For starters, I couldn't be happier for both the Seahawks and Jaguars. Both teams sweated out pretty tough victories, but in the end it was pretty clear that the better teams won. In both games, the winners dominated throughout the first half and for most of the third quarter, faltered and actually relinquished their leads and then fought back and took back what looked to be theirs from the get-go. The Steelers put up more of a fight than the Skins and Collins(who showed why he has been a carreer backup), but they fell short to the much more physical and multi-dimensional Jags. It just looked like the Jags wanted it more. Regarding Collins, what yesterday's game showed is that while he can make a lot of the throws over the middle of the field, he does not have enough arm strength to get the ball out on sideline routs. On any timing based routes outside the hash-marks, his recievers were well into their breaks when he was just releasing the ball, allowing the Seahawks' DB's to get all over the receivers or pick off the ball. Bad sideline throws often turn into six points the other way, and that game was no exception. If he starts next year for the Skins, or any team for that matter, look for defenses to force him into sideline throws. He just doesn't have enough zip in his arm.

All that being said, the reason I wrote this blog is to praise two of my favorite coaches in the league, Mike Holmgren and Jack Del Rio. Del Rio took an enormous risk in the pre-season and instead of just swapping Gerrard and Leftwich on the depth chart, he cut Leftwich and put all of his eggs in the Gerrard basket, which any competitive player would love to have his coach do. Cutting Leftwich was the ultimate vote of confidendce by Del Rio and it has paid off tremendously. The way Del-Rio is able to get as much as he does out of such an underwhelming roster is very admirable and under appreciated. They do have stud RB's, but the coached have done a great job all year long in how they have gotten a decent quarterback to play like a Pro-Bowler, and the same could be said about the receivers. Reggie Williams, Matt Jones, Earnest Wilford, Dennis Northcut and Mercedis Lewis don't exactly scare anybody, but they are big, physical guys that have come up with big plays all year long. The defense, even with the attention it has garnered the last few years, is still underrated. The linebackers are seldom heard of and most fans couldn't name two of them, let alone one. Again, the job Del Rio and his staff has done with their units is exceptional and can not go unnoticed.

The other winning coach, Mike Holmgren,(contrary to public opinion, and the opinion of Jerome Bettis for that matter) told the world that he planned on abandoning the run and would throw all day, and nobody, not even the hottest team in the NFC, has been able to really shut down his offense, evgen on a day where his quarterback played a lot worse than he is capable of. Holmgren is one of the most candid and secure coaches in all of sports, and doesn't bother hiding his emotions or sugarcoating his opinions, among other things. He also does something that I and fellow Chicagoans have come to believe as impossible, hold open practices, as reported by ESPN 1000 Bears' reporter Jeff Dickerson, my favorite Bears' reporter in Chicago. Holmgren actually came on ESPN Radio about two weeks ago and said flat out that his offense is and will continue to be very pass-heavy and made no bones about it. After listening to Lovie Smith pontificate, waffle, flip flop and cliche his way through his weekly press conferences, listening to Holmgren kinda opened my eyes as to what a good, honest guy Mike Holmgren is. I can't help but love the big fella.

This is no way intended to slight the other coaches who have brought their teams to the playoffs. Jeff Fisher, Tony Dungy and obviously Bill Belichik are all tremendous coaches and have done great jobs with their respective teams. From the remaining coaches, I would have to say that I have been least impressed by the jobs done by Mike Tomlin, Tom Coughlin and Joe Gibbs. When you consider all three coaches' personel and what they have had at their disposal, their accomplishments have not been too impressive. The Chargers have regressed a bit, but I think Norv turner has them playing good football and I expect them to at least take at least one playoff game, perhaps even more. Mike McCarthy has also done a good job in Green Bay, but the real praise should be given to the management and scouts who have brought in all of those good, young receivers and linemen who have made what they do on offense possible. Wade Phillips has a tremendously talented roster and I need to see how he does in the playoffs before I really formulate an opinion on him.

The games today were great and hopeful tomorrow's will be even better, although i don't think they will be nearly as good. San Diego will beat up on the Titans and i expect the elder Kiffin to put together a good enough defensive gameplan to shut down Eli and force 2-3 INT's. It will be close until the fourth quarter, in which Eli decides he is too close to playing a decent, complete game and throws a pick six, and the game for that matter, into the waiting hands of Mr. Ronde Barber.

