Week 7 thoughts, Week 8 picks + BAMA thoughts

Sorry I'm late with the 2nd post. I've been chillin waay too hard.

Week 7 saw some exciting games. Since the Titans had the week off, I watched the Falcons/Steelers in glorious high definition on my 44-inch Zenith HDTV. I gotta tell you, if you're not planning on getting an HDtv, upgrading to digital cable or DBS (digital broadcast satellite) services in the near future, I feel sorry for ya. By the year 2010 (less than 3 years from now), ALL of broadcasting will be in either glorious HD, or full-digital. So go ahead and be dirt-cheap. You'll be in the dark my friend.


Back to week 7. What is it about people claiming Michael Vick will never be a good quarterback? People grumble because he has upgraded the quarterback position. Now, sure he doesn't always trust his receivers, but you can't deny the guy's throwing ability. I watched him throw the long ball, the short pass, and everything else an NFL qb can do throw this past Sunday. The boy is bad ya'll. When you can make the defense account for your running AND passing abilities, you're a good quarterback in my opinion. That's why I'm glad Tennessee is keeping the tradition of starting a QB that can pass as well as scramble. Have you seen Vince Young's throwing power? He almost looks as if he's not even trying to throw the ball 50 yards downfield. One thing that scared me Sunday, and another surprised me. The hit Roethlisberger took midway during the 2nd quarter of the Steelers/Falcons game was a nasty, helmet-to-helmet hit. Basically, Roethlisberger was hit on TWO different sides of his head by TWO different defenders. The thing that scared me was the sight of seeing him layed out, motionless for over 3 minutes. Usually, the first thought in someone's head is "paralysis" which is never good.

The thing that surprised me is that the NFL hasn't reviewed this play as illegal. No flag was thrown on the play that forced him out of the game. What bothered me is the fact that the NFL hasn't followed up on the hit. Now like I said in the previous post, I'm all for a good hit on the QB to keep him alert. But hits like that are dangerous and bad for the league. The thing about THIS situation was it seemed as if the defenders were not intentionally trying to knock Roethlisberger out of the game. On a sidenote, Charlie Batch played like he wanted a starting job. Bill Parcells and Art Shell should take note, because they could use a good QB.

Tony Romo? How about Tony NoNo? So the guy has throw 27 passes and 3 TD's so far this season...wait until Dallas plays Carolina this week. The Panthers are gonna gut Romo like a fish.

Arizona at Green Bay - duh
Atlanta at Cincinnati - ATL is gonna take that cookie
Baltimore at New Orleans - Sorry N.O., but the show is over. You are still the Saints.
Houston at Tennessee...come on.
Jacksonville at Philadelphia - With McNabb having a FIELD DAY. He's my Fantasy pick of the week also.
Seattle at Kansas City - With Hasselbeck & Alexander out, there's no hope.
San Francisco at Chicago - Duh...again.
Tampa Bay at N.Y. Giants - BALLIN!!!
St. Louis at San Diego - Tomlinson is gonna shine in this one.
Indianapolis at Denver - Manning will be Manning. Freeney will torment WHOEVER Denver decides to start
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland - Please. Challenge me.
Pittsburgh at Oakland - Art Shell better step his coaching game up. Al Davis is crazy, but he aint stupid...or is he?
Dallas at Carolina - See "Romo" above.

What are my thoughts on the Alabama/Tennessee game, you ask? Mike Shula and whomever is responsible for the conservative playcalling should have their collective butts kicked. This is a young and talented team. Dont let them get into the redzone, then run the ball in hopes of "getting further into field goal range" because that's the ONLY direction Shula is thinking. If it's not a long-bomb pass for a touchdown, he's scared to go for the touchdown. And why not run the ball with Johns more than Darby? Darby is a good RB, but Johns has been the better performer as of late. When you need a quick 5 for a first down, he's getting you that 5. When you need 6 outta Darby, he's getting 1 yard worth of jukes, and 2 of avoiding a shoe-lace tackle. I like Darby's style of play, but sadly, I think that hip injury has gotten the best of him thus far.

I'm taking Alabama over Florida International, but not by much. They'll play them the same way the played Duke...very conservatively, and will only win by 10 if that much. And that's with a thin FIU squad. Shula obviously isn't the man for the head coaching job down in T-town. Maybe they should've signed Sly Croom.





