The Crystal Ball Week 10

Originally Posted on Quick Thoughts November 10, 2006


Hello sports fans. Welcome to the big mid-season report as promised last week. Ok, I will be honest, I have nothing. I have a great idea for a mid season report, but a few things came up. First, traveling left me with very little time to do much of the research I wanted to do. Now, normally this would not be that big of a deal, but after getting back and going through the process of sliding back into normal life and work, I had less time this week than usual. Not that I regret it at all, I had a wonderful time visiting my family, whom I do not get to see nearly often enough. However, it did impact the amount of time I had to write. Now, if I did not have to go to a job and could just write all day, well, this thing would be super long this week. Second, I did not watch all that much football last week. Yes, I know, a travesty, but those things happen on vacation. I did watch Pittsburgh and Denver, ugh, and Indianapolis and New England, eh, and did catch up on the action of the day, but nothing like my normal fest of football. I imagine that is probably a good thing in the long run, anyway. So, with little time and little observation, yeah, this week, I have very little. But, I do have a few things, so let’s run with what we have. If the NFL Network would just pay me, that would solve a lot of problems. I may do the mid-season report/fest/crapola next week, since it is still a fun idea, so I shant reveal it today. I would hate to ruin the surprise. Plus, we stand out here by doing a mid-season column well after mid-point of the season. Yeah, that’s how we roll.

So, in going through my usual litany of football related reading each week, I found this interesting observation by one of the columnists I enjoy frequently.

“Of Steelers fans voting in a recent Web poll voted to bench Big Ben. This after he battled back from eight hours of facial surgery, a near-death experience, an appendectomy and a second brain scramble following a sack by three Falcons, just to try to take the field and make something happen for a team still hungover from the Super Bowl. Man, this is the kind of unconditional love and support from YOUR OWN FANS that makes it all worthwhile, right Ben?”

This quote was from a recent David Fleming article. Yes, David, that is the kind of support Ben will get from his own fans. See, Ben’s fans knew one thing, he was not ready. That second brain scramble set him back again, and he should have sat for a week or two until he was fully recovered. I know he was medically cleared, but watch any QB after a concussion and they are not the same for a few weeks. Plus, now that he has had two major concussions in a 4 month span, he is at a high risk for repeated concussions, possible brain damage and early retirement. Just ask Steve Young and Troy Aikman about that. So, you tell me Mr. Fleming who is a true fan of Big Ben? Is it the nitwits who would like to send him out there right away and risk his health, season and career, or the those would rather have him sit out an extra game or two now and keep watching him lead the Black and Gold in the future rather than retire two or three years early because of too many concussions. Seems obvious who his true fans really are in that scenario, now doesn’t it?

Now this week despite two interceptions, the third was just a desperation heave hoe, Ben had a pretty good outing and showed, at least to me, that the concussion from the Falcons game is probably behind him. He looks like he will be a big time passer. However, the same thing that has been plaguing the team all season struck again. Turnovers. No one can hold onto the ball, and no one can recover a loose one. Sigh. Of course, in a classic overcorrection, Cowher has announced that there will need to be changes made and some starters will sit. Ike Taylor seems to be the first to lose his job, at least temporarily. That makes absolutely zero sense. Yeah, he got lit up last week by Javon Walker, but that is not why they lost the game. They lost the game because they turned the ball over SIX TIMES! Hello, hello, is anyone listening? They are losing because they keep giving the opposition the ball. Hey, Bill, not to tell you how to do your job or anything, but instead of worrying about one bad performance in one game by one guy, how about maybe working with the special teams and the offense and getting them to learn to hold onto the football. I think, maybe, that might be a better solution to what ails team. But, like I said, I don’t want to step on any toes or anything, just spitballing some ideas here. What a nimrod.

Well, you know, this season seems to be toast. And while they still may have a stellar second half, it looks doubtful they will make the playoffs. But you know what; I will still hold out hope. You never know they could reel off 12 straight and take the title again. Hey, before last season, they said there was no way you could win 4 straight playoff games on the road to capture the title, and look what happened. So, there is still hope, albeit a very faint hope. Regardless, until February 4th, 2007, they are still the world champions, and they will be treated as such, and anyone who feels differently can go suck eggs. Go Steelers!

