It's time for some primal scream therapy. Brett Favre got in our heads and ripped out our hearts last week -- so today we let it all hang out. The only way to move on is to get it off our chests. And so we will.

We'll hit on a range of other topics, from the job Belichick did this year, to the coaching carousel around the league, to objectivity in the media. But Favre takes precedent. Assume the position….

--

Mike,

I just don't see how Favre is any different than, say, Joe Namath. I don't mean stats wise, but just that cult-of-personality-thing where the image overtakes reality. Hell, he's Warren Moon with one more Super Bowl win. I'm too lazy to compare the numbers, but I bet his and Moon's are not that dissimilar. Moon was a very good QB (and a HOFer, though borderline if you ask me) but I don't think there was ever a point in Moon's career when ESPN would have devoted a tag line in the crawl during Sports Center titled “Moon.”

My point is that if you stick around long enough the numbers will be there and there are a hell of a lot of QBs that have won a single SB -- and who gives an (expletive)!  And why does the name Brett Favre and the phrase “first ballot Hall-of-Famer” become automatically attached every time it is uttered by these network ass-clowns? When he threw that vomit-inducing pick to Phillip Merling all Jim Nantz could gush about was the “gutsy” Favre hurting his arm trying to make the tackle. I'm so f-ing tired of this Brett obsession. Even at his best he was a very good (occasionally great) QB and never anything more. It just seems that everything he does is touched by the hand of God. It's a whole lot of media (expletive), and I don't get it. And by the way, I've seen Brett's wife in person and she has a fat ass! Alright, that was over the line, she was actually very nice and pretty cute. F-him, he doesn't deserve her!

The only thing we can hope for is that after a six month media circus to make a very simple decision to go the (expletive) away, he will decide that the world, and more specifically the NY Jets, can't live without Lord Favre for another season. What scares me about that is that he is one of the few athletes who is so overrated that he seems to be able to inflict damage whether he wins or loses. That is a rare skill. The kind of thing that can't be taught.   

Thanks for the opportunity to vent, Mike. And I know I'm in the minority, but you are not nearly the DB that everyone says you are. Oh yeah, I don't hate Mangini either. All that stuff that went on with Belichick and the Patriots and Spygate is just the cut-throat nature of life in the NFL. I think he did what he had to do, and in the end he got “Favred,” just like everyone else. I hope he gets another shot somewhere, if not as a head coach at least as a coordinator.

Matt

Quincy        

A: This gold-star rant pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? I love how the rage, not to mention the expletives, picked up as the email went on. Welcome to my world, Matt. For the record, Favre’s numbers are substantially better than Moon’s. Favre has a better career completion percentage (61.6 to 58.4), more yards (65,127 to 49,325), more touchdowns (464 to 291) and a better quarterback rating (85.4 to 80.9). Of course, Favre also has more interceptions than Moon (310 to 233) or any other quarterback who has ever played. Favre is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s not overrated in that regard. He’s overrated as a winner. Always has been.

--

Felger,

Mangini had a son born early in the season and he gave the kid the middle name “Brett” after his new best buddy Brett Favre (true story). Eric Jr. may have to get use to being called ”the idiot that got my dad fired” going forward instead.

John C

East Bridgewater

A: Or he could go with “overrated fraud who plays only for himself and would never have won a Super Bowl if not for his kick returner.”

--

Felger,

Favre has fallen apart at the seams. He should have taken the money to stay retired.

Patrick

A: Packers GM Ted Thompson remains my idol. Instead of continuing to fall victim to the hero worship in Wisconsin, he cut the chord. Finally. No more being held hostage by a guy who has lost far more big games than he’s won for a decade running. Heck, the Packers at one point even offered Favre $20 million if he would just stay retired. You think Brett might have taken a hint. You think the Jets might have paid attention. No such luck.

