Dr. Neel Anand, director of Orthopedic Spine Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Spine Center in Los Angeles had this to day about those kinds of procedures.

“It takes time. It takes between three and six months,” Anand said. “You want this fusion to heal, which means strong bones and stabilize the spine. But I certainly don’t think it’s career-threatening. He absolutely can come back next season.

“If everything goes well, there’s no reason he could not come back playing football.”

Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, concurred. He said this kind of procedure requires at least a three-month recovery period.

“Surgeons initially tried a less invasive approach, but the single-level anterior fusion he just underwent is a more definitive procedure that will correct the problem but requires a longer healing process,” Cohen said. “It’s highly unlikely that he will play this year.”

Here is the original article and it goes into more detail.

I think if this is the case, they won’t risk him coming back in the middle of the season if he is not fully healed, also if they are not playoff bound they won’t rush him back to the field, in either case, I think Indy could be in for a rough year without Peyton, even if he comes back mid season, he might be rusty and they will still struggle.

On my 23, Manning underwent neck surgery, and it has taken longer then expected for him to fully recover, putting him on the physically unable to perform list for training camp and wasn’t activated until last Monday.

He partook in limited practice last week, which lead him to have pain in his back, and after a re-evaluation by team doctors, they told him to stop practicing to undergo more tests. Manning had this to say about the situation.

“To say I am disappointed in not being able to play is an understatement,” Manning said in a statement released by the team. “The best part about football is being out there on the field playing with my teammates. It will be tough not to be out there playing for the organization and our fans. I simply am not healthy enough to play, and I am doing everything I can to get my health back. The team will do fine without me, and I know for sure that I will miss them much more than they miss me.”

Veteran Kerry Collins will start in his place, which leads to some questions, can the Colts win without Manning? Is the Manning era over?

Briggs had this to say to the Chicago Tribune, “The Bears made their decision, now I have to make mine,” Briggs said. “It’s just how the business works. It’s not going to take away from what I do on the field. I’m 100 percent a Bear, until I’m not a Bear anymore.”

Briggs has 3 more years on his contract with the Bears, and is set to make $3.9 million dollars this year, $4 million next year, and $6.5 million the year after that.

Briggs asked for a new contract after seeing younger linebackers were getting more money than him.

Coach Lovie Smith had this to say about the situation, “If a guy has something that he needs to do, then he can deal with it off the field,” Smith said. “As far as how I see him, I just see him coming to work every day, like he has done. Lance Briggs has to get ready for the football season, which he has done.

“Who doesn’t want a new contract? All of us would want a new contract. But still, you go to work every day and do your job, and that’s what he’s doing. I have no complaints about him.”

The last time Rosenhaus went to the the Bears looking for a trade,  tight end Greg Olsen ended up being sent to the Panthers for a third-round pick.

This also means that the week after, is the start of the regular season, where teams will be playing for real, where Sunday, and Monday will be looked forward to as people can’t wait to watch their favorite teams battle it out on the gridiron, where dreams, will be made, or shattered, where talk will be backed up, or put down, where you can brag, or be forced to eat humble pie, where your team will leave you feeling  as if you were on cloud 9, or in the pits of despair.

One thing is for certain though, all of us fans, are getting ready to watch our favorite teams and are thankful that football is back!!!!!!!!!

The Jets. People hate the Jets because they talk a lot of trash, and in a lot of cases they can back it up, but it seems they talk too much trash and are hated for that.

The Steelers. People hate the Steelers because of Ben Roethlisberger, and the fact that they are a good franchise and play hard football. People love to hate the teams on top.

The Eagles. People hate the Eagles because of Michael Vick, they hate them because they are labeled “The Dream Team”, and perhaps most of all, they hate their fans.

The Patriots. People hate the Patriots because again this is a winning franchise, they also hate them because of the whole spygate incident and people also hate Tom Brady for the tuck rule and view him as whiney and soft.

The Cowboys. Perhaps the most hated team overall on this list, they run with the name “America’s Team”, the fact they are know for rewarding bad attitude players, Jerry Jones, their owner is hated, that and the fact that every year the critics pump them up making them seem to be the best team in the NFL doesn’t help their cause with people.

