By Zack Cimini

Truth is a defining testament of sixty minutes of football played on the field. The drama of wild card weekend was wild in itself, but the true warriors didn?t let that affect their mindset for round two. All of the teams that had byes proved they were the better team, with statement wins. In fact Pittsburgh was the only team that was threatened by an opponent. They?ll need to get Ben Roethlisberger to regroup quickly or they will be dismantled by the Patriots defense. They defied all reasoning by shutting down Peyton Manning once again, and it looks like there will be no detour on their way to the Super Bowl.

Atlanta did what all teams are able to do successfully against the Rams, and that is jump on them early. They allowed 200 yards rushing in the first half alone, and seemingly couldn?t figure out how to attack the run. The sole purpose of the Rams brining nine men up to the line of scrimmage was to force Michael Vick to have to use his vertical passing skills. Well, the Falcons weren?t about to settle for that until the Rams could stop the run, and they simply couldn?t do it. Atlanta?s offensive line was destroying the Rams defensive line at the point of attack, and many times left TJ Duckett or Warrick Dunn roaming untouched fifteen to twenty yards down the field.

Looking back at when the Rams started falling apart, was when they weren?t able to use Stephen Jackson. Early on in the game he was giving the Rams a balanced attack, and was the key to setting up Torry Holt?s twenty eight yard touchdown. As soon as the Falcons got back on the field though the offense went straight back to work. Mike Martz isn?t a patient man with his offense, and from then on threw out the idea of a ground game. When you?re one dimensional it makes it simple for a defensive coordinator to figure out what to do, and that means blitzes coming from all directions.

Marc Bulger was nearly killed on the field, because the Falcons knew they were going to throw every time. If I were vice president of operations for the Rams I would add a few players to the defense, and fix the special teams problem. They ranked last or second to last in punt and kick return coverage, and the punt return they gave up near the end of the second quarter corralled the Rams hopes.

It was exciting to see two 8-8 teams win in the wild card round for the first time in NFL history, but the indication of a weak NFC was relevant over the weekend. Atlanta and Philadelphia looked like they were playing a tune up preseason football game right before the regular season. Now is the real show in which they will battle each other.

Donovan McNabb?s facial expression and tone in his voice hasn?t changed all year long, and no athlete has been more devoted to improving each year than he has. This will be the fourth straight year he has got his Eagles to the NFC championship, and he knows this opportunity could be his last. He defied critics when he was picked second in the draft, and has been shooting them down each year he has been in the league. Where are Cade McNown, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, and Daunte Culpepper? The only answer that matters is that they all don?t have a dab of the credentials McNabb has to his resume.

In the AFC the Patriots are still the goliath of the NFL. If they are able to win another Super Bowl, they have to go down as one of the top dynasties in NFL history. With the way the NFL is setup today with free agency, no one thought a team would be able to do this again.

Pittsburgh gave the Jets many chances to win but the Jets just didn?t want it enough. Roethlisberger got away with one, and needs to know that type of performance will get him tore to shreds by the Patriots. It?ll definitely be a game decided by defense and the running game, so that plays in the Steelers hands since they led the league in rushing.

- I hope everyone got a chance to see New England dominate Indy on Sunday. Belichek once again came through with a plan to stop Peyton Manning that was executed to perfection with third, fourth and fifth string cornerbacks. That?s simply unbelievable coaching on the behalf of the Patriots staff. Now they have a chance to go into Pittsburgh, with Corey Dillon this time around, and drag Ben Roethlisberger back down to earth where he hasn?t been in four months. The rookie quarterback will have a tough time picking up the Belichek defensive schemes as his inexperience in the playoffs will come alive this Sunday at Hines Field.

- Neither Minnesota or St. Louis belonged in the playoffs and both proved it on Sunday. The Rams looked like a freshman football team going up against a varsity squad. Amazed at the speed and execution of the opposition. They might as well have not even shown up because they were embarrassed by the Falcons. Both Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn used their tremendous speed to blaze right past the Rams defenders for big time gains and touchdowns. The Rams secondary was non-existent against the run, as they were nearly always unsuccessfully running down Vick and Dunn. The Vikings only showed up on paper. Randy Moss looked like he could care less as he rarely gave a full effort running up the field. The Viking defense has always been atrocious and didn?t come alive for this particular occasion. If you ask me, both these head coaches should be fired because the talent on their teams is heavily misused and the overall game management has just been awful for both the Vikings and Rams. Just look at the misexecution on the fake field goal by the Vikings. Twelve men on the field and the only player that could get off the field in time was Randy Moss, who was the intended receiver of this trickery by the Vikings. That?s all coaching.

