The Official NFL Conference Championship Preview (2008-09)

This is it. Four teams will play til the death this Sunday. Four teams will give it all they've got and leave it all out on the field. The winner? Well, all the winner will get to do is travel to Tampa Bay and play for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in two weeks, a chance at NFL history. Both the NFC teams, Philadelphia and Arizona are looking for their first-ever Super Bowl championship. Baltimore is looking for their second title since returning to Baltimore in 1996 while the Pittsburgh Steelers are seeking their record-breaking 6th Super Bowl win.

Three of the four QB's in this weekend's games have played in a Super Bowl, two of those three have a ring in their possession (Kurt Warner with STL in '99, Ben Roethlisberger with PIT in '05).

The Phildadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals will kickoff at 3 PM ET in Glendale, Arizona. The Eagles must stop the duo of Warner and Pro Bowl wideout Larry Fitzgerald after the two went for 166 yards and a TD against the Carolina Panthers last week. Eagles safety, Brian Dawkins, is nearing the end of his career and has yet to win a ring. Dawkins, the heart and soul of Philly's D for years, is Donovan McNabb's and the rest of the Eagles' motivation. Arizona's motivation in this game? How about losing season after losing season. They have rarely even managed to make the playoffs and they finally realized they are just one game away from the Super Bowl in Tampa. What more can you ask for??

As for the Ravens/Steelers game in Pittsburgh (scheduled to kickoff at 6:30 PM ET), many believe the third time's the charm for Baltimore's stingy defense. Pittsburgh has come out on top in both of the two team's previous meetings this season, and that was a Steelers team suffering injury after injury. But, after watching the Steelers 35-24 route of the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, the Steelers look to be as healthy as ever. This game will be better than the Super Bowl itself. The cold, snowy weather will make due for a very physical, run-based game. Both defenses are on the top of their game and are looking to knock off their division-rival. The winner of this game has a very good chance in the Super Bowl. I present you the third of four Playoff Previews (4-4 in eight playoff games, ew that's not good):

• What I, myself think.

• What Madden 09 (for XBOX 360) says.

and, of course...

• What 'Whatifsports.com' says (FYI: WIS just recently released the 2008 rosters).

NFC Conference Championship

Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals

Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 3 PM ET

ME: PHI 24, ARI 17

Donovan McNabb has played tremendously this playoff season and even when Philadelphia's run game has struggled, Philly has been able to win games anyway because of solid defensive play. Asante Samuel and Brian Dawkins have had great games in the defensive secondary and if they can double-team Larry Fitzgerald it will be a much easier win for Philadelphia than expected. Give Brian Westbrook the ball early and often to take pressure off McNabb and continue giving him the ball if/when Philly gets a comfortable lead. Yes, Arizona winning this game will be a great head-liner, but I'm doubting them once again. Prove me wrong, Arizona!

Madden '09: PHI 16, ARI 23

Kurt Warner led his team to victory with a little help from the best WR in the league, Larry Fitzgerald of course. Warner went 23 of 32 for 238 yards and 2 TD's against Brian Dawkins and Asante Samuel. Guess they should've double-teamed him, huh? Fitzgerald caught both TD's for 24 and 32 yards in the second and third quarters. The rest of the scoring came off the once Pro Bowl kicker Neil Rackers who booted three FG's from beyond 43 yards. Donovan McNabb passed for just 195 yards and a TD, Brian Westbrook caught a TD and ran for another. A safety on Kurt Warner in the third capped Philly's scoring as Arizona rolled on to their first-ever Super Bowl appearance. Can you believe it!?!?

WIS: PHI 27, ARI 13

Well, it appears as though WIS knew exactly what Philly had to do to stop Warner and Fitz...double-team them, of course! I've mentioned that in this article several times now and yes, it works occasionally. Arizona couldn't stop Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook. McNabb threw for 321 yards while Westbrook ran for 128 and a TD. Brian Dawkins made 8 tackles and record 1.5 sacks with a forced fumble on Warner. Now, that's how you win ballgames!