The Colts. People hate the Colts because of Peyton Manning, they also hate that the Colts are good and have the potential to beat their favorite team, they also hate Manning because if your teams D gets to him, they usually get a flag, or the fact that they usually don’t because he is that good at getting rid of the ball.

Of course there is going to be rivalries and fans will always hate the other team on that rivalry but this is a list of overall hated teams. It changes as other teams get good and get players in the spotlight that say dumb things or get too cocky and talk trash.

Who is your most hated team?

The Detroit Lions. For years the lions were the laughing stock of the NFL, making bad decision after bad decision, but fortune seems to have changed, and they have quietly been putting together a team that can compete, with an offense that has the potential to be very potent, they now have an O-line that can actually block, they have a real quarterback in Matthew Stafford, two good receivers in Megatron and Nate Burleson, they have a good running back in Jahivid Best and they have TE Brandon Pettigrew.  Couple that with a capable defense, though Suh needs to be careful, you have a team that has a potential to make the playoffs this year.

AFC Sleeper Team

The Cleveland Browns, another team that used to be terrible has now been adding much needed pieces to their puzzle and putting together a team that I think, can be a winning team. Colt McCoy is shaping up to be a good QB, along with a good RB in Peyton Hillis and an improved offensive line, add in Greg Little to the list, a revamped defense and a new coach, and they have the potential to be a winning team this year as well, perhaps making the wild card.

Will either of these teams make it to the big game? Not likely, but one of them may make the playoffs, and should definitely be better than last year, and I think have the ability to surprise people this year.

Who do you think can be a sleeper team this year?

THU SEP 8th

New Orleans @ Green Bay 8:30pm EST on NBC

I am going to go ahead and say New Orleans  wins this one by 7, I am going with the old Superbowl hangover on this one. 21-28

SUN SEP 11th

Atlanta @ Chicago 1:00pm EST on FOX

Atlanta by 3, they were great last year and are only going to continue to get better. 20 – 17

Cincinnati @ Cleveland 1:00pm EST CBS

I say Cleveland 27- 10, they are going to smack the Bengals around, as I believe they are going to be a good team this year.

Buffalo @ Kansas City 1:00pm EST CBS

The Chiefs win this one as Buffalo sucks 17 – 7.

Philadelphia @ St. Louis 1:00pm EST FOX

This depends on whether the Eagle’s O line decides to keep people out of Vick’s face, If that happens Eagles will smoke the Rams, if not, the Eagles still win, but not by much and will have a very tough game. O-line blocks 31 – 17 no blocking 20 – 17.

Detroit @ Tampa Bay 1:00pm EST FOX

No contest, Detroit is going to murder them, Detroit is my dark horse team in the NFC, watch out for these guys, 21 – 7.

Tennessee @ Jacksonville 1:00pm EST FOX

Tennessee gets their act together and wins this one 14 – 7.

Pittsburgh @ Baltimore 1:00pm EST FOX

Tough tough game, going to be very good, I see Pittsburgh come out on top in this match up, though only by a little, 13 – 10.

Indianapolis @ Houston 1:00pm EST CBS

This one is going to depend on if Manning plays or not, if he is out Houston kills them 21 – 7, if Manning plays Indy wins 27 – 21.

NY Giants @ Washington 4:15pm EST FOX

This is another tough one, as they always play each other hard, I am going to have to go with the Giants on this one 17 -7.

Minnesota @ San Diego 4:15pm EST FOX

Bolts all the way with this one 24 – 10. Minnesota has too many question marks and Peterson can only do so much.

Seattle @ San Francisco 4:15pm EST FOX

49ers, 17 – 14.

Carolina @ Arizona 4:15pm EST FOX

The Cards win this one 21 – 7, they are just the better team right now, though I can see the Panthers getting better toward the end of the season.

Dallas @ NY Jets 8:20pm EST FOX

J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets are going to win this one, as I believe they have the better team and one of the best CB tandems in the league, Romo and the Boys just won’t be able to pull this one off.

