The Crystal Ball 2014 Week 4

To overcome a sudden depth issue at linebacker, the Pittsburgh Steelers welcomed back James Harrison. Anyone else thinks it looks a tad odd to see a team, whose owner is heading the “independent” investigation on the leagues response to domestic violence, sign a man formerly arrested for said crime?

Yes, I know, it was almost 7 years ago. And from a rehabilitation standpoint, Harrison should be held up as how education and intervention programs can change criminal behavior. But in the current climate, it just feels off to me.

At the very least, we have William Gay to look up to as a role model and someone to emulate in regards to fighting domestic violence.

Opening Kickoff

“There's some things you can cover up and then there's some things you can't.” – ESPN NFL analyst Ray Lewis in discussing the Ray Rice situation

If anyone would know about what you can cover up and what you can’t, it would be Ray “Stabby” Lewis.

The Way It Was

If I hear one more ignorant Ravens fan call Joe Flacco Joe Cool, I’m going to put him on an elevator with Ray Rice. That’s such an insult to Joe Montana.

Ok San Diego, you have my attention

Oh, Cleveland, you were so close. But in the end, it turns out you’re still the Browns.

Hmmm, the Ravens lost Dennis Pitta to injury. Perhaps a minor Karmic down payment for the recent shenanigans of their management staff.

Peyton Manning had a great last minute drive and 2 point conversion to tie the game and send it into overtime. Stunned I was, because it’s so rare to see manning to come through during big moments in big games. Then I remembered it’s the regular season, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

We all got to witness a much bigger drive by the Seahawks in overtime to end the game. That was tremendous effort.

Oh, so there’s Eli Manning. I guess he now can only play big versus the Patriots, and former Patriot coaches.

Attention Green Bay. Your defense is not good enough for a slow offensive day. Yes, they did only allow 12 points, but still.

Hmmm, I’m starting to get used to the Bengals having one tremendous highlight play each week between Dalton and Sabu that ends in a touchdown. Just didn’t think Dalton would be receiving. Interesting wrinkle.

I told you Philly would fall behind then storm back in the second half. They have a pattern.

Kirk Cousins throwing 48 times in a shootout against the Eagles? We’ve seen RGIII play his last game as a starter in Washington, haven’t we? Yeah I thought so too.

Dallas came back from 21 points down? Their defense is worse than I thought.

How does Dez Bryant, the Cowboys best receiver, get that open?

Cardinals are 3-0 with freaking Drew Stanton at the helm. Woof.

The Steel Pit

Steelers 37 – Panthers 19

What did I say? The offense scores 30+ a game, we’re gonna win. That should do quite nicely.

Outstanding all around effort. Some selected highlights from a lovely evening in North Carolina.

The running game was tremendous all night. I love the backfield duo of Bluntman and Chronic. 1^st time 2 backs with 100+ yards since 1986. Well that’s something new.

There were an awful lot of Heath chants for a road game. I’m just saying perhaps not the best showing on Sunday night Carolina fans.

Wheaton is coming on, and looks like he could be as special as Brown. But you have to learn body control to be a top flight receiver, and that includes knowing where your feet are at all times.

The best play of the game, and the real turning point occurred on the field goal attempt on 4^th and 4 when the Panther defense jumped offside. The Steelers got a new set of downs, Big Ben tossed the first Steelers touchdown in over 8 quarters, and the offense came alive.

Unfortunately, with each sunny day must come some rain. Here are some selected low lights.

Obviously the injuries. Ryan Shazier, Jarvis Jones and Ike Taylor all left the game. Shazier has a sprained MCL and will be out 2-3 weeks. Jones suffered a wrist injury that required surgery and will be out at least 8 week. Ike T suffered a gruesomely broken arm, the darn thing was flopping on TV that also required surgery and will be out at least 6 weeks.

However while watching the game I wondered as Ike left the field if I had watched Ike play his last game as a Steeler. Despite my railing at him this year, because he’s obviously lost a few steps, I am a big Ike Taylor fan. He has been a great cornerback in this league for a dozen seasons, and that’s not easy to do. If he had ever learned how to catch and hold onto a football, and racked up some interceptions, I know he would have been to multiple pro bowls and possibly even had a conversation for the Hall of Fame. But alas, his hands are made of stone. His arm, though, looked like Jell-O on Sunday night.

Even worse than the injuries was Lawrence Timmons taking out both Taylor and Shazier. I hope they limited his exposure to our offense in practice this week.

Overall the one negative I took away from the game is that in all three areas, there was some undisciplined play. There were too many penalties in general and specifically too many dumb penalties. Yes, David DeCastro, it’s nice you come to the defense of your receiver. But Luke Kueckly wanted to goad someone into a reaction. He was trying to spark his team. You get suckered into that nonsense; the officials never see the instigator, only the retaliator. And Cortez Allen, please learn the new rules for defensive contact. You’re driving me crazier than Roger Goodell.

Only In Faux NFL Reality…

Pats owner Robert Kraft tried to get a high five from guest Mark Wahlberg, and it did not go well for Mr. Kraft. Way too funny.

