Stability is needed

The coaching carousel continues at the U. of Pittsburgh. This is hard to fathom, but Pitt may be setting a NCAA Division 1A record for the number of Head Football Coaches it has had in the past 13 months. Let's start with Coach Dave Wannstedt who finished off his stay at Pitt in early December, 2010, then came Coach Mike Haywood who lasted less than 3 weeks. Then Pitt had an interim coach, Coach Phil Bennett(who is now an assistant at Baylor), to coach the Bowl Game last January. Next Pitt hired Coach Todd Graham from Tulsa, who bolted Pitt within 11 months of signing his contract. Now Pitt is going to have Coach Keith Patterson, an assistant to Coach Todd Graham, direct the bowl game in Birmingham, AL on January 7, 2012. And coming up shortly, Pitt will hire another coach to take Pitt into the future. That is 6 Head Coaches in 13 months(of which 2 were interim). With all this going on, the U. of Pittsburgh left the Big East and joined the ACC. I know some of the coaches that the Pitt administration is interviewing, but I have no idea who the Pitt Panthers should hire. I know one thing, the U. of Pittsburgh football program needs stability. The coach that they do hire needs to remain here for some period of time. Is playing at Heinz Field a problem for the program. Many experts say NO and some say Pitt needs its own on campus stadium. The administration really needs to hire the correct coach for this Head Football Coaching Position. They cannot be hasty with this hiring. The Atlantic Coast Conference(ACC)football is no walk in the park so the Pitt Panther Football Program needs to be stabilized.

Look at drafting a Quarterback

Injuries are piling up this season at a rapid rate. When the NFL has a physical 16 game schedule and a 4 game pre-season schedule, numerous injuries are going to occur. Big Ben Roethlisberger is very fortunate that he did not suffer a torn ACL or a broken ankle after a Cleveland Brown defensive player rolled up into his leg area. What a tough guy and a team player Big Ben is, coming back into the game last Thursday after this injury and basically playing on one leg. This is Roethlisberger's 8th NFL season and he will be 30 years old this Spring. There is a lot of gas left in his tank but I think the Steelers should draft a quarterback in the April 2012 NFL draft to be brought along at a nice pace to replace Big Ben down the road(similar to what Green Bay did with Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers). Big Ben would be an excellent teacher for this young QB if he is drafted next April or the April after, but the Steelers need to develop a young QB. Roethlisberger's back up QB's now are Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, and Dennis Dixon. Batch is near retirement and has the potential to be a real good quarterback coach for someone. Former #1 draft pick Byron Leftwich and also Dennis Dixon have the ability to play but have injury histories. Do you spend a #1 draft pick on a quarterback? That is a good question? The Steelers may need to address their offensive line issues at the number 1 slot in April because they have had multiple injuries to their O-Line. Then the next question, can you find a QB later on the draft? I like a quarterback out of Texas A&M named Ryan Tannehill. Does Ryan Tannehill have the ability to be a #1 selection next April. Maybe or maybe not. Tannehill may slip into the mid-rounds especially if Andrew Luck and USC QB Matt Barkley become early entries. The Pittsburgh Steelers draft in the past years under Kevin Colbert have been productive especially in the first and mostly in the second rounds. But in my opinion, the Steelers need to start looking at a young quarterback.

Bring Back NFL Follies

It finally happened, Ndamukong Suh got suspended for 2 games. The NFL headquarters put Suh in his place. He has been out of control for the past 2 seasons. Next should be Buffalo Bills wide out Stevie Johnson. Playing games in the end zone like he has pistols in his belt, falling on the ground like he has been shot, but really just putting on a show. Johnson received a $10,000. fine for his antics last Sunday vs. the NY Jets. If we recall, wasn't he the receiver that just flat out dropped the easy pass in the end zone from Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick against the Steelers that would have won the game in 2010 for the Bills. There are enough good players out there that are high character guys that would love to play in the NFL. The NFL does not need players like Stevie Johnson and Chad Johnson, who has to put on his H.O.F. jacket during a game a few years back for the Bengals. The NFL is a top of the line organization that should not condone this type of behavior. What is wrong with a player being humble? The coaches of each team also need to put their foot down on this nonsense. Remember when Randy Moss squirted water at a referee during a game! When you look back, it seems many of the problems and glorified antics are situated amongst the wide receivers. This is a ridiculous thought, but I would like to see the NFL allow Jerry Jones to spike a football after the Cowboys score a touchdown. Why not, Jerry Jones is down on the field anyways. One final thought: have you ever seen a placekicker run into the goal post area after he has kicked a field goal, retrieve the football, and slam dunk the ball over the crossbar. Never going to occur. He is not a wide receiver. Bring back NFL Follies!

Act Like You Have Been There Before

Every week the NFL is levying fines on a multitude of players. A few weeks back Woodland Hills grad Rob Gronkowski was fined 7500. for spiking the ball too close to a NY Jets defensive back. Earlier in the season, Ravens OC Matt Birk was fined 5000. for removing his microphone because it was bothering him. The NFL reversed the fine after an appeal by his agent. Steelers safety Ryan Clark got nailed for a 40000 fine on a helmet to helmet hit vs. the Ravens. These fines are getting ridiculous. But there is a reality check here. Football used to be a contact sport but now it is a collision sport. Players get paid to make plays. Injuries are a major part of the game. Is the League attempting to cut back on the injuries? Yes but Players are going to get injured in football. There is no way around it. When you have 22 players flying around the field at high rates of speed and aggression, people are going to get hurt. Leading with the helmet by a defensive player seems to stir up the most controversy and potential injury and therefore these defensive players are being levied the most fines. But what about running backs who lead with a helmet. No fines are levied against running backs. I am all for ELIMINATING the fines or just get rid of the facemask. But if you get rid of the facemask, then the players faces will be chewed up and damaged. So what is the answer? Rather than fine players, give the players a series of warnings followed by SUSPENSION without pay if they do not adhere to the warnings. Lions DT Ndamukong Suh has been out of control the past 2 seasons. Roger Goddell has even called him into the NFL headquarters to discuss his style of play. What he did on Thanksgiving day was ridiculous by stomping on a Packer offensive linemen after pushing his helmet into the ground multiple times. Just suspend Suh for a series a of games without pay. If he does not stop his over-aggressive antics, then suspend Suh for the season without pay. Suspension will make it stop. Are the NFL football fans going to games to see Rob Gronkowski spike the football or are they going to see Rob Gronkowski make catches, run after the catch, and score points. Are the fans of the NFL going to N.O. Saints games to watch TE Jimmy Graham catch, run, and score or are they going to see Jimmy Graham dunk a football over the crossbar, pull the crossbar out of position, and then subsequently see the game delayed to repair the crossbar. The players need to" Act Like They Have Been There Before "when they score a Touchdown. I am tired of seeing wide receivers like former NFL player Terrell Owens do his mime routine after he scores or do a dance routine in the endzone. Who cares? Play the game like it is supposed to be played.

Tidbits

If I would have told you around the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day 2010 that these 5 universities would have new football coaches on Thanksgiving Day 2011, would you have believed me? The universities are Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, West Virginia, and Pitt and most likely you would probably have laughed at me in dis-belief. If I also would have told you last Thanksgiving 2010 that the Indianapolis Colts would be 0 and 10 and the San Francisco 49ers would be 9 and 1 during Thanksgiving week of 2011, would you have believed me? If I also would have explained to you on Turkey Day 2010 that the U. of Pittsburgh and Syracuse University would join the A.C.C. and West Virginia University would be joining the Big 12, would you have believed me?..........A new trend may be starting:coaches coming out of the booth to get back into the coaching circles. After a 10 year hiatus, Coach Bob Davie(Moon Township native and former Notre Dame Head Coach)accepts the U. of New Mexico position and with a short lived position at CBS Sports, Coach Rich Rodriquez takes the U. of Arizona position. Skeptics think RichRod should have never left West Virginia for U of Michigan but let's see what RichRod can do with the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac 10. Who is going to be next to come out of the booth?

