The Births of the Playa Hata and Neighborhood Superstar

During the turn of the 20th century, there were scholars and revolutionaries on both sides of the color line (Black and White) who were even more divided amongst themselves about the autonomy of Black Americans. You had one side of Black and White scholars who believed that the only way for Black Americans to thrive in America was to allow them to segregate themselves from the rest of the population. That way, none of their culture and ways would be stripped from them. They would be self-sufficient and govern themselves (to an extent, of course) and limit their contact with their White neighbors. On the other side, you had progressive Blacks and empathetic Whites who believed that since Blacks had played a major role in the very construction of this “great nation” then they should reap the same benefits as their Caucasian counterparts. They wanted a fully integrated society where one was judged by the merits of his or her character as opposed to one’s hue of skin. As history will clearly show us, the first group won out for the better part of the century. It wasn’t until after the Civil Rights Era that we started to realize the infinite benefits of the second group’s ideas. This piece will focus on the first group, though, because it was in that group that the Neighborhood Superstar and the Playa Hater were born.
It is naturally embedded in us as human beings to try to be the best at whatever it is that we do. It is human nature to enjoy a pat on the back from time to time. Whether or not either one of us will admit it, we are all (or have been at some point) attention whores. This goes back many centuries. People have always done things to try to draw attention to themselves. But the Black attention whore is a different animal. In the history of man, I don’t think that there has been a race of attention cravers who’ve done it with such style and flash (take Jack Johnson for example). And this is the essence of the Neighborhood Superstar.
Whether they did it willingly or they were forced to, Blacks were generally segregated from the rest of the population. So it became okay to some to excel only to the highest plateau in BLACK America (not America itself). Wealthy was a term used loosely, because looking at it from a broad view, very few (if any) Blacks were wealthy according to the standards of all those who’d owned plantations just a half a century earlier. However, in terms of the people who lived in their neighborhoods, they were indeed rich; a term of endearment still used today, “nigger rich”.
Those who had acquired such wealth were the ones fortunate enough to have access to resources outside of the Black community. And being among the wealthiest in the community was not enough. The fortunate ones had to let everyone in their community know that they were better off than the rest of them and as a consequence of their “wealth” they held more power than them. They had to wear nicer clothes bought from the “White” neighborhoods. They drove finer cars. They lived in nicer houses. Instead of trying to help those less fortunate, they rubbed it in their faces. They took on an attitude of “I got mine. You’ve got to get your own”. Thus, the Neighborhood Superstar was born.
Imagine being one of those people who was a friend of a Neighborhood Superstar before he became a Neighborhood Superstar. When neither of you had anything, you both made sacrifices for each other’s survival and well-being. But as soon as he acquires Neighborhood Superstar status, your friendship means nothing to him. He “buys” new friends, and no longer wants to do the things that you all used to do. Undoubtedly, some discontent toward your former friend will arise within your spirit. The more arrogant and flashy that your ex-comrade becomes, the stronger the discontent becomes. And the Playa Hater (as we know it) is born. I emphasize the “as we know it” because player hating (the bastard child of Hate and Envy) has been going on since Biblical times. Cain is the original player hater. He murdered his brother Abel in a fit of rage because their parents gave Abel more favor. Jacob is the most notorious player hater in history, because of what he did to his brother Esau. He stole this man’s birthright and blessings from their ailing and blind father, Isaac, by tricking him to believe that he was indeed Esau. God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel and an entire nation was born from him (Look at all Esau missed out on). Even those slaves who ratted out the plans of Nat Turner, Denmark Vescey, and various other slaves who tried to organize revolts could be put into a certain class of playa hater: the snitch. But that’s another story entirely.
But the Playa Hater as WE know it, started at the turn of the 20th century in segregated Black societies. Just as the Neighborhood Superstars adopted the attitude of “I got mine. You’ve got to get your own”, the Playa Haters adopted an attitude of their own: “He doesn’t deserve that. I want what he’s got.” And over the years, it (Playa Hatin’) turned into a “crabs in the barrel” syndrome. Every time someone tried to do better for themselves, there was always someone there to look down upon their looming success. Of the two (the Neighborhood Superstar and the Playa Hater), the Playa Hater has expanded itself among many different facets of life. The Playa Hater, today, can be found anywhere from a corporate board room (i.e. an all male staff trying to deny a deserving female an advancement opportunity) to the confines of a relationship (i.e. a woman’s best friend trying to dissuade her from being with a gentleman based solely but not overtly on the fact that that she, herself, is alone).
Even though these two staples of the Black community are a part of our rich culture, they both need to stop. So in closing, I leave words of advice to both the Neighborhood Superstar and the Playa Hater. First to the Playa Hater. To put it simply: STOP HATING!!! All of the energy that you put forth to stop someone else’s joy, could be used to bring joy into your own life. I can almost assure you that you would lead a more meaningful life if you spent the time to help someone rather than hurting them. And finally, to the Neighborhood Superstar, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to do better for yourself, but I’d like to share with you this old Chinese proverb to take with you: The nail that sticks out is the one that gets hammered down.

What Makes Me Me

This piece is being written to explain to people why they’ve never seen my drink or smoke. To put it simply, because I don’t do either of the two. I’ve even turned down communion at church because the wine was real. It’s THAT serious. Since I was a child, I’ve always tried to thrive on being different. I never hung out with anyone who was “like me”. Quite a few of my friends growing up were the ones who would grow up to be residents in our state’s correctional facilities or they’d eventually end up pursuing careers in street pharmaceuticals. And I, a clean cut kid from a good home, felt right at home with them. I never tried to do any of the things that they did (i.e. smoking, drinking, stealing, fighting, etc.) and they never tried to influence me to. They respected my stance on all of it. That just wasn’t my thing. And if I would’ve ever tried to do anything like that, I don’t think that they would’ve allowed me to. They understood that what I had going for myself could’ve easily been taken away with one wrong decision.
But ultimately, there is one person who is responsible for me deciding not to indulge in any of those vices. One would assume that it would be my mother, but it’s not. Perhaps a grandparent. Nope. Or was it the guy that graduated from L High as Valedictorian, and went to Chicago, where he smoked with some people he didn’t know, and they laced his joint with PCP, and now he’s legally retarded? Nope. Not him either. It’s not even Nancy Regan, whose anti-drug campaign slogan “Just say no” was at its peak during my wonder years. The person solely responsible for allowing me to resist the temptation of drugs and alcohol goes by the name of Eddie Warrant.
His name was Eddie Warrant, but we simply called him Ed. He lived two houses down from me. That is, of course, if you could call his place a house. It was more like a stack of wood nailed together just to protect him from the weather. From the time I was able to remember anything up until I was 15, I’d never seen Ed sober. He would walk the streets of our tiny community drunk beyond all human reason, and just sing all night. He’d knock on his neighbors’ doors asking them if they could cook a meal for him, because his place didn’t have power, gas, or water or anything else. It was just him. And the crazy thing about it is that Ed would work. He worked all week, and he made really good money. Now being that I’m from a rural area (the country as some of you people who swear to God that you’re from a major metropolis like to refer to it as), there was a lot of work to be done in fields and pastures. That’s where Ed worked. He’d do odd jobs for people who owned farms. And he made really good money from doing it. But once Friday came and he got paid, he had to go and re-up his stash.
This cycle went on for all my early life. But one day during the summer when I was 15 years old, my uncle and a couple of the guys from around the neighborhood were trying to put a radio into a car. Ed just happened to be walking by, and jokingly, we asked if he could come and help. We’d read the instructions, and had been out there since 11 am (it was around 5 pm by now). So Ed came over, and told us EXACTLY what to do with the wiring, and the radio was on and playing in less than 3 minutes. And when he walked off, we all realized that that was the first time that we’d EVER seen that guy sober. Over the next 3 years, before I left for college, I’d sit down and talk with Ed while he was sober, and the brother was deep. He had a really good head on his shoulders. And he’d ruined it all because he couldn’t kick his habit. Unfortunately, the year that I left, liquor started to get a little too weak for him, so as I understand it, now he’s shoving syringes in his veins. One of the things I never got to ask him while we talked was what made him start to depend on the bottle so heavily. And perhaps now, it’s too late.
I’m a firm believer that everything happens according to God’s perfect plan. My father wasn’t around when I was growing up, but there were a lot of men in my community that I would see and mimic until I got just the right mixture of all of them to make me who I am. Ed was not in those ingredients that made me me. Perhaps God put him in my life to show me how NOT to be and what things NOT to do. So I subconsciously made up in my mind very early on that that would NOT be me. On one of the best Southern Rap albums of all time, 8-Ball & MJG’s “On Top of the World”, Memphis-based rapper, 8-Ball, said one of the realest lines to ever be spoken when it comes to how time changes things: “That same brother that used to pimp that ‘fro and wear them stacks, he’s that brother today starving trying to buy some crack.” (think Fast Freddie from “Jason’s Lyric”). And I just could NOT allow that to be me. I know some people say that they can control their drinking binges and they can control how dependent they are on a certain drug. OK. Fine. Do you. But I have a better way of controlling mine: by not doing them at all. And for being able to say that and not really care what someone else thinks, I say THANK YOU EDDIE WARRANT.

