The Couch Has Been Sold: Week 6 Edition

I barely have the energy to write this week’s installment after the emotional ups and downs of Sunday afternoon. Watching the end of Falcons-Bears, Dolphins-Texans, Skins-Rams game simultaneously took a lot out of me. And as if that wasn’t enough, watching the Broncos give the game away to the Jags, the Seahawks show some promise (as they love to do) prior to laying an egg, and the dramatic finish unfold in Arizona….I say enough already…my heart can’t take what the NFL is dishing out.

I have a propensity for gambling which I manage to keep pretty much in check except for when I’m gambling. That said, people who bet on NFL football games have some sort of private death wish. I don’t think my acid reflux could handle it.

In the spirit of the upcoming elections, let’s start this week with a poll.

I like to chip in something inspirational from time to time and last week I watched an episode of E60 on ESPN that was worth sharing. In my day to day life I’m always finding ways to not do the things I could do if I just persevered. This took away a lot of excuses.   Heart of A Warrior

Tommy Bowden is out at Clemson and there is much rejoicing. Great recruiter, not so great coach. The End. Go Tigers!

Week 5 is in the books and there were a few things I noticed from the games on Sunday that I wanted to pass along.

• The Dallas-Arizona game was the first game in NFL history to end on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown. Congratulations to Cowboy fans on being part of history.
• In the brief 2 minutes of overtime Tony Romo broke his pinkie finger and on the punt block the punter’s foot was broken. Throw in the loss of Felix Jones and it was an altogether rough afternoon for the Boys. No word yet on the health of Jessica Simpson.
• Did you know that Chad Johnson is dating Pacman Jones’ sister or cousin (I can’t remember which)? Sounds about right to me. I’m just glad to hear they’re keeping that in the family.
• On Sunday two players with numbers in the 90’s, #99 and #95 to be precise, were targeted for touchdown passes. Fantasy footballers, you’ve been warned.
• At one point during the day 5 games were all stopped at the exact same time with players down on the field with knee injuries. I’m not sure if I want to be a football player when I grow up.
• I hate watching Jeff Garcia. He is small enough that I actually fear for his life and his caffeinated style is completely nervewracking. 
• The Tampa Bay Bucs have 13 players who are 30 or older on their roster. Jeff Garcia is the oldest at 39. And on Sunday it was Garcia, Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and the rest of the geriatric crowd who led the way as the Bucs crushed the Panthers. 
• Jake Delhomme threw 3 interceptions but I saw 4 other passes that hit a defender in the hands. That beating could have been worse. The NFC South is a tough division.
• Here’s a chart that explains what was going on in the 70’s other than people giving birth to Bucs players.

• The Detroit Lions’ season is summed up here (no it’s not the dumbest qb move ever):

• The Ravens cannot fall behind in games or they are toast. They’re offense is painful to watch when the run isn’t working and Willis McGahee needs to just stop it already, he gets hurt every other play.
• The Broncos defense is worse than a lot of words for bad. Year after year they show up with a weak run defense that inevitably becomes the undoing of the team. I don’t understand why they don’t make an effort to fix it. 
• Maurice Jones Drew deserves a lot more touches in the Jaguars offense.

Kenny Mayne did a great segment on Jim Zorn leading the Redskins in a “Hip, Hip, Hooray!” celebration.

 

Monday Night Football: New York Giants vs. Cleveland Browns:

I heard that the Browns were going to wear throwback uniforms but all I see are black numbers on the helmets…I’m no uniform guru, but is that all? Have black numbers on the helmets become the wellspring of hope for the Cleveland organization?

I love how Ron Jaworski likes to use the word engulf whenever Shaun Rogers is around. It’s not everyday you get to use that word in the same sentence as a human being. I’m telling you I would never let him near children. 

Speaking of people who may eat your children…I think I’ve identified Mike Tyson’s new license plate.

Brandon Jacobs is one of the most amazing players to watch in the NFL. A man that large and that fast is Ripleys Believe It Or Not type stuff.

Derek Anderson throws a great deep ball completion to Braylon Edwards. I was beginning to wonder if we would see that this year.

The Browns have a defensive alignment called the UFO where Shaun Rogers lines up as a linebacker. At 400 pounds he is by far the most identifiable flying object in the UFO scheme. It was a little scary to a guy that big get a running start. Which makes me wonder what Shaun Rogers would look like if he got into shape. Wait…I know!