T-bow

Everybody around the NFL circles are talking about Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow(former Florida Gators QB). The Broncos have won 4 out of the last 5 games with Tebow at the helm. But the nationwide media is giving Tim Tebow a tremendous amount of credit for this run by the Broncos. Tebow deserves the recognition but lets give credit to some other areas of the Denver Broncos team. Lets talk about the Broncos defense. In these 4 victories in the past 5 contests, the turnover ratio is a Plus 4 for the Broncos. Their defense is shutting teams down, especially the last 2 games vs. the Chiefs and the Jets(many teams can do this). Then on the offensive side, the Broncos are running the football. John Fox and the Broncos offensive staff have utilized Tim Tebow's talents and that is running a different style of offense not used much in the NFL. It is the spread option. Tim Tebow is running the ball out of this offensive scheme and it is working. In these 4 Bronco victories, Tebow has passed for a pathetic 458 yards(about 115 yards per game)and in the Chiefs game, Tebow only completed 2 passes, one shy of an all time low record held by Chargers Ryan Leaf. Flip the page and Tebow has rushed himself for 388 yards in these 4 games(just a shade under 100 yards per game). Since Tebow has been a starter, the Broncos are 4 and 1. They had a bad game vs Detroit losing 45 to 10 is this 5 game sequence. Against the Lions, the Broncos turnover margin was -3. With Tim Tebow at the helm, the Broncos are going to run the football, attempt to take care of the football, and use a sophisticated passing game that matches Tebow's talents. I will repeat myself again, throw to score, run the football to win.

NFL MVP

After 10 weeks of the NFL season with a multitude of unpredictable games the past few weeks, who would be the league's MVP up to this point. I would cast my vote for Green Bay's QB Aaron Rogers. Others to recognize are SF 49ers RB Frank Gore or Houston Texans RB Arian Foster or Detroit Lions WR Calvin Johnson or Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. In my estimation the real Most Valuable Player is the National Football League this 2011 season should be Peyton Manning. How can I say this, Peyton Manning is not even playing. I am making this statement on the mere fact that the Indianapolis Colts are 0 and 10, have a legit shot at going 0 and 16, and basically cannot score points. Early in the season, the Colts battled the Steelers in a close contest. But since then, the Colts have gone in the tank. With Peyton Manning at the helm, the Colts are a totally different team. Their offense under Manning can be explosive and his TE Dallas Clark at times was one of the NFL's leading receivers. Dallas Clark is non-existent this 2011 season. The Colts used to run the football well. The Colts defense is constantly on the field. They had a shot to win yesterday vs. the Jaguars but only had a field goal. They may be the NFL's next 0 and 16 team. It is either going to be Peyton Manning or Andrew Luck next year at the the Colt's helm.

Huge Game

The football game tomorrow is a very large game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are tied atop the AFC North at 6 and 2 but the Ravens are 2 and 0 in the Division while the Bengals are 1 and 0. Whereas the Steelers are 6 and 3 overall but 0 and 2 in the Division. This game on Sunday November 13th is a MUST win for the Steelers. If the Steelers go down to defeat to the Bengals, they will drop to 0 and 3 in the AFC North and 6 and 4 overall. At 0 and 3 in the division, there chances are slim and none to win the division. The Steelers would virtually have to win out or proceed to go 5 and 1 their last 6 games to get a shot at a wild card. If the Pittsburgh Steelers win tomorrow, they will be 1 and 2 in the Division, 7 and 3 overall, and must continue to win to shoot for a lock at a wild card slot. Now it would depend what the Baltimore Ravens do the rest of the way. In the National Football League, there are no sure fire wins anymore. Miami goes into Kansas City and pounds them last week. The NY Giants go to New England and beat them. The Ravens and Joe Flacco have to drive 92 yards at the end of this contest to beat the Steelers at Heinz Field. With a 16 game schedule, injuries all over the place in the NFL, another upset waiting to happen, a holding call to damage a drive or a kick return, in other words, nothing surprises me anymore in the National Football League. The Bengals game tomorrow is a large game.

Too early for hoops

It is hard to believe, but NCAA Division 1 basketball is commencing already. It is only November 8 and today was like a summer day and basketball is starting . I know practice by NCAA rules was allowed to begin until 12:01 AM October 15th. No problem, but I would rather have practice begin on either November 1 or November 15th. My rationale is that the men's and women's basketball players are supposed to be student-athletes. Now you have an NCAA sport here, basketball, that encompasses 2 semesters, the Fall and the Spring. Wouldn't it be more feasible for the players involved, to play their first game sometime in December right after final exams are completed. Practicing is OK but travelling can cut into class and study time. Most Division 1 teams are going to play 27 to 30 regular season games. Play these games from December 10th until the Middle of March, then start the NCAA tournament later on in March and finish the tournament near the middle of April. Anyhow Division 1 football is still in full swing so why overlap two sports. Most Division 1 programs complete their regular football season just before final exams. You turn on the television and you can see both football and basketball, plus NHL Hockey, and even some late season Golf. I guess there is a market for it.

Can Penn State go 10 and 2?

Where are all the critique artists about Joe Paterno being too old to coach at Penn State University? Penn States is steadily moving up the polls being close to the Top 15. At 8 and 1 Penn State is putting itself in position to go to a real good bowl game. Now wait a minute! Proponents are saying who have the Nittany Lions beaten. They beat Indiana State, they beat Eastern Michigan, they squeaked by Temple(who is a good team now)and they beat 5 Big Ten opponents. There only loss is to #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. The final 3 games of the regular season will tell the football gurus a lot, but many experts had Penn State going 6 and 6 or 7 and 5. Let's give some credit here to Coach Joe Paterno and his Nittany Lion staff. Lets give some credit to Defensive Co-ordinator Coach Tom Bradley. Can Joe Paterno coach 5 more years? He has surpassed fabled Grambling State U Coach Eddie Robinson 408 victories. If Penn State goes 10 and 2, Joe Paterno may get Coach of the Year honors. Or should Tom Bradley get assistant coach of the year honors. They are 8 and 1 shuffling in-between 2 quarterbacks. Maybe shuffling in 2 quarterbacks is confusing other teams defensive co-ordinators with too much to prepare for. But whatever is it, it is nice to see a coach that will be 85 years old on the first day of winter with a chance to challenge for the Big Ten Title.

Betting on High School Games

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review came out with an interesting article(Sunday October 30, 2011) about Betting on High School Football Games. As WPIAL Executive Director Mr. Tim O'Malley quoted in the Trib as being "borderline ridiculous." I agree with Mr. Tim O'Malley. Sports betting has trickled down to the high school football level. Nothing surprises me anymore. A gambling group called 5Dimes is putting the lines out there on high school football games particularly the ones that have live TV coverage. This has been going on since 1997. And if no one would put a wager on a high school game, then the lines would not be available. There must be a market for this type of wagering. If people will bet the coin toss(heads or tails)at the Super Bowl, then gambling freaks will bet almost anything. My question is, how do they know what line to set for a particular high school football game? Is someone from this 5Dimes doing research on these teams to be able to come up with a spread on these TV games? And down the road, you know someone is going to entice a high school football player to fix a game. When ESPNU is televising high school football games on a weekly basis, then there must be a market for this venue. High School football is popular, but wagering on high school games is very questionable.

Time Out T.O.

T.O. means Time Out. Terrell Owens needs to end his football career. Maybe NFL teams are doing it for him. Owens is going to be 38 years old this December and played 15 seasons in the NFL. On the field, he had a very good career with 153 touchdowns for an average of 10 a season. Fantasy Football Players loved this guy in his prime. But on the sidelines, Owens always expressed his opinion about things and was very vocal about not getting the ball thrown to him. During this past April, 2001, Terrell Owens suffered an ACL tear and had to have surgery. This past week, he and his agent conducted a personal workout to show NFL teams that Terrell Owens was ready for a comeback after the knee surgery. Not one NFL team showed up. I like his fortitude about his desire to play again, but there is a time when you have to give it up. Maybe someone will give him a chance this season or next, but after an ACL tear at his age, it may be remote. Somewhere down the line, Terrell Owens will show up again. It may not be in uniform but Terrell Owens is good copy and you never know, for he may appear on the NFL Network as an analyst. NFL Network hired Deion Sanders, who is actually doing a pretty good job. One of Terrell Owens quotes always stuck in my mind, "The fans love to hate me." I wonder why.

