Enough Already

First, many apologies for the lack of posts lately. The 'real job' has been pretty intense thanks to year end. I'll see what I can muster up this week!

The only thing that I really want to dip in to this morning is the NFL attempting to force a Colts/Ravens "rivalry" down our throats. Yes, I know that the Colts once played in Baltimore. I get that. Yes, I know that they moved the team overnight - queue the Mayflower Moving Company plug. I'll even give you that the Ravens were actually good last season, and that they were knocked out of the playoffs by Indy.

But I refuse to believe that these two teams have a rivalry. Even the AP Preview Report says that Ravens fans have "bad blood towards the Colts franchise." A quick peruse of Ravens fan blog RavensTD and all we get is the fact that they knew they were going to be "slaughtered." Not one mention of a rivalry of any sort.

While I'll give them that 44-20 isn't exactly a "slaughter" given a few other scores that I've seen this season, but you can bet that Ravens fans are more upset about losing than who they lost too. NFL, take note. The Ravens rivalries will stick to the AFC North - specifically, Cleveland.

So This Is Legal?

I can probably warn you in advance that there are going to be a decent focus on the Browns today. The Steelers lost, the Browns swept the Ravens on the season, and now they're a game out of first.

All of that talk from Ray Lewis that "things will be different when we play them at home. How's that working for you, Ray?

ANYWAYS, I must draw attention to an altercation that took place early on in the contest yesterday. Yes, all of the focus will be on the field goal that was missed, then (not) reviewed and reversed. But this video that provides the evidence of Haloti Ngata blatently punching Joe Thomas in the head...right in front of a referee.

Did he get ejected? Of course not. He did get 15 yards, so the ref obviously saw the punch. The announcers saw it. The other players saw it. How was he still in the game? Whether I'm a Bronws fan or not, the lack of ejection in that instance was utterly rediculous. If helmet to helmet hits are grounds for automatic ejection, shouldn't swinging at another player - while he's on the ground, no less - be thought of in a similar light?

I'm actually going to be very surprised if the league does not do something about this at some point in the week. Of course, I would be more surprised if anything is said regarding the official who did not eject him, but a fine for the player will more than likely be in order. Paging Roger Goodell.

Pardon the awful paintbrush editing, but you catch the drift.

(Thanks to DCScrap for the clip)

Morning YouTubness: After Further Discussion...

I'm the King of the World!
Wow. That's all I can say.

By now, you have seen the end of the Browns/Ravens game from Sunday afternoon. Phil Dawson said it best when being interviewed, responding to a question with, "The Browns haven't had a call like this go their way in nine years." What is good for the state of the NFL is that the officials got the call correct, "reviewable" or not.

Big thanks to Awful Announcing for providing the video, and the AP for the image. Enjoy. Unless you're a Ravens fan, of course...




Cleveland's Kicker Phil Dawson is a Magician [Awful Announcing]

Morning YouTubeness: Mr. Ed

With Ed Reed getting de-cleated on Monday night, I have seen a few highlight videos floating around the web. One of the newer ones that I have found is below.

There's no doubting the guy's talent, but there is some doubting that he is playing at the same level that he was a few years back when the Ravens were the dominating defense in the league - with Reed being one of the best players in the NFL. Enjoy.

Morning YouTubeness: "Hines" Rhymes With "Fines"

Morning, all. While I agree with AA that Hines Ward is one of the best blocking wide receivers in the history of the NFL, I have to take the opposing side on this one.

Leading with the helmet and blocking a defensive back are two totally different things. It isn't the first time that Ward has been guilty of such, it just so happens that this one was before the whistle as opposed to the play against Cleveland.

It wouldn't surprise me if the NFL laid down another fine on the wide out despite being "legal" during the course of play. Judge for yourself.



Ed Reed Meet The Best Blocking Wide Receiver In NFL History [Awful Announcing]

Sunday's Forecast Calls For More Chad

One more week of this, Jets fans
Though the New York Jets have gone from playoffs to barely playing, Newsday reports that Jets fans will see more of the same come this Sunday.

[Jets Head Coach Eric] Mangini announced this morning that Chad Pennington is the starting quarterback this weekend. Following his evaluation during the last two days, Mangini said he liked Pennington's decision-making as well as his play-making, pointing to his 5-yard scramble on third-and-5 ("Classic Chad," he said) and the Jets' final TD and 2-point conversion with no time remaining.

The other option that the Jets have is going with second-year quarterback Kellen Clemens. If you remember back to the Jets-Ravens contest, Clemens pretty much orchestrated a comeback until a pass was deflected in the end zone and ended up in the hands of Ray Lewis - who is not on the Jets.

With the Jets being 1-6 and coming off of a very winnable game last week in Cincinnati, one has to think that this coming week against Buffalo will be Pennington's last chance to remain the starting quarterback. In fact, it was the Bills that have given the Jets their only win of the season to this point so there is still a ray of hope.

Fans just may want to hold off on any future purchases of a Pennington jersey, as he's obviously not going to be the long-term answer for a struggling team.

It's Chad [Newsday]

Vegas Loves The AFC North

With week five in the books, NFL fans can now turn to the other "books." The Sportsbooks.

Opening lines bring us only two double-digit spreads, with the majority of lines being decided by field goals. Most of which, will have timeouts called right before the first snap. Shanahan.

Five of the 12 available betting odds are either three or 3.5 points - I say "available" as the New England/Dallas match-up is currently off the board.

One glaring portion of the boards is the fact that each of the teams in the AFC North are favored over their opponent for the week. The Pittsburgh Steelers hit a bye week, but the three teams looking to make up some ground all have great games to look forward to.

