On Thursday, when I talked to Ravens running back Ray Rice on his line up for the upcoming, “Ray Rice Day” events, Rice slightly got off topic and talked briefly about his path in the NFL.

Ray Rice: “I’m excited about it.. At this point in my career, I should be living the life, like most guys would. But football isn’t about living the life for me. For me, football is about providing for my family…..”

Coming from a 25-year-old  running back  at the peak of his career in the National Football League, that tells you how mature and ahead of his time Rice is. He extended that sentiment by having his 1st Ray Rice Day in Baltimore this past weekend.

About 700 children attended Saturday’s events at Calvert Hall that included a football clinic. A plethora of Rice’s teammates came to support the cause, including FB Vonta Leach, WR Torrey Smith, CB LarDarius Webb and OT Michael Oher, to name a few. On such a beautiful day, The event was a success. Rice didn’t disappoint in getting involved with the kids.

Perhaps Rice is taking over the helms of “Big Ray” Lewis, who has been a stature in the Baltimore community since being drafted by the Ravens in 1996. But Lewis is in the sunset stages in his career, and it’s a pretty fair assumption that Rice is now the BRIC (Big Ray In Charge) in Charm City. He’s younger, personable and a rising superstar in this league. To choose to hold his event in Baltimore now is perfect timing in transition.

This event isn’t just a photo op for Rice. It’s clear based on his interaction that he loves the kids. ”Look at these kids, they’re nothing but smiles,” Rice said. “I love the kids, I love being active in the community. I kind of feel bad for the kids that didn’t get in. To see the smiles on these kids’ faces is priceless.”

Rice is as genuine as they come. One parent lost their child in the midst of the excitement and was frantically trying to find her daughter. Rice ended up being the one finding the little girl, and brought her back to her mother, holding the little girl’s hand. The mother was so elated that she embraced Rice affectionately- and he returned the gesture. Some things you simply can’t fake.

For many players of Rice’s age and popularity, partying and bottle popping is usually a top priority. But after our conversation it became clear to me that Rice has a bigger, better plan. It would be wise to see the Ravens re-sign Rice (the Ravens have used their franchise tag on him), not only for what he can do on the field, but for all the things that he does off as well.

Note: This is the 1st year Rice has held his event in Baltimore. He has previously held his event in New York, and revealed that he will hold events in both cities.

Before I headed to the NFL Draft on Thursday night, Steelergurl and I were invited to an exclusive  tour and a Q&A with Commissioner Goodell at the new NFL headquarters office in NY. To say I was excited is an understatement. I couldn’t wait to see what the new office looked like (and to brag to all of my friends and family that I was there, I won’t lie).

As we walked into the office we’re greeted by the biggest TV screen I have ever seen on an office wall, followed by an awesome receptionist desk shaped like a football.. We were then escorted to the officiating command room, which is the room where every NFL game is aired live while officials watch everything, to make sure they’re not “surprised” with anything during games.

We were greeted by Brian McCarthy, the NFL’s head PR guy, followed by Ray Anderson, the Executive VP of football operations.Then, the moment we all waited for- the Q&A with the commish.

In a room of about 20 football bloggers, the commish answered every single question that came his way. Questions from Bounty Gate, to the future of the Pro Bowl, to whether or not he gets a nap in before the NFL Draft starts. My question to him: How he feels he was perceived by the fans on his job so far. His answer: While he loves the fans and respects their opinions and views, he’s not the commissioner to be a part of a popularity contest. Well said. Check out the video below of some footage from the Q&A event.

Once the commish was done with the Q&A session, Ray Anderson came back and it soon became clear what the message was that the NFL wanted us to relay- they are SERIOUS about illegal hits and fines in the league for the 2012 season and beyond. After explaining the process of how and when players are fined for hits, we then watched a 12-minute video showing us what hits were legal and what hits were not. The NFL is not playing about this subject, and having us there to reiterate this message became evident as the day went on. With the class action suits building each day with new players joining in for compensation for concussions, the NFL is really cracking down and they want everyone to know it.