- The Eagle-Falcons matchup should be a great one in Philadelphia this weekend. Donovan McNabb was solid in his first meaningful game since Terrell Owens went down, but faced a weak Vikings defense. The question is, how will he fare against a much better Falcons defense. Vick and Dunn ran the ball very well against a suspect Rams defense. This week against Philadelphia, things will be different. Vick and Dunn won?t have the ability to run right past the Eagles secondary the way they did against the Rams secondary. Philadelphia has a very good defense starting up front. Ever since Jeremiah Trotter took over at middle linebacker, the Eagles run defense has drastically improved. Vick and Dunn will have a much tougher time this week but I don?t foresee Philadelphia completely shutting down the Falcons running game. Look for Atlanta to steal one and head to Jacksonville for the Super Bowl.

Filling a void with a team is a deception in the making constantly. Newcomers are pushing out veterans, and veteran?s are falling into coma?s. Whether through age or injury the time frame for a player?s development is limited to four or five crucial years, after they?ve earned a steady starting job. A team may hint that they have devoted faith in a player, but in the end this league is strictly business. A constant makeover is needed to compete with franchises that have stocked young talent. In the case of the Tennessee Titans, the whole base of their franchise looks to be headed into a remodel state.

Two years ago the few remaining players from the Houston days were still the staples of the Tennessee Titans franchise. Steve McNair, Eddie George, and Frank Wycheck all got this team to the main front of football?s elite. The effort they put in seemingly looked like a tax credit to their future. The Music City miracle, a trip to the Super Bowl, and memorable playoff games are gone just as quick as they came. Now Frank Wycheck is retired, Eddie George was wrote off last summer, and Steve McNair is undoubtedly headed in the same route.

The truth in this league is that the underdog athlete always has the advantage over a veteran. No team wants to spend extra money, unless you?re Daniel Snyder with the Washington Redskins. Strategizing for events and collapses of the future is a true key to steady advancement in this league. Each team that makes new strides every year, has an additional two to three youthful players making big contributions.

In Tennessee, hands down they have a quarterback controversy brewing. Steve McNair has one year left on his contract, so the likelihood of him being a Titan one more year is a guarantee. The injuries he has had to battle caught up with him this season, as he wasn?t able to fight through them. Maybe the extended rest he got towards the end of the season, will get him back to his old form. When healthy he is one of the better quarterbacks in the lead, because he is a proven leader. But in games this year when he tried to play hurt, his play was awful and hurt his team on a consistent basis.

Jeff Fisher has been with the Titans since the Houston days as well, so there is definitely a serious trust relationship between both McNair and Fisher. Fisher will give McNair every possibility to prove he is back to full strength and early next season. If he doesn?t perform though, he has no choice but to make the right decision and give the commands to Billy Volek. He gives this offense a new element of the ability to stretch the field on almost every play, and proved that with Drew Bennett?s monster finish.

If Fisher chooses to go the veteran way like Bill Parcells did this year, he may have concluded his last season as Titans coach. He will be going into his 11th year and with the Colts, Jaguars, and even the Texans improving yearly, the Titans may be looking at a few seasons before resurfacing from the bottom.

Other countries look at America as a privileged country, but also as a society filled with laziness. People sleep until noon, and talk about doing things that deep down they know they aren?t going to accomplish because they aren?t motivated. It?s just the nature of the environment Americans are raised in. We put things off until the last minute, and when we want something we want instant access. That?s the sole reason why fast food and video games continue to rise in big numbers every year.

There is nothing wrong with a little fun with the fellows laying back and relaxing to a fun filled football video game. Heck, ESPN and other sports channels have done specials on how athletes spend the majority of their free time playing video games against each other. Who can forget how former first round draft pick in John Avery, formerly of the Miami Dolphins was rumored to have lost focus due to his constant video game play? It?s an automatic edition to add a Playstation 2 or Xbox to an athlete?s crazed out vehicle.

Soon there will be a new diagnosis for video game fanatics. Now with Xbox Live and Playstation online that has added to even more countless hours pressing buttons and coming down with sore thumbs. EA Sports John Madden?s game has even started a nationwide tournament that gives $50,000 dollars to the winner. There are many people that train for that tournament like a boxer would for a high profiled pay per view bout.

Throughout it all there are only three football video games worth looking at. NFL Street 2, ESPN 2K5, and of course Madden 2005. Which one is the best?

NFL Street added the element of an arcade style that NFL Blitz did a horrible job of trying to accomplish. NFL Street put in the right ingredients to make it one of the most surprising games of last year. It?s just a different angle of play, but yet maintains a style that keeps it compelling. We will have to see how long their run will continue. Obviously that can?t keep adding a number to each edition. It is made by EA Sports though, so they will decide what they want to do based on continuous sales.

