So, as I was on my way to BWI Airport to to windmill Flacco for his horrible ass play, I ran across this video on Black Sports Online, courtesy of WNST, from Ravens LB Ray Lewis about yesterday's game:


Now, by any means did the Ravens lose because of the penalties. But I agree with Lewis 100%. There were 2 BAD calls that accredited to 6 points the Bengals received because of it. The tripping call on Lewis was bull, because he was blocked to the ground and he was trying to get up. The Suggs call was bull hockey, particularly because Palmer had the ball still in his hand as Suggs was taking him to the ground.

More and more, the NFL is becoming too technical and too Charmin-esque when it comes to the way they protect their QBs. We get it- the league is a QB-driven league. But by any means, let these guys play!

But let's not get ahead of ourselves Ray, Joe Flacco is why you lost, my friend. 4 INTs cannot happen for a team w Super Bowl aspirations.

P.S.- If I see Flacco anywhere around town this week, I'm still gonna windmill him.

Dear Arizona Cardinals- Call Kurt Warner and offer him $100 million NOW! Maybe he'll reconsider. Without him you suck!

Did anyone see the Cowboys going 0-2?? Did anyone see Jay Cutler throwing ZERO INTs in a game??? What is the NFL world coming to?


Last April after Jason Campbell was traded to the Raiders, I suggested that Bruce Gradkowski should at least be able to compete for the starting job. I was told how dumb that was and how Campbell is better.. blah, blah, wonk wonk... but after yesterday's game, Tom Cable got my memo and finally got it right. He benched Campbell, put in Gradkowski and he helped lead the Raiders to a victory over the Rams. In the words of Shaquille O'Neal, "Tell me how my ass tastes".

Dear Mark Sanchez: Thanks for showing up at the party this week!

Dear Darrelle Revis: We saw you grab your hamstring after that Moss 1-hand TD. All I have to say is,


THAT'S the San Diego Chargers squad I know!

Aaron Rodgers, you are doing the damn thing, but your Lambeau Leap SUCKS! Work on that, mmmmmkay?!

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 2-0?????


The Texans-Redskins game is reason number 1, why I love the game of football. Just when you think you can count someone out, they find ways to come back and win games. That game was by far the best game of the week. And it paralleled last year's Saints-Redskins game. Down 10 points in the 4th Qtr, Matt Schaub hit Andre Johnson with the tying TD with 2 minutes left in the game. A blocked FG that would have given Washington a nice cushion was the leading factor into the game going into OT. I thought the Texans would lose for SURE after Gary Kubiak decided to punt opposed to kicking a 52-yard FG to try and win the game. But the Texans were given new life after Graham Gano missed his 52-yarder.

That game was exciting, full of offense and nail biting. This is why I love football.

PS- Is it crazy that I am (quietly) rooting for the Texans, week after week?!


Giants looked bad, real bad, Michael Jackson

Vince Young gets benched- again! Hey look, the sky is blue!

Michael Vick is balling.... and not looking back. And if Andy Reid brings in Kevin Kolb next week, he might have to say goodbye to his head coaching job. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Maybe Favre should've stayed retired after all.................................

So I found this video on Yahoo Sports and thought it was pretty interesting and cool. A video in quadruple speed, showing how the stadium transforms from Giants stadium on Sunday afternoon to Jets stadium, ready for Monday Night Football.

New Meadowlands Stadium Change Over Time-Lapse from Ken Friberg and Daniel Life on Vimeo.

So..... I didn't do too well last week, with Week 1 of my picks. What had happened was....................... I over analyze everything. And even though I had a few close ones (like Calvin Johnson getting ROBBED and the Lions losing as a result), almost never counts. Hopefully this will be a better week for your girl. But I can't make any promises. The season is still early so the unexpected victories will be in play. Anyway, here's my Week 2 NFL picks. Wish me luck!

Pittsburgh @ Tennessee (-5) - Vince Young >>> Dennis Dixon, at this point. I like the Titans, but let's not kid ourselves w the point spread. It's still the Steelers, who has a great defense.
Winner: by 3

Miami @ Minnesota (-5.5) -Old man Favre gets some much needed rest and lights up Minnesota up. Miami doesn't impress me at this point.
Winner:


Arizona @ Atlanta (-6.5)- Atlanta gets it right this week.
Winner:

Kansas City @ Cleveland (-2) - I'm gonna jump on the SEC of the NFL, AKA the KC Chiefs. They have a good running game, decent defense and possibly the next Dante Hall of special teams in Dexter McCluster. Sorry Cleveland, I don't believe you, you need more people
Winner:

Baltimore(-2.5) @ Cincinnati- This is a hard pick for me. The Bengals always gives the Ravens matchup problems. Add Terrell Owens to the mix and it may be a long day for my boys on defense. I also can't see Cincy going 0-2. I think it'll be close, but no cigars for my Ravens :(
Winner:

Chicago @ Dallas (-7.5) - I'm not a believer in the Bears, as long as Cutler is there. They almost let a Lions team beat 'em, so do you REALLY think i am picking them to beat the Cowboys?! PSSSSSHHHHH!!
Winner:

Philadelphia (-6) @ Detroit- Mike Vick shows his ass this weekend. I want to pick Detroit, because I want them to not suck anymore. But Matt Stafford being out doesn't help much.
Winner:

Buffalo @ Green Bay (-13)- Bufflao will let CJ Spiller loose. But it won't be enough because the Packers are THAT good.
Winner:

Tampa Bay @ Carolina (-3.5) - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Wake me when this one is over.
Winner:

Seattle @ Denver (-3.5) - Okay, so Pete Carroll got his 1st NFL since returning to the league. Now he'll get his first loss this Sunday.
Winner:

St. Louis @ Oakland (-3.5) - Oakland, this is your last chance to prove me right, dammitz! I said you were on a major rise this season. But so far you suck major ass. If you lose this weekend I won't be picking you anymore this season. And you know I'm petty, so I mean it
Winner:

Houston (-3) @ Washington- The Redskins didn't have 1 offensive TD last week. The Texans, however, scored 34 points last week. I'm not saying Houston will have a field day against the Redskins. But I am saying Hall and Rogers are about to learn just who Andre Johnson is.
Winner:

New England (-3) @ NY Jets- The way the Pats played last week, they look like they are on a mission. The way the Jets offense looked last week, they look like they are scurrred (not scared, but scurrred). I'm picking the quiet, confident group. Not the loud, obnoxious one.
Winner:

Jacksonville @ San Diego (-7) - My boo and Co. will right the ship this week. But I still expect the Jaguars to try and spoil the party. It's a shame no one will be able to see it locally, because the game will probably be blacked out.
Winner:

NY Giants @ Indianapolis (-5) - AKA, The Manning Bowl. Eli vs. Peyton... Big Head vs Jug Head. This should be a good one, just like the last time these two rock head brothers met. I expect a good game, but with the same results as last time. Big Bro Manning wins again.... in a good game.
Winner:

MNF: New Orleans (-5.5) @ San Francisco- San Fran looked AWFUL last week. Playing against the world champs on Monday Night might not be the ego booster they need. Basically, I ain't picking 'em!
Winner:

Earlier this week, I read an article about Tom Brady's thoughts regarding Patriots fans leaving the home opener against the Bengals, a bit too early. Brady admitted that he wasn't too happy about fans rolling out before the clock said 0:00 and even indicated that Jets fans probably don't hit the road before their team is done playing.

With Brady's comments(comments I agree with), I started to think about Fairweather fans. For the record, I'm not saying the Patriots have them, but if you're a Pats fan and was offended by my segue, then maybe the shoe fits more than you thought. Anyway, I wanted to know what teams did folks think were a "Fairweather Fan" team, a team that has support (or maybe not) when they are doing good, but they disappear into thin air when they do bad.

So I took the question to my Twitter and Facebook pages. I wanted to get an idea of what the general public thought about this. I calculated the Top 3 teams that were mentioned the most. Here's what I got based on my social networking survey:


#3

When asked why people mentioned the Bengals, I had one tweeter say the following:



The Bengals are a hard team to follow. They haven't been the most consistent team in terms of winning. And even though they won the AFC North last year, fans still haven't gone out and bought season tickets. One can blame it on the bad economy, but ticket sale problems were long before America faced such issues. As for the tweeter, maybe there is some truth to that. Neither the Bengals nor Browns have won a playoff game since the Browns came back to Cleveland in 1999. No excuses, but I understand.

#2 /

I found it ironic that I had an equal amount of folks say both the Jags and the Panthers. Especially since both teams became expansion teams in the same year, 1995. This is probably the one that's a head scratcher. The Jags have been pretty competitive and have even won playoff games. The Jags beat the Steelers at home, twice in one season in 2007, something that had never been done before they did it. The Panthers have been to the Super Bowl and was very close in beating the Patriots, a team that many consider a dynasty. But when asked about the reasoning behind the vote, one tweeter summed it up for both teams:



I disagreed with this initially, simply because the Ravens aren't 20 yrs old yet they have always had the backing of their fans at home. But I had to remember that Baltimore was and still is a football city, even when the Colts left town. These 2 cities, not so much. Jacksonville is Gator Country and Carolina fans already had teams they rooted for and have yet to fully converted. After further review, maybe she has a point after all.