Some call it parity, i just call it bad. Regardless of where you stand on the NFC and the cluster of mediocrity that is every team outside of Dallas and Green Bay, it is impossible to deny that the Wild Card race is a very tight one. With only one division still up for grabs, that being the South, teams are aware that their only chance is to get the Wild Card, and while the heat is definitely on, there is a startling small number of huge matchups left between the Wild card candidates, which are the following: The New York Giants, Washington Redskins, Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints. Again, while the top spot in the South is still open for the Saints, the Bucs have games left against the lowly Falcons, Niners and Panthers. As long as they take at least two of those games, which they will, they division will be theirs. So now that I have established the LEGITIMATE wild card possibilities, here is a team by team analysis of their ability and chances of getting a wild card spot.

New York Giants: The Giants don't scare anybody and odds are they won't do any damage even if they reach the playoffs, but they do find themselves at 9-4, with games left against the Redskins, Bills and Patriots. The Patriots game will be a loss, book it. The Bills game could be tough, but as long the Giants beat the Redskins, who are now without Jason Campbell and Sean Taylor, they will get the top spot. No team outside of Minnesota can get to ten wins, so if they get that W in their upcoming game versus Washington, which will be played at the Meadowlands, they are guaranteed a playoff spot. Take it to the bank, the Giants are a lock. Verdict: IN

Washington Redskins: This Skins are only one game behind the Vikings, but they don't stand a chance. The death of Taylor hurt as much on the field as it does off, and the loss of Campbell sealed their fate. With games against the Giants, Vikings and Cowboys, in that order, the Redskins would be fortunate to finish .500. Just a question, is it possible to remove someone from the hall of fame? If it is, Joe Gibbs has wore out his welcome in Canton. Verdict: OUT

Minnesota Vikings: While this team has only started garnering attention in recent weeks, I have been a believer for quite a while. Personally, I think this team has a legitimate shot against either Green Bay or Dallas, and on a good day, even against some of the better teams in the AFC. Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor make up the best running back tandem, ever. Both would be above average starters, and with the weekly progression of Tarvaris Jackson and his improving receiving core, the holes will only get bigger for the two of them. Looking at their three remaining games, I don't think a valid case could be made as to how they would lose even one of them. They already smoked the Bears back in Soldier Field, and Peterson should once again make fools out of Adam Archuletta and Danieal Manning. The Skins are as full of holes as the Bears are, and Vikings will steamroll them in their second straight home game. Their season finale, against Denver, shouldn't be too tough either, given Denver's horrendous rush defense. This team will be the second Wild Card team. Verdict: IN

Detroit Lions: Jon Kitna's 10 win prediction and Roy Williams's trash talks have once again proved worthless. The Lions are done. They have the Chargers and Packers left on their schedule, and unless the Packers rest their starters, those will amount to two losses. Both games are also on the road, increasing the improbability of Detroit victories. Could they salvage a win against the Chiefs in week 16? Perhaps, but the Lions run of futility is still going strong. Verdict: OUT.

Arizona Cardinals: Given the fact that I have the Vikings winning at least two of their three remaining games, the Cardinals will have to win out to even have a chance. The good news is that with games left against the Falcons, Rams and Saints, their remaining schedule is among the easiest in the league. The bad news is that the Cardinals are simply not that good of a team. Their defense is dinged up and so are their receivers. I don't see them winning out, just because they are the Cardinals and the Cardinals simply don’t win out. That being said, they might end up at .500, not a bad start for Wisenhunt and his young Cardinals. Verdict: OUT

New Orleans Saints: Not to gloat, but I saw this coming before the season even started(same goes for the Niners, this year's version of the '06 Dolphins). As crazy as it sounds, I think that losing Bush for the season is not all that bad. If the Saints let their runners run and let their receivers receive, like they did last night, they have a better chance of winning than when they have Bush doing his hybrid thing. Hopefully Sean Payton will see that and do what I proposed a while ago, convert him into a wide receiver and bring in a real running back to split time with their other legit tailback, “the Deuce(Is there a better name in all of football, of course aside from Craphonso Thorpe).” Anyhow, the Saints are in a similar position as the Cardinals in terms of catching the Vikings. The Saints have three tough games left, a home game against the Cardinals, another home game against the Eagles and then a road date in Chicago, a matchup of the two most disappointing teams in all of football. Can they win out? If everything goes right, but we are talking about the Saints here. The Saints will end up 8-8, a game or two behind the Vikings.
Verdict: OUT

So there you go. The Wild Card teams will be the Giants and the Vikings.

