NFL Announces Pro Football Hall of Fame Selections; Faulk, Sanders and Sharpe Lead Class of 2011

It was announced on Saturday, February 5th, 2011 which, of a number of great players that were eligible to be voted in to the Hall of Fame, would be given the call to Canton, Ohio.  The list consisted of many great players who were coming into their first year of eligibility for the hall.  The newest members to become eligible, and those who have played in the modern era of pro football, first had to be selected as finalists to enter the second round of voting that decides who made the Hall of Fame.  Ten finalists were chosen out of 15 modern-era candidates but only a maximum of five out of those ten modern-era players could be selected for induction.  In addition to those modern-era players, two senior selections were also eligible for a call to the hall. This year was nearly impossible for voters to choose with more worthy candidates in a single year than has been seen in a number of years. Here's a breakdown of those who were eligible for selection on Saturday, starting with those who made the final selection for induction:

Marshall Faulk

Marshall Faulk's 19,154 yards from scrimmage is only bested by NFL elite Hall of Fame players Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton

Marshall Faulk was one of two players that most NFL observers had as slam-dunks for the NFL Hall of Fame on their first ballot in 2011 and it seems the voters overwhelmingly decided that would be the case.  Looking at Faulk's career, which spanned 13 seasons with both the Colts and Rams, an argument for him not making the Hall of Fame is impossible.

Faulk is one of only three players(Marcus Allen and Tiki Barber) to amass 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards in a career.  He's the only one to have 12,000 and 6,000.  Faulk had 5 games with 250+ yards from scrimmage and 14 games with 200+ yards from scrimmage, both NFL records.  He's the only player in NFL history to record 70+ rushing touchdowns and 30+ receiving touchdowns in a career.

He is one of only four players in league history to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award, Offensive Player of the Year(3 times) and NFL MVP.  The others are Earl Campbell, Barry Sanders, and Marcus Allen, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame already.  Add all of that to a Super Bowl Championship in 1999 with the Rams and the case for Faulk to be a first ballot inductee is impossible to refute.

Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders' multi-sport ability inspired this 1992 Upper Deck brand sports card when he played for both the Braves and Falcons in Atlanta

Deion Sanders, well known for his on-field theatrics, high-stepping into the endzone and celebrating touchdowns with his patented dance, was equally as well known for his grace, impossibly instant change of direction, ball catching skills and feared top speed.  He made his name on defense but was equally as dangerous as a punt return man for a number of years with the Atlanta Falcons before he left for San Francisco, then Dallas, Washington, and eventually a final short stint with the Baltimore Ravens.

"Primetime," as he was well known as by self-proclamation, was the first of a rare breed of cornerback that invented the term, "shut-down corner".  Only a few have been given this distinction in recent years, such as Green Bay Packers' corner Charles Woodson, Jets' corner Darrelle Revis and the Oakland Raiders, Nnamdi Asomugha.  Deion was the first though and arguably no one in NFL history has played the position more dominantly than Deion did in his career.  Teams would make entire offensive schemes in their passing game around him and they could count on whoever he was covering to get blanked on catches for the day most times.  He became so feared by quarterbacks in the NFL that he would often finish seasons with only a couple of interceptions on the year for the lack of opportunities to make them because he'd only get one or two balls thrown his way in an entire game.

What was most impressive about Deion was his athletic versatility.  He not only was an outstanding NFL standout coming into the pro's from Florida State University, he was also a well accomplished baseball player.  Drafted by the New York Yankees and playing a couple of seasons for them, he eventually made a deal to play for the Atlanta Braves so he could play for both the Braves and Atlanta Falcons.  He would eventually retire from baseball after playing seasons with the Giants and Reds before his NFL career was over.

 In his brilliant career that spanned 15 years in the NFL, Deion had a highly respectable 53 interceptions for an astounding 1,331 yards; a 25.6 yards per interception return average that is easily the greatest in NFL history of those with at least twenty interceptions.  Sanders also had 22 touchdowns in his career(19 on punt and interception returns); the most of any primarily defensive player in NFL history.  Like Faulk, you just can't make a case against Sanders.  He was an easy vote for the pro football Hall of Fame voting board.