Mid Season Jargon

5 and 2 is a good start for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Big Ben and Mike Wallace have become maybe the best if not the BEST wide receiver-quarterback combination in the entire NFL. Another QB/WR combo that can match the Steelers combo is this week's opponent New England's Tom Brady/Wes Welker duo. I personally think the Steelers have a shot at a season with more than 10 victories. Let us look at the teams the Steelers have beaten so far. The Colts at 0 and 7 have gone in the tank. The Arizona Cardinals with Kevin Kolb at the helm are a dismal 1 and 5. The Jacksonville Jaguars with a rookie QB leading the way are a weak 1 and 5 but played the Steelers pretty tough especially in the second half losing 17 to 13. The Seattle Seahawks are a sub par 2 and 4 and the Steelers rocked their world. And the Tennessee Titans, who started off well beating the Ravens in game 2, are a mediocre 3 and 3. The Titans got pounded at home by the Houston Texans, who by the way held Chris Johnson to 18 yards rushing and the Steelers bounced the Titans around also. When the dust clears after 7 games, the Pittsburgh Steelers 5 victories are against teams with a combined record of 7 and 24. The next 4 games will tell the fans around here something. First at home vs. New England, then here comes the Baltimore Ravens into Heinz Field, then at the respectable Cincinnati Bengals, a Bye week is next which looms large, and then a trip out to Kansas City to play the Chiefs who started off poorly but now have won 3 in a row. There are some very interesting games in the very near future for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Like Father Like Son

Like father, like son. That is New York Jets Coach Rex Ryan motto. NFL fans know about Rex Ryan's father Buddy Ryan. Buddy had all kind of media quotes. He had a feud with Mike Ditka when they coached together for the Chicago Bears. He punched Offensive Co-ordinator Kevin Gilbride in the jaw during a game when they coached together for the Houston Oilers. Buddy Ryan blamed Gilbride,because of his offensive scheme, causing 2 injuries to his defensive players. Gilbride implemented the "Run and Shoot" offense for the Oilers and Buddy Ryan called it the "Chuck and Duck" offense which irritated Gilbride. Then during a game the punch was thrown. When Buddy Ryan was coaching the Eagles they had some key injuries to some running backs and were looking for a trade. The Steelers at the time had some good running backs. A reporter asked Buddy Ryan about a trade for Steelers RB Earnest Jackson. Buddy Ryan's quote was "I wouldn't trade a Six Pack for Earnest Jackson." Upon taking the Arizona Cardinals job in 1993, Buddy Ryan was quoted by saying"You got a winner in town." 8 and 8 during the 1993 season and then the Cardinals took a nosedive and went 4 and 12 in 1994, and just like that Buddy Ryan retired. Like father, like son. Rex Ryan made a quote this past week, that if he was coaching the San Diego Chargers, he would have won a couple of Super Bowls by now. In 2009, he was noted by saying to a reporter "Why are all these cameras outside our(NY Jets)locker room?" "Barack Obama must be here. He doesn't need to be here because we will be visiting him in the next couple of years." Rex Ryan should flip flop his quotes and tell the media that we are going to stink this year and then maybe they might get to the Super Bowl and I mean MAYBE.

Hopefully a new format

It took the NFL a long time to submit to the fact that it needed to implement the 2 point conversion. College football had the 2 point try long before the National Football League. Now my next point is the challenge. The NFL needs to get rid of it and go to the format like college football has. A referee in the booth buzzes the head official and says the play is under review. This is more feasible than a coach having 2 challenges during the game. Right now the NFL reviews every touchdown so why not review close plays and forget the coach's challenge. For example, in the Lions vs 49ers game this past Sunday, Ted Ginn returned a punt to the Lions 40 yard line, but after a commercial break, the ball was inexcusably placed on the Lions 35 yard line. This is where a booth official could buzz the Head Official, stop play, and get the ball placement correct. No excuses, the NFL needs a solution. College football does it and it works so why can't the hierarchy of the National Football League implement this strategy. You do not want to remove the human element out of the game of football, but there are certain times that calls need to be corrected. The NFL can make this adjustment and should consider it in the near future. Why not? When you have 22 players flying around the field, mistakes are easy to make.http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/19/nfl-admits-bad-spot-gave-49ers-five-free-yards/

Bungals No More

NFL teams have to be on the watch for the Cincinnati Bengals! Are the Bengals still the Bungals as the great Myron Cope called them? Just stating my opinion, they pulled off a real good trade, sending QB Carson Palmer to the Oakland Raiders for a first round selection in the April, 2012 draft and a conditional 2nd rounder in the 2013 draft unless the Raiders win one playoff game this Winter, and then it becomes a 1st rounder in the 2013 draft. The Bengals have their quarterback now in T.C.U. rookie Andy Dalton who seems to be playing fairly well after 6 games. The Bengals first rounder this past April was Georgia's AJ Green who is a nice big target for Andy Dalton. I think the Cincinnati Bengals are going to be a team to reckon with in the AFC North Division down the road. The Bengals are not bad this season(4 and 2) and one of the reasons for this is that the Bengals have a pretty good running game with Cedric Benson as its focal point and a respectable offensive line. Carson Palmer is 31, says he has 80 million dollars in the bank, and has some gas left in his tank. He can be effective for the Oakland Raiders but I think the Raiders gave up too much for his services. Do not forget, the Raiders QB Jason Campbell, who just broke his collarbone and is on I.R. for the year, was playing pretty good up to this juncture. So next September, the Raiders will have Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell(who is a free agent after this season), Kyle Boller, and Terrelle Pryor as their quarterbacks. Jason Campbell probably will not be back with the Raiders so therefore Carson Palmer is their man. Did the Raiders give up too much for Carson Palmer? Only time will tell if the Bengals lose the Bungals nickname.

Are FINES fine?

Is the National Football League attempting to teach the players a lesson on football safety? With all the fines that are occurring, this may be the case. It seems like when you pick up a newspaper or look at pro football talk.com, that at least one and even more players are receiving fines from the league. Baltimore Ravens Center Matt Birk received a $5000. fine for removing his microphone from his shoulder pads because he said it was uncomfortable and was pinching his neck. We know what that is like when you buy a new shirt and some tag or label in the shirt is annoying you, so therefore you remove it. Another Baltimore Raven, running back Ray Rice, was levied a $7500. fine fine for grabbing a defensive players face mask. Football used to be a contact sport but now it is a collision sport and some of the collisions are violent. The league is making all sorts of attempts to cut down on the injuries and the latest is kicking off from the 35 yard line attempting to control one of football's most exciting plays, the kickoff return. I agree with the striking from a defensive player leading with a helmet to make a tackle, but what about a running back leading with his helmet to finish a run and produce more yardage(no fines in this scenario). Let's go back in time, when H.O.F. Steelers linebacker, Jack Lambert, said publicly that the quarterback should wear a skirt because the NFL hierarchy was trying to control the hits on the QB. NFL headquarters must have a group of evaluators that observe each and every game, and determine what players should be fined every week. Troy Polamalu got fined $15000. for horse-collaring a player on a tackle a few weeks back. My question is, how else was he supposed to tackle him. Where is all this money going that is collected for these fines?

Let's Go Bucs

On July 25, 2011, the Pittsburgh Pirates were 53 and 47 at the 100 game mark and atop the National League Central Division. Fans were talking about the Pirates turn-around and people were flocking to baseball games. Then the Buccos took a free fall the last 62 games going 19 and 43 to have a final record of 72 and 90. 72 wins more than surpassed the 57 win total of 2010. Attendance was up in large numbers. People are still talking baseball 10 days after the season has ended. This is great for the Buccos. Neil Walker had a 163 hits in 159 games with 83 RBI's. Andrew McCutchen had 148 hits in 158 games with a team leading 23 home runs and 89 RBI's. Next in home runs was Garrett Jones with only 16 round trippers. The Pirates need a player that can hit 30 home runs and have 100 RBI's. Is this Derrek Lee? Maybe and the Pirate brass should sign Lee to a 2 year deal if possible. The pitching staff was solid up to the 100 game plateau but during the final 62 tilts, the Bucco ERA was a dismal 5.09. Another alarming statistic was the number of strikeouts by Pirate hitters. They amassed a franchise record of 1308 batters striking out. This is an 8.08 average per game. That means out of either the 27 or 24 outs each game, 8 were by strikeout. You need to put the bat on the ball. Overall, this team can get better under Clint Hurdle. After 19 long seasons under .500, with some correct baseball moves and acquisitions, with Pedro Alvarez playing to his potential, the Buccos can get over.500 and contend for a division title. Let's go Bucs.