Bonus Picks: The Giants, who will end up with the sixth seed, will get ousted in the first round by the Seahawks. The Vikings will squeak by the Bucs. The Vikings will lose to Dallas, but it will be a helluva game.

With Rex Grossman getting the starting nod this week against the Seahawks, talk has resurfaced about Good Rex/Bad Rex. I dont mean to be rude to those guys that have spent hours upon hours debating that ridiculous topic, but there is no such thing as Good/Bad Rex. Rex Grossman, when allowed to play his game, is both good and bad. He will tantalize and dissapoint. He will dazzle and fizzle out. That is so because the thing(s) that Rex does well come as a result of what makes him incompetent and will render him a solid backup for the remainder of his career.

Perhaps the most underrated component of successful quarterbacks is size. A quarterback with size has an enormous advantage over one lacking size, especially when both make their hay in the pocket, which is exactly what Rex does. Rex Grossman, who is no doubt shorter than the 6"1 listed in his player profile, will never be a (good) starting quarterback because of his lack of size and inability to escape the pocket, not so much to escape pressure, but to open passing lanes in which he wont have to throw his passes over the outstretched arms of oncoming defensive linemen. These drawbacks however, do not limit his deep passing ability, which is why it is so easy to become infatuated with Grossman if you only watch him in small doses. His aforementioned lack of height and mobility are such great deterrents to his success that they limit his game to two things: checkdowns and deep balls to Bernard Berrian. He does not have the ability to pass the ball horizontally, just vertically, because a thrown deep ball will always sail above linemen's arms and not be affected by a quarterback's size, but balls thrown to the across the field between 10-30 yards are greatly affected by a QB's size. Any time Rex needs to complete say, a crossing route 20 yards down the field, his thrown will need more arch on it than say, a pass thrown by Philip Rivers or Ben Roethlesberger, two quarterbacks with good height. The problems associated with small quarterbacks can be avoided by running numerous plays that allow the quarterback to escape the pocket and eliminate the problem of throwing over linemen, but to do that a quarterback needs to be quick, fast and aware of where blitzers are coming from, all of which Rex is not. Maybe if he had not blown his knee out in the Metrodome a few years ago he might be a pro bowler, but since he did he never will be. A perfect example of a smaller quarterback that creates new throwing lanes is Jeff Garcia. He isnt as tiny as Rex is, but the comparison is sufficient.

What makes matters worse for the Bears is that as long as Rex is in the game, going across the middle, which is the strength of Muhsin Muhammad, Greg Olsen, and Desmond Clark, a very difficult and dangerous task. If you watched all of the Bears game last year, you would have seen that contrary to what i said above, Rex did complete passes in the middle of the field. True, but those passes which were complete almost always required an extraordinary effort by his recievers and also subjected them to some enormous bone crunching hits. For the most part, as long as Rex is in the game, the only way for Ron Turner to utilize those three playmakers is to send them deep or keep a number of extra blockers in the poket, giving Rex enough space and time to complete a pass that he would not be able to complete in regular circumstances. That type of gameplan and scheme will only work, if at all, against the lesser teams in the league, but will never be able beat teams with good players and defensive strategies.
I came to terms with it a hile ago, and its about time Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo come to terms with it as well. Rex Grossman is not, and will never be, a quarterback good enough to be a competent starter. With time, the rest of the league will come to see this.

After only two weeks of regular season football, it may appear, at least on the surface, too early for any fans to hit the panic button. But after looking into the numbers of the last two seasons, there certainly is a reason to panic if you are a fan of any of the 0-2 teams in the National Football League.

-The 2005 Season

At the end of week two, the standings looked as follows:
Seven teams stood at 2-0. Of the seven teams, all but one made the playoffs, that being Kansas City.
Eighteen at 1-1: Of those, one third made the playoffs.
The real thing to look at is the following. Seven teams found themselves at 0-2, and NONE of them ended up in the postseason.

-Lets take a look at how things worked out after two in 2006:
Eleven stood at 2-0: Seven of those teams reached the playoffs.
Ten stood at 1-1: Only four made the playoffs.
Eleven at 0-2: Just one made the playoffs.

