2009-2010 All-Pro Team and Season Awards

The 2009-2010 season is sure to be one of devastating injuries, comeback teams, emerging stars and Superbowl contenders. Although it will be hard to answer the surprises that last season brought us, we are all hoping for the best. Besides, how many seasons have we seen two rookie quarterbacks lead their respective teams to the playoffs, or the teams that held the first and third overall picks make the playoffs, or a team with one of the worst offensive lines win the Superbowl?

If there is one thing next season can bring us, its star athletes performing to the very best of their abilities, rookies dominating their position from day one, and a player comeback from the dead and lead its team to victory. So without further or do I present you with the 2009-2010 All-Pro team.

 

All-Pro Team

Quarterback

Phillip Rivers: San Diego Chargers

Led the league in passing touchdowns last year. If his weapons can stay healthy this year, he will be primed for a huge season.

Other candidates: Drew Brees, Peyton Manning

Running Back

Deangelo Williams: Carolina Panthers

I’m a little sceptical about this one. He was an absolute monster the last 6 games of the season last year. I wanted to put Adrian Peterson here, but just couldn’t.

Other candidates: Adrian Peterson, Michael Turner, Brian Westbrook

Fullback

Le’Ron McClain: Baltimore Ravens

Had 902 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in ’08. Not bad for a fullback.

Other candidates: Greg Jones, Peyton Hillis

Wide Receiver

Andre Johnson: Houston Texans

The best receiver in the the NFL. Led the league in receptions and receiving yards last season, look for him to do the same.

Larry Fitzgerald: Arizona Cardinals

Had the best postseason for a wide receiver in NFL history. Look for him to build off that success.

Other candidates: Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Roddy White, Steve Smith

Tight End

Jason Witten: Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo and Witten have a tight relationship and with T.O. gone Witten won’t have anyone begging for the ball every play.

Other candidates: Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley

Offensive Tackle

Ryan Clady: Denver Broncos

Clady was an absolute stud pass protector last year allowing only 1/2 a sack in 2008. He will improve his run-blocking and establish himself as one of the best tackles in the league.

Joe Thomas: Cleveland Browns

He has dominated since day one of his rookie season even though last season was a bit of a drop-off. 

Other candidates: Jason Peters, Jake Long

Offensive Guard

Harvey Dahl: Atlanta Falcons

Went from NFL Europe to becoming a key part of the No. 2 rushing attack in the league last year. Made Peter King’s All-Pro team in 2008.

Steve Hutchinson: Minnesota Vikings

Has started 116 games in his 8 years in the league out of a possible 128. The old veteran is a big part of Adrian Peterson’s success. 

Other candidates: Logan Mankins, Kris Dielman, Shawn Andrews

Center

Nick Mangold: New York Jets

Whether its Kellen Clemens, Brett Ratliff, Mark Sanchez, or Josh Freeman he will be loved by any quarterback that protects as good as he does. 

Other candidates: Andre Gurode, Shaun O’Hara

Defensive Ends

Julius Peppers: Carolina Panthers

It doesn’t matter which team he ends up with, Peppers will still produce at least 15 sacks.

Justin Tuck: New York Giants

Some pressure will be taken off Tuck with the return of Osi Umenyiora. They will create the most feared group of defensive ends.

Other candidates: Mario Williams, Jared Allen

Defensive Tackle

John Henderson: Jacksonville Jaguars

For the Jaguars to have any success on defense next season they will need Henderson to play huge. Look for him to answer the that call.

Shaun Rogers: Cleveland Browns

Many experts think he doesn’t play to his full potential but his production has increased the past two seasons. 

Other candidates: Albert Haynseworth, Kris Jenkins, Marcus Stroud

Middle Linebacker

DeMeco Ryans: Houston Texans

Has started every game in his young 3-year career and even though his production has dropped each season he will get back to his rookie form. 

Other Candidates: Patrick Willis, Lofa Tatupu

Outside Linebacker

Demarcus Ware: Dallas Cowboys

Has a contract year coming up soon and he will prove that he deserves to be the highest paid defensive player in NFL history.

Terrell Suggs: Baltimore Ravens

With Bart Scott in a Jets uniform and an aging Ray Lewis Suggs will have to step up this season.

