And of course, there was a little something called the NFL draft earlier today...

No self-respecting nfl blogger can let 04/25/09 pass without offering up some thoughts on Day One of the NFL draft. Or even an un-self-respecting one like myself. So I'm going to post some random, knee-jerk reactions to some of the draft shenanigans that took place today, not anything comprehensive, as I mean to do a more complete draft evaluation after the event finishes up tomorrow.

• 1.3 Kansas City drafts DE Tyson Jackson. Wow. I knew Jackson's stock was rising these last few weeks leading up to the draft, I even heard the rumor that the Chief were interested in Jackson, but I never thought they'd actually pick him at 3 (honestly, I thought it was a predraft smokescreen). I know he was the consensus best 3-4 end prospect in the draft, but his work ethic has been thoroughly questioned, and that is a significant concern to have over your high first round pick to whom you will be committing tens of millions of dollars. In the end, I'm thinking Pioli and crew must have completed a huge amount of research on him and been absolutely satisfied there was nothing to the concerns.
• 1.7 Oakland drafts WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. Sorry, Raiders, fans, this pick gets my vote for "High First-Round Pick Most Likely To Be A Spectacular Bust". It's certainly not your fault. If Hey-Bey doesn't perform like a high first round pick then it is nobody but Al's fault, and I can do nothing but feel bad for all of you loyal fans that want nothing more for Al to let competent people help him with the team. I fear that this pick has almost no chance to work out. Why? Because even if Hey-Bey turns out to be a great WR and the best one in this class, there is almost no reason Oakland had to pick him this early. I can't think of one single team that would have picked Hey-Bey anywhere near this early. The Raiders could probably have traded down into the low-20s and still gotten their man (Maclin went to the Eagles at 19, Harvin went to the Vikings at 22). Al's apologists might say it would have been difficult to trade out of the 7th pick, but consider Cleveland. Cleveland, picking out of the fifth spot (earlier than Oakland), was able to trade down several times to the 22nd spot and still get the best center in Alex Mack. The only thing that will rehabilitate my opinion of this pick will be the subsequent discovery that (1) Oakland had identified Hey-Bey as the player they absolutely had to have, and (2) Al had good evidence that another team picking soon after Oakland meant to pick Hey-Bey. Short of that, I can't see how this pick at the 7th spot makes sense.
• 1.10 San Francisco drafts WR Michael Crabtree. What a great development for the 49ers, to have the consensus best WR (even with the injury concerns) fall into their lap at number 10, owing in large part to the Raiders' Davis. The Yorks have to be ecstatic that they got Crabtree without having to trade up (and pay more money).
• 1.12 Denver drafts RB Knowshon Moreno. Just in case any Broncos fans aren't sure that Shanahan isn't with the team anymore. There is no way in this lifetime that Shanny would have gone with an RB using a high-to-mid first round pick, not with so many defensive holes, not with what seems like twenty other RBs already on the roster. Look, I know the Broncos had a spate of injuries to their running backs last season, but even the one RB remaining (Peyton Hillis), showed that he was able to produce in the Broncos running scheme, and Hillis starter the season as a fullback.
• 1.27 Indianapolis drafts RB Donald Brown. I am very surprised that, with DT Evander Hood still on the board and RB Joseph Addai on the roster, the Colts went with Brown. I know Brown performed impressively at the Combine, but Addai is still considered one of the good young RBs in the league. Moreover, the Colts have been weak at the DT spot and, not coincidentally, in their run defense for several years now. I can only think that this is some combination of (1) the Colts having some inside information relating to lingering injuries for Addai, (2) the Colts having some inside information relating to factors that will make it difficult to re-sign Addai, and (3) the Colts having some belief that Hood is not the good prospect he appears to be. I'm hoping it is not #3, because Pittsburgh ended up picking Hood. More on that next.
• 1.32 Pittsburgh drafts DT Evander Hood. As a Pittsburgh fan, I am ecstatic over this pick. In my mock draft, I predicted that Hood would be gone by this point (to Indianapolis with the 27th overall pick).
• 2.3 (35) St. Louis drafts ILB James Laurinitis. Hey, I actually thought this is right about where Laurinitis would be picked. What I never expected was that Laurinitis would be going at this spot over ILB Maualuga from USC (shows what I know). With Erin Andrews' dancing partner going three picks later at number 38 to Cincinnati, this completes a stunning fall for Maualuga, who was projected to go as high as number 12 to Denver. I hope we find out what it is that soured teams (so to speak) on Maualuga (because my Steelers will now have to face him twice a year).
• 2.5 (37) Denver drafts CB Alphonso Smith. It's not that I think Smith was a bad pick here, some drafts had Smith going late in the first round. It's that the Broncos traded away their own first round pick next year to get back into the draft at this point to pick Smith. That I don't get. Explain to me how it makes sense to give away your own first rounder for, essentially, a second rounder in a draft that's generally considered to be a weak one when you can't say for certain that your own pick will be a bad one (i.e., you can't say for certain you'll have had a great 2009-2010 season). Goes without saying, Denver must have had Smith rated very highly.
• 2.11 (43) Carolina drafts DE Everette Brown. Incredible good fortune for the Panthers (I think), who manage to arrange a trade with the 49ers to get Brown, projected by many as a top-half of the draft talent, some even suggesting Brown would go in the top ten.
• 2.23 (56) Indianapolis drafts DT Fili Moala. Alright, alright, this largely salvages what I believed to be a bad first pick in Donald Brown.
• 2.29 (61) Miami drafts CB Sean Smith. This is the second high draft pick the Dolphins have used on a CB (their first round pick was CB Vontae Davis). IMO, they have a much greater need at WR. They had another pick between the Davis and Smith picks, the 44th overall pick, which they used on "Slash" type QB Pat White (although I suppose I can see Miami going with Smith as a player that can contribute to the "Wildcat" offense the Dolphins made popular last season).
• 2.32 (64) Denver drafts TE Quinn Richards. I have no problem with Denver's pick here. What I am amazed over is that the Steelers were willing to trade out of this spot for nothing more than Denver's two 3rd round picks 3.15 (79) and 3.20 (84), while also having to throw in their 4th round pick 32(132) to Denver. Referring to the draft pick value chart, the picks obtained by the Steelers from Denver have a combined value of (195 + 170) = 365. The picks obtained by Denver from Pittsburgh have a combined value of (270 + 44) = 314. Pittsburgh is technically ahead by about 50 points on the trade, approximately the value of an additional low 4th round pick, but this is not a ton. What makes this a real surprise to me is the players that were still available at this spot. Among those players are: OG Duke Robinson, CB DJ Moore, and DEs Michael Johnson and Jarron Gilbert. What do these players have in common? Each one of them has been projected as a possible first round draft pick, and each one of them plays a position where Pittsburgh really needs help. I've even seen mock drafts that projected Pittsburgh to pick Robinson in the first round. Not saying I was necessarily pulling for that, but that was in the first round. To see Robinson and these other players available at the bottom of the second is astounding to me. Robinson is generally considered the best OG prospect in the draft, so he could help the Steelers on the O-line, the area generally considered to be the weakest line on the team. DJ Moore could help fill in at CB where Pittsburgh lost starter Bryant McFadden to Arizona. Johnson or Gilbert could help fill in at DE where every starter on our D-line is over 30 (thus, just drafting Hood might not be enough). So, color me curious. But I wouldn't say I'm upset. The reason is, I trust the Pittsburgh front office to know what they are doing here, they have two SB titles in the last four years, they have more than demonstrated that they know their job, their own players, and these prospective draftees. But mark my words, those players I just mentioned will all be gone by the time the first of Pittsburgh's three 3rd round picks comes up.

