Wherein we lay the smack down about which QBs get too much press, which ones don't get enough, and why offensive lineman get no love.

Meredith: Just something I need to get off my chest.

The media's love of Tom Brady is nearing Jeteresque proportions. I mean, "The guy just hates to lose" was the quote de jour yesterday. Are you fucking kidding me? Find me an NFL player, or better yet, a professional athlete, that likes to lose. (Well, aside from Edgar Renteria, of course.) I mean, jesus, say that he's good, say that he rarely makes mistakes, say that when he does make a mistake, the team is good enough to win anyway. But don't embarrass yourselves by claiming that he's good because he "hates to lose."

Whew. Ok, I'm good now.

And yes, David Akers is the man. (And, no, he doesn't resemble Wakefield at all.) Course, had he missed the field goal as he did the extra point, people in Philly would be calling for the head of Andy Reid, but instead, they're erecting David Akers statues on Broad Street. Just one question, though - WHERE THE FUCK WAS THE PRACTICE SQUAD KICKER WE SIGNED IN CASE OF AN AKERS INJURY AND WHY DIDN'T HE PLAY?? Are we waiting until his leg actually does fall off before we help the guy out? That aside, thank god Akers came through when it mattered. He must really hate to lose.

Kristen: I feel ya on the Brady love, Mer. And it's a difficult tightrope because, obviously, being a New England fan, you mostly agree with all the praise and hype, etc. But I find myself saying lately, "How about we talk about someone else?" I actually said last night, whilst mocking the commentators, "Can we talk about someone other than Ben Roethlisberger? Or the Mannings?" My roommate said, "Would you rather they talk about Tom Brady?" And I said, "No, because the rest of the NFL is getting sick of that." Seriously, talk about Drew Brees or something. Talk about Kurt Warner. Talk about Chad "Boy, do I suck" Pennington. It's like I can feel everyone else turning on him and part of me is tempted to just resort to "Neener, neener, you're just jealous" arguments but then the sane part of me knows that's how Yankees fans view Jeter criticism and that realization makes me want to cry tears of woe.

But yeah, I'm pretty sure the only professional athlete who likes to lose is BH Kim.

Beth: Mer, as a Sox fan it should be clear that how the media portrays someone isn't always fair.

Although to be honest, if I hear one more Jeter/Brady comparison, blood is going to shoot out my nose. So, admittedly, I'm not exactly typing this with a clear head.

Meredith: I think you are misunderstanding. Tom Brady isn't like Derek Jeter. The media's portrayal/love of Tom Brady is almost exactly like their portrayal/love of Derek Jeter.

Kristen: Oh yeah, we get that. Hence the blood/nose thing. You want to yell, "STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!"

Beth: Oh. Yeah. That I'll agree with. They do slob his knob quite a bit. But like Kristen said, it's a tough tightrope to walk, because of course, we think every bit as highly of him.

Then again, as you said, "he hates to lose" is a craptastical way of putting it, even from a language standpoint alone. There are, of course, other things you could talk about that would at least be more substantive. Something about his completion percentage that game, or (my favorite stat) yards after contact (he's one of the best). But, yeah "he hates to lose" is right up there with "calm eyes".

Kristen: I will quote my Steelers fan friend here because it was funny: "Exactly how long before the media as a whole just dives open-mouthed at Brady's crotch?"

Heh.

Sam: QBs we should be talking about who are not named Brady or Manning or Burgererrererrerer:

-Byron Leftwich. For all the bull excrement about 'heart', if such a thing exists, he's got it. I hope we all recall his game in college where he hurt his leg so badly that he couldn't walk. Instead of coming out of the game (I don't think they had a good backup, and it was an important game), he had his offensive linemen CARRY HIM FORWARD AFTER EACH DOWN, and then he'd stand there and throw. He'll still play hurt if he can convince his coaches at all to leave him in.

-Drew Brees. Manning Mark II didn't want his job, he took it, and made the Chargers a contender. I just like that he's showing up a Manning. The signs at the stadium last night were great ("Hey Eli, did your daddy say it was OK to play in San Diego?")

-Gus Frerotte. Don't look now, but the Dolphins are winning again. Of course he's got the Brady deal going, where he has a great, clutch kicker backing him up (Olindo Mare). And the two games they've won so far were both home games so, we'll see.

-Brian Griese. Just you wait.

-Carson Palmer. It's scary that he has weapons out there now. NO BIG CATS ARE ALLOWED TO BE GOOD IF THEY ARE NOT LIONS.

-Michael Vick. ‘Cause, if he can stay healthy, he'll be as good as billed.

QBs we need to shut up about: Brady, anyone named Manning, Brett Favre, Daunte Culpepper and Kyle Orton. What is the love affair with Kyle Orton? God, give it up, Berman.

Beth: Re: the QB thing...how about we just shut up about quarterbacks in general? How about we talk linemen? How about we talk defensive backs? How about we talk special teams? Quarterbacks in general get too much glitz and hype.

We could also always talk about the deep-seated sociological reasons for why that is…

Sam: Don't make me start talking about linemen, please. I'll start flipping out about Matt Light being injured and James Hall (my adopted Lion forthe season! Nooooo!) being maybe injured, and I'll just flip out. A lot.