Other candidates: Keith Bulluck, Chad Greenway, James Harrison

Cornerback

Nnamdi Asomugha: Oakland Raiders

Has consistently played well for a very bad team his whole career. He shows week in and week out he is the number one corner in the league.

Antoine Winfield: Minnesota Vikings

Made his first probowl last year after deserving many more before that. Now that people know who he is, he will get more recognition.

Other candidates: Terrence Newman, Darrelle Revis

Strong Safety

Adrian Wilson: Arizona Cardinals

Wilson is an aging veteran but still has plenty left in the tank. Playing along side Antrel Rolle may make up the best safety tandem in the NFL.

Other candidates: Kerry Rhodes, LaRon Landry, Donte Whitner

Free Safety

Ed Reed: Baltimore Ravens

By far the best safety in the league last year. With some pieces of that Baltimore defense starting to disperse, Ed Reed will rise to the occasion and make that defense one of the leagues best.

Other candidates: Reggie Nelson, Erik Coleman, Michael Griffin

Kicker

Mason Crosby: Green Bay Packers

I don’t see a whole lot of touchdowns being scored by this Green Bay offense. That might change if they draft Chris Wells but for now, field goals is what will keep them in games.

Other candidates: Rob Bironas, Stephen Gostowski

Punter

Dustin Colquitt: Kansas City Chiefs

Colquitt has always been a consist punter and now that he’s going into his prime people will start to recognize his name.

Other candidates: Michael Koenon, Pat McBriar

 

Most Valuable Player

Drew Brees: New Orleans Saints

He has single- handily carried this team the past two years. If Marques Colston can stay healthy he’ll have bigger numbers than last year.

Defensive Player of the Year

DeMarcus Ware: Dallas Cowboy

Had 20 sacks last year and wants to get paid like Albert Haynseworth. Don’t be surprised if he breaks Michael Strahan’s record of 22 1/2.

Rookie of the Year

Offense: Knowshawn Moreno

In my opinion the best running back in this class. I don’t see any rookie quarterback sensations this season.

Defense: Aaron Curry

The most NFL ready player in the draft. No matter which team he goes to, he steps right in and starts from day one.

Comeback Player of the Year

Tom Brady: New England Patriots

There was a great list of players for this award including Shawn Merriman and Osi Umenyiora but there is no way you can’t pick Tom Brady for this award.

 

Superbowl Champions

Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning improves his Hall of Fame resume by adding another Super Bowl ring to his fingers. It willl not be easy with Tony Dungy gone though.

Not Over the Hill Yet: Athletes Over 40 with Major Contributions

By Lee W.
I bet you know some athletes. You can find them almost anywhere. There is a
handful of good athletes. Athletes you can think out of the top of your head, Athletes that are nearby, athletes in the Olympics, so on. Another group of athletes is set apart from the normal athletes. These athletes are the best of the best. In this group is 48-year-old gunslinger. Also there is a man who was a leading scorer on his hockey team when he was 50. Who is this group of players? This group of players is amazing athletes that have had a major accomplishment 40 years or older of age. They are set apart from the sports world. It is so hard to be in this group of athletes that you might have to become a Masters Champion at 46 (Jack Nicklaus) or be the fastest player on your football team at 40 (Darrell Green) Athletes 40 years of age and older have to play a very long time in there sport. Most athletes play until about age 30 and then they will hang up the hat. Just as this group of athletes will play at least 10 years more of sports than the average professional athlete. Who are some of the amazing athletes that I will discuss? Also, what accomplishment did they make? Some of the people you will hear about you have already heard of. Some people you will see, you may not exactly know. The athletes that will be discussed in 10 slides are Eamonn Coghlan, Dara Torres, Hank Aaron, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Martina Navratilova, Darrell Green, Jack Nicklaus, George Foreman, Nolan Ryan, and George Blanda.

Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson Needs To Be Fired

If you are anything like me, then you should be calling for Ted Thompson’s head this offseason.

With the switch to the new defensive scheme this year, there are a lot of questions out there on the Packers’ defense.

So what does Thompson do this free agency period? Nothing!

So far, he has let Colin Cole go to the Seahawks, and signed a lot of questionable players to help with the transition.

I will be highlighting these signings in the article.