--

Mike,

As much as we knew that dog Favre would screw up the Patriots, the whiney fans and the kiss-ass media need to grow up and face the facts: The Patriots have no one but themselves for missing the playoffs. They lost the Colts game where alligator arms Jabar Gaffney dropped an easy TD pass. And don’t get me going on that poor-ass defense played in the OT loss to the Jets. How you allow a third-and-15 to be completed like that was inexcusable. Once that play was done I knew they would lose that game. But at least we can see the Colts go into San Diego and open a can of whoopass on the most fraudulent division winner of all time and one of the worst coaches ever in Norv Turner. We can also watch Meterperel get a woody when his boy Matt Heisman goes into the desert and takes care of that other fraud playoff team, the Cardinals. At least we have the Bruins and Celtics to wet our sports appetite until spring training starts.

Paul Baranofsky

A: True enough Paul. It’s not like we can look back at the season and say, “The Patriots did absolutely everything they could.” They definitely left some plays out there. Looking back, I think the Jets loss at home hurts by far the most. Indianapolis is a better team, in my opinion, and they were playing for their season at home. I wouldn’t expect the Pats to win that one. The pathetic, choking Jets are a different story.

--

Hey Mike,

What's worse...going 0-16, or making Super Bowl plans in November, only to lose four of your last five and lose to the quarterback that you CUT in the preseason so that you could bring in Brett F'ing Favre? Fireman Ed, have a wonderful offseason!

Matt

A: My favorite story from the week came from the New York Post on Wednesday. Headline: “Bill (Cowher) tells Jets to look elsewhere; Favre to blame?” The story claimed that Cowher would have to receive assurances that Favre would be out of the picture if he took the head-coaching job. It’s unclear if those assurances were made by the Jets or not – and so Cowher moved on. Maybe the story is a reach (Cowher probably wasn’t coming back no matter what), but it still makes a certain amount of sense. Why would Cowher want to come back just to subject himself to THAT?

--

H.O.W. (Husband of the Wood), Happy New Year!

Your assessment of Brett Favre's career and his diminishing effectiveness and performance over the past 5-6 years is 100% accurate. The constant adoration Favre gets from Phil Simms on CBS, Peter King on NBC, and Chris Berman on ESPN is enough to sicken the objective and informed NFL fan. Favre's mystique is so overstated that I bet if you asked any neutral fan from outside of New England or Packer Nation who they would pick as their QB, Brady or Favre in their prime, the majority would pick Favre. The national media has elevated Favre to a legendary status that he just does not deserve, despite him being a truly great QB while in the prime of his career.

At 8-3 in November the Jets were poised for a certain playoff berth and a first round bye. The Jets ended up losing 4 of their last 5 games and they really should have lost all 5 games if not for Buffalo literally handing them a win. The one constant in these games was Favre struggling in the twilight of his career, unable to lead his team to the playoffs. Like the former iconic quarterbacks he is repeatedly and unfairly compared to like Elway, Montana, and Marino it is time for Brett Favre to finally retire, for good.

Ray Murphy

A: Think the Jets will offer him $20 million just to stay away? How else are they going to get a new coach? Seriously, while we're on the topic, here is my all-time top 10 quarterback list. 

1. Joe Montana

2. Tom Brady

3. John Elway

4. Dan Marino

5. Peyton Manning

6. Troy Aikman

7. Steve Young

8. Brett Favre

9. Jim Kelly

10. Warren Moon

A few notes: First, I'm not basing this list on the “best,'' or “most talented'' guy. I think Marino was a better passer and had more tools than Brady, for example, but I'd rather have Brady. And I think when it comes to size, speed, arm strength and mobility, Favre in his prime was as talented as anyone. But I'd rather have Aikman because of how he played in big games and how he took care of the ball. Capiche? Also, I limit this list to the quarterbacks of my generation; call it post 1980. I have no basis of comparison with Johnny Unitas or Terry Bradshaw, etc. The game was much different then. If you want to make a list based on pure “talent,'' here's my top 3:

1. Marino

2. Elway

3. Favre

--

Felger,

I am so sick of the major media outlets pumping Favre up. The report that he didn’t like Mangini calling him out in team meetings for horrible plays was laughable. Mangini was right. In the end, the one game that I thought killed the Pats was the Indy game – they should have let the reigns off of Cassel. If they had, we wouldn’t be talking about Favre.

