Black Ball Sports

First let me say I’ve never ever, ever, ever have been a Stephon Marbury fan. I’ve always thought he was an overrated player. But what has been taking place with the New York Knicks is laughable.

They basically told him at the start of the season there is no reason to suit up because we’re not going to play you this year. This by itself is a ridiculous situation. I could see if they weren’t playing him for disciplinary reasons. But no, they’re just not playing him to be spiteful. I guess the new coach Mike Dantoni doesn’t like the way he plays. But isn’t he a coach and shouldn’t he be trying to coach Marbury to play the way he wants him to. How can you not give the guy any minutes to see what he can do? The Knicks haven’t given a legitimate reason for not playing Marbury. This isn’t a DNP Coaches Decision. This is a team telling a player not to even dress because of what appears to be a grudge. If the Knicks have a legitimate reason for not playing him then they need to state it, otherwise it looks like a vindictive maneuver.

Last week the New York Knicks made a couple of trades that left them with only 7-8 players. Now the Knicks needed Marbury and they asked him to play. Marbury refused to play and I think was justified. Don’t tell him he can’t play all year and then blame him when he isn’t there for you when you need him. I wouldn’t have played either. What you were going to let Marbury play for 2 or 3 games when you needed him and then send him back to his usual undressed spot on the bench. It’s like a girl breaking up with you, but then calling you a couple days later because she got a flat tire. Oh I see you don’t need me EXCEPT when YOU NEED ME. I wouldn’t go change the tire or play for the Knicks.

Quentin Richardson came out this week and called Marbury out for not playing as well. He called Marbury a bad “teammate.” Where was Quentin when the Knicks organization wasn’t letting Marbury play. What kind of teammate was he being to Marbury and not taking a stand then. Quentin knows more than anyone that Marbury is one of the best players on their team. And the organization has basically decided to punish and embarrass Marbury for whatever reason. And I didn’t hear Quentin making any noise about “teammates” then so I don’t want to hear from him now.

The Knicks are paying Marbury 21 million dollars I know, but the way they’re treating him is ruining his chance for future earnings. I admit I wouldn’t mind not playing for 21 million. But if the Knicks are going to treat Marbury as they have they can’t be surprised if he returns the favor. Remember, treats others as you want to be treated.

For all the talk about rushing, defense and wide receivers, the NFL continues to be a quarterback driven league.  All the top teams are getting good to great quarterback play, and the surprisingly good teams are getting well, surprisingly good quarterback play.

• The New York Connection – Brett Farve clearly has settled into the Jets playbook. He’s producing without turnovers, and is currently sporting the highest completion percentage of his career at 70.6%.  The Jets ended Tennessee’s perfect record in a stunning 34-13 blowout.  They have a soft schedule to end the season and seem set for the #2 seed, and 12 or 13 wins.  Meanwhile, on the other side of Giants Stadium, the Giants keep rolling behind Eli Manning.  He’s not putting up big numbers, but as a team leader he may be more impressive than his brother.  Could there be a Giants-Jets Superbowl?  Here’s the real shocker, the Giants and Jets are number 1 and 2 in NFL scoring.
• Returning Stars – Peyton Manning is slowly looking like himself and that has the Colts slowly building momentum.  And now they have Cleveland, Cincinnati, Jacksonsville and Detroit upcoming, before a rematch with Tennessee.  Think could be on their way to busting up the Giants-Jets Superbowl?  The outdoors don’t bother them nearly as much as it used to, so they could pull off a road upset.  I’m not a Tony Romo guy, and won’t ever be, but it is clear that he affects the team the way you want a QB to.  They have confidence, score points in bunches and they win with Romo in the lineup.  Now he’s back and getting into the flow.
• MVPs – After a few years on the old QB scrap heap, Kurt Warner is back with a pair of receivers who both are elite talents.  Playing in the league’s worst division (SF, SEA and STL are a combined 7-26) makes you wonder how good the Cardinals really are.  Well, they have only an average defense and a poor running game.  Think that will work in New York in January?  Drew Brees is on an assualt of Dan Marino’s season passing yardage mark.  Problem is only him and his receivers on that team seem to be making a push for the playoffs.  He’ll need to break that mark and keep his team above .500 to win MVP.
• Inexperience means nothing – At least when the team around you is playing at a high level.  Atlanta, Baltimore and New England are winning with first year starters.  Matt Cassell has settled into the starter role and threw for over 400 yards in consecutive games.  Meanwhile Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan are making just enough plays.  The Falcons are giving Ryan plenty of support in the running game, while Baltimore’s trademark defense is allowing Flacco opportunities to win with just a few offensive scores.
• The flipside – San Francisco, Seattle, Cleveland, St. Louis, Detroit and now suddenly Philadelphia are getting terrible QB play and hence all but the Eagles are below .500.  If your QB position is a disaster so is your season.