Now, for my most favorite of teams, New England! Oh, by the way I was being sarcastic. Their fans had an interesting weekend watching them lose at home to Indianapolis, tee hee, and watching former Pat Adam Vinatieri kick against them for the first time. This game seemed somewhat stupid to me, in the fact that New England has one of the best running attack tandems in the league with Dillon and Maroney, and they were going up against the Colts who have one of the worst run defenses of all time. Yet, New England kept passing early and often, and did not pound the ball right down the Colts throat. Was this Belichick hiding how he will really play the Colts in the playoffs, or just not being the genius many assume he is and having a piss poor game plan going in against the Colts? I do not know, but even I was thinking, why are you not running the ball? Morons.

In his debut in Foxboro with the Colts, Vinatieri was booed by Pats fans. Yes, he does not play for you now, and yes, he signed with one of the biggest thorns in your side. But have you such short memories? The man won you three Super Bowls, two on the last play of the game. He left because your cheapskate management did not want to pay him his worth and wanted to dump him for a younger model. He left not because he wanted to, he left because he wanted market value for his services and to be appreciated for his contribution and not looked upon as an aging cog. I bet at least once come January Peyton Manning will show Vinatieri how much he appreciates a clutch player with ice water in his veins. I have said it before, and will say it again, getting rid of Vinatieri will come back to haunt the Patriots at the worst time. Watch, it will happen. This behavior just goes to show you what kind of spoiled jerks Pats fans typically are. Hey, football season is past the halfway point, aren’t you guys behind on whining about the Red Sox?

Now, there are a few other quick observations I have made, and I thought I would share them before we get to this week’s slate of fun.

1) Pittsburgh is a bad team. The players are good, and true they are not getting the lucky breaks that help a team from time to time, but they play badly and stupidly, and that is enough to make them bad. Plus, after losing to Oakland, there is really no way to sugar coat it. They will not win the division, they most likely will not go to the playoffs and they probably will not have a winning record considering their current win/loss pace. They may have a chance at respectability if they could learn to hold onto a football instead of acting as though it is covered in ants. But since as of right now they have 1 more turnover than they had in all of last season, I doubt that will happen.

2) Baltimore is a good team. Ok, not good like Indianapolis or New England, but good enough that they will probably win the division and possibly go deep into the playoffs with how they are built. Plus, after beating New Orleans in the Big Easy and following that up with a nail biter against the Bengals, it is hard to say they are a fluke. Although, if I have to see Ray Lewis try to steal the spotlight from his teammates just one more time, I will need to be sedated. What’s worse is this week he is on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Excuse me, now I must go tear my eyes out.

3) Peyton Manning may be learning how to win the big game. Peyton has always been a great regular season quarterback, and a fantasy football wet dream, but he cannot seem to translate that talent and offense into championship hardware. There is a lot of talk that he is becoming a clutch QB, and who knows, maybe he will learn how to make that work in the post season. Having a clutch post season player on his team like Adam Vinatieri may just give the team the right mojo and mind set. For me, however, he has to prove it first. But without a decent running game, or a defense capable of stopping the run (currently giving up 5.2 yards per running play), it will not happen come January. I thought Dungy was hired to improve the defense.

4) The officiating in the NFL is horrible this year – so many non calls for obvious infractions, so many ticky tack calls over plays where it really is hard to see just exactly where there is an infraction. Here are two of the more recent poor calls that directly affected the outcome of a game. Jets at Cleveland, the non-touchdown catch by the Jets at the end. It was painfully obvious that he would have landed in bounds. He obviously was pushed out to prevent the score. However, according to the referee’s interpretation, no catch. The incomplete pass on Pittsburgh in the Oakland game. Wilson had the ball, and replays show that he had hands under the ball and it never touched the ground, but it was ruled incomplete nonetheless. Look back over this season and you can see botched call after botched call. The NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry. Perhaps it is time for them to SERIOUSLY consider full time referees. I know this is said each year, and each year the same reasons that it is not viable are trotted out like show ponies, but perhaps the NFL needs to look past the cost and more on the impact it is having on their product. Sure it would be costly, but the league makes billions of dollars, they could probably swing it. And yes, the referees would have little to do during the week, but you could have them rotate around to team practices, have their own training sessions, confer with colleagues. The more thought you put into it, the more you could easily see how quickly their time would fill up working to become the best units in all of professional sports. This is something the NFL should seriously consider before it gets to the point where no team feels like they will have a legitimate chance on a close play and start paying officials just in case.

