Build, verb - To form by combining materials or parts; construct

Answers.com defines the word "build" as seen above.  Everyone is trying to build something.  Whether it be a happy home, strong relationships, a better self, or creating a new idea or new product at your job, we all try to build things.  For many, these tasks are ones that could never be completed.  However, in the sports world, the end of every season marks that some group, program, organization, etc. has done what they set out to do.  They have built a champion. 

Fans always think that they know their teams the best.  We feel like we know the leagues our teams play in.  We feel like, if just given that chance, we could build a champion.  When building a house, the foundation is key.  The age-old sports question is now being posed to you.  Who would you build a team around?  Remember, you aren't selecting the best player in the league.  You are choosing the building block for your franchise.

The rule is simply this, the player must be active.  Please give a rationale as to why you would make this person the cornerstone of your franchise, so we, the blogosphere, can argue with you.  In a loving way of course!  This particular blog is about the NFL.  Next will be the MLB, followed by NBA, and concluded with a less conventional NASCAR post.  Get your thoughts and your hammer ready.  Let's build.

Impact Positions

The NFL may be the easiest of the pro sports league to build a winner quickly, because of free agency and the salary cap.  However, it may be the hardest to select one player to start building around because football is the ultimate team game.  Peyton Manning can't take a football and go "Game 5 Lebron" on the Patriots.  He must have blocking, receiving, a running game, and a defense in order to allow him to use his skills and be successful.  With this in mind, the positions that the NFL scouts value the most are QB, LT, and DE.  When starting a franchise, it's difficult to get a fan base excited about a left tackle or a defensive end.  Ask the Texan fans if you don't believe me.  Their first ever pick in the expansion draft was LT Tony Boselli, who was injured shortly after that and never played a down for the Texans.  As far as D-end goes, two words, Mario Williams.  He may be a great player someday, but fans will never forget the two "skill" guys who they passed on.  Therefore, I'm taking a QB.

Age

We've learned in the last 10 years that NFL teams can go from rags to riches in an extremely short period of time.  It's easy to think that instant NFL success should happen when one watches the number of teams who do improve quickly.  Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were playing in their Conference's championship game in year two of their existance.  However, most expansion teams, like the Texans and every expansion team before them save the two mentioned earlier, take a much longer road.  With that in mind, players like Donovan McNabb (turns 31 this year), Peyton Manning (31), and Tom Brady (turns 30 in August) are too old to be my cornerstones.  I want the QB that will get me to and win my franchises first Super Bowl.  Carson Palmer turns 28 in December, and he's on the my "fringe" of guys that may be too old.  If it takes five years, which historically is around when teams make the playoffs for the first time, he'd then be 33.  How much longer would he have, especially with his health risks?  I have to pass on Palmer as well.

Intangables

I want a great, young, impact player who is a leader.  I want my cornerstone to be fun to watch.  I want him to be under center.  I want the players, coaches, and fans to KNOW who will get it done in crunch time.  I want a winner.  I want a model citizen.  I don't want the young people in my stadium to ask my season ticket holders what the word "felony" means.  I want a face.  I want an active member of our community.  I want a throwback.  I want a tough guy who will never let his team down in the effort department.  Most of all, I want a winner.

Ladies and Gentlemen, to start the NFL's newest franchise, more than any other player, I want the 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year.  I want Vince Young!

 Who do you want?

As the last few days and weeks have rolled by in the world of sports, I have made two observations.  The first is that some of the most amazing things have been happening.  Things that a true sports fan lives to see.  We've had fantastic finishes, great team and player stories, as well as historically significant individual efforts.  There has also been things that have dominated headlines that are nowhere near "newsworthy".  The crime in this is that many fans' attentions are being diverted to this garbage, and missing these wonderful events in sports. 

As a teacher, I always assume that when people behave inappropriately it's because they don't know what the appropriate action is.  Therefore you, the fan, will no longer need to miss the unmissable.  I, XEA76, will help you navigate your way through the trash and find the treasure.

Worthy:  Derek Fisher

This guy flies 2/3 of the way across the U.S. to pray for his potentially dying child, support the mother of his child, and be there when a man needs to be there most.  When he knows all is safe, he flies back to Utah, suits up, and inspires his team to a huge OT win. 

Not Worthy:  Racially biased NBA officiating

You have to ask what the agenda is of any organization that would even support such a study.  Anyone who actually saw the raw numbers knows that the illedged discrepency of calls of officials to players of another race were not statiscally significant.  Translated, this is why all polls have a "margin of error".  The statistics were not so skewed that there appeared to be a problem, but there was a SLIGHT descrepency.  If you really want to help the racism problem, don't make it the issue everytime people that don't look the same are in the same room.

Worthy:  Barry Bonds

I started this blog over a year ago because of this man.  Barry is a jerk.  Barry MAY be a cheater (probably).  Having said that, Barry is the greatest baseball player I've ever seen, BAR NONE!  Baseball fans live their whole lives wanting to see records broken.  He's already broken the big one.  Now he's going for the #2 record in all of baseball, the all-time HR mark.  Don't miss this because of a stupid grudge.  This is what you want to tell your kids about.  If you ignore him, you make him a mystery to the next generation. Educate yourself about him.  Teach the kids why he's so good.  Explain why cheating is bad.  However, do not miss one of the most amazing feats by one of the five greatest baseball players of all time.