MON SEPT 12th

New England @ Miami 7:00pm EST ESPN

This is my upset game, I think Miami is going to pull this one off, Miami comes out of the gates swinging and beats the Pats 24 – 21.

Oakland @ Denver 10:15pm EST ESPN

I gotta say that the Broncos win this one at Mile High, 13 – 7.

Burleson told Mlive.com, “Certain things have to happen in the course of the play that will make this the best celebration you’ve ever seen, I guarantee it.”

When asked what it was he replied “You’ll just have to wait and see,” he said. “If the stars align, it’ll happen. But I’m not going to tell what it is right now.”

According to Nate Burleson, Calvin Johnson came up with the idea saying “He came up with it on his own, Calvin’s a lot more creative than you guys think. He has some stuff up his sleeve. You’ll see this year.”

I don’t know about you, but I am a fan of endzone celebrations, as long as they are tasteful, funny and creative, and laugh at them, even , sometimes, if done when somebody scores a touchdown against my favorite team. I may even have to watch more Lion’s games for this, but I’m sure if it is good enough it will make the highlight reels. Hopefully he can deliver his promise and make it as good as he says!

According to this article, witnesses claimed it began when a person in a vehicle honked their horn to get people to move out of the way, and they drug them out of the van and beat the crap out of them and when another man went to help they beat him too and Jordan Jefferson kicked him in the head while in the ground.

Yet another promising young athlete gets themselves in trouble doing stupid things, some things I am thinking is , for one, why were they at a bar in the first place? You are one of the top football players in the NCAA, you should think first before doing things like this, you are not above everybody else and can get into trouble!

You should be setting an example for the rest of your team, and not be doing stupid things like this, you were out past team curfew, you were acting like an idiot and should have left the area when trouble started if you were not involved in it, hell you shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

With all the nonsense going on in college football, these kids really need to think before they do something, because they are going to come under the spotlight now with everything else going on, and the NCAA is going to hand our harsher punishments.

Its just a shame that they end up doing stupid stuff like this, that can ruin their entire careers, they need to wise up and start acting better than this, and focus more on their studies and football rather acting like idiots and getting into trouble.

He hasn’t said much publicly on his condition as he said he is too busy “kicking cancer’s ass” and said “It’s just who I am so it’s not a matter of it being impressive, it’s a matter of ‘I’m gonna win this’ and this is how I win. It motivates me to win,”

Scott is going through chemotherapy and other treatments for the cancer and is still doing his P90X workouts!! He is one tough S.O.B. in my book, he is maintaining a positive outlook on the whole situation and is fighting like a trooper, and not letting fear grip him and also had this to say about the situation “To me, it’s like a football game. I’m facing this, this wants to win,” Scott said. “You can try, but I’m just gonna come harder than you. I’m gonna come harder than you all day long. My prayers go out to you for a speedy and total recovery Stuart Scott!

The full article can be read here

Wow, this is a good way to start your NFL career, getting into fist fights with your fellow team mates, I’m sure that will get you a lot of respect in the locker room and add to the team’s chemistry. There is no word yet on why the fight took place and who started it yet.

My opinion is why? You are a professional now, leave that crap off the field and out of the locker room, there is no need for this at the NFL level, grow up, if you have a problem try to work it out instead of fighting with your team mates!

Here is the ESPN power ranking going into week 1

All I have to say is wow, this looks like it came out of a book! Gambling, stripclubs, cars, money, booze, prostitutes, wild yacht parties, wild house parties, and abortions!!??? This is terrible, and it has been going on for years, and from what Nevin Shapiro has said this scandal runs deep into the coaching staff for football and basketball as well as school officials.

The NCAA better drop the damned hammer on them, and drop it hard, this is a disgrace to the game, a huge black mark that action must be taken against, and get everybody that was involved in this.

We all know that giving the players things goes on everywhere behind the scenes, but this, this is rampant disregard for the rules and goes above and beyond, this is just absolutely classless, and I am interested in seeing what is going to happen with it.

