Bob Lobel: Turkey and Rice

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

It's entirely possible that turkey and rice on any menu would urge you to say, "I'll take the  Roger and Ray  special."  

The question has become will Ray Rice and Roger Goodell work for the same boss once again? That  boss would be the NFL, and making them co workers again depends on if a team team signs Ray Rice as a running back in need. 

There are a few teams that would be tempted since they could use a semblance of a running game. Why not sign Ray Rice? There is a fairly obvious answer to that question. I have to say that most people who responded to our poll question about Rice coming back and playing came up with a resounding “no way.” 

I'm not sure I agree, and I'll tell you why. 

Lobel's Question of the Week: Would You Sign Ray Rice?

Every week, legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel wants to hear your opinion on something that caught his eye over the weekend.

Though the Patriots and teams like the Broncos have found ways to run the ball with castoffs, undrafted free agents and unheralded homegrown talent, there are teams in the playoff hunt that could use some help at running back.

Teams like the Indianapolis Colts, who are relying on first-round bust Trent Richardson to carry the ball, or the Arizona Cardinals, who have seen Andre Ellington's ineffectiveness amplified by the absence of starting quarterback Carson Palmer.

Those are just two of many teams within striking distance of the postseason that may be interested in a talented and experienced running back. Luckily for them, one is available.

The NFL Wants the Ray Rice Scandal to be Over… And So Should You

By Joe Blake

As you may have heard, on September 8th Ray Rice, running back for the Baltimore Ravens, punched and knocked his fiancée unconscious in an Atlantic City Casino elevator.

Oh no wait - that happened back in February. Why are we just deciding to care about this now?

Because there’s video. Juicy, violent, indictable video (not just of the aftermath, but of the actual altercation!), which can be shown repeatedly on ESPN because it’s hardly less graphic than your average hit from Ndamukong Suh, right?

Step right up, hurry, hurry - seeing is believing folks, and you won’t be able to look away from this maniacal monstrosity of a man maliciously mauling his mirthful mate! (Okay, I got a bit carried away there)

ESPN and Bill Simmons are Working Everyone and Taking All the Monies

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

By now you've probably heard that ESPN mega-personality, Grantland editor, jumbo-column writer and podcaster Bill Simmons has been suspended by the worldwide leader for three weeks.

The suspension comes after Simmons dropped a few expletives and called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a liar on his most recent podcast, saying the commissioner had, in fact, seen the brutal footage of Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancee unconscious or, at the very least, someone in the NFL had.

The good fellas over at SB Nation have a pretty solid breakdown of the affair, and audio of what Simmons said, so go check that out here.

But, while many are praising Simmons for taking a stand against the NFL (an obviously large partner of ESPN's) and criticizing the network for suspending one of its most popular personalities simply for speaking his opinion, people are losing sight of how much of a win-win this suspension is for both ESPN and The Sports Guy.

Allow me to explain.

Bob Lobel: Our Love/Hate Relationship With the Violent Culture of the NFL

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

You can ask yourself how it's possible that all the domestic violence furor of the past two weeks somehow melts away in our consciousness, and is quickly replaced with something more pleasing to the senses.

The answer you'll get is pretty simple, simply because we are pretty simple. Simple and easily distracted seems to be the diagnosis. How is it that once some really good and exciting games are on TV, our whole focus shifts to the the easier task of watching and rooting, instead of the more difficult brain chore of analyzing and judging? 

Well, it's who we are, I guess. One great Payton Manning comeback followed by an equally outstanding team comeback of Seattle seems to do the trick. Will the outrage of the past weeks stay as focused and as harsh?

I don’t think so.

Football Roundup: Good, Bad, and Ugly

Things are getting ugly for the NFL, which has gone into full-on "damage control" mode. What's a commissioner to do?

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every week, editors Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the pro and college football weekend that was.