Shannon Sharpe

Covering Shannon Sharpe was an impossible task because he was too fast for linebackers and had too much size for defensive backs

It was to great surprise that it took Shannon Sharpe his third year of eligibility before he was finally selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Sharpe could very easily be considered the greatest tight end to have ever played the game.  He forever changed the position when he came into the league in 1990 when he started dominating the field as a pass catcher rather than a blocker as the tight end position was always thought of as a primarily blocking position and only a passing outlet if all else failed on a play.  Sharpe changed the mentality of making the tight end an outlet to being the primary option on many plays.

Excellent hands and an ability to stretch the field with his 6'2" 225 lb. body was something never seen before Shannon Sharpe and is still rarely seen today.  Only the likes of today's top tight ends Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzales are comparable in their ability to be dominant in the passing game.  Although he made catching the ball famous for tight ends, he was an unsung hero of the Broncos' famously effective zone-blocking scheme that made a 1,000 yard rusher out of anyone you put behind the Broncos' line and a 2,000 yard rusher out of Terrell Davis in 1998.

Sharpe, the brother of former Green Bay Packer and NFL star Sterling Sharpe, who's career ended well too soon due to severe injury, not only made his case for the pro football Hall of Fame with his 10,060 yards, 815 receptions and 62 touchdowns, but further solidified his case being an integral statistical and team leader for three Super Bowl winning teams.  He won back-to-back titles with John Elway and the Denver Broncos in '97 and '98 but joined the Baltimore Ravens and was the teams regular season leading receiver on another Super Bowl champion team in 2000.  Sharpe should not have had to wait until his third year to be selected, however, at least he is now in the Hall of Fame where a player of his caliber belongs.

Richard Dent

Richard Dent has the sixth most sacks in NFL history and had quite possibly the greatest defensive postseason in NFL history in 1985 where he recorded 6 sacks and 3 forced fumbles on his way to Super Bowl XX MVP honors

For six years before this year, Richard Dent waited to get the call to hear that he was receiving pro football's highest individual honor and for each of those six years, Dent was disappointed.  In 2011, Dent is disappointed no more.  It's again confusing to me how it took Dent as many years as it did to get the nod from the hall selection committee.  His resume would state a more strong case for the hall than someone who would have to wait til his seventh year of eligibility to be selected.

Dent, who played 12 of his 15 seasons with the Chicago Bears, is that franchises all-time leader in sacks and is still sixth overall in career sacks with a gaudy 137.5.  He was so dominant at the line of scrimmage in his best years, Dent recorded an NFL record 34.5 sacks in just two seasons in '84 and '85.  He was part of an '85 Bears defense that won Super Bowl XX and is widely considered the greatest defense to have ever played together for an NFL team.  He was the MVP of that Super Bowl becoming one of only two defensive ends to ever be awarded that honor(Harvey Martin SB XII - 1978) by recording two sacks, two forced fumbles and a pass knock-down in a 46-10 landslide over the New England Patriots.  He would later add another Super Bowl victory to his resume with the San Francisco 49ers in a season he spent mostly injured.

It's hard to appreciate the difference an elite pass rusher can make on a team as much of what they do doesn't involve recording a lot of statistics to show for their efforts.  It's usually the statistics of the players on the opposing offense that prove a defensive lineman's worth.  Despite that reality, Dent still gave the Hall of Fame numbers to work with in an illustrious career as one of the greatest defensive lineman to wear an NFL uniform.

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Other Hall of Fame selections that made the class of 2011 as senior candidates were Chris Hanburger and Les Richter.  Hanburger played his entire 14 year career as a linebacker with the Washington Redskins from 1962 through 1978.  He became famously known as "The Hangman" for his clothesline style of tackling that the NFL would later outlaw in a rule inspired by his play.  He was named to nine consecutive Pro-Bowl teams in that time.

