Game films

Tom Brady is banged up again. Shoulder this time. When you watch the hits he takes week after week it's amazing he hasn't missed more time. It's also amazing some question his toughness. I watched a montage of Brady getting knocked around and it reminded me of the opening scene of one of -- if not the greatest -- football movies of all time. "North Dallas Forty" from 1979. The '70s were great for football in the movies.

One of the greatest football films starts off with one of the greatest opening scenes of any genre. Nick Nolte, veteran wide receiver, struggles to get out of bed the morning after a game. With each step he takes he is reminded of every big hit he took the night before. No dialogue needed.

But the movie has lots of great dialogue. My favorite line is when the coach is telling his players that the key to winning is consistency. Game in and game out. He tells them that a computer has spit out info on each of them that they need to follow religiously to improve consistency, adding "No one of you is as good as that computer."

That's a scene -- and a line -- that speaks to a lot more than the football world these days.