Tomahawk Chop

Jair Jurrjens. Tim Hudson. Derek Lowe. Tommy Hanson. Javier Vasquez.

Say what you want about how boring the baseball races have been (and they have been boring), but this staff for the Atlanta Braves is taking a page out of the Rockies playbook, the team they are coincidentally chasing. The braves are having a run like the Rockies did a few years back in hopes to sneak into the playoffs as the NL wild card. They have won an outstanding 15 of the past 17 games and have 2 more games remaining against the marlins, and then close out the season with 4 against the Nationals.

The Rockies are currently 2 games up, but have a tougher slate of games with 3 vs. Milwaukee and then 3 @ LA Dodgers. The Braves starting pitching is phenomenal and those aces keep them in every game. The bullpen is obviously a bit less desirable, but these five usually allow the Braves to be competitive no matter who the opponent or pitcher. With only 6 games remaining and 2 to make up on the Rockies you figure they will have to go 4-2 at the very least just to have a shot. In all reality they need to split with the Marlins and then definitely sweep the lifeless Nats @ home to get into the postseason or force a playoff.

They have a shot, and with that pitching can they actually make some noise in the NL...?

Weekend Roundup

Couldn't post earlier as I went to work WWE...got to build the ring and I must say it is not as soft as I thought.
Also, outside the Times Union Center was a movie set...supposedly the set of a Will Ferrell movie...probably the most overrated comedian of all-time (and I'm not counting guys like Dane Cook who no one with half of a half of a half of a brain doesn't find funny).

Is there a more boring NFL venue than Tampa Bay? Watching the Giants pound them 24-0 actually made me wish I didn't get the game. I ended up watching as much of the Jets vs Titans since the atmosphere was so much better. Speaking of which, how about those 3-0 Jets?

The Bills are still terrible.

Overall a fairly boring week in the NFL. There was the Minnesota come-from-behind victory. Cincy taking out the Steelers, as Pittsburgh blew a late lead (rare). The Lions finally won a game. Jacksonville got some life. Philly, even against a terrible KC team, put the league on alert, they may be the best team in the NFL.

College Football was predictably quite boring. Overrated Penn St fell to Iowa, fairly predictably. It's funny all the talk about Iowa running the table and being a top-5 team in the nation. Too funny. The team is terrible...how does everyone not realize that Ohio St was, is and for the next couple of years will be the class of the Big Ten? We found out Ole Miss was overrated (OK, another thing we all knew). Alabama is officially looking like the 2nd best team in the country. And it turns out Jacory Harris isn't accurate (who would have thought?).

Baseball playoffs are just around the corner. The Braves have made a serious run at the NL Wild Card, winning six straight and have a favorable remaining schedule than the Rockies. Still going to be hard to pick up two games, but at least there is a little drama in the pre-playoff MLB season.

Sunday Showdowns

Cleveland +13 @ Baltimore
Should be a yawner here. Baltimore has an aging defense, but was impressive in a road victory over a good Chargers team last week. If this offense continues to put points on the board, something we haven't seen from Baltimore ever, then this team is going to be scary. Flacco is starting to look more and more like a real NFL QB as opposed to a game manager relying on the defense. Baltimore rolls in the game, and covers.

Tennesee Titans +3 @ NY Jets:
Both teams surprised me last week. I had the Titans primed for a victory against the Texans and the Jets dead against the Pats. Tennessee needs to turn their season around. They are in an 0-2 hole and can't afford to start 0-3 against the AFC. The jets beat the Patriots, but how impressive is that seeing as the Patriots seem to be just another solid team this year, and people might have to curb expectations that they can't go 16-0 every year. I take the points and the Titans straight up. They are desperate and will show it.

Packers -6.5 @ St. Louis
Packers bounce back here and St. Louis is just too one dimensional at this point. They have quite the putrid offense, though they have played on the road against solid defenses the first two weeks vs Seattle and Washington. Until they can prove to throw the ball around Steven Jackson will be keyed on and have to earn every yard. I forgot who mentioned this to me, but it was a great point that Jackson is probably thinking if he was playing with the greatest show on turf he is a Hall of famer and a superbowl MVP. Very unlucky as I think he is still one of the better backs in the league. I take the Packers and lay the points until St. Louis proves they can score.

Washington Redskins -6.5 @ Detroit Lions
This is the play of the day folks. Ride the Lions and Ride them hard. Washington is so bad. Zorn won't take the leashes of Campbell and Portis is running against 10 man fronts. Detroit is not terrible and most teams would be 0-2 after starting vs the Saints and Vikings, two Superbowl contenders in most minds. I think the Lions win this game and break the 19 game losing streak, but I definitely think they at least cover. Lions have some skilled offensive players and if they get a score or two it will be hard for the Skins to put up much more.

Chiefs +8.5 @ Philly Eagles:
I take the Eags here, Chiefs just bore me. Vick action this week?

Atlanta Falcons +4 @ NE Patriots:
Real Tough game here. It will be interesting to see how the Patriots rebound after a tough loss last week. I guess I need to stop doubting the Falcons, because they seem to be just really good. I think NE is just an average team, and the whole AFC seems pretty average in general. That being said I take the Patriots @ home and lay the points.

Jaguars +3.5 @ Houston Texans:
Weird game here, not sure what to make of either of these teams. Jacksonville just looks very bland and the Texans seem to be hit an miss. Texans ultimately have to many playmakers in Schaub, Slaton, and the best receiver in the league Andre Johnson. They get it done at home.

San Francisco +7 @ Minnesota:
This will be Minnesotas first test as they won't have the Lions or Browns to beat up on for victories anymore. San Francisco has shown to be a fairly stout defense and will key on All Day Peterson. I like the Vikings to win, but San Fran Keeps it close and covers.

Giants-7 @ Tampa Bay:
Tampa Bay just does not have a good team this year and they are so susceptible by the big play. Dallas torched them for 3 long scores, and Buffalo had 2 long bombs as well as 3rd that was dropped that should have gone for the score. Giants get it done and roll to an impressive 3-0.

Saints -6 @ Buffalo Bills:
Until someone shows they can stop the Saints I think you need to keep riding them. Buffalo will be able to put up some points on this defense, though the NO does not have as weak of a defense as they shown in years past. The RB core of Bell, Bush, and Thomas is banged up and could pose for some difficulties. My heart says Bills, but my head says take the Saints and lay the points.

Bears -2 @ Seahawks:
Big win last weekend as predicted by the Bears. I like them to beat the Hawks in a close game on Sunday as either an injured Hassleback or Seneca Wallace (pick your poison) will have to get under center for the Hawks. Always tough at home though.

Steelers -4 @ Bengals.
Child Please. Kiss da baby.

Dolphins +6 @ Chargers
Chargers furious, Dolphins huge let down game. Chargers roll.

Broncos -1.5 @ Oakland
Broncos will have to prove they can beat a team outside of Ohio and Oakland is a tough place to play. I like Oakland here I guess. This team could be good if they had a QB. Should have held on to Garcia and dumped fat boy Russel.

Colts +2 @ Cardinals:
Tough game, but safety in numbers is to take Peyton on Prime time getting points.

Carolina -9 @ Cowboys:
Cowboys get the first win in the new palace, but the Panthers should be able to get a late meaningless score for the backdoor cover.