 

S Anthony Smith

With only 14 starts out of three years on his resume, Smith is definitely a questionable signing.

Everyone knows him for his bold proclamation that the Steelers would end the Patriots’ perfect season in ’08.

It seems like he thought the defense wouldn’t need him to contribute for the win, as he was picked on the whole game by quarterback Tom Brady.

The Packers already have Nick Collins and Atari Bigby, assuming he can stay healthy.

Did Ted Thompson think that just because Smith has limited experience in the 3-4, that he would be able to contribute? Not happening.

So basically we got a two-year backup at best, who is not going to see any playing time, barring an injury.

 

There are durability questions at the offensive line positions this year as well; none of these players have stayed in one spot consistently.

Ted Thompson thought it would be a great idea to bring who?

 

C Duke Preston

Preston has 20 starts in four years of experience with the Buffalo Bills.

Most of those starts (11), came last year when the Bills had an injury at that position, not really what the Packers were looking for as far as durability.

So basically he has only nine starts if there wasn’t an injury last year, dismal.

 

We all know Thompson’s love of draft picks. So he goes and trades our second-string long snapper for a conditional draft pick.

Which, by the way, is rumored to be a seventh rounder in 2011.

I understand that he is just a backup, but what was he thinking?

Maybe he was setting up the next GM to call the shots for the Packers after this season.

 

As if it couldn’t get any worse, the Packers had QB Paulus workout for the team this week.

Don’t we already have two second-year backups as well as Aaron Rodgers?

I know that the kid has set records in high school playing football, but he has spent the last three years playing basketball at Duke.

We do not need another QB.

Wake up Ted Thompson, and smell the coffee. You let players sign with other teams this offseason, leaving the team with only the draft to help our lacking defense.

I for one am ticked off, and I want his head on a plate.

At least with Mike Sherman we were signing good players, even if it was costing us cap space.

That’s what good GM’s do, sign good players that are obviously a need for the team.

If he trades down in the draft this year, the team should cut ties before the start of the season.

Do Packer fans want another Matt Millen in their front office? I think not.

Mark Sanchez to Seahawks: Possibility Almost a Reality

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, who played only 16 games his entire collegiate career, decided to forgo his last year of eligibility at USC to enter the NFL Draft.

 

Sanchez made his decision the day after Oklahoma quarterback San Bradford decided to stay in college for at least one more year. From the beginning, when college players can declare for the draft, Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford has been the No. 1 quarterback in the draft.

 

Currently Stafford is still the highest quarterback on Espn’s “big board” at No. 8. Sanchez, on the other hand, has been flying up on everyone’s mock draft. Sanchez had a great pro-day and did very will at the combine. Now for every team it’s different. Some quarterbacks fit the system and others don’t. A lot of people including ESPN’s Scouts Inc. Tod McShay has the Seahawks taking Sanchez at No. 4.

 

There are fans that say that Hasselbeck is in great shape and has 2-3 years left in him and that he can lead the Seahawks back to the Super bowl. Then there are the fans that say the Seahawks need to draft the heir apparent to Hasselbeck, with either Sanchez or Stafford.

 

Stafford will be gone to the Detroit Lions first overall, Jason Smith, the offensive tackle from Baylor will go to St. Louis and the best player in the draft, linebacker Aaron Curry will go No. 3 to the KC Chiefs.

 

That leaves wide receiver Michael Crabtree, offensive tackle Eugene Monroe and Stafford. The Seahawks are turning away from Crabtree because they already have Nate Burleson and Deion Branch. They also added onto that by signing wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh to the “big money” contract.

 

Giving him a five-year, $40 million contract, $15 million guaranteed. They will not take defensive tackle B.J. Raji from Boston College because they signed Colin Cole from Green Bay, who they are very high on and traded for defensive tackle Cory Redding.

 

So that leaves just Monroe and Sanchez. Looking at LT/OT, the Seahawks are very happy with the progress that Walter Jones has made coming back from offseason knee surgery.

 

They re-signed Ray Willis to a two-year contract and they are very high on him, Willis was one of there top priorities in the offseason. And from recent years, teams are looking in the top of the draft to take there next future quarterback. The people that say, “You can take a quarterback like Bomar or Nate Davis in the later rounds” here’s a list for you.

