WEDNESDAY

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Those who read this blog each week have come to expect my take on the current events that are happening in the world of sports (along with some bold predictions which, more often than not, turn out to be accurate). To provide you this rousing entertainment I not only keep up with the sports news, but I am also constantly coming up with ideas that I feel will make an interesting blog topic. Once I get one of these ideas, it is documented and cataloged accordingly. When nothing interesting happens during the week, I then retrieve said topics from the aforementioned catalog and begin to write the week’s entry. For instance, the recent blog entries entitled “The Anti-All-Star Team” and   “No Respect!” both came from the catalog. Coming into this week I knew a couple of interesting things could happen, but I was also prepared to go to the stacks and pull one of the more interesting topics out for my blog entry. I had that topic picked out and had actually started constructing a mental rough draft. That was Tuesday. Then the calendar turned to Wednesday, March 21^st. suddenly, the week got extremely interesting.

On Tuesday, March 20^th Peyton Manning chose to take his talents to the Rocky Mountains. He chose Denver over San Francisco and Tennessee. This wasn’t a huge surprise because most of the reports about his potential landing spot mentioned that his heart was in Denver. (Thus, this event alone would not have made a very interesting blog topic.) Peyton really didn’t want to play in the NFC, and he wanted to play with an organization that would throw out their offensive playbook and let him bring his own. Those preferences were strong indicators that Denver would be his landing spot. For about 24 hours the fact that Manning chose the Broncos was the hottest topic of discussion in the sports world. When I heard the announcement my first question was, “Where are they sending Tim Tebow?”

Anyone who knows anything about Peyton Manning knows that he is not a big fan of distractions. He is a creature of habit that needs things to be a certain way in order for him to function. His life is all about football, and he really has little use for anything else. In Denver, that “anything else” would come in the form of crazed Tim Tebow fanatics. Tim Tebow fans love him for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with football. That being said, there would be a faction of them that would be there to heckle Manning and call for Tebow at home games. They would also be stupid enough to call into Denver talk radio and state idiotic reasons why Tim Tebow is better than Peyton Manning. Then there will be the billboards and websites calling for the benching of arguably the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL in favor of a bad passer who still can’t read a Cover 2 Defense. Needless to say, Manning wasn’t going for that. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if the following conversation happened between Manning and Vice President of Football Operations, John Elway:

Manning: I’d love to come here John, but there is no way that I’m dealing with those crazed followers of the Church of Tebow.

Elway: Go ahead and hop on a plane, he’ll be gone by the time you get here.

Manning: On my way.

Elway: Yes! (heard in the background talking to his assistant) Get Tim’s agent on the phone.

Conventional wisdom said that Tebow would be traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They have a terrible quarterback in Blaine Gabbert (he’s not rookie-qb bad, he’s can’t play in the NFL bad), and a stadium that they have given up trying to sell out. However, conventional wisdom was wrong in this situation. As we all now know, Tebow won’t be heading to his hometown to fill the stadium with people desperate to see him set the quarterback position back 40 years. Instead, he is going to the New York Jets to make Mark Sanchez’s already miserable existence even worse. Nothing says, "we don’t have any faith in the abilities of our quarterback" like bringing in Tim Tebow and saying that you will be developing a package of plays to get him on the field. This trade proves that Mark Sanchez’s new “contract extension” is in reality about as valuable as the paper it was written on. Anyone who follows the NFL knows that the contracts are never as valuable as reported, and this one proves that the Jets were only publicly supporting Sanchez for the sake of his confidence, not making a real commitment to him for the future.

As regular readers of this blog know, I think that Tim Tebow is the worst quarterback to ever take a snap in the NFL (yes, I am old enough to remember Akili Smith, Cade McNown, and Joey Harrington). However, I will say (I can’t believe I’m about to say this) that I would rather have him over Mark Sanchez.  After watching the Broncos-Jets game last season, I came away convinced of two things. I had just witnessed the worst display of offensive football to take place in my lifetime, and that Tim Tebow is a better football player than Mark Sanchez. Although I would NEVER want either of them on my team, if I HAD to choose, I would rather have the quarterback that will play terribly for 3-1/2 quarters and then make one big play late in the fourth to win the game (if my defense can keep it close), than have a quarterback that will just play horribly for four quarters and never give me a chance to win.

Mark Sanchez’s days with the Jets are numbered. He will enter the season as the starter, but once he has his first three interception game the “We Want Tebow” chants will start, and Jets fans will start Tebowing in the crowd. This pressure will definitely make such a weak-minded individual fold.  This will lead to him playing even worse, and eventually he will be benched. This situation is similar to the one that the Eagles had when they traded Donovan McNabb. Publicly the team stated that Kevin Kolb would be the starting quarterback, but privately, they were just waiting for Kolb to give them a reason to replace him with Michael Vick.

To the executives at HBO, I will gladly pay double for my HBO service if you do a second installment of Hard Knocks from the Jets training camp. If this happens we will get to witness Tim Tebow’s ears bleeding every time Rex Ryan speaks, Santonio Holmes having an emotional breakdown because neither quarterback on the roster can complete a pass to him, and members of the Jets defense constantly complaining because they know that giving up more than 10 points in a game will certainly lead to a loss. The official title should be, Hard Knocks: The Jets Training Camp part 2 – The Season is Over Before it Begins. (Note to HBO: please write the check to Straight Cash Homey if you use that title.) Although distractions and controversy will ensure that the Jets have a horrible season this year, they will still be entertaining as hell to watch.

And now on to the New Orleans Saints (you knew it was coming)….

The Tebow trade wasn’t the only big news from Wednesday. There was also the announcement of the punishment of the New Orleans Saints for their bounty program.

One second, before I finish writing this I am going to send a tweet to Commissioner Goodell (@nflcommish) to see how his hand is holding up after he PIMPED SLAPPED the New Orleans Saints. My tweet to him reads:

@nflcommish after pimp-slapping the #saints organization, how’s the hand holding up? I hope you used lots of ice.

I will let you know if he actually responds in my next blog post.

You know they say, “There are only two things guaranteed in life, death and taxes.”  Well, I’d like to add a third thing to that list. Lying to Roger Goodell will have severe consequences. If you don’t believe me, ask Michael Vick. On the surface, It appears that Goodell came down on the Saints awfully hard for their illegal bounty program. The penalties include:

- A one year suspension for Head Coach Sean Payton

- An indefinite suspension for former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams

- An 8-game suspension and $500,000 fine for General Manager Mickey Loomis

- A $500,000 fine for the organization

- The loss of their 2^nd round draft picks in the 2012 & 2013 draft.

In actuality, the biggest crime that the Saints committed was not the bounty program itself, but lying about it. Prior to the investigation that lead to this penalty, the NFL told the Saints that they had heard allegations of a bounty program. They also told the Saints that if the allegations were true, the team should end the program immediately. The NFL also let them know that they would be investigating the issue. At that point, most normal people would end the program. Apparently the Saints felt as though they could continue the practice and cover it up so that the league would not find out about it. Needless to say, they were incorrect. Thus they had to feel the backside of the Commissioner’s right hand.

As I stated in a previous entry, I am not naive enough to believe that the Saints were the only team to have bounties on opposing players. However, the Saints were the only team stupid enough to continue the program while being investigated by the league. Football is an extremely dangerous sport. It isn’t a contact sport, it’s a collision sport. Due to the amount of violence in the game, each player should thank the diety that they pray to after every play, simply for surviving. The game is dangerous enough when being played within the rules, but Gregg Williams decided to make the game even more dangerous by giving his players incentives to intentionally hurt opposing players by any means necessary. The highest level that Williams reached as a football player was Division II Northeast Missouri State University (we all know that all multi-direction state universities suck at sports). Needless to say, Williams never played in the NFL, which is why I am not surprised that he has such disrespect for the integrity of the game. He has never felt the violence of an NFL game first hand. If he had, I doubt he would be providing incentives to intentionally hurt opposing players. Also worth noting is the fact that Sean Payton, who let this happen on his watch, was a replacement player during the 1987 NFL player strike. In short, he never had the talent to play in the NFL, but jumped at the chance to play in the place of the players that he was not good enough to compete with. This shows that he, along with Williams never had the proper respect for the health and safety of the elite athlete’s that neither of them were good enough to be.