Michael DiPoto

A: I disagree with your Indy assessment. I don’t think the Pats would have won a shootout. They played the game perfectly. They just got killed by Gaffney, David Thomas and a few uncharacteristically weak decisions by Belichick. As for the story about Favre chaffing under Mangini's desire to hold him accountable, I have only one word: Typical. No one did it Green Bay for years, and it created a monster. Mike Holmgren was the only one able to do it for a time. Other than that, Favre has played the way he wanted.

--

Subj: Felgeradamus

Felger,

Do you have visions of the future like Nostradamus? You called it about Favre! You called it at the beginning of the season, and you never faltered. Most overrated QB in football.

The Pats' season was a success, no doubt about it.  It was very impressive watching Cassel be as close to perfect you can be in the last 6- 7 games. The most disappointing loss all season was the Indy loss That is the game they should have won, but mistakes lost it for them. It also let Indy off the ropes because they had been struggling prior to that game. Indy got very lucky in Houston, and after the victory over the Pats, Indy never looked back.

Belichick does a great job getting the team ready to play, but you can't let him off the hook for not having a viable plan or replacement for the corner position.

Don

Belmont NH

A: I do not believe this was Belichick's best coaching job -- for some of the reasons you say. The secondary was constructed with giant holes in it, and the Pats still wouldn't have had a championship-caliber defense even if Brady was behind center and everyone else stayed perfectly healthy through the season. There were also those bad in-game decisions. As I wrote earlier this week, I think this season was simply a reaffirmation of Belichick's program. It remains great. And you have to marvel at the work he continues to do with his quarterbacks. I mean, good god. It felt like Cassel could barely get the team to the line in the preseason, and by the end of the year he looked like Brady. That's coaching.

--

Felgy,

Call me a cynic or whatever name you want, but coaching the greatest team ever from 18-1 to an 11-5 record the next season with a cupcake schedule hardly qualifies as Belichick's best coaching season. You're judged by results and Super Bowl wins are clearly superior than a non-playoff season. The coach who should receive accolades is Miami's coach. The Pats were 1-4 against AFC playoff teams. I think that shows they didn't belong this year.

AJ

A: When it comes to “quality'' wins this year, I count three or four. Certainly the win in Miami qualifies. I also put Week 2 against the Jets on the list, as well as the win at Seattle. The Seahawks are terrible, yes, but they played well and their crowd was involved that day. That was a good win. I also think the Rams game was better than people are it giving credit for. St. Louis had won two in a row at that point and were coming off big victories over Washington and Dallas, and the Pats pulled it out in the fourth quarter. But your point is well taken. For the most part, the Pats beat the teams they should have beaten and lost to the teams they should have lost to.

--

Hey Mike,

So Mark Schlereth, Meril Hodge, and especially Steve Young posed the question: Let's see how good Bill Belichick is now that he's w/o Tom Brady. I'll ignore the fact that Tom Landry, Chuck Knoll et al, did it w/ only one QB. But fine, let's go w/ it.

Where are they now? I listen to all the ESPN shows in hopes of them at least addressing it. Not a peep so far. Maybe they can argue that they only went 11-5 and missed the playoffs. But nevertheless, this season should at least give them pause to think how stupid the theory is.

Bernie

Malden

A: There's no doubt that Belichick haters all over the globe were sharpening their knives after Brady went down. But let me ask you this: If the Pats had gone 7-9 or 8-8 against that awful schedule, why wouldn't Belichick have been open for criticism? If Cassel had never improved and quarterback play ended up hurting the Pats, why couldn’t we have second-guessed the decision to go with him? Why couldn't we have elevated Brady over Belichick in our mythical debate? Those were fair talk radio topics when they were posed back in September. So it turns Belichick proved himself (again) and the Schlereths and Youngs of the world were wrong (again). It doesn't mean it was an unworthy topic or “stupid theory,'' as you say. It's what we do as fans. The only ones who said we shouldn't go there are the ones who were afraid Belichick would fail. They should have had more faith in their guy.