Shaun Rogers

Shaun Rogers In Shape?

 

Did we just time warp back to last year. Derek Anderson is making deep ball throws, 3rd down conversion throws, and precision touchdown passes. To see it happen against the Giant’s defense is very surprising.

Who cares about Kellen Winslow when you have Steve Heiden and Darnell Dinkins?

If the Giants keep letting Shaun Rogers get to Eli Manning we may have one less Manning to worry about.

I have never been an Eli Manning fan. I don’t like the way he came into the league. I don’t like the way he let his daddy pull his strings from behind the scenes during the draft. I don’t like his demeanor. But I have to say that he has become a solid quarterback and has taken his game to that next level. His play in the Super Bowl as he threw to David Tyree was one of the great plays of all time and this year he clearly has complete command over the Giant offense. But I’m still not sure if I like him.

 

The end zones at the Brown’s Stadium feature the word “Cleveland” written in cursive. Thank you Cleveland. There’s just not enough good penmanship in the NFL these days.

In keeping with my debacle of a fantasy season, I started the Giants Defense tonight because i just knew they would dominate the Browns crappy offense. And that should have been the tip for everyone to start their Browns’ offensive players with complete confidence. I managed to find a video that captures the essence of my season. Such great aspirations…..

 

15 seconds left with no timeouts on the 5 yard line and the Giants, in a clear passing situation, throw a simple out route to Plaxico Burress who catches it easily for the score. As the Browns defensive coordinator if there is one scenario I plan for it’s that exact play. But the db receives no safety help in a complete mismatch. I find myself completely puzzled sometimes. It’s good to know I’m not alone in the ranks of the confused…

 

The Browns have played their best football all year and the fans boo them as the first half wraps up….sometimes you just can’t win.

Go Rays!

In this age of Tivo and DVR I don’t watch commercials much, but I do still have a soft spot for Jack In the Box commercials. For those of you on the East Coast, here’s a sample of the best fast food commercials in the Pacific Northwest (I love the Asian guy who gets the music started).

 

Brandon Jacobs should have the song “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” play whenever he’s carrying the ball.

I just made a snack and I have to hand out an MVP award to peanut butter as the all-time leader in snacking satisfaction. Kids love peanut butter, adults love peanut butter. It works with celery, bread, jelly, by itself….you name it and peanut butter works with it. It’s the ultimate bi-partisan leader. And on top of that it’s completely low maintenance. I have a monstrous tub of crunchy peanut butter and it just sits in my pantry and waits patiently for me. No refrigeration, no fuss. God bless you peanut butter.

What is up with Kellen Winslow? He’s been in the hospital for days and doesn’t want to disclose why he’s there. Hmmm….sounds like an NSFW injury to me. Bad sushi?

Mostly dead sushi.

 

The Browns now have 6 false start penalties. And it’s a home game. That would be a horrible stat if it was an away game. When you think about how the conclusions of these NFL games often come down to inches, giving up 30 yards in silly penalties is not something you can get away with and expect to win football games.

Braylon Edwards has a ball hit him right in the facemask. His drops have been so crucial to the Browns woes thus far as they absolutely kill the momentum of the offense and destroy Derek Anderson’s rhythm. But Anderson comes back and fires a td pass as Edwards redeems himself. Quarterbacks and receivers performance are so predicated on confidence. It will be interesting to see if this game is the launch point for Browns’ offense going forward for the season.

Jim Brown playing for and establishing his legend with the Browns is yet another reason the truth will always be stranger and better than fiction.

Grabbing the link to that Jack In The Box commercial got me thinking about some of my other favorite commercials and it’s hard to beat Sportscenter. Here are a few of my favorites:

Click here:   Jim Kelly Gambles His Hall of Fame Jacket

I have noticed that the Browns have blitzed a corner or safety over ten times in the game which is a very high percentage for that kind of blitz. To the Browns credit, I like how they continue to bring pressure as they play to win instead of sagging back in a conservative defense. But it does give the Giants a huge window of opportunity if they can catch them out of position.

And as I say that, the Browns return a pick for a td. I’m sorry I said nice things about you Eli. Surely my kind words were the kiss of death. I should have started the Browns as my fantasy defense.

That touchdown should sew it up for the Browns in a totally surprising effort on both sides of the football. The Giants will be fine, this was just their bad day. I wonder about the Browns though. Does this game mark their resurgency? They did play well tonight but I still see a vulnerable defense and an offense that commits way too many false start penalties. I guess we’ll find out next week.

