The Pittsburgh Steelers star safety Troy Polamalu won the NFL defensive player of the year, but in reality him winning shows these awards are more about popularity than performance.  Polamalu had 61 tackles, seven interceptions, a sack, and a forced fumble on the season.  Those are good numbers for a safety, but Polamalu also missed two games due to being injured, and the interesting part about it is it was an injury he could have played with.  While players and the media are crushing Jay Cutler for not playing on a partially torn MCL, they give Polamalu a pass for a strained achillies?

Fans of Polamalu will point to the fact that the Steelers are 5 – 7 when Polamalu misses a game, and they are 18 – 4 when he plays in the game.  Those are wonderful stats, but the award is for the best defensive player THIS year and not a lifetime achievement award.  In many of the games the Steelers played you can attribute their wins to multiple people other than Polamalu, the only game that stands out where he won the game for them is the second game against Baltimore.

This is not to diminish Polamalu’s skills or his accomplishments, but he has the #1 selling Jersey in the NFL and his hair has taken on a life of it’s own.  He is well liked by the media and fans, and his commercials are funny and show him in a good light.  So, of course if he wins it the fans and the media will be happy and everyone will feel that it was the right decision, plus the fact that his team is in the Super Bowl makes it even better.

I could make a case that Julius Peppers was just as deserving as Polamalu because he played all over the defensive line for the Chicago Bears, and he took that defense to the next level.  If you take Peppers off of that Bears defense you are looking at a team that does not even sniff the NFC championship game because they would not be able to generate a pass rush without him.  A case can also be made for Brian Urlacher as he recorded 125 tackles (double Polamalu), four sacks, two forced fumbles, and one interception.  Those are elite level numbers for any player on defense, and Polamalu’s numbers are nowhere near what Urlacher put up this year.

They discounted Brian Urlacher for some reason in this voting, and the second vote getter behind Polamalu was Clay Matthews.  Matthews recorded 60 tackles, 13.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception while moving around to different positions because of the myriad of injuries amassed by the Packers.  Matthews had as much or even a bigger effect on the Green Bay defense as Polamalu had on the Steelers defense, and his stats were better in most categories.

It is unclear as to any logical reason why the award was given to Polamalu over Matthews or even Urlacher who have better numbers and as much impact on their teams success as anyone.  Surely no one is complaining that Polamalu won it, but what could Urlacher do get another 40 tackles and that would have put him over the top?  The fact is Matthews and Urlacher did not miss a single game this season play middle linebacker which is arguably the toughest position to stay healthy at in football.  Polamalu plays safety, and although he is active he very rarely has to take on runners head on or 300+ pound offensive lineman.  Congratulations to Troy Polamalu, but it’s obvious two other players (maybe more) never had a chance next to Troy’s hair.

The NFC demolished the AFC 55 – 41 in the Pro Bowl on Sunday. The Pro Bowl returned to Hawaii after taking a one year hiatus in Miami, but it was still the week before the Super Bowl which lends itself to better ratings.  The game is a true exhibition because the rules in place prevent hard hits and plays that would cause injury, so it makes for bad football all around.  The NFC jumped out to a 42 – 0 lead as they walked through the AFC’s defense.  How does that even happen with all those all-stars on the AFC side?  Then the AFC goes on a 41 – 13 run in the rest of the game to make it interesting.  I know they have to have these exhibition games, but they sure can be bad to watch.

The Boston Celtics handled the Los Angeles Lakers 109 – 96 in  a game that really was not even that close. The game revealed a lot about the Celtics resolve to win another title, and the Lakers  seemingly content with winning the last two.  If you compare the two teams games against the elite teams in the NBA this season you can see where they are both headed at this point.  The Celtics have now beaten the Lakers, Spurs, Bulls, Magic and Heat twice.  The Lakers’ best win was probably over the Bulls at home in November when Carlos Boozer was injured.

The Cleveland Cavaliers extend their losing streak to 20 games courtesy of the Orlando Magic. Cleveland hasn’t won since Dec. 18. That’s one victory since its last meeting with LeBron James and Miami, who the Cavs face on the road Monday night. Orlando heads to Memphis.  Dwight Howard had a double double, and Ryan Anderson poured in 23 points as the Magic cruised to a 103 – 87 victory over Byron Scott’s team.  It is becoming more apparent now just how much Lebron meant to that Cavaliers teams as they have gone from the best record in the East with him, to the worst team in the NBA without him.

