Watching Willie Parker struggle the last few weeks, it is easy to say that the Steeler running game is not working.  Yardage is way down, and I can't remember the last time Fast Willie broke off a really long run, or scored a touchdown.

But the running game is working.

Review Hines Ward's record-setting catch Sunday night if you need proof.  Big Ben made only the subtlest of play-action fakes- really not more than looking vaguely in Parker's direction -and the entire Bengal defense was swept along to the right.  Their linebackers cleared out of the middle of the field just enough to make room for Hines to slip through.  And you'll see a lot of that if you're watching.

The Steelers reputation for running the ball and the success they had in the first half of this season have forced opposing defenses to play the run very aggressively.  Parker isn't superman, and neither are the Steelers offensive lineman; if the defenses are playing run first and asking questions later, and throwing 8 or 9 guys at the runner, you aren't going to move the ball.  The important thing, and the true measure of the effectiveness of that running game, is the ability to capitalize on other teams' willingess to sell out to stop the run.  As we're seeing, Big Ben is quite capable of making defenses pay the price for such a strategy, and the result is that the Steelers are winning games.

And so the interesting question becomes, how long will it take before teams adjust to what Big Ben is doing, and dedicate a bit more of their resources to defending the pass?  I salivate at the prospect; first of all, I love watching the Steelers run the ball.  Second, I've got Willie Parker on my fantasy team…

But I'm not a fantasy nut.  I'd rather watch Willie struggle on the stat line and yet still put so much pressure on defenses that the play-action continues to be effective-- and the Steelers continue to win games --than have Wilie run off 800 yards and 12 touchdowns in the last 4 games, and let Cleveland back into the division race.  I'm a Steeler fan.

Besides, my fantasy team sucks so hard I wouldn't win even if Parker put up 1,000 yards and 15 TDs in the last 4 games…  ;)

Last night was the last straw.  I was sitting in my chair, and I said to myself, "I'll wonder if Kyle Boller throws this into the end zone and they score to tie the game up, if the ref will throw some ticky-tack flag and nullify the score because they have a double-header they have to get to, and they'll be in deep kaka with their sponsors if people are still watching this game while the other one is going on."
 
Hut hut!  Kyle Boller fires the ball over the defender into the hands of Todd Heap, who makes one of the all-time great plays to catch the thing and come down in bounds, despite being harrassed continuously by the defender.  Assuming the extra point goes well, we've got a tie ballgame.
 
Before Heap even had his second foot down, the ref was throwing a flag at him.  He then called pass interference-- on a TIGHT END --and whatever fading illusions I had that the NFL is different from the WWF were crushed.  Tight ends get mugged every play.  It's a known fact that TEs and linebackers and safeties mix it up more than receivers do, and that the refs let them.  Tight ends aren't #### wideouts.  They're blockers and catchers and are expected to be more physical and fight through more contact.  Not to mention that the defender wasn't even looking at the ball, and was all over him.  I have never seen a more blatant and disgusting example of how rotten the NFL is in my life.  Well...that's not true.  The parody that Aaron Neville and Aretha Franklin did of themselves at Super Bowl XL was pretty disgusting, too.  As if there is a single football fan in America who actually wants to see that sheit, or see Kelly freaking Clarkson sing her teenie-bopper BS.

They are killing the golden goose.  The constant hype, every #### is sponsored by somebody, and now this.  I used to like THE GAME.  The game is ROTTEN.  Clearly the refs are manipulating outcomes...perhaps not completely, perhaps not because they have an interest in which team wins.  But certainly to maximize revenue, to keep games close where they can, when the networks have a lot of money riding on them, or, in this case, when sponsors paid top-dollar for spots at the beginning of the San Fran-Arizona game, and future such revenues are in danger if those ads are being run on ESPN2, much to the extreme disappointment of those sponsors.
 
I used to like football.  It is dead to me now.  Maybe I'll start watching the WWF.  I despise corruption and the fact that these #### corrupted and ruined a game that I love just makes it sting even more.  Oh, and that last period on the end of that last sentence was brought to you by Aflac, here at 3Com Park, under the GE lights and sipping a Miller Lite, waiting for the refs to watch their replay on their Sharp HD Television.