Now here is what the totals, going in to week3, from both season combined looked like.
Thirteen out of the eighteen 2-0 squads reached. Thats a 72% chance for teams at 2-0.
Ten out of the twenty-eight 1-1's reached the playoffs. Thats a 36% chance.
Only one of the eighteen 0-2's reached the playoffs. Those teams reached at a measly 5.5% clip.

The numbers regarding the 2-0 and 1-1 teams aren't all that surprising. What i found interesting is the rediculously low clip at which 0-2 teams ended up reaching the playoffs in '05 and '06. I dont think these numbers are aberrations and i fully expect for only tiny percentage of the 0-2 teams thus far in the 2007 season.

A message to the Dolphins, Bills, Jets, Chiefs, Raiders, Giants, Eagles, Falcons, Saints and Rams: Maybe one, or perhaps two of you will reach the playoffs, let the battle begin.

Most ex-players will tell you that Week one in the NFL is a crapshoot. The play is sloppy, players are rusty and not much can be learned from any of the games. Week two, not much better an indicator than week1 but better nonetheless, is a decent measuring stick of a team's strength and weaknesses. So here we go.

Chicago Bears: Unless the Bears bring in a QB or Rex miraculously turns things around, the team will only go as far as the running game, defense and special teams can take it. The defense has been devastating, holding the game's two best runningbacks, LT and LJ, under 100 yards collectively. The special teams has already produced a TD and blocked two kicks and Cedric Benson has shed some light on the running game, producing a 100 yard game in just his third start.

Green Bay Packers: Coach McCarthy will force his defense to win games, and it has done so thus far. Brett Fave has been pretty good thus far and the Packers are off to a hot start at 2-0. Their running game however has been non-productive and will need to step it up if they wish to win inter-division games against Chicago and Minnesota, who have superb run defenses.

Detroit Lions: Jon Kitna's ten win prediction, so far so good. It looks like the Lions offense is for real. Still, the Lions have faced two very poor pass defenses so far and will also have to pick up their game in the running department. They will also have to step up on defense. The Raiders and Vikings should not combine for 38 points against anybody.

Minnesota Vikings: WIthout a doubt, the defense has been the rock for this team. After already producing three TD's, it looks like Minnesota's success will be dependant mainly on their defense. Adrian Peterson will be relied on heavily in just his rookie season and has been solid so far. If the defense holds up and Adrian Peterson continues producing, the Vikes will be a tough team to play.

Dallas Cowboys: Tony Romo looks like a real find for the Cowboys. Why the Boy's didnt turn to him earlier is anybody's guess. The two headed beast of Barber and Jones have continued where they left off, with Barber racking up the TD's and Jones doing the damage between the 20's. TO has been getting a healthy amount of passes thrown his way and the offense has rolled. The defense however, has been brutal. They have been carved up by two very mediocre offenses for over 50 points and will not have the luxury of doing so when they finally face a top defense, as they will have to do next Sunday against Chicago. Even when Newman returns, foot injuries are tough to overcome and opposing QB's will still tee off on Anthony Henry.

Philadelphia Eagles: Pending the outcome of Monday Nighter.

Washington Redskins: See Philly.

New York Giants: This team is pretty bad. ON the bright side, Eli Manning has finall started to look like a Manning. Still, the defense blows and they wont be able to do anything in the running game if Jacobs isnt healthy. Tiki anybody?

San Fransisco: Wins are wins. Style points dont count for #### in the NFL. Alex Smith and the offense hasnt looked good but Frank Gore and the defense has done just enough to scrape out two tight victories. I doubted the Niners in the pre-season and they havent lloked that good, but if they continue to scrape their way to victories they will get my respect.

Seattle: Even after losing to the Cards, they still are th team to beat in the West. Hasselback is the best QB in the West and the same could be said for the defense. Shaun Alexander looked good today but overall the play was kinda sloppy. The Seahawks gave away the game on the botched handoff and will need to cut down on stupid mistakes. With the next four games against the Bengals, Niners, Steelers and Saints, the Hawks could be in big trouble if they dont win at least two of those games.

Arizona: They have hung tight in their two division games thus far and have a split to show for it. The bright spots have been the defense, the running game and the offensive line, all weak spots last season. Ken Wisenhunt has been doing his thing on the sidelines and the Cardinals have been gritty and competitive so far, things which we havent seen from Arizona in recent years.