Richter was an odd mix of football talents for the Los Angeles Rams from 1954 through 1962.  Though his main position was linebacker, he also played games at center and even at kicker, accruing 16 interceptions on defense and had 106 extra-points and 29 field goals in his career; unimaginable in today's game.  Famously traded in the 1952 draft by the Dallas Texans for eleven players, Richter lived up to that trade by becoming a Pro-Bowl selection eight of his 9 seasons.

To round out the list of Hall of Fame selections for the 2011 class is a Hall of Fame selection for a non-player who has made a monumental contribution to the sport.  Ed Sabol, founder of NFL Films, was a part of the 2011 class for pioneering the chronicling of the history of the NFL.  He becomes just the 4th person to be selected for the pro football Hall of Fame that was neither a player nor a coach or executive that worked for a pro football team.  Only an NFL President, an NFL Commissioner and a Supervisor of Officials stand as the others who have been inducted without association with a pro football organization.  Sabol and his small-time film production company, Blair Motion Pictures, bought the rights to film the 1962 NFL Championship, five years before the first Super Bowl was played, for $3,000.  Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the only NFL commissioner in the pro football Hall of Fame, was impressed with Sabol's film work and decided to buy the company and make it NFL Films with agreement that Sabol would make a season highlight film for each team every year.  NFL Films provides almost all of the historic NFL video we enjoy today.

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Some of the Hall of Fame candidates who did not make the cut this year, but will have a great chance at 2012 are WR Cris Carter, RB Jerome Bettis, RB Curtis Martin, WR Tim Brown, C Dermontti Dawson, OT Willie Roaf and DT Cortez Kennedy.  No more than five of them can make the hall next year, but it could be their best chance to sneak in for a while.  They only have Will Shields, Bill Parcells and Tiki Barber becoming eligible in 2012 and I don't see any of them getting in on their first ballot, especially with the log-jam of historic players trying to squeeze into five slots next year.  Whoever is left behind in 2012 will face a great challenge to get in to the hall in 2013 as Larry Allen, Jonathan Ogden, Warren Sapp and Michael Strahan are all very strong first ballot eligible selections.

Vladimir Guerrero Signs 1 yr/$8 Million Deal with the Orioles? How did this happen?

Nine-time All-Star outfielder, Vladimir Guerrero will be a member of the 2011 Baltimore Orioles baseball team.  Guerrero, who batted .300 with 29 homers, 115 RBI's  and an .841 OPS(On-Base % + Slugging %) was an offensive leader of the 2010 Texas Rangers that made their way to a World Series appearance against the 2010 Champion, San Francisco Giants.  The always reliable Guerrero played in 152 of 162 regular season games last year and had his 13th season batting over .300 in 14 official seasons(12 straight).  He has a .320 career average and a Hall of Fame caliber 436 career homeruns.

Vladimir Guerrero helped take the Texas Rangers to the World Series in 2010 batting .300 with 29 HR and 115 RBI on the season

Guerrero, 35, figures to fit in as a designated hitter joining the O's already studded outfield that plays great defense lead by two young stars, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis.  Jones and Markakis combined for 31 homers and 129 RBI's  last season and both eclipsed .285 batting averages. With those two progressing and the emergence of young outfielders Felix Pie and Luke Scott, who lead the team with 29 homers at a career best .284 batting average from the DH spot that Guerrero will fill, the Orioles will have plenty of depth at the outfield position and plenty of good and powerful bats to put up in the first half of the lineup in 2011.  Will it help them overcome the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees in baseball's toughest division?

It's doubtful.

I still have them finishing in a close race for third place with the Rays who clearly took a step back with off-season losses of team statistical leaders Carl Crawford and Rafael Soriano.  The Red Sox and Yankees, who picked up Crawford and Soriano, will duke it out in a classic Sox-Yanks division race and I think ultimately the Red Sox will win it for picking up Crawford and the fact that the Yankees have very serious concerns at their 4th and 5th spots in the pitching rotation.