Hey, NFL:  Go #### yourself.  I'm voting with my wallet.  I'm finished with you.  I sure will miss all of those wonderful Kelly Clarkson/Aretha Franklin/Back Street Boys shows before and during big games.  But somehow I'll just have to find a way to get along without it.

I started this long slide after watching the Steelers and Seattle warm up for SB XL, get themselves all ready to rock....and then slink off to the locker room to cool their heels for A FREAKING HOUR so that we could watch that pathetic display by Neville and Franklin...  Obviously they KNOW that nobody wants to see this ####, and they know that the stadium would be EMPTY if they ran that circus BEFORE the players warmed up.  SO WHY DO IT?!!!  NOBODY WANTS IT!!!!  JUST SKIP IT YOU !*#*((KING MORONS!!!   And then they do the same thing at halftime....completely hold up the game so that we can watch some nightmare stage show that NOBODY cares about.

Not to mention the TV timeouts....which are invoked regardless of what kind of momentum a team might be building, and can COMPLETELY change the course of the game by disrupting rhythm and flow so that I can see the same commercial for a Dodge truck I've already seen 14 times in the last hour.

Link, if you care, to yet another article about Russell.  Link 

We should all get paid to write "Somebody may or may not sign with somebody later today, as reported by somebody."

Thanks for the great report!  Wow!  Good thing we don't have too many sportswriters in this country.

A short one here, but I really can't come up with an answer for this one:

Considering the ugliness of the situation at Vick's property this spring, and considering that Joey Harrington is a tackling dummy...what exactly were the Falcons thinking when they traded Schaub? 

Be serious.  Vick got indicted...and anyone is surprised by this?

Blank doesn't have tough decisions to make.  He's already made them; he's known for months now that an indictment like this was a real possibility.  Reasons to expect that it would come to this?  First, Clinton Portis' revelation that this sickening, evil pasttime is anything but rare.  Second, Vick has the means to drive something like this, and it's happening on his property. 

And really, let's be honest here:  you can't blame him for claiming he was innocent any more than you can blame Clinton for lying about Monica Lewinski.  His word in this case had to count for exactly nothing.

I know, I know...wait until the trial...he could be exonnerated...

Right.  And I'm the Queen of England.  It's his house, the feds have witnesses lined up, and they pulled a bunch of dead dogs off of his property.  The man is not going to walk away from this one.  Bad Newz is right.

You know what I can't wait for?  I can't wait for the people who think torturing dogs is okay to step up and defend him.  Is Al Sharpton going to be standing in front of cameras next week telling us that Michael Vick is being persecuted for not harming anyone else, for doing whatever he wanted with his property, and that he is the victim of some "cultural bias"?  Is this a black/white issue?  How do people of different sub-cultures come down on the issue of dog fighting?  The truth is that different people around the world have always had widely varied opinions of what animals are entitled to, ranging from treatment as creatures with dignity, to the kind of treatment you'd give a piece of luggage.

Personally, I tend to think anyone who could treat a dog this way is suffering from some form of attachment disorder.  The possibility that there is a large number of such people in our society-- whatever their background --explains a lot.  See violent crime statistics for Philadelphia, 2006, etc.

Let's be honest here.  Ricky Williams is not in trouble because he smoked pot.  Lots of guys smoke pot.  Ricky Williams is in trouble because he is a flake with absolutely no character whatsoever.  Have you seen his latest statement?  What is this guy, a politician?  Jimmy Swaggart?  Suddenly he's "an honest, God-fearing man"?  Suddenly, he'll return to the league one day, "God willing"?  This from the dude who fancied himself some sort of eastern mystic not long ago.  If it were a voting matter, claiming to be reborn in Christ, or whatever his angle is going to be, might count for something.  But something tells me that the commissioner and the Miami Dolphins aren't as stupid as the people who allow folks like Jimmy Swaggart and George W. Bush to whitewash their checkered pasts by simply paying a little lip-service to the Almighty, by telling them what they want to hear. 

