NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Kurt Warner having a season of the ages

Arizona Cardinals over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Philadelphia Eagles have the more complete team and a rejuvenated Donovan McNabb. The Cardinals have Larry Fitzgerald. Kurt Warner is having the season of the ages and at an old football age. Changed my mind on this game over and over.

Pittsburgh Steelers over the Baltimore Ravens.
The battle of two great defenses, but Pittsburgh has the more experienced quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, and more offensive weapons.

Sensible people do not bet money on Squibster’s predictions. Please be a sensible person and do not bet money on my predictions.

Be sure to enter the Super Bowl giveaway sponsored by Pepsi.
Photo source Newscom

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Squibster is proud to present the Super Bowl giveaway sponsored by Pepsi

Squibkick presents the Super Bowl giveaway sponsored by Pepsi

Would you like to win all of the following prizes valued at 250 dollars in time for the Super Bowl?

• 1 football
• 1 beverage pail
• 1 snack helmet (my favorite!)
• 2 key chains
• 2 hats
• 2 t-shirts
• 5 Pepsi 24 pack coupons
• 5 Frito Lay coupons

The rules are simple:

How to enter the Super Bowl giveaway sponsored by Pepsi

Each entry must be in the form of a comment on Squibkick. The comment must contain 3 things:
A. Comment must refer to the NFL playoffs.
B. The word ‘Pepsi’.
C. A number between 1 and 1,000.

Example: The Baltimore Ravens are my favorite team and Pepsi is the best! 572

Note: 572 may or may not be the real winning number. The above is only an example. Make sure your correct e-mail address is included when submitting the comment.

How the winner will be determined

The Squibster maintains sole discretion to name the winner and is the final arbiter of all disputes. The winner must follow all the rules and be the closest to the correct number. The number is created and held by the pseudo accounting firm of The Squibster’s Wife and Daughter. They will reveal the number to the Squibster after the contest entry period is over. The winner will be revealed in the first Squibkick blog published after the contest entry period is over.

In the case of a tie, the Squibster will put the entries that tied into a hat and pull out the winning entry.

Deadline and number of entries allowed

The deadline for entries is Sunday January 25, 2009.

You may enter only once per day. A total of 1,000 entries is the limit for total entries for all participants. The Squibster needs to have a life.

How will you get the prizes?

Pepsi has promised to send the prizes to you before the Super Bowl on February 1st, 2009. The winning entrant will have to provide a shipping address after being notified by e-mail.

Keep it clean, drink Pepsi, and let’s have fun!

Don’t forget our sponsor, Pepsi. Try Refresh Everything by Pepsi and you can upload a video for the new President.

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Joe Flacco fumbles and Lamar Woodley scores

Real football, Fantasy football, who cares, they all count one, don’t they?

Pittsburgh Steelers win 20 - 17 in overtime, on a Jeff Reed field goal after a Ben Roethlisberger led drive.

Joe Flacco led a great drive to tie the game in regulation. Le’Ron McClain, all 260 pounds of him, scored the touchdown.

In overtime, Roethlisberger used Moore several times to move the ball into field goal position and Reed kicked it through for the victory.

My Fantasy team just needed to hold Santonio Holmes down to less than 6 points in the OT and it happened. Santonio had already scored on a hot route from Big Ben Roethlisberger. One ball was thrown his way and it did not get there. Thank you, Ray Lewis.

So it was a Fantasy victory for the Squibster and a NFL victory for Pittsburgh.

Baltimore dominated this game for almost 3 quarters.

Young Joe Flacco fumbled the ball in the 3rd quarter and Lamar Woodley picked it up and ran into the end zone to give the Steelers a 17 - 13 lead.

One noticeable thing in this game is that both the Ravens and Steelers have great defensive lines and limited offensive skill players. Defense can take you a long ways, though. Neither quarterback had over 200 yards of passing.

We all know about Big Ben, but Joe Flacco actually had one more yard and showed a very strong arm. This kid is going to be something to watch.
Photo source Newscom

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Hurricane Ike has no respect for Fantasy Football

photo source newscom

It is a wacky world we live in.

It seems that the Baltimore Ravens Houston Texans football game has been delayed until November 9th because of Hurricane Ike.

The Texans’ home opener was originally scheduled for Sunday, then postponed to Monday night as Ike approached the Gulf Coast. The Category 2 storm slammed into Texas on Friday night and moved into Houston early Saturday morning.

Ike tore chunks off the stadium’s retractable roof and the damage couldn’t be fixed in time for the game, said Shea Guinn, the president and general manager of Reliant Park.

“There are parts of the roof that are completely gone,” Guinn said.

The retractable roof on the $352 million venue rolls open in nine sections. Guinn said five of the sections were missing and large pieces of debris had fallen into the stadium.

“It’s hard to tell what came from where,” Guinn said.

The Texans said alternate sites for Monday night were considered, but logistics made them impossible.

source

Hold on there, Houston had a game already on November 9th.