Nick Markakis(left) and Adam Jones provided a lot of offense and even more defense for the Baltimore Orioles in 2010

Luke Scott lead the team with 29 homeruns and batted .284 from the DH spot in 2010.  He'll likely find a place in the outfield with the signing of Guerrero

The Orioles are not necessarily the story here though.  The story is Vlad Guerrero.  How do the Orioles land a future Hall of Famer still playing at a prime level for a mere $8 Million dollars on a one year commitment?  The market just wouldn't seem to support such an inexpensive contract for a player with the recent and historical statistics of a Vladimir Guerrero.  Compare Guerrero's season to Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, Cubs outfielder Alphonso Soriano and Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez.


    2010 Statistics          AVG.     HR       RBI      SLG%     OPS%

Alex Rodriguez              .270       30        125      .506       .846
Vladimir Guerrero      .300      29         115       .496         .841
Alphonso Soriano        .258       24          79        .496         .818
Aramis Ramirez             .241       25          83        .452         .745

-Stat leader numbers in bold

When looking at their numbers in a comparative analysis, an argument can be made that Guerrero had just as productive a season as Rodriguez and outplayed fellow outfielder Soriano and 3B Ramirez.  Now when you look at that production consider the 2011 salaries and Guerrero's new 2011 deal with Baltimore.

                                      2011 Salary

Alex Rodriguez            $33.0 Million per year
Alphonso Soriano      $19.0 Million per year
Aramis Ramirez           $17.0 Million per year
Vladimir Guerrero      $8.0 Million per year

Considering his production from 2010, Guerrero seems grossly undervalued in this free agent market.  The real question is, if Guerrero is going for just $8 Million, why wouldn't the Rangers have him return to the team at such a small price tag for such a high value talent?  Why wouldn't any other teams outside of the Orioles, not exactly known for making a splash in free agency traditionally, go get Vlad to boost a weak offense?  Where were the World Series Champion, San Francisco Giants to sign him to their team?  The Giants were 17th in runs scored in the Majors last season and were lucky to even get in to the playoffs riding the coat-tails of one of Major League's best pitching staffs from starter to closer.  They could have sorely used a big bat like Guerrero's this upcoming season and he is worth an $8 Million dollar tag, even though he isn't the best defender, which he would have to be playing in the National League.  He still does have arguably the strongest arm in the Majors and is still a threat to throw out base-runners trying to extend to the extra base.

Guerrero, seen here playing for Montreal in the beginning of his career, has had one of the most feared arms baseball has ever seen in the outfield.  It's still one of the tops in all the Majors, but it won't be seen much with him going to Baltimore to be the DH.

Instead of making big waves in a division race, Guerrero will be putting up numbers for a team that is likely to be out of the division race by the end of August this year.  It's a shame to see such a legendary hitter, who has carried teams to postseasons, marked most notably by a World Series Championship for the Los Angeles Angels in 2000 and a World Series appearance for the Texas Rangers last season, disappear into obscurity in Baltimore.  He will make the Orioles better, but it won't be enough to make them relevant.

Pitcher Andy Pettitte Announces Retirement

As widely speculated, pitching great Andy Pettitte will announce his retirement at a news conference at Yankee Stadium at10:30AM on Friday.  The report is confirmed by the Yankees organization.  In what seemed to be a decision that Pettitte has been welcome to since the tragic end of the 2010 season for the Yankees losing the ALCS to the eventual World Series loser, Texas Rangers.

Pettitte, who will turn 39 in June, had mulled over the idea of retirement for the last few seaons, but it never seemed more evident that he'd finally retire than after the end of the 2010 season.  He's following through on that decision on Friday.  Pettitte has stated that he has had a strong desire to hang up his cleats and spend more time in Deer Field, TX with his wife and 4 children, all of which are still in school.