Messy Breakups

I recently had a couple of close friends who both went through some really messy breakups. Now they’re both struggling to “pick up the pieces” and get their lives back on track. So I wrote this piece to help anyone else who may be going through a similar situation. I hope it blesses you.

As young adults, we often find ourselves in sticky situations in the relationship department. We allow ourselves to get so caught up in someone else that when their interest, attention, and (most importantly) affection begin to leave, we find ourselves in a tough spot. It’s human nature to be disappointed over a bad investment. And time is the ultimate investment. That’s the only thing in this life that’s impossible to regain once you’ve exhausted it. But there is a good way to look at this all. I’ll highlight some things that one can do to avoid being caught in such an uncomfortable situation. Having been on both sides of this equation more times than I care to mention, I’ve gathered a lot of information over the years. Here goes:

Keep it real – Now that phrase has been used very loosely since its inception. It’s grown to mean a variety of things. But what I mean in this instance is be completely honest. Often, things go sour because one person expects more from a relationship than another one does. In any relationship (business, platonic, romantic) there has to be a set of guidelines set out at the beginning. Both parties involved must know exactly what the other party expects to gain from the relationship. These guidelines must be stated explicitly (but with tact) so there will be absolutely no confusion. For example, if a young lady who’s had a crush on a brother for quite a while finally gets his attention, she’s probably going to want that ‘Romeo & Juliet’ type love affair. The guy, on the other hand, may just want a “9 ½ Weeks” type love affair. So you have to put everything out there from the jump so everyone will be on the same page.
Love Yourself – Before anyone can honestly say that they love someone else, they have to love themselves. It is impossible to love someone else before first loving yourself. And even when you have that part down, you cannot forget that before there was a “you all” there was just “you”. You know how to make yourself happy, and you should continue to make yourself happy. It’s not a good look to depend on someone else to be your source of happiness. If you have to depend on someone else to make you happy, you’re in a truly sad state. Your mate is there to complement your existing joy; “icing on the cake” if you will. And if you and I have the same God, you already know how jealous He can be at times. He doesn’t think too highly of us looking to someone else to do His job.
Come Back Down to Earth – Okay. I often see people losing their minds when a relationship goes bad. “Oh, man. She was the one. How can I live without her?” “God told me that he and I were supposed to be together.” Okay. Stop it. Just stop it. Apparently she wasn’t the one, and you’ll live without her now the same way you did before you met her. And stop lying on God. I didn’t even know he still spoke to us in stereo. When the union goes awry, just charge it to the game and move on. It’s natural to hurt. There will definitely need to be some time to heal depending on how long it lasted. But understand this: Every girl or guy that you meet shouldn’t be dubbed as “the one.” I do believe that there’s someone for everyone, but how do you know that your one isn’t halfway around the world? When “the one” does come, you’ll know it without having to think about it.
Get a Return on Your Investment – Stop saying that you’ve wasted your time when a relationship goes bad. You’ll always get out of it what you put into it. It may not be in the form that you’d like for it to be in, but you’ll get something back. Any time you’re in a relationship for an extended period of time, you’re NOT the same person as you were entering the relationship. Being with your mate changes and molds you in different ways that are often undetectable. But you are a better person for it either way. Embrace those changes as well as all of the positive experiences that you’ve shared with your ex-mate and let it spur you on to be a better person.
Understand Humanity – One of the biggest problems in relationships, especially at our age, is “cheating”. Okay, define cheating. That’s one of the things that should be done at the “keeping it real” stage. In addition to that, the tolerance level for “cheating” must also be established by both parties. That way, there will be no discrepancies involved. If this understanding is breached by either of the parties, one thing that the “cheated upon” party must understand is that the “cheating” party is human. As humans, we make mistakes. In fact, every mistake we make makes us even more human. I should say that in this case though, you don’t want your partner to be TOO humanJ. If it becomes habitual, you have to resort to a vital part of step 3: charge it to the game and let it go.
Get Rid of Your Tunnel Vision – Pay very close attention to this step. It will seem as if I’m contradicting myself, but I’m going to make a point. One of the things that we absolutely hate is when our mate brings baggage into the relationship from their past relationships. It restricts them from giving their full attention to their current situation because they’re still holding on to grudges from their past. This is strongly discouraged. HOWEVER, a little bit of baggage won’t hurt. In fact, it will help. If you’ve been through a rough situation in your past, you’ll feel twice as bad if it happened to you again. You can’t allow yourself to be so in love and so blind that you can’t see signs of the same thing happening again. You have to learn from past mistakes. But I reiterate, keep the baggage to an absolute minimum. Don’t let it dominate your relationship, and don’t allow it to hinder you from loving or being loved. Keep you just enough around to keep yourself from falling into a familiar pit.


And that’s only the beginning of it. However, that’s all that I have time to write at this point. If the spirit so moves me (or if it’s requested) I’ll continue this list at a later date. But in the meantime, if you’re going through a similar situation as my friend or if you’re thinking about entering a serious relationship, take heed to these steps that I’ve just outlined. They could help you to avoid a very stick situation.

© 2005 W. Mack

Know What I'm Sayin?

You know sometimes I think some (most) people talk just to hear themselves speak; especially those with “education”. It’s commonplace to hear people of “esteem” speak on C-Span or some other station that shows political happenings, and see someone talking and using words that even Webster himself would have to go to the dictionary to figure out. And then, if you’re not from where I’m from, and you drive through one the area that I grew up, you’ll hear loud boisterous vernacular from every street corner: the kind of talk that makes us proud and ashamed at the same time of being Black. So to that end, I pose a simple question. What’s the point?
Being a young educated black man in 21st Century America, I’m often faced with the decision of whether I should “keep it real” or “go corporate”. Neither one of them is a fair assessment to anyone. By the standards of most, “keeping it real” means that I make a choice to use broken English and a limitless amount of profanity. While on the other hand, “going corporate” would cause me to speak the King’s English to a tee, and from time to time dabble into the Old English art form. To combat this dilemma some geniuses came up with the idea of Ebonics. The mere thought of that was a slap in the face to me and every other Black person that lives in America. What it said to me was, “Since you don’t have the capacity to speak proper English, we’ll water it down to make it more acceptable for your kind.” To that I say, “Take your idea of Ebonics and ALL the money that you were going to spend trying to incorporate it into America, and use it where it SHOULD be used: on children who are today STILL feeling the after effects of slavery and its laws that made it illegal to teach Blacks to read. Use it to find our public schools better educators for our children who are today STILL feeling the after effects of segregation in public schools pre-“Brown v. Topeka BOE”. But that’s another point entirely.
Getting back to the issue at hand, though, I choose to be different. I chose to do neither. What I have chosen to do is BE MYSELF. Having studied each Spanish and French for 2 years, I can understand them, but can’t speak a lick of either one of them. By the same token, I can perfectly articulate and understand the King’s language as well as the street’s language. And most importantly, I know the appropriate time and usage of both.
During slavery, Black people created codes to speak in to help them plan escapes. And that could probably ultimately be traced to the way that our people speak today on the street corners and in their homes. But at times, we (i.e. Black people) don’t know when it’s inappropriate for us to use this particular type of talk.
By the same token, it’s insulting to us (Black people) when someone of another ethnic group (not just Whites) comes to us and says, “Hey Homey” or “What’s up my Brotha”. Okay. First off, I’m not your brotha. You’re insulting my mother. (Unless of course, you mean we’re siblings via religious principles. In such case, I’m your brothER). And just so you know, whenever you (i.e. people of other ethnic groups) start to use any of the words that we us as “ours”, it immediately loses all credibility and its cool factor.
So all that was said to say this: Black people, let’s learn when and how to use proper English. And all other people who don’t consider yourself Black, it’s okay to be yourself. Trying to speak the way that we do, doesn’t make you Black, neither does it make you cool. None of this stuff matters. What DOES matter is that we are able to communicate with each other effectively, without any confusion whatsoever. Words that we use everyday may be completely foreign to the next man. So when speaking to someone who is outside of your niche, break it down in terms that the common man should understand. Because the whole point in opening your mouth to speak to someone is to relay a point. If they don’t know what you’re saying, that’s wasted time, energy, and breath. And when you’re on your deathbed, WHEW!! Those three things that you wasted sure could come in handy.

