Perhaps Young is abnormally emotionally insecure and immature (likely). Still, the way Fisher has handled him has been maddeningly odd. Last year Fisher inexplicably stayed with Kerry Collins until his team was 0-6 and the owner forced him to make a change. Last week he didn’t start Young even though it appeared he was healthy enough to play. And yesterday he stayed with something called a Rusty Smith rather than putting an injured Young back in the game.

This can’t be a result of the on the field evidence. Vince was 12-16 against the Redskins before injuring his thumb. He’s thrown 10 touchdowns on the season to just three interceptions. And he’s won 2/3 of his forty-plus NFL starts. He clearly gives the Titans their best chance to win.

Jeff Fisher has built up enough equity to receive the benefit of the doubt and Young hasn’t exactly proven to be stable. However, we know coaches tend to be stubborn to a fault. Something’s not right in Tennessee and it’s going to end with one or the other no longer there. (Titans owner Bud Adams has already come out and said they must get along.)

And now, other thoughts…

–Mark Sanchez may have been a question mark heading into the season. Now it appears he is turning into an exclamation point. The Jets problems (if 8-2 teams really have problems) have nothing to do with their quarterback. This incredible run of thrilling wins has come against opponents with a combined 15-34 record and the team’s lack of a pass rush and a running game has been disturbing. Will a newly excellent quarterback make up for those issues against better competition?

–The Giants are a good team (I think). Their self destructive tendencies could keep that from being true and keep them out of the playoffs. With that said, they might have lost to the best team in the NFL Sunday night. The Eagles are undefeated in games Michael Vick has started and finished and four of those five wins have come against teams .500 or better (that doesn’t include a win over Atlanta with Kevin Kolb at quarterback).

–How bad does Brett Favre have to be before he is replaced? I guess we are going to find out.

–Richard Seymour did what many of us wish we could do.

–Blake Griffin hates gravity. And Amar’e Stoudemire, who had some throwdowns of his own for the mildly streaking Knicks, approves.

–Sergio Martinez delivered the perfect punch Saturday night.

–I never want to see the McRib commercial (or a McRib for that matter) again.

–Six ounces of Haitian tap water, four ounces of Snooki urine, a pinch of Tom Brady’s hair and a teaspoon of Wacka Flocka Flame=Four Loko ingredients.

Miami (-1.5) over Chicago: Tyler Thigpen or not, I believe the Dolphins are the better team. *I was wrong…the Bears defense is good. 0-1*

Arizona (+8.5) over Kansas City: The Chiefs have lost me a little in recent weeks. That’s too many points to give any team going against a squad the Broncos dropped fifty on.

Baltimore (-10.5) over Carolina: Again, a bunch of points. This time I’ll give them. The Panthers are coming off back to back demolitions (with a ten point loss to the Rams before that), have no quarterback, no running game, no defense, nothing.

Buffalo (+6) over Cincinnati: No one should have to watch this. Bengals by a field goal.

Jacksonville (-1.5) over Cleveland: No one should have to watch this either. The Jags offense is slightly better and they’re at home.

Dallas (-6.5) over Detroit: No one should have to watch this either. The Cowboys will win two in a row. This won’t mean Jason Garrett is the greatest coach ever.

Minnesota (+3) over Green Bay: Don’t ask me why I’m picking the Vikings. I guess it’s because something feels funny about them being home dogs.

Houston (+7) over New York Jets: I haven’t been impressed with the Jets for weeks. I’ve never been impressed with the Texans. Darrelle Revis should neutralize Andre Johnson. Maybe this is the game the Jets get back to dominance. I’ve gotta see it first (I do like them to win).

Oakland (+7.5) over Pittsburgh: The Raiders have played well enough for me to expect this to be reasonably close. I am scared of the Steelers D vs. Jason Campbell matchup though.

Washington (+7) over Tennessee: I guess I like the points this week. The Redskins were embarrassed. For their sake, I hope they don’t lay down. The Titans don’t win games in an overwhelming fashion.

