FanHouse TomBrady

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday. It has returned from a playoffs-induced hiatus.

Though I'll admit I was rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series last week, a part of me was sad that Alex Rodriguez would get a World Series ring. No, I don't hate A-Rod, nor do I wish anything bad on him. I'm not one of those "haters."

This was selfish. My friends and I had now lost a main component of a storied -- and heated, at times -- bar debate. If you were starting a major league team and had the choice between the two, would you rather have A-Rod or Derek Jeter?

PHILADELPHIA -- Brian Westbrook did not practice with the Eagles on Wednesday, nor did he talk about why. His coach, Andy Reid, said Westbrook would practice Thursday and that the reason he was held out Wednesday was his ankle, and not the concussion he suffered in the team's Oct. 26 victory over the Redskins. But if you buy that, I've got a South Philly bridge to sell you, too.

The ankle is a red herring. Westbrook's ankle is a chronic problem, for which he's had surgery, and his ankle probably hurts every day. They can put him on the injury report with an ankle problem anytime they want, and nobody's going to bat an eye. This thing with Westbrook is a case of a player, concerned about his own personal future, taking it slow amid a culture that's only starting to embrace the danger and seriousness of concussions.

If the Dolphins had been able to march into Foxborough Sunday and find a way to beat the vaunted New England Patriots Sunday, the AFC East would have been quite the muddled division. Even the Buffalo Bills would have been within striking distance, while the Jets and Dolphins would have trailed the Pats by a single game with eight to play.

After a Ronnie Brown touchdown pass -- which was surely a flashback to last year's Wildcat-fest in New England -- the Patriots found themselves facing a 17-16 deficit with 4:51 left in the third quarter, and the Dolphins appeared on the verge of the critical road upset.

But Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company weren't having that.

Sure, it looks like the Minnesota Gophers mascot is mocking Penn State defensive end Jerome Hayes as he prays before last Saturday's game. But I like to think that it was deeper than that.

The Nittany Lions are ranked 13th in both the BCS standings and the AP poll, and the Gophers need all the help -- divine or otherwise -- that they can get. Perhaps the mascot, drawing inspiration from Hayes, figured it couldn't hurt to say a little prayer for Minnesota, too. Or maybe he was just making fun of a guy as he gave thanks to his god.

Video sacrilege after the jump.

If we don't learn from history, we'll miss out on bringing it up when it happens again. So let me be the first to congratulate Jets defensive back James Ihedigbo for phantom-punching the Bills' Derek Fine in overtime of Sunday's game.

Because I wouldn't otherwise have a good reason to trot out this old-school video of Jets' defensive lineman Marty Lyons giving the business to Bills' quarterback Jim Kelly. (And, clearly, I would never post anything without a good reason.)

You can see how far we have come as a football-loving society after the jump.

If Titans head coach Jeff Fisher is looking for a silver lining, something to motivate his team hours after getting throttled by the Patriots 59-0, maybe this is it: Tom Brady is going to Hell.

At least according to the Amazing Grace Baptist Church, which declared that New England's quarterback is destined for eternal damnation for his sinful existence in this life. Via NESN (via the Huddle)

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

The bye weeks are finally upon us, but relax it's no time to panic. You see, had you planned your draft accordingly you would have realized that when you drafted Matt Forte, Drew Brees and Greg Jennings they all had a bye in Week 5. OK, show of hands if you're really that on top of things. Listen, I try to cover those bases, but once the beers flow and the clock starts -- I lose focus.

Regardless, we will get through this together. It's October (the best month of the year) with a glorious weekend of sports and fantasy football on tap. There's never a reason to let a few voids in your roster make you worrisome. Come on, you don't want to walk around like Tony Romo on most Sunday afternoons (kinda-sorta kidding). Just check out our weekly player rankings and tune into the Sunday tailgate. We promise to help you get through this.

Now let's poke around and see what's newsworthy this side of fantasy football.

It all started with the bogus personal foul penalty on the Ravens' Terrell Suggs for his late hit caress of Tom Brady's upper thigh. First, Rodney Harrison suggested Brady remove the skirt he wore over his uniform. Then predictably angry Pats fans responded, followed by Tom Terrific, who took Rodney's comments in the spirit in which they were intended -- as a joke.

And that was that, right?

Not quite. Even though Brady kidded that, "Rodney's been fined more than any player in the history of the NFL, so I can understand why he's a little sensitive about cheap shots at the quarterback," according to the Boston Globe, he's not apologizing for whining to the official for a flag following the Suggs fly-by.

This is a couple days old but, really, there's always room for more Tom Brady news. You're welcome.

Sunday night Rodney Harrison, former Patriots cheap-shot expert turned NBC studio analyst, had some advice for Brady following Baltimore-New England game: "... Tom Brady, if you're listening, take off the skirt and put on some slacks -- toughen up." The comments were in reference to this play, one that left Ray Lewis very sad.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- As mere mortals, we're conditioned to believe life is easy for guys like Tom Brady. Fame, success, good looks, championship glory ... these things make it seem as if a dude is coasting through life, surfing the biggest waves with minimal effort, skiing on one ski.

But that isn't always the way, and anybody who tuned in around halftime of Sunday's Patriots-Falcons game saw a Tom Brady who wasn't real happy about the way things were going. New England's Golden Boy QB was openly screaming at teammates, clearly frustrated by his team's red zone failures and general inability so far this season to get into sync.

"I think I was just really into it," Brady would say later, by way of denial-drenched explanation. "Just trying to keep everybody focused. Football is a team game, and it's about everybody being on the same page."

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