Not Worthy:  Curt Schilling

Speaking his name in public is difficult to do.  This is a guy who gives the media the quotes they want, so he gets a pass on being an ####.  He is not a Hall of Fame player.  That's right, being an outspoken member of the 2004 Red Sox doesn't make you one.  Sorry Kevin Millar.  I'm not sure any person in sports is less socially significant while being oblivious to that fact at the same time.  He thinks he's important.  He speaks for political candidates.  He's a social commentator.  And frankly, all the Beanbrains want him to do is get people out.  That's right Curt.  If you make the country less dependent on oil and have an ERA over 5.00, then Boston will hate you.  I promise.

Worthy:  Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Jr. is leaving the company his father founded.  NASCAR's biggest star with it's biggest sponsor is officially a free agent (at the end of the year).  This event really has no other worthy comparison.  There is no other athlete more popular, in his prime, and about to be persued by about 15 Nextel Cup teams, the idea of starting his own team, or even other racing outfits like the IRL or Formula One.  Junior is the biggest free agent in the history of American sports. 

Not Worthy:  Car of Tomorrow

NASCAR made it.  NASCAR uses it now.  NASCAR wants it full time in 2008.  That settles it.  Shut up and drive it.

Worthy:  Tiger Woods

Tiger is on another dominating run.  He's winning almost every tournament he signs up for.  He's back to his dominating form with his 15th different swing.  He got to the point in 2000 when he decided to compare himself to himself, and not to the other players.  Now he's back to being so far ahead of the field it's almost laughable.

Not Worthy:  Mike Vick

He's the biggest bust since Ryan Leaf.  He's a punk who's popularity so far supercedes his accomplishments that it's obsurd.  He's a great athlete who can't play QB.  He's a spoiled brat who has robbed me of the 60 seconds of my life that it took to write this blurb.  I'm out!

NFL G.M.'s have to be the slowest learners of anyone.  This back-up QB as the-answer-to-all-of-your-problems phenomenon is ridiculously stupid.  A team as bad as the Texans gives up two second round choices, which are usually end up as starters in thier first or second years in the league, to get a guy with two NFL starts.  The most amazing thing about this is that often times these "must have" back-ups usually back-up starters that aren't that good to begin with.

Case #1 - Jay Fiedler

After one start in 1999, he signs on with the Miami Dolphins to be the man.  In that 1999 season, he appeared in seven games with that one start.  He went 61-for-94 for 656 yards with two TDs and two INTs.  Wanna build your franchise around that?  Miami did!  Ask them how that worked out.  Before he left for South Beach, Fiedler was the back-up to Mark Brunell in Jacksonville.  Many are thinking this was Brunell's hayday.  He led Jacksonville to the AFC championship game in the 1999 season right?  Yes, however, a great defense and running game led the Jags that season.  Brunell himself had only a 58.7% completion rate with 14 TDs against nine INTs.  Not exactly Marino.  You would think if Fiedler was Marino, he could beat out a guy with those numbers.

Case #2 - Rob Johnson

Everyone's favorite rags to riches story.  The scene shifts back to 1997, Jacksonville, Florda.  Rob Johnson, again after only one start, posts a QB rating of 111.9, which over a career would make him the GREATEST QB OF ALL-TIME!!!  With opportunity for greatness knocking, and Jim Kelly running out the back door, Buffalo makes the power play to land Johnson.  The 1997 Buffalo Bills stumbled to a 6-10 record under Marv Levy and QB Todd Collins.  Desperation is understandable for the once great franchise.  So they jump on what seems to be the best available prospect.  Not so much!  Once again, Johnson was available because he couldn't crack the position held by Mark Brunell.  In Brunell's defense, his 1997 was much better than his 1999.  He had a QB rating of over 90, but still fewer than 20 TDs and 3281 yards.  Again, Brunell was a good player, but if Johnson was Jim Kelly, he would've been starting.  Both the Bills and Dolphins are still struggling to find signal-callers to this day.

Case #3 - Matt Schaub?

If Schaub were nearly as good as some would have you believe, couldn't he beat out Mike "the Hype" Vick?  Vick has never been a 3000 yard passer, never had a passer rating over 81.6, never had more than 20 TD throws.  Vick is the most overrated athlete in the HISTORY OF THE PLANET! 

I really hope Schaub works out.  I hope he's better than Vick, but again, if he were, wouldn't he be the starting QB in Atlanta?  If he's Vick or worse, then don't look for the Texans to win in the playoffs for at least the next six years.  It takes at least that long to overcome a mistake at the QB position.  Right Houston, Miami, Buffalo, and Cleveland?

Tomorrow is National Signing Day for all of you already-football-starved folks out there.  We have finally reached a time where football is so popular that people will latch on to something that is about as irrelevant as my top 25 most played list on my IPOD just because it's about football.  ESPN.com has an entire page dedicated to tomorrow's college football "event".  Don't be fooled folks, this is not an event.