5) Atlanta players may currently be the dirtiest players in the league. All teams will try to get away with something or hurt the other team, but these guys are not even subtle about it. Watch them for one game, just one, and see what I mean. Ask Chad Johnson about getting popped out of nowhere, he’ll vouch for what I am saying. Even though it screwed me last week, I was happy to see them lose to lowly Detroit. Bunch of jerks.

6) I like Chad Johnson. There, I said it. Yes, he plays for a division rival, and yes, whenever they play Pittsburgh, he is ALL about the smack talk. But you know what? He’s funny, he plays the game for fun, he enjoys tweaking people in a playful way and you get that in how he performs. Plus, all the stuff he does never distracts from his job nor does it ever put the team in an unnecessary spotlight. And he is always about playing as hard and as well as he can and never does he put his own self promotion above the best interests of the team. He is a fun guy who plays with a lot of heart and is a pretty damn good teammate. T.O. should take notes on how to be a star receiver from 85.

7) Tom Brady is the most clutch QB in the NFL today. Yes, it pains me to say it because the guy drives me up the wall in a big giant way. And I think the Montana comparisons may be a bit premature, even if accurate in the long run. The fact is the man has won 3 Super Bowls, and that is not an easy task. It is difficult just getting to three, let alone winning them. Now, having said that, it sure was nice to see him get picked off 4 times last week. Tee hee. You think that the Pats would have been smarter and just pounded the ball against the Colts weak run defense, but no, they played it pretty dumb. Morons.

8) Leave Tiki Barber alone. The man wants to walk away from the game while he can still walk. He has many other interests and career options, and getting his body pounded by 300 pound defensive lineman is no longer one of them. I think it takes a big man to walk away from something while he is still at or near the top of it. Jim Brown is a great example of this. Many wondered, and some still do, how and why he could walk away from it all. He could because he wanted to define his life, not let football define it for him. And Brown has defined his life in exemplary ways. Tiki wishes to do the same. Sure, it would be nice to see him keep running, but I do not blame him. Last year, I saw a piece on Jerome Bettis that showed how hard it was for him sometimes after game day to just get out of bed and walk down the stairs. The man is 34 years old, and he was walking like a 74 year old man. It is a rough game that can damage you permanently. Look in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated and read the article by Rick Reilly. It is not a very long piece, but in it his descriptions of past stars of the gridiron and their current physical conditions is chilling in how they have basically sacrificed their life after football for glory on the field. It is touching, sad and scary, and if Tiki wants to walk away while he can still walk, then I say more power to him.


Ok, so this week, well, let’s just say I did not win the weekly poll.

Last Week: 6-8
Season to Date: 72-56

Surprisingly, I am rather calm about my performance. Perhaps it is due to the fact I was enjoying a bunch of home cooking and was in food sedation for a week. Who knows, but hey, there is always this week, where we finally return to a full slate of games now that the bye weeks are over. And speaking of such, let’s dive in, shall we?

Buffalo at Indianapolis

Umm, hmmm, what a way to start out the games, I wonder who will win? Yes, I know, both teams had wins last week and are feeling good and I know that on any given Sunday any team can beat another team. We have seen plenty of that this season. But something just tells me the Colts are not going to lose at home to the Bills. Call it intuition, ESP or indigestion, but yeah, that’s not happening.

Indianapolis over Buffalo


Houston at Jacksonville

Ok, I know this one is tricky, since Houston pasted Jacksonville last time they met in Reliant field. I am still trying to figure out how that happened. But, I am willing to go out on a limb here and say that was a fluke, and Jacksonville will prevail this time. Of course, that is if their burgeoning QB controversy does not get the better of them.

Jacksonville over Houston


N.Y. Jets at New England

Apprentice versus the Master as Mangini returns to New England to face the vaunted Belichick. Yeah, does not really ring that big since they have already met this season and New England won, but, it is still fun to say. Now, the Jets are playing well over their heads this season, and could squeeze out a pretty good year for a rebuilding team, but there is one thing you cannot forget. New England has not lost consecutive games in over 5 years. I do not see them breaking that streak this week.

