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.

There was a time when Kansas City Chiefs kick returner Dante Hall was one of the most exciting players in the NFL. A guy known for his playmaking ability on special teams, Hall was the, “X-Factor” for the Chiefs every time he touched the field. Some say that Hall paved the way for guys like  Joshua Cribbs and Devin Hester. Guys who weren’t known for doing a great deal on offense until they excelled with their special teams duty. Careers like Hall, Hester and Cribbs are all in jeopardy, thanks to the NFL Competition Committee’s new proposal.

Although the NFL is currently going through the lockout, business is being handled as usual. Last week, the competition committee submitted a proposal that will change the advantage in kickoffs, moving the kickoff up to the 35-yard line and allowing touchbacks to start at the 25-yard line. The reason they are asking for the changes are to limit the injuries during kickoffs. While I understand the idea of trying to protect the players on the field, I think this is an awful change for many reasons.

It’s no secret the NFL is an offense-driven league. Rules have been implemented and enforced over the years to give offenses the advantage on the field. But giving them 5 more yards closer to the end zone shouldn’t be one more gift. Last year, the NFL enforced helmet hits from defenders and fined them at all-time high amounts. This is yet another swipe against teams who rely heavily on their defenses, such as the Steelers, Ravens, Packers and Giants. Now, giving them 5 more yards they already don’t need could cause a firestorm amongst defenders. With a current lockout going on, adding insult to injury is something the NFL should think about at this point. AT some point you have to wonder what’s the point of having a defense on the field at all. The Peyton Manning’s, Tom Brady’s and Drew Brees’ of the league don’t need 5 spotted yards. So why should other QBs not work hard to get it?

Another reason is the value of having a good place kicker, which no longer becomes a viable need. As a Ravens fan, I am totally against this, mainly because the value that Billy Cundiff adds to my team. In 2010, he tied the league record for touchbacks, but the new changes means there is nothing special about his 2010 fete, because it allows average and subpar kickers to have that same success. Giving kickoffs 5 extra yards means Billy Cundiff is no different the others, which means having a durable kicker is being diluted to simply a guy that can put points on the board.

And lastly, the players that I mentioned in the beginning of my post. Without their special teams play, guys like Cribbs, Hall and Hester may not have been able to get other opportunities on the field, which they have been able to do. All three have been Pro Bowlers due to their great special teams play, but if most kickers have the option of kicking touchbacks to those said guys, you that’s exactly what they will do to keep the ball out of their possession.

People tend tend to look past special teams and the importance of a good one. Plays on special teams are just as important, if not more, than what players on the offense and defense can do. Special teams generate field position, something both the offense and defense rely heavily on once they hit the field. To eliminate players from giving their team that added advantage because touchbacks would be 5 yards easier takes away from great plays, something that the game needs.

I realize the NFL is always looking to make the game better and safer. But there are some things that shouldn’t be touched. The old adage of, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind. This is one of them. Taking away a special teamer’s ability to give his team an advantage means the Dante Halls of the world no longer make the cover of magazines. Hopefully the committee shoots this one down. Devin Hester, Joshua Cribbs and others who have used special teams to make a mark surely would agree.

Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has been a busy man since winning the Super Bowl MVP award. From Disney World to talk shows, he’s been all over the place lately. So it should be no surprise to find he made time for play as well.

Rodgers was spotted with Jersey Shore’s Pauly D at N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms. Pauly D went over to congratulate him of his Super Bowl victory over the Steelers (Pauly D is a noted Patriots fan). Earlier that night, he was spotted at comedian Terry Fator’s show at the Mirage.

Also spotted at N9NE Steakhouse was recent Hall Of Fame inductee Marshall Faulk, boxer Floyd Maywether, Jr. and Joey from New Kids On The Block. Sounds to me like my new crushy crush fits right in the limelight.

Rodgers, with teammate Matt Wilhelm and Executive Chef Barry S Dakake

That’s right.. you heard it here first. Okay, so it’s not the Super Bowl XLV MVP (which you could have figured out by the spelling of the name) or the deceased Hall-Of-Fame coach, but 2 guys with the same namesake.

The same night of the Packer Super Bowl victory over the Steelers, both Rogers and Lombardi coincidentally got in trouble with the law. According to Last Angry Fan, here’s what happened in both of their cases:

Rogers, not Rodgers, from Des Moines, Iowa, got into an argument with a woman while celebrating his namesake’s victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at a Super Bowl party he was hosting.  When the argument escalated, the woman’s two brothers stepped in and things turned physical, with Rogers’ kitchen being “destroyed from food being thrown all over,” according to Des Moines police.

