The Crystal Ball Preseason Special

Hello all and welcome to our preseason special. Ok, it is not really all that special, mostly just a collection of items from the last few weeks with a few wrinkles thrown in. But since the real game action will not start for a few weeks yet, we thought we’d keep the fires stoked and the appetites whetted with some additional football news.

To start off, let us take a look back at the Hall of Fame weekend.

Congratulations to the newest members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What an exclusive fraternity of greats these men have now joined. Each year, the one part of the weekend that always enthralls me even more than the inductions itself is the annual Nitschke luncheon, which is attended solely by members of the Hall. No spouses, children, friends, reporters or even league officials. The only way to get in is to have been given one of those yellow jackets. Can you imagine how cool that must be? Nothing more than a room full of the greatest players ever to strap on a helmet talking football, what the Hall means to them and swapping stories. Oh to be a fly on the wall at this event, it must be spectacular.

The men inducted this year provided some of the most poignant moments from any induction ceremony. Every one of them seemed to have that one moment that just blew you away with emotion. Let’s take a brief look.

Roger Wehrli – Possibly the last St. Louis Cardinal ever to be inducted, Wehrli seemed to make it through his induction with ease and grace. But his story afterwards got to me, when he spoke of how after it was over, and he left the stage, the emotions of the day overtook him and he broke down. No one is immune from the emotional ride that is an induction to the hall.

Bruce Matthews – The longtime Oiler/Titan had a double hit that got to me. The first was just a testament to his longevity, as he spoke of Archie Manning taking him out for pizza early in his career, and then playing against his son Peyton at the end of it. The second was a touching tribute to his older brother, his inspiration and drive to play in the league, by saying the only detraction from the day was not being put in the hall to join his brother there.

Gene Hickerson – The famed pulling guard for the Browns who blocked for three Hall of Fame running backs never said a word, and it spoke volumes. His son gave his speech, and introduced his father, now frail and racked with Alzheimer’s disease. But in tribute to the man who paved the way for them those three backs, Leroy Kelley, Bobby Mitchell and Jim Brown, pushed Hickerson out onto the stage, letting him lead the way one more time.

Thurman Thomas – One of the key components of the K-Gun offense in Buffalo in the early and mid 90s, Thomas infused his speech with humor and touching moments. Especially touching was the moment when he asked his wife if she would marry him again. In case you are wondering, she said yes.

Charlie Sanders – The tight end from Detroit who set the standard of what a pass catching tight end would become in the NFL had the moment of the night for me. He spoke of the long time tradition of players mugging for the cameras and saying hi mom, and how he wished to do that. His mother passed away when he was two, and he never really knew her. But on this night, he took the opportunity to finally say something he had wanted to his entire career, hi mom. If that does not get to you, you must be made of stone.

Michael Irvin – The former Cowboy used his magical moment of career excellence to humble himself and encourage more from his sons. He made reference to his off the field troubles as a player, and used it to show others that if you believe, and do not give up on your dreams, you can succeed. But he went on to say of his hopes and prayers that he can still do more and become a better person, so his sons will be better men, husbands, role models and fathers that he has been. Irvin, once known for flamboyance, humbled by the honor and showed his failings in hopes of raising good men. For many, he stole the show. I will not argue that.

Once again, congratulations to all. Moving on, let us take a look at some of the happenings in the league over the last few weeks. And it has been a doozy.


News Around the league.

Let’s start out with some tame stuff and then move to the elephant in the room.

Eli vs. Tiki – Tiki Barber called out Eli Manning’s leadership on his radio show, and Eli blasted back at Tiki for being a distraction last season. Look, I question his leadership and his quarterbacking skills all the time. It amazes me that every fantasy ranking I see puts Eli ahead of Big Ben. How is this possible? All Ben has done is rewrite the book on what a young quarterback can do and win a Super Bowl. In the same time, Eli has led the Giants to average seasons and two playoff losses. Sorry, I get rankled when people are down on Roethlisberger. But in this case I’m siding with Eli. I agree that Tiki announcing his retirement in the middle of the season was selfish and a complete distraction for the rest of the season. And to now sit and criticize the team you once played for? Tiki, I supported you when you announced the retirement, and people gave you tons of nonsense. I understood why. But if all you are going to do now is sit around and use insider information to make inflammatory comments to get your fledgling broadcast career off the ground, well, you’ll be pretty much most ex-athletes entering the broadcast world. Flashing back to Jerome Bettis and his thoughts on Cowher’s retirement last August.

And speaking of the Bus, it seems he has an interesting new tome hitting bookshelves. Our dear Jerome has penned an autobiography in his retirement, and apparently it contains quite a few interesting nuggets. Amongst them is his contention that the team and Cowher conspired to get rid of Kordell Stewart because of money, and that he faked a knee injury to keep the team from cutting him in 2000. It seems as though it should make an interesting read, and with revelations like that, I am sure Steeler Nation will drive sales through the roof to find out what else Jerome has to say.

