Forget the Patriots, The Dolphins May Be Perfect Yet Again

The NFL's super-annoying supermen, the '72 Miami Dolphins, have to be sweating rather profusely about now. For the first time since the near-miss of the '85 Bears, their status of sole perfection seems in real doubt. The Brady Bunch of New England appears intent on writing a little of their own history...and promptly relegating the aging smack-talkers to footnote status.

Meanwhile, the bigger story may be that the Dolphins franchise is currently on pace to set the other record of perfection. The same team that once went 17-0 may well go 0-16 in 2007. Their season of futility and frustration continued Sunday with their 17-7 loss to the Eagles.

Serves them right, though, really, doesn't it? They have been whipping everyone's ass with that '72 season long enough. Maybe this year the old coots from back when can invite the young bucks from the current team to their drinking party when and if the Patriots finally do stumble along the way. They can escape reality together. The old guys can continue to believe they were the greatest of all time (never mind that the current Patriots would destroy that long-overrated bunch of over-achievers by half a hundred points at least), while the young ones try to forget they are the worst.

In anticipation of the coming party, I propose this toast:

From winning without a loss to losing without a win,
You're as perfect now as you were back then.

Beantown is Booming

Boston fans were so much less annoying when they spent every Summer and Fall lamenting and bemoaning the Curse of the Bambino. They were the lovable losers, sorta like the Cubbies. Now look at them!

Not only are their Sox up two games to nothing in the World Series, their dadgum Patriots are undefeated and torching and plundering every other NFL city in sight; their BC Eagles are flying high, ranked second in the nation and just last night pulled off a miracle win over Virginia Tech; and now, even the Celtics appear set to make a run at returning to their former glory.

It's a good time to be a Bostonian...and a rather annoying time for the rest of us. Guess we just have to wait it out.

Cowboys Belong On SNL

What do the Saturday Night Live crew and the Dallas Cowboys have in common? They are both populated with "Not-Yet-Ready-For-Primetime-Players."

The Cowboys came into today's marquis matchup with the formidable New England Patriots with high hopes and great expectations. They had their moments, too. Tony Romo, T.O, Jason Witten, Marion Barber, Julius Jones, Demarcus Ware, even Jason Hatcher...they had their moments. But in the end, they proved to be overmatched by Tom "Cool Daddy" Brady and his arsenal of high-powered weapons.

Belichick's D slowed down the Cowboys just enough - which begs the question: "Why did the derelict-looking super genius feel the need to cheat?" - while Big D's D barely slowed the Brady Bunch at all. It was an entertaining game for 3 1/2 quarters. Heck, the Pats even trailed in the second half for the FIRST time all season.

The 'Boys have no reason to hang their heads. They did their best. They made their fans crack a few smiles. Romo even got a grin out of the ref after one TD pass. They're good. But like the SNL crew, they just aren't quite there. Maybe some day soon they will do like the long line of SNL alums and find themselves ready for the bigtime. They might even be there come December...or January.

But not today.

The Bledsoe Understudy Bowl: Romo vs. Brady

"Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and
others have greatness thrust upon them." ~ William Shakespeare

Who are the top quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL? The beginning of that list - that is, the top two names - is easy. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are pretty much consensus choices for 1 and 2, or 1a and 1b, or however you separate them. Along with these guys, you have to throw in Brett Favre, right? His career achievements make him a shoo-in first ballot hall of famer. After that, names like Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, and now, Tony Romo pop up.

The road to greatness is as varied as it is difficult. Peyton Manning, the son of a legendary NFL quarterback and older brother of Eli, who seems to be emerging into at least "good QB" status, appears to have been born to greatness. Peyton has the pedigree, the numbers, and now the hardware to prove his greatness. He certainly seems to fall into the first of Shakespeare's three categories of greatness.

Brett Favre is one who has achieved greatness. His fearless gunslinger style has catapulted him into the rare air of NFL legends. He has endured setbacks, losses, horrible decisions resulting in losses, but he has persevered and planted himself squarely in Canton. It's just a matter of time.

But tomorrow's game features two quarterbacks who seem to fit into category three. Tom Brady was a sixth round draft pick, the 199th player taken in the draft! Who could have envisioned what he would become? Certainly not Drew Bledsoe, the much bally-hooed first round draft choice, hand-picked by the genius himself, Bill Parcells.

Then it happened, the unthinkable. Bledsoe suffers an injury, the ball is handed to Brady, and he never gives it back. Three Super Bowl victories later and Brady's name is mentioned in the same breath with the all-time greats. Moreover, many experts claim him as the single greatest draft-day steal in league history. And that is tough to argue.

Hold on, though. The hottest young QB in the league, Tony Romo, has yet to play a full sixteen-game season in the NFL, but is already called by some the third or fourth best at his position in the league. He, too, was found by Big Bill Parcells. But he wasn't drafted by him. In fact, he wasn't drafted by anyone. Seven times all thirty-two NFL teams picked someone else. So, The Tuna signed him as an undrafted free agent. Could Romo unseat Brady as the biggest steal ever? Time will tell.

Ironically, it was a faltering Bledsoe who gave Romo his break, too. Last year, at half time of the Giants game, Parcells pulled Bledsoe and inserted Romo into the starting lineup. Like Brady before him, the kid took the ball and didn't give it back.

So, tomorrow's meeting between the undefeated Cowboys and unbeaten Patriots may not feature the two best QBs in the league, but it damn sure features the two most unlikely "great" quarterbacks we have seen in awhile...maybe ever.

Peyton may have been born great, Favre may have achieved greatness, but these boys had greatness thrust upon them. Seeing them on the same field, leading their respective unbeaten teams is going to be...well, great!