Lots of Screwy NFL Things

The NFL season officially begins in 10 days when the Tennessee Titans travel to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. The only NFL talk going on right now should be preview-related; you know, who's going to the Super Bowl, who's winning MVP, all that nonsense that nobody can really predict (yes, sadly, including us) but try to anyway.

So why, every time you turn on your TV, is there another NFL storyline?

A few of the odd ones:

Brett Keisel signs an extension with the Steelers. I'm not one to challenge the Steelers front office; they have amassed 6 Super Bowls and I work at Burger King. It just seems that with their extensive list of 2010 free agents (Willie Parker, Casey Hampton, Hines Ward, Ryan Clark, William Gay, Dan Sepulveda), the Steelers would go out of their way to resign an average defensive end on the downside of his career.

And now Brett Keisel (pictured, left) is going to go to the Pro Bowl.

Ravens put Samari Rolle on the PUP list to start the season. At first glance, odd? No. Then you remember Samari Rolle was actually a free agent this offseason. The Ravens are stacked at cornerback - a recent SI article called their talent at the position "embarrassingly deep" - with starters Fabian Washington and Domonique Foxworth, ex-starter Frank Walker, nickelback Chris Carr and highly touted third round pick Lardarius Webb. Rolle hasn't even practiced yet. Sources close to the team are wondering whether he's going to play at all. So how does that merit the $3 million he's earning this year?

Brandon Marshall, the entire NFL world thinks you're a joke. Josh McDaniels, you're really not far behind. In suspending Brandon Marshall (pictured, right) for a puny 14 days, all McDaniels is doing is keeping him out of preseason and training camp - which nobody wants to go through anyway. Suspend the guy the entire season or trade him for a second round pick to some desperate time. How can you start a guy who basically boycotted training camp merely because he didn't want to be there? It would have been better if he didn't show up. Instead, he's there walking, batting down passes thrown to him, punting balls handed to him. He's six years old, and he gets a slap on the wrist.

Broncos: You're going to be terrible. Kyle Orton is an awful, awful quarterback. I still maintain you got the better end of the Jay Cutler deal - first round draft picks in the NFL are huge. That being said, this year ain't it. Develop Eddie Royal more. Brandon Stokley is serviceable. So is Jabar Gaffney. Point being: your receivers aren't that bad anyway, but it wouldn't matter if Randy Moss and Larry Fitzgerald were lining up for you, anyway. You would still be bad. Crack down on Marshall.

Now that that rant is done, Osi Umenyiora walks out of Giants camp because of a dispute with his defensive coordinator? I think I speak for everyone when I say ... please, please just let the NFL season start so we can have games to talk about.

Image Sources:

http://www.epicathlete.com/images/bodyImage_coachesKeisel.gif

http://www.roblongshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/brandon_marshall_blog1.jpg

Maryland Football: What to Expect

There are few teams over the last couple college football seasons that have been more of an enigma than the Maryland Terrapins. We've seen the Terps beat five ranked teams in one year, only to lose to teams like Middle Tennessee State. We've seen ACC upsets and near I-AA loses. With that in mind, it's extremely difficult to predict how this season will go for the Terps.

A quick scan of the roster shows a team loaded with talent at many positions. You have Chris Turner returning at quarterback, who is firmly entrenched in the starting role, unlike past seasons, where there would be controversy. All-ACC running back Da'Rel Scott returns at tailback and his backup, true sophomore Davin Meggett, should continue to provide plenty of solid runs. The receiving corps is just about 8 players deep, highlighted by sophomore Torrey Smith, who has proven to be a dynamic kick returner in addition to a solid, and developing, receiver. Behind him, players like Ronnie Tyler, Emani Lee-Odai, and Laquan Williams (who started some games in 2007) are all capable. Tight end Landsford Watson is proving to be yet another solid Maryland tight end, following in the footsteps of Vernon Davis, Joey Haynos, and Dan Gronkowski.

