Maurice Clarett continues to not only tarnish his image, but is eliminating all chances of just getting a chance in the NFL. Literally he has went from being one of the top backs in college football, to a late first day draft choice, and now his status is in limbo after a stage show disappointing performance.

For the second year in a row the NFL network is telecasting the combine, which allows scouts, coaches, and fans to take their own notes without having to travel. Just a few days before his forty yard dash setback, Clarett played with reporters and the media on how much he has changed. He definitely seemed like a different person that has endured a lot over the last year, but NFL scouts weren?t buying it.

Clarett was just protecting his back, and misleading everyone. He even said if he ran a solid forty time, that he wouldn?t do any other workouts after that day. Well he showed up ready to go, and in fact was constantly on a treadmill at the hotel to get his legs ready. He even performed well in the strength drills by doing twenty two reps of 225 pounds on the bench press. Scouts knew he was capable of that, but wanted to see if he had the speed.

Over the last year, Clarett has been training extensively on dropping his body fat percentage, and building up his body. He did both, by dropping his body fat from seventeen percent to eleven, and bulking up in a noticeable appearance. By building body mass an athlete tends to lose their quickness, and for Clarett that was the case. His forty time went from 4.6 at last years combine to 4.8. It was a dramatic change of events for Clarett, and he obviously didn?t know how to handle it.

Clarett acted like a kid that runs off the stage because of embarrassment. Scouts and other media personnel perceived the move as Clarett?s true ways. He completely gave up and didn?t return to perform other drills. With all the fresh talent at running back, Clarett more than likely killed any chances of being more than a late sixth round or seventh round pick. Even at that, an NFL team that drafts him is just going to take him because of the value/risk factor. They know he can be a solid back, and with a throw away draft choice why not take a gamble? If he doesn?t pan out in training camp, he?ll be cut in a heartbeat and find his way to Arena Football.

Another option for Clarett may be to switch to fullback. Every year more and more big backs are being switched to the position, because it gives NFL teams a versatile running fullback. Other than that if Clarett wants to redeem himself, it?s going to start from the bottom up. There isn?t another running back that has slipped this much in the course of a year in a long time.

It brings up another point, that by Clarett having to wait to be eligible for the NFL it hurt his future. An athlete often jumps board to the NBA because they know that they?ve peaked well and are an automatic lock to be drafted highly. Clarett was likely going to be a late first round to second round pick last year, and with the delay it has ultimately added more stress and a shadow of media where ever he goes. Who knows if he had got his chance last year if he?d be on the right path and working hard fresh off of his first season in the NFL We will just never know, but for Clarett that should have been extra motivation for him to work even harder.

By Zack Cimini

Could the Pro Bowl be looking at its final days when their contract is over in 2009? According to Troy Aikman there shouldn?t be a Pro Bowl at all, as it is just an extra week from resting for veterans. Peyton Manning argued that opinion by stating that he still enjoys the Pro Bowl. With the rate of players dropping out every year it sways in the direction that Aikman states. So what can the NFL do to get the attention back to their distinguished All Star game?

One thing that is drastically different with the NFL is that their All Star game is at the end of the season. Baseball, basketball, and even hockey have their All Star game at the midway point of the season. With those three sports though their seasons are long with numerous games, so a midway point is going to represent the best athletes that will continue that pattern after that stretch. In the NFL every four weeks is a carousel ride, and by no means could there be an All Star game after week eight or nine.

First of all the injury factor would be the first no-no in trying that. Coaches don?t like anything that threatens their regular season, and is why every year teams go into the regular season rusty. They are unprepared as a result of minimal playing time in the preseason.

Still the Pro Bowl is supposed to be a celebration and carefree game before athletes get their couple months away from football. Every Pro Bowl it seems like everyone is having fun, so does every athlete deserve to get their own Grammy?

The new skills challenge that the NFL has been doing is quickly drawing a yearly craze, and may be the new route. This year they mixed it up with some strength and speed competitions that were unique yet intriguing. An athlete spends so much time training and conditioning but when they are on the field we don?t see any of that. It?s a nice competition to see which athletes are separating themselves with hard work ethic off the football field. Even though it?s an individual competition, it should quickly become a main attracter to the annual event.

