Calling the Detroit Lions Rat crap is disrespecting to rats.... Ok, good morning. Got that off my chest. Actually it was a pretty good day all around. Just those Lions just keep frustrating. Why I continue to think they are anything more than they are baffles me. I though Rod Marinelli was a good no nonsense coach. Thought he would at least get them to compete hard. They come less prepared to start a football game then a Norv Turner coached bunch. Speaking of Norv Turder, why do I get so much joy from seeing him lose? I don't know, I just do. Maybe because it vindicates me. Maybe because it makes me sound smarter than I am, which is really not that difficult of a task. I will not relent though. His teams are always talented, his teams always under achieve. They are not prepared and they always start slow. They lose games they should win and don't cover games they should blow out. When the Chargers are favourites it's almost like waking up Christmas morning to a full tree of presents. You know you have at least one game that jumps out at you. If you are getting tired of my Norv rants skip these paragraphs. My hatred for him as a coach needs to be unleashed and this is my forum to do so...well this, a radio show. Is it just me or is the refereeing in the NFL getting worse by the week. Are the refs getting too old for such a fast paced game? Does the league need to bring in some younger guys who can keep up with the speed of play? Two incidents stand out yesterday. One cost a team a game. The roughing the passer call against the Ravens that kept the Titans winning drive alive was horrendous. The guy barely touched Collins. To have a game decided by a call like that is a disgrace. The other was the late hit on Garrard in the late game. It kept a Jacksonville drive alive but ultimately didn't change the outcome. There is too much money involved, too much at stake for this to keep happening every week. It seems that every Monday we are talking about blown calls instead of great plays. Something has to be done. I am going to have to admit it. I give. Ben Rothlisberger is one tough guy and a pretty good quarterback. I never thought he was a bad quarterback, just not a special one. I think I finally have to admit it. He is tough and makes huge plays. He is very difficult to bring down and always seems to get loose to make throws from all angles and positions. He is the single biggest reason the Steelers are 4-1 and gives them a legitimate chance to win every week. I am pretty pleased with a couple of my preseason predictions. I have Washington going to the playoffs and while that is far from being a certainty yet, they are looking like a playoff team and one of the best in a very tough NFC. The other is the Seattle Sea Urchins....I mean Seahawks. The fact they have been a below average team has been masked by the division they play in. Not anymore. They have gotten very old and are now a very bad football team. It's not going to get any better this year folks. You just have to be impressed with what the Atlanta Falcons are doing. They have moved on from the Michael Vick/Bobby Petrino era very quickly. This team is a huge surprise. They will not make the playoffs this year, but will compete every week. This kid Matt Ryan is the real deal and Michael Turner makes them very difficult to play against. After the crap that the Falcon fans went through last year, you have to feel good for them. Wonder what Sage Rosenfels got on the wonderlick test? What the hell is he doing flying through the air up 10 points with 3 minutes to go? Slide buddy...slide! How do you fumble twice in that situation back to back. The Colts are very lucky to be 2-2 and not 0-4. I would think very hard before laying any points with this Colt team. They are not what they were the last couple of years. There are some serious problems there that are being hidden by the fact they are 2-2. Is there a more important player to a team the Bob Sanders? Without him the Colt defence is less than average. Don't let the Bills 4-0 start fool you. They will be in tough every week. That 4-0 start was built up against some pretty bad teams. They are average at best and without Roscoe Parrish do not control field position as well. It is becoming more and more evident that a great kick returner can make a huge difference, not by just returning kicks for touchdowns, but by completely changing the field position of a game. The Bears are not the same without Devin Hester and the Bills are not the same without Parrish. I am not as much in love with the Dallas Cowboys as everyone else. I have been saying for years, I don't think a team can win with Terrell Owens on their roster. He is a cancer and takes away from the team. He is a me first guy and there is an "I" in the way T.O spells team. They were life and death to beat a bad Cinci team at home. That after coming off a home loss to Washington. This is not the best team in the NFL as some would like to call them. They are not even the best team in their division. Favourites went 7-6 yesterday. The overs once again bested the unders 7-6. Pretty good day on the show yesterday. I went 3-1. Had New England, Arizona and the Cowboy over and lost with those rat turd Lions. Please help me. If I ever take the Lions again, just slap me on the head..I may need an intervention. Randall went 3-3. He had Arizona, Washington and the Patriots for his wins and Denver, Baltimore and KC for his loss. In his defence, he shouldn't have lost Baltimore and got back doored with the Broncos. Jorey was 2-2. Redskins and Pats were his winners. Baltimore and Jags were his losers. Dave Malinsky continued his torrid pace with two winners. He had New England and the KC under. He is leaning slightly to the Vikings tonight. The line has New Orleans favoured by 3 with a total of 46.5. Talk to you Sunday. Have a great week.