The Crystal Ball 2012 Week 8

Thanks to a balky back, a bathroom renovation project oh so tantalizingly close to completion, and of course Hurricane Sandy and the impending East Coast "Frankenstorm", which has already canceled Paul Tagliabue's appeal hearings, this week will be short and sweet. Mostly.

Opening Kickoff

Aaron Kromer was relieved as the Saints interim-interim head coach this week by Joe Vitt, who returns from suspension to become the interim head coach. Thanks to Aaron for a job, done.

The Way It Was

Game statistics for Joe Flacco against Houston: 21 of 43 passing for 147 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a touchdown) and 1 fumble. Elite indeed.

Game statistics for Ray Rice: 9 rushing attempts for 42 yards and 5 receptions for 12 yards. Wow, congratulations John Harbaugh for completely marginalizing your best offensive player.

I so thoroughly enjoyed Houston stomping a giant mudhole in Baltimore, I may have liked it even more than Pittsburgh extending it's record in Paul Brown Stadium to 12-2.

Buccaneers safety Michael Jenkins hustled downfield to prevent a touchdown by making a saving tackle inside the 5. I can think of 10 teams off the top of my head who's coaching staff should show this play to their team on a continuous loop.

Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew was injured Sunday, and will miss significant time. Does this make Jacksonville completely irrelevant for the remainder of the season, or were they already there?

Kevin Kolb will be out for weeks with detached ribs. Yuck! That sounds disgusting and extremely painful. How did I miss that story? Oh yeah, Cardinal football barely registers on my radar. My bad.

Ben Roethlisberger stated to the press, while talking up tight end Heath Miller, that he wants Miller for president. Finally a candidate that doesn't make me want to vomit.

The Steel Pit

Steelers 24 - Bungles 17

Nice job in primetime by the Black and Gold boys. They seized the moment, and grabbed momentum in the division where both the Bungles and Ravens seem to be unraveling at the seams. Hope springs eternal. Breaking down the key movers and shakers:

Willie Colon - Everyone was raving about Colon's pile-driving pancake block on Vontaze Burfict. Ignoring the fact that he looked like he was humping Burfict on the ground, I don't think the block was all that amazing. What was truly a marvel was that Colon went 4 quarters without drawing one penalty.

Mike Wallace - See Mike, that's why you go to training camp. At this point, if we can only afford to keep 2 of the 3 receivers from the Young Money crew, I think I'll go with Catch Money and Hustle Money. Drop Money can hit the bricks.

Baron Batch - You're not going to get too many opportunities with 4 other running backs, especially when the top two come back from injury. You need to make that catch, no matter who throws it.

Antonio Brown - Catches and smiles like Ward, throws like Randle El. Love this kid more and more. The Steelers were smart to get him under contract.

Dick LeBeau - Excellent defensive adjustments by the crafty coordinator. Yes it helped having Woodley back, but Hampton wasn't out there every snap and safety help for Ike worked wonders. Plus, we found out Keenan Lewis might be able to do the job on the other side. Now, how's about a smidgen more Steve McClendon?

In other Steeler news, a recent survey by Forbes magazine revealed Troy Polamalu is NFL's most popular player. Duh, who'd you think it would be, Ray Lewis? I didn't need a poll to tell me the soft spoken, highly spiritual, extremely intelligent, deeply thoughtful and deceptively funny Polamalu is well liked. And yes, while I may be biased, all of the above are true descriptors of Troy.

Win Watch: By knocking off the Bungles, Pittsburgh increased it's season's victory total to 3, and it's overall victory total to 594, 6 shy of 600. Getting there, oh so slowly but surely.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

The NFL is investigating the San Diego Chargers for allegedly using an adhesive substance similar to the long banned, Stick'um. If this is true, could they send some to Mike Wallace?

The Carolina Panthers fired long time general manager Marty Hurney this week, raising hopes in Kansas City that the Chiefs will play copy cat and do the same to Scott Pioli.

With time on his hands now that he is no longer a part of the BountyGate appeal process, Roger Goodell turned his attention to once again bitching about the quality of play in the Pro Bowl. I love that he complains about the level of play in the Pro Bowl, an all-star exhibition game, with the same straight face he uses when he's touting his player safety campaign.

Ok, Mike Holmgren isn't retiring, he's stepping down, and hinting at a return to coaching. Hey, maybe before he packs up his office in Cleveland, he can slip his coaching resume under owner Jimmy Haslam's door.

The star crossed romance of Mark Sanchez  and Eva Longoria is no more. Gee, what will Sanchez do now to keep him from focusing on football?

Upon Further Review

This week, in lieu of my typical offering of ranting on something annoying or some screwball idea, I would like to recommend this article, written by Jill Lieber Steeg, which chronicles the last few years in the life of Junior Seau. No one will truly understand the mindset that led Seau to take his own life, but this excellent story illuminates Seau's post football life, and how an person's transition from star athlete to regular person can lead to their life unraveling to tragic results. It is a compelling read, and I highly recommend it.

He Said He Said

"You want to feel like you're super out there. I don't picture myself as a normal person when I play football. I like to think I can do things that normal people can't." - Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III

Did someone make sure to order the Kryptonite for today's game?

“The past couple of games has been the same script, by the same director. ... It’s kind of getting boring. This taste, this vibe ... I’m not buying it. And I don’t know what it is, but something’s gotta change. Something’s going to have to change real fast.” - Panthers quarterback Cam Newton

Hey Cam, try this. Quit moping and sulking when things get tough, stop laying blame everywhere else, don't make excuses, man up, and lead your team.