 

This is a list of quarterbacks that have been taking in the first round and some in the very top of the draft that have been successful in the NFL.

 

Matt Ryan
JaMarcus Russell, undecided- Just doesn’t have any supporting cast at all
Vince Young-Rookie of the Year, but has a few mental issues.
Eli Manning-Super Bowl winning QB
Philip Rivers-Sat for two years behind Brees and no one is complaining about it now.
Carson Palmer-Great QB on a bad team
Donovan McNabb
Peyton Manning

 

Sanchez would be in the same situation as Phillip Rivers was in without the trade. Sit for a year or two, learn the system and then take over. Sanchez has the pieces around him to make it happen with Housh, Branch, Burleson, Carlson, and Jones (on occasion).

 

It’s a lot easier to find a offensive tackle in the draft that can learn and be a future left tackle for the Seahawks than it is finding a quarterback.

 

Here is a quote form Mark Sanchez him self on the Seahawks drafting him. A little more info with the Seahawks and Sanchez is that they had almost the entire front office at his pro-day. They had dinner with Sanchez on more than on occasion and he already had a private workout with the Seahawks.

 

Here is Sanchez’s comments on how it went. Sanchez was on 950 KJR in Seattle when he made these comments just FYI.

 

“I’ve talked to Coach (Bill) Lazor and Coach (Greg) Knapp and Coach (Jim) Mora,” Sanchez said. “They’ve all been excited about me. They saw me work out at pro day. I visited with them quite a bit, and at the end of this week I’ll have gone to Detroit and Seattle, met with St. Louis, Jacksonville.

 

“I mean you hear everything. I’m all over the map. And I had a great time with coach Knapp and coach Lazor. So I feel comfortable with their system, and it’s very similar to what we ran at SC so it would be a seamless transition. I think it would be great.”

Levy then asked him if he thinks there’s a chance he could go to Seattle at No. 4.

“Sure, that’d be great for both of us,” Sanchez said.

 

Here is the voice link to the entire Sanchez conversation. http://www.kjram.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=mitchplayer.php&mid=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/SEATTLE-WA/KJR-AM/Mitch_090416_Mark%20Sanchez.mp3?CPROG=PCAST?CCOMRRMID&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=SEATTLE-WA&NG_FORMAT=sports&NG_ID=KJR950AM&OR_NEWSFORMAT=&OWNER=&SERVER_NAME=www.950kjr.com&SITE_ID=645&STATION_ID=KJR-AM&TRACK=

 

So that sheds a lot of light on what the Seahawks will do with there first-round pick, fourth overall. That being Sanchez. The rest of the Seahawks needs, OT and LB they could take ILB James Laurinaitis in the second round and move him to OLB just like how the Seahawks drafted Leroy Hill who was a MLB and moved him to OLB.

 

Now for OT they could look at Fenuki Tupou from Oregon. Also I have a quote from Mike Sando that also sheds some light on the Seahawks and Sanchez.

 

“Do think Seattle needs to at least consider a quarterback at No. 4, if available. How many times does Seattle expect to draft this early? Might as well take a quarterback now while you have the chance to get a highly rated one.”

The Kansas City Chiefs Covet Aaron Curry, but Have Other Needs

Leading up to the NFL Draft, practically ever mock draft in the western hemisphere is forecasting that the Kansas City Chiefs will spend their number one pick, third overall, on Wake Forest linebacker Aaron Curry. 

The selection would be likely be a solid choice for the Kansas City Chiefs’ first-year general manager Scott Pioli, as this was one of the team’s weakest positions in 2008, and the rumors that KC is switching to a 3-4 defense in 2009 are beginning to materialize. 

So it’s a foregone conclusion that Curry will be wearing arrowhead red this fall, correct? 

Not so fast. 

The Chiefs are not the only club that covets Curry, as he’s widely considered not only the best linebacker in the draft but the best overall defensive player, so other teams might consider moving up in the draft to select him. 

What contingency plans do the Chiefs have if Curry is off the board by the time they pick?  Let’s take a look at some options.

 

OFFENSIVE LINE

While improving the linebacker position is a huge need in Kansas City, upgrading the offensive line is also a priority. 

