It’s never too early to play fortune teller. Who’s your favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February? Each year you can expect the various sportsbooks to step out there and give the odds on each team to win the Super Bowl. According to BetUS.com, the Patriots are the favorites to win Super Bowl XLI. This is probably a consensus amongst most novice football fans. So how does a sportsbook arrive at a team being the preseason “Top Dog”?

Well, every since free agency took effect, it, along with the draft, have been the key contributors to deciding how the landscape of the NFL would be laid out before the start of the season. This year is no different, but I want to give notice to a new significant factor in the determination of which team is favored to go the distance. The new factor is that of the short leash the NFL has for player’s off the field issues. Granted, football is the ultimate team sport and for the most part no single player can make or break a season, but a strong argument can be made that a single player’s issues can be such a distraction that it negatively effects the team’s chemistry. Flashback to T.O’s 2nd season in Philly.

Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, Chris Henry and now Michael Vick have been this off season’s poster childs for how to disrupt an organization’s Super Bowl plans. Each of which are serving several game suspensions and each of which played a significant role on their respective team. Given that the NFL season is so short, a team cannot afford to miss key players for substantial periods of the season. The only shining light of these situations is that they all have been handled early enough for the teams to make adjustments to plan for life without these players.

Tank was cut and Chicago signed Darwin Walker. Tab Perry was waiting in the wings to take Henry’s playing time. Nick Harper was signed by the Titans. And dare I say, Joey Harrington will start for the Falcons. OK, well 3 of the 4 teams have an adequate backup plan.

So, given that Goodell will probably be the commish for a very long time, these long suspensions may start to become the norm for troublemakers and routinely effect an NFL teams hopes and dreams. If that is the case, I just hope that it is also the norm that he provides teams with sufficient time to develop a backup plan.

Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Brett Favre and Marc Bulger. What do all of these guys have in common? Well they are all a part of the $10M per year club. I am all for athletes making their money, but to me, Bulger sticks out like a sore thumb amongst this group. Let’s start with some of the “reasons” the current members are in this elite club. It’s pretty simple. Manning, Brady and Favre are all future Hall of Famers and each has a Super Bowl ring. Palmer is arguably the best QB in all of football and Vick is an electrifying talent that keeps the Falcons games sold out like a traveling rock band.

Enter the latest member, Marc Bulger. No offense Marc, but what exactly have you done or will you do to warrant your membership? You are a pure pocket passer that has averaged only 22 TDs in your three full seasons. Along with 14 INTs. The team has one playoff win and the Rams are far from the “Greatest Show On Turf.” You are 30 yrs old and can end your career with Tory Holt, but for some reason Bulger to Holt doesn’t have the same ring as Manning to Harrison or Brady to whoever. Seattle is still the team to beat in the NFC West, while the 49ers and Cards are making strides to be pretty competitive. So, a division title will be tough to come by, and I doubt a Super Bowl ring will be in the foreseeable future. That is pretty bad given the mediocre state of my beloved NFC.

In my opinion, the person that was more deserving to be the next member of the $10M club is McNabb. Albeit, he has been injury prone lately, but he has been by far the most productive QB between the two and has led Philly to several championship games with a far more less stellar offense. Listen up Philly. If Bulger can get $10M per year, so should McNabb. Good Luck with the rehab McNabb and Congrats Bulger!!!

Sorry for the delay, but I will get back to posting very soon.  I have been dealing with a couple of major moves.