Is this insane or what, the United States Congress wasting our time and tax dollars on steroids in baseball? You know it wasn't too long ago, ten years to be exact that Congress actually investigated worthwhile things of importance, you know like whether a sitting President was screwing around with an intern. But seriously folks, baseball gets destroyed on this while in the AFC Championship game this Sunday Rodney Harrison and Shawne Merriman, both suspended for steroids previously, will be playing without so much as a peep.
I really don't want to veer off into politics on this blog, but seriously there are much more important issues facing this country and Congress is worried about steroids in baseball, could they possibly be anymore out of touch? There is a load of other important issues facing this country and yet there is this fixation and fascination on this why? Seriously, when you go back to your constituents and congressional districts and they ask what legislation you've introduced and passed concerning the price of oh I don't know, EVERYTHING, like goods, food, gas, oil and energy prices, the economy possibly heading towards recession, healthcare, immigration, people losing their jobs and you'll tell them what exactly? Did you see me, I really grilled that Rocket Roger Clemens, boy oh boy! Guuuh.
I am not implicating him, but do you think that now would be as good a time as any to put President George W. Bush under oath to see if he could help in getting to the bottom of this as he stated in his State of the Union Address a few years back? I mean he was owner Texas Rangers when Jose Canseco and Rafael Palmeiro played there, you think the man might be able to offer some insight into what was going on during this era? Plus Democrats could actually claim they finally got him to testify under oath, as they have been so cowardly been unable to thus far, but that's for another blog at another time.
Honestly though this is the biggest joke and the most astonishing amount of grandstanding ever, really what are they going to get out of this? They clearly aren't sending these guys to jail just on the basis of steroids, I mean Raffy Palmeiro blatantly lied right in their faces and nothing happened to him. As far as Barry Bonds and Marion Jones go, they're being investigated by the feds for things far greater than this whole steroid thing.
If nothing is going to come of this then why should we as baseball fans be dragged through it? Nobody is going to be kicked out of the game, nobody's records are going to be erased. Most of these sports writers, columnists, talking heads and vultures who are eating this stuff up at the end of the day have said they'll still vote for Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens when they come up for the Hall of Fame, so sanctimony is abound am I right?
Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, both of whom I haven't been able to stand since the baseball strike of 1994 are just as if not more responsible for this mess than any of the players. Clearly baseball fans who are coming out in the millions and making MLB billions are somewhat annoyed but for the most part couldn't care less. So ESPN can get Roger Cossack off my #### TV and show some damn highlights already!
Maybe this baseball era goes down like the music era of the 60's which also had a drug culture to it, lots of great music, lots of great baseball. There's a lot of worse things going on in other sports than steroids, like say the NFL's great example to kids, Michael Vick, Pacman Jones and oh I don't know the entire Cincinnati Bengals roster! I'm not condoning steroid use and I'd like to know that what I'm watching is legit, but in the end it really is all he-said-he-said and we are all left to judge for ourselves if we trust what we are seeing is true greatness or inflated garbage.
The competitor in me wants to see the New York Giants take a crack at the undefeated New England Patriots. Yet when using sound logic, that makes about as much sense as the Giants actually beating the Patriots. Both teams know where they're going from this point on, the Pats back to Foxboro until they go to Arizona and the Giants to Tampa where they've split Super Bowls.
Proponents of the Giants actually showing up in this game will argue that the Giants need to stay fresh and gain some momentum so that if they somehow do knock off the Pats, there will be some confidence boosting carry-over effect that will propell the Giants on a legendary playoff run. Others will also argue that the Giants aren't going deep into the playoffs anyhow and that this in effect is their "Super Bowl."
Another point is that if the Giants play and beat the Pats, no matter what they do from here on out, 10, 20, 25 years from now they'll be remembered as the team that beat the 15-0 Pats and ruined the perfect season. But I'll tell you what, I remember the 1998 Giants who upset the 13-0 John Elway Denver Broncos at Giants Stadium when Kent Graham hooked up with Amani Toomer for the winning score, and the only memorable thing about that team is that they did it and that they were a team that completely underachieved that season and did nothing. Actually looking back that win for that Giants team might have meant more because unlike that Giants team, this Giants team still has more to play for, namely the playoffs. Besides how really historical are those Giants along with the Chad Johnson Bengals who upset the Chiefs about five years back or the Marino Dolphins who upset the '85 Bears?