Houston was originally scheduled to play the Bengals on Nov. 9. Now, those teams will play on Oct. 26 and Cincinnati will take its bye week on Nov. 9, when the Texans now play the Ravens.

Baltimore had an open date on Nov. 9 on its original schedule.

So upon finding this out, what are most of us super shallow Fantasy Football fans thinking?

Well, how does this affect my Fantasy Football team? What week will the points go to? Is there some sort of exemption for these two teams suddenly having a bye week this weekend?

Hey, are they worried about people living in the area or anyone getting hurt? Was it mentioned before that Fantasy Football players are shallow?

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Michael Phelps, Olympic swimmer, shows off one of his Gold Medals, but don’t you want to see his Raven’s jersey?

Olympic hero Michael Phelps is a huge Raven fan.

After winning one of his races and setting a world record, his Mom handed Michael Phelps a Baltimore Ravens Jersey with all the players signatures on it. When someone asked Michael can we see it? Michael handed them the jersey. No, the person meant can we see the gold medal!

When Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti read that he suggested we get a jersey signed by the team and find a way to wish Michael “good luck” from all of us. We got a jersey made with Phelps name on the back with the number 08. All the players signed it, and we were able to get it to his Mom, Debbie, who will give it to Michael before his first swim in Beijing.

Michael is from Baltimore and will return there after the Olympics.

‘Bullet’ heading home
Bowman announced in April 2008 that he was leaving Michigan and returning to Baltimore after Beijing to serve as CEO of North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Phelps, who is nicknamed the “Baltimore Bullet,” will return home as well after four years in Ann Arbor. Phelps and Bowman met at NBAC, which is also where Katie Hoff trains.

source

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Steve McNair had a great career, but just could not shrug off the injuries. He often played on Sundays after spending the whole week in the training room. The surprising part is that he would often win those games.

After being traded to the Ravens two years ago, Steve had a magical season and the Ravens went 13 - 3, only to lose to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Colts.

Last year Steve came back with high expectations, but pulled a groin muscle and it was just downhill from there. This year McNair was struggling through workouts trying to get his body to respond.

He spent much of the past three months getting ready for his 14th NFL season, but through it all, McNair had an inkling that all the running and weightlifting might be for naught.

“My mind was telling me, ‘Yes,’ and my body was like, ‘No, what are you doing?’ I came up with (the idea of retiring) two or three days ago, but it’s been lingering ever since December.”

The news stunned his teammates, who expected McNair to return—if only to prove last season was fluke.

source

The highlight of Steve McNair’s career was in 2003, when he won the Co-MVP award with Peyton Manning. Not bad company to keep.

Your intrepid author doubted that Steve had enough in the tank when he was traded from the Tennessee Titans to the Baltimore Ravens, but the Squibster was proved wrong as Steve provided the missing leadership that Baltimore needed on the offensive side of the ball and the Raven defense rose up and had an incredible year.

The early days

Steve began his career with Houston.

McNair began his career in 1995 with the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Tennessee Titans. He led the team to four playoff appearances, including the Super Bowl after the 1999 season. He was chosen co-MVP of the league in 2003, sharing the award with Peyton Manning, after throwing for 3,215 yards and 24 touchdowns with only seven interceptions.

Baltimore is left with Kyle Boller and Troy Smith fighting it out to be the starting quarterback. New coach John Harbaugh said Steve’s retirement would have no effect on who they drafted.

NFL Football special comment After a tough year, the retirement of Steve McNair appears to be another huge blow to the Ravens.

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The hot rumor revolves around the Raiders at pick number 4.

At a time when many league observers believe that the Oakland Raiders won’t be able to resist the 4.33 speed of running back Darren McFadden with the fourth overall pick in the draft, a league source tells us that there are “strong indications” that the Raiders will select Ohio State linebacker/defensive end Vernon Gholston according to Profootballtalk.com

source

Vernon Gholston to the Raiders?

Image details: Ohio State Buckeyes v Washington Huskies served by picapp.com

Still McFadden is hard to resist. Gholston would be a better long term build.

Meanwhile in Miami

Big Tuna is making a move or is he?

Parcells and the Miami Dolphins have begun contract negotiations with the agent for potential top draft pick Jake Long, a person familiar with the talks said Thursday. The person did not want to be identified because the Dolphins have been coy about their plans for the No. 1 pick.

Negotiations with Long’s agent, Tom Condon, don’t necessarily mean Miami has ruled out other prospects. The new Dolphins regime, led by Parcells, could use the talks to increase contract leverage with other potential picks.

The Dolphins also are interested in trading the No. 1 pick, but so far no suitors have surfaced.

source

Miami is so far from winning that Jake Long would be a good solid pick for years to come. My guess is that Miami wants to trade down to get additional players.

Baltimore Ravens

Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens need a QB. Matt Ryan is there for the taking if they can move up or get lucky.