Maybe if it was just dope with this guy.  But it wasn't.  It was leaving his team in the lurch, totally screwing them over in the process, because he didn't feel like dealing honestly with his problems.  He was too scared to consider living without marijuana, to address his social anxiety through therapy and manage his issues.  I'm not one to take psychology and psychiatry religiously, and I can easily imagine that allowing this guy to smoke marijuana would really have been the best resolution to things for all concerned.  Some people really seem to derive a remarkable benefit from it.  But considering his job, and the league's clear policies on the subject, he took the responsibility to live up to that policy on himself when he signed his multi-million-dollar contract.  When that proved difficult, he had an obligation to deal with it anyway.  To this point, he isn't projecting an image of somebody who has tried to clean up his act.  And he isn't projecting an image of somebody who cares, either.

The best thing for Ricky to do is to pack up his stuff and disappear.  Forget football, forget the entire mess, and vanish off the face of the earth.  He clearly doesn't want all of the baggage that comes with being a running back in the NFL.  He quite possibly simply does not have the make-up to deal with it.  And he may very well be a person who chemically is designed in such a way that marijuana is a very good answer for his social anxiety.  That marijuana is rejected outright while something with Pfizer stamped into the side of it is somehow okay is pure hypocrisy, but that's a different can of worms.  In the end, Ricky should see if he can get a note from his doctor to use marijuana medicinally.  Problem solved for all concerned.  If not, he should consider moving to California, where they'll entertain that sort of thing, and think seriously about doing the alternative living thing he seemed so interested in until he ran out of money.

I, for one, get it.  Apparently, I'm the only one not working in the Eagles' front office who does.

McNabb is a terrific quarterback, but he's not superman (it's taken me a long time to come around and accept McNabb's talent).  Sooner or later he's going to be finished.  He's coming off of a major injury and may not even be ready for the start of the season.  He's only one big hit or one misstep away from ending his career at this point.  He's been to the Superbowl, won tons of games, and made a bushel of money.  If he gets seriously hurt again, I'd guess that's the end of Donovan. 

And while Kelly Holcomb and A.J. Feeley are servicable backups, they aren't your quarterback.  Naturally, they could prove me wrong, given the opportunity.  But they've had opportunities in the past and proven themselves to be capable, but nothing special.  Kolb has the luxury of learning under McNabb.  Realistically, McNabb has 2007 and 2008 as an Eagle, and then he's gone.  Do you want the 2009 version of Kelly Holcomb to be your new quarterback?  Do you want to be scavenging the draft hoping to find sharp new young talent only after your starter is done and you're under pressure?  This pick makes perfect sense.  And if McNabb has a lot of trouble coming back from his latest injury,  I wouldn't be surprised to see Kolb take over in 2008.

The author is Adam Schefter.  He wrote an article about http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/10120976,
games on next season's NFL schedule that we must all look forward to.   On the list:  Green Bay vs. Dallas.  Among his reasons:  "...Terrell Owens in any primetime game. Last time T.O. was on the Network, spit happened."

Is he kidding me with this ####?  Is there still any self-respecting football fan out there willing to say that one of the things he looks forward to in any game is the chance to see T.O. act out his issues on the field?  Evidently, Mr. Schefter thinks that is the sort of trash people want out of the NFL.  The way ESPN and the rest of the outlets harp on T.O.'s every move, you'd think that this is a primary concern for most fans. 

I have heard members of the media on venues like The Sports Reporters defend their habit of digging and digging and digging at a sore spot until somebody says something printable that they can turn into a story.  Some sort of tension in the club?  Just keep asking them about it.  Eventually, you'll catch one of them with his guard down, and he'll say something you can run with.  Their defense?  "These thoughts and feelings are already there.  The story is already there.  The tensions exist.  We're just getting to the story."

####.  People have professional differences all the time.  People work with people they don't necessarily like all the time.  People work with people they regard as pretty stupid all the time.  And many times, those feelings change over time, either as people work through projects together and earn each other's repect, or as they realize they were judging each other out of some sort of insecurity because they were in competition.  Lots of scenarios play out all the time.  But if a reporter was there when you were upset with somebody at work, and asked you over and over and over and over and over, "Joe!  Is there any sort of resentment or anger on your part towards Bob over this issue?"  Sooner or later, you'll pop, and say, "Yes, I think that's fair to say, but we're professionals, and we'll work through it."  Next day on the local paper's back page, the headline:  "Joe angry and resentful of teammates."

