1. An afterthought, maybe. Am I the only one who wonders why there isn't a rookie cap in the NFL? Sure, JLong will probably be good. But I thought Robert Gallery would be crushing DL's too.
2. Unbelievable to hear the talking heads prattle about a ceiling on Chris Long. Short of blazing speed, the guy is a phenom. He's got burst, power and jumps out the room. Sure he got handled by OLiners who had 60-75 lbs. on him, but name one player this side of the real LT who didn't have that problem. Long will be an excellent NFL player and a worthwhile choice at #2.
3. Not just the start of a new era in ATL, but the end of another. Matt Ryan will return respectability to the QB spot for the Falcons. And the fact that they'll have a QB at QB won't hurt either. Don't let the Ryan pick exclude the possibility of Art Blank letting Mike Vick return to ATL, but thankfully it will be at Vick's natural position.
4. Hard to pick apart the Raiders choice of McFadden. Sure they could have used a trench player, but they can use someone at every position. When you suck as much as the Raiders, a good player is a good pick.
8. The Jags purged their DL and then may have reached desperately at #8. Good to see a defensive powerhouse dump a few highly paid, proven performers to overpay one, undersized unproven player in Harvey. Is Jax thinking he's the second coming of Dwight Freeny?
13. Johnathan Stewart will fit in Carolina, and he's a quality choice. But with Brian Brohm, Joe Flacco and Chad Henne on the board, and Jake Delhomme coming off Tommy John Surgery . . .??? Not sure who the Panthers are considering as an insurance policy, may JD Booty or Colt Brennan, but both lack starter size and ability.
18. Speaking of Flacco, I don't love the guy because he went to my alma mater, I just love that arm. Throws the ball like it's on a string, with awesome velocity and accuracy, yet has great touch downfield. Maybe the best physical specimen at QB in the last ten years. The knock on him is his footwork. Well you can teach footwork. You can't teach arm.
21. I like the Matt Ryan pick. Not sure about Baker at 21. The guy is not equipped to be an NFL Tackle. Maybe the Falcons are thinking they have the next Alan Faneca. The bad news is, Faneca thought he was a lot better than the film showed recently and he was getting worked pretty good for the last three years. Still if Baker pans out at guard, assuming the Birds put him there, it might be a good marriage at least for the first two contracts.
23. Mel Kiper, in his infinite wisdom, called this a "luxury pick" for Pittsburgh. The Steelers started 9-3 and finished 1-3. Where's the luxury for a team that collapsed down the Stretch? The Steelers aren't deep anywhere and their best RB broke his leg last year. They took the best player available, by far. Any player to take the heat of Big Sack Taker is a great pick.
26. Another player termed a reach? Depends on what reaching is. I don't think taking a good player (like Duane Brown) who fits what you do, a little early is a reach. I think taking an overrated player at any position is a reach.
Regardless of where one sits on the relevance of the Brett Favre career calculations, his long overdue departure set in motion a series of noteworthy discussions. Among them:
1. Is Favre the best QB ever?
2. Is Favre one of the best QB's ever?
3. Is Favre the best Packer QB ever?
4. Was this year the "right" year for #4 to retire?
They're all great questions, but it merits mention that one must first define "greatness" before even entering the discussion.
1&2.
If you love stats, there's no question Favre is one of the best ever. He stands atop a class including Moon, Marino, Fouts, Kelly and a handful of others who piled up great regular season records/stats in a game more defensively hamstrung with every passing year.
It's kind of ironic for me though, that Favre reminds me of my favorite and the original GOB, Gunslinger QB, Terry Bradshaw though. Actually, it just makes me wonder how Bradshaw would have performed under the same rule set.
But if one cares about winning, the real winning, Brett Favre has more in common with Trent Dilfer than Joe Montana. That's why it's hard for me to even consider him an elite, top ten performer. The rush by the media to anoint Favre as the King of QB's is about as undeserved as as awarding the Nobel Prize in Physics for the Clapper.
Bradshaw even went on record as saying his greatest accomplishment was that her never lost a SB.
But doubtlessly, there are some greats that have lost a championship. The one that most comes to mind is the phenomenal Otto Graham. 10 Championship game appearances in ten years, and seven championships.
No one even mentions Otto Graham. Even though he played in a era where defenders abused receivers and QB's like they were inmates at Alcatraz, and Graham was the poster boy for developing the face mask after a blow to the jaw left him with 15 stitches.
Ten years, 7 Championships, 86.6 passer rating, 105-17-4 record and 88 TD's.
Now tell me that Favre compares to that? Or even try to extrapolate what Graham would have done under the NFL-lite PI, IC and Roughing rules in place today.
When you consider what Graham did, it's hard to imagine that any of the talking heads have even as much of a clue about NFL history. Or even recent history.
Don't even get me started about Johnny U.
Bradshaw is on TV every Sunday. He won 4 SB's in six years. Montana is hardly an afterthought, with the highest QB rating ever in the post season, over 100. Aikman, yeah he shows up every so often.
And what About 3-1 Tom Brady?
So until we have a stats bowl to decide the best of the best every season, Favre is a very good, but not elite QB.
The sad fact is though, we'll never be able to compare these guys side by side. So the question borders on moot.
3. Bart Starr won 5 Championships. Favre won one. So this question is a joke too.
4. No. He didn't pick the right year, he should have retired four or five years ago after that six-pick with a pick-six, meltdown in the post season. The sad fact is, ever since Favre lost his babysitters, Mariucci, Gruden and Holmgren, he's been a pressure point disaster. He's the guy you can count on to make the worst possible play when it's all on the line. Once Holmgren left, and he had left before the Packers even blew that SB to the Ponies, Favre was cursed by his own hoopla. I honestly think he started buying into the hype.
