Ben Roethlisberger

THERE ARE TWO reasons why Steelers receiver Hines Ward is completely in the wrong with his post-game comments following his team’s loss on Sunday.

“I can see some players or some teammates kind of questioning like, ‘Well, it’s just a concussion. I’ve played with concussions before. I would go out there and play.’ So, it’s almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room. You know, should he play, shouldn’t he play.

“I’ve lied to a couple of doctors saying ‘I’m straight, I feel good,’ when I knew I’m really not straight.”

First, there’s the obvious in which Ward seems to be advocating quarterback Ben Roethlisberger playing with a concussion. First off, Ward’s an idiot because he doesn’t seem to realize the new age of the NFL. These players are multi-million dollar investments for these teams. Secondly, with more knowledge of concussion science, teams, players and everyone else in the game knows more about the long-term effects of head injuries on players’ post-football lives.

All that is a given. Ward should have kept his mouth shut on that principle alone.

But what really irritates me about Ward’s comments was that he took the goings on of an NFL locker room — its dirty laundry, so to speak — and aired it out for everyone to see/hear.

Whether or not Ward things Big Ben should have played with post-concussion symptoms is beside the point — I really don’t care. Ward has since “clarified” his comments, saying he wasn’t calling out Roethlisberger’s toughness. Of course, we all knew that, Ward — he’s probably one of the toughest guys ever to play the game. Shit, he got his head bashed in during a helmetless motorcycle accident (I didn’t say he was the smartest), and still played the entire next season.

Now, sure, for team camaraderie, Ward should apologize to Ben for seeming to call out his toughness, and suggesting that he lie to doctors so that he could play in a game.

But he should firstly apologize to the rest of his teammates for taking what was going on inside their locker room and putting it on loud speaker for all to hear. What goes on inside a locker room is damn near sacred. An NFL vet like Ward should have gotten that. He keeps doing shit like this, and his “Super Bowl hero” status be damned, I would be surprised he he quickly finds himself on an island in Pittsburgh.

Vince Young’s coming out party
So when the Tennessee Titans started the season 0-6 with Vince Young on the bench, few people firstly seemed to care and secondly even fewer people seemed to be heralding Young’s cause for playing time. It’s a good thing Titans owner Bud Adams was.

Now, for the record, The Man F.A.Q. correctly predicted the Titans’ first win of the season. But I don’t think anyone could have predicted that Tennessee would roll off five wins in a row. Even through the first four, I was only mildly impressed.

With Young’s 99-yard touchdown drive to beat the Arizona Cardinals — Young’s second such amazing win over a team quarterbacked by Matt Leinart — he may just have completed the 18 plays that finally put him in the category of “regular starter” in the NFL. I’m not going to call him elite just yet, but after his performance on Sunday, it will be hard for anyone to doubt Young’s ability to win football games.

MNF a game worth watching
So, I realize that Monday Nigh Football isn’t what it used to be. And EPSN doesn’t have the advantage of flex scheduling like NBC’s Sunday Night Football. But, tonight’s game pitting the Saints against the Patriots is definitely one worth watching.

Sure, I had some interest in watching the Titans beat the Texans last week (I went to college with Titan running back Chris Johnson). But the week before — Ravens-Browns — was a snoozer. Just because the Ravens used to be the Browns doesn’t make this a rivalry game or even worth watching.

Aside from that one, this year’s slate of MNF games has been pretty decent. Some of the best, in order of most recent, Week 9’s Steelers-Broncos; Week 8’s Saints-Falcons; Week 7’s Eagles-Redskins, Week 6’s Broncos-Chargers; Week 5’s Dolphins-Jets, Week 4’s Vikings-Packers … need I go on?

To MNF … thumb’s up.

It’s on Sunday Nigh Football, and it’s this week’s WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL. The Colts-Pats game could easily be the “go see it in person” or “have the guys over,” but we’ll understand if you want to hunker down and just watch this one alone and soak up the football goodness.

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Philadelphia at San Diego; First, there’s the weather in San Diego. Then there’s the fact that both teams are 5-3. Both teams are also trying to stay alive in their respective playoff races.

HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Cincinnati at Pittsburgh; with both teams coming in with 6-2 records, this is a real power struggle in the AFC. So many two-loss teams (these guys, and also the Pats and Broncos), that second seed behind the Colts is up for grabs. The winner of this game will also have a large upper hand in the AFC North.

SURPRISE THRILLER: Atlanda at Carolina; This game has no bearing on the NFC South race, as the Panthers and Bucs are well out of it. But the Falcons and Panthers have always played close games, and this one should be no different. It might not look as sexy as some of this week’s other matchups, but if it’s the only game on in your market, you probably won’t be asleep by halftime.

