Not that we ever root for injuries, but Tom Brady's mild high ankle sprain is just what the doctor ordered during one of the worst weeks of the NFL season. Someday the league will realize how much momentum is lost after the conference championship games and eliminate the extra week.
Until then, we have to pray that a star quarterback shows up in New York wearing a walking boot. The protocol on a story like this is to let the tabloids set the tone for the first few hours. After that, you turn it into a hard news story and try to determine whether Brady will ever walk again.
The genius thing that ESPN has done is bring in "Monday Night Football" analyst Ron Jaworski to watch tape of Sunday's AFC Championship Game from 17 different camera angles. I'm now told that the Estrella Cam gave Jaws the angle he was looking for.
On Tuesday, he pinpointed a play that occurred with 2:18 left in the first quarter. Jaws and Hashmarks regular Sal Paolantonio are sharing a studio in Philadelphia that apparently doubles as a children's dentist office.
"When I went back and looked at it from the sideline angle, the end zone angle, the TV angle, and some angles that NFL Films cameras had, I thought at the top of the drop - it was a five-step drop - he rolled over his ankle a bit," Jaworski said.
"It looked to me that he tweaked his ankle a bit; the delivery was very awkward. When he followed through, he brought his right leg around and didn't want to transfer weight on it. Then on one of the NFL Films cameras, you could see him looking back at the spot, almost as if he was asking, 'What did I hit?' His cleat got caught."
On Wednesday, Sal was pointing the finger at a play early in the third quarter on which Brady was sacked by defensive end Luis Castillo. Sal said that Brady had been fortunate not to break his right leg during the play. And if you ask me, he was fortunate not to lose the leg altogether.
After receiving two days of treatment at Gisele's House of Rehab in Manhattan, Brady should be ready to go in practice today. OK, back with more breaking news in a moment.
