Tanking for Luck Worth It?

I heard it a lot last weekend. Fans of downtrodden teams, fans of teams that came out terrible in week 1, or fans that just don't like their starting quarterback. The Titans, Chiefs, Colts (Yes, the Colts), and Seahawks come immediately to mind. If you're going to be awful - I heard- you might as well be the worst and have a shot at drafting Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who will be almost certainly be the No. 1 pick in next April's NFL draft. The Heisman runner up, Orange Bowl MVP, All-American, etc. looks great, no doubt. But how good will he be in the NFL? Now I don't think any NFL team would deliberately lose a game -let alone multiple games- just to grab a better draft pick, but the fans' reactions were interesting. Would it really be worth it?

                                                                 I don't know

Here's the quarterbacks who were overall No. 1 picks since 1980:

2010: Sam Bradford--3,500 yards as a rookie, could eventually be a great QB. Too early to tell.

2009: Matt Stafford--22 TD's/22 INT's through 14 career starts. Also too early.

2007: Jamarcus Russell--Biggest bust of all time.

2005: Alex Smith--Mediocre at best. (Guys taken after Smith: Aaron Rodgers, Demarcus Ware)

2004: Eli Manning--Pro Bowler but will never be a top 5 QB in the league.

2003: Carson Palmer--A few really good to great years but he's not even playing right now. Contract issues in Cincinnati. (Andre Johnson, Troy Polamalu, Nnamdi Asomugha)

2002: David Carr--BUST (Julius Peppers, Dwight Freeney, Ed Reed, Clinton Portis)

2001: Mike Vick-- Really good quarterback, only 2-3 playoff record though. Only 1 conference title game, which he lost. (Drew Brees)

1999: Tim Couch--BUST (Donovan McNabb, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey)

1998: Peyton Manning

1993: Drew Bledsoe-- 4 pro bowls, but just a 3-3 career playoff record (Jerome Bettis, Michael Strahan)

1990: Geoff George--BUST (Junior Seau)

1989: Troy Aikman

1987: Vinny Testaverde: Solid quarterback, but not close to the best player in that draft. (Rod Woodson, Cris Carter)

1983: John Elway


That's 3 QB's taken No. 1 overall who ended up being truly great, hall of fame quarterbacks. And only 4 of those guys won Super Bowls. -In the last 30 years, only 4 quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall have won a Superbowl- Now, you don't have to be a hall of famer to justify being chosen No. 1, but is possibly drafting a Jamarcus Russell, Alex Smith, Tim Couch, or Geoff George worth the risk of trying to draft the next John Elway?


Here's the last 15 Super Bowl winning quarterbacks:

Aaron Rodgers-- 1st round, 24th pick
Drew Brees-- 2nd round, 32nd pick
Eli Manning--1st pick overall
Peyton Manning--1st pick overall
Ben Roethlisberger--1st round, 11th pick
Tom Brady--6th round, 199th pick
Brad Johnson--9th round, 227th pick
Trent Dilfer--1st round, 6th pick
Kurt Warner--Undrafted
John Elway--1st pick overall
Brett Favre--2nd round, 33rd pick
Troy Aikman--1st pick overall
Steve Young--Supplement draft
Mark Rypien--6th round, 146th pick
Jeff Hostetler--3rd round, 59th pick


Of the 2 quarterbacks who have won 3 rings in that time, one was the 1st overall pick (Aikman) and one was a 6th round pick (Brady.) So maybe Andrew Luck will be the next Elway. But there's a better chance he's average like Drew Bledsoe or just plain bad like Tim Couch. And there's an even BETTER chance he won't be the best player in the draft.  Be careful what you wish for.

5 NFL Contenders

The 4 month NFL lockout was never really in jeopardy. There was just too much money at stake for both sides to miss any games this fall. Last year's conference winners -Packers and Steelers- are strong once again and joined by the usual suspects. While the AFC is wide open and the NFC has 3-4 teams capable of making a run in the playoffs, I only see 5 teams with a legitimate shot at winning it all. I added the Super Bowl odds as well. Here's an explanation of odds for our non-chronic gambling friends.


