Calvin Johnson (Lions)- He had just 2 receptions for 58 yards, but that’s because he was carted off the field after making a circus catch between 2 defenders in the 2nd quarter. Johnson showed his big play capability, but it might be on hold for one week. He’s listed as questionable this week against the Bears.

LaRon Landry (Redskins)- Landry had 11 total tackles and has shown his strength with numerous big hits. Receivers will fear Landry.

Adrian Peterson (Vikings)- He just missed leading the team in rushing and receiving for the third straight game. Peterson had 102 rushing yards with a touchdown and 48 receiving yards. Tight End Visanth Shiancoe led the Vikings with 51 receiving yards.

Ted Ginn Jr (Dolphins)- We have a Ted Ginn sighting! He caught his first pass for 15 yards. While his numbers haven’t been stellar, he IS averaging 15 yards per catch…

Dwayne Bowe (Chiefs)- Bowe accounted for 48 of the 84 yards on the game-winning drive, including a leaping catch over his defender for a 16-yard touchdown. Bowe is looking like the big target receiver the Chiefs have been missing.

Marshawn Lynch (Bills)- Lynch had 74 yards rushing and a touchdown against a tough Patriots defense. Lynch should get plenty of carries next week with fellow rookie Trent Edwards starting.

Paul Posluszny (Bills)- Posluszny was on track for 139 tackles this season; a number that would have put him in the running for Defensive Rookie of the Year. But, instead, his season is now over having suffered a broken left forearm while tackling Laurence Maroney.

Trent Edwards (Bills)- Who would’ve thought Edwards would be the first rookie quarterback to play this season? Edwards went 4 for 5 on his first drive that eventually led to a Marshawn Lynch 8-yard touchdown run. But, after his first drive Edwards went 6 for 15 for 63 yards and an interception. No quarterback controversy yet.

James Jones (Packers)- Undrafted rookie, James Jones is becoming Favre’s 3rd target behind Driver and Jennings. Jones had 6 catches for 79 yards in a win verse the Chargers.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 9:15 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

-Cowboys are regretting not signing Tony Romo. The Cowboys decided to wait to negotiate a deal with Romo and now he has put up big numbers and will command a big salary. Romo is 6th in passing yards, 3rd in touchdowns, and 3rd in quarterback rating. Romo racked up 329 passing yards vs. the Bears; a defense that allowed just one 300-yard passer all of last regular season. Romo will get top 5 quarterback money before the beginning of next season.

-Donovan McNabb knows how to draw attention to himself. Had McNabb had another poor performance the media would be all over him, as they were after he made comments about black QB’s being held to a different standard than white ones. Now, the story is about his rejuvenation and the Eagles are all of a sudden a contender in the NFC. But, everyone should temper their expectations. Yes, 56 points is a lot, but it was against the Lions. This is a Lions defense that allowed Josh McCown of the Raiders to throw for 313 yards.

-The Bills are the worst team in the NFL. There’s a short list of teams that could give the Bills a run for the worst NFL team. The Dolphins, Falcons, Rams, and Saints are also 0-3, but the Saints and Rams have talented offenses and will end the season with at least 5 wins. The Dolphins and Falcons look pretty pathetic, but they haven’t been outscored 79-23, they don’t have a rookie QB starting (Trent Edwards), they haven’t lost their best defensive player (Paul Posluszny), and their defensive secondaries have not been completely decimated. The Bills will be without JP Losman for at least a couple of weeks and that means at least a couple more losses. At least they won’t lose in 3 weeks. God bless the bye week.

-Norv Turner should be cut some slack. I’m not ready to defend Norv Turner, but I’m not ready to can him either. Keep in mind that the reason Schottenheimer was fired was because of his post-season performance, not regular season. The Chargers defense has been mediocre at best, LT doesn’t look like the MVP of a year ago, and Philip Rivers is having his share of problems, but they’re just 1-2. They play the Chiefs, Broncos, and Raiders before a week 7 bye. If they can beat the Broncos on the road they should be 4-2 and everyone is viewing the Chargers a little differently.