--

Felger,

I know franchising Cassel means we have 28% of the cap invested in two players. But suppose Brady were not able to go in '09 and he was put on IR. Is he still a full cap hit being on IR? Or do we get cap relief for guys on IR? My thought is, if the Pats know Brady can't go in '09, they franchise Cassel and IR Brady. But it only makes sense if they get cap relief for Brady and know ahead of time that Brady can't go.

Todd Antonucci

A: A common question. Players on injured reserve count against the salary cap. Always have. Brady's $14 million 2009 cap hit will remain on the books this year unless he restructures, retires or is traded.

--

Felger,

When is Brady's contract up? Do you think he might want a max deal seeing he has taken a discount two previous times. Maybe he wants to be on the West Coast with his son. I don't think we can rule out that he wants to leave NE in the near future. Let's face it, the Pats will maximize the leverage of Brady and Cassel.

Paul Lesser

A: I don’t know if Brady wants to leave New England in the “near future,” but I think we can all agree he’s not a Boston lifer. He’s New York-LA all the way. Maybe he’ll want to play for a California team some day. That wouldn’t surprise me. But I would be surprised if he wanted to make that move any time soon. He’s still got a lot to accomplish here with Belichick and the Pats. His contract, by the way, expires following the 2010 season, meaning he’s got two years left. I predict at least one more extension with the Pats.

--

Mike,

You're giving Mike Shanahan way too much credit. Shanahan has spent the better part of a decade riding the wave from the Super Bowls he won when Elway/Terrell Davis were in town. Since that last Super Bowl ten years ago, Shanny has 91 wins (9.1/year). That puts him in good company with the elite teams in the league....only six teams have a higher win/year average (Colts, Pats, Steelers, Eagles, Titans, Packers). BUT, in that span, Shanahan has ONE playoff win. ONE. There are 22 teams in the NFL with more playoff wins than Mike Shanahan in the past 10 years.

I won't bother listing them all because my office is closing at 9:30 because of wicked scary five inches of snow we're supposed to get today, but you get the idea. This guy is the Brett Favre of coaches over the past 10 years, and he was fired for good reason.

Happy New Year,

Mike

A: The Brett Favre of coaches? Wow. I won't argue that Shanahan deserved to lose his job. He had a long time to build a defense and he didn't come close. Maybe I wouldn't give him personnel control, but I'd let him coach my team any day of the week. When it comes to offense, I don't think there is anyone better. I'm with Belichick on this one. I've seen him beat the Pats with Brian Griese. I've seen him beat them with Jake Plummer. I've seen him almost beat them with Danny Kanell (2003 goal post game), for crying out loud. He's pretty good.

--

Felger,

Any chance that if Shanahan doesn't coach this year Belichick hires him to be offensive coordinator, assuming McDaniels lands as a head coach somewhere else? Belichick has expressed football love for the guy.  

Also I've figured out that your boy Favre has cost the Pats a chance at four more rings: 1997 when the Packers beat the Pats and he was good Brett; 2002 when he lost to the Jets and was bad Brett; 2007 when he blew the NFC title game vs. the Giants; and this past Sunday. Happy New Year

Mo

Watertown

A: No way Shanahan goes anywhere to be anyone's assistant. Not going to happen. He's looking for a head coaching job, and maybe even personnel control as well. His days as a coordinator are over. Nice way to describe the Favre trail of destruction here in New England, Mo.

--

Felger,

A few weeks back I asked you about the Pioli situation, and you told me that your gut feeling was that he would stay. Now the Browns seem more interested than ever in him, and they are going to interview Eric ManGINA for the head coaching job. Has your feeling changed at all? By the way, BRETT FAVRE IS MORE OF A D-BAG THAN YOU COULD EVER DREAM OF BEING!!! Let me know your answer please, Felger.

Eric,

A: The Pioli situation certainly seems different this time around, I'll grant you that. Scott has never been more aggressive than he has been this year. But at the time of this writing (noon on New Year's day), he still hasn't gone anywhere. So we'll see.