Have a great week and I wish you all the best of luck in week 7!

 

On The Couch: Week 5 Edition

I sold my couch this week so I’m not sure what to do about the name of this post. I feel like “On the Couch” is a bit disingenuous, but “On the Computer Chair” just isn’t as sexy. So, I’m going with the old name in memoriam of a dear, comfortable, leathery friend. You will be missed until you are replaced.

I hope you all enjoyed another weird week of football. If I can be of assistance to any of you who have to make difficult fantasy football decisions, just call me and ask who I am starting or would recommend starting and then don’t start that player, you can also ask who I am playing against in any of my leagues and be sure to start those players. It’s a sure fire key to your success.

I caved in a few days ago and renewed my XBOX Live account for a couple months because I haven’t played HALO 3 enough and after a few days back in the online gaming loop I realized what I wasn’t missing in my life…13 year old boys yelling profanity at me. This graph pretty much sums it up:

Enough of my personal tribulations…it’s time for Monday Night Football! 

As I’m sitting here watching some pre-game reflections on the the Sunday matchups one thing stands out to me. If your name contains either the word “Sage” or “Rosenfels”….that move is a bad idea.

But cheer up Sage, Jean Van De Velde still gets the prize where your last name becomes the synonym for choking, and he’s French so Lord knows we’ll never let that one go. That said, I’d like to find out this guy’s name cause he gets my All-Time Chokesmanship Award. He’s probably French too.

Drew Brees has the second most famous birthmark in the world. The most famous, of course, is that geographical diagram on the head of Gorbachev. I have heard that his birthmark was shaped like the Caucusus region of Europe which ironically was where he was from….and I’m absolutely sure that was used in some sort of Apocalyptic prediction scenario somewhere along the way

One birthmark to rule them all.

My birthmark is on my right leg around my hip and is shaped like American Samoa. 

The NBC Sunday Night Football show is terrible. I’m a big Bob Costas fan. He has a great vocabulary, is the consummate professional, and actually seems like a cool guy. But somehow NBC managed to find the Costas equalizer in Chris “the human bore” Collinsworth. Rounding out the crew is the painfully unfunny Keith Olbermann (complete with forced laughs from the crew), Jerome Bettis and his Super Bowl gift ring from Bill Leavy, and Tiki Barber’s shiny head.  And I don’t completely understand why Dan Patrick is there. How many guys do you need for an hour long show that consists mostly of highlights? They should go find Craig Kilborn and complete the ex-Sportscenter team. After that rant let me just add that my favorite crew is the Fox guys who are completely out of control, but always seems like they’re having a great time. I’m easy to please. 

In the “I should not know this” department: Chris Collinsworth used to be a sprinter and challenged a horse named “Mr. Hurry” in a novelty man vs. beast contest in what I am quite sure he managed to turn into the most boring sprint in history, unlike the clip from last week. A lot of people were concerned after the post-race interview with Collinsworth when they found out that Mr. Hurry had been put to sleep, only to find that he had actually just fallen asleep during the interview.

Zzzzzzzzzz...

I love the crowd shots from New Orleans games. It’s a fusion of a football game and a liquored up costume party. New Orleans drunk is a special kind of drunk.

One of the Saint’s players is named Bushrod. That’s fantastic. He should stay away from these guys. 

I know this is some seriously old news but I remember sitting in a college dorm room watching the game where Gus Frerotte head butted the wall and gave himself a concussion…there were 5 or 6 of us in a little dorm room and we completely lost it. Thanks for the memories Gus. 

So Drew Brees has some ridiculous deep ball numbers. On passes of 30 yards or more he has 73% completion rate (the NFL avg is 24%) with 4 td’s, no picks, and a passer rating of 152. That is unbelievable in the NFL.

What is unbelievable on any level is what Chase Daniel and the Missouri Tigers are doing on offense so far this year. Granted, they haven’t faced any world beaters, but these numbers are stupid. Chase Daniel’s passing stats through 5 games are:

• 76.3 completion %
• 1,665 yards and a 10.5 yard per pass play average
• 15 touchdowns and 1 interception.
• No “3 and outs” on offense through 5 games!
• And what may be the most amazing stat is that they are ranked #2 in scoring offense…but are ranked 118th out of 119 teams in the nation in time of possession. When the offense is on the field they get it done. Mr. Hurry would be proud. 

