When Jerome Bettis was working at NBC over the past couple of years he could sometimes be criticized for being a little bland. At his best he offered some interesting insights (like when he correctly proclaimed that Bill Cowher was going to retire months before he did), but he generally could best be described as a forgettable analyst.
Apparently, he's a better writer than talker. Just two weeks into his Sports Illustrated column, Bettis (with the help of a contributing writer) has shown that he can be insightful and interesting, especially if you are a Steelers fan.
Unlike many ex-athletes, Jerome Bettis seems to have settled in pretty well to his new role as a member of the media. Many former NFL stars go through their entire post-playing career spouting bland sayings that ensure that they can't be accused of criticizing anyone.
The Bus hasn't had that problem. And he's not sparing his ex-teammates' feelings. In his new Sports Illustrated column, Bettis singles out the Steelers' running game as being the factor that could derail the Pittsburgh's attempt at a repeat. Admittedly, that's something anyone could point out right now -- but Bettis singles out Willie Parker ("haven't seen much from him"), Rashard Mendenhall ("really haven't seen him, period"), Frank Summers ("doesn't seem to understand what's going on") and the offensive line ("no continuity").
As expected, the Steelers finally got around to releasing linebacker Larry Foote today. The team's 2002 fifth-round pick hadn't missed a start since 2004, but with the emergence of Lawrence Timmons, Foote became expendable. In fact, last season, Foote was a two-down player, coming off the field in passing situations. And that, along with Timmons' progress and Foote's $2.9 million salary for next season, was enough for the Steelers to make a change.
Foote never made the Pro Bowl during his seven-year career, but he was an integral part of the defense, particularly after Dick LeBeau returned as coordinator in 2004. He was one of the team's most consistent players, and that, along with his age (28), means he won't be out of a job for long.
Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.
Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.
Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.
On Wednesday, I wrote that Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas should probably make an effort to show up for voluntary workouts since his rookie season was, to say the least, underwhelming.
If you haven't caught "Chuck Fever" -- enough, say, to have sat through an entire hour long episode without 3-D glasses, well, I don't know what to tell you. But you're difficult to entertain. Especially when you could have seen Jerome Bettis (He's from Detroit! Did you know?!?) eating a sandwich and nearly eating a urinal cake as a "Buy More" employee.
Gracias First Cuts. And thank you, NBC, for your continued support of Chuck.
Much was made about Ben Roethlisberger's first half touchdown and Darrell Jackson's offensive pass interference -- which negated a touchdown -- in the aftermath of the Steelers victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Those who follow the Zebra Report know that I refuse to ever claim the officials cost any team a game, however, there was one call in this game that cost the Seahawks a lot more than the above well-publicized calls.
When people think of Super Bowl XL, the most common storylines involve Jerome Bettis' hometown (did you know he is from Detroit?) and the officiating. One of the plays that drew the prominent rage of Seattle fans and head coach Mike Holmgren was Ben Roethlisberger's one-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.
If you paid close attention to the run-up to the Super Bowl three years ago, you may have heard something about how Jerome Bettis, the veteran running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was playing the game in his home town of Detroit. This year's version of Bettis is Cardinals running back Edgerrin James.
As we figure out what to do with ourselves for the next week-and-a-half in anticipation of Super Bowl XLIII, we're left to try and find topics to talk about, and this can be a bad thing. Every year there's that one storyline that gets blown up and driven into the ground, relentlessly beating us over the head until we can't take it anymore.
Early on, the leader in the clubhouse for this year's Bettis-is-from Detroit dead horse is the connection between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, and how the Steelers, supposedly, chose Mike Tomlin over him. Even if they didn't.
When Jerome Bettis was working at NBC over the past couple of years he could sometimes be criticized for being a little bland. At his best he offered some interesting insights (like when he correctly proclaimed that Bill Cowher was going to retire months before he did), but he generally could best be described as a forgettable analyst.
Unlike many ex-athletes, Jerome Bettis seems to have settled in pretty well to his new role as a member of the media. Many former 
As 
On Wednesday, I wrote that Redskins wide receiver 
In anticipation of Cardinals-Steelers, FanHouse takes a look back at some forgotten 
In anticipation of Cardinals-Steelers, FanHouse takes a look back at some forgotten 
If you paid close attention to the run-up to the Super Bowl three years ago, you may have heard something about how 
As we figure out what to do with ourselves for the next week-and-a-half in anticipation of Super Bowl XLIII, we're left to try and find topics to talk about, and this can be a bad thing. Every year there's that one storyline that gets blown up and driven into the ground, relentlessly beating us over the head until we can't take it anymore. 