--

Felger,

It’s an early offseason which means early college scouting. As stated before, the college ranks have some straight out STUDS coming out. Taylor Mays form USC is a game changing safety -- 6-3, 240; runs a 4.3 40 and plays like a BEAST. There are players like that across the board. I think giving Belichick an extra month to evaluate defensive players will get us a couple more Mayos. Alphonso Smith, CB out of Wake Forest, a smurf but he is a PLAYER -- perfect for our system. The trend is there. Belichick is not going to let another year go by without upgrading the secondary. It’s going to be an exciting offseason because with as many scenarios that can play out, no one is sure about anything and it can literally go either way. Sharpen your pencils Mike. You’re going to have a lot of Pats to write about this offseason.

David Thompson

A: And I have no problem writing about it. Just let this be a warning: pre-draft talk gives me a painful, ice-cream headache. Too many names and too many projections, most of which turn out to be totally wrong. I LOVE going over draft classes after the fact, especially two and three years down the road. But doing it before the draft? I'll leave that to you folks.

--

Hey Mike,

I have to say, as much of a douche bag as you may be, you're also one of the only sports media guys in this town who really knows how to man up after you put your foot in your mouth and say `I was wrong.’ Good work.

Roger Christie

Harvard

A: The reason I'm able to do that, Roger, is that I'm so rarely wrong…..

--

Felger you DB (I always wanted to say that on the Whiner Line),

You made a mistake on the report card. You referred to the Patriots as being 17-1 after the 2007 season. As the local bandwagoners here in San Diego always like to point out to me, it's 18-1.

Dave

San Diego

A: I blame Christmas week. I wasn't myself.

--

Mike,

Sammy Morris' contract is not up, he is signed thru 2010. He signed a 4 year, 8 million dollar deal after the 2006 season.

Thanks,

Mark Connolly

A: I have no idea why I wrote that. I know full well that Morris is still under contract, yet my fingers went in a different direction. Maybe I confused him with LaMont Jordan, who is, in fact, a free agent. But, then again, I don't think it's that important for the Pats to retain Jordan. So I have no idea what I was doing there. I'll blame the Wood for that one. Maybe she was trying to talk to me at the time. Or maybe it's Favre's fault.

--

Michael,

In your 12/28/2008 article you state the following: “Since the NFL went to it's current format in 1990, every 11-win team has qualified for the postseason -- and they still aren't going to the playoffs.”

This is not correct and skewing your argument slightly. The current format has been in place since 2002. It not just the fact that there are still 6 teams per conference that make the playoffs, but the fact that there is one less wild-card team now that in the 1990-2001 format. This shouldn't be that shocking and it will happen again, probably real soon too. Do you agree?

Marc

A: Good point. You're right. The odds of 11- and 10-win teams missing the playoffs have increased since the league went to the extra division. Cleveland was shut out with 10 wins last year and the Pats got the short stick this year. I still wouldn't change the system, though. It sucks to see a division winner like the Cardinals go to the playoffs and the Pats stay home, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. If division winners don’t get automatic berths/home games, why even bother having divisions?

--

Felger,

The NFL needs an NIT tourney. The Pats are some solid school in great conference and the Cardinals and Chargers are the freakin' Valparaisos and Kent States of the league. Now I know how Hank Steinbrenner felt after the Yankees didn't make the playoffs.

Michael Quintal

A: Here's how I would seed the top 5 non-playoff teams. 1. Patriots; 2. Texans; 3. San Francisco; 4. Buccaneers; 5. Cowboys.

--

Mike,

I have no problem with the NFL playoff system. If the Pats stop that terrible third-and-15 in overtime against the Jets they are in. What I do have a problem with is the draft order. Barring a Super Bowl appearance by one of the FOUR teams that finished worse in the standings than the Pats, these teams will all draft ahead of the Pats. How is that fair? Congratulations San Diego, you finished 8-8 and won your terrible division (the same division the Pats dominated and went 3-1 against). Your reward is a playoff appearance and a home playoff game, but why do you also get to draft eight spots ahead of the Pats? Shouldn't the 12 playoff teams be the last twelve to draft since they made the playoffs? It seems like a spit in the face and a kick in the junk to go 11-5 to miss out on the playoffs by tiebreakers AND have the draft order determined almost exclusively by record.

Matt

Dedham

A: Another point that's hard to argue, although I have a hard time getting all hot and bothered over the fact the Pats may draft 24th as opposed to 19th or whatever. Don't they usually trade down anyway?

