Via ESPN.com

By Michael Bennett

The saga of Manti Te'o and controversy surrounding Chris Culliver only emphasize how far we have to go when it comes to homophobia in sports.

I swore to myself that I wouldn’t contribute to the Manti Te’o frenzy. Every day there is some “new development,” saying this guy faked a phone call, or that guy was in on it the whole time; This guy is gay but “confused,” and that guy is “faaaar from it.” The only thing I know for sure is that even after we’re sick and tired of this story, it will continue to have legs at water coolers, bar counters and dinner tables. You can’t help but talk about something so absurd, especially with so much left to be discovered. So don’t worry guys, Dr. Phil and the gay police are on a mission!

The biggest problem — for me, at least — is that this story is getting all the wrong kind of attention. We’re too busy worrying about why someone would fake a girlfriend or why a friend would trick his man-crush into falling in love with him, or whatever is going on in this Twelfth Night adaptation. And in the meantime, we’re missing out on the broader, more important issue: the shameless and cowardly homophobia that runs rampant through the sports world. 

No male athlete in a major professional sport has ever identified himself as homosexual during his career, and in many ways it’s understandable. That brave soul would have to deal with the homophobic backlash from fans and rivals, as well as those in his own locker room. He’d have to worry about teammates always making sure that he isn’t checking them out, or that he isn’t getting too comfortable in the pile-on, or that he’s not uttering any of the hundreds of sports cliches that carry homosexual undertones. That’s all on top of the basic challenge of playing his sport at the highest level, where if he has a bad practice, doesn’t make a catch, or lets in the game-winning goal, the whispers will start up that maybe he failed because he’s too gay.

The Te’o coverage has only emphasized to me that these are the attitudes that a gay athlete would face, day in and day out. When Katie Couric asked the Notre Dame linebacker if he was gay, he sat back, laughed and as his eyes widened, said, “far from it.” Instead of responding with a “why do you care” or “that’s not an issue” or anything else that would have made the question look stupid, he chose a cowardly laugh.

“Far from it.” Far from what, exactly? So far from being gay that you fell in love with a fake Internet girlfriend? How masculine of you, Manti! Don’t worry, guys, he’s not gay, just fell in love with the wrong cyber girl. They were definitely having heterosexual cyber sex, but don’t tell Notre Dame.

If that didn’t drive home how far we have to still have to go, then San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver this week brought an extra-large hammer to finish the job. In an interview, he said that “we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do.” I’m not sure whether it’s the grammar or content that makes me [sic] to my stomach. 

He later apologized, saying that the thoughts were “in my mind” but “that’s not what I feel in my heart.” But the reality is that he was just the guy young and oblivious enough to voice the feelings shared by numerous players in the NFL.

So what can we do while we wait for that brave soul to face down the blatant homophobia of professional sports? We can support programs like the You Can Play Project, which is dedicated to eradicating homophobia and promoting a safe sporting environment for athletes of any sexual orientation. We can acknowledge that Chris Culliver is not alone in his thoughts, and that homophobia can start or stop at a young age, whether in locker rooms, classrooms or at the family dinner table. We can confront that reality head on. 

Or we can keep investigating fake girlfriends. But the longer we pretend that this isn’t an issue, the longer it will be the biggest unspoken, unresolved and shameful problem in sports.

You can find out more about the You Can Play Project at youcanplayproject.org

Michael Bennett is a contributor to Began in '96 and writes on hip-hop and culture at Poetic Justice.

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By the Began in '96 staff

Presenting: Began in '96's second annual stab at gettin' you drunk.

It's here. That wonderful, most American of unofficial holidays is here. It's Super Bowl Sunday, and this one could be a doozy. It's got Alicia Keys, Beyonce, a Destiny's Child reun— er, I mean, football!

On one side, a rookie quarterback tries to make history, shattering both that old "only pocket passers win championships" trope and Alex Smith's soul in the process. On the other, Ray Rice, the newly possibly elite Joseph Flacco and the reanimated corpse of Ed Reed try to send stabby messiah Ray Lewis off with a final trophy, before he ascends to sit at the right hand of the Lord.

And in the middle is you, a bucket of wings and a lot of alcohol. For the second year in a row, we're going to help you drink that alcohol with our Super Bowl Drinking Game. The game is divided into four sections: Pregame, Super Bowl, Halftime and Postgame. But get familiar with all the rules, because they all apply throughout the game. So if at any point there's a commercial of a monkey riding a dog through Hurricane Katrina while wearing shoulder pads, you best be drinking.

