A long time ago I read an article about Trent Williams getting some ridiculous gorilla chain made that reportedly is work up to $150,000 (check out that article here and the picture below).
The article starts with the following quote by Trent:
"'I'm always saying how I want to be a beast on the field and Silverback is a beast, so they just kind of gave me the nickname,' Trent Williams said after he was picked by the Redskins and introduced as Trent “Silverback” Williams by Roger Goodell."
And if he hadn't already "earned" the name somehow, he definitely earned it this past Thursday morning in Hawaii where he was there for the Pro Bowl (played this past Sunday) and he got into a brawl at a club somehow.
His role in the brawl appears to be victim but it's being reported that this dude was tasered and cracked over the head with a bottle... READ THAT AGAIN
TASERED AND CRACKED OVER THE HEAD WITH A BOTTLE...
And it required 7 stitches to close his head up but he "would not go down."
Let's be clear here, Trent is 6 foot 5 inches and has to be at least 300 pounds so short of a couple of strong men together, most people are not just going to be able to get him to the ground with a punch or by sheer strength if he's defending himself. But after being tased you'd think he would go down out of pain. And after being hit over the head with a bottle (I'm assuming something bigger than a beer bottle) you'd think he would go down. But apparently he somehow withstood all this. That is completely insane, completely!
This week has some good match-ups with playoff implications. You've got Ravens/Steelers, Pats/Jets, and Falcons/Bucs. Not to mention some other divisional rivalries that'll can potentially impact one team's playoff chances (Bears/Lions, Kansas City/Denver, Giants/Skins, and Chargers/Raiders).
Before I get into my picks this week I have to comment on the Johnson/Finnegan "fight".
This was a decent semi-scrap slash skirmish or whatever. But based on Goodell's reputation for being a disciplinarian I can't see how Andre Johnson didn't get suspended a game for this, if not both of them. I mean he two-pieced Courtland pretty good there. If this were James Harrison of the Steelers connected to someone's dome he would have gotten a 4-game suspension I bet. Even Finnegan said if he'd have swung like Johnson did, he'd probably be suspended (Finnegan has a reputation for being a dirty player). I'm really surprised the NFL only levied $25K fines for both players and didn't suspend. Is the league saying it's ok to fight? Really? I wish they'd have done more to show that this type of behavior is intolerable, even if it meant that arguably the best WR in the league would have to sit out a week.
Now for my picks. I'm betting the Ravens/Steelers game will be the best game this week and I'm picking the Ravens to win this one at home. As for the full list of picks, here ya go:
Philly over Houston: Houston's pass defense is statistically worse than the Redskins. Remember what the Eagles did to the Redskins?
Saints over Bengals: I thought about taking the Bengals but then I came to my senses. It's gonna be cold in Ohio and the Saints are a dome team but in the end, I just don't think the Bengals are gonna pull it off. Nor do I think they can stop the Saints from scoring.
Bears over Lions: I'm not as convinced as to how good the Bears are after last week's win over Philly but I do think they're going to beat the Lions. Jay Cutler is always one game away from being horrible so it wouldn't surprise me if he plays mediocre. But after Julius Peppers's last game, I just don't see the Lions offense being able to manage a win.
Packers over 49ers: The win against ARIZONA didn't fool me, San Fran isn't that good. They're relatively good. That is, relative to everyone else in their division. Go to Green Bay and pull out a win against a team that can score on just about any defense? I think not. Especially when Green Bay's coming off a loss.
Jacksonville over Tennessee: Jacksonville's a lot better than I give them credit for (I think it's because MJD started off so slowly this year for my fantasy squad) and Tennessee seems to be a team headed in the wrong direction.
Kansas City over Denver: After their last meeting and the embarrassment the Chiefs must have felt, I don't think there's any way they lose this game. And Dwayne Bowe is playing like a beast right now.
Miami over Cleveland: I really wanted to pick Cleveland in this one (and I still kinda do) but I think Jake Delhomme is going to be the weak link, especially considering Miami is ranked 4th against the pass. Stack the box to stop Peyton Hillis and defend the pass, that'll hopefully be the game plan.
Buffalo over Minnesota: Upset special. Minnesota squeaked by the Redskins last week and I think Buffalo's playing with the most heart of any mediocre (lol) team in the league right now. They're in just about every game and they've got some talent in Fred Jackson, Stevie (last week we could have called him "Stonehands") Johnson, and Lee Evans. This is my gut feeling pick of the week.
Giants over Redskins: The Giants are the better all-around team. I don't think my Skins are going to Giants stadium and pull out a win. Sorry fellas.
