The Crystal Ball 2012 Week 13

The Steelers had the Browns in the NFL office Secret Santa this year. Unfortunately they committed a minor gift giving faux pas when everyone got Cleveland the same gift, footballs.

Opening Kickoff

Auburn fired it's head coach during a dismal season, less than two years after the same head coach delivered a national championship to the school. Now tell me how that's not too wrapped up in football culture?

In Condolences

I want to separate this story from the usual nonsense. Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher yesterday morning shot and killed his girlfriend, with whom he had a 3 month old daughter. He then drove to the Chiefs facilities and took his own life in front of head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli. I ask you all to pray for this baby girl, Belcher and his girlfriend's families and the Chiefs organization. I cannot recall hearing a more tragic and upsetting story involving an NFL player in a long time.

I know in the coming days more details will emerge regarding this terrible tragedy and there will be extensive investigations that will try to make sense of this senseless loss of life. But no matter what those investigations reveal, those left to pick up the pieces, and Pioli and Crennel who had to witness a man take his own life, will need a Herculean amount of support in the coming days, weeks, months and even years. I cannot even fathom what it must be like to be in such a tragic situation. No matter how you feel about their management of the football team, I ask you say a prayer for them as men, as this is something no one should ever have to go through.

The Way It Was

I'm guessing that plasma therapy is the new codeword for HGH.

Ok, I'll say it. Colin Kaepernick isn't that good. He gets too much credit for 49er wins. Everyone is ignoring the fact that the defense really wins those games. Hey, I've heard this argument before. I think it was applied to the 2011 Denver Broncos!

Oops, the Giants started their late season push early. My bad

Oh Tampa Bay, you had that overrated Atlanta team on the ropes!

Stupid Harbaugh, both of them.

I knew I couldn't rely on Norv Turner for anything. Seriously, do you allow the opposing team, in your own stadium, to convert a 4th and 29?

Scratch Peyton, it's Baltimore that has the Midas Touch. If they didn't Anquan Boldin would have been penalized on the 4th and 29 play for his crackback block. Not only was it not called on the field, it wasn't even fined by the league. That's the true golden touch.

Sunday marked Mike Holmgren's last game as Browns president. Umm, Pittsburgh was just giving him a nice going away present. Yes, that sounds good.

Wait, the Giants had Make-A-Wish kid urge them on before the game? Dang, the Packers never had a chance. There's no way you can overcome that kind of mojo and a team playing for a kid like that. I know I picked Green Bay, but I'm glad New York won.

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles got Peyton Manning's autograph after his team was defeated by the Broncos. And this kind of behavior is why the Chiefs are losers.

Buccaneers running back Doug Martin does not like his burgeoning nickname "Muscle Hamster". However if I were his agent, I'd be on the phone to Kia right now.

The Steel Pit

Steelers 14 - Browns 20

Well, this week's injury list includes Chris Rainey, Willie Colon and Mike Adams with Marcus Gilbert going on injured reserve.

I must say, the JV squad looked particularly, well, junior.

I know Charlie Batch is but a shell of a professional quarterback, but I have to ask a few questions. One, Todd Haley, why is Batch throwing downfield bombs? Jeez, you never let Big Ben throw them, why is it ok for Chaz Batch to be chucking the ball downfield?

And Mike Tomlin, it's past time to pick one running back, and run him until he breaks. And most importantly, don't bench him for a fumble like he's a high school scrub screwing up his one opportunity.

And can we just mention the elephant in the room? By his absence, Ben Roethlisberger has to have secured team MVP. I mean really, try to name another player more valuable to this team right now than Big Ben. Yeah, I know, you cannot.

What no one is saying is that the Steelers have become the Patriots. And by that I mean, we are nothing without our quarterback. Think about it. If you take Tom Brady away from the Patriots what are they? Nothing but a collection of too young and too old players with a few skill position aces thrown in to make things happen. Remove their franchise quarterback and what are they? They're the New York Jets. Right now, that's Pittsburgh. You take away Ben Roethlisberger, the straw that right now completely stirs this drink, and what is Pittsburgh? They're a 5-11 team, that's what. Hey Todd Haley, if Big Ben should miraculously heal in time to salvage this season, I suggest you start chugging Monster energy, because it's now time to unleash the beast.