What's my LINE?

The talk of the town right now from the Steeler fans is the Offensive Line. I am hearing a wide variety of reasons why they were defeated by the Houston Texans but the one constant was the offensive line. The Line is different than last the 2010 Super Bowl Team season. Maybe Flozell Adams and Max Starks were that good, but Starks missed games due to neck issues. Willie Colon getting injured does not help either. But I think the Offensive line will jell. Give it time. Coach Sean Kugler is a solid offensive line coach. Coach Kugler may need to make position adjustments with some of the current offensive linemen.Big Ben needs to be put under center more instead of constantly being in the shotgun where an opposing DE can tee off on the QB coming off the edge. The Steelers need to run the ball more. Easier said than done, right. One thing to look at is bring back a fullback similar to a Dan Kreider. HB/TE David Johnson is a good blocker but he fits more of the TE mold. During the Cowher era, when one specific Steeler running back ran for 111 yards or more, Cowher's winning percentage was over 90%. Big Ben is getting pounded and in their type of offense, Big Ben has a tendency to hold onto the ball longer than he needs to. If I say it once, I will say it a hundred times, throw the football to score, run the football to win.

Rapid Fire

Rapid fire football going on. The Pitt Panthers this evening play their third game in 12 days facing 4 and 0 South Florida. This is a very important game for both teams. Both USF and Pitt played Notre Dame with USF coming out victorious against the Irish but lest we forget Notre Dame had 5 turnovers against South Florida. Pitt battled the Irish, had their chances, but came up a little short. Notre Dame is 2 and 2 right now with some tough games down the road. As veteran sports prognosticator Beano Cook once said, the 3 toughest jobs in America are: the President of the United States, the Mayor of New York City, and the Head Football Coach of Notre Dame. Switching gears to talk about Upper St. Clair's high school grad Sean Lee who was an excellent linebacker coming out of Penn State, and now a very talented inside linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. Lots of teams passed on drafting Sean Lee. If the NFL scouts that went into Penn State would have listened to Coach Tom Bradley's outstanding assessment of Sean Lee, then Sean Lee would have been a first rounder. After watching Sean Lee play last Monday night vs. the Redskins, I validated my original evaluation and said he is for real. Sean Lee had knee injuries at Penn State but being around Sean Lee a few times at workout facilities, I realized how hard of a worker he is. The Steelers discussed taking Lee 4 picks before the Cowboys but decided on taking Jason Worilds. Barring injury, he could develop into one of the finest linebackers in the entire NFL.

Defensive Backs From This Area

Two former Chartiers Valley H.S. players from Scott Township are now active in the National Football League. And Oh by the way, they just happen to be brothers. Coach Bill Belichek just activated Ross Ventrone for today's game vs the Buffalo Bills. Ross was a walk-on at Pitt, then transferred to Villanova and played in the secondary for the Wildcats. His brother Raymond also played at Villanova, was a undrafted free agent with New England, and now is a stalwart special teams player and safety and is on the field a lot for the Cleveland Browns. This a great story and both Ross and Raymond deserve a ton of credit. Both have excellent speed and balance, they are super hard workers, love the game of football, and both have excellent football instincts. And I cannot forget to mention, both Raymond and Ross are great people. Talking about another excellent young guy, check out #23 for the Indianapolis Colts, Corner Terrence Johnson from Woodland Hills H.S. and California U. of PA. Terrence Johnson was an undrafted free agent, also signed with New England but was signed by the Colts in January. He is in the mix with the Colts as a corner and may play a lot vs. the Steelers on tonight's Sunday Night Game. Pennsylvania is producing talented football players.

Hope to Hear From You

Where have you gone Mr. Bob Nutting? Everything was peachy on the day when the Pittsburgh Pirates were 51 and 44 and in first place. Since that great day in July, the Pirates have gone into a non-recoverable swoon. On September 20, their record is 68 and 86. That means the once popular Buccos have gone 17 and 42 since that wonderful day in July. This is just a shade over .250 baseball. Mr Nutting, you went into hibernation way too early. A multitude of Pittsburgh Pirate baseball fans would like to get an explanation of what has happened the last 70 days. Maybe from Coach Clint Hurdle and his staff, maybe from G.M. Neal Huntington, and probably from you Mr. Nutting. I remember seeing an interview with Bob Nutting when the Buccos were playing well in early July and telling everyone that the organization is looking good and how positive the atmosphere was at PNC Park but now Mr. Bob Nutting has pulled a David Copperfield on the Pirate fans and disappeared. I think the fans of Pittsburgh need some sort of explanation of what has occurred. The Pirate team batting average is a weak .242, just the same as the bad 2010 season. They are getting crushed in game recently by scores of 15 to 1 and 14 to 3. It looks to me like the team wants the season to end in a hurry. They are lucky to get 70 wins. As a the old slogan goes "Hope to hear from You!"

Injuries, Injuries, and more Injuries

What is the National Football League to do with all of these injuries? I mean season ending injuries to some top players in only the first 2 weeks. Steelers OT Willie Colon out for the season with torn Tricep. K.C. Chiefs safety Eric Berry out for the year with an ACL tear, Green Bay Safety Nick Collins out for the season with a neck injury, K.C. Chiefs star running back Jamal Charles out for the year with an ACL tear, and this is just to name a few. Big Ben Roethlisberger had a scare in the Seattle game when DE Raheen Brock rolled up his right leg. Tom Brady has a scare in the San Diego game when someone rolled up his leg. Football is a collision sport and these collisions are high level by players that play fast, are strong, and very powerful. And there are 14 regular season games remaining. The all important remedy is that each team needs quality depth on their rosters. Are the rosters big enough at 53 and a common question that continually arises is: should the rosters be expanded. With all these injuries, is an 18 game season way out of line. Are 4 pre season games too many? Each team is going to play 20 games, whether it be 4 pre season and 16 regular season or 2 pre season or 18 regular season. There is the human element here also and that is the body can only take so much punishment. Is there an answer to all of these injuries. I don't think so. When you have a 350 pound Defensive Tackle like Ravens Haloti Hgata chasing down speedy running backs, the only answer I can think of is hopefully no one gets hurt badly.

High School Promoter

This guy was a local Sports fixture on Channel 11 for a multitude of years. This guy is a sportcaster for Local TV station WPXI, which is Channel 11 after changing its call name from WIIC in 1981. This guy is Sportscaster John Fedko. A little more than a decade ago, Pittsburgh Magazine voted him Pittsburgh's most favorite Sportscaster. John Fedko did receive much criticism for his "goofy, self aggrandizing routine" and many felt it was annoying to watch him on his Sports Broadcasts. But not me. I think John Fedko is entertainment. His enthusiasm doing the WPXI High School football SkyLights is unmatched. Fedko mixes in well with the fans and cheerleaders at every game he attends, and in a unique manner, Fedko is an excellent promoter of Western Pennsylvania high school football. His skits include coming up with nicknames for players along similar lines but at a different level referring to ESPN's Chris Berman's great example"Andre Bad Moon a Rison." Fedko orchestrates songs combined with a high school players' nickname creating a unique verse when watching the individual players high-lights. I do not think John Fedko gets enough credit for what he does especially for his promotion of high school sports in this region. Keep it rolling John Fedko.