Picks:

Last Week: Kali 3-3, Antonio 4-2
Overall: Antonio 34-25, Kali 33-26

Atlanta at San Diego:

Kali: I know Norv Turner is their coach.  But if they play as well this week as they played against the Colts they should win.  San Diego has enough talent to make one last push even with Norv Turner as their coach.
Pick:  San Diego

New Orleans at Tampa Bay:

Antonio: Tampa Bay does just what they have to do to win.  Last week they took advantage of bad QB play from Detroit to rally from a big deficit.  New Orleans is 5-1 at home, and 1-4 on the road.  Enough said.
Pick: Tampa Bay

Denver at NY Jets:

Kali: The Jets are more than Brett Favre.  The 2nd most important acquisition in the off season was Kris Jenkins.  The way d-lineman are impacting games and defenses is obvious to me.  The Giants won the Super Bowl with a great d-line and a sub par secondary.  The Jets are actually in position with their schedule now that they hold the tie breaker over the Titans to maybe get home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Pick:  Jets

Chicago at Minnesota:

Antonio: These teams essentially mirror each other.  They get barely NFL quality QB play, so they rely on running and defense.  Oddly enough, the last time they played it was a 48-41 shootout.  That’s not happening again, neither is Chicago winning two over Minnesota.
Pick: Vikings

Carolina at Green Bay:

Kali: This is a statement game for Carolina.  They have played horribly on the road.   And even though they are the current #2 seed in the NFC does anyone think they can go to NY and win an NFC Championship game.  This game will confirm they can’t.
Pick:  Green Bay

Pittsburgh at New England:

Antonio: Two teams very familiar with each other and their budding rivalry.  Ever since Tom Brady step onto the scene, these two teams have been playing big games head to head.  But this one is a bit different, of course without Brady.  But it is also missing a tough Pats defense and a hard nose Steelers running attack.  I’m not sure at this point what to expect from either team.  In which case, take the home team.
Pick: New England

Seattle at Dallas:

Kali: If Dallas goes on a run late in the year it is the Redskins fault.  They were there to die and the Skins let them off the mat.  And a question to San Fran last week, TO hasn’t beaten physical press coverage all year.  So you decide to back off of him?  Is Seattle really going to give the coaching job to a coach on a staff that has collapsed like this?
Pick:  Dallas

Antonio: Big lovin in Big D again.  Romo is back, TO is happy and now they get a turkey for Thanksgiving.  This game should be a total mismatch.  Matt Hasselback isn’t healthy and the Cowboys defense is showing signs of recovery.
Pick:  Dallas

Arizona at Philadelphia:

Antonio: I’m not even going to get into the blunder after blunder that Andy Reid has caused this year.  Here’s the odd thing, the Eagles at 5-5-1 still have an outside shot at the playoffs.  It would take an amazing five game run, one that I think the 2008 heartless, leaderless Eagles couldn’t even dream about.  I’m thinking this team’s nosedive will continue.
Pick: Arizona

Kali: I’m picking against Arizona more than I’m picking for Philly.  Arizona hasn’t played well on the road and hasn’t played well on East Coast trips.  So this is a short East Coast travel week and it’s going to be cold.  And I expect McNabb to play well enough.
Pick:  Philadelphia

NY Giants at Washington:

Kali: The Giants are the best team in the NFL right now.  And they are the best team because they might have the best lines on both sides of the ball.  But the Redskins are retiring Sean Taylor’s jersey on Sunday.  And the emotion of #21 somehow some way steals this game.  Can’t give legitimate reason for why except maybe a great day from Portis:
Pick:  Washington

Antonio: I’d really like to pick against the Giants.  To me they have that look of a team that is on the edge of being a dynasty, they’ve outscored their opponents by 130 points on the season.  Meanwhile, the Redskins play more tight games than anyone with only a 2 point advantage throughout the year.  I suspect this will be a tight one, with Eli pulling out a late win.
Pick: New York