Heck, Bradshaw had Noll, Montana had Walsh, Starr had Lombardi and Graham had Brown, who did Favre end up with? Yes, the Legendary Mike Sherman. What did we expect?
Don't get me wrong kids, I had to love Favre, if only for the literally challenged mis-pronunciation of Farvruh. But include him in the elite, much less anoint him the best? Come on.
All the hoopla tells me is how sorry the state of QB'ing has become since coaches took the game from the QB's hands and the NFL rule softeners made even the Kordell Stewart experience an option.
Favre was clearly an exceptional and durable athlete, and definitely an exceptional talent. But his career numbers, however inflated, do the talking. 17 years, one trophy.
It's true, if I (instead of Jason Whitlock) had cited black on black crime as evidence of the new ####, I'd be labeled a racist and probably locked out of the site (again).
It's true, if I had reached down deep and called out blacks for being the primary perpretrators of crimes against blacks, I'd be labeled a racist and probably locked out of the site (again).
It's true (even though Whitlock is black) that the instant he chose to stand on an issue and call out blacks for being the most likely to kill other blacks, he invited a firestorm of controversy.
Yes, double standards are alive and well in America. And there not just for white folks either.
Here's what I have to say about what Whitlock had to say:
Thank God.
I didn't like his choice of metaphors, but I understand the use of a literary device as well as anyone. Whitlock pushed your buttons skillfully.
I despise the subject matter, and the ugly reality of Sean Taylor's short life. I knew about Taylor's not so perfect past and regardless of his poor choices, had to root for him. The guy was a phenom. He didn't always behave the way I wish he would have behaved, but Taylor could have played in any era, under any rule set, and been a superstar. He was that good. He played the game the way it's supposed to be played. Somehow, I felt that understanding and respect for the game would keep him safe.
I prayed for his life. I cried at his passing. I thought about the unfairness of how I cried for him and not all the other 24 year-old black men that perish in senseless violence. I'm ashamed of that.
I lost my best friend when he was 22, after he was killed in a head-on collision. I carried him to his grave.
These deaths are a death of hope.
And Jason Whitlock dared to speak about the senselessness, the ugliness, the sickness, and the tragedy. He dared to blame the guilty and call the truth by its right name.
Thank God.
He chose to stand for something, to care enough to tell people what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear.
He chose to be a writer, instead of a journalist.
Here's the news, kids. You don't have to agree with him (I rarely do), you don't have to like his style or the content about which he chooses to opine.
But you should give him your respect. He displayed the character and courage that so many "journalists' have chosen to forgo in favor of a regular paycheck.
He stood on a wall. He called for positive change and he knows that you have be fearless in order to shepherd that change. He put the truth ahead of his popularity.
In essence, Whitlock went on record as being against people killing people, black on black crime is part of that problem. I have no issue with his position.
I choose to praise him. I give him my highest praise. I call him a writer.
You may choose not to praise him. But I think you should respect him. The list of folks who tell us what we need to hear is getting shorter every day.
In what might be one of the most idiotic presentations in sports "journalism" ever, ESPN presented a "town meeting" to discuss the race issue related to Ron Mexico's guilty plea.
Despite the unbelievable cheers and catcalls from the overwhelmingly black audience, I listened in. You're going to have to pardon me for asking these questions.
But did Vick plead gulity because he was black? Did he bankroll the gambling ring because he was black? Did he electrocute and drown dogs because he was black?
Terence Mathis talked about what Vick had done for the city. Mike Vick was their guy. He spoke of how much pride that Vick had brought to their city, but then forgot to mention how Vick had shamed and disgraced his city and the NFL by murdering defenselelss animals. He mentioned how Mike Vick put Atlanta football back on the map, but forgot to mention Vick flipping off those fans twice in his home satdium.
I heard questions about why other NFL players had done much worse and avoided punishment? Who for instance? Rae Carruth? Nate Newton? Bam Morris? Jamal Lewis?
I heard compliants about media overkill, and how Mike Vick has been put through so much. Yet the crowd jeered when an animal rights activist remided them that the victims were dead and buried, killed in fights, electrocuted &/or drowned,not making plea deals.
I saw ESPN cut short Joy Behar's retort to Whoopi Goldberg when Goldberg pulled the "cultural/southern" excuse on "The View". Behar asked her in what part of the country drowning or electrocuting dogs was part of the culture. Whoopi had no answer, but ESPN didn't bother to show that.
All in all I saw, the most racially biased and polarizing events on TV since the civil rights marches/riots on 50 years ago. ESPN worked hard to enrage an overwhelmingly white viewing audience. What a disgrace.
Meanwhile, Deuce McAllister's blocking back, a white guy, breaks down and cries over McAllister's injury, telling a reporter what a great man Deuce is and how "he plays the game for guys like him".
That statement got a few lines in a small article. Why, because it proves that race isn't an issue in an 80% black league. But it doesn;t draw ratings.
Just for the record. Mike Vick ran a dogfighting operation and murdered animals. He plead guilty because he was guilty. It's time to stop buying into the excuses and call a felon a felon. Not black felon, not a white felon, just a felon.
With no Rush Limbaugh lurking in the literary shadows, Dumbavan McChoke has taken the racist burden upon himself and decried that some people don't want blacks to be NFL QB's. So they have to do "a little extra".
Aside from the fact that I'm eagerly awaiting the NAAWP to come out demanding that the Eagles cut McNabb for his racist remarks, these remarks are disturbing for many reasons.
I suppose that Fathead 5 is under the impression that the viewing public is as stupid as he says they think black QB's are. Otherwise he'd know that the savvy fan sees McChoke's rhetoric as the typical blame laying and excuse making we would expect any bitter, overpaid, underproducing veteran QB whose head is on the block.