Overall: PHI (2-1)

AFC Conference Championship

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday, January 18th, 2009 at 6:30 PM ET

ME: It's a toss-up! (but really, Pittsburgh wins 17-14)

Literally, I'm not sure I can pick a winner. Pittsburgh is favored by 6 points, but it will be much closer than that. People are continuing to say that Baltimore has more motivation and "third time's the charm" but that's just bull. Pittsburgh is just as motivated as Baltimore is. The two teams have the hottest defenses in the league right now and both QB's have very similar abilities and are about one inch and 10 pounds size difference. Ben Roethlisberger will be playing in his third career AFC Championship game and this defense seems to have a little more playoff experience on their side but that's about it. Like I said earlier, though, Pittsburgh seems to be healthy for the first time in what, 12 or 13 weeks at least. Baltimore's defense did struggle to stop Tennessee's run in the first half of last game, Pittsburgh will need to mimic what Tennessee's Chris Johnson did while actually on the field. I picked a generic score of about 17-14 and flipped a coin. Baltimore won two out of three times. But, I'm going against those odds and saying Pittsburgh wins. Call me bias all you want, I'm not a professional, I do what I want!

Madden '09: BAL 17, PIT 20

Ed Reed picked off Ben Roethlisberger once and sacks him twice, but James Harrison and James Farrior lead Pittsburgh's defense with 2 sacks each (PIT sacked Joe Flacco 6 total times), and Troy Polamalu picked him off twice. Ray Lewis led Baltimore's hard-hitting defense with 13 tackles and a sack as Roethlisberger completed 18 of his 29 passes for 202 yards. Hines Ward was clutch as he caught seven passes for 89 yards and the game-winning 24-yard TD catch with less than a minute to play. Jeff Reed's two 40+ yard FG's were huge, too. Baltimore got off to a 14-0 start and led 14-3 at the half. But, just like most other games this season, Roethlisberger led a second-half comeback. Pittsburgh outscored Baltimore 17-3 in the third and fourth quarters on their way to another Super Bowl appearance.

WIS: BAL 7, PIT 6

Talk about a defensive slugfest! In the end, Baltimore late big-play makes the difference. Rookie QB Joe Flacco throws a 79-yard bomb to TE Todd Heap with just under four minutes remaining. Heap has made a couple big plays in the past couple of games and he had 94 of Flacco's 174 passing yards in the one-point win. Ray Lewis' 10 tackles and Ed Reed and Justin Bannan's interceptions of Ben Roethlisberger make the difference in the game as Roethlisberger goes 11 of 22 for 99 yards and 2 INT's. The game may not have been as close if veteran kicker Matt Stover hadn't missed the 45-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter for Baltimore.

Overall: PIT (2-1)

Super Bowl Match-up:

Philadelphia v.s. Pittsburgh

Battle of PA!

A Special 40 Year Anniversary

That's right. Today December 15, 2008 is a special day. Because its the 40 year anniversary of another special day.

Date: December 15, 1968

Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia, PA

Time: Halftime of the Philadelphia Eagles - Minnesota Vikings game with the Eagles spiraling towards a 2-12 season.

The stands were full of angst-ridden fans. Drunk, annoyed, frustrated and sitting through a pathetic, rainy, icey, wet halftime show featuring Santa Claus.

As the story goes, the original Santa was unavailable, so they found a replacement in the stands; a drunk Frank Olivo, a skinny Italian man who relished the opportunity to be on the field. Unfortunately, the fans would have none of it, as the Olivo-Santa proved to be an even poorer imitation of a more well-financed attempt. They lustily booed, and pelted him with whatever they could find, from hotdogs to snow balls.

But they we're booing Santa, they were booing the product, the team, the effort and the display. No different than booing a bad call or a bad effort (see Manny Ramirez). And so their fate was sealed. But don't let a Philadelphian fool you. Today's historical date may represent years of resentment in distaste, but Philadephians relish it. They love the fact that others resent them for it.

But the fact of the matter is that the paradigm of booing Santa exists today. The effort and product put forth in 1968 was something that would be booed today by annoyed Philly fans. It was and always will be about trying harder and doing more with less. Ricky Watters was Santa, Derrick Coleman was too, Bobby Clarke wasn't and Chase Utley certainly isn't either...

Whatever...Boooooooooo!

Out-Drafting Bonanza Part 1 - Philadelphia Eagles & Andy Reid

Welcome to part one of our Out-Drafting Bonanza, where we'll hope to compare a few different "successful" NFL regimes and discover who's good, who's bad and where the hell we'll put Andy Reid.