While listening to NFL radio this week, one thing was extremely clear. Saints fans HATE Roger Goodell for what “he did to their team.” I am in no way a Goodell supporter, as a matter of fact, I like him about as much as I like those clowns that run the NCAA. That being said, Saints fans have it wrong on this one. Gregg Williams, Sean Payton, and Mickey Loomis did this to the Saints, not Goodell. The commissioner even gave them an opportunity to clean up their act. They chose not to, so he chose to put the smack down. Saints fans must realize that this decision was not about football. As one of my friends and loyal reader of this blog mentioned to me this week, “Everything Goodell is currently doing is to set up the league’s defense to the huge lawsuits that are coming from former players.” He is correct (I love having smart friends). This punishment was not about the Saints, it was about public perception and the financial future of the NFL. Someone had to be the example, and the people that run the New Orleans Saints practically raised their hands and volunteered.

To add insult to injury, next year’s Super Bowl will be played in New Orleans. Thanks to the penalties brought forth by the bounty program. I am virtually certain that the Saints will not be the first team to play in the Super Bowl in their home stadium. This punishment of the Saints is basically the same as a kid being on punishment for his 7^th birthday, but his parents decide to still have the party, which the kid isn’t able to attend. While the party is going on, he is up in his room listening to his friends enjoy his cake and his presents. A party will be going on in New Orleans next February, it’s just too bad the Saints won’t be invited.

Although the organization has been hit hard, we must keep in mind that they players involved in the bounty program have not been punished, yet. I expect the punishment to be severe. Apparently the Saints do as well. This weekend they signed middle-linebacker Curtis Lofton (formerly of the Falcons). Your initial thought may be that this was a bad signing because the Saints already have Jonathan Vilma (who was the primary player linked to the bounties). I have a feeling that after the player discipline is announced, we will be saying the Saints HAD Jonathan Vilma.

And now for my Baller & Scrub of the Week….

BALLER – Jeff Teague: In a battle between my hometown NBA team (Hawks) and my favorite NBA team (Celtics), Jeff Teague decided to POSTERIZE Jesus Shuttlesworth (a.k.a. Ray Allen). Dunks like this, especially from a point guard, earns you Baller of the Week status (please see video below). Later in that same game, with the Hawks down three and only seven seconds to play, Teague put up an air ball on the potentially game winning shot. The Hawks lost the game, but that doesn’t take away from Teague’s dunk. Although this may be a bittersweet honor for Teague, it’s still an honor.

SCRUB – Mark Sanchez: Relax Mark, you didn’t do anything to earn Scrub of the Week honors this week. I am just practicing for the season. I have a feeling your name will be in this spot a lot this season.


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WHAT A WEEK!

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WOW! This has been one exciting week for sports fans. We were able to witness the perfect storm. This week brought us the beginning of NFL free agency, the NBA trade deadline, and the start of the NCAA tournament. Each of these events is a story within itself and have dominated the headlines on ESPN and the various sports websites, but having them all occur at once really provided those who love and follow sports as I do, with information overload and an overall awesome week. Some of the things that occurred this week were totally expected, but some were serious head-scratchers. If you know me and this blog, I am going to talk about the head scratchers, the things that make you go HMMMM! (shout-out to those old enough to remember Arsenio Hall). There were plenty of them. Let’s discuss, shall we:

The Tim Tebow’s Throwback Jersey: As I walked out of my office today, I received a text message from a friend with something that he read on twitter. It read, “Tim Tebow’s Broncos jersey is now a throwback.” I found that to be hilarious. It’s funny, because it’s true. Now that John Elway has finally convinced a real quarterback who can read a defense and throw the forward pass to come to the mile high city, Tim Tebow is expendable (personally, I thought he was expendable on draft day). Tebow is now officially on the trading block and will probably end up with Miami or Jacksonville, two teams that desperately need to sell tickets. Neither team will be any good this year regardless, so as they say in the NFL, it’s better to be terrible in front of a sellout crowd than to be terrible with no one watching.

Mario Williams to the Buffalo Bills: Prior to last season, I adopted the Buffalo Bills as my favorite NFL team (I had to pick a new team since I knew the Peyton-less Colts were going nowhere fast). Many of my friends thought that I was crazy, but I looked at that roster and knew that they could surprise everyone and take the league by storm. In the end they only ended up taking the league by scattered showers, but they did make me look like a genius for the first half of the season. I am not a bandwagon fan, so I am sticking with MY Bills for this season also. I fully expect them to win the AFC East, and I am saying that with even more confidence since they landed Mario Williams. That’s right, a young, rich, black professional athlete has chosen to play for a team located in Buffalo, New York. I have heard from some people who feel as though he is going to Buffalo only for the STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!  I disagree with that sentiment because his market was going to be approximately $50 million guaranteed no matter where he went. I think Mario sees what I see in Buffalo. A team that has a legit number one receiver (Stevie Johnson), a stud running back (Fred Jackson), a rising star at quarterback (Ryan Fitzpatrick), and a strong defensive line that he will be able to add to (featuring Marcell Dareus and Kyle Williams). Buffalo also plays a 4-3 defense that suits Williams’ skill set and body type much better than the Texans’ recently implemented 3-4 defense. Although they are a part of the game, injuries derailed the Bills playoff chances last season. With the re-signing of Stevie Johnson and the acquisition of the best defensive free agent since Julius Peppers, I am expecting big things from MY Bills this season. When Williams was drafted ahead of Reggie Bush in 2006 many laughed and thought that Houston had blown it (I am included in that group), but Williams has shown that he was indeed the right pick. Too bad they won’t get to reap the benefits of having him during his prime. GO BILLS!

Brandon Marshall is a Bear: I know that he is somewhat of a head case, and I also know that he is always prone to making headlines off the field. However, in case you haven’t noticed BRANDON MARSHALL IS REALLY GOOD!  In his five years as a starter, Brandon Marshall has averaged 95 catches, 1,188 yards, and 6 touchdowns. You simply don’t give that away for two 3^rd round draft picks. This is the NFL, not the Boy’s Scouts. On-field production trumps everything in this league as long as you don’t kill the chemistry of every team that you play for (yeah, I’m talking to you T.O).  Lawrence Taylor & Michael Irvin snorted more snow than Buffalo residents shoveled this winter, and they were never traded.  As a matter of fact, Irvin only had one season where he had more catches than Marshall has averaged over his last five seasons. The Rams never traded Leonard Little, and we all know that he did the unthinkable. In a passing dominated league where choir boys are few and far between, you can’t practically give away a legit number one receiver. 

Dwight Howard is traded to NOWHERE!: To quote Shakespeare, the Dwight Howard trade discussion was “much ado about nothing." (Yes, I just quoted Shakespeare in a sports blog) At various points of the season, it was rumored that Howard would be traded to the Nets, Rockets, Lakers, Knicks, Bulls, and Warriors. Then Howard stated that he didn’t want to leave Orlando after all. Then he decided that he did want to leave. Then he decided that he wanted to stay again. Then the Magic owner offered to let him decide the fate of the general manager and head coach if he stayed. Then he decided that he wanted to finish the season in Orlando and be a free-agent this summer (which is understandable because a trade would gut any team that he is traded to). Then Orlando demanded that he waive the right to opt-out of his contract if he wants to stay. Then he decided that he did not want to offer any guarantees. Then he decided not to opt out of his contract, and play out the full contract, which ends after next season. To make a long story short, we will have to go through all of this again this summer and possibly throughout next season. The only people who are happy about this are ESPN and NBA TV, because they just got a lot of programming hours placed in their laps (prepare yourself for “The Decision—The Sequel”).

