Some of yesterday's understated musings from the voice of the fan on the FAN:

"A Pop Warner coach would know more Football and would be as smart a Football guy than this absolute buffoon idiot that has no business stepping foot again on the sideline coaching this team."

"As far as the quarterback, goodbye. You're done. Stick a fork in him. Go back to Mississippi and go fishing with Mike Holmgren for the rest of your life. I've had enough with him, too."

"Seven Pro Bowlers, more than anybody in the league, for a team that's not going to go to the playoffs! Is that a disgrace or what? Eric, have another burger."

"Woody Johnson, when you're counting your PSL money, take a look at your coach, Woody! Get the Q-Tips out of your ears and take a look at the coach. He stinks."

"At least [Herman Edwards' Chiefs] show up to play. I don't think he has a Hall of Fame quarterback. But you know what, right now I'll take Tyler Thigpen over Favre. I would!"

"I hate this team. For 40 years, they have given me nothing but agita, aggravation ... All they care about is PSLs, shiny new stadium, in bed with the Giants. It's a freakin' joke, a joke!"

More? Much. Check my blog.

Tsk-tsk on Tasker

With the snow and the officials' apparently erroneous spot after Laveranues Coles' second-down catch, it was understandable that CBS had difficulty deciding whether the Jets went for it on fourth-and-2 or fourth-and-4 on the pivotal drive.

What was not understandable was precisely where analyst Steve Tasker stood.

After the third-down incompletion: "I don't think you cannot punt it away here."

As the Jets lined up for the play: "Well, 2:21, maybe you do, you've got to go for it."

After the fourth-down incompletion: "I think you're better off punting the Football away and stopping the clock at the other end of the punt than you are going for it on fourth-and-4 and not picking it up."

Back in the studio, Boomer Esiason tried to be supportive, saying, "Steve Tasker appropriately pointed out all the different issues that were confronting the Jets."

Jets loss nixes flex

If the Jets had beaten the Seahawks on Sunday - or if the Broncos had beaten the Bills - it is likely the NFL would have put the Jets in prime time in Week 17. Instead, they will play in the dark at 4:15, but at least (most) fans will be home before midnight.

That beats what Giants fans endured to watch their team clinch a No. 1 seed - a game that ended at 11:32 with a temperature of 29 degrees and a wind-chill factor of 15. (The wind chill was a balmy 28 at 4 p.m.)

Howard Katz, the NFL's senior VP of broadcasting, insisted the league works hard in its flex decisions to balance the comfort of ticket-holders with millions of fans watching at home.

"It's frustrating when people write or say that we don't care about the fan; we really do," Katz said. "But there are a lot of interests we're trying to balance. It's not just about giving NBC the best game."

Of course, playing in prime time is part of the cost of having a good team. So Giants fans surely would not trade staying up late Sunday for Jets fans' earlier night next weekend.

That doesn't mean they have to like it.

"I hear from John Mara; he lets me have it when we move one of his games," Katz said. "He hears from his fans, and I hear from him."

Marinelli rejects apology

Detroit News (and former Newsday) columnist Rob Parker caused a huge stir Sunday when he asked this of Lions coach Rod Marinelli about his son-in-law / defensive coordinator, Joe Barry: "On a light note, do you wish your daughter would've married a better defensive coordinator?" Oy.

Fox's Terry Bradshaw called Parker an "idiot." Jimmy Johnson called him a "jerk."

Parker apologized in a column in which he noted he has a "different relationship" with the coach, who he wrote approached him later, "tapped me on the side of my leg and said he'll see me [yesterday]."

But yesterday, Marinelli rejected the apology, saying: "Any time you attack my daughter, I've got a problem with that ... It was premeditated. I think there was something wrong with that, yeah."

Had Parker crossed the line? "Big time," the coach said.

Sound bites

The trick to sideline reporters is using them for a reason, not because they are there. NBC did the former Sunday when Andrea Kremer noted a crosswind blowing toward the Carolina bench. John Kasay then missed from 50 yards as a wind gust blew the kick wide left, toward the Panthers' sideline ... ESPN, ABC and TNT will combine for a quintupleheader Thursday, including the first Celtics-Lakers game on Christmas since 1970. Holiday hoops, from noon until after midnight? Is that kosher?