The Crystal Ball 2010 Week 15

After spending all of the previous week playing will I or won’t I start for the umpteenth time, Brett Favre finally sat down and ended his record streak of starts. But on the same day the streak ended, his website starts selling autograph footballs with 297 emblazoned upon them. He knew he’d never start the Giants he just wanted to be a media whore one more time. And after I wrote such a nice little tome and gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Opening Kickoff

The Chicago Bears, terror of the Midway. Chipmunks maybe but Bears never.

The Way It Was

Good move NFL of letting fans into the Giants/Vikings tilt held in Detroit for free. Of course, it probably wasn’t to be magnanimous, I’m sure the league probably just thought that they’d never be able to sell a ticket with Brett Favre sitting the game out.

Shockingly, the Redskins cut punter Hunter Smith for botching the hold on the extra point attempt that could have tied the game. Never mind the kicking game had been atrocious all day and Shanahan should have just gone for two and the win instead.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers left the game with a concussion his second this season. That cannot be good for his long term durability. Question, who else had to look up who Green Bay’s back up was? Come on, be honest.

The Patriots/Bears game sure was fun to watch with the blowing snow. I’ll bet it was not fun to sit in or play, but it was fun in a warm living room wrapped in a blanket. Well, fun except for me repeating over and over, “I think I made a bad pick in this game”.

Didn’t Bill Belichick look like a masked marauder bundled up against the cold? I kept thinking he’d start threatening Bears players for their lunch money.

Can’t even the driving snow and freezing cold stop the Patriots? At this point my sole hope in stopping this latest juggernaut rests in knowing Belichick will continue to trot Brady out late in blowout wins, so hopefully some fed up defensive player will tear Brady’s arm off and start beating him with the bloody stump.

I imagine Eric Mangini and I had the exact same thought running through our minds on Monday morning. I can't believe I went with Jake Delhomme on the road!

I’m trying to figure out the biggest surprise, that the Atlanta defense yielded 10 points to the putrid Carolina offense or that Carolina could even muster 10 points.

Nice dropped ball in the end zone Santonio Holmes, it only cost your team the game. Hey, could you do that this week too?

I think Miami should petition the NFL to play all their games on the road.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse in Denver, they give up 43 points to the John Skelton led Cardinals. I don’t even have a snarky comment for that, it’s just sad.

I think the 49ers scored the remainder of their allotted 2010 points in the Seattle game.

I think DeSean Jackson should ask the NFL this question. How come it’s ok to somersault into the end zone but if you do the Nestea plunge you get a celebration penalty? Personally I liked it.

Well, it would seem that Leon Washington learned his lesson and kept on running for his big return touchdown. Too bad he didn’t do that about three more times and Seattle might have stayed in the game.

Can someone please explain to Deion Sanders the difference in meaning between the words elitist and elite? He’s mixing them up and sounding even dumber than usual.

Great effort by Rams quarterback Sam Bradford running down Roman Harper to prevent a touchdown after Harper picked off Bradford. But Harper, you need to do more cardio in the off season. You play below sea level in a climate controlled dome. How out of shape are you?

The Steel Pit

Steelers 23 – Bungles 7

It appears that Big Schnozz went with the Rocky special with his nose repair. How boring.

Unfortunately, the offense began the game in its usual non scoring quagmire. And even more unfortunately, it continued its recent dearth of touchdown scoring relying solely on the leg of Shaun Suisham for all offensive points. Thank goodness we signed that cat. Grasping for any positive, the team is moving the ball well, with a few spectacular catches by Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El, just not finishing drives, a development I hope gets rectified in the near future.

But fortunately, the defense took care of the rest, with all everything Troy Polamalu intercepting his former collegiate teammate and scoring a touchdown, tying the game and shifting momentum. Linebacker LaMarr Woodley continued the trend by also scoring a touchdown on an intercepted Palmer pass, and Troy sealed the game with an end zone interception late in the game as the defense stood tall allowing only 7 points all day.

But the game wasn’t all defense and poor offense. Big Schnozz played half the game with a visor to protect his broken beak, but dumped that by halftime. Good call too since it just looked silly. And the Bungles being the poor sports they are started a fight at the end of the game when Brandon Johnson hit Steeler Ryan Mundy after the whistle. Shamefully it was the only life they showed all game. And of course, yet another game in which Big Schnozz is pummeled about the head with no penalty called. But no surprise there I suppose.

The real story occurred after the game when the media spoke with Polamalu. Troy took very much to heart his actions after his second interception, where he attempted a lateral to keep the play alive.

