The Crystal Ball 2013 Week 3

Andy Reid had a big night in his return to Philadelphia, leading his Chiefs to an impressive win over his former team. Eagle fans also made Reid feel right at home, breaking out into a huge brawl in the stands during the game. The only thing missing was Reid botching clock management in the final minutes of the game, and it would have been just like old times.

Opening Kickoff

Man, come on ESPN, how can there be anything about the Manning family we don't already know? At least in this special, will we get to see Cooper Manning, the Chuck Cunningham of the NFL?

The Way It Was

Maybe if Tony Romo learned when to get rid of the ball, he wouldn't have broken ribs.

I love this frisky KC team and the love Alex Smith is finally getting. Maybe Andy Reid finally found his perfect scheme quarterback.

I have to say it. Andy Reid wearing black pants, a red Chiefs polo shirt and red Chiefs hat looks like a pizza delivery man. Sorry Andy, but you do.

What the deuce was that end game play calling by Dallas? Seriously? That was your solution when down by 1 point with no time outs and 16 seconds left, a short pass up the middle?

RGIII looks like he doesn't trust his leg yet, either to throw or run. And that's where no preseason experience gets you kids.

Was anyone else rooting for Browns kicker Billy Cundiff to kick Cleveland to victory in Baltimore, and send Ravens fans into a mind numbing tizzy?

And tell me how pathetic Baltimore is to not be able to take a lead, at home, against the Browns, until past midway through the 3rd quarter? Anyone else think the Ravens could have spent their money better than giving it all to Joe Flacco?

So much for all that talk after Week 1 about Chip Kelly's amazing offense. It's a shame a defense doesn't come with it.

Here's me, crossing my fingers, that Tennessee might be sneaky good this season. Or Houston and Pittsburgh just crapped the bed in successive weeks.

Color me a budding EJ Manual fan. If only because downtrodden Bills fans have been so patient for so long. Sorry Browns fans, but after the Richardson trade, I question whether there is any hope left for you.

What was with that strange whistle during the 49ers/Seahawks game that blew up a Seattle punt? If that came from the 49ers sidelines, and I wouldn't put it past Jim Harbaugh, perhaps they should have blown it a few times in the second half. It might have helped.

The NFL fined Bernard Pollard for his dangerous hit on Andre Johnson. Boy, Patriots fans have been screaming since 2008 for the NFL to start going after Pollard.

The Steel Pit

Steelers 10 - Bengals 20

And for the second week in a row, Pittsburgh rolled out an inept offense incapable of scoring points and a defense incapable of stopping the run, forcing a turnover or sacking a quarterback.

After two weeks of looking terrible, the team is already starting to come apart at the seams. Veterans are holding player only meetings, banning younger players from locker room games, press is reporting the team is in total panic mode, and apparently Todd Haley and Antonio Brown are fighting on the sidelines.

About the only good things to come out of Monday night were no season ending injuries and James Harrison had absolutely zero impact on the outcome of the game. So that's something.

After the game, I had a few questions and issues that left me confounded and wondering exactly who is in charge at Steelers headquarters and what exactly they're doing.

In Week 1, Todd Haley screwed up a play call, sent in the wrong personnel package and allowed the play to go forward. The result was a Steeler fumble in their own red zone and a turnover. In Week 2, Haley did the same thing, with the only exception being Roethlisberger called timeout before the play had to be run. This is basic play calling that every team should be proficient in before the start of the season. That a mistake of this magnitude was made in Week 1 is ridiculous; that it happened in Week 2 is inexcusable.

The team blamed the Week 1 loss on losing center Maurkice Pouncey. When Pouncey went down, that destabilized the offensive line, limiting what Haley could do. When Kelvin Beachum was forced to go in at center, that further limited the offense, since Todd Haley had some tight end packages installed for Beachum that would have expanded the offense and helped make up for the lack of Heath Miller. In Week 2, the team installed newly signed Fernando Velasco at center, freeing Beachum. If these tight end plays were so important in Week 1, why were they essentially ignored in Week 2?