Adrian Peterson just doesn’t get it. None of them do, it’s why the lies keep rolling along. Just sad.

According to Steelers owner Art Rooney II, the NFL owners support embattled commissioner Roger Goodell. Well duh, we knew that. Perhaps this righteous indignation we feel as a consuming public should turn away from vilifying the puppet, and turn on the 32 puppet masters. It sickens me the owner of my team is part of this sham of an investigation. Yeah, one mistake should not undermine a career. But it’s the many mistakes before the Ray Rice situation, and the many and continued mistakes made as it spirals more out of control most definitely should end a career.

Former NFL kicker Rob Bironas died in an automobile accident last week. Thus far it does not appear Bironas was under the influence, but was driving erratically and potentially involved in some road rage incidents. Bill Murray said it best, don’t drive angry. Sadly, in this case it was fatal anger.

Ok, Tom Brady mocked his own past failed attempts at trying to get a high five and photoshopped himself into a picture with his team owner trying for a high five too. This is wickedly funny and self-depreciating humor at its best. Tom Brady is really funny this season. Is he trying to one up Peyton Manning in the humor department?

The boys from South Park, always known for their wickedly sharp wit and cutting social commentary, did it again. This time, they skewer Dan Snyder and his lame excuses to keep his team’s racist nickname, by of course using his own argument against him. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are subversively brilliant.

Upon Further Review

Part of the Outside the Lines report from last week stated that Ravens head coach John Harbaugh wanted to cut Ray Rice in the immediate wake of Rice’s attack on his then fiancé in February. Obviously that did not happen.

After Baltimore’s victory over Cleveland, Harbaugh was asked about this assertion. Harbaugh responded as the good soldier, revealing nothing and incriminating no one from the team.

"Every single football decision we make, we work together. You get together. You hash it out. Ozzie uses the term scrimmaging. You scrimmage it out and everybody has their opinions. It's not black and white. That decision was exactly like all the other ones. We walk out that room, we are united. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder, and that's how I felt about the decision. The way we handled it all the way through, I felt like was the right way to handle it. I felt like we did the right thing and we stand behind it."

Predictably, the team is refuting the OTL report, stating that it’s untrue and Harbaugh never wanted to cut Rice, or two other players that were arrested in the off season. The team is still maintaining that the organization first saw the video on September 8^th, and this was the first time the team understood the sheer magnitude of what happened that night in Atlantic City.

Team owner Steve Bisciotti held a press conference to answer questions, and basically said everyone is lying but us. The law enforcement officer who has proof he sent the video to the NFL, as well as a voice mail from the NFL to authenticate this claim. Lying. This new report, that the team had a full description of the events hours after they happened proves it wrong. That’s a lie. The entire Outside the Lines report. A lie. And Ray Rice, who has stated repeatedly he told the team and Roger Goodell everything that happened. An obvious liar.

Goodell, Bisciotti, Dick Cass, Ozzie Newsome, NFL executives, league officials. Please, just please….

STOP LYING!

We know you covered this up to make it go away. We know you could care less about fixing domestic violence, we know you only care about keeping the money train rolling. But you’ve been busted; it’s out there in the open. Just because you insist on perpetuating the lie doesn’t mean it will magically come true.

The sad part is, right now the person who looks the most truthful and upstanding in all of this mess is Ray Rice. Yes, the man who punched his fiancé is looking like a better person than Goodell, Bisciotti and Ravens brass combined.

He Said He Said

“I ain't trying to crown them tonight. I like the effort, they hung together, went into a hostile environment and won against a good group, and there's a lot to be learned from that.” – Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin on the team’s bounce back performance in Carolina

Somewhere, Denny Green is smiling.

"We just stole it off Coach Coughlin's iPad. You know, early '90s rap." – Giants quarterback Eli Manning on the music played during the team’s practice on Friday.

Zing! As wacky as his brother. But here’s a legit question; do you think Coughlin is more Kid n’ Play and DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, or would he be more down with Kool Moe Dee and Slick Rick. These are questions for which we need answers.

"That was straight Hulk Hogan 1985 WrestleMania suplex." – Saints quarterback Drew Brees on the sack he endured during the Saints/Vikings collision

He’s just lucky after he was sacked Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka didn’t come flying off the top turnbuckle. It’s happened before.

“What do you want me to say? Penalties are bad.” – Browns head coach Mike Pettine

With in-depth analysis and leadership like that, there’s no telling how far the Browns can go!

Idiot of the Week

Yeesh, every week it seems like a cutthroat competition. This week, ESPN was heads and tails above the rest.

ESPN suspended columnist and producer Bill Simmons for inflammatory remarks Simmons made in his weekly podcast. Simmons went on a rant and called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a liar, and then dared ESPN to tell him he was in trouble for speaking his mind. ESPN called his bluff and suspended Simmons for three weeks.