5) Saints (+1000) At 10/1 odds, I would take the Saints if I was a betting man, which of course I'm not. Reggie Bush is gone, released after the lockout and now in Miami. But with the 1st round pick of Alabama running back Mark Ingram and the signing of Darren Sproles, the backfield in New Orleans is solid. (Along with backs Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory) With Drew Brees under center, the passing game will never be average. I expect to see the Saints facing Green Bay in a snowy January NFC title game in Lambeau.

4) Chargers (+1000) It seems like the Chargers are always a sexy pick, every single year. Nobody cares if they bomb in the playoffs every season. Is this year any different? Maybe not, but they've made some noise in free agency this off-season, picking up safety Bob Sanders as well as linebacker Takeo Spikes. With receiver Vincent Jackson back for a full season and Philip Rivers under center, the offense will be solid.

3) Steelers (+800) In the 4 seasons since Mike Tomlin took over in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have 2 AFC titles including a SB crown in 2008. The defense has been a top 5 unit every year Tomlin has been head coach, and it won't change this fall.

2) Patriots (+300) The experts think the Pats will be joining the Packers in Super Bowl XLVI, and it's hard to disagree. A lot of people like the Steelers, but New England has more talent. The Patriots also have Tom Brady and Chad Ochocinco, which doesn't hurt. If Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth can stay in line, the AFC title is theirs to lose. The signing of defensive end Shaun Ellis was huge, whether his former coach liked it or not.

1) Packers (+350) I know it's hard to repeat. But Green Bay is as good a candidate for that distinction we've had in a while. The Super Bowl champs were without their starting running back, Ryan Grant  all season after injuring his leg in week 1. Not only that, but top-5 Tight End Jermichael Finley missed all but 5 games due to injuries last year as well. The offense was stellar without those guys. It can be better this year. The Packers probably have a 5 year window where 2 more titles isn't out of the question.


I didn't forget the Eagles or any of their acquisitions such as cornerbacks  Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, or receiver Steve Smith. I just don't see Mike Vick guiding them through the NFC. Vick's playoff record is a less than special 2-3, and he's only been to the conference title game once, in 2004.

25 Years of Fail

Some fans hope for repeats, some want another championship before they die, and some want to know what making the playoffs even looks like. Here's the 11 cities who have experienced the most failure the last 25 years.*
 *Cities with at least 2 major sports teams


11) Atlanta: The Braves had a ridiculous streak of 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005, including 5 National League pennants. Yet they only captured one championship.

                                                             1 for 14 will do this to you

The Falcons have been bad far more often than good. They won the NFC in 1998, only to meet up with the buzz saw that was John Elway.  The Hawks haven't done a thing since the Nixon administration, and the NHL's Thrashers are leaving town as you read this.

10) Washington D.C: The Redskins are one of the more storied franchises in the NFL, which helps. They've also captured a couple of Super Bowls in the last 25 years, which also helps. But there hasn't been much success since about '91, and their fans dress like this:

The other franchises in the nation's capital haven't picked up the slack. The Bullets became the Wizards but didn't get any better. The Capitals missed their only shot at a Stanley Cup in 1998.

9) Phoenix: The 2001 Diamondbacks became the youngest franchise to win a World Series, just their fourth year in the league. Besides that, Phoenix sports have been nothing more than something to do to get out of the sun. The Coyotes have proven hockey doesn't belong in the desert. The Suns' biggest claim to fame is being a part of Jordan's first 3-peat, and the Cardinals needed a 53 year-old Kurt Warner to become relevant. For just a year.

8) Cincinnati: It's hard to find a better joke of a franchise than the Cincinnati Bengals. They had a solid 14 year playoff drought from 1991-2004. They've had just two playoff appearances since then, and their drafts have been comic gold. They once took Akili Smith over Torry Holt. Peter Warrick over Brian Urlacher. Justin Smith over Ladanian Tomlinson. Levi Jones over Dwight Freeney and on and on and on.

7) Oakland: The city of Oakland hasn't seen a championship since Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire anchored the lineup and neither was suspected of using steroids.