The Cincinnati Bengals are not inclined to trade their star QB Carson Palmer. Despite Palmer’s trade demand the Bengals ownership has come out and said they will not trade him, but instead focus on fixing the team that surrounds Palmer so he can be successful.  The Bengals even let Palmer off the hook for under performing this season, citing the quality of team they surrounded him with was to blame.  It seems that Palmer was bluffing when he used the “retirement” threat during his initial trade demand, and will be playing football for the Bengals again.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Friday that five of the 13 players hospitalized this week with a muscle disorder following grueling offseason workouts are being discharged.  The players had been hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis, a stress-induced syndrome that can damage cells and cause kidney problems.  It is unclear what caused the 13 players to all end up in the hospital and the University is launching an investigation into the incident.  This is the problem with college football, these players are not being paid millions of dollars for this and there is little to no oversight of the workouts and practices of the football teams at major universities.

The Jets defeated the New England Patriots on Sunday to advance to the AFC Title game for the second year in a row.  Many fans were turned off by the fact that the trash talking between the two teams seemed to escalate with every passing day.  A lot of fans pointed their ire at Rex Ryan and the Jets because they have been talking trash all year, and many consider Ryan to be a loud mouth blow hard who can’t keep his mouth shut.  But the Jets not only backed up all of that trash talk with a big win on the road, but they were able to get the normally “classy” Patriots to partake in the war of words during the week.  That was very much out of character for the Patriots who normally take the high road when those types of situations arise.

A prime example is when Patriots receiver Wes Welker had a rehearsed speech where he referenced the foot fetish videos made by Rex Ryan’s wife at least 11 times.  This caused a terse response from Jets linebacker Bart Scott, who said that Welker’s days in a uniform were numbered if he continued talking about his coach.  The fact is this resulted in Welker being benched for the first few series of the game by Bill Belichick because the Patriots do not condone that type of trash talking in public, attacking a family member of someone on the other team is going a bit too far in their eyes.

You had people debating all week and calling into radio shows talking about how trash talking has no place in the game, and that the Jets did not have any class because they were trash talking.  These people must be football purists, or have never competed in athletics during their lifetime.  At most levels of team sports there is a good bit of trash talk, and it even goes farther than that.  Dirty things happen on the field of play, and there are nasty things said that fans never hear because they are in the stands.  This is the truth about sports and it is not going to change any time soon, how can you knock a guys lights out if you haven’t psyched yourself up to feel that they are the enemy?  Many great athletes who are considered to have “Class” were the biggest trash talkers in the history of sports, but because the media cycle was not as vicious then as it is now no one ever noticed.

With all of that being said apparently people like the trash talk enough that the game itself drew the biggest ratings for a divisional playoff game in 14 years.  The game earned a 26.2 overnight rating and a 44 share which translates into about 43.5 million people who watched that game, these are numbers that have not been seen since a 1997 match up between Dallas and Carolina.  The Chicago Bears vs. Seattle Seahawks game played earlier that day only had a 19.1 rating, and was watched by considerably less people than the Jets vs. Patriots game.

It seems all of that trash talk made people want to tune into the game for some reason, so for all of the people that claim they hate trash talk why tune in?  They tuned in because some wanted to see the Jets get their mouth shut by the Patriots, so they could feel some sort of personal vindication that the trash talkers got what they deserved.  If you watched the game there were no less than 100 Patriots fans with signs making fun of Rex Ryan’s foot fetish situation, so it’s okay for fans to talk trash, but not players?  Trash talking makes the game fun for everyone, especially the fans because if you don’t hate the other team what fun is it to watch the game?  Villains in movies are written to be brash and cocky to cause people to identify them as the Villain and with them ill will throughout, is sports no different?

The New England Patriots have done it again, the “Pats” have traded their star receiver Randy Moss and a seventh round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round pick.  That part you have already heard if you have been breathing for the last 24 hours, and everyone has their speculations about what is going to happen to both teams.  Some say the Vikings are going to be unstoppable, and others say that the Patriots are going to lose their offensive fire power.

We will find out exactly what ends up happening as the season progresses, but this situation brings something else to light.  Why do Bill Belichick and Bob Craft get off the hook for making bad moves?  The Patriots are hardly ever criticized for bad transactions, instead all we hear is how Belichick is a genius and he knows what he is doing.  It’s almost like the man can do no wrong.  Former Patriot Teddy “Beerman” Bruschi was on ESPN today talking about how Moss was a distraction, and that having young players in the locker room who were impressionable forced the Patriots to act.  Then they talked about the alleged locker room incident where Moss and the offensive coordinator had words during half time of the Monday Night game against the Miami Dolphins.