But this bugs me. Jerome’s feelings on the Kordell situation are mere opinions, with nothing backed up by fact. As a matter of fact, some statements he made about Kordell’s contract situation at the time have already been proven as false. Plus, it has also come out that his statements on his own situation regarding the knee injury have numerous questions surrounding him. Namely his statement regarding being potentially replaced by Richard Huntley, a player who barely played in the preseason due to injury. They seem to be inflammatory comments contrived to spark controversy, nothing else.

What really irks me about them is that they are a slap to the face of an organization that stood behind him all the way through his career, and a slap toward the fan base of that team. I am sure the comments will sell books, but it will also burn some bridges. Jerome’s popularity amongst Steeler fans and in the city is immense, and to come out and start making veiled bashes against the team and the fans in an attempt to sell books will only hurt that popularity and eventually his ability to market and sell products in the long run. Every team does things that are unpopular, because at the end of the day it is a business. No one likes to think about them, but we all know those things happen. And if Jerome has some stories to tell, I have no problem with him sharing them or his thoughts and opinions on how a team is run and how he feels it should be run. However, he should make sure whatever stories he sells have fact to back them up, and not merely sensationalized opinions created to move product. He should remember where his bread used to be buttered, and where it will be in the future.

Let's be thankful it wasn't us. But let's react like it was.

-- Roger Goodell to his officiating department on the heels of the NBA referee fiasco.

It is this kind of proactive thinking that will help Goodell make the NFL even bigger and better. And if you think it cannot get bigger, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell you.

And speaking of getting bigger, Fox has announced some plans for its coverage of the Super Bowl this year. They announced that they will employ a host for its additional coverage of the event. Who you ask? Well, none other than Ryan Seacrest. Yes, I rolled my eyes too and no, I cannot figure out his appeal either. If you ask me, they should have just gone all the way and put out a bowl of vanilla ice cream to host the festivities. At least it would be interesting to watch the ice cream melt and the bowl would lack Seacrest’s smarmy facial expressions.

But before we can even get to the Super Bowl, we need to have the first event of the season, kick off weekend. As recent tradition has held, the opening game on Thursday night will feature the defending champions, this year the Indianapolis Colts, at home versus another top tier team, this season that honor goes to the New Orleans Saints. To hype the event, the NFL has started running a great commercial featuring Reggie Bush and Peyton Manning trying to out prank each other by having absurd things sent to each other’s hotel rooms. An excellent spot and the one line Reggie says as he is impersonating Peyton kills me every time. Amongst the festivities scheduled for the big day, we will be treated to a live performance from John Mellencamp. Gee, that’s current. Think he’ll sing “This is our country”? Boy I sure hope so, I don’t know about you but I just can’t get enough of that song! And it seems so long since last I heard it; I may be going into withdrawal.

As has been widely reported, the new green dot on quarterback helmets this season is to denote which one has radio inside. As each offense is only allowed to have one player on the field at a time with radio communication and this is the NFL’s new method of identifying who has the radio. Normally, this is not an issue as just quarterbacks have the special helmets, but it could be on kicking plays if the quarterback holds for the kicker. But what is to stop anyone from peeling off the sticker, I wonder? Plus, the neon green dot looks atrocious on every helmet, sticking out worse than a cat at a dog park. I wonder if they could have made it less obvious, like writing in huge block letters RADIO INSIDE on the helmet over the logo.

In other uniform news, it seems the Ravens have now also become smitten with the monochromatic look, sporting all black uniforms with a hint of purple shading for their game against the Giants. No, no, no. No more of this look. It looked awful on the Jaguars, it looked awful on the Cardinals, it looked awful on the Eagles and it looks awful on the Ravens. Why do teams do this? The Cardinals are the exception here, but I have noticed over the past few years more and more teams incorporating black into their uniforms, and then making it the predominant color in their scheme. Hey, if you do not like the colors you began with, tough. You picked them. The Eagles have lost that great green from the 70’s and 80’s, which is a shame. The Ravens have a great color scheme dominated by a vibrant purple, why throw that away? The Jaguars I can understand, because who feels tough in teal? But it worked for the Dolphins to the tune of two Super Bowl wins. So to all teams who start changing their color schemes; please stop. You may hate the colors now, but at some point you picked them, so stick with them. Stop changing colors and designs because you are bored or want to raise revenue and forcing your loyal fans to purchase all new gear since the stuff they own is now suddenly out of date. I’m looking at you Minnesota, Denver, Buffalo, San Diego and New England.

Hmmm, look, another interesting quote from the commissioner.

"I've told Pacman [Jones] and any player, 'You have to earn your way back into the National Football League, and you have to earn it through your conduct.' It's not about what you tell the commissioner, or what you tell anyone. It's your conduct and your activities. I was disappointed with some of the activities that Pacman got involved in this spring, after we met and had a lot of discussions.''

-- Roger Goodell.