After the 12-minute video, we were able to tour the entire facility, which had 4 floors. Interesting enough, each floor was themed- one geared to the teams, one for the fans, one for innovation and an executive floor. The best floor was-of course- the fans floor. They have a wall called the, “Wall of emotions”, random pictures of fans with all kinds of facial expressions to explain their mood with their favorite football team. The fans floor also had a wall that complied of over 4,000 game stubs from over the years. I was able to find the Ravens inaugural ticket from 1996 on the wall The football nerd in me collects game tickets so I loved the concept of the ticket wall.

The NFL really made the bloggers feel comfortable by reaching out to us and allowing us to view their beautiful new home. I’m glad I was able to share this with you. To check out how the rest of my NFL Draft experience went, click here to check it out

Last week during Nike’s NFL Launch, I had a chance to chat with a few players. Among them were one of my favorite guys on and off the field, Mr. Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens.

Ray and I talked about getting over it (By, “it”, I mean the heartbreaking AFC Championship game in January), how the Ravens continue to stay competitive after losing big impact guys and defending his QB, Joe Flacco.

One thing I didn’t get a chance to talk to him about was his current contract situation. Rice was tagged by the Ravens as their franchise player this offseason, while trying to sign him to a deal long-term. Hopefully, this will all be over with soon and Rice will have his deal. If not, I’ll be sure to ask him about it during his foundation event in Baltimore May 12th.

Thanks to Ray for being a great guy and a better interviewee (or as I call him, my football BFF). Is it July yet??

If there were ever a time you wondered if Nike was the best in the business, I’m here to tell you quite frankly- they are! To provide proof, I wanted to give the viewers a look inside the production of the Nike NFL Launch that took place in New York last week.

By now, you’ve seen the new jerseys (and I use that term lightly, a lot of changes weren’t noticeable on the surface except for a few) and created your opinions about them. What you didn’t see is how Nike presented it to the media, who then presented them to the rest of the world. Nike is a world class business, and last week’s unveiling confirmed this. The detail they put into their production was first class. Bringing in NFL stars such as Michael Vick, Ben Roethlisberger, Ray Rice and Champ Bailey, to name a few, only confirms that Nike is one of the best to ever do it.

Big props to Nike for allowing me to partake in a great presentation. Here’s an inside look on how a billion dollar business introduces new (and old) ideas into the world. Check out my Facebook page as well to see pictures.

It’s amazing how time flies. We’re already beginning the 2nd half of our beloved NFL season,  So of course, it’s time to see how your favorite team fared midway through the 2011 season. Only, instead of giving actual grades, I’m breaking them up in categories. Same analysis as ESPN, but better because it’s not so formal. So without further ado…. the midseason report cards.

F*ck It, I’m On One!: Green Bay Packers

The Packers deserve a column of their own. As far as NFL class goes, there’s the Packers and then there’s everyone else. No one is touching them right now and to be honest, I don’t know who will. Aaron Rodgers is playing like he’s possessed right about now. I like Green Bay but the little hater in me says they need to sit their bragging asses down somewhere. No reason why I feel that way, I’m just a little green and tired of seeing them win.

They Are Who We Thought They Were:  Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots

The Steelers started out old and slow, but they’ve finally got the ball rolling. They’ve been on fire the past few weeks, and have picked up from last season, thanks to the emergence of guys like Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. The Patriots make this list because they’re still a team of concern if they’re on your schedule, but they can’t stop a nose bleed (Bart Scott voice) so unless they figure out to stop good teams, they may be in trouble….