Note: A missed drinking opportunity is a two-drink penalty, plus your best imitation of Ray Lewis' pregame dance.

PREGAME

1. You see a fan in facepaint and way too many Mardi Gras beads-- drink

Oh, are you not sure where the Super Bowl is being held this year? It's in NAWLINS, where according to TV execs, purple and gold facepaint and an ungodly amount of plastic beads is the equivalent of business casual anywhere else in the country (Note: this may not be far from the truth).

It's a shame how much Mardi Gras beads have been devalued over time. They used to mean something. You had to be a certain kind of drunk (very) to even have a chance. Now they're handed out like participation trophies. This is the real wimpification of America, people.

2. Hurricane Katrina is shoehorned into a soft-focus feature-- waterfall

It's been nearly eight years since Drew Brees started rebuilding New Orleans, brick by brick, with his bare hands and no one around to help him. The city's come a long way since then: purple and gold facepaint sales are up, beadmakers are back at work, and now here comes the Super Bowl. If there's but one tenuous connection between Katrina and these two teams, NBC will be sure to drag it into the studio and set it against some soft background piano.

3. The pregame crew gets the chuckles-- drink until the chucklefest stops

[CURTAIN RISES]: Five aging ex-football players sit around a semi-circular table. Their tie knots are invariably too big for their necks. At least two are power clashing so hard you wonder if your TV's color settings are off. Another might not even know where he is right now.

[TALKING HEAD ONE]: Tries to present semi-coherent analysis. Fails.

[TALKING HEAD TWO]: Responds with stupid pun.

[ALL TALKING HEADS]: Dissolve into inane round of trying to out-chuckle each other.

[YOU]: Change the channel, only to find it's happening EVERYWHERE. Respond by drinking.

[SCENE]

4. Anything involving a camera and Ray Lewis-- drink, shed fake tear

Ray Lews hearts the camera. Unless he's being asked about PEDs or maybe seeing/participating in those two guys getting stabbed and then running away. You know, all that unfair stuff.

But otherwise, Ray Lewis hearts the camera. And you can bet the camera hearts him right back. Whether he's praying or crying or giving an overwrought sermon, it'll be beamed right into your living room over and over again.

Bonus drink for every time "Ray Lewis" and "redemption" end up in the same sentence.

5. Someone mentions that the Harbaughs are brothers-- drink, bro hug somebody

The Harbaughs are brothers. They're in the Super Bowl, coaching against each other. That's the extent of the meh that we can muster for this exhausted story line.

Bonus chug if someone mentions Joani, the lost Harbaugh sister and a wonderful lady.

SUPER BOWL

1. Ray Lewis is praised for making a routine tackle-- drink

Ray Lewis is potentially the greatest linebacker/murderer to ever play the game. Even so, when he makes a tackle six yards from the line of scrimmage, he's doing his job, not saving the world. No added praise necessary.

2. An Alex Smith sad face-- drink

Alex Smith was the king of San Francisco. And then Colin Kaepernick, with his speed and arm strength and sweet tats, came in and kicked Smith off the cool kids table. Now he's forced to sit with the band geeks and, gasp, kickers, and sulk into his shoulder pads. Every time you see him on the sideline, staring aimlessly off into the distance, toast him to what could have been.

Bonus drink if he's standing on the sideline with his helmet on.

3. Ed Reed hits someone in the end zone after they've already scored-- drink

Ed Reed is so old that one day body parts will start falling off while he's running, and eventually he'll just be a torso and a head trying to bite people's ankles as they run by. And he'll still get a Pro Bowl invite.

But until then, ballhawkin' Ed Reed will spend his Sundays desperately trying to keep up with receivers. And when he inevitably fails, he'll hit them in the end zone anyway, just so he can feel something again.

Bonus drink if after the hit, he stays on the ground for 5+ seconds.

4. Ray Rice is referred to as "little" or "forgotten."-- drink

There are always a bunch of manufactured storylines leading up to the Super Bowl, but this one was the weirdest. Ray Rice is, for the record, 5'8," 212 lbs. That is not a small man, especially by running back standards. He is also, for the record, a former college star and second-round draft pick, owner of four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons and a three-time Pro Bowler. That has not gone unnoticed.

And yet.