THE SNOOZER: Tampa Bay at Miami; You WILL be asleep by halftime.

UPSET ALERT: Buffalo at Tennessee: It’s tough to really call it an upset, but when a team starts 0-6 like the Titans did, can one really call them the favorite in any game there on out? We like the Titans to continue their turnaround with a in over the Bills.

THE LOCK: Detroit at Minnesota; Brett Favre dominated the Lions as a Packer, and he’ll continue to do it as a Viking.

How’d we do last week?

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Dallas at Philadelphia; The Cowboys were down 3 going into the fourth quarter, and tied it up shortly thereafter. A Dallas touchdown gave the ‘Boys a 7-point lead with 8:04 to go. Then, get this, the Eagles kick a 52-yard field goal with about 5 minutes to go to cut the lead to 4. They cut the lead to 4, instead of going for it on fourth down. Philly never saw the ball again, likely leaving Eagles fans left wondering W-T-F.
HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Pittsburgh at Denver; This is the game that has really made things interesting in the AFC. Denver is now a two-loss team, right along with a bunch of others. It was close going into the fourth quarter, with the Steelers pulling away late.
WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Baltimore at Cincinnati; As expected, the Ravens’ defense slowed the Bengals. But Baltimore’s offense didn’t do shit. We’ll take an ‘L’ on this one.
SURPRISE THRILLER: Tennessee at San Francisco; After finally winning their first game of the season last week, the Titans shocked Niners’ fans in this back-and-forth 34-27 thriller.
THE SNOOZER: Arizona at Chicago; Not even two late Bears’ touchdowns could make this 41-21 Cards’ win interesting.
UPSET ALERT: Carolina at New Orleans; The Panthers were oh-so-close, even holding a 17-3 lead over the Saints. The upset just wasn’t meant to be, as the Saints did what dey do … won.
THE LOCK: Miami at New England; With quarter scores of 7, 9, 8 and 3, the Pats were their usual methodic selves.

Last week’s record: 5-2

This week’s best bets

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Dallas (5-2) at Philadelphia (5-2); The Eagles win over the Giants last week has really shaken things up in the NFC East. With both teams going into this one at 5-2, this one promises to have an electrifying atmosphere. It’s a night game, too.

HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Pittsburgh (5-2) at Denver (6-1); There’s a real power struggle in the AFC right behind the Colts, and these are two of the teams in it. This should be one of the best MNF games of the season.

WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Baltimore (4-3) at Cincinnati (5-2); With the way some of the records are shaping up in the AFC, this is pretty much a must-win game for the Ravens. The Bengals are likely feeling pressure in the division race from the red-hot Steelers.

SURPRISE THRILLER: Tennessee (1-6) at San Francisco (3-4); You see, there are awful teams in the NFL, and then there are teams that play so bad you think they’re awful. The Titans aren’t awful, but their 0-6 start was sure stinky shit. They’re primed for one of those mid-season runs that makes the difference between a 2-14 team and a 6-10 team. If the Niners aren’t careful, one of those six or so wins could come today.

THE SNOOZER: Arizona (4-3) at Chicago (4-3); When two teams with the same record square off, you expect to see a pretty good game, right? Well, we think that rule will be proved false here. The Cardinals are far from the team they were last year, and the Bears have been playing boring football for a while now.

UPSET ALERT: Carolina (3-4) at New Orleans (7-0); We realize we’re probably give up one to the ‘L’ column here, but we’re looking for big upsets. Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme will feel right at home in Cajun Country, and he might just snap out of his horrible funk of a season in the Big Easy.

THE LOCK: Miami (3-4) at New England (5-2); When you look at it, only two wins separate the two. But the Pats are perfect at home, and that ain’t gonna change this week.

How’d we do last week?

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Minnesota at Green Bay; The fans gave Brett Favre their boos early, but in the end they’d need their booze to heal the hurt. An exciting game proved that Brett still owns at least a piece of Lambeau.
HAVE THE GUYS OVER: N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia; We’re going to take the loss on this one. The G-men laid an egg. Our bad.
WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Atlanta at New Orleans; A 35-27 scorefest? Yeah, we’d say that was some damn good football.
SURPRISE THRILLER: St. Louis at Detroit; We’ll take it. It was far from a snoozer. The Rams scored after the 2-minute warning to win the game.
THE SNOOZER: Oakland at San Diego; All the second half scoring was done in three field goals. Yeah, we think we got this one right.
UPSET ALERT: Tennessee at Jacksonville; We called it all the way. The Titans took an early lead and never looked back in getting their first win of the season.
THE LOCK: San Francisco at Indianapolis; This one was actually a little hairy, and the Colts’ performance actually caused a drop in the rankings. Indy, however, did come out on top.