One Game At A Time

As you talk to Pittsburgh Steeler fans across this region, many were in disbelief how the Steelers were handled by the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens had an excellent game plan, QB Joe Flacco played a solid game and took care of the ball, and the addition of Left Tackle Bryant McKinnie for the Ravens is a huge pick up. The Ravens offensive line is very solid. And on the other side of the ball, the Ray Lewis led defense played very well. Ravens DT Haloti Ngata may well be the best defensive player in the entire NFL. This guy is a load, can run, is very physical and strong, and just keeps making plays. ILB Ray Lewis is on a mission. He provides the Ravens with great leadership and enthusiasm and at 36 years old, Ray Lewis is very talented ILB. Lewis caused 2 fumbles yesterday, he is always in position to make plays, and he makes up for his lack of great speed by playing with very good instincts. The Steelers are very resilient and will be a factor in their division. A few years ago, the Steelers were 7 and 5 after 12 games, were the sixth seed in the playoffs, and subsequently won 8 straight games to win the Super Bowl. Hey Steeler fans, there is a lot of football remaining. Put your helmets on and buckle those chin straps because the Pittsburgh Steelers are a bunch of winners and will not let this lose affect them.

This and That

Sixty Six and Seventy Nine(66 and 79), here we go for another losing season(19th in a row for the Pittsburgh Pirates). The young people under 20 years old from this area have never seen a winning season from the Pirates. The Pirates record since the All Star break is 19 and 36, a dismal .345 winning percentage.......The Irish of Notre Dame off to a rough start at 0 and 2 with the Michigan State Spartans coming to South Bend this weekend and then the Irish traveling to Pitt on September 24th for a rare noon game time start for the Irish......Hopewell running back Rushel Shell just surpassed 7000 yards rushing for his career. Barring injury, Shell should break the WPIAL rushing record here soon. If you have not seen Rushel Shell play, he reminds me of a former U of Alabama running back who is now with the New Orleans Saints, Mark Ingram.....It would be nice to see the Mylan Golf Classic at Southpointe become a bigger venue. It attracted some decent younger players and 2 veterans in John Daly and Rocco Mediate. The payoff is low but if more revenue was inserted into this Classic, it would attract more good tour players. The Mylan Classic has lots of upside......The Boys in Vegas are projecting the Pittsburgh Steelers to win 11 games. I think the Steelers are very capable of winning more than Eleven regular season games. Today vs the Ravens will be a good test and a great season opener.

WPIAL Players

Twenty Five players from the W.P.I.A.L. in the National Football League. There are close to 16000 high schools in this great country of ours that play football and 134 of those are WPIAL schools. There are 1696 players in the NFL on active rosters and 25 are from the WPIAL and 7 are from Woodland Hills HS, probably the most from one high school in the NFL. This is a tribute to what type of high school football that is played not only in this region but across the state of Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania has been famous for quarterbacks and there are 3 now in the league in West Allegheny's(Pitt)Tyler Palko with the KC Chiefs, Seton LaSalle's (Toledo)Bruce Gradkowski with the Cincinnati Bengals, and Steel Valley's(Eastern Michigan)Charlie Batch for our Pittsburgh Steelers, but wait there would have been a 4th but his family moved away because of a job transfer. This is Matt Schaub who was ticketed to go to Pittsburgh Central Catholic but played at West Chester, PA East(Virginia)and now with the Houston Texans. This small area of America is really pumping out the football players and a lot of the credit not only has to go to the players who work hard and love the game but to the coaches in this region who are preparing these high school players for college and beyond.

Not One, Not Two, Not Three, but 4

How about California University of PA. having not one, not two, not three, but Four, I mean 4 former players make active rosters this 2011 season in the National Football League. Cal U is the shortened name for California U. of PA, 40 miles South of Pittsburgh right on the Monongahela River for those of you who do not know where it is. It is halfway between Charleroi and Brownsville. The football program has really taken off recently under the tutelage of veteran Coach John Luckhardt, who came to Cal U from Washington and Jefferson University in Washington, PA. after taking a short hiatus. These Four players are QB Josh Portis, who was an undrafted free agent signed by the Seattle Seahawks, Defensive Back Tommie Campbell who was drafted in the 7th round back in April by the Tennessee Titans, Corner Terrence Johnson, first year NFL player who signed with the Indianapolis Colts after a short stint with the Patriots, and special teams guru/wide out Dominique Curry who plays for the St. Louis Rams. Tommie Campbell was the first player drafted from Cal U since the 1950's. Cal U has more active players in the NFL than a good number of Division 1 programs. Hats off to Coach John Luckhardt and his staff for recruiting and coaching these players.

ScoutingPA

What is ScoutingPA.com? It is a web site that I have partnered up with. ScoutingPA is an addition to the original web site ScoutingOhio.com. Scouting Ohio is based in the Youngstown OH area and football scout Mark Porter covers Ohio doing a great job. I have partnered up with him and now run ScoutingPA.com. Recruiting fans can look at the web site and see first hand on film what some of the Pitt and Penn State recruits look like. Take for example, recent Pitt recruit, DT Tyrique Jarrett from Pittsburgh Allderdice, footage is on there and it has gotten 200 views since he committed to Pitt last week. Penn Hills WR Cory Jones committed over the weekend and his highlights are on there. Just call him up on the search name area. Penn State double linebacker commitments are on the site. they are Shaler's JP Holtz and Archbald Valley View's Nyeem Wartman. It is Free. Fans will enjoy watching these players' highlights and can keep track of the commitments on players from Pennsylvania only. Remember, these are highlights from the players' Junior season. Let me know what you think.

The Sycamores

The Indiana State University Sycamores traveled to State College to play the Penn State Nittany Lions on Saturday. Why would Penn State play a 1AA(Missouri Valley Conference)team like Indiana State. I do not think that fans realize that during the 2007 season Indiana State was 0 and 11, in 2008 Indiana State was 0 and 12, and in 2009 Indiana State was 1 and 10. So during those 3 seasons 2007-2008-2009 Indiana State won 1 football game and lost 33. 1AA football is much better than it used to be. Yesterday(Sat. Sept. 3rd)1AA Richmond beat the Duke Blue Devils and unheralded 1AA Sacramento State upset Oregon State. But Penn State should have scheduled a better game than Indiana State especially with the Alabama Crimson Tide coming to State College this Saturday. What is wrong with being like Boise State and opening up with Georgia this year and Virginia Tech last football season. This all the more relishes my thoughts on playing a 13th game in college football. If you want to play 1AA Indiana State, play them in late August right when college classes begin, then play your twelve 1a opponents . I still firmly believe that no schools should play in a post season bowl game with a .500 record(6 and 6)especially when one of the victories was against a 1AA opponent. A team should be 7 and 6 to participate in a bowl game. One more game very early in the season when classes are just beginning is not going to cut in classroom time.

As the football world turns

As the football world turns. Some twists on the first weekend of college football. How can some colleges on the first game of the season look like they are in mid-season form coming out of pre-season camp with no scrimmages vs. other opponents and no pre-season games? Why does the NFL have Four pre-season games and risk injury to some of their top players on games that do not count. This can be talked about for a long time, but the NFL needs to increase their schedule to 18 regular season games or even 17 and modify these pre-season games. The Post Gazette reports these local rookies made initial active rosters which is excellent for this area. Aliquippa's Tommie Campbell(Cal. U)made active roster for the Tennessee Titans as a DB, North Allegheny's Tom Keiser(Stanford)made Carolina's active roster as an undrafted free agent DE/OLB, and Seneca Valley's Brandon Fusco(Slippery Rock)made Minneosta's active roster as a Center. But the Post Gazette missed a few. Thomas Jefferson's Don DeCicco(Pitt)made the Chicago Bears active roster as an undrafted free agent linebacker, Woodland Hills Terrence Johnson(Cal. U)who slipped way under the radar locally, made the Indianapolis Colts roster as a corner(first year player), Woodland Hills Darrin Walls(Notre Dame)made the Falcons active roster as an undrafted free agent corner, and another Woodland Hill product Monte' Simmons(Kent State)who is a total unknown around these parts, made the San Francisco 49ers practice squad as an OLB/DE. A lot of credit has to go Woodland Hills H.S. Coach George Novak and his staff for their coaching and preparation of the football players that come out of the Woodland Hills program. Right now, Woodland Hills has more players in the NFL than any other high school program in the entire country.

What's up Bucs?

