Super Bowl memories: Phil Simms, Janet Jackson and the streaker

Am I the only one who feels old when I hear that Phil Simms will be calling his seventh Super Bowl this Sunday? Wasn’t it just yesterday that Simms was pitching his perfect game masterpiece for the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI?

Okay, well I guess that was 26 years ago. And now, perhaps, there are young fans who don’t even think of Simms as a former NFL quarterback, the same fans who didn’t realize that John Madden used to be a coach. After all, when Simms broadcasts Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens, only Madden (with eight) will have been the color man for more Super Bowls than Simms.

“I can’t believe I’ve done seven,” Simms said at a recent CBS Sports press event. “Of course I’m proud of it. And I’ve always said, ‘Sooner or later I wanna come out of one and be happy.’ … Broadcasting is a lot like playing in those terms. You go to bed and all you think about is the things you wish you’d have done.”

For the record, Simms called Super Bowls XXX and XXXII for NBC, then XXXV, XXXVIII, XLI and XLIV for CBS. Plenty of big moments from those games – John Elway’s first title, Tom Brady’s second, Peyton Manning, the Saints’ onside kick – but what’s the first thing Simms thinks about when he looks back at the big games he’s called?

“My most memorable moment probably is a bad one,” Simms said. “It’s the Janet Jackson thing.”

Ah, yes, Nipple-gate. Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime. Simms explained that he didn’t see it when it happened. But as he and Greg Gumbel made their way back to the booth before the start of the second half, he knew something was up.

“Before halftime was over, we had tons of executives running into our booth yelling, ‘Give us a replay!’ We had no idea.”

When Simms learned what the fuss was about, he shook his head in disbelief – not so much about what had happened as for the frenzy that followed. Simms had a job to do – call the second half of the Super Bowl. The Patriots held a 14-10 halftime lead over the Panthers, and a wild finish was about to ensue.

However, there was one more memorable Super Bowl moment that was unfolding. Players and coaches were pouring back onto the field for the second half when Simms noticed something odd.

“I just remember seeing the guy in the officials uniform. I saw him on the far sideline and wondered what he was doing there… because he looked funny.”

Indeed, it wasn’t an official. It was an imposter.

“He was the guy that got naked and ran onto the field,” Simms laughed.

Mark Roberts, a British streaker who has crashed several major events, probably would have received more notoriety for his Super Bowl stunt if not for the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction. Still, it was a big deal.

“So I spotted him first," Simms said. "I’m not proud of that, but I saw him.”

So Simms missed the nipple during halftime, but he got the Full Monty just a few minutes later.

NFL Conference Title Games: Cream Rises To The Top

Russell Baxter – a.k.a. @BaxFootballGuru – tweeted this NFL stat last night:

Best regular season W-L record, 2010-12:

New England Patriots        39-9

Atlanta Falcons                   36-12

Green Bay Packers            36-12

Baltimore Ravens               34-14

Pittsburgh Steelers             32-16

New Orleans Saints           31-17

San Francisco 49ers          30-17-1

Interesting. So of the seven teams with the best overall regular-season record over the last three seasons, four of them are playing this weekend in the conference championship games, one lost in the divisional round… and two – the Saints and the Steelers – missed the playoffs entirely.

What does this mean? It indicates the Saints and Steelers had pretty significant dropoffs this season. Neither was a huge surprise, however, seeing as the Saints faced the distraction of Bounty-gate and the Steelers dealt with heavy doses of injury and aging.

The Packers, at least, have a Lombardi Trophy to show for this three-year success. That leaves the four teams playing this Sunday. The Patriots are no strangers to the Super Bowl and were there just a year ago. The Ravens haven’t been there since 2000 and the Falcons and 49ers must go back to the ‘90s for their last trips to the big game.