A Look at the 2009-2010 NFL Schedule, Part II

Here are the basic rules that determine what opponents your favorite NFL team faces each new year. Under the new alignment where there are four divisions per conference, with four teams in each division (32 teams total), each team faces:

• each of the the 3 other division opponents twice per season, one at home and one on the road (6 games)
• each team in another division (rotated every year) within the same conference (4 games)
• each team in another division (rotated every year) in the opposing conference (4 games)

As this generates 14 regular season matchups, there are still two more matchups that need to be determined to complete a full 16-game schedule. Each team plays one team each from the two divisions in their conference that are out of the rotation for that year.

I'm going to use the Steelers 2009-2010 schedule to illustrate this. They are in the AFC North Division with the Ravens, Bengals, and Browns. Therefore:

• Six of the Steelers games are two game home-and-away series with each of these teams.
• This upcoming season, the AFC North teams play the AFC West within the same-conference rotation. Therefore, four of the Steelers games are against San Diego, Denver, Oakland, and Kansas City.
• This upcoming season, the AFC North teams play the NFC Central within the opposing-conference rotation. Therefore, four of the Steelers games are against Minnesota, Chicago, Green Bay, and Detroit.
• Of the final two opponents, one is Tennessee (AFC South), the other is against Miami (AFC East).

Under these guidelines, the final two teams are really the only ones where there is any "discretion" that can be exercised by the league, as the other 14 are all essentially predetermined from one season to the next. And with these last two games, the NFL gave the Steelers the toughest opponents it could in the form of the divsion champs from each of those divisions. Remember? Last season, the Titans finished with an AFC-best 13-3 record to take the division from perennial champs Indianapolis, while the Dolphins accomplished their amazing turnaround from 1-15 to 11-5 division champs ahead of the Pats and Jets. So, based on last season's records, the NFL was actually giving the defending champs Pittsburgh the toughest matchup it could.

I've heard a number of Baltimore fans complaining about their schedule appearing to be harder than the Steelers' schedule; this is because they Ravens, as the 2nd place AFC North team, end up having to play the unlikely 2nd-place teams from the AFC East and AFC South divisions in the Pats and the Colts. I can't say I blame the Ravens for not liking their matchups, but at the very least it should be clear why these are the matchups (as opposed to some sinister conspiracy against them). Frankly, we can probably anticipate these kinds of odd matchups whenever the previous season's playoffs involved changing-of-the-guard type results like we had in 2008-2009 (Titans finishing ahead of Colts, Dolphins finishing ahead of Pats, etc.).

Another factor contributing to the surprisingly easy schedule given to the Steelers for next season (on paper): The AFC West and NFC North divisions weren't particularly strong last year. The NFC North saw only one team with a winning record, while the AFC West didn't have a single team with a winning record. But again, there was no discretion exercised here, it was predetermined that, within the established rotation, the AFC North teams would be playing the teams from these two divisions this season before last season even began.

These are the factors which combine to give the defending champs in Pittsburgh a schedule that has been described as a "guaranteed return to the playoffs." To those who believe this, I say, "Pshaw!" Or something like that, something actually used within the last thirty years. The reason is I truly believe the NFL is a league of parity. Last season's playoff results underscore that fact as well as any. Miami taking the AFC South? Arizona in the SB? There are teams that may have been struggling for the last several years (or more), but there is still a legitimate possibility that they can climb out of the basement, including any and all of the teams on Pittsburgh's schedule. And I am not willing to tempt fate by counting chickens before they hatch. For now, consider me a Pittsburgh fan that will be ecstatic if the Steelers can just avenge the Week 17 loss to Tennessee when these teams line up to start the season on Kickoff Thursday.

A Look at the 2009-2010 NFL Schedule, Part I

The 2009-2010 regular season schedule was released during primetime television on Tuesday exclusively through the NFL channel, to the dismay of many fans and the disapproval of numerous experts. There was hype, yes, but all in all this was not the monumental event the league may have been hoping for, IMO, because the list of opponents for all teams had already been publicized; the only new information to be gained from last Tuesday is the date and time of each matchup as well as which matchups (tentatively) are scheduled for night time broadcast. Having said that, hardcore fans like myself were still excited to take a look at the final skeds. Rather than reproduce it here, I'll simply note that the full schedule can most easily be found at nfl.com.

Although observations regarding strength of schedule could have been made (and were) prior to Tuesday, the release of the schedule did give rise to a new round of complaints regarding the seemingly "easy" paths given to several teams that experienced success last season, including the Steelers. Strength of schedule for 2009-2010 has been computed by numerous websites, including ESPN (see
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft09/news/story?id=4027503). The five teams that appear to have the hardest roads (based on their opponents' 2008 records) are: Miami 0.594, Carolina 0.592, New England 0.590, Atlanta 0.588, Tampa Bay 0.580. The first four are all 2008 playoff teams while Tampa Bay missed the playoffs by the narrowest of margins, so not a lot of fans are going to shed tears for these teams this next season. Yet this list does not include any of the conference championship teams. Can you guess where I'm going with this?