We all (especially Arkansas fans like myself) remember the circus a month and a half ago surrounding Mitch Mustain's mother, along with two other highly touted freshmen's parents questioning the role of their children to Arkansas A.D. Frank Broyles.  Why was this a story you ask.  Tomorrow is the reason.  We give stardom away to college kids, even high school kids now because we are so determined to find the "next one".  Without this hype, Mustain and the others would be seen for what they are, spoiled, overhyped brats who are nothing more than a backup QB, blocking TE, and fast, no hands WR.  We can't enjoy the greatness that is Peyton Manning for one week without digging out Tom Lugginbill's rankings of the incoming freshman prospects to find out who will steal Manning's throne in 2015.  Let me tell you something folks, HE DOESN'T KNOW who will be great at the college level.  Even more, you don't know either!  You won't know until these kids play the game.

I'm so sick of hearing about these recruiting classes.  How many years did we hear about Texas's incoming class?  We heard all about it until they got beat by 50 in the Red River Shootout from about 1998-2004 (give or take a year or two).  Can we please give it a rest?  Can we please reserve news for. . . well. . .NEWS?  These are glorified children that are about to start playing a young man's game.  Some will be great, others will never be heard from again.

If you are interested in what happens tomorrow, I challenge you to do one thing.  Print off your little ESPN top 150 list and save it.  Four years from now, when you watch the NFL Draft (and you will because anyone who cares about signing day would absolutely treat the NFL Draft like Christmas morning) take out your list and see how it stacks up.  See how many people go in the first round.  See how many get drafted at all.  I guarentee that you will look at the list and say, "Boy, I really wasted a lot of time worrying about which school Noel Devine was going to attend."  You're right.  You did.  I'm trying to help you save that time.  You'd be much better off taking Martin Lawrence's advice and having a Coke and a smile.  It will last a lot longer.

The Colts will defeat the Bears 23-7.

Peyton Manning/ Tony Dungy/ Adam Vinatieri   vs.    Rex Grossman/ Lovie Smith/ Robbie Gould

The Colts have a distinct advantage in all three categories and will win the game decisively.  Peyton Manning will officially become the greatest QB of all time when he pulls a Steve Young and gets the big game #### off of his back. 

Congrats to Peyton and Coach Dungy ahead of time.  No two people deserve it more.

Long live Prince and great commercials.  Am I the only person who will TiVO halftime and not the game itself?

We've been listening to it since Peyton's senior year at Tennessee.  "He can't win the big one."  "He chokes."  "He's not a clutch player."  All of these phrases have been screamed by everyone from opposing fans to talking heads in reference to Peyton Manning's glaring absence from the global "center stage" that is the Super Bowl.  Peyton has been everything from an upstart underdog to an overwhelming favorite, and in all cases, failed to deliver his team what it desperately  wanted. . .Super Bowl glory! 

That was all before last Sunday's brilliant second half performance against the longtime nemesis New England Patriots.  In engineering the greatest comeback in AFC Championship Game history, Peyton shed these criticisms, for two weeks at least, and has his Colts one win away from the aforementioned glory.  However, one thing seems to be getting overlooked.  All of the "choke" talk that has followed the Colts is valid!  It's just not valid to send it the quarterback's way.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the real choke artist from the Indianapolis Colts. . . Marvin Harrison!

  "Marvin is one of the greatest recievers of all time.  He runs great routes.  He has Hall-of-Fame numbers.  Most of all, he's not like those other arrogent NFL wideouts!  He shuts up and plays.  He's the Stuart Smalley of the NFL.  Doggone it.  People like him!"  This is what many of you are thinking as you read this, especially if you're name is Al Franken.  However, its possible that no "big-time" player has come up smaller in the history of the position than "Marvelous" Marvin.  His playoff stats:

Games - 13

Catches - 55

Rec. Yards - 776

TDs - 2

These numbers equal out to about 4.25 catches per game for 60 yards and .16 TDs.  Hall of Fame you say?  How much of a bust does he look like when you consider that 16 of his catches for 250 yards and both TDs came in the playoffs following 2003.  That's right.  No playoff TD catches in four years!  In the Colts three playoff wins this year, Harrison has 10 catches for a little over 120 yards. 

The statistical evidence becomes even more overwhelming when you actually watch the games.  The only difference between Marvin Harrison and Reche Caldwell on Sunday was that Harrison's team won, no thanks to him!  Harrison's attempted face-mask catch on a wide open deep ball was only forgotten because of his dropped "between the eight and the eight" slant pass the following quarter.

How did the Colts win with their #! reciever playing so poorly?  That's easy!  Peyton Manning led his career-defining go-ahead touchdown drive by doing exactly what he hasn't done in the past, which is NOT THROWING TO MARVIN HARRISON!  Manning used Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Joseph Addai to reach his goals.  Finally Manning dumped "who brung him" and used the weapons that are willing to get hit.  The ones who are willing to make the tough catch.  The ones who are willing to do what it takes to be called a champion.  The sad truth of it is that none of the previous statements describe the "great" Marvin Harrison. 