Anyone who saw McNabb burn down the franchise in 3 NFCC losses, and then physically gag his team out of SB XXXIX, knows that the McNabb problem is not a skin color issue. It's a cardio-intestinal issue. McNabb simply doesn't have the heart or the guts to finish when it matters most.
So he senses that Eagles fans are gonna start screaming for whitey QB. He's perfectly entitled to lie to himself and say that it's not because he can't win the big one, nor can he even stay healthy anymore. But having lived in Philadelphia for many years of the McNabb era, I know that had McChoke delivered even one Lombardi they'd rename cheese steaks "McNabb's" and nominate him for Sainthood.
And while we're on the topic, what exactly is the "Little Extra" black QB's have to do to achieve recognition? Is it choking in 3 NFCC games, or puking away a SB? Is it being a barely above average QB who is really an above average RB, like the ex-Falcon turned felon? Because there's no absence of media celebration for those two. Is it being a playoff and SB failure like Steve McNair? Because you can't hear McNair's name mentioned without the obligitory "warrior" reference in the same breath.
The sad truth is, McNabb's salvo is ugly in two hideous ways. One, because it showcases the bitterness of a fading star on the downside. Two, because it's the kind of rhetoric that not only incites racism, but propogates the very venom of which McNabb claims that QB's are victims.
The scorching irony is that McNabb has taken the very tack for which he and the NAACP unjustly accused Limbaugh. A few years back, it was Limbaugh who dared to say that the media "over-celebrates" black QB's, and used McNabb as an example of a black QB who gets a lot of press and simply isn't as good as he's made out to be. It cost Rush the job. So McNabb, as he fades into the NFL dust, decides to champion the poor, beleagured, multi-millionaire, overpaid, under-producing black QB's, who aren't getting the press they deserve. Well, the comments won't cost McNabb his job. His performance will.
Irony can be very irony-y, huh folks? Maybe McNabb thinks we don't know better, but we do. He's a loser, and just like a loser would do, he's chosen racism (or whatever other excuse is handy) over truth.
I certainly took a lot of heat last week for my statements about the Moss acquisition in NE. The temperature seemed to cool tremendously, though with the revelation that the Pats might have had a hint about what the Jersey/B planned to do defensively last week.
Don't start writing the Chargers down for the W just yet, though. Sure, it'll get a might bit harder for Tom and Randy to make it into a pitch and catch-a-thon now that they don't have a heads up on what D the opponent will run. But let's not underestimate th NT factor, that Norv Turner for those who haven'[t been singing along.
Sure the Chargers pulled a tough one out against a formidable opponent. But that formidable opponent handed them more than the 14 pts SD put on the board. This Chargers team is already looking like the underperforming, undisciplined crews Norv is known to produce.
This week's game is too close to call. But neither of these teams will be the juggernauts the anlaysts predicted, going forward. Look for the wheels to start coming off in SD (week 6) before NE though.
IND-TN
The Colts looked phenomenal against the Aints. Had they played on Sunday, the NE Perps big "win" wouldn't have looked so big. Look for a slight Indy letdown this week, though. Indy doesn't have 15 more opponents waking up from a bad hangover this year, either.
TN punches everybody in the mouth defensively, and even though VY is going to continue to look subpar statistically, I get nervous about betting against him. He's still the guy who singlehandedly destroyed a BCS Championship for a vastly more talented USC team. The guy just wins football games. Whether or not he'll be a real NFL QB is still open for discussion. Even though I see the Tacks and VY taking a step back this year, I just love his talent level.
CIN-CLE
Here's what we know. The Ravens got 8 chances to score last week and couldn't recover from one bad call. The Bengals got one good call and still defended their end 7 times. Are the Bengals overrated? No. They made the plays they had to, even after Ed Reed tried to break their backs with a scintillating TD return.
In CLE, the Brady Quinn watch is at two quarters and counting. If we don't see him by the second half of next week's game. I’ll personally drive to Foxboro and kiss Moss' butt. Who are we kidding, no I won't. But Romeo knows what he has in Anderson, and he knew what he had in Frye. So the only hope to keep his salary and avoid becoming a "special assistant to the vidoegrapher" in NE, rides on #10.
SF-STL
The Niners are bringing sexy back. Is there a sexier pick as a not so dark horse as a Division Champ? Two years ago, I called Alex Smith a total bust. That makes me about as wrong with that call as Erma4USC was in calling Doug Williams a "scab". Smith was phenomenal last week, and the Niners will be the real deal under Nolan.
STL, on the other hand is the fake deal. The rumors of the "Greatest Show on Turf" v. 2.0 were as Mark Twain would say, 'greatly exaggerated". Here are the facts. Holt and Bruce are old and brittle. Mark Bulger is very accurate, but not the alien Kurt Warner. And The STL defense is about 25% as talented as the one that kept giving Kurt and Co. the ball back. The Rams are an 8-9 win team.
GB-JERSEY/A
Watch that Pack Defense round into the dominant squad everyone says the Ravens still have. Watch Brett Favre fade into the sunset. Watch the Packers contend.
I will say this for Favre. He was hilarious, but not mean, in his remarks about the hefty lefty.
JERSEY/A
I know I'm not the only dying to see an onrushing safety slam into and bounce off of the Hefty Lefty, wondering what kind of truck he ran into. Remember when they used to call Jim Kelly a LB wearing a QB number? What does that make Lorenzen? A NT under center? Something makes me want to see Lorenzen succeed and create the obvious controversy in NY.
BUF-PIT
This is the real season opener for Pittsburgh. I love my Steelers, but when a team commits four penalties during a 15 yard punt, they should just call the game right there. Pittsburgh still has some issues on the OL to solve, witnessed by a complete inability to run the ball before the score got out of hand. And B-Ro still forces the issue and needs to learn how to throw to RB's.