-The Colts look better than they did last year. The Colts seem to be like a college football powerhouse that just keeps reloading now matter how many players they lose. The Colts lost 6 starters from last year’s Super Bowl team (4 on defense) and they look better than ever. Marlin Jackson has stepped up to replace the aging Nick Harper; Rookie Anthony Gonzalez replaced Brandon Stokley; and Joseph Addai has been able to carry the load with the loss of Dominic Rhodes. Colts seem to be taking a page from the Patriots by releasing older players that will carry a large price tag and replacing them with younger serviceable players. So far, so good.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 7:06 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

-Tim Tebow is the Heisman frontrunner. He was 20 for 34 for 261 yards, 2 touchdowns, and more importantly zero interceptions. Oh yeah, and he also rushed for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns. To put that in perspective, everyone’s leading candidate coming into the year, Darren McFadden, had 173 yards rushing. Tebow took what the defense gave him and didn’t force anything. He’s showing maturity well beyond his sophomore standing. But, let’s hold off on those votes until he runs through the gauntlet of LSU, Kentucky, and Georgia after this week’s math-up against a disappointing Auburn.

-Michigan’s got Hart and that means they have a strong chance to win the Big 10. Mike Hart carried the ball a career-high 44 times against the Nittany Lions and while he averaged just under 3.5 yards per carry he carried the ball 44 times! Michigan still has to improve on offense to have a chance against Wisconsin and Ohio State (their last 2 games of the season), but if they get any sort of passing game and their defense continues to hold up, they quickly become the favorite in the Big 10. They SHOULD win their next 2 games against Northwestern and Eastern Michigan and then they might have a challenge at home against Purdue.

-Syracuse’s win over Louisville is almost as big of an upset as Appalachian State over Michigan. Louisville’s 20-game home win streak was snapped despite Brian Brohm throwing for 555 yards and 4 touchdowns. Syracuse, a 36.5 point underdog scored 38 points, whereas they had scored 32 points in their first 3 games combined. Prior to this game Syracuse had been outscored 118-38, or an average loss of over 26 points per game. Brohm might be able to rack up numbers, but if their defense doesn’t get any better the Cardinals are in for a rough rest of the season.

-Wisconsin is the most overrated team. They beat UNLV by just one touchdown, gave up 31 points to the Citadel, and squeaked out a 17-13 victory over Iowa. While they’re overrated don’t expect them to slip in the rankings anytime soon. They hold the nation’s longest winning streak at 13 games and have the schedule to continue that streak. If they can beat Penn State on the road in mid October, they should stay undefeated until at least November 3rd when they play Ohio State on the road.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 12:23 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

An eye-popper in the New York Sometimes today:

In a bizarre twist, Boston is accusing New York of stealing signs. Legendary Red Sox fan, James Rapp was shocked and appalled at what he saw while watching the broadcast of a Yankees/Red Sox game that took place at Yankee Stadium. Many of you might not know that Mr. Rapp came up with the “Yankees Suck. Jeter Swallows” slogan that he proudly displayed on posterboard when the two teams played a series at Fenway in 1999. Rapp recalled the origin of the now famous slogan:

“I’d heard many people yell out Yankees suck in the past, but I knew there had to be more to it. I knew there was something there, but it didn’t come to me right away. Then, one night the Yankees just pounded us and Jeter was like 5-5 or something. I was feeling pretty depressed and decided to have some um, personal time…and that’s when it came to me. Yankees Suck and Jeter Swallows! I never thought I’d have a more momentous moment in my life than when I finished Super Mario Bros in under 10 minutes, but that night everything changed.”

Rapp grabbed posterboard and a sharpie and brought the sign to Fenway the very next day. The response was overwhelming. “At first I was a little nervous. I had the sign rolled up, but once I saw Jeter step to the plate I knew what I had to do.”

James Rapp unrolled the sign and displayed it to laughs and cheers from the Boston faithful. But, now his unique slogan is in jeopardy. Rapp recently saw a sign at Yankee Stadium that read, “Red Sox Suck and Manny Swallows”.

Rapp responded, “Yankees fans have no class. They think they can just take the best slogans away from every franchise. They’ve never developed slogans to bring up to Yankee Stadium and that’s why their slogans are always old and past their prime.”

