End of an Era

As a fan of the game, I felt bad that the 297 consecutive game streak of Brett Favre came to an end tonight in the game against the Giants.

He has been unable to throw since spraining his shoulder last Sunday. This could be the end of a great career. I don't expect to see him back again this season.

I enjoyed watching him play. He had an awesome career.

Consecutive Starts

Getting on the field is becoming more difficult for Brett Favre on a weekly basis. He faces a huge challenge to play against the New York Giants and make his 297th regular season start. On the other end, Eli Manning will be making his 100th consecutive start. Between the two of them, is Peyton Manning with 204.

Tom Brady knows how quickly these streaks can end. His came at 111. He is in good company with Ron Jaworski (116), and Joe Ferguson (107) for quarterbacks.

It's interesting to look at other positions. DE Jim Marshall of the Vikings had 282 between 1960 and 1979. Recently retired punter Jeff Feagles holds the record with 353 from 1988-2009.

You can't beat kicker Morton Andersen for total games played with 383 from 1982-2004 and 2006-2007.

It's interesting to note the longevity of kickers.

Matt On the Edge

NFL players fight through injuries. Nobody is immune to them. Brett Favre faces one of his biggest challenges to play this Sunday with a sprain in his throwing shoulder joint. He has not practiced or throw the ball.

QB Matt Cassell has brought this to a new height. On Wednesday, he underwent and emergency appendectomy. As of today, Coach Todd Haley has not ruled him out for Sunday's game against the Chargers in San Diego.

I hope he wears a flak jacket if he plays. This borders on being foolish, as well as dangerous. To paraphrase Coach Belichick: "he has a mid-body injury and is day to day".

Driving the Train

Many players go through great extremes to keep their NFL dreams alive. Some candidates make it from the Arena League and United Football League.

There are many "street players" who wait by their phone for that last chance. The Pats signed kicker Shayne Graham after he did a week with the Giants on an emergency basis.

The uncertainty of the NFL was brought to light with the story of Safety Keith Fitzhugh. The former standout at Mississippi State was an undrafted free agent when he signed with the Jets last year. They released him three times from their practice squad. He also had a one stint with the Ravens.

Fitzhugh was in the final cut of the Jets during training camp. After his release, he decided to take a job as a train conductor with the Norfolk Southern Railway System near his home in Atlanta, GA. He cited the ill health of his parents and the desire to have steady employment.

When Safety Jim Leonhard suffered a broken leg last week, the Jets came calling with an offer to join the team for the rest of the season.

Fitzhugh declined the offer because of his recent job hiring. He mentioned the uncertainty of employment in the NFL. He is giving up potentially four game checks and playoff money.

He has not closed the door for future NFL employment, but his actions speak very loudly.

The Band Wagon

It's really great that the Pats are 10-2. If they beat the Bears on Sunday, they qualify for the playoffs. People are already talking about going to the Super Bowl. Everyone is getting ready to jump on the band wagon.

WBZ radio did a poll yesterday and showed that 76% feel the team will make it to the final game, 18% said just the playoffs and 6% said the season would end early.

I assume 6% feel the team will go no better than 2-2 down the stretch. I wonder what Coach Belichick would think about all of this.

The 76% group should try to get some betting action on the game. They must know something that others don't.

A Rare Breed

There were many great things to see at the game last night. Being there is so much different than watching it on television. Both have their positive points. The camera work on television displays the game in a great way. The instant replay and slow motion is phenomenal.

Being at the stadium is a different experience. You see match-ups on the field, especially with special teams, that you don't see at home.

I was glad I was able to see the ceremony for Tedy Bruschi. Television showed a couple of soundbites from what I heard.

Bruschi is part of a vanishing breed of players who spend their entire career with one team. That was his goal when he came into the NFL.

His 13 year tenure is a tribute to that. I heard Vince Wilfolk say today that he doesn't ever want to play for another coach other than Belichick. Vince has a five year contract, but will he even be able to fulfill it? Will his play decline at all to the point where the team would part ways?

You never know. Will Tom Brady play his whole career at Gillette? Some "experts" say that at the "end of his career" he will play with the future team in Los Angels.