(drum roll) Let's look at the five teams with the "easiest roads" in the upcoming season: Chicago 0.414, Minnesota 0.420, Green Bay 0.428, Pittsburgh 0.434, Baltimore 0.438. So, the two AFC championships teams both have schedules in the bottom five based on strength of schedule. Arizona, the SB runnerup, is just out of the top five with the six-easiest schedule at 0.441.

Based on this, I can see lots of fans wondering how this could have happened. Aren't the top teams supposed have the hardest schedules the following season? Shouldn't the struggling teams be given the benefit of easier schedules? Yes, and yes. But it's not that simple.

And now, a quick break from the NFL...

...to get some NBA playoff predictions in. Basketball is a great and wonderful sport that I have absolutely no talent for. When you attempt to play but people tell you, "Er, maybe you should stick to tennis", then quitting your day job to try out for the Celtics probably isn't a great idea. I am genuinely good, however, at watching pro basketball. Especially the postseason. I can watch playoff basketball like nobody's business. Ask my wife and children.

Why, consider just one month ago when I had my best set of March Madness picks ever. Ever. I picked three of the final four: Michigan State, Villanova, and NC (damn Memphis Tigers). I even had the Spartans and Tarheels going to the Big Game (except that I had the hometown team pulling it off). Even with that loss, I still had only twelve missed picks. Total. No, seriously. I picked Western Kentucky and Wisconsin to get out of the first round. I picked Sienna. I picked Oregon to go two rounds. That first Saturday when Obama went 8-0? Yep, I matched the President of the yoo ess ay. Ha ha. We are very much alike, he and I, except that he is amazingly successful, extremely capable, and has more charisma than the demigod Ra. Other than that, you can't tell us apart.

Therefore, I have every confidence that I will be highly successful with my NBA playoff picks. Here they are, winners every one.

Eastern Conference (First Round): Cleveland (1) over Detroit (8)
Boston (2) over Chicago(7)
Orlando (3) over Philadelphia (6)
Miami (5) over Atlanta (4)

Western Conference (First Round): LA (1) over Utah (8)
New Orleans (7) over Denver (2)
Dallas (6) over San Antonio (3)
Houston (5) over Portland (4)

Eastern Conference (Semifinals): Cleveland (1) over Miami (5)
Orlando (3) over Boston (2)

Western Conference (Semifinals): LA (1) over New Orleans (7)
Dallas (6) over Orlando (2)

Eastern Conference (Finals): Cleveland (1) over Orlando (3)

Western Conference (Finals): LA (1) over Dallas (6)

Championship Series: LA over Cleveland

Believe me, I don't like picking the Lakers (hate em'!). Plus, Lebron's had an incredible year, one that causes people to talk about the Cavs as maybe a team of destiny. And I don't think he'll be forced to do it alone like last year. I think Delonte West was a great addition, and I think the rest of the supporting cast will finally show up this time. But I can't pick them over LA. Lordy, the Lakers are stacked, and now they've got Bynum back. That's comparable to, say, Bill Gates winning the lottery. So as much as I'd like to forecast some other team upsetting the Lakers' boat, I just don't see it.

Will some franchise prove me wrong? Please? I promise I won't be mad.

32. Pittsburgh Steelers

04/15/09- Eben Britton OT. This was a tough one. Here’s the thought process coming from this avid Steelers fan. The Steelers’ biggest need areas are: offensive line, defensive line, and cornerback, in that order. At this point in the draft, the best O-line prospects are Eben Britton and center Alex Mack. The best D-line prospects are probably Michael Johnson and Larry English, and possibly Jarron Gilbert. The best CB prospects are Alphonso Smith, Shaun Smith, and DJ Moore. I immediately cross out the CB prospects because of value versus need. Yes, Pittsburgh could use a CB to replace Bryant McFadden, but this isn’t a crying need because William Gay has shown some real potential, although the sample size is not big. The Steelers can, thinks I, wait until later in the draft to pick one up. I then cross out the DEs because, although they are good players, neither of them project to effectively play DE in a 3-4 defense like the Steelers use (well, English has a better chance). Both are, in essence, too small to do what Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel do. Gilbert's got better size and physical potential, but I am concerned about (1) off-field issues, and (2) too many scouting reports that knock Gilbert down for poor fundamentals (although these could be addressed with good coaching). In the end, I think these are still too many concerns when you're talking about a first round pick. I suppose Pittsburgh might also think about DT Ron Brace as a future replacement for mammoth tackle Casey Hampton, but the value isn’t quite there. That leaves me with Britton versus Mack. I know, I know, everyone and their dog has Pittsburgh picking Mack. The reason I disagree is that the incumbent center, Justin Hartwig, actually did a relatively decent job last year. In my mind, the clear weak link along the O-line was right tackle Willie Colon. You would almost have to be a Steeler fan to know the frustration caused by Willie “I refuse to memorize the snap count” Colon. He was the worst player along the worst unit on the offense, plain and simple. Colon and the others defied convention when the Steelers pulled out SB43 against the Cardinals; teams simply aren’t supposed to win championship titles with offensive lines of that quality. And now, the Steelers have brought them all back. Okay, fine. I can buy the idea that there will be improvement. Starks was actually decent as LT. Kemoeatu has all the physical strength and talent in the world, he just needs to show (marked) improvement in the mental aspect of LG. C Hartwig, as stated above, was decent, although he did have a tendency to get overpowered at times (thus the temptation to pick Alex Mack). Darnell Stapleton was about as good as you could hope for from an undrafted guard who was thrown into the fire when Kendall Simmons got hurt, I’ll leave it at that. But no one was worse than Colon, who did more than his share to help Roethlisberger get sacked more than almost any other QB in the league. Therefore, I think the pick needs to be Britton, if he’s still available. Yes, he’s marketing himself as a left tackle (good choice), but he actually played RT during his first two years in college, he should be able to slide back into RT without huge problems. And of course, Britton could be left at LT with Starks moving back to RT. See? Everybody wins!

31. Arizona Cardinals

04/15/09- Donald Brown RB. Before the Combine, this pick would have been RB LeSean McCoy, but then Brown had to go crazy in Indianapolis, showing off great physical talent and potential, and its not like this guy wasn’t productive in college. I think he gets the edge (get it?) over McCoy in pushing Edgerrin James out of Arizona, or at least out of a starting spot.