Al Davis still owns the Raiders, so that train wreck isn't going anywhere for a while. And the Warriors might be the NBA's worst run franchise, which is tough to do in a league with the Clippers and Knicks.

6) Buffalo: When you go to the Super Bowl 4 years in a row, the law of averages says you'll win at least 1, right? The Bills lost on a wide-right field goal in 1990, got blown out in 91, got blown worse in 92, and blew a halftime lead in 93 to make it an even four-peat. Buffalo is one invention of the buffalo wing away from being the worst city in America.

5) Cleveland: If this was the biggest failures of the last 50 years, Cleveland probably tops the list. But  they've had decent teams in the last 25 seasons. The Cavs had Lebron, which was fun while it lasted. The Browns left, came back, and have been to the playoffs a hand full of times. They also have some of the league's most passionate fans, even with all the losing.

The Indians won a pair of American League titles in the mid-90's, but couldn't win either trip.

4) San Diego: Not normally known for sports mediocrity, San Diego is quickly gaining a reputation. The Padres' biggest achievement of the last 25 years was getting swept by the Yankees in the 1998 Wold Series. They haven't won a single playoff game since, and they hadn't won a playoff game before 98. The Chargers also have an embarrassing title appearance story to tell, getting utterly destroyed by the 49er's, 49-26 in Super Bowl XXIX. Along with the laundry list of playoff failures, the team is also a candidate to move to LA.

3) Seattle: The Sonics played for an NBA title but left 3 years ago. The Seahawks have been somewhat respectable, winning 7 division titles and 1 NFC championship, and the Mariners are somewhere in the middle. Only 4 playoff appearances, but hey, at least they're still in town.

2) Milwaukee: These final two cities are in a class all their own. I'll start with Milwaukee because they won the coin flip. The Brewers once made the playoffs, and they almost won two games. Almost. They've had a few good years, winning 85+ games four times, and as of today they're tied for first in the National League Central. The Bucks have been pretty awful, not sniffing a championship since the mid-70's.

1) Kansas City: The Chiefs have 3 playoff wins in the last 25 years, getting past the divisional round only once. What success the Chiefs have had the last quarter century is undoubtedly overshadowed by the Royals, who haven't made postseason play since their World Series title in 1985. They've won more than 85 games only once, and they haven't finished better than 3rd in their division since 1995. With four 1990's or later expansion teams (Rockies, Marlins, Dbacks, Rays) making or winning the World Series recently, the annual losing in Kansas City is even more astounding.

Your Team Can't Beat Mine

Quarterback- 
Joe Montana: You Play to win the game. Montana did this, winning 4 Super Bowls and 3 Super Bowl MVP's.

Backups: Dan Marino, John Elway, Brett Favre.


Running Backs-
Barry Sanders: He only played 10 seasons before shocking everyone with his 1999 retirement, but he went to 10 Pro Bowls. He had 99 touchdowns in those 10 seasons as well as 15,269 yards. Barry Sanders is the ultimate 'what if' player. Him and Bo Jackson.

Walter Payton: Second all-time in rushing yards (16,726), 4th in touchdowns with 110. He went to 9 Pro Bowls as well.

Backups: Bo Jackson, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith.


Receivers-
Jerry Rice: Obviously. He's the all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He also went to 13 Pro Bowls.

Cris Carter: Top-5 All-Time in receiving touchdowns (4th) and receptions (3rd). Never had the chance to play with a truly great quarterback though.

Tim Brown (88-04): 100 career touchdowns, 14,934 total yards and 9 pro bowls. Member of the All-1990's team and the College Football Hall of Fame. Also owns a Heisman from his days at Notre Dame.

Backups: Isaac Bruce, Randy Moss, Steve Largent.

I was really surprised to see that Terrell Owens is 2nd all-time in both receiving yards and touchdowns. There's still no way I'd put him on any all-time 'team.' He doesn't like that word anyway.

Offensive Line-

Will Shields

Jonathan Ogden

Randal McDaniel

Bruce Mathews

Orlando Pace

Cornerbacks:

Rod Woodson: The greatest of all-time in my opinion. 71 interceptions on his way to 11 Pro Bowls mainly with the Steelers and Raiders.