If the media want to pull the wool over their own eyes and convince themselves that by short-circuiting the natural ebbs and flows of the work lives of NFL players, they are somehow bringing us some important story, so be it.  The truth is, 95% of what they do is useless fluff, and they are trying to justify their existence.  They are paparazzi, plain and simple.  Sickening stuff.

Adam Schefter thinks one reason I should tune in to a football game is that maybe T.O. will spit on somebody.  Here's a real news flash:  I'd watch more football and be a far more loyal customer if T.O. had been kicked out of the league following his #### comments about Jeff Garcia being ####.  Imus got fired for as much.  Obviously CBS didn't want that image associated with their corporation, with their product.  Too bad the NFL doesn't have that kind of sense.  I have zero interest in watching any of these overgrown children throw temper tantrums or otherwise act out on the field and on camera.  In fact, I have a negative interest in it.  If I know T.O. will be playing, will be on camera, I will NOT be watching.  I hate that garbage.  It is destroying what used to be my favorite sport.

My new favorite sport?  Golf, of course.  It's the only one left that isn't polluted yet.  It's too tough o####ame.  Flash-in-the-pan talents like John Daly don't last long enough to corrupt the environment.  The game itself requires too much discipline and self-control, and it weeds out the people with no character.  Separates the men from the boys, literally.  Even as PGA marketing has gotten slicker, and more attention has been paid to these big hitters, the bottom line will always be that accuracy and putting will win tournaments, and accuracy and putting are the product of a calm, focused mind.

I still miss football, though.  I still watch it, because sometimes the games are terrific.  But this is just another example of how badly the NFL and the people covering it misunderstand its customers.  That Schefter would think that some sort of T.O. shenanegans is a reason I would watch a game, as opposed to a reason I would turn OF####ame, is a little surprising to me.

The players' association is debating what to do to mitigate the impact of a few bad seeds upon the rest of the league.  A crew of thugs running through the NFL ranks that goes out and seems to find itself in trouble is finally, apparently, cause for concern.

These guys talk about it like they aren't sure what should be done.  They talk about it like they don't know what they can do.

Well, let's see.  How many employees at your company got arrested last night for punching somebody in Vegas?  How many are somehow involved in shootings, or stabbings?

That's the wrong question, isn't it?

The right question is, "How many of those people who do get arrested for drugs or violence still have their jobs?"

If I came to work and acted like I was some sort of punk thug gangster, I'd get fired. 

Are we really so stupefied by political correctness and over-socialization (to use  a Unabomber term) that we have to pretend that acting like a #### gangster is some sort of cultural diversity right?  Are we really such #### that we'll look the other way when these dirtbags get busted over and over again, just because they're good at hitting other people on the football field?

Let me just make an insane suggestion:  if you get rid of the thugs, if you fire the people who behave in a way that would embarrass and shame any organization, if you just cut them loose like you would any other representative of any other organization...I'm willing to bet that we'll be able to find more people who won't act like criminals to come in and take their paycheck and their place on the field, and hit plenty hard in their own right.

And when it all comes out in the wash, people who do have the opportunity to play in the NFL will know going in that it is an opportunity, a job, a chance to go out and earn serious money, and that if they screw it up, just like any other job, they will be fired.   That will not only induce players to behave a little better, it will send a message to kids, who will grow up with that message inside them.  And when it comes to be their time to join the NFL, or to go out into life in some other capacity and start living, they will know as all people should that it is important to conduct yourself with some degree of civility, that you cannot flaunt your wealth and untouchable status by going out and getting into trouble with no regard for the consequences.

I know the NFL and the NBA and Hollywood and every other group that has the power to influence entire generations of Americans doesn't accept that responsibility, and often I hear representatives of these powerful media monsters decrying such sentiments, insisting that I go out and just do a better job raising my kids.