The announcement of Pettitte's retirement was a blow to the New York Yankees 2011 pitching staff prospects.  Pettitte was one of the 2010 season's best pitchers for the Yankees, finishing 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA in just 21 starts in a season where he had to miss the final two months due to a groin injury.  Pettitte returned for the postseason finishing 1-1, defeating the Minnesota Twins in game 2 of the ALDS but losing to the Texas Rangers in game 3 of the ALCS despite giving up only two runs in 7 innings pitched.

Since the Yankees were unable to land blockbuster free agent, Cliff Lee in the off-season it leaves a giant hole in the rotation. Rookie Ivan Nova will likely serve in the number 4 spot while the number 5 spot may be filled by one of three pitchers the Yankees have signed in recent weeks, two of them former elite pitchers, but each past their prime in Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia. 

The only question that remains now is will the baseball writers vote Pettitte into The Baseball Hall of Fame?  Pettitte's resume includes a respectable 240 wins to just 138 losses with a 3.88 ERA.  He had two 20 win seasons for the Yankees and a 19 win season in Houston.  He had a highly respectable five, top 5 finishes in the Cy Young award voting in '96, '97, '00, and '05.  His win totals and ERA are nice but nothing very hall worthy, however, it may be his 5 World Championships in 6 World Series appearances and a Major League Baseball record 19 wins in the postseason, 4 more than second place(John Smoltz - 15) that will likely solidify his place in Cooperstown.

Andy Pettitte won five World Championships with the Yankees and is the MLB record holder with 19 postseason wins

It is doubtful that Pettitte will be voted in as a first ballot Hall of Famer because his numbers are not such a slam dunk that he will earn a spot on his first vote and if anything could keep him out completely, it could be his admission to using a performance enhancing drug, HGH, to recover from an injury.  The discovery of his use of the drug was revealed in a highly publicized federal investigation into former teammate and former friend, Roger Clemens' use of HGH when his former trainer came out and accused Clemens of HGH use and that he had injected Clemens on several occasions.  Pettitte was forced to reveal his own use when he had to give a testimony under oath in the Clemens case.  In the case, Clemens vehemently denied his use of HGH and with that testimony, Congress feels they have enough evidence to perjure Clemens on his testimony and Andy Pettitte will have to serve as the prosecution's key witness.

Andy Pettitte faces the media in a press conference where he admits the use of HGH to recover from an injury

It's possible that the impending perjury case against Clemens, in which Pettitte is subpoenaed to be the prosecution's key witness, was a contributing factor to his decision to retire because he may not have wanted the distraction of having to testify in a case where he may be sending his former great friend to prison in a federal court while trying to be focused on helping his Yankee teammates win another world title.  Either way, Pettitte is now a retiree and he will be sorely missed in New York where he was revered for his clutch performances in big games for the Yankees.

FSU Seminoles, Jimbo Fisher Haul In Top Ranked Recruiting Class

Today, February 2, 2011 was "national signing day" for hundreds of aspiring prep football athletes that are realizing their dream of playing collegiate football.  The idea behind the day is for top high school football talents to sign a letter of intent to the university they plan on attending and playing football for this coming fall.  How this day has become somewhat of a media event is disturbing to me because it gives national recognition to very young men who have not accomplished anything yet.  In fact, the undue attention can ruin young players who are too young to realize that they really haven't done anything worth national attention and has in many cases created an unjust ego in them and hurting their psychological edge coming into their newly chosen school.  It has given past players the feeling that all they have to do is show up and universities will start chiseling statutes of them upon arrival.  Despite the circus that is the media coverage of high school kids deciding what colleges they will attend, the result of this day is important.

Each year, throughout the high school football season in the fall, hundreds of prep analysts rate recruits on specific skills for their respective positions.  Players are given two types of grades.  One of them is a star-rating system.  Players can be one star and up to 5 star talents, with five being the highest.  They are also given grades on a scale of 1-100, with 100 being the highest.  Players having a rating of 85 or higher are considered 5 star talents, 79 - 84 are considered 4 star and so on down the line.  Universities rely on scouting departments and independent high school player evaluation companies, ESPNU being the largest of the many that do so, to determine who they should spend their time recruiting to play for their program.