Making it Right

When I was on my way to work this morning, I overheard on the radio that the authorities in Chicago had exhumed (unearthed) the body of Emmett Till to investigate it further. They want to see exactly what the cause of death was, if anyone else besides the two men who confessed to the crime (who were, by the acquitted) was involved in the murder in any capacity, and if so, they want to bring them up on charged if they’re still alive. Now while I understand that there is no statute of limitations on murder, this happened in 1955. I read a book that Emmett’s mother wrote a couple of years back. It was so moving. She talked about the trials that she went through while she was pregnant with him, how they struggled financially when he was a youngster, and the pain that she has had to deal with since his death. (She’s still alive, by the way). I just don’t know. She seems like she made peace with it years ago. I’m torn over this issue. On one hand, YES, I as a member of this community (the Black community) want closure on one of the most heinous acts in our history. But on the other hand, I have to ask, “What good does it do bring all this up now?” Both of the men who admitted to the crime and got off the hook have passed away. If anyone else was involved, it is likely that they are dead by now or they aren’t too far from it.
This kind of reminds me of the Birmingham 16th St. Church bombing where those four little girls were killed in the 60’s. They re-opened the case in the late 90’s, and of all the people involved in it, only one was still alive. He was tried and convicted, but he was almost 80 years old at the time. He died here (in Alabama) in prison last year. While I felt like there was closure in the situation, I smirked at the whole thing. The man had lived a FULL life free (most people don’t live to see 65, and here he was almost 80) so imprisoning him at that point was only a slap in the face to me. He has committed one of the nastiest crimes in history against my people and now I (with my tax money) have to pay to provide for him until he kicks the bucket. Oh, the irony of it all.
It is my humble opinion that if the government wants to truly make amends and make things right with us, they should re-open the cases of so many of us that are imprisoned right now. Of all of those people there, I’d project that at least 30% of them are either a case of mistaken identity or they didn’t get a fair trial. With DNA technology so readily available, how about my tax dollars go toward giving someone a second chance at life, not waiting until 40-50 years AFTER their dead to try to make it right.

NFL '04-'05 Predictions (NFC East)

We've thoroughly exhausted the AFC and we gave you a day to digest that. And today we crank up the NFC starting with the NFC East (because, just like the AFC, that's where it all ended last year). So without any further delay, here we go.

Dallas Cowboys - When Bill Parcells took over the New England Patriots, they...well...to be honest..sucked. A few years later, they were in the Super Bowl against Brett Favre and Mike Holmgren's Green Bay Packers. Parcells left there and went to coach the Jets. Their team wasn't that bad....but they weren't that good either. He ended up making Vinny Testaverde look like a good QB, and took the Jets as far as the AFC Championship game, only to lose in a heartbreaker. So logic would tell us that the Cowboys' time should be right around the corner right?.....Right?...For some reason I just don't believe it.
Parcells' approach hasn't changed since he was coaching the Giants, Pats, and Jets. It's his way or the highway. Just about every good player that he's had in Dallas is no longer with the team. Last year, while the Cowboys were hurting for a running back, Rashad Lee stepped in and played the role of running back and kick returner. He did an admirable job. Lee is no longer with the team. The man who has been the staple on defense for years, Dexter Coakley, has now bolted to St. Louis. And Marcellus Wiley is gone to Jacksonville. Midway through last season, he shipped Antonio Bryant to Cleveland. This was a dumb move, but Parcells did it because he and Bryant had had a disagreement that was border line physical earlier in the season. Parcells pushes his players to great lengths, and some of today's athletes just can't take it.
But enough about Parcells, let talk about his players. He brought it Drew Bledsoe to hold down the QB position until the other Drew (Henson) is ready to take over the helm. Until then, Julius Jones can look to see lots of carries. When he gets tired, Parcells brought it Anthony "A-Train" Thomas to give him relief. And if he can't cut the mustard, look for Marion Barber III out of the Univ. of Minnesota to be the man. Barber is a physical specimen, and a hell of a running back. He's 5'11" 221 lbs. of all muscle. Ripped like a steroid freak.
That'll pretty much be it. Drew Bledsoe often gets happy feet in the pocket so don't be surprised if by Week 4 Keyshawn isn't calling him out for underthrowing passes. The receiver who'll benefit the most from Bledsoe, though, is Terry Glenn. They had an excellent chemistry in New England, and I don't see why it shouldn't work here. Also, Jason Witten became a serious threat at tight end last season. Look for him to continue his excellent play, as he'll see a lot of passes coming his way, since Bledsoe likes to get rid of the ball fast.
Defense is where the Cowboys have placed ALL of their emphasis. And they look like they're gonna have one of the top defenses in the league. They brought in Jason Ferguson from the Jets to play at Defensive tackles, and to man the outside, they used their first two draft picks to bring in pass rush specialists DeMarcus Ware from Troy St. (that's in Alabama, by the way) and Marcus Spears from LSU. They also draft Outside Linebacker Kevin Burnett from Tennessee to replace Dexter Coakley. Burnett is a big, fast physical linebacker who plays a lot like Coakley.
To help its secondary, the Cowboys took Aaron Glenn way from Houston and signed Anthony Henry from the Cleveland Browns.
The Cowboys will win some big games this season, but look for them to be a middle of the pack squad again this year.

Record: 8-8 either way. I'll explain why at the end of this report.

Philadelphia Eagles - Philly has been knocking on the door for the past three years. Could it be that they're the newest version of the Buffalo Bills? Of course not. Donovan McNabb is a young brilliant talent with his best years still ahead of him. They re-signed Correll Buckhalter. Michael Westbrook will be back. And Brian Dawkins, Jeremiah Trotter, and Jevon Kearse still anchor that defense.
So all the stuff that you hear in the news now about T.O. wanting more money, and him not liking Donovan McNabb..Don't pay any attention to it. While T.O. is an excellent player, he's an attention whore. He's doing this sh*t to get attention. This is D. McNabb's team, and that's the way it'll be with or without T.O. He got them the NFC Championship game two years straight without T.O. and with half-ass receivers.
The Eagles didn't make many "sexy" moves in the off-season, but that's what class organizations do. They try to keep continuity. So they made some not so big media splashes that will make BIG splashes on the field. They extended the contracts of Hugh Douglas, Jeremiah Trotter, and fullback John Ritchie. They added by subtracting when they let Freddie Mitchell go. To replace him, they drafted Fred Brown from Georgia. He'll easily catch 50 passes this season, and he's effective AFTER the catch (something Fred Ex couldn't be). And the biggest re-signing that they made was to re-sign Def. Coordinator Jim Johnson to a four year extension.
And when Week One rolls around, T.O. will be in an Eagles uniform. He'll get over himself soon enough.

Record: 12-4 as long as McNabb is healthy. 8-8 if he goes down.

New York Giants - This is the year that Eli Manning starts to look like he looked in college. The Giants cleaned house and placed all the support around Eli that he'll need. They got rid of Ike Hilliard and brought in Plaxico Burress. They brought in two veteran offensive tackles in Karim McKenzie from the Jets and Bob Whitfield from Jacksonville. Tiki Barber is still in the backfield and the Giants should be okay this season.
The defense looks good, and I think that this team can seriously give Philly a run for the division title as long as Eli is healthy.