BALTIMORE (-10) vs. St. Louis
CLEVELAND (-5.5) vs. Miami
Cincinnati (-3) vs. KANSAS CITY

It should be mentioned that despite being 2-3, the Browns have yet to be favored in any game thus far in the season. What should also be discusses is the fact that the Baltimore Ravens failed to score 10 points total in last week's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

If you would've told me five weeks ago that Cincy was only giving three points to Kansas City, I would've been all over it. Arrowhead is a tough place to play, but if the Jags offense can beat them by 10, you have to think Cincy can do the same? Right?

Yahoo! Sports: Live Odds [Yahoo!]

Ten Inches of Forecasting

As everyone an their step-brother are making predictions for this season, I figured that there's enough room for one more blogger to jump on board.

I had something a bit more colorful planned, but due to a lack of time - all you're getting is content today.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC West: San Diego Chargers

AFC Wildcards: Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals

NFC North: Chicago Bears
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wildcards: Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys

AFC Champ: New England Patriots
NFC Champ: New Orleans Saints

Super Bowl Champ: New England Patriots

And yes, this pick is made strictly based on my ability to curse a team by selecting them. I'm actually going to be pulling for the Saints to win the whole she-bang this season...with the Chargers close behind.

The AFC North is going to be a three-horse race, and I could easily see the Steelers getting that wild card bid over the defenseless Bengals. The Rams may surprise a few people, as well as the Cards - but I'm sticking with my Seahawk-Niners combo. And don't underestimate the Broncos this season...They could easily go 13-3.

But that's why they play the season... Go Browns.

No Frostee On Opening Day

In comparison to last year, the Cincinnati Bengals have been pretty well-behaved this offseason. It appears that one Frostee Rucker has other ideas.

FOXSports reports that the Bengals defensive end will be suspended for the opening week game against the Ravens due to pleading guilty to a few charges back in May.

You see, Rucker was handed 36 months of probation after getting into quite the altercation with an ex-girlfriend. Said spat featured what is being considered "false imprisonment" and "vandalism." Something that probably fell in Rucker's favor was the dropping of the spousal battery charges. Those typically don't go over well.

No word on if the arguement started due to making fun of the name "Frostee."

The suspension will cost Rucker a reported $21,000. Oh, and don't fret...Rucker too found the lord.

"We'll just see how it goes," Rucker said. "It's pretty much in someone else's hands right now. All I can do is continue to grow as a player. If I get it, I didn't. If I don't, thank the Lord and I'm going to play as hard as I can [against Baltimore]."

This Lord guy sure is pretty popular these days.

Who Wants To Play Baltimore?

A week after the Eagles held quarterback Donovan McNabb out of their preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens, the Giants went to battle - and while the score was in their favor, the body count was definitely not.

Newsday breaks down the injuries for the Giants, including wide receiver Michael Jennings (ruptured Achilles, out for year), wide receiver Steve Smith (concussion, day-to-day), defensive back Will Demps (dislocated elbow, expected to miss three weeks), and defensive back Sam Madison (pulled hamstring, day-to-day.

At this rate, no one will want to suit up against the Ravens in preseason contests as the game looked more like a scene from Braveheart than a football game after the final whistle.

The report also hints toward the Giants being close to an agreement with veteran defensive end Michael Strahan. If these injuries keep up, they may be forced in to coming to an agreements with Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks as scout team players may be joining the final roster before it's all said and done.

NFL Show And Tell

If you watched any of the Colts/Lions game on Thursday night, you were likely inundated with countless loops of the NFL's "Take a Player to School" campaign. The clips I was graced with featured New York Giants defensive lineman(?) Michael Strahan...similar to what can be seen here.

The clip alone is funny on many different levels considering the recent rumors that have been spread by his wife (or ex-wife, for that matter), but also in the fact that Strahan probably isn't up for the bidding given that he isn't even a "player" at this point.

This got me thinking...If I were to win this contest, and just happened to be a kid in grade school that would be eligible, who would I pick?

An obvious choice would be Rex Grossman. Bonus points if I went to school in Miami. There's always the chance that he'd ditch me to bag the teacher, so that may not work out in the end.

I could opt for someone like Willis McGahee. We all know that he's great with kids. As long as we didn't have to go back to Buffalo, this could be a go.

Not that this place gets that many readers anyways, but who would you all bring to the table? High-fives all around to anyone who replies.

(And you're all welcome for the uber-straight Strahan picture)

Fun For Chad, Opponents...Not So Much

If there's one thing I love about the NFL, it's Chad Johnson. Save your "he's not good for the game" arguments because you don't like end zone dances and media-face interviews. He's great. Regardless of how fans feel about him, even the casual fan knows who the guy is. Mohawks, Spanish, or "Don't Fine Me" signs, the guy is pure entertainment.

Well, it didn't take long for Chad to hit up the media after a recent practice. A few drops of science later and we already have a guarantee.

"Week 1, if I touch the end zone you will laugh for a lifetime. I guarantee you," said the Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowl wide receiver Monday. "Marvin (Lewis) might sit me down for the next game but it will live on for a lifetime."

You heard it here fantasy fans - you may be without your big receiver for week 2. Don't put too much hope into this as we've been let down before from end zone promises. Regardless, millions of fans will be awaiting the opening game for the Bengals - which will be against the stout Baltimore Ravens defense. You can bet that Ray Lewis and company are loving this material five weeks in advance.

Johnson went on to say that he would prefer to go back to the days like 2005 where he was "having fun." It just so happens that 2005 was also a career year in terms of output. I'm sure the Bengals would like some "fun" as well, as long as it is accompanied by 1,400 yards and a division title.