Reggie Bush: Take the money and run?

Word is out now that Reggie Bush and his family MAY have accepted improper financial support from sports agents while at USC. Way to go, REGGIE! I think it's great. If the schools can make millions of dollars off the talent of student athletes why shouldn't the athletes scrape a little off the top? Let's get real. USC made millions off Bush. His agents will make millions off Bush. He's not the first or the last. Frankly, the guy has been good for New Orleans and will do more in the future. He seems to be a good guy with a genuine interest in not only playing well for his team and his city but helping out as much as he can with all the problems New Orleans is facing. I don't have a problem with his taking anything. (If he did)

Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars

Will Big Ben start? Does it make a difference? Maybe and yes. While Charlie Batch did a solid job against Miami the Steelers are definitely a better team with Roethlisberger. The Jaguars are without defensive end Reggie Hayward on their end. This is a Monday nght game for a reason. It's one of the top NFL games of the week. From my point of view I'm anxious to see Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich against the Steelers defense. Leftwich will have Fred Taylor to give him a running threat so I expect big things from him.

My prediction? The Jags deal Pittsburgh their first loss 21-17.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons certainly got off to a good start as they romped over the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. Two reasons were John Abraham and Patrick Kerney. Unfortunately for the Falcons they may not have these two defensive ends when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Georgia Dome on Sunday. Chances are they’ll play. Bit with Abraham suffering from a groin injury and Kerney suffering from a triceps injury the question becomes: How effective can they be?

The next question is: How effective do they HAVE to be if Chris Simms plays as poorly as he did in the Buccaneers loss to the Baltimore Ravens. Simms threw three interceptions in the 27-0 loss. In his defense, the Baltimore Ravens defense looks even better than when they went to the Super Bowl. Atlanta won’t have that kind of D but still, they ain’t too shabby. History is on Tampa Bay’s side though as the Bucs have won three straight over the Falcons and are 9-2 over the last 11 games.

My prediction? The Bucs rebound and beat Atlanta 24-20.

NFC North

The Ravens beat hell out of the Bucs, the Steelers pulled out a win against Miami, and the Bengals beat up on the Chiefs. Keep an eye on this division as the year goes on. Key matchups will be the Steelers vs Cincinnati and anyone in the division against the Ravens. Speaking of the Ravens, their win over Tampa Bay surprised everyone. Can Baltimore's defense be that good. Let's hear some comments.

NFL Week 2 The Hottest NFL Tickets

There's some really big games in Week 2. Here's some of the hottest NFL games as I see them. Think I'm wrong? Comment. I'm not afraid to post another opinion. I love a good argument and am wrong often enough.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons - Was the win in Carolina just a fluke or can Atlanta dominate the NFC South?

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles - The Giants need a win. This division is gonna be close.

New England Patriots at New York Jets - We'll find out if the Jets are for real. As for New England, expect some weaknesses to be exposed this week.

Washington at Dallas - I don't think the Redskins realistically have a chance but it's a great rivalry.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars - I think the Jags could pull this out. Maybe, I don't know, but maybe.

Packers vs Saints Tickets Preview

I wish I was a traveling man. I'd definitely be in Green Bay for the Saints game. What I think you're going to see is a Saints team working it's way back to respectability. The Saints put in a solid performance on Sunday against the Browns. Not a great performance but a solid performance for a team in the first stage of rebuilding. They've still got a long way to go. But at least they've got some attitude and starting the season off 2-0 would be a boost for the tough games down the road. new Orleans, a 3-13 team last year, somehow wound up with the 3rd toughest schedule in the NFL. What's up with that? Talk about bad timing. Anyway. I'll be looking to score some Saints tickets for the Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3. Saints-Falcons is almost always a battle where you can throw away the records. It's a true rivalry. What worries me the most is the way Charlie Fry of the Browns ran on the Saints defense. Fry ain't half the runner Vick is and he burned the Saints with his legs more than once.

Anyway, back to the Saints at Green Bay. I think Brett Favre should have retired two years ago. Great QB, definitely NFL Hall of Fame material but a guy who's hung around Green Bay too long. All he's done is delay the inevitable ground up rebuilding job the Packers need desperately. It's time to put in Aaron Rogers and let the chips fall where they may. Bite the bullet and let the kid take his licks ala Manning in Indy. Green Bay would have been better off doing it last year. If Favre doesn't want to be a backup let him go to another team. Sorry Brett but this is the NFL and what you did in your career doesn't count. What can you do for me now is all that matters.

Chicago Bears vs Green Bay

I don't have a lot to say about this one. Chicago once again has a monster defense. Brett Favre should have retired or moved on. The Packers should be in full blown rebuilding mode but seem to be clingng to Favre as if he's 10 years younger. Let it go. Great player. great career. But it's all over now. Menwhile your Chicago Bears tickets will get you in to see another struggling team, the Detroit Lions, take on the Chcago defense in Week 2. But maybe Detroit isn't so bad. After all, they gave the Seahawks hell, losing on a last minute field goal. No, it can't be. The Lions respectable? Nah.