“If you want to compare him to someone because of his demeanor, compare him to Jay Cutler. There are a lot of guys who whine and moan. Cam’s not biting anybody’s head off or pushing his linemen. He’s just disgruntled, and not handling losing well, because, think about it, he basically didn’t lose in college." - former NFL quarterback Warren Moon on Cam Newton

I agree with that, they both seem like whiny pouters. But Moon may have touched on something. Maybe if Cam had lost in college, he would have learned how to lead through adversity. Just a thought.

''You watch film and not everybody was playing hard every snap. And that's unacceptable. It's a blessing to be in this league. And then to go out there and lay an egg, there's no excuses for it.'' - Bills defensive end Chris Kelsay

Sounds like someone in the Bills locker room is going to get Kelsay's foot in their behind.

“There’s still a little missing. You guys probably think I’m crazy, but it is.” - Vikings running back Adrian Peterson on his performance this season after returning from last season's ACL tear.

There's still something missing? Yikes he's scary good.

"Jim has a mediocre quarterback he protects with Frank Gore and a running game. John has a mediocre quarterback he exposes by abandoning his running game. John, call Jim for advice." - Fox Sports Jason Whitlock on the coaching styles of the Harbaugh brothers

John, don't listen to Whitlock. Continue thinking Flacco is an elite quarterback and game plan accordingly.

“I think I’m pretty damn good. I don't need to go out and tell everybody that and show it on every given Sunday.” - Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in July of 2011

Ha ha ha! Well Joe, you certainly didn't show it last Sunday in Houston.

Idiot of the Week

This week, we place the crown of idiot upon the troubled brow of Marvin Lewis. The Bungles head coach lost a challenge during the Sunday night tilt against Pittsburgh, on trying to overturn a 2 yard Steeler pass completion. I understand in the NFL, every yard is precious and it is, as it has been said for years, a game of inches. But what blew my mind is that it was obviously a completion, and there was no video evidence that would have overturned the call on the field.

Plus, challenges are far more precious than two yards, and can make the difference late in the game. With blowing the challenge, he also blew a time out, which might have helped in the 4th quarter. And to top everything off, the wasted challenge was on, as I stated, a 2 yard reception, that didn't even result in a first down. Marvin Lewis, you've been here before so you know how this works, you are an idiot.

On Tap This Week

Ok, the previous week wasn't, shall we say, optimal. How did we rebound?

Last week: 11-1

Thursday: 0-1

Season to Date: 58-47

Now I like how those numbers are trending! Let's do it again!

Sitting at home, with everyone singing "One of these things just doesn't belong here"….

Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Houston

Sunday

Indianapolis (3-3) at Tennessee (3-4)

Apparently, reports of the demise of Matt Hasselbeck were untrue.

Titans over Colts

Miami (3-3) at New York Jets (3-4)

Let's just be honest. Right now, Miami is a better team.

Dolphins over Jets

New England (4-3) at St. Louis (3-4)

London baby! The NFL's annual sojourn across the pond this season features the Patriots and Rams. You can almost hear the British chippies swooning over the handsome visage of Tom Brady.

Patriots over Rams

San Diego (3-3) at Cleveland (1-6)

I must be nuts, since Norv Turner on the road sounds like a good bet.

Chargers over Browns

Carolina (1-5) at Chicago (5-1)

Which quarterback will look more disinterested during the game, Cutler or Newton? I'm going Cutler, Newton will be spending too much time moping and whining.

Bears over Panthers

Atlanta (6-0) at Philadelphia (3-3)

Will the smokescreen of a new defensive coordinator cover up the ineptitude of the offense? How about no.

Falcons over Eagles

Jacksonville (1-5) at Green Bay (4-3)

And let's begin the race for the Number 1 draft pick. Jacksonville, your turn to show us what you need next April.

Packers over Jaguars

Seattle (4-3) at Detroit (2-4)

Which would be more painful for the citizens of Motown; the realization that the Lions are reverting to previous form, or watching the Tigers get swept out of the World Series?

Seahawks over Lions

Washington (3-4) at Pittsburgh (3-3)

Please let RGIII have a bad day. Please let RGIII have a bad day. Please let RGIII have a bad day. Please let Dick LeBeau's record of 13-1 against rookie quarterbacks be extended to 14-1. Please let those stupid new throwback uniforms not be a bad luck charm. Yes, I'm a bit nervous. Does it show?

Steelers over Redskins

Oakland (2-4) at Kansas City (1-5)

I really thought about taking KC in this game, coming off of a bye and having the home field advantage. Plus, Oakland is streaky at best. But, I just couldn't do it. I mean, they're starting Brady Quinn for goodness sake!

Raiders over Chiefs

New York Giants (5-2) at Dallas (3-3)

Here's all you need to know about these two teams. After losing a game to Baltimore they should have won, Jerry Jones went to the media to tout  his team, again, as a Super Bowl contender. The Giants never say a word to the press about their post season chances or aspirations; they just put the beat down on teams like the 49ers. Does that clue you in on who will win the rematch?

Giants over Cowboys

New Orleans (2-4) at Denver (3-3)

I like me some Saints, but come on. Their defense is awful. And Peyton seems to have found a wayback machine somewhere.

Broncos over Saints

Monday

San Francisco (5-2) at Arizona (4-3)

Hee hee hee. Don't let the records fool you.

49ers over Cardinals

Thursday

Kansas City at San Diego

Norv Turner continues his save my job tour!

Chargers over Chiefs