Andy Reid is notorious for not giving honest, deep answers to direct questions.  Here’s 21 questions he will never answer, and not just because he’ll never see this post:

1. Did you only bench Donovan McNabb because you hoped Kevin Kolb would succeed so you could take the pressure off yourself?
2. Will you admit that you look like a complete fraud as a head coach when you couldn’t even look McNabb in the eye to tell him your decision?
3. Don’t you think it is also fraudulent of you to say “It is not all about Donovan” and to say “Don’t point the finger at Donovan”, after you made it all about Donovan by benching him?
4. Are you planning on leaving Kolb out there on his own with an unbalanced, predictable offense?
5. Did you really think that throwing Kolb to the Ravens was a good decision for the team?
6. Or for Kolb, your potential future?
7. Or for guys like Brian Dawkins, Jon Runyan, William Thomas etc who have been there with you from the beginning and were hoping for one last chance?
8. Are you willing to admit that your offense is completely out of whack?
9. And that it mostly falls on your lack of a running game?
10. And that it puts more pressure then necessary on your quarterback?
11. And that it exposes your lack of receivers capable of consistently beating coverage?
12. And that your tight end position has neither a quality receiver or blocker?
13. And that even the Cincinnati Bengals players can predict your offensive play calls?
14. Are you going to admit that the primary reason the Eagles offense has deteriorated is that the true architect, Brad Childress is now coaching Minnesota?
15. Do you understand that as the personnel decision maker you’ve repeatedly failed to bring in professional players for the simplest positions, such as a fullback and punt returner?
16. Or that you’ve failed to draft an offensive weapon since Brian Westbrook?
17. Or that you’ve failed to sign or trade for an established offensive weapon since TO?
18. Or that even if DeSean Jackson does become a legitimate offensive star, that you passed on him twice?
19. Are you willing to admit that you have been out coached in pretty much every close game over the last 3-4 years?
20. Have you finally come the conclusion, that you have never had a good two minute offense, never figured out time management or the challenge flag?
21. Why should you be back next year?

In light of last weekends’ Eagles and Bengals game ending in a tie in which many Eagles players including Donovan McNabb didn’t know a game could end in a tie; we are going to highlight other things NFL players might not know.

• Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson apparently doesn’t know that if you stink and been otherwise annoying to your team for several years, then they will deactivate you rather than forgive a violation of a team rule.  Apparently he did the all too common no-no amongst NFL players, being late for a meeting.  It is stunning how quickly Johnson, TO and Torry Holt fell off the top receiver list.  Greg Camarillo (WHO?) from Miami has more catches and yards then any of them do.
• Adam “Pacman” Jones apparently doesn’t know that regular people wouldn’t be welcomed back to their jobs after numerous run ins with the law and noted alcohol abuse.  Seriously, when is Goodell going to stop being Jerry Jones pet and start enforcing rules on more than just hits on the QB and complaints about referees?  I don’t know when the NFL created a rule banning freedom of speech but legalized idiocy. Ricky Williams seemed to be more restricted by the league for smoking weed then Jones has been for being involved in violent acts.  In light of the murders of Sean Taylor and Darrent Williams, you’d think the NFL would be more focused on protecting and preventing potential acts of violence against it’s players.  Instead, Pacman continues to be a part of the league and is only but a night of drinking away from causing the death of himself or someone else.
• Jared Allen apparently doesn’t know that the QB now wears a tutu under his uniform and his hence not to be hit any harder than my 6 year daughter hits a baseball.    Allen has been fined $75,000 for three rough hits on QBs this year.  Remember when the QB was only protected from obvious late hits and outright body slams?  Not anymore, the league should just go ahead and do away with the sack, the defense has to grab the flag from his waist.  As little as the QB is hit anymore, why doesn’t Joe Montana or Troy Aikman just come back and play.
• Norv Turner apparently doesn’t know that when you are blessed with great talent, you are supposed to immediately cash that in for a Superbowl so no one can question your coaching ability again.  I still don’t know why this guy has a job in the NFL.  He’s brutal.  I don’t know how anyone can legitimately defend this guy.  He’s still living off being the offensive coordinator for the Dallas 90s dynasty.
• Tony Romo apparently doesn’t know that goodwill off the field will mean nothing if you don’t come through in the playoffs.  Romo recently paid for a homeless guy to watch a movie with him.  It’s a shame in a lot of ways that so much focus is put on the negative (biggest stories this week, Pacman and McNabb) and winning is the only thing that matters.   Romo there will be no mercy when the Cowboys disappoint this year, and you can just start preparing to answer TO criticisms now.  They are coming….
• Breaking News: Blackballsports.com was just fined $10,000 for criticizing the NFL.