The only fans that have a right to complain and be sour Week 17 are followers of the Vikings, Saints and Browns. Because with the Redskins and Titans having destiny in their own hands and playing the Cowboys and Colts respectively, those two latter teams have no more of an obligation to show up and play hard than the Giants do.
Granted they are 7-1 on the road, but for a team that would have to play three straight road games (assuming the Redskins/6th seed doesn't make it to the NFC Conference Championship Game) just to get to Arizona for the Super Bowl, this is in effect their bye week and they've earned it just as much as the Cowboys and Colts.
There's simply no need for anyone on the O-Line to go out and twist a knee, or Eli Manning to re-aggrivate his shoulder or Brandon Jacobs to tear up his hamstring or Plaxico Burress to roll over his ankle or an already thin-depth defense to lose anymore anchors. You don't play scared or you get injured, therefore there's no reason to play these guys outside of a couple of series if at all in what amounts to a meaningless game. The last two seasons in Oakland and Washington, the Giants had to go out and grind it to win the division and last year to just make the playoffs. This season they have the luxury of having clinched and knowing who and where they'll play in the playoffs.
Some will say that two back to back losses to New England and Tampa Bay will be devastating and depressing and with the Giants ending a third straight season of being bumped out in the first round won't distinguish them from anyone and that "what if" syndrome of potentially beating the Pats and making "history," will set in.
Lets get one thing perfectly straight though, the Pats are the only team playing for history here folks. They are the only one's with that streak on the line and the only one's outside of the casual football fan and perhaps the '72 Dolphins that should care about it. This is not the Giants fight, they just so happen to be opponent # 16 on the Pats schedule. Besides if the Giants actually show up and play there's no guarantee they'll beat them and even if they do and some guys get knocked out for the season, the regret and "what if" fallout from a first round playoff loss in Tampa will be even more historically painful for the Giants and Giants fans.
Finally, if you're the Giants and you do pull off some kind of miraculous playoff run to meet the Pats in Arizona for the Super Bowl, why show off all of your cards now?
Baltimore Ravens: No coach has ever been quoted as saying his team “lost pretty,” so you’ll have to forgive the Baltimore Ravens if they enjoy winning ugly. Defense as always was the name of the game for Baltimore in 2006. The Ravens led the league in total defense, they were second against the run and sixth against the pass, allowed the least amount of points (201), recorded the most interceptions (28), were second in the league in sacks (60) and were tops in turnover differential at plus 17. That stat of turnover differential is usually a key indicator when one looks at who is in the upper echelon of the league.
Baltimore, whose only home loss last season came at the hands of the Carolina Panthers (23-21) have the most home wins of any NFL team since 2000 with 42. The Ravens secondary as detailed above was topped by the six interceptions of Chris McAlister who also had two of them returned for TD’s, safeties Ed Reed and Dawan Landry each had five picks of their own last season.
Final Verdict: QB Steve McNair and newly acquired RB Willis McGahee will have to step up big time if this team wants to step up into the elite class of the AFC from playoff contender to Super Bowl contender. If Baltimore get anything more from their offense than a field goal fest, they could find themselves deep in the AFC playoffs. Final Predicted Record: (12-4).
Cincinnati Bengals: No the Bengals haven’t ditched the orange and black for strictly orange jumpsuits…yet. In the calendar year of 2006 the Bengals had nine, count ‘em nine players arrested. The Bengals though still found themselves on the presuppose of the playoffs at 8-5 before dropping their final three games to the Colts, Broncos and rival Steelers respectively finishing up at 8-8.
If one put the Bengals offensive with the Ravens defense, nobody would beat that team, nobody. Carson Palmer last season bouncing back from injury put up phenomenal numbers. Palmer had passer rating of 93.9 while throwing for 4,035 yards and 28 TD’s. Chad Johnson a recipient of seven of those TD passes became the first receiver since the AFL-NFL merger to lead a conference in receiving yards in four consecutive seasons. Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh compiled 87 and 90 catches respectively with both gaining over 1,000 yards receiving.