But I already do that.  What do you want me to do about the kids that aren't mine?  I could use a little help here.  I would appreciate it if an organization that supposedly prides itself on excellence had the consistency of character and the backbone to stand up for standards of simple decency, and put its money where its mouth is.  In the end, decent people will abandon indecent organizations.

If you don't understand that, have a look at the NBA.  Where did that league stand right about the time Michael Jordan was winning his 6th championship?  How was their popularity?  Not only was he one of the great competitors of all time, a beacon of intensity and passion on the court, he conducted himself with class and acted acted as an ambassador for the game.  He used his undeniable authority as the greatest basketball player of all time to influence his teammates and others in his league, to lobby for decency.  He recognized his power in the world and he had the character to make it work for him and for us.

As soon as he retired, the NBA went into panic mode.  "Where will we get our next star?  What will we do without the draw of Jordan?  Do we even have an identity?"  Desperation is the mother of stupidity.  Next thing you know, the NBA is pulling kids right out of high school.  Kids who haven't had their character tested in the pressure cooker of NCAA basketball (with all of its faults), where coaches still wield profound influence over the players in terms of their character and their conduct, not just their game.  But superstars aren't born.  They are forged.  These talented kids will probably never live up to their potential because of the life experiences they missed.  The NBA killed the goose.  Too late, they are trying.  They instituted that absurd dress code.  And they are trying to figure out how young is too young.  But the damage is done.  You tell me what the image of the NBA is.  A bunch of punks who get paid millions of dollars before they even do anything, who strut around acting like they know something, like they are somebody.  Kids who are ruined by the hype of the machine and the NBA telling them how great they are, what stars they are, and throwing more money than they can handle at them.

Seriously:  who watches that #### anymore?  I know I don't.

Football isn't far behind, for me.

Remember when the Colts were grinding out wins at the beginning of the year?  When Eli had a slew of touchdowns and Peyton had zero?  Remember thinking, "Uh oh.  If Indy grew a smashmouth streak, they'll be unbeatable"?  I know I do.

The truth is that Edgerrin James has led the league in rushing.  He usually puts up a lot of yards, scores a lot of touchdowns.  The Colts run a balanced offense, in the sense that they run the ball a fair amount of the time.  Sure, Peyton's passes tend to gobble up big chunks of yardage and score oodles of points.  But in the end, it's not like they only run the ball 20% of the time.

Enter the playoffs.  Big game.  Big pressure.  Raging adrenaline.

And then look at these second-half stats from the Steeler game on Sunday:

3rd Quarter- 13 total plays, 2 running plays.  TWO RUNNING PLAYS!!!  And that includes a stretch of two drives with the score still 14-3.

4th Quarter- 11 total plays, 1 running play.  And that running play was the dive that Edge put in for the TD from the 3 yard line.

If you parse the play-by-play of this game, you can practically see Peyton's offensive line crumbling around him as he completely abandons the run and the Steeler defense pins their ears back.  The sacks, the interception, the bad throws mount.  All because the Steeler defense knows what's coming every play.

I don't have the play-by-play of the games the Colts dropped to New England in the playoffs, but my memory is telling me they abandoned the run even earlier in those contests.

If Peyton ever learns to trust his teammates enough to let them help win these big games, he'll probably like the results.  Because airing it out every play, trying to big-play your way to glory and victory, is NOT going to work against the teams you'll be playing in these big games.

Am I the only one who was impressed with the way the Jets came out and tried to just beat New England up all night?  I'll admit, I was playing poker during the game, but everybody at the table kept stopping and snapping their heads around to look at the TV, hoping to see what had just made a sound like a car crash.  Eventually, the poker lost ground, and we were riveted, just watching one great hit after another.  Both teams really got after it, but an tough performance from the Patriots almost doesn't warrant any comment; it's just expected.  The Jets, on the other hand, really blew me away.  I knew they had a great defense, but they showed up and made sure everybody in the country saw it when they had their chance.  If they had an offense to control the game, they could really change the landscape in the AFC east dramatically next season.  Either way, that defense should be proud of the way they fought hard all night long, delivering some of the best hits I've seen all season and making terrific open-field tackles left and right.