Tomlin said the team needs to go to work. Well, what were you doing since January? How can a team look this out of sorts? Don't give me limited practices due to the CBA either. Every team has the same amount of practice time, and Denver certainly doesn't look like they assembled their team the day before the game.

Until Tomlin stands up and takes charge of the team, things are only going to get worse.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

And for the umpteenth time since 1995, the NFL is teasing Los Angeles with hopes and dreams of a potential team. Yeah right. The Pittsburgh Pirates will have a winning season before LA gets a football team! Oh, wait a minute...

Trading Trent Richardson was too much for this Browns fan, who is now auctioning off his allegiance to the highest bidding fan base. If the Ravens should win, oh the irony.

Jaguar fans held a rally at the stadium to convince the team to sign Tim Tebow. Unless Jaguar management has some convoluted plan to get out of their stadium lease, a la Rachel Phelps in Major League, I can't figure out why they'd be resistant. Tebow would delight the fan base, sell tickets, and there's no way he'd be worse than Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne.

Security at Arrowhead Stadium had to taser a rowdy Chiefs fan. Boy, put a competent team on the field and these fans don't know what to do with themselves.

According to Browns defenders, Ravens running back Ray Rice spit on defensive tackle Phil Taylor during a confrontation after a play. Phil, just be glad it wasn't Ray Lewis, his angry reaction is far worse than a little spit.

How about a little bit of happy news? Bears defensive back Charles Tillman leapt into action and pulled reporter Laura Okmin out of the way of a camera dolly before she was run over. Good job Charles, but Laura you need to be more observant on the sidelines, especially that's part of reporting. Might want to bring that up in her next performance review.

And to close, Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will cut his famous mane, his first haircut in 10 years, to support the VFW and their Mane Event scheduled for Veterans Day. This is a great way to help out our veterans. Help Troy help our vets.

Upon Further Review

The definition of insanity is doing the same tasks repeatedly in hopes of a different result. By this metric, I have determined that Todd Haley and Dick LeBeau are insane.

Haley put forth a classically inept performance on Monday night, calling every play that will not work. He kept calling running plays between the tackles despite the fact that he has an inexperienced offensive line, with a brand new center, and his running backs are either on their last chance (Jones) hurt (Stephens-Howling, Bell) or not worth the jersey they wear (Redman, Dwyer). I will give Jones this, he seemed to have a modicum of impact on the game. But Haley kept insisting on finding a running back in Isaac Redman that just does not exist.

Haley also continued to run the ridiculous screens to the outside, all of which take about 10 minutes to develop, and are reliant on blocking from running backs and tight ends who couldn't block a pillow successfully. To the surprise of no one not named Todd, almost every single screen blew up for a loss.

On the rare occasion Haley would unleash Roethlisberger to pass, his deep threat was 5 foot nothing, stone handed Emmanuel Sanders. It's clear he relishes being the new Mike Wallace, because he's picked up dropping passes right where Wallace dropped off.

And the worst is, he kept doing these things, over and over and over again, despite the obvious evidence that none of it worked.

But they are not the only ones to blame, the defense in my opinion is just as responsible for this pathetic start as the offense. I know, in Pittsburgh it's almost sacrilege to question LeBeau or knock on the defense. But Cincinnati had 407 yards of offense, and held the ball for over 35 minutes. So I dare question.

You can complain about the anemic offense all you like, and I will just like everyone else. But the defense must be held accountable too. While it's the offense's responsibility to stay on the field, it's the defense's responsibility to get off the field and put the offense back into action. Pittsburgh's defense is failing miserably at this task.

The defense has lost the time of possession battle for two straight games, being on the field for over 32 minutes each game. They have amassed a total of 1 turnover and 1 sack in two games, pathetic numbers for a defense that was once known for its abilities to blow up plays and take away the ball.