Defensively, there are many changes, none bigger than the new defensive coordinator Don Brown, who was previously the head coach at U-Mass. Brown's system is a stark contrast to that of former defensive coordinator Chris Cosh, who is now at Kansas State. This year's defense will feature numerous packages, utilizing both 3 and 4-down lineman sets and heavy pressure. The players seem to really enjoy it so far in camp and it has highlighted the team's speed and athleticism. The leader of the defense, junior linebacker Alex Wujciak, is setting himself up to be a future NFL linebacker. He led the team in tackles a season ago and should do the same this year, barring injury. Adrian Moten also returns at outside linebacker and senior Travis Ivey is the veteran on the defensive line, which has redshirt freshman A.J. Francis starting alongside Ivey. Seniors Nolan Carroll and Anthony Wiseman return to lead the cornerbacks while Terrell Skinner returns at safety. The other safety position is a battle between sophomore Kenny Tate, who, as a freshman, played well last season, and senior Jamari Mccollough, who is a veteran and a solid all-around safety. Tate has been very impressive in camp so far and it will be tough for the coaching staff to keep him off the field. He has the makings of an elite safety and is arguably the most athletic player on the team.

On paper, the team sounds pretty good, right? If you notice, I left out one significant aspect of the team: the offensive line. It is, without a doubt, the team's biggest question mark. There is only one starter returning from last year's squad (LT Bruce Campbell) and young players could be thrust into being reliable linemen. The line could end up playing well, but it is unlikely given their inexperience and the fact that last year's veteran squad was not exactly the best in the ACC.

Still, with all the talent surrounding the questionable offensive line, there is certainly potential for a solid season and a bowl win. Here's their schedule:

09/05/09	at California	Berkeley, Calif.	10:00 p.m. ET
09/12/09	vs. James Madison	College Park, Md.	6:00 p.m. ET
09/19/09	vs. Middle Tennessee State	College Park, Md.	3:30 p.m. ET
09/26/09	vs. Rutgers	College Park, Md.	TBA
10/03/09	vs. Clemson	College Park, Md.	TBA
10/10/09	at Wake Forest	Winston-Salem, N.C.	TBA
10/17/09	vs. Virginia (Homecoming)	College Park, Md.	TBA
10/24/09	at Duke	Durham, N.C.	TBA
11/07/09	at North Carolina State	Raleigh, N.C.	TBA
11/14/09	vs. Virginia Tech	College Park, Md.	TBA
11/21/09	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	TBA
11/28/09	vs. Boston College	College Park, Md.	TBA

That schedule is manageable. Week one will be a difficult game against Cal and traveling to FSU is never an easy task, but the rest of the schedule is winnable. That said, Maryland will trip up against teams that are similar in ability (Rugters, UVA, Clemson, Wake, NC State, Boston College). Luckily, Virginia Tech comes to College Park; when it's the other away around, Maryland's chances at a win are slim. The James Madison game will be interesting for the Terps, not only because of JMU's local ties, but because of the Terps' annual "playing down to lesser schools" funk it goes into that usually happens early on in the season. It's not out of the realm of possibility to see the Terps beat Cal, only to lose to JMU. With the Terps, you just never know.

What I do know is that this team should win, at worst, 5 games. James Madison, Boston College, Duke, Middle Tennessee State, and one of (UVA/Wake/Clemson/Rutgers/NC State) is the bare minimum. If they finish with less, the season was a failure. If they finish with 5, it's a disappoiting result but understandable. They have the potential to finish with 8 or 9. My prediction: 7. The Terps are one of those teams that just sticks with mediocrity for a while and usually wins its bowl game. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'd be surprised to see them with more than 7.

Terps Land Third Basketball Recruit

The Terps are quietly forming a very solid 2010 basketball recruiting class. Their latest commitment, Mychal Parker, joins Terrance Ross and Terrell Stoglin as future Terps.

Parker, a 6'6" forward from Charlottesville, Virginia, is listed as a 4-star recruit on both Scout and Rivals.com. He is in Rivals' Top-50 recruit list. Ross is also a 4-star recruit while Stoglin is a 3-star recruit.

I watched Parker play at the end of last year and he was very impressive. Terrance Ross said he was working on Parker to commit to Maryland and it appears his work paid off. Ross and Parker will be instrumental in replacing senior Landon Milbourne.

Gary Williams' class of 2009 was solid and it looks like 2010 will be more of the same.

Since We've Been Gone ...

You know, summer is one of those times of year that's always so conflicting. School's out; yay! Baseball season is being dominated by the Yankees and Red Sox; boo! We're going to the beach; yay! Your sole source of NFL news is about your team's seventh string running back; boo! ... And so it goes. This summer, however, has been quite an exciting one for the sports world. Here's a brief recap of what you've missed if you haven't seen a minute of ESPN since school ended.