ESPN first started off with sports games a few years ago, and looked like a joke in the making. Then they teamed up with sega sports, and added their Sportscenter style to make it compete with Madden. Their idea to sell the game at $19.99 made it an instant choice over Madden for cheap buyers. The game play is a little shaky, but the special features make it very close to topping Madden. The halftime shows, and Sportscenter highlights of the rest of the week?s action is unreal for a video game.

Still, the number one game is Madden. The maneuvering of the athletes and the playbooks are just too realistic. The things you can do with an athlete are exactly the same as in real life, and you can even endure a rigorous training camp to improve on that. Their sales definitely struggled with ESPN?s sales pitch in the way. After being near $50 in August, the game dropped to $19.99 in December 2004. Madden really hasn?t had any serious competition in football games since the early days with Sega, and now they?ll have to watch their backs. A following will always be behind the game though, so it should stay a classic for years to come.

A month ago the New Orleans Saints were the epitome of a unit that?s talent was playing below par. In fact they?ve been doing it for four straight seasons (2001 (7-9), 2002 (9-7), 2003 (8-8), and 2004 (8-8), after showing promise in 2000 by going to the playoffs. It just seems like the Saints have been stagnant in developing in all facets of the game. Someway or another they manage to finish just around .500 and that alone keeps jobs protected and on hush for another off season. There comes a point in time though when maybe you have to further evaluate a need for change.

Obviously the Saints love their coach in Jim Haslett, but they?ve had many opportunities to showcase that. This team has had the same nucleus of players, and you?d expect that to lead to a serious title run or extended playoff experience. The building blocks have been there, but are never polished enough to maintain dirt free. The rubble they keep stumbling on, is going to keep happening and Tom Benson needs to realize that.

As a coach you don?t have to have a 2-14 season to be fired in the NFL. Benson and the Saints organization obviously feel being average is good enough, or they would have pulled the strings this time around. It?s tough when a team responds with a finish like the Saints did, but a lot of relationships end roughly.

We all know that Haslett is going into next season with a six game leeway in his future with the Saints. If they falter to a 2-4 start, he?ll be the first coach fired in the 2005 season. That has been the big problem for the Saints is managing to pull together on a consistent basis. Either the defense is giving up a million points, or the offense is back tracking with fumbles and Aaron Brooks highlight material bloopers.

If the Saints players really have their faith in Jim Haslett, they?ll come into the 2005 season on a mission to keep his job. That alone could catapult the Saints in the right direction and maybe finally get his team in the competitive state they should have been at three seasons ago.

By Zack Cimini

Why do athletes push themselves to extinction level before they finally retire? If I were making millions of dollars every year, I?d pull a Robert Smith in my early thirties. Are these athletes not putting their money away or what? They act as if they need a reassured insurance of security. This isn?t supposed to be a lifetime career, but certain players timeline?s are fifteen years plus. Heck, nowadays any athlete can find a job as an analyst and make a reputable salary.

It?s getting to the point that old star athletes are going overboard with the mentality that they can still play. This day and age it?s improbable for a 40-year-old quarterback or running back to have the physical skills to match a fresh 20 some odd year old athlete. Forget the bonuses of an athlete knowing the mental phases of the game, because that?s a hoax believement in itself. Talent is talent and Ben Roethlisberger is a prime example of that.

Four or five years ago, Buffalo was ridiculed for not keeping the core of their glory day players in Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, and Andre Reed. Thurman Thomas went on to Miami where he did nothing, and Andre Reed to Denver with the same results. Bruce Smith did a decent job in Washington before retiring, but it proves the point that organizations are having to end their relationships with athletes because it?s the logical move.

Down in Dallas, there is 41-year-old Vinny Testaverde. He has had a great career, and one of the best in recent time for aged quarterbacks. This year though he lapsed and just couldn?t do what he wanted his body to do. His throws were either too short or missing the zip on locking in on his receivers. That in turn led to his throws being off target, and he hurt his team more than he should have this year. Out of all players that know they need to retire, Testaverde should have the easiest conclusion to make.

Doug Flutie popped up on San Diego?s radar in week seventeen, and to his credit had a nice final outing. But scrambling around at 40 is asking for a stretcher. Plus San Diego has no room for Flutie anymore, and there probably isn?t a team that?d be reluctant to take a 40 year old as a backup. That means he can only figure in as a third string, and that?s degrading for a former star athlete. He didn?t go out like he?d like, but at least he got his opportunity in Buffalo to shine in the NFL.

Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith have tore up the NFL, and now own many records for their positions. Maybe watching Peyton Manning rip up Dan Marino?s records has them worried about the security of theirs. Undoubtedly, both have absolutely no other reason to still be playing, as they?ve won multiple Super Bowls earlier in their careers. Rice is adamant about continuing in Seattle, and Smith seems like he wants to still play. It?s baffling that two future hall of famers would settle for reduced backup roles just to endure another year. They must have Michael Jordan syndrome where they can?t do without the game.