Baltimore Ravens vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

How long has it been since a Jon Gruden team got shut out? Man, I'd like to have been a fly on the wall in that locker room after the Baltimore Ravens handed the Buccaneers their heads 27-0 on Sunday at Tampa Bay. Another shocking outcome for me. Both my frontrunners in the NFC South blown away on one Sunday. Hey, that means the New Orleans Saints are tied for the lead in the NFC South. Seriously, this was a wakeup call for the rest of the NFL. The Ravens defense is back. Scarier still, Baltimore may have a QB to run their offense now. One that's not just a journeyman entruted not to screw things up. McNair went 17 of 27, no interceptions, 181 yards, and two touchdowns. Keep an eye out for the Ravens. They may be looking to punch out their Super Bowl tickets again.

Carolina Panthers vs Atlanta Falcons

I'm surprised. Maybe shocked at the outcome of this game. the Falcons came into the Panthers home field and blew away a team many have pegged as a Super Bowl contender. Warrick Dunn rushes for 132 yards, John Abraham has two sacks and creates two fumbles, and Michael Vick passes for two touchdowns. Where was the vaunted Panthers defense. I must confess I have the Panthers down as the favorite in the NFC South. A thoroughly untypical performance from a John Fox team. Maybe the Falcons are for real. Maybe the Panthers aren't. Maybe it's time to get Falcons tickets to see them take on Tampa Bay next week in the Georgia Dome.

Saints Tickets looking better

New Orleans Saints fans have to be happy with what they saw on Sunday. The Saints came out and whipped the Cleveland Brown 19-14. Most startling to me was the way the defense played. Heading into the season the Saints carried a legacy of terrible defensive play posted over the last three years. Sean Payton's unit looked fired up in Cleveland, stopping the browns running game and applying good pressure on Charlie Fry. Some key points for Saints ticket holders:

1) The debut of Reggie Bush went well. Bush was used all over the field and handled everything. While he did nothing spectacular, it's obvious that he's the real deal and fully capable of ranslating his talents into the NFL. It's just a matter of time before he breaks some long runs. His punt work eeds a lttle polish though. It's the one place where he didn't really seem to be comfortable.

2) Drew Brees made some nice plays but at times it seemed like the ball sailed on him. On the other hand his receivers (including Bush) dropped what looked like catcheable passes. The jury is still out but Brees did nothing terrible either. Hopefully he'll get better as his timing improves with his wide receivers.

3) I was happy to see Deuce McAllister back on the field. The most telling run of the day in his case came deep in Browns territory when he made a bruising run down close to the goal. The way he ran, legs pumping and earning extra yards after the catch tells me theirs a reall chance that's he's going to make a good recovery from his knee injury.

4) Safety Roman Harper made some nice plays, including a sack of Charlie ry late in the game that stopped a Browns drive. We can expect some mistakes from a Saints defense that's still young in some spots but the talent seems to be there.

5) My biggest concern coming into the esaon was linebacker. Scott Fujita established himself against the Cleveland Brown. The guy was a great pickup from Dallas.

6) Sean Payton made it clear from the very beginning that Reggie Bush was going to be a major part of the Saints offense. While some coaches may have tried to ease a rookie in, Payton threw Bush into the deep end and Bush responded.

This is only the first week of play for the New Orleans Sants and certain;y nobody's sayng that the Saints are going anywhere in the post-season. But you have to like the tone of the team's play in their first game. If the defense can improve on their play the Saints can do something. Offensively though, the Saints failed to score touchdowns early in the game, a failure that allowed Cleveland to stay in the game way too long. Doing that aginst better teams will breed a loss. Altogether, a satisfying start for Saints fans.

Next Up: The Green Bay Packers at Green Bay. Look for a preview in a day or two. If you like the way the Saints looked today you might want to land some Green Bay Packers tickets. Here's a couple of links to sites that had Packers tickets available last week. Better hurry though.

Gotickets.com
Celebrity Seats
Primeseatstickets.com

San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals.

This is probably going to be an exciting week if you've got Arizona Cardinals tickets to the 49ers game. It's the first time in umpteen years that the Cardinals have opened the season at home. Arizona opens the regular season in their brand new Cardinals Stadium, which I've been told is simply a spectacular venue for football. Obviously the locals are on board since the Cardinals sold out all tickets way way back. Dennis Green brought in the Edge from the Colts to run the ball but with their offensive line being so suspect I don't expect James to be as productive as he was in Indy. Then again, with two of the NFL's best receivers occupying the minds of defensive coordinators, he may find enough creases to break 1,000 yards anyway.

Throw in the fact that the 49ers are pushovers and you've got all the makings of a good start for the Cardinals. And who knows, maybe faithful Cardinals fans will get a chance to buy NFL Playoff tickets for the first time in Cardinals Stadium. But don't bet on it.

Chicago vs Green Bay Week 1in the NFL

I got some comments on my Chicago Bears ticket comments. I said I like this ticket if defense is your bag. I still believe that. I also said i didn't think the Bears were good enough to get very far out of their division. I still believe that. WITHIN the division I think they win hands down. But they're playing in what's basically the weakest division in the league. Three new coaches. teams don't get new coaches when they're good teams. Or only rarely. Thanks for the comments guys. I think we basically agree.