(Before you comment, please don't tell me about how teams gameplan to stop Harrsion.  If it were that easy, teams would do it in the regular season too.  The difference is not the defenses.  The difference is the player who mysteriously has no game this time of year, every year.)

Maybe I'm not the Tiger Woods of pick 'em after all.  Maybe my system, the XEA Q.C.K.I.Q., isn't the "be all" and "end all" in NFL playoff projection.  After a mediocre 2-2 divisional weekend, I find that the formula maybe more like Phil Mickelson than TIger Woods.  Which of course means that it's not the best, but still better than most.  Here are the Championship matchups:

NFC Championship Game

Drew Brees/ Sean Payton/ John Carney  @  Rex Grossman/ Lovie Smith/ Robbie Gould

The quotient didn't like either of these teams last week, but here they are and here I am!  Brees is a clear advantage over Grossman.  Lovie and Payton are still inexperienced and untested.  Neither coach has won a playoff game on the road, and both have won Coach of the Year.  Only Payton has to win on the road in this matchup, but homefield is not a part of the formula.  This is a push.  Carney vs. Gould is also a push.  So on the strength of Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints will officially dethrone the Seattle Seahawks as the National Football Conference Champions.  (Come on Mean and BearsView.  Bring that Bears stuff in here!)

AFC Championship Game

Tom Brady/ Bill Belichick/ Stephen Gostkowski  @  Peyton Manning/ Tony Dungy/ Adam Vinatieri

This is a matchup between the two best teams in the NFL based on the formula!  The computer almost exploded tabulating this one.  You thought Michigan vs. Florida was a tough choice? (you were wrong by the way)  As crazy as this may seem, the quotient is designed to only rate the QBs as players.  Not clutch players, just players.  Under this system, Peyton Manning is the best QB in the game.  Therefore, as hard as this is for me to type, Tom Brady is actually not the advantage here.  The edge goes to the Colts and Manning.  The final two categories are blowouts.  Huge advantages go to the Pats for Belichcik and to the Colts for Vinatieri.  Therefore, the Indianapolis Colts will advance to Super Bowl XLI. 

I thought Einstein might be a stretch too, so I went for Dr. Brown.  Get off my Flux Compassitor!

That's right folks!  Tiger and his new swing lapped the field last NFL playoff weekend by going 4-0 in predicting the games!  It seems that I, XEA76, have developed the perfect system for playoff prognostication perfection.  The XEA Q.C.K.I.Q is the new wave.  It's Broadway Joe, break dancing, and Youtube all rolled into one.  It is the future!  It is brilliant.  (If you don't understand what this formula is, my "TIger Woods" post will explain it in more detail than I will here).

 Plugging this weekend's matchups into the machine will yield a few more upsets than last week’s quotient.  In fact, the system calls for all four teams that won last week to win this week, effectively eliminating the top two seeds from each conference.  Here's how it breaks down:

 SATURDAY

 Peyton Manning/Tony Dungy/Adam Vinatieri  @  Steve McNair/Brian Billick/Matt Stover

 McNair has been to a Super Bowl as a player and many feel he should go again this year.  Manning has been to the Super Bowl as a fan and many feel he should be in a commercial during the broadcast.  "Cut that meat!"  Despite McNair's successes and Manning's failures in the playoffs, no one in their right mind should see this as anything but an advantage for the Colts.  Billick has one Super Bowl ring while being shamelessly carried by the side of the ball that he does not coach.  Dungy does not have a Super Bowl ring, but Jon Gruden does being shamelessly carried by the side of the ball that Dungy coached.  Push.  We all know Vinatieri is Mr. Clutch.  We also know that Stover is a very good kicker that makes very good chocolate.  Advantage Colts in this category and overall.

Jeff Garcia/Andy Reid/David Akers  @  Drew Brees/Sean Payton/John Carney/Reggie Bush

 Garcia is not having the year Brees is.  No one is at the QB position.  However, Garcia has started and won a playoff game while Brees never has.  The advantage goes to Brees but it's closer than the experts think (this sentence brought to you by Lee Corso and the College Gameday Show built by the Home Depot.  You can do it.  We can help.)  Andy Reid was a prominent assistant with Mike Holmgren when he led Green Bay to a Super Bowl win.  Sean Payton was a prominent assistant with Bill Parcells during his pathetic-Michael-Jordan-with-the-Wizards-like swan song with the Cowboys.  Advantage Eagles.  David Akers has made a game winning field goal in the playoffs in his career.  Carney may have too but its been so long ago that I can't remember it therefore he receives no credit.  Reggie Bush in no way factors in to the quotient.  I just get excited typing his name!  Eagles win!