In case you don't remember, here's a look at our Scoring System again.

And here's the regimes we'll be looking at:

• Philadelphia Eagles (Andy Reid)
• Detroit Lions (Steve Mariucci/Dick Jauron/Rod Marinelli...all under Matt Millen and we'll use this is the baseline/epitome of crap)
• Seattle Seahawks (Mike Holmgren)
• New England Patriots (Bill Belichick)
• Jacksonville Jaguars (Jack Del Rio)
• Dallas Cowboys (Jerry Jones err Wade Phillips, though we'll be counting the Parcells years because of how involved Jones was regardless)
• Denver Broncos (Mike Shanahan)
• Chicago Bears (Lovie Smith)
• San Diego Charges (Norv Turner...but all the A.J. Smith era)

Want to read it from the beginning? Can you Out-Draft Andy Reid? and The Scoring Update.

So without further adieu, I give you the Andy Reid Drafts:

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2002	1	Lito Sheppard	5	0	Regardless of what you think of him, he's a two time all-pro, if you add up Brown and him, they're definitely a 9/10
	2	Michael Lewis/ Sheldon Brown	4	0	See Above. Lewis was another in the group of 3 very good/great Dbs
	3	Brian Westbrook	5	0	The guy's an all-pro and a top 3 RB in the league 3 years running
	4	Scott Peters	0	0	Never took the field as an Eagle, now a Cardinal
	5	Freddie Milons	0	0	A receiver I felt could be a real threat when drafted. Total bust, never took a snap with the Eagles
	6	Tyreo Harrison	1	0	Well, he suited up 12 games with the Eagles but only registered 6 tackles
	7	Raheem Brock	0	0	Brock is actually pretty good and was a nice piece of the Colts Super Bowl team. Yeah, the Eagles cut him before the 02 season
	During the 2001 draft the Eagles traded their 3rd and 6th round selections to the Dolphins for their 2nd round selection in the 2002 draft.

The 2002 draft was probably the best of Reid's post-Modrak years. His first four picks (Sheppard, Brown, Lewis & Westbrook) featured four Pro-Bowlers and three All-Pros at some point in each of their respective careers. The second day selections yielded nothing, not even a serviceable backup.

2002 Score: 14 Points. First Round Hit Total: 1/1. Quality Players Selected (total): 4/8

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2003	1	Jerome McDougle	2	0	This really should merit a loss of points. McDougle was a real flop. Worst of all, they traded up to get him
	2	L.J. Smith	3	0	I was stuck between giving Smith a 3 and a 4, but the guy's certainly a starter
	3	Billy McMullen	2	0	McMullen was a real stiff. His only merit was he was traded for Hank Baskett
	4	Jamaal Green	1	0	He showed up for 8 games during the Eagles Super Bowl Run.
	5	Traded	0	0	This pick was traded for 2004 picks (6,7) which netted Andy Hall and Dominic Furio. Hall never played a down and is now in the AFL while Furio never played and is now in the AAFL, whatever that is
	6	Jeremy Bridges	0	0	Never played a down for the Eagles, but is a nice backup for the Panthers
	7	Norman LeJeune	1	0	LeJuene was a practice squadee his rookie season but suited up once. He was cut the next year and is now in the AFL
	Technically the 6th and 7th rounders were acquired via trade, but since the Eagles took picks in each round, we'll count them for simplicity's sake

From good to bad. This draft yielded little more than L.J. Smith, a starting quality Tight End and nothing more (as it stands right now), with stone hands to boot.

2003 Score: 9 Points. First Round Hit Total: 1/2. Quality Players Selected (total): 4/14

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2004	1	Shawn Andrews	5	0	Hard to argue with a pro-bowl guard, even if he's a little crazy right now
	2	Traded for Andrews	3	0	Since Andrews is an All-Pro, I figured I'd consider the trade a good move.
	3	Matt Ware	2	0	He played with the team, but really sucked ass
	4	J.R. Reed/ Trey Darilek	2	0	Reed was a kicker returner who suffered a freak knee injury. He resigned years later (after stints with other teams) and started to suck. Darilek also saw spot duty and is now in the CFL
	5	Thomas Tapeh	3	0	Tapeh was a serviceable FB
	6	Dexter Wynn	2	0	Serviceable backup, but when you're waived for William James, you must suck
	7	Adrien Clarke /Bruce Perry	2	0	Clarke was a reserve guard who dressed, while Perry showed flashes at RB and PR and even started once. He was converted to CB and ironically released for Dexter Wynn.