Rajon Rondo is still a Celtic: The Celtics elected to keep their team together for the remainder of the season. They had unrealistic expectations of the value that Garnett, Allen, or Pierce would return in a trade, and they couldn’t fleece another organization in exchange for Rondo, like the Lakers did Memphis to get Pau Gasol. Oh well, I guess my boy Rondo will play out the rest of the season with the AARP all-stars and go into next season with a fresh round of trade rumors. This off-season, he should demand a trade and put an end to this constant state of limbo that the Celtics front office seem to always have him in.

Pau Gasol is still a Laker: This one is funny because Gasol was actually traded before the season started, but Commissioner Stern pulled the plug on it. The Lakers have also been openly shopping him for everyone in the league that is under 28 years old. Yet, they were unable to move him at the deadline. These distractions have definitely affected his play this season. Much like Rondo, everyone expected him to be moved (possibly in exchange for Rondo), yet he is still a Laker.

Dook Bounced from NCAA Tournament: As a Kentucky basketball fan, I am required to follow Rule #37 in the “Kentucky Fan Rule Book.” This rule states that you must always hate Dook. You must root against them against all other opponents and rejoice every time they lose (Rule #19 states that you must always refer to them as Dook instead of Duke).  Therefore I was just as happy when Dook lost to the 15^th seeded Lehigh, as I was when Kentucky beat Iowa State to advance to the Sweet 16.

Missouri Ruined My Final Four: As I stated last week, I felt as though The Final Four would end up being Kentucky, North Carolina, Syracuse, and Missouri. Well, the good people at Norfolk State University obviously didn’t agree with my prediction. They went ahead and bounced Missouri from the tournament and (along with Lehigh) screwed up everyone’s bracket. The fact that a pair of 15^th seeds beat #2 seeds in the same day is a sign. Although it has yet to happen, the day is coming when a #16 seed is going to beat a #1 seed. I just hope that your favorite team isn’t the victim.                            

And now for my Ballers & Scrubs of the Week….

BALLER #1 – Peyton Manning: Its official, Peyton Manning is the powerful man to walk the earth since Joe Clark (those who have seen the movie “Lean on Me” will get that one).  He single-handedly put every quarterback in the league on notice that he could have their job if he wanted it. He chose Denver, which hopefully will make the Tim Tebow story disappear as quickly as the Jeremy Lin story did. The other finalists were Tennessee and San Francisco, but that’s not the point. The point is that he held every quarterback in the league and every team’s salary cap space hostage until he made HIS decision! A power move like that earns you Baller of the Week status.

BALLER #2 – C.J. McCollum: Let me guess, you’ve never heard of C.J, McCullom. Well, neither had I until he dropped 30 on Dook on Friday night. He is not only Lehigh’s best player, but he was the best player on the floor on Friday night. I don’t know much about Mr. McCullom, but based on the fact that he plays his college ball in a brown uniform for Lehigh, I’m going to guess that the traditional powers (Kentucky, Dook UNC, Kansas, etc.) weren’t exactly knocking down his door to convince him to come to their school. I think it’s safe to say that this is an underrated recruit that got away. He is the two-time Patriot League player of the year, and the guy who is most responsible for the tears of embarrassment that flowed in the Dook locker room on Friday night. For that, I am making him an honorary Kentucky Wildcat. I’m a big fan of anyone who can make Dook players cry.

SCRUB #1 – Jim Harbaugh (49ers Coach), Bud Adams (Titans Owner), Ken Whisenhunt (Cardinals Coach):  Personally, I don’t blame you for openly professing your love for Peyton Manning and your desire to sign him even at the expense of the quarterback(s) currently on your roster. However, now that you have basically called your current quarterbacks scrubs in the national media and members of your teams have been gushing about the possibility of playing with Peyton on ESPN and on twitter, you must now try to profess your love to the quarterbacks that you were previously ready to dump. They now feel like your back up plan, and no guy ever really wants to marry their back up plan.  However, you must now try to make them feel special again. Good Luck with that!

SCRUB #2 – NFL Ownership: I’ve always felt that this is a shady bunch of individuals that are not to be trusted. This thought was re-affirmed when Roger Goodell (their hired goon) announced that the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins would be docked salary cap space for, get this, OVER SPENDING IN AN UNCAPPED YEAR! The obvious question here is, “How can a team spend too much money in a year when there was no salary cap?” This was an obvious attempt of collusion of the owners against the players. Although there was no salary cap, the owners made an un-gentlemanly and ILLEGAL agreement amongst each other to not spend more than a certain amount on player salaries for that year. Needless to say, two of the most hated owners decided not to join their fellow owners in the sneaky undertaking. Now the other owners are trying to retaliate. Well, here’s the problem with that. Jerry Jones and Daniel Snyder live by their own rules and will not let the other owners bully them. Needless to say, a law-suit is coming, and I fully expect the Cowboys & Redskins to be victorious.

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EVERYONE’S A SPORTS FAN

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I am a sports fan, and I assume that everyone that is a regular reader of this blog is as well. As sports fans, we enjoy watching, playing, and following the daily news of our favorite sports. ESPN is the television staple for sports fans; we go to bed at night and wake up in the morning to Sportscenter trying our best to convince our significant other that each airing is in fact a new edition. As sports fans we tend to associate with other sports fans (birds of a feather…as they say). It’s nice to have friends that enjoy the same sports as we do, and we enjoy watching the games with them whether we root for the same or rival teams. For those of us that are truly fortunate, we will marry a fellow sports fan (which I did). Which means that sports will never be one of the things you have to sacrifice when making the usual compromises that come with marriage. All in all, being a sports fan is awesome because it gives us an escape from the rigors of everyday life, and a hobby to be passionate about.

Most sports fans have a certain sport or sports that they follow very closely. Personally, I love the NFL and NBA above all others. However, I also follow college basketball closely, and I stay in tuned with the on-goings of college football (although I only watch a few full games each season). I am also a golf fan (and a bad golfer), and I keep tabs on NASCAR and MLB. As for hockey, I’m a 30 year old black man raised in the south. That should explain my interest in hockey. We in the community of sport fandom have different levels of passion about a wide variety of sports, but our devotion to those interests connects us with other fans around the globe. This is a special and unique community eleven months of the year. In March however, there is nothing unique about being a sports fan, because everyone suddenly becomes a sports fan, or at least a fan of college basketball.

Strange things start to happen once the calendar turns to March. You suddenly don’t mind hearing that cheesy “One Shining Moment” song every time you turn to CBS. Your company totally ignores the corporate policy on gambling and turns a blind eye to all of the tournament pools taking place in the office. People who don’t know the difference between dribbling a basketball and dribbling a soccer ball are suddenly into college basketball and filling out brackets. I rarely, if ever, fill out a bracket. The odds against getting it right are astronomical, so I just don’t take the time to do it. Plus, if I did fill them out, Kentucky (the college basketball team that I have been following since my youth) would always end up winning. The best and most amusing thing about this college basketball phenomenon is the strategies used by others when filling out their bracket. Some of them include:

Picking the Best Team – This is the method that I would prefer if I filled out a bracket (with Kentucky always winning every game, of course). This method is used by the college basketball fan that really follows the sport. They know (or think they know) the advantages and disadvantages of each team in every matchup. They fill out their bracket with first-hand knowledge of the teams involved.

Conference Affiliation – Die-hard college sports fan are fiercely loyal to their conferences. If their team can’t win, they would rather a team in their conference win. This is strictly for bragging rights. If they can’t say Roll Damn Tide! They’d at least like to be able to shout SEC! SEC! SEC!