SUNDAY

 Matt Hasslebeck/Mike Holmgren/Josh Brown  @  Rex Grossman/Lovie Smith/Robbie Gould

 Rex Grossman vs. . . .who cares.  It's Rex Grossman.  Maybe if it was Chris Leak, or maybe even Danny Wuerffel, maybe advantage Chicago.  It is the Gators' year, but this category still goes to the Seahawks.  BIG!  Super Bowl champion Mike Holmgren vs. a football coach named Lovie?  Seahawks.  Josh Brown vs. a guy who gets confused more often for the World Series of Poker Champion than an NFL player is pretty easy to call as well.  Seahawks again.

Tom Brady/Bill Belichick/Stephen Gostkowski  @  Phillip Rivers/Marty Schottenheimer/Nate Kaeding

 Brady vs. Rivers.  LSU vs. Notre Dame.  U.S. Steel vs. Belgian Steel.  Toyota vs. Ford.  Get the picture?  Belichick vs. Marty Ball is a guy who's made his legacy by winning in the playoffs vs. a guy who's made his legacy by losing in the playoffs.  Often times Belichick wins with the inferior talent while Marty loses with superior talent.  Another land slide for the Pats.  I'll give Kaeding the edge at kicker, but it won't be enough.  You may question the validity of any system that doesn't factor in the NFL MVP in selecting its winner.  However, I would say that you then have a perception problem.  I would question the validity of an MVP that does not factor in to the XEA Q.C.K.I.Q personally, but that's just me! 

 Check back next week as the mother of all scientific formulas looks to go 8-0 and provide you with the Super Bowl matchup.  I'm starting to become concerned that watching the games may become anti-climatic now that the quotient has been developed.  Hope we didn't spoil it for you.

For those that just tuned in, I am the Fox Bloggers NFL Pick 'em champion this year (Mr. NFL organized the league and he talks about it on his site http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/MrNFL.) 
That having been said and my dominance being made complete, I'm pulling a Tiger Woods.  I'm changing my swing.  I'm going back to the drawing board in the hopes of coming back even more dominating than I am today.  That is hard to believe, but no one believed Tiger either.  Here is the method to my prognosticating madness:  

I have developed an alphabetically enhanced system known as "XEA's Q.C.K. I.Q."  This obviously stands for the Quarterback, Coach, and Kicker Intelligence Quotent.  In this system, I will pick the winner of each playoff game by evaluating the teams based only on those three individuals.  Quarterbacks and coaches always recieve an enormous amount of credit when teams win.  Couple that with the fact that so many NFL games, especially playoff games, come down to last second field goals, and this system should be "fool-proof", "####-proof", "infallable" if you will.  So here it goes.

SATURDAY

Trent Green/ Herman Edwards/ Lawrence Tynes  @  Peyton Manning/ Tony Dungy/ Adam Vinatieri  

This may be the biggest mismatch of the weekend.  The Colts have a clear advantage in each category and should coast to an easy victory.

Tony Romo/ Bill Parcells/ Martin Gramatica  @  Matt Hasselbeck/ Mike Holmgren/ Josh Brown

The defending conference champion Hasselbeck has a huge advantage over the still un-playoff-proven Romo.  Parcells may get a slight advantage in this category, but Holmgren's three Super Bowl appearances and four consecutive playoff berths make it closer than many may think.  Josh Brown set an NFL record this year with four last minute game winning field goals.  That equals a Seahawks victory.

SUNDAY

Chad Pennington/ Eric Mangenius/ Mike "Ted" Nugent  @  Tom Brady/ "Best Dressed" Bill Belichick/ Stephen Gostkowski

Pennington is the NFL Comeback Player of the Year this season.  He'll have to comeback a whole lot farther to be Tom Brady.  I love the Mangenius!!!  I love the Mangenius!!!  I love the Mangenius!!!  (Reread the previous sentence about Pennington and Brady.  The same holds true here.  Belichick is still the king.  What's love got to do with it anyway?)  The Jets attempt to save face in the "K" category, but it's not nearly enough.  Patriots win.

Eli Manning/ Tom Coughlin/ Jay Feely  @  Jeff Garcia/ Andy Reid/ David Akers

At this point I'd favor Jerry Garcia over Eli.  Jeff will certainly get by!  Reid is an advantage for the Eagles against almost anyone.  I can't get those three missed game winning attempts in Seattle from last year out of my mind when I think of Feely.  Big advantage here to the Eagles.

These predictions are completely based upon XEA's Q.C.K.I.Q.  We'll see how it goes this weekend.  This is how weekend two would look based upon the quotent.

Seahawks @ Bears   and   Eagles @ Saints in the NFC

Patriots @ Chargers     and      Colts @ Ravens in the AFC

From there the quotent predicts Seahawks @ Eagles in the NFC title game, and Patriots @ Colts in the AFC game.  

This would then give way to a Seahawks vs. Colts Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts immerging as the World Champions. 

I will monitor this quotent as the playoffs roll on, making new picks based on the quotent if any of the previous predictions prove to be incorrect.  More analysis will be given as each weekend's matchups become official.

(These predictions are simply a strict result of the XEA Q.C.K.I.Q and do not reflect the opinions of XEA himself or any of the countless scientists, environmentalists, and trout fishermen who worked to establish this method.  No anmials were harmed in the establishment of this statistical breakthrough.  We catch and release.)