Maybe they?ll forgo the game and just list the best player?s without a game. College basketball and football always have a first team, second team, third team, or a compiled list of All-American athletes. It is enough for those athletes when they get their award. No game is needed, yet it?d be nice to happen.

Sooner or later the NFL is going to need to reevaluate what they have to do before they lose the hype that is drawn in every year. It also doesn?t help when athletes are coming out with negative statements. The Pro Bowl isn?t going anywhere because the greatness of youth is always growing in sports. So there will always be plenty of hungry young athletes that shoot for that day in February to shine for their hard work.

Like Charles Barkely said, every coach gets fired sometime in their life, even if they turn out to be a great one. It is just a part of developing as a coach, but does it get any better when you distinguish yourself? Some would say yes and no, but the hoopla surrounding that coach every year after their high standard is never going to be relinquished. A town can fall in love with that coach, but that is a non-existent factor to the front office. If the team starts folding the blame always comes back to one person.

After several years under their belts, there are some big time coaching names that will be going into the 2005 off-season with eyes all over them. Bill Parcells, Mike Shanahan, Jeff Fisher, and Mike Holmgren better bring their sophisticated knowledge to full capability this year. If not it wouldn?t be shocking to see all four coaches either out of the NFL or elsewhere in the league.

If anyone is paying attention, there has been a big transformation of unknown coaches getting jobs. For years it was always just a reshuffling of former NFL coaches that would land elsewhere. Now though, more and more teams are realizing how great some of the defensive and offensive coordinators are in the league. It?s proving to be a critical move on the field, and also in management?s pockets.

For Jeff Fisher he has been roaming the Titans sidelines since their days in Houston. Tennessee has quickly aged, and Fisher may want to reconsider if he wants to go through another rebuilding process. Of course, maybe Fisher can pull a Bill Cowher and make a quick recovery to a youthful team. Odds are against him though, as the Titans are in a strong division and AFC in general. With Chris Brown at 100 percent the Titans were a factor last season until he got hurt, so with a move here and there, the Titans could get back to being respectable.

Out in Dallas, you could only see the disgust of shear disbelief in Bill Parcells every weekend. His quarterbacks were performing lower than an Arena Football quarterback, and the times he needed his defense to step up they didn?t. It seems like Parcells is becoming frustrated with coaching these days and is hiding it in. Look for him to bring in a veteran quarterback like Drew Bledsoe to make a run one more time. If it fails, I?d look for him to resign ala Jimmy Johnson did in Miami, and stay out of football for good so that he doesn?t tarnish his coaching legacy.

Mike Holmgren just hasn?t been able to get Seattle to the level they should be. They?ve had a talented nucleus of players that just aren?t shaping up on the field. No one knows the problem, but speculation has to be that time is running out for Holmgren. They have an All Pro running back and quarterback, with talented receivers that just need to learn to catch the football. Add to that a top five offensive line, and it equals to yearly average results. Their defense is average, but with an offense like theirs they should be able to ride it full strength like the Colts, Vikings, and Chiefs.

Out of all the coaches though, no one is facing more pressure than Mike Shanahan. He keeps giving fans wild card tastes of their past Super Bowl titles in the late 90?s, but to fans that?s like taking a steak off the grill too early. The taste is okay but not up to par of anticipation and satisfaction. Shanahan continues to marvel his surrounding peer coaches with the gems he finds at running back, but the main problem has been behind the center. Since Elway left, he has used numerous quarterbacks such as Steve Beurelein, Gus Frerotte, Brian Griese, and now Jake Plummer. Neither has been able to sustain a consistent year, and it doesn?t look like Plummer will change in the near future. With Al Wilson and Champ Bailey on defense the Broncos are geared to make their defense a strong point. Ashley Lelie is a top ten receiver in the NFL, but unless Plummer shows veteran skills it won?t matter. There is nothing more frustrating to a fan base than continual brief seconds of glory. When the Broncos lose every year in the first round it leaves them in a buried state when it comes to the NFL Draft. No one likes to be in the 20-23 range every single year. It gives you no room to draft a sure fire athlete, and they end up having to draft a player hyped from the combine that crosses over as much with their bust potential.

By Zack Cimini

They?re different sports, but Grant Hill would tell Terrell Owens to sit out the Super Bowl, it isn?t worth jeopardizing your future. Who can forget when Grant Hill finally got the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs four or five years ago, and fought through an ankle injury throughout the playoffs? He played phenomenal but the pressure and additional strain he added to his ankle, setback, delayed, and almost ended his career. It took countless efforts to finally get back to the level he is at now.