Atlanta (-3) over St. Louis: Um, why is this number so low? Perhaps I’m being tricked.

New Orleans (-12) over Seattle: I hate the NFC West.

Tampa Bay (+3.5) over San Francisco: I don’t want to repeat myself.

New England (-4) over Indianapolis: Tom Brady and Bill Belichick used to own Peyton Manning. He’s punched back in recent years. Their ownership will be restored.

Philadelphia (-3) over New York Giants: This is as even as a game as there could be. The spread says so (even on a neutral field). I can’t pick against Michael Vick until I see him lose a game.

Denver (+10) over San Diego: I don’t know why.

I’m not going to spend too much time getting into the whole ultimate comeback story tale. The best word I can use to describe his past actions is cruel. However, he went to jail, lost all his money and has seemingly made a concerted effort to admit his wrongs and change for the better. Isn’t a comeback about falling to the depths and climbing back out? And isn’t his type of story the exact purpose of a correctional facility? The public couldn’t have been more against him and he seems to have won everyone back, aside from those who will never forgive him (which I understand). (I’ll also avoid getting into the fact that his backup, Kevin Kolb, frequently sends Vick text pictures of animals he has killed while hunting.)

Now on to what I want to write about. Michael Vick is currently the best player in the NFL. It’s not really fair to legends like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning to say Vick is better than them, but in this very moment, it is impossible to argue that anyone is playing better. His season appears to be a perfect storm. A more mature guy combined with more weapons than he’s ever had before and a proven winner as his head coach.

In the early 2000’s, Michael Vick was unfair to play with in Madden. He’s playing like that in real life now. He’s impossible to catch, throwing laser beams and is virtually unstoppable. I don’t like to throw this word out there but his performance has been Jordan-esque.

This may not last the entire season. He could come back down to Earth. I don’t see it happening. At this point I find it tough to pick against Michael Vick and the Eagles.

This comeback story could culminate in a Super Bowl.

I can’t comprehend being involved in what Vick did. It is disgusting. But there is part of me that believes that he didn’t realize what he was doing was wrong due to a confluence of cultural factors. Burress engaged in an act of stupidity that could have potentially put people’s lives in danger. But he didn’t enter that club with any malice. What Roethlisberger did could potentially alter some people’s lives forever. He acted without regard to other human beings and he did it repeatedly. He deserves every bit of his suspension.

Some will say “but he wasn’t charged with anything”. I implore those people to read the police report, some of the other stories that have leaked out and to get real with themselves. If he has been accused three or four times, how many times do you really think these sort of things took place? And when I read about his body guards dragging a girl to the bathroom as she’s muttering “no”, along with some of the other sordid details (I’m not talking about simply having his piece hanging out either), I realized that just once was more than enough. And that doesn’t even account for the other random acts of sleaziness he’s been accused of.

Vick had to go jail. Burress is in prison right now. I’d like to see Ben go there too; just so he could get a taste of his own medicine. So, no, I do not have a problem with the NFL suspending him. I just wish the suspension was longer.

The Eagles should be a perfect test case for my theory. And I trust Andy Reid to come up with some inventive sets that will have defensive coordinators looking like they have just seen Godzilla emerge from the Hudson River when the Eagles break the huddle. But you can’t play two quarterbacks in the NFL, right? I say, why wouldn’t that work? But the option would never work in the pros. I say, why wouldn’t that work? But you can’t have McNabb line up at tight end for a few plays. I say, why wouldn’t that work? Michael Vick and Brian Westbrook in the backfield at the same time? I say, why wouldn’t that work? The Eagles simply should have too many weapons.

It seems to me most coaches go into games and try to take away what the other team does best. If they want to shut down your running game they usually do it. If they want to contain your stud wideout they can usually do it. But what do you try and stop on the Eagles? McNabb is one of the best quarterbacks in the league (+ now you have the best backup). AND THEN there is Brian Westbrook, who might be the most dangerous player in the open field. AND THEN there is DeSean Jackson, one of the best deep threats around. AND THEN there is Jeremy Maclin, another speedster. AND THEN there is LeSean McCoy, who should bolster the ground game, perhaps the teams’ biggest weakness a year ago (btw, there needs to be some sort of cool nickname for LeSean and DeSean). AND THEN you add Michael Vick into that mix? That should be too much to cover.