Welcome to the salary cap era of the NFL.  This is when things happen that you would've never thought possible because no team is really that bad in the NFL, and teams aren't allowed to stockpile enough talent to be that good either.  This explains the worst to first and subsequently the first to worst trends that run so rampant in the NFL today.  It is this reason and this reason only that the Giants will beat the Cowboys in the NFL game of the week this week.

When things look like they can't happen, they do.  Take the 49ers/Rams game last week. No team had looked worse through the month of November (Oakland teams excluded) than the Rams.  They had lost four straight, and headed into a matchup with a young, upstart San Francisco bunch that had just achieved their "breakthrough" win by beating up on the conference champion Seahawks.  What happened?  Not only did the Rams win, but they mustered up the moxxy that is reserved for champions (allegedly) and pulled of a last second mirace TD to win.

Enter the Cowboys.  All but officially annointed the NFC representative for the Super Bowl based on their impressive performances in the last few weeks.  Tony Romo is brushing up on his Hall of Fame speech, while his agent is working on his prenuptuial agreement (I'm sorry, that's Jessica's agent).  Bill Parcells, the legend, the Tuna, is at the helm.  Little T. seems to be learning to share, and all couldn't be better in Big D. 

Enter the Giants.  All but officially left for dead.  Ernie Acorsi is reportedly working out Brady Quinn and Troy Smith during the week.  Shockey hates Coughlin.  Strahan hates Burress.  Burress hates losing (unless he has to break a sweat to prevent it).  Tiki hates football.  Strahan now loves Burress.  Strahan is a man.  Everybody hates Eli.  So on and so on.  The Giants can't win.  The Cowboys can't lose.

In today's NFL, this is exactly what upsets are made of.  Giants 24   Cowboys 20

Are we now to the point in college football where the player legitimizes the Heisman more than the Heisman legitimizes the player? You don't understand the question? Well, Reggie Bush won last year's Heisman trophy, and Matt Leinart before him. So right now the American sports fan is pretty pleased with the Heisman. Leinert looks as good as a rookie QB can, in Arizona anyway, and no one questions the talent of Reggie Bush. Therefore the public sentiment is that the Heisman truly is a legimate award. My question is, why does NFL success, a.k.a. the player, dictate the legitimacy of the Heisman?

The list is long and distinguished of Heisman winners who did not live up to their previous standard of success in the NFL. Heisman-lovers who double as NFL fans tremble when they hear names like Danny Wuerfful, Gino Torretta, Rashan Salaam, Andre Ware, Eric Crouch, etc. They seem to feel as if they must have made the wrong decision or cast the wrong vote because of their lack of success in future endeavors. This is what we do with politicians isn't it? So why doesn't it work with football players?

The reason is that future data doesn't answer a previous question. For example, we all remember that 12 year old baseball player who all of the other parents swore was 16 during the all-star tournaments. This 5'10, 175 lbs. monster of a child was hitting home runs and no-hitting kids on a Ruthian pace. All of the sudden, five years later, that same kid is 5'11, 185 lbs. and warming the varsity bench while the same parents don't even recognize him. Circumstances change, level of competition changes, and most importantly, the context in which the athlete performs changes.

We all believe in system players. This explains why some poor loser drafted Mike Bell in your fantasy draft this year. "He's a Denver runner so he's automatically better than Frank Gore!" this guru proudly exclaimed.  This phenomenon is the standard in college football.  Texas Tech's QB is the prime example, and would explain many of the above listed "bust" winners (Nebraska QB in the option era, Spurrier QB, Miami QB in the glory years, etc.).  Unfortunately for us as college football fans, the Heisman voters are tired of having their selection criticized for being "illegitimate" or a "Heisman bust". So what do they do now? I truly believe that they, on occasion, take NFL projection into consideration. How else could Carson Palmer have beaten out Larry Johnson, who despite NFL success, was not as highly touted as he is now. Why else would Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson be considered. His stats weren't nearly as impressive as many other backs in the country before his injury.

In this election year, I'd like to ask the Heisman voters to take their vote seriously. The Heisman is an award for one year of excellence. It's not a lifetime achievement award. If you think Troy Smith is the best player in college football, then please vote for him. However, if you truly believe that the best player plays for a small school like, I don't know, Northern Illinois, then don't hold his schedule against him. If you think the best player is a defensive player or offensive lineman, then please, don't let their positions hold them back. The best is the best. This trophy doesn't have to go to the best player on a great team. It's supposed to go to the best player. Regardless of team, position, ranking, competition, etc. Please, vote for the best college football player period!

As I sit and watch Pittsburgh finish up defeating Miami in a surprising and impressive effort, I realize quite a few things:

First, we have finally reached the moment that much of mainstream America has waited since early February for, the NFL season.  The greatest league in the world opened on the biggest stage in the world with the champs at home, the way it should be.  Yes, it pains me to call the Steelers the champs, but they earned so I'll do it.  Everyone loves the NFL because of the parody, the pagentry, the peril, the pride, the pure provocation of passion that people long for is found on that field. 