5. Phil Simms adds extra 'e's to a word-- dreeeenk

Phil Simms is one half of your broadcast booth this year. WOOF. He is the greatest, blandest spouter of cliches on television, and that's quite the accomplishment given that he'll be standing right next to fellow gasbagger Jim Nantz. What puts him over the top is that subtle, tinny accent, that works eets wayee into nearly everee sentence of the gayme.

Bonus drink if Nantz descends into a golf whisper, or at any point utters, "a tradition unlike any other."

6. A fan wearing shoulder pads-- drink

What is the mindset here? A debate that some of the staff here has had is which sport possesses the fan base with the lowest collective IQ. NASCAR had the edge originally, until these guys starting popping up everywhere, just hoping that after all 75 or so players on a team have been injured, the coach will peer into the stands, point at them, and launch them to stardom.

In the meantime, it's just extremely inconsiderate to your seatmates.

Bonus drink if the fan is also wearing a helmet and/or eye black.


7. One of the Harbaughs throws a tantrum- drink, stomp around for a bit

Jim and John have the on-field tantrum down to a T. They've perfected it. It's over. Mike Krzyzewski and Lou Piniella watch them together and stew, bitter that they've never reached that level of childishness.

HALFTIME

1. You remember the name of the third Destiny's Child member-- drink 

C'mon. Not even Beyonce knows who she is. Besides, she might not even be there because she's super busy doing other important, totally not-made up things.

2. Jay-Z makes an appearance-- drink

You're now watching — and enjoying! — the Super Bowl halftime show. Savor it.

Bonus drink if Kanye is with him. Bonus CHUG if Kanye does something stupid.

3. Commercial featuring a dog or monkey-- drink

Cats and clydesdales had their time. It's all about the dogs and monkeys now. Or preferably, a monkey riding a dog.

4. Commercial featuring someone in their underwear-- drink

If it's not an animal, then it's a dude in his underwear. These are the only proven tactics for making Americans laugh.

Depressing bonus drink if you think it's going to be a girl in her underwear and then it ends up being a guy.

POSTGAME

1. Roger Goodell gets booed-- drink, bask in the booing chorus

Let's see: I feel like there was something that happened with Goodell and New Orleans... Goodell... New Orleans... oh yeah THAT'S RIGHT. It only involved suspending a bunch of players and a coach and torpedoing the Saints' season over something that everyone in the NFL does but only the Saints made into a formal system. They were just trying to be organized, and this is what they got.

OH. And then a bunch of those suspensions were overturned. So that happened. Add in the feeble attempts at protecting the brains of the people who make everyone's money for them, and it should be a fun ride for the commish.

2. Player wears his championship t-shirt over his shoulder pads-- drink

Eli Manning pioneered championship chic, and it's caught on over the years. There's nothing quite like looking like a transformer when you're accepting the Lombardi Trophy. Granted, this year, players might keep their pads on for fear Ed Reed wants to fit in one more late hit.

3. Ray Lews cries/thanks God-- chug

If the Ravens win, this will happen. If they don't win, this will happen. Use it as your final opportunity to get plastered.

4. You make it through the entire night of Began in '96's Super Bowl drinking game-- finish your drink and call in sick for tomorrow

Congrats, you made it. Only seven more months 'til preseason starts.

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Credit: Stan DeVaughn

By Joe Schackman

Just two-and-a-half minutes into Sunday night’s game against Lions, while most fans were still findin their seats, Alex Smith was leading his offense down the field. On first and 10 at Detroit’s 21-yard line, he stepped to the line with two plays ready. One was his primary play; the other, a backup to turn to based on the defensive alignment. After scanning the Lions’ front four, he stepped back and yelled, “Kill, Kill, Kill!” The signal for plan B. Smith then took the snap and lofted a gorgeous 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis.

There’s no single statistic that quantifies the effectiveness of a head coach’s game planning ability, roster construction or motivational tactics. There’s no way to tell how much of the success or failure should fall on the shoulders of the guy in the headset. But even without that, it’s pretty easy to see just how drastically Jim Harbaugh has transformed the San Francisco 49ers.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of the Niners’ newfound dominance is that Harbaugh is leading the charge with other coaches’ players. Alex Smith, Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Anthony Davis and Joe Staley are all remnants of the previous regimes. Regimes whose teams haven’t had a winning season since 2002.

