season the Jets managed to shock everybody, not only by backing into the playoffs but by pulling off two road upsets to set up 60 minutes for a potential trip to the Super Bowl. It was not to be as the Colts and Peyton Manning led a swift comeback to put to 09 Jets where they belonged, not in the NFL Title Game. This loss stuck with Rex the entire season and resulted in a "This is Personal" theme prior to gameday... New York Jets 17 - Indianapolis Colts 16 November 21st, 2010: Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints The Seahawks in the midst of their swan dive went into New Orleans in late November and came away with ...

Let me get this out of the way first and foremost. As a Jet fan it is mildly annoying to me that despite having a superior record than both the Chiefs and Colts they are relogated to the #6 spot and a road playoff game thanks to being in the same division as this man (I hate you). With that being said, let me present to you the biggest reason why it is time for the NFL to change their seeding policy, and it is not "Boo Hoo the Jets don't get a home game" sour grapes. The NFL in Week 17 was and is always littered with absolutely positively MEANINGLESS football. 1) The Eagles had clinched the 3 Seed and a Home Playoff Game. 2) The Jets had clinched the 6 seed and a Road Playoff Game. 3) The Chiefs had clinched the division and a Home Playoff Game. 4) The Saints had clinched the 5 Seed and a Road Playoff Game. 5) The Bears had clinched the 2 Seed and a 1st round bye. 6) The Pats clinched the #1 seed. Of those 5 games, the Jets and Eagles didn't even remotely...

Division Series Yankees over Twins in 4... The Yankees always beat the Twins and even with their pitching being arguably the worst in the AL CC should pick up two Ws and they will squeak by in one of the Pettitte Hughes starts. Rangers over Rays in 5... I love David Price, but frankly I've seen postseason Cliff Lee and I trust postseason Cliff Lee. In addition Shields has been less then stellar this season and the Rays offense has not hit the ball the past two weeks. Giants over Braves in 4... The West Coast G-Men will have too much starting pitching over the injured Braves offense. The games will likely be like 3-2 showdowns but the Giants should be able to take the series. Phillies over Reds in 4... Frankly I'm being generous giving the Reds a W in this series. The Reds had a great season but the Phillies have set themselves up to dominate a best of 5 series. Championship Series Rangers over Yankees in 7... Perhaps I should have confidence in the Yankees like...

This photo is the closest Jim Caldwell will get to the Super Bowl trophy in at least one calendar year and he can point to the difference between his gusto and that of Sean Payton. While Payton will be applauded for his aggressiveness and mostly his successful onside kick call, part of me thinks the bigger story is how when given the opportunity to throw in the dagger Caldwell passed. With 1:49 seconds left in the 2nd quarter the Colts had the ball at their own goal line up by 7 points and coming off what could have been the biggest play of the game, stuffing the Saints on 4th and goal. Instead of trusting in his quarterback, possibly the best of all time, and letting him try to put additional points on the board, Caldwell got passive. Jim Caldwell decided a 7 point lead was enough and that the Colts should head into the locker room with that lead and move onto the 2nd half. Jim Caldwell's decision completely back fired. The Colts went 3 and out. The Saints were able to g...

I think we can all agree that somewhere deep down we've all been waiting for this moment, the moment when we get to view the joy that is the "Super Bowl Loss Manning Face". So here goes...

Maybe you are smarter than me, but I figure I watch a lot of football and if I saw this woman on TV or in person I would have no idea who she was. Do you? Answer after the jump...

In 2005 under Herman Edwards Jonathan Vilma was an absolute destroyer for the New York Jets. He tackled anything that moved. He looked like a young Ray Lewis. He was an unstoppable force. He quickly became my favorite New York Jet and it wasn't even really close. I though Vilma would be a Jet for life. I thought he would be a perennial representative for the Jets in the Pro Bowl. I was wrong. All of this changed as soon as Herm went cross country to Kansas City and Eric Mangini walked in the door. With Mangini Vilma quickly became out of place. Out was the old 4-3 system designed for speed linebackers to grab anything that moved and in was a 3-4 system designed for bigger more powerful linebackers who could shed blockers with ease. Vilma's 2006 season was a disappointment. His 2007 season opened the door for him to be traded. When Vilma went down with an injury midseason, in walked David Harris to slide directly into his spot and make Vilma no longer needed. Just ...

If you plan on being a team that is going to compete for the Super Bowl than you're going to need to build up the team by taking advantage of the best assets you are giving yearly, your 1st round draft picks. Thus let us take a look at the Saints and Colts draft picks over the past decade plus. Indianapolis Colts First and foremost, the Colts more so than any team in the league have been built through the draft. Can you name a single big name free agent that the Colts have ever signed? Didn't think so. Instead the Colts make solid picks and this obviously started in 1998 with Peyton Manning but it has continued for nearly a decade. Every 1st round pick the Colts have made since 2001 have been major contributors on this roster when healthy (Marlin Jackson and Anthony Gonzalez were both lost due to injury). The Colts dynamic pass attack was built in the first round with Peyton, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark all first round picks. Donald Brown and Joseph Addai have formed...

With Super Bowl XLIV just around the corner, what better time than now to look at the composition of both the Colts and Saints rosters to see where everyone calls home. View Map of Super Bowl XLIV in a larger map

If this isn't the simplest chart to read of all time. The moral of this story is that the Offenses of both of these teams carried them into the Super Bowl (that and a little handy turnover trickeration for the Saints). Both offenses this weekend are vastly superior to their opposing defenses. Colts Pass O vs. Saints Pass D The Colts ranked second in the league in passing offense (yards per game) and the reality of it is that they truly have the #1 passing attack in the league. Meanwhile the Saints Pass D is pretty much poor, at best. The Saints Pass D ranked in the bottom 25% of the NFL. So on one side you have Peyton Manning, who just absolutely torched the #1 Passing D in the league, and on the other side you have a defense that gives up a ton of yardage. Obviously a major advantage to the Colts.