Well I’ll Be John Brown (c/o @DragonflyJonez): Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills

I dedicate this category to my Twitter buddy, who always uses this term at the right time and better than anybody I know. Most of us looked at contenders for 2011 and didn’t think about any of these teams, for a lot of reasons. New players, lockout hangover, inconsistent or not good in years past…. for whatever reason, unless you were a fan of these teams, they simply weren’t on your radar. Well I’ll be John Brown if they aren’t now. The Bengals are 5-2 with a Top 5 defense and have shown success with Andy Dalton and AJ Green. The 49ers changed their coaching staff and brought in Jim Harbaugh and have only lost one game so far, even giving Alex Smith some life. And the Bills, who had every bounce against them in 2010 despite playing hard, are finally getting the ball in their court. The Lions are probably the least bit shocking, since they finished 2010 strong. But it’s the Lions…. you still haven’t forgotten about 0-16 and Matt Stafford gets hurt if you blow on him hard enough. Alas, no bad karma and all teams are doing big things

They’re Good, BUT……..: Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons 

These teams have a winning record so they’re good based on record but we really have no idea what to expect for the 2nd half of the season. The Ravens have beaten quality opponents in Pittsburgh, Houston and the Jets, but have crapped the pot against teams they should have beaten in Tennessee and Jacksonville…… The Giants are decent, but their schedule the next 6 weeks is beyond brutal and one has to wonder will the injuries they have finally start to catch up….. The Chargers are actually starting out with a winning record for once, but QB Philip Rivers (my boo!) hasn’t looked like the Rivers of old, and fumbled control of the AFC West away last Monday night……. The Texans are good, but losing Mario Williams for the year and Andre Johnson for some time may hurt them in the long run…..The Jets have seemed to regress a little on defense, and Mark Sanchez not getting much help from his run game is an issue…..The Saints WERE in my “They are who we thought they were” column, but they lost to the Rams, The WINLESS ST. LOUIS RAMS, WITHOUT SAM BRADFORD! Yeah, they go down a notch after that one….. The Bucs have youth on their side, but their lopsided loss to San Francisco puts them in this category….. Atlanta always leaves me scratching my head at the end of their games. With all of the offensive weapons they have, I don’t see how they don’t put up 30 points easily, each week. They have some inexperience on defense that holds them to this category.

Ehhhhh……………..: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans

It’s not that I don’t think these teams are good or can’t be good… it’s just that I couldn’t add them in the “They’re good but” category because they’ve done something not worthy of that category. The Bears’ offensive line blocks like Cutler stole their girl……The Eagles started out slow, and with the “Dream Team” talk prior to the season, expectations were above normal so their 3-4 record is underachieving at best… The Cowboys need a TV time out with the way they’ve played football lately. I thought they’d be better than this at this point. I haven;t totally written them off, tho. They have talent….. The Chiefs started off rough (remember Matt Cassel’s blow up with HC Todd Haley on the sidelines??), but they’ve rebounded well. It’s the AFC West so it’s hard to be impressed just yet…..The Raiders looked like they were gonna have a good season before Jason Campbell went down. Oakland traded their 2012 #1 pick and a conditional pick to Cincy for Carson Palmer, but all Palmer did was stink it up in his debut. He’s not the same QB he was before 2005 and quite frankly, I wonder if Al Davis came back from the dead to make one last WTF personnel decision… Despite Carolina’s record, I’m gonna put them in this column because I seriously believe they try hard each and every week, yet fall short. This team reminds me a lot of Buffalo’s team last season. They hang in there, but can’t get the “W” in the end. I can’t be mad at that. They should be added in my next group but I love their resilience. The Titans are here by default, because they have a good record. But Chris Johnson got paid and told the Titans, “Fcuk your couch”. He’s still holding out but we didn’t know until now. With Kenny Britt going down, that hurt big time for Tennessee. Good thing is, the AFC South could be a 2-man race, and they’re still in it.

“Insert Comment Here”: Cleveland Browns, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins

Face it- these teams’ style of play are boring and uninspiring more times than not (minus the Vikings the past 2 weeks. But that’s because Ponder now has the keys). Put yourself in my shoes…. What could you possibly say about any of these teams individually that doesn’t sound like the others in this group? Can’t figure it out? Me neither. So feel free to insert your own comment here.

