Kaspers Korner

Ben Roethlisbeger lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl Championship just a few seasons ago.  That would be his goal again for this upcoming season.

“Hopefully, we win the Super Bowl.  That’s my goal this year and I think we’ve got the personnel for it,”  Roethlisberger said at his youth camp.  With that being said the real question is that a reasonable thing to expect.

The statement is very true in fact.  They do have the personel on both sides of the football to win another championship.  The thing is though can they stay healthy. 

Offensively there are three questions.  First, can Willie Parker stay healthy as he is a smaller running back, and did break his ankle last year.  Secondly, how much will the departure or guard Alan Faneca affect the team.  Finally, will rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall, and wide receiver Lima Sweed, have a impact on the offense this year.

Defensively the only thing that has changed is that starting outside linebacker Clark Haggans signed with the Arizona Cardinals.  However you need to remeber this is the Steelers, and they are the premier franchise when it comes churning out pro bowl linebackers.  They let linebacker Joey Porter go to see him stuggle converting to a lineback in a 3-4 defense.

The only questions that remain is something out of the players, and coaches, hands.  That being the condition of the turf.  It was in pretty bad shape.  However, this is football it was meant to be played on grass, and if a field turns into a mud pit it is apart of their job description to deal with it. 

If the players, coaches, and fans do not like this then go watch the Arena Football League.  As the saying goes war can be hell.

Jake Delhomme last year tore a ligament in his elbow in week three that ended his season.  On June 29th, 2008 ESPN writer AJ Mass wrote an article about Delhomme that is best described as laughable.

Mass in the second paragraph of his article said this, “But with a fragile quarterback and an increased commitment to the passing game, it seems strange that the team would choose this moment in time to completely revamp the offensive line.”

All I could do was laugh after reading that sentence.  Again, ESPN shows that its online writers are becoming incompetent, and being laughable is the least of their worries, because outside of John Claton and Chris Mortensen the company is losing credibility fast.

Now, why is the article laughable?  Simple, Delhomme had Tommy Johns surgery, which has become the best in the business when it comes to repairing elbow ligaments.  So much so that I remember hearing that pitchers in baseball have it done even if they do not need it, because after the proceedure most pitchers gain velocity on their pitches.

Also, from 2003-2005 Delhomme started every game for the Packers.  In 2006 he started 13 of the sixteen games for the Pathers. 

The fact of the matter is that Delhomme will be fine.  They added running back Jonathan Stewart in the first round of the draft.  They also signed wide receivers DJ Hackett and Muhin Muhammad.  On top of that they used their second first rounder on offensive tackle Jeff Otah.

Still, to Mass Delhomme is still a fragile quarterback. Okay buddy keep smoking the good stuff.

The Jaguars last season made the post season as a wild card team, and once again was knocked out of the second round, or earlier.  With free agency pretty much done, and the draft concluded, can their additions get them or the hump.

The Jaguars made significant moves in the two areas that they were weak in.  That being wide receiver on offense, and defensive end on the defense.  The question is now are the moves going to make them better.

On offense the signing of Jerry Porter is a big move.  Porter for the most part has been a number two receiver, untill last year.  Porter caught 44 passes for over 705 yards receiving,  That is pretty good for being on a really crappy team that had a no proven quarterback at the helm. 

Also, the team traded for wide receiver Troy Williamson.  Williamson for has developed a reputation for being the National Football Leagues version of the character Stonehands from the movie “Unnecessary Roughness.”  It would be intersting to see the Jaguars trying to get away with putting sitckum on Williamsons hands like the movie.

On defense the Jaguars made important additions to their defensive end spots as they used their first two draft picks in this past draft to address the position.  The Jaguars traded up into the top ten to get defensive end Derrick Harvey.  Then in the second round they grabbed defensive end Quentin Groves.

However, the key move will be the trade of defensive tackle Marcus Stroud.  Stroud was traded to the Buffalo Bills earlier this offseason.  The trade leaves a huge hole there, and will obviously addressed from within the team.   The thing is though will the player be just as good, or better. 

If they are wrong about this then this could be disaster for the team, and could cause them to miss the playoffs.

The Indianapolis Colts earlier this offseason had an unsual disturbance during a period of time that is quiet for them.  However, things have gotten back to normal; but that is not really the case.

In most cases it would be a typical offseason for the Colts, as pretty much there is no new news in regards to the Colts.  The only new thing is that Colt’s preseason tickets went on sale.

However, that is not the case for most Colts fans, as there is a quiet murmur amongst them.  That being for several reasons.  First, thid id head coach Tony Dungy’s last year,  The shooting outside of wide receiver Marvin Harrison’s bar has not moved foward., and finally, nobody knows how will Harrisons knee will respond this season.

Each incident by itself could be a distration for the Colts.  Now, add two more in, and now you have a receipe for disaster.

The only question that thre is now is how will each one affect the Colts during the season.

The Detroit Lions under the direction of Lions Cheif Executive Officer, and president, Matt Millen has been far from being decent.  Already, a recent draft pick is showing signs of being another bust.

Offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus was taken by the Lions in this past draft, which was conducted in April.  Cherilus in July of last year, beat up somebody under the disguise of trying to break up a fight.