Wait just one minute!  First of all Moss allegedly approached the offensive coordinator and wanted to discuss some offensive adjustments for the second half that could help them score.  The offensive coordinator took it personal that a “lowly” wide receiver would suggest game strategy to him, after all this coach led his team to a whopping six points in the first half against the Dolphins.  It sounds to me like the coach could not see past his own ego, and realize that Moss was engaged in the game and wanted to see how he could get more involved and help the offense.  Secondly, Teddy Bruschi needs to sit down somewhere.  The players in the locker room are not twelve years old, and they all know how things run in New England.  Moss was well liked by his teammates (Bruschi admitted as much himself), and they aren’t going to be like Randy is acting out, so let’s do the same.  It does not work like that, people know where Randy is coming from and they quietly support him out of fear that they don’t offend senator Palpatine and his underling.

What team has traded a receiver that is a lock to be a hall of famer, and a guy who still in his prime demands attention on every play from the defense?  There is only one scenario that matches this one, the Philadelphia Eagles when they got rid of Terrell Owens.  Moss is a better receiver than Owens which is why this move does not make sense.  We all know why they did it, the Patriots don’t want to pay Moss because they are cheap.  They want to get something for him rather than letting him become a free agent, and leave without them getting something in return.  They did the same thing with Richard Seymour one of the better defensive lineman in the league, they have franchised Vince Wilfork rather than giving him a new contract or letting him become a free agent.

All of these moves have watched the Patriots become less and less dominant with each transaction, now they are sitting on eight draft picks in the first four rounds of this years NFL draft.  The Philadelphia Eagles, much like the New England Patriots do not want to pay market value for their players unless they have no other choice.  Tom Brady took a pay cut for his last contract to help them stay cheap (and sign other players), Brady was making about $7 million a year, to contrast Buffalo wide receiver Lee Evans makes $9 million a year.

The Patriots are replacing Moss with Brandon Tate, and just the sound of it gives the impression there is a big loss in the exchange.  When you have Tom Brady then you can take some gamble, but this time Bill Belichick and Bob Craft may have outsmarted themselves.  Defenses can now focus on taking away Wes Welker, which means Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Tate will have to pick up the slack.  Who?

The beginning of the 2010 NFL season is just around the corner, and while there are still a few moves that will likely be made before week 1 games get underway, we have a solid good idea of what each team is going to look like this season. Based on what has happened so far during the off season; here is a look at my 2010 NFL predictions.

AFC East: I have the New England Patriots repeating as division winners in 2010, but should get a strong push from the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins. Even after the Jets amazing run to the AFC
Championship game last year, I believe that the Dolphins are going to top them for the No.2 spot in this division, while the Buffalo Bills finish way back in last place.

AFC North: The Cincinnati Bengals dominated this division in 2009, going a perfect 6-0, but I don’t think we will see that happen again in 2010. I have the Baltimore Ravens slated atop this division, as
they figure to be one of the more balanced teams in all of football. I then have the Bengals slightly ahead of the Steelers, who could dig a huge hole to start the season without Ben Roethlisberger. The Browns figure to be much improved this season, but I don’t think we will see them make a run at the division title just yet.

AFC South: As long as Peyton Manning is quarterback of the Colts, they are going to be the favorites to win this division. They do however figure to get a strong push from both the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans this season, both of whom have the talent to make the playoffs. I have the Jacksonville Jaguars finishing last, as I just don’t think they did enough to truly compete in this division.

AFC West: The Chargers are the clear cut favorites to win this division, and should have no problem doing just that. I do however see big improvements coming from both the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs had a huge off season when you look at the draft and coaching changes, while the Raiders finally cut ways with quarterback JaMarcus Russell. I have the Denver Broncos falling back to the bottom of this division, as I just don’t think there are enough weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

NFC East: This is arguably the toughest division in all of football, making it very hard to predict just who will come out on top. As of right now I have the Dallas Cowboys as my clear cut favorites to take
home the top spot. Despite the trade of quarterback Donovan McNabb, I have the Philadelphia Eagles slated second in this division, just ahead of McNabb and the Washington Redskins. That leaves the New York Giants to finish in last, but this team is much better than any other last place team you will find, and could easily finish atop this division.