If nothing else, it will make for the most fun Madden offense ever. However, I think it could be much more than that. The Eagles will be the story of the league this year and what a story it would be if McNabb and Vick are able to gain redemption while defying the traditional, unwritten rules.

*Vick takes the snap and throws it across the field to McNabb, McNabb drops back and passes to Brian Westbrook across the middle, Westbrook pitches it to Vick, Vick streaks down the sideline* Why wouldn’t that work?

I love the NFL. Sundays during football season totally rule. Hardly anything is more enjoyable. But that doesn’t mean I have to defend everything the NFL does. It seems to me that most of the mainstream media refuses to criticize the NFL or any decision that Sheriff Goodell (I call him sheriff because that darn Goodell sure lays down the law) makes. I just want to take this time to say that it is okay to disagree with Roger Goodell and the sacred NFL shield.

Did Goodell really need to prove he was tough (yet again) with the Michael Vick situation? He couldn’t have reinstated Vick and let things fall as they may? Vick already went to jail for two years and lost all of his money. Does he really need to be punished more just so the sheriff can prove a point? Would people disagree with Goodell if he decided to move all games to Tuesday mornings?

The NFL is by far the worst behaved league in sports. There are plenty of good guys, but there are plenty of bad citizens too. It seems senseless to single out Vick when I have to check the injury and police reports before making a pick-up in fantasy football. If only Vick had driven drunk while brandishing a firearm or punched his wife in the face.

What am I thinking? Did I just criticize Sheriff Goodell (this blog was just suspended for 6 weeks)? He only deserves praise. It is not like he has ever done something like destroy controversial tapes that may have indicated a team cheated to win the Super Bowl. I apologize for my mistake. Let me end with this, “Oh that Roger Goodell. He has made the right decision again. He was firm, yet fair. He is protecting his league and he is doing a darn good job if I do say so myself. I love Sheriff Goodell and I love the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!”

This is a guy who was good enough on the field to become the most dominant player in the history of the Madden video game franchise, reaching near Tecmo Bo Jackson levels of animated greatness. I, honestly, don’t think any coach has utilized him properly. Don’t put Michael Vick in your offense. Tailor your offense to Michael Vick (I always wondered how the Madden style “Am I gonna throw it or am I gonna run it?” attack would work in real life). He was the fastest guy in the league and has a death-ray for an arm. The Falcons won nearly 60% of the games he started and only about 20% of the games he missed during his tenure. I don’t know about you, but I would consider that to be good.

Do people actually think the Rams, 49ers, or Panthers (they would be ridiculous) wouldn’t get better with Vick at the helm? Even if a team didn’t want to sign him up to be the starting QB, wouldn’t he be perfect in a dual quarterback situation? Imagine Vick with Pennington in Miami running the “Fighting Pit” offense (they would have to rename the Wildcat). Vick comes in for running and long passing situations, Pennington when you need quick, accurate reads. Why wouldn’t that work? What might be even better is Vick in New England simply as a weapon. I am fairly sure Bill Belichick would figure out the appropriate way to use him. Brady, Moss, and Vick with Belichick pulling the strings? Game over.

Not only do I believe the on-the-field impact would be greater than most, (I don’t buy the “he has been away from football” reasoning. There is no way the guy didn’t keep in shape in the big house and there is no way that he isn’t uber-motivated) but it would make for some of the most compelling television in history. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later. I really don’t need anymore up to the second updates. WHERE IS MICHAEL VICK RIGHT NOW? WHERE WILL HE BE IN TEN SECONDS? WILL HE PLAY IN THE NFL AGAIN? WHO IS MICHAEL VICK? WHO AM I? DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE GUM?