Thought this was an interesting quote to lead into….Pacman Jones signed a contract to appear on TNA Wrestling. So glad he is serious about turning around his life and eliminating potential pit falls and bad decisions during his suspension. The Titans actually fought this, as his contract states he cannot do anything potentially physically detrimental outside of football. (By the way, all players have this in their contracts.) All parties agreed that he could be on the shows, just not do anything. Yeah, that makes it better. Pacman is also working on a rap single to be released this month. That Pacman; he is just a pillar of the community. Well, at least he’s not dog fighting.
Mr. Wonderful Tom Brady wants time off for his baby boy, who was born this week. So you knock up your ex, then you want others to pick up the slack at work for you. Real smooth Tom. Rumor has it the Patriots have already tendered a contract to the newborn, to lock up their quarterback position for the future and the baby is scheduled to appear on the cover of GQ next week for their most beautiful baby edition.

Eagles released uber popular linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. It seems the Steelers are not only team letting go of emotional leaders. Trotter is good, and can thrive with the right team. I bet more than a few clamor for his services. Already the Buccaneers are looking to acquire his talents and leadership.

Mr. 85 himself, Chad Johnson, has promised for the upcoming season more fun, craziness and a monster year. I wonder what that will translate into on the field. He has also stated he has something planned for his first touchdown of the season that could get him fined. I never thought I’d say this, but now I want to watch a Bungles game.

You can put me firmly in the camp of Mike Tomlin fans. He made a statement immediately in camp about how physical the team would be, and it has been showing in their games so far.

And speaking of Tomlin, he blew me away before the Hall of Fame game. To preface, I have a favorite quote from Chuck Noll. When asked about pressure Noll would say, and I paraphrase, that pressure is what you feel when you do not know what you are doing. Before the game, Tomlin was asked if he felt any pressure being the coach of such a storied team and coaching in his first game. Tomlin responded by saying that pressure was trying to feed your family. I now have a new favorite quote. Intelligent, savvy, tough AND loaded with common sense, how can you not love Tomlin?

For a story that covers both Steeler news and weird NFL news, the website thesmokinggun.com obtained a copy of the Steelers hotel rider. In case you are wondering what a rider is, it is a document provided to a venue from entertainment acts outlining their requirements. Musicians and bands typically have these for the venues these play, some of them with really weird requests. I know someone in a band who says their rider includes a provision for brand new, white tube socks. When I asked why, he said you always need socks. Life on the road is indeed different. Anyway, the Steelers rider outlines all of their requirements and needs for when they stay at a hotel on road trips. It is a fascinating read. Check it out here.

Ok, let’s talk holdout.

First off is Michael Strahan. Let’s get one thing straight, it’s not about money, it’s not about respect nor is it about the 10 million other speculations people are putting out about the situation. This is about camp. Strahan does not want to go. This will be his 15th season, and he does not want to start it off by banging his aging body around for a month in the blazing August sun and heat. I’ll bet 10 bucks that he reports RIGHT after camp breaks. He just does not want the wear, tear, monotony and pain that is training camp. He feels he has proven himself, and at this point he just wants to play on Sundays. Now, Giants camp breaks Thursday the 23rd, and Strahan has said a decision on his future will come either Friday or Saturday. Who wants to bet he shows up at Giants headquarters? No one? Come on, I could use an extra 10 bucks.

Larry Johnson finally reported, as the Chiefs broke down and paid him, with a big chunk in guaranteed money. I guess they felt they needed him more than they realized, and that rookie Kolby Smith and a rebuilt Priest Holmes might not be able to carry the load. Well, I hope Larry enjoys his cash, because he will not enjoy his season. With that increasingly patchwork offensive line in front of him, I bet he does not have the monster season he had last year. Plus, history is against him, as running backs that had over 400 carries in a season typically do not fair well during the following campaign. This could be an interesting story to watch.

JaMarcus Russell is still unsigned and has not been near Raiders camp. Can you blame him?

Brady Quinn ended his ridiculous hold out and signed with the Browns. Too bad you blew your chance at the starting job Brady. Yeah, that’s right, blew it. Sure, you might be able to catch up on the tons of learning and timing you need and might even be installed as the starter, but it will take far longer to make up the team camaraderie you missed and to earn the respect of your teammates. I’m so glad we get to beat up on Quinn and the Browns twice a year.

A quick aside here for a moment if you will indulge me. I do not understand rookies holding out for money or fat contracts with tons of incentives. How do teams justify paying someone who has yet to perform? Sure, they are banking on the promise and hope of the player chosen, but said players have yet to do anything to earn it. What happened to earning your way? Now, I can understand why rookies hold out to get the extra money. The market has proven it will bear such fruits, and why not make sure you have a financial future locked up in case you suffer a career ending injury. But why do owners and teams allow this market to exist? It seems quite backwards and idiotic to me.

Oh, that nasty injury bug is biting everywhere this time of year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneer Mike Alstott was placed on injured reserve for the season with neck injury. There has been speculation that this could be the end of his illustrious career. I always liked Alstott, a great back with lots of power. When the Bucs needed a few tough yards, all they had to do was give the ball to Alstott. You just don’t see many like him anymore. If this is the end of the road for him, then Mike we wish you well and thank you.

New Jet running back Thomas Jones has a calf injury. Once again questions regarding the Jets running game will start. The injury does not seem that bad as Jones is already back to practice, but wait until he has one bad game. The New York fans are quite unforgiving and vocal. This is especially bad as Kellen Clemens has spent training camp muddying up the quarterback waters. Mangini seems to have added questions instead of answers during camp.