I still love the dignity and intelligence that Tomlin has restored to the sideline in Pitt. How it took the Rooney's 15 seasons to figure out that grown men tune out temper tantrums is beyond me.
As for the Bills, they're going to suffer from the dreaded Jauron curse and the Loseman factor until both are dispatched elsewhere. Jauron turns 13-3 teams into 3-13 teams like hotcakes, and if it wasn't for the deep ball, JP would have no ball at all.
What's worse than bringing back a career choker as your HC? Bringing him back as your GM. I have nothing but Pity for Bills fans these days.
NO-TB
Look for the Saints to pull a complete 180 and show us that they're the slightly above average team we always knew they were. Unless Sean Payton gets it out of his mind that Mr. Bojangles is not feature back, that is.
Look for poor, 37 y/o undersized, pop-gun armed Jeff Garcia to finally shatter into pieces in the coming weeks. Jon Gruden, wtf? You won Tony Dungy's SB, and went about dissembling a SB team into a perennial cellar dweller. Sure you're fun to watch, but so was Nick Saban. Hell, Jim Mora Sr. was a press conference circus, before Denny Green even contemplated a meltdown. But you all have something in common. You suck.
HOU-CAR
I expect the Texans to continue to surprise. I expect the Panthers to continue to be over-rated. I expect Mario Williams to continue to outscore Reggie Bush.
ATL-JAX
Joseph Harrington has about one more game before the Falcons sign Byron "Club" Sandwich, or maybe even Tommy "Gun" Maddox for that matter. True, ATL and Minnesota set offense back 50 years last week. And Granted, the whole Falcons team ####ed their drawers last week. But how long will Petrino settle for a timid, confused QB who can''t handle game speed defenses? Answer; not long.
Does that mean I'm changing course and saying the Falcons were better off with Vick? No. The only difference between Harrington and Vick at QB is that Vick was too stupid to admit he was a RB, and Harrington knows in his heart, that's he's a backup on his best days.
David Garrard? Cut that out. No really, get a cardboard cutout, put it behind the center and you'll get the same performance. JAX is dead if Garrard is their guy. They'd probably go 12-4 with Beverly D'Angelo at QB. But I don;t think she'll play for them, and Del Rio doesn't even have her number. (Thanks, Seth).
MIN-DET
Next Question.
DAL-MIA
Look for Miami to go six-wide and not even use a QB. Watching the Cowboys get carved up by Eli and company had to be downright frightening to Jerry. But this is another case of what happens when you hire loser coaches to take over wining teams.
As for the Fish, I'm not sold on the "Cam Cameron Experience". That whole, "you guys coach, I gotta look at the players", gig in the last preseason game was bizarre. Don't HC's evaluate players during games anyway?
And is his first name Cameron, too? No, it's actually Malcolm. But is that any better? And shouldn't he be "Colm" Cameron, then? I don't know, I smell 6-8 wins wafting in from the sea.
SEA-ARI
Mike Holmgren went on record as saying it's tough enough to win a game, without an opponent videotaping your calls. At least now he's criticizing other HC's instead of the Zebra's.
DEN-OAK
Jay Cutler is a man. Two fourth and two’s, one stick-throw and one run; both drive savers to win the game at BUF. People say he reminds them of John Elway. I say he reminds me of Jay Cutler. Wishing does not make it so, nor do I wish for Cutler to become better than Big Ben, but there’s something about this guy, and it smells like money.
For some reason I think the Raiders have trumped the Akili Smith signing this week. While he has the physical tools a coaches drool over, I just don’t see this guy ever being a franchise QB. I see a more muscular Aaron Brooks coming down the pike. Not a guy who will make a bad team better, but a guy who will make average teams terrible. I don’t know what it is. There’s no good reason to believe Russell won’t be at least very good. Yet I’m not buying. Besides, paying a rookie $60mm is just insane.
JERSEY/B-BAL
Kellen Clemens to start? Who would have thought the Jets would be looking at a Chad Pennington injury this season. We all did, that’s who. I don’t think JETS fans even bet the games any more, they just bet the over under for when Pennington goes on IR. This is my sleeper pick to sign Byron “The Earl of” Sandwich. I know signing Leftwich would be a news-making event, but I think Mangina likes QB’s who can throw the long out, or at least the short out, which means Chad is left out.
And finally, has Steve McNair (the Warrior) finally lost the tools to go to battle? There have been enough people asking that question recently to at least mention it. But noooooooooo. Here’s what we know about the Alcorn State Ares.
One, he will get injured at least six to 8 times this season.
Two: at least one of those injuries will see McNair limp back onto the field with one of limbs duct taped to his body.
Three: He will start slowly in the first few games, as he always does.
Four: Until January, McNair will find some way, somehow, to rip the hearts out of 10-12 opponents every season. The guy’s just a winner, a regular season winner, that is.
Erma, you kill me. You must have picture of one of the Fox webmasters having sex with a goat or some woodland critter. It's the only logical explanation for your most recent (or any) pee-rant getting BOTD.
I just skimmed your most recent whine and cheese party (veiled as critique of the BCS ranking system). Once again, you tried to deliver sports content and failed like Billy Martin claiming he would prove Mike Vick's innocence.
Sure you did a wonderous job of complaining, no doubt because your USC Condoms weren't at the top of the BCS Dogpile. But even my Siberian Huskies can bark when they hear noises they don't like. Yet Fox never gives them BOTD for their vituperitous nature.
Yet, the rant wasn't enough. You had to add the mere implication of an NFL style playoff tournament as an alternative solution. That's proof positive of your absence of sports knowledge and critical ineptitude. Have you counted the number of D1 College Football teams, Erma? Sure, anything's possible, but how effective would a "Denslow Cup" long playoff format be in determining a real College Football Champion? Aside from the logistical improbability, what is the likelihood that the best team could "win out" over an egregioulsy extended playoff series? It's about as likely as you're being able to defend your "Doug Williams was a scab, blunder, or your Mike Vick will walk, embarassment.