Last week’s record: 6-1

This week’s best bets
GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Minnesota (6-1) at Green Bay (4-2); OK, we know there’s no way in hell you can get tickets at Lambeau by just showing up today. But, we’re just saying, if there’s ONE game to go see today, this is it … c’mon, Favre’s return? You gotta be there.

GO TAILGATE: Cleveland (1-6) at Chicago (3-3); If you’re a fan of hearty food, these two teams’ fans won’t disappoint. But we wouldn’t want to watch the game, though.

HAVE THE GUYS OVER: N.Y. Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-2); Now this is one of the best rivalries in the NFL today. And it actually means something this year, as the NFC East is pretty tight.

WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Atlanta (4-2) at New Orleans (6-0); It’s the only decent matchup of any of the combinations of NFC South teams. The Saints are No. 1 in the league in scoring, but the Falcons aren’t far behind at No. 12.

SURPRISE THRILLER: St. Louis (0-7) at Detroit (1-5); With so few games circled as winable on both teams’ schedules this season, they’re both likely to put everything they have into this one.

THE SNOOZER: Oakland (2-5) at San Diego (3-3); No one cares. The Raiders can’t even sell out a game at home (blackouts), and the blackout for this game just got lifted on Thursday.

(New Topic) UPSET ALERT: Tennessee (0-6) at Jacksonville (3-3); Sure, the Titans are gawdawful, but in not looking like a “true” 0-16 team, they’ve got to win sometime, right? This is definitely a winable game for Tennessee.

(New Tpoic) THE LOCK: San Francisco (3-3) at Indianapolis (6-0); It’s the team with one of the worst quarterback situations against the team with the most stable QB in the league.

Here’s how we did on some of the topics from last week.

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Philadelphia at Washington; It was a Monday Nigh game where most of the scoring was done in the first half. If you were there and slipped out early to catch some D.C. late night, then you got to see the good stuff.
HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Chicago at Cincinnati; The Bangals whipped the Bears’ asses, 45-10. Sorry, we blew this one.
WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Minnesota at Pittsburgh; This one didn’t disappoint as the Steelers pulled the upset and gave Favre’s Vikings their first loss of the season.
SURPRISE THRILLER: San Francisco at Houston; At first, it looked like we blew this one. But three Alex Smith (yeah, that name’s right) touchdowns in the second half turned this game into a late thriller.
THE SNOOZER: Indianapolis at St. Louis; Colts won, 42-6 … enough said.
Last week’s record: 3-2.

This week’s best bets

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Philadelphia (3-2) at Washington (2-4); NFC East matchups are always good — it seems like each one is a bitter rivalry. Well, because it basically is. The NFL knew what it was doing when it kept Dallas in the NFC “East.” Anyway, back to this game — Washington is a great venue to watch a game. There are actually more interesting characters in the stands as are on the field.

GO TAILGATE: Atlanta (4-1) at Dallas (3-2); The dirty south meets the best western. Make a run by some Falcons fans and grab some sweet corn bread, then head on over to the silver-and-blue side for some beef ribs. Wash it down with a Shiner.

HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Chicago (3-2) at Cincinnati (4-2); OK, this one probably won’t be a killer game, but it’ll be good enough to keep you and your buddies entertained, especially if there are hotwings and beer enough to fill the slow points in the game.

WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Minnesota (6-0) at Pittsburgh (4-2); Brett Favre vs. Big Ben, it doesn’t get any better than this, right? Despite a few early miscues, the Steelers are still one of the AFC’s best, and as long as the Vikes are unbeaten, it’s a show worth watching.

SURPRISE THRILLER: San Francisco (3-2) at Houston (3-3); Michael Crabtree makes his long-awaited debut for the 49ers. As San Francisco takes on the Texans, it’s a matchup of two teams that haven’t been all that good lately, but have seemingly turned things around this season.

THE SNOOZER: Indianapolis (5-0) at St. Louis (0-6); Undefeated vs. can’t win shit … need I say more?

AFTER THE GAME: Buffalo (2-4) at Carolina (2-3); Bills fans travel, nuff said. But, there are plenty of fine brew bars as well as a few decent dives in downtown Charlotte. Within a short walk from the stadium, you’re sure to be able to find something that fits your taste. Add that to the weather in North Carolina, where it’s still nice and warm even late in October, and you’ll have a good time no matter the game’s score.