Chalk – In this situation the highest seeded team will win every game in the tournament. This will NEVER happen in a 68 team tournament.

Cutest Mascot – This one is understandably more popular with women. I’m not saying that it can’t work, but I am saying that the University of Georgia has never won the tournament. Personally, I don’t think that dog they have for a mascot is all that good-looking.

Which Mascot Would Win A Fight – Let’s just say, this is probably why the Fighting Okra of Delta State don’t play Division 1 basketball. Obviously, they wouldn’t have a chance.

Then there’s my personal favorite. I promise you I am not making this up. Please keep in mind that I earn my living as an engineer, thus my co-workers are also engineers.

Two years ago, one of my co-workers was filling out his bracket. He went to a small school in the Northeast that will never win the NCAA tournament, neither will any team from the conference that they play in. Therefore, it was obvious that he wasn’t filling it out for his team or a fellow conference member to win. Instead, his chosen method was….

Which School Would Win in a Fight – After hearing this, I immediately thought that he would simply pick the school with the worst academic reputation to win each game. I was assuming that he would equate partying, drinking, and not doing well academically with the ability to fight. Boy was I wrong! In fact, he had the opposite strategy. He picked the engineering schools with the best academic reputation to win each game, because they have the intelligence to build better weapons and defense systems to be used in combat. I am not making this up! Using his logic, if MIT ever figures out how to apply that brain power to the hardwood, the tournament will never be the same.

Lines on paper (otherwise known as brackets) have helped make the NCAA tournament the multi-billion dollar enterprise that it has become. I hope the enterprising person who figured out how to get the whole country interested in the tournament has received some benefits from this tremendous idea. There isn’t much that the NCAA does right. In fact the NCAA tournament in the only thing that I think they do get right. It is only rivaled by the Super Bowl when you think of championships creating excitement for their sport. Think about it. The only people who give a damn about the World Series are people who live in the cities that are participating. The NHL, really? I challenge anyone to name the last three Stanley Cup Winners. The NBA is all about stars, so casual sports fans don’t really care which teams are playing in the finals, they are more concerned about which individual players are playing. As for college football, thanks to the recent dominance of the SEC, it has pretty much become a regional sport, almost like NASCAR (I know people in Big Ten country and on the west coast aren’t going to like that).

The NCAA tournament has something to offer for everyone. If you are a college basketball fan, you get to see the 68 best teams in the country battle for the title. If you are a casual fan, you get to stop by some pretty good games while channel surfing and realizing that nothing else is on. If you’re not a fan at all, you still get to pretend to know sports by filling out your bracket and joining your office’s “only legal in March” gambling pool.

As it always does, this year’s tournament will feature some monumental upsets, and some surprisingly close games. A twelve seed will definitely beat a five seed in the first round, simply because it happens every year. When this happens, fans and the media will absolutely love it. Everyone loves the story of the underdog taking out the favorite in the tournament. We are a country that loves seeing David slay Goliath. This is where I differ from most. While I don’t mind seeing an early round upset or two during the first week of the tournament, by the time we get down to eight teams, I root for Wal-Mart! I want to see the super-powers square off. The Butler’s and VCU’s of the world are nice stories, but they have no place in my Final Four. I am hoping to see Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina, and Missouri in the Final Four. They have been the best four teams all season and they all play in big boy conferences. Will it happen? Probably not, but that’s the fun of this tournament. None of us know what’s going to happen.

And now for my Baller & Scrub(s) of the Week….

BALLER – NCAA Tournament Selection Committee: You may want to take a screenshot of this section and frame it, because I NEVER GIVE THE NCAA PROPS FOR ANYTHING! This is the most asinine group of administrators in the history of the world. Yet, they manage to do a great job with the tournament year in and year out. Some years the tournament is not very exciting, but that is a product of how the teams play, not which teams are invited. Also, if you are a coach, team, or fan that feels as though you were snubbed, GET OVER IT! If you weren’t clearly one of the 68 best teams in the country, then you run the risk of being left out. I have no sympathy for #69.

SCRUB #1 – Every NFL Quarterback not named Rodgers, Brees, Brady, Manning (Eli), Roethlisberger, Rivers, Stafford, or Newton: I have bad news for you. Your team doesn’t like you very much. Whether they will admit it or not, your team has reached out to Peyton Manning’s representatives to check his interest in replacing you. Fortunately for the makers of Kleenex, Peyton can only take one of your jobs, so there will be a box waiting in all of the survivor’s lockers to cry out their frustrations when training camp starts. The NFL is a cold, cold world. Arguably the best quarterback in NFL history is now available. Never mind the fact that he is 36 years old and has had four neck surgeries. Your team still likes him better than they like you. So suck it up and get over it. Or you could simply go join Terrell Owens in the Indoor Football League.

SCRUB #2 – ESPN: I miss the non-stop Jeremy Lin coverage. What happened to it?! He still plays in the NBA, right? Is he any less interesting now? Don’t quit on us now, please start back inundating us with Jeremy Lin coverage.


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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Hello strangers and welcome back to what will soon be the best sports blog on the World Wide Web. The fact that we have been strangers lately is all my fault. After an extended hiatus from writing, I am back and better than ever. My New Year’s Resolution is to be dedicated to bringing you my commentary on the ever-eventful world of sports and to make this blog a weekly must read for everyone (watch out MMQB, I’m coming for you.)

I could spend this time reflecting over the things that took place during our time apart, but that would be no fun. Instead, I am going to turn on the recent 2chainz mixtape (yeah, I’m just as shocked as you are that I think it’s dope) and look into the future to tell you what should/will happen in 2012 in the games that we all love.

THE MIAMI HEAT WILL WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP – All of the Heat/LeBron haters might as well get over themselves. This is the year that they start their string of championships. This is a short NBA season with lots of back to back to back games, so you can pretty much eliminate all of the older teams from contention (that means you Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, and Mavericks). Russell Westbrook and his desire for a better shoe contract and more TV airtime is determined to let his jealousy of Kevin Durant destroy the Thunder’s chances (more on that later). The Clippers and Knicks are both exciting and intriguing, however they are not quite ready yet. So that pretty much leaves Memphis in the west, and Miami in the east as the primary contenders. That being said, I would like to draw your attention back to my original statement in bold letters above.

RAJON RONDO SHOULD BE TRADED FOR RUSSELL WESTBROOK – This could quite possibly be the most fair trade in NBA history. It would benefit both teams as well as both players personally. Russell Westbrook is clearly jealous of Kevin Durant and is also angry that his mom continues to buy him the Robin costume on Halloween, while Durant gets to be Batman every single year. He would love to be on a team where he can truly be a poor man’s Derrick Rose. Westbrook would like nothing more than to be the first, second, and third option on some team, regardless of whether they are regular title contenders are not. Westbrook is the classic case of the athlete who readily acknowledges that while there is indeed no “I” in team, there is definitely a “ME”. Rondo on the other hand, is the classic team first point guard who enjoys getting assists, steals, and rebounds much more than he enjoys scoring. All he cares about is winning, and making his teammates look good. Rondo has been perfect for Boston while playing with Jesus Shuttlesworth, KG, and Pierce. However, that trinity is at the end of their line and it is now time for Boston to rebuild. They will definitely need more scoring in the coming years, which simply isn’t Rondo’s game. What they need is a combo-guard who happens to play the point and enjoys shooting more than he enjoys (I’ll let you fill in your own word/phrase here). That guy currently resides in Oklahoma City. In Boston, Westbrook will get to be the center-piece of a rebuilding team, where he would be able to put up 30 shots a night. While Rondo can go to the Thunder and be the perfect person to serve beautiful assists to Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka. He will instantly turn them into the only team in the league that could actually compete with the HEAT. This is one case where trading “team first” for “me first” will actually benefit everyone.