Now you'll scramble to tell us how you didn't say that the NFL format was a "real" solution; just that the BCS was making it look better by comparison. And that assertion would be true. There's only one problem with that approach, it leaves your diatribe glaringly absent one little piece; a solution.
And that's what makes it less a BOTD and more a 3rd grade essay.
Look, Fox will hand you BOTD one out of every 2-3 days by rote. In the words of the soon to be great Mike Tomlin, "they do what they do". So why not leave the writing to the writers and do what you best; pirate and parrot puff pieces. Please.
Pardon me for being a little bit stunned. But the Commish says so, which means the Pats are perps. What stuns me is not that the cheating claim is true, but that it's the Pats who did it. If it had been a perennial doormat trying to gain an edge, it would make a little more "sense". But NE, and the genius, against the J E T S, Jets?
If I was a betting man. I'd have bet the house that the Pats wouldn't cheat to beat the Jets, or any other team for that matter. But they did. And now we find that it isn't the first time they've been caught. Turns out the NFL warned them already about using the same tack against the Pack.
Looks like Roger Goodell's legal experience is coming in handy because the NFL has no shortage of miscreants to offer up for ajudication. But this is a whole new ball game, when teams are now on the stand.
So what next? Can Rough-Guy Roger afford to take it light on one of the NFL's showpiece franchises? Or is he compelled to make an example of a team that (evidently) believes that merely raiding the free agent talent pool doesn't get the job done nowadays.
Well, here's what we know. What was once renowned as one of the classiest organizations deserves to be reviled as one of the cheesiest. What on earth were they thinking?
The rumor is that the Pats will be exposed to the loss of multiple draft choices. That's a good idea, it's almost standard fare for teams that violate league rules. But is that enough. I don't think so.
How can a commissioner who suspends players for entire seasons because their conduct gives the league a black eye, afford to be lenient on a team that cheats to win?
Yes, the loss of draft picks is potentially very damaging. But I have to stress the "potentially" aspect. Draft picks go bust too often. And a fine? Fines don't hurt teams like they hurt players. Teams just raise ticket prices. Fans pay fines, not teams.
So what do we do to send the message to the Pats? I say we put 'em on playoff probation. College teams get the postseason "sit-down" for infractions all the time. After all, we hit players where it hurts most, in the game check. If we can suspend Tank Williams and Pac-Man for a season and send Mike Vick to purgatory, we really ought to hit a franchise where it hurts the most too, in the post-season. Because the Pats won't miss a beat if they can't draft WR's, they'll just pour a few million on Randy and Dante and move forward. And the NFL could fine them 50 million dollars, which their loyal fans will beg to pay if they can only get tickets.
But the playoffs? Now that would hurt. And hurt it should.
"No tolerance" means "no tolerance" for everybody.
So I took some heat for saying the Moss move was overrated. Evidently, the NFL held the SB yesterday and the Pats won the Trophy with Randy Moss taking home MVP honors.
Get a grip folks.
I understand that anytime one voices opinions, many will disagree. But some of the responses were kinda silly. I guess the ether made some forget that the mere possibility exists that the Jets simply aren't that good (like I said) and the Pats (and Moss) simply had a great game.
Not like it's a sixteen game season with 15 games left and then the post season, huh?
But you geniuses are right. Randy Moss turned back time and erased a history of being a team cancer, no one will expose the facts that NE can't run the ball, and every QB in the NFL has the same 3-yard pop-gun as Pennington. The Pats LB's are all 25 again, the Jets WR's are a juggernaut, Richard Seymour means nothing to the Pats D, and of course one game "does a season make".
What I can't understand is how the Steelers thumped the Browns yesterday and didn't at least win a Division title? I mean they won by 27, and the Pats only won by 24.
How do you think the Indianapolis Colts feel? They whipped the Aints by 31, and didn't even get a WC birth.
So for all those "bold" geniuses who had the nerve to put themselves out on a limb and offer an opinion after the fact . . . . .
Now come the 5 months for which we wait seven months every year. The time when our best available type of modern gladiators suit up and demonstrate all the vicissitudes of human existence in a childs game, played by adults on a field and in the hearts of men.
Forget about the part-timers, the adolescent-filled, rah-rah, sis-boom-bah, watered down, version played at the collegiate level. Forget the desperation that makes us tune into the CFL for as long as we can tolerate the silliness of three downs and a rouge. Forget about the half game called Arena ball. The real thing is here now. The offseason headlined by sickness and depravity is over. Let the games, the only games that matter, begin.
All that said, here are some subplots from some noteworthy games today.
CHI-SD
Here are two teams destined to fall off this year. I'm sorry SD fans, you have a load of talent and the best young QB I've seen since God knows when. But you also have Norv Turner. And at some point this season, the Chargers will begin looking like a team full of inmates running the asylum. Nowhere to go but down for SD.
Da' Bears-I don't see either NFC finalist making it back this year. No, I'm not hatin' on Rex, I just see the NFCN getting a little better and Lovie Smith continuing to struggle to establish an offensive identity for the Bears. I think Lovie says the right things about Grossman, but I'm not sure he's sold on his QB.
And I think the Bears made a huge mistake letting Ron Rivera go.
Packers-Eagles
GB's defense will be the heart of the Packers, not the worn out, tired, game-busting act of crybaby Favre. That's good for Pack fans. The bad news is the primadonna refuses to retire and cede the job to (finally ready) Aaron Rodgers.