Brett Favre announced he was coming back. But then everyone thought he was going to retire because of his arm. But then he made it clear he was coming back ... and then announced he was retiring for good. Finally, it's clear he's coming back for good (or at least until his arm gives way in week 6). The winners during this situation: the 13 teams on the Vikings' schedule. Brett Favre (pictured, left) is a joke. He can't throw the ball accurate more than 30 yards in the air,

and at this stage in his life, makes poorer decisions than ever. The losers during this situation? Everyone else. The Vikings, for having to put up with this distraction all summer. The fans, who used to be very pro-Favre around America, and now hate the guy. Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson. One of those guys thought he was going to be the starting quarterback of a Super Bowl contending team this fall. That same guy is about to be a third stringer. Brad Childress, perhaps the biggest goat of all, who has admitted that he will sell his soul to the devil and abandon his team for a risky player. And, of course Favre. Brett, you're still going to the hall of fame; I just don't know whos going to be there to support you.

Elsewhere in the NFL, draft picks are showing why their teams drafted them. Except Michael Crabtree, because he thinks he deserves top three, not top ten, money because he feels he was a top three, not top ten, player. Oh, and Andre Smith, because who honestly thought the Bengals' organization could do anything right? Oh, and Tyson Jackson, because people are still wondering why the hell the Chiefs took him.

In the NBA, Shaq and LeBron are now together ... And every single fair-weather NBA fan in the entire world has become a Cavs fan, because you have no sense of humor at all if you dislike both of those players. I'm proud to say one of the very few predictions I got right last year was predicting LA would go all the way and win the NBA championship, and I made that prediction because of how much better LA was inside than Cleveland. Of course, I didn't realize that the Magic were that much better inside than Cleveland, too. If the big Shaqtus (pictured, right) has anything left in the tank, this should put Cleveland over the hump.

Of course, baseball is still in progress, and things are starting to get good, so there will be more on that soon. Maryland football is about to start up their regular season, and even though they're not supposed to be good, there will be more on that soon, too. And Maryland basketball is still months away, but they're supposed to be really good, so it's never too soon to start thinking about them either.

As Strasburg Signs, Nationals Move Forward

I'll be honest here. I got a little nervous. It was 12:15, and I had heard nothing. I figured we wouldn't hear until after midnight and I 100% expected Stephen Strasburg to be a Washington National, but, at 12:15, I was getting antsy. My web browser on a Nationals forum I belong to was incredibly slow due to the number of visitors. I don't have a twitter account and I didn't feel like searching the multiple baseball websites and blogs for info.

So I went to get ready for bed, and, after hours of watching TV and reading every possible story about the negotiations, the deal is reported as I'm away from the TV. It isn't some magnificent announcement, full of videos, graphics, and images. It's just two Sportscenter anchors reporting it before they sign off to NFL Live. I struggle to find confirmation online, but, after some frantic moments of refreshing that Nationals forum, I finally can relax: Stephen Strasburg is a Washington National. The thoughts of him sitting out a season to play in Japan or an independent league (or even college) were finally gone. Finally, I knew that when the listings of the top prospects in baseball come out in the winter, Strasburg's name will be near the top of the list, with the name "WASHINGTON" right next to him.

Finally, the Nationals had their Alex Ovechkin. Finally, they had a player that every fan could recognize by name, even the casual fans who only know the Nationals as the baseball team that has major-league prices but minor-league product. Even Ryan Zimmerman isn't Stephen Strasburg. The new "face of the franchise" would save the team and be their ace, something no one in the system has the potential to be.

Until 11:58:43 on August 17th. At that second, the Nationals had their stud. They had their ace.

At least we hope so. There is still a lot of work to be done before Strasburg is actually the team's ace, but, for right now, Natstown is riding high. Thoughts of previous #1 overall pitchers who became busts - far too many to name - are pushed to the wayside. For the first time in a very long time, nobody laughed at the Nationals. They had done something right for once: they signed the top draft pick, a Scott Boras client, for a lot less than was originally expected - a feat that few teams can claim.

It's a momentus step forward for the franchise. The Lerner family finally put their money where their mouth is and spent more money on bonuses than any team has ever given in the draft. The team finally had it's #1 prospect and future "ace."Interim GM Mike Rizzo made a big step toward being named permanent GM. The franchise actually followed "the Plan" that Stan Kasten dreamed off all the way back in 2006. Even if Strasburg never amounts to the hype - which is very much a real possibility - it was the right move for the franchise and a big leap forward, which is something Nationals fans haven't been able to say for a long time.