Dick 'Night Train' Lane: An incredible 14 interceptions as a rookie in 1952 for the LA Rams. Finished with 68 for his career, along with 7 Pro Bowls. Also gets points for having the best nickname on the team, maybe ever.

Backups: Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey.

Linebackers-

This was the toughest position to pick by far.

Lawrence Taylor: Having LT on the list wasn't hard, though. He tops nearly every list of great linebackers, going to 10 Pro Bowls while becoming only the 2nd defensive player to be named league MVP. Also had one of the nastiest hits of all time.

Ray Lewis: His play backs up his mouth, most definitely. The best middle linebacker of the last 25 years. He went to 11 Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl with the 2000 Ravens, leading an arguably top-5 defense of all-time that season.

Mike Singletary: Definitely a better linebacker than coach. He was a member of the All-1980's team, went to 10 Pro Bowls and was a first team all-pro 7 times.

Derrick Thomas: I think Derrick Thomas gets overlooked when talking about all-time great linebackers. In a career that was shortened by his death in 2000, Thomas was one of the best pass-rushing linebackers off all-time, getting 126 sacks while playing for the Chiefs.

Backups: Dick Butkus, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert.

Defensive Line-

Bruce Smith: No. 1 overall pick by the Bills in 1985, he's the all-time leader with 200 career sacks. Went to 11 Pro Bowls, and is a member of the 1980's and 1990's All-Decade teams.

Reggie White: The "Minister of Defense." White went to 13-straight Pro Bowls as a member of the Eagles and Packers. Member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time team. 198.5 career sacks is only topped by Bruce Smith.

Deacon Jones: Allegedly coined the term 'sack.' Jones played before sacks began being counted in 1982, but is known as one of the greatest defenders of all-time as a member of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1970's.

Backups: Alan Page, Joe Greene, Michael Strahan.


Safeties-
Ronnie Lott: Considered by many the greatest safety of all-time, Lott could play safety or cornerback. He was also a member of the All-1980's and All-1990's teams, while winning 4 Super Bowls with the 49ers.

Steve Atwater: One of the more underrated players in NFL history. Atwater had an incredible 1,180 tackles in only 11 seasons. He went to 8 Pro Bowls and won 2 Super Bowl rings with the Broncos.


Backups: Troy Polamalu, Paul Krause, Jack Tatum.


Kicker-
Adam Vinatieri: This is one of the easier decisions to make. He had 3 Super Bowl-winning field goals with the Patriots, and 2 of those were kicked as time expired. Also has another ring with the Colts.

Punter- This team doesn't need a punter.

Coach: Vince Lombardi

Super Bowl XLV

I'm not really sure how the Packers made it this far. They've put 15 guys on injured reserve this year including pro-bowl talents Nick Barnett, Ryan Grant, and Jermichael Finley.

Somehow the injuries were overcome and Green Bay made the playoffs after winning its last two regular season games. After a close win over the Eagles, they destroyed Atlanta on the road before taking out the Bears in the NFC title game. Aaron Rodgers has a 6/2 touchdown to interception ratio in the playoffs and looked all-worldly in his lone start in a dome, (throwing for 3 TD's and 366 yards) which is obviously the same surface he'll be on for Sunday's game.

The Steelers are playing for a lot of history. Head coach Mike Tomlin can become the youngest head coach to win two Super Bowls. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can join the ultra-exclusive 3-rings quarterback club. Pittsburgh has played two really tough playoff games so far, a 31-24 win over Baltimore and a 24-19 victory over the Jets in the AFC title game.

Both teams are led by the league's best defensive minds in Dick Lebeau and Dom Capers, and  both defenses have played great this post-season. This seems like an easy pick for a 17-14 defensive struggle, but I don't think so.

I picked the Packers over the Colts back in August, and there's no way I'm changing anything now.

                                                               31-24

Nobody watches the Pro Bowl anymore

Do they? I've probably watched the game once or twice in the last 10 years. And when I say "watched the game" I mean I turned it on for a few possessions before turning the channel or throwing the remote through a window out of sheer agony.