More Intersting then Esteban OchoCinco......Child Pleeez

Speaking of the No Fun League and Chad Ocho Cinco...this guy is the best thing to happen to the NFL. Besides being a really good receiver...this guy is marketing gold. It is to bad the NFL doesn't use him more because he is what this league should be all about. Granted he had a little issue over the last year about being on the Bengals, but its only because of his desire to win. The guy produces, doesn't get in trouble for doing anything harmful, and is genuinly a good guy. He doesn't drink, smoke, and strip club it up. He has the most interesting Tweets every in my opinion and he is giving away tickets via tweets to every Bengals home game. He has also done some of the most creative touchdown celebrations to date from golfing with the pylon, an irish jig, the lambeau leap, the Hall of fame Jacket, notes to the commish etc.

There is another thing that is great about Chad and I think you should all visit. Ochocinco.com. I already have 100 dollars worth of products in my shopping cart. These shirts are great.

J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets

I can't say I really admit to liking either the Pats, Jets, or Phins...in fact I pretty much hate all three teams. I root for them to lose every week and there are hardly any players I like on the teams just because they are AFC East foes. I will say this though...the Jets are a pretty likable group of guys right now in my opinion. I kinda like a team that just talks trash...and so far (though the season is young) they are backing it up.

Many teams have tried to punk the Patriots calling out Bellicheck, Brady, and Crew. We all remember Anthony Smith of the Steelers calling them out and then getting burned for not one, but two TD scores if memory serves correct.

I love it when players and coaches don't just speak straight X's and O's and actually have an opinion. Granted, once the Jet's start talking about the Bills I will hate their guts, but in the meant time okay. Trash Talk is great for the NFL and it shows that some players and teams still care about Ws and Ls as opposed to cashing a paycheck and hugging their friends at midfield after the game.

Before the game started we had Kerry Rhodes saying they wanted to embarrass the Patriots team and we had Bart Scott coming out and saying they were going to kill Brady fine or no fine. That is classic. Even Rex Ryan got into the act a bit when he talked about they were a team that needed to be respected. Not a better way for a rookie head coach to go out and yap then to get the team fired up and behind him. Better than a Dick Jauron press conference that plays out the same way every time..."We missed some opportunities, hats off to Team "X" they are a good football team."

Just recently Bart Scott Fired another missile in the direction of Randy Moss...

"I hear the easy cop out by Randy Moss, saying that anybody can guard ... that 'I can play cornerback if I had safety help,'" Scott said. "That was a one-on-one jump ball. I think sometimes you've just got to give the man his credit, understand that [Revis] was the better man that day.

"That doesn’t take from the fact that Randy Moss is a great receiver in this league. But give the kid his due. Next time it'll [be] another chance to go out and do it again so [Moss] can't say the same thing.

"[Revis] shut him down. He intimidated him. Randy was coming across that middle real slow. Tell him to man up next time and come across the middle like a man if he wants to be a complete receiver."

So I still hate the Jets...but at least they bring some attitude which you have to respect.

The Claw

Worked the overnight shift setting up the stage for a pair of u2 concerts going on at Giants Stadium tonight and tomorrow. The stage is called The Claw apparently...all I know is I have worked a few concerts in my day and I have never seen anything like this. The needle at the top I think someone said is ten stories high. It literally looked like an Alien Spacecraft had just landed in the center of Giants Stadium. My dad, who does this for a living, and doesn't get excited about stages, shows or even celebrities (usually he doesn't even know who is playing) - was even excited about this thing. Not sure if anyone is planning to go...and not so sure how this is a "green show" as we all know Bono is saving the world since the amount of energy being wasted (for only two shows no less) is insane. That said, if you like u2 (and I don't) this should be pretty awesome.

MLB Playoffs Coming

Does anyone care? Something tells me no. Even so, I'm going to do a half-assed run-down of who is left:

Yanks will win the AL East.
Boston is a lock to be the Wild Card.

Central: Detroit leads Minnesota by 2.5 games.
Tigers - 3 games at Cleveland, 3 @ Chicago, 3 at home vs Minnesota to finish the season. Isn't that how you draw it up?
Twins - 2 @ Chicago, 3 @ KC, 3 @ Detroit.

Big win by Minnesota today, they should really get 4/5...Detroit should get 4/6. Would give Tigers a 2 game lead before the season-ending series, which would be Minnesota would need a sweep. Could make for a great finish, impossible not to side with Detroit having the series at home and a little cushion, but a slip up or two and it could get very interesting.

West: Angels are a lock.

Yanks will have home-field, so it should be Boston @ Angels and Verlander @ the Bronx. Nice draw for the Yanks.

NL...

The NL divisional races are about as boring as the AL wild card race.

East:
Phillies have had this locked up since about June.

Central:
St. Louis will be the first team to actually clinch their division.

West:
The Dodgers hold a 5 game lead and don't have another home game. Now that I've built up the drama, those road games are against Washington, Pitt and San Diego. West = Dodgers.

Wild Card:
Rockies hold a .5 game edge on the Giants. And a 5 game edge on Atlanta and Florida. Their last 8 games are all home, but won't be given to them. After 3 vs San Diego they have 3 vs St. Louis (fighting for home field) and 2 vs Milwaukee.
San Fran is currently tied 4-4 @ Zona in the 7th inning (yes it is after midnight, Tuesday a.m.). Two more games with them to follow. They then get 4 at home vs the Cubbies and two at home vs Zona to finish it out.
I think Colorado is the better team but I feel San Fransisco obviously gets the easier schedule. Complete toss-up that I feel hardly anyone cares about.
I won't review Florida or Atlanta's schedules, but you never know. I'm going to go with Colorado.
An interesting race for home-field:
1. Dodgers 90-60
2. St. Louis 88-63
3. Phillies 87-61
4. Colorado

LAD have a cozy schedule to finish as I noted.
St Louis: 2 @ Houston, 3 @ Colo, 2 @ Cincy
Philly: 2 @ Fla, 4 @ Milwaukee, 3 vs Houston

If I had to guess, I'd say it will stay just as is. Philly gets two vs a fighting Fla team, 4 at a dangerous Milwaukee...St Louis will have to play an extremely motivated Colorado team on the road, and while LAD go on the road, it's against terrible teams with no pulse.



I'm sure many of you know all of this already. For those who have engrossed themselves in the NFL though, that is your 2009 MLB playoff picture.



Not much to say about the Colts/Miami game. Very obscure time of possession dominance in a loss for Miami. Pretty decent game. Peyton is too good. It is impossible to find a rock-solid NFL team this year, and this is before we've had a lot of injuries. Have a feeling it is going to be a parity-heavy, futile mess of a season this year.

A Costly Win

I have to imagine that Donte Whitner made a deal with the Devil before Sundays game against the Buccaneers. Whitner, a Safety for the Bills, has been a solid player over his 3 years, but has not really lived up to the hype of the #8 pick out of THE Ohio State University. Then again, most critics bashed the pick because no one thought he would go that high. I am pretty sure the Bills strategy was that Michael Huff was taken a few picks earlier by the Raiders, and he was the next best. Well Huff and Whitner, 3 years later, are starting to play. Huff has 3 INTs on the year andWhitner had a pick 6 against the Buccs for his first NFL Touchdown.