Terrell Owens has been having some back trouble. Not surprising. It must be hard to walk around all day with that gigantic ego perched atop ones neck.

Randy Moss has a bad hamstring. Even better is this is just one more injury in a history of leg issues. Yeah, that sure will change fortunes in Foxboro.

New Dolphin Joey Porter has been having trouble with his right knee. Porter had arthroscopic surgery performed to do some clean up work. Apparently, the trouble began during the off season. The real problem is this is his third scope in two years and now it seems as though he has had some trouble healing after the surgery. Not a good start for the Dolphins and their hopes for a better season. Of course, those hopes went away when they invested their quarterback future on 37 year old Trent Green.

The Colts will lose DT Anthony McFarland for the season with an ACL injury. That could seriously hurt their chances at a repeat this season and severely impact their run defense. This is obviously their biggest concern, as their defense was reworked during the off season due to free agent departures. The retirement of Tarik Glenn could have been a major problem, but it seems rookie Tony Ugoh has stepped in admirably and the Colt offense has yet to miss a beat.

In a weird twist, the McDougal brothers both suffered season ending injuries. Stockar, an offensive lineman for the Jaguars, went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon. His younger brother Jerome, a defensive end for the Eagles, suffered a torn triceps. In an eerie twist, both men suffered their injuries on the same day. What a crappy day in the McDougle house. Here’s hoping they both have a speedy and full recovery.

Jeff Fisher benched Vince Young before the Titans first preseason game because he did not stay with the team at the team hotel. What an odd rule, but good on Fisher for showing Young who was in charge and for also showing the other players that no one is above the best interests of team. But was that really what happened, or just the story that came out to cover up that Fisher was not going to play Young anyway. Or was Young harboring a secret injury, and Fisher did not want to risk further damage? Or am I reading too much into it?

New Raider coach Lane Kiffin was hospitalized for two days with a viral infection. See, the Raiders really are a disease, and now they are killing this healthy, young man. The Raiders can strike at any age. No one is immune to them. There is no vaccine. Total quarantine and eradication are the only solutions to ridding ourselves of this disease. Someone call the CDC immediately and get them quarantined from the league before someone else succumbs to this dreaded menace. Sometimes, the jokes just write themselves.

Since I cannot think of any good way to segue into it, let’s just get it over with.

Vick Watch – With his other co-defendants coping pleas and turning witness against him, Vick’s pocket finally collapsed with nowhere to scramble. He will be in court Monday to cop a plea himself to avoid a trial. The plea Vick will enter based on papers filed today state his pleading guilty to providing the dogs, property and funding the operation as well as killing underperforming dogs with his co-conspirators.

What a sad tale this has been from every standpoint. Just about everyone has weighed in with their opinion on the matter, with every possible perspective being examined. We will too, with an appropriate punishment, but I would like to bring up a fascinating article first. Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN.com wrote this article recently, stating that he has sympathy for Vick. I found it a most original take on the situation and encourage others to read it. I find him an engaging author, especially his weekly football columns. Mind you I am not bashing Mr. Easterbrook, or calling him on the carpet. I think his article is well thought out and thought provoking. I certainly do not want to flame him here, as I am sure more than a few people have already through his email, and more will as well with Vick pleading guilty. I just disagree with a few of his points on this particular subject, so let’s break it down.

The first point of contention I have is with Mr. Easterbrook’s sympathizing with Vick because of the cult of celebrity that surrounds athletes. He wonders if Vick, since the age of 16, has had anyone around that ever told him no. An excellent question and I am sure the answer to it is, ironically, no. And the cult of the celebrity athlete is bad. Most athletes are surrounded by sycophants and yes men just happy to be near said athlete, or worse on their payroll. These people never say no, no matter how badly the athlete needs to hear it for fear they will lose their meal ticket or be banished from the inner circle. Easterbrook calls out Vick as responsible for his own actions, and admonishes those around him for using Vick for their own gain with no concern for the man himself. I agree with all of this.

But the important part here is that Vick IS responsible for his own actions, whether those around him care what he does or not. Whether or not he has ever heard no in his life should not make a difference. His conscience should tell him no if no one else will. His sense of decency and common sense should have been screaming no. I understand that those with fame, money and power live in a different world, but the basic tenants of being a human should still apply. If you stamp out that nagging voice in the back of your head and do what you want anyway, I have no sympathy for you. Since I am sure he is not the only celebrity without that voice or someone to tell them no, perhaps this situation can be used as a big “no” to all athletes and celebrities who think that they can get away with whatever they please. Too many athletes and marginally famous people nowadays get away with boatloads of infractions that would have the average person thrown into jail. Why? Because they are famous that’s why. Perhaps it is time someone is used as an example, and since everyone seems to be waiting for Lindsey Lohan to overdose and use her as a cautionary tale instead of stepping in to stop her and get her some real help, maybe Vick can be the warning. Cold? Yes. Reactionary? Possibly. Wrong? Well, that depends on how you feel about our cult of celebrity and privilege in this country.

