Typing from my phone, so this will be short. First off, I said he's a good quarterback. Grossman is not a good quarterback. He's horrible. You know who else I consider a good, non elite quarterback? Matt Ryan. I'd place neither in my top five. Doesn't mean I don't think they're good quarterbacks.

As for the Steelers, why exactly would they be taking a step back? People bring up the players that retired, which is a terrible arguement. Go check their stats over the past few years. The only one that was somewhat relevant was Farrior. As much as I liked Farrior for his playcalling, we have younger more talented linebackers just waiting for a chance to play. Harrison and Woodley missed over half of the season, and they were still the best defense in the league. If anything, the d-line and linebacker core is better this year.

It's the secondary that's questionable. Also, as great as Polamalu is, they can manage without him. It's Ryan Clark that's irreplaceable. Him being out is the reason they got torched in the playoffs, and will be the reason it happens again in week one.

Final thoughts: The Bengals will be considered an inconsistent team until they prove they aren't. One good season doesn't change anything. I personally think they're definitely on the right route to success, but I'm not holding my breath on it. Hm, this was much more typing than I had planned..

Oh hey, you guys. I totally forgot about this part of AiB. Sweet.

Okay, quick predictions before work without any extensive research. All gut.

NFC East 
1. Dallas
2. Philadelphia  
3. NY Giants 
4. Washington (I'm guessing Shanahan leaves before the end of the season)

NFC North 
1. Green Bay 
2. Detroit
3. Chicago  
4. Minnesota 

NFC South 
1. Carolina
2. New Orleans
3. Atlanta 
4. Tampa Bay

NFC West 
1. San Francisco 
2. St. Louis
3. Arizona
4. Seattle



AFC East 
1. NY Jets  
2. New England
3. Miami  
4. Buffalo

AFC North 
1. Baltimore  
2. Cincinnati  
3. Pittsburgh  
4. Cleveland 

AFC South 
1. Tennessee 
2. Houston
3. Indianapolis 
4. Jacksonville

AFC West 
1. Denver
2. Kansas City 
3. Oakland 
4. San Diego


In general, I think the only teams who'll be competing for anything significant will be the Packers, Cowboys, Titans, 49ers, the winner of the AFC East and possibly the  Broncos/Texans/Eagles. I think the Cowboys will be just as good on offense and better on defense. The Eagles will give them a run for their money. The Giants' schedule will be too brutal, and the Saints' window has closed. Tennessee is my sleeper pick, but the Texans, should they stay healthy, could be the premier offensive force in the league. And blah blah words words... Packers win.

who wouldn't be?

All I can say at this point is that I wish I had faith in the Eagles like some of you guys have.

I just can't see them as anything other than a last-place team. It's my belief that Eagles people saw through the first 12 games of last year are what the Eagles really are and that the final four games were an illusion.

You know, I think people are starting to get ridiculous when it comes to quarterbacks. Apparently there's no middle ground when it comes to who's good and who isn't. Either you're a superstar or you're crap, according to most people.

At one time or another, I've seen the following QBs get called "trash", "utter crap", or some synonym by other fans:

Jay Cutler
Philip Rivers
Matt Ryan
Ben Roethlisberger
Eli Manning
Tony Romo
Joe Flacco
Mark Sanchez
Andy Dalton
Matthew Stafford

On that list, two I think are elite, a couple are on the verge of greatness, and the rest either are pretty good or have promise.

I guess if you're not Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Drew Brees, fans think you're Ryan Leaf's reincarnation. Guess there can't be no in-between.

It's because anything other than good, you don't matter, because you won't likely win a SB for your team. The Rapist and the younger Manning are outliers. Do you think Cutler or Unibro will win a SB for the Bears or Ravens?

I think Stafford could be the third on that list. Jury's still out on Dalton.

Actually, I do think Cutler and Flacco are good enough to win one. Cutler's never had good receivers or a complete team. Flacco got to the AFC Championship Game last year.

I mean, I understand that Super Bowls are how QBs are judged. But goddamn, you can be a great or even elite QB and not win a Super Bowl because of circumstances out of your control.

As for Roethlisberger and Eli Manning, you already know my belief that they're elite QBs. I know Phil Simms has said that Eli's already a Hall of Fame QB and the debate it's caused. I don't think either Roethlisberger or Eli are there yet, but that's only because their careers aren't complete yet. They're both well on the way to getting a bust in Canton.

Finally, there's been some passable-at-best QBs to have won Super Bowls (Doug Williams, Trent Dilfer, Jeff Hostetler come readily to mind). I think it's safe to say that most of the QBs I've listed are better than them. It all comes down to how complete the team is and what the system is.

Yeah...........after watching the first preseason game, the Eagles will be REALLY lucky to win more than four games this season. The offense can't do a damn thing, Nnamdi Asomugha still looks lost, DeMeco Ryans looks finished, and no one can tackle.

I remember last season Mood was complaining about the officials in the Giants/Packers playoff game and the argument I had with him, with my position being that the referees had no impact on the result of the game itself, thus there wasn't really much to complain about.

But these replacement officials? God-awful. Abysmal. Inadequate. I could go on with the adjectives. If they're refereeing during the regular season, then there'll be a BAD call that screws a team over. Hell, I think a few teams (Packers, Saints, Patriots) could be adversely affected just because of how slow and inefficient they are.

I hope that Roger Goodell gets off his high horse and cuts a new deal with the regular refs. Otherwise we're gonna see a LOT of bad officiating.

The Eagles beat the Browns today 17-16.

Read that again. THE EAGLES BEAT THE STINKING BROWNS BY ONE GODDAMN POINT.