30. Tennessee Titans

04/15/09- Kenny Britt WR. Would you believe the Tennessee receiving corp is also on fire? Not in that good way, no. Their best receiver currently? That would be a toss up between Justin Gage, a chronic underachiever, and Nate Washington, the former Pittsburgh 3rd WR who works very hard for the opportunity to get open and then drop the ball. Given a choice between Smith/Hixon and Gage/Washington, I think I’d actually go with the NY receivers. Therefore, I’m going to pull the trigger here and forecast that Tennessee will go with the speedy 6’4 receiver from Rutgers.

29. New York Giants

04/15/09- Aaron Maybin OLB. Lordy, I’m having a hard time not giving WR Kenny Britt to New York. There is no other position on their roster than screams out “Fire! Fire!” like the receivers, now that Burress is gone and Toomer doesn’t have a contract. But two things stop me. One, would a rookie receiver, even a big one like Britt, do a whole lot to help that situation immediately? I don’t think it would. As ardent NFL fans know, it takes usually takes these guys a few years to figure out the pro game. Second, it has now been a couple of years for the WR replacements, Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon. These guys aren’t stiffs; they have actually shown good potential in both the regular season and the post season. Perhaps a third reason is that I’m hesitant to forecast a need pick for the Giants when they are just two seasons removed from a Super Bowl title. These guys are not beggars, they can afford to be choosy. So I’ll go with Maybin, who addresses another need for the Giants (albeit, not quite the crying need they have at receiver) but represents greater value at this spot.

28. Philadelphia Eagles

04/15/09- Brandon Pettigrew TE. It might seem inconceivable that the Eagles could have two first round picks and then fail to use either one of them on a lineman given their history of how their top picks are used (you guessed it, on linemen). But the Eagles have a much more glaring weak spot at TE (which is sort of O-line-ish, right?) with the release of LJ Smith. Celek showed some receiving potential last year, particularly in the post-season, but is apparently still a poor blocker. Pettigrew, on the other hand, is the hands-down best TE in the draft and is not a liability in pass protection. This would seem to give Philadelphia a number of offensive options which, last time I checked, was a good thing.

27. Indianapolis Colts

04/15/09- Evander Hood DT. The Colts have tried some stopgap measures to address the DT situation (Corey Simon, anyone?) but these moves have been unsuccessful. It’s been a long time since Indianapolis has had an effective run defense, and that starts up front with the big uglies. Hood is the consensus best DT at this point in the draft and is a decent-to-good value here.

26. Baltimore Ravens

04/15/09- Darrius Heyward-Bey WR. The Dolphins’ loss is the Ravens’ gain, as I believe Baltimore would happily take Hey-Bey at this stage. In fact, it seems pretty clear that Baltimore would take the local boy over Nicks even if both were available at pick number 26. The Ravens definitely need some youth and potential at WR, which Hey-Bey provides in excess. Derrick Mason has had a great career, but he and Mark Clayton just aren’t going to cut it if the Ravens are going to take the next step.

25. Miami Dolphins

04/15/09- Hakeem Nicks. Currently, the Dolphins have Ted Ginn, Greg Camarillo, and Davone Bess at WR. A good omen for the passing game, this is not. A passionate cry for WR help, this is. Stop talking like Yoda, I will soon. Okay, okay, maybe it’s not that bad, Pennington didn’t do half bad last season with this crew. Somehow, though, I think most experts are giving Pennington and his accurate arm more credit for that than the receivers. Although they are a couple of other WRs generally considered to be better (Harvin, Heyward-Bey) who are available at this point in the draft, I give the edge to Nicks. I think Parcells is going to be conscious of the similarities between Harvin and Ginn, who might turn out to be a decent player but is pretty clearly a bust as a first round pick. I also think Parcells, who is well-known for his old school tendencies, is apt to favor Nicks, who was the better collegiate performer, over Hey-Bey, who has all the physical potential in the world but never quite turned it all into production in college. I agree that I’d rather have Nicks’ hands over Hey-Bey’s speed (and Nicks has better size, although Hey-Bey certainly isn’t small).

24. Atlanta Falcons

04/15/09- Darius Butler CB. Another tough call, this time between Butler and DT Evander Hood. Hood is tempting because Atlanta’s current DTs, Jonathan Babineaux and Kindal Moorehead, are both somewhat undersized, weighing in under 300 lbs. Hood isn’t much heavier right now, but reportedly has the frame to grow, put on weight, and gain strength without losing quickness. However, the greater need really does seem to be at CB, where the Falcons lost Domonique Foxworth, arguably the best CB they had last year. Butler is gaining momentum and moving up draft charts, he will be a solid pick for Atlanta.

23. New England Patriots

04/15/09- Brian Cushing OLB. If this pick actually pans out then I’ll be upset because, although Cushing may not be the best OLB out there, he is still a damn fine prospect at the position and has great intangibles, just the kind of player I hate to see go to the Pats. Besides, with Vrabel gone, they need somebody to catch those goal line TDs.

22. Minnesota Vikings

04/15/09- Percy Harvin WR. Tough call between Harvin and center Alex Mack. There is definitely a need at C owing to Matt Birk defecting to Baltimore. Currently, Minnesota only has John Sullivan, a 6th round pick from last year, to replace Birk. However, I’ve got to go with Harvin because Harvin represents greater value at this point in the draft than Mack, and WR is definitely another need for the Vikings. The only bona fide receiver in Minnesota is Bernard Berrian, and I hesitate to say that he is one of the better #1 receivers in the league. Minnesota really does seem to be serious about this Sage Rosenfels / Tavaris Jackson experiment, and so they’ve got to provide more weapons for whichever QB wins that “battle”. There are a number of good center prospects in the draft (Unger, Wood, Caldwell, Shipley), I think Minnesota will feel it has a good chance to address the position with another high pick.

21. Philadelphia Eagles

04/15/09- Chris “Beanie” Wells RB. Even though I made no special attempt to watch Philadelphia games last year, I still seem to remember several occasions when the Eagles were stuffed on absolutely crucial 4th-and-1 rushing attempts. I have all the respect in the world for Brian Westbrook, but he is another RB who (1) will be 30 before the season starts, (2) is not the big RB that can consistently convert those short yardage situations, and (3) has been dealing with knee issues since the time Pennsylvania became a state. I’m convinced Andy Reid sees Wells as a short-term change of pace back for Westbrook who can also take over as the fulltime back when Westbrook shuffles off this mortal coil.