In Philly, it's the beginning of a swift end to the Donovan McPuke era. Ther's little question that Eagles have grown tired of the increasingly brittle, big game, human barf-box of a QB who never fit in the system into which he was forced. Don't be surprised to see big 5 on the big bench by game 12. The Eagles are getting older and talent thin on both sides of the line. That spells trouble for veteran choke-dog, QB's. Still, Jimmy Johnson will have the D playing hard in a very soft division.
Panthers-Rams
Yes the Panthers are over-rated, again. But maybe Jake Delhomme is capable of another unconscious season. Tthen again, maybe he's got Kurt Warner syndrome, meaning the aliens have returned his real body and taken the pod back. Who cares? Carolina simply isn't that talented.
And the Rams? Please. If one more talking head predicts the return of the "greatest show on turf" I'm going to "McNabb" in my helmet. Here's why; The rams no longer have Faulk, Holt and Bruce are old, and Bulger is not the "alien" Kurt Warner. Bulger reminds me a lot more of Neil O'Donnell than the Kurt Warner pod. That's why the Rams kick FG's now.
KC-HOU
Herman Edwards will make huge strides towards creating his own identity for the Chiefs. The bad news is that means kicking FG's and losing in the first round of the playoffs. I love Herm as a person, but he's not a top flight HC.
The Matt Schaub era begins in HOU. That means things will be better for Texxon fans. But they're still the Texans, and one good personnel decision doesn't cancel out the lingering legacy of Tony Boselli, and wasted moves like Mario Williams and Ahman Green. Will they be better, yes. Contenders, no.
DET-OAK
Luke McCown, Josh McCown, Cade McNown, Les Brown and his Band of Renown, who cares? They all suck at QB. Of course, any time Adam Schefter reports something, I only believe it if it's already happened. But here's what matters, it'll probably be about 2 quarters before we see Duante Culpepper under center. What bothers me is that Lane Kiffin is so sissyfied that he feels like a career nobody with mor reps is a better bet than a vet who has put up some great numbers in the past. Hell, I probably know the Raiders offense better than Culpepper, but Kiffin didn't call on me this Sunday.
John Kitna will put up big numbers and still be a loser. Here's why. He's Jon Kitna. And can Detroit stop anyone from scoring?
PIT-CLE
Charlie Frye is counting the minutes until Romeo Crennell goes to Brady Quinn. So are Browns Fans. Jamaal Lewis is soft, but Quinn will have some weapons. I doubt he'll save Romeo's job though. Bill Cowher will have his dream job next year.
I see the Steelers struggling with the "new" offense for the first 4-6 games, especially because of a suspect OL. Colon is unproven, Simmons will wear down (AGAIN), Mahan is a huge upgrade over the one-legged Hartings but learning, Faneca is not going to play hard and had been getting blown up frequently the lst few years (hence the non-extension), and Smith has always been below average at LT.
But the D will be better. The big reason is the "loss" I keep hearing about in Joey Porter. In James Harrison the Steelers get a stronger, every down, every game player. Porter's most consistent performance in the last 5 seasons came from his jaw. And at least one of the two top picks at LB will be a beast. Maybe both.
This team could win 12 games, or 9, depending on how the OL comes together.
TEN v. JAX
VY will struggle. Teams will employ the Cunningham/Stewart/Vick defense and shout down his run options. He'll still be brilliant at times, but only against cellar dwellers. TN will also not run the ball like they did last year as LenDale White develops into a pro RB. It's all necessary, though. The Tacks have to take a step or two back to go forward.
JAX will still be stellar on defense. But the whole Leftwich fiasco will expose the fact that when you have two QB's, you really have none. Garrard never took the job from Leftwich and has been downright horrible at times. Until Jax drafts or signs a QB, they're not a playoff team.
TB-SEA
TB rests squarely on the oft injured Carnell Williams. Jeff Garcia is not a long term answer, nor are any of the 17 other QB's in TB. The D will be good as always. Simeon Rice will not be missed. This is an average football team, with a tremendously overrated (Switzer Rule) coach.
Seattle has a superstar running back with a chronic broken foot and a QB with a bum shoulder attached to a gimp arm. Yuk. The crybaby coach rushing to make excuses for underperforming players doesn't help either.
NE-NYJ
The addition of Randy Moss is the most overrated FA addition since Yancey Thigpen to TEN. The run game is suspect, and Tom Brady has a chronic shoulder that will not get better with time.
The D is also getting older at LB and very thin at DL and DB. This team is not the SB gimme the gabbers are gabbing about.
Jersey B will suffer from a Mangini-over this year. QB problems will ensue as Pennington continues to struggle with throws over 3 yards. Vilma is a beast and the D will be solid, but this team just lacks tools on offense.
ATL-MIN
The good news is that the Falcons are finally playing a QB at QB. The bad news is that it's Joey Harrington. But the Falcons will be better with Joey than Michael. Write it down. Not because Harrington is that good, but because Vick was the most overrated "QB" ever. I don;t knwo what to expect from Petrino defensively, but I know that JM Jr. had lost his team on both sides of the ball. I can't see the D being any worse.
Big story in MIN was that Travaris Jackson called Peyton Manning this pre-season. I could call the Pope, but it wouldn't make me a priest. What on earth is Brad Childress smoking? Then he trades for a career rumdum like Holcomb? The situation in MIN proves the old saying, "when you have no QB's, you have no QB".
BAL-CIN
The Ravens will be tough on D. They will also be tough on their fans when thay have the ball. The addition of Willis McGahee is a question mark for me, mostly because I wonder that knee will last 4-5 seasons. McNair got hot last year, but he's clearly not what he used to be.
CIN will always be a play or two from 12-4 or 4-12. This team simply lacks character all over the place. Marvin Lewis needs to start running a football team instead of a halfway house.
DAL-NY
What's the over under on how long Jerry Jones will kid himself into thinking Wade Phillips is a HC? I give him two seasons to completely waste the talent haul Parcells built in DAL. and Pardon me, Tony Romo, you've played 5 good games. So did Scott Mitchell.