But sometimes within insanity, genius can be found. So what can be done about this situation at this critical juncture of the season? Some things are beyond control. There's no way to fix the personnel issues. Pittsburgh unfortunately are now, hopefully, realizing they have put the wrong personnel around Roethlisberger to take advantage of the quarterback's talents. Fingers crossed that gets resolved starting in April. And the inexperience issues will only be solved with time. As for the questions around the offensive line, now is the time to find out who wants to play, who just wants to get paid and who will be nothing more than road kill. After the season, keep the first group and dump the rest.

Now, for what can be fixed. On offense, Haley needs to let Ben and the offense go into no huddle mode more often. Ben is at his best when he's allowed to freelance and improvise. No one in the NFL does this better, and no one can get more out of less while running for his life. I know this short pass offense was installed to keep Ben upright, but from what I'm seeing, he's getting hit as much as he used to with far more pathetic results.

In addition, when Haley calls plays, he needs to call ones that cater to the personnel he DOES have, not the ones he needs. Tailor the game plan to maximize the talent, no matter how little, is on the field. That will be an understandable challenge, but that's why Haley gets paid the big bucks.

Next, install Felix Jones as the number one back until Le'Veon Bell is healthy, and keep Dwyer and Redman around only for oh shit scenarios. They're useless, obviously. Jones may be too, but I need to see more before I can judge him as such. Then, enough sending Sanders deep. If you want to run deep patterns, and I think this team should, then start sending out rookie speedster Markus Wheaton and the tall, rangy Derek Moye. They will give you faster, taller options down the field. Yes both are inexperienced, but neither could be worse than Sanders and Cotchery deep. As for Jericho Cotchery, he needs to be your short to intermediate receiving option only, filling in the role of a decent tight end. At least until Heath Miller returns.

On defense, the scheme must be adjusted to cover the middle more effectively. Jay Gruden abused that area, and every catch showed no one in a 10 yard vicinity of any receiver, be it back out of the backfield or a releasing tight end, that made a successful transition.

Two, dial up the pressure. There is no committed pass rush because LeBeau is seemingly trying to protect and cover for a questionable defensive back corps. It's not working, it has to work the other way now. The front 7 have to get pressure and disrupt the passing game and start clogging holes.

Third, force a turnover. I know, that's easier said than done. But this defense seems almost allergic to going after the ball and creating opportunities to shut down the opposing offense. They will get a lesson on how to do that this week, as Chicago's defense is quite good at it.

And that brings us to my fourth point. There needs to be 6 men in the box at a minimum at all times. Opponent running games are just gobbling up large swatches of yardage, especially in the latter stages of the game. This is due to the defense being on the field for almost two thirds of the game and tiring out. So far this season both opponents have run over 30 times against the Steeler defense. Why? Because its working.

I don't know if any of these fixes will help, as the lack of talent and experience pervading both sides of the ball is at times staggering. But something has to be done, or the consensus opinion of a 7-9 finish will seem like a wonderful pipe dream. Hopefully, somewhere in this insanity, some genius can be found.

He Said He Said

“We expect him to work fully this week and see where that participation takes us. Now, make no mistake, we're not expecting Heath to step out of a phone booth with a cape on.” - Steelers head coach on tight end Heath Miller

Even with his team actively imploding, and his head second in line behind Haley's for the chopping block, Tomlin can still drop an amazing quote. That is dedication right there kids.

"Oh, we beat the piss out of them. We did. I truly believe that … We outhit them. We did some good things, we did some really good things. We'll see them. We're going to see them again, I'll promise you that. We know they're in the division and we're going to play them again at home. And hopefully it goes further than that." - Titans safety Bernard Pollard on Houston

If I were Matt Schaub, I'd be scared right now. Just ask Tom Brady

"People, I believe, are getting this wrong, about Schiano having it in for Freeman. He doesn’t. Schiano’s a performance guy. When you lose seven of eight and oversleep for the team photo after a so-so offseason, Schiano’s not going to be a fan. Has nothing to do with a personality conflict. It’s a performance conflict." - The MMQB's Peter King

Good point Peter, but if Schiano is not putting forth an offensive game plan that plays to Freeman's strengths or supporting Freeman, then the quarterback's performance will suffer and Schiano will have his "performance" based reasons to rid himself of a quarterback he obviously no longer wants. It would seem to me that Greg Schiano is fast tracking himself toward the unemployment line with his poor player management, undisciplined team and losing ways.