St. Louis: Entering only the third week of the season, the Rams are already in must-win mode going against the Buccaneers. The offensive line, fresh off the loss of Orlando Pace to the IR, gave up SIX sacks today and didnt give Bulger the protection that he needed to get the Rams a W. The fact is that the defense isnt that good and if the offensive line doesnt step it up, my choice for the surprise team in the NFC will be out of the NFC West race in a blink of an eye.

New Orleans: Who saw this coming? ME ME ME. Their recieving corpse is lackluster and so is their defense. When the Buccaneers are shredding up your secondary, you know you're in trouble. The truth is that the Saints are better than what they have shown and cant be counted out just yet. However, with some tough games coming up against the Titans, Panthers and Seahawks, the Saints could be in some serious trouble if they dont right the ship real soon. The good news is that their division looks to be the worst in the NFC, so they cant really be counted all season long.

Carolina: The Panthers are in the best situation of the four teams in the South. They face the Falcons, Bucs, Saints and Cardinals, in order, and will be able to take a firm grasp of the division if they take ate least three of those four, which they should be able to do. Steve Smith is still the best reciever in the world and their defense still is potentiall, key word potientally, a dominant unit.

Falcons: Not much to say for this team. Who's decision was it to get rid of Matt Schaub. Looks like they let the real deal get away. Anyhow, the team cant run, pass, defend the run or defend the pass. The Falcons are the worst team in the lague and looking at their schedule, dont have many games which can be called winnable.

Buccaneers: Even after a solid win against the division rival Saints, the Bucs are still a bottom feeder in the NFC. With three of the next four games against the Colts, Titans and Panthers, the Bucs will struggle to be any better than 1-4 by the time week six rolls around.

Biggest Surprise: We have a tie.
1) Coming into the season, the North was being thrown around as the worst division in the conference. With arguably the two best defenses, belonging to the Bears and Vikings(and the Packers have a pretty good one as well) residing in the North, the division may shape up to be the strongest.

2) What has happened to the Saints. Reggie Bush, Deuce and Drew Brees were supposed to bring back memories of the greatest show on turf. So far they have looked like the Saints of old and have taken a very big step back after coming close to winning the NFC Championship just last year.

Without going too in-depth in my analysis of each of the NFC's teams, here are my quick, consise thoughts on what each team will do in the upcoming 07 season. The order the teams are listed in have nothing to do with how i think each division will shape up.

NFC North
Chicago Bears- The defense is good enough to get a bye in the NFC on it's own. Even a decent offensive performance from last year's highest scoring team(NFC) should at least get them home field advantage.

Green Bay Packers- Brett Favre's last hoorah. From what i have heard from up north in Green Bay, the end of the Favre era couldnt get here any quicker. An imporoving defense and semi-decent offense will make them the tallest of the other three NFC North midgets.

Minnesota Vikings- A goop defensive team with no offense whatsoever. Chester Taylor and Adrian peterson are good, but even the best struggle when defenses consistently pack eight men in the box. Its up to Tarvaris Jackson, but he isnt up to the task.

Detroit Lions- Jon Kitna says a minimum of ten wins are in store for the Lions.... I say 7 or eight maximum. Last time a Lion ran his mouth(Roy Williams on the Bears) there was a massacre in Soldier Field. The offense will have it's highs, but the team overall will have many, many lows.

NFC West
Seattle Seahawks- A strong team. If Alexander comes back strong and Hasselback can make it through another season full of nagging injuries, this team will take the division, which from what i have heard, has already been handed to....

San Fransisco 49'ers- The new hot sh%$ in the NFC. Everybody is ready to annoint them, but if they go out and play like they did against the Bears in the only pre-season game that means anything, which i think they will, another 8-8 or 9-7 season is in store for San Fran. By the way, Nate Clements, their big-time signing this offseason, was destroyed by Bernard Berrian.

St. Louis- What an offense. Too bad the defense is among the worst in the league. The offense will thrill but the defense will thouroughly dissapoint. The offense will keep them in games, but i see some high scoring losses for the Rams. Still, a playoff birth is a reasonable expectation for this offensive beast.

Arizona Cardinals- New Coaching Staff, Revamped Offensive Line, same old story, at least for one more season. Leinart will perform well but the offensive line will hold the running game back. I expect the line to imporve a bit, but if it doesnt, Leinart will have a season to forget. The defense also has a long way to go.