Steelers vs Miami

Now that we've all gotten used to the idea of Ben Roethlisberger riding the pine in this one let's get down to decidng who's got the edge. Miami has Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper looks like a ne quarterback now that he's found Nick Saban. The Dolphins managed to go 9-7 in 2005 without any real solid quarterbacking so if Culpepper can come through in the regular season the Dolphins should be solid. Are they solid enough to beat the Steelers? Probably so. Will they beat the Steelers? I'm going to say yes. Only because I've opened my big mouth and said that Miami is going to be the surprise team of the AFC East. If I back down now all my friends will eat me alive.

The Steelers ticket to a win may come in the form f Charlie Batch. Not that Batch needs to throw for three touchdowns, he just needs to avoid throwing for three interceptions. With the Steelers defense they can be in any game the offense doesn't screw up. But is Willie Parker for real? Now that he's the featured back in the offense we'll find out for sure. The big contract came his way and the Steelers aren't known for throwing money around so it's a good bet Parker can deliver at least a respectable season. But the Steelers have lost Jerome Bettis and Randle-El, two key components of the Super Bowl squad. It remains to be seen how essential these two were to winning it all.

I'm going with the underdog here. Miami 28, Pittsburgh 24

Since I'm a freelance writer for ticket sites I though I'd pass along a few hot NFL tickets courtesy of the info I get from site owners.

Panthers tickets: The leading provider of online Panthers tickets is telling me that it's their best year ever. That doesn't surprise me. The Panthers are being pegged as Super Bowl contenders again and I like the Panthers to win the NFC South, edging out Tampa Bay.

Arizona Cardinals tickets: The guys at TotalTickets.com and the other sites I write for are having a banner year with Cardinals tickets. Predicting the Cardinals to post a winning season is a dangerous game to me. This is a team that rivals my New Orleans Saints for heart rending dissapointment. Still, while it may not happen this year, the Cardinals are on the right track. (I think)

Dallas Cowboys tickets: It shouldn't be a surprise to see Cowboys tickets on the list. With TO generating billions of pages of blather the Cowboys are reaping the whirlwind of interest. I like the Cowboys to win the NFC East and apparently so do a lot of other people.

Chicago Bears tickets: My friend Mark at Frontrow.com likes the Bears to go all the way. While I like Chicago to repeat in the NFC North I can't pick them to be in the Super Bowl. Too little competition in the division and not enough offense in Chicago. Still, if you like defense, Chicago Bears tickets will deliver it big time.


That's enough for today. If you have comments, go ahead and post them. I have to edit out the profanity (some of it anyway) before it goes up but if you disagree wth me please post. I love a good argument.

In an NFC South battle to open the season, word has come down that Panthers receiver Steve Smith has re-injured his hamstring, Seeing as how Smith was probably the most potent weapon on the field for the Panthers in 2005 his injury puts a crimp in Carolina's passing attack. But then again, last year the Panthers didn't have Keyshawn. While not the dangerous deep threat that Smith is Keyshawn is certainly a problem that Atlanta's defense will have to contend with. Still, it's not good news for the fans with Carolina Panthers tickets. Forv my money though, I still look for Carolina to come out on top. I just have no confidence that Atlanta is significantly improved. We'll find out Sunday.

My thoughts on the NFL in 2006:

1) The NFC East looks to me like the toughest division in the whole game. With the Cowboys coming into their fourth year under Bill Parcells I'm inclined to bank on Dallas winning the division. I don't think Eli Manning is enough to get the Giants on top, the Redskins are an entirely unpredictable bunch, and the Eagles still haven't recovered from the whole TO debacle. That being said, t wouldn't be out of the question for any of the four to surprise me. I have been wrong before.

2) In the NFC South I think it's up for grabs between the Bucs and the Panthers with the Panthers holding a slight edge in my book. The Saints (my hometown team) will suck again this year even with Reggie Bush in the mix. While hope may spring eternal it's asking a little much for a new regime to turn around a 3-13 team in one year. As far as Atlanta I think they're going to experience a dropoff. Vick is being held in check to prevent injury and the whole coaching mind game is taking away what he does best which is create opportunity with his feet.


WEEK 1 Big Games: Thursday night is the Steelers vs Miami. with Big Ben out of the picture Miami has an even better shot at this one. I think Nick Saban is moving the Dolphins in the right direction sooner than anyone expected.

Cincinnati and Kansas City is big because of Carson Palmer returning. He'll eat up the Chiefs and prove he's back from his injury. While Herm edwards is a great coach the Chiefs don't appear to have beefed up their defense to overcome the "We'll just outscore them" mentality. Kansas City is also trying to overcome an aging set of offensive weapons that may be on the decline. The bright spot is Larry Johnson finally getting his due as the starting running back.

Finally, I have to put my Saints on the board if only because of the debut of Reggie Bush in the NFL. If the patchwork Saints line can open any holes for him he'll do the rest. But I hate to see one player hailed as a savior and I've been watching crummy Saints teams rebuild year after year as head coaches come and go.