My New FFL QB

10 point swing right off the bat on the FG block turned TD. How often does a blocked kick go right into a players arms who’s already running toward the other end zone. That’s just bad mojo. 

Antoine Winfield is a nightmare right now. He has always been a great player to watch. I remember watching him making plays all over the field in the legendary Ohio State/Michigan games of the late 90’s. His run support and tackling as a defensive back made him really stand out on the field and those fundamentals still do…a rare thing in the NFL. 

Two of the worst performances I have seen by NFL teams happened this week as the Seahawks and Chiefs looked beyond terrible. I’m not sure about the Seahawks, but I did find the problem in the Chief’s game:

Chester Taylor just threw the first 10 yard hailmary in NFL history. That was grotesque. The Vikings now have 30 yards with their lone offensive score on a throw by the second string running back….but they have 17 points and my critique of the aesthetic of that 17 points is pretty useless.

These Viking scores feel just like last week when the Steelers looked like they were down for the count and suddenly ripped off 14 points by going to the no-huddle and then scoring a defensive touchdown….that’s the beauty of this game….momentum is a fickle mistress…and an evil wench.

Reggie Bush is pulled to the ground by the facemask and there’s no penalty….he fumbles the ball and the Vikes are back in business. New Orleans can’t buy a break tonight. 

Poor Ed Hochuli. This may be the first time my calloused heart has felt a degree of sympathy for an NFL official. Stay strong Ed…you’ve always got your guns.

Fatality

I had a confusing evening on Saturday watching the MMA fights on CBS. Watching Kimbo Slice lose in 14 seconds to a replacement fighter with pink hair was pretty funny, especially after he had turned his back on Ken Shamrock (his slated opponent) in a really insulting, knucklenuts display at the weigh in. The source of confusion was watching the women’s fight where Gina Carano laid a beatdown on her female opponent….and she’s completely feminine and attractive. So many conflicting emotions. Is this love or fear I’m feeling?

I'd rather just talk this out.

 The Minnesota Vikings offense makes Chris Collinsworth look like Danny Gans.

Baseball season has been over for me since the Mariners dragged the company softball team into a Major League season. That said, go Rays! 

If Deuce McCalister were ever in a man vs. beast contest I would recommend that he race a beast that lumbers. I know he’s running on rebuilt knees but that guy is slowwww…

John Clayton is fantastic. His information is incredible and his insights are the best around, but he is so painful to watch on TV as he holds his fake smile while they cut away from his interviews, and I have yet to figure out what is going on with his hair (and his head for that matter). I hope that someone else has seen him in person like I have because you understand that the guy has an unmistakeably HUGE backside that you would never guess from seeing his head on tv…it’s really shocking.

I’m getting exhausted of the “Reggie Bush was better at USC” diatribes. I guess I don’t understand the media’s expectations for him. Reggie Bush will never be a conventional between the tackles runner because he always looks to turn the corner and he doesn’t like contact. But I don’t know anyone who thought that when he was drafted he would be an up the gut, smashmouth runner. Reggie Bush is everything I thought he would be in the NFL. A great back for a two back system. He’s versatile, a very fast guy in a very fast league, and he’s a playmaker. I think the Saints got what they paid for out of a #2 draft pick. And as I type this he returns a punt for a touchdown….LOL…behold I am a genius!. 

The momentum is turning in this game…it’s amazing how you can feel it.  The fickle mistress is slipping into something more comfortable….look out. And as I type this , Bush almost takes another one back for a score. His lateral quickness is amazing to watch. His legs just outran his body. He could use some pointers from John Cleese.

Watching Martin Gramatica get pumped up is classic prime time entertainment. They should switch to the Spanish tv announcers whenever he’s about to kick. Field GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!!

The home crowd has been awakened! It’s pandemonium at the Superdome as Reggie Bush takes another one back 65 yards to the house! This is unbelievable to watch. They clocked Reggie at 22 mph as he was at full sprint on his punt return (in full pads). For the sake of comparison, Usain Bolt averaged 23 mph on his record breaking run and topped out at 27 mph. And just think…the performance enhancing drugs will be even better 4 years from now.  Your days are numbered Mr. Hurry.

Cedric Griffin has completely destroyed two guys in 2 plays…this game has seen some unbelievably hard hits. I understand why Reggie Bush heads for those sidelines. It’s good to be a spectator. Blogging is so much easier on the joints.

And Gramatica goes wide left…the glass case of emotion will be occupied this evening. 