The Good

Patriots Defense/Special Teams

Probably the two best performance from any units on any teams - they sacked Matt Cassell six times, picked him off four times (including one with a sixty yard run-back), a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown, and to add some icing to the cake, they averaged 16.5 yards on punt returns (they only received two kickoffs and both went for touchbacks). The Patriots dominated field position and only surrendered 217 yards of offense - that's how you win by three touchdowns despite only gaining 292 total yards on offense yourself and committing 15 penalties for 163 yards (in their defense, two of those penalties for 58 of those yards came on a meaningless drive at the end of the game, up 30-7 with under two minutes left). The Patriots average drive start point was their 42 yard line and started three drives inside Minnesota territory. The offense sputtered - they only scored 10 points on those drives, and if you take those away, plus the blocked kick return touchdown, this was a much closer game. But the defense tipped the scales.

-JC

Bob Lobel: The NFL Shield Now Protecting Wife Beaters and Child Abusers

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

It was billed as the National Felons League (NFL) decades ago. Must have been a reason for that, right?  

Of course there was, and that was before the days of privacy and very little hard reporting. Well, they have pushed the envelope again, considering “the very bad, God awful, really stinking, lying and cover up week” they just went through. And it is not over by any stretch of the imagination. Usually, the crisis management people employed by every team and by the league itself will tell you to wait out the news cycle, and it will all go away. 

But really, how much damage has been done to America's favorite sport? 

Football Weekend Roundup: Good, Bad, and Ugly

 By Jeremy Conlin (@jeremy_conlin) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Every week, editors Jeremy Conlin and Joe Parello bring you the good, the bad and the ugly from the pro and college football weekend that was.

The Good

Oregon

They picked up the most impressive win of the college football weekend and looked rather convincing doing it, especially in the second half. People might knock it because it was against a Big Ten team (more on them later), but Michigan State will, in all likelihood, blow through the rest of their schedule undefeated and be a good bet to be the No. 4 seed in the playoff (my assumption is that a one-loss Big Ten team would get the nod over a one-loss Big XII team, and I don't see Oklahoma or Baylor running the table).

They're better known for their speed all over the field, but it was their defensive line that really made the difference in the game. After being unable to get off the field on third down for most of the first half, the Oregon front four stepped up in the second half and got consistent pressure on Connor Cook, which spurred a 28-0 run to end the game.

Oregon moved up to No. 2 in the AP Poll, and now holds the second-most first-place votes in the Coaches' Poll (although they're still only in fourth, behind Alabama and Oklahoma). It would probably take a loss from one of the teams above them for the Ducks to leapfrog anyone, but both Alabama certainly has a tougher schedule ahead of them - Oregon has clear sailing until October 11, when they play at UCLA, and their only other real test comes at home - they host Stanford November 1. Meanwhile, Alabama has to play four currently ranked teams, two on the road (at No. 14 Ole Miss and at No. 10 LSU) and two at home (vs. No. 7 Texas A&M and vs. No. 5 Auburn). With so many good teams, it seems unlikely that any team in the SEC will run the table, which would mean any even one-loss team from the Pac-12 would probably make the playoff. Right now, all signs point to Oregon.

-JC

Bob Lobel: What's Next for the NFL and Ray Rice?

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Does Roger Goodell resign? Should he be fired?

Clearly, he has become the focal point of this latest violence against women scandal. The NFL has historically done a great job of reacting to crisis, but a lousy job of preventing it in the first place. Their mission statement has been something like “we are untouchable, and when trouble comes along, we will adjust our rules to fix it." 

That may or may not include lying. 

ESPN & the NFL Continue to Insult Women... But We Keep Watching

By Heidi Leach (@heidileach)

This Ray Rice ordeal has caused quite a stir. 

A two-game suspension for punching your fiancee? Hmmm. 

Everyone has an opinion. Either it’s an appropriate punishment, or it’s not even close. People are entitled to their thoughts so I’ll go ahead and throw in my two cents as well.

You see, I happen to be a woman and, personally, I do not think that two games is enough of a punishment. Players doing copious amounts of drugs or shooting themselves in the leg have seen much, much worse, and they only hurt themselves. But punching a woman hard enough to knock her out, then dragging her limp body out of an elevator does not warrant the same?