We were able to get in contact with the man responsible for the counter-sign. Vinnie Delpino, a 25 year-old hailing from the Bronx responded, “What, does this guy thinks he owns words or something? Fugetaboutit!”

Instead of taking legal action, Rapp has decided to focus his efforts on coming up with a new slogan.

“I have the Yankees players names on one side of a piece of paper and expletives and insults on the other and I’ve been mixing and matching. Just trying to figure out what will work the best. So far, I’ve gotten ‘Clemens Has Chlamydia!’ and ‘Damon…More Like Gay-man!’ but I know I can do better.”

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 10:35 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

They booed and threw snowballs at Santa Claus; they shot flares across the field; they cheered when Michael Irvin was knocked unconscious; and they booed when their beloved Eagles selected Donovan McNabb 2nd overall in the 1999 Draft. There is a reason Veteran Stadium was the first (and for a long time the only) arena with a judge and jail on the premises. This is the reason Donovan McNabb is feeling the heat, not because he’s black.

In an interview with James Brown on HBO’s “Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel” McNabb said black quarterbacks get more scrutiny than white quarterbacks. He said, referring to Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning, “They don’t get criticized as much as we do. They don’t.” Had he changed “we” to “me” he would be right. McNabb has been criticized and especially recently. But, the criticism is deserved. The Eagles are off to an 0-2 start and McNabb has looked awful. He has completed just 54.5% of his passes and has a QB rating of 68.7.

Yes, McNabb had ACL surgery 10 months ago and he is not fully healthy, but try telling that to die hard Eagles fans. McNabb was booed in the 2nd quarter of the Monday night game against the Redskins. Does he deserve better? Of course. But, he won’t get that in a city that lives by “What have you done for me lately? Nothing? Bring in the backup!”

Fans and the media criticize those that can’t produce and it has nothing to do with race. Look at the quarterbacks who have been criticized the most: Rex Grossman, Eli Manning, and Chad Pennington. All three are white quarterbacks, but more importantly all play in major sports cities. But, in Chicago and New York there are more sports to focus on. The media can slam the Cubs or the Mets, or the Yankees. But in Philadelphia the focus has always been on the Eagles and the quarterback position always attracts the most attention.

There have been many black quarterbacks that have received plenty of praise. Daunte Culpepper was hailed as a savior for the Vikings when he was putting up gaudy numbers for that potent offense. Steve McNair led the Titans to the Super Bowl and was heralded as almost superhuman for playing through injury after injury. Most recently, Vince Young has been the darling of the NFL and even graced the cover of the most recent Madden video game (McNabb was on the cover in 2006). On Tuesday morning the sports pundits were praising Jason Campbell for his poise and leadership and there was no mention that he is a black quarterback.

McNabb, a 5-time Pro Bowler gets more criticism then he deserves, but race is not the reason. Donovan should focus on silencing those boos and simply stay silent.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 2:08 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

-Calvin Johnson (Lions)- Johnson had another good game catching 4 balls for 61 yards including a 7-yard touchdown. Although, the 7-yard touchdown should have been pass interference. Has Johnson already reached the status to where he’s able to get away with those kinds of things? We all know Mike Martz like to spread the ball around to multiple targets, but who knew he’d get Jon Kitna involved in the receiving game?

-Adrian Peterson (Vikings)- Peterson had 118 total yards, but just 3.3 yards per rush. He continues to run hard and has shown both his speed and strength. He takes linebackers head on and wins…the Vikings better talk to him about that if they want him to remain healthy. Peterson has led the Vikings in both receiving and rushing yards in each of his first 2 games- that’s gotta be a first in NFL history. This kid is unbelievable.

-Amobi Okoye (Texans)- The most intriguing rookie from this year has to be Amobi Okoye. He graduated high school at age 15 and started playing for Louisville at 16. He started playing football as a sophomore in high school and part of his training for learning football was playing Madden. He’s the youngest player ever to be drafted in the first round and in his second game with the Texans he recorded 4 tackles, 2 sacks, and forced a fumble verse the Panthers.

-Patrick Willis (49ers)- Led the team in tackles for the second week in a row. He had 5 solo tackles and 8 total tackles. Looks like coaching from Mike Singletary is paying off. Willis can cover a lot of ground and makes tackles all over the field. With Lynch back there it will be difficult for offenses to break off big chunks of yardage against the 49ers.

