Random NFL thoughts

The divisional playoff round had some great games. Most playoff rounds have at least one blowout. This weekend really didn't.

I'm still trying to figure out the non-call during the Steelers/Colts game when the play was blown dead at the snap, but the referees picked up the flag saying there was no penalty because the Steelers didn't move and the Colts didn't touch the Steelers. Well, it looked like Alan Faneca probably did move and the Colts did make contact as their entire defensive line was in the neutral zone pointing. The question is - if no one jumped on either side, why blow it dead? Refs is that game certainly didn't cover themselves in glory.

Speaking of which, I'm a little surprised the NFL actually came out and said the referee was wrong when he overturned Troy Polamalu's interception. What else was he going to do? Everyone except the referee knew it was an interception. I'm just curious if they would have admitted it if the Colts had ended up winning the game. I've always found it a stretch to believe NFL referees would consciously make a call to favor a team, so I can't really support Joey Porter's contention that the overturn was done to help the Colts. However, I will say that I was happy Mike Vanderjagt's last minute kick was way wide. No reason to give them a chance to see a close miss as a good score. Of course, it might be better to think they were corrupt rather than really stupid or drunk.

I've seen some writers (although fewer than I thought) point to the irony that Mike Vanderjagt, who missed the potential game tying field goal, had called out Peyton Manning a couple of years back saying they wouldn't win because Peyton didn't have enough fire. Well, I'm taking Vanderjagt's side. Yes, Vanderjagt missed the field goal (I won't get into the fact that one touchdown shouldn't have been on the board), but poor play throughout the game (and pretty much every playoff loss by the Colts) by Manning meant that they needed the field goal just for overtime. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Manning's poor decision making meant the field goal was longer than it had to be.

While I'll admit the sight of the ball on the ground with no Steeler near it made me want to throw up. Especially since I wasn't sure where Ben Roethlisberger was and the guy who picked it up was a cornerback. However, I shouldn't have been too concerned that Nick Harper was going the distance. After all, how fast can you run a day after your wife slices open your knee? Roethlisberger made a great play, but the best defensive play by an offensive player has to be New England's Ben Watson who ran down Champ Bailey to knock him out at the one. How often is there a 100 yard interception return that doesn't result in a touchdown? How can a tight end run down a cornerback when he has to run about 130 yards to the corner's 100?

Some think Bailey fumbled the ball through the end zone which should have given the Patriots the ball at the 20. I thought replays were inconclusive, but I wouldn't care either way. That is still one of the stupidest rules in a league with many stupid rules. Why should the team without the ball get it on a fumble that they never have possession of just because it goes through the end zone? If the ball is knocked out at the one yard line, the defense doesn't get it if they never had possession.

While I hate to agree with Michael Irvin, he wasn't far off when he said halfway through the season that Steve Smith should be the MVP. Actually, it's really bad that he didn't even get a vote for MVP. They'll really need him in the next round with DeShaun Foster breaking his ankle. Do you think Foster might be injury prone?

Non playoff question. What were the Packers thinking of when they hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach? Sure, he was the quarterback coach in 1999, but that was the Ray Rhodes season when the offense wasn't too swift. He followed that with five seasons in New Orleans (just what you need with Aaron Rodgers as your future QB, the guy who developed Aaron Brooks) before spending last year as the offensive coordinator of the 49'ers. Yeah, he did a great job with their offense. Apparently, his main qualification is that he would be grateful to the GM for hiring him.

One of the funniest stories of the offseason is that the Eagles' gave permission to Drew Rosenhaus to try to find a trade for Terrell Owens. Who is going to trade for him when they would have to pick up his contract? The Eagles can't keep him, and he's due a roster bonus of $7.5 million in March so you know he'll be on the market by then. It actually sounds like desperation on Owens' part. He and Rosenhaus may realize that he isn't getting a better deal than the one he had with Philly. Get a trade and the new team has to pick up that contract. Ironic that Owens' behavior has lessened his own value and that of his agent.

Here's a great story. USC coach Pete Carroll would only give his blessing to Reggie Bush to go pro after getting assurances that the Texans would take him with the first pick. Real sweet, Pete. Would you not have given your blessing if the Texans said they were interested in Vince Young? Bush is still going in the top three. It's not like he's a quarterback. If he went third (worst case scenario), going back to USC for another year would just add another year of hits to his body just to move up (at best) two spots.

Actually, a couple of sources (profootballtalk.com and Pro Football Weekly) have mentioned rumors of a trade by the Texans to get Ricky Williams from Miami. One says it would be for David Carr. That would probably make Vince Young the first pick. However, does Houston need an all Longhorn backfield to sell tickets?