Since July 24th, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been on a downward spiral since being in frist place in their division for a few days. The Pirates were 54 and 54 wirth 54 games remaining and since that point have gone 8 and 21 for a dismal 62 and 75 record. The team batting average has dropped to .243. During the embarrassing 2010 season, the Buccos batting average was .242 when they lost 95 games. Right now the Pirate pitching staff has the 13th best ERA in baseball but as always, the Buccos are having difficulty scoring runs consistently. The Boys in Vegas do win totals for all 30 teams in baseball and the Pirates win total for this 2011 season is 68. Six weeks ago, people laughed at this total but now the Boys in Vegas may be correct.During the 2010 season the win total was 72 and the Buccos won 57, but this season the the Vegas guys may be right on the button. The Pirates have 25 games remaining, and to reach that total of 68, the Pirates need to go 6 and 19. The way the Pirates are playing right now, it is definitely possible for them to go 6 and 19 for the remainder of September. The Pirates look sluggish, there bats are weak,, the intensity and enthusiasm looks marginal, and it appears that the Pirates are anxiously awaiting for the season to end. The Buccos have only 91 home runs and are on a pace to have less than the 2010 season. The New York Yankees have more than double the Pirates home run total It looks like another losing season(will be 19 in a row)unless the Buccos do a total turn-around in the month of September. Is this possible? I question the turn-around especially after losing 3 in a row to maybe the worst team in baseball, the Houston Astros.

Fantasy Island

It is that time of the year. The draftniks who play Fantasy Football are continually asking me who I promote as draft picks for their Fantasy Football Leagues. I do not know why they ask me, but lets give it a get go. Of course, I do not play fantasy football, but these leagues provide a multitude of people a tremendous amount of entertainment. If you look at a prior post from September 2, 2010, my super sleeper selection was RB Arian Foster from the Houston Texans. Enough said but league players who chose Arian Foster were most likely productive in their leagues. The following player is not a sleeper but I like him to have an excellent season(Tampa Bay Bucs RB LeGarrette Blount). Two second years players who are both under the radar are Green Bay RB James Starks and Steelers WR Antonio Brown. Pittsburghers know about Antonio Brown but nationwide he is an unknown. A great combination for a Fantasy Team would be Big Ben and Antonio Brown. A receiver not rated a top player in fantasy circles but could be a steal later in the draft is Broncos Brandon Lloyd. Another total unknown I like only if Tight Ends are important in your league if New Orleans Saints' TE Jimmy Graham. Another RB to make lots of fantasy league noise is Redskins' Tim Hightower. Last but not least, a RB that could really elevate himself this 2001 season is Dolphins' Reggie Bush. Reggie Bush may be on a mission during the 2011 season. Hope everyone enjoys not only the regular football season but also their Fantasy Football Leagues.

Get On With It

After watching the Steelers vs Eagles game the other night, the way Pittsburgh played indicated to me that they are ready to play in the regular season. Big Ben was very crisp, the offensive line was blocking, the Steelers have a solid offense with a nice mix of a running game combined with a passing game, and two young offensive players may really emerge this season in RB Isaac Redman and WR Antonio Brown. The Eagles looked sloppy at times but the Steelers are ready to play some regular season football. I am an advocate of an 18 game season, 2 pre-season games, and 2 bye weeks for each team. Look how bad the NY Giants secondary is banged up and they still have 2 pre-season games remaining. If a coaching staff cannot evaluate the young players in camp, then there is something wrong. 2 pre-season games is more than enough. College football teams do not go against anyone else but themselves during pre-season camp and jump into a regular season game very easily. High school teams have 2 scrimmages and they are ready to play a regular season game. 4 NFL pre-season games is absurd. These guys are professionals with numerous years football experience. Come on owners, get on with the 18 game schedule.

Make the Deal

There are 2 really good back-up quarterbacks in the National Football League that could come into a team with quarterback deficiencies and elevate there programs. They are Green Bay #2 QB Matt Flynn and New England's #2 guy Brian Hoyer. These guys can play. Any astute NFL football fan should be able to conclude that the teams that get to the Super Bowl need a top flight quarterback. For example, Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning had neck surgery last May and is a concern for the upcoming season. The Colts starter now is Curtis Painter who is not that bad but lacks experience. They could use a quarterback. The Oakland Raiders could use a high caliber quarterback. Teams have to take the chance and make the trade now and if not now , then after the season. Hoyer and Flynn are chomping at the bit to get that opportunity and I am sure that the Packers and Patriots want to keep these players as back-up quarterbacks. But if the right offer comes down the pike, then let's make the deal. Hoyer and Flynn can move teams down the field and put up points. As the old footage adage goes "If you cannot score, you cannot win."

First Dowwwwwwn

After watching more and more NFL pre-season football games, the touchback on the kickoff is going to be a prominent part of an NFL regular season game. The only positive that will come out of this new rule to kickoff from the 35 yard line is this segment. There will be less and less penalties on kickoff returns. It became very annoying when about 50 percent of the time on a return, the yellow laundry was thrown and the Head referee would get on the microphone and say "Block in the back on number 00, 15 yard penalty from the spot of the foul, and then the referee would blurt out "First Down." Talk about "First Down", I remember the colorful referee Red Cashion who added entertainment to the game when he would get on the microphone and say in his drawl "First Dowwwwwwn." I see people today who are watching Steeler games and subsequently when the Steelers get a first down, do their arm gesture, and scream out "First Dowwwwwwn." What entertainment! Red Cashion's legacy was simply 2 words "First Dowwwwwwn." I wonder what Red Cashion, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Don Shula etc. think about all the touchbacks to look forward to during the 2011 football season.

Rumblings and Stumblings

NCAA President Mark Emmert has some big fish to fry especially what has happened concerning the U. of Miami football program. Amongst other items of importance, Mark Emmert wants to meet with the NFL hierarchy soon. One area he should discuss with Goddell and company is the NFL starting a minor league format along the lines of baseball's minor leagues. A minor league format would assist college football in regards to an ALTERNATIVE for high school seniors that go to college for the sole purpose of playing football and not being a true student athletes. Another issue that the NCAA focused on recently was the U. of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname. The NCAA wants all institutions of higher learning with Native American nicknames to change them. For example, Marquette University's nickname before 1994 was the Warriors and their logo was supposedly disrespectful to Native Americans. Marquette changed it's nickname to the Golden Eagles. Recently, the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe held a referendum vote to either approve or deny continued use of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo of the U. of North Dakota. The Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe voted giving overwhelming support for North Dakota to continue use of the name and logo. The NCAA has not recognized the Spirit Lake Tribe vote and continues to hold their position on the NCAA policy ruling not allowing North Dakota to utilize the Fighting Sioux nickname. NCAA president Mark Emmert and the NCAA officials have bigger fish to fry than worrying about the U. of North Dakota nickname and logo, especially when the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe overwhelmingly felt it was an honor for UND to utilize it's name and logo.

Eliminate the Kickoff?

There are a multitude of rumors out there that the NFL may eliminate the Kickoff. What an absolute JOKE. If the NFL wants to eliminate some sort of kicking play, the league should eliminate a field goal inside of 20 yards. The kickoff is a big part of a football game, it creates excitement, it can change the entire momentum of a game(1 play-the kickoff). Obviously, the rationale behind this is to cut down on injuries. In a severe collision sport like football, injuries are a huge part of the game. If they are concerned about injuries, then they should go to the Flag Football format for kickoffs only. In the off season meetings next Winter, the owners should focus more on not eliminating kickoffs but eliminating the number of penalties on kickoff and punt returns. On the majority of punt/kickoffs returns in the past decade, there have been more blocks in the back than there were parking tickets given to fans in downtown Pittsburgh who were spending money at establishments and going to cheer the hometown team. The modern day placekicker can kick the ball 75 yards. During the 2010 season when a Kickoff was 70 yards, there was 16.2% of kickoffs not returned. Move the kickoff back to the 30 yard line and put a foam rubber cushion on the outside of the players' helmet. I wonder what Vince Lombardi would say about eliminating kickoffs.