Bad…. Real Bad Michael Jackson: Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos

I guess this group could be called the “Suck For Luck” lottery, but that’s unoriginal and overused at this point. These 4 teams stink and I’d bet my money on LSU or Alabama if they played any of these teams at this point. Probably the worst team of them all is Indy. Never have I seen a franchise fall so fast from one key player going down. That’s a direct reflection of the GM and ownership and it’s inexcusable. The Rams have some good pieces and aren’t AS bad as Indy (not saying much), but their defense isn’t that good, particularly their secondary (although they did hold NO to one offensive TD in Sunday’s win) and there isn’t a true #1 WR on the team. The Dolphins need a new makeover, period. Not only did you celebrate the FLORIDA GATORS championship in MIAMI HURRICANES-land, you let Tim Tebow beat you in the Final 5 minutes of the same game. Yeah, you suck, Miami…….. Speaking of Tebow, he is getting KILT in the media (yeah, I said it… not killed, but KILT!) on what most of us already knew: Great college player, lots of heart and passion, not going to translate into the NFL. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so much attention lay on one guy like this. Denver officially came into the Top 5 pick race as of Sunday.

Last week, I was able to attend the 5th annual Purple Evening event, held at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens event has been a success since starting the event, and the Ravens boast as having the most female fans.

Each year, players past and present come to sign autographs and take pictures. The ladies can also learn about football, as the event has Football 101 classes. From face painting, to interactive activities to “purple martinis”, this is a great event for every woman to attend.

Memo to the other NFL teams: Maybe it’s time to show us female fans some love. We love football, too. At least one team got it right

NY Jets Safety Jim Leonhard wants to give you a PSA: Wearing black stickers under your eyes sends a bad message to today’s youth. As a matter of fact, Leonhard thinks those black stickers are actually pretty feminine, saying:

“Call me old school, but when I think of wearing stickers, I envision my niece and her dollies.”

Leonhard is actually endorsing Farkas Original Eye Black, a black eye paint founded by the grandson of Washington Redskins great Andy “Anvil” Farkas. Looks to me like Farkas paid Leonhard a nice piece of change to get guys off the black sticker craze and back to the old days, when guys painted their faces. This PSA is pretty funny.  I wonder how many people will actually go out and buy it, especially when it’s much easier and less messy to peel stickers on and off.

Yesterday’s game was overwhelming for me for so many reasons. We recognized the 10th anniversary of September 11th which was extremely patriotic, as the fans chanted, “USA” often. It was opening day from a LOOOOOOOOONG offseason full of lockout talk and off-the-field drama. And it was against the Ravens most bitter rival in the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Going into this game, I admit I had my doubts. The offensive line hadn’t played fully this preseason and the defense was pretty slow in that same span. But the Ravens were tired of all of the trash talk and mental edge the Steelers had over them, and it showed. Not only did the Ravens come out to play, they came out with a plan to show them how serious they were on the disrespect. All of the offseason changes they made paid off, at least for Week 1. They beat the Steelers like they stole something. Final score Ravens 35, Steelers 7.

The best part about yesterday’s game was how happy my son was. He was celebrating a milestone birthday (don’t ask!) And going to the game was a birthday gift. When he said that he had the best birthday ever, I knew yesterday was special. That’s what football does, especially after a win like that. His happiness means the world to me, and we have the Ravens to thank.

OT: I’ve said this over and over like a broken record, but I’ll say it one last time. Joe Flacco is a GOOD quarterback. Is he a great one? Nope. He still has some things he can change to better his game. But he’s efficient.. efficient enough to win football games for the Baltimore Ravens.

I don’t think there’s a question on who’s better between Flacco and Roethlisberger. Big Ben is a 2-time Super Bowl winning QB who knows how to make plays when he needs to. But yesterday, Joe Cool was the better guy. And while he’ll have struggles this season, he’s growing and maturing. I like it and I believe this is the start of finally getting the respect he’s long overdue for.

Double OT: “God can have his soul, but his ass belongs to me”- Terrell Suggs on Ben Roethlisberger after his 3-sack performance. Best quote I’ve ever heard!