The Vikes put it away and just hung around all night with some unconventional scoring that nets them a huge road win. Meanwhile, the Saints caught some bad bounces and a few bad calls and are going to be around at the end of the season.

Have a great week and good luck in week 6 of this free for all season!

On the Couch: Week 4 Edition

My goal this week was simple….be less tardy than last week. Last week I tried to set up my first blog and it went down in flames. So now that I’m older and wiser I’m giving it another shot. 

Thanks to my ever observant friend Channing for pointing out that I said the MNF game last week was Green Bay and San Diego. Let’s just say I’m still not used to seeing Brett Favre in a Jet’s uniform. And what is the possessive of The New York Jets anyway? Is it Jets’ or Jet’s? I leave that conundrum for all of you to masticate upon.

What a particularly odd week of football it was. USC, Florida, UGA, Clemson, and Wake Forest all go down in flames. Brett Favre throws 6 touchdowns in a defense-free game that ironically will be remembered for the one play that was made on defense when Anquan Boldin was almost killed (I watched the game live and that may have been the scariest injury/hit I’ve ever seen). The Redskins, who looked lost in week 1, suddenly look like a playoff team in a very legitimate win over Dallas. At halftime, the Rams and Raiders looked like world beaters until the world righted itself and they both lost. And the stretchers were out in force this week as numerous players sustained serious injuries.

But of all the stories that emerged from Week 4 in the NFL, the most remarkable is right here in this beautifully written article: Matt Bryant

One of the reasons I love football so much is that it seems to capture drama and pathos better than all the other sports. Its metaphorical quality that reflects life so well makes the stories of triumph that much sweeter but it amplifies the tragedies too. One of those tragic stories that reminds us of life’s fickle nature emerged from Jacksonville as the details of the Richard Collier shooting finally were released to the public.: Richard Collier

It’s easy to forget about the humanity of these guys sometimes, but we’re all in this thing together.

That wraps up the soul-searching section of this weeks brain dump….let’s move on to the mindless fun.

Pittsburgh vs. Baltimore on Monday Night

I wish I had enough money to throw away my alarm clock and hire Ray Lewis to wake me up every morning. Coffee would no longer be necessary.

Rise and shine fool!

Ravens QB Joe Flacco played for the Delaware Blue Hens, the most uninspiring mascot since the Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Intimidation quotient aside, the problem I have with the Delaware mascot is that it seems to be a male bird. Isn’t a hen a female? My barnyard nomenclature is admittedly limited, but I am from South Carolina, home of the Gamecocks, and I know a cock when I see it. The Delaware Blue Cocks need to grow a pair and call a hen a rooster or at least put some lipstick on the chicken.

So on the game’s opening kickoff one of the Steelers goes off the field on a stretcher. Maybe I don’t want to be a pro football player when I grow up…

What is the most painful pro football injury you have ever witnessed? I submit my two entries below:

 

How old is Derrick Mason? I feel like he caught passes from Warren Moon. 

This year the Ravens have run the ball on 22 of 23 plays in the redzone. That is an amazing statistic that shows their supreme confidence in Joe Flacco’s ability….to smoothly hand the ball off.

The Steelers must be disappointed as they were a shoo-in for The Ugliest Jersey of the Week Award but finished a distant second place to the New York Jets who wore throwback Southern Miss uniforms so Brett Favre could feel young again. It wasn’t pretty…but it worked. 

Feel the mustard!

On 3rd and goal from the 8 yard line, the Ravens run the ball up the gut for 5 yards. I have no idea how you don’t attempt a safe pass play here and instruct the QB to simply throw it away if it’s not there. I understand being conservative and taking care of the ball but the only thing to lose is adding 8 yards or so to a 20 yard field goal. Go Blue Hens!

I don’t care how good the commercials make it look. Let me save you all a little time and about $6.00 and just say that Bud Light Lime has an unpleasing taste. This may have something to do with it. Water Fail

Which reminds me of how they make Mexican beer. There’s a reason Corona and limes go together. It’s called sanitation.

It’s amazing how bad a good quarterback can look with a bad offensive line: see Ben Roethlisberger. It’s also amazing how bad a good quarterback can look with no shoe and a bad offensive line: see Ben Roethlisberger. And the starting guard gets injured on the next play…yikes!