The irony of this draft can be seen today, as Reid actually traded away a 2nd round pick to move up rather than trade a first to move down/get more picks. Andrews is an All-Pro for sure, beyond this, the draft was total crap.

2004 Score: 19 Points. First Round Hit Total: 2/3. Quality Players Selected (total): 5/22

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2005	1	Mike Patterson	3	0	Patterson is a solid starter at DT and is a tough dude, regardless of his transgressions
	2	Reggie Brown/ Matt McCoy	3	0	The Brown pick is actually from the A.J. Feeley trade – Its plausable to say that was smart but Brown has been a starter/serviceable backup. McCoy on the other hand sucked total ass even though he started a few games.
	3	Ryan Moats	2	0	Moats was expected to spell out Brian Westbrook and even started in his spot after an injury, but never stuck after a good game or two.
	4	Sean Considine	2	0	Considine has started, fans are unsure why
	5	Todd Herremans	3	1	Herremans is a competent starter and was a rare project that worked out
	6	Trent Cole/ Scott Young/ Calvin Armstrong	3	2	Y'all know Cole was a pro-bowler, Young was a serviceable backup and Armstrong never played a down. For the sake of the score, I assumed Cole will be a 4
	7	Kenyota Marshall/ David Bergeron	0	0	Neither played an NFL down.

Right now, its hard to argue this draft as total crap because they acquired five current starters on the roster (Considine started the season). Cole was an absolute phenom and great late round pick (a rarity for Reid, actually). Beyond that, Patterson is a quality starter in a group of otherwise much maligned players (such as Brown or Considine).

2005 Score: 19 Points. First Round Hit Total: 3/4. Quality Players Selected (total): 6/33

Year	Round	Name	Score (1-5)	Bonus	Note
2006	1	Brodrick Bunkley	3	0	As is, Bunk is just a regular starter.
	2	Winston Justice	2	0	Justice is currently a backup at best
	3	Chris Gocong	3	0	Gocong is a 2 year starter, but the jury is out
	4	Max Jean-Gilles	3	0	MJG appears to be primed as a solid starter, but again, the jury is out. I didn't award any bonus points because of this
	5	Jason Avant/ Jeremy Bloom/ Omar Gaither	3	0	Avant is part of the Eagles WR rotation and a decent slot receiver, Gaither is a starter at the WILL, though Akeem Jordan has been after his spot and Bloom was a waste
	6	LeJaun Ramsey	0	0	Never played a down, went back to skiing
	7	Traded to get Gocong	1	0	I gave one point because the Reid acquired a starter for a 3rd and 7th round pick which seems reasonable to me

This draft was almost marquee, with Bunkley expected to be the all-world DT the Eagles needed, Justice and Jean-Gilles to be cornerstone OLs, Gocong primed to be a fine LB replacement and Jeremy Bloom to cure all the punt return issues plaguing the Eagles. It never materialized. Bunkley is a good starter at best, Jean-Gilles is a nice player and could start next year and Gocong appears to be a decent LB at SAM. Beyond that Justice has been pure crap and Bloom was the most overhyped Eagle since Mike Mamula. Perhaps between Avant, Gaither, Gocong, Bunkley and Jean-Gilles this draft could work out, but I just dont see it.

2006 Score: 15 Points. First Round Hit Total: 4/5 (3 or better). Quality Players Selected (total): 6/41 (4 or better)

And there you have it. Andy Reid/Tom Heckert scored a 76. Our next stop will be the Detroit Lions to set the baseline for draft crapiness. Questions, concerns, comments, errors, Omissions? Please leave in the comments for send to Justin@badnewsbloggers.com

Can You Out-Draft Andy Reid?

If you haven't noticed, lately there's been a bit of contempt amongst Eagles fans over the fate of Andy Reid. Most notably, the fire Andy Reid movements have driven up a lot of interest, especially after last Sunday's debacle to the Bungles.