Football is as popular as it is in America because of the violence. We love the hits, hate the penalties for big hits, and want to see more violence. Football's main draw is the exact reason its all-star game is on par with figure skating and billiards on ESPN 2.

Baseball, basketball, and hockey all have much more entertaining all-star games. Baseball is the best in my opinion, because it's the hardest to fake.

You can decide whether to take a charge or not. Or whether you want to check a guy into the boards, or lay out a receiver coming across the middle. But you can't decide if you're going to hit a curveball. You just do it. Pitchers go all out for their 1 inning and guys are swinging for the fences. It's easily the closest to a real game you'll find among the 4 major sports.

So how should they fix the Pro Bowl? Any of these would be more entertaining:

-Make it 7-on-7. Take out the lineman and just the skill positions play.
-Take the 2 worst teams in the league and let the winner get the #1 pick in the draft.
-Make the game mean something: One member of the losing team gets shipped to...... Detroit. Just one year though. Let's not be too harsh.
-Take notes from the NHL and have a draft.
-Make the entire losing team watch a replay of the Pro Bowl immediately following the game.
-Get rid of it


Any of these would work, commissioner. No one is watching anyway.

Conference championship weekend

Could you get 4 better teams in the conference title games? Tradition, titles, and hall-of-famers falling off the bone here:

Bears: Home of the Super Bowl Shuffle, Bill Swerski's Super Fans, and 26 members in the Hall of Fame (most in the NFL) including Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus, and Walter Payton. Not bad at all.

Packers: The Super Bowl trophy is named after a Packers coach, There's about a 50 year waiting list for season tickets, 21 members in the Hall of Fame (second only to Chicago), 3 Super Bowl titles, and their fans wear cheese on their heads.

Jets: A New York team (So they'll never be as good as the media wants us to think, but we'll still hear about them non-stop) One Super Bowl title in 1968, Home of one of the craziest fans ever, Fireman Ed, A hilarious head coach, and last but not least, Bart Scott. He can't wait!

Steelers: A ridiculous 6 Super Bowl wins, One of the best football dynasties ever in the 70's, third most Hall Of Fame members, One of the league's best fan bases (tied with Green Bay as best in my book), and a quarterback looking to tie Tom Brady with 3 rings.


Packers (-3) @ Bears, Sunday 2:00 CT: The greatest rivalry in professional football right here. These teams have been playing since 1921, the longest in the NFL. 181 meetings but only once in the playoffs, in 1941 with the Bears winning 33-14. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been playing out of this world lately, throwing for 22 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions in his last 9 games. The Green Bay defense has played even better recently, only giving up 12 points per game the last 3 weeks. The Bears dominated the Seahawks with the help of a great performance by QB Jay Cutler, throwing for 2 TD's and rushing for 2 more. However, I couldn't tell how much playing the Seahawks had to do with the big game. Cutler is only 1-4 against the Packers all-time and I think Green Bay's blitzing defense will be too much on Sunday. The Packers were my pre-season Super Bowl pick (I had them beating Peyton Manning) and I'm not turning back now.  Packers 30, Bears, 20
  

Jets @ Steelers (-3.5) Sunday 5:30 CT: Bart Scott's tirade after the Jets' win over the Patriots is an all-time great, especially after that war of words the two franchises had over the course of the week. For some reason, The Jets shut up this week. I don't know why. I get that they respect the Steelers, Big Ben, and Mike Tomlin. But the Patriots are identical to the Steelers. Why stop now, Rex? Maybe he understands Roethlisberger does nothing but win in the post-season? Tom Brady is the same way, I'm still confused. Anyway, it's going to be mighty tough for the Jets to knock off THREE super bowl winning quarterbacks in a row, all on the road no less. They've already taken out Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. I think their run stops in the big ketchup bottle on Sunday night. Steelers 27, Jets 14.

NFL playoffs: Does seeding really matter?

In the last 10 years, at least one wild card team has made the Super Bowl 7 times.