Just like Hill, Owens was the main reason for their respective teams success in the regular season. When Owens injured his ankle, his doctors and himself knew that there was a slim possibility in being ready for the Super Bowl. He can take all the pain shots before the game, and be on the ultimate adrenaline rush, and still there is no possible way he?ll be ready. You can?t bump up an eight to ten week healing process by three to four weeks. There is a reason why a team doctor sets a recovery period, and that?s because there is no miracle overnight healing program, it?s a process that is called rest.

Let?s say Owens is at around 70 percent. In all honesty that takes away anything he can do. An athlete could play at that percentage in almost every other position except receiver, because they don?t have to cover the entire field. A quarterback could become a pocket passer, and an offensive lineman could utilize their strength over their foot speed. No matter what though, a receiver?s sole goal every snap is to push as hard as possible off the line of scrimmage, and make great cuts down the field. A receiver though needs to be able to run at full speed, or they become an easy guard by any cornerback. Why do you think a receiver is hampered by a hamstring injury for an overly extended period of time?

Even Randy Moss couldn?t shake off a minor ankle injury a few weeks ago. In the wild card round he suffered an ankle injury, and it hurt his play noticeably against the Eagles. His speed wasn?t there to get his big play separation that that the Vikings count on.
There is no doubt that Terrell Owens will play, but the question is how much? It?d be safe to say that Owens will be limited to third downs, and red zone possessions. That would be a great diversion for the Eagles, and would play into the hands of Chad Lewis and Freddie Mitchell.

Using Owens as a starter though would be a huge mistake. He?d be limiting the Eagles offense when Todd Pinkston or Freddie Mitchell could be making plays. Both the Patriots and Eagles have one goal and mind, and that is controlling the clock. With that in mind, the receivers are not going to be the main objective of this game. In fact, the only time we should hear from a receiver is on a big play, from being setup by the run.

Lets hope that Owens ends his season with a prognosis of still being on a correct recovery schedule. His off-season doesn?t need to be a nightmare, and hopefully he?ll let his body be the main factor in his decision and not his mind.

By Zack Cimini

No discredit to Mike Vick or Ben Roesthlisberger, but the true class act quarterbacks performed on Sunday. The fact is, in the past four years Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb have quietly been performing the best in their conferences. Year in and year out they give off a demeanor of a casual relaxed calm presence, that just keeps them mentally focused and ahead of the next quarterback.

In New England, Tom Brady wanted another shot at Pittsburgh and he got exactly what he wanted. The game was at Pittsburgh in the second coldest playoff game in Steelers history. To add to the drama was the fact that rookie Ben Roethlisberger still hadn?t lost a game. All week Brady was faced with questions, and seemingly could have been judged like he was prepping for a regular season match up. His composure is unmatched, and it was the most evident factor of separation from him and Roethlisberger on Sunday.

Early jitters are common for any quarterback, but Roethlisberger couldn?t shake them throughout the entire game. Sure, he had a few good drives, but sixty percent of his drop backs you could tell he was completely distracted in the lime light. It got to the point that he was thinking run before the pass, and when that happens it gives the defense even more confidence. For instance when the score was 17-3, Roethlisberger used a few runs and a couple of short passes to move them down. New England is the best at noticing tendencies, and Romeo Crennel and the Patriots were quick to point it out.

Almost every time he threw a relaxed pass, it was a short route. The times that he actually took shots deep, he would be dancing in the pocket before chucking the ball. So at the snap of a ball, the secondary could just sit and see what type of comfort Roethlisberger was in. Rodney Harrison is not the type of safety that is known for jumping on the football, but Roethlisberger was in that one frame mode. Earlier in the season, he would have checked off and made the correct read in the end zone to Antwaan Randle El who was wide open. Even Roethlisberger couldn?t believe his mistake, when he went to the sideline and his offensive coordinator was showing his miscue.

On the flipside, every time Pittsburgh made a mistake Tom Brady would come in and throw some unbelievable passes. Brady gets a lot of credit, but there are definitely players not getting the recognition they deserve. David Givens and Deion Branch played phenomenal and caught everything, even in traffic. That?s something Seattle wish they had.