Changes May be Necessary

The media cannot shake free from Tiger Woods. When he plays in an event, especially a major, then the media is all over him like a cheap suit. But Tiger is struggling right now. The golf world is trying to figure out what is wrong with his game. Everywhere you go, golf fans continually talk about his golfing problems. I think there are 3 things Tiger Woods needs to do. #1, Tiger needs to play more. I know he has had knee issues and injury problems this season, but he needs to play in more events to maintain his skills. #2, the Tiger needs a new image. How can he do that? Simple solution, change his name to his birth name, Eldrick Woods. Done by many including Chad Johnson, who created a last name to match his jersey number. ETW are Tiger's initials which he has named one of his enterprises after. Go by E.T. Woods or Eldrick Woods. This would give Tiger a new image and not the good looking goatee he displays. And #3, Tiger needs to consult with a Sports Professional Consultant(which he may already be doing), a person along the lines of Pittsburgh's own Dr. Kevin Elko, who has really done a thorough job not only in motivational speaking but also as a Sports Psychologist. Tiger Woods is on a roller coaster ride right now. Some changes may help his game.

20 in a Row

On August 2, the Pittsburgh Pirates are 54 and 54 with 54 games remaining. This month is very critical for the Buccos who up until a week ago have been playing well and had created unbelievable interest in a previously weak Pittsburgh baseball market until this season. The fans have been supportive during the bad times but the fans now are loaded with enthusiasm and are anxious for a winning season and a playoff contender. Starting Monday August 8th, the Pirates have some tough baseball to play, in matter of fact 20 games in a row. They have the S.F. Giants away for 3 games, then they play at Milwaukee for 3 , then the Pirates come home to play St. Louis for 3 tilts, 3 more versus the pesky Reds, 4 vs. the Brewers with a make-up game included, and then finish off this 20 games stretch with 4 at the St. Louis Cardinals. Enough said. This is a huge month and hopefully, things fall into place for the Buccos. Can the starting rotation hold up? Does newly acquired Derrek Lee have enough clout to win a few games with the long ball? Could this be the August swoon rather than the June swoon? The fans will find out but I think on a positive note, the Buccos will battle in these 20 games and come of this in good shape. If not, footballs are in the air.

The time has arrived

Yes baseball fans, the time has arrived for total usage of instant replay in a modified system. Do not us it on balls and strikes. Use it on calls on the bases like the one early Tuesday morning in the 19th inning on the tag at home plate by Pirates catcher Mike McKenry and blown call by ump Jerry Meals. Use it on the call by Umpire Jim Joyce who took away a perfect no-hit game by Armando Galaragga. Even Jim Joyce admitted he blew the call. Instant replay is utilized in home run situations so extend it and use it on calls at the bases, fan interference, and hits down the line and at the base of the wall extended to the foul pole. Either do it like college football and buzz the home plate umpire and discuss the call with an instant replay official or secondly give the manager a red flag like the NFL does and he has 2 opportunities to challenge a call during the game. Basically what I am saying is get the call correct. A multitude of mistakes have been made by umpires over the years that really can affect a team's momentum or cost a team a victory. The technology is there and the time has come for a modified version of baseball instant replay.

Signing Willie Colon

Should the Pittsburgh Steelers sign free Agent Offensive Tackle Willie Colon? My opinion I say Yes. Unfortunately for Willie Colon, he suffered a pre-season injury working out getting ready for the 2010 season and missed the entire 16 games plus the playoffs. Prior to that Colon had 4 successful seasons and according to previous Offensive Line coach Larry Zierlein, he was one of the best run blockers in the entire NFL. That may be a true statement for the stalwart from Colonial Athletic Conference team Hofstra which dropped football a few years back. Colon beat out right tackle Max Starks 4 seasons ago but Starks shifted to Left Tackle and has done a solid job protecting Big Ben's back side. My case for signing Colon is that it is hard to find solid offensive linemen that can compete against the speed of the DE's in the NFL. Colon can do that. His injury to his Achilles is totally healed and his motor is on high throttle. Willie Colon has the potential to have a Pro Bowl calibre season. The Steelers should look at signing him to a long term agreement for Colon has a lot of mileage left in his tank. Colon is valuable part of the Steeler machine.

Expansion?

When the Big East football coaches and administrators meet on August 2nd, I wonder if they are going to discuss expansion. Maybe they should. In 2011 the Big East has 8 participants in football:UConn, Rutgers,Pitt, Cincinnati, Louisville,Syracuse, WVU, South Florida, and TCU coming in 2012 which makes it 9 members. I feel the Big East should expand to a 12 team league in football. Villanova is close to entering the league pending on a vote from the members. If the VU Wildcats come in that makes it 10 members. Where would 11 and 12 come from? I would like to see the Navy become a member and possibly have Central Florida and/or Memphis become the 12th team. If you have 12 members , the league can be split into 2 conferences, the Big East North(UConn,Pitt,Rutgers,Villanova,Syracuse,Navy) and the Big East South(WVU,USF,Louisville,Cincinnati,TCU,Memphis or Central Florida). There are also rumors floating out there that either Army or Air Force may want to join the Big East Football League. This would be a very interesting football conference if any of this happened. Adding TCU was a great move for the Big East. Villanova needs to move from 1AA to 1A and bringing Navy or another academy school in would be VERY interesting.

7 on 7 craze

There is a new summertime football craze for the high schools across the entire country. It is called 7 - on- 7 tournaments. It has been going on for some time now but has really exploded the past 5 years nationwide. There are tournaments all over the country. High School Players and coaches are criss-crossing the country to participate in these tournaments and events. The definition of 7 on 7 is basically a passing scrimmage without offensive linemen and a pass rush. As a football scout, I like 7 on 7 for fundamental reasons. Defensive players(Linebackers and Defensive Backs) can work on coverage skills(both man to man and zone), footwork, hip turn, running with receivers, picking up secondary receivers, and a multitude of pass coverage sets. The offensive players(Quarterback, Running Backs, and receivers including tight ends), can work on pass routes, timing, running after the catch, setting picks, and a working on a multitude of offensive sets and schemes. Another description of 7 on 7 is sophisticated organized flag football.

No one blocks or tackles anyone and there is no pass rush. It has become so popular that ESPN televises the 7 on 7 National Championship. Numerous high schools coaches like 7 on 7 but there are a group that do not and stay away from it. My philosophy is that anytime your players can work on fundamentals in a group setting and the 7 on 7 situation is totally organized, it can be a positive thing. It has similarities to AAU Basketball. Some regions have All Star 7 on 7 teams that travel nationwide. 7 on 7 all star teams are good for the better players but myself I like the 7 on 7 tournaments with participation with your own high school team.

More First Rounders For Pitt?

One swift year ago, I wrote an article on this blog about Pitt having the potential of having 5 First Round NFL Draft choices in April, 2011. As the world turns, WR Jonathan Baldwin was the only one chosen in Round One, DE Greg Romeus still got drafted in Round 7 despite having injury problems and Romeus could have been selected in Round 1. Others drafted were DE Jabaal Sheard in Round 2, and RB Dion Lewis and OG Jason Pinkston in Round 5. Nice draft year for the Pitt Panthers. Here we go again! Are there potential first rounders in this group. National Scouting has OT Lucas Nix graded after his Junior Year a Potential First Rounder. In matter of fact, National has him and Georgia OT Cordy Glenn as the top 2 Offensive Linemen of the Senior Class. Nix is a huge guy with good feet and bends well. Next for Pitt that is rated high and a real good hybrid type player DE/OLB is Brandon Lindsey. Lindsey played lights out in 2010 coming off the edge making multitudes of plays in space and rushing the passer. Next in DT Chas Alecxih who initially was a walk-on at Pitt but really elevated his game into becoming a solid DT prospect at the next level. Alecxih plays with a great motor. Next is OG/OC Chris Jacobson who is a strong physical interior lineman whom the coaching staff is moving to center this 2011 season. Jacobson is a physical pounder and is strong. Even though CB Antwuan Reed had a couple of inconsistent games NFL scouts like this speedy and good sized corner. LB Max Gruder has played solid for the Panthers and scouts like his linebacker ability. Another LB that the NFL guys like is Greg Williams who has very good upside. DT Myles Caragein is getting lots of looks from scouts. Caragein is strong at the point and a battler with good quicks. Another guy with upside is big OT Jordan Gibbs, a converted high school TE, who has a future as a OT. NFL scouts are flocking to Pitt. Dave Wannstedt and company did not leave the cupboard bare for Coach Todd Graham