20. Detroit Lions

04/17/09- Malcolm Jenkins CB. I'm now projecting Ayers to go in the first half of the draft, partly because of fallout from the Jason Peters trade, partly because his stock has been rising as rapidly as any other player as we get within one week of the draft. Jenkins has, I believe, been surpassed by Vontae Davis as the top CB in the draft. But he's still a quality player who seems to have the flexibility to play safety if needed. Do the Lions need help at cornerback? Or safety? Uh, yes. Over the course of the 0-fer season last year, the Detroit secondary intercepted...drum roll, please...one pass. Yeah, one interception. To make matters worse (is that really possible?), the player that made the secondary's sole interception, CB Leigh Bodden, was released by the team. So the defensive secondary is as needy as any other area on the team. In addition, Jenkins is roundly considered to be a better prospect than left tackle Eben Britton, just as Ayers is. Detroit will have plenty of opportunity to go after Britton or Beatty with their first pick of the second round.

04/15/09- Robert Ayers DE. I give Ayers the nod over OT Eben Britton despite the fact I truly believe what I said during the discussion over the first pick: There is no way Detroit can afford not the spend a high pick on the offensive line. The problem for me is that I am convinced that Ayers is a better prospect than Britton and therefore represents much greater value at this point in the draft. Ayers is the way to go, especially when there’s a decent chance that Britton will still be there when the Lions pick again at the top of round two (and when there’s almost no chance Ayers would still be there). Schwartz will rebuild this Detroit team the right way, starting from the front and then moving towards the back.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

04/15/09- Jeremy Maclin. The Bucs curse Pat Bowlen’s name for swiping Jerry right before Tampa Bay’s pick, but Maclin is not a bad consolation prize. Most every mock draft and set of prospect rankings has him higher than #19, and the Bucs definitely have a need at that position. With Galloway gone, the best WR after Bryant (who only has a one-year tag on him) is Michael Clayton. Not Oscar-nominated Michael Clayton, the other one, the one that had a good rookie season then quit working.

18. Denver Broncos

04/15/09- Peria Jerry DT. Defense, defense, defense. Having already taken a good end in Tyson Jackson, the Broncos can now take a solid tackle in Jerry, who has done nothing to hurt his prospects either pre- or post-Combine. Basically, Denver needs help all over the defense, particularly up front, and this looks too early to take Josh Freeman as the QB of the future.

17. New York Jets

04/15/09- Knowshon Moreno. I know Thomas Jones had, against all expectations, a great year last year, a rebirth of sorts. Good for him, he needed this kind of redemption. But he’ll be turning 31 over the summer before the season starts, and if recent NFL history teaches us anything it is that when the end comes for an RB, even a good one, it can come very, very quickly (see Tomlinson, LaDanian, and Alexander, Shaun). I know Leon Washington has done some amazing things, but even the Jets seem to believe that he would lose a lot of his effectiveness if forced to be a full-time back. Plus, neither Kellen Clemens nor Brett Ratliff will strike fear in the hearts of defenses the way Brett Favre did (even then, the 2008 version was kind of a lukewarm fear). I think the Jets will happily take the consensus best RB at this point in the draft. The only pick I can see as head-and-shoulders better than Moreno for the Jets is Sanchez, if he falls this far.

16. San Diego Chargers

04/15/09- Rey Maualuga ILB. A rock star Polynesian middle linebacker out of USC, playing for the local Southern Cal franchise? Fish in a barrel, my friends, fish in barrel. The only thing that would’ve made this hard is if the Chargers hadn’t resigned LT at this point in the offseason. In that case, I think Knowshon Moreno would have the edge on Seau 2.0.

15. Houston Texans

04/15/09- Clay Matthews LB. I’ll agree that this is a stretch, but count me in as one of those who believe Matthews, by the time the draft rolls around, will be the tortoise that passes by his better-known compatriots Maualuga and Cushing on account of that magical factor: upside. Well, at least as far as Cushing goes. There seems to be a fairly logical argument that while Cushing might be better right now, his ceiling is somewhat lower than Matthews’ is. I put him over Maualuga primarly because of position; the Texans already have DeMeco Ryans, who is one of the best young ILBs in the league, whereas Matthews would play on the outside while Maualuga cannot.

14. New Orleans Saints

04/17/09- Vontae Davis CB- I still think the Saints go CB, but there is now some fallout from the Jason Peters trade that will lead to Davis being available at this point in the draft along with Jenkins. I'm going to hold to what I said earlier: I think Davis has passed by Jenkins in the eyes of most personnel evaluators and will be the first CB off the board. I don't know of anything that's happened in the last few days to change this, so I'm switching the Saints' pick accordingly.

04/15/09- Malcolm Jenkins CB. The Saints recently inked CB Jabari Greer from the Bills, but there are still holes in this secondary. In fact, I have yet to read a single write up on the Saints that hasn’t identified the secondary as the biggest offseason concern. So the Saints should be happy to get Jenkins, who appears to have some flexibility between cornerback and safety. If Combine results truly don’t mean very much, the Saints might have a steal here.

13. Washington Redskins

04/17/09- Robert Ayers DE. The Redskins have to be burning Andy Reid in effigy for Philadelphia's heist of Jason Peters from Buffalo, causing the Bills to take Michael Oher at number 11, last of the "Big Four" left tackles in the draft. But Ayers' stock has continued to rise to the point where he can't fairly be called a mere consolation prize even this first half of the draft. Draft guru Mike Mayock of NFL.com actually believes that within three years Ayers will end up being the best defensive player to come out of this draft. I don't know if that'll happen, but I do think that defensive end is about as dire a need as any for the Redskins. The Jason Taylor experiment ended badly (Parcells comes out looking great over that tiff with Taylor last year), leaving only Renaldo Wynn (35 years old) and Philip Daniels (36 years old) as the only experienced ends across from Andre Carter (who had a down year himself last season). Given this need, Ayers' ascent, and the lack of value at left tackle now that Oher is gone (this is way too early to pick Britton or Beatty), I believe that Washington can reasonably go DE here.

04/15/09- Michael Oher OT. I have to imagine the Redskins will be ecstatic if they find that Oher is still available at this point in the draft. Their current tackles, Samuels and Jansen (Heyer?), have been good players but now have a ton of mileage on them. The Redskins going OT seems to be one of the more certain projections out there.