It's past time Yinzers, the Rooney's and the Steelers organization let go of this ridiculous notion that a running game and defense are all a team needs to win Super Bowls. Pittsburgh didn't win consistently in the playoffs, and Super Bowl, until Chuck Noll started showing faith and confidence in Terry Bradshaw, not Franco Harris. And in case people are not keeping track, Pittsburgh didn't win a another Super Bowl after the 70's until they drafted a true franchise quarterback. It's time to let go of this bizarre, antiquated thinking and start utilizing the best offensive weapon we've had since the Blond Bomber hung up his cleats. Come on Tomlin, stand up and when he's healthy, put the game, the season and the fate of the franchise in Roethlisberger's hands. It's the only way to truly win.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

Well, Jets super fan Fireman Ed has quit, due to ultra abusive Jets fans. While I agree with Ed's opinion on society, I still wonder why one fan giving up is even a story.

As the Saints debarked from their plane and boarded a bus in Atlanta, airport employees and obvious Falcons fans egged their bus. Childish? Yes. Worrisome considering airport employees can smuggle contraband, in this case eggs, onto the tarmac? Yes. A sign of a vibrant rivalry? Heck yes!

This courageous Make-A-Wish kid urged the Giants onto victory last week. Good for that brave kid. From a selfish standpoint, can he come to Pittsburgh's locker room too?

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez likes his team's playoff chances. Like the saying goes, ignorance is bliss.

Two Colts cheerleaders shaved their heads to help cancer research. Come on people, these gals make their football living based on appearance. Just maybe we can chip in more than 22k for cancer research right?

Ndamukong Suh received a traffic citation in the weeks preceding the Lions Thanksgiving Day appearance. When, oh when, will his reign of terror end? My favorite part of this article is the accompanying picture of Matt Schaub clutching his cajones. Priceless.

A Steeler fan had a bad time at game dealing with jagoff Browns fans, and on the field action had nothing to do with it.

Unfortunately for Cleveland, this is not the first time this lack of hospitality has happened. I know your team's suck, but come on Cleveland fans, at least try to stay classy.

Jets soon to be fired head coach Rex Ryan thinks Tim Tebow will be ready to go for Sunday. Umm, must I be the one to ask the obvious question? Ready to go for what?

Apparently, Ray Lewis is planning his return to the football field in the next three weeks. Plasma therapy must be the new code word for HGH. Ok, all unsubtle digs aside, this is the best news I've heard all week. Ray Ray back just in time to weaken their defense before the playoffs? Santa got my wish list!

On Thanksgiving, as the team left the field at halftime, Jets fans let loose a verbal tirade. mocking and belittling the team as the exited the field. I'd say this was childish and uncalled for, but I've seen a few Jet games this season.

Upon Further Review

Deposed 49ers quarterback Alex Smith spoke out to the media this week, openly questioning why he lost his starting job.

Actually, I'd like to know why as well. It has been a long standing notion that players do not lose their jobs due to injury. Now, no one is really naive enough to believe that, but more often and not coaches have operated under this premise; unless the injured player is actually a determent to the team or the replacement has played otherworldly.

Harbaugh has hemmed and hawed around the issue, never giving a clear reason other than Kaepernick has the hot hand. Oh really? Well so far this season Smith has been 6-2-1 as a starter, leads the NFL in completion percentage and is fifth in passer rating. Those are darned good numbers, and I can think of a dozen teams that would love to have a quarterback performing so well. So tell me, what exactly did Kaepernick do so much better?

So it comes down to this, either Harbaugh secretly despises Smith and was just looking for any reason to put Kaepernick, his guy, in the line up. Or Harbaugh made a decision to go with Kaepernick after he saw him perform and said basically to Smith, screw you, you got hurt. Either way, it shows me what kind of man Harbaugh is, as if we didn't know already.

It is already being argued in the sports media world whether this is a good or bad decision. And I've already seen defenses of Harbaugh, that he had to make a tough decision for the betterment of his team.

From a team standpoint, if Kaepernick did give him the better option, then why wasn't he playing before Smith's injury? Let's give Harbaugh the benefit of the doubt and say he didn't know how well Kaepernick would fare in game conditions, and this unfortunate injury to Smith gave Kaepernick an opportunity to shine and show the coaching staff just what he could do. If that's the case, then why has Harbaugh not been up front about it and just said this? Why does he not say, "Colin is performing at a level we hope to see from the position, and adding an element to our offense that had been lacking. Due to these factors, he has earned the starting job."?