1. Devin Hester (4.24 @ Miami Pro Day, 4.45 @ 2006 NFL Combine, 100 speed in Madden 08)
2. Reggie Bush (4.33 @ University of USC at Pro Day 2006)
3. Ike Taylor (4.18 @ University of Louisiana at Lafayette Pro Day)
4. Laveranues Coles (4.16 @ Florida State University, 4.29 @ Jets Media Guide)
5. Ahman Green (4.19 @ Pre-Draft Workout in Nebraska)
6. Michael Puckett (4.19 @ Pre-Draft Workout at CCCC)
7. Zach Rehmert (4.20 @ Pre- Draft workout at Collin College)
8. Kevin Curtis (4.21 @ Utah State Pro Day)
9. Donte Stallworth (4.22 @ 2003 Tennessee Pro Day)
10. Willie Parker (4.23 @ 2004 North Carolina Pro Day)
11. Randy Moss (4.25 @ Marshall University)
12. Fabian Washington (4.29 @ 2005 NFL Combine)
13. Champ Bailey (4.28 @ 1999 NFL Combine)
14. Jerome Mathis (4.28 @ 2005 NFL Combine)
15. Willis McGahee (4.28 @ Miami Pre-Injury)
16. Michael Bennett (4.17 @ Wisconsin Pro Day, 4.37 @ 2001 NFL Combine)

Can he be as good as them? Perhaps, but as of right now he is not and need to work more and talk less.

Eli Manning is going to suck this year, he is going to do worse than last year and Giants fans are going to be calling for his head.

Tony Romo is also going to suck this year, but this is true of every year, and people will still herald him as great for some odd unknown reason.

Cam Newton is going to have a terrible first year, statistics and averages don’t look good for rookie quarterbacks taken in the first round that start their first year, and 9 out of 10 times then end up doing terrible.

Tom Brady will whine about something and get a rule changed.

James Harrison is going to get a fine for wtfhitting somebody.

Rex Ryan will talk a bunch of trash.

Chad Ochocino will come up with an awesome endzone celebration!

Reggie Bush will suck in Miami.

McNabb will have a few good games, then go back to getting scared and throwing wormburners.

Detroit will make the playoffs!!!

Peyton Manning will have an off year.

Look at the way a person starts the 40 at the combine, a person who needs to be that fast will never start on the field in that position, also there are things like other players in the way, how fast the person can move laterally, field awareness, sure hands, how much they grasp the game, route running, technique, that are much much more important than how fast they can run the 40.

Sure, having a fast player is a good thing, but if that speed doesn’t translate from the tests to the field it is worthless, if the player can’t run routes properly or get timing down, the speed is going to be useless, the fastest running back will do no good, if he can’t follow blockers, can’t read defenses, can’t find the holes or can’t hold on to the ball, same goes with recievers.

While I am not saying the measure is totally useless, it is always nice to know a person’s top end speed, it should not be given as much precedence as it is has, take Jerry Rice for example, his 40 time was 4.71 and would be considered terrible for a receiver, but look how that turned out, while they should keep it, they should rely on it less when scouts and teams give values to their players and look at more important aspects of the player, rather than 40 time.

So far the only requirements for the potential roommate is they need to have an X-BOX 360 and access to the Internet.

So, if you live near FoxBorough, are looking for a roommate,  have an X-BOX 360, Chad Ochocinco might just be the person for you!

I am just happy that there is football this year, and need my fix soon! I know its only preseason, but I am excited and cannot wait for football, and preseason gives us a little taste on how the teams will play, and a chance to see how the rookies play, and position battles where players are competing for starting positions or just to be a part of the team.

After all this lockout shennanigans, it still should prove to be an exciting season, and it is just great that we have football back, as it is one of the only things worth watching on tv, in my opinion as we are swamped by garbage reality shows and other bad programming, so get ready, because in 3 days football is back!!!

The Vikings also made it very clear that McNabb is the starter, barring some unforeseen circumstances, and not just a person brought in to mentor young quarterbacks.