-Marshawn Lynch (Bills)- Lynch had 18 carries for 64 yards and 21 receiving yards. The Bills went down early and had to abandon the run (could become a trend for the Bills). Lynch accounted for 85 of the Bills 223 yards of offense.

-Brady Quinn (Browns)- Well, looks like Derek Anderson’s performance against the Bengals will keep Quinn sidelined for at least 2 more games. Let’s hope he’s sidelined for 3 games against 3 tough defenses (Raiders, Ravens, Patriots) then is named the starter in week 6 when the Browns host the team that passed on Quinn; the Miami Dolphins.

-Anthony Gonzalez (Colts)- He finally got his first action against the Tennessee Titans. Gonzalez had 3 catches for 49 yards. This is what the Colts want out of Gonzalez. He probably won’t have a 100-yard game, but 2-5 receptions for around 50 yards per game would be a productive season for Gonzalez.

-Paul Posluszny (Bills)- Posluszny had plenty of chances to make tackles with Willie Parker constantly breaking it through the Bills undersized defensive line. He led the team with 12 tackles and has a team high 22 tackles on the year. It’s not a good sign for the Bills that their best offensive and defensive player are rookies.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 6:20 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

Charles Barkley continues to show why he’s the most entertaining person in sports broadcasting. Barkley joined the crew of Monday Night Football in the booth in the 3rd quarter and brought some life to a game that had just 2 touchdowns. The best moment was when Mike Tirico mentioned the Eagles could easily have won last week had they not muffed a couple punts, to which Charles quipped, “If I didn’t eat so much I wouldn’t be fat.”

Barkley just tells the truth. He doesn’t fall into typical announcer rhetoric and speaks his mind on anything. Barkley told of his troubling times in Philadelphia and how sports fans there are unforgiving. He said he did take the criticism personally and anyone who says they don’t is a liar. Athletes read the paper, they hear what the media says and it does get to them. It’s always refreshing to hear an honest answer from an athlete or politician and Barkley expressed his interest to also become the ladder. He plans to run for governor of Alabama in 2014 once he becomes an official resident.

Barkley being in the booth also made me realize why Tony Kornheiser should not be on the Monday Night Football crew. Kornheiser did a great job interviewing Barkley. Kornheiser has a way of posing questions to get insightful responses. But, he has no one to pose these types of questions to on the MNF Crew. Mike Tirico is the color commentator and does a wonderful giving the play by play. But, he needs to remain impartial on major issues. Ron Jaworski provides immense football knowledge in breaking down the game. But, Jaws is a technical guy; not a columnists. He’ll break down the Redskins running game, but he’s not going to give unique insight into whether Joe Gibbs should be revered in Washington.

Bottom line: Kornheiser’s skills don’t lend themselves to the current MNF format. ESPN either needs to find a better way to use him or, better yet, find a way to keep Barkley in the booth permanently.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 12:48 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

-Having the number one pick in fantasy football doesn’t make you a lock (or the second or third for that matter). In fact, fantasy football rankings are completely screwed up right now. The top 3 picks, Tomlinson, Jackson, and Johnson are ranked a respective 44th, 154th, and 84th. We’ve all heard that running backs win fantasy leagues, but currently it’s wide receivers who are leading the way. The top three fantasy players are Steve Smith, Chad Johnson, and Randy Moss. The top running back is Edgerrin James followed by LaMont Jordan…it’s early in the season folks.

-Chad Johnson jumped into the Dawg Pound in Cincinatti...and the Bengals defense must have disappeared in the Black Hole.

-With the Browns win- the race for the worst team in football should focus on the Chiefs, Bills, Dolphins, Falcons, and last year’s “winner” the Raiders. At least next year’s Draft looks to have a lot of talent.

-Janikowski has the strongest leg in football. The Raiders lost to the Broncos in overtime, but did you see those kicks by Janikowski? In overtime Janikowski kicked a 52-yard field goal that would have been good from about 65 yards. But, Broncos head coach, Mike Shanahan called a timeout prior to the snap. On his next attempt, Janikowski hit the very top of the left upright. Had that kick been 6 inches to the right the Raiders would have their first win, but more impressively that kick would have been good from 70-plus yards. Instead of marching out McCown to throw an interception they should just put in Janikowski once they get in to midfield.