In reality, the Ravens really only need to worry about three franchises: the Miami Dolphins (first overall pick), Atlanta Falcons (third) and Kansas City Chiefs (fifth). Everyone else currently ahead of the Ravens appears fixed on other areas, and the quarterback-needy teams behind Baltimore don’t appear to have enough ammunition to move up. And regarding the Ravens’ troublesome trio, there have been encouraging signs in recent days.

source

It has already been mentioned that Miami is looking at Jake Long, or even Chris Long. Atlanta is looking real hard at defensive tackle Glen Dorsey, and the Chiefs are looking at everyone, so Baltimore could sit still and get lucky.

It is all a jumble right now and teams keep positioning themselves for the draft.

Right now Miami holds the key.

NFL Football special comment Linemen are needed to build a team. So why are skill players so irresistible?

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Today we examine the Top Ten draft picks.

Michael Pitzer at USAToday will be our guide.

The Squibster will comment in italics.

Matt Ryan - The new face of the Dolphins?

1. Miami Dolphins -

Expect plenty of subterfuge from the Dolphins during the next two months; you’re better off not believing anything you hear from them. General manager Jeff Ireland threw open the door for a trade when he told the NFL Network at the Senior Bowl, “We’re open for business.” The Dolphins, who drafted John Beck in the second round a year ago, need to make a decision at quarterback. If they don’t like Beck or their options in free agency, then Boston College’s Matt Ryan would make sense. If not, look for Miami to go for defense. source

Isn’t it odd how Miami football and basketball have fallen on hard times. You can read about NBA Basketball at NBAObsessed, my other blog, but suffice it to say that Pat Riley has a plan to rebuild the team in 1 year after losing the Shaq. Does Bill Parcells have a plan? Well, most likely, but he has not told me in person, yet.

My guess is they go for Matt Ryan, even though that would go against conventional logic for building a team. (You build the lines first) Miami needs a new face and QB Matt Ryan could provide that face. Add in the fact that Bill Parcells believes in the quick turnaround. He has pulled it off himself, before. Logic still dictates trading down.

2. St. Louis Rams - Michael says no to the QB, and uses the level of health to determine whether they go for Jake Long, Virginia defensive end Chris Long, or LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey.

Make it Jake Long, you can’t go wrong.

3-5 (order to be determined by coin flip). Atlanta Falcons - Ryan or Arkansas running back Darren McFadden.

McFadden, with no QB, Atlanta will need some kind of run game.

3-5. Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Brian Billick could not get his message through anymore

Coaches come and coaches go.

Someone has to take the blame for a bad season and it is usually the coach, even though he has little control over what players he has or what teams they play or if guys get injured or … well, you get the idea.

Coaches can be the biggest control freaks on the planet and yet have so many things they do not control.

Brian Billick had the Ravens at 13 - 3 last year, but the team ended dead last in the division this year.

Some one had to be blamed. Brian was blamed.

Billick was fired Monday, less than 24 hours after his team concluded a season of high expectations with a disappointing 5-11 record. His entire staff, including defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, also was dismissed.

“I believed that it was time for a change, I believed that we have the nucleus of a team that can get back to the Super Bowl, and we felt that in the next five years we had a better chance with a new coach than leaving Brian in that position,” said owner Steve Bisciotti, who made the decision after consulting with team president Dick Cass and general manager Ozzie Newsome. source

That is owner speak for: Hey, we are not going to blame me!

NFL other firing news The Dolphins’ latest shake-up began before noon when new boss Bill Parcells fired general manager Randy Mueller and two other members of the player personnel staff. source

Tired ears

Unfortunately football players are human and after a while the message the coach preaches goes in one ear and out the other side of the helmet. Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Let’s take a look at the NFL Playoff picture.

NFC
Dallas, Green Bay, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Giants are in.
Dallas has the home field advantage.
Green Bay gets a first round bye.
The Giants got one of the wild cards.
Minnesota gets the other wild card with a victory or Saints loss.

Comments - Dallas, Green Bay, and Seattle all look pretty solid. Is Tampa really in the playoffs? Wouldn’t you love to see Brett Favre get one more ring!

Knocked out - Arizona, Atlanta, Carolina, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and St. Louis. Wow, Chicago after a dominant Super Bowl year! Detroit in spite of Kitna’s 10 or more wins prediction. Up and coming San Francisco was never up and coming.

AFC
New England, Indianapolis, San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville are in.
Jacksonville is one of the wild cards.
Cleveland needs a victory or Titans loss to get the other wild card.
Tennessee needs a victory, and it won’t be easy, facing the Colts, if they are to get the other wild card.

Comments - New England looks incredible. Colts and Chargers are solid, but will eventually have to visit New England. Name one Jacksonville player. Cleveland can continue the Derek Anderson story.

Knocked out - Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, N.Y. Jets, and Oakland. Baltimore after a surprising playoff year last year with great defense. Poised to be in the playoffs Denver never could get it really rolling. Now we know the real reason Saban left Miami.

NFL Football Fan Question Who are you picking to win each conference?

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