Harbaugh did make some upgrades to the roster. He drafted outside linebacker Aldon Smith in the first round last year. He’s already one of the best young defenders in the league. He found Kendall Hunter in the third round, and convinced Donte Whitner to join the team as a free agent. He took chances on former first round busts Ted Ginn and Carlos Rodgers, both of whom have paid dividends.

But the fact remains that Harbaugh took on a core of other guys’ players, of serial underachievers, and turned them into a team that won 13 games, defeated the Saints in the playoffs and were a muffed punt return away from going to the Super Bowl.

The biggest beneficiary of Harbaugh’s coaching is quarterback Alex Smith. Picked ahead of Aaron Rodgers after a great career at Utah, he disappointed almost immediately. His play was never bad enough to warrant cutting him (and more importantly, eating a huge contract), but it was never good enough to instill any type of confidence in his abilities. He simply hung around, churning through head coaches and coordinators at an alarming rate.

Harbaugh changed all that. He made Smith’s comfort a priority, installing a conservative offense focused on just not making mistakes. Throw a dump pass on 3rd down, punt and live to fight another day. It wasn’t flashy, but it bolstered Smith’s confidence. And by the time San Francisco reached the divisional round, he was ready for his breakout performance.

Now, with an entire offseason under Harbaugh, the 49ers have defeated two of the NFC’s best. Newcomers Randy Moss, Mario Manningham and A.J. Jenkins are there to help speed Smith’s development, while that pre-Harbaugh core provides steadiness on either side of the ball. What was once a sorry group of what-ifs and coulda-beens could now be the top team in the league.

It’s impossible to know how much of a role Harbaugh played, or what kind of impact any coach has on their respective team. Would Bill Belichick and Tom Coughlin have multiple championships if their quarterbacks weren’t on the path to Canton? It’s football’s version of the chicken or the egg. But in lieu of the perfect stat, there’s at least one measurement that gives us a good idea of Harbaugh’s influence: 2-0.

Joe Schackman is an editor and co-founder of Began in '96.

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Photo Credit: The Providence Journal

By Joe Schackman

As Randy Moss has proven, talent can afford a lot of leniency in life.

Randy Moss always operated on his own terms. He knew just how much talent he had, and the kind of allowances that talent afforded him in life. He could make mistakes that would sink most people, only to see his pure athletic abilities lift him back above water.

But that knack for screwing up every situation never deterred teams from taking a chance on him. Moss didn’t play for Marshall University because he was an overlooked high school prospect; he simply landed there after pissing away opportunities at Notre Dame and Florida State. And yet, that self-inflicted roundabout path still led to NFL stardom.

Now 35 years old, fresh out of retirement and soon to join his fifth NFL team, he is still considered one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. But that same question still looms: Does Randy Moss even care?

Moss has battled this question his entire career. He was a man among boys, seemingly able to jump even higher, run even faster and catch even more balls than anyone else. The ease with which he operated made it appear as if he never put in a full effort, and that appearance frustrated fans to no end.

It’s always been easy to praise the scrappy guys squeezing every ounce of talent out of themselves. People readily identify with the image of the regular guy that made it big because he wanted more. But Moss triggered the opposite emotions. He had so much talent that he could outplay those scrappy guys while still looking like he was running at half speed. In truth, doing that at the highest level is an amazing feat. Yet to most, it simply looked like he was taking talent the vast majority of us will never have and throwing it away. “Sports writers, the honest ones, know envy,” Chris Jones wrote recently for ESPN, words tailor-made for all those that saw Moss play and instantly branded him lazy.

Of course, that perception doesn’t hold water when compared with reality. No slouch could be tied for second all-time in career receiving touchdowns and sit ninth in receptions and fifth in receiving yards. No bust or waste of talent could occupy the leaderboard for every notable receiving statistic and rank among the top five ever to play the position.

But as Moss reached the twilight of his career, it became harder to believe that this was the same player that had dominated the NFL just a few years ago. He flamed out with the Raiders, and then fell out of favor in New England. The Minnesota Vikings snagged him back but quickly dropped him after two games. All the while, Moss was called out by opposing cornerbacks and criticized by offensive coordinators. During one eventual loss, he walked off while his team was still on the field. Where for so many years, the book on Randy Moss was that he produced like someone who cared even while not appearing to play the part, now he simply didn’t care, full stop.