12. Denver Broncos

04/15/09- Tyson Jackson DE. Tough call here between Jackson and Rey Maualuga. I would have given it to Maualuga if he was more of a fiery leader in the Ray Lewis mold. Humor me for a moment. I believe that the Broncos must be absolutely sick of their defense being a sieve. Of being the weak link in the chain. Of being the reason why opposing running backs put up season high rushing numbers against them. Of being…okay, you get the point. In short, I think Denver would jump on a player like Maualuga, who has all the physical talent needed for an ILB, if he could also be the relentless, driving force that brings toughness to the whole unit. But that just doesn’t seem to be Maualuga’s style. So I’m going with Jackson. Hey, I’m not saying that Jackson is that kind of leader, either; he apparently vanishes from time to time, which is pretty tough to do when you’re 6’4 and just under 300 lbs. But the difference here is position. I’m a believer that the DE is more important to an effective 3-4 defense (which Denver is apparently converting to) than the ILB spots. That DE doesn’t need to be so much of a sack artist (Jackson isn’t) as much as he needs to be big, strong, and tough at the point of attack to help stifle the run game (Jackson is). Candidly, I’m further inclined to predict an early exit for Jackson because I’m actually hoping that he falls down to the Steelers at the end of the round (I’m trying to be mean to myself).

11. Buffalo Bills

04/17/09- Michael Oher OT. Wow, the Bills agreed to trade away their young Pro Bowl left tackle for one of the Eagles' first round picks, at the 28 spot. Combined with the loss of LG Derrick Dockery, the Bills have now lost the left side of their starting offensive line. I don't think there's any question about it, they are now compelled to select the best LT available with their first pick, which is Oher. Vontae Davis or another CB is a luxury compared to having a good LT prospect that can start immediately.

04/15/09-Vontae Davis CB. Love him or hate him, that TO signing filled one of the Bills’ biggest needs: a big, strong receiver who’s (usually) not afraid to make the tough catches in the middle of the field. Several mock drafts I’ve seen have the Bills taking the best TE, Pettigrew, at this spot. Arguably, there is significantly less need for Pettigrew here with TO now in the fold. So I’ll go with Davis, who fills the need for a CB now that Jabari Greer has left for New Orleans. And, yes, I believe that Davis has overtaken Malcolm Jenkins as the top CB in the draft. I don’t want to get too tied up in Combine statistics, but I think Jenkins really hurt himself there. He didn’t run as fast as hoped or expected, and he put up only fifteen reps of 225 lbs (Davis put up ten more despite being a little shorter and lighter). Fifteen. Let’s put that into perspective. Fifteen reps of four plates is great if you are, say, me. Fifteen reps will score the otherwise average joe quite a few more dates on the weekend. But fifteen reps is bad if you are a top CB who’s supposedly a physical player and an asset as far as stopping the run. I’m not saying Jenkins is bad or won’t go in the first round; I’m just saying I think Davis has passed him in the eyes of most teams. I know this will be perceived as a bit of a reach, but hey, I’m as brave as a lion so long as we’re talking about projections with no penalty for missing.

10. San Francisco 49ers

04/15/09- Mark Sanchez QB. The 49ers have numerous needs, I get that. But I think the cat was let out of the bag when San Francisco brought Warner into town. I think that pretty clearly indicates that Mr. Singletary and his staff are not dancing in the street over the idea that either Shaun Hill or Alex Smith will be under center for the foreseeable future. Sanchez is the only QB left that is a consensus first round talent.

9. Green Bay Packers

04/15/09- Everette Brown DE. With the Packers reportedly moving to a 3-4 defense, they are going to need an influx of LB talent. So Brown makes good sense here, as he projects to be an effective 3-4 OLB. Poppinga, the OLB opposite AJ Hawk, did not collect a single sack last season. So with respect to sacks, there’s nowhere for Brown to go but up, right? Hey, I don’t get paid for any of this.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars

04/15/09- Andre Smith OT. Yes, yes, I know all about Smith’s Combine antics. In fact, his slide actually started before the Combine. But in the end I think (1) the Jags aren’t finished overhauling their O-line despite signing former Eagles LT Tra Thomas (who’s no spring chicken himself), (2) there’s no great value at this point in the draft for DT or 4-3 OLB, which are two positions of bigger need for the Jags, (3) the post-Combine developments (except for the shirtless running) have helped stop Smith’s freefall and allowed him to re-establish some momentum, and (4) Smith himself is just too much of a physical specimen and talent to fall very far when the recent drafting trend is to mortgage the farm for a cornerstone tackle. Everette Brown is still on the board as a 4-3 end, but hell will freeze over before the Jags spend their top 2009 pick on another end after going Derrick Harvey-Quentin Groves to start off their draft last year. Interestingly, some mock drafts project the Jags to go with one of the QBs (Stafford or Sanchez) here. Despite Garrard’s struggles last year, I still think this is too early to give up on him, which the Jags would ultimately be doing by sacrificing their high first-round pick on a QB when they have so many other needs. Add all of this up, and I think the answer is “Andre Smith”. He’s the massive road-grader that fits the prototypical RT mold, and is considered to have the potential to even take over the left side at some point. As a final thought, the Jags would have to be very tempted if Maclin is still on the board on account of the near certainty that last year’s leading receiver, Matt Jones, is going to be suspended again and possibly even imprisoned, but I'd still have to go with Smith over Maclin based on the relative importance of their positions.

7. Oakland Raiders

04/15/09- Michael Crabtree WR. I told you before starting all this that, as a general principle, I’d be picking lineman ahead of non-QB skill position players. But in this case I’m still giving Crabtree to the Raiders despite the availability of some highly-regarded OL and DL prospects because, frankly, the Oakland WRs are bad enough to justify an exception to the general rule. Did you notice that WR Ronald Curry was released this offseason? That leaves Javon Walker and Johnnie Lee Higgins as the starting WRs at this point in the offseason. Really. No, I’m not kidding. Although the O-line has not been great for the Raiders (actually, not too bad at run blocking), it has not been as offensive (get it?) as the receiving corps. I know there are medical concerns about Crabtree, but most pundits still seem to have Crabtree ranked in the top five prospects period, not just among WRs. More importantly, it seems pretty clear that the Raiders will still have the opportunity to pick from a number of highly-regarded tackles in the second round (like Cincinnati before them). Most importantly, who on God’s green earth really knows what Al will do, anyway?