The Chiefs drafted tackle Brandon Albert in the first round last season, but there are still plenty of holes to fill along one of the weaker lines in the league. 

The Chiefs will likely take a long look at Virginia offensive tackle Eugene Monroe or Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith. 

The Chiefs have just acquired Matt Cassel as the team’s new quarterback, and keeping him healthy and upright will be job one for the Chiefs o-line in 2009 and beyond, so taking a tackle makes plenty of sense here.

 

WIDE RECEIVER

Another priority for the new regime in KC will be to obtain a quality receiver to line up opposite of Dwayne Bowe. 

New Chiefs head coach Todd Haley ran a high-powered passing offense in Arizona in 2008, with such talented wideouts as Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston at his disposal, so improving depth in the receiving corps is a must. 

Thus the temptation to select Texas Tech receiver Michael Crabtree might be too great to resist. 

Crabtree is a playmaker who would be valued on a unit short on playmaking abilities.  He is a big, tall target with great hands that would look good on the opposite end of Cassel’s passes.

 

TRADE

Another possible scenario for the Chiefs could be trading out of its third spot entirely. 

By giving up their second round pick to the Patriots in the Matt Cassel-Mike Vrabel trade, the Chiefs are not slated to pick it’s second player until the third round, No. 67 overall.  With a team full of needs, waiting from No. 3 to No. 67 might not be an option, and trading down to pick up more picks is quite plausible. 

Even if Curry is still on the board when the Chiefs pick at No. 3, look for the club to entertain all offers before finally selecting him.

 

CONCLUSION

Again, with Curry widely considered to be the best defensive player, the smart money is on him becoming the Chiefs first-round pick. 

But after looking at other team needs, it is very conceivable that the club would consider trading out of the pick, if it would give them the chance to fill other holes on the roster.  If the Chiefs are going to improve on last year’s 2-14 campaign, a talent upgrade is long overdue for many positions. 

There’s no doubt that the club covets Curry, but making a draft day deal to pick up more selections is a definite possibility at Arrowhead Stadium.

The NFL’s All-MAC Team: Mid-Major Schools, Major Talent

The NFL Draft is a wonderful event for players and NFL franchises, but it is also good publicity for the universities that the players are selected from. 

We all know the traditional powerhouses, such as USC, Miami, Ohio State, LSU and so on. They always have a plethora of players who get selected in the first round. We have seen these schools play on television numerous times, and we know the players.

But what happens when your team picks a player from a smaller school that you haven’t seen play? Yeah, Mel Kiper has a rap sheet on him, but he hasn’t passed your own personal eye test.

The Mid-American Conference has developed a number of spectacular NFL players without the publicity of the “BCS” conferences. This year, guys like Larry English of Northern Illinois and Nate Davis of Ball State will hear their name called in the first or second round. If it is your team selecting one of these guys, have no fear. 

I have put together the All-MAC team of current NFL players. Read it and weep.

QB- Ben Roethlisberger- Miami (OH)

RB- Michael Turner- Northern Illinois

FB- Jason McKie- Temple

WR- Greg Jennings- Western Michigan

WR- Kevin Walter- Eastern Michigan

TE- Antonio Gates- Kent State

T- Nick Kaczur- Toledo

T- Joe Staley- Central Michigan

G- Jacob Bell- Miami (OH)

G- Andy Alleman- Akron

C- Eric Ghiaciuc- Central Michigan

DE- Jason Taylor- Akron

DE- Raheem Brock- Temple

DT- Cullen Jenkins- Central Michigan

DT- Hollis Thomas- Northern Illinois

LB- James Harrison- Kent State

LB- Jason Babin- Western Michigan

LB- Chase Blackburn- Akron

CB- Usama Young- Miami (OH)

CB- Kelly Herndon- Toledo

S- Abram Elam- Miami (OH)

S- Dwight Smith- Akron

K- Shaun Suisham- Bowling Green

P- Brad Maynard- Ball State

KR/PR- Joshua Cribbs- Kent State

 

Not a bad starting roster. 

Next time you watch a MAC game, keep your eyes peeled because more of these guys are going to be dominating on Sundays than you think.

Could the City of Pittsburgh Be Seeing No.7 in the End?