Moss was “a front-runner: someone who has little problem mailing in games or sabotaging situations if the team isn’t winning, if he doesn’t like his coach or quarterback, if his contract status hasn’t been resolved to his liking,” Bill Simmons said.

All that talent, though. It acted as a life preserver, keeping Moss above water, and at least once more, it has done its job. The 49ers are the latest to take a shine to him, in hopes he can jumpstart the passing game. On a team that took three quarters to complete a pass to a wide receiver during the NFC Championship game, it’s hard to imagine that Moss won’t. But nowadays, you never know. Early in the 2010 season, Moss and the Patriot faced cornerback Darrelle Revis and the New York Jets. Revis had recently called Moss a slouch, and Moss responded with under a minute left in the first half by taking off like a cruise missile, beating Revis by a step and hauling in one of the most impressive one-handed catches you will ever see. That was it, though. After flashing all the talent in the world, Moss would catch just one more ball over the course of the game, and the Jets would go on to win, 21-14.

This is the player that the 49ers have welcomed to their team. He is a wild card, enigma and X-factor rolled into one. For San Francisco, it’s a low-risk, high-reward deal. Low risk in the sense that they can cut their losses at any point, like the string of teams before them. High reward if Moss ever channels his early days and decides to care again.

Joe Schackman is an editor and co-founder of Began in '96

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By Neill Thupari

With the NFL playoffs down to its final four, a breakdown of each team's championship hopes according to their (supposedly) most important player: their quarterback.

ESPN labeled the 2011-2012 NFL Season “The Year of the Quarterback,” which makes perfect sense because the four remaining teams heading into the Conference Championship weekend each have one of the few elite quarterbacks in the league.

It’s not like the new single-season passing-yard record holder was beaten last weekend by a team with a superior defense and a quarterback that had never won a playoff game (See Brees, Drew). It’s not like the other two quarterbacks who threw for over 40 touchdowns during the regular season have already exited the postseason due to their subpar efforts when facing comparatively strong defenses (See Rodgers, Aaron and Stafford, Matthew). But hey, it must be the Year of the Quarterback because ESPN told us so. 

So with that in mind, let’s rank the postseason's remaining signal callers, since their play and their play alone will be indicative of how their entire team will do on the road to Indianapolis.

1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots: Playoff Record 15-5. Super Bowl Wins: 3. Playoff Stats: 4,770 yards, 38 TDs, 17 INTs. 

On the surface, this looks like a runaway for Brady and his incessantly gritty Patriot squad. No quarterback left has won as much as Brady in the playoffs, no quarterback left has played as well as he has all year (5,235 yards, 39 TDs, 65.6% completion rate), and no other quarterback is dating Giselle. His tight end combo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, combined with the ever courageous Wes Welker, means you’d be hard-pressed to find a defense that could stop this offensive juggernaut. I can tell you right now that the Ravens don’t have the defensive personnel to keep pace with the Pats, and I don’t believe the Giants or the 49ers do either. 

But, in true Belichickian form, Brady is downplaying his talent and accomplishments. This week Brady has been showering praise on the Ravens as “the toughest test” he has had yet this season. Keen observers of such obvious Patriot deflection know that behind closed doors, Brady is simply licking his chops at the thought of carving up the weak Ravens secondary and breaking his own record for most TDs in a playoff game. 

Pay no attention to the fact that the Patriots have not beaten a team that finished with a winning record this year. Forget about their 31st-ranked defense having played only four top-10 offenses all year, and while you do that, don’t worry about the fact that no team has ever finished with the 31st-ranked defense and won a Super Bowl. Pats fans, with Tom Brady at the helm, the Lombardi trophy is as good as yours.

2. Eli Manning, New York Giants: Playoff Record 4-4. Super Bowl Wins: 1. Playoff Stats: 1,574 yards, 10 TDs, 6 INTs. 

I learned this week on ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd that we, as fans, apparently do not give the younger Manning the credit he deserves. 

According to Tim Hasselbeck, former backup quarterback for the New York Giants, Eli would routinely study films and gameplans all week leading up to a Sunday contest, only to have coach Tom Coughlin come up to him on Friday night, sometimes even Saturday, with an entirely new strategy that Eli would have to learn in time for the game Sunday. To say that such a practice was unorthodox would be an understatement, but Hasselbeck said it astounded him how Eli would be so quick to learn, master and execute these complex gameplans, despite having mentally prepared himself for something completely different all week. 