Why I bring up the deal with the Devil is because Whitner's home in Hamburg, NY was just robbed for $400K. This is the 2nd straight week a Bills player will come home from a game and find their house messed with. I can't wait to see who gets picked on next week. The funny thing is, both McKelvin last week and Whitner this week don't want to press charges. If I lived in the Buffalo area I would just hope the trend continues and wreak havoc with no concequences.

The conversation with the Devil must have gone like this:

Whitner: "Please Satan, I was caught crying at the press conference last week, I just can't bare another loss. Can you please let us win, and maybe can I even do something good, like make an impact play for the firs time in my career."

Devil: "Well Donte, even I have a hard time gauranteeing a win out of the Buffalo Bills. It is going to cost you quite a pretty penny...."

Whinter: "Please Satan, I swear I will do anything!"

Devil: "Fine! The Bills will win and you will get an INT. In return you will allow one of my devil children to steal your jewerly while at the stadium."

Whitner: "Deal, I have so much of my rookie bonus tied up in Jewerly that they can take as much as they want. God knows I have spend atleast 2Million in bling for me and my boyz....any chance you can muster up an Interception return?"

Devil: :Ughhh fine, just don't press charges...and I am going to injure Derek Schouman, Brad Butler, Leodis McKelvin, and Shawn Nelson."

Whitner: "Yout got a deal."

End Scene

Weekend Roundup/We All Need Somebody to Leaaaan On

Not a whole lot to talk about as far as college football this weekend. Texas took care of business against Texas Tech. Tennessee was plenty competitive enough to prove Florida is not in fact the 07 Patriots reincarnate. The biggest thing to happen, of course, was USC being beaten by Washington. Amazing what a little coaching can do. A year ago Washington was completely hopeless, now they grab the USC offensive coordintaor and a year later beat arguably the most talented team in the nation. Guess Pete Carroll really needs somebody to lean on right now.

I'm going to try to cover the baseball playoff races tomorrow...for now, from the NFL....

I had to help move my cousin's stuff and after being promised we'd be done by 1, I of course, didn't get home until about 3. That said, from the bits and pieces of the Jets/Pats game that I saw the Pats continue to look pretty bland. Brady is missing open targets and looks a little uncomfortable preparing to take a hit. Underrated in the whole thing was that Wes Welker was out so Brady was missing his safety valve. Against a fierce pass-rush with a true lockdown #1 CB (Darrelle Revis), that is a tough thing to not have. Credit due to Rex Ryan and the Jets though. They got in Brady's face and shut them down. The first have they pounded the football and were very patient before opening it up for Sanchez a bit in the second half. Brilliant gameplan and execution, the Jets have now placed themselves in the driver's seat in the AFC East.

Oakland won in come-from-behind fashion? When is the last time that happened? Looked like a painful game to watch, but I could be wrong.

New Orleans has an offense.

Frank Gore and Chris Johnson went wild. Gore had over 200 rushing yards on under 20 carries. Meanwhile I don't even want to write out Chris Johnson's stats as he went for 50 points against me in my fantasy league dropping me to 0-2. By the way, the Niners are 2-0.

Buffalo beat Tampa in one of the most boring games I have ever almost watched. I actually stopped flipping over to it during commercials in the Pitt/Chicago game (and this was when it was a 6 point game). It just was so boring. Brought me back to being in Fredonia and seeing all the exciting looking scores at 1 o'clock as the only game on was the Boring Bills. Nice rebound off the heart-breaker, looked for a second like they might repeat the floppage.

Speaking of Pitt/Chicago, that was a pretty boring close game as well. I don't even know if I have a true comment to make about the game. Jeff Reed cost the Steelers the win missing some easy ones.

CBS switched over to the Baltimore/SD game after that. Philip Rivers carved up the Baltimore defense with a steady mix of dump-offs to Darren Sproles and deep balls to Vincent Jackson. Problem for the Chargers was that they missed Tomlinson's nose for the end zone when they got down there. They settled for 5 field goals inside thirty yards. On top of that, they decided to get into a power formation and run the ball with Darren Sproles on 4th and 2 at the end of the game deep in Baltimore territory. An absolutely terrible play-call after Rivers carved up the Baltimore defense to run the speedy but weak Sproles in a power set. That worked right into Baltimore's strength and Ray Lewis dropped Sproles about 14 yards behind the line of scrimmage. to ice the game.

How does it feel to usher your Hey Technology stadium in with a loss, Cowgirls fans? In all seriousness, my thoughts are this: the Giants were mighty fortunate to win last night. There was the interception off Jason Witten's foot. The Manningham bobbled TD after (though to be fair, despite fortune the said Philips interception should have been a TD, so maybe that was just karma). And at the end, the Ratliff deflected ball Eli threw to pick up the first down that resulted in eventually kicking the game-winning field goal. Hell, there was even the Felix Jones fumble that went right into Sinorice Moss's hands which he then fumbled just for the Giants to recover again.
The Cowboys absolutely carved the Giants defense up on the ground after Flozell Adams tripped Justin Tuck and had him sidelined awaiting a MRI. Obviously, Tony Romo is the reason the Giants won. He made a couple terrible passes that resulted in interceptions. The Cowboys secondary was as bad as the Giants run defense though. Giants wideouts were running wide open all day and Eli dissected them with relative ease.
All and all it was an even game that could have went either way and I expect no different when Dallas comes to New York later in the year.

Indy-Miami tonight has the potential to be pretty good. The Colts are missing #2 WR Anthony Gonzalez. The Dolphins got off to a poor start in Atlanta last week as Indy barely held off Jacksonville. Miami should try to get Ronnie Brown going a bit more this week but ultimately you have to expect Peyton Manning to find a way to get the win.

Overrated:
New Orleans Saints: They beat the Detroit Lions and the Kevin Kolb-led Philadelphia Eagles. From all accounts they seem to be the exact same team as the past couple years, explosive offense, no defense. Why are they suddenly considered the class of the AFC?
New York Jets: Like this team, I honestly do. Well-coached, for real defense. Great young quarterback. Going to need them to prove it against a team that can handle the blitz a bit though. Schaub was a statue and Brady looked scared. When it's all said and done the Jets are likely an 8-8 team.
Baltimore Ravens: The defense isn't what it used to be. Flacco has been playing better and a healthy Heap / Ray Rice getting more touches has the offense on the rise. I'm still not convinced they're very good and if the Chargers didn't settle for field goals numerous times inside the 15-yard line they would have beaten them.
Green Bay Packers: They are who we thought they were.

Underrated:
Jacksonville: Couldn't beat the Colts and has some misfortune with fumbles and a blocked kick returned for a TD that put them in a big hole vs the Cards yesterday. Long a quirky team, I feel strongly that this team is not dead at 0-2.
San Diego: Offense is a beast...if they can ever get Merriman to get back to beast status this team is going to be insanely tough.
Indy Colts: I'll say it before tonight..a) I think this is a game Indy could lose...b) No matter what happens tonight I think the Colts are probably the class of the AFC considering how poor New England looks.

