Hole Punch Sports

I’m really excited to write my next annual NFL quarterback rankings, but I have to wait until after the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning and Rex Grossman could each move way up or down depending on that game. To tide myself over, I present my rankings of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL. What’s young? 26 and under. (Yep, that’s pretty arbitrary, but 27-year-olds like David Carr, Byron Leftwich, and Carson Palmer felt a little too familiar for this list.) 1. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers (24). Roethlisberger did not have a good year, and there are so many ways to express that. For one: he had only six games where he threw more touchdowns than interceptions. For two: he managed to throw more than half of his career interceptions this season, even though he missed a game. For three: he went through someone’s windshield. Considering the injury, it’s not surprising he had such a bad year. Obviously, I’m betting he’ll bounce back. His first two years in the league are so far ahead...

They probably do. No idea why. But what other conclusion can I draw when the team elects to celebrate its biggest game of the year (the return of Carmelo) by starting Steve Blake? I feel like I was too easy on the Nuggets for the acquistion of Blake or, more appropriately, for the disacquistion of Earl Boykins. Boykins was everything a team would want in a bench player, with all the strut of a superstar. The team tried to spin Blake's arrival as a positive, as he gave the Nuggets something they'd missed for years-a pass-first, push-the-tempo point guard. Unfortunately, Blake's buzz cut calls to mind an obvious comparison for Nuggets fans-he's Jon Barry, minus the talent. (That is not a compliment.) (Besides, the need for a little man skilled at passing seemed filled when we traded for that other guard last month.) Anyway, it's hardly Blake's fault the Nuggets organization only pretends to care about winning. The bigger story tonight was /is (the game's ...

1. Everything I thought I knew about football turned out to be wrong. 2. Seriously, I have to give the Colts a lot of credit. More on that in a second. 3. Reggie Bush is an idiot. Not only does he not understand the concept of "scoreboard", he doesn't understand Saints' history. Go back to the the playoffs after the 2000 season. The Saints are hosting the defending champion St. Louis Rams and take a 31-7 lead in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass to Willie Jackson. But wait! Jackson taunts a defender by waving the ball at him as he crosses the goal line. Immediately the Rams catch fire, scoring three touchdowns to make it 31-28, the eventual final. I'm certain the Rams would have won if the game had been a few minutes longer. (Why should Bush know this game? It was, before last week, the only playoff win in franchise history.) 4. The Chicago defense was terrific, even if the stats-partially inflated by Bush's 88-yard catch-don't really show it. The...

Two games this weekend, both on Sunday: New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears, 1 p.m., FOX New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts, 4:30 p.m., CBS At this point I'm pretty much sick of all teams left in the postseason, so I'll keep this brief. On the NFC side, you have America's Team heading into Chicago to face the Bears in what could be a very close game. Both teams won 27-24 last weekend, scores indicative of both teams' goodness-but-not-greatness. I'm going with the Saints for three reasons. For one, it's time I pick a road team. For two, I would love to see the Saints make the Super Bowl. And for three, I like the Saints' offensive depth more than I like Chicago's supposed defensive prowess. It's not that Chicago can't stop anyone, but the defense has been short of dominant for several weeks. With Grossman's Jekyll-and-Hyde tendencies, the Bears will need more than they're getting from the defense. Do I even need to talk abou...

1. I think somebody screwed with the date on my computer. One weekend preview said, [McNair] usually elevates his play under pressure, and not many quarterbacks can say that. and I must have thought it was 2001 when I wrote that. 2. Seriously, though, what were the Ravens thinking? Brian Billick gave Hole Punch Sports an exclusive look at the secret formula behind his third-down game plan for Saturday's contest. It read: If it is third down and x yards to go, select and successfully execute a play designed to gain (x-2) yards. Just in case you were wondering. 3. Adam Vinatieri was one the biggest signings of the offseason. Certainly, he's behind Drew Brees on any serious list, but his clutch kicking is one element the Colts have sorely needed over the years, and he delivered Saturday. 4. From the "Completion Percentage is Overrated" Dept.: Steve McNair was 18/29 Saturday. In John Elway's last game, when he was Super Bowl XXXIII MVP, he went 18-for-29. No ...

The real Super Bowl is probably the last playoff game of the weekend, New England Patriots at San Diego Chargers. (2:30 p.m., CBS). They’re the top two teams in the AFC, which is the top conference, and whoever wins this game should eventually win it all. I can not wait. On one hand, you’ve got the up-and-coming Chargers, owners of a sparkling 14-2 record this year and, like so many great teams, a flawless home mark. Their other statistics are equally impressive. The Chargers fell just shy of scoring five hundred points this season, averaging a league-best 30.8 points per game. And they didn’t do it like some Rams and Colts teams of recent vintage. They had balance. San Diego’s defense, spearheaded by the ethically-flexible Shawne Merriman, gave up only 18.4 points, seventh in the league. Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, this year’s NFL MVP, ran for 1,815 yards and 28 touchdowns. He added just over five hundred yards and three more touchdowns through the air on his way to setting the ...