NFC North: As long as Brett Favre comes back to be the quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings, they are going to be the top dog in this division, but they don’t have a very big edge over the Green Bay
Packers, who many believe will win this division even if Favre does come back to Minnesota. The Chicago Bears should be better than their 7-9 record a year ago, and could be a surprise team out of the NFC.  The Detroit Lions figure to show some big improvements from a year ago, but not enough to get them out of the basement in the North.

NFC South: Despite the fact that there hasn’t been a repeat winner in this division since the realignment back in 2002, I have the New Orleans Saints winning the South once again in 2010, as they look to defend their Super Bowl Championship. The team that has the best shot at taking over the top spot are the Atlanta Falcons, who should make a strong push to get back to the postseason. I have the Carolina Panthers slated to finish third, but this team could be another one of those teams that surprises everyone. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to improve, but will likely finish in the bottom again this season.

NFC West: With the retirement of Kurt Warner from the Arizona Cardinals the West figures to be wide open this season, as there really isn’t a clear cut favorite. I am giving the early edge to the
San Francisco 49ers, but I believe that the Arizona Cardinals will be right there with a great shot at winning the division again this season. I have the St Louis Rams finishing slightly ahead of the
Seattle Seahawks, but neither team figures to be much of a threat at all this season.

If you are interested in beating the NFL spreads this season, be sure to stop back for our expert NFL picks from the top handicappers in the world.

The Cincinnati Bengals signed Terrell Owens to a 1-year $2 million dollar deal this week.  I think Owens will be an asset to the Bengals receiving corps with his “homeboy” Chad Ochocinco on the other side.  Most fans and pundits will bemoan the signing of Owens, and the cries of how Owens is a cancer and will ruin the team chemistry will surely start.  Owens was correct when he said the media was one of the reasons he had not been signed by a team, all sportscasters have been saying on the radio is they don’t see how Owens will help a team.  They forgot the fact that he had no problems in Buffalo last year, and was a model citizen, and to top it off has never been in trouble off the field.

This article is not about Owens signing though; this is about the Bengals General Manager Mike Brown assembling probably the biggest group of misfits in the league.  I talked in a previous article about each team needing to have a certain element of “Bad boy” or flamboyant players on a team as a path to success.  There are a few teams who can make it without that element, but most teams need to have those fringe players who can cross the line anytime.  That is what makes these players good they play with confidence even bordering on cockiness that they will take risks to make plays that not many others will.

Maybe that is why the Bengals have taken the road less traveled and signed the NFL all trouble team over the past few seasons.  The Bengals have signed Adam “Pacman” Jones, Tank Johnson, Antonio Bryant, Cedric Benson, Matt Jones, Chris Henry, and Terrell Owens all of them had off the field issues with the exception of Owens.  Throw a unique and cocky Chad Ochocinco in there and you have a team of big personalities.  The haters have started commenting already, this will never work, these guys won’t function together, they are going to argue over catches and whatever other negative things they can come up with.

I like what the Bengals are doing here, they need to get over the hump and find a way to get past the Jets, Colts, Patriots, and Chargers in the AFC.  In the end it comes down to how many wins and losses you have, no one gives a crap about a team of good guys who never get in trouble when the team is 0 – 12.  Mike Brown is sending a message that he is trying to win this season, and adding a multiple time pro bowler like Owens is not a bad thing if you are trying to win games.

All the people doubting these moves are forgetting something, this is the NFL where the contracts are not guaranteed.  So if Johnson, Jones, or Owens become too much of a headache they can cut ties with them and not be forced to pay that player all that much in return.  There is a money side to this as well, you have two receivers on the same team who have reality T.V. shows, Pacman is known for “making it rain”, and Cedric Benson’s mugshots and police run-ins are legendary.  That all sounds like entertainment to me, and that is why people will buy tickets and tune in on television to watch the Bengals.    People want to see if that T.O. blow up comes, or if Pacman gets in trouble at another strip club, it is all for entertainment value.  When fans realize the NFL and other pro sports are entertainment businesses more than anything, then maybe they can see the hidden brilliance in these moves.

What a difference a year makes, the New York Jets made it to the AFC Championship game last year, falling short only one game from the Super Bowl.  Now the media all of a sudden have the Jets winning the Super Bowl next season, this team finished 9 – 7 last year and will be entering the season with a second year quarterback.  I would hardly say this team is a lock to win or even go to the Super Bowl.