Polamalu was upset with himself for attempting such a risky play to the point of being almost devastated. Here’s Troy in his own words.

"That was an arrogant and stupid play. It was very selfish and foolish of me."

Then when asked if the play was troubling him that much, Polamalu said with tears in his eyes and in a whisper:

"Yeah, it does."

I just want to say this to Troy. It’s ok. Yes, tossing the ball to a teammate wasn’t a good idea, and just running the ball period opened him up to potential serious injury. As it is, he re-aggravated his Achilles injury and will sit out this week. But don’t beat yourself up about it. We all get caught up in the moment from time to time, it happens. You’re still a great player and better human being and I’ll take that any day.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

With a weekend rife with amazing catches, spectacular runs and eye popping hits, for my money the best clip is watching the Metrodome roof collapse. It looked like a special effect for a disaster movie. Vikings owner Zygi Wilf finally has his compelling argument for a new stadium.

After the Cowboys loss to the Eagles, Dallas running back Tashard Choice approached Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick and asked Vick to autograph his glove. It made me think I was watching The Replacements, but I didn’t see Shane Falco anywhere.

Heir commissioner Roger Goodell feels that a new collective bargaining agreement could be in place by the Super Bowl. That sounds great, but he didn’t add the part we all know he wants to say, as long as the players shut up and play two more games for less money.

It must be mid December. How do I know? Did I look at a calendar, go to a mall or see a Christmas special on TV? No, I started seeing the annual complaints regarding sub par teams making the playoffs over better teams and arguments put forth for playoff realignment.

Speaking of Michael Vick, he stated in an interview that he would like to own a dog in the future, to help with his rehabilitation. While that may seem like a good idea for the distant future, I think Vick needs to keep such thoughts between him and his therapist. The general public has some healing of their own to do before they might accept such a thing.

It took long enough but Terrell Owens finally started yapping about his current team, laying the blame for the Bungles woes on the heads of the coaching staff and front office. I love that he blames everyone else while wearing a t-shirt that says I heart keeping it real. What you didn’t see is the back of the shirt says dumb.

Upon Further Review

As we have seen this season, the officiating in the NFL has been just this side of atrocious. Crews are calling penalties inconsistently compared to each other and per the regulations outlined by the NFL. Even despite the recent edicts put forth by the league, each week we see terrible inconsistencies in calls. As examples, on a weekly basis Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger takes at least one shot to the head with no penalty called, despite the NFL saying any shot to the head of a quarterback should be flagged. And last week, the Steelers offensive line was repeatedly called for holding, while the Cincinnati line was in the officials eyes playing a clean game.

Mind you I know Pittsburgh’s offensive line holds. A line this beat up, using this many subs and as inferior as Pittsburgh's most likely holds. My issue is not with penalizing the Steelers for their indiscretions, but rather not calling the opponents and the inconsistency of the calls. You cannot tell me Cincinnati's offensive line, those of the 2-11 record, is so good they did not hold once that game? Heck I saw linebacker LaMarr Woodley being corralled around the neck, from behind, as he closed on Bungle quarterback Carson Palmer during one play.

In my railings against the terrible officiating this season, obviously I use Pittsburgh as my most frequent example. One, because the penalties called on them and those committed against them uncalled are the most egregious. Two, because I am nothing if not an unabashed homer. And three, well I watch them more than any other team so I see these adventures in officiating every week.

But I know that every team typically ends their contests shaking their heads in frustrated befuddlement regarding what actually happened regarding officiating and why calls were made and, more importantly, why many were missed in the NFL's new world of emphasizing player safety.

I think it's time to start pounding the drum for an idea I mentioned a few years ago, and has been mentioned by many others over the years. It's time for the NFL to move into the grown up ranks of professional sports leagues and hire full time officials.

I called for full time officials in the past to increase consistency in on field calls, improved training for officials and a better understanding of the rules and penalties for all teams. I felt when I first put forth this proposal that the NFL could easily afford such a move considering the profits the league makes. I still believe all of these reasons hold true, and even more so now with the spate of calls that have come under intense scrutiny this season.

With the NFL’s increased emphasis on player safety and helmet to helmet hits, having full time officials that spend their offseason time practicing, reviewing video and studying the rules can only benefit everyone by increasing the odds for more consistent officiating.

The extra off season time full time officials would have to work would help dissipate the wild discrepancy regarding what one officiating crew deems as illegal contact or blows to the helmet, and what other crews seem to feel is merely players going for the tackle. If the rules are cut and dried, which seems to be the argument the NFL gives whenever they fine James Harrison, then the offseason work the crews do would instill consistency and regulate all calls.