6. Cincinnati Bengals

04/15/09- Brian Orakpo DE. Told you he’d still go early! But seriously, this feels like a very difficult pick to forecast, as it would appear that the Bengals‘ greatest need is now on the O-line. They just lost starting RT Stacy Andrews to the Eagles, and starting LT Levi Jones has proven inconsistent and injury-prone (although Jones has definitely shown potential). But in the end I just can’t bring myself to put either Michael Oher or Andre Smith here, it feels a tad too early (just a tad). I think the Bengals will eventually go with Orakpo because of a dire need to improve on pressuring the QB (despite a relatively decent overall performance by the defense last season, especially down the stretch). Cincinnati’s current projected starting DEs combined for only 5.5 sacks last season. Yes, 5.5. So Orakpo, despite his injury concerns, should still give Marv Lewis some options in this important defensive area.

5. Cleveland Browns

04/15/09- BJ Raji. I know a lot of sources have the Browns taking a more traditional end like Orakpo. I’m not saying the need isn’t there; the current starting ends, Corey Williams and Shaun Smith, combined for low tackle totals and half a sack last year. All I’m saying is that I’d be a little scared off by Orakpo’s injury history. I mean, seriously, the guy got hurt just running unchallenged through the Combine drills. Raji, on the other hand, has nothing but momentum coming out of the Senior Bowl and the Combine. Alright, alright, the failed-test allegations have stalled that momentum a little, but the indications are that the drug at issue is marijuana. Might sound crazy (or indicative of poor priorities), but I think GMs would be more worried if Raji was taking performance-enhancing drugs as opposed to recreational drugs. At least quitting marijuana wouldn’t directly affect his on-field performance (it would probably improve it, right). And even if a prospect played DT in college, he will still grade out well as a 3-4 end if he is an agile and quick-footed (but still powerful) guy like Raji. Plus, he can also take over for Shaun Rogers at DT if Rogers talks (eats?) his way off the team in the near future. Orakpo is still a good prospect and will still go early, but I don’t think he goes before Raji.

4. Seattle Seahawks

04/15/09- Eugene Monroe OL. During the combine, I was thinking WR Crabtree for the Seahawks (despite the injury, he’s still considered the top-rated WR and one of the top-rated players, period), but Seattle went out and landed Houshyourmama. Then I started thinking possibly DT Raji, but Seattle went out and traded for Redding. Granted, Redding is not necessarily a world-beater at DT, but he’s a promising young player whose presence should preclude the Seahawks from going after Raji this high. Because of all of this, I think Monroe is the hands-down favorite for Seattle if he’s available at this point. Walter Jones just turned 60 and is coming off of micro fracture knee surgery, so, yeah, LT is a position of need for Seattle.

3. Kansas City Chiefs

04/15/09. Aaron Curry LB. Confession: I didn’t personally attend the Combine. Nope. Wasn’t within a thousand miles of Indianapolis during all of that organized chaos. So I can’t claim to have witnessed Curry dominate not just the physical testing but also the interview process with the teams. But believe me, I’ve read about it. Allright, allright, I even watched a lot of it on the NFL channel. “Curry for President” was easily one of the bigger stories coming out of the Combine. The consensus seems to be that Curry is, overall, the safest prospect out there. The only reason I haven’t put him down for either Detroit or St. Louis is because of his position. Generally, the left tackle position is considered to be more crucial to the success of a team than the LB spot. It also helps that the Chiefs have a genuine need at OLB despite the signings of Mike Vrabel and Monty Beisel. And then there’s the fact that Curry has the versatility to play either inside or outside as necessary. I’m satisfied the Chiefs believe that OLB/ILB is enough of a need to justify taking a surefire pick like Curry.

2. St. Louis Rams

04/15/09- Jason Smith OT. Most mock drafts have the Rams picking a left tackle here. Not to be overly contrarian, but at one point I actually saw a legitimate argument that the Rams should go QB here. The argument was based in the combined difficulties of Bulger and Green at QB last season. Green has since been cut, and Bulger has struggled with injuries and inconsistency. Might Stafford or Sanchez not be a little tempting for new HC Spagnuolo? In the end, however, I’ll line up with the rest of the free world in predicting a left tackle for the Rams at number two, largely because of the fact that the Rams no longer have Pace. So the question now becomes: Smith or Monroe? I’ll give the edge to Smith on account of his body of work in recent months, particularly the combine, where he seemed to show a bit of an edge on Monroe in terms of overall physical athleticism and upside, although Monroe may be the better pass blocker right now.

1. Detroit Lions

04/15/09- Matthew Stafford QB. This is not an easy pick. A big part of me wants to give an LT, either Smith or Monroe, to the Lions. As critical as the QB spot is, the LT position is right behind QB in terms of importance to success. Moreover, I believe that both Smith and Monroe represent better value and potential for their position than Stafford does. What this decision comes down to, in my opinion, is the incumbent Lions’ player at these spots. The Lions’ current LT, Jeff Backus, is not a slouch; in fact, he appears to be the consensus best player on the O-line. True, if the Lions picked up a shiny new LT in the draft, it is possible that they could move Backus to guard, but this would seem to dilute Backus’ value to the team. Contrast this with having Culpepper at QB. Yeah, Culpepper was great at one time, but he sure didn’t look like Detroit’s future QB last season. Truthfully, he hasn’t looked very promising for the last several seasons. I’m betting that the Lions decide their best move is to let Culpepper keep the seat warm for a year or two until Stafford is ready. Plus, there’s the probability that the new regime would like to put as much distance between itself and the 0-16 old one, and this would seem to favor the QB spot. It might seem crazy to (essentially) draft for need with the first overall pick, but we’re talking about convergence of need with the most important position on the team. In the end I think these considerations will carry the day for Stafford.

Return of the Blogger (with excuses)

I can honestly say: I didn't think it would take that long to put my NFL mock draft together. Yep, my own mock draft, forecasting the picks that each NFL team will make during the annual draft to be held two Saturdays from now. Wanting to create and then post my draft projections was actually the main reason I started this blog in the first place. Only, uh, I never thought it would take so long to put it together. I had actually intended to put it up shortly after my last post (back on 03/05/09), but then ran into a ton of elderly ladies that needed my help crossing the street, and that caused me to be delayed until now. Ha ha! April Fools! Oh, wait, I may be a little late on that one, too.

Alright, I'm going to post it in just a minute. Last thing I want to do before putting it up is just quickly explain the "rules" that I followed in making the predictions.

