The box next to McCoy's name was empty, but to the cheers of the Oakland Zoo, Pitt's student section, he stopped to check it. McCoy then signed autographs.
"I've been blown away by it," McCoy said of the student response during his official visit. "I never expected it to be like this. I didn't know the fans were crazy like this. I didn't know it would be this tremendous."
+--------------------------+-------------------------+
Rushing Receiving
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
Year TM G Att Yards Y/A TD Rec Yards Y/R TD
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
2000 bal 16 309 1364 4.4 6 27 296 11.0 0
2002 bal 16 308 1327 4.3 6 47 442 9.4 1
2003 bal 16 387 2066 5.3 14 26 205 7.9 0
2004 bal 12 235 1006 4.3 7 10 116 11.6 0
2005 bal 15 269 906 3.4 3 32 191 6.0 1
2006 bal 16 314 1132 3.6 9 18 115 6.4 0
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
TOTAL 91 1822 7801 4.3 45 160 1365 8.5 2
+----------+-----+--------------------------+-------------------------+
The guy is finished. Yeah, he had 1,100 yards. Fantastic. Lots of good it did the Ravens on Saturday, when he totalled 53.
So Peyton Manning wins another postseason game, managing a 39 passer rating and failing to engineer a touchdown drive in the process. My question is this: if he wins or even makes the Super Bowl while playing horrible football, will the millions of critics get off his back or not?
In the other AFC game, the Patriots were busy dancing on the Charger logo, doing Shawne "Steroid Suspension" Merriman's dance after their upset win. I have a hard time when the media continues to single out the Patriots as a classy team. They are not. They talk trash, shove cameramen, and jump on logos just like every other team. Steeler fans, cover your ears: they do the same thing, as witnessed this year.
The Chargers, specifically Mr. Tomlinson, have a lot of nerve complaining about the Patriots. LT is put out that the Pats would show disrespect for an opponent. What, you mean like the respect Merriman shows when he has his mock seizure after vanquishing another quarterback? Or the respect Merriman showed when he sent a Lights Out T-Shirt and Hat and a bag of popcorn to Jason Taylor, the "clean" defensive player of the year?
LT was mad that the Patriots, three-time Super Bowl champions, didn't "act like they've been there before". Correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the dancers in question was Chad Scott, former burn-marked defensive back of your Pittsburgh Steelers. Another Pat in the mix was Reche Caldwell, whose previous experience in the playoffs was being eliminated or not even making it under Marty Schottenheimer. This was not Tom Brady and Tedy Bruschi doing the dancing. So you might want to re-think that statement, TD Champ.
Maybe it was the fact that his protege finally got over the hump last year, but I thought Marty Schottenheimer would win at least one game in the playoffs this year. I think this team was the best, on paper, in the league this season. Unfortunately, games are not played on paper, video game screens, or computer simulations. They're played on fields, coached by men with real reputations. There's a reason why Bill Belichick is thought of like he's thought of. The same can be said for Marty. You are what you are.
I believe the "real" NFC championship was played on Saturday night, when the hottest team, Philly, played the sentimental favorite, New Orleans. That Reggie Bush hit was the stuff of legends. I can't believe the guy could move, let alone have the game he ended up with. His perceived toughness grew by leaps and bounds on that night. But what in the world was Andy Reid doing when he punted the ball away with 1:56 to go and down by 3? Considering his team just converted a 4th-and-10 before it was negated by penalty, I thought he would at least try on 4th-and-15. I was shocked by the call to punt. I was not shocked by the Saints converting the first down and ending the game on a kneel down. The football gods were friendly to Philadelphia, trying to spare them the inevitable QB controversy that would develop if the Eagles advanced much further.
On Sunday I inexplicably watched the Bears-Seahawks game, which took football back about three decades. Wow, are these teams bad. Although Rex Grossman is extremely fun to watch. As I took in the splendor of the Rex with Felipe Mondesi, the patriarch of the Mondesi family, I commented at how I felt Grossman was the ultimate wild card at QB. On any given dropback, he could either throw a backbreaking interception, cough up a horrendous fumble, or throw a spectacular touchdown by threading the needle. He's like Kordell Stewart. Not in the sense that he runs to beat you, but in the sense that when he's on, he's on...and when he's off, he's really off. That, my friends, is a Coach Killer. Much like Michael Vick, as a matter of fact. One last thing, which goes for Vick and Grossman: no matter how bad they are, their receivers are absolutely awful. How bad was that drop by Bernard Berrian?
Matt Hasselbeck, for all of his past accolades, was equally awful for Seattle. And his receivers, with a combined $113 million investment, came up with 9 catches on Sunday. Yes, I'm serious, the Seahawks receivers do make $119 million: Nate Burleson, $49 million. Deion Branch: $39 million. Darrell Jackson: $25 million. Bobby Engram: $6 million. Engram should fire his agent.
Don't cry for the Seahawks. I'm sure their fans find some way to twist their garbage performance into an indictment of the officiating.
So we have Indy/New England in yet another high-stakes game, and on the other side we get New Orleans/Chicago. That means potential Super Bowls of Indy/NO, Indy/Chicago, New England/NO, New England/Chicago. Most intriguing? I'd say Indy vs. New Orleans. The Manning Super Bowl story would be ginormous, but then again, so would a franchise so historically down as the Saints (and coming off a hurricane, to boot).
I also caught the Pens/Flyers game on Saturday, and I can say with certainty that I hate the Flyers more and more with each passing game. Peter Forsberg is probably at the top of my hated Flyer list, with Alexei Zhitnik a close second. I hate the Flyers so bad that I'm glad the Eagles lost, and I'm glad the Sixers stink. And you know the Phillies will collapse in 2007, just like they do every other year. Your city deserves that sports misery for that dirty, late-hitting disgrace of a hockey team. They are hockey's version of the Oakland Raiders: a team living on 1970s glory and goonery at a time when that recipe just doesn't work. Hope you enjoyed watching a real time on your ice.
GOOD STUFF FROM THIS WEEKEND:
Snakes on a Plane: Nowhere near as good as the hype would have you believe, but when Samuel Jackson finally dropped "the line", we rewound it at least three times. Predictable, yet entertaining. And another appearance by the ubiquitous Flex Alexander.
Egotrip's The White Rapper Show: It's on VH1's increasingly-addictive Celebreality block, which means it's rerun on a nightly basis. So you should have no problem finding it. Keep your eyes peeled for the guy named John Brown, a.k.a. "King of the Burbs", who promises a "Ghetto Revival". This guy has reality TV legend written all over him. Try and catch him on the first episode. Unbelievable.
A few links for ya:
Something to chew on until the next update...
COLLEGE HOOPS:COLLEGE FOOTBALL:
Dave Wannstedt has a big fan. A fan big enough to start a website campaigning for the Stache as the next Steeler head coach. http://www.hiredavewannstedt.info/.
RANDOM FUN STUFF:
That incredibly bizarre Old Spice commercial featuring B-movie legend Bruce Campbell.