Is this Eli's make it or break it year? No. Manning will be better. It is Tom Coughlin's make it or break it year, though. Bill Cowher should send Coughlin, Crennel, Wilson, and Turner fruit baskets now, for exploding his market cap.
MIA-WAS
Does anyone care? Does anyone want to see Joe Gibbs destroy his legacy? Does anyone want to see a Miami team without a guy named Shaquille on it?
DEN-BUF
Trent Edwards is the franchise QB in Buffalo. Someone please tell JP Loseman he should pack his bags now. #### Jauron will drive Bill Cowher's stock even higher.
DEN-This is the SB team no one says is going to the dance. The D will be above average, but the O could be explosive. Cutler might yet be the best of the Rivers, Roth, Cutler trio. And don't underestimate Shanahan, ever.
Terrel Owens says he's been to dogfights down South, that they're common. Clinton Portis wasn't surprised and said that dog-fighting was no big deal. Even Stephon Marbury chimed in when the subject arose. But leave it to Whoopie Goldberg to clear it all up for us. Evidently, we should cut the ex-Falcon QB, current felon a break because dog-fighting is a "cultural thing".
Thank you Whoopie. Even though you had no answers when Joy Behar asked you if animal electrocution and murder were "cultural things", you really cleared it up for me. So I'm perfectly willing to drop my beef with Ron Mexico and those who support him with such reasoning, with only one requirement.
They just have to acknowledge that the racism, seperatism, lynchings, and murders that took place in the first half of the 20th century, were just a "cultural thing". Slavery too; just a "cultural thing". The ####, and hate mongers in general; just a cultural thing.
You see folks, it's very easy. Once one excuses abuse, torture and murder as a cultural affect, one doesn't get to choose which abuses, tortures and murders are acceptable.
Like Heidi Klum says, "it's fashion baby, you're either in or your out".
One either blithers ridiculous excuses for sociopathic/psychopathic behavior or they don't.
Of course I can't help but wonder, like MattFaw asked, how much Whoopie would have had to say if it was David Carr who bankrolled dogfighting and tortured and murdered animals. Would it be a "cultural thing" then, Whoop?
Actually, I don't wonder. There's no question in my mind that Whoopie would have had either nothing to say, or she would be lambasting any white QB at every turn.
Because dogfighting is not a "cultural thing". It's a gruesome excuse to experience the most base and prurient primal instincts. Just like tying black me to the back of cars and dragging them until they're torn to pieces, is not a "cultural thing". Just like raping black female slaves is not a "cultural thing". They're just acts of depravity.
So let's call it by its right name folks. Whoopie is a flaming racist, hates white people and will dive headlong at any excuse to minimize the crimes perpetrated by blacks.
Now, making excuses regardless of how heinous one's actions are, that's a "cultural thing".
(For those of you who don't understand the term 'literary device", the title is merely an effort to see how much enmity I can provoke and still get buried by the Fox webmasters)
The NFLN just broke the story that the Jacksonville Jaguars have reversed course and chosne David Garrard over the offseason anointed starter, Byron Leftwich. Not only that, Byron will be leaving town at the behest of the JAX FO.
Leave it to Rich Eisen to practically sob over Leftwich's ultimate trade or release, only 9 days before the opener. If that wasn't enough, NFLN "insider" Adam Schefter, when asked if it was a money issue, said "no it wasn't a consideration, but it was a consideration". Okay, that's not an actual quote, just satire.
But here's the secret folks, it was about money. Money and progress. Leftwich was scheduled to make over $5mm this season, and aside from his string of injuries an 50% on the field ratio the last few years, Leftwich simply wasn't getting any better as a QB. Too much money for too little progress. Forget the strories of him playing on a broken leg at Marshall. He didn;t play with a borken toenail in Jacksonville. Five years later, his release was still "sundial fast", his weight was still an issue, his energy and leadership were questionable and he just didn't put points on the board. So goodbye Byron.
Before Rich Eisen soaks another crying towel, let's not sweat for the helfty Leftwich. He'll instantly wind up either in KC, Minnestota, Oakland, Atlanta, NY (either one) Cleveland, Dallas, or maybe even Tampa Bay. I hear Gruden plans to keep 10 QB's this year. I fully expect the NAACP to hang Arthur Blank in effigy though, if he doesn't immediately trade for Leftwich and sign him to a 10-year, $150mm extension. Anything less would be racism.
Let's not start crying about how unfair it is to Leftwich, shall we? The guy collected mint for being a part time QB and never raising his game a single inch. Now some desperate team will throw another load of cash at Byron for five more years of mediocre, part-time performance. The sad fact is though, the Falcons, Vikings, Chiefs, Browns, Bucs would be better off with Leftwich than what they have right now. Even if Vick wasn't rotting in jail where he belongs, Leftwich still is the better man in ATL. Quinn is not ready, and I won;t even mention the crumbums starting in Minnysoda, KC and the undersized retread in TB.
So big deal, the Jags cut Leftwich. They got tired of paying $5mm for an average QB who gets hurt a lot, and now they're gonna pay maybe a mil or two to a average QB who "can beat you with his arm and his legs". Translation: In a few years he'll be a backup punter or starting for an Arena league team.
They'll be a few surpirses before this weekend is over, but for me, this wasn't one of them. Players constantly hold teams hostage until the last minute with the cry "it's just business". So Wayne Weaver kept Leftwich until the 11th hour even though the FO and staff didn't have faith in him. Well, you reap what you sow guys. Loyalty is no longer a noun in NFL parlance for either side. It's a business, you know.
What a wonderful world in which we live, especially the good ole' USA.