Record: 10-6 if Eli is healthy 6-10 if not.

Washington Redskins - The Redskins didnt' really make any earth shattering moves either. They traded L. Coles back to NY for Santana Moss. They drafted Carlos Rogers (to play alongside Sean Taylor. That'll be the best safety tandem since Dennis Smith and Steve Atwater). They signed Jason Campbell (who won't play right away). And they managed to piss off LaVar Arrington. So I don't think the Redskins will be in playoff contention this year either. They'll win a big game or two, but I don't think they'll make it. And a lot of it will have to do with Joe Gibbs having the same coaching style as he had 20 years ago.

Record: 7-9 either way.

So let's recap. The Eagles will win the division. The Giants will contend. The Cowboys and Redskins won't. The following is a story to explain exactly why Dallas and Washington won't win because of their coaches.

Laura noticed that on every Thanksgiving, her mother would cut both edges from the side of the ham before she put it into the pan to place it in the oven. She'd noticed this for the past couple of years. So on this year, Laura asked her mother, "Mom, why do you cut the edges off of the ham before placing it in the pan?" Her mother's reply "Because that's the way that your grandmother showed me how to do it." Laura's mother gave her that response, but she still wondered herself why she did it. So she called up her mother, and asked "Mom, why did you always cut the sides off of the ham when I was younger" and her mother replied, "Because our pan was always too small for the entire ham."
So the point of that story is to say that times have changed. If there are better methods in place, you should use those methods as opposed to what once worked. Joe Gibbs & Bill Parcells won't conform, and thus...they won't win.

NFL '05-'06 Predictions (AFC West)

Today is the last day that we talk about the AFC. We’ll recap after we’re done with this division. Today’s topic of discussion is that wild wild AFC West. Last year it didn’t really have much to offer except San Diego’s Cinderella season. This year looks to be even wilder in the AFC West, so let’s jump right into it, starting in the Mile High City.
Denver Broncos – This team has been an enigma every year since John Elway retired. On paper they look to be one of the best teams in the league, but they always end up limping into the playoffs. This year will be no exception, and their chances of making the playoffs are iffy. Here’s why. Reason number one is Jake Plummer. I love Jake as a player. I admire his tenacity, toughness, and his will to win. However, Jake tends to make a LOT of mistakes when it matters the most. That’s been the one thing that’s plagued him for his entire NFL career. If he can avoid those mistakes this season, it will give his team a better chance of making the playoffs.
Good play from Plummer won’t be the only thing that they need. They’ll need some great play from at least ONE of the thousands of “marquee” running backs that they have. Here’s the list: Quentin Griffin (who started brilliantly last year, but got injured. He also did an excellent job of backing up Clinton Portis before he left), Tatum Bell (who they drafted last year. He got hurt early in the season and worked his way back up and really impressed coaches by being willing to play on special teams. He ended up being excellent there, and Mike Shanahan feels like he owes him a shot at the RB position.), Mike Anderson (the first back after Terrell Davis to come in and put up mammoth numbers. He’s back from a serious injury and looks to take back his starting spot at HB), Ron Dayne (former Heisman Trophy winner who was a bust in New York; looking for a chance at redemption), Santonio Beard (3rd year man from Alabama. Looking to make his mark in the league), and the man that Denver is taking a gamble on, Maurice Clarett. They’re so stacked that they shipped Rueben Droughns (last season’s thousand yard back) to Cleveland.
Now it’s all good and dandy to have all of these running backs, but let’s look at something here. Conventional thought leads us to believe that any running back can have a breakout season in Denver’s system. But has one ever given thought to the fact that maybe Shanahan has to have all of these top backs, because his system is a high risk/high reward kind of deal, with the high risk being serious injury. True enough backs in this system always put up big numbers, but by season’s end, Denver is always down to the guy who was 3rd or 4th on their depth chart when the season started. That’ll be something to keep an eye on this season.
Denver’s offensive line is always stellar, so that will really be nothing to worry about.
Plummer will still have the same targets that he had last year. Rod Smith and Ashlie Lelie will be back. And Denver re-signed budding superstar Tight End Jeb Putzier. And as late as today, there are wide spread reports that Shanahan wants to bring in the most prolific receiver in the history of the game, Jerry Rice.
On defense, is where Denver will have problems, and it will ultimately cost them a shot at making the playoffs. Let’s look at the positives of this defense before we start bashing them (and believe me, there’s plenty of bashing to do). They still have the premier shut down corner in the league in Champ Bailey. He’ll have one side of the field on lock, but that other side is a question mark. They lost Kelly Herndon to Seattle, so they went and drafted three corners with their first three picks in the draft. The brought back Ian Gold from Tampa to play Linebacker alongside John Mobley and company. Now we get to Denver’s problem area: the defensive line. This all goes back to Cleveland, so pay close attention. Over the last five years or so, the Browns have used their first pick in the draft to draft defensive linemen on at least 3 occasions. Over the last five years, the Browns have been dead last in the league at stopping the run on at least three occasions. This all ties in together so follow me. When Corey Dillon was still in Cincinnati, he broke the all-time single game rushing record of 275 yards AGAINST DENVER. The next season, Jamal Lewis said, “I’m gonna go out and break Corey Dillon’s record AGAINST CLEVELAND.” And he did. In an effort to make cap room, Cleveland let go of most of those defensive linemen. And guess who picked EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM up off of waivers. You guessed it: The Denver Broncos. Look for LaDanian Tomlinson to break the rushing record in his first game against the Broncos this year. Then Priest Holmes will break THAT record when KC plays them. LT will break Holmes’ record the next time San Diego plays Denver, and Holmes will reclaim the title the next time that KC plays Denver. Hell, LaMont Jordan might get in on the action too. I guess the one good thing about this is that all of Denver’s linebackers will go to the Pro Bowl. They’ll all have well over 100 tackles once these running backs break through that paper thin defensive line.
Making these moves shows me that Denver isn’t committed to stopping the run. If you can’t stop the run, you won’t win many games. If you don’t win many games, you find yourself in Cleveland’s position as a perennial top 5 picker in the NFL draft. Karma’s a bitch ain’t it? Nearly 20 years ago, the Broncos kept the Browns from reaching their pinnacle on more than one occasion. Now Cleveland’s back and dumping all of their city’s garbage on Denver.
Record: 6-10 because they won’t stop the run in a division where at least two of the running backs are annual locks for the Pro Bowl. (One other thing to keep in mind too: as close as Mike Shanahan and the Denver owner may be, this season HAS to be a statement season for Shanahan. He has never done anything significant in his career without John Elway. He’ll have to show the world that he’s the genius that NFL “experts” made him out to be, and not Elway’s jock rider.)

Kansas City – Offense has never been much of a problem with this team. Since Dick Vermeil has been in Kansas City, they’ve posted some huge offensive numbers despite their best offensive player, Tony Gonzalez, having a mid-life crisis and wanting to play in the NBA, Priest Holmes being injured, Larry Johnson crying like a beeeeeotch, and not having a real dominant threat at wide receiver. All of those things will be back in tact this season.
The one thing that KC has never really been able to do is stop the other team from scoring. Former KC head coach and current Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham will NOT have that problem to worry about any more. Ryan Sims will break out of his career long slump and blossom into the man-beast that he is. Before, he probably worried too much about being exposed because he didn’t really have anyone behind him. Now he can take more chances because the Chiefs used their first pick to draft MLB Derrick Johnson out of Texas. Ladies & gentlemen, this is another “you heard it here first”. This guy will be a MONSTER in the middle. He’s 6’3” and 234 lbs. with great sideline to sideline speed. The Chiefs have him to go along with Shaun Barber (who carried that defense last season), and they also brought in Kendrell Bell from Pittsburgh. Bell has the potential to be a Kevin Greene type backer, but he has to stay healthy. At the safety position, Jerome Woods is already a pro-bowl caliber safety, and the Chiefs have now brought in veteran safety Sammy Knight to play alongside him. They’ve also freed up some cap room so they can make a serious push for Ty Law, and all signs point to Law being in Kansas City for the ’05-’06 season.
One facet of the NFL that’s often overlooked and underrated is special teams. This year, the Chiefs will have one of the best special teams units in the league. Dante Hall will still be there giving his offense a short field to work on. And KC drafted punter Dustin Colquitt from Tennessee. Colquitt’s punting is flawless. I watched him for four years at Tennessee and he probably had one bad kick during his tenure. He will pin opposing offenses inside the 20 every time he steps onto the field. If this KC defense does indeed live up to its billing, some of that credit is going to have to go to Dustin Colquitt.
With all that being said, KC makes a strong push to win the division, but it will go down to the wire.
Record: 10-6. They’ll be a solid well-coached football team, who won’t slip like they did last year. And I didn’t mention him in the analysis, but Trent Green MUST stay healthy. 8-8 if they lose a key component.