The Super Bowl is days away so what time is better than now to check out where in the US the rosters of the Saints and Colts call home. In order to keep the home page load time down a bit, I've pushed the Map of the Colts to after the jump.

It's the final hurrah for the postseason. With just two teams remaining, let's take a look at which conference has the mild bragging rights. Conference Leaders The Big 10 holds on for the narrow victory over the SEC by just 1 player. The Colts lead the way with 11 Big Tenners while the Saints have 9. 1. Big Ten - 20 2. SEC - 19 3. Big 12 - 18 4. ACC - 15 5. Pac 10 - 12 6. Big East - 9 7. Mountain West - 6 7. MAC - 6 Non-FBS - 21 Team Leaders The Buckeyes are still in lead position but were caught by both Tennessee and USC. 1. Ohio State, Tennessee, USC - 4 2. Michigan, Miami, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma St., Kansas St., Nebraska, LSU, Georgia - 3 Check out the spreadsheet with every conference broken down after the jump...

The Packers of course kick off this record with their 25 point victory in Super Bowl I over the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs. Unlike many of the other records the Super Bowl I Packers held, this record stood for a lengthy period of time. It wasn't until 1984, Super Bowl XVII and the Oakland Raiders 29 point beat down of the Washington Redskins before the record was eclipsed. The Raiders record would stand just 2 years when the Chicago Bears completely over matched the New England Patriots winning 46-10. One would have thought that this record may have stood a lifetime. Not only did it not stand but the record was shattered 4 years later in Super Bowl XXIV when the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Denver Broncos 55-10 in the Superdome. The record has now stood for nearly 20 years and I'm pretty sure we all can agree that we never would like it to be eclipsed. Check Out Additional Super Bowl Records

The Super Bowl Passer rating involves just 4 quarterbacks and is currently sitting at a mark that will be very very difficult to break. Like basically every passing record in the Super Bowl, Bart Starr holds the first record. In Super Bowl I against the Chiefs, Starr was 16 for 23 for 250 yards with 2 tds & 1 int for a passer rating of 116. The record stood for 12 years until Terry Bradshaw barely topped it going 17 for 30 for 318 yards with 4 tds & 1 int for a passer rating of 119. This record stood for 2 years and was broken by a QB you really don't ever think about when it comes to Super Bowl success, Jim Plunkett. Plunkett went 13 for 21 for 261 yards with 3 tds & 0 ints for a whopping passer rating of 145 against the Eagles. Despite this record being light years ahead of the previous record, it only stood for 6 years and was broken by Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI. Simms was an amazing 22 for 25 for 268 yards with 3 tds & 0 ints for a passer rating of 150...

The Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I set a the initial low mark with 10 points against the Green Bay Packers. This mark only stood for two years as Weeb Ewbank's defense held the heavy favorite Baltimore Colts offense to just 7 points in the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. The next year, in Super Bowl IV, the Minnesota Vikings equaled the Colts previous low by putting up just 7 points against the Kansas City Chiefs. Two years later the Miami Dolphins set the current Super Bowl's poorest offense output by putting up just 3 points against the Dallas Cowboys. The Dolphins did redeem themselves the next year by going undefeated, so I'm pretty sure this negative record doesn't bother them much. To my semi-surprise there has yet to be a shut out in the Super Bowl. Check Out Additional Super Bowl Records

The record quite obviously begins in Super Bowl 1, like all records, when led by Bart Starr the Green Bay Packers put up 35 on the Kansas City Chiefs. This record stood alone for 12 years until Terry Bradshaw and crew dismantled the Cowboys and put up 35 as well. The record was finally topped by the LA Raiders and Marcus Allen in Super Bowl 18 over the Redskins. The 49ers equaled the record the next year when Montana and the boys put up 38 on Dan Marino and co. The record was topped the next year when Ditka and the Bears demoralized the New England Patriots putting up 46. Finally four years later the 49ers put up a whopping 55 points on the Denver Broncos setting a mark that hasn't be topped in nearly 20 years and may just hold up for a while longer. Check Out Additional Super Bowl Records

Last year I did a series of posts on the progressions of NFL Super Bowl Records. I figured its a good time to post a list just in case people were interested. Super Bowl Team Scoring Records Most Points Scored Least Points Scored Largest Margin of Victory Super Bowl Passing Records Best Passer Rating Most Passing Yards Most Completions Most Passing TDs Most Interceptions Thrown Super Bowl Rushing Records Most Rushing Yards Most Carries Most Rushing TDs Super Bowl Receiving Records Most Receiving Yards Most Receptions Most Receiving TDs

Want a simple look at why the Colts and the Saints are in the Super Bowl and why others are on the golf course? Well here it is, a simple look at each playoff games winner and loser and how many turnovers and missed field goals happened for each respective team. In the ten games only the Jets vs. Colts did the teams have an equal number of turnovers but in that game the Jets threw in two missed field goals. In every other game the team with more turnovers was defeated. Then you throw in all the missed field goals from the losers and you have a sure fire recipe for failure. Meanwhile the Colts and Saints have a combined 3 turnovers and zero missed field goals in 4 games. This is why they are in the Super Bowl and the Vikings, Jets, etc. are headed to South Florida for the Pro Bowl.