PEYTON MANNING WILL BE A JET – I am that rare NFL fan with no real loyalty or allegiance to any team(s). However, I do have favorite players. My favorite NFL player is without a doubt Peyton Manning (he is the best to ever do it in my opinion). That being said, I have obviously been partial to the Colts during his tenure there. Although it pains me to see him move on to another franchise, I know in my heart of hearts that it is time for Peyton to move on. The Colts will draft Andrew Luck (if they land the first pick) or Robert Griffith III in April’s draft, which will mean that it is time for them to move on from Manning. With the new rookie pay-scale in place, the Colts will be able to have four years of service from one of these young guns for less than they would have to pay Peyton for one season. Manning will be 36 years old when next season starts and has had multiple neck surgeries. As a franchise, you simply can’t afford to keep him in this post-JaMarcus Russell era in the NFL (where top picks are much cheaper). That being said, look for the Rex Ryan and the Jets to pay Peyton whatever he wants to become a jet. Rex wouldn’t care if Cooper Manning wanted to play wide receiver, he’d give him a uniform if it meant Peyton was coming. There are some reading this now saying, “but they already have a quarterback in Mark Sanchez.” To those people I say SLAP YOURSELF! If you thought that Minnesota’s pursuit of Favre was bad, you just wait until Rex hears that Peyton Manning is available. Once Sanchez is cut, I fully expect he and his fellow Trojan bust Matt Leinart to do a Reality TV show. I don’t know what it will be about, but that seems to be what all of the washed up celebrities do these days.

MY HOMETOWN ATLANTA HAWKS WILL NOT WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP – I just couldn’t conclude this blog without this statement. The Hawks lost Jamal Crawford this off-season and brought in Tracy McGrady (which would have been awesome 8 years ago), Jerry Stackhouse, and Jenerro Pargo. That is all I have to say about that.


And now for my Baller & Scrub of the Week….

BALLER – Metta World Peace a.k.a The Baller Formerly Known As Ron Artest: I am not a Lakers fan by any stretch of the imagination and I hate Kobe Bryant more than Gucci Mane hates his freedom. That being said, I will be watching every Lakers game that comes on television just to hear the following phrases: “World Peace for Three!”, “Great Defense by World Peace”, “The Assist to World Peace”, “Stop Shooting so Damn Much Kobe and Give World Peace a Chance!”

SCRUB – The NCAA: There are 834 bowl games inundating my television this holiday season and only two matter. The Rose Bowl (nope, not because of tradition) because Oregon’s uniforms are going to be so damn cool, and the National Championship Game because LSU and Alabama are two teams that should be playing in the AFC South and not the SEC. I’ve said it once, and I will continue saying it until it is no longer true, THE NCAA SUCKS!!!!!!!

A FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK IS HARD TO FIND

Without question, the most difficult position to play in all of sports is Quarterback in the NFL. That’s why the good ones are hardly ever traded in the prime of their careers (apparently Josh McDaniels believes that franchise quarterbacks grow on trees). They face more pressure than any athlete in any other sport. Their team success or failure is often dictated by their play. Quarterbacks are the highest paid players in the NFL, and with good reason. They are the leaders or the engines that make the team go. The quarterback handles the ball on virtually every offensive play and has more influence on the outcome of the game than any other player on the field. For these reasons, the fate of the head coach is often directly tied to the success of the quarterback. Therefore, the primary goal of each and every NFL team is to have a good player under center. Who is the best quarterback in the league? Who is the worst quarterback in the league? Where do the rest of them rank?

For answers to those questions, scroll down and check out STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY’s!!!! 2009 QUARTERBACK RANKINGS. These rankings are for the 2009 season only and are subject to change next year. The players were ranked based on one simple criteria. I simply asked myself, “If I was running an NFL team and could have any quarterback in the league, who would I choose?”

#1 Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) – This is an easy choice for #1. He is arguably the smartest football player in the league today. He call his own plays, has a rocket arm, works harder on preparation that any player I have ever seen, and will end his career (if he stays healthy) owning all of Brett Favre and Dan Marino’s passing records. He has one Super Bowl ring and three MVP’s (so far). To put in perspective how good this guy is, he was the league’s MVP last year after arguably his worst season since his rookie year. Love him or hate him, he is the best in the game today, and definitely in the discussion of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

#2 Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – This guy is living the life that all men dream of. He plays quarterback and gets to throw the ball to Randy Moss for a living, is filthy rich (although he is underpaid, but that will change this year), and married to a super model. He is also one of the best in the league today. There are some that would even place him above Manning. Although I disagree, I couldn’t really fault anyone for feeling that way. Personally, I think Manning is better because he calls his own game, has a much better arm, and has never been caught cheating. True, Brady has more championships, but we all know that a special assist to those titles go to the Patriots video staff. That being said, he is still great, and deserves to be ranked this high. On a serious note, there are some questions about Brady going into this season. He is returning from the first major injury of his career, and he is also playing behind an offensive line that has not been quite right since the Giants took their manhood in the Super Bowl a couple of years back. I truly hope he can stay upright this year, because no quarterback (not even the great Tom Brady can get the ball to Randy Moss from his back).
Honestly, the first two were easy. No one who knows anything about football can really debate them. Some people may want to swap them, and I won’t argue with that. However, neither player can be placed below #2.

Now the real fun begins, because the players ranked #3 thru #7 can all have an argument made in their case for them to be #3. Here’s how I see it.

#3 Phillip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) – I know some people will disagree with this, but I truly feel that Rivers is the best quarterback in the NFL not named Manning (Peyton) or Brady. Simply put, there isn’t a throw on the field that he can’t make. He has a strong enough arm to get the ball into tight spots when needed, yet can still throw it with touch when the situation calls for it. Rivers also throws a great deep ball. He has developed into a good enough passer to make the Charger’s receivers appear to be much better than they actually are. He also makes great decisions with the football and throws very few interceptions. On top of all of that, he is also Built Ford Tough. It is well chronicled how he played in the AFC title game with a torn ACL and then was ready for the start of the next season. I don’t know any other quarterback who could’ve done that. I am also picking Rivers to finish second to Adrian Peterson, if he tops 2,000 yards rushing, in the league MVP voting this season. If Peterson does not top 2,000 yards, Rivers will be the MVP.

#4 Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – What would have ever happened to him if the Chargers had never drafted Phillip Rivers? Up until that point, he was simply an average quarterback. Now, he is far from average. He has the quickest release in the NFL, which also means that he very rarely gets sacked. This makes him an offensive linemen’s dream. He also makes very good decisions with the football. It has been a long time since I have seen a quarterback use all of his receivers the way that Brees does. He makes is seem as though the Saints don’t have a go to receiver (and maybe they don’t) because he does such a great job of getting the ball to whoever is open on any given play. Sean Payton loves to throw the football all over the place, and Brees is a player that can be depended upon to make sure that it reaches its intended target. His numbers are inflated because Payton has an allergic reaction to run plays, but he is still among the best.

#5 Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) – In my opinion he has the toughest job in the entire NFL. He is quarterback in a town that loves to hate its star athletes. The fans in Philly were disappointed when they drafted him (they preferred Ricky Williams, how’d that turn out?) and they are still complaining ten years later. The knock on Donovan is that he hasn’t won the big game. That is true, but how many times has he really had a team good enough to win it all? If you look at the NFL playoffs as a gunfight, Donovan has basically arrived with a slingshot every year, except for the 2004-2005 season when they reached the Super Bowl. They lost that game to the Patriots’ video staff. We all saw what he can do when he has a legit wide receiver. Aside from that year, he has virtually single handedly taken them to the NFC title game on a regular basis. Name the quarterbacks who can say that they have gone deep into the playoffs more often than McNabb. That being said, he is ranked this high because he is an extremely accurate passer with a very strong arm. Great pocket presence, and enough speed to take off and get the first down and occasionally break a long run when needed. To all of the McNabb haters, I simply say, you will miss him when he’s gone. (P.S. to all of the Philly fans that were counting on Vick to replace McNabb this season, you had better enjoy watching McNabb this year. I’m guessing that Vick didn’t play on the prison football team, because he has quite a bit of rust to knock off. I still think that he will be fine in the long run, but he is seeing first hand, just how difficult it is to play at the NFL level after a two year layoff.)