Once the players have chosen their schools and made the committment, it's high school prep experts that crunch the number of high star and top rated recruits to create a collective grade on how that university's recruiting class ranks amongst all schools across the country.  Simply put, the more high star and top recruits you land, the higher the grade you will be given by prep football analysts.

Now that the dust has settled on the 2011 signing day class of football players ready to take their talents to the collegiate level and the expert opinions are in, it has been announced that it is The Florida State University that has been named the 2011 top recruiting class in the U.S. Link: FSU brings in #1 recruiting class in 2011

FSU was able to nail down the #1 class by getting commitments from a nation leading 16 recruits that had a player ranking of 80 or above lead by the signing of a very rare talent, safety Karlos Williams out of Davenport, FL who is ranked nationally by ESPNU as the #1 safety in all of high school football and ranked #5 overall regardless of position.  He was FSU's one and only 5 star recruit, but a huge one to land that put FSU's class at the top.  FSU also lead the nation in 4 star recruits signed with a staggering 17, several more than any other school in the country.  Twelve of those 4 star players are ESPNU 150 recruits(denoting they are on a list of the top 150 overall high school players), also leading the nation.  For a full list and in-depth evaluation of their class, go to this link: Florida State Seminoles Recruit Class of 2011

Florida State's top recruit, Karlos Williams should help bolster a Seminole secondary that has been burned by the deep pass much of the last few years

When asked for an evaluation of FSU's recruiting class, ESPN college football expert, Kirk Herbstreit told ESPN that FSU did "an amazing job" and added that Seminole fans "have a lot to be excited about in the future and the Seminoles will be a national championship contender in 2011".

I, personally, will curb my enthusiasm being a graduate of Florida State University and will temper my excitement for what may be in the future of FSU football.  Many football people call the NFL's Washington Redskins the "preseason champions" each year because they go out every season and land the best talent available.  They haven't even won their division since 1999.  That's just a lesson to be learned about acquiring all the best talent and what results it may yield.  You can put a collection of the best talent on the field but if it can't play together as a team and it is not coached appropriately, it will just lead to expectations grossly not met.

If anyone can make a team out of great talent it is current FSU head coach, Jimbo Fisher.  He has a history of winning everywhere he has been, including a ten win season at FSU in his first year as head coach and FSU's first ten win season since 2003.  With this fresh group of high level high school talent coming in, FSU could be looking at a streak of 10+ win seasons in the immediate future and likely a BCS bowl game or National Championship game very soon.

Super Bowl XLV Media Day Recap

On a slow news day in the sports world, the Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday was the biggest sports story going and it got as much, or more attention than it usually has in years past.  It's always somewhat of a circus, both literally and figuratively.  Some reporters came dressed in costumes; one dressed in a super-hero's costume.  Selected players from both the Packers and the Steelers had individual hour interview sessions on the podium for the first media day to answer any and all questions that the reporters could muster.  Some questions focus on the game, but most are purely irrelevant blatter to generate story lines and sell papers.

Players were asked a myriad of questions and few answers raised much attention as they were the standard and uniformed responses one would expect to keep both teams laying low of potential distractions.  The players were mostly saying anything that the media couldn't make a spin story out of and hassle the players with throughout the week leading up to the big game.

Of all the questions asked and answers given by the player, there were three that were at least worthy of note...

Most relevant to the game is the question of center Maurkice Pouncey's status.  You can see my previous blog for the information on this.  In short, it was reported over the weekend by ESPN's NFL reporter, Adam Shefter, that Pouncey was out for the game according to his sources.  Pouncey has now personally refuted that report and says his chances of playing are 75%.