Another big key for New England is the presence of Corey Dillon. Early in the game Pittsburgh was doing a great job in shutting him down. Flashback to a year ago, and New England would have completely gave up on the running game with Kevin Faulk or Antowain Smith. That?s when Tom Brady would have to throw more screens, and slow down the tempo. This year though, they are able to continue to run the ball with Dillon because he is such a great back. His 71 yards is misleading, because he definitely opened up the Patriots offensive ability by taking shots deep. By the second half he was just pounding away at the Steelers defense, and finally broke off a 25 yard touchdown while shredding defenders on his way to the end zone.

Out in Philadelphia it was just their time. Mike Vick learned what Donovan McNabb learned the past three years, the fact that you can?t win in the NFC championship, without a talented supporting crew. Philadelphia may have three Pro Bowlers in the secondary, but the Falcons have serious problems at wide receiver that need to be addressed. In years past the same was for Donovan McNabb and every year was exposed by St. Louis, Tampa Bay, and last year Carolina. The same frustrations of trying to create something with his feet and threw the air was shut down, just like McNabb faced in the past.

Vick will learn from it, and probably quicker if the Falcons go out and do something at wide receiver. Maybe Moss wanting to be traded, will bring the best two combos right back at center stage for these two teams. Imagine Donovan McNabb and TO vs. Mike Vick and Randy Moss?

New England is a master at beating teams especially when they?ve been able to face them previously. The Eagles and Patriots have played in previous years, so there is some experience. But the Eagles have a completely different mold especially on the defensive side that should cause problems for Tom Brady. It?ll be up to Corey Dillon to showcase why the Patriots signed him. New England is in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years now. Shockingly, this could have been the third time in four years these two would have been playing each other in the Super Bowl. It?s been a long time coming for this match up, and should prove to be worthwhile.

The conference championships are here in the NFL and by the looks of it, there could be two good battles going on this Sunday.

The New England Patriots will take their impressive victory over the Colts to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers at Hines Field where they were dominated earlier this season. The Patriots, however, were without Corey Dillon that time around and rushed the ball only five times for six yards. This weekend Dillon will be ready to go, giving the Patriots the rushing attack they need to play their style of game, which is controlling the clock.

On defense, the Patriots will be fired up the way they were against Indianapolis. Bill Belichek and his staff won?t allow the Patriots to lose to the same team twice in a season and will have plenty of schemes to throw at Ben Roethlisberger. They will be prepared to shut down the highly potent Steeler running game and make Roethlisberger beat them through the air. Roethlisberger played terrible in his first playoff game against the Jets. The only reason the Steelers won is because New York literally handed them the game on numerous occasions. Look for the Patriots defense to make Roethlisberger look like the rookie he truly is and make critical mistakes that cost his team a shot at the Super Bowl.

In no way can I see Pittsburgh winning this game. A rookie quarterback, a non-deserving win last week against the Jets and a Patriots team that proves time and time again that they are a dynasty destined to pave way into history as one of the greatest teams ever. That just simply doesn?t look good if you?re Steelers fan. But the Steelers are 16-1 and haven?t come this far to allow the Patriots to take over early. They will be ready to roll as well and should put up a great effort against a great New England team. But in the end, the Patriots will be on their way to Jacksonville to play for their third Super Bowl in four years.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons game should be a very interesting one. You?ve got Donovan McNabb vs. Michael Vick. Which of these quarterbacks will come through and lead their team to the big game.

Last week, both teams dominated their opponents. Those opponents (Minnesota and St Louis), however, didn?t belong in the playoffs and proved so last weekend. Both Atlanta and Philadelphia looked like they were tuning up for the NFC championship game.

The Falcons ran all over St Louis in the divisional round and expect them to attempt to do so in Philadelphia. Atlanta is number one in the NFL in rushing the football and should be able to run the ball well against a solid Eagles defense. The Eagles run defense has always been labeled their weak point but ever since Jeremiah Trotter took over as middle linebacker, they have improved. Still, the speed of Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick and the power of T.J. Duckett should take a toll on the Eagles defense.

Look for this to be a game decided by three points or less. Both teams are fairly evenly matched. This could be an NFC championship game for the ages.

In the end, I see Atlanta winning the game on a couple big runs by Dunn and Vick.