Five turnovers. 12 penalties for 110 yards. 7 TOTAL first-half rushing plays for LeSean McCoy, with everything else being a pass play, despite the Browns having the SECOND-WORST RUSH DEFENSE IN THE NFL LAST YEAR.

The Eagles were lucky. They should NOT have won today. They are lucky SOBs.

Anyone insisting that the Eagles are going to win the division or make the playoffs is an idiot. And that's completely non-negotiable. This Eagles team SUCKS. Andy Reid CANNOT change up his strategy. The offense CAN'T hold onto the ball. They're gonna get DESTROYED next week by the Ravens.

This team is gonna finish in last place in the NFC East. Lincoln Financial Field will be burning by the middle of the season. And I'll be fiddling and laughing like a maniac as it happens.

the eagles problems lied all with vick, he threw 4 ints and fumbled the ball away once

the eagles live and die by michael vick

but the giants stunk it up against the cowboys, Eli was slightly off but the rest of the offense sucked, victor cruz dropped a few passes, nicks couldn't get open for his life, bennet played well but not well enough, the o-line sucked so the running game couldn't get going

and the defense was the same as last year, great d-line, everything else couldn't muster up enough help

eli played well enough to win, romo just played quite a bit better

You obviously didn't read any recaps or read ANY pundits' takes on the game.

Yeah, Vick threw four picks. He deserves a good portion of the blame (not all of it like you insist). But then, I need to ask you: it's obvious Vick played poorly. But the Eagles have LeSean McCoy, a top 3 RB in the NFL. The Browns' pass defense was top 5 last year, but their run defense was next to last. Why didn't the Eagles run the ball more? Shouldn't Andy Reid be smart enough to realize that the pass game isn't working and that Shady should be running the ball more? He should, but he didn't do it. This is something that drives Eagles fans crazy: his inability to adjust during the game. This is why Tom Coughlin is a great coach and Andy Reid isn't: Coughlin adjusted his style in the first Super Bowl win by lightening up. Then last year, he adjusted the playcalling: the Giants couldn't run the ball, so he gave the ball to Eli, told him "Go crazy", and the Giants became the absolute best big-play team in the league. Andy Reid is too stubborn to deviate from his plan and his scheme.

Pundits recapping the game pointed out how poorly the Eagles' gameplan was. Not to mention how the offensive line sucked. But for you, it's all BLAME MICHAEL VICK VICK SUCKS VICK SUCKS BLAME VICK. You need to learn to look a little deeper into things and look at the entirety of the game rather than jump to the simplest conclusion, because football is a WAY deeper game than that. Passing the ball 72% against one of the best pass defenses and not using your elite RB is a bad idea. Yeah, Vick deserves to be blasted. But for God's sake place SOME blame on Andy Reid and Marty Mornheinweig for concocting such an ill-conceived gameplan and not utilizing one of the team's best weapons.

And trust me, if the Eagles don't make the playoffs (which they won't), both Andy Reid and Michael Vick will be gone. Vick may cost the Eagles the postseason, but Andy will be just as responsible.

Well, Broncos won, take that Steeler fa--- wait a minute...
Oh well, looks like there is some hope for the Broncos after all.

Considering the preseason the Ravens had, I considered it a sign of things to come, because I had never seen ANY Ravens team put up that many points in any game, whether pre-, regular, or postseason. It appears for one week I was correct.

that was an impressive beating by the ravens

flacco looked like a new beast out there, he played lights out

finally, flacco and ryan have been unleashed, the league needs to watch-out

Vikings punter Chris Kluwe is now my favorite NFL player.

Not because of anything he does on the field mind you, but because of the well-written, well-thought (not to mention ****ING HILARIOUS) letter he wrote to Maryland state delegate Emmett C. Burns.

To give a little background: Ravens LB Brendon Ayanbadejo has been a strong supporter of a ballot initiative in Maryland to legalize gay marriage. Burns didn't like it so he wrote a letter to the Ravens demanding they silence Ayanbadejo. Chris Kluwe heard about this, and then wrote his letter, which not only destroys Burns' logic, but also pretty much destroys any credibility Burns had, in the funniest way possible.

Here's the letter for you kiddies to enjoy.

Ouch.

Just ouch.

The week starts off with a Packer win over the Bears, and Jay Cutler ends up causing more drama by shoving one of his offensive linemen, which is a cardinal sin for a QB. To quote my Uncle Frank, who played offensive line in high school: "If my QB did that to me, I'd punch him in the face."

Hope everyone's looking forward to seeing the Raven steamroller continue. I'm predicting a 38-13 win for the Ravens, because Andy Reid will once again want to pass the ball 50+ times in the game and refuse to run it at all, thus leading to a handful of turnovers.

The ONLY reason the Eagles have been winning is because they're lucky. Plain and simple. They should've lost both of these games, but lucky breaks and stunning ineptitude by the opposing teams has handed the Eagles two wins.

If the Eagles continue to turn the ball over like they have, they will not make the playoffs. I think they will continue to turn it over, and I think they will miss the playoffs. And I will be rejoicing when it happens, because it means the reign of terror under Andy Reid will FINALLY end once and for all.

If the Eagles somehow make the playoffs, then I will become a Giants fan. I refuse to root for the Eagles as long as Andy Reid is the head coach. A playoff appearance means that Andy will be around another five years, and I will not stand for it.

at this rate, the eagles will go 16-0, winning every game by 1 point, while breaking the NFL record for most turnovers in a season

also, HOW THE **** DID THE PATRIOTS LOSE TO THE CARDINALS?!?!?!?!?!?!/

and i was at the giants game today, dear god was that a scare, eli sucked in the first half but seriously lit it up in the 2nd half