One final note, not sure if anyone else caught the Money Mayweather-Manuel Marquez fight Saturday night. Couple things: Mayweather remains the greatest boxer I've ever had the joy of watching. He is far and away the most technically superior pound-for-pound boxer of our generation. He is a ghost. You can't hit him. When you do hit him, it's always as he's hitting you. Marquez is a hall of fame boxer and Mayweather made him look foolish - he didn't lose a single round in my eyes. Mayweather connected on nearly 60% of his punches, Marquez on something like 7%. Ridiculous. After the fight Sugar Shane Mosley bum-rushed a Max Kellerman/Floyd Mayweather Jr. interview calling out Mayweather saying they should fight. Things got quite heated and almost came to blows. Kellerman tried to continue the interview and switched topics, asking a question about why Mayweather chose to fight Marquez to which Mayweahter starting talking about something else..Kellerman asked him to answer the question again and Mayweather grabbed the mic saying "I'm going to talk about what I want to talk about because first off all, you talk too much." Kellerman refused to swallow his pride and ended the interview. After, he gave a speech about how Mayweather hurts himself acting like that. I disagree. Either way, Kellerman could rip it up on the mic, in case some of you are unaware check the video.

Sunday Looming

We are all obviously waiting for Sunday to hit.

Let me remind you all...no team is as bad as they looked last week, and no team is as good as they looked the weak before. Here a couple thoughts on the upcoming games.

Carolina @ Atlanta
I like Carolina to bounce back here. Tough game on the road...though I will go based on my theory of the NFL is wacky. There is no way Carolina and Delhomme are THAT bad....right..?

Minnesota @ Detroit
Fairly impressed at Detroit last weekend vs the Saints. At least they through the ball around and put points up. Minnesota is too good, mainly Purple Jesus. Expect him to run for another 180 and 3tds against a porous Defense. Vikes all the way...

Cincy @ Green Bay
Cincy fresh off a devastating, and I mean devastating loss will travel to Lambeau to face a Packers team coming off a big Sunday night victory against the division rival Bears. I expect Green Bay to go 2-0 and get the W. Though Chad Ocho has tweeted that if he scores hes going for the Lambeau Leap...so lets all hope for that.

Houston at Tennessee.
Tough Opening Slate of games for the Texans going against a Jets and now Titans Defense. I expect Shaub and Johnson to hook up at least once, but Slaton could be in for another rough day as the Titans shut down the Steelers and Parker on the ground. Tennessee gets the Win.

Oakland at Kansas City
Both team impressed against good teams last weekend. Not sure if Matt Cassell will be playing this weekend, not sure if it matters. Should be a hard fought game and I don't know if I am sold on Oakland yet. They are probably the better team, but until Jmarc can start playing consistent football, I'll take the home team in Arrowhead.

New England @ Jets.
Let's hope both teams catch swine flu and they can't play. If that doesn't happen I am going with the Patriots. Patriots are better than they looked last Monday, and the Jets aren't that good. Why does Houston come in with so much hype every year. I swear the past 4 years they are everyone surprise playoff team then they play.500 ball.

New Orleans @ Philly
One of the best games of the weekend. Hopefully Mcnabb can go for Eagles fans, but Garcia is legit. I can't think of a better QB who has proven to be a winner get tossed aside as much as Jeff Garcia. Westbrook showed signs of life last week and Mccoy is a good spell. I like Philly at home, though we will see how this defense does against an offense like New Orleans.

St. Louis @ Washington
I expect this to be a Redskin victory as St. Louis looks to be terrible again. Though it appeared that way last year and the Rams upset them @ FedEx field. IF the skins lose this game people will be calling for Zorns job.

Arizona @ Jacksonville
I like Jacksonville here at home, though they have no home field advantage really. Zona is a pewch 9-7 team from last year who got hot. Warner is done, and Zona will have the west coast 1pm kickoff curse against them.

Tampa Bay @ Buffalo
Not only will Buffalo get the victory here, but if Fred Jackson has another game like last Monday, it will be awfully hard to not give this guy atleast 50% of the time in the backfield when Lynch gets back. Look for T.O and Evans to do some damage the way the Cowboys receivers did as I think Tampa will focus to much on stopping the screen that was so effective against the Pats.

Seattle @ San Fran
Yawn. Don't care. Seattle?

Pitt @ Chicago
Tough game, I like Chicago though. may be biased, but Cutler won't throw 4 picks every game. I think they will exploit the secondary the way the Titans did in the first half with Troy P. sidellined. Titans would have won that game if they still attacked in half 2.

Batlimore @ San Diego
Both teams won. Both have good defenses, and I guess both have good offenses now that Flacco and Rice seem to be the truth. LT not practicing this week...not a good sign as this was supposed to be his bounce back season. I like the Chargers still none the less.

Cleveland @ Denver.
Unreal game by the Broncos last week. I like them to roll again this week, let's hope Gus Johnson gets a chance to have another call like he did last weekend. Broncos are the pick.

Sunday Night Giants @ Dallas.
Hate both of these teams, but I will watch none the less just to hope at least 9 punts hit that stupid video screen that everyone won't stop talking about. As for the game, I guess I like the Cowboys...lot of people sleeping on them this year. This has been the least hyped this team has come into a season in quite some time.

Indy @ Miami
Indy here. Miami is primed for a fall back to earth season I think.

Bills CB McKelvin’s front lawn vandalized

Don't Fumble the Ball then.

I'm forever yours....faithfully

I am still not ready to touch on the Bills game from this Monday night. I expect maybe after a couple more days I will be able to express what happened in words. One thing is for sure though. Prime time games are not allowed for the Bills anymore...Dallas, Cleveland, and now New England...

No matter what they do, just like Journey sang many years ago, I will forever be a Buffalo Bills fan, Faithfully. Speaking of Journey, and classic rock ballads, I stayed up late last night and caught an infomercial that kept me up past midnight. Time Life's collection of 70's and 80's Rock Ballads, hosted by the front man of REO SpeedWagon, Kevin Cronin. Cronin, age 57 looks borderline 75, but is still ever enthusiastic about Classic Rock. Anyways, I wad extremely tired after a late Monday night of watching my team get devastated, and I just couldn't get any sleep because this infomercial was just pumping out hit after hit. I almost pulled the trigger and bought the $120 dollar 8 CD Set I was so fired up. Since I can't really find it in me to talk about sports right now, I thought I would give you a run down of my top 25 songs on the collection.

25. Chicago - Look away

24. Toto - Rosanna:
An underrated tune by Toto, as most think of blessing the rains down in Africa when they come to mind. Don't sleep on Rosanna.

23. Foreigner: I want to know what love is:
And I want you to shoooow me.

22. Eric Carmen All By Myself
Dont sleep on Carmen. We will hear from him again.

21. REO Speedwagon: Time for me to Fly
First of 4 songs of REO you will see on this countdown. REO, underrated in my opinion, really does pump out hits. I dare you to hear an REO song on the radio and turn the station. Does not happen. I'll take time to mention that there are some unbelievable songs left off this countdown and the CD. These are not my 25 songs off all time, just the 25 on the CD.

20. Eye of the Tiger: Survivor
A classic in its own right, and probably deserves to have a higher ranking on this list, but not sure it really fits with the vibe of the CDs. Really not a power ballad. Obviously need to make a Rocky reference here. Just overall not that impressed, and the song has been overplayed in my opinion. After all my bashing, it still hits #20. The list is getting increasingly harder to compile. The classics are about to start rolling.

19. Eric Carmen: Hungry Eyes:
This song was featured in the classic movie Dirty Dancing and the success of the movie catapulted this song, and Carmen into stardom. Peaking at #4 on the billboard charts, this is the forgotten song from DD (Dirty Dancing) that gets overshadowed by the hit song "(I've had) The time of my life." Rest in Peace Patrick Swayze. Your dancing moved a generation of young girls...and me.