Picks:

Last week: Kali 3-2-1, Antonio 5-0-1, Strike that there are no ties in football as far as I’m concerned.  I’m putting the Eagles pick as loss for both of us.

Overall: Kali 30-23, Antonio 30-23 ironic that is now a tie for us.

Oakland at Denver:

Kali: I can’t believe Denver is going to win their division.  This goes back to my earlier blog about bad division winners not getting home field advantage over a better team in a better division.  Does anyone believe denver would even be in the running in the AFC East or North.
Pick: Denver

NY Jets at Tennessee:

Antonio:  I think I’m caught in the matrix.  The Titans are 10-0 with Kerry Collins playing and the Jets are 7-3 with Brett Farve at QB.  Only the NFL has this kind of drama.  We could seriously be 2 months away from a Jets at Tennesee rematch for the AFC Championship.  I thought both teams woudld be improved off last year, but no way could I have expected this.  I thought the Titans wouldn’t make the playoffs, but in reality they’ve essentially clinched their division already.  I think they will keep it rolling this week.
Pick: Titans

Philadelphia at Baltimore:

Kali: I can’t believe McNabb didn’t know the overtime rules.  And if he really didn’t I can’t believe how proud he seems to be of it.  I can’t believe I’m saying this but right now Joe Flacco is playing better than McNabb.
Pick: Baltimore

Antonio: I’ve run out of words to describe what I think about the Eagles and their lack of clutch.  They have amased an amazingly non clutch track record the past two seasons.  Winning on the road against a tough opponent after their past two games is far too clutch for them.
Pick: Baltimore

NY Giants at Arizona:

Antonio: I keep praising the Giants week in and week out, despite my utter hatred for them. What I find very scary, is that they have room to improve.  Manning and Plaxico have been just so-so.  They’ve rushed for over 200 yards in three straight games.  Arizona is a quietly decent defense.  But, the Giants seem to be on a mission.  They are reminding me a lot of the Patriots.
Pick: NY Giants

Kali: The Giants dominated the Ravens on both lines last week.  And they probably will do the same against Arizona.  But I have a feeling Kurt Warner will have just enough time to find #81 and #11.
Pick:  Arizona

San Francisco at Dallas:

Kali: I don’t know if Dallas played well or my Skins sucked last week.  Actually I do know my Skins sucked.  But its funny how any kind of win can breed confidence.  And it looks like Dallas is getting healthier.
Pick:  Dallas

Antonio: Terrell Owens has to produce at some point right?  If not the Cowboys have a real problem.  They will have to rely more on their defense which has generally been mediocre to bad.  Pacman is probably going to hurt more than help.  If this was in SF, I’d give the 49ers a better chance.  They are playing hard, have to respect that, but it ain’t gonna happen this week.
Pick: Dallas

Washington at Seattle:

Antonio: The Skins have to find a way to pass the ball.  Jason Campbell either has to take more risks and the coaching staff has to put more on his back (ironically, the Eagles need to do just the opposite and take some pressure off McNabb).  The Seahawks are still fighting for Mike Holmgren, and now Hasselbeck is back.  Still…
Pick: Washington

Kali: The Skins have scored a total of 16 points the last 2 weeks.  So no reason to pick the Skins, but I’m a biased fan so that’s the why.
Pick:  Washington

Syracuse at Notre Dame:

Kali: I like Notre Dame and Tony likes Syracuse.  Honestly can’t say I’ve seen a Syracuse football game since McNabb left.  Notre Dame sucks, Syracuse seems to suck more.  This is a game that will be lost not won.
Pick:  Notre Dame

Antonio: If NBC didn’t regret have a tightly locked agreement with Notre Dame this might do it.  I mean Syracuse might just be on the worst downward trend since Temple finally gave up on Div 1A football.  Add to that a clearly down Notre Dame team, and it has the makings of a disaster.  This is akin to a NIT opening round game on a Wednesday while everyone is getting their NCAA picks in.  I’d love to see Syracuse pull off the “upset”, but I don’t think if Charlie Weis called QB sneaks on every play the Orange would win.
Pick: Notre Dame

Last week, Kali lamented the death of the Notre Dame program as a national power.  This week, I layout my ideas for fixing the Syracuse Orange.