I hate to admit this as a Jets fan, but had Peyton Manning given a crap during their late season meeting last year in Week 16 then the Jets are not even in the playoffs.  I won’t take anything away from what the Jets did last year in the post season, but that does not mean they are poised to win it all this year. The off-season changes are why many experts think they will do well, but did the Jets actually get better?

They let their leading rusher last season Thomas Jones leave the team, and brought in LaDainian Tomlinson in a cost cutting measure.  The Jets did not save all that much money on the deal, comparing the two contracts I believe it was less than $1 million dollars in savings.  Not to mention that Tomlinson is a question mark himself and the Jets really do not have any idea of what they are going to get out of him.  Thomas Jones was a proven commodity; they knew what they were going to get out of him on a weekly basis.  I know that Shonn Greene is the future, and they believe he is ready to be a top rate back in this league, but if he gets injured then you are stuck with LT and Joe McKnight!  According to www.ESPN.com LT was quoted as saying, “We’re obviously competing, and I think the best man is going to get the starting job.” With regards to his competition for the starting running back job.

Through a trade with the Chargers, they acquired cornerback Antonio Cromartie to play opposite field of the best cornerback in the NFL, Darrelle Revis.  Cromartie is the same player the Jets ran over on the way to the end zone and a playoff victory.  He is good against the pass but soft against the run and will be exposed allowing big runs by the opposition just like he did against this Jets team.  That is going to be a problem on a defense that yielded hardly any yards on the ground last season.  They are hoping a change of scenery will bring out a new side of Cromartie, I would not hold my breath.

This team will not surprise anyone this year, and the league will be ready to take on the New York Jets.  Inside the division the Patriots are still dangerous, and the Miami Dolphins beat the Jets twice last season.  This will be far from a cake walk, and with everyone gunning for them it will be difficult to live up to the lofty expectations.  You can look up the NFL Point Spread throughout the season to see if the Jets are living up to expectations.

The Miami Dolphins traded for talented but troubled Broncos Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall today, in a move that surprised a lot of teams.  The reason is the Dolphins Czar of football operations typically does not deal with “divas” on his teams, and Marshall would definitely fit in that category.

On top of that the Dolphins signed him to a 4 year, $47.5 million dollar contract with $24 million guaranteed, while giving up several second round draft picks.  This is a lot of money and a big gamble on a guy who has had his share of on and off the field issues.  But the bigger change is this trade may have made the AFC East the best conference in the NFL.

The case can be made because the Jets have made tremendous off season moves acquiring, Antonio Cromartie, LaDanian Tomlinson, and Santonio Holmes all for relatively favorable terms for the Jets.  Yes Cromartie is a gamble, but if he can return to his form of a few years ago the Jets will have the best secondary in the league by far.  Sanchez should be better after a full season under his belt, and proven weapons to throw too.  Couple that with the Jets offensive line and power running game, and this team is poised for another deep playoff run.

The New England Patriots have not made any big off season moves, things have been relatively quiet around Foxboro these days.  But do they really need to do anything?  They locked up Vince Wilfork for another seasons, Brady, Moss, and Welker are all coming back to a prolific offense.  The offensive line should be better, and if they can find a semblance of a running game this season they will be right back in the running for the Super Bowl.

With the addition of Marshall, and the continued development of Chad Henne, the Dolphins are poised to be in the thick of things as well.  Take the Dolphins rushing attack, and a quarterback who can actually stretch the field with his arm, and the Dolphins offense now looks to be viable.  The defense was solid last season, and they believe removing Joey Porter will allow them to actually get younger and more athletic at the line backer position.

The Buffalo Bills have not made many moves either, and are expected to draft a quarterback in the upcoming NFL Draft.  They have a new coach, and are rumored to be seeking a trade to send Marshawn Lynch out of town.  Terrell Owens is gone, their offensive line is porous, and their quarterback situation is far from being resolved.  They were last place in the division, and unless something changes they will be there again this season.

If you look around the NFL there are few other division that have three teams that all viable enough to make deep playoff runs, maybe the NFC East, but with the trade of McNabb the Eagles are a question mark.  The only other division is the AFC South, but the Texans and Titans, or Jagauars would need to all step up big time to change that dynamic.

As a Jets fan I will be watching the AFC East race very closely as usual, but now Revis gets Moss and Marshall two times a season.  Think about what he would face if Terrell Owens had stayed in Buffalo?