The fight continued out in the yard where Rogers claims he was thrown to the ground by the pair of brothers and suffered a back injury.  The suspects then fled in their vehicle and remain at large.

Meanwhile in Ellsworth, Maine, Vince Lombardi was arrested after he allegedly tried breaking into an auto parts store, most likely to feed his addiction to car air fresheners.  A cop on a routine patrol noticed the 38-year-old Lombardi tumbling down a snowbank right about the same time he was receiving a notice from dispatch of an alarm notification from a nearby local business.

The cop put two and two together and arrested Lombardi on the spot.

My, my, my.. how the universe works. All you needed was a Bart Star committing felonies and it would have been the perfect story to tell.

Lesson to those with famous namesakes: Live up to it, people! Unless you’re a Lawrence Phillips or Charles Rogers, of course.

Fifty thousand Packers fans filled Lambeau Field yesterday to welcome and thank their Super Bowl champions in bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to its original place. Despite the fact the it was 5 degrees with a negative windchill factor, fans paid the $5 and weathered the cold to get a glimpse of the team, the trophy and to celebrate.

I love my Ravens and I’ve been out in the cold many a times to see them play. But I’ll be damned if I can hang out in weather with a -14 wind chill factor. Packers fans are probably used to it, and I’m sure it was well worth the wait. I would surely watch that at home, though…

Even my new NFL crush Aaron Rodgers looked frigid out there in the cold….

Don’t worry, Aaron. I’m here to warm you up! (if you missed my new professed love for ARodg, check it out here)

Former Bears player William “Refrigerator” Perry is dealing with a major decline in health as he battles alcoholism. Perry is currently topping off at 400 lbs, doesn’t exercise and is dealing with the overwhelming need to have a drink every single day.

We hear about most former players battling pain killer addiction and other drugs, but never really alcoholism. Most of us know someone that’s battling this awful disease, so Perry’s struggles are too familiar to a lot of folks. Hopefully he can get the help he needs before it’s too late.

And finally, I found this pretty awesome video via courant.com. UConn QB Johnny McEntee did a video with a bunch of trick plays while throwing the pigskin around. The redshirt junior doesn’t have any stats to quote, which is probably why he made this video. Looks to me like he’s vying for some playing time for 2011. If he’s as accurate with blitzing LBs on him as he is in this video, I say give the boy a chance!

I tried to put this into words yesterday, but it was just too much. So I decided to put my thoughts on this vlog instead. I discussed everything that was a part of Super Bowl XLV. Pardon my excitement, as I stuttered a couple of times. I could have easily taken it out, but for what? My excitement took over, sue me! I hope you enjoyed my little production.

Super Bowl XLV Recap from The NFL Chick on Vimeo.

I swear, people love to give money away. Birdman was on Dallas K104 recently, promoting Weezy’s “Green and Yellow” record, for the Green Bay Packers. Birdman then tells the host that he’s got a , “meal ticket” on Green Bay, which turns out to be slang for $1 million dollars.

Ummmm………………. WTF?!?!?!

Look… if you celebrities and athletes wanna throw money away, thenflchick.com is selling ad space and I promise you, it’s not for ” A Milli”. People be doing too much. But if he likes it, I love it. I just hope for his sake, he wins.

Youtube has been the new outlet for people to record videos to praise, talk about, or even sing about their favorite NFL team. So since it’s SuperBowl weekend, there are tons of Packers and Steelers vids made by folks to show their support (or disdain) for their  squad.

Some kids did a video for their beloved Packers, using Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. It’s a cute video, but confusing as hell, being as though the singer’s background dancers have NO sense of togetherness in their routine (between the kid collar popping his Aaron Rodgers jersey, the girl doing cheerleading moves and the boy on the right doing some random fist pumping, they were all over the place).

The words were pretty on point and the singer did a great job of using the lyrics to go with the tune (although it may be safe to assume she knew the Lady Gaga version well before doing this song). It’s actually pretty catchy, because I found myself singing it not long after watching it. It’s much better than the original Go Pack Go song!

Now that the wait is over and we know who’s going to the Super Bowl, it’s a little bitter sweet for fans. Let’s face it: the supposed “big” game is rarely all it’s cracked up to be. It’s usually the lead-up to the championship that keeps everyone on their toes.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, although they’ve won 6 Super Bowl titles and have appeared now in 8, are an old-school team, boring and slow on offense with a ground-and-pound approach and a stingy defense that, like usual, is ranked high in the NFL (#1 in 2010 for total YPG).

The Green Bay Packers, led by the now-free-of-Favre’s-shadow Aaron Rodgers, are a more explosive team on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, but yet they’re still not the sexy choice for NFC representatives.