This brings us to my second point. Here Easterbrook sympathizes with Vick because of just that, because he is being used to “send a message”. I agree with Easterbrook that this case should be based upon its own merits. I am sure when sentencing occurs, it will be. How the NFL will treat it is another story, and they very well might use Vick as an example. Goodell is very tough, and he is on a crusade to eliminate anything and banish anyone that could threaten the league as a product and brand. Others need to know this and other nefarious activities are unacceptable and Goodell is more than happy to remind anyone who questions otherwise.

What really does not help Vick right now in the court of public opinion is our love and affection for dogs in this country. People have an attachment toward dogs sometimes stronger than they have for other people. Dogs are defenseless creatures that look upon humans for care and love and they love you back unconditionally. Making them fight for sport and killing them when they do not win is destroying that trust and shows what concern those who do such things have for life in general. People are tired of seeing rich athletes with an inflated sense of entitlement get away with things that would get most everyone else thrown in prison for a long time with nary an afterthought. After a while, it makes people not want to watch the games anymore. The NFL sees this, especially in this situation as people’s love for dogs has brought a higher level of disgust and anger than normally would be seen in a situation where an athlete has become embroiled in a criminal scandal. Add to this the additional sense of anger some fans feel of seeing other athletes before him getting away with questionable behavior almost scot-free, and now the NFL faces a situation that could cause it to stumble. Goodell knows that Vick does need to be an example, not only to other athletes that they will not get away with such activities on his watch, but also to fans that if someone tries something, he will be there to mete out punishment and keep such activity away from the game. It may not be right to use Vick and this particular situation to send a message. But I cannot feel sympathy for him if the mess he has created is used by the league as a warning, a cautionary tale and to send a message because the only person who created this mess is Vick himself.

Easterbrook also sympathizes with Vick because this is his first offense, and the hammer is coming down especially hard, potentially from the courts and the NFL and definitely in the court of public opinion. I think it needs to be pointed out that while yes, this may be Vick’s first criminal offense, it is beyond huge. This is not public drunkenness or smoking weed, which there are questions about his smoking anyway, but training, fighting and killing dogs for pleasure and financial gain and being mixed up in gambling rings. Plus, and this is important, this is his first KNOWN criminal offense. If he could keep something of this scope under wraps for as long as he has, who knows what else he may have been doing.

I tentatively agree with Easterbrook that the uproar might not be as loud if the athlete in question were white. I say tentatively because I hope that the uproar from people would be because a famous athlete was involved with dog fighting, not because a famous black athlete did it. I am not naïve, however, and know his skin color probably does play into the anger of some people. And while this may be, we cannot let whether or not that is playing a factor some people’s anger obscure what is really at the center of this situation. This is not about race; it is about privilege and money getting away with anything. Vick feels he can get away with whatever he wants because of his station and athletic prowess. If you doubt this, watch one of his old games. He never works to improve his skills as a quarterback, which is evident in his play. It is also why for years everyone has called him exciting but no one has ever called him a top tier quarterback. And when asked about practicing his skills and improving his game, he would defiantly state how he does not need to practice or improve, and how he is the best. This attitude permeates everything he does. I would be willing to bet he was surprised he got busted on the dog fighting. He probably felt he could do anything he wanted. Somewhere he believed too much of the hype and forgot that you have to work to be the best. Ask Peyton Manning how much he works.

The optimistic side of me wants to believe that race is not a part of the fervor this case has created, but the realistic side of me knows for some people, it is the very core of the situation. That thought makes me sad and also shows me how much further we do need to go in race relations in our country. I will tell you this, if this had been Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, I’d be just as mad. Well, madder if it was Brady since he’s such a jerk anyway.

One point Easterbrook seems to miss is the gambling aspect. This is extremely important in this case, as it has ruined many careers before Vick’s. To the NFL, this is far worse than the actual dog fighting, and could be the thing that really ends his career and gets him thrown out permanently. As Vick is still maintaining his innocence on the gambling charge stating he never did gamble or receive any money from gambling, so we will never know if he did or not. But the fact that he was mixed up in gambling rings is bad enough in and of itself. Gambling affects the entire league, every player, every coach and every personnel person employed by every team. If people begin to think players are involved in gambling rings, they will worry that the games themselves might be compromised. If that happens, the NFL would be facing a crisis as bad or worse as the NBA is currently facing. Goodell will do whatever it takes to keep even a hint of that doubt from sniffing his league.

Easterbrook also sympathizes with Vick because of other factors as well, the bad advice he has received from many including his lawyers, how he has made the situation worse and because no one seems to be willing to step up and say anything on Vick’s behalf. He sympathizes also because it would seem that justice will not be served here, and the emotional aspects of the case will cloud judgment and potentially cause Vick to lose his career. I say tough.