No, I know this will not fix everything. There will still be missed calls and overreactions by players, teams and fans over questionable calls. But with full time officials working year round at their craft there will be far smaller occurrence of calls that raise eyebrows as opposed to now where it's a weekly occurrence.

Perhaps the NFL should use it as a bargaining chip for the collective bargaining agreement. Enough teams and players have been jobbed this season due to bad calls and hefty fines that if the NFL dangles the carrot of we'll hire officials full time if you play 18 games, that just might convince the NFLPA to go for an expanded schedule. But if the NFL is serious about protecting the shield, it’s far past time they protect their history of the game and avoid a true controversy by having an inconsistent crew work a Super Bowl and screw up a vital call that changes the course of the game. If they do not do that soon, the league will find itself in a public relations nightmare that may affect league popularity for years to come.

He Said He Said

"I can't throw the ball to myself. All I can do is go with the plays that are called and get some opportunities." - bungles wide receiver Terrell Owens finally running his mouth

I distinctly remember one specific third down pass that was thrown to T.O. that was beautifully on target and the ball sailed right through his hands. I suppose that's how you maximize your opportunities in T.O.'s world. Sorry if that hurts Terrell, I’m just keeping it real.

"When things don't go as planned and you have some guys like that, you're going to have some issues.” – Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward speaking about Terrell Owens and his rants on the Bungles

Zing!

"We know their defense is not all that good, but hey they came through today and stopped us" - Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles on the San Diego defense that shut out the Chiefs

Uhhh, Jamaal, your offense was held to a total of 67 yards. I think their defense is that good.

"If you're going to apologize, you know, you should apologize to the people in the huddle with you. He has a lot to learn. He ain't at Notre Dame anymore that's for sure." – Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith on on Jimmy Clausen apologizing for his play to Carolina linebacker Jon Beason

I’m waiting for Smith’s head to literally explode before the end of the season.

“We got our butts kicked.” - Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher on the Patriots beat down of Chicago

Gee Brian, you think?

"He's just taking after the head coach, man. It all trickles downhill. That's how I look at it, it trickles downhill. The head coach, he opened a can of worms over there and now he's got to fix it." – Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby on Jets coach Sal Alosi and the Jets culture

I don’t believe that at all. I don’t think anything Rex Ryan does would trickle; he doesn’t seem to be capable of that level of restraint or subtlety.

"If we have to pay eight coaches, too bad for us.'' - Denver chief operating officer Joe Ellis on Denver’s current head coaching situation

Hmmm I wonder if Denver may also need a new chief operating officer

“I think Ben Roethlisberger looked a little bit broken in the second half against Cincinnati. He might have a high right ankle sprain, courtesy of a pileup, and, in general, he's taken a huge beating the past few weeks. Not playing the violin for the guy, but I can only imagine how bad he might look now had he played the first four games instead of being suspended for them.” – SI.com’s Peter King

Not playing the violin? We don't want your pity Peter merely a national voice. How about calling shenanigans on this situation? He’s beat up because teams know they can hit him at will WITHOUT FEAR OF PENALTY OR FINE REPROCUSSIONS. Yeesh.

Idiot of the week

This week the hallowed crown of Idiot is bestowed on Jets strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi, for purposely tripping a Dolphins player as he ran down the sidelines and instructing inactive players to form a wall on the sidelines to disrupt opposing runners during the Dolphins triumph over the Jets.

The actual action doesn’t, in my opinion, win Alosi the award. Yes it was stupid and bush league but stupidity happens from time to time in every sport. It’s the fact that he thought he could get away with it. Do you know how many cameras the networks and NFL Films put in place for each NFL game? There’s no way something like that would just slip by. Add to that all the cameras in the stands and it’s safe to say every move is being recorded.

On top of that Alosi must be as thick as fruitcake to think he wouldn’t be made a scapegoat by the coaching staff and team. There’s no way anyone else would take the fall but Alosi. He may have just done it because it was best for the team and he was told to, but the team would also do what’s best for it if his actions were discovered and they did. They distanced themselves from Alosi at warp speed.

In the same vein, the fans, media and league officials who reacted with such righteous indignation at Alosi’s actions also grab a share of the idiot award. Come on people, this most certainly is not the first time something like this has happened during a football game. There have been several famous examples of players on the sidelines jumping out and tackling runners. But everyone has jumped overboard to condemn Alosi and demand his dismissal from the team and be heavily fined. Personally, I think if you really want to punish Alosi, make him line up as a fullback and lead the blocking for a few running plays in a game. That will teach him to mess with players on the field.