NFC South
New Orleans Saints- I cant stand the Saints and am a bit biased, but i will admit that the Saints are a good team. Good, but not great, as many seem to think. They were thoroughly thumped in the NFC Championship game last season and the recievers as a whole are extremely young. The defense, the secondary in particular, will have to improve greatly if they want to get home field in the playoffs.

Carolina Panthers- This team will be a thorn in the Saints side all season long. They have an easier schedule than the Saints but have what i believe to be a more complete team. Oh yeah, that Steve Smith guy is pretty good too. I think there is a very good chance that the Panthers take the division crown back this year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Quantity over Quality. That seems to be the theme when it comes to their group of QB's. Honestly, they have a bunch of trash at their position. Jeff Garcia had a good 1/2 season for the Eagles last year, but the Bucs are a different team. Cadillac, even with his immense talent, will have another poor season.Tteams will stack up against the run and force them to pass, and that will absolutely work.

Atlanta Falcons- Quite frankly, even a falcons team WITH Michael Vick doesnt scare me that much. What has been forgotten throughout this whole dogfighting mess is that he hasnt been too good as of late. Joey Harrington, one of the many failed draft picks of Matt Millen, will show all Atlantians why he wasnt even good enough to start in Detroit. Atlanta is perhaps the worst team in the NFC.

NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles- Look no further for the comeback player of the year. Donovan McNabb, when healthy, is the best QB in the NFC. I would rather have him than Bulger, Romo, Hasselback or even
Drew Brees. The Eagles will take back the East crown and McNabb will make a Pro Bowler out of Reggie Brown. The defense is also one of the most underrated year in and year out.

New York Giants- Not as bad as advertised. I expect a decent season from the Giants. Eli Manning, in his quest to make a (good)name for himself, will step up and improve on his not-so-bad numbers of last year. However, his supporting cast, i.e the defense and running game, will weigh down the Giants and keep them out of the Playoffs.

Dallas Cowboys- Tony Romo is perhaps one of the most undeservedly heralded quarterback in the league this side of Matt Schaub. He played well last year but rarely do undiscovered QB's emerge out of the shadows and light the world on fire. The Cowboys are a good team and will be competitive in each and every game, but they dont have enough firepower, on defense or offense, to beat the Eagles out for the top spot in the strongest division in the NFC.

Washington Redskins- Does any other team in the league have so many unheard of players? When i think of the Skins', the only big name players that come to mind are Portis, Taylor and Moss. Their offense is very old-school and somewhat out-dated. The defense doesnt exactly strike fear in an opponent either. Book it, another season at the cellar of the East.

When watching a game of football, there is always a guy that you can look at and you get chills down your spine just thinking about what he can do to your team and it's chances of walking away with a W. While there are many dominating players on defense, i am only going to bring up the intimidating players on the offensive side of the ball.

QB- There are only two quarterbacks that really scare me when my team has to defend against them, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Brett Favre always breaks my heart, but i dont get the same feeling of helplessness as i do when i see Peyton or Tom in the Shotgun. When Peyton and his lanky figures is tip-toing around in the pocket waiting for Marvin Harrison to break out of his route, i feel like my team has no chance.

RB- Only one runningback can really take over a game and make it his, and that is obviously Ladanian Tomlinson. Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson and many of the other great backs are all very good and can be fantasy beasts, but only LT renders the opposition helpless when the ball is in his hands.

WR- Only Steve Smith. It is not often when a wide reciever has the success that Steve Smith has despite being thrown to by a very mediocre QB like Jake Delhomme. Rice had Young. Harrison has manning. Johnson has Palmer. When the ball leaves Jake's hand, you hope and pray that the intended reciever is not Steve Smith.

TE- There are no tight ends that can really take over a game in this era of the NFL. Antonio Gates is the closest thing to it, but hes just not there yet.

K/P Return Man- Devin Hester. He is actually the reason i wrote this blog. I was watching some of his clips on YouTube and i could not help but feel sorry for the defense's cover teams, pathetic attempts to chase him down. I would really like to know what poeple outside of Chicago feel like when Hester recieves the ball off of a kickoff or a punt. Does he scare you? Is he as intimidating as us in Chicago think he is? Do you think he should ever be kicked to again?