While Vick may not have laid a bet on a fight, he did everything else. He supplied the money and location for the training, equipment and the dogs. At the very least, he provided the resources for the operation and he was present at the fights and during the executions of the dogs that fought poorly. Vick helped mastermind, bankroll and setup an organization designed to train dogs to fight and kill other dogs for the pleasure of humans and provide venues for gambling on fights. And if any dogs did not fight well, he had a personal hand in killing those dogs. I want to note that again, he killed dogs that fought poorly. He and his cohorts summarily executed defenseless dogs they trained to fight because they did not live up to their established standards of a fighting dog. This was not a half baked idea, as the organization has been in existence, from what the court documents say, for six years. Six years! This is cold, calculated planning and execution, no pun intended, of a master plan. He knew this was wrong. He KNEW it. You do not spend that much time hiding an operation of this nature and your own deplorable actions from everyone if you think it is acceptable in society. And I refuse to sympathize for someone because they are stupid. Yes, I said stupid. If he is dumb enough to risk everything he has and has built himself into on something as heinous as training dogs to fight and kill each other, he deserves whatever comes to him.

Now, personally, I am an avid dog lover, and I think what Vick did is disgusting and I wonder aloud what kind of human being could possibly find pleasure in watching dogs fight each other, sometimes to the death. How can you sleep at night comfortably when during the day you train creatures to viciously attack and kill each other for sport and pleasure? But, I also know that most of the analysts are right. We are a forgiving country who tends to forget things over time, and if Vick serves his punishment and shows contrition and says and does all the right things, people will forgive and probably cheer him on again one day, if the NFL allows him to play. After all, is that not the basis of our system of justice, that once a man does the punishment for his crime he be allowed to once again live his life and work to better it? Sure. It is hard to see that now, as this situation is almost volatile with the emotion it brings forth.

So yes, there may be a day we see him in uniform again. I say let it be this season. Why not? The punishment I feel would be appropriate would not take that long, and he might be able to suit up before the season ends. Let’s not waste anymore money on courts and lawyers and all the other nonsense. He is admitting his guilt so let’s skip all legal red tape and go straight to the punishment and let him, and us, move on with life. And the punishment is really simple. I say, make him fight every one of those dogs he trained. 3 minute rounds with one minute between rounds, one dog per round and each dog to follow one right after another. With 50-60 dogs, that seems a fitting punishment if you ask me. And after it is all over, if he is up to it Vick can play football to his heart’s content. Once he knows how those dogs felt in that ring, the ones he professed to love so much, then maybe he will have truly learned a lesson.

Just thinking about that was as bad as I thought. Boy, am I glad that is over with. Perhaps we should look at something much more enjoyable, and the real center of all of this nonsense.

Game action

Preseason football is just, well, weird. Yes, weird. The starters are more like shooting stars, one minute they are there and the next gone to sucking Gatorade on the sidelines. You can watch a game and be completely enthralled by a player that lights up the field, only to see him cut a few weeks later. You spend so much time trying to figure out who half the people are on the field, you begin to lose interest in the actual game. Plus, there is no real urgency from either team, since the established players are just trying not to get hurt. And if your team loses, you do not feel bad, since it really does mean nothing. The only people who really care are the coaches trying to evaluate talent and the players looking to get a roster spot or those on the bubble trying to keep theirs. But we are so excited about football, we watch anyway. And worse, people pay regular season prices for tickets to the games. Sure, most games you can see a multitude of empty seats, but those in attendance do not care, nor those watching, for that matter. Most games are tape delayed, but still we tune in despite already knowing the outcome. It is just so good to have the season upon us; we forget all these little things and revel in yet another fall of football action. Like I said weird.

With that being said, I have only caught a few games so far, being preseason and all. But for fun and practice for the season, I did catch a few. Here is what I’ve seen thus far.

Of course I watched the Hall of Fame game. It was fantastic. Sure it is only preseason, and in the grand scheme of things the game meant nothing. But it is still nice to watch a win. Especially one that was so physical. The Steelers came out ready to hit and hit hard, and they did. They beat up on the Saints, every line, every string of player hit hard and often. They looked sharp early with their starters, and that sharpness continued with the backups and with their backups. If things progress like this, I will feel really good about the upcoming season. Roethlisberger looked great and immediately started to put to rest the multitude rumors and opinions of how he is nothing more than a game manager and will not be able to put the game on his back and win it without a ton of help from his running game. Mind you, he was only in for a series, and there are still lots of questions, but he had an excellent start. Here is the impression I got from watching this game. The Saints defense has holes in the run defense and secondary, despite their acquisition of cornerbacks. The Steelers are going to smack people in the mouth, despite their new wide open offense.

Their next two games were not as exciting, each one showing a different look. Unfortunately for the offense, Tomlin has been experimenting with different starters on the offensive line. The side effect of this is that they have yet to gel, and the offense suffers for it. But, better to do it now instead of say week 10. Since this week is week three of the preseason, we should see much more. Teams always play their starters much longer in the week three preseason game, to really see what they have. It is the best game to watch before September. Note to everyone, watch your team play this week, you will have a much clearer idea where they will be on September 9th.

I watched part of one of the Jets preseason games. The only interesting part that caught my attention was when a cat ran across the field. He did not stay long, much like most Jets fans. Even they seem less than excited about preseason football.

"I've visited the Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Giants, Redskins, Eagles and Bears thus far this summer. Baltimore is the most complete and best team I've seen to this point.''

-- Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News

I thought Mr. Gosselin had quite the observation, considering the caliber of the teams he did visit. Funny how someone from Dallas had not attended the Cowboys camp, but that is neither here nor there. From the list of teams, it is obvious he is scouting out the NFC East competition. And he may be right; the Ravens may very well be the most complete. However, they are still coached by Brian Billick, and that makes them far from the best team. Why? I thought you would never ask.

I watched the Ravens take on the Giants at home. I missed the first half of the game, because of prior obligations, so I missed all the starters in their preseason glory. But I did catch the rest, and it told me everything I need to know about the upcoming Ravens season and playoff hopes.

Here is the situation. The score is 13-9 Giants. It’s the 4th quarter with 2:44 left in the game. The Ravens have the ball at the Giants 20 on 4th down and 7. Odds are they will probably not see the ball again, and if they do, it will be with less than a minute to go. What should they do in this situation, kick a field goal and hope for the best, or go for it? They should go for it and here is why. One, it puts the onus to win on the team. The coach is saying I believe you guys can win this game and get that first down or touchdown. He also is saying to the defense, I believe if they miss, you will get us the ball back in good field position. The Raven defense has been touted all preseason as even better than last year, and last year they were phenomenal. So why not trust your offense and defense to win the game? Nope, Billick sends out the kicking team, and the Ravens never score again.

I know what you are thinking, so what, it’s just preseason, it does not matter. That is exactly the point. Now is the time to establish things like going for a win, placing trust in your team, practicing what to do in this situation BECAUSE it does not matter. Now is the time to find out what you can and cannot do, under real game conditions without the pressure of needing a win or suffering a loss. There will be games this season when the Ravens will face this exact situation and it will matter. And what will the Ravens do then? Kick the field goal and hope for the best, or go for the throat? Seeing what they practice in preseason, it would seem they will be hoping wins will magically fall into their laps. Personally, I’m glad to see them waffling during tough situations, it will make it that much easier to put them away and reclaim the AFC North crown.

Now, after looking at that situation and how they played it, tell me how the Ravens are the most complete and best team out there?

I also watched the Cardinals/Texans clash, mostly because it was on. I did take a few things away from the contest. The Texans look to be a bit better on offense, perhaps Matt Schaub will help their anemic offensive output. Of course, they were playing the Cardinals in preseason, so I will take it with a grain of salt. Their defense still looks bad, but there might be hope for more than 4 wins this season.

What I also saw was that you can run and pass at will on the Cardinals starting defense, which looked very porous. New head coach Ken Whisenhunt said at halftime that while the defensive performance was less than stellar, they were only running a base defense with no stunts or real plays. Ken, if your base defense cannot stop a running back from going up the middle for 7 yards at a time, you have a problem. On the plus side for Cardinal fans, their offense looked fantastic. Obviously the addition of Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm has helped them start working to fulfill their potential. And you can see their influence all over Leinart and company, as they ran a play during their first offensive series that would be very familiar to Pittsburgh fans, and anyone who saw Super Bowl XL. Remember the play where Randle El threw a touchdown to Hines Ward? Yep, it is now a part of the Cardinal offensive repertoire. They have an improved offense, but still a crappy defense. I say they go 7-9, and reignite talk at the end of the season of being a favorite again in 08.

One other funny aspect of the game was listening to the Texans broadcast team. I guess no one gave them phonetic pronunciations for the Cardinals personnel, because they kept mangling names constantly. They referred to Matt Leinart as Lein-heart and called Whisenhunt Wheeze-enhunt. Now, these two are not obscure people. Leinart is a college football champion and highly touted player, and Whiz was coaching in the Super Bowl a few years back. You think the Texans broadcast team might know who they are. Perhaps they need preseason practice more than the teams.

I did not catch any of the Patriots/Titans game, but I heard all about it. On every NFL Now break from the NFL Network, they kept falling all over themselves about what a great game Brady had. Here were his numbers, 10-19 for 145 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Please, show me how great that is? His completion percentage is barely above .500 and he threw 2 picks! I would say he had a barely average game. But no, everyone kept falling all over themselves about Brady’s great performance.

The season has yet to start and already I have had an assful of Brady and Patriot worship. Almost everyone keeps talking about how great the Pats are now with all their additions, how they will roll the competition, why we should just give them the trophy now. No, forget it, its not happening. Mark my words. The Patriots will not win the Super Bowl. They have too many new people to incorporate into their fabric, philosophy and chemistry. There are too many expectations, too many questions, and eventually, too much Randy Moss. You know, for all the big game he’s talking now, he will eventually regress into the pouting, petulant Randy and become the locker room cancer he’s always been when things start to go slightly not his way. Plus, all the other receivers they’ve added do two things. One, it takes away potential catches from Moss, and while he’s towing the company line at the moment, eventually that’ll get to him. And two, it pretty much forced Troy Brown to the back of the pack, never to be heard from again. This man is the most loyal Patriot EVER. Whenever they needed something, he stepped in and stepped up. If not for Troy, they do not beat the Chargers last year in the playoffs and never get to Indianapolis. If not for Troy, they do not win three Super Bowls. You thought they created bad karma by telling Vinatieri to hit the bricks? If they do not show Troy the proper respect and keep him and make him integral to their game, you will really see bad karma. They may create some anyway since they will probably just let him rot on the bench behind Moss, Welker, Stallworth and Caldwell. Write it down, make a note, put it in your blackberry, tattoo it on your forehead, the Patriots are our first entrant for the Super Bust.