Here’s the problem with this scenario. Goodell IS a liar! ESPN engaged their ombudsman to try and justify the suspension by saying there is no smoking gun to prove such allegations by Simmons. However, this is not true. There is a smoking gun, and it was provided by ESPN employees, among them the reporters working the story at Outside the Lines. Goodell has claimed he didn’t know how bad the assault was until thee video inside the elevator became public. However Rice himself has stated he told the team, the commissioner and league representatives exactly what happened and this has been confirmed by Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome.

Not enough? Ok, well Goodell has also claimed that the NFL never had a copy of the tape from inside the elevator. However, it’s been widely reported law enforcement sent the NFL the video in April, and there is physical evidence to back this up. Goodell is lying and Simmons is right.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines, while not as direct, all but said Goodell, the NFL and the Ravens have all lied, are currently lying and continuing to lie in their damaging report that sent a salvo at the NFL that Goodell is still trying to dig out from under. The report also did most of the investigating the “Independent” investigation should need to do, and now will find it much more difficult to conveniently ignore.

ESPN just patted themselves on the back this week for their investigative reporting in this fiasco and their ability to still be journalists and report on the bad dealings of a business partner. But by suspending Simmons for passionately telling the truth, they threw away all credibility they regained from their disastrous decision to pull out from the Frontline report on concussions last year. If anything, they just made things worse.

Obviously money and corporate power far outweigh truth and journalistic integrity in Bristol Connecticut. And right now, the NFL’s money and corporate power flexed its collective muscle and ESPN acquiesced, and Simmons became the convenient sacrifice for ESPN to save face in front of their monetary overlords.

The worst part is not even ESPN kowtowing to the NFL. The worst part is ESPN suspended Simmons for three weeks, which is longer than they suspended Stephen A. Smith for his ignorant remarks that implied Janay provoked Ray’s attack, and is longer than the NFL’s initial suspension for Ray Rice himself. And Simmons garnered this suspension for saying what almost every fan, player, coach and media member already knows; that Roger Goodell is a liar.

Simmons finds himself banished to the couch for three weeks for speaking the truth. But Ray Lewis says while discussing the situation that you can cover some things up and nothing happens. ESPN you are massive idiots.

On Tap This Week

By this point in the season, teams should really start emerging, or sinking.

Last week: 11-5

Thursday: 0-1

Season to Date: 28-21

Looks like I’m emerging too. I like that. Let’s see what trouble we can get into this week, shall we?

Sitting at home, debating how Roger Goodell will further humiliate himself and the league this week:

Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Seattle and St. Louis

Sunday

Tennessee (1-2) at Indianapolis (1-2)

Ok, the Colts cannot be this bad. Can they?

Colts over Titans

Carolina (2-1) at Baltimore (2-1)

Oh boy, another instant rivalry as Steve Smith faces his former team in a Week 4 showdown. I’m rooting for Carolina, obviously. However, I know how these story lines go.

Ravens over Panthers

Buffalo (2-1) at Houston (2-1)

I want to pick Buffalo, I really do. But if I’m backing a shaky quarterback, it’s going to be one playing at home.

Texans over Bills

Green Bay (1-2) at Chicago (2-1)

Yeah, the Green Bay offense looked off track last week. But the Bear defense is not nearly as stingy as Detroit’s.

Packers over Bears

Tampa Bay (0-3) at Pittsburgh (2-1)

Disturbingly, in the past few years Pittsburgh has had issues in games against crappy teams. Today had best be different. On a different note, I know he’s young, but I’m not sold just yet on Justin Brown. And I’d like to see more of Lance Moore than some 4^th receiver action.

Steelers over Buccaneers

Miami (1-2) at Oakland (0-3)

Yeeech, what an awful matchup. Well, at least Dolphin fans will feel good afterward. Hey LaMarr Woodley, how’s that playoff contender working out for ya?

Dolphins over Raiders

Detroit (2-1) at New York Jets (1-2)

Perhaps I’m nutty, but I just don’t trust Detroit. Depending on this week I may start, though.

Jets over Lions

Jacksonville (0-3) at San Diego (2-1)

Oh please. The Jags are going to roll with rookie Blake Bortles at quarterback. That may be good one day, but today will not be that day.

Chargers over Jaguars

Atlanta (2-1) at Minnesota (1-2)

Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, the injury to Matt Cassel allows Mike Zimmer to save face and start Teddy Bridgewater. This actually might help more than Bortles for Jacksonville, but still will not help today.

Falcons over Vikings

Philadelphia (3-0) at San Francisco (1-2)

I sense a letdown game from Philly. And I sense the 49ers reasserting themselves, at least for a game.

49ers over Eagles

New Orleans (1-2) at Dallas (2-1)

New Orleans is not this bad, and Dallas is not this good. Enough said.

Saints over Cowboys

Monday

New England (2-1) at Kansas City (1-2)

Ok, what hilarious comment or image will Tom Brady post this week? I hope it’s something involving the Pats beating the Andy Reid-led Eagles in the Super Bowl. That would be an appropriate zinger.

Patriots over Chiefs