Harbaugh doesn't because A) He doesn't want to alienate Smith if the Kaepernick experiment should fail and B) He doesn't want to alienate the rest of the team by letting them know if they get hurt, their job goes away.

The real problem has nothing to do with the decision on a micro level in regards to the 49ers. Whether the decision is good or bad will be determined through wins and losses. On a macro level, the decision wasn't bad, it was horrendous, devastating and recklessly dangerous.

Ask yourself this, do you think players are now going to be more willing or less willing to come forth with concussion symptoms now? Every player in the league and every player before them has, to a man, said over and over that they hide injuries, including concussions, to stay on the field because they fear their absence will cause them to lose their jobs. This is nothing new and should not be a surprise.

Go watch old NFL films specials, read books and articles or view old interviews and you will see this common thread. Players kept taking the field, no matter the injury, for fear that their replacement would take their job.

And that's exactly the kind of fear that Harbaugh has reinforced. Harbaugh has sent the message; hide those injuries or your job is at stake. Harbaugh even acknowledged as much.

"That would be something to worry about. I would never want that message to be sent to our players, nor would that message ever be sent to our players."

But that's exactly the message that has been sent, Harbaugh. You just told all your players, if you get hurt and we know about it, your job is in jeopardy. He can say the right things, but his actions speak a louder, and completely different, message.

The NFL has committed $100 Million and a rather thorough and obnoxious advertising campaign to show they are serious about head injuries. Roger Goodell has been on a consistent witch hunt for anyone that makes his player safety campaign look as foolish as it really is. He is invested in making the game safer, even if it's only to expand ownership profits.

Goodell has been hell-bent for over two years and the majority of three seasons trying to show the public that the game is getting safer. Harbaugh's actions now spit in the face of Goodell's work. If Heir Goodell is seriously concerned with player safety, and I have more than a few doubts that he is, he will call Harbaugh on the carpet for this and find out exactly why he's sending a message to every player in the NFL that if they want to keep their jobs, start hiding concussions. If he doesn't, this problem will never end and we will continue to see players turn into shells of human beings in the years proceeding their retirements from the game they once loved, and the game we find it increasingly harder to love.

He Said He Said

"I can tell you that you have absolutely no idea of what it's like to see somebody kill themselves. If you can take your worst nightmare and then put somebody you know and love into that situation and give them a gun and stand 3 feet away from them and watch them kill themselves, that's what it's like." - Kansas City mayor Sly James after speaking with Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli after the Belcher suicide tragedy

My heart goes out to Scott Pioli and I pray I never face the nightmare he did Saturday morning. I cannot even wrap my mind around the horror he, and Romeo Crennel, witnessed watching their friend and employee end his own life right in front of them.

"I don't know what kind of medicine the Steelers will put Ben Roethlisberger on this week, but they're going to give him something." - Ravens running back Ray Rice

If there was such a medicine, we would have given him it before the first Ravens game, Ray. Don't be dumb.

"We have to get ourselves together in a hurry and figure out a way to get some wins." - Steelers tight end Heath Miller

Ok, who has ideas? Come on people, we have yet to beat Baltimore this decade without Big Ben at the helm, so we've got to think outside the box. Does anyone have anything?

"The runner's buttocks was down on the ground before the ball came loose. Therefore, it's Indianapolis ball at the 47-yard line. The clock should be reset to 13:22.'' - Referee Ed Hochuli, explaining why he reversed a call that originally had Indianapolis fumbling and Buffalo recovering in the second quarter Sunday.

I'm sorry, but I find it hilarious to hear Ed Hochuli say the word buttocks.

“I’m going to try. It’s killing me to watch.” - Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on his status for the 2nd Baltimore game

Ben, just focus on getting healthy. Trust me, it's killing all of us to watch.

“I’ve heard of some crazy stories. I’ve heard guys using like Viagra, seriously. Because the blood is supposedly thin, some crazy stuff." - Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall

Idiot of the Week

This week, I bestow the honor of idiot on NFL referee Ron Winter. Winter worked the Steelers/Browns game, and seemed to be officiating from a standpoint of schizophrenia. He spent the first half of the game calling every penalty on Pittsburgh, then realized he could call penalties on Cleveland as well, and started calling infractions on the Browns like it was his job.