It wasn't more than a few moments after Ron Mexico's brutally uncomfortable, sluggardly and ineloquent "apology" speech, that a legion of wonderfully forgiving folks started singing about a 2nd chance.
One brief and disingenuous act of contrition and how soon we forget:
We forget that he engaged in animal cruelty, brutality and murder for over 6 years.
We forget that he lied to both the man who handed him the biggest contract in NFL history (on pure speculation) and the Game's Commissioner about his culpability.
We forget that he hired one of the top-priced mouthpieces in DC, with every intention of evading responsibility and avoiding prosecution.
We forget that he never so much as whispered a word of regret or a smidgen of responsibility until the Feds had the cell door slammed and locked.
So now that his huge contract is a memory, his career in the ATL is over, and his chance to play in the NFL (ever) is tenuous at best, Mike Vick is sorry.
No Mike, I'm sorry.
I'm not buying it. Everything about Vick's character tells me he's a bad guy. The only thing he's "sorry" about is getting caught. That's made obvious by the 11th hour nature of his single act of contrition.
It took Vick seven seasons to not learn how to play QB. Does anyone honestly think one or two years off will make him learn to be a decent human being?
The kind of people who torture and kill animals are also the kind of people who torture and kill humans.
So yes, we do live in the land of 2nd chances, and that's a great thing. But there's no constitutional amendment guaranteeing a 2nd chance to sociopaths. And those who were taken in by Vick's sedate(d) and disingenuous allocution might want to consider if they would be so quick to speak the speak of rehabilitation had Vick tortured and murdered fifty men and women.
So Mike Vick manufactures an act of contrition, and a press, worried about looking "judgmental" and "racist" describes the act as a "good first step". I'm not so sure.
I can't be the only one who noticed how desperately uncomfortable the, formerly "above the law", ex-QB looked in making his first relevant statement to the public since the story broke. He looked about as humble as Donald Trump's comb-over.
Sure he cited the three musts from "contrition for dummies" handbook. "Accept responsibility, found Jesus, ask forgiveness . . . ." but even those bare necessities sounded canned and disingenuous coming from a sedate(d) soft-spoken, Ron Mexico.
So pardon me, kids, if I'm not floating on the raft of #### Vick just set adrift. Just because he's managed to stop himself from flippping the bird at the fans and society in general, doesn't mean I believe he's on a mission from God now. The only think Vick has ever been able to fake was being an NFL QB.
Guys I'm Pulling For . . . .
Duante Culpepper
Hating the Raiders as only a Steeler fan can, it's hard to cop to cheering for any Raider. But I can't be more hopeful for anyone in the NFL than Duante Culpepper. Yes, Culpepper underperformed a huge deal in Minnysoda, and got the eight train. But what happened to him in Miami was unbelievably unfair. Regardless of the notion that Culpepper is a streaky QB whose streaks seem to last entire seasons, I've always loved his bazooka arm and his athletic ability. Aside from that, this Jamarcus Russel saga is bordering on insanity. The guy's never taken a snap and he's holding out over bonus money? For Culpepper's sake. I hope Russell continues his bizarre combination of idiocy and greed until Duante has at least enough time to prove that Miami was a fiasco.
Joey, formerly Joseph, (aka Joey) Harrington
While I'm not necessarily a Harrington believer, could a QB land in two worse spots than Detroit and Miami recently? Besides, I'd like nothing more than seeing the Falcons emerge from the ####-storm Vick tossed on them, to become a competitive franchise by playing an actual QB at QB. Maybe Harrington got what he deserved, maybe he just sucks. But no franchise and no city full of fans should be punished to death for putting their faith in a player who chose to immediatley and repeatedly #### on them.
Add to that the fact that Harrington, by a shade, is a better QB over his career than Vick, and gets sacked less often. Atlanta and the rest of NFL fans need to accept the reality that QB position does not require re-inventing. Every QB who the media ever labeled as re-inventing the position re-invented themselves out of a job.
What a wonderful lesson to be learned if the Falcons survive and even thrive with a QB at QB.
Guys I wish would stay home . . . . .
Priest Holmes
Don't get me wrong, It's impossible to dislike Priest Holmes as a man or a ball player. But at this point, you have to ask; why? KC is not a SB contender, and the odds priest would be released (if he even makes the roster) to sign with a contender are minimal. But the odds that he could be seriously injured in game action are high enough to wonder what is driving this man. As a RB, he has nothing to prove. As a competitor, he has nothing to prove. And I haven't heard that he's run out of money . . . .
What frightens me is the mere possibility that one of the NFL's class acts and former best talents will take just one more hit. One more that stops him from leaving the field for the last time, under his own power. That's something I'd rather not see happen.
I never played pro-ball, but I suited in High-School. I still remember the click-clack of those cleats on the cement, the sense of invincibility one gets when donning the pads and helmet, and the absolute thrill of performing for the folks cheering you on. i can only imagine how hard it is to move on from the biggest stage, in the niggest game in pro sports. I hear the longing in Sterling Sharpe's voice every time I see him on TV, his career cut short by a neck problem. But then I think of the late Darryl Stingley and it makes me wish Priest would move on.
Vinny Interceptaverde
Oh please. What is this guy, 65 now. So he's played in every decade since Edison invented the light bulb, big deal. I get the feeling Belichick keeps inviting him back for doing time with him in Cleveland . I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. You can get a much younger, 2nd rate QB to play 3rd fidlle for a lot less money than a 73-year veteran. And he'll probably throw fewer game busting picks.
That's what kills me about VinnyT. It's not like he's some wise old sage, whose best days are behind him. He's a sorry old choker whose best days were in high school. I mean this is the guy Jimmy Johnson benched for the National Championship game because he tore up his leg on a motor scooter the weekend before the match. This is the guy who never met a choke he didn't like.
Bill, if Jimmy from South Park were here he'd say, "it's like, come on".