The most important task is probably the hardest of all, finding a coach. Greg Robinson waited something like 30 years for his chance and failed miserably.  The coach hiring trend has seemed to be to hire young, energetic assistants.  The Orange need to act swiftly in identifying the particular guys they want.  Right now, I believe Washington, Clemson and Tennessee are the only other big programs are overtly seeking coaches.  The Cuse can’t wait for other teams to start firing.

I don’t know enough about potentially available coaches, but I think it is a pipe dream to think that Randy Edsall from UConn or Mike Leach from Texas Tech is going to Syracuse.   Edsall as a Cuse alum, would probably be more likely, and since he’s been syphoning away talent that used to be Syracuse property, he’d be a great fit.  But the reality is he’s too hot.  They wouldn’t be able to negotiate with him until after the season, and by then SEC, ACC and Pac-10 etc, schools will be calling.

They should be looking first at coaching style.  The Orange have a potentially dominate home field advantage.  The dome is loud and no teams play regularly in a dome.  Syracuse might have once been running back U, but they need to become Spread U.  Indoors and on turf, they need to exploit speed.  They need to spread defenses and play fast tempo games.  Unfortunately, Rich Rodriguez and Urban Meyer are completely unavailable.  So pluck their most valuable assistant, find the guy beside the coach leeching off his brain.

To run a wide open, speed dependent offense you need athletes, and for whatever reason athletes seem to be most abundant in Florida, Texas and California.  The South Florida program has built itself up on the Floridian leftovers.  Cal, Texas Tech etc have done the same thing.  The Northeast isn’t as stocked, so the next coach will have to be able to find some players that fall through the cracks elsewhere.

That being said, his first job is to shutoff the thefts from Rutgers and UConn.  It’s one thing for the big national programs, ND, USC etc to steal players.  And the Cuse have always had to battle Penn State, Pittsburgh and BC for talent.  But seriously, UConn and Rutgers shouldn’t be able to outrecruit Syracuse in the Northeast.  That has to change.

There is the basic plan, nothing sophisticated.  Take advantage of the dome, find a lesser known assistant coach, recapture the Northeast in recruiting and steal some leftovers from the south and west.

Fans though need to temper their expectations of this program.  Without a playoff and with so many quality big programs, it will be hard for Syracuse to even get a change to play for a championship.  They should though be a 7-4, 8-3 program playing in a decent bowl yearly.  They should be another Donovan McNabb away from a BCS game every year.  Right now, their talent level seems so low, I suspect you could line McNabb up with Marvin Harrison, Jim Brown and Art Monk and still lose 5 games.

Lastly, the uniforms are horrid.  I don’t mind teams seeking new avenues of revenue by recreating an identity.

Change the stink of the program and take these unis with it.

I picked the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles to make the Superbowl.  I’m now ruling them both out.  The Steelers still stand a very good chance of the playoffs, but I’m officially ruling my Eagles out of the playoffs.

For the Steelers, Ben Rothelisberger just isn’t cutting it right now.  His shoulder has apparently been hurting all season.  But it is more than that, the offense isn’t performing with him on the field.  His decision making is slow, and he’s taking more hits then he should.  Maybe the offensive line isn’t very good; but he’s holding the ball forever.

Byron Leftwich came in at halftime of the Redskins game, throwing 7-10 with a TD and two scoring drives.  The Steelers are committed to winning with defense and a running game.  They have bought in for years to the Dick Lebeau defensive system, hard running and timely passing.  But right now the running game isn’t working, and Big Ben is throwing too many ints.

Unless Rothelisberger gets healthy and suddenly starts passing faster, they will be easy fodder for a teams like the Titans and Patriots who will hit the QB relentlessly.  And their upcoming schedule includes SD, Baltimore, Dallas, New England and Tennessee.

Back to my Eagles, consider that Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb and tackles John Runyan and Tra Thomas have been together for 10 years.  Brian Westbrook and LJ Smith each have been there for 6+ years.  And this is an offense which can’t gain 1 yard on the ground in crucial moments?  This is an offense which is notoriously inefficient at the 2 minute drill?  This is a QB which in the past two weeks has started a combined 0-13 passing?