--

Hey Felger,

I haven't laughed that much in ages. Last Wednesday's show was great! I agree with your public views about Xmas. And when they ended the show with Sara & Emma....I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard. It sounds to me like you and Sara are raising your daughter with both humor and grace, she is a very lucky girl. Thank you for the gift of Wednesday's show....Merry Christmas & Happy 2009.

Sincerely,

Amy Brooks

Canton

A: Amy obviously didn’t hear the part about women drivers.

--

Felger,

The phone call from the Wood was RADIO GOLD! What was supposed to be a two minute drive to the store to buy a newspaper ended up with me driving around the neighborhood for 25 minutes, listening to WEEI. Hanging up on your daughter was the lowest (and funniest) thing I've ever heard. 

Jon

Rhode Island

A: It’s true. I had to drop Emma. She wasn’t interested in having a conversation. So what if she's four? I control the board.

--

Felgy,

I have to laugh when people mention Maroney as one of the key losses the Pats had this year. When has that guy EVER been a key for them for more than a few weeks? The guy hasn’t been on the field long enough to know either way. The Pats showed a ton of heart this year while losing a lot of key guys but Lawrence Maroney was not one of them. PS, Favre sucks.

Paul

Whitman

A: Here's how much impact Maroney's “injury'' had on the Pats this year: ZERO. The offense wasn't the problem, and every back to saw time (from Sammy Morris to Kevin Faulk to BenJarvus freaking Green-Ellis) contributed something. I can't see how Maroney's presence would have changed the outcome of a single game. When the Pats lost this year, they lost because of defense or pass protection.

--

Felger,

Everyone talks about Mauer and Martin as the best young catchers in the game along with the two prospects from Texas.  How come you hear nothing about McCann from Atlanta? He will be 25 in February and is a year younger than Martin, two years younger than Mauer and Soto from Chicago. Signed through 2011 for a total of 15.5 million and a 8.5 million club option for 2012. Good defensively, certainly better than Martin and Soto, and Glavine and Smoltz both raved about throwing too him. Atlanta is desperate for young pitching. Why not offer Atlanta two of the young stud pitching prospects for him? This is a guy who in his first three major league years has averaged .300-22-90. Contact hitter who struck out only 65 times in 550 plate appearances. You are getting a young catcher and middle of the order power. Atlanta gets young pitching that it can control costs on. You have to give up something to get something. Something to think about it. PS, Penny Great Signing!....Wood calling on Christmas Eve funnier than anything in the history of D&C!

John

Amherst

A: I'm with you on McCann. He's a top 5 guy at that position. But TWO young pitchers for him? So you're saying Buchholz AND Bowden. Or Masterson AND Bard? No way, Jose. As for Brad Penny, I love that signing as well. He is only one injury-plagued year removed from back-to-back, 16-win seasons in which he pitched 189 and 208 innings, respectively and made 33 starts each year. He had a 3.03 ERA in 2007. He's only 30. Let's see what he does with John Farrell.

--

Hey Felgy,

What are your thoughts on the Pats going out and getting Asomugha from Oakland? I know he will be in high demand, but from his comments in the past he wants to be on a winning team. I know he was franchised last year and if Oakland Franchises him again then they have to pay him the top 5 salaries in the league, which would be crazy for a CB.

Thanks

John

Marblehead

A: Adam Schefter of the NFL Network guarantees that the Raiders will, in fact, franchise Asomugha. Even if they don't, I'd be stunned if the Pats make that kind of play given the economy.

--

Felgy,

Quick, who leads the NFL in punt average, net average, and inside 20 percentage? That's right, Matt Cassel. What are the odds that BB comes out and confidently announces the Pats will franchise Cassel…as a punter? To quote the pom-poms, “Once again, the man's a genius!” Obviously I'm fairly certain this can't happen, but it got me thinking, what or who is it that decides the position a player would be franchised at?