Out of this came a debate between myself, some friends and a resulting message board conversation amongst some Eagles fans. Many of them believe Andy Reid should be fired. I'm not an apologist, but amongst the reasons for firing him: He can't draft, he's a terrible game day coach, his game plan sucks and he cannot adjust. This may or may not be true, but if he can't do any of those, then I fail to understand how he's a mediocre coach (his record is 1 game above .500 since the Super Bowl run of 2004). Assuming that between the seasons of 1999 (his first year) and 2004 (his best year) he was only partially responsible (between the Ray Rhodes Era and the Tom Modrak era, the latter of which ended in 2001 and left Reid essentially in total control) for the quality of players on his team.

Now the debate has shifted to Donovan McNabb, who didn't know you could tie an NFL game. The Eagles front office appears to be exacting revenge on McNabb and setting him up as the scape goat and even some fans have turned on him. But who's really to blame? After all, Reid called the plays, kept his quarterback in, prepared the game plan, so on and so forth.

So after much debate, I'm curious as to how good of a drafter Andy Reid and Company really is. And while its easy to point strike down the drafting of the likes of Quinton Caver or Jerome McDougal, its unfair to say that he missed without comparing it to the hit rates of other long term, successful head coaches.

So over the next week or so, BNB will be examining the drafts of certain comparable NFL regimes over the last decade or so. We will be scoring them based on quality of player, hit rate of draft position and value. We're still considering certain NFL regimes to compare but the following could be considered an incomplete list:

• New England Patriots
• Denver Broncos
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Dallas Cowboys
• Chicago Bears
• Atlanta Falcons
  

I'm still tweaking a scoring system, so your input is appreciated if you'd like to have a say (Justin@badnewsbloggers.com). We'll try to score one draft per day and provide a composite comparison sometime next week. Who knows, maybe we can even discover the true "Gold Standard" of draft experts.

Can You Outcoach Andy Reid?

So if you haven't figured it out, there's some extreme Eagle Bias here at BNB. Not because we're all Eagles fans, but because, I post here, I'm a loudmouth and I like the Eagles.

Anyway, I was perusing IgglePhans.com today and found this glorious little nugget.

Can You Outcoach Andy Reid

Its a fun little simulation allowing you to match wits with the mustachioed one. Odds are, Simulated Andy runs short screens and passes and blitzes on every down...so if you can handle that, then you're golden.

Also, Fuck Pacman Jones and Fuck "Yoko Romo" (courtesy of PFT)...coincidentally if you caught her on the "Good Morning America" show this morning, are you done laughing yet?

The Legend of...Tim Hauck

“The Legend of” is a series of articles compiling athletes who may appear forgettable but have forever etched themselves into the mind of at least one fan.

When hearing the name Tim Hauck, most people aren’t flooded with memories of his 6 forced fumbles, 1 interception, dependable attitude, hard hitting style or 379 tackles. Actually, when you mention Tim Hauck to the football knowledgeable, most will only remember one play.

But those who knew Tim Hauck, or watched him play realized that whatever Hauck had, he’d give to you. Guaranteed.

Tim Hauck played 14 seasons, totaling 183 games for seven different franchises, the Patriots, Packers, Broncos, Seahawks, Colts, Eagles and 49ers. He served as a starting safety, backup defensive back, special teams player and veteran leader for a Philadelphia Eagles team that needed each of those parts to accomplish the model franchise they’ve become today.

In 1999, Hauck served as the starting strong safety in Andy Reid’s first year. He was an integral part of a solid defense and noted of rookie Donovan McNabb; "I knew Donovan would be special, because I played with the Colts when Peyton (Manning) was a rookie. That year (1998) Manning was thrown to the wolves, leading the league in interceptions. Both rookies had great size, and a calm pocket presence. And McNabb's ability to elude tacklers as a rookie in practice jumped out at me." ¹

That season was also the last for Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Michael Irvin, something Hauck took part in, though its important to note its something he doesn’t revel in. "First of all, I think a few Eagles fans put me on a pedestal, because everybody hated the guy. But my intent was never to hurt him," suggested Hauck. "I saw him run a slant route, and when I went to tackle him he actually ducked under me and I saw his head go into the turf. I barely got a piece of him. And the league never once fined me for that hit on him.”¹

Hauck moved into a backup role in 2000, as a fiery Eagles team marched into the playoffs and cemented their status as a rising elite team. The highlight of his season included a crucial onside kick recovery in the 26-23 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But the safety's favorite moment occurred in 2001, when the upstart Eagles bullied the Chicago Bears in Soldier field in the icy cold of January 33-19. Hauck’s highlight was forcing a fumble late in the game and closing out any hope the Bears had and leading them into the first of many NFC title game appearances.