I’ll get to the defense in a minute, however, the Eagles offense holds the biggest key to this team’s constant disappointments.  In each of their close losses this year, the offense had the ball with less than 10 minutes to play and an opportunity to take the lead.  They failed each time.

To make it worse, I’m stunned that Reid seems to trust his offensive line to run block in short yardage more then he trusts McNabb to pick up two yards either passing or running.  NBC showed that the Eagles are something like 3-3 passing in short yardage on 3rd or 4th down while like 3-14 running.  Huh?  A notoriously high passing team, suddenly gets running religious when they need to convert the most?  Reid and his offensive coordinator Marty Mohrneingway are clearly over thinking.  When a coach can no longer trust his QB to pick up 1st downs like this, then he needs a QB change.  I’m not saying the Eagles should do that, but the point is, why do you have the guy there if you don’t have confidence in him?  You can say you do, but your action speak otherwise.

As far as Donovan McNabb goes, I love the man.  I can say that and keep my masculinity.  I’m a Syracuse fan and I’ve basically watched him play now for about 15 years.   The reality is and has always been, he’s streaky and he has choked in the clutch.  Boy it took me a lot to admit that, since I’m a staunch defender of his.  What really bugs me about that, is not so much that is part of his traits, but that Andy Reid hasn’t found a way to ensure that these flaws don’t kill the team.  Knowing that McNabb is streaky, wouldn’t you rely more on running early in games to get the offense going with or without a hot McNabb?  No, instead they often throw a lot early, you can book it, within the first 3 plays of any game, they will play action and look for DeSean Jackson deep.  And this scenario has gone back 10 years, even in the Todd Pinkston days.

Can McNabb win the big one?  Not with Philadelphia, not with Andy Reid.   Maybe somewhere else, a perfect storm will come together for him.

Picks:

Last week: Antonio (3-3), Kali (4-2)

Overall: Kali 27-20, Antonio 25-22

Chicago at Green Bay:

Antonio: The Brett Farve lovers will point out the Packers record last year with him, and this year with Aaron Rodgers.  They’ll then point out the Jets record last year without Farve and then this year with him, and talk about how great Farve is.  And he is great, but last year, the Packers won because they were a very good team.  This year they are struggling because a) they can’t run the ball, and b) their defense isn’t nearly as good.  Rodgers has been very good for a first year starter.  The Bears need to be able to run the ball, even more so if Rex Grossman starts.
Pick: Packers

San Diego at Pittsburgh:

Kali: Big Ben is losing games for Pittsburgh this year.  I don’t know if he is hurt or what, but right now he is hurting the team.  It makes sense to let him rest a week or two to get him healthy for the playoffs.  Because the way he is playing right now they won’t go far.  But at least they aren’t the Chargers.  Who because they’re in such a terrible division could still win it and make the playoffs.
Pick:  Pittsburgh

Antonio: As good as Peyton Manning is, the Colts have a disappointing record because of their running game.  He can only carry them but so much, and he needs to be able to play action pass for the big scores they are known for.  They are the NFL’s worst rushing team, 900 yards less then the best, the Giants.  They need to turn that around to make noise.  This week they are at home, against one of the weaker rushing defenses, a good chance to get it rolling.
Pick: Indy

Kali: Does anyone in Atlanta even wear a #7 jersey anymore?  Atlanta has to be the surprise of the year, not just with the play of Matt Ryan, but the defense as well.  There is no” D” in enver this year.
Pick:  Atlanta

Antonio: Memo to Al Davis: retire.  Pull a George Steinbrenner and take a step back away from the day to day franchise concerns.  Look at Miami across the field this weekend.  They were the worst team in the NFL last year, 1-15.  They cleaned house, turned the reins over to a true football man, Bill Parcells, and stayed out of the way.  If the Raiders are to return to glory anytime soon, then Davis will just need to become a fan like mostly everyone else.
Pick: Miami

Detroit at Carolina:

Kali: Do you believe we are going to have to watch the Lions on Thanksgiving?  I love Culpepper but why would you bring him into a team that is this bad.  Play the young QB and see what you got cause you aint going nowhere this year anyway.
Pick:  Carolina

Kali: Cincy has been playing well recently.  But Philly is basically in a must-win scenario the rest of the season.  And Philly’s biggest weakness, run defense, can’t be exploited in this game.
Pick:  Philly