#6 Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) – I’m guessing that he never heard the phrase, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Because he takes waaayyy to many hits. Most quarterbacks have an internal clock in their head that let’s them know when to get rid of the ball before being hit. HIS IS BROKEN! He should really spend some time with Drew Brees discussing ways to avoid sacks. I really don’t know how much longer his body is going to hold up. He gets hit an awful lot on the football field (I have seen him completely laid out more than a couple of times), and he has also survived a horrific motorcycle accident in which he broke his face. I sure hope he figures it out and can stay upright, because when he does, he is a great football player. This guy is the definition of CLUTCH. If I was down four, with two minutes left and needed a touchdown to win the game, I would want him at quarterback. Not Manning, Brady, Rivers, Brees, or McNabb. I WOULD WANT BEN ROETHLISBERGER LEADING MY TEAM ON THE FINAL DRIVE! Nothing rattles him. If he hasn’t been knocked out of the game already, this is the guy that you would want in crunch time. He may not be as good of a quarterback or as polished as the previous five players on this list, but he is definitely the most clutch.

#7 Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) – This is the prototype. If you were making training videos for drop-back passing, he would be the star. His footwork is perfect, his accuracy is amazing, and he has a cannon for an arm. Not only can he make every throw on the field, he can throw it in such a way to allow the receiver to catch it in stride and continue to run. The Bengals are going to surprise a lot of people this season, and #9 will be the primary reason why. He is going to have a huge season.

#8 Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) – Without question, JAY CUTLER HAS THE BEST ARM IN THE NFL! There are those who would argue that Manning (Peyton), Palmer, Russell, or even Favre may have the strongest arm in the league. To them I say, If Jay Cutler had one of their arms, he would kill himself. His arm strength is reminiscent of Favre or Marino in their primes. That arm strength will come in handy playing in the windy city. Chicago finally has a quarterback, and trust me, they will love watching this guy play. He is one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch, because he throws the ball so effortlessly. Fans of the Denver Broncos are going to take one look at Kyle Orton this season and immediately realize that franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees. They had one, and now Chicago has one. This guy makes me wish that the NFL still had the quarterback challenge, because it would be fun to watch just how impressive his arm is in comparison to his colleagues. I would not be surprised if Cutler is #1 in the 2012 quarterback rankings. He is that good now and he still has quite a bit of room to get better. The sky is truly the limit for this guy.

#9 Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) – No Favre, No problem. That is what Packer players and fans have been saying ever since Aaron Rodgers became the team’s starting quarterback. While he may not have Favre’s arm or his Wrangler jeans collection, Rodgers is quickly making the league realize why the Packers quickly closed the door behind Favre when he first retired. They thought Rodgers was ready, and they were correct. The only problem that I have with Rodgers is the fact that he is the anti-Roethlisberger when the game is on the line. If I’m not mistaken, last season Rodgers threw interceptions in four different games on potentially game-winning drives. If he keeps that up, he really does have a chance to be the next Brett Favre. All jokes aside, if he begins to play big in the fourth quarter of games, Rodgers can cement his status as a top ten quarterback in the NFL.

#10 Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) – The ageless wonder is still getting it done. It doesn’t hurt that he has the best group of receivers in the league. Warner is the best quarterback in the league against the blitz. Whenever there is a blitz, he always finds the hot receiver before they can get to him. Now that he has corrected his fumble problems, Warner is once again one of the best in the league. I hope that Matt Leinart is taking notes, because Warner is a great player to learn from.

#11 Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) – This guy has to be the most careless quarterback with the ball in his hands in the NFL. He has all the talent in the world. If he gets serious and takes care of the ball he will definitely be a top five quarterback in the league for a very long time. Will he be committed to taking care of the football? I guess we will see. By the way, he will have a much better season this year without T.O. This will definitely be a case of addition by subtraction.

#12 Eli Manning (New York Giants) – Eli Manning has greatly improved since his rookie year in the league. As a matter of fact, it can honestly be said that he has improved each year that he has been in the league. This year we will see what he is really made of, because he will be playing without the most accurate marksman in New York City. Eli will definitely miss his security blanket. While Manning was never the most accurate passer in the league and will never be mistaken for his big brother, Plaxico was able to turn most of those wild throws into complete passes. Will he be able to put the ball on the money to his new group of young and less-talented receivers? This season will answer those questions. I do now one thing for sure. He will be better this year than he was last year, because he has a strong work ethic and seems to improve every year.

#13 Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) – This guy does not get rattled. The thing that I like most about Ryan is the fact that he does not have an ego on the field. What I mean is that he knows that Michael Turner and the Falcons running game is their bread and butter, and he is smart enough to rely on it and allow the run to set up the pass. You will never see him checking out of perfectly good run plays into bad pass plays. He also makes good decisions and doesn’t throw balls that should not be thrown. He has set the bar for future rookie quarterbacks. He also has a better than average arm.

#14 Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) – Great player. WHEN HE ACUTALLY PLAYS! The Texans always go as his health goes. I love his skill set, but I hate the job that his personal trainer is doing. If he stays healthy, the Texans will make the playoffs this year. If he stays healthy for the next few years, he will definitely be considered a top ten NFL quarterback.

#15 David Garrard (Jacksonville Jaguars) – What happened? I thought he would be a good quarterback for a long time. Was I wrong? Was he a one-year wonder? There are a lot of questions surrounding Garrard. He is a very talented player that is very smart with the football. However, he is yet to take that step to elite status and quite frankly, I don’t know if he ever will. Has he maximized his potential? I don’t think we will get any answers this year because Jacksonville will be a very bad football team (I still can’t figure out why Torry Holt signed there). This will probably be Jack Del Rio’s last season as the head coach, which means that the new coach could want to bring in a new quarterback. This year could indirectly be a make or break one for Garrard. If he isn’t great, he can begin the next phase of his career. As a backup quarterback (which would actually be going back to where he started).

#16 Chad Pennington (Miami Dolphins) – This guy gets more from his ability than any player in the NFL. He has no arm strength, yet is always able to get the ball where it’s supposed to be. He can quickly grasp offenses and does an excellent job of reading defenses. If he had an arm, he would easily be in the top ten. Last season, the Jets discarded him like yesterday’s trash for the next player on this list. I bet they regret that decision.

#17 Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) – Since Favre has come back (we think), I keep hearing people say that the Vikings only need him to manage the game. THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME! Why on earth would they pay a player $12 million to simply manage the game? Has Brett Favre ever been a game manager? Brett Favre is a player who is going to either win games for you or lose games for you. This is who you signed. Favre is going to make some great plays and he will probably lead the league in interceptions again. He is what he is. At this point in his career, I can’t justify ranking him any higher than #17 and I definitely can’t rank him above Pennington who clearly outplayed him last season. For Brad Childress’ sake, I hope your $12 million game manager is what you thought he would be. If not, you will certainly face the same fate that Eric Mangini had to face last season.

#18 Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) – Very talented player, but plays as if he is afraid to make mistakes. Can you really blame him? He plays for an organization that has tried to replace them every chance they get. He rarely throws interceptions, but he also rarely makes big plays. For the first time since high school, Campbell will be in the same offensive system for two consecutive years. I hope that will lead to consistent play from Campbell. I really feel bad for Campbell because the Redskins will definitely be on a mission to replace him again next season if they don’t win the Super Bowl (and they definitely won’t). In this tough housing market, I hope that you are renting and didn’t buy.