Second, football means many things to many people.  To the people on the field, its the greatest job in the world.  To the fans, its a reason to paint your face, talk trash, and be a part of something without having to pay any physical price (except the anguish of watching your team lose).  To the League, cha-ching. 

Third, as exciting as tonight is, for many people all over the country, the real football season starts tomorrow, or started last Friday night/Saturday morning.  It may not be true for many people in Pittsburgh, Miami, Detroit, New York, or other major American cities, but for many of us in rural America, high school football is football.  Family football.

These are the fields we played on.  We watch our sons, nephews, brothers, grandsons, strap on the shoulder pads and headgear to engage in one of the few truly primitive actions our society still allows us to enjoy.  Louie Lastick, the overweight character in Disney's Remeber the Titans, encapsulated the feelings of so many teenage males when he quipped, "I figure if I have to be in school, I might as well hit some people while I'm at it."  It's amazing that a game that allows kids to do things that they'd be arrested for in any other context, teaches them such things as teamwork, sacrifice, persistance, toughness, and most of all, family.

I've been coaching football for only 3 years.  This, my 4th year, is the first time I've been a full-time varsity level coach.  Tonight my wife and I hosted my first and second team defensive lineman (the position I coach) at our house for dinner and fellowship.  It was amazing to see their faces when I invited them over (this is not a normal tradition at our school).  They loved being here and we loved having them.  Some of them don't have much at home, so this is their only family.  This is their football family.  They learn that there are things bigger than them, a lesson that too many kids learn too late or not at all.  They learn how to care about others.  They experience people who care about them, no matter their level of talent.  It's not about what they give us, but what we can give them. 

I love the NFL like many of you.  I make my weekend schedule around the Seahawks' kickoff time.  However, its these kids that make football great.  Its truly the family sport.  You'll never hear of any of the kids we hosted tonight.  I'll never hear of the vast majority of the kids under the "Friday night lights" of your town either.  However, it is they that make football.  It is them that this game was made for.  It is them that take the lessons of this game with them forever.  God bless football.  God bless football players.

Football is at the core of my being.  I'm a middle school teacher and assistant Varsity football coach.  I've watched football since before I can remember.  No one loves a group of people that they've never met more than I love my Seattle Seahawks.  I love football.  I love football players.  I love football strategy.  I can't get enough of it.

My fanhood of the NFL used to be exclusively a "Seahawks thing".  I would watch the early game to get to the Seahawks game.  This is still true to a point, but fantasy football has changed that for many of us.  It has raised all of our interests in all teams, players, coaching styles, etc.  All things football are now in our collective conscienceness because of our new passion, Fantasy Football.

I've been playing fantasy for eight years now.  I've learned so much about different players and coaches that my fanhood has been taken to a whole new level.  I'm now a Seahawks fan and an NFL fan.  I used to be just a Seahawks fan.  I now watch the Eagles with passion (McNabb owner), as well as the Rams (Torry Holt owner) and other teams that my players play for.  Don't get me wrong, my fantasy interests never come before my Seahawks interests.  Translated:  I always want Torry Holt to recieve for 150 yards and 3 TDs in a high scoring Rams loss! 

I truly believe that fantasy football has made all fans more aware of other players and teams.  I know that it has helped the awareness of my own Seahawks.  Shaun Alexander was known to the fantasy world well before he became mentioned in the upper echelon of NFL backs.  WIthout fantasy football, would Larry Johnson already be a household name with only 9 or so career starts?  Would Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown be considered such strong "breakout" candidates for the 2006 season?  Would NFL Sunday Ticket sales be what they are?  Would so many week 16 matchups with no playoff implications be so intriguing? 

Simply put, fantasy football is the best thing to happen to the NFL since the forward pass.  Nothing has captured the imagination of the fan more.  Nothing has ever expanded the fans interest to so many teams.  Nothing has ever linked the fan to the player more, especially in a league that tries so hard to market the league over any one player.  The NFL is by far the most popular sport in the U.S.  They're are many reasons for that, but don't make the mistake of leaving Fantasy Football off of that list. 

With so much going on in the last 72 hours, I feel like a guy with a big bag of Lay's potato chips in his lap.  I can't eat just one.  

Taylor vs. Wright fight - What a fight on Saturday night!  Extremely entertaining with the two contrasting styles of fighters.  I would've given the fight to Taylor if I had to pick a winner.  Calling it a draw was justified however.  If there is a rematch, look for Taylor to be more mindful of protecting himself against the jab.  That will lead to a clear-cut Taylor win. 

Stanley Cup Finals - We know that nobody is watching this so I'll spare you the "while you were sleeping" joke.  Edmonton has come out of nowhere to grab all the momentum in this series going into Game 7 tonight.  It should be a law that sports fans must watch any game 7 regardless of sport or interest.  The NHL always provides the best game 7's anyway.  Look for Carolina to turn the tide tonight on their home-ice and take the cup to . . .Raleigh?!?

U.S. Open - Is it really that surprising to everyone that an Open defined by the course would see someone in the clubhouse take home the championship because someone was defeated by the aforementioned course?  I was surprised at the winner, but not at how it took place.  This was still not as bad as Vandevelde!  Personally, I love to see the course get the best of these guys.  Every course gets the best of me.  Payback baby! 

World Cup - I want to say that I don't care so bad I could scream.  However, whenever nations are involved, I want the U.S. to do well.  Having said that, the dream is over.  There is no way that everything happens that needs to happen for the U.S. to advance.  Watch if you want to on Thursday, but I'm telling you its not worth it.  After all, it is just soccer.

I also have grown tired of soccer fans who say that because its the world's favorite game , we Americans are unenlightened because we don't "get it".   I don't get it.  I don't want it.  You can have Ronaldhino.  I'll take Tom Brady.

NBA Finals - Last but not least, the main event.  These finals have been incredible!  I would tell you that the Heat will win in six, but if you haven't heard that pick from me yet then you just weren't listening.  If you didn't know how big the NBA playoffs were, let me clue you in to what we've learned.

The NBA season ending with a 6 man race for MVP.  With that confusion comes the natural debate of who the best player in the league is.  There were people in the corners of Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, Duncan, Nowitzki, Nash, maybe Garnett.  Now we are down to two.  I don't know anyone that has watched these playoffs that does not believe the two best players in the NBA are LeBron and D-Wade. 

Wade is performing on a level only seen in my life by the all-time greats.  How a man can shoot as poorly as he did for three quarters, then "flip the switch" like he had been red hot the whole game, and carry his team to a huge game 5 win is what legends are made of.  Great players don't have to score 50 every game.  They have to get the buckets when their team is in the most deperate need of them.  This was obviously D-Wade's major at Marquette. 

Dallas fans, please save the drama of the timeout, Stackhouse suspension, and phantom foul on Wade.  The timeout was obviously called by Josh Howard on the floor.  Period.  End of discussion.  Stackhouse should not have been suspended for the game.  The NBA must find a way to punish the officials who make a mistake instead of the players who benefit from the mistake.  The NBA presently does everything except change the final score in this regard.  Terrible.  Finally, Wade wasn't fouled.  However, Wade gets that call.  So does Dirk.  Tell your guy to go to the basket with the tenacity and passion that Wade does, and he'll be in that position to.  However, something tells me Dirk would've choked and missed the free throws.  I don't know why I feel that way?  

For the record, again, Heat finish the deal in Dallas in game six.  Can you still dig it? 

It seems that we will be unable to avoid launching into the "helmet debate" now that a high-profile athlete has suffered injuries due to a motorcycle accident. Ben was not wearing a helmet, thus the argument will rage. If you've never heard Jerry Seinfeld's take on this in his "Live on Broadway" concert, its definitely worth the listen. However, I find it humorous when television personalities try to get inside the head of professional athletes.

Professional athletes are different from average people. All people that are at the top of their profession are different. People who earned their way to the top have an internal drive that the common man cannot understand. The common man wants to understand it, thus the fascination with movie stars, athletes, and all things celebrity. While we were out on dates, they were doing push-ups. While we were sleeping, they were shooting jumpers. While we were watching baseball, they were out playing baseball. People at this level are consumed by competitiveness, fear of failure, and anything else that forces them to do that extra drill.  Jimmy Dugan said it best in the movie League of their Own.  When confronting his star player when she wanted to quit pro baseball when it "got too hard" he said, "It's supposed to be hard.  If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it."

This is not to discount the aspect of natural ability. There are many people who work extremely hard that just don't have "it". However, talent will only take someone so far. We've all known someone that we watched in high school or in the park that took our breathe away. Some people wrote about such people in their NGS II first assignment. For some reason they don't make it.

With this drive and immense success, especially in sports that are inherently physical, a natural sense of invincibility sets in. Enter Big Ben, or Kellen Winslow, or Jeff Kent, or any number of athletes who behave in ways that we would consider normal if they didn't make millions of dollars. In actuality, people with these salaries are more likely to participate in these activities because they need new challenges. They have conquered things that to most people seem impossible. Why is it then surprising that they look at other dangerous behaviors without fear? If you can stand in and throw a football with Michael Strahan bearing down on you, how afraid of a bike ride would you be?

How many times when you were 24 years old did you think of all the things you could have lost? Sure you probably weren't a millionaire, but early 20-something males just don't work that way. I can see, at 27 years old, the difference in just this short amount of time. I'm getting married next month, and the thought of losing my future wife scares me. It makes me more thoughtful in my decisions. It makes me more conservative in a lot of ways. Before her, let 'er rip! I have something to lose that means more to me than material things. Money is not going to change what's special to you. Haven't we seen enough stories of athletes and other rich people blowing through their money to know that. Risk takers are risk takers no matter what their salary is. Pro athletes have to be risk takers just to be pro athletes.

No matter what, there is never a point in an athletes developmental life where the odds are in his favor to make it big in the pros. Never. They are risk takers. That's why we love them. That's why we watch them. That's why the put themselves in these situations. Helmet law or no helmet law, these kind of accidents will happen again unfortunately. Maybe not to Ben, but to someone.