Oakland Raiders - Don't be surprised if Kerry Collins ends up looking like Dan Marino this year. He has the best deep threat in the NFL at his disposal in Randy Moss. He has a receiver who's on the verge of becoming a superstar in Jerry Porter, and he has a good young receiver in Ronald Curry. He can't go wrong. If his offensive line can protect him, Collins will be a lock for the Pro Bowl. Jerry Porter will also put up big numbers in this offense as Moss will be faced will several double teams per game, which will leave Porter one on one most of the time.
Another beneficiary of Moss's presence will be running back LaMont Jordan. Any time Randy Moss is on the field, you'd be an idiot to stack 8 men in the box. So Jordan will be able to breathe a little easier with that kind of threat on the perimeters.
The defense added by subtracting when they shipped Philip Buchanan to Houston. They used their first two picks to draft two corners to possibly replace him. Warren Sapp will still anchor the defensive line, but to help him out, they brought in pass rush specialist Derrick Burgess from Philly. Their linebackers are young, and will be fair to middling at best. Their defenseive backfield will be led, once again, by Heisman trophy winner Charles Woodson.
To make a long story short, I think the Raiders will seriously contend for the AFC West this year. Both the Chiefs and Raiders will have extremely explosive offense. However, I think Kansas City's defense (on paper, at least) matches up better against Oakland's offense rather than vice versa. The rights to this division will go down to the wire.
Record: 9-7 either way

San Diego Chargers - Last year was a dream season for the Chargers. Drew Brees was a man on fire. You'd be surprised what competition will force you to do. LaDanian Tomlinson did his usual thing, and Antonio Gates emerged as maybe a top 3 tight ends in the league (along with Tony Gonzalez and Alge Crumpler). This team looks good, but if history has taught us anything, it taught us that Marty Schottenheimer's teams usually max out at this point. Remember all of those great teams in Kansas City with Derrick Thomas (God Bless Your Soul..ROLL TIDE!!! ), Neil Smith, Marcus Allen, Christian Okoye, Steve DeBerg, Joe Montana, J.J. Birden, and they still never got deep into the playoffs.
San Diego will be the most under achieving team in the league this season. They will have all of the tools to go deep into the playoffs, but they won't make it. Tomlinson will rush for 1,300 yards and receive for 500. Gates will have 75 catches. But the team will not make it to the playoffs.
There are some good things to look at from this team though. They drafted a wide receiver from N. Colorado by the name of Vincent Jackson. This kid is 6'5" 241lbs.!!! He's gonna be a MONSTER on the perimeter.
On defense, they used their first round pick to choose Shawn Merriman from Maryland, but I just don't think he's exactly gonna be Junior Seau (hell, who is?!?!), but he'll be a solid NFL linebacker.
Again, to make a long story short, this team will be in several close games, but they won't make the playoffs.
Record: 7-9 either way.

So that's it for the AFC West as well as the AFC. Let's recap this division first. KC and Oakland will go down to the wire for the division championship. Denver will self-destruct because of the inability to stop the run, and San Diego will underachieve.

Now let's review what I've picked for the AFC Playoff lineup for this season.
1. Indianapolis (NFC South Champ); 2. Baltimore (AFC North Champs); 3. NY Jets (AFC East Champs) 4. Oakland/KC (AFC West Champs) 5. Cincinnati (Wildcard) 6. Houston (Wildcard)
AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year: Braylon Edwards / Ronnie Brown (co-recipients)
AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year: David Pollack
AFC Offensive Player of the Year: Peyton Manning
AFC Defensive Player of the Year: Ray Lewis
AFC Coach of the Year: Tony Dungy
AFC Most Improved Player: LaMont Jordan

So that's it for today. I'll be back with the NFC East on tomorrow.

NFL '05-'06 Predictions (AFC South)

And today we break down the AFC South; a division that has been, and should be again, an extremely competitive one. This division has the best collection of proven and potential super stardom at the all-important QB position. Last year Indianapolis almost ran away with the division, but two young surprising teams in Houston and Jacksonville remained a thorn in their sides the whole season. With Steve McNair being hurt most of the season, the Titans had to rely on first year starter at tailback, Chris Brown, who stayed injured almost as much as McNair, but was effective whenever he was there. The NFL isn’t used to seeing the Titans in such a sub par position. But that was last year. Now it’s time to discuss the ’05-’06 season.

Houston Texans – Dom Capers is a hell of a coach. Back in the late 90’s he took the expansion Carolina Panthers to the NFC championship only to be dismissed in favor of former 49er coach George Seifert a couple of years later. Now he’s taken the expansion Texans and made them serious threats for playoff contention. Leading the way on the field is future all-pro David Carr. Coming out of college he got a lot of fan fare. Over the last two years, he has lived up to the hype by being a consistent and tough QB. Two years ago, his rookie season, he was sacked more times than any other QB in the league. Last year, his O-line improved and he made the necessary adjustments to get rid of the ball quicker, and he looked like an all-pro QB. In the process, he made the city of Houston fall in love with him. Now with the pressure of carrying a franchise to the next level, if Carr can pull it off, he will be revered in the city like Warren Moon.
Andre Johnson was a man among boys at the wide receiver position. I look for him to be a modern day version of Ernest Givens (that’s for all you Houston Oilers’ fans). If Jabar Gaffney could ever stay healthy, he would help the wide receiving corps a great deal.
Running back Dominick Davis is another one that needs to remain healthy if Houston has any chance at all winning. Davis turned head two years ago when he stepped in to replace an injured Stacy Mack . Since then, Davis hasn’t really been 100% healthy. However, if the Texans plan on making that next step, he will have to be.
On defense, the Texans are solid up front. They play with a bunch of no-names that make big plays. They added a possible impact player when they drafted DT Travis Johnson from Florida St. He should make splashes in 2-3 seasons. One big hole that they had to fill right away, though, was the void that was left when All-Pro linebacker Jamie Sharper signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the off-season. For that, they brought in Marlon Greenwood from Miami. He and Sharper are cut from the same cloth, so the Texans shouldn’t take a step backward.
They have no questions at at least one corner, however. Last season, (then) rookie cornerback Daunte Robinson made his mark as the next great shut down corner in the league. He’ll be matched up against the opposing team’s best receiver, and will be looking to make them null & void. They lost Aaron Glenn to free agency, but the brought in Lewis Sanders from Cleveland and drafted two more corners.
Whatever the case, if Houston is going to take that next step, it all rests on the shoulders of David Carr. That offensive line will have to protect him and Dominick Davis will have to give him some run support to keep opposing defenses honest, but ultimately, this team’s success will be determined by David Carr’s play. If he goes down, that’s it for them. You can go ahead and write it off until next season.
Record: 9-7 if Carr is healthy……3-13 if he’s not.