Chargers over Raiders: If the Chargers defense shows up, this should be a fairly easy win. I don't think they'll blow the Raiders out but I do think they'll dominate.
Indy over Dallas: I totally picked Dallas to win this game initially then decided against it. Peyton had a bad game last week so I'm 100% sure he's been studying his azz off this week and will find a way to take advantage of Dallas's iffy corners. The only problem here is that Indy cannot stop the run or run the ball AT ALL. But I don't think Dallas can stop Indianapolis from scoring if the Colts o-line can keep DeMarcus Ware in check. I'm going to go with the older Manning brother in this one.
Rams over Cardinals: Arizona proved to me on Monday night that they are not worth picking anymore this entire season. Depending on the match-up I may go with them (similar to why I went with them last week) but this week the Rams and Sam "I'm playing better than Mark Sanchez already" Bradford along with Steven "Yup, I'm still really really good but stuck in the 'Lou" Jackson will rip them a new one.
Seattle over Carolina: Seattle's not very good. But they are good enough to beat the Panthers after the Panthers have had to travel across the country. I still expect it to be close and I expect Mike Goodson to have a solid game nonetheless.
Falcons over Bucs: Falcons overall balance as a team gets them the win. The Bucs are a solid team and they will play well but I think the Falcons are just a better team. If the Falcons don't turn the ball over too many times and create points for Bucs I expect them to win this one.
Ravens over Steelers: The Ravens haven't lost at home. I think their pride won't let them lose this one. It's gonna be a tough game and it's gonna be close through-out but I think the Ravens will pull this one out at home. And yes, it's hard to fathom that the Ravens will sweep the Steelers this year but they got the tougher win (the at Pittsburgh one) already. And I don't think they'll take that for granted and fail to prepare well for this game.
Patriots over Jets: Bill Belicheck's defensive schemes > Mark Sanchez's QB abilities. Aside from that, the Pats lost to the Jets earlier in the year and I'm sure they'll be out for a little payback in a big time Monday Night divisional match-up. I fully expect Tom Brady to get his Peyton Manning on this week.
I wasn't going to post the video but I think that ADULTS need to see this video. More light needs to be shed upon these type of incidents that get swept under the rug as far as national media coverage is concerned. There's no reason a young man should have to die for this to be brought about as an issue worthy of national attention. This happens EVERY DAY people! And instead of sitting around waiting for the powers that be to do something people need to realize that change starts with us. It's like I said yesterday, if you are not a part of the solution, you are a part of the problem! Where were the adults while all this was going on?
This is REAL LIFE! It's not about your kid or my kid, it's about kids in general. It's about human lives. It's about the future.
For me, the worst part about this is that this kid wasn't even participating in the brawl/melee. It appeared he was an innocent bystander. Even if he wasn't an innocent bystander once he was down on the ground and obviously unconscious there was no need to continue beating him more and more. Again, where were the adults/security/administrators?
What also hit home for me is that this is the type of situation that most of us that grew up in an urban area (or the surrounding suburbs) were exposed to as a teenager or participated in. I know me and my boys were involved in our fair share of fights and a few of them escalated to the level of a brawl. We were not scared to get involved in stupid when we were younger and some of us might have even wanted to be involved in something like this because we thought it was cool or that it made us look tough. But we blessed to survive with only cuts, scratches, and maybe a lump on our faces.
We're older now and we've lost a lot of friends along the way to violence and we've realize how dumb we were back then. But now as an adult I think about the kids nowadays and the level of recklessness and carelessness with which some of them live their lives and it really scares me. I think about all the stuff that me and my friends survived and how that could have easily have been one of us suffering the same fate as Derrion. Not everybody survives these situations though, and it resonates deeply with me because I've lost friends to violence more times than I care to have experienced. Whether it's a fight or a gunshot it's a loss of life. They say Derrion was an honor student. Maybe he would have been the next Obama, Ben Carson, Bill Gates, or the guy that saved your life somehow. Maybe he would have somehow made the world a better place for his family or for all of us. Maybe he would have just been a regular Joe Schmoe on the street that you didn't think twice about. But now his life will be remembered by a fatal beating that could have easily been avoided. It's maddening and saddening.
My prayers go out to Derrion's family and friends and also to those who beat him as well as everybody else out there acting niggorant. Also, sometimes people need to put the camera down and do something. I can't stand that the camera person was so enthralled by the fight that they didn't think to go and get help. There's so much wrong about this story that there's gotta be something right to come as a result of it.
