FanHouse Kevin Mawae

It's accurate to say that there aren't a whole lot of players around the league who like Hines Ward. When he's not going over the middle to catch passes, he's always looking to lay a hit on an unsuspecting defender. Heck, the NFL even passed a new rule after Ward broke linebacker Keith Rivers' jaw last year.

So it's no surprise to learn that Ward has been voted as the NFL's dirtiest player in a survey by Sports Illustrated, topping former teammate Joey Porter. With Rodney Harrison now retired, Ward was the obvious choice, which in some way is a badge of honor for the Steelers wideout. After all, how many receivers are tough enough and physical enough to be considered dirty?

CANTON, Ohio -- The NFL's first preseason game of 2009 was billed as an AFL tribute contest honoring two charter members, the Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills -- and no, that wasn't George Blanda handing off to Billy Cannon in the first quarter on Sunday night.

Most of the real nostalgia centered on whether Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young could recapture any of his 2006 rookie-season impact. Or even show anything of relevance after he sat on ice most of '08 following the loss of his starting job to veteran Kerry Collins in Week 1.

The verdict on Vince through one outing? Not so hot.

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NFL owners and players met Tuesday in Washington for three hours for their second round of collective bargaining negotiations. Nothing was accomplished (the union was upset, actually, that commissioner Roger Goodell was not in attendance), and no date is set for the next round of negotiations. But just as he did the day after the first negotiating session, union chief DeMaurice Smith is heading Wednesday to Capitol Hill.

Smith will bring 17 active players from 15 different NFL teams, including Kansas City's Mike Vrabel, Tennessee's Kevin Mawae and Baltimore's Domonique Foxworth, plus three retired players with him for meetings with congressional leaders. The point of the meetings is to stay on the attack. As he first told FanHouse last month, Smith believes the owners are planning to lock out the players in 2011, and both sides are working against a March deadline after which the 2010 season would be played without a salary cap and a 2011 lockout would be more difficult to prevent. So Smith is remaining in contact with Congress because it can help him with two specific threats against the league.

His message is the same at every stop -- Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. So far, new players union chief DeMaurice Smith is thrilled with the way the NFL players to whom he's spoken have embraced both ends of that credo.

"The guys want to know what it's like to be a man and a businessman in the business of football," Smith told FanHouse in a phone interview Thursday, after his meeting in Nashville with the Tennessee Titans. "Especially given what looks like an intent on the part of the NFL to lock the players out."

Those are strong words, but Smith believes he has the evidence to back them up. He isn't necessarily looking for a fight, but he's ready if there's to be one. And as he travels the country speaking to players, he's pleased to find out they're very much with him.

The Ravens enter the game as the chic pick for most, as the Titans are the most maligned 13-3 team I've seen since the 2001 Bears.

For the Ravens, the love is well-deserved. Since losing three in a row early in the season, they have won 10 of their last 12 games. The only losses were to the Giants -- when the Giants were firing on all cylinders -- and to the Steelers in the Walt Coleman game. They have dismantled opposing offenses along the way, and Ed Reed is playing the best football of anyone in the NFL right now. Seriously, when he intercepted that ball last weekend, I would have been surprised if he didn't score.

When the Titans host the Ravens on Saturday, it appears they won't be stuck bringing the B-team defense to the game.

Albert Haynesworth (knee injury) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin) will return to practice today and should be ready to play on Sunday. Haynesworth missed the Titans season finale, while Vanden Bosch hasn't played since Dec. 7 in an injury-plagued season.

It's not that Jason Jones and Jacob Ford haven't been very solid replacements, but with a spot in the AFC Championship game on the line, and the Ravens' relying heavily on their running game, Haynesworth is probably the most important player on the Titans team this week. If he can shut down LaRon McClain and Willis McGahee, the Titans' secondary should be able to handle Joe Flacco--they picked him off twice in their regular season win.

The bigger injury concern seems to be center Kevin Mawae. Mawae is questionable with an elbow injury. Backup Leroy Harris is physically talented, but asking him to figure out the infinite combination of Ravens blitzes would be a very difficult job in only his second career start.

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

NFL FanHouse Midseason Midtacular: because handing out awards at the halfway point in the season seemed like the right thing to do.

You have a group of guys that everyone rants about. Drew Brees, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson -- these guys are great and deserve the press they receive. But what about the other guys? The players that are busting their tails for the team and aren't on the top of the Pardon the Interruption roll week in and week out. These guys are underrated, under-appreciated but better than most would expect. Who makes the list? You shall soon see...

Roddy White, WR Atlanta -- Matt Ryan might be having a great season, but a lot can be attributed to White, who has had 112 yards receiving or more in four of his last six games. Starting the season slow, White is now averaging 91.6 yards per game and has become one of the most consistent wide-outs in the league. Too bad most people still would rather have Terrell Owens or Randy Moss.

Owen Daniels, TE Houston -- Yeah, if you didn't know, he's the other option for Matt Schaub in Houston, and he's a damn good substitute for Andre Johnson. Daniels averages 66 yards per game with two touchdowns, catching at least three balls a game this season. If there is a guy you'd want on your team that nobody has heard of, Owens is him. Is it crazy to call him the best tight end in Texas?

If you listen to Titans center Kevin Mawae, the formula for going undefeated seems pretty simple: Work hard, and don't have players like Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson and Tony Romo cavorting around, acting like superstars.

No, seriously, that's basically what he said.

Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae couldn't help himself.

"We don't have a Terrell Owens," he said. "We don't have a Chad Johnson. We don't have Tony Romo dating superstars. We just have a bunch of guys that play hard and work hard."

I don't think he's that far off in terms of how an underrated group of players can succeed by busting their tails, but at the same time, it might be a bit of a stretch to simply call out the Cowboys for losing simply based on the fact that Owens is on the roster and Romo is dating a superstar. After all, isn't it really Romo not playing that's sinking the good ship Dallas right now?

As for the Bengals' inability to win, no doubt Ocho Cinco's inability to really produce a good season hurts them, but again, having Ryan Fitzpatrick calling the signals and not really employing any semblance of an offensive line.

But hey, if Mawae wants to suddenly hop on a high horse because the Titans are seemingly unstoppable, who am I to tell him that he's still hiking the ball to Kerry Collins?