The Colts are bad… real bad, Michael Jackson (hell, add the rest of the Jacksons too!). We knew the Colts would struggle without Peyton Manning, but if yesterday is what’s to come for the Colts without Pey-Pey, this is gonna get ugly QUICK! It kind of amazes me how the franchise had put so much stock into one guy with no insurance policy. The Irsays should learn from this.

On Saturday, I was on a local TV show talking football and one of the topics we discussed were injuries. I predicted that this season we would see an abundance of injuries, mainly due to the lockout. And so far that looks to be true. The Rams were plagued with injuries by key players yesterday, Bengals QB Andy Dalton went down, Charger RB Mike Tolbert got banged up..and the list goes on and on from yesterday’s games. Its alarming, especially when you have skill players taking the hit. As a fan, its a huge concern, but I’m sure as a player/coach that concern is 10x worse.

Isn’t it funny how we witnessed a near-perfect QB play in the Green Bay-New Orleans game last Thursday, only to see a Romo/Sanchez slop fest last night? The Cowboys-Jets game was the exact opposite of Thursday’s show down, but the excitement was all the same. Mistakes clouded last night’s game big time, but those very same mistakes kept the game interesting. Down 24-10 in the 4th quarter, the Jets found a way to not screw it up when it counted to beat the Cowboys, 27-24. That’s the beauty of football. You can see a squeaky clean game and then see a sloppy, mistake laden game but the awesome levels are still the same. One of the reasons why football is so great.

OT: Tony Romo can’t catch a break.. mainly from the fans and the media. I’m not saying its not warranted, he’s given folks plenty of reason to criticize him. But the QB is always a position that gets held at a higher regard than any other position. The fact that he plays for the Cowboys makes it worse because his stage is much bigger than other teams. It’s recipe for disaster. As long as he continues to make critical mistakes, how good he is will be debated. Its the nature of the beast, whether you like it or not.

Donovan McNabb, SMH………… My, how the mighty have fallen.

Someone posted this on Twitter yesterday. In less than 140 characters it was quite simple yet the truest tweet of the day. In a sentence, it said, “The Harbaugh’s>>>>>> The Manning’s”. And as of right now, that’s exactly right.

I’m not a Bills fan, but I empathize with what they’ve been through the past few years, mainly because of my football sister Pigskin Loving Lady. I was happy for them in yesterday’s 41-7 shellacking over the Chiefs. Maybe my empathy is more so pity, because the Bills should have won at LEAST 2 more games last year (Ravens, Steelers). I’m not picking them to go to the playoffs or anything, but I do believe they’ll be better than we expect.

OT: this is only Week 1 but I’m gonna say it. Kansas City is overrated. Not that they can’t be good, they have a core group of youth on their team. But they continue to show me that they aren’t ready to take over the drivers seat in the AFC West. You have to dethrone the Chargers, who are a penciled in pick every year as long as my boo (Philip Rivers) is running the team. The Chiefs are young, so the experience will come. I just don’t see them repeating as AFC West champs.

Until the Falcons win a playoff game, they’ll always be regular season champs to me. Outside of Michael Turner, they didn’t show me much yesterday. I realize they’re a very good team on paper. People LOOOOOOOVE Matty Ice, so I get it. But until they can show me they are consistent and able to win playoff games (which they have yet to do since Ryan was drafted), they gets no love from me…. sorry.

Cam Newton looks like the real deal. Even in a losing effort, he did the damn thing, passing for 422 yards in his NFL debut. His confidence and poise is impecable, and that is the key to how far Carolina can go this season. I used to think Newton was a bit cocky, especially after seeing his smirks and facial responses at the draft this past April. Now I see it’s a bit deeper than that. He believes in himself and what he can do for his football team. And I can’t be mad at that!

And last but not least, the Redskins beat the New York Giants yesterday… the DC/MD/VA area is about to explode with Super Bowl talk….. pray for me!

The NFL recently canceled their supplemental draft due to the uncertainty of former Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor’s eligibility status being uncertain. Yesterday we learned that the NFL not only rescheduled their draft, but that Pryor would now be considered eligible… only to be suspended for 5 games, due to his involvement in getting discounted and free items during his time as the Buckeye’s signal caller.