Which of these four will get to New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII? Here’s how it will go down:

49ers at Falcons:

While not spectacular, the Falcons defense has been every bit as solid as the 49ers defense this season. Atlanta has only allowed more than 28 points twice this season and did not allow more than 31 at all. San Francisco allowed more than 31 twice. The star of this game will be Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, who will find a way to keep his defense disciplined enough to not get beat by Colin Kaepernick. And if Kaepernick is in check, then Matt Ryan will have little trouble scoring enough points to send the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

The pick: Falcons 23, 49ers 17

Ravens at Patriots:

Is it crazy to think that New England – a team that gave up a gazillion yards a game earlier this season – could actually be the best defense still alive in the postseason? Maybe, but there’s something to it. The midseason acquisition of cornerback Aqib Talib has something to do with that; the maturation of young players with talent has something to do with that. And oh, yeah, there’s that Vince Wilfork guy up front. Even if you don’t buy into the improvement of the Patriots defense, you know that Bill Belichick will find a way to neutralize the Ravens’ most dangerous weapon, receiver Torrey Smith. That being the case, and considering you know Tom Brady and the offense will get their share of points, then Ray Rice must have a monster game to keep the Ravens in this thing. Won’t happen.

The pick: Patriots 27, Ravens 20

Predicting the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013

The 17 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Classof 2013 are, as they say, all worthy. Of course, at least 10 of them will come away disappointed when the class is announced in New Orleans one day before Super Bowl XLVII.

  

Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, whose voting process allows for a class of none, the Pro Football Hall of Fame is guaranteed to induct between four and seven new members. There are several angles to follow this year, leading with the always-popular debate over Cris Carter (in his sixth year as a finalist). Others:

* Will former Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell get a little extra love/sympathy from his vehement detractors now that he’s dead.

* Will the presence of three dominant offensive linemen on the ballot dilute the chances of all three getting in?

 * Will first-year eligibles Michael Strahan and Warren Sapp cancel each other out?

* Will one or both of the Seniors Committee nominees – Curley Culp and Dave Robinson – keep up a trend in which the voters continue to reward guys who couldn’t get elected the first time around?

Clearly, the Seniors Committee wields considerable authority. At least one Seniors nominee has been inducted each of the last 15 years. In the nine years since the committee has been nominating two candidates, they’ve gone 2-for-2 five times.

For the sake of predictions, I’ll stick with the trend – but I’ll say only one of the seniors gets in.

Here are my picks for the Class of 2013:

LARRY ALLEN: As dominant an offensive lineman as there has been, Allen deserves to be in Canton every bit as much as his Dallas Cowboy teammates Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin.

CURLEY CULP: Why does Culp get the nod here over fellow Seniors nominee Dave Robinson? The last Seniors candidate who failed to get elected was Jerry Kramer in 1997. While there is a passionate group still pushing for Kramer, the fact of the matter is that there might be more than enough Hall of Famers from those great 1960s Green Bay Packers teams. Thus, Robinson endures the same fate. Culp, meanwhile, helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl IV and then became a stalwart for a Houston Oilers defense that played in back-to-back AFC title games.

CHARLES HALEY: A four-time finalist, momentum has been building for Haley, who has won more Super Bowls (5) than any other in NFL history.

JONATHAN OGDEN: The former Baltimore Ravens tackle is almost as much a sure thing as Larry Allen, which would make four offensive linemen elected in the last two years (joining Class of 2012’s Dermontti Dawson and Willie Roaf). That’s not too many… but it does kill the chances this year for fellow finalist Will Shields.

BILL PARCELLS: The difference for the Tuna in his fourth year as a finalist? The voters might finally be convinced that he is not going to unretire. And that paves the way to elect a coach who has taken two different teams to the Super Bowl and reached the playoffs with two others.

MICHAEL STRAHAN: Like it or not, let’s not forget that popularity does come into play when the 46 media members vote on this thing. And Strahan was a hell of a lot more popular with the media than Warren Sapp. Regardless of that angle, it may be unfair to compares these two players straight up, as we’re dealing with an interior defensive lineman (Sapp) vs. a defensive end (Strahan). Strahan is supposed to be the more productive pass rusher, and he was, but he was also a complete player.

There you have it. No Carter (or Tim Brown or Andre Reed). No Modell. Oh, and one more prediction: To capitalize on the inductions of Ogden, Parcells and Strahan, the 2013 Hall of Fame Game will feature the Ravens and Giants.