-Vince Young is better than I thought. The Titans got rid of their top running back (Travis Henry) and top 2 wide receivers (Drew Bennett and Bobby Wade) this off-season and Vince Young still manages to keep the Titans in a game they have no business being in. Unfortunately, there is only so much Young can do with this team that will probably struggle all season long.

-The Saints can’t wait to go home and play in New Orleans. The number one offense in the league last year has not been able to click and the Saints are off to an 0-2 start. Look for the Saints to put up points in their Monday night home opener against the Titans.

-The Falcons are kicking themselves for trading Matt Schaub. Schaub has completed 72% of his passes and found a real connection with Andre Johnson. But, the biggest difference for the Texans is Schaub has only been sacked twice in his 2 starts. Harrington was sacked 7 times on Sunday and David Carr was probably sacked 2 times standing on the opposite sideline of the Texans.

-The Panthers and Texans might have the two best receivers in the game. Andre Johnson and Steve Smith are the only targets on their teams and they still manage monster numbers despite constant double teams.

-Don’t get your hopes up in Detroit. The Lions beat the Raiders and beat the Vikings in overtime despite Tavaris Jackson throwing 4 picks. The Lions are at best a .500 team and even that is a stretch.

-The Bears continue to be who we think they are. Still don’t know if I like Dennis Green’s tirade better than Jim Mora’s. Good defense, Grossman inconsistent, but they win games for now.

-The Patriots are scary. Usually it takes a quarterback and receiver awhile to get on the same page, but Tom Brady has taken 3 new wide receivers and has instantly clicked. Undefeated season? Hope I just jinxed them.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 9:41 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

-Nick Saban made the right decision to go back to college. Conversely, looks like Greg Oden made the right decision to leave college.

-John David Booty will not be in the running for the Heisman. USC doesn’t need to rely on Booty to win games, he simply needs to manage them. I think he has the talent to win games, but with that offensive line all they have to do is hand the ball off. Stafon Johnson had 11 carries for 144 yards and 1 touchdown, but any of their running backs could have had similar numbers. The Trojans averaged an obscene 8.2 yards per carry. If OJ had had the Trojans offensive line in Vegas this past week he might not have been caught.

-Tim Tebow has put his name into the Heisman race and Florida has added itself to a small list for best team in the nation. Tebow had 299 yards passing and 61 rushing yards against 22nd ranked Tennessee. Let’s just hope Tebow doesn’t turn into Koko the monkey once the Gators get into the heart of the SEC schedule (Seinfeld…T-bone…Kruger…anyone? Come on! Who hasn’t thought that when they hear the name Tebow?).

-Oklahoma had no trouble pummeling a bad Utah team…UCLA on the other hand couldn’t handle the Utah Utes. Utah scored 37 unanswered points on a Bruins defense that returned 10 starters from last year’s team. USC should have nothing to worry about. But USC had nothing to worry about last year either.

-Virginia Tech has its next star quarterback. Serviceable Junior Sean Glennon was benched for Freshman Tyrod Taylor in the LSU drubbing last week and the freshman had a near perfect game against Ohio on Saturday. Taylor went 18 for 31 for 287 yards and no interceptions. He also rushed for a 6-yard touchdown. Let’s hope there’s no Bad Newz for this Virginia Tech QB.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 2:39 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

I’m a Baltimore Orioles fan. Yes, I’ll accept your pity. And as an Orioles fan I hate the Yankees. But, there is one player on the Yankees I’ve always rooted for; Mike Mussina.

Mussina is in his 17th season in the majors and every major accomplishment that pitchers are measured by has been just out of his reach.

-He’s never won 20 games. Mussina has had 7 seasons with 17 or more wins. He has more wins than any pitcher without ever having won 20 games in a season. In 1994 he had 16 wins through 112 games before the season was stopped short because of the strike. Mussina was on pace for a 23 win season.
-He’s never won a Cy Young. He’s been nominated seven times and finished in the top 5 six times.
-He’s never led the league in ERA. But, he’s had 10 seasons with an ERA below 3.55
-He’s never pitched a no-hitter. He’s had 3 one-hitters and 1 two-hitter.
-He’s never won a World Series. He lost with the Yankees in 2001 and 2003.