I remember when Eli was coming out of Ole Miss and a big knock on him was that he wasn’t nearly as smart as big brother Peyton in terms of his football IQ. Apparently, he’s doing just fine in his neck of the woods, and depending on his playoff performance this year, there might be a debate over the better Manning brother when all is said and done. It doesn’t hurt that he seems to have Tom Brady’s number as of late, or that his defense is as ferocious as they come, preying on quarterbacks that want to throw the ball downfield and dictate their offense through the air. 

3. Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens: Playoff Record 5-3. Super Bowl Wins: 0. Playoff Stats: 1,226 yards, 6 TDS, 7INTs. 

Despite Flacco’s rather stellar playoff record (especially for someone who’s been in the league for only four seasons), one glaring deficiency for Joe Cool is that he’s never actually had to win a playoff game by himself. Maybe this says more about the Ravens than Joe, but the fact of the matter is, Flacco has never had to put Baltimore on his back and singlehandedly lead them to victory in the postseason, so the jury is still out as to whether or not he could pull it off. Sure, he’s had flashes of brilliance in big games against the Steelers earlier this year, or on the road in Kansas City during last year’s playoffs, but he’s still prone to the occasional 137-yad, zero touchdown performance like we saw this year in Jacksonville. There hasn’t been a player this polarizing in Baltimore since Ravens fans faced the dilemma of rooting for felony murder defendant Ray Lewis.[1] 

Flacco’s been incredibly fortunate to have a top-tier defense each of his four years in the league, and because of that, he's never had to be much more than a great game manager. However, with a road trip to New England looming, it’s put up or shut up time for Flacco, and his performance this weekend will likely determine how he’ll be viewed in the annals of Raven history. Will he rise to the occasion, silence the critics and beat Tom Brady in a high-octane shootout? Or, will he shrink in the face of adversity, capping his potential in the NFL as a player that could never be a truly elite quarterback come playoff time? Either way, it’ll be interesting to watch. 

4. Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers: Playoff Record 1-0. Super Bowl Wins: 0. Playoff Stats: 299 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs. 

Although the aforementioned quarterbacks share a wealth of playoff experience between them, Smith enters unchartered waters with a 49er squad that boasts the best defense in the NFC. However, Smith outdueled Drew Brees last week[2] in the most exciting game of the divisional round. He'll now have to do the same against a much better Giants defense.

Conventional wisdom states that the battle-tested Giants will wreak havoc on the pedestrian 49er offense, and Eli will lead them back to the promised land. No Giants fan is as easily convinced though, because they’re well aware that Eli and his crew are capable of throwing a stinker of two on their own as well, and a repeat of their past week’s excellent performance is no guarantee. 

As much as I would like to sit here and write about Smith’s potential as a playoff QB[3], the 49ers live and die by Vic Fangio’s defense. In fact, I like to think of them as a poor man’s 2000 Baltimore Ravens team. No offense to Smith, but if the 49ers had the 2000 Trent Dilfer, I’d probably bet on them to win the Super Bowl, no questions asked.[4] 

Seriously though, this defense didn’t give up a rushing touchdown until week 16 this season. That is truly remarkable. I got a chance to see the 49ers in person when they came to Baltimore on Thanksgiving, and I was shocked as to how incredibly fast their defense was. Led by Pro Bowl linebacker Patrick Willis, the 49ers defense flat-out outplays their opposition. They swarm to the ball with an intensity and speed that I just haven’t seen in a lot of NFL teams. 

Nonetheless, on Thanksgiving, when the Ravens took a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, there was a palpable awareness throughout the stadium that there was no chance in hell San Fran was coming back, not with Alex Smith as their quarterback. Two months later and in the playoffs, I still feel the same way. If the Giants are able to get up by two or more possessions in this game, I just don’t think Smith is going to be able to carry his team back, not this year at least. 

[1] Obviously Ray eventually won over the fans and hasn’t looked back since. 

[2] Just writing and rereading that sentence made my head hurt.

[3] He’s on pace to finish the season with 897 yards, 9TDs and 0 INTs in the playoffs! 

[4] Okay, maybe that is completely insulting to Smith, but I still mean it.


Ed. note- A previous version said the Pats had not beaten any team with a winning record this year. Updated to clarify that they haven't beaten any team that finished the year w/ a winning regular season record.

Neill Thupari is Began in '96's DMV correspondent, and is finally an official resident of Baltimore.

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