Bucco Nation

You can see it now and it has finally arrived, the Pirate Nation. On every televised away game, when the television crew scans the crowd, numerous people in the crowd are wearing Pittsburgh Pirate golf shirts, hats, t-shirts, etc. This is great to see and it tells you that Pirate fans nationwide have been waiting for this for a long time(18 years in fact). This team is for real and a solid all around team with many good young players and a really good pitching staff. Any baseball observer can see that Neal Huntington and his staff have made some solid trades over the past few seasons. Some of the players that have been brought up from the minors are playing really well especially left fielder Alex Presley. Right now, Presley is really getting it done at the plate. He is patient with pitches, he understands the strike zone, he has quick wrists, and he can drive the ball when he strikes it. I love his burst of speed and his overall intensity. There is still plenty of baseball ahead, but the 2011 Buccos are bringing the crowds into PNC Park and are creating a buzz around this city. Can this Pirate team win the National League Central Division. With their starting pitching and their bullpen, the Buccos definitely have a shot at winning the division. who would have thunk it?

OfficialBrettFavre.com

Pro Football Talk recently had a story on Brett Favre because at this time of the year the past few years, he always announces he may come out of retirement. Could this happen again? His brother says absolutely not but Brett Favre has playing football in his blood. Least we not forget that Youngwood, Pennsylvania's George Blanda played until he was 46. I think Favre could still be an excellent back-up quarterback that could spell the starter if any injury occurred. But would Brett Favre be receptive to being an NFL back-up quarterback. Probably not, but you never know. On January 17, 2011 Favre officially sent his retirement papers into NFL headquarters. But did he sign them. Brett Favre is a very active guy, loves the game of football, and probably needs to be around the game in some capacity, whether it be an announcer, a player, or in some capacity an administrator or coach for some NFL or college program. He has personal website titled officialbrettfavre.com. I would not be surprised that Favre shows up somewhere publicly in the game football not only for this season but maybe in the near future. Brett Favre is the kind of guy that is not going to disappear.

NFL Top 100?

The final version of the NFL's top 100 players has been posted recently. As we know of it, the players themselves chose the top 100 players. Giving much credit to a multitude of NFL players, they do line up against these guys on a weekly basis. BUT, do the players see everyone play? The answer is NO. Who sees everyone play? A real good question that probably cannot be answered. The logical choice to pick the top 100 would be the NFL scouts and NFL quality control coaches and not the players. One guy that should have been in the Top 10 but was number 11 is Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers. This guy can flat out play. The fans had Rodgers number 2. The players voted 3 undrafted free agents into the top 25: OLB James Harrison, TE Antonio Gates, and RB Arian Foster. I will harp on this from here until doomsday, undrafted free agents are a very important part of an NFL team. In the 2011 Pro Bowl, 23 of the players were undrafted free agents. BINGO! The first Offensive Linemen selected was at the #28 position in Dolphins OT Jake Long. As Rodney would say"Let me tell ya, Offensive Linemen get no RESPECT." Another guy who gets no respect is Browns Running Back Peyton Hillis. My opinion, Hillis should be in the Top 25. He is a Fantasy Football Dream Pick. Peyton Hillis is not even in the Top 100.

Trend in Baseball

There is a trend that has developed in baseball over the past decade that is disruptive to my baseball analysis. It is not a shift in the in-field trend, it is not a base stealing trend, but it is a trend of players coming out of a game and throwing a temper tantrum. A Pirate pitcher the other day(Sunday vs the Phillies to be exact)came out of the game and visibly threw his glove as hard as he could against the back wall of the dugout. On numerous occasions, many players take a bat to the water cooler, and beat the cooler like a drum. Many players have been seen throwing their bats against dugout walls or even breaking a bat somewhere in the dugout. What is up with all of this? Does the managers and assistant coaches condone these actions acting like it does not matter. I know players are very competitive and want to win and be productive. I know players do not want to let their teammates down in certain situations. I know players get frustrated and upset with the mistakes they make. But going down the dugout runway and beating a locker with your bat does not make it better. Just think, if you have a .300 batting average which is good in Major League Baseball, for every 10 times you are up to the plate, 7 of those 10 are outs. Relax guys, stick about 10 pieces of bubble gum in your mouth and chew away hoping you do not pull any fillings out, and pull for your teammates to do well. Just remember, every team in baseball is going to win 50 games and every team in baseball is going to lose 50 games. It is the 62 game in between that count.

Spurrier Proposal

U. of South Carolina's Football Coach Steve Spurrier has put on the table at the Southeastern Conference(SEC)meetings recently in Destin, FL to give a $300. stipend for each game to 70 players on his football team. Spurrier says it would cost him, not the schools, $21,000. per game to pay these players. Therefore, the Division 1 coaches that make high salaries should take money out of there pocket and give 70 players this stipend. Well, I thought there were 85 players on scholarships at each Division 1A program. What about the other 15 and what about the walk-ons that are contributors to each program? Obviously, this opens up a Large can of Worms and probably will not be implemented. Take for example, former Kent State Football Coach Doug Martin who was reported by USA Today as the lowest paid coach in Division 1A in 2010. Coach Martin would have to take out a loan to pay his players $21,000. per game times 12 games. But maybe Spurrier is talking about only the Super Powers giving their players a stipend. In reality, there needs to be equality. If you give football players a stipend, then how about basketball players, baseball players, women basketball players, college golfers, and on and on. Pay for Play at the college level cannot be justified. This topic will surface every once and a while especially in college football, but in the overall scheme of things, the NFL needs a modified minor league system. Who knows what the answer is, but a NFL minor league would help eliminate some the problems of college football.

25 and Twenty Eight Ain't Bad

This Pittsburgh Pirate team has a lot of upside. 25 and 28 in the merry month of May is not bad for the Buccos. Could we be headed for a June swoon? I hope not, their pitching is too good this 2011 campaign. On May 9, the Pirates beat the Dodgers and were over .500 for the first time in May since 2004. The big dis-appointment so far has been the weak bat of Pedro Alvarez. Alvarez has 42 strike outs in a 126 at bats. One out of 3 times he comes to the plate he strikes out. With only 2 home runs, Alvarez is certainly headed in the wrong direction. Pedro Alvarez' has a real long swing and he is really baffled by the sweeping curve ball from lefties. With my opinion, Alvarez should choke up on the bat and shorten his swing and maybe even move up in the batters box. The Bucs need a steady home run hitter and Andrew McCutchen is showing he can hit the long ball. What a sweet pick-up Kevin Correia was and in the long term, James McDonald looks like he has excellent potential on the mound. Hopefully when Steelers training camp arrives(it may never arrive this year), the Pittsburgh fans will not drop the guillotine on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Modern statistics are not on their side this year. By June 1, a team under .500 has a only a 9% chance of making the playoffs but the Pirates are playing real good baseball.

Slow Down My Friends

Not so fast, My Friend. Everyone is talking about Coach Jim Tressel and the future of Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor and rightfully so. But lets talk about the interim Head Coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes Coach Luke Fickell. I have gotten to know Coach Luke Fickell over the past few years due to the fact that he recruited the Western Pennsylvania region for the Buckeyes. Luke Fickell is an excellent person with a solid personality. The media needs to give relax and let the 2011 season play out. The media is already talking about Jim Tressel's replacement with out giving Luke Fickell a chance. Some internet outlets have Jon Gruden as the next Ohio State Coach in 2012 or Urban Meyer filling Jim Tressel shoes. But what about Coach Fickell. With a depleted roster the first 5 games, anything can happen for Ohio State especially in the away Miami game. Once all the players return for game 6, then who knows how effective the Buckeyes will be. What if Ohio State has a 10 and 2 season under Luke Fickell. Do you let the former Buckeye go and bring in an outsider? Let's not put the cart before the horse. The media should give Luke Fickell a chance before they start figuring out who the next Ohio State Head Coach will be. Slow down my friends.