18. Sara: Starship

17. Blue Oyster Cult: (Don't Fear)the Reaper
The song is good no doubt, but its ultimate fame for me and most had to be the Will Ferrell Need more Cowbell skit SNL. Not really sure the song fits in with the rest on the list, but good none the less.

16. Pat Benetar: Love is a Battlefield
Ultimate female power song.

15. REO Speedwagon: Keep on loving you
Cuz its the only thing I wannnaa doooo.... REO song #2. Must help to have 15 songs on the CD since the front man endorses it for Time Life.

14: Journey: Open Arms
Fairly disappointed with the lack of Journey tracks across the CD's. Open Arms is solid no doubt, not quite going to crack my top ten though.

13: Steve Perry: Oh Sherrie.
Just a good song.

12: Kiss: Beth
Just like Journey, I would have liked a lot more Kiss on here, though I guess there stuff is too hard for the ballads on here surprisingly.

11: Extreme: More than Words
Just misses out on a top ten spot. This song was ruined by the fact it was redone by Westlife many years later. Though actually, Westlife was legit. More than woooooords, is all you have to do to make it realllll, then you wouldn't have to say, that you love me....Cuz I already knoooow!

Okay folks here come the big dogs!!!

10: Ms Mister: Broken Wings
Kinda cheesy, and reminds me of a bad 80's movie, but at the same time it does give a good representation of music at the time. Not a huge fan and surprised I have it ranked this high to be honest.

9: MeatLoaf: I would do anything for Love
We are getting into some heavy classics here. MeatLoaf shocks the world with this Power Ballad cementing his place in music history. And now we can all think and discuss, what exactly would Meatloaf not do. You have seen this slob, he is doing everything an anything for love, no questions asked.

8. Alannah Myles: Black Velvet
With a twang of country this surprises coming in at number 8 as it really isn't cut from the same mold as the others on this list. I think this paved the way for mainstream country. Its also a personal favorite due to the alternative lyrics I sang with a buddy in College that are not clean enough for this site.

7. REO Speedwagon: I can't fight this feeling
Song 3 of 4 for REO. Who knew I liked them so much?

6. Boston: More than Feeling
This song is fantastic. When the guitar rift hits, and you close your eyes, there is no doubt on my mind you are taken to a better place.

5. Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Heart
Once upon a time I loved this song, and man is it oh so good. Nothing you can say will ever make me hate this song....(Sung to the tune)

4. REO Speedwagon: Take it on the Run
My personal favorite of the REO songs on the list.

3. Piano Man: Billy Joel
Some may say the 3 spot does this song injustice, and granted, it probably does deserve to be #1 on the list. But I am gonna throw some shockers out at you. This no doubt is one of the greatest songs off all time, any genre.

2. Poison: Every Rose has its thorn.
I may take some heat for this one, but bring it on. This is a great power ballad and I dare you to not sing along.

Drum roll Please......You Number one song.....

1. Night Ranger: Sister Christian
ooooo yeahhhhh your Motorin!!! What a song. The drum solo in this is excellent. Lyrics on point, Slow start, huge finish (check). There is not doubt on my mind when I saw this list that this song was going straight to the top.

Your top 25

B-B-B-B-B-Blew It

Well the Millman is obviously too heart-broken to post his thoughts. But someone should be touching on the choke-job that was another Buffalonian start for the Orchard Park Bills.

First, let me say that as much as I was ragging on the Bills and as much hatred as I have harbored for the Bills in my past five years of living out the football season in the area of Buffalo, PA, an All-America city...I actually felt a little bad for the true Bills fans out there. And there are some true Bills fans out there, some good football fans that know the sport and know their team - that go into every season with hope and hold onto that hope until every single mathematical equation they can run on the wild card contenders proves the Bills to be dead in the water.

However, I must say that knowing the Buffalo fan-base pretty closely I sense that it is one which aligns itself closely to the fan-base of the team that ripped its heart out last night actually...only baseball...That's right, I'm talking about the Boston Red Sox. And not today's Boston Red Sox. But the Red Sox fan-base pre-2002 championship season. The Bills are a fan-base that prides themselves on misfortune. They love to wallow in their own pity. The like to carry out their misery on their faces. They like to whine and complain. They like to hope, almost only so that they can feel more crushed when it all inevitably goes wrong. I wonder what would happen if the Bills actually won the Super Bowl before the team gets moved to T-Dot. Fans wouldn't know how to react. They would be lost. They would need to re-create their entire persona. I dare say it might ruin them. That day seems far off however.

Let's face it. If the Bills won last night they probably would go 5-11 instead of 4-12. The Patriots came out with an odd, vanilla game-plan that left Bill Bellichik showing nothing in way of complex defensive alignments and blitzing schemes...and a rare heavy dosage of ineffective running and a refusal to let Tom Brady even think about throwing the football down-field. I don't know whether the Patriots a) didn't take the Bills seriously, b) don't feel confident that Brady is ready yet, c) are finally feeling the losses of all of their coordinators or d) simply aren't that good this year. Either way, the Bills somehow managed to put on a pretty effective blocking display despite an inexperienced, mix-matched offensive line. Defensively, they were probably more fortunate with Brady showing some rare fits of inaccuracy, Bellichik with some bizarre play-calling and overall missed opportunities for the Pats.

But make no mistake about it, the Bills should have won that football game. And as the Millman told me yesterday "I'd gladly take a 1-15 season, if it means taking out the Patriots tonight." And that is what makes it so painful I'm sure. Therein lies the problem, however. Bills fans have taken on an incredible hatred for the Patriots - as all other fans of this division's also-rans have taken on as well...and with such a limited roster, Bills fans really don't have much to hope for outside of beating the Patriots in a "well, if we are going down, then we want to take you with us" approach. My step-dad is a huge Jets fan and has tickets to the game against the Pats at the Meadowlands this Sunday. I have heard him say, "hopefully we don't get crushed." The Bills squandered a golden opportunity last night to take the Patriots back down to the level of the rest of these teams. Instead, they do nothing but add to the mystique of the Patriots. To the invincibility of this team..the magic that makes all the other team's feel that somehow, someway, despite score, down, distance and time - that the Patriots and Tom Brady will somehow find a way to win. In just two minutes last night the Bills missed an opportunity to strip that from them in 2009. Instead, if I were feeling more cruel, I would have posted the top-5 prospects in the 2010 NFL Draft...and in the mean time we are all forced to believe that the Patriots will against get it together and win the AFC East.

A couple other things from the game: Tirico, Hodge and anyone else who thinks Leodis McKelvin shouldn't have taken that ball out of the end-zone: you're an idiot. Of course he should have taken it out of the end-zone and spoiled the two minute warning. The problem wasn't that he took it out, but that he prioritized gaining yards ahead of what should have been his two main goals: getting to the 2 minute mark and holding onto the football. And while I'm ragging on Tirico, nice comment he made right after they showed the stat that was something like, TO: targeted twice, one catch for 26 yards. Randy Moss: targeted 12 times for 10 catches and 126 yards. "Terrence McGee has done an outstanding job covering Randy Moss tonight." I don't even know how much McGee covered Moss, but I do know that Moss was a one-man wrecking crew and the only thing that really kept the Patriots offense moving the chains all night.