The NFL has thoughtfully given me two fantastic playoff games Sunday to snap me out of my Earl of Boykins funk. The first is Seahawks at Bears (Sunday, 11 a.m., FOX). Seattle, of course, barely squeaked by Dallas last week after that botched hold by Dallas QB Tony Romo. Some have asserted that Romo dropped the ball because it was one of the special untouched “kicking” footballs. To which I say: no kidding. The whole point of the kicking footballs was to make field goals more difficult. The slick ball didn’t make a successful try impossible, but it had the effect it was designed to have. Anyway, who cares about the losers? The Seahawks did some good things last week but, frankly, were unimpressive. Shaun Alexander was back to his playoff ways with a 2.9 yards-per-carry average, though he made some key conversions. It’s clear that Matt Hasselbeck has to carry this offense, and he connected on a mere fifty percent of his passes last week. The Bears, though, are hardly better at quarterbac...

Boooooooooo! The Nuggets traded Earl Boykins and Julius Hodge to the Bucks for former Maryland point guard Steve Blake in a move to avoid making luxury tax payments. This sucks. Hodge is an up-and-comer and a...okay, I’m kidding about that. Obviously, the big loss is Boykins, who is only everyone in Denver’s favorite player. He’s five-foot-five with the guts of a much larger man. Boykins seemed a little threatened by the Allen Iverson trade, almost refusing to pass to his little-man counterpart in the Answer’s first game in Denver. But that’s really his only mistake I remember. He’s clutch, he’s aggressive, he’s instant offense off the bench, and the Nuggets are going to miss him more than they realize. Goodbye, backcourt depth. Hello, first-round playoff loss? I hope not, but suddenly the Nuggets don’t have anyone scary coming off the bench. And doesn’t that hurt an up-tempo team the most? Being a sports fan sucks sometimes, but being a Nuggets fan hasn’t sucked this bad in years.

Wow. Did you know the Philadelphia Eagles and New Orleans Saints had the same record this year (10-6)? I’m a little surprised by this-the teams didn’t get nearly the same amount of coverage. Of course, as Rush Limbaugh would wisely point out, you’d have heard a lot about the Eagles if McNabb had stayed healthy. I’m kidding! (Besides, if any of you think that was legit, think about how many Saints highlights you saw with Drew Brees at the helm compared to when Aaron Brooks was the quarterback. It’s winning that leads to overexposure, not race.) The Saints, of course, were the story of the season, and their postseason begins with a home game against the Eagles Saturday night (6 p.m., FOX). Last week the Eagles looked fine, if you ask me. Yes, they only beat the Giants by three and yes, Jeff Garcia’s statistics were pedestrian. But this is a team that is well-accustomed to the crucible of the postseason. At no point did they lose confidence, and they even provided the most entertaining mo...

I don’t like the NFL. Wait, don’t go! I love the sport, the games, and, often, even the spectacle. I just don’t like the league itself. I know that the NFL is really a business. But they’re more in-your-face about it than other sports leagues and, frankly, most other businesses. And every few months, whether it’s a Madden exclusivity deal or something else, they remind me. Now it’s games on the NFL Network. Who else would have the gall to ask you to call your cable company and request a rate hike? Hey, Comcast, my money is burning a hole in my pocket. Anyway, it’s not only that. It’s that the NFL isn’t very good at giving its consumers what they want. There are two NFL products I really want to spend my money on right now, but can’t, because they don’t exist. The first is an NFL 2K7 videogame, which some sore losers bought out of existence. The second is NFL games on DVD. You can download the BCS bowls from iTunes now. To me, that’s not as good as a DVD, but it’s close, and the games a...

1. Tony Romo just ended the game with the worst body language I've ever seen from a quarterback. Check that-I've seen Peyton hang his head just as low before. That's bad company. Well, I don't know if it's fair to read too much into something in the heat of the moment. But did Romo think they were going to win the Super Bowl this year or something? It's not today's game, but the offseason that will make or break Romo. The fumble on the field goal snap-it's no good for the Cowboys, sure, but it happens. How will Romo respond? I don't know. He's seemed a little too eager to embrace his newfound celebrity status, but this could be a wake-up call, and he could be even better next season. Personally, I'm not betting on it, but I'm very intrigued to see what's up. 2. That was a manly, heads-up play on the tackle by Lofa Tatupu. Made up for that bizarre prevent "defense" Seattle was playing. I have never seen a team try to give u...

