January 9, 2006 Column

• Before I get into my review of the NFL games from this weekend, I have to start with Pat Robertson. This guy is representative of how dangerous the religious right is. He said last week that Ariel Sharon had a massive stroke because he defied the wishes of God. I mean how absolutely arrogant of this man to say something like this. Typical of the zealots of the religious right, they embrace anyone who is not exactly like them. Diversity is a dirty word. Anyone who defies their beliefs and values will go straight to hell. As far as I am concerned, Robertson and others like him are lumped in the same classification as the KKK and other hateful groups whose tolerance goes as far as Jared could run without getting winded before he found Subway.
• One last reminder: the new season of '24' starts with a two hour premiere this Sunday night on Fox. If you have not seen this show yet, I encourage you to give it a chance on Sunday night. My guess is that if you watch this two hour premiere, you will be hooked for all 24 episodes.
• Marcus Vick could change him name to Maurice Clarett, Jr. Have you seen the list of indescretions attached to this guy's name? He has gotten in more trouble over the past two years than Howard Stern with the FCC before he jumped to Sirius (debut show today). My first reaction when Va. Tech kicked him off the team this weekend was wow, finally a school that is willing to stand up for what is right. Then I saw the list of all the stuff he has done wrong (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls05/news/story?id=2282642) and realized that the only reason he was on the team this long is because his brother is a legend in Blackburg. Vick of course brushed off the whole thing and said "I will just go to the next level, baby." This cannot end well. Look for Marcus to be out of the league and driving Michael around and cutting his grass within three years.
• Marty Mornhinweg was named Offensive Coordinator of the Eagles this weekend. I can see how this happened. I mean, he was often considered an offensive genius when coaching the Lions to a 5-27 record in two years. I am going to throw up in Andy Reid's front yard.
• Duke, everybody's favorite college hoops team, ran its record to 14-0 last night with an 18-point win at Wake Forest. This win was big for Duke because they had not won in Winston Salem in its last three tries. Duke had a nice double digit lead in the firt half before Wake came charging back harder than Michael Pittman after getting spit on. Wake cut it to five and had a breakaway dunk to cut it to three, with the crowd going nuts. Except they missed the dunk, and JJ Redick then immediately drilled a 3, so a 3 point game was 8. Game over. Within three minutes the score was up to 20. All because of one missed dunk. It is amazing how much emotion and momentum come into play in college sports. Anyway, big game coming up Wednesday for the Dukies against the Terps. Maryland has proven they can come into Cameron and win, and they are coming off a loss to Miami in which I would guess they were looking ahead to their hated rivals. Look for a knock down drag out battle Wednesday night in Cameron Indoor.
• Now, onto the NFL, I will start with the Bengal/Steeler game. You had to feel for Cincinnati, who fought all year to win their division, get home field in this game, and it was all gone on their second offensive play from scrimmage, when they lost their QB and third receiver on the same play. Brutal. Cincy was game for a half, but just did not have the weapons once Carson Palmer went down. I still believe they could have handled the Steelers had Palmer played,, but we will never know. This was probably their punishment for knocking me out of the win or die in Week 16.
• Speaking of the Steelers, I am tired of hearing the term "first ballot hall of famer" associated with Jerome Bettis. He is one of the most overrated players in history. For his career, he is averaging LESS THAN 4 YARDS PER CARRY. That means that he gets less yards every time he touches the ball than the AVERAGE running back in the league. And he is now a pretty good short yardage guy, but for the first half of his career he was not even that strong in this area. He has only averaged 7 touchdowns per year (or what Shawn Alexander did every four games this season) throughout his career, and was never a pass receiving threat out of the backfield, averaging about one reception per game. He is what he is, an OK running back with some charisma that is good to have on your team, but should never be in Canton unless he is visiting.
• New England just looked like their usual playoff selves in dominating an overmatched Jacksonville squad. I have said it before this season and I will say it again: Byron Leftwich will never be a better than average quarterback in this league.
• In the NFC, I must know a little more than my man Grossy, predicting both Road winners on the blog on Friday. Sean Taylor, the Redskins safety, is like Maurice Clarett and Marcus Vick, but with talent that should keep him in the league making money for 10 years. After that, look for him to be in jail within two years. Unless Johnny Cochran comes back to represent him....
• Carolina dominated the Giants, and Eli Manning looked terrible. Plaxico Burress is such a head case, pouting all the way through the game and putting forth a good 40% effort consistently. How a guy like Tom Coughlin, who is a strict disciplinarian, can put up with that garbage, is hard to fathom. I have not seen this headline yet, but I would not be surprised to learn that Coughlin's head exploded after the game. Giant fans must have been depressed watching the game, but in my opinion, as an Eagle fan, I think Eli Manning has very good days ahead, and will be a clutch winning quarterback in this league for a long time.
• My divisional predictions will be up on the blog on Friday....check back in the interim for additional postings.