Antonio: I’ve stated before that the Eagles are a Bully team which can’t step up to the plate against the bigger bullies down the block.  Which of course means they’ll win this one against an NFL version of a nerd, Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Pick: Philly

Antonio: I’m continually impressed by the Giants.  They are showing NFL teams how to win games.  Why worry about installing the ultra popular Wildcat when you can just batter a team into submission running the ball?  The Giants don’t run the ball as well as they do, because they can’t pass; they run it because they believe in it, which makes it really hard to beat them, unless of course their running backs keep trying to leap over tacklers.
Pick: NY Giants

Kali: This is going to be a great match up between the Giants 3 headed running attack and the best rush defense in the NFL.  I know statistically someone may have better stats, but the Ravens haven’t allowed a 100 yard rusher in 27 games.  To me that makes them the best.  Many time I’ve picked against the Ravens because I keep expecting Flacco to play like a rookie and he has proven me wrong.  But finally this has to be the week against the Giants D.  I hope.
Pick:  NY Giants

Kali: Both teams coming off the bye week were supposed to be as healthy as they could be.  But now it looks like Clinton Portis may not play.  That is a huge loss for the Skins.  But the Skins D always plays well against Romo and Marion Barber.  I see this as a close game with the Skins somehow, some way winning it late.
Pick:  Redskins

Antonio: Dallas has managed to survive the loss of Tony Romo thanks to the bye week.  They played without him for 3 games, going 1-2 with only the St. Louis loss being a true problem.  If Romo comes out ready to play, they can win this one.  If they do, they are looking at running to 8-4 due to two upcoming patsies (49ers and Seahawks at home).  Meanwhile, a win here for Washington would create drastic separation between the Redskins and Cowboys.
Pick: Cowboys

It’s all over.  We have hoped and prayed and done everything we could.  I just don’t think there is anything that anyone can do for us now.  Let me be the first one to admit it.  NOTRE DAME IS DONE AS A BIGTIME PROGRAM.

I know it even hurts to say it out loud.  But the truth has to be told.  I know
Notre Dame has more national championships and more all-americans than everyone else.  But that is the past.  The last time Notre Dame was really relevant was all the way back in the Lou Holtz era.  The last time they were really in contention for the National Championship was 1993.  That’s not even this century.  The program is living too much in the past and in all honesty it may never ever get back to that.

Looking around the college landscape at the top teams:  USC, Texas, Florida, Alabama etc. one thing pops into my mind.  ATHLETES.  Those teams have players at skill positions that are going to be first round picks.  The only 1st round skill position player from Notre Dame in the last few years is Brady Quinn.  Obviously the good players aren’t going to Notre Dame anymore and the question has to be why?

There are a couple reasons.  Programs like Texas, Florida and Alabama get the bulk of their rosters from their state.  And these states each and every year produce the top talent in the country.  If you’re a top player in these states what is better than going to the State University.  Notre Dame is in Indiana.  I don’t get to scout many high school games, but I don’t think Indiana is one of the top football producing states.

So if the majority of your players aren’t coming from your home state what do you do?  Well, you can be like USC and have your recent reputation and location to recruit to.  USC has multiple recent Heisman trophy winners.  And every first round since Pete Carroll has been there is full of USC players.  So if you want to go to the NFL why would you go to Notre Dame over USC?  There are programs that produce NFL players on a regular basis and right Notre Dame isn’t one of them.

And honestly without the NFL pedigree and recent success what does Notre Dame have to offer.  South Bend, Indiana doesn’t seem to be a great place to recruit the star athletes.  It’s not like other schools that are rebuilding like Miami.  Miami can always say hey I know we are down, but at least you can party in Miami.  That can’t be said about South Bend.

Notre Dame’s history is long and great, but right now the future doesn’t look so
bright.  I don’t think it can all be blamed on the coaches, (even though Weis sucks) it is about the talent.  And right now Notre Dame is not getting the top players.  There are so many other top programs in better locations, with better recent history that I don’t know if Notre Dame can ever get back.

Kali:

Because overall it was such a dominating game no one really noticed that Eli had a bad game against the Cowboys last week.  If that was against a quality team they probably should’ve and would’ve lost last week.  I just don’t see it happening 2 weeks in a row and he always seems to play well against the Eagles. 

Pick:  Ny Giants