It is what it is, however, and while this isn’t a Drew Bress vs. Peyton Manning rematch, or even a Tom Brady vs. Matt Ryan showdown, Big Ben and Mr. Rodgers are certainly nothing to sneeze at. Sure, it’s not that great on paper. No one expects the over to exceed around 35. But with these teams in this atmosphere, we might just see the best Super Bowl in a long, long time.

Currently, the Green Bay Packers are favored by about a field goal universally. Of course, betting on football—especially the Super Bowl—isn’t like betting on online blackjack games. Nothing’s set in stone, nothing’s quantifiable; it’s all up for grabs. Even still, that’s a fairly safe bet as we see it.

Pittsburgh’s run defense is monstrous, stuffing everyone, but it’s also exploitable by way of play action and an ironically Roethlisberger-like mobile quarterback, ala Aaron Rodgers.

One thing neither the Ravens nor the Jets had was a playmaker at the QB position. Sanchez and Flacco are both pretty good pocket passers, but their ability to extend a play is about as good as that can of Crystal Pepsi you have in the basement. Rodgers, on the other hand, was second only to Michael Vick in rushing yards from the helm, and he has put the belt on all season long with rushing TD after rushing TD.

The Steelers are exploitable here because they’re not fast enough to cover all the bases. They will stuff the run, surely, but quick slants, deep outs, broken plays, and potential third down conversions all work in the Packers’ favor due to the type of dynamic, switch-‘em-up O they bring with them to Cowboys Stadium.

The game should remain very close, however, as the Steelers’ offense is definitely not a pushover. We all bore witness to what Rashard Mendenhall did to the third-ranked defense in the league, the New York Jets (Just Envy the Steelers?), and Big Ben can also turn broken plays into sandlot football and pick up key yardage in tough situations.

Many feel as if this game is a toss-up, the proverbial roll of the dice or a spin on the no download slots reel. But just like Pittsburgh did to the Jets in the first half, the Green Bay Packers should be able to dominate time of possession and keep the Steelers off the field.

Other than a forced throw in Chicago that resulted in an Urlacher INT, Rodgers has been playing out of his mind. Roethlisberger, conversely, threw 2 INTs vs. the Jets and should have thrown 4 to 6, and he wasn’t exactly Troy Aikman in his previous playoff game against the Ravens.

In the first half with the Ravens and the second half with the Jets, the Steelers were only on the field physically. Their spirits were in the locker room or off somewhere trying to send Jenn Sterger photos of their junk.

When Super Sunday rolls around, the Steelers will need to play all 60 minutes – something they’re not really accustomed to, whereas Green Bay has yet to take a down off all postseason.

When it’s all said and done, the Packers can keep the ball away from the Steelers and hold on to a lead late. True, Pittsburgh is going to score on Green Bay’s defense. They can’t match the Steelers’ physicality. But the object of the game isn’t to score; it’s to score more than your opponent.

This is something that the Steelers will fail to do, and we predict that the final score will be Green Bay 30 and Pittsburgh 24 – covering the spread but still a great game that comes down to some fourth quarter heroics.



What has the world come to? People getting fired over football team loyalties. If this isn’t a “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong” moment, then I don’t know what is.

John Stone, a Packers fan and employee at Webb Chevrolet in south suburban Oak Lawn (IL), decided to wear his Packers tie yesterday morning, after the Packers defeated the Bears 21-14 to advance to the Super Bowl. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, here’s what happened:

The morning after the Chicago Bears’ hated rivals beat them at Soldier Field to advance to the Super Bowl, Webb’s general manager Jerry Roberts says he fired Stone for refusing to remove the Packers-branded tie.

“He said, ‘You have two options,’ ” a furious Stone said later Monday. “Remove the tie, or you’re fired.”

“When I didn’t, he said, ‘You can leave, you’re fired.’ Does that sound fair to you?”

Well damn!

Stone said he became a fan after seeing Ahmad Green play. He liked Brett Favre and loves Aaron Rodgers and the coaching staff.

When asked why Stone was fired, GM Roberts had this to say:

“We spend $20,000 a month on advertising with the Bears on WBBM during the season, and we have Bears players including Corey Wootten driving loaner vehicles, and here was a salesman openly undoing that work.”

Yeah, okay!

While I hate to see Steelers fans walking around my city with their black and yellow stuff on, I do realize it’s a free country and people can do whatever they want. I guess Webb Chevrolet forgot the memo. I’ll be damned if someone told me I couldn’t wear my favorite tie because they’re in their feelings about a loss (for-the-record, Stone has worn this tie before, going back 3 years. So the tie isn’t outside of his work attire). I hope Stone sues them out of business.