New England over N.Y. Jets


Denver at Oakland

Mike Shanahan continues his 2006 Stick It To Al Davis tour with a stop in Oakland this week. Now, we did cover this when these two teams met previously this season, but for a refresher to any late comers, Shanahan loves sticking it to Davis and the Raiders. Since they canned him many moons ago, he has made it his mission to stomp on them anytime his team plays the Raiders. And now that he has found some offensive spark, oh, it will not be as close as the previous game. Plus, Oakland wasted their magical season with two weeks in the spotlight, and its time for them to go away now.

Denver over Oakland


Cleveland at Atlanta

I cannot think of anything particularly interesting to say on this game, other than I would like the Falcons, for as dirty as they are, to win just so I know Pittsburgh will not solely occupy the last spot in the division. Other than that, I see the dirty birds rebounding from losing in Detroit last week, a loss which still makes no sense to me at all.

Atlanta over Cleveland


Washington at Philadelphia

Ok, I cannot figure out the Redskins. They make no sense. They pretty much are in the tank for this season, and then they hang on and win one against Dallas last week, although they did have a bit of help. And Philly starts the season with a bang, and just as quickly begin throwing games away like they were flyers on a windshield. There seems to be no rhyme or reason, but since an Eagles fan I know had a pretty fantastic day last week and is enjoying a lovely honeymoon with his new bride in Hawaii this week, I’m going with the Birds to make his day.

Philadelphia over Washington


Baltimore at Tennessee

Steve McNair, former face of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans returns home leading his new team who currently stand at the top spot in his new division with a 6-2 record, ready to show the Titans faithful what some of them are surely missing as Vince Young goes through his growing pains, and sticking Bud Adams with another loss in a crappy season. Yes, I do believe McNair will be the triumphant hero returning home. Or he will finally get his serious injury of the season and force Kyle Boller to carry the load for the Ravens. I figured McNair would get his team crippling injury long before now, so it is kind of deflating for me and my hopes of Pittsburgh claiming the division that he has not. Perhaps he has finally found a way to stay healthy. Must be all those delicious Maryland crab cakes, of which I had some last week. Talk about yum, those crab cakes are a treat for the taste buds that I wish I could indulge in more often. Ok, before this turns into Paula Dean, let’s move on.

Baltimore over Tennessee


Dallas at Arizona

Seriously, does anyone think the Cardinals have a chance? I doubt even their faithful feel like they have a shot at winning any more game this season, let alone this one. Plus, I bet the Cowboys were put through their paces after blowing one they should have had last week against the Redskins. You have to wonder how far the team is from open revolt against Owens. The man led directly to the loss last week. The 15 yard penalty was bad, but it can be overcome. However, for a man who is constantly screaming for the ball and to make him the number one playmaker on the team to then drop a touchdown pass that would have put Dallas ahead, you have to wonder how many other players on that squad have finally had enough. I bet it’s more than we think. And Parcells may finally be done. Dumb move going for the two point conversion early in the game. Yes, I know the Redskins won by three, but if Dallas would have had that 1 point lead late in the game, they would not have needed to march for the quick field goal; they could have just sat on the ball. Maybe this really is Parcells’ last season, or at perhaps it just should be.

Dallas over Arizona


San Francisco at Detroit

Federal law requires a warning of the potential hazard of inhalation of noxious fumes and graphic images of ineptitude while watching this game. Man what a stinker. At least Millen will be able to keep snowing the Ford family into not firing him by showing them a win this week. And what is with the 49ers moving to Santa Clara? They tried to fleece the city into a new stadium, and the city went, yeah, we saw how badly you’ve screwed up our team, shove off. Good for them. At least the 49ers management is not complete idiots and will still affiliate themselves with San Francisco. The whole thing is pretty idiotic if you ask me.

Detroit over San Francisco


Green Bay at Minnesota

This one is pretty easy to call, since the Vikings, despite ruining years of mojo by going and changing their great uniforms to those awful looking things they trot out each week, have been playing pretty good football under Brad Childress. I want to say Green Bay, but I think right now Minnesota is better. And if I lose this one, well, I will be happy to take the loss.