Mussina is clearly past his prime and if this isn’t his last season, next year will almost certainly be it for him. But, many thought his career was over after 4 abysmal outings in the middle of August to the beginning of September where Mussina had an ERA of 14.52. Joe Torre had to pull Mussina from the lineup and many wondered if he’d ever make it back into the rotation. But, Mussina did come back and started for the first time in almost 3 weeks and showed he can still pitch. On Wednesday, against the Blue Jays, Mussina pitched 5.2 scoreless innings to record his 9th win of the season. Mussina needs just one more win to have double-digit wins for the 16th straight season. He is the only pitcher to have 10-plus wins in 15 straight seasons.

Assuming the Yankees make the playoffs, there is a good chance Mussina will be relegated to the bullpen, and there’s even a chance he won’t make the post-season roster at all. After Mussina’s most recent successful start he said to reporters, “I just reminded [management] that I’m still here and I can still pitch.” Hopefully he will get his chance to prove he can still pitch in the playoffs and perhaps reach the biggest milestone that has eluded him: winning a World Series.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 7:52 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

ROOKIE WATCH Week 1-

JaMarcus Russell (Raiders)- Russell had the most productive week out of any of the rookies signing a 6-year $61 million deal with $32 million guaranteed. If Russell had signed earlier, perhaps the Raiders week 3 match-up against the Browns would have been interesting.

Calvin Johnson (Lions)- Wide receivers typically don’t put up numbers in their first season. Wide receivers also don’t typically run a 4.33 forty, have a vertical of 45 inches, and stand 6 feet 5 inches tall. Fabian Washington said “He wasn’t that great to me”. Do you think he was saying that as Johnson beat him in single coverage for a 16-yard touchdown?

Adrian Peterson (Vikings)- 163 all-purpose yards and a 60-yard TD reception AND Chester Taylor gets injured. What was that about Peterson’s collar bone? Peterson will put up monster numbers this year. With his athleticism don’t expect him to wear down either. But, with his frame and hard-nosed running style expect him to wear down after 5 years a la Eddie George.

Patrick Willis (49ers)- Most people’s pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year, Willis lived up to the billing. He recorded 11 tackles and a forced fumble, not to mention constant pressure on Matt Leinart. Willis is going to rack up tackles this season and get a handful of sacks and interceptions on a much improved 49ers defense. Now if only their offense didn't wait until the last minute of the game to produce.

Marshawn Lynch (Bills)- Most people’s pick for Offensive Rookie of the Year…until they saw Adrian Peterson’s first game. But, Willis was also impressive against an always tough Broncos defense. Lynch had 90 yards on 19 carries and also caught two balls. Look for him to be a bigger threat in the passing game in the future, but don’t expect amazing numbers given the Bills brutal schedule (week 2- Steelers, week 3- Patriots, week 4- Jets).

Brady Quinn (Browns)- He better be worth the number one pick in next year’s draft because it looks like that’s what the Browns will have given to the Cowboys in order to draft Quinn. We might just find out this week. Crennel has said he will put Quinn in if the situation dictates. Do you think that situation involves a coin flip?

Anthony Gonzalez (Colts)- The Colts scored 41 points, had 288 passing yards and Anthony Gonzalez…well what did I say about rookie wide receivers? He’ll end up getting his touches this year. Harrison and Wayne can’t have ALL the glory.

Paul Posluszny (Bills)- Recorded 10 tackles in a loss to the Broncos. Posluszny will have plenty more opportunities to record double-digit tackles if the Bills defensive line continues to prove it cannot stop the run.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 12:13 AM | Email Author | Permalink |

On Monday we had a great game between division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. But, the announcing crew of Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Tony Kornheiser wasn’t so great.

Tony Kornheiser has what I’d call the “Reverse Adam Carolla Effect”. Adam Carolla is hilarious on the radio, but when you see him on television, for some reason he’s not nearly as funny. For Kornheiser, he’s great on PTI, but when he’s making his “witty” comments off-screen they fall short.