Since, Cherlius has been ordered to one year probation, and to pay $52 thousand dollars in medical expenses from the incident.  If Cherilus abides by the orders, and stays out of trouble, then the charges against him will be dismissed.

The Lions knew about the incident as it was reported July 6th, 2007.  That does not bode well for the teams judgement.

The Lions took Cherilus with the 17th pick in the first round.  At that position that is still a pick that has the possibility of starting right away.

What is even more mind boggling, to me that is, is why they would take Cherilus at that spot.  Knowing full well that he has come character issues. 

However, this is the National Football League, and will be for the foreseeable futre.  Teams will take these guys knowing full well of what they are bringing.  Why they still do that is simply, because the reward, and the upside, out weighs all the negatives.

Untill, draft picks are stripped from teams for players conduct this is the way it will be.

It looked like that news in regards to the Denver Broncos was dying down, after the wide receiver Brandon Marshall’s slip.  That has changed again thanks in part to Marshall getting arrested on March 6, 2008.

Marshall was arrested on charges of misdemeanor battery of his longtime girlfreind Rasheedah Watley.  This is the third time he has been arrested, since March 2007.

Why is this just being reported just now?  That is unclear, since little information has been released.  Speculation is that Marshall withhled the news for some reason.  The National Football League, and the Broncos, are aware of the arrest, but the question is when did he tell both of them.

If Marshall withheld the arrest for any period of time he will be suspended.  Adam “Pacman” Jones was suspened for the entire 2007 season for not informing them of an an arrest.

Whatever punishment the league sees fit it will be deservedly so.

Many thought that the U.S. Congress’s involvement with the National Football League was going onto the back burner for a while.  Well they were wrong as Congress has threaten their antitrust exemption.

Representative (D-California) Linda Sanchez is not happy with the NFL, or the NFLPA when it comes to taking care of retired players.  The issue being the retired players concerns have.  Those being access to disability payments, low pension payments, and the inability to get health care.

All three together have been equally hard to obtain.  To get disability payments you would have to have a very strong case.  For decent pension payments you have to wait till your about 60 years old.  Health care expires after you been retired for three years.  Also, most companies won’t take on football players, because they been beaten up, and eventually their bodies breakdown.  Thus racking up huge bills. 

It is about time that Congress has finally got into this.   After all the Brian DeMarcos of the world need that as quickly as possible  DeMarco has been homeless at one point.

For any single former player to go homelss, in a sport that generates six billion dollars, is utterly a HUGE disgrace.

Last year the New York Jets were affected by Pete Kendall’s accusations that the team promised to rework his contract.  Now, the same thing is going on with tight end Chris Baker, and still the team is acting childishly.

Chris Baker has also accused the Jets of promising they would rework his contract, with nothing coming of it.  Now, Baker has sent a message that it is personal between him and the club.

Baker during mincamp parked in the Jets Team President’s parking spot, and refused to move it.  With what can be seen as retaliation, the team fined Baker three thousand dollars for missing a treatment on his back.

It is obvious that the team has a real problem on their hands.  Baker is not going to let this go quitely.  So, they now have two options.

First, the team can enter into contract negotiations, and give Baker a new contract.  Or, they can get rid of him via a trade, or just cutting him.

So, what is it going to be Baker’s fate?  With the signing of tight end Bubba Franks this past offseason.  Also, with the team drafting tight end Dustin Keller in the draft it is obvious that Baker is not going to be on the team much longer.

How much longer will it be?  It cannot be too much longer.  Everyday that the team meets means another day that another incident can happen like the parking lot fiasco.

Whatever the Jets decision is it needs it had to be done yesterday.

National Football League owners opted to end the current collective bargaining agreement early, with fears that players expenses are getting out of control.  Those fears have been confirmed as the Green Bay Packers made 37 percent less of a profit in 2007 2008 fiscal, which ended March 31st than the previous year.

The Packers are almost one of the top ten most profitable franchises in the NFL.  Even with total revenue going up ten percent to $241 million they still lost 37 percent of its profit. 

That means when the 2010-2011 fiscal year ends March 31, 2011, at the current rate of profit decrease, the Packers will have made only a five million dollar profit.  That means that teams in the bottom half of the most profitable scale will be losing money by that time. 

The thing is though NFLPA Union cheif Gene Upshaw wants the whole NFL to open its financiak books.  Just the Packers books might not be enough for Upshaw.  

What will most likely happen is that the players will eventually kick Upshaw to the curb.   Fans will turn on the players if they do not make concession, especially with the current new.  That will lead to Upshaw’s demise, after all he is very stubborn. 

What will happen is anyones guess.

The New York Giants are already dealing with a bad situation between the team and tightend Jeremy Shockey, and wide receiver Plaxico Burress.  Now, the team has to deal with the parole violation that running back Ahmad Bradshaw, and cornerback Geoffrey Pope being arrested for hitting someone with a champagne bottle. 

The news is not good for the Giants as both men are subject to discipline under the Personal Conduct Policy.  How long of a suspension it will be depends on what the NFL finds out about each situation. 

The positive thing is that the two are backups.  That means the team would stll would have a good chance of winning what whatever game the two miss.

What is next for the Giants? Nobody knows that, but whatever it is the team better have a plan to act when something  comes up