So to everyone who lost their mind condemning Alosi, and Sal Alosi himself for doing something dumb and dangerous while thinking he could get away with it, you are all idiots.

The runner up this week is Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. The uber coach found a way to shift blame for yet another ridiculous loss onto his players, cutting punter Hunter Smith and benching Donovan McNabb as the scapegoat for the awful offense the team has fielded this season. Actually, I think Shanahan may be the true idiot this week, but we’ll wait to see how bad Rex Grossman is before promoting him.

On Tap This Week

Boy, someone would have to be a grandiose fool to pick against New England right now wouldn’t they? Wait, I did what last week?

Last week: 8-7
Thursday: 1-0
Season to date: 132-76

Yeah, I took a few foolish chances. But this week will be better. How do I know? Because it has to be since I can’t do much worse.

Sunday

Buffalo (3-10) at Miami (7-6)

Woof.

Dolphins over Bills

Arizona (4-9) at Carolina (1-12)

See above.

Cardinals over Panthers

New Orleans (10-3) at Baltimore (9-4)

Hmmm, a tough one on the surface, but considering how Baltimore’s defense fell apart against the Houston pass offense last week, let’s just say I don’t feel confident in their chances.

Saints over Ravens

Jacksonville (8-5) at Indianapolis (7-6)

I know right now Jacksonville is the better team. But I’ll take Peyton Manning at home with 11 days to prepare. Something tells me he’ll be ready.

Colts over Jaguars

Detroit (3-10) at Tampa Bay (8-5)

Tampa Bay plays great against crappy teams, this should be no problem.

Buccaneers over Lions

Philadelphia (9-4) at New York Giants (9-4)

You know what’s weird, both of these teams won games last week against teams with interim head coaches. Oh and yeah this is for the NFC East crown so I imagine it will be a big deal.

Eagles over Giants

Kansas City (8-5) at St. Louis (6-7)

This is actually a tough call because if Matt Cassel can’t play, I do not like their chances at all. You know what, screw it I’m going with the Sam Bradford express.

Rams over Chiefs

Washington (5-8) at Dallas (4-9)

Wait; let me get this straight, Rex Grossman is a better choice than Donovan McNabb? Yes, let’s ignore the sieve of an offensive line, practice squad level receivers and a running a game that in preseason featured three washed up backs. The Redskins offensive woes all rest on McNabb. Anyone else think that perhaps Shanahan got lucky in Denver with an ascending Terrell Davis and John Elway who still had something left in the tank?

Cowboys over Redskins

Cleveland (5-8) at Cincinnati (2-11)

Eric Mangini rectified his worst mistake and announced that Colt McCoy will be the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. That will start paying dividends this week.

Browns over Bungles

Houston (5-8) at Tennessee (5-8)

Yeah, we know the former Houston team against the current Houston team. How many times will we have to hear about that during this game? I’m setting the over under at 25. Kerry Collins has enough left in the tank to defeat the league’s worst ranked pass defense, right?

Titans over Texans

Atlanta (11-2) at Seattle (6-7)

Another setback in the Seattle push for the division crown campaign.

Falcons over Seahawks

New York Jets (9-4) at Pittsburgh (10-3)

New York has never won in the city of Pittsburgh. I think that streak will continue.

Steelers over Jets

Denver (3-10) at Oakland (6-7)

The last time these two teams met, Oakland pummeled Denver, in Denver. I cannot imagine the rematch will be much better. Even the thrill of Tim Tebow can’t save this one.

Raiders over Broncos

Green Bay (8-5) at New England (11-2)

Green Bay decided to take a flyer on this game and sit Aaron Rodgers this week. Poor Matt Flynn, he becomes the sacrificial lamb for Green Bay.

Patriots over Packers

Monday

Chicago (9-4) at Minnesota (5-8)

Due to the damage to the Metrodome, the Vikings will play their first outdoor home game in a generation when they host the Bears at the University of Minnesota’s new football field. As exciting as this is, unfortunately for Minnesota fans it comes on the heels of finding out Tarvaris Jackson is out for the season with turf toe. Couple that with Brett Favre shelved for another week and that leaves the Vikings quarterback situation in the hands of rookie Joe Webb who has never played a cold weather game before. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Super Bowl window of opportunity slam shut so emphatically.

Bears over Vikings