As you all know, the Steelers had won their sixth Super Bowl this 2008 season. Now at the end of these 17 weeks, we might see Pittsburgh in the playoffs again.

I think we can make it to the Super Bowl, once again. I believe this because of a couple reasons.

First, I can make that prediction because of Troy Polamalu. If he plays better than he did this year the defense will be even better than it was this year. Last year, he had a total of 54 tackles and 7 interceptions for 59 yards. He is a great asset to our team.

Then that brings me to James Harrison. Yes MR. D-fence himself. With 59 tackles and two interceptions he helped our team dramatically. He had a 100-yard touchdown run as we may all know, was during Super Bowl XL-III also being the longest play in Superbowl history.

He also helped our team by racking up 16 sacks in just the 2008 regular season.

We may not look at him this way, but Limas Sweed will help us lost with the loss of Nate Washington. We all may look at him like hes not worthy of playing with players like Hines Ward but in reality he just needs to concentrate and watch the ball all the way into his hands.Now if you still disagree, think of this.

How would you feel if you were going to make a huge catch? Wouldn’t you want to see yourself make a huge play like that? He has all the reason to look at himself in the big screen but he should have been looking at the ball we all know that but you have to admit you probably would have done the same thing.

Hines Ward we all know will be great. His statistics are just too awesome to mention in an article like this. All you have to know is that he has to be one of the best receivers in NFL history when it comes to making hits on a defender, and his amazing catches.

We also can not forget his never ending smile that we have grown to love, well some of us.

If we can get Santonio Holmes to run like he did on that punt return against the San Diego Chargers he might become a great punt/ kick returner and could potentially help score a lot of points and he would also make his whole team along with the Hardcore Steelers fan like myself happy.

“Fast” Willie Parker, if not injured should be able to come back and run right down the field behind Carey Davis. And for Rashard Mendenhall He should come back and relieve Mewelde Moore from his back up position.

Then we have two players like William Gay and Ryan Clark that are not as well known as Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu, but they still play a big part in the team’s success.

Then we have non-talked-about linemen like Casey Hampton, who does a lot of work and gets no credit. Without the linemen, no one would get anywhere. Ra’shon Harris and the other soon to be drafted linemen will also be in that category with all the work but little credit.

Though with all these top-notch players we have a Elite waiting to come out and shine.  Big Ben, though not an elite yet, Practically carries this team. He is known for his forth quarter come backs and his ability to bomb the ball accurately.

He also is known for his “questionable” throws to Santanio Holmes two centimeters from the goal line and the boundary line.

With all these amazing players, even the ones that i didn’t mention like Jeff Reed or Lawrence Timmons and the new stars that could be drafted by Pittsburgh They do indeed have a chance to repeat what they did these season.

I hate to break it to the good and loyal Patriots fans on here, but I do think that Pittsburgh has a chance to roll right over your team and take their seventh Super Bowl title, if the Patriots let up the sides to Lamarr Woodley and James Harrison.

We’ll just have to wait and see. That’s all I can say, but good luck to every team and happy cheering to every football fan reading this!

John Madden Retires To Start Hockey Career. (Humor)

“Boom!  I’m a hockey player for the New Jersey Devils,” said the John Madden we all know and love.

“Super Bowl winning coach.  Video game icon.  Famous broadcaster.  Hall of Fame member.  What is the first thing you’ll do now that you have retired,” I asked.

“You see, what you have to do to retire is, you gotta stop doing what you were doing.  If you keep doing what you were doing then your retirement isn’t very effective. That’s the key to retirement,” said John Madden.

Not sure of how to proceed, I did anyway.  “Any truth to the rumors that Al Davis will step aside and let you be as the Raiders GM?” I asked.

“I haven’t heard those rumors,” he said.

“I made it up to start conversation,” I admitted.

“It is a good idea, that Madden guy might work wonders in the Raiders offices,” he said.

“Um,”  I said, “Are you referring to yourself in the third person?  You do know you are John Madden, right?”

“Boom!  I’m John Madden!” he said.  “The key to being a good GM is making the right decisions, because the GM has to make decisions.  If he makes bad decisions he is a bad GM.   Now Matt Millen was a bad GM because he made bad decisions.”

 

This is satire. 