Less relevant to the game, and mostly unimportant to those who choose not delve in the never-ending mellow-drama that weaves it's way into anything NFL related and former quarterback, Brett Favre, was brought up in Aaron Rodgers' hour session.  Of course, reporters just had to know if the current Packers' QB had received any form of communication from his former mentor in Green Bay.  When asked if he had any communication with Favre, he simply replied, "No".  He went on to explain that he had a wonderful working relationship with Favre and that he did not expect he would hear from the former Packer legend and future Hall of Fame inductee.

Neither relevant to the Super Bowl game itself nor relevant to Brett Favre, yet still very relevant in the grand scheme of the NFL were the statements made by the usual Pittsburgh media lightning rod; the candid and outspoken Hines Ward.  Ward made the biggest headlines on the day with a report of his opinions on the NFL's seemingly contradictory approach to player safety that will be published in the upcoming issue of GQ magazine.  It wasn't his first expressed concern about the topic on the season as he has been well documented on his position on the matter, but he was never more direct than he was in this article.

In regards to the NFL's policy on helmet-to-helmet hits and their seemingly hollow position on player safety, namely concussions, Ward blasted the NFL for a disingenuous approach to both in the GQ article.

Ward says in his interview, "We don’t know what they want.  They’re so hypocritical sometimes. They came out with these new helmets that are supposed to stop concussions.  If they care so much about our safety, why don’t they mandate that we wear the new ones?  If they’re so worried about what concussions will do to us after our careers, then guarantee our insurance for life.  And if you’re going to fine me for a hit, let the money go to veteran guys to help with their medical issues.  To say the league really cares?  They don't give a fu**  about concussions.  And now they want to add on two extra games?  Are you kidding?  Come on, let’s be real.”

On media day, Ward was asked to comment further.  He offered clarification by telling reporters that he was not insensitive to concussions and noted that Aaron Rodgers had a couple of concussions this season and that he doubts Rodgers thinks about his life in ten years as a result of the injuries.  His point was that though concussions can be reduced by rules for safety, hitting in the NFL should not be over-legislated by the league and that if the league was so concerned with player safety, they wouldn't be concerned with adding more regular season games to the schedule for extra revenue.  Ward says of the money the NFL and even the players will make from the extra games, "Not all money is good money".

In relation to Ward's issues with the leagues policies on concussions and helmet-to-helmet hits, teammate James Harrison ,who was fined a grand total of $100,000 for late and illegal hits, offered some advice to the NFL and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, personally.  Harrison stated, "Lay pillows down where I tackle them(quarterbacks) so they don’t get hurt when they hit the ground, Mr. Goodell”.

He also stated, on the NFL's prospect of expanding player safety while also trying to add two regular season games to the new collective bargaining agreement, "You know this game is a dangerous game.  If you care, why would you add two more dangerous games for a long career in a violent sport?  You’re contradicting yourself".

I personally can see where the NFL thinks it can make more money while also keeping players healthy enough to finish seasons and have long, productive careers with their new approach to cracking down on hits that are, what Commissioner Goodell called, "life-altering" hits.  The NFL thinks if they clean up some of the hard hits in the game, that they can squeeze two more regular season games out of the players while suffering minimal collateral damage and maintain low level of player injuries across the league.  It's like the new hitting policies will counteract the amount of vicious hits that the players will be subject to over a season that is a couple of games longer thus canceling each other out yet still generating more revenue.

Just because I can see the rationale for the NFL's position, doesn't mean it's not a pipe dream.  The expectation for players to be able to alter their style of play to conform to hitting policies that are simply impossible to stay within because of the speed of the game, will not save enough people from taking hard blows to justify making them play two more regular season games.  The league should not move to an 18 game season, but it looks inevitable that it will in 2012.

Steelers Center, Maurkice Pouncey a Possible Super Bowl Start?

