Colts disgraced ’72 Dolphins by eschewing perfection

The Colts are “essentially” undefeated entering Super Bowl XLIV, but had they made half an effort, there would be no asterisk next to the word perfection for them. Ignore that (16-2) thing by their team name, because the Jets and Bills were given gift wins late in the year when Curtis Painter played like a high school house painter. Peyton Manning in a headset is the only reason we aren’t anticipating the second 19-0 attempt in three years, and that is a shame.

But my feeling is that it’s not a shame that they simply aren’t undefeated. I’m not a Colts fan, so them being 19-0 isn’t an issue for me. But it’s the fact that their 16-2 record is deceiving and by the same token, their laying down tactic allowed one team to sneak into the playoffs — the same team the Colts got to dust away in the AFC Championship Game. Essentially, a potential Chargers-Colts showdown never occurred because the Chargers took the Jets way too lightly, the same Jets that rallied against Painter and the hapless Colts reserves in Week 16.

What is also a shame is that they are not chasing perfection as a result of their own decision, not a genuine defeat. Had they lost to Jacksonville in a hard-fought Week 15 game, we would’ve given the Jaguars their due dilligence for beating a Colts team playing at full strength and playing to win. But enter Painter, and enter despair.

Now I feel for the rookie in this unfortunate position, but he is in the limelight because Jim Caldwell didn’t want to risk anything despite being 14-0. When we look back at the 2009 Colts championship season, we can’t help but simply say “yeah but” when looking at those L’s next to the Jets and Bills games. For shame.

Cardinal sin: Your QB parties harder than he plays

Now that class act Kurt Warner is finished with football, it’s time for the Arizona Cardinals to find out just what they have in former first-round draft stud Matt Leinart. All indications point to a guy more known for his laid back, “I’m just havin’ a good time” demeanor than a player who is ready to become a true leader.

The picture of Leinart with some sweet honies in a hot tub from a few offseasons ago sticks with me more than any big throws he’s hit on to Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin. The southpaw also has never shown the determination or fire that his Hall of Fame mentor did, and that has to be troubling for a Cardinals team that has finally risen from the doldrums of the NFL.

Safer in Boston: Bernard Pollard or Bernard Madoff?

If you are a Patriots fan, you not only got a sick feeling in your stomach from yesterdays game, but a bad sense of deja vu. Who was it that Wes Welker was trying to avoid when he blew out his ACL and MCL yesterday? And who was it that picked off Tom Brady to set up the winning touchdown for Houston? That’s right, it was Bernard Pollard.

Rarely has a no-name defensive back become such a household name, at least for one team. It was Pollard who ended Tom Brady’s season a year ago by tearing the quarterback’s ACL and MCL in the opening game. In the last game of 2009, Pollard’s mere presence may have ended Welker’s season.

So if anyone is gutsy enough to roam the streets of Boston in a Pollard jersey (assuming they make those), that person may not be doing so in their best interest. Should Pollard himself ever appear in one of the New England states, he may need the secret service to get out alive. In fact, Bernard Madoff may be more well-received right about now in that part of the country.

Baseball REALLY needs a salary cap

The offseason has been another revelation that Major League Baseball as hit the point of no return. If the Yankees winning their 27th World Series wasn’t enough, acquiring Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez will only make things more miserable for the American League. The Red Sox countered by signing John Lackey and Mike Cameron, and the defending NL champion Phillies got some guy by the name of Roy Halladay that is supposedly quite good. All in all, the rich get richer, and the fans get angrier.

A salary cap no longer appears likely. Bud Selig will be out in a few years, but will that really make baseball a more competitively balanced sport? The Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, and Pittsburgh Pirates, just to name a few, will find Spring Training in 2010 as useless as porn after masturbation. Thank heaven for the NFL Network to keep us miserable Orioles fans busy throughout the grueling summer.

When Brett Favre crossed to the dark side

If there’s one player I have done a complete 180 on, it’s Brett Favre. Chris Berman once said, “rooting for Brett Favre is like rooting for America.” But these days, Brett Favre more closely represents the axis of evil, someone with no regard for anyone’s needs but his own.

His Green Bay days left little to dislike about him. He was a tough, hard-nosed gunslinger with a likable personality. But when his waffling became too much for management, he was shipped off to New York, and rightfully so, because if it were up to No. 4, he would have gone to Minnesota purely out of spite.

Naturally, he ended up there anyway after taking his sweet time all summer. He was put on a pedestal by Brad Childress, and his teammates resented him at first. When the Vikings were 10-1, no one was badmouthing him. But now, after his apparent falling-out with his coach, his selfishness may be more prominent than ever before. As former Packers teammates Leroy Butler pointed out, Favre is running the organization in Minnesota, not Childress or even owner Zygi Wilf.

If and when Minnesota bows out of the playoffs prior to the Super Bowl, the decision should be easy. Look to the future, and get rid of Favre and all his excess baggage. If he wants to string another team stupid enough to want him along, so be it. But his legacy is forever tarnished,