The morning (afternoon) after

I know I've been slacking off a little on the blog lately, so expect two action-packed posts today (no promises though). There has been a lot of neglect on the baseball front (explanation later today), but let's attack this tackle football game everyone seems so fond of first.

Some quick observations from yesterday's action:

Tom Brady should be named MVP again
Watching Matt Cassel play quarterback for the Patriots makes me realize just how great Tom Brady really is. We have come to expect certain throws and plays to be made, and Cassel just can't seem to get them done. I'm not surprised he can't hit on the deep ball, but what really makes me miss Tom is the difference in accuracy on the short ones. This is going to be a long season.

Randy Moss is showing signs of the old Randy
Key moment: on the first drive of the game, Randy Moss broke free down the right sideline and should have been wide open for an easy touchdown pass. Matt Cassel didn't put enough juice on the pass and Moss had to slow up. The problem: he still could have caught the ball, but he made absolutely no effort to do so, letting it glance off his fingertips (which were about waist high). Sure, if Brady is there, the ball is waiting in the end zone for him to go get it, but if Tom underthrew the pass, odds are Moss would have jumped up and bailed him out.

Speeding Bullitt
Is there a cooler name for an NFL safety than Melvin Bullitt? OK the whole Melvin thing hurts his case, but the way Bullitt cuts through the offense and sticks ball carriers, he's living up to his name.

Whacky Brett
Apparently it's funny when Brett Favre doesn't know the audibles and has to waste a fourth-quarter timeout in a six-point game (at the time). The announcers would have ripped Ryan Fitzpatrick as being inexperienced if he did the same thing, but Brett's just "having a good time out there."

Parity returns
In 2002, parity was the buzzword of the year. Almost every team was in the hunt going into the final two weeks of the season, and there was no clear-cut Super Bowl favorite. Pundits mused that there would never be an NFL dynasty again. Cut to 2003-04 Patriots repeat champions, and parity disappeared. But in case you haven't noticed, every division is virtually up for grabs at this early part of the season. The Giants are the class of the league, but they play in the toughest division in football, so if they lost 3/4 it wouldn't surprise anyone.