This is an update to a blog I posted a couple of days ago about Steelers center, Maurkice Pouncey being ruled out as reported by ESPN NFL reporter, Adam Shefter.  In an interview with Chris Berman on Monday's media day, Maurkice Pouncey announced that their is actually a 75% chance that he will play. It was reported over the weekend by ESPN's Adam Shefter that he would be out for the game.

Pouncey told Chris Berman that it's only a high ankle sprain and that his ankle feels "great" outside of a walking boot. I still wouldn't count on him playing, but according to ESPN's Bob Golic, it's Pouncey's athleticism they will miss if he cannot play. He described Doug Legursky as a more "phone booth" type of lineman who was more stationary and doesn't provide that lateral movement and athleticism that Pouncey is able to provide. Behind Pouncey, the Steelers lead the NFL in rushing touchdowns up the middle of the line.

Steelers Safety, Troy Polamalu, Selected as Defensive Player of the Year

It was announced today that the Pittsburgh Steelers' safety Troy Polamalu has been voted Defensive Player of the Year for the 2010 NFL season.  A panel of 50 Associated Press sports writers voted in one of the closest votes in years edging the Steelers' Super Bowl XVL opponent Green Bay Packers' inside linebacker(and fellow hair aficionado) Clay Matthews.

It was suspected by most that it would be Matthews who would take home the honors with his 13.5 sacks which was good for 4th in the NFL in addition to his 60 tackles, which is not a mind-numbing number of tackles for an inside linebacker(175 lead the league - New England LB Jerod Mayo) but is notable considering that offensive lines keyed on Matthews all season for double teams and other schemes that were designed to take Matthews out of the game.  His presence alone enabled fellow Packer linebacker, A.J. Hawk, to amass a career high 111 tackles because of the open looks he got due to all of the attention Matthews received from opposing lines.  Making the players around you better is the staple of an MVP award, but a Player of the Year award, it's your statistics that matter the most.

Clay Matthews(52) and A.J. Hawk gang tackle the 49ers Vernon Davis in Green Bay.  The two have proven to be a dangerous combination on defense for the Packers

Polamalu was a deserving recipient of the award, statistically outperforming Matthews in tackles(63) from the strong safety position which traditionally has fewer opportunities to make tackles than a linebacker, the position Matthews plays, and finishing second in the NFL with seven interceptions, trailing only Baltimore Ravens' All-Pro free safety Ed Reed who had 8.  Even more to his credit, he attained these statistics while missing two games to an achilles injury while Matthews played in all 16 regular season games.  Even with the numbers, many times what separates two players in a race for player of the year is an indelible moment that sticks in the voter's minds.  Polamalu's candidacy for Defensive Player of the Year was stamped on a single play when he made the single most important play of the season for the Steelers in their most important game against the Baltimore Ravens.  In a game that would likely decide the division, Polamalu made a miraculous leaping tackle on Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco and forced a fumble that would lead to the game winning score and sewing up a division title for the Steelers.

Troy Polamalu sacks and forces a fumble against the Ravens' Joe Flacco in a division deciding game on December 5, 2010.  The turnover setup the go-ahead score for the Steelers

Though Polamalu had the statistics to be considered a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year, it's likely the award may have gone to Matthews without a little help from his friend and teammate, James Harrison.  You may remember Harrison this year as the heavily fined Steelers linebacker who racked up a cool $100,000 in NFL fines for illegal hits.  His season was somewhat overshadowed by his tendency to hit players illegally, but his play was worthy of Defensive Player of the Year recognition, finishing with 100 tackles and 10.5 sacks.  Considering the very small margin of votes that separated Matthews and Polamalu, each finishing with 17 and 15 respectively, Harrison's 8 votes were likely the difference between Matthews and Polamalu.  Voters who voted for Harrison likely pulled their votes away from Matthews especially considering Matthews and Harrison play the same position.

James Harrison was better known for his illegal hits in 2010 than his high level of play.  Here he gives Browns' receiver Mohamed Massaquoi a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit that cost him $50,000

Though Polamalu was a deserving winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award, he may owe a small bit of credit to Harrison for the assist.