#1

I received the most votes for the Falcons.... and it wasn't even close. The reasoning was pretty much the same amongst many: Atlanta is a transplant city, full of non-natives. So people already have a team prior to moving there. Even with the Braves and Hawks in town, it's pretty common to know that it's not just the Falcons, but all Atlanta teams struggle with the Fairweather syndrome. One person's response made me giggle a little:

>

Another person thinks it's more about fans liking a player and not the team that they play for:


The public has spoken. Falcon fans are as fairweather as they come. Not a good look when you have other cities that would rob and steal for an NFL team. The thing about it is, the Falcons have a pretty decent squad right now (on paper, at least). Time to get out and support them, people!


Honorable Mentions:

Many folks believes the city of Miami belongs to "The U", the University of Miami. So the loyalty to their NFL isn't strong.

Most people believe that before Brady, no one cared about the Pats. Need I remind folks that Drew Bledsoe was the QB before Brady and led his team to a SB, but I digress. It's also noted that Boston is Red Sox crazy, so there is No Country For Pats Football in Beantown.

Thanks to all that participated in my survey.

The NFL has finally admitted to being impacted by a struggling economy. NFL attendance has been down, while the TV ratings are up 20% from a year ago. The NFL blames the emergence of HDTV as a reason why people are choosing to watch the game from the comfort of their own home, opposed to attending the games.


Yeah......... okay.

As a frequent game attender, I can tell you that's from from the truth. Ticket prices are sky high. A family of 4 going to a football game is about an average of $360 just for tickets. Add the high concession at the stadium, and we're talking about a possible $500 day, just to see your favorite team play live. In an economy where unemployment is still a big concern, one can't possibly think of going to an NFL as a viable option.

If the NFL wants to avoid this alarming trend, they must lower the tickets prices... at least for now. Allow discount packages to those who are PSL and/or season ticket holders, before releasing their tickets to the public. And for crying out loud, reduce preseason games to 50% and give half of the tickets to community little leagues. As much as I love going to football games, I refuse to spend a % of my salary just for the atmosphere. I could easily enjoy the game in the comfort of my own home.

The fans should be the top priority. Get with the times, the country is struggling. The NFL is a smart business, hopefully they will get it right.

This week, the Ravens head to Cincinnati to play the Bengals. This is a BIG divisional matchup against the 2 teams that made it to the playoffs last year. While both teams look to repeat last year's success, none of this would be interesting if it weren't for Twitter's greatest sports tweeter- Chad Ochocinco.

Ocho has started with his trash talking to Ravens players already. Tweets from 85 started yesterday evening with his good friend, Ray Lewis:


But it didn't stop there. Chad then went after Ravens RB Willis McGahee:











In the midst of this "Tweet War", Ravens FB LeRon McClain jumped in to defend his teammate. Chad wasted no time to turn his attention to #33:









Although I'm sure these guys are friends in real life, this is great entertainment for tweeters like myself. How can you NOT love Twitter. Hopefully Sunday's game is as good as the Twitter trash talk!

Go Ravens!

I know... It's Wednesday and I am JUST getting to what happened 3 days ago. My deepest apologies. I was on the new chapter of the Gridiron Gals Tour this past weekend. On Sunday night, Pigskin Loving Lady and I went to DC to see the Redskins beat the Cowboys in the last minute thriller. Then we headed up 95 North to see my Ravens get a win over the NY Jets. If you were me, you'd be updating your blog 3 days late, too.

Calvin Johnson was ROBBED!

Raiders, Bengals, 49ers and Chargers.... SMH at you!

There is nothing wrong with being confident about your team. But having your mouth write checks that your offense can't cash isn't a good look. If you need to ask, YES, I'm talking to Rex Ryan.

Two words: Ray...effing..... Lewis! Okay, that's 3 words but you get my point!!



This just in: Mike Vick still got it!

Jason Garrett= Brian Billick

Run Alex Barron... RUN!!!

Redskins fans, it's Wednesday. Enough with the, "We beat the Cowboys" talk. You have a MUCH bigger problem coming to town when you play Houston on Sunday.

Did I say Calvin Johnson Got robbed?!

Philip Rivers.. simma down boo! I know you're passionate when it comes to your craft, but you gotta take it easy... You don't make the hottest faces when you're mad, you know?! LuvUHere!

T.O.- You're a diva. The End!