#19 Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) – When healthy, he is a good player. Nothing more, just a good player. There really isn’t anything special about him. He gets hurt about as much as Matt Schaub, and is simply a good player on the rare occasions that he is healthy.

#20 Trent Edwards (Buffalo Bills) – Solid player who will be the next victim of T.Ozilla. Edwards is a smart player with good size and a strong arm, but he tends to become very inconsistent as the season wears on. I like his skill set, but he is not a strong player for an entire season. Maybe this will be the year that it all comes together. On second thought, no it won’t.

#21 Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) – I really didn’t understand all the fuss about Flacco last season. He was decent and nothing more. The Ravens won because of their defense and running game. He did very little to contribute. True, he was good for one deep ball (which he throws very well) every two games, but that was about it. I found the comparisons between him and Matt Ryan laughable, because Matt Ryan is so much better than him that it isn’t even funny. The defense really covered up all of the holes in his game. He has a lot of work to do, but he does have all of the tools and is off to a good start.

#22 Kerry Collins (Tennessee Titans) – Dependable veteran who does not lose games for you. He may not lead you to victory, but he keeps the team close enough to allow the defense and running game to lead you to victory. He is also good enough to keep Future Hall of Famer, Vince Young on the bench. Which says a lot about both Kerry and Vince.

#23 Matt Cassell (Kansas City Chiefs) – One year wonder? Who knows. Last year he stepped into the perfect situation and played quite well. But now he is in Kansas City and he doesn't have Randy Moss. How good is Cassell? No one knows. The Chiefs either know or hope that he is special, considering the fact that they signed him to a $63 million contract this off-season.

#24 Jake Delhomme (Carolina Panthers) – At this point Jake is simply keeping the seat warm for the next quarterback. If Michael Vick returns to form, look for him to land here. Jake is done. He must have some pictures of coach John Fox in some compromising situations. That is the only way that I can explain him not only keeping his job, but also getting a contract extension.

#25 Shaun Hill (San Francisco 49er’s) – There is nothing pretty about his game. His delivery isn’t great and he throws a bad ball, but he GIVES THE 49ER’s A BETTER CHANCE TO WIN THAN ALEX SMITH! That being said, I don’t know if beating out Smith says very much.

#26 JaMarcus Russell (Oakland Raiders) – Strong arm, but wrong organization. I truly don’t know if the Raiders have the correct coaching staff or organizational infrastructure to bring along a young quarterback. If he ever reaches his potential, the rest of the league had better watch out. The problem is that at this point it has proven to be nothing more than potential.

#27 Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) – The first time I watched him play as a freshman at Georgia, I turned to my wife and said, “He is going to be the first pick in the draft in three years.” As it turned out, I was right. He is a big guy with a tremendous arm. He is the closest thing to Jay Cutler in the league right now (as far as raw ability). That being said, he is still a rookie. Although he played his college ball in the NFL Southeast division, he will soon find out that there are no creampuffs on the NFL schedule. You won’t get to play Central Michigan and Georgia Southern the week before a big game. As a matter of fact, the Lions are Central Michigan by NFL standards. Stafford will quickly find out that the one game on the NFL schedule each year that you have the best chance to win in the one against “BYE.” Every other game will be a dogfight. If you don’t believe me, just ask your teammates. Trust me, THEY KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO WIN IN THE NFL. Stafford has all of the tools to be a good one, and with good coaching and experience he will one day be an elite NFL quarterback.

#28 Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) – Sanchez could very well be this year’s Joe Flacco. That’s because the Jets should have a dominant defense this year and simply ask him not to throw the games away. If he manages not to lose many games, the media will treat him like the best rookie since Matt Ryan. However, looking at him as a player, he does have some flaws and shows great potential as well. It was hard to gauge his talent in college because he played on a team with All-Americans at basically every position, so all he had to do was distribute the football and stay out of the way. His arm is average by NFL standards and he will get caught up in the moment and try to make a big play when nothing is there. This year, I expect him to be a game manager and take on more responsibility as he grows with the offense. Long term, I see him being a better than average NFL quarterback. Nothing special, but good enough to keep the Jets from drafting a quarterback for the next 5 – 6 years. He is definitely an upgrade over the scrub they have backing him up.

#29 Marc Bulger (St. Louis Rams) – It really was the system. Mike Martz really made Bulger appear to be better than he really was. Come to think of it, he has been pretty bad since Martz was fired. There was a time when Bulger appeared to be on the cusp of becoming an elite quarterback. Fortunately his agent was smart enough to capitalize on the hype. He did get paid, but the return on that investment has been basically non-existent for the Rams. The Rams will in all likelihood be drafting either Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy with the first overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft. He will probably be released this upcoming off-season, or he will start the season next year to ease the transition for the rookie. Long story short, this guy is done.

#30 Byron Leftwich (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Leftwich has gone from first round pick with promise to journeyman in a matter of three short seasons (and he isn't even 30 years old). Health has basically been his problem. It’s almost like he is made of glass, because he completely shatters every time he gets hit. The fact that he has the longest windup in NFL history does not help his case at all. It’s almost like watching Hideo Nomo pitch. He takes so long to get the ball out of his hands once he decides to throw it that it is ridiculous. He does however have a great arm, which is put on display about five seconds after he decides to throw the ball. This is his last shot as a starter. If he isn’t successful, he will begin the second half of his career as the next Charlie Batch (permanent backup).

#31 Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) – The innocent bystander in the Jay Cutler v/s Josh McDaniel feud will be unfairly linked to Cutler for the rest of his career. Simply put, he isn’t a very talented player. If McDaniel is the offensive genius that he thinks that he is, he may turn Orton into an average quarterback. He is really going to hate being compared to Cutler who is on the cusp of elite status for the rest of his career.

And now, the worst starting quarterback in the NFL today is….

#32 Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns) – Quinn is probably the most over-hyped quarterback to come out of college in years. He is entering his third NFL season and is yet to become the unquestioned quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. He has not dominated the competitions between himself, Derrick Anderson, or even Charlie Frye. People assumed that he would be a good pro based on the fact that he played for Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame. But let’s look at that for what it was. He never won a big game or a game that Notre Dame wasn’t favored in during his college career. Also as it turned out, Weiss really wasn’t an offensive genius. He simply used his NetFlix account more than anyone else during his time in New England. Quinn simply isn’t that good, and obviously new coach Eric Mangini agrees because he hasn’t named a starter in Cleveland (at the time this blog was written) and we are six days away from the opener. If Quinn was really any good, he would be the unquestioned starter because he is a first round pick that they had to make a draft day trade to get.

AND NOW FOR MY BALLER AND SCRUB OF THE WEEK:

BALLER: University of Geogia, Oklahoma State University, University of Alabama, and Virginia Tech Football Teams – I would like to commend all of you for opening the college football seasons against REAL OPPONENTS! I get sick and tired of seeing these lopsided college games on opening weekend. Seeing Florida and USC open up against glorified high school teams is a waste of television airtime. All four of you play in tough conferences, yet are not afraid to open the season against a tough non-conference team. Kudos to you. I wish more schools would follow your lead.

SCRUB: LeGarrette Blount (University of Oregon) & Byron Hout (Boise State University) – Both of you are scrubs this week for very different reasons. First of all, I would like to give Mr. Hout a little bit of advice. There is no reason to talk trash AFTER A FOOTBALL GAME IN WHICH YOUR TEAM WON! There is enough trash talking and hitting going on during the game to make it totally unnecessary to seek out a player to taunt him after he played a terrible game. But in the event that you decide to anyway, KEEP YOUR HELMET ON!!!! Any football player that talks trash with his helmet in his hand deserves to get knocked out. Here is where I would usually quote Smokey (Chris Tucker) from the movie Friday, but remember this is a family blog. Also, you should be given some sort of suspension as well, and the conference still has the option of handing down one. I guess the coach didn't suspend you because he figured that getting knocked out on national television was punishment enough. Trust me that clip will live forever (on STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!)