This is the 3rd home for McNabb, after spending 11 years with the Eagles, leading them 1 one trip to the Superbowl, and five NFC championship games, McNabb then went to division rival Washington in 2010, which was a complete disaster, finishing the season with the worst stats of his career, with 15 interceptions, 14 touchdowns and a passer rating of 77.1.

McNabb had to restructure his contract before he was aloud to be traded and said “The main focus for me was get to a ballclub that has a chance at winning. It’s not about the money.”

McNabb is looking for a fresh start with the Vikings, with a lot of familiar faces on the coaching staff, and believes he can take them to the next level.

Selected by the Vikings in the first round in 1998,  Moss wowed fans in his rookie year catching 69 passes for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns, becoming a 6 time pro-bowler, playing for the Vikings, Raiders, Patriots and Titans.

Though his last season was less than stellar, he is still fifth in receiving yards 14,858, eighth in receptions 954, and fifth in all-time touchdowns with 154, trailing Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, LaDainian Tomlinson and Terrell Owens and he is tied with Hines Ward for eighth in receptions.

I believe he is definitely hall of fame bound, as he was one of the greatest wide receivers to play the game.

Of course, Andy Reid is still recruiting from the Lost Boys Camp. It looks like Vince Young is coming Philly-way. What is interesting about Vince Young is that his draft year seemed to be one of the most promising we’d ever seen. Vince Young, Reggie Bush, D’Brickashaw Ferguson (who, BTW has the best name in football-hands down). Maybe the Houston Texans WERE smart by drafting Mario Williams. Sure we all scratched our heads at that pick, but he is still standing tall with the Texans Defense. Williams has a level head and seems to be a great investment.

Now for the REAL Question… will Chad Ochocinco tweet less now that he is with the Pats?

Now that this is over and done with, we can get on to training camps and free agency and the fun of who is going where and team predictions and trash talking!

Full free agency begins on Friday at 6 pm EST.

What is it with players anymore? It’s not just him, do they think they can go and say whatever they want without repercussions? Sure there is freedom of speech, but people forget is that others have freedom of speech as well and are free to react to what they say.

I’m no Steelers fan, but I respect their team, and view them as one of the classier organizations in the league, I don’t see their upper management putting up with this nonsense for too long and I see some disciplinary action coming his way, if not him being kicked off the team when this lockout business is settled.

People need to learn when to be quiet, as though some of his points are valid, they are overshadowed by all of his negative comments, as I said earlier, you are free to speak your mind, but you must be willing to accept  the consequences in doing so, as the other person is equally entitled to speak his or her minds as well.

His comments can be found here

Details can be found at the NFL official site.

This is his second run in with police in Cincinnati police, it seems this guy can’t stay out of trouble, I think he should avoid bars and clubs as he only gets into trouble there, even if he doesn’t do anything, he still has that rap on him and trouble eventually will find him.

It’s sad really, as he has a lot of talent, if he’d only been able to stay out of trouble I think he would have been one of the elite cornerbacks in the NFL.

As I said, if I were him, as long as I wanted to stay in the NFL, I would avoid bars, nightclubs and strip joints at all costs, as it seems that trouble only follows him when he goes to those establishments and is it really worth it to throw away multi-million dollar contracts for one night on the town?

Things I disagree with

1. Tom Brady being number one. While being an excellent quarterback I believe he shouldn’t be number one, I believe Payton Manning should be at the number one spot.

2. Devin Hester being as high up on the list as he is. He is a great return man, but a mediocre wide out, should not be ranked as high as he is.

3. Matt Ryan should be ranked a lot higher than he is.

4. Asante Samuel  and Trent Cole also should be ranked higher.

5. Suh, Ndamukong should be ranked much higher than he is.

6. DeMarcus Ware should be bumped down a few.

7. Greg Jennings deserves to be ranked much higher on the list.

I also believe more O linemen need to be on this list, as they never get any love, and without them it doesn’t matter who you have you are going to be terrible, bad O line = bad offense, they almost never get the respect they deserver.

The NFL’s top 100 list can be found here