Indianapolis Colts – I’ll go ahead and put it out there. I’m biased toward this team. So you’ll have to forgive me if any of the following comments sound personal. The Colts are another team that needs to take that next step this season. For all that Peyton Manning accomplished last season with breaking Marino’s record, I guarantee you that he’d give it all back just to beat New England. But Peyton is a gamer. He’ll be back better than ever this season. At his disposal, he’ll have All-world receiver Marvin Harrison and the two men who should give Marvin half of their checks for allowing them to have one-on-one coverage while he’s double and triple teamed, Brandon Stokley and Reggie Wayne. In the backfield, is my main man, All-world running back, Edgerrin James. Edge has made it clear that he wants to stay in Indy. But what did Bill Polian do? He gave all of his money to Brandon Stokley. He did that because Manning and Stokley are friends back from their high school days. Manning is the one who asked management to pick him up out of free agency. So all James has done is gain 1500 yards each of his first two years in the league, bounce back from a normally career-ending injury only to gain 1200 yards the season after that, and protect Manning from blitzing linebackers by blocking and releasing into the flats and becoming a receiving threat. What more do you want? Hasn’t this man earned that money? Pay him what he’s worth already!!! Manning has said that they could take money from HIM to pay Edgerrin, because he wants him there. But Colts’ management won’t budge. This isn’t unforeseen. Jerry Rice took a serious pay cut during the ‘94-‘95 season in order for the 49ers to sign Deion Sanders. AND THEY ENDED UP WINNING THE SUPER BOWL!!!!
But enough about contract disputes. Let’s talk football. Nothing needs to be said about the Colts offense. It speaks for itself. With the exception of Teddy Rupskin (NOT Bill Belicek), nobody can stop it. Some notable offseason moves, though, include the departure of oft-injured TE Marcus Pollard who bolted for Detroit along with LG Rick DeMulling. Also, trying to cover their own asses, the Colts drafted RB Anthony Davis from Wisconsin.
Defense, however, is where the Colts get criticized a lot though. This is ironic seeing as how Tony Dungy’s staple has been defense over the years. They went almost totally for defense in the draft, bringing in 6’ corner Marlin Jackson from Michigan along with another corner, a free safety, and two defensive ends. But there will still be skeptics as to why the Colts STILL won’t be better on defense. So here’s some food for thought:
1) The Colts’ offense scores TONS of points, so the defense has everything it needs: a decent secondary (which they upgraded in the draft, by the way) to stop the teams who desperately try to keep pace with Peyton & Co. and two excellent pass rushing defensive ends in Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.
2) The Colts’ offense scores TONS of points….quickly. So the defense will often go out there fatigued. They’ve just gotten off the field, and while they’re jubilant that their offense has produced points, they have to hang their heads that they did it so quickly and didn’t give them a chance to catch their collective breath.
3) Finally, the Colts’ offense scores a TON of points….frequently. So opposing coaches’ game plans are almost always the same: run the football, eat up clock, and keep that offense off the field. This is another reason why the defense is always so fatigued. If they see this same strategy week after week, their bodies will start to wear down in the latter part of the season.
Either way, if Manning stays healthy, which I’m sure he will, the Colts will win the divison.
Record: 14-2 Best case scenario….11-5 Worst case scenario

Jacksonville Jaguars – Jack Del Rio made his mark as an NFL coach last season, and Byron Leftwich was brilliant. The Jags won a lot of close games, and for the first time in forever, Fred Taylor was healthy. There’s an old saying that “you have to be a good team in order to win the close games.” Well, Jacksonville won too many close games, which leads me to believe that last season was a fluke. Even though they didn’t make the playoffs, they made a lot of noise.
Well Jack Del Rio knows that a solid defense will get him where he wants to be. So he went out and beefed up his defensive line. He brought in DT Tony Williams from Cincinnati, DE Reggie Hayward from Denver, and DE Marcellus Wiley from Dallas. And after re-signing LB Akin Ayodele, he went out and brought in LB Nate Wayne from Philly.
Del Rio looked like a genius until draft day came. They used their first pick to draft QB/WR/TE Matt Jones from Arkansas. Now being in Alabama, I watched Jones torture us and other SEC schools for the past 3 years. (He was also a decent basketball player). He’s 6’6” and 240lbs. And the Jags want to use him at receiver because he consistently ran sub 4.4 40’s at the combines. The only problem is that Matt is “deceptively” fast. More like Randall Cunningham circa 1989 rather than Darrell Green around the same time. He uses his long legs to take very long strides. This means that if he’s in the open field he could do some damage. But anything 10 yards or shorter will be a disaster. Then if they use him at TE, he’s not physical enough to tangle with NFL linebackers in the run blocking game. No need to use him at QB because you already have a franchise player in Byron Leftwich. So if this all works out for the Jags, they’ll look like Bill Walsh in his prime. But if not…
Record: 8-8 either way. Best case or worst case. They’re no better than a .500 team.

Tennessee Titans – This season is going to be extremely painful to watch if you’re a Titans fan. With Steve McNair contemplating retirement, and damn near EVERYBODY on the roster gone, this is the price that you pay for success (see San Francisco and Dallas). McNair will be back, as will be his formidable backup Billy Volek. Chris Brown will be starting in the backfield once again, but just look at what they’ve lost. WR Eddie Berlin (Chicago), DE Kevin Carter (Miami), CB Andre Dyson (Seattle), DE Carlos Hall (KC), FB Robert Holcombe (Free Agent), OT Matt Martin (Tampa Bay), WR Derrick Mason (Baltimore), TE Shad Meier (New Orleans), OT Fred Miller (Chicago), K Joe Nedney (Free Agent), CB Samari Rolle (Baltimore….damn Baltimore’s gonna be good), and RB Antoine Smith (New Orleans).
Jeff Fisher’s trying his best to hold this ship together but it’s sinking fast. They brought in Pac Man Jones to replace Samari Rolle, but that’s about all they’ve done. They drafted 3 good college receivers, a tight end, another cornerback, 3 offensive tackles, a running back, and a free safety.
And the ONE move that they’ve made in free agency? They signed kicker Ola Kimrin from the Redskins. Titans’ fans, you have my deepest sympathies.
Record: 7-9 VERY best case scenario (i.e. McNair staying healthy) … 3-13 if all goes as planned.

So that’s it for the AFC South. Let’s recap: Indy will win it. Houston will compete. Jacksonville is a HUGE question mark and Tennesseee…whew. So we’ll be back tomorrow to wrap up the AFC when we go out west to talk about Randy Moss’s new home, QB controversies in San Diego, a new emphasis on defense in KC, and a LOADED backfield in Denver.

NFL '05-'06 Predictions (AFC North)

Made a big mistake yesterday. I meant to say the '05-'06 Predictions and not the '04-'05 predictions. But here it is in all its glory, the preview of the AFC North, one of the hardest divisions to predict.

Baltimore Ravens - I can’t say enough about this squad. I love their defense. I’m a huge Ray Lewis fan, and I’m glad to see how far he’s evolved since that terrible tragedy five years ago. Some people still hold it over his head, but the truth of the matter is that he was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. And in our country that’s what matters. If Ray is indeed guilty of the charges, then he’ll meet his judgment in due time. But as for now, I and the rest of the world can watch him wreak havoc on the football field. Now he has a certified star playing behind him in Ed Reed, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year. Terrell Suggs started to come into his own toward the end of last season, becoming a better cover linebacker and honing his skills as a pass rusher. The only bad news about this unit is that they just released Peter Boulware. It’s gonna be hard to replace that kind of talent & experience. But they did try. They drafted DE Dan Cody from Oklahoma. This is the guy that passed out during the little huddling & jumping around just before kickoff. Then, he went in on the first play of the game, got a sack, caused a fumble, and passed out again while he was celebrating. That sounds awfully dangerous, and he apparently has some neurological problems, but if he can get that worked out, they’ll have two excellent pass rushers on either side, a MAN in the middle, and a set of DB’s that make you want to tuck & run every time.
Offensively, the Ravens have upgraded. Jamal Lewis is in jail right now, but he’ll be ready for the season. He’ll have a little rust that he’ll have to work off, and until then Kyle Boller, who I’m STILL not sold on at all, will have to carry the load. Brian Billick did him a favor by signing Derrick Mason in the off-season. They also drafted a receiver out of Oklahoma in Mark Clayton. I always thought Clayton was THE top receiver in the country because of what he could do after he caught the ball. Remember how Barry Sanders wasn’t necessarily fast, but he could shake a defender out of his draws? (yeah I said draws. Not drawers). Well that multiplied by 4 is Mark Clayton. If Boller can find a way to get the ball to Mason and Clayton and allow them to get the ball up the field, then Jamal Lewis’s transition should be a smooth one. Also, Todd Heap needs to stay healthy. When Shannon Sharpe retired, he anointed him and Tony Gonzalez as the two men to carry the torch for Tight Ends for the next 10 years. You can’t do it from the training room Todd. Billick did himself a favor too in drafting QB Derek Anderson from Oregon State. I watched him play in the game early this past season where they (OSU) should’ve beaten LSU. He looked good. Really good. And there’s something to say about QB’s who aren’t a product of a system (i.e. Andre Ware at Houston or the countless Florida QB’s who amount to zilch in the league). And Anderson fits that bill. If Boller stinks up the place, I know Billick will have no bones about putting Anderson in to clean up his mess.
So Baltimore’s defense will keep them in every game, but their offense is gonna have to earn their paychecks at some point. Either way, I think this team wins the division.
Record: 12-4 if Boller (or his backup) plays well. 9-7 if he doesn’t