I'm also gonna pick my self-proclaimed Alma Mater of Alabama A&M University over Alabama State in the 65th Annual Magic City Classic. They gotta win this game to stay in contention to play in the SWAC Championship game. If not that, but if just for pride only.

Who knows. I might just make a surprise appearance.

Titans, Roughing the Passer, Madden 07, and my ill-feelings toward David Stern and the NBA.

The Titans are settling into the bye week after snatching up their first win of the season. This past Sunday, Tennessee defeated the Washington Redskins 25-22 with a spectacular running game by a seemingly reborn Travis Henry. Henry had 32 carries for 178 yards. Sounds good to me!

Vince Young also had the best day of his rookie season with a 13-25/161yd day. Let us not forget that this year would have been his Senior season had he stayed at Texas. He's gonna be a star in this league, but ONLY if the Titans management (and I use that term loosely) surround him with a better team. He's going to need that playmaker WR, and they're hoping that David Givens can be that playmaker.

The NFL's new views on 'roughing the passer' is beyond rediculous. We understand that something had to be done about protecting one of the most important positions on the field, as well as some of the greatest players in the game, but this is rediculous



That is NO WHERE CLOSE to even being in the 'roughing the passer' ballpark! In the past, I've seen quarterback get hammered time after time in game after game with NO FLAGS. This was a good and bad thing for the NFL. On the good side, it encouraged offensive lineman to better protect their backs. On the bad side, it's cut a few careers shorter than what they could've been. I would've hated to have been a Redskins O-lineman the Monday after Theismann's injury.

There is nothing more fulfilling to an NFL defender than getting to the quarterback. In that above video, the defender got to the quarterback.

Madden 2007 (PC version) is a very decent football game. I've heard that the next-generation console versions of this game is lacking in some areas. The PC version of this game is a very solid football game....IF you can get it to work.

A few days ago, I read an article about more miniscule rule changes in the NBA. Apparently, players can no longer check in at the scores table with their jerseys untucked. Full-length tights are no longer allowed. Neither are sweatbands on the upper-arm or forearm, or rubberbands on the wrist.

Why? If a player feels that one of these has a positive influence on his game performance, they why stop this player from wearing it? Now, I realize that most of this is cosmetics. But I also think most of this is David Stern waving his "bossman" finger just to be waving his "bossman" finger. You ever have a "superior" do things only to remind you that he is, in fact, your "superior? Most times, the superior does this because he knows he's not doing his job in other areas, so he has to make big changes to feed the illusion that he is, in fact, do a good job. Well, he isn't. These rule changes, along with the new changing the ball are completely unnecessary. I mean, who changes the damn ball?! I'd love to see the outrage if the NFL or MLB change their respective balls. At least the people who run these league has some balls...

All the "no tights/sweatbands/rubberbands" rule is doing is feeding Stern's illusion that he's further driving the league away from the "hip-hop generation". I understand that this is a business, and Stern's #1 concern is putting butts in seats, but this is just getting out of hand. I saw the good side of requiring players to follow a dress code. I understand the part about every player being accountable for his own image and that each individual image makes the image of an entire league, but this is rediculous. Shaq was right when he said that the reason the NBA is losing money is because they try to take over the game (they, meaning the ref's, or anyone else who ISN'T PLAYING).

I sometimes wonder if any of these changes would be taking place had their not been a brawl between the Pacers and Pistons in 2004.



I'll be back next week. Ya'll stay tuned.

NBA 2k7, and why I bought it

So I bought a 2kSports product earlier this evening. I did it for 2 reasons: 1, because basketball season is fast approaching, and I need a current, up-to-date basketball game to help get me through the season. 2, because I heard that EA Canada hasn't done ANYTHING to improve the NBA Live series that I grew up with. EA's Tiburon division (develops the Madden series) has slacked off since they landed those exclusitivity rights to the NFL product. We'll see how that goes.
I like what I see from 2K7 so far. The gameplay is smooth and realistic to a certain extent. The dunking could be better. I haven't quite made it to the All-Star Break yet, so I dont know how 2kSports handled that aspect of the game. I will say that if they have the ENTIRE group of All-Star festivities, including a dunk competition, I will be highly amused.

I'll be back with more later.