And this reminds me, there are a ton of Steeler haters out there. Every time I turn around I hear about how Big Ben is a fluke and last season we saw the real Ben. How they cannot do anything with a rookie head coach. How last year showed their Super Bowl year was a fluke. How losing Joey Porter will be devastating in the locker room. How Willie Parker cannot carry the load, even though he did last year. Blah blah blah. I hate to tell everyone, but last year was the fluke. They had to deal with the Super Bowl hangover, which they did not deal with well. They had a lack of identity problem, which showed each week when a different team would show up. They had Ben’s multiple injuries to deal with, and personally I am hoping this year he is less of a delicate flower. And they had to deal with the Cowher distraction. I said it then, I’ll say it now. Cowher being unsure of his future and whether he would stay with the team was one of their biggest problems all season.

Mind you, they have problems again this year. The offensive line is not settled, and that can be huge. They have a new coach, a rookie for that matter, and there is always a transition in changing regimes. They lost a few key people, and need to find a way to replace them on and off the field. But they are not using these as excuses, just hurdles to overcome. They have the right mindset to start, and that is the path you need to be on to be successful.

And they are not the only teams with weaknesses. Look at the powers in the AFC. The Colts defense could be worse than last year, when anyone could run on them. The Chargers are breaking in a new coach as well, one with a very poor track record and worse playoff record as a head coach. The Patriots have so many new bodies, they need to wear nametags. They overcompensated for losing the AFC title game by buying everyone in sight and it could bite them on the butt. Every team has issues and problems. It’s not the issues that matter, its how you overcome them that matters. And we will only see that, and really see who is an elite team, starting in week one. So before we continue anointing another Super Bowl champion in the preseason, how about we wait and see how the season plays out, huh?

Idiot of the week - Ahhh, I always enjoy the idiot of the week, and it feels good to have it back, much like an old friend coming to visit. To kick off this year’s batch, who else could it be other than Chris Collinsworth? He spent the better part of 10 minutes going off during the Hall of Fame game how Reggie Bush last year did not have the same kind of numbers he did at USC. Chris specifically pointed out how Bush had no runs over 20 yards, and how that was a bad sign for Bush and his future. I almost lost my mind with how many things were wrong with what he was saying. First off, this is the NFL, not college ball. Of course his numbers will go down initially; he is going up against tougher competition. Second, he was a rookie, so obviously, there has to be a period of transition when going from a lower level of competition to a higher one. And never forget, the NFL is a significantly higher level of competition than college ball. And third, and most importantly, Bush was not their starting running back. Deuce McAllister was their starter last year, and will be again this year. Bush was used as a change up back, a secondary running threat, a passing threat and an overall multiple threat offensive weapon. His main duty last year was not grinding out tough yards, but to distract defenses and help exploit defensive weaknesses. If you doubt this, then explain his 88 catches from the backfield. Mind you, I do not think Collinsworth was wrong in wondering about Bush and his long term impact on the NFL. Bush still does need to prove himself between the tackles. But Collinsworth completely ignored all of the above points in his ranting. The other reason he managed to garner the award was his idiotic statement at the end of the game in explaining the Saints and their poor performance in the game. He stated that people needed to keep in mind where these players’ bodies were, and that they were still not in the kind of shape they will be for the season. Yes, Chris, that is true. They still have most of camp left to go, and there will be a lot of training left. However, the Saints were in camp almost as long as the Steelers and the Steelers sure looked in shape for the season, or at least for the game. It was such a stupid justification for a lackluster performance. Chris, we know you hate Pittsburgh; that much is obvious. I almost had a heart attack when you admitted an obvious point that Chuck Noll, the only coach to win 4 Super Bowls, had never been given the credit he should have been. But to make such an excuse for the poor performance of the Saints instead of praising the conditioning and physicality of their opponent is asinine. I guarantee if the Bungles were dominating the Saints, Chris would have been falling all over himself extolling the physicality of the Bungles. For these points, congratulations Chris, you are the Idiot of the Week.

Honorable mention idiots.

This may be a preview of things to come. Some weeks, there seem to be too many idiots to only pick just one.

Steve Mariucci – Said in the post game show for the Hall of Fame game that Hines Ward was going to be a good player. Really Steve, you think so? He did not win because it was obviously just a flub. But it was a funny one, and I wanted to bring it up. Before the game, Steve kept coming back to the point that with a healthy, prepared Roethlisberger the team would be much better this season. So far, he looks to be prophetic.

Bill Belichick – He took his normal closed mouth stance on Randy Moss and his hamstring injury. Are you just getting ready for the season and your usual lack of information, Bill, or do you just not want everyone to know you made a mistake on acquiring a broken down malcontent?

Nice to have one of our regular features back, is it not? Well, there will be much more on the way. Stay tuned, as we have one more tune up to go before the regular season begins. And there we will unveil some new things for the upcoming season. Hang tight, September 6th is almost here!