Cincinnati Bengals – This team is about two years away from being as good as the Boomer Esiason Bengals were. Just for this team being in playoff contention, Marvin Lewis should be considered for Coach of the Year every season. Last year, Chad Johnson showed me something when he torched Champ Bailey on Monday Night Football. He talked it and he came in and put up big numbers. Not only that, but the man drives an old school pink Buick. Damn the Escalades and Bentleys. Chad Johnson has moved into my top 5 list of favorite NFL players. Rudi Johnson did well as a backup to Corey Dillon, but when he was called upon to carry the load, he had trouble. Let’s not forget about running back Chris Perry from Michigan who two years ago was a leading Heisman candidate. He got hurt early last season, but if he can stay healthy, that should be a great shot in the arm for this offense, while giving Rudi Johnson the rest he needs. One more thing to keep in mind: Rudi was hit with the franchise player tag this summer, which means that he’s only signed for THIS season. He claims he wants BIG money, and I applaud the Bengals for not giving it to him. He’s no Shaun Alexander or Edgerrin James. Hell, he’s not DeShaun Foster!!! So I look for him to do either of two things. One: where he goes out and earns that big payday that he’s asking for or two: he pouts like a b*tch and ends up getting his spot taken by Perry.
On defense, everything was already solid. All they needed was an impact player. And ladies & gentlemen, let me be the first to say, they just got one. Please believe the hype. David Pollack is as good as advertised. To be so small he is a BEAST coming off of the corner. Look for him this season. He can be found on the back of your favorite quarterback’s uniform. It’s that serious. You heard it here first. Think of a smaller, white Charles Haley. He has a motor that doesn’t stop.
And I haven’t even mentioned Carson Palmer yet. He looked awful early in the season, and he cost the team a few games. Marvin Lewis was immediately emasculated for having him as the starter over John Kitna, but as the season progressed, Palmer found his way, and things started to happen. If he can be consistent and serviceable this season, look for the Bengals to be…..brace yourself….IN THE PLAYOFFS.
Record: 9-7 if Palmer plays well. 6-10 if he doesn’t.


Pittsburgh Steelers – After last year’s almost dream season, how can they top that? Big Ben stepped in the place of Tommy Maddox and won a starting spot, Rookie of the Year, a trip to the Super Bowl, and the hearts of Pittsburgh faithful. I think teams will be more prepared for him this season, and the deciding factor will be how well he’s able to handle the pressure; the same pressure that Eli Manning faced last year. Nothing was expected of Ben and he took full advantage of it. Now he has to face all the pressure of being anointed as the next Marino without his favorite target, Plaxico Burress, who left Pittsburgh to become Eli Manning’s favorite target in New York (Damn. Irony is just WASTED on some things). Hines Ward is back, as is Antwan Randal-El, and they drafted Fred Gibson from Georgia (think Hines had something to do with that?). While he’s not as tall as Burress, he’s the same player. Tall, dangly, good hands, and a nice vertical. Unlike Plaxico, though, he runs nice routes, which should help Ben adjust to being the next big thing. Also, pitching in to support Ben with his efforts are Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. Both are back and should be plenty healthy to start out the season.
On defense, everything is pretty much still in tact except for the loss of Kendrell Bell to the Chiefs. Thing is, though, he stayed hurt for most of the time after his stellar rookie season, so they won’t miss him that much.
Record: 10-6 if Ben is Ben….8-8 if he buckles under the pressure

Cleveland Browns – Cleveland..Teddy Rupskin. Teddy…Cleveland. Welcome to Cleveland Romeo Crenell (the human embodiment of Teddy Rupskin). I actually thought that this team would make some waves this year, but with Kellen Winslow being an idiot, those chances just may have been shortened. The Browns have Kelly Holcombe at QB who can’t seem to get a break. He was Tim Couch’s backup and he put up better numbers than Couch. He was Jeff Garcia’s backup and in two games last year, he put up better numbers than Garcia. So I guess you can say he’s earned that spot. With their first pick in the draft, they took Braylon Edwards (who, in my mind, was the best player PERIOD coming out). I really wanted to see if his and Kellen’s egos butted heads or meshed to gel the perfect unit. Either way, Holcombe will still have targets, although Winslow (for the second straight season) won’t be one. Antonio Bryant will be opposite Braylon Edwards. Bryant won the Belitnikoff trophy (nation’s top college receiver) TWICE, and this will only be his third season in the league. So his legs are still fresh. The biggest problem with the Brown’s offense will be that they have no threat in the middle of the field (where Winslow could’ve helped greatly). Their backfield will be serviceable but not great.
Defense…well..let’s just say that they should be glad that Teddy is their coach. Hopefully
he can have the same impact on the Browns that Marvin Lewis has had on the Bengals.
One positive thing for them to look forward to in the future however, is QB Charlie Frye out of Akron. He’s another good QB who isn’t a product of a system. Either way, the Browns finish dead last in the division.
Record: 8-8 if everything goes well and they get a couple of bounces..5-11 if they are the Browns

NFL '04-'05 Predictions (AFC East)

New England Patriots - The big question is can they do it again? The answer is simple, but I'll give my reasons for my answer before actually giving the answer. When the Patriots won the Super Bowl against the Rams four years back, they had several players on their team who had been to the Super Bowl five years earlier under Bill Parcells. That was having Super Bowl experience. Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Drew Bledsoe, Willie McGinest, Ted Johnson, etc. Of those names that I just threw out, none of them (except one) are on the team anymore. Law will probably end up in Kansas City, and he went down with an injury against Pittsburgh early last season and was replaced by younger CB's by committee. Milloy got sh*tted on the season after they won the first Super Bowl, and was replaced with Rodney Harrison. Bledsoe was replaced by everybody's "golden boy" Tom Brady. McGinest is still there, and Ted Johnson was there for the second time around, but eventually ended up being replaced by Teddy Bruschi.
So the question now becomes, can't they just keep replacing people since it seems like it always still works out for them? And the answer to that and the previous question is a resounding NO!! I'd be surprised if the Pats even make the playoffs. Charlie Weiss was the mastermind behind Brady's success. The game against Miami on Monday night football this year was a taste of what you'll see with Weiss gone. It seems like he allowed Brady to call that game on his own, because he'd just been hired as the Notre Dame come a week before. Also gone is Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crenell (the human embodiment of Teddy Rupskin. He looks like a big black dude with a deep voice, but just listen to him talk. He smiles all the time, talks with a lisp, and really puts you in the mind of every 80's child's favorite friend, Teddy Rupskin). Romeo had 3 guys on the field that he trusted with his schemes. McGinest on the D-Line (he's getting old), Teddy Bruschi in the LB corp (his career is quite possibly over. He suffered a stroke this winter that left his hospitalized for weeks), and Rodney Harrison with the DB's. They've lost too much, and they won't win the Super Bowl again...any time soon.
Record: 9-7

Buffalo Bills
This team is funny. They haven't played up to their potential since a 31-0 drubbing of the Patriots the first game of the season two years ago. Every year they go out and draft the same kind of receiver. A short speedy slot-type receiver. Two years ago, it was Josh Reed from LSU. Last year, it was Lee Evans from Wisconsin. This year, Roscoe Parrish from Miami. All of these receivers are 5'10" or shorter, and all weigh under 200 lbs. One staple the whole time though, has been Eric Moulds. He's been carrying the offensive load for some time. Last year, though, he got some help from Willis McGahee. If Buffalo resolves to hand the ball off 20-30 times a game, they WILL make the playoffs this year. Not only will McGahee's success help the team, but it will help the confidence of first year starter JP Losman who was drafted last year to replace Drew Bledsoe, but suffered a broken leg in the preseason.
The defense is there, always has been. With Takeo Spikes achoring them, they will be solid once again.
Record: 9-7 if they're smart. 5-11 if they're not.