Jeff,

Chestnut Hill

A: There was actually a case like this last year with Terrell Suggs in Baltimore. The Ravens wanted to designate him as a linebacker and he wanted to be classified as a defensive end, which carried a higher franchise tender. In the end, an agreement was reached between Suggs, the Raves, the NFLPA and the NFL management council that split the difference. So, to answer the question, I don't believe there are hard-and-fast rules in cases like that. It sounds like it's all negotiable. That said, I think we can all agree that one snap at a particularly position won't get it done. Nice try.

--

Felger,

You really know how to beat a dead Brady to death. Your one big mouth and your show really sucks today (Dec. 31). Let's put Curran on a pedestal, worship him and then change the topic. Where did you learn to be a sports commentator - Guam School of Broadcasting and Journalism? The show couldn’t end soon enough. Moron.

Jim Sly

A: This is one end of the spectrum….

--

Subj: Great show today

Mike,

Great show with Tom Curran. I tend to side with Tom with respect to the Brady’s knee, although I do think he'll be back sometime in the ‘09 season, probably around game eight or nine (just a guess). So nice to hear a contrarian's viewpoint versus the typical rump swabbing that goes on there. Hope you get some more air time. Your views are truly refreshing and make the commute bearable. Happy New Year to you and your family.

David Bancroft

A: ….and here's the other. Get these every show. Thought I'd provide a sample.

--

Mr. Baseball,

While I know you're a heartless bastard, it appears as though other media brethren of yours allow personal relationships to sway their reporting one way or the other. Peter King, whom I have no problem with for the most part, steadfastly refuses to criticize Brett Favre (I have a feeling he could take a dump on his lawn and Peter would call him a “good old country boy and gunslinger that just likes to fertilize people's lawns for them'') despite his consistently deteriorating play and questionable off-field actions (painkillers, being an awful teammate to Aaron Rodgers, the “will he retire?'' question each of the last few years, etc.). And some local Pats writers seem hesitant to criticize some of the team's draft and free agent decisions despite obvious signs pointing to the contrary. I can understand their motivation -- they seem to be in Belichick's/Pioli's favor and don't want to shut out that access. But at the same time, I wonder if the journalistic integrity becomes compromised. And then there are others where the hatred shines through the words.

My question to you is this -- have you ever found it more difficult to write negative things about a player because of a personal relationship? How do you think this affects sportswriters in general? PS, The Wood has an insanely hot voice (among other things).

Thanks,

Craig Barry

A: Craig named names in this email, and I edited them out. I hope he doesn't mind. But to answer the question: I used to find it a heck of a lot more difficult to be critical than I do now. For the last couple of years, I've more or less let it rip -- and if it cost me a relationship, it cost me a relationship. It explains why I don't have a lot of great ones down in Foxboro right now. It's a definite trade off. It exists on every beat, but it's particularly bad when it comes to Belichick and the Patriots. If you want access, you have to pull punches. And if you're going to be critical, you're not going to get the same access. Belichick isn't someone who enjoys a good editorial back-and-forth. In his eyes, you're either with him or you're against him. He's a tough guy to cover for a lot of reasons. Some reporters take it personally, and that explains some of the hatred out there.

To me, it's purely business. What would you rather do as a journalist -- deliver a piece of team-friendly information that no one else has; or give your honest (i.e., critical) opinion when you feel it's warranted? Let me ask you: As a reader/listener, what would YOU rather have, the interview or a straight opinion? When it comes to the Pats, it's hard to do both. (I think Curran comes the closest, by the way). If you want my opinion, I think it's important for readers to have a range. And we've definitely got it here in Boston.

--

Felger

Now that the patriots are done, what the hell are you going to talk about in your mailbags?

Joe

A: What did Chris Rock once say about what women want? It's the same answer to your question above: EVERY-THANG. The mailbag will live on, every week, throughout the year. There will be more than enough Patriots hot stove stuff to cover, but we'll be talking about whatever you want to talk about. My Bruins watching is about to increase substantially. We'll see if the Celtics are challenged in the playoffs. And I'm sure I'll be pissing off Red Sox fans on the radio at some point, we'll have that, too.

Long live the bag.

--

Michael Felger can be seen nightly on Comcast Sportsnet and reached at mfelger@weei.com.