Minnesota over Green Bay


New Orleans at Pittsburgh

By now, you know who I am going to pick. I know who I am going to pick. And considering how Pittsburgh has been playing, we both know who will likely win this game. Not that I believe that, because I don’t, but part of me knows. However, just call me Don Quixote, because eventually they will pull their heads out of their asses.

Pittsburgh over New Orleans


St. Louis at Seattle

Ok, this is a tough call. Seattle won their previous match up in St. Louis, coming back at the end to steal the game away on a wicked good field goal. So, that should give them an edge, especially since they did it without Shawn Alexander. This time, while they get the nice confines of Qwest field, they have to win without the services of both Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck. That is one tall order. And they can be beat at home, a fact that has been established this season. This is a toss up, and I know whomever I pick will be the wrong pick, but I am going with the home team.

Seattle over St. Louis


San Diego at Cincinnati

The Super Chargers roll into the Queen City to take on 85! Are you as excited as I am? No? Oh, right, I do not care. Well, I do a little bit. If Cincy loses, it helps Pittsburgh out, and if they win, well, it’s a nice stick it to the Bolts. Not that I have anything particular against the Chargers, just that I hate losing, I hate being at the game when Pittsburgh loses, and I would like to see the Chargers and their fans eat some crow because that was one long walk back to the car after the Steelers/Chargers game. A really long walk. Now, I am still not convinced San Diego is all that and a bag of Funyuns, because look at their record and you can see they really have not beaten anybody of consequence minus a few teams. Despite that, I think San Diego has more firepower and consistency at the moment and Shottenheimer is one of the greatest regular season coaches ever! Just try not to look at his post season record, not so good.

San Diego over Cincinnati


Kansas City at Miami

So the Dolphins pulled off the win against Da Bears. Good for them, I hope they enjoy it, because I doubt the winning will last. Kansas City, on the other hand, has been quietly putting together a pretty good season with a patchwork offensive line and a career backup quarterback. They are 5-3 in a very competitive division, and the road ahead looks good. Unfortunately, there is a QB controversy brewing as Trent Green gets closer to being ready to play again. What to do, give the offense back to your starter, or stay with the hot hand. This always is a tough question and no matter what you do, it can produce mixed results. Staying with the hot hand worked well for the Pats in 2001, could it work for the Chiefs this year? Stay tuned, I bet this gets more interesting, especially if the Chiefs keep winning.

Kansas City over Miami


Chicago at N.Y. Giants

DA Bears lost a game. Ditka is inconsolable. Sadness has descended over a certain city. And guess what, I bet it stays there this week. Yes, Da Bears, one of my fun teams for the season, I think is about to go on a two game losing streak. Most everyone, including me, thought the Bears almost loss to the Cardinals was a fluke. Sure, teams have bad games from time to time, and sometimes they get lucky to escape those with a win. However now, after seeing that they made many of the same mistakes last week as they did in the Arizona game, I have to wonder if they are signs of a larger issue. I think Da Bears are still a good team, but if you make the same mistakes over and over again against another good team, you will pay. (Reference Steelers, Pittsburgh, 2006 for example) The Giants are a good team and beginning to find an identity in their dysfunction, and have something to play for with Tiki’s impending retirement. If Da Bears pull out this one, then we can look to the Miami game as some weird cosmic history. (For those who may not know, in 1986 when Da Bears won the Super Bowl, their only loss the entire season was to the Miami Dolphins.) If they lose, well, then we might have to start thinking that Da Bears may have peaked a bit early. On another note, this is the first game of the NFL’s new flex scheduling system, designed to put better games into prime time. Not too bad of a match up to start things off. Here is hoping it works.

N.Y. Giants over Chicago


Tampa Bay at Carolina

Potential one sided crapfest, since Tampa Bay has settled down into below mediocrity after the initial rush of a new QB. You know, with how crappy their broadcasts are, you would think maybe Monday Night could have attempted to garner better games. Nope, not going to have that, at least this year. With crappy games and a crappy broadcast with annoying hosts and the asinine celebrity interview all being displayed on cable, Monday Night Football is quickly fading into oblivion. NBC is right; Sunday night really is the new Monday night. Anyway, the Bucs are still tough, but the Panthers are tougher. Yeah, could be one of those shocker upset games, but I will still take the Cats at home.

Carolina over Tampa Bay