Who knows what will happen? All of this makes Bruschi's accomplishment very special. Troy Brown is the only other stalwart of the Super Bowl teams that spent his entire career with one team.

This is an awesome accomplishment in these days of the NFL and professional sports.

Cold Game

It's awesome that the Pats and Jets and playing the marque game of the year on Monday Night Football. I'll be at Gillette Stadium on Tedy Bruschi night. It's great that I get to see the team honor one of my all-time favorite players at halftime.

It's going to be very cold and windy. I don't mind the cold as long as I'm dressed properly. Hopefully, I am.

This makes me think that the NFL might someday have a horrific game day experience with playoff games in late February because of the potential change to an 18 game regular season.

Fans and players must tolerate cold, wind, snow and any other type of weather. A snow storm makes for cozy television watching. By playing in February, it's only a matter of time before the league has a game played in blizzard conditions. It will be interesting to see how they handle that, especially if it's a playoff game.

What About the Dome?

Much has been written about the lack of success for teams that play in a dome. After reading some very detailed analysis, I think it's hard to draw firm conclusion due to the fact that not enough teams play in a dome to make this a valid study.

If half of the league had a dome, I think some results could be valid. However, what is the effect of temperature on teams that play outdoors?

I have the Cowboys and Colts game on right now. It's being played at Indianapolis. With the wind chill, it's 12 degrees there.

Would the teams be playing differently if they were outdoors?

More Scenarios To Come

There is no doubt that the Monday night game against the Jets has huge playoff implications for both teams. If the Pats lose, they face playing a Wild Card game on the road and lose home field advantage.

One thing many of the "experts" fail to point out is that many of their scenarios are based on both team winning their remaining four games after Monday night. The Pats still need to play Chicago, Green Bay, Buffalo and Miami. The Jets have Miami, Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Chicago on their schedule. None of these games are a guarantee win for either team. Things can certainly change if either team loses one or more of these games.

As Coach Belichick said the other day, after Monday night there will be a whole different scenario based on the outcome. The same will happen after next weekend.

The Pats need to win Monday night, but the season is not lost if they don't. You never know what might happen to either team in their final four games after this one.

Loss For Jets

The Jets suffered a huge loss for Monday night's game when Safety Jim Leonhard was carted off the practice field with a broken leg.

This is a huge loss for the Jets as he was their defensive signal caller and one of the leading tacklers. The Jets will make the necessary adjustments, but it's tough to lose a player.

The Pats announced that RG Stephen Neil is done for the season with a shoulder injury. Neil had missed the last three games. The team needed to move in another direction with his roster spot.

This shows the precarious state of NFL rosters in December. The Pats might win this game, but in the end, so much depends on having healthy players on the roster going into the playoffs.

It's hard to see how the teams could play an 18 game regular-season schedule.

Don't Tell the NFL

The NFL is often referred to as the No Fun League because of its policy about end zone celebrations by players. There is a concern that it could be viewed as taunting.

In the state of Washington, a high school football player was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after he scored a touchdown. Apparently, he dropped to one knee in the end zone and pointed to the sky. This was considered taunting and drew the penalty.

I hope the NFL doesn't see the video of the play. It might give them some more ideas on taking the fun out of the game.

Story Checks-in

Once a story takes a life, it can stay around indefinitely. Such is the case of Spygate where Denver Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels and the team were each fined $50,000 for being involved in a taping incident.

A video assistant allegedly filmed a San Francisco 49er's practice in London while both teams were getting ready for their contest. McDaniels said he declined to look at the video when made aware of it.

Steve Scarnecchia, son of Pats long time coach Dante, was fired by the Broncos.The team was fined $50,00 for his role. McDaniels received the same fine for not disclosing the offense to the league in a timely manner. Teams were under a league mandate to self-report incidents like this.

The league said the penalties were less than the Pats because of the scenario. McDaniels reportedly told his team that the Pats "practiced" and "coached" to the videos during Spygate.

McDaniels is now caught in a major jam. What really happened during his time with the Pats when Spygate occurred? Was he being totally truthful in his answers to questions back then?

I wonder if Coach Belichick will answer any questions about this.

The answer will be: "I'm only trying to get ready for the game with (next opponent)".