As for LeGarrette Blount, you have got to learn that there are simply some things that you can’t do. You cannot throw a punch on the opening night of the college football season on national television and not expect to be severely punished. I know that Hout was wrong for seeking you out to talk trash, but young man you are going to deal with much worse than that as you go through life. That one punch (although it was beautiful) cost you a boatload of money. You have gone from a sure fire second round draft pick with first round potential, to an undrafted free-agent if you are lucky. Truthfully, I don’t have a problem with you being suspended for the entire season, because an example had to be set to prevent this type of behavior from becoming the norm. Also, this is the only way that I believe that you would learn that THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU JUST CAN’T DO! To those of you who think that his punishment was too severe, just think about what would happen if you knocked out a co-worker for saying something to you when you were upset. You will be fired, no questions asked. I rather him learn this lesson as a college student, than in the real world.

If for some reason, Blount is not picked up by an NFL team next year, he should really consider a career in boxing, because that punch was on the money and dropped a 300 plus pound football player in full padding (minus the helmet). That is indeed impressive. (Please see video clip below.)

VINCE YOUNG IS RESTLESS

“I definitely want to get back out there playing ball and picking up where I left off, winning games and having a good time with my teammates and with the fans, at the same time, if them guys don’t want me to be in there, it’s time for me to make a career change for myself. Because the fact is I’m ready to play ball. If they’re not ready for me to play ball, then somebody is.”
(I do apologize for the incorrect use of the word them in the opening quote, but it is a quote, and that is exactly what he said. He was a star football player at Texas, do you really think he was forced to pay attention in all of his English classes? )

This is a statement that Vince Young made to a Baltimore media outlet concerning his current position on the Titans quarterback depth chart. Kerry Collins is currently the starter. He led the Titans to a 13 – 3 record and the AFC South Championship. Vince Young is currently the backup quarterback, and it looks like his only hope of starting for the Titans is if Collins gets injured or retires.

There were many people in the media who took shots at Young for making these comments. They made it seem as though he was whining or sulking and basically being a BRETT FAVRE (my new official term for DIVA), by saying that he must be given the starting job or he will take his ball and go home. In my opinion, these guys have it all wrong. Personally, I don’t have a problem with Young’s comments at all. What he was saying was that he has been working hard and really wants a chance to win back his old job (that he should have never had). I gather that he wants to play, and he feels that he is good enough to be someone’s starting quarterback, whether it is in Tennessee or elsewhere.

I applaud Young’s comments, because it shows that he is not content being a backup. Let’s be honest, does anyone want a player on their team who is content to be a backup. I want a team full of guys that will work their hardest to always get better and be on the field as much as possible. What do you think those same critics of Young would be saying if he instead said, “Man, I have the best job in the world. They just paid me over $7 million last season to wear a baseball cap and hold a clipboard. I can’t wait until next season starts so that I can watch Kerry do his thing, while I do my best Peerless Price impersonation and continue to rob them blind.” If that was his comment, everyone would be saying that we need a guy on our team that has more competitive fire and that is not content to be a backup. Truth be told, the best thing that Vince could have done was say nothing, because he was definitely in a no-win situation. He was going to be criticized no matter what he said.

Now, I must be honest. Although I applaud Young’s competitive fire and his desire to get back on the field, I must say that if he or anyone else believes that he can be a starting quarterback on a good team in this league, they are out of their minds. If you look at Vince Young’s history in the NFL, it is easy to see how he has a distorted view of his abilities. First of all, he was drafted waaaayyyy to high (He was drafted third overall in the 2006 draft, but that was also the year that Vernon Davis was drafted sixth overall by San Francisco. Let’s just say that the talent evaluators had an off year). That must have really had him thinking that he was the man. Then things got even more distorted when he was named Rookie of the Year (this was really because he turned out to be a better rookie running back than Reggie Bush and Maurice Jones-Drew). To make matters worse, he even made the Pro Bowl (actually he was an injury replacement’s, injury replacement). So basically, Young got a lot of undeserved accolades very early in his career, which gave him a supreme sense of entitlement.

The truth of the matter is, Vince Young has a loooonnnnng way to go before I would feel comfortable with him as my starting quarterback. There are those that would look at the fact that Young led the Titans to 8 wins as a rookie and 10 wins in second season, and say that he is a winner no matter what his statistics say. I strongly disagree. As a matter of fact, I can honestly say that the Titans had that moderate level of success IN SPITE OF Vince Young’s play at quarterback. His career statistics are simply terrible (for a lack of a better word). First of all, he has thrown for less than 5,000 yards in his entire career (33 games played). To put that in perspective, Peyton Manning threw for over 4,500 in 2004 alone. Tom Brady threw for over 4,800 in 2007. As a matter of fact, Brady’s 2007 total is only 158 yards less than Young’s career total. Drew Brees threw for 5,069 yards last season (105 more than Young’s career total), and even fellow 2006 draftee Jay Cutler topped 4,500 yards last season. I know that you are thinking that all of these players played with good to great wide receivers. That is true, but Donovan McNabb didn’t have a proven receiver going into last season and he still threw for almost 4,000 yards. Further proof that the Titans were winning in spite of Young’s play at quarterback can be seen in his 0.69 to 1 career touchdown to interception ratio (22 touchdowns to 32 interceptions). This means that he throws far less than one touchdown for every interception that he throws. Michael Vick (who is routinely criticized for his passing skills) even has a touchdown to interception ratio of 1.39 to 1, which is double that of Young. Basically he is half the passer that Michael Vick is/was (which is not saying much at all). Ideally, you would want this number to be 2 to 1 or higher, which Young’s is not even close to accomplishing. As a matter of fact, he has never thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in any NFL season.

Vince Young is a great athlete, but a terrible quarterback. I love his desire and competitive fire, but I hate his work ethic. While I have never attended a Titans practice, I am fairly comfortable saying that he doesn’t work hard because he is one player that I can honestly say has not gotten any better since he left college. There has been absolutely NO IMPROVEMENT IN HIS GAME. He is the same player that he was when he entered the league, and that player is not ready to be anyone’s starter.

My advice to Vince is to learn as much as you can from Collins, study film like there is no tomorrow and throw, throw, throw. Practice makes perfect. I sincerely hope that you are putting the work in, and will be ready when you get another opportunity to start. I wouldn’t give you that opportunity, but I am sure that someone definitely will.

AND NOW FOR MY BALLER & SCRUB OF THE WEEK

BALLER: Chad Ochocinco (Wide Receiver Cincinnati Bengals) - You earn this honor because you finally realized that the Bengals WILL NOT TRADE YOU, no matter what you do. That being said, all signs point to you working hard this off-season to return to the beast of a receiver that you truly are. No matter what the haters say, the game needs you. Football is at its best when Chad Ochocinco is at his best. Now go ball out and lead the Bengals to the playoffs. Carson is healthy, so THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!

SCRUB: Chad Ochocinco (Wide Receiver Cincinnati Bengals) - You get this dubious distinction for not being prepared at all for last season. I heard you say in a recent interview that you didn't lift one weight, run one route, or excercise in preparation for last season. Even if you were focused on getting out of Cincy, you should have prepared and played your hardest. I mean, you did cash thier checks, didn't you? The fans still bought expensive tickets in a recession to see you play, didn't they? I appreciate your honesty, but you should be ashamed of yourself. I EXPECT AN ALL-PRO SEASON THIS YEAR! Now go ball out and lead the Bengals to the playoffs. Carson is healthy, so THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!