 

 

Open Letter To The NFL: No More Thanksgiving Turkeys

To: Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner

From: Diehard NFL Fan’s everywhere, even Detroit

Dear Mr. Goodell,

Your tenure so far with the NFL has reinvigorated the league and renewed the faith of millions of fans who felt that the NFL was becoming a league of criminals. Your tough love stances with players like Adam Jones inspired me, among many, to believe that maybe there really is a Santa Claus who taketh away the sinners of the league and toss them out on the streets.

I know; I am mixing methaphors, or something like that, but trust me the cause is a good one.

You see, it seems the NFL has gotten a big wad of tradition stuck on the bottom of it’s collective shoes and either can’t or won’t get a big stick and scrape it off. Yes, we fans know and love traditions, in fact, it is part of what we love about many things in our culture. Traditions give us a sense of history, they keep us in touch with hero’s of the past and provide glimpses of legends yet to come.

But seriously commish, we need to talk.

Now, I realize that Thanksgiving is all about serving up a nice fat turkey, with gravy and mashed potatoes and stuffing and grandma’s <insert favorite waist widening confection here> as well as regional and, look, here is is again, traditional fare. 

It’s a time for family to come together and share the incredible bounty of our labor, take pictures of the kids, grandkids, cousins, nieces, nephews and Uncle Bob who got so drunk he’s passed out on the lawn chair. 

Yes, we do indeed love our traditions, and we greatly appreciate your desire to keep this sport we love from straying to far from it’s roots.

For Heaven’s sakes Roger, you’ve got to do something about the Detroit Lions!

Being forced to watch the Lion’s on Thanksgiving day is akin to going over to grandma’s house to celebrate her birthday, only she doesn’t remember how old she is and spends the next eight hours telling everyone about her medical problems. 

Or as exciting as watching paint dry. That one’s gotten a lot of mileage, wouldn’t you agree?

In fact, watching paint dry has some tradition of it’s own, but would you really, consciously foist such a task on millions of tryptophan-engorged fans?

It sure seems so to me, and something tells me I’m not alone.  I realize I can’t speak for the bazillion other turkey lovers out there, but couldn’t you see if maybe, possibly, you could keep the Turkey in the freezer, just for one year, and slide a nice juicy piece of filet on our Thanksgiving day plate?

I mean, I’d even settle for a slab of chuck roast to be honest. Just give us something with meat on it. Something we can gnaw on with juice dribbling down our chins and that gutteral cave man look while licking our fingers.

Isn’t the idea to leave us hungering for more? Isn’t it?  Or do you guys sleep in really, really late there on the East Coast and don’t realize the untold suffering you are causing?

If nothing else, think of all those poor Lion’s fans who go to the game just to protest that their Lion’s are a national spectacle, yet again, to be jeered and taunted by the rest of the football community.

You don’t have to make it permanent.  Just until the Ford Family finally realizes that owning a NFL franchise can be a frustrating and expensive proposition.  I hear they are having a tough time of it right now. Maybe this would help ease their pain.

I know it would ease mine.

Ben Ice is the managing partner and a writer for www.rotoexperts.com. He has a killer recipe for Cornbread/Sausage/Cranberry stuffing that the family fights over each year. He’d gladly make a huge batch for the NFL executive office if they’d grant him this one little wish.  You can reach Ben at ice@rotoexperts.com.

Saints WR Lance Moore Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

New Orleans Saints’ wide receiver Lance Moore underwent surgery on Monday to repair his left shoulder, which he injured while lifting weights.

The Saints organization expects Moore to be ready for the start of training camp, to be held this year in Metarie, Louisiana for the first time since Hurricane Katrina.

For the past few years, the team had held camp at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.

Moore’s surgery took place in Birmingham, Alabama and was performed by Dr. James Andrews. Andrews is a noted orthopedist and Louisiana native who has also operated on Saints halfback Reggie Bush and quarterback Drew Brees.

In 2008, Moore played in all 16 games and caught 79 passes for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Moore is currently a restricted free agent and has been tendered a one-year contract offer worth $1.54 million, which means that if another team signs Moore before the deadline (Friday), they will have to give the Saints a second-round draft pick.

Moore was the Saints’ leading receiver last year after the injury to Marques Colston in Week One.

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