2001, 2002, and 2009 are the only exceptions. And if the Packers or Jets win this weekend, we'll have another wild card team representing their conference, which begs the question: How much does seeding really matter?

Every team fights all year for that first round bye and home field advantage, but it often seems like it doesn't even matter. Take this season as an example. The Jets and Packers are 6-seeds, yet they've already won two road playoff games as underdogs. The Jets just beat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady on the road, and if they beat the Steelers this Sunday, they would have beaten three Super Bowl winning quarterbacks in a row, all on the road no less.

The Packers had to win their last two regular season games just to get into the post-season, only to have a date on the road with the Falcons, the #1 seed. The Falcons had a week off while Green Bay was already in playoff mode for two weeks. We all saw what happened, the Packers put on a clinic on their way to a 48-21 win.


Obviously every team and it's fans want a bye to rest up and home field advantage, but as we see every year, it doesn't really matter.

NFL Divisional Round

 I was 2/4 with my picks last week, but I don't think anyone outside Seattle had the Seahawks beating the Saints, so I should really be 3/4.  Either way, I never claimed to be a handicapping expert. I'm looking at a few more upsets this weekend.


Ravens @ Steelers (-3) Saturday 3:30 CT: The people who say you can "throw out the numbers in a rivalry game" might actually be right this time. These teams are eerily similar in every facet of the game. Record, points a game, defense, conference record, etc. It goes on and on. The number I do like however, is Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's 6-0 record against the Ravens. Pittsburgh has the experience here, and I'll take that in the playoffs.  Pittsburgh 20, Baltimore 16

Packers @ Falcons (-2.5) Saturday 7:00 CT: This is my first upset of the weekend. In the first matchup in week 12, a late Atlanta field goal gave the Falcons a 20-17 victory at home. However, the Packers defense has been playing lights out the last 3 weeks, only giving up an average of 12 points per game. While Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is 20-2 all time at home, he's never won a playoff game, so I'm taking the Packers and their defense in this one, 24-20.

Seahawks @ Bears (-10) Sunday 12:00 CT: Somehow the 7-9 Seahawks beat the Saints last week, and I'm not sure the argument of whether a 7-9 team should host a playoff game was finished or not. On one hand, they proved they were good enough to win a playoff game. On the other, would they have won that game without the home field advantage? It doesn't matter, because the Saints didn't want to be there, just look at the tackling in this highlight:

Seattle might be on a roll here, and I've never been sold on Chicago anyway. Seahawks 30, Bears 23, and a 7-9 team will host the NFC championship game.

Jets @ Patriots (-8.5) Sunday 3:30 CT: The Jets and their head coach Rex Ryan are the anti-Patriots. They trash talk better than anyone in the league and Ryan is the league's best soundbite. The Patriots don't say a word and their coach, Bill Belichick, is as lively as watching paint dry. But he wins. I guarantee this Patriots team had the quietest 14-2 season in the history of the NFL, and that's exactly the way they like it. Tom Brady should win the MVP, but that's not surprising. What's surprising is the Patriots went 14-2 with offensive leaders like Wes Welker and BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Who? Exactly. They just win, and I like them to win comfortably on Sunday, 30-17.

Harbaugh to San Francisco

Jim Harbaugh just agreed to a 5-year deal worth $5 million a season, according to ESPN.

I think this is a great move for Harbaugh. His stock is sky-high after recently embarrassing Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl, and it won't get any higher. Stanford isn't Alabama or Florida. Orange Bowls aren't happening every few seasons. With the strict admission standards in Palo Alto, sustaining a top-10 program is nearly impossible. If the NFL comes calling, you have to go. Harbaugh is no dummy, and he'll have one of the 32 dream jobs for football coaches.

Not only that, but the NFC West is the worst division in football. If he can win 9 games next year he might just get a statue. The track record for college coaches making the leap to the NFL isn't great, however. Maybe he'll be more like Bill Walsh and less like Steve Spurrier.


Now all he needs is a Quarterback.

Andrew Luck staying at Stanford

Wow. Didn't see this one coming.