Hauck retired after his 2003 season with the 49ers. He then went on to join his brother, Bobby, at the University of Montana serving as a special assistance for the safeties and later becoming the defensive backs coach. After serving one year as the secondary coach, Hauck was offered the opportunity to serve in the same position under Rick Neuheisel’s new staff at UCLA.

But to this fan, Tim Hauck will always be remembered as a tough player, someone who would do whatever is asked and, of course, as the man who ended Michael Irvin’s career. I had an opportunity to exchange some e-mails with Hauck regarding his playing days with the Eagles, as well as his current coaching opportunities:

You began your career in 1990 as a New England Patriot, but really from 90-94 in you were in Green Bay and eventually starting in your last year there. Like most players, you had to work hard to get into that position, even while facing some adversity. Most players, however, talk about one thing and that's there "welcome to the NFL moment." What was yours?

There were a few moments early in my career that made me open my eyes and say "wow", you are now in the NFL! The first regular season game I played in was vs. the Bills. In the first quarter, we were in a two deep defense. I cruised into my drop (using a smooth back pedal). A moment later James Loften is about 10 yards behind me. Thank God the QB (I believe it was Jim Kelly) didn't find him. My career could have been over before it ever started. This is when I realized, Tim, you are not at Montana and it's not the preseason anymore - welcome to the NFL.

In 1998, you had, up until that time, your best pro season with the Indianapolis Colts and then signed with freshly minted head coach, Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles on April 15^th of 1999. Why did you go with the Eagles and what did Reid provide you that (seemingly) made such a mark? What was the plan that you had to "buy into?"

When I left the Colts, I left with a bitter taste in my mouth. I was coming off my best season and the contract they had offered me was basically a minimum base salary deal. Plus, they had gone out and signed another safety for big money. Don't get me wrong, I loved Indianapolis and appreciate the opportunity Coach Mora gave me, but the writing was on the wall and it was time to move. Coach Reid and the Eagles made me a nice contract offer and the promise to be able to compete for a starting job. This was the best decision I made in my NFL career. Andy put together a very competitive football team, and Jim Johnson and Steve Spagnola were awesome coaches to work with. I loved Philadelphia and the fans treated me very well (I think they could relate to a blue collar player like myself). Last, but not least, my teammates were incredible. The chemistry in that locker room was amazing.

That 1999 season was a fateful one for you and I'd be remiss to not at least ask a few questions about "the play" you are probably most famous for. On that cold October day at the Vet you made a play that would not just go down as the end of an era, but now lives in infamy right next to the booing of Santa Claus. Do you remember the play (would you mind describing it and what your were thinking), what did you think of the fans reaction and how do you feel about it now? Have you spoken to Michael Irvin since then?

The play Michael Irvin got hurt on, was a very basic pass route. He was running a shallow slant route and I got a great break on the ball. I got such a good break, I thought I was going to end up with a huge hit, but he knew I was coming too. He tried to go down and go under the blow. Instead of a huge hit, I just ended up with a glancing blow that knocked his head into the Vet turf. The next thing you know, he was not getting up. You don't expect any play to be career ending and you hate to see players get hurt. I don't feel bad about the play. It was a clean hit. I was just playing football the way its suppose to be played - fast and physical. I have not seen him since. I wish him the best. He seems to be doing well. I hear him on Sunday morning tv like everyone else.

Does Michael Irvin talk more or less than he does on TV now?

Same guy, same talk.

I'm sure the '99 incident with Michael Irvin isn't exactly something you revel in (a hit's a hit, but you never want to really end someone's career), but you've had some other shinning moments, from recovered onside kicks to fateful forced fumbles, but what's the one play, you took part in, that really sticks out in your mind as your moment in the sun?

There are two plays that stand out in my mind. The first one was a playoff game vs. the Bears (I believe it was in 2001). I had a great hit on a kick-off early in the 4th quarter. It created a fumble, we recovered it, and this sealed our victory and a spot in the NFC Championship game. The next play was against the Saints in 2001 or 2002. I remember it was my first start of that season. Joe Horn didn't warm-up with his teammates - he followed me around the whole pregame (and talked more trash than any one human can talk). Early in the first half, I got one of my best hits of my career on him. He did not play much the rest of the game. Justice was served!