NFL Divisional Playoff Predictions

Here are my can’t-miss predictions for the NFL’s divisional playoffs this weekend:

RAVENS AT BRONCOS:

* The Ravens’ big celebration was last week -- didn’t you see it? Ray Lewis and company had a big party in Baltimore after knocking off a team that finished 2-14 last season and had the most rookie starters of any team in the NFL. Can you say, “Letdown?” Sure, there’s enough veteran leadership on the Ravens to avoid a letdown. Mentally. Physically is another story. Don’t expect Lewis and Ed Reed to make a difference here.

* You know how Denver has gone to great lengths the second half of the season to prove to the world that Knowshon Moreno gives the Broncos a viable running attack? The Ravens will be ready for it… which is why the Broncos’ first offensive play Saturday will be a play-action – the Ravens will bite – and Peyton Manning will throw an 80-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas.

Final Score: Broncos 27, Ravens 13

PACKERS AT 49ERS:

* Green Bay hasn’t really had a super-dominant roll this season. Now is a pretty good time to get on it. Aaron Rodgers will have this team in the Super Bowl. Mark it down.

* The Packers defense will surprise everyone and upstage the 49ers defense. (Oh, wait… that’s just crazy wishful thinking on my part because I started the Packers defense last week in the NFL.com Fantasy Playoff Challenge and I’ll get double points from them this week.)

Final Score: Packers 38, 49ers 21

SEAHAWKS AT FALCONS:

* Okay, the Seahawks didn’t falter last week when they made the dreaded coast-to-coast road trip. Of course, they did get off to a slow start. And it was against the Redskins, a team that was grossly overrated regardless of RGIII’s health status. Now they have a second straight long road trip against an underrated team that has a pretty solid home-field advantage.

* Tony Gonzalez is on a mission, and he will have a monster game.

Final Score: Falcons 24, Seahawks 17

TEXANS AT PATRIOTS:

* I believe in Arian Foster. I don’t believe the Patriots’ run defense will stop him this time.

* The Patriots have been perhaps the ultimate example of “team” over the last 12 years, but look at this game on paper: The Texans have the best running back in this game, the best receiver, the best impact defensive player. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady count for an awful lot, but the Texans won’t be pushovers here.

Final score: Texans 23, Patriots 21

Bill Cowher talks return to coaching, tattoos

Before the 2012 NFL season began, it was a safe bet that Bill Cowher would be one of the first names mentioned for most any prominent head coaching vacancy. Yet by the time Black Monday rolled around and seven teams had openings, Cowher suddenly seemed like an afterthought.

How’d that happen?

Perhaps, as some have suggested, Cowher is looking for more money and more power than teams are willing to give. Or maybe he’s just not ready.

“No, no, no,” was Cowher’s response Tuesday when asked if he planned to seek any of the jobs sill out there. The occasion was a CBS press event touting the network’s blanket coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, so the former Steelers coach turned CBS Sports analyst used that as an opportunity to plug his current employer.

“We have the Super Bowl this year,” he said. “All the coaches want to get to the Super Bowl, I already know I’m going to be there.”

Assuming Cowher waits another year to get serious about a return to the sidelines, that would be seven years away from the coaching business. Not a problem, said the 55-year-old Cowher, who coached the Steelers from 1992-2006 and got them to two Super Bowls, winning one.

“I think it’s a non-issue,” he said. “I did it for 27 years. You don’t just forget it overnight. The one thing about this job is that it’s been really good because it allows me to study the game, do features on the game. I watch tape. It’s not like you’re out of it. I know how the game is changing.”

Cowher’s hard-nosed style must come to terms with the changes that have taken place regarding player safety and limits on hitting, but he’s prepared for that.

“Some of the hits that are now illegal are hits I was showing the night before the game. But that’s the way the game is evolving. You just have to teach the right thing.”

Cowher doesn’t think the changes will make it too difficult for him to get back into coaching, though he admits it won’t be easy.

“It would be a challenge,” Cowher said “But that’s probably why I’d get back in – because of the challenge.”

Cowher’s name was mentioned often in New York before the Jets hired Rex Ryan in 2009. With Ryan firmly on the hot seat in 2013, don’t be surprised to see his name come up again. And given the hubbub over Ryan’s Mark Sanchez tattoo last week, someone asked Cowher if he’d ever consider getting a Ben Roethlisberger tattoo.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, tongue in cheek, “at least he won me a Super Bowl.”