I already mentioned that I thought the Pats looked vanilla. Their defense looked remarkably slow and I'm really not sure what to make of that. Bellichik might need to really show off his genius by getting this unit to be productive this year. I think the offense is obviously going to get better as Brady gains his confidence back, but the defense looms a large question mark. With the Dolphins already losing, is this division open for the Jets? I liked them before the season and don't want to be another one jumping all over this team after just one game (against a constantly overrated Texans team no less)..but their defense right now may be the best in the division. They can block and they have a couple play-makers. Interesting division if New England doesn't take off.

Raider Nation is Back?

So the Raiders, of course, ended up losing to the Chargers in the nightcap, but it would appear that the Raiders are not going to be the laughing stock of the league this year.

They held a lead much of the game and by all accounts arguably outplayed the San Diego Chargers - a team most feel is a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

They got it done with an offensive line that looked downright dominant, opening up big holes for Darren McFadden and Michael Bush, and perhaps more importantly - gave Jamarcus Russell some time to sit back in the pocket and make some downfield throws.

Russell is ultimately the guy who is likely to hold this team back. He still is far too inaccurate to be a consistent and successful NFL quarterback, and his decision making is often questionable. Still, he has a big arm and if the Raiders offensive line continues to block for him he is capable of making a couple big throws a game which might just be enough for the Raiders to play .500 ball this season.

Richard Seymour was an absolute monster last night and he looks extremely motivated. This is a very talented defense that really only needed one more guy on the defensive line who could take up a couple blockers. Seymour demands that kind of attention and everyone is going to play better for it.

Disappointing loss, but encouraging effort for Raider Nation. This team will likely go as far as Jamarcus can take them.

B-B-B-B-B Biiillllllsss

Man it is good to have football back in our lives. I spent all of Saturday noon to midnight on the couch. Only to make my way to bed, wake up at 11 for pregame, and spend 1 pm to 12am on my couch again watching football. It was a tough weekend.

Mulldog gave you the breakdown of the weeks biggest stories. A couple other brief things to touch on before I go into my review of tonight's games.

• Tampa Bay was extremely susceptible to the big play on Sunday, giving up long plays to not one, not two, but all three of the Cowboys receivers. Miles Austin, P Crayton, and Roy E. Williams all had some buck nasty long td's that did the Buccaneers in. It was however impressive and a feel good story to see Cadillac Williams back to form running hard after having both knees blown out already in his career. Let's see if he can run that hard all season.


• Drew Brees. 6 tds. Legit. It was against the Lions I know, but 6 tds is 6 tds.


• Jake Delhomme was re-upped this offseason with a guaranteed $20M. Looks like the Panthers wisely spent $4M per turnover...in the first game. 4 INTs, and a fumble lost. Jake was not able to bounce back from that horrid playoff performance.


• Shocker of the week had to be KC hanging with Baltimore, in Baltimore, with no Cassel. Baltimore got a last second TD to widen the gap, but the game was down to the wire.



• Breaking News. Brian Urlacher out for the season after breaking his right wrist. This guy was primed to come back healthy for the first time in two season. I really like this guy, and he is a great LB. It is a shame he can't stay on the field and be the menace he was early in his career. Tough loss for him and the Bears.



• Defending NFC west champs looks awful on Sunday. Kurt Warner can't move, and I can't imagine the 49ers defense is that good that they should stifle Fitz and Boldin for most of the game like that.

Now on to tonight's game. It will be a doozy in New England Tonight. As far as Aaron Maybin is concerned he doesn't see it being a problem while he tweeted..."U gettin strait mayhem tonight wit no chaster. Lets Go!" Very promising....

I received a call from an unidentified Fredonia, NY source that Saturday night Eric Moulds and Lee Evans were patrolling the bars of SUNY Fredonia. Moulds was a common visitor over the course of my tenure at the school. I confirmed that Buffalo did not leave for NE until Sunday so the story checks out. Good to see our star receiver is out drinking and partying with 18 year olds before a huge game. I got a tip from another source out of Mulldogs camp that Moulds and Evans were there, and Evans was opening up on the game...Mulldog received a voicemail 3 am on Sunday from our source who had the following to share:

“Yo mull, whats up dude, its ____. You want gambling tips? I got gambling tips for you. Put the mortgage on the ****** Patriots against the Bills, and I got exactly the reason why you should do that. It is actually Sunday right now and yeah the Bills play the Patriots on Monday and I just met Lee Evans in Fredonia, ****** hammered, and I got a picture to prove it. he’s got to get on a plane or I think he said bus tomorrow. My brother talked to him on the phone and yeah. So yeah, put the mortgage against the Bills. Cause why the *** isn’t he in New England right now? And I swear on my mother like, he was here. Dude, unreal. Unreal. I met Eric Moulds, you know Eric Moulds. And I met ***** Lee Evans. So get at me. Later homie."

After receiving that voicemail Mulldog called his source back and he went on to say that Evans Quoted that Donte Whitner said "Tom Brady is looking weak....he will go on to expose us anyways."

All that being said, I like the Bills here. Patriots are 0-6 last 6 games they have been favored by double digits. I take the points, and I take the Bills Straight Up Money Line. Buffalo is obviously relaxed and not worried about the game. Why should they be. I have already ranted on the specifics on why they win. So just win baby.

Speaking of just win baby, the Raiiiiiders play tonight to. Should be a laugher as I expect LT to do his typical damage against the Raids (something like 26 tds in 15 games vs them). Mike and Mike will be calling the game so that should tell you what ESPN thinks of this match up. Can't wait for tonight. I will be at the Bills Bar in Georgetown rooting on my squad. Please don't get blown out. I can't take it anymore.

Weekend Roundup

-Not a whole lot of surprises in the NFL. Mark Sanchez and the Jets looked sharp. As did the Giants. Maybe now everyone will stop acting as if Aaron Rodgers is the second coming of Peyton Manning? Nice quarterback? Yes. NFL MVP this season? Very unlikely.

-Was that Jay Cutler or Rex Grossman running the show in Chicago last night? The Bears offense looked like a total disaster. Jay Cutler may have broke that one guy's record for most consecutive times hitting an opposing defensive back in the hands. The guy really doesn't value the football. To be fair, the Chicago wideouts are the worst in the league. Additionally, they are not yet on the same page as Cutler. Green Bay should have won that game by a lot more, but I still think if Urlacher can play and be effective that the Bears will end up the better team. The Pack defense got pressure by sending tons of blitzers, singling up on the Chicago wideouts and taking advantage of a confused offense. Chicago's D was able to get pressure using their 4 down lineman.

-The Bungles did it again. One of the most inconceivable losses I can remember. Can you imagine being a Bengals fan? You go to the game and sit through what I imagine was a disgustingly poor 1st half where no one can score. It's 6-0 late in the game against the lowly Broncos and you finally punch it in for the win. Finally, it was worth sitting through the disaster and then that happens. Have to imagine half the people in attendance will never go back.

-Dallas offense looked much sharper without TO. Can't wait to see the Buffalo offense look less sharp with him! Go Western New York!

-Can you draw it up any better than McNabb getting hurt week one? Now Philly is forced to go to Kevin Kolb (who my buddy in Philly said looked terrible yesterday) for a week. Then they have to hope and pray that McNabb will be ready to go otherwise they have to then make another QB switch to Michael Vick (something tells me they'll platoon Kolb and Vick if Kolb is even halfway dreadful this week, just a guess). Obviously they go back to McNabb whenever he gets back, but this situation could get sticky, Philly looks like the best candidate to be the contending team running a complete circus act this season (thanks to Buffalo being complete garbage and irrelevant).