Who's the guy you hated playing against the most?

Barry Sanders - he was amazing

You've since moved on from the NFL, first heading to Montana to work with your brother and more recently heading over the Southern California to work with Rick Neuheisel with the goal of bringing UCLA football back to its old prominence (Freddie Mitchell aside…heh). What are you hoping to bring to UCLA and what kind of goals do you and your group (DBs) have going into your first season at the Rose Bowl? Any chance you and Neuheisel can show Pete Carroll who the real team is?

The move to UCLA was a good move for my career - even though it was extremely hard for me to leave Montana. The biggest thing I have been preaching to the safeties at UCLA is attitude. You must be the toughest and nastiest players on the field. Playing fast, hard, and physical goes a long way. We have a ways to go to catch USC, but were working on it.

Tim Hauck is now preparing his boys to take the PAC-10 back to the True Blue and Gold. As secondary coach, he's making no promises but believes they're headed in the right direction. The Bruins first game will take place on Labor Day at 2PM EST in the Rose Bowl against the Tennessee Volunteers.

¹PhiladelphiaEagles.com - Where are they Now: Tim Hauck

The Legend of...Freddie Mitchell

“The Legend of” is a series of articles compiling athletes who may appear forgettable but have forever etched themselves into the mind of at least one fan.

The venerable Freddie Mitchell was the 25th pick in the first round of the 2001 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles hoped by drafting him to acquire the stud receiver talent to push Donovan McNabb to the top.

Mitchell’s Philadelphia connections grew deeper, becoming the mouth of Philadelphia. Moreover, Mitchell played baseball with future Phillies All-Star Chase Utley and even introduced Utley to his future wife, Jennifer.

Eventually, Mitchell never quite reached the promise that the Eagles had for him. He was selected before Reggie Wayne, Chad Johnson and Steve Smith but only caught 15 balls in 2002 and then 35 in 2003. In 2004, Mitchell’s final year with the Eagles, he caught 22 balls and the Eagles ended up releasing him in 2005, after the NFL draft.

But Freddie did have achievements:

The Media

While not having the talents of a Clinton Portis, he certainly has the ego taking on numerous names such as First Down Freddie, Fourth Down Freddie, The People’s Champ (to which he would imitate a championship belt around his waste), and of course FredEx (because he always delivers). At one point, Freddie even showed up to a press conference wearing oven mitts and declared: “I'd like to thank God for giving me these hands."

4th and 26

In what is one of the most famous plays in Philadelphia Eagles history. The Green Bay Packers blew a 14 point lead. With only 1:12 left in the game after a 3rd down penalty and an 11 yard sack of Donovan McNabb, the Eagles faced 4th and 26. McNabb through a perfect strike to Mitchell at the first down line resulting in a fresh set of downs and a game tying field goal. The game went to overtime and after a Brian Dawkins interception, the Eagles went on to win.




The Scramble

The Score wasn’t so important as the Eagles were prepared to put another drubbing on the Cowboys during their Super Bowl season, but the famous McNabb scramble is one emblazoned in Eagles’ fans’ minds. McNabb’s almost 15 second scramble result in a 60 yard toss to Mitchell that stunned everyone…including John Madden. Boom!



The Downfall

Prior to the Super Bowl, Eagles fans were high on FredEx but in the weeks leading up to the game everyone soured. During an interview with Dan Patrick, Mitchell suggested he didn’t know the names of any of the Patriots DBs, only numbers and then followed that up by getting all the numbers wrong. Except Rodney Harrison, to which he was quoted as saying “[He’s] got something for him.” Harrison took offense, as did Bill Belichick. And the Patriots would film their way to victory 24-21.

After the game, Mitchell lambasted everyone, from the Pats and Eagles, namely saying Owens took away his catches and he and McNabb just didn’t fit. After being released a few months later, Mitchell worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs but was released. He’s also tried out for the Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Toronto Argonauts and according to Deadspin, was reportedly serving as a substitute teacher. But regardless of the mouth or the skills, Freddie was a legend (in his own mind) for the few great moments he created in Eagles history.