Luck is projected by every expert, and me, to be the first name called in the NFL draft in April. The redshirt sophomore destroyed defenses all season, throwing for 3,338 yards and 32 touchdowns, as well as that 40-12 beatdown of Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl earlier this week.

There's so many reasons why this makes zero sense to me.

-His coach, Jim Harbaugh, looks to be NFL bound. That won't help his draft stock stay high next season.
-The new NFL collective bargaining agreement will vastly change the rookie payscale, starting in 2012. Rookie draft picks won't be getting those ridiculous guaranteed contracts.
- Oh yeah, and Washington quarterback Jake Locker. Just google him. He should be in every Andrew Luck dream right now, telling him to go pro before he's a year older, staring down a career in the CFL.

Speaking of Playoffs

Let's see who advances this weekend.


Saints (-10.5) @ Seahawks: Saturday, 3:30 CT:  The wild-card round opens with one of the biggest playoff mismatches I can remember. Last season's Super Bowl champs (*side note: I hate when people say "defending super bowl champs", or "defending world series champs". They aren't defending it. Last season's trophy won't be taken away if they lose.) are headed to Seattle to face the mighty 7-9 Seahawks. Seattle is 10.5 point underdogs at home, which means Vegas agrees with me, this won't be a close one.  27-13 Saints.


Jets @ Colts (-2.5): Saturday 7:00 CT: Rex Ryan is 1-5 all-time against the Colts, whether as a head coach or defensive coordinator. The Jets were the sexy Super Bowl pick it seemed this summer, but don't look like a Super Bowl team to me right now. At the same time, The Colts needed a last second field goal last week to even make the playoffs. Jim Mora didn't think it could be done.

Well they made the playoffs, coach, and I like the Colts here. 17-14.

Ravens (-3) @ Chiefs: 12:00 CT Saturday: I had no idea the Chiefs would win 10 games this year. They had one of the easiest schedules in the league (only beating one playoff team, the Seahawks) but they did what they had to do, which is more than the Chargers can say. I'm not sold on Matt Cassel or Todd Haley though. If you ask me, (which you are, because you're reading this blog) The Chiefs are 10-6 because of GM Scott Pioli and his great draft last April, two great coordinators in Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, and Jamal Charles, one of the best running backs in the NFL. Unfortunately for all my Chiefs friends, the Ravens are 5th in rush defense, only giving up 93 yards per game on the ground. I don't trust Cassel's arm to win a playoff game, and I certainly don't trust Haley's play calling if Charles gets stopped early.  21-10 Ravens.

Packers @ Eagles (-3): 3:30 CT Sunday: The Packers were my pre-season Super Bowl pick, but the loss of starting running back Ryan Grant in the week 1 game against the Eagles really hurt their chances. The running game has been non-existent, as Aaron Rodgers leads the team with 4 rushing touchdowns. It's going to be tough to win another game in Philly, especially with the road woes the Pack have had most of the season. But I'm a homer sometimes. 24-20 Packers.

Every year around this time

without fail, I get upset.

The NFL playoffs are kicking off in about 3 days, and we will all know shorty who the best football team on the planet is. It's a crazy thing, isn't it? You find the best 12 teams, and they play each other until one is hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and telling us about their trip to Disney World.

It isn't a crazy idea. It works. Not just in the NFL, but in every professional league. And not just in college sports, but in Division II and III football as well.


For college football fans like myself, the Bowl season is a bittersweet, anti-climactic ending to another awesome season. We know who the best teams are at this point. Why not put the best 8 schools on a field and let them battle it out? We've seen that Boise St. can beat Oklahoma, and that TCU can punch a great Wisconsin team in the mouth.

But when you're stuck comparing schedules and conferences, there's no way you can put an undefeated TCU team over Oregon or Auburn this year. This is obvious, and it leaves me oftentimes defending the big boys, and I don't like that.

The BCS was lucky this year, Oregon and Auburn are clearly the two best teams this season and they'll play for it all next Monday night in Glendale. But something tells me BCS officials don't care if they're lucky. They love the controversy their system causes every December when diehard college football fans are watching the NFL playoffs and wondering, what if?