"I told him good job, good game, but he didn't give me nothing back. I guess sportsmanship doesn't go both ways." - Seahawks defensive back Richard Sherman on 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh

Wait, Jim Harbaugh is a bad sport and a sore loser? Well color me shocked.

"It's tied! The game is tied! The Bills have tied the game!" - Bills play-by-play announcer John Murphy after Buffalo kicked an extra point to take a one point lead

Ummm, John? I know the moment was exciting and all, but you might want to keep a calculator handy.

 “I don't think it's sustainable in the big picture. I think it's an awesome weapon.....If you're leaning on it heavily, obviously, I think it's going to be exposed in some form or fashion.” - Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on utilizing Pittsburgh's hurry up offense

Mike, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the rest of your offense is exposed as a liability. Exposing any hurry up offense weaknesses are not going to make the situation worse at this point.

Idiot of the Week

Oh jeez, I'm not sure what was more coveted this week, the winning Powerball ticket or the crown of Idiot of the Week. The competition for both was so fierce, I'd have to call it a tie.

Our second runner up is Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. Romo has been a starting quarterback in the NFL for 7 years now, and he still seems as clueless about pocket and clock awareness as a rookie from Division III. Romo got crushed by the Kansas City defensive rush and never saw it coming. At the end of the game, instead of spiking the ball to stop the clock, he tried to do a shotgun formation and time ran out before he even got himself into position. These are basic tenants of being a starting NFL quarterback. I don't know what's more confusing, that he has yet to learn these things or that the Cowboys keeps sticking with him.

Our first runner up goes to Pittsburgh Steeler veterans, who in some misguided attempt to stop the bleeding that is an 0-2 start, banned younger players from playing pool, ping pong and other locker room games. That's just sad. This is the kind of nonsense that bad teams engage in, and I say that knowing full well what that statement implies.

But the winner, hands down, is the Cleveland Browns, who traded Trent Richardson, their first string running back, best offensive weapon and 2012 first round draft pick, to Indianapolis for their 2014 first round pick.

Now, I get it. Cleveland knows they're not going anywhere, and they know they need to plan for the future. Next year's draft looks to be top heavy, so 2 first round picks would be great. And right now, there's no guarantee Richardson will be a franchise back on the caliber of Adrian Peterson. But none of this makes sense.

To draft Richardson, they traded up one spot in the draft with Minnesota, giving up a fourth, fifth and seventh round draft picks. So essentially, to send Richardson to Indianapolis, the Browns traded the number 3 overall pick and fourth, fifth and seventh round draft picks for a first round pick next year that most likely will be in the 20s. How is that good business sense in any way?

In addition, by getting rid of Richardson they torpedoed this season. Not that it would have been a good season, but now there is no question they will lose and lose often. By trading Richardson, they've let their fans know the team has given up on 2013. So why should the fans bother to come out? Right now, they have blown up their stadium revenue streams from tickets, concessions, parking, souvenirs and other ancillary sales. Not only have they crippled their team competitively, they've crippled themselves financially.

And lastly, they've destroyed any remaining trust they had with an already exasperated fan base. Browns fans are the very definition of long suffering. Since losing the team to Baltimore, they have had one season they could classify as successful. The string of bad draft picks and worse head coaches is a cautionary tale of bad team management. Last year, when Jimmy Haslam bought the team he brought with him hope, that included drafting Richardson and having a plan to turn the team around. Now Richardson is gone, Haslam is entrenched in a legal battle with his truck stop business that could severely impact Browns ownership, and the plan no longer makes sense.

So Cleveland, for tanking your season, showing no front office management intelligence, jumping from rebuilding plan to plan with no rhyme or reason, destroying your revenue streams and crushing your fans once again, you are Idiots.