Final Verdict: The Bengals need to show more consistency in crunch time on both sides of the ball. In six of their eight losses the Bengals lost by eight points or less. With Baltimore still steady and Pittsburgh sure to bounce back, Cincinnati will have to learn to be more mature and disciplined down the stretch. Final Predicted Record: (11-5)* Wild Card.
Pittsburgh Steelers: For the first time in 15 years, “The Jaw” is no longer the law in the Steel City. Fortunately for the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger’s jaw checks out just fine. At least the Steelers going into this season have peace of mind, especially when they give the ball to RB Willie Parker. When Parker runs for over 100 yards Pittsburgh is 12-1.
Pittsburgh has the best balance of any team in the division on both sides of the ball, which should be fairly obvious considering they won the title just two years ago. Last season Pittsburgh ranked in the top ten in both total offense (7th) and defense (9th). However the Steelers secondary will have to do a much better job of clamping down on 3rd down. The Steelers will also have to work to correct their turnover differential which was minus eight last season.
The Steelers also boast a blossoming and very underrated receiving corps with Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller as targets for Roethlisberger. The fact that the Steelers are healthy and ready to go from the start is important, especially given their first four games are against Cleveland, Buffalo, San Francisco and Arizona. That amplified by the fact that since 2000 the Steelers are a league best 27-7 in December and January should only make them more of a prohibitive favorite.
Final Verdict: Coach Mike Tomlin just may be in the best position of any recent coach in the modern NFL to succeed a legend like Bill Cowher since George Siefert replaced Bill Walsh with the San Francisco 49ers. Unless there is that much of a conflict of personalities with the coach and team, this squad shouldn’t miss a beat. Some guys are just winners and “Big Ben” is 29-11, as the Steelers work on ring for the other hand. Final Predicted Record: (10-6).
Cleveland Browns: Cleveland is a city that is football mad, passionate about their Browns. However they’ve been so dreadful that the Cavs and Tribe and essentially socked them down to third billing. The last time the Browns won a playoff game was back in 1994 with Bill Belichick and Vinny Testaverde against the Patriots. Of course now Belichick and Testaverde are both with the Patriots, leaving Browns fans hoping QB Brady Quinn out of Notre Dame turns into Bernie Kosar.
First rounder from 2006 LB Kamerion Wimbley had and outstanding rookie campaign out of Florida State University, recording a team high and rookie record for sacks with eleven. Cleveland though was a disaster up front against the run, ranking 29th overall. Though the Browns boast a few nice weapons on offense in Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards and Joe Jurevicius, their offense was anemic, finishing 31st in total offense.
Final Verdict: The Browns who allowed 54 sacks last season which was 3rd worst in the NFL will hope that with OT Joe Thomas and OG Eric Steinbach anchoring the offensive line that they can actually get the ball out to those weapons. The Browns have nowhere to go but up, but they may find themselves going up a down escalator in this division for awhile. Final Predicted Record: (4-12).
A reminder to all NFL fans, join me your host Mike Gwizdala for the start of my radio program called NFL Necessary Roughness which premires Wednesday September 5, 2007 at 1:00PM on the Blog Talk Radio Network! It's a day before kickoff and I'll be sure to give you the NFL fan all the picks and predictions while previewing the upcoming 2007 NFL season! I'll be breaking down each division and all the week one games and taking your phone calls toll free at 1-646-716-8205 on the Blog Talk Radio Network! So make sure to be there and tell a friend and be on the look out for my picks and predictions on this very blog at FoxSports.com! Here's a link to where you want to be Wednesday! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mikegwizd alagamedayreport
My name is Mike Gwizdala and I live in Albany, N.Y. The Capitol of the Empire State. I'm probably the biggest most knowledgeable , opinionated sports fan I know. First and foremost I'm an avid, die-hard New York Yankees fan. For those of you who don't know Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte amongst others all played their Double-A ball in Albany.