-Adrian Peterson is Purple Jesus and Purple Jesus is Christ.

-In college football, there were a couple of great games in Michigan-Notre Dame and USC-Ohio St. They didn't disappoint though arguably the two teams that deserved to win, lost. I thought Ohio St completely outplayed USC, but Pete Carroll coached an excellent game and of course USC got it done. Incredibly disappointing to my prediction of Ohio St winning the Nat'l Championship.

-Roger Federer is ridiculous.


-In a continued effort to be the blogosphere's leading home for foot fault enthusiasts, I'd like to say that Serena Williams really took the whole thing to a new level. I would post the video, but I'm sure everyone has seen her threatening the poor line judge that she was going to shove the tennis ball down her bleeping throat. The match ended as the cry-baby was about to lose to an old mother (KIm Clijsters) anyway. Has this ever happened before? Someone is penalized a point for making a threat and it turns out to decide the match? At least Serena offered an unapologetic apology. The real question is, who would you rather have threatening you after calling them for a foot fault, Serena Williams or Andy Roddick? I think Roddick is the clear choice.

Ellis Lankster 7th round draft pick of the Buffalo Bills

This guy had a great 2 INT performance vs the Bears in pre-season. He is a cornerback, add him to the list of Buffalo Bills who can't speak (Lynch, Leodis, Roscoe). I think this guy must actually have a speech impediment, but im guessing its just that fine WVU education.

GOOO BILLLS

NFC East Preview

I'll preface for the few who don't know that I am a Giants fan.

I honestly have no clue who is going to win this ultra-competitive division. I think each team is actually worse than last year and it is no longer really a "super-division" but still had four very solid football teams, all capable of competing in the NFC.

1. Washington Redskins 10-6: Not much more than a gut feel. Just think the team is due. This pick probably hinges a bit on Malcolm Kelly becoming a legitimate #2 WR, which I'm not sure is a great bet. I'm not a huge fan of him or Devin Thomas necessarily but they desperately need to find someone to take some of the attention away from Santana Moss and to give Jason Campbell another option. I feel like a bit of a jackass taking a Campbell-led team to win this division, but it is what it is. The team actually looked very tough before LT Chris Samuels went down and getting healthy on the O-Line could be enough. Obviously, I love the addition of Albert Haynesworth to the defense and I think it could really spark this unit into dominance. Throw in the addition of Brian Orakpo to the defense and this could be a very good unit. Again, it is very hard to project this division, I just think Washington is due for a little luck and if they stay healthy on the offensive line will end up being the most solid team in the East.

2. New York Giants 9-7: I looked at the schedule with my friend the other night and we really couldn't find more than 10 wins, and the 10 seemed a stretch. I have an eerie feeling that this thing might completely crumble if the team suffers any injuries on the offensive line as the depth there has gone downhill and a lack of skill at WR could turn this offense into a true disaster if the running game isn't as dominant as it has been the past couple years. That said, the starting offensive line is one of the best units in the league and the defense on paper looks absolutely dominant. In all honesty, the Giants should be considered the team to beat in this division and even if the offense struggles I think the defense should carry them to a winning season. The upside is if the line stays healthy and the receivers emerge, this could actually be the best Giants team in recent memory due to an absolutely stacked, DEEEEEEP, defensive line..some more skill than usual at linebacker and a developing secondary with all-underrated stud corner Corey Webster and a possible multiple all-pro safety in Kenny Philips.

3. Dallas Cowboys 8-8: Another tough team to figure. I think they may come out hot out the gates, but another team with a lack of depth on the offensive line, it is hard to project them to win the division. Can Demarcus Ware really put in another season like last? Even with that, I felt the defense was very susceptible to good offenses. For the past few years now the Cowgirls have really been the team that scared me least in the division. Their secondary has just been completely vulnerable and if you block them at all huge holes open up. That said, the offense has the potential to be very strong on the ground with Barber, Jones and Choice and Romo still has Witten to throw to. I think Jones can actually take the place of TO a bit as a playmaker out of the backfield in the passing game. The defense should be solid enough so this team will probably go as far as their receivers and secondary can take them.

4. Eagles 7-9: Desean Jackson is a nice receiver, but he is fragile and the Eagles refuse to ever address the need for more weapons in the passing game. I think it was brilliant to not use Brian Westbrook in the pre-season, but you have to wonder what type of sign that was to his actual health. They bring in Mike Vick which sounds like a good idea, but clearly is just setting up a possible nightmare media/fan situation in a city that loves controversy. The defense has aged and you have to question if a re-vamped offensive line won't hurt the offense. Those who know me well, have given me the distasteful identity of a closet-Eagles fan over the past couple years as I have regarded them as nothing other than a top-5 team both years, despite their record. I admit it, the Eagles scare me like the Angels scare the Yankees. Brian Westbrook has been the biggest matchup nightmare for the Giants in all of football over the past five years...and a fast, talented defense, along with Westbrook and McNabb just spells danger. That said, I think the Eagles might be close to blowing the whole thing up and starting over. Westbrook is getting old, the line had to be re-vamped, the defense has lost many of its coaches, some key players and see itself aging. I won't be shocked if the Eagles win the division, but I also won't be surprised if they go 5-11. Tread lightly when betting them early season in my opinion.

So that does it for my portion of the NFL season previews. Happy Friday as Belmont re-opens and we have a full slate of college football Saturday before the first Sunday of the NFL Season. With an exciting baseball stretch run heating up, it doesn't get much better than this in the world of sports. I think the Millman is still going to churn out an AFC East preview this afternoon if he gets some time at work. I also may do a feature where I pick the straight-up winners in each game if I get a chance. Expect some betting stories/advice to start up next week, possibly along with some fantasy football analysis.

NFL is Officially Back: Steelers-Titans Review

Mulldog's Thoughts:
Before I really get into it, I just want to say it feels great to have the NFL back. We even got a little bonus football for the long wait as the Steelers took it 13-10 in Overtime. But now...

Why is all the analysis during and after the game raving about these two teams, claiming this was a preview of the AFC Championship Game? Was I watching the same game or do I just live on a different planet? That was a disgusting, poorly played game where both teams (hopefully) looked extremely rusty. The Steelers offensive line failed to open up a single hole all game and couldn't keep the defense away from its quarterback. There were missed field goals, bad fumbles, missed receivers, and yellow markers everywhere. You would have thought it was the Raiders-Lions with all the sloppy play. Yet somehow, since it was the Steelers-Titans, and they were both great last year, that was considered a great game. Sorry, but color me unimpressed - I'm not going to take to much out of it because it's the first game in primetime, but both teams need to play better if they plan on making the playoffs in a stacked AFC.

And all of this raving about Ben Roethlisberger. Seriously, what was everyone watching? Roethlisberger played terribly almost all night. He missed open receivers, threw one bad interception...took terrible sacks to take his team out of field goal range (and other times to turn 3rd and shorts into 3rd and longs). Look, Big Ben is my fantasy QB this year..he can make plays and at times he looks pretty good, but just because the defense shut down the opponent all night and Ben was able to chuck it around a bit on a gassed defense late, doesn't mean he's all of a sudden Peyton Manning. He played terribly for 3.5 quarters, let's not forget that.