But the most egregious call, or should I say non call, came near the end of the game. The Steeler defense outright, and obviously, stripped the ball from Browns running back Trent Richardson. Never mind replays, it was obvious to the naked eye at first glance Pittsburgh tore the ball free and recovered the fumble. Yet Winter, and the other official in the offensive background, apparently saw nothing despite the play occurring directly in front of them and did not rule a fumble on the field. If you are paid for your observational skills, how do you miss something that obvious? I'm not saying the Steeler offense would have capitalized, and considering their performance all day they most likely would have just fumbled the ball away. But as the head official of the game, you must get that call right. For failing to do the most basic aspect of his job, Ron Winter, you are an idiot.

An a runner up idiot award goes to Steeler head coach Mike Tomlin, for benching his entire running back core out of spite, not allowing Charlie Batch to attempt a pass until the second quarter, insisting on Batch throwing deep passes he can no longer complete, the same deep passes that seem to be forbidden in Ben Roethlisberger's game plans, and blowing through the team's time outs and leaving nothing left on the table to challenge a turnover they would have won. I'm a Tomlin fan, but his coaching this season has been atrocious.

Now, as a brief aside, I bet you're wondering why I did not give Ndamukong Suh an idiot award. It's pretty simple, actually. While Suh is a dope and a dirty player, his body control should be commended. While falling down, face first, he had the temerity and ability to swing his leg and make full on contact with Schaub, who was standing a few feet away, right in the jimmies. That's pretty impressive. If he utilized that body control all the time, he might actually start making tackles and quarterback sacks.

On Tap This Week

Eventually I knew it would happen. I forgot to post my Thursday pick. So in an effort to be clear, transparent and honest, I picked New Orleans to continue their Quixotic mission to force Roger Goodell to face them in the Super Bowl.

Last week: 8-5

Thursday: 0-1

Season to Date: 111-66

Yeah, that pick didn't work out so well. Nor did a few others. Something tells me this will not be a transcendent season.

Sunday

Seattle (6-5) at Chicago (8-3)

The real Chicago team is being revealed. But I think they'll have enough in the tank to top a road awful Seattle team.

Bears over Seahawks

Houston (10-1) at Tennessee (4-7)

Ok, we've known for weeks, Houston is going to win the AFC South. Can we now officially stop caring until the playoffs?

Texans over Titans

New England (8-3) at Miami (5-6)

Considering New England's offensive output as of late, someone's gotta ask. Are we headed for yet another Patriot/Giant Super Bowl? Because I've seen that episode already and I'm bored with it.

Patriots over Dolphins

Jacksonville (2-9) at Buffalo (4-7)

Poor Buffalo fans, they'll win this game just to screw with their draft positioning.

Bills over Jaguars

Indianapolis (7-4) at Detroit (4-7)

Hey, Andrew Luck, watch out for your wedding tackle.

Colts over Lions

Carolina (3-8) at Kansas City (1-10)

Kansas City stinks. But I'm picking them this week, if only to show solidarity for the team and those left behind in the Belcher tragedy who must now pick up the pieces and ask the one question of which they'll never have a complete answer. Why.

Chiefs over Panthers

Minnesota (6-5) at Green Bay (7-4)

Come on Rodgers, it's time to assert yourself!

Packers over Vikings

San Francisco (8-2-1) at St. Louis (4-6-1)

I'm sensing no tie this time. Call it a premonition.

49ers over Rams

Arizona (4-7) at New York Jets (4-7)

Sadly, Mark Sanchez is better than any current Cardinal quarterback. If you listen closely, you can hear Larry Fitzgerald sobbing.

Jets over Cardinals

Tampa Bay (6-5) at Denver (8-3)

I'm sorry Tampa Bay. Maybe if you had held onto that 6 point lead last week, I'd take a chance on you this week. But you didn't, so I'm not.

Broncos over Buccaneers

Pittsburgh (6-5) at Baltimore (9-2)

I know, the odds are stacked against us. But dang, someone must expose Baltimore for the frauds they are.

Steelers over Ravens

Cincinnati (6-5) at San Diego (4-7)

Like I've said previously, I can't rely on Norv Turner for anything.

Bengals over Chargers

Cleveland (3-8) at Oakland (3-8)

Yeah, this is how much I think of Oakland.

Browns over Raiders

Philadelphia (3-8) at Dallas (5-6)

Does anyone, at this point, on the Eagles squad give even half a crap?

Cowboys over Eagles

Monday

New York Giants (7-4) at Washington (5-6)

Ok, it's December, time for New York to wake up. Here we go.

Giants over Redskins