Here I am all worked up because Pittsburgh's working on their first losing season in 10 years. I need to keep perspective and remember it could be worse. I could be a Browns fan.

On Tap This Week

Man, unlike the Steelers, I've started 2013 on fire!

Last week: 12-3

Thursday: 1-0

Season to Date: 24-9

I've never jumped out of the gate this strong. I must be either learning or paying better attention. I would have won my weekly pool, if not for loyalty to an imploding football team. Sigh. Sometimes, it's hard to be a fan. But, so far this season, picking winners is pretty fun!

Sunday

Houston (2-0) at Baltimore (1-1)

Yeah, Houston isn't impressing me either. But you know something? Baltimore impresses me even less. The defending Super Bowl champions very well could win the division this year at 7-9.

Texans over Ravens

San Diego (1-1) at Tennessee (1-1)

How about Philip Rivers having a career renaissance? Who would have thought Mike McCoy could do this much magic this early into his head coaching career? I guess we should have seen it coming. He turned Tim Tebow into a playoff winner.

Chargers over Titans

St. Louis (1-1) at Dallas (1-1)

I'm not overly confident in either team, so I'll default to home field advantage. Or in this case, home space ship advantage.

Cowboys over Rams

Tampa Bay (0-2) at New England (2-0)

Tampa plays undisciplined football, often penalized, their quarterback and coach are feuding, and now apparently Freeman has had enough and wants out. This is just the kind of game Tom Brady needs to remind everyone he's the top dog in the NFL.

Patriots over Buccaneers

Cleveland (0-2) at Minnesota (0-2)

Well, Cleveland no longer has the services of Trent Richardson. The role of starting running back will be played by Willis McGahee. No way that doesn't turn out badly. Due to injury, they will not be with the services of Brandon Weeden either. The role of starting quarterback will be played by Brian Hoyer. There's a good chance Detroit will have company in the 0-16 club.

Vikings over Browns

Arizona (1-1) at New Orleans (2-0)

Nice win last week for Bruce Arians and Steelers West. Too bad this week they have to face an offensively competent black and gold squad.

Saints over Cardinals

Detroit (1-1) at Washington (0-2)

I still don't trust Detroit. Plus, I think its time for Washington to show some signs of life. Although their defense looks as questionable as RGIII's knee right now.

Snyders over Lions

Green Bay (1-1) at Cincinnati (1-1)

Sorry Geno Atkins, but the Green Bay offense typically stays on the field for more than 3 plays at a time.

Packers over Bengals

New York Giants (0-2) at Carolina (0-2)

Somebody has to win this game. Sounds like time for Eli to give Giants fans some hope.

Giants over Panthers

Atlanta (2-0) at Miami (2-0)

How about the quietly surprising Miami Dolphins? Who saw this coming? Not me. You know what else I didn't see coming? The 3-0 Miami Dolphins.

Dolphins over Falcons

Jacksonville (0-2) at Seattle (2-0)

Not even Tebow could help with this.

Seahawks over Jaguars

Indianapolis (1-1) at San Francisco (1-1)

Combine last week's demoralizing loss in Seattle with Aldon Smith getting busted for dope and weed, and I really want to take Indy on the road with their new running back. But that feels like a foolish pick. And I'm saving my foolish pick for later.

49ers over Colts

Buffalo (1-1) at New York Jets (0-2)

Smile Buffalo fans, come Sunday evening, you will have a winning record.

Bills over Jets

Chicago (2-0) at Pittsburgh (0-2)

Pittsburgh's offense continues to operate like a Pop Warner team. And yes, this has brought on a fun new round of Todd Haley sucks observations. Here's a few of my favorites. Maybe after this week, the veterans will ban Haley from playing pool and ping pong. Now for foolish hope.

Steelers over Bears

Monday

Oakland (1-1) at Denver (2-0)

Is it still the regular season? Then there's no need to bet against Peyton Manning yet.

Broncos over Raiders