Kudos to the Titans defense, which performed very well, especially against the run without Albert Haynesworth. I question how much of this is a poor Steelers run-blocking offensive line and a bad running back (fast Willie)...I would hold off the "Titans defense is as good as last year" until they play again. Their secondary looked shaky when they couldn't get to Ben and I'm interested to see how they do against a more balanced attack.

God, if the Titans didn't have Chris Johnson would they ever score? Their offensive line is incredibly, truly one of the best units int he league, and yet their receivers are all terrible, their QB stinks and the only time they are at all dangerous is when CJ has the ball.

Troy Polamalu is a damn freak. Too bad he got injured because he looked better than ever, the interception was exceptional, but personally I was more impressed with his open-field tackle of Chris Johnson where he showed a burst that was even too quick for the speedy Johnson and took out his legs on what looked like a big gain waiting to happen.

Both teams have solid defenses. I want to see what they do against some other teams before anointing these two the class of the NFL off that effort though.

Even I have lost Hope.

I have now spent three straight evenings arguing with my roomates trying to give false hope to the Bills season. I was even is such a heated debate that I left my chicken on the grill for 45 minutes and forgot about it. 45 minutes pass, Bills still horrible, chicken is pure charcoal. Nice Life.

Horrible comments have come out of my mouth such as

"Alex Van Pelt is the truth, he can't do any worse than Turk Schonert"
"Dude we will be fine, there was a report out of practice today that we were actually throwing a ball down the field."
"The last time we played the Pats opening day we throttled them 31-0, history always repeats itself"
"I think the Bills are just trying to trick everyone, they haven't shown any of their offense this offseason"
"2 rookies, a backup center, a 7th round pick who was inactive 14 games last year, and a journeyman guard converted tackle, who cares, this line will be hungry."

Okay I have finally cracked. This team is bad. And the one to push me off the edge was one of my favorite columists ESPN's Bill Simmons. I am drawn to his humor and pop culture references, his love for Boston Sports, and his articles. Well Bill Simmons, you hardly write articles anymore, all you do are podcasts which I don't listen to you because your voice is nasaly, and you just bashed my beloved team. Please see quote below...

Prediction I: The Buffalo Bills will finish with the worst record in football, allowing T.O. to star in the worst NFL season and second worst reality show in the same year. I would have given T.O.'s show "worst reality show" status, but you can't top "Megan Wants A Millionaire" going off the air because one of Megan's bachelors allegedly killed his wife and tried to get rid of her by cramming her into a suitcase. I mean, when VH1 pulls a show because something bad happened, you KNOW something bad happened.

Laughing stocks of the league.

Preview: The Norths

Let's start in the more boring of the Northern Divisions, shall we? - The AFC North:

As usual, I see things a bit different than most here, but essentially, I think the only really good team here is Pittsburgh (and I don't even love them that much).

1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-6
I think the offense will be pretty good as Roethlisberger should bounce with some more steady line play and Rashard Mendenhall I think will uproot fast Willie Parker as the primary back at some point, which will help. They still have a lot of firepower on defense and while I think it may regress a touch from last year, this team still appears to be a 10 or 11 win team that should win a pretty weak division.

2. Cleveland Browns: 8-8
This probably surprises some people and I admit it may be a bit of a strange pick. Say what you want about Mangini, but the Jets were not smart to fire him (though the Ryan signing I did like). He had that Jets team routinely outperforming expectations and Mangenius may be able to pull a similar act off with this Cleveland team. They have finally announced Brady Quinn as their starting quarterback and I think that is the right move. Quinn, as much as I don't like him, should be a pretty good NFL QB. I would expect to see a rejuvenated Braylon Edwards who has a ton to prove. On top of that, they are finally ready to give up on Jamal Lewis and go to James Davis and/or Jerome Harrison which will result in a huge boost in the ground game. Here is an offensive line with a stud Left Tackle in Joe Thomas. A very good LG in Eric Steinbach. A stud rookie center in Alex Mack and some big guys in free agents Pork Chop Womack and John St. Clair battling to start on the right side, this line has the potential to be very good which is the very recipe for a breakout season.

3. Ravens 6-10
Here is a team that is tough to figure. Part of me says they will win this division. Part of me says to put them below the Bengals. I'm just not sure. I think Ray Rice could emerge and the offensive line has some potential. I really don't see Joe Flacco taking a huge step forward and think the offense is likely to marginally improve at best. The problem then becomes an aging defense which just lost some of its best players. This defense has been too dominant for too long to completely fall apart, but look at the Bears last year for proof that a few injuries can ravish even a defense which has been consistent year-in and year-out. I fear that is the more likely scenerio this year and the Ravens may be in a lot of trouble.

4. Bengals 5-11
Everyone's actual favorite to break out in this division this year is the Cincy Ocho Cinco's. By the way, did anyone catch Ocho vs Skip Bayless on 1st and 10 the other day? Was pretty terrible as all they did was whine at each other. Shocking that Ocho thinks he's back, Carson is back and the Bengals will win 12 games. Meanwhile, the team did have an improved defense last year, but it was still nothing more than average and is likely to get worse this year..so even if the offense bounces back a bit, it is unlikely that the team will make much of a move forward. Wouldn't surprise me if they return to form of a few years ago when the offense was great and the defense was terrible. Also wouldn't shock me if both units are terrible.


NFC North
Let's start out with what we know:
4. Detroit Lions: 3-13. This team should win more games than last year simply by dealing with a little better luck. That said, Stafford is garbage and this team is garbage. Finally they may have some better coaching and management and perhaps in a few years the Detroit Lions will finally be respectable. But it isn't going to happen this year. You won't be seeing a Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco story in Detroit with Matthew Stafford, I can promise you that.

3. Green Bay 7-9. Everyone is in absolute love with this team and I can see why to a degree. Aaron Rodgers is a good young quarterback. Still, what is so appealing about this team? They have some decent parts on defense, but also some holes and aging players. They have a good quarterback and a good receiver in Greg Jennings. But this isn't an offense which has a plethora of weapons that can't be shut down. Certainly any of these top 3 teams are capable of winning this division, but I think Green Bay is actually the least likely.

2. Minnesota Vikings 10-6. I think they get a wildcard. Why? Easy, no more Tavaris Jackson. The guy couldn't even complete passes at the D-1AA division and somehow the Vikings thought he was the truth. They started him for so long it actually was a cross between bizarre and comical, pathetic and entertaining, absurd and cruel punishment to the fanbase. Interesting thing here is the suspensions to the DT's. They could hurt a team which is based around defensive line play as much as any non-Giants team in the league. Purple Jesus should be in for a monster season and I think this team is wild card bound.

1. Chicago Bears 12-4. My personal pick for the team to beat in the NFC. People are underrating what an incredible leap it is up from the NFL's biggest douchebag - Kyle Orton to another more talented, whinier, douchebag Jay Cutler. Sure he will make poor decisions at times and sometimes he battles fits of inaccuracy, but he makes this offense so much more explosive and the points scored column should tick up at a much higher rate this year. I already documented the injuries suffered to the defense last year...and while I hate to take anything away from the pre-season, from what I saw this defense is ready to GO. I think we see a big return from the Bears in '09 and I find this team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender.