Week 3 Prognostication

Each week David, Don, and I will pick the winners in each game, and we will keep a running tally for the year for utlimate bragging rights. Here are our picks, post your picks in the comments. (Home teams capitalized.)

THE GAMES	TIME/DAY	DAVID'S PICKS	DON'S PICKS	OSCAR'S PICKS
BUFFALO 2 1/2 over Atlanta	1:00 Sunday	Atlanta	Atlanta	Atlanta
Carolina 3 over MIAMI	1:00 Sunday	Carolina	Carolina	Carolina
Cincinnati 3 over CHICAGO	1:00 Sunday	Chicago	Cincinnati	Cincinnati
INDIANAPOLIS 13 1/2 over Cleveland	1:00 Sunday	Indianapolis	Indianapolis	Indianapolis
MINNESOTA 4 over New Orleans	1:00 Sunday	Minnesota	New Orleans	New Orleans
N.Y. JETS 2 1/2 over Jacksonville	1:00 Sunday	NY Jets	Jets	Jacksonville
PHILADELPHIA 8 1/2 over Oakland	1:00 Sunday	Philadelphia	Philadelphia	Philadelphia
ST. LOUIS 6 1/2 over Tennessee	1:00 Sunday	St. Louis	St. Louis	Tennessee
Tampa Bay 3 1/2 over GREEN BAY	1:00 Sunday	Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay	Tampa Bay
Dallas 6 1/2 over SAN FRANCISCO	4:05 Sunday	Dalllas	Dallas	Dallas
SEATTLE 6 1/2 over Arizona	4:05 Sunday	Seattle	Arizona	Seattle
PITTSBURGH 3 over New England	4:15 Sunday	C'mon now...	PITTSBURGH!	PITTSBURGH!
SAN DIEGO 5 1/2 over N.Y. Giants	8:30 Sunday	San Diego	Giants	San Diego
DENVER 3 over Kansas City	9:00 Monday	Kansas City	Kansas City	Kansas City
This week		9-5	7-7	9-5
Season		9-5	7-7	9-5

The View From Texas...week 2

One of my hobbies is reading Pre-season predictions after the season has started and NOT during the pre-season when they are released. I confess I was genuinely surprised that the majority of publications I saw picked Baltimore as the consensus favorite to win the AFC North despite their OBVIOUS QB deficiencies. There were the few renegades that picked Cincinnati to get over the hump and make the Cinderella run of 2005, but for the most part Baltimore was the favorite.

Fast Forward to Tuesday morning, and here we sit, atop the AFC North, staring down the teeth of our schedule a mouth that extends to the end of the year.

Sunday Home for the Patriots

Does this REALLY need to be talked up. Three of the last four Lombardi Trophies sit in Foxboro. The last TWO AFC championship losses are at their hands. Enough said. This game is as winnable as it is losable. Expect a MAJOR dose of up the middle grind it out followed by a healthy portion of play-action.


Bye week
I will be spending quality time with my fiancee' . Fans need off weeks too. Might even do 11am service. no...let me stop. I don't do 11am service even during the off season.

10/9 @ San Diego for MNF
Can you say TRAP game. These are the games that cause even GREAT teams not to go 16-0.

10/16 Home for Jacksonville
Another Trap game. Big physical team that loves to bust you in the mouth. coming off a trip back from the West Coast on a short week. Blah.

10/23 @ Cincinnati
We gotta show those youngins who is STILL boss around these parts. Another potential L.

10/31 Home for Baltimore and MNF
As big of a Kordell fan as I was(am?), the thought of him starting IN Heinz Field on MNF AGAINST the Steelers just cries out for an extra long essay. Funny thing is, he is the best QB on their roster right now...even with Boller healthy.

11/6 @ Green Bay for a 4:15 game
Trap game extraordinaire...Green Bay should be even worse by November, but its still a late game in Green Bay after a big division game on MNF.

11/13 Home for Cleveland @ 8:30
Let me establish something really quickly. THESE ARE NOT THE BROWNS. The Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996. This is the new NFL team in Cleveland. This team isnt a rival from the glory days. This team didn't get down and dirty with the Steelers throughout the 70's. This is an expansion team. Sorry, that's just how it is. They are a rival, but they aren't THE rival. We play that team NEXT week.

11/20 @ Baltimore for a 4:15 game
This is the definition of a trap game. Baltimore will NEED this game DESPERATELY by this point. A more hard fought game is not on this schedule.

11/28 @ Indianapolis for MNF
This will be the HIGHEST rated MNF game this year. Give me ONE reason you won't be glued to the screen. Even the missus-to-be is gonna sit in on this one.

12/4 Home for Cincinnati
I would GIVE this one to get the one before it. Winning IN Indianapolis might cost us a home win against Cincinnati.

12/11 Home for Chicago
Ugly game. Kyle Orton, meet Mr. Polamalu, Mr. Porter, and Mr. Farrior.

12/18 @ Minnesota
Minnesota should be fully imploded by this point.


12/24 @ Cleveland on Christmas Eve (only two games on Sunday and one on monday)
Road division Games are NEVER fun. Especially this late in the year.

1/1 Home for Detroit
I cannot think of a good reason to worry about this game, but this IS the NFL after all. Oscar would just DIE if they blew this one.


The point of this exercise is that it is clear that the Steelers have what it takes. What it takes is enough wins to get home-field advantage. I know it hasnt served them well in the past few years, but it's STILL better than playing in hostile territory.

Indianapolis, New England, and the Steelers are clearly the class of the AFC each carries a stiff advantage at home, especially the Colts.

Recent History notwithstanding, It is imperative to secure Home-Field to provide the greatest chance to get to Detroit.

All those games are winnable....they are all just as easily lost. Do not be fooled by the ease of the first two wins. This is the NFL...and it won't be this easy.

Who's Your Favorite Steeler?

Personally, I'm a bit torn. The obvious favorite is Big Ben, but I usually prefer to go against the flow like a naked bootleg. My favorite offensive player would be Hines Ward (the other obvious favorite). He embodies the blue-collar mentality and toughness that has exemplified the Steelers throughout the ages. Hines Ward is everything that is good and right about the Steelers - dedicated to the team, tireless in his work ethic, relentless on run plays, and unstoppable on pass plays. I actually prefer to watch him on runs than on passes - there is nothing more satisfying than watching Hines decleat a 300 lb. lineman, and he does it all the time. He's worth every penny that the Steelers are paying him and then some.

On defense - there are so many to choose from - but I would have to say that Troy Polamalu is rapidly becoming my favorite. The man plays every position on the field, from Safety to Cornerback to Linebacker to Defensive Tackle - I saw him line up and play each of those positions Sunday - and he's probably Dick LeBeau's favorite defensive player too. Watching him come diving at some unfortunate victim who happens to be holding the ball is cathartic. In fact, both in flying through the air and in his looks Troy reminds me of one of my favorite wrestlers from back in the day - Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. I mean they could pass for kin, seriously. It might even be worth calling Tom Joyner for one of his "Are you my daddy?" segments.

So those are my two favorite current Steelers - Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. Who are your favorite offense and defensive players?

Who Am I? Why Am I Here?

I don't think that I have ever laughed out loud as I did during the 1992 Vice Presidential Debate when Admiral Stockdale uttered the words, "Who am I? Why am I here?" It was humorous because he was not a politician, relatively unknown, and yet he was in the political spotlight. The question, however, is actually quite profound. Who am I? Why am I here?” This questions drives philosophers to think and minstrels to sing, each inquiring about that one thing: “Who am I and why am I here?” To answer that question we must look to God. David inquired of God, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained; What is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:3-4) Who am I and why am I here?

I am a child of the Living King. Before any other descriptor I am a child of God. Everything else is an adjective - American, Black, man - I am a Christian, and I am unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am an evangelist, an apologist, a student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, unemployed at the moment, and wholly dependent upon the grace of God.

Who am I?

I am a refugee from the lair of Lions' fans. I was born and raised in Detroit, but I learned early in life (circa 1979) that the Lions were not about winning championships. This was around the time that I developed a visceral loathing for the Dallas Cowboys who began calling themselves America's Team, and since the Steelers were consistently beating the Cowboys I jumped on the Steeler bandwagon and never jumped off.

But why am I here?

I am here because of who I am. I am a Christian. I am a Steeler fan. And if you're reading this then that probably applies to you too. Welcome home.

Who I'm is

I am one of the Nation. I am living in hostile territory now, as I vowed to do when I left Pittsburgh at the age of 18 in 1988 (Also known as the dark ages).

I left Pittsburgh behind, but took my love for the Steelers with me. That isn't really an option for Pittsburgh natives, especially in my age group. The Steelers as the world knows them was born right before I was, with the hiring of Chuck Noll in 1969. Terry Bradshaw's first training camp coincided with my first months on the earth. Franco Harris plucked victory from the shoulder Pads of Jack Tatum when I was familiarizng myself with the Potty. I remember an indepth conversation with Jack Wagner in Children's Hospital during their fund-raising drive when I was in kindergarten spending the Christmas season in the Hospital.


As they grew and matured and dominated the NFL in the dawn of the 80's, so did I. It was in 1983 that I found Jesus as my personal Savior and began my eternal walk with him. As the city foundered through the 80s courtesy of the relentless march of time and progress with a crushing lead block courtesy of Reaganomics, so did my Steelers, and for that matter so did I culminating in a humilating and painful exit from college.

As the Noll Era ended and The Hour of Cowher Power began, I relocated first to California and then to Maryland, learning to get my Steelers information the best way I could. This was before the Internet and Direct TV and the like, so information was limited. As the Steelers returned to power, so returned my strength to walk with God in better spirit and truth.

I could go on and on...and I will at a later date.

Suffice it to say my history with the Steelers is long, intimate, ongoing and very personal.

TWO things keep me tied to Pittsburgh, Family and the Steelers.


In many ways...they are the same to me.

In the Family that is the ChristianSteelerNation, I am the Hometown Kid.

Steelers 34, Titans 7

Relax, folks, we'll be OK.

The first game of the season has erased any doubts as to whether or not Big Ben is the man, because if you're like me, the preseason had you a little concerned. This game also erased any questions about whether or not Willie Parker could fill the massive shoes of The Bus and Deuce - a good sign of things to come. Next up, the Steelers head deep into the heart of Texas to meet the Houston Texans. The Texans were embarrassed this week by the Buffalo Bills - by the Texans' own admission - so expect them to play with extra zeal this Sunday. The Steelers will have to prove to the Texans that their zeal is not according to knowledge.

Week 1 Newsletter