1. No forecasting trades. Make sense? After all, it's hard enough just to accurately evaluate the relative values of the first round players. It would be even harder to anticipate which teams are going to successfully package picks and/or players to get ahead (or drop back) in the draft. I'm attempting to guess the order of the players only.
2. Projections are made based on what I think the team should do, not what I think they will do. Because that's what matters, right? Forget what their scouting departments say, my thoughts are of paramount importance here (crickets chirping). But seriously, the only real point of this "rule" is to acknowledge that I don't have the first real clue what each club thinks they really needs (I don't know the salary cap situations, the remaining contracts of their players, etc.). Just in case that wasn't obvious.
3. As a general rule, teams should build from the front lines backward. Call me old school. I believe that, in general, it makes the most sense for teams to spend their high round picks on the offensive and defensive lines. With the notable exception of QBs, no other position is as crucial to the success of a team than the front lines. Therefore, if I run into a tie between a lineman and a non-QB skill position player, you're going to see me favor the lineman.
4. If all else is tied, then go with the player I'd prefer the Steelers to draft. For example, if I'm trying to decide between Tyson Jackson (great pick for the Steelers) and Knowshon Moreno (great player, but not a good pick for the Steelers because they already have three good backs), and every else seems even, then I'm going to give Jackson to the team in question. You can probably guess the reason for this. My primary goal in projecting these draft picks is to see if I can get some sense of which players will be available at the time Pittsburgh makes its pick, and I'd rather err on the side of caution than give myself false hope that my preferred players will still be there.

Okay, here goes.

So, maintaining this blog will take some work, you say?

Well, it's almost 1:00 am, and I'm finally getting to this blog. Yeah, that's pretty late, but I distinctly remember my wife (the boss) telling me that I've got to be prepared to update the blog every day. And so, here it goes.

I only started checking out public blogs on sports sites during this past NFL playoffs, and didn't start actually posting messages until after the SB. But in that relatively short period of time, I have discovered the psycho-fan.

Yep, these psycho fans are out there. I haven't seen a ton of them, but the few I have seen make up for lack of numbers with a frightening degree of loyalty to their team, right down to threats of physical violence towards those that disagree with them. You may have noticed that this blog does not disclose any of my personal information. Let's just say that this is not an accidental feature.

Back to the psycho fan. This offseason, psycho fans from three teams have been particularly vocal: the Baltimore Ravens, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Dallas Cowboys. This isn't really surprising, as the fans of these teams have the most to be upset about because of the Steelers' win.

Baltimore fans are presumably angry because the Steelers beat them three out of three times this season, the third in the AFC Championship game to get into SB43. I've heard it said (Don Banks from SI) that the most painful game to lose probably isn't the SB, it's either of the conference championship games. This rings true, as the SB loser can at least say they went to the big game and partook in all of the festivities and spectacle leading up to the game. The conference championship losers fall just short and miss out on all of that. Being division rivals only adds to the pain, I expect.

Arizona fans are presumably angry for an obvious reason, the SB loss. In that championship game, the Steelers took an early lead and at certain points seemed on the verge of turning the game into a blowout. It never happened, of course, the Cards fought back and made a real game out of it, even taking a slim lead with two and a half to go. Because of that, the Pittsburgh mini-comeback ("Don't call it a comeback!"), punctuated by the amazingly close TD catch by Holmes, must have been particularly painful.

But out of the three teams, the one with the most hateful and antagonistic fans is the Dallas Cowboys. Hands down. By a country mile. If you are only a casual sports observer (if you ever find yourself reading this blog then your are probably not just a casual sports fan), you might wonder, Why would Dallas fans be so affected by the Steelers' win? The answer is, because this last title was Pittsburgh's sixth SB championship, thereby breaking a three-way tie with Dallas and San Francisco, each of which has five titles. Dallas, in fact, had very high expectations for this last season but ultimately failed to make the playoffs (this is what I think fuels Dallas anger more than San Fran anger, as the 49ers have been struggling lately and might not have had terribly high hopes for this last season).

Let me be clear: I'm not painting all Dallas fans with the same brush. In fact, I'm rather impressed with the objectivity of most Cowboys' fans. I'm just talking about the few, the (overly) proud.

I'll get into specifics in a later post.

Can this be done without everyone thinking I'm a fairweather fan?

Wow, my own blog. This may not seem like a big deal to lot of people, but to a largely computer-illiterate, newfangled technology-fearing stooge like me, this is like flying solo to Jupiter in the space shuttle Challenger. At least I'm not prone to hyperbole.

So how did this start? Hey, how does any guy in his mid-30s get up enough courage to do something way out of his comfort zone? That's right, my wife ordered me to do it. Allright, "ordered" is a strong word. Let's just say she strongly advised and recommended that I start my own blog after seeing me spend more and more time posting messages on various sports blogs (si.com, fanhouse.com, yahoo.com, etc.). This kind of message-posting is something I started doing after the Steelers took it all in SB43.

That's right, I'm a Steelers fan (faint moans and groans). Because of that, I'm worried that anyone and everyone who reads this blog will automatically assume that I'm some kind of fairweather, bandwagon-jumper who's now taking up for Pittsburgh solely on account of their recent championship. Not true! Not true!

I actually became of fan of the Steelers in 1990 when I started playing highschool football. My coach, in his infinite wisdom, permitted me to "play" (I use that term loosely) the position of outside linebacker in our team's 3-4 defense. I'll concede that, while our team was actually very good, it was not (primarily) because of me. Okay, okay, fine, it was despite me. I was listed in the third string, sometimes (generously) in the second, depending upon the weather, the opponent, and the alignment of the stars. I also got to play some special teams, and was known as a "special teams demon" (if, by "demon", you mean short, slow guy who is the last one to jump on the pile, then yes, I was a "demon"). In sum, I wasn't much of a player. But that sure got me started as far as looking at the pro 3-4 defenses that had great linebackers. And, you guessed it, that meant the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh yeah, guys like Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd became my heroes. And after that, Levon Kirkland and Chad Brown. Then Earl Holmes and Jason Gildon. Even Joey Porter. And now, James Farrior, James Harrison, and Lamar Woodley. So although my highschool football "career" (again, I used that word loosely) is responsible for giving me a sore neck, PTSD, and a male stalker (story for later), it also gave me my love for Pittsburgh Steeler football. I've been a hardcore Steelers fan for over fifteen years now. And, yes, my wife loves me despite this fact.

With that out of the way, I'll tell you that I anticipate blogging primarily about NFL. Yeah, the season just ended, but true fans know that there's no real NFL offseason anymore. There might be some snide, occasionally sincere, commentary directed towards pro-basketball and baseball (tennis might find itself in there once in a while), but for the most part there's going to be a football-heavy focus (hence the name). On to Jupiter!