The weekend's final playoff matchup: the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants (2:30 p.m., FOX). (Sorry, I had to spoil one of them.) Why did I rank the Giants ahead of the Eagles a few weeks ago? I don't know. The Giants had won the head-to-head matchup in overtime. But the Eagles beat them by two touchdowns the next Sunday and haven't looked back, closing the season on a five-game winning streak. The Giants were ice-cold down the stretch, losing six of seven at one point. They beat the Redskins behind a huge game from Tiki Barber. Good thing, because Barber is the Giants' only hope . (What, you thought I'd say Eli Manning?) Barber ran for 1,662 yards in his final season and factored in the passing game.  Too bad he's such a dweeb. The Eagles aren't the Colts or anything, but run defense is a major weakness for them. If Barber has a huge game, the Giants can come out on top. Brian Westbrook ain't Barber, but he's not far behind. West...

Sunday's festivities kick off when the New York Jets play the New England Patriots (11 a.m., CBS). It takes a great coaching matchup to steal headlines during the playoffs, and I don't care what ESPN says, it's going to take a lot more than Bill Belichick vs. Eric Mangini to get me excited. (Mangini, of course, was an assistant with the Patriots before taking the Jets job, thus the angle.) But who cares? If this game really comes down to head coaches, what makes you think the Jets have a prayer? Chad Pennington and Tom Brady are two weaker-armed "game mangers". One problem: in Brady's case, it's not true. He's still the most dangerous quarterback around. So the Patriots are ahead after maybe the two biggest matchups: coach and quarterback. Anything else? Yes, New England has a higher-ranked defense. And offense. And they scored more points than the Jets. And they gave up fewer. And they're at home. I'm not getting paid by the word: the Pa...

The Seattle Seahawks host the Dallas Cowboys in a first-round NFC playoff game Saturday (6 p.m., NBC). Both teams struggled in December, each going 2-3 for the month (and finishing with identical 9-7 records). The Cowboys' failures were predictable-two of their losses came to playoff teams, and Tony Romo had to cool down eventually. The Seahawks' slip-ups are a little more puzzling. With stars Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander back in the lineup, I expected them to build momentum for a playoff run. They didn't. And I'm not sure why. There's not any one statistic that clearly points to trouble, unless "they're not really that good" is a statistic. (It isn't.) Tony Romo , on the other hand, has come under fire in the last couple of weeks, partly because he's come down to earth and partly because he can't live up to the suffocating hype. (Being a Cowboy is sort of like being a Yankee in that regard-no one will assess you honestly.) Neve...

The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Indianapolis to face the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday in an exciting playoff game beginning at 2:30 Mountain time and broadcast on the NBC television network. The passing games of both teams could shred through the other’s defense. This game should feature the No. 1 and No. 2-rated passers in the league. Yet it won’t. The Broncos won the Super Bowl after the 1997 season. (And don't you forget it.) In the season opener that year, the Broncos faced Kansas City and veteran quarterback Elvis Grbac, who’d been a backup on some powerful San Francisco teams. The Broncos beat the Chiefs. For the divisional rematch Grbac was injured, so the Chiefs started then-unknown quarterback Rich Gannon, who ran, passed, and rallied the Chiefs to a late victory. In fact, Gannon played so well in Grbac’s absence that many K.C. fans felt the team should stick with Gannon once Grbac was healthy. The Chiefs, though, decided to play Grbac in the playoffs, where th...

A few things. • If I had to pick a Super Bowl matchup now, before the playoffs start, I’d go with San Diego over New Orleans. The Saints are a total default pick-it’s more that I just don’t trust Chicago or anyone else in the NFC. (Yes, I put the Bears at No. 1 in the NFC a week or two ago. That was before I realized how badly the fans wanted Brian Griese to take the field. I do think, though, that Lovie Smith is doing a better job this year than he did last year, when he won Coach of the Year.) • It was smart for Alabama to guarantee Nick Saban all that money, because it might motivate him to stick around in the future. That guy’s about as loyal to his employers as Rick Majerus is to the Food Guide Pyramid. Yes, I more or less supported T.O.’s holdout, but I think it’s different for coaches, since being a coach is a lot more like having a regular job than being an athlete is. And I think most people would leave their job for more money, so it’s not like Saban’s a bad human being. But ...

From the article on ESPN.com : Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting early Monday, his limousine sprayed with bullets in downtown Denver. Another man and woman were also shot and injured. I had made some cracks at Williams' expense in recent weeks. Lining up across from Champ Bailey is a pretty thankless task. Honestly, though, Williams' four picks and place among our leading tacklers show he was actually a heck of a player. That might seem irrelevant today, but I think being almost world-class at your profession is something worth remembering. My heart goes out to his family and friends and the Broncos organization.