KORNHEISER’S COMMENTS
– When a penalty was called for 12 men on the field, but then the flag was picked up, Tirico made a lame comment about the Florida recount. Here’s where someone needs to take a shot at Tirico for that awful reference…but instead Kornheiser comes back with mentioning hanging Chad’s…get it…cause Chad Johnson is on the Bengals…Maybe they should put crickets in the booth.
-ESPN’s new gaudy graphics had beams of light instead of spot shadowing players. When TJ Houshmandzadeh was hit hard, Kornheiser mentioned they should’ve beamed him up before that hit happened. Clever, all that was missing was the Scottish accent.
-Then, worst of all was when Kornheiser asked if Kanye West and Batman’s Adam West were related. You don’t have to try and always be funny.

I don’t think Kornheiser is awful, but he didn’t fit with Theismann and so far he hasn’t fit with Jaworski. Kornheiser needs a strong counterpoint. He needs someone like Michael Wilbon. He needs someone to laugh at him for his dumb jokes and put him in his place. He needs someone to question what he’s still doing up in his old age. He needs someone to respond to his West comment with questioning whether Kornheiser even knows who Kanye West is. Until he has his counterpart, his jokes will continue to make people cringe.

Ron Jaworski is an upgrade over Joe Theismann. Although, that says very little. I will no longer have to listen to Theismann describe his devastating injury like he seemingly did every week (although this will make the MNF drinking game less exciting).

Jaws did a decent job. His knowledge of football showed with his ability to dissect defensive and offensive plays. But, my biggest problem with announcers is when they can’t admit they were wrong. Early in the first quarter Steve McNair threw a pass that was a good 3-4 feet above Demetrius Williams’ head and Jaws called it an excellent pass. Then, he reiterated this after watching the replay of Williams barely getting his hands on the pass that would’ve sailed over most receivers’ heads.

Then, there was the Chad Johnson celebration. Sure, it needs to be covered, but did it need to be brought up and shown 8 more times? What bothered me the most was while this celebration was going on, Shayne Graham was injured and the Bengals Punter, Kyle Larson’s extra point was blocked, but Kornheiser and the boys continued to debate how good Chad Johnson’s celebration was. This extra point almost proved critical and it was hardly even mentioned.

Then there was the comment of the night. The comment that left the booth silent, then cracking up, and luckily not much of a reply. Kornheiser was telling a story about how TJ Houshmandzadeh almost changed his name to TJ Johnson (his mother’s maiden name) and the Bengals would have had Chad, Landon, Rudi, Jeremi, and TJ Johnson. Then, the Jaws opened and this came out… ”Do you know who the biggest Johnson is?” I hope we never find out the answer to that question.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 5:24 PM | Email Author | Permalink |

It takes a certain type of person to be good at poker. It takes a certain smugness, even arrogance. It takes a personality willing to take risks. It takes a person who is ultra-competitive and willing to win at any cost. And it also takes skill. Bill Belichick fits all the criteria. If you've ever seen his press conferences he definitely has the poker face. His one word answers and mumbling into the mic are staples on any Monday morning during football season. All he needs is a pair of headphones and sunglasses and he'd fit right into the World Series of Poker. I'd love to see him at a table with Phil Helmuth. I'd imagine it would be even more uncomfortable than the infamous handshake (or lack thereof) between Belichick and Mangini from last season.

Bill Belichick has been an amazing coach and certainly headed to the Hall of Fame. He's the only coach to win 3 Super Bowls in 4 seasons, but his war-like tactics and tendencies of bending and breaking the rules have gone too far. Commissioner Goodell is attempting to clean up this league and has taken harsh stances on player conduct. Now he must show that he is willing to do the same against coaches. In baseball, most feel the game's integrity is in jeopardy because of steroid use. Steroid use gives players an unfair competitive advantage, or what some people would call cheating. Bill Belichick is now being accused of having an unfair competitive advantage, and this isn't the first time. If Belichick has been stealing signs, I hope Commissioner Goodell is willing to penalize Belichick and the Patriots in order to protect the integrity of this game.

Posted by Robbie Gillies at 5:22 PM | Email Author | Permalink |