So Michael Vick is "innocent." Just another case where an athlete escapes due to an apparent lack of evidence. In my opinion, Michael Vick may be innocent, but i believe that i speak for a majority of people when i say he is guilty as Barry Bonds, oh wait he is innocent. I think that by sitting pat and letting the process of being examined take it's course, Michael Vick, just like Barry Bonds, has basically made himself look as guilty as an "innocent" person can look. What bothers me about Vick, Bonds and many other accused athletes is why they simply dont step up and take the necessary steps to prove that they are in fact truly innocent. I believe that the minute an athlete refuses to allow himself to be fully examined, i.e take all of the necessary blood tests etc., he has basically stamped the word GUILTY on his forehead.

There have been many, many blogs posted on this site about steroid use in baseball and more specifically Barry Bonds. Many will attempt to defend alleged steroid users such as Bonds by throwing out the "innocent until proven guilty" phrase and not take into account many of the facts that point to steroid use but cant be used in a court of law as evidence. The message i have to the fans and admirers that want to defend the likes of Bonds and Vick is the following: If these players are truly innocent, why can't they prove it? It is sad to say this, but baseball has reached a point where all major achievments will be put under the steroids microscope and the mindset is currently guilty until proven innocent. If players want to validate their accomlishments why dont they just step up and take the necessary steps to prove innocence? One of the growing group of players to have reached significant milestones this season, Frank Thomas, has been a huge supporter of expanding steroid testing to the max and allowing baseball to test for any known performance enhancers. It is time for players to step up, like Thomas already has, and try to clean up the game for the sake of the "clean" players left in the game today.

I, along with many Bears fans have been long awaiting the commissioners ruling on Tank Johnson. Goodell has done a good job so far during his short tenure as commissioner of the NFL, but what the hell is he waiting for. He has had many months to come to a decision on Tank Johnson and i dont think it is fair to the organization to have to wait such a long time to know what is going to happen to their defensive tackle. Why is say it is unfair to the organization is that although the season is far away the Bears need to know how pressing a need defensive tackle is going to be for the coming season based on the punishment handed down from Goodell. If i am not mistaken the word out of his office was that the sentence was to be given to Tank over a couple of weeks ago. If anybody can fill me in with what is causing this process to take so long please comment.

PS. I dont believe it is because he is so caught up with the present situation concerning Michael Vick. The guy is an absolute low life by the way, regardless of what Clintin Portis has to say about it. He has been classless on the field and now has proven to be classless off the field. Dogfighting?? Gimme a break.

I have to say, Atlanta just got away with the steal of the offseason. For Atlanta to get bumped up in the first round and get two second round picks for a backup QB who has not registered a win in the league in the same offseason where an established RB like Thomas Jones got traded for a moderate bump in a second round draftr pick is just highway robbery. Even more unbelievable is how the Texans made such an ill-advised(for the time being) move that brings back memory of their previous general manager(i forgot his name, but he was scrutinized in a big way).

For the Texans, a team with many, many gaping holes in their roster do go after an unproven backup QB is pretty ridiculous. First off, one of their second round picks alone could have brought in a minimum of a Thomas Jones, who would be placed on the same level as Ahman Green and signed for half of the price. Now they are stuck with an expensive backup in Carr and an expensive, aging running back in Green. They missed out on any of the defensive players in free agency, and if they didnt want to pursue Thomas Jones, they easily could have put together a similar package to the Schaub one to acquire Lance Briggs, who looks like he is surely on his way out of the Chi. There are so many things wrong with this trade on the Texan's side of it that my head may explode.

From the Falcon's point of view, this is a hell of a deal. Schaub is coming up on the final year of his contract, and never has a backup QB been so heralded. Atlanta can now move up a bit in this year's draft, add quality young players this year and the next in the second round, all for a QB that really isnt in the future plans of the team. They brough in Petrino in the offseason and he has already declared Vick to be the man in Atlanta, all but ensuring an exit for Schaub.(On a diferent topic, Petrino may do wonders for Vick in Atlanta. I wouldnt be surprised to see an offense that resembles a colleigate offense, more specifically one that utilizes a quarterback's ability to run the ball even more than ATL already does.)

Houston has failed to address it's more pressing needs of bolstering their offensive line and giving whomever their QB off 2007 will be some more offensive weapons. What is of interest now is what will the Texans do with David Carr? Will they hold onto him or trade him? If they do trade him, what will they be able to get for him and how much of his current contract will they have to ####? For now this trade weighs heavily in favor of Atlanta, but how will it pan out over time? Only time will tell, for now just chime in and tell me what you think about it.