I found this to be weird and definitely unheard of. While I’m a college football fan, I’m far from an expert and don’t covet the extensive knowledge that I do on the NFL. So I decided to ask my good friend Michael Felder from In The Bleachers to give his take from the college side of this mess.

“Terrelle Pryor is one of the hot button issues in the college football world but, he is not just a lightning rod he is a guy that can be kicked by anyone with a half decent reason.

This move by Roger Goodell is opening up the NFL to more damage than good. Sure there are some people who adopt the “gotta catch ‘em all” mentality when it comes to NCAA violators but the fact is with Goodell making this move it adds to the plate of what the NFL will or will not police. Will every kid who draws an NCAA suspension be subject to the “Wrath of Roger?”

Folks think Roger Goodell is taking his power overboard. But I think otherwise. In his mind, he thinks he’s helping the NCAA with their problems. With scandals in college sports being at all-time high this year, including new details on a University of Miami booster going above and beyond for Hurricane players, the NCAA is looking more and more like a laughing stock. They look like that, though, not because of the athletes or the boosters that entice them. It’s because of themselves.

The NCAA has a lot of it’s own mess it needs to clean out. The rules of the guidelines are very nostalgic, something that I would assume safely that majority of Division I athletes ignore. To say it’s a bit outdated is an understatement. Furthermore, the NCAA has certain rules that are contradicting to the very problems they are trying to fix (for instance, allowing players to live with alums…. that you can probably bet are big time boosters). In order for things to change, the NCAA must change. For the NFL to try and play clean up because college football is their version of minor league ball is foolish. Should we strip Reggie Bush of his Super Bowl ring, too? Should we suspend Pete Carroll’s salary for 3 years? If the answer is no, then why is Terrelle Pryor the scapegoat?

Felder brings up a point regarding a North Carolina player facing a more harsh penalty from the NCAA issues,

“In practical application here we see a kid, in Michael McAdoo from UNC, who has a “permanently ineligible” tag slapped on him in the very same supplemental draft as Terrelle Pryor. Pryor is suspended five games in the NFL because he was suspended 5 games in college. Does this mean Michael McAdoo is going to be permanently ineligible for the NFL? Surely if they’re about upholding college punishments and “sending a message” that is what they have to do.”

It’s a valid point that begs for a rebuttal. But it goes beyond that. Does McAdoo go in without punishment from the NFL because people know nothing about his situation like they do Pryor’s? Or do they forever ban him from the league because they want to play big brother protector to the NCAA and their shortcomings? Either way, it’s not wise for the NFL to try to play clean up on Aisle 5. Let the NCAA clean their mess up, or else they’ll be doing a WHOLE lot of cleaning, from here on out.

Eagles QB Michael Vick did an interview with GQ magazine to discuss life as a changed man since going to prison, and how he wanted to be a Bill or a Bengal instead of an Eagle? Considering his career with Philly now, it sounds crazy. But it’s something Vick actually thought about. In the interview with the mag, this is what Vick said,

“I think I can say this now, because it’s not going to hurt anybody’s feelings, and it’s the truth. I didn’t want to come to Philadelphia. Being the third-team quarterback is nothing to smile about. Cincinnati and Buffalo were better options.” Vick says that he talked with commissioner Roger Goodell and other reps from the NFL. He was then convinced and granted league approval to sign with Philly.”And I commend and thank them, because they put me in the right situation.”

Vick going to Philly was definitely the best move for him. Being able to sit on the bench probably continued his haul-over process on being a better QB. If Vick goes to a place that he had a better chance at starting like Buffalo or Cincy, chances are his studying habits don’t change much and he’s still winging it based on his talent alone. Philly has a great mentor in Andy Reid so that was the perfect opportunity to learn how to put in the work needed to be a great QB.

Sorry Bills/Bengals fans………

Vick’s article also talks about his conviction and what situation scared him all the way straight. You can read the rest of the article by clicking here.