The Steelers getting booed….sign of the apocalypse? The Iron City will be consumed by the barrel tonight if this game doesn’t get turned around. Allow me to culture you in the nuances of Pittsburgh blue collar refreshment: Iron City Beer

Now that you know what it is, avoid it at all costs. *see Bud Light Lime unpleasing taste review

Daniel “Wilcox” scores on Joe Flacco’s first NFL td pass (*see Blue Hens rant above). This smacked of almost as much destiny as Jay Feely’s “illegal touching” penalty last Monday night. Yes, I am still laughing about that.

As yet another player gets carted off to the locker room I have to say that at this rate we may be down to playing 8 on 8 by the end of the year. Fortunately, I saw a lot of thumbs up from injured players this week but this image will haunt me for some time. 

Not good.

Can I just say that the Toyota Tundra commercials scare the crap out of me. Is all of the imminent peril, the cliffs, falling beams. etc. really necessary? So the gas pedal works and the brakes work too….enough already!

I’m not sure if you saw that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was fined $25,000 by the NFL for publicly criticizing referee Ed Hochuli. It is the first time that Jones, who has owned the team for 20 seasons, has been fined by the NFL. This news seemed to overshadow the latest fine on Pacman Jones: Pacman Fined Again

Well well, if it isn’t a touchdown to Santonio Holmes….making a rare appearance in the Steelers offense. Great job by the Steelers coaching staff making a sudden switch to the no-huddle offense and throwing the Ravens defense on their heels.

And how quickly the tides turn in the NFL as the Steelers recover a fumble for a touchdown on the following play from scrimmage….Baltimore isn’t exactly an offense built to play catch up. This isn’t looking good for the Ravens.

It’s also not looking good for Heather Locklear as she was arrested for DUI yesterday. Life can just feel like a bad Melrose Place rerun sometimes.

Dry those eyes.

Ben Roethlisberger has an uncanny knack for making everything seem like it’s moving in slow motion. From his unflappable pocket presence, to his ambling running style….even his falling down…it all seems to occur at a slower rate than everyone else. A lot like the Time Machine I found on Craigslist this week: Time Machine

Joe Flacco has looked like a serviceable NFL quarterback as the Ravens engineer a game tying drive. I have to say that I thought he was going to get killed tonight. On the other hand, the Steelers have got to be tired of getting run over by Le’ron McClain. That guy is a load of beef.

It was weird seeing the Lions not lose this week. Even if it was there bye… I guess we can say that so far the post-Millen era has been a success. How did that firing take so long? I think I’ve found an explanation:  Millen Article

Warning Dallas Fans: Meltdown In Progress – You just had to wonder how long the T.O. honeymoon would last. I thought we might hear some rumblings after he didn’t get the ball last week, but after he got the ball, or was targeted 17 times this week it’s hard to say they lost for lack of his involvement. The thing that bothers me most about his complaints is that I watched the whole game and he dropped several passes including a very catchable touchdown pass from Romo at the beginning of the 4th quarter. He drops A LOT of passes. Get ready for the non-stop ESPN T.O. media fest…..ugggghhhh. I may resort to drinking Bud Light with lime.

Or watching horse racing…

What a strong finishing effort!

ESPN should take a page from the Department of Homeland Security and devise some sort of color coded drama rating for T.O. that is updated every day so we don’t have to talk about him all the time. Right now I’d put us somewhere around threat level yellow.

I hate NFL overtime. For all of its drama…it’s the one thing about the NFL that sucks. College overtime is incredibly entertaining and if the NFL switched it would be great for all of our fantasy football points.

I know that I’ve had a lot of negative things to say about Al Davis in the past few weeks. I still do. But I have found a useful little diagram that has helped me understand this old, wrinkled enigma and I want to share it with you in hopes that we reach enlightenment by seeking to understand. 

This game may be determined by which team is the last one still awake or alive. The physicality of this game has lived up to the billing. And if Flacco manufactures a game winning drive in front of the Steelers’ home crowd I will be very impressed. He must invoke the power of the hen.

Trouble in overtime, the Ravens are going backwards. These teams are really beating on each other. There are going to be a lot of sore people tomorrow.

 

Jeff Reed steps in to kick it for the win….and he squeezes it inside the post. A big win for the Steelers (ugly or otherwise), but despite the loss, it feels like the Ravens improved tonight as Joe Flacco seemed to take a big step forward as an NFL qb. This division looks to be a tight race. 

Good luck in week 5 everyone! I have to get some sleep, Ray Lewis will be yelling at me in just a few hours.