New York Jets
One can't say enough about Herman Edwards. He is the type of coach I would love to play for. Chad Pennington is a good quarterback who could be on the brink of greatness. Brady had to win 3 before they "all but PUT" him down as a first ballot hall of famer, but the brutal reality of the situation is that all Pennington has to win is ONE before they make him the second coming of Joe Namath, simply because he's in NY. Those chances just got better this year with the return of Laverneous Cole. They have a great chemistry and are good friends off the field (that's often under rated). As a huge Curtis Martin fan, I hope he still has enough in the tank to have a season like he had last year. He put up HUGE numbers, but he lost his backup in Lamont Jordan, who bolted for Oakland for guaranteed playing time. The Jets organization helped him out though, when they drafted Cedric Houston from Tennessee. Being in Alabama, I got to see a lot of Cedric, and he's a carbon copy of Curtis. So if he comes in and is able to give Curtis some relief, the Jets will be okay.
Their defense will be SOLID for years to come. Jonathan Vilma is a GROWN ASS MAN over there at the Middle Linebacker spot. And as far as special teams are concerned, there's no more uncertainty at the kicker spot. They went out and drafted Mike Nugent from Ohio State. He was as close as you can be to perfect during his career at OSU.
Record: 11-5

Miami Dolphins
This season will be a surprise to a lot of people for the Dolphins. They are going to win more games than they are "supposed" to. Nick Saban isn't a stupid coach. He knows where his strengths are. Ronnie Brown will be a front runner for Rookie of the Year through week 8, but at that time, the rest of the league will realize that the Dolphins don't have a QB, and they'll stack 8 in the box to stop the run. At THAT point, AJ Feely? Gus Frerotte? Sage Rosenfeels? Get the f*ck outta here!!!
The defense with Jason Taylor, Junior Seau, and Zach Thomas and the offensive bulk that Ronnie Brown will carry will only take them so far. The absence at QB will be the killer. The truly sad part about it is that the Dolphins have some SERIOUS weapons at receiver. Chris Chambers is a poor man's Randy Moss. Marty Booker is good for 8 catches a game, and Randy McMichael is a wide receiver trapped in a Tight End's body (i.e. Ozzie Newsome).
So Coach Saban, whenever you get a QB, we'll be picking you to win Super Bowls. But until then...
Record: 9-7 if they get a lucky bounce or two ; 8-8 if not.

So that's the AFC East. The Jets will win the division and the Pats will fall from grace. Miami will start making their way back up to the top, and there's a huge question mark hanging over Buffalo.
Tomorrow, the hardest division in the NFL to pick, the AFC North: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

The NFL Draft Revisited

Several teams did a lot to help themselves out in this year's NFL draft. I'll tackle them as they come to mind.

• The Denver Broncos took Maurice Clarett with the last pick of the 3rd round of the NFL draft. Mike Shanahan knows how to make a RB look good. Their system produces Pro Bowl backs every year. Clarett got bad reviews on all of his pro day performances. This is the thing: Playing football has NOTHING to do with all of the crap that they have them doing. Clarett will be a GOOD football player for many years in the NFL.
• I think my NINERS are gonna have to show me a lot more. I appreciate them drafting Frank Gore,and I hope he can overcome his learning disabilities and help this franchise turn around its fortune.
• I'm gonna stick to my guns and say what I said at the end of last season. Detroit is going to the SuperBowl. If you can't get it done with the three top receivers out of college in the last three years (all over 6'4" with amazing leaping ability) and a solid running game (Kevin Jones), a QB who knows the system so well that he went to 3 pro bowls in it (Jeff Garcia), and another QB who's been improving in the system for the past 3 years (Joey Harrington) then something is TERRIBLY wrong.
  I like what Baltimore did (I always like what they do in the draft). I'm glad that they got a QB to sit Kyle Boller down. Derek Anderson is a lot better than people are making him out to be. In fact, the top QB's taken will bust. (Hopefully not Alex Smith since he's on my team). But guys like Kyle Orton of Purdue and the big kid from UConn are gonna really turn heads in the league.
• I hate that Adrian McPherson went to New Orleans. That's the absolute WORST place for a kid to be when he's trying to turn things around. The city is full of temptations and the organization is NOT committed to winning. Oh they compete. But they're not making the right moves to seriously compete.
• Chicago did a great job in the draft. Benson will be a great back there, but people tend to forget that Thomas Jones had an outstanding job last year, and Anthony Thomas did a good job in relief. Should be interesting to see how that works out.
• Cleveland drafted QB Charlie Frye from Akron, and he is another QB who's gonna be an excellent NFL player that didn't get picked very high. He has some players around him. They just got Braylon Edwards, Kellen Winslow II is there (don't know if Cleveland's big enough for both of their egos), and they have Antonio Bryant who was Larry Fitzgerald before Larry Fitzgerald. They came from the same system (Pitt Panthers), and Bryant won the Bilitnekoff (sp?) award two years in a row (nation's top receiver). He got shipped out of Dallas because he wouldn't let Parcells run him in the ground. He's gonna be great in Cleveland if somebody can get him the ball.

I forgot who else I wanted to break down, but I'll get to it at some point or the other.

Peace & Blessings,

William

Remembering Johnnie

Johnnie Cochran died yesterday. It really threw me off. It was totaly unexpected. This loss to us will be like the loss of Johnny CARSON to mainstream America. While he became famous for getting Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Tupac, and, most notably, OJ Simpson off on cases where they all clearly should've been convicted, what a lot of people didn't know is that Cochran got more satisfaction from helping the (as he said it) No J's. In his law office, he had checks framed that he'd won from the LAPD in cases on behalf of African-American families that had been victimized by them for decades. And that's what it's all about: using our talents with which we've been blessed and using them to bless our communities. Hopefully, we can all take something from the life that Brother Cochran lived. Rest in peace, Johnnie.
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Nostalgia is by far the best way to pass time. I did (started on, at least) some Spring cleaning yesterday. I couldn't finish because I kept finding stuff that reminded me of events in my life. Anything from a photo to a t-shirt can make you remember exactly where you were on that day. Nostalgia...there's nothing like it. :-)
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I encourage anyone who has seen a movie that is based on a novel to go and read the novel. The books are always better than the movies, because in the movie, the characters are forced upon you. On the other hand, when you read the book, that powerful tool that is your mind/imagination can create and recreate any character in the way that best fits you.
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If minimum wage would increase every time gas prices did, we'd be alright. Also, since my life expectancy as a Black male in America is decreasing daily according to certain "studies", I'll never see my Social Security money; especially since they keep raising the age you have to be in order to receive it. So if anyone in government can hear me, "Stop taking it out of my check. Give me ME!! And if you'd be so kind, I need to see a check for all the SS that you've taken out of my checks to date"

America's focus misplaced

3/24/05 Random Thought of the Day
Why is America's focus so easily put on the wrong thing. Right now, Congress and the White House are knee deep in talk about Terry Schiavo and steroids in sports. People are dying EVERYDAY in Iraq over some stuff that doesn't even concern us. The woman who accused Pres. Bush of a sexual crime was found strangled to death in her home. (Some of you probably didn't even hear about the accusation, itself). That's just the point. America's turning into a blatant resthaven for selective censorship and an even bigger propoganda machine. We, especially as young Americans, have to start thinking for ourselves, and reading between the lines of all this crap that the popular media feeds us.

3/24/05 Random Thought of the Day #2
Often times, we get caught up in the lives of celebrities. Certain ones we watch fall and enjoy every step of the way down with them. But I want to give kudos to Whitney Houston for checking herself back into rehab. Whatever it takes. Whitney is blessed with something that not many others can lay claim to. No voice class can give you what she has. Her voice was a gift from Heaven. Apparently, Alicia Keyes has written a duet specifically for Whitney & herself that's supposed to be on Alicia's next album. Here's hoping all goes well this time. Whatever it takes.

3/24/05 Quote of the Day
"Slavery is very comfortable, and freedom is where the work is at. Most people prefer slavery." -- KRS-1 (In a 2004 interview with Tavis Smiley)