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GO SEE IT IN PERSON: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati. Carson Palmer came back to life last week, and the Steelers’ Big Ben needs to rebound after a Week 2 loss. Not only is this a damn good rivalry, but the Bengals think they’ve figured out their troubles and the Steelers want to prove they don’t have any.

GO TAILGATE: Cleveland at Baltimore. Of course, we all know the history here. But in this season, if you’re going to go to a stadium and actually NOT watch the game, it should probably be a game involving the Browns. If you just go to tailgate, at least here you can get the best crabcakes in the country.

HAVE THE GUYS OVER: New Orleans at Buffalo. Drew Brees has started this season on a torrid pace. The Saints’ offense is made for instant highlights.

WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: Miami at San Diego. Philip Rivers had a massive day in Week 2, and Miami went down fighting on Monday Night Football against the Colts. This game’s shaping up so that it won’t disappoint you if you’re just a neutral watching and hoping for a good game.

SURPRISE THRILLER: Tennessee at N.Y. Jets. The Jets are high after a win over the Patriots, and the Titans are 0-2, but these two teams are a closer match than their records indicate.

THE SNOOZER: Denver at Oakland. This is usually a phenomenal matchup. However, the Raiders are playing some pretty boring football right now. In Week 2, only a late flurry of scores even made the game watchable.

AFTER THE GAME: Carolina at Dallas. The new stadium holds more than 100,000 people. And they were all bummed when the Giants spoiled the party in Week 2. The way the Panthers are playing, the Cowboys look primed for a primetime win. Imagine the party in Dallas when 100,000 people pour out of that stadium.

Here’s a quick look at how last week’s Best Bets went:
GO SEE IT IN PERSON: N.Y. Giants at Dallas. Set the NFL record for most fans to see a game live.
GO TAILGATE: Pittsburgh at Chicago. Weather was good; home team won. Good food all around, I’m sure.
HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Baltimore at San Diego. This game turned out to be made-for-TV. There were 57 total points, but it was the defensive play from Ray Lewis that ruled the day.
WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: New England at N.Y. Jets. Football lovers surely loved this game, although Pats fans likely didn’t. It was NFL’s golden boy versus new boy. An X’s and O’x delight.
SURPRISE THRILLER: Carolina at Atlanta. Not a bad bet. The Falcons probably should have won comfortable, but the Panthers made a game of it late — a one-score affair either way.
THE SNOOZER: Minnesota at Detroit. It went just like everyone expected. Vikings by two scores.
AFTER THE GAME: Indianapolis at Miami. How could one NOT have a good time in Miami? Nothing really do judge here … anyone want to chime in from Miami?

Every NFL game offers something a little different for its overall experience. Some are, to be honest, a little plain. But some offer something special.

GO SEE IT IN PERSON: N.Y. Giants at Dallas. One of the awesome rivalries in the NFC East, this is one to soak up. Imagine the electricity in the air. It’s truly a treat to have a matchup like this so early in the season. Plus, it’s a night game, so make an entire day out of it.

GO TAILGATE: Pittsburgh at Chicago. Sometimes you don’t have a ticket, but this game will make you not care. Honestly, it should be a decent game. But who would pass up a chance at Chicago tailgate? Hey, with the Steeler fans in town, there is likely to be just as much good grub on their side in this one.

HAVE THE GUYS OVER: Baltimore at San Diego. The Ravens’ newfound passing game combined with what will always be an elecrifying ground game for the Chargers (as long as LT is around) should make for the kind of game that will keep you, and your friends, glued to the TV throughout.

WATCH IT FOR THE FOOTBALL: New England at N.Y. Jets. The Pats’ Tom Brady has something to prove after last season’s injury. The Jets, meanwhile, are depending on a rookie first-round quarterback in Mark Sanchez. This one could turn into a gunfight in a hurry.

SURPRISE THRILLER: Carolina at Atlanta. Some might think that after the Panthers’ performance in Week 1, this one would be a blowout for the home team. But not so fast. Over the years, the Falcons and Panthers have always played each other tightly. Sure, it might not be the best fundamental football, but it’ll be close.

THE SNOOZER: Minnesota at Detroit. Let’s face it, there have been some good Brett Favre vs. Lions matchups in the past. This ain’t one of ‘em. Even Lions fans don’t want to watch the games these days.

AFTER THE GAME: Indianapolis at Miami. It’s Monday night, and of all the NFL cities, Miami is one of the few that can make a weeknight feel like a weekend. If you’re at this game, save some energy for the night after.

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